Its a Boy!!

That's right, we are indeed having a baby boy!! Its was so funny because at the ultrasound, as soon as the tech started the ultrasound, our little boy wanted us to know who he was! :) The whole time I have been pregnant I have felt like we were having a boy, but was hoping I was not just thinking that way, because that is what we wanted. And then today I was getting worried that I would be diappointed if it was a girl, but in the end it appears mothers instinct is always right! :) Erik is over the moon and Grace has been carrying around the picture with her since we left the hospital. The Buskard family is now complete with two girls and one boy! YAY!!!

For me, when I am pregnant there are 3 big days within the long nine months. One being the day my life is changed once again by finding out I am indeed pregnant, the second finding out what the sex of the baby is, and finally the best day is when I get to hold my precious baby in my arms. Well I am extremely excited that tomorrow we go for our ultrasound to (Lord willing) find out if we are having a boy or girl. What is even better is Erik took the day off of work so that he would be able to come. So, we get to spend the WHOLE day together as a family, which rarely happens between Erik and my work schedules!
I worked a lot over the weekend, and of course feel completely drained, but I have resolved that this is just the way it is going to be for quite some time, so I had better just accept it and move on with my day! :)
The month of March is going to be a good one for us. First my best friend Karis and her beautiful new baby girl are coming for a visit this weekend. I am so excited to finally hold Jane, and of course to spend some time with Karis!
Also, in just over a week Erik and I will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. Oh, how life changes and we grow in 5 years! Its amazing to see how much God has done in our lives in that time! We decided that as our Anniversary present to ourselves we are going to take the girls to the Ringling Bros. Circus, which is in Cincy on our anniversary. In my opinion their circus is the best one you could ever go to, so I am looking forward to taking the girls, and also for Erik to experience it since he has never been to the ringling circus before!
And then at the end of the month my mom is taking the girls and I on a special trip; first to legoland and then to the Americal Girl Store in Chicago where Grace will get to pick out her first American Gril Doll (I have to admit, having 2 of the dolls growing up, I am pretty excited to go!). So I am ready for the end of February, and bring on the fun (and hopefully the warmth) of March!!
Well, I will update tomorrow the big news! Until then I must attend to dinner- which by the way is going to be amazing- bbq ribs, loaded baked potatoes, salad, rolls- can you tell I am hungry today! :)

My husband and I finally were able to enjoy a date on Monday night. We ended up going to applebee's where we had a gift card. It was so nice to be able to just sit and enjoy each others company without trying to maintain "crowd control." :)
Monday I also took the kids to the mall for the monthly kids concert. The kids had fun. It was neat seeing Lena dance and really enjoy the music. She is defiitely getting older- at one point Grace and her friend Carson were sitting next to each other and Lena had to climb up next to them and sat there doing exactly what they were doing. She just wanted to be one of the "big kids" too.
Yesterday was storytime at the library. There are times where I really don't feel like packing the kids up and heading there, but I am always reminded how much Grace likes it and how good it is for her.
Last night we enjoyed dinner at our friends, the Wells', house. The kids had a blast playing together and making a mess, and we enjoyed good adult conversation! We have so enjoyed the friendship we have formed with them.
Today the girls and I are taking my mom to lunch on her day off. She could definitely use a little "escape" as my dad is out of work again. The project he had been working on is now complete and there is no work for him at this time. We are praying he will find something soon.
I work four of the five next nights, so it will be busy around here. Well, the kids have already been up for over an hour (yes they were both up shortly after 6am, after not getting to bed until 10pm) and are already bouncing off the walls. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yesterday turned out to be a busy day. In the morning I had the girls make Valentine's for daddy. Grace especially had fun gluing hearts on hers.We also made cutout heart cookies with pink icing. Grace like watching the icing turn from white to pink when I put the food coloring in it. It was if I was doing a special trick :)

We decided to go meet Erik for lunch. It was nice to see him as the two previous nights either he had meetings or I had to work. The girls were so excited to see daddy during the day.

I ended up working last night and will work tonight and tomorrow night, so I know I will be exhausted by Monday.

This morning the girls woke up to valentine's that daddy had for them. He gave Lena a sweet bear and Grace a rose (I swear this kid has been given more roses from her daddy than I have!). It was so sweet seeing thme with their gifts this morning!Monday night my parents are going to watch the girls so erik and I can actually go on a date! I am so excited!

Well I had better make lunch. Hope you all have a great weekend.

I am enjoying a nice day with my girls. I actually even had about an hour to myself before they woke up this morning. It is amazing what you can do when the house is quiet! I folded a mountain of laundry, made breakfast for everyone, and got ready for the day. Definitely a good start to the day.
The girls both woke up in great moods so I decided we would venture to the post office and Krogers. I did pretty good at Kroger's. I spent $20 and saved $30!! Since it is such a beautiful day out, when we got home from the store we went for a nice walk. It is fun to see Lena exploring outside now that she has the freedom of walking. She thought it was great. We did have to look pretty funny though. At one point I was pushing Lena in the stroller and Grace refused to walk anymore, so I put her on my shoulders. I guess I just added a little extra strength training to our walk. :)
Erik has meetings he has to go to after work, so it is just the girls and I all day. So for dinner I think we are heading to Chick-fil-a (one of our favorites!) and then maybe to the library to get a "Gracie movie." I so enjoy the days where there is nothing we have to do, and I can just enjoy my girls!

