Kyle's Birthday Eve

Here it is, the eve of my second-born's 9th birthday, and I feel compelled to write.  I can't believe he will be 9 tomorrow; my sweet, big-eyed, big-eyelashed, big-lipped baby is turning 9.  Where does the time go??

Motherhood is crazy.  I don't know how I would survive this journey without Jesus.  It is way, way harder than I ever would have imagined.

Last Sunday night, God showed me something big, really big.  I have been struggling majorly with being the mom to my sweet 9-tomorrow's little brother.  He is HARD.  He is DIFFICULT.  He is nothing like I imagined a child would be who is growing up in a striving-to-be-Christ-centered family.  But, God showed me that I should be grateful for him.  VERY GRATEFUL!  Because of precious 7-year-old, I am closer to my heavenly Father.  Because of him, I have prayed more than I ever would have prayed without him.  I have talked to God and poured my heart out to him so much on behalf of my precious Ian.  For that, I am grateful.  Very, very grateful.

I will persevere in doing good and press on!!!!  I love that my God is faithful!!

red spot

Ian just came to me and said, "Look at my foot.  Do you see that red spot?" 

I said, "Yes, do you need a band-aid." 

He said, "No, it just doesn't look nice." 

Smiling, I said, "Oh, it will heal.  God made your body to heal." 

He replied, "Oh, okay" and walked back into his room.

Wow...I didn't know that his foot looking "nice" was so important to him.  What a character!!  :)

Chutes and Ladders and girls

Today after lunch, Caden, Ian, and I played Chutes and Ladders. We could only find two of the game pieces, a girl and a boy. Teasingly, I said to Ian, "You can be the girl." To which he replied, "I'll be the girl. I love girls. I have a hundred girl friends." I started smiling and said something about me being a girl. He said, "Well, you're my favorite girl friend."

Today is the first day home with just Caden and Ian. The older two started public school today. That's a whole other blog post for another day. All I can say is so far so good!!!

Ian's reading

One thing that is really tough about my 3rd born, the 4-year-old, is that he always wants to do everything that his older brothers do.  It often leads to frustration and major temper tantrums because he tries to do something that he's not ready for developmentally.  Sometimes, however, he proves me wrong.  For example, in September he started riding a bike with no training wheels.  Nate didn't do that until he was six; Kyle didn't until he was five.  Go figure...Ian can go, go, go on that Diego bike like he's been riding it for years!

Often he fights with me about reading.  He wants to read a book that is just seriously too hard for him, but since he saw Nate or Kyle reading it, he wants to read it.  I mean, he's only four.  He's not even in kindergarten.

Okay, so a few days ago, I heard him getting all frustrated in his room about something.  I went in there, and he was holding Dr. Suess' Green Eggs and Ham and told me that he just couldn't figure out all the words.  I told him that that book is actually in the first grade reading list, so please don't be so upset.  Let's try something a little easier.

Well, the next day, which was yesterday, he brought me the book again to read to me.  I couldn't believe it; he practically read the entire 62 page book without any help.  Tonight, he did read the ENTIRE book without any help.

So, I guess Ian is just going to keep proving me wrong.  I've got to watch this little guy.  When he's determined and puts his mind to something, he's going to get it done!!!

What a blessing he is!!  I can't wait to see what God has planned for Ian's life!

bad blogger

I'm getting so bad at this blogging thing!!  We have had such big things happening in our family, and I haven't even blogged about it!!

For example, last week, Kyle lost his first tooth!!!  The day before that, I caught him outside in his UNDERWEAR swinging from swing chain to swing chain.  I asked him what in the world he was doing.  He replied, "I'm George in the jungle."  They had just checked that movie out from the library.  What a character he is!!!

Then, last weekend, my brother Bill proposed to his girlfriend Amanda!  I am SO excited and so praising the Lord for bringing her into his life!  What a "beauty from ashes" and "mourning into dancing"-type story!!!  I was able to drive down last Saturday and be there for the proposal.  She was so surprised and it was such a sweet, sweet proposal.  I am so glad I was there!!

