The News Is Here!

We are having a BOY!!! We are so excited about the new addition that will be entering our lives sometime around January 2, 2008 (give or take a few days!).

I had my followup doctor appointment today and was told that the baby looks healthy. My placenta was lying a little low, so they will do another ultrasound around 26 weeks to see if the placenta moved - the same thing happened with Brady. That will be a nice treat to see my baby again before he is born!

We have been praying about a name for him, but do not have one yet - but we still have lots of time before we have to name him! I am so excited to meet him and to see what he looks like - will he resemble his brother? We will find out relatively "soon".

In the meantime, I have lots to keep me busy - we need to decide how we are going to paint Brady's "Big Boy" room. We were recently thinking of painting the walls blue, but we may change our mind and do a theme - I will keep you posted!

Anyway, I think that a few of the "funniest" questions that people are already asking me is, "Do you think that you will have another child?" or "Do you think that you will try for a girl?" It makes me laugh because I have no idea what it is like to have two children - so, I will first see what that is like and pray and ask the Lord if we are to have anymore. He may say that we are to have more, or He may tell us that our family is complete with the two boys. I love both of my boys and will be happy if they are all of the children that God has designed for this family.

Sleepless Nights Won't Last Forever!

As I am getting closer to the arrival of our second child, I am thinking about those beginning weeks of being woken up in the middle of the night to feed the baby and probably do a diaper change too. Part of me is not really looking forward to that, but that is the way things go.

I am reminded that Brady did sleep 12 hours through the night at 15 weeks, and I am praying that this little baby will sleep that extended night before 15 weeks (some babies are able to do it at 9 weeks - which would be wonderful!). So, I will need to brush up on the scheduling technique that is described in On Becoming Babywise and Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. I really appreciated both of these books, and the support of my sister while raising Brady. He is still a great sleeper and napper - and I am thankful that he is!

So, sis - can I borrow those books again?

Fun With The Nephews

My sister and I came up with this great idea - we take turns watching each other's kids so that the couple without the kids can spend uninterrupted time with each other. We don't just do it for an evening, but we will take each other's kids for an entire day, and have them sleep over too! The cousin's love it, and so do the aunts and uncles! Let me tell you, going from one to three is definitely a big change, but my nephews are so well behaved that I am able to stay sane - I just get a little tired!

So, this was Dawson and my Saturday-Sunday:

Saturday
9:00am - Jeter and Barber are dropped off at the house, and everyone is excited, of course!

The three little boys:
-play with the mega bloks car track
-play games on the computer (kneebouncers.com it is great for the little ones)
-play outside with tricycles, toys, and the swing set

12:00 - Time for lunch!
Jeter asks for "tuna bread" AKA tuna sandwich - and he ate a whole sandwich!
Barber asks for PBJ like this (one hand on top of the other - his way of saying "sandwich") - he will eat half a sandwich
Brady - he eats what Mommy makes for him - tuna sandwich today
Dawson - whole PBJ and half tuna
Me - PBJ was just fine for today
Grapes and tortilla chips accompanied the sandwiches

After lunch, the boys ran around for a little bit - and then we all went upstairs

1:15 - Barber and Brady were put down for a nap
-I went to my parents house to borrow a pastry blender
-Dawson and Jeter began building a rocket ship out of cardboard boxes

2:00 - Brady lets out a midnap cry - a little longer than usual.
-I go upstairs to listen and see if I will need to go in and comfort him (he is teething again!)
-Brady quiets down after 3 minutes, I never went into the room, but boy does my bed feel comfy, and my eyelids feel heavy!
-I lay down for a little snooze

4:00 - I wake up from my nap! I really needed that snooze!
- the two little boys are still snoozing
-Dawson and Jeter have finished the rocket! It looks great - the wings have not been put on yet - that way we can get it into the house, and then over to The Campbell Corner

4:30 - Dawson and I begin to prepare dinner...Taco Salad tonight!

5:00 - We still have not heard a peep from the two little boys, so it is time to check on them!
-they both woke up when we entered the room
-they come downstairs and are so excited about the rocket ship and play in it for a little bit!

5:30 - Dinner time!

