More Doctors Visits & Stuff

So, I guess this is just the time of year for my children to get sick. This time it is Nate. I had to take Brianna in to the doctor for them to check her lungs again, and so I had them check out Nate to because he has been a lot more fussy lately as well as he has had a cough. Come to find out, he has a double ear infection. No wonder he has been so needy lately. So, just as soon as Brianna is off of the medication, Nate is on it. But, despite the ear infections, he is still a really sweet baby- as long as his motrin is still taking effect to kill the pain.

The up side to this is that Nathan is on alert this week. That means that he is home all week unless he gets called in to fly. So, I have an extra set of helping hands around the house. When this happens, we usually make a list of things to try to get done while Nathan is home. The list usually doesn't get done, but we try. This week, we haven't made a list, but we have already gotten our room rearranged and cleaned up. Next, Nathan just needs to finish his master's paper. Only two more chapters...we'll see if that gets done before Christmas!

Thanksgiving Pics

So, I had intended to post these pictures on the last post, but I must have hit a wrong button. Anyway, here they are:

Nate, Nathan and Brianna- notice the Cowboys apparel- Go Cowboys!!!

This is Jadyn, my friend Ginger's daughter. The plate was in front of her, and she didn't have a fork, so what else do you do but just try and eat off of the plate? What a cutie!!!

Baby Nate finally fell asleep! What an adorable little man!!!

Brianna, Jared and Luke playing!

Thanksgiving

I hope that you each had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because I love the history behind it as well as the time spent with family and friends. This year, we spent the day with some friends from church and the squadron. Actually, on Wednesday, we got together with the entire 962nd squadron at the Six Mile Chalet on base for a wonderful time of food, fun and fellowship. One thing I am thankful for is that my husband is a part of a great group of people who are a lot of fun to hang out with and we really have become a big "family away from family". I spent most of Wednesday evening and Thursday morning cooking and then we went to our friends, the Anderson's, to watch the Cowboys play and then eat Thanksgiving Dinner. Of course, for those of you that know us well, know that we are die hard Cowboys fans. So, this was a big event, and I am also thankful that the Cowboys are 10-1 for the first time ever- it made Thanksgiving Day so much more enjoyable. We then enjoyed an eventful dinner. We tried to make it a civilized time, but with seven children and five adults, it never is. Of course, we fed the children first and had them sit at the table in the kitchen. Then, the five of us adults got our plates and sat down to eat. Of course, by this time the children were almost done because they were too excited to eat anyway. Except for Brianna...she wanted to sit with her Dad. So she came and sat on her dad's lap. And, she loves the rolls I made, so she was just stuffing them in her face, which her dad thought was funny, until she gagged on them and threw up all over his plate. I actually laughed, but it was really gross. So, after cleaning that up, the other kids had gone to the playroom, so Kyle had to go monitor that, and Nathan had lost his appetite. So, us ladies- Candance, Ginger and I, just sat there and visited for awhile. And of course, Baby Nate just ate through it all. That kid can eat more than any other ten month old I have ever seen, and he isn't ten months old until the 26th. He really likes stuffing. All in all, it was a fun day. We missed being with our extended families, but having a wonderful family here as well as good friends is a blessing.

A Busy Week

This has just been one of those weeks that has been very busy. We started the week off thinking we were going to have some time to get a few things done around the house because Nathan was on alert, so he didn't have to go into the office. And it was gorgeous outside because we got a bit of snow last weekend. But, of course Nathan got called in on Tuesday, so all our plans were spoiled. Oh well! So, it I just had a lot of things to do this week. I had to decorate a Christmas wreath and a Christmas tree for a wreath auction on base- and then go to the wreath auction. I had to shop for and set up crafts for our MOPS group which was on Friday, as well as prepare a devotional for the group- and attend MOPS on Friday. I had a jewelry party on Friday evening. And then of course there are the daily tasks of laundry, cooking, cleaning and playing with my children. I also have been trying to work out more consistently...so that takes up a little time each day as well. And of course, Brianna's bed had to break this week(it has been damaged several times in different ways- this was just the last straw). So, we were contemplating what to do, and finally just decided that she would get the queen size bed that we already have. We spent this morning (after my pedicure- I needed a break) setting it up and cleaning her room. So, tonight is date night, even though my beloved Sooners are playing, and it is actually on our TV- thank goodness for DVR!!! I have been wanting to go to this fun restaurant down in Anchorage for awhile, so we are heading there this evening, and then who knows what we are going to do. I don't even know if there are any good movies out, but we may see a movie, or go shopping or something. We just need to get out.

We had a really good snow this past week. This is the view from our back porch.
On the way to church last Sunday night, it was snowing and Brianna said, "Look Momma! It's so pretty!" And, it was just absolutely gorgeous with the snow catching the light of the church. I wish I had a picture of that.

