Life's Lessons

Well, I missed posting about week seventeen and now I am almost to week eighteen. It has been a very busy week.


This past Thursday was a very trying day. I (like every other day) woke up with my mental (and some on paper too) list of things I wanted to accomplish that day. The day was already not starting great because the night before my husband brought home two seven week old baby boy goats. We were supposed to get girl goats. (That is a whole different story!) The fencing for the goats was not complete so they were put temporarily in the dog pen. The dog (a very high strung yellow lab) was tied out on a chain. I was busy trying to get my agenda done for the day: cleaning, laundry, homeschooling, phone calls, and keeping up with my two year old. It was after lunch and time to lay him down for his nap. I normally lay him down and while he sleeps I go for a run. He has always slept in our walk in closet in his play pen. (It does have an air vent!) He has never been a great sleeper, which is why he has never spent one night in his crib upstairs. It has always been easier just to keep him in his dark little closet with his fan running. It was perfect until he learned how to climb out. This particular day when I had a million things to do, I really needed him to get to sleep. He probably got up at least twenty times! I spanked him and talked to him until I thought I was going to cry. Saying he is going through a strong-willed time is an understatement! My oldest daughter said she thought I was going to cry. I was close. By the time he finally went to sleep I didn't have a lot of time. I had a hair appointment for one of my daughters, so I needed to hurry and get home to shower and get her to town. When the run was over and I was ready to take her to town I remembered that my husband had taken my van to work and I didn't have a set of keys to his car! After a frantic five minutes and almost calling to cancel (which would have messed up her picture appointment scheduled for the next day), I remembered we had a spare key in a drawer. As I was going out to make sure that key fit his car the dog came bounding towards me and I spilled tea all over my legs and she jumped up and scratched me. She somehow had gotten off her chain. With chickens roaming the property, we cannot leave her to run loose so I spent the next few minutes getting her tied back up. I did finally get to the hair appointment and we were only five minutes late! (Oh, and one more thing that happened was the chickens ate all the seeds out of the garden that I had planted!)


Later that night as I was laying in the bed reading my Bible I came across this verse from Proverbs. "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps." Proverbs 16:9 I wish that I could say that I handled the frustrations graciously, but the dog kind of sent me over the edge! I am trying to learn to be more flexible and realize that I am not in control of my day. Kind of funny, I was just talking to my teenage daughter a few days before about being flexible and dying to self and I find I still need to be reminded too!

The perpetrators


One of the other perpetrators!


And the cutest little perpetrator!

Sixteen Weeks!

I almost missed sixteen weeks! I had an appointment on Monday (the day I turned 16 weeks.) The baby's heart beat sounded good and I have certainly gained plenty of weight! :>) Everything is going well. I am feeling better for the most part. I only get sick feeling if I don't eat or if I eat something too heavy. I have energy during the day, but by evening I am ready to lay down (and of course as any mom knows,I don't get to!) Here is a description of week sixteen that I copied off the Internet. It is always so fascinating to read.

How your baby's growing:

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

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My next appointment is the "big" ultrasound. It is always so much fun. Our first baby we didn't find out the sex. The rest of them we did because my husband just can't wait. I think it would be fun to wait this time. I haven't convinced him. We may compromise and find out and not tell anyone else. We are still very undecided on a name. We are all "M's", so it limits us. Ideas are welcome!

Development at Fifteen Weeks

You may be able to feel movements as baby kicks, flails, twists and turns (but don't panic if you don't yet). She can also grasp, squint, frown, grimace and maybe suck her thumb!
Your baby's legs have grown longer than the arms and the body is now longer than the head.
And you'll be happy to note that he is moving those arms and legs often!
His skin is very thin -- so thin blood vessel are visible. It's covered by a fine, soft layer of hair called lanugo. Lanugo comes from a Latin word meaning "down." This hair is thought to help insulate your little boy.
The three tiny bones in his middle ear have begun to harden. The auditory centers in your baby's brain haven't developed yet, so she might not really understand what you say but her hearing capacity is in the process of developing.
Fingernails and toenails are growing.
Eyebrows are beginning to grow and even the hair his head is sprouting. It will probably change color and texture after birth.
All this and your little one is an amazing 3.98 inches (10.1cm) long and may weigh 2.47 ounces (70gm).

Thankful Mama

Spring has sprung and that means baseball at our house! Matthew has always loved baseball and has been playing since he was just a little guy. He has come a long way from that little five year old that picked weeds in the outfield! He has been blessed with the ability to play well, but what makes me even prouder is what a good kid he is. He had a game tonight and we always sit close to the dugout to monitor what is going on. Where we used to live he played on a home school team which was nice. For the last few years he has played on a community team. There have been some good kids and some not so good. We are looking forward to him trying out for a home school traveling ball team next year. Anyway, I was watching him tonight. I am amazed at how disrespectful some of the kids are to their coaches and umpires. Matthew wouldn't dream of spouting off to an adult. I also have noticed how the young girls hang out behind the fence by the dugout. These are just 11-13 year old kids! There was a little twelve year old "on the prowl" tonight. If she had been mine I would have worn her out! She was doing everything she could to get the boys attention. Unfortunately, several of them gave it to her. I was so proud to see Matthew sitting by himself on the bench focusing on the game. There is one little guy that looks up to Matthew (literally and figuratively! He is a short little guy!) It is neat to see Matthew quietly lead by example. Yes, I am a proud mama tonight! :>)

Notice the heighth difference on these two! :>)

Future ball player!