Tickled Pink!!

We are having a Girl!!

What has been going on????

That is the question! So much has been happening, we have tons to be very thankful for!
*Josh is now working days! He got a promotion to a new department. Josh is now just working weekends at the Branding Iron. It is so very nice to see my husband again!
*We sold Peter (my/Joshua's car:). We are buying Amy's Suburban (I know it is very anti-hippie, but it will have to work:). We needed a larger car for our growing fam, but did not want a payment. We are commented to debt free living, it is so hard! But, we know it will be very rewarding and we will be much more free to serve God.
*Josh is doing GREAT in school! He is loving it!
*We are packing up to move. We will be moving at the first of the month. We are not moving very far, we will still be in the greater Mena area!
*The kids are doing so well! They really enjoy living so close to all the Grandparents. This is the closest we have lived to them in years. They are enjoying some serious spoiling at Pop & NeNa's this weekend!
*We have big plans for Easter. Our CHURCH is having a huge egg hunt on Saturday, it will be a ton of fun. On Sunday we will attend church and ohhhh and ahhhh over all the little kids and they can over ours in their Easter finery:). After Church we are going to Papa & Memaw's for a cookout and egg hunt. We will probably end up back at Papa & MiMi's for something sweet! It will be a very busy day!
*EJ told her Children's Church teacher that "Jesus was great, but I am going to marry me that Spiderman!"
*Guice loves to carry money in his pocket. He always ask his daddy for a "ollar"
So much more to share.....until next time!

G's hair cut!

And you thought we would never do it! Well, it was not on purpose! I had told the lady that we did not want your traditional boy cut. I just needed it trimmed up where the goats (or NeNa) had gotten a hold of the bangs. And a LITTLE in the back. Well she had other ideas! He does look super cute, but I miss all his hair! I cried like a baby! He looks like such a little man now, and SO much like his Daddy! He looks completely different! It's crazy what a hair cut can do! The jury is still out on if he will ever get another one:)!
Long Haired Baby Boy! Blond hair blue eyes, watch out ladies!
Blond curls! Nothin' cuter!

Our little man!

All gone!

BOY OR GIRL?????

That is the question! Josh and I have decided to find out, for a couple of reasons. I have had 4 ultrasounds and have at least 2 to go. During the scan there is no "look at the cute feet" or any of that. The scans are not the least bit fun, they are very medical. They call our baby a fetus the whole time, yes seriously. With EJ and G (who together had a grand total of 3 scans;) the tech went on and on about this or that and how sweet, cute, ect.... everything was (yes, I know they do that with (almost) everyone). I miss that. I dread, for obvious reasons, the scans. I am not crazy about having a ton of them. We just want something to look forward to instead of dread. Also, when they say fetus we can say "Oh, its a __________!" Maybe they will refer to the baby by the gender instead. So if you were waiting to the last second to vote, you better get to it! We should know Tuesday!

please pray....

We still need prayers for our little one. At my appointment yesterday we learned that the baby has abnormally low amniotic fluid levels (the level was 7 and needed to be a 10) and also the heartbeat is high. I have a ultrasound scheduled for Tuesday. I will update then.

The results are in.....

First I have to say we felt completely elevated in prayer today! Thanks to you!!! There was a peace and a calmness that could only be the Lord. Extremely amazing. The ultrasound findings are good, great actually! There were no abnormalities found, no soft markers for down syndrome. That lowered our ration to 1/400. We were offered an amnio and have decided absolutely not to have it. I have a follow up scan in 3 weeks! And the news you have also been waiting for the baby is..........................still a SURPRISE!

The ultrasound.....

