....life used to seem so simple....

When I was a little girl:

I LOVED to get dirty...sand, mud, whatever!

I threw fits if I had to wear pants.

I did NOT like my hair brushed.

I loved just being with my family.

Just hearing my brother laugh made me laugh.

I hated to be tickled.

I loved spending time with my Mom. 

(I remember sitting in the nurses office at school just hoping that I would have a fever or throw up just so I could go home to be with my Mom)

I loved hanging out with my Dad while he worked.

I probably fought too much with my sister.

I fell asleep reading my Bible on the toilet. (even though I couldn't read)

I loved spending time with "old people" 

I loved playing with my Cabbage Patch kids.

Now that I'm a big girl:

I love to get dirty in sand and mud....I just don't do it enough!

I throw fits because I can't fit into my pants!

I barely brush my hair.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE BEING WITH MY FAMILY!

My brother's contagious laugh STILL makes me laugh.....even thinking about it makes me smile :)

I still really don't like to be tickled.

I LOVE spending time with my Mom.

I LOVE hanging out with my Dad - working or not.

I Love my sister.

I can and DO read my Bible.

I think "old people" are AMAZING! I am so intrigued by their experience and wisdom.

I LOVE playing with MY kids.

The comparison of life then and now is interesting. We think as time goes on, we grow-up and change so much.....when the reality is that we only appear to grow-up and change so much!

I might know more about baking, how to pack a wound, heaven & hell, electricity, where babies come from, debt, dirty diapers, and sleep deprivation...and the list goes on........but my heart is the same...it just gets cluttered by the junk of this world. I need to dig through that junk and find that pure child-like heart. Just declutter and get rid of the things that weighs me down........turn that clutter over to HIS goodwill and rest in Him! 

Too often we get distracted with "grown-up" responsibilities and rights that we forget that we are still children. His children. He will and DOES take care of us!

Yesterday I said "oh the good old days"....... we say that when reflecting back on days when things seemed more simple. Less "stress". "Not a care in the world". Those good old days are gone, but that feeling of simpleness is still present.......you just need to dig beneath the busyness, trendy fashions, reality TV shows, technology, and selfishness.....and there you will find it. The good old days in present time. 

When I dig in the dirt or sand while playing with my kids, life seems simple. When my pants slide right on, I carry on like nothing is different. When I am with my family and we are having a blast, I don't think about the bills that are coming in the mail. Listening to a story from an elder sure makes my life seem simple! 

When I turn to the Lord and confess that I cannot do this life alone....that I need Him......that I am so grateful for His love, grace, and mercy.....that is when I experience that simple feeling. My troubles, problems, fears, stresses, weights are lifted and there I am ...... a child at my Father's feet. Not a care in this world. Knowing that I am being taken care of....without question. 

We serve a awesome God!

hello...again!

It has SERIOUSLY been way too long since I last blogged! Wow!

Well, we made it! We are now a family of 6! We welcomed Zeke James Thomas into this world on March 9th, 2012. He is FANTASTIC! Like our other munchkins....they seem normal at first and then wham-o they become these giant baby-beings! 

Currently Zeke is 4 months old.....and probably around 20 pounds. (at 2 months he was 15 pounds + a little). He has already had 2 ear infections but is overall a pretty happy baby.....he has those childish moments though......like when he has an accident in his diaper ( I can't believe he doesn't use the toilet yet! )....and when he's hungry....LORD help us all! He loves his food! We just started him on baby cereal last week and he has moved on to sweet potatoes. And he loves it all :-) I'm sure there will be some homemade baby food blogs in my future. 

I am hoping that I'll blog like once a week now. It is REALLY had to get things done when there are 4 kiddos running around! I'm either changing a diaper...or 2...nursing...making pb&j....trying to take a drink from my water bottle before it gets swiped out of my hands....laundry...dishes....breakfast, lunch, dinner.....potty break (alone would be amazing...but at all will do for now)....or just trying to take a quick 5 minute nap...among other things that I can't think of.... 

