His Faithfulness, Our Joy

A while back, I shared how we have been longing to move out into the country.  I wrote that post almost exactly a year ago!

Well, we have some exciting news!  The Lord has opened the door to make our vision and his will come to fruition!

We have a contract on a house in the country and if all goes well, it will be ours in July! 

This home needs a lot of work, but we got a fantastic deal on it!  Plus, it's on 4 acres with fruit trees, 2 barns and a chicken coop!  And the house has 4 bedrooms and a basement!

It's been truly amazing to see how the Lord has brought all this about!  It confirmed to us that it's His will for our family and He's worked it all together!

So I've been doing my research and now I'm ready to jump in to the country life!

I'm so excited to update more as I learn more of what the Lord has in store for us in the country!

Another Blessed Birth Story

"...For the good hand of the his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statues and rules in Israel." Ezra 7:9,10

This was my longest labor yet--12 hours total! I was progressing fine and with not much pain, but when I got to a 7, my labor just stalled out. We discovered that Ezra was posterior, so I began to work really hard to get him to turn! I wore myself out doing exercises (lunges, taking the stairs in threes, etc) for almost 2 hours to get him to turn and it finally worked! I continued to labor in a lot less pain...

My midwife broke my water shortly after Ezra turned and I labored in "hard labor" for just over an hour.

Yet again, labor stalled out one last time... but soon, with a little help, we saw his head!

However, once his head and shoulders were out, he appeared stuck. It baffled all of us. My midwife told Ryan to go ahead and take Ezra by the shoulders and "deliver" him. So Ryan pulled him out and that's when we realized the reason that he kept going posterior and getting stuck half-way out...

The umbilical cord was wrapped so tightly around his ankles, he was essentially "bungee jumping" inside of me! His ankles were even blue from the cord being wrapped so tightly! (Thankfully all is okay with his feet, knees and hips!)

So little did we know, he was trying his hardest to get in the right position and come to us, but the cord was holding him tight inside me!

My midwives (Deidre and Kathy) were absolutely amazing and I was so thankful for their godly wisdom!

It was a very unusual birth for me, but the Lord taught me a lot and we are just so glad to have our little man here with us!

Ezra is here!

Our sweet baby boy is here!

Here are some snapshots of the eventful day!

Laboring in our bedroom in the birth pool with my sweet boys at my side...

First moments of life...

My sweet reward!

Proud daddy...

Daddy checking Ezra's spine...

Precious chubby cheeks...

Liberty and I remain the only girls!

Our midwife weighing him...

Footprints!

Wide awake!

Proud big brothers...

4 arrows...and counting!

Trusten and Ezra look VERY MUCH alike!!!

We feel so blessed and thankful for our new little addition!

**Full Birth Story coming soon!!!**

Dear Ezra,

Sweet baby Ezra!  We are so ready to meet you!  

We are excited to see what you look like, to hold you, to smell you, to hear your voice!

Your brothers are so excited to be a part of your birth and to finally see with their own eyes the little kicker that has been being formed in my belly all this time!

Your little sister just loves babies and I'm sure will be just as enthralled with you she is with every baby she sees at church, the store and in pictures.  I have a feeling she's going to spoil you!

Your daddy has been praying for you fervently.  He picked out your name before we even knew we were pregnant!

"...For the good hand of the his God was on him.  For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statues and rules in Israel." 

Ezra 7:9,10

As soon as daddy read that verse, about 9 months ago, he knew our next baby boy would be this kind of man...a modern-day "Ezra"!

Your mommy is just thrilled to finally hear the words, "here he is!" and have you placed upon my chest.  My Ezra.  My little reward.  My newest arrow.  My joy set before me.

Our hearts are ready to welcome another Wheeler Man into the world! 

And the house is ready for your arrival!

Our bedroom is rearranged

Birth pool is set up

Your first clothes are set out

 Your new little bed is ready

The birth supplies are purchased and double-checked

And the quilt mommy made you is finally complete!

And now we just wait!  We wait anxiously, but peacefully...knowing that we are waiting on the Lord...the Lord of lords who has perfect timing, unsearchable understanding and awesome wisdom.

His ways are perfect...He is bringing you to completion and will soon bring you to us!

Praise His Holy Name, Sweet Ezra!!!

Love,

Your Momma

The Wheelers Roll On...

We've lived in our current house for almost 5 years.  We LOVE this house and have enjoyed putting all the little touches into it that make it "home" to us.  When we bought it, it was in need of some serious TLC and we've given it that and more!  It's a totally different house now and we see "us" everywhere we look.

Well, now it's time to say goodbye.

As much as we love this house, we have a strong desire to get out to some land.  To have a place where our kids can run, explore and raise animals.

But until that time comes, we knew we needed to get our house sold, so that when the Lord does bring the right property along, we can jump on it without the contingency of selling our house.

So, yes, in 8 days I'm due to have a baby.

And in 30 days we close on our house and hand the keys over to a new couple who just moved into town.

Moving day will be a bitter-sweet day.  We will be one step closer to our dream of living in the country, but we will also be saying goodbye to a house that we will have brought 3 brand-new Wheelers into.

