No more "quiet time"

Check out this blog post at Girl Talk about No More "Quiet Times". Be blessed.

Menu Plan Monday - Mar. 31

After last week's events, I'm hoping for just a simple week this week. Yet it'll still be busy with Kevin's long work days and misc things we need to get done (taxes, new drivers license, dress shopping, doctor appointment, etc) It was an enjoyable weekend with friends though, and I'm happy to say that Eli is just fine. I still get worried though and watch his monitor quite a bit during the night. It's just one of those things that takes time for it to all pass. So here's just a normal menu for a normal week...

Monday - vegetable stew, pears

Tuesday - hot dogs, carrots, apples

Wednesday - marinated BBQ chicken, corn, potatoes

Thursday - eat out

Friday - turkey pita tacos, peaches

Saturday - ham and cheese quiche, fruit cocktail

Sunday - homemade pizza

For more great menu ideas visit Laura at Organizing Junkie! Have a great week!

Sunday Psalm

Psalm 8

O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and avenger.

When I consider your heavens,
the works of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.

You have mad him ruler over the works of your hands;
you have put everything under his feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Thankful Thursday at the end of a scary day (Updated)

Whew. What a day it has been. I sit here at the end of the day reflecting on today's chain of events and how thankful I am that God brought us through it....

Around 10:30 this morning I set up "blanket time" for Eli and noticed that he must not be feeling well, because he was too quiet and mellow. He was mostly just sitting on the play blanket with his blankie and not playing with any of the toys, except for sort of playing with his stacking rings a little bit, for the entire 40 minutes. Yet every time I looked at him he'd still smile back, so I wasn't super concerned but knew he wasn't well. When "blanket time" was over I turned on some kid cartoons so he could just relax and not do much. Then I tried lunch but he didn't want it, so I didn't push it. Kevin was home from work by then. And then we put him down early for his nap since he was obviously quite tired and not feeling well. He didn't really feel warm to the touch so I didn't take his temperature. About an hour later (1:30) we were just waking Hannah up from a nap to feed her when Kevin noticed on the video baby monitor that Eli was twitching. I immediately took a look and knew something wasn't right so I shouted to Kevin "Go! Just go!" and he dashed up the stairs to finding Eli in his crib having a seizure! He was drooling, "foaming at the mouth", and clenching his teeth, convulsing (typical, I guess), and I ran to the phone to call 911. Eli had stopped seizing but was still out of it and unresponsive--spaced out eyes and still trembling. Paramedics arrived and I rode with him while Kevin followed with Hannah (still not fed) in the van. Eli was blazing hot with a temp of 104, so the cause of the seizure was that his temperature spiked too high too fast and shocked his body. Once at the hospital he got checked over and the best guess at this point is that the fever is from an ear infection. He didn't show any signs of his ears bothering him but when the doctor took a look, one ear was blazing red and the other was normal. They took a blood culture and we'll know tomorrow if there was something there. We got home just after 7:00 tonight. Eli's appearing fine and was in a good mood and talking. When we left the hospital his temp was down to 100.1. We'll have to wake him in the night to check his temperature, but he's already on Motrin and antibiotics so we don't expect it to spike again, but we definitely want to keep an eye on it anyway. It was a VERY scary day! I am soooo thankful Kevin was home because when I saw Eli having a seizure I just FREAKED OUT and was almost hyperventilating and crying. i didn't know what to do and I was panicking. It's so awful seeing your child not right like that, and it makes me tear up just thinking about it again. I am thankful for our video monitor so we could even know that was going on with Eli! I am so thankful that I was home too because I had just been running errands at Walmart while Eli was napping. I am thankful that Hannah was a patient baby, as she had to wait a good 45 minutes before I could actually sit down and feed her. I am thankful for the kind nurses and doctor. I am thankful that the medicines worked right away to get Eli's fever down. I am thankful for the periods of sleep Eli was able to get here and there in between pokes and prods. I am thankful that it's just because of a fever that he even had the seizure and that we have those answers instead of having to worry about a greater problem. I am thankful that we are home now and we can rest after such a crazy day. Tomorrow we'll take Eli to our regular doctor for a checkup, and hopefully we'll have some more answers and a good report.

Tonight I go to bed praying that Eli has a good night of rest, that his fever stays down and continues to drop, that he goes back to sleep easily after we wake him to check his temp, and that this is all over soon!

