Pregnancy Q and A......

(Thanks Aunt Karen!) : )

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
A: No, 35 children is enough.

Q : I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.

Q : What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex?
A: Childbirth.

Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she's borderline irrational.
A: So what's your question?

Q : My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.

Q: When is the best time to get an epidural?
A: Right after you find out you're pregnant.

Q : Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is in labor?
A: Not unless the word 'alimony' means anything to you.

Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?
A: Yes, pregnancy.

Q : Do I have to have a baby shower?
A: Not if you change the baby's diaper very quickly.

Q : Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act normal again?
A: When the kids are in college. '

Tweet

Backyard Visitors

Look who visited our backyard yesterday afternoon!

The first words out of my mouth were, "Girls, go tell Daiquiri to get up here with her camera!" Daiquiri got some great shots of our little Duck Family. I'm hoping she'll share some pictures with me when she gets back from her trip.

Our kids fed the ducks bread crumbs and enjoyed watching Mama Duck march her little family around and around the yard.

Mama and her babies stayed for awhile, so I sent my girls out to sketch a nature drawing of what they saw. (I know, I know.....the teacher in me dies hard) : )

Tweet

Within One Week I Will....

Ready to dig in again? : )

It's time for you to tell us all what goal you'd like to accomplish this week. Not sure what you want to work on this week? Click here for ideas.

It was hard for me to choose....I have so many things I 'd like to see done around the house. I also have writing goals and exercise goals, too. I wasn't sure which one I wanted to be my focus for the week.

I was hesitant to pick another house project because I want you all to feel good about choosing any goal for the week, not just house cleaning, but I knew that with the baby coming, getting the house in order is what will make me feel the best.

Here's a video explaining my Within One Week goal:



What about you? What would you like to get done Within One Week?

Here's How to Play Along:
Feel free to copy and paste the W.O.W. button at the top of this page for your own blog post.

1. Write a blog post describing your goal for the week. Feel free to copy and paste the W.O.W. button at the top of this page for your own blog post.

2. See the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post? Type your name and project/goal on the line that says, "Your name:________" (e.g. Becky (Baby's Room)

3. Where it says "Your URL:___________" you will type in the address to your blog post about this W.O.W. Carnival.

(If you are using Blogger you can link directly to your post by clicking on the title of your post after you publish. This will open a page that only has that post on it. Copy the address that shows up at the top of your screen and paste it into Mr. Linky. It's really easy and this way, people will go directly to your post and not have to search your blog for it. )

4. After you have put your name in Mr. Linky, visit the other players and cheer them on throughout the week.

5. Next week, come back here and look for the W.O.W. Update post and tell us how you did.

6. I think we need a Starbucks prize again this week. I'll choose a random participant next week and reward them with a $5 Starbucks card so they can get a mocha on me to celebrate all of their hard work.

7. You do not need to be a blogger to play along. Just tell us about your goal in the comments section. We'll cheer you on from here. : )

You'll feel so good next week when you reach your goal! : )

Love,

Tweet

Get Ready for W.O.W.

It's time for another W.O.W. Carnival! What would you love to see done within one week? (Read past W.O.W. posts here)

For the last W.O.W. carnival, we focused on a room in your house that is driving you bonkers. This time I want this to be about any goal that is important to you but is easy to procrastinate because it isn't a priority (or its easy to hide) : ) It could be a house organizing project, but it isn't limited to that. And your goal may just be to start the project this week, not necessarily redo a whole room. Baby steps are OK.

Is there an item on your "To Do" list that never gets crossed off? Blog about it and link back here so we can all cheer you on this week. I was amazed how much fun cleaning our bedroom was knowing that you all were cheering me on and would want to see after pictures. : )

I'll post the official Mr. Linky tonight or tomorrow morning, but I wanted to get your brainstorming juices flowing first. Keep it simple! I don't want any burned out W.O.W. players! : )

Here's some ideas to get your own ideas flowing:

• When you open this closet you need protective head gear because so much falls out.....
• You can't give friends a ride because you are too embarrassed of your messy car.
• When was the last time you worked on your baby's scrapbook? (It's OK that he's 13 now)
• This area of your house is "off limits"
• How much easier would dinner time be if you had a menu plan made for the week?
• Any fitness goals?
• Any spiritual goals?
• Do you have a home business and need the push to work on a business project?
• Anything you've been hoping to do with your kids but never get around to doing?
• A craft you've been dying to try....

The options are endless. When you've decided your goals, blog about it, come back here and add your name to the Mr. Linky I will have up tonight or tomorrow morning and see what you are able to accomplish Within One Week.

Tweet

Nursing Covers- Fabric Choices

I'm still working out the details of how best to do these nursing covers and which name I like best. I've had requests for fabric choices, so here are a few to start. More to follow! I'd love feedback on the type of fabrics you are looking for. (stripes, polka dot, vintage, etc.) : )

#1- Lucy

#2- Anne

(Note: I have had a difficult time getting to the camera to pick up the true colors of this fabric....It is has bolder colors and little more olive green tone to it. I'll keep trying! It really is a nice fabric)

#3- Rebecca

I took the ad off of my sidebar as I decide how best to market these, and how to get better picture quality of the fabrics. In the mean time, I'd still love to make one for anyone who is interested. They would make a great shower gift for a mom to be. You can email your order to:

EverydayBecky@gmail.com

$20 plus $5 shipping

Tweet

Exclusive Interviews With the Princesses.....

