Hope after Loss

March 19 marks the day, last year,  I saw two pink lines on a pregnancy test. Most get excited, nervous, shocked, but for me it meant that I was at a crossroad. This would end in either a baby, or a loss, as the last 3 had done. Emotions weren't as present as they had been before. Hardly even shock. The only think I could think was 'Lord, can I go through this again?!'

I called my mom, and let Little Man stay with her as I headed towards the doctor's office to get a lab test done. I had gone for infertility before, and was designated as high risk, since I had 3 losses. The last loss had seen me be put on progesterone, and it was imperative for me to get tested as quickly as possible to hopefully keep the little one.

I got the call back that afternoon telling me that my HCG was 12, only 1 more than it had been the last time, when I had lost the last one. My heart sank, with only a glimmer of hope being that my progesterone levels were normal.

I waited 2 days, tested again, and had an agonizing day and a half wait for the results. The office had something going on, which prevented the nurse getting back with me. I was deep in prayer the entire time. I asked God for a 30 (numbers should double in 48 hrs) to give me relief that this pregnancy was 'It'. I asked, and asked, and asked. The day was the longest day ever! 4 pm on a Thursday, while teaching piano I got the call 'Your numbers are normal, you are good to go! We will see you at 9 weeks!' I could hardly contain myself in front of my student. 'What were my numbers?' I shakely asked. '48.' 48! My numbers had quadrupled in 48 hours!! For the first time, in the 2 years since we had been trying, it looked like we might have a baby!

Everything went smoothly. Both my pregnancy and delivery was very easy, especially compared to my son's! The first time I went for an ultrasound was the most emotionally joyful day I had in a long time. I saw a perfectly formed baby and I broke down. After 3 babies in heaven, I thanked the Lord for letting this one stay.

She's here now, and already 3 months old. She's beautiful, and perfect. Definitely worth the wait.

Is there something in your life where it feels as if God has stopped listening? I pray you will understand that He truly is. The timing may not be right, or it may be something He is saying 'no' to, and we must simply understand that we don't understand. I don't understand why I had to lose 3 pregnancies, but I do know this: God is good. Whether it looks like that or not.

Monday Motivation: Tackling the Kids' Bedroom

Kid's rooms are so difficult to keep clean and organized. As soon as you clean them, they are destroyed 5 minutes after the kid enters it again. I have tried to make sure my son cleans up after himself, but I had let it kind of go the last couple of weeks.

A fussy baby had me focusing on the front of my house and ignoring the 4 year old tornado blown room. When we decided to upgrade our son's bed to a twin size, it was time to tackle the beast.

This picture was taken about 20 minutes after starting and I was about ready to throw all his toys in a trash bag! Thankfully I had somewhat recently set up a cube organization system, and that helped with knowing what needed to go where so that everything could fit back in the room (neatly!) again.


Since Little Man's room is small, I knew some of the big toys had to go. We've decided the tool bench can be a playhouse toy, instead of an inside toy. A diaper box and a trash bag worth of donation toys later, and the room was finally looking better.

An empty room is so satisfying!! 

While looking for a new bed, my in-laws mentioned an old metal bed frame that was in storage. It had been in storage for many years, and I was nervous about it's condition. However, it was a beautiful painted red, and besides a few dings and scratches, in great shape! It was perfect for Little Man's superhero bedroom and perfect for our budget too!

Here is the bed with the cube units. Finally everything has a place, and everything is in its place. Once books or toys don't fit we take out that category and figure out what needs to be thrown away/donated. And when I say 'we' I mostly mean me. Sometimes I do get my 4 year old involved, so he knows how to sort through his own toys. If he was allowed to make all donation decisions, he would have an over crowded room, though!

Note: One of the cubbies was in the living room at the taking of this picture.

I really love my sons little superhero room. I love it even more now that more history has been added. Not only is the chifforobe from my mom, when she was little, but now this bed is my husband's uncle's when he was little. And to complete the history, are the two rocking chairs: one from my childhood, and the other my husband's grandmother's when she was little.

Hope this inspires you to organize your own kids room!

Remember:

Kids don't need every toy they've ever been given. 
Just keep the toys that they've played with in the last few months. 
Get storage that your child can keep up themselves!

Here are some of my favorite organizational pieces!

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Monday Motivation: Post coming soon!

