Maura Family News

Catching up... again :)

2010-10-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

So I am obviously not good at this blogging thing. I haven't written in a long time. In all fairness we just moved, again! We finally have internet. So its Thursday night and all the boys are asleep so I thought I would sign on. Even though I have a sink full of dinner dishes, I need to blog tonight.

So we moved to Fl in march right, it was going so great. Everything seemed to be falling into place. We were very happy here. Then July came. We had known that my husbands father was sick for a while, but one night we got the phone call. You know the one, the "you need to pack up and come home, its not going to be long" phone call. Thanks to a blessing from the Lord we were on (separate) planes headed back to PA. I'm sure you all know what happened when we got there, within a few days our dad went to be with the Lord. July 28th, 2010. This has been the hardest day for me and I cannot even imagine what my husband and his siblings are feeling. This was a man who has been there for me for the past 10 years. We had a good relationship. (i think?) Always cracking jokes, making fun, Dad was always teasing me for something. I have so many memories of this one person that influenced my life so much. I am so grateful that God put someone so amazing in my life for such a long time. I am having a very hard time letting go. I have never grieved this much in my life. I feel like I lost my very own father. He was a father, He was always there for me. When I wanted to talk, ask questions about the Lord, talk about the bible, I could always call him. He is such a good picture of what my heavenly father is like. Dad taught me so much. Most of you know that we shared the same birthday, every year we would call each other up, happy birthday!!! I loved celebrating with him and the family. It made my birthday so much more special. My birthdays will never be the same. No one to call to say happy birthday too, no more funny cards to pick out, no more picking up the phone to call when I have a question or can't understand my husband.... I'm left with these memories, I try to remember all the funny things that happened, all the laughs, all the big stuff. I wish I could bottle it and hold on to it forever. A friend told me to rejoice because God keeps his promises and Dad is in heaven, so i will see him again one day. Will it be the same? Will he know who I am? Now I am left with pictures and memories, I love talking to my children about their pappy who loved them so much. It breaks my heart knowing that Hezekiah will never know pappy and how awesome he was. You know typing this, I remember the first time hezekiah smiled was when dad was holding him earlier this year. His face lit up with Joy, getting his 12th grandchild to smile for the first time. Priceless. I still cry most everyday, I don't want to ever forget all the fun we had. Wow how blessed am I?

So we moved from sanford to a town called Debary. We love it here. Our pastor is renting us a house, it is a dream come true. Its so cool to look back and see how God works all things out. The boys are doing great. Jacob just turned 5 and he is writing his name and even starting to write letters to people! So fun! Noah is 2.5 and is a ball of energy! Loves his big brother and always wants to be around him. Hezekiah is 10 months old already! Wow! where does the time go? He is crawling like crazy, climbing, walking along stuff. He does more and more each day. I see him watch his brothers like "hey wait for me" so cute. Everything else is great. Keep our family in your prayers and we continue this journey! Thanks for reading and check back soon.

Lost..............

2010-05-24T06:52:00.000-07:00

So we don't have a television so we have been watching LOST on our computer after the kids go to bed at night. We are still on season one and last night while we were watching I was overcome with sadness. It has been almost 4 months since we lost my mom-mom. It seems like forever ago but I think that's because I remove myself when sadness comes my way. I have a way of kind of tuning out the world when trouble comes. I was watching the episode where this girl was sitting there looking at her dead brothers body, I just felt such sadness. Like I knew exactly how she felt. I was in her situation only 4 short months ago. I still can't believe that she is gone.

