Thirty Days of Gratitude

This is the time of year where I become more accutely aware of the many blessings God has bestowed upon me. And so for the next month, I set about putting pen to paper, fingers to keys, to simply put into words that for which I am so very thankful.


1. Family...my amazing husband who's a fantastic father to our three rugrats. And those three little ones who frustrate me, delight me, bring joy into our lives and bring me to my knees daily.
Daily I thank God for the gift of my family!

2. Sunshine...after days of rainy, cold, gloomy weather, God sends the sun to dry out the land. Our bodies ache to be outside, soaking up the rays and so we go, enjoying the creation that we've been given the privilege to be a part of.

3. The privilege to vote...the freedom to voice my opinions, the ability to help choose our next leaders. What an awesome responsibility!

4. Childhood...what fun to experience it again through my own children. Climbing tractors and trees, raking leaves, searching for acorns, driving, reading books, cooking...through the growing up and "maturing" process, I somehow forgot that there is joy to be found in the simplest things. Finding a wooly bear is a delight, jumping in leaf piles brings laughter and smiles; flour, salt and sugar on the floor can be cleaned but the pure enjoyment of interacting with kids while cooking can never be replaced. May I never grow too old to enjoy the little things!

A Halloween of Firsts

• Dressing up...per Andrew's request, we have Farmer Andrew and his herd. Sister Marc playing the role of pig and baby brother playing the role of cow. It was our first time trick-or-treating (in the rain) and Marcail really enjoyed the candy! She also perfected saying Thank You...quickly learning that candy didn't go in her bag unless she used her manners.

• Carving pumpkins with the kids...a first for us. Yes, these are the pumpkins from our infamous pumpkin patch visit.

• Baby's First Halloween...which automatically makes me think of four years ago when we began this journey into the crazy, chaotic world of parenthood with...

Andrew's First Halloween. The boys are three years, 51 weeks apart in age. And so, Andrew and Ethan are about the same age in these two photos. Time certainly flies when you're having fun!

Overheard at the Doctor's Office

When asked at his four year checkup what he wants to be for Halloween, Andrew replied: "I'm going to be a farmer, Marcail a pig, Ethan a cow, the next one will be a sheep and the next one a donkey." I didn't know whether the doctor wanted to laugh hysterically or sign me up for a psych evaluation!

A day at the pumpkin patch...

...netted two big pumpkins, two little pumpkins, and one little peanut named Ethan Lowell!

10 October -- exactly one month before my due date of 10 November -- and we're off to Frederick, MD, to enjoy the day at my favorite pumpkin patch. After a few hours playing outside with the kids, we would enjoy dinner with my cousins before heading home...that was the plan, at least. But we quickly learned that God's plans are not ours and God's timing is far better than ours ever could or would be.

Two hours into our adventure with the kids, I decided to sit out the hayride to the pumpkin patch in favor of visiting the bathroom. By the time Drew and the kids returned, I was ready to rest my feet in the Tahoe while they enjoyed the rides in the barrels on wheels, jumped on the giant pillow and crawled in the corn. Twenty minutes later (and a lot of googling "labor pains" on Drew's blackberry), I called Drew and simply said, "You need to come now." Who knew that labor could come so fast and so furious?

The kids are now strapped in their car seats and we are frantically making our way south, trying to decide what to do with our oldest two as it's becoming more and more evident that Baby White is not about to wait to make his appearance into this world. "Holiday weekend, friends out of town, parents two hours away...let's see if we can get the teenagers who babysit for us to watch the kids till my parents arrive." Here's where I get to tell you how incredibly awesome God's timing and His plans for us are...

You see, these teenagers were supposed to be apple picking on Saturday, but those plans were cancelled. Instead, the entire family decided to attend an arts and crafts festival, a mere 20 miles south of Frederick. And so, we met them at an exit along the interstate, switched vehicles and took their car straight to the hospital. They took my children home, played with them, loved them, fed them AND cleaned my house, while my parents began the two hour journey southbound.

Ethan was born less than three hours later...by that time, my parents were in Virginia and Drew was able to head home to show off pictures of our little boy, pack clothes for our oldest two and switch vehicles with our friends. Because it was a holiday weekend, my mother had off work and was able to keep Andrew and Marc with her the entire time instead of sending them off to play with their cousins. And because Ethan arrived in God's time, of his own accord, I was able to avoid a repeat c-section and leave the hospital 36 hours later, making recovery a breeze!

