the one about acorns in my pocket or something like that.

I walked into TJ Maxx the other night, alone, without a purpose. It felt so good. Usually when I'm alone and shopping it's because I need to get groceries or more toilet paper or run to the post office. I've been thinking about my coming months and baby coming. I needed to get out the other night for no reason at all.

While walking in, I reached into my pocket to discover a bubble gum wrapper and some acorn shells. I was just about to throw it all away in the trash can before entering, but I just couldn't get myself to let go of the acorns. I kept my hand in my pocket and traced the shells with my fingers. And the sweet moments from that day flooded my head while I browsed the aisles. Audrey collected the acorns for me at the park. I couldn't help but think about the cool breeze that day and how Audrey thought the tree that fell over by a beaver was the coolest thing. [We went home that day and watched beaver videos on YouTube. For real.] The acorns are still in my pocket. And I'm not sure when I will feel ready to throw them out. 

These moments are fleeting. And shifting. Audrey is going from a toddler to a kid. A kid with such laughter at the littlest things, a child with an imagination that I question if I ever had such creativity at that age, a girl with a heart to be in the kitchen, cooking and helping at every meal. And her humor, oh my. She has entered the stage where the word poop is funny to say. [It's actually funny to write too.] Like, really funny. Little sister already knows what tooting is and she giggles when she does it, because older sister makes a big deal of it. And I may or may not laugh too. 

She began a dance class in January. Just a short, one hour a week thing, where she meets at a friend's house and a dance major student teaches them. My heart skipped a beat the first time she put on her dance outfit and slippers and I put her hair in the bun. This girl has always been singing or dancing since I can remember. 

She notices every flower that has popped up in our yard. Her excitement for the little purple flowers in contagious. "It means springtime is coming!" I'm thankful for her reminder of renewal and growth in this coming season. 

16 months.

On the 5th, my little Naomi turned 16 months. I'm behind, but I wanted to make sure to write down these sweet/funny/even challenging little things about her. Because, I know all too well, how fast this time goes. And in less than three short months, I will have a newborn as well.

If Audrey gets something, Naomi insists on it as well. In fact, it doesn't matter what I give Naomi, she wants what her sister has. For Valentine's Day I bought them each a balloon, but I made the mistake of buying two different ones. When we got home, Naomi purposefully took Audrey's and ran down the hallway with it while Audrey ran after her to get it back.

She loves to color and paint. And do play dough. Although, she still tries to put it all in her mouth because she thinks it's funny when we tell her no.

She is becoming quite the climber. Side table. Bed. Couch. Chairs. Stairs. She also likes to be on the go. If we haven't left the house in the while she will head to the door and pull on it and look for her shoes and coat.

She loves to be held, by her mama mainly. Other than that, she runs if I let her down and loose.

She is such a charmer with her smile. And a lover of books and food. Her personality is blooming and it makes me squeal with delight.

valentines.

I'm a sucker for holidays. I know some people think Valentine's Day is silly. But I love any excuse to decorate, throw a little party, and eat a cupcake. Plus, it's a like a built-in-must-go-on-a-date day. I'll take it. This morning we started out with pink heart shape pancakes. Lunch included a heart shape sandwich and then before nap we had a tea party in our living room and watched Alice in Wonderland. I bought the girls a couple of small gifts and put them in their stockings to open when they woke up. Yup, in their Christmas stockings. Ha. In January I ordered some custom Christmas stockings via My Cherry Tree on Etsy. They are so stinking adorable, and when I posted a picture on Facebook of them, someone suggested using them on Valentine's Day. Genius, they aren't traditional Christmas colors and even have hearts on them!

See, aren't they so cute? Works for Christmas and Valentine's!

My "mantle." I have been packing up a lot of things in the house, but I couldn't take down these decorations quite yet. 

After a homemade dinner at home, the hubs and I hit the movies. We did the most cliche thing--saw The Vow. Another thing I'm a sucker for, hopeless romantic movies. And I may or may not have gotten teary-eyed during the preview for The Titantic. Not even kidding. When the song "My Heart Will Go On" started to play I went straight back to sophomore year in high school. I'm blaming it on the pregnancy hormones, though. Speaking of pregnancy, I've entered my third trimester. You guys, I'm only three months away from my due date! 

