Diary of a Woman Learning

I just wanted to leave a quick note of thanks for all of those who are or have been in the military. Memorial Day was always a day of remembrance for me and my family growing up, and I am profoundly grateful to have grown up with such gratitude and an understanding of the sacrifices that a military man or woman makes - not to mention the sacrifices of their families. My mom is a retired SSgt in the Air Force Reserves and served stateside during Desert Storm and the Gulf War. My stepfather is a retired CMSgt in the Air Force Reserves and also served in the Gulf War (And I'm pretty sure he served in Desert Storm as well) but he retired first from the Army - I'm not sure of his rank in the Army. My mom's and my stepfather's family histories are both steeped with rich military connections. While my husband is not in the military, he, too, is very patriotic and is easily offended when someone does not respect the country that we love - or the flag that represents it. We are ...

I come from a military family and Memorial Day was always cause for great family cookouts. While my family and I have no big plans this year, we might have a cookout at some point - however, the portable shed we (and by we, I mean Hubby and his dad :) need to put up should be done this weekend. We plan to park our lawn equipment mostly in there, but this is the first step to getting some of the large stuff out of the garage so that it can eventually be turned into a laundry room/office to make room in the current office for Lil Princess. :) I just wanted to pop on here and tell you all to have a wonderful weekend with family and friends and stay safe! Be blessed! Oh - and by the way...I have begun reading the Christian Atheist (Hubby finished it the other day) and I highly recommend it. Wow! Craig Groeschel has an awesome way of wording things so that they are entertaining, but do not detract from his heartfelt and very important message. If you have not yet heard of this book or you ...

Well, in the last week, many things have stayed about the same and a few things have improved. Kiddo's school work has been much the same except for the fact that my amazing in-laws offered their assistance in teaching Kiddo his times tables. We thought this might be helpful for a few reasons: change of environment, a change of teacher, and a change of teaching styles. My mother-in-law in particular is great with numbers as she crunches numbers most of the day at work. She was the one who taught me how to balance my checkbook when Hubby and I first started dating. She doesn't really think she is, but she is very patient. Kiddo went over Friday afternoon and by Saturday afternoon we could quiz him on zeros, ones, twos and threes and he was consistently correct and quick...for Kiddo that is quite a feat, as it takes him a bit to process things sometimes. He is doing so well. Right now he is working on fours and fives...he knows them pretty well, but he needs to gain some confiden...

Hi, Friend. How are you? Hope you are safe from the storms and that you are feeling well. We are pretty good - still getting better from that allergy/sinus stuff, but we are getting better! Kiddo got allergy shots today, so all is well there. Lil Princess is growing and moving and kicking me - pretty sure that means all is well there, too! :) Feisty little thing - can't wait to meet her in person in a few months and see if her personality is similar to Kiddo's or if she is all her own. On a side note: I adore my niece to pieces, however, I have to admit that she is so active when we have her for a day or two, I'm ready for her to go back home! :) Life is busy with Kiddo, and never boring, but it isn't like he's running all over the place day in and day out. Not sure how I'd cope with that each and every day! :) We are still working on looking for good verses about time management, but I have a new project. I plan to have a family meeting tonight to work on a bu...

Okay, so here goes: I think, as a general rule, that everyone struggles from time to time with a lack of motivation. I think that we also often handle our time ineffectively or inefficiently. Maybe even irresponsibly. In my house, I do know that the three of us - Hubby, Kiddo and I - all do. We put things aside that could be taken care of right away - until they wind up morphing into what I personally perceive as a huge obstacle. Now, as we all have this struggle, it has been becoming increasingly more obvious that this is a huge battle for Kiddo. Not to mention that we are not (* insert blush and shameful expression here *) the best examples for him at this time. This is something that Hubby and I certainly want to improve upon, yet it seems such an insurmountable obstacle that we just don't even know where to start. This is where you come in. God has filled my mind today with some ideas that give me fresh hope. However, as His Word is so filled with wonderful bits of scripture to...

(This is a fall picture of our beautiful Spider Lilies - but my little photographer captured them and I hope that they make you smile just as they do me!) I want to wish you all a very happy Mother's Day! I know that a few of you are not biological mothers. However, my dear friends, I can assure you - this message is meant to honor those women who pour their love out among younger ladies and even young men. For all that you do to show God's love to the younger people in your lives - thank you. For a long time, it was my dear Mother-in-Law that poured her love and her prayers over me. Her guidance has caused a large part of the growth I have had in my faith. I am honored to have been blessed - not only with an amazing husband - but also to have been blessed abundantly by his parents. They are constant, encouraging, faithful...and oh-so-patient. In life, these things are often overlooked and taken for granted. As I look forward to another very special Mother's Day tomorrow, ...

Praise the Lord - Kiddo was able to get his allergy shots this morning! His peak flow was great, but he had taken his medicines early, so we called and they switched us from afternoon to morning. His peak flow is normally around 300 and this morning he even got a 320! The last two weeks it has been around 250-270. If it gets that low, it is time to use his rescue inhaler...this is why we couldn't do his shots. I just wanted to hop on and let you know that all is well with Kiddo's allergy shots again. We had a wonderful weekend and hope you did too...be blessed, friend!

