Joy to the World!

Joy to the World, The Lord Has Come!

 I just wanted to take this opportunity to Wish Each of you a Merry Christmas! Jesus is God's Gift to us! I pray that each of you have accepted this Wonderful Gift! It really is the most ultimate Gift! There is nothing else that can compare in any way, shape or form! 

May He bring You great Joy as you focus on Him this Christmas Season!

Jesus Is The Reason for The Season!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2:10-14

Merry Christmas,
Karen

 

Another Praise from the Pregnancy Prayer List

Another beautiful baby has been born! I have received word that Muffy has had a baby boy. Thaddaeus Hosea was born on December 8,2009 weighing 6 pounds 8 ounces. Let's Praise God together for a safe delivery! Congratulations Muffy!

The Pregnancy Prayer List is getting smaller. If you are pregnant or know someone who is, please send  me an email or leave me a comment so that I can add you to the list. There are other ladies that join in with me to pray for these Expectant Mommies.

I really believe that Expectant Moms need to be covered in prayer. There seems to be so many with problems or complications. This is something that is near and dear to my heart. Let's join in together and keep these ladies covered in prayer.

 

Busy, Oh So Busy!

First of all, let me say I am still here. I haven't felt much like blogging, but more than that I just haven't had the time.

Christmas is only 13 days away. I have done some of the shopping and have some more to do. For some of the children I haven't figured out what to buy them.

Each year we say that we are going to cut back on how much we spend for each of the children. This year we are finally following through with it. Finances are not great and truth be told, we do not need anymore toys at our house! The older children always want some expensive gadget, so we give money towards it and they have to put up the rest. Hubby is really good at finding some great deals on things so that helps a whole bunch!

Tim and Naomi's Wedding is in 3 weeks! I have been working on making sure everyone has something to wear. All of the kids are in the Wedding in some capacity.

Jeremy and Josh have to have Tuxes because they are a groomsman and usher. Rebekah is a Bridesmaid, so she has her dress. Victoria and Matthew are lighting the candles. I bought Victoria a pretty silver dress that was on clearance for a wonderful price. Matthew is wearing a suit. Samuel is the ring bearer, so he has to rent a tux. Anna is the flower girl, so her dress is bought and ready. Luke and Micah are like mini ushers. They both have a nice suit to wear.  Now I need to make sure they all have shoes to wear and the boys have a shirt and tie to wear with their suits.

An agonizing experience for me has been trying to find a dress to wear. I do not care for most of the styles out there. I also prefer for the dress to be tea length. I also like dark colors. It has been impossible to find a dress with these specifications. I found a teal colored dress that I do like, but not thrilled with the color.  I have an image of a dress etched in my mind and wonder if it exists somewhere.

On top of this agonizing experience, I have put on 10 pounds this year. I have battled with weight most of my life. I need to lose a lot of weight and now I have added 10 more pounds! I guess comfort foods have been too comforting!  I pray that this new year I can get my act together and lose this weight!

During all this hustle and bustle I would like to remember to keep my focus on the reason we are celebrating, Jesus!  Our children have been taught what Christmas is about. We are celebrating the birth of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ! Yes, they do receive presents, but I  would like the emphasis to be on giving instead of receiving. Jesus came to give His life for us and Oh how important it is for us to accept Him as our Savior. It really is a life or death decision.

So if you find yourself all caught up in the busyness of the season, I challenge you to stop and remember why we are celebrating . Let's remember what is really important. If you do not have all the decorations up that you wanted or didn't bake enough or didn't find just the most perfect present, just stop and think about the one who gave his life for you and give Him Thanks!

And if you think about it, pray for me to find the right dress for a great price and that I will not be totally stressed out. I really do want to enjoy this Season along with the first Wedding in our family!

 

Remembering At Christmas

Walking With You was created by Kelly at The Beauty of Sufficient Grace to help support those who have lost a child. Together we share our stories, helpful information, scriptures, encouraging words, prayer requests, and more.

If you are missing someone you love this Christmas, someone of ANY age who is spending Christmas with Jesus this year, I hope you will join us on this very special Walking With You. We are sharing our Christmas memories and the ways that we remember our loved ones who have gone home to heaven at Christmas time. To join Walking With You please visit Kelly's Blog.

This time last year our grief was so very raw. I believe we were in survivor mode. We just did not have the energy to want to do much. Hubby and I knew we needed to do something for the children. We did manage to get up the tree and eventually a few simple decorations outside.

We were incredibly blessed by the Hospital where Faith was born. One of the units there adopted our family and bought us some amazing presents. We were asked for a list of things that the children wanted for Christmas. I told the children to pick something that was $25 or less. Well, they each got what they asked for and whole lot more!

It was so much fun and the children had the times of their lives. The older children just asked for a gift certificate so they could buy clothes. They got a generous gift certificate to Kohls and a few other things. Mike and I also received gifts too. We were overly Blessed!

This year I have wanting to enjoy all the sight and sounds of Christmas! I love Christmas music, the lights and decorations, and pretty much anything else that has to do with Christmas.

Our tree is up and finally decorated! We have put up lights out front. I have a few other things I would like to do, but not sure that I will get to it. We have hardly gotten any shopping done yet. I guess we need to get busy!

The TBQ group from our Church gave us this beautiful ornament last year in Memory of Faith.

The children were so thrilled to see it when we pulled it out this year. They each have their own ornament and they were glad that Faith had one too! I love how they seem to like to remember her.

The past couple of weeks I have been missing Faith a bit more. She should be here to celebrate with us. She would be 14 months old and probably wanting to pull the ornaments off of the tree. Wrapping paper would have kept her entertained and might have become a little snack too. I will miss the sparkle that would have been in her eyes looking at the Christmas lights!

Yes, I miss her and wish that she were here with us, but I am thrilled that she is with the One whom we are celebrating! What better place could anyone be?

