Mr. Bluebird

We have one of those mailboxes that opens on both ends, and several years ago, the back door was knocked off.  This is the side I use when I am getting the mail.  For several weeks now, something has had a hay day in my mailbox.  Some sort of nest kept building and building, taking up my entire mailbox.  The mail man just kept putting our mail on top, so I didn’t think much of it.  Until…..Rob informed me that it could be a snake or some sort of creature that might bite off my hand when I am reaching in there to get the mail.  Needless to say, I hurriedly knocked it out.

That was last week.

This week, I noticed it started up again, but this time, it was building much quicker.  In my way of thinking, whatever this beast may be, is certainly determined to house itself in my mailbox.  In my opinion, that kind of effort deserved acknowledgement, and a short stay in my box.

Yesterday, I decided to pull to the front and open the front door of the mailbox to see if I could get a glimpse of what may be in the mess of a nest.  This is what we found…

I was sooooo excited, then felt terrible that I had threatened the lives of these poor little baby birds just last week:(  I let the kids out of the car to take a peek, and let me just say Cade has made all sorts of plans for his new pet baby bluebirds.  I had to remind him that they will not be our pets in any way, shape or form, but it will be fun to watch them as they hatch.  When we left this morning, we saw the momma (or the poppa I guess) bird sitting on top of the mailbox.

I was just relieved to know I will not be losing my hand at the mouth of a baby bluebird:)

Blessings

We have been on the receiving end of some special blessings lately. But the one I have to share is from yesterday. My husband was sick and stayed home. I knew he was feeling pretty bad, because he was doped up on some benadryl:)

He had called me several times during the day just to check on me, like he always does. I had to work late, and then go get the kids, so it was after 5:30 when I got home.

But boy, when I got home did I walk into a huge SURPRISE! Y’all, I have the best aunt in the world!!! My Aunt Wimmy came yesterday and cleaned my ENTIRE house. My house hasn’t been that clean in I don’t know when. My husband was in on the surprise and even helped her during the day. I couldn’t believe that ANYONE would want to clean a house, much less mine.

I called her with tears of thankfulness, because there are just no words to say how much I appreciated it. She said that she wanted to do it for me, and that she ENJOYED it. What a blessing she is to me.

Aunt Wimmy, thank you so much for blessing me yesterday. I love you and think you are just the best!

Speaking of blessings, several people have sent me this song, and I heard it again this morning. I love it, and it has come to mean so much to us. I hope you enjoy it, and realize the many blessings God has bestowed on us all, with the greatest being our salvation and eternal life in Him.

An Amazing Week

Last week was one of the best weeks yet! We celebrated my birthday, attended Cade’s school concert, had a dr. appointment, and then celebrated Easter.

I have the BEST husband in the world! He went out of his way to make sure my birthday was special. We celebrated with dinner at my mom’s house. She fixed all of my favorites: chicken and dumplings, acre peas, squash and onions, and brown and serve rolls. Then to top it off, my fabulous Aunt Wimmy made me the BEST red velvet cake with cream cheese icing you have ever put in your mouth.

Just when it couldn’t get any better, my husband bought me this: (Pardon my fingerprints all over the necklace. I don’t have a polishing cloth at my desk:) )

It has all three of my children’s names and their birthstones, along with a cross. He was even witty enough to use April and May in case Faith comes early. We will take off whichever stone doesn’t apply. Is that not the sweetest gift?

Then, my sister Kiss had her mother-in-law quilt me a tree skirt for my Christmas tree, then had all of our names monogrammed on it. What a treasure! Mom and Dad bought me some much needed maternity clothes, as did Beas and Jah. Nanny got me some pajamas and Granny gave me some money. It was an awesome birthday!

On Thursday morning, my actual birthday, Rob got Cade up early and he made me a card. I wish I had a picture of it. It was PRICELESS! It had a heart and rainbow on the front, and said “Happy Birthday Mommy!” On the inside it said, “I love you and pray for you every day.” Hallmark couldn’t sell a card that sweet! That evening, we went to Cade’s school for his concert. He decided to go to his concert instead of his game, because “singing to God is far more important than a baseball game.” How could we argue with that?

