Impecable Timing

This is probably going to be a long post, as I usually get carried away with details when telling these kind of stories.

I've always noticed in my life than when I've been waiting for something to happen or waiting for an answer from God, he always shows up just in time. I don't think he's ever been early, but he's always right on time. Many of you know I've been wrestling with my decision to quit my full time job to stay home with the kids. I've been extremely scared to make that decision for fear it will be the wrong one. Financially, it will be a major stretch, and I'm one of these people that looks at my bank account every day and is very meticulous about money spent, BUT I also like to have fun and have become accustomed to a certain lifestyle (not a frivolous one, but one that likes to enjoy things in life that cost money). This decision has also been riding on my mother's job situation as I depend on her to care for my children while I'm working. Wouldn't you know it, both of us received our answers yesterday within about 5 hours of each other. My mother was offered a position she was hoping to get, that gives her a little flexibility to help me if I need it. I'm also looking at a part time opportunity that I spoke with someone in depth about yesterday that seems pretty positive. Just as I was settling into my thoughts about making my final move at my current position, the phone rang, it was my boss. I knew this was the perfect timing of God, as I knew exactly what I needed to tell this man and give him the honest truth about my feelings and plans. The conversation was very pleasant, and he even gave me some encouragement to go ahead and stay home with my kids. He also shared that some changes were being made, and my set-up of working from home was probably not going to fly anymore. So there's my final answer from God - I'm leaving my position, as for me, I cannot justify (emotionally or financially) working full time and take my children to daycare or a sitter. A huge weight was lifted after that phone call, and I reflected on my day as being one of those perfect timing circumstances that God has his hand in. I had honest answers for my boss right at the time he called. If he had called in the morning, I don't know what I would have been able to say.

On another note to give an update on the boys - Jacob is my little parrot, repeating just about everything I say. He makes me laugh every day, and he's starting to be mommy's helper with Evan sometimes (when he feels like it). Evan is also doing great! Evan has slept through the night 5 out of the last 8 nights, and some nights, he's slept for 10 hours straight. I feel so blessed to have two children who are sleeping good now, cause that means I get to sleep good!

Well, I'm off as I hear one of my children crying in their bed. Today, my husband and I travel to PA to attend my college friend's wedding. We are leaving both boys with their grandparents - Woohoo! I'm excited to spend at least 24 hours alone with my hubby, and I know my boys are in great hands.

Peace Out!

Busy, Busy

Ok, I am actually blogging while both boys are sleeping, which is something I should probably be doing as well, but I don't know when else this will happen. It's been a whirlwind of a month for us. I can't believe Evan is already 6 weeks old. I took him last week for his 1month check and he is doing great. He weighs 11lbs 3oz and he is as healthy as can be, so we're very thankful for that. His big brother Jacob is also doing well. He has really built up his vocabulary this past month. He basically repeats everything we say-good and bad, we have to be really careful :-). Last weekend, we went on a mini vacation to my brother's house in Indiana. The boys and I enjoyed ourselves so much, we decided to stay a few extra days as this may be our only vacation this year. We miss Daddy, but we're still enjoying ourselves. Here's a pic of

Jacob's new "funny face".

Lately...

I haven't been able to post a whole lot, for obvious reasons. I'm quickly learning that being a mother of two is a whole different ball game. I'm prettymuch exhausted all of the time, as my body is adjusting to only getting an average of 5 hours of sleep per night. My objective this week is to get Evan to take an afternoon nap while Jacob takes his, so I can at least have an hour to lay down. It is a lot of fun with two boys, and I keep reminding myself to enjoy these moments, even the hard ones, because I know they won't last forever.

We've had a lot of busyness lately with relatives in from out of town and lots of family stuff. We've really enjoyed that, especially Jacob with cousins to play with. Next week, we will travel to Portage, IN for my nephew Nicholas' 7th birthday, so we're looking forward to skipping town for a few days. When I get some more time, I'll do more posts and include some recent pics.

Lastly, I can't let this post go by without mentioning that today is my 4th wedding anniversary.
Today, I have been married to my wonderful husband, Franklin, for 48 months. There is still no other person that I'd rather journey through life with. He is a wonderful father, and I am so proud of him. Tonight, Grandma and Papa are babysitting both boys, so we can have a date. I can't wait!!! I love you, baby!