We didn't have the best relationship over the past few years, lots of family issues that is a bit of every ones fault. She always tried to be the one to "fix" the family or at least get us all in the same room long enough to have some "family time". I was with her just 2 days before she passed. She came to my house to see the boys like she usually did. Mom-mom would come over once a week to play with Jacob and Noah. This time it was just Jacob. Noah was sleeping. jacob played with mom-mom for about an hour before she left. We got in a tiff that day. I don't even remember what it was about. Our personalities didn't go well, she liked to smooth things over and I like to resolve conflicts. Those two don't go well together. Anyway we exchanged some words and then she left, I thought I was going to see her the next week. To tell you the truth I almost told her that she couldn't come over that day, I didn't want to deal with whatever she was gonna bring over. Something just told me to let her come, I believe as I look back that it was God giving me one more chance to talk to her. We used to have a good relationship I guess although when your child and not able to speak your mind you get along well with everyone. We spent much time together, My dad was working a lot so I was always with others. Anyway I realized why I was crying last night, Maybe I didn't do a good enough job of sharing the gospel with her. As far as I know she never really "accepted" Jesus. People think you can get to heaven if your a good person. Why do we need Jesus if we can go to heaven based on our own good? Why do we need someone to "save us"? and from what? I think people who ignore this fact are too scared to admit that there is a hell. Deep down they know there is a possibility of hell. They are too prideful to admit that there life is not their own. People want to do what they want to, live how they want to. No one can deny that Jesus Christ lived, that's history. Or that he died on the cross. The cross was the penalty reserved for the worst people. That was considered the ultimate punishment. hmmm.... is it a coincidence that a sinless perfect man died the worst death? suffered the worst torment? Jesus took the punishment for the absolute worst crimes you could commit. Why?? So we might have everlasting life....

You see the bible says " no one comes to the father except through me". So if Jesus didn't die on that cross and suffer the worst penalty there is, we would have no way to see God. Now I don't have a bible in front of me and I can't quote scripture, this is coming from my heart. Just like in society if he break the law we get fines, go to jail, etc. When we sin we are breaking Gods law. God doesn't allow sin into heaven, it is reserved for the perfect. Well God also says in the bible that "all fall short of the glory of God" I think it might say that all have sinned and need a savor. Not 100 % about that one. We all know about the 10 commandments, whether you believe in God or not you have probably heard of some of them. Anyway God says if u break one commandment than you break them all. So just like in society there is consequences for our actions. So who deserves Hell more a murderer or someone who commits adultery? Someone who goes to every baseball game that their child has or the workaholic parent? Answer: All of the above, everyone of those people has sinned. Remember we all have fallen short. God doesn't let any sin into heaven no exceptions. So we have Jesus this perfect man who gets beat, tortured, and hung on a cross to pay the price for every sin, every shortcoming, every bad decision, every selfish act, every situation gone wrong. From the picture perfect parent to the convicted murderer, his death covers them all!!

when I sat down to blog it was to write about my mom-mom and something in me took over. I know now that this entry was for me, I have been praying for assurance that I am going to heaven. That I do have the holy spirit, well I got an answered prayer. I couldn't write this if I wasn't God's child. We as people are to selfish and prideful. I know I am damned without Christ. So is everyone else. Jesus says " I Am the way, the truth, and the Life, whoever believes in ME should not parish but have everlasting life"! Paraphrasing of course, remember no bible :) Anyway this post has helped me and I hope that it helps others to realize the truth. Would someone devote their whole life and everything in to something that doesn't exist?

rain rain go away....

2010-05-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

well today it rained on and off all day until about 5pm. we stayed inside and hung out until it was nice enough to get outside. We rounded up some of the neighbor kids and had a water balloon fight. Water balloons go fast with kids. They were gone so fast I couldn't take any pics! Russ went up to one of the bedrooms with his own stash of balloons and started throwing them at the kids! they loved it, they begged him to throw buckets of water on them. They had such an awesome time and we did too. Got our mind off things and helped us enjoy time that we have together.

Russ had another interview today. They said that they would let him know in about 2 weeks. They always say that and then don't call back. Overall Russ thought that the interview went well. We will see if they call. We have to remember that the Lord will give us a job in His timing, not in ours. We are still doing alright financially, after all we "planned" for this. Its just getting hard to be home, we are running out of things to do. Overall its been really good spending time together and witnessing to the neighbors.

