Thankfulness

So...with Thanksgiving only a couple of days away, I challenge all my blogger friends to list their "Thankfulness" List on their blogs. I know that our family has so much to be thankful for this year!

1. Three healthy and growing little girls!

2. A baby boy on the way (due December 24th.)

3. A huge house that will be plenty of room for our growing family.

4. Hubby has a new job that he really enjoys and is pretty good at!

5. I get to have a beautiful new scrapbooking room at the new house...which a I painted a pretty light blue.

6. We were blessed this year to have the opportunity and manes to take the girls to Disney for the first time. We have so many wonderful memories to share with them now...hopefully enough to last until we can afford to go again! HaHa!

7. We were so excited that it worked out at the last minute for us to go to Texas for the Martin reunion this Summer. I twas so wonderful to see everyone and for the girls to "meet" their Texas cousins and realize they're are other Martins out there!

8. Even though it kinda gets old by Spring...we get to live in an area of the country that sees SNOW! I can't imagine having a Winter where it only gets chilly but there are no flurries. Okay...I say this while sitting infront of a warm heater looking out the window at the big flakes in the yard...but i know that by mid January I will be sick of having to deal with kids in the snow! HaHa!

9. I have parents who were so gracious to open their doors up to our family once again. Like my mom says...you keep coming back and each time you bring more! Thanks guys for helping our crew out while we wait on the remodel.

10. We have a wonderful church that is not only filled with sweet people but is truly on fire for God. It's so nice to know that your in an environment where you'll be spiritually fed each week.

11. I've made it to almost 36 weeks gestation with this baby and......I'm still pregnant! With all the preterm labor complications I had with Caroline and Emma I was labeled high risk this time around as well. Yes I have had some contractions but nothing like the last 2 times. I also had the scare with my heart and it has turned out okay as well. So, at 36 weeks I now have made it to "the safe zone" for delivery. Anytime from now on is okay for our little guy to arrive with a very low likelihood of complications.

12. We've been blessed this year with the opportunity to home school the older 2 girls. It definitely has been a learning experience but it is so nice to know not only what they are learning but to know exactly how well they are doing with their school work. Maddelyn is in kindergarten and just beginning her early ready. Emma is in preschool and is hard at work with her shapes, numbers, and letters.

13. Our new homes will have 18 rooms not including the partially finished basement...so even with 4 small children there will always be SOME place in the house where mommy can take a 5 minute kid-free break. Well, let me think about that a minute. Maybe not. No matter how big the house is they will still always be at my ankles! HaHa!

14. We are so thankful that this year we found out about Caroline and Emma having Wheat problems. We believe Caroline has Celiac Disease and Emma has a Wheat allergy (based on their level of sensitivity to wheat/gluten.) It has definitely made grocery shopping a bit more of a challenge, but it is nice to finally see my girls growing and getting hair! HaHa! Before we were trying everything to see what the food allergy was that was keeping little Caroline so tiny and bald and once we took her off gluten it was amazing to see such a change in her. She not only grew and got hair, but you could see ow much more healthy she looked in general.

Okay...so I challenge you to make your own thankfulness list on your blog. I hear little ones up stairs talking when they are supposed to be napping so I need to get off here. Happy Thanksgiving!

Crazy Day

So yesterday was definitely a day to remember. We found out that the county is not accepting the buliding permits that we had gotten through the city on our house remodel...so we now have to stop all work on the 3rd floor master suite and kitchen remodel (the main stuff that still needs done.) We were hoping to get moved in around the 1st of December but now everything is kinda being put on hold. The men as still able to work on all the little details that still need done around the house but not on those 2 major areas. So we now stand waiting on the county to review our plans and get back to us. They say the average time is about 2 weeks to hear back/get approved on your permits...but its a really fine tooth comb kinda acceptance. So we are just PRAYING that the county doesn't throw up any major red flags and that we get approval as soon as possible. I know my God is bigger than a county permit office! HaHa!!!

