These are the days of my life...

Having three children is a lot of fun but can be very stressful. Here's a glimpse of my life for the past week. Gabe's had a cough for a few weeks so last Wednesday I take him to the pediatrician and we're told it's asthma. (No big shocker...Jonathan & I both have it!) The two older boys also get FLU shots at this appointment. I think it's worse having the older kids get shots than the babies any day. To make a long story short, Noah goes first and screams his head off. Gabe watches Noah get his shot and is terrified, so I have to hold him down (have a nurse hold Joel) and have Noah screaming all at the same time. A very stressful event! At which all three fall asleep on the way home! We give Gabe the inhaler (as prescribed) but he gets worse and not better. Sunday, after we went to church and ate lunch with some friends I noticed his eye was red. You guessed it...PINK EYE! At this point Noah now has the same cough and a runny nose. So...Monday morning we all go to the pediatrician's office AGAIN! Gabe is treated for Pink Eye & both boys are given cough medicine. With the nurse practitioner is still in the room, I go to hand Joel to Jonathan and we look at him with GREEN stuff coming out of his nose. He gets checked too and all is well. This brings us to Monday afternoon...Jonathan leaves to go out of town for the rest of the week and now Gabe is running a fever. His fever was around 102 all night. Today he was fine until this afternoon when he started running a low fever again. (You know Gabe doesn't feel good when he takes a nap...a 2 hour nap!) Noah is feeling fine! Joel however has been running a low fever all day and now has Pink Eye! Of course being that he is only 3 1/2 months old he can't use the same drops as Gabe so tomorrow morning we are headed back to the pediatrician AGAIN! Can I just say...PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!~

Bad Aim

Well, Julie posted about the Poop Cycle so I had to share and inform about MY current problem. I thought I had it all figured out when Gabe was potty training...put an old burp rag or towel at the back of the toilet so when he has "bad aim" it would catch it and not drip down the sides of the toilet onto the floor. However along comes Noah...He waits until he is just about to wet his pants to go and then it drips down the front of the toilet (he isn't tall enough & is in too much of a hurry to lift the seat). He just pees EVERYWHERE! I normally have to spray their bathroom down everyday with bleach so that it doesn't stink, but even when I've just cleaned it, I will go to bathe them and still smell pee! I will add that I have a two air fresheners one plug in and one behind the toilet & they don't help!! I guess this will be a never ending problem at our house and I'm sure it will get worse when Joel gets bigger. Just had to share my frustration and warn all of you that have boys that this will happen to you too! P.S. Don't use ammonia to clean it up...it only worsens the problem!

Talking with God

The other day Gabe was waiting for our neighbors to come home so they could play. He was sitting at the edge of our drive way with his bike just waiting patiently. I went outside to play with him while the other boys were napping. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was talking with God. I was caught off guard a minute and asked what did you say? He said that he was asking God if He was okay because He was hurt on the cross. I told Gabe that it was great to talk with God and God really likes talking with him. He's really been asking some wonderful questions about stories he's learning from school & church! What a great feeling to know he's listening & processing stories about our wonderful Father!

Conrad Pictures

Wanted to share a few fun pictures from this week!



Gabe had his Fall Festival at school on Friday! Noah only likes a few bites of Cotton Candy and it's a good thing. He'd be so sticky! Cute picture!

I tried & tried to get Joel to smile to get his 3 month pictures...He'd smile and by the time my slow camera would snap...he was back to being serious again! I thought this one was really cute. I think I took about 20 pictures; good think we're digital.

Me & my sweet boys at the pumpkin patch! Joel wasn't very happy! Gabe has a Cowboy Dress up Day on Wednesday at school and wanted to try it out!

This is what happens when you are the youngest. Big Brothers do silly things to you and everyone laughs without you knowing why!

Cars & Trucks and the thing that makes them go...

When we all got into the car today, I noticed that the gas light was on in the van. I told the boys we were going to have to put gas in the car on the way home. Gabe then asked Noah, "Would you like to know why cars need gas?" Noah didn't respond so he continued anyway. I eagerly listened while he proceeded..."Cars have to have gas or they will not work and if they don't work, you have to walk. You don't want to walk because your legs will get tired and hurt. You want your car to work so you should put gas in it. Remember the time Mr. Vance didn't put gas in his car and we had to help him. Mommy, why didn't Mr. Vance put gas in his car...doesn't he know it will not work without gas." I added that Mr. Vance knows that cars need gas, but his car was broken and he didn't know it was out of gas. This happened months ago and he still hasn't forgotten!

