One more bun in the oven!

As the title suggests, we're expecting another baby!  We're at the 24 week mark and couldn't be more excited!  After having 2 boys in a row, we recently found out that Baby Bubbles (our in-utero name) is a girl!  That will put our numbers at 6 girls and 3 boys.  She's due to arrive at the end of January. Prayers for a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery are greatly appreciated!

Me with Bubble's future roomies - they can't wait to meet her!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

The Waiting Game and Thankful for Everyday Life

I've made it to that point where I'm so ready to have this baby, yet apprehensive because I am fully aware of what it entails to actually birth a baby!  We're just passed the 38 week mark.  I have had some issues with high blood pressure and swelling which has put me on modified bed rest the past week and a half.  I had another check-up today and the bed rest is helping with blood pressure and swelling, but spending so much time in a reclined position isn't allowing gravity to do it's thing in progressing labor!  But, the baby is healthy and doctor isn't so worried about me.  That is good news!  I am not making any progress, so there is no possibility of induction until I start to look more "favorable".  The induction is a peace of mind thing as my labors move quickly and we are about 30 minutes from the hospital.  Because we moved during this pregnancy, it is all new to me again.  I am really liking my doctor and trust that he is taking excellent care of both me and baby.  I have heard great things about the hospital we're delivering at.  We toured it a couple months back and at least know how to get there!  That's about all the news I have on the baby front.

Now, to thankfulness in picture form!

Thankful for baby boy and making it to 38 weeks!

 

Thankful for this little guy who is about to become a big brother!  He really has no idea of what is about to happen, which is probably for the best!  He is enjoying having me laid up, though.  We've watched LOTS of Curious George and Blues Clues these past few days!

Yes, that is my belly - it's THAT big!

Thankful for a jumbo bag of pinto beans, plastic bin, miscellaneous kitchen utensils, and a bucket of dinosaurs...indoor sandbox!

 

It was really just a matter of time before he climbed in, don't you think?

Thankful for an extremely strong willed 6 year old who decided it was time to take off the training wheels...now!.  After 2 "lessons", she's got it down and doing fabulously!

Thankful for the 4 year old who lets the 2 year old push her around - literally!

Thankful for big sisters who spend hours and hours building train tracks.

Thankful for kitchen helpers who chop up veggies for soup - I just call it "home-ec" class! :-)

Thankful for teenaged artists who create works of art on the driveway!

Thankful for brotherly love!

Thankful for a family full of readers.  This little guy sees his big siblings with their noses in books all day long, so that's what he wants to do to!

See, I can read books just like the big kids!

And this is what Mom looks like when she reads her book!

So incredibly thankful for my amazing husband.  Can you tell that these little gals absolutely adore him?

And, while I don't have a picture to really capture it, thankful for my husband and older children who have really pitched in this past week to keep things running while I'm on bed rest.

Hoping that my next post will have pictures of a beautiful baby boy!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Wordless Wednesday - Belly Shot 17 Weeks

Everything is progressing nicely!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

7 Quick Takes - Name that Saint!

Last night, all the children got dressed up as a favorite saint, loaded up into the van, attended holy Mass, and partied!  Our church has a well-attended, crazy, chaotic, super fun All Saints' Day party that the children look forward to all year long.  Honestly, they start discussing who they should be for the next year on the way home!  I thought it would be fun to play a little "Name that Saint" with some photos of the children in their finery!

(1)

I was born in present day New York in 1656.

I survived smallpox as a child and was an orphan.

I was baptized as a Roman Catholic and went to live at a Jesuit mission in present day Canada.

I was shunned by my Native American tribe because of my faith in Jesus Christ.
I am known as the Lily of the Mohawks.

I died at the age of 24.

          Who am I?

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

(2)

I lived in the 2nd century in Rome.

My purity and love for God converted my husband to the faith.

My husband and his brother were both martyred.  I died for Christ shortly after they did.

I am the patron saint of musicians and church music.

          Who am I?

Saint Cecilia

(3)

I was a carpenter and descendent of King David.

Angels spoke to me and told me how to best take care of my wife and son.

I am the foster father of Jesus and husband of Mary.

