This season

It has become a catch phrase to call things “seasons” in Christian life. I suppose it comes from Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. And in my honest moments, I cry out because this has been a difficult season these past few months. Lack of sleep and sick babies makes for a difficult combination. Add to it a sick Momma, and things just get all convoluted in my head. My patience is short and laugher is not as common. The people I love the most in the world are the ones who feel my irritability. Sometimes I hear myself talking and I think, Angela, Why are you so mad about this? Why did you say that?


This “season” has also occurred during the trying times of parenting. Both my older children have gone through really tough days of training lately. Days that have left me worn out and literally on my knees in prayer over them. I keep telling myself, if we put in the hard work now, it will pay off with diligent joyful children in our futures. I’m holding on to that as a precious jewel.

And I don’t mean to sound all melodramatic, like every moment is horrendous. They aren’t. There are some precious sweet moments too. Moments when Eden is helpful to Josiah, or when Josiah tells Eden she’s doing a good job. Other sweet moments when Titus is sleeping and snuggled on my chest,  or giving me a sweet two tooth grin. I hold on to those sweet moments. Realizing that the precious moments are what make this season special. Those moments get me through the season.

I think in writing this I’ve worked myself out of a funky head place. It’s where my mind has battled self pity, weariness, and frustration. I have failed so miserably to make prayer the first place I go when I get frustrated instead of the last. I know it takes an active prayer life, some days a considerable amount of prayer to keep focused on the big picture.

My big picture is that these wonderful people God has entrusted to me are to be cherished and trained. It will not be easy. But I know that my loving God has sifted all of these situations through His fingers to bring about my growth and sanctification just as much as thiers. And I also know that sooner than I will realize it, this season will be over. Then another season will be upon us with its challenges and frustrations, joys and trials. I guess that what’s life is all about. Getting from one season to another until we get to heaven.

A two tooth grin. :)

The Nasty Bug :(

We have had our fair share of the stomach bug lately. Poor Josiah has had it 3 different times. It started when we were in Huntersville visiting my brother 3 weeks ago. He would get better, then a week later it would strike again. This past Friday he started to vomit and just couldn't stop. I don't think there can be a more helpless feeling as a parent than to just watch your child be so sick.  He quickly became dehydrated and we decided to take him to the ER so he could get some medication and IV fluids.

We are so thankful we had nice nurses and doctor. We didn't have to wait long to be seen. I was so proud of Josiah. As sick as he was, he still said yes ma'am and thank you. He also did great when he got his IV. He didn't fight it at all, which just goes to show you how sick he was. Larry and I both agreed that wouldn't have gone as smoothly if he had been up to his usual speed.

As the meds started to work, Josiah stopped getting sick and was able to rest. I had to leave to get the other children settled. When I returned, Josiah was asking his normal questions and was back to smiling. I knew he was doing better when he said he was hungry. The only thing I had in the diaper bag was Titus's puffs. Josiah didn't mind. In fact, he liked them. I am amazed at how quickly children can get sick, then recover. I know the meds and fluids had a lot to do with it. But Josiah just amazed me in this sistuation.

Sunday I started with the virus. It returned today. :( So we've had some down days. Lots of TV watching in our pj's, reading books and playing with puzzles. I have bleached, lysoled, steamed, vacuumed, sanitized, and cleaned every surface in our house! Not sure what else I can do to battle this nasty bug. I would like to ask that you please pray for Josiah and I to get well and stay well. And please pray that Larry, Eden and Titus do not get it. I'm ready for this bug to be gone!

Gilbreath Family Rules

We've had our hands full lately in the Gilbreath home. Full of blessings and hard work. There are days I fall into bed exhausted! Parenting is such a difficult tasks, it is not for the faint hearted!

One of the reasons we've had our hands full is obedience training with the kids. Larry came home for lunch today. We had a good conversation about the challenges we've been facing. ( I am so glad I married him!)We're trying to develop a plan specific to each child's issues. We realize that punishments and praises effect each of our children differently.  We also realized we needed to team up. It's three against two now :) 

It dawned on me that I had assumed that our children knew our family rules. I feel like I am constantly telling them, something is unacceptable behavior. And most the time I'm upset or angry while telling them. Well what does unacceptable behavior to a 4 and 3 year old? So I decided that I need to type our rules out and read it over with the kids. They each got a copy and one was put on the fridge. We are hoping they will begin to understand our expectations and consequences.  We're praying their behavior will improve.
 