Evan Lucas Choate

Well, I finally got a few minutes to sit down and blog a bit. I'm sure most of you know this by now, but Evan Lucas arrived last Tuesday, 5/27 at 3:18 p.m. He was 8lbs, 4oz, 20 inches and very healthy. The delivery went very well. It was an induction, so I was a little skeptical of how smoothly things would go, but I had little discomfort and the labor was only about 5 hours from start to finish. The last few days have been busy adjusting to life with two little boys, while getting very little sleep. Luckily, Evan is a very peaceful baby, who hardly ever cries and does a lot of sleeping. He has his days and nights a little mixed up at this point, so we're working to adjust that as well. Jacob loves his baby brother. He's always wanting to kiss him and see what he's doing. His life has prettymuch gone on as normal, and he's getting lots of extra attention from Daddy and his grandparents. I've posted some pics below. I'll blog more later when I'm not so exhausted :-)

Patience

I don't know about the rest of you, but patience is not one of my strong points, and it never has been. Ever since I can remember, circumstances have caused me to be anxious, worrisome and often times downright irritable, because of my lack of patience. And so many of those times, I knew the Lord was trying to teach me about the wonderful virtue of patience, but yet time and time again, I resist the lesson. Soooo, he continues to keep teaching me, and each time I have a choice. It's amazing when you think about how many chances he gives us (me) to learn this lesson. It just demonstrates HIS incredible patience with us filthy sinners who need him so badly.

Once again, I find myself struggling to be patient, but in the midst of it, I have to decide that I'm not going to let this get to me. I know in my brain that the Lord's timing is perfect, even though my emotions (and anatomy) sometimes try to convince me otherwise. I am waiting for a huge life change to happen at any moment, but in the meantime, I am going to try my best to relax, put the life change out of my mind, and spend some very important quality time with my little boy as this will be the last time it will just be Mommy and Jacob. Maybe that's why I've experienced this discomfort, causing me to stop working earlier than planned. Maybe that's why my mother has suddenly been given a large block of free time, so she can help me do some things around my home that I'm not physically able to do anymore as well as when the baby comes. It's amazing how so much has lined up just perfectly (it can't be a coincidence). The timing of it all is impecable. So, now we just continue to wait...

Labor Rumors

Hey all, just want to set the record straight as I think some rumors of my being in labor have circulated lately. As of 4:45 p.m. on Friday, 5/16, I am not in active labor. I've been having a lot of contractions for the last couple of days, but they haven't picked up in intensity nor are they very close together, so I am in the early stages, but this could last for days. My doctor has asked me to come back in the office on Monday (which will put me at 38 weeks), to see where things are at, and if necessary, they can intercede and speed things up a bit for me. At this point, I'd like this to happen as naturally as possible; however, I am kind of a baby when it comes to pain tolerance, so I might opt for their help if I'm desperate enough. This weekend, I plan to keep busy and active, and hopefully my body will kick into gear on its own. I really appreciate all your prayers and support. We'll definitely spread the word when something big happens :-)

Oh when will this baby come?

I had my 37 1/2 week check-up today. Baby is good and Mommy is progressing nicely/normally. Contractions have picked up which makes sleeping much more difficult. The doctor says "it could be any day now or you could go another week". I love how they are so carefuly not to tell you anything with any certainty :-) (not that they really have any). My husband refuses to believe that I will hit my due date, but I hate to think that and get my hopes up too much.

Tonight, Jacob is going to spend the night at his Grandma/Papa's house, so as to give his mommy a little break. I think Mommy and Daddy are going to try and have a mini date, as it could be our last chance for awhile.

On a good note, we found out late last week that Frank will not have to serve jury duty beginning next week, but they have actually postponed his service until September. To quote my husband if you want to avoid jury duty altogether, he says "don't ever tell them you'll be happy to serve at later date, because they will take you up on it". That's ok though, September wouldn't be an inconvenience and it is after all his duty as a citizen.

That's about it for today. Check ya'll later.