Covered from head to toe...

This happened a few weeks ago, the very first day I was on my own, after Alivia was born. All was going fairly well, but I was tired...I had just put Alivia down for a nap and went outside to gather up the rest of the troops for their nap. They had been outside for most of the morning, enjoying the beautiful fall weather, drawing with chalk and even having their lunch outside. I thought they were finishing up drawing some pictures with chalk. However, when I went outside, I was greeted by 2 little girls who were covered from head to toe (literally!) with chalk dust. Mckenna had taken a few large pieces of chalk and grated them down to fine dust, using some of her play kitchen tools. Then then they had taken the dust and coated their faces, clothes, hair, everything! They looked like ghosts. So much for a nap for me as a serious bath was in order for both of them. The pictures do not quite capture how they actually looked, but here is a glimpse...

Mckenna starting to melt-down...notice the tear tracks on her cheeks!

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Help for a weary soul

That would be me lately. With not much sleep, a mushy brain, little time in the Word, a 4 year old prone to argue and complain, a 2 year old who spends much of her day screaming, needs and demands yelling out me all day long, and more things that I want to do than I can actually do... it spells our weary for me.

2 friends recently sent me some very timely and meaningful quotes that have helped me to regain perspective and fight for joy in this season. The first 2 have encouraged my soul with my lack of regular devotions and the last one has served me in checking my heart against self-sufficiency and pride that is often a motivator in why I do things...

"At this time in your life, you can't do what you're used to doing. You don't have time for all your heart desires to experience in your spiritual life. Nevertheless, do what you can do, even though it's precious little." Donald Whitney

"Like Jean with three in diapers, you may be in a situation that curtails many of your spiritual activities. You may be looking at months or even years of such limitations. Do what you can. God does not love us more when we do more, nor less when we do less. He accepts us, not because of what we do for Him, but because of what He's done for us in Christ. The Bible says, 'He made us accepted in the Beloved (that is Jesus)' Ephesians 1:6. And nothing 'shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord' Romans 8:39. Love God, and within the limitations he has sovereignly placed in your life at this time, do what you can."

Donald Whitney

“What men do by themselves they do for themselves. They eat their own fruit, devouring the praise of what they do. Only the Christian who does everything by Christ does it all for Him. He takes his nourishment from Him into whom he has been grafted; and this is what makes him fruitful. Therefore he reserves all the lovely fruit for the Husbandman.” (The Christian in Complete Armour, Volume 2, p. 49)

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A milestone for Mckenna

Today, for the first time, Mckenna wrote her name all on her own. I was so proud of her...especially since she figured it out all by herself....well, almost all by herself. She came over to me, while I was feeding Alivia, and said, "Mom, I can't figure out what comes next." She had drawn this picture and on the top of the paper had an M and then a C. She was making the sound "K" and said "I just can't figure it out." I asked if she was trying to write her name and she said yes. I said a "K" comes next. She asked, "does it look like this?" and made the motions like she was writing one. I said yes! She ran back to the table and asked me what came next. I told her each additional letter. To my surprise I walked over later, when she was done, and saw this...



My little girl is growing up way too fast.

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Life as I now know it

Life with 3 girlies...Sometimes I pinch myself because I can't believe I get to live out my dream of being a wife and mom, let alone a mom of 3 girls. It's great!! Alivia has been a wonderful addition to our family. I have loved getting to know her and her little personality.

This evening I got a taste of life alone (meaning without help ;o) with 3 kiddos. Dave took off all last week to help out and my mom was here this week from about 9-6 every day - what a blessing! The days flew by and I found myself asking, "what in the world did I do today?" Before I would know it, it would be late afternoon when it seemed like it should only be 11am! Friday (today) came way too fast. Today my mom had to leave a little early and Dave actually took off to split wood (we had about 6 trees taken town in the early summer and we have huge logs all over the yard that need to be split - it's quite a task!).

So, this evening Dave was outside and I was dishing up some great soup for the girls that was brought to us. I looked down and realized that Dave had come inside and walked all over the kitchen floor, dropping little pieces of wet mud from his shoes all over....mom and I had just cleaned the floors today ;o). I tried to quickly get it cleaned up when I realized Alivia is screaming upstairs, having woken up from a nap. Realizing that I didn't have the monitor on, I wondered how long she had been exercising those lungs of hers. I go get her and try to calm her down as I finish getting dinner for the girls. Meanwhile, Mckenna is asking for more juice and Selah is complaining that she "no like it" (doesn't like the soup). I come in to the living room to feed the baby and get half way through when I put the baby down to attend the girls who needed some attention! I get Mckenna some more juice and tell the girls that there are popsicles for whoever finishes their dinner and instruct Selah that she must eat. I come back to Alivia who is now screaming in protest that she is not done eating yet! I finished feeding her to the cries of "I'm done and can I have my popsicle" and "need help, mommy." Mckenna gets her treat and I help Selah down 5 more bites and give her a popsicle.

