Amelia the Cutie Pie!

Amelia is a Mukilteo Cutie Pie finalist this year! You may remember 3 years ago Caley being a finalist. Tomorrow we are walking in the Mukilteo Lighthouse Parade. It should be fun! The kids are so excited. Wesley's mostly excited to ride in the wagon.
Visit http://vickiderksphotography.com and email Vicki to vote! Amelia is #2. Or, come to the festival and vote in the ballot boxes!

This is the photo we entered!

32 weeks

32 weeks today. 8 to go. Hopefully fewer than that, but I'm trying to keep my mind and heart open if this labor and delivery doesn't go according to the previous ones. That is, I could be a week late, have a C-section, and this baby could pop out and surprise us with boy parts instead of girl. I don't really think those things will happen, but I'm trying to be prepared for anything.

She moves a lot and sometimes gets the hiccups. She is especially active at night. I have loved being pregnant for the most part. It's an exhausting time, but each time God has worked with me on something. This time has been no different. I feel like He is working in my character and especially in my patience. Pregnancy is a time to draw back and not feel like I have to do everything, like I'm allowed a bit of a break, and I don't have to be running every day or working out all the time. But God continues to work and I have more time to myself to really figure things out. During pregnancy I've felt God's love very closely, how He has everything planned out down to the smallest detail. And I can look back and instead of asking, "WTF" be able to go, "Oh, I get it now."

Here's what Little Miss may look like now. We still don't have a name, but we're working on it.

The Garden!

We have the coolest garden this summer thanks to Bill's hard work and the help of our neighbor Norman John. Norman is English, loves gardening, and has a lot of time on his hands. He also plays soccer twice a week. He's amazing! I hope to be so spry when I'm pushing 80.

 The area behind our fence used to be overflowing with blackberry bushes and garbage (literally, the former owner dumped siding back there). It's an easement that is also a driveway. We asked the owner if we could put in a garden, and he said as long as we didn't build a permanent structure, it'd be fine. Bill told Norman about the idea and he got right on digging and sifting the soil, separating the rocks and "rubbish" from the good dirt. This was back in February when it was freezing!

They also did a second garden, which originally we didn't intend on planting in this summer, but Norman is like a sifting maniac so we had time to do a second crop! Here it is pre-dug/sifted.

They put a border around the good dirt and then Norman brought in some manure and roto-tilled it. Bill made a Jack and the Beanstalk bean trellis, we bought some seeds and started planting. Look at some of the progress!

 We made signs!

 The second garden! Bill planted kale and spinach, Norman did some radishes, turnips, carrots and about 6 rows of potatoes.

 Our first crop! (above) They got a lot bigger after a few weeks! (below)

 We also put in some berry bushes!

Bill is also getting some "Victory Garden" posters to laminate and put on the fence! Check out some of the images here. 

It's kind of like a bit middle finger to the economy having this garden to rely on! Thanks Bill (and Norman) for all your hard work.

10ish weeks to go!

I am now 29 weeks pregnant with this Little Miss which means there are roughly 10 weeks until I deliver! I expect to be a little early, since each of my babies was born before their due dates. Amelia was the earliest at 38 weeks, Caley and Wesley were both about 4-5 days early. Of course I practically begged my OB to break my water with Wesley so active labor would actually begin, I was so uncomfortable, so I often wonder if he'd held on a few more days if not "forced" out.

We don't have a name yet, but that doesn't really bother me since we were last-minute namers with each of the kids.

I'm feeling pretty good, aside from the aches and pains that are typical of pregnancy. And thank the Lord it hasn't been hot this summer. Today it's about 78-80, which is about all I can stand!

Here is what she may look like right now in utero:

It's funny what people have to comment when I'm out with the kids. If I had a nickel for every "You've got your hands full" or "Are they all yours" or "I could never do that" and the like, we could pay for their college tuition! Just smile and nod, and walk away. I had one old man tell me "You better watch out for those accidents in the bed!" Nice, classy, old man. Even better, another guy tried to convince me to stock food for the impending polar shift. Um, yeah, I'll get right on that. But there are also a lot of nice comments. Today a lady at church said she's glad I'm having kids. That made me feel good.

It's always an exercise in knowing I'm not here to please man, but to please God. And it doesn't matter how many kids we have, we aim to have kids who love Jesus and to reflect Jesus in my mothering.

Blog changes

Hello faithful few blog readers!

This blog is, once again, public.

My original reason for making this blog private was because I was adding Cost Cutter entries and it was attracting more traffic than I liked. Specifically, blog traffic from countries I had no idea who would be reading and what they would read about my family. That thought made me uncomfortable.

But shortly after the Cost Cutter blog started, the store had to close (sad day for Addie). It made me reconsider the privacy of our family blog and ease up a bit.

So here is the new, slightly improved Gerlach family blog! I hope to post more often, but I'm not promising anything.

Hello again!

