Our Baby.....

So....I am having our third baby and we have found out we are having a GIRL!  We are so excited.  I got the ultrasound done early, so we are hoping they did not misjudge the gender.  I go in today for another ultrasound...hopefully, we will receive confirmation that we are indeed having a girl! This is our last baby (planned, anyway) and it just seems so perfect to have a girl!  Jon is equally excited and we have started our journey of name choosing....as most of you know it won't be a "most popular" name and we will probably keep it  secret to spare ourselves from all the opinions out there!  :>)  Once you meet our babies, their names just fit them perfectly.....we are confident that we will find one that is just right for this one too!  

Hope everyone is doing well!  

Finally....an update!

So, my blog is called Maurer Update, but it is far from it! Sorry friends!
Let's see....the latest on everyone.....

Creed turned 3 on March 9th. The years really are disappearing! He is a determined fella and the jokester of the family...here is a pic of when he was little and one that is more recent - (christmas)!

Judah turns 5 this next week on april 1st! I have a kindergartner! WHAT?????? He is a dleight. He is so stinkin inquisitive and smart. He challenges me! He has been in pre-school and knows all his letters and sounds, how to write them, he can count past and write up to 100. He knows about 20 shapes (most of which I have no idea the names for!) He has the solar system down and can recite the Pledge of Alligence! Not to mention days of the week, months of the year, the continents and on and on! I am bragging, I know, but really it is only because I cannot believe he knows all this stuff and he is still 4! Here are pictures of how he has changed in the past 5 years too!

I am doing well. I am pregnant with our 3rd baby and feeling tired and a bit nauseas! I am exctied for our new addition and in the meantime, trying to figure out how to fit us into our little 500 Sq. Ft. (or less) Mod. It will be an adventure and a great reason to de-junk our house again. My friend, Elizabeth, is giving me piano lessons and I am enjoying all my friends.....church planting is starting out well and we are doing a lot of prep work for that too!

Jon is doing a great job wearing a million hats! He enjoys his job at APU as a resident director and he is also very energized by the beginnings of the church plant! He is helping a lot at home, getting us organized enough to fit 5 in here and he loves rough housing with our little guys! Legos have been a hit and he just pulled out the little ones from when he was small. The boys play for HOURS.....nice for me. :>)

As far as our church plant details, here are a few! We are planting in Pasadena, CA. We have 20-30 people interested in our core team......we have 4 quality interns, we have several sending churches on board! God has been extremely generous in His provision so far and we are just feeling more passionate about what is in store this year......please pray for people, a building and finances! These are general prayer requests, but they cover A LOT of details! We will try to keep you posted better than we have in the past two years!

Happy New Year! A Week Late!

Hello everyone who still looks at my blog!!!! I know I am incredibly lazy with it these days......

We went to my family's house this year....all my siblings were home

New Glasses

Blurry....he is 4. He would not cooperate very well. He looks so cute and is very excited about his glasses.....you will see more over the next, well, 10 years....:>)

Judah's Glasses

Yes. Judah will be getting his first glasses next week. I noticed that his left eye was crossing a little and took him to see the eye doctor. She tested him and we found out that he farsighted. In children this means that they can see far and near but need to focus hard to see anything....that is why there is an eye that turns inward. Because the eyes then see double, their little brain shuts the eyesight off in the "bad" (crossed) eye and the vision deteriorates!

SO......now he needs to wear glasses from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to bed....everything in between too including baths! Surprisingly, I am not too stressed about this. His doctor was fantastic! She was so good at explaining everything and worked with him like a pro! He really enjoyed playing eye "games" with her! There is a chance he can grow out of this eye disorder by the time he is a teenager. Please pray that this will happen!

Until we get the call that the glasses are in, I am enjoying his sweet little round face and snapping pictures like crazy.....he will have plenty with glasses on! The doctor said because the glasses will correct his vision so much, his eyes will cross extrememly bad if he takes them off because they will over compensate from seeing so well with them on and work hard to focus and acheive the same thing without them. Therefore, pictures will be taken with glasses on as will everything else!

Judah is excited about glasses. We went together as a family to help him decide which kind to get. After Jon and I picked out some practical frames (plastic that won't break as easily, no nose pad thingys, good shapes on his face) we narrowed it down to about 7 pair. He picked some black converse rectangular glasses. Trust me, he is cool and adorable! I will take pictures and post them soon! In the meantime......here is some I took this week.

It's been a while....

Again! I lose track of hours, days and then weeks!

We have been battling a cold for a while. But besides that, I helped lead worship at our women;s retreat which was a lot of fun for me. God sort of renewed me that weekend and I am finding times of QUICK solitude here and there. For some reason I have been exhausted. I fell asleep at 8:30 pm 2x this week. I guess all the short nights have caught up to me.

Pray for Judah. His left eye is slightly lazy. It turns in a bit especially when he is tired. He see's an optometrist in a couple of weeks (did I get that title right?) Anyway, I found out that Jon's sister and father had the same thing. They had a lot of problems with their vision and ended up with years of glasses. Judah is excited about them for now. He will look adorable. I will post some if he ends up with them. I will post one of me when I was small too. It is hilarious.

Good night!

Being Selfless....

The other night, I climbed into Judah's top bunk and decided he needed a little mommy quality time. I stayed there until he fell asleep. It has been a long time since I had done that. We had really good conversation. He informed me he loved me more than the planet earth, and all the planets, in fact. All the way up to heaven as well. Then he paused and said, "Mommy....I even love you more than me." Talk about a show stopper. I was speechless for a minute that a 4 year old could grasp the concept of how much they love themsleves and then place someone else above that! What a lesson for me! I love my children deeply, but it was a good reminder to put others before myself. Thanks Judah.

My Boys....

Here they are! About to walk to McDOnalds with Grandma Loie for a morning of Yogurt Parfait and playing! Fun. Judah is almost 4.5 and Creed is 2.5. 7am. I got to go back to bed! Thanks Loie!