Power of Prayer

So it's occurred to both Phil and I that when people ask "how are you doing?" or "anything new?", we're never really sure what they're talking about.

I have to be completely honest about this whole situation- I'm probably not thinking about it as much as everyone else! God has granted me this awesome peace about the baby- and I know it's because you're praying for us. It's not that I'm sure about what's going to happen, or even that I think that God will completely heal our child (or that it was just a fluke). Of course I believe that God can heal our child if there's a problem, but I don't think that's the only way God could show us He loves us.

When I get asked "how are you doing?" I answer in terms of being pregnant. I'm tired all the time, lately I'm getting super moody, and I'm hungry. :) My morning sickness is thankfully gone, although I do get nauseous from time to time. It's really hard to sleep, already. I get cravings for normal food, but sometimes they cravings are bad enough that I'll think about it until I get to eat it.

In terms of the situation with the baby- we have so much to be thankful for.

• I'm thankful for all the people that have let us know this is not unusual. That was probably what I was thankful for the most at first. I had so many people telling me that they had the same thing happen with one of their children, while still acknowledging how scary and hard this time can be. 
• I'm thankful for being able to be busy. I think that's kept me from delving too far into my bad thoughts, and pitying us in this situation. Having 3 kids 4 and under really helps to keep me focused on right now, and not too much about future what-ifs.
• No matter how trivial it sounds, I'm thankful for people praying for us. I've said it to a few people, but almost immediately after I posted my last update, I felt relieved. I know it's because we had people who are helping to carry our burden. Thank you so much for supporting us, and walking through this journey with us. 

 I'm hesitant to put the exact date of the ultrasound out there, but as it gets closer, I'm sure I'll let you all know.  We do have a date set up for our Level 2 ultrasound in January. The baby will be much bigger by then, so if it was something developmental, it will be gone by then. If there's anything else, they will be able to see. Seriously, thank you for your prayers!

You might as well know (Please Pray!)

‎"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the

Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His

understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks

might He increases power.... Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new

strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get

tired, they will walk and not become weary." Isaiah 40:28-29,31


It seems to be, lately, that I've been doing a lot of waiting. Patience is a virtue I lack often. And when you pray for patience, be sure that God will give you something to help you develop that trait. I've heard it before, and I know from experience that it happens, but sometimes it's a trait you can't deny, and something mother's need.

In October, Phil and I found out that we are expecting our fourth child. This was, indeed, quite a shock, and even still is hard to grasp. Though I wanted another child (and Phil was not quite as sure), my plans were for a few years in the future. At one point I wanted to have my family completed by the time I was 30. As that age closes in on me, I realize that it's not as old as I once thought, and my family could wait a few years longer. The big mistake was probably trying to make that plan concrete with God. He seems to have a sense of humor when it comes to my family planning.

My first prenatal appointment went well. No heartbeat, but we figured I was a little too early. Because I was having trouble dating myself and how far along I might be, we scheduled an ultrasound. Some travel plans complicated my appointment, so I had to reschedule. I was to have my ultrasound on the 29th of November, and my regular appointment on the 8th of December.

The ultrasound went well although I wasn't too keen on the ultrasound tech. I left my appointment with the few standard pictures and a due date. The tech's farewell threw me off slightly- "I'll give these to the doctor, and after she assesses them, she'll give them to the midwife and then you'll discuss them at your appointment"- but I chalked it up to her not being my usual tech.

On Wednesday, I received the phone call no parent wants to have:

"I'm going to go over your ultrasound with you right now. We spotted an abnormality with the baby."

At that point, everything felt slow motion, including the things she was saying. I caught on to few words, like "possibly down syndrome" and "you'll need to see a specialist".

I'm not sure how I got through the next week and a half (well, I am sure- the prayers of those few but faithful who knew what we were dealing with). I was much more level headed at my next appointent. This is what my midwife told me: they spotted swelling in the back of the baby's neck/spine. It's characteristic of a baby with down syndrome, however it could just be the stage of development our baby was in (and maybe less likely, an issue with the heart).

We've chosen to tell people what's going on for one reason- prayer. This is one of those situations were Phil and I are basically sitting helplessly by, wondering what is going on with our unborn child. Some days I feel so unsettled, but even in those times, God has blessed me with a peace. After my ultrasound, before I knew what we might be dealing with, I looked at those pictures and thought "I love this child", and really felt quite emotional about it. That love has and will undoubtedly stay the same, regardless of the circumstances or outcome.

There is nothing we can do besides pray. We need prayer for strength (as I'm feeling exhausted with 3 running around already!), and calm. And yes, patience.I'm so appreciative of those few who knew, and your prayers. I find comfort in being surrounded by our family in Christ. In my next blog, I plan on telling talking about the things I'm thankful for thus far in this short, but tiring journey (I'm mostly just putting that down as a reminder to myself). There are things that I've already been comforted with, but this is too long already.

It's here!

