WInter Blahs

Yes, they've started to settle in to my bones already. The nice thing is that my sweet Husband reminded me that in just a few weeks the days will start to get longer again. YAY!! The skies will be lighter for longer even if it's gray it will be gray for a few more hours Woo Hoo!! I don't celebrate solstice as a tradition or anything but I do understand why folks would. It's sort of fun (especially winter).

Cabin fever.. What does it mean to you. To us it's that inability to function without being at each others throats (through the eyes of my children anyhow). It's been fun watching them hit and bite each other because they need their space. I do get them out to the gym to play with other children and that helps but it's not the same as running around outside and having fun.

Sorry it's been a while.

My ponderings have been few and far between lately. Not something I'm proud of but I am here now. Sometimes I am not sure how to start a post. Especially when I am feeling down in the dumps. I know I know something a Christian shouldn't be or at least shouldn't speak about publicly (according to some).

I am here I am bummed and I am trying to work through it because I can't put my finger on everything I am feeling, it started a while ago. Okay more precisely on my birthday when I was puking at 12:00 Am first thing on Nov 17. My loving husband did everything he could to make the day better. Including him calling in at work and taking the day off. That's about the highlight of my entire 30th birthday.

My parents didn't even call and wish me a happy birthday. When I saw them on Fri that week Mom asked me how it went. That was IT!!

I have been finding myself tearing up thinking about Christmas this year and still haven't figured out why. It's all so annoying, I am not a sentimental person. I don't even cry at movies. I didn't cry at my Grandfather's funeral (he was very sick and a believer so I know he's definitely better off).

I am also dealing with the fact that I seem to be getting a deeper conviction of how to live. This has created a bit of tension between me and family members. It hurts that people have no issues with teasing me about my convictions and now I am considered "old" (BTW if any of you that have called me this are reading this I am sorry. I am not angry or holding a grudge. Just hurting).

So yeah, Thanksgiving was awful, truly awful. I have done the best that I can to be truly grateful for what God has given me which is a lot. I love that I have a great home, two of the sweetest children and a wonderful husband. I am desperately trying to focus on these things.

Sorry for the blubbering.

Fall is in full swing..

Here it is that time of year again. The weather gets cool, the sweaters come out of the closet and the children love playing in the leaves. This is also a time of true reflection for me. Since my birthday is in the fall and Thanksgiving is just around the corner this is a time for major pondering and reflection. Sometimes it's just to see what my goals are or what I have achieved and see where I need to go next.. This year it's all about the blessings. The beginning of 2008 was bleak to say the least I was about to have surgery on my thyroid. I had recently learned of some horrific issues within my family and Ted was without work.

GOD had it ALL under control.
Thanks to Ted being laid off we didn't need to find somebody to take the children during my surgery.
Thanks to another lay off a couple of months later we were able to go to a cousin's wedding and still have income (unemployment).
Thanks to us being completely broke we've learned that credit stinks and we won't be utilizing it for more than home purchases (and even then would love to be without a mortgage).

Now we have a good income, Ted has finished his required hours to complete his apprenticeship term and we're eating well. This fall I have so much to be thankful for. Even in the tough times God's grace and mercy have been apparent and his love has been abundant.

Our Church

I wanted to share with everybody the site of our Church. http://www.ycovenant.com

There are podcasts of our messages available and it's just sort of nice to see where and how we worship.

Summer drawing to a close.

I am super excited to see the end of summer fast approaching. I am looking forward to the fun times walking through the park with the children as the fall colors are in full swing. I so love sweatshirt weather, it makes for some fun days in the backyard as well. Football in the leaves (or snow) and the children laughing and giggling the entire time. Praise the LORD for what he gives us.

It's been a while

I am so happy but busy this time of year. One thing is that most of our debt is GONE!!!! We're getting so close I can taste the freedom. Secondly, birthday season in our home is nearly done. I bought Ted his new golf clubs nearly a week ago for his birthday. Now just to pay for the license plate stickers since they're in his name. The children have been enjoying all the parties and cake though it's not all been easy. They've been dealing with MANY long days and short nights of sleep.

GOD is so good though, he's been providing us with so much. It's hard to fathom that kind of love at times but it's definitely there.

Love you ALL and sorry it's been a while.

How beautiful

It's amazing how beautiful life can be when looking at it through the eyes of a child. The children are happy to see the sun shining each and every morning. The smile and point out the birds in the yard. They marvel at the colors of the cars driving by when we go to and fro....

Sadly here's what we see..

