RETREAT!!!

Last night Ridgeline Community Church sent its staff wives on a retreat to San Diego! We stayed at the Hilton in Gaslamp and had a great time. Of course, there was shopping involved and really good Mexican food! Here is a pic of our girls - Jen, Nicole and Me.

ALSO . . . Matt sent me a text this morning about something Jayci said and it made me worry a little bit. He sent it at 9:08 and he school starts at 9 am on MWF. I called him and asked if he had already dropped Jayci off and he freaked! He completely forgot it was a school day. He sped home to get her "closed-toed" shoes and raced to school. I told him to just tell the teachers and they would all laugh and get a real kick out of that. They did . . . .I can't wait to see them on Friday. Jayci told him she needed her hair fixed and he told her he didn't know how so they would just have to wing it today. Bless her heart. She seemed fine when I got home. And yes, I did call him at noon to make sure he picked her up. Other than that and Cade playing in the toliet last night, he seemed to do fine with them.

Such a Pretty Boy

As you can see, Cade likes to dress up in his sister's dress up clothes. His favorite things are her beads. He takes as many as he can and wears them around like Mr. T without the gold. He has recently taken interest in this hat and her apron. Matt detests this practice and refuses to believe that it's only a phase. I try to tell him Cade just wants to play with his sister and this is the best way to be included. This is not a sufficient answer. So in order to appease him (and reduce fighting) I made Cade his own apron. Instead of the purple with lace he sports his red and white check apron while "grillin'," or as they say in Cali, "barbequing". It's so cute!!!

Speaking of sewing . . . . I have a favorite new blog! Check out secretstitchclub.blogspot.com. They have so many ideas and great tutorials. I've found how to make "Hooter Hiders" and links to make headbands and diaper/wipes pouches. Their favorite thing is aprons and they are really cute! The tutorials are awesome and very easy to follow. Check it out . . . even if you're not a big sewer . . . it's easy and fun!

It's Another . . . .

GIRL!!! We had our sonogram on Friday and found out that we are expecting another little girl. We got a few 3D pictures and even some 4D ones too.

This is of her footprints. The sono tech must have known how much I love little baby feet to take this pic.

The top photo here is in 4D. Those things are so awesome! She was being a little stubborn and wouldn't turn so we could see her face. This is as close as we got. The gold ring on the top of her head is from the little wand the tech used. I like to think it's her little halo. I told the sono tech that we could come back at 9:30 some night and she'd be happy to wiggle. . . . . that's her favorite time to dance.



Here's a good profile pic.


They said everything looked good and normal. I have to go back in 4 weeks because they didn't get any good pics of the heart. We saw it several times but just not at the angle that allows them to see what they need to see. She was laying across me with her back to outside and the spine was blocking a good view of the 4 chambers, etc. They should be able to see it all when I go back. Maybe she'll roll around by then.

Beauty From Rashes??

Remember that old contemporary Christian song, "Beauty from Ashes" by Crystal Lewis, I think. Anyway, it's been on my mind lately but a little differently . . . you see I have this weird red rash-like thing around my mouth and I know it's totally from pregnancy. I asked my doctor about it and she has no idea. At least it's not pregnancy mask. I've heard that is awful. I'm hoping this will turn into Beauty from Rashes.

I know God can do beautiful things out of the ugly. . . i've seen it personally twice now and I'm sure he will surprise me again. This pregnancy has been quite different from the last 2 but God is the same God. He will do beautiful things when we are least expecting them. I'm betting that includes precious babies from ugly pregnant women. Let's hope so!

. . . the darndest things . . .

You know we all have those hillarious things our kids say and do. Well, here's a couple from our 2 comedians:

On Monday at the grocery store Jayci had an accident. Since Cade's had a little issue with that lately, I was concerned Jayci had caught the bug too. Off we raced to the bathroom! Well, if you could have been a fly on the wall in there!!! I had to get Cade out of the cart since you aren't supposed to take those things in there. (Don't worry. Since then I've decided that rule is meant to be broken.) So here I am - one kid, poop all over herself, and the other, paci in mouth freely walking around in the handicap stall. Ok, we start shredding Jayci's clothes, shoes, etc. and put her on the potty. But before I can get that done I hear her say, "No, Cade. Mommy look what Cade did." He has put her shoes in the potty! EW! Then I realize someone's going to have to reach in there and get them out . . . yes, that's the Mommy's job. EW! EW! It was a crazy 20 minutes in the bathroom but all's well that ends. I washed J's shoes in the sink (She refused to wear them until I did) and we finished our shopping. I guess I can laugh about it someday but I'm still grossed out!

And then . . . .Yesterday, Jayci was playing with some toys and something wasn't working out like she wanted it to. She said, "Why am I having such a hard time with everything today??" It sounded so familiar that it scared me but I did take time to laugh and write it down. She is growing up too fast!!!

First Day of School!!!

Jayci started preschool this week and is really enjoying it. She goes 3 days a week and just in the mornings as she still needs a nap EVERY day. The first day she was a little apprehensive but did fine and didn't even realize that I was not in the room anymore. The next day I dropped her off and she said, "Bye, Mom." She didn't even want me to stay long enough to sign her in. She is so independent. Her favorite activities are painting, playing with shaving cream, and washing the babies during their outside time. She is so big.

Cade and I are enjoying the time together too. He is getting more naps and that means I am getting more down at home. However, until the Olympics are over, I will not be 100% effective. I find myself sitting on my butt staring at NBC most of the day. BTW, you should DVR the Olympics. it is the most awesome way to watch! You can skip all the other competitors and events you aren't interested in. Also FF through all the instant replays - YUK!

Life feels somewhat normal now and like it might settle down to a rhythm i can keep up with. Of course, I'll get a pace just about the time little Sprout gets here. Oh well, it will be nice to feel normal if only for a moment.

Lots of Love!

Technical Difficulties

So I missed a week of posting for you. Sorry about that - we've had some technical difficulties at our house. Our electricity in the kitchen freaked out this week, getting extremely bright before going out altogether. Matt was cleaning the floors when this happened (he wants full credit for cleaning and not just standing) and he said it was like being in a tanning bed. So the lights went out completely for a day and then just came on when they felt like it for the next day. The electrician came by and of course, they worked so we have no idea what's wrong. He did fix a couple of the outlets that were out though.

All that to say . . . it screwed up my computer and our modem for a few days and I was unable to get online.

History - NO we didn't feel the earthquake that was a couple of weeks ago in LA. Everyone around here did. One lady I talked to was actually thrown out of the boat and into the lake. WOW! We were in the car, of course. Matt was devastated. He is desperate to feel a big one. I could care less. Give me a tornado any day over an earthquake. At least there's some prediction in those.

Jayci touched the burner on the stove top and burned her hand pretty bad a couple of weeks ago. It immediately blistered and I took her to urgent care. They put some fancy cream on it and wrapped it pretty good. I guess it wasn't too bad since they didn't refer us anywhere. She is fine now but insists that she still has a hurt hand and can't wash/dry it properly.

She is doing so well at swimming lessons though. This week she jumped out, went under the water, turned around and reached back for the side. I was SHOCKED! She usually freaks about going all the way under. We switch teachers this week and I'm a little nervous about that. She's only there for a few more weeks and then preschool!!

Cade is hilarious! He is saying so many things these days! Just today Matt took them to the pet store while I was in the craft store and he pointed to a clown fish and said, "Memo." We were amazed. Some of his other favorites: "Big Boy" - in which he holds his hands high over his head, " . . . .LO" - every time the phone rings, and my favorite, "Go, go, go!" when I turn any baseball game on TV.

Pictures next time!