Dear Evelyn...

Today was a hard day, wasn't it? We certainly had our share of battles, time outs, spankings, and tears. I think mommy even gave herself a time out or two! I am glad you are sleeping peacefully now and am looking forward to a clean slate and a fun new day tomorrow.

When God blessed daddy and me with you, He gave us many jobs... one of the hardest being teaching you right from wrong and teaching you that there are consequences to your actions. Please know we are doing the best we can to teach you these things, and that we are doing it out of our unconditional and abundant love for you and for our great God!!

I am SO glad you are excited to meet your new brother and know you will be the best big sister EVER! It will be a big change for you, though... for all of us. This actually makes mommy a little sad because although your brother will bring MUCH joy, my one on one time with you is coming to an end. Be sure, though, that my love for you will NEVER change or be any less when your brother comes. In fact, I bet... I just bet... I will love you more then than I do right now!! ;)

You are growing into such a beautiful, happy and sweet young lady who loves life. You are so bright and long to learn about everything you can. You love to read, sing (loudly!) and dance... sometimes all at the same time! You love to run and play outside, exploring the world God created. Your caring spirit and soft heart are apparent in your interactions with your friends and family. You love Jesus and learning about Him... and we hope someday soon you will claim Him as your Lord and Savior. And of course, you love to laugh. You like to be silly and have fun... mommy and daddy love that about you. You make us laugh and put a smile on our hearts and faces. We love you SO much.... there really are no words to describe how much!

I will be praying that the next few months brings many happy times amidst the changes. I will pray for your heart, your mind, and your attitude. I want you to be accepting of your new brother and love him like Daddy and I do, and at the same time not feel like you are displaced by him or by us. We will have so many fun times together, all four of us... we can't wait to introduce him to you! As you turn three in a few months, we look forward to seeing just how much more you learn and grow your mind, body and spirit. We've also had a tough couple of weeks... lots of disobedience and sassy talk toward me and daddy. This is so unlike you.. yet I also know it can be part of the growing up process. Daddy and I need you to do better with this. More importantly, God wants you to do better. We know you can... and, like I said before, its our job help you with that. It may be hard going for while.. but we'll get through it. Together. I promise!

So, my sweet pea, those are thoughts I have for you tonight as I listen to you sleeping over the monitor. Even after days like today... you put a smile on my face and in my heart as well.

As you like to tell me, "You are the best ever!!" I love you, Evelyn Joy!



Love, Mommy

Fall Is Here!!

.... and someone is quite happy about it!!

I love this time of year, especially being pregnant. I usually enjoy summer, but the heat wasn't very fun for me this year. I will miss moments like this, however:

The ones I love!

Goodbye Summer! I am looking forward to cozy fires, candles, and pumpkin spice latte's!!

Happy Fall!!

Dilemma

SO... I know there are A LOT more important things to be thinking about these days, but I have kind of a silly dilemma that I really am needing to make a decision about.. and just am not sure what to do.

The dilemma: How to spend gift card money. (Told ya it was silly!)

Here's the deal. My BFF Jody got me a gift card to the Pointe Spa at Bethany Athletic Club here in Beaverton. Its of good size $$.. she was thinking I could get a nice pedi or massage or something.

I've been holding onto it for a while... I found out I was pregnant about a month after I received it and thought I could get a pregnancy message with it. But then I started thinking about my chronic back issues. A massage is more "medicinal" for me more than relaxing, so I wonder if it would be worth it.

Then I had an idea.. but am really torn about it.
The idea: a fun hair cut/color before baby comes.

So.. some of you know (or you may know just by looking at my hair..heehee) that I go to Great Clips to get my hair cut. Its cheap (and we are on a pretty tight budget) and they usually do an okay job. I have been coloring my own hair for many years now (premature grey.. thanks Dad for giving me those genes.. UGH!). So to have someone who can tell me what looks good on me and have a good cut would be so refreshing and a treat!

The problem is that I can only go ONCE... cuz I have the gift card $$. There is NO way I can afford to be a return customer. The other issue is I don't know anyone who gets their hair done there. I am just assuming they would do a stellar job, but that isn't certain. But it sounds SO fun to get my hair done at a nice place, even if its just once.

So.. do I go do it and then just let Great Clips upkeep it? Could they do that effectively? Should I not risk it and just get a nice pedi? Or try to enjoy a pregnancy message? I. Just. Don't. Know.

Again.. a rather silly dilemma for this "not-so-girly girl who still likes to feel pretty", but one I need to figure out.

