It's a..............................

GRACEFUL.G0RGE0US.GENTLE
GENUINE.GLAM0R0US.GLISTENING
GLEEFUL.GLITTERING.GL0RI0US

GIRL

AND WE ARE GRATEFUL!!!

And as far as our other big news, stay tuned for an announcement later today...

June 5th

0ne 0f my fav0rite days ever.

(the 0 0n 0ur keypad quit w0rking and bl0gger's spell check d0esn't rec0gnize h0w t0 change the zer0's t0 the letter 0's. S0 bear with my big 0's please!)

T0m0rr0w is 0ur BIG day! N0t 0nly will we be celebrating the miracle (yes miracle) 0f 10 years 0f marriage, but we will als0 get a special little, n0 let's make that HUGE, present t0 celebrate 0ur l0ve. Getting a peak at 0ur little l0ve blessing is the best gift we c0uld ever h0pe f0r. And t0 find 0ut the gender w0uld be just an extra special little package 0n t0p!

I am s0 anxi0us t0 see if the maj0rity is right in guessing that we have a baby b0y 0n the way. Gracie 0f c0urse has been r00ting f0r a sister since day 0ne but C0lt0n 0n the 0therhand and n0w Fletch t00 are h0ping f0r an0ther little br0ther t0 j0in the team. Alth0ugh C0lt0n did admit the 0ther day that he thinks it's a girl even th0ugh he really, really wants a b0y. And he was right 0n in guessing that Fletcher was a b0y s0 we'll see t0m0rr0w h0w g00d he is at his guesstimates. We all have certainly c0me t0 the agreement h0wever that the gender truly d0esn't matter.

I kn0w we all say that in g00d means, but truly just t0 be blessed with the gift 0f sight is huge. And hearing is an0ther b0nus. Then there's walking and talking. Th0se are all n0t s0 little things that we frequently take f0r granted.

At the girls ballet perf0rmance this weekend, there were tw0 dances c0nsisting 0f severly special needs children and adults. T0 say I l0st it is an understatement. I c0uldn't get tw0 w0rds 0ut. T0 see these preci0us children 0f G0d 0n stage shining brightly with sweet smiles and giving it everything they g0t was truly breathtaking. S0me c0uldn't walk. S0me c0uldn't talk. And s0me c0uld really b00gie 0n d0wn. But each was gifted in s0 many ways.

After we g0t h0me that day, the kids and I had such a great talk ab0ut h0w every0ne 0f us is given blessings. 0ne little girl c0uldn't walk but man was she blessed with the m0st beautiful smile. An0ther little girl struggled t0 walk her way acr0ss stage but she c0uld really shake s0me maracas.

Truly, truly, truly, in each and every way, it d0esn't make a single difference what gender G0d selected t0 add t0 0ur family. We are just praying f0r sight. F0r m0bility. F0r a beautiful smile. What a gift that w0uld be!

After all the excitement 0f the ultras0und is 0ver, J0sh and I have s0me special plans f0r the rest 0f the day. All I can say is this day is g0ing t0 be filled with m0re celebrati0ns than I can even say right n0w! But I can't wait t0 tell y0u all ab0ut it! It truly is g0ing t0 be a day t0 remember!!!

We will be spending the night and Saturday relaxing at Jupiter Beach Res0rt. I am all decked 0ut with a new bikini (I guess the fashi0nistas call them tankini's) that will actually c0ver up my c00kin' timer. Y0u kn0w the little butt0n ab0ut mid secti0n that p0ps 0ut when the turkeys d0ne? Well mine p0pped as s00n as that little white stick sh0wed tw0 lines. But I'm ready t0 sp0rt my new haircut and tankini rain 0r shine!

Here are s0me pictures 0f the girls ballet perf0rmance 0n Saturday. All three 0f them did c0mpletely awes0me! We all celebrated by g0ing 0ut t0 lunch afterwards at the restraunt 0f their ch0ice, Cracker Barrel. Yes, It was a delightful day!

{kaya, gracie and ava wearing their disguises while preparing t0 watch the first half 0f the sh0w}



{gracie 0pening up her act by calling all the 0ther little 0rchids 0ut 0n stage. man she can be s0 very brave at times!}


{gracie fr0nt left}

{0h h0w I l0ve that smile! What a gift!}

{just l00k at these pr0ud br0thers!}

{gracie and her ballet instruct0r 0f three years, miss mina}

{h0w lucky these three girls are t0 have each 0ther. I can see Gracie's wedding n0w. She'll have tw0 0f the m0st beautiful and sweetest bridesmaids ever standing by her side.}

Stay tuned f0r the big ann0uncements t0m0rr0w!!! Yes, ann0uncementS! And n0, it's n0t twins! Remember, we're just praying f0r a smile. ; )

On My Heart

My Toothless Wonder

Yesterday evening while Josh and I were in our room watching the movie Fireproof while the kids were in their rooms playing quietly tearing up the house acting like animals, Colton comes running into our bedroom with this news...

