Together again

Well, we made it! We are finally all moved in to our new apartment in Raleigh. Our weekend started early Friday morning by dropping off Liam and Ellie at our friends house, picking up the truck and then heading back to the house to start the packing process. Everything started out smooth, we packed up our house in about three hours then headed over to my in laws to pack some more stuff we had in storage there. Once that was finished, we waved goodbye to Louisville and headed to Lexington for the night. A bit of a side note here so the rest of the story makes sense: Liam had come down with a nasty stomach virus that was going around. He passed that on to his friend Olivia (sorry Ness :) but both of them had different symptoms...Liam had diarrhea and Olivia was throwing up. I didn't really think much of it since the most I ever get from Liam is a cold. HOWEVER...Thursday night my friend Amanda came over to help me finish packing and she did stellar! But at 5 am I got a text from her saying she had been up all night, sick to her stomach. Uh oh. Surely, I wasn't going to get it or I already would have....right? Hmmm. So Friday as we were finishing up packing at my in laws and I ate my mother in laws stellar tuna sandwich, I didn't feel so good. And by the time we got to my Mom's that night, I was done for. I skipped dinner, laid on the couch, and ended up crawling into bed around 8. By 9...I was sick to my stomach. I was up all night with the worst stomach virus I have had in years if not ever. And yep...I was getting up at 430 am to make the 8 hour drive to Raleigh. UGH. So 430 came around and I felt awful. I was still sick and got even sicker right before we left.

And then...a miracle. I was fine. My Mom drove the first 4 hours and I hung out in the back with Liam and by the time we stopped in Virginia, I had a sandwich and a Sprite and drove myself, Liam and my brother the rest of the way home. By this time, Liam and I were both on the mend and had no sickness...thank God! A miracle is all I can say. We had a lot of help from Justin's awesome co-workers, who by the way I was so embarrassed to meet as I was not feeling good and had driven all day! Anyways. That night, my brother got sick. He ended up staying with us an extra day while everyone else left yesterday at noon, desperate to escape the sick ward :)

Our first full day in NC was good until last night...Justin got sick. OY VEY. I was now taking care of my child who was so confused about where he was and was still trying to catch up on sleep, and two grown men who were sick as dogs. In a new town. Where I know no one. And know where nothing is. But thankfully, both started feeling better a mere 12/24 hours after they got sick and we were able to put my brother on a plane tonight so head back to Lexington. Justin is sleeping it off, he had an earlier bedtime then Liam tonight!

So I feel like right now is the first time I have had in the last few days to wrap my head around what's going on and where I am. I am thankful for Panera and free wi-fi so I can come at the end of the day, listen to my ipod and just think about this new journey. I am in such a different phase of life then I was when I moved to Louisville. I am praying that friends come quickly.  And a good babysitter. Mommy and Daddy need a date night :)

This one's for the girls!

I have lived in Kentucky for 12 years now (moved here from Chicago). I haven't always lived in the same city in Kentucky but I have ventured from Lexington to Bowling Green to Louisville. Along the way I have met some amazing friends which was and always is a big fear of mine because I used to be really shy as a kid and when I moved to Lexington 12 years ago, I knew I had to change. I had awesome friends in high school, some who I am still close to, some am I not. But these 3 girls are the ones that I have been closest to since I moved here.  We have been through a lot-I can't even begin to explain the hilarious things that happen when we are together! Being able to share high school memories together is priceless...I love reminiscing over old stories (half of which I can't remember!!).

Inky's Circa 2008

 

After high school, I went to WKU and met another group of awesome girls. Without these girls, I'm not sure I would be who I am today. Together, we grew in the Lord, learned about faith and who we were and what we wanted to be "when we grew up". There were MANY times in college when I needed a good kick in the ass, and these girls were the ones to give it to me. What's really funny is that boys used to be scared to date any of us because of our bible study leader, Merideth. She really wanted us to date outstanding men of God. and sure enough, those of us that are married...we are married to AWESOME guys :) I am so thankful for these girls investing in my life!

Bemis Hotties Circa 2002

Then...after graduating in December of 2005, my husband and I moved to Louisville. At the time, we were involved in Young Life and became leaders right away. I happened to meet another amazing group of girls that were other leaders or who were involved in college/post college YL group. I have had AMAZING memories with these girls, I can't even begin to describe how fun they are or how influential they have been in my life. I mean...I never used to wear big earrings before I started hanging out with these ladies :) But seriously. What a blessing to have another great group of friends!

