ON THE BOOMERANG EXPRESS...IT ALL COMES BACK TO JESUS!!

This past week was VBS, hence the fact that I didn't update.  I volunteered to help so that Joel and Gabe could participate in preschool activities.  We all had a great time, despite the fact that I had to wear a BRIGHT ORANGE t-shirt all week!  On Thursday we did have to bail out a little early, some funky virus was heading around the nursery and Joel jumped on that train and ended up with a 102 degree fever and an upset tummy, no fun.  Friday I was struggling with an outer ear infection, but the big boys still went and had a great time!

On Wednesday night the church had a family event, complete with fried chicken, pony rides, games, and a moon bounce.  The boys were overjoyed to participate in everything especially the free snow cones!  

Ethan and Gabe waiting in line to ride the ponies.  This may be my all time favorite picture of the two of them.  I don't want to jinx myself but I think Gabe may be moving out of the terribly awkward three/four year old smile.

A weird smile, but to be fair the sun was in his eyes!

Even Joel got in on the action, but didn't love it!

Ethan was an old pro!

Sam wasn't all that interested in riding this year, but was bummed when he missed out on the picture taking session!  

We really love our new church.  We feel like we have finally found our church home.  This morning we pulled the little boys out of nursery and all six of us went forward to make First Baptist our new church home.  It was rather exciting!

In other weekend news, Holly, the gal helping me with Abby's room, put us onto the coolest store in Leesburg, VA.  Lucketts Store is one of the stores that you read about in a magazine and you think "OH MAN, why can't we have one of those near us".  They had everything you could think of, from vintage, quirky antiques to really fun gifts and EVERYTHING was very reasonable priced.  I was a little upset when we first pulled up.  Out front were four awesome red rod iron chairs that were to die for, unfortunately the couple in front of us had the same idea and snatched them right up!  I did find a nice ottoman for baby girl's room:

I'm not sure about the current slipper cover, but for $30 I couldn't pass it up and I'm hoping to make or have someone make a new slipcover for it.  

I also got this queen size sagey green chenille coverlet that I have no idea what to do with but I just couldn't pass it up for $35!!

This isn't the best picture of it, but I loved it.

Anybody wanna join me in Leesburg??  They have a Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware outlet too!

Summer at the Spencers

It's only the second day of summer vacation.  I love summer vacation!  Here are some pics from the last day of school:

You would think by June 17th it would have been super warm and beautiful, but alas it poured all day with a high of 65.  BLEH!

The day before I attended Ethan's real Kindergarden graduation, the other ceremony was just for his class.  This one was for all four classes.  The children dressed up as the career they want to be when they grow up and recited a poem they memorized about it. 

All the classes!

Walking in to "Pomp and Circumstance"

Joel could not get enough of the balloon bouquets!

Gabe was a trooper.  (and a cutie!)

Our little artist.

My poor children.  There is no rest for the weary when you are a Spencer child.  We've already started working on these:

They each have a book and they have to do a page a day.  Ethan and Gabe's are fairly easy.  Sam's is actually quite challenging.  They also have to read for at least 20 minutes a day.  I've been told I'm one of the meanest mother's ever!

I thought I'd leave you with a totally random recipe.  The Spencer's LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this spaghetti sauce recipe from allrecipes.  It is super yummy AND super easy:

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 onion chopped

2 (15 oz.) cans tomato sauce

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup butter

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/4 tablespoon dried basil

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

1 pinch garlic powder

1.  Saute the beef and onion.  Drain.

2.  Stir in remaining ingredients and heat thru.  

It's just that easy!  I served it with:

Which packs a whopping 17 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber per serving.  IMPRESSIVE!!  Let's just say between the pasta, sauce, broccoli, cantaloupe, and garlic bread we were all VERY full!

Hope ya'll are having a great summer!  VBS starts next week.  I love VBS!!  Have a great weekend.

And her name shall be:

It took awhile to get everyone on board.  Gabe was our last hold out, but we have decided!  We've been calling her Abby for the last couple of weeks and it just fits.  It feels very nice, very comfortable.  I can't wait to meet her!!!

