Sunday Fun

Today we went to visit some our GA friends, the H Family. They were in FL visiting some family and they invited us to join them for church and lunch after ward! The kids had a blast and didn't want to come home! That is the sure sign of a great visit!

I wish I had my camera because there was a live oak tree with spanish in the yard that was enormous!! (It looked sort of like this pic, but better) In fact there was an 87 year old family member of the H family who told us that when he was a boy he played and climbed on that tree. I hope I get to visit again!! I want pictures of that tree!!

I just love the H Family!! Theh have left their mark on me! They are the pastors of the church we attended in GA. From the beginning when visiting their church for the first time, I knew they were different. It was so evident in their dealings with people, the church atmosphere, and the culture of that body of believers. I have been to a lot of churches all over the country. I have eaten meals with a lot of ministers. I have had some of them come visit me when I had a baby. But the H Family is the most sincere bunch I have ever had the privilege to fellowship with!! They are REAL and their love for Jesus and other people is REAL!! I am so blessed to be able to call them friends!!

. . . . tomorrow . . . more unpacking!!

First Things First

Why do I worry? Why do I second guess Him? Why do I even give in to the temptation to try and figure it all out myself?? When will I ever learn?? Trust . . .

After Shannon and I got home from our initial visit to GA and the whole job interview, we decided that there was a lot to pray about in the whole transition!! We made a list of our most important concerns and began to pray for them daily and meditate on the Lord, knowing that He would provide answers!! Within only a few days our most important concern was taken care of!! We needed renters for our home in FL so that we could get a home in FL with the assurance that the expenses here would be taken care of!! DONE!! Our next concern was to find a home that would be a good fit for our family!! We wanted to make sure the home would feel like HOME right away!! We didn't want to have to go in and do a lot of cleaning or fixing things in order to make it HOME!!! DONE!!! We went to GA to look at a few homes and we found one that we think will be a PERFECT fit for us!! It is HUGE and had a great big back yard!! We are excited to make the move!! Our next concern . . . the one that would keep me awake at night . . . where will our precious baby make his entrance into the world?? FL or GA?? About a week after the job was offered to Shannon I found a midwife in rural N GA!! WHO KNEW?? I couldn't believe it!!! What a HUGE blessing!! Now baby Creed will definitely have a exciting birth in a new place!!

Those were the biggest concerns on our list and they are all taken care of!! There are more, but I have no reason to worry!! It will all be taken care of!! The Lord is Jehovah Jirah, my provider!! I have a WONDERFUL Heavenly Father watching out for my family and I. He know what we need and WHEN we need it!! I pray that I will always remember how He has provided our every need and even some wonderful things we didn't really NEED!! Thanks you, Lord, for making beauty from ashes!!

20 Months, hundreds of rejections, and thousands or resumes later . . . .

There is good news to report!! My Hunny got a job teaching at a Christian college in a VERY small town in the deep south. I am so proud of him. The teaching portion of his interview was flawless (in my completely unbiased opinion!!). You know how you watch a sports event and you realize that the players seem to make their "job" look so easy??? I always think, "If I threw a ball . . . it sure wouldn't look like that!! How do they do that and make it look so easy??" That is what Shannon did!! He taught a mock class on a given topic. I sat in the back and observed with tears in my eyes!! He did amazing!!

He embarked upon this journey 20 months ago when he was struggling at his job. He was working himself to the bone day and night and NEVER receiving the benefits promised him from the beginning. He was promised employees to help with the work load, an office space, just to name a few. While dealing with those unfulfilled promises, he was being degraded and demoralized on a daily basis. It was one dramatic scene after another. Since he was working from home it became a family affair. He had no co-workers to bounce things off . . . there was chaos and confusion everyday. We know that isn't from God, so with very heavy hearts and timid spirits, we agreed that he would quit that job!!!

I am sure that most people thought we were crazy!! But we took the step of faith!! The Lord had showed us a Scripture that confirmed the decision. So we felt . . . . timidly confident!!! Of course we thought that he would have a job within only a few months. We never dreamed it would be a journey that would last nearly 2 years.

