I can't believe it has taken me this long to post!  I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting. 

On February 2nd at 9:55am I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy!  Liam Patrick is his name and he weighed in at 9lbs 11oz and was 19.5 inches long.  I am quite enamored with him and we are getting along quite well. 

I spent 4 days in the hospital and now I am recovering nicely at home.  I always forget just how painful having a c-section is, but I have taken it pretty easy this last month.  I'm just now feeling able to do more about the house.  So pretty much it has been sitting and talking with the girls and nursing Liam. 

Next week I plan on starting up on lessons again with my dd7 and it is a little intimidating.  How I will do it now with 3 beautiful children, I don't know.  But I'm sure the Lord will strengthen and guide me. 

I hope to be back in here again soon...perhaps with pics :-)

Before I go bed tonight, I just wanted to quickly stop in.  Tomorrow morning hubby and I will be heading off to the hospital for my c-section.  I can't believe it is already here...and that my little man hasn't bothered to come early :-)  Apparently he is content where he is, but I will be pleased to be holding him in my arms. 

My daughters are staying tonight with my parents so that we wouldn't have to worry about running them over there in the morning.  My appointment is scheduled for 7:45am, so it would have been much more stressful!  Mom and Dad will bring them by a little bit later that morning so they can meet their little brother(whom they are very excited to know).

I may not be on here for about a week...although I will try to get on here when I get back to at least let you all know how we are doing.  Maybe I'll even have a pic or two :-)

Thanks for all your prayers!

Okay, so it isn't really that I'm having a baby just yet...but I feel like I just can't wait until Friday!  I'm irritable, cranky, sore and tired!  Not a good combination ;-p  Now it could be contributed to the fact that my due date is Saturday and I'm scheduled for a c-section Friday, it could be that my feet are swollen and my hands get tingley when I knit.  It could be that my daughters are pushing my buttons and that I feel like a failure as an encourager for my hubby!  Then again it could just be me and my sinful nature, with the Lord saying....straighten up and trust my timing! 

That said, I hope today will be better than yesterday and that I wont lose my temper with my daughters.  They were misbehaving and throwing a double fit(meaning both of them at the same time...7 and 4)  and what did I do?  Did I calmly seperate them and discipline them in a calm manner?  Nooooo...I lost my temper and yelled(and I do mean YELLED) at them...sigh...

Did it help?  No, not really.  I ended up apologizing for my own tantrum and felt really horrible, asked for forgiveness from not only God but my children as well.  It is amazing...I've been feeling like I've been doing much better with this and then...BOOM...I blew it.  Well, back to my knees I will go and cry out to the Lord for mercy and help!  It is the only way...and He is the only one that can truly change me.

If I cross your thoughts today...send up a prayer!

As I wait for the day my new little one shall be placed in my arms, I find myself pondering thoughts on motherhood.  I so desire to be a mother that my children will rise up and call blessed and yet there are days when I just shake my head and wonder...what am I doing?  And here I am, awaiting my third child...and still there are so many things that must change in me.  I pray daily that the Lord will show me how to change and that he will do a mighty work in my heart.

I also was looking through a book I have called, Quiet Moments for Mothers, compiled by Joyce and H. Norman Wright.  I came across a passage that is just so true of child birth...here it is:

A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.  John 16:21

And this is so true!  All the discomforts we go through and the labor pains(or in my case the pain of surgery) just melt away as we gaze upon the beautiful face of our little one.  I am looking forward to this day.

About a month or so ago, I was given the opportunity to review a book.  Having never done so before, I thought I'd go ahead and give it a try.

I was sent a book called Confessions of an Amateur Believer, written by Patricia Kirk.  I had never heard of this book until now and the topic she wrote on sounded interesting.  Here is a summary of what the book is supposed to be about according to the publisher(Nelson Books...A Division of Thomas Nelson Publishers):

An entertaining collection of inspirational, gritty, challenging writing that follows an unwilling atheist's first encounters with God, her ensuing struggles and progress as a reluctant believer, and her ultimate discovery of contentment and rest in faith.

To be honest, I have conflicting opinions as to how I feel about the book.  Patricia Kirk is definitely an engaging writer.  She is humorous and honest...quite blunt at times.  It was easy to read each chapter, because it was so filled with honest feelings and rather funny stories.  Each chapter seemed to take an experience that she had and then bring it in the light of her faith or lack there of, depending on the moment in her life it fell in.  Her honesty of how she felt about God and life was refreshing.  However, I found that the chapters did not clearly show what she was wanting to.  The idea was that I was to see her "evolution" from child-believer to atheist to reluctant believer and finally to her contentment and rest in faith.  I could see her unbelief and her belief, but the chapters did not flow well for me.  Each chapter just seemed like a collection of thoughts with no connection to each other. 

All in all, I believe Patricia Kirk is a good writer, but this book left me feeling disconnected a bit.  If you would be interested in reading it for yourself...it came out in stores this month. 

