4/30/11

the easter pic

We had a great easter!
Here is David and Mackenzie, them with my nephews, and them with the cousins and my other nephew on tims side of the fam.


4/28/11

Patched.

Patched.

That's what I heard at sweet David's eye doctor appointment this morning. I got hot, wasn't able to focus on anything else the doctor was saying, and wanted to just cry in the floor and let my 4 and 2 year old console me.

Patched.
Eye doctors will patch the good eye in hopes of strengthening the bad eye.

To start from the beginning, it was 1 month today that David got glasses. However, he's only been in the glasses for 2-3 weeks since they had to be ordered. We went in today for a checkup for them to see how he was doing.

He had a rough transition. Thank God I got a warranty on those suckers b/c the first week he had them, he would get mad and chunk them on the pavement, throw them on the floor, and once out of the car on the parking lot. He was just over them and didn't really get the importance of them at first. After the first week, he adjusted and slowly has gotten used to them and happy.
SO, you can imagine my SHOCK when they say they are ready to PATCH him. I wanted to say, Can we give him a break please??? Can we give ME a break please?!! But, I didn't. I acted like a big girl and tried to understand everything I could.

It's amazing really. In the 3 weeks David has worn glasses, his eye has gone from 20/100 (remember 20-20 is perfect vision) to a 20/80. So, it's improved a whole level!! So, that let the doctors know that his eye could be "re-trained" to see at the correct refraction.

So, since his eye showed strenthening, they are going full-force. He has to wear the patch 6 hours a day, every day. We'll go back in a month. They will test vision again. If it improves, the patch stays until it improves to 20/20. Then, the patch will go away. I don't know how long it will be, and I did not ask on purpose. Glasses will stay on until age 8 b/c that's when the eye finishes developing. And if they pull the glasses before then, the eye could go back to it's old ways.

So much mothers have to learn. Did you know you would know so much being a mom? Having kids? I have learned a wealth of knowledge about umbilical cords to patches on the eye, sheesh.

Anyway, the sweet Lord allowed this to be a super easy transition. I thought David would FREAK with me patching his eye, but he is more excited about this stupid patch than ice cream. And runs around screaming, "Arrggghhhh!! I'm a pirate!!"

He didn't want to take it off after the 6 hours.... go figure. It's basically a big band-aid with cute sport boy stuff on it and it goes under the glasses. I'll snag a picture soon but I didn't want to whip out the camera quite yet.

I am praying for complete healing for my sons eye. Complete vision restoration. Would you join me? I told David we would ask Jesus to heal his eye.... and I'm too late. God has already started. I know He is going to restore David's vision. And I want David to be apart of seeing Jesus answer prayers. Why not pray that, ya know? We serve a God who is mighty to save.... not to mention, healing the blind.

4/23/11

4.23.11

Today marks the one year anniversary of when our 12 month storm began. We signed closing documents on our home on 4.23.10.
Sometimes, I find myself staring off.... Sometimes, silence falls between my husband and I. And I know what we are both distracted by in thought.

These are the things that pass by my mind as I process and move forward with the life that is in front of us. These past 12 months have brought so much change, but at the core... life changing values that I hope to become a better woman through.
I think about...
~How we thought we were being so random by putting our house on the market just to "see if it would sell". We were hoping to buy a bigger home (Oh, I laugh about this one a lot)

~How God brought us buyers who offered full price 13 days later.

I think about,
~How we started looking for homes, asked Tim's parents if we could move in until the new one closed, and how we almost put a contract on one in Roswell.

~ How the day I was getting paperwork ready for an offer, Tim called home and told me he was on his way home. He had been laid off his job.

~How we both just cried and tried so hard to understand what was going on. Why had God sold our home and now taken Tim's job??

~How we had such sweet friends comfort and pray for us. How my best friend that lived 2 doors down came over and just layed in the bed and cried with me as I sat in our house full of boxes.

~ How we tried to make light of our trials that at least we were both home to pack. We moved all our stuff to storage unit. And we called Tim's parents and told them we were going to need to stay a little longer.

