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Head above water

I was beginning to think my little chunker was never going to sleep though the night...then last week he did it! He has gone without a middle of the night feeding for the past 6 nights! Yea! I probably shouldn't talk about it but I'm hoping it's going to last. That doesn't mean this Mama has slept through the night yet, for some reason or another (the children shall remain nameless) I have been awakened a few times the past few nights. However, the 1 or 2 long stretches of sleep have been fabulous and I am very thankful for them. I feel like I've been swimming under the surface for awhile and now my head is above water. (3 kids are heavy to swim with, hee...hee.., pardon the bad joke I am a little tired tonight).
On a serious note, the Lord has truly blessed us with Esther, and I am actually getting pretty spoiled. I haven't asked her to do much at all but every time I turn around she is cleaning the kitchen or folding clothes. I think she's becoming comfortable and hopefully enjoying her time here. She's said several times that people are very friendly. Tomorrow I will take her to Reading Connections in town where she will figure out what English classes she should take, she's excited about school. I'm hoping when D starts talking it will be in Korean.
Only 5 more days until Thanksgiving, which I'm excited about for several reasons. One of those is because I haven't had sweets this month and Steven hasn't had any soda - and we're stopping that nonsense on Thanksgiving. We've been drinking a lot of Sweet Tea lately, so the "diets" probably haven't been too successful. Oh well, if we did lose a lot of weight I'm sure we'd gain it back over the holidays. Oh how I love to eat over the holidays! Thankfully David will be 6 months old soon and I can go back to the gym. I can't believe how fast my little guy is growing up, this time is sweet and fleeting. I'm going to end this rambling post and head to bed so I can enjoy this phase whenever it starts in the morning. Until next time!

Crazy week...+1 more in the fam

This week has proved to be interesting for the Harrells. I worked a record long 32 hour shift in Charlotte, from Wednesday morning at 8am to Thursday afternoon at 4pm. Obviously, this would not be possible at most NICUs, but this particular hospital is a little slower paced. I generally get a full night's sleep, plus Mama brought David up to nurse a couple of times. I left the big kids in Charlotte with Steven and his Mom, whenever the kids are split up it makes it much easier on the caregivers. I guess since I birthed them I don't usually get that option. Ha.
Anyways, while I was gone Steven called me about an email he had received, regarding a young Korean girl who needed a place to stay. She had come to America to work on her English, but the medical clinic she was going to be involved with did not work out as she had planned. Through some missionary contacts in Korea she was "rescued" by an older couple in West Virginia, where she has been staying for the past month or so. The email stated that she would like to live with a family that she could help with household chores or childcare in exchange for room and board, and she wanted to be involved in a local meeting like the kind Steven and I go to. After a moderate amount of prayer and even less discussion, we drove to Asheboro on Friday afternoon and brought her home to live with us, until June. It's interesting how the Lord works. I had recently been feeling like I wasn't doing anything to serve the Lord, besides what I do for my family. Steven has the prison ministry and his speaking ministry, but I had nothing. Then on Sunday we heard a sermon about how Jesus blessed the little children and how we too should reach out to the orphans. Esther isn't exactly an orphan, but she did need a family and a place to live! I noticed her sweet spirit immediately and feel very good about the situation. Her English is not bad and she is very easy to be around. I hope the Lord uses us as a blessing in her life but I think the opposite might be more true in the end!
In addition to our new "family member", we had Leslie and her kids in town this weekend, another friend spend the night last night from Raleigh, and Steven had to go to Richmond, VA, last minute, to speak at a Youth Conference today. Sometimes I think it would be nice if things slowed down, but for the most part we are enjoying the ride! I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds. Until then....

Halloween without the pictures

I'm not sure what's wrong with blogger tonight but I can't get the pictures from Halloween to upload. Oh well, they weren't that cute (the costumes were but the kids wouldn't smile for the camera). Picture this - a 4 year old bumblebee, a 2 year old monkey, and a 5 month old chicken. Well, it was pretty cute. I have to say that by the time Halloween rolls around I am pretty tired of the holiday. I am not one for scary stuff, never have been. I made my friends in high school leave the haunted house before going in on more than one occasion. I always avoid horror movies. And is it just me, or have the yard decorations gotten a little out of hand? A neighbor of my Mom's had 3 "dead people" hanging from their trees. Really? How am I supposed to explain that to my 4 year old? I mean, carve a pumpkin, people, and keep your death obsession inside your home. I just don't get why so many people enjoy being frightened, but I think I am in the minority these days since the box office is full of horror flicks. There's enough evil in this world by our true foe, the Devil, that I don't care to indulge in any extra. Sorry, I will get off my soap box now...all that to say, Halloween was a fun night for the Harrells. We went to a church around the corner and participated in "Trunk or Treat" (a great alternative for tiny legs), then came home and went trick or treating to about 4 of our neighbor's homes. David was pretty tired of being a chicken by that time. I am going to do my best to keep Halloween G-rated in my home as my kids get older....maybe I'll continue dressing them in fluffy animal costumes if they want to trick or treat, I'm sure that will go over really well.
I have decided that it would be ok if the kids didn't grow up....most of the time. I know it's inevitable but they can be so sweet now. I have a few hours of just Eli time every week when Sadie's in school and David's taking a nap. I give him lots of hugs and tell him he's my sweet boy. Today he told me "you're my tweet girl". He also said I was a "dood" (good) Mommy. Tonight he said "I wuv you dooo (so) much". Yea, I'll keep him 2 as long as possible!