I am usually pictured with carpenter’s tools, the infant Jesus, or a staff with lily blossoms.
I am the patron of the Universal Church.

          Who am I?

Saint Joseph

(4)

I lived in Hungary in 11th century.

I was raised as a Christian.

I gave everything I could to the poor; many people did not like me for this.

While I was delivering bread to a poor family, my husband asked me what I was carrying. I told him roses but he did not believe me, when he looked into my basket, he miraculously saw roses instead of bread!

When my husband died, I used all of our money to build a hospital and care for the sick.

          Who am I?

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

(5)

I was born in 291 and died in 304.

My family was wealthy.

I was raised as a Christian.

I loved God more than anything else and God helped protect my purity.

I gave my life for God when I was only 13 years old.

My name means “chaste and pure”.

I am usually shown holding a lamb.

I am the patron saint of young girls.

          Who am I?

Saint Agnes

(6)

My story is found in the Old Testament in the bible before the time of Christ.

My husband is a king who chose me for his wife.  He did not know that I was a Jew.

An evil man named Haman wanted to get rid of all of the Jews. He was an aid to the king.

My cousin Mordecai told me of Haman’s plan and I bravely went to the king to save my people.

The king punished Haman and prevented him from killing all of the Jews because we trusted in God.

          Who am I?

Queen Esther

(7)

I was born in Mexico on 1474.

The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to me and told me to ask the Bishop to build her a church.

When I went to the Bishop, he did not believe me and asked for a sign.

I went back to the hill where I saw our Blessed Mother and picked roses that were growing in the winter.

I put the roses in my tilma and went back to the Bishop.

When I opened my tilma to show him the roses that were miraculously growing in the winter, a beautiful image of Mary was on my tilma.

The Bishop ordered the church to be built!

          Who am I?

Here's a picture of the beautiful image of Our Lady that the big girls worked on this weekend.  Peter wanted nothing to do with wearing this.  As soon as we put it on him, he began to scream!

Ahhhh...I'm so much happier without my costume on!

Juan Diego

(BONUS!)

Didn't the kids do a great job pulling their costumes together?  I also decided to dress up a little bit this year.  Take a good look at the picture to meet our new "saint in the making"....hee, hee, hee!

Hmmmm....I don't think that I look that big already.  Must just be the camera adding 10 pounds, huh?

We are so excited about this it's been hard to keep it a secret!  We're 10 weeks and all seems to be going well.  I've been going to an all NFP Catholic clinic and am really happy with the care we are receiving.  Baby is penciled in to arrive at the end of May, but as we all know, baby will come when he/she is good and ready!

I hope that you all had a wonderful All Saints' Day celebration and that you continue on with prayers for All Souls' Day tomorrow.

Head on over to Conversion Diary to see more quick takes.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Peter Francis

Todd here....All is well for baby Peter Francis and mom.  They had room for us this morning, so we showed up at around 7:30.  The nurse was the best one we've ever encountered (great job Kari!), along with our terrific doc.  The day progressed nicely with Peter showing up at 2:53pm.  He weighed 7 lbs, 14 oz and was 20.5 inches long.  Here are some pictures.  I brought the kids to meet Peter after dinner.

 Thank you to all for your prayers. Also a special thanks to neighbor Tammy who watched the kids so I could be with Heather.

St. Valentine's Day Recap

No...still haven't had the baby.  We've just been keeping busy with school and celebrating Valentine's Day.  I'm definitely running a little low in the energy and enthusiasm department.  But, not to worry.  The children more than make up for anything I lack!

I did make some festive heart shaped cinnamon rolls which were super easy...just my speed these days!

A little pink smoothie to add some nutritional value to breakfast!

A dear friend called to ask if they could stop by to drop off some Valentine's and treats for the children.  I'm glad she gave me a little heads up.  It gave us time to whip up this Valentine for their family that I found over at Catholic Icing.

It's hard to read in this picture, but John 3:16 is written through the word Valentine which is the true definition of love!

The children had scavenger hunts, played games, exchanged Valentines, and ate so much sugar I though that they might burst!

