My Funny Valentine

When they say "A picture is worth a thousand words", I think they meant this one.

This is the look my 1st grader gave me as she opened her Valentine's bag at her school party. Needless to say, there were many small, individually wrapped pieces of hyperactivity for her to indulge in.

And just so you don't think I gave birth to bug-eyed child, here is her normal sweet smiling face.

Please note: this was pre-consumption of said small pieces of ADD in a wrapper.

And please also note: Those sweet treats "mysteriously disappeared" from the premises only hours after the kids went to bed. If you have any information on their whereabouts, please do not contact me. Thank you.

Hello out there!

Okay, this is ridiculous, I know. I haven't posted since June. JUNE. And it is now October! Oh, my, this has got to be the worst blog ever. So sorry to whoever is out there reading. :) I will try to do better.

Fall has come for the Stakes. We are looking forward to going to North Carolina/Tennessee this weekend for a week of laid-back vacation with friends. I am really excited about the time to get away and be together as a family with nature, no work, and no TV. We have grand plans of apple picking, bluegrass music, dancing, hiking, eating, and resting. I am sure I'll have plenty to post about when we get home.

This past week has been an interesting one for us. On Wednesday, I woke up so dizzy I couldn't stand and nauseous. When it didn't go away for hours, Scott took me to the doctor's office. After a couple of hours there, they couldn't tell us what caused it but they did send me away with a nice parting gift - anti vertigo meds. The dizziness went away and hasn't been back, so who knows. Shall we chalk it up to hormones? A 30 year old woman, nursing a 9 month old - yeah, I'd say I have hormonal issues.

On Friday, my sweet hubby decided to tackle the yard work and set to trimming some out-of-control bushes while I was cleaning inside. Mid-vaccuum I heard awful banging on the front door and opened it to my husband holding his bloody hand behind him. My heart leapt into triple time and I proceeded to run around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to get my brain to process normally. I grabbed him a towel (a navy blue one, too, which was impressive given my mental state) and told him to hold his hand above his head. His face was getting whiter by the minute so I sat him in the van with some orange juice while I called my mom to come watch the kids.

Mom: "Hello?"
Me (in a hurried voice): "Hi, Scott cut his finger trimming bushes and I need to take him in to get stitches so can you come over and watch the kids" (all in one big breath).
Pause.
Mom: "Hello? I'm sorry, this phone is making a funny sound. Whoever this is, can you hold on a second?"
Me: "MOM!! GET IN THE CAR AND COME TO MY HOUSE!!!"
Mom: "OH! Okay!"

Exactly 6 minutes later she comes to screeching halt in front of my house. I'm so sorry, Mom, for the 10 minutes I just took off your life.

So, 3 hours later we get back from Patients First with a couple stitches and a tetanus shot. He is just fine, and will heal. Fifteen minutes after we get home, he leaves again to go pick up an entertainment center I bought off of Craig's List with my brother in law. Craziness. That night we went out on a date and got to relax a bit over some yummy Bonefish Grill.

I tell ya, you never know what might happen that day when you wake up. But I do know this: God is Sovereign in all of it and He is good and faithful. Praise be to Him!

Summer is Here!!

Ahh, the lazy days of summer have arrived. Now the kids don't have to go to bed when the sun is still out and we can all be together to play during the day. I have certainly missed Abigail this year at school! She was a little melancholy on her last day, trying to keep her tears at bay on the way home in the van. I must admit, I was the same way. Mrs. Warren was about the best Kindergarten teacher anyone could ask for, and this first year of school was wonderful. Here is a picture of her at their Kindergarten graduation play. They performed Peter Rabbit and Abigail was Mrs. McGregor. They were adorable, and they each got a certificate for completing their first year of school.

Now, we are enjoying being outside in the kiddy pool, on the slip N slide, and grilling out for dinner. We have been swimming and to the park, and in a week or so the girls start their swimming lessons for the summer. I do love this time of year!

Abigail's Ballet Recital

It's that time again! May always brings beautiful ballerinas to our house, and this year was no different. Abigail is 6 years old now, and this was her 3rd ballet recital with Wildwood Ballet. She did two dances this year -- a tap number and then a ballet performance -- both to songs that demonstrate the names of Jesus. She did fabulous, of course! She was so nervous about the tap dance because it involved a lot of moving positions -- the two lines of dancers switched twice and they all had to come together for a 6-yr.-old version of the rockette kick. It was adorable.