Thoughts?

Stop Drop & Roll.

Evelyn and I went to tour a Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Station today with some friends. My goodness, they do SUCH a great job with the kids!! (Oh, did I mention that this was a free tour?) The ages of our kiddos ranged from 9 months to almost 7 years, and Fireman Zach was very good at talking with all of them. He made it very fun, exciting and interactive. He also was very honest with the kids and didn't sugar coat the need for learning fire safety. Although some of it was probably a bit scary for the kids to listen to, I think it was important for them all to hear it. Evelyn listened very intently and has been asking questions and talking about it most of the day. I would highly recommend doing this with your kids if you haven't. They also do birthday parties (again.. for free!)!!

Ready to go!! SO excited!

Little E, BIG Fire Truck!

Fireman Zack chatting about the hoses...

The troops listening to Zach

Juliet wasn't in a photo mood.. ;)

My good listener!

So.. when the alarms sound, they have less than 60 seconds to go from this...

to this.. fully suited up with 70+ pounds on them!!

Sitting in the firetruck... the big highlight for most of the kids!

Look out.. she's behind the wheel!

Evelyn and Juliet.. best buddies (and silly to boot!)

It was such a fun time and a learning experience for the kids (and honestly, I think the moms learned a TON, too.. I know I did!!). Just one of many reasons to support bond measures that in turn support these fine servants who protect us and are willing to risk their lives to save ours!!

Fair Time....

We took Evelyn to her very first fair on Sunday. We met up with Doug's parents and went to the State Fair in Salem. It was such a fun day and a great time spent with family.

I was hoping Evelyn would nap in the car on the way down. No such luck. So we just were hopeful she wouldn't melt down while we were there! Thankfully she did really well. We had to work on keeping her awake on the way back to Doug's parent's house, but other than that she rocked!! I think overall it was a bit overwhelming for her... it is a huge event. We might try a smaller county fair next time we do it.. we'll just see.

Here are some highlights...

Evelyn's favorite part of the fair? Eating her first ever ice cream cone!!

Of course we saw MANY animals. Her favorite was the baby pigs.. but I didn't get any pics of those.. go figure!!

My mother-in -law is an amazing seamstress and embroiderer. She won two blue ribbons this year!

Other shots from the afternoon.....

She walked most of the time, but occasionally caught a ride on daddy's shoulders!

It was a bit warm... glad to have water!!

Tractors are cool!!

I love my Grandma!!

Another favorite at the fair for my sweet pea? The "haystack"!! She really didn't want to get off!

Happy family at the fair!

Remember Me?

Um... yeah. Its been quite a while since I have posted. No reason to ramble on about excuses.. it is what it is. I really want to keep this blog going on a regular basis (I plan to turn it into a scrapbook or something for the kids when they get bigger) but man, its hard lately! But... time to just get back on the horse. Below are three.. yes, three new posts to start the catch up process!! I will do my best to keep it up!! Enjoy!

Pregnancy Update

I cannot believe I am 24 weeks already.. yet at the same time I find myself saying, "I'm only 24 weeks?" I really am not wanting to complain because I am SO thankful to be given this gift of life after trying for a while to complete our family. It is just a lot harder this time around.. for many reasons. I know I am doing too much, eating too much, and not sleeping enough.. I am just praying to finish out this pregnancy issue free and give birth to a healthy baby. My poor sweet husband has had to put up with A LOT of whining this go-around! He is amazing.. and I am truly not worthy!

And for those who don't know... it appears we are having a BOY! I am still trying to wrap my mind around that. I was honestly hoping for another girl.. for different reasons. As time goes on, tho, I am getting more and more excited to have a son. I'm not sure if I can handle the drama of two girls in the house! ;) Evelyn even has a name picked out for our little guy: "Bill". And she is serious about that. I'm still not quite sure where she came up with it, but it has stuck in her cute little mind. I am hoping her heart isn't too broken when we DON'T name him that.. heehee! Oh.. and if it was a girl, she wanted to name her "Lisa". Again... NO clue where she comes up with this stuff! ;) She is talking more about being a big sister and I am pretty sure she will fill that role beautifully!

One lesson we learned from our last pregnancy is, "Get as MUCH done as you can BEFORE the baby comes!!" We didn't heed that advice with Evelyn and sometimes wonder what on earth we did with all of our free time before she came along.. and why we didn't get more done!! ;) Needless to say we are on a mission to get quite a bit accomplished in the next 3 months!! Wish us luck!

Our little man at 20 weeks!