Oklahoma...

-Teachers laying on top of their students to protect them from the storm.

-Parents waiting for their babies to be found in the rubble that was an elementary school just hours before.

-Parents holding on to their children by their hair as the strong winds tried to rip them from their arms.

-Elderly who have lost everything they own and have no one.

The stories go on and on and they're all heartbreaking.  I cry every time I watch any of it.

There are so many ways to help.  One way that I'm helping is by giving to the absc.org. They're in contact with the Oklahoma Baptist Convention and helping in any way possible.  Every single penny goes toward feeding and helping the victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes.  I urge you to find a way to give/help.  Here's a link of other organizations you can contact to give.

When I watched this clip from the news tonight, it made my heart happy.



I realize that many have nothing good to say about the church.  And though the church isn't perfect, because it's full of imperfect people like me, I'm still thankful to be a part of it.  The messy, chaotic, constantly-needing-fixed, beautiful bride of Christ.

God loves the church.

And so do I.

I'm praying continuously, Oklahoma friends.

Love to all,

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...

Amelia chose "Someday" as her bedtime story book on Monday evening. 

I cry every time I read it to her. 

After reading it to her, she asked me, 

"are you crying because of the book, Mama?"

I told her, "yes."

She asked, "why?"

I explained that one day she'll grow up and move away

and before I could say anything else she quickly says

"I DON'T WANT TO DRINK MILK ANYMORE!!!"

She looked so worried. 

I asked her why she didn't want to drink milk anymore. 

She tearfully said,

"Because milk makes me grow big and strong and I don't want

to grow big and move away, I want to stay here."

So I assured her she can still drink milk and she

can stay with Daddy and Mama for as long as she wants.

And she'll always be my baby. 

I love how her mind works.

And I love that she never wants to leave me.

Wonder if she'll feel that way in 15 years?

Alex's little sis has been staying with us quite a bit to help with the girls.

The girls call her "Apey."

She's so good with the girls.

She builds them tents...

She jumps on the trampoline with them...

She gives them lemonade...

Driving Miss Sydney.

April pushed her around the yard in this thing.

She would say, "put your feet up!"

And Sydney would prop her feet up on the steering wheel.

The girls have loved their water table.

They played in it a lot on Tuesday. 

It has been in the low 80's here. 

So nice.

Sydney likes to stick her face in the water like this.

She's all smiles while playing outside.

Nana took Amelia to work with her on Wednesday.

She wanted to wear a dress to Nana's office.

She looks so big in this picture.

They left early to go to Nana's house so she could get ready.

Amelia packed her backpack full of important things.

Like crayons and applesauce.

Nana said she was a good girl and helped with all sorts of things.

Amelia told me she helped Nana sell a few homes. (ha!)

Sydney got her tubes on Wednesday morning. 

Daddy was out of town on business.

I still can't carry Sydney so we were happy Aunt Joy could go with us.

She's their 2nd Mama!

Sydney calls her "Mama" too.  It's so sweet.

Getting a squeeze from my girl before going back.

She held onto her bunny until they took her to the OR.

She went with the nurse without crying.

I was so proud of her!

It took about 10 minutes and they were taking us to recovery to see her.

And bless it, she was not happy. 

The anesthesia made her so cranky.

She would arch her back and kick and fight.

Just as soon as she would settle down a bit, she would start again.

Aunt Joy held her and loved on her.

She cried the entire way home. :(

Until right as I was pulling in the driveway. :)

She has been doing SO WELL today.  

She giggles when I put in the ear drops and has been 

sleeping SO WELL. 

I'm thankful our doctor recommended we have the tubes now vs. later.

I think she's going to feel so much better now. 

Love to all,

Mother's Day 2013...

I tucked Amelia into her bed last night and found myself overwhelmed with emotion.  

I kneeled beside her and told her, 

"Amelia, Mommy prayed for a baby for three years and then God gave me you."  

"You're an answer to prayer, baby girl."  

"You're a miracle."  

"These are happy tears."  

"Never forget that I am so thankful to be your Mommy."

"I love you with all my heart."  

As my tears hit her blanket, she began to cry.  

Nodding that sweet little head of hers.  

I love her tender heart.  She can't see me cry without crying.  

