Woohoo!!!! Yeah SIah!!!

Tuesday was just GORGEOUS down here is sunny CA. We took a walk by the beach with the kids. Hal road her scooter and I pushed Reesie in the stroller. We brought Siah's bike without training wheels. There's a long path by the beach. And after about twenty minutes with Joey's help Siah totally started riding all by himself!!!! It was awesome!!!

Before we started our walk, as we were getting out of the car Siah said, "Mom, when I can ride my bike all by myself you're gonna say, 'WooHoo' really loud, and cheer for me right?"

OF COURSE!!! I will most definitely be cheering for you my little man!!!!

Here he is... check him out!




Way to go Siah!!! You're getting so big, so fast! :)

A TRUE Valentines Story...

There once was a girl who dreamed about living an entire lifetime with the man of her dreams. She dreamed that her lover would be the type of man who would work hard to put food on her table and a roof over her head.

She dreamed about a man who would do a most hilarious Lady Gaga impression, just for her viewing, as they watched the Grammy's up in their room at night.

She dreamed about a man who would make funny sound effects and make her laugh, when during one of her pregnancies she would unfortunately have an overwhelming amount of gas and toot constantly in bed at night.

SHe dreamed about a lover who would call her several times a day just to check in.

In her dream the man was tall, bald and had a little belly that matched hers when she was about 5 months pregnant.

The man also had a most lovely smile that constantly caught her eye and lit up her heart... so much so that it would have been impossible to guess that her lover's smile was in need of a few thousand dollars worth of dental work.

In her dream, the not-so-young-anymore girl and her lover had many small treasures that they worked together each and every day to train up in the Lord.

The girl's lover was a real keeper... a man who loved his Savior, his wife and his children.

THen one day (yesterday, Valentines Day 2010, to be exact), the girl woke up and realized that right before her very eyes all her dreams had come true. YIPEEE!!!

I'm so in love with you my Joey!!!!

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We had a most wonderful Valentines weekend.

On Friday we had our annual "we love, LOVE" party. (I'll post about that as soon as my camera battery charges and I can get pictures off of my camera to post)

Saturday I the most delicious breakfast at the Naked Cafe in celebration of Mindy and Danielle's birthday in the morning, while Joey and Grandma and Grandpa had the kids. Then in the afternoon I took the older kids to a really neat homeless shelter that helps family's get back on their feet. My friend Beth put on a Valentine's party for the kids at the shelter. It was an awesome opportunity for my kids to love on the kid at the shelter simply by being themselves. I was so grateful for the opportunity to take them there. It has sparked several great conversations between me and my treasures and I was so grateful that we were able to be a part of the party.

Saturday night Halee got a fever and it stayed with her all day on Sunday. So the girls and I stayed home from church. Hal slept most of the day. And Reesie and I cleaned out the garage while the boys went to church and the gun show with Gramps.

We had Trader Joes make dinner for us last night... put the kids to bed early... gave each other a Valentines kiss... then both fell asleep watching The Holiday.

It truly was a lovely weekend.

Happy Valentines Day y'all!!!!!!!!

My Sweet Pea

Halee's the middle child. I must confess that sometimes it's easier for me to spot the good things, the talents, the positive character traits that oldest and the youngest have, and I don't always notice what's going on with Hal. Not to mention that her little voice is as quiet as a mouse and the other two seem to only have two volumes, loud and louder. Sometimes, if I'm not careful, she fades into the background.

So, the past few weeks I have been trying to focus on what's going on with Halee and let me tell you that she is one amazing treasure!!! It is true that one of her biggest struggles is trying to manipulate situations with her emotions. And although I believe it to be important to watch out for those moments when she's trying to pull a fast one on us, I have realized that her emotional side is also one of the greatest gifts that God has given her.

Halee is truly sweeter than pie. Out of the three kiddos, she's the most polite (without my prompting)... She almost always asks things of me and others with a, "Can I please???" And she joyfully expresses her gratitude about so many things, especially the small things.

She's extremely animated when she talks. She's the most joyfully obedient. When I ask Hal to "come here", she's the kid that says, "yes Mama, I'm coming!"

She's a people pleaser. And although that could get her trouble in some ways, it is also what makes her compassionate and so sensitive to how she feels and to how those around her feel.

She finds complete joy in the smallest of things. The other day when I gave her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, she threw her hands up in the air and exclaimed, "THANK YOU Mama! I LOVE peanut butter sandwiches!" THe funny thing is that she doesn't even really care for them all that much. But she's joyfully willing to eat most of what we give her... which is another thing that I like about her.

My little Hal might be quiet and full of emotion but she's equally as overflowing with the sweetest little personality. She's a great sharer. She's selfless (at least more so than most 3 year olds I know.) She's full of joy and life and I have been so blessed to watch her little light shine as I've asked the Lord to reveal to me some of the amazing qualities that He has picked out just for her.

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I just wanted to share a little bit of what I've noticed in our little Hal over the past few weeks.

If there is something that you like about Hal, please feel free to tell her the next time that you see her. "Words of affirmation" is definitely one of her love languages. Her whole face lights up when Joey or I tell her something specific that we like about her.

