Family Photo Book

I made a family photo book. Hopefully I've done this right so that interested parties may view it.


http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AYuGTZszZtWLpA&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET

Life with Three under 3.

Hope is two. She will be three in November.
Olivia is 15 months. We thought she and Griffin would be 14 months apart. Turns out they are 13.
Griffin is almost two months old. I couldn't ask for a better baby. All of my babies have been great.

A few pictures of our life...our new normal...our lovely crazy...

This is a sleeping Griffin. Please compare this early photo to more recent sleeping pictures further down this list. He's getting bigger!

This was taken during our process of packing up toys. We are trying to sell our house and our realtor said we need to pack up more toys. The girls got in one more play time. I don't know why Hope likes to pat Olivia on the head. She does it a lot.

 

 Olivia can put those shades on top of her head and walk around. It is pretty funny to turn around and see her entering the room like a cool dude.

 

 Olivia sleeps in this pack and play now. We removed the crib to open up some space in this room. I plan to tear down this bed before a house showing. I'm hopeful that will help people see that the room isn't that small. Still small, just not that small. It's funny to see babies looking out a window.

 

 Luke wasn't really sleeping. Capturing a moment...

Olivia sometimes gets to play with toys in her bed. Lots of times it happens because Hope opens the door when Olivia is sleeping, Olivia wakes up, Hope laughs and is excited to play with Olivia, Hope gives Olivia a toy, and the two of them play until I come to get Olivia out. I have had firm discussions with Hope about entering this room when Olivia is sleeping. Now most of the time Hope enters only after I say something like, "It sounds like Olivia is awake!"

 

 Some sleeping pictures for size comaprison.

 

The girls love to play together. Hope talks a lot, runs, cries, 'reads', sings, plays, pretends, imagines, and helps a lot. Olivia grunts, yells, laughs, cries, crawls, and WALKS. Hope is a big girl and walks on our walks through town. We have a double stroller, but that's not good enough with three little ones. So, Hope walks with me and holds my hand when we cross the street. She resisted walking in the beginning. Yesterday I put Griffin in a carrier and left room for Hope in the stroller, but Hope wanted to walk instead. She does such a good job with everything. She helps Olivia get a drink from the refrigerator, or more food during meal time without being asked. 

 

 Hope takes a nap on Mommy and Daddy's bed in the middle of the day. I move Griffin's bed out, and Hope's pillows/blanket in. Olivia stays in the bedroom for nap time.

 

 We put a dresser in the closet. We needed to move it out of the front room, so this is where it landed. This dresser has clothes for Olivia and Griffin. The other dresser (seen in the picture above) holds clothes for Hope. In these dressers are clothes for summer, fall, and winter for the next year.

 

 This is a common sight. I sit in that black chair with Griffin multiple times during the day for 45 minutes at a time and the girls play around me. It's so fun to take every book down from the shelf to have a book party! It's also great to take all the toys out of the basket to find the two miniture kangaroos. It's also great to do this before 10 am, and to clean it up at 9 pm.

 

 Some days I have to fold laundry during nap time. Some days I take a nap too. This room is also a play area while I sit with Griffin.

 

 Hope's book party! I'm not sure why she has no clothes. She often decides she does not want her clothes. Notice she is still in a diaper. I'm not ready to push potty training right now (though I tried quite a few times before Griffin was born), but I think I will be soon. I think Hope is ready too. She knows what it is all about, but she really doesn't want to. I mean she REALLY doesn't want to. Maybe the next time we try she will act a lot differently.

Yesterday I changed four diapers in 10 minutes. Olivia was the repeat offender.

 

 Olivia is playing with a tape measurer in the bathroom. She has a sippy cup in the bathroom. I concluded that Hope gave her that drink.

 

 Hope thought it was a new fun play place underneath the counter in the kitchen. I agree. I think I'd like to play there if I were little. She decided to have a book party under the counter. Olivia joined in. I'm not sure why Olivia has no clothes. Well, yes I am. It was after bath time and we hadn't gotten to the pj's yet.