After dinner:
-Time to play outside again - they had fun on the swings and Jeter and Barber had fun pushing Brady on his swing.

7:00 - Bath time and Bed time!
-Barber and Jeter want to take a bath with Brady. I of course think that this will be so cute - what a great photo op!...don't worry, all of the private parts were not in and of the pics! They had fun playing with the bath toys. Dawson took care of bathing Brady, I bathed Barber, and Jeter was able to bathe himself - it worked out great!
-Time to read books, pray and put Barber and Brady to bed
-Jeter stayed up a little longer and had: dessert, played UNO, and had his special book read to him

8:30 - Jeter was in bed

After all of the boys were in bed - we were able to relax a little bit!

I did not sleep the greatest. We left the hall light on as a nightlight for the nephews (I do not own a nightlight! I need to buy one!). The light kept waking me up, because I left our door open a crack in case they would need me for some reason. I think that I also had an ear open, in case they needed me - which they did not! I probably woke up about 4 times throughout the night - I only had to go to the bathroom once out of those four times. I guess it is the mommy in me! Dawson slept soundly through the whole night - which is good. He does not take naps like I do because he works outside of the home.

Sunday
6:00am - Jeter very quietly comes into our room. He wanted to know what time it was - I told him, and then also told him to go back to bed (very nicely) - and he did. He is such a cutie pie!

6:15 - I hear someone in the bathroom. OK, it is time for me to get up! I help the nephews
get ready for church.

6:45 - I wake up Dawson, so that he can take the nephews downstairs, and make them breakfast. I shower and get ready for church

7:15 - I am ready for church (except for the hair), and I hear Brady. As soon as I walk into his room, he asks for his two cousins - it was so cute. I change his diaper and get him ready for church. Brady and I go downstairs to eat breakfast. Dawson's turn to shower and get ready!

8:30 - time to leave for church! We got there on time! I was so impressed!

We made the kid exchange at the end of church. We had a great time with our nephews, and I believe that my sister and Simms had a great time with each other - getting projects down in the house, and also spending some quality time with each other.

I am so glad that I am able to do this with my sister and brother in law - We will need to make plans soon to share our son with them, while we spend some time together before Baby #2 arrives!

BJ's Coupon Deals

Today, I went to BJ's to pick up a few things. I always check the rack of coupons when I first walk in, because there are usually coupons that are there that were not sent to me through the mail - they are the ones that are a single sheet or a little coupon flyer. So, I figured that I would share the coupon deals that I used today...maybe you would be interested in them too.

Nature Valley Granola Bars - BOGO! I don't always buy these, but with this price, I could not pass it up (this is on a single sheet of coupons - I think that it may only be valid this week)

Cheerios and Bananas - Buy a box of cheerios and get 3 lbs. of bananas FREE - I also used a $1 off coupon on the cheerios that I cut out from the Sunday paper (not this week). The coupon for the FREE bananas is on the same sheet as the granola bars.

Skippy Peanut Butter and Welch's Grape Jelly - buy the (2 jars) peanut butter (which had a $1 off instantly AND I used $1 off coupon from last Sunday's paper) and get (2 jars) grape jelly FREE (I am usually a grape jam fan, b/c that is what I grew up on, but I can deal with the jelly, it tastes good too - just not as thick). This coupon is in a little flyer - I actually used 2 of the coupons, so that I could stock up on PB&J!

There were some other coupons that I used - but those were the main ones that I wanted to share with you. For those of you interested in the chicken deals - I did not have time to check the chicken, so I cannot give you a prediction as to when it might be discounted. Have a great day and happy shopping!

Blueberry Muffins

Today, I decided to make blueberry muffins with the blueberries that I had in the fridge. The recipe that I used was from Martha Stewart's website, and I copied and pasted it below. It is very tasty and I do recommend it. (I will be posting the pear crisp recipe that I used soon, I just want to try to make it one more time with alterations before I recommend that you make it)

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients
Makes 1 dozen (if you have the very large muffin tins)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a standard 12-cup muffin pan and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Working over the bowl, toss blueberries in a fine sieve with about 1 1/2 teaspoons flour mixture to lightly coat; set aside the flour mixture and the blueberries.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Mix in vanilla.

