breathe...

several months ago, i began reading a book called "breathe" by keri wyatt kent. i have been reading this with a group of friends and we meet once a month to eat dinner, desert and have a good discussion. two weeks ago, we finished the book and had our group at my house. overall the book was pretty good. there were a few chapters here and there that seemed a bit redundant but the concept of the book really spoke to me and hit home. the book really challenged me to breathe. the book brought to my attention there was too much busyness in my life and that my role of a wife, mom and friend was not being placed first - other things were. i was even in a place where i don't think i had the time to hear from God. i was running in circles and really stressed out. i had been in the place for a long time. sometimes i would realize it and cut back on things, but then quickly say yes to other things. just trading busyness for other busyness.

there were several principles in the book that really spoke to me. the biggest one was that i really needed to start saying no to commitments i had made, to commitments i was the process of making and to learn how to continue to say no to other commitments that may come along. i realized that i was so busy and that i never had time to have any fun or do anything for myself. and if and when i did i felt guilty and the commitments that needed to be done would overshadow the fun i should or could be having. i started to resent some of the things i had said yes to. i realized that i wasn't really enjoying this season of my life. i wasn't enjoying my family or even my friends. i was overcommited and stressed out.

the first commitment i had to let go was my volunteer position at elevation as the ekidz volunteer coordinator. that was very hard for me. i love being a part of our church and having a role that made me feel important and like i was contributing. but the volunteer position required way too much of my time. it was so hard for me to step down but i knew i had to. i knew that through my reading and through God it was what i was suppose to do. sunday mornings were becoming stressful for me. being pregnant and getting three kids to church early in the morning and staying late into the afternoon was getting hard. and i had been doing it by myself. i began to resent all of that. i realized i was not supporting jamil in his role as one of our pastor's armor bearers because i was so stressed out. i also had to do a lot of "work" during the week from home. i loved the work i was doing and the people i worked with but i had to let it go.

another commitment was as a room mom. once the school year was done at union academy, i vowed not to take on the role as a room mom for the next year. i loved being one of two room moms for josh's class. but i knew i couldn't commit for the new school year to either of the classes my kid's would be in. when the time came this year, it was hard for me not to volunteer this year, but i didn't. i have offered to help in anyway i can but just not be in that take charge role.

i am a take charge kind of girl, that is just how God has made me but i knew he was asking me to let go of that gift and let go of both of those roles for this season of my life and just follow someone else's lead for awhile in whatever i help with. at church i serve on a team that supports one of our community outreach partners, safe journey. it doesn't require as much time and energy but i am still able to be involved and be able to serve. and i also choose to see that i have a valuable role as i support jamil as he serves along side of pastor steven. i feel that him knowing i am handling our family by myself on sunday mornings gives him a peace of mind and he can serve pastor and be completely focused as he does. at school this year, i will volunteer when and as much as i can but not by taking a lead role.

in june, when those things were finished my time was freed up tremendously. i was able to put that extra time into spending real quality time with my kids this summer. with jordyn starting kindergarten in the fall, i wanted to be able to have a good summer with them and especially with her. i didn't want to tell them no to things because i had "work" to do.

i also realized when it came time to my daily schedule i often put too many things into one day. if we had a party at 2:00, we could also have dinner plans with family at 6:00 and hey why not add something else at 10:00 am too because that is free. i have realized that just because a chunk of time is free it doesn't have to be filled with something to do. i have made a conscious effort to really look at how our days and how our weekends are scheduled. we definitely still have busy weeks and weekends but they are not as frequent. we have scheduled time to breathe! so when a busy week or weekend comes along i can handle it a lot better. and if i am handling it better, my family is too!! we have had a lot less evening commitments as well. it is refreshing to be able to be home more evenings then away. especially with the kids back in school. having two in school has definitely changed the dynamics of our evening routine!

i have done really well this summer saying no to things that would require my time. i have lost the desire to say "yes" all of the time. i think i had such a fear of saying no because i thought that if i said no it would show a weakness or that i would be bored or that i wouldn't be asked to do anything else. i had gotten into a habit of saying yes to everything. i had this mindset that i am a stay at home mom and i have a lot of time on my hands so i should be able to do everything and anything that came my way. so for years i have said yes and overcommited myself anyway i could. what i didn't realize is that i wouldn't be bored. having a family and keeping up with a home keeps me busy. i realized that i am not at all bored, not at all. i have still been really busy. my priorities have really shifted and changed. i have been able to put my family ahead of all those commitments that used to be there. i feel like i have been able to focus and really put my family first. i know that God is calling me to live this way. this is where he wants me in this season of my life. God is the center of my life and my family and friends come first.

august wrap up...

since my posts have been pretty far and few between, i thought i would just write one that summarizes and hightlights what's been going on around here this month. each one probably deserves it's own post but i am just putting it all into one for today!!!! it is really hard to believe that tomorrow we will begin a new month.

