Ahhhhh…Valentine’s Day. It’s the sappiest, most guilt-ridden, obligatory holiday on the calendar. (imho) But, as I’ve aged and become a parent, I’ve become less cynical and more fun. I see it through my children’s eyes now. The candy conversation hearts totally rock and coordinating holiday shirts are so very cute! (Thank you, Old Navy!!)

Here are a few of the latest holiday pictures to post and show. These kids have truly captured my heart.
But more than that, I think of the love that Christ has for the world. He loved humanity so much that he DIED for our sins. He didn’t want to. He asked His Father if the cup could pass from him. Since it wasn’t possible for any of us to gain entry to Heaven without His blood sacrifice, He took the punishment for us all.

Thank you, Lord, for dying for me and my children. And while I revel in hearts and candy, may your Holy Spirit be at work on their hearts so that one day they may know you like I do.

Enjoy~
Steph and Joey

I know, I know. Right now you are probably jumping right out of your seats screaming, “Vamonos casa de Beninghove!” Or you are thinking, “Dora who?”

For those of you unfamiliar with the insanely popular preschool characters of Dora and Diego, be thankful. However, I am not so lucky. Really, compared to the Doodlebops or I.Q depleting character of Spongebob Squarepants, the Hispanic duo aren’t bad at all. At least they teach kids Spanish and introduce them to animals they may never see at their local zoo. For that reason, I thought it would be ok to stand in line at the Children’s Museum yesterday so Maddie could meet one of her favorite tv stars.

She was so excited. Until she met them.

My sweet, talkative girl, (did I mention talkative–I don’t know WHERE she got it from) clammed up. She was so jabbery (my new word–say it three times and it’s mine!) in the line waiting. She wanted to know where Boots was. She wanted to know where Swiper was. She wanted to know if they were going to put on a show. She was so curious. And jabbery. (#2.)

Matthew was taking the scene in. He loved to be around the other kids and watch what was going on. I thought that when he saw Maddie joyfully meeting her childhood icons, that he would jump right in. OOOOH NOOO. It was the exact opposite. He held onto Micah’s stroller with a death grip that could turn coal into diamonds. He would NOT even look in their direction.

It was rather funny.

Micah? Well, he slept through it all. He was anti-jabbery. (#3–you liked that didn’t ya?)

As warped as it sounds, I really was hoping to be one of the families that won a 4 pack of tickets to their show at the Landmark Theater today. Alas, we didn’t and I guess that means I don’t have an excuse not to vacuum now.

First and foremost, hats off to my wonderful husband who took the reigns and posted so quickly about Micah’s birth. Thank you, sweetie. I was informed that on my last post I neglected to thank Joey. AUGHGHHH! It was total pregnancy brain. He’s not one to want to bask in the limelight of other people’s praise, but I do want to point out that he had to endure so much while I was pregnant with Micah. Thank you, hun, for not getting upset when I had to get away and lie down and strap you with the full responsibility of the kids. Thank you for “watching” the kids when I went to the OB appointments so I didn’t have to drag them with me. Most importantly, thank you for holding my hand on 12/29/08 when I didn’t think I could do it anymore. I love you.

Well, the last two weeks have been…something. You gotta love that crazy hormonal surge that tells you one minute that life is the best you’ve ever known it and then then next you can’t even conceive how you’ll get through the next five minutes.

That’s kind of how I felt.
Thank you, kids, for taking the words out of my mouth.

Micah has adjusted really well to the family. And the family has adjusted really well to him. I hate to say too much about his laid back personality because I don’t want to spoil it.

Maddie loves to hold him and be the consummate big sister. Matthew has just gotten to the point where he just loves to kiss Micah’s little head. It’s sweet. I need more pictures.

The only minor setback we’ve had is Micah’s fight with jaundice. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not that big of a deal, but we’ve had to go to the ped’s office several times in the past two weeks for bloodwork. Here’s a pictures that really shows his orangeness. But even if he does look like Lenny Carrot, he’s our Lenny Carrot.

