my backyard

This is what Phillip and I woke up to this morning. It was amazing, and so pretty. There are actually houses down there under the fog. We definitely live on top of a hill!
More pictures to come, from Phillip's Iphone..since my phone is still broken.

Many Thanks To You!

UPDATE: I wrote this post while I was in Dallas, anticipating my departure home.

What would I do without the incredible family I have been blessed with. Phillip and I have both been blessed by loving families who pointed us to Christ at an early age. Who nurtured our love for the Lord and prayed for our mates since we were born. We are blessed that both of our parents desire to be involved in our lives, love our children, and sacrifice over and over for us as we've had difficult pregnancies.
For the past 12 weeks we have been here in Dallas. My parents were going to watch the kids for us for a week after Christmas, and it has turned into 11! Other than when Phillip comes into town (which thanks to a generous family has been about every 10-14 days), my parents have been doing everything for my kids. Feeding, dressing, bathing, playing, sleeping them. It would be different if I only had one, or two. But to have 3, barely 3yrs old and under, it has been physically demanding in so many ways. I am so grateful for their dependence on Christ during this time. They have done it gracefully, lovingly, and been so servant hearted. Here is a list of just some of the things they have done during the winter months of being full time grandparents:
*came to visit me EVERY DAY when I was in the hospital
*spent LOTS of time with cousins Brenley and baby Brooklyn. Really developed a relationship with each other and played so well together!
*fed them nutritious, healthy meals and didn't let them get away with being picky (something I am adamant about. thank you!)
*the girls learned to climb trees
*read them TONS of books and all 3 kids now love to snuggle up with me on the couch and read
*took as many walks as possible on the walking path out back, and walks to the park
*colored, did stickers, developed a love for imagination playhouse and sandboxes
*Canon learned to kick a soccar ball, climb up and DOWN the stairs, run, get down off the couch, say more words, and "more" in sign language, eat with a fork and spoon, stand up in his high chair, got 4 new molars, and more...
*blew the Shofar everyday, singing praises to Jesus
*encouraged the reality that Jesus heals! As Avery would say, "Jesus healed my ear" after a small bout with an ear infection, that Jesus really did heal!
*went to church twice a week and did great in class
*stuck to a schedule, which the kids thrive on
*went to The Little Gym each week and learned how to play hockey and baseball. Canon stayed either at Aunt Angie's or she would come here with me while he slept...which brings me to my next point...
*all 3 are still taking great naps each day. Canon still takes a good solid two,easily. The girls nap and bedtime routines have improved since the absolute craziness of the apartment
*They girls have learned how to play games on my mom and Phillip's Iphones and are really good at it. Of course I love that they are all educational games!
*Most important my parents have love love loved on my kids and shown them the love of Christ, the sacrificial hands and feet of those who love Him. Taking care of them, and me, and setting aside so much in their own lives to do this for us.
Thank you mom and dad for allowing Christ to give you the strength both physically and mentally to do this. Though we would not have chosen this road, I am grateful for the time we had with you and the relationships you were able to develop with my kids since we live so far away. Thank you, we love you!!!
I cannot leave out my wonderful sister Angie, who also helped out a ton!! She lives about 5 minutes away and was over nearly every day that she could. She was always helping take care of all 5 grandkids and doing whatever she could to make it easier on us. I loved having her around as well, since we usually never get this much time together. Her sweet husband Al spent lots of time here as well, or sacrificed his time with her to let her be here. Thank you for your servant heart and for always putting others before yourself. You do it with ease, a smile, and all the while nursing an infant. Supermom!
My brother Danny and sister-in-love Amber as well as Phillip's brother Matt his wife Lauren, also came out lots of weekends to help. What a blessing it is to have so much family willing to help. It truly made me feel better that while Phillip and I couldn't be totally present in our children's lives, we trusted our family members and were so glad it was family taking care of them.
Phillip was living at his parents house this entire time. What a blessing for us, on all fronts, having family take care of us. We were blessed with a few months of no mortgage and have a refrigerator and water softner in our house to prove it!
It is hard to be in such a place of dependancy on people, but I learned early on in the hospital that it makes people feel better to be able to help. You are allowing them to serve Christ when they serve you, to love Christ when they love on you. "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:39-41

Thank you ALL for your help during the past 12 weeks! We love you!!
Shelly

These were the last pictures I took before my camera lens stopped working.
The one of Avery with the baby in the sling - that is my "Baby Bean", my very first baby doll when I was little.

I made it!

Thank you for all the prayers! I greatly needed them today! I had SO many contractions on the flight here that I won't even tell you the numbers, lest some of you freak out. I was very nervous, trying to be relaxed, and the steward was pumping me full of water. Praying we would just take off...and we did, a little delayed. My friend Kelli got me at the airport (I was in a wheelchair the whole time...another story for another blog), and I went to her house for the afternoon to lay on the couch. My contractions are better, but still here. Hoping nothing happens soon, I could have 5 weeks, or one day...that is the unknown of preterm pregnancy.

