Catch Up...

Ok, well I never realized how inconsistent I would become at this whole blogging thing, but shoot, I am and I have said it before and I will say it again...I will keep trying . :)
Let's see...where to begin. Hmmmmm...you all know I am pregnant. We were definitely suprised, not shocked though. I might have cried a little bit. Mostly out of fear...I mean three kids under three is a bit much for someone who likes to pretend they've got it all together. But I quickly gathered myself, counted my blessings and started pounding toast with strawberry jam (my main source of food for the first 12 weeks.) Glad I am past that sick part and I can start (ok, attempt) to eat a little more healthy so I do not blow up like beached whale.
Other than pregnancy I am just trying to deal with and have a good attitude about the climate here where we are currently living. Sadly, I haven't been to great on the good attitude part. But boy it is hard. I just want to send my kids outside, take them to the park and not feel like I am cooped up in my house all day...but spring is coming...right??? (kirra...right??!!!)
My kids seem to have caught a constant cold. I feel like they have been sick for months, mostly Macalan and it is such a bummer because it makes me even more wary of taking them out and about. All that to say, I CANNOT wait for summer!!! My in-laws have a pool and I know I will be over there alot tiring the boys out and letting them run wild.
My sweet husband flew my mom out here for my birthday, which was the best gift ever! We were able to spend some really fun time together, even a day in the city! My sister also joined us out here for my birthday too and I was so blessed to have a little get together with family and some dear friends to celebrate (kirra sue-can you email me the pics...pretty please :)
Also, when my mom left, my sister and I then picked up two of our friends from Cali that came out the visit. We had a girls weekend in Indiana and it was such a great time of catching up, fun shopping in Noblesville, and eating way too much yummy food...we even slaved for hours to make the pioneer womens cinnamon rolls. (ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!!! They were amazing and I still feel a little bit sick when I think of how many I ate.!!!) It will definitely be something I will make when we have company one day because they were awesome!
My dad continues to heal from the pnemonia (i will never spell it right. i am giving up.) and has not been able to continue treatment yet, but hopefully monday he will pick up where he left off. He has four more weeks of treatment, then they will hopefully do another cat-scan and see what is going on there.
I am continually being challenged to look for the blessings in my life and not the negatives. I will be honest it has been a really hard few months out here, moving away from my family and coming to a new place, not having a home church and missing our friends, but I am trying (I say trying because sin creeps in SO often) to have an eternal perspective. Whenever I complain now, I think of those in nations like Haiti, who had nothing to begin with and then lost all they had. God continues to be gracious to me and my little family and I am thankful that He gives grace abundantly!
Here are just a few pics of the kiddos. Taeden is definitely going through an akward camera phase, he is either making a goofy face or "smiling" which doesn't come out that good :) so they are mostly of Mac. They are getting so big...just signed Taeden up for preschool...time really is flying!!!

Mac just got his first big boy hair cut...it made him look instantly older. sad.

my mom and her grandboys. they just adored having her here! me too!

Mac lives in his uggs that were once taedens. he is a little peanut!

loves bathtime!

daddy and taeden

mac again...

Crazy days and Crazy GOOD News...