big kid's school stuff...

the kids have been in school for a full month. they are both doing pretty well. jordyn has really adjusted to being in kindergarten. she really likes it. she does get very tired in the afternoons, which makes doing anything in the evenings really hard. she enjoys being there and has made some friends. she is a social butterfly and has thad o move her clip because she is talking too much. although the last two weeks she has been on green every day!!! joshua has realized he is a class clown and we have been working with him on appropriate behavior and appropriate times. he is so bright and intelligent that we really want him to focus on staying on task and being funny when he is suppose to be. hard for a boy who wants to make his friends laugh. he is a lot like jamil - especially when he was in school.



little buddy...

jesiah is doing pretty well at home with me. he is not going to preschool this year so he is with me every day. it is so different just having one around for the majority of the day. jesiah is pretty laid back and easy going, although he has his moments. he plays really well by himself and i can often do what i need to get done while he plays. it has been really fun to have him all by myself every day! he says and does the cutest things. he hasn't wanted us to call him little buddy or any other nickname - he tells us his name is jesiah. wow that is hard. i think we have officially traded in the nighttime diapers (pull ups) this week for diapers for the baby! jesiah has been waking up dry at night for several weeks. so the last several nights we have put him to bed in big boy pants and he has done great. jesiah likes that he has given up his "diapers" to his baby sister!!! he can not wait to be a big brother! i talks about it all of the time. he loves to rub and touch my belly. it is very sweet.


first sleepover party...

jordyn had her first sleepover party this month. it was so much fun. we did all things girly!!! we had makeovers, manicures and pedicures. we ate pizza, popcorn and watched princess diaries. it went really really well. there were 7 little girls in total at our house on a friday night. several were sleeping over for the first time and/or a little nervous. but there was not even a whisper of being scared when it came to bedtime! of course my camera battery was dead so i didn't take any pictures. although, our babysitter and family friend, johanna came to my rescue, she took the pics for me. i will post some pics once i get them from here. johanna not only rescued me by taking the pictures, she came and helped me the whole night!! what a blessing. she was there on friday afternoon while we got ready and stayed until saturday morning. i really couldn't have done it without her. she was such a big help!!!!! my sister also came up during our makeovers and having her there was such a help, when you have seven little girls yelling for glitter!!!





elevation news...



at elevation we have seen God working overtime!!!!! we have launched a new campus in uptown charlotte, seen over 1,000 people baptized and over 600 people accept Christ as their personal Savior!!! it has been an amazing month at our church. i feel so blessed to be in the midst of what God is doing at elevation. currently, hundreds of volunteers along with the staff have been participating in the daniel fast. we are on day 14 of the fast. i haven't been able to take part fully in the fast - pregnancy and fast just didn't seem to agree with me or with the baby. but i have been challenged by making all of our dinners and having a lot of the appropriate snacks on hand from the daniel fast recipes, since jamil is doing it in it's full capacity. there are several new things we have tried and will continue to use or have on our dinner menus. i know God is going to bless our church and do great things through our church because of this act of obedience and sacrifice of so many people. honestly, i will be glad to make some of our regular dinner menus once this is over. and i have really really missed baking and making deserts!!!!

nesting...

we have been busy, busy around our house. i have been in complete nesting mode and working on our "must do before the baby comes" list. we have blocked out the last couple of saturdays and this coming one and we haven't made any commitments so that we can work on projects around the house. those "saturday" projects are ones that i need jamil's help with. during the week i tackle as much as i can by myself. we have been making some good progress and crossing things off of our lists!!!!

baby on the way...

today marks 50 days until baby jaelyn comes. i have been feeling pretty good. and things have gone really well. i am pretty uncomfortable and have been tired. i am not sleeping great at night but overall things are going great! i really can not complain. i am really excited to see her! i have been going to my midwife appointments every other week and i think after this week i will go every week.

i think that catches up mostly what has been going on here in the past few weeks. now i feel like i can get a fresh start to september and be able to write more frequently - but don't hold your breath!!!

visiting the hospital...

on thursday afternoon we headed to carolinas medical center (cmc) for our sibling tour. the kids loved knowing that they were all born at this hospital and that baby jaelyn will be too! jamil met us there and here they are waiting for the tour to begin!!!







here is nurse melissa starting the tour. before we headed up to the eighth floor, my favorite floor in the hospital and also known as my spa retreat, the kids had the option of dressing up like doctor's but none of them wanted to do it. oh well! we took this tour with joshua when i was pregnant with jordyn. joshua did dress up then!! but he was barelythree and dressing up was still cool.