[Blog note: Andrew took action today and sent my DSLR in to get repaired. I told him I wasn't blogging because I didn't have my real camera and he said he was tired of checking everyday and not seeing a new post. How cute is that?! Yay for a fixed camera soon!]

purging, packing, and pinterest.

Last week, I wrote about my call to motherhood, and how I declined a free week stay in Jamaica due to my pregnancy and the sheer fact I wasn't ready to leave my other two babies for six days. I was suppose to be at the beach all last week. God gave me such peace about my decision and all week, I had no regrets. [It probably helped that we had such amazingly warm weather as well.] In fact, I think I appreciated making those flower peanut butter and honey sandwiches just a tad more and dancing on the whim in the living room happened freely because I was here and really wanted to be. It was like the idea of absence made my heart grow fonder.

Little did I know, that God actually had other exciting plans for me {and my family} instead of listening to the ocean roar. This last week, we sold our house. Fo real. And it all happened in an unplanned flash. There is no doubt that it was part of God's plan though and in His perfect timing. It all started the weekend when I was suppose to be leaving for Jamaica--we had a showing without even our house officially being on the market. We quickly put it on the market on Tuesday and had an offer by late that evening. I'm not even kidding. Skip ahead two days and we had another showing and by that evening we had two awesome offers on the table. Not to mention another showing that night. We have accepted an offer and having a closing date in March.

So, now I am slowly starting to pack. I figured a should do a box or two a day while my belly isn't totally ginormous yet (just about three months till Lincoln's arrival!), and take advantage of my "nesting" period I'm in right now. [I may have randomly went through all my spices and transferred them to cute glass jars just so they can match. Because you know, that's important before moving. Ha.] I'm going through closets and purging. I love it. And Pinterest. Don't get me started on this slight obsession. I'm getting crazy home ideas on there.

I'm trying not to think too far ahead, being that we haven't actually closed yet. But it is so exciting and stressful and fun all at the same time. In the next three months we will have sold our third home, bought a new one (that we plan to be in for a very long time), and have our third baby in three and a half years. Are we nuts? Why, yes, yes we are. Thankfully, I can give my worries to My King, because there is no way that I could have controlled how this is all working out. If you think about, I would love some prayers about finding our next home and that between now and mid-March the house selling process will go smoothly.

motherhood calls.

I bought the cutest black floppy hat the other week. I have a suitcase partly packed with a maternity swimsuit and other sorts. I went through my summer dresses to see what I could wear with my ever-expanding belly.

All of this in anticipation of my big trip to Jamaica, that has been planned for months. Originally, my dad was going to take my younger sister with him on this all-inclusive, six day trip to a gorgeous hotel right on the ocean. (For her big 16th birthday). But then his plans changed and he was going to be in Africa, so someone else needed to go with her. With a smile, I gladly volunteered. Free trip to the Caribbean. Yes, please.

Now, let me go back to my doctor appointment I had last Thursday. We went up to Indianapolis, to our specialist to check on the blood clot that was found on my placenta four weeks ago. Great news--the blood clot hadn't increased in size (nor did it decrease, but it changed shape for the better to give the baby more room), and the baby is still growing great, about a 1-1.5 weeks ahead of schedule, in fact. They were concerned that the baby's growth would be affected, but they no longer have that concern and I can be monitored by my regular doctor from here on out. I also got the "go ahead" from the nurse to travel out of the country.

Then my regular 24-week doctor appointment came yesterday morning. My doctor reviewed the results from Thursday and had a couple of other tests he wanted me to do. Then I told him I was going out of the country. And the red flag appeared. He advised me not to leave because if something was to happen (even if it is a low risk) I wouldn't get the proper care I needed. So at this point I was feeling extremely stressed and frustrated because of the extra tests I had to do and hearing Jamaica wasn't a good idea. All I heard was  "Going on vacation to relax and do nothing, sleep in, and have food made for you, isn't in your best interest." What?!

I have been praying about my decision almost non-stop since yesterday morning. There was more than just the blood-clot concern factor, I had some other stuff weighing on me. I asked God to give me peace and discernment about my decision. I realized I was having a lot of anxiety about leaving my girls for six days, even though they were going to be very well taken care of (the hubs was taking extra time off and I had family lined up to watch them during the day). And they probably wouldn't even remember the time I left them to go on this trip. But the thought of not seeing them for that long, nor have the luxury to just call anytime I wanted, was too much for me. I missed them like crazy and I hadn't even left yet.

