Shark Girl

Last night I found myself in a strange,  but familiar place- Kindergarten Readiness meeting. Wasn't it just last week that I sat there preparing for my twins to go to school?  And yet,  my eldest,  KC, who is finishing up 3rd grade,  was there supporting me as we learned what my baby,  JG, needed to know in order to head off to kindergarten in the fall.  Where did the time go?  What happened to the crazy days of raising 2 toddlers with an infant in tow?  I've heard, "The days are long,  but the years are short." Wow, is it ever true!

So before #4 arrives, I want to make sure to document some of Shark Girl's cute word mistakes. Growing up in a fast technology age,  of course it is "normal" for kids to understand and use DVR. When JG needs to leave the room for a moment, She always asks for us to "clause it." I don't know why this sounds so much cuter than "pause it," But it does.  Instead of saying "thank you, " she says, "nank you." This is at its all time cuteness when she sings her Awana Cubbies song. "Nank you, Nank you, Jesus."

Now the twins are starting to correct her grammar, which breaks my heart,  but I guess is good as she prepares for kindergarten.

(Shark Girl with her favorite Great White Shark,  Kissy Grace)

Shark Girl singing her Awana Cubbies song

Her favorite worship song right now is, "God is on the Move." However,  she thinks the lyrics are "God is on the Roof." She explains that God is always watching us closeby, which is why the song says He is on the roof. It warms my heart to hear her loudly sing out, while pumping her hands up in the air.  (Reminds me of how I use to sing,  "There's a bathroom on the right." Then at a Dodger Game they were showing baseball bloopers on the jumbo screen while playing  the song,  with lyrics,  "There's a Bad Moon on the Rise").

Here are the (correct) lyrics to "God is on the Move"

Anytime a heart turns from darkness to light
Anytime temptation comes and someone stands to fight
Anytime somebody lives to serve and not be served
I know, I know, I know, I know

God is on the move, on the move
Hallelujah
God is on the move
In many mighty ways

God is on the move, on the move
Hallelujah
God is on the move
On the move today

Anytime in weakness someone falls upon their knees
Or dares to speak the truth that sets men free
Anytime the choice is made to stand upon the Word
I know, I know, I know, I know

God is on the move, on the move
Hallelujah
God is on the move
In many mighty ways

God is on the move, on the move
Hallelujah
God is on the move
On the move today

Yea

I see a generation
Standing on the truth
In each and every nation
God is on the move

Hope for Hammy

After almost 5 years of HOPING and praying for another child, we were shocked when we finally saw those double pink lines. We tried to be quick and creative when telling the Trio and our friends. I carved out a large pumpkin and placed a small pumpkin inside it. When I asked the Trio what it meant, they responded, "it's the Batcave!"

Once they finally figured it out, JG wasn't so happy about losing her position as the "baby." She cried "kick the baby out" for 2 hours before she decided it was a good thing and became excited. We let JG choose the name for the baby while in utero. (CJ did this when I was pregnant with JG and he chose "trash truck.") Since she loves sharks, she named the baby "Hammy," which of course is short for "Hammerhead." Now JG sings, talks to, and kisses my belly all day long.

I started having a lot of pain and spotting right away. After jumping through hoops with my insurance, I was finally able to get in to the Dr. He thought it sounded like an ectopic pregnancy, so pulled in the bedside ultrasound. Thankfully we saw Hammy, right where he should be, with a strong heartbeat. However, we also saw a few large cysts and an infection. A week of antibiotics and all should be clear...so we thought.

A week of horrible side effects from the antibiotics and I was back in to the Dr. The infection did not get better on antibiotics, in fact it got worse. Dr ordered another week of antibiotics. Dr could tell I wasn't feeling great and decided to cheer me up by pulling out the Doppler so I could hear Hammy's heartbeat. 5 minutes and no heartbeat. He sent his MA to go get the bedside ultrasound. As I lay there for another 5 minutes, I clung to HOPE that Hammy would be ok and pushed away the feelings of déjà Vu of when I lost Aaron (my first pregnancy). Thankfully we saw Hammy and a strong heartbeat. We also saw that one cyst grew and another ruptured, leaving "debris" all over, which is a cause for concern. Due to these complications, my age, and my pregnancy history (miscarriage and preterm babies), Dr decided to refer me to a Perinatologist. He also sent me for an "actual" ultrasound.

