The Combs Krewe

Tonight, per a certain three-year old's request, I squished myself onto a (very sturdy) toddler bed. I laid there beside him stroking his hair while he curled into my body and whispered "I love you" and "Do kangaroos have arms?"  His nightlight behind me, I made shadows on the wall.  He didn't mind that I can only do a duck and a spider. Then he tucked his head into the crook of my arm and stayed there until his breathing became slow and steady and his body grew heavy with precious rest. He didn't see the bittersweet tears streaming down my cheeks. I'm so thankful that despite all the times I've failed him, I must have done something right to deserve this sweet boy's love. 

  Can you believe it's been one whole month already? I would say no. Jackie might say YES, ha ha. There is a quote I love that says something like "parenthood consists of long days and short years."  The more children I have, the more I appreciate this truth. Now--six children into this life--I can sit in bed at 2 a.m. battling exhaustion and love every minute of it. (Okay, most minutes of it.) I can snuggle my nose down beside their little heads nestled into the crook of my neck and be completely content with life. I know that all too soon one month will be two and the days will slip right through my fingers and before I know it all their tenderness will be concealed beneath a teenager's sharp facade. And then I'll wish again for these sweet moments when it's so simple to convey my love for them. Because for now all they want in the world is a warm embrace in which to find nourishment. But I suppose in actuality that's all we all truly want! I sp...

Wednesday marked 16 weeks into my pregnancy. I'm happy to be fitting into maternity clothes now instead of being at that weird in-between stage. At around 12 weeks, I was certain  that I was feeling some movement but then they were few and far between until this week. Then I had one day when I felt a lot of little flutters but only on one side. I know that one placenta is anterior and one is posterior so I wonder if this has something to do with that. After a two-week wait and calling to see what was up, I finally got a call back from my nurse setting up my BIG ultrasound appointment. Sadly, it's not until November 13th! I will be one day shy of 20 weeks so hopefully we will get a nice view of them and find out their genders. I hate the wait, though. I'm contemplating having a gender-reveal party. I think it's such a fun idea. I really, really don't want to wait myself, though. Would it be bad if Jackie and I found out then had a party to tell everyone el...

Today I am 15 weeks pregnant! According to BabyCenter , the babies are each about 4 inches long (from head to rump). They can sense light through their still-fused eyelids and are peeing out the amniotic fluid they've been swallowing. Ah, they grow up so fast! = ) Their sex organs should be visible on an ultrasound. I'm still anxiously awaiting a call from Dr. Perret's nurse to schedule that all-important one. I can't wait! We are one of those families that finds out the genders before birth. I think it would be so much fun to wait and have a birth surprise but I just can't bring myself to do it. One of the main reasons I like to find out is to feel more connected to the babies before they are born. Then you can pick out special bedding and clothing and know their names. I just think it's a wonderful privilege.  I'm most excited at the moment to choose baby names! Although Jackie likes to wait until we know the gender, I love perusing name books...

Yesterday I celebrated being 14 weeks pregnant! Today I had my OB appointment. I was so happy when, after a very long wait, the doctor said, "I'll be right in. We're going to get the ultrasound machine."  She said that at 14 weeks it would be difficult to distinguish between heartbeats simply using the doppler. Plus I think she just wanted to see them which was totally okay with me!  Jathan came with me today and the doctor gave him the first peek. She pointed out their heads and "frog legs." Then I got a looksie.  This is a picture of the twin that is on the right. It was in a good position and the doctor try to determine its gender but felt it was still too early to tell. At 14 weeks boys are easier to spot than girls and this baby didn't have any obvious, um, protrusions, shall we say, but we just couldn't tell for sure. I'm betting on girl, though!  The baby on the left was not feeling so photogenic today. It was imp...

In late July Jackie and I discovered that our family was expanding. We usually wait several weeks just to make sure everything is okay before we tell everyone (usually after I go to the doctor for that first ultrasound) but this time I struggled to conceal my nausea and tiredness. My family was coming to visit and I knew there would be no hiding it from them so on my mother's birthday which I admit I forgot--can I blame baby brain?--I sent her a text of the kids saying happy birthday and told her that her birthday surprise was that next year there would be one more singing to her! After that we let everyone in on the secret. Over the next few weeks I felt much like any other pregnant woman--sick and tired! In my mind those are good things because they mean a healthy pregnancy. I wasn't overly sick or overly tired, but something was different . I had a funny feeling and kept finding myself referring to the baby as "them" or "the babies." I Googled things li...

I met someone new last week and as we were talking I mentioned that I home school my children. As with many people, I got the response, "Oh, I could never do that!" I know that everyone does not agree that homeschooling is a viable, desirable option but no one has ever been rude to me (at least not to my face!) when I mention that's what we do. Almost always people bestow compliments on me. I try not to let this go to my head because I happen to know that I am nothing special. Yes, I have four children and their ages sometimes make things challenging. Although I have a natural creative bent and love learning, I didn't exactly plan that I'd be homeschooling a teenager, a preschooler, a curious two-year old, and a mama-lovin' toddler. It's hard juggling geometry and diapers! I like to think of myself as an innately patient person (when it comes to dealing with people) and that helps, but that is not my secret. Over and over I hear people say, "I cou...

Last week it rained for several days straight here. I, for one, loved it. In fact I was considering how lovely it would be to live in Seattle and always have the promise of drizzle on the windowpane. Others do not share my passion for wet weather, however, and when the sun finally came out on Friday everyone was ready to hit the playground. Unfortunately, in case you hadn't heard, we have a little flooding problem in NOLA and the playground is no exception. My friend, Melissa, had been letting Jathan play at her house with his best buddy, Jacque. She texted me and said they were headed to the playground and wanted to know if she should send Jathan up or let him play warning me that boys cannot NOT play in the mud. Of course it was okay with me if he got a little dirty, 'cause you know I'm cool like that. I grabbed my camera and headed downstairs with Ryland to let him join in the fun. When I got to the bottom floor, this is what I saw: Jathan was having a blast as I e...

This morning at church I learned that today is Sanctity of Life Sunday , a day of recognition of the value of human life first instituted by Ronald Reagan. Our church flyer talked about it and shared the remarkable story of a young woman who has recently joined our church. Last year she found herself pregnant with her third child and made an appointment to have an abortion. God worked in several ways (including the closing of the abortion clinic) to save her unborn child who turned out to be a beautiful little girl that I got to see today. The baby's big sister is in Ryland's Sunday school class (where I'm a helper) and is so sweet. I feel so fortunate to have gotten to know this story; I know so many stories go unheard! That's why I wanted to share a little bit of my story. 13 years ago I was 15 years old and pregnant. Of course it was heartbreaking to my parents and family. An abortion would have been completely acceptable, understandable, and even welcomed. And ...

So I've been thinking about money. It's a topic that comes up a lot whether you have a lot of it or little of it. There's been much talk about the economy lately. Everywhere you turn people are saying, "With the economy the way it is these days..." Even the Bible contains over 2,000 verses that have to do with money, finances, stewardship, etc. It's something that no one can avoid thinking about. As a woman, a mother, and wife--of a seminary student no less--it's something that I've definitely had to think about. There are questions we all face but "Will I work outside the home?" is one at the forefront of marriage and motherhood it seems. I did work for several years but then when God called us to New Orleans, He blessed me with the opportunity to stay at home. This was 100% the best thing for our family and completely Biblical in my opinion (Titus 2:3-5). That's not to say it has been easy. There have certainly been times when I've ...