Through the months, we have had our ups and downs and our faith and doubt. There were times when we wondered if this season would EVER end!! Sometimes it feels too surreal and we wonder if we are dreaming. But we are alas so thrilled at the opportunities that lie ahead.

This is a dream come true for Shannon. As a professor, he is looking forward to doing life with people on a new level!! His humble spirit, energy for life, and creativity are going to keep him learning and mentoring for a long time!! I am so proud of how he has been faithful to obey the Lord during this time and keep our family afloat during this very LONG roller coaster of emotions and circumstances.

WHAT AM I LOOKING FORWARD TO?? Well, I am looking forward to taking my kids out of the city and into the country!! I am looking forward to new homeschool field trips. I am looking forward to a change of pace. I am looking forward to meeting new people and making new friendships. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for our family in Georgia. It is going to be a blast!!

Cloth Diapering

Who knew it could be so easy!! It really is a non-issue!! I have considered it in the past with other babies, but all I could think about was the "hassle"!! After trying it . . . to my chagrin, it is SOO easy!! I am very happy I gave it a try!!

I have a good supply of diapers now and I only have to wash every 2-3 days. With all the laundry I do anyway, I hardly notice the extra load!!

I also use cloth wipes. I never thought it would be so easy to keep those on hand!!!

HERE IS MY SYSTEM: (I'm a beginner for sure!!)
I have a wetbag that hangs from the changing table and I sprinkle some baking soda in it to help with the odors. NOTE: The changing table is in my bedroom and there are NO odors that come from the bag at all!! So I use Flip diapers for the most part.

I keep the inserts and covers folded on the table as well as the wipes warmer with cloth wipes. When I change a pee-pee diaper, I put the insert in the bag and use a new insert. When I change a poopy diaper, I plop the poo and swish in the toilet a few times and then I sprinkle the insert with baking soda and drop it in the bag along with any wipes I use. I have a diaper sprayer that attaches to the toilet, a MUST HAVE, according to a friend!! BUT the Hubby is having a difficult time getting it attached properly and so we have not yet used it!! I have heard that it makes poo-poo clean up much less hassle, but at this point, I wouldn't know!! When I do swish poo in the toilet, I wear dish gloves. Call me a wuss . . . but I just can't bring myself to do it without them!! I always wash my hands good with the gloves ON and then put them in a safe spot wear they aren't going to get used for anything else!!!


TO WASH: I take the bag and dump all content into the washing machine including bag and put it on the "soak" setting in cold water along with a little more baking soda. After it has soaked for some time (a few hours to over night) I wash the load with a chemical free detergent and a little oxy clean. I wash using HOT water and use the 2nd rinse cycle to be certain that all detergent it out of the diapers. I hang the bag and diaper covers to dry and add the inserts to the next load to dry or if large enough, they all go in the dryer alone and dry completely. Some days I can put them on the portable clothes drying rack outside in the sun and save some money on using the dryer!!


ANY QUESTIONS??? How about ADVICE???




I am sure I will change my system over the next year or more while cloth diapering Caydence and the NEW baby. I am looking forward to the challenge!!

Wood-burning Kit Brings Dad Back

My Hubby's parents recently moved and as my MIL was cleaning out the basement she found an old wood-burning kit that belonged to Hubby. He was probably about 12-14 when he used this to entertain himself "WAYYYY back in the old days," the kids would say!!

Well, the kids begged him to get it our yesterday so he did!! They had a blast . . . he had a "blast from the past!!" When he opened the box, there were pieces he had made as a kid that were still in the box. The kids were fascinated and Hubby was too!!

As they painted and burned their pieces of wood they kept saying, "MMMM, I love the smell of the burning wood!!" Should that concern me??? At any rate they had a great time and they all made "Keep Out" signs for their rooms!!!

Our Baby Caydence Lynne

She has finally arrived!! She was 6 pounds 10 ounces and 20 1/4 inches long. She arrives on Monday March 23 at 10:27PM. We had been anticipating her arrival for 9 months, and we are so excited to have her join us! She is our tiny princess and we are all enjoying our time getting to know her.

