Checking In

Well, I didn't exercise last night nor do I intend to tonight as I am pretty tired. Michaels weekend is over :< I love having him home and hate when he has to leave us every day. However, we are extremely blessed that he works from 4-1 so that he is home to spend time with us in the afternoon and evening. Sam is doing extremely well. He is such a chunk. Yesterday at church a 6 year old boy came over and attempted to play with him. He looked at me after a couple minutes and said, "He's fat. But it's okay, I was too. I was fatter than he is." SO FUNNY!! It's so true too. I love how much meat he has on his bones. I attempted to weigh him the other day by holding him on the scale and it said about 25-26 lbs. Not sure how accurate that is so I'm really wanting to call the doctor and see if I can take him in just to be weighed. He is 8 months old and so close to crawling. I know he'll get it soon and then I'm in trouble. I was making dinner tonight and he so badly wanted me to hold him and kept crying and trying to get to me. When he is able to crawl to me in the kitchen I'm going to have to think of some creative way to keep him out...baby gate perhaps or maybe we'll just put up the playpen?? Some friends from church just had their first baby. It reminded me of the excitement of going ot the hospital knowing that within a few short hours (and yes, they do go by quickly) I would be able to look at the sweet baby that had been growing for the past 9 months. It also made me want another baby. However, I was reminded of the reality of having one needy baby within just a couple of days and couldn't imagine having two. I look forward to one day having another baby but I think I am just going to enjoy each and every moment of just having one and being able to get plenty of sleep (not that I get enough right now but I can only imagine how much worse it gets once you have two). Also, I think Sam is listening closely to everything the doctor's say. At every appointment the doctor asks if his is doing something specifically (this last time it was if he is becoming more of a mama's boy) and the answer is usually, "no not right now." However, within a few weeks if not days, he is doing exactly that. While cooking today, all he wanted was me. He was so fussy until I finally sat down with him while I was eating. He just loves to spend time with mommy. Michael got to rock him to sleep tonight which was a huge help to me and a wonderful bonding time for them. I am so glad that Michael is so much a part of Sam's life. I can't imagine having him be any other way. I praise the Lord for the family he has blessed me with daily.

Getting in Shape

Okay, so when I got pregnant I was told that normal weight gain is about 20-25 lbs. since I was already in a normal weight range. However, I gained about 43. After delivering Sam and finding out that he only weighed 5lbs 14ozs, the first thing my midwife said was, "Well, you've got a lot to lose." Haha. I lost is surprisingly fast or at least looked like I did but I'm still not quite what I was at (I'm currently at about 148). Plus, I am still about 15-20lbs over ideal. It's so hard to lose those last few. It takes such commitment to lose weight. Weight has always been a struggle for me. I remember the first time I worried about my weight was in 7th grade when my science teacher (a man) had all of the students in class get in groups and write down their weight on a piece of paper for everyone to see (I don't remember what it was for). I was 130lbs. I remember looking at other girls and only one was at my weight. By the time I hit 9th grade I was at 150. I continued a slow gain throughout high school and by the time I hit my second year in college I peaked at 175. My ideal weight is between 120-135 (I think...at least that is what I have seen from the calculators online). I really tried to lose weight while in HS but never kept with it. I LOVE FOOD!! I think that is truly one of my biggest problems. I really got serious about exercise and changing my eating habits in 2003. I got down to 127lbs. I loved that I could FINALLY go clothes shopping and wear the cute clothes then never looked good on me before. I worked hard at eating right and not a ton. I remember being hungry but never starved. Obviously once I started at Multnomah I didn't continue my workout regime although I still ate pretty well. I slowly gained back about 10 or 15 lbs. and have stayed right in there over the last several years. I really want to drop the weight back off. So, I am starting to exercise again. Last night I did some yoga and tonight I did some circuit training. I feel so warm and sticky and I never realized just how difficult yoga actually is. I almost gave up 5 minutes in but knew that if I could just get through this first workout tomorrow would be easier. So, tonight was night two and I feel so good to have gotten through. My legs and arms feel like jello and I'm sticking to my parents leather couch. But, I feel so good. Now it's time to work on my will power not to snack on unhealthy candy. Here goes nothing. Hopefully I can stick with it. My goal right now is to simply get through a month and see how I feel. SAM'S CALLING...okay, he just needed his pacey. So, here we go.

