david asher turns 6

so where does 6 years go so fast? it seems like yesterday that Asher was being born. it was a fun day reminiscing with him about his emergency entrance into the world. kids love to hear "their stories".
all i know is this little boy has had his hand on this mama's heart since he was born.  i know that not a day goes by that i dont look at him & find myself having to rub the good kind of hurt that speaks of love from my heart so i can breath a little easier. he is my little joyful boy...one that is so tenderhearted and kind, wild and funny.

speaking of hurting hearts...oh this little girl makes me melt. i'm so madly in love with this sweet princess. she is the "it" girl right now! she is such a happy girl. she just turned 3 months old last Friday. time FLIES by when you are loving life & babies!!!

results are in

i received the results for the baby's 1st trimester screens. all is normal. now we head to the 2nd trimester neural tube screen & an EKG on the baby's heart between 16-24 weeks. i fully expect all to be well.

unfortunately i am sick with bronchitis as well as Asher. poor kid. here is a picture of him at the doctor's office this morning. (notice he is still in his pj's.) a very dear friend said to me - after i told her he wore his cowboy boots with his pj's - "oh you have become one of those mom's". very funny! but yep. i'm one of those mom's - sick & tired - literally. this kid is so sweet. (and as of this afternoon abigail & esther have started running fevers.....)

ambidexterity

"Ambidexterity is the state of being equally adept in the use of both left and right appendages  (such as the hands). It is one of the most famous varieties of cross-dominance. People that are naturally ambidextrous are rare, with only one out of one hundred people being naturally ambidextrous. The degree of versatility with each hand is generally the qualitative factor in determining a person's ambidexterity."  - Wikipedia

come to find out, this boy - my Asher, is proving to be ambidextrous. And of course that makes his Dad very proud as he says he was a bit ambidextrous as a child but his parents forced him to abandon the use of his left hand and only use his right. i think it's a very cool quality to have. the pediatrician told us that he actually has better muscle tone on his left side, which would make that side dominant. I have been saying for a while now that Asher was ambidextrous as when we sit to do some school work he cant decide which hand to write with. he switches constantly. i let him switch back & forth because he's got to be comfortable and he is who he is - i cant fit him into a box of my making. i want him to be comfortable in his own skin & know that he is perfectly Asher - joyful & happy!

now that i'm on that subject of ambidexterity, it makes me think of life. i know i'm stretching it here but stick with me.

ambidexterity isnt a bad thing. we should be able to on one hand know right from wrong and on the other have the ability to forgive when wrong has been done or even have the ability to accept that possibly we might not be right in our conclusions or decisions.

i'm not saying for one minute that ambidexterity should be a quality that we have in our faith in regards to our foundational beliefs. but we should have the ability to love, be compassionate, accept people as broken sinners - saved by God's grace (or as broken sinners, lost & dying in this world & in need of God's Son), and judge according to that compassion. the older i get, the deeper my understanding of scripture, i am finding that love is more powerful than judgement. if we choose to judge over love, we do nothing but separate and divide.

i've been studying Hudson Taylor & oddly enough Mother Teresa.

those two people understood love over judgement. they gave their whole lives in service to Christ and loving the lost, sick, poor....over judging them.

how is it that we as Christians find it hard to do that? we judge each other over loving one another? those closest to us even. why is it easy to love those we dont know & judge harshly the ones to whom we are closest? shouldnt it be opposite? the reality is it should be neither - we should love period. love wins every time.

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love." - Mother Teresa

"Christ is either Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all." - Hudson Taylor

now for a final comment - to see if you are paying attention and reading to the end. i was going to wait until the 20th when we had a picture to share...but we have already told the kids and family members.....we are expecting baby #7 in October. we are surprised - completely caught off guard and thrown for a loop with this one - was not even on the radar. we had just received the packet from Social Services to start foster care classes. we are happy. what a blessing a new baby will be and we are enjoying the excitement that the kids have over the news.

the new karate kid!

so when this handsome fellow turned 4 on sunday the karate world gained a new student! he broke the board he is holding with his foot at his intro lesson.
he is super happy with karate.














check him out on youtube:

little late in mentioning....

so Asher had a birthday on Sunday. he is all of 4 years old now but he keeps telling everyone he is just 3 years old. he also started karate. he is wild about that. before i am done i will try to link a video from youtube on here to see him in action!
i just cant believe how fast children grow up. over night it seems. Levi is actually 2 months old today. 2 MONTHS!!! where did 2 months go? but goodness where did the 9 months of pregnancy go? (well the 8 months in his case). when i was a child i longed to be older. i longed to be my own person in charge of my own self. i thought it would just be so wonderful. now dont get me wrong...i indeed do enjoy being in charge of my ownself but i did not realize how fleeting it all was. when i was a kid time crawled...took forever to move...but now...time zooms by at the speed of light..or something like that.
there is so much going on & so much on my mind. my sister christi is in the hospital. she is possibly having surgery tomorrow to repair her small intestines or her colon..i'm not sure which. or it could be her bowels. again, i'm not sure. she has been in the hospital since about midnight on Saturday/Sunday. my sister Renee told me when she called to wish Asher a happy birthday. i was shocked. it seems my sister Christi cant seem to get a break in regards to her physical well being these days. i am praying she doesnt need surgery.

i have been in the mood to write lately but i am usually too tired to actually apply myself to the task. i have 3 books sitting beside me right now that i want to read - i did start one. that doesnt include the other 10 - 15 books i have that i have read bits & pieces of and want to finish. i have knitting i want to finish. sewing i need to do (rachel has pants she has been waiting for me to hem forever). but i am exhausted all the time because i do try to keep busy - with the kids & their needs. i do try to keep the children on their schedules of school, karate, piano, co-op, church...etc.
i keep having people tell me that i "just had a baby" and i need to still take it easy. but i didnt. he is 2 months old. but everyone keeps telling me i am pushing myself or not cutting myself slack. i guess i'm afraid to cut myself slack. i am afraid to stop...i might lose my mind if i do. i can feel the depression creeping in on me. the busier i am & the more tired i am then i dont have to think.....

i like the line in the song "O How He Loves Us" by Kim Walker or David Crowder...whichever version you like best...but it goes something like "i dont have time to maintain these regrets when i think about how He loves us". i should say that i am NOT maintaining regrets..i am not....i am not a person to "regret" things. i live life..make choices..move on. but i will say this...i long for a difference. i long for different choices. i'm also thankful for God's love - regardless.

i'm sure i am not making sense. i realize that. it's late.

this was Asher at Christmas in 2008. 2 years ago roughly.

Asher this Christmas in 2010. still the cutest boy i know. i am still madly in love with this kid. i was just telling someone no woman will ever love him like i do. it breaks this mom's heart to know he will grow up to love another woman...but it also makes me proud as i want him to be a good man, husband, father...i hope i am helping him achieve those things down the road in his life. my special boy.