Louisville Girls Circa 2010

I pray HARD that I find amazing friends in Raleigh. And also that Justin finds some amazing friends too...it's important that the hubs has some good dude friends too. I am confident we will find good couples to share our lives with. 5 days and counting!!

One week!

I am back! I haven't blogged for awhile and here is why...I felt like if I continued to write, I would be a Debbie Downer. These past four months have been hard on me and I never wanted my blog to be depressing or a place where I was just complaining about the place in life that I am in. Typically, I am a glass half empty kind of gal (at least I know it, right?). When things get stressful or a situation doesn't work out as easily as I want or expect it to, I kind of freak out. It always works out in the end but for some reason, I sometimes don't have a cool head about things. That's kind of the way this whole moving situation has been for me. There were times when I could confidently say that I was trusting the Lord and I knew that when it was time, it was time. But then other times....whew. I was crying on the phone to my husband, or crying to a friend or crying after Liam went to bed.  Or just being really mad at God because I didn't know why our family had to be separated. Thank goodness for my husband! We really do balance each other out. When I freak out, he calms me down. When he doesn't think a situation through, I bring him back to reality. He has always been willing to work hard for our family while having a great balance of work and family. I think if we were both hot heads we never would have been able to do this :)

I would try to remind myself it could be worse....I have a few friends whose husbands are in the military and have been gone or are gone right now for a year or more. But...it has worked out. Like it always does. It has been quite a journey but I am excited to see this season of life pass us soon. Next week, we are packing up all of our belongings and headed to North Carolina! I am thankful for the person moving into our house. It's a cool story and a huge answer to prayer and I am thankful that our house will continue to be used as a place of ministry for our church and to our neighborhood.

In other news, Liam is amazing. As always. Was that ever in question? I am biased as I am his Momma but seriously. He is so cute and so wonderful.

Halloween was a hit :) Cute costumes, candy and getting to stay up a little past bedtime? He loved it all!

Inspiration

Have you ever had those days that you are just knocked down onto your knees in prayer because there really just aren't any words or anything else that seems right to do? Today was one of those days for me.

I have these two friends, Brooke and Brandon. They are friends of mine from high school. Brooke and I have so many fun memories together and Brandon was one of my first friends when I moved to Kentucky.  You know those people that everyone wants to be friends with? Brooke and Brandon are those people...they are so wonderful! Brooke got pregnant this year and found out very quickly that their baby had something called anencephaly which is a fatal neural tube defect. Due to medical reasons, Brooke was induced early (30ish weeks) on Thursday and in Brooke's words, Briar was born at 338 am to be with Jesus.  I have seen a few pictures that she has posted at her blog and they are precious and sweet. We know that Briar is with Jesus, but as a mommy, it is sad to hear and see something like this. I can't imagine something happening to Liam.  If you have time, read through Brooke's blog. She blogs about her pregnancy and her faith in the Lord during this tough time.

What an inspiration. She has just faced a huge trial and has her trust 100% in the Lord. I pray that my faith is this strong all the time and that my strength comes from the Lord. Last night, I was packing a few boxes and organizing the closet getting ready for a showing tomorrow and song came on on my itunes. It is called "I Have to Believe" by Rita Springer. It is an AMAZING song that we sing at our church Sojourn sometimes. I started to cry just thinking and remembering that God said He can move mountains and that He is our strength. Here are some lyrics:

I have to believe, he sees my darkness

I have to believe, he knows my pain
I have to lift up, my hands to Worship
Worship his name
I have to declare, that he is my refuge
I have to deny, that i am alone
I have to lift up, my eyes to the mountains, thats where my help, it comes from

He said that he's forever faithful
He said that he's forever true
He said that he can move mountains
If he can move mountains
He can move my mountain, he can move your mountain too

I have to stand tall, when the wind blows me over
I have to stand strong, when i'm weak and afraid
I have to grab hold, a hold of the garments, the garments of praise

He said that he's forever faithful
He said that he's forever true
He said that he can move mountains
If he can move mountains
He can move my mountain, he can move your mountain too

I have to sing praise, when the hour is midnight
He unlocks these chains, that bind up my soul
my sin and my shame he has forgiven, and made me whole

Wow. If you don't own this song, get it. It's wonderful.
If you can, pray for Brooke and Brandon. Pray for healing and for strength.

