Monday, December 29, 2008
A really good problem!
Have you ever had a GOOD problem? It doesn't happen much but it did this week. Last week was absolutely insane for us. Eight days in a row we were either going somewhere or we had overnight visitors. While I feel very blessed by all of the love that our family shows us and even enjoy watching the kids get a little bit spoiled, there are times that I just get overwhelmed by it all. I suppose that being exhausted from everything was a big part of it. So on Saturday afternoon, I set out to reclaim my house. A week of entertaining, being gone and having new toys and gadgets all over the house was really getting to me. At one point, I looked at Brad and said, I don't even know where to start so I'm gonna go upstairs and change my clothes and check my email. He laughed and told me that was a good start! haha! But seriously, it was all I could think to do so that's where I started. It was then that it suddenly hit me....you know, this is a GOOD problem you have. Your kids are healthy, you've had a great Christmas and you all managed to stay healthy over the holiday so just calm down, it will all get put away and cleaned up. I must admit, it was good advice I gave myself because I had it all knocked out in about 2 hours! Yippee!
Surviving December
Whew! What a month December has been. Despite cold weather, December is my favorite month, I think. I love Christmas time and all the sights and sounds. I love celebrating the life of the Christ child and all that he represents. Most of all, I love going to church (I love going to church all year, but especially during advent!) Well, this December did not prove to be very cooperative with that this year. We only made it to one church service this month and it was AFTER Christmas.
The first Sunday of the month, we got up, ready and left but the road conditions were terrible and we ended up choosing safety over church that day so we came home. The second Sunday we were sick. It seemed as if the kids and I spent the entire first three weeks sick with colds and infections. Most certainly not the best time of year to be sick! And the third Sunday, we had our power knocked out in the middle of the night and were up with kids from that point on. Yes, that night, we had Brad's mom staying with us so Gabby slept with me and Brad took the couch. The first thing that woke me up was Gabby falling out of bed and if you're a parent, you already know that she was not going to fall out of a sleigh bed and go back to sleep. About 5 minutes after that, the power went out...I waited, waited, waited and nothing. Brad's mom soon woke up because her breathing machine had stopped on her and from that point, we were all up. Carson was also sick with ear and throat infection so he woke up not feeling well as he hadn't been sleeping through the night for a little while.
It took the power over 2 hours to come back on but thankfully it did and by that time it was 6a.m. and everyone was hungry and a little chilly so I fired up the stove and made eggs for everyone. We all went back to bed at 7 and the kids and I slept until 11! Ahh....I was able to catch up on some sleep...somewhat.
So by this point, I am thinking...o.k. at least I'll get to go to the Christmas Eve. service and then we'll drive up to mom and dad's to spend the night as we had planned to have Christmas early so my brother's girlfriend could return to Fort Wayne as she had to work. Well, that morning, I got a call that my brother had slid off the road. No one knew his exact location and he had also gotten out of his car to start walking to get a ride and fell on ice. We knew he was hurt but didn't know how badly and didn't know if he was able to get back up or not. A scary thought when your loved one is stranded somewhere and you don't even know where to go to find them.
Long story short......we then didn't know the extent of his injuries, he hurt his shoulder. A good samaritan came along and took him to the hospital. The doctor was talking possible rotary cuff injury but didn't know. Brian was also scheduled to fly to Florida on Friday. He ended up o.k. but weather reports were predicting icy roads in the afternoon and evening so mom and dad felt we should leave early or not come. So.....we packed up early and left for their house early afternoon and so we didn't get to attend church services. An interesting thing though, I have found as I grow older, my faith grows so much stronger and so even though I didn't make it to church much in December, I still found Christ throughout the entire month. I still felt his presence and I still was able to celebrate in a deep and wonderful way! I saw him in the way our Mops group came together to give Christmas to a couple that had many needs. I saw him in my children and the excitement they had and how Gabby is really starting to grasp the TRUE meaning of the season. I saw Him in so many ways and it was awesome!
I hope you were all able to do the same amid all the running around this month! So many people have the opinion that if you go to church on Sunday, you're going to heaven. While this may be one of the criteria, I don't think it's the going through the motions of attending that get us there, it's what we do every day of the week that really matters!