I know I have been a huge blogging slacker lately and I am sorry. Things have been crazy here...We moved into our new place a month ago and I love it...pics will come when everything is settled (it'll be awhile folks:).. we had company right after we moved in, one of our friends from Cali and my sister and her kids were out here for a visit too! Love having a place where I can be hostess once again, unfortunately our kitchen table didn't make it in the move :( so for now I am thankful for the island in our kitchen! I also spent last weekend in Nashville with my mom and sister without my kiddos!! A much needed and wonderful break! We had a great time exploring Franklin, TN- the place I may be moving too..it is stinkin cute and I really liked it! Things with my dad were also crazy there for awhile too as my last blog explained. He is healing very well at home and resting lots! We got some amazing news last week that almost seems to good to be true and we were told that the doctor was "cautiously optomistic" so we are trying to be too...
Last July my dad had 6 tumors- 5 of them being in his lungs. The doctors said nothing would work- they weren't even willing to try chemo, radition or surgery and pretty much gave him a year to 3 years..so as you know they searched and went for the alternative route. Last week he had a CT scan done of his lungs to see if his pnuemonia was still present and while it was present, guess what wasn't!!!...The doctors that examined the scan could not see ANY of the tumors that were there just a few short months ago. This is truely a miracle, a gift from the Lord and gives us so much hope! Of course, like I said we are being cautiously optomistic and we are waiting for the pnuemonia to be gone completely so that he can resume treatment and get another CT scan done to confirm what the doctors last saw! We were all so excited and emotional to get GOOD news for once, it seems like since my dad's cancer journey has started he always had the worst case senario...so you can imagine how nice it was to get some great news for once! God is faithful and this is proof of prayers being answered...I will keep you all updated and hopefully have some pics to post soon so my blogging isn't so boring :)

thankful.

Well, on Wednesday we were really close to losing my dad. Seriously, 30 minutes away is what the doctors told my mom...I can't even imagine! What my mom and dad thought was just a horrible bout of the flu combined with chemo symptoms turned out to be pneumonia and a incredibly dangerous blood infection. God truly spared my dad this week and I am so thankful! My mom followed her instincts and rushed him to the hospital when he started becoming a bit loopy and "out of it" and could hardly walk. He was admitted into the ICU and has been there since Wednesday night. We were told that had he been undergoing normal chemo doses (since he is doing an "alternative" method he is only recieving 15% of a normal dose) that his body surely would not have been able to fight this often deadly infection. I am so thankful that other than the cancer my dad is still incredibly strong and healthy! The hardest part of this is being so stinkin far away!!!! I would give almost anything to have been out there for my mom and dad through this but also know now that my sweet dad needs to stay healthy and I risk the germs of little children:) but I will be visiting SOON...when he is a little stronger.

So for now my dad is doing great. Responding to the meds, actually getting moved into a normal room today...yea!!!! Praise the Lord for He is GOOD!!!!

I love my dad so very much and am filled with gratitude that the Lord is allowing us more time with him on this earth!!!

Here's the Deal...

So people keep asking...and here is the scoop.
We moved out here so that Brandon could join the family business. So we could find a place to setttle that we could actually afford. So we could buy a house. Be near family. Put roots down...all that good stuff. However, that has been on hold because....wait for it.....we may be moving AGAIN...in a year, or so...we really don't know.
Here's the thing. There is a pretty good chance that the family business will move to Nashville in the next few months/year. Now, I would be fine with that...hello, its 2 degrees today and although I have never been to Tennesse in my life, from what I hear it doesn't get nearly as cold as FREEZING chicago and it is quite gorgeous from the pics I've seen and I will still be close enough to drive to see my sister...plus, who doesn't want to get to talk in a southern accent...hello- I will be adopting ya'll as soon as my feet hit Nashville soil...but the hard part is waiting.
We are hoping to have a very good idea in January when the move will happen or if it is even going to. See the thing is, I would be fine staying in Chicago too, (besides the cold) it is fine here....I just really want to know.
I am so ready to NOT be renting anymore and NOT move anymore. We are moving for the 4th time in 4 years in a few weeks and I am happy because we are getting our own place (we have been living with brandon's parents since sept), but I know this is a very temporary move which is hard because I know by the time I make this new place feel like home, I will be packing up my kitchen ONCE AGAIN...but I am hoping it will be the last one for a long time.
We are thankful that we will be able to buy a home, just as soon as we know WHERE we are going to be, thankful that we are first time buyers so we are in a pretty good position for the market these days and thankful that Brandon now has a steady job and despite the economy the company is doing well.
I hope I don't sound like a complainer...I really am grateful that we CAN even rent a nice, big house and that God has given me more blessing than I can count...I just am feeling the itch to really invest in something that is OURS as opposed to living in a white wall home (all white guys--- and I am not allowed to paint..ideas, please????!!!) and being able to put money into something that doesn't feel like a big black hole...that is kinda how I feel about renting these days :)
Anyways, we are all healthy, thankful, counting the days until I can be with my WHOLE family in Indiana for Christmas next week and just feeling amazing about being able to celebrate our Saviors birth. And it really does feel a lot like Christmas here in Chicago with all the snow...which I actually enjoy!:) So that's life in a little tiny nutshell..we are in wait mode...
Lord willing I will have more news come January...Stay tuned :)

