A New Creation

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that WHOSOEVER believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."  John 3:16

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."  2 Cor 5:17

Michael and Timothy were both baptized yesterday.  I cannot tell you how proud I am for them.  They are new creations, with an eternal destiny. 

Michael professing his faith...

The old is washed away, and the new has come.

 

Timothy professing his faith...

He was so happy.  He had a huge smile on his face.

It was fitting that the sermon was about children being spiritual role models.  As soon as Michael and Timothy were finished with their baptisms, Isaac nudged William and said "now it's your turn!" 

I'm so proud of Michael and Timothy for stepping out in faith, and not being afraid to believe in something they cannot see.  I pray for God's guidance in their lives, that He will lead them and they will follow without question.  Sometimes being a christian is not easy, especially in school when it's easy to get caught up in the ways of the world.  Please pray with me that they will walk the straight and narrow, even when the it might be easier or more tempting to choose another route.

Sweet boy

Last night at bedtime, I thought I'd explain to Isaac what happened at church earlier that morning, since he had been in children's church.  I told him that Michael and Timothy had asked Jesus to come live in their heart, and that He had said "YES!"  I asked Isaac if he knew what that meant, and he told me that it means they get to go to heaven with us.  He said that he had already asked Jesus into his heart and that he knew he was going to heaven and he was very glad that Michael and Timothy would be going too.  He said that he knew there were gold streets in heaven! 

I told him that now we needed to pray for William, that he would ask Jesus to live in his heart, too.  He promptly replied, "I need to talk to him tomorrow and tell him that the streets are gold in heaven and that he needs to come with us."  Warms my heart to know that Isaac has a loving heart and one that wants his brothers to be with him in eternity. 

BIG, BIG, BIG day!

Today, February 24, 2013, was a BIG day for two in our family.  Michael and Timothy both gave their hearts to the Lord this morning during the church service!!!!  What an amazing feeling watching your kids get saved and make that decision publicly known.  I cried like a baby, and I'm pretty sure Ben cried a little too.  :)

They have been asking lots of questions lately about salvation, baptism, and what it means to be saved.  We have tried to give them straight forward answers without being overly "preachy."  We had no idea that they would be making the decision at all, much less today.  I was completely floored.  I'm just so glad that God used us and our awesome church to make a difference of the eternal kind in their lives. 

They will be baptized in two weeks, on March 10, so all of the grandparents can be there.  I will definitely take and post pictures of their big day.

There's two new names written down in Glory!!!!

New year, new beginnings

There's lots happening on the Hartin home-front.  We breezed thru Halloween (Isaac was a fireman, Piper was Red Riding Hood & Tinkerbell, and the boys were just scary boys).  It seemed like two days later we were celebrating Thanksgiving with our families.  December was much the same.  Our schedules have been filled with basketball practices and games, volleyball, and family gatherings. 

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year.  I love putting up my decorations right after Thanksgiving so I can look at them the whole month of December.  In fact, I still have them up!  Celebrating the birth of my savior is a fun time for me.  Christ is the reason for the joy in my heart.  I know my final destination, and it's all because of a baby born 2012 years ago, named Jesus. 

Because we have such big families, our Christmas is spread out over about a two week period.  It's a lot of fun.  The kids were all blessed with lots of stuff, but I think the best part of Christmas is getting to spend it with family. 

We had my sister-in-law take our family portraits a while back.  I love how they turned out. 

I'm learning a lot of lessons in parenting.  It's not easy.  We've had to deal with issues I never thought we'd have to deal with.  We also had to make some tough choices.  Anthony decided, before he ever moved in with us, that he wanted to move back to Weatherford to be near his old friends from there.  We tried to make a good home for him here, with opportunities he wouldn't have anywhere else.  Unfortunately, his heart wasn't here, so we told him his only other option was to go live with his dad.  He moved out right before Christmas break.  God tells us in Romans 5:3-5 that we should allow our children to make mistakes, so they have a chance to learn and grow from them.  "...tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope..."  Ben and I believe that. 

