Busy Bees

We have had many things going on in our lives. I think after this weekend, we actually get to relax (whew. )

We had a great visit with Jack and Kelly (and Owen) this past weekend. You forget just how much you miss someone until you spend time with them again. We took the kids to a fun park not far from where they live. It has a small zoo there as well (and I mean small. We're talking monkeys, lynxes, prairie dogs, a bald eagle, and a petting zoo with pigs, goats, and miniature horses.) It was such a blast, though, and the kids were loving it. The rest of the time we relaxed and visited. Tim and Noah pretend to be prairie dogs.Owen is a perfect combination of both his parents' looks. It was good for Noah to have a little boy to play blocks and trucks with.

Our flamingo. This was the only hole he could reach his head into.

Monday night our small group started up again. It was good to all hang out and we also welcomed a new family in. They have twin boys, so now Noah is not outnumbered anymore! Afterwards we went to Matt & Jeana's and played with their new Wii that they got over the weekend. It is SOOOO much fun and easily addicting. Then the boys watched "Heroes" and Jeana & I discussed our sewing projects.

Tuesday night we found ourselves at Matt & Jeana's (again!) for Harvest Moon Festival, an important Chinese holiday. Jeana describes it as Thanksgiving without the Pilgrims and Indians. It is a time to celebrate harvest and family. There were 9 of us in all celebrating (including Noah, who hit the hay after dinner.) We had a great Chinese meal that Jeana had prepared and tried out some mooncakes for dessert. NOT so good. The wintermelon tasted a little like fig, but I still couldn't eat it. The lotus mooncake was the worst thing I had tasted in my life and I have had some nasty things. I spit it out the second it touched my tongue, as did others who tried it. Thankfully, there was a back-up dessert of cookies and ice cream. We then made our way out to the TV and the Wii. Tim and I won the bowling tournament and I beat him in tennis (that was a first.) When it comes to the homerun derby, though...I was definitely one of the losers.

Yesterday afternoon I made my way into Grand Rapids with Noah. We visited with our friends, Jen, Maddie and Leighton for a bit and then met Tim. We had dinner at Dave and Holly's and got to meet their new baby, Jaden. He's a cutie, and a very good baby from what we could see. It was nice to visit with them. Again, you forget how much you miss people when you don't see them that often.

Today I finished reading for my book club tonight. We're meeting at my house and I still have a lot of cleaning up to do, as well as some baking. We are discussing "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult. I put off reading the book until yesterday because I had found out it was about a school shooting and I just wasn't looking forward to it. It turned out to be a fascinating book and I am so glad to have read it. The only other book I have read by her is "My Sister's Keeper" which I would also recommend. She is able to write a book and her characters in such a way that you get everyone's perspective and you don't feel that she is necessarily taking sides. She always seems to throw in a surprising twist that throws you completely off-guard at the end. It was hard to read as a parent of young children because it makes me wonder what my children will grow up to be like, but I think parents and educators should take the time to read it. One of the subjects it tackles is bullying and the effects it has on a teenager. Jodi Picoult does a great job of taking the gray issues in life, the ones you don't want to take time to think about, and presents them in a very real way by throwing in characters whose emotions you can actually feel as you read the book.

It is chilly right now. I actually have on pants and a long-sleeve shirt and there is a light rain falling outside. I'm going to make pumpkin bread for our book club tonight. I would say that fall is right around the corner, but this Saturday is supposed to be at least 75 degrees.

Sugar Pea Ross is doing well as far as we can tell. Still causing me to have miserable mornings and snack all day to keep food in my stomach or else I get sick. I just keep telling myself they are reminders that there is life inside.

Emotional Wreck

Pregnancy is wearing down my hormones and emotions. I remember crying quite a bit while pregnant with Noah, but it was mostly during things that could be justified. For instance, I would hear Eric Clapton singing "You Look Wonderful Tonight" and think it was just the most romantic thing and break down in tears. Then I would listen to Sara Groves' song "Beautiful Child." The waterworks went full force during that one. Even more after he was actually born and I could really relate to the lyrics.

This time around....I cry during anything. We were watching an episode of "WonderPets" the other day. Who was crying? Me. When MingMing says, "We are coming to save you little tree, because you are a living thing" you would have thought I had been told my best friend died. Last night we went to Matt & Jeana's for dinner. Afterwards, Jeana, Noah & I watched an episode of "Arthur" that Jeana had recorded that was discussing adoption. Binky was getting a baby sister from China. OK, this is a cartoon. A CARTOON, just like WonderPets. Cried. What is my problem? I also cried in the movie, "Cars." That was when I started suspecting I might be pregnant since we hadn't actually taken the test yet.
I am reading a book called "Knit Together" by Debbie Macomber. It's great so far, very inspiring. Pick it up if you get a chance. Anyways, she was writing about how her childhood librarian was Beverly Clearly, which I thought was awesome! I mean, who doesn't love Ramona Quimby? Plus, I love books and reading and writing so much that I guess this was just really exciting to me. After I read that part I said out loud, "Well, that's cool." Tim asked, "What?" I started to tell him and next thing I know, I can't speak because I'm so choked up! This then made Tim think it must be something really cool because, obviously, I am emotional about it. When I could finally tell him, he looked at me and just laughed. I think he's getting used to this.
Oh, well.
My niece, Kailyn, turned 1 this past Sunday. I would love to be able to post pictures from the party, but the batteries in my camera died as soon as I turned it on when we got there. Bummer. Here is a recent one of her anyways:

What a cutie.

