Something someone said on Facebook recently brought this verse to mind. Sadly, there has been a lot of negativity floating around Facebook what with the election and all. It gets so wearing to be around and even more so to constantly read about. Unfortunately, a lot of it is from Christians.
I understand negativity. We can't be happy all the time and to be honest I've often thought I was a glass half empty kind of person myself. I've lately been striving to look at things in a more positive perspective and working even harder to remind myself daily that God is faithful.
That's not to say it won't take a lot of work on my part. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 it says, "we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." That's powerful and difficult. It's very easy to allow our emotions to control us, our thoughts, our actions and our outlook on life, but emotions are unreliable. So we are told to take them captive, we need to control them, and make them obedient to Christ and his reign.
I've learned quickly when I give in to my emotions and thoughts, more often then not I wind up focused only on myself and what I do not have. Becoming very discontent leads to anger, sadness, self-righteousness, bitterness....it's just unhealthy. It's more clear and urgent to me now because I have a husband and kids who are also affected by it.
I hope during the holiday season you and I can learn to control our negative thoughts and feelings and align them with Christ's, where they are full of joy (not happiness but at peace knowing Christ is in control). But even more I hope we can make this a daily occurrence throughout the year. Our actions and words reflect our heart attitude. What's yours like today?
Monday, November 19, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Nailed it!
I saw this on Pinterest and showed it to Jon. We laughed pretty hard for a few minutes and then I thought, "This is a great image of life sometimes."
We can have the best of intentions, with great ideas and seemingly beautiful results but when put in to practice, things turn out awful. I find this happening with parenting most often.
And when those moments happen I hope I can be the kind of person who can take a step back for a moment, humble myself and then laugh saying, "Nailed it!" Sarcastically of course.
Things happen and don't often work out the way I intend but I can't allow that one thing gone wrong to ruin my day or make me feel guilty. Life's too short for that. I must learn and move on.
We can have the best of intentions, with great ideas and seemingly beautiful results but when put in to practice, things turn out awful. I find this happening with parenting most often.
And when those moments happen I hope I can be the kind of person who can take a step back for a moment, humble myself and then laugh saying, "Nailed it!" Sarcastically of course.
Things happen and don't often work out the way I intend but I can't allow that one thing gone wrong to ruin my day or make me feel guilty. Life's too short for that. I must learn and move on.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
4 Months
When Hadley was born I was doing a blog a month for those interested, mainly family, in her development.
I feel as though Emma is just getting short changed all around. She doesn't get the one-on-one time Hadley got with us. I stayed home more with Hadley to keep her on a good schedule and it worked SO WELL. Poor Emma gets trucked around with some semblance of a regular eat-play-sleep routine.
One thing I can say for Emma is she handles things like a champ. She hardly ever fussed in the NICU, except for when they were sticking her with needles. She really didn't cry much at home. When she woke up or was hungry she'd whine a little and we usually knew exactly what she needed. Just in the past three weeks she's started her "fussy evening" time. So we can expect at about 6:30-7:30 she'll cry and not much will make her happy. I know she's tired but she won't go to sleep. I seriously believe she feels left out with Daddy home and Hadley playing in the evening. So we just deal with it. We take turns walking her around if that's what we need to do. I know it's just a phase that will pass as she gets used to staying awake a little longer.
She had a great 2 month check up. The Dr. went over her stats, she was long and lean but growing great! She got her two shots which I think effected Hadley, Jon and I more than her. We had been working hard to at least get on the eat-play-sleep routine and for the most part stuck to it. I'd like to think that hard work of being consistent helped her sleep longer and longer at night but who really knows.
At about the 3 month mark she really started having long stretches of sleeping at night but her naps during the day were only lasting an hour, maybe. We started officially letting her cry herself to sleep. Here's the real kicker, we also started taking the pacifier away. We did not want her to be dependent on us helping her get it to fall asleep. I realize eventually she'd be able to get it herself but we just didn't want to even start that. I'd say it took about a full 4 days to be able to put her to sleep without any help from Jon or I or crying. I HATED LISTENING TO HER CRYING. I think it was even harder the second time around. Don't think for one second that we enjoyed this but we knew it would help her, all of us for that matter, in the long run.
