NIAW

It's probably news to you, was to me, but it's National Infertility Awareness Week. Looking back at a year ago I would say it was one of the lowest times of my life. Years of infertility, the rollercoaster of emotions as you hope, wait, and then are disappointed again and again, wears on you emotionally, physically, and spiritually. If you haven't traveled the road of miscarriage and infertility it's hard to understand the depth of loss and countless other emotions. I encourage you to spend some time today praying for gals/couples you know who are experiencing the heartache of not being able to conceive. As we approach Mother's Day remember those who don't have anyone to call them "Mommy". For many this is the hardest day of the year. Pray for God's comfort and peace.

Got Closets!

This was the 'catch all' closet in the guest, now baby, room. This was after I cleared a bunch of stuff out of it. It's a great sized closet but hard to organize until...

Isn't it fabulous?!
Harvey really wanted to put in the wire rack system (way easier) but don't you think it was worth all of his hard work? We can just take out the side shelves for hanging longer clothes in the future.

This was Ryan's closet. It was hard to pick which side was worse, it was close. The doors were so heavy and didn't slide well. Ryan couldn't open them. Now...

he can get to everything!

Doors are a long way down the road. Hopefully it will help us keep it neat! : )

Harvey has ordered the shed! I can't believe that might get done before the baby comes. We can barely walk through our oversized garage, so hopefully we can get a lot into the shed. I attach sentimental value to everything! I know that Harvey dreams of taking all my boxes to the dump when I'm not looking. (Truth be told, I have reason to fear this! Just ask me sometime). I told him as soon as he builds me a built in china cabinet I can put away all of the boxes of dishes! : ) Of course this requires him to remodel the kitchen and dining rooms. I think our cars need to just accept that they will always be outdoor cars!

IR-4

We received our IR-4 yesterday. I called our agency to see what this was/means. It is a visa approval for the baby. She said it was a 'big deal', meaning everything on this side of the pond is done. It's now up to Korea to get their side done. We are still hoping for a June arrival but know that it could be a little longer.

Harvey has been working really hard on the closets. The baby's only needs rods put in and then I can start putting things back in...all organized! Ryan's needs some touch up paint and rods and then his gets put back together. As soon as they are done I'll post some pictures. Doors may take a while so I guess I'll have to keep organized. : ) I think the shed is next on the list! Who knew writing a list would get so much done? I'm definitely going to keep the list idea going!

Shelves

This morning I got in my paint clothes and went outside to start on the shelves. Harvey had all of the boards out and was painting...the last board! I cleaned out Ryan's closet so Harvey could prep the walls. I can't believe how much stuff I had stacked in there! His closet has a strange half wall on the side so Harvey decided to make it into a secret hiding spot with a little lid. Don't tell anyone! How fun for a kid.

It was such a hot day that Ryan and I stayed inside and played games. This is the weather that helps us enjoy our enormous oak trees. Our house stays pretty cool during the day. Ryan got several new games for his birthday. I am so happy to have something other than Cars to play with! Of course he had to take several "Cars breaks" but didn't make me do the announcing while they were racing.

"The Four-man"

We had a fun construction party for Ryan's 4th birthday. This is the first time we invited just the 'big' kids and had mom and dad drop them off. Gramma and our aunties helped with games and everyone did great. (You can never know for sure how 15 three and four year olds are going to do!) Here are a few pictures so you can imagine all of the fun:

"FOUR-Man"

Sand dig for lost animals

Mommy's first theme cake!

(Ryan saw a digger cake at Safeway about three months ago and that is all he wanted for his birthday).

Closet progress: I've gotten the baby's closet primed and painted. Tomorrow I'll paint all of the shelves. Harv has prepped the walls for Ryan's closet so it will need paint too. I'm so looking forward to getting the closets done!

Ryan was over at my aunt's and told his cousins that he was going to be getting married. They asked him if he was going to get married now and he said "No, I'm only 4". So they asked him when he would get married. He said, "When I'm 5". : ) I hope it's a long engagement!

This will make your day!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnmbJzH93NU

For some reason they won't let you embed this in a post. I've watched this about half a dozen times! Watch the whole video, I promise it's worth your time. You'll want to pass it on.

Allergies, allergies!

I haven't had my "How to download pictures/upload pictures" lesson yet so this is another pictureless blog. It's so much better to have pictures! I'll try to learn soon (just adding that to Harvey's list!) : )

Ryan was a trooper at the allergist as usual. I planned better this time and had cars, books, and a game. I brought my camera but forgot to take a picture of his back. I was hoping to show you smooth, clear, baby soft skin but unfortunately he added two new allergies! He did pass shellfish. On the positive side it is progress, but that is such an easy one to avoid! I was really hoping for the egg, knowing dairy was unlikely. His little back was so red and swollen. We found out that he is also allergic to a group of trees, including oak (have you seen the size of our three oak trees?) and grasses (not lawn fortunately). We are, of course, always grateful that he has only had hives and dry skin as a result.

Happy Easter!

