Our Poor Family Tree

This summer we are going to Michigan because Sarah's brother, David, is getting married. We are very excited for him and were talking about the wedding at dinner tonight.

Noelle: "Who is getting married?"

Chris: "Uncle Dave....and do you know who Uncle Dave is going to marry?"

Noelle: "Uncle Scott."

I don't think my brother will be too happy when he's informed that he's marrying Sarah's brother.

Baby's first picture

Baby Update

Hey Everyone! Chris and I had our first doctor's appointment today, and everything looks great so far. We were able to see the baby's heartbeat...it was about 170 beats per minute. According to the measurements, it looks like I'm about 7 1/2 weeks along, putting the due date at the beginning of January. We got sonogram pics, too, but I'm too tired to scan them and put them on the blog. I'll make Chris do it later...in the meantime, I'm going to take a nap. :-)

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us!

A Tribute to Puke

In honor of my morning sickness, Chris and I have had a lot of fun recounting our favorite stories involving throw-up. The following is not for the faint of heart...but is pretty funny if you need a laugh. You might not want to be eating, though. :-)

Story #1
My roommate and I lost a bet to Chris and his roommate our sophomore year in college. They got to dress us up during the first week of classes. Here's what we ended up wearing. All day. Our friends didn't even recognize us!



So what does this have to do with vomit?? The night before we were to wear these clothes, Chris and Shane brought over our "costumes" and showed them to us piece by piece, announcing who would wear them. I laughed so hard, I threw up!!! I've heard of people laughing so hard they cry, or they pee....but throw up? Seriously.

Story #2
One day when Chris was in 4th grade he was playing in his neighbor's backyard and saw something suspicious on the ground. His friend said that was where his dog had thrown up and then picked it up and threw it on Chris. This completely grossed out Chris and caused him to puke all over the driveway. After his friend finally stopped laughing, Chris was informed that the substance in question was actually tire sealant and not dog vomit.

Story #3
When I was pregnant with Noelle, I told Chris I was feeling pretty nauseated. He apparently didn't realize how serious I was being because he began to make vomiting noises. This prompted me to really throw up. He was in the dog house, but then he took me to Marble Slab for an Oreo shake and then to Kohl's...so he didn't stay in the dog house long.

Story #4
Ever seen one of those kids on America's Funniest Home Videos that's in choir and vomits on stage? That was Chris when he was in Junior High at his church's Christmas pageant. Luckily he was able to hide behind a Christmas tree on stage.

Story #5
When I was at band camp one summer (cool, I know!!), I got food poisoning. I totally puked in the parking lot. My dad still laughs about how I met a new boyfriend there....named "Ralph." Very funny, Dad!

Story #6
When Chris was a senior in high school he took a trip to West Virginia to see a friend. Just before leaving to come back to Texas, Chris and his friend enjoyed a nice meal at Chili's. Chris then got on the plane and endured a flight full of turbulence. During the last 15 minutes of the flight he couldn't keep it in any longer and reached for the barf bag. He then pushed the button to summon the flight attendant. When she came and inquired about how she could help, he handed her the bag, smiled, and said, "I made a present for you."

Jeffrey's Due Date

Jeffrey's official due date was today. It's a weird milestone to pass. For many weeks, I have dreaded this day, but with it I know God has brought so much healing and peace to our lives.

There's a lot we could probably write about it, but I just want to keep it simple. This week, someone spoke at our MOPS meeting from the book of Ecclesiastes. What he said was so perfect for what we're going through. I'll share it here:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.

Who would ever imagine that we would be experiencing so many of these things at the same time right now? We have comfort in knowing that God has known all along. And He gives us all the grace and peace we need to get through each moment.

We miss Jeffrey so much, but we are so thankful that today he is rejoicing in Heaven.

Birthday Messages for Mommy

Noelle's Thoughts on Make-up

While plucking my eyebrows this morning, I had the following conversation:

Noelle: "Mommy, does that hurt?"

Sarah: "Yeah, it does a little bit."

Noelle: "Maybe you shouldn't do it anymore."

A few minutes later after finishing my eyeliner Noelle said, "Good job. Good job about not poking your eye."

Quiz # 3

A couple of days ago I asked Noelle to do something that she didn't particularly want to do. She immediately began stomping her feet. I then asked, "Noelle, are you throwing a fit?"

How did she respond?

A. Yes sir. I'm sorry.

B. Yes sir. Will you please forgive me?

C. Yes sir. I won't do that again.

D. Umm...no, I was just dancing.

Happy Mother's Day

Noelle has been stuck on Easter recently. So, before doing the video, I did a lot of coaching to remind her that we were doing a Mother's Day video and not an Easter video. Apparently, I failed. If you listen carefully at the end, she still managed to sneak in a Happy Easter comment.

Happy Mother's Day, Sarah. We love you so much!

~ Chris & Noelle

New Hat

Most of the time, Noelle is pretty helpful with laundry. This day she wasn't.






But I guess she takes after her momma.You didn't know we were a family of burglars did you?

Shh.....Don't Tell Noelle :-)

Well, we have a big secret that we're trying to keep from Noelle for a few weeks. Any guesses? Chris would be mean and give you a quiz, but I'll go ahead and spill the beans.

We've got a bun in the oven!

We are very newly pregnant, so we don't even have a good due date or anything. (We're expecting to be due mid-Dec to early-Jan.) But we wanted to go ahead and announce our news so that you could be praying for us and our little one. I've had 2 blood tests done so far and things are looking good from that standpoint.

I've started daily shots of a blood thinner along with a baby aspirin each day to prevent blood clots. That's going pretty well, although it's definitely not my favorite! However, we are so thankful that there is a treatment, even if it is a shot.

We'll go to our first appointment in 3 weeks and have an ultrasound, so we will know much more after that appointment and will keep you posted.

Please pray specifically that we won't worry. God has been so good to us, and we want to enjoy this pregnancy and not be plagued with constant fear. Each day brings many opportunities for me to choose joy or to choose fear, and God has been so faithful to help me choose joy. But keep praying!

We are also waiting to tell Noelle until these first critical weeks are over. (Although, I tend to show pretty fast, so she may notice the baby sooner than I'm hoping.) :-) She's been talking about Jeffrey some lately, and I'm anticipating lots of questions about him when the time comes to tell her about our new baby.

Thank you all so much for your support and prayers. We are so blessed to have friends like you!

Latest Noelle Conversation

Noelle: Maybe tomorrow I will obey.

Sarah: Will you obey today?

Noelle: (Long pause.) I think so.

(I'm thinking no.)

Color Blind

Stream-of-Consciousness

Did you ever have an English teacher have you do a "Stream-of-Consciousness" exercise? Basically you would be given a word or a phrase, and then you had to write down what you were thinking and then your flow of thought after that.

Here is how it looks for a 2 year old. (FYI, Hannah is our dog and Scarlett is Chris' parents' dog.)


Noelle: Mommy, did you take a shower yet?

Sarah: No. I'm about to go to the gym.

Noelle: ...and you'll get sweaty and stinky?

Sarah: Yes.

Noelle: Poop stinks.

Sarah: Yes it does.

Noelle: Sometimes Hannah tee-tees on the carpet, but Scarlett poops on the carpet.