Sometimes it takes my breath away to realize how quickly years pass by and the difference that time can make. One year ago children were not on my radar. My, what a difference one year makes.
August 2014. We found out that I was pregnant. I was terrified, nervous, and mourning the end of a chapter (which felt more like a book). Jacob and I would never be "just the two of us" again.
But one year later, by the grace of God, I am celebrating my first Mother's Day. It still seems surreal. Surely this cannot be correct. After all, children weren't in my life plan.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Praise God that His plans are higher and greater than my own. I thank our God that He knew me better than I know myself. That God would bless us with a daughter, entrust us with His child, and make me a mom blows my mind and leaves me speechless (and teary eyed....but we won't go there!).
Psalm 139 (CEM translation-- that's me)
You made all the delicate inner parts of Ella Paityn's body
and knit her together in my womb.
Thank you for making Ella Paityn so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous- how well I know it.
You watched her as she was being formed in utter seclusion,
as she was woven together in the dark of my womb.
You saw Ella Paityn before she was born.
Every day of her life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
Today I look back over the last year. I never saw myself being here, but I sure am thankful that God did. I am grateful that God chose me to be Ella Paityn's mom.
On a lighter note.... what have we done on my first Mother's Day?
Slept in- yay for sleep!
Took EP to church for the first time (love that it coincided perfectly with Mother's Day....I only cried once!)
Came home and Dad fixed us lunch- sloppy joes, chips, and turtle pie
Watched the movie Steel Magnolias for the first time ever-- so good, but maybe not the best Mother's Day choice?! Someone dies! And I cried again.
Braved Tropical Storm Ana from the comfort of our couch and held EP nonstop-- baby cuddles won't last forever
Dad is making us dinner tonight- steak, baked potatoes, macaroni and cheese
Let me tell you, that I am highly qualified to write about what makes a great Dad. The reason? Because I grew up with a fantastic Daddy, or Dadoose as I more fondly call him. And that is how I know that my husband is going to fill those same shoes with our daughter. So what are some things that make a great Dad?
Involvement
To be a great parent, you must be involved with your child's life. It is impossible to see into the future, but I can go off of what Jacob has exhibited in the past. I couldn't have hand-picked a more involved husband. If I am doing something, he always wants to be there to support and help me. Spelling bee? He's there cheering me on in the crowd. School Title I nights? He's there calling out BINGO numbers or passing out prizes with me. Sewing nursery bedding (or any other craft project)? He is sitting with me and helping in any way he can from being there to talk to, helping stain wood, to ruffling fabric. I absolutely love having my husband as my best friend. It really does make life so much more fun! And because Jacob loves being involved in my life, I know that the same will be true for our daughter. We are two blessed and lucky girls.
Love
It's hard to even know where to start with this. As DC Talk said, "Love is a verb." Jacob shows me his tenderness and love for me on a daily basis. The depth of his love for me is almost overwhelming to think about and he exhibits it in so many different ways. It's one of the things that I have struggled with the most when thinking about having a baby...having to share his love. And after {almost} six years of marriage, I finally understand how people say that your love only gets sweeter as time passes. Jacob truly is the love of my life. Dedication
Jacob exhibits dedication in so many different ways. First, he is very dedicated to me (which goes hand in hand with involvement). He is also very dedicated to his job. Jacob goes out of his way to help others. And lastly, even when it isn't all that fun or when things aren't looking as good as they could, Jacob is dedicated to farming. His ultimate goal of full-time farming is never overshadowed by temporary circumstances. He takes care of the pigs at least 2 times a day (morning and evening) and does whatever it takes to make sure that they are well cared for. To the point that he has birthed pigs during an ice storm, brought sick pigs home to try nursing them back to health in our bathtub, dug holes and said his eulogy for each animal that has died (the standard ashes to ashes!), took extra time to rub and talk to the pigs, and the list goes on. Starting a business is hard work, but he never loses sight of his goals and is completely dedicated to making them a reality.
Those are just a tiny snippet of the character traits that make a good Dad. Those are some of the ones that my Dad was great at; and, I am 100% confident that Jacob will also be great at.
Jacob and I have always been more of the "making memories" type of people than the "giving presents" type of people. Early on we agreed that while it would be nice to get jewelry, clothes, roses, or the like for an anniversary, we would really rather spend time together. So every year, since our honeymoon, we have gone on a anniversary vacation together. Our honeymoon was amazing and quite extravagant (think...1 day in Savannah, 3 days in Disney World, and 4 days on a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas). Since then our anniversary trips have been a little more affordable and we have gone to Atlantic Beach, NC (1 year), Gatlinburg, TN (2 years), Hilton Head Island, SC (3 & 4 years...what can we say- We love it!), and Myrtle Beach, SC (5 years).