She asked me to tell her about Sydney.  

So I told her how we prayed for another baby and God blessed 

us within a month of praying with our sweet Sydney.  

They're both my miracle babies.  

Mother's Day celebrations started Friday evening 

with my Mama and her side of the family.  

Amelia and I picked out some cute Vera Bradley cups for all of the Mamas.

We also picked out a new Brighton charm for Granny and Nana's bracelets.

We bought Nana a charm with an angel on it - in remembrance of our Mimi.

This is her first Mother's Day in heaven.

Amelia's job was stuffing the tissue into the bag. 

She's a great helper.

Our family of four.  

Getting a picture with these two girls is comical.

This was take #578.

Between Amelia covering her face and Sydney ripping

Amelia's bow off her head - we didn't stand a chance. LOL

Me and my girls.  

My Mama with her girls!

I love this picture of my Grandma and Mama.

We love to laugh!

We love our Aunt Sandi! 

She and my Uncle Kevin hosted.

The guys grilled burgers and hot dogs for the girls. 

There were lots of yummy side dishes and desserts too.

Me and my sweet sisters.

Mama with four of her kiddos.

We were missing Cary and Andrew!

Daddy and Mama

I had to share this picture. 

Alex took us out for a shopping day on Saturday. 

I was so excited to wear this new necklace my sister gave me.

So excited that I left the tag on. 

I'm losing my mind. 

Another of me and the girls.

Sydney loves to have her picture taken. ;)

Trying on shoes.

Picking out a few bracelets. 

Daddy spoiled us all weekend.

Waiting for our table at Bravo.

Serious Sydney.

My M-I-L came over this morning to help me get the girls ready.

She even ironed our clothes for us!

We were twinkies in our black & white today.

I wore my new necklace again...but without the tag.

The kiddos answered questions about their Mamas at church. 

I would like to say, my three year old knows me VERY WELL.

She was asked what my favorite household chore is...

Her answer: TO RELAX!

hahaha!  

So true.

The girls gave me this card. :)

We walked over to the Apple store after lunch. 

Amelia loves to play games on the ipads.

We ended our day with a nice, long nap!

I know just how blessed I am to be called Mama by 

Amelia Joy and Sydney Faith.

After their Daddy - they are my HEART.

They are so easy to love. 

I can't look at either of them without being reminded 

of God's love and faithfulness in my life.

They bring me so much joy.

I pray every day for God to make me the 

very best mother I can be for them. 

Mother's Day isn't an easy day for many.

It used to be a very hard day for me 

and because of that, my heart is always with

Those of you who are waiting to be called Mom.

Those of you who have lost your Mom.

Those of you who have lost a child.

Those of you who have lost the husband of your children.

Those of you who have lost the Mother of your children.

I pray you find joy in the only One that can provide it.

He is worthy of our praise - even though we don't know when.

He is worthy of our praise - even though we don't understand why.

I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psalm 34:1

Love to all,

Build 'Em Up: Coming Unglued

This is topic #5 in the Build 'Em Up Series.  You can join in by heading over to Blue-Eyed Bride, Kelly's Korner, Life in the Green House, or Lil Light O' Mine. 

I'm a little late to the series this week.  The topic is when we come unglued.

How do we keep it from happening?  Or what do we do when it happens?

This is something I started praying about several years back.  And God still has a work to do in me in this area.  I'm far from perfect in my relationships.

I'm the one that would come unglued in my marriage.  Alex is the calm, reasonable one. I'm the hot-headed one.  God used Alex to open my eyes and change my heart in this area. By watching him stay calm in the midst of an argument.  By watching him stay respectful during a heated conversation.  I thought to myself, "I want that...I want to respond like that." These were two areas that I needed some help. I had to set my pride aside and I realized it was easy for me to "lose it"on the person that I'm closest to and that made me sad.  Treating my husband in a way that I would never treat a friend or co-worker or some complete stranger off the street?  So wrong.

I started praying that God would help me respond in a way that honors Him.  That I would respond in a way that shows respect and honors my spouse.  Since having children, I pray that I will respond to my children in a way that won't tear them down or break their spirit.  I always want my children to know how I will respond.  I believe it brings insecurity into their lives if I respond in a different way every time they do something wrong.  If they have no clue if Mama is going to stay calm or blow a gasket - that's not a good thing.