I LOVE IT! 

No matter how I feel from moment to moment....the overall, true feeling in my heart is that I am fulfilling my God-given purpose.....

Wife, Mommy, daughter, sister, aunt (need to be better at this one), & friend (also needs some work)! The best part is that I get to be all of these at the SAME time! I am where I am supposed to be.

oh the joys :)

There may have been a few "things" about pregnancy that had slipped my mind until now:

*My feet really don't do well under pressure (or you might call it rapid weight gain).

*The maternity shirts that look like a tent, that at the beginning of every pregnancy get shoved to the bottom of the drawers, are pretty much the only things that will fit now. And now looking back, it seems I generally hold them up at about 8 weeks pregnant and think "Ya right! Like I really get this big!"

Ya....well, I do!

 And I am!

*When I'm not pregnant, I'm am usually pretty sure that I exaggerate on the dramatic act of rolling over in bed. Currently, I am constantly being reminded that it is by no means an exaggeration. It's real. NOT a pleasant sight! For me, it's painfully breathtaking(.....I'm out of breath doing pretty much anything these days, and yes it does cause quite a bit of discomfort)

*Although it takes me approximately 8 steps to get to the toilet from the edge of my bed normally...being 35 weeks pregnant - at 3 &/or 5 am - I have to sit on the edge of the bed and prep before the mad sprint (or what feels like a sprint) to the toilet.

Quick, small steps & hope that nothing gets in the way!

*Everyone thinks "you look like you're going to pop any minute!"

And my response: "I feel like it! Haha"

Really....at this point, I'm being completely truthful.

*Someone still has to do the housework.......and that happens to be me.

*One thing that gets me with every pregnancy is that I have a very difficult time putting on my socks & shoes! I must convince myself that I'm conditioned for this or something......but when it comes down to it, I'd pretty much just rather walk out in the snow barefoot because it's not worth the struggle! Seriously, I wear totally uncomfortable slip on shoes with OR without socks because I don't want to bend over! It's hard work.

*I'm sure there are many more things.....but I guess pregnancy brain has gotten the best of me!

God is good!

First, He makes me so uncomfortable that the only next thing to do would be to "get this baby out!"

And then, when the baby finally makes it's entrance into this world, all the aches, pains, complaints, difficulties of pregnancy, "wish I would have's", emotional ups & downs, & whatever else, is forgotten or quickly stored away (until the next time of course).

With every new life that has been handed over to me, it seems only minutes (probably hours) go by and I think "I could totally do that again."

It's all worth it. Every bit of it!



Well Hello!

It has truly been way too long since my last post!

I am currently 33 weeks pregnant now!!! CRAZY that baby #4 will be here in less than 2 months!

Summary since last post:

October, Molly celebrated her 5th birthday! We did a cute little Bubble Guppie themed birthday party with a couple of friends. Most of the other girls she plays with are in school so it was hard to get them together during the week...but we had lots of fun with the friends that could come!

November, we celebrated Thanksgiving with my parents and family. YUMMY food, of course!

December, we traveled to Colorado to visit Trent's sister, bro-in-law, 2 nephews and Trent's parents. We got our fill of snow while we were there! All the kids (as well as Trent) took turns on the 4-wheeler, celebrated a "cousins birthday party("....celebrating all 5 of them), hung out, and drove back home. It was a great time!

We celebrated Christmas at my parents house. As always, it was a blast! Fun white-elephant gifts, new toys & gadgets, and just a great time with family.

We rang in the new year at Trent's Aunt & Uncle's farm.

And here we are in January of 2012.

God has truly blessed our lives and continues to do so every day. When I look back and reflect on the year or just the past months, weeks, & days, I can see His hand at work is so many ways.

I'm excited to see what He has in store for us this year!!!

xoxo Amanda

...

