Home Sweet Home - Progress!

So we are 2 months into when we signed on the house, and we're still getting it ready.  We've decided to take on a few more projects that we figured would be easier to do before we actually got in.  So, with a tiny budget, we remodeled the 2 bathrooms.  The little bathroom downstairs pretty much was just new walls and a new toilet.  We were able to use the sink that Jason's parents no longer needed after their bathroom remodel. 

 

The upstairs bathroom has been a little more work, but will be well worth it!  The room was not set up well for my 6'2'' husband to even look in the mirror, let alone get into the shower.  He would have had to duck his head and step into the tub to get in.

 

This is half of the bathroom before...shower/giant pink tub on the right.  (Left) Sink & short mirror and cabinets on either side.  The toilet was even farther to the left in a corner of the room behind a little wall.

 

Now there is a beautiful whirpool (with a heater!) tub in its place with a stand-in shower on the right.

 

 

 

Here's a bad picture of where the toilet is on the left side of the sink.

 

Here's the space now almost ready for a vanity and toilet.  (That's the old paint color.)

 

Jason sanded and refinished all of the hardwood floors upstairs and painting has slowly begun in the bedrooms and this bathroom.  We hope to get most of the upstairs (this bathroom & the bedrooms) all done by the end of this week so we can have one level done and move on to the next.

 

We've got a couple more weeks of work before we can move in, but we are hoping for the 2nd week of April. 

 

We'll see how that goes! 

God is working in me through...Noah

One word comes to mind when I think of how God is working in me through Noah, and that is PATIENCE.  Up until this point, I have prayed for patience.  Do I have it?  Absolutely not!  But what I have been given are many opportunities to work on my patience, and I would have to say that a in a majority of those opportunities I have failed...miserably.  What I do see is God working off the rough edges that keep me from being the best version of myself.

Once again during our diaconate formation program, we felt called to have another baby & being the rational planner that I am, I agreed that it would be something that would "work" with where we were in our lives.  Once again, God did not give me more than a few weeks to reconsider His plan and I knew I was pregnant right away. 

This pregnancy had me sicker than I had ever been.  I was pretty much in a horizontal position on the couch for a good 4 months.  I became so desperate for relief that I turned to acupuncture.  I got to a point where I felt I was failing as a wife and mother simply for the fact that I couldn't care for my family.  Jason did everything those first months and I am grateful for a loving spouse that was able to care for me "in sickness and in health."

As I neared the end of the pregnancy, I continued to anticipate an early (and fast) delivery.  Here comes another opportunity for patience!  Not only did this one surpass all of the other kids' pregnancy length, when I finally thought that I was in labor and went to the hospital, I almost was sent home when my contractions suddenly ceased!  Now, mind you, I was 3 days away from my due date, I was physically uncomfortable and my mom had been visiting our house for the past 2 weeks in anticipation that I might have this baby while she was here!  Was I going to consider going home at this point??  Absolutely not!  The IV was already in my arm...I was going to wait here until the doctor came in the morning!  Patience opportunity...failed!

So the doctor came in the next morning & we said "move things along", and for the first time, I was induced.  As we waited and waited for the contractions to strengthen, we realized after hours that this baby was not pushing down enough to even break my water.  So the doctor moved that along.  After that, it seemed as though the baby was, with each contraction, moving the other direction!  It was like he was crawling up into my ribs and refusing to come out.  (This persistence to do it his way is a quality I still see in him.)

Thankfully, everything turned out perfectly and we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy.  Mr. Noah is still one that pushes me to be patient.  (Let's just say that weaning has been a difficult cross to bear, and he is way more persistent than I am patient, so guess who is winning that one!)  I have had to let go of many "things" simply for the fact of being overwhelmed with child #5, but that might not be a bad thing since my vocation is first to be a loving wife and mother. 

I am continually reminded that patience does not come easily, rather it is something that I continually ask God to work at in me.  I sometimes think that I should no longer pray for patience, but for strength, but I wonder what that might get me.  I read a meditation today that talked about prayer, and that we should actually pray to God to tell us what we should be praying for, rather than deciding what we want or need for ourselves.  He knows us best and what is best for us, so what I have learned is that I need to quit thinking about what I want to be, but who He wants me to be through His grace.  That, by far, is way better than any other prayer that I can come up with for myself and I hope that with that prayer, God can work in me without having to do it through others. I am thankful for each and every one of them and that God was able to accomplish something (even if it's not perfected yet) in me through each one.