I had been praying for a few weeks about some sort of outreach to the community and the church we are attending said that they would give us the funds to do a backyard bible club once a week. We will be starting June 10th and going for 10 weeks. We will be teaching the kids in the community about the Lord. We are going to have some crafts and snacks. Its going to be awesome! I am so excited to see what the Lord will do here. Thanks to all that were praying for us. Please continue to be in prayer about the job situation. There is not one doubt in our minds that this is the place for us.

Here are a few pics from today. Thanks MOM for the water balloons! They were a huge hit!

Well its been a month......

2010-04-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

Well we have been here exactly 4 weeks today. The Lord has done so many things in the short amount of time that we have been here. Our family has grown closer which has been awesome. Russ has been eating wheat since we came here with no side effects. God has truly healed him, in the past when Russ would eat something that was even contaminated with a small amount of wheat he would get sick and it would take him days to recover. Now he is eating it like crazy, Russ has already gained 11 lbs which is a blessing because he had lost about 30lbs when he first got sick. Jacob and Noah have been doing great and just loving florida and they love waking up to sunshine. I am going well, this new life in Florida is what I have been waiting for my whole life. Its so neat how life has changed. I believe now that one of the reasons the Lord had us move here is to really start the healing process on me. Russ even commented on how I am such a different person now that I am two thousand miles away from the constant drama. We are enjoying the bible teaching church that we are going to. It is small and like a family. Everyone has been awesome and has made us feel like family. We are still praying for a job for Russ, not just any job but the right one. A job where Russ can use the talents that God gave him. I know Russ will use any job that he gets to glorify God. For now we are all enjoying the time together. We have been trying to minister to the neighbors. Where we live in Sanford is not exactly "hellertown, Pa". We are one of the only white families here and there has been some crime in our community. We are confident that the Lord brought us to this community for a reason so we are doing our best to be an example and show the love of Christ. Please continue to pray for us that we would know and carry out the Lords will for our lives. Also that the Lord would provide a job for Russ and that He would give us patience to wait until its in His time. Thanks for reading! I will post some pics soon...

we have arrived

2010-04-06T16:11:00.000-07:00

Well we arrived in FL and we have been here for about 10 days. We are just about settled in and Russ already had a job interview! Praising God for the practice! We have had mostly work days here, cleaning up the house, applying for jobs, getting insurance, etc. But we had a few fun days too. We went to the beach last wed. We had a great time, it only cost us $5.oo for all of us and we parked right on the beach. Its not like Jersey where you waste all that money to park and even more money to go onto the beach. Then yesterday we went on a timeshare tour where they paid us after we were all done, so we took that money and went to downtown disney to eat at this fun place called T rex. It was like this dinosaur themed restaurant, the boys had an awesome time. Then we walked around the marketplace and had some family time. It was a good, long day. Anyway, no job yet but its only been 10 days. Keep praying for us. Thanks All!

Bon Voyage!!

2010-03-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

Well as most of you know our family is taking a new adventure. We are moving to Sanford, FL on March 26th. I can't believe that in just 9 days we will be setting sail (but really loading in the packed SUV) to sunny florida. Over the past few weeks as we were preparing for this huge change in our life, I have been praying and seeking the Lord in all this. Yes we are moving to a new city where we know not one person. Yes we are moving with no concrete job offer. Am i worried? no. I am excited, excited to see what my God has planned for us. Excited to see what happens when you literally leave EVERYTHING to follow his will. Most of you might not know that we had to sell most everything in the past week in order to save $$. Some people think that it was foolish of us. But what I think is true foolishness is paying $1300 to barely fill a truck with things that mean nothing. This way we take only what we need and what can fit in our SUV and go. This passage comforts me everytime I start to doubt or have trouble giving things up.
Matthew 6:31-34 (New American Standard Bible)

31"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'
32"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Wow, that means so much to me. That my heavenly father knows everything, all we need and I don't have to worry about what to wear, eat, etc. He will provide. You know I have been thinking about all the times in my life that the Lord provided for us through family, friends, and strangers. How awesome is He?

