For a while now I have felt that I couldn't write about marriage because, honestly, things were quite rough. I know that there are ups and downs to married life, and that working along our hills and valleys is what we are to do....
I was angry, hurt, and at times very defiant. No, I don't have to "obey" like some child. Yes, I need to hear my husband when he is telling me things I don't want to hear. And, yes, some of this does fall to him as well...but I have to own my own.
Our church has been having an on-going 5 week series on marriage. And, as I believe God designs things, it coincincided with our little bump in the road. 5 weeks: Seek God, Fight Fair, Have Fun, Stay Pure, Never Give Up. We are headed into the final week.
I would encourage you to look up our church's video feeds for these sermons...they were quite awesome. He lays it all out, and isn't afraid to let you know...he knows what goes on behind closed doors...
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Could I?
One of the Facebook pages I am on has a weekly photo contest. This week is "most popular pregnant belly pic". So, I loved my belly pics and I am very happy to share!
I have to say, they are all wonderful! One woman bore a striking resemblance to Dora the Explorer, haircut an all so her husband had her dress up as a VERY pregnant "Dora" with "Backpack" and all. One woman never got to see her belly grow, but adopted her precious one, and took a picture with the ultrasound photo she got confirming her baby's gender held up next to her belly...it was a really touching picture. Then, there was a simple picture of a mother pregnant, holding her youngest and pregnant with another of her children next to her.
I met this woman when I first got to this base. She has 5 children, All had very exciting birth stories. And we had not seen much of eachother for a couple years.
In the time we have been apart, her oldest daughter was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy that is slowly causing mental illness. And, just last week she posted that her baby had 17 seizures in one night...Lord, be with that precious child! And her husband is deployed again!
I see her posts daily...uplifting, kind, and full of hope. Hope for a cure for her daughter, and hope that God will bless her with strength for her other babies too while her husband is gone. I wonder, could I be like her if that were my situation?
Could I be full of faith, and not doubt? Happy and not sad? Accepting and not spiteful? I honestly don't know.
I know we adapt to our situations, and I know that I would find it in me. But, I hope that this woman knows what an inspriation she is to people...she is to me!
I have to say, they are all wonderful! One woman bore a striking resemblance to Dora the Explorer, haircut an all so her husband had her dress up as a VERY pregnant "Dora" with "Backpack" and all. One woman never got to see her belly grow, but adopted her precious one, and took a picture with the ultrasound photo she got confirming her baby's gender held up next to her belly...it was a really touching picture. Then, there was a simple picture of a mother pregnant, holding her youngest and pregnant with another of her children next to her.
I met this woman when I first got to this base. She has 5 children, All had very exciting birth stories. And we had not seen much of eachother for a couple years.
In the time we have been apart, her oldest daughter was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy that is slowly causing mental illness. And, just last week she posted that her baby had 17 seizures in one night...Lord, be with that precious child! And her husband is deployed again!
I see her posts daily...uplifting, kind, and full of hope. Hope for a cure for her daughter, and hope that God will bless her with strength for her other babies too while her husband is gone. I wonder, could I be like her if that were my situation?
Could I be full of faith, and not doubt? Happy and not sad? Accepting and not spiteful? I honestly don't know.
I know we adapt to our situations, and I know that I would find it in me. But, I hope that this woman knows what an inspriation she is to people...she is to me!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
It just hit...
It's Saturday night...we've done our grocery shopping...our babies are all in bed and should be sleeping (should right?)...and here I am working on my baby's preschool curriculum!
My baby, my first one anyway. A week from Monday this wonderfully silly, rambunctious little man is going to not only start his first day of Preschool...he's going to be 3!
He's now potty trained, he can count to 19(even though there is no 16 when he does, and I love him for it), he asks questions like "what doing mommy" and if I say OW he says "ok mommy?". My sweet BIG-little man is growing up!
It's there and gone so fast! And it hits you at the strangest moments. The time we have to teach and watch our kids is fleeting. I know he's only going to be 3, and he's still technically a baby...he will always be MY baby...but I feel like I want time to slow down.
I want to savor this time and file it away for the times when he doesn't like me very much and tells me all about it....the times that I have to slow him down because he's trying to "grow up" too fast.
I am so excited watching this little boy grow....and I am so curious about the man he will become. But, it is only his third year...I get to keep my little boy a little bit longer. Cherish your babies, pray about the men and women they are going to become, let them get dirty and make mistakes...but enjoy it while it lasts!
