Just to let you know...

The summer is winding down. And honestly, I'm glad. In my life these days summer isn't much different than any other season... and I just love autumn!! But in addition to that, this particular summer has been long!

Long.

Very long.

I'll (hopefully) share some of that in future posts, but I wanted to stop in briefly to share something with you all... now that I finally can.

We're expecting! Baby number 4.

I found great humor when I stopped over and read this post and could only agree. Yep... I'm that tired! Way too tired to think of something creative. And even if I could think of something, I have no energy to carry anything out. At all.

So some stats...
I'm just about 12 weeks. Due in March. Sick every morning... nauseous every evening and sometimes into sleeping. Haven't gained a pound! (Thank you very much!) And t-i-r-e-d! Often napping while the children are awake... simply because I can't keep my eyes open.


So now you have a better understanding of why I'm not around much, even when my Lyme's was mostly gone. (Anyone want to come clean my house???)

I have so much to share about this pregnancy and this past couple months... and hopefully I'll do that soon.

But right now I must eat something. Right. Now!

Labels: As it happens..., Family

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 4:48 PM 3 Comments

I want you to meet my family!

I must say that though I found no help, I am encouraged that I'm not the only one who struggles for creativity! It has taken me this long to come up with names for my family, but I do believe that I am finally happy with what I have selected.

I don't mean to misrepresent my situation. The fact is that until today I really had no idea what I was going to do for a name for my son, and only in the last day or two did I come up with something that *might* work for my little girl. Now I've settled on names for everyone (over the next few days/weeks I'll be going back in and changing all the references to each of them in past posts.) Since I'm making the switch and all, I thought this would be the perfect time to do some "formal" introductions. Settle into your comfy chair and come meet my family!

I married My Beloved on January 9th, 2005. We have one of the best love stories I've ever heard myself. Perhaps someday I'll share it with you. When we met, My Beloved (MB) lived in a one room cabin with a loft and no plumbing. They had offered him room and board in exchange for keeping up the computers etc at a local camp. He'd only been there a year, but it was right up his alley! We could have stayed there after we got married, but I really wanted plumbing! :)

During the day he works as the main "computer guy" at a local missions organization... a job he loves serving people he loves. I am thankful that the office is only minutes from our home. It comes in handy on days like today when everything falls apart just before the end of the work day. It made it possible for him to come home for a couple minutes to eat a quick dinner with me before returning for the rest of the night.

My Beloved is different than any man I've ever known. He's super friendly, has an amazing servant's heart, and would do just about anything to keep me safe and happy. He loves all things outdoors (hiking, hunting, biking, backpacking, campfires, hanging out in a hammock, and on and on), yet he says that he still would have picked me if he had known how much outdoor stuff he'd be giving up. He truly is the perfect man for me. He loves me in spite of me... and tells me all the time that it's the easiest thing to do.

Tornado (T) was born December 4, 2006. You may be able to figure out where his name has come from. Unless he's sleeping, he is ever leaving destruction and mess in his wake. When my mom was here in March she took to calling him the little tornado... I thought it would be an appropriate name. :)

Tornado is all boy... and all toddler! He touches everything and has grown amazingly tall in the last few months... giving him reach into all sorts of new places! Truly nothing is sacred any longer! He loves his new little sister (today I caught him with his finger in her mouth... I think he was being her pacifier except that she wasn't crying, at least not before he did it) and LOVES his daddy! As soon as I tell him "Daddy's home" he runs over to the door to look for him and wait. In the mornings when Daddy is leaving, My Beloved picks him up at the door to give good-bye hugs and Tornado turns and waves to me. If only my day were going to be that quiet! :)

He is also an outside boy like his daddy. He loves to look out the windows and has recently learned how to climb onto things so he can see out. On walks and in the car he looks for birds and other animals. He knows more than 30ish signs, but isn't talking outside of the rare "da da", rarer "ma ma" and a potential name for his sister. He is becoming chatty though and I imagine words are on the horizon! I'm already missing the quiet days of yesterday.

