Flashback

I wanted to post these pictures on Will's birthday post, but I couldn't find them on the computer. I found them today and wanted to share them with you. Many of you probably remember getting these when we sent out updates. It is so hard to believe that my active three year old was once so small! God is so good!!

What gets me through it

As many of you know, I have terrible morning sickness. It lasts all day. I have experienced this with every pregnancy. Every morning I wake up and dread the day ahead filled with sickness. The sickness is worse each time because I have another child to care for. I really want to be a fun mom who wants to play games and pretend with my boys, but the all-day sickness keeps me from this. I hate to admit that Will has probably watched more hours of TV in the past three weeks than he has watched in his entire life! And poor Ben, I force him to take a nap every two hours, just so I can lay down!! One day Will found me lying on the bathroom floor - he didn't say a word, he ran and got a blanket and laid down with me! It reminded me of why I was willing to go through the "yucky" stuff - to bring a new life into this world. I also had another revelation about morning sickness. I am constantly asking God why he would give me this that I don't feel I can handle. I lean on the promise that God will not give me anything I can't handle. Not that God owes me an answer, but He gave me one. He knows me. He knows that I would be worrying 24/7 wondering if the pregnancy was going like it should. He gives me the sickness to calm my spirit. The sickness lets me know that this new life is developing like it should. He knows I need this reminder (constantly) to calm my fears. So, this gets me through the day and I try not to complain too much. Don't think I am super woman - I remind Rhyne all the time how sick I am!! I still complain. But I thank God for this "yuckyness" because without it, I would worry non-stop!!

Birthday Tradition

When Will's first birthday was coming up, I wanted to start a tradition that would honor the memory of Matthew and Harris. For now, we have let two birthday balloons go each year on Will's (and the twins') birthday. It might change as Will gets older, but it works right now. This year was really the first year Will participated. We explained to him why we let the balloons go - I think he understands? It was such a sweet moment!

Party

We had Will's birthday party at Pump-It-up in Brandon. It was the easiest party - they decorated, served the food, organized the presents, and cleaned up after the party!! I didn't do anything but take pictures! I don't know who had more fun, the kids or Rhyne!! We had a train party - Will loves trains! Enjoy the pics!

Happy Birthday!

Today is Will's 3rd birthday!! I cannot believe three years have gone by (too fast)!! We had such a fun day. I will post pictures from the day later. Here are some then and now pics:

Explained: It's a God thing!

First, let me apologize for the poor quality of this scan. I am not the most computer-literate person. If you squint, you can see a tiny butter bean - that is another miracle God has given us. I am due February 22. Rhyne and I were (and still are) in such shock when we found out. I felt like I had just gotten adjusted to having just two! I feel like I need to explain why this is such a miracle to us. When Rhyne and I decided to start a family, we wanted at least four children (God-willing). In 2001, we began trying. This is when our infertility journey began. After many surgeries, tests, tears, negative pregnancy tests, and so much more, we turned to in vitro fertilization. Going through all of this, my faith was on a roller coaster. I would love to say that I never doubted God, but I did on a daily basis. I couldn't understand why He gave me a desire that was not fulfilled. Then he answered our prayer, we found out in January 2005 that we were pregnant with TRIPLETS! When we found this out I thought finally, God had answered our prayer for a full house (it wasn't the four we had planned, but we had only prayed for one this go around). So many of you know our story, but I don't think you know what I was really feeling during all of this. As you know, I gave birth to three boys on July 12, 2005 (at 27 weeks). God was so good (I really mean that), He gave us the one we had prayed for, Will. I lost the twins (Matthew and Harris). It was the toughest thing I think I will ever go through! I thought I had God figured out - He made me pregnant with triplets to fulfill my desire for a full house in one pregnancy. Why do I ever try to figure God out - no one can ever truly know why God does the things He does. I do find comfort in knowing that the events of that day did not catch God by surprise, He had it planned - that makes my spirit calm!! I wish I could say that I always trust God and never try to question Him, but that would be a lie!! I do have to say that despite the wide-range of emotions I have felt since July 2005, God has never left me feeling alone. He has been the constant in my life. I will spare you the soul-searching and revelations I have gone through since Will's birth. I am writing this post to give glory to God. He has done a marvelous work in our life (mine and Rhyne's). Everything you have witnessed us going through is nothing we have done - it is truly a God-thing. After Will's birth, I felt hopeless that he would have any brothers or sisters. After all, I could only get pregnant with the help of doctors - God brought glory to himself and crushed that thought! What a miracle Ben is! Now I find myself pregnant again with another vessel to bring glory to God!! It can't be explained by science why I can now get pregnant naturally, but God had this all planned - it is a God-thing!!! Many would look at my situation and pity me - being pregnant with another child this soon. I don't see it that way - for so long I thought I could never be pregnant. I will not trade God's timing for my timing. He created me, who else better knows what I need!! So, after all of this rambling, if you only take away one thing - take away that God deserves all the glory and all of this is a God-thing (that explains it)!!!

The Beach

We just got back from the beach last night. We went with my family. If you know anything about my dad, you know that he is not a "beach" person. Out of all of us, he had the best time! We stayed in Sandestin - Baytown Wharf. Very nice! It was so much fun watching Will play at the beach. Poor thing, he only enjoyed one day before he was knocked out by a stomach bug!! Ben didn't care too much for the ocean nor the sand! On the 4th, Baytown had a wonderful fireworks show - we sat on our balcony and had a great view! It was a great trip overall - just being with family and making memories makes it worth it!!

Dinosaurs!

Our play group went to the Dinosaur exhibit at the Natural Science Museum the last week in June. Will was so excited! He wasn't sure about the dinos at first, but then loved them - we even had to tell them "bye" before we left! Ben, on the other hand, didn't care for the roaring dinos - he cried! Will's favorite part of the trip had to be watching the man clean out the alligator tank with paper towel and a water hose (he loves a water hose) - I couldn't get him to look at the gators!!

New Orleans

We went to New Orleans with Rhyne's family at the end of June. We went to the aquarium and the zoo (we only saw the flamingos and an elephant before it started raining, but we had fun shopping in the gift shop for an hour!). Will enjoyed the aquarium - I told him we would see the sea otters there, so every corner we turned he wanted to know where the sea otters were! Poor Ben, he was such a trooper. We drug him from place to place all day and he never got fussy!