her first two weeks...

here is a little update on what life has been like around here over the last two weeks with our beautiful new baby girl! it is really hard to believe that she is going to be two weeks old tomorrow. the counter on my side bar reads that tomorrow is our due date - funny to think that by that calculation she "shouldn't be here yet". but instead of being pregnant for the last two weeks, i have been caring for baby jaelyn!

jaelyn is such a sweet baby! she is such a great baby. jaelyn rarely cries. she sleeps a lot and has been nursing really well. jaelyn is such a blessing and has assumed her role as the baby of the family quite well. she is very easy going. we couldn't have asked for a more precious little girl!

we came home from the hospital on wednesday, october 8. jaelyn had lost quite a bit of weight in the hospital - she was discharged at 6 lbs 5 ozs - a teeny little thing! so on friday, october 10 we took her to our peditrician's office and she was up to 6 lbs 11 ozs. jaelyn was gaining weight in just 2 days. our doctor wanted to see us back in a week. so this past friday, october 17 - we had our went back to the pediatrician. she weighed 7 lbs 5 ozs!!! she was back to her birth weight plus 4 ozs!! our doctor was very pleased. jaelyn is quite healthy and looks great!!!

our first week home, jamil was off of work, so we spent the week resting and adjusting! we were so blessed to have friends and family bring meals and help with our older three kids!! last monday, jamil went back to work and i was home with all four kids by myself - the big kids were still on their fall break. my mom was off of work but feeling sick - but still helped out as much as she could. on tuesday, school was back in session and it was quite an adjustment getting up early and seeing them off to school. but we survived the week with the school schedule - it was a little tough but again, i had friends and family helping out in a major way, bringing meals and helping with the bigger kids. such a blessing!!!

i was able to rest and regain my strength over the last two weeks because of all of the help! i haven't had to cook a meal - just reheat leftovers for lunch. i have done a little housework here and there. but between my mom and my hubby - i have just done what has needed to be done. this has the easiest birth for me to recover from. i have been feeling pretty good the last couple of days - almost back to normal, just really tired. and i know when i have done too much - i will start feeling it. so i have been trying not to do too much.

on friday after jaelyn's doctor's appointment, we went to target to get three things - it was an adventure. jaelyn slept the entire time and jesiah just begged for a new toy. needless to say it was probably the shortest time i spent in target ever.

yesterday, jamil had to go into work for a project that needed to be done and was already rescheduled once before b/c of jaelyn's arrival! so, we planned ahead and had our awesome babysitter - "jojo" - come for the day to help me out. the day went really well. i had some special things planned for the big kids to do with her and they had a lot of fun. they went on a nature walk and collected leaves. they used the leaves to do crayon rubbings and make placemats. then they played with brand new playdough (one of the things i got at target the day before). it had been awhile since we have had playdough in the house - they played with it for like 2 hours!!! having johanna was such a big help!!! the kids had a great time - thanks jojo for coming over to play with them!!!! you are such a blessing!!!

here are a few pics of jaelyn from the last two weeks: (i will post more soon! i have been going back and forth between my camera which works sometimes and sometimes not and my mom's old camera - which we can't find the cord to download the pics i have taken)

isn't she just precious??? we think she is just beautiful! we are often asked who she looks like - she doesn't really look like the other three kiddos when they were babies. she actually looks like me and my sister when we were babies!

back story: the big delivery day! (jaelyn's birth story)...

the two weeks leading up to having jaelyn were crazy busy, almost like a blur. we celebrated josh's birthday, jordyn had a fairy tale ball at school and the kids started their fall break - just to name a few things. so i will tell the birth story starting at my last weekly midwife appointment. ( i will catch up on the other family stuff later!)

on wednesday october 1, i had my weekly midwife appointment. i was making good progress, already 3 cm dilated! i knew it wouldn't be long until we would meet our precious baby girl! of course the planner in me was dying to know when and all the details. but i didn't know when, just soon!

on thursday october 2, i was exhausted. i was very tired and feeling lots of pressure and different things going on.

on fridayoctober 3, the kids were off school, they began their fall break the day before. so we headed out the door to get haircuts, go to target and have lunch with daddy. while we were in target, i was feeling pretty uncomfortable, lots of pressure and knew the day was coming. i kind of thought i would go into labor that day or that evening. that night jamil and i went out for a date night, knowing it would be awhile before we would have another one.

saturday october 4, was a busy day, my sister and i went for a pedicure - yeah! one last one before the baby arrived - glad i made it to this appointment! we also attended our dear friends' daughter's birthday party that day. and that evening we went to have a little fall fun at aw shucks corn maze in monroe.