Them: Morning Mommy the sun is shining..
what I see: Ugh, I didn't get enough sleep last night and now I have to start the day


Them: Mom look at that bird isn't it pretty
What I see: YUCK!! That bird just pooped on the car


Them: Hey look at that red PT cruiser
What I see: Hey that car just cut me off and we nearly collided


If for ONE day I could put my situations aside I could enjoy the sunshine, the birds and the colors that people have created.

Learning a LOT about myself.

Do you ever find yourself learning what you're really like? Those little things that others do that grind on your nerves? I am learning that it frustrates me when others can't come to grips with relying on GOD to provide them with the things they need. I am so tired of hearing of people being willing to step out of GOD's plan to "get what they want". UGH!!! I have seen it one too many times lately. I attempt to be content with what I have because complaining or trying to "help" GOD doesn't accomplish ANYTHING.

Sorry, rant OVER (for now).

Love you all thank you for reading. Kisses.

The things they say.

I love how children figure out new words. They start out with what they percieve in their heads.

Fun examples are listed here....
Scoop (soup)
Meema (Grandma)
NeeNee (Lilly)
Wiwwy (also Lilly)
Bumpoline (Trampoline)
Badetti (spaghetti)


As I remember more of the fun words that my children have come up with I'll post them. I want to keep these in my heart forever.

Purification.

Something that isn't necessarily easy to deal with or understand but is an important part of our faith. Tests and challenges that try to undo you but with perserverance and prayer can make you a stronger version of yourself. Tests of strength that come in the form of the health issues of your children, monitary struggles, strife with family members. They are ALL ways to test you and make you into a beautiful creature of the LORD's doing. It's amazing what GOD uses to aide us in this journey. Praise him for all he does for us.

Recovering

We have been so busy this last week. We had my nephew for a week and my niece for the weekend. Not that I don't love the children, BUT I am truly glad that it's back to my children and myself. I am hoping for some breathing room for a while. I was getting tired and not able to sleep well at the same time. I am glad that I can help my siblings, but it's our time now.

We are hoping to get out and do a few things this week just as a family to make up for the lack of time I got with the children last week.

At least the children haven't noticed me being a bit out of sorts because they were playing with their cousins.

Balancing me time with everything else.

This is a tough thing for a lot of people. I am sure many of us have had to cut things out of our day to make sure other things get accomplised. I am keeping up with my workouts. My dishes are staying done on a more regular basis and clothing is staying clean. The next issue is trying to find a place for all the clothing that we have been given for the next years worth of wear for the children. If anybody knows a smart form of storage I am ALL ears.

Summer is just round the bend. (a health PSA)

What a week this has been with temps at the beginnng of the week at 80 plus degrees then needing the heater for a day. Now it's hot and raining with storm warnings and high winds. It's the reminder that we're in for that hot sticky weather really soon.

I wanted to take this time to remind folks about a little known fact. Sports drinks are HORRIBLE for children and adult teeth due to carbination. They're just as bad as soda for eating away at the enamel. Regardless of sugar content they really aren't healthier. The best way to stay hydrated in this hot weather is plain ole' water. Yeah, it doesn't taste as good but it works. The other thing you can do is water down kool aid and don't add the recommended amounts of sugar.

Another thing to remember is that just because it's warm doesn't mean people won't get sick. Viruses are HUGE this time of year because people aren't protecting themselves as much. Keep the vitamin C and zinc around and do what you can to keep yourself healthy...Oh, and don't forget to take probiotics occasionally throughout the week. If you can keep things flowing through your digestive tract to keep yourself healthy (especially when swimming in public places).

Okay with that whole PSA out of the way something on a different front. My Sister-In-Law has access to raw milk and has offered to give some to us if it will digest properly within my sweet little boy's system. He's had some now and in a couple of days we'll see how things are. I am keeping my fingers crossed because I am not fond of soy and it's phytoestrogens. I know there are other alternatives but it's tough because they're more expensive.

Happy Birthday my sweet Lilly

She woke me at 6:30 AM then took a nap with me until 9:00. It was then that I reminded her that she was now 4. I am amazed at how the time has flown. I am also amazed at the things she accomplishes every day. Though she's a pretty mature 4 one thing I must remind myself is that ...."she's ONLY 4". I don't want to expect too much from her and allow room for her to blow me away. I hope we can all learn from my sweet Lilly.

What a day...

Sometimes I'm amazed at how many different activities go on in one day. Especially the Lord's Day.

