Purdy's Blog

THREE

2012-01-26T11:16:00.000-08:00

Compassion

2012-01-26T11:06:00.000-08:00

My parents gave me this great daily devotional for Christmas called "Edges of His Ways" by Amy Carmichael. Amy was a missionary to India (among other places). This devotional is full of her musings about the Word of God and some poems/songs she has written. Each day is VERY short and VERY deep which I love for the phase of life I am in right now. I'm sure you can find it on Amazon or Westminster Bookstore.

Today's devotional was about compassion. She quoted Mark 8 where Jesus speaks about having compassion on the multitude of people.

Here are some of her words:

"I have often found it easier to have compassion on the multitude than on the individual, especially a rather tiresome individual...When we next have to deal with a forgetful boy or girl, perhaps this way of His will (being merciful to his people) will help to guide our ways. It is so easy to feel inwardly impatient, but He whom we follow never did. 'Jesus Master, I would be More and more made like to The.'"

I was convicted of my lack of compassion towards my children this morning. For being impatient with Baxter because he didn't want to go potty before rest time (even though we do this EVERY day), for rushing Owen through a story he was telling me because I was ready to move on with our next assignment, for getting frustrated at them for fighting with each other for the tenth time today (AND we were on the way to the park on a beautiful day - how can you fight on a day like today when you're about to play at the park?!), etc.

And yet I was also encouraged that I see God, in HIS compassion, at work in me and in them. He is at work to soften my words - even when I am frustrated. He is at work to bend Baxter's stubborn will. He is at work to give our boys love towards each other. And He will be at work when Lucy starts in on all of this too...though I'm still not sure the baby girl of the family (ahem!) deals with this stuff too. Ha!

The words of this song were in my head this morning, and I think it's a good place to stop..."Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever."

Way to go Tuckahoe Tigers!

2012-01-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

This morning was week 3 of Owen's basketball season. Asst. Coach Purdy was on the sidelines today - he has a nasty cold again and wasn't able to coach, but he was able to be a daddy! Owen was on the court and doing AWESOME! It has been very very neat for Matt and I to watch Owen the last three weeks.

As the weeks go by, he becomes more and more confident in himself (taking shots and passing more often), bold (really diving for the ball and going for rebounds on defense...even stealing the ball while the other team is dribbling which is actually a foul in this league, oops!) and joyful (often times he is jumping up and down on the court while his teammates go for the ball or take a shot - the excitement it so intense!). We are so proud of him and can't wait to see how the rest of the season goes. Last week he scored one basket and this week he scored two or three. Way to go Owen! We love you buddy!

p.s. I hope to take some pictures next week - there is so much going on on the sidelines to keep B and L occupied and such a huddle of kids all over the court that it will be challenging to get some good pictures, but I'm up for the challenge!

Simple Truth

2012-01-11T11:21:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since I have forced (I say forced because it had to be a really concerted effort to go sit and read instead of go sit and zone out) myself to sit down in the middle of the day (during rest time) to read the Bible and spend time with the Lord. When rest time hits, I either have a list of 101 things I want/need to get done in the hour and a half (or so) ahead of me OR I am so tired from the day that I just want to sit and zone out at the computer or lay down and rest. Now, the reality is that each day I WILL have something to get done AND it is good to zone out a little and lay down a little. Those are all important parts of the day. I was just doing those and neglecting the time in the Word.

So today sat on the couch with my Bible and my journal as soon as I got everyone settled in rest/nap time and got the downstairs straightened up. From 1:35-1:48 I read my Bible, I wrote some things out about what I was thinking/how I was processing the things I had read, and I prayed (a little).

I have to say, it was the most beneficial 13 minutes of my day AND there was still plenty of time to get things ready for our school day tomorrow, iron Matt's shirts and fold the load of laundry I did this morning. AND what is better than that is that I am able to be more aware of the Lord and more sure of His presence with me and more empowered by Him instead of living in my own little world on my own strength.

I was thinking mostly about verse 10 in Psalm 46, "Be still and know that I am God." Talk about simple! Yet it's also quite profound. I was encouraged to remember that I am not God (I can not do all things, and that is ok. Sometimes we need to remember the frame He has given us....one that needs to sit and rest, one that needs to call out for His strength, one that needs to be recharged and encouraged. We can not do this on our own, He has not made us to do this on our own. He has provided His Spirit and His Son and each other to help us!), that this is His world (so I can trust all things to Him and I can follow His ways instead of try to make my own way), and that He is to be trusted and that He loves me and cares for me. He is God, and that is good news for me today. I am not. I can go do my chores and go love my kids with and for Him.

Tuckahoe Tigers

2012-01-11T07:56:00.000-08:00

Owen started his very first season of basketball this past weekend. He is playing through our local YMCA on the Tuckahoe Tigers. Daddy is the assistant coach on his team which both Owen and I are excited about. Matt and Owen really loved the first practice! I asked Owen what he liked and he said "I'm ready for next week!" We are really excited about this for Owen - to be able to be on a team with other 5 year old boys, taking direction from his coach (and assistant coach)! And also we're excited for this chance to be used as a light with other families who may not know about the Gospel. It's neat to help Owen learn about that, and learn right along side of him!! Here is a little bit of a blurry picture of him waiting to practice his bounce pass :) I'm sure there will be more pictures to post and scores to report as the season goes on. :)

Some school fun...

2011-12-27T11:23:00.001-08:00

Here are some of the things we've been up to in school recently! We were able to take a 2 week break which has been nice, though I'm getting excited to start back up again. I've been planning our "spring semester" and am looking forward to what it holds! I may do a second post with some ideas I have for the spring for those of you who enjoy things like that :) But for now, here are a few things we enjoyed right before Christmas...

This was SUPPOSED to be green boxes which would look like a Christmas Tree when assembled, but I didn't have the energy to wrap 6 boxes in green paper, SO...we did clear boxes. Still fun. We used the words from John 3:16 (part of our Why Advent?! time in school) and they had to put them in order and then assemble the "tree." Owen could do it by reading the words to the verse, I put numbers on it for Baxter so that he could participate too. I got this idea from the Impress Your Kids website.

We did a "blends scavenger hunt" that I saw on education.com. I wrote out some blends that we had been working on in Owen's phonics book (fr, cr, st, sk, and so on) on index cards and laid them out on the floor. Owen had to go around the house and finds things that started with those blends and bring them to the school room. A few things were too big to bring, so he brought the index card to the item (ex. the FRidge and SKim milk).

Brothers! They continue to grow in relating with one another which is one joy in having Owen home this year. They fight and squabble like brothers, but they are also growing in friendship!

We got this idea from Owen's preschool teacher from when he was 3 (she is now Baxter's teacher and offered to get coffee with me one day to share a few math ideas from her days teaching Kindergarten/1st grade. I quickly accepted and we have LOVED her ideas! Thanks Mrs. McGurn!!). This is a race to $1.00 - you roll a dice and take the same amount of cents for the number you rolled. As you go, you trade in 5 cents for a nickel, 10 cents for a dime, etc all the way up to $1.00. Tons of fun for my math-minded boy!

Merry "Croup"mas in pictures...

2011-12-27T10:57:00.000-08:00

Though it was a Merry "Croup"mas this year, we still enjoyed one another and were thankful for Jesus being born...FOR US!! Here are some pics...

Pre-Christmas celebration with Gramma and Grampa:

Owen has wanted this Hokie Bird pillow pet for a while...he was thrilled to open it!

A ThirtyOne bags gift for my parents...a LARGE utility tote for all of the knitting/books/food/etc that they generously tote to CT, FL and VA to their kids and grandkids. AND for an "occasional" trip to Costco :)

Following a breakfast of oatmeal and MONKEY BREAD :) we opened our stockings...

Let the 104.8 fever begin...

And present opening. The kids each get 3 gifts from us (just like Jesus got 3 gifts from the wise men) and this year they gave each other gifts. It was fun to "set them loose" in Target with a $5 budget for each sibling and see what they chose. We felt like it was a neat way to help them to focus not only on getting gifts, but also giving.

Lu

2011-12-26T14:09:00.000-08:00

We were just having some family music time singing "For all the Saints" - a great hymn that our family has loved for a few years. At the end of each verse, you sing "Alleluia, Allelu." After one verse, Baxter commented (after the Allelu) "Hey...Lu, we call Lucy that. I call God Lu too." Then each time we'd get back to the end of the verse, he'd say "Alleluia, Alle God Lu."

One of those things that is hard to explain, but worth writing down! Thankful for time together and thankful that B is on the mend! What a boy!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T12:06:00.001-08:00

We have been anticipating this day for weeks and weeks. Celebrating Advent helps us to look forward to Christmas Day with more anticipation than we would otherwise. We have been talking and singing and celebrating all month - that Jesus came to earth...born a child and yet a King.

So, today has finally come, and it's not what we were expecting...three kids with a bad cough/virus, one of whom spent Friday night and part of Saturday at St. Mary's hospital following a 911 call and ambulance ride because of breathing difficulties related to croup.

This is not how we expected to celebrate Christmas, but it is how God planned for us to celebrate and He has been with us in it all....from the amazing fire men and nurses and doctors who lovingly helped Baxter to the friends who came and helped with Owen and Lucy so Matt could come to the hospital and relieve me, to our special Purdy Family Christmas Eve service at home, to our sweet/coughing/102 fever/special morning of opening presents. We have been able to just enjoy each other and in some ways I think it helps us remember what Christmas is really all about. Sweet Baxter was so fever-ridden this morning that he didn't want to open his gifts. He would take off the bow and I'd open it for him. I can't wait till the real Baxter is back, but he is still precious even when he's quite sick!

These pictures were taken Friday evening - the evening before we were in the hospital all night - on a family Christmas outing. We enjoyed dinner out and then went downtown to see some fun Richmond Christmas decorations. We are thankful to be together and have each other and have a Savior! Merry Christmas!

Mission of Motherhood

2011-12-17T16:51:00.000-08:00

I have been slowly reading through a great book called "The Mission of Motherhood" by Sally Clarkson. I highly recommend it!!