Then, yesterday, my Ian started riding his new bike ($5 Diego bike from a garage sale) WITHOUT training wheels!  He's only 4! This is way earlier than the older two boys!  It's amazing how different they all are!

Now, Mike's sister Maria is here for a short visit!  See, there is tons and tons going on in our family...I need to get on this blogging thing and get some pics off my camera!!!!!

a lesson learned

I've got to keep this short...but let me just tell you that God is SO GOOD and is our PROTECTOR!!

"'Because he loves me,' says the LORD, 'I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.'" (Psalm 91:14)

When leaving a friend's house this morning, my older three boys went to get into the van before Caden and me.  Before I knew it, Kyle ran into the house and told me that Ian had just MOVED our van.  I ran outside, and YES, there was our van sitting in the driveway across from where it was.  Somehow, Ian got his foot on the break and moved it into neutral.  It backed out of the driveway, across the street, and up into the other driveway.   

All of the "what-ifs" are still just flying through my head. 

I just praise God that the boys are safe, the van is safe, and everything around the van is unharmed.  I praise God that no one was walking down the sidewalk or driving down the road.  Praise God for protecting my boys!


So, the lesson learned is NEVER allow my kids to be in my van alone.

a little confusion

Just now I told the boys that it looks like we really are going to Houston in a couple of weeks. I said, "Do you know who lives in Houston?"

Ian VERY sweetly and sincerely asked, "JCPenney?"

With a smile, I said, "No honey, we are going to the new JCPenney when daddy gets home. Your cousin Bryce lives in Houston!"

You see, we have been talking all day about going to check out the new JCPenney that just opened here this weekend. We even got a $10 coupon to use on any purchase more than $10...sweet!

I ENJOY MY KIDS SO MUCH!!!

the story of Ian's arrival

Shortly after Ian was born, I wrote the story of his arrival. It's kind of a long read, but I wanted to share it here. It was really good for me to read it again and to remember how God took care of our family during that scary time! Parts of this story Mike and I both didn't even remember! Plus, Ian has been quite the screamer lately; you may have even heard me comment that "he's driving me nuts!" Well, reading this is a great reminder of what a blessing Ian truly is!!

The Story of Ian’s Arrival

Ian Christopher Lowry was born at 8:58 a.m. on January 23, 2005. He weighed 5 pounds 12.8 ounces and was 18.5 inches long. He arrived 3 ½ weeks early!

Itching. The story of his early arrival actually begins 5 days earlier with me waking up scratching. My whole body itched. I mean REALLY itched.

In one out of 1000 pregnancies, women are affected by a condition called Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP). I never win anything, but it seems as if I had become that unlucky one in 1000.

ICP, otherwise known as Obstetric Cholestasis, refers to a specific liver condition in which the normal flow of bile is impaired in a woman's body resulting in severe itching. ICP is associated with many risks, with the greatest being stillborn birth. I was a nervous wreck.

That Wednesday morning, January 19, I went to my OB’s office and they did a nonstress test, took a whole lot of blood, did an ultrasound, and told me that I was on complete bed rest. To my relief, the baby sounded great and looked good in the ultrasound. He was just really small. The estimated weight was 4 pounds 12 ounces, which is in the 14th percentile for a baby 35 weeks and 6 days. I went home in shock. I couldn’t believe that something actually was going wrong in my pregnancy. I also had begun losing weight instead of gaining.

I went back Thursday morning and Friday morning for more nonstress tests and blood work. My doctor, Dr. George, really wanted to hold off on delivering the baby until I was 37 weeks, which would have been January 27. He was concerned that the baby’s lungs wouldn’t be developed enough for him to breathe on his own. Meanwhile, like I mentioned before, I was on complete bed rest and was supposed to be monitoring the baby’s movements. If he wasn’t moving enough, I needed to go to the hospital immediately. Talk about pressure. I was so scared that I would miss him not moving and that he would die inside me. I just wanted to see our baby and hold him and kiss him and nurse him. I felt like this was going to be the longest week of my life.

