Sunday, December 12, 2010

You know you are 9 months pregnant...

1. ...when you get winded reading a story to your children

2. ...when your body is producing and leaking milk at inappropriate times (my husband tells me if I was a cow, that would mean I'm due to calf in the next 3 days)

3. ...when you have to pee before you get in the shower, while you are in the shower and as soon as you get out of the shower

4. ...when you need your 3 year old to take your boots off because you can barely bend over

5. ...when you are down to one pair of maternity pants that fit

6. ...when you are constantly adjusting the thermostat because you can't decide if you are too hot or too cold

7. ...when you can't remember the last time you slept well or for more than an hour at a time


Almost 38 weeks

I'm headed to a midwife appointment tomorrow (38 weeks on Tuesday). Joe has dreamt twice that this baby will be born on December 13th...that is tomorrow. I'm not holding my breath, but we will see. It is getting close any way you look at it and we are basically ready for the little guy. Bassinet is up, his clothes are in the dresser, diapers are bought, carseat is out...still need to pack a bag for the hospital and would like to get this house a little cleaner and make a few more meals for the freezer...but in the long run we are ready.

Enjoy your week!
God bless!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Who doesn't love pigtails?






Love me some pigtails and both girls rarely let me "do" their hair.

God bless!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

CSN Review...finally


So...remember when I mentioned a CSN Review coming. No worries if you don't. It was like 6 weeks ago. I had a hard time deciding just what to purchase, CSN Stores offer a lot of stuff.

In the end I came back to something for my kitchen. I picked up this Presto Professional 22" Griddle.

Presto Professional  22" Griddle - 07039

It worked great and cleaned up easily. I normally double a pancake recipe and then freeze some for later on (we just pop them in the toaster right from the freezer). This griddle made it so easy to do that...much nicer to make 8-10 pancakes at a time rather than 4 like I use to.

And as always, I had helpers in the kitchen when we used the griddle for the first time.






So, if you are looking for just about anything head to CSN Stores.
Christmas is just around the corner after all.

God bless!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thankfulness

I sit here tonight in the quiet of the moment and can't help but be overflowing with gratitude for this life I get to live out everyday. There are so many things to be thankful for. The Lord has truly blessed me.

Tonight, this season and always I am grateful for.....

Hubby out plowing snow...working hard everyday to provide for our family

Busy 3 year old finally resting peacefully next to me

Littlest one all tucked in her crib for the night

Baby boy kicking away from the inside out

Smells of pumpkin pie coming from the kitchen

Loads of family time over the next few days

Glowing fireplace and the heat it provides

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

*Here are a few pictures of the girls. They are from a couple of weeks ago...I have taken almost no photos in the last 2 weeks.*








God bless!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Baby #3 - 33 Weeks


I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has been going. It could be that our house is just busier each week, each day, each minute and another pregnancy seems par for the course.

Seriously, 33 weeks already.

The name discusses are still happening. This little boy may just be nameless until we leave the hospital. My dear sweet husband is insisting on Joseph Arthur Jr. Me...not so excited about the idea of a junior. I'm trying to be open minded, but just do not like the idea.

I had an appointment with my midwife on Tuesday and everything is looking well. I am actually measuring ahead...measured at 34.5 weeks. Seems odd since this is the least amount of weight I have gained in a pregnancy. Baby is head down where he should be...causing lots of kicks in the ribs...painful but always exciting to feel that movement.

God bless!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Multitude Monday

holy experience



Blessings continued.....


626. Celebrating 5 years of marriage to my best friend
627. Date night with him
628. Grandma and grandpa taking the girls








629. To-Do-Lists.....finished and unfinished

630. Being here
631. Being with the girls

632. Seeing His Will more clearly
633. Being comfortable in His Will

634. 33 Weeks and midwife appointment this week 
635. Excitement of coming baby

Have a blessed week!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

CSN Stores.....My New Love

I do a lot of shopping online and love the time it saves me.....not to mention not having to drag 2 little ones into a store. With that in mind.....my newest love is CSN Stores. CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from stylish briefcases to cute cookware to chic lighting pieces! The choices are endless and I can easily find something I need while window shopping at any of CSN Stores.


