Freshened Up

Our blog is all freshened up, archived to another blog (hearth-n-hear-history.blogspot.com) so I can continue posting pictures on this one!

Ah, that feels good to know we can still keep our content and not have to start a new blog. :)

Well, it has been a crazy four months over here. I've been struggling a lot with post partum depression, and am finally seeing the light of day again. It feels so good to be getting back to normal again. When I was going through it, I was desperate to just see the light at the end of the tunnel. It felt like I was in a deep, dark pit and I couldn't imagine how I was going to get out. I am so thankful for the prayers, care, and support I have gotten from my dear family and friends!! It made such a difference.

I've been taking St. John's Wort and it seems to have really helped me get over the "bump in the road." I am still on the mend, but doing so much better. A huge part of it has been the sleep deprivation of having Wade waking up 1-3 times per night since early August, after just 5 weeks of sleeping through the night. We're now working on ignoring some crying at night and he seems to be catching on and going back to sleep so we're hoping this will keep up! It's amazing how lack of sleep can really throw the body off.

I wanted to write down some of the things I've been experiencing spiritually so I don't forget, and hopefully to be an encouragement to you, too:

I am especially grateful to God, who has been showing me every day, in small and big ways, that He is here with me! I've been writing most of them down in my journal so I can go back later and remember how He showed Himself so clearly to me. He is so real, so good, so faithful, so caring.....I cannot imagine life without Him! It is so worthwhile to seek Him out; pray and He will show you that He is there....right there, with you. Submit your life to Him because He is GOOD, and He LOVES YOU. You may not always understand what He is doing, but you can be sure that if you trust Him He will lead you on the best path, and will take care of you all along the way. What more could we ask than "God with us"?

Some verses that have encouraged me and seen me through this time:

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

"When hard-pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place.
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.
...
I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and defense; he has become my salvation.
Psalm 118:5-14 (parts)

"Immediately he spoke to them and said, 'Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.'"
Mark 6:50

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong." I Cor. 16:13

"...Be stong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

"Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever." Ps. 136:26

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze." Ps. 18:32-34

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Rom. 15:13

"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." Zeph. 3:17

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jer. 29:11

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." Proverbs 18:10

One major thing that I've been learning is that I can get so bogged down emotionally when I take on other people's pain/heartache/situations...for example by reading news stories, Facebook posts, etc. - especially about people I don't know and/or can't do anything tangible to help...I can pray, yes, but if I try to take on THEIR situation I don't have God's help in it. THEY can have God's help (and I pray they do) if they ask, but if I let myself get to the point of feeling their situation without God's help in it, it is completely overwhelming. This is also true if I am worrying about something happening down the road in my life or a loved one's life.

I'm realizing that God doesn't give us the grace or strength to handle situations ahead of time, or in someone else's place. He gives each person what they need (if they/we will only ask!) for each given situation.

I look back on the hard things in my life, and I realize that if I had worried about them ahead of time I wouldn't have had the strength I need to deal with them...BUT when I faced them one day at a time, asking for God help along the way, He was SO faithful to supply all I needed to deal with it! Example: my diagnosis of Crohn's, my prayer for healing, His answer of providing the diet, and my now normal healthy life! Or, now I can say: Going through post partum depression, and Him being with me so close every day.

One big blessing in this situation has been Garrett's starting in a Kindergarten class at a small Lutheran Pre-K/Kindergarten down the street. As I have been going through PPD, it has been a lot harder to get through the day with 3 kids - Garrett interested in everything and pushing the limits, Wyatt potty training and getting lost in the shuffle a bit, and Wade nursing and needing lots of attention, having torticollus that needs physical therapy and me to be constantly thinking about how I'm holding and interacting with him and him waking up multiple times every night! I had been planning on homeschooling, and the PPD has made me reconsider.....if I can barely get through the day with just basic duties, how can I get through the day with also adding schooling to the mix??

So Jen, a new friend from church, has been such a help to me and she talked to her mom about my situation and her mom knew the director at that school, and the director said there was one spot open in their Kindergarten class. We had been planning on starting Garrett in K next year, but he is already reading at a 2nd grade+ level (we're really not sure since he started getting frustrated with the 2nd grade reading assessment his teacher was doing so she decided not to push him too much, which is just fine with us), and soaking up everything around him. We've had him on ABCmouse.com several times a week, and I've been teaching him Hooked on Phonics....

So, anyway, I was able to enroll him the week after we got back from CA! And he has been doing great in the class. His teacher recommends that he be put in 1st grade next year. So we've been looking around at various charter schools and are applying for a GATE school. We did some testing and are waiting for results and to hear whether he gets into that school. We're praying for clear direction on what kind of schooling would be best for him next year.

G in front of his new school:

 

G reading his Charlie Brown Encyclopedia (which Jim and his siblings used to read when they were little!):

 

 

Garrett with his class for their Western performance last week. It was fun to see him in his little group, interacting with the other kids, and doing great with memorizing the songs and dances after just a week or so with the group!
 

 

Meanwhile, it has been so nice to have some special time with Wyatt and Wade! Wyatt has been really blossoming under having lots of "Mommy Time" while Wade naps, and just getting to hang around with me and talk to me without any interruptions or competition. He's just asked me today to learn to read, so we've started working on Hooked on Phonics together and he is showing a new seriousness about learning the letters and sounds.

 

We've also had fun going outside together to play in the snow. He wanted to make a snow angel, a snow man (which turned into a snow mound that he could stomp on), and was just so excited to be out there alone with me. I'm enjoying getting to know him better and spending some special time with him! He's a sweetheart.

 

 

 

Wyatt with his "speaker" which also became a contraption behind his "car."

 

Wyatt has been bonding more with Wade. Wade likes to grab his hair or face whenever he gets the chance!

Here he is, feeding Wade some cheese:

 

 

Another nice thing about having Garrett in school is that he comes home ready and excited to play with Wyatt! They usually have quiet time in their rooms in the afternoon, and a couple of times I have "caught" them in the same room, and once Garrett was reading a book to Wyatt. So sweet...who could get upset with that?

Here is a video of Wyatt, and the boys working together to "buy" things from "Mr. and Mrs. Owl" (a.k.a. running and getting lots of toys and blankets from Wyatt's room and the toy bins...):

 

Here they are in their "perches" as little birdies. Which later became tiger beds when chairs were pulled over...

 

Wade has been improving with his Torticollus - a big relief! We're now working on strengthening his right side and trying to encourage him to not always default to laying on his left side (harder than it sounds!). Physical Therapy appointments are now down to once a month, though I'm doing things with him every day.

 

He loves Daddy, playing with my hair or anything that has strings or ribbons on it. We think he has said "Dada" quite a few times when Jim is around, maybe "Mama" and "Bib" (bub). At his 9 month check-up today he was in the 98th percentile for height! He is still waking up at night 1-3 times to eat, and the Dr. recommended feeding him more meat, vegetables, and rice cereal to hopefully help him sleep longer at night. He is self-feeding avocado, banana, and cheese and loves his yogurt and fruit too. He has a fun laugh and adds a lot of joy to our lives!

 

 

 

Well, so there is some of the latest around here! I hope you're all doing well, and thanks for reading this far! :)