Baby Girl's Room

The internet really is amazing!  Mom and I love to keep up with decorating blogs, especially that of my girlfriend Erika over at Urban Grace Interiors.  The other day she gave a little teaser about her baby girl's nursery and of course got a ton of comments.  As I scrolled down to make my own comment I noticed someone else commenting about their nursery and curiosity got the best of me.  I clicked on the profile and finally her blog.  Her name is Holly and she has a fantastic design blog.  As I was collecting ideas for our nursery I noticed that she does design consulting!!  YAY!!  If you know me you know I need all the help I can get.  After a few emails and a very reasonable fee we were off and running.  She has given me some fantastic ideas.  

So here's a few teasers from baby girl's room:

The Quilt Fabric

The bedding.

The Wall Color and Curtain Fabric

 Two Possible Accessories

The new curtain rod (with old curtains, poor Joel couldn't sleep without them).

Maybe this chair...

And perhaps this fan...any thoughts on the fan?  It's kind of a must and I think I would girly up the shades with fabric and some other sort of bling.  Holly is asking for comments on it too, so go to her blog and comment if you don't comment here!  

So much to think about!  I've got sewing central set up on my dining room table.  I have 4 of 35 blocks made, I could sew faster if I didn't have soooo much help from little hands!  I need to order the curtain fabric, buy lining, finish the quilt, make a toile blanket, the list goes on!  

As of today, if I go full term I have 99 days to go!  Since my doctor and I are in agreement about progressing things along at 38 weeks then I have only 85!  WOW this pregnancy is FLYING by!

Friday Funnies and a Boy Turns 8!

Ya'll seriously....how old am I??  The boys and I dubbed this the bootie peach, we laughed, and laughed!  I especially love the reflection in the granite!  On a more serious note, I got these peaches from Costco, oh my goodness, they were SOOO good.  I was going to make a cobbler with them but we ate them all instead!

On Tuesday June 2, 2009, Sam turned 8!  I remember wanting to wish away his babyhood because he was SOOO boring, now I want him to stop growing and be my baby forever!

Reading cards in the morning before school.  The blue one is from Gabe!

In honor of the birthday boy we attempted water balloons.  See the teeny one in Joel's hand.  It had two pin prick holes in it and for the life of him he could not figure out why he kept getting wet.  Water balloons are hard!  We couldn't fill them at the kitchen sink because we have an integrated sprayer so I resorted to the bathroom.  The sink in the bathroom seems to be at a weird angle and the water balloons were impossible to tie.  I gave up at 12, but the boys were still pretty happy.  They tried throwing them at each other but quickly realized how much it hurt and resorted to throwing them on the ground.

We finally just drug out the sprinkler.  My big boys hamming it up for the camera!

One nice thing about running through the sprinkler in the afternoon is sending them up for a shower before dinner.  They are pretty neat eaters these days so it works fabulously!  After dinner Sam opened his present from us.  This HUGE remote controlled air plane.  He was thrilled.  Greg and I love the look on Ethan's face!

On the Friday after Sam's birthday we let him have his first sleepover.  I was totally stressed.  The boys nearly swallowed poor Sanjiv up with love and affection.  

Joel had a nice time too!

Sam's theme this year was Lego.  He wasn't all that impressed with the cake...oh well there's always next year.

ANOTHER REMOTE CONTROL PLANE!!  This one for the inside house!  He had a great birthday!

For memories sake I have been going through the day of each boy's birth on the blog.  I don't think I've done Sam's, so here goes:

Sam was due June 12, 2001.  Greg and I were excited and overwhelmed to be having our first baby.  On June 1, I went in for my 38 week appointment.  The doctor had told me at my previous appointment that she would strip my membranes if I wanted her too.  Of course who could resist the possibility of meeting their baby a few days early!  I can't exactly remember when my appointment was but it seems like it was in the morning.  The doctor warned me that if I hadn't gone into labor within 24 hours that the procedure probably wasn't going to work but she was pretty optimistic because I was already 3 cm dilated and 75% effaced.  

