I just finished reading this blog that I have to share with you all. The author's name is Angie, she is married to one of the members of the Christian band "Selah". Last month she gave birth to a baby who only lived for a few hours and then passed away. This specific blog entry is about her dealing with their loss along with how she became a Christian. It's very, very good and you should definitely read it. It's long, so be sure you have plenty of time to read it all the way through and, if you're emotional like me, have some Kleenex handy.
Here's the link: http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/2008/05/past-and-pitcher.html. Let me know what you think of it when you get the chance.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
I Wish...
*I could take a 2-3 hour nap right now. My child slept terribly last night and was up for atleast a 2 hour block in the middle of the night.
*Indiana and Texas were closer so we could see my family more frequently than twice a year.
*That I could have a quick peek into the future (about 17 years from now) so that I can see if my current parenting techniques are working out or if I should just call "Super Nanny" now and get it over with.
*I had the powers of Evie from "Out of This World". It would be nice to be able to touch your fingers together and stop time occasionally.
*I could meet David Cook (the new winner of American Idol). He seems like such a nice, normal guy. I was so happy for him to win last night, he really deserved it. I just hope that the AI producers don't make him record some stupid pop album when that clearly isn't who he is.
*Texas weather didn't have to get so hot so soon. Why can't we have spring-like temperatures for a little while? 99 degrees in mid-May is not good and I am not looking forward to the scorchers that are bound to be coming our way this summer.
*We had a pool. It would help get through the 100+ degrees that we will be seeing all too soon.
*Potty training was already accomplished. We've had a few poop related incidents in the last 10 days or so and we're not even in potty training mode yet. I can only imagine what potty training has in store for us.
*We could hire someone to work in our flower beds. They look terrible. I hate pulling weeds and digging in the dirt as does Keith. Our flower beds haven't been weeded one time this year and it is completely obvious. I'm embarassed for people to see them, but not embarassed enough to get out there and pull them when it's so hot already plus my child would be in the middle of the road the second my back was turned to him.
*My child wasn't such a picky eater. He would rather me rip his teeth out of his head than to convince him to eat a bite of vegetables (or anything on his plate at dinner time).
*"Lost" didn't have to come to an end yet. I'm really enjoying this season and I don't look forward to waiting until February before the new season begins.
*There were good TV shows on nowadays. Minus a few like Lost, CSI, AI, and a few of the sitcoms that I try to keep up with, there just aren't very many good shows on. Has anyone else seen the previews for a show coming out (this summer or the fall, I'm not sure which) called "Swingtown"? That looks like pure trash. Each new television season brings with it one or two shows that push the envelope even more than it's already been pushed. I remember when "Three's Company" was considered risque, wow that show is so tame when compared to others out now.
*Indiana and Texas were closer so we could see my family more frequently than twice a year.
*That I could have a quick peek into the future (about 17 years from now) so that I can see if my current parenting techniques are working out or if I should just call "Super Nanny" now and get it over with.
*I had the powers of Evie from "Out of This World". It would be nice to be able to touch your fingers together and stop time occasionally.
*I could meet David Cook (the new winner of American Idol). He seems like such a nice, normal guy. I was so happy for him to win last night, he really deserved it. I just hope that the AI producers don't make him record some stupid pop album when that clearly isn't who he is.
*Texas weather didn't have to get so hot so soon. Why can't we have spring-like temperatures for a little while? 99 degrees in mid-May is not good and I am not looking forward to the scorchers that are bound to be coming our way this summer.
*We had a pool. It would help get through the 100+ degrees that we will be seeing all too soon.
*Potty training was already accomplished. We've had a few poop related incidents in the last 10 days or so and we're not even in potty training mode yet. I can only imagine what potty training has in store for us.
*We could hire someone to work in our flower beds. They look terrible. I hate pulling weeds and digging in the dirt as does Keith. Our flower beds haven't been weeded one time this year and it is completely obvious. I'm embarassed for people to see them, but not embarassed enough to get out there and pull them when it's so hot already plus my child would be in the middle of the road the second my back was turned to him.
*My child wasn't such a picky eater. He would rather me rip his teeth out of his head than to convince him to eat a bite of vegetables (or anything on his plate at dinner time).
*"Lost" didn't have to come to an end yet. I'm really enjoying this season and I don't look forward to waiting until February before the new season begins.
