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Kids

In celebration of 3-year-olds

I have decided to make this post all about Rachel, my 3-year-old, as the first of a series of blogs dedicated to each of my children. The main point of this is personal, so that I will remember life as it is now, since I am not keeping up with the baby books and scrapbooks like I used to! Today, I was squished between Naomi and Rachel in the back of our van because Tim’s parents were with us as we drove through the Rocky Mountains. Rachel asked me very seriously, “Do I have to take my shoes off when I die?” I did what I always do when I don’t know how to answer my kids’ questions about life, death, or difficult spiritual matters–I look to my husband, the pastor. ugg boots He is laughing in the rearview mirror. I say, “What do I say to that?” He says, “Tell her yes.” So I say, “Yes, you take your shoes off.” She replies, “So they won’t get wet?” AHA! See, Rachel is a very brilliant child. A few weeks ago Tim was discussing baptism and Rachel was in the room and overheard him explain that, when being baptized, going under the water represents dying to your self and coming back up out of the water represents becoming a new person in Christ. Two weeks ago, Rachel also saw a baptism take place in our church–she saw two girls go into a big tub of water and get wet–and now, logically, wants to know if she will have to take her shoes off when she “dies” or is baptized. I just love moments like this as a mom. Rachel is learning to count and it often goes like this, “16, 17, 18, 18, a hundred!” She likes to sing “Do you know the monkey man?” And then she asks me what his name is. I’m like, I don’t know. air jordan hydro He lives on Mulberry Lane. She excitedly told me a few days ago that Sarah (our six-week-0ld infant) said her first word. air jordan 1 soldes It was “ahhh.” Rachel went to Disney World when she was 20 months old. Today she asked me if I remember going to Disney World, and when we came back to the hotel, that all of her stuffed animals were in the window (where the housekeeping staff had arranged them for us). It is kind of scary to me that children remember things that happened that long ago. I also recently uploaded pictures from my camera onto the computer. I found several that Rachel had taken…like maybe 100…ok maybe not that many, but quite a few. nike air trainer I loved seeing how the world looks to her. Most of Rachel’s shots were, alas, deleted, but I saved some of my favorites. air jordan kids Here they are: Rachel’s favorite red shoe: Rachel's favorite shoe Footed pajamas: Rachel's footed pajamas Rachel capturing our cat Calvin in mid-flight as he leaps from the couch, resulting in a rather unflattering angle: Rachel capturing a picture of our cat Calvin as he leaps off the couch, resulting in this unflattering angle Our ceiling fan: Looking out our front window: Rachel’s doggie bank, one of her favorite toys: One of her favorite toys Rachel, I never want to forget how you are as a 3-year-old. nike dynamo You are bouncy, loud, playful, imaginative, inquisitive. You sometimes take naps, but sometimes during naptime I peek into your room and find you siting on the bed amidst a pile of books, which makes me smile. You like to help Daddy cook. nike air force 1 ac femme You usually pick up your toys if I ask you to. Your favorite toy is a stuffed white tiger named Toy Calvin. oakley holbrook You are very serious about which toys and movies are for “girls” and which are for “boys.” Your best friend is your big sister Naomi. You love your new baby sister and like to give Sarah her pacifier whenever she cries, whether she wants it or not. new balance shoes You were, until recently, scared of Veggie Tales. (who knew??) You are extremely affectionate and love hugs. You are happy that I can pick you up now that I am not pregnant.

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Busyness

When people see me with 3 children, they almost always say, “I bet you have your hands full!” or “I bet they keep you busy!” But I don’t feel busy. I feel like my life has simplified since moving to Colorado (once the transition was over). Our days are not usually over-scheduled. We get up, we get Naomi to school, we come home and clean the house, we eat lunch, we take naps, we pick Naomi up from school. We have playdates, we visit the library, we just started going to a mom’s group, and we run errands and have doctor’s appointments, but we aren’t really busy. I’m not stressed out. I know that I have all day to get to that sink full of dishes, so if it doesn’t get done during Sarah’s morning nap, it’s OK.

Of course I have my moments when I get overwhelmed. Usually this happens between 4 and 7 p.m., when we are trying to do homework, eat dinner, and get the kids bathed and to bed. Last night in particular was awful, when I managed to ruin making even mac & cheese for dinner. (Tim usually cooks, don’t worry.)

