Giving thanks in all circumstances...

I usually try to keep things positive and not get too personal, but I felt led to share this...

You've probably noticed that the past month and a half or so I have not been posting much. What you probably did not know was that I was just too tired due to being pregnant. As of this past Fri, I was 11 weeks and very excited to be almost through the first trimester.

On Sat, I noticed that there might be a problem. I called the advice nurse just to be on the safe side. She did not seem concerned, and just said to monitor it. It continued through the weekend, so I called the advice nurse again on Sun and was told to call Mon morning to make an appointment.

I went in for my appointment on Mon morning. I didn't want to be a "Debbie Downer", but I was expecting the worst and hoping for the best. I have been pregnant twice before and I knew this was not normal. I spent most of the day going back and forth between my doctor's office and the hospital for exams, blood work, ultrasounds, and a rhogam shot due to my blood type. When I was finally done, my doctor had informed me that it was more than likely a miscarriage, but they wanted to do more blood work and possibly another ultrasound in 48 hours to make sure. She told me some things to watch out for and that I should go straight to the ER should any of them occur.

When I finally got home from that long and awful day, I just wanted to rest. I had decided that even though I was sad, I was not going to sit around and feel sorry for myself. That would not help; it would not change the outcome and it would not make me feel better. I know that God has a plan for my family and He does not make mistakes. I truly believe that each person is placed on the earth at a specific time for a specific purpose.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

Around 9:00 on Mon night, things drastically changed and I knew I needed to head straight to the ER. I'm sure this kind of thing is very routine, but I have never had any kind of real emergency and I was very scared. I found comfort in the fact that no matter what I am going through, God is with me. My hope and strength are in Him. "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5 ESV

I was, indeed, having a miscarriage, but I think my trip to the ER was actually a blessing in disguise because my body naturally went through the process very quickly (hence the trip to the ER). I am very thankful for good medical care and that I did not end up needing a D&C. I am also thankful that it did not drag on because sometimes the process can take a while.

 

I have always wanted to have a pretty large family. My parents have four children and growing up I always thought it was so fun to have sisters and a brother to play with. When all of this was going on, however, I was feeling very discouraged. I was thinking, if I might have to go through this again, maybe I don't want to have any more children after all. I am thankful for the two precious children that I already have. Now that a few days have passed, I am starting to warm up to the idea of trying again, but I will probably want to wait a little while. We will just have to pray about it and trust in God's plan for our family.

Through this whole process, all I could do was trust in God. I know that He is in control and that everything happens for a reason, even if I never know the reason. It could be that I get the opportunity to minister to someone else who is going through the same thing. It could be that God will bless us with another baby and that pregnancy would have conflicted with this one. It could be that we will never have another baby, but God blesses us through other opportunities to serve. We may never know; we just have to trust in God and His will for us.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:27 ESV

 

Thank you, Leah and family, for the pretty flowers!

 

 

Fun at the Strawberry Farm

Today, we took a little trip to Sanford, NC to pick strawberries at Gross Farms. The kids had such a blast and I have to admit, I was pretty excited to go too. We just love strawberries. We will definitely go back.

Spring Cleaning

The past two weeks, I have been trying to implement a new cleaning schedule. I recently read this blog where she posted about her cleaning schedule and I thought I could use some of her suggestions. You can check it out here

My old schedule was really a lack of one. I would just do whatever chores seemed the most critical for that day and other things that were a little less obvious, like dusting light fixtures, were neglected.

 

 

So here is the new schedule:

Daily/As-Needed

• Vacuum
• Sweep
• Dishes
• Put away clothes
• Put away toys
• De-clutter
• Wipe counters/stove/table
• Laundry
• Make beds
• Take out trash

Monday- Kitchen and Dining Room

• Shine counter tops
• Sweep/mop
• Wipe walls/cabinets
• Baseboards
• Vacuum dining room rug
• Dust (include blinds and light fixtures)
• Clean refrigerator and microwave inside and out
• Clean outside of stove and dishwasher
• Wipe doors/walls/outlet covers
• Clean trash can (Blah!)

Tuesday- Formal Living Room, Family Room, and Hallway

• Vacuum
• Dust (include blinds and light fixtures)
• Vacuum furniture
• Baseboards
• Wipe doors/walls/outlet covers
• Clean glass tables/mirrors

Wednesday- Bathrooms (2 1/2 bathrooms)

• Sanitize toilet, sink, bathtub, shower
• Clean mirror/glass
• baseboards
• Wipe doors/walls/outlet covers
• Sweep
• Mop
• Wash bath mats/towels
• Dust (include light fixtures)

Thursday- Bedrooms (4 bedrooms)

• Vacuum
• Dust (include blinds and light fixtures)
• Baseboards
• Wash linens
• Wipe doors/walls/outlet covers

Friday- Errands

We live at least 30-40 minutes from just about everything, so when I "go to town" I try to make it worth the trip. It doesn't always work out for me to only go once a week, but I try to limit my trips in order to save time and money on gas.