~How I said goodbye to my sister and she moved to Savannah.

~How I helped my family move my sweet grandma into assisted living.

~How I've never baked a meal with so much love then the day my dad came home from the hospital having his Stage 1 Melonoma Cancer removed.

I think about ...
~How Tim went on a soul-searching journey the next month to find out what it was that God had designed him to do.

~How he became interested in HVAC and God provided a full scholarship for school, work, and all the tools he would need.

~How we quickly saw God's plan unfolding as our house selling allowed us the financial freedom and location freedom to pursue a career change for Tim

~ How within a month a buyer fell through on my grandmothers last rental property and the door opened for us to buy it interest free.

~ How even in our darkest moments, anger towards eachother, and bitterness, we managed to pull together, both work, raise babies, renovate a house, and pave through a new found career.

~How much our families and friends surrounded us, helped us, and physically came to work on Nellie Mae.

~How we completed the house, moved in with still so much work left, and were so blissfully happy just to have a place of our own again. (we moved in without hot water)

~How job offers rained down from the sky and Tim is now so happy and successful.

~But then how we quickly found out we were accidentally pregnant and then miscarrying at Christmas. A painful reminder of the unfortunate previous ones we have had.

~How we found a church home here, friends, and made a new home.

~How much I've realized that all my kids know as home is Tim and I. Home is not walls to them, just us together. They have an appreciation for family and love simple things.

So yes, during those silent times, sometimes we just look at eachother and smile. Only him and I have been through this specific storm together and what we've conquered is a bond that we share. We have become quick to listen to God, and quick to yield our plans and desires to Him. Our feathers don't really get ruffled. We bend with the wind.

Because on this Easter weekend, God has made himself alive to us in many ways.
He is alive because He never left us in the storm. He was with us conversation by conversation, moment by moment, and literally brick by brick building our new house and life together.

Our house was therapeutic for us. The renovation was about 4 years of stress from a Sales job that Tim got to have one huge outlet for. Some days I would just drive by the house, see Tim covered in dirt from head to toe, smile and hand him lunch. And leave.
The song, The House That Built Me, came on all summer and in so many ways.... it did shape and build who we are.
Thank you Lord for helping us. It' s the journey that God is interested in. We wanted a home, and He handed us a hammer! He gave us everything we'd need to get through the storm.

He is risen indeed.

4/22/11

:: Easter ::

The Easter clothes are ready, the camera battery is charged...

the Easter baskets are ready (they each just get a toy, candy, and this year I put in a Maytryoshka Doll from Tim's Russia mission trip!)

the cookies are baked...
and the story of the gospel is alive and real.




John Piper has many great resources on his site, http://www.desiringgod.org/, and the scripture memory Fighter Verses are one of my favorites. They even have them for children.


I love that the gospel is so simple and has no barriers from the youngest little ones to the oldest generations.


I am thankful and ready to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ this weekend.



By His wounds we were healed for our salvation, and every morning that I wake up.

4/17/11

D.I.Y.

That's right, a little Do It Yourself yard work!
Yay for some completion!!!

Here are the yard pics from our yard renovation over here! www.thenelliemaeproject.com

4/15/11

Get Educated.

So the owner of Tims company has teenagers, and Jesus can you just please save us all? They are a strong, Christian family and their kids to go private christian school, but boy.... let me just tell you how quickly educated you can become hanging out with a teenager. I went into mild hysterics realizng that my children will one day become teenagers.

I am finishing up Elisabeth Elliots book, The Shaping of a Christian Family. And do you know what? She doesn't believe in teen years. She said teenagers is a coined myth that America has come to expect their kids to act a certian way. And, in their household, the teen years were a breeze. She has been amazing to read and study.

Anyway, I overheard the owners teen talking about Star 94's 90s weekend. Her comment to her friend was, "Oh great, Dad is going to listen to this all weekend... old people's music." I am 29 and I've never been labled old. Until now. I think I sometimes believe I can shelter my kids and play ignorance of what is "current" in their age. That's a bad idea. I want to know what's going on with the culture that will have some (hopefully not a lot) influence on who they are as a person.

