I believe there are times in our lives when God smiles on us and gives us blessing after simple blessing.  For me, this past weekend was exactly that.  We had an extended weekend at our house, as our kids had no school from Wednesday through Friday.  Having them home was definitely a treat!  My brother, Tory, and his family arrived to spend the weekend at our house on Thursday evening.  It was wonderful to have them over, as I truly just LOVE hosting people at our home!  Thursday was spent catching up and playing with the kids late into the night, and by the time my head hit the pillow I was more than ready for a good nights sleep!

Friday was a fairly busy morning, followed by one of the best blessings of the weekend!  You see, our very favorite babysitter, Krista, had sent me a message a few weeks back asking if she could take the kids at some point during this break from school.  Krista is a senior this year and her schedule and ours don't always match up, and with Claire rising up as a babysitter, we've found that we're seeing less and less of Krista - so I was more than happy to tell her yes!  Unfortunately, I had completely forgotten to get back in touch with her to set something up specifically, so when I received her text message on Friday morning and found that she was free that afternoon, I jumped at the opportunity!  She came and got the kids and headed out with them for an afternoon of bowling, playing at the park and enjoying a snack at Panera.  Boy oh boy did the kids have a wonderful time!

While they were gone, Tory and his family headed out to visit a friend, so I had the house to myself.  I was so excited to get a lot of stuff done and be super productive, but instead I got a big case of the tireds, and I laid down and took a three-hour nap!  It was glorious!  I woke up shortly before everybody arrived back at our house and was soon greeted by smiling faces and slightly tired kids.  Krista, if you are reading this, please know that you are so very appreciated and that Colin has not stopped talking about bowling with you!!  We sure do love you!

Saturday we woke up bright and early (I'm talking 5:30am here!) and got ready to head out the door to my sister's house where she was hosting my baby shower.  We spent the morning setting up and preparing food (of which my sister informed me I should not be helping, but I'm such a control freak that I had to get my hands in there a little!), and I spent a little extra time playing with my nieces and a couple of nephews (who were the only kids at the shower, as most of them travelled quite a ways to get there!) before the chaos of the shower began.

The shower was awesome!  I was blessed to see so many friends and family members show up.  We enjoyed some delicious food, played a couple of wild and crazy games and then spent time opening presents.  It was an absolutely perfect day and I couldn't have asked for anything better.  Tanya, mom, Missy and Lisa: thank you all so very much for all that you did to make this day so special for our family ... you are appreciated and loved to the extreme!

Once the shower had wound down, the men started arriving back at the house, as we were planning on having a family dinner together that night since it's such a rare occasion that we're all together.  We played and laughed, I fought with my brother (sorry Tory) and cried a bunch (silly pregnancy hormones!), we ate and the kids played some video games, then we packed up and headed home.  What a completely wonderful day it had been!

Sunday we enjoyed sleeping in, as Claire was feeling sick (she had started feeling sick at the shower the day before), so we wanted her to get some rest.  Sunday afternoon Iain, Ellis and I headed to Babies R Us and Target to get the last of the baby supplies that I know we will absolutely need (carseat and stroller, bouncer, pacifiers, etc) and I spent a majority of Sunday afternoon and yesterday setting it all up.

So ... what has been a weekend full of crazy has also been my weekend full of wonderful, and I am so blessed to have been able to celebrate with the people I love the most!

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I know for a fact that's what he wants to hear - that he was right; but maybe, just maybe he really was!  It may be true that what Tory (my older brother) said was right - my legs hurt entirely because I'm getting pretty fat! :)

At 34 weeks pregnant, I would say that yes, I certainly am (please excuse the hair and pudgy face ... it was the end of a very long day!):





Yep, much much fatter indeed .. but a good kind of fatter! :)

I went to my doctors appointment on Tuesday.  I saw a doctor that I don't normally see, but she is the one who I could get in to see right away.  She concluded that she didn't know what was going on, and scheduled me to have some outpatient tests performed at the hospital.  Due to the fact that my appointment was already late in the afternoon, I wouldn't have been able to get in to start my appointments at the hospital until late that evening, so I opted to schedule them for the following afternoon instead.

