In the Storm

Like many across several states, we woke sleeping children, a dog, and a Guinea pig, and huddled in our lowest interior space in the early hours of last Saturday morning.

As the winds blew loudly, the lights went out, and I quit using my phone, which had been discharging quickly as we watched the weather report.  The storm passed us and we went to bed.  I thought of my family, ninety minutes north, but didn’t check in.  They often don’t get up with storm alerts.

Early the next morning, power still out, as I was getting ready for the day, one of my aunts checked in on us, and to see what her son (who lives relatively close) might find when he headed home.  Then she mentioned she had seen my mom’s post.

I quickly went to Facebook and found out about the damage in my hometown.  They were okay, the house was damaged.  As the morning went on and pictures were coming in, I sat with our solar phone charger, and we saw more and more of the damage to their home, but much more than that, to the neighbors.

One of the new stations flew over the path, and their home was right there, just on the outskirts of the main line.  We are so blessed, so thankful.  God still has work for them to do, and we get to keep them.  Not only that—their house, while banged up, is usable.  And as of yesterday, they even have power again.

Many of their neighbors have lost so much.  We are grateful for volunteers who brought meals, are cleaning up debris, patching roofs, and supplying necessities.  And praying for those who need literally everything replaced, and for the loved ones of those who were lost, and can’t be.

Grateful

If you're here from the Raising Grateful Kids blog hop, welcome!

Gratefulness.

Sometimes it is easy to be grateful, but sometimes it can be so hard.  This is especially true in our children, who have seen less, who have less life experience.

Back before Christmas we were able to join a group to make blessings bags for the homeless in our community.  Everyone brought some things to put in--chap stick, tissues, baby wipes, socks, bottled water, and the like.   The girls also made arm knitted scarves, and we had one of those to give to a person we found.  There are a few corners that we know to look for people regularly, and we were able to brighten a few days by passing out the bags we'd made.  And our kids saw real needs and real people.

The kids also see the catalogs that come from Samaritan's Purse and Compassion International each Christmas, and want to send goats, pigs, and clean water around the world.  Those are good things, but they don't have enough money themselves for these gifts.  They are great about dropping coins into the little boxes to support children's hospital, the offering basket, and anywhere else they see a need, but these animals are more than the money they have on hand.  But isn't part of being grateful, being able to see all that you have, and being willing to give something to someone else from your abundance?

This year I offered a way for them to help pay for those gifts they want to send.  We don't go out to expensive restaurants or take lavish vacations, but we had made a habit of stopping for McDonald's, not full meals, but a small burger for each of them, a fry to share, and a coffee for me.  I told them that each week that we gave that up, we'd put the savings back, about seven dollars.  At the end of they year, we'll take those savings and buy chickens, goats, part of a well, or whatever they choose.

Then I was reading through my advance copy of Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World (by Kristin Welch), and her family switched out Monday night dinners for rice and beans.  My kids don't like rice and beans at all, so rather than once a week, we decided we would do this ever two or three weeks.  I'll also add in the money for the meat we might have purchased for dinner that night to our savings.

They are small little sacrifices that they can make.  That they understand.  They can make a difference.  And I'm sure there will be excitement as they choose what to send next fall.  I wonder what they will choose.  I'm pretty sure these will be some of our favorite Christmas presents next year!

Are there any projects your kids have been in on lately?

Here is my full book review.

Inspiring an Attitude of Gratitude - by Alison Rasisng Grateful Kids - by amanda Why You Can't Buy Gratitude At The Dollar Store - by Andrea Missing - Gratefulness in our home - by Ange Choosing Gratitude - by Angela Gratefullness - by chaley 5 Steps to Gratitude-Fille Family - by Christa Practicing Grateful Parenting - by Dana Sing a Song - by Hannah Cultivating gratitude in our family - by Jamie Gratefulness In Our Home - by Jana Gratefulness In Our Home - by Jana Let It Begin With Me - by Jen Choosing Gratefulness - by Jennifer Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World - The Book - by jeri Eradicating Entitlement - What are you rooted in? - by Jessica Gratefulness in our home - by Kate The Problem With Entitlement is that it begins with us - by Katelyn 7 Unusual Ways I Know How to Be Grateful - by Kathryn Raising Grateful Kids - by Keri How My Children Remind Me to Pray with Gratitude - by Kishona Grateful - by Kristy Entitlement: The Ugly Truth of a Beautiful Lie - by Leigha The Most Important Thing You Can Do To Raise Grateful Kids - by Lindsey Dear Son: How Do I Teach You To Be Grateful Without Guilt? - by Marie Osborne Gratitude, A Practical Definition - by Mia Cultivating Gratitude in Our Home - by Nancy Learning Gratitude through Chronic Illness - by Rachel Being Grateful - by Rebecca I've Found Something I Can't Live Without - by Sarah The Power of Naming our Gifts - by Sarah Outfitted - by Sarah Jo Growing Gratitude in our Family - by Sondra Teaching Gratefulness - by Stephanie How Grateful Looks From Here - by Alison Fighting Entitlement in Children and All of us - by Leah Entitlement Problem - by Karrie Grateful Today - by Krystal
 

Blessings in a Leaky Roof

Our roof sprang a leak.  It rained pretty hard over the weekend and I noticed a wet smell in Nate's room and water staining on the ceiling.