The truth of the matter is, not a lot is happening here. I don't really mind that at all, either. If things are fairly low-key, that means that I am not particularly stressed out about anything, that nothing bad is happening and that I can just try to get some things done around the house. This last week has been fairly nice. Kiddo had to miss another week of allergy shots due to a low peak flow. It's not alarmingly low, but it is too low to get the allergy shots - it could put a large amount of stress on his asthma and his immune system if he were to be injected with allergens when he isn't quite up to par. I am trusting that God has it all under control and that next week we will be back in business - otherwise the appeals with the insurance company for services rendered last year will be null and void anyway. We'd have to start everything all over again and pay a huge amount of money that we frankly don't have. So I am placing all of my trust in the all-knowing a...

Well, here I am three weeks out from surgery and the scars look so much better. The only reminder, really, is the scar just inside my belly-button that is, on some occasions, still a bit tender. I remind myself of that fact rather quickly most times when I am trying to wash dishes in the kitchen sink and bump that sore area on the counter top. I wish I could say that happens less than it does :), but I am happy to report that the reason that it does happen is that my belly is growing with Lil' Princess inside. It boggles my mind. I'm still losing weight - very slowly - yet my belly continues to get bigger. Too funny. I love that I actually look like I should be wearing my maternity clothes now - not that there are many maternity clothes to choose from in my wardrobe! :) The really funny part, though, is that the kids at the after-school Bible club just cannot seem to grasp that I was out to have my gallbladder out and not because I already had the baby. They ask if I can bring ...

I absolutely love this profile pic and since some of the other pics are far less flattering I'm not going to post all of them. (She's just skin and bones right now - she'll put on her weight from here on out, so the next 3D/4D images we might get - around 30 weeks - would be far cuter!) These are her little feet...the left pic is actually her right foot and the opposite image is her left foot. It seems a little bit blurry, but I think you can get the gist. Look at those toes! Aren't they just adorable?! - not that I'm biased or anything...{ ahem} . :) According to the ultrasound tech, her little body from crown (the top of her head) to rump (as she is in the typical fetal position) is about 5 inches long. Her feet measure about 1 inch long from heel to toe! Big feet like her Momma! Hopefully, though, her feet are not wide like mine or we'll have an awful time getting shoes on those feet when she's older! :) I'll go for now, but I just wanted to post so...

Well, let me start off by saying that God has provided for us time and again. Each and every time it just astounds me - not because I am surprised, I know He can do anything. Rather, it is because I am amazed that He would be so ever-mindful of me. What a wonderful reminder of God's caring for us in every situation, to have Him provide money to pay medical bills, to provide us with the food that we need to nourish and sustain us, and for Him to continue to provide us with shelter, clothing and reliable transportation. But even more so, for Him to provide us with just the right doctor at just the right moment. For example: When I began my weight-loss journey last September because on my very first visit to her, my doctor thought enough of me to tell me what none of my other doctors would. Who would have thought that in just a few short months, I would be seeing her each month for prenatal appointments?! And when the first surgeon that I saw about my gallbladder was so strongly again...

Well, I am sorry that I haven't been on here to post since my surgery yet - but I've not spent much time at all at the computer. Between the lack of a comfortable sitting position for several days and also some quite severe nausea, I've been taking it pretty easy. I'm on the mend and doing much better today, and since my boys are busy playing a 2-player Lego Batman game on the Wii...I seem to have the time! :) Surgery was wonderfully uneventful. The doctor was pleased with the entire procedure from start to finish. The hospital staff from admission to release were all wonderful - and I will be pleased to have Baby #2 there later this year! The only minor issue I had at all, was that I apparently had some kind of reaction to some medication or anesthesia that caused what looked just like chicken pox all over my face and neck. They were not the least bit known to me until I got in the car and looked in the mirror - my mom and my mother-in-law had both asked me about them,...

As I am sure you are well aware, my family doesn't have grand plans for our Easter weekend this year as I will be recovering from surgery. Good Friday - as if it could possibly get better than God's plan for our salvation coming to fruition, even as gruesome as it had to be - will be the day that God works through gifted hands to help me to feel better. A truly good Friday indeed! I've never had surgery before and would be lying to say that I wasn't a bit scared, but if anything will prepare you for your first surgery it is extreme pain and constant discomfort. God is in all of the details and I praise Him for it! He worked out the right doctor; the right time; and even the right hospital - which impresses me each time I enter there for pre-admission/tests/ER, etc. and meet volunteers and employees that openly share their faith. He is so good! God has surrounded me with faithful and prayerful family and friends and I am blessed beyond measure. In fact, the dinner minist...

Well today was my appointment with another surgeon and he is far more experienced than the other...not that a newer doctor is necessarily a bad thing, but he graduated medical school in 1979 and therefore has a lot more years under his belt to get comfortable with doing this procedure on pregnant women - or anyone for that matter. It is a common and fairly simple procedure. There are minimal risks involved - as with any surgery - but I really felt comfortable with this doctor and his calm and assuring bedside manner. April 2nd I will be at the hospital first thing in the morning. Surgery will be done at 9:15 and I should be home by around noon. It is outpatient and my hubby (the SAINT), my son (precious little servant) and my mother and mother-in-law are all vying for my care. I cannot drive for at least a week and I cannot lift more than 15 pounds for 3 weeks...not that I do that anyway these days. After 3 weeks I should be virtually as good as new and I can resume my regular activiti...