Well, that's about it. I am getting really excited to go visit Jack & Kelly this weekend. Kelly and I are going to go into Indianapolis and hit the H&M and some other fun stores. By ourselves. No husbands, no kids. I probably won't be shopping for me since I won't be wearing normal clothes too much longer, but there are a couple things Tim needs, and it's always fun to window shop.

Sugar Pea Ross

So this is our latest news.
I am 7 1/2 weeks pregnant with a little life that Tim has nicknamed "Sugar Pea." I think it was because we had sugar peas for dinner the evening of this ultrasound so it was in his head...
Anyways, our due date is April 26th, and we had a rough few days last week with some different pains and bleeding, but all is good now. My HCG and progestorone levels are exactly where they should be and the baby's heartrate was a strong 131 bpm. I think that is slower than Noah's was, but the ultrasound tech and ER doctor said it's great and the chance of miscarriage is less than 1%. All babies are different and all pregnancies are different, which has never been more true in my case.
We weren't planning on sharing our new this early on, but after our good report Friday night, Tim said "Let's start telling!" (Think he's excited?) I was talking to my friend, Rachel, yesterday (who is also pregnant, though much farther along) and we were discussing how much more joy you feel as you're able to share it with others. It makes me feel less worried, more relieved and free to talk about it.
Noah says he wants a sister. I tell him there's not much I can do about it at this point. I don't even know if he really understands what is going on anyways. I think he just likes to say "I want sister."
I LOVE the change in weather we have had in Grand Haven. It is cooler and windy and feels like fall! I have on a sweatshirt and the house smells like the roast that is cooking in the crockpot. Yummy. Bring on the hearty autumn meals.
In a couple weeks "Heroes" starts back up. Tim and our friend, Matt N., love the show so last night we decided it would become a date night for all of us. We are going to meet at Logan's for dinner because on Mondays and Tuesdays they have a 2 For $12.99 dinner special (with awesome options!) and $2 kids meals. Then we'll go to Matt & Jeana's and put Noah to sleep. The boys will watch their TV show and Jeana and I are going to sew and knit and have some crafty time because we don't watch the show. We have some projects in mind to work on, especially with Christmas coming up! The only glitch is that Tim and I have small group every other Monday night, so we'll go watch the show after group and skip the dinner part (which we decided was more budget friendly anyways.)
This past weekend was the only weekend in September that we are going to be in town. This weekend and the last weekend we will be in Fowlerville for a party and a baby shower and the weekend between we're traveling to Indiana to visit Jack & Kelly. Woo-hoo! I am way excited about that trip.
I think as long as Noah is down for a nap, I might catch some sleep as well. Have a blessed day!

Making Memories

We had a great weekend visiting Tim's family in Ohio. His sister and her family come up from Tennessee and we all spend the weekend somewhat relaxing. It's only somewhat relaxing once you have kids. Before that it was very relaxing. =)

We had a couple odd moments. The first was when we found my nephew, Cameron, running around screaming in his sleep outside in the middle of the night. He didn't remember a single thing the next morning. The other was when his brother, Owen, fell over the side of the pontoon boat while we were fishing. Fortunately, we were not moving and he was wearing a lifejacket. Boys will be boys!

We had a lot of fun moments too. The kids enjoyed being outside every moment of the day before and after naptime. The adults enjoyed their time together after the kids went to sleep at night. We watched a Brian Regan DVD (he is too funny!), had a bonfire, and just sat around catching up. It is only once or twice a year that we are all together at the same time. We played on the jetski, pontoon boat, I got to go along and watch Tim wakeboard with some family friends.

As the family expands with babies and as they grow into fun-loving and active toddlers and on into childhood, the place seems more and more crowded and crazy. Yet it all feels like home at the same time. There are five grandchildren at the moment, ranging in age from 21 months to 6 years old.

So we had a great weekend and look forward to next year and however many more kids will be added into the mix (Tim's sister is pregnant at the moment and you never know what can happen with the rest of us over the course of a year.)

Every Labor Day commences with the taking of the annual Christmas photo for Mom & Dad Ross' Christmas card. Notice the adults have on matching Eddie Bauer t-shirts.... Kristen and me on the boat. My fourth nephew is due in early December.

Tim and a tired Noah during our last-night sunset pontoon boat ride.