Here's the rundown....
church (which went well....I think)
Buying food for the family gathering.
Decorating Lilly's cake for said gathering. NOT her birthday party mind you
Allowing grandparents to give her a fwe presents early.
Lunch.
Watching the nieces and nephews play the Nintendo WII
Weeding flowerbeds at the In-laws
Lilly FINALLY got to eat her cake.
Cutting up wood for a fire so the children could have S'mores (yes, I was using a hatchet and bow saw)

On the way home.

I am amazed at how many different things that can happen in one single day. WHEW!!

Roller skating last Sun..

This weekend four years ago

WOW!! Time really flys. This time four years ago we added our sweet Lilly to our lives. Our little lady weighed in at 8lbs 11ozs and she was 21" long. Now? She weighs around 34 lbs and is around 3' 3". No more burping and breastfeeding. She's now asking questions about those very things though. My precious baby was a sweet little thing who slept a lot and barely cried..NOW? She's a passionate spirited little lady with spunk and fire. I LOVE her to pieces.

Trials and triumphs..

It seems as you go through life with your children there seem to be successes and failures constantly. One thing may go perfectly and five minutes later something else is falling apart. That is how things seemed to be when we were in the middle of diagnosing Theo's dairy allergy. Please don't get me wrong it didn't take me long to figure out what he had but getting others to see it was near impossible. After I stopped nursing and switched to formula (I dried up prematurely due to thyroid disease but did EVERYTHING I could to keep nursing him) I started using the formula that had been left over from his sister when we were on WIC. He kept refluxing, and I was worried. I tried an anti reflux formula and it just made things worse. It wasn't for another week or two that I discovered that there were formulas with broken down dairy proteins (NOT Nestle thought because I boycott them). Nonetheless I had a new 5 month old in a matter of a week. What a relief. Then there came the lectures because he was 10 mos old and I wasn't really giving him "food" (AKA cereal) yet. He wasn't acting full after his bottles and feeble attempts at still trying to nurse. I knew better than to give him empty fillers. He started out on table food at around a year. I made most of it and what I couldn't afford to make I bought in the form of organic baby foods. He loved the flavors of his carrots and sweet potatoes. He also did GREAT on the pastas with zucchini. He was a happy fella with NO issues what so ever. Then came the old school lectures about "Milk is so good for you". Yeah, right I know my son. Then it was "have you taken him to an allergist?". Um, NO....I was told NOT to do that and to keep doing what I had been doing. It's likely he'll grow out of it. Why is it that people love to act like they know so much more than you do even though you're the one going through it? Some habits die hard I guess.

Well, he definitely hasn't grown out of his allergies but we are getting really good at cooking for him and treating him for the occasional accident when people shove food at him during family gatherings. Usually it's a cousin that is the culprit now. We have discovered the beauty of probiotics as well as some wonderful digestive enzymes. I am not saying this works for everybody but with Theo only being allergic to ONE protein it is a sure fire way to keep the side effects at bay. If you suspect your little one has an allergy you're likely right. Please DO trust your instincts and it doesn't hurt to add prayer into the mix. God was good to us in the fact that we had already dealt with these issues in my niece. I already had some experience and it saved us from a TON of heartache.

**If anybody has advice on a spirited little lady I'm ALL ears**

Tragedy strikes Christian Music star.

According to early reports Stephen Curtis Chapman's daughter Maria (age 5) was struck and killed by her older teenage brother in their driveway earlier today.

This is a tragedy and I am praying for this family. Please do the same.

Then you soar...

I am super excited and on clouds higher than nine. I went to the gym today to work out and on a whim decided to step on the scales. Much to my surprise I suddenly felt like a contestant on the biggest loser...I lost SIX POUNDS from last week to this week. Some of you would just say "Hey, that's great". It truly IS but there's something BIGGER here. I haven't lost weight in a year. In fact with the thyroid disorder known as Wilson's syndrome I had gained 30 lbs in the last year. Between being able to get OFF birth control and the partial removal of my thyroid combined with better medication to supplement a slow thyroid I ACTUALLY lost weight.

I am praising God for this victory. He's been giving me the strength to push through the severe depression I've been dealing with and getting me to the gym. I am starting to FEEL better, I was just sharing that with a friend at church last Sun. We both agreed that feeling good is one of the biggest steps to losing weight and overcoming depression. This is incredible.


Another big hurdle we've jumped over is that while my children were with the In-laws they DIDN'T give him anything he couldn't have. YAY!!!!

What a week for victories.

I know it's been a few days.

Thank you for being so patient as I get used to this.

I was out of town for a couple of days with my sister. She's a sweet spirit that I wish would rekindle her love for God. Her daughter accepted Jesus a couple of years ago when I took her to bible school at a local Christian Missionary Alliance Church. What a blessing their ministries have been to myself at so many different stages of my life.

