3 + 1

Big brother Andrew loves his baby sister

Lily Jean was born on August 14th. A whole week late! She is just about 3 months old now which means it has been a bit longer than that since I updated this blog.  I guess my neglect is understandable considering the circumstances. She is beautiful and is a very happy baby. This past week has seen much improvement in my sleeping habits as Lily has finally gotten into some sort of normal schedule. For a while there, it was very touch and go on if I would get ANY quality sleep. Suffice to say, it has been a lot harder this time around. I imagine it has a lot to do with the busy almost 3-year-old boy in the house who is used to mommy's attention. :) It is more fun this time around though too because all the wonderful moments with a newborn are shared with Andrew.  It is lovely chaos and I'm thankful for all the memories we are making.

Other things I've been up to:

Practising photography photography (my sister Amy has been teaching me)
Cooking up a storm in the kitchen. I've tried a ton of new recipes in the past month
Crafting
Making learning-activities for Andrew
Working at the BSC (I started teaching again last week)
Getting Lily's passport and visa work done
Enjoying life in general! God is good to me!

So that's it. There's just a short update on life right now.

My next post will be about the insanity that comes from joining Pinterest!

10 days and counting...

We have been busier than bees in the Robinstein household as we prepare for the arrival of our sweet little girl. My due date is in 10 days and the house is still a wreck from last minute home improvement projects. The reason we are still doing this so close to my due date is mostly because we have been so busy with work and now we have some time off in between sessions but in addition to that, the major project we had to do (fixing up a messed up wall in the "nursery") was held up until our land-lady could get her carpenter to come and replace a wood panel in the kids' room and two spots of the ceiling where water damage had rotted the wood out. So that was finally done and then our house was overwhelmed with the rains and had to put up flood guards and mop up water as it came in twice last week. It has been stressful but we are nearing the end of our preparations and I know we will survive even if Lily were to come now instead of later when we are really ready. We've got the kids' room done, my wonderful cousin, Ronnie, tiled by the bathroom which I have wanted done since we moved into this place but Clint and are still fixing up the ceilings in the rest of the house and we have some painting to do after that. When we get that done we can put everything back where it goes and restore our normal level of crazy in this house. Clint even built Andrew a shelf for all his toys and we need to varnish that among other things but the weather has not been cooperating so we are holding out for a good, sunny day.

It still doesn't seem quite real that Lily will be here so soon. I have been pretty uncomfortable but I'm happy to know that everything is going great in my pregnancy. My doctor says Lily is head down and just the right size! I am excited to meet her! I know she will bring us so much joy as Andrew has and that excites me. I don't know how I'm going to be able to handle any more cuteness in this house but somehow we will manage. :)

God is so gracious to us! Please keep us in your prayers and especially help us pray for a safe and normal delivery in the next couple of weeks or so.

Laughter is the best medicine

There is something about the sound of rain steadily falling outside that is immensely relaxing and the sound of ocean waves can put me to sleep. But I'd have to say my favorite sound of all the sounds I can think of is the sound of laughter. Specifically, Andrew's laughter! He has such an innocence about him and all the things he laughs at are things he thinks are funny in his own precious and innocent mind. I find it so refreshing and joyful!

Andrew and I spent about a half an hour the other day looking at funny pictures of dogs and cats online and I'm going to share some of his favorites just so you too can have a laugh through the eyes of a 2 year old. No need to worry about innuendo or foul language here. :)

Andrew laughed so hard at this one and kept asking to see "The dog climbing the plant"

I don't know why but this was funny to him.

So cute!

He calls this one the "cat with the helmet"

"Great big bone!"

Aww!

Andrew tried to make this face too. So cute!

Laughter can always make us feel better no matter how stressed out we are. Thank God for laughter!

What has made you laugh lately?

Chocoholics Anonymous

Hello,
My name is Rachael and I have a confession to make. Here's my story:

During my first trimester of this pregnancy I did not really have what would be defined as classic "morning sickness" but I did experience times of nausea and a whole not of non-existent appetite. Trying to find something I WANTED to eat was quite difficult. Plus I'd have weird cravings like I'd want a big steak at 11pm and the next day my darling husband would take me to lunch where I could get a steak and the idea of eating any meat at all made me sick! It was a rough first trimester and I ended up losing weight which was no surprise. My doctor was stern with me that I need to eat properly and eat enough calories to cover running after a toddler AND building a baby. So Clint was nice and made me eat all the time and was very patient as I scrunched my nose in distaste at many suggestions throughout the day.

