And then there were five . . .

Five total that is (three littles)! Yep, little #3 is growing fast and working on his/her May 16th arrival date! In case you are counting, yes, that is 3 under 3 1/2 years. In case you are wondering if we have lost our minds, well, no we haven't we just really like kids and are so thankful for each and every one of them. While we knew we would have been thrilled to have another child it was a little complicated considering we are spending 10 weeks this spring in Peru and leaving at some point next summer to live overseas for 2 years. We had discussed the possible risks and decided that it we would be fine with welcoming a baby overseas but God's timing was even more perfect and our littlest little will be joining us on American soil before starting this wonderful adventure with our family just a few months later.
The past 8 weeks (I'm 12 weeks now) have been really tough since I have been quite baby-sick and tired. I am starting to see the possibility of a light at the end of this tunnel so I feel a little bit of hope that one day I won't feel like I live on a very rocky boat. I spend a lot of time just praying that God will give me what I need to make it through each day as a good mom and wife.
One fun thing is that we aren't going to find out the sex of this little one! Everyone says it is so much fun to find out at the birth so we are going to go for it with this one. This is probably our last pregnancy (but don't worry not our last child) so we are going to go all out and do it the old fashioned way! It is already quite exciting wondering if we are adding another precious boy or girl to our family.
Claire thinks it is a sister and has named her "Emily Elizabeth". I keep trying to prepare her that it could be a brother and she said "I already have a brother - she is a sister". She told Rhett that she had 5 baby sisters in her tummy! She is so sweet about "Little Baby" and says sweet things like "Little baby, quit making Mommy so sick!" and loves to rub my tummy and talk to Little Baby already and plan for when he/she "gets big and comes out". Of course precious little Ford has no clue and probably won't until we bring the little bundle home from the hospital since they will only be 19 months apart. Whew.
Looking back I have been continuously pregnant or breastfeeding since April of 2005 with no end in sight. So if you run into me and think "Man, she has really let herself go" please take everything in context. I'll be back one day (I find myself reminding Rhett of this rather regularly). There will be a day I am not in maternity clothes or "big girl" clothes and there may actually be a day I don't wear a nursing bra (they still make those non-nursing bras don't they?). Anyway, I'm savoring each nauseating moment of making this baby and watching my other two grow so quickly my head spins just thankful to God for these children and the privilege of being their mother.