There's an app for that.

Good news...Blogger has an iphone app! And this is my maiden voyage in mobile blogging. Since I am mobile more than I am stationary these days maybe this will work out well. I am just amazed at how I am literally able to do just about anything with this little square in my hand. From staying in touch with friends on Facebook, counting points and scanning barcodes to work on losing this baby weight, to obsessing over crafts and recopes on Pinterest- all I need is my phone. I can check State Farm email, read blogs that I love and scan foods for hidden peanuts for Joshua. I read devotions and the Bible, and thanks to my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Carol I even watched their church service live in Texas last Saturday afternoon. All on the phone.

And so, today, I bring you a picture of Lauren. Joshua has decided that he is too cool to participate in any photo shoots the past few weeks. We go through these phases from time to time.

Let's cross our fingers and hope this works!

Let's catch up!

Hello from the land where time absolutely flies by!  I find myself with a few moments this afternoon and thought I should update with some new photos and the latest of things around here.

This past week marked my return to the office all five days.  I was blessed with a nice leave from the office, even though I was on email daily and in the office at least one day each week.  But it was time to get back.  Making the transition slightly easier was the fact that due to a Grandma injury, Mara needed to come with me.  I loved having her with me this week, but I believe I only got slightly more done at the office than I could have at home.  Mara was a dream baby in the office, but she still requires frequent feedings and doesn't like to be ignored.  Our hardest times seemed to be when I was talking on the phone and not to her.  She made her displeasure known to all involved.

Suffice it to say that a return to the office means I am totally swamped in laundry and had quite a list of things that needed to be done here this weekend.  The blessing (and curse) of being home for the past couple of months meant that I could do some each day.  Now I have to figure out how to best use the few hours I get at home each day to accomplish what needs to be done for meals, laundry and cleaning.  I know we'll find our rhythm before we starve or start living in filth.  But we haven't quite gotten to the easy rhythm yet.  Mara stays with me the first part of next week, but then will start staying here with Grandma and the big kids as soon as  Grandma is able to care for her.

We spent the last week of my leave doing lots of fun things.  Lots of smiling and cooing for the baby.  A few picnics on the living room floor for the big kids.  I'm not sure why, but serving them their lunch "picnic style" makes them eat it better.  We did a lot of this over the past 15 weeks.  And we even dodged rain showers and ventured to the park last Saturday afternoon.  We were there for 2 hours and they still cried when it was time to come home.  No pictures of Mara because she was tucked into the Moby wrap, snuggled in for a nap.  God bless the inventors of that thing!  We have certainly gotten our $50 worth out of that, with no end in sight.

In Mara's weight situation, she appears to be doing some gaining in recent days.  In fact, I suspect we may cross the 10 lb mark this weekend.  And I'll probably do some cartwheels.  She is taking less and less formula- sometimes none and usually a max of 3-4 oz a day.  She seems to nurse until she is content and then quits, not wanting any more formula supplementation.  Her spitting up seems to be lessening, and in my opinion, this is probably what is leading to her weight gain.  Her doctors kept telling me they wouldn't medicate her spitting up, but it seemed to us that that might have been the culprit in her slow gaining.  We'll see what the doctors say when we go back early in May for her 4 month checkup.  Her sleeping is totally ruined.  My sleep through the night baby is now back to the pattern I'm used to- up every 3 hours and slow to go back to sleep.  But this too shall pass.....eventually.  And, something to celebrate, she rolled from her belly to her back on Thursday.  This baby detests being on her belly, so despite the fact that she is showing little determination in the rolling over department, she did expend the energy in order to get herself out of tummy time.  She can get to her side from her back, but hasn't shown an interest in rolling all the way over.

So that's what's new here.  Hope to post again soon!

Happy 3 months, Mara!

Evidently, running about a week late on date sensitive posts such as these is going to be my issue.  I guess that's  just how it is going to go.  As I type this, my sweet three month old baby girl is cooing and kicking under the play mat, reaching and swatting at the purple bug that hangs from it.  She loves to be on the floor playing, as long as someone is close by to her so that she can elicit smiles and giggles from us to copy.

Mara is still just as sweet (maybe even more so) as she was last month when I wrote.  Her personality seems to be developing into quite a happy, content disposition.  She certainly lets me know when she is hungry, bored or tired, but she doesn't seem to fuss for the sake of fussing.  This is new to me.  And oh my goodness do I appreciate it.

