Praise God

This week has been a bit rough for the Nick Fiechter family...

Nick has had a terrible cold, possible something more and missed 2 1/4 days of work. He has been on Tylenol, Benedryl, DayQuil, NyQuil, and Vapor Rub around the clock since Monday. If you know Nick at all - he is not easily medicated; therefore, he is feeling rough!

Carter came down with croup on Monday evening. Yuck. He just coughs and coughs sounding like a seal.

Funny story: Tuesday while he was sleeping (11:00pm), as I was on the computer doing some office work, I heard him start to cough uncontrollably and then start crying hysterically. I ran to rescue him, only to find out that he wasn't crying at all! He was LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY! Yep, that's right. My little 4 year old was having a funny dream!! Now, I know, I know....Nick is sick and needs his rest, but I just HAD to wake him up to witness this! (Once he stumbled into the boys' room and heard for himself, he didn't mind a bit! He even stood and listened with me for 10 minutes!) You may be wondering...."Did he tell you what he was dreaming about?" Yeah...well.....sort of....He told us "the papers were all dancing around..." Hmmmm.....Remember - we're dealing with a 4 year old...He must be easily amused in his sleep!

This morning, Mason started to match his big brother's pitch (ya know, the high pitched seal sound....) Hmpfff....I know we'll survive this but it sure is painful to watch my little boys struggle to cough up the sickness. If only he would have had a good dream....Nope....He informed me that his dream was about the bumble bees. OUCH!

On a super-de-duper positive note,

I am feeling better now than I have the last 2-3 months!

I have been so tired (I know - pregnancy will do that - but it was more than that. I could only stay awake functionally for about 8 hours a day...)!

Partially for normal procedures and partially to see what my body is suffering from, I had some blood work done last week. In addition, I made the decision to make one other change that I thought could be causing my fatigue. Well - it must have done the trick, because my blood test results came back today and all is good! Praise God!

Sorry this was all an earfull (or eyefull) with no pictures!! I guess I needed to vent! I'm impressed if you are still reading! THANKS!

Benches and Baller Signs

Projects seem to be never ending around here! Good thing we enjoy it, though. (um....most of the time!)

This bench is really exciting to have because it was my mother-in-law's at one time. I LOVE free furniture that can be adapted to my own style cheaply!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I totally love the outcome! My total expense in this bench: $10 for fabric to recover seat! Paint was free b/c I used some that we had around here! YAY!

Even more exciting is what we had put on the wall above it. Last year at the LSM auction we purchased Baller Signs' (Clint Gerber) donation of a free wall decal. Clint did an amazing job! THANKS A TON, CLINT!

(I know the color is weird...oh well)

This is the final addition to our basement decorations. IT IS COMPLETE! YAY! Again, big thanks to Clint for creating our decal. :)

Next project to complete: Adelynn's room. *sigh* Maybe in a week or two! :)

Basement Update #6

Wow...It really has been a while since I've posted an update on our basement. Well, most everything has been done except the windows and the entertainment/fireplace center. Spencer (bless his poor engaged heart...) finished it last week although I know how badly he wanted to be with his beautiful bride!

THANKS SPENCER!!! WE SERIOUSLY LOVE IT!

I'm sure he'd love to do work for you, too! He may be a bit busy for now, but keep him in mind! He is very detail oriented and professional. Let me know if you want contact info!

*Stay tuned for one last basement post with pictures of each room completely finished and decorated. We are in the process of ordering a vinyl verse for one wall from Clint @ Baller signs. Check him out here.

And so it begins...

Nick and I have finally made the decision to take the plunge.

This is "officially" Day #2 of potty training our dear Mason.

Our Method: Put on underwear, let him get uncomfortable and "aware" of his habits and DO LOTS OF LAUNDRY! :)

Progress:

Day #1 : He became aware....after the damage was done!

Day #2: Dry so far....but say a little prayer!

The Invisible Woman

The God I serve is amazing!!

After a pretty lousy day,

He is here with me...to comfort me...to show Himself to me...ME! Little 'ole Jessica, mother of 2, wife of Nick...

Wow...I stand amazed in His presence!!!!!!!!

This video was in my email inbox when I got home tonight... Thanks Tara! I had a very discouraging day with my kids, and just in general.... I felt exactly like this woman! I even thought to myself, my work is taking me NOWHERE!

Boy, am I wrong! I'm honoring God, Praising God, Submitting to Him through my job as a mother and wife.

Nothing else could be more important. NOTHING.