For whatever reason, I feel the need to blog about our upcoming scan. This blog is mainly for me, really. I love looking back, seeing what we were up to, what I was thinking about, what was going on. I really want to record my feelings about the possibility of the baby being born with Down syndrome. So, at some point I can look back and remember this time in our lives, it has been unbelievably clarifying for us. First and foremost we have sought refuge in God and his perfect plan. Because of seeking our Lord, we have grown much closer as a couple. I can tell you now we have been very blessed the past two weeks. Also, I would like to answer questions that I have gotten over the past couple of weeks. I should begin with saying, we are not devastated about having a child with Down syndrome, I think this really throws people for a loop. It is the exact opposite really. Josh and I are humbled that God would see us fit to parent such a beautiful spirit. We are however, concerned with the medical side of things, having a medically fragile baby. We will lean on God and each other if this happens to be the case. I am also a little unsure about providing attention, care, and love for 3 under 4 if one happens to need a little extra. I am fortunate that we live closer to our families now and they have been completely supportive! We also have a wonderful church family, it is very nice to have that source of love as well!
As you can imagine there are a ton of unknowns. Even after the scan we will not know for sure. We will be given another ratio. The only way to know is to have an amino. Although we ruled it out early in pregnancy, we might consider it later on. It is not that it matters, we just want to make sure we give this baby the best start. To do that we would need to have him/her in Little Rock if he/she happens to have an extra chromosome. Mena Regional is simply not qualified to adequately care for infants with special needs. I had the quad-screen and it came back with a seriously high positive, considering my age. It has a much lower false positive than the triple-screen.
With all of that being said.....please keep us in your prayers! I am going back tonight (bye bye internet, it has been fun:) and Pop and NeNa are bringing in the kiddo's on Monday. They really wanted to be in town for the ultrasound. I will update as soon as I can on the results! Thanks in advance for your prayers!

EJ and her style!

I have to admit, I am one of those moms! I let my kids dress themselves about 99% of the time. Why sweat the small things? I really have to pick my battles with these two and clothing is just not a priority! I choose everything else for them, when and what they eat, when they sleep, play, what and when they watch T.V.. So the one thing they can do is pick out what they wear. EJ wears her rubber boots to church about every Sunday. She loves them. G just got a blue pair and also wears them every chance he gets! Today was a very special outfit, the pic does not do it justice! Her "pants" are black ruffle tights! Oh, and she is wearing it out of the house. She has a play date with Sydney today and is going shopping with NeNa.
She has her own style for certain!
**I have to admit that I am trying to manipulate the situation this summer:)! EJ is going Suri, all dresses! Seriously, I am on the hunt for super cute summer dresses......We shall see if it works! I have a feeling, however, they will sit in her closet along with tons of other super sweet clothes she is just not in to, or be worn with rubber boots!

My Sweet Guyboo!

Guess who he wants to be just like?????

When he sees a camera he turns his head to the side and says CHEESE! He is such a little ham!

More about EJ...

*When I asked her what she wanted from Jade China she said "Some baby chicken because it is super crunchy when I eat it!"
*EJ refuses to take her bible to children's church. When we asked her why she said "Well I can't read". I explained to her that Ms. Jamie likes to read from kids bibles and EJ replied "Well, if she can read she should bring her own." I recently found out that she and Ms. Jamie had the same conversation. Thankfully, Ms. Jamie thinks EJ is super cute and funny!
*EJ is sleeping in her own bed (a mattress on the floor in our room) and going to sleep by herself! I miss the little monkey in our bed BUT 5 in one bed is a little much. We tried to move Guy boo but he was not having it!

ALL ABOUT GUICE!

*He is not potty trained, I am VERY ready, he is VERY stubborn. He will go and poop in his diaper then come to me and say "Poop diaper change"! He will even bring the diaper and wipes! Guice blames the pooping on other people or pets. He will say that NeNa or Daddy or Pop or Pirate pooped in his diaper.
*He is a very good eater, not picky at all. He loves all kinds of fruit and veggies! His lates favorite is eggs, his record for breakfast is 4 but he usally eats 3 and some fruit.
*He loves animals so much! He wants to hold everyone he sees. He recently visited Pops baby lambs and absolutely adored them. G will call Kit Kat (aka antisocial cat of Pop's) , he says "Kit Kat lap now!" Of course she just looks at him like he is crazy!
*He loves to play and is very imaginative. He likes to "cook" and have me eat it. He will then ask if I want more.
*He can put together peg puzzles. He is very good at it.
*G loves to read books and to pretend he can read. If the book is a hard back and doesn't have pictures it is the Bible.
*He really would like to stay outside all day.
*If he can't find something like the stars or moon he will say "Stars bed, moon bed."
*He likes to watch T.V. but talks the whole time about what he sees. It is so cute and slightly madding.
*One second he is very excited about the coming baby, kissing and loving my tummy. The next he will say "No baby!" and try and bite my tummy! When he sees a baby he will pat me.
*G is super independent. He must pick out everything! For instance, if he wants a banana, He will go get a chair scoot it to the counter and get his own. He must be able to choose his cup spoon and plate. G is so over sippy cups, he is very insulted when offered one:).
*G is not about to sit in highchairs! What did you think he was still a baby? NO WAY! He refuses to sit in one or a booster. So it is a big boy chair!
*If he sees something he likes on T.V., he will want it, right then. Same with a magazine or book. As if I can just reach in and grab it for him.
*He gets very frustrated that he can't drive his tractor. It is a tiny toy but he throws a fit to get in it and drive it around. It makes him so mad. EJ would do this too. I worried when she would do it, but she seems to have turned out fine:). His personality really reminds me of EJ, I am not sure if that is good or bad:)!

