Thanksgiving

Did you have a nice thanksgiving???? 

We had a great break.  

The girls were out of school all week and they enjoyed being home but Harper asked me on Monday when she could go back to school.  

On Wednesday afternoon, we headed to my parent's house.  My brother and his family came then too and it was fun to be with them.  

Harper lost her front tooth Wednesday night.  Thank goodness my dad was around to help pull it because I don't do loose teeth - they freak me out.  The tooth fairy came that night and bought her a $2 bill.  She is so thrilled.  

I can't quit smiling when I see her toothless grin.  I think it's so cute! 

My mom put the girls to work making our thanksgiving dinner.  My mom made a delicious meal and my aunt Linda came and ate with us.  It was a nice day. 

The cousins played together and did a lot of coloring. 

We took a few family pictures.  I will probably use one for our Christmas card so I won't post them all but I love my cute girls posing in the country.  My parents have a great back drop right in their front yard. 

Friday we all went and ate an early lunch and my brother and his family left and we watched the Razorback game (which we will not talk about).  My little future razorback and I were happy to lay on the couch and watch the game. 

We came home Saturday morning.  My uncle gave Scott some moose and deer horns he has had in his family for like 60 or 100 years.  We plan to put the smaller horns in baby boy's room.  I'm so excited! 

We came home and took the girls to see Big Hero 6 and then came home to watch more football last night.  And then we went to church today.  It's been a relaxing few days but it's back to the grind tomorrow morning.  

We have so much to be thankful for. 

It is Well

I heard this song a couple of days ago and I have listened to it a dozen time since.

Far be it from me to not believe

Even when my eyes can't see

And this mountain that's in front of me

Will be thrown into the midst of the sea

Through it all, through it all

My eyes are on You

Through it all, through it all

It is well

So let go my soul and trust in Him

The waves and wind still know His name

I don't know what storm you are facing right now - but I pray you know God has not left you.

I pray that if you feel like you have nothing to be thankful for this year, that you will feel the nearness of God and know that He is all you need.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Victory

We experienced a lot of victory this weekend. 

And I can't quit smiling about it. 

My HOGS beat #8 Ole Miss in a shut out.  That's two back to back shut out wins over ranked SEC teams.  

What makes it so special is that prior to this we hadn't won a game in over two years.  

But Arkansas fans didn't give up.  Because we knew we had a coach who was working hard and had a plan.  We knew he was preparing the team and when the time was right, we would finally win.

And we did. 

AND IT WAS AMAZING! 

Sunday morning we went to church for just a regular Sunday of worship.  The music was great but it was nothing spectacular.  The preaching was wonderful but wasn't anything out of the ordinary great. But when the invitation was given, four people came forward.  Which is pretty normal for most Sundays.

Then something not normal happened.

One of the people who came forward is one of my close friends.  She grew up in the church.  She sings in the choir and teaches Sunday School and leads in women's ministry.  But she knew in her heart that she wasn't truly saved.  And she boldly walked out of the choir loft and came forward.  And it sparked something.

Our pastor said "we are going to do something different, we are going to open the invitation back up."

And it ended up lasting AN HOUR! The aisles were flooded as people got out of their seats and came forward to make decisions to know Christ.  Everyone in the church was crying.  It was something we had not experienced before.  

Revival

AND IT WAS AMAZING.

And the thing is I get so sad at the world around me and things seem to get darker every day and I feel like we are moving as a world so far away from God.

But we have a God who is working hard even when we can't see and He has a plan. He is preparing things and when the time is right - 

VICTORY! 

I spent yesterday watching the funeral service of a pastor of a large church outside of Nashville who died last week of Cancer.  He was a faithful, Godly man and strangely - I love to watch funerals of people who have lived their lives for Jesus because you catch a glimpse of what life is really for and you know it TRULY is a celebration to get to spend eternity in heaven.

O Death Where is Thy Victory?

With Jesus - we don't have to fear death.  It truly is the ultimate victory.

