What do I name him?

Right now I'm listening to some odd rendition of the "Grease" soundtrack, so my brain is a little fuzzy. My mom has discovered Elijah's keyboard. She plays the piano/organ by ear, and used to be quite good in her younger years...but now she's a little out of practice. She has the beat thing set to some funky beat and is playing "Summer Lovin'" The problem is the tempo is going at a completely different rhythm than the melody....oh my. It's a little hard to concentrate. I am glad that she has found something to occupy some of her time. Better than her laying down for 23 1/2 hours out of the day. Now she's playing "Hopelessly Devoted" while Christian and Isaac run around like maniacs... "Grease is the word" I HAVE GOT TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE. But, Abigail is sick, again, so I'm stuck in the house.

So for those of you who don't know, I found out yesterday that I'm having another little BOY! I figured it was a boy. I don't know what I'm going to do with 4 boys in the house...We go together like ramma lamma lamma sha dingyidy ding di dong...oh sorry, I got lost in the moment for a minute. Needless to say, my house is going to turn into even more of a nuthouse than it already is!

I'm very excited to be having another little baby boy. He looked so sweet on the ultrasound, just like his brothers. He weighs a whopping 12 oz, and looks perfect. Abigail was slightly disappointed, but nothing like when I was pregnant with Christian. She actually cried when I told her I was pregnant with him! (she loves him dearly now) She's looking forward to the baby sleeping in her room and helping me take care of him. She's really good with babies.

Josh and I really don't know what to name this child. We are looking for a nice biblical name...but please not Enoch or Asa (Josh's suggestions) What should we name him? I've run out of names!!

I really need to go to the grocery store. Everyone in my house has been sick for the last couple of weeks (we like to share) so, shopping has been a very low priority. However, there is another reason grocery shopping has moved to the bottom of the "most fun things to do" list...I am tired of Spaghetti, Hamburgers, Chicken nuggets, Chicken Pot Pie, Sloppy Joe's, Meatloaf, Roast& Potatoes, Beef Stroganoff, Cheeseburger Macaroni, Lasagna, and Fettuccine Alfredo. I need more variety. I need to find easy recipes that the family will enjoy...and since I feed 4 adults and 4 children, I need things that will S T R E T C H, or foods that come in casserole form. Please help me! I'm running out of ideas and I don't want my family to starve. You can call me if you want and give me some tips...I'm sure I won't be at the grocery store.

Sorry to anyone who may have been offended by my last post. I know, the image was horrific, but this is truth. That type of monstrosity happens continuously in clinics across our country, hour by hour. So sad. I think what got me thinking about it so much is that I was searching for a picture of what my baby might look like at approximately 16 weeks because I wanted to show Abigail, and this is one of the pictures that came up during my search. It made me cry. On top of that, I had been getting a little nervous because last week I felt the baby move a lot, and then I felt nothing for 5 days. I will be 18 weeks tomorrow, so I know it's a little early for feeling things, but since this is baby number 5, you start to know what things feel like pretty early on! Praise the Lord though, because I have been feeling a lot today. I am still overcome with grief though. Our country needs serious prayer in the matter of abortion.

Caution...this post may trouble you, seriously.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —

What happened to her "Women's" rights?

Sorry about this post, but I am overcome with grief. We can not be silent any more. There is something greater than the Holocaust going on in our country.

"Please go practice your piano lesson"...words that, at times, I detest to utter. Especially on Tuesday mornings. The kids have lessons on Monday evening, that means Tuesday morning comes with new songs, new techniques, new frustrations...and usually bad attitudes. Elijah doesn't suffer from that so much anymore, perhaps it was the beatings? (I'm kidding) Maybe just the fact that he's been playing piano for over 5 years now. But Abigail is another story. She is an excellent pianist. Has a good ear, good counting, good note reading, but she doesn't like changing things up. Which is precisely what she has to do each week when she opens up her piano books.

This Tuesday was no different. "Go practice please," I calmly say. A begrudging "OKAY" (stomp stomp stomp) to the piano she goes. Opens up her book and, oh no, an unfamiliar song. "MOM I NEED SOME HELP" I go to help (WHY? I ask myself...WHY?) because I'm her mother and she needs my help. As soon as I get there to help her, she begins to get frustrated; she yells, she attempts to throw her book, she tells me she doesn't need my help. She becomes increasingly defiant and disobedient. So of course, I respond. And not in a good way. Ughh...sometimes I'm such a bad example. Being a mother is so hard.

She gets over the hump and is able to proceed with her lesson, and plays it beautifully. She goes to school, I go to ladies Bible study. But I can't get over the nagging feeling that I have not been very kind. I know she was disobedient and very rude...but my response of yelling and telling her how bad she was being was just not good. In Bible study a very familiar (and convicting) verse is brought up. Eph 4:29 "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearer" Hmm...I know that she needed to be corrected for her disobedience, but I certainly didn't edify her with my speech. I make the resolve to have her read this verse to me when she gets home from school so we can discuss it. Later in the afternoon, that is what we did. She read, we discussed it, we made a plan of action.

Lately before dinner, Josh has been reading a Proverb so we can have something to discuss during dinner. (rather than the typical nonsensical mayhem that can ensue when you have 4 children present at the dinner table) The verse last night was Proverbs 21:23 "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles" My soul was certainly troubled yesterday. God gives us these simple instructions to make our lives better. Isn't that nice? Now if only we could follow them!

I've been experiencing a writers block lately, as this blog can testify due to it's lack of entries. I'm supposed to be preparing a devotion for tomorrows Bible study, and since I have to think of something to write for that, I figured I'd post something to this as well. Maybe the wheels in my brain will start churning and I'll have some sort of profound thought... ha!

I have been a little down lately. I can't pinpoint why, but I just feel like there is a dark cloud following me around. It keeps hanging on. I wish it would just let the rain fall, then I could stop feeling this impending doom. I can probably link this all to the fact that I am pregnant, and with pregnancy comes a mix of emotions. The woes of a mother to be.

Hideous black cloud aside, all is well in the Masquelier home. My birthday was yesterday and we enjoyed a nice trip to Eagle Creek Park. Josh planned a cookout (purchased AND prepared all of the food with no assistance from me) He even made me a pineapple upside down cake, which turned out beautifully. I was very impressed with his cooking skill. I have a great husband.

Yesterday I had my first "real" OB appointment for this pregnancy. I'll spare you all the details, but let's just say I didn't realize it was going to be a complete exam...if you know what I'm saying. Had I known that, I think I may have reconsidered toting along 2 little boys. They were very well behaved for the 2 hours that we spent at the office. (I have such good little boys) Christian busied himself driving cars all over the office, giving his cars a "car wash" in the drinking fountain, getting water from the toilet with the "pee" cup. Oh wait, that isn't a good thing to do- scratch that. Issac drew pictures, colored, and played cars. He was visibly disturbed when he saw me emerge from behind the curtain with a hospital gown on.

I am looking forward to the passing of this morning sickness that has a nasty habit of sticking around until mid-afternoon, only to return around dinner time. I went to Marsh this morning and nearly had to run out of the store and leave my cart full of food because the smell of the rotisserie chicken. I am 8wks and 3days, so it should go away soon...I think.

I think I'll go lay down now! Isaac and Christian are both napping.