Friday, I had a dr. appointment. It went really well. We are on schedule for May 19th, and everything is measuring on target. She has gotten so BIG! It’s so hard to believe. Of course we got more pictures, so that is always a blessing. Here are some stats for this pregnancy:

• 35 1/2 weeks
• I have gained 22 pounds (although I look like it should be more)
• I’m feeling pretty good, but I am not sleeping so well.
• 24 days left until we meet her face to face.

Easter Sunday is always amazing! We woke up to the Easter Bunny’s goodies which included everything needed to catch bugs for both of my children. This is a fairly new hobby they have picked up, so he brought 2 of everything. They were so excited! But then we talked about the real meaning of Easter. I’m so glad they understand what it’s all about. We went to a wonderful church service, then to lunch at Mom’s. Now, my husband dresses up one day a year, and Easter it is. We always take pictures, so here they are:

Everyone couldn’t wait to change clothes, so in a matter of seconds, the dress clothes came off, and it was time to hunt eggs. We managed one picture. They were counting their loot.

This year we decided to put quarters in the eggs instead of candy. Can I tell you that you would think Cade was a master banker. He was adding up all of his money as he found the eggs:)

It has been a really great week, and I hope you had a blessed Easter weekend. We sure did!

A New Venture

***Last update:  I wanted to post an article that has some good information in it about the product.  http://www.squidoo.com/chiaseedresearch

***Updated:  After several emails, I realize I didn’t actually explain how we used Mila.  Mila is a food that looks like pepper, but has no taste or smell.  It is micro-sliced chia seed.  I bake with it in muffins and cupcakes, as well as stir it in our food.  For example, Cade is very picky.  If he sees something that looks funny, he will not eat it.  So I will bake it in his breakfast foods and he doesn’t know the difference.  It’s food properties are the same up to 500 degrees.  But last night, I sprinkled it on his chicken and dumplings and peas, and he lapped it right up.  For me, I start with 1/2 scoop in my glass of orange juice, and then sprinkle the remainder on my lunch and dinner.  It just depends on what works for you.  I know that my mom and BFF eat it in their yogurt in the mornings, and my sister mixes it in a smoothie. 

Last week, I briefly told you about our new experience with a food called Mila.  But I feel like it deserves it’s own post.

Cade is on a medication for ADHD.  It has worked wonders for the boy.  He is a straight-A student, and continues to excel in school.  However, we started noticing some not-so-wonderful side effects.  He didn’t eat, and is down to a whopping 43 pounds.  In the mornings, before he got his medicine, it was brutal.  He was very angry, emotional, impulsive.  We also found the same to be true as he was “coming down” off of the medicine, which typically happens around the time I pick him up from school.  He was just an unhappy camper.  Of course, our situation at home wasn’t helping matters any, because everyone’s emotions are high.

I would like to report that in the two weeks we have been using this product, we have a different child.  He is so pleasant, has an appetite, and overall, he’s just much happier.  It seems as though he is more even-keeled than before.  He has been so much more attentive at baseball practice and games in the evenings, played well with his sister, and just been a gem!

I have also been using it.  I can tell that my emotions are more stable, and I have a lot more energy.  My sister has completely come off of her anti-depressants.  Others have reported weight loss.

Mila has been shown to reduce the effects of ADHD and autism in children, and it also has many health benefits for adults.  Because I believe in this product, and I have seen first-hand how it has helped Cade and my family, I have signed up to be a distributor.  If you would like more information, please visit my website at www.sarabethvaughn.lifemax.net.  There is a ton of information there, but if you have any questions, or would like some more information, please email me and I will be happy to get you the information you need.

I am so thankful that God brought our friend, Rachel, back into our life to share this with us.  It has been a blessing to us, especially my son:)

This Is Going To Be Deep….

The title is original, I know. But, I didn’t know what else to call this post.

