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Our sweet little daughter was born on July 20th, 2010.  It’s hard to believe that tomorrow she will be two weeks old.  How is it that the two weeks after delivery is so much faster than the two weeks prior to it?  I do have my last letters to her written, and her (6 page!) birthstory (that I will condense for the internet.)

Needless to say she is perfect and precious, gorgeous and wonderful.  We are all adoring on her!  Here are the Labor/Delivery/Hospital stay pictures.  She was 8′12.9 and 22.5 inches long. Our thanks for the prayers and positive thoughts that were sent our way.

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I have a small window that I ideally would like to have the baby.  After MY birthday (I don’t mind sharing, but didn’t want it to have to) but before Zach leaves for camp on Monday AM.  That gives me the next 6 days to get this baby out.  If nothing else, I’ll probably get induced on July 20th however. (See the updated post 0n the Surprise Baby page.  Baby is BIG, so sooner than later is better.

My birthday went well.  I took a nap, got some foot rubs, went shopping for fabric for a Moby wrap, had some pizza for lunch, had BBQ chicken for supper, what more could a girl want?

I have things pretty ready for the baby.  The bag is packed, the crib is ready, the cradle is ready, the clothes are washed, maternity pictures are done, cameras are charged, what am I forgetting?  Oh yeah, my fear of labor, LOL.  I don’t know why, but for some reason I am just really afraid of the pain this time.  I don’t remember feeling like this before.  So I will take any prayers you’ve got for me!

The kids are getting ready for their camps.  Zach goes off next week to Scout camp, then Gabby goes the following week to Girl’s Camp through church, and then Zach heads out again for a week in the Boundary Waters for a high adventure trip through scouting.  After that Ethan has swimming lessons and band camp and then school starts.  As one of my favorite songs says “As time goes by, another blink of an eye…” life moves to fast these days.  Oh, and with Gabby in school I actually have to think of school lists and clothes shopping. 

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Because I’m really bad about doing that!

Things are moving along here.  We hosted a birthday party for Reese/Father’s Day get-together on June 20th.  Reese is all about Tianna from Disney’s Princess and the Frog.  It’s actually adorable!  But not so much when it comes to finding gifts for the birthday girl, when the movie is considered past its prime.  Much came from eBay, including the cake topper.  The party store in Elk River had some clearance plates and napkins, I consider myself lucky in that regard.   We had a nice time and are thankful for everyone who remembered our little princess on her special day. Here are her pics!

I also updated the new baby’s web page.  I have a hard time believing that I’ll be 37 weeks on Friday.  I’m trying not to worry myself into my old “Oh, boo hoo, I like being pregnant, this is my last time forever, I don’t want labor to start” trap, which sets me up for a miserable labor.  Actually, having gone a week early with the last 2, I’d like to do so again or else we’ll run into Zach and Gabby being gone for their respective camping trips.   I’m sure they want to meet their new sibling before then.  Will Murphy’s Law rule?  We’ll see!  But I really could use the 2 weeks until that point to get things done.  So say a prayer, won’t you?

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I have always thought of myself as a cheap person.  I don’t mind hand-me-downs to wear.  Shop proudly at garage sales and consignment stores.  Ebay is my friend!

But I’ve realized lately that I do have this amazing gift of picking out the most expensive item on a page to like the best.  I can be Easter clothes shopping for my children and have 50 dresses on a page…do I pick out the one that is $3.99? Oh no, my eyes go right towards the $80 dress.  Today I was looking at diaper bags on Amazon.  We finally tossed our old baby bath tub and so I put one in my shopping cart, only to realize that my 5 year old diaper bag could probably be tossed too.  So I get them loaded up. Do I like the $10-$20 bag the best?  No, not really!  I like the $120 designer bag the best.  Not to worry, I can laugh about it and add the cheap one to my cart.  All I have to do is remind myself “Mark is getting two new tires, an alignment, and having the ‘check engine light’ on the van looked at.  I need some new mattresses.  Go with the cheap bag!”  In reality, I’m just happy that I can get the tub, the bag, have the car looked at, and maybe find a mattress or two without worrying about how I am going to pay for the propane or the electric bill.  People are suffering and I am blessed.

We went camping at Many Point Scout camp last week.  The drive was teriffic.  The children were wonderful.  It was fun to camp with church friends and do some service projects too.  The weather was AWFUL.  The first day was perfect, but the rest of the week was rainy.  Amazingly, it did clear up each night so we could cook supper and have some marshmallows.  Zach did good fishing, eating a few meals of bass, and Gabby and Ethan caught enough Sunnies for a meal too.