"I lost another tooth!". This time Fletcher did the job for him so I didn't have to. According to Colton, Fletcher head butted him and knocked his very loose tooth right out. So the tooth fairy made another appearance to our house five days after her first visit. The boy's racking up the dough I tell ya!

And here is a sneak peak of Gracie, Ava and Kaya's ballet costumes for their upcoming performance on the 30th.

Aren't they just the sweetest? I sure think so!

16 weeks

The kids and I went to see Lori (my midwife who also delivered Gracie and Fletcher at home) today for my 16 week checkup. So far things are looking pretty good with this baby. His or her heartbeat sounded like a running stallion as it measured at 157 beats per minute. That's a pretty amazing sound to hear that I never grow tired of.
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Sometimes it's hard to imagine that a human life is growing inside of me like another Colton, Gracie or Fletcher in the making. It's hard to picture the amazing love and bond that I will have for this child but I know it's real and I'm all too aware of the powerful feelings that it brings. And I'm ready! He or she is inside of my womb growing and moving and becoming another little one that we will love so dearly.

We scheduled my ultrasound for June 5th which also happens to be our 10 year wedding anniversary. What a doubly special day it will be! I think I have convinced myself to find out the gender this time. I had a peace with Fletcher that I just didn't want to know until the birth and in the end, there was truly nothing like that wonderful surprise we received. So many people had us convinced it was a girl that the look of shock on Josh's face will be forever embedded in my memory. Lord help us if wild Fletcher was a girl. We would have been in BIG trouble! But through my pregnancy I never stopped to really wonder and imagine what I was having. I really had a strange peace that allowed me to be patient and enjoy the surprise.

This time however I am so curious. Especially since about 90% of folks believe I'm having a boy. I truly don't even know what to guess but I have had two dreams so far if that ever means anything. The first one I had a girl and in the second dream I had a boy. So I guess that really doesn't help me too much.

In two weeks five days we'll know. Hopefully.

Back to everyday life, the kids are wrapping up another school year. Sigh.... we survived another one! They had their testing and evaluations on May 2nd so that gave us the extra reassurance that homeschooling really is working out well for these two little students of mine. And after attending Gracie's kindergarten graduation with Olivet Private School and the end of the year ceremony with Sonshine Christian Academy, which recognizes each children's accomplishments of finishing their school year, we officially have a 1st and 3rd grader!

{Gracie preparing for her graduation}

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{receiving her diploma and medal}

{C & G were very excited by their end of the school year gift from Grandma and Papa}

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Sonshine had a fun Mexican fiesta themed night.

{Colton receiving his end of the year certificate}

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{Gracie being asked "what she wants to be when she grows up". Her answer, a ballet teacher.}

I can handle the fact that Colton is now in third grade but something about knowing that baby girl of mine is now a first grader just doesn't settle right. I know she is and I saw the proof that in most areas she tested at a 2nd grade level but it just doesn't seem possible to me to think of her in that way. Will it ever though? Will I be saying the same thing at her high school graduation? Probably Most definitely.

In the meantime we will just enjoy the summer with our friends like we have already begun to do.

We had some tragic, tragic news with our chicks. The night that we dropped most of them off at the farm, something got to the remaining ones. We don't know what it was, whether it was Bob the bobcat or someone else but all we found the next morning was feathers. So this ended our chicken farming experience. Maybe some other year we'll try for round two, who knows.

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But I do know that we surely enjoyed our brief encounter of farm life. Especially with this cutie around!

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Mother's Day was a blast! After teaching Sunday school to the little ones at church, we went out on the boat with family. We stopped by Shrimpers first for a nice Mother's Day lunch where the dad's were on duty, followed by a nice relaxing day at the sandbar. I think I only got up from my chair twice maybe? All I know is I hardly did a thing that day except for take advantage of what day it was and it was nice. Really nice.

{Kaya and Gracie at Shrimper's}

{Kelly and I enjoying this moment of peace and quiet while the kids were being taken care of}

{Aunt Joyce and the kiddos}

{Gracie and Yaya}

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For Josh's mom Gracie and I worked on a little sewing project this year. For Mother's Day we made her a bread quilt (or cookie quilt in this case) to go along with the cookies we made her. My girl loves to sew! Oh, and bake too!

{Tessa smells some yummy lemon cookies all wrapped up for Grandma!}

Lastly and probably about the biggest news of all...

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News that we've waited a long 8 years and 2 1/2 months for...

{Colton with his pillow that my mom got for him when he was a wee little baby. I was wondering if we'd ever get to use it!}

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It may have taken the ole' dental floss tied to a door knob trick but my boy was ready and brave and it worked first try.