My two dear friends here in Waterville, Lisa and Sue, set up a schedule to be at my house with my boys and to make sure I was in bed. They are such a blessing. I really was able to rest in bed and drink lots of water, all the while still itching like crazy!

God must have known that I couldn’t handle all the pressure because my water broke early Sunday morning, January 23. At 4:30 a.m., with Sue at my house with Nathanael and Kyle, Michael and I went to the hospital.

Because I wasn’t in active labor, Michael and I had a decision to make. I could either start drugs to induce labor or I could have c-section. My first son was born by cesarean birth, so the risk of my uterus rupturing increased with inducing labor. I was just so ready to hold my son that we opted for the cesarean. Just a few hours after we got to the hospital, I heard Ian Christopher Lowry crying and got to see him for the very first time! I was just praising the Lord and thanking Him for our little miracle!!

When Ian was just four hours old, a nurse brought him to me for the second time to try to nurse. He just couldn’t do it. He was snorting and grunting a lot. The pediatrician on call then came to tell us that something wasn’t right and that he needed to be put on oxygen. In an oxygen hood is where he would spend the first 3 days of his life with me in a room down the hall.

The doctors weren’t sure what was wrong with him. They had to tell us every possible bad thing it could be. They mentioned the possibility of moving him to a larger hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit. I was an emotional wreck. I just wanted to hold little Ian. It just didn’t seem right to not have my newborn baby with me. I couldn’t nurse him, couldn’t hold him, and couldn’t change his little diapers. It was hard for me to even get to see him at first because I had a major surgery and couldn’t walk. Everything just seemed to be going wrong.

Tuesday afternoon brought good news. Our pediatrician, Dr. Peters, diagnosed Ian with transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN), which was the least scary of all the possible diagnoses. It basically is rapid breathing due to premature birth and fluid in the lungs. He said it usually lasts 2-7 days and then is over and the baby is fine. So I was ready to possibly be in the hospital for another 5 days.

On Tuesday night, Michael and I had our “Dinner for Two” that the hospital makes for the new parents. We had a date right in my hospital room. Our good friends Chris and Julie came to see us that night. Sue came to see us. Raychel, one of the girls from our church youth group, and Kelley, a lady from our church came to see us. They surrounded Michael and me and prayed for baby Ian.

On Wednesday morning at 5 a.m., Ian began to breathe on his own. It turns out he was on the short track of TTN. He stayed in the nursery for monitoring until around noon, and then I finally was reunited with my son. I was just praising the Lord all over again. I was able to nurse him and hold him and love on him! It was great. Big brothers Nathanael and Kyle came to see him that night and we took our first family picture as a family of five!

Ian and I were both discharged from the hospital the next day!

God is so good and so faithful to us! I praise Him for our little miracle.

Happy 4th Birthday, Ian

Ian is 4 today. Wow! It's hard for me to believe that it was 4 years ago when I delivered a little 5 pound baby boy. He was so TINY. Here he is this morning with his 4-shaped pancake!!


Last year I put together the following slide show (it has captions when you hold your mouse over each picture)!

Happy, happy birthday my sweet Ian!

1/2 the kids

It's amazing experiencing life with only two children when you're used to having four. This doesn't happen very often for me, that's for sure! Since Sunday evening, I have only been responsible for Ian and Caden since Nate and Kyle are at my parents' until tomorrow (We took the week off from school)! Wow!! I get SO much more done with 1/2 the kids. Crazy. I do miss Nate and Kyle; don't get me wrong! It's just been a nice little break.

