Mrs. Sheila

Happy birthday America!!!!
What a grand place to live!!!

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We had a pitch in last night at work, which was fun.. we all ate until we thought we would pop from gluttony! LOL!
I do love my co workers, and I do love my job, but I miss being at home so very much. Being at home for my children and grandchildren. DH and I discussed it, and after this year, we are both slowing down. Taking time to "smell the roses" per say. I have absolutely NO free time this summer, due to school, work and other obligations, and DH has been trying to work extra to keep the house going, prepare for winter, and work a bit of overtime himself to get us out of a financial bind we've gotten ourselves into....
One exciting breakthrough is that...... although the financial *crash* time is almost here, we have enough money to pay the bill that is owed and we won't be garnisheed! YIPEE! God is soooo good.....

He does certainly provide us with what we need whenever the time arises, and we also have to trust in Him to provide understanding in yet another delimma. (We're full of 'em here!)

A friend of the family (friend... I use that term loosely) decided last night to verbally attack our daughter and son in law. Simply because our son in law did not agree with this person's political views.
I have personally been attacked twice by this person, and choose not to have any further dealings with him based on this fact, but now to have my child attacked too? I am angry to say the least, and wonder what kind of venom is going to be spewed forth this time? How long until he comes crawling back begging forgiveness and promising to never do it again this time? Will our daughter accept an apology (I don't think so)? Will this person MEAN it IF he does apologize?
Isn't there a verse, "For out of the mouth the heart speaketh?"

Here it is... I found it:

Select for Copy; Double click to (de-)select all

Mat 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Huh.

Guess now we know how he really feels (and has felt) about us all the while..... but that's ok. We still have each other, and always will. We're a family. A true family.

And again..... as we celebrate the unity of America on this day (One nation, under GOD, indivisible).... we can also celebrate the unity of a family (One nation, under GOD, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.)
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the republic
for which it stands,
one nation
under God
indivisible
with liberty
and justice for all....

Due Date And More...

Today was another mile-stone for us. We had our first OB appointment with the High Risk specialist. The appointment was 3 hours long and quite eventful.

We started out at the desk where we filled out the usual paperwork and back I went to run to the bathroom stop. I went into a room on my own as the nurse (Karen) asked for information. I am 35 now, and not considered a spring chicken anymore, so they asked right away for genetic testing and an Amnio. I denied the tests and signed papers denying each genetic test. While I'm sure they have their reasons for them, I find no cause for us to have them. If God created this little Miracle and has since continued to care for him or her, I am faithfully trusting HE will know best and there is no reason to cause fear and discontentment. God doesn't create trash and thus, our baby is wanted no matter the outcome. While we pray our baby is healthy and happy, we also accept it's diversity if he or she has a genetic predisposition. I find no good in this testing for me and actually put more trust that God knows what He is doing with the miracle He has created as our Great Physician. Praise Be To God for such a miraculous creation!

My husband was brought in the room shortly after, where we discussed insulin questions and agreed to focus on getting the "pump" for insulin regulation. We want to keep this baby safe and having regular "good" readings through pump regulation will help lessen a WHOLE lot of stress. So I'm doing the paperwork as we speak, will call the company on Monday who will get the ball rolling with our insurance company ((please pray Pomco doesn't give us any problems. The sooner I get on the insulin pump, the better and healthier it is for me AND the baby)). If all goes well, in a month or two, I will be hospitalized for 2-3 days to place the cathetor and pump inlay. I'm hospitalized because I'm pregnant and they MUST watch the baby.

After our questions were answered, I asked if they would give me a sonogram to date the baby and make sure our baby was doing well. We got into the room, and the Dr. couldn't see anything or hear anything. My heart skipped a beat...but I just kept praying that God would again provide a miracle to see the baby and hear his or her heartbeat so early.

He got up and asked to have a pelvic sonogram done to get a closer look. While we waited, I had the basic checkup done, breast exam, paps, heart rate, etc. Then was led to the room with the sono technician.

