I have been reflecting on many things this past week. 2016 ended and a new year has begun. On September 15th I gave birth to our beautiful baby boy, Joshua, in our house. I had a baby... in... our... house... Our small house that is full of too much stuff. I sometimes write in a journal and the last time I wrote anything in it was July 12, 2016 and I was wondering if I'd get our house organized enough to 1-have a baby in it and 2-have enough room for the baby to live in it with us. That sounds funny... but I guess I was worried about that. Well... now he's here and I had him at home and he is sleeping at the end of our bed in a pack-n-play. We sold our crib, got rid of some toys and toy shelves, stored some stuff and made room for him. I find it's easy to over do it on the clothes and supplies for babies and have been trying to keep it to a minimum with him. We've been somewhat successful, but we still have boxes of clothes stored for later and I am sure we won't use all of them.
Overall, we desire to be free of so much stuff. We have been in our little house for a little over a year and there are still boxes we've yet to declutter. Life happens. We'd rather go swim with our kids and take long walks then sit inside our house going through stuff deciding what to toss, give away, sell, or keep. But we want to do that. We want to be free from it. We often talk about being free spiritually and mentally, but I seriously want to be free from the physical crap.
On new years eve I asked Nate if he had any resolutions for 2017 and his response was no. He explained that he always has best intentions to meet resolutions and goals, but ends up feeling defeated if life takes him in a different direction. So yeah... we didn't set any new goals specifically, but I know we want to continue our journey to being debt free and living with less. We want to live with just enough. Not too much. Not too little. Enough.
So as 2017 has begun I'm asking myself what can we 'tackle' first to help get rid of things and I'm not even sure. Maybe there are some spiritual and mental areas that do need addressed before we can deal with the physical. Maybe it's ok that we are just focused on making sure our kids are fed and get a good night's sleep each day and that I, as the full time working, nursing mom, get to work each day and survive that... Did I ever mention that being a nursing mom is difficult but add working full time to the mix and wow... it is not easy. Anyway... best intentions don't get anywhere without effort, but it's a good starting point. Praying we move toward more freedom in 2017.
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Sunday, September 4, 2016
So Emotional!
Pregnancy... one of life's most unique experiences. And I mean unique. From day to day this pregnancy is different. I am 39 weeks pregnant and you'd think I would be 'used' to being pregnant, but I feel different everyday. For instance, the past 3 days have gone something like this...
Friday - let's get stuff done! Run errands, do some laundry, meet friends for lunch, keep the house clean, help Nate with the backyard project, rest... Along the way, I would just get totally overwhelmed and cry. I couldn't get a staple out of something and it made me cry. I was putting Briella to bed and the thought that she isn't going to be the 'baby' anymore made me cry. Nate just laughs at me (in a good way), hugs me, and tells me to go rest if I need to... And I was having what I thought could be actual contractions every 15 min for a few hours, but went to sleep and they went away. Ug!
Saturday - slept well and woke up SORE. Very sore! Didn't want to move. Didn't want to get out of bed. Just wanted to sit in the warm covers and do nothing and felt at peace. But I made myself get up and I ended up spending time with many people, went on a walk, got groceries, and overall had a good day.
Today - I tossed and turned and kept waking up from the weirdest dreams. Got out of bed and felt like I hadn't slept. Craved a Starbucks and needed to run to Natural Grocers, so I went and felt fine. I wasn't sore today and baby didn't make me too uncomfortable which is the opposite of how I felt Friday. I haven't had any melt downs today. I haven't felt any major contractions.
It's a mystery how I will feel from day to day with this pregnancy. And by 'feel' I mean physically, mentally, and/or spiritually. Being pregnant is just unique. This being my 3rd time being this pregnant you'd assume I would just know what to expect, but I don't. This child will be unique as are N and B and my pregnancies with them... The only thing I expect now is to be holding a baby before the end of September and we pray he or she is healthy and that I can stay healthy and recover at a good rate. Other then that... only the Lord knows. :)
Friday - let's get stuff done! Run errands, do some laundry, meet friends for lunch, keep the house clean, help Nate with the backyard project, rest... Along the way, I would just get totally overwhelmed and cry. I couldn't get a staple out of something and it made me cry. I was putting Briella to bed and the thought that she isn't going to be the 'baby' anymore made me cry. Nate just laughs at me (in a good way), hugs me, and tells me to go rest if I need to... And I was having what I thought could be actual contractions every 15 min for a few hours, but went to sleep and they went away. Ug!
Saturday - slept well and woke up SORE. Very sore! Didn't want to move. Didn't want to get out of bed. Just wanted to sit in the warm covers and do nothing and felt at peace. But I made myself get up and I ended up spending time with many people, went on a walk, got groceries, and overall had a good day.
Today - I tossed and turned and kept waking up from the weirdest dreams. Got out of bed and felt like I hadn't slept. Craved a Starbucks and needed to run to Natural Grocers, so I went and felt fine. I wasn't sore today and baby didn't make me too uncomfortable which is the opposite of how I felt Friday. I haven't had any melt downs today. I haven't felt any major contractions.
It's a mystery how I will feel from day to day with this pregnancy. And by 'feel' I mean physically, mentally, and/or spiritually. Being pregnant is just unique. This being my 3rd time being this pregnant you'd assume I would just know what to expect, but I don't. This child will be unique as are N and B and my pregnancies with them... The only thing I expect now is to be holding a baby before the end of September and we pray he or she is healthy and that I can stay healthy and recover at a good rate. Other then that... only the Lord knows. :)
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
No August baby...
I've decided that my children like to stay put when I am pregnant. This baby has shown very little sign that they are ready to vacate. We were hoping for 8/28 b-day but no luck. Then we thought there was still a chance he or she would come in August... but unless I have a super fast labor and they arrive in 20 min or less, that's not happening. That being said, I had to stop typing for a moment and let a moderate contraction pass... they need to keep coming tho. Usually they stop and I can sleep or just keep going about my business. It's weird to think that this is my third baby, but I still am not sure when 'real' labor is setting in. N and B's labors were so different... who knows what this kiddo will be like.
I don't have to go back to work now. I got in all my professional training and was able to do some planning with my team and today Gail decided I didn't have to return to work. It's just too much. I was so exhausted that I went back to bed for almost 3 hours today. There is no way I could keep working while feeling miserable. No way. So, I get to be home, rest, do some stuff around the house and wait. I am praying I don't have to wait long though. But we'll see. The Lord knows when this baby will come and I think we are doing our part of being ready.
I have to go to sleep now...
I don't have to go back to work now. I got in all my professional training and was able to do some planning with my team and today Gail decided I didn't have to return to work. It's just too much. I was so exhausted that I went back to bed for almost 3 hours today. There is no way I could keep working while feeling miserable. No way. So, I get to be home, rest, do some stuff around the house and wait. I am praying I don't have to wait long though. But we'll see. The Lord knows when this baby will come and I think we are doing our part of being ready.
I have to go to sleep now...
Monday, August 22, 2016
Attempting to declutter...
