Thankful for time... that flies and stands still...

Wow, it sure has been a while since I have been on here!

It's amazing how quickly I can get swept up in the day to day of life.
It is a bittersweet but I am so grateful for the fact that my life is so full that that it does go so fast and I choose to cherish it for what it is.
I do wish I documented on here more.
I do wish I had the witty humor and the words to share our life in a way that drew you into our daily world. Somedays I do, somedays I don't.

But....

I know this is our season, good or bad, easy or hard, it just is what it is.

So for now, as I find moments like these, I will capture what I capture.

And today, I capture my thankfulness...

I am thankful for my loving, kind, generous husband who truly has a heart of gold.

I am thankful for my gentle spirited, tender hearted 6 year old Mia Grace who loves Jesus and us  deeply and whom can melt you with her tender words in a heartbeat.

I am thankful for my passionately full of life 4 year old Anna Beth who consistently fills our days with laughter and love and who engulfs you with all of who she is. 

I am thankful for my unknown daughter who already reminds me of ALL that I have to be thankful for now and in the future as I pray for her daily and can't wait to turn this picture into one of me and three beautiful daughters.

Preschool graduate...

Yes, that's right... Mia Grace is officially done with preschool and will be starting Kindergarten in the fall!!

WOW time flies...

Here are some pictures from the sweetest last day for her...

A Peek....

A peek into our recent months....

 

 Family Backyard Campfire

  

 NCAA Daytime Date with my Sweetie

 Caught Mia Grace reading sweetly to Anna Beth after bath time!

Me and My Cuties at the Easter Egg Hunt!

Hawaii

So the Fisher Four had a fabulous trip to Hawaii in honor of my late Uncle Rick who so wanted us all to be together. He unfortunately did not make it until October, but we went, we celebrated his life and well, The Fisher Four - DID NOT SLEEP!

Ha, that pretty much sums it up. We had a fantastic time though, made great memories, and drove the entire circumference of Maui - in a Lincoln Town Car. Yep, that's how we roll. Big, White, screaming tourist Lincoln Town Car on one lane unpaved roads.

But it was awesome. We were blessed with a free place to stay. We made fantastic memories.

Here is a small glimpse....

 

 

10 Years

So thankful for the past 10 years....

Incredibly blessed by this man and all those who have supported us along the way, many of which are pictured above!

Exciting news!!!!

Our Adoption Journey Begins...

We are thrilled to share with you the story of our journey to bring our precious child home from Haiti! Yes, that's right we are adopting and we are ecstatic! We know it won't always be easy, we know it will be long, but we know it will be worth it when we hold our sweet little one in our arms.

This blog is where we will share our journey with you and we would love you to share it with us. 

And so it begins....

Hello!!!

So I JUST figured out how to fix the background of this blog.... More to come soon :) 

Quotable...

While driving to swim lessons this morning....

When I am a boy I don't have to wear a shirt at the pool. - Mia Grace 10-26-2012

Love her innocence :)

Taking a moment...

That's what I need to do to ensure I don't miss documenting all of our passing memories :) I have come to terms with the fact that I shall never keep up with this thing as much as I would like... so be it. If I can take those extra moments and spend them with my family or friends (imagine that), then my time is well served. I capture what I can with pictures, videos, and notes jotted here and there in a calendar. What is lost, at least remains in my heart :)

Well, onto some updates!

Mia Grace - 3 years old! Wow... I can hardly believe it. She is such a precious girl. Yep, no baby, no toddler, she is my official little "Big Girl". She is coming out of her shell, though she is clearly an introvert at heart. She really needs her down time after being around a lot of people (aka every Tues/Thurs after preschool or Sunday after church). She loves her little sister (who she affectionately calls "Little Girl") so as to nicely point out she is a "Big Girl". She loves to play chase me, which consists of one of us chasing her through the kitchen/dining room/living room for an endless amount of time. She loves to read, she loves to sing and will do so at random and melt me every time. She has memorized the following verses - with her own little pronunciations and missing words (Joshua 1:9. Proverbs 3:5-6, Philippians 4:4, Genesis 1:1, John 3:16, Matthew 4:19, Luke 1:37) though we now sometimes get our references confused. She loves to build towers with her blocks and then tear them down. She loves to rider her bike and scooter. She ADORES bouncing at UBounce with her daddy. She is a mommy's girl at heart - kills Daddy sometimes but gets mommy through the tough parts of not being here as much. She is potty trained 98% (moved back to pull ups at night after a couple set backs due to crazy schedules). She looks just like me (or so everyone says). She plays hard, cries hard, loves hard, fights hard and just flat out lets you know what she thinks when she thinks it. (Provided she is not being shy in the first 5 minutes she meets you). She loves to snuggle. She loves to comfort Anna Beth with songs when she is upset. She loves to hug and kiss and always asks for just one more when we leave or go to bed. She is an incredibly sweet soul.

