I've been really working hard at trying to read my Bible more the past couple of weeks. My anxiety has gotten a lot worse over the past couple of months- so I know that I need to focus more on Who exactly it is that I have on my side.
I've been reading through Ephesians, and I've realized that I often disregard the fact that I have THE God of the entire universe on my side. That the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is on my side. The same power that created EVERYTHING in Heaven and on earth is the same God that I proclaim my "faith" in... But He's the same God that I frequently slap in the face through my distrust and doubts. Through my lack of confidence in His ultimate plan and my attempts to control EVERYTHING!
It finally just hit me: regardless of my efforts, ultimately, if it's not GOD'S time- it's not going to happen.
I've been trying so hard bending over backwards to try and get my house sold for an entire year and a half now. That has been so draining for me. But- why don't I have confidence that God will continue to provide- that He is working all the little puzzle pieces of our lives together to guide our family exactly where He wants us.
I started praying over Ephesians 3:20, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,"
I started asking God to do immeasurably more than all I ask or even imagine... In regards to the house situation, in regards to my family, finances and even within my own anxiety ridden heart.
And do you know what?
He has.
When we ask God- He listens and He answers. Especially when I don't put Him in a box and tell Him how to do His job. My mother in law put it nicely: "You want to hear God laugh? Tell Him your long term plan."
Anyway, I am so human and so trying hard to live life contentedly and peacefully and trusting in God's plan. I hope the same for you, because wouldn't the world be a better place if we did?!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Beginning our cloth diapering journey
Okay- so as I posted yesterday, money has gotten tighter than usual.
I've considered cloth diapering since I was pregnant with Keegan, but was too intimidated to truly consider it. I would try to find cloth diapers on sale, but I could never find them for less than $15-$20 per diaper and I just couldn't stomach spending that much on diapers if I didn't think I could commit to it.
I have a little side account that I save up for gifts for Kris- I put $50/pay in it. I had a little bit of extra money and I found a knock off brand, with pretty good reviews on eBay- 10 diapers (the ones with pocket inserts and snaps) and 10 microfiber inserts shipped from China for $40 total. Now THAT I could stomach.
They finally arrived a week ago. We have religiously used them (except for at daycare for about 13 hrs/week) they require disposables there!) and I've amazingly fallen in LOVE with them.
How could I fall in love with poop and pee filled laundry, you ask?!
Well- I will preface that I do have a nice front load high efficiency washer/dryer. So that helps. It IS hard only having 10 diaps- but I've already ordered another 10.
I don't buy any fancy detergent. Personally, I just use regular detergent. I put just about 2 teaspoons in. NO fabric softener... But maybe once a week I will put a tad of white vinegar in the rinse to keep them from getting stinky.
I do one cold quick wash with detergent. Then I run it through one hot cycle- without adding any more detergent or vinegar.
Personally I dry it in the dryer to help kill more germs.
Anyway- I thought women that cloth diapered were nuts. I thought they were tree hugger hippies or very judgmental of people that don't cloth diaper...
Well now I'm that mom- but I'm definitely NOT hippie, and I definitelyyyy understand why a lot of people don't want to take the time on it.
But for me and my son, and the situation that we're in currently, it works for us- and it works well. And it doesn't hurt that he looks so cute in those bright colors! If you want the link to the diapers that we use for CHEAP, let me know- I'm happy to direct you to them!
I've considered cloth diapering since I was pregnant with Keegan, but was too intimidated to truly consider it. I would try to find cloth diapers on sale, but I could never find them for less than $15-$20 per diaper and I just couldn't stomach spending that much on diapers if I didn't think I could commit to it.
I have a little side account that I save up for gifts for Kris- I put $50/pay in it. I had a little bit of extra money and I found a knock off brand, with pretty good reviews on eBay- 10 diapers (the ones with pocket inserts and snaps) and 10 microfiber inserts shipped from China for $40 total. Now THAT I could stomach.
They finally arrived a week ago. We have religiously used them (except for at daycare for about 13 hrs/week) they require disposables there!) and I've amazingly fallen in LOVE with them.
How could I fall in love with poop and pee filled laundry, you ask?!
Well- I will preface that I do have a nice front load high efficiency washer/dryer. So that helps. It IS hard only having 10 diaps- but I've already ordered another 10.
I don't buy any fancy detergent. Personally, I just use regular detergent. I put just about 2 teaspoons in. NO fabric softener... But maybe once a week I will put a tad of white vinegar in the rinse to keep them from getting stinky.
I do one cold quick wash with detergent. Then I run it through one hot cycle- without adding any more detergent or vinegar.
Personally I dry it in the dryer to help kill more germs.
Anyway- I thought women that cloth diapered were nuts. I thought they were tree hugger hippies or very judgmental of people that don't cloth diaper...
Well now I'm that mom- but I'm definitely NOT hippie, and I definitelyyyy understand why a lot of people don't want to take the time on it.
