Spring!!!

Enjoying the warm sunshine!

Our evidence of Spring in the city!

A Spring craft

Sadly - in two days it will be back in the 40's but not for too long! We'll take the 70's for as long as we can get them.

On the Road Again....

Since Matthew had another business trip, I decided it was time for a change in scenery for both Lucy and myself. We jumped in the car and drove to Nanny and Pappy's house in PA. We started out on Monday and stayed at a hotel where Lucy and I swam in the pool (she is so much fun! She was swimming all over the pool and living it up!). The next day we continued our travels to PA. Lucy is such a great traveler. We have some chats, sing songs, she reads a l.o.t of books, and will watch a video.

We've both been spoiled since arriving. Lucy is Mom's sidekick and wants to be wherever she is...within an hour of being here, they had a "marching band" around the house with pots and pans....they made a cake, play with toys, draw and were outside today for an hour (it's pretty cold out there too!). She wants Nanny to "take her a bath," and "take her night-night." My job has been pretty easy. She walks up to Pappy with a smile and says, "Pappy, say 'Hi my Peanuts!'" (Pappy calls her Peanuts and she wants to hear him say it.)

My mom's friends are so dear and special. Today one of Mom's friends came to see Lucy and spend time with her (how often does it happen that your Mom's FRIENDS come to see your child?). She brought her a bag of goodies: a coloring book of bunnies and crayons, a stuffed bunny, Pez candy, a baton streamer and plastic Easter eggs. I have to mention, also, that this friend had never met Lucy before. Another of Mom's friends came later this evening with her grandson to see Lucy - she brought Lucy a magnetic dress-up doll puzzle/toy - Lucy really loved this. I'm thankful for such sweet friends for my Mom - and that they would want to come and spend a few hours just visiting with Lucy and actually sitting down and talking to her. That means so much to us.

We are here for a few more days before we head back home to Cincinnati. Matthew is back from his business trip and is enjoying some time tonight with the boys. We miss him! Lucy keeps saying we are missing another friend - I'll ask who that is and she'll say, "He begins with a D!" "Could it be Daddy?" "YES!" she shouts.

Off to the Muffin Man tomorrow for shopping and lunch!

And Then.....

There were four! On Christmas morning this year- we had an answer to our prayers - we will be welcoming a new little one into our family this September. We are thrilled and excited! We had been praying for many months for this child - and are so thankful that God has said, "Yes!"



I am now 12 wks. pregnant - due date to be on or around Sept. 6th. I have been feeling great - most of the tiredness is beginning to pass. A little nausea in weeks 6-7, but now there are days that I don't remember that I am pregnant. We have had 2 ultrasounds, and it was great to see our baby and the heartbeat. My OB even gave Lucy a picture of the baby and tried to explain to her where it was on the picture - she doesn't get it yet. If we ask her if she wants a baby brother or a baby sister, she immediately says, "A baby sister!" "Well, what if God gives you a baby brother?" "Um...no...a baby sister."



We are excited to share our news with more people - it's been hard keeping it inside for so long with only a few people knowing.



"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him." ~1 Samuel 1:27

Valentine Secret Sister

My Valentine Secret Sister this year was STEF! Stef is already an amazing woman, friend, mother, accountability partner - not just because she sent me a fun package. I received love scrolls (need to come up with an idea for these!) ;) , candies, bath soaps for Lucy, friendship dolls and a cookie mix.

Thanks Stef, Lilah, and Miles (I'm sure Jade provided some help with the prep of this!) :)

Sick...but on the mend

It's hard to believe that within 14 hours, this smiley, silly, tu-tu wearing girl ended up so very sick. Friday night she went to bed for Daddy just fine while Mommy was out. By 2 a.m. we heard an awful, barking cough coming from Lucy's bedroom. From what I had heard from friends before, this sounded very much like croup. No big deal, I thought. I remembered what they had done with their little ones to relieve the symptoms. We tried to comfort her - she even asked for a bandaid - when we asked for what - she pointed in her mouth to her throat! :( We took her to her pediatricians office later that day where the NP told us that her lungs, ears and throat all looked good and just to let her relax and give her fluids. By Sunday morning, things got much worse. Lucy was really struggling to breathe and it was really scarey to see. She also had a very high temp. We called the pediatrician on call (and I must add that we are so glad we went with this new practice and just love our new ped. group) and he listened to Lucy over the phone. We were told to get her to the ER right away. The amazing thing was, once we were told that, it was like a huge relief spread over me. At this point my usual would be to panic. I feel that God has done such a good work within me over this past year - and I just began to TRUST! I felt His peace at work and it was amazing.

We made it to Children's ER and didn't have to wait long, which is amazing. The minute we were called back, the nurse called another nurse in and they agreed she had to be moved immediately to another part of the ER since she had croup. They made her wear a mask to transport her - she didn't like that much. She was immediately seen by a dr. and found out that her croup had turned into stridor. She received steroids and a breathing treatment as well as Tylenol for her high temp. The first breathing treatment wasn't working, so they gave her another and then she had a throat x-ray. By this time, Lucy began breathing better but was still wheezing. The doctor came in to check on her and apologized saying that Lucy was going to have to spend the night to be monitored, which we were completely fine with! I felt much more comfortable with her being there than at home with us.

She slept well that night - and we had such an amazing staff who were so kind and helpful. I stayed the night with her and Daddy went home for some rest. The next day she had an awful sore throat and cough but her vitals and oxygen level were good so she was discharged. Since Sunday we've had sleepless nights - but she is on the mend. Today we had a follow-up appt. with her ped. and she said she is doing well - just suffering the post-croup symptoms (tons of congestion).

So we spent our Valentine's Day in the hospital. But God is very good! He gave us a wonderful staff and amazing peace, along with wonderful friends and family who were praying for her.

Valentine Lunch

We hosted a Valentine Luncheon for our friends this past Friday. Everyone came dressed in their Valentine outfits and we had a good lunch, a fun craft (thanks to the amazing Sandra George), and shared Valentines.

making the Valentine butterflies

our crafty person :)

Happy Birthday, Nana!!

So, Nana's birthday was Feb. 7th, and I'm just posting now. Things have been a bit crazy - but more on that later. My mom came out to visit and help out while Matthew was traveling for work. It was nice to have someone around continuously, and to help entertain and love on Lucy. Lucy and I took Nanny out to lunch at Bon Bonerie (seems to be our fun place for b-day lunches). I'm so very thankful for a mom who shows amazing love to all of us and gives so much of her time to us and to Lucy.