Whenever I've responded in a way that I know is wrong, I feel terrible.  That moment when you knew better but just let your flesh have it's way.  I've had lots of practice going to my husband and three year old to ask for forgiveness for the way I responded in a situation.

So here are a few things I've put into practice and that helps me not come unglued.

In marriage:

Scripture, scripture, scripture.   If I'm filling my mind with His words - I'm much more likely to use His words instead of my own when responding to my spouse.

Give each other the benefit of the doubt.  Don't assume that the other is out to hurt you.  They chose you and they still choose you or they wouldn't be there working on it.  Giving your spouse the benefit of the doubt gives way for open, honest, respectful conversation and in the end - resolution.  I've been known to say to myself over and over, "he's not out to get me, he's not out to get me." HAHAHA!  I'm serious.  Because that's the first thing the devil puts in my head.  He wants me to believe my spouse just doesn't care.  And nothing could be further from the truth.  My battle is not against Alex!

Use your words.  I can't think of one instance where I regretted being silent and just listening.  On the other hand, I can think of several times I wish I had just shut my mouth and opened my ears.  And when you do speak - be kind and respectful.  Treat them the way you want to be treated.

In parenting:

Scripture, scripture, scripture.   If I'm filling my mind with His words - I'm much more likely to use His words instead of my own when responding to my children.

Get on their level.  I find that if I get down at eye level with my children - I don't raise my voice.  It forces me to speak softly.  I respond in a way that encourages them to listen and obey.   I also imagine what it feels like to be them.  This little person looking up at this person towering over them - coming unglued all over them?  That's scary.

Take a breather.  Sometimes I just look at Alex and say "you take this one."  I can recognize when I might not be in the best mood and might not respond in the best way.  If Daddy is available to handle the discipline, I let him.

Choose your battles.  Not every single thing my child does wrong is worth losing my mind and testimony over.  Seriously.

Sometimes I just need more rest and it has nothing to do with Amelia pouring an entire box of cereal on the floor.  Those are the moments we need to stop and laugh.  Because it's funny.

Is Amelia supposed to help herself to the cereal?  No, but it's not the end of the world.  And it's a $4 box of cereal.  Accidents happen and she needs me to laugh about the stuff that doesn't matter.  She needs me to laugh about the stuff that doesn't matter otherwise she'll grow up walking on egg shells around her mother.  I do not want that.

I've come a long way in this area but I'm still a work in progress.

I'm really enjoying this series and have read posts from some amazing, Godly women.  I look forward to reading how you keep from coming unglued! :)

Love to all,

Molluscum Contagiosum...

I decided to write a post about this because we went through several months of Amelia having this virus and it wasn't fun.  I had never heard of it until my SIL told me about it.  My nieces had it and from what our pediatricians/dermatologist told us, it's very common.  And very contagious.  Thus the name.

Molluscum Contagiosum isn't life threatening by any means.  It's in the "pox family" of viruses.  It can't hurt your child - it's just really annoying - especially for children that struggle with eczema.   Amelia is our super-sensitive-to-everything child.  We couldn't even use Dreft when she was a baby because she would break out all over her body.  She couldn't use the sweet smelling baby lotions.  To this day, if I try to put a new outfit on her without washing it first - she'll break out all over her body.

I'm not going to lie, when she caught this virus and I started reading about it, I freaked out inside.  It can stay in their system for up to a year and even as long as three years.  You're supposed to keep it covered whenever they're around other children, they can't bathe with their siblings, they aren't supposed to swim with other children, and they can't scratch it or it will spread the virus.  It's a never ending cycle if they're always scratching it.  And a child with eczema seems to always have sensitive areas that itch.

We found ourselves constantly telling Amelia:
"don't kiss your sister on the mouth"
"don't scratch your arm"
"don't kiss your cousins on the mouth"
"don't scratch your leg"
"don't kiss your friends on the mouth"

What's with little girls wanting to kiss everyone?? I never realized until we were dealing with this virus.  We just didn't want her to spread it and give the virus to other children and per our doctor, we knew how easily that could happen.

