Straight to Heaven

I just found out from a fellow blogger that October 15 is "Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day." Michelle over at "She Looketh Well" encouraged women to share their stories of loss in hopes that they will encourage other women who may be going through such a difficult time right now. So, I thought I would share the story of my first child.

Big Daddy and I were married in October 2003. We were so excited to start our journey together and anxious to start out family. As we were entering into our first Christmas together, I found out I was expecting. We were thrilled! We decided we would keep it secret for at least a few weeks. It was fun to have a secret just between the two of us!

On December 26th, we were planning to make a 7 hour road trip to visit Big Daddy's family. That morning, I started having what I would later find out were contractions. At the time, however, I knew absolutely nothing about pregnancy and even less about miscarriage. Maybe it was actually best that I didn't know that in the two hours before we were to leave for our trip, I was losing our baby. The pain I was experiencing eventually went away and we left town. While we were aware that what I was going through would have to be discussed with our doctor, we were completely unaware of how serious the problem was. We could think of little more than how our lives were going to change over the next year. We had many moments throughout our trip in which we talked about how different our next Christmas would be. We were just so excited!

When we came home a few days later and called my Dr, she wanted to see me immediately. The Dr. came into the room, walked right over to shake my hand, and didn't let go. She looked at me and said, "I'm sorry, but you've had a miscarriage." My heart just broke. I didn't know what to say, what to do, or who to talk to. What I think made it worse is that in that moment, I felt so alone. Who could possibly understand what it's like to lose a baby?

After crying over our loss with my husband, I called my mom. We cried too over the loss. The only advice she could give me was to call the only two women I knew at the time who had lost a baby. That's why I wanted to share my story too. It was encouraging to me to know that someone actually understood just what I felt. I wasn't alone.

I will pass along the most encouraging words I heard then in hopes that they will help any other woman who has had a miscarriage. My sister-in-law told me, "If we truly believe that life begins at conception (Jeremiah 1:5), then we know that it was a baby and he/she will be waiting for you in heaven." While I have 3 children here on Earth, I will have 4 when I get to Heaven! One of my babies just went straight into the arms of Jesus! Praise the Lord that day wasn't the end...I will one day hold that baby!

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Why I love nap time

I love nap time at my house for so many reasons. I can choose to get a lot done around the house with no little "helpers," or I can choose to just sit and have some "me" time. Either way, it's a nice break in my day. I have to say, though, that one of the best perks of nap time is seeing sights like this:


Somehow, just the sight of something so precious makes me forget the hours I spent listening to her whine. I forget the number of times I picked her up, put her back down, picked her back up, etc. I suddenly am less aware of my shoulder that she has used as a kleenex all day. It's just difficult not to realize how blessed I am when I see a sight like that.

Living on One Income in a Two Income Society

Okay, I have heard this so many times. If you stay at home with your kids, you are probably as frustrated as I am with it:

"You can't live on just one income these days."

Well, let me tell you that I beg to differ! I assure you that you can not only survive, but thrive on one income! For those who may not know us, Big Daddy and I have a reputation for being cheapskates. I don't mind it at all, though. In fact, I consider it a compliment. It has become more apparent to me lately that knowing how to live this lifestyle doesn't come naturally to everyone. Also, it actually requires some work on our part. So, call us cheapskates. We'll likely thank you for acknowledging our skill and work ethic. :)

I get excited about saving money. I know, I know...there are bigger and better things to get excited about, but it just excites me. I am always looking for a new corner to cut or a new way to save money. Reading books on this subject, however, have been little help because we are usually already doing most of the things the author suggests. Usually the first step is to stop eating out or stop paying to go to the gym. We couldn't do those things anyway. Now, does that mean that I have all the answers? Absolutely not! It just means I have more to discover--new ways to save!

I'll be an open book here just to give some perspective. I don't share this to glorify myself, but to glorify God and show what He will do if we only obey. I've often noticed that many people who claim to be "poor" end up making 40 - 50K annually. Let me just state for the record that we do NOT make that much....although it would sure be nice! I'm sure that by most people's standards, we are making enough to just get by. Instead of just "getting by," though, we have managed our money and saved. Because of that, we now have a $100,000 house, 2 vehicles we own, and all the fun extras like cable, DVR, internet, and cell phones. So, remind me again what we're missing out on that would require us to have a 2nd income?

Now I'm sure I have you wondering just how we do it. I'll tell you!

Stay tuned for part 2.....

My Father's World

This is our first official year homeschooling. I did preschool with Miss Priss last year, but nothing consistent or really organized. This year, though, we are using (and LOVING) My Father's World. We started Miss Priss a year early according to the public school's standards, but so far she has been keeping up wonderfully! We are having fun doing it and she actually looks forward to "school time" each day. Each lesson in MFW is about God and His creation; that is the main reason I chose it. I couldn't be more impressed with the biblical concepts my kids are learning. George is even learning just by overhearing lessons here and there. Since each week focuses on a different letter and bible lesson, there are many opportunities during the week for the children to ask questions about what they're learning. By the end of the week, they have such a wealth of knowledge about the subject that was taught! We started with a 2-week study of creation and made a creation timeline. A couple of weeks later, we reviewed creation (while studying the moon) and made a mobile of the things created on day 4. Here's how ours turned out:

This past week, we have been studying the letter L and leaves. The kids ended their week by painting leaves. Because of the mess that goes along with painting, we don't do it very often. On this particular day, however, we just moved our school time until right before baths. It worked out perfectly and the change in routine was so exciting for the kids. The pictures actually turned out really cute!

