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Jennifer

Lenna's song

Last week Lenna made up a song about her Daddy. It was so cute, I convinced her to sing it again so I could get it on video. The second rendition was a little different than the first, but still cute. I especially like the drum solo at the end!

Summer Fun

My husband has been giving me a hard time about not putting any new pictures on my blog. Sorry!!!!!!!!!!! I'm just a little busy :) Here are some pictures of the baby at the beach, my sister's visit, more school pictures, and photos of the kids turning the sand box into a very tiny swimming pool (Jason, you were right about the sand!) The kids and I begged Jason to buy sand this Summer. He said it would be a mess and wouldn't last a month. After sweeping the patio a million times and after telling the kids to STOP playing with the water hose and turning the sand box into a mud pit one hundred times and after treating fifty loads of laundry with Oxyclean, I finally admit . . . I was wrong . . . Jason was right. The sand is now at the bottom of the sliding board. However, it has been turned to mud a time or two in this location also. I give up. . . children obviously LOVE mud!

baby Jude at the beach
Our precious little girl

The sand box is now a water box

Palmer scrubbing hard

Isaiah was in charge of getting all the sand in one spot below the slide

The construction crew

Palmer dressed as royalty to celebrate Purim which we learned about while studying Queen Esther

My niece Allie with us at the Y

Me and my sister being lazy at the Y (seriously, we had 5 kids with us, so there wasn't very much relaxing going on, but it was fun).

Hope everyone else is having a wonderful summer. Thank you LORD for the sunshine and the rain!

Check out EJ's Story

Please, check out this website http://www.40thousandpeople.com/ and read the touching story of EJ and her family. I went to college with EJ's father, Jami. I am amazed by the faith and courage that he and his family show. It is so neat to see how they are letting God's glory shine through their struggles.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun (And When You're Not)

Our timeline

The kids using the "Easy Bake Oven"

These past 2 months have flown by and I can't believe how big our baby is getting. It makes me happy and sad at the same time. Jude is such a wonderful baby. . . he is so easy going and almost never cries. Of course, I always say that my other 3 make up for that. :)

Anyway, I've been terrible about posting lately. It's been quite an adjustment having 4, but it's getting better -- not really easier, and definitely not calmer, but better. So here's a quick run down of what our last 2 months have been like.

Lenna going through the "Terrific" 2's -- is that the right "T" word?

Palmer is still my wonderfully "strong willed" child -- that's the politically correct term

Isaiah is trying to learn to read amidst LOTS of crying -- not from the baby

Mommy almost called it quits on homeschooling

Mommy enrolled Lenna in MMO and Palmer in 4K for next Fall -- for a little sanity

Classical Conversations had our last class until next Fall :(

My sister-in-law and I have stepped up to direct Fun Friday

Lenna is repeating Bible stories that she's learned in church

Palmer is soooo loving to the baby

Isaiah really is reading well, despite the distractions

And we are persevering through the trials of of being together and learning together

ALL THE TIME

Seriously, there have been some really difficult times. I know parenthood is a blessing, and I would not trade my life for anything. But it is definitely NOT always easy or fun. Still, these past 2 months have reminded me that the best things don't usually come easily. So, here's to sticking it out through the hard times!

And here are some pictures . . .

Us doing school in the morning -- we're now using "workboxes" -- they've been a lifesaver

Lenna mimicking my discipline -- she's even wearing my slippers

Lenna and Palmer eating cookies before church this morning --we'll blame that on Grandmommy :)

Baby Jude at 3 months -- as Jason likes to say "He's just happy to be here"

Jude at 2 months -- look at the difference 1 month makes!

The first month

Well, Jude is just over a month old and this last week has been so interesting, scary, and amazing that I just have to share it.

When I took Jude in for his one month check up, the doctor said that his thyroid test that was done as part of the newborn screening came back abnormal. He said the test could be wrong, but we needed to retest him just to be sure and that the results would be back in a couple of days. He told me not to worry and I prayed, but didn't really worry.

