Meghan and Chad were blessed with another girl, Reese (yet to be middle named) Fulk. Everybody's doing well. I'll get a picture up soon. Somewhat jealous, even though she was due 4 days before me. Maybe i should plan on 4 days from now then?

so i am the kind of person who likes to have everything together, everything under control. and while having everything under control, planning out the next thing to have under control. i am sure we will look back on this time in our life and laugh. or maybe just breathe a prayer of thanks we arent there anymore.

so patrick has been at this job since november, and has put alot of effort into the sales side of things. the first little while, there were no contracts, so he was on the road marketing nearly all the time. He hired and trained a new operator, and got 2 of the 4 trucks into decent working condition. All the networking has paid off, and July was all ready to be the busiest month they've ever had. However, in the past few weeks, the trucks have had nearly everything go wrong that could possibly go wrong. And last week, one of his operators quit on him. Right in the middle of a job. Patrick has been working harder than I've ever seen, and mostly physical labor, picking up the slack, while also doing the operations manager job, and dealing with equipment failures all over the place, some quite serious. just today, one of the 2 working trucks "blew up" (whatever that means) and is completely out of commission. But they're completely booked up with contracts, so he has to find another truck. and another operator, so he can get back to sales and managing. And did i mention that we're regularly having days in the 100s? and this hydrovac excavation thing is outside? and you have to wear jeans, gloves, and supposedly a suit overtop? except today he took it off because it was just too hot and you should have seen him when he came home. (I thank God every day for the uniform company. i dont do any of his wash!)

Then there's me. I may be the only 3rd time pregnant woman who actually reads things like babycenter.com, because its fairly useless advice at this point. apparently, the experts want you to relax, take naps, and exercise. well, thats wonderful, if being pregnant is your only role in life. for the rest of us, we dont relax or rest, so we dont have energy to exercise. and if we try to take naps, our lively 3 yr olds prevent us from doing so, and then we can only get through the rest of the day by eating oreos, and hiding it from aforementioned 3 yr old while she eats her cantaloupe. I'm not regretting committing to babysit until 3 days from my due date, because i figured as long as i have my own, whats a few more. but it is twice as much work. and i'm fairly confident that all 4 of them enjoy seeing me try to get up and down off the floor, which is why they make as much mess as they can. throwing food off highchairs, dumping every single toy tub out while i'm trying to do school, etc. And climbing on my lap constantly, elbowing me as much as possible. And another thing everybody says is let things go, you have to lower your expectations of clean house, meals, etc. Well some of us dont enjoy living in a dirty house, and that just adds to the stress. and really, who wants to bring a newborn into a dirty house? I cant sit and relax when my house is either cluttered or actually dirty. and as far as food, take out (even if we had that option here) is far too expensive, and sandwiches and cereal get old, for supper. so there you go, the work load stays the same, no matter how many wks pregnant you are. or how many wks postpartum. i have made some concessions like getting my kids to wear their pyjamas until they actually smell, before putting them in the laundry. child abuse? :-)

there are many things in our lives right now that we want to give ourselves too. patrick recently became co-ordinator of our church's mens ministry, which is basically starting from the ground up. i have taken on more responsibilities on the missions committee, and i would love to devote more time/energy to that. our wonderful, amazing children definitely deserve all the time and attention we could give them. i recently started teaching violin lessons, and am borrowing one myself from a friend. i actually imagined i would be practicing and getting back into it. and each other. we want to give each other more. right now we're like 2 ships passing. hes been leaving so early in the mornings, i dont see him then. by the time patrick gets home and washes the days dirt off him, i have gotten the kids fed, bathed (yes, i'm still managing to bend down into the bathtub) and into bed and tried to do some chores that i never get around to during the day, we attempt this pathetic youth group side hug (all i can manage right now) and exchange words like "wow, you look tired." "yeah, my back is killing me." "oh, mine too." and then we go to our separate bedrooms, because i am not a good sleeper at the best of times, and this, my friends, is not the best of times.

there"s this 3 syllable word that echoes inside our heads, some days louder than others. VA-CA-TION. or retreat, is really what we'd like, with each other, and then also with the kids. why does it seem like things happen all at the same time? and not just to us. my sister (not the pregnant one) has had 3 huge things, all at one time. i would like to be there for her more. just like she'd like to be here for me. and my mom would like to be here for all of us equally too, but they have so much going on right now. so i'm not trying to say we're the only ones in this boat. i know God doesnt give us more than we can handle, but i dont want to just survive. i want more than just making it through the day. i guess its just the season.

its 10.30, and even though i know i wont fall asleep till 12 or 1, i still need to try. the next few days are going to have much earlier starts than normal, so i need to at least try to be prepared. Thank God for his promise that we only have to worry about the day we're in. If i can learn that, this will be worthwhile!