Eden responded very well to it. She likes list and rules. (That is her Momma in her) This will be a good thing for her. She asked question and during dinner told Josiah the rules when he would break one. Josiah was more interested in the letter and words than their meaning. BUT I am praying he will begin to understand and respond well over the next few days. I plan to go over it with them daily until it is ingrained in their brains.
 
Al least I feel like I am being proactive instead of reactive. Not sure if this will help, but it certainly can not hurt. Here is the list I created. I looked online and got ideas from different sites. I kept it short and simple, addressing some of the big issues we're having a hard time with, like hitting, table manners and obeying right away and without and attitude.

Gilbreath Family Rules

1. Obey All The Way, Right Away, and With a Happy Heart!

2. Treat each other with respect.
no yelling
no hitting
no kicking
no biting
no name-calling

3. No arguing (talking back) with parents.

4. Respect each other’s property.
Ask permission to use something that doesn’t belong to you.
Put the toy back where you found it
Share

5. Do not complain or throw a fit!

6. Practice good table Manners

You must sit at the table to eat
Use your fork, spoon and napkin
Do not talk with food in your mouth
Ask to be excused when you are finished

7. Clean up what you mess up.


8. Look for ways to be kind and helpful to each other.

The Whole Kinsey Family

Last week, We all converged at my brothers house for a three day visit with family. To say it was a hectic loud mess is an understatement! We wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Well, maybe a few more days to visit with one another. It was the first time in over a year that we were all together. We have welcomed two new additions since then as well, Titus and Pierce. We also were celebrating my Dad's success battling Cancer, Eden's successful heart surgery and Josiah's 3rd birthday. Good times Good times :) 

Eden Update

I wanted to spend a few minutes giving an update on Eden. The surgery and recovery have gone better than we ever expected. It is an answer to so many prayers. Praise the LORD!


The actual surgery went very well. It took around 6 hours. Eden was a super patient. She was amazing at how well she did with her IV. They have a special IV room for kids. I was able to tell her what was about to happen, and she watched. I have found with Eden if I tell her what to expect that she does well. If you just spring something on her with out explaining it she freaks out. She’s a lot like her Momma in that we like to know what to expect. Eden never complained or cried while she got the IV. She spotted the princess stickers that she would get for having the IV. She was more interested in them than the IV. It also helped that we had great nurses. Once we returned to her room, she wanted the IV out, but was easily distracted.

As we waiting in the pre-op room, my focus was on keeping Eden calm. Thankfully we had a children’s care staffer that was there to help. She had an Ipad with Angry Birds and Cut the Rope to play. Eden was happily distracted while Larry and I spoke to the Anesthesiologist and the Doctor.

The hard part came when they gave Eden the meds to put her to sleep while Larry and I were still with her. It was hard to watch the medication take effect. I stayed positive and kept telling her I loved her over and over, then they rolled her out and I fell apart. I had reached my goal of not getting upset in front of her, for that I was glad. But knowing she was out of my hands, I just let myself have a good cry. Then I took a deep breath and started the beginning of the rest of the hard part, the waiting.

The waiting was made easier by some wonderful church members who came to be with us. It was so nice to have the love and support of so many people. It was a good distraction from the worry. We were also blessed with a fantastic staff from the hospital. They called every hour and half to give updates of Eden’s progress, which helped ease our fears.

Then the call came, they were finished and Dr. Fairbrother would be out to see us in a few minutes. It was OVER. I can’t tell you have relieved I was. It was like I had been holding my breath all day, and was finally able to exhale. It was over, she was ok. Thank you Jesus!

When Dr. Fairbrother came out, I asked if it would be OK to hug him and just remember saying “Thank you, thank you, it’s over!” Dr. Fairbrother told us she had done very well and that she would be able to run and play and do everything a normal child could do in a few weeks. WOW what an answer to prayer.

Then the next stage began, we we’re able to go to the post-op room and see her. She looked so little and still as she slept off the anesthesia. We were told we needed to keep her still for 4 hours as the arteries in her legs and neck began to clot. Have you ever tried to keep a 4 year old still for four hour? Yeah, it’s near impossible. I’m not going to lie, Eden waking up during the post operation time was really hard. She was in pain, she didn’t understanding what was going on, or why she felt so weird. She wanted to go home. When you child pleads with you to hold her and take her home, it will break your heart. There were lots of tears shed by both of us.