I have many people who I will miss this Christmas, and I have two that I want to share with you.

My brother Doug died in 1993. He enjoyed Christmas and he always helped my parents decorate. Doug played the piano very well. He would play for our listening pleasure or we would sing along. If he wasn't playing the piano he usually had some other music playing. Doug always made sure that we listened to Handel's Messiah every year.

Doug was good at giving fun and unique presents. It was always fun to see what he selected for each person. He seemed to know how to pick out just the right gift for each one. Whether the gift was to meet a need in a person's life or a gift that was for enjoyment, he always seemed to get it right!

My Dad passed away in 2004. Dad loved Christmas! He was so thankful for every present. He was a person that never expected much but was thrilled with each gift. He always wore his red sweater on Christmas.

My Dad collected penguins. We always tried to find him a new one each year. Now we are a bit partial to penguins. Whenever we see a penguin we are always reminded of my Dad.

Dad loved his family, so Christmastime was always special to him because that meant family would gather together. Nothing in this World would have made my Dad any happier than having my Mom by his side and the rest of his family there also.

Since I have been married, I haven't always been there with my family for Christmas. Those times that I didn't make it there, my Dad always called me on Christmas and then passed the phone around to everyone else. I miss my Dad and how he truly enjoyed the simple things in life. It did not take much to make him happy.

As we celebrate the Birth of Our Savior, I will draw close to Him to bring me "Comfort and Joy!" I need for Him to Comfort me as I am missing Faith and I want to be full of Joy as I celebrate His Birth!

I love this old Christmas Carol as it brings Good Tidings of Great Joy as it shares about the Birth of our Savior and that He came to save us!

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

God rest ye merry, gentlemen

Let nothing you dismay

Remember, Christ, our Saviour

Was born on Christmas day

To save us all from Satan's power

When we were gone astray

O tidings of comfort and joy,

Comfort and joy

O tidings of comfort and joy

In Bethlehem, in Israel,

This blessed Babe was born

And laid within a manger

Upon this blessed morn

The which His Mother Mary

Did nothing take in scorn

O tidings of comfort and joy,

Comfort and joy

O tidings of comfort and joy

From God our Heavenly Father

A blessed Angel came;

And unto certain Shepherds

Brought tidings of the same:

How that in Bethlehem was born

The Son of God by Name.

O tidings of comfort and joy,

Comfort and joy

O tidings of comfort and joy

"Fear not then," said the Angel,

"Let nothing you affright,

This day is born a Saviour

Of a pure Virgin bright,

To free all those who trust in Him

From Satan's power and might."

O tidings of comfort and joy,

Comfort and joy

O tidings of comfort and joy

The shepherds at those tidings

Rejoiced much in mind,

And left their flocks a-feeding

In tempest, storm and wind:

And went to Bethlehem straightway

The Son of God to find.

O tidings of comfort and joy,

Comfort and joy

O tidings of comfort and joy

And when they came to Bethlehem

Where our dear Saviour lay,

They found Him in a manger,

Where oxen feed on hay;

His Mother Mary kneeling down,

Unto the Lord did pray.

O tidings of comfort and joy,

Comfort and joy

O tidings of comfort and joy

Now to the Lord sing praises,

All you within this place,

And with true love and brotherhood

Each other now embrace;

This holy tide of Christmas

All other doth deface.

O tidings of comfort and joy,

Comfort and joy

O tidings of comfort and joy

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Luke 2:10

 

Give Thanks

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! God is so good and we have so much to be Thankful for!

We are at home with all of our children except for Tim. He and Naomi went to Wisconsin to visit with her sister and family.

I cook a turkey, (not really my favorite thing to do) along with dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and we have pickles and olives. We also have various desserts which usually includes pies (thanks to Sara Lee).This year our bird weighs 21 pounds. He is currently cooking and I pray he tastes really good!

We usually just spend a quiet laid back day at home. We usually have our Thanksgiving Meal in the evening. Growing up we usually ate about 2:00, but I do not like the stress of having to get up early and getting everything together by then. I like to be able to enjoy my family instead of being Stressed Out, so it works out better to eat later.

We spend the day just having a lot of fun! We play lots of board games,card games and Wii. Tonight we will have to get out the Wii Fit! I haven't been on there for a while so my trainer is going to let me have it! Why do I put up with this electronic person who tells me how fat I am?

I want to say Hi to all my Family in Virginia. I miss you all and wish we were there to share Thanksgiving with you! G-Ma(my mom), Thanks for all you do and for what a Blessing you are to all! Corrie(my niece), you are the absolute best! How could we continue on with family traditions without you? Hi to all my brothers and sisters and their spouses and all my nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephew! Yep, I have a whole lot of relatives back in Virginia!

I hope you and your families have a Blessed Day!


I love this song and thought it is appropriate for today!


Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

 

The Word of Our God Shall Stand Forever

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Isaiah 40:8

 

Birthday Season

Life is definitely starting to get a bit more busy around here. With the Holidays approaching and a Wedding in early January, I am starting to feel a bit stressed. Also while trying to prepare for all of that, we have several birthdays to celebrate. I need to start making a list of all the things I need to accomplish, so that  I can keep track of what I am doing. I would like to do all of this with great joy, but right now I am feeling stressed!  I really need to get better organized.

Birthday Season is in full swing here at our house!  November is a big month here! Four of my boys have November Birthdays and Faith also had a November due date.

We probably should just have one great big birthday party in November, but it is so hard to do, since all of the other children have their own Birthday Month. They all get their own cake. I have usually let each child pick out a cake from Walmart or Sam's Club. As they get older many of them have decided that they would rather have me bake the cake.

Matthew starts off the birthdays for November. Matthew is now 12! Wow! That is really hard for me to believe.One more year and we will have another teenager around here!