Then, to end the night just right, Caroline had a seizure. She had woken up the day before with a slight cold and that morning she had a bit of a cough. She was acting fine though, so much so that we went and had Christmas pictures of the girls done. After pictures we ran a few arrands and she developed a low fever. She fell asleep on the way home so I just put her straight to bed when we got home. After about 45 minutes she woke up crying and when we got her out she was really hot. My mom took her temp and it was 104.7. I called Nathan to stop on his way home for some meds and tried to take her temp again. This time it was acting all goofey like the battery was dying so I was not sure if that was a correct read or not. While we were waiting on the meds I gave her ice chips and she was just sitting in Grandma's lap taking and eating ice. All of the sudden she began to twitch all over and stare off into the distance. I hurried and called Nathan to come back form the store to take her to the ER. She came out of it but was still dazed. By the time we were in the van she had started another seizure and stayed that way until after getting to the ER. The DR checked her over and they gave her tylenol and oxygen and just waited for her to come around. They said it was completly realted to her high fecver and there would be no lasting effects from it. They said that her temp spiked so fast that her little body could do nothing else but shut down to handle it. Let's just say I don't think I've been so scared sicne they life flighted Emma to the NICU after she was having trouble breathing when she was born. Praise God the little thing is doing much better today. Of course I had her in bed with me last night and I think I watched her 3/4 of the night. They also had us do a tylenol/motrin regiment where she is getting one or the other every 3 hours for at least the first 24 hours. Today though she is normal Caroline with only a cough and a runny nose. She is just going through a normal cold, 10,000 times different than last night.

So after our little experience last night it was kinda like a wake up call on putting everything into perspective. We also have some good friends who after years of trying to concive have gone though many fertility treatments and yesterday went for their first baby OB appointment. After the first ultrasound they left being told that the Dr didn't fine anything. How heart wrenching to finally be pregnant and then hear that! Needless to say the problems and delays on our house just seem silly after hearing our friends' news and then being in the ER with Caroline. Yes, we do have the deadline of trying to get into our new home before the new baby arrives, trying to live out of suitcases at my parents' until then, and basically all the craziness that comes with a major remodel, but compared to the whole picture....it's all just stuff! By next Spring the stress of the remodel and the delay in it will just be a memory. We have been very blessed to have 3 healthy little girls...yes with the normal bumps and bruises, but 3 HEALTHY little girls! So on days like this you just have to look back and say....Thank you God for all the things we don't realize could have gone wrong in our lives and haven't. Praise God for the health of my children and for the fact that we will be getting a home....maybe later than origially planned....but that will be a dream home and will be large enough to be able to minister to others in.

Twelvefriday's Wreath

Just thought I'd share a little project that I did this past weekend for twelvefridays. I saw one of these wreaths online and just though it was so cute! The project really was pretty simple and basically just took a bit of time and me getting over my perfectionism! The whole...messy look is hard for me! Of course the weath picture is of the wreath on my parents' front door....yes we are still living with Mom and Dad! The contractor is still telling us they will be out November 29th so we'll see! That would give us about 3 weeks until baby, but of course that does not count Nathan refinishing the floors before we move in, cleaning up all the construction dust, or actually moving in! Hopefully little Elijah doesn't mind sleeping in a moving box instead of a cradle for the first couple of weeks?? HaHa!

Craft Show Pictures

So my kids are in PA for the week. It's wierd that I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand is is VERY nice to have a break for the week with all the pregnancy/remodeling house/craft show/living with my parents stress, but on the other hand this is the first time all three girls have gone out of state for a week. Nathan laughed at me and said it was the pregnant hormones and that I needed the break so be thankful and say YES to them going. I know...it sounds weird but I'm not sure what to do without any kids for a whole week? HaHa! I actually am going to be spending the week getting ready for my December craft show. I figured this way I won't have to worry about making up hairbows while trying to get into a new house and being H-U-G-E preggos! So I guess this week will be hair bows and sleeping in...ahhhh!

