A Lifetime of Love

T.G., I had no idea how being your mom would be such a blessing! You are a sweet, kind, caring girl who loves her baby sisters so much. God has given you a nurturing spirit, and you do it so well! You are helpful, especially when it relates to babies, cleaning, or cooking. I can already tell you will be a GREAT mommy when you get older! :) You have your own ideas regarding fashion and clothing, and your favorite color continues to be pink. If you had it your way, you'd wear pink from head to toe every day of your life! You also have an expressed opinion about hair styles and how you want to wear yours each day, and you refuse to have your hair cut except for an occasional trim. I am amazed that you don't mind it so long (it's almost to the bottom of your back) but it is absolutely beautiful, especially when you wear it down. We have had to start conditioning it daily in order to be able to brush it in the mornings, and you LOVE that you get to use grown-up conditioner. ...

Since money has been (and still is!) so tight for us, my mom sent money for us to take the kids to a pottery place to do something fun for T.G.'s birthday. T.G. has never been to one before and has wanted to go since Th has been doing his homeschool pottery class. We planned it on a day when TJ's dad and step-mom were coming out so they could help us with Annie. The boys painted airplanes and the girls painted butterflies. We ended our afternoon with a Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake as a special treat for T.G. (she has recently become infatuated with her).  =)

Ta is finishing up his last week of kindergarten at our neighborhood school. His teachers have been wonderful, and he has learned and grown so much this year- I am very proud of his hard work!! Ta is a pretty social boy and has made friends easily. So far public school has been a good experience for him, and I am often asked if he will continue. The answer is: yes, at least for now. My plan is to have him finish up either 1st or 2nd grade and then bring him home depending on how he is doing. Th's 1st grade year was not very productive (at least the first half, until we moved him to our neighborhood school) and is the reason we decided to homeschool him. If Ta has another great year, then I will probably let him continue through 2nd grade and bring him home for 3rd. If next year does not go so well, then it will be his final year. I have loved homeschooling and am looking forward to having all of my children homeschooled, but the reality is with (soon to be) 6 kids, and only 2 in s...

T.G. this morning, as she was opening her window blinds: “Mr. Sunshine is trying to come out.”   Me: “Yes, it looks like it’s going to be sunny today.” T.G. “I think he said, ‘God, can I go outside today? I want to shine on everything.’” It was so sweet!  =)

I  can’t believe T.G. is 4 years old! Time just seems to pass more and more quickly, especially as my children age. I remember when I found out I was having a girl- I was so excited! I never could have imagined how blessed I would be when God placed you in our family! T.G., you are such a little princess, dainty and frilly in every way. You make me smile because you are the complete opposite of me: you adore wearing dresses, you LOVE to wear hair bows, and you absolutely refuse to leave the house without accessorizing with jewelry! Pink, of course, is your favorite color and according to you, one can never wear too much of it! You are a whiz at putting puzzles together and the more pieces there are, the more you enjoy doing them. You are great with Taylor Ann (your relationship with Teagan is another story!) and I am thankful you enjoy helping me out by “babysitting” her. It is obvious she loves you just as much as you love her. You adore your big brothers and have fun ...

T.G. and Teagan started back to preschool last week. I have been so busy that I am just now getting a chance to post their "first day" pictures. Here they are: The bonds of sisterhood! :)

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post so I thought I'd share some of what I've been up to. We went to the beach and had a fabulous trip. We actually stayed a little longer than planned because we just love the ocean and really didn't want to leave. :) Since getting back, I have been working on lesson plans for homeschooling next year. I finalized my curriculum and am now transferring the lessons for each subject into my lesson planner. It's time consuming and I am really only able to do it for a little bit in the afternoons while the kids nap. But, Lord willing, it's getting done and I am thankful. There are still boxes in almost every room that need to be unpacked, but motivation is small and honestly it's just too difficult for me to unpack with 5 small children. We've done some little projects around the house, one of which was putting plywood sheets up in the rafters of the attic to expand our attic space. We still have a storage unit full ...