My precious, sweet middle child turned 3 on Friday. It was her first birthday party so I wanted to make sure it it her perfectly. She's not the typical girly-girl. She's a little rough and tumble from being second to her older brother. At the end of May, however, we had the chance to visit Disney world.

Even though she fell in love with princesses, she still loves to play in the dirt and mud. I wanted her to have a girly party, but not completely over-do it on pink frilliness.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the money to hire a photographer and I didn't have time to take so many pictures. So, I'll show what I have and describe the rest :)

These lovely pom poms were at the entrance of my house. There were also 2 light pink pom poms. I hung them from our porch. (They're now hanging in my girls room. I love double duty decorations!)

The littler counter parts hung above our kitchen bar. This bar also housed the gifts when the guests arrived.

Because I never got a close up of the "before" cake/ food table, this will have to do. I'll try to explain what you may or may not see in this picture. Behind the table is the castle that I worked on. It's also now in the girls room. Next to the table I drew free-hand a few of the princesses, and framed them. In front of the castle, in glass jars, are different color-coded bead necklaces. They added a really cute sparkle to the table.

Princess crown cupcakes and frog prince cupcakes. I love cupcakes for a many reasons. First, portion control. Second, when it comes to blowing out the candles, kids tend to spit. This way, everyone can enjoy a cupcake without wondering if my child slobbered all over them! (And you can see the beaded necklaces in the background.) 

My intention with the heart garland was to have a few hanging on all windows in the castle room.  They took a lot of time though. These few were cute, and they especially looked cute from the outside. 

My sweet little birthday girl (right) and one of her party guests. I guess  this  picture doesn't show very well the  castle that I built, but you get the idea. It's a one-room castle, but the kids loved it. I wish I could have spent more time on it, and made them bigger (there were 2), but what really matters is what my child thought, and she LOVED them.

Over all, Caedence loved her party, and I think her friends liked it too! A few more decorations I'd like to share:

Behind and around the castles I hung white wedding lights. I also strung twine in front of the castles and hung 2 metallic bronze curtains on it. I drew the curtains back and tied them with tulle.

Speaking of tulle, no princess party would be complete without a little tulle. In the corner of the castle area, I set up a child sized table with a tea set on it. Above the table was bunches of tulle attached to the ceiling and draped in the corner.

The kids loved making their own crowns. The girls decorated wands and the boys had swords.

The goody "bag" was a princess paint set and a tulle dress-up skirt for the girls and toy story paint set and shield for the boys.

If I had to do it over again, I would have taken more pictures. And although I see ways I could have made it better, that's not what matters.

I felt so blessed to actually have some family (Phil's mom, Caedence's grandma, was able to come visit) and my daughters friends celebrate with us. I'm beginning to realize that her party would have been perfect if we'd only had food and no decorations, or games, or gifts. God is so good to us, that we not only had food, but a bunch of extra stuff to share. If you allowed your children to share in the celebration of my child's life, I sincerely thank you!

Another Sneak Peek!

Another sneak peek- and it didn't take all night! These are pom poms that will hang on the ceiling. There will hopefully be 4, and only 1 is green. This craft is super easy, and not very time consuming, especially if you're chatting with a friend. Even better if she helps (thanks Sue)!

p.s. They are pretty big, but the picture makes them look enormous.

Sneak Peek :)

If there's one thing to know about me, it's that I love creativity. Nothing gives me more inspiration than my children, especially birthdays. Caedence, my second child, will be turning 3 this Friday. She wants her theme to be, what else?,PRINCESS.

If I can get my act together, I'll add more sneak peeks throughout the week. And of course, after the party, I'll post pictures.

This castle will go..... somewhere!!! It's made of foam poster board. I'm debating on whether I should keep it white (which I kind of like), or add some color.

Anyway, enjoy your sneak peek. :)

The Deceitfulness of Mankind

I wonder where my children get it from.... 

I go to the kitchen to make  lunch. Their sixth sense tells them where I am, and they come running. "Mommy, I'm hungry. Mommy, I want something to eat." And Parker's latest, "But my belly is starving". After lecturing him on what starving actually is, I send them back to the room to wait while I make them lunch.

My stomach rumbles. I see a bag of chips left on the counter. I look around, knowing where they are, but children can be incredibly stealthy. I slowly and quietly unroll the bag of chips. If there's too much noise, their spidey sense tingles. Under the cover of my daughters loud cries, I rip the bag open. Victory.

I take a few chips out, quietly. Holding them to my mouth and feeling somewhat like a beggar, I slowly munch, making sure to consume every single crumb.

What's that?

It's too quiet.

Suddenly the pitter patter of feet attached to hungry and knowing souls sounds in my living room.

Looking around for somewhere to quickly hide the spoils of war, I launch some chips behind the toaster and  choke down the ones in my mouth (even crunching and swallowing is too loud a tip for these detectives). Just in time.... or was I?

"What are you eating?"

