BIG boy bed.

This passed weekend, Tim and I bought a foam mattress off of a clearance/liquidation sale in Chillawack to put on Toby's great-GREAT grandfather's homemade bed!
The mattress itself was covered in a "car" theme, so Toby was ecstatic when he saw it. :) However, he was a little disappointed when we had to put a fitted sheet on top of it void of "guts" (trucks and cars).

He and Promise climbed excitedly onto his new bed wrestling and rolling around screaming and giggling. It was great.

Then it was nap time. We put all of Toby's pillows, stuffed animals, blankies and "guts" into his bed, read him a story, sang "Jesus Loves Me", prayed and said, "Love you, sleep well!"

About 3 minutes later, we heard, "Momma? Momma? MOMMMMAAAA?...." So I quietly opened his door and he had thrown all of his belongings back into his Pac n Play and was pointing longingly towards it saying, "Inside go?"

The first weekend with the BIG boy bed was a bust. He loved playing on it, but the Pac n Play won every time.......

Until nap time yesterday. I put the Pac n Play into the closet, made up the BIG boy bed into the cozy, crowded pile Toby likes it and went through our naptime routine.

I heard the rustling of toys throughout his room.....I went in and put him back into his bed saying, "Toby, it's nap time....stay in bed and go to sleep."

This went on 3 more times and then I wondered if perhaps he would climb back into his bed when he was ready for sleep....so I waited.....one hour.....two hours....no sounds....I peeked in....fast asleep on his beloved bear pillow ON his BIG boy bed....and even four hours later he was still out like a light! By 5 pm, I had to tickle him gently to rouse him! Who knows how long he had been playing in his room and then again in his bed, but hey, he slept in his BIG boy bed!

And  then we did it again at bedtime last night and VOILA! The kid slept ALL night in his BIG boy bed and played quietly on his bed until I got him up around 7 am! My BIG boy really is a BIG boy! He is growing so fast and he's not even 2, yet!

Next up....Potty training.....I gotta do it before baby #3 comes!

 Wrestling and rolling the day we picked up the bed!

 A successful nap time of 4 hours in perfect position!

Surrounded by comfort!
Be blessed

Life in Pics....YEAH!!

For Valentine's Day, Tim planned an evening of bubble bath, chocolate, wine and scrabble....this, along with mini-Valentine hints scattered throughout the house, was sitting in the bathtub when I awoke February 14th. :)

Our handsome Tobias enjoying a see-saw adventure...the rain stayed away just long enough (about 2 days) in our February.

About once a week, Promise asks to watch her favorite film: Mary Poppins! Who knew a 3 year-old could sit through Mary Poppins! AND she can sing all the tunes! Her favorite? "Let's go Fly a Kite!"

Yes, Toby is a HAM.

Then in March, Mommy AND Toby got to ride the see-saw together. :)

Promise has an old Costco strawberry box in which her "Nap-Nap" (Little People) live....and she decided to show off that SHE can live in there, too!

Promise's cousin, Lila, had a princess tea party for her birthday and Promise was ALL over that!

Toby in March. I just love those blue eyes. MELT!

This is one of "those" times when Toby and Promise are actually getting along....it happens seldom, but when it does, we CAPTURE IT! They were playing "SLEEP! - AWAKE!" .....a game they created when you "gently" or not so gently wake up the other person.

Then we went to Oregon to see my parents and brother's family for Easter! Grandma Con was so happy to see the kidlings...and Papa Jim got A LOT of hugs, too!

Toby loved the juice Grandma Con put in his Easter basket...I think he might have had Promise's, too.

Promise hunted for eggs at Andy and RuthAnn's house with the cousins....she found quite a few!

Toby needed assistance, but was fascinated by the pretty colored "balls".

Almost done! Gracie found the most eggs!

The fam together (minus Tim taking the pic and Levi who was busy eating all his candy inside the house)

Then we came home to all our flowers blooming! Promise and I planted well over 100 bulbs last fall and they ALL came up!!! We were thrilled! They are BEAUTIFUL!

Tobias discovered a great way to get rid of old toys or unwanted food....now he is regretting throwing his car down there....poor boy! This evening was our first sunny evening of Spring!

Another one of "those" happy moments when both kids LOVE each other....."Savor it, Bethany." Aren't they beautiful?

