Prayers, babies, and lots of LOVE

So my baby is officially one year old.
He's always going to be my baby.
He's so stinking sweet that I could really just eat him up!
We had so much fun at his birthday party and enjoyed celebrating his first year!

He's taught us so much in his first year.
He's taught us that a clean house doesn't make a happy home.
The family that loves one another in your home makes it a happy home.
He's taught us that patience is a learned virtue.
I now know that sleep deprivation is totally worth it when it comes to a newborn baby needing to be nursed :)
Oh, how I miss those days when he was so tiny.
He's learning more and more every single day.
It's amazing to watch him grow and learn!

He's also taught us that we want a large family.
With lots of kids.
We knew this already, before we married, but he makes it more obvious to us now.
He's so easy to love.

This gets me to the real point of this blog.
As many of you know, we were expecting a baby in Feb 2013.
We unfortunately lost that baby.
We are looking forward with hope to meeting that sweet baby one day in Heaven.

We also are looking for prayers right now.
We found out last week that we are expecting again.
This time to be due in late May.
Needless to say with this miscarriage having happened so recently, I am extremely nervous.
I have been more nervous since I found out then I have been in my life.
I have been sick, and extremely ILL.
My hormones have been insane for the past 2 1/2 weeks... (That's the first sign I had I might be pregnant)

My hormones haven't actually leveled out and I haven't been myself really since before, when I was pregnant in June.
I went to the doctor yesterday for them to check my hormone levels.
I'm anxious to hear back the results.

We are asking for prayers.
For this baby, and for us.
We have been on edge with worry hoping that everything with this pregnancy will work out.
Sadly, my hopes have not been too high.

We initially said we weren't going to tell anyone that we were expecting until we had a good result from an ultrasound.
My husband and I both felt that if something were to not end well, we would want the love and support from our family and friends.
We can't get that if you don't know what's going on with us.

We are asking for your prayers that the Lord's will be done in this pregnancy.
And that whatever his will is, we will have the strength to accept it.
We are thankful for every child God has/will give us.
Even if we never get the chance to hold them in our arms.
They will always be in our hearts.

** UPDATE**
We got the results back from the first blood work, and they said everything looks good on that!
We have an ultrasound set up for October 11th.
10/11/12 at 11:00 :) Hopefully that is good luck,
Because this Mama needs some good news! :)

Confessions

I have a confession to make.

I used to cringe when I would walk into someone's house and see toys scattered all around the floor.
I used to think to myself "Does that this mother/father ever pick up after their children? I mean seriously?"

My confession:

I am now one of those parents.

My floor is ALWAYS scattered with toys.
Jordan or I will pick them up every night after we put him in the bed....
But as soon as he is up, he goes straight to the basket of toys and pulls every single one out of the basket.
I guess there have been a lot of changes over the past year.
There are A LOT of things that change when you have children.
Your house.
Your car.
Your schedule.
Your method of raising children.
and most importantly YOURSELF.

This past year have been very eye opening and exciting for me.
It's hard for me to believe that it has been a year since R was born. (Or will be Friday)
Today marks the one year anniversary of the day they induced me in the hospital.
I remember that day and the days to follow so very well.
They will be the days I will always remember and cherish.

My advice to mothers expecting for the first time:
You never know how labor and delivery will go, but once you hold that sweet, healthy baby in your arms- NOTHING else matters.

I remember well the days of cuddling all day with Robert.
I would hold him ALL THE TIME.
I remember thinking to myself that "I need to put him down so he will gain some independence. "
(By the time he was about 5-6 months old I went through a 2 month long battle of putting him down and him screaming because he wanted to be held)
I still wouldn't change one single second of those days when I would hold him all day long.
I will always cherish those moments.
I miss them even now.

R is always on the go.
He's been trying to grow up too fast since the day he was born.
He's now walking and crawling so well.
He's more independent now than I was ever prepared for.
He is so wonderful and I thank God every single day for allowing me to be his mother.