My baby, my first one anyway. A week from Monday this wonderfully silly, rambunctious little man is going to not only start his first day of Preschool...he's going to be 3!
He's now potty trained, he can count to 19(even though there is no 16 when he does, and I love him for it), he asks questions like "what doing mommy" and if I say OW he says "ok mommy?". My sweet BIG-little man is growing up!
It's there and gone so fast! And it hits you at the strangest moments. The time we have to teach and watch our kids is fleeting. I know he's only going to be 3, and he's still technically a baby...he will always be MY baby...but I feel like I want time to slow down.
I want to savor this time and file it away for the times when he doesn't like me very much and tells me all about it....the times that I have to slow him down because he's trying to "grow up" too fast.
I am so excited watching this little boy grow....and I am so curious about the man he will become. But, it is only his third year...I get to keep my little boy a little bit longer. Cherish your babies, pray about the men and women they are going to become, let them get dirty and make mistakes...but enjoy it while it lasts!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Seeing What You Have
Things are going well for our little family. My hubby has just found out that he's getting promoted...YEAH!...and our babies are growing like weeds. We have had our share of trials recently, but I see a light at the end of this current tunnel.
I follow several military wife facebook pages for our base. Some are for general info, some are for "feel good" comments, but one in particular seems to hold my interest. It's a little like the "real military wives of..." insert our current location. There are anonymous posts about who they know that's doing this or that...posts about how their marriages and family lives are going...and posts about general military questions.
I like being able to give advice. I like seeing that people can be honest and say that not everything is sunny in "paradise". But, then you see the posts about people who got fortunate enough to be stationed in the same city...state...tri-state area...as their family.
They complain about how their family member didn't watch their child so they could do this....or they wouldn't come to their child's important event....
Honestly, I don't feel bad! At no time since I have married my soldier have we been close enough to any of our family to invite them to a birthday party or just go on over to their house because we felt like not being alone that day. We had to tell my in-laws months in advance that we didn't have anybody who could watch our boys while I was in labor with their sister....MONTHS in advance, not weeks or days.
So, here's my comment....You don't know what we would give to be able to have family that was near us! I want our kids to know their family, but so far it's because we have made sure that they see both sides at least once a year...meaning we pack our car and our kids, stop our mail, my husband has to take leave for almost 3 weeks, and we drive! We drive for 36 hours and sometimes more depending on which family we are visiting. And then we drive some more because people have this annoying habit of not wanting to put forth any effort to meet you where it's convienient for you, even though you just made a HUGE trip just to be close enough to even see them before having to meet them at the inconvienient location they picked.
See what you have right next to you! If you get stationed even 8 hours from your family, count your blessings...you could have to drive 36 hours with three kids under 3 and dog! Just a little food for thought.
I follow several military wife facebook pages for our base. Some are for general info, some are for "feel good" comments, but one in particular seems to hold my interest. It's a little like the "real military wives of..." insert our current location. There are anonymous posts about who they know that's doing this or that...posts about how their marriages and family lives are going...and posts about general military questions.
I like being able to give advice. I like seeing that people can be honest and say that not everything is sunny in "paradise". But, then you see the posts about people who got fortunate enough to be stationed in the same city...state...tri-state area...as their family.
They complain about how their family member didn't watch their child so they could do this....or they wouldn't come to their child's important event....
Honestly, I don't feel bad! At no time since I have married my soldier have we been close enough to any of our family to invite them to a birthday party or just go on over to their house because we felt like not being alone that day. We had to tell my in-laws months in advance that we didn't have anybody who could watch our boys while I was in labor with their sister....MONTHS in advance, not weeks or days.
So, here's my comment....You don't know what we would give to be able to have family that was near us! I want our kids to know their family, but so far it's because we have made sure that they see both sides at least once a year...meaning we pack our car and our kids, stop our mail, my husband has to take leave for almost 3 weeks, and we drive! We drive for 36 hours and sometimes more depending on which family we are visiting. And then we drive some more because people have this annoying habit of not wanting to put forth any effort to meet you where it's convienient for you, even though you just made a HUGE trip just to be close enough to even see them before having to meet them at the inconvienient location they picked.
See what you have right next to you! If you get stationed even 8 hours from your family, count your blessings...you could have to drive 36 hours with three kids under 3 and dog! Just a little food for thought.
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