In effort to prepare for Baby #3 to join us in our smaller house, we've been decluttering and rearranging. It's quite a task. 2 years ago we packed up our 3000 sf home in less then 20 days and moved all of our stuff into family and friends' houses... I breathe easier tonight knowing we aren't reliving that time again... it was very rough! A huge part of it being rough was that we had just said goodbye to Nate's father after his 8 month fight with pancreatic cancer. That is an entirely different piece of the story I will write about another time... back on point...
So... we took all of our belongings and squeezed them into other people's spaces and began the decluttering process. We had the opportunity to use a friend's house that was empty and being ready to be sold to store our stuff and have garage sales while deciding what we were really going to keep and what we could sell, give away, or throw away. I would have to look back, but I believe we did 3 weekends of garage sales from that house - one in June and then 2 more in September of 2014 - and it really helped us pair down on some big items. In between all of the garage sales, we also sold things online which helped. We still had stuff... and still do.
In the end, we had to get a storage unit to store extra baby clothes/items, suit cases, our kitchen supplies (since we were living with family for a while), our camping gear, etc. etc. You know... all the stuff that we mostly had in our 1500sf basement that we'd use seasonally. Well... we still have a lot of it and now that baby #3 is going to arrive soon, we had to get some baby stuff out and I am in awe of how much we have. It's a TON! No newborn needs 100 onesies...
To be encouraged to move forward with downsizing and decluttering, I've been watching some youtube channels and this one blows my mind! I'm impressed and wondering if this is how we will end up living someday... our whole goal is to be debt free and have time to experience life together as a family and to be available to serve others... this family's home seems like it would allow for those goals to be achieved. Their channel is called Family Minimalism: Becoming Minimalist with Kids. It's quite extreme, but it's simple living. I feel like the clutter and 'stuff' we have around us reflects some mental and spiritual baggage... or maybe it all just drives me nuts and if I loaded it all up and threw it in the dumpster one day I would seriously feel better about our house. ;) Who knows...
There are many many videos online about how to downsize, reorganize, become minimalists, etc. and this one just impressed me. We have less stuff each month... we are making progress... It's just a process and takes time. It's like we are choosing to live a different way and that change is challenging and time consuming. We'll get 'there' eventually.
Thanks for reading. ~M
So... we took all of our belongings and squeezed them into other people's spaces and began the decluttering process. We had the opportunity to use a friend's house that was empty and being ready to be sold to store our stuff and have garage sales while deciding what we were really going to keep and what we could sell, give away, or throw away. I would have to look back, but I believe we did 3 weekends of garage sales from that house - one in June and then 2 more in September of 2014 - and it really helped us pair down on some big items. In between all of the garage sales, we also sold things online which helped. We still had stuff... and still do.
In the end, we had to get a storage unit to store extra baby clothes/items, suit cases, our kitchen supplies (since we were living with family for a while), our camping gear, etc. etc. You know... all the stuff that we mostly had in our 1500sf basement that we'd use seasonally. Well... we still have a lot of it and now that baby #3 is going to arrive soon, we had to get some baby stuff out and I am in awe of how much we have. It's a TON! No newborn needs 100 onesies...
To be encouraged to move forward with downsizing and decluttering, I've been watching some youtube channels and this one blows my mind! I'm impressed and wondering if this is how we will end up living someday... our whole goal is to be debt free and have time to experience life together as a family and to be available to serve others... this family's home seems like it would allow for those goals to be achieved. Their channel is called Family Minimalism: Becoming Minimalist with Kids. It's quite extreme, but it's simple living. I feel like the clutter and 'stuff' we have around us reflects some mental and spiritual baggage... or maybe it all just drives me nuts and if I loaded it all up and threw it in the dumpster one day I would seriously feel better about our house. ;) Who knows...
There are many many videos online about how to downsize, reorganize, become minimalists, etc. and this one just impressed me. We have less stuff each month... we are making progress... It's just a process and takes time. It's like we are choosing to live a different way and that change is challenging and time consuming. We'll get 'there' eventually.
Thanks for reading. ~M
Monday, August 15, 2016
August 15th!?
I'd like to say that I have been writing like crazy this month due to the writing challenge from Art of Redemption, but I haven't. The past 3 or 4 days for instance, I have chosen to nap instead of write and that's ok considering I am growing a baby. This 3rd pregnancy is not easy. It's very uncomfortable. I'm 36+ weeks... I'm swollen... I'm cranky... I still have 2 other kids, 2 dogs, and a husband to take care of and I go to work tomorrow. It's only for a 2 day training, and then we don't have to go back full time until the 24th, but still. My summer is done. And it's kinda sad. I can't say I got everything accomplished that I'd hope to, but we've done a ton of stuff this summer including a garden which is something we've always talked about doing... it feels good to get some 'to do' things done. We want to get our porch done on the back of our house so we have a private, outdoor space to have dinner and hang out since our home is small... it would be great to have an outdoor living space. And obviously we need to dig out some baby clothes and supplies and be ready to have a new little one living with us! It's weird how 'done being pregnant' I feel some days, but how I haven't really done anything to get ready to have baby here... this is much different then how I felt with N and B. We were 'ready' weeks ahead of time. I even remember I packed my hospital bag well before Briella came and when I got into the bag at the hospital I had forgotten what I had packed cause it had been so long. We do have some things done for baby's arrival, so I hope he or she holds off until we have a bit more done and are more realistically ready. And I sure hope transitioning back to work when I am this pregnant goes well. Last week I had dreams that I missed a half day of mandatory training and used the excuse that I was going into labor to keep from getting in trouble. So I think it means my head wants to be back at work, but my body is gonna make me slow down and pay attention to Baby 3. Here's hoping I get up feeling good in the morning and am able to make it through training with little to no pain or mood swings... ha! And perhaps sleeping with my new snoogle pillow will help... Nate found one on FB today from someone we know. I think it will help me sleep well. :)
Monday, August 8, 2016
Writing Challenge Day 8
I haven't been posting on here, but I began writing about the journey we as a family are taking to be debt free... I intended it to be short blog posts, but it's turning into more of a memoir perhaps so I am just dating things as I go and we'll see where that takes us. I've always thought it would be cool to write a book and never had a vision for one... maybe this will turn into something like that. Anywho...
Just a real quick thought from today. It's been 2 years since we got to talk to Jason (Nate's dad) and have him communicate clearly and smile at his grandchildren, etc. He didn't pass away until the 13th, but the 8th and 9th were his last days that we talked, sang, interacted and saw him really react to us being with him. It's overwhelming to recall all of the emotions that rolled through our family those days of saying goodbye and I am very glad it's in the past. I am glad we don't have to live like that each day. It was very heart breaking and a wonderful gift to be with him, but I am so glad it's over. Now we are healing and can remember him without wishing that he wasn't suffering.
Here is the picture that brought back those memories...
He loved his granddaughters so much!!
Just a real quick thought from today. It's been 2 years since we got to talk to Jason (Nate's dad) and have him communicate clearly and smile at his grandchildren, etc. He didn't pass away until the 13th, but the 8th and 9th were his last days that we talked, sang, interacted and saw him really react to us being with him. It's overwhelming to recall all of the emotions that rolled through our family those days of saying goodbye and I am very glad it's in the past. I am glad we don't have to live like that each day. It was very heart breaking and a wonderful gift to be with him, but I am so glad it's over. Now we are healing and can remember him without wishing that he wasn't suffering.
