A Prayer Request

I just had my OB visit and Jack and Mommy are doing well but Jack is breech right now.  Next week if he has not yet done a good somersault then we will discuss trying to do an external cephalic version where the doctor tries to turn the baby by gently pressing on my stomach.  Please pray that he transitions on his own and that my heart would not be anxious as we wait.  The thought of a C-section really scares me but I want to trust in His perfect care and have a contented heart whatever the outcome.  After the doctor told me this news my heart was very anxious and still is so I pray the Lord will use this to increase my faith and trust in His sovereign plan.  I asked the kids to pray for Jack daily that he would do a good flip and be ready for delivery.  Katy prayed "Dear God please help Jack to do a somersault and flip.  Amen"  It is a good reminder that the Lord is near to those who call on Him and that He desires for us to cast our burdens on Him as He cares for us.

My Baby Shower

Here are the pictures of the beautiful baby shower that my friends gave me.  It was so pretty and everything was so thoughtfully prepared and centered around the theme "Jack".  Thank you to everyone who helped and showered us with baby items to prepare for his arrival!

Me and my Mom

The favor table

The delicious brunch

The cute decor

Katy with her friends and cousin Kaitlyn

Sweet Times

I know the kids love one another but sometimes it's just good to see it like this...  In fact just a couple days ago we were playing outside and they were calling each other sweetie!  I think they were married at that time but still it is so cute to see them show sibling affection and display the one anothers by themselves.  Being so close in age (21 months) they love playing together and I am thankful they have so much fun with each other.

Carter's Preschool Graduation

Somehow we keep getting cheesy smiles but Carter did very good at Graduation.

We love you Carter!

Spring is here

Ever since we first looked at our house over a year ago there was a dove nest as you enter in the breezeway.  I have been curious because I have never seen any babies just the mommy dove.  I discovered two babies there just this week and finally got a picture of them by climbing on a step ladder.

Odds and Ends of the last week...

Kidspace Museum in Pasadena with our Preschool group

Millipede from Africa

Carter with Aiden and Cooper Duhm

The kids had their Cubbies ceremony where they received their certificates of completion.

Carter is in smack in the middle doing the Cubbies song

Tagged by Georg

4 Jobs I've Had
-working with mentally handicapped adults during my college summers
-library assistant at TMC
-mail room clerk at TMC
-secretary at Grace To You

4 Places I've Lived
-Porterville
-TMC for 3 years, 1 semester in Israel
-Stevenson Ranch
-Northridge

4 Shows I like to watch
-Dancing w/the stars
-What Not to Wear (Not sure if this helps me or not)
(guess I can't think of 4)

4 Blogs I check regularly
-Kostjuk Family
-Melissa James
-Girl Talk
-Smith Family

4 Foods I like (when I am not pregnant)
-BJ's Sweet Pig Pizza and salads
-Mexican food
-Chinese Food
-Red Robin Burgers

4 Interesting Places I have been
-Israel
-Nepal
-Siberia
-Turkey

4 Places I want to be right now
-the labor room (obviously) to meet baby Jack
-Hawaii w/my hubby
-Santa Barbara
-Everett, WA to visit my brother and his family

4 things I'm looking forward to this year
-meeting baby Jack
-maturing in my role as a wife/mother
-running a race
-seeing my kids understand the gospel better

4 people I tag to do this on their blog
-Julie Winkle
-Joy Prince
-Jamie Richard (I just found your blog 30 seconds ago!)
-Kim Archer

Mother's Day Tribute

Hi, its Steve. Being Mother's Day weekend I thought I would pay tribute to the mothers that I am closest to. 

Glenda Roth - Its been 13 years since my mom went to be home with the Lord. I still miss her, but I would rather have her praising the Lord for eternity than to be with us. So many things could be said about her. She had incredible patience. She endured my strange antics as a boy. She protected us from tornado warnings when we lived in Georgia (They always seemed to come when dad was on a trip.) As I got older, her diligent study of the word became more visible as she started attending a woman's Bible Study. I saw her selfless attitude displayed to the women in the bible study. She took care of her mother as long as she could even in the final months leading up to her home going. 

No one wants to see their parent suffer like she did. Especially, a disease like pancreatic cancer. But what is the result for a Christian? A shorter life? Maybe. But you get to heaven quicker and isn't that our goal, to be with the Lord forever?  I love my mom and thank the Lord for the time I had with her. 

Kathy Guyle - Sister #1 - Kathy has gone through many challenging times (including a uninhabitable house from the 94 Earthquake) in her life. Yet through it all, I have seen her grow in her walk with the Lord and display an attitude of grace, forgiveness and mercy. I love her very much

Patty Ardavanis - Sister #2 - What I admire most about Patty is the time she has invested in her Children's spiritual growth. She has spent many tireless hours to this end. As I see her kids growing up and getting to the point where some of them will be leaving the house in next few years, I am blown away by their maturity. (I know I am a biased uncle.) I pray that the Lord will use them mightily in the next few years. 

Elizabeth Roth - My wife - I first met Elizabeth in 1997 on Labor Day as she was headed to Israel for her last semester at Master's. It would be four years before the Lord would bring us together, but when we started dating things went quickly. It was a no-brainer. Through some nice talks over a season of time I thought in my mind Elizabeth the type woman I wanted to marry. The next thought was, if she is type of woman I want to marry, why not her. Now almost 7 years into marriage, Baby Jack, our third child, Lord willing, will be here in a month. Maybe even on our anniversary. I am thankful for her diligent and faithful teaching of our children in the ways of the Lord. I love to see the adoring look on her face, when something our children has done touches her heart. At no time is she more beautiful and she is beautiful all the time. She has even taken up her husband's love of running and completed a half marathon. 

I know this is getting long, but I couldn't end without saying I appreciated Mary Hanggi. She is the best mother in law in the world and a great grandmother to our children. 

I hope we all tell our moms this weekend how much we love them. 

Happy Mom's day. 

Getting ready for Jack

Well we are just about 6 weeks from Jack's due date so I am trying to get some things ready for his arrival.  I painted the purple room blue, the changing table red and made some burp cloths for him.  We also had a family outing to Babies r' us in Simi Valley and got some storage baskets and various other baby things.

The boys new blue room

The newly painted changing table

Katy helping Mommy paint

Jack's new burp cloths

Story Time

Well the kids always love it when I tell a Super Woman story.  It is my least favorite thing to do because that means I have to think of something.  Well today I told them a story of how she saved the Turkeys at the Tulare Turkey farm.  Well then both Carter and Katy wanted to tell their own story. 

Here was Katy's story: There was a chicken farm and there were some rebels that were hungry.  They tried to take the chickens and the mommy chicken made a loud noise so that the farmer would help.  The farmer told the chicken to be quiet.  But there was a mommy camel that scared the rebels away.  The camel had one rider.  The End.

The Joys of Motherhood

Katy and I had a date at home because we are sick and Carter and Dad went to Cubbies.  It was really fun to spend time with just Katy.  She is such a girly girl.  First she wanted to get her frilly dresses on and cinderella shoes.  Then she wanted to gather all her dolls and pretend they were sick too and we administered medical treatment on each one with her doctor kit.  Then she wanted to play with her polly pockets and other various tiny items on her bedroom floor for a long time.  It was fun just listening to her imaginary play.  I am thankful for these precious times with my kids as they remind me of the deep love our Father has for us.

Katy and I taking pictures on the computer

Oh, and Jack was with us too!  Here is his 33 week picture taken earlier that day!