Contractions started and stopped twice over the few days preceding her birth. I thought she might NEVER arrive! On Monday, Carley had a softball game and I decided to go! I was tired of sitting around waiting for the "real thing" to start! Contractions started again before we left for the game. They were mild and only 7-10 min apart! They were getting a little stronger throughout the game, but still 7-10 min apart. I went to the van to sit in silence b/c they were really starting to get to me and they were still 7-10 min apart at about 7:45PM. BY the time the game was over (WE WON!!) they were just starting to get closer. They were now about 5-6 min apart. BY the time we got home, at 8PM, they were 4-5 min apart and they were about 1 min long! So we called the midwife and she was on her way in no time! I had continued contractions and the little princess was born in a birthing tub at 10:27PM. My water broke as I pushed her out. That was different!! I could feel it POP in the water and it freaked me out at first!

It was such a great experience and the Lord answered our prayers! Caydence is healthy and strong and ready to take on the world! She fits into our family already and we feel so blessed to have her!

Thank you to all who have prayed, bought gifts, brought meals, or said an encouraging word! We will hold the memories in our hearts forever! We appreciate you and your generosity!

. . . now, I am gonna go get some sleep!!

Labor Update

I know you are all as eager as I am . . . well maybe not QUITE as eager . . . but I thought I would give you a quick update.

Yesterday the midwife came over and checked me in the morning and I was 7cm . . . yeah crazy! Contractions started at 2:30ish yesterday and have been about 7-10 min apart since then. They are growing in intesity, but not quite intense enough yet. She stayed all night and I didn't really progress at all. In fact I was able to sleep through a lot of the contractions, and only woke up for the more intense ones. I woke up at 5:30AM with some that have been a little more painful, but still only about 7 min apart! She said this could continue for "a while!" (no definitive answer!!)

So we are all TRYING to be patient and wait on this little angel . . . Thanks for your prayers! We are all doing good! I will update when we have a baby! Till then we sit and wait!!

It's a GIRL!!

We were so excited to find out on Thursday, that we are welcoming a baby girl into our family in March! The tech said she is measuring at a due date of March 20th instead of the 30th! "I say come early sweetie!!" Her name will be Caydence Lynne. She will be named after her mom, dad, and paternal grandfather (Pop Pop)!! We are so excited for her arrival! Carley and Camden got go to with me! They were both hoping for a girl so they were thrilled! I let them take turns making phone calls. They felt so BIG!!

Well, I gotta go shopping for girl stuff!! More later!

Vacation Update

We just got back from Myrtle Beach with my Hunny's entire family (pretty much). Every year they go on a golf vacation. We have been before, but it has been about 6 years since our last time. Every year it's the same thing . . . the men (and a few of the women) golf all day and most of the women go SHOPPING!! It's fun but no one else takes their kids. So the whole shopping till ya drop for 8 days in a row . . . my kids were not interested. So I knew I was going to have to find other things to do to keep them entertained.

So before we left I did some googling and found a few things that the kids would enjoy. We did all kinds of stuff!! We found a Children's Museum and the kids loved that!!! They spent an entire afternoon in that place! It was awesome too! There was so much to learn and see. We went to a Zoo. It was more like a preserved piece of land with lots of exotic animals to see. It wasn't like a regular zoo. It was right up my kids ally because they love to feed animals. They love to see baby animals and they got to do both. I also found a Civil War Museum and Shannon's dad just loves that kind of stuff. So he took the kids one afternoon after golf. They said it wasn't super exciting, but they always enjoy being with Grandparents. Then there was the Mall on Halloween night. They were in out of the cold and they got a little bit of candy. That was a lot of fun! They taught Carter how to say "Trick or Treat!" It was really cute!!

We were invited (don't ask how) to a "Get out and vote Rally" for the Republican party. It was a cool experience for the kids. There were all kinds of local politicians and the kids got their picture in the local paper!! We have been doing lots of learning about voting and the elections so this was interesting to be a part of.

