Thursday, March 29, 2012

Unemployment Update

I thought I'd just give an update on my hubby's job search.

Well he's still searching...

But, he has had his orders extended for another month an a half temping at the Air National Guard Base. He's been doing this off and on now for almost a year.

For some reason God really want him out on that Base. He's had multiple really good interviews with various different companies, but it always seems to be that they go with one of the others they interviewed. He has gotten discouraged a few times, but then they extend his temporary orders on Base. Every time he thinks God is directing him away from Base, God steers him right back to it.

It's kind of frustrating, but I trust that God has Nick right where He wants him.

I can't help but be reminded of the lyrics to the hymn "His Eye is on the Sparrow". It speaks such encouragement that God has is all worked out to His greatest glory. I'm trying to let that truth bring me peace, but every once and awhile I doubt God and His plan. In those moments I just remind myself of how faithful to work everything out He has been up until now. I'm trusting that He will continue to work it out for His glory and His plan.

I just wish I had the inside scoop on what He has up His sleeve!



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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Productivity


So I used to be an extremely productive person. I had lists. I usually accomplished everything on those lists. I even had time to do things I love and still accomplish the tasks on my list.

Then I had a baby.I was extremely disillusioned that I would have time to get things done while still taking care of my baby. My husband would probably tell you I was disillusioned with a lot of things when it came to having a baby. That's a story for another day!

Maybe I just have an overly needy baby. I don't know. It just always seemed like I could never put her down for more than 10 minutes to get something done. I don't even want to admit how many times I've gone without a shower or even changing my clothes out of my pj's.

Thankfully that has changed for the better. I won't say that too loudly for fear that Evelyn will hear me and go back to her neediness.

I think the many reason for the change is this little huge guy.


Evelyn loves this thing. She can stand, which she loves to do. She can chew on things, also a happy pastime of her's.

Now I'm not a huge fan of the enormous size of it. It is going to have to be a regular fixture in our living room till she out grows it, because it doesn't fit through our hallway or doorways for that matter. I can get over that though. This beautiful thing allows me time to get dishes done or prep dinner or even just spend a little time talking to my husband in the evening without Evelyn having to be the center of attention. Now I can be productive again!

Thank you In-law's for the early Easter present!

Also the fussiness/not sleeping has subsided. Low and behold her first tooth broke through the gums on Sunday. I have that little bugger to blame for my cranky baby. So there is peace full nights sleep in our house once again. At least until the next tooth decides to make it's appearance and mess everything up. As is life with an infant.

I'm linking up with Laura@Bits of Splendor  for her Bit of Splendor Mondays. I know it's Tuesday, oh well!

bits of splendor monday

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Treading Water

Today has been one of those days. More correctly this week has been one of those weeks. All you moms out there know what I'm taking about.

I try not to use my blog has a means to complain, but I need to vent.

A little back story. We started Evelyn on rice cereal about 10 days ago. At first we did every other day, but then moved to every night. It was wonderful. She loved eating it and it helped her sleep through the night. I was getting at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Which up until then I'd be lucky for a stretch of 5 on any given night. There was only one hitch to the rice cereal. It was making Evelyn a little constipated. Fast forward to yesterday and it had been 3 days since she last pooped. (I promise I won't stay on this topic long,) I tried giving her a little water, but since Evelyn is 5 months old and never had a bottle that made it extremely difficult. Our doctor said to try some apple juice, but I was wondering how I was going to get her to take it. So to wrap up the story, she pooped last night just after we went to the store to buy apple juice. Now were headed back to rice cereal every other day to try to let her body adjust.

Not only were we dealing with tummy issues she's been teething for the last couple of days.So she's been irritable and just plain not fun to be around. This also has been making her sleeping at night hit or miss.

Last night she only got up once, but after 2 nights of barely getting 3 hours straight of sleep I just couldn't handle it.

I've been feeling like I've been treading water just trying to keep my head up for quite sometime now. I had taken care of infants before. I had been a full-time (then part-time) nanny for almost 5 years. I had taken care of extremely fussy infants with chronic ear infections. Nothing though could have prepared me for motherhood.