18 months

Wesley is nearly 18 months (on July 28th) and is turning into such a little boy! He has developed quite the assertive attitude and if you do something he doesn't like, he will let you know! His language is moving along and he definitely understands more than he lets on. He follows simple directions well, like "Go get a book" or "Get your shoes" and likes to help clean up. He LOVES being outside. He LOVES his yellow, green and brown blankie. He loves his sisters and giving kisses and hugs. He also frequently bodyslams Amelia. Well, maybe baby bodyslams, out of love, of course. He also climbs anything and everything he can find. The girls never did that, that I can remember.

Earlier this week I gave him a haircut and it seemed to instantly make him seem older.

Happy 18 months buddy! We love you!

Chelan!

We took a family vacation to Lake Chelan a few weeks ago! It was very relaxing and fun! We stayed with Adam in his little rental house. We stayed upstairs in the loft, yes all 5 of us in the same "room." The kids did great! I have been very nervous about moving the girls into one room (again) when the baby arrives, and this trip made be feel much better about that. I know that they CAN be in the same room and not mess around. Although it helped that they were exhausted each day from all the fun! We mainly went swimming, lounged, picked blueberries and spent good quality family time together. Here are some pictures from the trip, enjoy!

 The girls did great in the lake and pools because of their floaties!

 At a little market we fed the goats!

 Wes had a popsicle and looked like he'd eaten a piece of raw meat and his hands were stained red!

 We also picked blueberries at Blueberry Hills Restaurant, home of the "Dunlap" the best breakfast ever!

And it's another...

GIRL!

We found out Wednesday this week that Gerlach baby #4 is another girl. We are so excited! Actually it's kind of relieving to have a gender to identify with this baby. With the surprise circumstances in which she was conceived, it's been a little harder for me to feel connected to her. But now that we know she is in fact, a she, I'm having a hard time imagining what another girl will be like! I can only imagine Caley and Amelia! I know this little one will have a whole different look, personality, and we have the privilege of getting to know her over the years.

Halfway through this pregnancy, I'm feeling really good. At exactly 12 weeks, my energy regained and the subtle sickness subsided. And now that the weather is nicer, it's easier to stay active with all the inside and outside work to do around here. We have a fabulous garden that's been about 8+ months in the making, hopefully I can post about that soon. Tending to the garden and mowing the lawn and weeding in various places, along with the usual inside cleaning, laundry and dishes, on top of three kids makes for a busy week. But a GOOD busy. We wouldn't have it any other way.

It's so funny because my good friend Ande is pregnant too, due basically the same day as me, and having a girl too! We both had sons on the same day about 18 months ago. Our bodies and lives seem to be on the same schedule lately. Weird...or just God's beautiful providential hand working in our lives! :)

It's always somethin' 'round here

Today we are pumping out water from under the house. Why? Well because a little visitor, a rat decided to set up shop in the crawl space and chew through the dishwasher return hose. We didn't notice it for several weeks and the little b*****d chewed through the tube enough to cause a bunch of water to squirt in the subfloor and the crawl space. It's caused some buckling of the hardwood floor. Thankfully we figured it out now instead of in a few more weeks. What a pain. Thankfully my sweet husband is a very good "do-it-yourself-er" and it's almost back go normal. And we caught the rat in a trap so hopefully it won't happen again.
Not to mention the list of things to do is already a mile long...oh the fun of homeownership!

Checking in

Today I got to hear the baby's heartbeat, I'm almost 13 weeks. It was strong and steady at about 160bpm. It finally sunk in more that this is really happening. Even with seeing the baby on ultrasound at 7 weeks, I still kind of thought this was all a joke my body was playing on me. (Yes, even with the expanding waistline and flutters of movement in my belly.) Getting nearly out of the first trimester and into the "safe" zone allows me to relax a little bit more.

I wonder who this little person is?

Questions

Today Caley asked me, "Mommy, what's that orange and white circle that people put to their mouth and then smoke comes out?" Smoking. I was kind of taken aback because I never expected her to ask that kind of question and because I had no idea where to start explaining the answer.
I tried to explain that it's a plant called tobacco that grows and makes leaves, then the leaves are baked and crushed then put in the paper, then people light it on fire and smoke it. I told her it's not very healthy but some people don't care if it's not healthy, they do it anyway. I told her it's unhealthy because it's hurts people's insides. I also told her a lot of people start and want to stop, but can't because it's really hard to.

I'm very glad Caley can feel comfortable asking me questions that are difficult. This one is probably the hardest question so far, but I know there will be many more in the coming years. I'm just hoping it doesn't happen sooner than it should, like when we're in the grocery store and she reads "sex" on a magazine and asks, "Mom, what's sex"? Lord, help me. Would it be okay to make her walk around the store with a blindfold on her face?

Thank you, dear Wesley!

