Waking from Summer Hibernation

We finally had a decent weather day and were able to play outside after many months of being cooped up.  It was so beautiful, even though everything is all dried up, to breath some fresh air again!

We have switched school curriculums to a more Charlotte Mason approach and she advocates what she calls "nature walks".  So with nature journals in hand, we ventured outside and walked down to the creek behind our house.  Texas is in the middle of a drought as you can tell by the inch of water left in the creek.  The kids could literally walk across to the other side without hardly getting their shoes wet!

And this is what they were trying to go see!  These pretty flowers were growing wild on the side of the creek and they wanted to draw them and record details about them in their nature journals.  I think they are called Black- eyed Susans but I'm not totally sure about that.

I did not want to walk across to the other side for fear I'd slip on the moss plus I had Levi asleep in the stroller. So Micah and I sat on the edge of the bank and watched the Water Hoppers jump on top of the water and the minnows swimming around and the beautiful dragon flies fluttering by.

I was reminded of how wonderful God's creation is!

 I love my stroller that I found at a garage sale a few years ago.  Levi can sleep on his tummy in it because it reclines almost completely flat.  Doesn't he look like a little frog in it?

When the temps drop down into the 60's and low 70's at night, then it's time for a backyard bon-fire!

I'm really enjoying watching the personalities of our children blossoming in such different ways.  It's common to hear that all kids are different but when they are young it's sometimes hard to see.  They all liked to eat, play in the water, and unroll the toilet paper!  But now as they grow into teenagers, they are coming into their own, if you will.

Julia loves to draw and she is really good at it because she has an eye for detail.  I have a wall devoted to the kid's art work and I think it is mostly hers. She remembers everything ever said to her and almost all events in our family she has recorded in her brain!  It truly is amazing.  She can spell super accurately because she sees a word written and so therefore she can remember what the word should look like.  

She is also the only one who faithfully gives me a goodnight kiss without fail!

Micah is still little so I'm curious how his personality will continue to develop.  Right now, he loves repetition so we sing the same songs every night before bed. He even says the same thing every night.  "Is Dominic and Antony (no "th" in his name) coming to bed?"

He copies everything we say and DO even.  We all got a great laugh when he and Dominic were playing hide and seek one morning.  Everywhere Dominic hid Micah took note.  When it was Micah's turn to hide, he would hide in the same exact place.  He truly thought no one would know where he was!  One time Dominic dove under the covers of the bed to hide.  Then when it was Micah's turn, he couldn't get into the bed fast enough so he just grabbed the blanket and threw it over his head.  Dominic yelled "Ready or not!"  And there stood Micah in the middle of the room with a blanket over his head and still as could be!  It was really funny!

Olivia is very responsible.  She loves to clean and throw things away and be organized.  At least every 6 weeks, you'll find her going through every nook and cranny of her room, throwing things away, organizing and cleaning her room.  She feels so much better with less stuff to deal with.  Recently she filled up 6 bags of clothes and put them out in the shed so she would have less to choose from!

Olivia has a growing interest in First Aid and fire fighting.  She has been reading books about real life emergency situations and has decided she wants to be an organ donor.

She rides her bike every morning at 6:30 a.m. with her brother Anthony for exercise.

She loves music and has recently written a song and sang it with a friend in church.  She plays the violin in the church orchestra and is now really getting into the piano.  She loves classical music.

Anthony is 13 and I don't think he has a rebellious bone in his body.  I pray that never changes.  This isn't to say he isn't selfish at times but he truly wants to please his parents in EVERYTHING almost to a fault.  He is learning "grace" right now and is TRYING TO NOT TRY so hard.

He enjoys anything that has to do with science.  He absolutely loved our nature walk the other day and would be in heaven if we did those every day!  He loves our science activities and experiments.  This love must be why he is the one to jump up and help me make soap.  When it's the season to garden, he jumps up and wants to "plan and plant" with me.  He has had his own garden going now for two years.  Last year he got a killer crop of habanero peppers and this year he is getting some cucumbers.  We experimented with potatoes this year and I can't say it went all that great but he is eager to try again next year.

Anthony is not real flexible when it comes to style.  He like a good old fashioned suit and tie!  Blue jeans have to be blue, not black or faded, with no pockets down the legs, no zippers in odd places and definitely no holes or unfinished edges!