We have so many memories here...

But our kids are so young, we know there are even MORE memories ahead of us and we PRAY that's out on land somewhere, someday!

I'll try to keep you all updated on the journey we're about to embark on, but I also wanted to let everyone know that after April 25th, we won't have internet access in our humble abode anymore. (A choice we're making to pursue simplicity and money savings!)

No worries though-I'll post pics of our new blessing before then!

Thanks for all the prayers and encouragements as we take this step of faith to follow the Lord as He directs our steps in raising our family!!!

Baby Number 5 is a....

I have so many WONDERFUL blog friends that are so faithful to follow me and comment even though I've been pretty lousy lately at keeping up with blog world!  I feel so thankful for each of you and wanted to be sure to share my exciting news with you all...

(cue drumroll!)

We're having another precious baby boy!!!

We found out a few weeks ago that the Lord is knitting another Warrior in my womb!  We are so very excited and can't wait to see his little face!

His name will be Ezra Grant and we're planning to have him right here in our home! 

We'd love if you'd join us in prayer for a healthy birth and healthy baby!

Around here, we like to keep things pretty interesting so stay tuned for part 2 of our adventure as we prepare to pack up our house and move to...well, we don't know yet, but more on that later :) 

And again, thanks so much to all my faithful blog friends, for your love, support and even the check-up e-mails some of you have sent me!  I look forward to meeting you all face-to-face some day...even if it's in heaven!!!

Am I?

As the birth of baby #5 approaches, I am growing ever-more excited, but also growing ever more curious of how adding a new little one to my current group of littles will go?

In-between my feelings of joy and eagerness, are spurts of questions that have been swirling around in my head...

Am I up for labor?

Am I ready for another baby?

Am I prepared for the changes another blessing will bring?

Am I strong enough to endure the nights of little sleep?

Am I taking enough vitamins and herbs?

Am I preparing my kids enough for the arrival of our new little one?

Am I ready for another homebirth?

Am I worrying too much?

And in the midst of all my "me-centered" questions...the Lord answers...

"I AM the I AM".  

So today I am feeling thankful that even when I feel like asking "Am I...?" I can KNOW that HE IS!

Come Visit Me AT THE WELL Today!

Today I'm excited to be featured "At the Well"...

For those of you visiting from "At the Well" thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out some of my readers favorites to the right under my profile!

Blessings!

Are You "Just a Mom"?

If you've ever seen the movie Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, you may recall how the character called "Mahoney" accuses the hired accountant of being a "Just Guy".  When the accountant asks what that means, Mahoney explains that a "Just Guy" sees everything as non-spectacular.  That a store is "just a store", a toy is "just a toy", a tree is "just a tree".

Now, while I certainly don't believe in stores having feelings or toys coming to life, I do believe that we all have someone in our life trying to get us to buy the lie of the "Just Guy".

Have you ever struggled with the thought that you are "Just a mom"?  Or that you "just don't have what it takes"?  Or that you "Just can't..."

Whether you are a mom to one child or a mom to many...

whether you stay-at-home or work outside the home...

whether you homeschool or send your kids to a school...

we all have an Enemy who wants us to believe the "Just" lie.  

For each of us it sounds different...

"I just have one child."

"I just stay at home."

"I just send my kids to school."

But there is nothing non-spectacular about what you do.  Your role in your home is irreplaceable.  You are making a difference...even on days you feel like you "just don't know if you can do it anymore".

If we are striving to be excellent women (wherever we are and in whatever we do), our worth is "far more than rubies" (Proverbs 31:10).

As a mom, you are involved in Kingdom work.  Even though you can't see it, each day you are a part of a great plan that effects eternity.  The sacrifices of today are seeds being sown into the generations to follow.

So next time you find yourself thinking you are "just a mom" or "just not good enough" ask yourself if a ruby is "just a ruby"?  Or is it really a desirable, precious jewel that you would be honored to have and hold in your hands?

Then remember...that's what your Jesus thinks about you!

Girl Time!

This past weekend, my mom, sisters and I went to my parents house in Kansas City to have a "Girls Weekend"!

We had such a wonderful time!  

My mom made us a lovely candle-light dinner on Friday night...

My niece Isabelle and my mom praying before dinner...

The sisters!  Marjie, Me and Sarah 

(I am the youngest, but the tallest!)

We were missing my oldest sister, Ranee

The 2010 babies born 5 days apart...

(Owen and Adeline)

Lunch on Saturday...

Red Lobster was Sarah and I's 1st choice!

We took Isabelle to the American Girl store

(this was really the whole purpose of the trip)

She is such a sweet little thing and was so excited!

Picking out how she wanted her dolls hair done...

Isabelle and the hair-stylist deciding what to do with Josephina's hair...

Aunt Marjie and Isabelle picking out the colors for the ribbon...

Almost done!

Mother and Daughter...

The three generations...or should I say 4? Josephina fits right in!

Isabelle with her aunts...

Finishing off the day of shopping at Panera Bread...

We had a fabulous time!  Such great fellowship and encouraging conversation!  I am so thankful the Lord gave me such godly and fun best friends right in the midst of my own family!

He is good!!!