Once again the week has flown by. It was finally nice out on Saturday so we made a point to get the girls out for a little while. It was so nice to finally go for a walk outside, I think we were all getting a little stir crazy!

Saturday night I was called in to work, but they had me helping the bar. Mind you I have never poured a drink before, but I actually had a really good time, and it was a nice change of pace!

Sunday we enjoyed going to church! It seems like it has been forever since I have sat in service, between having family in town, the girls being sick, and having nursery I haven't been in service for about a month, so it was so refreshing to be able to sick and take in the message that GOd had for me!

Yesterday our friends Amy and Carson came with us for a fun shopping trip! We went to the GAP Clearance Outlet in Northern Kentucky in hopes of finding some cheap maternity clothes. You would think that by now I would have a nice amount of clothes, but in reality there is only a couple things that I would be able to wear. I was very pleased with finding maternity jeans for only $1.99!! So in the end I spent $40 and walked out with two large bags full of things for our family! On the way back we stopped at IKEA for lunch and then let the kids play. It worked out great because Grace and Carson were able to get some of their pent up energy out while we peacefully wandered through the store.

Last night after dinner Erik treated us to Dairy Queen. The girls were so excited for ice cream cones. This was the first time that we gave Lena a cone, and despite a little brain freeze, she was thrilled!

Here is a picture of the girls enjoying their ice cream together! They crack me up!

In other news, the economic hard times are affecting Erik's work. Today they announced that they are closing the administrative offices of the group that Erik is in, and as a result, the group would be divided between the Cincinnati and Columbus Groups. This is hard not only because of the uncertainty that it brings to Erik's job, but also it is hard to see people you have developed a relationship with to suddenly be out of a job. Please continue to pray for Erik's job situation. He is currently looking for a different job, but at the same time is counting on his current job to be stable. We know that God is ultimately in control and that He will open doors and lead wherever is in His plan!

Lately my heart has been burdened for the unborn, not only because I am going to be a mother of three but because of a couple experiences I have had lately. A couple of weeks ago I had a friend of mine from work call me to ask my advice. She and her boyfriend had unprotected sex and she was worried that she would get pregnant. She was going to take the morning after pill and wanted to know what I thought about it. WOW! It made me feel good that I had developed a relationship with my friend in which she felt comfortable in talking to me about this, but at the same time I think she was hoping for affirmation in her decision to take the pill. Over the next hour I had the opportunity to tell her that I believe God knows us before we are born and that He knits us in our mother's womb. It upsets me that society has marketed this pill in such a way as to make my friend think that it is not a form of an abortion, but the truth is that this "harmless" pill will take the life of a precious baby. Later she let me know that she did not end up taking the pill, even though she had already spent the $50 for it. Thank you God for the opportunity to share how precious life is to You!
Also, my mom was recently at a bridal shower for a friend at her work. While at the shower they were discussing someone who wasn't able to make it because she was throwing up. When my mom asked what was wrong she was told that the girl was pregnant but it was not a big deal because she was aborting the baby on Friday. The comment was made as if she was going to the grocery store. It is so upseting that abortion is such a normal, casual subject.
Many people don't want to think about the millions of babies that have been killed. And many people do not want to put their view of abortion into their worldview. For me, my view and value for life affects everything I do. If I do not value even the tiniest baby being formed in its mother, than why should I care about the stranger down the street or care what happens in the world around me.
This is just what has been on my heart lately. Please continue to pray for the millions of babies who will not get a voice and who, as a result of society saying "its OK," will never get the chance to speak for themselves.

The last week has been a busy week for us. We had our first snow storm of the year last week, and of course the roads around here were a little crazy. Its funny how living in Michigan for a few years can change your perspective on how to drive and get around in the snow. Now I find all the locals ridiculous!! Last Tuesday Grace was one of two kids at storytime because of the snow. She had fun because she was able to get all the attention she craves! :)

Thursday night I had the opportunity to meet my friend Stephanie for dinner. It was so nice to get out of the house for a relaxing dinner while catching up with an old friend. Its amazing how refreshing a night away from the kids can be!

Over the weekend Aunt Karen, Megan and Lindsay came to visit. We had such a great time with them! It was Megan's birthday and we felt honored that she would want to share her birthday with us. Saturday night we were treated to a wonderful dinner at P.F. Chang's.

Here's everyone- sorry a little blurry. Can you tell Grace liked her chopsticks!

Lindsay and Lena. Lena loved all the extra attention!

Grace and megan. Grace absolutely adores her cousins and is so excited whenever we get to see them.

Aunt Karen with the girls! We so enjoyed having them stay with us. They are always top on the list of things we miss about Michigan. Tomorrow I have an OB appointment, in which I am dreading being weighed! I already feel like I am getting huge, so I am a little anxious about seeing the scale! Over the past week I have been able to start to feel the baby move. This is always such an amazing experience, and brings a smile to my face everytime I feel our baby kick! Well, it is time to get the kiddos down for a nap. Hopefully I'll be productive during naptime and not fall asleep on the couch like I did yesterday! :)