Friday, December 6, 2013
Megan's first tooth
At 4 years old, Megan lost her first tooth. (Oct. 14th to be exact..about 2 weeks shy of her 5th birthday!) She was so excited! Tim was brushing her tooth that night for bedtime, and it just came out. Megan didn't want to put it under her pillow, but she wanted to show others her tooth. We put it in a baggie so she could show it off! I am not sure where the tooth is now, but the tooth fairy never took it. (She lost her 2nd tooth a couple of weeks later, and she wanted to show that one to others so it has not made it under her pillow. Not sure if she will ever let the tooth fairy come and get her tooth!) Here are a couple of pictures.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Backyard fun!
This summer, we were able to add two fun additions to our backyard-a swingset and a sandbox! We spend a lot of time in our backyard. I love it that at this age for Megan and Emily. I can send them out by themselves while I am working on the dishes or folding laundry at my kitchen table, and they are able to play without me out there. I just open the windows a little so I can hear if there is any fighting or someone is hurt and just keep a watch out for them. Here are some pictures of our fun times in the backyard.
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| This summer Tim decided to build a swingset. James and John were here to help him with this project! |
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| This was our old swingset. This swingset was given to us a couple of years ago or so, and it has been a lot of fun for the girls. We are thankful for this freebie! |
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| But we were glad to upgrade to this one! Tim and my brothers did a great job, and the kids have LOVED having this to play on. |
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| Don't have a lot of pictures with the girls swinging or on the slide, but this is a cute on of Anna being silly! |
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| I was able to find this turtle sandbox at a garage sale for $5 this summer. This has been very fun for the girls. |
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| Even though it is small, the girls seems to be fine all playing in it at the same time! |
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| The smiles tell how much fun they are having! |
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| The girls could go out in the backyard and just play with dirt, leaves, grass, etc. Megan was so excited when the leaves started falling. Here she and Emily are picking up leaves. |
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| Sweet picture of my cuties! |
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| I took some pictures. Love this one of sweet Emily. |
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| My oldest sweet girl! |
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| i was trying to get a picture with these two, but Emily was just being so silly. This shows Emily's personality perfectly though. She is a spunky little girl. |
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| A silly picture by all of us. |
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| Finally a good picture of all of us. Notice Megan's missing tooth!! |
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| The girls were so excited about the big leaf pile, They enjoyed jumping in it and playing around. |
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| Fun times...notice Emily is making a leaf angel! |
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| Precious Anna enjoying the leaves |
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| Megan really loved this. |
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| Emily-still making a leaf angel |
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| Our favorite part about the backyard is that is go right into my grandparents' yard where we get to visit them almost every day!! We LOVE that! |
Monday, October 28, 2013
Tim's is 32!
Exactly a month ago, Tim turned 32. I wanted to get some pictures posted of his special day. Tim and I were able to go out on a date. He picked Outback Steakhouse, and we both enjoyed some steak that night. Nana watched the girls. When we were finished, we headed back to the house for cake and ice cream. Here are a few pictures.
I have never been so thankful for my husband than in this last year. He has been right by my side through some very trying times, and he has been my leader and supporter. I love him so much!
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| The girls wrapping their gift for their Daddy! |
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| I let Megan and Emily pick out his cake. Megan picked the pink strawberry cake, and Emily picked some purple frosting:) |
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| The girls enjoyed making the cake. |
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| And of course, they got to licked the spatula and whisk! |
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| Tm opening his gifts with some help from his girls. |
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| Megan and Emily happily give Tim his cake. |
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| Celebrating with Dad, Mom, Justin, Karen, Grandpa and Grandma |
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| Gotta love the colors |
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| The birthday boy! |
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| I love this man!!! |
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
God's Grace during hard times
Well, this past Sunday, I would have been 20 weeks of pregnancy. We would have known now the sex of the baby and enjoyed that wonderful dr. visit of finding out the gender. God had different plans, and I (Kristen) wanted to share how God is helping us through this hard time. This is a very long post, but I tried my best to keep it from being really long.
First off, I feel like God prepared us for this time. When Megan was in the hospital back in May, I had a lot of thoughts pass through my mind. I knew God was sovereign and in control, and I knew that He had power to heal my daughter anytime He wanted to. For some reason, His sovereign plan was not for my daughter to have a quick recovery and be out of the hospital quickly. During this time of Megan in the hospital, God really worked in my heart about life being all about God's glory. It not about what makes us happy or feel good. It is not about me; it is all about Him. (I have been taught this all my basically all my life, but I feel like during this time of Megan's hospitalization, I really had to work through some things and put what I had been taught to practice. Maybe I should say certain biblical teachings I had been taught for so long were solidified not only in my mind during this time but really in my heart as I went through this trial. ) God really worked in my heart on the necessity of trusting Who He is despite the circumstances around me. My view of God need to be based on Who He is not on what He does. He will never change, but my circumstances will. I read through a lot of Psalms while staying with Megan in the hospital. (I could go on and on about how this trial in my life prepared me for the next big one, but I don't want this to be too long.)