My non-stop prayer that last few months of pregnancy was that Andrew and Marcail would be well cared for while I was in the hospital. That they wouldn't need to be sent to three or four different places to accommodate others' work schedules, leaving them feeling displaced. Because we know that my babies stop growing the last few weeks, I even contemplated scheduling a c-section just so that I would have control of the schedule. How silly I am to think that I can control such things!!

God didn't give me enough time to make plans for Ethan's arrival. He did, however, speak very clearly to us about His perfect plans. While Ethan was premature, he was my biggest baby yet and had the shortest hospital stay. The staff at the hospital was fantastic...our nurse was a Christian who admitted that she prayed me through delivery. And best of all, I'm not recovering from a c-section ... I feel fantastic and food tastes good again!

"A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." (Proverbs 16:9)

Naming Baby

As my sweet spouse would say, we are B minus five weeks and counting...the nesting is in full swing...and we think Baby White may finally have a name. Naming our first two children was relatively easy: Andrew was named after Drew who was named after his grandfather, Andrew. Easy Peasy, right? Marcail was also easy; I read the name in a book written by Lori Wicke years ago and always wanted to give my daughter. Drew liked the name and so we have our sweet Marcail, also known as Marc, Marky, Marcaily and Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.

That brings us to baby White #3 -- a boy. His middle name will be Lowell...after Drew's father who passed away two years ago. Have you ever tried to find a first name that goes well with Lowell? It's not as easy as you may think. Andrew has been full of suggestions which are usually derived from one of the many books we are reading: Alfalfa, Wilbur, Gideon, Jonah, Zaccheus, Laban, Templeton, Pinkerton, Stuart, Tractor Mac, Gussy, Froggy, Little Bear; you get the idea.

Mom and dad have been a little more practical in our considerations, taking only two of Andrew's suggestions seriously. And so, I leave you with the list of names we've pondered...and will reveal to you our final choice when Baby Boy finally makes his much awaited appearance.

Will it be: Gideon, Jonah, Josiah, Matthew, Ethan, Jonathan, Samuel, William, Liam or Wil? Stay tuned to find out!!

Andrew, enjoying one of the rides at Dutch Wonderland.

Marc, showing off her sense of style...she is opinionated when it comes to clothes!

It was a nice break away from the computer this summer...a self-imposed mommy rule that the computer didn't get turned on when the children were awake for fear that I would get sucked into the vortex of the world wide web. But, I'm back...most of the painting is done; pictures are slowly being hung on the walls, furniture is being moved from room to room and baby clothes have finally been dug out of the basement in anticipation of our new arrival. My TO-DO list has been slashed in half, and in half again...and still won't be finished in the next few weeks. But, we find as the time for number three draws closer, we're enjoying every minute spent as a family of four before the dynamics change. And so, I share with you some highlights of the last few weeks we've spent together, basking in the blessedness of being a family.

Two glorious days spent in Pennsylvania at the Solanco Fair. Tractors, french fries, milk shakes, playgrounds and the company of one another...I am often moved to tears to watch my two little blessings interact with one another as friends.

Random Thoughts

Completely random thoughts on this 30th of June:

• It's a boy! 20+ weeks down, that many more to go. I wasn't at all surprised to find out that this new little one is a boy...the nausea and misery that goes with any and all food is still strong, just as it was with Andrew. I feel as if I could hibernate for the next four months. But, we're happy to report that baby White #3 is already bigger than his siblings at this age, which leaves us hopeful that we may have a 5 1/2 pound baby!
• I am running out of breakfast ideas for my kids. What do you feed your kids? Mine don't like sugary cereal, we're overdosed on pancakes, yogurt and oatmeal and Marc can't eat eggs. UGH...what's a mom to do? Are popsicles considered breakfast?
• I have less than two weeks to finish prepping to teach Bible School. Last year I had 39 kindergarteners...the chaos that ensues with this many kids is overwhelming. My only hope is that I'm prepared enough to come home each day and nap.
• Why is it that my daughter is so strong willed and opinionated? Daily her vocabulary increases but when we can't understand what she wants, the world may as well be coming to an end.
• How do I get my soon to be 4 year old to stop sucking his thumb? We're already wondering what orthodontics will cost!
• Why do I feel the need to be super mom and does my house really have to be that clean? What if I would prefer to spend my hours painting the baby blue trim to white in my bedroom instead of cleaning toilets? And where oh where is the power cord to my sewing machine...I have curtains to sew.
• And finally, where did June go? Where did May go for that matter? Are we really headed into July...and will time please slow down? I have things to accomplish before we add another little one to this already crazy family!

