Moving Week!

This week has been super CRAZY with frenzied packing of all the last minute things---which when I think about it is really the MOST important things because you pack the things you use most....last!  But these are the things that usually get thrown in boxes in disarray with the saying, "I'll deal with that mess at the new place."  

I've tried to avoid that scenario by packing purposefully every day and trying to plan ahead.  

I don't have much time to sit here and write since we have to be out of the house tomorrow!?  but I wanted to take a few pictures around the house to remember what this crazy time was like...wait--do I really want to remember, lol?  

I had lunch laid out for Saturday and came back into the kitchen to find Jack happily munching away on chips.  He stripped his pants off somewhere outside in the mud.  That kept him happy most of the day.  The mud, that is....not the half nakedness!

And crazy person that I am, as though we don't have enough to move, I made 2 purchases from yard sale websites for Luke because, well, he's getting tired of just sitting in his swing and laying on his play mat.  I think he enjoys sitting up in his new jumper and bumbo. 

The kids enjoyed watching Jon and Gerald loading up his Jeep last week.  He's had this since he was 16 and had slowly been rebuilding it until we had kids.  Sorry, honey ;)

We've been walking through a maze of boxes this week.  Kinda hard when everything is out of the cabinets, shelves, etc and out in the way.  

 Hey, how'd a Jack get in a box?  :)

This is our garage AFTER a whole zippy shell of boxes was cram packed from top to bottom on Saturday.  All these boxes were inside before yesterday and they are now staged for the truck tomorrow to go with all the furniture.

Best pinterest idea ever.  Thanks, Julia for doing this even with a screaming baby.  What a true friend.

Our attic is EMPTY.  And it was huge.  Jon is going to have to add another attic space in the new house because we have been spoiled with this.  (And the picture only shows half...it goes just as far to the left also)

I cannot wait to be rid of these ridiculously steep stairs.  So looking forward to our large ranch with stairs only going up to the bonus room over the garage.  Seriously we have a house we can stay in the rest of our lives even when we cannot climb stairs anymore :)

The kids and I have fallen down these things WAY too many times.  Once even when preggo with Lilly.  Got a huge bruise on my arm where I tried to catch myself on the banister.  Bye, bye...that is after one more time vacumming you tomorrow....ugh....

Jon took down the girls bunk beds last night and they slept on their mattresses.  They were so excited as though it was a special treat to sleep like this on the floor.  And they will continue to share a room at the new house...just a larger room with a private bath so hopefully no complaining coming from them!  

Sean will be the only one with his own room since Jack and Luke will share.  Advantage of the only sibling not in a pair set.  The girls say it isn't fair but he will still share a bathroom with the little boys.   We are blessed to have 4 full baths.  One more upstairs in the bonus room then the one in the master.  Our main search criteria were 1) lots of land and 2) at least 3 full baths.  Check.  Check.

I will miss this house and it's memories.  What a bittersweet time.  Onward to new memories.  

Luke Thomas- 4 months old

It has been 4 months since you were born on Dec 17, but I have been reminiscing this week how you have really been with us a year, growing from the very beginning.  I marvel at how God creates a life so incredibly intricate and beautiful.  So, I think of today as a one year celebration for Luke being a part of our family.  

He's outgrowing the laundry basket- you can see his foot sticking through one of the holes in the top picture.  Maybe next month he will be able to sit up on his own in the basket, otherwise, it will be very crowded!  The pinterest post where I got this idea did have the baby start to sit in the basket and the very last picture at 1 year he was crawling out of it.  I'm so glad this is one of those ideas I actually remembered to do from the beginning, so I'm excited to see how the full progression looks for Luke at the 1 year mark!

His smile melts my heart <3

He gets the biggest smiles but can also still be very serious because he's curious about everything around him.  I took these pictures during a giggly, talkative time he was having with us.

I Love his chunky legs.  He is so very big he's already wearing 6-9 month clothes and I really need to make a trip to the consignment shop to buy him some 9 month sleepers since I've been barely squeezing his legs into the 6 month size.

The girls adore their littlest brother and are always hovering over him like mother hens.

And big brother is also very much in love and never passes up a chance to give him hugs and kisses.

A couple of YouTube videos- wish I could get these to show up larger.

What happens when you get rid of all your baby things...

I discovered this post saved in my drafts but it was never published...I never sent it out because I instead decided to send an email to our friends...so, not a surprise anymore, but I wanted to publish it anyway, because what a difference a year makes in perspective.  It's strange reading this and reflecting on how good God has been to us in this past year.  Yes, we've spent a lot of money we otherwise wouldn't have due to Luke- a van, baby clothes, baby things, medical bills, diapers, a new HOUSE, etc.  But He has been so good to us to bring us closer to Him during his time and we are so happy to have Luke with us.  At one point the end of last summer after the difficulty having our house on the market I even told Jon we should put the baby up for adoption.  Even now, I remember the pain considering that as an option.  But sitting here now looking at Luke, I am reminded that trials are for our sanctification.  When our expectations are not met or we are given something we think we cannot handle, God has a reason ad a plan and you just go along for the ride.  But, anyway, below is the original post I wrote mid- May last year- 2014....

I am pretty sure some reading this are already laughing--because more than one person told me what would happen if we got rid of all our baby things.  However, I am sitting here STILL in shock that I am writing this post.  Because, apparently, God's plans are different than what our plans were when we thought we were finished with 4 children.  Because THIS is what surprises you after you've spent the past year giving away, selling and/or donating all of your baby clothes,swing & other baby gear & not to mention all your  maternity clothes!

