Today is just one of those days (that I think everyone has now and then) where you feel inadequate and get absolutely nothing done. These days certainly aren't pretty and usually I just feel like a wreck when I have them. However, miraculously I came into some wisdom and peace today that I wanted to share (it was a little bit of divine intervention, I think).
A little background to all of this...my morning sickness with this pregnancy has been...not fun. I won't say it's been bad, because I know so many people who experience much worse than what I have, but to give you some perspective, I had NO sickness or nausea with Ellie and just a little nausea with Piper. This time my nausea comes pretty much every day, throughout the day and I'm throwing up about once or twice a week. Still, not bad in comparison with other people, but for me it's bad since I'm certainly not used to that with pregnancy.
Some days are good and I feel great, and others I feel pretty horrible all day. Today happened to be one of those days (and it's only half over!). Things started off on the wrong foot this morning when I went to get the girls up and found vomit ALL OVER Piper's bed (so fun, I know). Now that I've been a parent for a few years, vomit isn't nearly as offensive as it used to be, although I don't think you can ever really just let vomit be a normal thing in your life (maybe my nurse friends feel differently haha). So anyway I had to get both the girls changed and Piper needed to be cleaned up a bit, and then I had to clean up the vomit and change the bedding (all before making breakfast). It immediately got me feeling pretty yucky, but I didn't really have any other options other than just dealing with it. So we conquered that mess and moved on to breakfast. For me, I usually just drink a cup of coffee and that's it (I know, not a healthy breakfast...believe me, Billy reminds me of this multiple times a week that I need to eat better). Well, that sounded very unappetizing this morning so I drank a Coke (again, so healthy) in the hopes of settling my stomach, which worked for about 30 minutes until the next wave of nausea hit. And the whole day has been like that. I finally was able to eat something around lunchtime while Billy was home...but I haven't showered or even made it out of sweatpants today. I let the girls run around all morning just doing what they wanted to do (thankfully they chose to read books and play with real toys instead of messing with chemicals or jumping off the stairs...) and Ellie and I watched a Tinkerbell movie during Piper's nap time (such high quality entertainment).
But you know what? I'm happy today. I don't feel guilty about my Coke and Ramen noodles (gasp!) or that I let my toddler watch a ridiculous movie about fairies (that she begged to watch) or that my kids played by themselves today. I am overjoyed that I was able to eat SOMETHING and not throw up afterward, that my kids spent time reading library books of their own volition, that they played together and fought a little and worked things out without my interference. I am thankful for the quiet TV time I had with Ellie, that she was engaged and asking questions throughout the movie about animals and weather and emotions, which are all things she needs to learn about anyway and Tinkerbell just happened to bring on those conversations today. I have finished reading two books today that encouraged me in my Christian walk and my duties as a mother. No, I don't want to be in pajamas every day and neglect to shower on a regular basis, but it's okay for today. What's more important is that my kids are taken care of and that I get some food in me for this little baby that is growing rapidly and putting huge demands on my body. There will be many more days to have fun in the yard or get the grocery shopping done or take my kids on new adventures. Today I just need to rest, and that's okay if it doesn't look pretty.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to stay home with my kids and for the challenges it brings to my life. So many of the lessons I've learned over the past few years wouldn't have come without this time of being home and figuring out who I am when you strip away the academics and achievements. God is not only calling me to be a mother, but He's also giving me this amazing chance to be better. Not in the world's standards but in His. So I might look horrendous in my pajamas and messy bun and no makeup today, but I'm growing into this woman who is learning to live a little more in the moment
and not worry so much about deadlines or lesson plans or standards or achievements. I'm learning that my priority is my family, not school or teaching or appearances or even church. I can't do everything, nor do I want to. I want my children, when they're grown up, to know that they are loved by God, their daddy, and me. That's my ministry right now. That's my kingdom work and God is doing that through me even in the throes of morning sickness and dirty hair and baby barf. It's not pretty on the outside, but this life is just beautiful when I see it from God's perspective. Praise Him for the things He accomplishes through the silly, crazy, mundane, sometimes gross and sometimes awesome life we have here.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Exciting Changes for the Ephraims!
