I have never really thought much about heartbeats, or really the sound of heartbeats. But now, heartbeats are one of the most beautiful sounds there is my life. Especially when it is the sound of my baby's heartbeat. For now, I am only going to the doctor once a month. Not much happens at these appointments, but I get to hear our little baby's heartbeat.
I always hold my breath for a split second when my doctor first puts the little heartbeat listening device (not sure of the proper term!) on my belly, but I can't hold back that smile when the sound of that first heartbeat comes through. And then I listen for a brief moment at the life growing inside me. I can breath again, hearing that precious sound.
It is a sound of assurance. A sound of life. A sound of our future as a family. A sound of the love God has for me, that He would allow me have such a child. A sound that comes with so many emotions that I really have no idea how to write them down. I love that sound. I could lay on the doctor's table and listen to it all day.
In a few months, I will trade hearing that sound once a month for holding our baby in my arms. But for now, I will look forward to hearing the precious sound of the precious heartbeat of our precious baby.
my humble attempt at writing about my God, my kids, my family, our adoption, attempts at craftiness & sewing, & whatever else comes to mind...
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
What's In A Name?
I remember a long time ago, when Jacob and I were still dating but knew we were going to get married someday, we were talking about kids. We were talking about how many children we wanted and what some of our favorite names were. We made a short list of 2 boy names and 2 girl names that we really liked and those were going to be our kids names. I kept up with that list in my head over the next few years, hoping every time a friend got pregnant that they didn't use one of the names we had picked out!
Then the time came when it really mattered. We were having a baby, the pregnancy was moving along great, and it was time to pick our boy/girl names. I mean, picking out names is something all moms and dads have done...it is easier for some than it is for others. I remembered a friend and she and her husband, named their first child based on the names meanings and she said that they gave their child that first and middle name because that was their prayer for them. I thought that was a really great way to name a child. We poured over baby name books and then finally came back to our first choice name for a girl...Anna Elizabeth. It just sounded so beautiful and just brought that smile to our face. We knew we would call her Anna Beth.
When our first little surprise came along just a few months after AB was born, we had no idea where to start for a girl and, of course, we still had our first boy name. We originally had a second girl name, but since coming up with it, I met and spent a lot of time with someone who had the same name and - to put it nicely - I didn't want my child to share that name and risk me being constantly reminded of this person. So, we played around with several name combinations, but nothing seemed right. Nothing gave us that "smile" like it did with AB. Then, while we were taking a walk around seminary campus on afternoon, I asked Jacob about the name Lynnsie - spelled L-Y-N-N-S-I-E. There's so many ways you can spell this name, but we really liked this spelling because it incorporated Jacob's mom's middle name, Lynn. Jacob asked about a middle name and I said I really didn't know. Then he wanted to know about "Dale" for a middle name. Dale is his middle name - and his dad's middle name - and I couldn't think of anything sweeter than our little girl having her daddy's middle name. My youngest sister has my dad's middle name and I've always thought it was precious! So, there we had it - Lynnsie Dale. And it worked out perfectly, too, because Lynnsie "looks" like a Lynnsie and not like the other name we had originally chosen!
Now, we're doing it again!! We still have our first boy name, which we will use if this is a boy, and we've chosen the first name if this baby is a girl...still working on the middle name. This will be a post all to itself once we know boy/girl for this baby...so check back at the end of the month!
Then the time came when it really mattered. We were having a baby, the pregnancy was moving along great, and it was time to pick our boy/girl names. I mean, picking out names is something all moms and dads have done...it is easier for some than it is for others. I remembered a friend and she and her husband, named their first child based on the names meanings and she said that they gave their child that first and middle name because that was their prayer for them. I thought that was a really great way to name a child. We poured over baby name books and then finally came back to our first choice name for a girl...Anna Elizabeth. It just sounded so beautiful and just brought that smile to our face. We knew we would call her Anna Beth.