The house had a new roof put on right before we moved in, but we had nothing to do with it.  We didn't know the name of the roofer and didn't have any paperwork.  Then I had a thought.  Our real estate agent was truly excellent.  (If you ever intend to move to middle TN, let me know and I'll refer you to him.  He was the best agent we have ever used, and we have bought and sold several times over the years.).  So, I emailed our excellent real estate agent.  He was able to get the name of the roofer for me.  The roof is under warranty, so they came to take a look the next day.  Nothing was found that should have been causing the leak, but he nailed down a few nails that popped up a bit and promised to return again if we had further problems.

It has been a year of these little things that have made problems, that could have been great financial burdens, be taken care of.  Justin's car died.  His parents had a spare.  My dad fixed the old one.  Kate broke her arm.  The medical expenses, huge expenses even after insurance, have been largely covered by a supplemental insurance because she was at gymnastics when it happened, instead of in our backyard.

God has been faithful to provide for us.  We are thankful.  We are blessed.

Blessed

When Justin and I first married, he wanted to handle the finances. Then he nearly puked when he looked at the checkbook. I took over. It was daunting those first several months. We were barely scraping by and bills sometimes had to be juggled until a pay check, which was still before they were due, but the check couldn't be written the day the bill was received either. Soon after, Justin got a better paying job and check writing got a lot less stressful.

We were blessed that between our parents and scholarship money we both left school without any debt. Justin went to grad school on a stipend and we've only had to pay a little each year to keep him current, if you count $800 a credit hour as little, anyway! We have carefully stayed out of debt beyond housing and sometimes one car payment.

Last year, however, we went in to pretty major debt. We bought a house in Kansas a few years back. One we planned to raise our expanding family in. It was so close to campus that Justin could ride his bike, and I wasn't sure that we would ever move. After we settled in, we realized that we missed being close to our families. The people he worked with were wonderful, but we had some fiscal concerns about the school. We found the job here and put the house on the market.

Then we found out just how badly the market had collapsed. The house we bought to raise our family in was no longer worth what we had agreed to pay for it. Or even what we owed on it, despite the fact I dutifly wrote checks for more than the minimum payment each month. It was an awful sinking reality. The bank mentioned short sale, but we decided that ethically, we should pay what we owed, even if it was $20,000 more than we would get in the end. Check writing suddenly made me ill too. I even wondered if we should have stayed with the old position.

Last night as I sat running numbers of our tax return and some overload that we're expecting to get from Justin's work, and it looked like it will pay the last of our remaining debt. God has provided exactly what we needed, despite what seemed like a ridiculous sum of money to owe for a one income family. We emptied or savings, cashed out a retirement account, and scrimped where we can, but we were not in this alone--we have had friends come along side us to help, family who lent us money and actually asked to be paid back last, so we can get rid of our line of credit that charges interest first. And you know what, assuming Justin gets to teach the summer class that's on the schedule, it won't just be the debt from the loss on the house--it's also what we still owe on the van, thankfully not too much, so we can be 100% debt free, until we buy a house anyway, with with $103.75 to spare (assuming I guessed right on taxes). What I expected to pay on for five years, may well be paid off in one.

We truly felt led to pay what we owed. And we believe that God has been faithful to provide abundantly.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want so much for our children to be grateful for the abundance we have. We have food to eat, a warm place to live (and even more luxuriously a cool place in the summer), clothes, toys, and so much more.

It's so hard with all that our children are inundated with these days. We have eliminated commercials from our home, but there are still the displays in stores and the birthday/Christmas gimmes. The inborn sin of selfishness. We have a great task as parents to teach our children to be filled with joy and gratefulness.