This is Shannon and I enjoying the festivities!

We even found the local library in MB!! (I think homeschoolers can spot one miles away!!) Well, come to find out . . . they have several, thank goodness!! The hotel we stayed in didn't have a business center with computers, like most hotels do, so we used my new GPS and simply typed in "library" and vioala . . . a long list of possibilities!! This is a funny story . . .

The first library that came up was the closest one so we went there and found that on rainy days . . . it doubles as a homeless shelter!! The place was full and packed with homeless people sleeping all over the place!! AND there were only 2 computers that could only be used for 15 minutes at a time!! That's not even long enough to check your email!! So we went to the next one on the list and it was a beautiful new library with 24 computers. We left the kids with family and we each spent an hour on the computers!! It was still a strange experience . . . the people that we there that day . . . . were making noises and snoring while awake . . . I could go on . . . it just seemed like everyone that sat near us was . . . making some strange noises OR they had strange smells coming from their direction . . . . it was memorable . . . let's just put it that way!! We did go back another day and we took the kids to explore the kids books!! That was an experience too! It was one of Carter's bad days . . . I know we are all entitled to them sometimes . . . his was library day!!!

I will post more later . . .

Election Day is Tomorrow

Please read Becky's latest post at Blessed with Olive Plants. She has done a great job of getting involved!

I, on the other hand . . .I am in myrtle Beach on vacation and I came to the local library to check my email . . . let's just say public computers are an experience and if you have never used one . . . you're lucky!!

More when I get home!

MOPS Meeting

I was asked to be a guest speaker . . . that is exactly what I did . . . I almost spit out my coffee in SHOCK!!! The MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Director at the church called to ask me to speak about time management, organization, and finding time to spend quality time with the munchkins! She told me that I just seem to have all those areas under control in my life!!! BOY have I got her fooled!!!! And you too if you think the same thing!! So, today was the big day and I was up on the stage as Me*i*sA interviewed me. I am not sure what came out of my mouth, but the message I wanted to get across was this:

I am a simple ordinary mom of 3. I wish my house was cleaner and my cabinets more organized and I had time to clip coupons, but life is too short to worry about EVERYTHING!!! So I only worry about a few things!! I concern myself with people because they are the ONLY thing that last forever! My relationship with Christ, my husband, and kids are my main concerns. There is no "super-mom" in this family. Just a forgiven, simple, hopeful, faithful, passionate, mommy that is surrounded by loving people. I make mistakes! I yell at my kids sometimes. I don't always do the dishes before I go to bed at night! I am just like YOU in so many ways.

I am not sure that all of that came across because time was short. BUT if this is your first visit to my blog and you were at the MOPS meeting, let me know you stopped by.

Post a Comment - Win Some Coffee

Hi my blogging cyber friends. I love this blogging thing I want to thank all my friends for visiting me here on blogspot! Since I love you all so much and I know how much most of you love coffee, I am gonna play a blogging game!!! If you post a comment here, I am going to put your name in a drawing and if I draw your name, I will mail it to you!!! I will keep the posting open till Monday July 28 at noon. Good luck!! I hope you win!!!

Carter turns 2 . . . his birth story

I have been thinking about that day 2 years ago when my sweet toddler was born. He came into the world as most babies do, but it was a little . . . unconventional!!

I was so excited when we made the decision to have him at home! It fit into our new "homeopathic" approach to most of our other health issues. I was thrilled to have a Hunny that was supportive of such a decision. So, we found a midwife, took the classes, educated ourselves, and we were off!! There was no turning back!! I knew all along that I was not afraid of "what if's" if he was born at home, I was just afraid of the PAIN!!! My previous two births were in a traditional hospital setting with epidurals!!! I never felt any pain!!!

The day came! The midwife came to my house for my check-up and I was 6 days away from my due date!! I was just sure that I was going to be pregnant for 42+ weeks and here I was committed to having this baby at home . . . ok a "what if" did creep in!! At that appointment, Karin, the midwife assured me that all would be fine. She gave me a run down of the biology of the whole thing! I think that put me into relax mode!!!! I felt very assured!!

