A loss for words

Baby Noah passed away yesterday. Today would have been his first birthday. Please continue to pray for the Lauer's. They've recently moved to Alabama and have very few family & friends there to support them. You can read their blog for more details.

Back to the Grind

I went back to work today. I give that a "big fat boo!" (College joke...Kim & Jen that was for you.) We had meetings from 8-noon and then a little work time. Students come next Wednesday. Isn't that crazy?! That's earlier than most colleges start! I keep telling myself that it won't be that bad, but it's definitely not going to be that good either. Oh well...I'll work until I deliver and then I'll be off for 12 weeks. And I realized the other day that that's longer than my summer break was! Woot woot for maternity leave!

On a totally different note...please keep the Lauer's in your prayers. Their little boy, Noah, is fighting for his life right now (and has been for quite a while) and they could use as much prayer and encouragement as possible. Go here to read their blog. They do a good job of updating it and letting you know what they need to be lifted up.

One Last Road Trip Before Baby Schaefer is Born

My parents, Matt, and I took a whirl-wind trip on Saturday to go visit my brother's family in Lawrence, Kansas. We hadn't seen them since March. Since then, Amy (my sister-in-law) has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. This isn't a very good picture of her, and she'd probably kill me if she knew I was posting it, but it's the only one she was in when I got home and looked over my photos. Please pray for her. Her symptoms are intensifying quickly, which is a sign that she might have a more progressive form of the disease. Pray for her health, her emotional well-being, strength for my brother in caring for her, and for Poppy & Oskar. I can't imagine what they are thinking right now, but they definitely know something is wrong with their mom.

It was wonderful to see her, be able to hug her, and love on the kiddos. My nephew, Oskar, is 5 and Poppy, my niece, will be 3 in October. They are just so stinkin' cute!! Amy found this inflatable pool that runs off a pump at Target, and I think it might be their favorite thing right now. They are both such water babies! I just can't get enough of this picture of Oskar in his swim goggles. He cracks me up!
Here's Poppy swimming around on her kick board. She definitely holds her own against her brother and isn't afraid of going under water.

Playing with her and loving on her makes me SO excited for our baby girl to arrive. I love Poppy & Oskar SO much it feels like my heart could explode, so I can't imagine what it's going to feel like to be a mom. A MOM! I'm still in shock that it's actually going to happen. And SOON! I'm officially 5 weeks away from my due date today.

Amy said that Poppy has been insisting on wearing onesies lately...and the only ones around the house are for 3-6 month olds. They look like little leotards on her, but they're not and they give her quite the wedgie. She doesn't seem to mind, though.

Oskar's favorite things right now are race cars! Here he is in his racing helmet. He's such a goof ball.
My mom, known as Gma to Oskar and Poppy, brought some bubbles and sidewalk chalk for them. They were a big hit!!
Funny story to wrap things up here. Oskar was busy drawing race cars on their sidewalk and very proud of his accomplishments. While our backs were turned, Poppy walked up to them and peed right on the race car drawings. Oskar was SO mad and knew that Poppy did it on purpose. They really know how to push each other's buttons. It's pretty funny.