Greg and I went home that afternoon and prepared to drive up to Louisville to have dinner with my Mom and Dad.  By the time we left dinner I was feeling a little weird but I wasn't too optimistic.  It seems like we went home and walked around the block a few times but we finally gave up and headed to bed.  

About 3:00 AM I woke Greg up, my contractions (which were painful but seemed pretty easy) were coming pretty regularly so he called the doctor.  I hopped in the bath tub and around 5:00 we decided to go in.  I will always remember our trek that day.  We were driving smack dab in the middle of PT time so we had to drive SUPER slow and my oh so sweet husband decided to take some short cut that was the bumpiest road I think I have ever been on.  

When we got to the hospital I was at 5cm so they decided to admit me.  I remember my doctor asking if I wanted him to break my water.  By this point I'm thinking "this labor thing ain't so bad, what are all these women complaining about", so I said yeah, sure doc, break my water.  NEVER AGAIN will I allow someone to break my water before I have drugs (well except for Gabe but you will have to read about that here).  There is an amazing difference in contractions pre and post "breaking of the water".  YOZERS!!  I was begging the nurse for an epidural!!  Once I got my epidural I was loving life!  It was like a party!  

By noon I was ready to push.  Poor Sam he really didn't want to come out.  I'm actually quite surprised that I didn't have a C-Section.  After 4 hours of pushing, every alarm in the room started going off and every nurse came running in our room.  Sam's heart beat was down, way down.  I'm thinking it was in the 30's or 40's which is bad!  I remember the doctor saying, this baby is coming out NOW as he reached up and stuck the vacuum extractor on Sam's head.  Within a minute Sam was out and doing really well.  I don't remember him crying a bunch, probably from the traumatic yank out of the birth canal.  Wasn't he a cutie:

Now...for eight things I love about my eight year old:

1.  Sam is amazingly smart.  He surprises me everyday with words he defines for his brothers and math problems he figures out.

2.  Sam loves Army anything.  He loves to read about the army, watch TV shows about the army and he especially loves playing Army war games with his Daddy!

3.  Sam loves to help.  Sometimes I forget how helpful he is.  He can take the trash out, take the trash can to the curb, unload the dishwasher, make a bed like a pro...the list goes on!

4.  Sam is a VERACIOUS reader.  The world opened up to him when reading clicked.  I love when he reads me funny excerpts from his latest book.

5.  Sam loves people and gets along with everyone.  He's a peacemaker.  I don't think he's a typical first born in a lot of ways, but maybe he'll surprise me.

6.  Sam has recently been giving me the sweetest kisses.  I can't explain them but I know the days of my son giving me kisses are numbered so I'm treasuring each one.

7.  Sam is super responsible.  This year he has started giving himself his daily medicines (for allergies and asthma) and I know I can trust him!

8.  Sam is super frugal.  That kid can save like you wouldn't believe.

I love you Sammers!  Thanks for making me a Mom!

The Last Days of School

School is still in session here in Virginia. I am anxious for them to get out! It seems like the last couple of weeks all they do is watch movies and have extra long recess, which they love, but I would rather have them at home!!

A couple of weeks ago Sam had to do an animal project. He chose a "ghost frog". Over Memorial Day he and Papa spent some time constructing the ghost frog out of clay with some jelly beans for eyes! After days of drying he was finally ready to be painted. I thought Sam did an excellent job!

Here's the ghost frog in his diorama.

Sam proud of his creation.

This morning Ethan had a graduation celebration with his class. Next week all four kindergarten classes will celebrate together. Greg and I were floored to think about him being the "Future Graduate of 2021". It was even crazier to think that this next baby will be the class of 2027 0r 2028 depending on birthday requirements!

The blue profile second from the right is Ethan's. Not sure why it looks so CREEPY!

They sang a ton of patriotic songs and Joel waved his flag with gusto. I'm lucky to still have both of my eyes!

The little grad!