At this point Emma had been sleeping in her crib for a few weeks. Her naps were still a struggle and I knew 1 hour was not enough for her as she would not eat well upon waking, she'd just fall right to sleep. I read another mom's blog where she said for just one week she fed her baby twice in one hour before laying her down for a nap and that extended the nap time, so we tried it. And it worked. I'm not sure why. Emma never seemed like she was more hungry but I suppose that could have been the issue. Anyway, naps are going well now. She generally takes 3 a day. If we're home she does a 2-3 hour one in the morning, a 1 hour one around lunch time and then a 3 hour one in the afternoon. This means a combo of 2-4 hour stretches for feeding. I feed her about 7:30 at night, then do a "dream feed" again about 10 before I go to bed and Emma will sleep until 6 or 7am.
We moved Hadley into her room about a week ago and really overall things have been going great. I've been able to keep both the girls on the same nap schedule. I know we'll have a few rough days but they're doing well.
We'll take Emma for her 4 month check up this week. I'll admit, because of what we went through with Hadley not gaining weight when she was this age, I'm worried the Dr. will tell us the same thing with Emma. Especially now that we have her on a routine. I have checked her weight a few times at home and she's almost 13 lbs. if our scale works correctly which means she is in fact gaining weight.
She has laughed a few times which is so fun. Her eyes are still blue, she's sucking two fingers, just like her daddy did, with an occasional thumb for sleeping, she LOVES her big sister, and she just rolled over back-to-front today while laying on her play mat. I was in the kitchen making lunch and turned around to see her on her stomach.
We love her so much and are so blessed to have her!
I feel as though Emma is just getting short changed all around. She doesn't get the one-on-one time Hadley got with us. I stayed home more with Hadley to keep her on a good schedule and it worked SO WELL. Poor Emma gets trucked around with some semblance of a regular eat-play-sleep routine.
One thing I can say for Emma is she handles things like a champ. She hardly ever fussed in the NICU, except for when they were sticking her with needles. She really didn't cry much at home. When she woke up or was hungry she'd whine a little and we usually knew exactly what she needed. Just in the past three weeks she's started her "fussy evening" time. So we can expect at about 6:30-7:30 she'll cry and not much will make her happy. I know she's tired but she won't go to sleep. I seriously believe she feels left out with Daddy home and Hadley playing in the evening. So we just deal with it. We take turns walking her around if that's what we need to do. I know it's just a phase that will pass as she gets used to staying awake a little longer.
She had a great 2 month check up. The Dr. went over her stats, she was long and lean but growing great! She got her two shots which I think effected Hadley, Jon and I more than her. We had been working hard to at least get on the eat-play-sleep routine and for the most part stuck to it. I'd like to think that hard work of being consistent helped her sleep longer and longer at night but who really knows.
At about the 3 month mark she really started having long stretches of sleeping at night but her naps during the day were only lasting an hour, maybe. We started officially letting her cry herself to sleep. Here's the real kicker, we also started taking the pacifier away. We did not want her to be dependent on us helping her get it to fall asleep. I realize eventually she'd be able to get it herself but we just didn't want to even start that. I'd say it took about a full 4 days to be able to put her to sleep without any help from Jon or I or crying. I HATED LISTENING TO HER CRYING. I think it was even harder the second time around. Don't think for one second that we enjoyed this but we knew it would help her, all of us for that matter, in the long run.
At this point Emma had been sleeping in her crib for a few weeks. Her naps were still a struggle and I knew 1 hour was not enough for her as she would not eat well upon waking, she'd just fall right to sleep. I read another mom's blog where she said for just one week she fed her baby twice in one hour before laying her down for a nap and that extended the nap time, so we tried it. And it worked. I'm not sure why. Emma never seemed like she was more hungry but I suppose that could have been the issue. Anyway, naps are going well now. She generally takes 3 a day. If we're home she does a 2-3 hour one in the morning, a 1 hour one around lunch time and then a 3 hour one in the afternoon. This means a combo of 2-4 hour stretches for feeding. I feed her about 7:30 at night, then do a "dream feed" again about 10 before I go to bed and Emma will sleep until 6 or 7am.