As you can probably imagine, this road we are travelling is filled with a lot of questions. We have never done this before, nor did we ever imagine that we would. There is no one who can give us answers, except the Good Lord up above. And you know what, His answers aren’t always immediate. It would be nice if they were, but sometimes we just have to wait.

We have been asked some tough questions lately, and frankly, I haven’t known how to answer them. I have lost some sleep over it, because I wanted to make sure that in our efforts to be obedient to God, that we NEVER place doubts with anyone of the power of our Lord.

One of the things we have been struggling with is about praying for a miracle, and believing that God is going to perform it. There is a difference between believing God CAN perform a miracle, and knowing that He is GOING TO DO IT.

As a parent, obviously our heart’s desire is to bring home a perfectly happy, healthy baby girl, who will aggravate SaraGrace in the way she has aggravated her brother. I would love to be able to look forward (or dread) the sleepless nights, bringing her to work with me everyday, trying to make up with her what I have lacked with the others.

But one thing we desire ABOVE ALL…..above our heart’s desires, above our need to rescue our baby, above the gut feeling that the world needs to see a miracle, above the fact that so many people are praying for our sweet daughter….we desire to trust God with everything we have, that His will is perfect, and that HE will get the glory in all of the details of May 19th. That can be very scary. His will may not be the same as ours, and we will not know that until that day, even if then. But we want to be obedient to what He has called us to do, and that is TRUST Him. We do not doubt for a second that He can heal our baby girl, and make her whole. We KNOW that He can. We have seen Him do so much already. But what we don’t know, is what HE desires in the life of Faith.

As I struggled with this, we prayed, and even sought counsel from a very dear pastor friend. He reminded us of Jesus’ prayer in the garden, before He was arrested.

Luke 22: 39-44

³⁹ Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. ⁴⁰ When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
⁴¹ And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, ⁴² saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” ⁴³ Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. ⁴⁴ And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Jesus even asked his Father to take the cup from him, if it was his will. But then He said, “Nevertheless, not My will but yours, be done.” We have prayed this prayer, time and time again. If it be His will, that this cup shall pass from us and our family, we plead that it be done. But, regardless, His will, not ours. I do not want anyone to doubt, for even a second, that our God is ABLE. He is able to above and beyond, all that we ask. (Eph. 3:20.)

Friday night, as we were driving home, Rob and I were discussing these verses, and our conversation with our friend. Then from the back seat, it’s as if God intervened, and gave us confirmation that He was in control. Cade piped up and said, “Mommy, God is using Faith dying, to show people how powerful He is. And even if she doesn’t die, everyone will still see how powerful He is. He has picked our family to show His power.”

As tough as these days can be, it is moments like these that make me cherish my Savior even more. All that He is doing in the lives of our young children is such a blessing. And to see such confidence in Jesus, as Cade showed on Friday, it challenges us even more to be confident that we can trust in His plans, regardless of what that may look like for us.

Random Bits

I am running on 3 hours of sleep today, so I do not have the mental capacity to put together a post.  However, I did want to tell you about a couple of things that have happened recently.

First of all, my husband, who is obsessed with working out and all things health food, has a new addiction to Chobani yogurt.  That stuff is not cheap, and it hasn’t been on sale lately.  I bought some on Saturday, and wouldn’t you know, both yesterday and today, he has found a hair in his yogurt container.  He even took a picture for me to send.  Needless to say, we will be getting some coupons for some discounted yogurt.

Most of you know that Cade takes medication for ADHD.  It has been wonderful, except that my copay went up at the beginning of the year.  Now, I know I have a lot to be thankful for on the insurance end, but $50 a month is a lot to pay for us.  My dear friend, Sarah, who sells drugs for a living, told us about this little savings card that Cade’s drug offers.  I just went online, printed the little baby out, and guess what!  It pays our ENTIRE copay!  God is so good!!!!!

