spring...

so this time of year is absolutely the best in arizona. the weather is perfect, the skies are as blue as they possibly can be and the sound of baseball is in the air. it is spring training season and here we have the diamondbacks. i grew up with a love for baseball but one that is not easily satisfied by sitting so far away that you cannot see the names on the back of the jerseys. i grew up with the blessing of grandparents with season tickets to the houston astros. their seats were the best there were. they were the first two seats behind home plate. i grew up being able to see and hear baseball up close and personal. that being said, i have come to love spring training time around here.

last saturday after we had breakfast we headed down to the fields. of course since it was the first day that all players were to report the practice didn't start till 1pm. that being the case we ran a couple of errands, picked up lunch at in and out burger (the best burger joint in existence) and then had a picnic next to the baseball fields. while we were waiting we could see some pitchers and some of the pitching staff out in the outfield warming up. anna was just sitting in her stroller enjoying a tasty burger when a coach started crossing the field. i didn't think anything of it until he walked right up to anna and handed her a baseball. it was really sweet. it isn't like we were the only ones there either. the funny thing is- the monday before ross, the girls and i all went over to the fields while henry was at school (ross has president's day off) and jeff francis gave her a baseball too. she is pretty cute and i think attention like she had last week is going to definitely instill in her a love of baseball.earlier in the month i was able to go on a field trip with henry's class. i have this strange desire to go to factories where things are made so that i can see how it is all done. well our state is not really one that hosts many such places. however there is a local dairy farm about and hour and a half away that we visited.

**side note- when driving through the lower portion on new mexico there are many dairy farms that made me want to boycott such products. they were too crowded and they smelled foul. the idea of visiting a dairy farm (pregnant, none the less) was a bit daunting.

shamrock farms is phenomenal! it was clean and well organized. i was really impressed by the set up that had and i am now a buyer of shamrock farms dairy products. on the tour of the farm we stopped at the calf nursery so that the kids could meet some of the calves. henry enjoyed feeding one but when the calf would try to nurse on his fingers he'd get a little freaked out. the kids even had the priveledge of naming one of the girls. shamrock farms is now the care giver and owner of one cow named Cherry Rose.
ross was the brave one who put daph's hair in pig tails for the very first time and once again he braved it with anna. here is the evidence. sorry it is blurry but that child doesn't sit still for long!
we are sure to have some new pics next week. ross and henry are heading north this weekend to see texas ranger spring training up in surprise! henry is already packed and ready to go. they are calling it their "man's weekend". there won't be pics of our "girl's weekend" since they will have the camera but we plan to go get pedicures and ice cream and then watch a little cinderella.
fun times are sure to be had by all!! have a great weekend!

today's ultrasound...

this isn't our baby's ultrasound but none the less we did have our 20 week u/s today. all went well and at this stage in the game baby is healthy and everything looks good. we will have another ultrasound in a month to check on the location of the placenta and to keep an eye on baby.

the 20 week ultrasound is not the one that gives me concern. i will probably be more stressed out before the next one. please pray that i would i have peace as we go into the next ultrasound. i will keep you posted.

the baby sure was cute in there. it weighs in at about 12 ounces and i am nicknaming it gumby. as the dr. was looking at the belly the baby took its leg and pulled it up to its forehead. what i am saying is that it bent in half. it was wild! crazy little thing. i just can't help but lay in awe as i see that screen with that little bitty person swimming around. i am so thankful for the technology that allows us to catch a glimpse of those ten tiny toes and ten tiny fingers.

as you can read i have been using the pronoun, it. we successfully made it through the ultrasound without finding out what baby is. i have been resolved for the past 5 months that i did not want to know what baby is. of course all morning before the appt. i was thinking "well we could find out- it's not a big deal to go ahead and find out". i stuck to my plan and thankfully had ross there for support but as soon as the dr. walked in i said to her, "we do not want to know what this baby is." she was great and we have no clue. she did tell us it would be harder with each u/s to come not to see what this little one is but i feel like if i could make it through today then i can make it through the others...

me...

most of the time i use this blog as my way of sharing what is going on with the kids but today i thought i would share a little of my own heart.

i was driving to the store the other evening to pick up some stuff for henry's class valentine's party and i found myself in the quiet of the car. well not silent because the cd player was going but at least for a change of pace it was my cd instead of laurie berkner or mickey mouse. i can't even tell you what song was playing but the sun was setting in beautiful shades of orange, red and purple and i found myself longing to be in the presence of Christ. not my usual way of spending time with Him...you know in between diaper changes or washing dishes. i was longing to do nothing but be still and know that He is God. have you ever been there? i find that in the chaos of my everyday i have little chance to be still before Him. i know that spending time with Christ is necessary for me but many times i have to just hold on to the hem of His robe. three little kids under 6 and one on the way is a busy busy world- fun, exciting, challenging, hard, tiresome and a delight but it pales in comparison to having uninterrupted time alone with Him.