Gabe has frequently asked why he can't ride in the front seat beside me. I've explained about air bags and how they can hurt him if I was in an accident because he isn't big enough yet. We had this conversation a few days ago, but realized today that he got to ride in the front seat of a car. He reminded me that he got to ride in Vance's truck because there is no back seat! He was quite satisfied knowing he got to ride in the front afterall! Vance you've been redeemed! HA!

Holy Moly

Today Gabe came home from school singing,

"Open the eyes of my heart Lord,
Open the eyes of my heart, I want to see you"...he continues until he gets to the Holy, Holy Holy part...he sings..."Holy Moly, Moly!" I corrected and said it was Holy Holy Holy and he said that was fine but he was going to sing Holy Moly because he liked that better.

Too Fun! Had to share!

Kelly

Action!!

My friend Christopher and I have had this conversation before. But, lately I've really been thinking about my frustrations in life and most of them are in some way related to an inability, unwillingness, or refusal to take action. That isn't new. We all get frustrated when we want to act and can't, don't, won't. What has got me blogging about this, is that I just recently (in a moment of inactivity, mind you) started thinking about the fact that I am just as aggitated at constant preparation for action. Some would say preparation represents a series of important actions taken to lead up to a bigger action. I say that preparation, in many cases, is a stall tactic or a way to waste time until action is needed. I hate talking about acting and thinking about acting and studying how to act and deciding when to act. And, in the middle of my action (when it happens) I don't like to stop to talk about how it's going and what should change and why and when. Just let me get something done! That is a weakness, perhaps. Great leaders will tell you that a key of leadership is the willingness to read, study and prepare yourself on a regular basis and to evaluate your actions. I hate that. I don't want to talk about it, especially while I'm in the middle of trying to execute the action. I guess this all stems from my current position in a "start-up." I feel like there is soooooo much planning that goes into everything and then a lot of talking about the planning and a lot of planning about the talking about the planning and then, maybe acting, then talking about the acting and planning for reacting. And thus, you have seen my worst fear. A cycle of insanity. Solution: We need to win a contract.

Life Is But A Dream

Recently, I taught Gabriel how to sing a round of Row, Row, Row Your Boat . He's pretty good at it. I was surprised at how easily he picked up the round part. He amazes me. He is now going to school. Well, preschool anyway. I know it's old hat for our parents and others. We always hear, "they grow up fast." Yet, just like most things in life (like "Don't touch that it's hot!" or "Brakes don't work on wet roads at high speed.") you have to experience it, before you get it. That's where we are now, as parents. Gabriel is growing up and I am experiencing the speed in which that happens. I know most of my friends are going through the exact same stage of parenting. We're watching all of our oldest children become more independent and self-sufficient. We are having serious conversations with them that don't revolve around PBS characters or silly stories. We are answering real-life questions and I'm amazed at the desire and drive they have to gain knowledge. Sometimes, Gabriel asks me to sit with him and just tell him about something. Seriously! He just says, "Daddy...will you tell me more about something?" And I'll ask, "What would you like to know about?" And he'll say, "Tell me about the people who don't have toys." or "Tell me about Jesus. When do we get to go to heaven? How did Jesus come back to life?" "Tell me about (insert any subject)." No kidding! I'm struck by this. These aren't light subjects and he isn't just trying to avoid going to bed. Well, sometimes that's the reason, but mostly he truly wants to know what we have to tell him. He listens intently and asks questions about my answers to questions. He has also been very focused on Joel, our newest addition. He is proving to be a wonderful big brother. He is loving and wants to hold him and care for him as much as he can. I've already seen Gabriel grow up a lot, since Joel's birth. He is more loving to Noah and has really assumed the Big Brother role very well and seems to take great pride in it. Another sign of his growing up too fast, and the scariest one, is that when asked why he plays with a particular girl in school, his response is "because she's pretty and has pretty hair." WHOA! Too early to deal with that, so I'm leaving it there. Gabriel will be five in October. Part of me says, "he's only five" while the other says, "he's already FIVE!!!??" He is so young, yet now is when he'll learn the most...and what he learns will impact him most. I just take refuge in the fact that after I insufficiently answer one of his "how does the world work" questions, he and I still have time to sing a round of Row, Row, Row Your Boat and pretend that "life is but a dream" for a little while longer.

