milligan men, a maiden, and an expecting momma

we milligans are all doing well.

mark has been a bit busy with real work again! yeah! he got caught up today. then he got caught up in a fun trumpeting project idea.

hogan has taken off reading. he read an entire chapter book today! one that he's read before, but i was sure impressed at the accomplishment of 182 pages. and it didn't even take all day. i think he picked it up after lunch and plugged away at various times for the rest of the day. he actually worked on a book report assignment this morning, did his normal work responsibilities, and fit in plenty of play time besides!

owen helped papa in the basement for quite a while today. he helped me work on cleaning his bedroom after lunch. he has turned into a great helper. he helped his brothers and sister have lots of fun today too. some friends from church brought over a bunch of hand-me-over toys on Sunday. owen was pretty excited about playing with them. he is such a fun companion as he loves to make people happy.

leannora loves learning time. she read a book to me this morning. she helped me with meals, kitchen work, cleaning her bedroom, and kept nikao and able company so i could finish up some things. she would reeeeeaaally like a sister. a sister might be good to help even out the emotions of the lone girl. our new baby will be a pleasant help to fill the needs of our little aspiring momma.

nikao is now talking away. it is so fun to hear him speak new words each day. at supper tonight he saw a truck with flashing lights out the window. he was so delighted and excited to tell us all about it. his names for the milligan children are the best . . . able is "ahbull," nikao is "kayoh," leannora is "nohrra," owen is "oh no," hogan is "oowheyoowheyoh." there are a few other fun varieties for owen and hogan, but i'd have to ask them to help me remember them.

able is everywhere. a delightful, wonderful, happy boy that gets into everything and can figure out how to get anywhere. he is definately preparing to be a big brother. it's so cool how God is doing that in him! he loves to immitate, so he too is talking away. i've been trying to teach him a bit of self control. this morning i gave him one toy and told him to sit in one spot while i worked on breakfast. i had to remind him of his place and possession a few times, but he did get the idea of obedience!

our baby loves to wiggle and move around a lot. we all have fun watching the momma's belly roll. the not so fun part is when the baby positions him or herself in the momma's ribs. but this has only been uncomfortable for a short time now. even though this is baby milligan #6, i can not get over the wonder of this child in my womb. it is just soooo amazing that i am carrying a living, eternal being uniquely designed by God. and that very soon we will meet His creation.

we are 3 weeks away from our due date of february 20. mark thinks i'm going to be early. i don't have any guesses. almost everyone is wishing us a girl, including our children. again, i don't have any guesses or wishes. i'm so pleased to know that this child will be the perfect fit for our family at this time because God has planned it for us ahead of time itself. and besides, my past efforts at guessing were failed attempts anyway.

i don't really feel prepared for our baby's arrival. mentally, that is. we have been sooo busy with house and home and life that this child has been overlooked in some ways. i guess some of that might be normal with a big family though. but i still feel funny about that. mark and i haven't really even sat down to discuss or list names yet! i'm counting on all those prayers that have been pouring in over this new baby. we have really been prayed for among friends and church family, so i can rest in that!

i'm hustling and bustling at this nesting thing. but i'm lacking the energy required to do all that i'd like to accomplish. i think i used most of my nesting energies during the house transformation. thankfully, God has given me an extended grace period in my personality battles. before our remodeling adventures i pleaded with God to take control of my need for order. it has been exciting to experience victories in this. i'm reckognizing that it's beginning to wain, so i guess i need to renew my request.

some funny kim pregnancy facts . . .

i'm still sneezing - yes, i sneeze at meal times while pregnant (it's much nicer than morning sickness and throwing up, but it is gross when i have a mouth full of food and my hands are full) we just say hi baby instead of God bless you now.

i haven't shaved my legs in months. but they are not hairy, they are bald from above my knees and down! that's pretty cool! sorry guys if i gave you too much information. feel free to laugh a lot. (maybe i've got some weird nutritional or hormonal imbalance, but you won't catch me complaining)

oh, what was the other funny thing? . . . oh, yeah, i'm a holy moley momma. moles run in my family. hee hee. get it? guess it wasn't that funny, it's just past my bedtime. anyways, i've always multiplied moles with each pregnancy. i even have one in my belly button! but this time i've got little white ones everywhere!

well, ive procrastinated the bedtime thing long enough now. it's really no fun trying to wrestle the blankets with 40+ extra #s attached to my body just to roll over. not to mention having to go to the bathroom ???? x ? but then waking up to put on pants that don't fit and shoes that i can hardly reach to tie is equally difficult. really, i'm not complaining, it's pretty funny stuff that we go through. and you've just gotta think that God smiles when we laugh about his creativity.

well, kendra, you asked for it. i apologize for those of you who didn't know what you were getting into when you started to read the latest milligan post. any time kim is asked to talk, well, you're going to get much more than you've asked for. but if you ask my mom, grandma, sister, aunts or cousins, their over explinations might really give you the giggles.

goodnight.