Where does the time go???

Hello blog readers! Here I am yet again not doing well keeping my blog updated. I am okay with that! I have been so busy fulfilling the needs of three little boys. It's crazy here, but so enjoyable. March was a great month and ended up being very busy. Me and the boys spent some time in Bettendorf, we enjoyed a weekend in Minneapolis, had a great Easter, and tried to keep up in life. Andrew is doing well as a big 2-month old. He is about the same in weight as the older two boys were at two months, but about 3 inches longer. So we might have a little brother who is taller! We'll see! Andrew is smiling and cooing which is always fun to experience. He watches his brothers wherever they go around the room. He has had some good stretches of sleep so I'm encouraged a little bit. I know soon enough he will be sleeping through the night. Aaron is being 2 these days. He is hilarious and copies everything Adam says. Him and Adam have become best buds which is such a blessing to me! They entertain themselves so well...now if only I could get him potty-trained! :) Adam is enjoying being the biggest brother. He is a big helper to me and so tender towards Andrew. Amos moved into his new work building as of last week. Pretty soon he will be busy, busy, busy with planting season. As for me, that about sums it up. I am trying a new way of eating which will hopefully help me lose my baby weight. My sisters and parents are doing it also and seeing results so hopefully it will work on me also. Go ahead and ask me how I am doing on it if you want- people holding me accountable would be good for me! Nap time is almost over so I better keep going. Here are some pics from our last busy month. I will probably blog again next month... it seems to work well that way. Oh the days of just one child.... :)

One Month Later....

I can't believe it has only been a month since our lives changed yet again with another beautiful son. We have all adjusted well so far. ( I am typing one-handed because Andrew loves being cuddled...not going to complain...just learning to adjust!) Andrew has been a great baby. The boys have been great big brothers. Adam will almost instantly come sing a certain song he made up to sooth Andrew if he cries...and it usually works. It melts my heart! Our Aaron turned two last week- sweet boy. I'm sure there is more to mention...but it's taking me forever to type this. So here are some pictures of our last month. . .

Andrew is here!

The birth story of our third precious son... sweet Andrew! As most of you know, we were waiting patiently ( or not so much of the time) for the arrival of our third child. I went early with both my boys before, so I was expecting that again. My due date was a week ago on the 22nd. ****************************************************************************************** Last Friday my Mom came into town, just in case I went into labor. Saturday Mom thought it would be a good idea to do some power walking. We went to Jordan Creek and did a few laps around the mall, it hurt a bit but nothing came out of it. We enjoyed a lunch out then headed back to Ames. ****************************************************************************************** We spent some time at my Grandma's house. My brother and some of his college friends were in town so they stopped over. I started some random contractions but didn't think much of them. My Grandma started keeping track of them and they were around 4-5 minutes apart. I called Amos at that part just to let him know that there might be a possibility that I could be in labor. I was sitting on my Grandma's chair leaning on an ottoman and my water broke, like all of it, right there. I called for a towel and got rid of those scared college boys quickly. ***************************************************************************************** We loaded up the boys, ran a quick errand, then headed home. My contractions were getting pretty painful on the way home. We got home, got the boys to bed as soon as possible, and loaded up our stuff. I was getting a little scared of my contractions. I was very thankful my friend Ashley and her son Tucker came over when they did. As Amos was driving my Momma and I were encouraging him to drive a little faster. I was having transition-like contractions that were coming pretty quickly but I was able to talk in between them. Nancy, my Mother-in-law was waiting in the er for us and she quickly wheeled me upstairs. The contractions were very hard and very close. Thankfully the hospital was about ready for me. I was already at an 8 and a few minutes later I was pushing. ************************************************************************************** Thanks to those of you who prayed for Andrew to turn around. As of Friday, the day before he was born, he was still face-up and was really dreading back labor. Thankfully I didn't have any back labor at all. It was a miracle. Praise God! Anyway, we welcomed our third son into this world! It was an amazing 3-hour labor and happy to be at the hospital for the 45-minutes before he was born. **************************************************************************************** I was shocked that my baby weighes 9 pounds. He has huge feet! His footprints didn't fit on the paper! We are ecstatic to have three sons. The boys are doing pretty well with our new addition. It will be an adjustment for sure. We are so thankful Mom is here this week to help! I need it for sure. **************************************************************************************** Andrew and I are going to get some sleep. I will post more pictures later...I would rather sleep. :)