I was re-reading a chapter (Ch. 4) called "The Servant Mother - Mothering with the Heart of Jesus" this morning in my "bagel time." It really hit me right where I am at this week. I was feeling very "poured out" this week - the constant 24/7 nature of my job as mommy/homemaker/homeSCHOOLER/wife has felt more taxing this week than others. Don't get me wrong, I love all of those jobs and I see them as what God has called me to and I find joy in that...it was just a tiring week!

Here are a few TRUTHS that stood out to me from her writing (and from the Word that she referenced). Be encouraged!

--John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." Often times I feel like I have lain my life down for my kids, over and over and over, but I don't remember to do so with love! When Christ lay down his life for us, he did so driven by His love for us! Great reminder!

-- This next section was really profound for me!
"More than anything else, being a mother has helped me to understand this verse (the one above). I used to travel on airplanes, wear lovely clothes, speak in prominent places, enjoy find cuisine in the various cities in which I ministered. I used to love having long teatimes and conversations with friends and colleagues and a sufficient salary to spend on my whims and pleasures.

"Now most of the time I stay home. I spend a great deal of time doing things that will need to be done over and over again - washing clothes, cooking meals, cleaning messes, correcting attitudes, teaching and training - over and over and over again. I don't have much extra money to spend on my desires because with four children, most of my money is tied up in jeans, tennis shoes, Legos, dolls, piano lessons, doctor's appointments, and birthday presents. I have given up my personal rights to the priority of addressing my children's needs first."

--"The Lord conivcted me that the futre was not where real life began. Each day was God's perfect will for me. There would be no wasted years of "just taking care of the needs of my young children." On the contrary, these years would be among the most important of my life....In the end, what could be a better use of my time?"

--"I understood that the dependent stage of early childhood was only for a season. I could see how important it was to enjoy each day and treasure these moments of early life with my children, because the years did pass quickly. How I wished I could take back all the impatient words I had said, all the guild I had imposed on my older children just because they were acting their age and taking up my time."

Great Christmas Article

2011-12-14T12:05:00.001-08:00

I just stumbled upon a GREAT article on the Desiring God website. (click HERE) Wow! It puts into words what I am feeling and what I bet a lot of us are feeling.

We have sought to teach our kids so much during this advent season about Christ and WHY He has come and read the story of His coming over and over again. We will continue to do so for the next 11 days (Owen has a constant countdown in his mind for this! He is discouraged that Walmart is counting down to Christmas Eve because of "Santa" while we are counting down to Christmas Day because of Jesus. Oh, how to train him that we are not right and they are not wrong...we're just counting down to different things! Anyway...). And yet, wet still struggle to love each other. Owen still pushes Baxter down when he is in his way. Baxter still makes an angry face when I tell him no. I raise my voice when my children are not listening to me. ETC, ETC.

As much as we are excited about Christmas and about Jesus and about presents and about God's love for us...we are still sinners. We are still in need of grace. Constantly! I think that is why this article really stood out to me. Take a few minutes to read it. You will be glad you did.

This is the part that stood out to me the most.

"We are acting out both the surprised shepherds in the fields with their problems and squabbles and regular lives, and also the heavenly host that came to them singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men.” We can’t stop being the shepherds this side of glory, and God doesn’t want us to. He wants us to be the shepherds the whole way through that story. Listening, fearing, following, worshipping. We are bringing our children alongside us as we come in out of our worldly fields, smelling like sheep, to fall at the feet of an infant king in a trough, beside livestock and an exhausted teenaged mother. This is what Christmas is all about."

Thank you God that you are in the business of blending together the physical and the spiritual and redeeming it all as you go! We can truly say "Glory to God in the hightest!" And we can be thankful that He came to bring us "good news of great joy!"

Geoboard

2011-12-08T11:40:00.001-08:00

Owen loves when our math curriculum calls for the use of his geoboard! He loves to stretch the geobands and make various shapes. After our lesson today I let him have some "free play" with his geoboard. I left the room for about 3 minutes to help Lucy and found that he was pretending to play football using two crayons, and his geoboard was keeping score...7-0. Of course, what else would you use it for?!

Lucy's 1st Birthday!

2011-12-08T11:14:00.000-08:00

What a difference a year makes! It was such a joy to celebrate Lucy's 1st birthday today! It was both a great celebration of God's hand of protection last year when I was on bed rest, in the hospital and having a c-section as well as a great celebration of this great first year of Lucy's life. We started the day off with bagels at our favorite bagel shop (Cuppertino's NY Bagel and Deli for all you Richmonders who need a good bagel shop!). The lady who works there gave Lucy a cookie when we told her it was her birthday - Lucy loved it! After that, B went to school, daddy went to work and O, L and I came home for naptime and kindergarten! Both sets of grandparents arrived mid-nap and were here to greet Lucy when she awoke. Matt and B came home around 11:30 and we spent the rest of the day together enjoying our sweet girl. Instead of cake we did brownies which were much more anti-climatic and clean (though they were shaped like cute mittens for our winter baby) but she did enjoy a few bites. Gifts and baloons were also featured events. We are so grateful for the sweet girl she is and look forward to what this next year holds! We love you Lucy Grace!

Last year...

This Year...

Why Advent?

2011-12-06T17:07:00.000-08:00

This year for advent, we have taken a little bit of a different spin on things. We are doing the Jesse Tree along with our church (follow the daily blog HERE for great little ornaments, short devotionals and questions based an each scripture verse!). In that study, we are learning about the story of Christmas from creation all of the way through the cross. Creation, fall, Abraham, Joseph, etc.

But during our school days, we are focusing a little bit more specifically on WHY Advent?! It's been a neat way to really ponder and try to teach the boys to ponder the WHY of Jesus coming as a baby. Not just that He did, but why did He?

One day, I took a simple piece of white printer paper and wrote Romans 3:23-24 on the top. Then I wrote, "WHY ADVENT" under that and left room for the boys to each draw a picture or write about why THEY need advent. Owen drew a picture of a sad face (sin) and the cross. Baxter drew a picture of baby Jesus under a black blanket - he was just using black, but I pointed out that Jesus took our black sin on Himself when He died for us.

Another day, we did an exercise that I found on another website. Owen is working on copywork (using his best handwriting to copy something that I have written out or that is in the Bible or a song or a book). He copied Isaiah 9:2. When he was done, I got out our blindfold. Here is what followed:

"The people who walked in darkness, (notice how sad B is looking because he's in darkness)

...have seen a great light." (what a better thing to be in the light, thank you Jesus for being the light of the world!"

Isaiah 9:2 "The people who walked in darkness, have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shown."

Little Learner

2011-12-06T16:57:00.000-08:00

This was just a random afternoon playtime, but I suppose it's a glance of what is to come when Lucy is old enough to be with us for school. Right now she is still napping for about 2 hours every morning while we are doing school. I know that won't last forever, and it causes me great anxiety! I don't know what school will look like with Lucy cruising around. For now I"m trying to enjoy the peaceful school mornings and trust God to provide just what Owen and I need as well as what Lucy needs.

Nonetheless, she is a precious student!

"Near the Winter" by Owen Purdy

2011-11-17T10:44:00.001-08:00

Owen came up with this poem today, impromptu while getting in the car on our way to the library. These are the sweet moments...

"Oh it's so fun, looking at the trees.
Half empty.

Go on birds, you have to find food.
Get those worms.

There's not much time."

October 31

2011-11-05T06:44:00.000-07:00

This week we enjoyed celebrating two things on October 31. We have never done much in the way of Halloween in our family - a few costumes through the years, but nothing much. We have honestly avoided it as much as possible. There is so much in the world that is just plain evil that is "celebrated" that day in one way or another. We just didn't know how to best interact with it. So we avoided it. This year, we decided to take part in it in some small ways. It was a blast! The kids all got dressed up - twice. We were invited to a playgroup (that we're not part of) Halloween party which was real fun, and then we dressed up on Halloween itself and went trick or treating with our friends. It was really fun to see the boys get a kick out of their costumes (they were "sports men") and their pursuit of candy. It was awesome.

We also celebrated Reformation Day. Funny to me that they happen to be on the same day. I always saw Reformation Day as the Christian world's way of celebrating something on Halloween without acutally celebrating Halloween. I was wrong. Reformation Day is awesome. What Martin Luther and the other reformers stood up for are a matter of life and death for us as believers. Here are a few of the things they stood up for in the face of the church of their day - salvation is through faith alone in Christ alone (no work on our part!!), we need the Bible in our own language (at the time they only had it in Latin and most people didn't read Latin...I don't read Latin, so I'm thankful it's now in English!), we need to repent of our sin daily, grace alone is what saves, etc. I found a couple of cute ideas on a website HERE.

This is our version of the Wittenberg Door where Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses. We taped ours :) And we didn't do 95.

Owen did a maze and a word search.

They did a water color painting of the Luther Rose - each color meant something different relating to the Gospel. This was Baxter's...he uses EVERY inch of paper.

When Luther was being tried for the "crime" of believing the things he believed, he was taken to a council/jury to be given a chance to recant. At the time they called this a "diet." They were in the city of Worms, Germany. Thus, we had a "diet" of worms for snack :) Again, not something I came up with, but so fun!

Life the past few months according to Matt's phone...

2011-10-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

When Matt got his iPhone this summer, we started to use his phone when we were out and about to take pictures instead of hauling our big camera. Because of this, there are a lot of things that never appeared on the blog. I'm going to try to add some of them to the blog, but for now, here is a random assortment of our life via the iPhone...more to come another day!

Look at the legs!

Swim lessons - what a long week!

Owen's first hole in one this summer at Patterson Golf Park here in Richmond!

Owen and Baxter's 1/2 birthday - dinner at Moes with 1/2 cupcakes :)

Daddy project day at Home Depot - a free program they run for kids and parents the first Saturday of the month! They made a white board that looked like a play board you'd have for sports...perfect! They were hard workers!

We bought a coupon for the Mosquito Authority on Groupon this year. It was awesome! 3 or 4 weeks of NO mosquitos!! Here was dinner on our porch one night...bug free! (Honest side note - getting all of the food and accessories and children to the porch was not one of our finest moments. We are creatures of habit and enjoy eating dinner at our indoor table!)