We moved Hadley into her room about a week ago and really overall things have been going great. I've been able to keep both the girls on the same nap schedule. I know we'll have a few rough days but they're doing well.
We'll take Emma for her 4 month check up this week. I'll admit, because of what we went through with Hadley not gaining weight when she was this age, I'm worried the Dr. will tell us the same thing with Emma. Especially now that we have her on a routine. I have checked her weight a few times at home and she's almost 13 lbs. if our scale works correctly which means she is in fact gaining weight.
She has laughed a few times which is so fun. Her eyes are still blue, she's sucking two fingers, just like her daddy did, with an occasional thumb for sleeping, she LOVES her big sister, and she just rolled over back-to-front today while laying on her play mat. I was in the kitchen making lunch and turned around to see her on her stomach.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Menu Monday
This week's theme: Turkey and Chicken
Monday: Turkey Meatloaf (One of Jon's favorite dishes so I hope this one turns out ok!) with garlic mashed potatoes and corn.
Tuesday: Crock Pot Chicken a la Criolla with rice
Wednesday: Turkey and Black Bean Enciladas with chips and salsa
Thursday: Baked Chicken Parmesan with sauteed zucchini and salad
Monday: Turkey Meatloaf (One of Jon's favorite dishes so I hope this one turns out ok!) with garlic mashed potatoes and corn.
Tuesday: Crock Pot Chicken a la Criolla with rice
Wednesday: Turkey and Black Bean Enciladas with chips and salsa
Thursday: Baked Chicken Parmesan with sauteed zucchini and salad
Thursday, August 23, 2012
But What About God?
I've been in a mode where I start to think about something, like "I'd like to move in to a bigger house where the kids each have their own room, I could have my own sewing room, and there's a place for Jon to brew his beer." And then I think, "but what about God?"
"I'd like to spend more time quilting and sewing." Then comes the voice, "But what about God? Doesn't He deserve more time?"
"I'd like to take the kids to________ when they get older.....but what about God? Shouldn't we be spending more money and time toward serving those in need?"
I spend time reading over blogs about organizing all our JUNK or spend time looking for new recipes and this voice inside me starts screaming, "BUT WHAT ABOUT GOD?"
I see people on Facebook and hear other Christians spout off the same ideals and desires. It's not that I think the two can't coexist. We need a change of scenery, a change of pace, so it's all about balance.
Ding! There's that catch phrase....we need balance in life. Yes, we need balance in life when it comes to a diet or we need balance in life when it comes to exercising or working or......since when do we need balance in life when it comes to God? Isn't He able to work through us at our weakest moments? Can't we find our rest in Him?
It's not like we need God half the time and then the other half we don't. While God gave us the sabbath and commands us to rest (thus taking a break from anything and everything) it seems to be a cultural thing that we take week long, even month long sabbaticals. I'm not saying we do away with those. What do I know? I've never been in ministry full time or on the mission field full time. Doesn't it seem like perhaps we've become too sensitive and easily overwhelmed when doing the work Christ has commanded us? Are we not relying on the Holy Spirit to be strong when we are weak?
Most of what I'm writing here are things I need to think through and examine but I do know that when we take our kids on vacation, we need to include God (as corny as that may sound). IF we move in to a bigger house, we need to use it to glorify God. God should not be put on the shelf when I'm not involved in a planned ministry event or at church.
Duh, Cara. I'm sure most readers are saying, but we certainly don't LIVE that way!
I've read the book of Ecclesiastes. I know there's a season for everything, but boy, how I love to use that as an excuse and throw around the idea of balance.
I'm not afraid to credit satan for his role in making me feel guilty, that's not what God is about. I know that. Perhaps it's God's way of getting my attention to spend more time with Him as I know I'm not.
What takes away from your time with God? How are you going to fix it?
"I'd like to spend more time quilting and sewing." Then comes the voice, "But what about God? Doesn't He deserve more time?"
"I'd like to take the kids to________ when they get older.....but what about God? Shouldn't we be spending more money and time toward serving those in need?"
