Long Time, No Post

Well, Spring is in full swing and my last post was in December. Not keeping up with this a much as I used to. Facebook is just so much faster and easier, so I forget to add anything to the blog. Oh well. We are having a wonderful spring! The girls got a new playset in the backyard, and Alan did a lot of beautiful landscaping back there, so we have spent all our time outside enjoying the beautiful weather. Payton stays for hours at a time out back, but Maci has gotten the "I'm bored" thing down. Bored? Its a kid's world back there, how on earth can you get bored...you're 5, not 15! Anyway, I guess it is getting close to time for her to be in school 5 days a week to keep her from getting "bored." Ha!

I had my 36 week check up yesterday. We got to see an ultrasound and Blake is doing his job. We were thinking he was breech, so it was a wonderful surprise to hear that he's exactly where he is supposed to be! I am even dilated a little, which I never was with the girls until delivery time, so that was fun to hear. I guess those nasty contractions are actually good for something :) I am scheduled to be induced on May 6th if he does not come before then. But, anytime after next Tuesday is good with me! It still amazes me that the little guy is still with us and is healthy and safe. Its been a long pregnancy, but next week we will be considered full term. What a blessing! God has been so good to us! I can't wait to get this little one out here and see his sweet face.

Well, we had a very wonderful Christmas season and so far have had quite a fun beginning to the New Year! Christmas was full of shopping, cookies, food, family gatherings, our special Christmas date, Christmas lights, Christmas programs, Santa Clause, new toys, and so many other things. With all that filled the month, I was blown away by how our 3 year old and near 5 year old didn't for a second lose the meaning of the season. I think that watching them not become distracted by it all was one of the biggest blessings I got this year. They love Christmas just as much as I do and it is so much fun to share it with them. The girls are all dolled up for our 4th annual Meers family Christmas date. We went to see Santa to let the "Big Guy" (as Payton calls him) know what they wanted for Christmas. We got our first non-crying pictures! Payton was very chatty with ole Santa, telling him that she wanted a big girl bicycle. Maci was a little more reserved, but still enjoyed talking with him. After the Santa experience, we took the girls to PF Changs for dinner and then to Starbucks for coffee and dessert to-go. Then we set off to look at Christmas lights. It was a very perfect day from start to finish. This is my favorite tradition that we have with our kiddos and I look forward to sharing it with our son next year!!!The girls called Alan upstairs one night because they needed a Joseph to play with them. They were all dressed up acting out the Nativity scene. Maci was Mary, and boy was she in character. She acted very quiet and somber as she rode her donkey (our rocking horse) to Bethlehem. Then she was very serious and protective when she put Baby Jesus in the manger (our Texas Tech chair.) Payton (although you may think she is Cinderella) is the angel. The girls did this over and over again throughout the entire month. It was completely unprompted by us. It really showed me how blessed we are that our children are completely surrounded by the Word of God. It really made me thankful for their teachers at MOPS, preschool, and Sunday school. Aren't they precious!!!I was frantically getting myself and the girls ready for the Christmas Eve service, and while I was doing a little touch-up to my own hair, Alan caught the girls looking at my bridal portrait and ran for a camera. I don't know why it was even out, but I thought this picture was really sweet.All ready for the Christmas Eve service!!Alan reading "The Night Before Christmas"Cookies and milk for Santa in their new Christmas jammies!!Christmas morning they came downstairs and found their big girl bicycles that Santa left! They were so excited! Mommy and daddy got them lots of stuff too, but this was the highlight!Maci turned 5 years old on January 4th. I took her to lunch with her daddy and sister and then Alan let the girls come up to his office to see where he works for the first time! They had an absolute ball. They rummaged through every drawer, cabinet, etc that they could find. We went home and got everything ready for a movie night at the house for her. She picked out some cupcakes and a balloons. And while we were out, I thought it might be fun to get their hair cut. This would be the first time ever for Payton, and the first time in years for Maci. They got it done at the same time and sat like perfect angels for the entire thing. They really liked getting this done. Alan then brought home pizza for our movie party. It was a great day. Her actual birthday party is Saturday and I'm sure there will be some fun pictures to share from it. Here are a couple of the girls getting their new do's!!

It's a BOY!!!!!