3. With the mixer on low speed, add reserved flour mixture, beating until just combined. Add milk, beating until just combined. Do not overmix. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the blueberries. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. If desired, in a small bowl, mix together remaining 1/4 cup sugar and nutmeg. Sprinkle sugar mixture on top of muffin batter.

4. Bake, rotating pan halfway though, until muffins are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn muffins on their sides in their cups, and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.


I am trying to find a recipe for a zucchini/summer squash casserole - hopefully, I will find one that is tasty and easy to make.

First Haircut

We finally had it done. Brady had his first haircut last night! His fine blond hair took a very long time to grow in - once it was here, I was not in a rush to get it cut. I loved the cute little waves that he had at the base of his neck - so adorable. However, it was time to get it cut - it was starting to look like a mullet, and that is not my favorite hairstyle!

He was not very excited about the idea of someone else touching his hair, but he did really well. Brady sat on my lap, while Dawson snapped a few photos. Scissors were used to cut his hair - clippers would probably have made him look the way that he did when he was first born! He was very happy when it was all over and went to play with his three friends (one of our friends cut his hair, and she did a great job!).

He looks so cute with his new haircut! I love it! I guess he looks older, but to me, he looks just as cute as he did before - just with a new haircut!

Update On My Back

Thank you to all that are praying for my back. It is still not completely healed, but it has been feeling a lot better. I have not gone to the doctor for it because I feel that there is really nothing that they will be able to do, and I don't feel like wasting my time and money for them to point that out to me. So, I continue to pray and try not to overdue it!

I appreciate your continued prayers for my complete healing!

A "New" Contest To Enter

Over at 5 Minutes For Mom, they are having another great contest - a Comfy Easy PC System for your toddler. So, if you are interested, click here.

The Last Pear...

Yesterday, we decided that it was time to pick and shake the rest of the pears off of our tree. It is amazing how quickly pear season comes and goes. I actually think that waiting for the pears to be ready to pick was the hardest part and seemed to take a long time!

Now, we have over 100 pears that I need to do something with! So, last night, I was looking at recipes online - pear crisp, pear syrup, pear smoothies, and other delicious sounding recipes. I think that the hardest part of making these recipes is peeling, coring, and chopping the pears. However, the result is well worth it!

So, I am trying to enjoy every last bit of each pear that we have, because after they are gone, I will not eat another pear until next pear season - I am spoiled by my pear tree, and the ones in the supermarket cannot compare!

So, the next thing that we have been thinking about is planting a peach tree...because I LOVE peaches too!

The Simple Things In Life

Who knew that a simple paper airplane would give Brady and I fifteen minutes of nonstop fun yesterday?!

We started off by coloring a little bit in Brady's coloring book - although he actually enjoys taking a crayon out of the box, coloring a little bit, putting that crayon back, choosing another crayon to use, and repeat. Sometimes the coloring part is left out, because he loves to take the crayons out of the box and put them back in. I only let him have one crayon at a time, and I am holding the crayon box while this is taking place. Anyway, I was getting a little tired of this, so I decided to change what we were doing...who had the short attention span! :)

So, I grabbed a piece of scrap computer paper, made a (horrible) paper airplane (Dawson informed me later that Word has something that you can print out with instructions...thanks, hunny - my engineer!), and began to throw it around the room. It did not fly very well, but Brady was just laughing and laughing! He would run after the plane, pick it up and give it to me to throw again. I tried to get him to throw it, but he would give it to me and say, "Mama" - which was his way of saying, you throw it Mommy.

We had a great time. Cost of the paper: $0 - it was scrap from Dawson's work. Cost of our experience: priceless.

August is Here!

I have read in a few different blogs about how it is August already and people are "gearing" up for Back to School. That used to be me too - since I taught high school biology and chemistry, but the last two years have been different for me.

Now that I am a stay at home mom and my child is 19 months old, I do not really have a huge distinction between summer vacation and the school year - well, besides the lack of kids waiting at the bus stop across the street every morning!

