Quotable Quotes

"Life will throw at you a pickle,
and you've got to make a lemon into it."

-My hubby

...or something like that.....

Tait is famous for mixing up several sayings into one (though I'm not quite sure which ones are combined in this special quote). :D We always have a good laugh when he's singing; he remembers the general idea of the song, and some of the words ... and then just makes up the rest (sometimes purposefully, sometimes on accident). It really shows his creative side. : )

Life with him is wonderful ... and exciting ... and full of adventure!

More Blue!!!

My mom (on the phone after our ultrasound): "Well, what is it?"
Me: "It's #3!"
Mom: "Yes, I know it's #3. But what is it?"
Me: "Well, it's not just the third child; it's the third something else too!"

Yes, we are so excited to announce that it looks like our third little one - due June 10 - is another boy! We look forward with anticipation to seeing what God's plans are for our three little men, and can only imagine what they can accomplish, by God's grace, for His glory! Our prayer is that our three growing young men would, throughout their lifetimes, make a resounding impact on our culture for Christ's kingdom!

Thankfully, everything looked picture perfect on the ultrasound, and the placenta is in a convenient location for our necessary C-section. (The concern is that the placenta would park itself right over the old C-section scars, which greatly increases the risk for complications.)

Our doctor gave me hope, saying that many women with a history of bedrest can completely avoid it in future pregnancies by taking it easy, slowing down, and taking a nap when possible. Yay! My projects are coming along slowly, but they are coming along. Today is Organize the Kitchen Day, and Tait's mom is keeping the boys for me so that I can just focus on getting these things done! Just 2 more weeks until I hope to kick back and relax ... as much as is possible, at least, with two monkeyish toddlers running around. :D

Of course the fact that our new little one is a boy means that I can't use all of the adorable pink fabric I was looking at, but it also means that all of the clothes are automatically bought, organized, washed, and ready! It definitely simplifies things a bit. : )

This little one is 20 weeks along now, about 7 inches long, weighing right about 10 ounces. He can grasp things, suck and swallow, and hear us when we talk to him. (Little Tait's caught on to this last achievement of his littlest brother, and was talking loudly into my tummy this morning.) I'm feeling much better - little to no nausea and a little more energy!

(As far as our dishwasher goes, Sears forgot to tell us that it needed to be picked up at the warehouse. By the time we got to the Sears store, the warehouse was already closed. So ... Tait's picking it up in Anchorage today! There are still a few parts that we need before we can get it installed, but we are getting closer!)

I was disappointed about the dishwasher, but overcome with excitement and anticipation for our new

My "Dishwashers"

They have fun [make a mess], learn muscle control [spill water all over], stay busy for hours [create quite a cleanup job for me afterward], and get to "play" at the big sink, just like Mommy and Daddy [ingest lots of dishwater]! ;D

They're still at it ... and I just heard a big crash, followed by an "uh-oh". Sounded like stainless steel though, and not glass. I'm avoiding turning around to see what it was; Little Tait will let me know if it was anything serious. :D

On a side note [rampage].... Why do I have to pay $5.89 for a jar of organic dill pickles, just to avoid the nasty preservatives (come on - it's a fermented food; why do they need all those preservatives?) and food coloring (pickles are supposed to be green, not yellow, Vlastic!)? Pickles have been a recent craving of mine recently, and the thought of my intestines turning yellow and being preserved for centuries just doesn't appeal to me. I'm sure we'll spend a fortune on organic dill pickles before this craving passes! ;D (I can save about 50 cents a jar if I buy six of them through vitacost.com. Not much of a savings, but at least it's something! Maybe I'll include it in my next Vitacost order.)

-End of Rant-



Less than 5 days until I get my "real" dishwasher, and we find out whether this little guy is a boy or a girl!

As They Always Are...

Miles ... happy, adorable, and "S'miling"

Don't take me too seriously on that; even he has his moments. ;D

But he is, in general, a very smiley and happy boy! He's always jolly, though a little subdued, when he wakes up - even on those rare occasions when I have to wake him up from his long, 4-hour afternoon naps. : )

_____________________________________________

Little Tait ... as he always is...

...fixing something.

And, not so much as he always is (intense) - but adorable, just the same! :D His mouth is always messy when he's at Grandma's house though, as he is here. : )

I know they won't always be this way - small ... snuggly ... young ... demanding.... ;D

But I do hope they will always be curious, exploring, learning, and growing!

One of Tait's (and my!) huge passions is creating a lifelong love of learning in our children. We want them to understand that their learning won't end once their "formal schooling" is completed! We want them to constantly be studying new things, learning new things, and exploring new things ... just like they do now!