We took Amelia to a pediatric dermatologist.  We decided on a treatment where they would inject a yeast into the top of one of the lesions.  This treatment has the best success rate but it takes several injections.  You get one injection per month for up to 6-7 months.

Amelia was still getting new lesions and was MISERABLE after our first injection.  She would cry at bedtime and ask us when her "spots" were going to go away.  She would pray at bedtime and ask God to take her "spots" away.  She would ask why her sister couldn't take a bath with her anymore.  We never told her it was because of her virus but she knew.  It broke our hearts.

So...I stayed up that night and cried and searched the internet until 2am for any and all treatments available.  I read every review known to man.  In my search I found THIS product and decided it couldn't hurt to try it.  I ordered two tubes, not knowing how much it would take if it really worked.  I'm going to be honest, I would have paid any amount of money at that point to get rid of it.  At the point of my three year old crying every night - that's when this Mama took matters into her own hands and there was no price tag too large to help her.

This was our routine every single night for two weeks.  They recommend you use the product 2-3 times a day but it can stain clothing and I didn't want to make Amelia start and finish her day with this process.  We chose to only use it at night after bath time.  The first picture is the amount of lesions she had when we first started.  The second is how many she had after using the product for a week.

This is the before and after picture - when we first started using the product and at the end of the two weeks.   She also had it on the back of one of her legs.  

The medicine is plant-based and literally dried out every single lesion.  It was amazing!  It did dry her skin out a little, so after it dried I would put vaseline on her as well.  I used a blow dryer on a cool setting to dry the medicine really well before putting her pjs on her. Her bedtime routine was about a 30 minute process every night but it was worth it because this medicine killed the virus within 2 weeks!  Months later, you can't even tell Amelia ever had the virus on her arm and leg.  

We took her back to her dermatologist and all though the scientist in her wouldn't agree the medicine we used is what cleared it up within two weeks, she did admit she has never seen a child get rid of the virus with just one shot of the yeast that Amelia had been given. She said it always takes at least 6 injections and sometimes the injections don't get rid of it.  

I totally believe the Conzerol works and if you know anyone who is dealing with MCV - tell them about it.  Even though our dermatologist said it wasn't the Conzerol that cleared the virus - I noticed her nurse jotted down the name of the medicine and I hope they tell other families about it.  We needed less than one tube of the medicine to get rid of all of Amelia's lesions.  And it was worth every penny spent!

I'm not being paid to write this review.  I just want anyone dealing with this virus to know this medicine works!! 

What we've been up to lately...

Our Aunt "Apey" has been with us the past few days. 

The girls love having her here.  

She has helped me with the girls and I appreciate it so much!

This little one has kept April on her toes.  

Busy, busy, busy!!

My Mom bought Amelia these little fisher-price workbooks 

and she has completed all of them. 

She wants to sit and do her workbook until there's nothing more to do! 

I ordered some k-3 - k-5 curriculum to start using at home.  

We should receive it soon. 

It's the same curriculum that was used when I was in Kindergarten. 

I think she'll really enjoy it. 

Sydney received this precious backpack for her birthday.

We have laughed and laughed at her carrying it around on her back.

We've seen a lot of SuperAmelia lately.

This is Amelia's superhero face.

Serious business, y'all.

We've celebrated Big Teddy's birthday.

Amelia said he's now five years old. 

She would carry him around and say,

"Happy Birthday, Big Teddy...you're my big boy...you're 5 years old!"

Chuy's opened today! 

Alex took us for dinner.

They gave Amelia some tortilla dough. 

She has played with that stuff and refuses to throw it away. 

I ordered this. 

There was no way I could finish all of this food.  

It sure was good though.

They gave the girls push up sherbet pops for dessert. 

They were fans.

I sent my Mama and sister this picture after we ate. 

The caption was "when did she get so big??" :(

Seriously, she looks older than three years old in this picture. 

I'm not a fan.

I broke down and bought Amelia one of those pillows that shines stars on the ceiling.

She has been asking for one for over a year. 

I told her I'd buy one if they ever go on sale.

Today was the day.

She told me "now we can always go to sleep under the stars."

We took this character to the ENT today.

We had a really good appointment.

She played and ate snacks as we waited. 

Sat in her chair like a big girl.

Read a few magazines.

Our baby will get her first set of tubes next Wednesday.

Love to all,