Monday. Ah, that day of the week where the freedom of the weekend comes crashing around you. For me it's my husband going to work, leaving me to parent the two littles, all while homeschooling Little Man, keeping the newborn clean and fed, the house in a semi decent shape, and teaching piano. While I feel truly blessed to stay at home with my babies, stay-at-home moms can still feel the Monday blues. 

That's why I decided to pick blogging back up and start with a new theme. While at a different day of the week (shooting for each Friday) I will do more of my Youth Pastor's wife-ey thing (something more spiritual), and on Monday, you'll see something that will hopefully inspire you. This can be homeschooling, home improvement, money management, or journaling. 

My hope is you'll learn to see Monday, not as the dark day it can sometimes feel, but a day of possibility to carry you through the week!

Let me know some topics you would like to see!

Oo-de-lally! April Bullet Journal

 

This month's layout took a much more simple turn. March has been a crazy month, and I felt like I didn't have the time I normally have to make a more elaborate layout. That is what is great about bullet journal's thought! You can make it as simple or as detailed as you want. The main thing is to have it work for you. I have all my essentials: Month at a glance, important dates, habit tracker, meal planner, decluttering checklist, and daily layouts, with some Robin Hood art sprinkled in. Hope you enjoy looking at this month's bullet journal!

Boredom Busters for Toddlers/Preschoolers!

Your child, the same child that has 21,849,874 toys in their room just came to you, wanting something to do. Again. Legoes? 'I already did that' Hotwheels 'Don't want to do that' Super-heroes? 'No ma'am!' 'I just want to do something' Is this just my kid? Instead of instantly grabbing their favorite dvd, or heading over to Netflix to let them watch Moana for the millionth time, here are a few things to do instead!

I have picked things that my preschooler enjoys, and that occupied him for at least 20 min. Also, I know parenting is not all about entertaining your kids. It's one of the reasons that the things you'll see listed here, are helping your youngster develop motor skills. I will say that there are days and times that you need to let your child figure out what to do on their own and play on their own, but if you are wanting something fun and yet educational, I hope this helps!

Next-Level Playdoh

This is not your normal playdoh! My son has an entire box full of playdoh cut outs and supplies, and yet he pushed those aside to play this, and it occupied him for a long, long time. He has since asked to play this again, several times. While looking for activities for our bug unit, I found this pinterest post. On the scheduled day, I brought out googly eyes (my son loves these so much!) pipe cleaners,  as well as the playdoh, and Little Man not only made bugs with it, but all sorts of creatures. This is now our boredom buster activity, when he is not 'feeling' his 100 playdoh accessories (insert rolling eyes emoji).

Paint With Water Sets

I've talked about these before on this blog, and can say it again? These are amazing! If you are traveling, need something for church, or just for an extra grab and go activity, this is it! It's mess free, and it has provided my child with long periods of entertainment. Need I say more?


There are also, many other types of paint with water books. These are great as well, and my son loves watching the colors blend together as he paints. He also soaks the whole table with those kinds of projects too, so proceed with caution! ;)

Water Beads

I will admit that this take a turn for the worse in mess department, and you'll also have to plan at least 6hrs ahead and make these up, but I believe it will be well worth it! Follow instructions, throw in some measuring spoons and cups, and watch the fun! 

The Cat's Pajamas Game

You will definetly have to join in on this one (or if you have older kids, you can rope them into playing), but this is the cutest.game.ever! My son loves it, and he quickly learned the colors and patterns that were on the game. It doesn't take long to win the game, but if your kid is like mine, you will have to beg them to play something else! This is fun, educational, and keeps their attention for a long time. 

Hopefully here is some inspiration for your next indoor play day! What are some of your favorite 'boredom busters' for little ones? 

Sharing Christ With Your Children

Satan wants your child. Scary, isn't it?! Thinking about how that the whole world is telling my kid what is right/wrong, how to think, how to act, it is important that my son knows where the real truth can be found. He is only 3 years old, so how do you start? How do you teach a young child to love and appreciate God's Word, so that as they get older, they have a solid foundation? How do you introduce them to the Creator, so that they will want a personal relationship with Him one day? I am sharing what my husband and I have been doing with our little boy, with the hopes that it will help you!