Since Sarah’s been born, I have been feeling guilty for NOT being busy. I felt like maybe I was not doing as much as I should be doing. Every other mother is so busy…why am I not?

Yesterday Sarah, Rachel, and I went to a MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) meeting, and the devotional was about busyness. It spoke right to my heart. It talked about how we often feel we are not worthy unless we are busy, but that God does not measure our worth by how much we do in one day.  In fact, Tim has often said that he feels busyness gets in the way of allowing God to work in our lives. We can be so busy that when God asks us to do something, we either don’t hear Him, or there’s just no room in our schedule for any adaptions.

So I have decided not to feel guilty anymore about the quieter pace of my life. I don’t do housework after 8 p.m. so I can have time to relax and recharge, and that’s OK.  Naomi is not taking any extracurricular activities, because she doesn’t want to right now, and that’s OK. When she wants to take a dance class or try out a soccer team, we’ll check it out.  Rachel’s days largely consist of unstructured free play time and reading books, and that’s OK too. If I was up all night with Sarah, I will take a nap in the middle of the day, and I will turn my cell phone off first. Down the road we will add other activities and responsibilities, but even then, I will be on guard to keep busyness from taking over.

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The First Post

Thanks to Tim for setting up this page for me, cheap ugg boots uk Adidas Soldes air jordan 9 New Balance 990 Baskets nike air max 1 ultra homme nike air max soldes nike air max 90 air jordan 8 I no longer have an excuse for not blogging! Let’s see how this goes. ugg classic mini air jordan pour homme pas cher adidas soldes nike flyknit adidas zx flux nike air max 90 cheap adidas ugg classic tall As a former journal writer, chaussure nike air Nike Air Max 97 ugg australia uggs uk sale nike outlet air max pas cher asics gel kinsei nike pas cher I like the idea of keeping up with my thoughts and ideas in this format…as a mom of little kids, adidas shoes adidas stan smith asics gel lyte 5 ray ban aviator 3025 new balance 373 air jordan fly 23 lunette de soleil ray ban homme pas cher ugg boots uk I know that it is hard to make time to get those thoughts and ideas written down. nike air max thea soldes nike air max 2017 soldes asics gel noosa tri nike air max 90 asics soldes cheap uggs for sale Kids Air Jordan nike air max 2017 soldes But I am going to give it a good try and if you are reading this then I appreciate you hanging out with me,

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Four Weeks Later

First of all, I want everyone to know that updating my blog has been on my to-do list for a couple of weeks now 🙂 Somehow, it keeps getting moved to the bottom of the list!

I have to apologize because this post is going to be kind of haphazard. There are several things I want to write about, but they aren’t all related and I just don’t have time right now to create smooth transitional paragraphs. Ha!

First of all…here are things I love about Colorado, in no particular order except as they occur to me at this moment:

1. The radio stations here are 100 times better than in Birmingham (sorry guys). I love, love, love the Christian radio station here (K Love). In the early days after Sarah was born, when I felt overwhelmed, just listening to their music always improved my outlook and mood. There’s also a great country station out here that Tim just found for me. It’s called God’s Country, and it plays all country music, but not the songs about cheating on your wife or drinking beer, etc. Basically, it’s family-friendly country music.

2. The landscape here is breathtaking. I love driving down the highway and seeing the Rockies in the distance. It’s a daily reminder of how BIG our God is and how small we are, yet how much He loves His creation. I also love the wide open spaces here where we live, on the plains. You can see so many stars at night. I wonder if I will ever get tired of just taking in the scenery here.

3. I love being able to walk around our small town. We walk to the post office almost daily (we don’t get mail delivered at our house). And we walk to the library. There are many small stores about a block away from our house and also a playground.

4. The area where we live is largely agricultural. Everywhere you go there is a field of corn ready for harvest, or a field that has just been harvested. There are sheep farms, dairy farms, and lots of cattle and horses. There are horses right next to Naomi’s school. Driving down the road you can see people riding horses in pastures; in the Pawnee National Grasslands you can see antelope.  Many people here have backyard chickens. Last night a lady from our church brought our family a case of farm-fresh eggs…from her niece’s farm! We have eaten at backyard barbeques where the hamburgers came from cows that used to roam on that same ranch.

Even though our family doesn’t even have a vegetable garden yet, we are daily surrounded by reminders of how human life is connected to and depends on the land. For most of my life I have largely been around people who work in offices or buildings. There’s nothing wrong with that; we need business people. But everybody, regardless of profession, depends on the resources of the land.