UDATE: Eli had a good night last night. We woke him up at 11:00pm, before we even went to bed, to check his temp and give him motrin. He went back to sleep just fine, slept peacefully all night, and woke up at his normal time as his normal chipper self. His temp was only 97 this morning so that was good. His check-up with the doctor today was very brief and positive: still as far as we can tell it's an ear infection. But still the blood culture isn't done, and I imagine they'll call if they do find something there. Otherwise, I assume we'll be just fine if we keep with the medicine. Praise God! From here on out, since there's a good chance it could happen again, any time Eli has any fever at all, we have to really watch it, and as soon as it gets above 100, then we start loading him up with meds to get it back down. Still sounds scary and I'm sure every time he gets sick I'm going to worry. But at least we know that's just how a child's body can respond to fever, and if there is a next time, we'll feel a little more prepared.

Weekly Memory Verse

So it's 11:00am already and I just realized that it's Wednesday and I need to post a memory verse! Sorry I've missed it the last two weeks. We've been so busy with visitors but yesterday my brother Paul left and he was the last until Mom and Dad come again in May. I need to keep reviewing for awhile, so this week I'm going back to one of the very first verses I memorized...

Joshua 1:8
Do not let the word of the Law depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night, so you will be careful to do everything in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

If you'd like to join me in memorizing Joshua 1:8, sign your name below. May it be a blessing to your life!

Menu Plan Monday - Mar. 24

Hope you all had a happy Easter! We enjoyed our time with our little family and my brother who is visiting. It was my 25th birthday yesterday too so it was an exciting weekend! And for those of you wondering, Eli is doing MUCH better! We've had three days of him being "normal" now--praise God!

Monday - out to dinner for birthday celebration

Tuesday - quesadillas, apples, carrots

Wednesday - chicken divan, oranges

Thursday - spaghetti casserole,

Friday - marinated BBQ chicken, corn, potatoes

Saturday - momma's night out with the ladies!

Sunday - Christian fellowship with friends!

For more delicious menus visit Laura!

Thankful Thursday

I have a few minutes in the early quietness of this morning. But I've been out of touch and just wanted take a moment to think on all that I'm thankful for. Honestly, it's been a hard week. Eli is going through something terrible with his teeth, we think. He is throwing tantrums left and right and crying all the time. Not necessarily disobedience just VERY short-tempered and NO patience. We know something is up because sometimes nothing happens and he all of a sudden just starts flipping out. We can't make it through any meals without major drama, unless there's perhaps all finger food just to avoid any frustrations with a fork or spoon. It's been three straight days of this, and I'm about losing my mind! We've been giving him Motrin and lots of love, but he's still a mess! BUT despite all of this, I am thankful...

I am thankful that Kevin has had a light work week, so he's been home quite a bit to help share this heavy load. And as sad as it is for our guests to witness all this, they've been really great about understanding what we're going through.

I am thankful for friends visiting. For much of my life I've felt like I'm not worth making a trip for, just because no one ever did. But two weeks ago two friends and their son flew here, and now another one of my college friends is here visiting for a couple days too! Our time together has been blessed indeed!

I am thankful that last night Hannah slept all the way from 10pm until 5:30am!

I am thankful for the rotten days because when we were at our worst the other day, God brought it to my realization that I cannot do this on my own. I cannot be a Godly mother without God! It's been over a month since I've had any Bible time or prayer, and boy, can I tell! So Kevin and I both decided to really change that and make God a priority again. God is working on our hearts and giving us the peace and patience we so desperately need through these trying times. And since it's my goal (#18) to read the Bible in a year and I needed to set a start date for myself, I'm choosing this Sunday--Easter and my 25th birthday--to start this journey through the Bible. And I'm excited about it!

I am thankful for God's saving grace and the love of Jesus Christ that sustains us through all of life. For forgiveness and salvation, freedom and purpose. Thank you, O God, my Father!

Well, I'll sign off for now. But for more Thankful Thursday visit Iris! Have a blessed weekend and Resurrection Sunday!

1 Month Update

Wow, I really can't believe Hannah is a month old already! More than that actually! This month has been so busy with visitors and adjustment, it's just flown by! And we have more visitors yet this week! We're doing pretty well. Just depends on the day, I guess. Eli loves Hannah but I think he has a really hard time when he doesn't get much attention FROM MOMMY. He'll throw tantrums left and right and just be overall really rotten. So those days are really hard. REALLY HARD. And it's hard to know how to handle those situations. We want to be consistent and still correct all his behaviors but at the same time, when we know it's caused by something greater, it just seems useless. So the last two days I've been spending a lot more time with him and it's gone so much better. I've even gotten to nap with Eli in our bed! Something we've been wanting since he was like 5 months old! We'll get there...