Sometimes Griffin sleeps while the girls are napping, other times he doesn't. On days that he is awake during nap time I power through the day with very little time to myself. When the girls go to bed for the night, usually I would get some time to myself while Luke watches Griffin (if G isn't nursing), but it's then that I get ready for bed and lay down. To everything there is a season...He's a sweet little guy.

 

 It's so great that Luke usually does bath time.

 

 Lots of days we will take a walk from 10 am to 11:30 am. Sometimes we will walk with Daddy after supper.

 

 Another sleeping picture for size comaprison. This was taken at church.

I submit this in an effort to give you an idea of life at 122 Jones Street since July 7, 2012. I'm not sure how it compares to yours or other busy moms, but it is what it is. I am overwhelmed at times, tired a lot, but not exhausted (yet). I often feel like a triage nurse, assessing the crying babies to see who needs my attention immediately and who can wait for a bit. I pray that even though I am spread thin at times, that my kids will know my love for them and see my joy in their presence.

Griffin Dale (the entry that took two months to write)

I've been wanting to write about Griffin's birth story for WEEKS now. I have found a free hour to record the happenings of July 2012.

Griffin Dale Demarest was born on July 7, 2012. It was a Saturday. My sister Liz and her family were staying at our house for the weekend. I was really looking forward to having a free day to spend with her and our husbands and kids. I was 34 weeks pregnant. Doctor appointments were showing that there was reason to take things easily, and don't push it. Well, no one had said bed rest yet, so I decided I would continue to get our house ready for the "For Sale" sign. And I was still going to venture to the city with Liz and the families. Our plan was to go to Sam's Club and lunch, send everyone home for naps while the two of us went to Hobby Lobby. Pumped!

I got up from the kitchen table to start cleaning up the breakfast Andy had helped me prepare. During our preparations I told Andy that I felt great! If the Smith family reunion were that very day, I would go and have a good time. An hour later I was standing in the kitchen after my water broke, six weeks early. I was not scared. I wasn't worried. I gave an apologetic look to Liz, and told Luke we needed to go to the hospital. We hurriedly packed some things (forgetting our camera), and drove to the hospital. Andy came to our rescue an hour later by driving our camera to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital around 10 am. We sat and chatted and watched "The Walking Dead" marathon--a very boy thing to watch. Around 2 pm my doctor came, removed the stitch, checked the baby's position, and decided we would schedule a c-section for Sunday morning at 8. Griffin was breech. I wasn't having contractions yet, but I knew once I did, it would not be long at all before he was born. I hoped that our c-section would move up to Saturday night, and I wouldn't have to experience labor pains. From 5-7 the contractions started and got stronger, and my doctor decided to start things up at 8pm. Griffin was born at 8:20 pm. I thought the c-section was horrible. I felt so nauseous. When Griffin was born he was crying loudly. Luke watched them clean him up, and then whisk him away to the NICU. We got to see him again around midnight. I was too tired to see him long, so we went to our room, slept, and spent the next two days recovering and seeing Griffin as often as we could.

Griffin is a miracle; every baby is. He was planned and prepared by God, and this is why I was never worried or scared. On July 7, after my water broke, I thought, "OK. He'll be here six weeks early, he'll be in the NICU for a little bit, but he will come home with me some time soon after. He will be ok. We are far enough along. My heart can rest assured in God's care because I have not been in control of one little thing through Griffin's whole life. It has been God's timing and God's way." I'm so thankful I spent that day in the arms of God's peace.

 

I think Griffin was born at just the right time. Nobody wants to have a preemie baby, or a baby that needs to be in the NICU, but I still think God's hand was in Griffin's early arrival.

• A c-section requires lots of rest and relaxation to recover well. Since Griffin was in the NICU, and I was with him all day, most days, for two weeks, I was able to sit in a really big chair and do practically nothing. That was great for my recovery.


• Griffin was born in early July instead of the middle of August. Luke's BUSY time at work is the middle of August. It would have been so ridiculous if Griffin was born when he was due. Luke would have been able to take very little time off.

