it's nearing the end of a very exciting month. so you know what that means... I'M SO BEHIND IN MY PART-TIME, CALL MONITORING, BLESSING, WONDERFUL, ANNOYING, JOB.
alas, i will proceed. one call at a time. and blog to distract myself in the meantime.
how is life with you? i love october. it's my favorite month. it's still been in the high 70's or even 80's. so not october to me. the leaves are pretty, though. and it's getting colder now. it's supposed to be in the 50's all week, so i guess fall is finally here.
last night i went to a youth group event at a local corn maze. i co-lead the high school girls group. everyone went through the corn maze with their small groups. sadly, the high school girls were very much last. lol! somehow, we got quite lost in that darn corn maze. but it was a bonding experience, no doubt. we arrived at the bonfire afterwards and everyone turned and clapped as we finally found our way to the rest of the party. it was indeed dramatic. and fun. i'm so glad i went and got to hang out with those chickas. we had a halloween party at the wedding business today. it was quite fun! between all the employees, there are a lot of kids! most of them dressed up and we had pizza and "trick-or-treated" to the daddies who were hiding all over the property with sacks of candy. ha! it was cute.
jake and i are getting really excited for our upcoming trip to portland for christmas. my 2 sisters and one of my brothers will be there too. i'm really looking forward to spending lots of time with people we really love and miss.
i've realized this post is very statement-y.
sometimes things happen in life i don't quite understand. i do know the sweet Lord cares and knows. i do know that our pain doesn't last forever. that He is Redeemer. that He is kind. knowing God is kind means something to me. in parenting, i work really hard at teaching my kids what kindness is. and that being kind is so very important. i am thankful i can run to Jesus and He will be kind and gracious to me. even in the teaching moments. the times when He's refining me and making me better. somehow, it is still kind. i long to be like that.
it's 9:57 pm and finley JUST fell asleep. perhaps it was the fact that he had his own pumpkin FULL of candy and ate and ate just about whatever he wanted for an hour. yeah, that was probably it. remind me not to do that again.
well, except for this wednesday on the real halloween. he's going to be woody from toy story! and audrey's going to be a bumblebee! you KNOW there will be tons o' pictures.
hope all is well with you. and if not, that the Lord's kindness will minister to your heart.
love to you.
mer
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
my baby boy
man, it's been a while. missed you. there's some things i want to tell you about.
FIRST of all, my baby boy turned THREE last tuesday. THREE. i had a mini heart attack about that. but also, really love watching him grow up. i kept thinking about the night we went to the hospital to be induced and how i knew ABSOLUTELY nothing about anything that was about to happen to me. for the best, though, i am certain. it was so crazy. and all of a sudden you have this baby. and it's yours. so weird.
anyway, i love finley jacob with my whole heart. he is such a mix of determination, strength, dedication and softness and sweetness and he is just wonderful. i know, this is a super mushy post. but hey, it's my kid's birthday. he got many gifts. he got like 4 front loaders, a back hoe, airplanes, monster trucks, a green tractor, a huge garbage truck (from us, of course- because he thinks he's a garbage truck- aiming high that boy), cars, bubbles, trains, and more. his party was yesterday and all day today he would carry ALL of his new toys around to each room he was playing in. ALL of them. he would say, "i need to get my bir-day toys," and run and get them. we were in his room this morning before church and he pointed to each of his new toys and told me who gave him which toy. melted me. he's so sweet like that.
happy birthday, finley. hope you always know we love you like crazy.
here's a few pics from the party. we are so thankful for our new friends who came to celebrate. so glad you came. sure wish all our portland people who love him were here. we definitely thought of you all.
i mean, can you even stand audrey in those hot pink boots my mom got her!?! way too cute.
finley told me for weeks that he wanted a football cake. easy enough.
our new friend, elly.
fun in the leaves!