So, after dropping Colin off at preschool, I went in for said tests.  They took awhile, but were fairly easy, so I guess I can't complain.  They concluded that I definitely do not have any blood clots in my legs, but that was the only real conclusion that was made.  The reason for the pain in my legs is still a mystery.  Of course, if you listen to my brother, Tory, I guess the reason that my legs hurt so intensely is just because I'm getting fat! :)  Ohhh the sweet and loving words of an older brother (and just in case you don't already know, he was just teasing me, as we often have a lot of friendly banter in our conversations)!

I can say that my spirits are up and I'm looking forward to watching my older boys compete in the soccer tournament this coming weekend!  Life is busy as always, but as always, that's the way I like it!

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I know it's been awhile since I've blogged about anything beyond my $100 Visa Gift Card Giveaways (which, by the way, if you would like to enter in this week's contest [sponsored by Kellogg's and BlogHer] you can visit my review blog by clicking here).  I know this because my brother Jeremy recently told me that he's grown bored with my blog.  Sorry Jerm, I'll try to do better!  The catch of why I haven't blogged is truly the fact that I want my blog to be uplifting and encouraging, and lately I really haven't felt that way.  Tomorrow I will officially be 34 weeks pregnant (I do promise pictures soon!) and lately I haven't been happily pregnant, I've been uncomfortably pregnant!  Due to this fact, I have avoided writing on my blog about it.

However, after thinking about it for awhile, the one thing I really come back to is the fact that I want to be honest on my blog as well, and not to avoid blogging just because the time of life I'm in happens to be hard.  So, my fabulous blog readers, here's the truth: I'm uncomfortable.  This baby boy has found his way to my ribcage and has clung to it for dear life, causing me to be short of breath and in pain!  I spent almost four days with him positioned there before a bit of relief came yesterday, thank You God!  He's turned a bit, which feels odd as he's never been sideways in my stomach before (and it looks goofy to see him sticking out by my side!), but it is extreme relief from the tightness of having him hug my ribs!

The other thing that has been difficult is the way my body reacted to the flu shot.  You see, I am one of those people who is not in favor of vaccines.  I have not had a flu shot in years, and haven't had the flu in years, so I see no point in being vaccinated.  That being said, when I was at my OB appointment this past Thursday, my doctor stressed the "extreme importance" of me having the flu shot to ensure that my little guy also gets this vaccine.  I debated the necessity of it with the doctor for about five minutes before I finally caved and decided just to get the shot, figuring my husband would be proud of me for it (as he is NOT opposed to vaccines!).  I got the shot, all was well ... until the next morning.  Friday morning I woke up uncomfortable, completely swollen through my arms and hands and my legs and feet, dealing with hot flashes and chills, just feeling awful.  I was nauseous and had no appetite, though because I knew the baby needed food and calories, I did my best to attempt to eat and drink as much as possible.  Add to all of that the fact that my hormones were making me extremely emotional, and it was one very hard weekend!  You see, my Monte had left Friday morning to go hunting with his brother, cousin and nephews.  When he left, I was feeling alright and was certain that I could get through it on my own, which means that I insisted he still go.  About four hours after he left, I was really sad I had made that decision!  I was feeling completely miserable, I was in a lot of pain, and I was emotional.  It was a very hard day.

Thankfully, my brother and sister-in-law, Jeremy and Missy, came and picked Colin up that evening to spend the weekend with them so that I could rest.  I can't tell you how much of a relief and how much of a huge help this was - thank you so much guys!  I arranged rides for my boys to their soccer games and spent the rest of the weekend in bed, sleeping the pain away.  Sunday morning I did get up and took the older kids to church, but even that was something that required a lot of energy and took a lot out of me.

The really odd thing in all of this is the fact that my legs are very painful, and I don't know why.  If I'm standing still, my calves and ankles start to hurt after about 10 minutes (which makes getting ready quite difficult!).  It almost feels as if I have just done an excruciating workout and my muscles are reacting to that.  I called my doctor and have an appointment to get that checked out today, which is a good thing.  Please keep this situation in your prayers, as there are very few things I can truly do without feeling this pain in my legs - and that makes being a stay-at-home mom a very difficult thing!

So, these are the reasons why I haven't blogged, because right now my pregnancy seems to be hard, and I don't want to complain about it.  Hopefully there will be some light to shine on this blog soon!  Jeremy - the offer still stands ... you write something up and I will happily feature you as my guest blogger! :)

Praying that you all are filled with blessings this week ....