She checked my cervix and I was dialated 4cm and I hadn't had any contractions yet!! (I know some women are in hard labor for days and only dialate 2cm . . . thank God I didn't have this experience.) She thinned the membrane in the cervix, but she told me she didn't know if she did a very good job. I didn't expect much. A few hours later, I was having contractions. YEAH!!

Shannon came home from work and the midwife came back over. I labored at home!!!! It was AWESOME!! My sis came over to help out with the other kids. I could eat and drink whatever I wanted. I wasn't hooked to a machine! I walked the neighborhood while in labor!!! At 10:00PM she checked me and I was ready to push!! I got into the birthing tub and had a few VERY VERY PAINFUL contractions and then . . . the baby was here!!!

I have to admit that I didn't handle the pain as well as I told myself I would!! I didn't "focus" or think about God's awesome creation that He chose me to carry . . . none of that . . . I SCREAMED MY HEAD OFF!!!! IT HURT!!! I kept waiting for someone to tell me to push and then stop pushing, like they do in the hospital . . . but the only person that knew when a contraction was coming was ME . . . so I just kept pushing because it just kept hurting!!!!

When Carter arrived . . . I wasn't overwhelmed with emotion and crying because of the beauty of the moment. All I could think about was how much that hurt . . . I was glad it was over!!!!! The first thing I said was, "That hurt so bad!!"

On the good side, I got to sleep in my own bed that night. My big kids got to see carter come into the world . . . in their jammies!! Then my sister made eggs for everyone . . . at midnight or so. No one poked and prodded either of us. No one came in to bother me all night!! It was one of the most exciting experiences of my life!! I am proud of the fact that despite my fear of the pain, I persevered. God was with me through it all, and I hope I have the opportunity to do it again someday!!

Happy Birthday Carter!

I'm in South Dakota

Hi all! We arrived safely and we are exploring like crazy!! This is a beautiful part of God's creation! We feel so blessed to be here! Today we will do some sight seeing at Mt Rushmore. Then we will drive 3 hours to the town in which we will be doing our VBS!! It will be an awesome time of serving God in practical ways! PLease continue to pray for our safety and our ministry!! (And you may want to whisper a prayer for the rest of the family left in FL. There is a lot to keep Shannon busy with to very active little boys!)

Serving Christ Across Cultural Barriers

I am so excited to share that Carley and I will be going to SD to an Indian Reservation. We will be doing a Vacation Bible School for the local children. I am looking forward to seeing God bless my daughter in a special way. We have been preparing for this for quite some time and now we are ready for whatever the Lord has for us!! We leave on Friday and we will be gone for 10 days! We will be in Lower Brule, SD which has a population of 599 people. The closest Walmart is 1 hour away. We will be in a different culture serving people that are very different from ourselves. The Sioux Tribe is the primary group of indians. The reservation where we will be staying has 1300 people on it. Carley has been fascinated with Native Americans for a few years now and she is so excited to be able to minister to them in this way!! Please pray for us as we minister and as we leave behind part of our family. It will be different for all of us.

PRAISE: We sent out letters asking for support. Many of you so graciously donated to our cause and we raised ALL of the money we needed in order to make the trip!! Now that is God's blessing!! Thank you Jesus for making this trip possible! All the glory goes to YOU!!!

Camping anyone?

Since it was Memorial Day weekend, my Hunny had a GREAT idea!! "Let's go camping!" he said. We have been talking about it for years and it seems that something has always held us back!!! Well this weekend we decided to go for it!! We packed up the mini van for a night (yes . . . that is ONE night) of Hogan-filled fun!! The kids were thrilled!!!

Our time at the park was fun . . . . DIRTY . . . but fun!! We made memories with the kids!! They learned how to fish and steer a canoe!! (one of life's very important lessons!) My sister's family came with us too! We did have fun along with a few mishaps mixed in!! What more could you ask for in a Memorial Day weekend than memories???