I saw this video this week of Matt Chandler talking about suffering.  He is a pastor of a large church in Dallas and I love what he had to say.  It's hard to understand why bad things happen.  I'm pretty sure I will die not understanding. 

But I know in the end, God gets the VICTORY. 

17 weeks

I'm 17 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 17 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of an onion! (I copied this post from Hollis days. Ignore that it said Baby H. I really don't think he will have an H name). 

Maternity Clothes: I got a few pairs of pants from Gap Maternity.  Other than that I'm making normal clothes work for now. 

Gender: Sweet baby boy.  Still not 100% sure on his name.  My mom keeps trying to get me to tell her and says she better not find out on Facebook. ha! 

Movement: Just last night I felt him moving big time when I was in bed!!! 

Sleep: Sleeping great! 

What I miss: Not a lot

Cravings:  Just a big salt lick.  :-)

Symptons: I'm actually feeling pretty great.  I have a lot more energy right now and I'm not sick anymore.  I just get tired at night.  But I'm 40 with two small kids and I'm working.  That would be true even if I wasn't pregnant.

Best Moment: I was negative for the spina bifada test.  Every test that comes back negative I breathe a sigh of relief.  I don't think I will let myself get fully excited until we have our ultrasound in a few weeks.  I'm so nervous of the "what ifs" but I'm just trusting he will be okay. 

I have found my perfect pregnancy outfit.  I have never liked Pikos because I feel like they make me look pregnant.  But now that I'm ACTUALLY pregnant - they are perfection.  And I got some printed leggings and this was the best! Like wearing pajamas.  I'm going back for more in other colors. Maybe I will even go crazy and add a scarf.  

So here we go.  I'm carrying him pretty low I think.  But I carried Hollis low too.  People kept saying they thought she was a girl she was so low.  

I'm almost halfway there.  Things are flying by! 

Gobble Till you Wobble

This is one of those posts that isn't interesting to anyone but me and our family but I'm doing it because I want to remember these days! 

This week we, along with everyone on my Facebook feed, had Thanksgiving lunches at school. 

First up was preschool lunch.  We had the same lunch with the same teacher with Harper.  Hopefully in 3 years, we will have the same lunch with our baby boy.  

This is Hollis and her very best friend.  These two are inseparable.  

Another friend with Hollis.  Her mom is one of my favorite people so I'm glad they are in class together. 

Me and my middle turkey! 

 Today I had lunch with Harper.  I loved being up at her school.  I'm friends with so many parents and have started getting to know a lot of parents of Harper's classmates so it's just fun to see everyone and to watch Harper in action.  

(aren't their shirts cute? Our friend Ashley sent them to us!)

I mentioned this on Instagram but because of Harper's hearing for several years she had a lot of communication problems.  I worried it would keep her from making friends.  Why did I ever think that? Her personality would shine through whether anyone could understand her or not.  It tickles me to see all of her friends smiling and waving at her and giving her big bear hugs.  Kindergarten has been such a gift! 

One of my favorite people is a kindergarten teacher at our school.  She was dressed up like a pilgrim and it was so cute! 

Harper and Sarah Kate! 

After lunch, I ran by the mall for a few minutes with Hollis.  When we pulled up she said "What is this place?"  I'm going to take it as a good sign that she's almost 4 and doesn't know what a mall is.  I rarely ever go to the mall and if I do, it's when they are in school or on the weekend.  She loved it.  She kept stopping and saying "Look at THIS cute smile. Take my picture!"  And then she would pose.  And she turned out to be a pretty great shopping partner.  Maybe we will make it to the mall again before she is 8.

I'm so thankful for so many things but my family is my biggest blessing. 

A few Princess tales

None of this post goes together but I figured it's all stories of women and girls so it's basically some princess tales. 

This morning we had our annual fall Women's ministry Brunch.  I think this may have been the best one we have ever had.  We had a huge turnout and DELICIOUS food! My friend Jenn's mom Carole shared her testimony and it was SOOOO good.  And they had a ton of door prizes (because what good women's ministry event doesn't?) and I won the sweetest baby boy blanket (which was completely suspicious because I didn't even turn my name in for door prizes).  

