The hard stuff

I was cleaning the house yesterday. I was frustrated with the accumulation of dog hair and trying to get rid of it. Philip didn't want to nap so I was a little annoyed with that too. Then the phone rang.

It was my mom. I knew immediately that something was wrong. Unfortunately, I was right. She was calling to tell me that her sister, my aunt, has cancer. Even typing the words doesn't seem real.

I hung up the phone and walked back into the kitchen. Suddenly nothing I had previously been so worried about seemed to matter anymore. It all seemed so insignificant. I sat down on the couch and the flood gates opened. Philip hasn't seen me cry tears of sadness very much so he sort of started to panic. He grabbed my face in his soft little hands and said "No baby" and then he started to cry too. We held each other and prayed for our dear aunt. I haven't stopped praying for her since.

We don't know how serious it is yet. Please be praying for her with us. She is an amazing wonderful woman of God, wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She is strong and healthy and I am believing the best for her.

Chocolate Milk and God

I promised Philip chocolate milk after breakfast this morning.

He was delighted and excited and being such a good boy.

He gleefully sat patiently at the kitchen counter awaiting this special treat.

I poured his milk then proceeded to empty the Hershey's syrup into his cup.

But we had a problem.

The syrup was...dun dun dun....empty. Oh no.

Times when Phili will wait patiently for something he is super excited about are very few and far between so I knew I needed to act fast to reward his good behavior.

I quickly wracked my brain to come up with a substitute. After brushing off a few not-so-clever ideas I came up with an idea. Not the best idea but it would have to do.

I took a chunk of a half eaten Hershey's candy bar out of the fridge and put it in a bowl in the microwave to melt which I would then pour into warmed up milk and...there ya have, warm chocolate milk. I used to do it with my coffee in desperate times.

But, my good boy's patience was quickly being tested as he watched step by step my every action. This microwave business was not a part of his plan and clearly, he wasn't having it.

As I patiently awaited the microwave ding, he grew impatiently upset. He started throwing a tantrum and wanted it now. I tried to explain to him that the chocolate needed to melt in the microwave which I'm sure sounded like a foreign language to his little ears. and he wasn't having any of it.

"Phili, if we take it out now, it will be all chunky and not as good"

Didn't care. No part of him wanted to wait and at that point, neither did I. So, I took it out of the microwave and poured it into his milk. Lo and behold, it was a chunky mess.

If he would have just waited a little bit longer I could have given him a much better, much smoother chocolate milk. But, he wanted it his way and on his time.

Hmmm...hits a little close to home for me and my relationship with our Father. How many times does God have something wonderful in store for me but I impatiently take my own path thinking that my way will be better? I shudder to think about how many times I have made a decision based on impulse or impatience when all along God was patiently waiting for me with a plan much more wonderful than I could ever imagine.

The older I get the more I realize, I cannot make it through a day without God.

Sure I stumble and fall everyday. I say things I regret or spend too much time on something that isn't very fruitful, but one thing I know is that He is there to lift me back on my feet with a love and grace so amazing that I can't even begin to imagine yet I will humbly accept it.

I like, or should I say I need to wake up before Philip and spend time with God in the morning. This morning Philip woke up early so I wasn't able to do so and to be honest it just doesn't feel right. Something has felt missing all morning. I know what it is and I am so thankful that when I am finished with this post, He will be right there waiting for me. What a gift. I want to leave you with a verse and a saying that mean so much to me.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

“I'm not where I need to be, but thank God I'm not where I used to be" ~Joyce Meyer

Baby Names!

I LOVE talking about baby names. Whether I am pregnant or not it is one of my favorite things to think or talk about. My sweet parents bought me a Baby Name book and I have been looking through it everyday.

I only need to look through the girl names because we have had a boy name picked out since long before I got pregnant. It is Richie's grandpa's middle name. Here are the names we like for a girl and of course I will share our boy name! We have a couple middle names picked out but I don't want to share them yet because they are all after family so if we decide not to use one I'll feel bad.

Our boy names is...

Wesley (Please remove any thoughts about icky Wes from the Bachelorette from your mind)

Some girl names we like....

Bella
Lilian (My Grandpa's mom)
Helena (A variation of Richie's Great Grandma Helen)
Lainey
Estelle

Lilian is up in the air as we would no doubtfully have a "Phili and Lily" which would be cute now but not when they're 16.

Our girl names could certainly change but for now, these are our favorite. I am confident that Wesley will not change. Ever since Philip was a baby we have talked about that name and now that I am pregnant we can totally see Philip having a baby brother named Wesley which makes me think we're having another boy which also makes me SUPER excited!

We picked the name Philip Russell really early in my pregnancy last time. I remember a few people saying I shouldn't share the name in case we changed our mind but I knew in my heart that we had already fallen in love with our Philip Russell.

I will be equally as thrilled if we have a girl but my mind automatically goes to having a little Wesley when I picture this baby. This could very well be because we are used to having a boy but we shall see! If you have girl name suggestions, feel free to share them! That is if you won't be using them of course :)

Such a fun weekend

I am pretty convinced that we live in one of the neatest places in the world. My Dad and Mom came down this past weekend and spent the night. We had so much fun and got to learn a lot about the history of Red Wing.

First, we went and had lunch here...... Then we did a little shopping and got to see the world's largest boot here.........
We finished our afternoon activities by taking a scenic/educational trolley ride through downtown Red Wing. We got to see old beautiful homes and learn about the history of a lot of the town.

It was a weekend I will never forget. We had so much fun having my parent's down here! Philip was on his best behavior having "Nama" and "Papa" down here. He has been asking for them ever since :)

Belly pics!

We had a wonderful weekend with my parents down here. I will post more about that tomorrow but first I thought I'd quick post some belly pics! I was horrible about taking them with Philip. I was not too excited that I was getting bigger and bigger everywhere. But this time I figure it comes with the territory so I am going to relax and enjoy it!

They are a little backwards but the second one is my 6 week bloat and the first one is from tonight so 10 weeks. I look bigger in person than I do in the pictures. At least I think so anyways! Excuse my crazy lazy eye. I didn't feel like doing a redo so whatevs. haha.

Wish me luck!

So I have been feeling pretty good lately other than a little nauseous here or there, but nothing compared to what it was like with Philip which has been very nice.

That is, until I get in the car, mainly long car rides. Big time nauseous. I have been avoiding any driving unless it is just in town because it brings on the sickness pretty strong. It doesn't matter if it's me or Richie driving.

Well a few weeks ago my, ahem, wonderful hubby rsvp'd to his friend's wedding without my consent. It is today. And it is 2.5 hours away. Oh.my.gosh. And unless we want to stay here.....

....it's going to be round trip. Meaning 5 hours in the car today. This is the only motel/hotel in the entire 30 miles radius of the town. Wish me luck!