I also couldn't be more sure of anything else tonight - my dear friend sent me this email not knowing what my day was like and not knowing what I NEEDED to hear. But God did.

AMAZING.

Smushed Bread

So who else has the goal each week at the grocery store to come home with totally UNsmushed bread? Due to my two wonderful shopping buddies,

I always try so hard to keep the bread looking beautiful from shelf to pantry. Mostly, I fail miserably.

Between Mason throwing things in the cart careless of my precious bread, and Carter insisting on unloading the cart in the checkout lane ( again, careless of the bread) and me being in such a hurry (eek...careless of the bread!) to load and unload the van ~ our bread gets SMUSHED!

Well, I was so excited today because the bread had made it as far as reaching the front seat of the van with no sign of smushing! Believing it was safe there, I headed out to Grandma Fiechter's house to make some jam. As I was leaving with this wonderfully loaded (and heavy) box of finished jam, my sweet, helpful, loving brother-in-law, Chase, (did I mention how helpful he is? Seriously, I mean it ~ love him!) agreed to help me by carrying the box of jam to my van.

Feeling good about my day, I arrived home to put away my groceries. MUCH to my surprise, I found the box of jam smack dab on TOP of my precious bread!!!!! NOOOOO!!!!! *SIGH* Oh well - it's just bread, right?

On a more serious note, I've decided to be thankful for this loaf of smushed bread. It will still taste good, and serve its purpose as toast, a sandwich, or french toast. How spoiled am I that I can eat a slice of bread whenever I feel like it? This sweet child does not have that privilage...

May God bless this sweet child and the others in her country and provide for them...

My loveable little 2 year old...

Happy Birthday, Mason!! I love you to the moon and back!

Hope your day is full of lots of fun, laughter, "junk food", and joy!

My Sweet 4 year old!

Happy Birthday, Carter! I love you bunches!!

(Updated to add more pics!)

OUCH!

Stinky news...well...it might make some of you laugh and when the soreness in both knees, my left side, entire back, and right arm are feeling better, I might laugh too...

So this is the story...

Yesterday, we were walking into the Bohemian Bean (I was so excited to order my first latte in like 2 months...) We parked in the parking lot across Johnson street and walked over. I carried Mason and Carter walked beside me. After we crossed the road I looked and saw that to get onto the sidewalk, we were going to have to step over a fair amount of snow...

So being the careful, loving mother I am, I looked at Carter and insisted that he hold my hand so that he wouldn't fall on the snow/ice.

Being the independent little booger he is, he assured me, "Don't worry mommy, I'll be okay."

"FINE!" I thought. I'll show him - if he falls, then maybe he'll learn his lesson and realize that he DOES still need to hold onto mommy's hand!

So, holding Mason in my left arm, purse on right arm, I step over the snow, (right onto an invisile slab of extremely slick ice) my feet start to slip out from under me. AHHHH! Instinctively I tried to pull myself (including Mason, the purse, AND my growing belly) forward so that I don't knock myself and Mason out. Well, this would have worked fine if the momentum wasn't extremely strong. Hmphf......

Well, I did manage to pull us all forward instead of backward, but the momentum was just too much and I fell to my knees (skinning AND bruising them up...OUCH! This summer, when Carter falls off his bike and skins his knees, we're going out for ice cream! No more, "toughen up, kid!")

Let me assure you that Mason landed on his feet (thank you, lord!) but he did bonk his head on the brick wall of the library (no scratches or bruises, though!).

Instantly Mason and I were crying/whining and I look back at Carter to make sure he is okay too....When I look back I see a very concerned soon-to-be-four-year-old with wide eyes and his tiny little hand over his mouth with his jaw dropped!

His first words to me, "Mommy, you falled down, maybe next time you should hold my hand!!"

WHAT!?! Ugh...

Since this incident yesterday, Carter has repeatedly told me that he is steady and I am not....ARGH!!!

Lesson learned. By me.

He is growing up...he really doesn't need to hold my hand (as much) anymore.

Coming Soon...

A catch up blog post!

Just so you are all aware, the Fiechters are still alive and doing well. We still don't have a computer in our home (other than a loaner lap top from Brad & Lynn ~ THANKS!) Therefore, I have not been able to blog much. BUT - tonight is the night! We are finally getting our computer.

But....I do want to finally formally announce ~

A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO WERE THINKING PINK!!

ITS A GIRL!

We are very excited...We think her name is Adalynn Marie...(but remember, Mason's name was Blake up until 20 minutes after birth! ;) )

More on this story and more at another time...