Bargain hunting at its best!

Monday we had a piano concert and attending the concert were Grandpa Fred (namesake of our Noah Frederick) and Grandma Pat! They brought along their finds from the prior weekend's yard sales! Here are some of the fruits of their labors for their grandson, Noah!!!Each item, all name brands, was $0.10 each!!! Now how can you beat a deal like that? Yippee!! You see my dear Mr. P. comes by his frugal shopping quite naturally as inspired by his very thrifty and bargain hunting dad! Mr. P. learned from the master... and I've become quite addicted myself! They say it takes around $250,000 to raise a child to the age of 17! Pish posh! The extravagant retail spender that wrote that article needs to come a take a few pointers from us! I think we could teach him a thing or two!

22 Weeks today!

Are you wondering what not-so-little Noah is doing these days? Here's his progress from the last week...

"The growing must go on! No wonder you’re getting so big, you’re now housing a wonder baby-- (that weighs nearly a pound and measures nearly a whole foot in length (30.5 cm). Their perfect little pancreas is now further developed and they’ve also started producing their own hormones! Your baby's future in the circus as a world-famous tight-rope-walker is secure: their inner ear is now developed to the point that they have their own sense of balance. Lucky for your little explorer, balance also promotes physical dexterity, which has them actively feeling out their surroundings—where skin, body parts and umbilical cord are the big sensory experiences. Your foot-long baby, is looking a bit like an oversized raisin right now as more and more wrinkles are showing up each week. Not to worry, all that excessive wrinkling is just their skin’s way of planning ahead for the time when they’ll start piling on that irresistible baby chub."

Information and picture compliments of Baby Center!

Doctor's Appointment!

Yesterday morning I had another one of my most favorite things... a visit with my terrific doctors!! Have I ever told you about them? They are a group of Christian doctors. Openly Christian doctors!! They pray with me regularly! They talk to me about the Lord's plan in our life. When we shared with them about our vasectomy reversal and that we had repented of our sin in that area, they rejoiced! There is Scripture all over their walls. Their literature talks of their belief in the sanctity of life, therefore they don't recommend any genetic testing. The list of their wonderfulness goes on and on! I would never want any other doctors! I love each and every one of them dearly and trust them completely!! These doctors are a tremendous blessing and the cream of the crop of the medical profession! I can say that without reservation because I've had some quacks so I know the difference!! (Have you heard the story of Karate Kid's entrance into the world?)

Soooo, I had a great time at the doctor's office yesterday... even though it was a simple 'poke and weigh' - as I affectionately call the uneventful appointments of middle pregnancy. I had the great opportunity of seeing the wonderful doctor who delivered little Hannah Banana and reminiscing. I haven't seen him since I was last pregnant five years ago!

Now for the fun 'stats'... Noah's heartbeat was 142 which is just perfect! I've gained three pounds so far this pregnancy which is even more perfect! And, everything else was as it should be. Cindy Lou went with me so she could hear the baby's heartbeat. Everyone made over her in her spring time pink dress so she decided she really likes my doctor much better than her own! She asked me before I went in if I was going to have to get a shot. I told her that was not likely and she breathed a visible sigh of relief. She was also quite relieved to learn there wouldn't be any 'sick people' in my doctor's office. With all the fun and merriment that went on there, I think she'll be asking to go to my doctor for her next check up! It is much more fun than her doctor, I must admit!

21 Weeks today!!

In case you were wondering, our little Noah now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long. His eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed.

As for me... "you can certainly feel him move. He's oblivious to your schedule, though, so don't be surprised if he starts working out just when you're settling down for the night. "

Information and picture compliments of Baby Center!

An ocean of beautiful tiny blue clothes!!

Here are all the wonderful finds from this weekend's garage sales and a second trip to the second hand sale I mentioned earlier!! On Saturday, all the prices at the second hand sale were 50% off the marked price and I found some incredible deals! Noah has a good start on his wardrobe... now if I could just pry myself away from the 'newborn' sizes and concentrate on some bigger sizes. But, those tiny newborn outfits are sooo cute! All that blue certainly is beautiful!!

20 Weeks Today!

Today is the big 20 week milestone!! We are halfway to seeing our little Noah Frederick!! I can hardly wait!! We took a few pictures so you could see how Noah is growing. Enjoy!

A name for our son!

(Originally posted on the Whiskers on Kittens blog the day after our sonogram... February 27, 2007)

We have a name chosen for our second son... it's a name we've been waiting to use for some time - chosen about two baby girls ago! Our son's name will be (drum roll, please)....

Noah Frederick

Noah is of Hebrew origin, and it means 'peaceful', 'long lived' and 'comforter'. Of course, this name is in honor of the biblical patriarch from whom all the world's nations are descended.