first we got to peek into the nursery. i was amazed at the amount of babies that were in there. our nurse said that there were like 60 babies born that week. the nursery and all of the rooms were filled! all our rain must have brought a baby boom!! the kids had a lot of questions about the babies and what the nurses were doing to some of the babies. there was a baby being moved up from the nicu and having little monitors with sticky tape removed. josh thought they were taking off her skin. there was a baby underneath the lights getting a little suntan so we had to explain why she was there. i must say i was excited to see all the babies and can't wait to see what ours will look like!


next we went into a labor and delivery room. this room looked very familiar to me - i was actually in that room when one of my friends was there in labor!!! i told joshua that it was the room that his best friend was born in - he was soooo excited.






the kids climbed onto the bed and nurse melissa showed them how the bed works. she also told them about some of the equipment in the room. joshua immediately spotted a game system controller and was so excited. that was all he could talk about. the rooms have video games and internet access through a flat screen tv. wow - more ammenities than our own home. i am definitely trying to figure out how i can get a few extra nights tacked onto my stay!!! our nurse said she thought i deserved it, being a fourth time mommy.



the kids had lots of different questions about the room. nurse melissa answered them. and she told them about how a new baby will need a lot of special care. she encouraged them to be big helpers.







she also told us some different details about the labor and delivery floor. the mommies and the babies on the floor now where a little gps bracelet. and there are monitors all over the hospital that sense where their location is. when the baby is brought to the mommy the little bracelets are matched and then they chime!!!






nurse melissa brought a baby doll for the kids to practice holding a baby! here is jesiah doing a great job! jordyn also held the doll - she was an old pro! you can tell she is a mommy in training. joshua was to into the idea of the video games that he didn't want to hold the doll. he is so excited about those games - he didn't grasp the fact that he probably won't get to play on them very much. it's not like he will be living there with me - the kid's visits will be very short when they are there!!!

when we were done with the tour, we went into a conference room where the classes are taught and the kids had a little snack. nurse melissa talked more about the hospital and things that may have changed since we were there last! then she gave each kid a certificate and a little coloring book. we had a great time! i think it is really beginning to hit all of us that in just under 2 months we will be meeting our new baby!

overwhelmed...

i am feeling very overwhelmed today. there are so many projects that i want to complete and work on before the baby comes and i don't know where to begin. i am in panic mode that they wont get done in the next 8 weeks. on sunday, i started having some contractions (braxton hicks) and i think they really brought it home to both jamil and i that baby jaelyn will be here before we know it.

i have this incredible desire to get our home completely organized and deep cleaned. today, as i walked around the house and took inventory (by making lists!!) of what needs to be done, i felt panic stricken. i realized i am at a loss of where to begin. there are closets to be cleaned out and organized. i am in need of some creative ways to store a lot of our things. we are pushing maximum capacity in our home and running out of space. once i figure out what stays and what goes i have to figure out where to put everything.

so my mind is on overload with thoughts of where to start and how to get the tasks done in a way that will really work for our household. i am also frustrated because i have very limited energy to complete all this work. i run out of energy when i am halfway through a project. very frustrating.

this week (and probably for the next few weeks), i will be staying home so i can begin to knock out some of these projects.

update on my addiction...

yes, this week i did indeed earn back all of the money i spent last week finding deals on craig's list!! i sold three out of four things i had listed on craig's list. i still have a few more things to list. i also bought two more things this week!! i bought a medela pump for a steal and i also bought the cutest bouncy/rocker seat i have ever seen - it is a maclaren and it is pink and grey!!!!!

tomorrow, we plan to work on some projects around the house - i am sure i will find even more things to list and sell!!!!

my new hobby...

i love craig's list!!! i am addicted to it!!! it has come in handy over the last month. with having to redo the "girls' room" and buying baby gear - craig's list has been my favorite way to shop. i have been using craig's list for over a year. but in the last few weeks it has become a new and regular hobby!!!

last week, i purchased four big items off of craig's list for the baby! the retail value of what i bought would have been easily over $800 and i got all the stuff for $200! here is what i found... two very nice strollers, a joovy sit n stand and a peg perego pliko - in pink and black!!!! (yes, i am a stroller addict too!), a top of the line crib mattress and a baby bjorn (mine is 8 years old - so i "splurged" for an updated easier to fasten version!). and last month, we got jordyn's castle bed off of craig's list for $250 - it would have been $1100 new.

i am so excited about the new purchases and all of the money we have saved buying from craig's list. this week, i am going to list a whole bunch of stuff on craig's list to sell!! and i am excited because i will most likely "earn" back the money i have spent!!!!

so. last week when i wasn't blogging, i was on craig's list shopping!!!!

jordyn's sleepover party....