I'm now at 16 weeks!!! This pregnancy is going quickly! Baby is growing. We've heard the heartbeat a few times and even had an ultrasound at 9 weeks (maybe I already said that before). On some blood work that I had done, we discovered that my thyroid is a little "abnormal". I had an ultrasound of that, and it looked fine....just a little enlarged. I'll have more blood work in a few weeks just to monitor my levels. Hope it all turns out okay. Prayers about that would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Jillian is now 1 year old! I can't believe it! She's started walking a little bit here and there but she's not overly motivated so if she falls down, she continues on her way on all 4's. It's cute.

Molly is going to be turning 5 soon so another cake and party is in the works. Time is just zooming by!!!

Every year I realize how we (parents) try to stop time and capture every intricate moment by pictures and memory books and saving every little piece of art work - in hopes that we don't let these precious moments slip from our overloaded minds. I'm learning to savor every moment and be a part of those moments instead of worrying about what I'll forget when they grow up.

5 years has almost passed with Molly and now having 3 kids, sometimes the memories get jumbled up and I can't quite remember who did what or when exactly something happened. It really doesn't matter. Every day she does something that amazes me. Every day she is learning more and more. Every day she is growing into an amazingly beautiful person that God has given to me. And every day I am here to see it all. Every moment. That is what matters to me.

Love your kids. Enjoy every moment that you possibly can with them.

God has created them specifically for YOU!

Long time....no post....

Hello! Things are going good around here! I am right at 12 weeks pregnant now. My nausea has almost completely subsided (Praise God!). I don't get it bad like some women, but any nausea on a daily basis is not fun! I had an ultrasound on August 15th and my due date got moved back to March 13th. Since Jillian was a big baby and since I've always been induced, my doctor told me to just plan on an induction again. I'm fine with that because I trust the expertise of my doctor. She is AWESOME!

We have a birthday coming up!!! Jillian is going to be 1 on September 13th! I absolutely cannot believe how the time has just flown by! She is clapping now and just the other day she took her first 4 steps (encouraged by her very proud Auntie). I've got to get some practice in for her cake because I'm going to be trying something new. I'm pretty excited!

Well, I'm going to keep this post short....it's lunch time, I'm hungry, and I've got a HUGE LIST to get done!

Have an awesome day!

~Amanda~

Baby #4!

Just when I thought I had it figured out, BAM, God caught me off guard!

I've learned that God's going to do with you what He wants, when He wants!

There was an episode of SCRUBS where one nurse was trying to get pregnant. She took a test (at work, I think) and it was negative so she tossed it out in disappointment. Moments later, someone came and emptied the trash (a friend of hers) and saw the pregnancy test, but it was showing a positive result. So, ever since then, if I have a negative test, I have been known to look at it a few times through out the day - expecting the same negative results.

This time around, I threw away a negative test and hours later it was still negative. I took another test a few days later and it was negative....but when I looked hours later, it was positive! So of course I HAD to take another in a couple of days. Negative. Then another negative turning into a positive hours later! WHAT IS GOING ON! So I googled it and read about why we aren't supposed to look at results after 10 minutes. Okay so I decided that I wasn't going to look after 10 minutes (dumb SCRUB idea!). Negative.  Okay, so I was certain I wasn't pregnant.

I counted 28 days (a normal cycle) from when my last "visit" was supposed to be which turned out to be July 11th....and waited....nothing. There was one more test in my bathroom....so naturally I took it. POSITIVE! Didn't even have to wait for the control line to show up. DEFINITELY PREGNANT! I could hardly wait to tell Trent the news since he had just called to tell me he was on his way home...but I did. :)

I had my doctor appointment today and we are probably around 8 weeks along. I am going to have an ultrasound at 11 weeks to make sure we know the estimated due date. Right now it is March 8th. 

Currently I am experiencing waves of nausea through out the day. No vomiting though with I am EXTREMELY grateful for. And, I'm tired. 

God is good!

Yay for BABY #4!!!