I spend time reading over blogs about organizing all our JUNK or spend time looking for new recipes and this voice inside me starts screaming, "BUT WHAT ABOUT GOD?"
I see people on Facebook and hear other Christians spout off the same ideals and desires. It's not that I think the two can't coexist. We need a change of scenery, a change of pace, so it's all about balance.
Ding! There's that catch phrase....we need balance in life. Yes, we need balance in life when it comes to a diet or we need balance in life when it comes to exercising or working or......since when do we need balance in life when it comes to God? Isn't He able to work through us at our weakest moments? Can't we find our rest in Him?
It's not like we need God half the time and then the other half we don't. While God gave us the sabbath and commands us to rest (thus taking a break from anything and everything) it seems to be a cultural thing that we take week long, even month long sabbaticals. I'm not saying we do away with those. What do I know? I've never been in ministry full time or on the mission field full time. Doesn't it seem like perhaps we've become too sensitive and easily overwhelmed when doing the work Christ has commanded us? Are we not relying on the Holy Spirit to be strong when we are weak?
Most of what I'm writing here are things I need to think through and examine but I do know that when we take our kids on vacation, we need to include God (as corny as that may sound). IF we move in to a bigger house, we need to use it to glorify God. God should not be put on the shelf when I'm not involved in a planned ministry event or at church.
Duh, Cara. I'm sure most readers are saying, but we certainly don't LIVE that way!
I've read the book of Ecclesiastes. I know there's a season for everything, but boy, how I love to use that as an excuse and throw around the idea of balance.
I'm not afraid to credit satan for his role in making me feel guilty, that's not what God is about. I know that. Perhaps it's God's way of getting my attention to spend more time with Him as I know I'm not.
What takes away from your time with God? How are you going to fix it?
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Menu Monday....On Wednesday
I was inspired to share our menu for the week by another fellow blogger. I'm hoping if I do this I'll be more disciplined at actually creating a weekly menu. Although I'm a little late.
I discovered this blog, Skinny Taste, through Pinterest and have made several meals that the family loves. I then recently discovered she has a setup where you can save recipes to your recipe box and THEN you can print out a grocery list!!! I love it! So here it is, I've linked all the recipes.
Monday -- My brother came over and cooked us steak!
Tuesday -- Chicken Nuggets with mac n' cheese with broccoli
Wednesday -- Chicken Rollatini with Spinach Alla Parmigiana bread and salad
Thursday -- Loaded Turkey Nachos
Friday -- Slow Cooked Sweet Barbacoa Pork with tortillas
Our Friday night meal usually gets pushed to the weekend or the following Monday since we go out but I always plan for it and then plan in case we decide to have friends over.
I discovered this blog, Skinny Taste, through Pinterest and have made several meals that the family loves. I then recently discovered she has a setup where you can save recipes to your recipe box and THEN you can print out a grocery list!!! I love it! So here it is, I've linked all the recipes.
Monday -- My brother came over and cooked us steak!
Tuesday -- Chicken Nuggets with mac n' cheese with broccoli
Wednesday -- Chicken Rollatini with Spinach Alla Parmigiana bread and salad
Thursday -- Loaded Turkey Nachos
Friday -- Slow Cooked Sweet Barbacoa Pork with tortillas
Our Friday night meal usually gets pushed to the weekend or the following Monday since we go out but I always plan for it and then plan in case we decide to have friends over.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Baby Emma's Birth Day
Emma Lynn was born on May 21, 2012 at 8:31pm, weighing 6lbs 15oz and 19 inches long.
For two weeks I had been dilating and getting strong, although not painful, frequent contractions. Emma was really low so it was apparent when she was ready it would go really fast. I had a Dr.'s appointment on a Monday and she said since I was getting closer to the due date that if I had 6 or more contractions (no matter the intensity) to call her. Well that afternoon I had 10 in one hour so I called. She wanted me to time them for one more hour and she'd call back afterward. Well as things would go they were just as frequent but because they had not increased in intensity she said to wait it out. That night I started vomiting along with other things and continued through out the night. I had no fever but decided in the morning I'd call the Dr just in case she wanted me to get checked out. She said just to treat it like any flu with lots of rest and liquids. However she asked about the contractions and I said they were just as frequent but still not painful. She asked me to come in again that Wednesday because the contractions were obviously doing something. Wednesday at my appointment I had dilated from 3 to 4. The Dr. just said to continue with the same plan as before otherwise she'd see me at my regularly scheduled appointment the following Monday.
