At The Pumpkin Patch

Sunday after church we made our way to the pumpkin patch. It was quite windy but we still had a great time! I remember last year when we went, it was about 80 degrees and I was 36 weeks pregnant with Mia. Oddly enough, I ended up carrying her just like I did then, just on the outside. Even though she's about 14 pounds heavier, it was a little easier. We also checked out the new wind mills that have been built all over Benton County. They are monstrous! The wing span from one arm to another is larger than a 747! This will be a busy week of parties and dress ups. I will update with a picture of the Maxwells, also known as Goldilocks and the Three Bears To be continued....

For The Moms

I came across the words that Steven Curtis Chapman wrote for his wife Mary Beth after they adopted their first little girl from China, Shaohannah. I thought it was wonderful so I wanted to share it with all my "moms".

"One Heartbeat at a Time"

You're up all night with a screaming baby
You run all day at the speed of life
and every day you feel a little bit less
like the beautiful woman you are

So you fall into bed when you run out of hours
and you wonder if anything worth doing got done
well maybe you just don't know
or maybe you've forgotten

That you, you are changing the world
one little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh you, you may not see it now
but I believe that time will tell
how you, you are changing the world
one little heartbeat at a time

With every, "I know you can do it"
and every tear you kiss away
So many little things that seem to go unnoticed
they're just like the drops of rain
over time, they become like a river

And you, you are changing the world
one little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh you, you may not see it now
but I believe that time will tell
how you, you are changing the world
one little heartbeat at a time

You're beatiful, so beautiful
how you're changing the world, yeah you're
changing the world

You, you are changing the world
one little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh you, you may not see it now
but I believe time will tell
how you, you are changing the world
I believe that you , you are changing the world
one little heartbeat at a time.

A Rough Day at Dr. Thomas's Office

This afternoon, we had to go back to Dr. Thomas our pediatrician for the girls. Ella has been showing signs of asthma for awhile now. This past weekend she had a coughing fit so bad it made her sick. So I knew I needed to bring her in. Well, this morning when Mia woke up her left eye was gunky again, the same sign as the two times before that she has an ear infection. Since we finished her second antibiotic on Sunday, I had to make the call. Sure enough, Mia's right ear, the same one that has been bad for a month now, is still bad. This meant we have to get three injections of antibiotic. First was today and then one scheduled for Friday and Saturday. Back to Ella, her eczema has gotten worse, and yes, she has asthma. Hopefully, we think we can treat it with a once a day pill, Singulair. I have had a hard time with both diagnosis' today, I am fearful of what Ella's asthma can bring. Both Jacob and I are huge sports people, I played sports all my life. Is this going to affect her playing sports? I also had terrible ear infections growing up so I know how Mia feels. I want so badly to take the pain away. But I trust that God has His sovereign plan. These diagnosis are trivial. The diagnosis wasn't autism, wasn't cancer, wasn't a multitude of more serious things. I can be thankful for that. I know that God created these girls perfectly according to His plan. I can be thankful that I have God to lean on in times like this where I am uncertain of what the future brings for my babies. I am thankful, there is so much peace in knowing that God is in control. I pray that Dr. Thomas was right when he said that taking care of things today will take care of things in the future. I pray that all parents can learn to lean on God in these types of situations, knowing that the love and comfort of my Father is there can get me through even the worst of days.

First Day of School

Ella started preschool yesterday. The teacher said she did wonderful and her "stick" stayed green! I was a little sad as I didn't even get a goodbye. She walked right in over to the kids that were already playing. At least I got this conversation later at Chick Fil-A.

Ella: There was a little girl named Mackenzie that cried.

Me: Did she cry the whole time?

Ella: Yeah, she cried for her momma. She missed her momma.

Me: Did you miss your momma?

Ella: Yeah, but I didn't cry.

Sisters

I am constantly telling people that I don't think Ella and Mia look very much alike. I still don't think that, but I do think that they both have the most beautiful smiles that light up the room. Much like this yellow dress!

The Maxwells Go International

The school that is affiliated with our church hosts an International Student Program every year. Families find out about Faith Christian School through the internet and send their teenagers a gazillion miles away to study and learn about the American culture. Jacob and I had spoken before about hosting one, but never really seemed serious about it. It seemed like it would be to far of a stretch out of our comfort zone. Well, a friend of ours is the leader of this program at the school, we found out through another friend that she had had 2 host families drop out at the last minute. Because we only know how to make decisions at the last minute, I called Jacob and told him about this need. He immediately felt like we were called to do this. So, the next day, we signed up to host a 17 year old girl from Korea. We are very excited about this addition to our family. It will be different, but different is good. I think sometimes we get comfortable with our families and don't realize that we need to grow. God needed us to host this girl for reasons we do not know yet. Maybe to share the gospel with her in such a crucial point in her life, or for her to strengthen our Christian walk. Her father has gone to an American seminary and is a professor at a Christian college. Or maybe its because of the plans that we may have to do with the money we receive as compensation. Jacob and I are really looking forward to this year as a year of truly growing both as a married couple and learning what God has in store for us!

Our Staycation

My best friend from college came to visit this past weekend. Along with my other college best friend, we try to do this every summer so our kids get a chance to play together. So far we have a 5 yr old, two 3 year olds, a 22 month old, an 8 month old and one on the way. We've come so far from the three friends that would go to Steak-n-Shake at 3:00am for coffee. We've been friends for over 10 years now. It doesn't quite seem possible, but when you look at these kids that we dreamed about in college with husbands that two of us didn't even know yet, you realize that 10 years might not be such a long time. I look forward to the next 10 years and to see what other dreams come true that we didn't know we had.