Us Lately

Time just gets away from me these days.  I have so much I want to say or document here in this little corner of my world but somehow one day leads to the next and I don't get to it.  Finally, I'm dedicating a few minutes just to reflect and write...

I'm officially 22 weeks pregnant today.  I'm really starting to feel this little boy's kicks and movements.  He's active at different times throughout the day or evenings.  Last night, Tyson got to feel two really strong kicks for the first time.  Makes it so real for him.  He got all excited and initiated a lengthy conversation with baby boy.  Speaking of Baby Boy, that's his name at this point.  With Samuel we knew from the start what we wanted to name him, but this time around we don't have a name chosen yet.  We've thrown out a couple of ideas, but we are really praying into it and believing God knows his name and we'll know too by the time he's born or shortly there after.
Samuel has a little guitar and he's initiated singing "lullabye's" to the baby.  It's the sweetest thing.  I don't know where he heard it, but he sings "lullabye and goodnight, go to sleep little baby" real slow while strumming his guitar.  Oh my goodness.  Last night, he got down and said, "I love you, baby brother."  Oh, I hope this affection continues for years to come.  He also asked for a pacifier over the weekend.  Hmmm... He said he was a baby now.  Oookaay.  We obliged him and found a pacifier he could carry around.   He didn't really want it because he lost interest very quickly.

I'm slim on photos (not slim in photos though :).  I haven't taken hardly any belly pics this time around and not to many of Samuel this month.  Consequently, I don't have a picture of it but Samuel has been enjoying helping me wash the dishes lately.  Our dishwasher isn't working right now, so I've been doing a lot of hand washing.  He pulls a chair up to the sink next to me and does his "water work."  I put soapy water in a large bowl with a few plastic dishes and it keeps him busy.  Actually he's right there with me and I'm getting dishes washed.  It's a win/win.  I don't have to stand there at the sink and wonder if he's decorating something with a Sharpie or digging through my jewelry box.  Of course, I have to strip his clothes off first in order to salvage them from the copious amounts of water that makes its way out of the sink.

Hide and seek is a big deal right now too.  It goes like this...Samuel says to one of us (usually Tyson), "let's play hide and seek.  Go hide, Daddy!"  However, what he really means is I'm going to hide and you find me.  Every time.  This could be very confusing to the outsider.  The other funny piece of information is that the child hides in the exact.same.spot.every.time.  That special spot would be in his bed.  He runs to his room and hides in his bed as if it's the first time he's thought of that spot.  We count, go look, and he screams and squeals with delight when we find him.  Over and over.  He loves it.  I do have a picture of this...
Another game of hide and seek went on tonight which is when I asked Tyson if he noticed that Samuel never wants to find us.  He always wants to be found.  He especially wants to be found by Daddy.  We talked about how that's so true with us.  Don't we all want to be found?  We all want to be wanted, pursued, sought after...found...ultimately by our Father God.  The ultimate lover of our souls.

What about Africa?
It's been six months already since we've been back.  I've personally done a lot of processing, reflecting, and wrestling with God since we've been home.  There's been a big battle of the flesh and the spirit in this heart of mine.  Thankfully God can handle it.  Long story short, ultimately we believe going back to Africa is for us.  We are praying and seeking God for His timing in all of this.  We would appreciate your prayers for us too.   We're looking ahead and trying to live in this present moment at the same time.

Well, that's all the musings this pregnant brain can jot down for now.     Good night!

Boy Oh Boy!!

Dear Baby,

I wanted to tell you about the day we found out you were a boy.  We were so excited for that day to come.  There you are right there in that picture below.   We love you so much already and can't wait to meet you in person.  We think having another boy in our family will bring great fun and excitement.  That January afternoon couldn't have been more perfect.  It was beautiful and sunny outside.  Your big brother Samuel stayed with some friends while Daddy and I went to check in on you.  

We celebrated afterwards with a Sonic drink!  Daddy and I got talk about what life would soon be like with you in our family.  We think you will love your big brother, and you guys will have so much fun playing together one day.   

Daddy was really excited to be having another boy.  He can hardly wait to meet you.

We went and picked up your big brother and took him to the park to play.  He knows you're in my tummy and talks to you all the time.  He mostly says, "Hi Baby!"  We told him he was going to have a baby brother.  We're not sure he understands yet, but he'll be plenty excited when he sees you.

I think Daddy was having a lot of fun at the park too.  You'll find out soon enough that he's great fun to play with.

Your big brother will have lots of things to teach you, like how to dig in the sandbox and climb on things.

Mommy's belly is growing bigger all the time.  That's because you are busy growing and changing inside of me.  We pray for you daily and know that God is knitting you together right now by his perfect design.  He knew you way before we did and has a great plan for your life.

You have many adventures ahead of you with your dad and your brother.   It won't be long until you'll be right in there with them sharing in the fun stuff that they do like climbing, wrestling, and playing chase.  Well, sometimes mommy participates too. :)

We topped off  our day of celebrating you by eating one of our favorites: Mexican Food!

We love you, our sweet baby boy!  

We're Getting Our 2nd New Carr!

We found out on October 19th that we have another little life preparing to join us.  We're very excited to say the least.  I wasn't actually planning to take a home pregnancy test that day, but decided to on a whim.   You know you have a toddler and this is your second kid when you don't even have the chance to hang around to see if the two pink lines pop up.  I had to leave my stick on the bathroom counter to clean up a two year old covered in peanut butter then come back a few minutes later and bingo!  I couldn't wait, so I called Tyson at work just as he was going back in to finish teaching his class.  I think he was a little overwhelmed at first, but it quickly turned to excitement for him too.  This puts our littles at being about two years and nine months apart.  :)  

As I type this I'm almost 15 weeks along.  Things have been going well, and as you can see we had an ultrasound to confirm the due date when I was 11 weeks 4 days.  Things are looking good, and our estimated due date is July 2.  Who knows, we may have a little Independence Day baby... Since Samuel was six days late, I have no expectations for this little one coming exactly on the 2nd, or 3rd, or 4th...or...

I'm thankful for a healthy pregnancy, but once again I didn't escape the nausea!  I'm sipping on ginger ale at this very moment.  If I remember correctly it didn't go away with Samuel until I was around 17 weeks.  Nights are the worst!  In a way, it's a blessing because at least Samuel is in bed when I'm feeling so rotten.  Call it strange, but the only thing I've found that relieves it somewhat is eating popcorn.  Most evenings I have a small bag of popcorn and a glass of ginger ale.  Weird, I know.   

We have decided to go the birthing center route with a midwife again.  Although it was difficult (beyond my imagination!)  we can't deny that we had a great experience and still value all the benefits of having an unmedicated natural birth.  Don't get me wrong, I've gone back and forth in my mind and I don't judge any moms that choose the hospital route.  I've prayed that God would lead us and show us along the way if we need to choose otherwise, and I believe He will.   

Thanks for sharing in our joy over our second child.  I'm already imagining the joy he or she will bring.  Samuel seems to be excited so far.  He knows there's a baby in mommy's tummy.  Sometimes he'll come over and lift my shirt up and say, "Hi, baby, hi!" and kiss my belly.  It's very sweet.  Let's hope it stays that way!  I think it will.  

We do want to find out the gender and hopefully we will in a few more weeks.  I sort of think it's another boy and Tyson swears it's a girl.  We truly will be excited either way.  I would love for Samuel to have a little brother to play with and I'm comfortable with boys, but I know we would totally fall in love with a little girl too.   We'll know soon enough!

Sweet  profile

This is looking down at the baby.  Is it me, or do y'all see a little something?  Supposedly boys and girls all look the same at this stage.  Hmm...