Happy Mother's Day

Six years seem like a long time in some ways.
In others it seems like yesterday.

Six years ago on Mother's Day I cried myself to sleep.
We had been trying for a baby for three years
already with no success.
We were waiting to be chosen by a birth family
as adoptive parents.

And two short (now I can say they were short)
months later, we found out we were
expecting a baby.
Overjoyed doesn't even describe our
sentiment.

And now, six short (again, now I can say they were short)
years later we celebrate Mother's Day with
two enormous blessings and one
more on the way.

Lord, thank You for Your perfect timing in our lives.
Thank You for Your all-sufficient grace each day.
Like the poignant quote I read today,
'Your grace is not only sufficient to save us from harm
but to make us gain from it.'
Your grace and faithfulness have carried us through.
Amazing Grace.
Great is Thy Faithfulness.
Amen.

Big Shoes to Fill

Notice anything peculiar about these shoes?

What about now?

Samuel has some pretty big shoes to fill...
And he is pretty smart about how to fill them.
He slid his own shoes inside of Pancho's so he could
wear them around the house without losing them.
Smart kid!

2 Peas in a Pod

Katrina and Samuel really enjoy eating frozen peas.
Today Samuel has not been feeling up-to-par
and has not really eaten anything.
But, when I offered him some peas, he said,
"Yes."

The kids were getting ready to go outside and play
so Samuel had his favorite hat on and I could not
resist snapping a few pictures.

Katrina sidled up next to him for a few shots of the two of them.
They are definitely our two peas in a pod.

Soon our pod will have 3 peas!

24 weeks and counting

We are at 24 weeks and
counting on this journey
of our 6th pregnancy.
It has been a stressful pregnancy for me.
Some are surprised at that news.
Others are quick to justify my fears.

Neither are the response I am looking for when I share
my vulnerability.

For a while I was quick to justify my own fears about the
pregnancy.
I told myself that we have lost three babies and I have
every right to be nervous.
I told myself that anyone in our situation would
be uptight.

Then a still, small voice whispered to me,
"Are those My words, Kristina?"

As I thought about my thoughts
(meta-cognition for those educators out there!)
I came to the conclusion that those thoughts
are not my Savior's words.
He says, "Do not fear" more times than I have counted in
the Scripture.
He says, "Do not be anxious about anything" in Philippians
and this is the verse that He has used to convict my heart
of the anxiety I have experienced.

Not long ago I was listening to Focus on the Family when
Max Lucado was speaking about his new book,
Fearless: Imagine your life without fear.
He said something very intriguing.
He said that fear in itself is not bad, it is what we do with
our fears that can be sinful.

I truly believe that God allows anxiety in my life
to grab my attention and to bring me back
into His loving arms.
I have been able to capture my anxious thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5)
and hand them over to Jesus Christ and that has produced such joy and peace
within me.
Praise be to God!

I say all of this to show you a picture...


We are getting ready.
Katrina and Samuel are now in a shared-bedroom and
Blue-B's crib and things are set up in
Katrina's old bedroom.

Katrina and Samuel have had a blast putting this baby into
the crib and changing him and feeding him and
carrying him around.
We have had conversations about how things will be a little
bit different with the real baby!

As I walk past this bedroom every day I am reminded of
my fears and anxieties.
I admit, I am sometimes tempted to close the nursery door
so I don't see a crib and changing table in that bedroom.
But, with God's abounding grace He is helping me keep that
door open and He is keeping the door of my heart open to the idea that
this is really happening.
He is helping me to trust Him each step of the way.

Lord Jesus,
Thank You for Your all-sufficient grace.
I cannot even count how many times I have
quoted 2 Corinthians 12:9 to myself over the
past 20 weeks that we have known about
Blue-B and the blessing of him in our lives.
I pray that You will continually remind me, especially
during those times of anxiety and fear, that You are with me
and that Your grace will continue to be all we need.
Amen.

Extreme Makeover--Bedroom Edition

When we found out we were expecting another
baby we decided that Katrina and Samuel
would share a bedroom until the baby was big
enough to share with either Katrina or Samuel,
depending on whether the baby was a girl or a boy.

When we found out in March the baby we are expecting is a boy
I began to plan the combined room.
I consulted with various friends and even purchased some bedding.
The bedding that I ordered was not at all
what I expected and took it back immediately.
I quickly became obsessed.
To the point of being maddening!
I am convinced I saw all the possible bedding options
under the sun.

Finally, after several weeks of this obsessive behavior,
my dearest and closest friend and advocate
said to me one morning in the bathroom,
(if you haven't figured out who my dearest and closest advocate is,
it is Pancho, my husband!)
"I am going to paint the kids' combined room tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" I said.
"You can't! I don't have the bedding. I don't know what color
we would paint."
He calmly responded to my mini-outburst,
"Figure it out because I am painting tomorrow and
if you don't decide on the paint, I will."