Somewhere in all that I actually managed to eat a bowl of soup and a piece of bread myself, but I honestly could not tell you exactly when that was. And also in the midst of that I remember sitting on the couch, feeding Alivia, and thinking how wonderfully crazy life is and how incredibly blessed I am to be living in this life as I now know it! I know there are challenges that lie ahead and much sanctification to be done in my heart through it all, but...

God has indeed been so kind to me!

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1st Bath

I gave Alivia her first bath...

Obviously, it was not a hit....

but this part was...she loved getting all wrapped up, cozy and warm in her towel.

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Bugs

My nickname for her has nothing to do with her love for bugs of every phylum and genus. Just something that flowed when I was bursting with parental love. I think you would agree it fits if you were to be with her for a day.

She has a love for insects (actually a love for all creatures--anything self-propelled) but would probably put the lowly earthworm at the top of that heap. The spider was slandered enough that she has flagged in interest for the poor "Spyweeb." One time she had one between her finger and thumb and showed it to us at the dinner table, then promptly held it to her mouth for a taste! Probably safer that all shapes and sizes of spiders are lumped together as dangerous biting creatures. Ants were her favorite playthings for a while--poor things would get grabbed and re-grabbed and mock-released and...loved to death. No, today's flavor is definitely earthworm. When Heather is outside Selah expects her to be digging in the garden at some point, or at least ready to produce a "Wuhm" easily. We were walking outside for a moment the other day to soak up the outdoors and little Selah thought of the perfect way to enjoy it. "Wuhm, Mom!" This insect thing is probably a whole post in itself.

My little Bugs has been well taken care of by someone else the past couple days because her little passionate self, her sister and a newborn all together are a bit challenging to manage on a quarter tank of sleep. I have been missing her but have enjoyed remembering her and her little ways. I wanted to record her little "ism's" that are disappearing too quickly with her maturing command of English; I don't want to forget them!

"Machido" - Monster. This one is evolving of course. We've heard "monteydo" as well.

"Daaa-ee" - Daddy. I know, this one is simple but it was so cute...especially when
said in excited quick repetition when I came home: "Daa-ee! Daa-ee!"

"Has poopee" - I have poop.

"Kenna" - Mckenna. It was un-spellable at one point, then evolved to "Keh-uh"before the latest.

"Ah way'h up" - Can I wake up?

"Nuh-tch" - Lunch, breakfast, dinner.

"Snah"- Snack.

"Mooey" - Movie.

"Tao" - Cow.

"Wah-yuh" - Water.

"Spyweeb" - Spider. Lately it has turned into "Biyuh."

"I pay paydoh?" - Can I play with play dough? "I pay" variations: "I pay payroom?"

"Children, obey God!" - Eph 6:1, NSV, New Selah Version

There's more, but I'm toast. Officially I'm worthless to the world by 9:30p but we're talking low voltage content here. Heather and I will add to the list and refresh this post soon.

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1 week old

Alivia Sandra Castro is one week old today. It's hard for me to believe. This past week has been a bit of a blur, but we are thoroughly enjoying our new bundle of joy. Alivia is a great baby! She eats and sleeps very well and is, so far, a very content baby...I could not be more grateful! I have not been getting much sleep this week...not because of Alivia (although she does wake up a few times at night), but just because I have had a bit of insomnia. Dave has been a huge help and has taken her after nighttime feedings so I can try to get some rest. Hoping this will pass soon and I'll once again be able to fall asleep fast and easily. For now, I'm grateful for Tylenol PM!

Alivia loves sleeping in this pink basket. I had it in her room with toys in it and Dave was looking for something that would be just her size for her to snuggle down into. He found this basket, tried it out, and it was a hit with her! Pretty soon she will grow out of it, but for now we are enjoying how cute she looks in it.

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We're Here and Having a Baby

Well, by the time I got the internet, my computer and the pictures ironed out the "having a baby" turned into "had a baby". You'll see why I had time to start this post during labor below. But, here's the story...



Yesterday at a time so early in the morning I couldn't even register the number, Heather woke me up to tell me this might be the day, go back to sleep, but be ready to hop up and start calling people and packing the car.





The next time she woke me up it was around 3 something in the morning. The rest of the morning was a blur except that Mom showed up and Kelly showed up and we got into the car to drive to the Hospital. Mom, huge "Thank You" for waking up so early to come over and take care of the girls and watch them for us!





