Friday News

Thank you all for the nice thoughts, messages, and most of all prayer over the baby, and our family, it was very much felt.  We have overall good news, we met with the high risk OB, had an entire new anatomy ultrasound done and as of right now things look normal, small end of normal, but normal.  The doctor thinks that while yes we will have small babies an extra eye on things can never hurts.  While I'm not going to see him anymore and i can return to my regular OB for the remainder of my pregnancy he has recommended a few extra things.  I'll be going in every week for a non stress test, and bi weekly for fluid checks on the baby just to monitor her growth and ensure things are going well. 

I'm so thankful for God hands through everyone, while talking to the doctor, unknown to me, the main point of going to see him yesterday was to see if baby would be better off outside than in.  He was pleased to say she can stay right where she is, while she does measure on the small side, everything else looks normal, healthy and on the right track!  Thank God because, despite the restless nights of sleep, the backaches, and everything else that 3rd trimester so richly bless you with I'm not ready to be done.  I'm not ready to have her outside, that's not in the plan, its not what i want and I'm just not ready to give her up yet.  While I'm glad my OB didn't outright say that to be a few days ago, I'm so thankful that was not what we had to do.  God knows and he has been such a peaceful presence throughout this all.

Please continue to pray, this time my top request would be for Aiden.  Strange as it may seem, he senses our anxiety over everything, he's sick of being dragged along to the doctors for long periods of time, and his schedule changes so much he is just having a hard time.  I'm thankful for a peaceful Friday at home, where he can play, with no where special to be today.   It just feels good, for all of us, to have a little bit of "normal" because soon we'll be adjusting to a new normal.  Also pray God give us someone in the Rochester area that can help care for Aiden during these next weeks of doctors visits.  I'm not sure what we'll do with him, its not fair to have him sit through endless appointments, however its hard to find care sometimes. 

Thanks again for every one's love and supports! 

for now here's a picture from our last ultrasound

and a little preview of our lazy Friday at home IPhone style!



Have a Great Friday!

One More Dr. On Board

After my ultrasound I got a call yesterday from my OB and I'm being referred to a high risk OB for further testing on little Miss's growth.  In her words "she seems to be getting skinnier from what we can see in the ultrasound."  These last weeks of your pregnancy are the fat pile on time and she seems to be slimming down so that brings up concern.  The new OB is out of Park Ridge Unity hospital, which just so happens to be where my mom works.  After a quick call to her and her inside edition to the hospital she  says he  is a very nice guy and also specializes in genetics perfect! right?  God's perfect plan moment. Anyways we go tomorrow for another ultrasound (this lady is going to have just as many pics in utero as out lol) and then our first consultation with this new OB after. 

While being constantly monitored is not such a bad thing, it makes my anxiety/worry go in waves.  I'm at peace with having a small child, I'm at a peace with her growth not being what the world of medicine considers "normal".  I've been through this, the tears, fears, sleepless nights over just aren't worth it, God is in control and has His hands on her from day 1.  However every time they find something new, that concerns them it brings all the emotions back to the surface. 

Please pray for our emotions as we cont. to press on, the doctors for wisdom and for this precious life that she continues to grow into the woman that God has created her to be!  Thanks for all your love and support, and we'll update tomorrow once we know more!!

Baby Update

Little miss Switzer's update for today...We went in for another ultrasound to measure her growth and make sure she's still growing on the curve and we have less than desirable news, yet not horrible.  We've gone from the 18th percentile down to the 12th weighing in today at 3.5lbs.  With only 7 more weeks to go, we're going to be having an preemie size child at full term more than likely.  The ultrasound tech. says that the doctors don't seem to worry too much unless the baby falls below the 10th percentile, so for that I'm thankful and praying she stays where she's at or goes back up.  We will have another ultrasound before my due date to check again and see the progress that she's making before her birthday.  My prayer is I can cont. to stay health and able to carry her to 40 weeks giving her the most time available to gain weight and develop. 

For now we thank God that she's active, healthy, and doing great otherwise!

Welcome December

December is here!  So excited for this time of year; the snow, warmth of my home, time with family, laughter of pure joy and most of all the birth of Christ to remember.  Not sure if it's the pregnancy, 2 year old child or what but it really feels like Christmas lately.  Church is doing a series on advent which means "coming", a time where we look forward in adticipation to the birth of Jesus and the celebration of Jesus coming to earth.  I see how excited Aiden gets this time with the lights, setting up the tree, going to see family and its such a paralle of the joy he has for those things as we should have for the coming of Jesus's birthday. 