So it's been a long time...but I got the inspiration to write a little today to give everyone who's interested an update on where we are these days. A lot has happened in the past few months!
First, we moved to Bridgewater almost 3 weeks ago, which is a little rural town just south of Harrisonburg. It's actually where Dynamic Aviation is located, so we've been wanting to live here pretty much since Billy took the job. When we initially looked in this area for a place to rent we had a hard time finding anything...the few places that were for rent didn't allow pets or we could never get in touch with an owner. So we went with the townhouse in Harrisonburg, which was by far the nicest place we looked at that was in our price range. And I liked living there, it certainly wasn't bad. We had great neighbors on one side of us and we were very close to all the places we like to frequent...such as Target and Chick-fil-A haha. I would say the only downside to living there was the commute for Billy every day...he was basically driving 30 minutes each way and using a lot of gas. And some of our neighbors weren't the most considerate...such as the guy who liked to play his very vulgar music really loud with the bass up while washing his car...every other day. We also had some college students behind us who partied frequently and were pretty loud. Our poor dog barked constantly, and I think it's just because we had people on either side of us and she could hear things that we couldn't.
So anyway, we heard through a friend that this house in Bridgewater would be for rent sometime soon and he gave us the owner's number. Billy called her and asked if we could look at the house, and I was in love with it immediately. It's an older house and from the outside looks like our house in Lynchburg, but inside it's been completely redone and looks great. It has a large underground (finished) basement with a wood stove, tile floors, and a propane fireplace (we are using this area as our den, so our big couches, TV, and the girls toys will be down there). The basement also has a separate laundry room and a primitive looking storage room that Billy is in love with and has claimed as his man room (totally fine by me!). The main level has the kitchen (which is smaller than our former eat-in kitchen but has WAY more cabinet space), a dining room (the first dining room we've ever had!), a living room, bathroom, and two bedrooms. The girls share one bedroom and the second is for guests/future nursery. Upstairs is the master bedroom and bathroom with a large landing at the top of the stairs that will be used for my craft/sewing area. We have a huge (level) backyard and a detached garage. We have fantastic neighbors (the people behind us are in our life group class at church) and the neighborhood is quiet and friendly. We live just a few miles from Dynamic, so Billy's commute is like 5 minutes now. The ONLY downside to this house is not having a dishwasher, but I am totally okay with that in light of all the positives about this house. The very best thing...we are saving so much money by living here. We're spending less money on gas because Billy's commute is so much shorter and the rent is cheaper. This whole move was totally ordained by God because housing is not cheap in Bridgewater at all, but somehow we found an adorable huge house with lower rent and all these other perks. It's a more rural town, which just feeds my soul for some reason and gives me a lot of peace, and near a ton of farms so we see lots of cows (our favorite!). Can you tell that I love where we live? =)
Our other exciting event...we are pregnant with our third baby! We are so excited and it's another reason that this house is such a huge blessing. We now have three bedrooms so that we can spread out a little more. The baby is due in January, which is perfect timing for us since I dislike being big and pregnant in the summer, we'll be able to get through Thanksgiving and Christmas before the baby comes, it will be cold...not that any of those things really matter, they're just perks I guess. I'm already feeling pregnant and wearing maternity pants, which is slightly embarrassing but I guess that's normal with the third pregnancy haha. Another different thing this time around is that I'll be seeing a midwife instead of an OBGYN. The practice that I go to has both midwives and doctors and most of the time you're free to choose which route you want. With Piper, they recommended that I see the doctors because I was considered slightly high risk (due to my complications with Ellie). However, I'm not considered high risk this time because I had such a successful and healthy pregnancy with Piper, so I chose to go with the midwives (one in particular). I will still have a C-section at the end, but I can at least have midwife care up until then.