Madeline helped make these peanut butter blossom cookies which turned out amazing!  We typically make these at Christmas with Hershey's kisses in the middle, but in honor of St. Valentine, we used Dove chocolates instead.  The kids had a heck of a time keeping their hands off to let the chocolate firm up!

Grandma and Grandpa Kraft sent them cards with a some money to buy themselves a Valentine treat. They decided to pool their resources to purchase a Dairy Queen ice cream cake.  Have you priced those things out lately?  Man, are they pricey!

Thanks grandma and grandpa!  And there is still more for dessert tonight!

I have an appointment with my OB tomorrow afternoon.  The plan, for now, is that I will be induced on Tuesday morning.  Of course, that is all dependent upon there being room for me since it is a purely elective induction.  If Tuesday doesn't work out, then we'll shoot for Thursday.  Your continued prayers are greatly appreciated.  I'll keep you posted!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Little Boy Blue - We're Ready for You!

I'm 37 weeks today and we're all anxiously awaiting Baby Gyver's birth.  I've never went earlier than a week and up to 10 days late, so I realize it could still be a while yet.  I had a check-up on Friday and am barely beginning to dilate.  I'm trying not to get too anxious or freaked-out about the impending labor/delivery.  Let's just say that I have my moments of calm mixed with those of fear and trepidation.  Any prayers you could throw my way would be immensely appreciated!

Here I am at 36 weeks. You can see, there isn't much room left.  He'll have to come out soon!

We've been trying to tie up any loose ends here at the house and get ready to bring baby home.  I realized yesterday that we don't even have any itty-bitty diapers, so we picked those up today.  While out and about, we stopped by Babies R Us to look at double strollers.  Our double stroller has been put through the wringer the past 10+ years and was in need of replacement.  Happily, we discovered that they are in the middle of their "Great Trade-In Event" which means you bring them your old baby gear and they give you a coupon for 25% off a new model.  This worked out fabulously for us as we were literally going to throw the old one in the trash and it ended up saving us almost $30!  Take a peek at their website for details. 

It looks so nice and clean.  I almost don't want to take it outside and get it dirty!

I feel that I have shown tremendous restraint in holding back on purchasing baby boy clothing. With five girls and one boy, our girl clothing arsenals are pretty well stocked.  I did pick up a few outfits for the new little guy!

The children had so much fun helping me pick these out.  I think the monkey outfit is our favorite!

Big sister Madeline has been busily crocheting for her baby brother.  Here are a few of the items that she is most proud of.

Newborn sized booties, hat for the hospital and larger booties...because she told me that he'll grow you know!

So now, we wait.  We try to get as much done as possible before baby comes.  We are all fully aware that life as we know it will be transformed  upon his arrival...and we can't wait!

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Random Words of Kindness

The past few days have been a challenge for me.  I have mentioned that I enjoy being pregnant...and I do.  However, with increased blood volume and lots of extra weight (take my word for it, A LOT!), it was really just a matter of time before something gave out on me.  This Sunday, it was my hemorrhoids.  I've spent the past 3 days trying to find time to soak in a hot tub, sit on ice packs, stay off my feet, drink water, eat fiber, and use any cream/ointments that I have at my disposal.  I consider myself to be pretty tough.  I don't complain much and have a relatively high tolerance for pain.  But the past 3 days have pushed me close to my breaking point.

So now you know my frame of mind as I was slowly waddling around Sam's Club tonight with the family. We were out of a bunch of stuff and ran there with five of the children while our eldest was at dance class.  I was reading nutrition labels on the breads (looking for high fiber content, you know!) when a young, smiling woman approached me.  She looked at me and said, "You are the most beautiful pregnant woman I've ever seen!"  I'm not making this up!  I replied, "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that today."  I thanked her for her kindness and wished her a good evening.

Kind words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. ~Proverbs 16:24~

What an effect that brief conversation had on my outlook.  I know that our good God prompted her to comment and I am grateful that she responded.  I was in need of some positive energy and she provided it with her smile and sweet words.

If you ever have a random, positive thought about someone while out running errands, please take time to share it with them.  I know that it's putting yourself out there, and that is beyond many people's comfort zones.  There is no guarantee what their response will be, but you may just have the words that they've been longing to hear.