My new favorite song that I sing to get me through:

You are my supply
My breath of life
Still more awesome than I know.
You are my reward
Worth living for
Still more awesome than I know.

And all of you
Is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with your love
And all I have in you is more than enough

You're my sacrifice
Of greatest price
Still more awesome than I know.
You're my coming King
You're my everything
Still more awesome than I know.

And all of you
Is more than enough for
All of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with your love
And all I have in you is more than enough
You are more than enough.

More than all I want
More than all I need
You are more than enough for me.
More than all I know
More than all I can see
You are more than enough for me.
More than all I want
More than all I need
You are more than enough for me.
More than all I know
More than all I can see
You are more than enough.

All of you
Is more than enough for
All of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with your love
And all I have in you. (Oh Yeah)
And all I have in you. (Jesus)
And all I have in you is more than enough.
More than enough.

Thats Jeremy Camp ~ enough. I wish I had that song..

Hezekiah was born December 31, 2009 after 33 painful hours of labor. He entered this world weighing 7lbs. 3 oz. My smallest baby. He is now weighing in at almost 12 lbs. Yikes, my kid is a little porker! Everything is going well, the boys love him when they stop what there doing to notice :)

Well I will see you all on Saturday or Sunday afternoon at one of our parties that we have going on. Enjoy the Sunshine all!

Catch up.....

2010-03-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from over the past few months that I love!

almost time...

2009-12-08T05:54:00.000-08:00

Well sorry its been so long since my last update, I am going into the hospital on December 21st to have the baby. Hopefully its a quick delivery like Noah was. We decided on a name, Hezekiah James. I know its not a very common name but thats what we like about it. Anyway, hope everyone is doing well this christmas season. Check back soon for baby news! Thanks for reading.

names, names....

2009-07-23T19:36:00.001-07:00

PollPub.com Votewhat should my sons name be?

My eyes are open!

2009-07-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

Good Morning all
This morning I was sitting at the computer and something told me to log on to our online banking just to check was was going on. So I did. Then I decided to check over the last month how much money I had spent that was "outside" our budget! I couldn't believe it when I added it all up! In one month it was around $330.00!! Wow!! Plus then I added up some other charges that cost us an extra $180.00 just in 30 days! That's $510.00 that I have been throwing out the window! Who the heck knows what I spent it on. I don't have anything new in my house so it wasn't that! My new goal! I am going to live off less. I am going to force us to live off of 2000.00 a month, by the way I know we can! We have lived off much less before even with children! Anything that my husband makes over that amount savings only. No more eating out, no more quick trips to the store every time I "crave" something. I am making a change starting now!! Thank God we don't have any credit cards, could you imagine how much trouble I would be in then! All right all today is a new day! Living on only necessities! We can have fun for free! Now I just need an accountability partner...........

2009-07-21T16:28:00.000-07:00

News from the dr!

2009-07-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

Hello All
so I went to see the specialist today and waited and waited wondering what he was going to say today... As I watched the ultrasound picture on the tv above me I was preparing myself for the same news. The news that I had a 3.5cm hemorrhage filling the hole where my uterus should have closed weeks ago. Plus placenta previa, my dr was very concerned about preterm labor as well as some other complications during this pregnancy. He had me on restricted bed rest for the past few weeks. He also prescribed medication to help with the contractions and the inflammation. I never got the prescription filled and I cheated bed rest. I thought the Lord has kept this baby in me for some reason, he will take care of the him the rest of the way. So back to my news, the Dr. gave me an ultra sound today and he said "Jenn!" I was thinking oh crap he knows I didn't take the meds!! But then he said "your healed!" I was like what!! He said that all the problems that he saw just 6 days before we completely gone. He checked three times but was unable to find anything wrong with me or the baby. He asked what I had been doing and I told him that the people at church were praying for me and God healed me! The Dr was convinced as well, he was very surprised that he couldn't find anything!! Then he opened my chart, crossed off all of my problems that he wrote down just weeks ago and said "okay now your low risk". He also told me that he didn't want to see me again for 3 weeks for my level 2 Ultrasound and then thats it. I could return to my regular Dr!! So thanks for all the prayers! Praise God, I am so thankful that he healed me. He is able!!

