Upcoming Mission Trip!!

Hello all!!

I wanted to take a minute and tell you all about a mission trip that Cline and I are going on in October. As most of you know, I spent a large part of my nursing career working with children that had been diagnosed with brain tumors. As a result of this experience, I have developed a strong passion for helping families of children with cancer in whatever way that I can. After spending many hours reading the ongoing stories of parents facing this horrific battle, I did a little investigating and found the website for the Lighthouse Family Retreat. Cline and I, after some prayerful consideration, filled out an application and will be serving as family partners during an October session.
We are thrilled to be a part of this ministry. I have heard several families rave about this organization and they all talked about how nice it was to get away for a weekend and feel "normal" again. It is a time of refreshment and rejuvenation for families going through something that I hope and pray I never have to imagine.
Since neither of us have yet had a firsthand experience with this organization, I can only tell you what I know from the information we have gathered so far. Here's how it works, as I understand it. The ministry is fully funded through charitable donations. There is NO COST to the children with cancer and their families who attend the retreat. Volunteers are asked to raise money ahead of time to help cover the costs of hosting both the volunteers and families. Cline and I have fulfilled our financial obligation (we think :), but what we do want is your prayers! Between now and October, please pray for all of the volunteers, including ourselves, as we prepare spiritually for this experience. Pray for the families who will travel to Florida, that their children will be healthy enough to attend the retreat and that the Lord will touch their lives while they are there, bringing them hope, peace, and wonderful memories to cherish. While we know that this will potentially be an emotionally and physically draining experience as we care for these children and their families, our prayer is that the Lord will allow us to share His good news and love with these little ones who are hurting so much. So please pray specifically that we will be perfect reflections of Christ's sacrificial and serving love as we minister to these special people.
We'll be sure to keep all of you updated about how things are going and anymore details as we find them out! If you'd like more information about this group, their web address is:
http://www.lighthousefamilyretreat.org/

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Hello all! I took Christa to her first local Braves game on Friday night. She had a ball (no pun intended... OK, maybe a little pun intended)! The weather couldn't have been better - not too hot, a nice breeze, and slightly overcast skies but no rain. We didn't make it to the end of the game, so we still don't know who won, but we had fun, nonetheless!

They had this cool, giant baseball helmet cart, so we took the photo-op.

She very much enjoyed standing in her own seat. (Did I mention that there were just enough people there to make the experience fun while still allowing us a little room to spread out?) She kept smiling and reaching for the lady sitting behind us, but wouldn't let the woman hold her. Little tease!

She LOVED Romey and Roxy. She would see them across the stadium and immediately reach for them. I was shocked - she's usually so bashful. Won't go to a relative she hasn't seen in a while, but giant, blue creatures are safe, apparently!

On a more serious note, I want to mention an amazing blog that I recently found. It is entitled "Bring the Rain," and I have linked it to the right. I try really hard not to get too attached to new blogs, but I stumbled across this one the other day, and haven't been able to get it out of my head. Take a few minutes and check it out, if you can. Read the opening story (there's a quick link at the top left of the site) and also the January 25th post, entitled Promises. And if you have time, and really feel like having a good cry, spend some time browsing through Angie's entries. Every single one blew me away. I will warn you, it is sad, but absolutely beautiful. (If you are pregnant right now, you might actually want to hold off on reading this particular blog). Angie's entries have really challenged me to try and stop focusing exclusively on my wish-list during my prayer time, instead making more of an effort to listen. While I have a long way to go before I have her kind of faith and am brave enough to pray for "whatever makes the soil rich" as she so eloquently stated, I have truly been blessed by her thoughts and her stories. I hope that you, too, will be blessed.

Have a great day!! More pictures coming soon!

Catching Up and Shout-Out to Kimberly!