on sunday october 5, my contractions began while i was at the 11:30 service at church. they were not regular and didn't hurt. that afternoon they became a little more regular. we were suppose to be heading to elevation's praise and worship night, but i wasn't sure if we would make it. in the end we decided to go, contractions and all. they didn't hurt and there wasn't a true pattern. so off we went! i had contractions throughout the night while we were there. they stayed 15-20 minutes apart and didn't really hurt. i was so glad that we were able to be there that night. jaelyn knew she had to hold off until after this event!

i couldn't sleep that night and was up for most of it with on and off contractions. i slept from 11:00 to 12:45. and then was up the rest of the night. by about 3:30 am, with the fear of going into hard labor at home and not making it to the hospital, we decided to call my midwife and tell her what was going on. when i talked to her she told me to come on in. we left for the hospital at about 6:00 am.

jamil and i were able to get things in order at our house, finish packing and take a leisurely drive to cmc hospital. my mom came up to watch the kids and we told my sister, who was planning on attending this labor and delivery, to go into work and we would call her with the details. on the way to the hospital, we stopped by krispy kreme and got some donuts! who would have thought that would have been my last "meal" for another 12 hours.

after we arrived at the hospital and got settled in our labor and delivery room, we learned that our friends from church, the lineberger's were two suites down and autumn was in labor too!!! how fun!

when my midwife came in around 7 am, i wasn't having any contractions and the baby was doing great. i was 5 cm and 80% effaced. after i was monitored for awhile, they let me do some walking, so we met up with greg and autumn and walked the halls. it was so special to have a friend there and share in this experience together! the walk did great for autumn - she had her beautiful baby girl within the next two hours of our walk. for me it was another story. at least it made it easy for our midwife to have our two births so far apart.

for the next couple of hours, i walked and rested and still the contractions hadn't started back. so at 11:15 am we decided to break my water. i was still only 5 cm. in the past once my water breaks, my babies make their appearance within 2 hours. so we called my sister and had her come to the hospital. we expected to meet our little baby girl in a short amount of time. i braced myself for a fast and furious active labor and delivery.

it took about an hour for the contractions to start again and become steady and hard. once they did, i was taken off the monitors and began to do all kinds of things to get this baby born!!! i walked, took a hot shower, used a birthing ball and tried to rest. the contractions became harder and more intense. by about 4:00 they were pretty painful and i was getting tired. i started thinking that i would need to have some drugs to make it through. about 40 minutes later, my nurse checked me and i was at 7 cm. some progress but not where i was hoping to be. when my midwife came in, i was in such pain and we talked about the drugs. she really encouraged me that it wouldn't be much longer and i could do this without medicine. she felt like the slow part of my labor was over and it would pick up and she would be here in no time. i opted not to get the drugs and keep on laboring! praying that it would be over soon. i was getting so tired and losing my strength.

about 20 minutes later the contractions were really hard and closer together, i felt a lot of pressure. my midwife checked me and i was still only at 7 cm but my cervix had changed enough and was really thinned out, that we could work through the next phase of labor. without giving a lot of graphic details, i will just say that i began to push through the contractions at about 5:45 or so and jaelyn was born at 6:03pm!!

i was so excited to see her. words never can express the range of emotions that i feel once i have brought a new baby into the world. and it was no different with her! i was in complete amazement of this miracle! i felt so relieved that all of the pain was over and i was holding the best gift ever.

later that night, my parents brought the kiddos up to the hospital so that they could all meet jaelyn!

it was a long day, but a wonderful one! i love being in the hospital after having a baby! i love everything about it. it is like a retreat for me. it is such a special time, one i have enjoyed with each of my babies and definitely with jaelyn's birth too. i stayed in the hospital until wednesday afternoon. i was feeling pretty good. this labor and delivery was probably the easiest on my body, as far as recovery time. but i guess after having four, it knows what to do!!

during my stay there we had a lot of visitors, lots of friends and family came to meet our little blessing. i was so happy to show jaelyn off!!

the big delivery day and hospital stay were just the beginning to a very joyful time in my life and in the life of our family.

our little blessing..

on monday, october 6, 2008 at 6:03 pm, jaelyn aliyah massey made her grand entrance into this world and into our family!! she weighed 7 lbs oz and 19 1/2 inches long. jaelyn is a beautiful and healthy baby girl!!!


i have quite a story to tell about her arrival who doesn't have a story to share about the miracle of labor, delivery and birth? until i have the time to create some detailed posts, i wanted to share a few pictures and make our big announcement on our blog! enjoy our beautiful baby girl!! we are so proud and excited to have her here!!