Then my dear friend, Heather Lilly came for a brief visit last week. The kids LOVED having her, but not near as much as I did. She is a joy to be around. The kids didn't want her to go...it was precious.

Then last weekend, Grandma-stina and Papa Steeb gave each of their grandkids a present containing the most beautiful clothes Promise and Toby have ever had! They wanted a special picture of all their grandkids (minus the one in my belly). And here's what we got!.........

The clan! Micah/Lila, Justice/Hope/Grace, Promise/Tobias

The girls......

The line of them by age....Toby always needs to "go against the flow".

Our family. :) Toby was a little "pictured-out" at this point. I love my family.

In a brief update. I am now 13 weeks pregnant and while morning sickness is not completely gone, it has subsided quite a bit....I am so grateful for that. Promise and Toby still struggle with big allergies and tend to be doing a bit worse with the Spring plants in bloom, but they are happy and growing....what more can I ask for!?

We are still pretty much dairy and gluten free with them and even the slightest amount of wheat sends Promise into belly-ache/constipated anguish. Toby gets immune compromised and sick. Dairy makes them phlegmy and full of tummy cramps.....and we found out a few weeks ago that in addition to dairy free, we need to get their tonsils/adenoids out and put tubes in their ears in order for their hearing to improve and the head-cold sicknesses to subside. They have been through the ringer!

Blogging has become almost an impossibility these days, so I am thankful for this little break while the kids are resting to update ya'll.

Tim is up for assistant-management certification at work in May, so please be praying for him. He is doing great and I am so proud of him. We are enjoying God's faithfulness in our lives daily. We've come a LONG way.
Be Blessed.

Still no pics, sorry.

Greetings! And Happy Spring? I am looking out the window seeing just three daffodils up and it pouring down rain....it's cold cold COLD outside, too. Spring, eh? Apparently this spring (and last years') have been the coldest in Abbotsford to date. Brr.

Another afternoon spent inside with two very active toddlers. :)

Life has been busy here at the Stewart house.

Daddy works long hours (usually from 6:30am-7:15 pm) with perhaps a day or two per week getting home by 5:30 or 6 pm if we're lucky.

Meanwhile, our days are filled with visits to the naturopath, the chiropractor, the play therapist or something else that we have to be at....this week, I had my first ultrasound with baby #3. We're 9 weeks today with an expected due date of Halloween. I have to be honest, I was a little disappointed....I was hoping we were closer to the end of the first trimester just so morning sickness would have an end sooner....but I am THRILLED to be having ONE baby that seems in perfect condition. Praise the Lord.

It was a weird experience.....not allowed to have children in the waiting room and no one is allowed to accompany you during the exam! Tim showed up showing his support and they told him just to wait for me. Now this may not seem that odd to you, but to us, it was very awkward! We had our ultrasounds in the Philippines where your WHOLE family could be gathered in the crowded ultrasound exam room and then you were able to ask questions and take a few pics of your baby home for like p100. ($2.50 USD). Not only could no one accompany me and I wasn't allowed to ask any questions, but if I wanted pictures, I had to pay $12 for 4 pics. Good thing my health insurance pays for the ultrasound! I don't want to see THAT bill! What a culture shock.

I tried to chit-chat with the sonographer, and though she was friendly enough, it all felt very cold and not at all exciting....the only "endearing" part of the visit was when she said, "Enjoy your pregnancy" at the end. Well, with bladder full, I came out and found Tim waiting outside a little befuddled. We exchange a few words and a hug and he headed back to work. Weird. Weird.

So glad we're having a healthy little one....nothing visibly wrong......still early, but we are grateful. What a gift.

Promise and Toby have been great fun, though a lot of work these days. So very cute and growing like weeds. Toby refers to anything with wheels as "guts" (trucks) and has found every avenue to bother and terrorize his sister. Promise is beautiful and becoming quite the creative cat....always creating something from nothing and drawing the most lovely pictures as gifts for everyone.

Today we had a chiropractor appointment for my hips (which have been helping) and Toby and Promise eagerly went with me into the examination room to sit and play with toys. Upon exiting, a little boy about Toby's age made a BEELINE up to Toby and gave him a MONSTER HUG! At first it seemed cute....a little tight around the neck, but "ahh, isn't that cute"...then he hugged Toby TIGHTER and Toby was very uncomfortable.....the little boy's mother came over to pry her son off Toby, but the little boy first needed to do something HORRIBLE.....He took a BIG BITE of Toby's cheek and latched on! We had to pry him and his JAWS off Toby! He drew blood and Toby let out a GIANT WAIL! While the mom was VERY apologetic, I was mortified as two sets of teeth marks formed a ring around Toby swelling cheek with little pockets of blood forming....a little antibacterial wash and a sticker later, we darted out of the office. Wow.

