Nothing much..

Not much going on...

Went on Thursday to the DFCS office to apply for medicaid. I called ahead and asked what I needed to bring in. Got all the papers together, picked up the proof of pregnancy I needed and headed in..ended up spending like an hour and a half(which apparently is pretty good..haha) which is always fun with kids. Got my application in, and they didn't even want to see 2 of the papers they said I needed..random. Oh well...hopefully it will all work out. They will let us know within the next week whether we got it or not, but I'm thinking they'd be hard pressed to find a reason to NOT cover us right now.

Luke's been home a lot of this week...which is always nice, but feels so weird to have a running weekend all the time. I'm not complaining about having help and my best friend around, but when your used to them not being there all the time, to have them with you 24/7 feels strange, and good all at the same time. Please continue praying that a job opening would come up and for continued supernatural financial provision.

Been cleaning up a storm this week. Last night Luke and I tackled our bathroom which hasn't been cleaned in forever. It needed everything done to it..sweeping, wiping down every surface, scrubbing...it took us a while, but its soo nice to have cleaness now. Tommorrow's task is Olivia's...the Fletcher's are coming up this week to spend the night before heading to Belize..and I don't want them thoroughly grossed out by the "guest" bathroom that Liv takes no care in keeping clean.


Had a midwife appointment today. Everything looks great..baby is in a good position, I'm healthy, baby sounded good...all in all it was a great visit..plus it was long. I think we were there an hour and a half..haha..gotta love the undivided attention. My birth kit was supposed to come in today, but due to some flooding, it got delayed. Poo..good thing I don't need it immediately.

No wonder!

People want to stay on their butts and not work..! We knew if you made over a certain amount each week you couldn't "file"(or ask) for unemployment wages that week..but when we went to report this week, Luke's id was invalid..called them only to find out that he has to come back and "reset" the system so he can file for it again, which he'll have to do again if he ever makes over the amount they've set for him...they punish people who are actually trying and working some, and give money so much more easily to those that don't even try. arrg... However, we did get everything rounded up today, and will be making a treck into Decatur tomorrow to apply for the medicaid. I don't think we'll have any problems getting it, and it will be nice to have just in case. Luke's been great about calling and dealing with people..I hate calling anyone, and he's been great! He even called my old OB office this morning to get my proof of pregnancy that I need for tomorrow. I lub him..

I've had a super productive week..I've swept, kept my kitchen spotless, vacuumed(even the stairs), cleaned bathrooms, cleaned Noah's room(why do children steal cereal boxes and spill them all over the floor..?!) and lots of other little things. I also finished a knit hat for Baby if its a girl, now on the the boyish one. However my body is telling me to take a break(hence the knitting)..its pooped and I think I let the nesting mood I'm in get the best of me sometimes. Its hard to stop cleaning once I get into the mood...

This week Noah's started saying "What?" and "Why?"..its so adorable, and yet soo old already. "Come here Noah,"..."why?"....or "Noah??"..."What?"...we need to work on that I guess.

Livvy sayings..

Today I asked her how the baby gets out of my tummy..and she said "Your going to poop it out"..after explaining the differences in which baby and poop come out, she said "I'll get in the pool with you when the baby comes with my baby!"..

At least she's interested.

Treats

You don't quite understand how much you take for granted till there isn't any money to treat yourself to things..haha..I realized how amazingly spoiled I'd become. I sold off all my wool that Noah used last summer and this past winter, deposited a bunch into our bank account, but kept a little in Paypal. Luke told me too..I use it for random things, like if I want a new diaper for Noah, or a new cloth pad for me(such a treat!)..tonight I treated Luke and I to Starbucks drinks..and I am soo much more appreciative of the little things once you have to go and say no to all those treat urges..haha.. Luke's got a busy week of work ahead of him, praise God. The Lord has blessed Joel with more work then he can do, and we are so thankful that he's allowing Luke to tag along.

30 weeks tomorrow! I still can't believe it..this next Sat. I have an appointment with my lovely midwife and then we start doing the every 2 week appointments...sounds so crazy to think I'm this close to have a little newborn again. While I HATE running on little sleep, I do remember all the lovely sweet and WONDERFUL things that a new baby brings. I also can't wait to see what little gender we have in there. Its hard not to picture one or the other..and I am thoroughly looking forward to the big surprise. :) Ordered my birth kit, and a liner for the water birth pool yesterday. This was my first step in preparing for the birth and it felt nice to actually do something. I had started taking some vitamins that were easier on my tummy when I realized this week, that they don't contain Iron..haha..that probably hasn't helped with my numbers even if they are supposed to be down just a little at this point. So I started taking the jumbo horse pill ones again..hopefully it will help me feel less tired and the such.

