June 6th, 5:44 a.m.
6 lb. 10 oz., 17 1/2"
Healthy and home.
We're ecstatic...and exhausted.
More soon, I promise!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Do I have to?
I promised Marie I'd update by today. I truly am thankful for friends who keep me accountable to updating here (yes, that also includes you, Theresa & Rhiannon & Nichole), but goodness this feels like such a chore to me! When all is said and done I like having at least one place where I can look back on certain things about Joshua, mostly because I haven't scrapbooked or even journaled tidbits in over 8 months. But this really is not my favorite thing to do. Okay, enough whining :) here goes.
Joshua is nearly 22 months already. His 2nd b-day is getting closer and closer, not my favorite thing. He really is turning into such a big boy. He hasn't grown a ton physically, but his personality and comprehension are so much fun. He understands so much more, even if his vocab can't match it all. He loves his family, especially his cousins (Kyle, 13; Madi, 11; Evan, 7; Savanna, 4). Anyone he can name he asks about at least a few times each day, to which Mommy responds, "Ky-Ky is at school" and so on. He LOVES to tell stories and take over conversations. He jibbers in his own language, complete with body language such as pointing and shrugging shoulders and anything else that he feels like...and even laughing like he's just said something funny. Once in a while we catch a word we understand, so we know what he's saying. It will be so much fun the more his vocab grows and we can hear more of what goes on in his adorable head.
Let me tell you, this kid is all boy. He loves anything that makes noise...vacuums, Daddy's tools, Mommy's sewing machine, cars & trucks, airplanes, the choo-choo trains we hear from our house. One of these days I'll record his mimic of these sounds, really need it at least for us. If others didn't know better they'd probably think he was yelling, but he's just being loud like the fan or whatever. He loves helping his daddy with things. Lately he's been trying to help as Daddy puts his new room together. This includes grabbing his toy hammer and hammering away with Daddy, grabbing the screwdriver and twisting it around, grabbing a paint stick and attempting to dip it and then put it on the wall. His favorite thing is to be outside. Many days, even before he's gotten out of his p.j.s, he is at the door asking to put his shoo-shoos on. He runs, helps Daddy, plays with the cat and dog, picks flowers (fau-fau), rides his bike (or rides with Daddy), and most importantly digs in the dirt. He's been improving a little, but most days he throws a pretty big fit when it's time to come in. Sometimes he'll stand at the door crying with shoes in hand for 30 min. or more. The weather has been pretty warm this week, so at least he's been able to convince Mommy to go out too.
Matt and I have been hard at work to transition our small home to accommodate our newest member. We were so blessed to buy this house nearly 5 years ago and though we've been here longer than planned (and we know we'll be here a lot longer), God has enabled us to make it work for us. It's just over 1000 sq. ft. with three bedrooms. Our 3rd room was formerly the office/guest room/craft room and is now a nearly complete big boy room. The desk and computer went into the master bed and Matt custom built some wonderful shelves in Joshua's new closet. It works so well that I was able to organize all of my sewing & scrapbooking supplies onto the top shelves, leaving plenty of room for our family games in addition to Joshua's clothes and many toys. It's a little messy still b/c of some supplies I'm attempting to destash as well as those that I need to make into items for my shop. Once it's cleared a bit I'll be sure to take some photos. At that time I'll also include photos of Joshua's new room. Matt painted last week, the twin bed is in complete with bedrail, furniture is in and getting filled, toys are moving in. We'll shop for the comforter this week and I'll be making a valance, pillow sham, and some small pillows. I promise pictures when it's all done.
Don't know how long it will take to transition Joshua into sleeping in his new room. I tried to lay him in there for naptime today, but he wasn't ready. We'll just keep getting him used to it and try every day. As for his current room, we won't have it completely turned into the baby's room until after she arrives. I'm making the bedding myself (again, I promise photos when it's all done), but we decided to not paint until after she's born...just in case. By the way, "she" is officially named now. We ended right where we started, with the exact name we'd had chosen when pregnant with Joshua. But Matt wanted to be 100% sure nothing better came up. Our sweet baby girl will be named Carly Dawn. Dawn is my mom's legal first name, though when she was 6 months old my grandmother had finally had enough of people mistaking her for a boy Don, so she switched her to her middle name, Marilee. My sister's middle name is Dawn, so we wanted to honor the two of them. I love that both of our kids have something special. Matt's brother goes by Danny and Melissa's (my sis) hubby is Daniel, so it was natural to name our firstborn Joshua Daniel after his uncles. This weekend we settled on a backup boy's name, just in case, but I won't share that unless we really do get surprised.
