Children are God's gift

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Catching you up...

Here a few random pictures from the first week of February!

Princess & Sunshine having breakfast on a Sunday morning that Daddy went to church early so set up/practice and so it was just the three of us getting ready again...just like old times! I am so thankful that my children choose to eat bananas, grapes, & yogurt over things like Pizza & Chicken Nuggets (not to say they don't like those things...they just like the other stuff more!)

My husband brought home flowers last week to help me feel special. Now ladies please remember he is already taken AND that we had just been through remodling, packing, AND moving in a 40 day time span! This isn't an every day occurance...more like twice a year or so! Regarless, I was thankful that he took the time to think of me!

Princess & Sunshine having some deep conversation while she calms a baby to sleep on her shoulder! Did I mention that I think my kids are ready to be big brother & sister? And that would be okay with Mommy & Daddy too!

She is such a little Mommy!

Seriously!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Visit with Aunt Kisty & Uckie Uckie

At least that is what my kids call them! The last weekend in January we were able to meet up with my brother and his wife who were out here snowmobiling with her parents and brothers. It is always great when we have the chance to have time with family on our turf..or in this case their hotel room!

The kids thought that Uckie Uckie's helmet was a pretty neat hat!

For some reason they think that going thrugh the 'bridge' is really fun...no matter where we are!

Zachary was talking trails with my fabulous husband!

Princess saw fit to take that time to make him a 'horsie'

Sunshine thought the best part of the night was playing with B & B (Christy's brothers). Some how they let him get ahold of one of their cell phones and Sunshine was sure that Grandma was on the other end, because isn't that the only person that is on the other end? My kids think so! But the funny thing was that they actually called my mom up and she didn't have B's # in her phone so she didn't know who it was all she heard was "Gwamma, GWAMMA?!?" Needless to say Sunshine had the boys in stitches! I think they had fun playing with him!

He had an audience!

We enjoyed our short time with Z & C, and we hope that we will be able to see them out this way again...and this time maybe get a chance to spend a little more time with them. Check out her blog here.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Bath Time in January

My kids have always liked bath times....and now that they can be a lady bug and frog afterward it has gotten so much better. We almost always have baths on Monday nights for both of them and one other night for Sunshine alone. They get pretty silly!

Princess is showing to be pretty photogenic!

Monday, February 16, 2009

The new songs

The new songs in the blog play list are from the movie Fireproof...I LOVE that movie! We watched it again last night and while I had some regular distractions that were not there when we went to the theater to see it (2 to be exact, AG & EE buy name) it was still amazing. I do hope that each and every one of you take the time as a couple to watch the movie together! Check it out!

1 and 6000

Does anyone remember back one year ago? Can you remember what you were doing? Can you remember what stage in life you were at? We do! It was a very traumatic time in our young lives. We had a 17 month old and a 14 month old, were 31 and 23 and planning our sons funeral! I know, you look at him today and it is very difficult to believe. I remember many of my thoughts, specifically wondering why God would have us go through miscarriages and failed adoptions just to have us bury the son we longed for. I wondered how my daughter would do when her brother was no longer with us. I thought about what we wanted incorporated into his service and what we wanted people to most remember about him. I worried that because we hadn't been able to finalize his adoption yet if the state would let us have his funeral. Jason and I talked about who we would have do the service. Jason was my pastor at the time and I wouldn't want him to have to officiate his sons services.

And almost over night this all went away, well not away but God allowed us to discover how to rebound from the deathbed and within a week he was talking, walking, eating, and gaining weight. A MIRACLE!

I cannot believe the amount of emotion that I struggled through during those difficult times, but I am thankful that God allowed us the opportunity to raise EE for Him and to have the chance to 'meet' him and get to know his silly but wonderful personality.

Being a Mama is my very favorite thing in the entire world and I pray that the Lord would allow us to work with the amazing Family to Family Adoption Inc. agency in Richmond Texas again sometime...sooner than later (hopefully!)

Please remember that Gods timing is most important above all of our hearts desires. We did not even know that we were going to be parents 48 hours before our daughter was born. We did not even know that our son existed until he was 6 days old and 15 minutes before he came home with us! If we would have planned things we would have planned thing much differently...but now that this is the way God has paved our path we would not change it for anything!

Back to the title....it means ONE miracle and SIX THOUSAND visits to LOVEBEINGMAMA.BLOGSPOT.COM! Thanks to the faithful readers...feel free to let me know you are there by way of comments!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentines Day!!!

I know that this is picture from Christmas, but it was send to me in an email and had not beeen shared on the blog yet...SO, our family would like to wish you all a Happy Valentines Day!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Some closure

*Lots of reading ahead...

As many of you may or may not know, I have been working with a ministry here in town called the Bella Pregnancy Center. They help expecting ladies with things like pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, counseling, Earn while you Learn which affords them the chance to learn about being a parents and needs of a developing child and they can in turn 'buy' donated items through the Mommy Money or Daddy Dollars they acquire with their 'homework.'

Anyway, I have just been a part of the fundraising committee so far. They do most things through volunteers, but do have a few people on staff including a nurse to perform the ultrasounds.

Well this starts the part that I want to share my thankfulness for. Tuesday evening we had a fundraising meeting, the first I have been able to attend since November because of the move, and I was able to be early. (I know, me early..not usually!) But, it just so happened they had another meeting before our meeting in which they invite community members in to share what the ministry does, inform them of how they operate, and give them a tour of the building they have been blessed with. I got there in time to jump in on the tour. Now in the last few months that I hadn't been able to be there, quite a few things had changed. But where my story really starts is when we stopped by the ultrasound room. Jodi, the nurse, was talking about what she would generally do with a client and walking us through it. She got to the point of bringing out the little true to life babies from different stages of development in the womb. She passed a baby of somewhere around 30 or 35 weeks of development around. It was incredible! The baby was actual weight and the features (eyes, ears, nose) were all so detailed. But then she went backwards, and I was able to see a baby at 8 weeks of development. No one in that room could have even understood how speechless I suddenly was.

