Guess what?????!!!

You guessed it, we got PREGGO!, but keep reading

So, I've been trying to think how I would write this post. I'm not the most politically correct person. I probably won't ever be, but I still do not want to offend anyone purposefully today. Here we go.... Ronnie and I have 4 wonderful kids, with which we are very thankful. We have been preventing pregnancy since Silas was born. We haven't taken extreme methods as in surgery, but we are very cautious in the preventing method. If you want further detail, ask later. To my sheer shock I found out Thursday, the 15th of November the most crazy news. Blood tests confirmed, sure enough I was 5 wks pregnant. The irony here is I had just finished my period. Therefore, we did follow up blood work on Monday. I knew deep down this pregnancy wasn't going well. We still told our parents and a few close friends so they could be praying for us. Monday came, I was having pain on my right side and still bleeding. Due to an error by a staff member, my doctor didn't receive my blood work results until Tuesday morning. I was beyond aggravated, I knew from being a nurse (specifically OB triage), I should have been in the doctors' office Monday with an ultrasound. I guess God really wanted to test me here? Tuesday came, blood results showed an atypical HCG rise, so an ultrasound was scheduled to deduce if I had an ectopic pregnancy. Sure enough the ultrasound showed a mass at the base of my ovary connected to the fallopian tube (which is the ectopic) along with an even larger cyst. 
   

Do you think they look alike

People tell me all the time how much my kids look like Ronnie. There is one in particular who not only looks like him, but acts like him. Jack and Ronnie are both such fun-loving, people crazy, friendly guys. They both like to talk, neither can stand for anyone to be mad at them. At young ages you could/can see the Lord pricking at their hearts. They are both thoughtful and love to make people feel included. These 2 are some of my favorite guys!!

Have you heard, it's not me, but you.

I have got several friends who are pregnant right now, trying to get pregnant right now, or in the process of adopting. In no way am I pregnant, hence the title of this post. The waiting period is full of  emotions, ya know? Good, bad, ugly, fun, scary, doubtful, joyful, painful,  & etc. To encourage my fellow women out there. I looked through our photos and found pictures of me preggo with each of my kids. Photos are great because they instantly capture a memory. So without further ado: 

Kids' Books

I thought I would post 4 books that I really like for our kids. I know there are several other books out there, and some I even have on my shelf. However, I'll just tell you about these four and why I like them.

I really like this book for our kids. I think from about 18 months on, any child           

can interact with this book. It is colorfully captivating and Biblically based. All the stories point to Jesus!

ahh...water

This summer we have been soaking up the water activities. Given that Arkansas has been exceptionally hot and humid, we are extremely thankful for the water!!

We have been to the lake 

And on the boat

and had a ball

we went to the splash pad

Hud in the Pool

Our neighborhood has a pool
and we've had so much fun!

Race to Remember

I am SO thrilled to have run my first race in Arkansas. It was a 5k at 8am on July 21. I have recently gotten into running and I could not think of a better race to run for the season of life I am in. I was so honored to run this race and run it especially for Abigail Wright. So many precious babies were remembered this day and it was a fun day honoring them. I have been running with my friend Jennifer and our goal was to finish the 5k in under 30 minutes and we met our goal! Running has been a fun time of bonding and a de-stresser for me personally. Here are a couple of pictures:

Holly and I- we ran for her daughter Abigail

Jennifer and I running, we are so graceful!

Silas turns 1

So, sweet Si turned 1 on June 25. I know we should do a big party and all, but with our family we have a party in and of itself. Silas got some presents from his brothers and sister. We took him out to eat and got him a birthday cake. I think he had a fun day and so did we. Silas is so precious to our family and we are so thankful for him.