My three sons!

Yep, that's right. We found out today that we'll be having another very wiggly BOY!!! As soon as our little boy moved to show us his rear side, Jonny said, "That looks like a boy!" The ultrasound technician replied, "Yes, it sure does!" And I started laughing. Of course. And already he's acting like one of our boys. He would not sit still! The ultrasound took an hour and a half because the silly boy wouldn't sit still! He was bouncing, hopping, kicking, punching, rolling and flipping! The ultrasound technician was laughing that he found my bladder to be such fun; he kept hopping on it. By the time she was done getting all the pictures she needed, she told us she was sweating. :) I think this boy will fit right in with his brothers. And I think to keep everyone's houses from being destroyed by the Oelkers boys, I'll just say it now- you'll have to come see us! :) I'm just joking.. we'll sorta...

Anyway, we have no idea what his name will be. We have a list to start making. Oh, and Eli was a little disappointed. After I broke the news to him, he told me, "No, its a GRIL (girl) baby! My baby sister!" Later he told me, "I don't want another brother." But after I told him of all the fun the three of them will have together, and that maybe God will give us a girl next time, he said, "Okay. That might be a good idea."

After the appointment we went to pick up the boys at my friend, Grace's house. Last week Eli asked if we could get a pinata for Jesus' birthday, so we got one today and Grace got pizza and made cupcakes, and we had a birthday party for Jesus. Here are some pics and video...


This is all of the kiddos. Grace's four boys, my two boys and Erin's girl and baby boy. Poor little Brooke had to play with a bunch of boys tonight! (Sorry for the red-eye. I'm feeling too lazy to fix it.)

Women's Retreat: Part 7 (Surprise!)

FYI: This is the last of the posts about Women's Retreat.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, here's the biggie. I think I mentioned a few times that leading up to the Women's Retreat I was extra weepy. Here's the brutal truth- I've been such a cry baby lately.... about everything! My explanation for it was that I was expecting my monthly visitor, whom we refer to as 'Aunt Flo'. (I apologize if that grosses you out!) I was naive' and completely rejecting the idea that it could be anything else, even though when I left for the weekend I was about eight days late. Yep. It's true! Eight days! And I was still seriously expecting a visit from Aunt Flo.

The first night there, over dinner, I was talking with my friend, Sherri, about my situation. (She already knew because I drove down with her and a couple other women. She needed to use the bathroom frequently because she was eight months prego and I accompanied her every time casually explaining that I was expecting to see Aunt Flo.) At dinner she had a sweet little smile and was nicely nodding her head in agreement as I explained that there must be some other reason I am late, because "it's just not possible that I could be pregnant." We were sitting at a table with about six other women, so upon hearing the word 'pregnant' my other friend, JuRita, jumped in and asked what we were talking about. In a hushed tone I briefly told JuRita what was going on. Her response was something like, "EIGHT days!!! Oh my gosh! You're PREGNANT!" Okay, maybe it wasn't that loud, because the whole table didn't hear, but the lady next to her heard and said, "What? Who's pregnant?" :) I smiled, and I'm sure my face was a little flushed, but I simply explained that I was very confident that I was not pregnant. JuRita was ready to get up from dinner right then and there to go out and buy me a pregnancy test. I must say, it was a fun dinner. :)

As I laid down to sleep that night, and as I thought more about it the next morning, the same comments and thoughts of fear were coming to mind. On the one hand- Yes, of course I'd love to have another baby. We want another baby someday anyway. They are a complete joy! But all my fears and insecurities were telling me- No, you don't want to be pregnant. How embarrassing! Everyone is going to tell you that you're crazy. You already have two very young and very busy boys. How are you going to handle another baby? You are too young to have three children. You are so irresponsible. How will you guys be able to afford this? Your house is too small for three young children. They are all so close together, you're not going to be able to enjoy them because you'll be too busy. Noah is going to get lost in the middle. Do you guys even know about birth control? And on and on and on. A lot of those thoughts are comments we've already heard from people before I even had a baby- when I would speak of wanting one. Then, againd after Eli. And again after Noah. It's really discouraging. Jonny and I are not like most people. We met in middle school, dated through high school, married in the middle of college at age 20, had Eli at 22, had Noah at 24 and now another!??? I remember flipping my wedding ring around in class sometimes because I was sick of other students or professors being so shocked that I was married. I hate hearing, "How old are you?" or "You're crazy!" Those two phrases have followed us with each pregnancy as well. Then the enemy gets me believing that it's true. That I'm some kind of freak who needs to get a clue and do things the way everyone else is doing things. (Whatever that looks like!) Even at the retreat, upon meeting someone and her learning that I had two kids, her response was, "Oh my gosh! You don't look old enough to have two kids!" I know this person didn't mean it as an insult, it's just something that I'm sensitive about.

