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!