As for Hannah, she is just the sweetest little girl. Very easy baby. She's very content. She sleeps all day practically and then has alert time around 4-7 and then back to sleep. She only wakes once in the night. She nurses great and I'm loving it. We've figured out a great feeding schedule. She only cries if she's hungry or tired really, and then it only takes swaddling her up and snuggling her for a bit, and she's fine. We've been trying to establish good sleep habits based on what we learned from Eli. We haven't needed to use a binky at all, so we continue to avoid it (as once it falls out, Baby awakes. we learned that from Eli.) And since we don't have room to put up the baby swing, we haven't been using that either (where Eli had to sleep a LOT.) And as much as we love holding Hannah, we're trying to put her down when she's still awake and lay her in her bassinet, so she learns to fall asleep on her own in her own bed. We don't do this all the time yet, but it's a good start to good sleep habits. We are so blessed. I believe every baby has a "thing" though. For Eli it was breastfeeding issues and night wakings, and for Hannah it's vomit. About once every single day she vomits an entire feeding all over me right as I'm burping her or while still feeding. So we're trying to figure that out. It's any time during the day--sometimes right before bed, sometimes in the middle of the night, sometimes during the day. I try very hard to get good burps throughout a feeding, and she usually does pretty good but sometimes not but it doesn't mean she'll throw up though. And it's not just like one big spit up, it's like continuous vomiting until the feeding is out, and it's really sad to see. But I'm not ultra-concerned because she's such a happy baby, it's only once a day, and she's gaining weight well (she's 9 lbs 8 oz now, just over 2 lbs since birth!). I'm tending to think it's either she overeats, she really did need a burp in there, or it's just from that underdeveloped valve that all babies have. We'll see. The navy home nurse said we'd just keep an eye on it.

We've all been out and about quite a bit. I just put Hannah in the front pouch and I can take Eli anywhere like normal. We've visited our stroller class a couple times now, and we're looking forward to when the new spring session starts the end of this month and we can get back to regular walking!

As for me, I'm hanging in there. Even though Hannah only wakes once in the night usually, I'm still very exhausted. The day is just so busy now with no down time. And I've been napping a lot of days during Eli's nap (the last two days it was because he was so upset), so I feel like I'm not getting anything done around the house. We'll get there. I just have to really make sure I'm in bed as close to 10 as I can, get up before the kids even if it's just a few minutes, and really be productive during Eli's naptime and after bed. One little bit at a time though. And hopefully someday soon I can get back to more blogging! Anyway, just wanted to post an update since I feel like I've been gone so long!

And of course a picture! This is Hannah trying on her new Easter dress...

Menu Plan Monday - Feb. 18

More visitors this week Wednesday thru Tuesday! Busy week!

Monday - sloppy joes, mashed potatoes, oranges

Tuesday - chicken tenders, mixed vegetables, apples

Wednesday - black bean and rice enchiladas, pears

Thursday - stuffed pasta shells, garlic bread, oranges

Friday - pizza (something quick after return from airport)

Saturday - chicken divan, peaches

EASTER Sunday - glazed ham steaks, sweet potato casserole, fruit salad, rolls

Sunday Psalm

Psalm 116

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he hard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.

The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came upon me;
I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the Lord;
"O Lord, save me!"

The Lord is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
The Lord protects the simplehearted;
when I was in great need, he saved me.

Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.

For you, O Lord, has delivered by soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
I believed; therefore I said,
"All men are liars."

How can I repay the lord
for all his goodness to me?
I will up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.
I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.

Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.
O Lord, truly I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant;
you have freed me from my chains.

I will sacrifice a thank offereing to you
and call on the name of the Lord.
I will fufill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord--
in your midst, O Jerusalem,

Praise the Lord.

Like father, like son

Check out these pictures from when Kevin was young and what Eli looks like now. See any similarities??

Kevin when he was young

Eli at 18 months

Just because...

...she's so stinkin cute!

Weekly Memory Verse

Review verse

~*~
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
~*~

If you'd like to join me in memorizing this verse, sign your name below! May it be a blessing to your life!

Menu Plan Monday - Mar. 3

We have friends coming later THIS WEEK! We are so excited! Not sure what our plans will be so this week I'll just plan meals (thru next Wednesday, the day our friends leave) and later we'll figure out what day we're having what.

Monday- spaghetti, garlic bread, pears

Tuesday- pork chops, pumpkin dinner rolls (still finishing off the pumpkin I pulled out of the freezer the other day), corn, applesauce

Wednesday- dinner provided by Amy (thanks!!)

Thursday- something easy

Friday- Pizza Casserole

Saturday- Grilled Chicken, home style mac n cheese (I tried this last week, and it was seriously so good I want it again this week!), green beans

Sunday-French dip sandwiches, oranges, veggie chips

Monday-out to eat

Tuesday- taco salad, peaches

Wednesday- pancakes, fruit

Lunches--oriental salad, sandwiches, turkey panini, loaded salads, chicken fingers

Breakfasts--french breakfast puffs, pumpkin bread, banana bread, cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit

For more menu ideas visit Org Junkie. Have a great week!