Late Night

Well, life has changed quite a bit since our last post, granted a lot usually does happen after 3 or 4 months. Sam is getting so big and is so close to crawling it is scary and exciting. He is so curious and loves to play with the remote control and my cell phone. I have to make sure he has a pacifier in his mouth so that they don't go in. Michael got a job and is working form 4 in the morning until 12:30 out in Hillsboro (about 30-35 minute drive from where we are living). Our intention is to eventually move out there but we are trying to save some money up first. We are still living with my parents and that has been a huge blessing. I've been blessed to be able to stay home with Sam and not have to work so far. It has been wonderful to stay home and take care of the house as well as my son but it is also a bit lonely as he isn't talking. I feel very blessed though and wouldn't really want it any other way. Michael and I are currently assisting in starting a church plant with several other people out in Hillsboro and loving it. The people are amazing and God is doing awesome things. We have already tripled in size and consistently have about 30-40 people on any given Sunday evening. Michael has been assisting with worship and I've helped out in the nursery as the most recent time I put Sam in there he ended up screaming and wasn't calmed until I came in. I love that he is recognizing me now and wanting to have me around. UB is doing the same. We have taken him to the dog park several times and he loves it. He usually gets in the kiddie pool several times after retrieving his ball. He still hasn't understood the concept of bringing it to us and dropping it. Someday...hopefully. I'm not sure if there is really anything else to update about. Life is life and we are going with the flow. This is the first time in 2 years that Michael and I have had different schedules and it continues to be a challenge getting used to him being gone so often. I am slowly coming around but still have days when I just want company. Not sure how many of you still read our blog but I'll try to update more often and as I am usually home that shouldn't be too difficult :>

Here are some pics to enjoy:

Hmm...

Sorry. I know it has been a while since someone last wrote. Life has actually not been crazy lately. However, we are trying to set up some kind of schedule now that we are more laid back and relaxed. The thing I am proudest of is that Sam is now on a schedule. He goes to bed between 9 & 10 and gets up between 4 & 5 to eat and then sleeps until about 8 or 9. It is so wonderful. The day after we arrived in Portland he started to laugh. It is SO ADORABLE! I love him so much. He is such a happy baby and such a wonderful blessing. He seems to have settled down here and I am so glad. The weather has been really wet but it is nice to be away from the humidity. I would post new pics of Sam but I don't have the ability just yet (I need to unpack some of our computer stuff). I can at least give you the low down...he is now 4 months old and when I weighed him on our scale he came in at about 16 pounds. For those of you who keeping track...that is 10 lbs and 7 oz gained from his lowest weight after birth. He is a chunk and has some MAJOR rolls and I LOVE IT!! I completely agree that chunky babies are the best (although I may be a bit biased :)

On the job front, Michael has been applying like crazy. Our hope is that I can be a stay-at-home mom with Sam and any other babies we have in the future. If I do need to work, my plan is to run a daycare. I have had a few people tell me that I should attempt it and since I have been working with kids over the last year and a half I feel well qualified. I would like to wait until Sam is a few months older and able to sit up by himself so that he can occupy himself with stuff but who knows. Necessity may change plans. In the meantime, I am thinking about applying at a temp agency just for an immediate income until Michael finds something long term. At least he would be able to stay home with Sam.

I am sitting here at 12:21 am listening to my hubby play his guitar and sing. I have missed this so much. I feel like I haven't heard him play in months. It is one of the most wonderful things to hear. I can hear his love for music and I remember while we were dating. I can't believe that was almost 5 years ago. God has been so good to us. I know He will continue to provide for us and stretch us. My fear is that I won't be able to stay home with Sam due to our school debt but I know God is the great provider and all things are possible through Him. I am trusting Him to lead us where He wants us.