Liv has been very protective of me and being pregnant..she says "Mommy, be careful, your pregnant.." all the time! At least she's looking out for me..while Noah does elbow shoves and lands on my poor belly all the time. Silly boy...

God is Faithful!

God has provided Luke with lots of opportunities to work..! While we are still praying for an office/regular job, we cannot believe the outpouring of God's love on us during this time. Our friend Joel has had work out the wazoo and has been having Luke come along. He already said he had more work for sure for Luke on Monday and Tuesday, if not more the rest of the week too..Luke finished part of a set of plans this week for our contractor guy(thats rebuilding the neighbors house) and got paid for that portion, and will finish up on those not too long from now, so at least we have that to look forward to too..We have also been able to pay bills so far without worry...which I know is such a blessing as I know many aren't able to. Not to mention, how timely is it that our Bank of America keep the change program is about to be a year with them, and they match a certain percentage of what we saved over the year...so they'll be plunking a little bit down in our account..its not too much, but every little bit counts and we are so happy to have anything. We laugh because God has been providing so well, that we haven't been able to draw on unemployment this week or next..haha.even though we are still keeping up with the reporting and such so we don't have to reapply later if we need it.

Cutting out time next week to make a run to the Department of Children and Family services to apply for medicaid. I wouldn't normally apply for it, but being pregnant and having two small children makes me feel more comfortable to have and not need it then the other way around.

Crampy/contraction stuff seems to have calmed down today..I was taking herbs to help yesterday and needed them, but I was able to go all day today without them and felt pretty ok. I didn't sleep well last night though..I was up 5 times feeling sick, but nothing ever happened...woke up and felt better...I think I had some indigestion that was causing it..took a pepcid tonight, so hoping for better sleep! :)

Made tortilla soup last night for dinner..I love doing this, because it makes soo much that we can eat it for lunches the next day. So nice to have more then sandwiches for lunch..also decided I wanted to make a pound cake. I'm ashamed to say we only have about a quarter left..haha :)

My baby plays practical jokes..

Apparently my unborn children love to sike Mommy out on the preterm stuff. Noah tried it at 34 weeks...and then decided he was more comfortable then he thought and hung around till almost 40 weeks. Without the use of drugs to stop labor!

This child and my body are trying it again..lots of braxton hix/contractions at close intervals. Its hard not to operate in fear in moments like this, because I think, what would a 29 week baby be like?! Way way too early for my comfort level and I want this baby to bake much longer then that...and yet because Noah didn't actually come after all his hoopla, its hard not to just ignore them too...such a balance must be had. While I am glad my children don't want to be in there forever and usually come at least a few days early, this is not the type of early I'd like to have.

Please pray that this is all just practice work on my body's part and nothing real, and that things calm down. Its no fun feeling crampy and having contractions all day.

29 weeks..

Today I am 29 weeks..! :) So excited..a 10 lbs. gain so far..which I feel good about considering how far along I am. Just going to try and keep it like a lbs. a week from here on out to keep it under control. My mother checked my iron levels this week and I'm a little on the low side. I'd been tired recently, but didn't think I was tired enough to merit the low iron...Today I took an almost 2 hour nap and I'm still pooped..

Prayers are that the nerve in my butt/hip would calm down. It got aggravated around 34 weeks with Noah, and its back and its made it hard to walk or sit or anything without pain. I don't want 11 more weeks of this, so please stand with me in agreement that it goes away. Also, for the iron levels to come up without me having to go all into supplements.

Routine..

This week feels so much more normal so far..I REALLY loved having Luke around this past week and a half, but it felt like life was in pause..like no matter how much we did or accomplished we were still in this waiting period. Which is still partially true, but since Luke has been blessed with some work this week with Joel and drawing a house for said contractor across the street that was mentioned before, its feeling more like normal routine and less like chaos..After 6 years of waking up pretty much by myself every morning(aside from weekends) I can't help but miss him sleeping in with me, but I know I can't complain and I'm soooo thankful for the provision we have been blessed with. Still no word on the actual office job work front, but we are believing God's got a reason for this break and Luke's actually enjoying being out and doing something more physical rather then sitting at a desk all day. Sure makes for a much more tired guy at the end of the day, but I can't help but beam with pride at his endurance...cause I know he's really doing it mostly for us.

