Yet another boring journal entry for myself...

I just spent the past hour looking through old blog posts and I'm so sad I've missed out on documenting the greater part of the last 2-3 years.  I really, really, really want to do better.  So, 10:00 p.m. or not, I'm going to journal.  Mostly, I don't want to forget what an awesome age the boys are at right now.  Conner is quickly approaching 9, Biruk will be 7 in a few short weeks and Landon 6.  The boys have such kindness and love for each other.  Tonight I sat and took video of the three of them playing with legos for 3-4 minutes.  They have this thing where one of them starts singing a song and the other two chime in.  They listen to music occasionally so I'm always shocked by the amount of words they know for each song.  This happens all day long.  They do it (breaking out into song) while playing with legos, sitting at the table coloring, putting together a puzzle, rollerblading, etc.  It is the cutest thing ever and a memory I don't want to forget.  I'm so thankful for the bond the three of them have.  Occasionally they have moments of fighting but overall they are thick as thieves.  It's adorable and admirable.  My siblings and I are close but we had plenty of fighting mixed in with the play.  These three manage to keep that under control and I'm amazed at their patience for each other.  Currently they have a huge "science lab" built from their legos that they've worked on the last couple days.  It is quite impressive.  Today they let me sleep in, read books with J, watch a movie this afternoon, all while playing legos.  So I rewarded them with a trip to get a burger, fries and an upgraded shake.  I don't think I've ever gotten them their own shake.  They were pretty excited.  While bragging about how proud of them I should mention how much they have been doing around the house.  Yesterday the four of us cleaned both of the bathrooms (L - baseboards, B - toilets, C - tubs).  And no complaints.  They've been doing dishes and they are always great at switching out my loads of laundry and putting away everything that is folded.  Again, this is a blog for my memory, sorry for the boring details.  But damn I am so proud to be their mama!

J is J.  The girl has a strong personality.  I'll forever be grateful for her spit fire personality but that doesn't mean it doesn't come without it's challenges.  "I am eating mom.  I'm coming (as she takes the smallest steps ever).  Please watch Gaba Gaba.  One more.  One more.  Ughhh (in her deepest, most disgruntled sigh ever).  You mean to me.  Ba-ba's mean to me.  No my not.  Why mom?"  These are some of her daily sentences that pop in my head at the moment.  But she is soooooo cute when she is arguing and disagreeing.  It takes a lot of discipline to send her to her room or upstairs for a timeout.  And with the sass comes "You love me so, so, so much mom?".  Or after you say "I love you" she follows up with "so, so much?".  And the way she caresses my cheek, or curls up on my lap, or tells asks questions about her baby brother.  She is my everything.  Daily, I think to myself, I'm so thankful I have a daughter.  I do love her SO SO much!  And her dad.  Good grief!  Daddy's girl is an understatement.  He really would go to the moon and back for her.  It's mostly adorable.  I'm only a teeny, tiny bit jealous :).

As for baby on the way.  Well I can tell you he is already loved so much.  His big siblings are getting excited, as are we.  However, if his acrobatic moves are any indication of what kind of infant he will be I'm slightly scared.  He moves ALL THE TIME!  And they are not gentle movements.  Some days I fear how big of a baby he is going to be.  I hope with age and loss of memory I've just forgotten previous pregnancies.

So far, liver cholestasis has not reared it's ugly head.  I'm hopeful with the regimen I'm following I can avoid induction and we can go to term and this little guy can decide his birth date.  So far, so good!  We are not in the clear yet but I'm hopeful we can get through these last five plus weeks without any issues.  We do not want to relive J's birth if possible.
EDITED: As soon as I wrapped up this post last night and went to bed the itching started in my feet.  I finally got up early this morning because I'm feeling it in my palms of my hands and light itching in the stomach.  So much for 'being in the clear'.  I knew it was going to happen but it still sucks.  I'm drinking my lemon water and I have my dandelion leaf tea steeping.  I hope I can at least keep the itching at bay by staying hydrated.

The summer has been beautiful and I'm so glad for the mostly cool days we've had.  The other night I was up going pee and I could smell the chill in the air.  Fall will be here before we know it and I can't wait!  I have such anticipation for this fall and winter with the kids.  Time is ticking before our lives get chaotic and I'm holding on tightly to these relaxed days of ours.  They are precious and such a beautiful time right now.  I'm so thankful for our relaxed home schooling, peaceful and calm days at home.

We didn't get to camp as much as I had hoped this summer.  After our trip back to Ethiopia (hubs, Biruk and I) we had some crazy mystery illness in the house that took about a month of recovery.  However, we did one camping trip to a state park near our home, another up to Nathan's uncles home in the mountains (adjoining National Forest) which was so perfect, and another to Rainbow Lake (where my boys were able to fish with their uncle Sam).  Pregnancy has taken a lot of energy and finally I've become more realistic in what I can handle.  Next summer we can spend more time exploring.  This was the summer of de-cluttering, donating and minimizing our life.  It feels good and has become a bit addictive.

I need to get to bed but I will leave you with at least a few pics of our trip to Rainbow Lake with Uncle Samuel.  It was beautiful!