Enjoy these pictures from the last few months...

12 Week Ultrasound

(Click on the image to see larger)
This was a few weeks ago, but better late than never... The baby measures perfectly and looks very healthy! He or she was rolling and bouncing around the whole time. I have a strong feeling that we are having a girl after seeing it with my own eyes, but we are not picking out names. Mainly because Ivan is dead set on a name that I don't really care for (Samantha) and he doesn't like my favorite pick (Katelynn), so we have decided not to discuss it until we know the gender for sure. No use in arguing over girl names if it's a boy! I am still struggling with morning sickness. Even though the doctor gave me anti-nausea medicine I still feel sick at night. Other than that, I am fine as long as I get a nap in the afternoon :-) I will post more updates as they come. We won't know the gender until I am 20 weeks, so we have a little more than 6 weeks to go for that. Love to you all!!!

When You Feel Like Crying...

I woke up this morning to a phone call from Andrea, one of my great long-time friends, telling me that our friend, Sarah, will have a c-section today to deliver her daughter, Natalie, at just 32 weeks gestation. As my heart, thoughts and prayers have been with her all morning I look outside to see the sleety snow falling in big flakes and my house seems cold. Mason won't stop crying and Jeremiah won't stop bothering him. My grandma was suppose to fly home from NC today, but has decided to delay her return because of the weather, which is a good idea, but I really miss her and was looking forward to her homecoming. After reviewing a few other blogs I realize that I hardly know some of my friends anymore and today I feel farther away than ever. Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's stress, or maybe it's these dang pregnancy hormones that always have a way of taking over my life. Yes, for those of you who don't know already, I am pregnant. Only 5 or 6 weeks, but I already feel deep in the thick of it. We are so happy and excited that it makes me crazy how down in the dumps I feel. This is a beautiful time for our family and I just want to feel as good as I am happy.

Wow Children's Museum

We had SO much fun at the museum!! There were so many different things for the kids to do.



Go to Kyra's blog to see more videos and pictures...

http://seethemacs.blogspot.com/2009/04/wow-childrens-museum.html

BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTER

BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTER
By Maya Angelou

'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ
That a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean living,'
I'm whispering 'I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say.... 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say.. 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain...
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name

When I say.... 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow!

SNOW DAY!!

This was the first time Mason and Jeremiah got to play in the snow. It was so funny because every time they fell forward their arms would catch them, but they would still face-plant in the snow! Daddy showed them how much fun it was to roll around in it and throw it. They had so much fun.

Pictures, newest to oldest...

This was taken yesterday. Charlie, Falon, Mason and Jeremiah.

Me and Jeremiah

Mason riding a bike at Ity Bitty City, a playtime for the young kids of Longmont

Jeremiah being super cute

My handsome boys!

Jeremiah walking around in Daddy's shoes

Jeremiah's favorite place to eat his snack after nap

Dylan and Nat playing with Uncle Keith

Nana, Dylan and I

My cool boys with new sunglasses

Ok, this is so funny... Ivan and I were recording America's Funniest Home Videos and I didn't want the boys glued to the TV so I turned off the sound and put a blanket over the TV. As you can see, they figured out a way to watch on their own!

My cute little ones watching their favorite movie

The Difference

It has been a week since Ivan started his job. He is still going through the training process and will be for a few more weeks. Our schedules are all screwed up because we allowed ourselves to get into a routine of staying up late and sleeping in while Ivan was home. Now, he wants to go to bed at like 9:30 which seems SO early to me. I find myself playing computer games or updating our blog which I never had time to do before. Mason and Jeremiah clearly miss their Daddy. It's been a rough week. They will get used to it though and will eventually stop crying at my legs all day.
If you haven't noticed, I have not been posting as many pictures. It's because our digital camera is breaking and hardly stays on long enough to take one picture. Lord willing, we will be getting a new one in the near future. Until then, I will try to write more instead.
My mom and step-dad are coming for a visit next week. I am really excited. On Monday they are taking us out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. We are going to one of my favorite restaurants in Boulder, Brasserie Ten Ten. We will have the rest of the week (for the most part) to just be together. I love it when my mom visits. We always have so much fun.
I have been really missing Cali lately. I think about my friends there and wish we all did a better job of keeping in touch. Blogs are great, but it's just not the same as Shelly and Julia's random visits when they would let themselves in and steal the twins for like an hour just so that I could have a moment alone. I guess that's not really spending time with them, but it was one of the many benefits of living close. And you just can't beat the Spirit-filled conversations to and from church gatherings and Bible studies. I have never had so much fun riding in a car (unless you consider 30 hours with Shelly and Taylor, which was... unforgettable!)I also think of how different it must be there to them with everyone spreading out all over the place. Ivan seems to get a 'way about him' every time he sees a view of the ocean on tv or when watching a movie. I really think he considers Santa Barbara to be 'back home'. It's where he gave his life to the Lord and where we started our married life and family together. Rest assured all you SB residents, Mason and Jeremiah are natives! I can't wait to visit.
Well, enough of my rambling. My heart is full of joy and happiness! Good night.