Sweet Pea was born March 7th, 2008. She was born at 6 pounds 10 ounces, but was down to 6 lb., 2 oz before she started climbing up again. At almost 2 months old now she is still in newborn sized clothes but is growing steadily... finally. She's still so tiny... Sweet Pea (SP) just seemed the perfect name for her. Not much to say about her yet as we are still getting to know her ourselves. Seems like she's going to be a daddy's girl too. She can scream when I hold her and settle down immediately when her daddy gets her. Doesn't bother me though... it makes my heart smile to see my children with My Beloved!

Then there's me... if you've been reading this blog for any time at all you probably already know some about me. I'm The Babychaser. When I chose that name for myself almost a year ago, I chose it because I couldn't think of anything else. I had no idea at the time that there was another baby on the way, nor how true it would be.

So who am I? I'm a lot of things. Like all of you I wear many hats, though most of them I'm still learning to wear. First and foremost I am a Christian. There are lots of ways to explain that first title, but let me try to simplify a little by saying that I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he came to earth a man, lived a sinless life and died on a cross so that I could be forgiven of my sins. Because of my trust in Him, I am made righteous, clean, and new before the Lord. Because of His sacrifice, I can have a relationship with God the Creator. I am not perfect, but I am forgiven. Everything else I do in life and everyone else I am in this life is with the goal of bringing glory to Him. (There... that was simple right?)

Other hats I wear? I am a wife, a mother, a homemaker, a teacher and counselor to whoever God brings to my path, I'm an encourager to those I have the opportunity to encourage, a friend to many, a photographer, and a small business owner (there's probably more). Like many of you, my hearts desire is to reflect Christ in my life and to be a Proverbs 31 woman (I have a long way to go on both of these!) My days are spent playing with my son, feeding my daughter, helping my husband, washing dishes (um... most days), doing laundry, procrastinating cleaning chores, editing photographs, dodging paperwork, way too much time online, ruining dinner, just hanging out with My Beloved, consoling tears, wiping noses, and learning... constant learning.

I'm trying to learn how to put my head knowledge into action. I'm trying to put off things like laziness and pride and to replace them with humility and... whatever the opposite of laziness is. :) I'm working to be a better keeper of my home, mother to my children, and helpmeet to My Beloved!

And basically... this blog is a place where I can share what I learn, tools I find and plain old life stories. It's also a place where I can ask for help, come for community, and find that I'm not alone.


If you've made it this far, thanks for staying! I've enjoyed having you with us... I've enjoyed introducing you to my family!

Labels: Family

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 11:30 PM 4 Comments

Meet my Family

I'm so glad you've taken the time to stop in and meet us "in person". In this busy place called the web, it's hard to keep up. We read snippets of this post and that post, travel through 3-4 blogs before we can remember which blog we were reading in the first place. In all this hustle and bustle we can be reading about the day to day life of someone we've never "met".

How old is this kid I'm reading about anyway??? Where do they live to get that kind of weather? I've asked these questions and more about other bloggers. So here we are... I'd like to introduce you to my family!


If you've been reading this blog for any time at all you probably already know some about me. I'm The Babychaser. When I chose that name for myself back in the beginning, I chose it because I couldn't think of anything else and needed something for the blog address. I've been thrilled with it ever since... especially since it's more true now than I ever thought it would be.

So who am I? I'm a lot of things. Like all of you I wear many hats, though most of them I'm still learning to wear. First and foremost I am a Christian. There are lots of ways to explain this first title, but let me try to simplify a little by saying that I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he came to earth a man, lived a sinless life and died on a cross so that I could be forgiven of my sins. Because of my trust in Him, I am made righteous, clean, and new before the Lord. Because of His sacrifice, I can have a relationship with God the Creator. I am not perfect, but I am forgiven. Everything else I do in life and everyone else I am in this life is with the goal of bringing glory to Him. (There... that was simple right?)

