Missing Mom....

I have been 38 weeks pregnant about to give birth to a precious baby boy THREE times in the last 3 and 1/2 years. (This seems crazy but it is absolutely perfect for us.)Each time has been unique and special in it's own way. However, each time three things have remained the same. First,the process of pregnancy always gives me such an appreciation for my Heavenly Father. What an awesome GOD! I cannot understand how anyone who has had a child could NOT believe in God?! From the first time we heard a heartbeat until this very day I am in constant of awe of God's goodness! (and I am sure if I did this 10 more times I would ALWAYS feel this same way) Secondly, with every pregnancy, I love this little person more than life itself. From the moment of conception, I would give up my life for them. For Manning, for Myers, and for McCann. Lastly, as my due date approaches each time, I find myself aching for my momma. I always miss her. Everyday. But the days that I long for her the most are those before, during, and after the births of my babies.
I remember in the hours before my mother's death telling my daddy, "But Daddy, my babies will never know her." I also recall my dad's words in response, "Baby, we will tell them all about her. We will make sure they know how much your momma would have loved them." So as my children get older, I make a point of telling them about Mema. I explain that she was Granddaddy's wife, mommy's momma, and their wonderful grandma. Lately many of my friends are getting pregnant and having babies. It is such an exciting time! I love the joy that comes with each birth annoucement. I love the expectation that comes with each gender reveal. I love the the instant adoration that parents have for their new babies. I also love one thing that I will never experience, the look of pride on the grandmother's face as she watches her daughter nurture a new life. This I miss. I wish my momma could be here. To tell me I was doing this right, to give me support, and to love on me like only a momma can. So as we near McCann's birthday, I pray that God will give us a healthy baby boy, that Manning and Myers would love their new brother, and that in the midst of it all I will feel HIS and her presence.

Carrie Underwood's legs? No, thank you!

I heard on the radio a few nights ago that Carrie Underwood is 29 years old. WHAT!? I am 29.... I really like believing that she is closer to 20. Why does she look a decade younger and I look every single week of my 29 years. I will give you 3 guesses. They all start with "M" and are under 4 feet tall! But would I trade motherhood for youthfulness, great legs, and all the money in the world? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Not in a million years! I am in total love with every part of being Manning, Myers, and McCann's mommy. I can barely believe that within 3 short weeks (give or take a few days) I will have 3 little boys in my house. How did I ever get so lucky? Not lucky...BLESSED.
I love the looks I get when the 3 and 1/2 of us walk in stores (Manning, Myers, me and my enormous belly). Better is when I am shopping alone (yes, this happens. My husband rocks.) and some sweet old lady asks me if this is my first. "No, my third." This is always followed up with one of two questions: "Do you know what you are having?" or "How old are your other two?" I respond, "My third boy all 3 and under." I get the best "God bless you" and "Lord have mercy" responses. You know what HE already has. He has blessed me and shown me mercy over and over.
I really hope I will update with some pictures of McCann's nursery in the next few weeks. However, that would mean that it is complete. Everytime I think we are close something happens and we backtrack. Today for example, I had all sorts of plans to "finish" my precious baby's room. It didn't happen. Instead the washing machine broke which meant we had to clean out the laundry room. Where did all the "extra" stuff that lives in my laundry temporarily get placed? McCann's room, of course. Sweet boy, we are so ready to meet you and we promise to love you to the moon and back. And we sincerely hope your room is ready when you make your big entrance...

Growing up....

In September 2007, we found out that we were pregnant with our first baby. We did not know yet that we were having a boy or that we would be blessed with our precious Manning. Fast forward, four short years and my first born is in 3K! His first day was Tuesday and he did so well. He walked in 5 steps ahead of me and barely even told me goodbye. He loves his school, his teacher, and his new camo bookbag! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of our little man and we thank God for giving him to us!

Updating

Kevin got elected to be a deacon at our church several weeks ago and he will be ordained next Sunday night. (I am proud wife!) However, when the church secretary called and said she needed and updated picture of the 4 (almost 5 of us), I was completely shocked when I realized that I have absolutely NO recent pictures of all of us together. And since the only one she had was taken when Manning was 6 months old- I figured I needed to do something about this! We have plenty of pictures of the boys, some with Kevin or me with the boys, but none of all of us together. So here you go...the Hatchell clan. Manning-3 yrs, Myers- 16 months, Mommy- almost 18 weeks pregnant with McCann

Advice please....

