#3

Yep that means child #3 and would also be my excuse for not posting for well...... a month....ok almost two.....I know! This is soo not like me, but then again I'm not really myself lately. Yeah I'm not really a big fan of pregnancy and for those of you out there who just LOVE it...please just keep your comments to yourself.....thanks! I know it could be a lot worse, (I promise this blog is not going to be all about me complaining) but why does something so miraculous have to come with months of just plain old ICKY stuff first? The worst part for me even more so than the nausea and tiredness is that these hormones completely change my personality. I become this mean person who just wants to sit on the couch! Ok, for those of you who don't know me that well.....I'm normally not a moody person and I like to be going, going, going all the time!

Details..ok the details..... We are due on May 11th......that seems so far away....Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter....all have to come before this baby! Really though I am officially exiting my first trimester as of Thursday and I hope that means better things to come, so only 6 months left! We are so excited to be having another little Musselman join us and we all agree that a little boy would be nice, but of course we'll be happy with whatever the Good Lord gives us! I am a little nervous about having a baby in a new hospital as both of our girls were born in Ames and I absolutely LOVED it there.....I never wanted to leave the hospital. I just pray that my experience here will be just as good. I am excited about our choice of prenatal care....we decided to go with a midwife and am looking forward to this new experience! I have already gotten the priviledge of having an ultrasound at about 9 weeks as she thought I was measuring BIG. At first I wasn't that concerned, but the several days that I had to think about it I was starting to talk myself into being slightly scared for the fact that there might be more than one in there. I had always measured small with the girls and I felt like I was getting bigger faster (I know 3rd child right) and more tired and nauseous than I was with my other two. According to a site I found online, those were signs....I should have never looked! Needless to say...the title only says #3, not #3 & #4, so I got all worked up for nothing.....Phew!

I am so excited to be having another one before Mackenzie goes to Kindergarten. She will be such a big help and Kate and her will have each other to keep company. She is such a good helper around the house and becoming quite the mother hen! They both will be very good big sisters! Speaking of big sisters....that is how we broke the new to our family....I happened to find shirts that said "Big Sister" on them. It took some of them a while to get it, but there was a few bright ones among the bunch! Kate was the important one in the plot, and some were confused as to why she was wearing "Mackenzie's shirt."

1st Day of Preschool!

I'm a little behind on this post........ok a week to be exact! Last Tuesday was Mackenzie's first day of preschool. We had been talking about it a lot, and she would go back and forth from wanting to go and then wanting to just stay home with mom. I hope she never wants to leave me, but I am excited for her for this time in her life. I can't wait to see what it does for her, just getting out, being with other kids and taking authority from someone else on a consistant basis.

Anyways the day came.....her backpack was packed (about a month ago), new clothes on (I loved always getting new clothes to wear the first day of school), and off we went!

I am picking up a little boy from daycare a couple days who is in Mackenzie's class. He is so funny!

My big girl at her desk....oh that is so wierd to say. I really can't believe it, but so excited for her at the same time.....I know she is going to love it!

Kate was enjoying herself while the kids were getting acclimated for a couple minutes.

In the end we walked away with no tears (from either end) and when I picked her up she says "I like preschool" as she skips out of the room. I asked her what her favorite part was.......recess! Isn't that every kids favorite thing in school?

Second day of preschool........ The first day went too fast! Now her favorite things are recess and free play!!! Are they learning anything or is the learning so much fun they don't even realize it. ;)


FYI: due to my starting a post and not finishing it till later, some of my posts have gotten out of order, so if you care to scroll all the way down (past ones you have already read) you might find a new one!!!

Midwest Old Threshers

This past weekend we got to enjoy our first Old Threshers experience. Living so close growing up you would think that is crazy, but it is just one of those things we never did. Now that we are residents we feel that we need to get into the tractor, steam engine spirit! Actually we wanted to see what the hype was all about. At the school where Mackenzie is going to preschool there is a lot of opportunity to volunteer and one way was to work 2 shifts at the Jr/Sr funnel cake booth at Old Threshers and you got the week pass for free. Well if you know me, I am always up for a challenge and making funnel cakes sounded kind of fun along with the free pass of course. The celebration started off with a parade the wed. before filled with tractors, cars, horses and steam engines galore!
Thursday after my shift my sister came up to go with us and after a late dinner.....the food is my favorite part (I had to let the girls try the funnel cakes so they knew what I was making)......we walked around a little and rode on the trolley! By the time we got on the trolley it was too dark to see anything. So we didn't get to see much that night, but hoped to go back.

Aaron and I did get our first date since we moved on Sat night....my sister and brother in law watched the girls while we took in the second best part of Old Threshers.....the concerts. They always seem to bring in pretty good artists every year. We saw Phil Vassar on Sat by ourselves and then Sun night after my last funnel cake shift we took the girls to Collin Ray and Restless Heart. They were all fun to watch and of course sing along to some tunes from back in the day! We enjoy a little country now and then! All in all we think we'll try it again next year!