Anna Beth is 14 months old and our little Blonde Haired Blue Eyed Beauty - Yep, she didn't lose either! Crazy I know. She is so different than Mia Grace and we cherish and celebrate that! She is a Daddy's girl. She is an extrovert - aka she will go to anyone (provided she doesn't think we are leaving her). She talks to everyone in her "Dat" language. She can say Da Da, YYYeeeSSS, make a dog sound, a cat sound, a snake sound and a duck sound (though you likely wouldn't know what they were if we didn't tell you). She is passionate. She is silly. She is a rough and tumbler who is always trying to keep up with her big sister whom she adores. She is a great night sleeper who is trying to give up her morning nap yet fighting to keep it all the same. She still sleeps in the pack n play in the playroom as we can't seem to bite the bullet to move her into MG's room and she doesn't care. She loves to play. She will sit in her bed and read for 30 minutes at nap time and wakes up happy. She only has 3 (going on 5 teeth) and thinks now she may not want to drink out of a bottle or a sippy cup but prefers a big girl cup. She knows where her nose and head and feet are. She listens to everything and tests everything. She loves to cuddle at bed time. She loves to be held. She LOVES animals of all kind and lights up at the sight of them. She melts me with her smile and laugh and open mouth kisses. She loves being chased, she loves throwing balls, she loves wrestling and tickling and playing. She is just full of love and for that I am thankful.

We are so blessed the Lord has entrusted to guide them in this crazy world and seek to do so in a way that honors and glorifys Him. I pray each day that I do so and when I fail that His grace would be sufficient to make up for my failings.

Daniel and I are doing well. Work for me is crazy. Reffing is in full swing for Daniel. Our Fellowship Group is growing and teaching us more about life and ministry and loving others as Christ loves us. We seek to balance life and work and family and though we often fail we are grateful for those who love us through it all. Thanks for reading. Thanks for sharing your lives with us. Keep praying for us.

sweet dreams...

Sweet Words...

Dear Jesus - Thank you for our food. Amen - Mia Grace prayer for dinner

A Mama's Thoughts...

I love the blogging world... I just wish I had time to keep up!

Working and raising 2 precious daughters really keeps me occupied. I barely have time for life much less documenting it.

Life is good in our Fisher Four world though. For all the sleepless nights and stressful days, I am reminded how blessed I am to be entrusted with the care of 2 beautiful daughters. Our God is so gracious to grant me this amazing opportunity and I simply pray I can serve Him well in the way I raise them.

Pictures to follow!

Mia Grace update: 2 years and 7 months old and growing each day!

She has such a sweet spirit. She loves to kiss and hug and really can melt just about anyones heart. She has a shy tendency around anyone she hasn't met or seen in a while but give her 10-15 minutes and the Mia Grace show will begin. Her words are flourishing and she loves to be acknowledged when she says something new. She is really formulating her sentences well these days, she loves to sing and shout and adores making Anna Beth laugh. She is 95% potty trained and is a ball full of energy. The child can keep going and going and going like none other! She gives the best hugs (even when they might be after her 15th time coming out of her room at bed time). She is in a big girl bed though currently alternates between her toddler bed, blow up toddler air mattress and the floor. This has been a fun journey (cough cough cough). She starts 2 a day preschool next week and I can hardly believe it. I feel like it was just yesterday she was so tiny and yet here she is, going off to school! Craziness for sure. She prayed for dinner the other night and about made this Mama cry. I truly am blessed to be her Mother.