Updates on life...

Aiden is 22lbs which is awesome, a blessing answer to prayers!  He is becoming such a boy, it is awesome to see his personality show up more and more each day as he gets older.  I am thainkful each day for his love of life, he humor, and his way to bring a smile to my face no matter what. 

Our little miss #2  is doing great as well.  We go for our next ultrasound soon to check her growth progress over the last month and a half.  So excited to be blessed with extra times to see her before she is born!

Church is going great, God is continue to show his faithfulness as we enter into this Christmas season i'm so excited to be open for our first Christmas service! 

and now it's nap time :-)

Halloween, the Way We Celebrate

I know Halloween isn't everyone's thing, for a variety of reasons, however in our house we like to have fun! So until the holiday turns into something other than that, we continue to celebrate in our own little ways.  We got our pumpkin a few weeks back, and today we let Aiden paint his pumpkin, because carving just wasn't his thing, and this he was able to participate in so much more!

After nap time we all went to my parents for a homemade pizza dinner then went out to a few of these neighbors and other special friends around town to trick or treat.  Aiden had so much fun saying hi to all the people and filling his plastic pumpkin bucket full of "moor teats" as he would call them! 

So we had fun, no scares needed, but lots of memories of family times together! 

Happy Halloween All!!

my three words

Recently  I spotted on Facebook that a church in Rochester took their own spin ABC's News' segment "tell us your three words".  Not sure on all the details that the church went into, but they captured many of the people in the church's life based "three words".  I watched the short video and really got to thinking and praying in my quiet time, God what are MY three words?  It's a lot harder than I thought,

What three words do I want to live by, to be remembered for, and stand up to protect in my life? 

Because of Him



God created me, loves me, and made me who I am today.  My life would be completely different if I didn't have Jesus.  I do what I do today because of Him.  My life, my marraige, children, friends, work, and hope in life is because God is God, and because of what He has done for me and everyone else in this world.  I take my three words as a stepping stone to show others that their lives can be changed, can be made whole again, and they can live life because of Him too. 

Everyone has a story, and I think looking at these people on the video really helped to show a little glimpse into their story based on their three words.  How does God want us to share our three words, and with who?  I guess you never know how your three words, and someone else's three words can really further what God has us on this Earth to do.  To share the love of Jesus to everyone we can each and everyday. 

TFH's Three word video

 Here's a link to the clip!

Donut Date

Today we spent at home, I have a feeling Aiden is feeling a bit under the weather, so we hung around home for the day.  After his nap I decided to take him for a mommy and me little treat, so we got dressed and headed out to Tim Hortons for a donut.  While it cost very little, its impact was so big for each of us.  I have a friend who has kids and he takes them out on "dates" and this didn't start out as my intention, but as we sat in Tim Hortons and enjoyed our time together, it was such a special time for just him and me.  We spent time doing something he wanted to, sitting in the seats, looking out the window at the truck and buses that passed by.  Today i realized how lucky i am to have so much one on one time with him and i treasure it deeply, but it also made me realize that i want to do this with all my kids.  It may not be donuts each time, but doing something with them one on one, sharing in the time together really is priceless. 

Here's a little window into our mommy Aiden date!

Update on Our Little Miss

We went to our monthly check up at the OB this morning and got some great news, our little girl is actually on the charts with weight!!  I have to say I've never had a child that's been on the charts, this is new for us!  Our last ultrasound left the doctor with lots of questions about baby girl's growth, and weight so we scheduled another ultrasound.  After the blessings of lots of friends and families praying for us, and for her, we come back with more than encouraging news...she weighs in at the 18th percentile at 1 lb. 4 oz. big!!  She's growing well and seems to be out of the cautionary doctor radar for now.  We breath easier and are thankful once again for our healthy baby girl on the way.  We will prob. have another ultrasound in another month or so to ensure she stays on her curve but the doctor seems pleased.

We got some of the best yet pictures of her, so crazy how much she changes at every ultrasound! 

she looks so much like Aiden in the picture! 

We thank everyone for your support prayer and love, we are so greatful that things are going smoothly and pray that they continue that way!