I hope to model my thankfulness for my children, this Thanksgiving, and every day. I am thankful to GOD for

• my husband of more than 11 years
  
• my three little blessings, who were so worth the wait
  
• my family
• insulin that has allowed my husband to live the past year
  
• the chance to celebrate Thanksgiving with my extended family
• food to eat
• a home
• my husband's job
• having two vehicles
• having a college education
• having friends, even if we are distant in miles, we keep in touch
• my computer, which allows me to stay in touch with many people

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. - Psalm 100:4

Beyond Blessed

We are leaving Kansas in less than 48 hours now. I have to tell you that the past week has been a roller coaster, but through it all God and his people have been there helping us get through some days that have been very hard.

Downtown

On Saturday it became apparent that there was no way that all of our belongings were going to fit in the space we had left. We went through several permutations of things to leave behind, but we weren't coming up with any good ones, as most of them included leaving out several things we weren't ready to part with. We checked into getting a hitch installed, but it would be around $400 plus the rental fee. I called my parents and my father packed up and he drove all day Sunday to get here (with everything he needs including a towel because all but our most essential things are packed), loaded up this morning and is thankfully home safe and sound with such sundries as my washer and dryer.

I went to church promising myself that I wouldn't cry. I didn't even get to Sunday School before I teared up. Kate's Sunday School teacher had a party for the girls. We said good-bye to many people. People who saw us through the birth of two children, the diagnosis of Diabetes (and even gave us our first lessons in handling his diet before we could get any help from the nutritionists), and who have been there to care for and teach our children about Jesus. I think that part of the reason this is so difficult is knowing that we likely won't be back to Kansas. Then we got home and opened the cards we were given. In addition to the lovely toys that the girls got to keep them occupied on the trip we were given money that was enough to cover the cost of the U-haul rental and more.

Then Kate's card...it was exactly what she had asked me for that morning--pictures of her friends. I had snuck in and grabbed a couple of snapshots, but these were pictures of each of the students in her class. God must have led her teacher to fulfill that desire of her little heart before she ever spoke it to me. We caught her sitting and talking to them apologizing for leaving them. It has to be difficult for her too. Hopefully she'll be happy in her new home soon, but I never moved as a child. I was 16 at my first move and it was across town (even in the same school district). So while I've moved many times as an adult, I've not had the pain she must be feeling.

We are so grateful to all those who have touched our lives here and to my poor Daddy who drove all day on his Father's Day to rescue his daughter.

Our Last Family Photo in Kansas

Happy Father's Day

To my Daddy for being able to fix it all and caring enough to do it,


And to my husband who has been a wonderful father to our little munchkins.

Well, we're getting there. Hopefully we'll get there before I loose my mind! Just kidding...sort of. The girls think that the airbed they are "sleeping" on is a great trampoline, Kate didn't know that you throw away paper plates, and I did six or seven loads of laundry yesterday (washing up all our curtains and blankets before packing them. I also found a new purpose for the infant tub we've not been using--it caught the water as I defrosted our freezer.

It's been a week of grace though. We had one gal from church keep the girls so we could go sign the paperwork without their help. I was so grateful for that anyway, but when we found out we were going to owe $2000 more than previously estimated I was even more glad not to have them with us, so I had some time to deal with that. Some dear friends stepped in and offered to pay the difference in the costs for us. Then last night another woman from church came by and kept the three munchkins while we went to use some movie passes we'd had since the fall and hadn't had a chance to use. We are very grateful for the kindness of friends here, but they sure are making it hard to leave.

Haiti

We are beyond blessed. We live in a country where almost all of us are safe, we have clean water to drink, food to eat, and at least basic medical care. The stories coming out of Haiti are heartbreaking. In a country where people already have so much less than we do, they are struggling with inoperable hospitals and chaos beyond our ability to comprehend.

There are many people in need of more assistance than we can imagine. Here are three ways to help.

Why? This Time with an Answer!

What a morning! I got us all bundled up and ready for a trip to the grocery. Ubber exciting stuff, I know. It was 28 degrees, which is ubber exciting stuff around here! I got everyone strapped in and turned the key. Nothing. Nada. Not even the little clicking sound. I try it a couple more times--absolutely nothing.

I get everyone back in the house...crying. Nate's mad he's in his seat and is not afraid to let the world know it. Gabby is crying, "I wanna go to da stoe!" Kate is crying, "What about lunch and gymnastics?" I'm so upset I can hardly stand it--between their crying and knowing this disaster has ruined our day and probably my checkbook. I go back out one more time in some desperate hope I can get it to start. Still nothing. I hit the lock button. The battery is so dead the doors won't even lock.

I go back in, dejected. I get everyone unbundled and call Justin. It's the first day of the term, so he says he'll be home after classes today to see what he can do (probably replace the alternator), but Kate's gymnastics class is before that. Even if I could get the car from him, I can't put all three car seats in it.