Thankful today..for another day with my two precious sons and another day growing another precious child in my womb. Thankful but also a little ready and feeling anxious. As of today, this is the longest I have ever been pregnant. Not that it's a bad thing, I just feel it. I don't want to sit here and complain, sorry. :) I know each hour is an hour closer until "something" happens, so excited to see what will happen first to know that I am in labor. Both times before my water broke while I was out of my house- the first time at my Grandma's and the second time at Starbucks. I have been staying inside a lot to try to keep the kids a bit healthy so they won't have the flu when they meet their new sibling... but we are ready to get out of here! I have my midwife appointment tomorrow so we'll see what she says. Hopefully something encouraging! So excited to know very soon I will be holding my baby.... birth story to come soon I hope! :) My Mom emailed this devotion this morning. Good one. Until next time! ********************************************************************** My three different pregnancy pictures

Come to me with a thankful heart, so that you can enjoy My presence. This is the day that I have made. I want you to rejoice today, refusing to worry about tomorrow. Search for all that I have prepared for you, anticipating abundant blessings and accepting difficulties as they come. I can weave miracles into the most mundane day if you keep your focus on Me. Come to Me with all your needs, knowing that MY glorious riches are a more-than-adequate supply. Stay in continual communication with Me, so that you can live above your circumstances even while you are in the midst of them. Present your request to ME with thanksgiving, and My peace, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your heart and mind. Love, Jesus.

Late Merry Christmas! It's nice to have a few free minutes to sit and recap our last few busy weeks. It was a blast having all my family here... and tiring. :)

I have so many pictures which I'm sure you have seen on facebook. Here are a couple of them.

We had a lot of fun with 8 children 3 years and younger. For the most part everyone got along pretty well. We had our normal traditions which was fun. One of the nights we played a lot of Minute-to-win-it games which were a hit. Lots of laughter. We enjoyed Christmas at my parent's house with the Jizmejians. So I'm still pregnant and ready to be done! I don't remember feeling this yucky with my last two pregnancies. I'm not sure if it's because I have a cold and can't breathe, or it's because I am chasing two boys around..but I am feeling it! I'm hoping to be holding my baby in the next few weeks. Thankfully my baby is head down, he or she has their face up so I'm praying it turns around so the labor won't be all back labor. It will work out! Maybe next time I blog I will be holding my baby... we'll see!!

Happy December! What a month this is going to be. I love this time of year, as does everyone else. This month has started off busy and fun. Here's a little catch up.... In November, I had a great weekend catching up with my Emmaus college friends. We stayed at my parent's house and had a blast. I haven't stayed up that late since college. We enjoyed sleeping in and staying up late playing games and laughing up a storm. I'm so thankful for my sweet friends and great memories. We've had a fun time with Amos' sister Lydia and her two beautiful kiddos. The cousins have gotten along really well. We wish they lived a littler closer...Switzerland is too far away! We also had the Greene family Christmas a bit early so we could celebrate while Lydia was here. We had a great time! Last weekend we celebrated Amos' 31st birthday. Love that man! I made Amos a cake and we spent the first ten minutes taking turns blowing out the candles and re-lighting them so the boys could take turns blowing them out. :) I have a lot of friends pregnant now, like too many to count. It is fun. It will be fun to have a lot of new babies in our lives. As of right now, we are very busy getting our apartment more presentable and getting ready for our fun Hamby Christmas coming soon. I am hosting all my siblings and their children. It's going to be crazy and so much fun. I have a lot of menu and activity planning before next week. So excited! And after all the festivities,,, I might want to have this baby sometime in January. Really looking forward to that! Updates will soon be posted after the craziness!

Good morning! A month later, time to update you on life. We have been busy as usual but loving life. Here is our life update through pictures. Enjoying the beautiful fall season!

The boys had fun trick-or-treating. I told Adam to speak loudly so people could hear him and he screamed loudly to almost every door... TRICK OR TREATING! The people laughed at the extra "ing".

Amos and I attended a Halloween party and went Amish. He looked the part!

I feel like we have done a lot more than just dress up.... I wall-papered one of my kitchen walls yesterday and will be finishing up painting the walls tonight. It's nothing too drastic, but I think it looks good and everyone is an approvement compared to the before pictures. I will have to post the before and afters after I decorate.... not quite there yet. Slowly but surely we are getting the house done..very slowly. If you want to pray for us, please pray for provision. I really need to find me a stay-at-home job very soon or sadly things will have to change, like selling our beautiful home. God will provide!