I have been so amazed at how a few months of kindergarten have done so much for Harper. This summer she barely knew her letters and really didn't know phonics at all. Now she is reading books. She loves pulling out books every night to read out loud. Thankful for therapists and an amazing teacher who have made a huge difference in her life. And thankful for a little girl who only understands 40% of what she hears but just tries that much harder.

I waste a LOT of time on worry.

Harper has also this week all on her own started putting her own hearing aids in! This is a HUGE leap for us! And it's not easy.  I struggle some mornings getting her hearing aids in so for her to do it herself is amazing! 

And just for laughs........

I'm fairly sure that Duchess Kate and I are due within days of each other.  They announced she had just turned 14 weeks like the day I turned 14 weeks and we are both due in April. I may be wrong but we are close.  So my friend Amanda who knows I love to laugh at myself said I ought to start posting belly comparison shots between me and Kate.

This is both of us at almost 16 weeks.  

Now - I know Kate has had serious, extreme sickness that has kept her from gaining or growing.  But she is also very tall and willowy.  

And I'm, let's just say, normal.

She had gone to a Royal Gala this day.  

I had worked, picked up kids from school, did a little laundry, cooked dinner and helped with Awana.

But we are both wearing lace. 

So we are basically the same. :-) 

My girl likes to party all the time

We have been on a party trifecta the last few days.  We went to three Six year old birthday parties in a row. 

First we went to a Frozen party.  Where Elsa and Anna made an appearance.  The girls LOVED it.  But we got in the car and Harper said "How come Elsa never uses her power at parties and I'm pretty sure she was wearing a wig".

She's on to us. 

Harper and her friend M posing with Elsa 

 Hollis and the birthday girl were making wishes

Friday afternoon Harper was invited to a bowling party for her friend A who was in preschool and kindergarten with her.  She was one of only two girls invited and she thought it was Awesome! A's told me he prayed for her the other night and said "Harper is so nice".  

I thought they looked like teens in this picture.  His little teen smirk and her happy face! 

Yesterday we had a gymnastics party for Harper's best friend since she was two.  

It's been an entertaining week.

And of course we had our own party last night because after SEVENTEEN straight SEC games - my hogs FINALLy won a game! 

We also beat #17 LSU 17-0.

Looks like 17 may be our lucky number.  Everyone in Arkansas was celebrating last night.  (I'm sorry to all the LSU fans reading here).  Victory is just so sweet when you haven't seen one in a while and have worked so hard. 

So after two years we finally got to wear our victory dresses to church! 

And now it's snowing.  

I don't ever remember a year that it snowed before thanksgiving here in Arkansas.  I'm worried about what this means for our winter.  

Unlike Elsa - the cold DOES bother me! 

15 weeks

I have no idea if I will do pregnancy updates this time around.   I feel like it's a little cheesy and I don't know if I can remember to do it every week but I want this boy to know I was just as excited about him as I was the first time around.  I think my kids will enjoy reading these one day.  And it will help me remember. 

I'm 15 weeks! 

(Actually I'm almost 16 but still..........)

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 15 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby Stamps is the size of an apple 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Yeah - I'm going to keep this to myself this time around.  I know I'm going to gain weight but I also feel like this is the last time of my life that I will feel free to eat what I want and not feel guilty so I'm enjoying it.  I have the rest of my life to work on losing it. :-) 

Maternity Clothes: I'm wearing my normal clothes but I have a feeling I'm going to live in tunics and leggings this pregnancy! 

Gender:  A BOY! We are just thrilled about this boy! 

Movement: I have begun feeling a few flutters.  The girls are DYING to feel him so I can't wait until they can.  They check my belly every night to see if it's getting bigger.  And it is not letting them down. 

Sleep: I'm so tired - that I sleep pretty good!

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach. 

Cravings: SALTY SALTY SALTY.  Sweet things and desserts sound terrible.  I want pickles and chips and salty meats and salads. 

