New Great Room furniture

Jonathan Churchill, our new baby

We are so happy to find out that we are getting a baby boy.  Jonathan Churchill Bishop, Andrew's brother.  We had this name picked out for a boy when we were pregnant with Abigail.  We liked the name Jonathan and thought Andrew Chapman and Jonathan Churchill sounded good together.  Then we could call them Chapman and Churchill for nicknames.  Well, then we found out we were having a girl.  We were so happy to have a girl, but never stopped talking about our little boy Jonathan Churchill.  

So much so that during Abby's first Christmas (when she was 3 months old), I went to Hobby Lobby to buy our family initial stocking holders to hang from the mantle.  The thought crossed my OCD mind that if we had a Jonathan in years to come, I might not be able to find these exact same matching initial stocking hangers.  Or worse yet, they might be retired and not making them anymore.  (I know, I know... first world problem).  So, doing what any level-headed, well-grounded person would do, I bought a "J" stocking holder for Jonathan Churchill, our son that we didn't have yet.  That was Christmas, 2010.  He is due to be born February, 2014.  When I brought all of our initial stocking holders home and showed everybody, even Adrian thought the "J" was a little presumptuous and frankly, a little bizarre.

And every Christmas since, when we decorate and put up our stocking holders, there's the "J" carefully wrapped like all the rest.

And we've talked about him over the last few years as well.  We just always felt that we still had a son Jonathan out there.  It's kind of gotten to be a joke - and creeps out my sisters Kate and Hannah, who think I'm delusional or something.

The week we found out we were pregnant (obviously long before we knew the sex), I was out buying inital block letters for our mudroom cubbies.  Ah heck, they were $2.78/each, so I went ahead and got Jonathan one, too.  It's money well spent because:

1.  there was a 50/50 chance we were having a boy 

and 

2.  creeping out my sisters with things like adoring my unborn children and breastfeeding my children for what they consider some bohemian lifestyle length of time is worth any amount of money I spend.  

I put them up with tape, so I could easily remove it if necessary - then I took pics and texted them to Adrian, Peyton, and my sisters Kate, Hannah, and Holly.  Everyone thought it was funny, but Hannah still got a little weirded out: "Is the J for Jonathan????"  Me:  "Yep!"  

And then today, August 13, 2013, we found out that we do indeed have a son named Jonathan Churchill, our little child of promise.

I had never looked up the meaning of Jonathan.  We just both liked the name a lot, and I love Jonathan in the Bible (Saul's oldest son and David's BFF).  Except for Jonathan in the Bible ended his life being killed in battle with the Philistines, and my son will never join the military.  Anyway, we just liked the name, period, but oddly enough had never looked up the meaning.

Then this afternoon, after telling Adrian we had our Jonathan, I looked up the meaning.

It said:

Jonathan:  Hebrew baby name.  Meaning: Yahweh has given.

Yes, yes indeed, Yahweh has given.

Our New Baby

We find out if we are having a boy or a girl this week.  I'm so excited to know if this is my son Jonathan or my daughter (don't have a name yet).  I just might be more excited finding out what this baby is than I was with the other two.  I don't why... but I can hardly wait.  The babies are so excited - this pregnancy is much more fun going through it with a 4 1/2 and almost 3 year old.  We are bananas about this new baby of ours.

So busy we're standing on our heads

Since my last post, we have:

• Moved to our new house

• Bought a fridge
• Unpacked
• Replaced about 15 recessed lightbulbs
• Had children's portraits done of our 3 children together
• Found out we're pregnant
• De-weeded the yard and flower beds
• Had an A/C unit fixed
• Had a water heater fixed
• Had some electrical fixed
• Had the in-ground sprinkling system fixed
• Had the hardwood floors and tile floors professionally cleaned
• Had the vents and air ducts cleaned and fogged
• Had the windows cleaned
• Had the septic cleaned and some caps replaced
• Bought a zero turn lawn mower
• Bought a queen-size memory foam mattress for the guest room upstairs (it's waiting for YOU!!!)
• Took a week-long vacation to my parent's house in Muskegon
• Preached the whole month of July at the church I used to pastor in Batesville, MS
• Got a mani-pedi last week
• Had a stray brown and white goat walk through our backyard mid-afternoon one day (and there are no farms in our neighborhood)
• Had a few ultrasounds done of our preciouspie in my tummy

• Signed up my 4 1/2 year old for 1/2 day Jr Kindergarten (JrK) 5 days/week.  I'm dreading him going.
• Decided that if we have a boy, we're naming him Jonathan Churchill
• Decided that if we have a girl, it's going to be difficult for Adrian to acquiesce and give me the names I want.
• Managed to feed the kids their meals (despite my extreme nausea) and bathe them every so often
• Had bloodwork done that primarily tests for Trisomy/Downs, but for $20 more, will tell you if there is a Y chromosome (Boy) or if it's all Xs (Girl).  We paid the extra $20.  Results in about 2 weeks at 13 1/2 weeks.