When we got there, no one else was there.  We drove down the 7-mile long dirt road and chased a nice big deer.  That gave us a chuckle.  Then we kept driving and chased down a really big black bear.  That scared me!  A pileated woodpecker flew alongs side of us, a raccoon waddled through some bushes, and Dylan tried to chase down a porcupine.  We also saw painted turtles laying eggs, Showly Lady Slippers, and lots of tent caterpillars.  Despite being 34 weeks along, I felt good too!

All in all it was a great time! Pics:

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With every child I write letters telling him/her how I feel whilst I am pregnant.  This baby has been no exception.  Usually I change the format from “We saw you on the ultrasound” to “We saw the baby on the ultrasound” and then make a page.  But I am feeling quite lazy, and am keeping it as written.  So baby #7 has a webpage.  On it is the public link to the maternity/ultrasound photos I have been putting on Facebook.

Baby Number 7…Our Surprise Tie-breaker

Other than that, things here have been same-o, same-0.  The children are done with school, though their standardized tests are ordered and should be here soon.  Zach has to play in the band at graduation tomorrow.  He is hoping for rain because he hardly wants to sit outside and play “Pomp and Circumstance” 10 times in a row in the hot sun.  I can’t say as I blame him! If it rains, it’s held in the gym.

Mark and I went to a plant sale and scored some nice perennials for nice prices, and Mark also went to him Mom’s house to dig some more, plus bring some that she had dug for us.  So our big pile of dirt in the front yard now has a scattering of plants in it.  It still looks so bare to me, but definitely better.  I think back to our pretty garden in Glencoe, and have to remember that didn’t happen overnight either!

We have colds going around.  I have been without a voice for a couple of days.  Next Monday we are going camping at Many Point Scout Camp (in cabins, thankfully!) I am not nervous about being there, but the long drive and what it will do to my ankles.  Hopefully all will go well.  When we get home, I’ll be 34 weeks and only 3 weeks from full term.  I’m getting a little nervous now.  It seems like there is still so much to do!  And I just realized that I am 2 years behind on ordering digital pictures.  A friend shared a place to get them cheap, but we can’t find the jump drive, and most of them are on the other computer.  So I have to get that in gear too.

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What an odd turn of events!  MN has not seen snow since mid-February, and yet here it is May 7th-8th and we have a snow storm!  True, nothing is likely to accumulate, and yet it is quite odd to see happening.

Mark and I have been taking a Marriage class through the church.  No one panic, we aren’t in counseling, it’s a set of 5 lessons from a booklet offered through the curriculum department.  And it made for a nice set of Friday date nights to boot.  The focus was on conflict resolution, anger management, and marital enrichment.  It was fun, and we learned much about the communication process. Defining a problem, speaker-listener scenarios, problem solving, and planning.  Anyway, tonight was the last night. I will miss my little date night!

I went to my first Pampered Chef party, and had a nice time.  I ordered a few little doo-dads, and a stoneware pizza/cookie sheet.  Also on my wish list was a self-sharpening paring knife and a family size pitcher, but that will have to wait until my next invite.  While there, a meal was made that was so yummy that I made it again this week for the family.  Mine wasn’t as good, but I’ll get there. Her’s had fresh basil (snipped with the Pampered Chef kitchen shears, of course!) and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

I took my one hour glucose test and failed by 3 points, and did my 3 hour test and passed with really beautiful (if I do say so myself!) numbers.  Today I am 29 weeks along.  If I go a week early like I have with the last 3, that puts me at 10 weeks left. *Gulp* I still need to pick out a going-home outfit and a baby book, spring clean the house, start making double meals and freezing one of them, and think of the little things I need to buy.  Breast pads and lanolin lotion.  Tapes for the video camera.  See, mind blank.  I can’t think!  I do know that both Reese and Dylan’s car seats are now expired, so I need to replace those, and all the bunk beds really could use new mattresses.   Mark needs to pick out a garden tiller for his birthday present, and I should do maternity pictures (and not on the day I go into labor, like with Reese!) I did learn that places like Target and BabiesRUs will send you a coupon for anything not purchased off a registry, so I could register for the things I need and then get 10% off a couple of weeks before the due date.  Oh!  I need a new bathtub.  OK, so maybe a registry would help me get my thoughts in order too! I feel like my brain is a sieve and the cells are just falling through.

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April is over, and thus ends birthday month.  The cake, the presents, the parties.  I am SO glad it’s over, even though I know for little kids they think “a whole ‘nother year!  I can’t wait that long!” Which amazes me, since frankly I find the birthdays coming altogether too quickly these days.