She too had a hard time seeing the baby and then had me put both hands under my back and lift my bum up. Sure enough...there was our wee little one with a heart. The heart monitor was flat and I began to pray again to ask God to help us hear the babys heartbeat. Please God....Let us hear the babys heartbeat. Bless us dear Father with Your presence. Give us confirmation though many have said it's too early. Sure enough......We heart the heart beating. Praise God! 129 was the heart rate. Not only was there a heartbeat, but a GOOD heart rate. We prayed and God answered.

Shortly after, we found out we are 6w3d and are due February 23, though the Dr. is confident it will be earlier. Would you believe our Wedding anniversary is February 9th? What a blessed month in February....when most find winter to be a time of death and spring to be a rebirth, I have found nothing but LIFE in the winter. God has been VERY good to us and my life is an absolute testimony to His grace, love, protection and mercy. I do not deserve anything I have, yet I am blessed by His gifts and am content where we ARE.

3 July 2009.

June 2, 2009

anxious heart...July 2, 2009

Tomorrow (Friday) at 1045am, we'll be going to the high risk OB for a checkup, to deal with the diabetes numbers as well as maybe fit in an ultrasound to date the baby.

We could really use your continued prayers. We're praying our little one is developing on target and HCG numbers are continuing to double. I pray daily with thanksgiving for our little miracle and ask the Lord to strengthen my womb as the baby's home for 8 months and help give me an environment with less tension.

God is good and I know He created this miracle. Seeing other women who have PCOS as I do and hearing their excitement tailed with skepticism is making me slightly anxious though. I have had to take several steps back from mothering sites with women who deal with PCOS as I do. I just find it hard to keep faith in Gods plan and not look to the "what if's".

I'm early and sometimes I have wondered why I'm not feeling this way or that way. But in the end, I know God is creating and developing this little miracle and I cannot RUSH Him, nor should I question or control His outcome. I have gathered over the years that HE knows best and loves me SO much. This waiting stuff has me out of my comfort zone. I cannot control my surroundings, nor any outcome. Isn't it just like God to say, "hey! I created YOU, I know what I'm doing and you need to get your hands out of the control box and let ME do what I DO".

I can hear His gentle voice reassuring me that all is well and think of how much I REALLY love my Heavenly Father.

At a time when everything is up in the air, HE is the only thing that is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I can ALWAYS count on Him and HE gives me peace in my spirit.

Even as I type this, I see my Title and think, what have I got to be anxious for? God says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; -Philippians 4:6

Thanks for listening as I share my heart with you today. I look forward to tomorrow with hopes that we will see our little one in the ultrasound and hear his or her heartbeat for the first time. Oh Lord, Hear my prayer.....please grant me this desire to hear my babys heartbeat and for us both to see that he or she is doing well under YOUR great hands as The Great Physician. Thank you for this gift Lord and thank you for the greatest gift of Salvation. I pray our child/ren will grow up seeking YOU and be Godly young men and women. To YOU be the Glory Father. Praise be to God. Amen!

July 2nd, 2009

The Nursery Decor

So we haven't got a home yet, but I'm having fun coming up with ideas for the nursery that are gender neutral.

I would like my walls a darker kahki with white crown molding in the middle. I'd like a mural of Beatrix Potter at least on one side of the wall. This is the one I've chosen so far. The site has wonderful ideas.

Pics from camp meeting

I didn't have my camera with all the time, but here are a few pics of our time at camp meeting.

This is Megan and Linda. We brought Linda with us. It was her first time to camp meeting and she really enjoyed it. The car ride is long and the girls listened to some music and watched a DVD on the way, I believe.

This is Paige sleeping in the carseat. Car rides are especially long for her.... construction took us on a couple detours that we hadn't planned for.

The girls were just talking at the memorial park at the academy. This was one of Paige's favorite places to stop (It was also just before her class, so we had to keep her focused as to where she was going).

