5 years!

5 years have past since I married my best friend. Many people told us we would grow in love with one another more as the years passed. I remember thinking I couldn’t love Larry any more than I did the day I married him, but you know, those people were right. I have grown more in love with Larry over these past 5 years. We’ve been through so much together and he always loves me better and more deeply than I ever could have imagined.

When we went to Florida for my Grandmother’s final days, I told my family, I don’t know what I ever did to deserve a man like Larry. He is wonderful! He is such an amazing husband and father. I am so blessed to be his wife.

You know what it is, He tries every day to love me like Jesus. That’s the secret to having a great marriage and a wife that will be happy to serve and submit to her husband. He just loves me so good! It’s easy to love back!

So to my wonderful husband, I love you! I am so blessed to be yours. You lead and love our family in a way that brings great joy to me and our children. Thank you for your abiding love and care for us. Thank you for all the laughter and joy you bring to us by being the man that you are. I am so glad that you chose me 5 years ago. I can only imagine how much more deeply we’ll grow in love with one another as the years continue to pass. I look forward to spending all the years God give me with you.

32 Week Update

32 weeks have past since my newest little miracle started to grow inside of me. The time has flown by so quickly! I can tell he’s getting bigger and packing on weight because his jabs and rolls are getting a little more intense. The fluttering is gone, now he’s rocking and rolling. It feels so neat when he rolls around, I love this part of the pregnancy! Most days I can’t tell what’s an elbow or foot, I just know this is one active little guy.


This has been a joyous time but difficult as well. I continue to battle sickness. Some days are better than others, I still need to take medication daily, but I have become used to the sickness. I only have 7 more weeks to go before my reward for all the illness arrives. Then, just like the others, I’ll forget the sickness. It will all be worth it when I hold him.

I went to the OB this past week and my belly measured a lot larger than expected. Thankfully, I have started to put on some weight, which apparently is all baby. :) The doctor has assured me, If I go to term, I’ll have another big boy. Josiah was 8 lbs 13.5 oz. We’ll see if this baby can beat his big brother's weight.

I also found out that I had failed the in-office gestational diabetes test and had to take the longer 3 hour version on Wednesday. Thank God I passed it, but I don’t know how! My blood sugar was 204 at the 1.5 hour mark, and then I bottomed out at 50 at the 3 hour mark. I almost passed out when I bottomed out. Thankfully, the staff was super sweet and took great care of me. The whole experience left me feeling icky. I now know how bad my mom must feel when her blood sugar drops. It’s an awful feeling.

There are also new changes in the birthing policy at the hospital where we’re going to deliver. They no longer have a nursery. The baby will room in with us 24/7, which is a new change. I sent Eden and Josiah to the nursery so I could rest after their deliveries. Not an option this time.  They have stopped scheduling C- sections on Mondays and Tuesdays, which we had planned at the beginning with one of the doctors. So Baby's delivery date has been moved to July 20th. (I've updated our Lilipie to the new date.) Of course that date is if baby wants to wait that long. He could go 2 weeks early like Eden and make mommy happy :)

The other interesting thing is they sent the Birth Certificate paperwork home with us so we could fill it out before the delivery. One more thing to put in the bag to pack, which I haven’t packed yet. I guess I need to get busy, He’ll be here before we know it!

Which one is your favorite?

Every now and then, I go back into my editing program and try to fiddle with it to learn more. I would love to have the time to take a class to learn the program. I know it has the capacity to do so much more than what I piddle around with. I have found the wonderful world of actions and here are a few of my favorites. Let me know, which one is your favorite?

 This is the original

 Vintage

 B&W beauty

 Dreamscape

Old West

Fun Learning

I've been going back and forth with myself for months trying to decided if I should start Eden in a reading program to teach her to read.  I've bought Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and  she was given Hooked on Phonics for Christmas.  She's still 3, and I want her to enjoy being 3 and not put any pressure on her to start reading to soon. But she LOVES learning. So I've tried to find fun learning tools for her to start with her pre-reading skills. 

Friday, I found some neat puzzles and Melissa and Doug toys and games at a consignment shop.  This is a Leap Frog puzzle I found for $1. Eden loves it. She is always asking me how to spell words and now she has a tool to help her with learning. I pulled out some of our flash cards with 3 and 4 letter words and encouraged her to spell them out. She did such a good job and thinks of this as fun. 

Of course she has to give me funny faces as I try to take a few pictures. She really did enjoy this. In fact, she woke up and asked if she could play with it while she was waiting on breakfast.

If any of you have suggestions on teaching reading or tools you enjoy, please feel free to share your ideas.

Great Grands

Our time in Florida was the first time we had all the great grandchildren together.

I know my Granny would have loved this!! 

 9 of 10, but Peyton wasn't feeling it :)

 Almost everyone looking :)

Lydia  (2 weeks old) made it into this picture :)

Erin and I were in this because we have #11 and #12 on the way.

