Yeah, I know. If I ever say "Hey, I'm going to be blogging on here more!" you will never believe me!! So sorry. Well, not really sorry in the way you expect. I would LOVE to blog to my heart's content, but my current lifestyle simply does not allow it the way I want. But, I do want to type a few things out & give a few updates, so here goes…
First, life with 3 kids is CRAZY! Um yes, I was wrong, 3 is definitely harder than 2! And many people say 3 is the hardest, but I don't think we will have a 4th to test that theory out ;) The combination of sleep deprivation, needing a C-section, terribly horrible at sticking with breast-feeding… it just doesn't make a ton of sense for us. I've always said I'd love to adopt, but we're a ways out for being ready for that discussion!
Jovi is a sweet girl. So cute, so chubby, and already showing SO much personality! Yeah, she's strong-willed. Or, at least for now. That little 8-month old can sure throw a tantrum! And, she's not the best sleeper. Most of the time, during the day, she goes down for naps wonderfully, almost never cries. But, she's had several streaks, lasting anywhere from 1 week, to 2 months, of waking every couple hours, moaning & crying endlessly, until someone goes & gives her a binky. I've tried waiting it out 20 min - no good. But, I am really thinking that it's only been b/c of sickness or teeth (which her first ones are SO close to coming in, finally). That has been our biggest challenge. I NEED sleep... just to be somewhat functional. And when I have too little sleep, I start to really be crazy. Jovi barely sleeps longer than the minimum I need to function, so I've been trying to pray & think through how to organize my life so I can come out with sanity, patience, desire to live... all those nice things ;)
Anyway, she is a pretty good baby. Clingy lately, but overall, very sweet. She crawled before 7mos, pulled herself up before 8, and thinks she could walk if only we would let go of her :) She has cute fuzzy hair and the biggest eyes! Her eyes are more like mine, a grayer shade of blue, but she has a bright golden ring around the middle, making them almost look green. I am excited for the next year of her life… we're getting so close to being in a stage that I absolutely love! Walking, saying a few words, eating mostly on her own, getting some hair & giving hugs & kisses… so fun.
The boys are well. They are EXCELLENT big brothers! Asher can even pick Jovi up & bring her back to the room I'm in when she has wondered off. He entertains her, throws away diapers, brings me wipes… he's even cleaned her up after eating solids! Cole is wonderful too. While not as strong as Ash, he still helps with running little errands & bringing her toys. She is SO lucky to have them… as am I!
Asher is homeschooling and doing so well. He's almost done with his 1st grade reading & spelling, over halfway with 1st grade math & still enjoying the Classical Conversations group we are in. While not all of the CC info is being practiced at home, we do a lot of the math memorization - the times tables. He knows all of them up to 10! And Cole knows most of them too, just from hanging around while we are schooling. I am enjoying homeschooling a lot. I feel so privileged to get to spend the time teaching him, but I am also challenged & have a lot to work on. Next year will be a little crazy, trying to school both boys, but I just do not feel peace about giving up so much time with them at this stage in their lives. The teaching & figuring out curriculum has been a pretty simple thing for me, I get more overwhelmed with things like figuring out when I'm going to shower, when I will ever get to work out, can I even fix coffee without being interrupted!?! But, this is a stage of life that is relatively short, so I'm doing my best to remember that the more effort I put into loving & teaching them, the better chance they have at living a wonderful life as well.
This brings me to my final updates… Mark & I! We have decided to move to Sellwood (part of East Portland) to be a part of a church revitalization our best friends are involved in. And when I say "involved", I mean that he is the pastor of that church. We'll be investing in the body of Sellwood Baptist, becoming members & sharing life with the people there. We are one of a few families that have decided to become missionaries to Sellwood, moving there intentionally to spread the gospel & build up the body. While we are excited about this, we are a little anxious as well, mostly for housing. It is SO expensive to live in Sellwood - think $200k more for a house of the same liking here in Tigard or Beaverton :P You can pray for that! Pray that God provides the right house, for the right price, as close to the church as He can do. This has been the most faith-stretching so far - resting easy, trusting that He can provide that for us & having the guts to ask with confidence.
Lastly, Mark is back at eBay (for those who didn't know) and doing well there. It was definitely more exciting working at Nike, but we are thankful for him to be home more & far less stressed. I am still making jewelry, but am a little hesitant to really be pushing to create a profitable business. I enjoy it for sure, but I'm trying to learn to put my family first & how to be content by investing in others… I find it hard to do both. Not that it cannot be done, but for me right now, I really feel like my heart needs to be straightened out a bit first.
Well, that's us for now. Of course, I am leaving SO many things out. I'd love to share many more details of life for us these days, but I really want a little snooze while Jovi is asleep & the boys are entertained :) I hope to reach out again soon… we'll see how that goes ;)
Enjoy a few pics of the last 8 months… I will post some more recent ones once I get my photos synced & on the computer...