***this post is way long overdue...but nonetheless it is here now!!!!

jordyn had a sleepover party for her fifth birthday! her birthday is in july and the party ended up being in august, because i was sick on the originally scheduled date in july. she invited all of her favorite little girl friends from church and ballet. we did makeovers, manicures, pedicures, ate pizza, cake and ice cream and then watched princess diaries. it was a great party. all of the girls had a great time!!! our babysitter and special friend johanna came to help me throw this big shebang - what a blessing to have her there!!! she also took all of these pictures b/c my camera battery was dead. her are some pictures of our fun night...

girl talk

jordyn and anagrace
bff since 6 mos old!!

lily, addison and greta

avery looking pretty and applying more glitter!!!

anagrace and her makeover

lily hubatka putting on eye makeup

lily hummel helps avery

jordyn doing her eyes

you can never have too much glitter!

happy birthday jordyn!

jordyn and lily pose!

time to open presents!

seriously they were all asleep like this by 10:00 pm!!!!

911 whats your emergency ?...

today, my school aged kids had a half day of school. after we returned home and they ate lunch, i was on the computer and across the house i heard some chatter about dialing "911". immediately, i called the little voice (jordyn's) to come to me. she arrives next to my side with the phone in her hand. i asked her what she was doing and she said she dialed 911. i said where did you hear that - apparently it was in a book they read at school today. so, i tried to turn on the phone to see if it was indeed the last number dialed. the phone battery was dead, so it could reveal nothing to me. i asked her if someone answered when she dialed it, hoping she would say no, meaning the phone was dead. she said after i dialed 911 a lady said "911 whats your emergency?" she said she hung up after that. great, i thought, waiting to hear sirens coming down the street.

about 3 minutes later there was a knock at our door and i looked out to see a jeep marked special response on it and a man in a sheriff uniform standing there. as i opened the door, he knew by the look on my face that it was an accident and dialed by "mistake". i confirmed and apologized. then i called jordyn to the door so she could see the sheriff. joshua had told her she was going to go to jail because she did that, so she was scared to talk to him. we explained why you don't dial 911 unless there is a true emergency. the boys were thrilled to see a man in uniform. jesiah showed him the hand to his buzz lightyear toy that had fallen off. and josh asked him about his gun. poor guy, too bad he couldn't come in for the afternoon and get to know us a little better! my kids are not really afraid to talk to anyone!

so, we had our first phone call to 911 that was not necessary, i wonder how many more "mistakes" you get before getting a citation or taken to jail. with four kids i bet it is bound to happen again.

lists making, an olympic event?

if there was an olympic event for making lists, i would win the gold medal! if there was a medal for completing what is on the list, i would probably take the silver or bronze. i make lists for everything. i have this notebook where i write down pretty much everything that is going on. i have lists and notes in there that include, but not limited to:
a big to do list,
a daily to do list,
a menu plan for the week,
shopping lists,
home project lists,
wish lists,
saturday to do lists,
notes on phone calls made (business ones not personal),
a must do before the baby comes list,
notes on showers and parties that i have planned or am planning,
guest lists for showers or parties,
comparison price shopping lists,
and lots of scribbles that my kids have done.

when i bought it about 3 months ago, i chose it because it had three sections and it was a smaller notebook (8.6 x 6.5). i initially started out by using each section for something different. the first section was for to dos and menus, the second section was for planning events and shopping list and the third was for projects. needless to say, it is not that organized anymore and there are just notes and lists all over the notebook and in no particular order. maybe i will perfect a system like that when i purchase my next notebook.

i love to cross things off of my lists, it is such a sense of accomplishment. this morning, i realized that one of the reasons i never completely cross everything off on a list is because there is always something new to add to the list, something more to do!!

keeping lists is like therapy for me, it helps me to feel like i am in control of everything that needs to be done. even though everything is never complete, i can feel like i atleast know what needs to be done. writing it down gets it out of my head and i feel less overwhelmed.

so, i am off to see what has to be done on my list!!!!

quick update...

this week is our first full week of school and back into a full routine. early bedtimes and early wake times. the kids are doing pretty good with it. although, getting them to sleep early is hard. they just don't want to settle down when the sun hasn't gone down.

jordyn has really adjusted well! no tears, no whining -- she is happy to go to school!!! she wakes up with a smile and leaves with a smile. and when i pick her up she is still smiling - although she gets really tired in the afternoons, of course right around dinner time!

jesiah seems to be enjoying being an only child! it has been a sweet time for he and i!!! on monday, he was eating his lunch and said to me, "you're a good mommy". it melted my heart!! it was so sweet. and just the words i needed to hear!!

josh is doing well and seems to like being back at school. although, he hasn't liked the homework part at night. he doesn't want to stop whatever he is doing to complete it. but all and all, he is doing great!

as for me, the last week has gone so fast. yesterday, i had my midwife appointment, it is hard to believe i go every 2 weeks now. (i put an update on the appointment on the baby j's blog.) i just can't believe we are coming down the home stretch until we meet our sweet little girl!!! i am excited to have her here! my baby fever has spiked over the last few weeks!! in fact today, i am going to amy's house to watch her kids - so i will get to love on her twin baby girls!! and i look forward to the next time i can hold chelsea's new baby, ashton!!!!

off to school...