I had to make a decision today. And I'm feeling really at peace with it. Ultimately, it was my decision, not the doctors. Andrew had even encouraged me to go, he knows how bad I could use this most amazing vacation. But, right now. Motherhood calls. I'm trading free food made for me at every meal, sleeping in, and relaxing on the beach looking out at the clear water, for my everyday tasks of cleaning, making meals, putting puzzles together, running errands, and playing with my sweet babies. (Whew, that last sentence was a doozy to type.)

Thankfully, my oldest sister is going to take my place and go with my younger sister. They are going to have so much fun, I'm quite excited for them. I may have also called the hubs and requested we go to the ocean very very soon as a family. The ocean is one of my very favorite spots. I also told him he has to make one meal next week (which he does not cook), so that I can pretend I'm in Jamaica getting food made for me.  He said that would be just fine.

Motherhood is definitely a sacrifice. But one that has the most intangible rewards. Ever.

Motherhood calls and I'm answering it with a smile.

bump watch {23 weeks}.

[Let's pretend a week hasn't passed since I last blogged. Also, let's pretend the last storm we had didn't do any damage to our house (it isn't extensive, but it is damage nonetheless). Or that one of vehicles had to get repaired this week. And another one needs to go in the shop. Let's just focus on baby bump, shall we?]

I have been wanting to post a weekly picture here of the growing bump. Now I'm 23 (almost 24) weeks into it, and I'm just now committing to it. Also, pictures are deceiving most of the time. I feel so much bigger than most of my belly pictures. Wait, I am bigger than what it looks. The appetite is getting out of control. No doubt. I wear black. A lot. I think it is a good "I just ate a second lunch" hider.

(iphone pics, because the dear DSLR is still broken)

I love, love this picture. Not because of me, but because {unintentionally} there is a picture of just my beautiful mama and me and bump in the pic. We will never have a three generation picture, but this, this is good. And makes my heart swell.

There isn't too much news on the baby-front. Except I'm feeling good. And I'm getting to the point where bending over isn't really easy anymore. And flipping sides in bed is starting to require a heck of a lot of momentum. I do feel the mister move all the time. Which is pretty much one of my favorite things, ever. The cravings aren't crazy. Except I just love food in general. A lot. Mexican is probably still top on my list. Queso dip. Yes. Except it better be white, or I may ask the waitress to take it back. (I ordered Queso dip at a restaurant and it came out mainly with beans and red sauce. Huh? Sorry Charlie.) By this time with both girls, I had a nursery planned and even painted. This time around, I don't plan on making a nursery until we move. We are hoping to get our house back on the market sometime in February. But, I do have some fun Pinterest ideas stored away. Think industrial. Orange. Deep grey. Cork board. Maps. Oh, yes!

his name.

It's tempting to have a dozen of kids just so we can name them. Except three is enough for us. For now. For sure. And it has been so fun coming up with a name for each one. Somehow by every twenty-week ultrasound, when the gender is revealed, we always have a name ready, boy or girl. Audrey was going to be a Jackson, and Naomi would have been Nolan. This time around if we were having a girl she would have been Violet. (Someone use that name, I just love it.)

But, since He is in fact, a BOY (eek!), we have come up with (what I think) is the perfect boy name. If we are friends on Facebook (which I hope we are), then you got to see the most adorable video of Audrey revealing her brother's name. [I'm having trouble uploading it onto here, sorry.]

For now on, instead of calling him boy or baby #3 on here, he will be known as...

LINCOLN WAYNE

Don't you just love it? I'm bias, but I think it is a pretty teriffic name. I like how strong it sounds. We picked Lincoln after going through quite a bit of boy names. I wanted something classic and easy to pronounce (I grew up with a name being read wrong 75% of the time, so I didn't want that for my kiddos). Some other picks of mine (not necessarily Andrew's) were Jasper and Porter. His middle name, Wayne, is a family name, the middle name of Andrew, his dad, and his grandpa. We are up for calling him Linc as well for a nickname.

There is little Lincoln, 22.5 weeks along!

I can't believe I'm more than half way done. Sometimes I get quite excited about it and then other times I'm like, whoa, slow down pregnancy I'm not ready for another one yet. This week has been quite hormonal for me with my patiences running thin. I thought I was suppose to be in the energetic/nesting stage right now, but apparently I'm still really tired all the time. I'm hoping something kicks in soon, I have a lot to do before little Lincoln arrives!