My niece was a joy to be around as always. The evening conversations with my Brother-in-law were nice. I didn't get to see my sister much because of her working schedule. We did however spend a good portion of yesterday afternoon at the emergency room. At this point I can say that those reading this who spend time in prayer please remember her if you could. She may be in for a difficult road over the next couple of months.

Lilly and Theo did quite well over the past two days considering they weren't around their Dad and weren't sleeping in their own beds.

Oh and if anybody knows of what dyes they put in Generic Wal Mart/Sams club pre-sweetened grape kool aid let me know. Theo's butt seems to be dyed purple and he had purplish poop for two days (TMI I know but when you have food allergy issues you want to know what's coming).

Worship.....

Today was okay for me. The children however had a wonderful day. Lilly has decided upon celebrating a friend's birthday at a roller rink that she wants to take up roller skating. Her smiles out on the rink really lit up the room. Theo tried but was swiftly intimidated. Daddy kept things together for Lilly while I Occupied Theo. Divide and conquer, as they say.

I hope it all goes well...

Today we went over to help the In-Law's mow. They have about three acres of lawn and it's a lot for just one person. Plus they were offering to watch the children so we could get out for a while. I am nervous because while they know that Theo has a dairy allergy....they don't always think about what has milk in it. This is where the allergies get difficult. When they're not with you and you aren't sure if people are truly thinking. Here's the thing they won't be the ones to get the worst of the effects. It will be ME tomorrow or Mon dealing with a sweet baby boy with a sore bottom and a rashy diaper area. UGH!!! Please God keep by sweet boy safe.


On a lighter note my adorable boy got a haircut today. I'll be posting pictures soon.

My view of today's happenings.

We had a splendid day today. It started slow because it took forever to dry my socks. We then went to a dear friend's home to deliver a second load of cloth diapers that Theo is no longer using. I LOVED watching S's face light up when she saw another 15 diapers walking through her door. I am so happy that I have been able to share this planet saving as well as money saving activity with others. It's also a wonderful way to be a frugal family. Oh the joy.

Then I did something for ME. I went to the gym and rode 1.75 mi on an exercise bike as well as ran .70 miles on a treadmill. Oh then I got on this mountain trekker and did another .725 mi on an uphill climb (that translated to me "hiking" an average of 3.0 mph). I can't say that I am visibly thinner but I do feel better about myself.

***Off topic entry here.....
Now that my thyroid medication has been changed to a natural choice and I am off the Birth control I believe that the weight will begin to come off as well.****

Okay here we go, after the gym it was shower time then we went to dinner with my in law's. Sometimes the time with them is precious and other times it's hard to do. Tonight was fun because my Mother in Law was telling us about how when they were first married she couldn't even boil water. The stories were wonderful and the laughter was even better. What a wonderful way to spend a day.

I want to give you a little background to myself and my family. I believe that the things that happen in our lives are what molds us and makes us who we are whether good or bad. I grew up in an abusive home where my Mother refused to leave my father and they are still together today. When I say abuse I mean farther than "deserving punishment" ( I should add that I am not a big supporter of spanking just so you know I am NOT repeating the cycle of failure). My biggest supporter in life was my Grandfather whom I lost in 2000 to suicide due to Alzheimer's disease. Then I dealt with a lot of chaos. I can't even begin to describe all of the things that went on between this time and when I first met my husband. It was season after season of heartbreak, poor choices and feeling that I was alone even though I still believed in God. I was jumping from church to church and feeling torn at every turn. NOT all churches or Christians are created equal I am afraid to say. Many times when people found out what I was struggling with they turned me away or told me I didn't have enough faith. Talk about broken hearted. I gave up on people and simply trusted in God. That's when things began to turn around for me. I will add more about this later.......

Our family...

First I believe that it would be best to introduce ourselves to you all. I am Maria a Wife and Mother. I used to be in sales and marketing as well as serve as a state tested home care provider for the elderly. I have held MANY professions before nestling into my role of Wife and Mother.

Throughout the entirety of my life I have been a big supporter of natural remedies as well as believing that Naturopaths absolutely have their place in this world and that big drug companies are really out to get us more often than not.

As I started caring for my children many other ideas took precident over the "norm". Our first No Brainer was to breastfeed the children and nurture them by being close to them. Right along with that came babywearing. Soon after these choices were in full swing, we moved and started Cloth diapering. As you continue to follow this blog you'll learn of our struggles with dairy allergies, defending our position on different choices and showing God's love throughout it all.