LOVE finley's face here. it's so him.
after we sang, he just stuck his face right in that cake!
on another note, i just wanted to update y'all on the youth group. i've been going for 2 weeks now, leading the high school girl's small group with a lady named, jen, and i am just loving it. today, i just looked around at the girls, there's about 8 of them, and thought... man, i love them all already. so glad the Lord led my heart there and am excited about what's to come.
i sure hope life is good wherever you are. thankful today for a kind God who gives and takes. and who is always Good.
love ya.
mer
FIRST of all, my baby boy turned THREE last tuesday. THREE. i had a mini heart attack about that. but also, really love watching him grow up. i kept thinking about the night we went to the hospital to be induced and how i knew ABSOLUTELY nothing about anything that was about to happen to me. for the best, though, i am certain. it was so crazy. and all of a sudden you have this baby. and it's yours. so weird.
anyway, i love finley jacob with my whole heart. he is such a mix of determination, strength, dedication and softness and sweetness and he is just wonderful. i know, this is a super mushy post. but hey, it's my kid's birthday. he got many gifts. he got like 4 front loaders, a back hoe, airplanes, monster trucks, a green tractor, a huge garbage truck (from us, of course- because he thinks he's a garbage truck- aiming high that boy), cars, bubbles, trains, and more. his party was yesterday and all day today he would carry ALL of his new toys around to each room he was playing in. ALL of them. he would say, "i need to get my bir-day toys," and run and get them. we were in his room this morning before church and he pointed to each of his new toys and told me who gave him which toy. melted me. he's so sweet like that.
happy birthday, finley. hope you always know we love you like crazy.
here's a few pics from the party. we are so thankful for our new friends who came to celebrate. so glad you came. sure wish all our portland people who love him were here. we definitely thought of you all.
on another note, i just wanted to update y'all on the youth group. i've been going for 2 weeks now, leading the high school girl's small group with a lady named, jen, and i am just loving it. today, i just looked around at the girls, there's about 8 of them, and thought... man, i love them all already. so glad the Lord led my heart there and am excited about what's to come.
i sure hope life is good wherever you are. thankful today for a kind God who gives and takes. and who is always Good.
love ya.
mer
Friday, October 12, 2012
when you just don't shower
i texted my mom earlier today and told her this:
i have not showered in 4 days; finley is wearing the same shirt today that he wore all day yesterday and slept in last night; i have not cooked dinner all week. but we are healthy. so that's something :).
i did cook chicken pot pie for small group on wednesday night, but the most i cooked for my family was making frozen pizza and fruit salad.
finley just really didn't want to change his shirt. i didn't feel the need/energy to fight him on it.
the showering thing... there's no excuse. i am clean now, though.
you know, life is full. there is so much happening around us all the time. i am usually pretty on top of things around the house. i cook. i clean. and i genuinely enjoy it. my life as a wife and mom doesn't stop. there are just some weeks that we don't quite eat all that healthy. or the laundry doesn't get done. or i just have a bad attitude. or i don't feel like keeping up with everything. in these weeks, i try and take the time i am not cleaning to sit on the floor with those babies. this morning i layed on the floor for 20 minutes with my knees up being a human slide for finley and audrey. why in the heck that brings enormous amounts of joy to them, i have no clue. but they loved it.
we had to go to walmart today. i have found the magical parking area where there's always spots and it's right next to a cart rack thing so i can grab a cart right there and load the kids in. to my dismay, when we parked today, there it was. the dreaded "choo choo" cart as we call it. you know, the one that is the size of a missle and has the special seats for kids to ride in. the one that makes people pushing it feel like they're moving against gravity or natural forces or something (not sure of the scientific accuracy of that description). anyway, the big carts. sometimes, they're great. a lot of times it turns into way more work because finley takes his shoes off and i often don't notice till we're checking out and they've fallen somewhere. or he wants to throw all the groceries from the choo choo part into the big part. that's fun. or audrey gets squeamish and wants out and i fear she will fall out, etc. ANYWAY, we pulled in. there it was. no way to avoid it. finley said, "i wanna ride the choo choo cart!" it'd be best for everyone to just give in. so i did. and you know what, they were content the whole time. definitely doesn't always happen. but today, that choo choo cart was grace to me. it helped me get done quickly and to avoid placing all my groceries around audrey who sits in the big part, usually, and screams if anything cold is touching her.
