This...

Three months ago today (early in the morning), I looked like this...

And by afternoon, Lucy and I looked like this...

And now, she looks like this...

And tomorrow, I promise I'll get around to telling you about this...

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It's a GIRL!

Let me introduce you to the newest member of The Parsonage Family!
Lucy Leyton joined us yesterday at 3:36 PM weighing in at 7 lbs 9 oz. She's perfect. Can't wait to share more with you later...but here's some pics to tide you over till then. :)
Thanks so much bloggy friends, for all your prayers!
PS - She's nursing like a champ so far! Woo Hoo!

The boys crackme up. Life is gonna get even more interesting with little Lucy around ;)

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Julie Goes to Prom!

Friday when I went to the Doctor, she offered to strip my membranes. She was pretty sure it would put me into labor this weekend. I declined. Now, before you go thinking I'm crazy, let me explain.

1. I've gone that route before and it worked. Too well. Too fast.
2. It was going to be beautiful last weekend for us and I wanted to just enjoy it.
3. Julie had prom. How could I miss that?!?

I'm so glad I didn't. The weekend was full of beautiful weather and relaxing. Julie had a ton of fun at prom, and we had lots of fun watching all the couples arrive. Although the boys are still confused as to why anyone would ever want to get all dressed up like that. And Noah is quite ticked that the boy has to wear a tux that matches the color of the girls dress. He thinks the boy should get to pick the color too. He has a lot to learn... ;)

Blogger is totally messing with me and my pictures. I've tried all sorts of things, but for SOME reason it is making the pictures microscopic.

Except for this one. Which Julie is totally gonna love. I made them fake pose for this. At the time she said, "Are you taking a picture of my butt!?!" and I was like "No...well, yeah...sort of." ;) Someday...when she's hours away from birthing her 4th child, she'll look back at this picture and think...Dang, my butt looked good! So glad my host mom took that picture ;) I'm sure she will...

She was the most beautiful. And they were adorable together. (FYI: This is not the boyfriend from before. They broke up a couple months ago. I've resisted blogging about it because my joy seemed innappropriate at the time...it may still be innappropriate ;) This is Nick, a friend from youth group. He seems like a nice kid. And, in my humble opinion *cough* had the best tux of the evening. He is from a different school, so it was very kind of him to escort our Julie...she in return gets to go to his prom in two weeks.

Maybe blogger is just trying to help me out by making the pictures smaller so that I look smaller. I guarantee you that in the real picture I in fact look huger than huge. But I can deal...because people we are counting down HOURS now till the little baby arrives!

Tomorrow (or eventually) I'll post the news! YAY!

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Everything in One Post = Overkill

This once a week blog post thing is really quite boring. I apologize.

Some random updates for you:

• Monday night I went into the hospital because I'd been having regular contractions. By the time they hooked me up to the machine thingy, they had stopped. We'll just call it a trial run. The bonus was that Ben and I got to watch the end of Amagedon while at the hospital. And, we were both reminded of how absolutely wonderful the nurses there are. Five more days and we get to go see them again...for the real deal this time. :)
• Tuesday and Wednesday I came down with some weird viral thing. Nausea, fever/chills, sorta comes and goes. Ben was here to take care of me during the worst of it. He reminded me of what true love really is...sometimes it involves making 100 trips up and down the stairs filling the bathtub with pots of boiling water because your wife has used up all the water in the water heater and is still cold in the tub. I love that man.
• Today I'm feeling much better. Even having some coffee. Totally looking forward to some more nesting in the next few days.

In other news:

Ben came up with the idea of planting a garden (at his grandparents home in the country) this year. At first I was a little skeptical...and by that I mean lazy. Gardens seem like an awful lot of work. Last Summer I was annoyed with the two tomato plants we'd planted because I didn't know what to do with all the tomatoes. Can you imagine me with a garden of produce?

After chatting about it for awhile, I realized the garden wasn't really about the produce anyways. It's about the process.