19 Weeks!

I am 19 weeks today, wooo hooo! The pregnancy finally seems to have picked up some speed, almost half way there! We are so excited to meet this little one! I am doing wonderful, feeling good, and looking very pregtastic! I have been feeling the baby move for about 3 weeks but they are getting much stronger and more frequent. Josh felt the baby move right before we left, it is such an amazing moment to share! I go back and forth daily on whether it is a boy or girl, honestly I haven't the slightest clue. I thought I would know for sure, I did with the other two but not this one. One thing is for sure this little monkey is keeping us on our toes!
belly pic 19 wks!! ps, i was joking about the gender predictor, well sort of:). we are sticking to our guns and not finding out!

Our 'ittle lion!

PJ's!

EJ showing off her princess PJ's! EJ loves to go with NeNa to Walmart, she always comes home with several things that were not on the list:)!

Reason 1,239,762 why my kids are ROTTEN!

EJ decided earlier in the week she needed a pink birthday cake. She put in a call to NeNa and had a cake delivered that day! EJ & G devoured the cake in 3 days. *yes I know they misspelled Guice!

4 YEARS!!

Happy Anniversary to my WONDERFUL husband! Can't wait for the next 400:)!

Love Always,
Jess

Emery Jai.....

I haven't shared some of the hilarious things that EJ does or says in a while. I think it is about time!
*Emery Jai likes to pretend to smoke cigarettes. Thank you Disney! We watched 101 Dalmatian's one time and she bam was a pack a day smoker! She pretends with straws or whatever is on hand. I can't blame this entirely on Walt. A few months ago out of the blue she started saying "When I was a boy, I smoked cigarettes". What in the world?
*She insists the baby WILL be a girl. And, that she will hold my hand when the baby comes out! Not so sure about that......
*EJ runs in while I was taking a shower and says "I have a huge problem, really it is very big!" I start panicking about that time she says "My finger nails are not painted at all! Can you fix that?" Drama queen? I think so!
*Emery Jai is obsessed with princess's...I staved this off as long as I could. Personally I am not a big fan. I would rather my child be interested in something with more substance. Not just a girl who lives in a castle and wears cute clothes and basically does nothing but be rescued by a man. Anyway that is a whole other blog post:). If I ask EJ to do something she will say "But, I can't I am a princess and I just sit around in a big castle all day."
*She changes her name to Bella everyday. G even calls her Bella when she tells him too!
*Today is NeNa's birthday and EJ is refusing to go eat until someone buys her a gift! She is very envious of other people's birthdays, very.
There really is so much much more but my little ones are waking up!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NENA!!!

Praise & Worship!

I think EJ might just be a future praise and worship leader! She loves to sing in the choir. This is one of the very first times she got up there, a couple of months ago. It did not take her long to dump MiMi so she could sit front and center! Although, she is on strike until she gets a microphone:)! Really, she refuses to sing. EJ says the choir sings so very loud it is hard for people to hear just her! She is a mess!

For your viewing pleasure....

He is talking so well! Everyday he adds several new words to his vocabulary! I LOVE watching them learn and grow! He is using 2 words regularly and 3 words on occasion. My favorite word he says is terrible! I think it is the cutest!