Saturday, February 26, 2011

It's a BABY! With a Heartbeat!!!

Brody is going to be a Big Brother!

I finally get to post this! I can't believe how excited I am to blog about this. I think it's because my original plan to start blogging was to blog about my pregnancy, which ended up in a miscarriage. We are not "out of the woods" yet, as we are only 6 weeks along, but we saw our little baby with his/her heart beating strong. We would appreciate all prayers to help our "little October pumpkin" grow strong and healthy! As you read my blog, you might think I am a little weird with all the different pictures. Please understand how excited I am and how much we have wanted this little blessing.


Yes, I took a picture of my pregnancy test in a plant! If you have been on any baby board you would understand that this is the first "official" recognition the newest member to the family gets and it has to be kind of unique. This became my profile picture for a while on my baby board. It's kind of a big deal! :) For this reason, I had a little "photo session" with my "pee stick"....weird I know.

Against the wall...


On the chair...

On the carpet...

I quit after Brody interrupted my photo session for obvious reasons...

How we found out: February 6, also known as Superbowl Sunday, I woke up and tested. It was a little early to be testing and of course I knew it was going to be negative. I went back to bed before the test had time to show its results. I was already disappointed thinking this wasn't our month. I prayed for about an hour and asked God to prepare our hearts for the next months of "trying". I prayed that God would give us peace and allow us perfect timing for our next baby. I asked him that if it wasn't his timing, could he please make us ready so that it could be his timing :). I fell back to sleep. I was sure surprised to see two lines when I woke up! Kyle and I praised God for that moment. 

I had an ultra sound set up later that week for something they were monitoring before I found out we were expecting. It was too early to see the pregnancy. I knew that, but before I went in for that appointment I felt so much anxiety... "what if there is no baby?", "what if the baby planted itself in the wrong place and it's ectopic?"....I almost couldn't stand the feelings running through me. I sat out in the parking lot, grabbed my bible and prayed. I closed my eyes and asked God to be with me. God gave me a vision. In that vision I saw God put his arm around me, pick me up, and he told me to get excited. This is what he had planned for me and it was now time to be excited! Peace fell over me. Now, I don't know how God works. This doesn't necessarily mean everything will be perfect through this pregnancy, although that is what we are praying for. What it does mean is God is in control of my life and he has a plan and it's a plan for good and not disaster as Jeremiah 29:11 states. So, I wrote that exact verse on a sticky note and put it on my steering wheel. No matter what happened at that appointment, I would walk out and see that verse and know that God was with me. As I thought, it was too early to see anything. It was uneventful, but it prepared me for the next two weeks as we waited for the next ultra sound.

Yesterday we had that ultra sound. We saw our little baby. We saw his/her little heartbeat. I grabbed Kyle's hand and tears filled my eyes. The ultra sound tech is one amazing woman. She has been there for us through all of our ultra sounds. She prayed with us when we had our miscarriage and yesterday, she rejoiced with us as we saw our rainbow. If she were the only reason to stay at that office we would, but luckily our doctor is wonderful too. She also gave us a huge hug and was genuinely excited for us. So here is our baby! Tiny and barely recognizable we know.  Due to arrive October 21, 2011! All prayers welcomed!!


Thursday, February 24, 2011

Big Brothers


We had two snow days this week! The boys thought it was great and so did I. I had to get this sweet picture of them reading together. They were unaware I was going to snap it. What mom couldn't love the sight of her older boys taking care of their little brothers so well? Grant and Pierce are great big brothers. More often than not they are playing with or helping Brody and Sawyer. Like in this picture below...


I know this picture is a little blurry but you can see how much fun the little boys are having while Grant pushes Brody in the doll stroller chasing Sawyer all over the house. This game is a favorite in the Hoff house. Grant and Pierce are also good at cuddling up on the couch with their brothers to watch movies.

Today I was uploading pictures on my computer and I found some of the boys when I married Kyle. I can't believe how little they were just 3.5 years ago. I think about how perfect God's timing is when he allowed Kyle to be their step-dad. They were so excited for him to be a part of our family.



  I also think about the timing of God allowing Sawyer to be part of our family. It was earlier than what we were expecting, but how amazing it was for Grant and Pierce to be big brothers. With Sawyer, they were a little hesitant, but still so excited to meet him.


When Brody was born they were not the least bit shy about holding him or talking to him. I still haven't gotten them to be comfortable changing diapers yet :). God's timing of our little Brody was perfect too.


Grant and Pierce have far exceeded my expectations I had for them being big brothers. They are looking forward to doing it again. Hopefully that will be soon!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

A little update

Just thought I would update this blog even though I have no computer right now, only my iPad. Typing on the iPad makes things a little harder. Things here have been uneventful but good! I am realizing more and more how quickly time goes by and how fast my kids are growing. I really love being a mom! I love being Kyle's wife.

Tomorrow we are expecting more severe weather. This coming after a beautiful week of warmer temperatures. My 10 year old bet my husband that there would be no more snow. After living here almost his whole life, he still doesn't quite understand Michigan winters. I think him losing the bet will mean he has to wear a t-shirt to school with my husband's picture on it. That makes me laugh thinking of it. Although I don't even think Pierce will care. He is so unaffected when it comes to his appearance.

My house needs some attention. Maybe I will spend some time on my laundry pile tomorrow. The one great thing about folding a mountain of laundry is I can watch an entire movie while I fold. It literally takes me that long. Sometimes 2 movies! Laundry is not my forte. My basement also could use some airing out after the boys had a sleepover last night. When I walked down the basement stairs, the overwhelming smell of "boy" hit me and it was not pleasant. Dirty socks and sweat...yuck! :)

This is about all I have to report right now. I am quite sure there will be more to report at the end of this coming week. Until then I will keep surfing the net reading other people's blogs :)