Confession in the King Household

One of the many things that most people are shocked by is no one stirs in our house until after 8 am. Niah usually goes to sleep around 7:30 at night and we usually go to sleep between 10-11 but nobody wakes until 8 am or later. If Niah goes to bed late she will not wake up until closer to 9. I am very thankful for my little sleeper.

Niah is overall a good sleeper, she goes right to bed and does not wake in the night. There are those few exceptions such as if people are at the house she seems to wake once in the night. If she is teething, if I have been gone a few hours at night and someone else has watched her, or if Kyah is in town. She always wants me and the rule is she does not get out of the crib so if Matthew goes in there she will scream louder but the second I walk in she lays down and goes right to sleep. Lately, she has not been going to sleep very well and wants me to sit with her in her room. This just started and I have only done it 3 or 4 times but usually if I sit with her for 5 minutes and she is calm I can leave before she is asleep and she is fine. I figure I will go with it for a little while longer but not sure I want a bad habit to form. I did read about how 18 months is another sleep disturbance so I am wondering if it is related to that but either way she is still a wonderful sleeper! Niah goes down for a nap around 2 hours after she wakes up and sleeps 2 1/2 hrs to 3 1/2 hours.

Here is my sweet girl

Weekend in Project - Winter fur Vest

This weekend I got out the sewing machine and I am keeping it out because I have alot of sewing to do before now and when Baby #2 arrives but over the weekend I made adorable little vest for my little girl.

All it took was

A pattern
not even a 1/2 yd of fur material
not even 1/2 yd of lining
1 button of choice
and around 4 inches of cording.

I tweaked a patter we already had. The pattern was for a shorter vest but I wanted a longer one so I added 2 1/2 inches to the pattern.

I went to town and made 2 for my little girl for her pictures thur. I am going to make 2 for niece as well.

I think they turned out nicely

Here is a pic of Niah wearing it in our photo session with Yesteryear Image

18 Months and 30 weeks

Time is going way too fast. I can not believe my little girl is 1 1/2. She is growing up so fast ALREADY!! She amazes me everyday. She is talking up a storm and understands more everyday. She has such a desire to do everything that Mommy is doing. Favorite things to do is cook with Mommy, go shopping with Mommy (she gets very mad if I run in to a store and leave her in the car with Daddy), play with kitchen and shopping cart, and play with "nice Kitties." Every morning when I tell her it is time to get dressed she runs to get her shoes or ask for them and then goes to her bows and tries to put one in. Niah is very sensitive to the mood in the room and does not like a mad or tense or an anxious crowd, she reacts to the mood and gets upset. Kyah is her very best friend and wants to talk to her, see her, and look at her pictures. Kyah's name is said at least 10 times a day and even more if she has just seen her. She is usually a very good child every once in awhile she will throw a little fit when she can not have her way and a stern, No usually gets her to comply and is usually followed with crying due to hurt feelings (very sensitive).

I was going to start potty training around this time. She is definitely interested but I think I will wait till right after I have the baby and spend 3-5 days during the cold winter to stay home and complete the task. Right now she will tell me potty and I will put her on the potty. Unless she gets even more interested I will wait because I think it will be good to do it when I am not leaving the house at all.

Cute things she is doing:
* She has been saying amen for awhile now but recently started saying Jesus when I say lets pray. On the way to church on Sunday she just kept singing Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

*Niah will now lift up my shirt and point at my belly and say, "baby," then rub my belly and usually say, "Nice Baby"

*One of our favorite things to hear her say is snack and she usually says "Snash" really over enunciated. Then she will continue with "Pease"

I will end with a picture
This is a picture from our photo shoot yesterday

This is Niah helping me with laundry

I am 30 weeks along and going to the dr. every 2-3 weeks until 34 weeks and then I get switched to weekly. I feel great with little to know problems. I do get annoying leg cramps in the night but I can handle that. I have gained a total of 14 lbs. Hopefully, at my appt. on Monday after the dr. checks me I will have some details. This pregnancy feels exactly like Niah's. Carry very high, and just like Niah my uterine growth up and down is up higher than most. Dr. is expecting a similar size baby as Niah. He thinks my uterus can not spread out to the right and left like most so it goes up as high as it can and that is why I have smaller babies. He also thinks that I would be on bed rest if I was to have a baby over 7 lbs.

I cleaned out the room that will be this baby's nursery. Poor kid is already getting hand me downs. I bought Niah a dresser and I am going to move the changing table over. Niah's crib turns into a toddler bed but I am going to buy Niah a toddler bed and move her crib over because toddler beds are way cheaper than cribs. We are doing a brown, beige, and white room. I will hopefully be starting to make the bedding next week. I have a few wood shelves I need Matthew to make to hang on the walls, need picture frames, and then we will be pretty much set. I plan to spend a lot of time in the next month getting ready.
This is me at 28 weeks

This is from our photo shoot yesterday

Caramel Apple Cider

My husband has actually been suggesting that we go through starbucks to get drinks because he loves their caramel apple cider. Coming down with a very sore throat and looking for hot drinks with out caffeine to ease my throat I decided to take a try at making Caramel Apple Cider.