Well, last Tuesday we started the Thanksgiving holiday by going to the doctor for an ultrasound. We found out that we are going to be having a baby BOY!!!! We are thrilled! Payton didn't act surprised or really excited. She really wanted a "brudda" but I think she thought that since she wanted it, that she would get what she wanted. So when she heard, she was just like, yeah, we know that already. Too funny! Maci, on the other hand, reacted with excitement first and then remembered that she wanted a girl and got really pouty about it. She is happy about it now, but we had to convince her that not all boys are really messy and really wild. (a little white lie to make her happy ;)) Alan was beyond thrilled!! Before we got pregnant, he really wanted another girl (if we had anymore) but once we actually got pregnant, he decided he really wanted a boy. We have been calling him Blake since the moment we found out we were expecting. I just had a feeling about this one. :) Well, I am 17 weeks along now and the baby is looking really good. Thankfully the subchorionic hemorrhage is also GONE!!! How awesome is that!! I have an appointment next week to hear the full report of my ultrasound, but everything seemed to be great. We couldn't be more excited! We celebrated by filling up Blake's closet! I've never shopped on "that" side of the store before, and was really not looking forward to it. However, I had a ton of fun shopping for this little guy! We are so blessed and really hoping the spring flies by so that we can meet this little one as soon as possible!! Thank you all for all your prayers during the rough part of this pregnancy! God is sooooo good!!!

12 Weeks

Well, I had another check-up today that went really well! God is so good! Payton went with me to my appt and we got in just as soon as I got there...that NEVER happens! The dr met me in the hall as I walked in and pretty much stayed with me through the entire check-up. The baby delivering business must have been really slow today :) Anyway, two nurses and the dr tried to get the baby's heartbeat using the doppler, but none had any success. Yay for me though, I got to get another ultrasound! The baby had a great, strong heartrate, and measured right where he should. At one point, the baby startled my dr with his amazing acrobatics! It was super cute to see. I asked how my hemorrhage was looking, but the dr could not find it! Praise God! He said that he saw no evidence that it is still there, but that I have to remain on "rest" for four more weeks until he can confirm with a big ultrasound that it is in fact gone. However, he did order my "big" ultrasound for the week of Thanksgiving. That means that we will probably also find out whether this third miracle is a baby boy or a baby girl. That is so much better than having to wait till Christmas, which is when I thought I would find out. Yay! I feel very relieved and excited about the news we got today! My ticking time bomb inside may be completely gone. You wouldn't believe what a load that takes off a mommy's shoulders. I feel like I can breath again! The Lord has been so good and so faithful to my precious family. I am praying for a very blessed and calm 2nd and 3rd trimester. Thank you so much to any of you who have sent up prayers on our behalf. We are certainly blessed by all of our dear friends and family! I suppose the next baby update will be in four weeks, so stay tuned! :)

10 Weeks!!!

Well, I am ten weeks preggo today! Only two weeks left of the first trimester. That went fast! I thought with all this sitting on the couch, and playing wait and see at the dr's, that time would surely stand still. Thank goodness that did not happen. I had an appointment yesterday that went really well. My dr did an ultrasound in his office, so I got a chance to see my little one again. This time, he looked so much bigger than two weeks ago. Looked like a baby, well, and baby with a very large head :) The baby's heartbeat was 160 BPM which is very good, and he/she was moving his little arms and legs. Very sweet! The dr still saw the blood clot, but he thought it might even be getting smaller. Woohoo!! His ultrasound machine isn't as good as the ones I usually go to, so he didn't try and measure the clot, but he thought it looked better. I think at my appointment in two weeks, he will order another "big" ultrasound to find out for sure. So, until then, still sitting...

Some fun facts about Baby Meers #3: baby is about the size of a cocktail shrimp (about an inch and a half), it is sprouting hair, the inner workings of its ears are complete, so it can now hear the girls goofing off and playing (a sound he will be very familiar with when he arrives,) he's now growing fingernails, and is able to kick and swallow. What a little miracle!!!

My mom came to Houston yesterday to play with the girls while I went to my Dr's appointment. When I got home, my house was sparkling clean!!! What a glorious smell to walk in to! She then informed me that she will be coming every few weeks on her day off to clean my house so that Alan doesn't have to do it on his days off. That is incredibly generous! Alan so didn't mind doing it, in fact, he was a really great sport about it! And, always did such a nice job without a single word of complaint. Really a rock star of a husband, but I am glad that mom offered to help him out a little bit. It was a really sweet offer. Hopefully we'll find out in a few weeks that this thing is gone, and I can get off my tail and carry my weight around here :) Until then, I am so thankful for all the help I am getting.

I brought home another ultrasound picture yesterday, and instantly Maci said, "Mom, it looks like a jelly bean!" So, we are now calling the baby our jelly bean. How cute is she!! This new baby has two big sisters eager to get their hands on it! Watch out little one!!!

Our Newest Little Miracle

I am so happy to say that we are expecting our number three! This little peanut will be here sometime at the beginning of May. We are beyond excited! I have really prayed for this miracle for sometime now and have to pinch myself that it has finally happened.