Matthew is one our Artsy children. He has always enjoyed drawing and also making crafts. He is the kind of kid that you need to save paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls for his many creations. He has recently become interested in making Videos.  He uses his younger brothers and sisters as his actors. They are so cute and imaginative! He has also made neat videos featuring each of the children. He picks out some great pictures of the kids and adds music to them,  He also adds credits at the end. It is really cute!

Next up is Timothy. Tim is now 21!  Tim is the one who I have shared before, was healed from Leukemia. God has truly touched his life and I look forward to all that is in store for Tim.

Tim is getting married at the beginning of January. He is the first of my children to get married! Naomi is his Fiance, and we are thrilled to be adding her to our family!

Tim is in his second year at Eastern Kentucky University. He also works a full time schedule at DQ. He is a really busy person right now. Naomi is graduating from Eastern in December. She is hoping to get a job after that and help Tim get through school.

This is Banana Cake that Tim requested. Not very pretty, but very Yummy!  Don't they make a beautiful couple?

Did you notice that we used the same candles for Matthew and Tim? We just reversed them! That doesn't happen very often.

Please pray that I can prioritize and get organized. I really want to enjoy these next several weeks. I do not want to be stressed, but be filled with Joy!

The LORD is my strength and my shield; 

my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. 

My heart leaps for joy

and I will give thanks to him in song.

                                         Psalm 28:7

 

An Update From The Pregnancy Prayer List

Update: Ange has updated her blog and has pictures too!  Stop by and see her beautiful babies!


I have heard from a friend of Ange's that she gave birth to her twins girls by c-section on Friday or Saturday. She said that one of the girls was about 4 1/2 pounds and the other was over 5 pounds. From what I hear, the babies are doing well, but will probably be in the hospital for 1-2 weeks! Praise God for these precious new lives!

Could you all go over to Ange's blog and leave her a sweet note of encouragement. I know that she would really appreciate it. I suspect that she will not be blogging very much for a while, but I look forward to seeing pictures of those precious baby girls! Please Pray that they will grow healthy and strong quickly. Please also pray for Ange as she recovers from a c-section and jumps into the role of mother to 9 plus newborn twins!

 

Wednesdays For Wyatt ~ Week 3

Today is the third Wednesday for Wyatt. It is quite simple to participate. All you have to do is copy and paste this post on your blog,and then go to Danielle's blog to link up with MckLinky. Once you do that, your all set to win a great giveaway.


From Danielle

So far, we are up to 1,443 signatures! Lets try to keep them steadily rolling in.

For those of you who are not familiar with my family and what we are trying to achieve, here’s a brief run down...

Our son Wyatt was diagnosed with a fatal condition at our 18 week ultrasound, but chose to carry him to term. We waited to meet our son with love, all the time praying we would get to see him alive.

On June 1, 2009, Wyatt made his way into the world by c-section. To our amazement he had a faint heartbeat and was breathing! He died two minutes later, but I’ve clung to the two minutes my son and I breathed the same air since his passing.

Upon calling to get a copy of Wyatt’s birth certificate, I found out he was listed as a stillborn. You would assume it was a mistake (like I did), but there was no mistake. According to the definition of live birth in Tennessee my son was not “alive enough” to be deemed a live born baby. His two minutes of life has gone unrecognized by my state, and I intend to change this piece of legislation so I can solidify the validity of my son’s short life.

Wednesdays for Wyatt was created to help spread awareness for a law that needs to be changed, as well as to generate more traffic to my petition. So if you’re reading this, thanks for taking the time to help our family!

This contest will be open today only. I will close MckLinky down sometime before midnight, so make sure you get linked up ASAP to make sure you are entered to win this giveaway! Thanks for helping everyone, and good luck.

 

Miracles

Candace from Living With Faith has asked me to share about miracles in my life.

What is a miracle? 

The definition from the Merriam -Webster"s Online Dictionary for Miracle is:

1 : an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs
2 : an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment

I believe that God has created many miracles in my life but most people probably would consider most of them small miracles.

First and foremost I consider my children miracles.  Many of us take having children for granted, but many people struggle to bring biological children into this world. I have lost 2 children to miscarriage and 1 to stillbirth and I know the pain of loss. I also know the joy of bringing 10 living children into the world with God's Help. I also know people that have adopted children and consider them miracles in their lives.

I consider that I was born is really a miracle too.I am the youngest of six children and my mom had a life threatening situation between child 4 and 5. She had an ectopic pregnancy that was in the ovary and it caused her ovary to burst. It took a while for them to figure what was even wrong with her and she almost died. Her regular doctor had been out of town and she was seeing another doctor. Finally her doctor came back to town and pretty much knew what was wrong with her. He helped save her life. Her case was put into textbooks because it was so rare. Please remember this was probably about 50 years ago.

They told her that she should not have any more children, but ended up having 2 more including me. On a side note, many years later she had a hysterectomy and when the went to remove her ovaries they couldn't believe that she had an ovary that burst. They were expecting to find a lot of scar tissue but they did not.

I find simple things in day to day life to be small miracles. A child that finally gets a math problem that we have gone over and over again, or a child that can write his own paragraphs on his own with out tears, well those are miracles to me.

I feel like one of the biggest miracles in our lives is the life of our son Timothy. Tim was diagnosed with Leukemia in 1993 at the age of 4. The first couple of months were a bit rough, but I strongly believed that God was with us and was going to see us through.

Tim had very aggressive chemotherapy for 2 1/2 years. He also had radiation to his brain. He had strong chemo drugs injected into his spine. It was a grueling 2 1\2 years but I know God's hand was on Tim. There were times during his course of treatment that it was expected that he would get very sick. After the first few months he never became seriously sick. Yes, he had ups and downs. He did have some issues with vomiting. I am not saying that it was a piece of cake. The steroids made him very moody and we were not overly fond of him during those times, but we still loved him and would do whatever it took for him to get well.