jaelyn only about an hour old and sucking her thumb!

such a sweet baby, not even 48 hours old!

mommy's baby girl!
just a day old

daddy's baby girl...
taken as we were leaving the hospital on 10/8

jesiah is content to watch daddy hold jaelyn

big brother josh knows what to do when it comes to holding a baby!

jordyn is so excited to hold her baby sister!

mommy, daddy and baby jaelyn

our first family picture... all six of us!

happy 8th birthday josh!

on october 1, we celebrated joshua's eighth birthday! we started the morning off by waking him with jamil, jordyn and i singing happy birthday to him! that afternoon i took cupcakes to school and his class celebrated with him! he was not shy at all and stood right up when it was time for him to be sung to!! that evening we celebrated his birthday by having dinner at fuddrucker's. it was a great birthday.

it is hard for me to believe that he is eight years old already. this past year went so fast. it was a big year for joshua! one of our favorite highlights was when he was baptized in february by pastor! that was such a memorable day and such an important day in his life.

over this last year we have seen him grow a lot - he is a very tall second grader, often mistaken for a fourth grader. joshua is doing well in second grade, although he thinks he knows everything and sometimes just rushes through, we are hoping that we can teach him to slow down and enjoy learning. he continues to love to play sports, especially basketball. he wasnts to give karate a try. recently, he has realized how much he enjoys drawing. josh is very artistic and has taken to drawing all kinds of things. we got him a corkboard for his birthday so he has a place to display his work! atleast a few of my genes are in him! josh looks a lot like his daddy! and they act alike as well!

here are a few pics from his big day..

josh stands up at school while his classmates sing to him

a birthday sundae for josh!

sharing his sundae with mom and jordyn!

picture with daddy!

josh poses with his grandparents

my hero..

as a very pregnant woman, this gas shortage really got the best of me. yesterday, jamil told me to go ahead and put some gas in our van. there was suppose to be some up the street from us. by the time i got there they were sold out. i was between a half and quarter of a tank. not desperate but still would like to have more than that. our thought is we really don't need to be on empty if i go into labor and then we are put in a panic situation and can't find gas anywhere and not have enough to get to the hospital. i decided to head the other direction to get gas at another station. traffic was backed up down the road, but i decided to wait. by the time i was in the parking lot of the station - they were covering the pumps. i waited nearly 30 minutes and nothing. i tried to more stations and they were out too. i was in tears, sobbing on the phone with jamil. my hormones plus this ridiculous situation got the best of me.

this morning, my heroic hubby got up extra early and went out on a gas search!!! he heard that a lot of stations are turning off their pumps during the day and cutting them back on in the morning. when he left this morning, it was dark, windy, rainy and cold. but he returned within the hour and had found some gas for us!!! just having the security of having gas and being nearly 37 weeks prego was such a relief and i felt so thankful!! what a great husband! i appreciate what he did this morning so much. i know it was just a little thing but it really meant a lot!

random thoughts...

i think this pregnancy is affecting my brain. i can barely write in a complete sentence or thought this morning. so i think i will just put it in a list form today... i love lists, so how fitting!!!



~ yard sale is done and over with and i never know if they are truly worth the time and energy. but it did bring in some cash to get us through the week - that is a good thing. bad thing is my house was a disaster from my focus being on the yard sale.



~ this week i am working on repairing the house from it's messiness and doing laundry, on top of the regular laundry i have baby clothes to wash as well as some fall clothing



~ fall clothing....wow, where have i been? the weather turned and i wasn't prepared for it. on sunday morning, i realized we were at that point where sending jordyn to church in a strappy sundress and white sandals wasn't going to work. so i will be doing some fall clothes shopping SOON! usually it would have been done by now???



~ i am not complaining about the weather - it is an awesome welcome relief!!!!



~ another welcome relief would be to have baby jaelyn sooner than later!! i think she will be here early... but hopefully she will wait until the week after next. weird to say that, but we have some big things going on this week and next week!



~ this week we have a big day on thursday that has been covered in prayer that i can't wait to share. it all has to do with our sun stand still prayer from last year. let's just say that our prayer is being answered in an amazing way and i will unveil the story eventually. actually i might have to write a book....