When our first little surprise came along just a few months after AB was born, we had no idea where to start for a girl and, of course, we still had our first boy name. We originally had a second girl name, but since coming up with it, I met and spent a lot of time with someone who had the same name and - to put it nicely - I didn't want my child to share that name and risk me being constantly reminded of this person. So, we played around with several name combinations, but nothing seemed right. Nothing gave us that "smile" like it did with AB. Then, while we were taking a walk around seminary campus on afternoon, I asked Jacob about the name Lynnsie - spelled L-Y-N-N-S-I-E. There's so many ways you can spell this name, but we really liked this spelling because it incorporated Jacob's mom's middle name, Lynn. Jacob asked about a middle name and I said I really didn't know. Then he wanted to know about "Dale" for a middle name. Dale is his middle name - and his dad's middle name - and I couldn't think of anything sweeter than our little girl having her daddy's middle name. My youngest sister has my dad's middle name and I've always thought it was precious! So, there we had it - Lynnsie Dale. And it worked out perfectly, too, because Lynnsie "looks" like a Lynnsie and not like the other name we had originally chosen!
Now, we're doing it again!! We still have our first boy name, which we will use if this is a boy, and we've chosen the first name if this baby is a girl...still working on the middle name. This will be a post all to itself once we know boy/girl for this baby...so check back at the end of the month!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
A Storybook Life
If you were to ask Anna Beth and Lynnnsie what they did today, here are some things you would hear them say:
* had a "picky" aka picnic in the park
* ran in the grass
* played in a giant shoe
* slid down a dragon's tongue
* jumped on the bed in a pirate's ship
* gave a little pig a hug
* walked inside a big blue fish
* went on a pumpkin carriage ride
Sounds fun, right? Maybe a little like they spent their day in a story or two? That's because we went to Storyland today in City Park. I must admit, I have lived in New Orleans for five years and have never taken the time to enjoy City Park. Very sad, I know.
Storyland is a little hard to explain, but it's an amazing part of City Park for kids. They have all of these giant scenes built from different children's stories, movies, and nursery rhymes that the kids can play on. "There was an old lady who lived in a shoe", Peter Pan, 3 Little Pigs, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland...and this is just what I can recall at the end of a fun-filled day. If you ever visit New Orleans, or if you live here and have never been, Storyland is MUST for your kids.
We first arrived at the same time as 7...yes, 7!...school buses. Yay, for field trips ;) It was very crazy at first, especially since the girls were trying to take it all in among the madness! We let them play for a while and then walked across the street to a big, beautiful grassy area and had a picnic underneath some palm trees. The girls finished eating and enjoyed just running around in the grass and soaking up some beautiful sunshine.
After lunch, we went back in - after all 7 buses had loaded up and left - and had a much better time. This is when AB and Lynns experienced the giant dragon slide. This slide started 20 feet up in the air. AB was fearless as she walked up all of those steps and the flew...literally, flew...down the slide with the biggest smile on her face. I had heart palpitations. Then Jacob took Lynnsie down. She didn't know what to think of it at first, but once she got to the bottom, she realized she liked it and wanted to do it again.
* had a "picky" aka picnic in the park
* ran in the grass
* played in a giant shoe
* slid down a dragon's tongue
* jumped on the bed in a pirate's ship
* gave a little pig a hug
* walked inside a big blue fish
* went on a pumpkin carriage ride
Sounds fun, right? Maybe a little like they spent their day in a story or two? That's because we went to Storyland today in City Park. I must admit, I have lived in New Orleans for five years and have never taken the time to enjoy City Park. Very sad, I know.
Storyland is a little hard to explain, but it's an amazing part of City Park for kids. They have all of these giant scenes built from different children's stories, movies, and nursery rhymes that the kids can play on. "There was an old lady who lived in a shoe", Peter Pan, 3 Little Pigs, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland...and this is just what I can recall at the end of a fun-filled day. If you ever visit New Orleans, or if you live here and have never been, Storyland is MUST for your kids.