He was hospitalized just a few times. It always seemed to happen on the weekends. Anytime he would run a fever we had to take him to the hospital. The few times that it happened, it always seemed to be on a Friday. They would admit him and watch him for a few days. It ended up that he usually just had a virus like any other kid. He usually would be discharged by Monday. I really believe it was the Hand of God that kept him from getting so seriously ill. We know other children that were hospitalized  quite a bit more than Tim was.

To make a long story short, Tim will be turning 21 soon and he is getting married in January. He is in his second year of college and also works pretty much a full time schedule. He is working hard and doing a great job! God's hand has been on his life and I am so thankful .

Tim and Naomi

So I encourage you to look at life a little differently and see what could be a miracle in your life. God cares about every detail of our lives. He can make what seems impossible, possible. He is in the miracle business today. Sometimes our miracles are really big and brings a lot of attention. Other times they are small and we need to pay attention or we might miss them. Let's remember to give God glory for these small miracles as well as the big ones.

 

Please Pray

You may remember my friend Ange who is Mother to 9 and expecting twins. Well, I got an email from her husband last night saying that she was in premature labor. She had been admitted the night before. I do not know much information right now, but the email said that the babies will probably be born in the next 1-6 days. Her due date is not until December 23rd.

Please be in prayer for Ange and for those baby girls. May the Lord be with Ange and let her have those babies in His perfect time, and that it would be an easy and safe delivery and that she would remain healthy and strong. Also that those sweet  babies will be born healthy and strong without need of medical intervention. Lord please minister to her family at this time as they meet the newest members. Also Lord please meet all of the needs of this family.

 

WalkingWith You ~ Thankful

Walking With You was created by Kelly at The Beauty of Sufficient Grace to help support those who have lost a child. Together we share our stories, helpful information, scriptures, encouraging words, prayer requests, and more.

From Kelly:

This month we are focusing on our gratefulness for the gifts we were given and the ways our lives were changed by the lives of our babies. I know that many people are busy, so this can be as simple or in-depth as you wish. I hope you will link your own post with us, sharing ways that you are thankful. I do think that reflecting on gratefulness is very valuable...especially in the throes of grief. Grief is big and consuming. The simplicity of counting our blessings refocuses a grieving heart from the giants of pain, sorrow, and hopelessness to the hope, comfort, peace, and eventually joy that waits for us on the other side of the valley. The comfort that waits for us in the arms of our Savior.


I have so much to be thankful for! Even in the midst of all the pain there have been so many things to be thankful for.


While we were still expecting Faith we learned that she had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). All the love and prayers from family , friends, and our church were such a blessings. We were given so much hope about Faith's future. We knew it would be a very rough beginning, but we believed that she would survive. Our world came to a crashing halt to find she had passed away before she was even born! We certainly needed all those prayers more than ever!


Another thing I am thankful for is the medical personnel that was present the day Faith was born. My doctor is the absolute best! She is so loving and caring and she means the world to me. She had tears streaming down her face as she delivered Faith.  It was so comforting that she really cared!


The nurse I had that day was also the best! I know that God arranged for her to be there that day! She was just so good at what she does. She took great care of us and spent extra time with us. It really makes a world of a difference when you have a nurse that is good at what she does and is also so loving and caring.


I am thankful for my loving Savior that has been with me through all of this and has brought comfort to me and is in the process of healing my broken heart. I could not live without Him!  Thank You Lord, for loving me and taking care of me and carrying me along the way when I couldn't take another step!


I am thankful for Faith being a part of my life. Even though the grief I have experienced has been very tough, I am a better person for Faith touching my life. She is a part of me and she will not be forgotten. There is not a day that passes that I have thought of her too many times to count. I miss her so much!


I am thankful for my Husband that has walked beside me through all of this!  He has been there for me and just held me when that is all that he could do. I have been blessed to have had this man in my life for over 26 years.


I am thankful for those that have had the courage to talk about Faith with me. Most people are afraid to bring up her name. It means the world to me to be able to talk about her and to her someone mention her name. She did exist, she is my daughter!


I am thankful for the people that remembered just last week that it was a year ago on October 28th that she was born. Those people sent me notes and cards and it meant the world to me.


I am thankful for the living children I have. They are real blessings!  Even though life can be quite challenging at times, I am thrilled to have each one of them in my life. There is a lot of great joy that comes with having children.


I am thankful for many friends I have made through the blog world and especially the ones that have experienced a similar loss. I am so sorry that any of us have had to become a part of this club, but I am thankful we can share our grief together and just be there to support one another.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his ;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

 Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

                                                            Psalm 100

 

This is The Day Which The Lord Hath Made!

Just Praising God for a new day! I am SO Thankful for Him Loving me and taking care of me! He is so good to me!

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

 

Does Anyone Else Have Trouble With This?

I am just curious, do any of you have this problem too?

It is quite embarrassing but I can't seem to find a cure. It also seems to run in families or at least mine, and I don't like it!

What is the problem you might ask. Well here goes. I almost always fall asleep in church. It does not seem to matter how much sleep I do or do not get, I still fall asleep. It does not matter how interesting or lively the speaker is either, I still fall asleep .I am not proud of it, but it is just the truth.

I remember when I much younger seeing my Mom take a nap during church. (Sorry Mom) We would tease her about it endlessly. I also remember my Uncle (My mom's brother) getting in a good nap during church. So, as you see, it must run in families!

For me it has not been just limited to church services. When I was in college, I had a terrible time staying awake. I would try to take a drink with me to class to help me stay awake. It seems as though when I am somewhere that I have to sit and listen to a speaker for more than 15 minutes I become overly drowsy. It is so miserable to not be able to stay awake when you really want to!

I try different things to try to ward off the drowsiness.  I find myself moving around a lot to stay awake. I keep and arsenal of Iced Tea flavored Ice Breakers to suck on to help keep me awake. They come in lemon, raspberry, and peach. They are just tart enough to help keep me awake. So that is what seems to work the best.