Okay, so... feeling at a low point about this possible pregnancy, I kept going to the bathroom to check things out. Sherri would often be there, too. She'd look over at me and raise her eyebrows as we were washing our hands, and I'd smile and shake my head no.

This story is getting a little too long, so I'll just jump to the good stuff. Over the course of Saturday, the Lord was gently encouraging me and re-aligning my attitude in the right direction. It's like He was letting me know He is in control and He has a plan and it is good and I need to chill out. The verse 'theme' for the weekend was printed out on a book mark for us right when we got there. It reads, (I think in the amplified version...) 'For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the LORD, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you. Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me (as a vital necessity) and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.' - Jeremiah 29:11-13 When I looked that verse up in my NLT, the second line jumped out at me. It read, "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." It made me think, okay, if the Lord is giving me a third baby right now, He is going to give me everything I need to make this good. It will NOT be a disaster. My life and my kids' lives will not be a disaster.

I wrote, in another post, how God has a different purpose and plan for each of us. That was really a huge encouragement to me in this area. Jonny and I want a big family. Our plan was for the next one to be born after Noah turned three. Part of the reason for that, at least for me, was that if we spread our kids out a bit, a big family wouldn't seem as crazy to other people. I get this vibe from some people, and I'm really offended by it lately, that big families are too crazy and strange. I think big families are so cool and seem so fun... maybe its not for everyone, but for those who feel called to have big families... I say AWESOME! So the verse on this topic that encouraged me from one of the sessions is this: "The Lord says, 'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.'" -Ps. 32:8 I wrote in my bible, right next to this verse- His best pathway for me is to be a mommy. He will watch over me.

Two other verses we looked at that helped re-align my focus were these:
"For we are GOd's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." -Ephes. 2:10
"...We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has a different work to do..." -Rom. 12:5

At the last session Saturday night, it was like God had prepared my heart to accept the news and He was now telling me it was true. Amanda had us turn to a verse in Psalm 127. I read the verse and kept reading. It was the very next verse that leaped off the page at me. I've read it several times before, but it spoke volumes more to me that day. It says, "Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior's hands. How happy is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates." -Ps. 127:3-5 NLT I felt so happy, so excited, so encouraged at that moment. I wanted to be pregnant! I love that verse. How can I be embarrassed? God's Word is truth and it says that children are not only a gift from Him, but a reward! They are like sharp arrows in a warriors hands! I will not be put to shame! Obviously I'm crazy about the two He's already blessed us with, and now another!?? We are so incredibly BLESSED!

When I got home, I told Jonny all of this and he immediately ran out to the store to buy a pregnancy test. He was so excited! After I took the test, we didn't have to wait the two or three minutes it says to wait. We had a positive pregnancy test in like two or three seconds. It was so cool to be surprised like that. I screamed and laughed and cried. It was great! On Thursday I had my first appointment and got to see my 11 week old wiggly little baby moving all around- looking healthy and beautiful. I got to hear that wonderful sound of a quick, healthy heart beat. I am already so in love, and can't wait to meet our newest addition in May. God is so amazing! If you'd like to rejoice with us, we'd love to hear from you.

Happenings from the last week...

