Miss Maddie is Finally Here

My husband and I welcomed our daughter Madeline Grace into the world on December 12, 2012. Quite an interesting and important birthday. It was my Grandma Carter's birthday as well as the once in a lifetime 12-12-12. She was born a little after 4pm and has been such a blessing to us ever since. Two days after being born, we were bringing our little bundle home and trying to settle into life with three kids instead of two. It is very natural to have her with us and now, our little family seems to be complete. I am going to try to post a picture of every day of her first year. We will be able to watch her grow like crazy I am sure.

Our very first day on Earth...just been cleaned up (Day One)

Visiting with my Aunt Karen, cousins, and brother and sister (Day Two)

Here I am getting dolled up to come home with Mommy and Daddy (Day Three)

12.12.12-Please Welcome our Newest Arrival!

Well, it is a little after 6am CST on December 12, 2012. Our house is sitting quiet on our little street in the middle of Wichita, Kansas. My husband and daughter Lauren are asleep in our bedroom and my son Kieran is asleep in his room. I am sitting here after trying to rearrange my blog and doing some Bible reading before I summon the rest of the house to awaken. I am going in for a C-Section early this afternoon. My husband and I are welcoming our second daughter into the world. I am so excited to meet this little girl. I hate having to wait, and patience has definitely proved a little difficult for me. But after nine months, the time has finally come. I have spent the last few months away from my station at Sam's Club. I left there in August. After 14 years, it is a welcomed, but sometimes stressful break from what I was used to for so long. I began homeschooling my little boy who is four years old. It has been a learning experience for us both. I am looking forward to restarting the school year in January since I will no longer have to deal with the physical, mental, and emotional stress which sometimes accompanies pregnancy. I think he has enjoyed the break as well. Plus, the new baby will be a few weeks old and it may end up being easier to focus on everyone. We shall see. The last month we have really been focusing on getting the house together as well as getting things together for Baby Maddie. Jared and I decided to cloth diaper Maddie and with that change, we are going to be focused on reusing and recycling. I made cloth wipes and cloth nursing pads which will hopefully prove to be useful. I am proud of myself for sticking with the sewing chore, which normally is NOT my most favorite. The more I learn and practice, though, I am hoping, the more successful at it I will become. We have prepped a place for our little bundle to live when we get home later this week. I can't wait to hold her in my arms and smell her little baby smell. And quite honestly, I am looking forward to time away from the older kids. The next few days will surely go by quickly. I am going to post some Bible passages from the KJV which I am going to carry with me to the hospital this afternoon...as well as some song lyrics. Phil 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 2 Cor 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Psalm 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. James 1:3-4 Knowing this, that hte trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Lastly...some song lyrics which I will be singing in my mind all day today.... Rejoice in the Lord by Ron Hamilton God never moves without purpose or plan When trying His servant or molding a man Give thanks to the Lord though your testing seems long; In darkness He giveth a song. I could not see through the shadows ahead; So I looked at the Cross of my Savior instead, I bowed to the will of the Master that day, Then peace came and tears fled away. Now I can see testing comes from above; God strengthens His children and purges in love, My Father knows best, and I trust in His care, Through purging, more fruit will I bear. O Rejoice in the Lord He makes no mistake, He knoweth the end of each path that I take, For when I am tried And purified, I shall come forth as gold. I hope that all of those passages serve you as well as they have me, and will continue to in the future.

The First Few Days of the Rest of my LIfe

About a month and a half ago, Jared and I had a long, heartfelt discussion about something that had been nagging at my brain. Our Pastor preached one Sunday morning about where our priorities were..."Were they out in the world, or were they built around honoring God?" Well, it finally hit a nerve. I had prayed about it and knew that we should discuss something important. We agreed that it was time for me to step away from my life at Sam's Club and stay at home with our children. Jared was working full-time, but it was only temporary. I knew that God would provide a way for us to make this happen. We both felt like we knew it was right. They were changing our schedules at work and they were no longer going to be flexible when I needed to be there for my family. Being a supervisor put me in an even more inflexible position. Putting in my two weeks notice at a job that I had been with for 14 years was heartbreaking. I loved my job. I loved my co-workers, too. I knew, though, that I loved my kids and husband more and wanted to be there for them. The last week that I worked, Jared received a phone call from the airport. They offered him a permanent full-time shift! Praise God! We would not have to worry after all. It was such a testament to our faith and love for Him! My last day was a long one. I did about every possible task there was to do in the meat department. Said "See ya later," to some of the best co-workers ever, and before I knew it, I was taking care of my exit papers. I had a tearful goodbye with my manager...He was the best manager I have ever worked for in my entire working career. It was a good ending to a long chapter of my life.

Several things of interest

Life has definitely been keeping us on our toes lately. I will write about several different events which have affected my life lately and maybe this will be a positive attempt to keep up with this blog. Like anyone really looks at it anyways, lol.
Right now we have my nephew Collin, who is nine years old. He is having a good time I think. Kieran has just started a little "mini-preschool" here at home, and is doing okay with it. Gotta remember he is just three and his attention span is about three minutes,LOL.
Summer semester just started. Woot! I think I'm nuts. Can't wait to be done with my degree already. I'm still not sure what I want to do.
Lauren is almost 11 months old. She's finally getting bigger and starting to make some progress.
I will post more up here later.

thursdays

This has been a great week. My sis was here Sunday through Wednesday. We took the kids to the zoo on Monday, I worked on Tuesday but we took Brea to Saigon which she enjoyed. We went out for breakfast on Wednesday before I dropped her off at the airport. It was a great visit! The kids miss their Auntie Brea. She comes home Sunday afternoon/evening and we are taking her back home from the airport.
Work is the same as always...hoping a certain someone can get their act together. She was the first person I prayed for last night at church. Hopefully she will get better...

Hmmmmm

Hey there,
Been making a lot of changes in my life, and so far, all have been for the better. I have known there are things I need to change, like my lifestyle, both physical and mental. Started Weight Watchers a few weeks ago and managed to lose a few pounds. I have let the struggles of life interfere with progress this last week, so I have to get back on the bandwagon.
Kieran is doing better than he has in a while. Still hasn't pooped since Friday, which is surprising, but then again, he hasn't eaten anything much until Saturday. He actually ate some chicken nuggets.
Lauren is well. Growing and changing, and getting ready to crawl. Saturday was her eight month birthday. Very excited for my baby girl! She has one and a half teeth :)
I'm hoping to get off of here and go back to bed. Kieran had us up about an hour ago and it sounds like baby girl is making noise. Pray for me, LOL. I just want to sleep later than six o'clock!! :)

Boy, Howdy!

I forgot what it was to blog, LOL...and seeing as how school starts back up next week, now would be an ideal time to get interested in a project which will take up even more of my time ;-)

Lauren is nearly six months old. She is sleeping well and growing like a weed. No teeth yet, but the way she chews on everything and drools like it's going out of style, it won't be too far off. Kieran is just as rambunctious as ever. He's learning so much every day and Jared and I are trying to do right by him, LOL. He's potty trained and learning his abc's and 123's.

I'll post up pictures and explanations soon....