Here is Nate with a smile. His dad must have taken this picture, because I surely would not let him climb on the couch like that, at least not without a helping hand right there.

And here is our precious Brianna, straight out of bed. On this particular morning, she was helping her momma make blueberry muffins and scrambled eggs. She is doing well- she hasn't "choked" in a few days. She is still coughing, but I think the medicine is working. Thank you all for your prayers and please continue to pray for her.

Update on Brianna

We heard from the doctor today, and Brianna does have pneumonia. She is now on an antibiotic and breathing treatments, and she will have to be seen again in another ten days. Please continue to pray for her...she is so sweet in spite of all the coughing and "choking". Today, when we gave her the new medicine, she was so excited because we told her it would make her feel better- she even wanted more.

Pic

I am just posting a pic of our family so that I can add one to my profile. I hope this works. As you can tell, this picture was not taken in Alaska. It was taken on our recent vacation to Florida.

Pray for Brianna

Yesterday, I had to take Brianna in to the doctor's office. She has been waking up with very raspy, wheezy breathing, and then sometimes she has started coughing to the point where she starts to throw up lots of flem...she calls this "choking". Anyway, it has persisted for about a week, so I decided it was time to go in to the doctor. So, as we are sitting there, the doctor takes a little extra time listening to her lungs, and then tells me that we need to send her to get chest x-rays because he is concerned that she may have pneumonia. OK- so the doctor did a good job of freaking out mom. Anyway, we went to get the chest x-ray, and I couldn't even go in there with her because I had Nate with me to. But, the techs said that she did a great job letting them taking pictures of her insides. This was very cool to a two year old. So, back to the doctor's office, and good news, her lungs were pretty clear. He said there was one spot that the radiologist was going to check out, but other than that, they were clear. So, that means that Brianna just has some sort of respiratory problem (the doctor had a name for it, but I can't remember it). Basically, it is a step below asthma, because she is too young to diagnose that yet. So, we are doing breathing treatments four times a day right now. Pray that Brianna does well with this and that she doesn't "choke" anymore, and that the radiologist will not find anything too concerning, but if he does that we would have wisdom and patience in dealing with it.

Church at Home

This week, we woke up Sunday morning with three out of the four of us feeling a little under the weather. So, we decided to have church at home. We sang some songs, which is really different with toddlers. Jesus Loves Me, I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in my Heart and other children's songs are favorites with Brianna, so that is what we sang. Then for our Bible lesson, we read the story of Ruth. Now, we chose this because we knew it would hold Brianna's attention because her middle name is Ruth (especially when you change all the pronouns to Ruth!). But, I also LOVE the story of Ruth. Three things stick out to me about this extraordinary woman. First, her faithfulness.

"But Ruth said, 'Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me." Ruth 1:16-17

WOW! How hard would that be? To be given the chance to go home to all that is familiar, but instead beg to move on with your mother-in-law with no hope of having another husband. Ruth basically gave her life over to Naomi. But, reading the rest of the story, we know that she was really giving her life over to the Lord and His plan for her life.

The second thing that I admire about Ruth is her industry. Ruth took the initiative to go seek out work to provide for herself and for Naomi. And, my understanding is that the gathering of wheat and preparing it is not an easy task.

"And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, 'Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor.' And she (Naomi) said to her, 'Go my daughter.' " Ruth 2:2

The third thing is Ruth's obedience to Naomi, and ultimately to the Lord.

"Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, 'My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight. Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. It shall be when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you should do.' She (Ruth) said to her, 'All that you say I will do." Ruth 3:1-5

You know, I think I would find it a little difficult to do something like that. But, I find this to be a great encouragement to be obedient to the Lord, no matter what the circumstances. Sometimes life just does not make a lot of sense, or we just don't like what is happening. But, when we surrender ourselves to God's plan, we will be blessed beyond our own comprehension.

"So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son." Ruth 4:13

And, we know that it is through this lineage that King David was born, and through his lineage, Christ our Savior was born. What a blessing!

So, we named our little girl Brianna Ruth. Together, those names mean strong, faithful friend. My grandmother's name is Ruth, and she is one of the most godly, faithful women that I know. She is an incredible blessing not only to my life, but to the lives of everyone she meets. We pray that our Brianna Ruth will be a strong, faithful friend and that she will be, in some way, like her great-grandmother. This picture was taken on our vacation this summer at the beach at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, FL.