As parents, we've been lamenting a bit about how our boys sometimes don't want to work for things. We live in a culture that wants to take the easiest way possible in order to attain something. I'm entirely guilty of this. I'm perfectly fine with store bought canned green beans if it means I don't have to pull weeds and get dirty. Makes sense to me.

When we presented the boys with the idea, there were mixed reactions. Which reinforced the fact that they need a little hard-labor under their belts. ;) God gives us so many practical and spiritual lessons from the land He's created. Sowing and reaping. Hard work in the planting, the labor it takes to keep the weeds from over-running everything, and the joy of the harvest. It's not just a lesson for my boys...it's for me to. It's a family ordeal.

There's bound to be whining and complaining along the way, but we're praying God uses this time to teach our boys (and us) that things in life require hard work. I want them to learn that just because something is hard, and takes awhile, doesn't mean we avoid it...it means we work hard and see it through. I want boys who grow up to be men who aren't afraid to do hard things.

Saturday, April 10th we started the process. I'm hoping to document it all the way through. Eventually, I'll even be able to bend over again and help...with a baby strapped to my back. :) In the mean time, here's my 38 week preggo shadow.

There, I think you're all caught up now. Oh wait...I can't stop listening to this song: If you can be in love with a song, then I am in deep.

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I'm Trying...Sorta

Guess who's not all that fun to talk to these days?

Me.

Oh you heard me right. I'm trying my best to be pleasant...but the effort is strenuous.

Stren-u-ous. The smile in the picture above, for example. We took that at church on Easter Sunday. Easter is my favorite, without it my faith would be dead. It's also the one Sunday of the year that I make everyone dress up. The boys usually whine and complain, but this year...it was me whining and complaining about finding something to wear...and by that I mean something that fit.

When you tell a non-pregnant, rational person that baby is scheduled to arrive in 12 days, they naturally think, WOW! SO SOON!

When you tell me, I think...12 days feels like forever.

It's not rational. But it is what it is.

I'm quite certain that God knew the precise amount of time it would take to create and form a human life, while at the same time knowing the exact limits of the woman. 40 weeks, give or take a few. Just the right amount of time for the woman to reach her absolute limit. So anxious to meet that little baby, and so ready to feel human again, that she's willing to endure any amount of pain to reach that outcome.

I'm there. Except the pain part...I'd really like the epidural in first. But still...

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We Just Connected...

Sunday we celebrated an early Easter with Ben's side of the family, out on the farm. Each Spring we always have so much fun admiring the new little calves.

This year though...I connected with someone else...

Our profiles let ya know we have a little something in common.

The only difference is that the cow seems to be able to manage keeping her eyes open for the picture. Geeesh. Maybe my face is just so puffy that my eyes actually look like that when I smile. At this point...I'd rather not know. *smile*

19 days to go. Can I get an Amen?

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She's Pretty Cute...

I have a sweet new niece! Born on Monday, March 1st. Meet Maiah Alexandra. She joins big sister Maddy...they are just precious. I have more pictures to come...

In the mean time, I still look like this: 32 weeks and some odd days.

Again with the stripes...seriously, I have a problem.

When I went to the hospital to visit my sister and new niece, the man at the reception desk asked me if I was there for a tour of the maternity ward.

I have some more stories for you (like how my 2nd grader received a call from a girl yesterday, and how happy *insert gagging* that made me. He was equally disgusted. I'll share tomorrow...) but Jake and I are heading to Target and Starbucks. Target and Starbucks trump blogging. Obviously.

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You Helped...the Stipes Do Not.

You all are the best. THE BEST. You totally came through for me. The comments, the emails, all of it is so completely helpful! I can't thank you enough for taking the time to share your wisdom...never in my life have I typed and/or read the word nipple so many times. ;)

A few things really stuck out to me. The fact that in most cases you just had to grit your teeth and hang in there and it did get better. With Jake, I really felt like it was just never going to get better, so why bother. Knowing IT WILL is gonna help tremendously. And, I'll be implementing your tips and tricks and for sure harassing the experts until I get it right. :)

I have different reasons for wanting to make it work this time. It's not necessarily for the health benefits, or the bonding...because I really think formula is just fine...it's really for convenience.