But, thank you all for your prayers and well wishes. I hope to get back into the swing of things this week–but it’s going to be cold like Alaska here, so I don’t know how much we’ll get out. I mean, seriously, global warming? How is a high of 29 degrees global warming? But I digress…

So, you parents out there…leave me some tips. HEEELP!

Guest Post From: Joey

Hi there, Joey here doing a guest post on the Beninghove blog. Steph would be doing it, but, well, she’s been a little busy the past couple days.

(Steph usually says I’m a man of few words, so I’ll try not to disappoint her with this guest post.

God blessed us yesterday with a mighty fine looking son named Micah William. We want to sincerely thank everyone for their prayers. We are truly blessed to have such great family and friends our lives. Mommy and baby are doing well and we hope to bring everyone home tomorrow morning, Lord willing.

Micah means “Who is like God?”. To me this is definitely a rhetorical question since there truly is no one like our God! His grace and mercy on us never ceases and only the one true God of the universe could have enough love to pull that off!

William is the name of two very important men in our lives. My father-in-law and step-father. Both of whom have had a great impact on our lives and have provided us with, among many other things, wisdom and strength. We are very thankful to have them in our lives and I’m sure Micah will be greatly blessed by them as well.

Ok, now that the sappy stuff is over with, here’s why you’re really here… pictures!

Micah William Beninghove

Height: 20.5 inches

Weight: 7lbs. 6oz.

Well, guess that’s all for now. I’m sure Steph will be back to posting more updates soon.

Tomorrow. A mere 24 hours.

Have you ever been so excited about something and looked forward to it for so long that when the time actually comes you are more nervous than anything?

That is exactly how I am feeling right now. It’s like 70% nervousness, 20% excitement, 10% craziness. lol. I know those stats will change daily, with craziness probably coming in the front runner at over 80% most days.

Well, tomorrow Joey and I will meet our newest member of the Beninghove Clan. AUGHGHGH! Boy? Girl? I don’t know, except that it’s NOT TWINS (despite how many people want to wish that on me!) and it’s not kittens. (Sorry, Maddie.)

To Maddie: I know you’ll make an awesome big sister because you’ve had 2 years to practice. The love you show (most days!) to Matthew is so sweet. For your sake, I hope it’s a girl, because I know how happy that would make you.

To Matthew: I suspect some jealousy at first, but I think you will also make an awesome big brother. You love to laugh and have fun. What more could a younger sibling want? For your sake, I hope it’s a boy, so you can have someone close to pal around with.

To the baby: I just pray you’ll be healthy and stay that way. Like with your siblings, I pray for strength in the Lord. That you will grow up to love and serve God with all of your heart. I pray that you’ll be a pillar for truth when the world creeps around you and wants to feed you lies. I love you already and can’t wait to see how you’ll fit in with us–we’re a crazy bunch.

To our family and friends: Thank you so much for your gifts of prayer. We couldn’t ask for anything more.

I am not sure when I’ll get around to updating the blog, but I’ll do my best to make it quick with all the details. If you are on Facebook, I’ll try to update my status tomorrow from the hospital with the details of gender, name, etc.

We love you!

The Beninghove Family–Joey, Steph, Maddie, Matthew, and ??

Happy birthday, sweet girl! As I sit here and type, I reflect on your birth day. It seems so long ago, but at the very same time, it shouldn’t have been five years ago. FIVE! How did this happen? Did I seriously enter some time warp? How did I “Rip Van Winkle” for five years? I suppose in another five years, I’ll be posting about how she’s ten and all ready to grow up and stuff. It’s so surreal to be celebrating this birthday with her and expecting another one in just a few weeks.

But, here are a few pictures for those who remember the time and those who’ve never seen them.

May the Lord bless you, Maddie, in the upcoming year. May your eyes be opened to the Word and shielded from the world. And may your father and I continue to raise you in the ways of the Lord that would be pleasing to Him. I love you so much. Thank you for showing me your joy. As we continue in this journey together, I can’t wait to grow closer to you and get to know you more.