6:30 am came awfully fast this morning. the kids did great getting up and getting ready for school. we were out the door by 7:30 and at school in plenty of time. of course joshua didn't want me to walk him into his class so i let him go off on his own. and jordyn and i made our way to her class! on the way, i stopped to talk to their art teacher close to her classroom. i looked over and jordyn made her way through the doors and into her classroom. i followed her into her room and she was already there, had given her teacher a hug and they were unpacking her backpack. she didn't even look back to find me. i had to walk in to say good bye. she did great - not a tear. she didn't care if i was there or not! she was off to school like a big girl! wow. i only teared up a few times. but with her being so brave it was easy not to completely fall apart emotionally!! today, i will pick her up at lunch time and she will have tomorrow and thursday off. and then she will go back on friday. i pray that she will do just as good friday as she did today!!

school bells ringing...

last week ended our summer break. this week school starts. i had every intention of getting back on a "school schedule" last week, early bedtimes, early mornings so that we would be ready for this week. it didn't happen. last monday morning came way too fast. and then wednesday i woke up really really sick (more on that later). last night the kids did go to bed at a more decent hour - although none of them fell asleep when we put them to bed. after a morning full of church and an afternoon at the pool - they were still awake at 9:00 pm. and this morning they woke up at 7:45, which is closer to our school wake up time but not quite. tomorrow is going to be a shocker for all of us. here is a little recap of what has been going on here in the last week...


today (and this week ahead)...

last tuesday, we found out who the kid's teachers are for this school year. i don't know much about the teachers in any grade but since finding out, i have heard wonderful things about josh's second grade teacher and jordyn's kindergarten teacher! this morning we headed out to union academy for our open house. we were loaded with school supplies and excitement! josh couldn't wait to get there and see his friends and find out who is in his class. jordyn didn't know what to expect. we went to jordyn's class first, she did tremendously well, a little bit apprehensive but very curious. she walked around the room and checked things out. she asked her teachers a few questions. one time while we were there, she said she didn't want to go and that she wanted to stay home with me and the baby. and then she was off and met a little boy and showed him around. when we left she hugged both teachers and said she would see them in the morning! i still can't believe my baby girl is going to kindergarten. i expect this week to be a bit of a transition for her and for me too. i am sure there will be tears from both of us.

joshua has the school thing down! he went right into his room and saw one of his friends and was excited to learn who was in his class from last school year. most of his friend's are in different classes but he is in class this year with a lot of girls from last year. he was most excited to find out that a little girl he has known since he was a toddler is in his class again this year!! joshua and her have known each other since before they were two. our families went to our previous church together and they grew up in nursery and the children's church together. i am glad they will be together again this year too!! he is ready to start school tomorrow!!

jordyn will have a staggered entrance for kindergarten this week. she will go tomorrow a half day and then will not go again until friday - which will be a full day. so i will still have her home for part of the week. i think it will be a good transition for her to go a little at a time. but then next week, she will be in school for real! joshua will start tomorrow full days and for the rest of the week. no transition time for him!!!

last week...

i had fully intended to make last week this wonderful week of fun for the kids until i got sick. monday, we did our school shopping for clothes and shoes and i took the kids out to lunch to mcallister's - their choice, i was so excited it wasn't mcdonalds!! tuesday, we went to the pool with heather and jeremiah. when we got there, the wade pool was closed for an hour and a half, but we had fun in the splash park until it opened. that night, the kids went over to miss patti's house. her daughter, heather watched them while the adults went out. that was a late night and they had a blast there!! and then on wednesday morning, i woke up and felt like I had been run over by a truck. i could barely lift my head off the pillow. my body ached and my head hurt. i had no energy and was so weak. it was a rough day. patti watched my kids at her pool that afternoon because i had a midwife appointment. i also had to take the o'sullivans test - which is the test for gestational diabetes. i had to fast for 2 hours and then drink that yucky sweet flat soda beverage and wait an hour and then have blood drawn. and i did that all while feeling so sick. it was no fun.

and the next three or four days are a blur. it was all i could do to keep the kids entertained so i could rest. they watched a lot of movies over those days!!! we didn't go anywhere until church yesterday. we had to reschedule jordyn's sleepover party because i just couldn't have her little friends here and have fun with them while i was feeling so bad. i was feeling somewhat better on saturday. so i used the energy i had to work around the house, mainly in the girls' room. which i am so excited about and will have to share in another post with pictures!! and yesterday, jamil was out of town with our pastor so my sister helped me with the kids all day (church, lunch and pool!).