Anyway, I'm tired, Matt is ready to crawl in bed, so I better wrap this up. I've posted a pic of me from last week...er...almost 2 weeks ago. I was 32 weeks preggo in this shot and Wed I'll be 34. My body is so much more uncomfortable this time around, but it's crazy to think I'm down to my last 6 weeks. I feel like I still have so much to do and I know our lives are about to change drastically very soon. The other pics are of my boys out on the hammock, Joshua about to climb onto the ladder while "helping" Daddy paint, and the final one was taken this evening of Joshua on his big boy bed just before stories (though he did not stay there). Hope the few of you who read this are well and still awake after this gigantic novel I've written. Love you lots and *hope* to update you again soon.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Tag, I'm It
This is the second time my friend Marie has tagged me (in a week, mind you!) and I promised I'd actually comply this time. So here goes:
The Rules
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
1. I always use this one when something random is asked of me, because my memory is shot and I'm not that interesting. When I was 14 one of my friends (who now is actually a cousin through marriage) invited me to stay the weekend at her dad's. He worked on the set of Baywatch and there was a premiere at the studio for their new season. The room they showed it in was a makeshift bar and the placed was literally packed. Melissa and I were scrunched up next to the bar waiting for it all to begin when I looked up at a towering David Hasselhoff who stepped on my toe as he squeezed by; he just smiled, oblivious.
2. One thing that really deeply annoys me is the sound of people eating. Those who chew (and speak, too) with their mouths open, smacking their food around drives me nuts. But it's also the sound of those with mouths closed that makes my skin crawl. Something about the saliva and food swirling around- YUCK! I have to run out of the room when possible, turn on some music, or when I'm not in the comfort of my own home I discreetly plug my ears when able.
3. Along the lines of #2, only two have ever NOT bothered me when eating: my dog Pete (probably most dogs for that matter, since the food is dry) and my adorable Joshua.
4. Going along with Marie on this one, I can't stand hearing my own voice played back on a message or videotape, etc. I don't sound quite so high pitched in my own head as I apparently am in real life. Sorry everyone.
5. Again with Marie, there is nothing I long for more than for my children to know the Lord. It's a fear of mine that they would choose a life of sin over salvation; not something I dwell on, but it lingers back there. I believe there's no greater responsibility I have as mother, so I pray that though on my own I will fail, that my God will grace me with words and actions that will guide my precious babies to Him.
6. Gosh, I have to come up with two more? Let's see, this may be stretching it, but here goes. I didn't get the hiccups even once when I was pregnant with Joshua. But once I could feel it, he had the hiccups at least once a day for the rest of the pregnancy (and on a sidenote, while nursing Joshua's hiccups were what stopped him from spitting up more until the next feeding).
7. Boy, this is tough...again, stretching it here. I truly have a problem with thinking of things quickly when I need to. I'm terrible at games or anything that requires quick thinking, I really think I have an actual brain problem with this. Just the other night we played BuzzWords (hope I got that right) with Matt's family and though I really did know a good chunk of the answers, I only answered about three times because I just could not get my brain to cooperate.
Okay, pretty poor, but that's all I've got.
I don't know many who blog, so my tags are going to have to be limited to Cheryl, Gina, Emily, and Jordana. Theresa, I would've tagged you, but someone else beat me to it :).
The Rules
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
1. I always use this one when something random is asked of me, because my memory is shot and I'm not that interesting. When I was 14 one of my friends (who now is actually a cousin through marriage) invited me to stay the weekend at her dad's. He worked on the set of Baywatch and there was a premiere at the studio for their new season. The room they showed it in was a makeshift bar and the placed was literally packed. Melissa and I were scrunched up next to the bar waiting for it all to begin when I looked up at a towering David Hasselhoff who stepped on my toe as he squeezed by; he just smiled, oblivious.
2. One thing that really deeply annoys me is the sound of people eating. Those who chew (and speak, too) with their mouths open, smacking their food around drives me nuts. But it's also the sound of those with mouths closed that makes my skin crawl. Something about the saliva and food swirling around- YUCK! I have to run out of the room when possible, turn on some music, or when I'm not in the comfort of my own home I discreetly plug my ears when able.