The first Sunday of the month, we got up, ready and left but the road conditions were terrible and we ended up choosing safety over church that day so we came home. The second Sunday we were sick. It seemed as if the kids and I spent the entire first three weeks sick with colds and infections. Most certainly not the best time of year to be sick! And the third Sunday, we had our power knocked out in the middle of the night and were up with kids from that point on. Yes, that night, we had Brad's mom staying with us so Gabby slept with me and Brad took the couch. The first thing that woke me up was Gabby falling out of bed and if you're a parent, you already know that she was not going to fall out of a sleigh bed and go back to sleep. About 5 minutes after that, the power went out...I waited, waited, waited and nothing. Brad's mom soon woke up because her breathing machine had stopped on her and from that point, we were all up. Carson was also sick with ear and throat infection so he woke up not feeling well as he hadn't been sleeping through the night for a little while.
It took the power over 2 hours to come back on but thankfully it did and by that time it was 6a.m. and everyone was hungry and a little chilly so I fired up the stove and made eggs for everyone. We all went back to bed at 7 and the kids and I slept until 11! Ahh....I was able to catch up on some sleep...somewhat.
So by this point, I am thinking...o.k. at least I'll get to go to the Christmas Eve. service and then we'll drive up to mom and dad's to spend the night as we had planned to have Christmas early so my brother's girlfriend could return to Fort Wayne as she had to work. Well, that morning, I got a call that my brother had slid off the road. No one knew his exact location and he had also gotten out of his car to start walking to get a ride and fell on ice. We knew he was hurt but didn't know how badly and didn't know if he was able to get back up or not. A scary thought when your loved one is stranded somewhere and you don't even know where to go to find them.
Long story short......we then didn't know the extent of his injuries, he hurt his shoulder. A good samaritan came along and took him to the hospital. The doctor was talking possible rotary cuff injury but didn't know. Brian was also scheduled to fly to Florida on Friday. He ended up o.k. but weather reports were predicting icy roads in the afternoon and evening so mom and dad felt we should leave early or not come. So.....we packed up early and left for their house early afternoon and so we didn't get to attend church services. An interesting thing though, I have found as I grow older, my faith grows so much stronger and so even though I didn't make it to church much in December, I still found Christ throughout the entire month. I still felt his presence and I still was able to celebrate in a deep and wonderful way! I saw him in the way our Mops group came together to give Christmas to a couple that had many needs. I saw him in my children and the excitement they had and how Gabby is really starting to grasp the TRUE meaning of the season. I saw Him in so many ways and it was awesome!
I hope you were all able to do the same amid all the running around this month! So many people have the opinion that if you go to church on Sunday, you're going to heaven. While this may be one of the criteria, I don't think it's the going through the motions of attending that get us there, it's what we do every day of the week that really matters!
Monday, December 8, 2008
4 going on 16
Just had to share a conversation that Gabby and I recently had. To set the stage, I have a few houses that I clean on Wednesday's and Friday's so on Friday morning, I leave and go clean and then return home in time to take Gabby to preschool. Here's what was said:
I'm sitting at the counter eating lunch. I am wearing an old blue jogging suit. Gabby approaches and sits beside me at the counter.
Gabby: "I hope you're not planning to wear that when you drop me off at school."
Stacy: "Well, I don't have enough time to change so yeah, this is what I'm wearing."
Gabby: "Well, the teachers are gonna smell you."
Stacy: "I'm not gonna get that close to your teachers."
Gabby: "They're still gonna smell you."
Stacy: "Too bad, it's time to go."
I just had to laugh to myself, knowing this is most likely not the last time we will have a conversation like that.
I'm sitting at the counter eating lunch. I am wearing an old blue jogging suit. Gabby approaches and sits beside me at the counter.
Gabby: "I hope you're not planning to wear that when you drop me off at school."
Stacy: "Well, I don't have enough time to change so yeah, this is what I'm wearing."
Gabby: "Well, the teachers are gonna smell you."
Stacy: "I'm not gonna get that close to your teachers."
Gabby: "They're still gonna smell you."
Stacy: "Too bad, it's time to go."
I just had to laugh to myself, knowing this is most likely not the last time we will have a conversation like that.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Meet Lucky!