Symptons: I'm starting to feel a lot better. I'm just EXHAUSTED. All I want to do is sleep and lay down. :-) I got to bed at 8:30 most nights which is so opposite of my night owl ways. 

Best Moment this week: Hearing his heartbeat today! It was 155! 

Also - every night the girls come up to my belly and say "Good night baby brother".  It melts my heart every time. 

Thank you for all the name suggestions.  I'm not really sure we will name him an H name.  If it was a girl - we would have to do HBS.  But with a boy - we may go a different way.  We have a name we like but we just aren't 100% sure yet.  If/when we ever settle for SURE on a name, I will probably share it! I'll be ready to know for sure and start calling him by name. 

I finally got to see my regular doctor today.  She has been my doctor forever and is around my age so I consider her almost a friend.  (Which honestly everyone I know who goes to her thinks she is their best friend too).  I couldn't get in to her for my last appointment so she texted me last week and said "Why am I finding out on Instagram that you are having a boy".  I cracked up! 

I still can't believe I'm having a baby! 

I love a good comparison.  Apparently third baby equals three times the size.  I've gotten a little older and a little more tired each time. ha! This is me at 15 weeks each pregnancy. 

Girls Weekend

Scott was gone hunting all weekend and he gets back today.  To which I say "Thank Goodness". ha! So we had a girls weekend.  

I got the girls these Frozen pjs from Wal-mart and they were so happy.  They were yelling "you are the best mommy ever!"  It's the little things. We had a movie night Friday night.  Saturday we spent all morning cleaning out our toys.  I'm trying to get things ready to put the girls in one room and then turn the other bedroom into the nursery.  I had planned to combine the girls anyway but was going to make the other room a play room so now we are having to really minimize things.  But we can make it work! I found a great Pottery Barn toy cabinet on craigs list and got it over the weekend and got things so much more organized. 

Saturday afternoon we got to celebrate my friend Ashley and her baby boy Channing who is coming right at Christmas.  Harper and Hollis went and had so much fun watching Ashley open her gifts.  Our boys will have to have a lot of fun play dates in the future. 

I've had a couple of friends give me baby boy hand me downs and I'm so excited over them.  This is only about half so baby boy Stamps is pretty much set on clothes! and I'm loving little boy stuff.  

I have to share a funny story from Harper because I laughed and laughed over this.  She told me this weekend that she was so sad because all the kids in her class always got to go to "Miss Missle's" class and she never got to go.  I asked her who that was.  She said "You know, they call in our class and say "We need Sarah for Miss Missle" and then she gets to go. 

Other wise known as we need Sarah for early dismissal. 

Poor girl thought she was being left out of a really fun class. I couldn't quit laughing.  

On the importance of being discipled

One thing that I think today's churches are missing is that we have a heart to reach the loss.  We love seeing people come to know Jesus.  (And yes - that is awesome).  But it stops there.  We don't continue with disciplining.  I'm not saying all churches but I would say the vast majority put the most effort into salvation and not a lot into growing Christians in their walk.

I think it's incredibly frustrating for new Christians to grow in their walk if they don't have someone to guide them and give them good steps to knowing Jesus better.

I think even seasoned Christians need discipling.

I'm thankful that last fall, two woman I admire and love approached me and asked if they could disciple me.  We began to meet once a week for several hours at a time with two others and they both discipled and mentored me and it was amazing what it did for my spiritual growth.  And I see now the great importance in it.

This is our group minus one.  Clearly a real somber group. :-)  Laurie and I are meeting up with one of the Susans tonight and I thought it would be a good time to bring up the subject of "What is a mentor and how do I get one (or be one)" on the blog.

First - I think it's so hard to decide if you should be a mentee or a mentor.  Do we really ever think we are at a place to mentor someone? I would say someone could be 70 and a strong Christian and still think they aren't ready to mentor.  I know I still think of myself who needs a lot of guidance but honestly I'm in my 40's and it's possibly I could mentor someone.  But that feels scary.  Like I don't really know enough.