so that is what has been going on around here over the last week. now that i am starting to feel better and we will be getting into a new schedule, i plan to post more reader friendly blogs, some things with some more depth and pictures and less of these what's been going on around here recaps. hang in there with me... i do have lots of things in mind that i want to share, just haven't had the energy or a chance to really focus on what i want to say. but i will get there. it's been a year since i started this blog and i have some ideas and fun things i would like to do with my blog in the upcoming year! stay tuned...

laptop down...pictures found!!!!!

ok, so it seems like there is always good news with bad news! a few months ago, my laptop (refraining from calling it precious here, since it isn't a breathing thing) crashed and i lost everything. and i mean everything i had saved on it -- pictures, passwords, saved blogs, etc.
well, bad news first... is that my laptop just hasn't been the same since it crashed it does a lot of crazy things. after it crashed a friend of jamil's restored part of its hard drive so it worked somewhat. well the other day it wouldn't start up at all. jamil is working on installing another hard drive. so for the past few days, i have been using our old desktop. well, this morning i was posting on baby j's blog and i was looking for a certain picture of josh - from 2000 - when he was born and started looking through the desktop's files and i found all of 2007 - the whole year i had been missing!!!!! i am so excited!!! now i am just without the first part of this year - jan - april 2008.

i am praising God for this find!!! i know i looked on this desktop a month ago in search of these pics and couldn't find them - but now they are here!!!!

now, i am praying for my laptop to start working and be reliable again!!!

baby's name....

on our baby j's blog i posted the name we have chosen for her!! i haven't been using her name when i write because we hadn't decided on spelling. i think we have decided so check out the blog to read it!!!

happy 5th birthday jordyn!!

on july 12 2003 at 12:27 am,
jordyn alexis made her way into the world.
she weighed 7lbs 1oz and was 19 3/4 in long!!

jamil and i left for the hospital around 9:30 pm on july 11, after we had josh in bed and someone to watch him. by the time i got into the hospital and into a room at 10:30 pm my contractions had stopped. fearing they would send me home, my doctor decided it was best that i stay because i had made progress since that afternoon at my appointment - i was 6 cm dialated.
instead of giving me pitocin, my doctor broke my water. by 11:00 my contractions resumed. and my midnight they were very frequent and very painful. at 12:27 am -- jordyn was born!! i was so excited to meet our little girl!

jordyn on her first birthday!!!
such a sweet girl!

jordyn was a little tiny girl on her first birthday - i can't get over how much hair she didn't have at this time!!! it was around this time that we found out we were expecting baby #3! and she would be a big sister!! crazy to think she would be a big sister.

jordyn on her second birthday!!!
pretty in pink and look at her hair!!!

jordyn's hair really grew in a year! she was already a big sister by her second birthday - she was so little to have such a big title. she was a great big sister - see her holding jesiah's pacy. she would always tell us " 'siah crying!"

jorydn's third birthday!
a little princess!

jordyn loves to dress up and be a princess!! she is a girlie girl! and honestly i love it!!!
she had her friends over for a princess party and she is ready to get the fun started!!!

jordyn's fourth birthday!!
her favorite way to pose for the camera started here!!

every year after jordyn was born, we celebrated her birthday at the beach until this year! she started doing this pose last year on the beach. and as you will see she still does it!!!

jordyn's fifth birthday!
such a little diva!!

since our beach trip was cancelled this week, we threw together a "little" cook out for our closest friends and family. one highlight of the day was that my sister was here to celebrate!!!! she bought jordyn this tiara, sash and wand!!!! here she is posing before her party started!!!!



it is really hard for me to believe that she is five years old. wow. she will start kindergarten in two weeks, and i am really not ready for her to go. she is ready - mommy is not. i will really miss her. i am having a hard time thinking about taking her on her first full day!!! i know she will love it. she is excited to go, although i think it may be a hard transition for both of us!!

jordyn is a very sweet girl. she certainly has her moments when she can be quite demanding and very dramatic. she loves to be the center of attention. she is very kind to others, unless she isn't getting her way. things go much smoother if she gets her way. but who has their way all of the time. we have seen a lot of maturity in jordyn over the last few months. she is content to play with her barbies, dolls or dress up. she causes little trouble, unless she is getting into something she isn't suppose to!!! jordyn is very compassionate and already has a heart for Jesus! she says some of the sweetest prayers at night!!! she loves pretending she is a mommy or a doctor. jordyn is really excited to have a baby sister in a few months!!!

five years ago today...

i had just begun contractions and was in labor with jordyn! it is hard to believe that was five years ago. i remember the day quite well. in the morning, my mom left to drive back to pennsylvania. she had been here the week prior hoping i would go into labor while she was here. jordyn didn't cooperate, even after my mom made me walk around a park uptown in the hot humidity!! after she left josh and i got in the van to head over to the siskey ymca where we were meeting some friends to take a yoga class and play at the waterpark. when i got into the van, i had a dead battery!! my friend stephanie came to my rescue and took us to the ymca and to get a new battery for the car. we rushed home to have my brother in law install the battery so that i could leave to go to my doctor's appointment. at my doctor's appointment, i was 3 cm dialated but not in labor. we actually set up an induction to be scheduled early the following week on a day he was on call. this doctor delivered josh and i wanted him to deliver jordyn too. i returned home from my appointment and within an hour, around 5:00 pm, I started having regular contractions. that was five years ago today!!

home bound....

