Nate-Riding a bike!

We have had a really wet summer. Usually we are out in the front or in our back garden a lot. Nate had been riding his bike with training wheels/stabilisers and had not really been interested in removing them. But on a Thursday night he asked to have them off and by Monday we were off riding on a trail! Just one of those times when he was ready and so it came easily. He really needs a bigger bike but we are holding off for a bit. 

At the top of Reigate hill riding his bike. He loved riding through the puddles. 

I think Allen and I may need to get bikes...

Anna-7 months old

Has it really been 7 months?! Anna is so much fun. This month she is up on hands and knees with a little forward movement but not crawling. She can sit but generally dives forward because she wants to try to crawl. We moved to a four hour schedule this month 7, 11,4 and 7. We still do the dream feed. She is eating three times a day but not a huge fan yet. We started formula at bedtime last week because she stopped sleeping through the night. She has done great with it. Such a blessing to have some freedoms to leave her with a bottle. Her brothers continue to love her and are a huge help. 

She visited her first palace-Buckingham. She wasn't impressed and slept through it all. :)

When we have had sun, we have enjoyed watching the boys ride their bikes out front. 

So thankful she has taken a bottle so well. 

My little tiger fan! 

She got a jumperoo this month and loves it.  She likes being able to watch the boys in the back garden too. 

Ben-Field trip to Gatton Park

Ben is in year 2 this year. Today they had a field trip to Gatton Park a lovely estate near where we live. Yesterday it rained all day but today it was gorgeous. We walked from school to the park and then enjoyed a time of doing three different challenges and learning about the life cycle of the frog. I love going on field trips with the boys. It gives me a glimpse into their life at school and I get to know their classmates. Allen was a champ and stayed home with Anna. 

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

We had a wonderful Fourth Of July!  We went to a church summer party in the early afternoon on Saturday. 

Then we came home and had a party at home.  We made some DELICIOUS butter pecan ice cream!  It was AMAZING!

Hanging out with Megan.  

Love his guy!

He's now the middle child...

Nate!  Our 5 year old middle child.  Love him!  He is so much fun and a lot of work too.  He is so full of life.

He LOVES LOVES LOVES Anna.  He was the first to see her roll and he can make her giggle.  He is also the one we have to keep an eye on.  He tried to pick her up because she was crying.

Fearless!  He loves to climb.  The higher the better.

Determined!  He will work at something until he can figure it out.  He has always loved puzzles and I think that climbing is a puzzle to him.

He was the first in his class willing to hold this big chicken.

Nate is an introvert.  He likes to sit in church with us on Sunday.  He has mostly had friends because of Ben.  So, when it came to his birthday he wanted two friends to come, his best friend from last year, Ashley and his new best friend Finley.  Ashley wasn't able to come and so he wanted Ben's best friend Luke to come.  Ben was trying to add friends to the list for Nate.  Very different boys.

We went to the theatre and watched Home.  The boys loved it.  When I asked if they liked it, they said, "No, we LOVED it!"

Nate has grown up so much this year.  He is reading and writing.  He loves school and is soaking up what he is taught.  He loves music.  He loves to dance to music in his head.  He is very physical and strong.  I love how our boys are so different and yet they are the best of friends.  

Ben is 6!

Since, I haven't blogged in forever, I thought the best way to start might be to catch up on the kids...So, our oldest Ben is wonderful!  He is outgoing, loves people, never met a stranger, loves going to school, is sensitive, doesn't want to be alone, and is just a lot of fun to be around.  

This was his first bowl of cereal that he poured all by himself.  He was so proud!  I was busy and couldn't pour the cereal and milk so he said he could.  I am so glad I let him.  Moments, where you realize that you need to let them grow up and be independent.

I wrote in the previous post about Ben's sweet desire and prayers for a younger sister.  I love how he loves on Anna.  I pray that he would be a leader for our children and set a great example for Nate and Anna.

Ben turned 6 in April.  To celebrate, he had a small party at home and then went camping.  The camping trip was with Ben's best friend, Luke, and Luke's Father.  They had such a great time that this is the only picture I have before they left.  They came home with lots of stories of fun adventures and stories told around the campfire.  

Ben is finishing up year 1 at St. Matthews.  He has come a long way this year in his reading and writing.  Mr. Sweeting was his teach up until May and Ben loved having him.  He was so very proud of moving up in his reading categories.  He is enjoying writing and illustrating "books" right now.  He has a great imagination.  His imagination is so good that it sometimes affects his sleep and he has bad dreams.  We have to be very careful with what Ben watches or he will wake us up in the middle of the night (By "we", I mean Allen.  I only can hear Anna apparently). 