I had my routine doctor visit this morning. Weight gain is good (only about 21 pounds) and Taylor sounds great, the only concern was some protein in my urine. The doctor wasn't overly concerned because my blood pressure was normal, but in all of my other 4 pregnancies I've never had this. I suppose I am more concerned because of what my sister just experienced (same symptoms- protein in the urine but normal b/p). She ended up being hospitalized for 3 days before finally being induced. As much as I am ready to meet Taylor and end this pregnancy, I don't want it to be under those circumstances. I also have an ear infection, which is no fun. So do Teagan and T.G. We are all 3 on antibiotics although now tonight T.G. started running a fever. I'm not sure what to think now! I am hoping we are all feeling better by the time Monday rolls around. I've been sick since mid-January and I am ready to move on and get well!! The doctor also reminded me that I could potentially be...

I realize it’s been a couple of weeks since my last post, and I thought I would take a moment to share what’s been happening around our house. . . Th lost another tooth so he is now missing both of his front teeth. He looks so cute!! They have both been loose since before Christmas, and he lost the first one a few days after New Year’s. Now that both are gone, some of his words sound strange and I kid him that Teagan now has more teeth than he does. He just smiles his toothless grin and gives me a hug. Teagan started speech therapy and I already love her therapist Susan. She is very much “special ed” so I get what she says. I can talk to her and she knows what I mean-- I love it!! Right now we are working on feeding issues, meaning we are trying to get Teagan to accept different textures of food. For instance, when feeding her peach yogurt, Teagan will manage to swallow the yogurt and spit out the tiny specs of peaches. I know it’s not related to taste because Teagan loves pureed peach...

Wow! Where have the past 3 years of my life gone? It is difficult to remember my life without having T.G. in it! I remember when I found out I was having a girl after having the boys; I was ecstatic! I immediately sewed a pink diaper bag and began to shop and stock up on dresses and other girl clothes. T.G. has been a blessing since the moment she was conceived and I am so thankful to have her! Compared to her two older brothers, she is quiet, sweet, and VERY girlie! Every day she tells me how she wants to wear her hair (in a ponytail, 2 ponytails (pigtails), pretzels (braids)) and what color hair bow to go with her clothes (usually pink). Since getting her ears pierced about 2 weeks ago, she is constantly looking at her earrings in the mirror. She also loves shoes, and takes a good 5 minutes each day deciding upon which shoes to wear. She is so opposite me that it makes me smile- she is truly a unique individual with her own ideas and thoughts. I just love it! T.G. has also recently s...

Not really much to talk about this week. I spent the day yesterday going through all the toys we own trying to make room for toys received from 3 birthdays and Christmas coming up in the next 3 months. I separated everything into 4 piles: keep, toss, sell, & donate. Although it doesn't seem like I made a huge dent in our toy supply, I donated 1 huge bag of toys, trashed another, and have 3 boxes and 2 piles of toys in my bedroom that need to be cleaned and priced to sell. I have registered for a local consignment sale next week, so I need to get everything finished between now and next Tuesday. If I work on it a little each night, I should finish. I am not looking to get rich, but it will be nice to have a little extra money to put away for the babies we need to plan for. I am excited for tomorrow. My sis is having an ultrasound to determine her baby's gender. She wants a boy but would be okay with another girl. I just want to know because I'm excited for her. I'm g...

My little girl is getting so big! At 2 ½, T.G. has learned how to pump her legs on the swing. Th didn’t learn until he was 4, and Ta was 3. I suppose having older siblings to model the skill definitely had an influence on her learning. Her vocabulary is also blossoming. She cracks me up with all that she says. She even reprimands the boys when she knows they are doing wrong; it must be her natural instinct to “mother” them. What’s even funnier is that they listen to her! Today we are embarking upon a new skill, one of which is my least favorite: potty training. Alas, I know it is a skill that is a necessity for independent living. In spite of all the benefits and such, I still hate it! But, my little girl is a trooper, and she’s done excellent today. She went potty on the toilet when she first woke this morning, before her nap, and twice after her nap. We had some errands to run this morning before lunch so she did wear a diaper, but since we’ve been home, she’s worn her panties. I am...

From this. . . to this. . . You have grown into such a big girl! You are sweet and loving, and a great big sister to Teagan. I am so thankful the Lord allowed me to be your mommy. Happy Birthday, baby girl!