...and catching up.

beach trip update...

we returned from the beach on monday afternoon. we were suppose to leave tomorrow for our second beach trip but we are not going. as i mentioned before the trip was uncertain because of my grandfather's surgery. he is doing well , but isn't sleeping well and has some discomfort - so we have postponed the trip. unfortunately, we are not sure if we will be able to make the trip according to its new dates because they fall when josh and jordyn will be back in school.

so, we are home and planning to enjoy the last few weeks of summer vacation before school starts. i am sad to not spend the time with my grandparents at the beach. the kids are disappointed but when i told them all the fun things we will do at home, they got over it!!

trip to georgia...

we spent the last week of june in villa rica, georgia. we went to visit our friends, the wilkerson's who moved there in november. we had a great visit with them. it was a house full of 6 kids - wow i got a taste of what that was like. it was like having three sets of twins who were seven, four and three years old. the wilkerson's three boys are the same ages as my three kids. so it was a crazy time - especially when it came to feeding them all!! we spent the first day catching up and letting them play at home. we went to a water park another day. and on our last day there they went to air jump usa - micheal was gracious enough to allow steph and i to grab some lunch without kids while he watched them play there.

stomach virus & traveling...

on the day we were leaving, joshua woke up not feeling well. he felt warm and was very lethargic. as i was taking the little ones to the potty, he threw up in the car. we hadn't left yet so we got him cleaned up and headed out. he threw up once more while we were traveling through downtown atlanta -- where 6 lanes of traffic were merged into one lane because of construction. fun, fun...there was nothing i could do for him. he was pathetic. i felt so bad for him. by time we made it home 4 hours later - he had diarrhea. it was not fun traveling with a sick kid. he was a trooper though. because he was sick, we had to miss church the next day. i was so bummed to miss church.

on monday morning, i took the kids to lunch and the library. while we are at the library, jesiah informed me he had to go potty. and that is when he started with diarrhea!! by the time we left for our beach trip he was feeling better. we thought we were done with this illness until...

monday, as we were leaving to come home from the beach, jordyn came down with this virus. we thought she had escaped it. she was so sick on the way home, she slept nearly the whole 4 hour trip. she was so brave and didn't complain at all. i felt so bad for her. she started feeling better on tuesday afternoon.

and some where in the midst of all of this, jamil and i had it too. we are finally recovering from the nasty virus. i have spent the last few days cleaning and disinfecting!!!

what's next...

today, we stayed home and it hasn't been a good day. the kids are full of energy, yet because of all the sickness and traveling i have no energy to take them anywhere or do anything big and exciting. they are on each others nerves and i am frustrated with their bickering, mainly the older two. jesiah is content to play. i just need some peace and quiet and some time to figure out what we will do over the next week since we won't be at the beach. i am sure we will go to the waterpark a few times, maybe catch a movie, go to the library....

saturday is jordyn's fifth birthday. i can't believe she is turning five. wow. this will be the first year we will be at home for her birthday - usually each year we are at the beach. she is looking forward to her all girl sleepover party that we have planned in two weeks! we have invited seven of her little girl friends to do a sleepover with a lot of girl fun. we will do makeovers and paint nails!!!! so since we will be home on saturday we will have some friends over for a little last minute cookout in honor of her special day!!! lucky girl gets to celebrate her birthday twice!!!

beach bound......

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tomorrow we are leaving for the beach! we are taking a family vacation to carolina beach. we haven't been there before and we are so looking forward to it. my friend, teri and her family have a beach house and we are able to use it for a long weekend. what a blessing!!! we will stay there through tuesday. we plan to chill out and have fun with the kiddos!! this trip originally started out as a trip for just jamil and i, but then we added in the kids for some extra fun!!! no really, we decided to take them because we were not sure if we would be able to make it to our beach trip to the outer banks this year. we go each year with my grandparents and my mom. a week ago my grandfather had hip surgery and at first his doctors didn't want him traveling but he is doing so well they said he should go!!! when we thought the trip was off - we decided to take the kids to carolina beach and jamil arranged his schedule at work to have a few extra days off. so because of that arrangement he can't take off both sets of days. so i will go to the outer banks with my mom and the kids!