Frosty the Snowman

So Ian decided this morning to pass on wearing gloves and a hat, so we had a talk about the temperature and what it means.  He of course understood it better from watching TV.

Me:  Ian, when the temperature is below 32 degrees, things can freeze, even our skin, so we have to protect it by doing what?
Ian:  Wearing gloves.
Me:  Right.  And if we don't, we can get frostbite when it's this cold. 
Ian:  Like when our skin gets red?
Me:  Yes, but that's just the start of it.  Kind of like a sunburn in the summer.  When our skin gets damaged, it turns red and it hurts.  But frostbite that's really bad can make your fingers turn black and fall off.  So we need to protect our fingers until the temperature warms up, OK?
Ian:  Yeah, just like Frosty!  He had to watch the temperature thing so when it got too red he had to be careful or he would get all wishy-washy.

Simply priceless.

(Mrs. Wishy-Washy is Noah's current favorite book, so that might be where that term came from.)

God is working in me through...Ian

So after Faith, many things changed in our lives.  We made our home back in Jason's home town and our desire to grow in our faith, and teach others as well, bloomed.  We hungered for more that the Church had to offer, and that helped us to seek out the wisdom of those who shepherd the flock, namely our pastors, first Father Andy and then Father Jeremy.  In a short period of time, Jason had been asked about what he thought about being a deacon.  To make a long story short, we started the process of discerning the diaconate and what it meant for us and our family.

Fast forward a bit...we were now in the diaconate and learning how to listen more to what God was calling us to in every moment of our lives.  I had already opened my heart to the possibility of home schooling even though I really didn't feel I was mentally capable of doing it.  I knew that if I was going to be able to do it, God would surround me with those that could help and guide me.  (Well, if you know what we're up to now, you would know that the home schooling thing didn't happen.)  I wonder still if it was an opportunity to allow myself to open up to trust God & what He wanted me to do even if I didn't think I could or wanted to.

So, with that window closed, God opened one that I didn't expect...the desire for another child.  Here we are in the middle of Jason's schooling and I'm experiencing something I haven't since our first desire to start a family.  Of course Jason's answer to another child is a resounding "yes!" but I am the reluctant one, (usually for selfish reasons), saying, "no thanks, I'm good where I'm at."  But I was moved in many ways to open my heart to another baby.  It didn't take long for God to respond to our "yes" either.  I sometimes think that He did so knowing that I might change my mind if I had more time to think about it. 

 

So 5 years ago from this date, Ian came into our world.  And in following with the trend of all the other kids before him, we moved into a different house, one we could finally call our own.  (I still remember painting with him on my back in the sling since he wouldn't let me accomplish anything unless he was being held.) 

I think the biggest lesson I learned from the 4th child was learning to discern.  Sure, I prayed for things before, but did I really listen and pay attention to God's desire for me?  Did I trust what He could accomplish in me if I only cooperated with an open heart?  In that openness, I received such a gift of peace.  Ian brought so much joy to so many, especially within our diaconate community.  Even at a young age, he opened our eyes to the mystery of God and His love for us in simple things he did and noticed, especially in church during Mass.  He used to gaze at people in a way that they often commented, "I feel like he's reading my soul!"

 

This is a (blurry) picture given to us from Jason's ordination.  Ian saw the 11 men laying prostrate in the aisle for the Litany of the Saints and he felt moved to join in. 

(I really wouldn't be surprised if he goes on to be a priest someday...

we'll see what God has in store for him!!)

 

P.S.  Happy birthday, Ian! 

 

Way a-head!

Noah had his 2 year check-up a little while back.  He was screaming before I could get his clothes off and continued to scream as they checked his temp, his height and weight and his heartbeat.  That's what I get for not showing up early to give him time to adjust!  By the time the Doc came in, he was all smiles again & made it through the exam fine.  Once again though, his head size had the doctor concerned.  Height - 10%,  Weight - 4%,  Head circumference - well off the chart

Dr.:  "Do large heads run in your family?"
Me: "No."
Dr.:  "Hmm, I'm a little concerned.  Maybe we should do a CT scan of his head."
Me:  "We did one before."
Dr."  "Oh, we did?  Let me check the results...ah, yes, it was normal.  Since large heads don't run in your family, we'll just know that his head is "just Noah" and we'll continue to keep an eye on him."

