I have a brother

I have a brother. Well, actually, I have 2 now! Ironically, they are both the same age. ;)
A few days ago I got a friend request on facebook from someone I didn't know. I try and post scripture and things of that nature on my facebook, hoping that it will in some way bless someone else, so I approve everybody, even if I don't know you. So I accepted, and did my usual snooping trying to figure out who this person was and why on earth they would request me as a friend. Nothing rang a bell. We had no mutual friends, the pictures didn't look at all familiar. I told Brian, "I wonder why people who don't know you request to be your friend, isn't that weird?". The next day I got a message asking if I was my Dad's daughter. I said yes, and after a few messages back and forth, I got a message saying that her husband was my Dad's son. I was at a Dr appt with my Mom, and my mouth dropped (literally!). My Mom knew nothing about this, and neither did I. I gave her my phone number so we could talk, and when I hung up the phone, I now had a brother, sister in law, and two nieces! I suppose I always had them, just never knew it. That afternoon I got to talk with my brother twice, and it was awesome. He is in the army. They live in Tennessee, but will be moving to Virgina this year. He loves God! We talked for an hour, and a lot of our conversation was centered on Christ. That is just pretty amazing to me. Of course, there are a lot of feelings of hurt, confusion, and anger that I need to deal with. But knowing I have a brother, and he has a beautiful family is such an amazing addition to my life, and truly a blessing! Hopefully I will get to meet them later on this year. Another thing I found interesting was the fact that him, my soon to be brother in law, and my nephew all have the same first and middle name. How weird is that? I am excited about this door that has been opened in my life, and can't wait to get to know all of them better!! Now I have 2 brothers and a sister. I'm still the baby though! ;)

11 weeks, 4 days

Today I went to the dr again. No big news to tell. I heard the heartbeat, it was 160. I still weigh a whopping 108 ;) and I'm not sure how I haven't gained weight. I couldn't button my pants this morning, and I certainly feel heavier, but still 108. Because all of my bloodwork was normal and everything is progressing well, I don't have to go back for a month! This is bittersweet for me. I am super nervous this pregnancy, so going every 2 weeks to make sure everything is okay sounds just fine to me. On the other hand, however, I know that going that often just means more money, so I'll just be patient and trust God. =) Sitting in the dr office brings up all kinds of bad memories. Today I was especially annoyed because the waiting room was packed, and men were sitting in chairs while pregnant women were standing up. I think it is pathetic that I was willing to give up my chair for a woman far along in her pregnancy, but none of the 3 men in the room budged. I just wasn't raised like that, we were raised with manners. Anywho, I'm going to post a picture, even though I haven't gained any weight. I thought it would be neat to blog about my dr appts and include a picture from the day, so here is todays.

Storytime at the library

Today I took my kids to story time at our local library for the first time. I had never tried it before because I was intimidated by taking a 2, 3, and 4 yr old out somewhere like that. I always have this fear that one of them may run off, and I won't really be able to chase them without leaving the others behind. Crazy, I know. Since I just have my babies now, I've decided I would take them to do more fun activities like that. Kaylee was very excited about going to the "libary". Of course, as soon as we walked in, she was glued to my leg. There were a few kids there, and it wasn't time to start yet, so they were just playing with some toys at the front. Brian jumped right in, and even went and sat beside a little boy and played cars with him. Kaylee, however, wouldn't leave my side. A man walked in (Oh! The horror!) and sat down to start reading. He had cute little songs with dances to go with them that he did between each book, then after reading 3 books, the kids did a craft. Kaylee wouldn't get up and sing or dance, so Brian wouldn't either. I could tell Kaylee was enjoying it though, because she had that smile on her face. It isn't a full on smile, it's kind of a hidden smile, where she doesn't want to let people know that she is actually having fun. On the way home we talked about why she was scared and didn't want to participate, and she told me, "If we keep going there when I am 5, then I won't be scared anymore and I'll sing along. Maybe, some girls who are 5 aren't scared anymore". Of course! That makes perfect sense! Not. All in all, they had fun and we are going to try to go every week.

On a different note, since I'm here blogging, I'm begging for your prayers. Kaylee is going through another of her infamous phases where she is completely disrespectful to me, disobedient, and constantly in trouble. For over a week now her room has been empty because she has been grounded from all of her stuff. Sunday she was good, so I was going to give it back to her, but hadn't had time to move it back in her room. By Monday, she lost her rights to her things, again! Monday she was chasing her brother around with a spoon, and I'm not sure exactly what she did, but he was crying saying she hurt him. I was trying to talk to her about it and she just kept saying "I didn't hurt him". I was trying to explain that sometimes we hurt people without realizing that we hurt them, and that we should still apologize. This MUST have upset her, because she raised her hand like she was about to hit me! When I discipline the kids, I always get on their level to talk to them, so she would have hit me right in the face. (It wouldn't be the first time that has happened) I was so upset I sent her to her room. Thankfully, Brian was home to deal with it. I would have NEVER gotten away with anything like that as a child. Kaylee is literally the most stubborn child I have ever met. Anyone who has been around my child much would probably agree. I am very consistent with her, so I am always amazed at the limits she goes to in testing me. Yesterday I almost in tears, and I asked her what was going on with her. Why was she acting this way now, and what could I do to help her. She said, "I just need some attention, I want to spend more time with you". This made me sad, and confused. You see, I spend every waking moment with her, literally. She isn't napping anymore, so we spend one on one time together doing school work or watching a movie. I usually don't even shower until after they have gone to bed, so I'm not sure how much more time she needs lol. Last night after we had gone to bed, she snuck in our room. She wanted to sleep with us because she was scared of the dark. I explained to her that God made the dark, and it was good. There wasn't anything that would hurt her. I also explained that I was scared of the dark sometimes too, and that we all had different things we are scared of, but we have to face those fears. Then, she started to cry and say that she didn't want to go back to bed because she didn't get to spend any time with us. I think she has found something that will get my sympathy, and is trying to manipulate me. Of course, it breaks my heart to hear her say that, but I know it isn't true. So, pray for patience and diligence for me, and that my daughter would be saved.

One more story, because I never sit down to blog, I want to get them all out there before I forget. This past weekend we went to eat at a friend's Uncle's restaurant. It is a hibachi place that just opened. We had a few different types of sushi that were all SO good! Kaylee loved the sushi, and kept asking for more. The food was delicious as well. I am thankful my kids are adventurous with food. When we were leaving, our friends Aunt came and gave the kids each a bottle of Japanese soda. It is a cool glass bottle that has a marble in it. Kaylee has never had soda, except maybe a sip or two here and there that was given to her behind our backs. This was carbonated, but had no caffeine, so we decided to go ahead and let her have it. She liked it, a lot. She said, "Mom, this is soury. How do they get all those bubbles in there?" lol. She didn't know what to think of it. When we got home, Brian took the top off the bottle and took the marble out. Kaylee cried because she wanted to save the bottle. (Wonder where she got that from?!) We told her she could have Bub's, because we weren't fond of giving him any soda anyways.
I realize this is really long, sorry. Just needed to sit down and write while I had the time. =)