Frederick is of Old German origin and means 'peaceful ruler'. This name is in honor of Mr. P's father, Noah's grandfather, affectionately known to all his grandchildren as Grandpa Fred. Grandpa Fred is also a noble patriarch of a noble family... a worthy namesake for our own future patriarch.

May our Noah Frederick honor his namesakes and be a noble patriarch, the father of many children, a leader in the church, may he stand with courage in the gates, and be a mighty defender of the faith.

I guess you can tell that we are still riding on the 'It's a Boy!' cloud this morning. I can't wait to have all things blue with some snips and snails and puppy dog tails added in for good measure!

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate. " Psalm 127:3-5

The Lord's provision!

Today I went to what used to be one of my favorite second hand sales around. It is a group of moms that gathered together and had a big yard sale of all their maternity, baby and children's items. Over the years it has grown to such a huge event that the ladies now rent out an old grocery store space to house the sale! They have it twice a year and today was the first day of the week long spring/summer sale. I haven't been to this sale in a while because they don't have as much for older children and their prices are higher than garage sale prices. But, when you are in desperate need of maternity clothes or you have need for some baby equipment and itty bitty baby clothes... that are soooo adorable, I might add... this sale is the place to be!

I took Flibby with me and she was my shopping cart. As I went through the miles and miles of glorious maternity clothes, I piled Flibby higher and higher! It was a delight!! If you haven't heard me to complain of this before, let me mention that shopping for maternity clothes has been a nightmare. Have you seen what they think expecting mothers want to wear? Actually it must be what expecting mothers OTHER THAN ME want to wear because if no one were buying it, then they wouldn't be stocking it. I went to a clerk in a local maternity store a few months ago and asked her where the '40-year-old-expectant-mother' section was located. She stared at me blankly while continuing to annihilate a piece of chewing gum. It wasn't pretty... the selection or the chewing gum. If you're not a 19 year old rock star with a belly button ring (that you want to show the world!) and a tattoo (which you also want to show to the world), you can't find much in the way of maternity fashions these days. Who decided that seeing a pregnant woman's bare stomach was somehow attractive, decent, and preferred over the old fashioned custom of WEARING CLOTHES??!!

OK, enough of that soapbox! Anyway, today I was in maternity fashion paradise! It was pure bliss! The shirts were long, the dresses were longer, the pants were roomy and they covered up a blooming tummy - as opposed to riding under the tummy which I do not find comfortable at all. There were tops, skirts, capri pants, dresses... even two bathing suits that were quite attractive and fully covering. Paradise, I tell you... pure paradise! Poor Flibby's arms. I think she'll need some time to recover!

But, that was not the best part! There is more! As we finished shopping through the clothes, I decided to take a quick look through the baby beds and other equipment. Saturday the children and I went to a local Babies R Us just to look around see what was new since we haven't been in the 'baby business' around here in the last six years. I found the cradle of my dreams! It is similar to a co-sleeper which I've had before. I loved that my co-sleeper attached to my bed and the baby could sleep right next to me without being in the bed with me. It makes for very peaceful midnight (and 2am and 3am and 4am...) nursing! I didn't want something as big as the co-sleeper this time but I did want something similar. At the store we found this wonderful Simplicity 3 in 1 cradle. It's a cradle that rocks or it's a bassinet on wheels. It has a mobile which plays classical music... an added bonus for me! It has a night light and a huge basket under the bottom for storage. But, best of all... it's a co-sleeper!!! It has a side that lets down and it attaches to your bed! Outstanding! I had to have it!! I put it on my wish list on Saturday and filed it away in my mind for future reference.

Guess what I found today at the sale? YES!!! A Simplicity 3 in 1 cradle in an even prettier fabric than the one in the store. And, it was $40.00 less than retail price! Yippee!!! It was even more exciting than all the fabulous maternity clothes! Did I mention I found an Easter dress?

The Lord has been so faithful to provide exactly the things I need and even some of the things I want. When I simply trust Him and wait on Him, He often gives me the desires of my heart. Baby Noah Frederick is one answer to such a prayer... and beautiful affordable maternity clothes and an even more beautiful cradle are another answer to a simple prayer uttered in faith knowing the Lord would give us exactly what we needed and what we could afford. He is the Giver of good gifts and I can trust in His provision!

A great shopping extravaganza which was a blessing from the Lord!! All my friends will feel so much better not having to see me in the same two tired outfits, won't you?

Quite a kicker!

Little Noah is becoming quite a powerful kicker! He squirms and thumps and wiggles many times throughout the day but lately we've actually started to be able to feel what I would call full fledged kicks! It's so exciting!! Since these kicks are getting bigger, they are easily felt from the outside so now everyone can have fun with Noah instead of just me. It's been nice having him all to myself... but even better to have all those hands on my ever blossoming tummy waiting for that all important and still somewhat elusive kick!