Anyway, both Mike and I were able to take Ian on two separate dates. On Monday, after dropping Caden off at Parents' Day Out, Ian and I had our date! We ran a couple of errands and then went to the mall to play on the playground. While there, we actually got interviewed by one of the local television stations about how to stay safe while shopping. I should have just told him, "Hey, I'm not shopping! I'm just here for the free playground." But, that probably wouldn't have got me on the news. Plus, I do shop. Just not often and mostly for groceries! So, Ian and I had our little 2 seconds of fame...yes, that is about how long they showed us. Oh well, it was fun!

We got our picture taken in one of those little photo booths...Ian was so excited, but I couldn't get him to actually LOOK at the camera. He just wanted to look at himself in the screen ABOVE the camera :) We finished our date off with lunch at Taco Bueno where he got a "Happy Meal," which was a real treat! When I have all 4 boys with me, they usually just get 2 party burritos each and share a drink. Yes, I am frugal and NOT a germ-a-phob (anymore)!

Then, Mike took Ian to see the movie Bolt tonight! Ian really wanted to see it because of the movie's website he somehow found via the Playhouse Disney website (a marketing ploy aimed at 3-year-olds that totally works). He LOVES playing the games from the website. Anyway, they got "pah-corn and Spite" (popcorn and Sprite.) I snapped a few pictures when they got home and then used Picasa to make a collage! How fun is that!!

home

This weekend we spent a couple of nights at my parents' house. It was really nice to spend some time with them and just get away from our house for a little while. For me, it meant two extra sets of hands to help cut pancakes and wipe mouths. It meant not looking at LOADS of laundry that need to be folded and bathrooms that need to be cleaned and floors that need to be mopped. It was nice.
Of course, Caden DID NOT sleep well there, so I didn't sleep well either. Actually, on Friday night, 3 of the 4 boys were up at one point or another. But still, I wasn't looking at piles of laundry.

On Saturday, we went in two cars down Talimena Drive. If you live in Oklahoma or Arkansas and have never done this, you really should. We were a couple weeks past the peak foliage colors, but it was still a beautiful drive. Oklahoma really has some pretty scenery! Anyway, the drive was beautiful but a little stressful after the kids started waking up from naps! Here are a couple of pictures...


Now, we are home. Well, Mike, Caden, Ian, and I are home. Nate and Kyle stayed there for a couple of days. My parents are bringing them home on Wednesday in time for the pie-making and other Thanksgiving festivities. So, I only have TWO KIDS for a couple of days!!! I have half the kids that I normally have...what am I going to do with myself?!? Probably tackle a few mountains of laundry and clean some toilets. Yippee!! I am also planning some really good one-on-one time with my heavenly Father...resting in Him. I can't wait!

Actually, tomorrow Caden will be at Parents' Day Out, so Ian and I are going on a DATE. He wants to go to a toy store and to the mall to play at the playground...I am so excited!! Of course, that does mean the unfolded laundry will still not get folded, but I wouldn't give up my date with Ian for anything! Ian is excited about it, too. He wanted to pray about our date when I tucked him in tonight. Sweet!

Wordless Wednesday (almost)

Ian and Mike at Hallelujah Hoe-Down Fall Festival, 2005

I LOVE THIS!!!

Here are pictures of my second and third-born eating their SECOND helping of salad tonight at dinner!! I was so excited that I HAD to grab my camera!! Of course, you know me, it was an organic spring mix blend with an organic ranch dressing (trans fat-free and high fructose corn syrup-free)!! I thought I was going to cry; I was so excited! Now, if only my first and fourth-born would join in the salad-eating fun!! :)

Sweet...eating those vegetables!!

funny Ian

We are going to see Seussical the Musical this morning in Tulsa. I've been talking about it all week with the boys, and we've been looking at a display about it at the library. I guess Ian still doesn't know who Dr. Seuss is, as evident in this conversation:

me: Are you excited to go see Dr. Suess today?
Ian: Mom, I not hurt.

It made me LAUGH OUT LOUD!! Sweet kid!

