a need to vent...

can I just vent before i have to clean up all the messes that just occurred in the last half hour?

we were outside painting (Ev) and swinging (Nora) when the ice cream truck passes. these are year round here, and ev always gets excited to hear them, though we have never bought any ice cream from them. so, I thought we could have some ice cream.

as I'm preparing it, Ev doesn't make it to the toilet and Nora fills her diaper, and her cloth swing. ugh. at this point, im not going to keep from giving her the ice cream cone though we usually dont reward wetting herself. reminds me that i suggested she go to the potty moments earlier, but her big three year old self didn't think she needed to.

so anyway, on to cleaning up one mess, to another, to another-what was i thinking putting a clean outfit on Ev and handing her a dripping cone!!! hahahah. oh motherhood.

honestly though, I am so tempted to be bitter at my family when they make messes. Lord-you gotta help me! i know they're only babes, and i know i make lots of messes that you have to clean up too. you don't expect me to be perfect when i am unable to be, and i can't expect them to be either.

phew. deep breaths!

who has time..

to blog?? i've done one post since nora's been born and i always feel like there's something more important to do! and it's quite depressing to see other moms on top of it. i feel like giving this up--i have been putting pictures on facebook, so maybe that's good enough. ugh, i hate feeling defeated.

:(

our Mardi Gras

Aaron is asleep in his recliner and the girls are down for the night, yet I'm still up and thinking.

Today was Mardi Gras, or I guess still is for many people partying in the French Quarter. This is our third here, and today we went to Baton Rouge to see a movie, if that tells you how excited we are about parades! But we had been talking about going to see the Princess and the Frog since before it came out and it had also been a reward for a potty chart for Everly.

Aaron and I might have enjoyed the movie more than Everly did. It was fun seeing an old New Orleans and the story line was creative and fun. The voodoo had a bigger role in it than I thought it might, but I was reminded that this is a reality and something that we can't just be blind to. Everly never likes the "bad people" (we call them) and afterward told me she forgot to leave and get a drink with Daddy during that part. Since we got popcorn and Sprite the first movie we took her too, she was a little confused why we didn't this time and was more worried about having snacks the whole time! Might be the last movie she goes to in a while! :)

It's kinda a long drive for a movie, so we also went to the new Cabela's up there. What a crazy huge store! We must have spent a couple hours there looking around, getting a snack at their cafe and feeding Nora. At one point Everly was drinking her prized strawberry drink and proudly pointing out all the animals we were walking by-I turned to Aaron and said that this was as good as Disney World to her. Many families go to Disney during Mardi Gras week here (no school!), so we're half way there-heheehh :)

The other place I wanted to be at today was Jackson, MS, where our friends Adam and Heather received their new baby boy, Jadon Paul. He was born on Feb. 4th and they got a call last Thursday that there was a baby to be adopted as they were traveling to visit some friends in Mobile and then on to us. So, they ditched us in order to go home and get ready for their first baby! I am in awe of their hearts-not just that they adopted, but that they did it in such a way that they were flexible, open to whomever God brought, and are able to focus on loving Jadon w/out having a complete nursery in order or everything else figured out. Jadon, by the way, is Hebrew for God hears-this little boy has some awesome parents and is going to be so blessed by them. my heart is just melting and aching too as i miss my beloveds... (a little Beth Moore in me :)

well, that was our day. we all got on the floor and played tonight after a simple soup and bread dinner. read a chapter in a new "chapter book" (as we call them) to Everly--trying to expand her imagination and attention span i suppose! im enjoying the simple things. i wish this day off w/aaron could go on longer. he's in bed now. i guess i'll turn in too. night :)

3 months later and...

well, it's been 3 months since we've blogged. i didn't realize how little i would be able to get done around the holidays with a new born and 2 year old!

Nora at 1 week old

in all the craziness, though, we are enjoying life right now. Nora Amelia is just precious. she was born on October 29th at 2:42 pm, and was a big new born at 8lb, 11oz. and 21 inches long! she is gaining about 2 lbs a month, and is long too--she fills 3-6 month clothes now! we love her brown hair and blue eyes that haven't changed yet, and she loves to talk and smile--just a perfect, precious baby!

a recent photo: this didn't last long, but i thought it was super cute!

Everly is doing well-no crazy outbursts but you can sense that she is a little attention hungry, but then again, she has always loved getting attention, especially when friends come over! she's also getting more used to Nora and likes giving her kisses from time to time, or watching tv together ;) and, the BIG news is that Everly is potty trained!!!! we started again just two weeks ago and she knew exactly what to do! i'm so glad that all my hard work from last summer was not lost! yay! :)

What a big girl! cutting coupons after dance with mommy

I just got back from a little retreat with the ladies in our community. there were 20 of us, with a few from different circles outside of the gathering, so it was a lot of fun! we looked at the Hebrew word Selah-which means to stop, listen and measure. it was also very refreshing- no kids and I got to take some walks in nature! ahhh... :)

i should probably give an update on aaron, though i feel like he could do that better! he is still focused on finishing the building. some returning volunteers just got here today. he has seen some awesome ways that the Lord continues to provide for that-including donated heating and air units, and someone challenging our community to provide the rest of the plumbing $ with a match of half. Aaron also started playing in a new basketball league in the Parish. he plays with one of our neighbors and some of his and aaron's friends. and, he is a great friend to me. we are always working on something and i feel like he tries to be so understanding for the most part. i am very blessed :)

well, the girls just got quiet-love nap time! now i must finish unpacking and start packing for thursday-we are heading up North to see our grandparents and supporters, and also stopping in MS and IL to see friends-woo hoo! our trip will be broken up, but our longest drive will probably by 11 hours with stops- so please pray for us that day if you think about it-this Friday! :)

thanks friends!

