My little Builder Bobs

When I was at a baby shower a little while back, the boys took on a construction project. Don't worry, they were fully "supervised" by Daddy. You just can't seem him from behind the camera. And no one was harmed in the making of this object which they call a "train station".

Pretty darn cute if I do say so myself. And that's why Zac and I balance each other out so well. The idea of putting my three small children near some serious tools and open paint cans is enough to put me into a cold sweat. But they sure loved it!
Nice job, everyone!

Brothers.

I got these matching shirts for $2.50 a piece. Who can resist such a good deal? Now if it was only that easy to get a cute picture of the three of them. This was my 5th and best attempt. Ha!



I think the balloon man was a little bored when my parents took us out to dinner awhile back. Guess who reaped the benefits of his boredom?



Playing at the North Pole (an amusement park) with Daddy and Papa. Mommy and Nana took Brody shopping (he didn't know any better). It was a good day all around.





The boys found these scarves and hats when I was switching out our summer and winter stuff. They really wanted it to snow, but this was at the beginning of September. Well, they finally got their wish because in the last 2 days, we've had 2 feet of snow here. Can you say CABIN FEVER??!

Brody!

And this sweet little babe is growing up! He is turning 1 next week and although it sounds completely trite, I cannot believe this past year has gone by so quickly. In the last picture you can see one of his two new teeth. He is very proud of those two teeth and manages to chew with them (one on top and one on bottom). Unfortunately, he has also learned how to grind the only two teeth he has...ah, it's music to my ears, or not.

I am trying to cherish my time with him so much lately. I know that in just a few more months I will be a little more, um, distracted and so I am just trying to soak all of him in. He is just the SWEETEST and I pray that he never feels left out in the shuffle of our crazy house.

And yes, his eyes are that big in real life. So cute!!

Guess what I found?!

The camera cord! Now I can finally start downloading some pictures onto our computer that have just been sadly waiting on the camera. They are many and they are random...enjoy!

Beginning with Jesse's 3rd birthday party! Yes, this was back in August. Better late than never right? Jesse has such a sweet spirit (amidst the very fiery, irrational tantrums) and it's so fun to be able to celebrate him. He is such a precious part of our family and we can see how God has already been using his little life for big things.

Pink!

We will soon be seeing a lot more of this around our house!!!

Our ultrasound was yesterday afternoon, and, seriously, I have to tell you that I was a bit nervous about the whole deal. On top of wanting to make sure baby is healthy and developing correctly, I obviously was anxious about gender.

Let me first say that I LOVE my boys. I honestly think that if I had to choose having all boys or all girls, I would probably pick boys (although I speak from NO experience on the girl end). They are wild and sweet and they love their mommy.

And because of the trajectory we have been following, I would not have been too surprised to find out we were welcoming boy #4. The odds of having 4 boys in a row are just crazy, and it would have been interesting to have it happen to our family, but I wasn't sure I could go there mentally. Kind of like how my mind always jumps to what our grocery bill will be when the boys are 18, 17, 15, and 14. Seriously?! I feel like we spend a lot on food now! And, oh, the rough-housing and potential for broken household items and broken bones just multiplies!! But, I honestly have to say I was prepared for whatever God gave us.

Then on the flip side, I always just imagined that I would have at least one girl. Someone to shop with. Someone to sit quietly and color or read stories with (I guess that's no guarantee with girls, but, you know?). Someone to dress in pink, pick out Christmas dresses for, and fix her hair--aside from just using water to slick down the sticking up hairs :).

So all these things were flashing through my mind and I realized I was sort of holding my breath as I laid down on the ultrasound table. I could tell the tech was looking right away for us, and while I wasn't sure exactly what I was looking to see, I knew I wasn't seeing what I had seen three times previously. She said, "I know what it is, do you?" To which I very quietly replied, "It's a girl???!".

YEP!! 100%. She said I could buy all of the pink I wanted to.

And, to be honest, my first emotion was excitement and my second was just pure relief. 5 years of wondering through pregnancies and deliveries if I will ever have a girl, the sadness that it may never happen (I'm pretty sure this was going to be the last Hicks' baby, regardless of gender), listening to the boys repeatedly ask for a sister, and gazing sadly at the 80% of the children's clothing store that is taken up by girls clothes, while I wander quickly through the minuscule boys section (actually--that may be a prudent choice on the store's part because little boys have NO attention span for shopping--it's get in and get out)--all of those feelings just disappeared because now I have an answer.

And, wow, it feels great!

Brrr...

I stepped outside this morning into balmy 18 degrees go to a Women's fall brunch at church. Everything was frosty and pretty looking, but not too much like fall. Strange! It was a fun time with some other really neat women.

Zac held down the fort with the boys and another friend of theirs who is 9 but likes to come over and play. I had great intentions of posting a bunch of old pictures I have on my camera, since it's been quite awhile...but, alas, I cannot find the camera cord. Hmmm...

Some of the pictures where from last weekend when I was at a baby shower and the boys made a homemade "train station" for their trains. Zac found some scrap wood and they sawed and nailed all morning. They even custom painted it--and only one pair of pants got ruined in the process :). Actually, as I was just looking through the pictures, I realized that Jesse was wearing his nice (and only) swimming suit (that will one day be Brody's), and his all-time favorite Mickey Mouse shirt from Disneyland that my brother got him. Um, probably the LAST thing I would put on him while painting. But, I always say that if they are all happy and safe while I am gone, I won't sweat the small stuff. And not to worry, the super cute pictures also revealed that Zac made them wear protective eyewear while sawing. Oh, the boys.

And speaking of boys--we have our big ultrasound on Wednesday!!! Up until now, I've been fairly relaxed about finding out the gender of Hicks #4, but now, I must admit I'm starting to get a little nervous/excited. Either way, it's crazy to know that we will soon have a lot more information about our family's future dynamic. Will we have a enough men for a basketball team or will some pink actually enter this household?? Who knows?

Praise!

We are praising the Lord today for a good check-up from my eye doctor. This is the first time in almost 2 years that he has been able to say that my eye is actually looking better and he is encouraged! The general health of my eye has been on a downward trajectory for a little while now. The laser treatment I had last summer was supposed to help with some of the bleeding, fluid leakage, and swelling. It's still an experimental thing, and the doctor was especially concerned because sometimes during pregnancy, the body can go kind of crazy, vascularly speaking, which would have been bad news for my eye. It seemed to do that a bit when I was pregnant with Brody, and since all of that was just a year ago, I was a bit concerned to be pregnant again.

BUT, the treatment and, more importantly, God's healing hand, seemed to have worked and all of the symptoms I mentioned above have lessened! Praise God! The tumor is looking great--still nice and small and dead--so we are continually thankful for that as well. As long as that stays the same, our new goal is for me to be able to keep my actual eye and for it to stay relatively "healthy". Although battered and mostly blind, I 'd still like to keep it around for as long as possible :)!