3. Along the lines of #2, only two have ever NOT bothered me when eating: my dog Pete (probably most dogs for that matter, since the food is dry) and my adorable Joshua.
4. Going along with Marie on this one, I can't stand hearing my own voice played back on a message or videotape, etc. I don't sound quite so high pitched in my own head as I apparently am in real life. Sorry everyone.
5. Again with Marie, there is nothing I long for more than for my children to know the Lord. It's a fear of mine that they would choose a life of sin over salvation; not something I dwell on, but it lingers back there. I believe there's no greater responsibility I have as mother, so I pray that though on my own I will fail, that my God will grace me with words and actions that will guide my precious babies to Him.
6. Gosh, I have to come up with two more? Let's see, this may be stretching it, but here goes. I didn't get the hiccups even once when I was pregnant with Joshua. But once I could feel it, he had the hiccups at least once a day for the rest of the pregnancy (and on a sidenote, while nursing Joshua's hiccups were what stopped him from spitting up more until the next feeding).
7. Boy, this is tough...again, stretching it here. I truly have a problem with thinking of things quickly when I need to. I'm terrible at games or anything that requires quick thinking, I really think I have an actual brain problem with this. Just the other night we played BuzzWords (hope I got that right) with Matt's family and though I really did know a good chunk of the answers, I only answered about three times because I just could not get my brain to cooperate.
Okay, pretty poor, but that's all I've got.
I don't know many who blog, so my tags are going to have to be limited to Cheryl, Gina, Emily, and Jordana. Theresa, I would've tagged you, but someone else beat me to it :).
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Boy or Girl?
I know you were expecting this earlier, but our appointment was after Matt got off work and we needed to do some grocery shopping before we headed back to Tehachapi. It just now occurred to me that I should've taken a poll. I know not many people visit this blog, especially since so many must've given up on me months ago with my posts so few and far between. But it would've been fun to have those of you who did see my last post comment and give me your guess, boy or girl. You know, it really isn't too late for that. Haha, just kidding. I won't make you wait any longer.
Our ultrasound went really well today. Because this baby moves and kicks so much less than Joshua did, I made sure to get a little sugar in me ahead of time in attempt to encourage some movement. Boy did we ever get it! Baby was kicking and flipping and moving all over the place. The picture was much clearer than I remember it being with Joshua, too. We saw a perfectly complete spine, including tailbone, the four chambers of the heart, different parts of the brain, kidneys, profile, everything. No cleft lip, heartrate at 155 beats/min. The complete head measurement was a big thing (for us) in contrast to Joshua's ultrasounds. We had to go back two additional times because the little booger just wanted to tuck himself in without budging (not that we minded the extra excuses to see him). Baby weighs about 13 ounces which is right on track. And even though the u/s was only 2D we did get to see that Baby's feet were all the way next to the head; we even saw Baby grab one foot, so cool!
Have I made you read through enough yet? Tell me the truth, how many of you actually scrolled down to this part before reading everything because you were too impatient? Are you ready? Baby is..................
A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can you believe it? How perfect is that, a precious boy followed by a precious girl?! We certainly are blessed either way and would've been thrilled with another boy, but we get to have one of each, so exciting! The u/s tech took her time getting measurements of everything else before finally checking on the gender. On the screen we saw two little legs sticking out and between them...absolutely nothing. I must say that I am tempted to be a little leary without having a second u/s to confirm this finding. But then I think about how much this kid really did move all over, how much the tech moved that probe all over my belly to get every angle checked thoroughly and nothing "extra" popped up anywhere. With Joshua's ultrasounds it was very obvious from the get-go. That first one I laid on the table with a full bladder not realizing that the equipment there is so good that this was not only unnecessary but a hindrance. When I returned from, ahem, emptying ;) the tech told us she could tell what we were having immediately before I got up. So, for those of you who are also tempted to be leary, I think we're safe!