Together again! Matt had the privilege of doing the wedding for some friends in Richmond this fall - we went to JMU with the bride. Our great friends Michael and Laura were in the wedding. The guys had played music in some weddings together right out of college. Michael was our best man. We were both in their wedding. It was really fun to be together again for Am's wedding!

The same day of the wedding, we took Lucy to the hospital where she was born, St. Mary's for a NICU reunion. It was great to see some of the doctor's and nurses that helped her for those first 4 days when she was in the NICU. We were also able to see one of my favorite nurses from the antepartum unit - the unit I was on for the week before she was born. Afton was the nurse who came in bright and early on December 7, 2010 to tell me that I got to have my baby girl that day! It was great to see her again and to let her see Lucy all big and healthy!!

More Lucy :)

2011-10-20T17:05:00.001-07:00

Just a few of Lucy today. She is pulling up to a stand a lot on things...not quite cruising yet. She brings a whole lot of sweetness to our home!

School IS cool!

2011-10-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

You know that old saying, "School is Cool" ? Well, I would have to say that it is true! We have been having a really great couple of weeks. I think we are more in our rhythm and routine as a family and this new life of homeschooling. The days are still long and tiring, don't get me wrong! But there is just more peace and joy in the midst of it too. I have visions of capturing all of the various parts of our day in pictures and recording it on here, but that just doesn't seem to be happening this year! And I"m ok with that! But I did want to share a few things that we have been up to so that you can have a little window into our world. So here you go...

We are using the Kindergarten Saxon Math curriculum. It is REALLY easy for Owen. BUT, we are really committed (at this point) in keeping "on grade level" so that if and when he goes to school he is the "right" age (among other reasons). Even though this is a really easy thing for Owen, he seems to enjoy it and is not bored. This day he was simply counting pennies and putting them in cups (1 penny in the cup numbered 1, 2 pennies in the cup numbered 2, etc). The picture below where he is smiling is where he has just figured out that he has 55 pennies (I think)... the boy LOVES numbers! It's neat to watch the joy in learning right up close!

Owen has a penpal this year! His sweet cousin Anna Rose lives in Connecticut. She also started Kindergarten this year. Owen and Anna have written a few letters back and forth so far. It is a GREAT day when we go to the mailbox and there is mail from CT! In this most recent letter, Owen had asked Anna if she likes football. She sent her card back with "girly" (according to Owen) stickers and said she liked soccer. She then asked Owen another question for him to answer in this next card. Precious!!

Today was apple taste testing day. We had red delicious, golden delicious, and gala apples. The boys had to taste each one and then pick the one that they liked the best. The both decided that golden delicious is there favorite. I always buy gala...hmmm...

10 months - and all girl!

2011-10-15T10:31:00.001-07:00

I am about a week late in posting that our precious Lucy is 10 months old! Last year at this time I was one month into bed rest...enjoying the fall weather from a lawn chair on our back porch, hearing updates of field trips and watching my husband scurry around like a crazy man. All for this precious little girl. Oh, Lucy, we love you! You are well worth that whole crazy time!

She is sleeping like a champ - 12 hours at night and two 2 hour naps during the day. I wonder when the morning nap will fade away, but we're living it up while it lasts!! That is when we do school, puzzles, games on the ground, etc. She is a very busy crawler and likes to see everything! She is drawn like a magnet to any board game! She loves to play with any toy - especially the boys cars and balls! She is a momma's girl - always within a few feet in case she wants to be swooped up and cuddled (and then toted around, because let's face it, this momma doesn't have hours to spend just cuddling!). Her brothers and daddy continue to adore her, and she them! The smiles and giggles are too much for them to handle! She is a joy!

Here she is...Miss Lucy Grace, 10 months old!

"I do homeschool."

2011-10-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

We had our first run-in with someone who put Owen on the spot about school. He handled it so well - I was very proud of his courage and boldness! We were leaving Costco after a quick shopping trip before picking Baxter up from preschool. The lady at the door (who checks your receipt to be sure you're not stealing anything) looked at Owen, and very loudly said to him, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?!" I paused, seeing that he was processing what he was saying. He simply, yet boldly, said "I do homeschool!" She looked and him and then looked at me and said something like "Well, good for you! Have a great day!" I don't know what she was thinking, but she was very kind in response to him.

I was just so proud of him - he does well with adults he knows, but is often very quiet with other adults. He just looked her in the eye and answered her question - confident in how he is being schooled. It was neat!

Thank you Lord for our precious son! May he always be brave and bold for you and your kingdom!!

Owen's first story

2011-10-14T07:15:00.000-07:00

I found this idea on a blog that the women who wrote "A well trained mind" (which is what we have based our curriculum off of) had posted. They suggested that your child narrate a story to you, you type it out (or write it out I guess). I thought it would be neat to also print out the story, have him illustrate it, and then staple it together like a mini-book.

Here is what he came up with. It came out of him like he was just waiting for me to ask him a story. So sweet. Can you tell that he's read a book about lost treasure and that we have been reading Charlotte's Web together!! :)

Title: "Owen's first scene: A Spider Web Message"

p.1 "One day, I was walking down the street, and I saw a spider web. The spider web was so big that I could fit in it."
p.2 "And on the spider web was a secret message. It said "Across the sea you will find the last of the lasts treasure chest."
p.3 "And when I found the treasure chest, it was so great I wanted to keep it. And I opened it. And I saw lots and lots and lots of gold pennies. But then, I had to go back to my own home. See you next time. Good Bye! THE END."

About to start week 5!

2011-10-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

We have completed 4 weeks of homeschool! It has really gone smoothly, which I thank the Lord for! Owen is really enjoying (most of the time) the work and activities we are doing. Baxter loves to "do homeschool" on the days he is at home. Lucy is still being a super third child and napping for 1.5-2 hours each morning while we are doing school. I am thankful for the planning I did this summer that has allowed the fall to be low stress. I feel a little better about him not being in a classroom with another adult and other children - thankful for the opportunity to see his friendships with Baxter and Lucy grow, thankful for a chance to know him and spend time with him, thankful that when we have seen friends and other adults this week he has interacted very well and with joy.

One sweet thing is that Owen does a journal time every morning we do school. He has to draw a picture and then write one sentence about it. He can either do something that he thinks up on his own or get an idea from the "journal ideas" envelope. This hasn't been a favorite time of his - too vague I think. One day he was super cranky. I had him draw a picture of how he was feeling. He drew a sad face on one page and a happy face on the other. One said "I am sad" and the other said "I am happy." I know that feeling well - happy sad! Since that day, I have not asked him to draw how he is feeling, but he often will do it on his own. He'll do his one journal page from his mind or the envelope and then do a 2nd page with a smiley face that says "I am happy." I am thankful for that!

We're not sure what the future holds, but we are thankful for where we are today! This weekend Matt led a young adults beach retreat through church in Corolla, NC. We left as a family Friday morning - spent time at the beach house, climbing the light house and playing at the beach Friday (pictures will come soon). Saturday morning while Matt was teaching and Lucy was napping the boys and I did our schoolwork that we skipped on Friday. I appreciated the flexibility it allows - we could all go with Matt this weekend and school flexed around that. Pretty neat!

Here are two pics from this past week. One is Owen creating a big D and little d with lincoln logs (he also made a "Hebrew D" after Matt had shown him some Hebrew that he was working on at work). The other is Owen playing with Lucy - it's neat that he is around to know her as she grows this year!

Sweet lunch eater...

2011-09-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

No words for this one!

Baxter's First Day!

2011-09-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

Baxter started preschool last week! He went last year, one day a week, for the 2 year old class. This year he will be going two days a week for the 3 year old class. He has the same teacher that Owen did when he was 3! We are excited for him to have a place where he will be loved very well, told more about Jesus, and get some of his wiggles out! He's really enjoyed doing some homeschool time with us, but it would be too much for him to hang in there with us every day. He will be home with us on two mornings a week now which is great all around! Here are some precious pictures of our very intense (wether joy or goofy or sad or mad) middle child. We love you Baxter!!!

Overheard at our house...

2011-09-19T12:26:00.000-07:00

A bunch of friends have a part of their blogs called "overheard at our house..." to capture sweet things that their kids say. I think I might start doing this too. We'll see!

Here are a few from today.

Me - Baxter, would you like to read your "God books" today during silent reading time?
B - Sure, I love God!

earlier this morning...

Me - Owen, what is your favorite part about fall?
Owen - Leaves, and homeschool

It's moments like those that make this all worth it!

Not so great are the moments that they are kicking and hitting one another or I am speaking in less than soft words...

God is good to be at work in it all!

Couldn't be sweeter!! 9 Months old!

2011-09-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

Our precious Lucy is 9 months old! Can you believe it? I can't! She started crawling last weekend in the midst of Hurricane Irene. She is such a sweet explorer. She is very into figuring things out and tracking things down - especially the boys toys! She is as sweet as ever and so fun to learn more of her personality. She has continued her great napping this week which I am thrilled about since we have started homeschool! If only she could take a 1.5 - 2 hour morning nap through the end of may :) She loves "table food" much better than baby food, but she can't quite master it enough to eat much of it. So we're still shoveling the baby food in for a bit longer. Her brothers adore her - even when she comes crawling toward their sorry game or football endzones.

We love you Lucy Grace!

Day 1 complete!

2011-09-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

So when we woke up this morning, Owen awoke as a Kindergarten-er and I awoke a teacher. We had our first day of homeschool Kindergarten (and preschool for Baxter) this morning. I would say overall it was a success. It didn't go exactly as I had envisioned it. In some ways it went better, in some ways anti-climactic and in other ways it brought up fears and wonderings I didn't expect.

I wondered if we were going to limit him by keeping him at home. He won't get to be in a class with other kids. He won't get to go to PE or art or music. Are my plans too simple? Why did it only take 5 minutes to complete something I thought would take 20 minutes? I am not trained for this!

He read THREE books to us during our reading time. He and Baxter worked together on a puzzle without fighting. I was able to remind Owen (and myself) that our learning of spelling and writing and phonics is to equip us to know God and to make Him known to others. Lucy took an awesome nap. We had Lucky Charms for a snack. Baxter discovered that a 6 and a 9 look the same depending on how you hold them.

