Waiting

Yes,  I've been hiding!  Honestly, I've been so consumed with going into labor that blogging just seemed, I don't know, unimportant.  I was SURE it was going to be this past weekend!  It wasn't.  My two due date buddies are holding their sweet baby girls this morning.  I'm not.  But I'm happy!  Really, truly, completely happy!

Saturday evening brought sweet comfort from the Lord.  "Be still and know that I am God.",  "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.", "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.", " May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,". 

Do I want this baby to come any less?  No way!  But it is so good to rest in the Lord's goodness, wisdom and power.  Now instead of praying every thirty seconds, "Lord, PLEASE let this baby come soon!" I'm able to turn it around and pray "Lord, please help me to rest in you as you bring this baby in your perfect timing.".

(Please forgive my uncombed, non-make-uped self!)

( 2 days until due date!!!)

My arms are aching to hold you dear one.  My nose is longing to smell you.  My lips are dying to kiss you.  But while I wait I will rejoice in how the Lord is keeping you safe and protected inside of me, waiting for the perfect time to bring you into my arms.  And I'm not the only one who is waiting!!!

If you haven't made a guess yet, there is still time!

I'm in love

  Nothing like a fuzzy camera taking a fuzzy picture of a fuzzy picture.  I know it's hard to see, but I just had to share.   (Baby is looking straight at you if you can't tell.)

I just can't stand it.  Look at those cheeks!  My babies don't have chubby cheeks!  Already this little one is it's own little person, so different from anyone else ever created.  Watching it move around today, seeing it's mouth open and shut, the hands grasping, I'm just so overwhelmed at the Lord's greatness. 

Looks like I only have around five more weeks to wait before meeting this precious little one.  I'm so desperate to smell my baby, kiss my baby, breath my baby.  And it's coming so soon! 

It amazes me to think that people pity me.  They feel sorry for my lack of "vision".  None of the aspirations in the world could ever compare to the miracle of motherhood!

So close. So far. You know what I mean!

Baby is coming!  Baby is coming!  Some days it feels like it's just around the corner.  Most days it feels like it is still ages away.  I know you mommys know what I'm talking about.  I'm "officially" somewhere between 30-33 weeks.  My best guess, probably close to 32 weeks.  Confusing?  I know.

My pregnancy with Ella Joy was like a breeze.  A walk in the park.  This time........ not so much.  I really don't have anything to complain about.  I always have it pretty easy.  This time there is just the usual aches and pains and uncomfortable time sleeping.  These past weeks have been a lot better, possibly because I'm remembering some of the good things I was faithful in last time.  I've been drinking my pregnancy tea again (Red Raspberry Leaf, Alfalfa, Nettle and Peppermint) and finally walking!  Walking helped me feel so good last time!  On top of that, a friend recommended these prenatal pilates workouts on youtube.  It's really felt good to be moving again!

(Instructor is in a spaghetti strap top so use discretion on your viewing audience!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qo_nCKpTcM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWtc7-HwXAM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOsasMlywvc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW07lZ_krn0&feature=related

As the days are ticking away I find myself more and more excited to meet this little one.  It's always incredible to try and imagine how God can repeat the miracle of fashioning someone so unique and yet such a perfect fit for our family.  Somehow He ALWAYS does though!

Of course, with baby on the brain I've been drooling over cool baby finds. 

Number 1 on my wish list this time is this pretty Moby.

What can I say?  I love chocolate!  I'm a total neutral nut but anything lighter than a good solid "brown" on me makes me look like I'm about to vomit. 

Then, because (much to my husband's amusement) I am an avid Pioneer Woman fan, I was introduced to these sweet swaddling blankets .  Ella was my first baby to swaddle and I LOVED it!  It sure can be hard to find blankets that work though!

Okay, so I probably wont be spending $34 dollars on a set of three, but right now I'm in that dreamy state of imagining how perfect all of life will be with this new baby in my arms.  I know these last few weeks will fly by, but right now, it doesn't really feel like it.  If you don't mind, I'll just sit here and dream a little!

16 Weeks (or so!)

Well here we are at 16 weeks!  Hard to believe we are already at this point.

This pregnancy feels far less "real" than the others!  I'm SUPER excited, but I have to pinch myself when I think about holding a precious little one come June.  It just doesn't seem real!  I must say though, those precious little kicks I felt for the first time two days ago were sure a huge convincer that there really is a sweet little one growing snuggly inside.  

I still don't really know how far along I am!  I say 16 weeks, but honestly I'm guessing more like 17 or 18.  I'll get into the midwives soon and get a more accurate date hopefully!

Yes, I do think it's another girl.  No, that doesn't disappoint me in the least!  I'm so excited to see who this one will be.  I know even now God is fashioning it just perfectly for our family!

