My rainbow baby

 



"The beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of any storm. When a rainbow appears, it does not mean that the storm never happened or that we are not still dealing with its aftermath. It means that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover, but the rainbow provides color, energy and hope.”

 

 

 

I recently heard the term "rainbow baby."  I didn't know what it meant, despite the fact that I'm carrying my very own rainbow baby.  It's a term women use to describe their babies born after a miscarriage, still birth, or infant loss.  Reading blogs of women who have had a rainbow baby, there seems to be a common theme.  Tumultuous pregnancies, filled with worry and fear, waiting on bated breath for the moment they finally hold their precious one in their arms.  My boy is not here yet...and I know as well as anyone that his arrival is not a guarantee.  But, I refuse to let my mind be filled with worry or my heart be filled with fear.  This pregnancy is a gift.  This child a blessing.  To be wholly and fearlessly loved each of his days, however many that may be.  I deeply regret the ways in which I let fear hold me back from loving Wesley.  I learned from my mistakes and I have not been so foolish as to make them again.  I am learning each day about the freedom that comes with surrender.  I do not worry because it does no good and I do not fear because it changes nothing.  I simply love.  Because it not only does a great deal of good...it changes everything.

 

Love you!

A few days ago, this sweet boy told me he loved me.  He's been repeating it anytime we say it to him for months.  But, this time was different.  This time, he said it first.  I was explaining to him that I was going to the store, would be back soon, and that he was going to stay and play with Papa.  Then he went through his normal goodbye routine, asking for a po-po and then a hug.  After I hugged him he looked right into my eyes and said "love you."  What a precious moment!

Zonkers

The boys and I enjoyed a morning at Zonkers with Uncle Jason and fam.  C loves this place.  

Lil' peanut was quite content to just watch big brother ride everything.  "No ride, no ride" was his standard reply when we asked him if he wanted to go too.

He did get super brave on the 3 story play area though!  Climbing all the way to the top by himself and going down the slide over and over.

 

Here you can see C spinning like crazy in the tea cup while lil' peanut clings to Uncle Jason, declining to be put down on a carousel horse.  So very different those two are!

 

He was over the moon about the train!  Don't you love it when your kids surprise you with their sweetness?  Lil' peanut wandered up to the engine seat and just as I was expecting C to say something like "I'm sitting in the front, you go find your own seat" he exclaimed "William!  Sit with me!  Do you want to ride next to me?"  He got so excited about that invitation and he climbed right up next to his big brother.  Then my heart continued to melt as C promptly pulled him close and made sure he was all buckled up.



Living like nomads!

Well, I decided that we would not survive another three weeks of hotel living (at least my sanity wouldn't!) ;)  So, we decided to take our new nomadic lifestyle on the road and head to Kansas.  Now we're just hanging out at my folks house enjoying all the space, and separate bedrooms, and backyard, and full kitchen, etc. etc.  Instead of feeling all unsettled about living in limbo, I'm just looking at all this time as one big summer vacation.  We'll be in our new home eventually and it will feel so good to finally settle in.  But, there's plenty of good going on right now, right where we're at too.  We're embracing it!

 



Time with cousins!

 

Lil' peanut was still snoozing during the first round of buggy rides, so Daddy took him on his own private ride when he woke up.

These two boys were pretty darn cute playing side by side.  They are only 7 months apart, the closest age difference for any of the cousins, so I'm hoping they will be good buddies.

Home Inspection

We spent the morning at what will hopefully be OUR house!  The inspection was today and thankfully they didn't discover anything catastrophic.  It is an older house so there are some issues, but no deal breakers.  Hopefully the negotiations on who fixes what go smoothly.

 

Now you can see some pictures of the boys, and a sneak peak at the house.  I still think it's so funny that practically every home here in TX has a fireplace!  These southerners don't like to get too chilly. :)

C was on the hunt for a lizard in the back yard.  We see them all over the place down here.  No such luck today though.

Tonight was pizza and a movie in the hotel.  Hubby has this coming week off from work still and we shouldn't have too much paperwork signing to do for the house, so hopefully we can get a few fun adventures in.  Only 18 more days of living in a hotel to go!

4th of July

One awesome thing about living in Texas (besides the no snow thing!) is that I have family near by.  We went to my uncle's house for the 4th of July and had a great time.  And not just because we were able to get out of our hotel room for the day. ;)  It was great to visit with my family and for my boys and my cousin's boys to play with each other.  C and her oldest are the same age and have a grand time together.  Also, Uncle Richard pretty much has every toy a kid could dream of.  He has toys for adults too!  Like the remote control cars he was ramping over his grandson.  Or the helicopter that Daddy crashed into lil' peanut.  It's true.  Boys will be boys.  And so will men.  Lol!

I had to document him helping in the kitchen. :)

We played all morning, had lunch, and then went down to their neighborhood pool.  We had planned to stay for fireworks but around dinner time the boys were beginning to unravel and we thought it would be better to just hit the road and head back to our hotel.  We started to see fireworks from the highway and Daddy led us on what I thought was going to be a wild goose chase, but ended up planting us in the middle of a subdivision on a blanket in front of a lake surrounded by different fireworks displays.  It was pretty perfect.  Even if only one of the kiddos enjoyed it.  Lil' peanut started crying after the first loud boom and when hubby asked him if he wanted to go back to the car and watch he cried "back car!" and bolted toward the car faster than I've ever seen him run.  Ha!  When C and I got back to the car we asked him if he liked the fireworks.  "No, scared firework."  Maybe next year! :)

It was a fun day and we were all exhausted.  And the boys actually slept in the next morning!  Sad to think that 7:30 is considered sleeping in, but I'll take it.

Almost forgot our big news!  We have a contract on a house!  The inspection is tomorrow morning, so hoping we don't discover anything horrible.  Our closing date is the 25th.  We are getting very excited to have our own home by the end of the month!

All my boys

 

 

 

 

Back in Mississippi

We made our second fun stop in our old stomping grounds of Mississippi.  C and I made lots of trips down to Hattiesburg during the time hubby was stationed at Camp Shelby.  One of our favorite things to do while we were visiting Daddy was head to the Hattiesburg Zoo.  It was just as fun when we went a few days ago as it was back then.  Actually, it was better!  Thanks to this new splash pad.

 

Mr. Adventurous saw it, threw his shoes to the side, and ran straight in.

It was not long before he was completely soaked!

Lil' peanut differs quite a bit from C when it comes to encountering new experiences.  He needs time to assess the situation and approach it with caution before eventually deciding whether it's something he wants to do or not.  (Sometimes he still chooses to sit it out no matter how we try to convince him how much fun it will be...C was pretty stoked to get two turns on the carousel when lil' peanut decided it was just too much) :) 

Getting braver...

Look at how much drier he is than that crazy big brother. :)  He didn't even need to change his shirt!

After a change of clothes they were ready for the train.

Our stop in Hattiesburg was made complete with a trip to Bop's for some frozen custard before we got back on the road.  Yum!