Those are some of the wanderings of my mind from day 1. I trust that this is where the Lord has led us and He will be faithful. I am thankful that we ended the morning with smiles and joy. That is a blessing to me!

Here are a few pictures. I am sure more thoughts will come as the days and weeks go by...

A silly thing I did at the start of the day where we each wore two hats. Our normal hats (mommy, son) and our new hats (teacher, student). I think they got it. Baxter later asked me if he could call me mommy and not teacher. Sweet B.

Owen reading "Ronald Morgan goes to Bat" to us.

First day of school!

First "free writing/drawing" assignment. Yes, this is a picture of a house with stinky things next to it and it reads "My house is messy." Hmm...I thought it was cleaner than it's ever been in preparation for school starting. So encouraging!

Second page of the "free writing/drawing." A heart and a pin that says "I love my pin." This is in reference to a pin he received at Home Depot on Saturday morning from a daddy and me project. That was more of what I was looking for :)

Saturday Bagel Time

2011-09-02T17:22:00.000-07:00

This picture is a little snapshot of one of my favorite times of the week. In our house we simply call it "bagel time." Most weeks, on Saturday morning, we get up, get the kids breakfast, and get me out the door. I am generally gone for about an hour and a half. I head to our favorite bagel shop, Cuppertino's NY Bagel and Deli, with my Bible, notebook, a few books. I find a great corner to sit in, order my everything bagel toasted with plain cream cheese and a small coffee, and I sit down to meet with the Lord.

It is a time of refreshment for me. On one hand it it good to be away from my home for a little while - to have a break from the demands of my kids and my home. But most of all, it is good for me to be in the Word and in books that are instructive to things I am dealing with. God meets me there. I am refreshed. It is good!

I am currently reading through the Bible in a year - I have the ESV Bible in a Year. I pick up on whatever day it is. In reality it's the Bible in 10 years, but that is ok :) I am also reading through a few great books:

Praying Life by Paul Miller

Instructing a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp

The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

If you are able, I strongly recommend starting something like Saturday morning bagel time!

Who? What? Where? When? Why?

2011-08-26T11:05:00.001-07:00

We are less than 2 weeks away from a new family adventure. One that we have thought about and prayed about and disagreed about and agreed about and wondered about for years. On Owen's Half-Birthday, he will have his first day of Kindergarten...at HOME. We are both thrilled and anxious about what this year will hold for all five of us, but we are confident that this is where the Lord has led us, and look forward to what He is going to be doing!

As a way to kick off this new adventure, I thought I'd answer a few questions that you may have about this adventure...

Who?
Owen (5 1/2) is starting Kindergarten - 4 days with mommy and 1 special day with daddy. Owen and Matt will get to spend Tuesday mornings together. I will continue to attend our women's Bible study at church while Owen and Matt spend Matt's day off together!

Baxter (3 1/2) will be in preschool 2 days a week and home 3 days a week (1 of those days at home will be at Bible study with me)

Lucy (9 months) will be napping for most of our school day - 9-11am - and hopefully playing peacefully for any other times we need to work on school.

What?
"To know Him and make Him known." I read that in a book recently and it has become our focus as we think about doing school at home with our boys. That is our goal. As we learn and as we teach - to love learning in order to know God more. And to use what we learn to reach the world with His gospel.

We are basing a lot of our thinking and planning off of a great book called "The Well Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer. She recommends keeping it fairly simple for the Kindergarten year. I am thankful for that - it's helped me to say no to a lot of ideas and just stick with the basics. We can always add to it as we go!

Math - Saxon Kindergarten
Phonics - Explode the Code
Spelling - Words Their Way
Handwriting/Writing - a journal for free writing/drawing and a "heart notebook" to keep verses on specific areas of struggle for Owen.
READING - lots and lots of reading - silent reading, mommy reading aloud and Owen reading aloud.
Bible/Church History - we'll be reading through Genesis and John as well as reading about various men from church history (including John Owen!)

Where?
Right here in our home!

When?
For 34 weeks of this next year, starting on September 6th, from 9am-11:30am.

Why?
A number of reasons, most of which are hard to express. First and foremost I clearly see that this is where the Lord has led us. That is the main reason. We have been discussing this since Owen was 2 years old. We really feel strongly about having our kids be at home for the majority of their time while they are young. For us to be the main influence and main teachers of character and the main ones to walk them through their sin and God's redeeming of them through the cross. I have seen a slight increase of brotherly love - and love towards Lucy - that has come out of more time at home together this summer and I look forward to them developing that relationship more and more this year. I also know that there are going to be hard days - more fighting - less mommy time- lots to balance - less peer interaction. We are seeking to trust the Lord with all of those things and watch to see Him provide abundantly for all of our needs according to His glorious riches!

I am thankful that this is where we are at this fall and expectant for the Lord to be at work.

GAP Beach Trip 2011

2011-08-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

My brother Brett realized this week that our "Gillan And Purdy" beach trip should have been sponsored by GAP (Gillan And Purdy!). So clever! We had a really great week at the beach - I keep telling people that it was even slightly relaxing! Go figure! A beach trip with three kids can be relaxing. The key to that was our sweet Lucy. She napped pretty well on the beach every morning for her morning nap. When she was napping in her little tent and the boys were playing in the ocean or on the sand with cousins and daddy and aunts and uncles and gramma and grampa, I could site near Lu and read a book! Crazy I know! I even finished the book I brought with me (Left Neglected by Lisa Genova...neat book!).

We were very thankful for our time as a family at the beach as well as time with family. It's neat to see the cousins continue to develop friendship with one another and for us to get some time with my brothers and their wives and my parents.

After our week in Corolla with the GAP clan, we headed south to Kill Devil Hills (I think) to spend a few more days with Matt's family. We were thankful that the weeks overlapped so well. We got to take the kids to ice cream and we went to "the dunes" at Jockey's Ridge.

I think that pictures tell the story the best, so here you go...a LOT of pictures of a great week and a half!

Pre-Beach

2011-07-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

We are headed to the beach!! It's amazing how much needs to get done to pack up FIVE people. Yikes!! 'm hoping for a sweet time with family, SOME rest, good sleep and lots of fun! I am certain it will be a busy week! Can't wait to introduce Lucy to the ocean and the sand :) Thankful God is good and He goes with us!!

Here are some sweet pictures of the last few weeks. They make me feel thankful for our kids. Though there are many moments of the day that are long and hard - where my sin and their sin mix together for many non-photo-opportunities (is that even a word/phrase?!), these pictures remind me that God is at work to rescue and redeem.

COW DAY 2011

2011-07-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

This is our third year of dressing up like cows to get FREE Chick-Fil-A. It is always such a fun event - this year the boys were both WAY into it and loved getting their spots on. If anyone talked to Baxter, all he would say in response was "MOOOO!" This year we went for both lunch AND dinner - to two different stores of course. I'm not sure my tummy was glad for that decision, but it was fun! And FREE! Each year we have done this we have seen the same four families at lunch - I love it! Thank you CFA!!

7 Months Old - sweet as ever!

2011-07-11T18:06:00.001-07:00

Lucy turned 7 months old last week. She continues to be such a joy - she is by far our most content and sweet child. She gets fussy when she is tired or hungry (or if the boys get too intense) but other than that she sits up and plays with toys, watches and smiles at her brothers, enjoys eating oatmeal, yogurt, fruits and veggies, just rolled over for the first time today and has just about mastered sleeping through the night. We love her dearly and can't wait to watch her grow and get to know her more and more as the weeks and months go by!

Music Time

2011-07-11T06:05:00.000-07:00

A little Monday morning music time "jamming" to Andrew Peterson's "Slugs, Bugs and Lullabies" CD - one of our all time favorites!! This is a Purdy family favorite activity!

Later today, swim lessons...yay!

Cheerios

2011-06-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

Here is Lucy enjoying a few Cheerios...

Almost 7 months at this point...

2011-06-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

So, Lucy is 6 1/2 months, closing in on 7 months at this point. I have YET to do a "photo shoot" for 6 months, so I have decided that these pictures will count for it. No sign saying "6 months old", but that is ok! That is just life right now :) Our dear friends from seminary have a daughter named Lucy that is almost 5. They sent up a few sweet outfits that are monogramed so that our Lucy could wear them. This red and white dress is just precious.

Our Lucy continues to be such a joy to us all! She is still very sweet and content and flexible. She is still not rolling over, but she sits up like a champ! She is almost sleeping through the night, we're getting there! I was folding sheets today, and as I folded Lucy's precious pink and green etc flowery sheet, I just felt so thankful to have her in our family!

Here she is...

Burp Burp Chicken Little...

2011-06-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

I have read quotes about motherhood all day long - the Lord must be graciously reminding me of the calling He has given me! He knew I needed a little refreshment. Matt and my sister in law Becky both sent me an article from Desiring God - John Piper's ministry - about motherhood being our mission field , I have seen several on facebook and a few others in email. God is good to lift us up when we are weary!

As I was driving through town today, radio blaring this great CD by Andrew Peterson, singing "You've got to burp burp chicken wiggle, don't spit up, don't spit up, come on burp burp chicken wiggle don't spit up..." I suddenly realized how crazy and different and mundane and hard and wonderful and special and overlooked this whole thing called motherhood is. I'm not sure I would have thought about this if I hadn't just been encouraged/challenged to view this calling as my mission field. I'm not sure how to put all that I am thinking into words, but I am simply grateful for the reminder from the Lord that this IS important and it IS worthwhile and that He IS with me in it and that HE has given it great value and importance because it's about His kingdom advancing in my heart, in Matt's heart, in our kids hearts and in the world. This doesn't take away the hard and crazy and mundane parts about it, but it pumps them full of His presence and His purposes.

"A true love of the gospel overflows and overpowers. It will be in everything you do, however drab, however simple, however repetitive." Even singing a silly song about a baby needing to burp!

