Finally Feeling Normal Again!

Well, I guess this baby just likes to prove that just because it is ones fifth does NOT mean you have anything figured out about being pregnant! This has been an interesting month for my pregnancy. I finally asked my midwife to come for a visit a few weeks ago because of all the things that seemed to be "off" with it.

I was measuring larger than usual, I was looking larger than usual, and was having a TON of contractions at the beginning of this month, my midwife even commented on all of these things even for it being my 5th baby. And on top of that I have only gained a grand total of 15# with 3 of those being this last week alone! Well after feeling around my belly for probably an hour we found all the body parts and determined it was simply in one of the strangest positions. I know things are cramped in there but I honestly didn't think one could get their face that close to their butt. It made me feel good that I knew what all the body parts were, I just didn't think they could all belong to one baby. I think this baby maybe joining Aubriel with gymnastics!

Well, while on vacation and fearing that Dave would be missing the birth of his 5th child since I was having so many strong, regular contractions the baby simply moved into a more normal position. The baby had done this before earlier this month but it never stayed that way more than an hour or two. But this time it has been days so I think the baby is getting ready to meet us! Ever since they moved too I feel like I can actually handle making to my due date.

Before I was so tired and sore I couldn't imagine being pregnant much longer. But the last few days I have felt less pressure, felt smaller and just all around more comfortable. So I am ready to sit back and enjoy these last few weeks with my popping belly as I watch the little feet kick me from the inside. I guess this just goes to show how amazing nature can be when left alone to work its magic in its own time! I can't wait to meet the little one that has caused so much wonder and speculation!

37 weeks and Traveling

I am 37 weeks today! Dave and I are now trying to narrow down names... we have four of each picked out and a name poll listed on the side if anyone would like to vote for their favorite.

The kids and I just returned from TN earlier this week. We drove out there to meet up with friends, one from TX and the other from NC and their children. We had so much fun! My mom came with me so there were 4 women and 19 children total. Dave and I talked about how strange it would be to be the person with the least amount of children for a change and it kind of was. I am so use to having the monopoly on children when I get together with friends. It was wonderful to see one of them again and finally meet the other. We have all been emailing for about two years now and have hoped and prayed from this meeting for so long! I am happy to report it went as well as we had dreamed and was not the nightmare it could have been. Although I think we had all become such good friends before this meeting we were not too worried about not hitting it off!

All the kids played great together and it was so much fun to see new friendships made. I love that my children were exposed to other large families, that they were able to see them as "normal" and that they could relate to the bonds that are created between so many children. They talked all the way home about things we did and their new friends. I know they will be looking forward to when they can see them all again.

When we returned home David had surprised me with painting the living room. We had been talking about doing this for a while so he figured with the kids and I being out of the house he would get it done before the birth of the baby. Since we plan to have the birth in the living room he wanted to make it beautiful for me, so he bought some new lamps and pictures and did some rearranging. He also moved a chair from our living room upstairs into our bedroom to create a place for me to read. I think he has sweetened with age and only tries to do more for me the longer we have been married... I only wish I could say the same about me!

4 weeks left!

Well, I am down to my last four weeks of this pregnancy. Before Brody came along I would have simply added a few more weeks to my due date but he actually decided to surprise us and come early so I may not even make it through the next four weeks without meeting our newest family member! Here are some more recent belly pictures, which seems to be continuing to get bigger by the week. I am actually beginning to wonder how much bigger it can really get so hopefully we won't be waiting too much longer.

Dave's ready for another baby!

Or at least that is what he said last night when Brody jumped off his lap and put himself to bed! Brody has turned for our most challenging kid yet to our easiest and it seems to have happened over night. He must really love his mom and knows that the last month count down starts today until my due date!

He was always a very happy baby that LOVED to snuggle, really he still does, but we never thought we would have a kid that could top Gage in this area but Brody has. Then he hit about 18 months and if he could climb it, find it, open it, tear it, break it, jump over, on or under it he would. He made us CRAZY and I think Dave feared having another one just in case we had another Brody. This was the child that would eat tooth paste, tipped over our Christmas tree and decorated our bathroom with nail polish.

But about a month ago he went from age two to age five, maybe even easier than age five if that is possible. It seems like he woke up one morning and he could speak clearly and say EVERYTHING, even some things we would rather him not. He potty trained without looking back once. And now he just goes to bed by himself!