I've started a year long devotional about parenting, and I'm reading a book called Praying Circles Around Your Children.  I'm so glad God is working in my heart and drawing me closer to him thru these trials that he's putting our family through. 

So, here we are to the beginning of a new year.  I have high hopes for this year.  William will soon enter the double digits, and Michael will be a teenager.  We have the rest of basketball season, then baseball season, then summer.  Summer is always full of fun, and this year with 3 extra boys, it will be even more so.  Then Timothy will move on up to Junior High, while Isaac will start Elementary School.  It will just be Piper and I at home then.   Lots to look forward to.  I'm also praying for some spiritual breakthroughs in our kids.  They've asked lots of questions about salvation and baptism lately, so I'm praying this year, we'll be able to welcome a few more children into his fold. 

Until next time...

We've doubled in size!

Oh my gosh!  So much has happened since I last posted in APRIL!  I wanted to update the blog, but where do I start?  I guess I'll start in May...

Isaac graduated from his preschool in May.  He looked so cute in his cap and gown.  I bet he'll look just like this in 12 more years when he graduates High School!  :)

We also began thinking very hard about adopting our nephews, Anthony, Michael, Timothy and William.  It was in May that we began our part of the process.

In June we were pretty much just enjoying the summer.  I had decided that I would do some fun science projects with Isaac over the summer break.  We started with the bean sprout project.  I put four dry beans in a plastic bag with a wet paper towel.  It only took a few days for the sprouts to grow and get pretty tall inside the bag.  Isaac liked getting to wake up each morning and see what new had happened since the day before.

 

We did several other science projects over the summer, including one where you take Dawn soap on a Q-tip and dip it in a plate filled with colored milk.  The color "runs away" from the Dawn.  It was pretty fun to watch.  And one where you microwave a bar of Ivory soap.  It expands to make a huge cloud formation (due to all of the air that's whipped in it).  

Piper was steady "cruising" this whole time and I really thought she'd take the leap to walking any day.  It finally happened in August, just in time for her birthday.

August was a big month for this Hartin family.  We finally got full custody of our nephews in late August, after many emotional ups and downs.  They came to live with us on August 24, just a few days before school started for the year.  We frantically got them bunk beds and dressers, and enrolled in school.  It was a big change for all of us.  

The first week of September will be a big one for us from now on.  We have three birthdays in four days!  Isaac's on 9/3, Timothy's on 9/4 and Piper's on 9/7.  We took the kids to the lake for a campout over the Labor Day weekend and celebrated Isaac's and Timothy's birthday with some friends and family.  

I had to have a super girly birthday party for Piper since it was her first birthday.  Mom graciously allowed me to use her home, and I think the party was a success.  Piper loved her cake!

Piper is walking like a champ and talking up a storm now.  Her list of words includes: Hi, bye bye, Momma, Daddy, shoes, socks, PJ, baby, princess, horsy, apple, applesauce, bite, ooooo, whoa, and yummy.  And boy, is she a Daddy's girl!

Since September, our lives have been all about school meetings, Michael's football games, MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) meetings, homeschool for Isaac, and playing outside.  We are nothing less than busy, busy, busy.  People have asked if our house is noisy now that we have a house full of boys.  Yes, it is.  But it's a good noise.  There is LIFE in our house.  No one is bored.  No one has nothing to do.  There is always something going on.  Always someone to do it with.  And there is GOD in our house.  He has blessed us with the boys and with our own kids.  Yes, I may grey a little sooner than I would have with just two kids (ha!) but I'm hoping they will keep me young at heart.  :)

My mom took me and all the kids to Yesterland Farm in Canton last weekend.  Here's the first picture taken of all six of my kids...

Now isn't that the best looking bunch of kiddos you've ever seen!

Long overdue

I know, I know. It has been WAY too long since my last post. Piper was 6 weeks old, and Isaac was one month into his school year. Now, Piper is 7 months old, and Isaac is almost done with Pre-K. Lots has gone on since October.