We first arrived at the same time as 7...yes, 7!...school buses. Yay, for field trips ;) It was very crazy at first, especially since the girls were trying to take it all in among the madness! We let them play for a while and then walked across the street to a big, beautiful grassy area and had a picnic underneath some palm trees. The girls finished eating and enjoyed just running around in the grass and soaking up some beautiful sunshine.
After lunch, we went back in - after all 7 buses had loaded up and left - and had a much better time. This is when AB and Lynns experienced the giant dragon slide. This slide started 20 feet up in the air. AB was fearless as she walked up all of those steps and the flew...literally, flew...down the slide with the biggest smile on her face. I had heart palpitations. Then Jacob took Lynnsie down. She didn't know what to think of it at first, but once she got to the bottom, she realized she liked it and wanted to do it again.
Such a fun and beautiful day. The girls are already asking to go back and, to be honest, I can't wait to go back, either!
One Stormy Night
On Sunday, Jacob had to run to Wal-Mart to get Anna Beth some more bedtime diapers. Anna Beth and Lynnsie both wanted to ride with him, so off they went - and down I sat on the couch to enjoy the quiet...after I got supper started, of course :) When they came back in, Anna Beth was carrying a green, bouncy ball and Lynnsie was carrying a purple bouncy ball. This is now two trips in a row to Wal-Mart where the girls were able to pick something out for themselves...I hope they don't think this will be the norm!
Jacob wanted to replace the bouncy balls they had gotten for Christmas that have since busted. So, they each picked out a new bouncy ball. We played in the driveway with them most of the day yesterday...rolling them, bouncing them to each other, and the girls loved chasing after them when they got away in the yard.
After we got them tucked into bed, it began to storm outside. After one loud clap of thunder, I heard AB. I thought she was scared, so I ran into her room. She was not scared. She was watching the storm out of her window and she had just seen her new, green, bouncy ball blowing away in the wind and headed down the street. We raised the blinds and she, Jacob, and I sat there and watched the storm together...assuring her that Daddy would go get the ball.
The storm passed and we tucked her back into bed. Jacob grabbed his rain boots and a big flashlight and out into the street he went. He returned several minutes later...green, bouncy ball in hand. And that is just one of many reasons, my girls have an amazing Daddy.
Jacob wanted to replace the bouncy balls they had gotten for Christmas that have since busted. So, they each picked out a new bouncy ball. We played in the driveway with them most of the day yesterday...rolling them, bouncing them to each other, and the girls loved chasing after them when they got away in the yard.
After we got them tucked into bed, it began to storm outside. After one loud clap of thunder, I heard AB. I thought she was scared, so I ran into her room. She was not scared. She was watching the storm out of her window and she had just seen her new, green, bouncy ball blowing away in the wind and headed down the street. We raised the blinds and she, Jacob, and I sat there and watched the storm together...assuring her that Daddy would go get the ball.
The storm passed and we tucked her back into bed. Jacob grabbed his rain boots and a big flashlight and out into the street he went. He returned several minutes later...green, bouncy ball in hand. And that is just one of many reasons, my girls have an amazing Daddy.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
They Say It Takes a Village
They say it takes a village to raise a child and I believe there's a lot of truth in that. There are some very special people in Anna Beth and Lynnsie's lives right now, outside of the amazing family members that surround all four...I mean five(!)...of us. I just wanted to take some time and jot down who they are and why they are special. Each person is a huge influence in their lives right now and I am grateful for each of them. I am taking a huge risk at leaving someone out and am hoping desperately that I don't. If I do, you better believe they will get a post all their own!!
I will start with a lady who is very special to both of them, and that is Mrs. Lea Hord. She is the Director of Preschool Ministries at our church...First Baptist Church Slidell. She makes sure there are loving teachers for my kids every Sunday and Wednesday during church and on Thursday mornings when I am in Ladies Bible Study. But here's the special thing about Lea, she doesn't view preschool ministry as a "need for babysitters", but as a time for laying the foundation for these young children coming to Christ...starting at the very beginning, I guess you could say.
