Wow - ultrasound results today.....

The ultrasound says it is another little girl. Wow - 2 daughters. I still can't comprehend. I have always thought of myself as a boy mom. Saira is exstatic! The boys are a little bit bummed. I think they will come around though. Marty has a grin that won't wipe off of his face. He can't believe he is having another girl.

Ewww another winter...

Well, it is here again. We have our official first snow of the year. I like the way it looks the very first time. After that - I have no need for snow and winter. Luckily, I got all of my leaves mulched just in time - except for the ones still in the trees. :oP Well, with being pregnant this winter I will probably hibernate unless I need to go out for something. At least when I hibernate - I won't spend much money. That is good because Marty's hours have been cut back.
I don't have a lot to say. I know, that is a shocker. I have nine days until my ultrasound. I found out that my doctors office doesn't offer video or dvd of the baby's ultrasound. SO, I called Holland Hospital and they don't either. However, HH used to because I have videos of my first 4 kids ultrasounds. Now I won't have one for this baby. That kind of sucks.
What are you doing for Thanksgiving? I think we go to Marty's sister in the morning for breakfast and then I will just make dinner for my family that afternoon. Not too exciting. But that is okay. I am thankful for my family. I love spending time with them. So, it will be a good day.
praise God for all things (including snow)
Kathi

It is November 7th!

We made it into the next month. Yeah. November brought about a few new changes. We have a new president voted into the White House. Obama is 1/2 African American. It is our first black president. We will see what this change has in store for America.

I went to the doctor and my big ultrasound is scheduled for the day before Thanksgiving. We will find out all the good stuff then. We will find out if the baby is healthy and if it is a boy or girl. My sister in law dreamt I was having twins. It would be so cool, but I don't think so.

It was in the 70's for the last 5 days and now it is taking a dive into the 40's. Welcome back fall! Winter is getting too close. As I have said before, I am not too fond of winter. It is beautiful for about 3 hours.

That is it for now....
God Bless!

It is almost November!

Well, let's see. Mido is doing great in his new home. They have renamed him Mr. Bean. They love him very much. I am happy he has a good home.

I am officially 16 weeks along now. I only have about 5 1/2 months to go. It will be sometime before April 19th. I should have an ultrasound around the end of November. Please pray that everything looks good. We might even be able to find out if it is boy #4 or girl #2. I am still feeling kind of like it is a dream. I am still wearing my own jeans - no maternity pants .... yet. I don't think it will be long though. My pants are starting to get snug. I think about having a baby in the house again, and I can't wait. I have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that this will be the last baby for us. We have talked about adoption. So, that may be our next endeavor - a little later of course.

I should update on Justin. He is 16 now. We aren't looking at anymore surgeries in the near future. He is doing good and getting stronger every day. He is pretty much walking full time now. He is finally out of the wheelchair for awhile. He has decided to wait until he is 18 to get his license. We gave our kids the option that if they wanted to take drivers ed and get their license earlier than 18 then they would have to pay for it themselves. As far as I know, all 3 boys have chosen to wait. I think it will help ensure a little more maturity as well.

We did testing this year to kind of see where everyone is with homeschool.Justin did exceptionally well. His average tested at the end of 11th grade. He is technically the beginning of 11th grade right now. I told him that if he wanted to change his course of study to the GED, then he could do that now and possibly take the GED yet this year in the spring and be done with high school. He is thinking about it. (I am being a little selfish - it would be nice to have one less to homeschool with a new baby coming.) Marcus and Alec tested a little behind. With Marcus, I think he knows the stuff - he is just not good at taking tests. He sits there telling himself he can't do it. The two tests that he said that the most on was the two he did worst on. I started catching on and when it came to the science portion - he started saying that, and I stopped him. I told him that science was based on the power of deductive reasoning and we all have that skill. I told him that 'I knew' he could do it. He did better on that test than all of the rest. So, I think that he defeats himself when taking tests. But I have always known that he is a hands on learner, and that tests are tough for him. Alec, I was a little more dissappointed in. I know he could do better if he tried. He really didn't have motivation or try very hard. We talked about it and hopefully he will start to try a little harder. I didn't have Saira tested this year because her reading isn't real strong yet. Because of her speech issues, I have not pushed reading at all. Her speech has been steadily improving and along with that so has her reading. I think she went from about beginning kindergarten level to near end of second grade level just this year alone, already. She is motivated and eager to learn. That is so refreshing after dealing with boys attitudes the last couple of years.

I think that is about it as far as updates for us. We are currently down to one vehicle. That is hard. I am stuck at home a lot more. I have been getting a lot more in depth cleaning done. But I can't wait until we get another vehicle, hopefully a mini-van.

Take care and God Bless,
Kathi

Well, I thought maybe I should update a little.

We found Mido a new home. I just wasn't able to bond to him after losing Zodiac. He is in a home where they all love him dearly and are so happy to have him there. I think he will be much better off. He was cute pup. I am about 14 weeks pregnant now. That is about 3 1/2 months. I should be able to get an ultrasound around the end of November or first of December. We will be able to find out the gender then. I am kind of hoping for a boy, but 'feel' like it is a girl. So, we will see what God has in store for us. I also found new homes for our bunnies and our leopard geckos. I just felt like it was time to be done with so many things that are time consuming. I have a lot of things that I am dealing with that take up enough time. This includes homeschooling. Well, I have to go scoop ice cream for some kids I am babysitting. I will try to write more later.

Since this is safe.....

None of my family or friends read my blog. It is a good thing right now. I want to announce to the world that I am pregnant with baby #5! I am excited. I think my husband is too. I know my family will be excited, but my husbands family is a whole different story. My kids that I have now are three sons 13, 15, and 16, and a daughter that is 9. My husband has 2 kids from his first marriage. They are 36 and 38 this year. Between them they have 8 kids. So we are grandparents to 8 kids. I will be 43 when this baby is born and my husband will be 54. He wants me to get my tubes tied after this baby. I agreed to it half heartedly. I don't know if I really want to but.....So we will see. Maybe I should just because of my age and the fact that I have had 4 c-sections already. I will be having my fifth c-section with this one.

I thought I would add a few new photos ....

There is Alec, Saira and Marcus in the first pictures. Then there is Rolex, Mido and my hubby with both dogs. Then the last one is Justin on our bike ride.

We have been trying to do a lot of things as a family this year - well at least me and the kids. We have been going swimming and bike riding a lot.