Roll Tide!

I'm too lazy and tired to upload any pictures or say much of anything about the last week besides I got a lot done, had a great time in Athens, and it looks like the TIDE IS BACK!


I will quote an article I saw on ESPN over the weekend (Before our new ranking of #2 came out)....
As the Alabama strength coach famously predicted during practice last week, the blackout was a bleepin' funeral for Georgia, which lost 41-30. Rest in pieces, Bulldogs. It was a rebirth for the Crimson Tide as a full-on title contender. In near-record time. It has taken Nick Saban all of 18 games as coach to rocket Alabama from having a losing record to digging graves for top-10 opponents. And it has taken this 2008 Tide team a month to go from unranked in the preseason USA Today coaches' poll to possibly No. 1 when the new rankings come out this week.

Has anyone ever done that?

This game worked out perfectly for Saban. His team earned a huge victory but made just enough mistakes that he can nag his players all week leading up to a visit from 4-0 Kentucky. If the nagging works, expect Alabama to be 9-0 when it heads to Baton Rouge in November for a game that now has Armageddon stamped all over it.

Big Girl!

Ellie Kate is 19 months old today, and growing up way too fast! I'm obsessed with her ponytail...she looks like such a big girl in these pics (which were taken last weekend)!

yes, that is a wrench she is holding

sitting in the wagon from nana and woody before it was put together

And here she is at my parents taking her baby on a stroll
(that is a shirt that Samuel could wear last year)I have enjoyed the last few days although I do miss my girl. Samuel keeps talking about how he misses Ellie Kate. It's so sweet how much he loves her!

Glorious!

My parents were in town this weekend for a visit and since we are planning to head over to Athens next weekend to watch the big match up between BAMA and UGA, I devised a plan to get some much needed time to myself this week! I sent Ellie Kate back with them!!! I don't know what I am going to do with several full days to myself while Samuel is in school. Actually I know exactly what I'm going to do...get my haircut and maybe a pedicure, sew, shop without having to be in a hurry, read, go back to sleep after Samuel leaves for school, and of course nest for Abigail!

I'm actually going to miss my wild little squirt but I'm also going to enjoy some time to myself and some special time alone with Samuel after school. I hope the time lives up to my expectations! Thanks Mom and Dad for being willing to take EK! I'll end my week by heading to Athens (and picking up EK on the way) to see friends and hopefully see BAMA beat those dawgs (one can hope, right?)!!!

A Reminder

Sorry to bring this up again...but I just wanted to remind people that if you link our blog on your own to PLEASE not use our last name. You can put Jeff and Rachel, or Moments with Our Miracles, or whatever you like...just not our last name. This is one of my preferences in trying to be safe in a crazy world now that I have a school aged child. Thanks fellow bloggers!

Ultrasound

Edited ultrasound pic below last post...this picture is for those of you who couldn't make out her face!

Abigail Marie

Who is Abigail Marie you might ask?

She is our 31 weeks gestation daughter who is already about 4 lbs 8 ounces and measuring in at about 33 weeks! YIKES!!!!

Here is our beautiful girl who finally has a name! This is her face looking directly at us. Her nose is smooshed up against my uterine wall...which means we couldn't get a good profile pic. I think that is a foot on the right up by her face and a hand resting under her chin. How adorable is she? Her fat cheeks reminded us of Ellie Kate's. I can't wait to see what she looks like in person.


Samuel and Ellie Kate (Elizabeth Kate) both have biblical names as their first names...ones we chose specifically for their meaning. Their middle names are family names. So we went with the same order this time. We had a hard time coming up with a name for this munchkin, but I really love what the Lord led us to. Abigail means "My Father's Joy" or "gives joy." How appropriate as she has most definitely brought much joy into our lives as she was conceived the old fashioned way and after our miscarriage. We pray she will also give joy to our Heavenly Father and become a child of His one day. Marie is the family name. It was my middle name before I basically lost it when we got married.

So, since she and I (weight gain for me is fine but my belly is big) both are measuring in at about 33-34 weeks...this most likely means miss Abigail will be making an early appearance just like her sister! I am not complaining. My due date is November 19, but we discussed inducing around the first week of November since it looks like if she went full term, I would be delivering a 9-10 pound baby (like her daddy was). Ellie Kate was 7 lbs 7 ounces at 38 weeks and I had a 3rd degree tear so we don't want Abigail to be much bigger for my sake:). So, in summary, we have about 7 weeks to go until we meet her. WOW! Even though I have had many more aches and pains with this pregnancy and it is taking it's toll on me physically, I have thoroughly enjoyed every kick and every moment of carrying this child so far. I am so thankful to the Lord for giving me another miracle and I can't wait to meet her!

Sometimes ultrasound pics are hard to figure out. I figured I would help those who are ultrasound challenged by labeling the body parts. Her face is horizontal with her forehead to the right of the triangle picture. Hope this helps!

Soccer!

Samuel had his first soccer game tonight! It was so fun! He plays on a team with kids that are all from his school so that is really cool to him. He did pretty well for his first game once he figured out which goal to kick the ball towards. However, I think he had just as much fun horsing around on the sidelines with his friend Mary Catherine. They informed us tonight that they were getting married! So cute! Ellie Kate loved the game and wanted to get out there herself. She kept clapping and saying "Go Bubba!" (see bottom right picture).

So, I guess this makes me an official mini-van driving soccer mom! I'm loving every (well...almost every) minute of it!