Yes, I know your chart says his head is way too big, but I think it's adorable!  Do I have trouble finding small shirts with large openings?  Sometimes.  But I guess I can just make the hole bigger until the rest of his body catches up.  Until then, I'll just enjoy that melon-sized head with all my love!

Home Sweet Home - Part 1

So we officially closed on a new house last Friday. 

"What?!  You're moving?  I didn't even know you were looking for a new house!" is the common reply.

Well, neither did we until about a month ago.  We have been tossing around ideas on how to make our house more suited for growing children who-like-to-have-other-children-over-to-stay-but-keep-the-rest-of-us-up with a tight budget.  We looked at building a basement, adding on, buying a bigger, much more expensive, house and had finally decided to just stay where we were at with what we had. 

I put my desires into the hands of the Blessed Mother.  What she presented us was a gift we never saw coming...a house with all we wanted and needed in our price range.  As soon as we walked in, we knew it was something special & the opportunities of it just got better as we thought and prayed about it.  It didn't take long for us to discern that this was a gift from God and we jumped at the opportunity to move forward with making it our future home.

The pluses and minuses...
PLUS - Only 2 blocks away from where we currently live
MINUS - Packing up everything to move only 2 blocks

PLUS - New windows, doors, hardwood floors, lighting
MINUS - Paying for 2 heating/electrical bills while we get the new house ready (propane just got insanely expensive!!)

PLUS - 2 doors down from Jason's parents
MINUS - 2 blocks farther from Church and School

PLUS, PLUS, PLUS - New house has a basement, large patio, fenced in back yard, lots of landscaping, apple trees, cherry tree, raspberries, grapes, fire pit, not to mention a much larger main bathroom and another one with a sink in it!!
LAST MINUS - Moving in the winter...well, moving is never really fun anytime... 

Let's just say that we're really excited to get into our new home, but it may take a month with our schedules to get everything ready to how we want before we move in.  We'll keep you posted and upload pictures soon.

God is working in me through...Faith

We left Texas with heavy hearts the spring after Laney was born.  El Paso had become our home and we really enjoyed our winter months there, but a horseshoer and his family must follow the work.  We moved back up to MN to a town close to the cities so Jason could work at the racetrack another summer.  That winter, we knew it would be too much for us to pack up again and haul the kids to another state, so Jason did his best to make ends meet, but we knew that if we were going to stay put, something would need to change.  We opened our hearts to God's will for work and for our family and He opened doors for us.

 

Jason's grandpa was going to be retiring from his job as a sales rep with Zep and we saw this as an opportunity for many things...to move home, to have a steady income with benefits, and just have more time and energy for family.  Around that same time, we found out we were expecting baby #3.  (Let's just say that we were surprised, but after deciding to actually take the NFP class after Faith was born, we realized that we had really good timing.  Yes, God has a sense of humor and uses it on those who half-wittedly trust in His will.) 

 

May I also point out that moving and morning sickness make a terrible combination!  Jason did a majority of the packing, bless his heart, but it took me a while to find some things.

 

It seems fitting that God was working in me, namely my faith, when I carried this little girl inside me.  We had many trials during that time and her arrival was a much needed blessing.  She was such a beautiful and content baby and we had no doubt that her name would be "Faith".  She brought us to another level of our lives that we didn't know we could reach and that was only attainable by allowing God to work in us through her. 

 

He knew we could handle more than 2 kids...I certainly didn't believe in myself that much!  He knew that house we had our heart set on moving into was not what we needed.  What a blessing to rent from the Claeys family instead!!  He knew that being around Jason's family when things got difficult with mine would help me get through it all.  Most of all, He knew that having 2 little girls so close in age would help me to soften my hard edges and enjoy the "girly" things that girls do.  Most of my life has been surrounded by a world of boys and God knew that I needed another girl to open my eyes to the beauty of the bonds of sisters.

 

Faith has been the source of carefree silliness, countless cuddle moments, not to mention eyes that "mesmerize".  Having her in my life has helped me grow in my faith in the fact that I have realized that God knows what we need.  He wants us to be happy.  Can we be happy without God?  Maybe we can try, or think we are happy for a while, but eventually we are wanting more.  When you are happy with God's plans, you find a sense of peace and contentment.  When you have faith that He can make you happy with what He knows you need, and what brings out the best in you, then your faith allows you to be happy. 

 

How could I not be happy with this face and personality in my life?