For Halloween, Isaac dressed as Batman and Piper wore the Pea-in-a-Pod costume that Isaac wore his first Halloween.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at our house again, and it was great. I love having the whole family over.

Christmas was fun since we had the new addition. They both were blessed with way too many toys, and I'm blessed with the task of culling the old toys. :)

February and March were tough months for us. At least one member of our household was sick almost every single day of both months. We just kept passing the crud around. Thankfully, we all are well again, just in time for the AMAZING weather.

So, here we are, first week of April. Isaac just had his Pre-K Easter egg hunt as school yesterday. Today is Good Friday, and Sunday is Easter. I am so incredibly thankful every single day for the salvation that Christs' death afforded me. I am unworthy, but grateful for His grace.

Here's a few of the most recent photos of Isaac and Piper this spring...

Deep in thought.


Such a silly boy! I LOVE HIM!


Happy Easter!


They love each other so much! It's really fun to watch them interact with each other.


I love her big blue eyes! My sweet, pretty girl!!!

I could say that I'll try to be better and get posts up more often, but I don't want to make any promises. I'm a busy mom of two wiggly kids. What can I say? :)

6 Weeks & Preschool updates

Piper is 6 weeks old now. She's filling out nicely. As of a few days ago, she weighed 10 lbs 10 oz, and is now 22" long. That's up 4 lbs and 2" in 6 weeks. She's starting to smile more often. I haven't caught one on camera yet, but I hope to soon. She's also finding her voice. Up until this week, she's done nothing but grunt and groan (mostly in response to those mean ol' gas pains). Now she's starting to "ah!" and "oh". And, she was born with two little bottom tooth buds, and I think those are going to start being an issue soon, as she's just today started drooling.

Isaac is learning lots of great things at school. He's got an incredible memory - much better than mine ever will be! This month he has learned the days of the week, the months of the year, 3 of the 10 commandments (in kids terms), and three nursery rhymes (Jack & Jill, Humpty Dumpty, and Little Miss Muffet). He's learned lots of new songs, too. Every once in a while, I'll hear him humming or singing them around the house. (I'm so glad he has a love for music like I do). :)

Isaac gets to go on a field trip with his school next week to a pumpkin patch out near Greenville (Kadee Farms), and then there's Halloween after that. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures (and I'll do my best to get them posted soon after).

4 weeks old

Piper is 4 weeks old today - one month old on Friday. She's eating very well, so she's gaining lots of weight. She was born at 6 lbs 11 oz, came home from the hospital 2 days later at 6 lbs 5 oz. By the following week she was up to 7 lbs 14 oz! Last week she weighed 9 lbs 2 oz.

She's also getting good at holding her head up. Still working on balancing the head, but she can hold it up for several seconds at a time now.

As some of you have heard, she's had some mucus issues since we came home from the hospital. At one point we even had to take her to the ER because of it. She had lots of mucus stuck at the back of her throat and was having trouble getting it up. We just have to suction it out if she starts gagging on it, and we now keep a humidifier on at all times. Turns out it's a very normal situation, it just didn't happen with Isaac, so it was very scary for us. She's much better now, and hasn't had any gagging in a couple weeks.

Pretty in pink.

Looks like she's going to have her Daddy's hazel eyes. So pretty.

So sweet!

I don't have a home studio, or set with the right lighting and backdrops, but I like to take some of the classic pics anyway. And Isaac wanted in on the picture taking, so this is his big feet and her little feet. :)

She's here!!!

Introducing....

Piper Jo Hartin
September 7, 2011
@ 2:38am
6 lbs 11 oz, 20" long

Welcome to the world my sweet baby girl!

What a sweet angel!

Isaac's first time to meet his little sister.

Cutest little sister

"Bodyguard for my baby sister"

All dressed and ready to go home from the hospital. Don't you just love the carseat cover! Aunt Julie bought that for Piper. And the flower going up the side is a gift from big brother Isaac.