I was upset.
I was hurt.
I was stressed.

So, after he left for work that Friday morning I loaded up the
kids and drove to Target.
I went up and down the aisles we had been up and down many times
during these obsessive couple of weeks.
I had so many different comforters and sheets sets in the cart there
was no room for more.
Katrina said, "Mom, are we really buying all of this?"

To make this long story a tiny bit shorter, I will say that we
decided to stick with what Katrina was already using in her
room and to buy something simple for Samuel.
We got sheets that had coordinating colors and went to
Menards to find the paint.
We picked out two really, really bright colors and
Pancho painted the walls.

In the end we all really enjoy the room.
In the end I am so thankful that Pancho saw me spiraling
downward and put a stop to it.
He is my greatest advocate and saw a weakness in me and
stepped in to remedy it.
What more could a woman ask for in a husband?

We have a bit of accessorizing to do but the kids
have totally loved sharing a room and the bunks.

Katrina Josefina Durandina

Katrina is such a joy to our lives.
She has a sweet spirit and is learning so
much these days.

Our family loves nicknames.
I think the Gehring side should be blamed
because my dad and brothers are always coming
up with nicknames for people.

Over the years Katrina has had her share of nicknames.
Nene
Woochie-Woo
Treenie-Neenie
Treen-Bean

Lately we have been calling her
Katrina Josefina Durandina.
I know. I know.
It is hardly a nickname in the sense of being shorter
but it suits her well!

Inseparable

This boy and his rain boots are inseparable.

He wears them to the library.
He wears them grocery shopping.
He wears them to church.

Today I brought up some fun, new-to-him black Crocs from a tub downstairs.
"Do you want to wear these new shoes, Samuel?"
"Yes. Girl shoes." he replied and put them on.
(I told him they were not "girl shoes.")
Within 30 seconds,
"No. Boots."

If you have any suggestions about how to separate
these two, let me know!

Biker Dude

A few weeks ago Nana bought Samuel his first
bike helmet.
He wanted to wear it non-stop.
We had to run an errand and he would not
take it off...

... and this is what I found when I went to get him
out of the car seat.
He is a biker dude through and through!

Farmers at Heart

Katrina and Samuel love playing farm.
Today they brought up several farm stuffed animals
and the makings for fences and made their own farm.
Samuel went down and brought up hats for both of them!

Katrina worked on labels for all of the animals
just like at her favorite farm:
Camp Forest Springs mini-farm.
She has been doing a great job
sounding-out words.
She gets the beginning and ending sound
and sometimes even a middle sound.
We are so proud of her hard work!

An April Update

Last night I snapped a few pictures of Samuel and Katrina and thought,

"It would be a good idea to give an update about all of us." So, here

you have it...

Samuel has enjoyed the warmer weather so much. But, because it has not

been that warm here yet he asked that we bring his car into the house

from the garage. We obliged and he has spent more time doing laps

through the living room, hallway, kitchen and dining room. He is

talking more and more. Our favorite thing now at mealtime is to ask

him to pray. He partially closes his eyes, looks down and says,

"Jesus. Grandpa. Jesus. Nana. Jesus. Shawn." It is the cutest thing

and we are so thankful that he is learning little by little to be

thankful for and pray for his family.

Katrina has been busy learning a new game on the iPod. It is a hunting

game and she has really assumed the role of "hunter-extraordinare."

Last evening she was showing Papa how to play and then she

disappeared. She re-appeared wearing what she termed her "hunting

clothes." What is hilarious is that the pants are Samuel's (18-month)

and they fit her better than him in the waist! Of course the jacket

and t-shirt nicely accent the camoflauge pants. Leave it to the

fashionista to make camoflauge cute!

Pancho is loving his kids! He has begun a new routine of early rising

to leave for

work much earlier than he was used to so he can

come home much earlier and have some outside time with the kids.

They have enjoyed swinging, riding bikes and building snow forts in

the past few days.

He is a wonderful papa who spells love T-I-M-E right now.

Me and Blue-B. We are 20.5 weeks along, a tiny bit over half-way to the end

(since the C-section will be scheduled for 39 weeks).

I have begun to feel Blue-B kicking and squirming around a bit more.

The placenta is positioned anteriorally and therefore his kicks have been

well-cushioned and therefore more difficult to detect.

Many times during the middle of the night, when I get up to use the bathroom

I lay back down and as I am trying to get back to sleep

I feel him moving and spend that precious time praising our Lord for this

indescribable gift.

So, that is a good mini-summary

of our lives at this point.