Lucy's Half Birthday...post soon

2011-06-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

Lucy had her half birthday last week! Can you believe she is already 6 months old?! YIKES! I still need to take some pictures for her 6 month post, I think I'll wait until we take her to the doctor next week so I can include how BIG she is getting! For now, here are a few sweet ones of our growing little lady.

What a life she has surrounded by love and craziness!!

Happy Birthday Great Grandpa!

2011-06-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

My grandpa turned 90 this past week and we were able to make a trip to NJ to celebrate with he and my grandma. It was a long trip, but so worth it! We went to CT for a night before the party to spend some time with my brother Brett and his family. It was such a treat to see them and spend time at their home. They live in the town that I grew up in, so it was fun to see my old house and walk around Main street with Matt and our kiddos. The cousins hit it off right off the bat which is so precious to see! The party was Sunday in New Jersey - my whole family was there along with my extended family. It was a treat to see everyone and especially introduce Lucy to my grandparents. Here are some pictures that I am sure we will cherish for years to come! We love you Great Grandpa - you are one special 90 year old!! We love you Great Grandma too :)!

First day of school - Last day of school

2011-06-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

Owen graduated preschool a few weeks ago - it was a bitter sweet day! We love our BIG boy! We are thankful for his time in preschool and all he has learned and how he has grown. These pics from his first day of school as a 2 year old compared to his last day as a 5 year old put it in perspective! We look forward to this next chapter for O and all God will do in and through him!

Look how big the bag is!!

STRAWBERRIES!!

2011-06-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed some strawberry picking yesterday. We hit the Berry Patch when the season was all but over :( which meant we didn't get many strawberries, but we had a blast searching for them and felt rewarded each time we found one. Yummo!

Along for the ride!

B loved finding and eating the berries!

O was the basket holder...he struggled to find the berries bc of his slight colorblindness! Red and green can be hard for him. He enjoyed it when I'd find one and let him pick it. Sweet boy - just like his Grampa :)

Lucy Grace - 5 1/2 Months old!!

2011-05-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

In some ways it seems that she has been here for years and in other ways I can't believe we're coming up on 6 months...that is half of a year! Yikes!! She continues to be such a sweet joy. She has the most content and laid back personality. She is just precious. She is eating great (LOVES solid foods), sleeping well (napping great in the day...not sleeping through the night yet...come on Lu!), playing with toys and engaging with us, babbling, and more. We are so thankful for her and can't wait to keep getting to know her more and more as the days and weeks go by. I thought about taking a picture of her in every dress that she owns/wears. That may be a post this summer. I LOVE dresses for her. We have so many hand me downs, that she has an over abundance of precious dresses. That has certainly been fun for me! Here are some pictures. If by some, I mean a lot :)

Fun in the exersaucer!

Sweetness!

Daddy made Lucy into a mighty fortress...she loved it! Might be the best way to keep her safe!

Watching some TV with the boys

Enjoying her ball.

Not to be forgotten...

2011-05-19T10:58:00.001-07:00

I am about to post A LOT of pictures of Lucy for her 5 1/2 month post. I realized the other day that I generally take only pictures of Lucy these days. If you are not Lucy and you are in a picture, it is because you are in a picture WITH Lucy. The other day I snapped a few of the boys. The main reason that I don't have many pictures of the boys right now or Matt and I for that matter is that it's been a very rough season for the boys...and for us in response to the boys. LOTS of rebelling and craziness and anger and yuck has been residing with us the last few months (or more!). The bad news is, it's still here. The good new is that God is at work! He is taking away their yuck and ours, and He is making His Gospel very real and near and needed for ALL OF US!! We know more today than we did yesterday that we are sinners who need a savior and who have just that in Jesus. The good news is all that more "good" when you see how bad things are in your heart and your kids hearts.

Looking ahead

2011-05-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

This week in our Wellspring Bible Study, we are looking at Psalm 145 and we are reflecting on how we have seen God at work this last year - how He has been faithful to us. The things that came to mind were bedrest (was that really this year?!) and day to day parenting. I couldn't help but look ahead as well as I was reflecting. I am at a point with thinking about homeschooling Owen for Kindergarten where I feel a bit overwhelmed with the responsibility of it all. God has been so good to bring me much joy and excitement and peace about it and lots of great ideas and plans are already in the making, but it's a big responsibility! This Psalm was a great reminder of my central task next year - to exalt the name of the Lord before my kindergartener and to trust God to be trustworthy and faithful and near. So as I plan out our math and phonics and reading and writing, and as we consider what sports or other activities he'll be involved in, and what school things I'll prepare for Baxter as well, and what ways to best love our sweet little Lucy, it is SO helpful to remember that I am to be in the word and to be remembering who God is and that I have the privilege of commending those things to our kids as we learn together at home. That is so life-giving to me, and I know it's what they need more than anything else!

I think that I will need to revisit this Psalm very often - maybe even post it on the wall of our school room. God is good to speak to us through His word!

Psalm 145:2-7

"Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness."

Just some sweetness...

2011-05-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T17:25:00.000-07:00

"Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:4-5

It struck me this morning at church how ironic Easter Sunday is. Everyone is all dressed up fancier than normal - putting on the new Easter dress or shoes or bonnet...The ironic thing is that in Easter, we are celebrating Christ's death on our behalf and His resurrection. We are saying " I am so deep in sin that Jesus had to die for me." We rejoice that He loves us so deeply that He did die for us, but if we weren't so bad off we wouldn't have needed it. I have been thankful this weekend to know that He has in deed born our sin and He is in deed at work. We have been struggling quite a bit with Baxter and Owen the last few weeks. It's left us feeling so frustrated and helpless about their sin and ours. Today we celebrated that our hope is not in what we wore to church and how pretty or handsome we looked, but that God is at work in the deep junk in our hearts and He is making all things new. The Gospel changes everything is something our church talks about a lot and we are thankful that it is true!

Boys

2011-04-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

The boys were not in the last post, here are a few of them. They have enjoyed each other more recently - which is huge!! I'll post some more thoughts soon, but here are the pics for now.

4 Months Old!

2011-04-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

It's almost been a whole month since I have posted anything on our blog...yikes! I was telling Matt tonight, I feel like every day is so fast and I can't keep up with it! We are still partially in "survival" mode as we continue to learn what it is like to have THREE children (sometimes I am still amazed that we in fact DO have three kids. Yikes!). So I apologize for the lack of posting! This one will have LOTS of pictures of sweet Lucy to make up for that. She has changed so much in the last month, it's neat to see!

Lucy is now 13 lbs - she is in the 45% for her weight and 50th for her height. It's so great that she is growing so well - she started off at the 15% at her one month appointment. It is good for me to know she is healthy and growing! She is just a very sweet and content little girl. She is not quite sleeping through the night, but she's getting there! I look forward to a full nights sleep sometime in the not so distant future! She still LOVES her brothers very much and gives them many smiles throughout the day. She was just given the green light today to start on solid foods, so we gave her some rice cereal and sweet potatoes tonight - she loved it! She is rolling over from her tummy to her back and looks like she'll flip the other way soon too. We are so thankful for how she is growing and look forward to what the Lord has for her this month! Here is an array of pictures to enjoy!

Big Sunday for Lucy

2011-03-21T08:24:00.001-07:00

We had the joy of having Lucy baptized yesterday at church. Instead of having Matt do the baptism, we had one of our other pastors here, Pastor Greene (he and his family have loved us very well since we have been here, especially through our bed rest adventure!), baptize her. Matt was able to just be a daddy which was special. It was great to celebrate God's work in keeping Lucy safe and helping her grow as we saw her be baptized. We know that this baptism did not save her, but we trust that God has made promises to us AND to our children, and we look forward to the day where Lucy will call Jesus HER Lord and HER savior! Pray for that with us!

Our family of FIVE

Some of our family that were able to come for the day

Three generations of Gillan/Purdy GIRLS

Our good friends the Zollinhofers had their little girl baptized yesterday too - it was fun to have them baptized "together"

I love my brothers!

2011-03-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

Change of plans

2011-03-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday, Owen had FOUR shots at his 5 year check up. We had talked about it with him for about a month to get him prepared as much as we could. He did great! God really gave him courage and peace. He cried some, but over all he did great. We were so proud of him! The nurses were great too - they showered him with multiple lollipops and stickers AND a kindergarten work book. He was thrilled! We went to Chick-fil-A that night to celebrate a job well done.

Well, today, Owen was rather cranky and lethargic after naptime. I was getting irritated at him because it seemed he was in a funk! I was feeling like I couldn't handle a funk with two other kids to tend to (which is a matter of my heart and having compassion and finding strength in the Lord and not myself...but that is a story for another day!). I realized his eyes were looking pretty glassy and he was warm. He had a fever of 102 degrees! No wonder he was laying on the couch like a bump! The nurse at the doctor's office said it was normal given the fact that he had 4 shots 24 hours ago! Give motrin and if it doesn't go down, call back. We have given motrin and it's starting to go down.

We were supposed to go to church tonight for the monthly church dinner. We were going to stay for the nursery and adult education class that Matt is starting tonight. I wasn't going to have to make dinner. I wasn't going to have to have all three kids by myself. We were going to go and enjoy fellowship. We were going to go so I could just rest a bit. BUT, God had other things in mind for tonight. He had a change of plans. Not that he is against all of the things I listed above, but for tonight it wasn't what he had planned for us.

I had a choice. I could mope the rest of the night (which my heart is prone to do!) or I could choose to love and serve my feverish child and his two siblings. AND his daddy so that Matt could freely stay at church and be fully present there. I give all glory to the Lord, for I was able to chose the 2nd option. And it's been the sweetest night!! We whipped up some chocolate chip pancakes and strawberry applesauce - nothing like a sugar over load to heal a fever right?! We enjoyed our dinner together while Lucy took a quick little nap. Now, the boys are enjoying a movie night (watching Leap Frog Math to the Moon). Owen made a family rule (that is what he called it) that if anyone has a fever on a Wednesday night that we're supposed to go to church we get to stay home and have a movie night. That is one rule I can agree to!

I am writing all of this not to brag that I made a wise choice, but to boast in the Lord and His work and HIs providence. If only I could always entrust myself to Him like this - what sweet times would follow! I hope that tomorrow when something I have planned goes awry for one reason or another I remember this! Chances are I'll forget, so please remind me!

