Quotes you don't want to hear...

"Ma'am, your children are leaving," said the Safeway clerk as she handed me my change.

Sure enough, G money was pushing the other two children across the store in the cart. He didn't get too far, don't worry.


"There's not enough arsenic in the ant trap to affect him." Poison control lady.

D-struction has this new thing where he likes to pick up things with his teeth and drop them in random places. He found the ant trap, put it between his teeth, brought it to where I was washing dishes and then dropped it in the dishwasher.

and finally...

"Well, you know, kitchen clogs do smell worse than sewage back ups." Roto Rooter guy.

He's right.

Bryan: "I'm going to go shovel the poop now."
Erika: "Honey, it's not poop, it's just rotten food."
Bryan: "What's the difference? It's the same thing--it just hasn't been digested yet."

He's right, too. And, he is my HERO.
It's been quite a week, friends. Actually, I think it's only been since Wednesday.

This week...

We celebrated 9 years...

Heavy D--almost 20 months. I love this crazy kid. Bryan thinks he needs a new blogger name, so I think we've decided on
"D-struction." much more appropriate, anyway.

A moment of stillness--it really only lasted a moment and was completely staged by mommy. I wanted to take more, but there was little cooperation.

She just gets cuter and sweeter every day. She's moved up to size 3 diapers already, slept for 7 HOURS STRAIGHT the last two nights,(!!)and got her first cold. Wonder where she picked that up from? No blogger name for this girl yet...we're taking nominations.

What we've been waiting for.

Last night our church voted to elect this man to be our next Senior Pastor!!
We are THRILLED--God is so good and faithful.

I have to laugh at the timing of it all. Apparently, he was our search committee's first choice two years ago and he told them "no" over and over. The timing just wasn't right for him, his family, or his church in Orlando. I'm so glad God is leading him our way now. Mark shared with us the elders' perspective on his leaving UPC. They told him, "We are sending you to Colorado. We are in this with you." Isn't that beautiful? The church is HUGE and God just moves His people around.

Bryan is so excited to get to work under Mark. They share many of the same passions and it will just be good to be under someone older and wiser. We are looking forward to this next season of our lives!

"For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies."

Today...

I just couldn't resist taking a few shots of this girl after her bath this afternoon. Cleaning under her fat cheeks/chin was quite a chore. Don't you love how you can't even see the collar of her onesie? Porker!! I need to sneak her into the doctor's office again for a quick weight check.

full body shot.

She's got such a cute grin.

G Money at the same age...what do you think?

Happy Girl

Caroline has started smiling this week. I caught one today...it's not a great shot, but you get the idea. She's got great dimples--the ones on her cheeks are my favorite. :)
(Yes, she does look like G-Money did at this age...)

The Boys

We went to play at a friend's house on Saturday morning, and this was our waterslide set-up. Pretty redneck, but such a fun time for the kids!

Can't get enough of this one...he is such a ham. Don't you love the fashion statement? We have no problem mixing stripes and plaids in our home as long as it means the boy will keep his hat on. For some reason, he really likes this particular hat. :)

Lil Miss Fatty

I took Caroline to the doctor and asked if I could just stick her on the scale with her clothes on--I just wanted to get in and out, you know? We have a pretty small practice and I just adore my pediatrician. Well, little Miss Priss weighed 10.7 with her clothes on last Monday. That means she gained about 3 1/2 pounds in about 3 weeks. The proof is in the fat rolls:


Hard to believe G money was a few ounces smaller than this when he was born...


And Heavy D?

I just love fat babies.

Recently...

Caroline's first bath--she LOVED the water.

We went to the CIRCUS last weekend! Remind me next time that the circus is not the place to take a 2 week old baby...I don't know what I was thinking. If you really want to know where I fed Caroline, ask me later. I won't blog about it. :)

Heavy D and G Money are having a great time with Nana and Papa. Heavy D found himself a comfy seat so he could watch his favorite show.