This year for Christmas, we decided to forgo the presents for each other and use our Christmas budget to take a mini-vacay (we'll call it a babymoon) back to one of our favorite spots...Hilton Head Island! Now before you go thinking, we could never afford that....let me change your mind. It doesn't take a lot of money at all! I bid on our room on Priceline (there are some tips/tricks) and had it narrowed down that we would either be staying at the Omni Hotel & Resort or the Sonesta Spa & Resort....both of which we were more than okay with. I ended up winning the bid and paying a whopping $72/night for a 4 star resort. Amazing.
Saturday
So, Saturday morning we struck out on the 5 1/2 hour trip to Hilton Head! When we finally got there we were pleasantly surprised with beautiful accommodations including a newly renovated king room.
After arriving and getting our luggage unloaded, we struck out for a walk on the beach! Even though it was a little chilly and very windy, the view was gorgeous. Afterwards, we headed out to the Tanger Outlets in Bluffton and shopped around a little bit mostly killing time before we headed out to dinner. For dinner we ate at one of our go-to joints for any vacation, Mellow Mushroom! After eating some pretzels and pepperoni pizza, we headed to Sweet Frog and got some frozen yogurt.
This whole day, I'll mention, that my stomach had been a little off. I attributed it to way too much soda, not enough water, and generally unhealthy food (Bojangles for breakfast, McDonald's for lunch, Mellow Mushroom for dinner). More to come on Sunday....
After dinner we hung out at the hotel and played Ticket to Ride, a super fun board game. We played a total of 4 times and Jacob beat me....four.times. Ridiculous! But, we still had a lot of fun!
Sunday
Sunday morning I woke up and my stomach was still all out of whack so I called the BCBS 24 hr. nurse line. After asking me a series of questions, the nurse on the phone had decided that my symptoms were either due to: 1) pre-term labor or 2) C. Diff (Clostridium Difficile) and that I should go to the nearest Urgent Care or Emergency Room immediately. Um, HELLO?! I am in South Carolina and on vacation!! Well, of course, I freaked out and started crying. I tried to call my OBGYN for a second opinion and apparently, they no longer have a doctor on call phone line (something about new federal guidelines). I asked Jacob what he thought, I asked my parents what they thought. Then, I ultimately decided to do something that I don't like to do.....annoy my midwife. I texted her what was going on and she almost immediately texted me back. She said to take some Imodium, drink TONS of fluid, and see how I progressed throughout the day. Well, obviously I progressed just fine and things cleared up. Thank the Lord for midwives who go above and beyond.
So, we spent a little time that morning scouring the island for Imodium, eating McD's for breakfast (I had their fruit/maple oatmeal and it was delicious), and playing Ticket to Ride. And the good news is that I finally beat Jacob!! Afterwards, we went for another walk on the beach and the weather did not disappoint. Gorgeous sunny skies, little to no wind, and about 65 degree temps.
On our walk, we even got to see some of these...
One of our favorite places on Hilton Head Island is Lawton Stables. It is a gorgeous farm located smack dab in the middle up an uppity, gated neighborhood that makes guests pay to get in! In the middle of the highfalutin folks' community is a beautiful horse farm. But even better than that....chickens, goats, cows, a pet deer (yes, you read correctly- her name is Callie), and PIGS! You can walk through their farm, go on horseback rides, and pet/feed the animals.
After going through Sea Pines, we headed back over to the Tanger Outlets to pick up a few cute outfits that I had spotted during our first round through. As to not be impulsive, I waited it out a day before buying them! Let's just say that I LOVE Carter's & Janie and Jack :-)
For dinner, we went to The Crazy Crab which sits right on Jarvis Creek (the sound). While we can always count on this being the most expensive meal of the trip (around $65 with tip), it is always worth it. Delicious food, great customer service, great views! Unfortunately, that wasn't the case this time. Let's just say that it was way less than wonderful. Terrible service, cold to lukewarm food....and that is just skimming over it. Well, we paid the bill and were about to leave when I noticed one more thing with the bill that tipped me over the edge. So, I went and talked to the manager, very calmly but very matter-of-factly. We didn't expect it at all, but she ended up taking one of the entrees off of our bill as well as the surcharge for macaroni and cheese (which is what tipped me over the edge)! We walked out with a bill of $25 instead of $50. Jacob (notice I did not say "we" here) generously tipped our waitress $10 saying that we should always offer grace because we don't know her situation. True? Probably. But still, she gave terrible service.
After dinner, we headed back home, relaxed, watched Bridesmaids on TV, and played a few more rounds of Ticket to Ride (all of which I won)!