But for me and my son, and the situation that we're in currently, it works for us- and it works well. And it doesn't hurt that he looks so cute in those bright colors! If you want the link to the diapers that we use for CHEAP, let me know- I'm happy to direct you to them!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Off the face of the earth
I AM SO LAME!!!!!
I guess it's just the summer time and I'm very busy, and have a lot more going on then blogging- so maybe I'm not lame. But I FEEL lame when I see the last post was on MAY 24th!!!!! Ah. SO sorry. So now Keegan's napping, the dogs are sleeping, it's raining outside and I'm settling down with a glass of sweet tea ready to blog again. Good morning :)
SO where to begin?
First of all- we officially have a super walker on our hands. He's been full time walking for just over a month or so. No more crawling for this boy! He cracks me up. His feet get tired after all that walking... good thing he has a daddy who rubs his little baby feet (that's the photo above). He's suddenly such a big kid. He's an absolute toddler. I love that I can ask him to do something, and he'll do it, or ask him to repeat a word after me and he tries.
He's still sleeping like a champ. He sleeps about 10-12 hours straight a night, and still take a couple of good long naps a day- morning and afternoon!
He's still a skinny little boy. He got sick last week with a double ear infection- we were on SUCH a healthy kick. I don't think he was sick since FEBRUARY or so!!! Well, when he was at the doctor, he was weighed... Still just 20 lbs 7 oz. Ha! My friend at work's daughter is only 9 months old and is over 23lbs. What a little boy. Love it :)
He's super cheerful and silly. I love now that he truly thinks he's hysterical. He tries doing something but sometimes can't because he starts laughing before he can finish. Hahaha!
He likes to walk around the house saying, "Hiiii!" to things. He frequently picks up objects and holds them up to his ear and yells, "HEY-OH!! (his version of "HELLO"). Keegan gets VERY upset when the dogs wrestle or bark. He walks right up to them and starts yelling at them. HA! He makes fists and yells, "DOGS! AHHH!" Ha! A boy after his momma's heart :)
He went from only calling Kris "DeeDa," to "Dahd." Not just Dad- but DAHD. Haha. He walks through the house during the day while Kris is at work looking for him: "Dahd? Dahd?"
Anyway, I didn't think I believed everyone when they told me that having kids just gets better and better. But I'm starting to see that. I LOVE getting to know Keegan. I love that we can joke around now, and we find each other so funny. I love to do things with him. I love learning what makes him tick. I love watching his relationships with his dad, grandparents, aunts, etc- develop. So proud of the boy that he's becoming. There is truly nothing better.
Our house is back on the market as of the end of May with a new realtor. She's fantastic. We're praying that we get a buyer as soon as possible. It's just so nice to finally feel like we have a realtor that's actually DOING something- unlike the entire year before that it was under contract with another realtor :) We've staying VERY busy. We've probably had 10-15 showings so far, and have had all positive feedback. Just waiting on a buyer!
We're spending our summer doing SO much. We're traveling up north a bit, fun weekends away, visiting with family, LOTS of showers (my sister, Molly JUST entered her last trimester TODAY- Where have the past 6 months gones?!) etc. But it's enough to keep us very busy. Here's daddy and Keegan having a snack up north at the cottage:
Kris just started a new job with Coke. I think this job is perfect for him. What a great opportunity. He's back and forth between Kalamazoo and Lansing though- lots of early mornings for him!!!
We're trying to trust in God' guidance for our family. We're feeling a little overwhelmed with a lot of unexpected stuff right now. We found out after I had my ER stay back in April for my gallbladder, that NEITHER of the hospitals in the Lansing area are in network. Which would have been just fine- because our insurance company says that ER stays would be covered 100% whether it's in or out of network. However, I recently received a bill for almost $9,000.00 that the insurance company is saying is too much and they won't pay (The $9K is AFTER the amount that they already paid. I'd be stuck with the rest). So there's all sorts of stress going on while I'm trying to negotiate with the hospital/insurance company/file complaints with the insurance commissioner.
It's pretty frustrating because the whole in vs out of network is a result of politics between the insurance company and a local insurance company that they branched out from. UGH!!
Needless to say, I'm really am a little stressed that if anything goes wrong that would result in either Kris, Keegan or myself ending up in the hospital- that we'll be stuck with ginormous bills again. What a pain.
Through all this though, I'm realizing my lack of faith. God has ALWAYS provided. He's ALWAYS blessed us enough to make ends meet. I'm trying to remind myself of His constant promises.
OH- and on a TOTALLY unrelated note- well, maybe a little related because I started doing this to cut costs.... WE ARE NOW A CLOTH DIAPERING FAMILY!!! I thought I would do it as a sacrifice. But I surprisingly LOVE it. I may just start advocating for it because I love it so. It's fantastic. I am promising right now- I will post on it tomorrow. I've found some incredibly cheap cloth diapers that work great- at least for babies Keegan's age. I'll have to do a follow up post after we have another baby that I try them on to let you know how they work for little babies.
