Job Hunt

-The job hunt is still going on. Richard's interview (2 weeks ago) went well. The interview was with a company call Presidio Network Solutions. Presidio is the type of company that Richard dreams of working for and I pray that an offer is extended (preferably soon). The company wants him however Richard does not meet all the qualifications of the position that they are currently trying to fill (Sr. Network Engineer), he lacks 2 certifications to be qualified. I guess you could say that he is currently in the "negotiate stage". The last time he communicated with a rep of the company he (Richard) said that he would have 1 of the certs complete within 2 months of hire and the other cert complete within a year of hire. The rep (HR) seemed excited about this and said that she would pass it on to management. So, we are waiting....
-While waiting Richard interviewed with a 2nd great company last Friday - Network Solutions Group (NSG) and the interview went well. He should hear an answer this week from NSG. My prayer is that he gets an offer from both companies this week. Richard hopes that he just receives an offer from one of the companies so that he does not have to choose because he loves them both. (I think he would be happier with Presidio.) But, for now we wait and the job hunt continues.....

Tuesday @ 10:30 a.m.

-Richard received an e-mail Friday stating that he will be contacted Tuesday, August 10th at 10:30 a.m. for a phone interview, attached to the e-mail was a list of questions he must answer and e-mail back to the interviewer. This will be the 3rd and hopefully final interview for a Network Engineer position with a great company. This is Richard's dream job and we are praying (begging really) that he gets this job. This job will allow me to stay home with the boys and Richard would be working in an environment that he loves (computers). The job does involve traveling which we are okay with because he would be "based" in Nashville so we would not have to relocate. (We LOVE where we live.) Please pray with us that Richard gets this position, it is PERFECT for our family.

The Ole' Saying

Good things come to those that wait.

-We have been waiting for our "good thing" for a year. (We actually have LOTS of good things in our lives that we are VERY thankful for.) BUT, there is a very specific "good thing" that we have been waiting and praying for. This past week we got some news that our wait might soon be ending and the "good thing" might soon be beginning. Please be in prayer with us as we pray that we hear the final good (GREAT) news next week.

*We are not ready to share what the "good thing" is but we will share soon (after we get the final word). The "good thing" is something that we REALLY need (and want) and would be PERFECT for our family (even our extended family). (No, it's not another baby.)

Playing Memory, Making Memories

-We (Daddy, Mommy and Daniel) enjoyed playing a game of Memory (the Toy Story version) before bed tonight. The score....Daniel 19, Daddy 10 and Mommy 7. It's okay that we got beat by a 3 year old (who cheats). Daniel's rules are - pick 2 cards, if they aren't the same you pick a 3rd card. (The actual rule is you pick 2 cards and if they are not a match it is the next player's turn.) Daniel's rules are if another player turns over and card and you know where the match is then the "pair" is yours. We are okay with being beat by a 3 year old. We love when he sees a match and says "sime (same)" or when it is not a match and he hangs his head and says "not sime (same). We love watching him think about which cards to choose, he puts his finger to his mouth and says "hmmm...." and concentrates very hard (and sometimes long). We love for him to tell us whose turn it is - "Mommy too (Mommy's turn)", "Daddy too (Daddy's turn)", "me too (my turn). Taking time out to play Memory with Daniel is a memory that we will cherish forever.

Family Night

-We enjoyed some much needed family time tonight. Daddy grilled some yummy hamburgers for supper and for dessert we roasted marshmallows. The boys loved being outside and were amazed by the fire. We really enjoyed our time together, with all the craziness that has been happening the past couple of months it was good to just take a break and focus on the family.

Halloween 2009

-We all enjoyed Halloween this year, we (Daddy and Mommy) enjoyed watching the boys trick-or-treating and the boys (Daniel and Caden) enjoyed dressing up and getting candy. We chose to take the boys to the Pumpkin Festival at Moss Wright park in Goodlettsville. There were several activities to enjoy - bounce houses, games, a hayride, watching a dance team perform (one of Daniel's favorites), a bonfire for roasting marshmallows and making smores and of course Trick or treating (area businesses and churches set up tents along the walking trail).
-Daniel enjoyed saying "trick or treat" at every tent, getting candy and then putting the candy in his bucket. He didn't want to carry his bucket (too much work?) so Daddy and Mommy carried the bucket and Daniel put the candy into the bucket. Daniel was very good at saying thank you to the people as they gave him the candy. (We got frustrated, annoyed with a group of older kids that were behind us and being very impatient and pushy. I(Mommy) actually made a comment in hopes they would hear (they had also "cut" inline). The saddest part was that the parents were with these rude kids and didn't do anything to try to stop them.
-Caden was very happy with the first sucker he got. He proudly held on to the sucker all night.
-The boys were both asleep when we got home. We carried them into the house, took their costumes off and got them dressed and into bed without really waking them up.
-What a fun night, lots of memories were made - Isaac's first Halloween, Daniel and Caden's first trick or treating (where they semi-understood what was going on), Caden's first sucker (he ate it in the van on the way home).