Matt and I are so excited. And even though Joshua hasn't shown any excitement, not even while watching the ultrasound on the 'TV' (hehe, obviously he doesn't comprehend any of it yet), we know he's going to love having a new baby sister...especially picking on her ;D. About a week ago Matt said his guess was a girl, without explaination. About a week before I realized we were expecting, I was daydreaming about having a little girl. And every time I've thought about the baby since, my mind has gone on autopilot that it's a girl. I've had to force myself to consider the possibility/probability of it being a boy. Not in a bad way, of course, but it's just funny how the mindset for boy versus girl really is different. God really did make the two sexes different, so naturally the dynamic of a family is going to change depending on it having two boys or two girls or one of each. In a way I just feel like this is too good to be true because I get what I've wanted for a very long time, a son of my own and a daughter of my own. God is amazing!
Of course I'd planned on just making a quick announcement on our findings and all of you get stuck reading a wordy novel. Sorry, that's just how I write, no matter how hard I try to keep it simple. This doesn't by chance make up for my lack of posts, does it? Blessings to you all; I really am so thrilled to share our exciting news with you :)!
Our ultrasound went really well today. Because this baby moves and kicks so much less than Joshua did, I made sure to get a little sugar in me ahead of time in attempt to encourage some movement. Boy did we ever get it! Baby was kicking and flipping and moving all over the place. The picture was much clearer than I remember it being with Joshua, too. We saw a perfectly complete spine, including tailbone, the four chambers of the heart, different parts of the brain, kidneys, profile, everything. No cleft lip, heartrate at 155 beats/min. The complete head measurement was a big thing (for us) in contrast to Joshua's ultrasounds. We had to go back two additional times because the little booger just wanted to tuck himself in without budging (not that we minded the extra excuses to see him). Baby weighs about 13 ounces which is right on track. And even though the u/s was only 2D we did get to see that Baby's feet were all the way next to the head; we even saw Baby grab one foot, so cool!
Have I made you read through enough yet? Tell me the truth, how many of you actually scrolled down to this part before reading everything because you were too impatient? Are you ready? Baby is..................
A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can you believe it? How perfect is that, a precious boy followed by a precious girl?! We certainly are blessed either way and would've been thrilled with another boy, but we get to have one of each, so exciting! The u/s tech took her time getting measurements of everything else before finally checking on the gender. On the screen we saw two little legs sticking out and between them...absolutely nothing. I must say that I am tempted to be a little leary without having a second u/s to confirm this finding. But then I think about how much this kid really did move all over, how much the tech moved that probe all over my belly to get every angle checked thoroughly and nothing "extra" popped up anywhere. With Joshua's ultrasounds it was very obvious from the get-go. That first one I laid on the table with a full bladder not realizing that the equipment there is so good that this was not only unnecessary but a hindrance. When I returned from, ahem, emptying ;) the tech told us she could tell what we were having immediately before I got up. So, for those of you who are also tempted to be leary, I think we're safe!
Matt and I are so excited. And even though Joshua hasn't shown any excitement, not even while watching the ultrasound on the 'TV' (hehe, obviously he doesn't comprehend any of it yet), we know he's going to love having a new baby sister...especially picking on her ;D. About a week ago Matt said his guess was a girl, without explaination. About a week before I realized we were expecting, I was daydreaming about having a little girl. And every time I've thought about the baby since, my mind has gone on autopilot that it's a girl. I've had to force myself to consider the possibility/probability of it being a boy. Not in a bad way, of course, but it's just funny how the mindset for boy versus girl really is different. God really did make the two sexes different, so naturally the dynamic of a family is going to change depending on it having two boys or two girls or one of each. In a way I just feel like this is too good to be true because I get what I've wanted for a very long time, a son of my own and a daughter of my own. God is amazing!
Of course I'd planned on just making a quick announcement on our findings and all of you get stuck reading a wordy novel. Sorry, that's just how I write, no matter how hard I try to keep it simple. This doesn't by chance make up for my lack of posts, does it? Blessings to you all; I really am so thrilled to share our exciting news with you :)!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day!
Okay, so I will no longer "promise" to post photos or anything within a certain timeframe again. I can't stand that I can't be held to my word. Daily life just keeps me busy and I don't know how anyone (especially those who I know are busier than me) can possibly keep up a daily blog...or even a weekly or monthly one!
Happy Valentine's Day to you! Matt gets a 4-day weekend and that's when we'll celebrate. The last time we attempted to go out on V-Day itself we said we'd never do it again; we went to see 50 First Dates, so whenever it was that came out.