Things G Money likes right now:
1. Thomas the train.
2. Asking "WHY?"
3. Practicing writing his letters and putting them together to make words. "Mommy, how do I write ELMO?" etc...
4. Playing in the baby pool and dumping cold water on his brother.

Things Heavy D likes right now:
1. Eating. Preferably chicken nuggets and french fries, but we did catch him DRINKING the ranch dressing at Red Robin the other day.
2. Getting his way. He is so delightful when he gets exactly what he wants!
3. Making car noises. And any other kind of noise, really.
4. Talking. The nurse at his 18 month check up asked if he could say at least 8 words.

Things Caroline likes right now:
1. Sleeping
2. Nursing
3. Snuggling
4. Did I mention nursing?

Things Daddy likes right now:
1. Sleeping in...(?)
2. Cutting the grass.
3. Boiling peanuts on the back porch.
4. Building elaborate Thomas the train tracks for his boys.

Things Mommy likes right now:
1. Sleep--3 hours at a time would be nice.
2. Daddy time.
3. Someone bringing us a meal...I have been SPOILED!!
4. Those Liz Curtis Higgs books that Ginia got for me. OH, I'm so hooked.
5. Catching up with friends--an uninterrupted phone conversation is so nice.

Some "older" pictures

The boys meeting their sister...(they love her--Heavy D especially loves her toes.)

Caroline's hair--there is some red there, Caudy and Canadian Aunt Nancy. I'd love for my girl to be a red head!

Balloons from Samantha and Christina at the hospital.

She is growing!! Look at the double chin already...she gained 2 lbs in two weeks. Her weight last Friday was 8 lb. 7oz!

Sweet Baby Girl

More Pictures

Caroline Ashleigh Counts

Well everyone, here she is. Thanks for your patience. I (Bryan) just got home and put the boys to bed and am going to try and finish this post before I fall asleep myself. Caroline Ashleigh made her arrival at 12:49pm after five hours of labor for her mom. She weighs 6lbs, 10oz; and measures 20 inches. Everybody is healthy so far and we're praising God for his good gifts and mercy towards us.

Still Pregnant...

Here she is! Hard to believe she's almost here...

The plan is to call the hospital early tomorrow morning, and if they have "room" they'll take me. If all the beds are full, then we'll have to wait until later on Thursday or possibly even Friday. I'm really ok with that--I'm not feeling super anxious or anything. Don't get me wrong, I'm ready to meet this little one, but at this point, what's one more day?

My friend Shelia told me that June 1 would be a great birthday because it's 06/01/07 and 6+1=7. Then she said that the 31st would work too, because 5+3-1=7 also. She's a former math teacher and her mind just works like that. I'm game for whatever. :) I'm just glad to know she'll have a "cool" birthday.

It's amazing to me when you get this far along in your pregnancy how everyone wants to know what your body is doing. I know that is just part of it all, and it's really normally just women who want to know how much you are dialeted (2-3 cm) and effaced (50%), but it's kind of funny, isn't it? I'm mean, seriously, you would NEVER dream about discussing things like this with aquaintances unless you are about to give birth. People are asking Hubby about it also, which makes him a little uncomfortable. I believe his words were, "My wife's cervix is really none of their business." I laughed pretty hard at that...people are sweet and just want to know. I appreciate the sentiment.

At least I'm not getting comments daily from strangers on the street like Nancy is...you need to write some of those down, girl. (Didn't one guy point at you and nudge his wife as if to say, "Hey! Look at that!"

Ok, so I'm going to go pack my bags and run some last minute errands before tomorrow. I can't believe it's almost time...

Maybe we can post pictures from the hospital. I hear this new swanky one where I'm delivering has a wireless connection.

Baby Update

Just wanted to let all of you know that I'm still pregnant. I'll be 39 weeks on Saturday...whew. Sometimes I feel like this pregnancy has gone by so fast, and other times I feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER...(only 30 out of the last 48 months, but who's counting?)