Anna Beth Update:  9 Months old - 16lbs 15 oz (18th percent), 27 in (I think - somewhere around 50%), and a big head! (90%) which is FULL of beautiful blonde hair!

She is such a happy girl! She really lights up a room. Daniel and I always enjoy just wearing her in the baby bjorn and watching people react to her because it is always such a delight. She just has a way of making just about anyone smile. She still adores her big sister and is constantly attempting to take away whatever it is Mia Grace has (particularly her Dora milk cup or her snack cup). I do believe this is a forshadowing of our future life with 2 daughters. She has no desire to crawl, though she does humor us with almost a minute of tummy time now. She would prefer to stand all day and even think she can walk. She learned this by "walking" in her float in the pool. I would not be surprised to see her learn to walk before she crawls. She still battles refulx but we are managing through the tough nights anyway. One of her favorite games to play is "Where's Anna Beth?". Daniel figured this out by putting her swaddle blanket over her head one day (yep, still one arm swaddled at night). We put it on her head and say "Where's Anna Beth?" and she starts squealing and pulls it off her face with a huge smile. It is too precious. She also adores being frontward in the Baby Bjorn. She would sit in that thing all day if we let her and just kick to her hearts content! Her newest joy is solid foods! She seems to have taken a dislike for baby food and only wants stuff she can munch on. Very different from her big sister that's for sure. She warms my spirit daily and even as I rock her in the middle of the night I remember these moments last only for a brief instant and she helps me cherish them daily.

A lot of random thoughts but my hearts feelings none the less. I really do want to update more but this will do for now. I love my girls, my husband, you my dear friends and most importantly my Lord. My days may be long and the journey may feel long at times but for all these things I give thanks today and remember how truly blessed I am.

My Sweet Blessings...

So I have kind of failed at staying on top of the whole blogging thing. But you know, its ok. I work all day and have but a few precious hours each night with the two most precious girls in the world so if that means I don't document as much as I would like, so be it.

Anna Beth is 4 months old now and such a doll. She is so much more talkative than Mia Grace ever was and she has this smile that will melt me at any time. She was 12lbs 6oz at her 4 month appointment and was 24 inches long. She LOVES her daddy and to watch her big sister be crazy. She is still sleeping in a chair/rocker because of her reflux but she usually eats around 7/8 and goes until 6/7 the next morning which is wonderful. She is doing much better with her tummy time and is really working on grabbing toys. She rolled over for the first time at her 4 month appointment and had the most amazing gigglefest on the 25th as we were having a family dance to one of the Beach Boys songs for "Beach Boys Friday". Yep, Daniel and Mia Grace have "Beach Boys Friday" where they play the Beach Boys greatest hits and dance. It's fabulous and Anna Beth seemed to agree. She started laughing and couldn't stop. Such a wonderful memory. We are so thankful for her and the joy she brings to us. Her hair is still super blonde/light brown and her eyes are still that beautiful baby blue. Her hair is actually so long that it gets tangled in her sleep. Who would have thought a baby could have that much hair!

Mia Grace is growing by the hour... really... it amazes me more and more every day. She is talking and mimicking like crazy so we have to be very careful with our words. She loves to draw and color with chalk. Her newest fascination is sitting on top of a storage box in her playroom and "Reading" her books. She will sit there for a good 20 minutes taking them out one by one to read them. She is very close to being potty trained thanks to her "2 Treats" which are the 2 mini marshmallows she gets when she uses the toilet. She actually pooped on the potty for the first time 2 days ago all without telling anyone. She loves her sister and wants to kiss and hug her all the time. She has also started some not so awesome meltdowns where she throws her things and has taken to wake up screaming to get up at about 6 each morning. We hope these last two behaviors subside soon. She is such a precious sweet spirit. She loves to sing now too and will sing along with all her nursery rhymes and kids praise songs. We must sing Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus and Hot Potato each night at bed time. Routines make her happy :) She also has really started to soak in what we tell her about Jesus and associates crosses and Easter with Him which is pretty amazing...

Well, I had to stop to go feed the littlest Fisher so alas my train of thought is broken.... for now here are a couple of pictures of my most beautiful girls until I blog again...

