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Saturday, July 28, 2007

Random Pics!

These are just some random pics that I've taken over the last couple of months...The first one is of my brother Brandon. I think it just have been taken around my Mom's birthday.




Calli loves ribbon. If we put bows/ribbons on any present, it ends up in the middle of the floor. She will dig under the Christmas tree till she finds one with ribbon in it. Well, this time she find the spool of ribbon and dragged/spread it all over our apartment.


Here is Mom's dog Sadie performing her new trick! She really likes cool whip and now can catch it squirting from the bottle!


Last pic! Calli again. For some reason she has really gotten where she likes to lay on our T.V. trays. This is one time when Alan was trying to get her off. As you can tell, she wasn't going anywhere!

Alan's Early Birthday Present!

All Alan has been talking about this summer is getting a new grill. Well, his birthday is in August (the 19th to be exact) and I decided to give him his gift early. He is so excited. He had it put together before I got up this morning and now he is smoking ribs. They smell GREAT and I'm sure they will taste good too! Oh yeah, ignore the signs hanging in the background. The neighbors that live behind us are old and crazy. We have never "trespassed" and don't intend to!







Friday, July 20, 2007

Concentrate on this Sentence.

I got this on a e-mail forward and really liked it.

Concentrate on this sentence.....

When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.


I can not tell you how many times I have felt something fall from my grasp. Of course each time I have been devastated, but I now know that I'm not be punished for something that I did. I wasn't ready to receive that "good" thing yet. I know that in having to wait, I will enjoy and value the thing that I'm going to receive.


Concentrate on this sentence.....

The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.


When I do go through those devastating times, I used (and still do at times)to feel alone. I would feel like I was the only one in the world who felt has bad as I did. I know that I am a child of God's and he will never give me anything that I can not handle and that he will be there with with through every twist and turn.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

WE'VE GOT SWIMMIES!

We are so excited!!! We've been keeping a little secret. We didn't want anyone to know till the test came back normal. Here's the story... We piggy-backed a couple vacation days onto the weekend to make for a super vacation. Friday we went to Jonesboro and Alan had a semen analysis done. I will spare the details of it (nothing too bad--just a few details that keep us laughing). After a weekend of nerves, we got the results back today. All the test results came back normal. Everything is right where it needs to be. The actual count was 53 million. That is excellent. When I called Alan and told him, not only did I hear relief in his voice, but I could picture him puffing his chest up and out thinking, "I've got some strong sperm!". We both are giddy and relieved. Now it is my turn. My test is up in August!

Monday, July 09, 2007

Hannah's Hope. Chapter 4. Because He Loved Her!

Infertility does not just concern women--it affects men and women--But in different ways. Wives often have a hard time trying to understanding the difficulties their husbands face.

One of a husband's goals is to try and prevent their wife from suffering from any pain--whether physical or emotional. It is a man's nature to want to "fix" the problem. When they see that they can't, they then feel like they have to be the "strong one." As wives, we have to be careful and not take for granted our husband's strength when we see how they handle their pain. We may think that this struggle doesn't bother them or that they don't care as much as we do. Many times, men will deal with their grief, sadness and pain by doing all they know how to do--being strong! Husbands, please realize that your strength is very comforting to your wives. But when they see that you are vulnerable, it gives give that chance to be the strong one and they see that these things bother you just has deeply has they do her! It will make your marriage stronger sharing those vulnerable time together!

One of the side effects of infertility (unfortunately it isn't one very many people will talk about) is unfaithfulness. With the struggle of infertility, marriage can feel sad or lonely and it can become very easy to try and fill those voids outside the boundary of your marriage. Remember, God sees faithfulness as a heart issue, not just a physical act. It is important to note that no one is immune to temptation. If you are finding yourself being being unfaithful or on the verge, please take time to ask for forgiveness and strength to move on. Trust is a huge issue in marriage. It is so important to talk with you spouse--make time to talk about this issue and your battle against infertility. Most importantly PRAY for each other!

In this chapter, i discovered that behind an amazing woman--there was an amazing man! Elkanah loved Hannah very much. Many men in that time would have divorced Hannah in an heartbeat. True he took an additional wife, but by remaining married to Hannah, he affirmed his love for her. He also offered Hannah a double portion of the sacrificial feast. This was normally given to the oldest heir. No woman was part of this legacy. The firstborn was given double everything. For a woman to be given her own portion AND a portion for a child she did not have, showed that Elkanah was a great man. When Alan and I met and became serious, I was very straight forwarded with my "girl problems." He knew that I only had one ovary and that us having a child could possibly be a hard feat. Once we decided to start the process of having a baby, I struggled (I shouldn't used past tense here, I still struggle) with feelings that if Alan would have married a "normal" girl, he would have a child by now. That I was not only letting him down, but our parents and families. These feelings often eat me up, but when Alan comes in and puts those arms around me (yes, he has an uncanny way of knowing when I'm hurting--and yes, one of his hugs make it so much better), I know that he loves me and will love me no matter what. I too have a great man behind me.

BURDEN BEARS (FOR GUYS)

When you know of someone who has lost a child (miscarriage, still birth, etc) please take note that the wife isn't the only one hurting. Husbands may not express it verbally but he is hurting and needs the same respect his wife does. If you know of a couples struggles, please don't comment or may jokes ("shooting blank, huh?" or "knocked up the wife yet?"). Unless you have been through it, please don't pretend to know what a friend is going through.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Happy 4th!

We wanted to talk time and wish everyone a safe and happy 4th of July!