Here is the picture that brought back those memories...
He loved his granddaughters so much!!
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Writing challenge...
It's hard to keep up with this when we are having so much fun and being busy on our little vacation in the Denver area this week... we drove down on Wednesday and have been to Rocky Mountain National Park, Golden, the Air1 Positive Hits Tour, The National Tiny House Jamboree, Pike's Peak, a few favorite restaurants and 1 new one that was super yummy - Rudy's BBQ... it's been busy and we are exhausted. I did write a little about living small and the 'why' behind our downsizing, etc. the past few years. I'll have to finish that later and post it sometime... And since I haven't been writing each day, here's a picture and I'll count it as my 1,000 words. ;)
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Writing Challenge Day 3...
I'm barely making the 'deadline' for writing today... I have had the urge to write about a number of things, but was driving or in the car or with my family outdoors, etc. and just didn't get a chance yet. I woke up to a sermon on the radio that mentioned Blaise Pascal's writing called "Fire" which he had sew into his coat after having realized he was forever dedicating his life to God and no one found it until he passed away. It was an intriguing writing and sermon that I may do a reflection on soon. At the moment, I am going to focus on some random thoughts about marriage... and yeah... I mean random. It's too late to try to make it more concise.
As I was growing up, I always felt like I would have a family some day... a husband, kids, a house, probably a dog or pets of some sort, etc. but I never 'planned' it all out like other people around me did. I had friends with very specific wants... 3 kids, land with a nice house and room for horses, a black pickup to drive around. They talked about their weddings and weren't even dating anyone. I think a few times I would glance at a JCPenney's catalog my mom always got in the mail and wonder what my wedding dress would look like or what color I could have for my bride's maids, but I didn't plan for anything and I sure didn't try too hard for many years to 'find the right man'. I just went with what God had in store for me and one day I met Nate and now 10 years later, we have 3 kids, 2 dogs, a small house and have been through thick, thin, boring, exciting, etc. It's nothing like what I imagined being married would be like. Maybe because the only marriage I knew was my parent's marriage and each marriage is unique and so my experience is unique. And it should be.
I know my husband always wanted to be married and have many kids. It's a desire he had since he was very young. I don't recall every wanting children until I was in college working with students of all ages. My desire was to focus on school and teaching and enjoy the people God allowed to be in my life by working with and learning from them. I can look at the paths that Nate and I had before we met each other and I see what God was doing to prepare us for one another and it's an amazing thing. And now we are together each day with these young people watching and learning about life from our perspective. I sure didn't imagine this life years ago and I sure wouldn't change anything today... except to maybe get a bit more sleep, especially with Baby #3 on the way. ;)
~Chelle
As I was growing up, I always felt like I would have a family some day... a husband, kids, a house, probably a dog or pets of some sort, etc. but I never 'planned' it all out like other people around me did. I had friends with very specific wants... 3 kids, land with a nice house and room for horses, a black pickup to drive around. They talked about their weddings and weren't even dating anyone. I think a few times I would glance at a JCPenney's catalog my mom always got in the mail and wonder what my wedding dress would look like or what color I could have for my bride's maids, but I didn't plan for anything and I sure didn't try too hard for many years to 'find the right man'. I just went with what God had in store for me and one day I met Nate and now 10 years later, we have 3 kids, 2 dogs, a small house and have been through thick, thin, boring, exciting, etc. It's nothing like what I imagined being married would be like. Maybe because the only marriage I knew was my parent's marriage and each marriage is unique and so my experience is unique. And it should be.
I know my husband always wanted to be married and have many kids. It's a desire he had since he was very young. I don't recall every wanting children until I was in college working with students of all ages. My desire was to focus on school and teaching and enjoy the people God allowed to be in my life by working with and learning from them. I can look at the paths that Nate and I had before we met each other and I see what God was doing to prepare us for one another and it's an amazing thing. And now we are together each day with these young people watching and learning about life from our perspective. I sure didn't imagine this life years ago and I sure wouldn't change anything today... except to maybe get a bit more sleep, especially with Baby #3 on the way. ;)
~Chelle
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
30 Day writing challenge
August 2nd:
Our friends over at The Art of Redemption challenged their listeners and group members to write at least 200 words per day during the month of August... so I decided I will TRY to use this blog to do that. I missed day 1, but may make up for it during this post! I noticed they are using #augustauthors as a 'hashtag' and I must confess, I am just under versed in the world of hashtags that I don't actually know how to make that work and it will be something I learn so I can keep these posts connected to the challenge. Obviously this post's purpose is to inform readers of this challenge and provide my ideas of what Nathan and I may write about in the next month. I came up with these ideas...
- recap each year of your life one day at a time (some of us will be writing for more then 30 days...)
- write letters to each of our kids
- write letters to our soon to be born Baby #3
- write letters to family and friends
- short stories
- script and illustration ideas of children's books that are stuck in my head
- vents/rants/raves/etc.
- treat it as a journal, but with a specific theme (parenting, forgiveness, faith, work goals, health goals, etc.)
We'll see how Nate and I do with this... He mentioned it last night as I was falling asleep and I am not sure he did his writing yesterday, but I will encourage him and try to get all the creative ideas inside his head to pop out. I'm not sure the world is ready for some of the stuff my husband has stashed away in his brain, but he needs to share with more then me. ;)
~Chelle
Our friends over at The Art of Redemption challenged their listeners and group members to write at least 200 words per day during the month of August... so I decided I will TRY to use this blog to do that. I missed day 1, but may make up for it during this post! I noticed they are using #augustauthors as a 'hashtag' and I must confess, I am just under versed in the world of hashtags that I don't actually know how to make that work and it will be something I learn so I can keep these posts connected to the challenge. Obviously this post's purpose is to inform readers of this challenge and provide my ideas of what Nathan and I may write about in the next month. I came up with these ideas...
- recap each year of your life one day at a time (some of us will be writing for more then 30 days...)
- write letters to each of our kids
- write letters to our soon to be born Baby #3
- write letters to family and friends
- short stories
- script and illustration ideas of children's books that are stuck in my head
- vents/rants/raves/etc.
- treat it as a journal, but with a specific theme (parenting, forgiveness, faith, work goals, health goals, etc.)
We'll see how Nate and I do with this... He mentioned it last night as I was falling asleep and I am not sure he did his writing yesterday, but I will encourage him and try to get all the creative ideas inside his head to pop out. I'm not sure the world is ready for some of the stuff my husband has stashed away in his brain, but he needs to share with more then me. ;)
~Chelle
Monday, July 25, 2016
2016 Update
It's been well over a year since updating this blog. I often feel like composing a post here, but just don't. What's that saying 1% inspiration... 99% perspiration... ?? I have tons of ideas and just don't act on them often, hints my house is messier than I want it to be. Projects are semi done or the 'to do' list stays constant for many weeks at a time. I'm not sure why we live like that, except 'life' happens and time keeps moving whether or not we use it wisely or how we intended to do so. With that... here's a brief update on The Long Family of Casper....