Second, The Psalms really encouraged me. Fast forward exactly 3 months from the day Megan was put into the hospital to when I found out that we had lost our child. I was grieving so hard that first week or so (and still do sometimes). I again thought that God could have saved my baby's life if it was His will, but it wasn't His will. Again, I found myself wrestling with the fact that life is all about God's glory. It was not about me. I found myself having to trust God for who He is. I found a wonderful quote that I had heard at college that stated "When I am baffled at the choices by God, I am quieted by his character." That is so true. I had been once again baffled at the choice of God, but who He is really helped me through this (and continues to help me through this). I again turned to Psalms for encouragement and strength. The Psalms are full of showing us who God is. Psalm 115-116 were my favorite Psalms during this time (as it was during Megan's hospitalization). Here are some of my favorite verses from the Psalms....
Psalm 115:1,3
"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! "
"Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases."
Psalm 116:1-2, 5, 7
"I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live."(What a contrast from the idols mentioned in ch. 115)
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
Psalm 145:17
The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
Third, Habbakuk was a huge source of encouragement. I would have never guessed that Habbakuk would be so useful in my life, but God brought it into Tim and my life the same week the miscarriage happened. Tim was going through a book study called Humility by CJ Mahaney with the men at church. The Saturday morning following our news, the chapter they went over was called "Responding Humbly to Trials" and covered the book of Habbakuk. He came home from Men's Prayer Breakfast and told me I needed to read the chapter. I have read that chapter more than once as it was so helpful. Again, too much is in that book of the Bible and chapter to write it all down, but just one quote that made me really think that is from the book. "What's perplexing is not that you and I encounter suffering in this life; what's really perplexing is that He suffered in our place."
Fourth, songs were a huge help to my heart. Songs would come on the radio, and they would bring tears to my eyes as I heard the truth of Who God is. Here are a few of the songs/phrases of the songs:
"Sometimes all we have to hold on to
Is what we know is true of who You are
So when the heartache hits like a hurricane
That could never change who You are
And we trust in who You are
Lord we know Your ways are not our ways
So we set our faith in who You are
Even though You reign high above us
You tenderly love us
We know Your heart
And we rest in who You are
You are God, You are good, Forever Faithful One
You’re still the Great and Mighty One
We trust You always
You’re working all things for our good
We’ll sing your praise"
"Great is Thy Faithfulness"
"Be still My Soul"
"Oh let Your will be done in me, In Your love I will abide, Oh I long for nothing else as long , As You are glorified"
"I will trust in You. You've never failed before, I will trust in You."
I could go on and on, but music really ministered to me.
Lastly, I will mention family, friends, and prayers. I am so thankful for the ones God has placed in our lives to pray for us and be such an encouragement to us. From notes, to meals, to just conversations with others have been so helpful.
I don't know why God has allowed us to lose Baby Blessing, but I do know one thing. I want to be a help and comfort to those who got through a miscarriage. When I was going through this, I talked with two friends from college who had also gone through a miscarriage. They were so helpful to me during the first couple of days as they answered my questions and listened to me. I will never forget the love they showed me and the help and comfort they were to me during such a hard trial. I pray that I will be able to be a comfort to someone who goes through this trial.
I Corinthians 1:3-5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
First off, I feel like God prepared us for this time. When Megan was in the hospital back in May, I had a lot of thoughts pass through my mind. I knew God was sovereign and in control, and I knew that He had power to heal my daughter anytime He wanted to. For some reason, His sovereign plan was not for my daughter to have a quick recovery and be out of the hospital quickly. During this time of Megan in the hospital, God really worked in my heart about life being all about God's glory. It not about what makes us happy or feel good. It is not about me; it is all about Him. (I have been taught this all my basically all my life, but I feel like during this time of Megan's hospitalization, I really had to work through some things and put what I had been taught to practice. Maybe I should say certain biblical teachings I had been taught for so long were solidified not only in my mind during this time but really in my heart as I went through this trial. ) God really worked in my heart on the necessity of trusting Who He is despite the circumstances around me. My view of God need to be based on Who He is not on what He does. He will never change, but my circumstances will. I read through a lot of Psalms while staying with Megan in the hospital. (I could go on and on about how this trial in my life prepared me for the next big one, but I don't want this to be too long.)