#13 had left already for the day.

Even the possessed doll made it in this picture, she's going to get me! :)

You might be thinking..... how do you get 9 kids to sit still for pictures?

Suckers that's how :)

Peyton's first sucker. She loved it!

Her Momma will soon learn the power of the sucker :)

Cousins

In previous posts, I've talked about how bitter sweet it was to be in Florida. There were sad times, but there were also some sweet family time. Eden and her cousin Brielle LOVE one another! They were blessed to be oblivious of most of the sadness that was going on during the week. It was so neat to watch them play together.  Hearing their laughter and watching them enjoy each other was a blessing. It reminded me of playing with my cousins many years ago.

I love these pictures, they are full of love and innocence. They bring back sweet memories of the past.

Oh how sweet!

It is Well with My Soul

This morning at about 4:30 Granny went to be with Jesus. It is a blessing to know that her pain and suffering has ended and she is at peace with the Lord. Yet, it is the beginning of an earthly separation that will bring years of sadness as we miss the incredible woman that loved our family so well.

I've been singing the lyrics of her favorite hymn for days now. Those words bring great comfort:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll

What ever my lot you have taught me to say

It is well, it is well with my soul

Though the devil will ruin, though trials may come

Let this blessed assurance control

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate

And He shed His own blood for my soul

It is well, with my soul

It is well, it is well with my soul

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought

My sin not in part but the whole

Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul

It is well, with my soul

It is well, it is well with my soul

It is well with my soul

It is well, it is well with my soul

And Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sight

And the clouds be rolled back as a scroll

The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend

Even so, it is well with my soul

It is well with my soul

It is well, it is well with my soul

It is well with my soul

It is well, it is well with my soul



Bitter Sweet

Bitter sweet is the phrase that keeps coming to mind when I think through these past few days. It has been great to visit with family. Shannon was here with his children when we arrived. Eden and Brielle ran towards one another and hugged, so excited to see one another completely oblivious to the sadness that had brought us together for this visit.

I have learned a lot about the process of dying in the past few days. It is a strange thing that we seldom talk about and desire even less to be around. Yet in times like these, there is no way to avoid it. Sitting at Granny’s beside has been a blessing. It’s very difficult to watch, but a great way to love and serve her.

Granny has been aware of us and knows she is surrounded by loved ones. That must be a wonderful thing to know during your last days. Wednesday, she heard the children playing in the living room and asked about them. She smiled as she heard their laughter. I asked if she wanted to see them and she said yes. So we brought in Eden and Josiah. Josiah didn’t visit long, but Eden and I got to spend some time with Granny. Granny called her by name and they got to speak for a little while. They were able to tell each other, “I love you.” What a special memory that will make for Eden and I.

One of the best things about this experience is how much more I’ve grown in love and respect with Larry. He has been wonderful! He holds me when I need to cry, and listens when I’m processing through my emotions. He feels no need to say anything unnecessary, he’s just quietly there, Loving and helping where ever he can. He’s been great at taking the children to play so that I could sit at Granny’s bedside. I am so blessed to be married to him and times like these remind me of how special he is.

Another blessing of this process is looking through the old photos. There hundreds if not thousands of pictures in box after box of photos. As someone who loves photography, you can imagine my joy in reliving some of those fond memories and learning about my grandmothers and grandfathers lives before I was even thought of. The story telling and laughter has been a special time for our family as we prepare to say goodbye.

I would love to ask you all to keep us in your prayers. The end is near. We know Granny is going to heaven where there will be no more pain, only joy. And the biggest blessing of them all, JESUS.

 Granny and Grandpa

They have been married 65 years!

 A high school picture of Grandma

Granny holding her grand girls.

Kelly is on the left, I'm on the right.

Gotta love that red hairdo!



Saying Goodbye

 

 

It’s hard to believe these were taken just a few months ago. My Granny came up with my parents to celebrate Josiah’s 2nd Birthday. This was the first time she had come to visit since we’ve moved to Williamston. It was wonderful to be able to show her our life and ministry, and for my children to get to know her.

My Granny is dying. She will leave the hospital today with Hospice care to return home where she wants to be for her final days. As you can imagine, it has been a very difficult time for my family. We are like so many other families who are dealing with aging parents and grandparents. We are trying to make the best decisions for our loved ones, Providing respect and medical care. Praying that their last days could be precious and as pain free as possible.

I have been so in awe of my parents as they have made great sacrifices to care for my Granny and Grandpa these past few months. It has been a labor of love. Many in their generations are currently going through these hard days caring for their aging parents. Watching has been an education of love in action. We are trusting God to give us this day what we can handle. Many days are filled with a mixture of sadness, frustration, fear and glimpses of the great joy that await our loved ones in heaven. I pray for the peace that surpasses all understand to guard my family as we say this slow goodbye.

We will be traveling to Florida this week in hopes that I will be able to say good bye in person. Please pray for us as I’m sure this will be an emotional time.