I made 4 cups last night so this was I used

Ingredients

4 cups of Unsweetened Apple cider
about 4 tbsp of brown sugar
1 tbsp heavy cream
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp of caramel

I put the apple cider, cinnamon stick and brown sugar in a sauce pan and let the brown sugar dissolve. Once it was hot I added the heavy cream and caramel. I let it sit on the stove on med heat for about 10 mins. Then it was ready. I whipped extra heavy cream with a mixer to put on top and sprinkled caramel on that but you wouldn't have to. I left the stove on low until we drank all of it.

My husband said he could not tell the difference between mine and Starbucks so we had a happy customer.

Linking up with

Christmas List

I am a true lover of Christmas!! I love the decorations, the festivities, the programs, and the presents. I am even more excited this year because Niah will love Christmas and understand it more. Even though I am going to be extremely pregnant at Christmas (37 weeks), I have already started planning holiday activities for us to do with the little one. I am also so excited to decorate with her. I may have so much excitement I may climb on a ladder to hang lights and hope that my husband sees me and finishes the lights for me :-)

In my excitement I have started our Christmas list.

My list

* Dark Brown (expresso) picture frames 8x10 (I have white ones with a thick boarder in Niah's room from Hobby Lobby would like a few like that)
*Nikon 5100 camera ( I thought mom and Matthew could go in together on this one) I am wanting to stop paying an arm and a leg to get our pictures done professionally every 3 months and invest in a camera.
*rug Brown and white zig zag (Here is kinds the idea)

Contemporary Rugs design by Calypso St. Barth

*Diaper bag - something like this but does not have to be the same. neutral color - Leather type material, Dark color because we all know it will get dirty

*Baby book - that goes with brown and white
*Throw pillows for my bed - light and dark grey and white something like this

Niah's List

*Brown Ballet flats Toddler size 5
*The beginner puzzles with the big wood pieces with the handles
*Baby stroller
*fake makeup she loves to play with my make up brushes but the makeup needs to open
*mega bloks - they are easier to put together and take apart than other blocks
*Any sort of stack bowls, or containers
*Long sleeve shirts 18-24 months

Baby Boy's List

I included this because my mom asked and we got Niah gifts the Christmas I was pregnant with her :-) I am excited to think there will be 2 little ones next Christmas!!

NO SPORTS ATTIRE OF ANY KIND OR ANYTHING WITH ANIMALS

*I am looking for more neutral plain clothes to go with stuff I already have
make sure onsies are long sleeve (I like plain colored ones to go with the legs warmers and pants I bought) I bought preemie clothes already so stick with newborn
*Sweaters
*socks
*soft cotton hats for him to wear since he will be born in the winter the ped. said I will need to keep the soft indoor hats on him for the first month where niah was just the first week.... She said stay away from other materials because it will break out his head
*sleepers
*Bundle me for car seat

How God healed Niah and continues to use her

At Niah's 6 month well check up, I brought to my doctor's attention how I could not feel Niah's soft spot. She checked and said it was very small and that was a concern if all of Niah's soft spots were closed. She immediately scheduled a cat scan. Just 2 weeks later we were taking Niah to get the scan and yes it is a very scary thing to even think you have to do a test like this on your child. That night I headed to Springfield with Matthew for a healing conference held by Randy Clark and Bill Johnson. I held my baby girl in my hands and sang through worship praying that everything would be ok. The next day we went to one of the classes on healing and Bill Johnson said lets pray for healing in kids for illness affecting their brain. I held Niah in my hands and just began crying out to the Lord for Niah's head that if anything was wrong that He would fix it. I felt such a peace after that prayer.

We got the cat scan results back and were told all of her soft spots and one of her 4 suture was closed. We got referred to a pediatric neurologist and a plastic surgeon. The neurologist look at the ct scan and told us that when a suture closes it can prevent the brain from growing, cause swelling, and stunt her developmentally. She said she wanted us to see the plastic surgeon and come back in 2 weeks. The plastic surgeon appt. started with a resident coming in saying the suture was closed and usually results in surgery but the doctor would be in to talk to us. Fear came over me, this was my baby and surgery on her skull involving literally sawing her skull apart. The dr. came in and told us, this is the only suture that can close and not necessarily have to have surgery (immediately it was like God said I am in control, prayer answer #1). He was concerned how her head was already growing at a point in the front. He said that it would be based on how her head shape was, how it grew, and her development.

