6 Months Ago...

UPDATE (9-29-09): Cora is now 19 lbs and 26 1/2 inches long! She has grown 6 inches since birth!!! How is that possible? She had her shots and a toe prick to check her iron levels. She was given a good bill of health and doesn't need to go back until she's 9 months old! A huge blessing in all this...We learned yesterday that our dr. will not charge full price on vaccines if your insurance won't cover it! Our insurance does NOT cover it so we are VERY thankful for this!!!! Praise the Lord for his provisions again!!!!!

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...our baby was born! I won't say it. I'm not gonna say it! You can't make me say it! OK! I'll say it! I CAN'T BELIEVE CORA IS 6 MONTHS OLD!!!!!!!!! There, happy? :) Yep, she's 6 months old. Though I'm writing this the day before I'll post it, it was 6 months ago today that I didn't think my child was ever going to be born. It was about this time that I finally decided to get an epidural and the lady couldn't do it, and I felt totally hopeless. Praise the Lord for the next guy who came and DID get it in and, oh the heavenly bliss!! I was able to rest, David and my sister were able to rest and maybe Cora too? Not sure. I didn't know that I still had several hours ahead of me, but man, I couldn't wait for this baby to come. And now, here we are 6 months later and my newborn is no longer a newborn or an infant, really. She's a baby and quicker than I would like she will soon not be considered that! We have had so much fun with this little one these past 6 months. We've struggled with feeding issues, napping, and teething. But, the fun we've had far out-weighs the other stuff!

She is literally learning new stuff every day. It's fascinating for me to watch. On Friday she was sitting up for about 30 seconds before leaning too far one way and toppling over. In just one day she went from that to sitting up for several minutes at a time! She's a talker and will gab away at her toys, in her bed, in her swing, on the floor or in her car seat. It's so hilarious! She has said what sounds like "da-da" though we're not sure yet if she knows that that means! :) She is rolling everywhere and knows that if she wants something in particular she need only roll toward it to get it! She is so aware of her surroundings and knows when Mommy and Daddy are not around--which she doesn't like! She is also very much aware of Molly, the dog. She LOVES for Molly to lick her hands and will reach her hands out to Molly just to get licked and will then giggle with glee when Molly does. Cora is great at laughing and gives us great pleasure when she giggles at just anything.

She'll go for her 6 month check up on Monday so I'll have to add an addendum to this blog with her growth progress.

I love this little girl and am so thankful for her! How can 1/2 a year of having her have passed so quickly? I so look forward to the next 6 months and beyond!

What? No Pulpit?

What is it that makes us such habitual people? My mom is often saying that we're all a little autistic, meaning we all hate change and when it really comes down to it don't like to have to do, see, think about things differently than we already do. This is especially true in churches. Have you ever stopped to wonder about the things we do during a church service, why we do things when we do? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, "If we didn't do ______ would the building come crashing down around us?" Being a pastor's wife I have become even more in tuned to the habitual ways of humans--just try sitting in a new spot one Sunday and see the havoc set before you! See, as a pastor and family you come into a new church as a guest, a newcomer, a not-so-familiar person. Your husband is hired to do a job and hopefully by the time he's hired you and the church have a good understanding of what they want, and what your husband's vision is. It's very easy to assume a lot of things. I mean, your church has been doing this, that and the other for YEARS (some centuries) and well, that's how it's always done and don't you know, over time, you start thinking that if it's NOT done a certain way you think it must be un-Biblical? You're laughing because you know it's true! I mean, if you don't do the bread before the GRAPE JUICE (no good Baptist uses wine during communion, don't you know) well, that's just terrible! If you baptise backwards and not frontwards it didn't really take. If you sing the Doxology BEFORE the offering that just doesn't make sense (and, you laugh, but this really did happen. Should we praise God from Whom all blessings flow regardless of how much is in the plates--hence singing before). ANYWAY! I digress...

David, as you know, has been searching for a job. It's most interesting when you meet with different churches. You can get a pretty good feel for what they're looking for simply by their questions. Like, a church that asks me if I play the piano is really wanting the most traditional kind of pastor's wife--the kind who does everything her husband doesn't do, even though her husband is the hired person. Basically, a 2 for 1 deal! The church who asks me where I feel my gifts are is wanting a pastor's wife who is willing to serve the church just as she would any church according to her strength's and gifts. When one of the 1st questions David gets asked is concerning visitation you know it's a church who is set in old fashioned practices and requires their pastor to be at their every beckoned call, rather than understanding boundaries. But, the church who asks David what his vision is for ministry and how he plans to use his gifts for that is a church open to doing the things the pastor feels God is wanting them to do. See the difference?

Oh, boy! I digress again! David was speaking with a member of a search committee today. He had sent them a DVD of one of his sermons. A sermon he preached in a church that is contemporary (meaning he didn't wear a suit, not even a tie! GASP!). The lady asked if he was actually in a church as it didn't look like a church, there was no pulpit after all! :) Sigh...we creatures of habit. I mean, Jesus spoke to the multitudes behind a pulpit, right? I think that was Peter's job, to carry it around with them all over the place. OK, a little sarcasm...

Anyway, I encourage you, challenge you to look at the traditions (that is often all they are) and ask yourself, why do we do it this way? And, ask yourself what it might look like if you DIDN'T do it that way. Would the building really come crashing down? Would you be less of a Christian? No. In fact, chances are you'd experience a time of worship much more fulfilling due to the fact that you are allowing yourself to be open to the moving of the Holy Spirit! Come on...you can do it! :)

Things to be Thankful For

Well, I have tried unsuccessfully to get my text above the photos, so see the photos and then you can read the text at the bottom! Sigh...technology...

