Round THREE!

Since our last post, we celebrated Eden's first birthday and officially watched her move from baby to toddler-hood before our eyes. In fact, I'm not even sure when it happened because she is SO stinkin' fast at everything she does.

One day, very soon after her first birthday, we realized that she could not just walk, but run and balance on one foot. She wasn't just babbling and saying "mama" and "dada," but now carrying on 2-word conversations with people using her 20+ word repertoire, and trying to repeat pretty much everything we ask her to. She can even respond with "baa-baa" when asked what the sheep says, and point to the dog on the page (or in real life). Dogs are her favorite. Then again, pretty every animal is a "DAG!!!" right now, so maybe she just likes animals. She has also developed quite the sense of fashion and loves to accessorize with any and everything she can find around the house. This includes hats, bows, stethoscopes, jewelry, blankies, headphones, random wires, and anything else she can somehow affix to her neck, head, or wrists.

Eli is making progress with his speech, and is finally starting to initiate 2-3 word sentences to describe what he wants. He also loves to tell Grandma/Grandpa/Meme/Papa, "I wuv you!" and can often be found wandering through the house (in search of Eden, blankie, Toby, a toy, etc.), while calling, "______, where ARE you??" We started the evaluation process with the Lake Washington School District to see if he will qualify for speech/sensory services through the school starting in the fall when he turns 3. If not, we'll be looking into some form of preschool/Montessori/co-op that he can participate in for the next year or two until he ages into the public school system. Man, where I grew up (in Holland, MA), preschool was a free component of the public school system for ages 3-5! I've never had to think about dealing with all this! We are praying that God opens just the right door for Eli's needs and strengths, in just the right timing! We are also starting to notice that Eli may not just like drums/music, but may actually have some intrinsic rhythm and interest in learning how to play the drums. This is so exciting because it's the first time we've seen Eli become interested in AND show skill in something completely independent of what we've exposed him to. He even likes to set up multiple canisters/bins/plates/etc. around him and drum out a somewhat complex beat along to a song (sometimes he even sings one when there is no other music around). He's also obsessed with watching the band play at church, and I think he's really picking up on things. Maybe we'll have to look into lessons in the next year or two!

Both kiddos are doing so well, and I love how they are growing to love each other, learning to listen to and obey mommy and daddy (*learning*), responding to simple memory Bible verses that we have up on the walls (i.e. Ephesians 4:32 - be KIND), and ultimately learning to treasure the Lord with all their heart. I feel so blessed to be chosen to help cultivate this in their lives, and to see it happening more and more every day.

Aside from that, there are a few other big things happening for our family. We have been leading a Bible study at our home on Thursday nights using Beth Moore's video series on Revelation. I've done the study once before, and am so excited to be leading it with a group of women from CCOJ. It's all about asking God to give us revelation about Himself and His desires for us, and also (of course) about the intense prophecies about the End Times. As the events in the world around us become more and more climactic and heartbreaking, I am so encouraged by God's promises in this final book of Scripture. I also love how it ties together all the rest of history and the Bible from Genesis onward. We've been attending Community Church of Joy with Jake's parents, and find that God has been opening a lot of doors for us there (aside from sharing this Bible study). The children's ministry has gone from non-existent to sometimes so full we have to split classrooms! Jake and I have felt led to also start a ministry putting together/sending care packages to our military service members.  There was such a turnout of donations and support that we had enough leftover goods to almost fill a second round of boxes for each of the 6 service members we are supporting (overseas and domestically)! YAY for such a patriotic, supportive community and church we have!

We have also been participating in a community group through Mars Hill Church, which meets right down the road from our house in order to connect with other people our age. There is a guy in a group who happened to go to high school with Jake (!), another military couple with three young boys, and 2 other young couples (one with a toddler, and one with 2 young children) who are BOTH expecting a baby in the next few months! Including Eli, Eden, and the womb-babies, that makes 10 kiddos in this group!!......

....But wait!