Sure, bottles are less painful at first. But they are still a lot of work...I know, I've done it three times. Making sure they're washed, and have the right water, formula stockpiled, making sure you have enough bottles/formula for your outing, mixing them up, on and on.

I'm up for the challenge. I think. In the mean time, I'm going to pray fervently for a baby who just knows how to latch on perfectly. ;)

On a completely different note, I thought I would share with you what not to wear, preggo style.

It's called horizontal stripes when 31 weeks pregnant.

They are not helping my silhouette, even from the front.

Yet...I've worn them two days in a row.

It's official. I've reached the "I really don't give a rip if it's unflattering, because really, what IS flattering?!?" stage.

You're welcome.

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Let's Help Me...

Breastfeeding. Oh the stories. Oh the opinions.

For me...oh the trauma. ;) Okay, maybe I exaggerate a wee bit.

Here's the deal: I know that most of us have an opinion on it. That's not really where I'm trying to go with this post. It's not where I'm trying to go at. all. I do not like blog debates, they make me cringe and leave quickly.

What I do enjoy, is sharing too much information with you and then you helping me. In your oh-so-kind-way :) Sound good? Good.

With my first and second babies I did not even attempt breastfeeding. I just wasn't interested in the tiniest bit. I know the whole "breast is best" but honestly, formula was pretty dang good, and I have some great boys to show for it. It was the right choice for me and them.

When I was pregnant with my third, I decided I wanted to give breastfeeding a try. So I read, and read and read and talked and talked and talked about it to pretty much everyone who would listen. I was ready.

Or so I thought.

I knew it was not gonna be much fun at first. I knew I'd have to stick it out for awhile before it got better. I knew it might be tricky and painful in the beginning.

What I did not know, is that after about a week, when Jake would cry to eat...I would cry because I didn't want to feed him!! Because the pain...it was like NONE OTHER. And then I would cry harder because I felt bad for not wanting to go pick up my sweet baby and feed him...and by day 13 I gave him a bottle. And from there it was happily ever after.

I felt no guilt with any of my boys. I still don't. I made an educated decision for what was best for all of us at the time and it all worked out.

Now, as I have about 8 weeks left in this pregnancy, I've got breastfeeding on the brain. I'd like to give it a try...again. Because between Jake and this one, I learned an important little lesson for me. Remember when I used to run? Do you? Because I'm finding it hard to remember...anyways, I've mentioned before that people used to tell me that working up to the first 30 minutes or 3 miles of running was the most difficult and after that you get in a groove. I was pretty sure they were either lying or my body was just the exception...but during 1/2 mary training I learned they were actually right. Who knew.

That was a physical lesson I learned, and whether it makes sense or not, I think it applies to breastfeeding for me.

The benefit I have this go-round, is that I've tried it, and I know where the complications came in for me. The last time, it was all book knowledge and no experience.

I've also signed up for a class to take (in March) at the hospital I will deliver at.

But I have some specific issues that I'd like your thoughts/expertise on. You know, what worked for you. And, if you'd rather not post it in the comments section, you can always send me an email at lifeintheparsonage@gmail.com

Here's where I'm going to get entirely too detailed for 300 of my closest friends...

• I think "latching on" was the main problem. I got a pamphlet in the mail recently that said "Three easy steps to latching on" Pffffff. Easy, really? It didn't feel easy. Any tips?
• How long does engorgement really last? I mean really? Because even when I quit on day 13 they were still super full (and I did try pumping some first) No wonder the poor kid couldn't latch on...it was like sucking on a kickball.
• How long does leaking last? How long do you have to wear those disposable pad thingys in your bra?
• Sore nipples. You heard me. How long?
• Should I contact the local la leche league?
• What's your take on nipple shields? You know, those clear things...I used them with Jake as an attempt to make it hurt less, and it kinda helped, but it was also another thing to get adjusted while trying to get him adjusted and latched on...