The entire class. Aren't they cute? Look at Ethan, bottom row, far left, hamming it up for the camera!

Summer's here ya'll! I can't wait to enjoy it with my boys!!

Financial Planning

I know I've mentioned in the past that Greg and I went through Financial Peace University last summer (FPU).  Well I'm proud to say that 12 months later we are still on budget, have a little over 50% of our debt paid off and have a small (but we're proud) emergency fund (it's actually probably more then most of America has).  I highly recommend the program!  

Did ya'll watch "UnBroke" last night?

It was really cute!  Greg and I got a good laugh.  This excerpt with Seth Green especially made us laugh:

Puzzeling

I'm "trying" to be super Mom and limit Wii playing and TV watching after school.  It's tough.  When everyone gets home the last thing I want is everyone looking at me, while I'm trying to make dinner, asking for ideas for entertainment.

Yesterday we made it through the entire afternoon without a single media source.  Granted I had to "bribe" Ethan (he got one caught you being good IF he completed an entire puzzle, he has to have 15 to go on a one-on-one date, so bribing him with one seemed like a good plan).  

Ethan's one of those kids who left to his own devices would NEVER do a puzzle.  I was SO proud of him for working on that thing.  He worked pretty diligently for about 2 hours.  I was impressed and he couldn't be more proud of his masterpiece:

He especially wanted everyone to see this:

100 pieces!!  That's huge when you are six!

In other puzzling news, we have no idea what to name this child.  The boys all have their own ideas.  I found this paper on the ground the other night, maybe Gabe is trying to tell me something:  

In other Gabe news, I'm going to be charging the doctor and tech that told us we were having a boy with Gabe's future therapy bills.  He keeps telling me that he will see our baby in heaven, the baby boy that used to be in my stomach.  YIKES!  Poor kid!

23 Weeks

I really should be taking more of these:

Today, I'm 23 weeks.  WOW!  That means, if all goes planned, we have 15 more weeks to go!  How exciting!  I'm starting to get ready, I've picked out a quilt pattern and fabric, my dear friend has agreed to make me bumpers and a crib skirt (still working on fabric for that), I've registered at Target and Babies R Us (which was kind of weird since the last time I registered was 8 years ago!), I'm looking at paint chips (I thought for sure I'd do pink, but pink seems a little overwhelming) and Mom and I have gotten a few outfits.  Baby girl is going to be here before we know it!

The Rest of The Story

Well as most of ya'll know we went for a gender check at 14 weeks 6 days.  The doctor (in this terrible shady office) told us he was 75% certain we were having a boy.  We went home that day and I grieved briefly.  I was actually more accepting then ever to be having ANOTHER boy.  

As a family we had kind of decided to name "him" Noah and we were making plans.  On May 13th I had my diagnostic ultrasound.  The tech took a look at my gall bladder (which looks great, BIG stone still there) and then began to look at "Noah".  "He" was measuring perfectly.  At the very end the tech began looking to confirm the gender.  She took this picture:  

And then mentioned that she wanted to go talk to the Radiologist because things didn't look quite right with "his" penis.  Basically our son was missing a scrotum.  YIKES!  As we sat in that little room we were freaking out in our own ways.  I was really quite, Greg was talking.  The tech came back, after what seemed like an eternity, and told us they wanted us to come back in 4 weeks for another ultrasound.  She told us the baby looked healthy but that she couldn't get a good look at the baby's spine and they wanted to check out the gender again.  She also mentioned that she had looked into a book and felt certain that we were having a boy with hypospadias (a condition that two of our other children have).  It's an easily "fixed" problem.  That morning we were told that the Radiologist was also looking into the "problem" and would write up his report which would be in my OB file.

We left the hospital and things started to sink in.  We possibly had a child with genital issues which can by symptomatic of other syndromes.  Of course I began to FREAK out but I felt like the radiologist's report would clear up the matter.  The following day I had an OB appointment, the doctor pulled up the report, which was very vague, and we decided a Level II ultrasound would be beneficial considering our history.  