Windex Clean

I'm sure everyone has seen the commercials for Windex where the birds fly right into the window or glass doors or the even the most recent one where the man runs into the glass doors and the birds laugh. I always thought the commercials were were silly and wondered if that really did happen because I'd never seen it happen. Well...it does! While leaving church this morning, I opened the glass doors and saw a helpless bird on the ground, lying on it's side. Upon first glance he appeared to have been badly injured and missing a leg. I called for one of the men leaving to please help the little bird because it was badly hurt and still alive. I was feeling quite sorry for it, wondering what could be done to help it. I then pulled my very curious boys away from the poor animal and headed to the van to leave. The men thinking they were going to have to put this poor bird out of its misery and dispose of it were shocked when it stood up and proceeded to fly away. The silly bird was perfectly fine and had just flown into the door and knocked himself out. Upon coming too...he flew away. I was quite relieved the bird was fine and had to laugh at it once we all realized what had happened. I now really think the ads are funny knowing it really does happen. What a funny way to start the day for us and the bird!

Exact Change

Well, Gabriel decided to be a human cash register today. At nap time, he thought it would be a good idea to hold on to his money by putting it in his mouth. Of course, this goes against the many times that his parents informed him not to do such things. But, alas, he put it in his mouth and quickly discovered how sometimes you can involuntarily swallow at any given moment. The interesting thing is hearing him describe how it happend. "I was playing...and...and...I..the quarter...I put the quarter in my mouth...and I...then...I swallowed it." According to Gabe, he then bent over, mouth open and hoped it would "fall out." To his disappointment, it didn't. So he called his mother in the room. At this point, he is panicking and saying how he wants it out. Of course, Kelly calls the doctor to make sure this isn't a problem and they instruct observation. When she got off the phone, he asked if the doctor was coming over to get it. Kelly calmly explained the laws of nature and how the body works when you swallow something. Having the patience of his father, Gabriel immediately goes to the bathroom and sits on the toilet...waiting....watching. Unfortunately, NO SALE. Once he finally accepted that it would be a little while, he gave up and took a nap. It's hard work being a cash register. Just between you and me...for the next two days, I plan to make "Cha-Ching" noises everytime he goes to the bathroom. Builds character.

Project Termination

Official Notice: The Conrad experiment of militia building by natural means will come to an end, effective July 2007. The experiment, code named "we-ad-a-baby-itsa-boy" has been deemed a tremendous success. This project, spanning only 4 years, has provided our nation with three super soldiers capable of wearing down ANY enemy in only minutes. The information below is classified.

Version 1.0 - Code Name "Gabriel"

Gabriel is an exceptional warrior with keen awareness and adaptation capabilities. He is quick to embrace new technologies and strategies through observation and training. As with most 1.0's, he experienced focused, one-on-one training and protection for the first 2 years of his service. He shows natural leadership abilities with 1.0's from other programs around the country as well as newer versions. Note: Though he is showing growth and control, it is unwise to employ 1.0's at this stage of training to command or control newer versions from the same facility. Hostility from newer versions and the 1.0 may occur.

Warning: Gabriel has the unexpected ability to change personalities exceptionally fast. He is gifted in the art of negotiation and has the ability to combine personality change with this skill to gain control of any situation. Our scientists, known as "Parents" were sometimes slow to understand this phenomenon. However, a laboratory has been created to solve this issue. Called the C-MACC or Counter Manipulation and Attitudinal Correction Center, this facility is affectionately called the "room." Gabriel also displays a cunning ability to wear down opposition with a technique called, "Hounding." This technique shows great strength of will and determination whereby Gabriel besieges the target and remains focused on one mission, sometimes for hours, slowly eroding defenses.

Version 2.0 - Code Name "Noah"

Noah is a gifted soldier and has shown remarkable abilities to observe and learn from version 1.0 and the Parents. He has proven himself exceptionally gifted in covert ops with stealth capabilities. When captured, he uses natural gifts to morph himself and convince his captors of his innocence and peaceful intentions. He is also adept at incorporating version 1.0 into his plans, sometimes without his knowledge. He is known to use 1.0 as a smoke screen to escape and accomplish his goals undetected. He is a determined warrior and will achieve his mission, at all costs.

Warning: Noah has shown the unexpected ability to focus, without distraction on tasks not sanctioned by the Parents. Once an unsanctioned mission has begun, Noah will disregard any command given from the Parents to halt his advances. Noah has adapted and is virtually unaffected by the C-MACC lab. On occasion, Noah will also become hostile to version 1.0 and without Parent interaction, damage to the facility and both soldiers will occur.

Version 3.0 - Code Name "Joel"

Unknown - Project Underway. Observation and training to begin July 2007.