Whether it works out this time or not...who knows. No expectations. Either way, my baby will eat.

Alright ladies, I'm counting on you and your vast expertise...let me have it!

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Eight Weeks to Go...

Eight weeks to go till baby #4 joins the craziness. I have the luxury of subtracting days from my actual due-date because I will be induced. It's the benefit of birthing a large baby the first time around. Last week when I discussed with my doctor about whether I'd like to be induced again or not, she laughed when I mentioned that the "inducing at 39 weeks" seemed to work well for me, then my baby's are "only" 8 pounds-something. Size is relative, I guess.

I have baby on the brain, to say the least. The lists have begun.

The swinging pendulum of Oh, I can't wait to meet this baby, 8 weeks is forever to OH MY WORD, ONLY EIGHT WEEKS TILL BABY MODE is a constant theme in my head.

I also swing back and forth between loving being pregnant and feeling the baby move around, to really wanting my body back, to be a runner again...to have a waist in order to keep my pants up again.

At this stage in the game, my silhouette turns me into a bit of a freak show. Strangers stare at it. I catch the eyes of people I'm having conversations with, and they can't help but let their eyes drift to the belly. I can't blame them...I do the same thing to others. There's something about it that screams, there's life in there, how weird!

After Jake, I got rid of most of the baby stuff because we were so done. Yeah. Friends have been generous in letting me borrow stuff this time, because the fourth time around, buying new gear loses the appeal that it had the first go-round.

I have gotten some new stuff, though :) Can't show you the clothes yet, of course...that will have to wait.

The bouncy seat is from my mom, it's so cute and I especially love it because I'm in an orange phase right now. I also got a new Moby wrap (in orange.) I have a cream colored one that I used with Jake and love love love it...but I think I need a spare ;) The newborn diapers are just so cute...they actually make buying diapers fun...they lose their appeal once they get bigger. And last, but not least, my favorite baby product of all time: Boudreaux's Buttpaste. Best stuff ever. I bought it in tub size.
And, last but not least. Baby #4 has a name. At least we think it does...

Tomorrow, lets talk about breastfeeding...as in, let's help Sarah with all our wisdom so that she no longer thinks its the worst experience ever. *smile*

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It's GONE!

We had our level II ultrasound today and the cyst was COMPLETELY gone.

And the baby looks perfect.

Words really cannot express how much all of your prayers have meant to Ben and I. Seriously. Each and every comment was such a comfort. How amazing to have so many Saints standing in prayer for us for this wee little baby. Thank you.

We are so relieved...there's no other way to put it. I can't think of a better way to end 2009 and usher in 2010. We are so thankful for God's grace.

*insert happy crying* :)

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Finding Words...

Some things are just hard to blog.

Hard to explain. Hard to find words for. Hard to put out there.

Easier to leave blank.

But life is not blank. And if I want to document this journey...it's gonna need words.

Last Tuesday I went into my Dr. for a routine prenatal appointment. There I learned that (from the previous ultrasound) they had found a small Choroid Plexus Cyst on our baby's brain.

Here's what I know:

• They're not all that uncommon. They show up in 1-2% of ultrasounds and most often disappear by 32 weeks of pregnancy.
• They cause no harm to the baby's brain.
• They can be a very "soft" marker for other chromosomal problems. However, the rest of our ultrasound looked completely normal, so they are not very concerned.
• It's still enough to make this pregnant momma dissolve in tears.

We go this Thursday, December 31's to a ginor-mo hospital for a level II ultrasound. My Dr. tells me that most of the time, the little cyst has already gone away. I think that sounds pretty good...let's pray for that.

They'll also take a more complete look at the little babe just to make sure everything is as it should be.

