Where Have We Been?

So much has happened within the Shields family this summer that blogging sort of fell off the way side! I don't recall ever going this long without posting something on here...so I felt that I needed to get back into it before I never returned! Which was starting to feel highly possible.

I'll go ahead and announce what has been keeping me away for much of the summer:
We're EXPECTING baby Shields #4 in March of 2011!!!! We just recently told the kids before we announced our news to family and they were all jumping around happy and Jocelyn bolts out "I want a baby sister!" I told her that we don't know yet if the baby is a boy or a girl but that whichever one Heavenly Father blesses us with, will be fine. She then added "We can return Andrew so I can have a baby sister then!" Wow! Out of the mouth of babes, huh? I kindly reminded her again that no one is going anywhere and that all of us, including her brother, is our family. (You'd think the past 20 months since Andrew was born would give her a clue!) They sure say the darnedest things sometimes. :) I found out early July that I was pregnant so that now puts me at about 11 weeks. And besides occasional nausea and tiredness, I'm thankfully feeling great. This Tuesday I go in for my first ultrasound to see how things are moving along and to help narrow down a due date. We couldn't feel more happy and blessed to add one more to complete our family!

As soon as we knew we were expecting our baby, John received news that he will be doing another job assignment up until close to the baby's due date. More traveling is expected for him which will create a bit of a stressful period for us at home but it will be good in the long run.

This summer has been extremely HOT! And with me pregnant, going outside in that hot sticky mess just hasn't been appealing so we've been keeping it a low-key summer with occasional trips here and there and fun activities at home. One of our planned trips came a few weekends ago and we spent a few days at Virginia Beach; our family's first time going to an east coast beach in the almost 4 years we've lived here. It was hot but so much fun!

I also just returned home Wednesday from an 8 day trip out to visit and surprise my sister Erin for her baby shower. Alone. I needed a true break before John's new job started and a lot of our joint jobs at home became my full time responsibility. I have the most amazing husband to allow me some much needed time to myself. I had been secretly planning this trip from my family in Oregon & Washington for the past 2 months and it was a relief to finally see them! I think my sister was completely shocked that I came all that way to see her without her knowing but it was a lot fun. My brother in law knew that I was coming out since I started the planning and so I could get a ride to their house the night before the shower but everyone joked that he must have forgotten from the time I told him my plans to a few months forward when he picked me up because he's not known for keeping surprises. I thought that was pretty funny! I lucked out this trip and got there at the perfect week to not only attend my sister's baby shower but to also attend my cousin's wedding reception. It was so nice seeing so much family while I was there! I of course missed my kids dearly! John too of course! It's crazy that while you're with your kids all the time, you need a break but once you have the opportunity for a break, you miss them terribly! The comforting thing to me and what gave me piece of mind while I was gone was that they were with their daddy and were enjoying a full week with just him - going to a DC Museum, the park, watching movies and eating cupcakes, etc.

So that's what we've been up to in a nutshell! I had a mishap with our camera recently but once it's functional again, I will post pictures.