A Sad Anniversary

It is a day I would love to forget, but the day will be forever etched in my mind as one of the worst in my life. A year ago today, we found out we had lost our 3^rd little miracle at nearly 10 weeks pregnant. I had been spotting for a few days and my doctor finally said to come in for an ultrasound at 4 pm on Friday, September 14. I waited all day on pins and needles. I will never forget the emotions I felt throughout the day hoping against hope and yet having a sense of the impending doom. It was awful…the anticipation. I had no words to pray except…”Please, God, Please…let everything be okay.” Jeff came home and we took the kids with us to the doctor. My sweet doctor then (who was a dear friend) told me to come on back by myself. He turned the ultrasound machine on as I laid down on the table. As soon as the probe found my uterus, I knew. There was no flutter of a heartbeat like we had seen just a few weeks before. He looked around for a few minutes, then looked at me and couldn’t even speak. Josh shook his head and I burst into tears. I will never in my life forget the look on his face, or the stillness of my dead baby on the screen. He went and got Jeff and the nurses watched Samuel and Ellie Kate for us while we grieved and then talked about what to do next. I had the D&C the very next morning because my amazing doctor came in on Saturday so I didn’t have to wait any longer. He prayed with us and then took me back for the procedure. It was a very empty day.

Now, a year later, I do still grieve for that baby…even as my belly is now swollen with another miracle. While this baby does not replace that one, I am certainly thankful and amazed that the Lord has given me another opportunity I feel I do not deserve.

I made this memory box shortly after the miscarriage to hold my ultrasound pictures, positive pregnancy tests (yes, I save them…after so many years of negative ones, they are sentimental), and all the sweet notes and emails we received. I read through everything today and am encouraged anew at the community of believers who surrounded us. We could not have made it through that time without the prayers of so many. The months following the miscarriage were not easy as I grieved and my hormones took awhile to normalize. Again, I am so thankful for faithful friends and family who prayed for me and loved on me. I would love to say that I am so much stronger in my faith and have learned to trust the Lord better through all this. However, the last year has been murky waters, at best. The journey of grief is unpredictable and my wandering heart sometimes still has a hard time yielding my wants and desires at the foot of the cross. I still want an easy life…one without pain. I do believe part of that is my redeemed heart longing for the perfectness of heaven. I am so thankful for my Savior, and that one day I will see my baby again. I am thankful for a God who does not give up on His children and who sends new mercy and grace for each day. I am desperate for that today and everyday!

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26

Lifeline Reunion

We went to a reunion today for Lifeline Children's Services, the adoption agency we used to adopt Samuel. It was such a fun day! Everyone who was there has adopted a child through Lifeline. It was so cool to see all the children and families who have added to their family through the beauty of adoption. Samuel and Ellie Kate both stayed in the blow up jumper thing the whole time. I'm surprised nobody got hurt, as all the big boys were wrestling and just being boys in there! Samuel also got his face painted and he chose and Alabama "A" and a cross!

Happy Birthday Jeff!!!

My much younger husband had a birthday today...turning 29!!! We celebrated with a cake and a few gifts. Samuel was so excited!!! We are so thankful for Jeff as he is an incredible daddy and husband!!! Happy Birthday Baby!

Tough Girl

We have always thought that EK was a tough girl. She can hold her own against her brother and she has had some pretty rough tumbles and barely cried. Well, today she proved to us again that she is truly a tough girl! She had her 18 month check up with our new pediatrician here. Until the doctor came in she was all over the place...opening drawers and cabinets, running around and just being loud. During the exam she was still and quiet and did wonderful thank goodness. Then it was time for some shots. She got one in the leg and one in the arm. Ellie Kate barely flinched and did not shed ONE TEAR with either shot (and they were big needles too)! She was fascinated by the bandaid and kept saying "boo-boo." The nurse said she had never had an 18 month old not cry! That's our girl!

Her stats are as follows:
Weight - 24 pounds (45%)
Height - 33 inches (75%)
Head Circumference - 19 inches (90%)

And here she is yesterday. Samuel was drinking some water out of this cup and she wanted some. I told him to take it into the kitchen and put it up. He put it on the table. A little later EK went in there...about 25 seconds later I followed her and this is what I found:

Gameday!

It was the first home game yesterday here at Alabama, and we decided to brave the quad and campus with the kids! Ummm...let's just say we won't be doing that again for awhile. A 5 year old, 1 year old, and one in the belly did not make this mama a good fan! I was hot, tired, swollen, and not feeling very spirited by the end. Thankfully I had not planned on going to the game, so I came home and rested! We went to the quad to see some friends and watch the band at the library. Big Al was there which thoroughly fascinated Ellie Kate and scared Samuel. Go figure! They loved the tubas though! Then we went by the Alpha Chi house (where yours truly lived 10 years ago) and cooled off. I showed Samuel my old rooms, but he didn't seem too impressed or to really even care about that. Jeff went on to the game and was glad we pulled off a victory, even though it was unimpressive! Roll Tide!!!

September Already!?

Whew, it is hard to believe I am nearly 30 weeks and we are only a couple of months away from another baby! I think I am ready to not be pregnant anymore, but I'm not sure I'm completely ready to have 3 children. I have slowly been getting baby stuff out and working on the nursery. It seems kind of surreal that we are going to have a little newborn soon. I'm excited about using a lot of Ellie Kate's stuff again...it seems like she grew out of that stage so quickly! It's fun to get started on the nursery now that the rest of the house is pretty much finished.

Here is what we have been up to lately...

Samuel building legos...but trying to keep EK away too

a little movie star

green eggs and ham (samuel thought this was really cool)

more destruction by our tazmanian devil

first Campus Crusade weekly meeting

wearing bubba's crocs

riding the horsie at big papa's and deedee's

the nearly finished dining room

the office/living room