April and May

Hello everyone! Mommy wants to show off her wonderful boys...

These were taken May 6th.

Reagan Mahayla Schneider ladies and gentlemen! She is such a happy little lady. And she can go, go, go! You can't take your eyes off of her for a second before she is crawling into another room.

As of my last update, we knew we would be staying here in NC for awhile longer. These past few months seem to confirm

the fact that we may be here for several years.

Anthony will be starting a huge backyard project tomorrow with a patio, shade structure and a little coy pond. I can't say

I will post pics soon because we have no idea how long this will take. We are excited to get started though!

Jacob is doing so well in school. He made A-B Honor Roll this past grading period and is so much happier now - he is jus

thriving!

I registered Elijah for Kindergarten last Friday - sigh... I can't believe how time has flown by. He is excited to be going off

with the big boys in August.

Samuel Paul is growing like a weed! He is taller and heavier than Pooz-da-wooz (Reagan - how we come up with these

names I do not know) but I think that is just because of the gender difference. He is crawling backwards quite well and

has just started crawling two or three "steps" forward. I will begin baby-proofing asap.

I have finally found a church that we really like. I am very excited! The boys love His Kids Church and Sam-kins has been

doing so well in Bundles of Joy. It is a longer service than I am used to (almost 2 hours) but the first 30-45 minutes is

music. And the music is wonderful! They have a brand new music director that has done a ton of missionary work in

places I have never heard of, he is very funny and can play the guitar like you wouldn't believe. The church service is very

different than my traditional Presbyterian upbringing. There is a head Pastor, but the elders rotate Sundays and there just

seems to be something to appeal to everyone. Each time I have felt like they were talking directly to me.

So...we are good. More than good - we are blessed.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.

Psalm 127:1

I know it has been way too long since I have updated!!! So, here goes...

I had Samuel Paul Rushing on October 8th 2009. He weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz. and was 21 inches long.

He is a very happy and healty 4 1/2 month old now and I can't imagine our family without him! Jacob and Elijah have been absolutely wonderful. They love him more than anything and are always helping Mommy.

He is an absolute joy.

I am letting Memaw and Grandpa (Anthony's parents) keep him for the first time this Saturday. I am a little nervous considering this will be the longest I have ever been away from him, but I know he is in good hands.

Anthony and I will be celebrating our six year anniversary on Sunday, but will be getting started on Saturday since he was able to take the whole weekend off. An amazing feat considering what he does!

Right now, it looks like we will be staying in Weaverville for awhile. We thought about relocating for his job, but the housing market is not cooperating AND I really think that move was not God's plan for our family. Right now, we are taking it one step at a time and are so lucky to be blessed with our wonderful family and friends.

Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

DEU 4:9

For Holle...

Here are a few pictures of the newest member of the Schneider clan...

I wish this one wasn't so small. This was taken last night. Isn't it amazing how much she has grown already?!?

No news from my doctors visit on Wednesday. Ultrasound in one week. Can't wait! Then a baby shower on Saturday October 2nd. After that we should be ready at any time :)

One More Year...

As you all know Anthony and I have birthdays coming up. Only two days apart, but unfortunately for me a year as well. He will finally be 30 and I will not. LOL I tell you what, I NEVER in a millin years thought I would be having a child at the age of 31. We won't be doing anything special for our birthdays this year. Maybe packing a few boxes, washing some baby clothes...

We are really getting excited about Sam's arrival. I have been having a lot of contractions however, they are only Braxton Hicks. I did have some pain involved with them last night, but nothing that a nice warm lavendar bath didn't fix. As I was staring at the ceiling trying to fall asleep, I realized that I have 35 days left until my scheduled c-section. I really, really thought that Sam would make an appearance sooner than that, but now I am wondering. I have a doctors apptointment tomorrow but that will just be to answer some questions I have... The upcoming ultrasound on October 2nd will tell us how much he weighs at that point. I initially thought they scheduled the ultrasound for that day because it would put him measuring at 39 weeks. But after talking to the doctor last night, I am pretty sure they are just going to wait it out until I go into labor (if that happens before the 26th).

Meanwhile...Anthony and I discussed the fact that we need to get overnight bags ready for everyone. Mommy, Daddy and Sam's stuff can all be rolled into one. Eli will have to pck up for a few days with Memaw and Grandpa and Jacob will be staying with our next door neighbors unless Sam ends up coming on a weekend and we can send him home with Nana and Grandad.

Four years ago we were in a very similar postion to this one. Eli was a newborn and we had our house on the market in preparation for a move to Cookeville. Little did we know that the long period of time it took for our house to sell would result in us moving to Asheville. Now, we are waiting for Sam, but think we have put our house on the market with a good time buffer so we can ALL move to Maryville TOGETHER. The kids are looking forward to the move as much as Anthony and I are. It will be so good to get back to Tennessee. So, please say a little prayer that our house will sell in adequate time and that we will have a smooth move. With so much going on all at once we could really use everyone's support.