Okay, I feel like I should make a post. I really don't feel like it, but I've kinda got addicted to this blog life, and I feel like we should update any important or not so important news going on with us. So here it goes... We made an offer on a house on the 6th. They countered, we countered again, they countered, we said no deal. Then we left to Klamath. I don't want to take the time to sort through the tons of pictures we have & pick one to post, so just take my word for it- it was a great time. :) We had a really fun time camping out in the wilderness in front of my mom's cabin... except maybe the night there was a fuse problem & the heater & sound machine stopped working in the camper at 3am when it was about 40 degrees outside... We also got to see Jonny's sister, Kristen. We don't get to see her much, in fact I think it was Eli's 4th or 5th time seeing her & Noah's 2nd; anyway, she's going overseas soon so it was good to see her before she leaves. A few days into our time there we got a call from our realtor saying Hayden Homes came down on the price of that house...to what we wanted. They finished building the house & have been trying to sell it since January, so I guess they're 'highly motivated' to sell. Yesterday we signed papers on it. I think by the end of July we will be moving two streets down into our new house!

A roller coaster ride

Alright; everyone probably already knows everything I'm going to share, but I'm going to explain what's going on and why we turned the job in Casper down.

About 2 1/2 weeks ago, exactly one week before Jonny's interview, Pastor Rob called Rory to tell him he got a call from the pastor at Calvary Chapel- Prineville, OR- saying he is moving to Co to start a church. They are looking to hire a pastor to fill his position in Prineville, and Rob automatically thought of Rory. Prineville is 3hrs from Corvallis, and 3hrs 15min. from Klamath.

Rory applied for the position and met the pastor last week. He will have an interview on Saturday and then teach there on Sunday. They'll find out if he gets the job the Sunday after that. So anyway... how that applies to us..... Since it wasn't 100% clear that Rory and Lindsey would be moving there, we turned the job in Casper down. In Prineville there is only one high school and they are not hiring science teachers this year, so we will have to say goodbye to our friends. :( We won't be going with them- not this year anyway. We're not sure if the Lord wants us to go a few years down the road. We'll just wait and see!

Isn't this crazy! Nothing like God working at the last minute, huh? Is the Casper thing like an Abraham & Isaac situation where God wanted to see a step in faith, where we were willing to obey and do something hard, and then at the last minute God blesses us with what we wanted. (staying in the state) Or was this Prineville thing just a filter to keep Jonny & I from going? I don't know.

Whatever God's reasons, I'm glad we finally know what we're doing. (Even though poor Rory and Lindsey don't yet.) It is still very emotional. This whole thing has been a big emotional build-up, so its no surprise that the let down is also emotional. I must say, though, there are many, many reasons I'm happy to stay! :)

I'm so proud of my husband!

Okay, so we turned the job down. No Casper, Wyoming for us. Not that I was totally and completely in favor of going, but I was a little disappointed the way it all worked out. It was such an emotional build up, so now the let down is also emotional. I'll give more details about why and what is going on later...

But may I just say- my husband is awesome! Okay, well, he wouldn't want me to give glory to him; and I know it is the Lord, so let me rephrase-- isn't the Lord in my husband awesome! He has given Jonny the gift of teaching, bible teaching- yes, that too, but also, teaching science. He is great at it! This whole 'Casper journey' has taught us many things, but one of the things it brought forth was a renewed strength in Jonny as a teacher. And for me- a renewed respect for my husband. His hard work has proved that he is a valuable teacher, and all those late nights and Saturdays spent preparing curriculum was not done in vain. As a teacher, Jonny doesn't often see the fruit of his labor, especially when it comes to the lazy, disrespectful high school students. (Not all of his students are lazy and disrespectful, but a large portion are.) It's so cool that Jonny got picked for an interview in this random place, and out of the five interviewed Jonny was the most appealing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not surprised. I mentioned a few blog posts back, 'who wouldn't hire my fab husband.' I am just so proud of him! Good job, honey-bunch! You are a great teacher.