Here is a sampling of Ta's and T.G.'s school pictures. T.G. would not smile, but at least she didn't cry like she did last year. I absolutely love their pictures; I think they turned out great!

I am struggling even more to find a balance between home and school. Teagan is such a great baby, and I really have no complaints about her. She sleeps well, waking to nurse every 3 hours. I try to time it so that she nurses around 10:30 or 11pm, and then every 3 hours after that. TJ gets the first feeding and I get the second. It gets difficult when she wakes around 5am because I wake up at 5:45am, and I usually finish nursing around 5:30am. Obviously those mornings are more difficult for me because I am waking 45 minutes earlier than I’m used to, but I overall I can’t complain. I am very thankful she takes a bottle and TJ is willing to get up with her, too. One day last week I let him sleep and took all of the feedings myself as a way to say thank you to him. Because of my school load, TJ and I had to make a difficult decision about T.G. I really didn’t want to have to send her to preschool 5 mornings per week, but it was just too difficult for me to get anything done at home with he...

It has been so hot here this past week, and it doesn't appear next week is going to bring any relief. To get relief from the heat, we have been keeping cool in various ways. On Wednesday we went to a place in Charlotte called Monkey Joe's, and the kids (and I!) had a blast. It's awesome! It's an indoor inflatable playground. There is a toddler area for kids 3 and under, but of course T.G. wanted to be with her brothers on the big stuff, so I had to climb up the inflatables with her so she could play, too. It was fun, just hard work with me being pregnant and having to carry her up the steps and stuff. My friend had emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy Monday afternoon, so I had her little boy with us so my friend could rest and recuperate. We packed a lunch and ate it in the car, and then went back inside to play. Overall, we spent about 3 hours playing. Thursday another friend of mine came over and we hung out at the pool together. It was gorgeous! The water was ...

Man, this week has flown by for us! Ta has hit two developmental milestones that have greatly affected his relationship with Th, and contributed to the peace among the family: he learned to wear flip-flops and how to pump his legs on the swing! These are HUGE milestones for him as he was getting tired of always relying on someone me to have have to help him with his sandals and push him on the swing. Trust me, I was just as tired of having to help him! This morning, not too much before 9am, both boys were outside as I was doing laundry and other stuff downstairs. I had the windows open so I could hear and see them, and for almost an hour, they just swung together and talked. It was nice to see them relating so well. Not being close in age to either of my siblings, this type of bond is something I always wanted my own children to experience, and thankfully, they are. I later found out they were talking about Carowinds, an amusement park in Charlotte, because we are headed there tomor...

The surgery went well for those who haven't heard. T.G. is doing great, although she didn't nap well yesterday. There is some drainage from her nose and ears, which is good because it means the infection is leaving her system. She doesn't seem to be in much pain, but I have been trying to give her Tylenol every 6 hours or so. I just finished taking a test and completed an assignment due later today. I still have another test tomorrow that I need to study for (I haven't even begun!) and will be relieved when this week is over! TJ and I are headed to the Wilds on Friday, and I am looking forward to relaxing. After everything that has transpired since last Tuesday, I definitely need it! Plus, I start teaching on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning next week, which means I have to write lesson plans for each day; I am very nervous about that. There are 8 kids altogether, ranging in age from 4 to 12, and they all have Autism. My ultrasound is scheduled for tomorrow morning so I...

Well, we're off to the hospital. I feel like I'm going to vomit at any moment. Please pray for everything that is facing us today. Thanks!

Well, the big day is tomorrow. T.G. has her surgery and I get the results of my hCG levels. My stomach is in knots for both. A student on campus just died this past week from complications with anesthesia, which is my biggest fear for T.G. I know the procedures themselves are routine, but I hate that she is being put under at such a young age. Besides tomorrow's events, I have 2 tests this week that I have to study for, and a fairly large assignment due on Wednesday. On top of this, TJ is fighting a chest cold, and is currently napping on the couch (a sure sign he is sick- he never takes naps!). Part of me wishes I could just crawl in bed and sleep for the next 24 hours, but of course that is neither possible nor responsible. Sometimes being a grown-up stinks! Of course, as you read in the previous post, I also have to deal with selfish family members trying to make everything about them. I am truly torn over what to do tomorrow when I get the results and after T.G.'s surgery. ...