Right now he is aiming to be a missionary pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Dominic is very sociable.  He loves people.  Being alone is a struggle for him.  He is happiest when we have company or when a friend invites him over.
His big interest right now is baseball.  We hesitantly let him join little league with his best friend and he is loving every minute of it.  I say "hesitantly" because he is already so competitive.  Plus they play their games on Sundays.  Although we don't have to miss church or anything, we didn't know if we wanted to commit to going to games on Sunday afternoons.  We made the leap, though, and so far it's been a lot of fun to watch him play.  He is picking it up quickly.  There are tons of rules in baseball and I'm realizing how quickly you have to make judgement calls that could cost the team that winning point.  I don't think the boys feel the pressure of this but us parents sure do! Dominic has always had a natural ability to play sports well.
He is very opinionated about his clothes.  He likes sport type pants and shorts.  You know the sweat pants that swish when you walk and have a strip down the side leg?  He also likes cargo pants, skateboard shoes and t-shirts. 
He listens to contemporary christian music all day long unless I change the station.  He can't stand classical.

It will be interesting to see how Levi turns out.  Right now he is pretty much like the rest of our babies.  He cries when it's bed time and he loves attention and smiles when you talk to him. He loves to eat and sleep.
As you can see, our children are very different from each other but they are best friends.  It is so fulfilling to lay in bed at night and listen to them laughing together when they have a slumber party with each other on the weekends.  They choose to spend time together which is an awesome dynamic to our home environment.  When Rich and I go out on a date, the kids will stay home and play cards together. Anthony will make dinner for everyone since he loves to cook.  God has blessed us with an assortment of individuals in our family but we all mesh together well!

Smiles!

Levi is now smiling a lot!  He started smiling at about 2 weeks old but they were so brief it was impossible to catch on camera.  Now at 4 weeks, he is smiling tons.

I know this stage changes so fast and I'll forget all the incredibleness of it, so I'm trying to take it all in while I can.  One friend reminded me how awesome it is that we have the capability to take pictures and video to help us remember.  Years ago that wasn't an option!

Levi isn't the only one around here, that wears a smile!

Mornings like these make me smile.  It doesn't take long for me to change my perspective from, "I'm wasting time here snuggling with my newborn" to "No time is wasted snuggling with one of God's children!"

Levi loves to look up.  His head is always back trying to see all that's above him, I guess.  It seems to me, it would hurt his neck but he sure likes it. I can tell that he hears my voice and is really studying his mama face.

"Oh, my mama is so beautiful!"

These were taken yesterday at 5 weeks old.

I love this elephant but it is about as big as he is right now.

This is one of my favorite onesies because of the color and it says "Apple of my Eye".

This picture reminds of Popeye the Sailer Man!

Micah says so many darling this these days.  I wish I could remember them all.  We sing to him every night and he requests 4 songs never calling them by their actual titles.  Jesus Love Me is "the Bible song" The doxology is "the Amen song" and the funniest is Amazing Grace.  He calls it "the wretch song!" because He saved a wretch like me!

We also sing This Little Light of Mine and he holds up his foot as his light and we do all the motions with his toes!  You know, hide it under a bushel, No!  and Don't let Satan blow it out!  We blow on his toes and he giggles and giggles.

Just about every time Micah holds Levi like in the pictures above, I grab the camera and take their picture so now he tells me to.  As soon as they get situated, he says "Take my picture, ok?"

These two will be best buds one day soon and I get to experience it with them.  Thank you Jesus!

When God Speaks

Levi, above, at 2 weeks

Gazing out the window at 3 weeks old

This is how I've felt the last 2 months or more, trapped inside the house.  Well maybe not "trapped" but not happy about the ongoing heat we've been experiencing here in Texas this summer.  It was unbearable when I was pregnant.  I stayed home as much as possible only leaving the house to go to church on Sundays or to take the kids swimming at a friends house because that meant I could get in the water myself.  Now that Levi is living outside my body, I'm able to somewhat enjoy going outside if it's early morning or after dark.  We almost broke a record of 42 days in a row over 100* but missed it by 2 days.

  Right now it's 104*.

This might not be too big of a deal to you, but I love to be outside enjoying a cool breeze.  I don't mind the heat because I grew up in it living in Modesto, California.  At least there it cooled off at night.  We haven't been able to open our windows here for over 3 months because the temps drop to a warm 85* at night and the air feels stagnant.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining but just trying to communicate what you are probably NOT experiencing since it's been unseasonably cooler in most states besides ours this summer.

