A Time For Every Season....

Drew had a great few days. He has been much more obedient and listening well. Wednesday and Thursday nights he was able to go right to sleep without any spankings! Before we moved Drew to a bog boy bed he would only get a spanking or two a month, but that changed to daily once the big boy bed came into play. The past few days he has been wonderful, his repentant spirit has returned! Just last night I went in to check on Drew and he was crying, I asked him why he was sad and he said in between broken sobs "light on ... sorry mama..." I deciphered and he confirmed that he had turned on his light and he knew he disobeyed and felt sorry. Wow, the words sorry only come out of Drew's mouth when prompted by mommy or daddy so this was huge! I sweetly told him that I was proud of him for telling mommy the truth and having a spirit of repentance. I then said that I forgave him and hoped he wouldn't do it again. Then a huge smile broke out across his face and he jumped into my a...

The structures of the spine begin to form -- joints, ligaments and rings. These will protect the all important spinal cord which serves as the information transmitter for your child's body. Blood vessels of the lungs develop. Your baby's nostrils begin to open. There is a study out of Belfast that suggests babies at this stage have the capability of scent preferences! The nerves around the mouth and lip area are showing more sensitivity now. When baby is rooting for food later on, these will be valuable! His swallowing reflexes are developing. Dexterity is improving. Your baby can make a fist and would clasp objects placed in palm. Your child has now obtained an approximate length of 13.6 inches (34.6cm) and weighs 1.46 pound (660gm).

Our little boy is growing up and stretching out his arms to find the boundaries.... again! Ever since Drew was moved into a big boy bed he has been retesting his boundaries. The new sleeping freedom has brought out a stubborn streak - one mommy and daddy didn't know Drew had. Last night when I went to bed, little sweet Drew was laying awake reading a Beatrix Potter book -- almost angelic like; never mind that it was 11:00 pm, he had been in bed 2 1/2 hours already, and he disobeyed by turning on the light and getting out of bed to find a book. I was shocked. Then today, Drew decided that leaving the table at dinner without asking to be excused was the norm. I couldn't believe that he sat in his chair 1 hour past dinner just because he refused to say "may I please be excused." Now, Drew has been asking to be excused for at least a year so it shouldn't have been an issue, but he made it into one. Other limits are being tested too, he is conveniently not listening to...

Drew and I had a few days to play, cook and clean up the house. John worked the first few days this week, which was exhausting for me! Drew did have fun, despite his friend Riley across the street going back to daycare during the day. We played in Drew little pool in the backyard, baked Daddy some chocolate chip cookies, practiced our measurements, played at the art center with stamps, cleaned the house, went to the grocery store, and dropped some things off at the goodwill. By Wednesday evening I was beat, all my energy had been drained so I laid around and read a good book! Drew is getting use to his bed, he is now napping well, but his middle of the night screams are getting old. Poor John went in with Drew around 4:00 am and slept with him in his room so I could get a few uninterrupted hours of sleep - what an awesome husband I have. Drew is slowly adjusting to life in a new bed with a few new freedoms, like reading quietly before going to sleep. All the changes have brought Drew...

Bring on the bulk! Baby gains about 6 ounces this week. The weight is in muscle, bone mass and organs. His body begins to fill out with his appearance increasingly becoming more like a newborn. Taste buds begin to form. If mom drinks something strange or bitter, baby may be observed showing his distaste. Little creases have appeared on his palms. The muscular coordination of his hands has improved as he sucks his thumb. Over the next seven days the sweat glands will be forming in the skin. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily. This week your baby is officially considered viable. Baby weighs 1.3 pound (600gm) and is 11.8 inches (30cm) long -- almost the length of a ruler!

Look who was upgraded to a big boy twin bed! Drew was so excited on Saturday when he came home from Nana's and discovered that Mommy and Daddy had put up a new bed. John is still building his frame, but we wanted to get him into the new bed before preschool started in a few weeks - limiting the major changes in his life keeps us all from stressing. Drew loves it and didn't want to sleep in his crib, he now calls the crib the "baby Gabe's crib." We have picked out a first name for our little jumping son -- Gabriel, or Gabe for short. We are still discussing/arguing over a middle! Gabriel is Hebrew for "God is Mighty." I know I will need a lot of God's might to raise two boys! His first night was, well not as easy as the first night without his "mimi." It took Drew 2 hours to fall asleep, he kept playing with the toys and jumping off the bed "like tigger" as Drew told us. Then he awoke at 2:00am not knowing where he was. He came int...

Yesterday was a bad day! I had my injection the day before so I was tired and very hormonal (depressed). I decided to take Drew to Costco for dinner and then for some shopping since John had to work. We made it home and as I was talking on the phone and putting the groceries away I spot Drew jumping on the bench, the funny part was that he was jumping on the new loaves of bread I had just bought. He thought the bread felt nice and squishy between his feet! It took me a while to calm down and see the rumor in it! Poor Drew had the biggest grin on his face until he saw that mommy wasn't smiling. Another funny happened this morning. John went into Drew's room to get him up and when he switched on the light the bulb burnt out. Drew immediately said, "ugh oh, light's broken... daddy fix it!" John explained that he had to go get some new bulbs from Home Depot so it would take a few days, to which Drew replied " I go get the ladder daddy so you can fix it!" Aga...