Its grocery shopping day today..We normally go on the weekend, but since we were gone all weekend, today it is. While I know I could probably afford to get regular groceries this week, I'm going to try and do my best to make low budget meals and try and sacrifice some normal name brand stuff we might normally buy. I may even try coupon hunting today if I get around to it...we'll see. :)

Our weekend was great! We were able to leave before lunch on Friday, and even with trip back to our house(after about 30 minutes on the road!) to get my dress for the wedding we'd left, we made it to T'ville around 3:30...plenty of time to enjoy the evening. We went and watched my sister in law's softball team practice(she's 10), and then ate dinner with Luke's parents..Susan made lasagna which is always a favorite! Its so nice to spend time with them...got the kids in bed that night and I slept so nicely. Enjoyed a lazy Saturday morning...ate a great lunch Mom made, played some Wii and spent some time with Erin and Wesley before the wedding, got ready and enjoyed a really lovely wedding. Jeff and Melanie had a beautiful wedding and I always get a little sappy just thinking about them. Even though Luke and I have been married almost 6 years, it still feels like yesterday that we got married and it brings back all those warm gushy moments that make you appreciate all over again(not like I don't most of the time anyways, but you know!) why you married your spouse in the first place. Sunday was lazy..spent a little time with the Fletcher's, ate another great lunch, and let the kids nap while Dustin and Kristen spent a little time with us..then it was time to pack up and head home. We got back later then normal, but the trip was all in all fairly easy. We even got cheap 'ol Wendy's on the way home too..which is something we haven't done since the lay off. You don't realize how much you eat out till there is no money to do it with! haha..



Have I mentioned how much I love my girlfriends..? I love how we are all in way different stages of our lives and yet when we get together we are able to just be friends all over. These are the kind of girls that are able to just pick up where we left off and enjoy being together. I really miss getting to hang out with them and wish I had had more time while down in T'ville, but at least I got to see them and give them all hugs.

Anyways..back to the routine..hopefully the day goes well, Luke gets all the work done he needs to, and he'll return to a happy wife and hopefully a not too messy home. arg...:)

God is good..

This past Saturday Luke worked with our friend Joel.. we are so thankful that Joel is sharing his work with Luke...today they went back to finish a painting job, and Luke said they had enough work to work again tomorrow. While its no office work, its work, and we are super greatful! He also mentioned there might be more work next week too...

God also works in weird ways...like this past Wednesday, the guy that is rebuilding our burned down neighbors home wanted to know if we by chance had plans to the burnt house...first off, thats a silly question to ask a neighbor..."oh yeah, let me whip out my neighbors home plans!"...however, it did alude to Luke saying that no we didn't have them, but that he indeed was a draftmen and could draw him some...;) They are meeting this Friday morning to go over Luke doing some home plans for the guy for his own personal house.

My sister and her husband blessed us with some funds to be able to travel down this weekend to the Wedding that we were planning on attending before all this happened. We are soo seriously humbled and feel loved and can't wait to be able to see our family and friends this weekend. Thank you Erin and Wesley! We love you guys..!

Letting go

I'm such a controller...really. I'm amazed my husband still loves me sometimes because every now and then I catch myself being all Kate Gosslinish...I hate being out of control, I hate not knowing what's going to happen and while I can adjust to change, it takes me a while...and often results in a few meltdowns on my part during the process. I'm amazed the Lord is so patient with me..I don't deserve it at all. Luke and I were talking about how thankful we were that hardship in both of our lives have only driven us closer to God and not away. So many people deal with stuff differently and while I know the feeling of being upset at the Lord, it has always made me go directly to Him and has made my relationship with Him stronger. I'm so thankful for this...because I know life without Him isn't life....and its not one I want to live if He's not involved. We are currently trying to find a home church here..and amazingly enough are having a hard time finding one. You'd think in this large of a metro, one would be more accessible. We are craving the Body of Christ, but don't want to drive an hour to go somewhere we like either..its frustrating.

Luke had a bunch of itunes dollars left from Christmas gifts, and bought the new Justin Rizzo album..(Called: Found Faithful)....there is a song on there called "This is true life"..not only does it have a pretty melody, but its resonated with both Luke and I with our current situation.

"Oh the peace of pure abandon, oh the joy of sweet surrender,
cause if I try and save my life I will lose it, but if I lose my life for Your sake I'll find it in the end."..

