My Beautiful Days

First and foremost, let me warn you that this is going to be a brutally open and honest post, so if you can't handle some intimate details about my life, please leave now, as your negative comments are not wanted. Can I be honest with you?  Looking around our sex-driven society, I have a hard time knowing what direction to turn in raising my beautiful teenage daughter.  I want to encourage her so much to dive deep into her relationship with God and to let Him be the one who fills her soul and fulfills her every desire.  I want to teach her to truly guard her heart, her body and her purity.  Yet I look back over my own life and wonder if the ways that I have screwed up will cause me to not be credible enough to her, or if they will really help her to see how much I desire for her to wait. Let me explain. There are days when I wish I could rewind time.  If I could, I would go back and truly listen to the advice that my mom gave me, as it likely would have he...

There are many promises I make that I don't keep.  Most of them are promises that I make to myself.  Like my current promise I'm avoiding: get the laundry done today. There are promises I make to my husband, too, that I shirk around doing, like putting away the pack-n-play that is still folded up on the floor in our bedroom (and has been there since Friday). However, there is one kind of promise that I make that I always keep.  It's the promise to pray for people.  So often when I'm at the computer I read blogs or Facebook updates of people who need prayer.  If I respond to them saying that I will pray for them I do it immediately.   Right there in that very moment I take time out to pray.  I think it's incredibly important to honor that promise. I know when I ask people to pray it's because I truly have a need that I want lifted before God, and I love to know that I have friends and family who are lifting that need up with me.  I can't...

This past Sunday, April 3rd, we formally dedicated our sweet Ethan to God in a service at our church.  For those who are unaware, we believe (and our church believes) that baptism is a decision that you make when you're old enough to really comprehend it, as opposed to doing infant baptisms.  Instead of a baptism, we do a dedication.  This is where we, as his family, promise to raise him in a house that honors God and teaches of a true love relationship with our Creator.  It was a beautiful dedication and it brings tears to this mama's eyes when I recall the promise we made for our sweet baby boy. This is our family standing in front of the church as Pastor Dave was explaining the dedication to the congregation. Passing my sweet little Ethan to Pastor Dave (who is looking at Ethan on the big screen above us)! Praying over Ethan's life.  I really like this picture - I think it's cool how my sister captured us on stage and on the big screen.  After the ...

Thanks to uncle Tory and aunt Lisa and their generous decision to let us borrow their walker, Ethan has been working his leg muscles a lot! And while he's working those leg muscles, he's thoroughly distracted by Cookie Monster and Big Bird, too! He is almost too distracted by the TV behind me to look at the camera, too! Maybe he will notice me if I direct his attention to the side! Rodney Dangerfield, anyone?! :) My precious babe scratched his forehead all up!  We promptly clipped his nails after this. Okay mom, you're not interesting anymore ... Thank you Tory and Lisa for our new and fun toy!  I'm certain that we will get lots of use out of it while we have it! P.S. For those of you who may have noticed - the baby in these pictures is NOT a sick baby because his RSV has finally  broken free and left!!  Praise the Lord!! :)

It's no joke that I've been walking around my house singing the chorus to Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It".  That's how I feel.  I'm done with this and I'm not taking it anymore.  Yesterday morning I was feeling incredibly defeated.  I was congested, I could feel the fluid in my lungs, my cough was awful and I hardly had a voice.  I was certain that this was going to take over my life for the rest of the week.  It already has consumed Ethan, Colin, Monte and myself, and I was allowing it to do so.   The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I didn't even like my attitude!  I'm a fighter and I don't have to take this sickness trying to consume me.  So, I have prayed about it and in faith am believing God is healing our family.  You know what?  I truly do feel MUCH better today and I believe that a lot of it is because of my choice to change my perspective.  Yes, I'm still coughing and have the occasion...