......Why not REALLY make it a party? Let's make that 11!

That's right! We're expecting baby number 3 this November! 11-12-13, to be exact!!

On Eden's first birthday, we decided to give her a very special gift, which Grandma helped her open. It was a nice-quality baby doll (her very first one) with a note inside and a picture of the first ultrasound.











It was a very fun and unexpected way to announce what will probably be our last pregnancy. I can't believe my baby girl is going to be a big sister! We are so excited, and absolutely planned for this (in fact, I'd say we're pretty talented about the whole getting-pregnant-on-our-first-try-every-single-time, thing!). All the kiddos will be 18 months apart, which I'm sure is not for everyone - many, many people have told us we are absolutely insane for doing it so close together. Before my belly started showing, people would "coo" and "aww" at our cute little family in the grocery store. Now they stare at us like we're the Duggars, are purposely trying to overcrowd the earth, or are simply unintelligent and obviously unaware of a thing called birth control. For clarity's sake (and to prove that we're not *completely* insane or imprudent), here are our reasons for the timing and number:

1. I'm already on a "baby" schedule of naps, diapers, and generally being stuck at home, anyway. I'd rather change more diapers per day for a short while and then be done with it, than be changing diapers for years and years and years, especially after tasting freedom with an older, more independent child!

2. This "git 'er dun" mentality is also favorable when I consider that I'd like to eventually go back to school/work once the baby stages are done.

3. The kids are going to be close in age! Hopefully that will encourage (as it has already) similar schedules, similar feeding needs, overlapping naps (at least for a while), an easier time choosing family activities, and ultimately, close friendships between them! That's our prayer!

4. One (compound) word. Empty-nesters. Our last kiddo will be out of the house when we are in our mid to late forties. When we still have energy (and hopefully some money and resources) to ENJOY our later years together!! Having all our kiddos before 30 definitely took some sacrifices on the earlier end of life (let's just say our 20's weren't chock-full of parties and traveling), but we think there will be some longer-term benefits! We also pray that we can enjoy the blessing of our grandkids (who knows? Maybe even great-grandkids) for a good long while!

5. Finally, we prayed a lot about the idea of having three (as opposed to one boy and one girl - so perfect, right? Why mess with that?). But, all our reasons for stopping after two were mostly selfish. I wanted my body back, I wanted to start running again, I wanted to go back to school sooner, people generally accepted us as having the "ideal" family unit (we won't "look" perfect anymore), we won't be able to go on as elaborate or expensive of vacations, we'll have to sacrifice a little more space in our home, my chances of getting puked or pooped on are going up exponentially, etc. etc.  None of these have anything to do with the selfless joy of raising children and the amazing rewards it holds. None of them take into account the family ties and support that our kids will hopefully have long after we're gone. Children are a gift (one of the greatest gifts, actually); not a burden, and I wish our culture was better about recognizing that. Sure, there are limits as to what our family can financially afford and provide for, but those limits are not between 2 and 3 kids unless you're talking about *wants/convenience* instead of *needs.* Children don't need bi-annual trips to the Caribbean and the most expensive stroller available; they need physical, emotional, and spiritual stability, security, and safety. We can most certainly give three children that, and more!

Those are our thoughts, and again, it's not for everyone, but it was a perfect choice for us, and God totally blessed us in it and answered our prayers! We're not THAT insane, I promise! Now we're just waiting to see which gender is going to outnumber the other! Having one of each, we are honestly completely happy either way, so it's really exciting!! In the very beginning of my pregnancy, my temperatures/hormones were dropping into dangerous levels (effects of low progesterone, which I've always had), and this was followed by a very scary moment of learning that the heart rate was borderline-low and we could potentially lose the baby. We spent so much time on our knees just trusting God and praying for His protection, and He was so, so faithful. This is definitely our strong little miracle baby who survived against the odds, and we already love him/her so much! What a blessing to be starting this journey for the 3rd time! :)

16.5 weeks - Hi momma!