Mommy's Helper

I'm going to do a little back tracking today...to December, when Caroline discovered the joys of baking. As you all know, Christmas time is a time for baking. I had to bake several different things on different occasions, and Caroline really took an interest in helping me.



This day we were making Chocolate Chip cookies for some event, I can't remember now! Anyway, I was getting everything together and she really wanted to help, so she got up on the counter and poured dry ingredients and stirred to her hearts content. Yes, we had a bit too much flour in the cookies, but it worked out ok. (She got one good scoop from the bag of flour before I could stop her!)


This time, I was making Corn Flake cookies for a gift exchange with our friends. Since these cookies require the stove top, she wasn't able to help as much, but she did find the empty Peanut Butter jar and went to work on the sides. :)

When the a few Corn Flakes fell to the floor, she ran, PB jar in hand, to get the broom and clean up.

The pregnancy is going good. I'm in my 12th week, so almost to the second trimester and hoping the morning sickness will leave with the first tri. That did not happen with Caroline, but hopefully this time around it will. We'll see. I'll keep you posted. :)

Struggles and Joy

Back in August, Aaron and I suffered a great loss. We were so excited to find out that we were expecting another little one. Everything was going great and I was sick...not the best thing in the world, but a good pregnancy sign. We went in at 9 weeks only to see an empty gestational sac. The baby hadn't developed. We were shocked and heartbroken. After the miscarriage, we found out we were expecting again at the end of October. We were so excited again, but much more cautious this time around. It wasn't to be though...we lost that little one at 5 weeks...the week before Caroline's 2nd birthday.

I was very discouraged, but knew that the Lord is good and will take care of us. I never wanted to give Caroline the impression that she wasn't enough for us. I put all my thoughts and efforts into being with her and enjoying each and every smile she offered, each giggle, each day with her. We celebrated her birthday and moved on.

Around Thanksgiving, I began to notice some typical symptoms of early pregnancy. It goes without saying that I was scared to death, praying constantly, and in a semi state of shock when the second pink line appeared. The day after getting that positive test, I had blood work done...everything looked great. I went back 48 hours later for more blood work. I hosted a Christmas Brunch for the ladies of our church family. I was nervous that day because of the brunch, but my nerves were even more jumbled because I was waiting to hear the official word from the doc. If my HcG level doubled or more...I was definitely pregnant. I finally heard from the doc after lunch, and sure enough, my numbers more than doubled. We were thrilled, but still cautious.

Fast forward to today...we saw my doctor and we saw our beautiful little one with a strong heartbeat!

God is good!

Contentment

Resolutions.

All around us right now are people asking about resolutions and making resolutions of their own. I've never been someone who makes resolutions much...mostly because I rarely keep them. I finally told myself that what I needed to resolve to do was spend each year growing closer to God, striving to be a godly wife and mother, and loving those around me. Resolving to do those things...each year, was better than making a bold statement about something I was going to change. Not that I have anything against resolutions, I'm just not good at keeping them. However, last year I realized something that needed changing in my life and it was going to take real effort to change it. So, I did resolve to....send birthday cards out to all the members of our immediate family. (parents, siblings, nieces and nephews) I have always been TERRIBLE about sending cards. So, last year I really made an effort to get cards out on time. I think 2 of them were a day or two after the actual birthday...but I still counted them. :) I felt good sending them, and I was so glad our loved ones knew we were thinking of them on their special day.



Aaron and I have been discussing this upcoming year. Making our budget, thinking about things that need precedence and things that can be put on a back burner. We've always had in our minds that we wouldn't stay in our current house for more than 4 or 5 years. We've been here for 3, and we had a long talk the other night about moving. While I'm not going to say that we'll never move, I think we've decided to stay here indefinitely for now. We've been so focused on what we don't have, we haven't spent time utilizing the home we do have. So, we've dubbed this year our "Year of Contentment." We're going to make a real effort to settle in even more into our home. We hope to clean out and give to those less fortunate than we are. We want to open our home to friends and family and enjoy each and every day the Lord makes.



I hope you'll bear with me as I occasionally blog about our goal of being content with what we have and living each day to rejoice in the Lord.

Holiday Review

We had a really nice Christmas. Exhausting, but nice. Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year, but as an adult...it's a bit more tiring than I expected it would be. Between all the shopping, wrapping, parties, baking, "bring a $5 gift" exchanges, and traveling, it can wear a body out! When I was child...life seemed to stand still and halt around Christmas time, but now I realize that is not the case. If anything, life gets faster and more hurried now. It's sad, in a way, because this time of family, friends, fun, joy, and laughter is easily turned into a time of tantrums, frustration, crankiness, and arguments. (Not in our family, of course. :) ) That being said, amid all the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season, we had a joyous time with our friends and family.







Caroline really loved Christmas. She loved the trees, sparkling lights, Santa Claus, presents...everything. It was a blast spending time with her and seeing her face light up at the cookies baking in the oven, or the snowman she spotted on someone's lawn as we drove by. I love seeing her discover the world around her and begin to enjoy Holidays and events that I dreamed of one day sharing with her. What joy!







We were able to spend time with family and it was wonderful to be together. You think those two grandpas like that little girl? ;)