Poor Joshua is sick with a cold. His nose and cheeks are so red. At least he got to enjoy some fun outside over the past few weeks. We had quite a bit of snow started with the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Matt got a 2 day week, followed by two 3-day weeks, and now this long weekend means two 4-day weeks. 6 snow days in all with the last one accumulating about 6 inches in town; haven't seen that since high school. So, we've got some fun sledding memories. This past weekend my dad came up for a visit and of course that meant a trip to the park for the boys. It was such a beautiful day! Hudson is talking up a storm now, most everything he says is comprehendable. Joshua talks tons, but most of it is his own gibberish. On a side note, it's hilarious to listen to him tell stories and use his hands. The other day he was telling me something (complete with half-laughs every now and then) and when I looked down at a paper in my hands he got up and tapped my hand as if to say, "Mama, look at me while I talk." After another minute I did it again, as experimentation, and sure enough he immediately tapped me to get my attention again. It was the cutest thing!
Please continue to pray for Matt and his pursuing firefighting. On Tuesday he tested for Kern County FD along with about 3200 others. It'll be a few months till the results come, but only the top 200 get to move on. It can be tempting to get discouraged, so please pray for perseverance and faith. While Matt finishes his last fire class this semester I decided to take a break. Not because I need or want it, but because I didn't want to take on a whole lot with my pregnancy. The plus side is now I have time to catch up/finish some orders for some very patient customers, I finally am able to drive down for Wed. morning women's Bible study (well, when weather and health allows), and more importantly I'm enjoying so much more time with Joshua. Nearly every day he surprises us with something new, whether it's just showing an understanding to what we say, or doing something in more of a big boy way.
The first trimester was really rough, just like with Joshua. Surprisingly, my nausea has almost completely disappeared, but the food aversions and sensitivities to smells are abounding. I'm 20 weeks, which means halfway done! My belly is growing at a much quicker pace than last time and things are starting to get uncomfortable. BUT I've been feeling the baby kick, one of my favorite things, and one week from today we get the wonderful ultrasound. It's been hard to wait, just dying to know if Joshua is going to have a baby brother or a baby sister. Without making any promises, I don't think I'll have any trouble next week posting at least that much anticipated news. :)
Happy Valentine's Day to you! Matt gets a 4-day weekend and that's when we'll celebrate. The last time we attempted to go out on V-Day itself we said we'd never do it again; we went to see 50 First Dates, so whenever it was that came out.
Poor Joshua is sick with a cold. His nose and cheeks are so red. At least he got to enjoy some fun outside over the past few weeks. We had quite a bit of snow started with the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Matt got a 2 day week, followed by two 3-day weeks, and now this long weekend means two 4-day weeks. 6 snow days in all with the last one accumulating about 6 inches in town; haven't seen that since high school. So, we've got some fun sledding memories. This past weekend my dad came up for a visit and of course that meant a trip to the park for the boys. It was such a beautiful day! Hudson is talking up a storm now, most everything he says is comprehendable. Joshua talks tons, but most of it is his own gibberish. On a side note, it's hilarious to listen to him tell stories and use his hands. The other day he was telling me something (complete with half-laughs every now and then) and when I looked down at a paper in my hands he got up and tapped my hand as if to say, "Mama, look at me while I talk." After another minute I did it again, as experimentation, and sure enough he immediately tapped me to get my attention again. It was the cutest thing!
Please continue to pray for Matt and his pursuing firefighting. On Tuesday he tested for Kern County FD along with about 3200 others. It'll be a few months till the results come, but only the top 200 get to move on. It can be tempting to get discouraged, so please pray for perseverance and faith. While Matt finishes his last fire class this semester I decided to take a break. Not because I need or want it, but because I didn't want to take on a whole lot with my pregnancy. The plus side is now I have time to catch up/finish some orders for some very patient customers, I finally am able to drive down for Wed. morning women's Bible study (well, when weather and health allows), and more importantly I'm enjoying so much more time with Joshua. Nearly every day he surprises us with something new, whether it's just showing an understanding to what we say, or doing something in more of a big boy way.