It's been an emotional week to say the least. I find myself trying to stay distracted, although nothing really distracts. Wishing time to go faster so that Thursday arrives sooner...and then the next moment wishing Thursday away. I flip flop from peace to paranoia to peace again.

The only things that brings relief is the time spent worshiping The One who holds it all in His hands. No matter what happens, or what news we get, it doesn't change Him. It doesn't change who He is to me. There's comfort in that.

I know I can count on bloggy friends to join me in prayer...thank you *smile*

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It Looks Like This:

I haven't much time...I'm watching Nacho Libre while Christmas baking.

It's like the movie that goes with every occasion.

Oh, there's some kiddos running around as well.

My kitchen looks like this:

My (21 week) belly (in my MOST favoritist tshirt that I just got on clearance for CHEAP) looks like this:

And my new hair cut like this:

And outside, well it looks like this:

Now if I could stop eating all the treats I'm making, there might actually be some to give away.

Merry Monday Everyone!

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Confession and Cute Stuff...

Your comments on yesterdays post...well they just made my day. Turns out, I enjoy torturing people...who knew?!? I'm kidding, I totally knew that about myself already.

Secrets. My blog friend Jamie blogged about them today. Her sweet post got me thinking...and thinking leads to confession.;)

I'm really good with other peoples secrets. As a pastors wife you either are, or you ruin your ministry. I really think it's that simple.

With my own secrets...not so much. I can hardly wait for Christmas so I can give the boys their presents that I think they'll love. Actually, maybe that has more to do with my patience/instant gratification problem rather than secret keeping...digressing...

Back to point: When I found out I was pregnant I pretty much convinced Ben we should wait till the end of the first trimester to let people know. Which we did

...sorta. I told a few select people that are close to me, our little secret. Running partners, intuitive friends, that kind of thing. It helped my to keep the secret, secret to the general public because I still had a few people to talk with about it.

And so...you should know, that there are indeed 4 other people besides myself, Ben and the ultrasound tech who know the gender of this wee baby. I cannot disclose their identities...for their protection. BUT, they are not family :) They are the close friends who actually seemed like they might explode if I did not tell them.

The reason for the secret...because surprises really are fun. For you.

PS - I do like that some of you bribed me with presents. You're good. Very good. I'm afraid it will disappoint you to know that the color scheme of everything I loved on Etsy was kelly greens, oranges, yellows and reds...otherwise known as gender neutral. They have these sort of 1930's ish prints that are so stinkin' a

dorable!!! I can't get past them.

Like this at Kimoley's on Etsy.

Seriously, let's discuss their cuteness.

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On the Brain...

I've got baby on the brain. I can't help it. The ultrasound on Monday really kicked it in gear. I've done really well so far as nesting goes. Ya'll know how I am. Remember Julie? Yeah. I had her room ready 6 months before she came. Considering that I'm half way through my pregnancy and haven't done any nesting is considerable progress...I think.

And then yesterday hit. Big blizzard, we were all snuggled in at home with nothing to do, even Ben...and I began looking online at baby stuff. And looking and looking and looking. Etsy may have ate up hours of my life last night...seriously they have THE CUTEST stuff ever. Ever.

And then I started the lists. Stuff I need for baby, stuff I want for baby, stuff I don't have anymore because I got rid of it during my "we are so done having babies" stage.

I also made a "where we're gonna put everything" list. Baby will arrive in April, Julie will leave us in early June. We've only got three bedrooms. I'll paint you a picture:

Bedroom one: 3 "brudders" as Jake calls them

Bedroom two: Julie

Bedroom three: Ben, me, baby and all the baby's stuff.

I'm good with small spaces. I just need a plan.

PS - Did I mention we know the sex of the baby?!? We do. Well Ben and I and the ultrasound tech do. For everyone else, it's a secret. Mean, aren't we?!?

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Where I Mash it All Together...

We've been enjoying the season around here.