I'm so lucky to have a husband who loves the Lord and is used by Him. That job in Casper was going to pay Jonny oodles more than he is currently getting at Cascade High School. Jonny's heart is obviously not in love with money, but with Jesus. (And believe me, we could use that money!) I pray that Eli and Noah grow into men living for the Lord just like their daddy. They have a great example to watch as they grow up. (I don't want to lay it on too thick. Maybe the boys could learn to clean up after themselves a little better than Jonny. He's a great man, but he's not a perfect man! :) )

Jonny's interview

Alrighty, time for the interview update. The job he interviewed for is 9th grade physical science, which Jonny is okay with, but it wouldn't be is first choice to teach. Biology is what he loves to teach. In the physical science position, there is some earth science material he'd have to cover that he wouldn't really be that excited about, but he doesn't think it's that big of a deal. He thought he did a good job, but that it really didn't seem very eventful. Jonny said the four people (vice principal and three teachers) interviewing him were all nice. They asked regular questions he knew how to answer. There wasn't any unusually hard questions. Jonny brought examples of some of his power-point slides, so he could show them his teaching style and explain how he discusses various topics. They told Jonny he was the last to be interviewed, so we're thinking we might find out sometime next week. We don't know how many other people were interviewed, but Jonny thought maybe four or five.

We shall wait and see what happens. The Lord knows, and we just want to be right smack-dab in the center of His will. :)

I just thought I'd add a little cuteness to this post! :)

Hold the Phone!

I keep using these silly sayings, and I don't really know what they mean or if I'm using them in the right context. .... anyway.... So of course the day after I update everyone that Jonny hasn't heard from Wyoming- we get a call! Minutes before I'm about to head back to my cozy bed and quietly cuddle up next to Eli for a little nap, our cell phone rings with an incoming call from Wyoming! It was the Vice Principal at Dean Morgan Middle School in Casper asking to speak to Jonathan Oelkers. In the few minutes I talked to him, he sounded like a very nice guy and also interested in Jonny. I immediately made a few of my own phone calls, (Jonny, Mom, Becky, Lindsey, Patty & Julia, Grace, etc ... you know how it goes) My mom was pretty funny. She said, "Did you say, Jonathan who? I don't know who you're talking about!" Oh, Mom..... They guy (Larry) gave me his cell number to pass along to Jonny, Jonny called him, and now Jonny has a skype interview scheduled for Friday. Okay, so stand by for more updates...

Oh, and by the way... Monday Jonny found out that his job will not be cut, but also that he gets to continue teaching what he's been teaching. (He doesn't have to prepare curriculum for classes he's never taught!) Then, today he found out that they might actually be moving him from the middle school to the high school to continue teaching 10th grade bio, and maybe a little bit of 9th grade science. This is what he's wanted. It would be awesome! So... It's up to You, Lord!

What's going on with Wyoming

Oh, goodness! I got so nervous this afternoon when I called Jonny at 3:10, and his phone was busy. I didn't get nervous then, but when I tried back after 10 minutes, and then another 10 minutes after that, and it was still busy. My mind automatically thought, "Oh my goodness! He's having a phone interview with Natrona County School District in Casper, Wy.!" For over an hour, every time I tried his phone it was busy. I called Lindsey & my mom, "Oh my gosh!... What if...." While on the phone with Lindsey, Jonny walked in the front door. Yeah, turns out the phones at Cascade are down- hence the busy signal. Oh gosh! How embarrassing. I totally panicked!

So to update... Jonny has not heard anything from Wyoming.

I like the Proverb, "A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." It is good to know that God has our future all planned out, and we don't have to worry about making decisions. We can just trust that He directs our steps to follow His will and see us through the good and the bad, the easy and the difficult.

In other news, Mr. Noah is up to eight steps! He still prefers to crawl, but he's been a little more brave. He thinks its so funny. He takes a couple steps, starts laughing and then falls over. :) 11 months tomorrow, can you believe it!?

The cat is out of the bag

Who came up with that saying anyway!? But really, it feels so good to be able to talk freely about this now. Maybe I should clarify, just in case. We might be moving to Casper Wyoming! Ahhh!

Our really good friends, Rory, Lindsey, Russell & Baby are moving there in July. They just announced it at church yesterday. Rory has a calling on his life to be a paster & teach God's Word. For the last two years Rory has felt like it was getting time to move on & paster his own church. People have spoke into his life confirming the same thing.