I love you-
Mom

Day one.

1st birthday

2nd birthday

3rd birthday

4th birthday

Ok, Ok, I know I haven’t updated this thing in like 8 moons or something. So…here’s a Maddie story for those of you who may not have heard it. It was told to me, so I hope that I can capture the detail and humor as it originated.

Most of you know…we’re gonna have a baby. (No, I’m not just getting fat..but that’s part of it.) This revelation meant that we’d have to play musical bedrooms with the kids. The music has turned off and here’s where we stand:

Joey’s old office becomes Maddie and Matthew’s new bedroom.
Maddie’s old bedroom becomes Joey’s new office.
Matthew’s old room becomes the baby’s new room with minor (VERY MINOR) modifications. Should this baby be a girl…well, I hope she likes blue. lol.

We decided to paint the other two rooms, but leave the baby’s room the way it is. Really, the baby won’t know colors–he/she will barely be able to see past his/her nose at birth, so I am simply NOT stressing that.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE to paint, but Joey forbids it while I’m pregnant. Grrrrr. However, he has an aunt, who is such a blessing and probably loves to paint just a tad more than I do. The difference, she’s actually good at it. This aunt? AUNT BETTY!!! Yep, the same one who saved my sanity and gave Matthew his first haircut. Seriously, she should move in she’s helped us so much.

Well, she painted Joey’s new office and we begged and pleaded, promised her the moon (or at least lunch-lol) and I might have even gone as far as naming the baby after her (a la Rumplestiltskin-esque) but it didn’t get that far. She agreed to come paint the new bedroom. Maddie didn’t want to be anywhere else than in that room with Betty watching her paint.

So…here’s the story…

Thursday night, Betty was almost finished and graciously decided to stay into the early evening to complete the job. The kids had been put to bed. Well, Maddie sneaks out of the room she’s sharing with Matthew, and goes to see Betty paint. (I was downstairs and Joey was preoccupied, so neither one of us saw her out of her room.) Here’s how I understand the conversation went.

Betty: Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?
Maddie: Well…mom and dad don’t know.
Betty: But you are supposed to obey your parents all the time. That makes God happy. He sees you right now.
Maddie stops to think.
Maddie: Well, maybe God won’t tell mommy and daddy.

Hmmmmm. Methinks we have a tad more work to do on integrity, huh? But it makes me laugh that her mind is already trying to work the system. Ahhh…children.

I promise I’ll get some pics up of the new room once we’ve done something to it or the new baby comes–whichever is first.

God Bless!
~Stephanie

I have had a few people tell me lately that I have “the glow.” (I am not bragging, bc usually “the glow” is just sweat dripping off my forehead from trying to wrestle two kids to the van and get where we need to go without missing half the event!)

But I digress… You know what I’m talkin’ about, right? The pregnant lady who looks-all-happy-and-excited-just-oozing-with-baby-emotions-that-can’t-wait-to-talk-names-and-breastfeeding vs bottle feeding-and-sleeping schedules-and-all-the-other-issues-that-I’ll-have-absolutely-no-control-over look. Yeah, that’s not my look. Thanks, but that’s not it. But, that’s why I love being around first time moms. I am sure I was the same way. They are sooooooo excited and should be. But they have no idea what’s about to befall them. Good and well…different.

For me, I think “this glow” really is a facade. Usually I am happy to be wherever we are. Why? I’ll go slowly bc I tend to type fast when I am excited but….THERE ARE OTHER ADULTS THERE! Yippeee!!!! That should make any stay at home mom excited, right?!?!? I don’t have to answer any question with, “Yes, honey” or “Do you understand me?” or “What did you just say to me, young lady?” I mean, I guess I could answer them that way, but they may not talk to me very long and that would only defeat my purpose of being around them, right?