God Is A Car Guy

Alright. I have rediscovered my blog and I am making my return. I haven't posted since last September (blowing the dust off my screen as though I've found my old blog in the attic). Kelly has been posting some great stuff and I feel the need to get back to it. I wanted to share with everyone the experience we had at the first annual DadFest Car Show at our church. First things first...confession. I doubted. I was very concerned that this event would not work out, especially at 10:00 a.m. when it was scheduled to begin and we only had one car there (not including our members...thanks Vance and Rick). I must also confess that I doubted so much that I took things into my own hands and began "working" the issue. Calling around and finding out who, what, when, where and why. It was a test of my faith and I went down in flames. One hour later, I was all "God is awesome!!" But, between you, me and the world...I had an early moment of "this event isn't going to happen." On the way home, after an amazing event with life changes happening...I literally slapped my own face, looked up to God and said..."There. I did it for you."

Okay, with that said I do have a story to tell. At the event, I went to say hello to a couple that came by to see the show. Joanne brought Brian as a surprise. She saw in the paper that his favorite car EVER (1966 Shelby GT 350) was going to be there. We talked for a while and they were very nice people. We spoke of our church and they expressed thanks for holding the event. We talked of church pasts and I encouraged them to feel free to explore the campus and go inside if they'd like. "No...I'm not dressed for church." a humble Joanne replied. "It's not about your clothes," I said, "God doesn't care what you're wearing and neither do we. It's about you being here." After that, we talked for a little while longer and they went on their way looking at cars. Around an hour later I was wondering around the event and Joanne and Brian flag me down. "I'd like to ask you if I can get your phone number." Brian said. "Sure." I replied, with curiosity. It seems Brian and Joanne did go inside our church. They listened to Matt (our preacher) on the monitors and spoke with people inside for a few minutes. They walked out of the building with new friends, some excitement and a new, plastic wrapped bible in hand. They found me to ask if they could have my phone number in case they had questions. "It's been a long time." Brian said, "and I know I'll have a lot of questions when I read this over. Can I call you?"

Well, it turns out that God had several reasons for having Brian and Joanne at DadFest. Two days later I got a call from Joanne. She was in tears and wanted to ask if we would be willing to pray for them. Brian's brother, in a Michigan ICU, was dying of kidney failure and Brian got the call to come and say goodbye. She asked for prayers regarding many important things related to this situation.

When I look back, I'm in awe of God. You see, He used a car to bring them to a church. It was not a accident that it was Brian's favorite car at the center of our show. Or, that it was mentioned in the paper Joanne read. Or, that we had a chance to meet and talk for a while. Or, that they got a bible and wanted a phone number for help. Or, that she felt comfortable calling me (after getting to know me ever so briefly). Or, that Brian was seeking, for the first time in years, to get closer with God. No...God brought them to DadFest because he knew that in a few days, they'd need a phone number to call, courage to share their faith with a dying brother and a church family to lean on during this time.

Bed Rest

Well I've almost survived the three weeks plus of bed rest. It's really been a hard thing for me to deal with. I'm so independent and want to do everything myself. I don't like asking for help or having to rely on others to do things when I'm capable of doing them myself. Not like anyone reading this didn't already know that. The hardest part for me is to rest when I don't really feel the baby is in danger. I understand I "could" have the contractions again and go into labor but with the baby measuring a few weeks bigger (estimated 6 lbs two weeks ago)....I think he's going to be just fine. So...much to my disapproval, I've tried my hardest to do what the doctor and my husband tell me and sit on my rear. I have had a rough time with the baby pushing on my pelvis and giving me major back pain, cramping and keeping me up 3-4 nights out of the week because of the pain. I am eager for his arrival since I'll be awake all night then anyway and will at least have something to do/take care of. Now, I just go to the couch and stare out the windows of the french doors and toss and turn. I can't get up, because I don't want to wake up the boys or make Jonathan think one of them is awake so I just stare. This morning I actually got up and folded clothes quietly and baked muffins for breakfast all done before 6:30am. Well...I guess enough blah blah, feel sorry for pregnant me. I will take this time to also praise my wonderful husband who has gone to work everyday, come home for lunch to make lunch so I don't have to, cleaned the house and completely takes over the boys when he comes home. He is so great! I'm lucky to be married to such a guy! He hasn't complained a bit! Also to all our friends that have brought us dinner, gone to the store or even come over and let me have adult conversation with them during the day. We have wonderful friends too! Well...it won't be too much longer now. 34 weeks and two days. Hopefully Joel will arrive soon so everyone can meet this little porker and see whose been causing all this trouble! Thanks to everyone for their prayers for my patience...I wouldn't have made it through with them!

FUNDER?!?