So back to my story.  For the past few months I've been dreaming about taking a vacation to someplace cooler to get out of this heat.  Normally, I'd pack up the kids and go to Colorado or in years past, we've taken a long weekend and rented a cabin in the Arkansas mountains to escape the heat for a reprieve.

Since I was expecting and now we have a newborn, this is an impossibility.  I just have to suck it up and endure it. . . but not without joy.  I have a choice.  I can grumble and complain and be downright discontent or . . . I can let God give me a new perspective.  And He did just that a few weeks ago on a Tuesday night.

I love baby yawns!

Tuesday night is when we go to a weekly prayer night at Gospel for Asia.  Usually someone shares a short devotional about something the Lord has been teaching them.  On this particular night, the speaker shared about suffering.  He spoke of how hot it's been and how easy it is when working outside to get dehydrated and how wonderful cold water is at a time like that.  It's so easy to be thankful for water when we really need it.  Then he shared about how our brothers and sisters in Christ who live in hostile countries in Asia suffer when they openly decide to follow Jesus.  It is very common for them to be banned from the community well.  They are then forced to drink pond water where the local people wash their clothes and let their cattle drink.  Their suffering means that they will most likely get diseases from the unclean water and could eventually die.

Gospel for Asia is working to bring clean water to some of these remote areas through providing wells called "Jesus Wells" where no one is banned from using them. Not only do they get the physical benefit of taking in clean water but the well also communicates God's love for all.  He died for us while we were yet sinners!   My small suffering of living in the Texas heat is bringing others new life! 

 God changed my perspective when I heard this message.  God spoke to my heart and gave me a glimpse of what he sees.  If only I could go to visit with my sisters and brothers in Christ across the world every few months to understand their plight better, I wouldn't grumble and complain about my circumstances.  I think I would endure them gladly so that others may live!

Now as I look outside and find myself wishing the weather was cooler, I remember what God told me that night.  He shared with me the plight of those whose suffering could mean death and he asks me to put aside my wishes for a season so that they might have life!

Announcing Levi Zachariah Lodi!

 I tried to just pick out a few of my favorite photos, thinking I had about 5.  After choosing, I realized that it's more like 15!  Hope you like to see newborn pictures as much as I do!

The one above is of Micah meeting his baby brother for the first time.  Levi was about 7 hours old at this point.  Since he was born at 1:06 a.m. Micah was sleeping and didn't get in on all the middle of the night action (thank God).  Meaning the "action" I'm referring to was not all hunky dory.

This birth was a whopping 18 1/2 hrs. long from start to finish and Levi didn't come sliding out like all the others.  I actually struggled to get him to come for 35 minutes which seemed like an eternity.  I was completely dialated for that amount of time but no baby was making his appearance and I wasn't feeling any of the normal things that signal any changes being made with each grueling contraction I endured!

It was daunting to say the least.  But finally God was gracious and he came on July 22, 2011 an hour after midnight.  I've never been so relieved in all my life!  I couldn't give God enough praise for seeing me through that birth.  I never would have expected my 6th child to be so difficult, after all my body had done this 5 other times.  

I realize now that I had the dream birth when Micah was born, 3 years ago.  I labored for 8 hours and pushed for 4 minutes with him. I expected this one would go even faster and be even smoother since I was more prepared for what to expect.  Guess, I had some unrealistic expectations.

But now that it's all behind us, we are on to the fun stage of taking care of our newest member of our family.  Everyone is in love with our little "pickle" as we so affectionately call him.

Every time I see the picture above, I feel like I've seen it before.  Turns out I have the exact same picture of our Julia in the same pose and the same sleeper, just taken 11 years ago!  The resemblance is uncanny!

Levi weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long and was a week early, exactly.  If he would have been full term, he would have been in the 8 lb range and would have been our biggest baby.

In the week that we've gotten to know Levi, we've noted that he loves to be held in this upright position with his belly on yours.  He snuggles his little head right up under your chin if you let him.  Once he is fully asleep, we try and put him down to get a few things done, but he rarely lets us.  Within 10 minutes or so, he wakes up and fusses until you pick him up and hold him in his favorite position and then he conks out again.  My midwife pointed out that he is used to going everywhere I do and was never put down to sleep alone while in the womb.  For the time being, we are enjoying it although I'm sure there will be a time when we teach him to be content by himself for a bit.

Love this one that shows just how small and fragile babies are!

Levi is 1 week old in the next few pictures. His eyes are a dark grey at this point but I'm sure they will be brown eventually as we all have brown eyes except for Olivia.  Hers are hazel. He does prefer to be on his tummy if he isn't in someone's arms.

