Monday, January 31, 2011

Project of the day: A Shoulder Diaper Bag








Today I decided I would try to make a shoulder diaper bag. I found a pattern on etsy for $7 and already had the fabric. I have never sewn something like this and it took me the entire day! I decided to put pockets all the way around the liner so it took me a little longer to figure out how to do that. It turned out really cute but I am not sure if I will sew another bag again! Checked off all the things and errands we had to do today....having contractions all day....they are predicting a major snowstorm coming our way with up to 12 inches of snow....maybe Claire will surprise us and roll in with the blizzard! I wonder what the Lord has in store!

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Friday, January 28, 2011

Change..

Change is in the air. Lots of changes are happening and about to happen. Two of the doctors here in Cushing (a married couple) are leaving. One is an OB and one is a Family Practice doctor that delivers babies as well. The full ramifications of this we are not sure how it will play out. The OB is my doctor. I am so sad to see her go but am excited about a new opportunity for them in a new setting. They have served here in Cushing for 26 years! With children all grown they have decided to move to Nashville, TN so that the husband can pursue his dream of song writing and music. Change. With them leaving it will leave Cushing with 6 doctors, with only 3 delivering babies. This is going to be interesting. We do have one family practice doctor coming in July that will deliver babies as well. Needless to say our easy, slower days seem to be coming to an end. Dustin is expecting to be completely full by April. Which is good. Please join us in praying for this time of transition for Cushing. Please pray that God would protect our family time and that Dustin's office will be able to effectively manage the surge of new patients. Pray that in the immediate time of adjustment and transition that the focus of his clinic would remain ministry. Pray for open hearts and a fertile ground for receiving the gospel within his new patient pool. We are so grateful to the Lord and the town that he has brought us to serve in. We are really enjoying becoming Cushingites and look forward to the plans He has in store. Change. In the midst of this we will be meeting our second little girl in 9 days. 9 days! I had my last doctor's appointment and pre-registered at the hospital today. We have been praying about induction with this baby because of the difficulties that Abigail had at birth because she was so large. She had a broken collar bone, torticolis and pretty severe hip displasia where she had to wear a full body brace for about 5 weeks. Her delivery was scary. We did not realize that she was going to be so large, weighing in at 8lb 15oz. Her Daddy was going to deliver her but when he saw how big her head was he quickly stepped aside for Dr.Ross to take the lead. This pregnancy we did a fetal growth ultrasound at 35 weeks and it was reading that Claire was already 6 1/2 lbs where I think normally they weigh around 5 lbs. Guess we just make big babies! Anyway, so we have decided to go ahead with an induction at 38 weeks. In my doctors visit today I was already very thin and at 1 cm so we will just be using pitocin. It seems strange to know exactly when I will go into labor and that she will most likely be born on Sunday, February 6th. With all of the other kidos we hadn't known when they might come. Carson was two weeks early weighing 8 lb 4 oz. Andrew was a day late weighing 8 lb 14 oz and Abigail was three days early weighing 8 lb 15 oz. Change. I have this immense sense of change in the air. My days with just Abigail at home are numbered. Last week I tried a new schedule with dropping the boys off at school which I thought would work. I was told that if I took Andrew to school before 8:15 I could drop him off at the cafeteria door and he would go and check in there. If you come after 8:15, like we have been doing, you have to walk the kids into the classroom and sign them in everyday. This I was very leery of at the first of the year having Abigail and being pregnant but we have actually managed to be there in the classroom by the time the bell rings every morning. With Claire coming I was worried about how I was going to take a newborn and a 21 month old with Andrew into the school every morning to check him in and thus was excited to hear that perhaps if I could rearrange our morning a little then I could drop him off at the cafeteria door before 8:15 then I wouldn't have to get both girls out of the car and into the school and then back into the car (in winter by the way) every morning. Well, come to find out even if you drop your kids off at the cafeteria door before 8:15 you are still required to walk them in and sign them in. Needless to say I was very disappointed and stressed out to hear this. I just thought I had all my ducks in a row. So...I have been praying. Andrew's teacher has been really sweet and has even asked another Mom to walk Andrew into school every day but I just cannot ask someone else, whom I do not know, to wait for us and take Andrew into school for four months. I feel like I have no other option than to keep him home and do the rest of his pre-school with him at home. The more I have been praying about it and thinking about it I have become really excited about this little extra time with Andrew at home. Abigail will looove having him here and it will be fun to work with him on some pre-school material I have found. I hate it for Andrew only in that he has done soo well and really likes going to school but at the same time he is now excited to get to stay home and do school with Mommy when Claire comes. Change. A new baby. A busy husband. Teaching pre-school at home. A new schedule. Less sleep. More laundry. Bring it on! Let the madness begin! What I am most thankful for is that even amongst the changes that are happening and going to happen we serve a faithful God who is ever constant, in whom we can trust has complete control of all these things within the grasp of His hands. Yee-haw God! (this is what one of my Cushing friends says alot and I think it is very appropriate here!) :)

Monday, January 24, 2011

A Baby Shower for Claire


Just wanted to share this...a baby shower for Claire Isabel Cupp! What fun! We really don't need very much at all for this little princess and I tried to tell the sweet ladies at church that we really didn't need a shower but they were persistent and insisted that they were going to have a shower to celebrate Claire. I feel a little overwhelmed by God's goodness and his love that has been shown to us in our new church family. I checked yesterday to make sure I could get some hostess gifts lined up not knowing how many there were....and was informed that there are 14 hostesses! What? That is just crazy love! I feel soo blessed by these sweet, sweet ladies that love the Lord! So, if you are in town come and join us as we celebrate little Claire bear.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Fancy Pants!