I'm excited I get to do a review with CSN Stores. So, stay tuned for an upcoming review. I'm eyeing up a few different kitchen gadgets. What will I pick? Check back soon to see.


*I did not receive compensation for this post, but will receive a gift certificate to use towards the upcoming review. My opinions are my own.*


God bless!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Multitude Monday

holy experience


I started keeping a journal out on the counter to record my everyday blessings. This week I thought I would just list the ones I have written down from last week. So in no real order.....

10-18-2010

586. Hearing our sweet babysitter upstairs praying with the girls at lunch time
587. Lunch date with Joe.....just the 2 of us
588. Dan & Becky's Market.....natural/organic store not far from home
589. Learning new things every time I go there
590. Packages in the mail.....gifts for baby boy from his auntie Kelly and uncle Dave
591. Charlie being ok after falling down the stairs


10-19-2010

592. Bible Study with dear friends
593. Great studies and open conversations
594. Lunch with a dear friend, Kelly
595. Kids all playing at the park while we visited
596. Girls napping in the van
597. Whole family eating supper together
598. Finding eggs from the new hens
599. Calls from customers looking to have more work done

10-20-2010

600. Charlie sitting soooo well at the dentist
601. Joe's ability and willingness to take Charlie with him
602. One-on-one time with Cori
603. Hubby who will do the dirty work
604. Cori sleeping through the night and sleeping in.....after not for the last 4 days
605. Cori giving her baby brother 'kisses and hugs'
606. Charlie's ideas of baby names.....Joseph Peterbilt
607. Cori's newest word.....CHEESE




10-21-10

608. Biblical teaching through the day.....Faith900
609. Friends blessing us with bags of clothes for the girls and baby boy
610. Dinner invitations
611. New recipes and my tweaks

10-22-10

612. Laughing from the kitchen
613. Baking with the aunties and cousins
614. Family recipes
615. Charlie rolling dough.....playing with dough.....eating dough
616. Homemade soup and bread





10-23-2010

617. Silly kids
618. Ask Cori.....'Where is your nose?', 'Where is your belly?', etc. and she always points to her ear
619. Charlie's favorite question.....'What do you want to do in the morning?'
620. Little ones helping even when it means a big mess
621. Little ones learning new things even if it is annoying
622. Naps.....for mama too

10-24-2010

623. Daddy doing the disciplining
624. Charlie wanting to work on her 'letters'
625. 31 Weeks (sorry for the really bad photo)




Have a blessed week!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

This week at the Neaton ranch.....

* Sometime Sunday night or Monday morning, the steers managed to get my chicken coop door open and let out all the hens. They also managed to eat an entire bag of organic chicken feed. The escaping hens wasn't a big deal, except I was hoping to get them use to this being home before they had complete free range of the place. Joe and I managed to catch all but 2 Monday night and they spent 2 days in the coop...with a new steer-proof latch. The 2 escaped hens have not been seen since.

* Tuesday, I had the opportunity to have lunch with a dear friend , Kelly, that I don't see often. It actually had been 2 years since we had last got together. We meet at the park, our kids played and we chatted. It was wonderful.

* Wednesday, Charlie went to the dentist for the first time. I am so proud of her, she sat so well for both the hygienist and the dentist and was excited to get a new toothbrush. The dentist thinks she needs a couple of fillings, but I'm thinking we may hold off for now and look into other alternatives. I forgot to bring my camera, so no pictures. I've been really bad about taking pictures lately. I think part of it is, I'm having too much fun with the girls to stop and take their pictures.

* Charlie has also been excited to practice her letters, so we have been spending more time at the kitchen table with her school stuff.

* Cori is getting another tooth and it seems to be screwing up her sleep a little and is definitely making her more clingy to mom.

* Our friendly neighbors dropped off 12 grocery bags full of clothes for us to go through. There was tons of stuff for both the girls and baby boy, as well as crib sheets and tons of socks...both of which I had just written down as needs this winter. This family is the same family who's teenagers have been babysitting for us for the last month. The girls love having them here (Charlie more than Cori) and it is helping me out a lot to be able to go to my office and work uninterrupted. What a blessing!!