I also pray for help being his mother.
This past year has really been an eye opener for me personally.
I have evaluated myself in a way I guess I've never really taken the time to do.
It's been a terrifying responsibility to know that I/we are responsible for raising this child "in the way he should go".
I have evaluated the way I need to go so that I can show R by example the way he needs to go.

This past year has made me more aware of the language I use in everyday.
I've never been one to use what the world would call "foul" language.
But, I realize there are some awful words that can come out of a child's mouth that their own Christian parents say every day without realizing it.
I cringe when someone says anything on this list of words that are off limits.
I've even had to ask many people not to say them in front of my child. Too often, I have kept silent on the matter... but I will no longer.

I have also become more aware of the content of what I am saying in front of, or around my child.
My mouth seems to always be getting me in trouble, and it's something I will continually be working on.
I still to this day speak before I think far too often.
I regret this more than anyone can really know.
It's something I pray about daily and something I know I must work on for R.
I want him to hear me encouraging and praising those around me daily.

I have a hard time giving/receiving compliments.
I still have not figured out why.
There are so many things I think that would compliment someone,but I keep to myself.
This is going to have to change.
I want to compliment and tell those around me what they mean to me.
I have been so encouraged by MANY sweet brothers and sisters in Christ at Villa Rica.
They are always encouraging me with their sweet words, when I am so unworthy.
I want my child to encourage and edify with his words, and he must learn from example!
"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." -1 Thessalonians 5:11

There are so many things about myself that I will continually be working on to become/be the Christian mother that I need to be.
I need the prayers of those around me that I can stay focused and to do what the Lord would have me to do.

I have so many wonderful examples to look up to at the Church at Villa Rica.
I have many wonderful examples in my own family that I will always be grateful for.
My parents are truly the greatest parents there have ever been. Hands down.
I thank God every day for the WONDERFUL Christian father, and for the sweet Christian mother I have been blessed with.
They help me every single day.
I can't think of one single time I have been around my father and he hasn't said something encouraging to me. Something as simple as "I'm proud of you" or "I love you."
I don't know if he will ever understand the impact those words have on me. But I thank God everyday for his sweet kind words. I thank God for the friendship I have with my Daddy. I am able to talk to him openly and tell him anything and I know he will give me advice that is Biblically sound. He encourages me and helps me in my Christian walk daily. I love him so much.
I will never be half the parent my parents are to me.
I am so blessed to have Godly parents to aspire to be like.

There are so many more people I could tell you that have encouraged me and made me want to be a better person. I can't name them all because I don't have the time to type it, and you don't have the time/want to read it.
But I do thank God for their encouragement every single day.

I look forward to this weekend and to R's first birthday.
If you've made it reading this blog this far, then keep a look out for pictures after this weekend :)
I hope everyone has a blessed day and thanks for reading all these random ramblings.

^"Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.^"  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen." -1 Peter 5:5-11

all in a day's work

Robert is walking.
I can't believe it.
It was his first two steps not even a week ago...
And now he's getting more confident and walking A LOT more.
He will be a year old next week.
It hurts my heart to say it.
Not in a bad way of course, I want him to grow up.
Just not quite so quickly.

I am so very very blessed to be able to stay home with him every day.
I know I say that all the time.
But I do thank God every single day for every moment he gives me with my sweet son.
Especially for the ability to not have to leave the house for a job, but to be able to do the job of "keeper of the home."

"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." Titus 2:4-5  Speaking of staying at home, Robert and I were eating leftover spaghetti yesterday for lunch and he was so cute, I just had to share! His feet were cracking me up!  He had to get a bath shortly after this lunch experience. This child not only eats like his mother, but he loves spaghetti like her too :) This morning I finished my fall/thanksgiving wreath! I am very happy with how it turned out! I'm not sure if I want to leave the "S" on there. What do you think??? I shared a previous post about homemade bread and wanted to share my first loaf that was absolutely yummy last week! My Mama found this bread machine at a thrift store for me for $10. It works like a charm! :)  This loaf of bread was my first encounter with it, and then I made pizza dough. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the dough before I made it into a pizza. But it was delicious with the buffalo chicken toppings!!