Yesterday was Dylan’s birthday.  Dylan is my sweetheart.  He was born so beautiful.  I think most newborns (and I mean minutes old) come out squashed and purple or bruised and cone-headed, but I remember being handed him and thinking “Wow, he is so pretty!” And pretty he stayed.  For a year I was told what a pretty girl I had.  Thick black hair and blue eyes and long lashes.   At a year we cut his hair, and immediately he was a “pretty boy” LOL!  He still is a cutie, with constant escapades that both crack us up and irritate us to no end.  Through Facebook and a messageboard I post on I have a million funny comments that he has made over the years that I need to write down.

But he is doing good.  Is reading really well, and fun to be around.  He just finished swimming lessons and his instructors loved having him in class.  And we love him too, more every day!

Mark, Zach, and Gabby all had birthdays too.  Gabby had a party, where the girls slept outside in a tent.  She is 13 now, and growing up.  She is wonderful, strong, assured, and so good.  It’s nice to be able to say I have a good girl.  She wants to go to public school next year, and I am letting her.  Some days I feel like I’m losing my little girl though, and that’s really, REALLY hard for me to deal with.

Zach turned 15 and took Driver’s Ed.  He now has his permit and is a fairly good driver.  He really needs to work on braking and acceleration, but I know he will get there.  He is a fine young man too.  I have a hard time accepting that in 4 years he’ll be off on a church mission.  4 years is nothing.  Boy, this aging thing is so much harder then accepting the gray and the wrinkles…the worst part is watching the kids prepare to try their wings.  Which of course is the point of being here.  I wouldn’t really be happy if they were dependent on me their entire lives.  Would I?

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I’ve been MIA for over 2 months!  I did finally get the cruise blogs up.  Forgive spelling/grammar errors, or any cases of TMI.  I posted by just copying and pasting, and not re-reading.

So today marks my entry into my third trimester.  I don’t think I ever actually announced that I am pregnant here on the blog.  I generally tell family at the 12 week mark, and then let the secret out at about 20 weeks at church and with friends.  20 weeks was pushing it, I was beginning to show.  But here I am at 28 weeks, happy and healthy.

I actually write letters to my baby after every doctor appointment, and eventually I will add a tab at the top like I have for Reese that has those letters.  It has all pertinent medical information, and how I am feeling emotionally and physically.

So far things are great, just as a small update now. (Because let’s be honest, we all know how often I actually update here on a regular basis!) I am feeling better than I did with Reese, where I was SO sore just from walking at this point. But I feel good.  A little tired, and maybe the soreness will still come, but I am grateful to have had a really good second trimester.

I hope this finds everyone well.  I had 300 comments in moderation, and since the first few were all spammers, I just deleted them all.   I hope that didn’t include you!

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I just love the Olympics.  For two weeks, though, Mark has to decided “do I want to watch figure skating so I can hang out with Jen, or would I rather not see her for a couple of weeks?”  (He thought the pairs program as great, and we were happy to see China place 1 and 2.) Watching moguls and snowboard cross makes up for it though, I think! My guess is that the Olympics, combined with American Idol, Survivor, and the Amazing Race is driving him crazy.  What I do is tape the reality shows and watch them after he has gone to bed.

I am appalled that NBC showed footage of that poor boy from Georgia’s fatal run on the luge track.  And still pictures.  I hope they don’t show it again, though it’s probably out there on the ‘net.  I like the opening ceremony.  I missed the Bejing Olympics, and I heard that one was fantastic.

We had a nice Valentine’s Day.  I am not big on the holiday, as far as chocolates, flowers, and cards.  But Mark made  a delicious supper of lasagna and we went around the table and told each other what we love about them.  That was delightful torture, watching the teens and tweens say something, ha ha!  Then Mark surprised me with flowers, a card, chocolates, and bubble bath. What a sweetheart!

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We woke up to snow. And lots of it. Zach was worried. Tonight is his super-awesome winter concert. The one where they get to use special effects. They are playing a song from Batman Dark Knight and the lights will be off and movie clips will be shown. And a Twilight Song called Bella’s Lullaby. Another of the bands will be playing Music of the Night with special effects. He has been talking about this concert for months. The band is ready. And all after-school activities have been canceled. He is not a happy camper.

He got his braces off last Tuesday (after 3 years) and was to get his retainer today. Thank goodness they called and canceled too, saying that the retainer wasn’t ready yet. They needed to schedule on Wednesday. Which is okay, the snow is supposed to be done by then. The only problem is it’s 30 minutes away, and it’s sandwiched in between the kids’ classes and the boys’ dentist appointments (which are at the same time as piano lessons, which will have to be re-scheduled.) All this before Wednesday youth and scout activities. So while Wednesday seems to be the day that will be manic, today as I sit and think about it all I actually feel that way! Just think, in 48 hours I can look back and say “See, that wasn’t so bad after all!”

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