Wesley has reached a milestone that I thought may never happen...sleeping through the night! He has been consistently sleeping 12+ hours at night for the last several weeks. It "coincidentally" happened when I weaned him and he started only drinking whole milk from a bottle. I was really hoping to be able to nurse longer, but it was really taking a toll on me being newly pregnant. He's also begun to sleep longer now that he's walking everywhere and using up so much more energy.

One morning this week he woke up after sleeping 12 hours and when I got him out of the crib I told him, "Thank you for sleeping so well, Mommy's life was sad when you weren't sleeping."

True.

This blog is now private

Hi friends!

I started to feel very convicted and well, worried about who is reading this blog. Mostly because now I can track the stats and there are people in a bunch of countries reading this blog and I have no idea of knowing who they are!

This blog will be for family stuff and other random thoughts. If you're looking for Cost Cutter bidness, check out my new blog: www.iheartcostcutter.blogspot.com

With my children growing up and the need for privacy and safety, I decided to make the switch. I hope you understand.

Look who's walking!

A sneak peek

Today I got an ultrasound for the new baby. Everything looks great! S/he is measuring right on at 7 weeks. I would post a picture but it'd just look like a blurry blob so I'll just have to leave you with my thoughts. 


The baby wasn't moving so much, because it's such an itty bitty and the arms and legs are currently more like flippers. But it's little heartbeat was flickering away and very strong. It's so strange to see a first glimpse of a new little person. More so now that I've been through it a few times and I know that that little blurry blob will grow to be. It's crazy to think that the three children in our house were once a blurry blob. That's what we see on a computer monitor but really the process isn't blurry or blobby at all. I am reminded of Psalm 139: 13-16
 "For you created my inmost being; 
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 
   your works are wonderful, 
   I know that full well. 
My frame was not hidden from you 
   when I was made in the secret place, 
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 
Your eyes saw my unformed body; 
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book 
   before one of them came to be. "

Who is this little person and what will he or she be? 

God's Grace in a Race

About 12 weeks ago I decided to run the Mercer Island Half Marathon again. I literally said to Bill, "If I'm going to run another race before we possibly have another baby, now would be the time." Wow, does God have a sense of humor! I started training and running 8+ miles on the weekends and exercising every day, sometimes twice a day. Then about six weeks later we found out I was pregnant. I would be 7 weeks on race day. I read that if a person's body is used to running long distances before pregnancy, it should be okay to continue. The training continued and I was feeling pretty good (although tired).

But this past week on Wednesday I suddenly became very nauseous and sick, I couldn't keep anything down and I was very weak. On Wednesday I mostly slept, which is hard when there are kids to tend to (thank goodness for TV). I couldn't tell if this was morning sickness or a flu bug. Thursday wasn't much better, and I realized that if I didn't get better fast, I wouldn't be running on Sunday. That thought made me cry! I'd been training, I'd paid the registration fee, and it'd be such a disappointment! I posted on a running group forum at church asking if someone would take my place, but no takers. Really, who can run a half on 3 days notice?
Friday I was feeling a little better but it wasn't a vomit-free day. By then I had kind of accepted that I wouldn't run if I was feeling so yucky and was okay with it.

But thankfully Saturday I woke up and felt amazing, compared the previous days. I was even able to run a little, and feeling God's grace and my friend's prayer. It made me so grateful!
Sunday was race day, and I was so excited and ready! Dang that's a tough 13.1 miles. Rolling hills throughout and some major hills as well. My goal has usually been in races to not walk or stop. With God's grace I was able to do that this time. But my time was much slower than the last time I did the half. No mind, I was just grateful to have been able to run!

There was an amazingly inspirational running team that I ran with much of the time. A man, maybe 60, who was blind with a woman, probably also 60-ish, as his lead. They were tethered together and the man was on the left. The woman would tug on his tether around his hand as he began to wander. It was an amazing thing to see, the course is so curvy this lady sure had a tough job keeping the man on track. It made me think, I wonder what each person's story might be. I have a tiny baby in my belly, I wonder why other people are running? It's interesting being at the end of the race because there are these people who just keep running, even though they're at the end of the pack. The race isn't about winning against others, it's about winning against yourself.

Bill and the kids came to the finish line. I knew I would see them, and when I did I just wanted to be done, even though there was maybe 200 yards to go. Caley and Amelia saw me from far away and ran toward me. The excitement and exhaustion at that point caught up with me and I couldn't catch my breath. The look on my face must have been kind of scary because when Caley got up to me she didn't want to give me a hug and looked kind of scared!

I hope to keep running through this pregnancy and be able to do the Iron Girl in September. I'll be about 25 weeks. We'll see! That'd be awesome. But for now I'm still basking in the feeling of God's grace through this race.

**Update**
If you'd like to see some pictures of me running go here. Be warned, I look freakish. When I saw Caley and Amelia I nearly lost it and my face looks scary. Gimme a break, it'd already been 13 miles! :)