due date...

welp, it's here- tomorrow- October 27th. our "due date." so much pressure is put on this date and only 10% of women actually deliver on it. hmm... wonder if we'll fall into that category! so, Everly was 3 days earlier than her due date, and this little one is holding out... we saw the Dr. today and she said we could induce if we wanted but she knew that we were wanting to hold out and let my body do it's job. so, we're waiting some more-this baby has to come sometime... soon really!

gary and leah (Aaron's parents) are here until Friday, my sis gets in Friday. should be an interesting next week. we'll update/text/make calls when we know more! :)

shauna

oh, and if you want to pray- please pray for stress-free time, good labor, and healthy baby! thanks :)

August, September, October...

at the end of August I started a new post and never finished it... now it's October and every time I come to check blog updates I feel guilty of our lack of them and a little overwhelmed with writing one. So, here goes, while Everly is still taking her nap! (oh, and if you get our monthly newsletters then you are caught up on most of this! and if you want to receive them, just let us know!)

Some highlights:

Everly started attending a little pre-school here. It's at the Lutheran church and 2 year olds go Tuesday and Thursday morning for 3 hours. I kept her home today as she has been battling a cold for a while and I wasn't feeling well either... it was sad to hear her say "Mommy, I want to go to school"... she has so much fun there!

Ev on her first day of school

Aaron and I were able to getaway for an overnight in a nice hotel in the French Quarter. Aaron knew a man who worked at this hotel, so he blessed us with the room- a balcony and all!

A view from our room during our getaway

All has been well with the pregnancy. I have weekly check-ups now with less than 3 weeks until our due date! I am enjoying the last weeks of intimacy--being the only one to feel this baby moving around all the time :) I had started getting anxious about the delivery and not feeling as prepared this time (I had read sooooo much and gone to lots of classes including lamaze last time) but the Lord has calmed those fears as I have been praying! Our Dr. is great and each week she says something about our faith. She is grateful for the peace we have in our belief of a "Higher Power" to take care of things. I have started to pray for God to do something to reveal Himself to her through the delivery. With Everly, when my Dr. started pressuring me to be induced, I told her that I was praying for God to bring the baby by Friday- that was Wednesday, we had Everly on Thursday. I really wanted to have the baby soon because my parents were on their way to visit, but I hope this was a testimony of our God to this Dr!

at 36 weeks along!

In Ministry-

Aaron's one focus right now is the community center. Today we passed another inspection for our plumbing! Next week we are pouring concrete, and the week after a group from our home church is here (including Aaron's dad) to put some walls up on that new slab! so, pretty exciting, and challenging. this is teaching us lots about depending on God; aaron and I are growing in our faith together as we talk over his stresses, pray, and see God providing encouragement, His Word, and the means to make this all come together!

Aaron with Dave and a volunteer from Xavier on a recent workday

our church family is growing well too. We learned about Rosh Hashanah this last month and were challenged to really seek God for the ten days that the Israelites would have during this festival. then we came together to break bread, eat a meal together, and have a burning of sins that God had revealed to us during those days. it was pretty neat- Matt even read the prayers of blessings in Hebrew that they would have read.

We have also had work days at the community center and lunch in our homes afterward. We had a young couple just get married, so a bunch of us were cleaning and preparing their apartment while they were on their honeymoon. And of course, we're getting ready to celebrate a new baby (ours!)- so lots of family excitement.

speaking of family, most all of ours is going to be visiting us in the next few months! Aaron's mom is flying down the on the 25th to join his dad who arrives the 18th. They leave on the 30th right after my sister arrives from CA who will be here until Nov. 3rd. My mom (and other sibs/niece?) is coming around Thanksgiving, my dad is coming before and through Christmas, and Aaron's entire family will be here from Dec. 27th-Jan 2. So, we have a full schedule of visitors! And through all of this Aaron will be busy with the community center. Oh, and a new baby. I think we'll need a small vacation soon! :) But we are excited. Lots of blessings, challenges, and an awesome God to lean on!

Please be praying for us- your prayers mean so much to us! hopefully it won't be as long before we post again- maybe some baby pictures soon, huh?!

aaron's birthday and more

i'm trying to de-clutter the desktop. i put some favorite pics on there that i wanted to remember to share with you, so here goes... 10:50 and I really want to go to bed but know that if I don't do it now it may never get done! :) and aaron's not home from bible study, so...

a few from before our trip--Everly fell asleep on the guest bed all by herself and we were working out a disagreement in our bedroom. she hasn't ever done this, not since she was a sleepy newborn! :)

we were having a drought so I prayed for rain one night at bedtime with Everly. the next day it rained and I reminded Everly of how we prayed. she loves to play in the rain and repeated my excitement: "Jesus made it rain!" now every time it rains she tells us that Jesus makes it rain. 

a new favorite of Everly's: dominos.

Aaron's 27th birthday was the day after we got back- a little crazy to celebrate it! but we did, with a few presents here- Everly got him a balloon and aaron said it was his first balloon anyone ever gave him so it was special. :)

we had friends over that night, too (phew- still exhausted thinking about that day!) and had peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter and chocolate ice cream- there was a theme ;)

the guys- gavin, matt, brandon, matt and aaron- enjoying coffee

liz and adrianne, ron and becky in the backround

Everly making me chicken and cookies for lunch. :)