I know that I am not the only one at my church with this problem either. My Hubby has a bit of trouble with this also, but his seems to come more from lack of sleep. I have often seen other heads bobbing around a bit too.

There is a man that often sits across the isle from us that sleeps really well during church! (Now I can see those of you who are reading this and go to church with me will be looking for him next Sunday!) It seems as though the minute the pastor starts the sermon this man will nod off. I do not think he even knows about my sleeping habits because his eyes seem to be closed through the entire sermon. Bless His Heart!He does not have young children at home anymore so I always wondered if he is overly tired or it runs in his family too.

I would so love to overcome this problem, but I am not sure that there is any remedy. I apologize to my Pastor for my behavior. Please know that it is not anything personal, and I really do enjoy listening to you. I do hear most of what you say thanks to my Ice Breakers!

And for all of you finding yourself nodding off during church, just remember, you are not alone!

 

A Year

Today is the day. Yes, it has been a year ago today that Faith was born into the hands of her Heavenly Father.

As the day was approaching, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do today to remember Faith. I also did not know what emotions would come to surface on this day.

I was sure I would be quite all right and that it wouldn't be difficult. Talk about denial! Last night as Hubby and I were talking about today, the tears started to come.

When I woke up this morning the weather was quite dreary. Perfect, that went right along with my mood! After getting text messages and messages on facebook, the tears started flowing freely. I am so Thankful for all of those who remembered us today and also prayed for us. I am sure that is what got us through.

Faith was a very wanted baby. She is greatly missed. I long for the day that we will be reunited in Heaven. Oh what a day that will be!

We did a balloon release this evening at home. We are in Kentucky and Faith's grave is in VA. We waited for Hubby to be home from work. We had to fit it in before the kids had to leave for church.

So with all 10 kids and Tim's Fiance, Naomi, we went outside and had our balloon release. One balloon got away before we were ready. Luckily I had an extra inside. We let them go and we watched them go up until we could no longer see them. One balloon got caught on the overhang of the house, so the kids were entertained watching as it finally freed itself and finally went up and away also.

My dear sweet niece Corrie (who is more like the baby sister my Mom never gave me!) went to Faith's grave and released a balloon there. She also got a Happy First Birthday Balloon that she left at the grave. She called me while she was there and talked to me while she and her sister released the balloon. Corrie is the best! Thanks Corrie for all you do! Thanks for helping me out! I Love You!

She took some pictures for me, so I will try to share those as well as the ones we took here at home as soon as I get them all together.

I bought this single pink rose in memory of Faith

If you have not seen the slideshows of Faith and of her Memorial Service you might want to go here to view them. There are 2 different slideshows there. One is what was shown at Faith's Memorial Service. These pictures were taken the day Faith was born.Make sure the sound is turned up on your computer so that you can hear the beautiful song that is playing. The other slideshow is pictures that were taken at the Memorial Service.

Thanks to all of you that have prayed for us. God is so good and he has been with us through every step of this journey. It has not always been easy, but God has carried us when we couldn't walk ourselves. We could never had lived through all of this without the Great Physician that is in the process of healing our broken hearts!

 

Wednesdays For Wyatt ~ Week 2

Today is the second Wednesday for Wyatt. It is quite simple to participate. All you have to do is copy and paste this post on your blog,and then go to Danielle's blog to link up with MckLinky. Once you do that, your all set to win a great giveaway.

From Danielle

Over the last week we have gotten 123 new signatures! Over 100 of those we got last Wednesday alone. And we had 34 wonderful bloggers link up... I can't wait to see how much Wednesdays for Wyatt will grow this week!

For those of you who are not familiar with my family and what we are trying to achieve, here’s a brief run down...

Our son Wyatt was diagnosed with a fatal condition at our 18 week ultrasound, but chose to carry him to term. We waited to meet our son with love, all the time praying we would get to see him alive.

On June 1, 2009, Wyatt made his way into the world by c-section. To our amazement he had a faint heartbeat and was breathing! He died two minutes later, but I’ve clung to the two minutes my son and I breathed the same air since his passing.

Upon calling to get a copy of Wyatt’s birth certificate, I found out he was listed as a stillborn. You would assume it was a mistake (like I did), but there was no mistake. According to the definition of live birth in Tennessee my son was not “alive enough” to be deemed a live born baby. His two minutes of life has gone unrecognized by my state, and I intend to change this piece of legislation so I can solidify the validity of my son’s short life.

Wednesdays for Wyatt was created to help spread awareness for a law that needs to be changed, as well as to generate more traffic to my petition. So if you’re reading this, thanks for taking the time to help our family!

This contest will be open today only. I will close MckLinky down sometime before midnight, so make sure you get linked up ASAP to make sure you are entered to win this giveaway! Thanks for helping everyone, and good luck.

 

Quick Update

The first baby has been born from our Pregnancy Prayer List.

Kristina had a baby boy on Friday morning weighing 7lb. 7oz.  I hear that mother and baby are doing well. Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow!

The ironic thing is that this poor Mommy had to be on bed rest for 11 weeks due to preterm labor. She was finally let out of bed a few weeks before her due date. She ended up being overdue about 2 weeks! Not Fun! But God is good and the outcome is so wonderful!

Please remember to keep these other Expectant Mommies in your prayers. I know they appreciate it very much!

 

The Graveside Service For Faith

This post has actually been in the making for a couple of months. I had started it and never finished it for whatever reason.

We traveled to Virginia to have Faith buried. We were given permission to have her buried at the foot of my Father's grave. We had options of having her buried here in Kentucky, but that just didn't sit right with me. It has now been over four years ago that we moved to Kentucky, but it is just not "home" to me. If we moved away from here, I am not sure that we would come back and visit much. My Mom, siblings, and a lot of extended family stll live in Virginia, so it just seemed right to take her there.