I am very much looking forward to making lots of yummy bread in the future! :)

Do I believe the Bible?

This post has been knocking around in my brain for a week now. I am sure by the end, I will feel it's incomplete.
That is because my knowledge of what I would like to share is completely incomplete.

So last Thursday in class, I had one of those "light bulb", "why didn't I make this connection before?", "kick in the pants" moment.
I was faced personally, with the question:

Do I really believe my Bible?

Such a simple, yet profound, question when it comes down to it.
The Teacher of this Class (My wonderful Daddy), said something that made everything click together. (Also, when this blog started forming in my mind)

He said: "You will hear many denominational preachers make the statement 'The Bible contains the Word of God'".
Think about this a moment... Oh how wrong this statement is, and how many it is misleading!
The Bible is the WORD OF GOD. It doesn't just "contain" the word of God.
We are told in 2 Timothy 3:16-
 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness"- KJV
I prefer the ESV on this verse as it defines "inspired" for us.
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" -ESV
In regards to "Scripture" I want to share from this article:
"The term “scripture” [graphe] denotes that which is written. But it is the words of the biblical text that are written; hence, the very words of the Bible are God-breathed."


Growing up in the Lord's Church, I have heard sermons on this every Sunday.
I have never doubted that the Bible is the WORD OF GOD.
But the other day, and in the recent months of serious Bible Study, I came to a conclusion I would like to share.

As a Christian, Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God?
Do you really believe the Word of God?

If we all thought about this every waking moment, we have to admit that our lives would be vastly different.

If you believe the Word of God:
Would you miss a worship service for a ball game, school, headache, job that is not necessary, or any of the various "excuses" one could come up with?
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." -Hebrews 10:25
(Exhort: Strongly encourage or urge (someone) to do something.)We must exhort one another to do WHAT is RIGHT and to "NOT forsake the assembling of ourselves".
I am strongly encouraging you to examine your life. To know if you are living the life God would have you to live.

For those of us with Children, Do we believe the Word of God?
If so:
Will we not take our Children to any/all of the gathering of Fellow Christians?
Would we not want them to grow up and know that God and his Church are the FIRST priority in our giving of money, time, and effort?
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
-Proverbs 22:6
What message are we sending to our Children when we put school work, ball games, headaches, ANY WORLDLY thing before God and his Church.

If we believe the Word of God:
Would we not feel the NEED and WANT to share the Gospel with EVERYONE we come in contact with?
"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." -Mark 16:15

If the Bible is the Word of God and we believe it:
Would we not study it SERIOUSLY every day? Would we not study when we have any free time?
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." -2 Timothy 2:15
I don't want to be ashamed of God's Word,I want to be "approved unto God".
I want to study the Bible so that I have an answer ready for anyone who asks!
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" 1 Peter 3:15


**I want you to know that my sins are many. I am in no way perfect. I am not writing this to let anyone think that I think myself better than anyone else. I am sharing this because I hope maybe it will help my Brothers and Sisters in Christ to examine their lives as I have been examining mine recently. I write this in hope that maybe someone else can benefit from my realization of my lack of knowledge of the Scriptures and join me in wanting to remedy this problem!