(dont be surprised if there is no new post for awhile! patrick and i may have run off to mexico. :-)

so my sister's in labour! we're praying for you meghan! (maybe this will encourage my niece/nephew's cousin to also join the party!)

i dont have many pictures of the past little while, i just dont get around to taking them. and every day is basically exactly the same. we're definitely in a routine now, i run very few errands, just usually the grocery store on sunday. but for those that care, you can at least see how the kids are growing. and that charlie really needs a haircut!

every morning I do preschool with Hannah and Mia at the kitchen table in the basement while the 3 toddlers play. At least that's the idea. Generally they are climbing up on me, the table, each other, and screeching constantly. I'm hoping the girls will develop really good concentration and focus skills, from having to do school with so many distractions! If they're doing some copying or coloring that doesnt require a teacher, i'll sit on the floor and read or play with the others for a minute. But i tell you what, i dont' know how people have multiples. If i had 3 the same age, all the time, i just might go crazy. or maybe just at the 18 mo - 3 yr old stage.

we dont get to the park much, we have to walk, pushing the double stroller, and its just too hot most days. but we did try it once last week. hannah is really excited that she'll be able to push the new baby on the swing.
 (next year!)

the other day, while in hutchinson for my orthodontist appt, i stumbled upon this cool little coffeeshop/bakery/deli place. and it wasn't a chain! i got so nostalgic for boone. i mean, i just didn't expect zucchini flaxseed chai tea donuts here in central ks! we'll have to go back. patrick was so sad he missed it :-)

theres a chance my car may have been overestimating, but not by much. we've only had a few days above 100, most often its in the 90s. i've been in ks 14 mos now, so this was my second wheat harvest. I still identified myself as a city girl, though, with some unintelligent questions. even so, i've learned alot in this place of grain fields and cows.

this is what we've been seeing this month. golden wheat fields and stormy skies. tornado season has been so bad this year for the whole country, i'm so grateful we've been spared. There was extensive hail damage to farms on both sides of patricks family, though. we need to appreciate our farmers more. i could never do it. so much work, and risk, for so little reward. thank a farmer today! (if any of you live near any)

so patrick's been thinking about building a bigger sandbox. i am all about that plan! once you get everybody in there, there isn't much room to play. to most of the sand ends up on the cement/ground around it. patrick has actually been seen vaccuuming the sand up off the grass. (but i do have to say, our lawn looks very nice :-).

this is a picture i have to keep for charlie's wedding. i discovered his hair is long enough for a ponytail. just so you know, he was upset about something else. he actually thought the hair was fun. thats what happens when you have an older sister, i guess.

so we're hanging in there. i never got around to one of those ticker tape things this time, but it's approx 2 wks. Brett and Jess are coming out 4th of July weekend, so one on hand i hope i dont have the baby early or we wont get to see them much. but then there is the issue of not sleeping. thats always the worst part. for me, anyways. in case you're wondering, we dont know what it is, and no, i dont have any hunches. we're settled on a girls name, but not a boys yet. we should probably get on that. suggestions? :-)

summer and crocodiles

 so we, like much of the country, have been "enjoying" august weather already! we are settled into a routine with the extra kids we have every day. Although i haven't been doing nearly as many fun, educational activities as i had intended, we are surviving! the other day we made our own pizzas, which i think they enjoyed.

 for some reason we have a plethora of ladybugs in the backyard, and the girls have really taken to them. our first biology project, we've checked out books on ladybugs and i'm wondering how long they could stay in a jar. ideas?

 and of course, just throwing the ball is very entertaining at this age. charlie can throw, but catching, not so much.

 we also made popsicles, which was fun, except those molds are worth the money, i think. we made ours in plastic cups, with popsicle sticks, and they were so topheavy, the girls couldn't hold them. but it was fun.

 last weekend we went to wichita for some relatively easy family fun before we add a nursing infant, which, while a special stage, sure complicates things for awhile. we went to the zoo with david and des, and the kids had alot of fun. then we spent the night at their house, just east of wichita, and the kids slept the whole night!!! thats a huge step for charlie. he, like hannah when she was little, has not been a good traveller. i don't think he's growing out of that stage so much as just feeling more comfortable at their house now. which is great because he will be there for a day or two when the baby comes. the next day we went to their church, and as always it was such a blessing to not only be together, but hear David preach.

 the day before, i asked hannah what she wanted to see most, and she said the alligator. i dont' remember if this was an alligator or crocodile, but close enough. how do you tell those apart, anyways?

 it. was. hot! i was even trying to get the kids to drink gatorade. by the end of the day i was seriously considering the electric wheelchairs!

 there are supposed to be rhinos back there somewhere.

 so i do believe we have everything we need for the baby now. if we aren't mentally prepared, at least we will be physically. i got my supplementer out and ordered a few new parts, we have a small stockpile of donated milk already, and the birth supplies came as well. all we need now is a baby!

 since, as i already mentioned, even simple things are going to get harder to enjoy, i took the kids to the sprinkler park in our closest "city" of hutchinson. charlie was able to enjoy it so much more than last year. he is growing so much. every few days i hear a new word. they play really well together, and i know they will enjoy sharing a room soon. hannah is flying through her second preschool book, and we're excited about the new things she's learning.
patrick has alot going on as well, now leading a mens bible study, and playing the bass on worship team. i find it difficult to think about anything else other than my intense desire to no longer be pregnant. so, we'll see how the next few weeks go!