OKAY: I will post about cloth diapers tomorrow, and will try to do better at posting this summer!
I guess it's just the summer time and I'm very busy, and have a lot more going on then blogging- so maybe I'm not lame. But I FEEL lame when I see the last post was on MAY 24th!!!!! Ah. SO sorry. So now Keegan's napping, the dogs are sleeping, it's raining outside and I'm settling down with a glass of sweet tea ready to blog again. Good morning :)
SO where to begin?
First of all- we officially have a super walker on our hands. He's been full time walking for just over a month or so. No more crawling for this boy! He cracks me up. His feet get tired after all that walking... good thing he has a daddy who rubs his little baby feet (that's the photo above). He's suddenly such a big kid. He's an absolute toddler. I love that I can ask him to do something, and he'll do it, or ask him to repeat a word after me and he tries.
He's still sleeping like a champ. He sleeps about 10-12 hours straight a night, and still take a couple of good long naps a day- morning and afternoon!
He's still a skinny little boy. He got sick last week with a double ear infection- we were on SUCH a healthy kick. I don't think he was sick since FEBRUARY or so!!! Well, when he was at the doctor, he was weighed... Still just 20 lbs 7 oz. Ha! My friend at work's daughter is only 9 months old and is over 23lbs. What a little boy. Love it :)
He's super cheerful and silly. I love now that he truly thinks he's hysterical. He tries doing something but sometimes can't because he starts laughing before he can finish. Hahaha!
He likes to walk around the house saying, "Hiiii!" to things. He frequently picks up objects and holds them up to his ear and yells, "HEY-OH!! (his version of "HELLO"). Keegan gets VERY upset when the dogs wrestle or bark. He walks right up to them and starts yelling at them. HA! He makes fists and yells, "DOGS! AHHH!" Ha! A boy after his momma's heart :)
He went from only calling Kris "DeeDa," to "Dahd." Not just Dad- but DAHD. Haha. He walks through the house during the day while Kris is at work looking for him: "Dahd? Dahd?"
Anyway, I didn't think I believed everyone when they told me that having kids just gets better and better. But I'm starting to see that. I LOVE getting to know Keegan. I love that we can joke around now, and we find each other so funny. I love to do things with him. I love learning what makes him tick. I love watching his relationships with his dad, grandparents, aunts, etc- develop. So proud of the boy that he's becoming. There is truly nothing better.
Our house is back on the market as of the end of May with a new realtor. She's fantastic. We're praying that we get a buyer as soon as possible. It's just so nice to finally feel like we have a realtor that's actually DOING something- unlike the entire year before that it was under contract with another realtor :) We've staying VERY busy. We've probably had 10-15 showings so far, and have had all positive feedback. Just waiting on a buyer!
We're spending our summer doing SO much. We're traveling up north a bit, fun weekends away, visiting with family, LOTS of showers (my sister, Molly JUST entered her last trimester TODAY- Where have the past 6 months gones?!) etc. But it's enough to keep us very busy. Here's daddy and Keegan having a snack up north at the cottage:
Kris just started a new job with Coke. I think this job is perfect for him. What a great opportunity. He's back and forth between Kalamazoo and Lansing though- lots of early mornings for him!!!
We're trying to trust in God' guidance for our family. We're feeling a little overwhelmed with a lot of unexpected stuff right now. We found out after I had my ER stay back in April for my gallbladder, that NEITHER of the hospitals in the Lansing area are in network. Which would have been just fine- because our insurance company says that ER stays would be covered 100% whether it's in or out of network. However, I recently received a bill for almost $9,000.00 that the insurance company is saying is too much and they won't pay (The $9K is AFTER the amount that they already paid. I'd be stuck with the rest). So there's all sorts of stress going on while I'm trying to negotiate with the hospital/insurance company/file complaints with the insurance commissioner.
It's pretty frustrating because the whole in vs out of network is a result of politics between the insurance company and a local insurance company that they branched out from. UGH!!
Needless to say, I'm really am a little stressed that if anything goes wrong that would result in either Kris, Keegan or myself ending up in the hospital- that we'll be stuck with ginormous bills again. What a pain.
Through all this though, I'm realizing my lack of faith. God has ALWAYS provided. He's ALWAYS blessed us enough to make ends meet. I'm trying to remind myself of His constant promises.
OH- and on a TOTALLY unrelated note- well, maybe a little related because I started doing this to cut costs.... WE ARE NOW A CLOTH DIAPERING FAMILY!!! I thought I would do it as a sacrifice. But I surprisingly LOVE it. I may just start advocating for it because I love it so. It's fantastic. I am promising right now- I will post on it tomorrow. I've found some incredibly cheap cloth diapers that work great- at least for babies Keegan's age. I'll have to do a follow up post after we have another baby that I try them on to let you know how they work for little babies.
OKAY: I will post about cloth diapers tomorrow, and will try to do better at posting this summer!
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