I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed day! Thanks for sticking with me and reading! It really means a lot to me :)

to every thing

Homemade Bread is pretty wonderful.
It has truly changed my perspective on Bread entirely.
That is, if you put the right amount of yeast.
I put some bread in my breadmaker last night with a timer.
I don't know if it's because I set a timer to start this morning, or if because I put too much yeast and tried to take some out.. but it was UGLY.
It turned out to be half the size of my previous yummy loaf. And it just doesn't look right. 
I was making bread for pulled pork sandwiches for lunch today during Church services.
I guess we will be using the leftover buns in the fridge.
Yesterday was a good day at the Parade. It was HOT outside.
Last night, it cooled off and it feels AMAZING today.
Fall is my favorite season of the year! Fall has been good to me the last few years. I got engaged in 2010, and had my sweet baby on the last day of Summer 2011. So I got to experience the joy of new motherhood during my FAVORITE time of the year!
Things I look forward to this Fall:
Continuing GA School of Preaching Classes
Hay Ride
Cool Weather
Camping
Delicious Baking
Homemade Hot Chocolate
Pumpkin Patch
Apple Picking
Thanksgiving
and the MANY wonderful things that accompany this time of year! :)
Oh, and I will hopefully be looking forward to Robert walking this Fall! He took his first steps Friday, and I can't wait for him to be more confident and do it again!

I just love it! I hope that everyone has a blessed day and week!

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-7

Time is filled with Swift Transition

I had a great day yesterday spending some time with a very sweet friend of mine from Church.
She is one of the sweetest people I know.
She helps me and encourages me more than I think she realizes.
Christian friends are the best.
I don't know if there is anything better in this world than friendship/love/fellowship with other Christians.

I really enjoyed my GA School of Preaching Class last night on the book of Hebrews.
I am looking forward very much to this class and the study of the book of Hebrews.
I am sad very sad for those who missed out on this class last night.
Last night in class I realized something that has been weighing on my mind a lot here lately... 
It is the fact that I waste ALOT of time.

Time that could be MUCH better spent serving the Lord and learning about his Word.
Time that could be spent teaching my child and those around me about the Word of God.
What do you do with your time?
Do you have a job that requires 40 hours a week away from home?
How do you "relax" in your time away from work?
Is it in front of a television, or a video game?
Maybe it's in front of a computer? As I am now.

Where does all of our time go?
I know that time has passed more quickly now that I am older, and even more so since R was born and I have been watching him grow faster than I thought possible.
I realize that I have wasted A LOT of time doing things not necessary.
The Lord could come back at any moment.

"Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

Matthew 24:42-44

Are we living our lives as if the Lord could come back at any moment?
 
What if we die before the Lord comes back?
Are we truly ready to meet God?

 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil."

2 Corinthians 5:10 

I have been thinking a lot about my heart, where it needs to be, and how I need to be spending my time. 

Facebook- not a way I need to be spending my time.

I blog so I can look back one day and remember the everyday of this time in my life.  

I facebook so I can see what's going on in everyone's lives. Neither of these are necessary.

(I hope that maybe one day I can reach someone through my blog with the Gospel)

I had a discussion with my cousin, and one of my best friends, not too long ago about wasting time. She, like myself, is a new mother and trying to learn how to manage her time wisely. That discussion has been in my mind every day since we had it a few weeks ago.

I can honestly say that I have made an effort since then to manage my time better. 

I most definitely do NOT manage my time as efficiently as I could/should.

But I do feel that it's getting better. 

Waking up early is one of those things that I feel helps me manage my time better.

I am able to spend more time reading God's word and in Prayer before the busy day begins and getting my mind where it needs to be. 

I am truly blessed to be able to stay at home with my child/children and teach them. I need to manage my time wisely because I will only have my sweet children for a limited time before they are grown and off in the world.

I'm going to stop worrying so much about having a perfectly clean house. As long as they have food to eat, clean clothes to wear, and somewhere they can sleep at night- I feel I have done a sufficient job in that area.

I want to save their souls. I want to make sure they have the right Christian upbringing and examples in their life to grow up and one day save not only their Children's souls but many/all they come in contact with.

I am going to get to managing my time better right now and get back to my study of God's word.

I hope that everyone who reads this will personally evaluate how they spend their time and what they prioritize in their life.

"Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."

Hebrews 2:1-4

 Let us NOT neglect our Salvation and do what God commands!

see the sunrise.

