28 Weeks!

Time is marching on and I am now in my third trimester of pregnancy!

I feel 'big', but not really baby big, just big :)

I can hardly believe that in just a few short months we will be welcoming

Baby M into our home.

Now that I'm sporting a round middle the littles

are beginning to chat about Baby M with great excitement....

you know it seems all the more real when Mama's belly 

starts to get in the way of hugging and lap sitting;) 

This morning Ruth Ella told me that she is going to kiss all over the baby

just as soon as it "pops out"!

~Sweet girl if it was only so easy~

Some days the children talk of the baby referring to Baby M

as 'he' and other days they say 'she'...

I'm not really sure any of us have set our minds to one gender over the other.

Yet, one thing is for sure Baby M

is most definitely a boy or a girl:)

I'm enjoying this pregnancy and treasuring each flutter and kick.

No two pregnancies are alike, just as no two people are alike...

from pregnancy and baby #1 Elizabeth to now,

#12 Baby M each have been a blessing and I'm so thankful!

 

12 more weeks, give or take, to go....

 

 

Married....

 

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.  Genesis 2:24

 

~Wedding pictures coming soon~

Pre-Wedding Rush

Siesta Time :)

The past few days we have been in "high gear"! Many last minute items to take care of before the wedding! The preparation of the wedding and reception have all gone so smoothly, making it all the more exciting. It's a little after 11:00 PM here, most everyone is in bed...cause morning will come early :) Tomorrow will turn the page to a new chapter in the lives of our family. It will begin a whole new family Amanda and Joe, 2 will become 1!



We welcome your prayers for the wedding, and Amanda & Joe's future.

Blessings~
Laura

Mary Ann's...Tu-Tu Cute Birthday

Wednesday, May 8th

Mary Ann turned 2!!!!!

 

For Mary Ann's birthday the color was a no-brainer,

 we hear all day about her 2 favorite colors

Pink & Purple!

 

Sparkly, frilly, and all things "girl" would describe Mary Ann,

so her birthday theme had to match :)

 

Mary Ann's birthday theme was

~2-TU Cute Birthday~

 Mary Ann as she makes her grand entrance

into her birthday party!

 

We have several family birthday traditions,

one is the theme is kept as a surprise,

 another is the birthday person has to enter the kitchen 

while everyone is lined up singing Happy Birthday....

this is when the theme is unveiled  :) 

 

Mary Ann taking a peek at the gifts.....

She was so funny to watch....

This was her big day!!!!!

 

On the menu:

Breakfast for dinner...

*Scrabbled Eggs

*Bacon

*Bran Muffins

*Banana Bread

*Fruit Salad

*Orange Juice & Cranberry Juice

 

Candy:

*Mini Marshmallows

*Chocolate Chip Morsels

(Mary Ann's Favorites)

 

 

 

Dessert: 

We had a large strawberry cupcake with cream cheese icing,

and homemade strawberry smoothies...

some of us just opted for the smoothie :) 

 

 

 Miss Mary Ann

 Sweet....

 Silly...

 Happy...

 Serious....

 Totally Fun!!!!

 

 This is the moment Mary Ann had been waiting for, candles!

For several weeks Elizabeth had practiced with Mary Ann on blowing out a candle, this was the big day!

Mary Ann enjoyed the candles so much

 we decided to light them again,

 just so she could blow them out ;)

 

Happy Birthday

♥Miss Mary Ann♥

 

You truly are 2-TU Cute,

We love you so very much sweet girl!!!!!

Happy Mother's Day

 

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Psalm 127:3

Church Wedding Shower

 

Friday, April 26

Our church ladies gave Amanda a beautiful wedding shower.

The table was lovely,

 the food ~tasty~

 and the cake was almost to pretty to eat :)

 

We enjoyed a time of mingling and fellowship.

 

We had the pleasure of  2 sweet babies to attend the shower,

they were loved on by many.