First, life with 3 kids is CRAZY! Um yes, I was wrong, 3 is definitely harder than 2! And many people say 3 is the hardest, but I don't think we will have a 4th to test that theory out ;) The combination of sleep deprivation, needing a C-section, terribly horrible at sticking with breast-feeding… it just doesn't make a ton of sense for us. I've always said I'd love to adopt, but we're a ways out for being ready for that discussion!
Jovi is a sweet girl. So cute, so chubby, and already showing SO much personality! Yeah, she's strong-willed. Or, at least for now. That little 8-month old can sure throw a tantrum! And, she's not the best sleeper. Most of the time, during the day, she goes down for naps wonderfully, almost never cries. But, she's had several streaks, lasting anywhere from 1 week, to 2 months, of waking every couple hours, moaning & crying endlessly, until someone goes & gives her a binky. I've tried waiting it out 20 min - no good. But, I am really thinking that it's only been b/c of sickness or teeth (which her first ones are SO close to coming in, finally). That has been our biggest challenge. I NEED sleep... just to be somewhat functional. And when I have too little sleep, I start to really be crazy. Jovi barely sleeps longer than the minimum I need to function, so I've been trying to pray & think through how to organize my life so I can come out with sanity, patience, desire to live... all those nice things ;)
Anyway, she is a pretty good baby. Clingy lately, but overall, very sweet. She crawled before 7mos, pulled herself up before 8, and thinks she could walk if only we would let go of her :) She has cute fuzzy hair and the biggest eyes! Her eyes are more like mine, a grayer shade of blue, but she has a bright golden ring around the middle, making them almost look green. I am excited for the next year of her life… we're getting so close to being in a stage that I absolutely love! Walking, saying a few words, eating mostly on her own, getting some hair & giving hugs & kisses… so fun.
The boys are well. They are EXCELLENT big brothers! Asher can even pick Jovi up & bring her back to the room I'm in when she has wondered off. He entertains her, throws away diapers, brings me wipes… he's even cleaned her up after eating solids! Cole is wonderful too. While not as strong as Ash, he still helps with running little errands & bringing her toys. She is SO lucky to have them… as am I!
Asher is homeschooling and doing so well. He's almost done with his 1st grade reading & spelling, over halfway with 1st grade math & still enjoying the Classical Conversations group we are in. While not all of the CC info is being practiced at home, we do a lot of the math memorization - the times tables. He knows all of them up to 10! And Cole knows most of them too, just from hanging around while we are schooling. I am enjoying homeschooling a lot. I feel so privileged to get to spend the time teaching him, but I am also challenged & have a lot to work on. Next year will be a little crazy, trying to school both boys, but I just do not feel peace about giving up so much time with them at this stage in their lives. The teaching & figuring out curriculum has been a pretty simple thing for me, I get more overwhelmed with things like figuring out when I'm going to shower, when I will ever get to work out, can I even fix coffee without being interrupted!?! But, this is a stage of life that is relatively short, so I'm doing my best to remember that the more effort I put into loving & teaching them, the better chance they have at living a wonderful life as well.
This brings me to my final updates… Mark & I! We have decided to move to Sellwood (part of East Portland) to be a part of a church revitalization our best friends are involved in. And when I say "involved", I mean that he is the pastor of that church. We'll be investing in the body of Sellwood Baptist, becoming members & sharing life with the people there. We are one of a few families that have decided to become missionaries to Sellwood, moving there intentionally to spread the gospel & build up the body. While we are excited about this, we are a little anxious as well, mostly for housing. It is SO expensive to live in Sellwood - think $200k more for a house of the same liking here in Tigard or Beaverton :P You can pray for that! Pray that God provides the right house, for the right price, as close to the church as He can do. This has been the most faith-stretching so far - resting easy, trusting that He can provide that for us & having the guts to ask with confidence.
Lastly, Mark is back at eBay (for those who didn't know) and doing well there. It was definitely more exciting working at Nike, but we are thankful for him to be home more & far less stressed. I am still making jewelry, but am a little hesitant to really be pushing to create a profitable business. I enjoy it for sure, but I'm trying to learn to put my family first & how to be content by investing in others… I find it hard to do both. Not that it cannot be done, but for me right now, I really feel like my heart needs to be straightened out a bit first.
Well, that's us for now. Of course, I am leaving SO many things out. I'd love to share many more details of life for us these days, but I really want a little snooze while Jovi is asleep & the boys are entertained :) I hope to reach out again soon… we'll see how that goes ;)
Enjoy a few pics of the last 8 months… I will post some more recent ones once I get my photos synced & on the computer...
Such great big brothers.
Appx 1month old, being sleepy.
Papa & Jovi.
Sweet smiles.
My blanket eater & me.
Such a studious boy!
Glimpse of life.
Candyland fun.
Cole & me!
See, fuzzy-head!
6 months old! (in December)
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