Maybe it's the hormones. Maybe it's the sleep deprivation. Maybe I wasn't being realistic about my exceptions in the beginning. Whatever it is I just feel like I'm drowning. It seems like any tiny step forward we take, where things get just a little bit better, we take one massive slide backwards.

I'm sure I'm being overly dramatic, but I'm at the end of my rope.

All of this is taking a toll on my marriage. So not only am I not wanting to do this mothering thing anymore, I'm struggling with being a wife too.

For having this be the life I always thought I wanted for myself, I'm finding it really hard to want it from day to day.

I know that deep down I still want this. I still want to be the stay-at-home mom and wife I always dreamed of being. I'm just feeling like Satan is trying to drive me into the ground and get me to give-up. I don't want him to have this power over me, but choosing joy seems so hard right now.

I guess I'll just repeat Jeremiah 29:11 to myself over and over again. Then I'm going to get up and get dressed and pull myself together. I'm going to take some tylenol for the headache I have from all the crying. I'm going to put on make-up to try to mask my puffy eyes. Then I'm going to repeat Isaiah 41:10 to myself. And then I'm just going to try to smile.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

"Do not fear, for I am with you; 
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand" 
-Isaiah 41:10 (NASB)

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Glazed Corned Beef Recipe

So St. Patrick's Day has one awesome perk for our household. It means Corned Beef Brisket is on sale enough for us to be able to afford one. I wait all year to make this recipe.

You'd think I would get smart one year and buy more then one and keep the extra in our deep freeze to pull out and liven up our weekly menu sometime. I never seem to think of that till it's too late. Oh well.

Anyways I thought I'd share my family's recipe with you.

Glazed Corned Beef

Ingredients:
Corned Beef Brisket (I usually get 2-3 lb, but whatever fits in your crockpot will do) 
2 onions; cut into 1/8's 
6 carrots; peeled & cut
3-4 celery stocks; cut into 1/3's

6-8 red potatoes; peeled & cut in half or quartered depending on the size
1 small head of cabbage; cut into 1/8's

Glaze:
6 T. brown sugar
1 T. ketchup
1 T. prepared mustard

Directions:
Place corned beef, all it's juices & spice packet (which comes in the package of corned beef) into your crockpot. Fill with water just so that the brisket is covered. Add your onions, carrots & celery on top & around the brisket. Cook for 12 hours on Low or 6 hours on High. 

After cooking in your crockpot remove the veggies & meat. Pour the liquid from the crockpot into a large pot. Bring to a boil on the stove. Add your potatoes & cabbage, it's ok if the cabbage isn't submerged in the liquid. Cover and cook until potatoes & cabbage are tender. About 15-20 minutes mattering on the size of your potatoes. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice meat & place to one side in a 9"x13" pan. Place onions, celery & carrots at the other side in your 9"x13" pan. Mix up your glaze ingredients & spoon over meat & veggies. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. 

There you have it! This was always the way my mom made it for our family growing-up. It's honestly the only way I enjoy corned beef. Hope you enjoy it too!

P.S. I meant to take a picture of it, but totally spaced it! You'll just have to imagine. 

Monday, March 19, 2012

Walks in the Park

We had some crazy beautiful weather this last week. Almost summer like weather, but without the crazy humidity we get. This meant we spent a lot of time outside once my hubby got home every night.

Thursday night right after Nick got home we got ready and headed to a local park to walk around the lake. It was beautiful and there were a lot of people there.

I even took the opportunity to take a few pictures. Which I never seem to remember to do. I'm even in a couple. It's crazy since I'm usually the one wielding the camera.

Here's my favorites.
The Whole Family


Evelyn loves being outside. 


This one's my favorite! 


Daddy and Evelyn. 


bits of splendor monday

Monday, March 12, 2012

Big Dreams On the Horizon

So our church just finished up a sermon series on the book of Amos. It was all about the injustice that surrounds us and what we as Christians are called to do about it. It focused a lot on becoming aware of the injustice that we close our eyes to or maybe even bring about ourselves and what we can do to change it.