Ben loves people and I am amazed by how many students he knows at school.  At the beginning of the year, he was voted for by his class to be on the school council.  He got to wear a badge and was very excited about it.  

He is tenderhearted.  We are at the great age where he understands a lot about Jesus and he is asking all sorts of great questions about God.  I love hearing him share what he learns at school, at church and then from home.  It is so fun to see him starting to put it all together.  I pray that he would always have a soft heart towards God and want to learn about him.

I could go on but I will stop for now.  On to Nate!  

The story of our Anna Joy

A year ago this past Monday(June 22, 2014), we took this picture.  To say it was a day full of all kinds of emotions is an understatement.  We have been trying since April of 2012 to grow our family.  At this point, we had had three pictures like this one, three positive pregnancy test, weeks of waiting, and then the heart wrenching sadness of hearing and seeing that our little one was not growing.  After our last miscarriage in Jan/Feb 2014, we decided we needed a break.  That we were going to take the summer to heal.  So needless to say, we were a little bit surprised by this!  I did not have a doctor in the US and there were just a myriad of emotions.  

However, my Heavenly Father is always, always so gracious and provides above and beyond what I could have asked or imagined.  We immediately called a sweet friend in Columbia who knew the history and I said, "help, I need an ob/gyn!"  She was so calm and confident that God would provide a doctor and he did.  We saw a wonderful Christian man from our home church.  He got us in that very week for an ultrasound and to see him.  Obviously, there isn't much to see at 5 weeks but it was so reassuring to have a doctor be proactive.  It is very different here in the UK under NHS.  I am not going to get into that here but I will say that my first two miscarriages with NHS were more emotionally painful than was necessary. 

So, we went in to see Dr. O and the ultrasound tech.  I started to explain why I was there at 5 weeks and she interjected because she had read my chart and knew that this was a painful process.  Dr. O put me on some medication as a precaution.  Early miscarriage is such a mystery and I have no doubt that our three babies that are in heaven are supposed to be there.  However, we felt like we needed to do anything we could to ensure this being a healthy pregnancy.

And so we started the waiting game because that is what the first trimester is.  

On a side note,  we were around a lot of pregnant people during this time.  My sister was pregnant and my sister in law had just had a little boy.  So, my boys were asking all sorts of questions.  Ben in particular wanted to know when we were going to have another baby.  We told him that we needed to pray about it and ask God because He is the giver of life.  So, he had started praying.  Love the  simple faith of a 5 year old.

So we waited and went to the doctor every other week for ultrasounds.  Everything progressed well, including morning sickness like I had never known!  The boys started asking if mommy was pregnant.  We asked them all sorts of questions to divert from answering, like what does it mean for mommy to be pregnant? and would you like that? etc.  The morning we went to our 10 week appointment, Ben at breakfast asked what we were doing and he said, "I know mommy is pregnant."  When my mom asked him about the news, he said, "I prayed for a little baby sister and mommy is pregnant.  God answered my prayers."  Such a sweet gift!

Of course, we then talked about the fact that the baby might not be a baby girl...but he knew.  And so we found out we were expecting a baby girl.  We also found out at the 13 week ultrasound and blood tests, that I have anti-kell antibodies (probably developed after receiving kell positive blood during a blood transfusion with Nate's delivery) This is very rare and it could have been a problem if Allen was a kell carrier.  But praise God, he wasn't and again, the Lord carried us through a storm.  If you are curious about anti-kell, I would be happy to share.  So, we were monitored closely until 20 weeks when they could test the fetal blood type and make sure Anna was kell negative.   

Finding out we have a baby girl! 

The belly progression...

The morning of February 17th, 2015.  We became a family of 5!  I was 39 weeks pregnant and very ready to hold that baby girl.

Anna was born 11:08 am on February 17th, she weighed 9lbs, 1 oz.    

Meeting baby sister for the first time.

Precious Love!

What a long journey this has been but I am so thankful for all I learned through the process.  I had many long runs where the Father and I talked and I poured out my heart and hurt to Him.  I am so thankful for my three loves here on earth and I look forward to the day where I am united with my precious three in heaven.  I don't know what it will look like but I know it will be special.   

One of the sweetest parts of this has been that we as a family of four have welcomed Anna into our family.  When Ben and Nate were born it was Allen and I welcoming them because they were so young.  However, this has been a family affair.  The boys love their baby sister and they have transitioned wonderfully.  Anna Joy Hawkins, you are a gift from the Father and are treasured!