*There were good TV shows on nowadays. Minus a few like Lost, CSI, AI, and a few of the sitcoms that I try to keep up with, there just aren't very many good shows on. Has anyone else seen the previews for a show coming out (this summer or the fall, I'm not sure which) called "Swingtown"? That looks like pure trash. Each new television season brings with it one or two shows that push the envelope even more than it's already been pushed. I remember when "Three's Company" was considered risque, wow that show is so tame when compared to others out now.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Eavesdropping
I overheard a conversation today that shook me harder than I've been shaken in awhile.
Keith, Garrett, and I went to eat supper tonight at a pizza place in a small town (not our small town, but one not too far from here). We were the only ones in the dining room until about halfway through our meal and then in walked 3 teenaged girls. (Garrett called one of them Christie-my youngest sister's name, but that's beside the point.) I wasn't intending to listen to their conversation but they were talking so loudly that it was hard not to hear them. To make this a little more understandable I'll give them nicknames: bleach blonde girl, brunette girl, and regular blonde girl.
Bleach blonde: (out of the blue) I'm pregnant.
Brunette: What? No way, you're joking, seriously?
Regular blonde: She's serious.
Brunette: How far along are you?
Bleach: 5 weeks.
Brunette: Do your parents know?
Bleach: Yeah, they know.
Brunette: I thought I was pregnant a few months ago, but I went to the doctor and he said I wasn't.
As much as I would like to say that this conversation was spoken very seriously and with a lot of emotion, that wasn't the case. The girls acted as if they were discussing the weather. Like it was no big deal that one was pregnant and the other recently had a pregnancy scare. Oh, and did I mention these girls were probably all of 17 years old? 17!! What do we know at 17? Not much, certainly not enough to be getting pregnant and talking flippantly about it. Trust me, I'm not naive, I do realize that there are girls out there who are much younger than 17 and having babies, teenage pregnancy is not a new occurance, I realize this. What just completely boggles my mind is how nonchalant this conversation was. How these girls have not one single clue of the gravity of their situation. She holds the life of a child in her body and does not realize the rollercoaster that she's about to embark on.
Pregnancy is hard, newborn babies are 1000 times harder, doing this all without a spouse has to be the hardest. And let's just say that she and the father were to get married before this baby is born (which I am wholeheartedly against in most situations...), marriage is really hard as well! I can't even imagine getting married and 2 to 5 months later having a baby, all at the very young age of 17. Talk about some major life changes! Keith and I were married for 3 years before Garrett was born. If it had been any less time, one of us probably would have murdered the other one during those early weeks/months of no sleep, constant crying (me and Garrett), pretty much the death of our previous life of "married couple with no kids". It was a chaotic and scary time, but obviously we made it through and are better for it. However we were in a committed relationship that wasn't based on a child. What kind of chance do these young teen mothers have?
I'm sure you're wondering how exactly this conversation shook me so hard. I think it was because I was actually hearing real, live teenagers discussing what would have been a gigantic fear of mine (had I been sexually active before getting married, which I wasn't) and acting as if it was no big deal. 10 years ago when I was in high school I do not remember any girls in our school getting pregnant. Maybe they did and I wasn't aware of it, but it certainly wasn't part of the locker room conversations if things like this were going on. I'm sure that if these girls existed in my high school they kept it quiet and private as best as possible. They did not go around spreading the news to the diners at the local pizza parlor.
And what will teenagers be like 10 years from now? This is my biggest fear because 10 years from this August, my baby boy will officially become a teenager. What will high school be like for him? Will 50% of the girls be pregnant, will 99.99% of the kids be sexually active? How many will have STD's? It's so scary to think that I will voluntarily hand over my child to possibly be in and among these situations. With these thoughts it certainly makes homeschooling very appealing. I won't do it unless it's absolutely necessary, but it makes it appealing.
When we got into the truck to head home after our pizza, I immediately asked Keith if he had heard what I heard. He hadn't, so I filled him in. He was just as shocked as I was. Our first question was why the father of this baby (and the other possible baby that brunette girl mentioned) was never discussed. I think if I was a teen and a fellow teen told me she was pregnant, one of my first questions would be who the father was. Of course they could possibly both have steady boyfriends, but even then I would want to know what the boyfriend's response was when he heard that the other girl was pregnant. But the father was never even mentioned. Keith and I immediately began discussing what we could do as parents to somehow help prevent this situation from ever being a reality in our household 15 years from now. It's just so scary and I pray that being involved in church and being around other Christian teens will help to keep our kids strong.
Our future generations need our prayers now more than ever.