The first trimester was really rough, just like with Joshua. Surprisingly, my nausea has almost completely disappeared, but the food aversions and sensitivities to smells are abounding. I'm 20 weeks, which means halfway done! My belly is growing at a much quicker pace than last time and things are starting to get uncomfortable. BUT I've been feeling the baby kick, one of my favorite things, and one week from today we get the wonderful ultrasound. It's been hard to wait, just dying to know if Joshua is going to have a baby brother or a baby sister. Without making any promises, I don't think I'll have any trouble next week posting at least that much anticipated news. :)
Monday, December 24, 2007
Merry Christmas Eve
We got word back that Matt did not make the Firefighter 1 Academy, but all is well. It is only a class, good for the resume but guarantees nothing. And while we know the Lord would've gotten us through it, it really would have meant an extremely stressful 4 months in our future. So for that avoidance I am thankful. We know God is in control, so Matt's going to keep it up and we'll see where He takes us. He has one more class starting in January and Kern County Fire is taking applications next month as well.
Joshua has been silly as usual. He's getting better at running, though not avoiding hitting his head often (he's so accident prone!). His vocab now includes 'cheese', 'pa-pa' (his pacifier), duck sounds - I'm sure there are more that I can't think of at the moment. He nods his head 'yes' and surprisingly 'no' has not entered the vocab yet, just shaking his head no, mostly when he doesn't want to eat anything. Later this week he'll be 17 months. It seems like he was just that little thing who's favorite thing about last Christmas was chewing the tags. We didn't get a tree this year, sort of b/c of my sensitivity to smells, sort of b/c of money, and when it comes down to it, a tree is not at all what Christmas is about. But Joshua sure has enjoyed looking at others' trees. He loves the lights and especially the little 'kid' tree that Nana (Sharon) puts up; he's allowed to touch the ornaments and he enjoys taking them off and setting them inside the branches. I PROMISE that by the end of the week I'll have some photos up of him from tomorrow, from Disneyland earlier this month, and maybe another stray.
My pregnancy is going well and I am 12 weeks (13 on Wednesday). The weeks seem to be going rather quickly, though I still wish I was much further along. The nausea isn't letting up, no surprise, and daily my meals are a struggle. My next appointment is on Thursday when we will get to hear Baby's heartbeat. At the end of February is when we expect to find out the gender, though Matt's Gram loves to tell people, "We don't know what SHE is yet."
I hope all of you are having a wonderful Christmas season, focusing your hearts and minds not on the shopping and gifts, nor tasks of cleaning and cooking, nor anything else but on our Savior. That sweet and precious baby Jesus is the only reason for celebration. The One who was born among sheep and cattle to be the pure and spotless Lamb who bore our sins. I pray that He is the One you celebrate, the One you give to, the One you praise and give thanks to for all of the blessings in this world (and not merely the material ones) not just tomorrow but each and every day of the year. Praise be to the Prince of Peace!
Lots of love,
The Sterk Family
Joshua has been silly as usual. He's getting better at running, though not avoiding hitting his head often (he's so accident prone!). His vocab now includes 'cheese', 'pa-pa' (his pacifier), duck sounds - I'm sure there are more that I can't think of at the moment. He nods his head 'yes' and surprisingly 'no' has not entered the vocab yet, just shaking his head no, mostly when he doesn't want to eat anything. Later this week he'll be 17 months. It seems like he was just that little thing who's favorite thing about last Christmas was chewing the tags. We didn't get a tree this year, sort of b/c of my sensitivity to smells, sort of b/c of money, and when it comes down to it, a tree is not at all what Christmas is about. But Joshua sure has enjoyed looking at others' trees. He loves the lights and especially the little 'kid' tree that Nana (Sharon) puts up; he's allowed to touch the ornaments and he enjoys taking them off and setting them inside the branches. I PROMISE that by the end of the week I'll have some photos up of him from tomorrow, from Disneyland earlier this month, and maybe another stray.
My pregnancy is going well and I am 12 weeks (13 on Wednesday). The weeks seem to be going rather quickly, though I still wish I was much further along. The nausea isn't letting up, no surprise, and daily my meals are a struggle. My next appointment is on Thursday when we will get to hear Baby's heartbeat. At the end of February is when we expect to find out the gender, though Matt's Gram loves to tell people, "We don't know what SHE is yet."
I hope all of you are having a wonderful Christmas season, focusing your hearts and minds not on the shopping and gifts, nor tasks of cleaning and cooking, nor anything else but on our Savior. That sweet and precious baby Jesus is the only reason for celebration. The One who was born among sheep and cattle to be the pure and spotless Lamb who bore our sins. I pray that He is the One you celebrate, the One you give to, the One you praise and give thanks to for all of the blessings in this world (and not merely the material ones) not just tomorrow but each and every day of the year. Praise be to the Prince of Peace!