But more seriously, “the glow” hides a certain fear that has been creeping into my thoughts lately. Hey, did you know we’re gonna have a baby? Yeah, that hit me today. I mean, it’s not like I didn’t know or anything. Maybe I assumed I was just getting fat and all the movements were gas. lol. Seriously, the reality of a third child overwhelmed me today and I lost it. Literally, I sobbed. I was shaken from my self-centered view of pregnancy to see how it is affecting the rest of the family. I am so ashamed to admit that I forgot that others were dealing with this, too. And unfortunately, two of them have no where near the coping skills that I have as an adult to understand what’s going on.

I don’t know what it’s like to welcome a baby into an immediate family as a child. I was 10 and 12 when my nephews were born and they didn’t live at my house! And here I am expecting my children to feel this rush of excitement as we switch out rooms and make Maddie and Matthew share a room. Take away my “mommy card” because I blew it on this one.

So, Maddie and Matthew, I am sorry. Please forgive me for not really thinking of your feelings, too. I talked about it with others, have expressed my concerns for what I think you may go through after the baby gets here, but never did I stop and think about right now. And Joey, I am sorry, too, for just assuming that you didn’t have anything to worry about. You are such a great husband, dad, and provider that sometimes I forget that you aren’t Superman. And you always remind me to take it to the Lord.
And God, I am so sorry that I have tried to do this on my own. YOU are the one who created this life. YOU are the one who has orchestrated this. I may not understand timing, but YOU make everything perfect in your time. And readers, I am sorry this isn’t a funny post. But, it is necessary.

So, I hope the next time that someone comments on “The Glow” I hope it’s because they see the reflection of the Holy Spirit in my life. And if it is sweat, maybe it will be from running into church, to make sure I am there on time.

Blessings-
Stephanie

In email, the link to this blog was sent to me. I actually like the article. Although the Richmond native author is not a homeschooling parent, nor wishes to be, it is factual and fair. Please visit this and read for yourself.

The article is here.

Welcome to Richmond, race fans! It seems that this early Fall is taking off in the Beninghove household.

First of all, I’ll admit that I have chosen to write this entry tonight, because I am actually lazy and procrastinating grocery list making. Blah. (Guess, it’s pb&j again tomorrow.)

But, because you all are such a wonderful, well receiving audience out there in cyber-land, I have a few things to share with you.

This is a frog. A what?!?!? A frog. A what?? A frog. Oh…a frog. And as loyal readers, you’ll note that I have severe issues with things that are smaller than me with at least twice as many legs. (rocking back and forth saying, “It’s going to be ok, it’s going to be ok.”)

So, now my darling daughter has caught and wanted to keep, a grasshopper, dead worms, and “Toady.” Where does she get this? Oh yeah, my HUSBAND, who encouraged her to catch this thing and bring it to me. (More rocking, this time in a fetal position)

Blech.

Ok, this is just to get my mind back to a happy place.

Now that I am hungry again….

Let’s talk about Matthew. My little man is growing up and well, frankly, he needs to. I probably baby him too much and I will be hurting for that in January. However, this post isn’t about T..H..A..T…
At a family birthday party for my sweeeeeeet little niece this weekend,

there was a conversation had with Joey’s family about how much I hated Matthew’s current “do.”

Because they are extremely helpful and resourceful (!) Aunt Betty (later to her chagrin!) kindly offered to cut Matthew’s hair sometime. So, after the party, I called her, basically invited myself over and completely took up her time and energy for my son. (THANK YOU, AUNT BETTTTTTTY!!!!!) Seriously, the kid looks older and I believe he’s actually happier!

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Doesn’t he look so happy?!?!?! And he looks like a little man. (sniff, sniff) Please forgive his little farmer’s tan. I have made a mental note to expose more of his sunscreened skin to the sun next summer.

People have asked me if I kept the lock of his hair. Seriously? People do this? I don’t keep teeth either. I just can’t stomach it. Ya know, kind of like bugs and frogs.

Hey….I wonder what Maddie’s doing? I bet she’d have no problem with that.