Ta Ta for now...

Siah & Hal On Marriage

From the backseat of the car the other day Siah and Hal Sturck up a conversation about marriage. Siah thinks that he's going to marry one of our dear friend's daughters. Her name is Cadence. And He thinks that Halee is going to marry one of our dear friend's sons. His name is Wyatt. Siah was giving Halee one of his mini lectures, like he often does. (He some how feels it to be his responsibility to inform his sisters on the facts of life.) But this time, Hal was able to give Siah a piece of her mind as well.

Siah began the conversation...

"Hal, girls marry boys, and boys marry girls. I'm gonna marry Cadence. You can't marry Cadence because she's a girl and you're a girl and girls can't marry girls."

Hal,
"No, I not marry Cadence. I marry Wyatt. We're gonna have lots of kids"

Siah
"Well, you're gonna have to ask God because he's the one who puts babies in girl's tummies. If you don't ask God then you're not gonna have any kids."

Hal
"Well if you don't work hard then you no have a wife. You need to be hard worker so that you can give Cadence a house to live at and good food on her table."

Siah
"I work soo soo hard. I'm gonna buy a race car AND marry Cadence."

Hal
"Okay"

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So there you have it... Everything you ever needed to know about marriage.

Sixth Time's A Charm

Sometimes I can hardly believe that this is really my sixth pregnancy. This is really the sixth time that I have cried tears of joy seeing a heartbeat (or two) on that giant screen in my doctor's office. This is the sixth time that I have fallen asleep dreaming of the perfect name for the little life in my tummy. This is the sixth time that I have held my breath in hopes that our little baby will make it into our arms at FULL term!

Although I have done this pregnancy thing six times, and there have been some aspects of pregnancy that have hit me in a similar way every time, each pregnancy has also had it's own journey.

With the twins, it was our first pregnancy. I found myself questioning every movement. I got BIG fast! And I experienced my biggest lesson to date, in letting go.

Josiah's pregnancy can be summed up in a single word, Worry. I went to the doctor excessively to say the least. And all that worry was followed by one of the absolute greatest joys that I have ever felt, when I held him, ALIVE, in my arms for the first time.

Hal was our glorious surprise! I got pregnant with her six weeks after I delivered Josiah. I worried in a different way with her. Getting pregnant so quickly with her I feared that I might lose her. And then when I realized she was staying with us for the long haul I felt overwhelmingly joyful. I kinda felt like the Lord was giving us back the twins that He had just recently asked us to let go of.

Reesie's pregnancy was a breeze. I felt good 99% of the time. I was well rehearsed by then in all the odd aches and pains of pregnancy so I felt like the pregnancy just flew by. I ate a lot of home-made strawberry muffins with her and only gained 27lbs... less than half of what I gained with Siah and Hal. (I gained 60lbs with each of them!!! Yes, it's true!! :)

Three months after Reesie arrived, pregnancy # 5 was the shortest pregnancy yet. Short, but very sweet and dear to our hearts. We had to learn to let go again.

And here we are now... pregnancy #6. This pregnancy has had it's own purpose. I have been craving turkey sandwiches, BBQ chips, Coke, and Welch's yogurt covered blueberry fruit snacks that I can only find at Target. With our insurance situation I have had to learn to trust the Lord with this little one. I cannot go to the doctor as often as I am used to going. I have been growing very slowly. I am sixteen weeks already and have only gained 2lbs. I can still wear my normal clothes. I have worried and then felt peaceful... then I worry again... then I trust... it seems to be a never-ending battle in my heart.

My dear friend Heidi connected me with a pregnancy resource center near my house and they weren't able to do much for me there. But they were able to connect me with a high-tech ultrasound place where I could go to see if the baby was indeed growing and to see all the baby's little parts, hear it's heartbeat, and make sure that it is forming properly... all this for only $50!!!

So we went last night... and it was AMAZING!!! They have this massive screen that covered the whole wall and we could see the baby and every last detail of it's body as if it was outside of my tummy. And the best part is... IT LOOKS PERFECT!!!! Everything looks great at this point. By now I know better than to say anything other than, "If the Lord wills it," we will be meeting this little bundle of joy in July.

The truth is that Joey and I are just pathetic when it comes to waiting to find out it's gender. We made it all the way to birth with Reesie. But now, the fact that we waited with her is going to be another special part of her story because last night we totally found out that we are VERY CLEARLY HAVING A BOY!!!!! There is no mistake here! There is a little boy in my tummy!

We don't yet have a name. And in all honesty it might take us till he's born to come up with one. We have absolutely no runners-up as of now. If you've got any ideas please feel free to send them our way.

So that's the update on this precious gift of pregnancy #6! We have high hopes that sixth time's a charm!

Here's a few pics of our newest little treasure....

This is a 3D picture of his face and his hand up by his face. It's very hard to see. It's actually a profile of his head... They look so not very photogenic at this point in their life. :)....

HIs whole body...

His head and part of his body...
His Toes.....

