Just Like Dad

The guys getting ready to go the the barn this morning and do some "man stuff"...

Ready To Go

We've known with Rachel's Spina Bifida that each milestone would be a challenge and yet, each one a victory. The things that we have taken for granted with each of the other kids has become momentous with her. I think it's sweeter, not because of the Spina Bifida, but because she is the baby!

This morning when I went to get Rachel up, she was on her tummy. This is HUGE! Rachel is able to roll ever: in fact, she is a crazy-rolling machine, but she has not been able to roll over wearing her hip brace. She was given the brace to wear when she was about 6 months old (9 months ago) and she wears it when she naps and sleeps at night. I have been putting her down on her tummy during the day, but on her back at night (and my, how it has given her a nice bald spot right on the back of her head). Ok, imagine sleeping in one position all night long, being unable to move. That's where Rachel has been for the last nine months!

Lat week when I went in to get her up from her nap, she had pulled the hip brace off, which takes A LOT of maneuvering and struggling. I thought that was momentous.

For about a month now Rachel has been in her A frame stander. It has made a huge difference in her strength and endurance. She is trying to get up on all fours too. Prior to this, she was not able to get her knees up under herself, or she would rest her head on the floor.

I think that she is just raring to go! I think I hear revving sounds coming from her at times!

What's On My iPod

Thanks Cathy! You made me think of the most-played songs that are on my Ipod.

I listen to this while I am working out.

Here they are:

1. Bless the Broken Road - Rascal Flatts

2. Redneck Woman - Gretchen Wilson

3. Devil Went Down to Georgia - Charlie Daniels

4. Life Is A Highway - Rascal Flatts

5. Born to Fly - Sara Evans

6. Our Song - Taylor Swift

7. Cheater, Cheater - Joey and Rory

8. Every Day - Rascal Flatts

9. Lessons Learned - Carrie Underwood

10. Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood

I am curious...what's on yours??

Friday Night Fun

Well, we have been chipping away at our "Summer Fun" list and have made many memories doing it. Last night we let the kids drive around.

(He still makes my heart skip a beat!)

Our List

I told the kids to think of three things they wanted to do this summer, and we would get it on the calendar to be sure to do it. From that, we have a list of things to do this summer. Some we have already done; a lot is still to be done.

zoo
baseball game
Waldameer (amusement park)
movie
putt-putt
beach
camping
park/ playground
fishing
camp fire
parade
Chuck E. Cheese
picnic
fireworks
slip and slide
fair

We hope to have a great summer making memories!!

Bad Thoughts

I told John that I have been having bad thoughts lately. In an extremely concerned voice, he asked, "What kind?"
"I want another baby!" I said.

We've been here before (about three other times...). When the baby is around a year old, they are SO cute, so much easier to take care of, and I am finally feeling better and recovered from pregnancy and the aftermath. I start thinking that I could handle another one...

The problem with having these thoughts now are that we have "taken measures" so as not to have another child.

It's not that we don't want more kids. I have explained it like this: We would LOVE more kids, IF so many things were different. And it's not even the fact of Rachel having a birth defect. Number one would be: I am OLD and just don't have the energy that I think I do! I try to fool myself, but the reality is that pregnancy is hard on me and I just don't bounce back that easily. It takes me a good year to recover from it all.

We are still in the "baby mode" with Rachel, but she will soon be out of it. I think that once she is, and we get used to life without a baby, we'll be ok. Until then, I need to resist the urge and just live vicariously through others having wee little ones!
(PS...I have already purged all of the baby stuff! Who knew there was so much baby junk??)

Last night Rebekah asked me why God gave us such a special baby, and this is the story I told the kids.

When God made our baby, he knew that she was very special, in fact, the most special baby in the world. So he wanted to give her just the right home. He looked and looked for the most special home to put her in. He thought about several, but they weren't just right. He keep looking until he found ours.

When he looked at our family he thought, "That's the perfect family!" He saw that it was full of the most special kids.

God knew that the special baby would need a special biggest brother to watch out for her and take care of her. The special brother would be very vigilant that there were no latex balloons around, since the baby would be allergic to latex. And the biggest brother would protect her. God would search the entire world and see that there was only one boy special enough to be the baby's biggest brother!

God also knew that the special baby would need a big sister too. The big sister would play with the special baby and make her laugh. The special big sister would love to put her head in the baby's lap and let her pull her hair. She would also be a wonderful singer for the baby, singing songs like, "Jesus Loves Me" and "Oh How He Loves You and Me" to calm the baby. The big sister would have to be someone very extra special.

And God knew that the special baby would need another very special big brother. He would be the perfect younger-big-brother for her; he would caress her face, kiss her, and tell her, "it's ok babydoll." He would be so important because he would be the one that would have to go to all the doctor's appointments with her; he would have to be very light-hearted and easy-going too.

And so God found that perfect family for the special baby; a biggest brother, and big sister, and a younger-big brother. That baby would be so lucky because she didn't have one or even two, but THREE big siblings to look out for her! When kids made fun of her because of the braces she had to wear on her legs, there were THREE they would have to deal with. And when kids looked at her funny because she didn't walk like other kids, THREE big brothers/sister would be sure to explain it to them. And when that special baby got on the school bus, there would be THREE to look out for her.

She would be a super-special baby, but only because of the extra-special family God decided she would need.