Love you all!

BABIES!!!

Matthew and Sarah welcomed Reagan Mahayla Schneider into the world on Wednesday September 9th at 6:11 pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 5.3 oz. and was 19 inches long.

She is absolutely perfect! She has thick, long dark brown hair, beautiful skin and 10 wonderful fingers and toes. I was able to go visit her on Saturday and can't wait to see her again. It makes me want Sam to come as soon as possible!

And here is Sam...

Picture 1 is his button nose, lips and chin.

Picture 2 is a profile shot. See how he has his mouth open!

And picture 3 is a perfect little foot!

We had a growth ultrasound done last Wednesday (9/9). The doctors wanted to know why I was so BIG. At this point I was supposed to be 32 weeks and 3 days. When they checked Sam he was measuring 35 weeks and 5 days. I also had a signifigant amount of fluid, which is not a cause for concern, but between those two factors, I am one large pregnant lady!

Despite the fact that he was measuring almost 36 weeks, they are still not changing my due date. My guess is that I will just go into labor in early October. Then they will see... :)

My best friend Andria threw me a baby shower this past Friday night at Mom and Dad's house. We had a great turnout and I want to thank Andy and her Mom for all that they did. And everyone that came ... thank you, thank you. It means so much to our family that we have you all in our lives. We are truly blessed.

New Due Date...?

This pregnancy is going pretty smoothly. I have had some heartburn, and a very hard time getting comfortable at night, and some swelling of the feet, but overall I am feeling great. It helps that Anthony is so wonderful when it comes to all my "demands". He is always there to rub my legs and feet, strokes my hair to put me to sleep and makes sure I always have whatever food I am desiring at the moment. I don't know what I would do without this man! He did say the other day that he was looking forward to me not being pregnant anymore...he is tired of gaining "sympathy weight". That HAS to make you smile!!!



Last week I was sitting at Mom and Dad's house watching a little TV. I got up and something felt different. Looking at my belly (Mom agreed) it appeared that I had "dropped" or "lightened". I sure was able to breathe easier! With my other two boys, I don't recall dropping until I was quite a bit closer to delivering. After doing a little searching, I discovered that people tend to drop 3-4 weeks or less before they have their children. In some circumstances it has been 8 weeks prior, but those cases seem to be few and far between.



I called my doctor and they did not seem too concerned. I already had an appointment scheduled for Monday the 10th, so we decided to stick with that. I will have the glucose test done that morning and the doctor will see me (as opposed to the midwife). She is going to measure me (belly) and if I am still measuring ahead of schedule, they will most likely order an ultrasound to measure Sam. Maybe, just maybe, they will change my dute date accordingly.... I still believe I am about 3 weeks farther along than they have said.



Look for updates Monday evening....



For anyone that is interested, I am registered at TARGET. I do not yet know when my baby shower will be, but as soon as my friend lets me know, I will pass the information along.



In other news...they have broken ground for the new Cheddar's in Alcoa. We will be putting our house on the market in a few days. Anthony's projected move date will be the beginning of November. I am praying that all the pieces will fall into place and the whole family will be able to move TOGETHER.

Jake, Eli and Sam

We have decided on a name for the newest member of our family. I wanted something that went with Jacob and Elijah. I like having a shorter version for both and the fact that they are biblical. So...Samuel it is. I think Sam will fit in perfectly. Eli already makes it a point to say goodnight to Sam each night and kiss my belly.

Sam is quite active! I can already SEE him moving. I don't seem to remember it happening this early with Jake and Eli. I am still convinced that I am farther along than they originally thought. I had the 20 week ultrasound and Sam was measuring 22 - 23 weeks. I am anxious for them to set a new due date, but I think it will take quite a bit more convincing.

I have not yet registered, but plan on doing that very soon. I don't think we are going to put much time into a nursery because we will be moving soon. It won't be long after he arrives that we will be packing up for TN. I figure we will have him in our room until the move, then once we find a place in Maryville, we can get him set up in his own room. Oh, how I wish I had not donated/sold all of our baby stuff. I had no idea there was another one in our future. Now we will be starting all over again. Thank heavens for handmade blankets, clothes, etc. That is ALL I saved!

I am going to try and continue working as long as I am able. When Sam arrives I will revert back to being a stay-at-home Mom. Eli will not be entering kindergarten in the Fall, so he will have another year home with Mom. I cannot imagine putting a tiny baby in daycare either. And since Memaw and Grandpa won't be joining us in Maryville (...yet...), I will just plan on working again once ALL my boys are in school. Can you believe Jake will be starting 3rd grade this year?!?!?! Am I really that old?

We have made plans to go to a friends' house for a bbq and fireworks on the 4th. Stay tuned for pictures. Maybe even one with my buddah belly!