On November 22, 2008, our friends and family assembled at the Cemetery to remember Faith. It was an unusual blustery day in Virginia. Just the year before were visiting there in November, and on Thanksgiving it was in the 70's. We were all wearing t-shirts. Now we were all bundled up in Parkas trying our best to stay warm.

We did not really have a pastor that we knew from the area, so a pastor from my sister's church led the Service. He is such a wonderful man with a true heart for God. We met with him a couple of nights before the Service to go over the details, and I really appreciated his joy of the Lord and his care and compassion for us.

 

Thank You Dear Hubby!

You may have noticed that my blog is looking a little different lately. Hubby and I have been working together on changing the design.

I searched the internet High and Low for free digital scrap booking kits to find what I am looking for. We then get together to discuss the general idea. Hubby does all the technical stuff. HTML just gives me a headache. He gets the design going and we tweak things here and there. After much head banging patience on his part, we finally get it all together. We might still be tweaking it a little bit along the way.

He also made a Blog Button for me. Here it is, isn't  it awesome?



If you would like, you can grab my button from the left sidebar.

Thank You Dear Hubby! You are the best! I appreciate all that you do for me! I Love You!

 

The First Wednesdays for Wyatt

Today is the very first post for Wednesdays for Wyatt!

It’s quite simple to participate. All you have to do is go over to Danielle's Blog and copy and paste her post on your blog, and then link up with MckLinky! Once you do that, your are entered in the first ever Wednesday’s for Wyatt giveaway. Let's make this a huge success, shall we?

From Danielle:

For those of you who are not familiar with my family and what we are trying to achieve, here’s a brief run down...

Our son Wyatt was diagnosed with a fatal condition at our 18 week ultrasound, but chose to carry him to term. We waited to meet our son with love, all the time praying we would get to see him alive.

On June 1, 2009, Wyatt made his way into the world by c-section. To our amazement he had a faint heartbeat and was breathing! He died two minutes later, but I’ve clung to the two minutes my son and I breathed the same air since his passing.

Upon calling to get a copy of Wyatt’s birth certificate, I found out he was listed as a stillborn. You would assume it was a mistake (like I did), but there was no mistake. According to the definition of live birth in Tennessee my son was not “alive enough” to be deemed a live born baby. His two minutes of life has gone unrecognized by my state, and I intend to change this piece of legislation so I can solidify the validity of my son’s short life.

Wednesdays for Wyatt was created to help spread awareness for a law that needs to be changed, as well as to generate more traffic to my petition. So if you’re reading this, thanks for taking the time to help our family!

We are currently up to 1,253 signatures. Hurray! We’ve made it over my initial goal of 1,000 signatures, and now I’m dreaming big! You think you can help me get 5,000 signatures by Thanksgiving? I bet you could, and I hope this Wednesdays for Wyatt helps out tremendously. Post this to your blogs, facebook, myspace... wherever you can think of. I can’t wait to see how many more signatures we receive from this. I have a great feeling!

The contest will only be open today. You have until 11:59 pm to post this on your blog and come back here to link up with MckLinky in order to qualify for this Wednesdays for Wyatt giveaway. Good luck everybody and thanks for participating.

 

Harvest of Friends Blog Party

Lynnette from Dancing Barefoot On Weathered Ground is Hosting A Harvest of Friends Blog Party. She is asking us to answer 20 weird questions that will let everyone know a little more about us. Go over to Lynnette's and join in on the fun and link up.


1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while you're blogging?
I do not usually snack while blogging. I do however like to have a cup of coffee or ice tea.

2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without?
Having Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

3. Beach, Mountains or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice?
Definitely the Beach.I do not get to go to the beach very often, but I LOVE the Beach!

4. What's your least favorite chore/household duty?
Oh, wow! Too many to pick from! I do not feel very domestic. I know that is actually pretty humorous since I have 10 kids and I home school and I am home all day! I would much prefer to work outside in the dirt! If I have to pick just one I guess it would be dusting.

5. Who do people say you remind them of?
I am not sure that anyone has named anyone specifically, but many people have said I am sure I know you from somewhere.

6. Prefer parties and socializing or staying at home with the fam?
I would mostly prefer to stay home with the family. I am not a big party socializing kind of person, but I would enjoy an occasional night out with just girlfriends. If I have a chance to go out though , I prefer to spend that time with Hubby!

7. What's your all time favorite movie?
Probably the Sound of Music.

8. Do you sleep in your make up or remove it like a good girl every night?
I do not wear makeup everyday, but when I do I usually sleep in it. I know, that is not good for my skin, but I am a very tired person!

9. Do you have a hidden talent or a deep desire to learn something that you've never had a chance to learn? What is it?
No hidden talents that I know of. The one thing I have had a desire to learn is how to sew.

10. What's one strange thing you're really good at?
I can wiggle my nose. It is so funny to watch others try to do it. My oldest sister can do it, but I do not think any of my other siblings can do it.

11. What first attracted you to your spouse?
His sweet, gentle, caring and compassionate personality.

12. What is something you love to smell?
Apples and cinnamon.

13. Tell something about you that you know irritates people.
Probably when I am intently working on my computer and I do not hear anyone when they are talking to me.

14. When you have extra money (HA!) what's the first thing you think to do with it?
Take Hubby on a Vacation. We celebrated our 25th Anniversary Several Months ago and we would love to go away to celebrate.

15. Are you a silent laugher or a loud laugher? What makes you laugh the hardest?
Probably somewhere in the middle. When hanging out with friends or family and having a good time, I am probably a little louder. Usually my kids or hubby can make me laugh the hardest.

16. Where is your favorite place to shop?
When shopping for clothes I like Kohl's.

17. What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time?
Read

18. Are you a big spender or frugal?
By nature I like to spend money. Since I am the mom to 10, I have learned and am learning to be more frugal. When we were first married, I would never buy generic brands. Now I buy a lot of generics.

