life with three kids is, well, crazier than life with two kids. tucker is the sweetest little baby, but, like all babies, demands a certain amount of time…which means that my other two get a little bit less time than they had before…and i’m a little more tired during that time than i used to be. the first week of us all together was spend just trying to survive…if we can just make it until nap time was my mantra. and we did. but i began to notice that noah and z were a little more fussy than they used to be… which does not help the just make it until nap time deal. in fact, it makes it much much harder to just make it until nap time! so, this week, i have tried to do some fun activities with them in order to fill our time together. the first two days involved outtings-one to target with mimi and one to the library. both were fun, but a little too exhausting for me right now. running two different directions while holding on to a wee one is not all that easy for this inexperience mom of three. so, yesterday i spent some time on the wonderful world wide web and found some fun activities for the house.

yesterday, we made play dough :

 

today, i let them finger paint = huge mess, but lots of fun! :

 

 

 

in between all this fun, there have been lots of kisses :

 

 

and my favorite of all:

 

 

A little update

It’s hard to believe how fast time goes sometimes. Our sweet little guy is already 2 weeks old and still not home with us. Our days are filled with trips back and forth to the hospital, eating, and sleeping. We have been so blessed by many friends and family who take care of our other dear little children and bring us amazingly yummy food. It has been beyond nice to not have to worry about what we will eat everyday!
Tucker is doing well, just not as perfectly as we’d hope. It’s hard to complain because there are babies nearby who are not doing nearly as well, but, at the same time, it’s not fun having a baby in the NICU for such a long time. There aren’t words to describe how awful it is to carry a baby for 9 months, then have him taken from your body to a strange place. A place where someone else can tell you when you can hold him and when you cannot, a place with strange lights, beeping monitors, and different people every day. We have had some wonderful nurses, especially the last few nights. I consider this a special gift from the Lord as I had a major breakdown about having to leave Tucker here the other night… Since then, the night nurses we have had have had the sweetest spirits. I wonder if they could be angels…
We are hopeful today as we are seeing some progression with the temperature issue. They have been slowly turning down the temperature in his isolet and he has been able to maintain an adequate temp, so… Tomorrow he moves to an open crib, for the 3rd try. Maybe, maybe, maybe… During one of our first days here, I saw a quote on a friend’s facebook status (ah Facebook, how I love it sometimes :)) that said, “The faithfulness of God is the only certain thing…” we know he is the One holding our sweet little boy and pray he will help us trust in him. Meanwhile, we wait…

A haiku for you

the elephant in the room
Big, huge elephant
It’s taking up all the room
Pretend it’s not there

My sister, Ruthie, is the best at writing haikus. She wrote an amazing one for my birthday, though I can’t remember it off the top of my head. I’ll share another time when I find it! Anyway, this little ditty is dedicated to her!
(note: not because of the words, but because of the form)

dear emily aka the bachelorette

just some tips for you…

1. if he has more product in his hair that you have in your’s, send him packing.

2. if he’s wearing skinny jeans, send him packing.

3. if he has any kind of hat on other than a baseball cap, send him packing.

4. if he cries over missing his family, send him packing.

5. if he tells you he won’t love on you if you get fat, send him packing.

6. if he tells you what you should do, send him packing.

7. if he can’t list any negative qualities about himself, send him packing.

 

dear emily aka the bachelorette

just some tips for you…

1. if he has more product in his hair that you have in your’s, send him packing.

2. if he’s wearing skinny jeans, send him packing.

3. if he has any kind of hat on other than a baseball cap, send him packing.

4. if he cries over missing his family, send him packing.

5. if he tells you he won’t love on you if you get fat, send him packing.

6. if he tells you what you should do, send him packing.

7. if he can’t list any negative qualities about himself, send him packing.

