Big Announcement!

I have a confession to make....we know the sex of our baby!    If you've been following the blog, you know I did NOT want to find out, and that plan was going well until 5-6 weeks ago when I had to have a second ultrasound.  I went by myself just for a quick, routine check to make sure everything was okay but there ended up being an oopsie daisy.  The ultrasound tech slipped and revealed the gender.   It was a mix of elation and dejection because it was not the way I had planned/hoped to find out, and all of a sudden the beans were spilled.   Not that I'm complaining, but it did take me a little time to regroup.  Since then we've had great fun planning for our little girl, or boy bundle. :)   We were going to just keep it quiet until he/she was born, but I've almost slipped myself a few times on the air, so we figured we might as well share the exciting news!     Here is a little video we made today after school.  It's imperfect and a little rushed, but definitely a more realistic reflection of our life right now anyway.   Drum roll...!:)

32 Weeks!

Here we are,  8 months pregnant!    I'm still feeling great, thanks be to God!   I'm not due until October 25th and in some respects that still feels pretty far off, but then again 32 weeks seems to have crept up so fast, I know the next 8 will likely go by quickly!  As you can see, my belly is large and in charge.  It's starting to become slightly challenging to get around, sit with Garrett on my lap to read a book, give Karolina a bath, etc. but it's all fun.   I'm actually still not sure what hospital I'm going to deliver at,  but that is my priority this week!   We need to figure that out.  There are two that our insurance covers that I'm looking at..and one evidently has a birthing tub and more up-to-date facilities, but it's father away.  Gotta go pick up the boys from school...back to the old routine!

Every Last Drop

This summer has flown by and it's hard to believe Labor Day is right around the corner.   This season has been unusual with being in Poland, welcoming a new family member, and preparing for another. :)   For the past 6 months or so, I have felt so discombobulated, and now that I feel I'm finally getting things together...Fall is nearly here.  Boo hoo!  Thankfully, the calendar is still on "August," and the weather has been heavenly.   We are trying to squeeze every last drop out of summer and savor this time!   The boys went to an Indians baseball game last night, and today Jim set up our kiddie pool and I set out the sweet tea.  

Here are a few pictures of Karolina I snapped as we lazily played in the backyard earlier.  She looks so pretty in her bright blue shirt and rosy cheeks, I couldn't resist. :)

She brightens every room, and continues to bring such joy to our family every day.   She's also doing very well developmentally.  She's climbing the stairs (gasp), drinking water from a cup (with help), standing and becoming sturdier by the day, and even getting a little chub on her legs. :)   She was re-scheduled to get an MRI on Monday, but based on how well she is doing right now, that is going to be postponed until November or later.    She is still  a few months behind overall, and her speech/hearing is delayed the most.  However, at this point I'm not concerned because she continues to make great strides.  As long as we continue to follow up with her doctors, I know she's in good shape and have faith she'll just continue to blossom.

Back to School

And...we're off!   The boys started school, back at St. Paul's this week.   Gabriel and Grant's first day was Wednesday, Garrett will start on Friday.    This photo was taken on the fly after school.   I'm not happy with the foggy quality but at least it's a record of the day, and these days that's good enough for me! :)

Brandon Heath also has a new video out that just happens to tie-in to the start of a new year perfectly too.   As the boys integrate back into the social sphere of school, I know they will be faced with some challenging situations.   Brandon's new song "The Light in Me" illustrates that being a light and making the right choice isn't always easy (especially with peer pressure) but God gives us strength and comfort along the way.   We watched this video after school and read Matthew 5:14 to (hopefully) drive it home.  Click here for the video.  I love the song already!:)

Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes (or Something Like That)

This week brought my first-ever attempt at making homemade bread.   My friend Jen has been raving about "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" and she promised it was easy, so I had to try it.   My book is slightly different in that it has whole grain recipes, some with gluten-free ingredients, etc.  The first step was to try the master recipe.   Here we go!

 Whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour (unbleached), granulated yeast, kosher salt, vital wheat gluten.  All the dry ingredients ready to be mixed.

 4 cups of lukewarm water

 Stir, but don't knead!   It's not necessary.  Just mix everything, cover with a lid, and allow dough to rise for 2 hours. 

 Almost ready for the oven!   Pull off a piece of dough and shape it within 20-40 seconds (to prevent sticking).   Allow the loaf to rest for 40-90 minutes.

 Bake for 30 minutes and...voila!   Yummy, warm, fresh homemade bread!

As you can see, it takes much longer than five minutes,  and it took an extra long time since I did everything in one day.  It was worth it though, and I was surprised and happy with the first attempt.  Best of all, the family approved!   Nice.:)   I still have enough for about 3-4 more loaves, and that will take much less time.    It will be nice to whip up a loaf in the fall when the weather has a little nip in the air.  I tend to bake a lot more during the winter months.   Thanks Jen, you were right!:)

30 Weeks, and Going Natural

30 Weeks!   10 more to go.  Although my belly is getting larger by the day, I'm still enjoying the pregnancy and the miracle of our "surprise.":)      In the years we hoped and prayed that God would bless us with another child, I had time to really think about what I would do, should we ever have that chance.  First, I promised myself I did NOT want to know what we were having, and keep the suspense until the baby arrived.    Second, I really felt called to experience a natural childbirth.  

