a room with a view

I have had so much fun reading all of your baby name suggestions and watching the little gender poll ticker these past few days. On Wednesday as luck would have it I showed up for my regular OB appointment and because of some complications and tests was not allowed to leave. I have been admitted into the hospital now for monitored bed rest until this little one makes his/her debut. Hopefully not until the end of next week so that we can clear the 35 week mark and get us a healthy little preemie to take home.

So I am laying in bed, in my new room with a view. I have been ridiculously blessed by my family and friends rallying around us sending well wishes and treats and lots of prayers. And my kids are in the safest care possible with my Mom and Dad in law at the moment taking a huge load off of this Mommies mind!

I wanted to check in and let you know that I will do my best to update my blog here and there if I can but the way these things can go can be so up and down. Feel free to follow me on twitter (@orange_poppy) or instagram (@rebagough) for more frequent updates.

And if your the praying type I do have a specific prayer request for sleep while staying here in the hospital for what could be weeks - you would think it would be so easy to finally get to take a long nap after five years of being a tired Mom to so many kids but it is proving a bit harder than I thought.

Now back to reading the Hunger Games I am halfway through the first book and just started this morning. The nurse keeps telling me to go slow I still have a lot of time to kill. :)

Happy Friday everyone I hope you all have a blessed weekend!

what is your guess??

I know I haven't been the most frequent blogger as of late. The demands as a Mom of three on this increasingly tired pregnant body has found me with less time for almost everything that is not essential. But I am still here and still hoping to post several more times before our fourth little bundle arrives.

We have successfully been able to keep this little ones gender a big surprise although I always seem to manage to convince myself one way or the other about what it's going to be I don't actually know and as the delivery fast approaches it is one of those things keeping me going with anticipation and excitement!

I have mentioned it before, we plan to deliver our little one about four weeks early to avoid some complications so that means that we have about two and a half weeks before we officially get to meet this little mister or little miss. So I am curious, what do you guys think it's going to be? I have added a little poll to the sidebar over on the left if you want to cast your vote...and for the record we haven't officially decided on names either so feel free to share your favorite girl and boy names in the comment section I would love some help!!

Hope you are having a great day I will be back soon!

{all the clothes are old navy}

{my april favorites}

{one} - today is mine {two} - amy hershey's kisses {three} - cookie mondays {four} - alita jewels treasures {five} - historias minimas {six} - sometimes sarah writes {seven} - a pretty cool life {eight} - kuky ideas {nine} - live simply {ten} - stacy bostrom photography

I finished choosing my favorite photos from this months installment finally. It is always SO hard to pick, you guys just take such beautiful photos! Thank you to all who participated in the ten on ten project for April it is always a joy and gift to me - looking forward to next month...who knows I might have a new baby in my arms, we shall see!

Ten on Ten :: April 2012

A sunny spring day here in the northwest quiet at home with my three. Thank you to all who participated in this months installment of ten on ten, if you haven't had a chance yet scroll down to the post below and add your set to the linky it will be open for the rest of the week. I will be back with my favorites soon!

Learn more about the project HERE.

Ten on Ten :: April 2012

Happy tenth everyone I hope you all have a wonderful day today capturing all that beauty and life around you! When your ready add your set to the linky below and if your new to the Ten on Ten project all you have to do is take a photo an hour for ten consecutive hours and then link up here for all of us to see. I am looking forward to checking out all your sets later this evening!

<a border="0" href="http://www.rebekahgough.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k578/rebagough/Screenshot2010-10-11at110042AM.png" border="0" alt="ten on ten button" /></a>

Easter snapshots + a Ten on Ten reminder

A wonderful holiday including a surprise egg hunt just for my three after they thought the Easter bunny forgot about them this year! Sunshine, yummy food, fellowship and dark chocolate of course. All four of my people were snoring before I even got the van unloaded last night. Could have been the 5:30 wake up call and the four church services Mr. Gough got to lead...a very full and wonderful holiday for the memory books indeed!