Monday the 21st rolls around. I had had a few strong contractions but the frequency had dropped quite a bit. I was expecting to be at about 6cm and was only at 5. The Dr. was worried the labor would go so fast I'd deliver at home so she said I could come in that Wednesday and she'd strip my membranes. If that didn't work to start labor she'd break my water that Friday. However, when it came to contractions she said anything goes now. With about 8 strong contractions in two hours that afternoon I called her and she said to head on in to the hospital. Jon came home from work about 3:30 and my mom came over to watch Hadley, who was still sleeping. We left Hadley a note of where we were and headed out. Luckily, we made it to the hospital in time to take advantage of the valet service!
I felt silly walking up to labor and delivery without soaked pants from my water being broken or not being doubled over in pain from contractions, but alas, we proceeded. We checked in within about 30 minutes and the nurse began sticking me with all kinds of needles. My Dr. showed up at 6pm to break my water and I have never felt something so painful. Actually I'm not sure it was the act of breaking my water that hurt. I think it was her stripping my membranes followed by putting an internal monitor in to monitor the contractions better. Holy Cow! I was halfway up the bed and about to hyper-ventilate.
After my water was broken and the pitocin had kicked in I was feeling those contractions. The Anesthesiologist came in to just assess things and I told her I'd wait until I was about 6 or 7 (knowing things could progress quickly) to get the epidural. That took about a whole 20 minutes after my water was broken so we had her come back in. I could tell she was having a difficult time getting it in the right place but eventually we were done and I started feeling tingly. All my lower half that is except for a small window on the right side. within about 15 minutes I was in a lot of pain and asked for the anesthesiologist to come back and check. She mentioned she'd move it but there was a risk of the epidural slipping out completely. I wasn't quite sure which was worse but she went ahead and fixed things. Within about 15 minutes the pain subsided and it was glorious. About 15 minutes later my Dr. said it was time to push....the epidural worked just in time! The Dr. kept saying she was so close but then realized her head was a little cock-eyed so they had to get a vacuum to help straighten her out. Later the Dr. mentioned that was probably the only reason she stayed in as long as she did and I hadn't gone in to labor a week earlier.
I pushed for 20 minutes and two and a half hours after my water was broken Emma was born. Emma was all twisted up in her cord, even though her heart monitor never showed signs of distress, so yet another reason I'm glad we didn't have her at home. :) So when she was born everything seemed fine. She seemed alert and her cry was decent. One of the nurses checking her out later remarked that her breathing didn't sound right. They had a NICU nurse in the room for delivery just because I was at 37 weeks so she came back and checked her out saying she looked ok. After some visitors we tried nursing and she had absolutely no interest and was making a grunting sound. The sound seemed like normal baby noises to us but she was doing it constantly.
We were wheeled to our post-delivery room by my nurse and the same infant nurse who was concerned about her breathing. As soon as we got to our room they decided to take her to the nursery to evaluate her breathing and oxygen levels. Jon went with her thank goodness and I was left in my room for about an hour wondering what was going on.
When Jon came back (it was now about 1:30am) he was with my nurse and both informed me that her oxygen levels were too low and she was going to the NICU to have an xray done and be monitored. After lots of crying Jon wheeled me to the NICU so I could see her. With tears streaming I watched as they hooked my baby up to lots of tubes and tried to make her comfortable. We finally tried to sleep at about 3:30 that morning only to wake at 6 to go visit her again. Thus began our journey of having a NICU baby.