We also bought a van! We never wanted to be a van family until probably the last 6 months or so. When we realized that eventually we would have more children, we knew there was no other option. Yes, they make those humongous SUVs that seat 7 people but a van has better gas mileage so it was the best fit for us. Even traveling with two kids in the Jeep was feeling pretty cramped, and there's no way we could fit three carseats in there so it just made sense. When we found out we were pregnant again, we knew it was time to start looking. Billy jumped on it pretty quick and decided that the Honda Odyssey was what he wanted (I didn't really care what kind and trusted his judgment). We probably saw 8 different ones and the one we picked was in the best condition and also the cheapest (another God thing!). We've had it about a month now and it really was a great purchase for us...we've driven all over the place in it already and traveling has been fantastic. So much more space, rides great, and those automatic sliding doors are the best. I know we're totally domesticated...but Billy says there's nothing manlier than having a van filled with your offspring, so we just look at it that way. =)
Life has been busy and a little crazy lately, but we are so thankful. God has just heaped the blessings on us in this season and we are really humbled by it. Life at home can get very predictable, and that's not a bad thing, but we also like change. This has been a great change for us and we believe it will help us reach our financial goals so that's always a plus.
A funny thing that happened this morning...I got an email from Liberty saying that my Honors thesis (which is on the Digital Commons--basically Liberty's library online) has become one of the most popular downloads in the Educational Methods section this month. I even checked the link that they sent me, and under "Popular Authors" is my name along with 9 others (one of whom is a former professor of mine!). I certainly don't want to "toot my own horn," but it really boosted my confidence at a time when I needed it. I love being a stay-at-home mom. I know that I'm where God wants me to be right now. I also love that I'm not nearly as stressed out as I was in college. My life is (in some ways) calmer, more predictable, and healthier for me physically and mentally. I am investing in my children and growing our family, both of which are important to me and I'm thankful I can do this without working at the same time. However, there are days when I just don't feel intelligent anymore. I know that I am, but when you talk to a two year old and a one year old all day...it can make you feel a little on the dumb side. Not to mention, I'm convinced that something has happened to my brain since being pregnant with Ellie...I just think differently and I'm sometimes a little slow on the uptake if you know what I mean haha. Anyway, it really just made me feel...useful. And that was nice. I'm glad to know that the work I put into my Honors thesis is actually helpful to other people. And I hope that someday, when I rejoin the work force, that my thesis might actually help me get a job. That would be nice. Anyway, that was just a nice surprise and it made me feel good.
Now it's time for me to make myself useful for the day. =)
First, we moved to Bridgewater almost 3 weeks ago, which is a little rural town just south of Harrisonburg. It's actually where Dynamic Aviation is located, so we've been wanting to live here pretty much since Billy took the job. When we initially looked in this area for a place to rent we had a hard time finding anything...the few places that were for rent didn't allow pets or we could never get in touch with an owner. So we went with the townhouse in Harrisonburg, which was by far the nicest place we looked at that was in our price range. And I liked living there, it certainly wasn't bad. We had great neighbors on one side of us and we were very close to all the places we like to frequent...such as Target and Chick-fil-A haha. I would say the only downside to living there was the commute for Billy every day...he was basically driving 30 minutes each way and using a lot of gas. And some of our neighbors weren't the most considerate...such as the guy who liked to play his very vulgar music really loud with the bass up while washing his car...every other day. We also had some college students behind us who partied frequently and were pretty loud. Our poor dog barked constantly, and I think it's just because we had people on either side of us and she could hear things that we couldn't.