With all 3 boys, my labors were pretty textbook, thankfully.  No complications, 12-16 hours of labor, easier delivery/pushing with each subsequent birth, etc.  The other common thread was how quickly I got an epidural and then just "hung out" until it was time.   I've never really experienced true labor, and I feel a little sad about that.    As I have been reading and studying NCB, I have become more convinced (and excited) to go natural.    My friend Jennifer gave me a resource that she said helped her immensely.  It's the Dr. Sears Birth Book:

The book is great!   I think it's a thumb's up for anyone expecting.   In addition to brushing up on birthing techniques, my friend Beth recommended taking childbirth classes.   It's been 10 years since I've done it, so I probably could use a refresher.   Jim and I are signed up for September, so we'll see how it goes!    That's about it on the baby front.  Karolina has her MRI this week, and I'm anxious to hear the results of her overall assessment.     We are all gearing up for back-to-school and the boys are excited to see their friends and start a new year.  I feel mixed, since I truly loved homeschooling and will miss our conversations and witnessing the boys grasp new concepts.   I know it's for the best though, and this year still has some exciting twists and turns to come.   Let the fun begin!

Quick Catch-Up

I'm a little behind in posting the update from last weekend, but I wanted to share some pics and good finds.    The fun started with a trip to Laus Deo salon in Twinsburg with my niece and Goddaughter  Haley.   Her fam. was visiting for a few days and her birthday is coming up, so it was a great opportunity to have a "girl's day" and get some quality conversation in.   Here we are with foils in our hair, and toes in the tub!

I also stocked up on the new Pureology products which are phenomenal.   I've been using the "Miracle Filler" and it's probably the most impressive product I've ever used on my hair.  

What I like about Pureology is how concentrated the products are (you can get 80 shampoos out of 1 bottle!)   I am used to suds, so I normally over-distribute but I'm slowly getting used to a quarter sized dollop.   With being blonde and processed for so many years, my hair needs some extra TLC and it's nice to find products that really deliver.  Love!  

Another highlight was from my pro photog. friend Jayme who blessed us by coming over to take some family photos.   Here's one with our 4 kiddos and my baby belly...hard to believe we'll need new photos in 2 months to include our newest family member!:)

Thank you so much Jayme!   Check out her portfolio here, she does beautiful work!

Finally, the last highlight was from The Fest on Sunday.   It's the largest one day, FREE Catholic family festival in the country and we look forward to it every year.  This year, the headliner was MercyMe and they were tremendous.   One of my favorite's of all time, and just as good live as they are on their albums.   Here is a quick pic backstage before Len and I introduced them:

Great job guys!    That's it for now.   Another busy week is underway.   I'm 29 weeks pregnant and still reading up and asking about, natural childbirth (or NCB as my friend Beth calls it).   I'm hoping to blog about it soon, it's been really eye-opening and I'm still taking it all in, but excited to give it a try in 10 weeks or so.;)    Enjoy the beautiful weather, it's going to be a wonderful week!

One Month Update

It's been a month since Jim and Karolina arrived home, and I wanted to share news about her progress.   Each day seems to bring new and exciting developments and it's been such a joy to witness this little miracle unfold before our eyes.    We all seem to wake up with a Tigger-like bounce in our step and the boys can't wait to see her in the morning.  They are utterly enchanted by her.   They will peer into her room if she's sleeping and if she's already awake, they race downstairs to greet her.   She seems to sense how much her brothers love her because she lights up when she sees them too.   Gabriel volunteers to feed her every day.  He prides himself on how well she eats for him. :)

In addition, despite how much they protest anything pink, I know they have thoroughly enjoyed the new girly accessories in our house.   Earlier this week they picked out her outfit and "decorated" her hair with about a half dozen bows.  

I thought she would be annoyed, but she actually seemed to enjoy the pampering by her big bros!   Lol.

In terms of her development, she is off the charts in my book.:)   When we picked her up 2 months ago, she couldn't sit up independently, her fine motor skills were poor and she wasn't readily eating jar baby food.   Since she's been home, she is:
Sitting up, crawling, and pulling herself up to stand!   Her fine motor skills have also improved significantly, and she uses her pincher grasp to feed herself cheerios, and rice puffs.   She eats 4, 6oz. cans of jarred baby food a day, plus bottles.    She did have a few rough days with teething, but her top teeth have broken through and she's back to eating like a champ.  Here are her new teeth.  Cheeeeeeeese!

I took her to the Oak Adoptive Health Center at Akron Children's Hospital last month, and she'll have another appointment next week.   At her initial assessment, she weighed 18lbs and she received a battery of tests.   At her next appointment, she'll get an MRI to determine if a brain condition that was listed on her medical records, is actually an accurate diagnosis. 
One thing I am confident of though, is God continues to lead and carry us along the way.   I don't know if life has ever been sweeter than it is right now.   Of course, there are always things I wish I could change, like my dad's cancer diagnosis and wishing for a miracle healing and grieving for those we know who are hurting...but nothing will be perfect until we reach heaven,  and for now, I'll gladly embrace the gift of right now.

Thank you, Father, for having created us and given us to each other in the human family. Thank you for being with us in all our joys and sorrows, for your comfort in our sadness, your companionship in our loneliness. Thank you for yesterday, today, tomorrow and for the whole of our lives. Thank you for friends, for health and for grace. May we live this and every day conscious of all that has been given to us.