As soon as I got home I began calling to make my appointment.  Unfortunately the Army health system can be VERY slow.  By Monday (our ultrasound was the previous Wednesday) I was beside myself.  When I finally got ahold of the right department they got an earful when they told me that my situation was not "ASAP" and that it would be 4-5 weeks before I would be able to get in.  I was now to the point of sobbing, especially when a well intentioned nurse told me that I just needed to "have hope" and "drink a glass of water".  Thankfully, I have an amazing husband and a great network of doctors on my side.  Greg took Tuesday morning off and with his amazing persuasion skills got us in for an appointment on the following Thursday. 

Now let's rewind to my birthday, on Sunday May 17th, the Sunday between my two ultrasounds.  Greg knew how upset I was about the situation at hand.  I wasn't sleeping well and was pretty snippy with everyone.  For my birthday gift, my sweet husband, scheduled another Gender check at a really nice facility.  It felt good to be doing something.  The techs at the ultrasound place assured us that they were never wrong and always found what they were looking for.  They escorted us into a beautiful room and got us all set up.  Within a couple of minutes we were told that they were 100% certain that we were having a girl.  I was shocked!  I bawled. WHAT?!  I wanted desperately to believe that there was nothing wrong with our baby and that the absence of a scrotum was simply the fact that we were having a girl.  I couldn't totally believe it.  I knew I wouldn't believe it with my heart and soul until we had confirmation from a specialist.  I allowed myself to buy one little pink outfit (we have NOTHING pink) and told a few friends and family but it was really news I wanted to keep under my hat until we knew FOR SURE.  The boys reaction that day was priceless.  They were so excited for us.  Sam said "This is perfect, she found out on her birthday".  I have the sweetest five men on the planet!

From Monday until Thursday I slept even more fitfully.  I was up every hour, pottying and looking at the clock.  Every morning I was up and at em' at 6:00, which is totally not like me.  I thought Thursday would NEVER get there.  On Thursday morning, my sweet friend Connie took my youngest boys, we got the big boys on the bus and we headed up to Bethesda.  We had to wait over an hour to see the doctor, in that time I went to the bathroom SIX times, it was beginning to get embarrassing.  By the time they took us back I thought I was going to just have to live in the bathroom.  

The doctor took our history and then began to look at the baby.  When she got down to the "money shots" she kept writing "gender".  YIKES!!  At that point I was certain we must be having a hermaphrodite.  I nearly fell off the bed when she told us she wanted to consult with another doctor.  When the other doctor came him he stuck the wand on my belly and within about 30 seconds said "Well, girls always take care of you in your old age".  I cried again.  Just to calm our fears the doctor even showed us her uterus, which floored us...I guess we figured they grew those later!  

We are thrilled to know that our baby is perfect and their is a great reason why "he" is missing a scrotum.  I definitely think this story will have to go in her baby book.

I am totally overwhelmed.  I have been perusing the internet for nursery ideas.  With five children we are on a pretty tight budget so there will be nothing extravagant.  I can't wait to hit the yard sales and consignment sales in the area!  I don't even know where to begin when it comes to colors, fabrics, etc.  I actually began hyperventilating one evening while checking out crib bedding sets, pathetic, huh?!  

I am so thankful the Lord has answered our prayers for a girl and for a healthy baby!  Thanks for all the congrats!  It's been an great unexpected couple of weeks!

Never So Glad for A Doctor to Be Wrong

We are emotionally exhausted but I just had to post our FANTASTIC news! I will tell the whole story tomorrow BUT I just had to let everyone know that we are having a perfectly healthy, perfectly normal BABY GIRL!! I cried, as did my Mom, Dad and Mother-in-Law. I just cannot believe it is true! Thank you Lord!!

Stay tuned for the story of our emotional roller coaster!

Quotable Quotes

Nothing exciting here today.  The boys and I spent the morning at the dentist and all are still members of the No-Cavity Club!  YAY!  Our Level II ultrasound should be Thursday at 11:00 hoping to have exciting news that day!