These three are Paige on the homemade waterslide. They have a sewn form underneath. They cover it with a heavy plastic sheet. Squirt dish soap on the plastic and run water down from the top and half way down to keep the plastic wet. The kids get to sliding down quite fast and at first Paige wasn't too sure about it, but she enjoyed it a bit more each time. Paige rode down on her tummy; she rode down backwards; she rode down with a noodle; she rode down with friends. She only quit because they got the popsicles out and it was time to go. She was chilly (they use just water from a hose), but had a big smile on her face. Here's some more fun water shots...

Snack time... popsicles again... it was a really hot day this day! The kids and MOM's were glad for this snack!

Paige is in upper row, still in story time. They held their classes in the music rooms so the Kindergarteners could sit on the risers. They used the new SDA readers from the new reading program. Paige really enjoyed them and wants them... now where to find them...

Last one, the kids sang in the adult auditorium one evening. Paige started out in front, but later got pushed to the back when the kids wanted to get on the microphone (which was off... the adults know better!) Paige's class had between 45 and 60 kids each day... more on Sabbath.

Sorry it was mostly all Kindergarten adventures... that's where I had my camera... I didn't bring it to the other meetings! I didn't even take a picture of our camp site... and I try to do that each year...

June 29th

I'm unsure exactly how far along I am. The testing a couple of weeks ago said I was 4 or 5 weeks along. Right now, I could be 6 or 7 weeks. I would LOVE to be 7 weeks along. I'd just like to get out of the first trimester where there could be complications. I say could be as I have been told in the beginning the numbers were low and I could miscarry. Ever since, I've tried to hold back a bit. HOWEVER, this is Gods little miracle and He's planned this according to HIS plans for HIS glory. There is purpose. So I continue to put my faith and trust in HIM. This little miracle wouldn't have happened without Him.

I have an appointment on Friday with the prenatal high risk specialist. Because I am a type II diabetic, I have to be closely monitored. My sugars are somewhat higher than I'd like them to be, but aren't anywhere near what they've been in the past. I've been EXTREMELY strict with myself. Getting rid of sugar substitutes and having tea or water. I have slipped an iced coffee or two, but nothing obsessive and I care more about this little life growing inside me, than I do of my own cravings.

For the most part, I'm not sure I have any right now. I know I LOVE salads. This is the season for all kinds of salads, pasta salads, fruit salads, green salads, etc. My favorite are green salads with chicken and SPICEY ranch. YUMMY. Mexican, I LOVE mexican spicey meals too. I've liked them before, but they just taste good to me right now. I'm out on whether this is a craving just yet.

Doug seems to amaze me with each new day. At first, he was distant a little. I think part of it was the surprise of it all, another part was the potential of losing this little miracle and last, maybe not being able to feel first-hand what is going on in my body.

With each new day though, He's becoming quite the doting husband and daddy. He has been doing more things to be sure I don't lift anything too heavy or do anything too strenuous. His mind is spread thin with getting re-preapproved for a home of our own, having moved from his parents to our friends home for awhile and in a month or two, moving again somewhere all while dealing with a pregnant wife and watching out for our little one. The thought of a new life to be responsible for may be an issue for him too.

As each day comes, he's been more and more involved in fun things. Looking online to see what the baby looks like at this stage, coming up with names and helping figure out what we'll need for baby in the future. I think all in all, the most important is nurturing baby though. Material things aren't as important as taking care of baby. We are excited though to see what our little cutie looks like and who he or she will turn out to be. My only hope, is that he/she/they come to know the greatest gift in life through Jesus Christ. To raise our son or daughter to Love God and Serve Him. Our baby after all, is HIS. He created him or her and blessed us with such an awesome little miracle that it's hard to comprehend any other way other than Gods way to create such a beautiful little baby. Praise God for all He has created.

So friday is our appointment and I'm praying they'll do a sonogram early to be able to date our little baby.

Please continue to pray God will strengthen him or her, the numbers will continue to grow, and we'll have a happy, healthy baby in 8 months.

Well, I am back, so hopefully I can get back to blogging!