I call my friend, who has been having her share of technical difficulties. She is sympathetic and even offered to take Kate to gymnastics for me. I was feeling much better after we chatted. At least Kate would get to her lesson and I could get the groceries later, after Justin was done for the day. I always keep a few extra days of food on hand in case we can't get to the store for some reason anyway.

Then I call my mother to tell her. She lives in Kentucky, so there's nothing that she can do, but sometimes it's nice to whine to someone. The only thing is I feel guilty because I know it makes her feel bad and want to do something.

In this time, I've started lunch for the girls. Then Justin calls back. He thinks it's odd that the brand new battery (see story here) discharged over night. I leave the girls with their lunch and Nate in the play pen to go check on the leads of the battery. One of them was a little loose. He told me to tighten it and try again.

It worked!!!! I was over the moon. I got to call Ann back and tell her how very much I appreciated her generous offer, but that I could take Kate myself. I got to tell my mom that we didn't have to buy an alternator. I even posted it on Facebook.

It reminded me of the story of the Lost Coin (Luke 15: 8-10). I felt like calling everyone and rejoicing.

I believe that these annoying things happen for a reason, be it to teach a lesson or keep us from harm. Usually we don't get to see the "why." This time I did. As I packed up the diaper bag for gymnastics, I found my wallet. It wasn't in the little bag I take shopping, but instead it was in the outside pocket of the diaper bag. I would have gathered my groceries, just to find out at the check out I couldn't pay for them.

Sometimes God is saving us from a bigger hassle in those little annoyances.

A Special Visit

We've been living here in Kansas for two and a half years now. In that time we've rarely had the opportunity to see our old friends. With the distance being so very far, when we do head for my hometown, we don't take time for people beyond our families. We have made a couple of stops in Evansville, where Justin spent most of his growing up years and we've seen a dear friend in Cincinnati a couple of times, but no one had made it out our way beyond our families. So last night was a real treat!

Justin became friends with his physics lab instructor when he was an undergrad at WKU. He and Chip started hanging out some. Then the three of us led music at the Wesley Foundation--they played guitar and I sang. When we got married, Chip was one of our ushers. In turn, Justin was an usher at his and Angela's wedding that fall. They moved from Bowling Green a short time later for Chip to go back to graduate school to get his PhD.

Since Chip grew up in the area, he brought his bride back for a trip to celebrate their tenth anniversary. We were blessed to have them come and visit us last night for dinner and a nice chat. Chip is a physics professor now, so he and Justin were able to talk shop. Angela and I are both SAHMs (Stay at Home Moms), so it was nice for us to talk too.

The girls were exceedingly good. Gabriella was shy, and refused to speak to our guests, but she wasn't clingy or afraid. Kate was quite courteous and didn't interrupt our conversations (a true act of grace for a child who loves to talk). The girls played quietly in the other room and went to bed without much fuss. I couldn't have asked for more. Nate fussed some, but was a good baby overall. It was truly a wonderful evening.

I am so thankful we had a chance to visit with some friends whom we hadn't seen in nearly ten years. What a special treat.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. --Acts 2:42

End of the Year

Well, it's hard to believe another year is coming to a close. It's been an adventure, full of twists that we weren't anticipating, particularly the arrival of this handsome little boy.

Nate -- 6 weeks



My parents bought a cabin.



Justin's parents bought a house.



Kate began gymnastics.



Gabby's vocabulary has grown to rival Kate's.

It's been a good, busy, blessed, and exciting year!

Thankful

I am so blessed. I have a husband who loves me and provides for us. I have three beautiful, healthy children. We have a warm place to sleep and food to eat. We have clean water and enough clothes.

We have family who love us and are willing to fly or drive hours to help us adjust to life with a new baby, not once, but three times. They prepare food for us and stock our freezer. They make late night runs to Wal-Mart to stock up on paper goods before they go home.

We have friends who also help take care of us and were given God’s discernment to stay with us, so the girls did not have to be present at the birth of their little brother. They celebrate birthdays with us when our family is too far away to do so. They bring us meals and give us gifts for our children.

We have a Savior who loves us and a heavenly home awaiting us.

Birth Story

I woke up at 3:30 in the morning with some contractions that quickly moved from 20 minutes apart to about 5 minutes apart. I got up and took a shower and got dressed. At about 4:30 I woke Justin. He got a shower too. At about six I called a friend to come and sit with the girls.

By the time she got here my contractions had slowed down. I sent Justin on to work and tried to send her home. She decided she and her son would stay, and sent me up to take a nap.