Saturday

Nate's fall soccer league started today and I am happy to report that he scored 2 of his team's 4 goals!! Go, Nate, go! Although, I am unhappy to report that I didn't get to watch the game very closely because of two very unhappy, making-my-life-miserable children...my usually sweet Caden was whining and crying pretty much the whole time while Ian was just being his usual impossible-to-please-and-very-miserable 3-year-old self. Urgghhh! Needless to say, besides forgetting water for my awesome soccer stud to drink, I also forgot my camera. I, however, probably would not have had any good pictures because of all the crying and whining. So, maybe next week, I will have some pictures to post! Maybe, I'll get a baby-sitter!

I am a kid

While pushing Ian and Caden on the swings in our backyard, this is the conversation that took place:

me: I want to swing.
Ian: You can't swing; you're too big. You're not a kid.
Nate: You are too a kid.
me: Well, I don't think I'm a kid anymore. I'll be THIRTY on Monday.
Nate: Moommmmm, yes, you ARE a kid. You are God's kid.
me: Oh, I guess you're right. (Duh.)

Well, put that way, I guess I'll always be a kid, no matter how OLD I am!!!

John 1:12
Yet to all who received Him [Jesus], to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.

1 John 3:1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

thoughts of a baby

Today I went to see my dear friend Alyson and her precious newborn baby girl Alayna at the hospital. What a treat it was!! I just love little babies...their tiny hands and feet...so sweet! Lately, the boys have really been asking me for a little sister. Almost every day one of them talks about it. I must confess, that even though my life is SO CRAZY with my four little guys and I often seriously feel insane and overwhelmed, I still would love to have another baby. Yes, that would mean I would have 5 children, 5 CHILDREN. That is craziness!! Maybe it's just because Caden is really not a baby anymore. He is almost 21 months old, which is the same as the gap between Caden and Ian. So, this is the first time that I haven't already had another baby when the next older one is 21 months old...did that make sense?? Mike and I talked about it last night. He asked me if I have been praying about it...I said, no, actually I haven't been. Well, duh! That is exactly what I need to be doing!! Oh, and we would have to adopt which is very near and dear to our hearts since Mike's little sister Marissa is adopted. Oh, the craziness! Here are pictures of each of the boys the day they were born.

Nate

Kyle

Ian

Caden

Hmmm....what do you think? Am I crazy? Will I ever have a "we are done for sure" feeling?? For those of you who definitely aren't having any more, did you have that feeling??

I CHANGED MY MUSIC!!

I finally changed my playlist, but I must confess that I didn't actually listen to all of these songs. So, they may not be super-cool, which is what I am going for, of course!!!

We are all doing good! I really am not very good at this whole blogging thing anymore! Our last month has been filled with some excitement, including 2 head injuries in the same week! First, Kyle needed stitches on his forehead from hitting his head on the corner of the piano bench. Then, just 4 days later, Ian fell in my bedroom somehow (he was by himself, so I'm not sure how it happened) and split his head open in the back. He needed staples. The kids' pediatrician, who we love and are helping to ensure that he stays open (haha), said that he could see his SKULL after he cleaned it out! Let's just say that next time, Mike is taking a child with a head injury to the doctor, not this mommy. Here is a picture of Ian's head!

Then on Sunday, Caden also had a horrible thing happen to his precious head. His daddy, while I wasn't home, cut his hair...a number 4 buzz cut. I seriously, seriously cried off and on for the rest of the day and wouldn't talk to Mike or Caden for quite a while (not that it was Caden's fault, I was just upset). All his beautiful blond hair is basically gone. I know, I know, it will grow back and everyone just keeps saying he looks so grown up and like such a big boy...but I don't want him to look all grown up! He's only 17 months old...he's my baby...sniff, sniff. I'll try to take a picture soon.

a typical van ride

Today, in the van Nate says, "Yesterday was SOOOO hot; it was like the desert." (It was 85...so, yes it was hot; he is just SO dramatic)

Then, a few minutes later, Ian says, "Why did God make trucks?" I just thought this was so cute. I love the way these boys think and how God made them each unique!