example: the other day i had the treat of hanging out with only henry. i was blessed to do this for the first 2 and 3/4 years of his life but it can be hard to carve out individual time with each little one. there are so many dimensions to his little self for me to learn and know and enjoy that it is absolutely necessary for me to just be with him or with daphne or with anna on a regular basis.

all that being said, i have missed spending time with my God. i am in need. i don't have "things" figured out even though i try to. stages of life bring with them different schedules and i am so thankful that God has given me a full time ministry to my husband and children and so i think it is here that i must delight myself in Him. time with Him is more valuable than sleep, than reading other's blogs, than anything i can come up with that fill my day. i am challenging myself to be still and know Him more each day. i need that, my husband needs that and my children need that.

i confess that all too often i try to "do life" in my own strength admittedly because i don't want to "bother" Him with my petty details. He wants my all not on occasion but daily. i forget that He cares about the details of my heart and life. i have seen Him display Himself over and over in the little things and yet i forget. if we are honest with ourselves there is no way any of us can stand back and look at our lives and say, "i can do this"..."i don't need help". i would be kidding myself and so would you. God is so good to me. i am so not faithful to my friendship with Him. me= bad friend but He is always good. you may think life has dealt you some tough cards along the way, heck i could say that for myself but you know what i can say i am rejoicing today because of who He is in my life. i think there is some song that says, "life is hard but God is good." exactly!

Lord, let me not forget Your desire for me to know You in all things of my crazy mom life. forgive me for forgetting that what i do day in and day out is important to You. You know my coming in and my going out and You care how i go about it all. forgive me for not making time to be quiet in your presence without interruption. faithful friend, thank you for knowing right where i am in life and for never leaving or forsaking me.

i've been tagged...

i was tagged by ericka, so here goes!

here are the rules:
1. you have to post the rules before you give your answers.
2. you must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name).
3. after you are tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and your answers.
4. at the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and that they need to read your blog for details).

R- ridiculously funny...some of the time...usually when scrapbooking late at night or out with the girls

E- encouraging to those around me as often as i can

N- napper (these days i need them more and more)

E- emulator (let it be that i would seek to emulate Christ daily)

i am tagging- traci, kristen, tonya and laurie.

forgive me, it has been too long...

i know, i give everyone a hard time about not updating their blogs and here i am waiting almost 3 weeks to update my own. so here's the latest.


this is what i saw a couple of weeks ago...cute, right? wrong! it was nap time and anna was in her bed resting. we are down to one nap a day so we are training her to take a longer nap at this time. about 30 minutes before i was going to go in to get her up i hear her talking. i was bummed because i knew she would be tired later but i figured she could stay in her bed till i went to get her. 15 minutes later i her her fuss a little...i knew we were close. then i hear a sound. it sounded like a door opening so i figured henry or daphne had gone in to comfort her. i went to see and this is what i saw. anna had climbed out of her crib and was coming in to the living room. when she saw me- she laughed. oh my word! that day we lowered her mattress to its lowest setting knowing this would give us at least 6 more months before moving to the big girl bed. nope- i was wrong. the next day she climbed out again. at this point i am ready to purchase a tent if we need to. i'm waiting till she climbs out regularly before we purchase one so if we do i will most definitely take a pic for you.

in other news the pregnancy is going well. we are 18 weeks and things seem to be going well. we will have our first of 3 ultrasounds on the 19th. again, we are not finding out what this baby is so don't pressure us!! my funny friend, who is going through a very hard time right now, tried to pull the "find out and tell me so that i can have some joy in my life" card. though tough i did say no to her.

my boys are planning on heading out for a boy's weekend of spring training baseball in a few weeks. ross and henry both are so excited to get away and eat hot dogs, get autographs & pics, and whatever other manly things that can be done at spring training. i am excited for them to have time together. it is good for henry to have one on one time with his dad!

daphne is infatuated with belle (from beauty and the beast) these days. she tells me at least once a day that she wants to buy the belle dress at the mall (at the disney store) with belle earrings and a belle crown. she sure makes my smile come up. she is still enjoying her pink "weapster" (leapster) that santa gave her and is actually quite good at many of the games.

we have been enjoying some family game time in the evenings lately. once anna goes to bed we have been playing a board game with henry & daph. we are trying to teach them how to be good sports both in winning and losing. this has had its challenges with henry who is very competitive and as for daph- she could care less who wins or loses. a new game we keep meaning to go out an buy but haven't yet is called blokus. if you haven't heard of it then check it out because it is fantastic. it is even fun for adults.

i promise to not wait so long before blogging again...sorry about that!!