Now that I am in the second trimester we'll just say that the appetite problem is not a problem anymore! It feels like I'm eating all the time and I'm finally gaining more. Problem is...

...THIS is what I'd like to be eating all the time. Now, if you know me you know that I appreciate a yummy sweet treat every now and then but I'm not a huge fan of candies, cookies and cakes and especially not too much chocolate. But, apparently hormones can change that about a person! So while I'm grumpily munching on a carrot I'm really thinking about the big bag of mini-candy bars that are in my pantry and while I am eating chicken, rice and corn for lunch I really just wish I could fill up on a bunch of chocolate chip cookies or cupcakes! Hopefully this is just a phase because This is killing me! I guess I should be thankful I'm so stubborn because this "iron will" is probably why I have not gained 20 pounds in the past 3 weeks. :) Well, that and knowing that eating a whole bunch of chocolate can't be good for little Lily. At least now I know how many women feel when they talk about needing their chocolate fix. It really is a necessity. I am sorry I ever doubted you!

I'm off to go check the status of my mini-crunch bar stash. I'll leave you with this bit of inspiration to go green...

I think I can't. I think I can't. I think I can't.

One of my most vivid memories from the first days of being a mother was standing in my house hugging my mom goodbye after she picked us up from the hospital to bring us home and the tears welling up in my eyes as I began to break down and tell her how terrified I was that I was going to do something wrong or that Andrew would be up all night miserable because I could not figure out what he needed or what I should do. She hugged me and smiled and said she knew I could handle it. But, she offered to stay the night anyway to help and I was so glad she did. After that first night of taking care of him (with lots of help) I KNEW I really could do this! I just lacked the self-confidence.

My wonderful husband is always telling me that if I keep telling myself I CAN'T do something then I will always be right. As long as I think I cannot accomplish this task or that one then I will be holding myself back from doing it. James talks about your tongue as a rudder and that, even though it is so small, it can be as powerful as the tiny rudder on a huge ship. The older I get the more I see that my husband and James are really right. If I can just start telling myself that I CAN do this then I will be able to and have confidence that God will give me the strength I need to do it whether it's preparing VBS materials, loving my enemy or forgiving someone who has hurt me deeply.

So here's to changing "I think I can't!" to "In God, I know I can!"

When Worlds Collide

We are going to blend this....

With this...

And we are SUPER excited!

When I found out I was having a boy with Andrew I had no idea what to do with a boy! Now I like my little boy and all the joys and toys that come along with him being ALL BOY! I don't even mind the filthy clothes I have to wash.

Now that we are expecting a girl (the first grand daughter on both sides) we are even happier and I'm ready to break out the bows and ribbons and lace!

I still can't believe I'm going to have a DAUGHTER! What a change but not a bad one for sure. God gave us the perfect child for us the first time around and I know it will be the same this time! God is gracious!

Precious Moments

I thought I would share a few things that help remind me constantly of how awesome our God is and how the best things in life can come in the littlest packages... like little people!

My most favoritest little man ever!

We always encourage Andrew to say thank you to God for things during the day and at night. Sometimes he spouts out random things on his own without me asking what he is thankful for and sometimes we lay in bed and thank God for everything under the sun. Which is never a waste of time! We also like to pray for people who are sick or struggling and I don't know if he quite gets all that is going on when we ask God for things but he definitely understands being thankful. Last night while laying in bed next to him I asked him what he wanted to thank God for and he said "Thank you God for.... GOD!" I said "Well, yes. Thank you God for being a great God." and I ask him what else he wants to thank God for and his response was heart melting... "Thank you for always keeping mommy safe." See what I mean? Then he thanked God for keeping everyone in his family safe.

When I ask him who made the trees, skies, his baby sister, etc. he responds "God" and sometimes adds "God is SO powerful!" I guess we are teaching him something right.

Another thing that I absolutely adore is when he sings Bible story songs like "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho" and "Zacchaeus was a wee little man". We don't watch videos much so singing songs is one of our favorite past times and we like to look at books and sing Bible songs with his Bible story books. But it is even cuter when he is sitting in his room playing with a toy car and out of the blue we hear him singing "Jesus loves me this I know."

My recent favorite is when I ask him if he loves me he says "Yes. This much." and places his hands close together and then laughs and says "No, THIS much!" and throws his hands out as far apart as they can go. :D I love this kid!

And God is blessing us with ANOTHER one? I don't know how my heart can grown any more. But I've said that many times before! So much to be thankful for! God is good!