Elijah Neal {36 weeks}

Well, today I am 36 weeks pregnant! I have an appointment tomorrow and I am going to try to convince my doctor to induce at 38 weeks. He was already planning on inducing before my due date anyways so I think he will be okay with this...hopefully.  With Josiah, I was so against being induced.  I wanted him to come on his own timing and as naturally as possible.  After going two weeks past my due date, 26 hours of labor, a vaginal birth to an almost 10 lb. baby, and 35 stitches (in a not so pleasant place), you can probably guess that my thoughts on being induced have somewhat changed! Though I would still like for Eli to come on his own, I'm not going to risk his life. I will never forget the feeling of almost losing Josiah when he was born...I can vividly remember how blue he was when the doctor was finally able to pull his stocky shoulders through...and I will never forget the relief and unbelievable thankfulness to God that I felt when the nurses finally said that his heart was beating and he was breathing...You can probably imagine how traumatized Jordan and I both were after that! We both said that we weren't having any more kids! Obviously, we had a change of heart...So here I am today, only two or three weeks away from having Eli, and I am so thankful to God for giving me a peace about this birth.  I know that He is in control and everything is in His hands...I have nothing to worry about!...

I think I'm more concerned about being outnumbered 3 to 1 than I am about the birth! haha...there's going to be way too much testosterone in this house! But I am so excited that Josiah is going to have a brother...and they will only be 19 months apart...wowzer! They are going to have so much fun making messes like this together (though, I'm sure they will be much worse):

(caught red handed!)

Boy, is my world about to change! It's just so hard to believe that we are about to have another baby and it's even harder to believe that he will be small enough to fit into this:

And it's hard to believe that he will soon be here and sleeping in this:

...and I'll be carrying size 1 diapers again in this:

...and I'll have even more laundry to do because this closet is FULL of Josiah and Eli's clothes!

...and just because, here is a picture of the boy's room:

Sanctity of Life {Josiah 18 Months}

As I look at these pictures of Josiah that I took yesterday, it's hard to believe how much he has grown.  He is almost 18 months old now! It blows my mind that he was once small enough to fit inside my tummy:

(Josiah's Sonogram Pics)

And it blows my mind that this little guy in my tummy right now will be as big as his brother before I have the chance to turn around:

(Eli's Sonogram Pic)

As I was updating Josiah's scrapbook and picture albums just the other day, this overwhelming sadness came over me...not because of how fast he has grown or anything like that.  No, my heart was hurting for all the babies who are murdered everyday before they are even born...who never get the chance to know a mother's love....to feel the warm sun on their skin...to collect sticks and rocks...to hide blocks in their daddy's sock drawer, and so on.  My heart hurts for the woman who will never meet the life forming inside of her...who can't sleep because she is haunted with the guilt of ending a life...her own baby's life.  I hurt because we live in a country that values animal rights over the ultimate human right: the right to live.  But I applaud the people who are trying to change this like the state of Ohio for its heartbeat bill.  This bill, if passed, would prevent the abortion of babies after 18 days from conception, since this is when a baby's heartbeat can be detected.  Since most women do not know that they are even pregnant until 4 weeks, imagine the decrease in abortions! Oh, how I pray that this bill passes and that other states would follow in Ohio's footsteps! Although, I believe that abortion at any stage in pregnancy is murder, I think that this bill if passed and made into a law, would be the first step toward banning abortions altogether...one can only hope.  So, I ask you who are reading this right now, to stop and say a prayer that this bill would pass.  Thank you!

Don't Wish a Season Away

Jordan and I had such a good time at the Valentine's Banquet that was held at our church Saturday night.  It was the first time in awhile that we had gotten away without our monkey man. 

The speaker at the banquet was Wib Newton who is a marriage counselor.  He is a wonderful speaker and did an amazing job.  But one thing that he said stuck with me above all the rest. These simple words: Don't wish a season away.  Oh, how I needed to hear that. Though I love this season of life that I am in right now, some days it is so easy to wish that I was done with the "pregnancy years" and our kids were more dependent.  Take this morning for example: It wasn't even 9 o'clock yet and Josiah had managed to sneak into our closet and dump all the folders and their contents out of my filing cabinet.  He had also dumped every single one of his toys out of all four of his toy bins AND dumped my clean clothes out of the laundry basket onto the floor that had not yet been swept. (I really don't know what I'm gonna do with another little boy who will probably follow in his big brother's footsteps!) All of this normally would have had me a little frustrated but then I reminded myself that this is a season that I will never be able to get back once it's gone. There will come a day when I look back and miss this season of my life.  I will miss the little boy who snuggles with me when he wakes up in the morning and showers me with kisses and love pats on the head... I will miss finding fruit loops in cubby holes all over the house...I will miss that mischievous little grin... how he hides in our closet and tries to scare us...how he can watch the same Veggie Tale episode over and over again...how he splashes water everywhere when taking a bath....I could go on and on and on...


So this morning, instead of getting frustrated, I smiled and started taking pictures and videos of Josiah's "activities"...