Finally, an update!

Whew...it has only taken me 9 weeks since Josiah's birth to get on here and post something! Sorry for the long wait, it has been 2 1/2 months of illness for me, and with caring for the 3 kiddos on top of that, I have not had the time or energy to blog! :) Hopefully, all that will change soon.

So here are the details: Josiah was born on January 11, 2009 at 1:47pm. He weighed in at a big 8lbs 1oz for being two weeks early! He was 19 1/2 inches long with nice broad shoulders and a head full of brown hair. My labor was very fast -- 1 1/2 hours total and he came out healthy and happy!

After giving birth, I did hemmorage quite a bit and lost a lot of blood. At one point, my OB looked at me and said "We may have to wheel you down to the OR soon if your bleeding doesn't stop. I have to figure out where it is coming from and stop it." Of course, I was in full panic mode at that point and vividly remember looking past the doctor to my husband's face and seeing complete control in his eyes. He didn't say anything just then, but his face told me that it was going to be okay and that he would be there through whatever came next. I think I will always remember that look of strength and courage for as long as I live. We prayed and prayed for the bleeding to stop, and after 2 different medications, it finally did.

At about 8:30 that evening, I was allowed to get out of bed and try walking. I got to the restroom and back before just about passing out, but after another hour, they released me from Labor & Delivery to a normal Postpartum room. What a day! God was so gracious and good! At every corner, He would remind me that He was sovereign & in control and that He would take care of me. He gave us a beautiful, healthy, sweet tempered baby boy who did not have to have antibiotics given to him in his first days of life (which was a BIG prayer request for me). He stopped my bleeding and gave me the next few days to spend nursing and loving on my new baby boy rather than recovering from surgery. He is so good, and I love Him!

Josiah is now a very happy and content 9 week old boy, who is quick to smile at us and loves when his sisters join him on the quilt on the floor. He started sleeping through the night at 4 1/2 weeks (another blessing from God!) and generally doesn't cry much at all. His sisters have transitioned so well, and they are so sweet and kind to him. He has already acquired the nickname "Buddy" from them and they love to hold and kiss him.

We are doing generally very well as a family of 5, and it is a true joy to have Josiah as a new member of our family. I am reminded of a quote from our church's baby dedication prayer -- that we are but a nursery for heaven, caretakers of precious children that are not our own, but God's, and that our responsibility and joy is to raise them to know Him, love Him, and follow whatever His will might be for their lives.

And his name is....

We did decide on a name for this masculine bundle that constantly moves in my stomach! His name is going to be....

Josiah Scott Stake

We loved the name when we were pregnant with Hannah and it stuck with us! Josiah means "God is my support" which we are already praying for this little guy. Josiah is also a great king in the Bible, one of the few that loved and followed God. He became king at the age of 8 and as he grew, he loved the Lord and cast out the idols in Judah and rebuilt God's Temple. He also found the Book of the Law (1st 5 books of the Old Testament) in one of the walls in the Temple, and had it read to all the people out loud. As a result, the country turned back the Lord and followed Him and His statutes.

We are praying that our son would have this kind of boldness and courage for the Lord, and that He might use our Josiah for His kingdom in amazing ways.

We chose Scott for a middle name because he is our first son, and I would love to see our son grow to be much like his Daddy. My husband is an amazing man, and I admire him so much. He is strong, obedient to the Lord, courageous, willing to take a stand on what matters, incredibly intentional with our kids and me, and so loving. There is much more I could say, but it would take me all day!

So there you have it! We are looking forward to his arrival in just under 3 months and finally getting to meet this precious life that God has created face-to-face.

My Little Cloggers

Okay, this is the last one from North Carolina, I promise! :)

One night, we went into Asheville to the Fiddlin' Pig, a great BBQ place with live Bluegrass every night. We had gone last year to see Balsam Range play, so this year we went again and saw The Hominy Brothers. The girls were so excited about dancing and we got to meet the band before they started playing. They danced the night away, clogging with each other and dancing with Daddy. They even wore their black heeled church shoes because Abigail said that they were the most like real clogging shoes. Here are a couple pictures to enjoy and a short video to see the dancing queens.