I adore this picture! Julia was holding him and he just naturally was propped up like this!  Julia is ALWAYS available to hold him!  She would never put him down if he was all hers.

He is our only baby with hardly any hair on top of his head.  I hope that what he does have doesn't fall out or he will really look like an old man!

Isn't this one funny?  He looks like he is in a yoga position and is meditating on something enjoyable.

Olivia took these.  She loves photography and had seen this idea somewhere else with the bow.

Our little gift from God sent straight from heaven.  It's really true.  Olivia had been praying I would get pregnant by the end of the year.  I had not conceived for over 2 years and just thought we were done having children since I was 43 at the time.  But at Thanksgiving of last year I realized I was pregnant!  Shocker!  We tease her that it was all her fault.

Olivia made this one black and white and I like the way it turned out.

Levi was really done at this point but I managed to get one last good one of him not crying.  We bought him this elephant when I was pregnant with him.  He doesn't appreciate it yet but I think he'll like it eventually.

Praise God for little people!  I'm glad that we had a boy because God knows exactly what Micah needs in a sibling his own age.  Micah plays with Reece constantly but there will be a time when Reece will be older and not as interested in playing with him.  Levi Z will be his companion and Micah will be a wonderful big brother to him.  I feel like I've just had a second set of children and I'm starting all over.

Probably because I am!

Less than 5 weeks to go!

I'm due a month from tomorrow but I'm pretty confident I'll be a little bit early.  Maybe I shouldn't do that to myself, just in case I'm not, but I just have this feeling about it.  I'm due July 29th and my midwife is leaving the country for 10 days on Aug. 1st!  I'm not all that concerned because I've heard great things about her back-up gal but it really is possible that I'll be early and still get to have the midwife I know best.  After all,  I was 3 days early with Micah. 

Yes, you did hear me say "midwife".  This is my 6th child and I'm finally taking the plunge and having a home birth.  Now if YOU would have told me that 16 years ago or even 13 years ago, no wait, how about 11 years ago or even 9 years ago, I would have said, "yeah, right!"  My first 4 children were all born in a hospital with the big guns shot into my spin to numb the whole scary experience.  I marveled at how women gave birth without drugs and was never motivated to even give that a try.

When I became pregnant with Micah, I was willing to give it a whirl to see if I could avoid the strange man, who I don't know, coming in with a foot long needle to mess around with my spine and also all those papers I had to sign giving up my rights just in case I turned out paralyzed after the fact.

I chose a happy medium and had Micah in a Birthing Center naturally with no drugs!  I was just as shocked as you.  I did it.  I can't say I wanted to do it again right away but it was a good feeling knowing it was possible.  I kept my cool right up until the end when I panicked for about a minute or two while I pushed my precious baby out.  I had never felt that part before.  I look back and am grateful I only pushed for 4 minutes and he was born.  Did I focus on the Lord and his promises?  Not really.  It was so fast and intense, I completely forgot about Him.  I'm sorry to say.

So this time we've decided to have a home birth.  We live 5 min. from the hospital so that's comforting, just in case, but let's not think about that possibility.  I'm just so glad I get to choose to have a baby in our own home with a supportive husband and caregiver who can help me.  I've been reading a lot about all this and they say the more a woman can relax, the better and quicker her labor will be.  All those years ago, the hospital was where I could relax best.  Knowing all those professionals were around me, just in case, put my mind at ease.  Knowing I could have a painless labor put my mind at ease. 

 But this time, I'm looking forward to relaxing in my own home, not having to sign my life away or have interventions imposed on me.  I'm looking forward to knowing every person who walks in my room.  Being able to move around if I want without an IV stuck in my arm is also a plus.  The best part is being able to drink water or juice during labor to quench the insatiable thirst that arrises.  That was never allowed in the hospital. 

A girlfriend said to me recently,  "Gee Kristin, you do this different every time!"  I guess I do.  It's fascinating how God changes our perspectives and gives us strength where we thought we had none.  

Oh, I do hope to focus on the Lord more during this labor.  For He has promised to keep me in peace if my mind is stayed on Him.  

A Mother's Heart

I've been so busy this pregnancy that I haven't had a chance to prepare to have another child.

Around the middle of the 7th month, I began to feel the stress of this fact.  I had some underlying thoughts and emotions about not being able to love this one as much as all the rest.  And. . . (probably because I was too busy) I felt that I wouldn't have enough time to spend with all 6 equally.