 The Trio enjoyed seeing Hammy through the ultrasound. CJ, who is very protective of me, stood by me, holding my hand, asking if I was ok and if it hurt (thankfully it was an abdominal ultrasound!). When we finished, the ultrasound tech told me to wait while she went to talk to my dr. After 15 minutes she came back. She told me that I had a large sub chorionic hemorrhage. I had this with JG as well, which caused a lot of bleeding and being put on bed rest at about this same time (11 weeks). However, the one with JG was smaller, and I was younger. The concern now is that my chances of miscarriage are adding up (history, age, cysts, infection, and hemorrhage). Dr said no more exercise and to come in when the bleeding starts (notice, not "if," but "when"). I am of course, willing to give up exercise to give Hammy the best chance possible. But I will admit, I am scared. It's not just about the weight gain. Exercise makes me happy. Starting my day at the gym sets the tone for my whole day. I dealt with severe depression when I was on bedrest with JG. I want to be able to take the Trio out and make fun memories before we are home-bound (which will be their summer vacation). Being depressed and stressed is not going to help this pregnancy.

 Right now we are holding out HOPE that Hammy will be ok. That I will carry him to full term and that in June these problems will be a distant memory. We greatly appreciate prayers!

Itchy Skin

"My skin is falling off!" JG screamed. I turn to look at RJ's clock, 11:42pm. It was going to be another long night. At this rate, we were going to get woken up at least 3 more times with cries of "I need more lotion." For some reason, my happy baby was blessed with severe eczema. It breaks my heart when she asks me, "Why did Jesus give me itchy skin?" Or tells me in a sweet voice, "I wish I had soft skin." At one point, we were waking up so often to put lotion on her that we were quite sleep deprived. RJ grabbed lotion and went to help her one night when thankfully I turned on the light before he could apply it: Thankfully she is tough and doesn't let her "itchy skin" slow her down.

Safe or Out? OUT

CJ has been playing baseball since he was a baby. Even when he was in utero, I would sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" to him and his twin. His room is baseball, his bedding is baseball, we are all about baseball!

So why did he not play baseball this year? Because we took our first family trip to the snow...

Sledding was fun...

Until the twins hit these trees

and CJ ended up at Mammoth Ski Patrol

CJ ended up breaking his fibia and tibia almost completely through

CJ ended up with 3 casts over a total of 3 months

There is always next year!

My Monkey

My oldest started tumbling a few weeks ago. She wanted to take Hip Hop, but due to no dance teacher, ended up in tumbling. I knew she would love it because she is always climbing and tumbling at home. She went grumpy the first time, not knowing what it was. Her face lit up when she saw the room and her BFF there.

Needless to say, she loves it! She climbs up the pole to the 8' bar and plays around before dropping and freaking out her teacher and myself.

After a couple sessions she is doing flips and almost has down her front handspring.

While it is unnerving watching her run full force and fling her body into whichever way it ends up, I am glad my little monkey has found a way to expend her energy.

(KC with her BFF on the left and little sis JG on the right)

Caleb's Favorite Color

My little man sure knows how to melt my heart. Today he comes up to me and says, "Mom, do you know what my favorite color is? It is you." I asked him what he meant and he said "It is the color of your skin, because it is what I saw when I was a baby and I cuddled you and I still like to cuddle you."

(he may be older, but he still has the baby blues)

License for Fun

One of our favorite places to visit is Kramer Junction (aka Four Corners aka where US Route 395 and State Route 58 meet). Our friend owns a lot of property out there and plenty of "toys" to keep us busy.

I've been taking the Trio out there since the twins were little and they are happy to be old enough now to "drive" some of the vehicles.

The other day K was out with RJ on a daddy daughter date and in all seriousness, she looked at him and asked "Am I going to jail for driving a tank without a license?"

Now J loves Chuck E Cheese (what kid doesn't?) and she has recently learned that if you put a coin in the rides, then they actually do more than just sit there and look pretty (yes, I tried to hide this as long as possible). While sitting in one of the Cessna's, J turns, puts out her hand, and sweetly asks "Coin?"

We love being able to play out there and the Trio looks forward to when they are tall enough to drive the other military vehicles, classic cars, forklifts, and the list goes on and on...