Lots of love,
The Sterk Family
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Long Overdue!
I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written. Things around here are busy as usual. Let's backtrack a bit: Joshua is 15 months and started walking at 13 1/2 months. He's quite good at it now, though still has his falls and gets beautiful bruises on his noggin. He's saying...well, mimicking...lots of words like shoes, hi, mama, dada, socks, five (very random). He knows the meanings of so many things, it seems like we discover something new each day. He also likes to mimick sounds that the dog and cat make. He's a pretty good boy, though he's getting quite a bit into the defiance, not obeying Daddy and Mommy though he knows exactly what we're saying, and now hitting. He even hit other kids at church on Sunday- what a bully! If you know of any good Christian parenting books, please let me know!
Also, last week we found out that Joshua is going to be a big brother. Did you have to read that twice? That's right, your eyes did not deceive you. We're going to have another baby! BIG surprise to us, because we were going to wait another 6 months to try! God is so good. About a month ago now I was having a few stressful days, totally overwhelmed with all of my responsibilities, stressed that the shop had been very slow for sales. The Lord really laid it on my heart that I should discontinue my Etsy shop, in fact my business altogether. My priorities have been out of whack for months and everything seems to be suffering. So I prayed about it and committed to quitting the shop for now. I really need to sell as much as possible first, but hopefully most of that will be done by the end of next month. Anyway, I got such a peace when praying about this and even started to look forward to another baby (I haven't felt this way since Joshua was born because I haven't wanted him to grow up). Well, it was pretty much exactly when the Lord changed my heart that I conceived- completely unknowingly. If that isn't confirmation, I don't know what is!
Matt has been busy with his classes and work and getting in shape. He applied for the firefighter 1 academy which is mostly good experience and good for your resume. They only allow a limited number of applicants to take the physical abilities test, and then there is an interview. This physical is extremely difficult and Matt took it Saturday and passed! Thank you, Lord! Interviews are in December and if he gets this we're in for a long 4 or 5 months. He'll be working, driving to Bakersfield for the academy two weeknights from 6-10 pm and all weekend 8-5. Plus, he'll possibly take his very last class online as well as do his best to be there for Joshua and I. But we trust God to get us through if given the opportunity!
I will try to get some new pics up of Joshua soon, but I just wanted to finally write, especially since my yahoo email is being lame and hasn't been working the past few days. I hope all is well and you're experiencing the Lord's blessings to the fullest as we approach a day of Thanksgiving!
Also, last week we found out that Joshua is going to be a big brother. Did you have to read that twice? That's right, your eyes did not deceive you. We're going to have another baby! BIG surprise to us, because we were going to wait another 6 months to try! God is so good. About a month ago now I was having a few stressful days, totally overwhelmed with all of my responsibilities, stressed that the shop had been very slow for sales. The Lord really laid it on my heart that I should discontinue my Etsy shop, in fact my business altogether. My priorities have been out of whack for months and everything seems to be suffering. So I prayed about it and committed to quitting the shop for now. I really need to sell as much as possible first, but hopefully most of that will be done by the end of next month. Anyway, I got such a peace when praying about this and even started to look forward to another baby (I haven't felt this way since Joshua was born because I haven't wanted him to grow up). Well, it was pretty much exactly when the Lord changed my heart that I conceived- completely unknowingly. If that isn't confirmation, I don't know what is!
Matt has been busy with his classes and work and getting in shape. He applied for the firefighter 1 academy which is mostly good experience and good for your resume. They only allow a limited number of applicants to take the physical abilities test, and then there is an interview. This physical is extremely difficult and Matt took it Saturday and passed! Thank you, Lord! Interviews are in December and if he gets this we're in for a long 4 or 5 months. He'll be working, driving to Bakersfield for the academy two weeknights from 6-10 pm and all weekend 8-5. Plus, he'll possibly take his very last class online as well as do his best to be there for Joshua and I. But we trust God to get us through if given the opportunity!
I will try to get some new pics up of Joshua soon, but I just wanted to finally write, especially since my yahoo email is being lame and hasn't been working the past few days. I hope all is well and you're experiencing the Lord's blessings to the fullest as we approach a day of Thanksgiving!
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