Other hats I wear? I am wife, mother, homemaker. Child trainer, counselor, encourager, friend. I'm a photographer, small business owner. Like many of you, my hearts desire is to reflect Christ in my life and to be a Proverbs 31 woman (I have a long way to go on both of these!)


My Beloved and I were married on January 9th, 2005. We have one of the best love stories I've ever heard myself. Perhaps someday I'll finish posting it. When we met, My Beloved lived in a one room cabin here in Central PA with a loft and no plumbing. They had offered him room and board in exchange for keeping up the computers etc at a local camp. He'd only been there a year, but it was right up his alley! We could have stayed there after we got married, but I really wanted plumbing! :)

During the day he works as the main "computer guy" at a local missions organization... a job he loves, serving people he loves. I am thankful that the office is only minutes from our home. It makes it easier for us to manage our one car. It comes in handy on days when everything falls apart just before the end of the work day and he only has time to come home for a couple minutes to eat a quick dinner with us before returning for the rest of the night. And it comes in handy on days when he can join us for lunch, or better yet, come pick us up and take us out to lunch with him!

My Beloved is different than any man I've ever known. He's super friendly, has an amazing servant's heart, and would do just about anything to keep me safe and happy. He loves all things outdoors (hiking, hunting, biking, backpacking, campfires, hanging out in a hammock, and on and on), yet he says that he still would have picked me if he had known how much outdoor stuff he'd be giving up. He truly is the perfect man for me. He loves me in spite of me... and tells me all the time that it's the easiest thing to do.


Tornado was born December 4, 2006. You may be able to figure out where his name has come from. He's always moving... and he's loud. All. The. Time. As a toddler he was ever leaving destruction and mess in his wake. One of the times my mom was visiting, she took to calling him the little tornado... I decided it was an appropriate name. :)

Tornado is still all boy at almost 4... and the smartest kid I know! I'm no longer surprised by his "preschooler-ness", as he's been one for a while now. He loves doing "school" and is thrilled when I bring out a simple workbook, coloring books or scissors for "scissoring". He's my song bird and sings all the time, both real songs and fake word songs he makes up. He is also always playing some imaginary instrument. We do lots of reading together (though not as much as I would like) and have recently started adding chapter books to our picture books. He seems to enjoy them. He is getting more and more genuinely helpful as his "chores" now include (among other things) several laundry tasks.


Sweet Pea was born March 7th, 2008. She was so tiny (at least compared to Tornado) those first few months... Sweet Pea just seemed the perfect name for her. She's 2 1/2 now and loves to follow her brother around. She's always been more fearless than her brother which can be scary at times. Her attitude still has that toddler way about it sometimes, but she melts my heart when she says, "I want to be with you mommy."

Her talking is more clear everyday. She started late like her brother, and is still hard to understand sometimes. She's also much quieter, which makes it that much harder to understand what she's trying to say (over the noise coming from Tornado's direction). She too loves to sing. Her favorite song is "How great is our God" and she sings it all the time, even when Tornado tries to get her to sing something else with him. It's great!

She's quite the little lady and just this week has learned to fold wash clothes all by herself when we are doing laundry together. She's also great at throwing things in the trash for me and most of the time bringing me something... except when she gets sidetracked!


Little Man was born on August 6, 2010. At 9 pounds 10.6 ounces at birth, I looked down at him and couldn't help but think that he was my little man already... and the name was born. Now that he's almost 3 months, he's sleeping through the night and has a mostly even temperament. I follow flexible Babywise scheduling for him, like I did for the others. He's great at nursing, likes to cry in restaurants and is pretty good at pooping (and sometimes pottying) on the potty. He's starting to show more personality everyday and delights my heart with his smiles! (Since he's always changing these days, I'll be posting updates.)

Labels: Family

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 12:22 PM 0 Comments