My Wits End

OK, so if anyone has any advice, I need it. My nine month old son doesn't sleep very much, therefore I don't sleep very much. He stays up until about ten in the evening and is up at six in the morning, and he doesn't really nap during the day. I put him in bed for a nap in the morning, and he will sleep for about 15 minutes or so (if I am lucky, 3o) and that is it. His afternoon nap has seemed to just vanish. I am about at my wits end with this because I need some more sleep. I have tried just letting him cry it out, and that doesn't seem to bother him near as much as it bothers me. He will just cry and cry and cry. I was praying about it tonight, and the only thing that came to my mind was to meet his need, whatever it may be. So, after letting him cry for awhile (during this time was when I was praying what to do), I went and got him, and after another 20 minutes of soothing him, he finally went to sleep. So, any advice???

A Challenging Week

This has been a particularly challenging week for me. For one thing, Nathan has been working extra hours this week getting ready for exercises during the next couple of weeks at work. That means that I have been with my children pretty much all day every day, without any breaks. Brianna especially has missed her time with her daddy, even to the point where she was crying yesterday asking to call her daddy to have him come home. So, today, when Nathan had to go into the office this morning, no one, including him, was to thrilled about it. But, he came home just in time to put Brianna down for nap, and let me go grocery shopping without two children (all you moms out there know how much of a blessing this is). Then, this evening we got to go out as a family, and well, I got to do a little retail therapy. I think everything I bought was on sale. :)

Anyway, all of this just makes me appreciate every minute we do have together as a family. I guess because my husband is in the military, I often contemplate what I would do if anything ever happened to him. And I know that the Lord could choose to take him, my children or myself home to Him at any time. I also know that the Lord has a plan for us, and whatever happens is His plan for my life. I say all this to make the point that even through all of the frustrating moments this past week, I am so thankful for my children and all the time we were allowed to spend together this week. Even when Brianna had to do everything by herself and I was running late, or Nate just wanted to have me hold him, so I didn't get my house cleaned, I had to stop myself and tell myself that they are the priority, they are what my "job" is, and the moments that I take to train them and love on them is the most important way I can spend my time. And then it is totally worth it when Brianna crawls in my lap and tells me that she loves me, or when Nate gives me one of his huge smiles.

So, the next two weeks Nathan will be working even more than he did this past week. I pray that I can keep the proper perspective during this challenging month. I am sure that there are going to be many laughs and smiles to keep me going.

My Family

So, this is my family. We live in Alaska right now because my husband is in the Air Force. This picture was taken at Portage Glacier, which is just a little south of Anchorage. It is usually a pretty nice hike, but it was a little rainy on this particular day. But, we still had fun.

Like I said, my husband Nathan is in the Air Force. He just promoted to Major a couple of months ago, and he is only two chapters away from having his master's degree completed. I am so proud of him for all the hard work he puts in just doing his job and providing for us. He is a pilot, he loves fishing, and most importantly, he loves the Dallas Cowboys.

Brianna is our most precious little girl. She is two years old (twenty-nine months) and she is trying my patience at this very moment. Even so, she is such a sweet heart, and most of the time she really is just trying to help. She is at the stage where she wants to do everything herself, without any help. Now, I know that this is good for her to learn to do these things, but it makes everything I do take twice as long. I am sure that she will be the subject of many posts.

And finally, Baby Nate is my little man. He is so cute and fun right now. He is nine months old, and he is changing every day. His latest accomplishment is waving hello and clapping his hands. He is definitely getting a little personality, and his smile can light up the room.

So, about me. Well, I just keep up with the rest of the family. I work out almost every day (for my own sanity), I am involved in spouse's groups on base, MOPS at church, and I have a home based business selling Premier Designs Jewelry (again, to give me a little time for my own sanity). I am a huge OU football fan (Go Sooners!!!), much to my husband's dismay (he is from Texas). But, I also love the Dallas Cowboys, so we have some common ground there.

My First Blog

So, I guess I am going to jump into this blogging thing. I have thought about doing this for some time, but didn't really know why I would do it, other than it seems kind of fun. But, a couple of weeks ago in church I was convicted to do more to share the love of Christ with others. The emphasis that day was on world hunger, and they really meant feeding the poor and less fortunate. So, here is my list to help feed others physically:

• Make four Christmas boxes for Operation Christmas Child (one representing each member of our family)
• Buy some stuffing to donate to the local food shelter for the Thanksgiving baskets
• Keep our change to give to the World Hunger Offering
• Clean out our garage and crawl space and donate a bunch of stuff to the Salvation Army or Bargain Shop on base.
  

But, we also need to feed others spiritually. So, after much procrastination I decided that I would start this blog so that I can hopefully be an encouragement to others. I don't know if I will be any more of an encouragement than anyone else could be, but hopefully I can touch a few lives through this endeavor. Of course, there are the added benefits of getting to share with everyone what my husband and my children are doing (I will be posting pictures as soon as I figure out how) and getting to hear back from family, friends and strangers too. My prayer is that all who read this will be encouraged in the Lord.