Thank you for your faithful reading and hopefully the next post will be sooner :D

Oh and we will continue this blog as we feel it is a good way to keep people up to date on what we are doing. Thank you for your prayers and continued support as we continue our journey.

Moving

Well, I was just looking through our old posts and realized I did not post this after writing it...oops. I don't think I ever actually finished it but it gives an idea of some of the things going through my head after the move.

As we drove away from our home in NC, I became very sad. Sad that we were leaving all that we called home for the last year. We made wonderful friends and a few new additions to our family. It became very difficult to leave our NC family. Michael and I talked about all that God taught us over the last year. We have grown so much and learned an enormous amount about ourselves and each other. I praise the Lord for sending us to NC. It was amazing learning to depend more on God and my husband and realize how strong I truly am. I struggled less with homesickness than I ever expected possible and loved the country life. It has actually been difficult getting used to all the cars passing by the house now. It seems very unusual. I am getting used to it. The flight was long but Sam did amazing. He slept through the majority of it and just looked around. I hope he is always such a laid back person. He has been a bit more fussy lately but I attribute it to late nights and early mornings. He is still getting used to the difference in time (I think).

My first mother's day with Sam

Well, my fear as mother's day approached was that I would not feel special or pampered. Growing up my sister and I loved to celebrate our mom and make her feel very well taken care of. We would make her breakfast in bed, give gifts and have fun. As we only have one week left before returning to Portland I feared that some of our kids would have a difficult time with this day and since we have a teen mom I wanted to make sure she felt special as well. Michael started off the day waking up at 6:50 and leaving the house with Sam. He returned home a little over an hour later and laid my sweet baby boy next to me in the bed. He then returned with breakfast in bed, a card and a rose. I am not a big morning eater...don't get me wrong, I would be if I wasn't usually stressed out and crazy busy making sure Sam is fed and changed as well as the other kids. My mornings are usually stupid and I am always tired but it is the only time that Michael knew he would have to celebrate with me and Sam. Here is the list of things he brought me for breakfast: raisin bran, 8oz orange juice, a small hot chocolate, a banana, yogurt, and two of my fav. krispy kreme doughnuts. I only ate about half of what was on my plate and finished off the rest the next morning (although the doughnuts got eaten that evening). In the card were two CD's. The card was amazing. Michael had given the pen to Sam and guided his hand to sign his name. It looks awesome. The rose and the carnation (from church) are sitting in the middle of our dining room table. I took our teen out for dinner at one of her favorite places and got a Bible that I intend to have all the kids sign. It was a wonderful start to a very difficult day...one I don't think I will ever forget. I wish I had some pictures of Sam and I from our first Mother's day but time did not allow. He was pretty adorable though...he was wearing his "I love my mommy" onesie, some sweats and sneakers. So cute! One week until I return to the great NW. Can't wait to see all of my wonderful family and be able to sleep for once (it's crazy that Sam is not the one that doesn't allow me sleep...I always seemed to take for granted those Saturday lazy days...not any more).

Becoming a Mom

Growing up my desire was always to be a stay-at-home mom. However, I never wanted to be the typical 50’s wife who does all the cleaning and cooking. I also wanted a large ranch-style house. I have always wanted my marriage to be a cooperation, which I believe is what God intended it to be. Michael and I discussed this at length before we married. I shared with him my fears and desires as a wife and mother. However, as I have done this job, I have learned that all I want to do is stay home with my son and care for him and my hubby. I want to do the laundry and keep the house clean, I want to do the cooking. I have also realized that I want a smaller house. I want something cozy and comfortable (and easy to keep clean). I know I will have to get rid of a lot of our things when we move into our own place. I am okay with that as long as I am able to live clutter free and clean. I love being Sam’s mom and Michael’s wife. I feel that is what God has for me. It is my greatest desire. My hope and prayer is that we will be able to afford the change. I am already trying to whittle down our expenses to find out what we need to make in order for me to stay home. I would greatly appreciate your prayers.