Second, The Psalms really encouraged me. Fast forward exactly 3 months from the day Megan was put into the hospital to when I found out that we had lost our child. I was grieving so hard that first week or so (and still do sometimes). I again thought that God could have saved my baby's life if it was His will, but it wasn't His will. Again, I found myself wrestling with the fact that life is all about God's glory. It was not about me. I found myself having to trust God for who He is. I found a wonderful quote that I had heard at college that stated "When I am baffled at the choices by God, I am quieted by his character." That is so true. I had been once again baffled at the choice of God, but who He is really helped me through this (and continues to help me through this). I again turned to Psalms for encouragement and strength. The Psalms are full of showing us who God is. Psalm 115-116 were my favorite Psalms during this time (as it was during Megan's hospitalization). Here are some of my favorite verses from the Psalms....
Psalm 115:1,3
"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! "
"Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases."
Psalm 116:1-2, 5, 7
"I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live."(What a contrast from the idols mentioned in ch. 115)
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
Psalm 145:17
The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
Third, Habbakuk was a huge source of encouragement. I would have never guessed that Habbakuk would be so useful in my life, but God brought it into Tim and my life the same week the miscarriage happened. Tim was going through a book study called Humility by CJ Mahaney with the men at church. The Saturday morning following our news, the chapter they went over was called "Responding Humbly to Trials" and covered the book of Habbakuk. He came home from Men's Prayer Breakfast and told me I needed to read the chapter. I have read that chapter more than once as it was so helpful. Again, too much is in that book of the Bible and chapter to write it all down, but just one quote that made me really think that is from the book. "What's perplexing is not that you and I encounter suffering in this life; what's really perplexing is that He suffered in our place."
Fourth, songs were a huge help to my heart. Songs would come on the radio, and they would bring tears to my eyes as I heard the truth of Who God is. Here are a few of the songs/phrases of the songs:
"Sometimes all we have to hold on to
Is what we know is true of who You are
So when the heartache hits like a hurricane
That could never change who You are
And we trust in who You are
Lord we know Your ways are not our ways
So we set our faith in who You are
Even though You reign high above us
You tenderly love us
We know Your heart
And we rest in who You are
You are God, You are good, Forever Faithful One
You’re still the Great and Mighty One
We trust You always
You’re working all things for our good
We’ll sing your praise"
"Great is Thy Faithfulness"
"Be still My Soul"
"Oh let Your will be done in me, In Your love I will abide, Oh I long for nothing else as long , As You are glorified"
"I will trust in You. You've never failed before, I will trust in You."
I could go on and on, but music really ministered to me.
Lastly, I will mention family, friends, and prayers. I am so thankful for the ones God has placed in our lives to pray for us and be such an encouragement to us. From notes, to meals, to just conversations with others have been so helpful.
I don't know why God has allowed us to lose Baby Blessing, but I do know one thing. I want to be a help and comfort to those who got through a miscarriage. When I was going through this, I talked with two friends from college who had also gone through a miscarriage. They were so helpful to me during the first couple of days as they answered my questions and listened to me. I will never forget the love they showed me and the help and comfort they were to me during such a hard trial. I pray that I will be able to be a comfort to someone who goes through this trial.
I Corinthians 1:3-5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
From Excitement to Grief
On June 24, 2013, I took a pregnancy test that confirmed I was pregnant. I was ecstatic! Tim was had not gotten home from work that morning so I was debating how to tell him. (He did not even know I had taken a pregnancy test or that I was going to. So he would be very surprised as I had not mentioned anything to him about me possibly being pregnant.) N-way, I guess I was so excited I just decided to show him the positive test of the picture I had taken on the phone. (Yes, very creative, right?) When I showed him, he asked me who was pregnant. I said me! I think it took him a little bit for the news to sink in.
We were thrilled to have our 4th baby on the way. The due date was March 2, although I have a feeling it may have been a Feb. birthday as I have been early on my first 3 babies. We told our parents that day and then our siblings in the few weeks after. We decided to wait until our first dr. appt. to let the whole world know as we did with our first 3.