It Starts With You

As with most things that you want to teach your children, it begins with your example. Want your child to be kind? Be kind. Want your child to be respectful? Be respectful. So it is with starting a love for the Lord in your child's life. Want your child to love the Lord and read His Word? Love the Lord and read His Word. It can't be something you do sporadically or on a whim. Your kid knows when what you do is prioritized and genuine. A few practical ways to start this in your life:

• Read the Bible daily. Let your child see you pick up the Bible in the morning with your usual cup of coffee.  Show your child that you take time out of your busy day and put God first. I saw this done in my mom's life, and it impacted me in a big way. I knew my mom's love for the Lord was genuine, and a priority. 
• Listen to uplifting and worshipful music. Just like reading the Bible, this is something that won't just benefit your child's life, but yours as well! I can't tell you how many bad days became ones of joy because of the worshipful music I was listening to. I'm not saying that to sound spiritual, but to be open about how much music can change an attitude. 
• Make going to church, reading the Bible, and praying a joy and not a chore. Again, your child will always be able to tell when something is genuine. If going to church is just something you 'do' and not something you 'get to do' then it will be a chore and a bother for them as well. This is the tip I fall short of most often. I sometimes behave as if doing spiritual things is a check list, not a joyful pleasure. 

Read the Bible with your Child

For Little Man, we have a couple of Bible Story books we read with him each day. One is longer and more detailed that we do during preschool, and one is more simple that we do at night. Not much reasoning, besides I'm lazy to bring the book back and forth from room to room each day, but when we are done with preschool for the year, I want to graduate our night time reading to something a little more detailed. What you use, and when you use it is up to you, but it's good to get the basics down. The stories like David and Goliath, and Jonah and the Whale are great at this point. Once your child starts to get older, it's good to start on a plan that takes you through the Bible, so he/she gets a good understanding of the overarching story that God has written (if you decide to skip parts of Leviticus and the whole of Song of Solomon, I'm not judging at all! Even a few chapters in Judges can get interesting for little ones!). If you are a family with mixed littles and bigger kids, just be sure that you explain what you've read (good for big kids too!) so that way everyone understands.
We use the 1990's version of this Beginner Bible:

Teach Your Child to Memorize Scripture

It's never too early to start memorizing God's Word. Just think about the impact God's Word had on Timothy:

 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:14-15

What he knew from childhood impacted him as an adult. Because I was taught to memorize Scripture (to my mother's credit) when dark times, temptation, and even times of jubilation come,
I can worship God through recalling Scripture that I have learned. 

For young Children you can:

• Start Small: One sentence verses are great for ages 2-4
• Make up motions: This helps them remember
• Make it go to music: Another help with remembering
• Talk about what the verse means: Maybe they will understand, maybe they won't right away, but they will eventually!

So my encouragement to you is to start today! Set aside time with your child, preferably as a family, to read God's Word, talk about it, pray about it, and memorize it. You, as a parent, are a missionary to your child. What they see you do will shape how they view faith in God. I pray that through your example and teaching, they will come to know Christ and have a personal relationship with Him!

Have Courage and Be Kind: March Bullet Journal

It's another month! Last month's bullet journal is a little empty due to sickness, but I did manage to fill in my meal planning, and complete the decluttering assignments. Those two things alone, motivate me to continue going!
This month is the beginning of spring, and Cinderella, with all the birds and butterflies seemed a great fit. I really enjoyed looking up inspiration on Pinterest and playing around with different layouts. I hope you enjoy this month's layouts, and perhaps get some inspiration for your bullet journal!

Combining Scripture and Disney? Yes, please! I thought these verses went together with the quote beautifully. Not my idea, but I fit what I found on Pinterest into the introductory page for March. 

A major mistake was made on this page and I decided to try to do a watercolor to cover it up. I had a really hard time with this, and I'm still not crazy about the way it turned out. I do like the washi tape background though!

 Decided to use inspiration from the old-school Cinderella with this month-in-a-glance layout. Since there aren't as as many birthdays, I decided to make the month smaller and fit in my habit tracker on the bottom half.

 I have had great success so far with doing decluttering a little bit at a time. Something about checking off what I've already done, motivates me to do it every day. The only problem is...I need to have a garage sale now, with all the cleaning out I've been doing!

Now for my Daily Layout:

And there you go! I hope you enjoyed taking a look into this months bullet journal. I am really ready for spring time flowers, birds and butterflies now!