A wonderful 4th of July & Less than 6 wks to go!

James, Kim, and the four girls came down to celebrate the 4th together. It was a wonderful weekend with the family and there is nothing like watching little kids shoot off fireworks and celebrating the holiday with family!

Friday night we enjoyed some great Cracker Barrel, DQ and fireworks! It was so much fun watching the girls shoot fireworks off. The best picture was when the the three girls and Adam lit a firework and all came running back to the driveway as if the firework was going to explode!

Saturday (the 4th) it rained, rained, and then rained some more! It did clear up for a little bit in the afternoon, so everyone could go swimming. After swimming and we headed to church, Red Robin, and then to the local park. At the park there was a mini-petting zoo, inflatable jumpies, candy, and pretty much everything that would be in a kids fantasy land. It was kind of a bummer though, because it was so muddy from all the rain, but the girls seemed to have a blast regardless! A & I left a little early from the park, so we could go see ty our neighbor boy who just came home after graduating from Army Bootcamp. As dark rolled upon us (with no rain, yet), we started shooting off fireworks in the culdesac. Ty and his friends enjoyed firing off the huge ones, which provided us with lots of entertainment. After all the big ones were finished, A & I helped the girls (including Annie, the neighbor girl) fire off some smaller ones. As the rain rolled in, the girls still insisted they could (and still wanted to) shoot some more off, so we did as many as we could until the firework would royally not light because it was so wet. We ended a wonderful fourth of July celebration by watching Shrek The Third. When there were fireworks going off all around it really made me stop and give thanks for the life God has provided for me. I think to often Independence Day becomes more about the fireworks, rather than than the actual thought of our freedom in the US. So as I stood and watched all the fireworks going off everywhere I especially gave thanks to the Lord for all the troops fighting for our INDEPENDENCE!

Today the girls, James, and A played games and just had a great time hanging out with each other. After they left this afternoon it was time to clean, do laundry, and relax! It's been a wonderful today and especially a great afternoon with my husband. We've enjoyed relaxing and taking it easy, especially because today has been a rough "pregnancy" day for me. Overall the weekend was wonderful and it's so nice to spend time with family. It wasn't even 5 minutes after they left, that A told me "I miss the girls:(" The twins really took a liking to A. They always wanted to sit on his lap, be picked up by him, etc. It was so cute! And believe it or not about an hour after they left, we both looked at each other and said, "I really do miss all the noise!"

Throughout the weekend the girls never cease to amaze me when the things they say. Here's just a glimpse of the things that made me smile:

• As we were walking to the firework tent there was a huge balloon flying in the air. I pointed it out to one of the twins, who then informed me it looked like my tummy! Thankfully I'm still pregnant and not holding my baby in my arms.
• One of the twins was rubbing my belly and said, "There's a baby in there! That's what my mom looked like with Baby (this is what they call their little sister). When is it coming out?"
• We were shooting off fireworks and one of them didn't do very much and one of the girls let us know what she thought of it after it was finished by saying, "That's it!!!" It was hilarious!
• A & James were playing ping pong and one of the twins really wanted to play, so A told her as soon as they were finished she could play. She then said, "You always say that!" After about 5 minutes she asked them, "Are you going to be done before it's dark?" When she finally got to play on A's team, she was saying, "I'm the bestest!" "I'm so gooooooooood!" Let me remind you this is right after the ball went flying off the table from her crazy serve or went right by her as she swung and missed. She always wanted to high five A after she thought she scored a point; it was so cute watching all the girls play.
  
• As they were getting ready to leave, they all gave us a hug and said, "I love you!" Oh, how I wish they didn't have to leave:(
  
• And so it continues.....kids will always be honest and their giggles will always make me smile!

Pregnancy notes: Less than 6 wks to go until we finally get to hold Baby C! I can tell my body knows that the time is nearing for this special arrival. The other day my legs were aching so bad and then it moved into my hips, which are starting to widen (what an uncomfortable feeling). Needless to say, that evening we worked on relaxing and breathing techniques just so I could get comfortable. A really does have this back/hip massage down pat. Other changes in my body that are starting to signal the big D-day is coming: BH everyday/every hour (okay maybe not that much, but definitely enough every day that is making me really uncomfortable), the pressure has increased so much that A says I'm finally walking/waddling like a pregnant lady, the increased pressure has really made it hard for me to bend over and even move around like I was a wk ago, an overly exhausted feeling, I even threw up my lunch the other day, and many more changes. Though I'm uncomfortable at times, I just think about what it's going to be like to hold this precious gift from God. It's still hard for me to believe that I'm going to be a mom and A are starting our family! It'll be here before we know it! It was funny last night when we were visiting with everyone at the party, everybody couldn't hep but say, "It's like you have a basketball under your shirt. It's all in your belly and just sticks right in front." Thank goodness! We are headed to the dr's on Tuesday for an u/s and check up. I can't wait to see how everything is progressing!

Baby C received a special delivery in the mail the other day from Grandma Carriker. She sent a safari sleeper; I can't wait to put Baby C in it!

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.”-Psalm 33: 12