I remember my parents being very involved with even the music I listened to growing up. I specifically remember coming home one day with the Offspring Cd. My dad opened in, read the lyrics, and the CD was immediatley thrown in the trash. (To my disfortune, I think the first darn song he read was "Bad Habit". Some of the greatest moms and dads out there with teens have facebook accounts and are friends with their kids. They immediately have access to see more about the friends their kids have made. Anyway, just for fun, I downloaded all the top searched songs for your music enjoyment. Even though I have heard some songs/bands.... admittedly, one or two were new to me.... happy listening! I downloaded the top 15 searched songs. And I had to add this.

Tim did a "test" and asked David, "Hey David, what's mommy's favorite music?" And David replied, "Mommy likes Jesus music. And she likes when Jesus sings." Haha! He thinks Jesus is singing in some of the songs, so cute. But seriously, can we all band together in prayer that by the time are kids are teens, Ke$sha will be long gone?!!

4/14/11

pics up!!

I was informed my pictures from vacation were not able to be viewed! Not that anyone probably cares except the grandparents, they are up!! It is our snow trip a couple posts below =) Tomorrow I am hoping to have our Nellie Mae Yard Renovation pictures up! You can visit the site here to see the before and the process!

4/13/11

Making the Doughnuts

Growing up, my mom always said "Time to get up and go make the doughnuts!!" Doughnuts as in $$$$. So funny to me. I say that to David a lot and he laughs b/c we LOVE dunkin donuts over here, coffee and the donuts!! I by no means think that we were put on this Earth to just make money, we believe strongly in the Great Commission and if you can find what God put you here for and be successful, well then that is a plus!! I would trade contentment over money any day of the week! Anyway, everyone I talk to or see is asking me about Tim and the new company launch!! If you missed it, he does Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning, thus... HVAC. You can wow people now that you know what it stands for =) Well, it is going absolutely gangbusters as Tim and I say when we get over-crazy busy! For the past 5 years, the company has been busier and busier. But, THIS year, they are hitting record numbers and it is only April! Tim is super happy, super busy, and fulfilling ever God given talent he has between doing hands on service, repair, installations, maintainence, sales, and business development. I really can't say more than that, other than if you know the quest we've been on to find what God would have us do here on this Earth for Tim as a career, this is it!!! We are coming up on the 1 year mark (April 23) from when our house sold and Tim was laid off. It is MIND BLOWING what the Lord has chosen to do with us over the past 12 months. I did start a house cleaning business a year ago, and gladly and sadly have had to cut all my people out but 2. It was the original plan, for me to do my business until we resumed normal life. I'm having a hard time letting it go now though! It's become a little outlet for me, so I think as of now I may keep my 2 families! It's really nice feeling like I can contribute a little and have a break from itty bitties at home! So, that's our status. We've literally almost hit every stressful event in the past 12 months, but God is so faithful. For so long it felt like God left us in the storm.... and for what it is worth, my mindset is forever changed. It is during those times in the storms that I learn the most about myself, my faith, and God's relentless love for me to know him more. And because of that, I am forever glad we can praise Him in the storms. Here is Tim's company's website if you need some HVAC work! It is under construction, but has company info posted! http://www.abramsair.com/