Hello all! I decided to take a morning off of organizing, unpacking, cleaning, and making endless Wal-Mart runs to post some long-overdue photos of our recent family happenings. I have several posts worth of pictures, so scroll down to catch up. Cline just finished working a stretch of days at his new job. He likes it, but I am not in love with the hours. They do their documentation differently, and he's had to stay a couple of hours late most days. When you combine that with the 40 minute commute each way, the shifts are actually worse than residency. I pretty much don't see him at all those days. But he does have to work fewer shifts, and he has most of this week off, so we're looking forward to catching up on some quality time.

His birthday is also coming up on Wednesday, so we're looking forward to celebrating that. He's already gotten his present from us - a weight bench to go with this home work-out system that we got him for graduation. But we'll try to catch a movie - probably Batman - and eat some good food this week.

Lastly, in all the craziness of the last month, I completely forgot to give a shout-out to one of my best friends, Kimberly! Kimberly and Scott had a baby girl, Lydia Noelle, a few days after Christa's birthday. Lydia is their third child - they have 2 other adorable children, ages 3 and 17 months. We're looking forward to meeting the newest addition on Wednesday!! Kimberly, I'm sorry to be so late in officially congratulating you, but please know that we are so happy for you all and we love you!

Alright, enjoy the pictures!

4th of July!!

We tried to take Christa to the Cave Spring fireworks, but they started too late, so we let her go on to bed.

She did get to march ride/be carried in the parade for the first time this year. She made a quick photo appearance last year, but being only 5 days old then, she quickly returned indoors.

Moving Day

Goodbye tiny but easy Augusta home with free handy man, yard service, and pest control...



Hello overwhelming new home with lots of space and lots of expenses and lots of grandparents to help out!!

As requested, I will post some new indoor pictures once we get good and organized. It's coming together, but we still have a long way to go. It has to be presentable by next week, because my sister and her husband are coming to town from Texas, and we plan to host a cookout for them. I'll try my best to remember to snap some pictures while it's clean, so you can see how we have chosen to decorate (although it's a work in progress, and we're missing lots of furniture!)

Christa's First Birthday Party!!

All ready to party!!

Mimi and Grandpa brought the guest of honor to the party, so Mommy could have time to set up.

The guests are watching a video of Christa's first year.

Ready for cake!! She didn't get into it much, but it was fun to try!

Happy girl!

Christa is still loving all of her new gifts! And her slacker mother still has not sent out one single thank you note! I will post pictures soon of her enjoying some of her new toys for those of you who I have "no thank you note pacts" with :) For the rest of you, I will get them sent before her next birthday... I hope!

Our Sad Little Beach Trip

Sorry about the depressing title, but our trip to Myrtle Beach really was the worst vacation ever. Aside from our circumstances, which, granted, didn't help matters, the whole experience was a disaster. It all started when our resort, which looked very nice and family friendly on the internet, made a mistake and put us in a smoking room. We hardly noticed it the first night and were in no condition to make a fuss. But as the weekend drew closer, apparently, chain-smoking alcoholics moved in all around us. We called the front desk, and were first assured that we were on a non-smoking floor. When I called back and asked that security come and check out the smell, I was told that we were, in fact, on a smoking floor and the only other non-smoking room they had was in an even dumpier building than ours. Plus, we'd have to forfeit our ocean view for a nice parking lot gaze and from the looks of it, we might have even gotten front row seats to several drug deals. Not to mention, there was a cigarette butt cannister on the balcony of the supposedly new non-smoking room! We declined the offer, and decided to try to make the best of our room with a large bottle of Febreeze. Despite our best efforts, the smell got worse as the week progressed, and our final night there, I fell asleep in the kitchen because I couldn't breathe in our bedroom. Then, around 3:30 a.m. the next morning, we awoke to the sound of the ice machine right outside our door, and a presumably drunk woman loudly proclaiming the adult acts she was and wasn't willing to participate in with her...er... party. That was the final straw; we checked out later that morning, a day early, and spent the remainder of our vacation in Augusta, waiting on our Monday doctor's appointment. It was so refreshing to be in a clean room with polite staff. Although we met a few nice people at the beach, most people were extremely rude, and we simply could not get away from second hand smoke and tobacco cups.

