Another Miracle

Yes, we are pregnant! God has blest us with another child. I still can't believe it. All that time we spent waiting and waiting, thinking maybe it wasn't in God's plan for us to have children. And now, eight months after Andrew came into our arms, God created a new little life inside me. We couldn't be more excited! God has perfect timing as always. I remember on New Year's Eve Jarod and I went out to dinner and our conversation turned to the topic of adoption. We knew we wanted more children and that Andrew's first birthday was around the corner. When he turns one we would be eligible to get back in the adoption "book". That night we talked a lot about if we were ready for all the ups and downs of adoption, wondering if we could handle another change of heart, if that were to happen. So I began to pray that God would lead us in the right direction and prepare us for what was to come. It just so happens, that very night we conceived our second child!

Tomorrow I will be 10 weeks pregnant. The ultrasound pictures were taken at 8 weeks. In the pictures, the baby is upside down, doing a head stand. You can see the tiny arms and legs that are beginning to form. By now baby has all it's hands, feet, fingers, and toes! It is so unbelievable to me that people can argue that this is not a human life. I saw the heartbeat, I saw it move and at only 8 weeks into it's existence!

I was recently doing some research on Natural Family Planning and I came across an article that said this about conception: "...where does that immortal soul come from? The sperm doesn't carry it. The egg doesn't carry it. Where does it come from? It comes from a new act of creation by God. In each act of conception, there needs to be a new act of creation by God. One of my priest friends says that "when a new human life is created, the whole universe is changed because something has come into existence which did not exist before and will exist forever." It's just like when God made the whole universe, he made something from nothing. And now, he has made a new soul from nothing. It didn't exist. There isn't a group of souls out there that are sort of waiting around for a landing place. God actually performs a new act of creation."

I love thinking about that. The whole universe has changed forever because God created this new immortal soul that did not exist before and will continue to exist forever.

Life is precious! Thank you Lord for Your creation.

Just Like Dad

Everywhere we go, people look at Andrew and say, "Wow, he looks just like his daddy". Jarod once asked me if that hurts my feelings, how no one ever says how he resembles me. I told him, not one bit! I love that they look alike and act alike. I love that Andrew wants to be doing what dad is doing. I love that when Jarod walks in the door after work Andrew greets him with a huge smile and yells with excitement. Jarod is so good with him too.

Oh, and another thing that Andrew is learning from his dad...to make funny noises with his mouth! We all know how Jarod can sound exactly like a dog, cat, squirrel, peacock, not to mention all the other indescribable sounds. Well, Andrew is now fascinated with spitting, clicking his tongue, and blowing raspberries. It's only a matter of time before he starts barking!

I just wish he wouldn't practice these noises while he has a mouth full of applesauce!

My Dennis the Menace

I love Andrew's hair. I love that it has a tinge of red, which neither Jarod nor I have. I love how there is one tuft in the back that stands straight up no matter what we to it.

I love how it curls up in the bathtub...

and how some curls are starting to form at the nape of his neck. I hope these curls stick around and continue to grow. Wouldn't he look so cute with curly hair...

...just like his daddy!

And this is just because I love his mad face. Isn't he so cute when he's angry!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sending a little love to brighten your day...

Our Valentine's dinner consisted of grilled pork chops, creamed spinach and chocolate bundles. I like to show my love for my husband through food. I have always enjoyed trying new recipes and it seems like I am always baking something. I get so much satisfaction out of hearing him say "Oh, this is soooo good", or "This is one of my favorites". Although, it isn't too hard to please him since he eats anything. About the only thing he doesn't like are olives. So I get to feel like the world's best chef most nights!

My loving husband raved about my creamed spinach, even though I used way too much garlic!

A little bit of heaven

Elliott Jude Kastl came into our lives on Feb 10th. Tad and Sommer, the proud parents, are doing wonderfully! Looking at Sommer you would think that labor was nothing more than a mildly strenuous workout. Incredible! I remember being a lot more immobile two days after having Andrew. We got to stop by for a few hours on Saturday to meet our new nephew. Elliott is Andrew's first cousin on the Kastl side, and being 9 months apart, I am already looking forward to all the fun adventures they are going to have together!

Isn't this face just so precious! Nothing in the world compares to holding a newborn baby.

While we let Tad and Sommer get some rest, we went out for dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Kastl and Aaron and Tracy. We always love spending time with family!

How do you get a 9 month old to sit still at a nice restaurant while waiting for our food? Let him suck on a lemon! That puckered him up for a while!

Congratulations Tad and Sommer on your precious little miracle. I can't wait to come back and get my hands on him! We will be visiting again soon.

This is how we've been feeling all week. Jarod, Andrew and I all came down with the yucky cold, head congestion bug that's been going around. It's been a week full of crying, nose wiping, jammies, and laying on the couch. I don't even know how many boxes of Puffs we've gone through. I feel so bad for Andrew. His nose has been continually running - it seems there is no end to the snot. We have been using the snot-sucker-outer bulb on him which he hates, so it's usually a two man job to hold him down, keep him from throwing his head around and try not to jab him in the eye. I just wish he could blow his nose. To help him along with this, we sometimes hold his mouth closed. What? I promise I'm a good mom!

I am happy to say that we are all feeling much better now. I had been cooped up in this house for four days without going anywhere, so last night when Jarod came home from work he encouraged me to go for a walk around the block. Those 10 minutes of fresh air were just what I needed. Thanks hun.

Amidst the nose-blowing, we did manage to get some playing in this week. Look at how big he's getting. Did I mention that he is standing now and walking around furniture?

He has learned that if he rocks back and forth over and over in his highchair he can scoot forward. The highchair was against the wall. I will be fixing his food and turn around and see that he has traveled a few feet.

He thinks he's so smart!

A new challege we are faced with is how to save our walls. His favorite thing to do now is drive his trucks around and ram them into the walls. It's so cute how he flinches from the loud noise it makes. However, the dents in the walls aren't so cute. I guess this is just the beginning!