I'm very excited that we are going to see my parents soon! We really need a long vacation! My parents help so much with the kids, and it gives us such a needed break :) We have a lot of fun things planned, including spending as much time as we can with my grandparents. I'm so blessed that three of the four of them are still alive and are doing relatively well!
Saturday, Jule fell after coming up the stairs and really hurt his foot. He would not stand on it or walk without crying for two hours, so we decided he needed to go to the ER. Thankfully, he did not have any breaks or fractures. It swells up when he walks on it too much now, but he does not seem to be very bothered by it. I think it will feel back to normal in a few more days. Yesterday, Jule started running a fever, and today his breathing is not great. We are increasing his inhaler to twice a day to hopefully control the croup enough to keep him out of the ER. I feel so bad for him that he is sick so much. At least he won't remember it if he grows out of it soon!
I can't believe Noly starts real school in just a few weeks! She will be in all-day K5. She is so excited! We have all of the supplies she needs except for a new backpack and lunchbox. I want her to pick those out herself :) That's all I have for now...
Monday, July 25, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Thirst
I have been thinking a lot lately about thirst. We have been in a drought and have finally been getting some rain here and there. The grass is so brown, the ground is so dry...and thirsty. I keep thinking about the woman at the well and how she was thirsty. She was probably physically thirsty, or she probably would not have been going to the well. She was also spiritually thirsty and had no idea.
It is so different when God pours down His presence into our circumstances. Even though the circumstances may not change, His saturation makes all the difference in the world. Just as our grass is beginning to turn green and come to life, His life brings true vitality to our hearts. Here are some verses that have been so encouraging to me:
Isaiah 35:1 "The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom." 4a "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come..." 6b-7a "Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs..."
He is the refreshing stream that runs through our wilderness experiences, and He is our One Source of life...true life. For that, I am thankful.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
A Better Day
I'm feeling a little better about things today. We took the kids to the mall last night and then to Chick-Fil-A to eat and play. It really helps me when we can get out of the house and do fun things. While we were at CFA, a woman came in with her 2.5-year-old twins. They were adorable, and Kevin and I watched from outside the play area and talked about how we could not have handled our kids if they would have been born at the same time :) Kevin went in to tell the kids to go down the slide instead of up and started talking to the woman. She told him she had several miscarriages, and they finally gave up and decided to do Invitro. She had the same fertility doctor we had for Noly and Payton. It was almost comical because Noly and the twins were actually conceived in the same room, just a few years apart and DEFINITELY in separate petrie dishes ;) I wonder how many children Noly will come across in her life that were conceived in the very same way/place? Very odd, but also very cool!
I was reading in John 4 today about the woman at the well. I find it interesting that this passage is about thirst, both physical and spiritual. This woman had been married many times, which could represent her search and "thirst" for something that was missing from her life. She was talking to Jesus about the Messiah coming, and I can only imagine her surprise when He tells her that He is the Messiah...the One she is talking to is the very One she is talking about! It was a life-changing day for her, and many believed in Christ as a result. How satisfying is a drink from the Fountain of Living Water!
I was reading in John 4 today about the woman at the well. I find it interesting that this passage is about thirst, both physical and spiritual. This woman had been married many times, which could represent her search and "thirst" for something that was missing from her life. She was talking to Jesus about the Messiah coming, and I can only imagine her surprise when He tells her that He is the Messiah...the One she is talking to is the very One she is talking about! It was a life-changing day for her, and many believed in Christ as a result. How satisfying is a drink from the Fountain of Living Water!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Venting
I just need to vent a little bit. I'm miserable, and I feel like a terrible Mommy. It's not because of something I did, but because of something I missed out on...my baby boy's birthday bash :(
Saturday, we had a birthday party for Jule at Chick-Fil-A. It was just a few of our friends and their kids because Jule tends to get overwhelmed with too many kids, and he's scared to death of characters like Chuck E. Cheese. I came down with a stomach virus about 10 minutes before we had to leave. Kevin took the presents, party items and the kids, and I hoped that I would make it there a little while later. I just wasn't able to go, and it tore my heart out. I know Jule was oblivious, but I feel like I failed him. It probably isn't a big deal, but it feels like a big deal to me.