I'm realizing that my little guys are growing up - Little Tait graduated to a toddler bed last night (*tear*); he sorts silverware into the appropriate dividers when we empty the drainer, transfers laundry from the washer to the dryer (if I help him open the door, and if he doesn't get distracted with the light toggle button), and is learning to set the table. Miles has finally decided that maybe walking isn't such a dumb idea after all. And he's finally learning that his favorite pastime of pulling all of the tissues out of the box and stuffing them back in again ... isn't such a great idea.

I'm cherishing this time when they're small, and looking forward to a few months from now, when I'll be snuggling a newborn in addition to these two little monkeys!

16 Days...

...until we find out whether this new little one is a pink one or a blue one! Oh, and we pick up our new dishwasher the same day! :D After 3 years without one, I'll be more than happy to finally have one (a dishwasher, that is)! It was a sweet Christmas gift from my hubby (talking about the dishwasher again here). And I just read today that it saves the average wife at least 4 hours a week (yes, definitely talking about the dishwasher here). I'm guessing it'll save me at least an hour a day, since we tend to eat at home every meal, make everything from scratch, and use glass instead of plastic. The other thing I'm excited about definitely won't save me an hour a day (at least, not for the next 8-10 years or so), but it will bring lots of joy, excitement, and blessing to our family (talking about the baby here, obviously).

Yes, it will be an exciting day all around! : )

At 17 weeks along, I just have about another month before I need to start taking it easy. Just 4 more weeks to finish all of the projects I need to tackle - cleaning out and organizing the storage area downstairs, filing all of the papers (and with real estate, that's a lot of papers!), organizing the kitchen (which was never really done effectively since we moved in 6 months ago), hosting a few dinner guests in our home, tackling the huge ironing and stain treatment piles (Tait needs "real estate" clothes ironed almost every day, so the ironing piles up quickly!), organizing and storing all of the baby clothes (they're pretty much completely organized, but I need to get the last batch of outgrown clothes squared away), working on a few business projects for Tait (I just love it that I'm able to help him with his business!), moving the last few boxes of our belongings from Tait's family's garage, and lots of other little tasks.

After those 4 weeks, I'm putting myself on some proactive semi-semi-bedrest. I was put on semi-bedrest with Miles at 25 weeks (no cooking, cleaning, errands, laundry, lifting over 10-15 pounds, or unnecessary walking). Yeah right! With a 24-pound+ 8-month-old, that wasn't quite feasible, but with Tait's mom's and sisters' help, we did hold Miles off until 35 weeks! Of course, our first came with no warning at 27 weeks.

This time around, I'm hoping to avoid doctor mandated bedrest or semi-bedrest completely by putting myself on a sort of proactive relaxed bedrest - not doing much beyond keeping everyone fed and our house in order, and taking an afternoon nap when the boys nap. Taking it easy is definitely not one of my strong points (I'm notorious for trying to pack too much into every day ... week ... month...), but I'll certainly try! Another NICU stay - after a total of 14 weeks in the NICU, between our two little guys - will not be welcome this time! Whatever the Lord has in store, though! We know that He's in control, as He was with our first two!

Please join us in praying for a smooth, full-term pregnancy this time around!

Little Tait - 11/6/08 - 27 weeks - 2lbs, 9oz

Miles - 10/1/09 - 35 weeks - 6lbs, 9oz


Little Tait (2 years) & Miles (14 months) - December, 2010

They've been through a lot, these little guys! And they've come a long way, by God's grace! We're so thankful for His hand in their lives!

Our goal is ... no IV's or feeding tubes in the next newborn pictures! : )

2010 Recap and Looking Forward to 2011

2010 was a busy year for us! We finished the first stage of our house (more or less) and moved in! Tait's sister got married, and we enjoyed some great fellowship around the time of the wedding with lots of wonderful friends from near and far! We discovered that our third little blessing is on the way, and celebrated 1st and 2nd birthdays for the little guys! Tait and his dad made lots of progress in revolutionizing, streamlining, and increasing production in the family business of IEC Realty. We made progress on our many visions, and formulated more visions for the future!

Little Tait helping Daddy build our house in May

Our little house (the first of many stages) this past Fall

The little guys being adorable and snuggly after naptime a few months ago

A quick snapshot of the whole family a week before Christmas

16 weeks along, around Christmas

The Taits with their snowman tonight (notice the toy hammer in Little Tait's hand?)

After over a month of single-digit and negative temperatures, it finally warmed up to freezing - warm enough to build a snowman! : )

We're loving our very blessed life up here in Alaska, and looking forward to what the Lord has in store for us in 2011!

A few plans include...

adding the 2nd story of our home,

welcoming a new little guy or girl into our family,

visiting family down in SC,

and watching the little guys continue to

grow, explore, and learn!