Football

It's that time again.....fall is in the air (already) and the football stands are filling up. Football is filling up our schedule more that it use to. One of my brothers is a senior looking to play in college and my little brother is now in junior high.....the big time! My brother in law is a HS football coach close by us, our family is sponsoring 2 football players from the small college in our town, and we are fans of our state teams.....divided family! Our bottoms and backs are getting adjusted to those awful bleacher seats.

.......Well this is how the post was going to start as of a week ago. Now it goes something like this....

"I don't care how good he plays, I just pray that he doesn't get hurt!" That has been my prayer along with many others going up for my brother Brock and God chose to answer that prayer in a different way. I believe it was the right answer in God's big picture, but from our small view it hasn't been easy to understand. Last Tuesday in practice he was "cutting" (football lingo?) and heard a "pop" and went down. History has repeated itself once again and if you have been following along on my blog from the beginning you might remember that this isn't the first....second....or third time this has happened.....it is the fourth time he has hurt his knees playing football. God has been gracious and healed Brock from the previous injuries. With hard work and dedication he has come back to continue his dream. This being his senior year and fourth surgery....he tore his ACL, a little meniscus and has a tiny fracture on his tibia......he most likely will not be playing again. Once again God has reminded us that He is in control and sometimes our plans are not His. Needless to say it has been a hard week for our family adjusting to this new reality. I have to be honest and say that my first reaction was to question God....."Why?" He is such a neat kid who has worked SOO hard for something he wanted SOO bad. "God you know the desires of our hearts?" I have never seen a High School kid work harder than he has with such a determined spirit. As my "little" brother he has been in inspiration to me along the way. The way he sacrifices his time, help leads his team, perseveres through all the injuries, the example of Christ that he is to his peers and his heart of humility through it all! I know in the end through all the questions and tears that God has something so much more amazing in store for him that He has chosen a different path for Brock's future. God never said that life would be easy and when we put it in the grand scheme of things......as we have friends battling terminal diseases, and friends that have lost loved ones.....we have so much to be thankful for! The time that God has given him to be a light and witness for him our there on that field could be exactly why He took him down this path. Brock has allowed God to shape and mold him into the man that he is today.....a man of integrity! And for that we Praise you Lord!

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Daughter like Mother

I know it's hard to tell by looking at her, but she really is my daughter. With the dark hair, big brown eyes and her olive tone skin I wouldn't have believed she was mine either if I hadn't delivered her myself. She looks just like her handsome daddy and I am very thankful for that. But if you hang around her for very long you'll quickly find out she acts just like me! She definitely has my personality and my parents just laugh and love to remind me that "the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree!" She has such a zest for life as I like to say it.

As you can see she is already testing out her cosmetology skills. She really wanted to do her own hair that morning, so I thought well let's just see how it goes. Thankfully we were only going to my parents that day. I guess I'll have to give her a couple pointers in the coming years!

Yet another thing that her and I have is our photogenic abilities.....I always have my eyes closed in pictures. So many times I resort to turning off the flash, but then the color of my pictures never turns out right. Maybe I just need a better camera....right ;)'

St. Louis '09

We were so thankful that we could take a family vacation this year. It has been a couple years since we have went on "vacation!" Since we have moved we are now closer to St. Louis and we decided after the craziness calms down we'll talk the girls down there for a long weekend. We were blessed to have my parents and brothers join us for most of the time. We enjoyed a lot of fun things that both the little girls could enjoy and the big boys too!

Being the Cardinal fans that my family is Friday night my parents and brothers spent the evening behind the dugout watching the Cards yet again come away with a victory!

Meanwhile we took the girls to a more kid friendly place....Chuck-e-Cheese! This was their first time there and needless to say they had a blast! Kate quickly learned where to put the tokens!

Saturday we spent at the zoo! It was one of the hotter days this summer, but we got to see maybe a 3/4 of the animals before we had to call it a day. That place is huge! I asked Mackenzie what her favorite thing was and she went back and forth between the train and petting the snake! She is not MY daughter!

Of course there is swimming to be done......what is vacation without lots of swimming!
Sunday we went to a Water Park on the IL side. The boys were giving me a hard time about it, but I think it was a hit. It was a little cloudy, but just perfect and I especially enjoyed the wave pool!

Sunday was Brock's 18th Birthday and he really wanted to go to a Japanese restaurant. We all agreed it was the best one we had been to and they are a favorite with our family. Hope you had a Happy Birthday and thank you for letting us be a part!

Monday it was just our little family as they had to head home and we planned to go to the Magic House Childrens Museum. I remember going there as a little girl and I had actually found my pin from the electrostatic ball where you put your hand on it and your hair stands up before we left to show the girls. They have recently doubled the size of it and the favorite for Mackenzie was the the Jack and the Bean stalk climber that went up 3 stories and the real life town complete with mechanic shop. For some reason this girl is enthralled with vehicles! Kate enjoyed all of the action!
Here is more pics of the vacation!