It's the small stuff...

Today I opened a tub of Samuel's baby clothes and the smell of mold and cedar wafted out. Ah, the smells of my bedroom from my time in Guatemala! Blame it on sleep deprivation or hormones, but I got all sentimental. It wasn't just the memories that the smells brought back, but realizing that just yesterday Samuel fit into those 6-9M clothes! It is cliche to say, but wow, it goes fast and that makes me sad!

More small stuff... today I also had my first outing with no children in six weeks. I made a grocery run completely alone! It's amazing how easy it is to get in and out of the car with only yourself to worry about. Soon I'll be leaving the boys more than I'd like. I have one more week of maternity leave and then go back to work for the last six weeks of the semester. Leaving Andy and figuring out the nursing/bottle bit is daunting, but I know lots of women do it successfully! My other worry is that I'll be able to teach effectively with the clouded brain I have lately. I blame it on sleep deprivation, but I can be pretty socially awkward these days as space out or struggle to find the word I need, etc. I'll get used to it, right?

And not so small stuff...Andy's weighing in off the charts as of his one month appointment. He's 13 pounds 10 ounces!

Children of God

Love this video from Third Day...

One in 100 for Kairos!

I've shared a lot about Kairos Christian School in Guatemala over the past couple of years. The mission of the school is close to our heart - to educate and minister to impoverished children and families in Guatemala. The school has grown rapidly and is currently critically low on finances. While the school has been blessed with many generous one time gifts, they are in need of faithful monthly contributors in order to have a stable budget.

We are working with others in the KC area on a One in 100 campaign this month. We are looking for 100 individuals who can commit to $100 a month. If you are interested in being a part of this initiative, please contact me and I will get you more information. Obviously, the students and staff at Kairos would be greatly blessed by our prayers and by financial support of any amount.

To see more of the school, here is the link to our church's blog. It shares pictures and stories from the 2010 and 2009 Guatemala trips to work with Kairos.

TV Confessions

I'm not much of a TV watcher. Jimmy wishes I were, but there are just few programs that I've gotten into. I have watched Grey's Anatomy faithfully, but that's about it (ok, and if I'm being honest, I've watched more of The Bachelor than is good for anyone). However, having a newborn gives me a whole new appreciation for the DVR. I have tried reading while nursing, but Andy's squirmy, so TV it is. In the last few weeks, I have gotten all caught up on bad TV shows. With foster baby, I got hooked on The Hills- yes, super trashy, I know, but it was on at 3 or 4 in the morning! I think I watched all of the seasons. The most intriguing show I stumbled on this weekend was the TLC reality show Sister Wives. Have you seen this show? I catch myself watching it thinking "Why am I watching this?" The man has four wives- FOUR! And I think sixteen kids! I can't imagine the couple's counseling needed to survive that on a daily basis! The women talk about how it is sometimes hard for them... you think? Wow... I need to find something else to watch and pray that Andy starts sleeping more! I got two three hour stints last night and feel like a whole new woman today. We'll see if that can happen more than one night in a row!

And just for fun... Samuel was "sharing" with baby brother...

Andy...

Thanks to Miss Blair, we have some fabulous pictures of Andy! He is a big and happy baby. At his two week check up, he had gained 1 lb 5 oz in a week- the doctor was very impressed- so he's close to 11 pounds and isn't going to last long in the 0-3M sized clothes!

Even with bouts of stir-craziness and sleep deprivation, I love having two boys. Through the whole pregnancy I was subconsciously still waiting for something to go wrong. Getting pregnant was such a surprise that I think I was in disbelief it was really going to result in another child. So with Andy here and healthy, I am in awe of the blessing of this child and of the very different stories he and Samuel have of how God brought them to us.

Because so many of my friends had gone through pregnancy before and because I'd done a decent amount of reading, I felt as "prepared" as possible for delivery and a newborn. After all, I'd been with Samuel at a fairly young age and we had fostered a newborn last summer. Well, I have to say I've had my fair share of post-delivery surprises. First of all, with foster baby, Jimmy and I shared feeding duties. Therefore I slept a good amount at night. None of this getting up every two hours or so business! And so many pregnancy books end with the delivery... or maybe that's just as far as I read. Or maybe because that is all TLC's Baby Story shows, I just ignored the whole recovery piece. So I was blissfully unaware of how your body gets hijacked by sleep deprivation, nursing, and the other gross details I won't mention. The whole C-section incision and recovery has also been more involved than I thought. So my plans of trying to train for Hopsital Hill in June may not be oh-so-realistic... maybe the 10K, but I don't think I'll be going for the 1/2 marathon at this point.

I have four more weeks off before I head back to teaching. I miss my students, but love being home. My heart hurts at the thought of leaving the boys in April, but at least it will just be 6-7 weeks and then I'm off for summer. We're re-evaluating if I'll go back to work in the fall or not. Love my job, but LOVE these boys more!

Random side note- anyone read CHOOSING TO SEE by Mary Beth Chapman? I just finished it this week! SOO good. It clearly deals with their adoption stories and the loss of one of their daughters, but I was surprised that it is really just Mary Beth's life story and her struggles/challenges. I loved her honesty and transparency. I highly recommend it!