19. Who is your favorite character of all time (from a movie or book)? (Can't be real)
Can't really think of any. I can think of real people though starting with Jesus and then people like Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsy.

20. Would you want to be famous?
No,not really. I am someone who likes to blend into the background. I wouldn't want to have to deal with the loss of privacy.

 

Birthdays

I am a bit behind on posting about Birthdays around here. Three more birthdays have been celebrated in the last couple of months.

First off is my oldest son Jeremy. He turned 23 years old and I cannot believe it!

I had Toxemia when I was pregnant with him and was induced at 37 weeks. I was on medication that made me miserable. His delivery was a bit difficult for me and I decided that one child was all I needed! That lasted a really long time, didn't it?

The younger children think Jeremy is the Best! They look up to Him! ( Literally because he is 6'3"!) He is currently taking a break from school so he can save up some more money.


Next is Anna. My baby girl is now 8. She is quite the spunky one! I am determined that she could run this country better than anyone else! She can do anything she puts her mind to. She is in third grade and does quite well.

Anna got her ears pierced for her Birthday. She has been really wanting to get that done and since it would be one less thing to have to pick up, I gave in consented. So far, so good. She still wears the original post earrings and we clean them twice a day.



The most recent Birthday was Luke. He is now 6. Luke is in Kindergarten this year. He reminds us so much of his older brother Tim. He looks a lot like him and has a very similar personality. He can be quite charming and a real sweet heart and then he can be a real hard head! He definitely keeps us busy and entertained.



Having 10 children can keep you busy in the Birthday department. Next month we have 4 Birthdays. We usually end up getting a cake for each one, but we have considered having one great big celebration. The older kids can handle this well, but the younger ones still want their own! Oh well, it won't be all that long before they are all older and won't even care.

October 28th marks one year since we said goodbye to Faith. I am not sure what we will do to remember her. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. It just seems impossible that it has almost been a year. I have been remembering a lot recently, about the things we were going through this time last year.I never dreamed one year later I would be blogging about losing her.

It seems as though the next couple of months are going to be quite busy. November we have four Birthdays and Thanksgiving. We are also planning a Wedding shower for my son Tim and his fiance Naomi. Then comes the month of December which is always busy with Christmas preparations. On top of that we will be preparing for Tim and Naomi's Wedding which is January 2nd. Besides all of this, we still have day to day activities that keep us quite busy anyway. I am praying for God to help us to prioritize and for us to remember to keep Him the Center of all that we do.

 

Reminder

The Pregnancy Prayer List is Starting to grow! I am delighted to be able to pray for these Expectant Mommies!

If you are expecting or know someone who is and would like to be added to the list, please leave me a comment or send me an email at onhavingfaith@gmail.com. I feel privileged to pray for all of you!

I invite each of you to pray right along with me. I feel that it is important to keep these Mommies and their little ones held up in prayer! The list is at the top of the right sidebar.

Please send updates so I can update everyone here also.

 

Another Award Times Two

I have been awarded the Kreativ Blogger Award by TWO of my blogging friends! Jenilee @ The Goodwin Family and Trennia @ Still Serving Him Through The Storm both gave me this Award! Thank You both so much for thinking of me! I appreciate your bloggy friendship a great deal! Stop by and say Hi to these ladies.



So here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.

5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they've been nominated.

I am suppose to tell you seven things about me that you may not know. Umm, let me see, this is kind of hard to come up with anything interesting.

1. My favorite color is blue. Blue is very pleasing to my eyes. As you can see this blog is blue, but it might be changing soon!

2. I am the youngest of 6 kids. Yes, I am the baby and my parents favorite! (Just Kidding!)

3. I Love music. Music is very soothing to my soul. I almost exclusively listen to Christian Music. There is just something to Lifting of the Name of The Lord!

4. I drive a big white van. It is a 12 passenger and we have had it for over 11 years now.

5. Speaking of that big white van, in the past few months I have put some dents and scrapes on the right side. One time I was pulling into a spot at Walmart and I scraped a large pickup truck. There was a scrape on his back bumper. I wrote him a note and left him my cell number. Later on I received a text from this understanding guy that told me not to worry about it, that is what bumpers are for! That made my day!

6. I hate to admit this, but I probably go to Walmart at least 3 times a week. This is where we buy most of our groceries and we also get our prescriptions there. We do not have many choices here. I wish we had every penny we have ever spent at Walmart, boy would we be rich! I am so excited that a Meijer is coming to our area soon!

7. I like to grocery shop by myself. If I have the time, I like to read labels and take my time. It is actually relaxing to me. If I have to take children, I like to get out of there as soon as possible! I get really frazzled!

I am suppose to pick seven bloggy Friends to pass on this Award. Jennilee and Trennia would be on my list, so I give them Honorable mention and pick seven more. So here are the seven bloggers that I pass this Award on to:

1. Ange@ A Heart At Home.Ange is such a sweet lady! She has become a great friend and quite a Blessing to me! She is the Mom to 9 and expecting twins in December. She is on the pregnancy prayer list, so keep her in your prayers.

2. Pam@ Life AS Pam.Pam is a Mom to 13! She is also a lay midwife. In her spare time she home schools her children! :)

3. Amy@ Raising Arrows. Amy is Mom to 8 children and 3 of them are with Jesus. I was introduced to her blog just before her dear sweet Emily passed away and this was before I lost Faith. I have been helped so much by reading her blog after losing Faith.

4. Angie@ Ponder The Path of Thy FeetAngie has quickly become a friend here in bloggy world. She seems to share a lot of things in common with me.

5. Candace@ Living With Faith.Candace is a Mommy to a very special little girl named Faith.I love that name! I am so touched by how Candace handles the challenges of life. Faith is facing a surgery soon, so please keep them in your prayers.