I found this quote recently and thought it was worth posting.  It's been on my fridge and I read it several times a day:

I spent a long time trying to come to grips with my doubts, when suddenly I realized I had better come to grips with what I believe.  I have since moved from the agony of questions that I cannot answer, to the reality of answers that I cannot escape...and it's a great relief.

- Tom Skinner

Stay tuned Thursday afternoon!  Hoping we have some answers and an official announcement!

Random Musings

It's a random sort of day. Joel, Gabe and I are being lazy. It's wonderful. We started the day with this:



Greg and I LOVE this song (ya'll know we're from Kentucky, right?!). I heard it at the bus stop as I was dropping the boys off. When we're together Greg and I always roll down all the windows and sing at the top of our lungs. How can you not smile? (You don't have to watch the ENTIRE video, he goes on to introduce his band, etc).

On Sunday I'm turning 30. I cannot believe it. Where did my 20's go?? I swear I blinked and they were over. 30...WOW...!

On Wednesday, we had our ultrasound. Our baby is good, but something isn't quite right. We are anxiously awaiting scheduling a Level II ultrasound. As of right now we are not 100% sure if we are having a boy or a girl. I have been running through Psalm 139:13-16 a lot:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of the came to be.

The good news is, heart, lungs, kidneys, stomach, etc, all seem to be in good working order. We will post more when we know more! We don't think this is a big deal, but please keep us in your prayers.

Lastly, I had the sweetest comment the other day from a gal named Lacey. So sweet! It made my day. Girl, if you are near Woodbridge we should get together!

All the Little Things they Say...

I know I give a disproportionate amount of Gabeisms on this blog...but four year olds say the FUNNIEST things!

Gabe and I often play the I love you game.  He says I love you, I say (very adamantly) I love you, and it goes back in forth until one of us gives up...usually me.  Last week he grew exasperated very quickly, looked at me very seriously and yelled "WHY DON'T YOU JUST LET ME LOVE YOU".  I melted!

Gabe has been taking swim lessons since January and has been progressing nicely.  He has a bad habit of running from place to place which drives me batty as a former lifeguard.  Last week while hopping, skipping and jumping he took a nasty spill on the tile floor.  After class I was examining his forehead.  

Me:  "Gabe that's a nasty bump on your forehead"

Gabe:  "Mommy, why do they call it a forehead"

Me:  "Hmmm....I'm not sure Gabe"

Gabe:  "Why don't they just call it a onehead"

This kids smarter then I give him credit for, HA!

I have been slowly reading this book:

It's by Lisa Whelchel who played Blaire on the Facts of Life.  It's a bit of an overwhelming book because it offers a million ideas of things you COULD be doing with your children, which makes me feel like a slug (which she totally warns against).  Overall though, it has some good ideas.

One of the things she suggests is having a high/low talk with your children just before you tuck the in at night.  I've always had the boys give me one good thing and one bad thing that happened at school as soon they come off the bus (otherwise it's impossible to get boys to talk).  I kind of liked the idea of having a more intimate time with the boys one on one as I tucked them in mainly because I hoped they would be a little more open if they didn't feel like their brothers were listening.

It has been nice spending that quite time with them, talking and praying with each of them right before bed.  The first night was by far the best.  I knelt down beside Sam's bed and took both of his not-so-little-anymore hands in mine and he told me a little about his day.  Nothing monumental or earth shattering but I loved having that quite moment with my babies.  I prayed with him and as I kissed him he sheepishly looked at me and said, "Mommy, you smell good".  It was one of the nicest things they have ever said to me.  He got really embarrassed when I asked him what I smelled like.  He couldn't give me an answer.  I have a feeling it was a mixture of Woolite, Dream Angels body spray and the bacon and brownies I had made earlier in the day.  Regardless I was thrilled that he thought I smelled great.  I'm still walking on air a little on this one!!  (Crazy, huh?!)  I guess it's because sensory memories are some of the strongest, and I hope he thinks of me when ever there is a trigger (even if it's bacon).  

Have a FABULOUS weekend!!  The suns out here, for now, and I want to enjoy it!