Our new car--2003 Nissan Altima!

Cora, being extra cute in Daddy's hat!

She's ready for the Marshall game! Go Herd!

It seems natural when life isn't going the way you want it to just get grumpy, unthankful, and full of complaints. However, David and I find we have much to be thankful for! We have a beautiful, healthy, thriving baby (who will be 6 months on Sunday!) who brings us much joy! She has yet to get sick and is learning and growing every day! We have also been blessed by another great used car!

When my accident happened in December and totaled my car and then when the girl ran into our Honda we thought, what more? But, God is faithful. In both instances he provided a vehicle to replace the one that was lost and it was a vehicle that better suited our needs! Wow! What an awesome God, huh?

We have a roof over our head, clothes, more food than we need and God still provides. It's so easy to see only the bad, isn't it? I challenge you today to stop looking at only the bad and start making a mental (or physical if need be) list of the blessings. You might find your blessings list is much longer! Here are some photos of our blessings!

You Know You're a Redneck When...

David and I went for a walk this afternoon in our little neighborhood. There is one house we hate walking by for a few reasons. Their yapper dog has decided that it should chase us when we walk by; their other dog is much larger and scarier and tied to a shaky shed. When we walk by we always wonder if today is the day dog and shed will be chasing us down the street; and, last but not least, the owners of the house have a flag on before-mentioned shed that says, "kill them all, let God sort them out!" So, you know, they're the real friendly sort! All that to say we hate going by this house. Well, today we were getting close and saw said yapper dog wrestling around in the yard with what we thought was another dog, a puppy perhaps? Well, the closer we got we could see it was NOT a dog. A cat, maybe? No, not a cat. What could it be? Just as we were asking each other what was in the yard with the dog we saw the big, bushy, striped tail--A RACCOON!!!!!!!!!! That's right, folks. The dog was wrestling around with a raccoon! As we past the house we saw that the raccoon was not only in the yard, but had a collar on and was chained up!!!!!!!!!!!! What in the world?????? We picked up our pace and passed quickly. When we got back to our house I mentioned again how strange and then realized the raccoon wasn't in the yard on our way back. David asked, "Was it a pet, or dinner?" We're afraid to ask!

Rollin', rollin', rollin'...

...Cora is a rollin'! Keep that baby rollin'! Rawhide! :) OK, I don't know how the "rawhide" fits with my version of the song, but whatever! The point is, that Cora rolled over twice this morning!!!!!! I had her on her back, on the blanket, on the floor this morning and went to fix a bowl of cereal. I come out to see her on her tummy just looking around, giggling! What did I do? I said, loudly, "YOU ROLLED OVER!" and promptly ran to the bathroom and yelled at David, who was showering, "Cora rolled over!!!" I ate my breakfast, put her back on her back and went to the kitchen to take my pills. I come out to the living room again and SHE ROLLED AGAIN!!!!! The little stinker rolled over twice w/out either of us there to see it! And, wouldn't you know, as we were both in the living room with her she refused to roll! BUT! She can do it and that is MOST exciting! :)

Labor Day Weekend

Our Labor Day weekend was spent in Akron with my family. We celebrated Riley's 1st birthday on Saturday and spent the rest of the weekend with family and friends. It was a great time! I thought I'd let the photos do the rest of the talking!

Sophia--4 1/2

My sister, Ruthie, with Sophia, Riley and Baby Bean inside!

Well, it's obvious he loves chocolate cake!

I love my nephew!

My parents have this swing and it was Cora's 1st time trying it out--she LOVED it!

Finally got a photo of the teeth!!

A Bit of News

Today marks two years that I've been working at my current job. This job has provided for us in so many ways. When we were still at Bankers it really helped us build our savings and pay for the taxes from David's job. Little did we know when I took this job it would also be providing our health insurance and now our only source of income while David searches for a job. It's been a good job, for many reasons, and we are even more thankful for it now!

I'm finally able to say that my sister is pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are so excited for them!!!!!! This will be #7, but only the 3rd one that has made it this far. My sister and brother-in-law have 4 babies in heaven, one of which is the twin of our nephew, Riley. Like me, my sister gets horribly sick in the first trimester. The barfing has commenced, and so she continues to feel like doo-doo. I feel for her. I love that I have been pregnant and can now understand more fully what she is going through! We pray for this little one to grow big and strong. The ultrasounds so far show that he/she is! My sister doesn't have tiny babies (despite she and Jamie not being big people!) so I'm sure this one will give his/her brother and sister a run for their money! :) And, to make this even more fun, Ruthie's due date is March 30, which was Cora's due date!!!!! How fun it will be that these 2 will be a year apart--maybe even exactly a year! :) Christmases will be loads of fun, that's for sure!!!!!!!

We're heading down to Akron this weekend. It'll be nice to be out of Hillsdale/Osseo for a few days. David and I have been very down and depressed so it'll be good to have a change of scenery and remember there is life outside of our little world. I'm looking forward to being with family. Our weekend includes: a massage for me by one of my friends, 1st birthday party for Riley, hanging out with the parents, hopefully seeing "Julie & Julia," and who knows what else! :) We'll be back Monday...

Well, I shall go for now. Nothing too profound in this blog, just a bit of news...