 

a little pasta is good for the soul

i’m not sure if it’s the pregnancy talking or if i’ve always liked pasta this much, but lately, i have been loving me some pasta. not spaghetti persay, the red sauce causes me to have ca-razy dreams! but i have been searching and searching for a new pasta recipe and i found it today in a magazine. i’m one of those terrible people who flips through magazines at the store…and have been known to snap a picture of a recipe or idea or something i want to try out. magazines are expensive people, and rarely worth the extra dollars! anyway, so i made this new pasta dish tonite. i decided to follow my sister hannah’s way of eating foods-tiny bowl, tiny spoon…that way you feel like you are eating extravagent amounts even though you aren’t. unforturnately, after my 3rd “small” bowl, i gave up on pretending. this stuff is just that good…and easy:

tomato & feta orzo salad (adapted from southern living)

3 quarts water (seasoned with a dash of salt)

1.5 cups orzo

2 T olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 tsp minced garlic

2 cups halved grape tomatoes

1 heaping T dried parsley

dash of black pepper and salt

1 cup feta cheese

1. in large pan, bring salted water to a boil. add orzo and cook 8 minutes.

2. in medium skillet, heat olive oil. add onion and cook until tender. add garlic and cook a minute longer, stirring constantly. add tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper and cook 3-5 minutes longer.

3. drain orzo when tender and throw all ingredients back into large pan. cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes longer. take off stove and mix in feta.

4. enjoy with a small bowl and spoon!

hula hoopin’

i am currently reading (among about 7 others) a book called boundaries by cloud & townsend. i have been thinking a lot about boundaries because of some different situations going on in my life, so i decided to pick up this book to see what some experts had to say on the topic. i read the book in college and remember it being life-changing. i’m only a few chapters in, but already enjoying what i’m reading. in case you don’t know, the concept of the book is that it is necessary for healthy relationships to happen for people (both people) to have good boundaries. boundaries=the property line of your “youness.” my mom likes to describe them like hula hoops. everyone has their own hula hoop, big ones, small ones, sparkley ones, striped ones…and you might really like the way another person’s hula hoop looks. they might be really excellent at hula hooping, which makes their’s look all the more appealing. but you CANNOT GET IN THEIR HULA HOOP. absolutely not. and they CANNOT GET IN YOUR HULA HOOP. because, the truth of the matter is, two people just can’t hula hoop together! in the christian world, it seems like it is not popular to draw such lines, to tell someone else “hey, dude, this is my hula hoop. you can’t get in.” that sounds selfish, and we all know that is not. right. but, i think this book is going to offer some great support on why it’s actually better for everyone if you stay in your hula hoop and i stay in mine. so, we shall just see…

 but for now, if i tell you to step away from my hula hoop, please don’t be offended…

a good distraction

i had every intention of getting online tonite to blog about my wedding-baking-experience, but have been totally distracted from that course. i got on facebook and was looking at some different things and came across a link to the following blog post: http://terahsampler.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/god-is-great-beer-is-good-and-people-are-crazy/. of course, i couldn’t help but click on the link within the post to adoptUSkids.org to do a little reading. i started looking at the pictures and profiles for all of these children who are currently in the foster system waiting to be adopted. some of them are heart-breaking…all of  them, maybe. i have days with my kids that are beyond frustrating, but i am thankful that God has given us to them…and surrounded us with such an amazing (and huge) family of support. i am fairly certain that tucker will be the last biological child that we have, but ryan and i often wonder about adoption. who knows where the Lord will lead, but, at the least, i know now it will be to pray for these children without “forever” homes.

it’s interesting how God weaves ideas into our lives sometimes. i recently joined a book club and the first book we read together was called the language of flowers. it was a beautifully written novel about what happens when children are emancipated from the foster system. at the age of 18, if they haven’t been adopted, they are sent to a halfway house sort of a place for a few months, then expected to find other housing. many of these have shady, if any, relationships with people in the outside world and end up in dire straights as they leave the foster system. the author is kicking off a program called “the camillia house” (i think) in the next few months that will help link these teenagers with people who can help give them the things they need to do things like go to college and get jobs (think things like a suit, a laptop, a book for class, etc). as i learn more information about that, i will try to remember to share it here.

another one of my favorite blog authors is in the process of adopting for the second time.. i love reading her story and am encouraged always by her peace in the waiting: pitterpatterart.wordpress.com. she does amazing art that she sells to raise money for their adoptions… check her out. (ps i don’t know her personally, only know of her from readings!)

 

fact: i survived baking for a wedding

an overnight trip…