• I knew that I was going to need lots of help with the kids when Griffin was born, and immediately after he was born. My sister and mom were here the weekend he was born. Luke was able to be home with our girls for the next two weeks--the two weeks that Luke's mom (our usual babysitter) was not able to help out with childcare. Then when Luke had to go back to work, Grandma Jo and Grammie were available whenever I needed them. My mom did come visit us for about four days at the beginning of August and was a huge help.

Because I know God's timing was absolutely perfect with Griffin's birth, I am relying on that to help me rest and trust God as we are trying to sell our house.
Oh, our house. That is a whole other issue.
Our time in the NICU was challenging and emotional. But, everything is emotional the first few weeks after baby comes. We are so thankful Griffin got well so quickly, and was home with us after just two weeks. Praise God!
We are so in love with Griffin. He is beautiful, and is a great baby. He sleeps really well, and isn't fussy. We love his name.
Griffin: because it was a cool sounding name that we could agree on. Unique enough and common enough.
Dale: because it is a family name on my side of the family, and because it sounds a little bit like Ardell. Ardell is Luke's middle name, and his dad's middle name, and his dad's middle name, and his dad's middle name...  I felt a little strange about stopping the tradition, but neither one of us loved that name, so Dale it is.
Griffin Dale sounds really cool too. I think it sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter*. (*Gryffindor...am I right or am I right?)
Here are a few birth pictures to look over.
Thank you, God for a healthy baby boy! Thank you for your care and provision of a healthy, long enough pregnancy. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Thank you, God, for all of the prayer warriors far and near--more than I will ever know. How AMAZING to know that each of my children were prayed for and loved fervently...all FOUR of them.
We are so incredibly blessed.

20 years

Wow, I can't believe it's been 20 years this week since my dad's passing, 23 since the accident.
He is never forgotten, and always loved. What a joyous reunion we will have some day.

Chill out

I got a chance to talk to my nurse today. She comes once a week to my house for 20 weeks. Only three weeks left! Anyway, she told me to relax a little. She wasn't talking about staying off my feet. She was talking about my nerves. Relax, Deb. I appreciated that.

She was right when she said, "It's all hitting you isn't it?"
-Needing to put plans on hold for selling the house. It's ok. It will get done in time; sooner or later.
-Soon your life will be CHANGED. You have two mild-mannered, well-behaved girls, and there's about to be a fruit basket upset.
-You'd like to not have to worry about your activity level, but you do. It's ok. You've made it so far already, and if things were really bad, you wouldn't be at home, you'd be in the hospital.
-This is your pregnancy normal, and all you can do is take care of your family. All you should be doing right now is cuddling your girls since your arms will be full soon.
-No, a 32 week baby is not a 40 week baby, but we're talking a Sioux City birth, very manageable.

Thanks, Nurse Anne. And thanks for acknowledging that Hope was not herself today. I know, right? We all have those days, or weeks.

Psalm 127:1-5

Thank you for a good word today, Lord.
You knew I needed it.

Psalm 127:1-5
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.


Thank you, Lord, for the reminder that my efforts and planning are in vain unless I let you be the head builder. I am the watchman of my baby and girls right now. And even though I feel very alone and afraid, in You I am exactly the opposite. I have never felt this kind of pain and contractions prior to labor before, and it doesn't make any sense to me that I'm not dilating, but my anxieties are futile. I'm not alone. My baby boy is not alone. You are with us. I understand today more than ever how you are protecting the life of my unborn baby. I still believe I will never be on bed rest with this pregnancy. I feel scared by the amount of contractions, but maybe this is my new pregnancy normal for now, and You are going to carry us through to July 23. You will continue to give me the ability to care for each of my three children who feel overwhelmingly young this week. A 32 week baby is not a 40 week baby, so I will still do the best I can to stay off my feet. I want to be wise in how I care for our baby boy.

Thank you, Lord, for the sleep you give your beloved children. After two nights of little sleep, tonight I will say to myself, "It is vain that you...eat the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep."