On October 3rd

oh yes, a much needed Monday spent at home, in the PJ's doing housework, homework and snuggling my little boy that is quickly growing out of my lap!  These past few weeks have felt like a marathon, however even though the race is far from done, I have today to be home, relax and enjoy being a mother. 

Sadly blogging has taken a backseat to life recently so hopefully as things settle and we get back into a routine i can start posting our life events again. 

Baby girl Switzer is doing well, measuring on the small side so they are keeping an extra keen eye on her, but still doing well.  I've always said we weren't meant to produce big kids, so God's peace is with us and after all we've been through with Aiden I know what to look for as warnings signs when she arrives.  Right now I'm spending the days enjoying feeling her moving around, the hugs and kisses to my belly from her big brother and feeling good all together.  We are officially 24 weeks down with 16 short weeks to go.  This week she measures out at about the size of an ear of corn, how fitting for this fall season! 



Aiden spends his days looking at all the trucks, buses, trains and planes that are all around.  I love watching him as he grows up before my eyes each day into more of a boy than a baby.  It's sad on one hand but just makes me more of a proud momma on the other.  He goes for his 2 year well child visit today, so we pray for big scale tipping numbers and a good bill of health for the year! 

Well that's all for now, I hope to update more often of all our fun filled fall adventures to come so stay tuned!

Dreams to Reality As We Offically Walk On

Today we took a far out dream, and watched it break into reality.  This morning at 11am on October 2nd, 2011 South campus at Northgate launched its first official service.  God was there, people were blessed and awesomeness took place at that church this morning. 

Our family went to service on Saturday night so we could worship all together, and our new sermon series started.  Our series BIG took off starting talking about how big things in our life aren’t all that big and take up room for the thing that we want to make really big.  This week we talked about how big we make worry, and rather than focus on our worry if we made our purpose the big thing and gave our worry over to God.  This whole journey, started way back in February, where my dreams of directing children's ministry for a church started to become a reality, but within all of it I still has worry.  Worry about our family finances, worry about actually being good enough to do this job, worry about so very much that throughout this journey I’ve continued to give over to God.  I choose so many times to give the worry of who would volunteer where, what program we would use, when carpet might go into classrooms over to God who has had complete control over South from day 1.  I'm proud to say He never let us down, today was such a testament to how faithful God has been and will continue to be throughout the life of Northgate. 

Before we left service last night Pastor Andy was talking to Brandon and me about how awesome it was going to be, and to really put all of our worries away and enjoy the truly memorable experience that awaited us that next day.  I tell you between the sermon and that conversation so much changed within me and my heart.  Who knew 1 day before launch I would have such a peace come over me about everything.  This morning went beyond good, it was truly amazing and I’ve spent my time afterward just thanking God for giving me the privilege of being a part of all of this.  I truly pray that south touches people in a new way and we continue to show God’s love and word to each and every person that walks through our doors. 

Thanks to all that helped make this day so wonderful, this is a day that is truly history in the making for Northgate and one I’ll never forget!

a little life update

I know its been so long since my past post, life has had so much to it, blogging just never felt right, or we were busy, and so much more.  A lot has happened in the past few months that have me really thinking about the WWW and how i choose to use it.

 I've taken a lot more of how facebook, and other social networks have a positive side as well as a negative and so far i haven't had too many negative.  These past few weeks I've started to see the negative side the this new age way of communication in the world.  I have a few friends that have gone through some pretty rough stuff in the past month, and it has really made me stop to think about the way i want to use facebook for communication.  I don't want it to replace face to face contact, a phone call or even a card to express my feelings about their situations.  I know everyone has their own views on what is appropriate to do on facebook, post for people to see and so on, but i have found for me personally its become a struggle.  I have been so blessed by God recently that i could celebrate and post about, but the fear of "who might see this", "who might take this the wrong way" has crept into my head.  I've taken a break from blogging, facebooking and everything else for awhile during this time and it has really changed how I want to be seen as a person. 

Although i don't have all the answers i finally feel okay in my own heart to post about how God has blessed my life, but also pray for the people that may be going through hard times.  I've learned not to put so much value in the facebook fads and who wants to be friend or doesn't.  If i stay true to who i am, follow what i feel led to do then i shouldn't have any reason to feel guilty.  :)

A quick  update on teh stuff we've been up to in the Switzer household...