Many people have asked me if I want to go back to teaching or when I will go back, and my answer is, "I don't know. It depends on what God has for me and my family." Although there are days where I feel like a failure - the laundry is piling up, the dishes are not completely caught up and I am not sure what is for dinner (because I am not in the routine of defrosting something the night before, yet!), I know that this is where God has me at this time in my life. Working outside of the home would probably add stress to my life - especially if I was doing it because I wanted to do it, not because God had me doing it! I am thankful that I am able to stay at home with my child - playing with him, teaching him new things, and also teaching myself how to get into better routines and stay with them!

Although, I do not have to think too much about "Back to School" for the next few years, I do have to say that I do enjoy getting in on some of the sales that take place! So, for all of you that are preparing for the new school year, be sure to enjoy these last few weeks with your kids!

Worshiping and Praying

Brady has a beautiful spirit and heart towards the Lord - and it blesses his Mommy and Daddy! I know that I have written about this topic before, but I have to praise the Lord for the heart that He has placed in Brady.

After we picked Brady up from the nursery at church today, he went in to the sanctuary, sat on a pew, and lifted his hands to worship Jesus. There is music that is playing in the background, but some people may not notice it because of other noise that is taking place (ministry in the front of the church and some people talking in the pews). Brady noticed it and joined in with the worship.

It blesses me to see his heart towards Jesus.

He also loves hold hands when we pray for our food, or when we have to correct his behavior. We have also taught him how to lay hands on someone when we are praying for healing. So, tonight when we were praying for Dawson - Brady came over and placed his hand on his Daddy's head and we prayed for healing (his chest was feeling a little tight and tingly).

I love the heart of my child, and I am praying that he follows the Lord ALL of his days.

Prayer Needed

Hey all you prayer warriors out there. I have a request. The top left part of my back has had pain in it since I returned from the MIA retreat. I did not have pain while I was there, but woke up with it on Monday. I thought that I slept on it wrong, but am still feeling a lot of pain. I went to the chiro three times, this week, and I am not sure if it has become less painful. It seems like in mornings I feel better, but then it gets more intense as the day progresses.

It feels like it is in the muscle. If I am not feeling better by next week, I am going to call my earthly doctor, but right now, I am calling on my Heavenly Healer and would appreciate you interceding on my behalf.

Thanks, and I will keep you posted.

Our Pear Tree

We have two edible fruit trees in our backyard - a pear tree and an apple tree. The pear tree produces many, many pears. The apple tree may produce about 30 apples if we are lucky, and I think that I overestimated!

Last year we were kind of learning what to do with so many pears and when to pick them. This year has been a lot of fun with our pear tree. We have read that pears are ready to pick off of the tree before they are actually ripe to eat - then they will ripen in a day or two on the counter. I must have over 50 pears in my kitchen right now! Every morning, I go outside to find pears that have fallen off of the tree during the night - some have been munched on by the wildlife, and others have not. So, I quickly place the "good ones" into my bucket, and the others get placed into a plastic bag and into the garbage can. This morning, I found 11 munched on ones and 7 good ones. Then, throughout the day, I am on a look-out for any others that have fallen, and try to "beat" the rabbits to this delicious fruit! Usually in the afternoon, we go out and check to see if more pears are ready to be picked.

So, today, my sister and her boys came over to pick some pears. Jeter and my sis enjoyed it the most - or for the longest time! Brady tried to pick one, but was not able to get it off of the branch - it was not ready to be picked yet. He did enjoy finding a munched on pear (which I placed on the patio - I thought out of his reach!) and squishing it in his hands until mommy came over and "ruined" his "fun"! He loves to get messy - but the animals that snacked on the pear could have diseases! So, he got a good hand washing! Barber got a little help from his aunt to get a pear off of the tree - he enjoyed picking a few pears, but then the swing set won his attention!

I am so thankful that we have this pear tree. It gives us a lot of tasty fruit, and it is also something fun that our kids can look forward to every summer. When I was young, we had a garden and it was fun to pick the vegetables - the weeding was not very fun, but I do not remember having to do it that often. So, although we do not have a garden at the moment, we do have a delicious pear tree that we can have some fun taking care of!

So, now I need to decide what delicious recipes that I am going to make...definitely Fresh Pear Crostata, maybe some pear butter (sister's idea), and I will have to search for a few others. If you have any ideas, I would love to have them!