SURPRISE!!

Yesterday was quite the interesting day for us.

In the afternoon I put the kids down for their naps, left them with my sister and headed to my 20 week ultrasound.  Hubby was teaching a class and wasn't able to sneak away to come with me to the ultrasound so I went in alone.

I am half done this pregnancy and I can't imagine what these next 20 weeks will hold with how busy the first 20 have been. I am sure it will fly by, if all the stuff that is planned over the next few weeks is any indicator of what is to come.

Our last ultrasound was a little over 4 weeks ago and we were really just having another one to double check all of the measurements again and to see if the mark on the heart was still there.

The mark is still there but the heart is functioning normally from what they can tell and there are no other signs of birth defects or trisomy 21.   Everything looks on schedule for the little one to arrive middle of February.

But,

There was one teeny, tiny little difference between this scan and the last one.

Remember this photo?

That was what the Dr gave us as proof since we were both so shocked to hear that it was a BOY!

Well. Yesterday, was completely different. 

Apparently, its a GIRL!!

Little A was so shocked and excited when we told her.  

Her exact words were, " I...I prayed for a girl, alll day!!"   She was physically shaking with excitement. 

We are all a little in shock again after the crazy change of events, but I have to say that I was not surprised. When they told me it was a boy I didn't know what to think. Everything in me was telling me it was a girl and all of the dreams I have had about this baby were of it being a girl. So hearing it was a boy in the first place was what really threw me and took me a long time to adjust to but I still had my doubts. 

The most interesting part was the Ultrasound Doctors face as he tried to apologize for his mistake.  He was totally shocked to not find a penis yesterday and went back to check more than 4 times.  He couldn't get over it. "Honestly, by looking at the scans from last time I would still tell you that this baby is a boy, I was 99% positive. But seeing things today, obviously its not a boy, it just doesn't make sense."

Hubby's response was only that Little A must have been praying really really hard. 

My mom's response is that it could still be twins, one boy and one girl. (I don't think its possible unless one is amazing at hiding) 

Mostly, we are all just really excited to know that everything is looking good and we can just enjoy the next 20 weeks and see what God has in store for us and our growing family. 

Blessings. 

Anita

Hard to image this skull with a cute little nose and chubby little cheeks but I can't wait to see them.

Thank You

This week was/is Deaf Awareness Week!

I just wanted to send out a quick Thank You to all of the wonderful Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in my life.  

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

You have not only enriched my life by welcoming me and my family into your community, you have enriched three generations of our family and it will continue. 

Thank you for allowing me to use your language to make my kids more brilliant. Sign Language has been such a huge part of our kids lives and they are all the better for it.  Yours, is a beautiful language, Thank you for sharing it with us.  

Thank you!  For being forgiving when we mess up and use the wrong signs. For trying so hard to understand us as we fumble and slowly go through a sentence. And for repeating yourself more than what should be necessary as we struggle to watch your hands move so fluidly and beautifully as you speak to us and others.  

I am so proud to know you and humbled to be welcomed into your community.  

This is a video made by the Deaf Professional Arts Network.  My kids love watching them and trying to sign along with them.   Enjoy. 

Love is... Motivational

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

One of the best blessings that I have received being married to my wonderful hubby is that when I fall down, he lifts me up. He is consistently trying to help and encourage me in all that I do. (Of course there are always things he doesn't notice that I was hoping he would but when he does notice things, he is very encouraging and thoughtful)

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:29

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
Proverbs 10:11

I could easily talk about this coming from the perspective of a lot of women and say that most of the time we end up having to motivate our husbands. Most often we do this by making them "Honey do" lists or by nagging. But instead of beating a dead horse, I am going to show you this from the perspective of the person being "motivated". 


I am not a good housekeeper. My house is a disaster most of the time. We live here and I often put the cleaning and organising at the bottom of the list because I would rather just be spending time with my family doing things. 
I am also a lot like my dad and I get super distracted while doing a task and I end up doing 8 other tasks at the same time so it takes me hours to fully finish cleaning a room. (But that's because I have also taken a stray sock to another room which led me to clean something there before heading to a different room and then back to the task at hand after about half an hour.  Its rather frustrating and takes a lot for me to just sit and do one thing)

This drives my husband crazy.  His mom was and is a stay at home mom. Hubby grew up on a farm and his mom was always there cooking and cleaning and helping when she was needed out in the yard.  Their house was always clean, at least from what hubby can remember. It was also always his moms job to clean and cook and his Dad was always working elsewhere.  His dad rarely helped clean because he had other things he had to do, and he only just recently started to put his dishes into the sink or dishwasher. (they have been off the farm for almost 6 years)

Over the years of our marriage we have talked argued about cleaning the house more times than I can count.  About a year into marriage, while both of us were working outside of the home, Hubby decided he needed to help me out. I think he caught onto the fact that if he wanted it done his way, in his time, he would have to help. We would work together and get the entire house fully cleaned each Saturday morning.  It was wonderful. Now that we have kids it doesn't always work out like that and normally one of us takes the kids and the other tries to clean. 

There have been a number of times in our marriage when Hubby has tried to motivate me to clean and organise the way he wants it. He has tried the male version of nagging (I would say its very different than how a woman would do it but it is still quite frustrating).  He has made little "jokes" or remarks about it to me or to our friends and family, that were funny to everyone but hurtful for me to hear. 

But honestly, best thing that he has done, that actually motivates me, was to encourage me when I was working at it and get excited when I finished something.  He has actually gotten really good at noticing when I have made a little change or effort to clean and organise. He tries to help me out however I need it and is always encouraging and understanding. (It helps that he has tried to watch the kids all day and clean the house and was unsuccessful) 

Iron sharpens iron,
    and one man sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17

A joyful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22

A soft answer turns away wrath,
    but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

I am sure that you have heard many times that "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar".  It is totally true with children, positive reinforcement will always produce better results than using negative reinforcement alone. It is also true with our spouses, they will feel more loved and respected if we celebrate their successes and kindly talk about our desires than if we nag them for it all the time and act like they never get anything right.  

How would you feel if your spouse only used negative reinforcement to motivate you?
Are we sharpening each other or are we cutting into each other?

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25

This is my challenge for us this week: 

Try to discover how to "stir up" or motive your spouse. You can do this by trying out different love languages or by having a real, honest and open discussion. 

Ask them what speaks to them to feel encouraged and lifted up.  Ask if there is anything you are doing that is not encouraging (and listen to their honest answer without biting their head off). 

Work at showing appreciation for the things that your spouse does do instead of getting angry about the things they don't do.