13 weeks

2011-03-08T16:02:00.000-08:00

Today Lucy is 13 weeks old. This is a very significant thing for our family because we were on bed rest for 13 weeks. This is amazing to me. I have been processing this for the last few days. It's been interesting. New emotions have surfaced. Mostly gratitude. Some sadness. I think it's hitting me more and more just how long and hard that time was. But also just how good God is! The past 13 weeks have been so crazy and so rich at the same time. The 13 weeks prior to that were crazy in a very different way. We are so thankful for all that God has done in the last 26 weeks! Bed rest AND with Lucy - we see God's hand in it all and we can praise Him for being good and faithful in it all! (A friend pointed out today that that is 1/2 a year! No wonder we're a bit tired and ragged at times!)

Here is a picture of me on bed rest (start of 13 weeks), Lucy on her birthday (start of the new 13 weeks) and Lucy tonight at 13 weeks.

Three Six 2011

2011-03-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

So,the big day has come and gone! Phew! It was really the big weekend, not just the big day. We started out Friday afternoon with free french fries at Chick-fil-A (they were introducing these cool new ketchup packets they offer). Saturday morning we had some time together as a family. Then we went to a University of Richmond mens basketball game with all four grandparents and our friends the Zollinhofers (Kylen and Owen have been pals since we moved here, the four of our kids really enjoy each other). It was just what we pictured - and just perfect for who the boys are and what they love this year. We had a picnic on campus and made it inside in time for the tip off (Owen really wanted to see that). After the game, we went back and spent some time with the grandparents. It was special for the boys and for us that they could all be there!

We woke up Sunday and made pancakes in the shape of a 3 and 5. Then we went to church and they received many Happy Birthday wishes from friends and teachers at church. After church, we drove on THREE Chopt Road (all holding up THREE fingers for Baxter) and went to FIVE Guys (all holding up FIVE fingers as we drove in the parking lot for Owen). After naptime, the boys opened gifts and I made an elaborate dinner of Mac n Cheese from the box (as requested by the boys!). We finished the day off with a basketball cake. I wasn't sure it looked like a real basketball, but when Owen saw it, he said "Mommy, it looks like a real basketball!" Phew!

It was a real fun weekend celebrating our sweet boys. We realized just how much we love food in our family and how central food is to how we love each other. I guess we're thankful God made so many yummy things to enjoy together! We'll have to watch that!

Three Months Old!

2011-03-07T16:27:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe, but our little girl is THREE months old today! What a sweet girl she is! She has just started to "talk" up a storm and hands out smiles more often than not. She is growing bigger and bigger which is great. She is sleeping well, napping either on the run or in her crib during the day and only waking up one time in the night to eat (between 10pm and 8am) which is super helpful. Her brothers still adore her...as do her mommy and daddy! We love you Lucy Grace!

(the sheep is a gift from some friends of ours from growing up in Ridgefield, CT (Thank you Berans!) that now live in Richmond! It's a stuffed animal, pillow and blanket all in one. They had it monogramed for us too which is so sweet. I think we'll use it in pictures with Lucy to track how big she's getting vs the size of the sheep.)

FIVE!

2011-03-06T07:00:00.001-08:00

Our sweet Owen is FIVE years old today. I just can't believe it! What a joy it has been to be his mommy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the last five years. There have been innumerable joys as well as innumerable hard times packed into those five years. I am so thankful to the Lord for who HE made Owen to be and for the joy of being his mommy. I feel like 5 is a big deal - moving out of toddler/preschooler into BOY. He does seem more like a big boy to me than a little boy these days - reading up a storm, figuring out math and sports statistics, learning about the world with the Magic School Bus books, playing board games alone or with us hours upon hours of the day. We have decided to homeschool Owen for Kindergarten this fall, and it brings me great joy to know that I'll be spending much of his FIVE year old year with him - learning about God and His world in new and different ways. I am sure that - as with all stages thus far - with the joy will come the challenge and hard long days, but I am glad to walk through it together and with the Lord as our helper and guide. Here are pictures of him at his birthday each year so far...

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

THREE

2011-03-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

Our Baxter bug is THREE today! He has grown up so much this year - especially since he has moved from being the baby of the family to being a big brother and the middle child. He has been such a passionate boy since he was born - if he is happy, he is SUPER happy...if he is sad or mad, he is SUPER happy or mad. This lends itself to providing for a lot of fun and joy and a lot of need for grace and the cross. I think he will be our child who sees most clearly that He needs Jesus to rescue him from sin! He is currently very into puzzles and legos, coloring and playdoh- and moving around and being busy! He is creative and active. He LOVES his baby sister intensely and is learning to express it in ways that are loving to Lucy and not harmful to her. He keeps us on our toes and blesses us beyond belief! Here are some pictures of Baxter on his birthday...

ONE

TWO

THREE

Check it out...

2011-03-02T17:42:00.001-08:00

Matt is working through the book of Colossians this month on his blog...check it out!

Sweet Girl

2011-03-01T16:45:00.000-08:00

Some smile time with Lucy Lu today. Enjoy!

2 Months Old (a little late)

2011-02-20T11:48:00.000-08:00

Lucy is almost 11 weeks old - She turned 2 months old two weeks ago when Matt, Baxter and I all had the flu, so that is why I am just now putting this post up (AND the fact having three kids is a lot of work! It's hard to know how two parents can parent three kids well, we're working through that and realizing again and again how much we need the Lord in it!)

She weighed in at 9 lbs 12 oz and 22 inches long - all in the 25% at her last appt this week. At one month she was only in the 10%, so she's growing well! She has started to smile more and even engage with toys a little bit. She still would rather be held than in a bouncy seat or on a blanket, and we're trying to enjoy that as much as we can - although it makes it tough to accomplish much or help big brother's with art or playing outside...but she's only going to be little once! Her brother's still love her VERY much and are getting better at being gentle and giving her space when it's needed. Lucy is especially fond of Owen - she smiles a lot when he is talking to her and playing with her!

First time wearing a dress with tights!

This is my favorite one of Lucy right now. She is snuggling her daddy in this picture -one of her favorite things to do!

Go Dukes!

2011-02-05T17:01:00.000-08:00

We have just returned home from a very long and fun family day! We took a trip to Harrisonburg for the day to bring the boys (and Lucy!) to their first JMU sporting event - a men's basketball game(JMU VS. VCU). It was a blast! The boys loved getting new JMU t-shirts, eating a packed lunch in the van, walking up to the game, seeing the Duke Dog, watching a GREAT game that we almost won (a few too many bad calls from the refs in our opinion!), seeing a player from the Eagles who used to be a JMU football player, getting to see Miss Sarah on our way home (mommy's great friend from JMU) and eating Mellow Mushroom Pizza in Charlottesville on our way home. It was fun to just be together and enjoy some fun parts of God's world and enjoy something with Owen that he loves so much (sports and numbers!). Lucy did great - sleeping in the car and Baby Bjorn the majority of the day, certainly playing the part of a third child, being toted around to a basketball game at 2 months old! We feel like we have now properly taught our boys about our alma mater and instilled a love for JMU in Owen that may just rival his love for Virginia Tech.

Lucy's Life

2011-02-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

This picture sums up Lucy's life right now. Owen LOVES his little sister and wanted to be right next to her playing today. Note the two toys AND Owen's hand about as close as possible. If this had been Baxter, the toys and his hand would have been ON her and pushing down hard. Poor little girl. I think it stresses me out more than it does her :)

Smiles!

2011-02-03T10:58:00.000-08:00

Lucy has started to grace us with sweet smiles. They aren't flowing freely - they take a lot of coaxing, but they are well worth the silly sounds, noises, etc. that it takes to induce them. She often adds a coo in with the smile making it all the more rewarding. I have to say that her daddy is the most frequent recipient of her smiles - there is something special about a daddy/daughter relationship, isn't there?!

Here are a few smiles and a few others that are just sweet.

Smell

2011-01-22T16:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Owen had a field trip to the pediatric ER at the hospital I was at, St. Mary's Hospital. When I picked him up, I could smell the soap that they have in the hospital. My first reaction was a fondness - oh, remember when Lucy was born, how sweet she was, etc. etc. As the afternoon wore on, the smell of the soap was not going away. The longer I could smell the soap, the more I remembered how hard it was to be away from my family before Lucy was born, washing up to go into the NICU to see Lucy hooked up to all of the monitors, etc. etc. It's amazing what a smell can do! I am so thankful to be home using our Walmart Anti-Bacterial Foaming Soap!

Three

2011-01-21T12:20:00.000-08:00

Just some pics of our three kiddos. As hard as they can be, they sure are a blessing!!

Not getting anything done

2011-01-17T11:47:00.000-08:00

We are about 6 weeks into Lucy's life here with us - crazy to think! In so many ways, we are back to "normal" - I can make lunch, do the laundry, Matt can work normal hours, the boys are in school, etc. etc. There are also many things that we are still adjusting to.

I am back in the realm of eat, wake, sleep repeat ever 3 1/2 hours. Lucy is still a very content sweet baby, but she also really likes to be held and has some reflux issues we think (so she doesn't love to lay down on a blanket or in her bed etc. - thankfully she loves her bouncy seat). Because of all that loving and caring for Lucy entails right now PLUS the boys I feel like I am not getting anything done. The basics are getting done - we are eating, we have clothes to wear - but everything else is hanging on waiting for me to pay attention to it.

I was feeling like my days were a waste (or close to it) in light of all that is going undone, when the Lord reminded me of this truth from Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." I realized that God has good works prepared for me each day. Some days, that will look like getting a lot of things accomplished. Other days, He wants me to work hard at loving my kiddos and caring for our sweet Lucy. Cuddles and snuggles and diaper changes and PBJ making and train playing are ALL included in the good works that He has prepared for me for this day. It gives me great hope and great joy and great rest to know that HE has prepared these things. That way, if a day comes and goes with out a closet being cleaned out or a floor being vacuumed, I know that HE was the author of that day, and I can trust that the good works that He did have prepared for me were accomplished.