A couple of days later, I called the office and was told be the nurse that it would in fact take 3 to 4 weeks to get the test results back. So, I got on the computer and looked up hypothyroidism (something I had vowed not to do until I felt it was time to worry). Of course the information I found scared me to death. All of the articles said that hypothyroidism left untreated in infants would lead to brain damage and mental reatardation. One article even said that just waiting one month for treatment could make a crucial difference. So, of course, I started to get really concerned. I called the doctor's office first thing the next morning and was transferred to the same nurse from the day before. She was very understanding and agreed that I should be concerned, but said there was nothing that could be done. I called back twice that day trying to figure out a way to get Jude tested again in a lab that would get the results back quicker. She never returned my calls. The next day, I made an appointment to see my doctor (to talk about some gas issues Jude was having), but really just to get to talk to his doctor -- I was sure he had not intended us to wait 4 weeks for the test results.

When we got to see him, he ordered the test to be done at the hospital lab and we were able to get the results back that day. This time the doctor actually called me back. Jude's test was still coming back slightly abnormal. He gave us the option of being referred to a specialist, which I took. The doctor said to call back on Friday to get the info on the referral

Of course we had been praying for Jude throughout this whole week, and the Lord was so good to show us his hand during this ordeal. On Tuesday, the kids and I went to a play date with some moms and friends from Classical Conversations. My friend, Elizabeth suggested that we pray for Jude and for all of our kids and families. During this prayer time, she laid hands on Jude and prayed over him. The rest of the day, I kept thinking about how special that prayer time was. That night I checked my phone messages and the nurse had called, but left a really vague message. Wednesday morning, the doctor called and said that the specialist wanted us to test Jude once more before setting up the appointment. He had actually written the order for the testing on Tuesday (the day that we had praying over Jude). As I drove to the lab, I realized that God had allowed us to pray over our baby before he had that test so that we could know that his hand was in it all and that no matter what the results, he was there with us as we went through this.

Tonight was Jason's birthday and as we had our birthday dinner for him, I was telling the kids and Jason about what had happened today and what God had shown me. I was trying to demonstrate to the kids how God speaks to us without actually "talking" out loud to us and how he likes to show us that he is interested and involved (and ultimately in control) in our lives. When I was done with my story, the phone rang -- it was Dr. McCaskill calling to let me know that Jude's thyroid levels were now normal.

I am so thankful for how God showed himself to me and the rest of my family this week. I am also thankful for wonderful friends who love Jesus and who were wise enough and caring enough to call on Him during that time of fear and uncertainty. I am thankful for my mother-in-law and her co-workers at SIM who stopped their work to pray for us today (and all of the other friends and family members who prayed for us). I am thankful for my nurse friend, Jessica who answered all of my questions and encouraged me to fight to talk to the doctor. And of course, as a mom, I am so very thankful that Jude is healthy.

"We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed."

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Baby Jude is Here!

These last few days have been a whirlwind. I went into my doctor's appointment on Thursday, and was given the opportunity to schedule an induction for Friday. Since it was only one day away from my due date, I happily agreed. We went in at 6:30 on Friday morning and started the induction at 8:30. When I was induced with Lenna it took 8 hours, so I was expecting a long wait. However, God answered my prayers and this one was much quicker! By 12:50 I was pushing and the baby was born at 1:00. I couldn't believe how easy it was -- of course the epidural was wonderful. Our doctor let Jason deliver (this is the 3rd time he has delivered-- he's a pro now!) I would be a nervous wreck to do that, but he has no fear! Anwyay, my friend from church was our nurse on the post -partum floor and she was so sweet to keep the baby for a few hours so we could sleep the first night. Thank you, Jessica! They let us come home early, so we will be recuperating and trying to get used to life with 4 little ones! Please keep us in your prayers. We got no sleep last night, so hopefully tonight will be better!

Here are some pictures from the hospital and at home.

Jude

Proud Daddy

Here comes trouble! :-)