Speaking of hair bows I have a few pictures to share of my last show. My mom helped me come up with the adorable display boards that the bows are on. Cute aren't they! I did really well at the show and the bows seemed to be a hit. I was told that my next show is quite a bit bigger so I need to get more bows made up before hand. The bows on the boards are a sample of each type I had for sale and then after I would sell out of them I would just restock them form boxes under the table. I think for the show I made up close to 500 bows and clippies? The adorable tutu dress hair bow holders that you see at the front of my booth are made by my aunt. If you're interested in one you can check them out on my website http://www.sugarsweetbowtique.com

I know that It has taken me all week and I still don't have the photos posted about the progress on the new house yet. the short of it is that most of the rooms in the house are completed. I think that we still need the tile and carpet laid as well as a couple minor things. they now are full swing on turning the 3rd floor attic into a master suite. The past couple f days they have been working on framing it all out and putting out new heat system in. The kitchen expansion is also in full swing. They have just about all of the dividing wall knocked out and are getting ready to put the support beam in so the supporting wall that divides the space can be removed.

Polls, Cheerleaders, and Funny Faces!

So I am finally taking a bit of time to breath! I had my 2nd ever craft show today and I have to say it went pretty well. The week however has been spent getting ready for this show, so now that it's over I'm taking a bit of time off to chill! I believe at last count I had made up over 350 korkers and like 200 clippies...all this past week! My fingers are seriously bruised form holding open the alligator clips while I glued ribbon on them. Good news is though that I am pretty wel stocked for my huge show in December as well as any left overs from the 2 craft shows I can sell on line. So I should be pretty set on bows (besides custom orders) until after the baby arrives.

I just had a couple of cute pics to share with everyone. We always make a big deal of taking the girls to the polls with us on election day and this past Tuesday was no different. We explain to them on a 4 and 5 year old level the importance of what we are doing there and then we let them help us push the buttons. Of course this means me holding their finger and mainly just having them hit the "next page" button, but it makes them feel special and the experience is a great homeschool learning event. This year even Caroline got to go into the polls with us.

I've been promising pictures of the girls in their trick-or-treat outfits form our big family camp-out in October...so here are my little Nebraska Cheerleaders.

I took these few shots of Caroline this week so I could use them in my craft show booth to show what the items looked like on an actual child. Well Caroline is just getting into the funny face-when-mom-gets-out-the-camera stage. Oh joy!

I also have pictures of the house and the progress that has been made to post. I will try and take time out tomorrow afternoon or evening to get these posted for you to see as well as descriptions of what each picture shows.

New Pictures

So to my fellow bloggers I feel like I fell off the blog boat! I have soooo been slacking on my blog but I knew that was coming during the move. Also I kinda have not much to say. Well, let me rephrase that, what I do have to write about seems to be old news or boring info on the house remodel or political views that I am sure no one wants to read! But, after tomorrow we won't have to worry about the political views trying tot sneak out on my blog! As the wife of a politician it's hard to separate my personal blog form my political views! Ha!

Anyways I finally uploaded last months pictures to my compute. Like I said e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g in our lives has kinda been thrown off with the move and loving with my parents until our new house is done. So, here are a few new pictures for you.. The first ones are of a field trip we took with MOPS a couple of weeks ago to a farmer;s market. The girls got to make cider, go on a hayride, go through a straw maze, swing off a rope swing into the straw below, learn about cows and milk a fake one (it was actually cute) and of course pick a pumpkin. It was FREEZING cold that morning but our girls were die hards! They loved it but Mommy sure liked going to McDonald's afterwards to warm up.

These are pictures form Emma's actual birthday...almost a month ago! She and Daddy went out for the annual Daddy/Birthday Girl Breakfast. They love the special alone time they get on their birthday morning. The second picture is of Emma at her birthday lunch with all of us, both grandmas and a great grandma. We found out that Dairy Queen offers a gluten free version of their ice cream cakes. The normal ones have a cookie crumb center which the girls can't have. DQ allows you to pick whatever center filling you want so we tried an all vanilla ice cream cake with a strawberry Sunday topping center! YUM! It had huge chunks of frozen strawberries in it. Emma was so excited to not only have a gluten free cake but Mommy was excited to be able to buy one and not always have to make all of their gluten free treats. Thanks DQ!!

I also have pictures to post of the girls cheer costumes as well as our family camp out. I will try to get them posted as soon as possible but I am also working on making up bows for a craft show this Saturday. Oh...and one last comment.....HAPPY ?? BIRTHDAY DAD!!!