Thank you, Lord, for the reminder that our children are a heritage and a reward. I am blessed, so BLESSED by the children that I have. Yes, they may be in a "no" stage for the 20th time in the last six months, plus recently discovered what it is to argue, and may still not have the hang of being gentle with a baby sister, BUT she is, of course, a blessing and I will love her every moment of every day. Another may be at a needy stage in life; learning to walk, but not confident enough yet to feel happy to explore this option, not a talker, and as recently discovered, a night owl, BUT she is, of course, a blessing and I will love her every moment of every day. I am relying on your wisdom and patience, and your skills as a watchman to make sure I make the most of every opportunity to teach what is right in a grace-filled way, and to help their hearts and minds heal when I've made a mistake.

Help me to be patient with myself, and to show myself grace. This life season with limitations is hard and not everybody is going to understand exactly what it feels like-that's ok. One of the hardest parts in asking for help is that you invite help. You invite opinions and questions, and the need to explain. Please help me to be gracious.

Thank you, Lord. You are watching and carrying every single one of us. Thank you for Luke who pulls double duty every.single.time.  .

Olivia's Photo Book

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AYuGTZszZtWLlw&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET

I'm just not going to fight it.

It's time to empty the tank, erase the hard drive, and I need to write it down.

I mostly feel ok about that, despite the gloomy nature of some things, because I'm pretty sure I know who is reading.

-We are pregnant!! We are expecting a baby BOY in August. August 19th. We expect this summer to be pretty low key, and quickly followed by a crazy autumn. By Christmas we expect to be semi- acclimated to life with more children than adults living in a two bedroom, one bathroom house. We expect forced time in bed this summer, but wow, I'd be so thankful for no Debrest. We are so blessed to be entrusted with another Demarest life, and it's a boy! What will we name him? Hmmm. We have a few options rolling around, but will most likely not decide for a few more months.

-The pregnancy so far is going really well. After a surgical procedure in February, my twice-a-month Dr. appts. have been nothing but encouraging. Praise God!

-Our cat Han died. We had to put him to sleep after his kidneys started to fail a few weeks ago. I was sad to say goodbye, and it was weird to not have him around for a while, but I do admit to feelings of gratitude. He was kind of a nuisance. He got sick on the carpet, walked on counters, made his presence known with a very loud meow early in the morning and all day long, and what was especially agrivating: he would purposefully add to the noise when both girls were crying. But hey, Han, Pumpkin misses you still. (we do too, sometimes.) Pumpkin is very clinging right now. She sleeps on our bed and rubs against my legs too much. At first I was afraid to hurt her feelings, and wanted to protect her little heart since she's suffered a loss. Now parts of me are like, Cat, chill.

-We went to the zoo! Hope and Luke LOVED it! I had fun too, but I was distracted a bit by making sure I was taking time to sit. I also got three hours of sleep the night before, so I got cranky. We shared a hotel room with our girls the night before, which is not awful, but I slept in between Hope and Luke, and listened to Olivia snore and cry most of the night. Poor girl did not have the best of sleeping arrangements. Neither did I, and I had a good cry before we ventured out to the zoo when Luke saw the onset of my rattled nerves and offered a hug.

-We are thinking about starting a small group at our house this fall. We love the group we are in, but it is getting large, and a split would benefit us. (but also cause me growing pains.) I'm thinking it might be a good thing to do since we will have three little ones in the fall, and we don't want to load up all three once a week, then have to babysit essentially, at bedtime, at someone else's house. I'm nervous about starting one though because we live in Moville in a small house. Who will come? Will we feel like we've bitten off too much after the baby comes? Will our home be adequate? I've recently learned there is another Moville/Lawton group that has started back up after a while of not doing anything, they are pretty large already, so the option of asking to join their group seems like we are stepping into something pretty well established. I'm not sure what we'll decide to do, but I know I really value that small group time to connect with other people, to study the Bible, and to experience all those things with my husband.