Also, my chiropractor had been helping a lot with my migraines, and my preventive was making my blood sugar drop frequently. So, the Neurologist told me I should go off of that particular preventive. Coming off of it was pure torture, but it has been out of my system for about 10 days now, and my sugar is doing much better. Unfortunately, my chiropractor had some schedule changes, and I was only able to see him about once a week. We have also had a lot of thunderstorms lately. All of this has sent me into a mass of migraines again. I'm so frustrated. We have a few other preventives to try, and I'm attempting to see the chiropractor every other day, but I'm so discouraged. I'm so tired of being in pain. I'm tired of trial-and-error meds that cause undesirable side effects. I just want to LIVE...you know, like a "normal" mommy!
I really detest migraines and wish nobody ever had to suffer from them :(
Saturday, we had a birthday party for Jule at Chick-Fil-A. It was just a few of our friends and their kids because Jule tends to get overwhelmed with too many kids, and he's scared to death of characters like Chuck E. Cheese. I came down with a stomach virus about 10 minutes before we had to leave. Kevin took the presents, party items and the kids, and I hoped that I would make it there a little while later. I just wasn't able to go, and it tore my heart out. I know Jule was oblivious, but I feel like I failed him. It probably isn't a big deal, but it feels like a big deal to me.
Also, my chiropractor had been helping a lot with my migraines, and my preventive was making my blood sugar drop frequently. So, the Neurologist told me I should go off of that particular preventive. Coming off of it was pure torture, but it has been out of my system for about 10 days now, and my sugar is doing much better. Unfortunately, my chiropractor had some schedule changes, and I was only able to see him about once a week. We have also had a lot of thunderstorms lately. All of this has sent me into a mass of migraines again. I'm so frustrated. We have a few other preventives to try, and I'm attempting to see the chiropractor every other day, but I'm so discouraged. I'm so tired of being in pain. I'm tired of trial-and-error meds that cause undesirable side effects. I just want to LIVE...you know, like a "normal" mommy!
I really detest migraines and wish nobody ever had to suffer from them :(
Thursday, July 7, 2011
3 Years Ago Today
3 years ago today, I was at work...just like today.
3 years ago today, I was in labor at work...not like today.
We live about 15-20 minutes from the hospital, and I had been having contractions since I was 25 weeks pregnant with Jule. I remember being miserable all night and waking up the next morning pretty sure that these contractions were going to bring us our baby boy. I decided to get up and go to work early so that I would not have to sit in 45 minutes of traffic on the way to the hospital, and my work is just a few blocks from the hospital.
I worked some, but I kept heading for the bathroom because my stomach was so sick. Then, I called Kevin and told him I really felt like this was the real thing and that I needed to get to the hospital. So, he came to work and picked me up. Many of my coworkers gathered around me, but I was in such a haze that I don't exactly remember a lot. I was in a lot of pain! I was 35 weeks 6 days along, and Noly had been born at 35 weeks 3 days. When I got to L&D, I found out I was dilating; and since I was just under 36 weeks, they kept me to see if I would keep going or stall out. I continued to dilate, and we knew little Jule was on his way into the world.
I thought about the date as the day progressed. It would be neat to have a baby whose birthday was 7/7...certainly easier to remember! To my surprise, 7/7 barely left, and my baby boy was born...literally minutes into 7/8. He screamed and screamed. I don't think there was a minute that he was not crying. They made a call and had some specialists come look at him, then they had to take him to another room and help his breathing. Everything happened so quickly that I really didn't even have time to get upset about them taking him from me. I had assumed his breathing would be fine since he was born later than Noly. He was in the NICU for one week and then came home to meet his big sister who was not so fond of him. She kept saying, "Daddy hold it," "Mommy, put it down. It sleep." Poor Jule :)
It took me a couple of weeks to realize that Jule's birthday was 5 years to the day that I found out I was pregnant for the first time ever. It made me weep because I realized that God gave us Jule just minutes into a date that was very significant for me. In 2003, my joy turned into mourning. In 2008, God brought me great joy. Such a seemingly unimportant detail meant the world to me...and He knew it would!
3 years ago today, I was in labor at work...not like today.
We live about 15-20 minutes from the hospital, and I had been having contractions since I was 25 weeks pregnant with Jule. I remember being miserable all night and waking up the next morning pretty sure that these contractions were going to bring us our baby boy. I decided to get up and go to work early so that I would not have to sit in 45 minutes of traffic on the way to the hospital, and my work is just a few blocks from the hospital.
