Pray for the people of Haiti

A friend of mine posted this prayer on her facebook page and I hope she doesn't mind me sharing it here.

Lord, I just want to say THANK YOU, because this morning I woke up and knew
where my children were. Because this morning my home was still standing, because
this morning I am not crying because my husband, my child, my brother or sister
needs to be pulled out from underneath a pile of concrete, because this morning
I was able to drink a glass of water, because this morning I was able to turn on
the light, because this morning I was able to take a shower, because this
morning I was not planning a funeral, but most of all I thank you this morning
because I still have life and a voice to cry out for the people of Haiti. Lord
I cry out to you, the one that makes the impossible, possible, the one that
turns darkness in to light, I cry out that you give those mothers strength, that
you give them peace that surpasses all understanding, that you may open the
streets so that help can come, that you may provide doctors, nurses, food,
water, and all that they need in a blink of an eye. For all those that have lost
family members, give them peace, give them hope, give them courage to continue
to go on! Protect the children and shield them with your power. I pray all this
in the name of Jesus.

I'm going through a Beth Moore study called Believing God right now and in this study Beth uses five statements of faith to remind us when we're faced with adversity or trials: God is who He says He is, He can do what He says He can do, I am who He says I am, I can do all things through Christ, and His Word is alive and active in me. After I read this prayer those five statements ran through my mind. I'm taking God at His word. He hears our prayers and answers us. Won't you please pray with me for the people in Haiti and actively, continuously believe that God will restore this nation as a nation under His holy name?

Hey, Coco! Slow your roll!

A week from today Corrinne will officially be 6 months old. As if its not enough to know that we're already through the first half of her first year, she decided to start showing off and has conquered four milestones this week. As in, since Sunday...4 days ago. Smarty pants.

First milestone: Deciding she'd rather sleep on her stomach. We've known she could roll over for awhile but she hadn't done it in her sleep yet...until last Sunday morning. I went in to get her up and instead of being at 3:00 (if you're looking at clock) she was at high noon, on her belly, mostly swaddled (translation: with one arm tightly wrapped), face pressed up against the bumper. It was like an ad for SIDS awareness. We nipped that in the bud. (Nipped it in the bud? butt? I don't know - we nipped it.) Which leads me to our next milestone...

Second milestone: No more swaddle! Sunday night we removed the bumper (which according to my Parents magazine should be done by the time your child is 4 months old. Oops.) and went cold turkey on the swaddle. We rocked her to sleep, laid her down, prayed, tip-toed out of her room and prepared to be up most of the night listening to her yell at us through the monitor. At some point I woke up just enough to realize I hadn't heard anything from her, freaked out momentarily, went in to check on her and found her sound asleep. I tip-toed back out, went back to sleep and woke up to the sound of her talking, laughing, and singing around 7:30 am. Not only is this momentous because of the no swaddle, but also because...

Third milestone: Sleeping through the night! Corrinne had a bad habit of waking up several times in the night only to need her paci replaced, a quick squeeze and then she was good. But she's such a big girl now, she's good with just one good night squeeze when we lay her down. Which is fine with me! Last night was a little rough, but we were only up with her once and she was even able to soothe herself back to sleep (another first!). She's slept completely through the night every other since Sunday! Its so nice to be reminded of what its like to lay down, go to sleep, and wake up after the sun comes up.

and lastly,

Fourth milestone: Little miss isn't so little anymore so today before we left for play date, I took the newborn cushion and head support out of the car seat and moved her straps up. Unfortunately I think we're a few weeks behind in doing this, since she was looking pretty squished in there every time we buckled her in! She seems to like it considering she's STILL asleep in it even though we've been home from play date for almost 2 hours.

While I'm glad she's reaching milestones as she should, it's still hard to believe she's so big already. With Cash I was so eager for him to get to the next stage that I was often ready before he was so it felt like I was waiting on him to grow up. With Corrinne, I feel like she's running ahead of me and I'm trying to keep up...When I think of how quickly these last 6 months have gone, it makes me realize the next 6 will go by even faster. Pretty soon we'll be out on our deck on a beautiful August day singing Happy Birthday to a chubby-cheeked, brown-eyed, brunette with lots of icing on her face. And how glorious it will be....

I've learned some interesting things since we last met...

1. No matter how many times a person walks up and down their stairs at home, you should never be too confident in your footing. I'm still walking gingerly and have a lovely bruised and slightly swollen ankle to prove it...

2. Do not ever give your toddler a Fiber One bar...unless you won't be the one to change the diaper that comes soon after. If you are the one that has to change it - wear protective masks and clothing.