30 Weeks!

Did I ever mention that I love being pregnant? (If you're one of those people who hate people like me, you may just want to skip this post entirely!). I really really do. I think I've always known it, but this is the first pregnancy that I've become an outspoken, die hard pregnancy lover! It is such an irreplaceable and precious time. What a privilege it is to fully care and provide for such an innocent and tender little person.

( 30 weeks!!!)

It feels like time is flying by ( didn't I just post that it was 99 days? Guess what? 64 days today!!!), and yet I am so anxious to meet this little one! After exclaiming to my husband the other day about how much I love being pregnant, He wondered if it was the pregnancy or having a baby that I loved. Let me clarify. I'm not some weirdo who simply loves being round and uncomfortable. It's the baby that I love! Pregnancy is the first step of a beautiful relationship. A chance to get to know even a little this precious little treasure that will be such an irreplaceable part of my life. I love the first step. And every step along the way!

(Okay, I am actually 31 weeks tomorrow but I didn't have an updated picture!)

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Yesterday I had the privilege of going in for a free 4-D ultrasound. Like I told the technician, I would do that everyday if I could. Being able to watch my precious little one, all safely tucked away and so perfectly formed was a sweet gift.

My grandma was able to come with us this time ( along with my mom, Lydia and Bethany) and having never been to any kind of ultrasound before, she was amazed at how clearly you could see the baby and how well formed they were.

My little one really didn't want to put it's arms down, so it wasn't the easiest time to get good pictures, but I think it made it all the more endearing to me. I always sleep with my arms up by my face!

Some who have seen these pictures say that they remind them of Bethany. I can't say that I see that strongly, but all I know is it looks like my baby!

The boy/girl debate is still waging strong at our house. Daddy and Lydia voting boy, Mommy and Bethany voting girl. We all like to claim Havilah's vote at one time or another. David said the sweetest thing the other day though. He said, " As much as I would like a boy, the sad thing would be that we wouldn't get a girl!".

I absolutely love this picture! Hopefully you can make out the forehead, feet and the hand resting on them. I am desperately in love!

A little of this and that

I'm not sure what has been plaguing me lately and making me incredibly negligent towards my poor blog! My mind seems to go completely blank as I stare at my page and everything brilliant, humorous or thought provoking vanishes. I think a major hindrance for me is that I haven't picked up my camera in ages! Somehow a post without pictures just doesn't feel like a post! So here I am, resolved to do better and determined to take pictures no matter how mundane they may seem!

In the middle of September we had our youth council retreat. This is our sixth year working on the leadership team for our youth group, but my eleventh year being involved with the retreat ( as I was a part of the youth council before becoming leadership). The youth council is a small group of youth who want to push themselves to become leaders and examples to their peers. They help lead the small groups and run much of our youth group meetings.

Once again, the Lord has blessed us with an amazing group of kids to work with this year.

Our girls absolutely LOVE the retreat and especially the kids. They always make fast friends and I am constantly amazed to see the patience the youth have for playing the same little games over and over ( and over...).

The week after the youth council retreat was our annual "King Family Camp out". Two brothers were away at Bible college this year, but we still have a fabulous time together. We were especially blessed to have David's brother Jonathan and his wife, Laura, there. They are expecting their first child and it was so much fun to have someone to be preggy with!

Last week we babysat our little neighbor baby for two days. It was so much fun to watch Havilah interact closely with a little person. She absolutely adored her and could hardly be held back from showering her with every toy, blanket, book, binkie or food item in the entire house. I can't wait to watch her as a big sister. Don't worry, I do mean literally watch her!

We had the treat of having Jonathan and Laura come and stay with us for four days last week. They are such a blessing and I am overwhelmingly thankful for family that love the Lord and are such an encouragement to us in that way.

Here we are at 27 and 37 weeks. Giving the cousins a little chat time!

Please pray for Laura as she is having some blood pressure issues. This baby could come any day!

99 Days!!!

Only 99 days until my due date!!! I am soooooo excited about meeting this little one. My thoughts have been consumed with it lately. My poor husband graciously sits and listens to me go on and on about " When this baby comes..." or " I wonder if this one...". When I was expecting Havilah, while I was incredibly excited, it really didn't seem real that we were having a new baby. Not this time! I am anxiously looking forward to every little detail. Only 99 days ( or so)! I can't decide if that's soon or far away!

King Family Update~ Part 5

Well, I said in my last post that Havilah has been going through the most life changes of the family. I think that I will have to retract that statement though as I consider all that our littlest one is going through during these past weeks and months.

We are both growing quite nicely. As I write this my ticker says it is 111 days until we meet this little one. Our official due date is January 21, 2010. Baby #4 is now almost a full foot long! That is so hard for me to believe! This one is a wiggler!!! Oh my goodness! And I thought I had active ones before! I can wake up almost at any hour of the night and they are doing a little dance. My midwives haven't been able to give me a heart rate average at either of my appointments because this one wouldn't hold still long enough for them to keep track of it! The ultrasound was almost as bad. We were able to see baby trying to suck it's thumb. It was so cute!