Now being as committed as we are to education, we wanted to be sure that everyone learned something from the moment. So, what can a 16 month old learn while we all paint leaves? Maybe what leaves feel like? Maybe how to use a paint brush? Maybe discover paint with water? In the end, she learned all of that plus the fact that when you dip a paint brush in water and then rub it on the colorful page, it makes the paintbrush taste really good! Plus, you can drink the "rainbow" water!
Needless to say, Little Bit's class dismissed early. :)

I'm sure I'll have much more to share as our school year continues!

Family Funnies

Today's family funny comes, once again, from Wyatt. I took the kids to the apple orchard today with my mom and niece. The kids were all having a great time, but Wyatt was most excited about climbing the tree to get apples. At one point, he pulled off a small branch with a couple apples and some leaves on it. He yelled out, "Here Grandma! Take this! I pulled off the whole tree!"

He's so cute!

I love those quiet moments...

You know, the ones that find everyone getting along? I had one just this morning. All 3 of the kids were playing within a 1 ft. square area of each other. No one was pushing, shoving, whining, complaining, etc. Since it is rare that they all are quiet for any length of time, I thought I better see just what they were doing. I saw that they had all of their "hair things" (clips, bows, barrettes, etc.) out and were fixing each other's hair. Now, I'm not the type person who can handle these big messes usually, but today I let it go. I must have found some sort of balance between the amount of sleep I had gotten the night before and the amount of coffee I had already consumed this morning. Strange, I know, but I allowed it.

Anyway, I would check on them from time to time, but being the smart mother I am, I used this time to tidy up the rest of the house. It was great! I had no one pulling on my leg while I cleaned the kitchen counters, unloaded/loaded the dishwasher, and got a load of laundry going. Things like this just don't happen very often around here. I thought, "what a great day this is going to be!"

I went to check on my little angels again, but this time, I found this:

All 3 of them had decided to get out every gel, mousse, hair serum, and lotion they could find and proceded to apply it to their (previously clean) hair. I realize that in the pictures their hair just looks wet. Soooo not the case. That's all gel and lotion. Lovely.

Again, the coffee must have been strong this morning, because I didn't even react to it (yea, me...that's progress!). I took a couple pictures and asked them to not do that again. Later, as I was telling Big Daddy about it, I noticed that Makenna was listening and glowing with pride over what they had done. I reminded her that we shouldn't do that again, to which she said, "Yeah, but it was still fun." I guess we're making memories here.

It's Not Easy Being Third

If I haven't said it already, Ayda is quite the princess. She sits on her throne, points and grunts, and someone, somewhere jumps up to see what they can do for her. What can I say? She's adorable! Lucky for her, everyone in the house agrees. Seriously, look at this smile...could you really resist?




Either because of this or simply because of her place in the line of kids (last), the girl just refuses to talk. Now, before you start thinking there is something wrong....she CAN talk. I have heard her say a variety of words, but on rare occasions. She is just a grunter and evidently it's working well for her. It's so funny to watch her try to get her message across.

Her latest form of communication is her own form of sign language. She will tap my leg and walk across the room to tap the refrigerator. She'll repeat this 3-4 times until I get up to get her what she wants. She is willing to wear herself out going back and forth instead of just uttering a word. That would just be too easy! She's got this game down pat. We're all at her beck and call. Smart girl if you ask me. :)

Family Funnies

This is a section in which I will post funny things heard come out of my kiddos' mouths. Here's the first installment.

(in the bathroom giving everyone baths tonight)
Wyatt: "Ow! Ayda pinched my pee pee!"
(Mommy notices Wyatt is standing and thus has it right at her eye level and laughs.)
Wyatt: "It's not funny! It hurts my pee pee!"

Then, he realized it got a laugh and was so proud, he started shaking it in faces.
Fun time was over.

Coming Soon...

Living on One Income in a Two Income Society

With the Faith of a Child

So many adults seem to have missed the boat somewhere along the way. They think christianity is so difficult to understand.
This summer, my children attended Vacation Bible School at our church. Vacation Bible School is such a great week. The songs are fun, and the kids get to learn movements to go along with them. It's just an exciting week. I was surprised, though, that the one song my kids couldn't get enough of was the slow song Believe. They couldn't get enough of it. In the song, the plan of salvation is laid out very clearly. Admit to God you are a sinner, Believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and Confess your faith in Jesus as your Savior and your Lord. My son Wyatt just really took a liking to that song.
It made me think about how simple salvation really is. Since VBS, any time Wyatt sees a cross, he says, "That's a cross. Jesus died on the cross and rose again so that we can go to heaven." He understands that at 3 years old. It's just that simple!