That baby was not just a blob of tissues like my doctor of the time led me to believe. That baby was slightly smaller than my thumb (I do have small fingers) and you could see the perfect little toes, the arms, details in the face...now I do believe that life starts at conception, but NO ONE ever helped me understand just HOW developed our little babies were! After the rest of the group moved on to the next room I strayed back into that room to have a closer look at that little baby. I know that one day I will be able to see my babies in heaven, but for someone who at that time had no children and wanted to be a mom SO bad....I counted this a blessing. It was the closest to understanding what was going on so many years ago.

I had to confess my deeds of sneaking back in to the director and the nurse after our fundraising meeting. I went to tell Jodi that I was so thankful for getting to be a part of the tour because no doctor had ever taken the time to explain t me what my baby was like, they only talked to me about the post miscarriage details. I couldn't hold back the tears, I still cannot...she couldn't either. She has had at least two successful pregnancies, but she had also had 5 miscarriages in between.

I am thankful to have seen that tiny little baby that day. I am thankful for the sense of closure it gives to know that I have not been crazy this whole time to think that I have babies in heaven and hold to that fact. I am thankful for the little conversation that the nurse an I had that evening with few words but it spoke so much. This again just shows me a way of how God takes care of the small things in our lives. I didn't have to be early to that meeting, I didn't HAVE to be at that meeting at all. I could have lived the rest of my life without this connection to our 4 precious lives that my wonderful husband and I created, but God didn't allow that. Instead he gave me this chance, that opportunity to come as close to holding our little ones as I could have ever come with them being so tiny.

I am sorry for the wordy post, but this 'Thankful Thursday' post is a great way to start in my book...I am thankful, as a mother, to have had the opportunity to have a small, but mighty, connection with our 4 babies nearly 4-5 years later! (December 14th 2003, August 20th 2004, January 20th 2005, & April 26th 2005)

***This is a picture of an 8 week old baby in the womb. See more pictures at this site. The one below is one from the same place, but I thought it was too cute since we do sign language in our home. The firs baby is signing 'owl' and the second is signing 'I love you.'

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Husband & Wife

1. When is your engagement anniversary: January 3rd, 2002

2. When is your marriage anniversary: August 10th, 2002 (7 months & 7 days from getting engaged!)

3. How long have you known your spouse: About 8 years

4. Did you have a cute or otherwise funny part of your getting together: I told him that I loved him before we were even together...or at least I wrote him that I loved him!

5. How long did you date/court before you were engaged: About 7 months

6. Where did you meet your spouse for the first time: At FBC in Elkton

7. What is your spouse's full name: Jason Daniel

8. Do you have any children yet? We have 4 babies in heaven and 2 wonderful adopted children!

9. Do you have any house pets: Not any more 8-(

10. What does your spouse do for a living: He is an Electrician

11. Do you live in the country or town/city: We are just out of the city limits

12. What is one of your favorite activities together: Car shopping, though we will always buy our vehicles from Goodrich Motors and we are not in the market!

13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot: It used to be the Black Hills, but we live here now...I did really enjoy our Chicago trip last June and look forward to our Tennessee trip in a couple of years.

14. How many siblings (including in-laws): I have Zach & wife Christy, Robin & finance Rick, Jason has Jeremy & wife Jennie, and Melissa & husband Eric .

15. What church do you attend: At this moment we are looking for a church, but have been attending North Point Christian Church

16. Are you of the same faith as your spouse: Yes

17. What town is your current address: Spearfish

18. Do you work or stay at home: Both, I run Pumpkin Patch Daycare out of our home!

19. Where did you honeymoon: THE BLACK HILLS...haahaaha

20: Leave a piece of marriage advice: ALWAYS, be yourself!

Monday, February 09, 2009

So Excited!

I am so excited for this Friday to come! I know it is Friday the 13th, but it marks a very special day for this family! It is the day we are going to take back the status of a FAMILY! We are going to go to a hotel & indoor water park for Valentines weekend! I couldn't be more excited about spending Valentines Day with my wonderful Husband AND my children! It is a long time in coming and this time we are not just checking in one night and checking out the next morning either! I will give you a review of what I think of the Dakotas largest indoor water park after this weekend, until then...enjoy the fun pictures and check out the hotels site!

Friday, February 06, 2009

Photo Shoot

Last February I did a photo shoot for Princess & Sunshine to put on their Valentines and with the stress of moving I had to focus on something happy....SO, on the 9th of Jan I decided to give it a whirl again! While I still treasure those pics, I love some of the shots I got this time as well! All for different reasons, they captured who the kids are at this point and time...enjoy!

This is one of my favorites of Sunshine of the day! Not sure what it is about it, I just like it A LOT!

This is what you get when you ask him to smile these days

Or the more modest closed mouth grin

Roar!!!

Not a yawn, just another silly smile

He cracks me up

Then we have Miss Dance

She was telling Sunshine that he should come and SIT DOWN!

Is this CHEESE or what?!?

She is a poser...can you tell she is my daughter?

Such a beautiful little princess

Miss Dance

Givin' some love

They were ready to be finished, but in all seriousness...they were trying to pose here, I don't remember what I asked for but it wasn't gangsta & pouty!