Derek finished off a SUPER successful cross country season at the beginning of November with a trip to the state cross country meet with two of his runners. Me and the twins tagged along and it was a great trip. Both runners did well and it was a great way to end the season. The meet itself was a little hectic with the twins, but we all survived and they crashed in the car on the way home.
The end of cross country brought on the beginning on basketball, even though Derek had been doing double duty for a few weeks. Basketball is literally the craziest time of the year. During cross country, Derek always practiced in the morning and was able to be home at a decent hour every day, except for trip days. Basketball means late nights, most nights, with the majority of the time Mommy being alone for dinner, bath, and bed-time.
It is a HARD time for this Mama...especially as this belly keeps growing and growing! But one thing I have learned through being a coach's kid and wife is that coaching is my husband's calling. It is his mission field. When my days are long, his days are too. While I have two littles to take care of, he has over 30+ kids that he is reaching on a daily basis. Pouring into their lives. Giving of himself. He works long, hard hours to do what he loves and gives glory to God in all circumstances.
I am SO PROUD of the job that he does. It is hard. For all of us. But it is so rewarding to see God working in his life. One thing that I learned from my mother and my experiences, is that as a wife, I need to be supportive of his calling. That means keeping the fires going at home and going to support him every chance I get. It is so important to me to show the kids what Daddy does for a living. It has become harder this year, because every morning and night they ask for "da-da". And when I tell them he is at work, they don't quite understand. But they do know that Dada coaches the Bulldogs. So every chance we can, we go and see him and yell "Go Dogs!" They will see their daddy being the hands and feet of Jesus. I know from first hand experience that it doesn't always seem fair that he spends more time with other people's kids, but I know that one day (and that may not be until he retires!) they will understand the work God was doing through his life. And I want Derek to know that the three (and a half) of us are his biggest fans and supporters!
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| GO DOGS! |
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| Our favorite coach! |
My Growing Belly
This pregnancy seems to be SO completely different than last one in SO many ways, that for awhile, I would forget that I was even pregnant! Around week 20 or so, I stopped being able to forget because my belly was TOO big to ignore. I am ALMOST to the 26 week mark and so far this has been a smooth-sailing pregnancy. What a change from last pregnancy which was super high risk! Last time I was monitored pretty much 24-7 throughout with sonograms, appointments, blood-draws, etc. This time, I'm just kinda normal. Which I take as a HUGE blessing!
I had a check-up at 22 weeks and a check-up at 26 weeks and both were super fast and easy. Our 20 week sonogram was completely normal, although our little monkey is SUPER major active! This baby kicks CONSTANTLY...day and night. He/she kicks Tucker and Adelyn anytime they are close and has started rolling around where I can feel it move over my belly. It is DEFINITELY a mover! Heart-rates have been anywhere from the 140's to the 160's, depending on the day. We still do not know if it is a HE or a SHE and we LOVE not knowing. It's been a fun change this time around!
Time seems to have gone super quick! I rarely have time to stop and think about the pregnancy, because I am usually preoccupied with chasing the twins! Last time, all I did was think about my pregnancy, my babies, my health, etc. I feel like I was a little selfish through it all, but I know it was just a different experience and God's timing. I am thankful for that pregnancy and all of the joy that I felt throughout. It was physically harder. I was much more uncomfortable much earlier on. This time around, I am able to be more active and HAVE to be more active with two busy toddlers. As much as I would love some time to relax, they are helping keep me active and moving. Which is good! They love to check on the baby throughout the day, pretend like they have babies of their own, and give both me and the baby LOTS of kisses. I know that it will be quite an adjustment come March, but PRAISE God for such a wonderful adjustment to have to make!
Things are about to start changing again as far as pregnancy goes. I have about 2 weeks left in this trimester and then at 28 weeks I will start going in every 2 weeks for checks. It's hard to believe we are already at this point, but I am full of excitement at what is to come in our little family. I can't wait to meet this new baby, know if it is a boy or a girl, see who it looks like, and have another baby to love and hold. I'm sure it will be a circus around our house for awhile as we all adjust to being a family of five. But for now, I am thankful and excited. I am also going to enjoy our last precious moments and times as a family of four, especially this holiday season!
*Please pray for me too as this pregnancy progresses and basketball season continues! I am praying for continued health, feeling good and active, and being able to continue to care for my children, work, and support my husband in this last trimester!
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| 20 Weeks |
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| 22 Weeks |
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| 24 Weeks |
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| 26 Weeks (Ignore the hair and clothes...this was this morning before Derek went to work!) |
Growing and Changing
Daddy's seasons have changed, Mommy's body has changed, and oh my have our two crazies been changing! They are growing and developing SO RAPIDLY these days! I LOVE LOVE LOVE seeing the world through their eyes! Each day is a new adventure, filled with new words, new capabilities, new loves, and new dislikes. They are both becoming much more verbal, are developing physically, able to run and climb with little assistance, and developing new interests. Our house is quite busy most days, full of music, dancing, reading, and playing. We love to play outside and have LONG days when it is too cold to go outside! Here are a few of their latest developments:
Tucker Boy
Still my soft-hearted mama's boy, but is 100% a BOY! All the way! He loves to throw balls, play outside, dig with sticks, make lots of noise, yell, grunt, and wrestle. He is soft-hearted when he gets in trouble and will cry if he is upset. He hates when sissy is upset or hurt and is quick to say "so sorry". His vocabulary is bigger than Adelyn's and he talks or babbles constantly. He LOVES to read, can sing "Up above the" in the song "Twinkle Twinkle" and loves Elmo and Mickey. He is a big fan of trucks, cars, and anything with wheels. Lately, he is much more willing to go to others, where he used to be more particular. His favorite thing to yell is "GO DOGS" and he loves to watch any type of sports. He is a much pickier eater, but has been doing much better lately. He is still my precious precious boy and holds a special place in Mama's heart!
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| Has there ever been a cuter little boy??? |
Adelyn Marie
Oh my sunshine girl. She has had us rolling since day one with her funny personality and she continues to make us laugh throughout each day. Adelyn is super silly, makes goofy faces, smiles, sounds, and dances. She LOVES to read and will continue to bring me books as long as I sit and read. She loves being with Mommy and being my helper. She will follow me throughout the house while I clean up, get ready, and cook. She REALLY likes to dance, swing, play with Baby Lulu, and dress up. She has grown quite a bit lately, and seems to have longer legs than before. She has done such a good job climbing and running, where she used to be much more wobbly. And man does this girl LOVE to eat! She can get down on some pizza, chocolate cake, rice and gravy, or macaroni and cheese (like her mama?). She gives the sweetest kisses, has lots of spunk, and tends to be in trouble more than bubba! We will have lots of fun with this one as she grows!
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| So much SASS! |
***The GOOD pictures were taken by the AMAZING Miss Ashley Doss! She did such a good job despite it being pouring rain!!!
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