Bringing A Child Home

Counting my blessings

Jerilyn — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:48:44 +0000

I’ve had a pity party today. Pretty pathetic. So instead of dwelling on my problems and aches and pains, I’m going to count a few blessings- just from today.

I am very thankful to be carrying a big, healthy baby. As much as I don’t want to be pregnant anymore I’m glad we don’t have the concern of having a preemie.

My 2 year old has currently been sitting in a beer box for the last 15 minutes. He is as happy as a clam. He doesn’t really take naps anymore but he is so good at playing in his room for quiet time. That, is a blessing.

My 4 year old is very curious and full of life. Despite all of our issues with each other (it’s always him that gets me the most frustrated! Maybe because he is the oldest and the first to go through these struggles?), I still love him dearly. He is a really good big brother!

My husband has a job. With both of our previous children he was unemployed. While I’d like to see him more I’m thankful that he is working hard, providing for his family.

My house may be a mess but we have a house with heat in the winter, a/c in the summer, and a back yard for our kids. We’ve been home owners for one year now and it’s definitely been more wonderful (and healthy! -no mold!) than apartment dwelling.

And as always, the Savior died for my sins. May this always been at the forefront of my mind.

Goals

Jerilyn — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:53:53 +0000

Not sure if I made new year’s resolutions yet…

I’m due with another baby in about 1 month and I’ll be honest I haven’t really made goals other than: “survive having 3 boys” and “lose a good chunk of weight” and “don’t be the last mom to pick up after school when my son starts kindergarten in the fall.” Inspiring right? Well, I know I have to keep it simple so I’ll take it a little bit at a time.

My goal in the next month is to be fully prepared for baby.

Excellent Article

Jerilyn — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:42:20 +0000

This is very timely for me. I love my children. I love my 4 year old. I love my 2 year old. I love the baby in my belly. But I don’t love every moment. And during this last month of pregnancy, I’m not fun or happy or really even pleasant to be around (not an excuse, being honest here). And my kids and husband seem to be wanting to make me more miserable (Yes, I realize this is my perception… not reality!) But I’m not the only one who feels that way. Here is an article describing so much of how I feel. It’s called Don’t Carpe Diem.

Being happy on less

Jerilyn — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:30:27 +0000

I read this article today. I first have to admit that I read it with a cynical mind frame… in fact I still have that in some ways. The author and his wife went from making $140,000 a year to $70,000 a year… on purpose. I could only think ‘but they still make $70,000 a year! that’s twice as much as us!” or “and they don’t have children!”

But then through the same website I found the link for the article on, I found this.

Laugh, smile and sing… even when you don’t feel like it. These can all be huge antidotes for warding off discouragement.

Choose to be thankful, even when life feels so overwhelming. Find something–anything–to be thankful for. There is always someone who would want to be in your shoes.

Make the most of your situation, even when it seems like you have so little to work with.

And never, never give up. Ever.

Good perspective.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

There is always HOPE

Jerilyn — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 21:06:57 +0000

Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the LORD?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God. Proverbs 30: 8-9

No matter what happens: from back pain to problems with the car, God is sovereign. He is my loving Father. I am truly rich in Christ. We are not lacking in anything. Whatever trials and adversity may come it is for His Glory and my good. I rejoice in this. I thank God for His goodness. I can look back and see how trials have brought me closer to Him and have given me a deeper understanding and a growth in Righteousness. I thank God for giving me my husband who does not overreact, let his emotions rule him, or make decisions based on one hormonal moment (ahem…. There is always Hope in Christ.

A gift of cells

Jerilyn — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:44:58 +0000

Scientists have found evidence of baby’s cells staying in their mothers for decades… and may even believe that these cells can help against diseases in the mother’s body. You can read this NPR transcript here. It is interesting to think about. While these scientists give no recognition to God, you can see the fingerprint of our Creator over all of this. If we had just evolved, why would something this beautiful happen? Only God could think of this and make it happen. Thoughts?

What Christmas is all about

Jerilyn — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:03:52 +0000

I read this interesting blog post today via a friend on facebook. I thought it was an interesting look at changing the way American believers do Christmas. This family had done Santa with their oldest children, but now with their adopted children have decided to take a different approach altogether. It’s worth reading.

We’ve never done Santa with our children. This was something we decided early on and made clear to our families (hopefully we were gracious about it!). Last year my 3-year-old son thought that Santa was a cartoon character. But since I read this article I decided to ask him what Christmas was about. My 4 and a half year old told me that Christmas was when santa brought you gifts. WHHHHAAAAT? I asked him where he learned that and he told me from ads. We only watch the Bronco games on TV- that is it, so he is pretty perceptive. I explained what santa is to people, who St. Nick was, and why we don’t include santa in our celebrations. I reminded him that we celebrate Christmas because Jesus Christ was born a baby and He came to die for our sins.

I did also explain to him that other families include santa and that is their decision. I tried to tell him that we shouldn’t ruin it for other children and be the bearer of bad news (like how my 2-year-old recently told some little girl in the nursery that her daddy died… which wasn’t true but still!)