all of that to say... we are going to the beach through tuesday and then we will be home for two days and leave again on next friday for the outer banks!! i love the beach and i am looking forward to having some good times with jamil and the kids!!!


my posts have been very far and few between and will continue that way until we get back from the beach - i don't think i will do much blogging there - i am going to take a break. i hope when we get back from the beach i will have a new found love for blogging again. i haven't been having as much fun with it as i once did. i hope when i return i will enjoy it again and be able to post some worthwhile stuff!! i was talking to my friend, jess about blogging a few weeks ago and was sharing with her how i felt like i was in a slump. she was a great encourager and gave me some good ideas so that i can press forward. so perhaps while i am "on vacation" i can use the time to get motivated to improve my blogging!!! so for now i will be on a blogging break!!!!


oh, notice the quotes around on vacation. i always have to do that b/c you know as a mom we are never "on vacation" when the family is around!!!! but still it will be a great time!!!!

please pray...

almost two weeks ago, two precious little baby girls were born to our worship pastor, wade joye and his wife, ferris joye. they were born very early at 27 weeks. liana hope joye is the little teeny baby who really needs your prayers right now. she had surgery on saturday and has taken a turn for the worse.

jamil and i do not know wade and ferris very well. but they are a wonderful couple who give so much to elevation church and we love them and are joining them in praying for these baby girls. ferris and i were only a few weeks apart in our due dates. i was actually in the doctor's office and was with them in the waiting room the day they found out through their 18 week ultrasound that they were having twin girls - what a surprise! i left the office before i found out the news - but jamil was at the church office when wade made the announcement! they have a special place in my heart - so i felt compelled and led to write this post on their behalf!

the joyes have been amazing over the last two weeks, their strength and faith in God is what is keeping them going. wade and ferris have prayed and asked us to pray for complete healing for both liana hope and adleigh grace. both feel God has told them that their precious babies will be healthy. they have an amazing story and testimony to the power of God and how He is working in them, in the girls and through this family to other families in the nicu. please read the specifics to their prayers and the complete updates on the girls on their blogs. i can't even begin to rewrite what they are living and feeling right now. so, please read wade and ferris' blogs. and please, please pray for liana and adleigh.

tag...i'm it

i was tagged by my friend, jenny, to do this fun post!!!! thanks jenny for thinking of me!!!

Anyway...here it goes....

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

Ten years ago in May, I graduated from IUP (Indiana University of PA) with a degree in Elem. Ed. At this point in the summer 10 years ago, I was actually in the process of moving here to North Carolina. I had just accepted a teaching position after interviewing with three different school systems in the area, Charlotte-Meck, Union County and Cleveland County/Shelby. I chose to take a 5th grade position in Union County. So I was in the process of moving from PA to Monroe ten years ago!!!

2. My Favorite Snacks

Right now I am eating a lot of fruit (watermelon, cherries, berries... i love good summer fruit) for snacks. When I snack at night it is usually something sweet like ice cream or some kind of desert!!

3. Five things on my to-do list today

Well, I just got back from a trip today where I didn't have a to do list! But we are heading out of town again next weekend, so I am sure these will be on the top of my list when I make it tomorrow night....

1. Visit my friend, Amy and her new baby girls!

2. Laundry

3. Return books to the library

4. Pack

5. Clean the house

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire

First I would tithe 50 % of my earnings to Elevation Church and then I would complete and go above in our Dominate pledge to Elevation. Second I would pay off all of our debt. Third I would buy a larger house or put an addition on our house. Fourth I would buy Jamil a brand new car of his choice. Fifth I would save money for college educations for our four kids. And then I would use the money as needed to help others around me who need it or just deserve it!

5. Five jobs that I've had

1. elementary school & preschool teacher
2.nanny/babysitter
3. sales associate at Limited
4. waitress
5. mary kay sales consultant

6. Five places I've lived
1. Wesley Chapel /Monroe, NC
2. Charlotte, NC
3. Indiana, PA
4. Gettysburg, PA
5. Baltimore, MD

7.Five random things people wouldn't know about me

1. I do not like to wear socks, I love to be barefoot

2. I get really anxious about having to pack and go on trips - I love to travel but getting ready to do so really freaks me out - whether I am going for two days or two weeks. I like order and having things out of their place and in suitcases disrupts the order.

3. I don't like to go to the dentist at all.

4. I have a tattoo.

5. I want to be a labor/delivery nurse, a baby nurse or maybe a doula when I grow up!!

8. Five cds that I'd have to take on a desert island

I honestly wouldn't have five, I would have to take my IPOD it is loaded with the variety of music I like.

9. People I tag are.........

Jess, Kelly, Chelsea, Patti, Erin