I hope this makes sense...it is bringing me great peace and joy right now. I hope that it can help you in whatever your days look like!

Hello again muscles!

2011-01-08T11:51:00.000-08:00

I went for a 20 minute walk today - Matt snapped this shot as I left our driveway. It felt good! It will be a long road back to recovery - no Monument Ave 10k for me this April! - but it's great to be on the road!

One Month Old!

2011-01-07T16:04:00.001-08:00

Can you believe that our little Lucy is one month old today? I can't! What a joy to have her here, and to be one month into all of the feeding/diapers/sleeping/etc. that is involved in having a newborn. She has been a really great baby - eats well, sleeps well, is generally content. She has started to have some more alert time during the day which is fun - the boys LOVE when her eyes are open! I can't wait to see how she grows in the next month!

Christmas Cousins

2011-01-04T11:49:00.001-08:00

We were able to spend three nights in Harrisonburg with my family after Christmas - it was a treat to see them and have them all meet Lucy. Lucy met a total of 14 family members in one week! She did a great job traveling which we are thankful for! Here are some pictures of the cousins enjoying each other. We had some more time as adults chatting too which was great!

Owen and Anna - sweet friends (playing Wii!)

Lucy getting some cousin love.

Snuggle time with Megan - she is a sweet big cousin!

The Gillan/Purdy cousin crew!
(Left to Right: Reese (12 1/2), Nathan (3), Owen (4 1/2), Baxter (2 1/2), Anna (4 1/2), Jake (2 1/2), Megan (10), Lucy (3 weeks))

Lucy with Aunt Becky and Cousin Megan (Megan is the one who Lucy's middle name, Grace, comes from. We love you Megan Grace!)

All dressed up...

2010-12-26T06:17:00.000-08:00

and ready to head to church in the snow!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T11:01:00.000-08:00

Today is Christmas Day - I can't believe it. It honestly doesn't feel real still. Even though we attended our Christmas Eve service at church last night, opened stockings and presents and ate monkey bread today. I guess being on bed rest since September has left me feeling like it should still be fall, but it is winter and Christmas. Even though it doesn't feel like Christmas to me, I am thankful that the reality of Christmas is still true. That Jesus DID indeed come to earth, born as a baby, born to be our Saviour. That is good news, regardless of how we feel!

Some pics of our Christmas times...we go to Harrisonburg Monday, barring too much snow!...to continue the celebrating.

Our first family of FIVE picture taken at church last night

Our THREE kiddos :)

The Girls

The boys

Owen with his new guitar strap and pic!

All of the kiddos with their stockings...

Baxter opening a sticker book

Lucy in her VERY pink activity mat

The last week or so

2010-12-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

We have been slowly trying to get into a normal swing of things the last week. My time with all three kiddos has gone well, and we've still had some friends come help from time to time too. It's been great for Matt to be back in the office in a more normal routine (though he is still working from home during naptime) and to get a little taste of what life will be like. I am recovering well - though still limited physically. I can't wait to be back to 100%, but I think it will be a while. Lucy is doing great - eating and sleeping like a champ! Here are a few pics of the last week or so...

A trip downtown to the James Center to see the lights - unfortunately the indoor train set was broken, but we enjoyed the lights none the less.

All bundled up to play in our first snow of the season...we are supposed to get 3-5 inches today into tomorrow.

A few hospital pics

2010-12-25T07:45:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics from the hospital that we haven't posted yet. One is from playing cards in my hospital bed and the other is our "Final Four" dinner two nights before Lucy was born. Oh, I'm so glad to be home!

THREE sweet babies

2010-12-15T12:19:00.000-08:00

Owen:

Baxter:

Lucy:

Brothers, bath time and sweet girl

2010-12-15T12:09:00.000-08:00

Not many words needed to describe these pics!

This one is funny - captures the craziness of her first time in the bouncy seat. Owen wanted to record it, Matt as supervising, and Baxter wanted to be in with Lucy.

HOME

2010-12-12T08:09:00.000-08:00

We are home! We have been since yesterday at lunchtime. It was so neat/strange to drive out of the hospital parking lot with Lucy in tow. What a blessing to be done in the hospital and done with bed rest! We are so thankful.

The boys could not have been more excited or dear with Lucy than they were. We'll put up pictures soon. It was the first time they had seen her (other than through a window) and were so tickled - B kept giggling and O kept saying things like "she's yawning," or "she's moving." They have continued to be very dear and helpful - mostly :)

Last night went really well for her first night home! Today I am at home from church napping with her and resting up. Matt will get some rest after church during rest time. I think we'll be going to be at 7:30 or 8:00 for the next few nights!

Thank you for praying - please know how thankful we are for you - we could not have made it with out the Lord and He works through prayer!

Pictures to come I"m sure!!

Lucy has graduated!

2010-12-10T08:53:00.000-08:00

Lucy has graduated from the NICU to the regular newborn nursery! Praise God! Please pray for her to get the hang of breastfeeding more and more each day - she is doing well, but because she was born early this will take her a while to get the hang of. Thankful she'll take a bottle of breast milk in the meantime!

We'll post more pics sometime soon - I think she's ready to get out of the hospital onesie and blanket and into some of her own clothes :) Or maybe it's me that is ready for the cute things we brought for her!

Some more pictures of our little girl

2010-12-09T04:58:00.000-08:00

Enjoy!

(Also, I just saw our pediatrician and he let me know that sometime today Lucy will get to leave the NICU today if all continues to go well and move into the normal nursery!)

Pictures and update

2010-12-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick update and more ways to pray...

We are doing well. Lucy is actually in the NICU, she was having some labored breathing, and so they wanted to keep an eye on her. It seems that it's just caused by the cross between being born at 36 weeks and having some fluid in her lungs. All other tests and vitals are looking good. One of our pediatricians said it could take a day or a couple of days to get the fluid out. We are not scared, just looking forward to getting to be with her. Matt was able to visit last night. I will go today after I'm up and around. I have been so exhausted and recovering from the meds and such from delivery. The delivery went great - my blood loss was minimal. I just had some "real food" so I hope to be getting stronger as the day goes on.

Please continue to pray for the Lord's hand in our recovery and in Lucy's breathing. Here are a few pics Matt got in the OR. He has a few from the NICU we'll put up later. To us, she looks JUST like her brothers did as infants.

Lucy Grace Is Here!

2010-12-07T15:14:00.001-08:00

Praise God! She was born right at 5:00pm, weighing 6 pounds 7 ounces, and both Mom and baby are doing great! We'll post some pictures soon.

This is the day!!

2010-12-07T04:53:00.000-08:00

My nurse came in this morning at 6:20 to take my vital signs, and listen to Lucy's heart beat. They do this every morning. (Not sure why they come at 6 instead of 7, but that is besides the point.) I have had this nurse for three of the last four nights. She walks in and says "Good Morning...you get to have a baby today!" I rubbed my eyes having just woken up and said "what do you mean?"

It turns out that the second test they ran from my amnio yesterday (which is the more detailed and "golden standard" test) came back with great results. They don't know why the first test was negative, but my doctor and the high risk doctor feel great about this and we're going to go for it!

I am scheduled for 4pm - barring any delay in Labor and Delivery.

I am still in a state of shock - I am excited, and amazed and a little bit unsure what to think. This whole bed rest ordeal is finally coming to a close. We get to meet our sweet Lucy Grace and learn how to live as a family of five.

Please pray for a peaceful day leading up to the surgery. Please pray for protection for Lucy and I during delivery and recovery. Because of my placenta issues, I will likely bleed more than normal, so please pray for protection in that way and that the doctors will act quick and with great wisdom and stop any bleeding.

We'll let you know when she's here!

More waiting...

2010-12-06T13:09:00.001-08:00

We just heard that Lucy's not quite ready to be born...we are disappointed and a little sad that we have to wait longer and that I have to be away from the boys longer, but we're trying to trust that all of the Lord's paths are perfect! We will know more tomorrow from a second test that they ran. We'll keep you posted!

Waiting for the results...

2010-12-06T10:25:00.001-08:00

The amnio this morning went well - we are waiting for the results. We should know by 3, but we'll see!

Amnio Monday morning

2010-12-05T19:11:00.001-08:00

Just a quick reminder...we have our amniocentesis (the test to see if Lucy's lungs are mature) at 9:45 tomorrow (Monday) morning - please pray with us that her lungs will be mature and we can deliver at 4pm via c-section. Also pray for safety and health for Lucy and I during the c-section. And pray for our hearts - we need to trust that the Lord's ways are perfect and full of love and faithfulness! If tomorrow is not to be Lucy's birthday, pray that we'd trust the Lord and wait patiently and full of peace.

Precious Boys

2010-12-03T14:22:00.001-08:00

This is not an easy time for our boys, but these pictures capture the amazing grace of God to our boys in this time. Even though their mommy is on bed rest and is now on bed rest IN the hospital and their daddy is ping-ponging between home and hospital and work, look at these precious smiles. Thank you Jesus that you love our boys so much!! And thank you to all of our friends and family who have loved on our boys while we have not been able to as much as normal!

From the Hospital - good and bad things

2010-12-02T16:45:00.001-08:00

Just for "fun" I thought I'd write some of the good things as well as some of the bad things from my days in the hospital...

GOOD THINGS:
-I found out today that I can order Chick-Fil-A for lunch!
-I really enjoy talking with all of the nurses about books and life and such - makes me want to hang out with them when we are done in here. One of my nurses today went to college with a friend of mine from High School, and one went to JMU and did Crusade (after our time).
-The nice lady who brings chocolate chip cookies by my room every afternoon.
-Sweet visits with the boys - working on a word find with Owen today in my hospital bed.
-Talking to the boys on speaker phone during dinner, hearing that Baxter made a tower of "St. Mary's Hospital"
-Mini date nights with Matt after he helps get the boys down at home - tonight we're having Starbucks!

BAD THINGS:
-being away from my family - missing those sweet moments and conversations and games of Crazy 8's
-hospital food - though I now have the inside scoop on how to order better food since I"m here "long term"
-eating, resting, hanging out and sleeping in the same bed all day.