 Sweet Mia Grace - 2 Years

Cute Anna Beth - 4 Months

So hard....

Leaving my girls each day to go back to work has been harder than I could have imagined....
Leaning on Him....
Thankful for an amazing husband who loves us so...
Focusing on being grateful....

A Bit Behind...

So I was really in the swing of things and then life with 2 kids caught up with me... :)

I suppose I should get used to the feeling of being behind, though anyone who knows me gets how difficult that is to comprehend!

In absence of lots of wonderful blogs with pictures and memories I am going to try and do some quick hits and maybe add pictures later. It will probably be a bit disjointed as I am actually terribly sick with a head cold so bear with me! :)

Anna Beth is now almost 2 months old! Time has certainly flown by. She is sweet as can be and I can finally start to see her emerging from just a life of reflux and gas (though these two things do mostly occupy her waking and sleeping time). She has started "talking" to us more regularly and actually wants to be entertained more. She looks more and more like her daddy every day (except for the silly blonde hair) and she loves to look at us. She is much bigger than her sister was at this age but seems to be developing at about the same pace. Her smiles seem to still be gas related but I don't care, I cherish them anyway. She eats about every 3 hours during the day and we are slowly getting her into sleeping in the pack n play or cradle though she still mostly sleeps in one our many baby seats. I cherish our feeding times even if they are still a bit stressful to start (thankfully I can just let down into a towel instead of pumping now) and there is nothing sweeter than where she is right now which is asleep on my chest. I didn't know my heart could love any more than it did but it grows each day!

Mia Grace is now 2 and full of love/joy/energy/craziness/independence and all that goes along with being 2. She is such a light in our world and I am so thankful for the 4 months I have been able to spend at home with her. She has grown up before my eyes and I am constantly amazed at what she knows and can do. She is trying to say everything we say and her vocabulary grows by the day. She knows words and stories I had no idea she knew and she will happily repeat any word she hears (though often its only understandable if you were the one who just said the word). She loves to tell you NO and if she starts doing something she knows she is not supposed to and you catch her, she will look at you and say "No No". She clearly knows right from wrong and loves to do "wrong". She has started saying "luh-you" at nap/bed time which melts my heart and when daddy puts her to bed she always wants to come and give mommy a kiss. She loves her baby sister (sometimes to much) and really seems to be adjusting well. She laughs, plays and just wants to be with us which I cherish.

One of my favorite memories from her 2 year old birthday trip to the Great Wolf Lodge was when we tried to put her down for her nap. We had just arrived about 30 minutes before and she was super excited to be running around the room and jumping on the bed (and even walking out of the room and WAY down the hall before daddy knew she was gone). She wanted NOTHING to do with her nap and when I told her she had to sleep she tried a great trick. She plays a game with us where she says "sEEp" and then we lie on the ground together and she counts to 3 and says "wake-UH". So we put her in the pack n play screaming and she would drop down, lie down sobbing and yell .... 1-2-3 "wake-UH" over and over again. It was so pitiful but so hysterical.

We had a blast at the lodge, Anna Beth slept most of the time and Mia Grace played like a champ. We have been trying to do all the things I don't usually get to do while I am home and have gone to the Science Museum, Little Gym (which she is now enrolled in and we are super excited to watch her blossom), walks, games, you name it. Each moment is a moment to treasure.

My two girls are truly the light of my life and I am so thankful for them. I have an incredible husband who loves us and cares for us tremendously and I am so blessed. I have a little over a week left before my world is rocked by returning to work and I look forward to cherishing every second I have left.

Remind Me....

Some days I feel overwhelmed.
Some days I am just a jerk to my husband.
Some days I feel like I just can't do anything right.
Some days I focus so much on what's not going right.
Then I see these sweet faces and remember God has blessed me beyond belief and I have so much to be grateful for.

Trials come and go but He is good all the time.

These moments are but a blink of an eye and I shall cherish each one, good, bad, crazy, stressful, tearful, joyful and all.

When I forget, remind me!

2 Weeks...

Anna Beth had her 2 week check up today and they said she is GREAT!!