Speaking of Cade’s medicine, we have been experiencing some unwanted side effects lately, so we have started him on Mila.  This stuff is a food that is high in Omega 3’s and has been shown to reduce the symptoms of autism and ADHD in children. Not to mention the benefits to adults.  It has been proven to lower cholesterol, blood sugar, aid in weight loss, and the list goes on and on.  If you want to read more about it, go to http://christenpleiman.lifemax.net/.  This is my sister and she is selling it.  I can tell you that Cade has done EXCELLENT on it.  He didn’t even take his medicine on Sunday, and had a great day.  He is also eating better also.  Anyway, check it out!

Lastly, we are going to have a maternity photo shoot on Thursday, May 5th.  I have never had these done before, and I am so thankful to Cotton Blossoms Studio, who works with Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep for providing these for us.  She will also be there to take pictures of Faith when she is born.

Sorry for the randomness, but it’s time to lay my head on my desk and take a little nap.  Just don’t tell the boss!

I Have Decided…

Yesterday was more emotional than usual. I’m not sure what was different, but I really struggled. We made it to church, just in time for my favorite part….the singing. I love to sing praise and worship songs, and I just look forward to that every week.

We sang “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus”. I have heard this song a million times, and can sing it from memory. But it never hit me like it did yesterday.

I have decided to follow Jesus.

I have decided to follow Jesus.

I have decided to follow Jesus.

No turning back, no turning back.

It’s easy to decide to follow Jesus, but where it gets hard is the “no turning back.” I sat there yesterday, unable to sing through the tears because I thought back to November 15th, when Jesus revealed to us what He was calling us to do. That was the easy part. But truthfully, there are days when it is so unbearably hard, that I want to tell Him I want to turn around. It is too hard. I just can’t do it. As I sat thinking about that yesterday, His gentle spirit reminded me of something.

What if Jesus turned back? He knew what He was about to face. He even asked his Father to take the cup if he could. But He remained obedient, and aren’t we all so glad He did?

I have committed to following Jesus, and WILL NOT turn back. He has graciously carried us through these days and nights, and He won’t let go now. It is hard. It’s going to get harder. But He promised us this:

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

He’s started something in the life of Faith, and He will be faithful to complete it.

We do have a confirmed c-section date. Faith will be born Thursday, May 19th at 9:30 am. That is less that 6 weeks away!

Sunday Shootin’

It is no secret that our entire family, including the princess, LOVES to hunt.  We enjoy spending the time together, and the thrill of the chase.  Every one has their own gun, except me, of course.  I have been using one of Rob’s guns, and have been quite successful.

My honey has wanted me to have my own gun for some time.  However, I never spend money on myself, and if I was going to, it sure wouldn’t be on a gun!  So he took matters into his own hands.  While we were in Orlando, he found a “STEAL OF A DEAL” and bought me my very own 270 rifle.  YIPPEE!!!!  It’s what every 8 month pregnant woman needs:)

We took it to the farm on Sunday to do some shootin’, and made it a family affair. 

Here is our pack of hoodlums (who proudly dressed themselves, I might add):

Loving the camo-trimmed shirt, pink polka dot pants and frog rain boots.  Looks like she came straight from the farm!  Not to mention, the pink “boo-boo gun.”

Cade said those were his lucky shorts, and he needed some luck trying to kill some birds. 

 

Let’s just say he should’ve left ‘em at home.  But he did have a great time stalking the birds from under the tree:)

 

Now….I know there are some things that should be kept private, and the following picture is probably one of them.  However, I have no shame, and I think it is necessary to get the full image of an incredibly huge pregnant, gun totin’, croc wearin’ momma.  And we wonder where SG gets it from!!!

 

We shot all afternoon, and I am still sporting a bruise on my arm, not to mention I think Faith is still traumatized from all of the booms and bangs she had to endure. 

Here I am with my second target.  My hubby was a little proud that I did hit the bulls eye once….at 50 yards.

