inspiration...even though you didn't ask

Sometimes, all you need to get through the day is for someone, somewhere to say just the right thing...or tell you something they heard once. That person is almost ALWAYS my mother and I am so thankful. Thank you Mom... I love you!

This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!! Make sure you
read to the end!!!!!! Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain
Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It
is the most-requested column I've ever written.
My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves

30 weeks

These are a bit blurry because Jared took them with his camera phone and his hands were not perfectly still the whole time! But, here are some pictures, posed by my husband, of me at 30 weeks! Chase is measuring a little bigger than average, but not huge...Thank the Lord! This is our bassinet for the little man!

I found this sign very appropriate since we are having a little CHASE and we always encourage our kids to follow their dreams as far as they can reach and way beyond... It will go over his crib!

I look and feel humongous, but this if for documentation purposes, especially since I have not been keeping up with pictures like I should! Here the girls wanted to be in a picture so Jared had them stand with their hands on my belly! If it wasn't so blurry it would be even cuter!
All in all I can't complain too much. Being pregnant obviously means getting a little bigger and gaining some weight. I have gained just under 20 lbs so far with 10 week left so that is about average and I am ok with that! Now that I am on bed rest though, I am afraid of those pounds that will just be sitting around multiplying! lol

Of course!

Things have been going pretty well around here lately. As well as can be expected in this house anyway! Cadince is doing fine with her little broken collar bone...she hardly ever has her brace on the way it should be and climbs around EVERYWHERE as usual. I figure if she isn't in enough pain to stop herself then no harm done letting her play. Cecilia is pulling off average grades in school, better than the low grades she started off with but not quite the higher grades she COULD be getting if she would stop talking in class and do her work...so she is pretty much grounded all the time lately. Ciara is becoming very excited about the arrival of her little brother and wants so much to help with everything....the nursery, the baby book, rubbing Mommy's tummy.... anything she feels contributes to preparing for Chase. To her, this will get him here sooner!
Speaking of which....

Here we go....This is why I labeled this "Of course!"
Today I had an appointment in Nashville with the specialist, a different one then usual this time, to get an echogenic test done for Chase. This is basically and extensive ultrasound done mainly on the heart and surrounding arteries and valves. The tech spent the whole time zoomed in on his heart and than the prenatal heart specialist came in to scan for a bit and examine what he could of the heart. No worries here, everything about Chase's little heart was perfect! That is a BIG blessing!
However, the Lord finds humor in my topsy turvy world I swear, and the next thing the tech needed to do was a transvaginal to measure my cervix and some growth. Two seconds into the scan she started getting that "huh" look on her face. I was then informed that there was a not so small issue...my cervix had shortened 12 cm in the past month and a half (which is NOT ok) and I was now at a very short 22 cm! Oh Joy!
My friend was with me abd we had plans to go pre Christmas shopping and browsing after the appointment, but instead I was immediately sent over to Centennial Hospital for Women to be hooked up to machines and monitored! Great! I tried to tell the lady that I wasn't in labor, nor was I even contracting, but no one listens to me. I was, indeed, not contracting and was released shortly after I got there, but all of this came with bad news.
Chase will be here soon, alot sooner than we thought, alot sooner than he should be... 3-5 weeks. I am 29 weeks and 4 days as of today...
So....
Please pray for us. Please pray that my son will stay inside just a little longer, that there will be no complications, that he will be safe inside of me, and that when he is born he will not have to stay in the hospital NICU for days and days like Cadince did. My heart breaks when I think about not bringing him home, when I think about not being able to hold my son for weeks for mor than a minute or two before they have to stick him back in the incubator, when I think about not being able to nurse him like I want to so badly. Everything was fine! I haven't been to the E.R. in awhile, no bad contractions, just growing pains... I don't understand why this happens, I just ask that you help me and pray that we ALL get through this healthy and happy.
I have to add something positive to stop myself from crying anymore while I write this =)
We have all the big furniture we need for the nursery!!!! And it is all set up!!! We want to paint and are just waiting on approval from the owner of our house to start! We found a crib, dresser, and changing table/dresser combo all for $250 gently used from a very nice woman! I got an adorable bassinet for super cheap from a consignment store, and I got his baby swing on sale too! I need diapers of course, bottles, a breast pump, and tons of other little things for his actual arrival, and I feel so unprepared now...but that's me worrying! ugh!

Thank you all for all your prayers! We will get through, we always do...

First Broken Bone among the kiddos!

So.... Wednesday, the 4th, Cadince was in the middle of practicing her new acrobatic routine (she is secretly a tight rope walker) when her balance was thrown off by a sudden movement of the CHAIR she was standing on! Her tiny little body was thrust forward behind the chair and she fell down, down, down many feet (like 3 1/2) and she landed with a THUD! on the floor! (I try to tell her everytime she needs to use a safety net!) I was in bed because I sleep whenever I get the chance and Jared rushed her into me, quickly explained her terrifying feat, and moved her sleeve to show me the puffy bruised area on her collar bone. After examining it for a few moments I decided she was probably just bruised and decided to get back to my nap...I am a very involved mother! LOL A few moments later I could hear her cries from the other room. I got up to check o her and she had barely moved her arm but was obviously in a great deal of pain...to the emergency room I guess! Well, after 1 hour of Gateway's "excellent service" and being exposed to swine flu and all sorts of other ailments from the other people waiting around in the waiting room, we were called back. The doctor came in, looked at her, moved her arm around, and sent her to X-ray. For those of you mothers who have not had to experience your young child being tortured in a X-ray room, may you never have to! She was TERRIFIED! I tried desperately to hold her hand but they kept pulling her away and bending her in ways obviously causing anguish! She kept screaming and through the tears I heard "Mama, I am scared! Help me!" Let me say I have NEVER felt so helpless and so horrible in my life! My poor baby was right in front of me, calling for me, in pain and I could not help her. After the great fun in the Xray room, we were sent back to our room to wait....and wait...and wait. Well, another 3 hours went by and we were finally seen again by the doctor, all the while my little Cadie was cuddled up against me sobbing in discomfort. He told us she had a clean break in her collar bone and, yes, there is nothing we can do to fix it! He said he would give her some medicine there, but she was to take just Motrin at home, and wear a sling for 6-8 weeks! She is 3!!!! So, after all the tears we both cried during our 4 1/2 hour stay at the hospital, Cadince and I walked out to the car where Daddy and Ciara were waiting to tell them the news... My poor poor Cadince! The smallest of us all gets a big boo boo! To top it all off, our cell phones were shut off that morning so I couldn't call to cancel my doctor's appt for the 3rd time to take Cadie to the E.R.!! Crazy Crazy day!

Halloween 2009

We had a GREAT Halloween this year! Our church had a chili cook-off, American Idol, Trunk or Treat, an AWESOME hayride, fireworks, and some of our favorite people... the Spencer family! The girls got to go all out this year! Cecilia picked to be a Queen bee, though she mostly looks like a super hero in her pictures! Ciara was the belle of the ball as a Southern Belle and won the all ages costume contest at the LDS church function and got 2nd place at our church's festival! Cadince, our Cadie bug, was a cute little lady bug and the most adorable one I have ever seen at that! So, here are some pictures of our little cuties. I have to say, though it may seem biased some, I have the most adorable children in the world. Truthfully, I don't thank the Lord often enough for them and He deserves ALOT of praise for the little wonders He has blessed Jared and I with!



All my girls... Cadie smearing her face paint! Aren't they the cutest?!






























One thing is for sure... we will NEVER run out of Halloween candy! Here's our stash from Halloween night alone... and this is AFTER we passed out some to the late trick or treaters who came around after we got home!!!