She is now up to 6lbs 11oz so she has regained all her lost weight and a little more. This puts her in the 10% for weight. She is in the 50 % for height at 19 3/4 and is in the 80% for head circumfrence at 14 3/4! (crazy how one and 1/4 cm can change it from 25 % to 80 %). I am not sure I am buying the % though!

She definitely has a cold (which has made the last couple of days VERY hard on mommy). He said I am doing everything correctly to help ease her discomfort and they checked her pulse oxygen levels and she is great so that was reassuring. Poor little thing also has clogged tear ducts so she has had a rough couple of days.

So I started this yesterday and am finishing it now and am so thankful to say Anna Beth's cold seems to finally be easing up! Of course, the MDO said I didn't have to wake her up to eat at night but the little stinker will gladly wake herself up every 3 hours at night but sleep all day if I let her. I am just thankful she slept in her cradle last night because she can finally breathe better!

Well, I am tired, I have clothes to put away and pre-pregnancy clothes to find as I inch closer to fitting into them again. Mommyhood is sure sleeply bliss...

Maybe I will just take a nap :)

Mia Grace - Around 2 weeks (only have a few pictures on this computer)

Anna Beth (around 2 weeks) and Mia Grace almost 23 months! I ADORE this picture!

A Typical Morning....

Life is a little different these days now that there are four Fishers!

Our morning usually starts like this....

Mommy finishes nursing Anna Beth around 6:45/7:00 and brings her back to the room for her post eating vertical stay to help with reflux (more on this later).

Around 7 or 7:15 we hear ..... "Daaa-Deee!.... Da-Da.... DAAAA-DEEEE.... DAAA-DAAAA" coming from the room next door.

Daniel goes in and gets my "Sunshine" and brings her into the room followed by the words .... "Bay-BEE" with kissing noises indicating she would like to kiss her sister.

We all cuddle into the bed (typically with the cat and then we hear "Muk" = Milk and our sweet Dad/Husband goes downstairs to get Mia Grace's cup of milk and Mommy's Breakfast drink.

This all is followed/coinciding with one of the following shows - Little Bill, Handy Manny, Timmy Time, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Cat in the Hat, Martha Speaks or whatever happens to be on at the hour she awakes that she will choose to watch. These days the only things that truly suit her fancy are the songs in between shows like "Choo Choo Soul with Genevieve", "Dance A Lot Robot" or whatever they show.

I cherish these moments as I know they won't last long and love getting to start each day with the three loves of my life!

Here is a phone shot of her other favorite thing to ask in the morning... "Hole... Hole...." which means hold as she begs to hold Anna Beth :)

 (Not the best quality as it was dark and on my phone but it captures the joy and the essence of our morning on the 29th of November)

Nursing round 2...

One of the joys and challenges I chose to partake as a mommy is nursing. I had made up my mind long before Mia Grace was born I would nurse and my strong will was determined to stick it out no matter what. Mia Grace and I had our ups and downs for sure as she was born early and spent 9 days in the Special Care Nursery so I was pumping milk from the time she was less than a day old! I literally pumped milk for over 365 days straight! I stopped nursing Mia Grace in February of this year and stopped pumping on her 1st birthday. Some of the challenges MG and I faced included her not really learning how to properly latch until around month 3 (and then battling going backwards throughout), overactive letdown (IE fire hoses on my chest - HA!) etc etc. I am also now convinced that the use of the  pacifier also was not our friend at the start; however it was crucial to her staying soothed in the ICU so I wouldn't change that for the world.

Anna Beth and I have been off to a much better start. I got to try and nurse her when she was about 2 hours old (beat MG by a couple days) and we did not allow the nursery to give her a pacifier. It was evident from the start that she too had a tight little jaw and thus the blisters commenced! She knew what to do though so I had a strong inclination we would be better off! It was also very evident by day 3 that my milk supply had returned in full force and so did the strong let down! Thankfully the lactation specialists are wonderful and quickly helped me master (OK so that's a strong word, lets call it get a good grasp on) the football hold which is very helpful for C-Section recovery as well as angling little ones head to help with the let down.