One of the initiatives that our church is starting is trying to make sure every child in the foster care system has a loving Christian home to live in. As being the largest evangelical church in our state we are hoping to be an example and help other churches to come alongside us. There are enough people in churches around our state to take in every child in the foster care system. We have this chance to change our state! To give every child a loving and God centered home!

Nick and I had been always planning on being foster parents one day. We always thought we'd wait till we were done having our own children and let them grow up a bit so that we might be better equipped to take care of a child of any age. Now we are prayerfully considering doing it sooner. First we'd like to start with respite care for Foster families. That is, being trained to take kids for a weekend or overnight so that their foster parents can get away and have a break. Then taking in foster children ourselves.

We aren't sure the timeline of this. We have to first clean up our basement bedroom. That is going to take a lot of work, because technically it isn't even a bedroom right now. So not only do we have to re-drywall the room, we need to install an egress window so that the room is within code to be a bedroom. We have a bathroom down there that needs to be fixed up, though that isn't a top priority. Lastly we need to re-carpet the entire basement, because it has been ruined by lots of different things.

Since Nick is still only temping we don't even know when we could possibly start this huge project. So we're praying. It's all in God's timing. I'm excited though!

Happy Monday!
bits of splendor monday

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Courage in Waiting

"Wait for the LORD; 
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD."
-Psalm 27:14 (NASB) 

The words of David in this Psalm speak directly to me. I'm being reminded of this concept of waiting on the Lord from every direction; from what I'm reading in God's Word, from fellow blogger posts, from pretty much everywhere. 

Yet I find this to be a constant struggle of mine. 

I'm also finding that it's not just a lack of patience like I always assumed it was. No, instead I'm finding it has more to do with me not just letting God be God. I find myself waiting for Him to do things my way, not His way. Somehow thinking that I know what is best and God is just my means of getting what I want out of life. 

This is a very sobering realization to come to. 

God right now is teaching me something. He's teaching me that I need to fully trust in Him and His timing. That I need to through aside my plans and let Him take the reigns. 

When I really sit down and think about it, I don't know that I have ever fully let God take control of any certain situation. I've always held on to just a little of it, however minute. Praying for things to work out my way. Not just letting God be God. 

I want my heart to take courage like David wrote. I want to have courage in waiting for the Lord, not anxiety or frustration that things aren't working out the way I would have them work out. I want my strength and courage to come from trusting that God's timing is best. 

This my prayer:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight."
-Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB)

Monday, March 5, 2012

My Man!

Regardless of how clique it's sounds my hubby is honestly my best friend. We both honestly would love to spend every moment of everyday together. That of course is not realistic, but we would love it all the same.

It kills me when he has drill (He's in the Air National Guard) weekends. It means 12 straight days of only seeing him for a few short awake hours each day. Add in the stress of having a very needy 4 month old and I start to get worn down.


See I have this tendency to become depressed. I went through a really dark time through high school (I plan to blog about it sometime.) where depression ruled over me. I used proud to say that I hadn't been plagued with a season of depression for over 3 years, but then I had my daughter. While my depression isn't all encompassing or even a daily struggle right now, that doesn't mean that on the days it does strikes it's any easier to deal with. (More on that some other time.)


My hubby though is like a ray of sunshine in my life. He has this way of getting me to smile and encouraging me like no other person can. He pulls me out of those lows and helps me to see God even when He feels so far off. That's why drill weekends are hard, because weekends are what I look forward to. Not only is my hubby home all day, but we get to go worship God at our wonderful church on Sunday. My two favorite things!

Thankfully today my hubby took the day off work! He needed a break from work & he knew I needed a break from the baby. So he took the day off to be with us! I'm so thankful for this time with him!

Oh & we're gonna drop the little one off at grandma's & go have lunch just the two of us! I can't wait!
bits of splendor monday