Meet Lucky! He is the sole survivor
Of a set of triplet goats. The mother that
delivered the triplets did not have enough
milk to feed him so my dad has literally
taken him in and he lives in my parents'
basement in a large plastic tote. Lucky
has to be bottle fed every 2 hours so as
you can imagine, he is kind of like taking
care of an infant.
I had made up my mind Thankgiving night that the kids and I were going to stay home (Brad had to work at my parent's place of business) and I was going to finish getting Christmas decorations out and clean up the house. On Thanksgiving night, we received a call from my dad, which came as no surprise. He has not missed calling our house more than 2-3 consecutive days since the day Gabby was born! However, this call was different. He had something he wanted to tell Gabby. If you know Gabby, she can sometimes be selective about who she talks to on the phone, my dad and brother are not on her list of favorites to talk to...for whatever reason. So she actually took the call and got the news about 2 baby goats that grandpa had living at his house. It's pretty obvious that Brad and I have passed on our love for animals to Gabby and she immediately wanted to go see "Hope" and "Lucky". I tried to hold her off thinking that in the morning she would have forgotten about it but there was no such luck. She woke me up on Friday with the words..."Good morning, Mom. Can we go see the baby goats today?" As I pryed my eyes open, trying to get my bearings, I told her that if she was really good, and let me get some things done, we'd go see the goats. So....we left Ft. Wayne around noon and made the treck to Shipshewana.
Sadly, when we arrived, we found "Hope" had died which was not unexpected as her chances for survival were slim but there stood Lucky bellering like he hadn't been fed in days and wagging his tail. I took him upstairs and gave him a bath and fluffed up his coat and Gabby about jumped out of her skin waiting to play with him. The tears that she shed for Hope had been replaced with laughter and giggles over the life that had been spared in Lucky. She was able to feed him a couple of bottles before we left and is already asking when she can go back. She's talked to my dad more on the phone today than ever before in her life and I think my dad is eating it up! As you can see in the pictures, she had a blast. The sweetest thing from the whole experience is that now when she prays at night, she asks God to send the angels to come and get Lucky's sister.
Of a set of triplet goats. The mother that
delivered the triplets did not have enough
milk to feed him so my dad has literally
taken him in and he lives in my parents'
basement in a large plastic tote. Lucky
has to be bottle fed every 2 hours so as
you can imagine, he is kind of like taking
care of an infant.
I had made up my mind Thankgiving night that the kids and I were going to stay home (Brad had to work at my parent's place of business) and I was going to finish getting Christmas decorations out and clean up the house. On Thanksgiving night, we received a call from my dad, which came as no surprise. He has not missed calling our house more than 2-3 consecutive days since the day Gabby was born! However, this call was different. He had something he wanted to tell Gabby. If you know Gabby, she can sometimes be selective about who she talks to on the phone, my dad and brother are not on her list of favorites to talk to...for whatever reason. So she actually took the call and got the news about 2 baby goats that grandpa had living at his house. It's pretty obvious that Brad and I have passed on our love for animals to Gabby and she immediately wanted to go see "Hope" and "Lucky". I tried to hold her off thinking that in the morning she would have forgotten about it but there was no such luck. She woke me up on Friday with the words..."Good morning, Mom. Can we go see the baby goats today?" As I pryed my eyes open, trying to get my bearings, I told her that if she was really good, and let me get some things done, we'd go see the goats. So....we left Ft. Wayne around noon and made the treck to Shipshewana.
Sadly, when we arrived, we found "Hope" had died which was not unexpected as her chances for survival were slim but there stood Lucky bellering like he hadn't been fed in days and wagging his tail. I took him upstairs and gave him a bath and fluffed up his coat and Gabby about jumped out of her skin waiting to play with him. The tears that she shed for Hope had been replaced with laughter and giggles over the life that had been spared in Lucky. She was able to feed him a couple of bottles before we left and is already asking when she can go back. She's talked to my dad more on the phone today than ever before in her life and I think my dad is eating it up! As you can see in the pictures, she had a blast. The sweetest thing from the whole experience is that now when she prays at night, she asks God to send the angels to come and get Lucky's sister.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
I just wanted to write and say Happy Thanksgiving! So many times we (myself included, note the Christmas backdrop) overlook this special holiday and move right on to stressing about getting all those gifts bought when we need to take time to focus on all that we have to be grateful for. So..in honor of Thankgiving, a few things that I am thankful for:
2 healthy and beautiful children
1 wonderful and loving husband. I am living the life I dreamed of when I was growing up. Thank you, Brad for making all my dreams come true. I am so blessed to have you walk beside me in this journey we call life! Don't know what I would do without you! You work so hard for our family and even when you're tired from work and I am headed out for the evening, you never complain or even call to see when I am going to be home. You are the love of my life!