We immediately got a room and Heather was put on Arithromiacin for group B strep. Apparently that's something in everyone's body that can build up under the stress of pregnancy to dangerous levels for the baby if she were to get in contact with it. Thus, they wanted to put Heather on a 4 hour drip of this antibiotic before the baby came through the birth canal.





After much labor--consistent and strong contractions and dilation to 7 centimeters--everything paused. Heather was chillin in the gurney and we were all wondering what happened and what to do next. Coincidentally, around the time the antibiotic drip started, Heather's contractions faded out. So, Heather decided to start walking around the room and the contractions began again. However, once she had gotten back up in bed, the contractions stopped coming just as before.





We decided to have Dr. Zuckerman break her water, which surprisingly hadn't happened naturally yet. Before he arrived from whichever surgery he was completing, Heather started walking around again to get a good wave of contractions going. She wanted to progress things a little more before her water broke and intiated the onset of the challenging final contractions and pushing. It worked better than planned and she progressed on her own; her water broke and then she delivered at 12:26pm. It was a bit more challenging than Selah's delivery but a better experience than she had with Mckenna. I was waiting for Heather to ask for an epidural but once again she gutted it out through relaxing (how that helps, let alone how it is possible, I would like to know) and breathing those 'deep cleansing' breaths.





Praise God for this new little one. Alivia was born 6.13 lbs, 18.5 inches long. So far no jaundice as far as I can tell, and is very healthy. We are grateful to God for his kindness.

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Almost there!

Just about one week until my due date. I thought it was high time I got some pictures of my big belly before it's gone!

The girls are so excited about their new little sister. They love to hug my belly and give kisses to the baby. I think the thought of another little person in the house is starting to become more real to them. I am praying for an easy transition, especially for little Selah. We all can't wait to meet her....soon.

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Baby Update

Went to see my doctor today. Not much to report. Dilating slowly, but surely - around 2-3 cm now, very soft. I'm doing well, looking forward to the day I'll have this new little one, yet content that she will come when she's ready.

Every time I go to the doctor Mckenna asks, "are you gonna get the baby out?" Selah often just asks, "baby come out?" But mainly I think because she wants to go to K's house (Kelly has offered to keep her a few days after the baby comes to help adjust with things ;o).

Still nesting like crazy and have the urge now to paint my kitchen. I am just sure about the color...

We'll keep the blog updated when I go into labor. Dave will probably try to post from the hospital from his phone.

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Needed reminder of my Savior

I am currently reading Knowing God, by J.I. Packer. This morning, as I read, I was filled with fresh gratefulness for my Savior as I was reminded of what he accomplished for me and what life and eternity would be like without God. Packer writes:

"On the Cross, God judged our sins in the person of his Son, and Jesus endured the retributive comeback of our wrongdoing. Look at the cross, therefore, and you see what form God's judicial reaction to human sin will finally take. What form is that? In a word, withdrawal and deprivation of good. On the cross Jesus lost all the good that he had before: all sense of his Fathers' presence and love, all sense of physical, mental and spiritual well-being, all enjoyment of God and of created things, all ease and solace of friendship, were taken from him, and in their place was nothing but loneliness, pain, a killing sense of human malice and callousness, and a horror of great spiritual darkness...

So, too, those who reject God face the prospect of losing all good, and the best way to form an idea of eternal death is to dwell on this thought. In ordinary life, we never notice how much good we enjoy through God's common grace till it is taken from us. We never value health, or steady circumstances, or friendship and respect from others, as we should till we have lost them. Calvary shows that under the final judgment of God nothing that one has valued, or could value, nothing that one can call good, remains to one. It is a terrible thought, but the reality, we may be sure, is more terrible yet...God help us to learn this lesson, which the spectacle of propitiation through penal substitution on the cross teaches so clearly; and may each of us be found in Christ, our sins covered by his blood, at the last."

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Baby Girl #3

This poor little girl still does not have a name (any suggestions???). But here she is (this is a profile of her face), for the last time on ultrasound before we meet face to face...

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I have to laugh...

when, after folding a whole load of laundry and putting it neatly in a laundry basket, I later come to find that Selah took every article and threw it back in the washing machine - that's momma's little helper!

How I love my little Gracie!

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Much needed baby update...

It's hard to believe the summer is just about over, let alone that I am due in less than a month. This has been the fastest summer for me EVER!! My good friend, Esther, just told me she learned recently that one of the absolute most stressful things in life is moving. I told her that I would put that side by side with having a baby....and well we're doing both back to back here. For the many of you I know how have done these 2 things even closer than I am - well, you have my deepest respect! Honestly, though, there has been much grace!