About 10:30 I had three contractions about five minutes apart that were quite intense (they had been 10-20 minutes apart before that). I called Justin to come home. I had time to get on my shoes before he walked in the door. I called the midwives' office, where the nurse asked for me to come in to their office. Not what I really wanted to do—I thought we should go straight to the hospital. Then my water broke! As we were on our way up I called back and said I didn't think we'd make it to the office with broken water and contractions now 2-3 minutes apart. We got stuck in lunch hour traffic for 10 minutes or so.

We got checked in, two nurses working to get a lock in, and vitals taken. They started the water in the tub for me. I had an intake time of 11:20. The midwife came in to see me right away—the doctor I saw for my discharge said Lindsey took off running with the call I was here (their office is just across the street). I had a few minutes in bed for the line to be put in and basic evaluation, then they let me get on the birthing ball—I had maybe five contractions there, they were still trying to get a good baseline on baby when I felt the urge to push, so in to bed and maybe 10 pushes (27 minutes after arrival), Nate was born. The tub had been forgotten and nearly overflowed—Justin remembered it. How does he remember that and not the garbage? :)

I still wasn't finished with the admission questions, so I finished those after delivery. We did a one day discharge and we were home Saturday evening.
We’re enjoying our little man. Happy one week Nate!

Your sisters love you too!

It's a...

BOY!

Nathaniel Michael was born Friday November 13th. He was 8 pounds 1 oz. and 19 inches long. More details later!

Surprise

So, I’ve been pretty much gone for two weeks. Last week I was avoiding posting like the plague (more on that later) and this week it’s felt like we’ve had the plague!

I am one of those people that likes to keep some things to myself for a little while, especially when the news is big. But with that the thoughts of it can become so intense that it’s hard to write about other things. Hence the reason I didn’t write last week.

I thought I’d let the girls share the news with you.

Yep, I’m pregnant.

If you look back I the comments from this post, you’ll see we were planning to have at least one more child, but not right now. Of course at the time I was writing that, I was already pregnant and didn’t have a clue. God has a sense of humor. He must have been chuckling to Himself, 'Silly girl thinks she's in charge.'

We’re not sure why God decided that now is a good time. From an earthly stand point the timing is not ideal—money is tight, the economy isn’t great, and we have two small children. I know that God is able to see what this child will need and what he or she will bring to earth. He already knows how He will provide the needs we don’t even know that we require. He stands outside of time and knows all. If it weren’t for that knowledge, I think I would be worried out of my mind.

We wanted more children and will love this baby. We know that Kate wants another sibling. The rest is just logistics and logistics we can handle. Because God knows all that we need.

So rejoice with us in this new blessing!

Now to decide on sleeping arrangements and who will sit where in the van...

The Blessing of Children (part I)

Recently Justin and I have been hearing quite a few negatives about large families (not from everyone of course). And I’m not talking about octuplets. I’m talking about three kids. What?! Since when is that big? My dad was one of six and my best friend growing up was one of six too (her parents had brothers and sisters that they didn’t even know because there were so many of them and they were so spread out).

We prayed for many years before we were granted Kate. Then Gabby came quickly there after. Through out the Bible there are examples of women, once barren who were given one or more children: Sarah, Rebeka, Hannah, and Elizabeth. We are grateful to have one child and overjoyed to have been granted two children to love and raise. We love children and hope to see our family grow at least one more time. Why would such a blessing from God been seen as a bad thing?

We know we aren’t alone. Some of our dear friends are having their third child, and they are often asked if they decided to try for that boy (they have two little beautiful, intelligent girls too). And it’s assumed that this is their last “chance.” It makes them (and me) frustrated. They don’t think three is too many, nor do they try to have more children, just so they can have a certain gender. They love children and believe that they are a blessing!

We had a negative comment when I was expecting our second child, now one of Justin’s colleagues was pressing him because we have “reached our replacement value” by having two. In his mind that meant we shouldn’t even consider adding to our family. We don’t believe that families should be based on “replacing ourselves.” But if we did, do we get to have the extra credits for the fact his parents only had one child and my sister doesn’t plan to have any? Who gets to decide?

What does God say? Well, if you read the Levitical code, the instructions for relations between a husband and wife pretty well set them up to conceive more children. If you’ve ever studied natural family planning, the instructions in Leviticus are written to wait to have relations until the woman is at her most fertile time. He wanted lots of Israelites. More people to worship Him, do things His way, care for others, live according to His laws. If Christians are continually out populated, how can we reach the hurting? We can’t!

My children are a blessing and a gift. I'm not saying everyone needs to have lots (or any) children, but I will be joyful in my blessings--2 or 15.


Support Verses:

Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate. –Psalm 127:3-5

Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there. –Matthew 19:13-15

Leviticus 15:19-28

Besides, when your kids are this cute, how can you stop at just two?