Oh, I was prepared in the sense of having everything I needed to have a baby but mentally and emotionally I was not prepared at all.  

I realized I needed time to think through some of these issues and let God renew my mind.  I looked at my calender and realized that after June 10th, I would have nothing scheduled!  Yeah!  I was and am determined to not fill the last 6 weeks of this pregnancy with anything stressful if I have any say in the matter.

I also sat down and began to think through some of my reservations about having 6 children under my care.  God so gently reminded me that he does not give us the ability to love in measured out increments.  In other words, He hasn't given me 5 cups of love for mothering and no more so that I have to spread those cups between 6 kids.  He gives me as much love as I need for each child.

He also showed me that I do not have to worry about having enough time for this little person.  We have a house full of people who will meet the needs of each person in our family.  It's not all up to me.  If one of my children needs to talk all they have to do is ask me.  If I'm not available, there are many other siblings or their Father that will talk to them.  A large family has different needs than that of an only child.  

I feel much better since I've been able to think through what I believe about these two concerns for mothers of large families.

One afternoon as I sat down to put up my feet, the beginning of a poem kept running through my head.  Now this is a first for me.  I do not write poetry. . . EVER!  I can't even tell you what type of poem this is but it just came so easily as I pondered the baby within me.  Soon, everything will change and I will be holding this baby in my arms instead of caressing my growing and active belly.  Life will make a definite transition and this baby will have a name and personality to be observed by all. This is the poem I wrote for our new little one.

Do you know a Mother's Heart?

One who dreams and sings for many things

To hold you and kiss you

To love you and miss you. . .

This you know is a Mother's Heart.

Do you know your Mother's Prayer?

One who pleads and groans for qualities your own.

A faith that holds, a conscience that's pure

A wisdom that leads, a salvation thats sure

This, you know, is your Mother's Prayer

Do you know your Mother's Love?

She who is safe and kind and does not bind.

She is patient with you , she gives you her time

She believes in you, as she watches you fly

This you know, is how a Mother loves

Love, Kristin

A Little Decorating for my Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday and I wanted to go to the Christmas Tree Shop.  This is a store that a friend had told me about and she gave it such high reviews that she claimed it as her favorite store!  I immediately pictured Christmas decorations and had no interest in going there.  That's the last thing I need is more Christmas decor.  But then I started getting the ads for it in the mail and there wasn't one Christmas item in them?  Instead, there was lots of cute and cheap stuff for sale and some of it caught my eye.

Like this bookshelf.  I've been searching for a couple night stands in white that weren't too pricey but also were sturdy so when bumped they wouldn't fall over.  I also wanted it to be more than just a table top but also have some functional purpose.  A drawer would be nice or cupboard or these shelves!

I also got this lantern looking light and it was only $7.  It uses a nightlight type light so it isn't a good reading lamp but creates a nice low light setting.  I thought it would come in handy in the middle of the night when the baby awakens and needs to be fed.

By the way, I have to say that we didn't buy all this stuff ourselves for my birthday but used birthday money sent to me.  I bought this nice floor lamp so I can sit in my chair in our bedroom and read.

And then I found these pretty place mats for only 50 cents each on clearance. They match my kitchen perfectly with the blue and red.

My favorite item that my family bought me are these ducks!  They each picked one to represent themselves and bought them for me!

This is me at 44 years old after my baby's born since you see him or her hanging off my back!

These are the different ones that my children picked.  They are only $2 each for the small ones and $6 for the large ducks that have the babies on them.  I just love this gift because not only is it cute but it has meaning to me.

I don't usually do posts on decorating so I hope this struck you as fun and not meaningless.  I like to think of my style of decorating as "cottage style" and not country but it always seems to look country instead.  I have so many friends whose decorating style is eccentric and they make it work!  I'm not so creative and that style isn't really me anyway, even though I like it.

Oh, did I mention that my husband bought me an apple pie instead of cake for my birthday?  I love pie so much more than cake.  Apple pie and vanilla ice cream is a dreamy dessert!  I'm glad my husband knows me well! He never could have picked out all these decorative items on his own for me but desserts he knows well! 

My Life . . . Boring?

 My life is sooo NOT boring!  Especially with little Micah around.  After posting about him getting lost and then CPS investigating our family, we had about a month and 1/2 reprieve.  Normal life resumed with me trying to finish up school with the kids.  Throw 2 birthdays in there and an 8 day anniversary trip out of the country and our focus was quickly on other things.  Oh!  And as I'm thinking back on why I haven't blogged and what did I do during April and May, I'm remembering dentist appointments for 4 out of 5 kids, plus myself, a guest who stayed with us for about 5 days, and my parents came for a week!