4/12/11

Worst Mother of the Year

I am calling myself that because poor little Mackenzie has been going potty since she was 15 months old. For whatever reason, she is obsessed with going pee-pee in the potty. For months now, she would come running up to me and say, "Mommmmmmmyyyy!! Need to go pee pee in the pottttyyyy!!" And do you know what my response was, "It's okay sweetie, just goooo in your diaper, okay?!!" What mother says that? Me, that is who. You see, I believe it's more that the mother has to be emotionally stable than the child. Ha! And that I am not! I was just not ready for 2 small children and potty breaks in public places. Especially since little girls can't stand up when they pee. So, I finally gave in. I pumped myself up and leave it to my mother to finally confront me and say, "Jennifer! Potty trian that poor child before she looses interest!" And she is right, M was so excited about it she basically potty trained herself. I'm so sorry for anyone out there who is in this stage. I pray one of your children will be easy to train, as David was not a walk in the park like her... Anyway, we took a much needed family vacation 2 weeks ago. Yes, I brought my own baby potty and she went in it during our roadtrip. Nothing like the smell of urine while you are all in a minivan. We went to Beech Mountain, where Tim's sweet grandparents have a vacation home there. It was breath-taking! It's been 2 years since we have gone. Well, I knew it might be cold in the mountains, but we got 4 inches of snow!!! Not quite the warm, sunny trip I had envisioned, but the kids had a field day! We watched movies, tv, read books, went sledding, drank 2 boxes of hot cocoa, played boardgames, went out to eat every night, and SLEPT!! It was everything and more that a vacation should be. The kids are 4 and 2 and at the most fun age ever. I can't wait to travel more all together. Here are the pics! And yes, we did fly a kite in the snow when it was 27 degrees and we also got to hear "snow thunder"!











4/11/11

Blindsided.

I have so much to update on that I am having a BLOG-A-THON this week to catch up!! So this is Day 1.

Blindsided, that is what we were.

First, my dad likes to keep us on our toes. We kicked off spring with him in the ER overnight. Long story short, he was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia, had tests and surgury, and is okay now. It is when part of your stomach purtrudes up into your diaphragm. It is complicated, but very common for men in their 50's. Basically, it causes you to strangle... bad side effect. The surgury fixes it and he is on some medication. We are so glad that he is okay! I am so glad our sweet Lord watches over us and always seems to put wise doctors in our path.

Second, at David's 4 year check up, they did a routine eye exam. He was goofing off and acting 4, so they couldn't tell if he couldn't see or if he just wasn't cooperating. They said if I wanted to make sure, take him to a Pediatric Optometrist. I love having peace of mind, so my mother's intuition kicked in and I decided to take him. And I am so glad I did. Turns out my poor baby was practically blind in his left eye. And I had no idea! After freaking out a little, they explained its the only way he has ever seen, so his brain has trained his eyes to "make it work." Basically, his right eye is almost perfect 20/20 and his left eye is 20/100. Thus his left eye being lazy. The plan: David will wear glasses until he is 8 years old, I know! So long!

They are hoping that the left eye will strengthen itself and between the glasses and maybe periods of being "patched" (where they will cover the strong eye for a period of time), he will come off them completely and his eye will correct itself. This happens about half of the time. The other half of kids will stay on glasses because their eye stayed the same, improved a little, or even got worse. They have no idea because you can't predict what an eye will do, but we caught it early. My little man has had a tough time for sure. He does NOT want them on his face =( He can, however, see better! He tells me all the time how well he can see. So, he has a love/hate relationship with them right now. We take them off during his nap/rest time, anything involving water, and at bedtime. Oh, and the trampoline. He is getting used to them more and more everyday, but is definitely aware of other kids not wearing them. Of course, I am his mother and I happen to think he is the most precious child on the planet and looks ridiculously cute. So far, people have said he looks like the little boy from Jerry MacGuire and little Ralphie from The Christmas Story. Ha!! Whatever, but I do pinch his little cheeks all the time! We kind of joke b/c David has similar personality traits of a grumpy old man. He is intense, sensitive, and a little grumpy sometimes. We'll see if his glasses change him at all.... it had to cause frustration and headaches not being able to see clear! And I know he is as smart as a whip b/c the fact he is able to write his name, draw, and do school with one eye is crazy!

This was our first conversation about the glasses:
Mommy- "David, mommy thinks you look SO handsome in your new glasses."
David- "Well, I'll wear them for a little while."
Mommy- "Sweetie, we are going to have to wear them a lot and keep them on so that your eye that is hurt can get better!"
David- "Well.....If I have to wear glasses alot, can I get a cane too?" My poor sweet baby associates glasses with old people b/c we visit my grandma so much at the assisted living home and everyone has canes to walk!
Mommy- "No baby, you don't need a cane. You might hurt yourself of people with that!"
So, here he is!!

Popular Posts