photo shoot

My favorite pictures that my friend Sohee took of Lainey...

slip-n-slide fun

different faces of Lainey

This is the "tasting the air" face...people get it confused with "she's hungry because she's sticking her tongue out"...not necessarily true.This is the "get any closer and I'll punch you out" face.This is the "I'm bored" face or the "I'm getting sleepy" face.This is the "serious" or "contemplating" face.And this is the "I'm so done with this photo shoot" face.

snippets

When I was downloading my pictures off my camera I found a bunch of pictures and video clips that Ethan took. So much so that he filled my memory card. Thankfully I have him to record our lives because taking pictures hasn't crossed my mind much lately.

Anyway I thought it was a true representation of my children...and some behavior from a little girl that she would have been disciplined for if I had known about it...she definitely has a bratty side that I can only pray that God will give us the wisdom as parents in molding her little heart. One of these days the boys are going to slug her back and maybe she'll think twice about doing that again.

This video is of Jude...he's our ham.

And this one made me laugh. I can see Ethan as a commentator in his future.

1 month old

I think I've said she is one month old for the past week that I can't help but think "she's only 1 month old?" But here we are. Our little Lainey has been a part of our family for 1 month. She started out as a pretty easy, content little thing and I thought this transition was going to be pretty easy. But as she's gotten past that sleepy newborn stage her naps have seemed to shorten which is followed by fussiness that can only be helped by holding. Ah, I am thankful for this little girl but I will be so glad to be out of the newborn phase.

We're looking forward to the next few weeks as she continues to be more aware (which may contribute to the lack of longer naps) and content. The kiddo's continue to adore her although she usually responds by crying...especially to Ansley who doesn't understand personal space very much. A sort of smile...

...and then we were done.

lemonade stand

The boys and a neighbor friend decided to have a lemonade stand on Saturday. I thought it was a cute idea and had no idea what a hit it would be. They made $16 in a couple of hours.

It's always good to sample the product you are selling...Ansley sampled a little too much.

And you had the option of buying a colored rock with a glass of lemonade...for a small fee of course.

lots of love

Mimi holding Lainey

brother Ethan has got the magic touch

first time brother Jude holding Lainey

Big sis enjoying her baby sister being home

uploading pictures

My time is limited these days so I am just going to download my pictures from my camera and put some captions.

Mother's Day flowers for Grandma and me

Day at the Aquarium with Grandma (before baby Lainey arrived) watching some lizards sunbathing

Ansley kissing the baby (my prego belly)

watching the seals

Jude holding a hermit crab

introducing....

Lainey Adeline Wood

7lbs. 9 oz.

19 1/2 inches

May 12th at 4:40pm

The proud brothers and sisters.

Our family of 6

where does the time go

I don't think I've ever gone this long without blogging. So I'll just give a quick update:

~We're on a mission to finish school before this little babe comes. We plan to wrap up Wednesday on 4 subjects and the other 2 we'll finish the following Monday. So we've been busy around here being diligent in our studies and it has paid off. Ethan is wrapping up 2nd grade and Jude is anxious to start Kindergarten in the Fall. Ethan took his standardized testing about a month ago and passed with great scores so it's good to know he has been growing in his learning over the year and is right where he needs to be (it reassures this homeschooling mom who wonders if he is learning what he needs to and understanding it). Jude's big accomplishment is that he is reading some basic reader books. He is very proud of himself and I love seeing him light up when he realizes he can actually read!
~I've had a few orders for my bears so I have been sewing in my free time. It's nice to have the extra cash and have time for a little creativity before my life comes to a standstill for a few months. :o)

~This baby girl is growing and so is my belly. I have to say I am SO ready for her to come. Two more weeks until the due date. Jason's mom comes tomorrow and I told this little one that she can come anytime after that. Hopefully she's just as ready and will make her debut soon.

~I just started preparing for this baby this past weekend. The ladies at the church threw me a baby shower and we were overwhelmed by everyones generosity. So I washed clothes, raised the crib mattress, washed out the car seat and have a diaper supply (from the shower) that will last for months. So I think we're ready...except for a middle name. We can't agree on one yet. But I think we have nailed down a first name. Ansley keeps saying "baby come out", which I thought at first was because she was excited to have a baby sister. But I think I've realized that all she really wants is my lap back.

~Ansley is moving along on her potty training. Not quite accident free but she's getting there. She has grown up so much lately and it's really fun to hear more of her thoughts and see her little personality come out more and more. I am curious to see how she will react to being a big sister. With her it could go either way.

~ Jason has his lessons planned out for the rest of the school year so he can pass off his classes when our baby girl arrives. He's been busy completing house projects, moving furniture, doing house chores, and helping any way he can. Who says nesting is only for the mothers?

Hopefully that wasn't too boring. But our lives are all about preparing for this baby and doing our day to day routine. And because of that I have taken about 2 pictures this past month...mainly because I forget to take my camera places and captures our lives on film.

photos

I took some pics of my kiddos for our hallway picture frames. I realized it had been a while since I took some portrait type shots. Jude is my hardest to get a real smile out of and Ansley just doesn't like to look at the camera. But I managed to get these 3 that I thought weren't that bad. Well I guess it's actually 4 since I can't decide on Jude with teeth or Jude without teeth. What do you think?

short update

Wow, this blog thing is hard to keep up with. I have no pictures but I thought I would update everyone on the past week.