*When I pulled in the garage Wednesday afternoon, I managed to run over one of the kitties. As soon as it happened, I know it wasn't going to be good. She was still alive, but seemed to be in some pain and died shortly after that. The wimp that I am called Joe, asked him what I should do and then told him he would have to deal with her when he got home. My dear husband did handle it when he got home and buried the poor little thing. It's nice to be married and have someone who will share in the dirty work. I change stinky diapers, he buries dead pets.

*Tomorrow, we will be doing our annual Poppy Seed Kuchen baking. Click here for last years baking adventure.

*I'm still trying to talk Joe into delivering this baby at home. I really want to, but he is just not going for it. Thinking dinner with the sweet neighbor and her husband who have birthed 10 at home might be a good push in the right direction. And we are still undecided on a name for the little guy...he may just be nameless for awhile.

Hope everyone has had a blessed week!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Multitude Monday


holy experience


My counting continues.....


572. Living our days out.....everyday




573. Little pigtails on little girls 




574. Fun in  the kitchen








575. Still being able to wear little ones close and have free hands




576. Charlie helping mop floors and dust




577. Early mornings with dad.....so mom could sleep in




578. T-Bone and Ribeye




579. My new girls




580. Finding food in your own back yard


581. Running errands by myself


582. Little ones dancing and clapping to worship songs at church


583. Couple from church celebrating 63 years of marriage


584. Sunday brunch with my beloved hubby and sweet little girls


585. Cozy sweaters


Have a blessed week!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

My Story

As promised weeks ago...my testimony. It seems odd to me to say that because I kind of feel like I don't have a testimony...nothing special anyways. I didn't have this profound experience. I wasn't a drug user with an amazing conversion. I didn't have a near death experience that God used to draw me to Him. I can't remember the exact date or time that it happened. But, I do know there is a moment in my past and at that time I gave my life to Christ. And it wasn't all that long ago and I still struggle a lot with depending on Him and not trying to do it on my own (don't we all?).

If you would have asked me 10 years ago or even 5 years ago, I would have told you I was a christian. I mean I grew up going to church and my parents taught me right from wrong and even though I had done some bad things, I was an overall good person. I thought that's all it took...be good and go to heaven.

I couldn't have been more wrong, my doing and doing and doing was getting me nowhere and definitely wasn't helping give me peace about life and especially the new phase of motherhood I was in at the time.

Prior to getting married, I attended church with Joe and that was about it. We went to Sunday morning services, but beyond that I was not involved in any Bible Studies, didn't spend any personal time in The Word, etc. And after we were married and I was pregnant with Charlie, I went through the classes at church, converted and became a member of his church. Hindsight what it is, I know I was not making an informed decision, nor was I growing my relationship with Christ. I was not a believer at this point and none of those choices made me one. It was more of a head/logistical decision that I made that I thought would make us raising children together easier. Not the case at all, it has actually made it a lot harder, since I now question things that that particular denomination teaches.

The point...after Charlie was born, I struggled with this new motherhood thing. Nursing was not going well at all. I was stressed, overwhelmed and feeling like a failure because we (Charlie and I) just couldn't seem to come together and make it work.

I remember the day, Charlie was 5 weeks old. I had been pumping around the clock for weeks with one or two attempts at nursing each day that always seemed to end in us both crying and having a fit. I was exhausted and frustrated that I couldn't just make it work my way. I so thought this motherhood thing would be a walk in the park...funny right? I was sitting outside in the hammock swinging Charlie back and forth (We didn't know it yet, but she had huge issues with digesting dairy and was just cranky and miserable a lot and the only thing that made her happy was constant motion and we had to be outside). I was bawling and finally broke down and just begged and pleaded with God to help me...I was willing to do anything...anything.

It maybe sounds funny to someone who hasn't experienced something similar, but at that very moment I felt better, lighter and more capable of moving forward with parenting, marriage, everything. And guess what...Charlie starting nursing like a champ with in a couple of days and actually hated bottles from that point on. It helped Charlie and I's bonding, it helped my bonding with Christ and gave me confidence that I could do it...with His help of course.

God's grace and hope is so good and the impossible is not impossible for God!

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

God bless!