Wonderful Weekends!

2009-07-21T06:48:00.000-07:00

Hello All!
We had a very busy but wonderful weekend this week. Friday and Saturday we went camping with a family from church that we are just getting to know. We had such a wonderful time, its so awesome to find a family that is like-minded who encourages us in every area of our lives. Friday night we had LOTS of rain, I thought our tent was going to float away! It held up great though and it only leaked a bit. Saturday was wonderfully sunny! It was so nice and warm. We cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner over an open camp fire. It was the best meal I have had in a while! We also went swimming and the husbands took all the kids on a boat ride!! We stayed until about 7ish saturday night and then it was time to say goodbye.. I know we had such a wonderful time that I didn't want it to end. But we made one more stop before calling it quits, we drove to this little ice cream stand and had some great treats! Great finish to a great day!

Sunday morning came like it does every week and for the first time in a long time I was excited to go to church. Don't get me wrong I love church but sometimes it seems so repetitive, almost like its a chore for me to go. But today was different. I went to church with a different attitude and it was awesome! I learned so much about forgiveness and sacrifice! Plus the worship was awesome! Its always great but today it was awesome, I closed my eyes and imagined that I was in front of Gods throne singing to him! I am so excited for when that time comes, the time that I can worship God forever!

Monday we took a trip to knobels with friends of ours. Well actually just me and the boys went. Unfortunately Russ had to work but we had fun. Jacob just loves going to parks and having fun with his friends. I love to watch him interact. Although there was many times throughout the day I was wondering if Satan was trying to ruin our day and our fellowship we managed to have a great time. By the end of the trip all 5 kids were pooped and asleep in the car!

One more quick thing before I end this long post. I just want to say that we have come across a great marriage tool called "marriage on the Rock". We have been doing this video series with church for a few weeks and it is the best thing. It has taught us how a marriage should be. Its hard to know what to do when you are not surrounded by strong godly marriages. Russ and I have been having such a great time together since this started. I know that its only going to get better. The book talks about having frequent date nights and "overnight" trips alone. At first I thought that was selfish when you have children but if your marriage isn't good that is worse for the kids. I only pray that God continues to mold us to be examples for our kids and maybe even some others in our lives who think marriage isn't for them!

I have another specialist appt today so I will post results here when I get home!
Thanks for reading!

no pics yet

2009-07-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

well i tried to post pics but it didn't work, we are going camping today with a family from church so I will try again later!

Playing Catch up....

2009-07-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

Alright all, we have had a busy few months. Noah turned 1, we went to Disney world with the boys, I turned 25!! Yippie! We got a kitten named Madeline and a new car! Wow I am tired just thinking about it, Oh yeah and I am pregnant again! We are having a baby boy, he is due December 28th! Here are a few pictures from the past few months.

WOW.... its been a while

2008-09-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers!
Sorry its been months since my last post. Life around here with two kids is crazy. Here is an update: we just moved to a new apartment, I will be sending around New Address cards to everyone soon. Noah will be 6 months old this week, Jacob started Bethlehem Christian School in September, Russ got a new job~ not a graphic design job but a job that he likes. Hopefully God will open a door soon for him to get the "perfect" design job. Okay I have to go pick up Jacob from school but I will post pictures and more information when I return today....

check back soon :)

its been 2 weeks....