Completely Satisfied

We sang about it on Sunday. In fact we sing about a lot of things on Sunday that I often question myself about as to whether I really believe those things or not.

You know that one song that says,

"We lift our Holy hands up, We want to touch you.
We lift our voices higher, and higher and higher to you."

As we sing that song, I look around my church and I don't see a single person raising their hands up, (myself included) and I don't hear anyone around me singing much louder than a whisper (myself included). Do we not do what we are singing simply because we convince ourselves that even if our bodies are not compelled to do the very words that we are singing, we do indeed believe whole-heartedly that the power of Christ in our lives is worthy of our hands being raised up high and our voices being projected to the absolute peek of our vocal ability? Do our actions not need to match up with our words? Or could it be true that I, somewhere deep inside, don't actually believe what I am singing? If I did believe it, then why was I not willing to raise my hands? Why did I whisper along with the rest of the crowd.

Something in me wants to think that because I know Christ I am different from those who do not know Him. But in that instance, when I am singing that song, I find myself caring more about the crowd and what they're doing than I do about my Savior and how He is so worthy of my complete and genuine worship... mmmmm??

So yesterday, during church, that question about whether or not I believe what I am singing, struck me again, but it was a different phrase that we were singing than the example that I gave above. There was a part in a song that kept repeating, "I'm completely satisfied in you." And the honest to goodness truth is that more often than not I feel so far from being completely satisfied. I began to wonder if I knew anyone that seemed to me to be completely satisfied in Christ? Not really. I wondered if there were any moments in my life when I truly felt completely satisfied in him. And actually a few came to mind. Then I started to think about what it was about those times that made me satisfied in him?

Most of those times were when the the things of this word that I hold onto so tightly were being taken away from me. Like when my mom passed away... and when we had to let go of our precious twin boys. Those were specific times that I can think of when I knew in my heart that God was all I had. But in reality, God is ALWAYS, ALL I have. I somehow have convinced myself that when I finally get to buy that laddle at Ikea for $1.99 that I have been coveting for months now, that I actually AM satisfied. I may FEEL satisfied for a brief moment but that moment is so fleeting. It's short-lived... And it's empty. Truly, the only times when I AM completely satisfied are when I remember that God alone satisfies.

And unfortunately, the complete, honest to goodness truth is that, in the good times, I so rarely remember that. And the reason that I think that it is at the forefront of my mind right now is because there is so much going on with the baby, and insurance stuff, and the move, and raising three small treasures... there is just so much going on with the details of life on this earth that I am slowly but surely being pushed back into that place.... that place where I remember that God alone satisfies my heart... God alone brings me satisfaction in this life.

In you alone Lord AM I completely satisfied.
Please help me to stay there with you... In complete satisfaction. :)

It's February... Where Have We Been???

Is it seriously February already?

How did that happen?

Where have we been????

I think about writing often... but then... well, it just doesn't happen.

Truthfully, there's not a whole lot to report. We have been fighting all sorts of different illnesses around here. I catch stuff, the kids catch stuff, then I catch stuff again. It's a big bummer but God has used those days to help me learn how to better accept help from others... something I'm not all that good at.

When I'm not sick with something, we have been trying to visit with friends, catch up on housework, and somehow conquer the mounds of laundry that seem to be over taking my life.

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The kids are doing just fine.

My favorite memory about Siah in these past few weeks happened at CBS (A Bible study that we go to each Wednesday). Siah's teacher often has kind things to say about Siah. Last week when I went to pick him up after class, one of his teachers pulled me aside and told me that Siah was telling the whole class how they could ask Jesus into their hearts. He told them how Jesus died on the cross for their sins and how they just needed to tell Jesus that they loved him and ask him to come live in their hearts. He then told them that they would then have to love Jesus forever.

After she told me about his "mini-sermon," I asked Siah if he had told his teacher about what he did the week before. Then with his most exuberant joyful voice he proclaimed, "I asked Jesus to come into my heart! He's my friend now!"

Then his teacher and I both stood there and cried tears of joy... I told her I had no idea why I was crying again... but if you wanna know the truth, every time I hear Siah telling people about Jesus being in his heart my eyes get a little watery.

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My favorite memory about Hal these past few weeks is her running around the house with her brother (Siah), and her pretty-much brother (AJ), in their capes, pretending to be super heros...

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And the big news about Reesie is that... for the first time ever... we put her hair in her very first ponytail! I know... things are pretty exciting around here! :)

Oh... and for the very first time... in our bathroom while brushing her hair, Reesie told me, "Wi Wuv Wu Mama!" Did you catch it?? On her own initiative she told me she loved me!!! Who could ask for anything more???? :)

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Yes, It's February and I still have a pile of Christmas cards sitting on my counter that I haven't had a chance to mail yet....

Yes, we're moving across the country in seven short weeks and I haven't even bothered to think about packing a single box...

And Yes, I'm 15 weeks pregnant with baby #4, and quickly realizing that I'm not nearly as in control of my daily life as I once thought I was. :)

It's February and I hope to pop onto this blog a little more frequently and keep y'all updated on the absolutely thrilling events of our lives. :)

So... There ya have it!!! :)