( My sister-in-law, Laura, and I at 23 weeks and 33 weeks)

After seeing it on the ultrasound, Lydia is convinced that we are having a boy. I'm still just as convinced that we have another daughter on the way though. This pregnancy seems to be speeding by, but my excitement about meeting this new one grows steadily each day. I can't wait!

Coffee for a name idea!!!

Some days it feels like it's flying and some days it feels like it's dragging, but either way, here I am at 16 weeks! It seems like I never get any pregnancy pictures until I'm HUGE so I decided to try and catch a little more of the progression this time. Lydia was my fabulous photographer and kept wanting to take more and more pictures. I finally had to say we had enough!

I'm definitely showing sooner than I have before, but I'm okay with that! I really love looking pregnant (of course only if I actually am!).

For those of you who missed the original announcement, we are expecting Baby #4 January 20, 2010. This pregnancy has been great for me. I've felt really good, just extra tired! We are NOT finding out what we are having (sorry all of you who can't stand secrets! We really aren't trying to be mean!). No deeply convicted reasons. We simply love the thrill of the surprise!

When I was expecting Lydia I was p-o-s-i-t-i-v-e she was a boy. That was definitely a surprise! With Bethany I was about 50/50. With Havilah I was pretty sure she was a girl.

This time around I go from being around 98.7% to 99.6% sure that it's a girl. Here is where I need your help! We have a boy's name list nearly a mile long that we both love and agree on. I think that we could successfully name about 94 boys. With girls, it's like pulling teeth to come up with one we both like, let alone want to name our child!

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE give us your ideas!!! I'm so desperate that I'm going to do my first little give away.For everyone who leaves a comment during the next three days, on Thursday (the 13th) all of your names will go in a hat (or possibly another handy drawing receptacle) and the winner will receive a 5$ Dutch Brothers or Starbuck's gift card. I know, not dreadfully exciting, but this is my first time so humor me here!

For those of you who do not have a Google account I need to apologize! I have told you in the past to simply post under "anonymous". Today as I was checking my settings I realized that I wasn't set up to receive anonymous comments! If you could only feel my shame! Never fear though, the situation has been rectified and now it's as simple as clicking "anonymous" to leave me a comment. I would be so thankful to hear from you. Just please leave your name so I know who you are and I can put you in my drawing!

To finish things up, let me give you a little background on our name choosing process. The one rule that we stick with is "It has to be a Bible name". Other than that, be creative!

So far~

*All of our girl's names are places in the Bible

* All of our girl's names have three syllables

* All of our girl's names can be shorten to end in a eee sound (Lydie, Bethy, Havi)

We are looking at breaking probably all of these "so fars" s don't let them hold you back. I thought I'd just throw them out there. Thank you all! I'll be back on Thursday!!!

Time for a family update

It's been awhile since I've caught you up with the main characters in this family. Since our anniversary just past, you've been hearing all about David and I, but here's the rest of us!

Lydia is now four and (obvious as this may seem!) more grown up than ever. She thrives on helping mom whenever she can, whether it's cleaning up, preparing dinner or watching her sisters. She also is loving starting on school! Definitely a first born, she loves all workbooks and filling in the dots. She has made great strides lately in being encouraging to her sisters instead of just bossy. She prayed to receive Christ a few months back and it is so exciting to see her heart to truly make Him Lord of her life!



Bethany is two and a half. Do I really need to write anything else? She is full of life. Everything she does is completely whole hearted. Whether it's playing, singing, crying, laughing, fussing, fighting, dancing, hugging, crashing or loving, it's with all she has! Her greatest struggle right now is that she is trapped at two until her next birthday. She longs to be a big girl, but we think that she is getting there plenty fast. She brings us joy and laughter every day!

Havilah turned one recently and is as much her own little person as I have ever seen. She is one of those that if left to herself would be the terror of the world, but with training is absolutely irresistible! She absolutely refuses to try and walk ( all of mine have been late walkers though) but has just begun to try out some words. Her favorite and very well used word is "up". She goes all around the house then poses with her palms raised to the ceiling and stretching her fingers open and closed she says " Up? Up? Up?". We are so in love with her! She is such a treasure.

Baby #4 seems to be doing quite well. It is now eight weeks old, about 1/2 in. long and has all of their fingers and toes.

We found out about two weeks ago that I am expecting again!!! I am so excited! Only a few very sick days so far, but I am mostly feeling great! I should be due around the end of January. Nothing amazes me of the greatness of God like experiencing new life being created and then born. I am so thankful for the blessing of this new life and can't wait to meet it!

I know you're all thinking "Maybe a boy!". We would love a boy! But we adore our girls!!!