Always something...

As much FUN and LAUGHTER and JOY that 5ish children bring, there is truly always something going on with someone...be it a health issue, a skin issue, or a friend issue or a school issue. I find myself at those very rare moments when there isn't "something" going on to not even let myself dwell on it too long because I know something else is coming. Not in a gloom-and-doom-glass-half-empty kind of way but more of a "rest up because the next thing is right around the corner" kind of way. :) Here is a snapshot of our "somethings" from the past couple months.

We had the dreaded L.I.C.E. I don't even like to say it out loud. It was disgusting and somehow Buck managed to be out of town during the 25 loads of laundry (conservative estimate) and overall de-lousing of the entire house. This was also in the middle of our scary time with baby Pete so at least there was a distraction for me. One blessing was that Zoe had recently had her hair relaxed so I could get the lice comb through her hair...can't imagine the torture that we both would have endured if her hair had been curly. This was our first experience with the L.I.C.E. and I hope we NEVER experience it again. Thankfully, that's been a few months ago now and we hopefully have it well behind us!

We still battle ringworm around here. I finally feel like I have a better understanding about how it keeps creeping around, since we have no pets and don't have other high-exposure reasons that we might get it. Turns out that it is a fun and stubborn little fungus that likely lives quite happily on one of our children's skin and when that child gets dry skin and scratches (ALL THE TIME), that little fungus just spreads. This one has hit Tate & Zoe the hardest.

Another fun one...impetigo. Let's see...that's Max, Tate, and Charlie.

Scalp psoriasis...that would be Charlie.

Molluscum...that would be Tate.

Poor Tate...he looks like he's been through a battle. And he's still gets the occasional cradle cap (yep, at age 4!) so his scalp flakes sometimes. Seriously, poor buddy. His smile makes up for it!! Oh and he had a yucky ear that ended in having one of his ear tubes removed. I hope we're done with the ear junk for a while!

Mia has been blessedly healthy but we recently realized through starting to give her cow's milk that she's likely lactose intolerant. Hopefully it's something she'll grow out of but for now, formula and Lactaid is on the menu (along with noodles, noodles, and more noodles. Girl can't get enough of them!). She also has a scary-looking but totally benign umbilical hernia and cute little strawberry hemangioma on the side of her face.

As for Mom and Dad...we're getting old. Buck has a bum back (herniated disc) that he's been battling since early in the summer. A few epidural shots have helped tremendously but being patient and slowing down have been so hard for him! Trusting that it will heal in time. As for me, I'm still knocked up. :)  My only whine is that I am BIG and pretty pooped by the end of the day. Truly cannot complain when there's a healthy baby growing and moving!

In all of this, I truly count my blessings and I would take a few minor skin issues and ear infections over what so many other families have to deal with. Watching my sweet niece Morgan battle and beat leukemia truly puts everything in perspective. She is such a trooper and is going to be starting her long-term maintenance therapy in just a couple of weeks (mostly oral meds...woo hoo!) Thankful for my (mostly) healthy children and all the blessings that come with them.

Catch up

Going through some pictures on the camera and found these gems from October. We went to a new orchard/pumpkin patch this year and absolutely loved it. We went at the right time too, so it wasn't busy at all and we got to do all the fun things we wanted to in a short amount of time! 

Corn Pool!! Super fun, but Mia had no clue what to do with the weird-feeling corn. She observed.

Hayrack ride at sunset. It was beautiful!

 Goofballs!

We ended the night with some apple cider donuts. They were totally worth the long wait! We will be heading back to Center Grove again next year.

On a very very different note, this is a public service announcement on behalf of pregnant women everywhere. I am a relatively blunt and honest person and I very much appreciate that trait in others as well. HOWEVER, my personality apparently changes when I'm pregnant and I don't want to hear ANYTHING from ANYONE about how I look other than to say "you look cute." That's it. Not "wow, you've really popped" or "you're carrying high" or "you're carrying low" or "you're carrying way out front" or "HOW far along are you? you're really big/small/round for that many weeks". Thanks to my friend Tressa for meeting me for coffee and saying "you look great." Perfect. :)  Don't care if it's true or not...a pregnant woman deserves a break in that area! OK, PSA is done.

Have a lovely weekend my friends!

More thankful

Where to even start with being thankful for my husband? Man, did I hit the jackpot or what.  This guy is hardworking, loving, considerate and does everything in his power to make my life easier. Seriously. He actually thinks I'm funny (I'm not). He thinks I'm cute (I'm not). He thinks I'm a good cook (well...I might be ok accepting that compliment!) :). He truly makes me a better person. Thankful this guy danced into my life almost 19 years ago!!

November thankful

I love reading all my friends' "thankful" posts on Facebook so thought I would give it a shot here:
I'm a few days behind but I'll try to catch up.

Day 1: I am overwhelmingly thankful for a God who loves me unconditionally. He created me, chose me, redeemed me, adopted me and His grace is mysterious but a much-needed constant in my life. I look to the verse on our blog a lot..."from the fullness of His grace, we have received one blessing after another." One of our favorite songs these days is "Your Love"--"your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me." We went through a very dark time at the beginning of this pregnancy with Pete and I was in near-constant communication with God for about 10 days. And looking back on those 10 days, I felt protected, loved, and held...a feeling that is hard to describe. And while it's not a place I wanted to be, I'm grateful to have been there and be on the other side. That is a thankful story for another day. :) So, I'm thankful for my Lord and Savior, thankful that He is who He is and that I'm His.

This and that...

Anyone else ready for election season to be over?? While I am most grateful to live in a country with a hard-fought-for democratic process, I definitely think there should be time-limits on political ads (like you can only have ads on TV for 2 weeks before the election...that sound good?), and I have never been more thankful for Caller ID!

We have been calling the baby "Pete" for no good reason. No, that's not what we're going to name him (although I do like that name!), but he needed a name until he's born. :)  It's pretty sweet to hear each of the kids say "bye, Pete!" on their way out the door in the morning and Tate likes to say "Hey, Petey-Pete!" and pat my ever-growing belly. Baby Pete is starting to make his presence known by kicking lots at night right before it's time for me to fall asleep. I'm past the halfway point in this pregnancy and hoping that the second half of it goes faster than the first half! I'm sure with 2 birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and winter break in there, time will fly!

One of the funniest things I've ever heard out of Zoe's mouth: as Mia was throwing a little 1-year-old tantrum (pretty cute, actually), Zoe said "Oh my goodness...the DRAMA!" with a big eye roll. My mouth just dropped open and I said "Pot, meet Kettle!" I'm pretty sure Zoe invented drama. :)

I have had some great, meaningful conversations with some awesome people lately, especially related to adoption. It's so exciting to see how God continues to move and stir people's hearts to build their family through adoption. I just get so passionate about it and know that while adoption is not for everyone, I LOVE to hear stories of people who say "I never in a million years thought we would be seriously considering this." God can work life-changing miracles where you least expect it. So if you think your husband would NEVER be open to adoption...or you don't have the money...or it's not the right time...or it would be too hard...God loves to surprise His people.

We have had such a fun fall with visits to the pumpkin patch/apple orchard and trick-or-treating...pictures to come.

Tate's 4th birthday and Mia's 1st birthday are fast-approaching and I'm excited to celebrate my littles! I just asked Buck tonight if we should go to Chuck E Cheese again for Tate's birthday and he said "whatever he wants!" Love my easygoing husband! My guess is we will be returning to this vortex of birthday "fun" again soon. :)

Sorry for a post with no pictures--those are not very fun, but I'm doing my best to update a little more frequently. Happy weekend, friends!