The longest labor....

Well, this pregnancy wasn't at all like Isaac's and the labor & delivery certainly wasn't either. For those interested, here's the full story of Piper's birth...

Labor started about 6pm Monday, Sept 5 - Labor Day. Contractions were coming regularly about 4.5 minutes apart. I took a warm bath, thinking they might be more Braxton Hicks but it didn't help. By 9:30pm the contractions were getting stronger and were steady at 3.5 minutes apart. So, I told Ben it was time to load up and head to the hospital. After packing up the last few things we each needed for a hospital stay, we left home, thinking it wouldn't be long before we met our little girl. We were wrong.

We arrived at the hospital about 11pm, where I was taken to a room and checked for signs of labor. I was still at 1cm, and Piper was still very high, but my contractions were still steady and regular, so they decided to check me every 2 hours until my doctor came in the following morning.

When my doc came in about 8:15am Tuesday morning, I was still at only 1cm, so she decided it would be best to induce me that day. She started the Pitocin about 9am. Pitocin is supposed to help make the contractions stronger so that labor progresses faster. Unfortunately, it didn't work that way for me.

I will say that the epidural I received this time worked like a charm. My right leg had some feeling, enough to move it around as needed, but my left leg was completely numb. I mean it felt like a huge dead log that would not move no matter how much I willed it to. It was nice to feel no pain, however a little embarrassing to have to ask everyone in the room to help me move my leg each time I needed to roll over. :)

By 3pm, I was still only at 1-2cm, so the doc broke my water, thinking surely that would help move things along. Once again, it didn't do as planned.

By 2am Wednesday morning, Sept. 7, after 32 hours of labor, I was only at 4-5 cm, and Piper was starting to show signs of distress. So, my doctor said a C-Section was necessary. Although that is NOT the way I wanted things to go, it was in the best interest of me and Piper.

Ben posing in his surgical wear.

The surgery went fairly well. I had to have both horizontal and vertical incisions, which makes VBAC impossible for any future pregnancies. We also found out the reason Piper was so reluctant to come naturally. It was impossible. For the life of me I cannot remember the technical term for how her placenta developed, but essentially, her umbilical cord attached to the placenta, then made a huge web of blood vessels around it which is why she could not drop. The doctor said, after showing me what the placenta looked like, that if she had nicked one of those blood vessels when breaking my water, that we would have had to do an emergency C-Section the day before due to hemorrhaging.

So, while I don't remember large parts of Isaac's delivery, and his was very painful due to two failed epidurals and back labor, Piper's labor lasted 32 hours and ended in C-Section, but I remember every single second of it, and I wasn't in any pain.

4 years old!

I can't believe my boy is 4! He has grown into such a sweet, smart big boy. He makes me laugh every day. He's also becoming his Daddy's clone. :)

He's really been into superhero's lately, so his cake has Super Grover 2.0 on it and says "Happy Birthday Super Isaac 2.0".

Making his sock pirate talk. Cute face!

He got lots of fun pretend play things from Papa and G. Here he's fighting with two pirate swords against Daddy armed only with a shield.

Captain Isaac Hook.

Granny got him his first baseball set, so she was the first to attempt to play baseball with him.

Super Isaac 2.0! Happy birthday bud! We love you lots.

First day of PK4

Isaac's first day of PreK-4 (Preschool for 4 year olds) was yesterday. I didn't count the cubbies, but I'm guessing there are about 10 - 12 in his class. His birthday actually falls 2 days after the cut-off, but they were nice enough to let him in anyway, so he's the youngest in his class.

His cubby with his school stuff.

He was so ready and excited to start school. He didn't want to get out of bed so early that morning, but once he realized it was the day he would actually get to go to school instead of just talk about going, he shot out of bed and was quick to get ready.