However, we did manage to squeeze a little fun out of our trip:


This is Cline and Christa on the Lazy River. She didn't seem to enjoy the sand as much, and the waves were pretty rough, but she loved this ride. This was a great afternoon for us - it was wonderful to spend some time focusing on Christa and just having fun with her, since the previous weeks had been sooooo crazy. She kept crawling from Cline's float to my float, and when we put her in her own float, she kept trying to drink the water!

They had a great 1 ft. wading pool for the little ones. I'm so disappointed the beach was so dirty, because there were tons of great family activities all around. I want to find a vacation spot that has such great amenities but with nice clean resorts that you can rent for something less than $500 per night. Cline pointed out that there is such a place, and it's called Disney World, and that is why people travel from all over the world to visit there.

This is Christa and I in the Pirate ship. She really liked it, but we were using the slow camera so we couldn't catch the smiles.

Here were are after dinner at Broadway by the Beach - a fabulous entertainment center with amusement parks, water activities, and tons of shops and restaurants. The food was great - we didn't have a bad meal the whole time we were there. But neither of us had much of an appetite that whole week, so we didn't get to fully enjoy that part.

Finally, a couple of attempted beach shots on our way out of town.

Needless to say, I don't think we'll be going back to this beach anytime soon. One more funny thing happened after we returned to Augusta. I was pretty sick the whole trip from the pregnancy (and still am - uggggghhhh - I am so ready for that to go away). Since we were in close quarters in the hotel rooms for the week, Christa was pretty much forced to listen and/or watch while Mommy had her special time with the porcelain throne. By the end of the trip, she crawled over to the toilet with me, pulled herself up, and tried to cough and spit into the bowl. I guess she thought it looked like fun. Cline and I laughed hysterically - she was so sweet the whole trip and got lots and lots of extra hugs and kisses.

Woncha Be My Neighbor???

Hey guys! I plan to do a massive picture-catch-up session on all the wonderful things that have happened in our lives recently. Christa's birthday, 4th of July, updated pictures of the new house, and our beach trip. But we had some excitement last night, that I just couldn't wait to share. Let me set the stage for you:

Cline is at work on his first shift and is expected home before 9. Christa and I go get some pizza for dinner, since I STILL haven't seemed to make it to the grocery store. After our dinner, we decide to take a short walk up and down our street (not for exercise or entertainment, but rather a sneaky attempt to meet some new neighbors :) It's about 7:30 p.m.