But for as many memories that there are like the one above, there are just as many sweet moments like the one below:

Homemaking: Making a House a Home

There is a desire in just about every woman to make a house a home...it doesn't matter if she is a stay-at-home mom, works from home or works outside the home.  Why is this? Because God has shaped it into our beings as women. What an honor to be given such a duty by our Creator.  When you think about what all making a home entails, it is nothing to be taken lightly. It's about creating a safe haven for your family: a place where your husband can relax after a long day at work...a place where your children are loved, nurtured and growing in the Lord...a place where guests feel welcome. You see, homemaking is so much more than just decorating, housekeeping and cooking. More importantly, it's the love that we pour into doing these things.
Proverbs 14:1 says, "Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands." So the question I ask myself everyday and I encourage you to ask yourself is this: Are you building your home with love and a Godly attitude or are you tearing it down with nagging and pity-parties? Don't get me wrong, it can be very easy to get discouraged in this area and I have been guilty of hosting my own pity-parties, big ones at that! But God has a way of sending me encouragement right when I need it.  A very sweet lady from my church growing up sent me this letter a couple of days ago and I would like to share it with you...

Continue On

A woman once fretted over the usefulness of her life.  She feared she was wasting her potential being a devoted wife and mother.  She wondered if the time and energy she invested in her husband and children would make a difference.

At times she got discouraged because so much of what she did seemed to go unnoticed and unappreciated.  "Is it worth it?" she often wondered.  "Is there something better that I could be doing with my time?"

It was during one of these moments of questioning that she heard the still small voice of her heavenly Father speak to her heart.  "You are a wife and mother because that is what I have called you to be.  Much of what you do is hidden from the public eye.  But I notice.  Most of what you give is done without remuneration.  But I am your reward."

"Your husband cannot be the man I have called him to be without your support.  Your influence upon him is greater than you think and more powerful than you will ever know.  I bless him through your love."

"Your children are precious to me.  Even more precious than they are to you.  I have entrusted them to your care to raise for me.  What you invest in them is an offering to me."

"You may never be in the public spotlight.  But your obedience shines as a bright light before me.  Continue on.  Remember you are my servant.  Do all to please me."  (author unknown)

I thought that this quote was appropriate:

 

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.”

A "Sweet" Blog

                                                  

Chocolate Molten Cake



This cake creation happened about on Tuesday night at about 11:00 pm when Jordan and I started craving something sweet and unhealthy...I don't keep a lot of sweets in the pantry because let me be honest, I'm a meat and potato type girl.  It's pretty rare that I get the hankering for something this sinfully sweet.  Okay, so it was 11:00 pm and eventhough my craving for sleep was a lot greater than my craving for dessert, Jordan insisted that we raid the pantry and create something out of what we could find. This is what we found:

German Chocolate Cake Mix

Hershey's Semi Sweet Morsels

Hershey's Caramel Filled Kisses

Pecans

Jordan suggested that we melt the chocolate to make a topping for the cake since we didn't have any icing.  So while I made the cake Jordan unwrapped the caramel filled kisses and crushed the pecans...then he preceeded to tell me that he was sleepy and I found him lying in the bed with Josiah...just like a man! Of course, I told him to get his booty out of the bed since he was the one who started this whole cake creation anyway, to which he replied, "I'm not sleeping...just laying here with my buddy."............sure..............back to the cake....

So after the cake was done cooking and cooling, I melted the semi-sweet morsels and kisses on the stovetop using the double-boiler method by placing a bowl filled with the chocolate inside of a pot filled with water....then Jordan showed back up (just in time) to suggest that we go ahead and cut the cake into squares so that the chocolate topping would seep into the cake like a sponge.  I have to say that this was a great idea! (If you have had Chili's Chocolate Molten Cake then you know what I'm talking about!) So we cut the cake into squares, poured the topping over the cake, and sprinkled the crushed pecans on top. This is what a cut piece looked like:

And yes, it really was as good as it looks...I just wish that we would have had some Bluebell Vanilla Icecream to go with it......

Elijah Neal {32 weeks}

It's been awhile since my last pregnancy update and a lot has happened.

*On January 6th I had my Rhogam shot and my glocuse test (28 weeks). Unfortunately, the glucose test came back abnormal.
*On January 13th, I retook the glucose test (29 weeks).  This time the test came back normal but just barely.  I am borderline gestational diabetic, which explains why I sometimes get shaky and light-headed after eating foods that are high in sugar content.  Fortunately, this should go away after I deliver, but it can cause some major problems during the pregnancy which is why I have been trying to avoid as much sugar as possible...this really isn't a problem for me in terms of sweets and desserts...the hard part is carbs...I LOVE bread, potatoes and pasta! sigh....
*My 30 week appointment/ultrasound went well...my placenta has moved enough to where I won't have to have a scheduled C-section! : ) Praise God! Also, Eli was weighing 4 lbs. and 3 oz...just a little scary considering the fact that we still have a few weeks to go! Fortunately, Dr. Lamar plans on inducing me at 39 weeks. Here was my bump at 30 weeks:

*My 32 week appointment was scheduled for this past Tuesday, but Vernon and the surrounding area received a ton of snow/ice and the clinic was closed.  I would have ended up canceling this appointment anyway because the night before (Monday around 8:30), I lost all my dinner.  After that, I threw up every hour all night long up until 1:30 the next day.  This threw my body into labor and by the time my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart, we were already on our way to the hospital in Wichita Falls despite the horrible road conditions.  Fortunately, they were able to get me rehydrated with two bags of fluids and were able to stop the contractions.  I was discharged that night.  Today is Saturday and I am just now starting to feel back to my normal, pregnant self again...every once in awhile I will get a burst of energy, over-do it and have to lay down for a few minutes...I forget that it takes me longer to recover from being sick when I'm pregnant.  But I am so very thankful that the worst is over and that I am on the mend now.  I'm even more thankful that Eli is still safe and sound in my tummy and still developing.  Roughly 6 more weeks to go!