"Nothing." Not a lie, mind you. I am, infact, at the moment eating nothing.

"But I'm hungry."

"I'm fixing your lunch now."

"I want some chips."

"No one is eating chips." Ok, it's getting close, but still, not a lie.

"But look..."

I slowly turn around to face the opposite counter. There, in plain view, is an opened bag of chips.

...
Busted.

But I can outsmart these too, can't I? After all, I am the lead detective of this 2 and 4 year old partnership.

"Well, it looks like we have a thief in our midst. Who was it?"

I try not to sound too demanding, but demanding enough to disperse the crowd.

Failure.

There's blameshifting, of which I was only an observer, and some arguing. I try time and again to make them run, but nothing. These two are tough.

And then, there it is: a false confession, followed by some tears. And a snifling "I'm sorry" with a hug.

An inward knife to my heart and a knot in my stomach seems to guide my hand to the chip bag. I hand it over.

Kids : 1. Mom: 0.


.....Nevermind.

Very Happy Birthday

My sweet Jolie Danae turned 1 today! I've never done a party based on a book, but I really think this was the most fun I've had comeing up with ideas. I was inspired to do The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle when I found some goody bags at target in the clearance section! A set of 8 bags for $.47 was just too good to pass up. And so the idea was born. It was also no coincidence that my two older children put on The Very Hungry Caterpillar for their spring production at their preschool.

I formed a lot of ideas in my head, but once I looked online I found some truly creative parties. Jolie's 1st birthday party is a mismash of all the ideas I found and came up with myself. I had a little bit too much fun creating this party.

Jolie's invitations and thank you cards.


Our welcome balloon caterpillar.

Jolie's birthday banner in the living room

 Jolie's dining room birthday banner

Remember those old easter eggs? I made these mini caterpillars (with m&m's inside!), and the long one below, from all my green easter eggs.

 Not really sure why this was my favorite of all, but I do love it. Jolie likes to make it "crawl" on the ground. It used to have googly eyes, but I think someone at the party took them off.

The caterpillar cake looking for the apple. I got the caterpillar cake idea from another blog. There are also pom pom caterpillars on this section of the table. The food wasn't really theme oriented, so I didn't take any pictures of the food table.

 Sweet Jolie in her birthday shirt. It says "Hip, hip HOORAY! Jolie's 1st Birthday!" Love it.

We had trouble keeping the birthday crown on her, so this is the only shot of her in her birthday crown, shirt and tutu.

 After the cake. I didn't really think through the red icing, but she loved every little bit of it. She even tried to lick her hands off before we dunked her in the tub.

The aftermath. I figure we'll probably never see this shirt again, so I'd better get a picture of it.

 The food banner of the food that the caterpillar goes through.

 A red bench I had sitting in my backyard. I gave it one extra coat of red, and put it inside for the gift bench. I also made the pillowcase over, which my kids love now.

Momma and Daddy

We had so much fun, we all passed out for a little bit after everyone left. I think my favorite part of the whole day, though, was when the party was over and we were up from our naps. Jolie was in her high chair, eating her snack and I was cleaning up. I decided to take a break from cleaning and read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to her. Soon Parker and Caedence joined us, and the recited to story to her. It was the most peaceful, loving moment during the entire day. Truly a blessed, for the birds day.

The First

The name "For the Birds"
I'll admit it- I have a tough time with wanting more. Or wanting better. I often find myself making excuses for my house- "We're planning on painting or expanding (in 10 or so years!)", for myself - "I'm just so tired" or "It's my hormones", or worse yet, for my family- "It's just a phase" or "I just haven't gotten to teaching them that yet". I often fail to see that God has blessed me with much. In short, I'm just being a whiner!

The Green Eyed Monster
While I was researching decorating ideas for my daughters first birthday party, I came across loads of pictures of nice houses where parties took place. Beautiful lush green backyards, accompanied by well dressed adults and children, were splashed on every page. It seemed like all the crafty and wealthy people have blogs! Though the ideas are cute, I think we'd have to take out a loan just to accomplish it all!
Jokingly I thought, "I've got to make a blog where I can showcase how us poor people do it!" And the phrase for the birds popped into my head. And then I was convicted. How much has God given to me? How much has He blessed me with thinking that instead of complaining, I'd give thanks and adoration.

Matthew 6:26
Then God went one step further and gave me a verse. "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feed them. Are you not worth much more than they?" It's funny how that same negative thought can be turned into a positive one. Instead of blogging how "us poor people do it", I can blog how us blessed people do it! I'm not poor- I'm rich in God's love, mercy and blessing.

This blog is more like a journey to that contentment in God's blessing (it's funny to say it that way. After all- who wouldn't be content in blessings?).

I'm as crafty as God has allowed me to be. I hope to share some of that craft and thrift, all the while giving thanks for what I have. Hopefully when I step out of line, some of you will put me right back in place.

Here's to being held accountable.