A week after we found out that we were expecting, I had a huge scare. I was being silly with our youngest and I swung her into her carseat and immediately started bleeding. I went to the emergency room to be checked out and left pretty much thinking that we had lost our baby. The ER Dr. was terrible and never even considered another possible cause for the bleeding. Anyway, it was a very long weekend of bedrest and "wait and see." On Monday I had my levels rechecked and found out on Tuesday that they not only doubled (the dr wanted them to double in three days) but they more than quadrupled! That was quite a relief to say the least, but not nearly as relieving as seeing our baby's heartbeat on an ultrasound that Friday! It was the tiniest little miracle I have ever seen. A little dot with an even smaller dot going about 150 beats a minute! Praise the Lord! The scripture I continuously prayed over our sweet baby is:

"For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:13-16

Well, we have had several additional Dr's appointments and other ultrasounds and the baby appears to be perfectly healthy! Me on the other hand, I have a small subchorionic hemorrhage, which is a blood clot. My understanding is that it has the potential to burst and could cause harm to our baby, but if I take it easy and don't do much, it can just dissolve back into my body within a few weeks. That is what we are praying for. I am pretty much a couch potato these days, and feel pretty silly about it because I FEEL perfectly fine like I could be up doing my normal stuff, but I know the threat, so I am being a good girl on the couch! My Dr. will be keeping an eye on the clot every other week or so with the hope that it will go away on its own very soon. I just feel unbelievably blessed to be carrying this child, and I am confident that the Lord will put His heeling hands on my body and protect our beautiful little one.

I am only 9 weeks preggo, but looking at me you would think I was over 3 months along. The bump poked out a LOT sooner this time around. Every time Alan looks my direction, he just laughs at my belly. Its so funny! He is very excited about this little one too. So much more relaxed than with our first two pregnancies. He says its because now he knows its all ok. He says its just different this time. Yeah! I thought of all our pregnancies, this one is the one that would have him nervous. 3 kiddos is a lot! But I guess not. Since he's so "experienced," he knows he's a pro at this daddy business and is just relaxed and excited. It is very cute and really reassuring, especially when I start to get a little nervous about it all. He's the greatest daddy in all the world, so this child is already blessed beyond belief!

The girls are pretty excited too. Maci has a small fear of boys (they are loud and rough she says) so she is hoping we have a girl. She says if its a boy, we can keep him while he's a baby, but when he gets big we can give him to a family that really wants a baby. Yikes! I asked her if we could do the same thing with her, and she quickly saw the flaw in that idea :) She wants to name a girl Abby Cadabby, or a boy The Count. No, we never watch Sesame Street. There was a short Sesame Street performance one night while we were in Jamaica and they got attached quickly. Payton wants a "brudda." She says she wants to change that baby's diaper. Done. I'm off the hook for diaper detail. She thinks that Elmo is a great name for a boy and that Boopa is a suitable name for a girl ( I think that comes from a show called yo Gabba Gabba??) She is a little bummed that mommy can't carry her around anymore, so she likes to cuddle with me on the couch while Maci is at preschool. She says when the baby gets here, I can hold her all the time and daddy can hold the new baby. Keep in mind she is 3 in a month, a little big for all that holding! She has it in her head that she's still my little baby! I'll take it! They grow up way too fast.

We have 4 or 5 friends who are due in the same 4 month time period with their third babies, so we should all have a ton of fun spoiling these #3's while their siblings are all in school/preschool. Alan and I are really looking forward to these uncharted waters. Our families both stopped at 2, so this is going to be new to us all. Alan has one brother and I have one sister, and we have now agreed to let ours outnumber us! Yikes! May seems like such a long way off, so I hope it goes fast. I just can't wait to get my hands on this child. Once May gets here, I hope time will then stand still. Although I'll be new to this mother of three thing, I am a veteran and know full well just how fast the time flies by when you've got kiddos. I know enough to know, that I will have to cherish every single second of it...even the up all night, tired out of my mind part, because I will NEVER get the opportunity to do it again!

Princess Prep School

We signed Maci up for Princess Prep School and it was last week. She had the best time learning what it means to be a true princess, a daughter of The King. I was very impressed with the camp, and she really seemed to learn a lot. On a more shallow note, I loved getting to fuss over hair and dresses every morning. She insisted on wearing a dress every day, and so that is what she wore. What a doll! Anyway, I hope to see the seeds that were planted this week come to life in her little heart. On Friday, she had a Royal Graduation. She dressed in her Cinderella dress-up clothes. Cute. She sang a song, said a "Princess Prayer" and did awesome. Her Granddaddy blessed us by driving to Houston for her big day. We were thrilled that he could make it. After her ceremony, we celebrated with a McDonald's meal. When Alan came home, he gave her a graduation present to let her know how proud of her we were. What a special way to celebrate being a girl in God's Kingdom!

Maci before Princess School one day

Maci before Princess Graduation DayPayton before Maci's graduationme and my beautiful princessMaci and her special guest, Granddaddy!celebratory lunch at McD's daddy giving his princess her gift