It has been a rough few weeks, but we are hanging in there. I so appreciate you all sticking with me (and praying for me and my family!) even while I am out of pocket. Truth be told, I just haven't felt much like spending time at my computer as of late, which is not at all like me. (Just ask my family!) I have had several gallbladder attacks lately, which is one of the reasons I've not felt like being on here. It just really wears on me...especially since these are even with me being careful about my food choices. However, the pregnancy is progressing uneventfully and God is abundantly faithful. He has a plan...I just need to stick it out and I'll see it unfold for my benefit. He promises me that! Today was a prenatal appointment, so I'll tell you all what's up in my world. :) I'm 14 weeks along (and 2 days if you want to be really technical about it :). I've lost 4 pounds in the last 4 weeks (I'm at 289!) - and by the way my doctor is thrilled with this...

I have decided that I am going to just get over it ! ( I'm sure that you guys are quite ready for that, especially if you are my friends on Facebook! :) Let me explain: When I was pregnant with Kiddo (ten years ago!) I was nauseated from conception to delivery. I might have had one or two "good days" but all in all, I was nauseated every moment of every day . I also had really bad acid reflux (like constant heartburn) and at the very end my gallbladder started acting up. Therefore, that pregnancy was not without its challenges. However, I built up a bit of a tolerance to the nausea (because that was my biggest, most constant battle) and enjoyed much of my pregnancy regardless. I loved feeling that baby moving inside of me and knowing that regardless of how I felt, my body was working and doing what it was supposed to do to grow that baby and one day deliver a healthy baby into this world. And my body (certainly not without God's help) did just that. Kiddo was delive...

Great news today! Yesterday's doctor's appointment was pretty much a formality, but today we got to go back to get an ultrasound. My dates put me at 9 weeks and 3 days - however the ultrasound technician dates me at 10 weeks and 3 days. This is great news because this means that I can have surgery a week sooner. (Don't misunderstand: I don't want to have surgery at all, much less when I am pregnant. However, I cannot continue feeling as bad as I have; I cannot deal with the excruciating attacks any longer; I have got to eat healthier food choices and until my gallbladder is no longer an issue it is just not possible. I am certainly afraid to put this very long-awaited pregnancy at risk. And in my opinion this pregnancy will not be as healthy as it should be until my gallbladder is gone.) My guess is that surgery will be the last week of March. And my new due date is September 11th, 2010. I think baby will be here earlier, though, because my family and Hubby's family...

I have been rather busy the last several weeks and it appears that the next few weeks will be much of the same. I will probably be on a bit of a hiatus for a short time as far as particularly meaningful posts go. However, I do plan to hop on every now and again to update. I know that you all are praying for me and this developing baby and we have our first appointment next Monday afternoon. It is very likely that at that appointment we will schedule an ultrasound to confirm my due date as my calculations can be off. (Even though I don't think they are. :) Hubby and Kiddo are well. It's been a busy week for them as well, but we are all good and we are looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Hopefully we'll just get some cleaning done around the house or something. Now for some wonderful news before I jump off of here and get ready for our homeschool meeting: my sweet friend Neeti had her baby last Thursday. He is beautiful and healthy - except that he is a bit jaundiced, but ...

I've not been on in some time...but I've been reading everyone else's posts! :) Weather here in central OK has been far from ideal, but we have been spared the worst so far. More snow and ice coming in the next few days - maybe - but I never really believe it until I see it. Not that the weather forecasters are bad - they aren't - but in Oklahoma you never really know what is going to happen. The weather changes at the drop of a hat...but all is well here in our neck of the woods. We are warm and well-fed and have hot water and electricity. Many in Oklahoma still do not have those luxuries...we are greatly blessed. I read a great post earlier today by my blogging friend, Kelly. She said that a friend of hers played a game in school with her friends where they would take turns expressing their simple pleasures. Here are some of my simple pleasures: Taking a moment to enjoy nature - the sunrise, sunset, clouds, trees, leaves in the fall, etc. My son's laughter My husb...

So far things are going pretty well around here. While I have moments of frustration or irritation about all the medical bills that keep piling up and all the other expenses we have, most of the time I really don't fret about it. This is a HUGE praise because I am very much a worry-wart and this is usually a stressor that causes depression and such. God is good and will continue to see us through. Baby (a.k.a. "Nemo") is coming along just fine if the latest development is any indication: I now have morning sickness. It does affect me all day long, but only if I eat too much, not enough, or if something doesn't settle well. :) No real surprise here, though - I figured that as bad as my morning sickness was with Kiddo, I'd at least have to deal with it for a short while. I'm not concerned and I don't think my doctor will be either. I eat small meals/snacks whenever I'm hungry. Speaking of feeling nauseated...ick. :) Kiddo and Hubby are quite well and are...