God Bless!

Heather :-)

34 Weeks and Lovin' It!

I'm just beyond the 34 week mark of this pregnancy and am starting to feel huge.  I am swollen, full of protruding veins, hemorrhoids, heartburn, and overall discomfort.  I am slowing down, tired, and generally taking longer to accomplish simple household tasks that my non-pregnant body can easily knock out.  That being said, I am absolutely loving this!  I can't even tell you the amount of time we spend admiring my belly, talking to the baby, and watching him perform acrobatics which make my midsection do strange things.  I am more uncomfortable than I ever was with my previous 6 pregnancies, but am filled with joy, wonder, and awe at the miracle that is happening inside of me.  Perhaps our miscarriage this past year has something to do with this, I can't be sure.  But the entire family is giddy about this upcoming birth of this little boy and we can't wait to meet him!

I don't think Esther really "gets" this whole baby thing. She likes to talk about him and give my tummy kisses, but we'll see what happens when he's born and becomes more of a reality to her!

We take photos every 4 weeks and here is the 32 week shot.  It's hard to believe that's really me!

I'm anxiously following all the other pregnant blogging mamas out there.  It is fun to share in their experiences and know that we're all praying for each other.  I am so thankful for all of you who have e-mailed or left comments letting me know that you're praying for me.  Please continue to pray for a smooth labor and delivery of a healthy baby around the end of February.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Ultrasound Photos

We had our 20 week ultrasound last week.  After careful consideration, Todd and I decided to bring the whole family along.  After all, if we're going to be pro-life, we need to show folks what it is like to have a large family.  We prepped the children and talked extensively about our expectations for their behavior.  They were all fabulously behaved.  Esther and Eleanor took a little bribing (Dum-dum suckers did the trick!) but were remarkably quiet and still.

We decided that we wanted to find out the gender of our baby. Joseph would need some time to adjust to the idea of yet another sister if that was the case.  We all patiently waited as the technician took all the necessary measurements.  After about 10 minutes, she asked if we were ready to know.  I replied, "Only if you're absolutely sure."  She smiled at me as the room became absolutely silent. "It's a boy!" she exclaimed and then proved it to me with the ultrasound image.  I don't think Joseph quit smiling that whole day!  He called each set of grandparents to share the news and has told even random strangers about his new baby brother.

I was thinking about this...I'm pregnant with a boy.  It's been a long time since I carried a boy.  Joseph will be 8 years old in just another week.  I've been much more tired and nauseous this time around, but that may just be because I'm older and busier with more children.  Who knows?

The house is buzzing with talk about the baby.  What shall we name him?  Who will he look like?  And most importantly in the minds of the children - Who gets to sit next to him in the van? We are all so anxious to meet him! 

I appreciate all of your prayers and well wishes.  Please continue to pray for the health of our baby Gyver and for a safe delivery this February/March.

God Bless!

Heather :-)

Mom, you look pregnant.

A couple months ago, my husband and I were sitting at the dining room table talking with our eldest daughter.  There was a lull in the conversation and she looked at me quite seriously and said, "Mom, you look pregnant."  I glanced at Todd quickly and said, "You know that is an incredibly rude thing to say to a woman, right?!"  Todd changed the topic of discussion without missing a beat and the rest of the evening went on without any further focus on my mid-section.

Well, the irony of the situation is that I WAS pregnant.  Yes...I AM pregnant!  We were holding off on saying anything because of our miscarriage this winter.  We are expecting blessing #7 at the end of February and couldn't be more excited!  The children are super pumped about my growing belly and the thought of a new baby coming into our house this winter.

We give each of our children in-utero names so that we don't have to keep referring to that baby as "it" or "baby".  This time around, we chose Baby MacGuyver (we're watching re-runs of that 1980's hit on Netflix) and Esther has shortened it to Baby Guyver.

I've had two ultrasounds and one general check-up where I heard the heart beat.  The sound of a baby's heart beating inside of me is something that I never get tired of listening to!  I am feeling really well and have only petty things to complain of - so why bother?  I would appreciate your prayers for a strong and healthy baby and an uncomplicated delivery this February.

God Bless!

Heather :-)