5. Tim’s flexible schedule! I love having him work at home, or next door at the church. He takes Naomi to the bus stop every morning. I can’t explain how helpful that is to a new mom. If I’m nursing Sarah and Rachel has to go to the potty, I can send her downstairs to Tim and have him help her.  (I am trying to get her to go by herself, but she is resisting it for some reason.) I enjoy walking to pick up Naomi from the bus stop in the afternoon, but if I can’t for some reason, Tim is usually able to take a break and go get her. He comes up from his office to have lunch with us and will often put Rachel down for her nap after lunch. He does ALL the grocery shopping (go ahead and be jealous, moms). And…since his commute is a short walk up the stairs, he cooks and prepares dinner every night. I know how blessed I am to have this arrangement and I am not taking it for granted. Most moms don’t have this kind of convenient schedule for their husband. We didn’t have it in Alabama, and we probably won’t have it permanently here. Things will get busier. But, for now, I am extremely thankful for having so much support and help from Tim during this transitional time.

Now, here are things I miss about Alabama:

1. Our friends and my kids’ friends. 🙁 I pray that Naomi and Rachel and one day Sarah will make friendships here that are as good and wholesome as the ones we left behind. We are blessed that, because of moving to a pastorate, we also moved into an automatic community of support and the kids had new friend in the church from day one. However, it will take time to develop those friendships into close relationships.

2. Football game parties…Thanks to ESPN and Dish TV we get to watch most UA games, but we watch them alone (except when we have family visiting!). It’s also weird to not automatically schedule church events around the games. I remember last year, our church had a fall festival on a UA game day because it couldn’t be helped. However, we showed the game on the TV in the sanctuary!! On a similar note, it’s strange to go to church on Sunday mornings and not run into any disappointed Auburn fans (ha!).

3. Usually I don’t pay attention to my accent, but every now and then I will be talking to someone here and I will become extremely self-conscious, something that never happened back home.

4. I miss being a half-day’s drive from the beach.

5. I MISS TACO CASA!!

I am going to consider these lists works-in-progress! Now, off to eat some lunch before Sarah wakes up.

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This too shall pass, but do I want it to?

I found myself thinking back this morning to Mother’s Day 2007. We had both sets of grandparents visiting and Rachel was just about six weeks old or so. Anyway, I woke up insanely early, I think around 4:30 a.m., with Rachel, and then never got back to sleep…so instead of breakfast in bed, or anything like that, Mom was up waaaay before anybody else, feeding baby and getting ready for church. I was a little irritated that day 🙂

Yesterday, we were running late to church and I was feeling very overwhelmed and wondering how I will ever be able to take care of 3 children and get us all ANYWHERE on time. (I’m specifically wondering how Naomi is going to make it to the bus stop after my parents go home!!) I thought about that Mother’s Day and told myself, “At least on the next Mother’s Day, Sarah will be about 8 months old and this will all be over.” I was fantasizing about having a baby that sleeps through the night, a family that is on a schedule.

But then I had to stop myself. Sure, I can’t wait until we all get a little more sleep. But I have been dreaming of having a newborn baby again and I refuse to “wish away” these first months just because we run a little behind schedule and we are a little tired. I wake up in the morning now with Sarah next to me in bed, kind of punching me with her tiny hands in the area of my body she knows only as her personal milk source.  Her middle name is “Joy” and it was carefully chosen…The Bible tells us to “Count it all joy, whenever you face trials of any kind,” (James 1:2) and “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). This surely includes the trials of middle-of-the-night feedings. Sarah is a reminder to me to count it all as joy, every minute and every day with her and her sisters.

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Sarah Joy

Sarah Joy is 4 days old today. So we are still in the middle of that first week. You know, when everyone tells you to rest and let your body heal, but they also tell you to nurse on demand every 1-3 hours. Ha! We are home now and I am so thankful for a healthy baby and a relatively uncomplicated delivery.

Everyone told me that third babies come fast, but this was definitely my longest labor! We first went to the hospital Sunday afternoon. I was contracting every 2-3 minutes but wasn’t dilating, so they sent us home. Monday afternoon the contractions picked up again and we went back to the hospital that night around 10:00 p.m. I was again contracting every 2-3 minutes, but not dilating. I begged not to be sent back home! They also found out that the baby was lying sideways, not head down anymore. Because I had too much amniotic fluid, there was a risk that if my water broke with the baby in this position, we would have a cord prolapse, which is not good. So they decided to keep us overnight and reevaluate everything in the morning.