I will be honest with you though. I skipped over the section about not buying products made my slaves. Not because I am okay with it but because I know at this moment it would cause a lot of guilt. Yes, I would prefer to always pay more to have an ethic product but that isn’t always the case.

What does Christmas look like in our home?

This year is a little different, for at least two reasons. One, we’re going on a trip with my in-laws right before Christmas. This will be an enjoyable time with them and my husband is greatly looking forward to his time off! Two, I’m pregnant and a poster child for the “pregnancy brain” syndrome. I keep things very simple anyways, but definitely haven’t done some of the things I’d like. I still have not found an advent calendar that I like. That is my goal for next year. I totally forgot to buy advent candles this year so next year I will get back on the ball! We are home-making some treats for family gifts. We usually try to keep the gifts simple as well. 3 gifts just like the Lord Jesus recieved. He got Gold, Myrrh, and frankincense. We (which means me!) try to follow the guideline of a Spiritual gift, a practical gift, and a fun gift. My husband needed a new cell phone this year so that was his one Christmas gift (along with birthday and father’s day I’m pretty sure!). For the boys, we got them each a new dvd, a new waterbottle, and a dress-up costume (spiderman and buzz lightyear!). Our gift-giving guideline broke down this year But we did splurge on our family gift (something we can enjoy together) and got a dvd player for the car. This will make our 22 hour round trip car ride much, much, much, much, much more enjoyable for everybody!

We also do a shepherd’s pouch like Noel Piper talks about in her book, Treasuring God in our Traditions (great read!). We do Operation Christmas Child boxes. We’ve also given through Samaritan’s Purse (you can give gifts that range from feeding a baby for a week, to soccer balls for kids to play with, to giving sheep, to building a hospital all given with the love of Christ). This year we’re collecting our change to give to a local men’s shelter- they recently lost government funding because they share the Gospel with these men and are not going to change that fact in order to get money from the government.

“Caring well for our babies is a moral issue; breastfeeding is not.”

Jerilyn — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 13:48:26 +0000

I know I am harping on this issue a lot but it’s driving me nuts! I keep coming across it- from friends to strangers. I know I’m guilty of this too, and certainly have been in the past, but I am trying even more consciously to only treat Gospel issues as Gospel issues.

It happened again this week- a friend’s facebook post came across as “we are far superior because of the choices we make and the food we eat.” This is offensive to me, how much more so to an unbeliever? The type of food you eat is not worth alienating others from the Faith- or your fellowship. Peter even said that all food is clean.

I came across this article online and thought it was very well written. It can be summerized by the title of this post: “Caring well for our babies is a moral issue; breastfeeding is not.”

No-spend December?

Jerilyn — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:16:25 +0000

We’re continuing on with our “n0-spend” mentality. For us this does not mean that we will not spend any money in December, just like we did spend some in November. But rather, we have the mentality of not spending anything that isn’t necessary. In November, we did spend a little bit of money- we did 2 operation Christmas child boxes like we do every year and purchased one Christmas gift. In December we will renew our Home Warrenty (fun, fun), pay for gas to go on vacation to the in-laws, and find/make a little something for our parents for Christmas, and stamps, because we’re almost out! Other than that, and perhaps one date night while we are out of town, we’re not going to buy anything else. Very exciting. I’ve got a great menu planned for this next week and I’m very excited to eat it!

Beef brisket with rice tonight. Then Turkey Cordon Bleu casserole, Ham hash skillet, slow cooker jumbalaya, beef & barley soup with crusty bread, cheesey veggie chowder with bread, homemade pizza, lasanga soup, and taco corn bread casserole.

Ranking our beliefs

Jerilyn — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 13:22:39 +0000

As Christians we have the responsibility to share truth with those around us. As friends we have that honor as well… but in context. We need to rank our beliefs by the harm they may cause. This is not about Biblical truths (which do offend), but rather personal preferences. Frustrating fellowship with pickiness and strong opinions only alientates poeple… and how much more so when a believer speaks to an unbeliever?

Maybe it’s a mother who lookd down upon her friend who formula feeds her child. Or a guest who refuses an after dinner coffee only after asking what brand the coffee is. Or a friend, in response to another’s planned induction, says “I would hate for anything bad to happen with a failed induction.”

In these situations and more often the offender doesn’t know all of the decisions and circumstances that go into a situation. One family may only have 2 or 3 children because they can’t afford to feed, clothe, and educate more than that. Instead of judging, we could try to understand each other’s situations more. We could realize that one family makes more money. One family doesn’t believe that “leaving your family size up to God” is mandated in Scripture, nor is it a measure of faith. One family may live in a really expensive area and work in local missions. One family may actually be suffering from infertility.

We all strive to follow God. We want to raise our children well. We want to Glorify God in what we do. Doing these things is hard enough without the added belittlement from family, friends, and strangers. Let us encourage one another, to grow in our faith, and strive towards the finish line.