We attended camp meeting in MN. We had a good time. Well, we had a trying time for the first half. We discovered that Paige truly does have a problem with food coloring.... red affecting her the worst. We had allowed her to get some of those Koolaid packets for water bottles and the purple caused her stool to turn bright green and she pooped SOOOO much, poor kid. Then she tried a red one and man-O-man, did she get extremely naughty. Rolling around on the floor, saying she hated class, she wanted to leave...the only thing she enjoyed was running around during activity time in her class... and run she did... I think she felt so wired that was the only way she could feel normal. So, we took the food coloring away and I missed a couple meetings trying to manage a little one that refused to obey. Once it wore off... she returned to her pleasant and obedient self. Dh saw the reaction and decided that she really does have a problem and we will go back to natural food colorings again. *God is good!*

The meetings I got to attend were very good and I'm glad I got to attend the ones I did. Others sounded interesting, but Paige needed me to be there in her class, so I stayed with her. (She ran away once while I turned my attention to a little girl in her class and I looked up and she was gone... apparently a boy had taken the ball away from her and she got upset and decided to pout on the other side of the building (This was when still on the food coloring). I decided to stay and keep tabs, since no one else saw her escape from class, either. I did have fun with the Kindergarten class... they need helpers anyways to manage all those kids. And by the middle of the week, Paige was again enjoying her class, which made it better for me as well.

Camp meeting is such a blessing for me. Some years I enjoy the messages with pure joy. Some years, I am sorely aware that I need to make some changes and repentence is strongly felt. This year was one of those years. It was not a sad time, though, but one that really refreshed my walk with God. That can never be a bad thing. *Ü*

Later, I felt a need to apologize to a few at camp meeting for making a teasing comment... which they took lightly anyways, but I felt bad that I had joked... teasing is not a gift of mine and I don't take teasing well myself, so while apologizing, I felt impressed to encourage a couple gals and they both cried tears at needing to hear what I had said. Crazy... I likely wouldn't have encouraged them, had I not felt the need to apologize for teasing them... and it appeared to be just what they needed. *God is so good!*

Coming back home was nice, although I saw that I had a HUGE job ahead of me. I still am not finished cleaning out the camper, as the first week back it was high 80's and high 90's with high humidity and no wind... not a breath of wind... my laundry just did not dry and it was all over the house (trying to dry)! With the high temps and high humidity, brought scattered storms which kept me from doing too much in the garden. I did go out and attempt to weed, until I was sinking in mud and causing more problems being out there then if I just left it alone until the ground would tolerate me walking in the garden!

I did get a trip in to pick strawberries, which was wonderful! We made freezer jam, which didn't set, but I hadn't made it before, so I am unsure when the pectin sets... I want to pick one more day and get enough berries to make some cooked jam... and more in the freezer for smoothies!

The garden was a bit depressing for me. Today I got a lot accomplished in the garden. But in looking at what was lost from weeds or seeds simply not coming up... I think we lost 1/3 of our garden. We tilled the corn, beans and okra areas under and will try to replant and hopefully the seeds will grow this time around. The other rows of cabbage and beets and swiss chard and peppers... and other things... had about 3-5 plants per row (15-20 feet per row). So, I have most of that weeded and hope to replant in the blank spots after the other seeding is done. It is not all bad... my box garden looks very good, except for my pepper box... I lost all but 2 of those... the water jug tops we cover them with didn't allow any moisture in the box, so they dried up... That was weird since I cover things in the large garden with water jugs (with the top open) and they do just fine.

All in all, I think our gardening is going much better than in past years. (even with the corn, bean and okra loss). Layering seems to be quite helpful in slowing down the weeds. The vine garden is doing quite well. We are in the process of trying to find something to layer over the ground to keep it from weeding up when the vines spread out. The onions are doing well. And I've already enjoyed fresh lettuce, spinach and arugula. Today I harvested my first radish... so things are growing!

I truly have garden hands... they have been scrubbed and they are sore, but they are still stained green and there is a dark staining in the lines of my hands. I think I will cut my nails and head off for bed.