One of our favorite scenes....I mean what is not to love here? Privacy (short i), That's from my undercarriage. HAHA! WHAT?! I mean, so wrong....yet so hilarious.
Monday
Sadly, Monday morning meant that it was going home time. We slept in until around 8:30 and then headed out to the beach for one last walk. It was definitely difficult to leave because the beach was at its best.
The beach was littered with sand dollars. We saw at least six and there were families finding them everywhere as well. It was so exciting and so of course, we had to take some home! We took the ones that were clearly already dead because they were up near the sand dunes and had already turned greenish. You can see in the pictures above, that the beach in Hilton Head has a very gradual slope. No crazy drop offs or sand bars like you find in Atlantic Beach. And, the sand is packed firm so the wind doesn't blow it everywhere. This means that when the tide comes in, it is all the way up to the bottoms of the dunes; yet, when the tide goes out there is at least 500 yards of packed sand. This makes it an ideal vacation beach because it can be slammed packed and you still feel as though you have all the space in the world.
After our walk, we headed back to the car and left the beloved island. There may have been some hormonal tears spilling down my face. It was an end. And end to our vacation, an end to this one last vacation as a couple of two (even if we vacation alone in the future, we'll always be a family of 3). But I got it together quickly when Jacob took me to Chick-Fil-A for a CFA biscuit and...ice cream! At 10:30 in the morning :)
We had a wonderful time in Hilton Head and will definitely be going back soon...
I've always said, "Take care of your family, and take care of those who take care of your family". Jacob's uncle has been in the hospital for a few weeks now and so we took a trip to see him last Thursday and then again on Sunday. Of course, as any good southern woman does-- I took food! Cookies, to be exact. I figured they're easy to eat, no utensils required, and yummy.
Both recipes I used are from one of my favorite cooking blogs, The Girl Who Ate Everything. Each time we went I took some cookies for the family, but I also took some cookies for the "ones who take care of my family" (the doctors and nurses).
I made S'mores Cookies that were fabulous (especially right out of the oven)!
The original idea for the sign was from here, but none of the designs really fit the bill so I tweaked it a little! It says, "Thank you for your hard work and dedication to the medical profession. We appreciate you. We need S'more people like you!" The nurses loved the cookies and were so excited!
The second time we went I made Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cookies and they were fabulous as well. I mean, it's a Paula Deen recipe....how could you go wrong? I found the recipe for this cookie here. I put these cookies in ziplock bags and attached these signs:
Here is a more clear picture of the signs. You can also click on the picture to be taken to the site where you can download the template!
So you can take away two lessons:
1. Make these cookies. You won't regret it.
2. Show others you care! You won't regret it, either.
I have not posted in ages! But, since my last post God seems to have thrown an unexpected curve ball (as He so often will). Last Monday (June 22) my Grandad drove himself to the VA hospital in Asheville. He thought that he was experiencing chest pains from a pulled muscle, but upon arrival discovered that he was having numerous heart attacks. They immediately admitted Grandad into the ICU and began pushing blood thinners, pain killers, and various other meds through his system. My mom went up on Tuesday (June 23) to be with my Grandmom. On Thursday, I received a phone call from my Dad saying that we needed to go up to be with Grandad because he was not going to live.
My Dad and I stayed from Thursday to Sunday. Between that time we heard all different kinds of solutions: open heart surgery, using cadaver/pig veins, more stints, etc. But, the fact of the matter is (which they didn't tell us until Sunday) that my Grandad is just not a surgical candidate because of his pre-existing conditions. My grandad was born with one kidney which is now functioning at less than 10%, has diabetes, claudication (blocked leg arteries), high blood pressure and cholesterol, and the list goes on.
Saturday night the family was called in to say our prayers with Grandad and tell him goodbye. I don't think I have had to experience anything so hard and painful in my entire life. Grandad's response to me was, "I love you and I'll be watching down on your wedding. See you in the morning." And he did just that, he hung on until Sunday morning. And that has been the case since Sunday. It is now Wednesday (July 1) and my Grandad is still hanging on, but by a thread. Since last night he has been vomiting, having fluid build up, slowing of breathing, hardly any pulse/very low blood pressure.
Jacob is coming up today and Dad, Jacob, and I will most likely leave for the mountains tomorrow. Although the situation has been painful and stressful, we are at complete peace. Grandad has assured us of his salvation and his eternal home in heaven. Praise God for our salvation! We know that Jesus is calling Grandad home, and we are so thankful for his opportunity to be sitting at the feet of Christ.
Please pray for my Grandmom, Mom, and Uncle Albert as this will be an extremely hard time for them. The funeral is tentatively scheduled for Friday, but of course, that could change!
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