For two weeks I had been dilating and getting strong, although not painful, frequent contractions. Emma was really low so it was apparent when she was ready it would go really fast. I had a Dr.'s appointment on a Monday and she said since I was getting closer to the due date that if I had 6 or more contractions (no matter the intensity) to call her. Well that afternoon I had 10 in one hour so I called. She wanted me to time them for one more hour and she'd call back afterward. Well as things would go they were just as frequent but because they had not increased in intensity she said to wait it out. That night I started vomiting along with other things and continued through out the night. I had no fever but decided in the morning I'd call the Dr just in case she wanted me to get checked out. She said just to treat it like any flu with lots of rest and liquids. However she asked about the contractions and I said they were just as frequent but still not painful. She asked me to come in again that Wednesday because the contractions were obviously doing something. Wednesday at my appointment I had dilated from 3 to 4. The Dr. just said to continue with the same plan as before otherwise she'd see me at my regularly scheduled appointment the following Monday.
Monday the 21st rolls around. I had had a few strong contractions but the frequency had dropped quite a bit. I was expecting to be at about 6cm and was only at 5. The Dr. was worried the labor would go so fast I'd deliver at home so she said I could come in that Wednesday and she'd strip my membranes. If that didn't work to start labor she'd break my water that Friday. However, when it came to contractions she said anything goes now. With about 8 strong contractions in two hours that afternoon I called her and she said to head on in to the hospital. Jon came home from work about 3:30 and my mom came over to watch Hadley, who was still sleeping. We left Hadley a note of where we were and headed out. Luckily, we made it to the hospital in time to take advantage of the valet service!
I felt silly walking up to labor and delivery without soaked pants from my water being broken or not being doubled over in pain from contractions, but alas, we proceeded. We checked in within about 30 minutes and the nurse began sticking me with all kinds of needles. My Dr. showed up at 6pm to break my water and I have never felt something so painful. Actually I'm not sure it was the act of breaking my water that hurt. I think it was her stripping my membranes followed by putting an internal monitor in to monitor the contractions better. Holy Cow! I was halfway up the bed and about to hyper-ventilate.
After my water was broken and the pitocin had kicked in I was feeling those contractions. The Anesthesiologist came in to just assess things and I told her I'd wait until I was about 6 or 7 (knowing things could progress quickly) to get the epidural. That took about a whole 20 minutes after my water was broken so we had her come back in. I could tell she was having a difficult time getting it in the right place but eventually we were done and I started feeling tingly. All my lower half that is except for a small window on the right side. within about 15 minutes I was in a lot of pain and asked for the anesthesiologist to come back and check. She mentioned she'd move it but there was a risk of the epidural slipping out completely. I wasn't quite sure which was worse but she went ahead and fixed things. Within about 15 minutes the pain subsided and it was glorious. About 15 minutes later my Dr. said it was time to push....the epidural worked just in time! The Dr. kept saying she was so close but then realized her head was a little cock-eyed so they had to get a vacuum to help straighten her out. Later the Dr. mentioned that was probably the only reason she stayed in as long as she did and I hadn't gone in to labor a week earlier.
I pushed for 20 minutes and two and a half hours after my water was broken Emma was born. Emma was all twisted up in her cord, even though her heart monitor never showed signs of distress, so yet another reason I'm glad we didn't have her at home. :) So when she was born everything seemed fine. She seemed alert and her cry was decent. One of the nurses checking her out later remarked that her breathing didn't sound right. They had a NICU nurse in the room for delivery just because I was at 37 weeks so she came back and checked her out saying she looked ok. After some visitors we tried nursing and she had absolutely no interest and was making a grunting sound. The sound seemed like normal baby noises to us but she was doing it constantly.
We were wheeled to our post-delivery room by my nurse and the same infant nurse who was concerned about her breathing. As soon as we got to our room they decided to take her to the nursery to evaluate her breathing and oxygen levels. Jon went with her thank goodness and I was left in my room for about an hour wondering what was going on.
When Jon came back (it was now about 1:30am) he was with my nurse and both informed me that her oxygen levels were too low and she was going to the NICU to have an xray done and be monitored. After lots of crying Jon wheeled me to the NICU so I could see her. With tears streaming I watched as they hooked my baby up to lots of tubes and tried to make her comfortable. We finally tried to sleep at about 3:30 that morning only to wake at 6 to go visit her again. Thus began our journey of having a NICU baby.
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