Keith, Garrett, and I went to eat supper tonight at a pizza place in a small town (not our small town, but one not too far from here). We were the only ones in the dining room until about halfway through our meal and then in walked 3 teenaged girls. (Garrett called one of them Christie-my youngest sister's name, but that's beside the point.) I wasn't intending to listen to their conversation but they were talking so loudly that it was hard not to hear them. To make this a little more understandable I'll give them nicknames: bleach blonde girl, brunette girl, and regular blonde girl.
Bleach blonde: (out of the blue) I'm pregnant.
Brunette: What? No way, you're joking, seriously?
Regular blonde: She's serious.
Brunette: How far along are you?
Bleach: 5 weeks.
Brunette: Do your parents know?
Bleach: Yeah, they know.
Brunette: I thought I was pregnant a few months ago, but I went to the doctor and he said I wasn't.
As much as I would like to say that this conversation was spoken very seriously and with a lot of emotion, that wasn't the case. The girls acted as if they were discussing the weather. Like it was no big deal that one was pregnant and the other recently had a pregnancy scare. Oh, and did I mention these girls were probably all of 17 years old? 17!! What do we know at 17? Not much, certainly not enough to be getting pregnant and talking flippantly about it. Trust me, I'm not naive, I do realize that there are girls out there who are much younger than 17 and having babies, teenage pregnancy is not a new occurance, I realize this. What just completely boggles my mind is how nonchalant this conversation was. How these girls have not one single clue of the gravity of their situation. She holds the life of a child in her body and does not realize the rollercoaster that she's about to embark on.
Pregnancy is hard, newborn babies are 1000 times harder, doing this all without a spouse has to be the hardest. And let's just say that she and the father were to get married before this baby is born (which I am wholeheartedly against in most situations...), marriage is really hard as well! I can't even imagine getting married and 2 to 5 months later having a baby, all at the very young age of 17. Talk about some major life changes! Keith and I were married for 3 years before Garrett was born. If it had been any less time, one of us probably would have murdered the other one during those early weeks/months of no sleep, constant crying (me and Garrett), pretty much the death of our previous life of "married couple with no kids". It was a chaotic and scary time, but obviously we made it through and are better for it. However we were in a committed relationship that wasn't based on a child. What kind of chance do these young teen mothers have?
I'm sure you're wondering how exactly this conversation shook me so hard. I think it was because I was actually hearing real, live teenagers discussing what would have been a gigantic fear of mine (had I been sexually active before getting married, which I wasn't) and acting as if it was no big deal. 10 years ago when I was in high school I do not remember any girls in our school getting pregnant. Maybe they did and I wasn't aware of it, but it certainly wasn't part of the locker room conversations if things like this were going on. I'm sure that if these girls existed in my high school they kept it quiet and private as best as possible. They did not go around spreading the news to the diners at the local pizza parlor.
And what will teenagers be like 10 years from now? This is my biggest fear because 10 years from this August, my baby boy will officially become a teenager. What will high school be like for him? Will 50% of the girls be pregnant, will 99.99% of the kids be sexually active? How many will have STD's? It's so scary to think that I will voluntarily hand over my child to possibly be in and among these situations. With these thoughts it certainly makes homeschooling very appealing. I won't do it unless it's absolutely necessary, but it makes it appealing.
When we got into the truck to head home after our pizza, I immediately asked Keith if he had heard what I heard. He hadn't, so I filled him in. He was just as shocked as I was. Our first question was why the father of this baby (and the other possible baby that brunette girl mentioned) was never discussed. I think if I was a teen and a fellow teen told me she was pregnant, one of my first questions would be who the father was. Of course they could possibly both have steady boyfriends, but even then I would want to know what the boyfriend's response was when he heard that the other girl was pregnant. But the father was never even mentioned. Keith and I immediately began discussing what we could do as parents to somehow help prevent this situation from ever being a reality in our household 15 years from now. It's just so scary and I pray that being involved in church and being around other Christian teens will help to keep our kids strong.
Our future generations need our prayers now more than ever.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
The Other Side of Garrett
Apparently my child is on speed. Or some other drug equivalent. I wish he would share.
Last night Garrett did not sleep well. Every 2 hours or so he would wake up crying, so by 4am he ended up in our bed which means that we've all been up since 4 this morning. We then went to church where he enjoyed a fun time with his friends in Sunday school. After church we ate at the Texas Roadhouse and he was his typical, handful self. I just knew that by the time we got home from lunch he would be more than ready for a good nap. I know I was. But the nap was not to be. He spent his time wisely by talking to himself and looking out the window.