- we had an awesome family vacation in Vermont

- Northgate South campus is coming along, while the time is coming closer and closer God has continued to show His hands in the whole thing.  It's been awesome to be apart of something like this.

- We had an unplanned ultrasound to make sure everything was going okay after a few mini concerns, and while we learned that everything is going great and our baby is healthy and quite the mover we also found out...

we are so excited our little girl will join our family, i swear people hear you're having a girl and clothes start coming out of the woodwork.  We have already been so blessed by people's generous boxes of clothes!

- this isn't "good news" per say but news just the same, our little boy found himself in his first cast, we hope it doesn't have to stay on long but it reminds me of just how 'boy' he is.

He's been such a trooper, and the cast hasn't slowed him down a bit!

- Lastly we were so blessed by my aunt for taking be able to take Aiden's 2 year pictures finally!! (thank God it was before the cast went on ;-) )  here's a little preview of a few of my favs!

These prob. deserve a blog of their own but for now here are a few of my favs!

three years

We've been on our first family vacation together this week and we've had such a great time together.  While we were on vacation Brandon and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary.  Since we focused more on family time I decided to not blog or anything on vacation, so its a little late, but never the less special and memorable in my mind! 

Happy 3 years to my awesome husband.  These years haven't been all wedding bliss, but i know now more than ever we can make it through anything, and I look forward to so many more years spent with you! 

Our life as we know it now

I haven't posted much on the life changes and such since I've been done at Pearce, and started the new chapter in our lives.  I have to say at first it was a challenge.  Going from having the same routine since Aiden was 8 weeks old to an wide open day for me to fill myself was a bit intimidating.  If you had asked me a month ago how I felt i would have said i was adjusting, and as much as i miss working at p4k i knew the day i left that it was the right choice.  I miss the kids, the coworkers and most of the atmosphere there.  Overall it was a great job, and one that had defiantly help mold me into who i am today.  In the last week or so I've really realized how much i love my life now thought too.  We are creating our own daily routine at home, with still having the flexibility to do things we want to.  I've gotten lots of great memories with Aiden that I'll keep forever, and being at home has really started to sit well with me.  We've been to the museum of play countless times, visited Springdale farms, lots of parks, played in the pool outside and so much more.  I love providing for my family in a way that I haven't before, and I've gained so much respect for the world of stay at home moms!  This job to the outside looks easy, and sometimes it may be, but this is a hard job that really doesn't get enough credit. 

Things at Northgate are picking up, we are only 9 weeks away from our launch date.  Oh my does this excited and scare me all at the same time! Covering all aspects of the church in prayer daily is our approach, so God is in total control and we all look forward to this new chapter in the life of NG take off.  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, words of encouragement and friendship over this past month as our family as made a huge change in our lives!

Vacation

In only 5 days from today our little family will take our first family vacation.  A bit last min, but we are all so excited.  So next week this will be the view from my window each morning!!

Shrimp

The little life that grows inside me is getting bigger and bigger each day.  This week something that I vividly remember about learning when I was pregnant with Aiden was when they baby develops fingerprints.  To me this is just God's work at it's finest.  This week baby #2 is developing something that will identify them for the rest of their life; fingerprints.  I look forward to them on my sliding glass door, sticky ones on the table and painted ones I will keep forever! 

This week we've grown as big as a "medium size shrimp"!  So food for week # 13 today is a shrimp! 

Two!

Today at 4:08am my little baby boy turned two!  They say it goes fast so treasure every moment that you get, and i hope I've done that as much as possible. 

Dear Aiden,
    Two years ago my life totally changed, and although its not always been easy i would never chance one second of it.  You have brought joy, love, motherhood, laughter and so much more into my life.  I want to record so much of your life so when we look back we can remember all the things we might forget otherwise.  Today at 4:18am I woke up and said a little prayer just for you.  I pray for your this year that you'll be healthy and strong, learn lots of new things, and most importantly know more about God each and everyday.  This past year you've done so much, learned a lot and grown into such a little boy.  Here as some second year life highlights to look back on...