Over all this time has gone quicker than I expected and has been full of more peace than I expected. We continue to pray that we'll find out we can meet Lucy at 4pm on Monday via a c-section after our 9:45am test that day. Please pray with us that God would grant that to us, and that if not that we'd have more peace to wait a bit longer.

From the hospital - waiting on the Lord

2010-12-01T05:50:00.000-08:00

We're in day 4 of this hospital stay...hoping that Lucy will arrive in 5 more days, on Monday (12/6) (if the amniocentesis comes back with results that her lungs are mature - please pray with us that that will be the case!). Needless to say we are ready to be done with bed rest and hospital stays and be home with our baby girl and learn how to be a family of 5! The hard part is that we have no control over when that will be. It's hard to weather the separation (with me in here and the boys at home and Matt commuting back and forth) and hospital inconveniences and personal spiritual and emotional struggles in the midst of the waiting. I continue to see God hold us up through your prayers with peace and perseverance, but it's a struggle.

I have found some great help yesterday and today from Isaiah 40. Our pastor is preaching on waiting during this season of Advent. Good timing for a number of reasons. I listened to his sermon yesterday from Sunday (11/28), and then spent some time his morning studying and meditating on the scripture he was preaching on. It was fuel for my soul - an anchor for my faith - an encouragement in the midst of my waiting.

Here are some things that I see in these verses:
-He starts out speaking of comforting His people - true comfort from God will happen. Not necessarily the removal of hard times, but true comfort in the midst of them.
-The Word of the Lord will stand forever! Why hope in anything else - my plans, doctors plans, test results, etc.
-He is everlasting, creator, does not grow weary, unsearchable in His wisdom
-I am faint, have no might, faint and weary, exhausted.
-He gives us power and increases our strength
-When we wait on Him ("savoring God's promises by faith until the time of fulfillment" ESV Study Bible notes) then our strength is renewed ("endless supplies of fresh strength" ESV Study Bible notes).

What a great God! Not only is He a great God, He is a great God FOR His people! Nothing else will bring us hope and strength and faith and perseverance!

From the Couch - well, from the hospital bed

2010-11-29T10:01:00.001-08:00

Some of you have heard this already, but we are back in the hospital. I am doing well and so is Lucy which we are very grateful for! I had some bleeding yesterday (hadn't bled for 11 weeks! yay bed rest!). I spent 24 hours in labor and delivery. The bleeding stopped and some contractions I was having have also stopped. So now we are back in a waiting game - now in the hospital instead of at home. Most likely we will now deliver at 36 weeks (7 days) instead of 37 weeks (test scheduled for Monday 12/6 to determine Lucy's lung maturity). Of course, at any time that could change if my condition or Lucy's changes. They moved me to antepartum, which is more comfortable and quiet, I'm thankful for that. I had an ultra sound today that shows she is roughly 5 lbs. 12 oz! Grow Lucy Grow!!

Please support us in prayer in these ways:
-perseverance - Matt and I are ready to be done, and this new hospital detail makes it harder. Please pray we'd trust God's presence and purpose and hope and joy in all of this! Pray for us as we wait - that we'd lean hard into the Lord!
-pray for our boys - matt's parents are here to help through Wed, and then my parents will come wed - wed. Pray that they'd do well with their grandparents and that they'd have much grace with each other and just in dealing with life in general
-pray for Lucy - that her lungs especially would continue to develop more and more every day so that we can deliver next week instead of waiting longer.

We'll keep you posted...

Words from Baxter

2010-11-21T10:22:00.001-08:00

Baxter has said two things today that are very precious...I thought you'd enjoy!

-- This morning we were reviewing some of the Children's Catechism questions . One of the questions says "Where do we learn how to love and obey God?" The answer is "In the Bible alone." We asked B the question, knowing he'd never practiced this one before. He answered "at church". Then he answered "at the Brown's house" (the Brown's are good friends here in Richmond, Joe is on staff with Matt). Then he answered "at home." All very good answers!

--Just now Matt was putting him in his room for rest time (since he no longer naps!). Matt said "Have a great rest time." B said "Have a good talking time." M "Talking time? With who?" B - "With Mommy, you and her are sweet sweet friends."

He's a handful, but a precious one at that!

Boys

2010-11-21T06:18:00.001-08:00

I figured I'd post a bunch of BOY pictures today since we'll have a lot of BABY GIRL pictures to post in a handful of weeks (3 1/2!!!). Here they are just enjoying God's world. I did not take pictures of the times in between these sweet moments where they were doing anything but enjoying God or each other or His world. But do you really want to see pictures of that anyway? We'll just be thankful that there are sweet moments thrown in there! God is good.

Making play-doh pizzas with daddy.

Enjoying some color wonder from Aunt Becky and Uncle Bryan. This was about 20 minutes of both boys coloring in quiet. It was glorious!

Snuggle/Snack time

Proud builders

Just hugging. This most often turns into a crazy tackle time - we're trying to teach the hug and release method.

B has been really into legos and puzzles - here he is peaking through one of his creations

Before O and B went up to bed one night, O asked if he could read "Good Night Moon" to Lucy. It was very sweet.

Just a day in the life of B, or shall I say "Rescue Man" ?!

Christmas Cards, etc.

2010-11-20T05:28:00.000-08:00

I've been wondering what we are going to do this year for Christmas cards...with Lucy arriving 9 days before Christmas, I think we're leaning towards Happy New Year's cards OR just belated Christmas cards...we'll see. In the past we have used various picture websites to make our cards. This year I have noticed that Shutterfly has some great options. We have also used their website to make photobooks in the past. We have made a photobook each year for Christmas for the boys - they are so quick and easy and relatively inexpensive - especially for one who does not scrapbook! I also appreciate that they have all kinds of cards - including ones that clearly speak to celebrating the coming of Christ. which is what we celebrate most at Christmas. Here is one that we'd consider using this year. CLICK HERE

Just thought I'd share in case you are also realizing that it's the end of November, and Christmas is coming sooner than we think! Hopefully in the midst of Christmas cards and buying presents (and having a baby!!) we'll all be able to remember and rejoice in the fact that God sent His only son to be born a man so that He could live and die for you and for me!

From the Couch - no news is good news

2010-11-20T05:18:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything - mostly because November has FLOWN by and there has not been any new news to report. In this case, no news is good news! Each of my appointments have gone well - Lucy is growing, and I am healthy and that is great! I start going to the doctor each week now, so we may have more to update as the weeks go by.

The boys and I made a paper chain (with help from our friend Anne Winston) the other day to help us count down the days until Lucy is scheduled to arrive. We now have 26 days to go. We will be 34 weeks tomorrow, and the c-section is scheduled for 37 1/2 weeks. Keep praying! God is good and faithful!

There have been more days recently where we are just done with all of this, but He is good to meet us there and provide grace or strength or Truth about who He is and what He is doing, and that has gotten us through those days.

We've also had some fun family visits in the last week (matt's little sister Megan and her husband Kevin and then my parents) and we are looking forward to Thanksgiving here at our house with Matt's parents, his brother Mark and my parents. We're getting Martins/Ukrops to cook for us, so we'll still get to enjoy a yummy Turkey dinner :)

Here is a picture of B from a trip to Target with my dad. They had fun together. My dad was tasked with finding some funny things including prenatal vitamins, iron pills, newborn diapers and paci's. He noted how helpful the MANY pregnant ladies that were in Target that morning were. It's a great place to hang out! :) He did a great job! Thanks Dad!

From the Couch - Doctors Appointment

2010-11-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

This morning we went in for my 31 1/2 week appointment and ultrasound. We took the boys with us before we brought O to school - they enjoyed it, but were also very antsy. They enjoyed seeing Lucy on the ultrasound and listening to her heart beat!

She is growing really well - she's weighing about 4 lbs which is 43% - the doctor was really pleased with that! The placenta has NOT moved, so we will be going ahead with our plan to deliver via c-section on December 14 - unless I have any more bleeding or anything of concern between now and then. That is about 5 1/2 weeks from now...not too bad!

It was really good to see our doctor and have her confirm that the Lord is using all we are doing to help keep me healthy and keep Lucy IN and GROWING. We were thankful for that confirmation and are SO thankful for all of the help we have had and support we have received. It's made it possible for Lucy to keep growing stronger and stronger.

So please keep praying for perseverance in these next 5 1/2 weeks, for strength and health. Also pray for extra grace for us as we enter the cold/flu season that God would protect us and our dear friends who are helping with the boys from sickness.

From the Couch - A view of the other couch

2010-11-02T11:45:00.001-07:00

Here was my view of the other couch today. Matt was playing the chords, Owen was strumming, and Baxter was looking through the hymnal in his own little world.

From the Porch

2010-10-31T07:48:00.001-07:00

Our good friend Jenny came over a few weeks ago to take some pictures of our family - one last time before we add Lucy to the mix. Here are a few pics from our time together. If you live in Richmond and want someone to take awesome pictures of you and your family, say for Christmas cards or something, let me know and I'll put you in touch with her. She's great :)

(Note, this is BEFORE our boys had their last hair cut. Now you can actually see their faces a bit better.)

Can anyone tell me where my little boy has gone?!

2010-10-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

We love Pumpkins!

2010-10-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

I was anticipating this day ever since I was put on bed rest - Pumpkin Day. It has been my favorite day in the past - I love fall and everything pumpkin, and to miss out on it seemed unbearable. But God was very good and the day went great. I was a little sad not to go, but it really ended there. It was a joy to send off my three favorite boys (well one is a man, but you know) and to receive them home with MANY fun stories to tell (and Chick Fil A in hand!). I am thankful that God is so good and that He walks us through each and every day. On Sunday we were able carve one of the pumpkins and plant some of the seeds in our back yard. Owen and I are hoping that we'll have a mini-pumpkin patch in our garden next fall...we'll see!

Lucy's pumpkin :)

Painting

2010-10-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, the boys painted some canvases to put in Lucy's room! Here are a few pictures of them hard at work. We'll put up some pictures of her room and the finished paintings at some point in the next 7 weeks!

Sweet Couch Snuggles

2010-10-26T11:39:00.000-07:00