I believe coffee might be is the greatest thing of all time.
I made it up by 5:30 AM today.
That.is.an.accomplishment.
I had a conversation with a friend of mine last week who has just left her job to be a full-time Mommy to her two very sweet children. It went something like this:
Me: "I'm so happy to hear that you are able to be home with your kids!"
Her: "Yeah, starting Monday I'm going to get into a schedule of getting up at 6 AM, that's not too early, and get my Bible Study and things done before the kids wake up..."
Me: "Good luck with that, I'm lucky if I get up before 9 AM"

I have made this resolution many times.
To wake up before the sun has come up.
My goal: to do it every day.
Starting with today.
Here are my reasons:

• My husband has to get up at 5:30 to leave for work and wants to have breakfast with me.
• I can get my Bible Study done early in the morning (once I've had coffee) and my mind is alert.
• I can get my house cleaned (or most of it) before I have a child on my feet all day.
• The day lasts longer when I wake up earlier.
• If my friend can do it, (I know she will) then I certainly can try too!
• Last, but not least, I can get my blogging from the day before done and not have to do it late at night. :) 

 Yesterday was Labor Day.
I turned out to be mostly a non-labor day.
I was inspired by a facebook friend to RE-organize my pantry. I've done it so many times, but this time I had a good reason.
I wrote down everything we have in the pantry so that I can cook what we already have on hand and not WASTE so much money every week going to the grocery store. We've made it one week and one day so far. I'm going to make it hopefully last than 2 more weeks without going grocery shopping! :) *Except for milk, because we are almost out and that expires*

I also took inventory of everything in the fridge/freezer. I didn't take any pictures because I didn't organize that. I just wrote everything down on a piece of paper and now I have to work on making meals out of it all!
I sure do love saving me some money!

Robert got his very first haircut yesterday.
I thought I would cry, but I was able to hold it together :)
His daddy trimmed the back and around his ears, because it was getting too long.

 If you've ever wondered how to get a child's first haircut without having to hold them down, put them in a sink with a mirror. He LOVED IT!!!

 He did want to know what the sound was of the trimmers, but after he got used to it, he was  so good while his Daddy trimmed his hair.

 He even watched the camera and gave me some cute pictures!

 Here is the AFTER picture, you can't really tell much of a difference, but when I look at him he seems like such a grown child!

I asked him to smile with his new haircut after dinner, and this is what I got:

Then I tickled him, and this is what I got:

I LOVE this sweet child and I can't believe he will be a year old this month!

"For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him."

I Samuel 1:27

and then there were four.

I feel like I became a woman today.
Or a wife.
Or a mother.
Or a cook.
Or whatever you want to call it.
Because I finally made a pan of homemade biscuits, and they were Yummy. :)

They will never be as good as my Mama's biscuits, or even my Grandma's biscuits. But these biscuits, for me, were good.
I also made some strawberry freezer jam yesterday afternoon and we were able to eat it on hot buttered biscuits.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I will remember for future reference that 6 pints of strawberries makes more strawberry freezer jam than I imagined.

My sweet Husband painted our guest bathroom for me yesterday.
It was originally a horrible pink with flowered wallpaper when we moved in (too bad I don't have a picture of that!)
We painted it before Robert was born a brown color, and for me it was always a little too dark...

But I absolutely LOVE the color now! It's so light!!!

I never thought I would like blue in my house, but I love this!
I also LOVE the fact that it was free.
I found it at Lowe's in the "oops" paint section and it was only $5.
After I paid for it, it had a $5 rebate. So all I had to pay was the tax! Talk about a sweet deal!!

While I'm on the subject of sweet deals I thought would share a few sweet pictures of my R playing with Cornmeal in my living room last week.
My mama told me it was a good learning experience for him.
I know he sure did have fun and make a big mess.

I seriously think this may be the funniest, sweetest, cutest child I have ever known. (I might be a little biased :) )
Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; 

 let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 

 For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods. 

 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

For he is our God,
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand."

Psalm 95:1-7