Then on May 11th, while I was at the dentist getting two fillings replaced, Micah had an "episode."  We called it a seizure because we've seen "spells" like this before with our oldest daughter, Olivia.  Good thing Rich had just come home for lunch when it happened.  Micah just seemed to slip into another world for a really long time.  He was unresponsive with his eyes open and head back.  His body went limp so Rich rushed him to the ER which is literally 7 minutes from our house.  Micah finally came to when Rich had carried him all the way into the ER and was checking in.  We estimate the whole thing lasted 10-15 minutes.  

Of course, we spent the next 4 hours at the ER doing blood tests, X-rays, urine tests, and a CT scan of his brain.  The picture above is of him in the hospital with an IV in his arm.  When I got home from the dentist, the kids told me what happened so I rushed over to meet Rich at the ER.  Micah snuggled right into my arms and fell asleep.  He kept doing that in between tests, sleeping.  Having your brain shut down and restart really makes you tired.  Olivia used to sleep for at least an hour after having a seizure.

All the memories of Olivia and her first "episodes" came flooding back to us.  It's been at least 12 years since we first learned about epilepsy and seizures.  She grew out of them and has been seizure free for 4 years now and better yet, doesn't require any medication to keep her that way.  Praise God, that years of praying for her, he chose to honor our prayers so that she struggles with this no more.

So what did we do next?  More appointments were needed.  Since May 11th, Micah has seen a neurologist for a consultation and May 25th he had an EEG conducted to see if he has any abnormal brain activity and when does this occur.  For a child who has only seen a doctor a handful of times in his little life and most of those were during his first year, he has cooperated marvelously.  I couldn't be more proud of him.  

Above, the EEG technician is drawing on his head, measuring and marking where to put the electrodes.  She let him draw with a big red marker on the hospital sheets to occupy him!  It's washable but I just hope he doesn't think this is ok at home.

 Here he is with all the electrodes on his head.  He does look like he came out of a Si-Fi movie!

Then she wrapped this gauze around his head to hold everything in place.  He was done at this point and ready to get down but she tempted him to stay by telling him it was time to play some games.  She flashed a blinking light in his face and he was to open and close his eyes when she told him to.  He did great at this game.  Then she gave him a pinwheel to blow on to make it spin.  He was supposed to keep blowing for 2 whole minutes without stopping!  Well, if any of you have ever tried this, it's pretty hard and makes you light headed.  He lasted about a minute and then just gave up.  We tried to get him to keep going but he kept simply saying "no".  He was also supposed to sleep while there so they turned out the lights and gave him a pillow.  How you are supposed to sleep with all that stuff on your head plus 3 people in the room waiting for you to fall asleep is beyond me.  Olivia never slept for these tests and neither did Micah even though we had only given him 6 hours the night before.  Of course when he got home and I put him down for a nap, he slept for 5 hours!

We have yet to get the results from this test.  I suspect they will be abnormal because Micah had his 2nd episode this afternoon.  We have been keeping an extra eye on him just in case for the past 2 weeks.  I was at a friends house this afternoon and all the kids were playing upstairs.  Anytime he is out of my sight, I make sure someone is with him.  Julia was upstairs with all the little ones (my friends kids and Micah) when we heard her calling us.  She was saying, "Micah is having another seizure."  By the time we reached the top of the stairs, he was coming out of it but I could tell he'd had another "spell".  He was wobbly and listless in his eyes.  He collapsed on my shoulder and wouldn't speak.  I held him for a bit and talked to him.  After about a min. or two, he spoke and then wanted to go play some more.

No, life is not dull around here.  This could be the beginning of Micah being diagnosed with Epilepsy.  Not really a part of my plans for my life or his but I know that God is in control and will protect him.  I would appreciate your prayers when you think of us trying to keep him safe.

8 1/2  weeks to go and I'll be having another baby.  After my in-laws visit the beginning of June, this is what we'll all be getting ready for.  What a whirlwind!  I haven't even had a chance to really think about it!  It's getting hard to forget that I'm pregnant since I'm getting so large and every night I'm reminding as this little one moves and kicks me while I sleep, but I still feel like this has been the fastest pregnancy I've ever experienced.  Let's hope the delivery is just as quick!