Thumb Guard-Night One

Ashlyn has been getting worse about sucking her thumb again. I think most of the problem is that she is inside a lot and watching more movies this summer since mommy is so tired and when she watches the movies, she tends to suck her thumb. Well, I don't want it to get any worse, especially since the idea was to have her completely stop when she turned four. So we decided to buy her a thumb guard to help her quit. She really does want to quit. She has asked for medicine to put on her thumb and even wants to sleep with bandaids on so that she won't suck her thumb. But those haven't seemed to work, so we thought we would try this. Last night she got to sleep in mommy and daddy's bed for her first night with it. I thought that she would be waking up several times crying because she couldn't soothe herself back to sleep. But she actually did really well. She was very proud of herself for making it through her first night. I will try and keep posting blogs about how her progress is with it. I think it supposed to take 3 weeks or so. We will see how she does. I thought I would also post a sweet picture of Ashlyn the very first time she found her thumb. I remember being so sad that day and having a hard time with it. (For those of you that don't know, I sucked my thumb for a long time.) But now it is almost bittersweet for her to be stopping. Just one more step in her growing up. My sweet little girl.

Intelligender Results!

I have been waiting (im)patiently for several weeks to be able to take the Intelligender gender prediction test. This is a test that I have heard that other people have taken and it has been correct. So I thought it would be fun to see what it said for us. It is supposed to be 82% accurate at 10 weeks. It took everything in me, but I waited to take it until this morning (I am about 10 1/2 weeks). So anyway, if the test turns dark green, it is a boy result and a dark yellow/orange result is a girl. Here are the pictures of my results.



The color below the sticker should match the sticker. Clearly it does not match the orange girl sticker, but looks exactly like the green boy sticker! Woo hoo! We still have two months to find out if it is correct, but I have felt for awhile that this is a little boy because I feel quite different. So we aren't for sure, but it is exciting to think that we may have a little boy on the way!

Four Years and Eighteen Months (sort of)

I finally got around to getting pictures of the girls taken today. Ashlyn's four year pics and Kenley's 18 month pics even though she is well into the nineteenth month. You do what you can, right? I didn't get Ashlyn's one year pictures taken until she was 16 months old. Anyway, enough about that. Having portraits done is always quite an experience for me. I take the time to make the appointment (because that means that I will be seen when I get there) and I get all the clothes ironed the night before, get the girls to bed on time (because that means that they will be agreeable the next day), make extra time to fix their wispy blonde hair (some moms feel my pain there) and then off to the portrait studio (just a few minutes early to account for any unplanned traffic-always have to be on time). Accept that this morning inevitably, So-and-So didn't show up to work, so you will just have to wait a short while Mrs. Rushing while we get these other people in front of you. And oh by the way, we here at Superstar Portrait Studio book appointments every ten minutes even though they take well over an hour. Thanks for your patience Mrs. Rushing! So we finally get started. Let me just tell you about my two sweet girls that are my precious angels and gifts from God. They are awesome. Ashlyn thinks she is a movie star and feels the need to pose for every single picture. The word candid is lost on her. She is hilarious. I was frustrated at the time, but now that I am home looking at the pictures, her little posed shots are my favorite because that is just who she is. She wanted her pictures taken in her "red and white stripey dress" because that is what she wants to wear everyday (not kidding). Anyway, she is our sweet little bug. Kenley on the other hand hates to have her picture taken. It is like getting blood out of a turnip to get this baby to smile for someone other than family. When I put her on the background to get the pictures, one would have thought that I had left her on the nearest street corner to fend for herself and left. It is quite pathetic. In the end, we got some cute pictures of what both of their personalities are like at this point in their lives. I love these little girls.

Showing At 9 Weeks

I know that every pregnancy is different and with every pregnancy your abdominal muscles get weaker and weaker, but I have to say that I was not prepared for how early I would be showing this time around. I have already started to show and in the past two days, I have noticed that I am already starting to feel ligaments pulling...what is up with that?! That didn't happen until closer to 18 weeks with both girls. Oh well. Other than being totally exhausted (and now showing) I would never know that I am pregnant. I have not felt sick even once and I love that part of it. But I feel like I could sleep at any time...and for a long time. I can't wait to take the Intelligender test in a few weeks to see if it tells me this is a little boy or girl. I have been having the baby boy fever lately. It seems like I think about it constantly. I know I can't do anything about it, but I wanted to prepare my heart if this is a little girl. Shelly told me yesterday that she didn't realize I wanted a boy that bad. I said, "I didn't either!" I asked Ken last night if he would be disappointed if it was a girl. My sweet husbands reply was, "No. Not at all. I am not sure I want a boy. I know my girls. And I love them." I thought that was the sweetest thing and it really helped me to be okay with whatever God gives us. I was looking at the girls walking into church this morning and I thought to myself that we would be just fine with another girl. She would fit just perfectly. Either way, I will have a hint in a few weeks when I take this test that is supposed to be over 80% accurate. Can't wait!

And Baby Makes Five!