Waiting

-We arrived at Sumner Regional Medical Center a little after 9 a.m. and were in the room by 9:30 a.m. Mommy is ready - IV started, blood work done , surgery prep done. Daddy is ready - snack has been eaten, phone calls have been made, coffee has been drank, scrubs have been put on. We will be headed into the OR soon - the C-section is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m.

Date

-We have a date set for Isaac's arrival! If all goes as planned, I will be admitted into Sumner Regional Medical Center on Tuesday, October 6. I am to arriv at 9 a.m. and the surgery (C-section and tubal ligation) is scheduled at 11:30 a.m. We are so excited to have a "scheduled delivery" and not an "emergency delivery". Please pray with us for a safe delivery, a healthy baby and an easy recovery.
*I had my last NST today and everything was perfect. My blood pressure stayed in the 130s/70s and Isaac looked great.

37 Weeks

-I had my 37 week check up today and all I heard was good news. My blood pressure was slightly elevated but not too high, there was only a trace of protein (normal) and I was not sent to L&D. The most exciting part of the appointment is when Dr. B asked me if I was ready to have this baby (of course) and he said let's set a date. The plan is for me to go for one last NST on Thursday (10/1) and if all goes well Isaac Benjamin will arrive on Tuesday (10/6).

Celebrating 4 Wonderful Years

-We have been married for 4 wonderful, crazy and happy years as of today. Wow! The past 4 years have been an adventure of learning and growing together. We have endured many struggles and hard times and survived them together and we have celebrated many happy, life changing experiences together. The struggles have made us stronger - unemployment, 3 high risk pregnancies, 2 premature births, watching Daniel fight for his life in the NICU and caring for a preemie in the NICU and a toddler at home. We have celebrated together the happy times - the births of Daniel and Caden, bringing Daniel and Caden home from the hospital, moving into our dream house, watching our boys grow, seeing Richard putting on Christ through baptism, the list could go on and on. We have supported each other through the good and the bad. We are best friends and great life partners. We have enjoyed creating many memories together and are looking forward to creating many more memories (hopefully more happy then sad). We are celebrating with a nice romantic dinner (Papa John's pizza) at home since Jenny is on bed rest for the 3rd time in 4 years. (Year 5 will be celebrated with a romantic dinner out of the house while the boys are with a babysitter.)

A Name for Baby #3

-We found out about 13 weeks ago that baby #3 is a boy. We soon decided on the name Isaac but have not been able to decide on a middle name.....Nicholas, Hayes, Benjamin and Samuel are the names that have been mentioned and "made the list". After much discussion and debate we have finally decided on a middle name, baby #3 has officially (not really official until the birth certificate is signed).....baby boy #3 will be named Isaac Benjamin. If the ultrasound/ultrasound tech just happens to be wrong and baby boy #3 is actually baby girl #1, she will be named Avery Mae or Avery Claire.

Our Home (Moving Time)

-We have been busy packing boxes. The moving truck will be here this afternoon. We will be moving into our "dream home" this weekend. (Our first night will be Sunday night.) We are really excited (and exhausted) and can't wait to make this house our home.

Celebrating the 4th

We enjoyed celebrating the 4th of July by spending a relaxing day at home. The boys spent most of the day playing outside on the slip and slide and playing with water guns. We enjoyed a yummy supper of lasagna, salad and garlic bread and enjoyed a yummy dessert made with chocolate chip cooks, cool whip and hot fudge. We ended the night with our own personal firework show (thank you, Daddy). We hope you all enjoyed your Independence Day.

*Thank you to all the men and women who serve our country and fought and continue to fight so that we can celebrate our freedom.*

Everhett and Jarod's Arrival

-Everhett and Jarod's flight was scheduled to arrive at 8:44 p.m., we were told that we would need to arrive at the airport 2 hours early to allow enough time to get our gate passes and go through security. We arrived at the airport a little after 6 p.m., found a parking space, loaded Daniel and Caden into the stroller and headed to the ticket counter. We got our gate pass, went through security and went to the gate to wait. Daniel and Caden enjoyed playing in the play area while we waited. We kept an eye on the screens that showed arriving and departing flights and noticed that several flights in and out of Nashville were delayed or canceled. We began worrying when we did not see any information on Everhett and Jarod's flight. There was no one at the gate to ask (apparently they had all gone home). I called to find out some information using one of the courtesy phones and we were told that there flight had been delayed until 9 p.m. The lady that I spoke with was not very polite and hung up on me as I was in the middle of asking a question. RUDE! Richard called an spoke with a polite person and found out their flight was scheduled to arrive on time, he also pointed out that no information about the flight was appearing on the screen. (The information quickly appeared after Richard got off the phone.) The plane arrived around 8:45 p.m., we got the boys bags from baggage claim and headed to the car. We went through the McDonald's drive-thru and grabbed a LATE supper before heading home. We arrived home a little after 10 p.m. All the kids are in bed and we are headed to bed very soon. We are so happy to have Everhett and Jarod with us for the next couple of months.

*I am usually not one to complain about a specific company/product but we are not fans of United Airlines. We have flown them before and were very impressed but after tonight we will probably never fly them again. It was very hard to get answers about the flight information when needed it. We saw people from every airline but United. We have decided the boys will fly back via Southwest.