A whole lot of big stuff!

To say that we have been blessed lately is such an understatement.  Our weeks have been filled with really great stuff- visits from friends we don't get to see nearly often enough, holding precious new babies and helping dear friends to welcome her into their family, listening to Lauren's ever expanding vocabulary (and getting a real piece of her personality that we've always KNOWN has been in there!), and on and on and on.

This past weekend had enough in it to fill its very own blog post, but a super busy work week has stood in the way of me getting it on here to share with you.  Suffice it to say that we were busy, but we were very productive.  And I don't mind busy in that case.

Today was Joshua's first day of school this year.  He was so excited about going back to school.  I don't know whether I blogged in the spring about our decision to keep him in K4 (like pre-kindergarten) for another year or not, but due to his age and the teacher's recommendation, we did make that choice.  We have been concerned that when the first day of school came and he saw his friends from last year going into the K5 room, that he would have a hard time understanding why he wasn't also going with them.  But, by all accounts, today was a very good day.  I hear that he was the social director of the whole preschool area this morning going up to everyone and saying hello and then asking them how their summer was.  And he had never met most of them.  (Apparently we're getting over any social anxieties he may have had last year.)  When I picked him up this morning, he gave Mrs. Deitrick a big hug and she told him how great he had done today in class....and he beamed.  I can really see a desire to please everyone in Joshua as he grows, and I'm so proud of him.  He said he made a few new friends, but he didn't know their names yet.  I know he did enjoy playing with Sophia, a friend from church (who also happened to be the daughter of the family who purchased our old house on Greenbriar Dr...small world, right?).  I'm just glad that he seems to like school and is doing well.

With the start of the school year also starts my crazed schedule of picking him up each day at 11:00 at the school.  I have to say that I may grumble from time to time about the interruption in my business day, but I don't take for granted for a single second that I am blessed with the flexibility to be there for my children when they need me.  And I absolutely love that time with Joshua right after the school day has finished and I get to hear every detail of what happened during school.  (And seeing Lauren at home and getting an extra hug and "I love you Mommy" out of her doesn't hurt either to boost me through the rest of the day.)

Yesterday was a pretty big day for our family as well.  Somehow, time is flying right along with my pregnancy and I've made it to 20 weeks already.  I've been anxiously awaiting my ultrasound to confirm that the baby looks healthy and hopefully to find out which tubs of clothes in the basement I need to get cleaned out and washed before baby's arrival in January.  I have really struggled with some anxiety over this baby and had been so worried that everything was OK, but our ultrasound confirmed we have a healthy baby growing and developing right on schedule.  Thank you Lord!  Jason was able to bring Joshua along with him to the appointment, and I loved seeing how amazed he was at watching the screen.  When Lauren was born, he was still pretty small (not yet 3), so his understanding of the process wasn't really there yet.  But now, I think he knows exactly what's going on.  And if there's one thing we've learned about Joshua, it's that he likes to be involved and understand what's happening.  So including him in this family moment seemed the right thing to do. 

After the sonographer had finished his measurements, he said that he got a pretty good look at what he needed to see to make a gender determination.  And that's when he told us that this is looking very much like a beautiful baby GIRL!  We honestly would have been so happy with either a boy or a girl and just wanted to hear that we had a healthy baby, but to know that Lauren will have a sister is such a special gift.  I think Joshua is a little sad about not getting a brother, which he really wanted, but he seems to be warming up to the idea of not having to share his superheroes with any other little boys.  I am encouraged, also, by Lauren's amazing reaction to baby Kinley over the weekend as she literally adored her and marveled over a newborn.  I don't think she's ever seen a baby so small before, so watching her react to her was really special.  I know that adding a third baby to our family is going to present some challenges (OK...a lot of challenges), but I hope her reaction was a sign of good things to come.

So, it looks like we have a nursery to decorate!  And some warm pink clothes to buy for our little snowbaby.  And I guess we need to work on a name for her...totally not our specialty in our household.  But we'll give it our very best shot.  I just know I'm in love already and can't wait to see what the future is going to hold for our little family.  We are so blessed.