As the anesthesia cleared her system, she began to feel a little better and then became hungry. About the same time we had a knock on the door and a mother and daughter from Hailey’s Army came and brought us dinner. We’re not sure how they got our name. The lady didn’t know either. She said she just wanted to help. It was such a surprise and blessing. It was great that we didn’t have to leave in shifts or go to the cafeteria, all we needed was right there in Eden’s room.
With a little food in her system, Eden really began to perk up. And she just got better and better. By 7:00 the next morning she was back to her old self, playfully shy and sweet, wanting her baby dolls and leap frog.

As we left the hospital we entered the last hard phase, keeping her inactive for 5 days. That was a tough challenge too. Keeping her from playing outside and wrestling her brother, some of her favorite activities, was hard. We are so very thankful Larry’s parents who helped during those days. I don’t know how we would have gotten through those days without their help.

We were also blessed by our church family and friends. We received so many phone calls, texts, Facebook messages, meals and visits. We were overwhelmed with love and prayers. There were so many people praying for us and we felt the power of those prayers during all of the phases of this trial. I’m not sure how we would have come through this without the support of these wonderful people. We felt truly deeply loved by our family, friends and community.

It’s been two weeks now and Eden is doing fantastic. Her incisions and bruises have healed. She takes a baby aspirin every day, but should be finished with those in a few more weeks. Larry and I agreed last night we have seen an increase in her energy level. Oh Boy, More energy!

Well, Bless Your Heart."

"Well, bless your heart.” I wish I had a dollar for all the times I’ve heard that lately. We would be rich. Not Bill Gates rich, but you get the point. I often have my three children with me where ever I go, the grocery store, church, Wal-mart, the park, the library. You know, where ever life in general takes us. People often ask how old they are and I tell them, 4, 2 and new. Then It comes, “Well, Bless your heart!” or my 2nd favorite, “Well you must have your hands full.”


Some people, like my wonderful Mother in law, bless my heart and it is a sweet term of endearment. It conveys care, concern, a level of compassion that makes you feel as if the individual blessing you cares for you and your situation. But most people bless my heart with much less enthusiasm for my young family. Often the bless you heart is the intro to how they feel about me having so many children so close in age. Like it is their kind way to pronounce judgment on my young and growing family.

I am amazed at how freely people joke around asking if we know how we got pregnant, or ask about birth control. To which I would love to reply something sarcastic right back, but in remembering that I’m a pastor’s wife and a reflection of Christ. I try to hold my tongue. A lady working in a department store told me three young children were too many. And I had another lady tell me before Christmas, She sure didn’t envy me. She then went on to tell me how she hated when her children were young.

Wow! I don’t want people to envy me, but I sure don’t want my children, (who were with me) to get the impression that this lady’s attitude and all the others are biblical. I want them to understand that children are a blessing from the Lord; That Larry and I are blessed to have them as our children. When people bless my heart I try to say I am indeed blessed. That I love my children, that I would rather be their momma than anything else in the world.

And the crazy thing is we only have three children! I wonder when it was that three children became too many? It was only two generations ago that large families were the norm. There are lots of families that I know of in my grandparents generations that had 8, 10 even 12 children. I wonder if those Mothers had their hearts blessed all the time.

If God chooses to bless us with more children, Larry and I would be thrilled. But He’ll need to give me thicker skin because I can only imagine how many more comments we will receive if we have 4 children. I should make a shirt that says, Yes, They are all mine, and I home school too! Just to get people really worked up!

Sitting Pretty/ 5 month update

Titus continues to amaze me with his fast growth and strength. He can now sit up by himself and is army crawling around the room. Gone are the days when I could leave him on a blanket and he be there when I return. He is weighing in at 18 lbs 10.5 oz., 26 inches tall. and wearing 9 month clothes. We grow big boys in the Gilbreath House!  

 I see a big boy car seat in out near future because He is almost to long and heavy to keep in his carrier car seat.  He is a smiling happy baby that loves to be held and is super cute when sucking his thumb. Thankfully, he only fusses when he's hungry or sleepy and he is also very ticklish. Sleeping through the night is still a goal, though I am trying to enjoy this sweet time with him.  Soon he'll be running aroun, and eating people food. The next thing I'll know he will be in college! 

My Little Reader

My children love to read. It brings me great joy that they look forward to us reading together and that they enjoy looking through books when they have free time. Josiah has a set of Winnie the Pooh books that has caught his interest.

The other day I told the kids we needed to go outside to enjoy the warm weather. I figured running and playing would ensue. Josiah surprised me by taking his Winnie the Pooh book up on the trampoline and reading it instead of jumping. My sweet little reader wanted to finish the story before he played.