~ After living with family for over a year (September 2014-November 2015), we bought an almost 800 sq ft., 2 bed, 1 bath, 100 year old house in November and have enjoyed having our own space since then. It was a blessing that my parents allowed us to invade their space while we restructured our way of living and went from a 2 income household to a 1 income household. Nate and I have often said we sure aren't the 'traditional' family and we continue to stick with that... I am working full time with the school district and Nate takes care of our girls along with some IT, design, etc. freelance work on the side when he has time or when he is needed.
~ Our oldest is 5 now. 5! How did that happen? She's a great swimmer, doing awesome at piano, loves to make her own music (she even beat boxes on her own), has an interest in basically all aspects of life, and gravitates toward older children when she's in a group of kids. Lately when I look at her, I see Nate when he was 5 if he had long wavy blond hair. People have told us she looks like him, but I never noticed until recently... she's a mini Nate, but much prettier. ;)
~ Our 2nd oldest is 2 and is hilarious! N makes us laugh, but B has this way about her... she's just a fun loving, goofy, little person with a very loud voice! She can be so loud and talks non stop sometimes. One week her older sister didn't feel very well and we really noticed how much energy B has and how she constantly uses it to play, sing, entertain herself and others... she's basically the cutest 2 year old I know. :) And people say she's a mini me, so... who knows.
~ Baby 3.0 is on his or her way!! We have seen baby on ultrasound, but didn't get the best pic and aren't sure if this is boy or girl. So... we'll be surprised. I can say as I get older, as I have more kids, it's harder each time. N's pregnancy had it's ups and downs, B was a bit worse in different ways, and this baby has just been hard. I think it's due to me being the most out of shape I've ever been right before I got pregnant, the stress we've dealt with the last few years, and then making changes that we do feel will be overall beneficial compared to if we had not made any changes. We were getting a bit anxious to have another kiddo, and are very happy that the Lord blessed us with #3 and so far a healthy pregnancy. Our small house isn't ready for a baby yet, but I'm sure ready to be done being pregnant! Today I actually feel pretty good... somedays I don't go anywhere and stay in bed. Either way... in about 6 weeks, we should be meeting this little one and will make the adjustments to a family of 5. Our girls are excited! N asks so many questions about birth... B just says she "loves your baby mommy!" and cute things like that. :) They are gonna be awesome older sisters. Nate and I have names picked out, but haven't shared them with each other yet... it's fun to anticipate what we will call this baby. I have a name that could be either boy or girl and sometimes call baby by that name (when husband isn't around) so we'll see what name suites when we meet. :)
~ Jobs. As mentioned above, I still teach/tutor with the school district and have an amazing team to work with at Lincoln Elementary. Ultimately we do hope that I can be the stay at home parent, but Nate is truly enjoying the time he gets with our girls and we take this time as a blessing from God since we didn't think either of us would be able to be home with them this soon. And beyond 'ultimately', we actually would both love to work from home and be with our kids and work as a family. There are so many things that could allow this to happen and we are looking into different options/businesses/opportunities etc. Our hearts desires are to be a debt-free family that lives minimalistically and uses our talents to bless others.
So far... we are working on the 'debt-free' and have made some effort toward living with less... downsizing has it's challenges and when you work for a public school district and your time is not your own for most of the year, it's hard to keep that momentum and con't to purge and adjust. I do hope we are blessing others around us... we just feel led to work toward doing more in the future.
Well... as I type I can see Baby 3.0 wiggling and rolling around... I can hear my girls and Nate breathing after drifting off to sleep (our house is so small I can sit in the living room and hear their soft noises from both bedrooms) and should probably head to bed myself. I've had many sleepless nights with this pregnancy, which is new for me, and am praying that's not a sign that this one won't sleep well. We shall see... ~Chelle
~ After living with family for over a year (September 2014-November 2015), we bought an almost 800 sq ft., 2 bed, 1 bath, 100 year old house in November and have enjoyed having our own space since then. It was a blessing that my parents allowed us to invade their space while we restructured our way of living and went from a 2 income household to a 1 income household. Nate and I have often said we sure aren't the 'traditional' family and we continue to stick with that... I am working full time with the school district and Nate takes care of our girls along with some IT, design, etc. freelance work on the side when he has time or when he is needed.
~ Our oldest is 5 now. 5! How did that happen? She's a great swimmer, doing awesome at piano, loves to make her own music (she even beat boxes on her own), has an interest in basically all aspects of life, and gravitates toward older children when she's in a group of kids. Lately when I look at her, I see Nate when he was 5 if he had long wavy blond hair. People have told us she looks like him, but I never noticed until recently... she's a mini Nate, but much prettier. ;)
~ Our 2nd oldest is 2 and is hilarious! N makes us laugh, but B has this way about her... she's just a fun loving, goofy, little person with a very loud voice! She can be so loud and talks non stop sometimes. One week her older sister didn't feel very well and we really noticed how much energy B has and how she constantly uses it to play, sing, entertain herself and others... she's basically the cutest 2 year old I know. :) And people say she's a mini me, so... who knows.
~ Baby 3.0 is on his or her way!! We have seen baby on ultrasound, but didn't get the best pic and aren't sure if this is boy or girl. So... we'll be surprised. I can say as I get older, as I have more kids, it's harder each time. N's pregnancy had it's ups and downs, B was a bit worse in different ways, and this baby has just been hard. I think it's due to me being the most out of shape I've ever been right before I got pregnant, the stress we've dealt with the last few years, and then making changes that we do feel will be overall beneficial compared to if we had not made any changes. We were getting a bit anxious to have another kiddo, and are very happy that the Lord blessed us with #3 and so far a healthy pregnancy. Our small house isn't ready for a baby yet, but I'm sure ready to be done being pregnant! Today I actually feel pretty good... somedays I don't go anywhere and stay in bed. Either way... in about 6 weeks, we should be meeting this little one and will make the adjustments to a family of 5. Our girls are excited! N asks so many questions about birth... B just says she "loves your baby mommy!" and cute things like that. :) They are gonna be awesome older sisters. Nate and I have names picked out, but haven't shared them with each other yet... it's fun to anticipate what we will call this baby. I have a name that could be either boy or girl and sometimes call baby by that name (when husband isn't around) so we'll see what name suites when we meet. :)
~ Jobs. As mentioned above, I still teach/tutor with the school district and have an amazing team to work with at Lincoln Elementary. Ultimately we do hope that I can be the stay at home parent, but Nate is truly enjoying the time he gets with our girls and we take this time as a blessing from God since we didn't think either of us would be able to be home with them this soon. And beyond 'ultimately', we actually would both love to work from home and be with our kids and work as a family. There are so many things that could allow this to happen and we are looking into different options/businesses/opportunities etc. Our hearts desires are to be a debt-free family that lives minimalistically and uses our talents to bless others.
So far... we are working on the 'debt-free' and have made some effort toward living with less... downsizing has it's challenges and when you work for a public school district and your time is not your own for most of the year, it's hard to keep that momentum and con't to purge and adjust. I do hope we are blessing others around us... we just feel led to work toward doing more in the future.
Well... as I type I can see Baby 3.0 wiggling and rolling around... I can hear my girls and Nate breathing after drifting off to sleep (our house is so small I can sit in the living room and hear their soft noises from both bedrooms) and should probably head to bed myself. I've had many sleepless nights with this pregnancy, which is new for me, and am praying that's not a sign that this one won't sleep well. We shall see... ~Chelle
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Every which way...