A (not so really) cuddly weekend

Liam woke up Friday morning with a bit of a cold. Runny nose, watery eyes, the usual stuff kiddos get from playing with other kids and being at the park everyday. I thought nothing of it until I myself started feeling bad too. Oh man. I never get sick. So as the day progressed I passed it all off on allergies but didn't really feel like doing much. So after Liam's super short nap (he couldn't breath from his stuffy and/or runny nose) we went and rented some Disney movies. I know...I need to buy them. But Disney movies are expensive! So...we rented Finding Nemo and Toy Story and got a bag of popcorn. On our way back home, I had visions of us cuddled up on the couch, watching Nemo, eating popcorn and possibly falling asleep. We got to the house, popped our popcorn and settled on the couch with juice, popcorn and blankie. Let me just say that Liam is EXACTLY like his daddy. He can not sit still for anything! Nevertheless, he LOVED Finding Nemo inbetween playing with toys, snacking on popcorn and jumping up and down on the couch. Pictures coming soon :)

More words.

Today's new words:

Car, Ellie and Yes.

What!? Every time I hear him say them, it's unbelievable to me that he is saying REAL words. What a big boy!

Things are kind of tough around here. The best way to explain it? I'm sad. Really sad. I miss my husband and a semi-normal life. I am sad for Liam, that he is missing out on time with his daddy. He was SO excited when Justin came home last week and we all had such a great week and weekend doing lots of fun things-going to the park, Hubers Orchard and spending time with Gramparents. Saying goodbye on Sunday was the hardest it has been yet, with me not being able to stop crying for at least 3 hours. And then the crying returns sometimes after Liam goes to bed. It was so wonderful to have Justin home, I just can't wait to be together in our new home.

Thankfully, I have great friends. One who willingly babysat Liam on Sunday night so I could go to the Rascal Flatts concert with another great friend who took me and cheered me up. I am thankful for the friends who willingly hang out at my house with me at night so I don't have to try to find a babysitter. I am thankful for my husband who is in North Carolina working hard for his family. I am thankful for all of the people who are praying for us and keeping their fingers crossed that our house sells quickly and that our family can be together soon. I am thankful for a supportive family. I am thankful for things like Skype that allow Justin, Liam and I to see each other in between visits. I am thankful for the friends that are housing Justin in Durham.

I know that the Lord has a plan. I was reminded of that a lot today. A good friend of mine had this quote on her facebook this week: "Ultimately our gift to the world around us is hope. Not blind hope that pretends everything is fine and refuses to acknowledge how things are. But the kind of hope that comes from staring pain and suffering right in the eyes, and refusing to believe that this is all there is." I'm glad I read that when I did. Spoke right to my heart.

Goodnight all...gotta get some good rest so I can keep up with my chatterbox child tomorrow!

New words.

Today as I was cleaning up from dinner (pizza, veggies and fruit..mom of the year right here folks haha!) I heard Liam in his room taking books off of his bookshelf. This is one of his many favorite things to do. All of his books are on the bottom shelf so he can reach them and he takes them off two or three at a time. He used to just dump them and then be on his way to something else or maybe flip through his favorites. But now, he flips through them and then hands them to me to read. So anyways, I put down what I was doing and went into his room. As I walked in, I heard him making a noise and couldn't figure out what it was. Then I realized he was reading this book called "Jungle Babies" and was on the snake page. Every time I read it I make a snake noise and poke at Liam and he was MAKING THE NOISE! I couldn't believe it! We have tried for months and months to get him to do a dog noise but he never does. So just to make sure, I re-read the book to him and asked him what it was and he made the hissing noise again. Ahhh...so awesome. This weekend he also started to say "na" for banana...as a matter of fact, he got so excited in the grocery store today when he saw them he was SCREAMING it. "Mama! Na! Na! Na!" Hahaha. I love it! And tonight when we were reading that same book, there is a monkey holding a banana and he pointed it out saying "na!"

It is so fun to be in this next stage of him talking and not just babbling anymore. Justin comes home tomorrow night for a short visit so I know that he will be shocked and amazed at how much Liam has changed. Liam was barely taking steps when Justin was home just three weeks ago and now he is almost running everywhere!