2008-04-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

Well its been 2 weeks since we had Noah.. Things are crazy just like you would expect them to be with two. He is eating and sleeping well for me though. It does take me at least 45 minutes to leave the house, as soon as I put Noah in his car seat he needs a diaper change!

Jacob is doing well, he is loving the warm weather. Saturday he started soccer and he had a blast. He can't wait until next saturday to do it again. When we got home on Saturday it was about 85 degrees out and Jacob wanted to swim so we filled up his pool and he played for about 3 hours! We have been trying to get outside almost everyday! He just loves being outside.

Russ had his portfolio review on Thursday, He didn't get any full time job offers but he did get some offers for freelance work as well as some good contacts! His graduation is quickly approaching, I just know that God has something great in store for him :)

Well here are some pictures of my kiddies.....

Catch up.....

2008-04-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone sorry I haven't posted in a while. But my baby boy is finally here. After being over a week late the doctor finally decided to induce me. Noah Joseph Maura came into the world on Thursday April 3, 2008 weighing 9 lbs. and measuring 20 inches! It was a quick labor for me. Once they broke my water, Noah came very quickly. Thank the Lord cause it was painful. But in the end I am glad that I decided to have a natural birth (without an epidural). I recovered so much quicker.

Anyway Jacob is loving his new baby brother and is always giving him kisses. He can't wait until Noah can play cars and trucks with him. Oh ya did I mention that Jacob picked out his baby brothers name. We really didn't mind cause Russ and I weren't sure what to name him anyway. Jacob was calling him Noah since I was about 7 months pregnant. We couldn't change the name after all that time. He just felt like a Noah.

Jacob is adjusting well, he is very helpful when he wants to be but he is also very independent. Which is a good thing right now. I feel like all I do is change and feed Noah! But it still feels great to have two!!

Russ loves having a new baby in the house too. He is doing so well juggling work and school and a growing family. Speaking of school, Russ is almost finished. As of today he has officially 4 weeks left! Wow I can't believe it will all be over in a few short weeks. Hopefully he will be getting a job within the next few weeks and then we can begin to make plans on where we will be living...I am very excited for that! Well I guess thats all for now. Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks.....

and more.......

2008-02-28T16:51:00.000-08:00

Jill and Steve

2008-02-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

This is for Jill and Steve...Jacob made this video for you. I couldn't email this but here it is.

Everyone else we just got a new camera so I will post new pictures and more info tomorrow.
Love Ya

Pictures from Sat.

2008-01-27T19:28:00.000-08:00

Our Weekend

2008-01-27T19:06:00.000-08:00

Well we had a good weekend..We got to have some family time together friday night and sat morning. Saturday night we had that Martin Luther King Celebration at NCC. It was cool to go and see all the stuff that Russ designed. Plus they had free refreshments and treats at the intermission. That was my favorite part. Its pretty hard for Russ to compete with Free brownies and cookies. Sorry Honey :) Anyhow Sunday we just had church and then hung out for the day. We actually got outside today for a walk. I ended up having contractions again a couple hours after that. I am not sure if those walks are good or bad for me.

So today I am 32 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I am getting so excited for this baby to arrive. We went out on friday and bought some things that we needed for him. Its so weird that I have a house full of baby stuff and this kid is kicking me every 5 minutes but I still don't feel pregnant. I look down at my belly and all I think is wow thats huge. I can't believe that there is a baby in there that will be coming out in a few weeks. So strange.

So about my post a couple weeks ago about these "friends" that I lost. The Lord has really helped me heal and realize that its okay. He has put a bunch of new people in our lives that love us and accept us and our decisions. Which is awesome. I just had to realize that no matter how much I wanted to "control" the situation that I can't. People make their own choices and I can do nothing about it. I am not going to forget these people that once were in my life but I cannot change who I am or what I believe for them. That chapter is officially over. I am oddly excited about what the future holds. I should say what the Lord has in store for us. I can't keep trying to pull these people with me when they have so obviously made their choice. People change and I was holding on to what our friendship used to be not what it is now (which by the way is ridiculous)!! I have this problem with letting go and living in the past. SO anyhow I guess that its not my hormones after all :)

"Vote Ron PAul"

2008-01-17T06:30:00.001-08:00

January 14th

2008-01-14T12:17:00.000-08:00

Well today I am about 30 weeks and 4 days pregnant. This little guy is sure kicking the crap out of me :) Being pregnant has been fine so far except now my hips hurt so bad I could cry. Its so hard to even walk up and down the stairs.