That's the direction I always feel like I am going, or could be going. I get really focused on something and then think about other things I should be doing or I can't get anything done because I don't know which way to go or where to begin. Is this how life should be? Have I don't something wrong to make life be like this? It seems everyone else around me is kind of doing the same thing and it truly seems like it's not good for anyone. Even now I think about all the different directions I want this post to go and don't know what to type about next. I want to share my thoughts on a book I am reading about a woman, who is pretty much the same age as I am, and who grew up with the same kind of Christian lifestyle... but I am not yet done with the book , so should probably wait to 'review' it. I want to talk about the weirdest, toughest situation I have ever faced in my job that makes me not want to go to work some days. I want to talk about how at times my heart aches to just be a stay at home mom and how I am frustrated that my heart and head never wanted that before I had kids. I want to publish a children's book I have attempted to write like 50 times. I want our debt to be gone, our non existent house to be paid off, and our life to be generally a little less about all that and more about investing in others' lives.
I guess that's what's on my mind most these days... because of some decisions we made in haste in the past we have struggled for some time, recently have taken a few leaps of faith, and are on what I perceive to be a slow, but steady journey to the life we are feeling called to live. It's hard explaining this to others without the call being to become missionaries or be a part of some specific mission/Christian organizations... we literally feel called to be a family that isn't burdened with paying a million bills and not knowing how to feed ourselves. We want to be a family that lives comfortably while giving to others... and our 'comfortably' is much simpler than the average American families 'comfortably'. This is just what we have been called to do and we are working to 'get there' with the help of family... even family that doesn't quite understand it. And above all it's happening because God is faithful. I sure am not faithful some days, but He is and thankfully Nate is too... :)
I guess that's what's on my mind most these days... because of some decisions we made in haste in the past we have struggled for some time, recently have taken a few leaps of faith, and are on what I perceive to be a slow, but steady journey to the life we are feeling called to live. It's hard explaining this to others without the call being to become missionaries or be a part of some specific mission/Christian organizations... we literally feel called to be a family that isn't burdened with paying a million bills and not knowing how to feed ourselves. We want to be a family that lives comfortably while giving to others... and our 'comfortably' is much simpler than the average American families 'comfortably'. This is just what we have been called to do and we are working to 'get there' with the help of family... even family that doesn't quite understand it. And above all it's happening because God is faithful. I sure am not faithful some days, but He is and thankfully Nate is too... :)
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Something New...
It's been a while, but I am just going to jump right in. Our lives have not been too boring since last I posted. We are now living with my parents and hoping this set up can help us continue on our "Downsize and Debt Free" journey. Nathellia was attending preschool where I work but we decided it's really not what we want for our kids. So I've been doing some research and planning for what I can do to keep her on track with some basic language arts and math skills while adding in the Bible component. I found an amazing website that I am excited to use. It makes me think about the possibility that I could be a homeschool mom and maybe someday just a homeschool mom. It's gonna be a lot of work for Nate and I, but it's what we want and feel led to do for her and Briella, and hopefully other kids someday also. That's about all I have for now... I need to take more pics and add them to this blog.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
A little rest...
This week has been very wearisome. We've all been sick. The illnesses, and teething, began well over a week ago and lasted for some time. We also made the final push to move the rest of our stuff to our new, temporary home - aka, my parent's house. (yes... we moved again but that's another story that hopefully leads to some healing and resolution some day) This is how it played out. Friday night with runny noses, headaches, etc. we began loading our big stuff and moving it out, woke up on Saturday and worked on it while fighting off more sniffles, bad coughs, and exhaustion. Sunday we had a friend come help move 'the big stuff' and unload it at the new place, which was wonderful since I was basically having a mental breakdown and was ready to run away from it all. I took Monday off from work due to being sick to my stomach. Nathellia missed preschool that day due to puking on Sunday, while we were moving. Each evening we had to go finish moving and organizing and we just weren't getting better so I made us all doctor's appointments and we all went together. I was the only one put on meds, but after taking another day off of work, unpacking some more things, getting more settled, and getting some awesome sleep, I and the rest of my family are finally feeling better.
On top of some good rest I was able to get some great fellowship with a friend from college, along with some awesome worship music and divine messages. Some highlights from that were...
- Why are you losing your peace over something you have no control over?
- make sure your prayers are scary, not scared.
- don't worship your problems
- we rarely notice the blessings of the season we are currently in in life. We don't notice all the blessings and perfect timing of things until we are into the next season.
- Everything in our life will change at one point or another. Everything, except God.
- When you have junk buried deep down, God will continue to bring it up until you and He deal with it together.
- Allow His overwhelming love to overwhelm your overwhelming circumstances
- God does not get involved if you can do it on your own...
And so much more. It reassured me that even though life these last few months has seemed overwhelmingly overwhelming, we can't just stop moving. We can't just set up camp and give up. We must keep moving and see what God has in store. We may have to deal with some stressful things, but that's ok. It's expected. It's life. We may have to deal with others questioning our decisions, but we, I hope, will do what God wants us to do. In the short run, I just want to be a more attentive wife, mom, and employee. We'll see what I'm to do when I am in another season. And I know Nate is looking forward to what God has in store for him and all of us as a family. It will be good. We will continue to be loved and blessed.
~ML
On top of some good rest I was able to get some great fellowship with a friend from college, along with some awesome worship music and divine messages. Some highlights from that were...
- Why are you losing your peace over something you have no control over?
- make sure your prayers are scary, not scared.
- don't worship your problems
- we rarely notice the blessings of the season we are currently in in life. We don't notice all the blessings and perfect timing of things until we are into the next season.
- Everything in our life will change at one point or another. Everything, except God.
- When you have junk buried deep down, God will continue to bring it up until you and He deal with it together.
- Allow His overwhelming love to overwhelm your overwhelming circumstances
- God does not get involved if you can do it on your own...
And so much more. It reassured me that even though life these last few months has seemed overwhelmingly overwhelming, we can't just stop moving. We can't just set up camp and give up. We must keep moving and see what God has in store. We may have to deal with some stressful things, but that's ok. It's expected. It's life. We may have to deal with others questioning our decisions, but we, I hope, will do what God wants us to do. In the short run, I just want to be a more attentive wife, mom, and employee. We'll see what I'm to do when I am in another season. And I know Nate is looking forward to what God has in store for him and all of us as a family. It will be good. We will continue to be loved and blessed.
~ML
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
It continues...
It amazes me at how difficult life can be sometimes. And it seems to get worse as time goes on. I sit and try to think about why it seems so hard to be productive at home after working all day at work. I sit at work and wonder why I am so tired some days as I drink my coffee and listen to kids read to me. And there is never just one answer. Stress. Allergies. A cold. An infection. A sick kid who coughs while she's sleeping next to you as you lay awake wondering what else you can do to help her stop coughing. There could be so many reasons. And the sad thing is, I think we as a society do this to ourselves. We think this is the way to live. I view what we, as a society in general, are doing as struggle. So... let's stop struggling to live. Let's eliminate some things in our life that cause us to struggle and learn how to live. Right? Well, Nate and I, knowing we sure can't change society as a whole, have taken some steps that we truly believe will get US to that point someday. A life of less stuff and more life.