If you are in a place in your walk where you have a lot of questions and you want to grow and you feel like you could really benefit from being mentored, look around your church or women's ministry for a woman you admire and who you see the light of Jesus in.  She could be much older or she could even be the same age.  I know girls younger than me that I would ask to mentor me just because I see a spiritual maturity in them.  Don't be afraid to ask them if they would disciple you.  Ask if they would be an accountability partner with you to spend time in the word and to be a prayer partner.  You will be amazed at what this could do for your faith.

Maybe you are someone who is spiritually mature and you feel you could offer something to a younger generation - please pray about offering that.  You don't have to have all the answers.  You can walk through it together.

We did many things as a disciple group.  We read a few books together ("The Gospel" by J.D. Greear was one and I loved it).  We read through a few books of the Bible.  We memorized scripture. We prayed together.  And we each took a day and shared our testimony - the long version.  I learned from these ladies and I think they maybe even learned from me.

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.  Titus 2:1-8

Have you been discipled or discipled others? What has been your experience.  I would love to hear from you and would encourage you to seek out being discipled - no matter where you are in your spiritual walk.  We all have room to grow. 

Sharing our news

A lot of you have asked me how I told Scott, our family, the girls, and our friends our news.

Oh I wish I could say I did something creative this time around.  With Harper we gave our families the ultrasound in a picture frame.  With Hollis, we put Harper in the dress above and let her parade around.

I knew on a Monday morning that I was several days late and went and bought some tests.  The girls were at school and Scott was at work.  I nearly passed out on the floor when it came back positive. I wish I could say I waited until Scott got home from work and gave him a baby bib or something else Pinterest worthy.  Basically I called him and said "YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS?!!!!".   I will say his reaction is one I will remember forever because I was in complete shock and he was so, so, so excited.  And then because we didn't tell another soul for weeks, we just spent a lot of time laughing together.  It was fun having this as a secret.

We had a trip booked to Disney World with Laurie and Steve for the week after I was due.  We have been so excited about it and clearly we can't go now so we DREADED telling them.  That's one reason I waited so long to tell Laurie.  So we went over to their house one night and I had a speech all prepared but Laurie guessed before I could say anything.  And she nearly fainted. ha! She texted me every day for a week saying "I'm just FLABBERGASTED!"

We didn't tell our families until about a week or so before I announced on here. I don't know why - but I just couldn't get up the nerve to tell my family.  I knew they would be happy but I knew they would be shocked.  So they came to visit one Friday and I just blurted it out after dinner.  They nearly died.  My mom kept saying "I'm so happy but I'm just so shocked". ha! But they are excited and especially that they will have a grandson after three girls.

And we did basically the same with Scott's parents.  We waited for them to come visit and then Scott just told them.  I think they were equally shocked.  Everyone just thought we were done.

We didn't tell the girls until last week because I knew they would tell everyone.  They LOVE babies so I knew they would be happy.  Harper didn't believe me.  She kept saying "You are NOT having a baby.  You are just kidding me".  It took a while to convince her.  They weren't super excited when we said it was a boy.  Harper said "Can't y'all just have FOUR kids so we can have another sister".  Um no.

And I had so much fun telling my friends.  I either told them in person or I would text and just say "I have something to tell you".  The funniest thing is most would say "You are pregnant" as a COMPLETE JOKE because anytime any female says she has news that's usually what you guess and then I would say "Yes" - and they would nearly die and type something back that had a million explanation points.

So it's been a fun few weeks sharing our news.

Halloween Weekend

Thank you for all your sweet words and wishes for our growing family! I especially loved hearing from all of you who had babies in your 40's.  I won't lie - when I first found I was pregnant - I was googling "Celebrities who had babies in their 40's" to make myself feel better. (not that I'm a celebrity but I guess I figure if Halle Berry can do it at 46 so can I).  Of course then I realized they all had chefs and nannies and housekeepers and personal assistants.  And that's not exactly the same. So I'm happy to hear from normal 40 year olds! :-) 

We had a fun Halloween.  I always love Halloween.  I don't love scary stuff but I love the time with my family just having fun.  We have a tradition to go to Laurie and Steve's and eat dinner and Trick or Treat.  They live in a bigger neighborhood than we do and they get real into trick or treating.  The girls were SO excited! 