~ i have several dear friends who are throwing me a baby shower on saturday - that i am so looking forward to. i have a hard time being the center of attention. i do better at throwing showers and making the guest of honor feel special. i don't do as well at receiving it. i am so humbled at the generosity of my friends throwing it and those attending!

those are my random thoughts for the day!

going... going... gone?

during the last few weeks (months?), i have been "nesting" like crazy. i have had this huge desire to clean out and get rid of stuff in every area of our house. i have wanted to organize what is left and make sure everything in our house has it's own home! well, as i started to clean out each closet and drawer, things started to majorily pile up in our garage. all that stuff was starting to take over the space and leaving a very small space to park our van and a small path to the door. we were able to get rid of some of the stuff in the garage by selling it on craig's list, giving it away or just trashing or burning it. but it still left us with lots of stuff. so a few weeks ago, as i was telling amy about my stress of what to do with all this stuff, most being clothing. we decided to join efforts and have a yard sale! this will make our third or fourth annual yard sale.

are we crazy??? at this stage of life we are preparing for a yard sale. she has a full plate with her new babies and will. i am about to give birth in the next few weeks, but yes both of our needs to purge and organize has led us to a yard sale this saturday at my house!

we have all kinds of stuff, a lot of baby and kid's stuff. i know that sounds weird because we both still have babies and kids. but we just have too much stuff. we both have a ton of clothing that our kids have outgrown and is in great shape. after not having much luck at a consignment shop in town and no energy to tote THIRTEEN bins of clothing to another, i am gladly giving away stuff to friends and then selling the rest!!! if you need some fall clothing, come on over, i can probably help you out!!!!

i can envision a clean neat garage, everything in it's place and plenty of room to park a van and get FOUR kids in and out of it!!! with any luck we will make enough room in the garage to bring in a deep freezer and then i can move onto the next project.... making dinners to fill the freezer for when jaelyn comes!!!!

so for the next few days we will be busy busy preparing for a yard sale!!! stop by if you are out and about on saturday morning!!!!!


check out our other blog for an update on baby jaelyn!!!!!

beach and birthday weekend....

today, i am trying to get back into the swing of things and attempting to tackle real life! oh, it is so hard to face the reality of what i was able to hide away from for a few days!

on thursday morning of last week, myself along with seven wonderful ladies headed to carolina beach!!!! yes, i had a beach weekend with no children. it was such an awesome time. we started planning this trip several months ago and as it got closer i was unsure if i would be able to attend. obstacles attempted to keep me from it but God had a different plan and he knocked them down!!

this trip was definitely what i needed. i was able to rest and relax the whole time- even though we stayed up way too late each night. i laid on the beach without keeping an eye on kids or getting sprayed in the face with sand or having to trek back to the house for a potty break. i ate all of my meals and snacks without sharing or fixing one for someone else. i had no lists or no schedules to follow, we just did what we wanted when we wanted to do it.

i haven't ever experienced such a trip. there was no agenda and no schedule. there was no tension or anxiety. it was a completely wonderful time. on our drive the weather looked questionable and rain was predicted. but as soon as we hit wilmington the clouds parted and the sun was shining. we had three days of sun!!!! we had three days of laughter. i haven't laughed so hard in such a long time. i thought i might go into labor.

words can't even begin to describe how unique this group of women is. we all just get along so well and the friendships are easy and low maintenance. each friend brings a different dynamic to the group and we enjoy each other so much!!!

i feel so blessed to have these ladies in my life!!! they were so sweet to think of me and honor me this past weekend. they celebrated my birthday by taking me out to dinner on friday night! and then when we returned home they surprised me with gifts for the baby!!! a baby shower and birhday surprise all in one!! i was so humbled and honored that they did all of this for me!!

when we returned home on saturday evening, i was sad to see our much needed and anxiously awaited trip come to an end. but i really did miss my family. it was so good to see jamil and my babies!!! my kids greeted me with tons of handmade cards and a birthday present!!!!

jamil arranged for my kids to go to my in laws on saturday night and we went out for dinner for my birthday. wow - a beach weekend and then out to dinner with the best guy in town!! we went to pf changs and had a wonderful time together!

yesterday, my kids slept in until after 9:00 am!! woohoo! we got up and headed to the best church around!! after church, we came home and relaxed while jamil finished up at church. and then when he got home we headed to my parent's house!! they had us all over to celebrate my birthday. we had dinner, cake, ice cream and more presents!!

it has been such a wonderful, relaxing, long weekend and now it is monday morning and i am adjusting to the real world; kids off to school, list making, planning a trip to the grocery store, laundry, balancing the checkbook, running the dishwasher, preparing for a yard sale etc. it's so good to be home.

update on pregnancy...

i just wrote a post on baby j's blog with a quick update on the pregnancy. warning: the post is very whiny and not at all uplifting. it just tells about how i am feeling today... check it out.

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!!!!