Our Long Date!!!

Jeremy and I had wonderful "date night" thist past Friday night. Here's how it went:

We drove down to Graham on Friday and had lunch with my Mom and Maw-Maw who took Stephen and Caleb home with them. Jeremy and I then headed back to Durham. He had told me to pack a bag when we left, but I had no idea where we were going.

My first surprise was the beautiful bouquet of flowers he had ordered for me. We picked them up on the way to my next surprise. Next, we headed to a nice hotel in Raleigh and checked into our room. It was very beautiful (and according to Jeremy not too expensive!).

For dinner, we went to the Cheesecake Factory. Since I've been pregnant, this restaurant has been one of my cravings. I love their cheesecake, of course, but their parmesan chicken with alfredo sauce is even better. Over dinner Jeremy and I talked about how gracious God has been to us throughout our marriage. We reminisced on how He has abundantly met our needs and wants. No one in this world could understand God's provision quite like Jeremy and I understand it together. When our waiter brought us the bill, he told us that our entree was free since it had been prepared wrong (and yes, I was totally nice about this) and took so long to come out. Jeremy and I just laughed again at God's provision and tipped our waiter extra!

We then headed to the Summit for a marriage conference with Paul Tripp. It was so awesome! There were over 600 people there. Both Jeremy and I learned so many new things and were reminded of a lot of other things we had forgotten.

On Saturday morning we woke up and headed back to the Summit for the second part of the conference. Again, Paul Tripp was great, and the Lord revealed many things to both me and Jeremy. I am thankful for this time of growth for both us.

After the conference, we went out to eat with a newly married couple whom we have been mentoring. The Summit has a great mentorship program for engaged couples that carries over into their first few months of marriage. Spending time with these two has strengthened mine and Jeremy's marriage, and I'm confident God has great things in store for them.

At this point in our weekend date, I was tired!=) I could have headed back home and napped for hours on end, but we still had a little while before picking up the boys. There's a golf course right across the street from our home, and Jeremy has been itching to play it. The weather was perfect on Saturday so off we went. Jeremy played 9 holes, and I walked with him. Yes, I got a little tired towards the end, but it was so much fun! It reminded me of our "golfing days" back before we had kids. I admit that I'm looking forward to rejoining him on the course again in the future!=)

We picked up the boys later that night and headed back home and well, really, back to reality. I sure love our boys, but it is so much different without them. Marriage is hard work, especially after you had kids. But after our long date, it was worth it!=)

I'm not digging this picture of us, but it's the only one we took!=)

Forever!!!

Yes, it's been forever since I've blogged, and here's my excuse...NOTHING! Seriously, I have been busy (like everyone), but I have no great reason for why it's been about 2 weeks since I've last blogged. A brief catch-up would be...

Stephen and Caleb have been their normal, silly selves. Caleb has started to (finally) enjoy reading and is picking up a new word (or sound) almost daily. Stephen has been playing with his Thomas trains again more recently and is gearing up to start spring soccer this week. We love that it's getting warmer!

The "new baby" is growing, and I'm officially 15 weeks. We had an ultrasound a week ago, but it was, of course, too early to find out if this little one will be a girl or boy. We go March 26th for another ultrasound and will hopefully find out then. As of last week, I'm finally able to feel this baby moving. It is such an amazing thing! I've avoided maternity clothes as of now but know the inevitable will be here soon!=)

This past weekend I completed Basic Leader Training with Weight Watchers. I can finally start leading a group of my own and am excited about the doors the Lord opens. This should be another tremendous way to help people, which is what I love (and very flexible!).

I'll post some pictures as I know they are much more interesting than what I write!=) Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Joy is clueless when it comes to playing catch!


Enjoying the sunshine (and dogs) a little!


Sweet Caleb!


A homemade pizza we made (and trust me, this wasn't Weight Watchers!)


Kisses for everyone!


My crazy boys!


Getting ready to leave for church


Our new baby...It's a picture of a picture which makes it more blurry. You can see the baby's head on your right and little body on your left.

"Day at the Museum"

On Thursday, the boys and I got stir-crazy and headed for the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. We have been spending a lot of time at home recently, mainly because of the cold, gas prices, getting Stephen on a "school" schedule, and just the "busyness" of little Caleb! This Thursday, though, it was time to get out! And what better place to go than to a museum that's about 10 minutes from our house that we're members to! It was great!

We spent all of our time indoors due to the cold weather. The boys played with all sorts of imaginative things, and I prided myself that Stephen couldn't have gotten a better "preschool lesson" anywhere that day! He begged to go outside and see the butterfly house, bears, lemurs, etc, so on Saturday, Jeremy and I went back.