Ok, to the baby...I just had a sonogram and appointment yesterday and all looks good. The baby is very much a girl and looks great! I am just about 1 cm dilated, if that. I feel like one big braxton hick lately, with a tummy about as tight as baseball. But that's a good thing...getting some of the work done ahead of time. The baby is about 5 1/2 pounds right now and the sonogram tech said baby's gain a maximum of a 1/2 pound a week at this point, so she'll be the most around 7 1/2 pounds at birth. Personally, I think she'll probably weigh in around Selah's birth weight at 6 lbs. 13 oz....if my memory serves me correctly, she was around 5 1/2 this stage in the game. But we'll see.

I have learned this summer that I am not a very good multi-tasker. I focus on something and go full-throddle with it, and many other things get pushed to the back burner. For me, it's been the house lately. The pregnancy has me nesting like crazy! Since moving in, my focus has been on getting settled and getting things done in the house, although as I look around it often doesn't look like it ;o). We still have a ways to go, but are slowly making progress. So, hence, my neglect of this blog. But I am going to do my best to update more this month, as things get closer to my delivery. I also just got my camera back last week and am hoping to get some pictures up soon.

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Summer updates

It's hard to believe August is almost here! The summer has flown by, particularly these past few weeks. Two weeks ago the girls and I went down to see my dad. We had a great time. I left my camera down there and so will have to wait to share pictures.

It's been awhile since I have posted...I have gone from one thing to another health wise and, in the midst of it all, realizing how much I take my health for granted and how grateful I am to not have chronic or life long issues. I came home with a bad cold that quickly turned into a sinus infection and had me laid out for a week. Then some pregnancy issues have come up which are sending me to more doctor visits. But I am doing well. It's just been awhile since I have had a spare moment to post or really do much...well, that's not exactly true....

Much of my spare time, when I have been feeling well, has found me busy away at projects for the house and thinking through what I can do for a little or no money ;o). Shortly after we moved in, I started on the girls bedroom furniture. It all had to be refinished. That was a job! Mckenna's old dresser and nightstand had to be stripped down of all the numerous layers of paint and then repainted. Then I had found these matching beds at an antique store over in Lucketts VA., one for Mckenna and one for Selah. They had to be repainted too. But it's all done now and Dave set them up this past weekend. Mckenna was so excited about her "new" bed! The kept thanking us profusely! We are still working on getting a mattress for Selah's bed, but she is eager to be in with Mckenna in their new room. So, we are in the process of putting together their room and the baby's room. It's slow around here, but we are having fun doing it. Those two rooms were my goals to get done before baby comes. Who knows when we'll get the other rooms done, but find myself thinking through all the possibilities of colors, decorating schemes, etc.

Dave has the girls out tonight on a date! They were so excited. I am getting an hour or two to some peace and quiet...it's nice.

We don't have many plans for the rest of the summer. In fact, it's been a pretty low key summer for us, which has been nice and necessary, as we are trying to get settled. I think we are going to try to make it down to my dads one more time this summer. Then it will be count down for baby girl #3!

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The fight for JOY

"It will help us fight for joy if we realize why Paul calls it a good fight. First, it is a good fight because the enemy of our joy is evil. The enemy is unbelief, and the satanic forces behind it, and the sins that come from it. When you set yourself to combat the forces that try to make you delight in yourself or your accomplishments or your possessions more than in God, you oppose a very evil enemy. Therefore it is a good fight...

It is a good fight because it is not a struggle to carry a burden, but a struggle to let a burden be carried for us. The life of joy in God is not a burdened lift. It is an unburdened lift. The fight for joy is the struggle to trust God with the burdens of life. It's a fight for freedom from worry. It's a fight for hope and peace and joy, which are all threatened by unbelief and doubt about God's promises. And since freedom and hope and peace and joy are good, the fight to preserve them is a good fight...

The fight for joy is good because by it God is greatly glorified." John Piper

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Selah's 2nd Birthday

Selah Grace officially turned 2 years old on June 3, just a few days after we moved in. Needless to say, I didn't have much planned for her! BUT, thanks to my sister, we last minute had a mini celebration the day after we moved in. We grilled out here, Kelly made a cake, and everyone (except her parents ;o) were prepared and brought gifts for little Gracie. Dad and Patti were here from the move and mom and Grammy stopped in to celebrate with us.

First we ate...





Then Selah dove into her presents...



Then cake...




The cutest baby is saved for last...