Today I am sitting in my mother-in-laws home typing this blog. I don't have a house of my own to do this in. We sold our house. The house that we never owned but gave so much money to live in. The house that literally became the place to sleep and shower in between working and running errands. The house that I actually do not miss now that it's gone. Don't get me wrong, I do miss that we had our own area, but it was a burden. Getting rid of that cost will allow us to pay off the remainder of our debt and be DEBT FREE FOREVER!! That's our desire anyway. We know it was the HUGE step we needed to take to nuke the other debt we do still have.
Having a huge financial burden be lifted off of us is something to celebrate, but it also means we are now 'taking over' an area of our family's house and that is stressful. I like my personal space and I know other people do too. Living all together is going to be a learning experience. I know I've already had to step back and take a moment, apologize, ask for clarification about things I don't worry about but know others do... etc. etc. It's just a huge learning experience and we are having to do that while organizing the belongings we still have, working full time, and being parents. On top of that... we are mourning the loss of a father and grandfather and it just seems too much to handle sometimes.
I don't know what it's like to just be a mom. Nate doesn't know what it's like to just be a dad. We surely don't know what/where the choices we are making right now will lead us to, but we have faith that it will help us be the mom, dad, and spouses we know we are called to be but haven't been yet. I know we don't want to be this tired the rest of our lives and if we don't make some changes now, our lifestyle won't change. So... it continues, but maybe the results will eventually improve. :)
Today I am sitting in my mother-in-laws home typing this blog. I don't have a house of my own to do this in. We sold our house. The house that we never owned but gave so much money to live in. The house that literally became the place to sleep and shower in between working and running errands. The house that I actually do not miss now that it's gone. Don't get me wrong, I do miss that we had our own area, but it was a burden. Getting rid of that cost will allow us to pay off the remainder of our debt and be DEBT FREE FOREVER!! That's our desire anyway. We know it was the HUGE step we needed to take to nuke the other debt we do still have.
Having a huge financial burden be lifted off of us is something to celebrate, but it also means we are now 'taking over' an area of our family's house and that is stressful. I like my personal space and I know other people do too. Living all together is going to be a learning experience. I know I've already had to step back and take a moment, apologize, ask for clarification about things I don't worry about but know others do... etc. etc. It's just a huge learning experience and we are having to do that while organizing the belongings we still have, working full time, and being parents. On top of that... we are mourning the loss of a father and grandfather and it just seems too much to handle sometimes.
I don't know what it's like to just be a mom. Nate doesn't know what it's like to just be a dad. We surely don't know what/where the choices we are making right now will lead us to, but we have faith that it will help us be the mom, dad, and spouses we know we are called to be but haven't been yet. I know we don't want to be this tired the rest of our lives and if we don't make some changes now, our lifestyle won't change. So... it continues, but maybe the results will eventually improve. :)
Friday, August 22, 2014
Exhausting August
I came home from a week long teacher's workshop at UW on August 1, 2014. That trip made day #38 that I had not been home since the school year ended. We had a blast the 17 days we were in TX, then such a great time on a road trip that took us camping in Northern WY for 4 days and 6 days in Glacier National Park, then out toward Spokane for a family reunion. But then came August.
Dad was moved to Hospice on August 2nd. He stayed there until August 13th... the day he went home to be with the Lord after dealing with pancreatic cancer and all the struggle that came with it. We somewhat lived there. Being with him his last few days/weeks was a different form of exhaustion than I have ever experienced and I don't wish it on anyone. At the same time, I am so glad we were able to be there with him, family, his friends, and his coworkers. August 18th was the day of his funeral. I chose to take bereavement time this week, but would have been back to work on the 20th. I go back on Monday the 25th and I am feeling a little anxious in good and bad ways. I'm at a new school. I don't know all the ins and outs of things at that school and have made NO attempt to get my room prepared for students. I know if I was at my former school it would not matter and I would be allowed all the time needed (reasonably) to prepare even after students had arrived. I am so thankful I am tutoring again because that takes some strain off. I love tutoring and I don't think it will take much time for me to get back in the swing of things.
Anyway, there's good and bad going on along with the natural stresses that come with losing a loved one. I still can't believe Jason is gone... A lot of my stress comes from the effort Nate and I are doing to "Downsize and be Debt Free". (I'll have to blog about that soon). I wanted to be done with the 'downsizing' of our things before I went back to work, but it just hasn't happened. We have a good start and I know we can't stop or our goals won't be reached. It's so easy to just give up, but I'm not going to and I am going to continue to ask the Lord and my husband for reassurance that we can do this and it will lead us to what the Lord wants us to do next/now. It's just exhausting getting there, and before we know it, it will be a new month... perhaps "Pleasant September"? Yes please!
P.S. Thanks to everyone who prayed for Jason and us, who shared their love for him with us on FB and through emails, and who sent cards and flowers... we were blessed by those things. :)
Dad was moved to Hospice on August 2nd. He stayed there until August 13th... the day he went home to be with the Lord after dealing with pancreatic cancer and all the struggle that came with it. We somewhat lived there. Being with him his last few days/weeks was a different form of exhaustion than I have ever experienced and I don't wish it on anyone. At the same time, I am so glad we were able to be there with him, family, his friends, and his coworkers. August 18th was the day of his funeral. I chose to take bereavement time this week, but would have been back to work on the 20th. I go back on Monday the 25th and I am feeling a little anxious in good and bad ways. I'm at a new school. I don't know all the ins and outs of things at that school and have made NO attempt to get my room prepared for students. I know if I was at my former school it would not matter and I would be allowed all the time needed (reasonably) to prepare even after students had arrived. I am so thankful I am tutoring again because that takes some strain off. I love tutoring and I don't think it will take much time for me to get back in the swing of things.
Anyway, there's good and bad going on along with the natural stresses that come with losing a loved one. I still can't believe Jason is gone... A lot of my stress comes from the effort Nate and I are doing to "Downsize and be Debt Free". (I'll have to blog about that soon). I wanted to be done with the 'downsizing' of our things before I went back to work, but it just hasn't happened. We have a good start and I know we can't stop or our goals won't be reached. It's so easy to just give up, but I'm not going to and I am going to continue to ask the Lord and my husband for reassurance that we can do this and it will lead us to what the Lord wants us to do next/now. It's just exhausting getting there, and before we know it, it will be a new month... perhaps "Pleasant September"? Yes please!