You use so many more words
give great hugs and kisses
say i love you
feel in love with Elmo
love looking for Kitties at Bumpa's house
graduated to a big boy car seat
went pee pee on the potty for the first time
became a big brother
dressed up as a tootsie roll and went trick or treating for the first time
made lots of friends
went to the beach for the first time
rode a pony
went from crib to toddler bed
learned to eat anything and everyone, but of course on your own terms
have the best box playhouse ever
learned how to pray, and ask to at every meal or snack
had your first of many trips to the museum of play
still had weight battles but are doing great!

and probably so many more things I'll think of later and wish i added.

You're an awesome little boy and I'm so grateful to call you my son.  I love you and wish this next year be great for you!  Happy 2nd Birthday Aiden Michael!!

Love,

Your Mom <3





Fruit of the week...a lime!

It's been such a crazy week i never did my weekly baby post. We had Aiden's 2nd birthday party, didn't quite turn out as totally planned but he had a great day and had lots of fun! (pictures of that posted soon)

 So here it is, a little late but, better late then never.  So week 12, baby Switzer # 2 is the size of a lime! 

A Fig

Little baby Switzer is getting bigger each day and doing great!  Went to the OB for my second apt. and because they were played shy the heart beat matchine we had an ultrasound to make sure everything was going well.  Must be a little shy at first, because once the camera was there for awhile he or she started waving at us!  No matter how many kids you have it is so amazing to see the ultrasound screen.  Heart beat is great, little one in there moving up a storm so we know they were healthy and doing great! 

So the fruit for this week is a fig!

hopefully in a few days I'll find time to post of few of the ultrasound pics!

A Kumquat

I signed up for this pregnancy ticker on my phone, so every week it sends me a little blurb about what that baby is doing this week , how he/she is developing and so forth.  I always found it so interesting to see God's work at throughout the process, its so amazing to think about.  Anways another reason i love these types of apps. is that it compares the size of the baby to a fruit each week, this week its a kumquat!  I want to keep track of the fruit of the week so i thought what a cool weekly blog idea!

So here's the starting point at 10 weeks, a kumquat!

A birthday guest list preview...

Sadly if you did not hear your name listed at the end you are not on the guest list for this one.  No hard feelings, I've listened a few times and I'm not on there either!  Better lucky at 3 I guess.  ;-)

23 months

Today is the 20th so we all know what that means...23 months ago a little man totally changed my life.  So hard to believe that this is the last time i'll say "___ months old" because once they reach 2...you just say they're 2, right?  its so crazy how fast two years has gone by.  But never the less this past month of his life has been eventful. 

He gained the most weight he's ever gained in his whole life, 19lbs to a scale tipping 23lbs!  Such an unexpected blessing and answer to prayers.  If you have ever prayed for Aiden I thank you from the bottom of my heart, they have gotten us through so much in the last 23 months!

Aiden became a big brother!! He's so excited, he always tells me where the baby is and gives my belly kisses, i love it!

His love for the word "mine" aka no has become quite interesting.  Self expression, self determination, and a heart of a strong willed little boy become more and more evident each day! 

He played in the sand for the first time at the beach on fathers day (that post for a later date!)

Soon a lot for him will change with staying home and not going to school anymore so, we had a lot of new things come up this past month but a lot more changes ahead. 

Here are a few things that make you who you are...



you're awesome smile that lights up my life



you're sense of adventure!

your humor

Happy 23 months my little baby, we love you and are so excited you're part of our life!!

Big Shoes to Fill

Among trying to organize lunch we look over and see Aiden doing this.  So we stopped and took advantage of a video worthy moment :)   Happy Saturday!

weeks old to almost years old

Just a little view of a cute photo comparison!

3 weeks to 22 months

Aiden's Big News!!!

Aiden has big new he wanted to share with everyone.  He didn't have all the words to express it all so we helped him out a little. Enjoy!!

Spring is here to stay...we hope

Weather is warmer, sun is out, snow has seem to go away for a long, long time...now if we could get a week without rain we'd be doing good.  Well with the warmer weather comes as much outdoor fun as possible.  Here's a sneak peak of a weekend at the Switzers!

we blew bubbles

checked out the trees

He's such a ham, i love it!

he puts a smile on my face no matter what!

Here's to a happy, safe and fun in the sun filled summer!

A Day to Play

Last Saturday we went with my parents to the museum of play.  They've always wanted to go and so we made a day trip out of it.  Here's a few highlights from the day!

In a Blink of an Eye

My little man is growing up so fast, today he is offically 22 months old!!