I will be posting more snapshots tomorrow for Ten on Ten and hope you will join me too - learn more about the project HERE!

paint chip easter egg treats

I have a silly little last minute Easter craft to share with you guys today. I will confess I have a bit of an addiction to the free paint chips found at every hardware store I visit and so my colorful collection has grown. I wanted to find a way to use them in my Easter basket making - these eggs are so quick and simple and a fun quirky twist on the traditional candy eggs! 

Paint Chip Easter Eggs

Paint Chips

Egg Template

Scissors

Glue

Exacto and Ruler

Tape or Stickers

After cutting a front and back for each egg score the center of just the top piece with an exacto knife and ruler being careful not to cut the entire thing in half. You want to create a slit or pocket into the egg.

Next glue the two pieces together and let them dry completely.

Stuff the eggs with jelly beans, little notes, gift cards and goodies.

I added some decorate tape to hod them closed but it's not necessary. Hand them out to all your favorite people they are sure to make them smile!

I also wanted to thank you guys for indulging me to expose my heart a bit to you in my last post. Sometimes it is hard to know how to share more than just the pretty things but you always know how to encourage me and I am so blessed by you - so thank you!

cherry lime soda

Today I drank cherry lime soda like it was going out of style.

I am not quite sure what the deal was maybe the surprise sunshine attack that we got here in Seattle caused it? Or it could have been the very active baby in my belly who is lying transverse and posterior...this equals a lot of legs and arms constantly pushing out. I have developed this painful hernia because of the four pregnancies in five years thing and my poor abdominal muscles never making their way back to where they belong and those little limbs they are pushing on it. Oy. The things our bodies can do it's crazy and amazing but I feel like I am crawling to the finish line on this one not going to lie.

Simon is really starting to feel better after his tonsillectomy though praise the Lord. It has been a weary few weeks around here not a ton of sleep for Mommy and Daddy so I think I needed the sodas...

And when Simon got home from School this afternoon he seemed tired too and he really wanted a chocolate milk for his healing throat so I obliged him with a yummy one. Lots of syrup and ice cubes just the way he likes it in his new special cup with the big lid and straw that I bought him after his surgery to keep him hydrated. I don't really drink milk but it look good and his eyes were so bright when I handed it to him.

Folks the boy somehow accidentally knocked the entire 16 ounce cup of milk over into a drawer full of all of our DVDs...this is proof that he is my son because that takes skills and that is some kind of crazy move I would have pulled as a kid but oh.mah.gosh I needed more soda after it happened to keep me from saying what was actually going through my mind. I might have had to excuse myself to the locked bathroom for a bit too...a drawer FULL of chocolate milk and movies was not really how I wanted to spend my afternoon. Oy is right.

So many times as a Mom lately I find myself grumbling about how exhausting it is. How painful this season of sleepless nights and tantrums and third trimester miseries can be and I shake my little fist at God. Asking Him to come and relieve me. In fact one night recently one of the boys was up really sick with the flu and I am on my hands and knees literally in tears that it's three in the morning and I am scrubbing the floor and washing sheets and I asked God to please take this exhaustion from me. He reminded me ever so tenderly that He loves me but He is far less concerned with my comfort level than my character and that He promises to never give me more than my weary body can handle.

It doesn't make it easier at all but I hear God speaking to my heart and I do feel His strength when I get to the end of mine. This is kingdom work and it's hard work and it's rewarding work and so I won't feel super guilty about the number of cherry lime sodas I drink. It's all worth it because He is shaping my character and that to me can only be good.

So I am raising my glass to another week, a sunny Monday around these parts. I will take it, the good the hard and the drawers full of milk it's what God has for me and I know there is always more there than I can see.

Cherry Lime Soda

Sparkling Water

A Splash of Grenadine

Fresh Lime Juice

(extra yummy with a splash of soy creamer or cream)

*PS. Emily Peck from Peck Life you won the $25 gift certificate from Oh My Crafts!!! Congrats girl I will get you all hooked up with your prize! Check out Emily's blog if you get a chance it's adorable!