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!

Another rainy morning here in Northern VA and mommy is going a little stir crazy!

We've played endless games of hide and seek, made three new batches of kool-aid playdough and embarked on, not one, but two art projects: watercolor letters and splatter painting in the rain. Puzzles have been brought out, train tracks built and I've lost count of how many books we've read. How many more hours till naptime? :-) And sun, when will you come back?

One of our watercolor projects: A for Andrew. M for Marcail, D for Daddy and G for Grandma are all drying as I write.

Oh and before I close, let's talk about the recent conversation I had with Andrew regarding work and life and babies: "Mommy when I'm 7 I want to be a farmer and drive tractors." When he's 14, he wants to be a mailman but that's short lived because at 15, he wants to be a pirate. Somedays I think maybe we read too many books, especially since Delphinium Twinkle is the name he's chosen for the baby if it's a girl. And Gideon Wilbur if it's a boy. We'll get back to you on those, son!

A Very Magical Place

No, it's not Magic Kingdom at Disney World, or Hershey Park, "The sweetest place on earth": it's my hometown, Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania. You won't find it on a map, but if you search Southern Lancaster County, better known to the locals as SOLANCO, look for a dot on Route 222 labeled Wakefield and it's here that I grew up. From a young age, I knew that I wanted to leave...I wanted to see the world, experience life outside of Amish country. And thankfully, my very wise parents never discouraged me, never held me back, never said no. You're always welcomed back with open arms and so, as an adult with small children, it's a joy to go back and watch my children experience some of the same carefree childhood that I had growing up.

Here's a quick look at a recent visit the kids and I just enjoyed:


My childhood home, as viewed from the seat of the "Farmall 806", Andrew's favorite tractor and the one that I learned to drive as a ten year old. Many a load of firewood was hauled in that tractor during my tenure on Goat Hill Road.


The spring heifers in the field...they run and kick and jump and bawl throughout the day. A sign that life continues, that with time, they'll produce the rich, creamy milk that tastes oh so delicious right from the milk tank.



Barking dogs...they bark and chase passing Amish buggies, spring heifers and Farmall 806's! So much bark but not a bit of bite. This is our dog, Ace, who left us for the open fields of Lancaster County and the spoiling of my very dear mother.


My grandfather, the kids' great pop-pop as he is affectionately called. 80+ years old and the man still puts in 10 hour work days (minimum usually) fixing and restoring tractors in the shop. The shop is a magical place for young children (and mommies too!) Here we get to play in grease, use tools set aside just for our use, ride up and down on the jack, laugh at mommy's childhood writing that was used to organize and label nuts and bolts, climb down in the car pit to look under tractors or trucks or cars...the hours we spend here are too many to count.



We know that chickens give us eggs and that they really are fresher straight from the chicken coop. Thanks to family and neighbors in PA, we rarely have to buy eggs from the grocery store.


A trip to PA isn't complete without tickles from Pop-Pop...and a visit to our favorite store: Maplehofe.


Because you see, at Maplehofe, you can buy ice cream cones at 9 am and no one looks at you like you have two heads. They applaud your support of the dairy industry. And, they only charge 1.00 for an single scoop ice cream cone. So, seconds are definitely a must!!

If you ever find yourself vacationing in Lancaster, PA, call me first. I know the stores to visit, the sights to see...I can line up tractor rides and egg gathering experiences. If you want to milk a cow, I can show you how to do it. And if you need a magical place to run, jump on hay bales, sit in the grass or dig in the dirt, I'll join you on Goat Hill Road and we can all feel like kids again for just a little bit.

April, oh April, where didst thou go?

I remember dyeing Easter Eggs: in fact, I found the last missing one (yes, a real one), inside just yesterday. No smell until the little one smashed it into pieces.

I remember Easter Sunday: getting dressed up for church, singing the Hallelujah Chorus, rejoicing because we serve a RISEN savior, celebrating the holiday with 60 other family members, hunting for eggs and flying kites.

