Giving Thanks

As I am sitting here, not so patiently waiting for Moriah to come, I am forcing myself to think of all the reasons I am thankful that she is not here yet.

1.  Extra time to enjoy with the bigger kids. 

2.  More time to concentrate on potty training Ben.  I think we discovered part of the problem yesterday.  I asked Ben if I could check his diaper before he went down for a nap.  As he was walking over to me he informed me, "It's hot in there.  It's hot in my diaper.  I like it hot in my diaper."  Ummmm, yeah, we have strange kids around here....  Kind of hard to convince him to use the potty when he likes it hot in his diaper!

3.  The bigger she grows the better she will sleep when she is here (hopefully!?)

4.  More meals are slowly making their way into the freezer.  Four containers of corn chowder joined the pumpkin muffins, quesadillas, casseroles, lasagna, and baked oatmeal last night.  (Right next to the stack of frozen pizzas.)

5.  I'm still getting several hours of sleep a night!  Even between the potty breaks and the midnight session of trying to decide which hip hurts worse and if I should turn over or not, I know I will be much more sleep deprived in a couple of weeks.

6.  My abs are about as solid as can be right now!  In a couple of weeks I will be forced to face the reality that my stomach muscles no longer exist.

7.  We actually got around to planting some zucchini and tomato seeds the other day.  We are not going for an entire garden this year, just some container gardening.  I have plans to spend my summer traveling the world and snuggling a new baby and a sweet little 3 year old boy.  No weeding for me this summer.  :)

8.  I have become very popular.  :)  My phone has been ringing all week.  "Nope, I do not know when the baby is coming."

9.  I am now up to twice a week midwife appointments.  This means lots of alone time for running errands while I am in town.  Now that is awesome!  You would not believe the difference in time getting thru Walmart on my own vs. having 5 kids helping.  Although it is kind of sad when you leave a store and realize that not a single person has stopped to talk to you and ask if "ALL of those kids are YOURS?!?!"  I actually get a kick out of the strange comments that some people are capable of coming up with. 

10.  God and I have been talking a lot these days.  I've been doing a lot of begging and telling Him when it would be best for Moriah to come.  He has been reminding me that I am not in control.

I love the little signs we find around the house these days.

No baby yet....

But we did get something just as exciting this morning.  New pictures of Graham!  The kids have all been gathered around the computer looking at each one.  Ben was very excited to see that Graham has a rocking horse too (one of Ben's favorite toys).  I can't believe how much he has already changed in just 5 months! 

A reminder from our 6 year old...

Since Ben was born we have gotten so many comments about "poor Ben" growing up with all those sisters. 

So far there have been no issues. 

He is all boy:

cars,

trucks,

noise,

dirt,

wrestling,

and......

shoes

School Days

We have been cramming in as much school work as we can before Moriah gets here.  We started off slow this fall due to morning sickness and all of the adoption chaos and traveling.  But, we are finally catching up - just in time for a baby break and, God willing, more adoption chaos! 

After changing my mind 100 times last year over which curriculum to use this year we finally settled on Christian Light Education (and Math-U-See).  I am sooooo glad we picked this one.  The girls are becoming more and more independent with their school work every day.  This is great when I need to be teaching a 4 year old to read, keeping two toddlers busy, and soon having a new baby in the house. 

Abby is our crazy worker around here and should finish up her school work for the year in another month or two.  She tries to see how many lessons she can get done in one day and I often have to stop her from sitting down and completing an entire workbook in one sitting. 

Elaina is more interested in practical life skills.  She wants to do all of the laundry, cook all of the meals, and take care of the babies.  I'm not sure how needed I am around here some days.  There is no doubt that her love language is serving.  She is a total math whiz (obviously gets that from her daddy and not me) and LOVES to read.

Brie is starting to sound out words and reading some short sentences now.  Time to pull out the Bob Books again!  She wants to read like her big sisters so she is very motivated.  The kids get their own "big" Bible when they learn to read so she is also looking forward to that.

These two manage to stay busy during school time.  They spend a bit of time at the table with everyone else (coloring, doing puzzles, or playing quietly) and then usually run off to play cars or baby dolls.

Who wants to play a game?

Anyone ready to make some guesses about this baby?  You can go to expectnet.com and enter babyMoriah for the game name to play.  The winner gets bragging rights.  :)

To help you out a little, here are some stats from the other kids:

Laina - 5 lbs 15 oz - 4 days early

Abby - 6 lbs 3 oz - 3 days early

Brie - 7 lbs 5 oz - 6 days early

Ben - 8lbs - 7 days LATE

Josie - 7 lbs 6 oz - 1 day early

Here is what we know so far about Moriah:

Due date is March 31st.

The 20 week ultrasound showed a baby girl, so far we have never had any surprises.

I was measuring big for most of this pregnancy, but right now she is measuring right on for her due date. 

I can't believe that there are only 5 more weeks left until Moriah is due!