Our project on Friday was a pair of bloomers for Claire's newborn pictures. I had found some super cute crocheted ones on etsy but they were $28 plus shipping and thus I decided maybe I could try to make them instead. What a fun project! I totally winged it and they actually turned out great! Praise the Lord! And they cost me $6 and about an hour to make! Fun! I can't wait to see them on her little tushie...13 days!



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Carson looves to read!

Carson has been doing very well in school and is now reading at level 12. He is now bringing books home to read and then taking tests on them at school. What a great big brother he is reading to Andrew! Looove it!


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Sunday, January 16, 2011

January Heartache

As January is here again I found myself mourning this morning for the two little babies we have lost in the month of January. The heartache is still there. The losses so vividly remembered but as I reflect on our journey and where God has carried us I cannot help but be overwelmed by His goodness and faithfulness to our family as we continue to seek His will for our lives. He gave me this verse this morning as a reminder of His love and faithfulness. Even when times are hard God's character does not change and for that I am so thankful for. I am so grateful we serve a God who delights in redemption and restoration as He draws us ever closer to Him.
"But you, O Lord are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." Psalm 86:15

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Time Flies when you are having fun!

So January is half way over and I am just now getting a chance to update the blog! We have been having a fun time this holiday season and this Momma is realizing that I have not been doing a very good job taking pictures again or keeping this updated. Time is flying by, but we are having such a fun time! Three weeks until Claire Isabel will be here...wow! I can't believe it. The boys are doing great and settling back into their school routine. Carson is doing a great job this semester practicing his piano. He did have his first piano recital shortly before Christmas but I forgot the camera..boo! He did a great job playing Jingle Bells. He is Ms. Holly's youngest student this year. I have been encouraging him and working together with him for 20 minutes every day to work on his piano....it is amazing the progress he is making! This past Friday he and his school did a "Get Fit" dance at halftime of the varsity girls' basketball game. Oh my stars...what a fun time we had watching Carson "shake his groove thing" and then getting down to "peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly, baseball bat"...not completely sure about the second song and its lyrics but it was fun to watch. Andrew is doing very well at school. In fact he brought home an outstanding report card where most things were checked "outstanding skill displayed". I have asked Andrew to bring some of his paying attention and following directions "outstanding skills" home with him. :) He is doing a fantastic job writing his name and letters! We are so proud. He really likes school. We are continuing to have our bible heroes devotional time before school everyday. It is a special time where we can talk about a bible hero and challenge the boys to display those qualities at school. We have been praying alot for a couple of their friends families that have had some illnesses and medical issues. One morning while praying for one of Carson's friend's Dad Carson told me..."Oh, Mom I talked to Caden and he said God healed his Daddy's eyes so we don't have to pray anymore for that."...I love that Carson has shared with his friend at school that we have been praying for his Daddy...6 year-olds talking about God's healing power! God is working and drawing the boys to himself in a very special way as we continue to share His love and truth with them and pray salvation over them. Abigail is just a toot. She is fun. I am finding that I am really enjoying spending the days with her and taking advantage of our time before Claire gets here. She still loves her "Bwanky" but is able to go to church now without it which is super. We did get her potty down from the attic and she has been very interested in it and loves to sit on it when I have to go potty every hour and a half but I am thinking it would be best to wait to try to accomplish potty training her before Claire gets here. Three weeks. I am ready to have Claire here and not in my belly any longer. Everything seems so much more difficult to accomplish and I have such lack of motivation to do any of it at times. God is giving me grace for each day. We are so blessed, for this I am so grateful to the Lord! I hope and pray that you are doing well and growing in the Lord! May 2011 be your most fruitful year yet!
Love, Amanda & The Cupp Crew

P.S. I forgot to mention I am on a silly cupcake quest. I am on the hunt for the best homemade cupcake recipes since we are about 45 miles from a good cake bakery now....yes, I know....Craziness with a capitol C! This could very well be pregnancy induced craziness but having cupcakes every night is actually quite fun! You can check out the blog if you would like at http://bestcupcakerecipequest.blogspot.com

Christmas



















Christmas was very different for us this year. Dustin was on call Christmas Day so everyone decided to come here to celebrate. What a fun time! I loved being able to be in our own home on Christmas Day. The kids were so funny. They awoke and saw their presents from Santa and went running throughout the house waking up everyone yelling "He's been here...and he left us what we asked for!" Santa brought the boys a garage for cars with a working "upervader" and two ramps. Abigail got a pink rocking horse that plays a song and also makes a horsey sound and wags its tail at the same time. She looved it! Too fun!

Christmas Projects




Christmas projects that we did this year while the kids were on Christmas break were coloring their own Nativity scenes, painting ornaments, making Christmas Choo Choo's, and of course the annual Gingerbread house. What fun to have the boys home as we counted down the days till Jesus Birthday. This year was very special in that we were able to share alot and answer alot of questions that Carson and Andrew are starting to have about Jesus. Why He came? Who he is? What that means to them? God is working in the hearts of these little boys as He draws them close to Him! What a very special time to celebrate the birth of our Savior this year!

Carson's School Christmas Program

This little tootie totally lived up to her name in the hour and a half perfomance...needless to say her and Daddy had take a break and go "play" in the lobby.

Can you see Him? Back row middle in the blue shirt.


What fun! They did a super good job. It was fun to see all of the kids performing. Carson was especially proud of his 5th grade buddy because he got to dress up like Santa!

Happy Thanksgiving from our little Turkeys!


Andrew made his hat at school and was so very, very proud of it!

Abigail and I had a fun project day where we made her little shirt out of her hand and a matching skirt! Soo fun! We are so very thankful for these little turkeys and the blessings that they are! This year we just had the afternoon off so we went to Barry and Connie's to celebrate together with family.