Mother's Day

My sweet Little Blessings who, make me a Mommy, did such a great job (with a lot of help from my wonderful husband) making me feel extra special on Mother's Day.
Daniel wrote the cutest "letter" with comments from the kids about my gift, that I had to share, this is the letter below...

Sunday May 13, 2012 (Also known to some as Mother’s Day)

Shelden James: GOOD MORNING!!

Jenae Danielle: Hi, mommy.

SJ: Daddy told us that today was a special day for you, and that we should probably get you a card.

JD: We aren’t too good at writing yet and so daddy agreed to hit the keys on the computer, and he said that you could read what we were saying.

SJ: I wanted to do this job, but daddy said no.

JD: That’s because you hit them too hard, and pull them off, and mommy can’t read it.

SJ: Oh. Well daddy said I could help make breakfast, and I’d rather do that anyway.

JD: We had a hard time deciding what to get you, but finally decided to get you a box.

SJ: Daddy said that a guy would drop it off at the door. I like seeing the big brown trucks that do this.

JD: Daddy said that it would be an orange and blue truck, and he told him not to come until after Mother’s Day.

SJ: That’s because even though I can unlock the door and carry things, daddy said it was too big, and mommy would know what it was before I could hide it.

JD: oh no, mommy can’t see it yet or it wouldn’t be a surprise! Can we tell mommy what it is now?

SJ: OK. Well, all the time we hear mommy ask dad to rub her feet, because they always feel so bad.

JD: That’s because she has to carry us around a lot.

SJ: Daddy never seems to find the place because she says “over hear, over there, try under, now over.”

JD: Daddy has to try lots of places to make mommy’s feet feel better.

SJ: So we thought that we could get something that could rub everywhere at once, and make mommy feel really good.

JD: Yeah! What is it?

SJ: Daddy says that it is a brand new 2012 quality foot calf and ankle massager, but I don’t know what that is.

JD: I wonder if I can try it, or are my feet too small?

SJ: It probably won’t do as good of a job as daddy but mommy can use it when daddy’s not here.

JD: Can we call the truck now and tell him to bring it since its Mother’s Day?

SJ: Let’s get daddy to. He’s good at calling trucks to come out here, but sometimes it takes a while for them to come when he calls.

JD:SJ:DE HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!

 This was what Baby Girl brought to Mommy with the cutest grin and look for all the world like she had done it all herself :)

Little Man brought me a yummy breakfast!

My beautiful flowers... Shelden picked them out himself

My Little Joys and I

My gift that arrived today... Ahh...

A Post From Daddy

Now that my little daughter has completed her first month in life, she has gained enough life experience for my first documentation.

Jenae Danielle, our little “Gift from God” was born on February 26th. If I can dare say it, as opposed to her mother’s opinion, I was hoping for a leap day baby. While it was politically incorrect to openly wish for a baby who was born almost a week past her due date to hold out for another three days against her mother’s wishes, it was not to be. Jenae may have minded the skipped celebrations, but just think of the cost savings! Well, I may digress, but maybe a child to be will be so fortunate in 2016. I hear they even have a leap day society for those 1:1,500 humans.

God’s timing is always best, and we now best enjoy our time with God’s blessing, and that she is! She is well worth the lack of sleep, the dirty diapers, and the little lively lungs. Thinking back about nine months ago, we didn’t think that we would have this time at all as a miscarriage appeared inevitable on two different occasions. Later I also caught the CMV virus that can be detrimental to unborn lives. God has sustained her little life up to this point! With an excitable doting big brother, this sustenance is a necessity to endure his head hugs, face pats, and attempted bottle feedings. She is going to be a tough kid! It is exciting to see the potential packed into a little life, and the reasons unfold for the purposes that God has for her (and for us through her).

I pray that this little life will bring a blessing to many, as she has already begun to do. I only trust that we can train her well. Go with God, girl!

Daniel

Our Remodel

As some of you know we started a remodel project this past fall...

We had a little half bath that connected to our guest bedroom and a back storage room behind that that could only be accessed from the outside.

Well, we tore out the half bath,made a hallway going to the back room and took some of the room and made it into a full bath. Giving us a master suit, as we switched rooms and made our old room into Jenae's nursery/guest bedroom. The rest of the back room will be Daniel's office when it is finished.

Daniel did such a wonderful job! Thanks as well to the brothers and my father-in law for all you did. Thomas thank you for being so careful with learning how to lay the tile in the shower, you did a great job!

Before... But after the half bath had been gutted.

Our gorgeous bath..

Our bedroom

Shelden's New Toy

Saturday I needed to do some shopping and Daniel needed to buy a wheelbarrow. So we packed everyone up and headed out, Jenae and I got dropped off and the guys went to Lowe's. The result when they came back to get us was a wheelbarrow for Daddy and a cute little one for Sheldy, who had a ton of fun helping Daddy once we got home...

Baby girl turned a month old on the 26th and continues to bring us joy like her big brother.

Long Overdue Pictures of Jenae's Nursery

Our Second Little Blessing From the Lord!

We thought that she was going to come a week or two before her due date, my midwife even thought she would be a Valentine's baby. The Lord had other plans and as my due date of February the 21st came and went, I began to worry about a Leap Day baby (I didn't want her having a "real" birthday only once every four years)!

Then on February 26th, the day before our second Anniversary, I awoke at 1:00am with contractions, but this was nothing new... it had been happening off and on for two weeks now. About 3:30am they started lasting longer and they weren't going away. I began to get a little excited (once again) that this might be the day that I finally would get to meet my little daughter, but I also tried not to get my hopes up to much as I had wondered this a few times over the lasts weeks.

At 7:00 I decided to call my midwife, she arrived about 8:00 and conformed it was the real thing! I had had no "false alarms" with Shelden and felt funny with this being my second child to have them this go around.

The day slipped slowly by with my contractions getting stronger and closer together then at 5:17pm, we welcomed our beautiful precious baby girl into the world!!! Weighing 8lb 8oz and being 22" long. :)

Shelden was brought in to see her and it was so cute to see his response to he. He seemed sopleased (leaning over to get a better look at her).

I had a hard time after the birth as I nearly passed out a few times and lost a lot of blood. Because of which I am now anemic and taking iron.

We are so thankful she is here and healthy. We have been so blessed by two sweet blessings that the Lord has given us in our first two years of marriage! :)

1st Birthday!!!

It is hard to believe our Little man turned one-year-old on Thanksgiving Day. We have been so blessed by our sweet and precious bundle of joy, and so grateful the Lord allowed us to be his parents.

The morning of Sheldy's birthday

His cart from Granddad and Mimi

We decided to just do him a family party at my grandparents Thanksgiving evening. I did a Peter Rabbit theme as Sheldy loves to watch Peter Rabbit. It all turned out so cute and he had such a nice birthday. I well let the pictures tell the rest... there are a lot of them ;)

Our one-year-old