Around fall time of 2007 Rory & Lindsey told us about this & the place they were thinking of. Jonny, pretty quickly, felt like we should pray about going with them. About a year later, just this last fall, Rory & Lindsey took a trip out to Pullman, WA to check out the area for a possible home & planting a Calvary Chapel. To put it simply, they sensed a closed door there. Then Rory started looking on the 'Calvary map'... yes there is such a thing on the official Calvary Chapel website to see where in the US there are & are not any Calvary's. Rory found this place called Casper, Wy. Casper is a nice town about the size of Corvallis, but out in the middle of nowhere. It is similar to Klamath Fall's high desert climate. The winters there..... the wind.... oh don't get me started.... brutal! Jonny & Rory both got excited about this place right off the bat because of its similarity to Klamath Falls.

During the week of our church's corporate fast this was something we were all praying about. The first work-day into the fast Jonny had a big meeting at work where he found out his school district was going to be making big job cuts- about 15 people, & the first to go was probationary teachers. Okay, so we were thinking- that seals our fate because we're going to be unemployed! Jonny's Superintendent specifically said, "Look for jobs out of state, because you won't find a job in Oregon." Jonny called the school district in Casper that day & found out they weren't being hit by the recession at all & were going to have several science openings. Okay....

Right before Spring Break Jonny found out that another science teacher at his school was leaving to teach over-seas, so he may not lose his job. Okay... During Spring Break Jonny mailed out his resume` & letter of interest to Natrona County School District in Casper Wy. (By the way, who wouldn't hire my fab husband!? He's got an excellent resume`!) Then, the week after Spring Break Jonny's principal tells Jonny that he won't be cutting Jonny's job. Okay..... Today the jobs in Casper are officially open to apply for, so Jonny's going to 'apply' & see what happens.

So that's it. That's what's been going on. That's why I've been so stressed out, scared & basically feeling every emotion in the rainbow. It's been a real hard four months. I know that fear can't co-exist with faith & trust can't co-exist with worry, so yeah... I'm just a mess. :)

Praise the Lord!

Good news! My grandma's surgery went fine & the tumor biopsy came back benign!
**********************************************************************************
On another note... I have to share this hysterical Eli quote:
"Mommy! Mommy! I have to go poops! Hurry, Mama! Poops are comin' out of my butt!" :)
Lovely, just lovely, son. At least it was at home, spoken to his mother & not in his classroom at church in front of all his little peers. Jonny & I have had discussions :) about whether 'butt' is an appropriate word for a 2yr old. hmmmm... Jonny, do you think we can reconsider this?

Amazing

Amazing. All I can say is amazing. God is amazing. Jonny's surgery went excellent. Although it was not the Lord's will to heal Jonny like we were praying, we cannot deny that God's gracious hand was on us today.

Jonny & I drove to OHSU @ about 5:30 this morning for pre-op stuff. We were both very calm & relaxed, even peaceful. I only got a little scared & teary when I had to say goodbye to Jonny. At about 8:30 this morning a team of doctors wheeled him away on his bed. It just all seemed so scary, serious & a bit intimidating. My sweet friend, Brea, was there waiting for me in the waiting room. We prayed right when I got down there & after that I felt totally at peace. Jonny's nurse called periodically to let me know what was going on. At about 9:43 they started surgery (opened up his chest cavity), then at 10:15 they hooked him up to the lung & heart machine. At 10:30 they started to cut his aortic valve. Then at 12:15 she called again to say it was over & he was all closed up & they were weaning him off the heart & lung machine. (They originally told us surgery would take 4-6 hours!) About an hour later he was in ICU & an hour after that I got to go see him! He looked pretty good, too. I was expecting him to look horrible, but he just looked like he always does when he's sleeping. Well, sleepy Jonny w/ a bunch of tubes coming out of him. His face was a bit swollen, too. He was awake, but groggy. He was talking, joking & kept asking for pizza & diet coke. :) We couldn't have asked for it to go more perfectly. Praise the Lord!

Eli & Noah did great, too. Eli had way too much fun w/ his Aunt Amy & Aunt Shelly & cousins. Noah was a perfect angle, like usual.

Open Heart Surgery

Oh my gosh! Doesn't that sound horrible? Open heart surgery?!? Jonny & I keep repeating it over & over in shock. Open heart surgery.