That's a first....and hopefully a first for that mother, too! One word...MUZZLE. The child should be wearing a "do not touch" shirt or something....that was just too scary.

So that's been our week in a nutshell.

Be blessed.

WAHOOO...PUKE!

Greetings! Toby has the flu....so along with Daddy's flu bug last weekend, Promise's cough/cold, and Mommy's morning sickness, Toby decided to join in the fun and gift us with a busy Friday dawn.....donning us with high fever and puke.

It's amazing how diarrhea and puke make morning sickness twice as intense! "Thank you, Jesus, for every sign and symptom of pregnancy!" I say this hourly. :)

Poor Toby. Dark circles around the eyes, moaning and whimpering laps around the kitchen table, high fever, and lethargy.....it's enough to make an overly hormonal mommy cry in anguish for her baby boy.

On a very positive note, Tim, Promise, Toby and I got to meet with our midwives this week! We are so thankful for the handpicked midwives God gave us....all Christians and beautiful people.

It's amazing the change in care here in Canada versus the Philippines. In the Phils, if you need a dating ultrasound, you just go and sit for an hour in a waiting room in one of the 10,000 ultrasound shacks (literally shacks) or hospitals in the city and VIOLA! You got an ultrasound in a day.....and you DON'T have to have a full bladder in order to get one done. :)

Enter Canada: next available appointment in any of the 6 we called....two months. Too late. OH! Found an appointment at the end of March....almost too late.....but it'll work....oh, and drink at least 4 glasses of water before arriving, but arrive 15 minutes early as any late-comers will be rescheduled....

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING! WE PREGGO LADIES ARE PEEING EVERY 30 MINUTES WITHOUT FILLING OUR BLADDER! They want 4 GLASSES BEFORE COMING and then WAITING well over an HOUR with a FULL BLADDER and then they are going to PUSH ON THAT FULL BLADDER with their MAGIC WAND!??? I am asking for an adult diaper. I wonder if any ladies have peed the bed....? Toby kinda ruined my abilities to hold large quantities of liquid with his large head.....Mmmm. ADVENTURE!

Okay, I know that those of you who are reading this are going, "Well, Bethany, I did it....it's not THAT big a deal." This is true....however, having two children in the Phils without even a blood test in my pregnancies and then coming to the West where birth and pregnancy seem to involve many long hours planning, waiting and then waiting some more for labs, appointments, and the like...this is all VERY new to me....and I am a certified midwife! Ha ha ha! What irony.

Perhaps having children in the Phils IS easier....maybe that's why the Filipino population is doubling at an incredible rate! I got an idea!.....The Philippines should adopt Canadian medical policies and they will decrease the population! Just kidding.....but perhaps that is one of the reasons Canadians aren't having babies? I dunno. Pregnancy makes me ramble.

Seems a vast majority of the women in my church (of childbearing capability) are pregnant. Don't drink Northview water. :)

It's encouraging to be pregnant along with so many women, though. It's not as lonely....even though I worked among the pregnant in the Philippines, it was very lonely....and I was looked at as a bit of a freak...being a massive white chick with a massive white belly and a 9 pound baby. It's nice to "appear" normal....even if I DO have to get a whole bunch of lab tests to find out if this truly is the case. Ha ha ha ha....what an adventure! I am loving it.

Sorry for the rambles.....I had to stay home from church this morning while Tim went with the Lady Bird cuz Toby is still pretty sicko.....writing a blog seemed somewhat therapeutic for us both.

Be blessed.

Convicted.

Isn't it funny how the word "convicted" has the word "convict" in it? Yes, I am a convict....perhaps an ex-con if you consider what Jesus did for me. Anyway....that's not exactly what I wanted to share today....

I was sent a very sweet e-mail from a dear friend of mine this week that totally convicted me regarding something I wrote in last post.

I stated that, "The coming months may prove to be a challenge as my pregnancies have not been easy" and my dear friend reminded me that we serve a very MIGHTY HEAVENLY FATHER that has the ability to make this pregnancy smoother and more pleasant than any other....that I should be looking with positive expectation for great things.....