I am happy to say the blisters are gone and while we still work on our latch we are off to a great start! I have a good grasp of when to take her off to let her breath (poor thing gulps and swallows from first suck) and often pump off an ounce or so particularly at night to give her a breather and start building my stock of milk. I must say though, I forgot how MUCH of my time this takes up at the beginning! Silly little girl also has her big sister trait of wanting to sleep much more than she wants to eat. I still wake her up for most feedings though of course she is glad to wake herself up in the middle of the night!

I know nursing just doesn't work out for everyone for all sorts of reasons but I am so thankful to be given the blessing of sharing this gift with Anna Beth and pray we make it as long as Mia Grace did!

After our first nursing session... such a sweet moment!

Anna Beth Fisher

Anna Beth Fisher

11-21-2010 - 1:14pm

6lbs 8oz and 19 inches

What an incredible blessing to end our pregnancy journey!

Her arrival story....

Friday 11-19-2010 we went to the MDO and she indicated that my fluid levels were getting to the point that if we wanted to try and turn her sweet self out of the Breech positions we should do so sooner than later or miss our window. We had hoped to wait until 38 weeks so they could induce if she flipped but alas... that was not the plan. We scheduled our attempt for Sunday morning at 8:30 am.

Sunday morning we went in prepared for a baby in the event something unexpected happened but planning to be home in time for lunch. I had a few strong contractions the day before and that night but nothing to write home about. When the MD came into get ready for the attempt she checked my cervix and it had moved from 1cm 2 weeks earlier to 3cm and 50% effaced. She was a bit surprised but my contractions were abnormal so we moved forward.

They gave me a shot of medicine to relax the uterus and shortly there after we made two attempts to flip her. This entails me taking a deep breath and blowing out while the MD puts her hands on the baby's head and butt and attempts to get her to do a forward roll. We tried 2 times and she moved about half way and wouldn't budge! The MD explained they would watch me for a couple hours and then send me home. She also explained that if my water broke at home when later started I needed to get in the car IMMEDIATELY and get to the hospital and call on the way. Its too dangerous for a breech baby and they don't want to take any chances. This kind of freaked us out a bit and Daniel decided it sure would be nice if I could just have her that day and get the worry away. (Since we were going to have a c-section either way).

Well, Anna Beth must have agreed. About an hour after the attempt, my MD came in to ask if my contractions were getting more intense and I agreed as they were not too comfy any longer. She said they would watch and check again. An hour later, the contractions were increasing in intensity and frequency so they checked and I had dilated to 4cm and my water bag was bulging. Anna Beth had decided it was time to arrive.

Lots of information, doctors and about an hour later I was getting drugged up on the operating table while Daniel waited outside to join us. Anna Beth got the hiccups right as they were numbing me so that was pretty special last moments. Within 30 seconds of the anesthesia my body from the chest down was gone (that's what it felt like) and my hands were tingly. Daniel came in and it was showtime!

I got a little sick a few times (they think from the jostling of the stomach) and shortly there after I heard the sweetest squeaks I had been waiting 37 weeks to hear.

The first thing I said as the tears filled my eyes were she sounds so different from Mia Grace. Daniel was such a sweet support and I sent him over to meet our sweet girl. He did a phenomenal job documenting in photos for me as I was a big out of it. The next thing I know the NICU nurse brought me my sweet girl to meet her for the first time. Such an incredible moment that I am so thankful Daniel captured for me.

I then heard my MD ask Daniel if he wanted to see my uterus and she proceeded to show him the uterus, falopian tubes and ovaries. Ask him about it sometime!

They took Anna Beth away for met go get to recovery and Daniel stayed by my groggy side. I was in recovery for about an hour, Anna Beth's Apgar scores were 8 and 9 and she was in our room as soon as we moved to postpartum.

Even though the C-Section was not our plan. clearly it was HIS and we couldn't have asked for things to go more smoothly.

More to come on the following days but here is our first "Fisher Four" picture. Mia Grace loves her baby sister!

In case you dont know....

Bed rest round for baby fish #2 began a few weeks ago... :)

Clearly my body doesn't like being pregnant...

God is good. We are now almost at 28 weeks and shooting for sometime past 36 weeks which is 11-14-2010. WE CAN DO IT! :)

Here is a shot of Mia Grace and I after I returned home from hospital visit # 2! She was pretty stoked and so was I!