Talk about the shock of my life- I'm still in disbelief as I write this--I can't even barely get the words down on paper that we're going to have another baby.  A fifth baby.  It's unfathomable to me, but I have comfort knowing it was not unfathomable to God.  

To back track a little: we had a lot of difficulty when we were trying to have a 4th child.  I had 3 early losses in a row at or before 5 weeks.  After being basically being blown off by my regular Ob/Gyn I sought the advice of a fertility clinic since I have known issues with low progesterone.  With all my kids I had to take supplements starting as soon as I got a positive test through the first trimester.  But I seemed to have a bigger issue than that since I did in fact get on the meds each time, but still lost them.  I asked the doctor if I perhaps needed the progesterone sooner than a positive test and he said, yes, I might.  So, with Jack I started taking the meds 2 weeks before I would even know if I would have a positive test or not.  Thankfully, I did, and thankfully we were blessed with the addition of Jack to our family.  

So, considering these issues, I thought without taking the meds early that we would not be able to have a baby without early intervention again.  And that is why we didn't consider a more permanent option (which yes, we are now ;)

It's almost funny, because the whole time I was struggling with Jack I told myself, "I wish I knew what it was like to just wake up one morning, take a test without stressing and just go on with pregnancy.  I wish I didn't have to obsess over this."  And here I am, God has decided to give us this blessing without me ever thinking about it twice.  My dr. still placed me on progesterone supplements based on my past history, but get this:  

When they checked my bloodwork the first day I got the positive test (before they started me on the meds), my progesterone levels were not only normal, but they were above average!  Never in all of my pregnancies have my progesterone levels been normal, much less above average!  I could feel God telling me He was teaching me to trust Him in a different way than before.  

Trust Him because the worries are definitely flowing over me:

Our van is full.

We have to buy a new (to us) van.

We are already cramped in our house.

And we're in the middle of a lot of home projects in hopes to sell it in the next year or two.

I gave away ALL my baby things!

I have no maternity clothes and I generally start popping out right away.

I have no baby clothes except a few I saved to make a quilt in the future.

I will have 2 in school next year and it in general is difficult to get everyone up and out the door by 7-7:15

Now we'll be starting over in the newborn stage all over again.

Sleep deprivation.

Nursing.

sleep deprivation.

nursing...

for another year.

We just bought bikes...how in the world am I going to keep riding my bike with the kids?  

I don't want to disappoint them about not being "fun mommy" this summer.

I want to give my kids the attention they deserve

I love ALL my kids and I want them to know that I can't imagine life without any one of them...so I know I will feel the same way about this one, even though I can't imagine life with five at this moment.  

And, most of all--my biggest fear has been the reaction of others.  I have always struggled with wanting to please others, and for some reason I have this (probably irrational) fear of rejection from family and friends when we share this news.  Whether they will bring up all the fears I already know (and listed above) or whether they will think we are crazy, or honestly, that they would think we planned this.  I know I don't need to justify this to others, but for some reason I can't let go of this fear as hard as I have tried (for only 2 weeks now as I write this)

I could keep writing, my my eyes are full of tears and I can't see through them any more.  

But, I know one thing: That God is faithful.  And even though I am already in full swing of the terrible lethargy of the first trimester and the feeling of exhaustion sweeps over me all day, I know He will give me what I need in abundance because He is good.  

So, here I am, not only announcing this to all of you,  stretching myself saying I know I will need prayer and support from my family and friends this year because to be plainly honest, I am overwhelmed and afraid- it's as simple as that.  Very new territory for me to admit that. 

 I'm so thankful for each one of you, and the love we have felt from all of you over the years.  Your friendships are a gift from God and we treasure you.  

I'm saving this post and tucking it away until after my first ultrasound on May 20th.  I've told a few of my closest friends, and I must say I have already been overwhelmed with the generosity that has already been shown to me.  I should never doubt that our basic needs will be provided for.  I have already had my dear friend say she has maternity clothes to give me, and I am beyond thankful for this need being met.  It's really hard admitting you need help, and I feel blessed for God showing me He is going to send what we need.

Thank you for your prayers.  And, we look forward to meeting this newest Youngblood on or around January 6th.  And- because I've always wanted to wait for a surprise in the past, but have never actually followed through with it--I really desire to actually follow through this time to keep the gender a surprise.  It is funny, that even though I always have said this before, I used to still have a nagging curiosity to find out that amazingly seems to be absent right now.  I'm not sure if it's the whole shock of it all, but I feel at peace with this baby and really don't have a desire to know right now.  I've always heard how it is such a special moment to find out what your baby is when they are born and first laid in your arms--and I want to experience that feeling.  I think it's the last thing we haven't done yet with childbirth!  Jack was my non-epidural baby, so this will be my surprise from beginning to end baby!  

Thank you all for plodding through my random thoughts in this post.  

Love you all.

Jon & Amber

Sean, Lilly, Brilee, Jack & Surprise #5

One Year Ago: Our Trip to the Creation Museum

Photos from our trip to the Creation Museum popped up in my Time Hop this morning and I realized they never made it to my blog....because, well, I basically ignored my blog for 2 years.  Which is quite disappointing, because it is easier for me to go back to remember things we have done as a family through my blog rather than scrolling through FB.  So, this will be the platform you will find most updates about our family from now on just to make it easier for me.  

Our trip to Kentucky & Ohio was such a memorable family trip that will forever be known as the one we came home with a special souvenir named Luke :)  I wanted to make sure these photos made it to my blog, but be warned there are hundreds of pictures below, lol

Cincy Museum