Ahh...my kitchen is back in functioning order. There are still the little things to do: lights, some electrical, crown moulding; but the cabinets are in, the countertops are beautiful and the dishwasher is functioning!

I even had help unpacking the boxes!

No more green shag carpet, no more subfloors...we have beautiful hardwood floors, great for blanket rides, sock ice skating, and monster truck races.

But that also means no more writing on floors: did you catch that kids? ALL of you...

Oh, yes...Now I remember where April went: I was in a fog, in a daze, in a cloud of exhaustion, sickness and surprise. We were blessed to discover that we will be bringing another little one into this world in late October/early November. Thirteen weeks down; perhaps the sickness will begin to subside and the milkshake cravings will set in...

In the meantime, I'm going to count my blessings, not the least of which include these three wonderful people who fill my life with great joy!

From the mouths of babes..

My high school friends will tell you that English was my best and easiest subject. Since I went to school in the days BEFORE papers had to be typed, I was notorious for sitting at the lunch table and whipping out a paper that was due the next period. And usually, I would get an A on it. It infuriated my friends to no end...but I've always been a lover of words. (And a despiser of typographical errors...I actually had to sit on a Christmas Eve program from the chapel service in Germany because it was so typo laden and took my focus from the service itself!!)

And so, I see that I am passing this love, just simply by talking, to my children. One of my all time favorite words is discombobulated...and so today, my son, after getting dressed by himself, asks me: "Mommy, am I all combobulated now?" I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or smile with pride.

And later on this afternoon: "Andrew, what are you going to say to Grandmommy and Pop-Pop on Sunday?" "Happy Easter Indeed!" (From Sunday School: "He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed." )

Son, you crack me up. On the lousiest of days, you can bring a smile to my face. Now, could you teach your sister to say more than Mommy, uh-oh, and Ooo-ooo???

In a blink of an eye...

Why is it that the days can seem so long and when I look back, it was only yesterday that we welcomed March with an East Coast "snow storm?" What have I been doing in these last three weeks? Where has the time gone?

• I'm happy to say that we conquered potty training in the last three weeks. Praise God! Our monthly diaper bill dropped and my three year old is an official big boy! We are so very proud of him.


• We also faced a full ten + days of sickness. I am STILL catching up on laundry!!


• Our cranky, fussy little girl was diagnosed with allergies: wheat and eggs to be exact. And so, we're learning to adjust to a new diet. Between the kids and my hubby, I need a spreadsheet to determine who can eat what.


• We're still in the midst of kitchen renovations: the cabinets and appliances are here, there, and everywhere as we finish prepping the walls for priming and painting. The end is in sight...and yet I still feel so far away from having a functioning kitchen.

Some days I read other's blogs about what they're doing with their children and what's going on in their lives and I feel like such an inadequate mother. Especially on those days when our biggest accomplishment is getting out of bed! And so I keep coming back to these words from Romans that are (usually) posted on my refrigerator:

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2, The Message

Do you see what I see in here?

• "God helping you": I'm not alone in this journey of motherhood. And on those days when all we do is fold laundry and play countless games of Bingo, read the same books again and again...this life is pleasing to God.


• "Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him." Wow! All I have to do is look around at the people I live with to see what God has done for me...and I am silent, awestruck, humbled by the blessings bestowed upon me.


• "God brings the best out of you." Thank you Lord because if it were up to me most days...

Andrew has been going around the house singing and signing "What a Mighty God We Serve" and when I stop to hear his little voice praising God, I am gently reminded that my everyday, ordinary life is pleasing to Him...and it should be pleasing to me as well. Let it be so, Lord. Let it be so.

SNOW DAY

Our world, at 7 am...peaceful, silent, snowy, still, beautiful. I stand in awe of thousands of tiny snowflakes falling to the earth, covering the ground in beauty.



7:45 am: Andrew and Daddy enjoy a good snowball fight while shoveling the driveway before daddy has to report to work, two hours late.

11:30 am: a tradition in the Holloway household. On the first snow day of the season, my mom made homemade donuts while my cousins and I were sledding on goat hill; a tradition that I am more than happy to carry on and share with my own children (minus the sledding on goat hill).

~2:00 pm: donuts are cut with fun cookie cutters by Andrew and mommy and are ready for their second rise of the day.

3:45 pm: the oil is hot and the donuts are a'fryin. Daddy walks in the door to yummy hot goodness right out of the pan.

Can you see why we LOVE snow days?