We have a couple of names so far that we like
Noah Joseph
OR
Joshua Adam
I would love to know what you think! Here are some pics from a couple of days ago. My belly pic isn't great but I'll get another one soon. I took it myself :)

Russ starts up his last semester this week. Yay! Only a few weeks to go until freedom :)

Some Pictures of my baby boy

2008-01-05T06:40:00.000-08:00

jakes dr. appt.

2008-01-05T06:37:00.000-08:00

Well we just took jacob to a new doctor this week. I was a little worried to go somewhere else because of the problems we seem to have everywhere we go. (most of you know why)Anyway the nurse came in to look at him and she was very nice. I thought okay lets wait until the doctor comes in. So the nurse weighed him and measured him and stuff. She also asked jake a bunch of questions which I wasn't expecting. He answered all of them. Then she told us that he was in the 93% for height and weight. I was very happy, I thought that he might be underweight. THen she told us that he was a smart little boy and that he was going to smart when he was older. Of course I smiled. Every parent wants to hear that :) Then we met the doctor, he was very nice and also about 80! Which worked to our advantage. He has been around along time, long enough to see when some things are wrong in this world. (of course I mean medically)He didn't say that we were wrong in the choices we were making.I guess the point of this is that sometimes I feel like people judge me for the choices we make as a family. Only because we don't just go along with things like others. We ask questions, do research, PRAY about things concerning our son. Some people are worried about jacob, well I have to laugh cause he is the healthiest kid I know. We don't keep him locked up either. He is around other kids, in the nursery, etc. He doesn't catch anything cause besides colds there is not much else to catch. HE doesn't GIVE anything cause he HAS NOTHING to give. I am glad that I got REAL answers from a doctor. Not the ones that they are trained to give. I am very thankful that the Lord gave me one of his children to look after and raise. I would never take that lightly. Everyday I see jake I tell him "Hey, do you know how lucky I am to be your mom?" He just always says "Yes!". THank you Lord for blessing me abundantly!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-30T19:54:00.000-08:00

Hello All and Merry Christmas
I hope everyone had a great holiday and a happy new year. Nothing much new with us, we had a nice christmas. Jacob had a great time opening his presents. We didn't do much this year. Thats a good thing. For the first time in my life it was a slow day. We didn't have to rush off to someones house. I really like it that way. We got to spend the whole day just letting Jacob play with his toys and we just hung out and played games.

Nothing new to report on the pregnancy. I go back to the doctor next week. I am just getting very tired. By the afternoon I can hardly keep my eyes open. I am ready for this pregnancy to be over though. I am excited to have another baby in the house. We are really having a hard time picking out a name for this baby. Russ and I read the entire baby boy name book and we didn't like any of them. So I guess we will just know when he comes out. If anyone has any suggestions feel free to let me know ;)

So Russ decided to go to graduation, I am not sure if I wrote this already but he did. The official graduation date is may 22. It seems like a long way away but the time will fly by so fast. He entered two poster contests for school and actually won them both. Which is awesome. He didn't really win any prizes but they are going to use his posters for advertising and stuff. Thats a great prize actually. So he has about a month off until he starts his last semester. Jacob and I will be enjoying that time that we get to spend together.

Jacob seems like he is growing more every day. He talks so much. Everyday he is saying something new. It really is crazy how they absorb so much at this age. He knows that he is getting a brother and all he talks about is playing trucks with him :) Its so cute. He actually thinks that he is having the baby. I ask jake where his brother is and he points to his belly. Its very funny.