 

How Great is our God

^{Rob and I were invited to hear our friend, CJ, preach on Sunday. We always enjoy hearing him, and he always does a great job. But I now know that God had ordained us to be there Sunday. CJ preached on grief, from the story of Lazarus in John 11. He shared how Jesus waited for several days before traveling to see about Lazarus. That he loved him and his family so much, that he was deeply moved and troubled and even wept. But what was so intriguing about the message was the lesson that was to be learned from Martha and Mary. Both were so distraught that their brother had died, yet they should have rejoiced that their brother was in Heaven, leaving behind the pain and suffering this world has to offer. They missed out on an opportunity to share the eternal hope of what comes from a relationship with Jesus.}

^{When Martha was upset that Jesus hadn’t been there, this was what went down:}

²¹ “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴ Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Yesterday, our hopes of bringing home a baby girl were shattered yet again! We met with Dr. K, believing that we would be making plans for surgery, for her care in the NICU, going over the long list of questions I had prepared for him, so that I could be prepared for what this life had to give our daughter.

None of OUR plans were even heard. Dr. K was there to tell us that he had reviewed our MRI, and he believed that the abdominal repair would be much too great for Faith to survive it. He said that his life is saving babies that cannot be saved. But nothing in him believed our Faith is “fixable.”

I felt as if the calendar had turned back to November 15th, 2010 when we first received the news that our child did not stand a chance. So much up and down, hope and no hope, and we sat there once again with the wind knocked out of us and all we had once hoped for.

This abdominal surgery has been done before, but only ended up with months of multiple surgeries, infections, and had the same outcome with the babies not surviving. He did admit that MRI’s are not always 100% accurate, and that doctors were only human, so there is a chance that their interpretations could be off.

After we finished listening to all he had to say, we discussed what would take place after delivery. As of now, the plan is to attempt to stabilize her with a breathing tube, so that he and his team can get a full analysis of Faith and all that is going on with her little body. Once he has time to make a full examination and determination (which he feels will be that nothing can be done) we will make the decision to let her go into the arms of Jesus peacefully. We did ask about donating her organs, and someone will be contacting us with that information.

While we cannot understand why it seems as though we have come so far, only to be back at square one, we do understand that Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” We believe this! Our God is sovereign. He is perfect. We want Him to be glorified through any and all decisions that are made for our daughter.

We have not lost hope, because our hope comes from God and God alone. We do believe that He can perform miracles, as we have already seen time and time again. But we also are trusting in Him. Trusting that He alone knows what is best for our daughter. We are trusting Him and giving Him the glory for all that He has done in and through Faith.

We will choose to rejoice if He does indeed decide to take her from us. We will rejoice that she will live eternally with the Father who can love her far better than we can. We will rejoice that she will never know the pain and the suffering this world would have offered her. We will rejoice and say “How Great is our God!”

A Day of Fun with Friends

Yesterday, Rob and I took Cade to Downtown Disney to meet up with his ole’ buddy, Christian.  The weather was super scary during the drive, but we are so glad we went.

We got to the Cafe a little early, so Cade enjoyed digging for dino bones.

 

Please excuse the quality of these pictures.  I do not own a camera, so my iPhone is all I have.

Cade and Christian with a T-Rex.

 

Rob has been complaining that I never put pictures of him on the blog.  He’s gonna be real sorry he ever said that.  Here’s the three of us, weather-worn.  We had been rained on and blown about.

 

Me and Kicken (Her real name is Kristen, but SG has a way of naming people and it permanently sticks)…I miss her soooooo much.  It was so good to spend some time with her:)

 

After we left the Mouse Complex, we headed over to the Bass Pro Shop.

 

Rob and Cade with the bear.  Rob is really tired of having his picture taken already, but I wanted to make sure I had some for the blog:)

THE HOG!  Rob hopes to kill something like this and put it in our house.  It’s a good thing there is plenty of room in the garage:)

We had a great day, and I’m so glad we got to spend some time with our boy.  It did all of us some good.

By the way, we found out this morning that we will be meeting with Dr. K on Monday, after our appointment with Dr. D.  Please pray for wisdom and direction for us and the doctors, as we will be discussing some decisions for our Faith.

Have a great weekend!