Today is my eldest dd's birthday!  She is now a big 7 year old...WOW!  Where has the time flown?  She has sprouted up before my eyes and in so many ways is such a big girl.  In this last year I've seen her progress so much in areas that have been a trial.  Of course, she still has so much to learn and to grow, but I could not be happier with such a darling!

For her birthday, we celebrated on Saturday.  She wanted to go to the Rosicrucian Museum here in our town.  It is an Egyptian museum with a replica rock cut tomb in it.  She loves that part....and the mummies!  I will try to post picks of her and her sister in the tomb later.  I haven't downloaded them yet.  Later that afternoon my parents gave her a little family party at their home.  I am 2 weeks from my due date and just didn't have the energy to deal with a party, so they graciously offered to do it...thanks Mom and Dad!  She had a great time and received some very nice gifts from folks.

Today, we will probably have lunch with Grandma and just have a nice relaxed day.  We have officially started our "break" for lessons.  Since the baby is due soon, we figured we'd take 5 weeks off, except for read alouds and some basic review to keep things in dd7's head.  I will probably do a little research for upcoming curriculum choices for her and her sister. 

Well...Happy Birthday Darling!  I pray that the Lord will continue to grow you and teach you!  May this year be blessed!!

Words from the Heart...This is my new little spot for sharing poetry(and occasionally short stories) that I love.  Sometimes there will be something I've written, sometimes something my Grandma Gloria wrote...and every once in awhile somebody else :-)

This first poem is one that was written by my Grandma, Gloria H. Koplin.  We are coming up on the anniversary of her death at the end of this month...and I thought this would be fitting.

Life

A prairie wide and lonely

And ranches you will see;

Just ropin' and a ridin'-

That's where I long to be.

I'd ride the lonely prairie

From mornin' until night;

I'd feed the cowhands gravy

And do what I thought right.

I'd keep the cattle runnin'

The cowhands in a whirl;

For the life I'd like to lead

Is that of a prairie girl!

By Gloria H. Koplin

(originally published in 1942)

Ever since the new year started, I've been bustlin' around trying to get things done.  Is this what they call "nesting"?  Perhaps..or perhaps it is just that I have noticed my lacking diligence in homekeeping.

This is one of my main goals...to be a better homekeeper.  To make a home that my husband feels rested to walk into, that my children are joyful in and that friends find full of hospitality.  I've been afraid to invite dear friends over because of my untidy home...this shouldn't be!

So, before my little man arrives...I plan on having my home in some lovely shape.  I'm already feeling more at peace as I walk around my home.  What a nice feeling to look upon your house and see the difference.

So, if this is nesting...thank you Lord for giving me that, because I think it has motivated me :-)

Just a side note...I will be adding  an extra little category to my entries that I hope to add to often.  It is "Words from the Heart".  This will be poems that I love, either by some other author or my Grandmother Gloria that died last January.  I will also put some of my own poetry or perhaps short stories here as well.  I do hope you enjoy!  The next post will be my first for this category...

Happy New Year!!!!

It is so refreshing to me to look ahead to this new year.  2006 was full of changes and new things for us, and I look forward to what God has planned for us this year.

My eldest dd will be turning 7 this month(WOW!) and is turning out to be a lovely little girl.  She and I find homeschooling to be a blessing and I am pleased with how she is progressing.

Her sister(4) is quite anxious to start reading and so I will begin working with her after our little break for the new baby. She is excited about the little one coming and I look forward to seeing how she takes it all in. 

We of course are expecting our third child in a month!  I can't believe how fast it has come.  After a miscarriage a year ago(or so), this has been a blessed experience.  God truly healed the pain I had felt. 

My hubby has been getting more comfortable with his new job and we are thankful for the blessing God presented us in this job.  We look forward to what more there is in store for us this year.

I plan to work on some areas of my life that are needing change and developement.  The Lord has already begun this work and I pray that He will continue with me. 

So, welcome 2007!  I look forward, Lord, to what is ahead...

May the Lord bless you all richly!!!!

Have you all settled back into your routine?  We haven't but we are in a state of calm and stillness.  We are taking off this week for lessons(except Bible and Memory Work) and just taking it easy.  The girls are exploring all their new things...as am I :-)

It is funny how quickly we move on after Christmas comes to a close.  How many of us find ourselves beginning the rush of life and forgetting the Gift God sent us...a babe that became our Saviour?  I am trying to keep this formost in my mind and to remind my girls of this.  Christ should be center in our life everyday and yet often we find Him floating around in the back of our life.  This shouldn't be!  I endeavor to place Him always at the head of my life and to teach my children this too.  We have been doing more bible time lately, both in the morning with me and in the evening with my hubby. I pray that this time in God's Word will bring my children closer to Him.  So, in this stillness after the rush of the holiday I encourage each of us to find Christ and put Him always first in our life and rest in His peace.

May you all have a Happy New Year, blessed by God and full of peace!