"I have to give you everything, and then the yoke is easy, I have to give you everything, and then the burden is so easy"..

"Life is found in the letting go, true joy is found in the tearing of the heart"..

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Went to the park today with Erin and Wesley. Its nice to get out....the kids love playing and it was a nice day outside today to do it. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches always taste better outside on a sunny day. :)

I'm 7 months tomorrow! Its hard to believe...Luke and his sense of humor said he'd stay home from work to celebrate. haha...poor guy...at least he has humor about it. He's going back on Tuesday to help finish up the task they did on Sat. He got burned working outside...sunscreen is a must on Tuesday! Pray that one of the two people Luke applied with this past week would call back. Both hiring people were out last week, so we weren't able to get answers from either, so pray they answer quickly, and that God is in the midst of it all.

We banished the highchair today. Noah's now in a booster seat at the big table. He's mostly been in it recently because I've been wanting to savor the fact that the tray is removable and cleanable, and my carpet/white chairs aren't as easy to clean, but I know its time. I think he likes sitting next to us.

Ok..long enough post. :)

Not busy..

Luke had an interview yesterday...pray it turns out well please! Also sent our resume in to another company that is looking for someone JUST like Luke..so we'll see how it all pans out. Wanting God's best.. He's working with a friend's husband tomorrow to make a little...which will help for sure.

Today we got up, ate breakfast and decided to FINALLY go to the library thats super super close to us. Its slightly ghetto so I was hesitant to go by myself..but since Luke was with us, we tried it out..Not too bad..it wasn't huge, or overly nice..but it will be nice to check some books out for the kids and for me occasionally. So I'm now the proud owner of a Dekalb County Library card...yay! :) Plus, I realized it wasn't as ghetto as it looks and can most certainly go again without Luke having to come with us. :)

Also went grocery shopping today...got a whole week's worth of groceries for $81 dollars!! I'm so proud..its the lowest I've ever gone..but the Buy one Get One's this week were nice and I had a few leftover ingredients from last weeks BOGO items that helped to make meal planning and ingredient buying this week easier. It made me happy to think I was helping by being frugal and shopping savvy....

On to a lazy afternoon...

Sorry its late..

I know I promised writing this past weekend, and I never got around to it. The life of me...

Had a Midwife appointment before Noah's birthday, and it went well..I always seem to have a high pulse, but its not making me unhealthy or causing issues, so I'm good to go on the pregnancy end. 7 lbs. gained to date..not too shabby...and for 27 weeks(at the time of weigh in), I consider that an ok weight gain so far. Now, its just keeping it reasonable for the rest of the pregnancy. :)

Noah's birthday went well...it rained all morning, so we opted to have the party at our house instead of the park we had planned, but it ended up being sunny anyways by party time, so we just let the kids play outside for a while...We've never had a "kid" party...usually its just family and our own friends..and mostly cause the kids didn't really have any friends in T'ville that were their age. It was crazy and hectic, but fun...Noah seemed to enjoy himself...we got lots of video and Erin and Jeri took lots of pictures which I'm thankful for since we didn't take any ourselves. We had a laid back Sunday..and didn't do much. It was nice...





I really scored last week on groceries...I was able to get like 3 more meals then normal all for what we would have spent normally...I really try and work Publix's buy one get one free stuff. This week happened to be some frozen Voila meals..and while I typically don't like the frozen meals as much, they are only $4's each and so for $12 dollars, I've fed my family 3 meals...not too bad. Grapes were also cheap this week...which always makes me happy. :)

Luke came home Tuesday early..I was napping, and didn't think anything of it when he came home..but the look on his face and when I noticed the time, did not seem good...he informed me that they had called him into their office and let him go due to lack of work at the company. They paid him for what he worked this week, and for all the days he never took off, and that was it. No severence or warning...needless to say we are very bummed and while accepting the fact that we have NO incoming cash at the moment is hard, we are strangly at peace..Luke has had a good interview with another company already, and has his resume in to another company that had an opening. We plan on scouring the internet for more possibilities today.. I'm so proud to have a man who didn't allow this to make him feel less then, and has taken on the task of finding a new job whole heartedly without complaint. We are believing for supernatural provision. We are also trying to enjoy Luke being home...not the best scenario of course, but we've been craving family time and we are loving having him around in between his work finding errands. Please pray for divine opportunities and favor in a market that the world claims is too hard to find work right now in.