3. Our next child (the one we're planning on having in 2012) will never be swaddled in hopes of avoiding the night-time drama we're currently having with Corrinne - slowly breaking her of the comfy, snug (especially when the baby is almost 16 lbs!) swaddling blanket. We've successfully gotten her used to only having ONE arm in the swaddle. I have a feeling we'll pay for it when we try to go all night with BOTH arms out. Please pray for us.

4. There are approximately 250 calories in a 2" square brownie. And if I decide to skip breakfast in order to save my calories so I can still be under "budget" at the end of the day, so be it!

5. Drew and I are currently learning Cashese - it seems Cash has his own language. (Look for ways you too can learn it on the next Rosetta Stone commercial.) The following encounter took place last night:

(Cash, driving his car, pulls up next to Bethany - aka "Mama" - on the couch.)

Cash: Bye, Bye, Mama!

Bethany: Bye, Cash! See you later!

Cash: OOOH Raah! ("Love You")

To the untrained ear, it would sound like he was a Marine. But a mommy's heart knows better.

I resolve to...

... drink more water.

... paint my nails more often. I just feel girlier when they're freshly polished.

... enjoy my kids more and worry about my dirty house less.

... run three times a week.

... go to bed before midnight.

... eat Special K Chocolatey Delight as a late night snack instead of ice cream.

... keep our lives, kitchen, and closets organized and clutter-free!

... decorate our bedroom (paint, new bedding, and fresh decor).

... fully commit myself to the bible studies I'm involved in so that I can walk away feeling closer to God and more aware of His still, small voice.

... cook dinner for my family 3 nights out of the week.

... eat less Chick-fil-a. (darn it.)

... be better at maintaining 2 eyebrows instead of letting them grow back into one. (For some reason I'm really bad about this!)

... take my kids outside at least 3 times a week - more in the summer time- even if its just for a ride in the wagon.

2010: Don't fail me now...

I've sort of been avoiding blogging lately because there have been so many random thoughts going through my mind. Thursday (New Years Eve) was spent mostly reminiscing on the last year. Oh boy...what a year! We started the year out dealing with morning sickness while taking care of an 8 month old. Not something I necessarily want to do again in my life. Ever. We celebrated Cash's first birthday and experienced the joys and financial strains throwing said birthday party brings... We searched for and bought the most perfect house for our family a mere 6 weeks before the birth of the most beautiful baby girl you will ever lay eyes on. We adjusted to life as a family of 4 and now here we are...

So naturally, while I played that video montage of the last year in my head all day Thursday (complete with sappy music that makes you wanna cry), I felt happy and sad at the same time. Shappy. Then Friday rolled along and I got over it. New day, new year, new attitude. Then I read an email from our worship leader. She was encouraging us to reflect on the last year and how God can use us in the coming year. But what struck me from her email was how we're not only entering a new year, but also a new decade. Drew mentioned this the other night and I didn't really give it a second thought. But in her email Dena was telling us how far God has brought her over the last ten years and it got me thinking...where was I ten years ago?

Well for starters, I was 17 and in my junior year of high school if that tells you anything! In the last ten years I've: cheered at football games, sang at my graduation ceremony, said goodbye to the best friends I'd known for 10 yrs, made new ones at college, kept a few of the old ones, realized I didn't really want to go to college, got my heart broken, watched friends get married, watched friends have babies, worked at a bank, a plumbing company, a law office, and the American Baptist Churches region office. I've tried out several different churches only to realize home is where I started out, lived with a friend, lived on my own, got a puppy, was in 15 weddings in a year, met Breanna, met Sophia, lost my grandma Dunaway, met Ava, met Gibson, went to Europe to visit a boy I was "dating" even though I really liked a guy back home, dated the guy back home, broke up with him, came to my senses and got engaged to him, planned the most beautiful wedding ever, laughed when everything went wrong during our wedding, did the Thriller dance at our reception, gave my purity ring away (woo hoo!), turned our first house into a home, became a mommy, sold our first house, moved at 8 months pregnant, realized you do love your 2nd baby just as much as the first one, gained and lost 40 pounds (twice!), danced till I couldn't stand up, laughed till my stomach hurt, sang my heart out (with and without audiences), realized my best friends have the same maiden name as me, cried more than I ever thought possible, rejoiced over first smiles, coos, giggles, steps, words, and fell in love with my husband a million times over.

To say God has done a lot in my heart is a complete and utter understatement. He pretty much went all Extreme Home Makeover on it -- bulldozing the old to build a brand spanking shiny new one. The last ten years have been awesome, crazy, heart-breaking, sad, incredible, joyous, and adventurous. I can't wait to see what the next ten hold...