So anyway, we heard through a friend that this house in Bridgewater would be for rent sometime soon and he gave us the owner's number. Billy called her and asked if we could look at the house, and I was in love with it immediately. It's an older house and from the outside looks like our house in Lynchburg, but inside it's been completely redone and looks great. It has a large underground (finished) basement with a wood stove, tile floors, and a propane fireplace (we are using this area as our den, so our big couches, TV, and the girls toys will be down there). The basement also has a separate laundry room and a primitive looking storage room that Billy is in love with and has claimed as his man room (totally fine by me!). The main level has the kitchen (which is smaller than our former eat-in kitchen but has WAY more cabinet space), a dining room (the first dining room we've ever had!), a living room, bathroom, and two bedrooms. The girls share one bedroom and the second is for guests/future nursery. Upstairs is the master bedroom and bathroom with a large landing at the top of the stairs that will be used for my craft/sewing area. We have a huge (level) backyard and a detached garage. We have fantastic neighbors (the people behind us are in our life group class at church) and the neighborhood is quiet and friendly. We live just a few miles from Dynamic, so Billy's commute is like 5 minutes now. The ONLY downside to this house is not having a dishwasher, but I am totally okay with that in light of all the positives about this house. The very best thing...we are saving so much money by living here. We're spending less money on gas because Billy's commute is so much shorter and the rent is cheaper. This whole move was totally ordained by God because housing is not cheap in Bridgewater at all, but somehow we found an adorable huge house with lower rent and all these other perks. It's a more rural town, which just feeds my soul for some reason and gives me a lot of peace, and near a ton of farms so we see lots of cows (our favorite!). Can you tell that I love where we live? =)
Our other exciting event...we are pregnant with our third baby! We are so excited and it's another reason that this house is such a huge blessing. We now have three bedrooms so that we can spread out a little more. The baby is due in January, which is perfect timing for us since I dislike being big and pregnant in the summer, we'll be able to get through Thanksgiving and Christmas before the baby comes, it will be cold...not that any of those things really matter, they're just perks I guess. I'm already feeling pregnant and wearing maternity pants, which is slightly embarrassing but I guess that's normal with the third pregnancy haha. Another different thing this time around is that I'll be seeing a midwife instead of an OBGYN. The practice that I go to has both midwives and doctors and most of the time you're free to choose which route you want. With Piper, they recommended that I see the doctors because I was considered slightly high risk (due to my complications with Ellie). However, I'm not considered high risk this time because I had such a successful and healthy pregnancy with Piper, so I chose to go with the midwives (one in particular). I will still have a C-section at the end, but I can at least have midwife care up until then.
We also bought a van! We never wanted to be a van family until probably the last 6 months or so. When we realized that eventually we would have more children, we knew there was no other option. Yes, they make those humongous SUVs that seat 7 people but a van has better gas mileage so it was the best fit for us. Even traveling with two kids in the Jeep was feeling pretty cramped, and there's no way we could fit three carseats in there so it just made sense. When we found out we were pregnant again, we knew it was time to start looking. Billy jumped on it pretty quick and decided that the Honda Odyssey was what he wanted (I didn't really care what kind and trusted his judgment). We probably saw 8 different ones and the one we picked was in the best condition and also the cheapest (another God thing!). We've had it about a month now and it really was a great purchase for us...we've driven all over the place in it already and traveling has been fantastic. So much more space, rides great, and those automatic sliding doors are the best. I know we're totally domesticated...but Billy says there's nothing manlier than having a van filled with your offspring, so we just look at it that way. =)
Life has been busy and a little crazy lately, but we are so thankful. God has just heaped the blessings on us in this season and we are really humbled by it. Life at home can get very predictable, and that's not a bad thing, but we also like change. This has been a great change for us and we believe it will help us reach our financial goals so that's always a plus.
A funny thing that happened this morning...I got an email from Liberty saying that my Honors thesis (which is on the Digital Commons--basically Liberty's library online) has become one of the most popular downloads in the Educational Methods section this month. I even checked the link that they sent me, and under "Popular Authors" is my name along with 9 others (one of whom is a former professor of mine!). I certainly don't want to "toot my own horn," but it really boosted my confidence at a time when I needed it. I love being a stay-at-home mom. I know that I'm where God wants me to be right now. I also love that I'm not nearly as stressed out as I was in college. My life is (in some ways) calmer, more predictable, and healthier for me physically and mentally. I am investing in my children and growing our family, both of which are important to me and I'm thankful I can do this without working at the same time. However, there are days when I just don't feel intelligent anymore. I know that I am, but when you talk to a two year old and a one year old all day...it can make you feel a little on the dumb side. Not to mention, I'm convinced that something has happened to my brain since being pregnant with Ellie...I just think differently and I'm sometimes a little slow on the uptake if you know what I mean haha. Anyway, it really just made me feel...useful. And that was nice. I'm glad to know that the work I put into my Honors thesis is actually helpful to other people. And I hope that someday, when I rejoin the work force, that my thesis might actually help me get a job. That would be nice. Anyway, that was just a nice surprise and it made me feel good.
Now it's time for me to make myself useful for the day. =)
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