Last week we had an afternoon shower and it thundered a little bit. Gabe being a little afraid of the thunder, woke up and came running to my room. Every time it would thunder, he would tell me to put my hand on him to protect him. This went on for a few minutes...I enjoyed being the "protector" and we just laid there for a few minutes. Not long, Noah (who calls thunder...funder) came running in my room. "The funder scare me in my room," he said. He then climbs in my lap and wants to be held and protected. Gabe being the wise older brother (and now calm and not afraid) then tells his little brother...."The thunder won't hurt you Noah, there's nothing to be scared of."

I guess we all need to be the protector from time to time.

Updates...Updates...

Since it's been awhile...we are 100% having our third son! We are very excited and his birth is soon approaching. We've finally decided (tired of not agreeing) his name will be Joel Asher Conrad. It's great to finally know so I can get his room decorated and wash his clothes (or buy him new ones)! He's measuring two weeks bigger than normal right now and is expected to be around 8.5 to 9lbs if born around due date. Hoping he comes early!

Currently things are a little slower with the BIG boys. They will start swimming lessons the end of June (pending Joel's arrival) and are having fun asking me daily when the baby is coming out. Noah keeps asking why he can't see the baby and lifts my shirt to see my belly. Gabe's going to be a great Big brother again. He's been reading stories to Noah from his little red New Testament Bible like the story of Noah and the Ark. We've read him about Gabriel telling Mary she's going to have a baby and how Noah built the Ark. He's great at retelling them. He's asking important questions about Jesus and some we don't have answers for. Lately the big question was..."Did Peter die on the cross like Jesus?" Where did that come from? Upon asking the Matts at church I gave him the answer that yes he did, but upside down because Peter didn't feel worthy enough to die the same way as Christ. Man...things you can learn from a 4 year old.

Well, I think that's about it for now. Need to go check on the boys they are playing! Hopefully will post pictures of Joel soon!

China Boys

Jonathan visited China Town while in California. He brought the boys back some cute clothes, which they love! Wanted to share the picture!

Busy Week!

Well we survived a long week of Jonathan being in California! From a trip to the hospital for more monitoring, to glucose testing, a doctor's visit, painting the baby's room and the end to T-Ball. Wow....it's been a week! I was having some pains and contractions but all is well with that and according to a test that was done...at least I am not going into labor the next two weeks. The baby still is not playing fair so we can't get a definite 100% on the sex. Which leads to painting the baby's room a nice neutral tan. I want to get the room painted and clean while I still have some energy to do it. (The boys helped...Noah painted the closet doors, the walls and the back of the baby's dresser too!) Today we finished T-Ball with the last game and went to the church for Gabe to get his first trophy. He's so proud!

Growing up

Recently I've come to the discovery that Gabe is growing up...much to my dislike. A few of his comments/conversations lately have blown me away. Some observant, like tonight while reading him the book Toy Story 2, he sees Andy's van driving away and in the book, it's red. For those of us who have seen this movie over and over...the van is blue. Gabe said, "Mommy, that's not Andy's van because it's not red, it's blue. It must be someone else." I just told him he was right. I wouldn't have caught the error...ever.
Another was while leaving a resturaunt the other night, he said he had a secret to tell me. The secret was that the little girl that opened the door for him was pretty. Boy...sure not ready for this one.
The last most important grown-up conversation we've had, was today. He loves the Disney movie Peter Pan. It came out today so I bought it for him (cheaper at Target). After watching the movie he asks if he could meet the "real" Peter Pan, not the character like at Disney. Then asks if Peter Pan's house is in the sky next to Jesus's house. To the first comment...didn't know he knew the characters at Disney weren't real. Which lead to explaining that characters from movies are not real, but Jesus is. It's fun to see the characters at Disney, but they are not real, they are just characters from stories or movies. For the second comment about Peter Pan and Jesus being neighbors....may I just say thank you Disney. I got the chance to explain to my son that only Jesus is real and lives in Heaven, and one day we will meet Him, but that Peter Pan is not and does not live in the sky. It's just a story. What a discovery and perfect opportunity to share with Gabe about Jesus. All from watching a Disney movie.
Not sure if I'm ready for more growing up...

Tee Ball

Gabe had his first tee ball practice/game today! It was so fun to watch the kids play. When the ball was hit, they'd all run for the ball tackling each other to get it. Just wanted to share a photo of Gabe! He had a blast! It's so hard for me to believe that my son is old enough to play sports now!

Baby # 3 is a .....

We found out today that we are having another BOY! Just wanted to share the news and the picture. The second picture shows the legs, bottom and boy part!