Fast forward to Aug. 6th-It was my first dr. appt. I had gone by myself as Tim had worked all night, and I wasn't even sure if I would even get an ultrasound as I only get one with my insurance. They tried hearing the heartbeat, but with me only being 10 weeks, they figured it was just a little early to hear it. I had mentioned that hadn't gained any weight or been sick. (I thought that was a little weird, but I figured that was the way it was. I wasn't very sick for Anna so I thought maybe this go around I wouldn't be sick at all.) So they decided to give me a free ultrasound. My ob dr. gave it to me since it was free. I normally would be sent upstairs for ultrasounds. (He has done this with my last 2 girls...given me an ultrasound just to make sure everything was fine on my first dr. visit since he couldn't get the heartbeat.). He tried to find the baby, and couldn't. He asked me if I was for sure on me being 10 weeks, and I said I was sure. He brought in another dr. to see if he could find the baby. Well, he found the baby, but the baby was no longer living. The baby measured 7 weeks and 4 days. Oh, how my heart hurt when I saw my lifeless baby. It is a sight I will never forget. Somehow I got home to Tim and we cried together. It was to be such an exciting day where I could share my wonderful news to my friends and extended family, but instead turned into a day of deep grief.
I ended up having a D & C procedure a couple of days later. The only reason I mention this is b/c when I came out of the procedure, Tim said that I kept saying over and over, I never got to hold our baby, I never got to hold our baby. Even though I don't remember that at all, those words show exactly how my heart hurts so badly that we never got to hold our baby.
It has been 1 1/2 months since this difficult news. We still feel pain and sadness and tears are shed, but the days have gotten easier. God has been faithful to us, and our family and friends have been very supportive. So thankful for that. This is never what I would have planned or wanted, but we know our sovereign Lord is in control. ( My next post is going to be on how the Lord is getting us through this trial. Hopefully it will be written soon.)
We decided to name our baby Baby Blessing. We know that even though we didn't ever get to hold him/her or see him/her, he/she is a gift from the Lord. We are thankful to the Lord for him/her.
Baby Blessing,
We are so thankful that you are our child. We love and miss you so much. We know you would have loved your 3 older sisters, and they would have just given you so much love. We wish we could have held you and loved on you, but know the Lord is taking care of you. We will never forget you.
Love,
Dad and Mom
We were thrilled to have our 4th baby on the way. The due date was March 2, although I have a feeling it may have been a Feb. birthday as I have been early on my first 3 babies. We told our parents that day and then our siblings in the few weeks after. We decided to wait until our first dr. appt. to let the whole world know as we did with our first 3.
Fast forward to Aug. 6th-It was my first dr. appt. I had gone by myself as Tim had worked all night, and I wasn't even sure if I would even get an ultrasound as I only get one with my insurance. They tried hearing the heartbeat, but with me only being 10 weeks, they figured it was just a little early to hear it. I had mentioned that hadn't gained any weight or been sick. (I thought that was a little weird, but I figured that was the way it was. I wasn't very sick for Anna so I thought maybe this go around I wouldn't be sick at all.) So they decided to give me a free ultrasound. My ob dr. gave it to me since it was free. I normally would be sent upstairs for ultrasounds. (He has done this with my last 2 girls...given me an ultrasound just to make sure everything was fine on my first dr. visit since he couldn't get the heartbeat.). He tried to find the baby, and couldn't. He asked me if I was for sure on me being 10 weeks, and I said I was sure. He brought in another dr. to see if he could find the baby. Well, he found the baby, but the baby was no longer living. The baby measured 7 weeks and 4 days. Oh, how my heart hurt when I saw my lifeless baby. It is a sight I will never forget. Somehow I got home to Tim and we cried together. It was to be such an exciting day where I could share my wonderful news to my friends and extended family, but instead turned into a day of deep grief.
I ended up having a D & C procedure a couple of days later. The only reason I mention this is b/c when I came out of the procedure, Tim said that I kept saying over and over, I never got to hold our baby, I never got to hold our baby. Even though I don't remember that at all, those words show exactly how my heart hurts so badly that we never got to hold our baby.
It has been 1 1/2 months since this difficult news. We still feel pain and sadness and tears are shed, but the days have gotten easier. God has been faithful to us, and our family and friends have been very supportive. So thankful for that. This is never what I would have planned or wanted, but we know our sovereign Lord is in control. ( My next post is going to be on how the Lord is getting us through this trial. Hopefully it will be written soon.)
We decided to name our baby Baby Blessing. We know that even though we didn't ever get to hold him/her or see him/her, he/she is a gift from the Lord. We are thankful to the Lord for him/her.
Baby Blessing,
We are so thankful that you are our child. We love and miss you so much. We know you would have loved your 3 older sisters, and they would have just given you so much love. We wish we could have held you and loved on you, but know the Lord is taking care of you. We will never forget you.
Love,
Dad and Mom
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