I put Christa in her stroller, and briefly think about locking the door. But locating my house keys seems like a chore, and all of the other doors are locked, so I think the one garage door we plan to go in and out of should be safe while I walk just a few feet from the house. We begin our stroll, not giving the door another thought. Christa actually seems to be enjoying her stroller for a change, so the quick ride up and down the street turns into 1 lap around the block. Blast, no neighbors outside. After pausing in our driveway, I decide that Christa's doing fine, so maybe we should just do another lap. So, off we go. As we approach our house the second time, our across the street neighbors, a nice middle-aged couple with grown children whom we have spoken with several times already, wave us down, and we proceed to have a very pleasant conversation in the middle of the road. They tell me we have coyotes, deer, and turkeys in the neighborhood, so be on the lookout for wildlife among other various tidbits. Before we know it, it's dark, after 9pm, and Cline calls to say he's running late and hoping to leave by 10.
Christa starts squirming, since it's past her bedtime, so we say, "Goodnight," and walk across the street to our house. As soon as I walk in, I notice that all of the downstairs lights are off, which I don't remember taking the time to do before I left. But it was daylight then, so maybe I never had them on to begin with, I reason. Then I notice light creeping out from under the basement door. I know for a fact that light's not supposed to be on. Oh, but mom went down there today to carry some junk to the basement for me. I'll just call her and see if she thinks she might have left the light on. Besides, nothing looks out of place, and if someone is in the house, they can have anything they want from the basement! Our phone happens to be right next to me, so as I continue to watch the basement door, I call mom. I take a breath, ready to ask the all-important, fate-determining question. And right there before my very eyes, the light goes off. "Uhh, I gotta go," I say, slamming the phone down and heading for the door.
I promptly walk back over to the neighbor's house, and explain the situation to them. Mrs. R immediately begins calling all of the people in the area who own a dog, in an attempt to get a strong team to escort her husband over to the house to investigate the situation. Unfortunately, all of the dog-owners are away from their phones. She finally tracks down Mr. F, and although they don't have a fierce canine to protect them, Mr. R and Mr. F locate a tall bamboo stick. They proceed enter my embarrassing disaster of a house, fully prepared to take down anyone they might find... with their bamboo stick. The sissy, scared sensible, safe women (myself, Christa, and Mrs. R) wait at the end of the Rs driveway, phone in hand, ready to call the police, should a violent encounter break out. By this time, Christa is really getting fussy and tired. I tell her to hush and that she can go to bed as soon as we are finished introducing ourselves to the neighborhood :)
Mr. R and Mr. F complete their search without locating the culprit and report that the basement light was on again when they opened the door. My mom calls just as I am packing Christa's things to go to the neighbor's until Cline gets home, and reminds me that they live around the corner, and will happily pick me up. Duh - I am clearly not thinking - it didn't even occur to me to call my own parents!
At any rate, the mystery of the self-switching basement light remains. We either have a very clever intruder who is not interested in money, china, or useless junk, a short in our electrical system, or a timer that the previous owners forgot to tell us about. Or possibly a ghost.

The security system is being installed on Monday. And if anyone tries to pull anything in the meantime, we have coyotes in the neighborhood and very protective neighbors who watch this house like a hawk for us. (I was told the Cook's pest control man almost got a beating while we were away last week).

We're Home

"Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again, and nothing will take away your joy." John 16:22

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for all of your kind comments, e-mails, cards, and prayers. Some brought smiles to our faces, and some brought tears to our eyes, but each one was much appreciated and helped us get through this past week. Our doctor's appointment today confirmed that our baby is with God. I have not officially had the miscarriage yet, and we are still a little up in the air about whether or not to do a D&C. We'll make that decision over the next few days/weeks, but I might just let this topic rest after today. I'm a pretty open person, but I have no idea how many details from here on out people are even interested in or what is appropriate to share.

I am sure people are or will soon be wondering if we plan to get pregnant again soon. The answer to that is not immediately. We need some time to cherish this special baby that we just lost. We might be in more of a hurry if we had planned this pregnancy to begin with, but for now we are content to enjoy the precious little girl we have. That being said, we definitely do want more children, sooner rather than later. So, we have some mixed emotions about this right now, and we'll see what happens over the next year or two. We welcome your prayers that God will bless us with another special child, whenever that time is right.

Finally, we are doing OK. It's been an unbelievably rough week (I have some beach stories that are so sad, they're funny to share with you at a later date). We have good days and bad days, and I imagine that is the way our life will be for a while. We were both nervous that we would be crushed all over again today at the doctor's office and have to start all over with the grief process - kind of like when you take a negative pregnancy test, but don't really believe it until your cycle starts over again. (Is that just me??) But we mostly felt relief that God gave us a clear picture of what is going on, and if a D&C becomes medically necessary, we can have that procedure done without any guilt or "what ifs?" Additionally, we are much more able to talk to people than we were a few days ago, so give us a call if you want! I'm actively looking for play dates and dinner dates :)

I'm going to wrap up this post with a beautiful poem my sister-in-law sent me:

The Weaver

My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me
I cannot choose the colors; He worketh steadily
Oft times He weaveth sorrow, and I, in foolish pride
Forget he sees the upper, and I, the underside.