i guess what i'm saying is, life isn't and doesn't have to be perfect. nor pretty. nor clean. mine sure wasn't this week. but there is incredible joy. and incredible grace. and sometimes, that annoying choo choo cart is really a gift.
love to you.
mer
i have not showered in 4 days; finley is wearing the same shirt today that he wore all day yesterday and slept in last night; i have not cooked dinner all week. but we are healthy. so that's something :).
i did cook chicken pot pie for small group on wednesday night, but the most i cooked for my family was making frozen pizza and fruit salad.
finley just really didn't want to change his shirt. i didn't feel the need/energy to fight him on it.
the showering thing... there's no excuse. i am clean now, though.
you know, life is full. there is so much happening around us all the time. i am usually pretty on top of things around the house. i cook. i clean. and i genuinely enjoy it. my life as a wife and mom doesn't stop. there are just some weeks that we don't quite eat all that healthy. or the laundry doesn't get done. or i just have a bad attitude. or i don't feel like keeping up with everything. in these weeks, i try and take the time i am not cleaning to sit on the floor with those babies. this morning i layed on the floor for 20 minutes with my knees up being a human slide for finley and audrey. why in the heck that brings enormous amounts of joy to them, i have no clue. but they loved it.
we had to go to walmart today. i have found the magical parking area where there's always spots and it's right next to a cart rack thing so i can grab a cart right there and load the kids in. to my dismay, when we parked today, there it was. the dreaded "choo choo" cart as we call it. you know, the one that is the size of a missle and has the special seats for kids to ride in. the one that makes people pushing it feel like they're moving against gravity or natural forces or something (not sure of the scientific accuracy of that description). anyway, the big carts. sometimes, they're great. a lot of times it turns into way more work because finley takes his shoes off and i often don't notice till we're checking out and they've fallen somewhere. or he wants to throw all the groceries from the choo choo part into the big part. that's fun. or audrey gets squeamish and wants out and i fear she will fall out, etc. ANYWAY, we pulled in. there it was. no way to avoid it. finley said, "i wanna ride the choo choo cart!" it'd be best for everyone to just give in. so i did. and you know what, they were content the whole time. definitely doesn't always happen. but today, that choo choo cart was grace to me. it helped me get done quickly and to avoid placing all my groceries around audrey who sits in the big part, usually, and screams if anything cold is touching her.
i guess what i'm saying is, life isn't and doesn't have to be perfect. nor pretty. nor clean. mine sure wasn't this week. but there is incredible joy. and incredible grace. and sometimes, that annoying choo choo cart is really a gift.
love to you.
mer
Sunday, October 7, 2012
lots of germie germs
hey. i'm back in the land of the living. well, i hope so. here's what our week has been like:
SO hopefully, we will be back to normal life this week. going to the Y, Bible study, small group, you know... the things that keep me a sane person. we've all been cooped up too long.
for as long as this week has been, i am thankful these are our trials. many have it much worse. i've committed to serving the high schoolers of our church by being a small group leader. which i am pumped for. last week was supposed to be my first week, but with sick audrey i couldn't make it. then this week, i was out for the count. a little insecure they think i'm flaky :) for real, we're usually not sick.
in other grand news: LOOK OUT PORTLAND! THE GREER'S ARE COMING FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!! :) :) :)
can't wait to see you.
night y'all. (btw: last week after the hospital when i said i hope to fall asleep and not wake till morning, i slept the best night of sleep i have in WEEKS) so grateful.
hope all is well with you. and no stomach flu is in your future.
love to you.
mer
- coming home from the hospital. doing nebulizer treatments at home. lots of vaporizers. our home smelling like vapor rub all day.