I'm feeling good for the most part and, despite what the scale says, I'm not "huge." I mean, I'm big, but not like I was with pregnancy #1. My doctor is GREAT and is keeping an eye on this baby girl. I've had a biophysical profile every week since week 36, plus ultrasounds. She is measuring a little "small." Three weeks ago she was 5 lb, 12 oz according to the ultrasound measurements. I know for most people that is normal size, but with my history, that's little. ;) I don't mind, really. She can be a pipsqueak.

People keep saying, "Do you have a name yet?" They know I'm not going to tell, because we always keep it a secret, but they are just curious if we've decided or not yet. G Money has decided that her name will be Clarabel after the car Thomas the train pulls. I can tell you her name is NOT Clarabel. I hate to disappoint the little guy...so we've been working on it with him. We haven't decided for sure what her name is, so we've just decided to take the 4 or so names that we love to the hospital and decide then. We'll see what mood strikes. :)

Unless she comes before, we are scheduled for induction on Thursday the 31st!! HOORAY!! I happen to like being induced...I know it is different every time, but it has worked GREAT for my body the last 2 babies, so I'm happy to do it again. It's so nice to know my mom will already be here and the boys will be settled with her. Of course, I can only plan so much. I know God's plans are much, much bigger than my own. This baby might come on her own tomorrow. I don't know what I'd do...but we'd get through.

So, there's the update for all of you who want it. I'll get those nursery pictures up soon. It's still a work in progress...

Another burden lifted...

So, a friend showed up at the door today with two HUGE bags of baby girl clothes, size 0-6 months. They are ALL darling and in great condition. What a surprise and such a blessing for us. Thanks, KIM!!! (That is Kim from the am show on Q102, by the way.)

Bear one another's burdens...

Galatians 6:2
"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

We had a great discussion last night at Bible Study about this verse. I've been so thankful for the women who have come every week for the last 4 months or so...I've learned so much from them. It's just been good to have a group of women together who are in all different walks of life, and who desire to grow in their walk with God. It's been a sweet time. Next week is our last week, and I'm gonna miss it!

Tim Keller talked about bearing burdens like this: "To help with a burden, one must come very close to the burdened person, standing virtually in their shoes, and putting one's own strength under the burden so its weight is distributed on both of you, lightening the load of the other. So in the same way, a Christian must listen and understand, and physically, emotionally, spiritually, take up some of the burden with the other person."

So, I've been thinking about people in my life who help me bear my burdens. It's fun to think about it--and inspiring at the same time. For example, yesterday afternoon I'd missed my nap (I think I'm missing it again today...) and I was laying on the couch thinking, "I'm not going to make it two more weeks." Both of the boys were running circles around me, and I had just hit a wall. The phone rang and it was my neighbor (a SAINT) asking if I wanted some of their "extra dinner" from the crock pot. She didn't even know how badly I needed someone to take care of me. She was just thinking FOR me. I have a lot of friends in my life who are good at that--they think for others and anticipate needs. Another dear friend called me a few weeks ago before a huge garage sale. She told me to bring the boys over in their pjs so she could feed them breakfast while I shopped. She just anticipated what I needed--I don't even think I knew I needed that.

More burdens lifted...
The countless hours dear, dear women give to my family in free babysitting so my husband and I can connect on a weekly basis. We've come to realize how desperately we need our date night--and our kids LOVE when these ladies come to play. (I think they like it, too.)

Friends coming over to help paint the boys' new room, and then taking over when I could do no more...another burden lifted.

Someone coming over weekly to help get coffee ready for Bible study so I can put the boys to bed uninterrupted.

Someone asking me how I'm doing--and really wanting to know the answer.

A friend calling me and telling me I'm missed.

Someone praying for me.