Tuesday morning the midwife called in her supervising OBGYN, and to my great relief and surprise, Sarah had turned head-down in the night and we were now on our way to a regular delivery. However, after breaking my water my labor slowed down so it was a long day. She was finally born at 6:44 PM. Definitely a long labor but at least they let me eat breakfast and lunch and even take a shower.

I am so happy to have her here! Naomi and Rachel are in love with their new sister, and Naomi especially spends every minute she can with Sarah. It’s funny how she gets excited over the smallest things: “Mommy’s going to change Sarah’s diaper!!!” Yay!

I definitely do not have my prepregnancy body back yet, but I am enjoying being able to do things like hold Rachel in my lap and getting in the floor to play with the girls without having to have somebody heave me back up again. And I don’t miss the indigestion or the back pain.

About a week ago Rachel asked when we were going to go to Disney World again. I made the mistake of saying it wouldn’t be until Sarah was a year old. Of course yesterday morning the first thing she asked me was, “Is Sarah one year old yet?”

Tim has been so supportive and loving.  Sarah’s birth was the most difficult labor/delivery we’ve had and he was super supportive. He has also been wonderful at home. Sarah currently has her days and nights mixed up and so for the past two nights we have spent hours nursing, rocking, and repeating, and he has been right there with me. (I am going to ask God, when I get to heaven, why only one of the parents was given milk ducts.) Also, I don’t know what I would do without my mom and dad being here, taking care of Naomi and Rachel, getting Naomi to and from school, handling meals, laundry, and dishes, and ordering tonight’s University of Alabama game on pay-per-view for us all 🙂

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Life Out Here

We are all in Ault now! The girls and I enjoyed our week of rest at my parents’ house but we are very happy to be at home with Tim and the cats again.

Some brief pregnancy updates: Sarah is doing great. I have had my first appointment with my midwife and been very pleased. Latest ultrasound shows a very healthy baby still on the large size. I have an increased amniotic fluid level, and no one really knows why. Basically, the extra fluid + large baby means I look huge! I have 3.5 weeks left until my due date…maybe she will have mercy on me and come a little early 🙂 She is really kicking me in the ribs now!

The kids are adjusting well to the move. They like the house and are excited about the baby and all the baby things we are finally setting up. There is a playground about two blocks away from our house that we visited for the first time today. And, it is not too hot to play on it!! The weather here does get hot in the afternoon, but unlike in Birmingham, it is not hot in the evenings or mornings. And there’s a nice breeze most of the time, so even if you are outside in the afternoon, if you are in the shade, it’s fine. And guess what…I can walk from my car to a store without my clothes sticking to me!

I am looking forward to this weekend. It’s Tim’s first Sunday of preaching, and there is also a town fall festival going on. Our church is having its service in the park Sunday morning as part of the festival.

On the way home from the playground tonight, I ran into a family who lives about a block down the street from us. They have a five-year-old girl and the mom is expecting a baby next week. I am hoping we have found some nearby playmates!

Colorado is beautiful and I will try to get some pictures up here or on Facebook soon.

I am missing everyone back home. I’m sure that as the days go on and I (finally) finish all the unpacking and have less to keep me occupied, the homesickness will hit harder. But throughout this whole move, I have felt God’s hand on my family and I am confident we are where we need to be, and I am excited to see how this adventure is going to turn out.

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I have a midwife!

Well ladies…because I assume most of you reading are ladies…I am super excited about having finally lined up prenatal/labor & delivery care in Colorado.  A lot of the places I called were not taking new patients, so I was getting pretty stressed. Yesterday, the last practice I called had an opening, and they were able to get me an appointment for 2 days after I arrive. The practice has an OBGYN and 3 midwives, and since the doctor was not taking new patients, I am now a patient of midwives.

I have never used a midwife, mostly because it’s just not very common (or even LEGAL) down here in Alabama! However, from what I understand from my visit to Colorado and speaking to people who live there, about half of pregnant women use midwives there. And the midwives practice under an OBGYN and deliver in hospitals, where you can have all your usual medications (I specifically asked about epidurals!) and where a doctor is available if you need any type of emergency surgery.  And the midwife stays with you during your entire labor! I love Alabama dearly, but I have to say that on the pro/con list I am putting “birth options” on Colorado’s “pro” side.