- tuesday night, finley randomly threw up in his bed. like, a lot. cleaned him up. he seemed fine the next day.
- missed Bible study, for i would not be that mom who brings sick children into the world to infect other innocent babies.
- missed small group. couldn't let the healthy babysitter come over and possibly catch the greer disease.
- thursday morning i took audrey to her follow up dr. appointment. doc said her ear infection looked way better, and not much weezing, so we should be in the clear. thank you, Lord.
- thursday night, audrey throws up in her bed. although, i did not discover this until friday morning... realizing she slept in her vomit all night long. it was caked on her and took 2 baths to rid her of the smell. mixed with vapor rub. yum. too graphic?
- home again friday for the 5th day in a row. neither child seemed too bothered by the puking, but still weird to me.
- had a wonderful family night on friday! EASILY THE
ONLYhighlight of the week. we went to red robin and then to ross and kohl's to get jake some needed new shirts. it was wonderful being out in public and being all together! work has been super busy for jake. - THEN the worst happened: late friday night i came down with the worst, most horrible, terrible stomach flu. yes. it was awful. started throwing up friday night and didn't stop for 24 hours. jake had a wedding to work in the morning/afternoon on saturday and since i could not even move, let alone care for anyone, sister joy came to the rescue again! she picked up F&A and took care of them ALL day until jake could pick them up. literally do not know what i would have done without help. all 3 of us would have died. or at least f&a would not have been fed nor dressed nor diapered because i seriously couldn't move. went to bed at 9 last night. finally stopped throwing up.
- woke up this morning, jake let me sleep in. blessed soul he is. had that terrible post puking for 24 hours dehydrated headache. yuck. but i'd take it over the previous day. jake had to work in the afternoon and luckily i was feeling better and better as the day went on. made pancakes for dinner. the kids loved it.
SO hopefully, we will be back to normal life this week. going to the Y, Bible study, small group, you know... the things that keep me a sane person. we've all been cooped up too long.
for as long as this week has been, i am thankful these are our trials. many have it much worse. i've committed to serving the high schoolers of our church by being a small group leader. which i am pumped for. last week was supposed to be my first week, but with sick audrey i couldn't make it. then this week, i was out for the count. a little insecure they think i'm flaky :) for real, we're usually not sick.
in other grand news: LOOK OUT PORTLAND! THE GREER'S ARE COMING FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!! :) :) :)
can't wait to see you.
night y'all. (btw: last week after the hospital when i said i hope to fall asleep and not wake till morning, i slept the best night of sleep i have in WEEKS) so grateful.
hope all is well with you. and no stomach flu is in your future.
love to you.
mer
Monday, October 1, 2012
phew
hey you. boy, what the last few days we've had around here. before i get to any of that, i wanna recap the awesome, amazing, rocking, kick bootay weekend we had with mom and steve here.