Three.

Today I am celebrating my beautiful little boy. He turned three today. Three! It's hard for me to grasp that he is growing up so very quickly. Days like to day make me sad in a sense...I know with each year his dependance on me lessens and their is such a remarkable difference from 2 to 3 that makes me feel like their is no baby left in him at all. He is now potty trained, knows all his letters and their sounds, can count to 20, likes to do many things "all by self", still sucks his thumb when he has his special blankie, loves diego and dora, argues that God made EVERYTHING- even if I say, "mimi, made the brownies" (he says no - God did!), loves going to church, loves to rock with his daddy before bedtime, still has a hard time eating anything at all- besides chicken nuggets, makes me sing the same four songs everytime I put him to bed ( I have become very fast and have created new and extrememly short versions of them all :) and makes sure everyones knows that his mommy, daddy and baby mac are his best buddies.

The list of why I adore this little guys is LONG- too long to even start-because then, I wouldn't be able to stop. But the one thing that I desire most for him is that he would grow to love Christ- because despite all the amazing things about Taeden James- he needs to be saved from his sins. Having a strong-willed first child has made me grow closer to Christ-because i am constantly praying for wisdom, patience, and peace. I am thankful for the gift of this child, thankful because I know I don't deserve this special blessing and because I never knew this kind of love that I have for him until I had him.

So Happy Birthday Taeden..We love you!!!

Sneak Peak...

We had our pictures taken a few weeks ago with Brandon's whole family. The photographer was AMAZING and got some awesome pics despite the fact that we had 6 kids under 6. YIKES...!! She got some really great ones of everyone and some really cute ones of the four of us (which I am going to keep under wraps until I do my Christmas card :) But enjoy a sneak peak of these ones...

Update on My Dad...

My dad is currently in the middle of his cancer treatment. Normally when people are in the midst of treatment, they feel horrible, BUT I am so thankful to be able to say that my dad feels GREAT!!! This is because he is taking a different approach in attempting to rid his body of this cancer. Because traditional medicine had no options for him, my parents did tons of research (along with my uncle who literally to a leave of absence from his job as a doctor) and found an alternative treatment from a world renowned doctor that just happens to be located only an hour and a half away from my parents home. This doctor was just recently featured in Susan Somers new book called "Knockout- Doctors that are curing Cancer". I am enjoying reading this book and learning so much ( I would highly recommend it to anyone who knows someone with cancer or has cancer in their family, as it gives good ways to prevent cancer in the first place.)
Anyways, my dad is now an organic fanatic and doesn't eat sugar or meat. Now if you know my dad at all, this is a huge change. He has always loved food, but suprisingly this change was very easy for him as he knows he is doing it for having his life in exchange. I am so thankful that my dad is so passionate about fighting this cancer and am so thankful that my parents were able to get my dad into this doctor who has given hope and life to so many. We obviously don't know what the outcome will be but we are praying for a miracle and praying that the Lord would heal my dad of this diesease. The only thing about this therapy is that it is EXPENSIVE because insurance won't cover a penny of it,( even though this doctor has kept people alive with this therapy with the most deadly kinds of cancer for over 25 years)! So if you think about it, please pray for my parents, my dads health and that God would give my dad many opportunities to share the gospel with people that he is in treatment with! Thanks!!!