6. Kelly@ The Beauty of Sufficient Grace.Kelly has been such a Blessing to me. She has a ministry called Sufficient Grace Ministries for Women. This ministry was created specifically to provide comfort to women and families who have lost a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death. Kelly has experienced loss herself. She had to say goodbye to a set of twins (Faith and Grace) and to a son named Thomas. You can find Sufficient Grace Ministries here.

7. Patrice@ Williams Family Blog. I enjoy reading Patrice's Blog. She shares about the ups and downs of life with having a baby with health challenges. Jonah is that sweet baby, and oh, so cute! Please keep this family in your prayers and pray that God will bring healing to Jonah's body.

 

Fall Is Here and a Pregnancy Prayer List

It seems as though Fall has finally arrived here is Kentucky. The past few days the weather has been cooler and I love it!

I love Fall. I love all the sights and smells that come with Fall. The cooler weather is so welcome after a hot Summer. The beautiful colors that come from the leaves changing is such a wondrous sight! The smells of apples and cinnamon or pumpkin pie baking or apple cider simmering are so yummy!

The only problem with Fall is that it is too short! Yes, on the calendar it is the same length as any other season. It just doesn't last that long. Winter seems to creep in just a bit too quick! I love different things about Winter also, but for me it lasts a little too long. And the thing that makes me sad is when all the leaves fall off of the trees. Everything seems bare and bleak. That is why Spring is so welcome, but that is another post. So I will enjoy Fall while I can!




Over the weekend I felt the Lord was laying it on my heart to pray for pregnant women. It seems as though there are so many women experiencing complications with their pregnancies. Pregnant women have always been near and dear to my heart. I feel that it is appropriate to keep these ladies and their babies in prayer.

So here is what I am going to do. If you are pregnant or know somebody that is pregnant and would like to be added to my pregnancy prayer list please let me know. Leave me a comment with your name or friend's name and due date or month. I am going to keep a list on my sidebar to remind each of us to pray. Please join me in praying for these ladies and their babies. Also, please send me an update so I can post that too! I am excited to see what God is going to do!


Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed. When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127:3-5

 

11 Months

It has been 11 months since we said goodbye to Faith. Wow, it is so hard to believe that almost a year has passed by!



When Faith passed away, it seems as though life came to halt. I knew life had to go on, but it was difficult. When I went out in public I would often think "Don't these people know that my baby died?"

Life has gone on and we are doing well, for the most part. We miss Faith a great deal and there is an empty spot that will always be there.

Micah, our 4 year old will often talk to me about Faith. Just out of the blue he will ask me questions about her. The one question he has asked many times is "Why did my baby sister die?" This always brings tears to my eyes. He has also asked me a few times if we can get another baby. I told him he would have to ask Jesus for another baby.

Last night Micah asked me a question that I have often pondered myself. He asked, "Why is Jesus taking so long to give us a baby?" I did not want to explain to him that we may never have another baby. Right now I would like for him to keep praying for that baby! We will just have to wait and see what God has in store.

I love his innocence and his boldness to talk about Faith. It can be hard sometimes but it also brings me great joy that he remembers her.

When I was in Virginia in July I was able to see her Stone for the first time. It was the first time I had been back since November when we buried her. Here is a couple of pictures that I took from that day. We have removed the last name for privacy reasons.

This is 5 of the children. Micah was with us also, but would he would not cooperate for the picture. As you can see the sun was in their eyes.

Dear Sweet Faith, we miss you more than words can describe. We wish so much that you were sharing your life here with us, but we find comfort that you are Safe In The Arms Of Jesus! We look forward to the day we are reunited with you! We love You!

 

The Simple Joys In Life

Having Children is such a Blessing! At times it can be stressful, but they can still bring you great joy! The simple things in life can bring such delight to them and it brightens my day. Things like when you give your child a nice present and they seem to enjoy the empty box more than the present itself.

When Mike and I got married he had a townhouse and owned a toaster oven. He did not have a toaster, but we did receive a toaster as a wedding present. That toaster did not get a lot of use, so somewhere over time, it just sorta disappeared. If we needed to toast something, we just used the toaster oven.

When my parents would visit, my mom would always complain that the toaster oven didn't toast evenly. We were content with the toaster oven and didn't see a need for a toaster. We saw it as just something else taking up space on the kitchen counter!

When we visit my mom, she has a toaster! The kids were always intrigued with this thing. She has a fancy smancey toaster that has 4 slots. This summer when we were visiting, the children got quite a bit of use from this toaster. The thing I enjoyed about it was that they were fixing their own food and fixing it for the younger children as well. I decided that we needed a toaster.

So a couple of weeks ago I bought a toaster. It was the funniest thing when I told the children that I bought a toaster. They were so excited! You would have thought that I bought them each a very expensive present, or something like a new puppy.

Our toaster is not fancy like Grandmas! It only has 2 slots. It gets the job done and I feel more comfortable with the children using the toaster than the toaster oven. Why did it take me so long to get a toaster? Now what can I remove from my Kitchen Counter?



Where we live we see a lot of wildlife. We have seen deer,fox,groundhogs,turtles, wild turkeys, turkey vultures,raccoons,lots of toads,possums, and even skunks(mostly squished on the road! EWW!!!) We also see an over abundance of cows and some horses. These are always so exciting for the children to see and always brings such delight.

My vegetable garden did not do well this year. We did get some sugar snap peas and some cucumbers, but most of the other things did not grow well. I will have to study up some more so that maybe next year it will do better!

I had better luck with the flowers though. The Impatiens around my little Japanese Maple Tree did wonderful! We had to move our Butterfly Bush earlier in the season, and it did not look like it was going to make it. It did come back to life and has attracted many butterflies. This brings joy to me!





So it seems that you don't have to have a lot of money to find joy in life! God's Beautiful World can be a wonderful source of joy! A cheap toaster has brought joy to both my children and myself! Look around and see what can bring you joy!