These are Niah's actual CT scans

The first one shows how the suture down her forehead has closed and how the suture following your hairline is starting to close

The next 2 pictures show how her skull is starting to grow at a point or triangle due to the suture closing. You can also see how small her soft spot is where the sutures meet

This last one shows how the back sutures are very defined

These last 2 pictures are what a babies head should look like with all 4 sutures and fontanels (soft spots)

We started making the drive to Columbia about every 3 weeks which is an hour drive. On the 3rd appt. the drs. were alarmed because her head growth had stopped she was not staying in the 12% she was in for head circumference and had dropped down below the 8%. We were just needing her head to grow a cm every 3 weeks and it was behind 2 cm. They wanted us to do another ct scan. I remembered how much Niah hated the scan and I really didn't want her to go through that again so I asked the dr if we could wait through 2 more appts and see what happens. They reluctantly agreed and I felt a peace about my proposal. After the 2nd appt (6 weeks), Niah's head circumference not only grew but she was in the 14% so it grew more than they needed. (God answered our prayers) Still going to see the Drs. for checkups about every 3 weeks, she stayed right on target with her head growth. They finally said why don't you come back in 4 weeks instead of 3. Then after 4 weeks they said why don't you come back in 6 weeks instead of 4. At that appt. they said why don't we just watch her growth on her head when your primary dr. measures it at her well check ups.

Instantly I felt God say it is done! He promised me over 8 months ago that he was going to heal her at that conference we went to right after her ct scan and now the drs are telling me there is no reason for them to keep seeing her. All I can think the whole time going through this even though I was scared was I am so glad I serve a God that is bigger than this!!

Now being released from the drs. for 3 or 4 months just last week, I was at a mall letting Niah play in the mall play area. I started talking to a mom that had a son just a couple months older than Niah. With in 5 minutes she was telling me how the drs. believe one of her son's sutures may be closed and could cause developmental problems. She had no idea I have been there and I saw the exact same drs. as her. I immediately began to share about Niah and let her pour her concerns to me. Her son had not yet had a ct scan and I was able to leave her with God is bigger than this and I would be praying that ct scan showed everything was ok with her son and that his suture was open. I have prayed for that little boy and mom everyday and I am believing that he is healed. I may never see that mom again but I know my God is bigger. I love not only how God heals but how he uses healing to reach out to other people.

Here is my sweet little girl!!

Faith Booster.... God always provides!!

I know that God always provides and I trust Him to help me with almost every big purchase, to make the right decision. I do not want to take for grant it the little things (that are actually huge for me), I love the little things.

I will start with my car. I bought a new car in 2008 (it was a year old) and it was only a year old. We have not had any mechanical issues and have put very little money into it since I got it (which is a blessing in its self) but in Jan. of this year Matthew realized some pretty bad rust in the body. He told me a car is not worth anything if it has rust. Well come to find out cars have a 5 year rust warranty, which neither of us knew. Perfect right, no my car was 16 days out of warranty when we took it to the dealership. The dealership filed a claim with Nissan and they said, sorry we can't honor. I called, nissan and they said sorry I can't honor it. A little stressed about the 4,000 it would cost to fix, Matthew and I prayed about it. I just couldn't let it go, 16 DAYS out of warranty. I decided to start a claim on the BBB. Before, I could even get all the papers signed and back to the BBB, Nissan saw the claim was filed and called me. Nissan not only fixed my car, detailed it, but provided a rental and we didn't spend a penny. That was HUGE, God worked, and saved us 4,000 that we didn't really have. God is not done answering my prayers on my car yet. Currently, I took my car to get my tires rotated and the car aligned. The guy tells me it is almost time for new tires, and I call the Husband (the expert in this field) and say hey they say the tires are worn. The tires were just bought at the beginning of the year with less than 12,000 miles on them. So we ask are they evenly worn, and the man replies yes. We explain how new they are and he says go back to the place you bought them. We bought them online and with some very frustrating moments we find the purchase and talk to the company. The company says call the tire company directly, the tire company say the company you bought them from. Finally, the company we bought them in says, "Send your tires in to us." What buy new tires and mail our tires in, I DO NOT THINK SO. I prayed about it and decided to call the tire company one more time. That was it a case was open and we just had to go to a local dealer. Total savings $700!!

Those are really big things that were huge savings in our lives that God blessed us and gave us favor but there are a million other things.

Today, in fact I sold a bag of my old clothes on craigslist for $45 and then went into the store and bought Niah some winter clothes (she may have not needed all of it but she will look so cute). Total price for the 7 items I bought $50. The great thing was that I had $5 dollars that I found in my pocket! I really always pray before I go to the mall for favor, wisdom in shopping, and great sales. It always works!!

A very small thing that happened the other day that was such a blessing was that I needed to go to the store and it was pouring down rain while I was in town, as soon as I pulled in a car right next to the door pulled out. All mother's that have kids in car seats know what a huge thing that is, to just have to make a small little jot to the door instead of crossing the whole parking lot while caring a baby in the rain.

A huge thing to me maybe not so big to others that I am so thankful for is my child has never had a fever or has been sick except for some minor runny noses (due to teething, I think).

I will not bore you with any more stories but I will tell you how incredibly thankful I am for God's blessings everyday.

I believe that as my husband and I give, God gives back. And I am so completely grateful for His blessings. Some may think this is so cliche to say but I am writing it because I honestly believe that and see it in my life every day.