So Jonny had his annual appointment w/ the cardiologist on Tuesday. His heart has made some significant growth in the last year & the cardiologist is suggesting heart surgery as soon as possible. For those of you who don't know about Jonny's heart murmur, he will be making a more detailed post about what is going on. In short, he has a bi-cuspid aortic heart valve instead of a tri-cuspid. Because he only has two 'flaps' that regulate the pumping of blood in & out of the aortic valve, there is some blood leakage which has caused his heart to work extra hard & enlarge. The purpose of the surgery is to put in a mechanical valve. The surgery is scheduled for July 21st. The recovery time is about 6 weeks. For the first 4 weeks, he can't lift anything over 5lbs. Jonny won't be able to hold his boys for a whole month. :(

Our surgeon is Dr. Howard Song. We are confident that he knows his stuff. He graduated Magna Cum Lada w/ his Bachelor's in biology from Yale, then got his MD at Stanford, then got his PhD in Philadelphia while he worked as a surgeon. Now he specializes in aortic surgery & biomedical & tissue engineering. Basically, he's the man when it comes to aortic valve replacement surgery.

We are both surprisingly calm & collected about the whole ordeal. Maybe we're just in shock b/c its such a huge thing. Maybe we're used to having medical issues... just kidding. :) (Remember this time last summer I was going in to the dermatologist to get my mole, which turned out to be melanoma, removed.) We have learned that the Lord is in complete control & we have no choice but to hand it over to Him. He will be our strength.

Noah Zachary

We met the newest member of our family, Noah Zachary Oelkers, on June 6th 2008. Jessica started having mild contractions around 7pm Thursday night while we were in Eugene picking up a play structure for Eli. We went to bed around 11 PM and she was able to sleep through her contractions until sometime around 1:00 AM Friday morning. We arrived at the hospital at 2:50 AM and he was born less than an hour later at 3:47 AM. Noah weighed in at 8 pounds 14 ounces, and was 22.5" long. Eli seemed like a giant when he was born, but Noah came out 4 ounces heavier and 1/2" longer. Jessie had a much shorter labor with Noah and did a lot less pushing too! We are thankful that God has given us another healthy baby boy.

Grace

Hooray! He's here!! My sweet, sweet friend, Grace, had her FOURTH BOY this morning! They named him Jeremiah John & he weighed 9lbs 14 oz!!! They are keeping w/ the prophet theme for now- they have Micah, Isaiah, Zechariah, & now Jeremiah. :)
Holy Cow! I guess its my turn now! Hopefully my boy won't be that big.

Home Sweet Home

This is our new home! Turns out the offer made on our lot was too low (lower than we initially paid for it) & the bidder refused to budge. We didn't feel a peace about rushing into buying a bigger house just b/c we could get some money from our lot. We'll just wait some more & continue to take baby steps in the housing arena. :)

Meanwhile, the Lord has opened the door for us to rent this lovely little home. The owners thought we were the 'perfect' tenants. Apparently the house has been vacant for over 6 months, waiting for just the right tenants. They even lowered the price $45 for us. I gave our 30 day notice yesterday... & oh yah, the baby is due in 50 days! Yikes! It's nesting time!

We're Moving!!!

I just got home from bible study, & I should be in bed taking a nap w/ Eli but I just had to post this real quick.

This weekend Jonny & I found a nice little house for rent. It's about 1200 sq. ft. & the rent is only about $160 more than what we're paying for our apartment & storage garage. We made an appointment to look at the house for Monday night & spent the weekend praying about the situation. To make this short & sweet- we liked the house, they liked us, it felt right. Jonny told me to give our 30 day notice today.

After bible study I got back in the car to drive home & write up our notice. As I'm driving out of the church parking lot, checking my voicemail, I get to a message from our realtor in Klamath.... someones made an offer.

What are you saying, Lord!? The same day we were going to give our notice so we could rent a small home, we find out someone has made an offer on our lot! So...do we buy a home instead? We have 7 more weeks before the baby is born.... We think we're moving- we just don't know where or when. If you think of it, pray for us!

We're Expecting!

Our first post & yes that is a pregnancy test! And that faint second purple line means we're expecting!!! According to BabyCenter.com we're due in early June. Jonny's last day before summer break is June 13th, so we planned well. Jonny will be home w/ me all summer while I get used to TWO babies!!