Hello Old Friend

 It has been quite a while since my last post. I definitely have gone through a lot of changes, losses and gains since then. 

In late March/early April of 2019 my whole world changed. One morning at work I discovered I was pregnant and I was thrilled and anxious all at the same time. Excited because it meant that I would soon have a sweet little baby of my own and yet anxious because my boyfriend, Kolton, and I were still living with his mom and had not planned to have children yet. Kolton was nervous as well when I told him but by September we were trying to live on our own on the next street over from his mom. The house was a SERIOUS fixer upper that we seriously should never have attempted to live in. The landlord expected us to renovate (she called it "repairs") her entire house AND pay $400 a month to live there. We managed to get the living room, first bedroom, second bedroom and the bathroom usable before the end of October. I cooked on a little portable stove and we had a mini fridge and, eventually, a regular size fridge we kept in the garage. On October 29th our dog, Reese, had puppies and we planned to keep 3 out of the litter of 8. After selling 5 of them we lost one dog when she was hit on the road. Then we lost another from either parvo or from eating something. The last one was the only one we still have to this day. 

        On December 23, 2019 I gave birth to my darling son, Aaron Ray. I couldn't believe how long his legs were! And he was so skinny! But he was healthy and so cute and we immediately fell in love with our little dark haired, dark eyed baby. We stayed 3 days at the hospital and came home Christmas Day. The following day was his first appointment and they checked his blood only to find his blood sugar and jaundice were at dangerous levels so we were sent back to the hospital where we stayed for a week. And then almost another week. Finally his levels evened out and stayed normal so we were allowed to go home and I was so relieved...although by that time the stress of everything and lack of sleep dried my milk supply up so Aaron had to be bottle fed from then on. 

    We had not been home more than a few days when I started having serious pains in my abdomen. I returned to the hospital New Years Eve, then again the night New Years Day with gallstones. Several days in the hospital and I finally left for good without a gallbladder and anxious to be with my baby. 

2020... well... not much good can be said about that year other than having my baby home. Covid shut down businesses and put us out of work which in turn put us behind on all our bills. We were evicted in spite of all the money and work we put in that house. In December we celebrated an entire year with our baby boy in spite of the chill and quite a few people managed to make it to our little lumberjack/buffalo plaid party.

2021... In January we took over the lease of a couple in Miamisburg, Ohio and lived there until June. It was not fancy and had plenty wrong but it was a solid place to live in and I made quite a bit of money doing Shipt shopping. In June we had to leave as the regular rent would be too much for us to afford so we were forced to move back in with Kolton's family. It was only supposed to be temporary.

2022...Remained with Kolton's family the entire year with not much changing throughout the year. I miscarried on Mother's Day and really had a hard time coming to terms with it. Kolton's relationship with his stepdad took a downhill turn towards the end of the year and I started putting things into motion to get us out. However, in November, while getting my labs done to test for different health things I realized I was late for my monthly...so I asked to get a pregnancy test. The results were exactly what I suspected. I had another little one on the way! We have done our best to keep our excitement low until we got to the third trimester due to my loss earlier in the year. 

2023 began like any other year. My dad helped locate a mobile home near my family in Indiana so we started packing and getting ready to move. Easter weekend.... Thursday night Kim had Aaron open his Easter gifts a day early and we got videos of his fun reactions. The next day my brother was supposed to come and we were going to load our belongings into a trailer. At around 12:30/1pm Kolton went into his mom's room to get something and discovered his mother had passed away in her sleep. After alerting 911 dispatchers and waiting until they arrived, I loaded Aaron up in the car and took him to the park down the road so he wouldn't be distressed by everything...though it was already too late and all he could ask was, "Mimi dead?" It was heart wrenching! Somehow we made it through that day and the next day my brother came and we loaded the trailer he brought as well as his truck. Aaron and I went down to my parents' house that night. The week following was spent unloading the trailer and truck and unpacking things in our new home. Most of the week was a blur so some of the timing of things I cannot remember but that weekend I returned to Lima to join Kolton as we said our goodbyes to Kim. It was so surreal seeing her and not having her there being the one to comfort everyone and make plans for a celebration of life. Instead we celebrated HER life after the viewing and managed to get through everything. Kolton had to remain in Lima for about two or three weeks to work for a while before he finally joined us here in our new house. 