I LOVE the house! It was so fun to walk in with the kids and see them run around, showing us everything they were seeing. They were SO excited, and it was a precious, very memorable moment for us as a family. What a reuiniting we had. The Lord is so good to us, we LOVE our house, it is so new and nice, and HOME!

More to come on all of this. I just wanted to thank you for the prayers and let you know I made it home. Praise the Lord!

Homeward Bound

The plan: Phillip and his mom are arriving at 10:30 tonight. They will leave at 4am tomorrow with the kids and travel straight to our new house :) I will leave on a plane tomorrow at noon, and spend the afternoon on my friend and neighbor Kelli's couch. We will all 5 reunite together at our new house and get to see each other's expressions and joy.
The Prayers: I went to the doctor today and for the first time in 10 weeks, my cervix has changed. Not just a tiny bit, but a whole centimeter (which is a lot in the cervix world). I am now at a .7cm. My sister's doctor, who again I really like, is still allowing me to fly home. Mainly because of my previous history with Canon's pregnancy. At 34 weeks I started really showing signs of going into labor, but went another 6 active weeks with him. So with Champ we are at LEAST hoping for another DAY! My prayer is for a safe flight for me, safe drive for Phillip, and NO BABY UNTIL I GET HOME. Once I get home, I'll be praying for NO baby until after 36 weeks (just two weeks from now). I just need to get home. So please be praying for me tomorrow, that my body would continue to hold our sweet little Champ, a true Champ for hanging in this long, until he is FULL TERM. Thank you!

just remembering...

seems like only yesterday we brought Canon home from the hospital to these sweet little chubby cheeked girls, who now seem so grown up and more aware of the new little one who will soon be entering our family. Time goes by so fast, now Canon is 16 months old and loves his little brother already. He loves to look at my tummy, hit it most of the time, and just seeing his love for his baby cousin Brooklyn, assures me he will adore his new lifelong playmate as well.
such sweet days...

stream of conciousness

random thoughts I am thinking:
I get out of breath just telling directions to the kids from the couch
Some days I have lots of contractions, other days I only have a few (about 5)
My contractions are getting harder and uncomfortable (It was this way with Canon...for two months)
I'm getting SO ready to get up
I'm going home in 4 days! It's been 10 weeks on Wednesday, wow!
Avery fell in the pool today, my mom was right there and saved her though.
My sister spent the weekend here with her girls while Al was hunting. It was good to have her around :)
I'm anxious to see my house!
I can't wait to go shopping for Champ and the house, get my hair colored, and get a pedicure.
3 year olds really know how to stall.
I love my husband, he's been working so hard on our house!!!
I can't (yes I CAN) wait to see my sweet fourth child, what will he look like?
I miss my friends. I miss sitting up. I miss walking. I can't wait for summer.
I love Beth Moore. "So Long Insecurity" is amazing. So is her talk from Passion 2010, you can watch it here.
My camera lens won't open...hoping to get that fixed soon after I get home so we'll have it ready for Champ!
Happy Sunday evening!
Shelly

I can see it happening

Finally, I'm at 32 weeks (well, basically). I delivered the girls at 32 weeks, so this is always my biggest milemarker to get to. But since they were in the NICU, and NOBODY wants their baby in the NICU, I am always so anxious to make it further. That being said, I will continue to lay on the couch doing nothing except go to the bathroom for another 3 weeks. However, in TWO weeks, at 34 weeks, I will be able to go home to STL, to my husband, and new house! I am so excited and thrilled that it is only two weeks away, finally!
I went to the dr. today and my cervix is STILL stable, wow! Champ is measuring 4.9lbs, about a week ahead, and about the same as what Canon was measuring at this point...remember Canon weighed 9.3lbs at birth?!?! I think I have another big baby boy in here. He literally just grew so much this past week. I know it sounds weird, but since I've been laying on bedrest doing nothing I've really struggled to gain weight. It didn't help that I hadn't gained much when I started bedrest, with the holidays being so busy, moving, etc, I was pretty active. Let's face it, it was pretty depressing eating hospital food, alone. Anyway, my mom has been working really hard at giving me lots of protein and veggies. I only hope I can keep up her healthy cuisines for us and the kids once we are home. Since I'm gestational diabetic, its not like I can just sit around and drink milkshakes...even though I'd love too! So last week I gained 4lbs in one week! I could tell Champ was bigger, and today when I put on real clothes to go to the Dr. they were getting really small! Here we go, the feeling that you are sitting on top of yourself has begun. And I love it really, it means I'm getting further along!
Sorry for all that rambling, I'm just glad things are STILL going well. Praise the Lord. We believe HE has held that tiny centimeter of a cervix strong for this whole time, because in the past I've never stayed stable this long.

Phillip has been hard at work on our wood floors and began painting the entire house last night (with the help of some wonderful servant hearted people!). I'll try to post pics before long.

Here are just some recent pictures of the kids and my view from the couch.
Thanks again for the prayers, emails, help and servants hearts. We are 4 weeks away from TOTAL freedom! (36weeks = no bedrest of any kind)