Parent's that love us and support us in our parenting and life's struggles, no matter what the issue. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you all! You are all wonderful grandparent's to our children too! They are so blessed!
My health! Wow, we don't think about it until we have a small sniffle and then we complain of how miserable we are when there are people who are terminally ill and have a better attitude than I do. thank you God for good health.
Siblings...I have been blessed with a brother and sister and a sister-in-law that has loved and accepted me from the time she met me. You guys are all wonderful and I also want to thank you for treating our kids like they are your own. You all mean so much!
Lauren, you have grown up so much since the day I met you! Keep your head on straight, you are going to go far!
To Josh, who is going to join our family in June.....welcome to the family! We love you and you make a great addition! Take great care of my sister or you'll have to answer to me!
Whitney, you are so sweet and I love ya!
Last but not least, thank you God, for giving us life and the promise of eternity in Heaven with you. I hope when I'm standing at the gates, you will say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." I love you!
I hope you will take the time to think of the things you are grateful for in your life. Be blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!
2 healthy and beautiful children
1 wonderful and loving husband. I am living the life I dreamed of when I was growing up. Thank you, Brad for making all my dreams come true. I am so blessed to have you walk beside me in this journey we call life! Don't know what I would do without you! You work so hard for our family and even when you're tired from work and I am headed out for the evening, you never complain or even call to see when I am going to be home. You are the love of my life!
Parent's that love us and support us in our parenting and life's struggles, no matter what the issue. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you all! You are all wonderful grandparent's to our children too! They are so blessed!
My health! Wow, we don't think about it until we have a small sniffle and then we complain of how miserable we are when there are people who are terminally ill and have a better attitude than I do. thank you God for good health.
Siblings...I have been blessed with a brother and sister and a sister-in-law that has loved and accepted me from the time she met me. You guys are all wonderful and I also want to thank you for treating our kids like they are your own. You all mean so much!
Lauren, you have grown up so much since the day I met you! Keep your head on straight, you are going to go far!
To Josh, who is going to join our family in June.....welcome to the family! We love you and you make a great addition! Take great care of my sister or you'll have to answer to me!
Whitney, you are so sweet and I love ya!
Last but not least, thank you God, for giving us life and the promise of eternity in Heaven with you. I hope when I'm standing at the gates, you will say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." I love you!
I hope you will take the time to think of the things you are grateful for in your life. Be blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Popcorn Party
I just thought this was too cute not to post. A couple of weeks ago, Brad was working late so I let the kids have a late afternoon snack, which I rarely EVER do so they wanted popcorn. I gave them their popcorn and went about some business in the kitchen. A few minutes later, I noticed it was SO QUIET and if you're a mom, that is almost like a fire alarm going off. I went into the family room to see what was going on and there they both were, sitting on the floor with their kool-aid and popcorn, just hangin out. It really is starting to get easier since Carson is getting older. There are times when they will just play so well together and I sit back and remember dreaming of these days before I even ever became pregnant with Carson! 
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
An Historic Day
You didn't have to go far today to know what the buzz around town was! Voting! I set out this morning around 7:30 to vote, totally anticipating a long wait. I arrived at the church and saw the line back to the door...ugh! Somehow, I live in an area that got scooted right along in line and was back out and on my way back home by 8a.m. Pretty good! Without a doubt, this was a very historic day. Regardless of where the votes fell, either winner was going to make history today. I am optimistic of where our country is headed and whether you are or not is totally your opinion and I respect you for it. All I am asking you to do now is pray...pray for our new leader, pray for our country. We are not in good shape right now and while we could be a lot worse, we could be better too! So take a minute and thank God for this wonderful country you were born into or came into and pray that he guides our new leaders next year!
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