We had to be back at the church at 5:30 this evening because Garrett's Mother's Day Out group was having their annual program. Each age group sang 2 songs. I was very leary because of Garrett's lack of sleep and almost decided to keep him at home at the last minute because I was afraid of a full blown tantrum, or something similar, in front of everyone at our church. He also hasn't proven himself to do very well in large group settings and he was about to be on stage with about 30 other kids in front of several hundred people. I felt pretty sure that he was going to have a meltdown so I duly warned his teacher and had already spoken with another teacher this morning to whom I said that I figured he would probably cry. She said that would be ok and he probably wouldn't be the only one.
There's nothing like being proven wrong by a 2 year old. Garrett was the ham out of his entire group. The majority of the kids were sitting calmly and sweetly on the risers. A handful of kids, maybe 7 or 8, were standing on the stage (I don't think they were supposed to, but what can you do?).
Then there was my child.
Not only was he standing on the stage, but he was jumping up and down, running around, doing all the motions, laughing and having a good ole' time. Thankfully one of the songs they sang was "Happy All the Time" so Garrett was just modeling the song for everyone. When it was all over, the parents had to come up to the stage to get their child. I took Garrett from his teacher and she said, "Could you believe he was such a ham?" I'm sure she was wondering where this child was when he first started coming to MDO. When we sat down the plan was to stay through the end and I thought that would work because Garrett apparently learned not only the 2 songs his class sang, but also the songs of the other groups, so he stood in the pew between Keith and I and sang along with the next group, motions and all. But that went away real fast and then he was trying to break free and crawl under the pews and dig through my purse, so we decided to leave. All I can say is I am now extra thankful for the nursery during church services. I cannot imagine trying to wrangle him while also listening to our pastor's sermons.
Back to the program, to be perfectly honest with you this was the complete opposite response that I was expecting from his first time in front of a large group of people. I mean, it took him 6 months to get used to being in Mother's Day Out with 6 other kids in his class, for goodness sake! Who would think he would go from being the kid who cried every single time he was dropped off, to the class clown?
Last night Garrett did not sleep well. Every 2 hours or so he would wake up crying, so by 4am he ended up in our bed which means that we've all been up since 4 this morning. We then went to church where he enjoyed a fun time with his friends in Sunday school. After church we ate at the Texas Roadhouse and he was his typical, handful self. I just knew that by the time we got home from lunch he would be more than ready for a good nap. I know I was. But the nap was not to be. He spent his time wisely by talking to himself and looking out the window.
We had to be back at the church at 5:30 this evening because Garrett's Mother's Day Out group was having their annual program. Each age group sang 2 songs. I was very leary because of Garrett's lack of sleep and almost decided to keep him at home at the last minute because I was afraid of a full blown tantrum, or something similar, in front of everyone at our church. He also hasn't proven himself to do very well in large group settings and he was about to be on stage with about 30 other kids in front of several hundred people. I felt pretty sure that he was going to have a meltdown so I duly warned his teacher and had already spoken with another teacher this morning to whom I said that I figured he would probably cry. She said that would be ok and he probably wouldn't be the only one.
There's nothing like being proven wrong by a 2 year old. Garrett was the ham out of his entire group. The majority of the kids were sitting calmly and sweetly on the risers. A handful of kids, maybe 7 or 8, were standing on the stage (I don't think they were supposed to, but what can you do?).
Then there was my child.
Not only was he standing on the stage, but he was jumping up and down, running around, doing all the motions, laughing and having a good ole' time. Thankfully one of the songs they sang was "Happy All the Time" so Garrett was just modeling the song for everyone. When it was all over, the parents had to come up to the stage to get their child. I took Garrett from his teacher and she said, "Could you believe he was such a ham?" I'm sure she was wondering where this child was when he first started coming to MDO. When we sat down the plan was to stay through the end and I thought that would work because Garrett apparently learned not only the 2 songs his class sang, but also the songs of the other groups, so he stood in the pew between Keith and I and sang along with the next group, motions and all. But that went away real fast and then he was trying to break free and crawl under the pews and dig through my purse, so we decided to leave. All I can say is I am now extra thankful for the nursery during church services. I cannot imagine trying to wrangle him while also listening to our pastor's sermons.
Back to the program, to be perfectly honest with you this was the complete opposite response that I was expecting from his first time in front of a large group of people. I mean, it took him 6 months to get used to being in Mother's Day Out with 6 other kids in his class, for goodness sake! Who would think he would go from being the kid who cried every single time he was dropped off, to the class clown?
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