I worked some, but I kept heading for the bathroom because my stomach was so sick. Then, I called Kevin and told him I really felt like this was the real thing and that I needed to get to the hospital. So, he came to work and picked me up. Many of my coworkers gathered around me, but I was in such a haze that I don't exactly remember a lot. I was in a lot of pain! I was 35 weeks 6 days along, and Noly had been born at 35 weeks 3 days. When I got to L&D, I found out I was dilating; and since I was just under 36 weeks, they kept me to see if I would keep going or stall out. I continued to dilate, and we knew little Jule was on his way into the world.
I thought about the date as the day progressed. It would be neat to have a baby whose birthday was 7/7...certainly easier to remember! To my surprise, 7/7 barely left, and my baby boy was born...literally minutes into 7/8. He screamed and screamed. I don't think there was a minute that he was not crying. They made a call and had some specialists come look at him, then they had to take him to another room and help his breathing. Everything happened so quickly that I really didn't even have time to get upset about them taking him from me. I had assumed his breathing would be fine since he was born later than Noly. He was in the NICU for one week and then came home to meet his big sister who was not so fond of him. She kept saying, "Daddy hold it," "Mommy, put it down. It sleep." Poor Jule :)
It took me a couple of weeks to realize that Jule's birthday was 5 years to the day that I found out I was pregnant for the first time ever. It made me weep because I realized that God gave us Jule just minutes into a date that was very significant for me. In 2003, my joy turned into mourning. In 2008, God brought me great joy. Such a seemingly unimportant detail meant the world to me...and He knew it would!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Why "Jule"
Before Kevin was born, his parents had a baby boy who was born prematurely. He lived for only a few hours, and he was named after Kevin's Dad. I met Kevin online, and he told me the story before we had met in person. Once we decided to get married, we decided that we would name our son, Jule, if we ever had a son. Jule is named after his Grandpa, and he is also named after an Uncle he has never even met. I cannot believe our little Jule will be 3 in just a few days!
Friday, July 1, 2011
July 4th Memories
It was June of 2002 when we bought our first home. We were so excited, and we were able to throw our first 4th of July party with many friends. We talked, ate, shot off fireworks, someone got hot pepper juice in their eye...you know, the usual. I remember it well!
So, we did the same thing on July 4, 2003, which the exception of the hot pepper incident. Only this year, I felt really strange. I was tired and achey. Everyone decided to go see fireworks somewhere, but we stayed home. I was ready to sleep. The thought never even occurred to me that I could be pregnant. After all, I had spent nearly 9 years unable to conceive. Why would this time be any different? Much to my surprise, I found myself staring at two pink lines on a pregnancy test just four days later.
Today, as I thought about our weekend plans, I found myself thinking back to July 4, 2003. Strangely, I longed to feel our baby Hannah in my belly again...to feel sick, to feel tired, to feel that surreal feeling that what I had prayed for for so long had finally happened. She was with me for 11 weeks, but she never became part of the family that we take to the park or the beach. I celebrate the two children that God gave me to take care of; they make me laugh daily. But I do still miss our little Hannah sometimes and wonder who she would have been. With her, I experienced seeing my baby's heartbeat on an ultrasound screen for the very first time, I experienced strong aversions to cheese for the very first time, and I experienced many other "firsts" with her in my belly. I do treasure that time, and I find myself thinking about her every so often, especially every 4th of July.
Some day, when my kids are much older, I may even share with them about their sister on the 4th of July. Happy 4th, everyone!
So, we did the same thing on July 4, 2003, which the exception of the hot pepper incident. Only this year, I felt really strange. I was tired and achey. Everyone decided to go see fireworks somewhere, but we stayed home. I was ready to sleep. The thought never even occurred to me that I could be pregnant. After all, I had spent nearly 9 years unable to conceive. Why would this time be any different? Much to my surprise, I found myself staring at two pink lines on a pregnancy test just four days later.
Today, as I thought about our weekend plans, I found myself thinking back to July 4, 2003. Strangely, I longed to feel our baby Hannah in my belly again...to feel sick, to feel tired, to feel that surreal feeling that what I had prayed for for so long had finally happened. She was with me for 11 weeks, but she never became part of the family that we take to the park or the beach. I celebrate the two children that God gave me to take care of; they make me laugh daily. But I do still miss our little Hannah sometimes and wonder who she would have been. With her, I experienced seeing my baby's heartbeat on an ultrasound screen for the very first time, I experienced strong aversions to cheese for the very first time, and I experienced many other "firsts" with her in my belly. I do treasure that time, and I find myself thinking about her every so often, especially every 4th of July.
Some day, when my kids are much older, I may even share with them about their sister on the 4th of July. Happy 4th, everyone!
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