The weather was beautiful then, so we spent the entire time outside. I don't have any pictures, though, because it was kind of an unplanned trip. I'm learning that those are often the best! Anyhoo, hope you enjoy the pictures! The museum is awesome but spending time with those you love is even better!=)

Caleb amazed at the ball tubes that wound around the ceiling and down the wall


Stephen trying to roll balls down the ramp and into little buckets


Stephen and Caleb on the horse (I think Caleb was getting irritated!)


Caleb on the horse


Trying to make water bubbles


"Building"


Painting with water


Doesn't he just look like trouble!=)


The climbing wall

A Simple Valentine's Day!

Since Valentine's Day fell on a Sunday (and Jeremy leaves for church at 7:30 while the boys are usually still asleep), we decided to celebrate a day early. Stephen was excited to get some new playdough (my favorite for the boys to play with while I cook dinner and wait for Jeremy to get home), an adapter for the Wii remote (so he and Jeremy can now play the Sports Resort game against each other or together), a Kit-Kat (one of his favorites), and some random lollypops.

With it being cold and snowy on Saturday, Stephen and Jeremy took advantage of their new Wii toy! I'm not big on video games (and really don't want Stephen to become a bum), but this "Wii time" had become a special Daddy-Stephen time each night. Today Jeremy even created a "Stephen" character for Stephen to play with. He was so excited as we picked out his eye shape, hair color, etc!

Caleb, well, he mainly just got to "share" Stephen's playdough but also got some lollypops of his own. At one time I counted 5 in his little hands! I found them stuck to pillows, the floor, etc. all day!

On Saturday night, Jeremy had to be at church, so the boys and I decided to give the dogs a bath before taking theirs. It was so hilarious (and a lot of work)! The boys were excited to have Lady and Joy upstairs with them and not just gated in the kitchen. You can easily see how much they love them!=)

I guess that sums up our simple Valentine's Day. We did make Valentine's jello, but that's always somewhat of a bust. It was fun, though, so I can't complain! It's the little things that make the best memories!=)


The finished product (Lady at least)


In the bathing process


Our ugly jello=)





Playing outside last week during a "warm day"


Stephen and his Kit-Kat


Caleb and his suckers


Stephen and his playdough


Stephen opening up his new Wii remote

STRETCHED.............

This post may seem boring, but I couldn't resist sharing with you what God has been teaching me!=)

I have learned SO much, spiritually and practically, the past couple days. Some of it has come from my own personal quiet time, but mostly, God has been teaching me through the wisdom of others. I've been so excited to share these tidbits of revelation but know I can never begin to justly say what the Holy Spirit has said to my heart. Nonetheless, here goes...

On Thursday, Jeremy and I, along with 2 of his staff members, attended a ministry workshop at Green St. Baptist in High Point. The guest speaker, Reggie Joiner, is the founder of reThink, which is the curriculum Summit Kids is presently using. Admittedly, I was a little skeptical going in and not really in the "mood to learn." Reggie, though, made it impossible not to! I'm still thinking on all the new and refreshing concepts he shared. Here are some things I wrote down in my notes:

*"People change when the pain associated with the status quo becomes greater than the pain associated with the change."

*"Make sure we can differentiate between what is core and what is cultural."

*"We will never be able to compete with culture (Nick, MTV, etc.), but they will never be able to compete with relationships." When everything falls apart, a child will cling to a strong relationship, not a character on a TV show.

*"Students (and kids) will never feel significant unless they are given something significant to do...ministry!"

*"Encourage parents (including myself) to make steps/do one thing more, not reach a goal (ie-perfect parent)."

*"Engage in culture with our kids (ministry) while they're home instead of letting them figure it all out one day on their own." In other words, I'd rather my boys be exposed to drugs or alcohol while Mommy and Daddy are serving these people, as opposed to the temptation of partaking one day in a college dorm room. This is so convicting, and Jeremy and I are still figuring out how to "flesh" this one out.

*Deuteronomy talks about constantly presenting Christ before our kids (in everything we do and everywhere we go). I agree, but I've tried to internalize this too much, and have put way too much pressure on myself as a parent. God gave this commandment to His people in the OT, so they would not forget all He had done for them. It was a different time and place. When Jesus ascended, however, and left His disciples, He told them to take the message out, not keep it in among their families. This understanding (and I'm sure I did a crummy job of explaining it) offered me so much freedom yet conviction. I am to pour Christ into our boys, so they can then take it out. We should be serving together now, not waiting til they've "learned it all!"

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, the scattered thoughts of what the Holy Spirit so clearly showed me through the words of Reggie Joiner last week. I'm still mulling over it all...

And then, there was JD's message on Sunday, which was awesome. Right now we're studying the book of Ephesians. Here are some of my notes from then:

*"God wants people who love and worship Him, not religous rule followers."