Still in the preschool department at church, we have the Babies nursery at our church. Children stay in here until they turn one and are walking. Lynnsie was with them for 18 months...she was a late bloomer in the walking department! These ladies loved Lynnsie so much!! And they loved "on" her so much, too. When it came time for me to move her, they asked me to wait just one more week so they could play with her one last time and tell her goodbye. It brought tears to my eyes to see how much they loved my child. They taught Lynnsie that church is a happy place to go, where you find love from others, and get 'loved on" by others.
Lynns is now in the 1 year old class. She's only been in there a few weeks, but already I know that her teachers, Mrs. Carmen and Mrs. Bonnie, picked up where Mrs. Teresa and Mrs. Jessica left off. For months they would check to see if she was walking because they couldn't wait to get their hands on her!! Again, showing that her love and being eager to love on her. They were also the first Sunday School teachers AB had at our church - and they still love her now just as much as they did when she was with them every Sunday.
Mrs. Betty keeps Lynns on Wednesday nights and Thursday mornings. There's others who are in there, too, but even they will tell you that Lynnsie belongs to Mrs. Betty. Mrs. Betty is waiting by the door for Lynnsie every time I drop her off. She reaches for her and smiles the biggest smile. Most of the time, her feet do not hit the floor while she is with Mrs. Betty because she is being snuggled and rocked...two things that she loves! Lynns has even called Mrs. Betty "Grandma" before, so I told Mrs. Betty she could be her Louisiana Grandma!
AB's SS teachers are great, too. Mrs. Andrea and Mr. Carl. Mr. Carl teaches AB a Bible story every week and talks to her about how much Jesus loves her. Mrs. Andrea plays with her and, AB's favorite, brings her donuts! AB has said many times she likes going to church because she gets donuts...and that's okay with me because I want church to be a place that she wants to be and enjoys being at and knows that church is a fun place, too.
Mrs. Laure plays two roles in AB's life...she is a helper in her Mommy's Day Out class and she is also her choir/Awana teacher on Wednesday nights. AB loves her on Wednesday nights because she always stuffs her pockets full of candy on the way out!! But what AB really talks about, is when Mrs. Laure helps her take a nap at school. Mrs. Laure rubs her back and plays with her hair while she settles down and falls asleep each Tuesday and Thursday. AB will say, 'Mommy, rub my back, please, like Mrs. Laure does.' It is so precious! And I love knowing that my child is loved during a rough time of day...when she's super tired and worn out!
Finally, but certainly not least, is Miss Kelly and Miss Karen, AB's teachers at her MOD school. I had no idea AB would have two teachers who loved her so much! To see her give them hugs, and watch them give her hugs, every single day is priceless. AB asks if they can come play at her house or come to dinner. When one of them is absent or sick, she is excited to get to school the next time to see them. They even take the time to send home notes about funny things AB did during the day. They know when she's not herself and they call me. I pray that every teacher any of my kids have, will be just the way Miss Karen and Miss Kelly are!
I know throughout the years, there will be many people who are special to my children and play important roles in their lives and I never want to forget them and I want to be able to look back and remind my children about each and every one of them.
I will start with a lady who is very special to both of them, and that is Mrs. Lea Hord. She is the Director of Preschool Ministries at our church...First Baptist Church Slidell. She makes sure there are loving teachers for my kids every Sunday and Wednesday during church and on Thursday mornings when I am in Ladies Bible Study. But here's the special thing about Lea, she doesn't view preschool ministry as a "need for babysitters", but as a time for laying the foundation for these young children coming to Christ...starting at the very beginning, I guess you could say.
Still in the preschool department at church, we have the Babies nursery at our church. Children stay in here until they turn one and are walking. Lynnsie was with them for 18 months...she was a late bloomer in the walking department! These ladies loved Lynnsie so much!! And they loved "on" her so much, too. When it came time for me to move her, they asked me to wait just one more week so they could play with her one last time and tell her goodbye. It brought tears to my eyes to see how much they loved my child. They taught Lynnsie that church is a happy place to go, where you find love from others, and get 'loved on" by others.