P.S. Thanks to everyone who prayed for Jason and us, who shared their love for him with us on FB and through emails, and who sent cards and flowers... we were blessed by those things. :)
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Hospice
Nate's dad has been in hospice since Saturday. I am one of those people who am comfortable in hospitals. My mom was a medical transcriptionist and we spent time in the hospital or various doctor's offices while she worked. So visiting dad at the hospital on and off since January hasn't made me too uncomfortable beyond the reason we were visiting him, but I know it was not comfortable for him or his wife and sons... He had his last surgery to replace the stent in his liver on July 28 and hasn't been able to be home since then. Hopsice is a place of comfort. He's been able to rest. Everything they do there is based off of his wants, not doctor's orders. So many people have come to see him. We have had the opportunity to meet family, his work friends, sit and tell stories, or just sit and enjoy the quiet. It's been so nice. Nathellia and Briella bring a lot of life into that place each time they are there. Kids have such a way of making all situations full of life. We are just glad that Jason's as comfortable as possible. We do not know how long dad will be with us. We are grateful that we have time to spend there as school hasn't started yet and we have nothing else too pressing keeping us from being together as a family. I can say I have never felt the way I feel lately. There's this constant exhaustion hanging around and it's hard to wait, not know, and try to get in all the thoughts and memories while he's still here with us. Jason has been very upbeat and talkative the entire time he's been there and I know he's enjoyed everyone visiting and connecting while, essentially, saying goodbye to him. This time in our lives is very special, fragile, and life changing and I pray we all trust that God's timing is perfect and that we can be there for dad. He told me Hospice is a godsend and is very glad to be spending his time there.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
The American Struggle
Do you ever just struggle? Struggle with all sorts of things all the time? It seems that Nate and I have gone through a continuous struggle for a long time. With many things. Our neighbors. Our family. Our jobs. Our appliances and tools. Our house. Our dog. It's a continuous battle to get over something that doesn't go quite right or goes completely wrong. We have some really good days and weeks but then one thing happens and it seems to set us back. It's begun to discourage me more and it's making me hate being an adult. It's made me think that this thing we call "the American Dream" is nothing but a race and struggle that is morphing our society into something that is nothing but a nightmare. Nate has this idea that our work hours could be cut in half, if not more, because of the technology we have, but something continues to prevent moms and dads from spending time raising their own children to work. It makes me regret not being thoughtful about my future when I met Nate and knew I wanted to marry him. Why didn't I want to be a stay at home wife when I met him? Why wasn't that our goal? Am I doing what God has called me to do? I am good at what I do, but because I have my own children now, I can't put the time into my job like I could before. And I know my girls don't get nearly the mom time and guidance they could if I wasn't so preoccupied with this thing we call a career. The way we live doesn't seem right to me. I guess that's what I am getting at. Are we all chasing things of this world in vain? Is it all for naught? Or are we being shaped and prepared for something that will come later? "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." I sure know I don't want to persevere sometimes. Tonight I just want to give up but then a piece of my heart and mind say "No!" and I ask God to help me understand why the small struggles are occurring. Maybe I have no character and He wants me to develop that... Maybe He wants me to trust in Him more each day and give Him control. I like control. Maybe too much. It's a struggle and I don't want it to be, so I will pray that this time of our lives will be a learning experience. I'll pray we become better people during this time and work to find what God is calling us to do... if we aren't already doing it.
~M
~M
Monday, September 30, 2013
Baby #2 has arrived!!
Here's Briella's 'Birth Story'. :)
Saturday, September 28, 2013 - Sunday, September 29, 2013
I had pre-labor 'signs' from Tuesday until Friday and almost no activity on Saturday morning. Nate decided to go to the mountain and do some work at the cabin, cutting down trees and continuing the new fence that will someday go around the 2+ acres of his parents' land. I had intentions of making a few meals and freezing them so the next few weeks we could just pull some leftovers out of the fridge or freezer and eat quick. My mom and dad had offered us some elk and grass fed beef a few months ago but our freezer was very full until recently. I called my mom and asked if she wanted to bring us our meat and help me make some food. She brought me a vanilla latte and doughnut and stuff to make Nate his coconut cream pie for his birthday too. :) We started baking and cooking and not much was going on as far as contractions or feeling like having a baby. We finished around lunch time and mom left Nathellia and I at home.
I put Nathellia down for a nap and finished cleaning the kitchen. When I sat down to rest, I had a few contractions here and there but not much. Around 5 pm I started having contractions about 10 min apart. By 8 pm they were much closer and getting stronger. Nate was home and we had finished dinner by then and he went to shower after working on the mountain. I decided I wanted to shower also and felt like we were going to go to the hospital if the contractions continued. It was about 10pm. I was drying my hair and talking to baby - I said if these contractions were for real and she was really going to be born tonight, she needed to give me a sign... not 2 minutes later my water had broken and we were scrambling to get ready to transition to the hospital.
Now, Nathellia's birth was 45 hours, slow, and I never felt like pushing. Had I known how Briella's birth was going to go, we would have been at the hospital earlier in the evening... but anyway...
Water had broken, contractions were one after the other. I was able to move around, breathe, and mostly was ok with them until right before the car was ready to go. Nate's parents came over to gather the dog's food, our dogs, Nathellia and some odds and ends for her. Finally I was making my way to the car around 11:40pm and really felt like I needed to push. The ride to the hospital was INTENSE! When the nurses met us they just kept saying 'slow big breath' and it helped me feel better. I was admitted by 11:59 pm, docs were in our room and I was able to begin pushing around 12:20am. I think my doctor wanted me to take a little more time but I and Briella were ready. She was born at 12:55am!! Less than an hour after we were admitted! WOW! :)
It was a much different experience than Nathellia's birth, but went just the way it was supposed to go. I didn't have an epidural or pitocin and things were a little painful, but I felt like it went how briths are supposed to go. And today, I feel much better than I did after having all the stuff with Nathellia. I am praying my recovery with Briella will be easier than Nathellia and so far it seems like that will be true.
Nate was awesome. He was very encouraging and I don't think I could have done this without him and the nurses and doctor letting me know all was well and I was doing good. To say the least, Briella is probably the best birthday present I can give to him. We were thinking she would wait until 9/30, but 9/29/13 is a pretty good bday date too! :) Nathellia was around for many of the intense contractions and she just kept asking if I needed a Kleenex or she would say "It's ok mommy. You be ok!" She was right. Contractions only last so long. Pushing only lasts so long. And now we have a beautiful baby girl to hold and love and spoil along with her big sister.
Her official stats are as follows...
Briella Marian Long born 12:55am 9/29/13
7lbs 14 oz
21.5 in. long
13 in. head
Saturday, September 28, 2013 - Sunday, September 29, 2013
I had pre-labor 'signs' from Tuesday until Friday and almost no activity on Saturday morning. Nate decided to go to the mountain and do some work at the cabin, cutting down trees and continuing the new fence that will someday go around the 2+ acres of his parents' land. I had intentions of making a few meals and freezing them so the next few weeks we could just pull some leftovers out of the fridge or freezer and eat quick. My mom and dad had offered us some elk and grass fed beef a few months ago but our freezer was very full until recently. I called my mom and asked if she wanted to bring us our meat and help me make some food. She brought me a vanilla latte and doughnut and stuff to make Nate his coconut cream pie for his birthday too. :) We started baking and cooking and not much was going on as far as contractions or feeling like having a baby. We finished around lunch time and mom left Nathellia and I at home.
I put Nathellia down for a nap and finished cleaning the kitchen. When I sat down to rest, I had a few contractions here and there but not much. Around 5 pm I started having contractions about 10 min apart. By 8 pm they were much closer and getting stronger. Nate was home and we had finished dinner by then and he went to shower after working on the mountain. I decided I wanted to shower also and felt like we were going to go to the hospital if the contractions continued. It was about 10pm. I was drying my hair and talking to baby - I said if these contractions were for real and she was really going to be born tonight, she needed to give me a sign... not 2 minutes later my water had broken and we were scrambling to get ready to transition to the hospital.