Our first months here have been EXTREMELY rocky between the loss of Kim still heavy on our hearts and the fact now neither of us were working. We were given a lot of help from family to pay rent and I was able to do a little Shipt/Instacart shopping to keep food on the table and our other bills paid. Finally, at the beginning of this month, Kolton finally found a good paying job doing work he enjoys. Now we are slowly climbing out of the deep canyon of bills. Although we are far from being caught up and we still have a looming cloud over our head of the possibility that the bank may take back our car. We are believing together that we will get out of this okay and doing our best with what we have right now. I am still looking for a part time work from home job but mostly I have been unpacking, cleaning the house and everything I was raised to do for our home. I can't handle Instacart shopping now as the baby weighs an enormous 3 pounds already and my muscles don't allow for a lot of walking and brisk movement so I am staying home trying to keep the wild little three year old out of trouble while still putting things together here. It has NOT been easy! 

I am due August 30th but the OB says I may be induced earlier than that due to the baby's fast growing size. I'm getting more excited but definitely still have items needed! OH! And my mom did a wonderful gender reveal the weekend after Mother's Day this year with tannerite and colored smoke. IT'S A BOY! I was hoping for a girl but I'm still happy for another boy to be added to the nest. Also I'm a little relieved I can have the two little ones share a room. 

And now, dear reader, the time has come for me to begin the nightly routine of preparing supper so I must close this long update. I do hope you enjoyed it and it didn't bore you too much. 

Until Next Time, 

The River of Social Media

I sit here and contemplate the years since I joined this world of blogging and think of all the changes of the internet world. Much like a river, it is always changing, always broadening its knowledge and capabilities. Some of those changes are great but some are a little scary to be honest.

It does not seem so long ago that I jumped into the little stream of social media. At the time I was a newbie and barely knew what I was into but I hopped on my first social media site... Bebo. Does anyone remember it?

  

I loved it at the time and had a lot of fun but this generation coming will never know what it is because the site has long since died.

That stream was a short one and I was deposited into Facebook. 

In that time if you had a Facebook then you were in fashion and up to date. I find it amusing really that it was so important to me that I join. But it helped that my Grandma was already there making her presence known and creating albums full of pictures for my family and me to enjoy. I enjoyed it but it also slowly died with the coming of Instagram and Snapchat as well as the competition of Google Plus and Twitter. I never left Facebook permanently, although my friend list has been cut in half and much of my content has matured. I still have it as I keep up with 4 Instagram accounts and my Snapchat. 

Now Google Plus is shutting down...

but only a very few people even notice. It isn't popular or interesting anymore because they did not work to make it easy to limit what shows on your feed, made it too much like a million blogs coming together into one big site. 

I think with social media a few things are very important.

1. Privacy and Security

2. The range of what the site is capable of sharing 

3. The control you have over the comments made 

Those three things ought to stay in the system. Improve, not be dismissed. And if you have your settings set up, updates made to the system should not mess with those settings. I have often found Facebook precarious about their privacy and security settings. Many times people I have never met before have commented on my pictures and only then did I realize the security update Facebook had done messed up my settings. However, the ability to connect your apps to Facebook so all your friends can join your games or see your activity is a plus and I think many stay with Facebook just for that. In addition the group pages that Instagram does not have also keeps Facebook alive.

But I wonder with all this change in social media if there might be another site to start up and put another current in the water. 

I'm excited and looking forward to any new adventures. I'd love to hear if you have any other social media sites you found fun but are no more because of the ever changing world! Comment below!

P.S. If you have commented on my blog posts using Google Plus before they shut down, I will no longer see them. 