We recently found out that we will be adding a fifth member to the Rushing family. I am almost 8 weeks pregnant so we are expecting baby Rushing to make his/her arrival around the end of January or beginning of February. I have been waiting anxiously to make sure that we had a heartbeat and to get pictures of the baby to post it on the blog and tell everyone. One would think that I would remember after the previous two babies that the first ultrasound pictures reveal nothing more than a small peanut-shaped object inside of a black hole. What I also forgot is that how much seeing that small peanut-shaped object and watching its tiny little heart beating would melt my heart. We are so excited to welcome the new baby to our family and hopefully I will be able to make the time to keep everyone posted about the happenings with baby.

We Love You, Julia!

For those of you that don't know, Julia is a foreign exchange student from Germany that has been part of our family for the past nine months. She came to live with us last September and has been part of our lives ever since. Her family came to America a couple of weeks ago. They came to visit the United States and then return home with their daughter that they haven't seen in almost a year. I know that Julia was so happy to see her family. I was excited for her to get to see them, especially her mother. I cannot imagine being separated from my girls for that long.
Today Julia and her family are returning home to Germany. I am so glad that she is with her family again. But I have to be honest, it is quite different around here this evening. We feel like a member of our family is gone. She has been such a part of everything that we do and a part of our everyday lives, that it is difficult to imagine what it will be like now. Ken and I walked into her room tonight and both commented that the room will never be the same. It is Julia's room now.
Julia, by the time you read this, you will be back in your own home. You will be in your own room. And you will sleep in your own bed tonight. You are far away from us now, but you will forever be in our hearts. You will always be in our prayers. We will always remember your sweet spirit. Ashlyn thanked God for you tonight. We hope that we were able to make your dream of being a foreign exchange student something that is a great memory for you. You have a space in our hearts that will never go away. We love you and we will miss you. And this is not goodbye. It is only "see you later".

30 Things I Love About My Life

I turned 30 last week. I think I was expecting something amazing to take place. It didn't. It was kind of just another day for me. I took the girls to school. Watched my brothers kids while they ran errands. Missed my husband because he was out of town on business. Picked the girls up from school. Listened to my toddler scream her lungs out during the entire dinner that my brother cooked for me. There was nothing spectacular about that day. What is spectacular is that God saw fit for me to see my 30th birthday. I was sad several months ago counting down to the day that I could no longer say I was in my twenties. Then one day I found out about a friend of a friend that died of cancer that was only in his early thirties. He had two small children. I started thinking to myself, "Why am I sad that I am getting older? How awesome is it that I get to grow older and watch these two precious girls grow each day!" I have started to see things differently. I noticed a couple of days ago that I have five lines on the inside of my left forearm that I don't have on my right arm. They are pretty obvious wrinkles. I have noticed other wrinkles coming up on my face that I haven't noticed before as well, but these are different. These are the wrinkles that I have from holding my two baby girls. I always hold my girls on my left hip. I hold Kenley there a lot...a LOT! Now I have these permanent reminders to me of all the times that I have gotten to hold my daughters. I have heard the phrase that the days are long, but the years are short. It is so true. My arms get so tired from carrying Kenley, but I know that too soon she won't want to be carried anymore and I will long for it. Okay, there's my sentimental thoughts for my 30th birthday. Here is a list of 30 things that I love about my life.

1. Being able to take Ashlyn to Disney On Ice
2. Family dinners at home almost every night.
3. Having Ashlyn come sleep in our bed on stormy nights.
4. Being able to show Julia places like Lake Tahoe

5. Hearing Ashlyn say her prayers and sing Jesus Loves Me.
6. Pacifiers and pink blankets. They have made my life easier for a long time.


7. My Toyota Sienna minivan (never thought I would be saying that!)
8. Having my daughters live close to their grandparents.

9. Knowing that no matter who the president is or what the economy is like that God will work everything for good.
10. Scrapbook retreats!

11. God providing me with the patience and sanity to take care of three kids this past year.
12. Friday night date nights with my husband...there's one coming up tomorrow, Bob!
13. Hearing Kenley say "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" When she wants to be held.
14. Having a husband that is the best dad I have ever met.

15. Time to hang out with my husband at night and watch Survivor.
16. The Grocery Game. Wooohooo! Check it out at www.thegrocerygame.com
17. Getting to stay at home with my kids every day.


18. Knowing that even though life is a vapor, I will get to be with God in the end.
19. Having good friends that are willing to listen, help and understand.
20. Going to the zoo and seeing my fearless daughter be afraid of a parakeet...Come on..are you serious, Ashlyn?
21. Having a healthy family
22. Being able to go to worship God every Sunday.
23. Having wrinkles knowing that my sweet kids gave them to me.
24. Knowing that my husband loves me, imperfections and all.
25. Being able to go to the orchard to get away from life.
26. Being able to come back home and sleep in my own bed.
27. Seeing my kids play together and love each other so much.

28. Hearing Ashlyn say that when she grows up she wants to be a mommy just like me.
29. Gymboree and Baby Gap.
30. God allowing me to see my 30th birthday and watch my babies grow.