First, my ultrasound was fine. Baby is normal size and growing great! I guess I just measure small. A smaller baby would be fine with me if she was growing normal.

Second, Ansley is potty trained!!!! I have about a month of being diaper free. I feel bad that I was so frustrated and impatient with her when it took her about 2 days to get the hang of it. At the time I thought she would never catch on but something clicked and she gets it now. She was even dry all during Sunday school and church on Sunday. The nursery workers said she told them when she had to go. Maybe girls are easier to potty train...once you get over the stubbornness and girl drama of it all.

Third, I have caught a cold. For any regular person it probably wouldn't be such a big deal. But to a pregnant woman who can't take anything to relieve symptoms, it's pretty miserable. Thankfully Jason took yesterday off so I could rest. He even did school with the boys so they wouldn't get behind...then he told me how much he admired me for what I do everyday. Gotta love that. So after drinking lots of hot tea, breathing in bowls of steam and squirting saline up my nose, I feel like I am turning a corner. Still feel like I was hit by a truck and I desperately need naps in the afternoon, but hopefully I will be back to normal in a few days.

That's the big stuff. Everything else is the normal day to day. I'll try to post some pictures soon...just have to actually get the camera out and take some.

same week - part 2

This post is the same week but the emotional heavy side. It started off pretty normal except Jason had a work trip to Texas with some other staff members to observe some other Christian Classical schools. I knew we would miss him and the week would be exhausting but we've done it before and I knew we could do it again. I then had my doctors appointment where I was told my baby is on the small side and they want to do an ultrasound to make sure she is growing fine. They say it's really nothing, just being overly cautious. So I tell myself not to worry.

On Tuesday we got word that a new family to our church had one of their children in the hospital due to a fall from a second story window. From then until Thursday we got updates a few times a day on his condition and by Thursday his parents were given the devastating news that their 5 year old son was gone. There is so much I could say about the testimony of this family, my roller coaster emotions this week, this little boys faith, the fear I dealt with for my own children, the exhaustion, the church service this morning, the church body surrounding this family with support and prayer, the humility it brought to so many of us, the anger, the tears, the sadness, overwhelming thoughts, the prayers, wanting a miracle so badly, remembering God is a sovereign God and being reminded His will is for our good. This family's life was changed in an instant and it will never be the same. Yet through their tears this morning the family rejoiced that their little boy still has life in heaven with his heavenly Father and repented openly of their unbelief through these past few days. As Christians we are not promised a life without pain and suffering. The difference is that we have the comfort of the Spirit, the amazing love of the Father and hope in our Savior to unite us in his Glory. Death is not the final word. There is still grieving and sadness and will be for a long time. But knowing and believing what is Truth...what God has promised helps us to heal. My heart still breaks for this family and I still hug my children tighter every chance I get, but it also has made me very aware of how much I want to control my life, how much I desire comfort and how scared I am to trust in His perfect will.

a week - part 1

I have so much to say about this past week that I thought I would make it a part 1 and part 2 kind of deal. So here is some highlights with pics for part 1. We decided to watch the life-cycle of a caterpillar again. It's easy to do here because there are these great trees called Crown Flower Trees that have an abundance of these little critters on them. We started off with two caterpillars and ended up with about 6 when some little eggs hatched that we didn't know were on the leaves. It's so amazing to watch God's creation. We observed these little babies turn into very fat caterpillars to then wandering off to spin an amazing green cocoon. So far we have had one butterfly "hatch" and fly away and we are waiting on 3 more. The boys and Ansley check on them throughout the day...Jude named his favorite and Ansley always says "Ah, cute". Ansley has entered the big girl bed phase. She actually enjoyed the fact that she is in one and I enjoyed the fact that for the first few days she didn't even think of getting out of it. Of course now she has realized her freedom to roam the room and nap times have become a source of training and learning patience for me. But at least the crib is available to this baby girl who will be here soon. Next is potty training...more patience learning.And speaking of this little girl...she is quite an active one. Here I am at 32 weeks. I'm feeling good...or as good as you can when you're 8 months pregnant...and the due date is coming at a fast speed. At my last visit I measured small so I am going in for an ultrasound tomorrow. Normally I am not a worrier but I am glad that the ultrasound is tomorrow so we can check and make sure she is growing fine.

hawaiian hurricane popcorn with mochi and nori

Did you just read that title and say "what?". Yeah when I first saw this popcorn I thought how could you ruin such a good thing like popcorn and butter or cheesy popcorn or caramel corn. But this has really grown on me. I must say seaweed (nori) in my popcorn is actually really good and I kind of prefer it now...plus all the salt and butter they throw on there too. And the rice crackers (mochi) I don't even mind anymore. I think I'm becoming more local the longer I live here. As you can see my kiddo's love it too. The thing I have a problem with is the little pieces of seaweed everywhere.