You already saw our family costumes in our announcement.  I will say Scott is a great sport to dress up.  This isn't really his personality but he will do a lot for his girls.  I think he liked it this year.  He was pretty proud of his Mad Hatter hat.  I think he felt like he looked more like Slash from Guns and Roses though.  And I look like Flava Flav with my clock.  

We also had our grandparents with us this year and the girls thought that was extra fun.  Unfortunately we had a cold snap hit on Halloween and it was FREEZING.  The girls wore thick coats but we only made it to about 10 houses and had to call it a night.  It was just too cold.  But they all stood at Laurie's door and handed out candy and I think they had just as much fun with that. 

Saturday these two crazy kids celebrated 11 years of marriage.  

Please note how YOUNG, tan, THIN and well rested we look.  

Scott's parents got us a cake and then kept the girls so we could have a date.  We went to a movie and out to eat and then came home to watch the Razorbacks lose again.  

It was a pretty great weekend. 

The Rest of the Story...........

So I'm sure you are wondering about our new baby! :-)

I know I have said many, many times that we were DONE.  I guess this is one of those times you say "never say never".   Without going into a lot of details, I will just say we were preventing another pregnancy but everything is not 100% foolproof.  So yes, this was a huge surprise to us.  And after a little initial shock, we are so excited.  God obviously had other plans for our family and we can't wait to see how our family is completed.  After  four years of trying, meds, shots, and procedures trying to have Harper, I can't help but think how amazing it is that I would get pregnant at 40.

So there you go.  I'm having a baby at 41.  I'm debating changing my blog's name to "Diapers and Depends".  I am an older mom but I'm okay with that.  I have friends from high school who have been announcing they are going to be grandmothers on Facebook and I get tickled that I'm having a baby. But everyone's lives look different and as a Type A super planner - I think I'm learning sometimes life's biggest blessings are the ones we don't plan.

I found out right away.  I had two guesses - I was hitting early menopause or I was pregnant. And honestly I figured menopause was more likely.  We didn't tell anyone for a long time because I had to let it soak in.  I didn't even tell Laurie for over two months.  And I've always told her the minute I knew I was pregnant.

I have been very sick and very exhausted which is one of the reasons I haven't blogged much.  But mostly because I've been working almost full time and by the time I get to the end of the day I just didn't have time or energy left to write. I'm feeling much better now and starting to feel more normal. I'm a little over 14 weeks.

Actually, a fun fact is that Duchess Kate and I are due within a day or so of each other!

The girls are thrilled.  They love babies and they are at a great age.  They will be a big help to me.  They can't wait to give the baby a bottle or pacifier or sing to it or play with it.  I think they are at a great age to have a baby.

Because I'm ADVANCED MATERNAL AGE (a term I just LOVE) - I was lucky that they have a new blood test they do at 11 weeks to check for chromosome issues.  We had it done and thankfully our baby is fine.  We could still find issues at the 20 week ultrasound but so far everything is okay.  I'm not spending any time worrying because it wouldn't change anything and I know God is in control.

Another added bonus is that this test will tell you with 99% accuracy the sex of the baby.  So I wanted to save that news for this post.

YES!!! We are having a BOY!!!!!!!!

I am so thrilled! Scott is beside himself.  I thought I was just a girl mom and I have ADORED that.  I had no idea how much I wanted a boy until I realized I was having one and now I am so excited! The girls weren't too happy about a boy but I know they will adore him.  Harper wants to name him Carlos.  

And we aren't naming him Hudson. 

We picked that name 12 years ago and then that name got super popular.  We aren't 100% sure on a name yet but we will probably share it when we are.  Or we may just keep it a secret until he comes. 

Either way - we are so happy to add this bonus boy to our lives!