Putting up the tree is always entertaining. Ben and I sat back and let the boys do all the work. You'll notice how they paid close attention to spacing everything out just so...or not. Since the initial decorating, they've rearranged the ornaments approximately 23 times. By my guesstimate, there are currently 3 ornaments remaining that have not been broken. Ah well. Their lucky I'm not sentimental.

We also spent some time making the following:

Kind of. The picture on the box is a dirty lie. It came out looking like this...

Which was perfectly ok, because we all knew the train didn't stand a chance of surviving more than a few hours before we picked all the candy off, leaving behind the pre-made brick like so-called gingerbread. Also, who knew that smearing green frosting in our teeth would be so entertaining?!?

Odie however, was not amused.

In other news:

Ultrasound yesterday. Amazing.

3-D version

And last but not least, we are expecting our first blizzard of the winter, which means our first snow day is likely tomorrow. The first one is all fun and games, but by the 12th one in March, weeping and gnashing of teeth follows...by me, not them.

Happy Tuesday to you!

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Baby Bump

I decided to be weird and document my decreasing lap as my belly grows. It entertains me...I can't help it.

At 15 1/2 weeks it looked like this.

And at 18 1/2 weeks:

Ultrasound on Monday *smile*

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Pictures...

Just for the heck of it, I took some pictures yesterday and today. Something I haven't done in quite awhile...

I thought I'd document my increasing belly/decreasing lap. At 15 1/2 weeks the lap still wins.

And the baby bump...

And the purple shoes that I've rekindled that loving feeling for recently...

And a new hair cut that was loooong over due thanks to nausea and barfing...

It's good to feel somewhat normal again. Well, maybe normal is a bad choice of word...it's good to feel like me again.

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A Winner and a Baby

I want to say a HUGE thank you to all you who voted the other day on this post!

There is a little less than a week left and The University of Iowa Children's Hospital keeps bobbing back and forth between 3rd and 4th place...SO CLOSE! Each day you can vote up to 10 times, so please please pretty please keep on voting.

I mentioned a $5 Starbucks card to anyone who commented that they voted. I drew the number the super scientific way of having my 4 year old pick a number. He picked 6.

Ariane, YOU ARE THE WINNER!! YAY! Now email me at (lifeintheparsonage@gmail.com) with your address so I can mail it to you. :) Turns out, Ariane is a real life friend who I went to high school with AND youth group. She also married Ben's sister's husband's brother. Follow that? Yep...we go WAY back. She's also a mom who has spent much time at the very hospital we are voting for. Congrats Air!

In other news...and I'm just throwing this out there, but I should probably let you know that in April The Parsonage Family is due to grow by one more.

Yep, you heard me right. This time we're expecting and it's actually a baby...rather than a 17 year old Norwegian girl.

Pregnant. Preggo. Preggers. However you want to say it. We just told the boys and our church last weekend. News spreads like wildfire around these parts. I debated how long to hold off on the blog...12 weeks seems sufficient...plus I'm really good at confidentiality when it involves someone else...not so much when it involves myself.

To answer a few nagging questions I'm sure you have...or at least it's what everyone has been asking me.

1) Yes I am sick. Very sick. Zofran is my new best friend.

2) NO WE ARE NOT TRYING FOR A GIRL. It's the question everyone asks. It's as if they can't help themselves. When someone has 3 boys they are just compelled to say it. I am compelled to not give them my "you have got to be kidding me that you think I would try to have a baby given the 1% chance it might be a girl, and what the heck is wrong with 4 boys?!?" look. I'm working on it.

3) Everyone will have to wait till April to find out if it is a boy or girl.

4) The boys are ecstatic. Although Jake wants a boy and a girl...so he's just been telling everyone that we are having one of each. Good times when you live in a tiny town.

5) Julie will be here till the beginning of June, so she gets to be in on the whole ordeal!

6) Remember the 1/2 mary that I couldn't run because I was barfing? Yep...this was the barfing reason.

I think that pretty much covers it.

Phew! What a relief that it's out there now. *smile*

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