I am certified to teach 9th-12th grade Language Arts, but I REALLY have a desire to get a Master's in Elementary Ed. I have researched so many online options (which by the way are endless!)
There are countless different programs with different layouts and varying costs. Can anyone give me advice about online programs that are both credible and cost-efficient?Thanks!

1st Trimester Reflection

We are a mere 2 days away from being 13 weeks pregnant with our third precious bundle of joy! I am excited to say that I am already experiencing that beautiful 2nd trimester relief. The first 11 weeks or so if this pregnancy was truly difficult on my body- so different from my first two pregnancies. To start, I started bleeding about 48 hours after my first positive pregnancy test. I will admit I thought the baby was gone. I cried- ok I sobbed. I pretty much surrendered to the idea of miscarriage. However, the bleeding only lasted 1 night and by the next week my blood work showed that I was indeed still pregnant. So we went in for an ultrasound to date the pregnancy. Guess what? There was a yolk sac but no baby yet. They told me it could mean one of two things. Either, I was earlier than they thought or we were experiencing a blighted ovum. A who? Pretty much that would mean that an egg had been fertilized and a baby had been conceived; but had stopped developing very early. So, we had to wait 12 LONG days for a repeat ultrasound. By then we should see a baby and hear a heartbeat if this was a viable pregnancy. If not, the yolk sac would be all we would see. Fast forward almost 2 weeks and I was convinced this baby was FINE. I felt it in my heart- I knew my baby was alive AND perfect. God gave me complete peace over the situation. Kevin and I went in faithful that we would see our tiny baby and hear his/her sweet heartbeat. And we did! Several weeks later we had another ultrasound and we saw it's arms and legs. God is so good ALL the time! Since then we have heard it's heartbeat three times on the doppler and in 3 weeks we hope to find out what we are having! I jokingly say it's a girl because this baby has not only been extremely high maintenance, but also such a fighter. If it is indeed a girl, we will call her Ruby-Kate after my momma, who was the most courageous fighter I have ever known. Do I think it's a girl? Maybe, maybe not. I get asked all the time if I WANT it to be a girl. How do you answer that? I got my wish- I am pregnant- I wanted our baby! We love our boys and would be thrilled to add a third to our bunch. A girl would be a wonderful blessing as well....so we will see!

Funny Stuff

My kids are the funniest people I know...here are just a few of the hilarious things they have said and done this week.

* Sunday night, Manning asked what we having for supper. I said," lasagna." He says, "Janya?" and was quiet for a few seconds. He quickly responded with, "But I thought the whale ate him." HAHAHAHA! No, Manning that was Jonah- but awesome that you remember the Bible story.

*I am bad- REALLY bad at remembering to water my flowers. One day last week we were coming inside and Manning says, "Momma, you need to water your flowers." I agreed but obviously not with as much conviction as Manning wanted because he continued. "Momma, the flowers are going to die if you don't water them." Okay, Okay, Okay. He is a persistent little thing!

*Myers' favorite word right now is ball....but he does not say it the way the rest of us do. He makes it about 30 secs long. BBBBBBBB-AAAAAAAAA-LLLLLLLL-LLLLLLLL. And then he repeats himself. Imagine our ride to school. BBBBBBB-AAAAAA-LLLLL-LLLLLLL. Manning screaming," Mom, he said ball." BBBBBBB-AAAAAA-LLLLLLL-LLLLLLL! Manning, "He did it again!" And repeat over and over!

* I have been pretty sick this pregnancy and the boys have started to notice. The other day Manning told me that he sure hoped this baby came out of me soon! Sorry, buddy, it (hopefully) is going to be quite a while longer.

*We were out of milk the other morning so I gave Myers juice instead. He (with his 14 month old self) pushes the juice cup off the high chair and says, "MIK!" He knows what he wants!

So thankful for my two little guys and so excited about our newest addition!