This year, he's going to a day school program at Emory Baptist Church, just about 10 minutes from home. Much closer than Sulphur Springs last year, which will be a blessing once sister arrives. It also allows him to get to know and make friends with other kids his age that he will end up going to "big school" with later. His teacher this year is Mrs. Stephanie. I think he'll have a good year, and will learn lots of good things. Getting ready for the great adventure called Kindergarten next year!

38 weeks

Well, tomorrow marks 38 weeks. 38 long, and sometimes eventful, weeks. My doctor this morning moved up my induction date by two days to next Wednesday, Sept 7. So, if she holds out until then, we go to the hospital at 7am next Wed. and will meet our little girl sometime later that day. I can't tell you how ready I am. I would actually be happy if she came today! The heat this summer has been unbearable alone, not to mention when paired with this precious internal heater. I wouldn't trade her for anything though! :)

Braxton Hicks...so deceptive

Today marks 37 weeks. But a few days ago I didn't think I was going to make it to 37 weeks.

Monday night, about 5:15pm, I started having some very regular contractions. I'm talking every 4-5 minutes lasting 45-60 seconds each. This went on for a solid hour, making me wonder if this was THE day. After that hour, the contractions became more irregular, anywhere from 4 minutes to 15 minutes apart, and they never got any worse, but even this continued for the next several hours.

We're lucky in that we have friends who work in the medical field, one specifically works in the maternity department of the hospital in Sulphur Springs. So we texted her (it was after 10pm at this point) to find out if we should be concerned or not. Her advise: take a Tylenol, take a warm bath, and drink lots of water. So after taking Tylenol, a warm bath (then a hot shower) and drinking as much water as I could stand, I laid down to try and sleep some. Alas, laying down was the only thing that made the contractions stop.

Stupid Braxton Hicks! I had let myself get excited at the prospect of having my little girl that night.

So, after going to my regular doctor's visit on Wednesday, she tells me I'm still at 1cm, and Piper is still pretty high. No baby this week, I guess. But the doctor did go ahead and schedule an induction for me for September 9. That's two weeks from tomorrow. I can make it two more weeks (though I'm secretly hoping she doesn't wait that long to meet us!).

BTW - when I ask Isaac if he thinks Piper will be born before, on or after his birthday, he always responds with ON his birthday. He seems to think that that would be big fun. Not sure how he'd feel about that a few years from now. :)

36 Weeks

Today marks 36 weeks of pregnancy. Just 4 weeks to go. I don't think Piper will wait that long, but that's technically how long I have left. I had my OB appt yesterday, and was told that I'm at 1cm, but that Piper is still really high. So it could still be a couple weeks, or it could be today. You just never know. :)

We can't wait though. I'm so ready to meet our little girl, and for Isaac to meet his sister. Even Ben is ready to have her home.

Although, the thought of delivery is starting to make me a tad nervous. I know this is my second, and I sort of know how things work, but it's different every time. I had a very painful delivery with Isaac, one I do not wish to repeat, but everything happened while I was already in the hospital. My thoughts this time are, what if my water breaks at home during the day, and I have to load up Isaac and drive to the hospital by myself, or what if things progress so fast that I don't have enough time to get to the hospital. I'm sure these sound like stupid questions to most of you, but it's what I've been thinking about. I guess I just have to trust that everything will be just fine. Stupid me worrying about stupid stuff. :)

Sono's 6 & 7

We are so thankful, and relieved, that Piper suffered no ill effects from the 5th Disease. She was a trouper. Because she has done so well, and since each one of these sonograms has cost us $100 a pop, we have decided to skip the last one. While I'll miss getting to see her each week on that 12" black and white screen, it really won't be long until I get to see her every waking moment in living color, Lord willing. :)

She continues to stay on the above average growth curve, at about 85%, and is still measuring about a week early. We've just about got everything ready for her at the house. Once the last couple things are done, I'll be more relaxed, knowing we're ready for her when she's ready for us.

Isaac says he's ready for sister to come, but I don't think he knows what he's in for. Each time I go in Piper's room to hang more washed clothes, or put away more diapers, he goes in there with me and either reads her books or plays with the baby toys that used to be his. I can't wait to see how he reacts to having a baby in the house.

