Only 11 more pounds until I'm back to my pre-Hayden weight! Wahoo!!

This has been one of the best summers I've had since I was a kid. Isaiah and Makenna are at such a great age to be able to go places, have loads of fun and not be too high maintenance. Hayden does pretty good also. Since he is so small, he only needs food and changing and the rest of the time is fairly easy, unless he has an upset belly. Don't get me wrong. Having 3 kids is challenging and I definitely have my work cut out for me but it's so wonderful.
Our summer fun began with swimming lessons at the Y. They both did so great! I wish they could continue through the remainder of the summer but at the same time I'm happy it's over because it was hard to get everyone there by 9:30 since we're on the baby's eating schedule. Since swimming lessons are over, Makenna is going to G-Gmaw's (great grandma's) for art lessons once a week. It's pretty much the most priceless thing in the world. Not many kids get the opportunity to spend quality time like that with a great grand parent. I hope she gets to keep doing it as long as grandma's health doesn't get any worse than it is now.
As a reward for doing so well with swimming lessons, we're going on a mini-vacation to spend a couple days at a water park. It's coming up real quick! I have to get myself prepared for this. I'm excited to be able to go but it will be my first time getting things ready for 5 people to be away from home for 4 days. Hopefully we won't forget anything...or anyone...ha!
I'm looking forward to the next month!

Party of Five

What a great journey this is turning out to be! I love being a mother of 3 kids. It's has its ups and downs but it sure is great. I wouldn't trade it for anything at all.
Some days are really hard with Nate still working 24 hour shifts but I'm learning how to handle the different things that come. It's pretty much just a process of learning everything about this new little boy and learning how to meet the needs of everyone else at the same time. It's kind of like juggling I guess. It's difficult, takes a lot of practice, but if you're serious about learning, you'll get it. Then, once you've learned, you can add more things and do better! So, I'm learning to juggle this party of five.
Did I mention how precious Hayden is? I love him so much. He's such a great baby. His hair is red like Makenna's was when she was a baby. I'm hoping it either stays red or turns darker so I'm not totally surrounded by blondies (:
It's not fun trying to keep up with this lack of sleep but we're making it. He lets me get a good 3 hours of straight sleep some nights with a couple other stretches that run 1 1/2 - 2 hours. This, too, shall pass. Hopefully before school starts back in August.
...I'm in love and another piece of my heart has been stolen. I love him <3

I'm really blessed to be a part of this party of five!

I feel like I'm about to pop but I've only gained 20 pounds. I thought I had gained more but I can't remember how much I weighed 9 months ago. It's ok. This extra weight will be gone soon. Hopefully tomorrow will be the last full day of pregnancy I will ever experience. That's a rather bitter sweet thought actually. I love being able to give life to someone but this is probably the last time because my body has had a really hard time with it this time. The end is near! But then it all begins :)

I'm ready...as ready as I can be. Please, baby boy, come out and let us meet you. We are all four more anxious than we can stand. I've read all there is to read about breast feeding and how to make it work the best for us, I've sewn and made every possible thing I can think to make, all the bills are paid until June gets here, the refrigerator is spotless, there's always laundry to do..., sleep isn't working out all that well anyway, I have everything beside my bed that I might need when I'm awaken through the night, the rocking chair looks and feels amazing since I've redone the cushions. Anything else? Oh yes, I guess we might want the kitchen table to be finished. That project got a little bit bigger than I intended. It should be finished tomorrow hopefully.
Come on little guy. We just want to love on you!

Isaiah's kindergarten program was so precious. It only lasted about 20 minutes but it was packed full of different cute songs that all the kindergarten classes did together. He doesn't normally participate when a group of kids are on stage singing together but he did SO GOOD. I'm a proud mommy!
Do parents normally tear up during these kinds of things? I tried to hide it when I got a little teary thinking that maybe it's the fact that I have 2 weeks of pregnancy left and I'm a basket case anyway, but then Nate told me in the car that he got teary during the performance and that made me feel a whole lot better about it and made me feel normal.

To top it all off...Makenna has her first loose tooth!!! I wiggled it today to confirm that it's loose and we both bounced and squealed like girls do :) Yay!!

Yes

I am totally blown away by saying "yes" to God. Why do we doubt him to begin with?
There are so many things about my past that I would like to erase and forget about forever and not be able to look back on it for any reason at all. However, I know that God see's that a little bit differently.
I have decided to say yes to him working in my life and through my life and he's taking all the chances he seems to get to prove that it's the best decision I could have made.
I've been given two opportunities just this week to hand out a piece of my heart to two different women to reassure them that God loves them where they are. The first one was so great to be a part of and watch God open her eyes right in front of me. The second is still in the making. I'm not sure what's going to happen but she is living the exact life that I have lived. There's pretty much nothing different about hers and mine. I suppose the only difference is that right now, she is where I was two years ago. God has done so much to prove himself to me in these past two years and I'm so ready to pour my heart out to her so she can know it and have this same redemption that I have.
If anyone reads this, just say yes.