So…I am wondering if any of you have ever used a midwife, and, if so, how did it go? And if you haven’t used one, have you ever considered it?

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GRITS goes to Colorado

I have not posted in a long time, not because I didn’t have anything I wanted to write about, but because I was waiting for the right time (as in, the time approved by my darling hubby) to make our big news publicly known–We are moving to Ault, CO!!

Tim has accepted a job as the pastor of two small rural churches in a beautiful area of Colorado. We are leaving in two phases–Tim is leaving with the U-haul, cats, and fish at the end of July, and the kids and I are flying up to meet him Aug. 3. Yes, this is 4 weeks and 1 day before baby Sarah is due. Let’s all pray she gives her mama at least a few weeks to set up the house before she decides she wants to see everything for herself.

We have been praying and discussing this job possibility for months and feel it is the right place for our family to go. However, that doesn’t mean that there are many questions bouncing around in my head!

1. How will the kids adjust to such a different culture and being so far away from family?

2. Will Sarah ever have a Southern accent? Will Naomi & Rachel lose theirs? (I am refusing to lose mine.)

3. Can I drive in snow???

4. What is it like being a pastor’s wife?

5. What’s it like in a culture where there is only one evangelical church in town, instead of one or two on every corner?

6. Do Alabama’s football games get broadcasted in Colorado?

7. Who is going to send me a box of Krispy Kreme every month? 🙂

I am going to miss all of our friends and family here in Alabama so very much.  God has truly blessed me with a great group of friends, neighbors, and fellow moms. I am very thankful for modern technology that lets us all stay in touch, but it still will not be the same as just walking across the backyard for a playdate.

I think about families who moved across the country, or across the ocean, before there were cars or even trains. Women who would leave with their husbands and children, knowing they would probably never see their extended families again. And missionaries, who give up their own comfort to pursue unreached people groups across the globe, maybe staying in the same area, but maybe moving from continent to continent, bringing the Gospel.  In light of these comparisons, moving to Ault (a 22-hour drive) doesn’t seem so huge. But I know it will still be probably the biggest adjustment in my life so far, and definitely in my children’s lives!

I am very excited about starting this new adventure, and I expect I will have much on my heart and mind in the coming weeks and months to fill this blog…if I also have the time to write it all down!

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Kids

Third Trimester Ponderings

This past Wednesday I hit the magic 28-week mark in this pregnancy, which signals the official entry into the third trimester. This being my third time around, I can’t help reflecting on differences between how I am feeling now versus when I was expecting our first or second child. Maybe some of you can relate!

I no longer own a copy of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.” I read this book cover-to-cover with my first pregnancy, including the scary chapters on “complications.” I now purposely try to avoid reading about pregnancy complications! I don’t want to know what can go wrong!

I wrote down each week’s passage on my calendar so I can tell at a glance how far along I am. I always knew off the top of my head how many weeks along I was with my first child, but not so this time!

I’m gaining more weight with this baby. blah.

I never had morning sickness with any of my pregnancies, but I did throw up a couple of times with both the first and second. I have not thrown up at all this time, which may be one reason I was so inclined to give this baby the middle name “Joy.” (just kidding!)

However, starting about a month ago, I get what I think is acid indigestion almost every morning…

I am still not sure about when to go to the hospital when I’m in labor! I’ve never actually timed any contractions. My water broke with my first, and I was induced with my second. So, I will be right there with all the first-time moms, wondering if it’s real labor or braxton hicks.

I am inspired and intrigued by those moms who deliver at home…but am not ready to head down that path!

My birth plan: 1. Avoid being induced (I hated being strapped to monitors and IV poles). 2. Avoid a C-section. 3. Get to the hospital early enough to get an epidural!

I am looking forward to nursing this baby more than ever. With my first, I expected nursing to be difficult and exhausting (it was).  I looked at it more as something very beneficial for my baby that I was willing to sacrifice my body and energy to provide for her.  I have found, though, that nursing was a special time with my babies that I miss. It was a sacrifice, but honestly, after those first early weeks, I think nursing mothers have a much easier time because we don’t have to deal with mixing formula or washing bottles.

Any other moms out there…feel free to share your own reflections on your pregnancies! You know how we love to bond over those stories!