We have always been very attachment style parents. If our babies are still nursing they sleep with us and even after they get their own bed we do not enforce an actual "bedtime" until around age 3-4. They pretty much stay up with us until they fall asleep, then we lay them in their bed and if they don't they just come to bed with us when we go. But lately after running around for a bit after the other kids have gone down Brody will ask to go to bed. Last night Brody just all of the sudden stopped snuggling with Dave and went upstairs. When Dave got up there to see where he was he was already in his bed and when the door opened Brody said "shhh, sleep" to Dave. So he kissed him goodnight and came back downstairs.

Then Dave looked at me and said our baby isn't a baby any more I am ready to have another one. I guess it is a good thing another is on its way in about a month! The excitement in our house is building and the kids are talking more and more about the new little brother or sister they are going to have soon.

The Healing Words "I'm Sorry"

A few years ago a dear friend of mine gave me the book "The Hidden Messages in Water." I instantly fell in love with it! It is a book about this man's collection of photographs of water crystals after he exposes them to different words. The pictures are beautiful and his research is truly amazing. Not to mention inspirational. He spoke in his book of a study people at home have done and I was instantly compelled to try it with the children.

You take some jars exactly the same size and shape, fill them with the same amount of water even taken from the same vessel to ensure consistency. Then you place the same number of plain white rice into them and label them with the words to be spoke to them. The first time we tried it we only did three, one we only spoke kind words to, one we spoke only mean words to and the last one we completely ignored. The children were amazed to find after a week that the rice that was spoken mean words to had started to turn black and developed a film around it, the rice that only heard kind words looked almost perfect and the one that was ignored was in between the two. It is a wonderful lesson for children so that they can truly see the effects of what their words can do. We all almost found it sad that one is better off being ignored than spoken cruelly to.

So now I decided to try this again with the kids to "test" the effects of the words "I'm sorry." We of course always stress with our children the importance of trying to right our wrongs but what does the words really look like on one's soul? So here are our findings after about two weeks, sorry the pictures are kind of blurry but you can kind of make them out. Also keep in mind most of the study was conducted by scientists between the ages of 2 and 9 so some of the jars, as hard as we tried to be sure the right words were spoken to each one, could have gotten mixed up!

Here is the rice we only spoke kind words to... There was one that started to go bad but all the rest looked perfectly white still.

Here is the rice that heard mean words... Many of it was starting to turn dark and had a film around them.

This is the one that was ignored... It fared only slightly better than the one that was spoken mean words to.

And here is our jar that was first spoken mean words to and then heard those famous words "I'm Sorry" amazingly enough it almost looks better than the one spoken kind words to.
Now of course I do not feel that this is by any means an excuse to be cruel to people but I think it shows that hearing those words, even if they don't heal right away, for I am sure we have all been in a place where the words "I'm sorry" seem to be too little too late, are very healing to the soul over time and be as important to our language as I Love You!

Recent Conversation in our Home...

Gage: What is with the 7 on our calendar?
Kain: I don't know it looks weird. I think it might be German.
Gage: What?! German! I hate German!
Me: We are German.
Gage: Do I steal jewels?
Kain and I: What?
Me: What makes you think German's steal jewels?
Gage: I don't know, German sounds weird.

Where do 7 year olds get this stuff? Why do I send them to school?

15 items or less

This is a common check out in most grocery stores and I noticed today when I ran in with all four kids in tow to JUST pick up a few items, relatively speaking of course, to make dinner that I will probably never be able to use this lane again. Sure we were just there to get fix'ins for tacos, some fresh fruit, and coconut oil to make chocolates (ummm... yum). And as I stood behind the 3 people in front of me with their carts filled to the top, plus that guy that "forgot something" and walked super slow to boot and the other 3 lanes that were also open that had just as many people if not more in them with carts that were just as full, I realized I probably did only have 15 actual products in my cart but since I needed two of just about everything to feed a family of 6 1/2 I figured they would not allow me to check out in that lane! So there I sat trying to amuse four overly active, hungry, one newly potty trained child that loves to "cry potty" now when he is bored, whinny children begging for candy, since they make the candiless lanes but NEVER actually open them, waiting for the slow guy to get back just in time to pick up his spot after the guy in front of me but before us, of course. If they can have an express lane and even a candiless lane (that is never open), why, oh, why can't they have a large family/bulk express lane?

Pregnancy Photos!

Earlier this week we had our pregnancy photos done for baby #5. The kids and I did some together and then Dave and I did some couples yoga poses which I am SO in love with! There is one more that will be coming but she needs to artwork it which I am sure won't be done until the end of the month but here they are in her website if you want to take a look at what she uploaded so far!