Our church is small,

but one wouldn't have known by looking at the showering of gifts.

A Crock-Pot was tops on Amanda's list of items
she hoped to receive,

she was excited when she opened the Crock-Pot.

 

After opening gifts Amanda was presented with a small album.

The album contained note cards written by each lady, 

the cards were filled with words of encouragement and wisdom.

 What a blessing to be part of a church family
who offers such love and support.

Reality has hit!!!

Madison & Arthur the loading crew :)

In December May seemed so far away, yet, in reality it would be here faster than I thought. January ushered in  lots of new with thoughts of wedding prep, Baby #12, farm work and renovating, all mixed in with daily life, some special fellowship times along the way. Well, it's now May, Yikes! It came so quickly!!! Yesterday, Arthur and Madison packed up a U-Haul trailer with furniture, Amanda's personal belongings, and wedding/shower gifts. The packing and preparing for the move has been underway for over a week. So, with great excitement yesterday was the day to pack the trailer. The day was full with packing and celebrating Mary Ann's birthday...it didn't give this Mama to many moments to soak it in and reflect.

This morning after breakfast Arthur, Amanda, and Elizabeth  left to travel to Amanda and Joe's new home to take  ALL her stuff! This way after their Honeymoon they can travel home to settle into their new home with all their belongings waiting to set up house :) We are so very excited for them!

The littles and I watched as our truck pulled out of the driveway waving from the front door and living room windows. I smiled as I was so excited for Amanda, I looked downward and silently said another prayer for their travel safety. I looked up once again and found my mind begin to drift and a multitude of thoughts came flooding in. William began to talk to me as he looked out the window, and it was as if he were a million miles away from where I was, yet it was merely a matter of feet. I shook off my thoughts and came back to mind and body in the living room. I ask William to tell me once again what he had said, he said "it seems weird to be in this living room without the furniture (we gave it to A&J) and it's even weirder to think Amanda won't live here with us anymore"! OK, in an instant William was speaking what my heart and mind were thinking!!!! Sigh******* 

I told him I agreed, weird it would most definitely be! The littles all ran to play with Legos, which gave me a few moments to try and compose my very loose thoughts.

I stood in our living room looking around at the sparse furnishings, boxes of wedding items, and reception decorations that scatter across our bookshelf counter. I had a sinking feeling and took in a deep breath. With emotions bubbling to the surface I began to ponder why now, where did these emotions and feelings come from? For the past 5 months we have planned for the wedding, worked on/bought wedding stuff, talked of Amanda's moving away, seen pictures of and heard about possible homes they may live in, we talked about texting, calling, and visits, and chatted about Amanda and Joe's future. All of these things are happy positive thoughts, all of which I take great joy in. BUT TODAY....Ugh, today reality hit!!!!!!!! Amanda is leaving, not just leaving, but gone on her way with all her personal belongings!!!! Our Amanda, gone! WOW!!!! In less than a week she will become a wife!!! After a few moments of tears and purely selfish thoughts like....there won't be anymore girls nights out with my 3 big girls, she won't be sleeping in her bed, I'll be miss her silly giggling with her sisters, her prayers each morning, and I won't be able to hug her everyday.....I'm selfish and I'll miss her tremendously!!!! Moments pass, I hear pitter patter of little feet running down the hall, I wiped my tears and turned to see a chubby 2 year old standing in front of me with arms held up saying "hold you"! (translated means 'hold me') I pick up my rosy cheeked little one, give her a squeeze and smother her with kisses, because as I know time passes much to quickly! While cuddling my sweet little one, the thoughts of truth began to surface once again and I feel the "selfish side" fading away. I come back to the place in heart and mind of truth and truth is I'm excited and thrilled Amanda is getting married! I want a million things for Amanda, love and happiness being foremost....followed by all the other wonderful things marriage has to offer, like being a Mama one day and feeling the love for a child like I have for her!