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Strength for faith

As I am continually still seeking to strengthen my weak faith and trust in the Lord, I was so encouraged by Spurgeon's Morning and Evening today. I was reminded of the sweet strength that lies in the promises of God:

“Tell me I pray thee wherein thy great strength lieth.” Judges 16:6

Where lies the secret strength of faith? It lies in the food it feeds on; for faith studies what the promise is—an emanation of divine grace, an overflowing of the great heart of God; and faith says, “My God could not have given this promise, except from love and grace; therefore it is quite certain his Word will be fulfilled.” Then faith thinketh, “Who gave this promise?” It considereth not so much its greatness, as, “Who is the author of it?” She remembers that it is God who cannot lie—God omnipotent, God immutable; and therefore concludeth that the promise must be fulfilled; and forward she advances in this firm conviction. She remembereth,why the promise was given,—namely, for God’s glory, and she feels perfectly sure that God’s glory is safe, that he will never stain his own escutcheon, nor mar the lustre of his own crown; and therefore the promise must and will stand. Then faith also considereth the amazing work of Christ as being a clear proof of the Father’s intention to fulfil his word. “He that spared not his own Son, but freely delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Moreover faith looks back upon the past, for her battles have strengthened her, and her victories have given her courage. She remembers that God never has failed her; nay, that he never did once fail any of his children. She recollecteth times of great peril, when deliverance came; hours of awful need, when as her day her strength was found, and she cries, “No, I never will be led to think that he can change and leave his servant now. Hitherto the Lord hath helped me, and he will help me still.” Thus faith views each promise in its connection with the promise-giver, and, because she does so, can with assurance say, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life!”

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Greenbrier State Park

I had forgotten how fun this place was! Dave took off Tuesday - Friday of last week. It was great to have him around, although for some of the time he was busy at work around the house and yard. On Thursday he wanted to do something as a family and I threw out the idea of Greenbrier. I grew up going to this place with my mom. She would take us fairly often and it was the next best thing to the beach. If you are unfamiliar with Greenbriar, it is a state park with a huge lake for swimming, fishing and boating and tons of picnic tables and campsites. Also, the Appalachian trail runs through it.

We packed up a day's worth of food, towels, swimsuits, blankets and beach toys and headed north to Boonsboro, which is right outside of Frederick. We arrived around 11am and right away the girls fell in love with the place. I had forgotten what a great place this is for kids! In my opinion it might even be better than the beach for little ones. There aren't waves to scare them and you have sand to play in. Also, there are trees right behind the beach which provide shade for setting up blankets and pack and plays for naptime ;o).





The girls played hard all day long. They had an absolute blast. It was so relaxing and fun for me to watch them having such a great time and to enjoy getting some much needed "Daddy time."

In the afternoon, Selah took a nap under a tree on a blanket, while Dave and I read and watched Mckenna play.

"Look, mama!" (My girls are fascinated with rocks ;o)

Toward evening, most people started to pack up and leave. We had brought food to grill, and since the girls were doing well and having such a great time, we hung out a few more hours.

We ended our time with a cook-out of hot dogs and corn on the cob, overlooking the beach. By this time the girls were started to loose it a bit - they were so tired! We pulled out around 6:30pm and headed home. I found myself thinking what a perfect family day it was! God was so kind to bless us with beautiful weather (sunny with a breeze and not too hot) and an incredible time together!

Grilling corn on the cob....it turned out SO yummy!

While Dave was grilling the girls stayed on the beach and threw rocks in the water.

If you are looking for something to do as a family, we highly recommend this place! We're hoping to go back again soon.

Here is a link for more information and directions.

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Happy 4th of July!

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My big girl

It's hard to believe Mckenna is getting so big, so fast. She has been such a delight to us, her family, and has been a trooper through this season of transition. When we moved out of our townhouse, it was very hard for Mckenna. After all the furniture was moved out on moving day, Mckenna came home after being away for the day, and just sobbed. She didn't want to leave and was confused about where all her things were. It was so sad! Everytime we drove near the townhouse or on Fountain Valley Dr., she would start to cry and say things like, "I want those people to get out so I can go back." Despite how much we talked through things with her, I think she was still a bit confused.

She and Selah both loved all the house shopping. They particularly loved going to look at all he vacant homes, as they would run all around them and in the yards.

Mckenna loved living with mom for 2 months....we all did. So, I was a little concerned how she would do transitioning once again to our new home. I didn't know if she would not like it and want to go back to moms or want to go back to our townhouse. Mom took care of the girls on moving day and brought them the next morning to the new house. After being there a day, we gave the girls their first bath in their new bathroom. During this, Mckenna shouted out to us that she loved this new house and said, "I want to stay here forever." Dave and I just smiled and I was relieved!

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