Answered Prayers!!

God’s grace is awesome! After just a few weeks on the job market I am once again employed. A huge thanks to our friend Jonae Johnson who put in a good word for me at Leanin’ Tree and helped me get into an Account Manager / Inside Sales position that seems like a really great fit to what I was looking for and a really great company to work for. A ginormous thanks to friends, family, and the brethren who have been supporting us in prayer and finances. God has been good to put you all in our lives and we thank Him and you for being so good to us.

In the midst of all this change, Chrissy and I are glad to testify that God has once again risen above our fears and doubts and has proven that He is true to the promises that he makes in scripture. So as the only natural response we proclaim praises in the name of Jesus!

We don't know where we are going...

After 'nailing the interviews', I was called to provide references and, thinking that I had the job for sure, Ivan, the boys and I went to The Cottage, a local daycare center, for a tour. While we were there I felt like I was holding back tears the whole time. I just couldn't stomach leaving the boys there every day, all day. NO WAY! I thought maybe it was just The Cottage and danced with the idea of visiting others, but after playing with numbers we realized that I would have to be paid over $5 more per hour than what I was asking in order for it to be worth putting the boys in daycare at all. After praying, we were at so much peace with the idea of me not taking the job, or any job for that matter. The only dispeace I had was when thinking about calling the company to let them know that I didn't want the job. So, the next day I received an email from them stating that they had hired someone else. THE LORD!!
Now, as for Ivan... he also landed a second interview, which was last Thursday. It went really well, they requested references and had him do a drug test... and nothing since. We have not heard anything.
Now we are just praying. Maybe Ivan will get that call tomorrow or the next day. Maybe he won't get the job, or maybe he will get an offer, but at this point we are really trying to discern what the Lord wants us to do. Maybe we are looking in the wrong direction??? Please pray!! God has been providing one day at a time. Like he always does. Just keep praying!

We nailed the Interviews!!

I know that the Lord was giving us favor yesterday as we interviewed, Ivan at Leanin Tree and me at Gibbons-White. Ivan is moving forward in the interview process by taking online assessment tests. It is not fun, but will be worth it in the end. Yesterday afternoon I was called back an hour after I left to arrange a second interview, which I had this morning and it went REALLY well! I am super excited and hope and pray for God's wisdom and discernment because I really want this job! It's 30 hours a week that will move into 40 hours gradually throughout the first year. I think it's perfect for transitioning Mason and Jeremiah into day care. Keep praying! Love you all!

Job Interviews

A feeling of mixed emotion comes over me as I write to tell you that Ivan and I both have interviews scheduled for Monday. Ivan is first, at 10:30am, for a sales position at a company called Leanin Tree. Then I will drive into Boulder to interview at the Sunflower Restaurant as their AP/AR and Payroll person. Please keep us in your prayers. These are the first of several positions that we have applied for to show any interest. As you can probably imagine, our resumes are superb and can only categorize us as rock stars, so we will let the Lord do the rest! :-)

A Family for the Lord

The last week has been a very interesting one. Last Tuesday Ivan lost his job. I could go on about how difficult it is to go through the emotions of dealing with this, the "Oh NO, what are we going to do!", the silence, the crying and the queasy feeling involved with your life suddenly changing, but I am so grateful to say that I would much rather go into the peace, security, provision, blessings, love, support, and utter joy it is to have a renewed faith that our Mighty, Awesome, Wonderful God will more than come through for us. He has done it before, he will do it again. So, this season is not a "hard" one or a "trying" one, it is a happy and exciting one to be in awesome wonder of what the Lord will do next. We love you all and know that you are supporting us in prayer, and that's all we need!

Bath Time...with the babies

Keep looking, I posted several pictures today!