Farewell to Old Faithful

Back in 2014 my family made the great Eastward journey and it was not long before a new arrival came into the family. 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited was its name and it enabled us to go to work and shopping. My brother owned it first and I later bought it off of him. I was pleased to have my own wheels (if not the type) and I enjoyed many fun times with my friends and family, listening to music with the awesomeazing stereo system. Then I entered a new chapter in my life and my boyfriend began adding to my memories in this vehicle. We drove to lakes and rivers, through country and city and put many miles on it.
In Fall of 2017 my poor Jeep hit a semi tire and the rear axle snapped. A lot of jarring and fright but I managed to get it parked at a Speedway off of the interstate and there it sat til we came back with a trailer to tow it to my boyfriend's stepdad's shop. We began the search for a new axle but grew discouraged as I was between jobs and so was my boyfriend. So it sat until, finally, in the summer of 2018, we got the old Jeep on the road once more...not without obstacles and many headaches and greasy fingers. It just wasn't the same, however, for it's old creaky joints were groaning and popping and rather scaring me to death. The tires were cracked and bald, the transmission slipping and the taillights worked only when it suited them.

Finally, after spending hundreds in repairs in an attempt to keep Old Faithful on the road and crying many tears of frustration, the decision was made. It was time to part. The search for a new vehicle was not easy having no credit to our names and not being successful in getting a loan from any banks. Then, one day in January, my eyes were dazzled by a lightning blue Ford Mustang. I am not a Ford fan at ALL but the color and sporty look of this car was just what I wanted. So I took a ride and the smooth drive was heaven! It was not my dream vehicle but definitely an improvement from what I had. So we have begun the payments to the end of owning this beauty and in return we had to bid farewell to Old Faithful and say hello to the new Mustang.

On the Treatment of Offspring

Let me start by saying that I am not writing this post as a way to point fingers or make issues arise between family members. I am merely expressing my thoughts on this matter. Be patient with me, read through and be kind in your comments.

My dear readers,
Many of you are parents or even are not there yet but planning to be. In raising your children, keep in mind that not all of these darlings respond to the same corrections in the same way. Some children may jump right to obedience by a simple, quiet word while others may take some pursuasion by stimulating their will to move. But no matter what method you choose, pay close attention to the way your little one responds to the correction. If things worsen it may be time to soften your approach and have more patience. Think about the fact that you are raising the men and women of tomorrow, parents to be. I don’t care how frustrated you might be or how much you feel like your child is just not doing what you think they should be doing with their life at the time you think they should. Yelling at them, putting them down and acting like a juvenile yourself will NEVER help the situation. In most cases (no matter what age your child is, including an adult), it will make it worse! Telling them they will never do good or telling them they are lazy or whatever will only make them feel that they can’t rise above their current state. Whether it’s schooling, job hunting or even just cleaning their room....it may be they see it as a mountain that is nearly impossible to get over! Just be patient...and encouraging when they do right. THAT is what will make them WANT to do more!

My mom often told me that sometimes certain children look around their room they were told to clean and see an endless ocean of mess that they will never push through. So they most likely won’t even try. Not out of rebellion so much as discouragement. Yelling and screaming at them will accomplish nothing. In my opinion these same children, if not encouraged in their good pursuits, may have trouble later trying to get through school or find a job. Hand them a stack of homework papers or a thick application packet and they with all intentions to finish. Yet they may get halfway through and feel overwhelmed. Again, yelling and screaming, putting them down and telling them how lazy or worthless they are will absolutely never help the situation. Once they reach the age of accountability they need encouragement in the way of right but without having their wrongs constantly pointed out. Show them you love and appreciate them, make them feel that they can trust your love as being real. Don’t say “I love you” and follow it up with a not so subtle barb that sticks in their heart. You make rude comments directly after the affectionate comment the only thing that will stick will be the negative. It’s just the way of humans.

Now there’s a middle of the road. I don’t believe in restraint from correcting your child altogether or handing them a candy just to quiet them. I don’t believe in giving children their way for everything nor do I agree that you always need to keep from yelling. Sometimes you just can’t help a yell. Just don’t correct out of anger.