Not 'til the loom is silent and shuttles cease to fly
Shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful in the weaver's skillful hand.
As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

He knows, He loves, He cares; Nothing this truth can dim
He gives His very best to those who leave the choice with Him.

-Author Unknown

I'm also posting a link to a song, especially for our Teeny Bear. Click on it and turn your speakers up if you want to listen to it. Once you click the link, the song should start on its own. Give it a minute or two to load, and don't click anything else, even if it prompts you to.

http://www.imeem.com/people/rmPkBn/music/EIm7F2uO/watermark_glory_baby/

It Was Supposed to be a Happy Day

"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm46:10

Hello everyone. We learned some terrible news yesterday; it does not appear that we will get to meet our new baby on this side of heaven. We went to our first doctor's appointment, fully anticipating the joy of hearing the heartbeat and finalizing our due date. However, the ultrasound did not show a heartbeat, and our doctor said that measurements and blood tests indicate that our baby stopped growing at around 5 weeks.

We are shocked and dumbfounded. For a change, I have not been worried at all about this pregnancy, and enjoyed every moment of it, excitedly telling everyone I knew. I'm glad that I did not spend what little time I had with my baby living in fear. But we are heartbroken right now, and spending time at the beach, regrouping as a family.

We were given 2 options - schedule a D&C or wait and let nature take it's course. While we have gone back and forth several times on what the right thing for us to do is, our plan right now is to have confirmatory blood testing and a sonogram on Monday, and see what happens from there. We are clinging to our faith, right now, a little confused about why God would bless us with such a sweet surprise, if it wasn't ours to keep. But we know that we serve a loving God, who wants good things for us even when bad things happen.

We also know that we serve a loving God who performs miracles, even in this day and age, and we welcome your prayers for this. We know it is possible, and would love nothing more than to be shocked and dumbfounded in a happy way on Monday. But we also believe our doctor when he says there is a 99% chance that we will not get to welcome our Teeny Bear into this world as we planned, and we are not clinging to much hope that a miracle is what is in God's plan for us right now.

We are grateful to have wonderful, supportive, friends and family, a much-trusted doctor who shares our values, and a loving God, whom we have handed this whole situation over to. Please pray for our family, as this is a difficult time for us as we seek clarity. As much as I love having clear answers, I don't think this situation is meant for me to understand. Luckily, I don't have to understand to believe that God loves our family and loves our little baby.

The best place for you to leave your thoughts for us is here in the comment section. If you don't have a Google account, simply click the small circle next to "anonymous" right under the box that you write your actual comment in. We have our cell phones with us, but have so far not been up to talking much. I'll update this site as I am able to, as the next few days and weeks unfold. Thank you for your prayers and support.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

We're Still Here

Hello all!!! Just a quick post to say hello. We are still here, doing well - exhausted, but well. It's been crazy trying to get unpacked. And those of you who know Cline's family know that the 4th of July is the time-consuming equivalent of Christmas in their household (and almost as fun!!). I will do my best to post party pictures and 4th of July parade pictures before we head to the beach. In the meantime, we are enjoying all of the brothers being together for the weekend and unpacking and going through mountains of "important paperwork" during our not-so-free time. Will resume normal blogging in a few weeks!!
Those of you who have been praying for a less-sick pregnancy this time around, I soooo appreciate that! I started getting sick last week, which is even earlier than I started with Christa, but I know exactly what to do this time around, so it does seem a little better. Keep up the prayers, anyway, though :) And feel free to start praying for a pain-free delivery. I know it's gutsy, but it worked last time, and I get very very nervous about delivering babies. Have a great weekend, and thanks for checking in!

p.s. Thank you notes will be sent out ASAP (i.e. hopefully before Christmas :) Must locate stationary, stamps, and address book. Please accept this lame cyber-thank-you for Christa's wonderful gifts until I can get something more appropriate together! We are enjoying all of them, and she is loving having some new things around while her parents unpack the house.