Saturday- Catch-up/Projects

Usually, we try to have a fun family outing on Saturdays, but I also try to catch up on chores that I didn't finish during the week. Sometimes, I also have a special project to work on.

Sunday- No chores (the Lord's Day)

I can't say that my new cleaning routine has been a complete success, but I'm hoping that once I get use to it, keeping my house clean will be a breeze.

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter! I feel so blessed and thankful to be able to celebrate the Resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ with my family.

You might remember me posting before about my search for Easter outfits for my family with a $25 budget per person. Well, I didn't do so well. I totally blew my budget on my daughter's outfit,  but she did look pretty cute if I do say so myself :)

I found this bishop dress at a little shop in the market while we were in Charleston. It was originally $54, but she had it market 40% off, so it ended up being $32.40. The cardigan in the picture is not the one she ended up wearing, I just forgot to take another picture. I got the one she wore at a consignment sale for $2. The shoes came from the same sale and were also $2. The bow is old (I got it at Walmart for $1, but I am not including it in my budget since she has worn it so many times). The lacy socks came from Belk. They came in a pack of 2 and were on sale for $5.24 (we will just call it $2.62 for the one pair). So the total cost was $39.02 (definitely over my budget).

 

 

For my son, I purchased most of his outfit at Target. The vest was $12, pants were $10, and tie was $5. I used a Ralph Lauren Polo oxford that he already had (I bought it at a consignment store for around $5, but I'm not including it in the budget since it is old). He wore some boat shoes that I bought used from a facebook group (they were $4, but I'm not including them in my budget either because I bought them about a year ago). The total cost for his outfit was $27.

 

My husband and I decided to just wear outfits that we already had since I had gone over my budget for the kids. The total cost for the family was $66.02, so overall, I stayed well within my $100 budget for the family.

 

On Saturday, we went to an Easter celebration at church. It was so much fun for the whole family. They had food and games and enough Easter eggs that we'll probably be eating the candy for the next year. I wanted my kids to have outfits to fit the theme, so I made a pillowcase dress for my daughter out of a vintage, hand embroidered pillow case I got at a moving sale for $.50. Different ribbon probably would have looked better for the top, but I wanted to use what I already had.

 

I made an applique t-shirt for my son out of a shirt and fabric I already had.

 

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person- though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God."

Romans 5:6-9

An Embarrassing Picture...Part 2

Yesterday, I posted about the first of two dresses I got at Goodwill in Charleston that needed some alterations. I know the suspense is killing you (OK, not really)...so here are the AFTER pictures of the 2nd dress.

 

Dress: Goodwill $5.99

Blazer: Goodwill (United Colors of Benetton) $3.99

Belt: Francesca's $2.50

Shoes: So old I have no idea where I got them or how much they were

Total cost: $12.48

 

And the BEFORE...

Check out this gem! It screams 80s church dress. I removed the shoulder pads and did some major hemming and Ta-Da!

 

Do y'all have any clothing items you have transformed?

 

An Embarrassing Picture

While on our trip to Charleston, I found 2 dresses that... well, let's just say they needed a little bit of alterations, but I saw potential. Here is the first of the 2 dresses AFTER the alterations.

I accidentally hemmed it a little too short, so now it is more of a tunic. Oops!

 

Dress/tunic: Goodwill $5.99

Necklace: Belk $14

Belt: The Limited (old) $5

Leggings: Walmart ( old) $5

Boots: Target gift

Total Cost: $29.99

 

So now we get to the embarrassing part...the BEFORE picture.

I know, lovely isn't it. Haha!

 

It didn't quite turn out the way I had envisioned due to my little mishap with the hemmimg, but I think it's still wearable. What do y'all think?

Easter Tables

I don't usually do a lot of decoration around the house for all the different holidays, but I do like to decorate my dining room and kitchen tables.

 

I really wanted my dining room table to be decorated for the Resurrection.

”In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10

 I found a grapevine wreath at Goodwill ($.96) that I thought looked like the crown of thorns and I worked the rest of my decor around it.

“And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.” John 19:2

 

Obviously, I wanted to incorporate a cross somehow on the table. I collected a few sticks out of my yard, hot glued them together, and glued some twine around them to secure it.

 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

I just happened to have 3 white hydrangeas on hand, but later, I realized the significance of using 3.

“For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matthew 12:40

And the significance of using white...

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” Isaiah 1:18

The candle holders and burlap runner are part of my standard dining room table decor. I added a lace tablecloth ($3) and doilie ($.50) that I got at a moving sale. I also used a cake stand and pitcher that I already had.

Total cost: $4.46

For the kitchen table, I wanted to only use things I already had. It's simple, but still festive.

 

For the tablecloth, I used a piece of fabric that was previously used at a birthday party and a baby shower. I put Easter eggs that we used last year on my 3 tier stand and placed some carrot and chick eggs around the edges. My place mats were a little too plain, so I ended up buying 4 pieces of felt ($1 for all 4) and cut them into the shape of a bunny. I know it's not the most creative table setting, but I am pleased because I only spent $1.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17