-Our laptop is dead. Not the most important thing to report, but this is why I am writing this post on my iPod. Hopefully there are not too many typos.

-Luke got a new position at work. We had dollar signs dancing in our eyes for a few weeks, and as so often happens, probably, we couldn't help but be a bit disappointed when he was offered the minimum amount possible for a raise. Every little bit helps, and we praise God for His provision. Still a little hard to swallow that our move from 122 Jones Street may not happen for a while.

-I do MOPS at our church a few times a month. Sometimes (like this week) I leave there feeling dumb and like I have no friends. Of course it gets me started thinking about many other relationships I am insecure in. Ugh. I also have a Bible study small group I do once a week. It is unfortunate that this week these two events fell back to back and I ended up crying at Bible study. I don't know the women on a personal level very well at Bible study because the focus is usually on the lesson, and not fellowship, although that is encouraged at different times. Anyway, there is a really kind lady who gave me a hug after I shared in group that sometimes I feel overwhelmed with my two girls, husband, house, and baby on the way. Did you know a mother's job never ends? It's certainly not 8-5. And, yep, I broke down. Now she wants me to call her, and I just find it hard sometimes to accept that people want to help me after I share how I'm feeling. I think that might be wrong to feel that way because maybe God wants to use that person to help me. But, sometimes I can't handle a person feeling bad for me. I'm ok, I'm just having a weak moment, and I'm believing untruth. I need to stop that. But truly, I thank her and all the other ladies in my group who are remembering me in prayer this week. What a blessing to have them in my life.

-I hate that I'm starting to feel like people don't ask us to do things because we have kids. Especially since I know it probably wouldn't work out because we have kids, or other restrictions. Mostly I'm discouraged that I give into these feelings of insecurity too often. It has become my prayer that the Lord would shift my focus, allow me to care for the needs of my friends (and find new friends!) more than I care for my own needs, and to hold onto/remember these little beautiful moments with my girls that I would not trade for a million nights out. Praise God for my girls and God's daily blessings!

-This pregnancy is really different. I think I still have monthly emotional times, like now. How is that possible? Maybe it's happening more than once a month...yeah, it is. I'm just more emotional. I'm also so stinking hungry all the time. I don't remember being this hungry with my girls. I cry a lot. I'm irritated a lot. I'm carrying differently, but I also think part of that is due to the fact that I did not lose all my baby weight from Olivia. My skin is not blemish-free like with my girls, and I don't think my hair is getting thicker.

-I'm reading a book and listening to others. I'm reading The Help as fast as I can so I can get done with it before the movie arrives in the mail. The Netflix envelope is actually sitting in our PO box right now, I just don't get to the post office everyday like I used to. I just finished listening to The Hunger Games, and I started on Catching Fire last week. I'm team Peeta, right now anyway. I'm enjoying my reading tremendously.

-I want to get away with my husband before bedrest, and take a trip to Marshalltown. I feel an urgency to do both.

That's it. I know I need to lay my concerns and cares before the Lord. I do. I'm so thankful He listens and cares in just the right way.

Is it true? Is it good? Is it honest? Is it lovely? Is it of good report? Is it pure? .... Think on these things. Philippians 4:8

Praise God from whom ALL BLESSINGS flow.

Dancing with Jesus

I don't know how age works in Heaven.

I like to picture Gracie as actually being 4 years old, full of joy, exploring every nook and cranny of her Heavenly mansion, soaking up knowledge, dancing and singing without a care. In Heaven nothing hinders her from complete confidence and trust. She is a whole, lovely, healthy, and strong little girl.

I miss her and cry for her today.

Grace, I know if you would have lived you would not have been perfect or happy all the time, but as it happens, that's all you've ever known. And that's the image I will carry with me everyday of my life.

We love you and desperately long to hold you. Maybe you would let me rock you and hug you and kiss you a little bit better than miss Hope. Maybe Hope will grow out of it. She doesn't understand that Mommy just needs a few more of those today.

Thank you Jesus for the hugs you've given me today via my 'coffee friends'.