pumpkin patch!

blessing of the day

he smiled this morning!!! what a blessing...i love you, john harman sprinkle.

surviving with this sweet boy...

isn't he just a cutie? he is so precious and such a sweet boy.

but he has colic.
i never understood until now.
my sweet sister and lonnie survived colic with precious molly.
we have sweet friends who survived colic with their beautiful firstborn.
i didn't know how hard it was on them, until now.
now, i know.

i was home this weekend and my sister and mom were incredibly helpful to me. i told katy how sorry i was that i wasn't there for her like she has been for me this go around. she's been so encouraging and wise. "you just don't know how hard it is until you've been through it," she told me, forgiving me for not understanding until now. and she's right.

i never know when he's going to scream, and scream, and scream. driving in the car tonight. walking through the grocery store today. at the doctor's office yesterday. there are those people who stare at you, with a look on their face which seems to convey--"you must not know what you're doing..." or "i feel sorry for you but i'm running the other way."

but then, God brings comfort by sending sweet people like mrs. martha today. she works at publix and is so kind. she heard john screaming and helped me pick up the rest of the items on my list, rushed me to the front of the check-out line and unloaded all of my groceries into my car while i tried to soothe my little man.
"thank you so much," i told her with a tear in my eye.
"that's a beautiful sound," she said, referring to john's crying.

and she is right. though it's not beautiful all the time [after hours on end], it is beautiful because it is my son's voice. it is beautiful because he is healthy. he is a beautiful child, and i am so grateful to have him in my arms.

i know that this period of colic will pass--i KEEP reminding myself of this! "colic takes a toll on the entire family" [mayoclinic.com], and it has been hard. hard on my sweet natalie who has been unbelievably patient with a mommy who has a crying baby in her arms all day. hard on my sweet husband who wants so badly to fix this, to make john feel better and for this all to be over. hard on me--the fatigue, trying to juggle two children, breastfeeding, keep the house in somewhat of an order, stay on top of things.

but here we are! we are surviving. we have a lot to be thankful for, and so i try to focus on that, most of the time!

nat and i were sitting at the table today eating lunch (wow, i actually got to sit down to eat today--that's a blessing!), and she started singing a prayer she learned at school [music class with miss donna is her FAVORITE!!].

God our Father, God our Father,
We give thanks, We give thanks,
For our many blessings, For our many blessings,
Amen. Amen.

to hear that sweet voice sing to God, her Father, our Father...that was beautiful. so He will give me strength, patience, and will help me through this time.

Amen.

a day at the park

one month old pic

sweet little man is already one month old...can't believe it!

catch up...

so life with two is wonderful, fun, crazy and so hard and exhausting. i'm headed to bed but have been meaning to update the blog for a couple weeks now with no luck. i'm going to upload some pics and write later :). thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes!!

natalie loves to put things in the swing with john...i've found about one of all of her toys in there with him at some point!

resting with daddy dave

john's first wagon ride...at children's healthcare of atlanta for a bilirubin check...his jaundice is much better now...

first bath

heading to drop off natalie for her first day of preschool

my sweet angel...i love this little boy!

natalie's present to john and his present to her in the hospital!

bigma meets her third great-great grandchild!!

nat and pappy putting balloons on our mailbox to welcome home john...

natalie and i had a mommy daughter date on saturday...a very sweet friend shared tickets with us to sesame street live...how fun!

baby john harman is here

baby john harman is here!

born 9.3.10

3:09 p.m.

7 lb., 11 oz.

20 inches

so sweet and we love him so much already!

more to come...

can't wait to bring you home, john harman

a little peek at my pregnant belly, today!

JH's nursery

beautiful curtains made by john's "cece" (dave's mom)
Animal ABC cross-stitch by "gam" (hung in our nurseries as babies)

the beautiful plate rail that dave put up, and a peek at the blue ceiling too!

thought i would share a few pictures of my baby boy's little room. it's almost ready. a few more things to do. add a shelf. putty the letters to the wall so they don't fall down and bust him in the head. set up the monitor and sound machine. just a few more finishing touches!!

but i love it. it's serene and peaceful. the perfect little spot for our little boy.

john harman sprinkle, i can't believe that i get to meet you tomorrow. i am SO EXCITED! i love you so much already, my son, and know that you will join natalie as the greatest blessings your dad and i could ever receive from God.

i pray for a safe and healthy arrival, and can't wait to bring you home in a couple of days. see you soon, sweet boy.

my big girl

all dressed up for her "meet the teacher" tea at school

reading a "georgia bulldog" book with daddy

painting at the easel!

my sweetheart

my big girl starts preschool on tuesday.
my natalie is growing up.
i've been extremely emotional this week, which i'm sure could not possibly be due to those raging end-of-the-pregnancy hormones.
just ask dave. and maybe you can feel a little bit sorry for him, too.
i cried and cried last night after i kissed nat goodnight.
it felt so strange, saying goodnight to her, knowing the next time i kissed her goodnight, i would be a mother of two. she's been my one and only for 2 years and 8 months. the best 2 years and 8 months of our lives, so far, as i know it will just continue to get better!
this weekend, life is going to change dramatically for us as i go into the hospital in the morning to be induced. john will make his arrival soon! he will join his very big sister and will be a blessing to us all, i know.
i've been so anxious this week about becoming a mom of two. how will i do it? how will i possibly have the patience, wisdom, wherewithal, energy to be a mom of two???
my desk calendar yesterday provided the perfect message that i needed to hear:
"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)
and then again, as i prayed last night, tears were flowing. tears of joy, fear, anxiety, and hope. i opened my bible to psalm 63 last night, and found more words i desperately needed to hear:
"Because you are my Help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you, your right hand upholds me."

today, i took natalie to the zoo to celebrate this day together. we had SO MUCH FUN together, and i cherished every second. [it was also part-tradition, as my mom took me to the zoo the day that she went into labor with katy!!] we met a really sweet mom there who had three children. we hit it off and she shared with me how amazing it has been to welcome a second, and then a third into their home. how she has been so blessed to watch how her children love each other. more words i needed to hear. it will be so incredible to watch natalie love her little brother.

God has been good to provide me with encouragement this week.

so tonight, I celebrate my last night of being a mom of "one" and anxiously await and anticipate becoming a mom of "two" tomorrow! natalie is happy as a lark settled in at gam's house tonight.

i love you more than you'll ever know, my big girl, and can't wait to watch you become a big sister.