If the child’s been raised to the best of their parents’ abilities and they were gentle and encouraging they may still not move in the right direction. Just take it to God and LEVE IT THERE! Don’t keep bringing up their faults and please do NOT post your disappointment and frustrations about your children on social media. They will, at some point, read it and, no matter if you directly say their name or not, they will know exactly who it’s about and it will do more harm than good.

In closing, your children are in your family tree whether adopted or birthed into your family naturally. Nobody is perfect and everyone makes mistakes but a healthy dose of genuine love and grace will go a long way to keeping that tree healthy and all the limbs intact. Prayer and patience are just two of the powerful tools God gave parents to raise their children. Whether your children are all natural born obedient ones or strong willed leaders, God gave each one to you. And it doesn’t matter how they came to be either. Planned or not they’re yours and it’s in your power to raise strong, responsible and loving individuals who will be strong adults someday.

With love and respect,

Welcome to The Shire

Today I started work on my first little fairy garden. It was inspired by the Lord of the Rings' "The Shire"... I'm so excited how it's turning out!

I did add a little green evergreen cutting beside the bench after I took the pictures...

 Do you see the Hobbit's clothesline?

 My Grandpa is visiting and he helped me find rocks to make this little staircase so the Elves, Hobbits and other folk can get up to Bag End. I would like to add a tree to the hill so it looks more authentic but we'll see what I find that will be okay outside. As it is, some of this I'm crossing my fingers about hoping it won't get badly ruined if it rains. I love it though!

 My little river... :)

The Prayer of Sir Frances Drake

I recently listened to an audio narration of the book "Dear Kate" and was very much intrigued by the story... but that's not what I want to write about... In the story Kate quotes a lot from this poem and she really broke it down to where I really thought about each part. It's amazing! I loved it so much I thought I'd share it.

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

~Sir Francis Drake

Answers to Questions from Anna Pyatskowit

1. Field trip! Ask someone close-by for two words to describe you. Dramatic and helpful

2. Thinking of Bible characters, who are you most like? Well, I guess I’m a little like Ruth and a little like Zipporah. lol

3. Your favorite song? “Be Still My Soul”…among others!

4. If there were no calorie-counting involved, what dessert would you run into the kitchen and make? Hmm….that’s a hard one… probably a lemon meringue pie. I love it!

5. What's something you've always dreamed of being? I’ve always dreamed of being a housewife.

6. What's something you've laughed about today? Something my brother said.
7. You're shopping at the mall. You've found a super-cute shirt that looks absolutely radiant with your complexion. You've also found a to-die-for pair of shoes - but you don't have enough money for both. Which would you pick? Probably the shirt.

8. When you're feeling blue, what cheers you up? Talking to a friend who sympathizes with me.

9. What's something wonderful that's about to happen in your life? Lol.. I’m about to take another trip to Ohio. Idk!

10. How would you encourage someone who is reading your blog? You have three sentences. Ready...Set...Go! Keep pressing onward and don’t look back at what you were.

11. What's one thing on your summer bucket list: Create new outfits so I don’t wear the exact same ones this year at BYC.

I nominate.... Serenity at Beautiful Girlhood

Anna at The Daughter of the King
Abigail at Prairie Princess
Zoe at The Little Girl
Katie at Legacy of a Writer

The rules for those of you who would like to participate....

Fill out the list questions ((below)), then nominate ((up to)) eleven people. Be sure to post the link to your blog post in the comments! Have fun!

The questions...

1. If you could go back in time, to which era(s) would you go?
2. What is your favorite composer?
3. If you had a million dollars, name 1 thing you would do with it.(Besides paying tithes, of course.)
4. You've just won a ticket to any place in the U.S.! Where would you go?
5. Name 5 people you admire.
6. What instrument(s) do you play? What instrument(s) would you like to learn?
7. If you could learn 2 languages, what would they be?
8. Name 3 sermons of Brother Branham that you have found especially helpful this year.
9. What are your favorite things to do iiiiin summmeeeer! :D
10. Give us your favorite combination in coffee (or smoothie, if you don't like coffee).