Happy 14th Birthday Anna!

14 Random Facts about Anna

1. When she was born, she had a head full of straight, jet black hair. By the time she was 2, it had turned blond and was very frizzy.

2. Anna was named for Paul's baby sister who died in infancy and for my Grandmother Benzing. (Ironically enough, at the Benzing reunion, there were 5 girls named Anna- and 1 other girl whose name was Anna Elizabeth!)

3. Anna is a natural with little children and babies. She is a nurturer and loves to play with her brothers and any other little children who may be around.

4. She is entering high school in the Fall. Now that is unbelieveable!

5. She is the most "Dziadul" looking of all my children, but somehow looks similar to me at her age.

6. Anna is very tender hearted towards animals and it seems every stray in the neighborhood ends up in our yard. Just this morning we had a dog on our porch and Anna was out there loving on it every chance she got.

7. Anna always has been and always will be a Daddy's girl. But that's not to say that we don't enjoy our "girl" time together very much.

8. Her requested meal on her birthday? Lasagna Her requested cake? Brownies and Ice Cream

9. Anna loves to eat, but she doesn't eat alot at any one time. She grazes, eating often through the day, reminding us so much of her Grandma Adrian.

10. She is an excellent big sister, often feeling bad for her siblings when they get into trouble.

11. Anna enjoys talking. And singing. All the time. :)

12. Her favorite subject in school is history. Least favorite? Math

13. Anna is a very good cook and enjoys cooking and baking, but not cleaning up.

14. She has grown tall this past year. As we were walking today I was noticing that she has almost caught up to me.
Anna, we love you and thank God that He put you in our family! You are one of a kind and I'm glad you're mine!

31 weeks (and counting!!)

I went to the doctor this morning. At this point in my pregnancy, because of my past history, I never know what to expect. I was concerned about my blood sugar this morning because I really don't want to have to do insulin shots. But my blood sugar was not the problem this morning. My blood pressure was up after being so stable for several months. But, even that was not too bad. The doc ordered some blood work and didn't seem too concerned. I was glad he didn't put me on another medicine because of one high reading.

I also found out that the doctor may take the baby at 38 weeks instead of 39. Whoa. That's in 7 weeks. We have alot to get done in 7 weeks! Little miss Emma was being very feisty when the doc tried to listen to her heart. As soon as the doc put the gel on my belly, she was right there, kicking it with all her might. And when she put the Doppler on my belly, Emma was right there, kicking and squirming, making my whole belly move. It was quite funny!

It was at this point in my pregnancy with Samuel that I was put on bedrest, so that is always in the back of my mind when I go. So when I get to go home and don't have to come back for 2 weeks, I feel free!!

I have alot to do this week. We have to catch up on the laundry and housework that didn't get done this weekend. And, I have to make the slideshow for Zack's graduation on Saturday, which entails going through hundreds (maybe thousands) of pictures and finding the right ones. I don't mind doing that, but it's just finding the time to get it done.

I can't believe Zack is graduating. It doesn't seem that long ago that I started Kindergarten with him. He started a bit early because there was no telling him that he was not going to do school with Paul. I remember sitting on the floor of my room, with a big sheet of construction paper teaching him his letters and sounds. How could that have been 13 years ago? Amazing.

Zack is our first entirely homeschooled graduate. There are many things I wish I would have done differently with him, but in spite of his mom, he has done well, especially the last half of this year. God has great things in store for him- I can't wait to see what they are!

Pictures from the Weekend

As you can tell, I did not take alot of pictures over the weekend, but here are a few.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

For a tribute to my mom, read here.

I love you.

Home Again, Home Again

The weekend passed by all too quickly. We had such a great time with our church family, camping, fellowshipping, sitting around the fire, singing, worshipping, eating, playing, etc. I am beginning to think that this years family camp was the best one so far. We had far fewer people than we had in years past, but this did not discourage; in fact, it lead to greater intimacy among the people attending. The theme this year was being a servant and the 3 times of teaching were just excellent. They were appropriate for all ages and the 3 men leading them did a great job. The schedule was loose and flexible and had lots of time for relaxing and playing, or if you were Ben and I, napping. :)

I will be honest, I was really not looking forward to going. Being 31 weeks pregnant and being woozy on the meds, I don't really look forward to going much of anywhere. It did take a little extra effort on my part and alot of extra effort on Paul's part, but that extra effort was worth it. He went beyond the call of duty this weekend, making sure everything was easy for me.

It was a great weekend.

PS- I'll post some pics tomorrow.

And we're off!

I'm sitting here, finishing up last minute things before Benjamin and I head down the road to our church's 4th annual family camp. He's actually finishing up his nap. I'm looking forward to this weekend of getting away with our church, fellowshipping and worshipping. This year is different for us. Because of my very pregnant state, we are staying in a cabin and sleeping in a real bed as opposed to a blow up mattress in a tent. While I'm thrilled for that fact, I will miss "camping" with the other campers. It is a wonderful experience of living in houses without walls, one that we really enjoyed the other years.

This year is also different because for many various reasons, our attendance is low, much lower than any previous year. But we're not discouraged. God knows who needed to come and those people are there.

Keep our church in prayer this weekend!

Homeschool Bell Choir