He's also super ready for school to start. His first day is Aug. 30. At some point every day, he comes up to me and says "you know what? I get to go to school tomorrow!" I've got the date marked on our wall calendar so we can count down the days. I think he's more excited about school starting than he is about his birthday coming up (just 4 weeks from today)!

Isaac's weekend at Grandma's

Isaac gets to spend two long weekends each summer with his Grandma. This weekend was his second this year. He loves getting to hang out with her. She usually will do something special with him while he's there. This time, they went to Chuck E Cheese.

Mom said he had no problem with the small slide, but when he tried to get to the big slide (through the tunnels above the room) he got scared. He's a little afraid of heights, so I guess the tunnels were a bit too much.


He was so excited that he got to go to Chuck E Cheese. They called me that night and he just had to tell me all about it.

He also got to go to In Sync Exotic Cat Rescue in Wylie. There they saw lions, tigers, leopards, bobcats, and several other big cats. He couldn't decide which was his favorite, so he says they were all his faves.

I'm so glad he had fun. He loves his Grandma and getting to spend time with her. Thanks Mom, for giving us a weekend alone before little sister arrives!

Piper's baby shower

My Mom and my very best friend, Robin, gave me a baby shower for Piper. I was so excited to celebrate the fun of having our little girl.


The gorgeous (and delicious) cake that a friend of mine from high school made (thanks Cheri!).


There were lots of friends and family that were able to make it, and showered us with tons of great things for Piper. Among them were a handmade doll, Piper's bedding set, and lots of adorable clothes.

For those of you who haven't seen the big belly yet, here's a glimpse. I feel HUGE!

Thank you to all who came. We love and appreciate every single one of you.

Sono 5 of 8

Everything is still looking really great. I'm so thankful that there have been no complications from the 5th Disease. God has been good to me and Piper!

She's still measuring about a week early. The doctor says she's not opposed to inducing a week early, but we'll wait a little while to schedule that. I still think she'll come on her own before that. As of today, my due date is 7-1/2 weeks away, but I'm counting on her arriving in about 5-1/2 weeks. 5-1/2 WEEKS! Wow! We'll just have to see if she's just as anxious as her brother was, or as stubborn as her cousin was. :)

I've been having trouble sleeping some lately. Just can't seem to get comfortable. Heartburn has gotten worse, but manageable with Zantac. I try to stay in out of the heat as much as possible, so my feet and hands don't swell up. The swelling situation is MUCH better this time around than with Isaac. Some of you might remember that I essentially had elephant feet and ankles the last couple months with Isaac. No fun. But this time around it's not near as bad. Not yet anyway.

Lots of good things happening. Can't wait to meet my sweet baby girl!

Sono 4 of 8

Once again, this sonogram showed everything is perfectly fine with me and Piper. Same song, fourth week - but as long as God keeps providing good results, I'll take them!

This time the doctor was able to tell me that Piper currently weighs approximately 3lbs 11oz, and that her new adjusted arrival date is 9/8. That's up one day from last week. She's getting closer and closer to being born on Labor Day just like Isaac was, but I really think she's hoping to share a birthday with her big brother!

She was doing a few acrobatics today while being filmed. Because I'm having all of these sono's for a medical reason, the doctor has to do a full anatomy survey each week, which means he has to measure and check everything: head, brain, abdomen, heart, bladder, kidneys, stomach, femur, arms, feet, and girl/boy parts. Well, while trying to find each of her feet, he found the left foot immediately (so cute by the way), but had to search a little to find the right foot. After a few seconds of hunting, he found it...up by her head! Her toes were literally touching her head! Ha! Then while trying to get good pics of her arms and hands, he noticed that she was laying on her right arm, and had her hand hiding her girl parts. Guess she didn't want us looking there this week! He also said he could see a little bit of hair on her head. Not a lot just yet, but a little. She's still got 2 months to grow some more. :)

Until next week.........