We had sun...and some wind...but the kids played outside and that is what I was hoping for. This is a painstaking blog entry...about a half hour before friends starting showing up I cut my thumb and finger pretty deeply. Anyone who knows me well knows that meant I had to lay down immediately. It really doesn't seem to matter the amount of blood, I get faint. Right now I'm at the throbbing stage. I felt better, (well, not in the pain relief sense) when Harvey looked at it later and said "wow, that's pretty deep and in a bad place"...the nearly passing out is a little less embarrassing. I did manage to pull it together in time to finish hiding the eggs for the egg hunt (leaving Harv with the rest of the potatoes to cut up and the dishes). I think we had about 500 eggs this year. Harvey wasn't too pleased with my empty egg idea, so he spent most of the morning filling eggs with candy and money. No wonder the kids like Uncle Harvey!

I can't believe Ryan turns 4 tomorrow. He has been the greatest joy to us. Tonight he asked, "Do I have to do to everything by myself when I'm four?" ( I have been telling him that when he is four he has to wash his hands by himself. He seems to pick and choose when he wants to wash his hands.) I told him that there are lots of things that I'll help him do, but that he's getting bigger and can do more on his own. (makes Mommy a little sad) He replied, "But I'll always play with cars!" That may be true!

I think my favorite memory today is when his little friend J. came a little late so he started helping her find some of the hidden eggs others had missed. He started shaking the small trees so the eggs would come down for her. A close second was watching the kids dancing on the hearth (is that the word for the area in front of the fireplace?) Ryan ran into his room and grabbed his 'flute' from Thailand and started playing it, of course while wearing his Lightning McQueen helmet (which he wore almost the whole day). Isn't four when they start wearing their Halloween costume to Safeway all the way through January and telling the silliest jokes which make absolutely no sense? I can't wait! : )

The kids had lots of fun in the new sandbox. More stayed in than I expected. (Sand I mean)

Tomorrow we go see Ryan's allergist. I know...what kind of mother would make her child go to a two hour Dr. appt. on his birthday so he can get poked a dozen times? Well, I decided to take the appt. because these long ones are harder to come by, Ryan is thrilled because he gets a new car, and what a great gift if he actually passes one of these! I am preparing myself for another year, but I am sooooo hoping he can finally have eggs, or any off of our list.

Now it is time to get ready for Ryan's 'digger' party!

Package for Baby!

Another family from our agency is leaving soon to pick up their child and they graciously offered to take a Ziplock bag full of treasures to our baby. I have spent the last three days carting Ryan around to find just the right presents. I wanted to send a suitcase full of things! I managed to squeeze in two outfits, two disposable cameras (please take pictures for us Foster Mom), a photo album with Mommy, Daddy, and Big Brother, two small toys, a Silky, a smaller silky with a little bear attached (picked out by Ryan), and a small book. (By the way, it was a gallon size not a quart. It's impressive but not a miracle). Packing has always been a sort of gift. When I was in YWAM I would just have people put whatever they wanted to bring on the bed and I would fit it. I think I learned it as a survival technique after my younger brother had helped me once before I went on a trip. His method was to look through my stuff and say, "You don't need this, or this, you only need three pairs of shorts in HAWAII." Well, turns out you need way more than three pairs of shorts in Hawaii when you live there for three months! You need like two dozen! So now I pack everything I need, even if it takes a vacuum. I tried to get one more outfit in, yes, I got the vacuum out and made Harvey hold the bag while I tried to get the air out to have enough room...but no go.

The closet has been cleaned out, all the 'shelves' and wood pieces taken out. Tomorrow I get to paint the new shelves while Harvey does the patch work. (By the way, I offered to fill and patch and I got turned down). Once the closet is done I can hang the extra outfit on a real rod. Putting the bag together has really helped me feel like he is coming soon. It was fun to know what I wanted for him and to find it. I almost spent $45 on a Silky I didn't really like (desperate) and found exactly what I wanted on the way home at Tuesday Morning for $6. The little guy might not be into a silky, but he needs to have a lovey from his momma (who slept with it by the way). (So it has my smell...does that actually work)?

Ryan's thoughts on God: "I don't hear God. Well, I do hear in my head." What did He say? "Be a good boy. Goodbye." I have to write these down because that was too cute! Jesus is so polite. I can't believe my baby is almost four. I think there are many more quotable moments ahead in the next year! Are you writing down your kid's funny thoughts?

So we are having almost 4o for Easter. (17 children under 4). Please let it be sunny!!

Please pray for Harvey to get over this sinus infection. It's been a few weeks and is still terrible. He has been on antibiotics so many times and they don't seem to help so he hasn't wanted to go to the doctor.

Got Sand?

A three year old and a dump truck...!

Ryan and his friend K. helped Daddy take sand to the backyard...

it's a little sandy along the way!




HAPPY!



Happy, Happy!!

(How long does sand actually stay in a sandbox?)

Despite the flu and yet another sinus infection, Harvey gets to check off another job on the list. Now it's time to do the closets. Once the closet is done I can start putting the baby's room together. Could the bathroom get done this summer?! I guess it depends if I add anything else to the list. I haven't been sunbathing while Harvey works, I have filled three large yardwaste cans with weeds. I found two Easter eggs! I'm a pretty good hider. The playdough was still good, but the candy was not so good.

So the theology questions have begun. While driving to the farmer's market Ryan asked, "Why doesn't Jesus listen to me?" I said, "He does, what did you ask Him?" "To put the sun in my lap." Hmmm, ....It's a good thing that Jesus always listens, but that He doesn't always do what we ask!