Lynns is now in the 1 year old class. She's only been in there a few weeks, but already I know that her teachers, Mrs. Carmen and Mrs. Bonnie, picked up where Mrs. Teresa and Mrs. Jessica left off. For months they would check to see if she was walking because they couldn't wait to get their hands on her!! Again, showing that her love and being eager to love on her. They were also the first Sunday School teachers AB had at our church - and they still love her now just as much as they did when she was with them every Sunday.
Mrs. Betty keeps Lynns on Wednesday nights and Thursday mornings. There's others who are in there, too, but even they will tell you that Lynnsie belongs to Mrs. Betty. Mrs. Betty is waiting by the door for Lynnsie every time I drop her off. She reaches for her and smiles the biggest smile. Most of the time, her feet do not hit the floor while she is with Mrs. Betty because she is being snuggled and rocked...two things that she loves! Lynns has even called Mrs. Betty "Grandma" before, so I told Mrs. Betty she could be her Louisiana Grandma!
AB's SS teachers are great, too. Mrs. Andrea and Mr. Carl. Mr. Carl teaches AB a Bible story every week and talks to her about how much Jesus loves her. Mrs. Andrea plays with her and, AB's favorite, brings her donuts! AB has said many times she likes going to church because she gets donuts...and that's okay with me because I want church to be a place that she wants to be and enjoys being at and knows that church is a fun place, too.
Mrs. Laure plays two roles in AB's life...she is a helper in her Mommy's Day Out class and she is also her choir/Awana teacher on Wednesday nights. AB loves her on Wednesday nights because she always stuffs her pockets full of candy on the way out!! But what AB really talks about, is when Mrs. Laure helps her take a nap at school. Mrs. Laure rubs her back and plays with her hair while she settles down and falls asleep each Tuesday and Thursday. AB will say, 'Mommy, rub my back, please, like Mrs. Laure does.' It is so precious! And I love knowing that my child is loved during a rough time of day...when she's super tired and worn out!
Finally, but certainly not least, is Miss Kelly and Miss Karen, AB's teachers at her MOD school. I had no idea AB would have two teachers who loved her so much! To see her give them hugs, and watch them give her hugs, every single day is priceless. AB asks if they can come play at her house or come to dinner. When one of them is absent or sick, she is excited to get to school the next time to see them. They even take the time to send home notes about funny things AB did during the day. They know when she's not herself and they call me. I pray that every teacher any of my kids have, will be just the way Miss Karen and Miss Kelly are!
I know throughout the years, there will be many people who are special to my children and play important roles in their lives and I never want to forget them and I want to be able to look back and remind my children about each and every one of them.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Fresh Strawberries and OJ...it's all in a week with Nana and Denden
Every year for the past I-don't-know-how-many years, my grandparents have loaded up in their camper and headed south for the winter...snowbirds, as they call themselves. They always leave a few days after Christmas and head home at the very end of March. In all of these years, only one even has drawn them away from Florida during this time, my wedding. And then we had babies :) This year, they came to visit (or to the rescue!) in February when I was very pregnant-sick and this past week, they left their campsite a week early and spent the last of their winter vacation with us.
The girls - not to mention Jacob and I - love it when they are here. I cannot begin to tell you how much help they are when they're here!! On this last visit, they brought us some fresh strawberries and some fresh Florida oranges...YUM!!
They also brought their juicer over - that my granddad said they got at a garage sale many, many years ago - and we made fresh squeezed orange juice with the dozen or so oranges they brought. And it was SO much better than Tropicana!! Denden showed them how to do it and then let each of them do a couple of oranges.
We ALL enjoyed drinking the fresh OJ together after we made it!!
The girls - not to mention Jacob and I - love it when they are here. I cannot begin to tell you how much help they are when they're here!! On this last visit, they brought us some fresh strawberries and some fresh Florida oranges...YUM!!