Anyway have a great day everyone and I will post again soon.
Love ya and God Bless

2007-12-17T19:47:00.001-08:00

Just thinking.....

2007-12-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,
Well today we got our family picture taken. It came out good I guess. I always hate how I look when I am pregnant. Anyway my boys look great in it. We are sending our Christmas cards out tomorrow, this is late for me. I usually have them in the mail by the first week of December.

Jacob is doing well, he is learning a lot, for those of you who don't know I started to home school him in October. He just eats everything right up. He has a different "subject" everyday and always has a bible story and a verse to memorize. He is doing quite well with that part. He has learned 3 by memory. Starting to work with him at 2 was a good decision because he was ready.

Russ decided to go to graduation, I am so glad that he changed his mind. He has worked so hard. It has been very stressful around here lately. He is trying to finish up final projects and work and try to fit in the family. Soon it will be over though! Praise God :)

I have only a couple more weeks until this baby arrives. My doctor is going to induce me at about 35 weeks. Well I guess I should say try to induce. This baby is only going to come out when its ready :) I am feeling kind of sad lately though. Many things on my mind. I feel like life changes so much, I can't keep up. Did you ever feel like there was a time in your life where things felt almost perfect? I am sad that I have lost some very special people that were in my life. Well maybe I really haven't lost them, maybe its just life being so busy. I am not sure. I have one situation in particular in my life that I have been praying for guidance and wisdom on. I am not sure whats going on and I can't get a straight answer (or any answer for that matter). Its really a shame how people can make you feel like you never had a friendship, like I don't know.... could it be my hormones? Is that why I am so sensitive lately? I have just been praying that God will show me the truth and end this mini trial in my life. Maybe his lesson is don't rely so much on man and rely totally on him. I get it Lord, may I have my buddies back?

Well its been a long night, I need to get some sleep. My 2 year old has me busy all day! Feel free to leave comments! Thanks for reading. Love ya and God Bless.
xoxoxoxoxo

Almost There!

2007-12-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

Wow its crazy to think that I am almost there, the time is passing so quickly. I can't believe that in just a few short weeks Russ and I will have 2 kids!

update

2007-12-08T18:33:00.000-08:00

Well let me catch some of you up on our crazy lives.... Russ is about 5 days away from finishing his semester, with only 3 more classes to go, there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. I can't believe that he is almost done. This is something that we have waited so long for. He starts up again in January and then just a couple of weeks until graduation! yippie! I can't convince him to go to his graduation though. I am just so proud of him that he stuck with school even though he didn't really want to go back. I feel like we should celebrate. Maybe he will change his mind :)

Today I am 25 weeks pregnant and growing. We are having another baby boy. I am getting more excited every week that I check the calendar. Believe it or not I am looking forward to the labor. Its so weird to look forward to something that hurts so bad. We are currently living with Russ' parents and have been for a couple of months. It is going really well, so well in fact that we are having a hard time knowing that in just a few short months we have to leave. We tried to convince them to let us stay for a while but my father in law (I just call him dad) is looking forward to the moving day. I think he wants his house back! :) We will see if they can kick us out once we have another baby in the house. At least I can always count on my mother in law to stick up for us. She won't make us leave :) She can't get enough of jake and just wait until this little boy comes into the world and meets his meme! ( that's what jake calls her!)

Well anyway thanks for reading my blog and be sure to keep checking it out. I am going to be posting new pictures and more news about us all the time. I will post some pictures on here tomorrow! Good night :)

First Year of Jakes Life

2007-12-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

Russ made this video a couple of months ago and I just wanted to post it since some of my family has never seen our son.

New Page!!

2007-12-08T13:36:00.000-08:00

Hey family and friends,
Since it is sometimes easier to check an email than take a phone call, I thought that I would start this blog page to keep you all updated. Our lives change so much, this is a great way to keep everyone included!