basically, we ate and shopped. what better vacay could there be, really?! it was delightful. they arrived on friday night. we headed back to our place for chili and cornbread and to get all settled in. there was a ton of drama at the wedding business because A TREE WAS FALLING DOWN. nbd. jake had to run out and help with some clearing (the professionals did manage the situation), but he was kind of on call all weekend in case the tree really did decide to fall and crush all the wedding guests. bad for business. ANYWAY... we went to bed early and woke on saturday ready for some shopping! jake had to work a morning wedding, so me, mom, steve, and the babies set out for target and marshalls. what more does one need, really? m&s (as i will refer to mom and steve) got us many useful and pretty things for our little home here. it was such a blessing and so fun. we hit up the local "cook out" for lunch. basically a drive thru bbq/amazingness place near the house.i the kids napped. we went to mom's beloved dollar general, which she sadly does not have in the pacific northwest, and then all headed to dinner with jake. we went to mac's speed shop. it was a recommendation by the wedding coordinator we work with and it was DELICIOUS! steve really wanted some NC bbq, and it delivered! sunday we woke up and went to church and then went to my mom and i's beloved chili's for lunch. we heart it. then jake and i took advantage of free babysitters (:)) and headed out for a belated bday date for jake with josh and joy. when we got home we just sat around drinking wine and chatting with m&s. monday, steve really wanted cracker barrel, so we went to brunch. pancakes and biscuits galore. we hit up a few more stores and came home. after naps, we drove them around the "ritzy" part of charlotte, went to a lovely park, and went to dinner at this very random diner. we were told to go to this one place, but it was closed when we got there, so we punted, but the diner was no disappointment. after the kids were in bed, we introduced m&s to the wonders that is the movie "warrior". if you've never seen it, it's on netflix right now. leave this blog now and go watch it. amazing. and alas, tuesday came and off they were. it was short, but very sweet. lots of finley and audrey kisses and snuggles had, lots of calories consumed, lots of empty walls filled, and hearts full. thanks for coming, m&s. we all loved it.
then this weekend happened. on saturday, audrey started getting a runny nose. she got sicker and sicker all day and was having trouble breathing. she was up most of the night on saturday. her, jake and me got about an hour of sleep. sunday i took her to urgent care. as soon as i got there, the doc came in and said she needs to be at the hospital. they called an ambulance. i rode with her there. josh and joy came and picked up finley so jake could get the car and meet us there (lifesaver's they are). we spent a few hours in the ER of the levine children's hospital. they suctioned her lungs and gave her breathing treatments. they diagnosed it as a respiratory virus. it's not really a huge deal, but the problem is, babies have such a small airway that these little viruses can get very serious fast. they decided we should stay the night so they could monitor her. you guys remember how audrey is not exactly into doing things she doesn't feel like doing? yeah, she screamed a lot, and it was a rough day/night. she didn't go to sleep until midnight last night and was woken at 6am by the doctor. we were all very tired. thankfully, she was improving enough to get sent home! yay! i was so happy to hear that. hospitals and little babies is just, so tough. i can't imagine the things people i know and love have been through with their children and hospitals. honestly can't imagine. it literally pains my heart to think of little kids having to be in the hospital and what entire families go through. it humbled me. and reminded me i would take a crazy, insane, messy day full of strong willed disobedience and impatience over a baby who is sick and hurt. thank you, Jesus, for the health of the babies you've given us. and i only had to spend one night there. what do i know? anyway, we picked finley up at josh and joy's. so grateful he was taken care of for us, as well. all seems to be on the up here. audrey has been sound asleep since 7. just praying finley doesn't catch it.
God's love is alive. and it makes me whole. and i am so thankful that the sweet Lord is near us. in sickness and in health. what a mighty God.
i must crawl into bed now. and hopefully not wake until morning.
love to you.
mer
basically, we ate and shopped. what better vacay could there be, really?! it was delightful. they arrived on friday night. we headed back to our place for chili and cornbread and to get all settled in. there was a ton of drama at the wedding business because A TREE WAS FALLING DOWN. nbd. jake had to run out and help with some clearing (the professionals did manage the situation), but he was kind of on call all weekend in case the tree really did decide to fall and crush all the wedding guests. bad for business. ANYWAY... we went to bed early and woke on saturday ready for some shopping! jake had to work a morning wedding, so me, mom, steve, and the babies set out for target and marshalls. what more does one need, really? m&s (as i will refer to mom and steve) got us many useful and pretty things for our little home here. it was such a blessing and so fun. we hit up the local "cook out" for lunch. basically a drive thru bbq/amazingness place near the house.
 |
| look! someone's coming! |
 |
| so happy to see them |
God's love is alive. and it makes me whole. and i am so thankful that the sweet Lord is near us. in sickness and in health. what a mighty God.
i must crawl into bed now. and hopefully not wake until morning.
love to you.
mer
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