After our third trip to the doctor this week, it seems that we have been given a good report!  While Ethan still seems to be extremely  congested and uncomfortable, the doctor told me that his lungs sound like they're clearing out.  Praise the Lord!  This mama's heart needed the relief of hearing those words, it truly was rest for my weary soul.   Our plan of attack is to continue with the Nebulizer every four hours and to continue praying for our sweet little blessing.  One thing that blesses my heart is that, no matter how sick he feels, Ethan is still his smiley happy little self! Please keep him in your prayers as we are on the uphill climb out of RSV.  Please keep our family in your prayers as well, as I will be leaving Monte behind this Saturday as I go to my aunt's funeral and he will be staying home to take care of Ethan.  Pray for strength for all of us on that most difficult day. My sweet little baby sleeping through his late-night...

I knew it on Friday.  I heard the little coughs and the little sniffles and just knew it.  I was gone all day long on Saturday (being with my uncle and helping to do planning for my aunt's funeral) so I wasn't around to hear it.  Sunday definitely confirmed it: my darling baby boy had a cold. The catch about it was that it seemed to keep getting worse.  Yesterday his cough was more intense and you could hear the fluid he was trying to cough up.  He was uncomfortable, yet happy; bothered, yet content. This morning he was still smiling, which is why I hesitated to bring him to the doctor.  I believe that God truly prompted me to take him in anyway, and I'm so thankful that I did because I learned what is really trying to attack my baby's tiny body: RSV . Ethan's doctor explained to me that RSV causes his airways to swell (much like asthma), but that the cold in his lungs causes added mucus in those airways, making it difficult to breathe.  Being he...

Have I ever told you about my uncle and aunt, Sherwin and Laurie?  They are the most amazing, phenomenal couple I have ever met in my life (yes, even compared to Monte and me!).  Sherwin was born with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and has used crutches to get around since he has been able to walk.  He has always held a very special place in my heart, as I grew up only 10 minutes away from him.  I used to go with my dad to visit Sherwin and my grandma on Saturdays, and Sherwin and I would head out - sometimes on a walk to the local cafe to get pie, sometimes on a drive to McDonald's to enjoy some food.  Sometimes we would just walk for the sake of walking together. For as long as I have known him, Sherwin has been a perfect example of Christ's love in action.  He loves God with all of his heart and never hesitates to sing praises to Him; whether he's walking down the road, at home, in his car or at the mall, Sherwin is almost always heard singing or whistling a prai...

Last night there was an elephant in the room ... and it was perched right on top of my chest. After already having an emotional day (because, let's face it, women have those now and then) I made the decision to go to my belly dancing class .  I won't lie, I really didn't want to go, I didn't want to AT ALL.  Maybe it was the thought of the shimmy circle and how completely exhausting it is.  Maybe it was just the thought of working out.  I really don't know, exactly, all I know is that I didn't want to go. I went anyway. The beginning of the class was truly enjoyable.  I was having a great time.  I was moving and shimmying and lifting my hips and trying so incredibly hard to get these moves down.  Something wasn't right.  I couldn't make myself move in the ways that I wanted to.  It was too hard to move my feet and my hips at the same time.  This was a very unusual feeling. Then it happened.  An asthma attack. I was totally...

This is a blog hop that I haven't participated in for quite awhile, but decided that today was a good day to jump back in!  To see who else participated, visit Mama M's blog here ! 1. Do you know what your REAL hair color is? Why yes I do - in fact, my real hair color is a grayish shade of blond, that I often refer to as "Mousy".  This is why I continue to color my hair! 2.  Do you plan ahead for summer, or fly by the seat of your pants? We often plan a "vacation" at a cabin up north for a weekend mid-summer, but beyond that we really take it as it comes.  I like to get the kids out and doing something a couple of days per week in order to keep the peace and sanity, though!  We find lots of things to do whether it be going to the beach, a park, a museum or just having friends over for a baseball game in our front yard.  Summers at our house are the best! 3. What is your favorite meal to cook? Spaghetti with my homemade sauce, garlic bread and a salad. ...