I want to be more intentional in my relationships. I want to actively think FOR people--how can I help lift their burdens? How can I better love others? How can I teach my children to think for others as well? I know a lot of it is responding to the Holy Spirit prompting your heart, but as we said last night, there is action required. I can't just sit around and wait and hope that I'll "feel the urge" to serve. I need to be proactive and seek out opportunities.

So...those are my thoughts today. Just thought I'd share.

These are my sweet friends, Sam and Christina, who came to paint the boys' new room...they are awesome.

Daniel's old nursery...baby blue, anyone? I'll post the boys' new room soon...(and the new nursery!)

Galatians 6:2
"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

Family Picture

Do you know how hard it is to get a picture where 2 squirrelly boys are relatively still? Somehow, we managed. This is our most recent family picture and probably the last one for a while--at least for a month or so. I'm not letting a camera anywhere near me from now until this baby arrives. Cameras really do add 10 extra pounds, right? :) To quote Evelyn, I am "GLORIOUSLY PREGNANT."

Watch out world.

I realized yesterday as I was driving home from the airport that I'm a little more on edge these days. I actually honked at a driver on Powers who wouldn't move over so my minivan could merge. VERY unlike me...the best (worst?) part was my reaction when I passed him later and he honked back. I was ready to pull over and show him my prego self and fight the old man. MAN...I'm on edge. I think I need to have a baby.

We've got about 4 weeks left, friends. Maybe I'll have time to blog a couple more times before she arrives. :)

Nana and Caudy's visit

Well, I don't want all of you out there to worry about me too much. That last post was written in a moment of desperation, and reinforcements ARE coming. We actually had some just this past week. Nana and her sister "Caudy" came to visit and we has such a great time with them! We had great plans of getting TONS accomplished, and we did get some of it done, so that's good. I'm crossing things off the list little by little. Here are some shots of our time together...

Heavy D hamming it up

G Money at the park

The boys in the new double stroller (baby gift from Nana and Claudia).

We went to Boulder for the day...

Hubby and Heavy D on the Pearl St. Mall in Boulder.

My mom is coming for 2 weeks right after Baby Girl arrives. After she leaves, Nana will return for 2 weeks. Then, we have MORE family coming throughout the summer...right guys?? Anyone else? I'm taking applications...we have time shares in the tri-level available.

My Easter Buns

Shin posted pictures she took of Heavy D on Easter...I was uninspired by our snowy weather and didn't want to get the camera out. It doesn't help that I REALLY wanted to put my boys in their cute Easter outfits, but that doesn't happen out here in CO when it is 25 degrees and snowing...SO, I'll post those when I do put them on and am inspired to get out the camera.

Heavy D did look cute in his sweater vest and tie (thank you, Lisa) and I'm glad he can finally fit into it. He thought he was big stuff, let me tell you.

Today we met a friend for lunch at Chic-Fil-A and had a great time. Heavy D got a balloon, which made him happy the entire lunch date and G Money wanted to play in the play area after our friend had to leave. So, we played for a while and then things just went downhill.

First of all,

G got claustrophobic in the slide and COMPLETELY lost it—I couldn’t go up to get him (I’m too big), and he couldn’t come down. Finally, the other kids cleared out and he came down the slide.

G spilled the milkshake all over the floor while I’m wrestling a screaming D on the way out of the play area. SO…green milkshake all over the floor RIGHT in front of the door into the play area…a complete stranger took pity on me, grabbed a bunch of napkins and bent over and cleaned it up while I got help from a staff member.

D continues the wrestling match with prego mommy and the green balloon all the way out of the restaurant and into the parking lot. (More sympathetic looks from complete strangers. One woman even dared to ask, "When is your next one due?") When he finally got his way (holding the balloon without any help) he is in the car seat and G is in the back of the van crying, “I want my DADDY!!!”

Me too, G.

HOW AM I GOING TO DO THIS WITH THREE?!?!?!??!!

I’m having a moment…

This is why, when people ask me that above question...I just say, "I'm not thinking about it. I'm just going to have to take it one day at a time."