Proportions of the body are now quite similar to a newborn although thinner since he hasn't begun to form body fat. Bones located in the middle ear harden. Your baby is able to hear. (Dads, did you know: low-frequency sounds mimicking a male voice penetrate the abdomen and uterine wall better than the higher frequencies of the female voice?) The eyes are formed, though the iris still lacks pigmentation. The pancreas, essential in the production of hormones, is developing steadily. She has begun producing insulin, important for the breakdown of sugars. If born now, your baby has a 15% chance of survival, his odds going up with each passing day. . The average baby at this stage weighs 1.1 pound (501gm) and is 11.38 inches (28.9cm) long.

Our little Drew is growing up! He is chatting up a storm and replying in sentences once in a while. Drew surprised me yesterday while I was fixing myself some cereal for a snack. Drew came over and said "mom, may I have some cereal please?" in his cute little voice. I didn't even know he could say cereal! Drew's manners have been improving, John and I are in the habit of repeating the proper way to ask for things for example, Drew will say he wants his train, to which we reply "May I please have my train?" Just in the past few days Drew will naturally use please and thank you! On Sunday John and Drew hung out together because mommy had a meeting at church and then slept most of the afternoon because of contractions. Drew was a little angel for his Daddy! He went with Daddy to the airport and then to a men's meeting at church which he quietly sat through. He was so well behaved that Mommy and Daddy lost track of time and ended up putting Drew to bed at ...

Here are some recent pictures of our trip to the pond. We made friends with some boys who love to throw the ball in the water for Kitty. Kitty had a blast running and swimming for almost 2 hours - poor thing came home and slept all night and all day. John, David, and Drew tired her out! Kitty is enjoying our hot 100 degree days, the crazy thing will lay right in the middle of the lawn with the sun blazing down right on her - probably dreaming of her working days in Afghanistan! Uncle David, or " Dayday " as Drew calls him has been keeping all of us busy. Today the boys (minus Drew because it was too dangerous) spent the day welding a rack to hold all of John's wood in the garage. They also put hardwood flooring in the living room. It is so nice! Poor Kitty doesn't like laying on the hard floor though, she has been caught sleeping on our couch! We need to buy her a bed for downstairs so she can be comfy too! I cleaned out under the stairs today and dug out all my pens...

Read what Colorado Home Town News had to say about NorthWood Students and NorthWoodChurch Plant Cool River.

"Wherever you cast your eyes, there is no spot in the universe wherein you cannot discern at least some sparks of glory." ~John Calvin 128. Sweet Drew kisses 129. a family night out for ice cream and bees wax 130. a quiet, peaceful home 131. candid and truthful teaching 132. words that just fall onto a page 133. new birth! Little Ethan has arrived 7/26/07 134. Drew’s incessant questions that seem to repeat themselves 135. Ancient history conserved in timeless artifacts; a visit to the ANCIENT TREASURES OF THE HOLY LAND 136. Having such a generous husband! He loves to give to anyone in need, what an example he is to me! 137. A handy husband who can fix anything 138. The privilege of working from home and raising my son(s) at the same time 139. The sweet taste of a ripe strawberry 140. A deposit forgotten until the checkbooks is balanced! 141. Sonogram technology which revealed our son on the screen, happily sleeping 142. a healthy baby with perfect measurements 143. a cervix...

Your baby weighs close to a pound at this point! Your baby can now hear your conversations more clearly than before!. When you talk, read, or sing, expect her to hear you. Studies have found that newborns will suck more vigorously when read to from a book they heard frequently in utero. Eyelids and eyebrows are fully formed. Fingernails have grown to the end of the fingers. Be prepared for all those "Why" questions coming! Your baby's brain has entered a stage of rapid growth, especially in what's called the germinal matrix. This structure deep in the middle of the brain serves as a kind of factory for brain cells and disappears shortly before birth. But the brain's amazing expansion program continues until around the five birthday. With some help from mom, baby's liver is starting to break down bilirubin, a substance produced by red blood cells. If your baby is male his testes begin their descent to the scrotum. Primitive sperm have formed and he is producing...

This week just flew by! In all the excitement of seeing our little boy on the ultra sound, we weren't prepared for what was yet to come! John's brother David arrived on Thursday and my sister and husband arrived Friday. We also had a garage sale on Saturday while John and David worked in the garage. I am so excited to say that the house is being put back together and it looks awesome! Our neighbor came over yesterday and was in awe, he loved everything John had done... so do I! The living room floor is being finished today, it is beautiful. I had an exhausting weekend, I will be taking it easy from here on out. My pregnant body can't handle too much these days. My contractions are more frequent, but I am still able to control them by reducing stress on my body, my current sunburn isn't helping my body stay relaxed! This weekend Drew played with his friend Jonathan and went swimming twice! He is getting more comfortable in the pool and his " Titi " taught him h...

We are having a little boy! He was sprawled out waiting for his big shot on the screen, weighing in at just under a pound. Drew was very excited to see his little brother on the monitor and chatted through the whole process about is baby and trains and cars. John was thrilled to hear that it was a boy, he has been talking all evenings about how life will be with "his boys." The news about the progression of the pregnancy so far is great! My cervix is measuring at 3 inches which isn't ideal but is still above the concerned line of 2 inches. My cervix is closed tight and I have had very few contractions this week. Also the Dr. said it was fine to come in every 6 days for my injections instead of the 7 -- most of my contractions and the heaviness in my abdomen have started on day 6. The picture above is a face view with his mouth open. He was too squirmy to get any good pictures so this was as good as it gets. At one point he put his arm over his face like he knew he was be...