The blessing of children

I was born to be the mother of many children. That's what I've been telling my sweet husband all our married life. I have always felt the Lord's call to be a helpmeet to my husband and the joyful mother of children. Along the way, we deviated from the Lord's ideal in many areas of marriage and family life. But, the Lord has always been gracious and merciful with us and He has led us back to the path He has for us each and every time we've tried to take a wrong turn.

So it is with children. When we had Flibby, I knew there would be more children. When we had Miss Poppins, I was being wheeled to my car with my new baby in my arms and Mr. P. asked me when we would be here (at the hospital having another baby) again and I said, "Not me! I'm out to pasture!" How do I recall this so vividly being that it was nearly 14 years ago? There is video proof of it, I'm sorry to say. What a silly, selfish and foolish young mother I was then. It didn't take long - never does - for me to begin to long for another baby. Mr. P. wasn't so sure about it but we didn't have a son and so there is this unwritten rule that if you have two children of the same gender, you get to try for the other gender one more time. Along came Karate Kid and we rejoiced! It was at that time that Mr. P, with my blessing, permanently ended our ability to have children. What a grievous mistake that was! After about a year or so I came to realize with much sorrow what a terrible thing we had done. It was not yet an acknowledgement on our lack of trust in the Lord where our family size was concerned but simply my passion and love for children that led us to reverse that bad decision. Hannah Banana was our first blessing after that reversal! I had promised Mr. P. 'just one more'! I might want to mention that I have promised Mr. P. that a few times now. At that time, Mr. P. thought four was more than enough and he went back and had his now undone surgery redone. I grieved. I cannot tell you how hard and how long I grieved. It's beyond words. Shortly after that, the Lord blessed us with a miraculous surprise! And, that is my sweet and oh so precious Cindy Lou! Many years have passed and I had come to accept that our childbearing years were over. I always longed for more children and we even considered quite strongly international adoption but it was just too cost prohibitive for us to pursue.

All this background of testimony leads me to where we are today. Over these past five years the Lord has been doing a work in our hearts. He has shown us that our family size is to be trusted to Him and Him alone. That what we did was a sin and that we were given a second chance and blew it. Oh, how it grieved me and how repentant we were! We began the process of seeking to rectify our sin and the Lord opened all the doors in the same miraculous way He always has. So, at our advancing age and with five beautiful children already, we once again reversed a very bad decision and laid our future children on the altar not knowing if we would be able to have any others or not. Seven months later we received the most incredible and miraculous blessing when we found out we were expecting Noah Frederick!! It is a humbling and awe inspiring miracle of the Lord. He and He alone receives all the glory for this baby we are now awaiting. What a blessing He has given us!! He has restored our ability to have children not once but twice! I'm so thankful for such a patient and merciful Savior! I often tell people that we must be in the remedial class with the Lord because we are very slow learners. He's had to keep us back a grade more than once!

Here we are today. This is not what the world esteems highly. Having many children is actually frowned upon and we have received some negative comments. It can be discouraging to have others not see this baby for the blessing and gift that he is. But, it's not unexpected either.

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." I Corinthians 1:18

Therefore, we go on rejoicing for the Lord's mercy in providing us this child and we pray there will be even more! We bow our knee to the sovereignty of God and turn all of it over to Him Who knows the beginning from the end. And, we are thankful and grateful that He chose us to be the stewards of His greatest gifts...the future warriors for His kingdom. He is raising up a generation to serve Him and how humbling it is to be chosen to take part in such a mighty and important work!

So, while the world continues to esteem sports, Hollywood, money and fleeting outward beauty, we will continue to esteem the Lord and His Word... and His incredible gift and blessing of many children! They are of far more value than any riches the world could ever offer!

Recap...

Since we are moving all the baby information to this blog, I thought I'd give a quick recap of the things that have happened so far...

First we had this wonderful Thanksgiving miracle! We found out we were expecting on Thanksgiving Day 2006!

This is our first sonogram at 7 weeks. Isn't he a beauty?

Our second sonogram at 10 weeks showed us arms and legs, a nice round belly and a perfect little head!
We heard the heartbeat for the first time on January 31st at a routine doctor's visit. I was 14 weeks pregnant! It was 162 beats per minute which they said was exactly right!

I felt the first of many 'wiggles' and 'thumps' beginning around week 13... just recently at weeks 17 and 18, we've had a few little kicks strong enough to feel from the outside! Exciting stuff!! No one but me has felt it from the outside yet but hopefully Noah's little punches and kicks will soon be frequent enough to be caught by everyone!

My next visit was February 26th for our big sonogram! I was 17 weeks and 5 days pregnant. That's the day we found out we were expecting our second son, Noah Frederick! The celebration is still ongoing! Here are his photos from the big day...

Now you are up to date on our progress. Stay tuned!