She is right. This pregnancy is and will continue to be different than the other two and it will be a JOY!

God is faithful. Be blessed.

Little lives.

First came our first precious gift from the Lord.

In case you didn't know our story, we were told before we got married that Tim and I would most likely not have children. The doctors said that even if I did manage to get pregnant that the risk of miscarriage would be astronomically high.

Tim married me anyway and we prayed....and prayed....and felt strongly as though the Lord would give us children in some miraculous way.....we thought perhaps adoption....when all of our friends and sisters were having babies, we prayed harder.....then God said, "Go".

So after 6 years of marriage, we moved to the Philippines to follow God's commands.

Six months later, we found out God had placed Promise in my womb.

Amazed and unprepared, we welcomed with deep gratefulness this precious girl into our lives.

Then, I prayed again....this time I prayed the prayer of Hannah....to open my womb.....one more time....
And the Lord gave us Tobias. Our miracle boy and precious joy. Two babies in less than 3 years! What a MIGHTY GOD we serve! Two babies born overseas amidst hardship and loneliness.....our greatest treasures and joy within our most difficult years.

And now, as we heal from the past, God has surprised us with another miracle. He decided to open my womb once more for miracle baby #3! It's true.

As Tim and I celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary this year, we will also welcome our third child into the world.

Only about 6 weeks along, baby #3 is making his/her presence known with cramps, constipation, and nausea.....I am thankful for every sign.

Promise is thrilled to have a baby sister (so she has decided it MUST be) and Toby is blissfully unaware.

The coming months may prove to be a challenge as my pregnancies have not been easy, but this being our first baby in our home country surrounded by our families, we are anticipating great things.

God has a funny way of surprising us with His gifts.

We are praying for a safe and peaceful pregnancy and transition for all. Adding another into our basement suite alone will be a creative challenge....he we go!

Be blessed.

A bit of Spring in our step.....

Happy Monday to all! Tim's day off is Monday so we decided to go to our favorite local park, Mill Lake. Tim took the camera and we had a wonderful morning together. The sun was warm, the air was chilled....spring is on its way.




This is Promise's favorite place in the park. She serves "ice cream" from this little counter....not worms. The ice cream bears a strange resemblance to bark dust.
And then we came home to sweep the driveway of all the cedar needles from when Daddy and Uncle Andy took the cedars to the dump.
Big sister, Promise, always lending Toby a hand.....
And my precious boy during our daily wrestling match.....I always win...the prize?...well, it's cuddles and kisses!

Life has been busy these days. Two weeks ago, my brother, Andy, and his amazing family came up for a 5-day vacation. This is the second visit up to Canada in well over 8 years! Of course, 3 of those years were spent in the Philippines.

With 3 kids in tow, we had an incredible time together. They were a delight and Promise and Toby still talk of their cousins' visit. I will have to post some pics of all that soon....I have to steal them from Ruth's blog. :)

After a long season of sickness, Promise and Toby have been seeing a naturopath and are undergoing extreme dietary changes along with some new naturopathic meds. Already, we are noticing a decrease in Promise's belly aches and an increase in her appetite. She seems to be trying new things without as much caution and timidity as well. Her playful side is coming out more and we are delighting in seeing her spark! She LOVES to sing and the song of the year is "Somewhere out there" from the movie, "An American Tale"....which happens to be among her top 10 movies. She sings the song in the bath tub, in the car, at church....she stays in tune, too! Her second current infatuation is her "ballerina shirt". This shirt is simply a pink, long-sleeve, drop waist shirt with ruffles and a hood....but apparently to Promise, it transforms her into a Ballerina Princess. LOVE IT....except when she gets food on it and it has to be washed, which leads to tears. :)

Toby has discovered how to annoy people. He is just too cute to get angry at, but requires consistent discipline....if we turn our backs for a slight second he is into the toilet water, the trash, Promise's treasured toys, and anything else he can get his fingers into....all with a very BIG smile on his face.

His current favorite things are dogs....and balls....he will follow them without any hesitation to the ends of the earth. He says "thank you" without being asked and loves to show you his gratefulness with kisses and hugs.

We have amazing kids. I am so thankful for them. And they LOVE having daddy home. We like Mondays these days.

Be blessed.