*"We are to love God and serve Him; not just avoid sin."

*"When we know we have God's approval, we won't try so hard to impress others."

*3 questions we "asked ourselves:"
-What is my source of hope, worth, and power?
-What am I living for?
-Do I realize how much power is available to me?

And that concludes (or really begins) the "spiritual streching" God has been doing in my life lately. I know lots of it may seem simple, but the Holy Spirit knew I needed the reminders. I'm so thankful for His still small voice (and tremendous patience!).

In conclusion, here's a picture of Stephen and his "Valentine card eater" we made yesterday! He is so proud of it, and we are seriously getting into the Valentine's spirit!

Sick & Snow (But not sick of snow!!!)

To keep it short and non-disgusting, I have been so unbeliveably sick this past week. In addition to a nasty stomach bug (and night of sleeping on the bathroom floor), this morning/all day sickness has been terrible. The bad thing has been the fact that the stomach bug has affected my appetite which in turn has increased the nausea. I'm not complaining, believe me. There's a new little person growing inside my belly! Can I expect that to be an easy thing to adjust to?

On top of my stomach stuff, Stephen woke up Wednesday night with a 103.3 degree fever. Jeremy and I were pretty worried. My Mom came up and stayed with us nearly all week. We took Stephen to the Dr., and they tested him for the flu. Praise the Lord it came back negative. The untreatable phrase "viral" is all they can tell that he has, but his cough has only gotten worse. Poor little guy hasn't eaten for nearly 4 days. On the way home from the Dr. last week, my Mom asked Stephen if he'd like to go somewhere for lunch. He immediately said "McDonalds!" She then asked him what he wanted, and his reply was "A Happy Meal without the food!" She and I laughed our heads off! We did go through the drive-thru and get him a Happy Meal. He enjoyed the toy while I enjoyed the food!=)

Regardless of all the sickness, we have LOVED the snow! It's been a great way to get our minds off of our selves and enjoy the beauty of God's creativity! We went sledding both yesterday and today down the little hill in our backyard. I really think that Jeremy and I enjoyed it more than the boys!

Here are some pictures of our adventures...



Jeremy and Stephen headed back up the hill



A "before picture" of the snowball



Here's the "after picture!"



Jeremy and the boys headed back home



Stephen all bundled up



Caleb so bundled up he could hardly move!



Stephen and his sled

Our 1st Ultrasound and New Due Date!!!

So yes, this morning in the cold, dreary rain, Jeremy and I headed to the Dr. We were late, of course, but it was SO hard dragging ourselves out of bed (especially when Stephen and Caleb weren't there to wake us up!).

I've been anxious and excited about our first ultrasound appointment. Besides the "scary one" we had with Stephen at 6 weeks (due to some complications) and the early one I had in the hospital with the baby we lost, Jeremy and I have never had an ultrasound this early. I guess it's a new thing they're doing on a regular basis. Anyhoo, today was the day and praise the Lord we had an excellent ultrasound techinician. She was able to find the baby through my belly (and you women know the other method I was hoping to avoid!). Very quickly Jeremy and I were able to spot a little person wiggling around on the screen!

We're not that far along in our pregnancy, but we could clearly see the baby's stubby arms and legs. The technician even commented on how much he or she was moving! We were able to hear the heartbeat, and everything looks and sounds great! Our new little baby is about an inch long and weighs less than a paper clip at this point (I have no excuxe for already gaining weight!). I'm praising the Lord already for this little miracle and am reminded so deeply of the sanctity of human life.

We met with the nurse for awhile, and I got both the regular and H1N1 flu shots. They also drew quite a lot of blood for testing. We'll go back in about 3 weeks for my next check-up.

And here's the "dramatic conclusion" I've been holding out on!=) After measuring the baby, the ultrasound technician informed us that I was originally given the wrong due date. The baby was measuring about 1 week farther along, which makes me 9 weeks. She printed out our first "baby picture" and also a sheet that had our new due date on it. I am still a little in awe that our due date is now August 27th.

For some of you, that date means absolutely nothing but for us, it holds a lot of meaning. August 27, 2007 is the day our family had the car wreck that nearly took our lives. No matter how much we heal, we will never forget that date. And can you believe, of all the days in the year, God chose that one as the due date for this baby!

Jeremy and I just smile. Isn't God amazing?! He can truly do whatever He wants to! We've been reminded about how in control God really is. Nothing ever, good or bad, takes Him by surprise. This pregnancy was totally not planned by us, but He sure has a plan! Wow! I even read in my devos today Psalm 16:7, which says, "I will bless the Lord who guides me..." Yes, that's what we will do! In the good times and the bad, our Father is lovingly in control. We will bless Him!=)

And now, meet the newest little Pollard...