I caught a glimpse of my childhood as AB sat with my Denden at the table and watched him cap strawberries. I used to sit on my Granny Wren's (Nana's mom) front porch for hours at a time in the summer and shell peas and break green beans. These are some of the best memories of my childhood...summer days in Bradford, TN. My Nana will take these strawberries and cut them up, add some sugar, and serve them over hot biscuits with butter (another reason why I love it when they visit!)
We ALL enjoyed drinking the fresh OJ together after we made it!!
Planting Our Rainbow
One of my MOST favorite books to read to my girls...and one of their favorites, too...is a book titled "Planting a Rainbow." It's a big board book with the brightest colors I've ever seen. In summary, a child and their mommy plant a rainbow every year....they grow something red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. If you know me, then you know that I love lots of color, so maybe that is why this is one of my favorite books to read.
Last year, as I was reading it to the girls, the thought hit me that this was a great idea to do with them! So, last year was the first year. I took AB (Lynns was only 8 months old) to a family-owned nursery and we picked out a purple plant. I don't remember what it was called, but it was pretty and grew and grew and grew! Each morning AB and I would go out to the front porch and water our pretty flowers. This was happening while Jacob was away at Basic Training, so we would write to him and send him pictures - and even a flower one time - all summer long.
Well, today was our "Plant Our Rainbow" day. Jacob was away for drill, so this morning after our picnic snack in the back yard, we loaded up and went to the garden center at Wal-Mart. (I would've loved to have gone to another family-owned, local nursery, but I failed to look any up!) We went up and down the aisle of beautiful flowers. AB said she wanted orange flowers and insisted that Lynnsie wanted pink ones. Lynnsie doesn't know her colors, yet, so I held some pink ones up for her and she smiled and reached for them and said, 'Kay.', which seems to be Lynnsie for "yes".
Next, we went and picked out some pretty flower pots to put our flowers in. AB chose one with stripes that were pretty shades of blue and Lynns chose a pretty green one. We came home, ate lunch, napped, snacked, and were just heading back out to transfer our flowers into our pots, when Jacob walked in...surprising us all b/c he wasn't supposed to be home until tomorrow.
We all went out and Jacob helped put the flowers in the pots. The girls were really excited and now our tiny little front "porch" has some beautiful color to it, our own little rainbow.
* As I was trying to take their picture, our neighbor came over and started talking to Jacob, so getting them to actually look at the camera became a lost cause :)
Last year, as I was reading it to the girls, the thought hit me that this was a great idea to do with them! So, last year was the first year. I took AB (Lynns was only 8 months old) to a family-owned nursery and we picked out a purple plant. I don't remember what it was called, but it was pretty and grew and grew and grew! Each morning AB and I would go out to the front porch and water our pretty flowers. This was happening while Jacob was away at Basic Training, so we would write to him and send him pictures - and even a flower one time - all summer long.
Well, today was our "Plant Our Rainbow" day. Jacob was away for drill, so this morning after our picnic snack in the back yard, we loaded up and went to the garden center at Wal-Mart. (I would've loved to have gone to another family-owned, local nursery, but I failed to look any up!) We went up and down the aisle of beautiful flowers. AB said she wanted orange flowers and insisted that Lynnsie wanted pink ones. Lynnsie doesn't know her colors, yet, so I held some pink ones up for her and she smiled and reached for them and said, 'Kay.', which seems to be Lynnsie for "yes".
Next, we went and picked out some pretty flower pots to put our flowers in. AB chose one with stripes that were pretty shades of blue and Lynns chose a pretty green one. We came home, ate lunch, napped, snacked, and were just heading back out to transfer our flowers into our pots, when Jacob walked in...surprising us all b/c he wasn't supposed to be home until tomorrow.
We all went out and Jacob helped put the flowers in the pots. The girls were really excited and now our tiny little front "porch" has some beautiful color to it, our own little rainbow.
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