Now, Nathellia's birth was 45 hours, slow, and I never felt like pushing. Had I known how Briella's birth was going to go, we would have been at the hospital earlier in the evening... but anyway...
Water had broken, contractions were one after the other. I was able to move around, breathe, and mostly was ok with them until right before the car was ready to go. Nate's parents came over to gather the dog's food, our dogs, Nathellia and some odds and ends for her. Finally I was making my way to the car around 11:40pm and really felt like I needed to push. The ride to the hospital was INTENSE! When the nurses met us they just kept saying 'slow big breath' and it helped me feel better. I was admitted by 11:59 pm, docs were in our room and I was able to begin pushing around 12:20am. I think my doctor wanted me to take a little more time but I and Briella were ready. She was born at 12:55am!! Less than an hour after we were admitted! WOW! :)
It was a much different experience than Nathellia's birth, but went just the way it was supposed to go. I didn't have an epidural or pitocin and things were a little painful, but I felt like it went how briths are supposed to go. And today, I feel much better than I did after having all the stuff with Nathellia. I am praying my recovery with Briella will be easier than Nathellia and so far it seems like that will be true.
Nate was awesome. He was very encouraging and I don't think I could have done this without him and the nurses and doctor letting me know all was well and I was doing good. To say the least, Briella is probably the best birthday present I can give to him. We were thinking she would wait until 9/30, but 9/29/13 is a pretty good bday date too! :) Nathellia was around for many of the intense contractions and she just kept asking if I needed a Kleenex or she would say "It's ok mommy. You be ok!" She was right. Contractions only last so long. Pushing only lasts so long. And now we have a beautiful baby girl to hold and love and spoil along with her big sister.
Her official stats are as follows...
Briella Marian Long born 12:55am 9/29/13
7lbs 14 oz
21.5 in. long
13 in. head
Nate took this pic on a whim and I love it! One of my favorite pics of Nathellia ever and Briella is looking good too and I actually don't look too bad either. ;) I am sure we will have many more to show and we need one with daddy and his girls too...
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Patient and Waiting. Well... at least waiting.
It's been a long time since I posted on here. I am not even going to attempt to update what's happened in our lives since the last post either. A LOT! :) I am going to write about how I am feeling, sitting here waiting for baby #2 to arrive.
I am 40 + 3 days pregnant. I have been off of work for 10 days now (I think??) and I am getting very impatient for this child to decide to show up. We see doctor tomorrow and maybe they will decide to induce or something which I am excited for and not excited for all at once. I think baby should come when baby is ready; however, I also wanted baby to come like a week ago or more! I SOOO want to hold this child and have another kiddo running around with Nathellia. That's a weird thing for me to feel because I wasn't one of those people who just wanted kids so bad. When Nathellia came into our lives she was a huge blessing and now we get another blessing. I really like being a mom. But not a pregnant mom. Or a pregnant teacher. It was not fun working and being 9 months pregnant.
That brings me to my next thought... I wish work didn't regulate so much of our lives. It does. That's reality. We work so that someday one of us won't have to and we will be an at-least-one-stay-at-home-parent family. And because I am working right now, I only get so much time off while being paid. After so long, I have to start paying work back to keep my job. Well, with a new baby and hoping to be a breastfeeding mom, the few weeks I will get with new baby are valuable and few since we can't afford to pay for me to take more time. I do get 6 weeks, but how wonderful would it be to have 10 or 12? Anyway... since I was told by doc to take time off before baby arrived, I am just loosing that much more time with baby after he or she arrives. I still get the 6 weeks, but sick days and sub dock days are gone so after I go back to work I have to stay very healthy, happy, capable, etc. all while trying to breastfeed, teach 14 first graders, and keep my family organized. It's a lot to be anxious about. I sure can't do it alone and wouldn't want to!
Anyway... the anxiety, anxiousness has gotten me a little down the past few days. I was even having some really strong contractions but they go away. That just makes me think something is wrong you know. I hate where my thoughts take me so today, I listened to a lot of worship music, prayed a lot, rested, and ate when I was hungry. Maybe that doesn't sound like a way to be uplifted to you, but it worked for me. I also have a husband who reassures me, prays for me, and tells me it's all ok. So today I am very grateful for God's presence in my life and for my husband's ability to snap me back to reality... :) I am also thankful for Nathellia who keeps saying, you're ok or it's ok mommy when I need to hear it and don't even know I need to hear it. I'm telling you, she is a little blessing for sure!
That's where I am today... pregnant. Waiting. And attempting to be patient. Philippians 4:6-7 is on my mind... Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition present your requests to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
I am 40 + 3 days pregnant. I have been off of work for 10 days now (I think??) and I am getting very impatient for this child to decide to show up. We see doctor tomorrow and maybe they will decide to induce or something which I am excited for and not excited for all at once. I think baby should come when baby is ready; however, I also wanted baby to come like a week ago or more! I SOOO want to hold this child and have another kiddo running around with Nathellia. That's a weird thing for me to feel because I wasn't one of those people who just wanted kids so bad. When Nathellia came into our lives she was a huge blessing and now we get another blessing. I really like being a mom. But not a pregnant mom. Or a pregnant teacher. It was not fun working and being 9 months pregnant.
That brings me to my next thought... I wish work didn't regulate so much of our lives. It does. That's reality. We work so that someday one of us won't have to and we will be an at-least-one-stay-at-home-parent family. And because I am working right now, I only get so much time off while being paid. After so long, I have to start paying work back to keep my job. Well, with a new baby and hoping to be a breastfeeding mom, the few weeks I will get with new baby are valuable and few since we can't afford to pay for me to take more time. I do get 6 weeks, but how wonderful would it be to have 10 or 12? Anyway... since I was told by doc to take time off before baby arrived, I am just loosing that much more time with baby after he or she arrives. I still get the 6 weeks, but sick days and sub dock days are gone so after I go back to work I have to stay very healthy, happy, capable, etc. all while trying to breastfeed, teach 14 first graders, and keep my family organized. It's a lot to be anxious about. I sure can't do it alone and wouldn't want to!
Anyway... the anxiety, anxiousness has gotten me a little down the past few days. I was even having some really strong contractions but they go away. That just makes me think something is wrong you know. I hate where my thoughts take me so today, I listened to a lot of worship music, prayed a lot, rested, and ate when I was hungry. Maybe that doesn't sound like a way to be uplifted to you, but it worked for me. I also have a husband who reassures me, prays for me, and tells me it's all ok. So today I am very grateful for God's presence in my life and for my husband's ability to snap me back to reality... :) I am also thankful for Nathellia who keeps saying, you're ok or it's ok mommy when I need to hear it and don't even know I need to hear it. I'm telling you, she is a little blessing for sure!
That's where I am today... pregnant. Waiting. And attempting to be patient. Philippians 4:6-7 is on my mind... Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition present your requests to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Baby Nathellia!
So... I anticipate blogging a lot this summer and want to put a bunch of pictures on here of our journey with Nathellia so far, but I am very tired at the moment and need to go feed her and get her ready to sleep. I hope she sleeps well tonight cause I am very exhausted today even though I didn't do much. Anyway... here's one picture of our baby girl... many more to come (hopefully).
Tummy time on our bed...
Tummy time on our bed...
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