Her weight challenges continue.  I took her to the doctor last week after suspecting that she wasn't gaining any additional weight.  And I was right.  (This was one of those times that I was really hoping to be wrong!)  In a little less than two weeks, she had gained from 8 lb 11 oz to 9 lb even.  5 oz.  Not enough.  Apparently the minimum acceptable weight gain is .5 oz per day on average, and we weren't making the grade.  So, we were advised to continue breastfeeding, but to supplement two feedings per day with 2 oz of formula. So far  she seems to be doing OK accepting the formula, and often will take 1 oz.  Her spitting up is improving, and I do think she is gaining some.  I've had to purchase a scale to use here at home to monitor her weight gain, easily paid for by not having to pay our portion of the doctor visit to have her weighed every few days.

She is wearing mostly 0-3 or 3 month clothes and has finally entered the world of size 1 diapers.  I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to get there!

With the help of her miracle blanket, she is sleeping pretty well.  She usually will sleep 5 hours the first stretch, and then go every 3 hours after that.  I am still to be waking her every 4 hours, but that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't depending on her mood and how sleepy she is.  But we're doing our best.

We get lots and lots of smiles.  Some pretty fantastic giggles and lots of oohs and aahs out of her lately, and we're loving every minute of that.  We certainly have been blessed.

Happy Easter!

I love Easter.  I love egg hunts and Easter baskets full of treats.  I love ham and pickled eggs.  I love time with our family.  And I love the Father who loved us all so much that He was willing to pay the price for my sins on a terrible cross.  And I love even more that the grave couldn't hold a love as big as His and that the tomb was empty on Easter morning.

I had a few really amazing experiences this Easter that helped prepare my heart.  The first was Maundy Thursday service at church.  It's a difficult service, focusing on the pain and agony of the crucifixion, but this year's message focused on how God was thinking of me (and you) when he did all of the things that He did.  And as hard as it is to believe, he knew all of us, all of our needs, even then.  And acted on our behalf.  It's hard to wrap your head around, but I tried so hard.

Friday afternoon I was blessed to get a chance to fill a slot at the Prayer Vigil- when our church sanctuary is transformed into a beautiful, serene spot to pray, and is staffed from 3 pm Friday until 6 am Easter morning in 30 minute slots for prayer.  My 30 minutes turned in 60, which was an incredible blessing.  Before going in, you prepare yourself in the prayer lounge, and I just happened to stumble upon the Max Lucado book, "Six Hours on a Friday" before going in to pray.  It talked about the three messages of the cross.  And they hit me like a ton of bricks.  First, my life is not futile.  Secondly, my sin is not fatal.  And lastly, my death is  not final. Framed around a serious health crisis with a good friend from the church, this message was clearly Heaven sent.  And my prayers during that whole 60 minutes were for Mike, and for the others whose needs were listed for all of the prayer warriors.  I prayed for God's will to be done for Mike and his family, and he got to celebrate the Resurrection with Jesus on Sunday morning as he left this world for the Heavenly home he so longed for.  God, I'm sure, greeted him with open arms and said, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."  I've met few like him and his family.  But what an example of a life lived in faith.

We left for Lewistown on Saturday morning and had a blast hunting eggs, eating a delicious supper and enjoying each other.  Followed by church at Maitland, three kiddos looking amazingly cute in their Easter finery and lunch at Mom and Dad's and I'd say it was a pretty perfect Easter.

I hope that your Easter was a blessed one, and that the true meaning of the holiday found its way to your heart like it did mine.

Mara and Kinley's Special Day

For a week, I have been attempting to upload the rest of the photos from Mara and Kinley's dedication last Sunday.  They are still being temperamental.  So this is the best I can do.

After a whole lot of preparation, we were thrilled to stand with our good friends, in front of our families and church friends, and promise to raise these girls to know and love their Father in Heaven.  To have done so with Emily and Earl and their family was such a blessing.  And although Kinley and Mara won't remember their special day in church, I know we always will.

After church, we hosted a lunch for our families.  I don't know if Emily and I will be opening a catering business any time soon....OK, I'm pretty sure we won't...but we managed to pull it off.  And I don't think anyone left hungry.  The kids ran crazy in the gym, playing basketball and having a great time while the adults talked.

Here are a few more pictures...