Breaking News!!!
Princess Karissa Reports Missing Valuables



Experiment Proves Successful:
Princess Amy Creates Breakfast Drink



And Then Just For Fun....A Little Goofiness

Tweet

Seek The Lord Sunday

Desiring to make Sunday a special day for the Lord, Daiquiri is hosting a weekly "Seek the Lord Sunday" meme on her blog, asking other bloggers to post about the topic of the week.

This week's topic is:

Which Bible verse 'speaks' to you lately? Tell us about it!

I had a hard time choosing one because there have been three that have been speaking to me in unique areas of my life this week. I finally settled on the first one.

Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (NIV)

It is the word set that speaks to me. As a woman, thoughts and emotions often rule me. When they do, I ride an emotional roller coaster of up and down feelings. But this verse gives me something active to do, a way off of the roller coaster. It's very practical. I am not a slave to how I feel or think. This verse tells me I have the ability to rule them, not be ruled by them, simply by changing what I think about.

There are countless distractions and "earthly things" calling for my attention and focus, but they are lesser things, of lesser value to the eternal things I should be investing my life and attention on. The earthly things are unsatisfying and do not last.

If I lose weight, it comes back. If I buy new clothes, the first time I wash them they begin to wear out. From the day we walked into our brand new house, it began to get old. I'm enjoying decorating our bedroom right now, but I can't expect it to bring me deep satisfaction. It won't be exactly how I envision it to be and all the new trinkets will get old, too.

If all I think about are these fleeting things, I'll be depressed. Living for what the world values and strives after is like eating cotton candy or a Krispy Kreme donut....fluff that melts in your mouth, leaving me unsatisfied and just wanting more. Eternal things are like the feast my dad makes on Christmas day- ABUNDANT SATISFACTION! : )

I remember watching the Apprentice on TV and thinking about Donald Trump and all he has. He won't be able to take anything with him when he dies. All of it will be gone. Watching the show, I'd say out loud to his image on the TV screen, "Donald, what investments have you made for Eternity?" (Yes, I do talk to my TV often) : )

Instead of dissatisfaction, thinking about things of eternal value brings God's peace. And, oh, real peace is sooooo satisfying!

Stop by Seek the Lord Sunday and see what verses are speaking to other bloggers today.

Love,

Tweet

So What Are We Actually Doing?

I woke up this morning worried that last night's post was a little negative. I hope I wasn't misunderstood. It is just hard to restart a journey you already know is a hard one from past experience. There is a lot of joy in taking these steps and in the thought of whoever our son is. In fact, this morning I woke up daydreaming about both our little boys......Monster Truck and Whombie (you old time blog readers of mine remember.....Whomever He May Be?) : )

So here is what we are doing:

1. Thanks to my friend Angela's phone call this morning, I realized our fingerprints for immigration actually expire in 8 days from now, instead of the two months I thought. So next week, we will be going into INS and updating our fingerprints.

2. We are waiting until after Monster Truck is born to get our new referral.

3. Then we enjoy our little Monster Truck and wait patiently for Whombie to join us. : )

Also, we do plan to continue working with Acres of Hope. I mentioned some of the controversy that happened this winter regarding our agency. I left a comment on last night's post, but thought I'd post it here to make sure you all see where we are at with that. I love people on both sides of the controversy, and have remained a "Switzerland" through all of this, but the call for us is very specific. This was my comment:

After much prayer, we are convinced that our son, whoever he is, is at now or will be in, the Acres of Hope orphanage. Like I said in the post, there have been problems that we are not naive too, but I believe those problems are being addressed. It's weird....this call to adopt for us has been very specific from the beginning and still is....we are supposed to adopt from Liberia and we are supposed to do it through Acres of Hope. We just have to keep trusting that we are where God wants us to be with this.

Love,

Tweet

Adoption

Lately, I've recognized how jaded and disillusioned I have become regarding adoption. In the beginning, I dreamt about the little boy who would be joining our family. I blogged about our son and my dreams for him, I devoured other families' adoption blogs, and followed every email coming through our agency's Yahoo group. I celebrated homecomings and anticipated our turn. I was in awe of the miraculous heart changes and circumstances that had led us to adoption and it never crossed my mind to doubt what we were doing.

Then we went through losing the referral for Benedict and the referral for JJ after being so sure they were coming home to us. We rode out a storm of drama and suspicion involving our agency, watching two different "truths" expressed by people we still love and admire. We watched families painfully waiting to bring their children home as bureaucracies held them up because of passport supplies, or denied visas, or a demand for DNA testing, and recently we've wondered if the Librian government would even allow adoptions to continue.

Then we had the amazing gift of this miracle pregnancy happen. As it should be, my heart and focus have been on seeing this little boy born healthy. My dreams have been about him lately, and I've purposefully distanced myself from all things adoption. I've needed rest.

But the question has remained. Was all of that miraculous heart change and circumstances made up? Were we really called to adoption? Was the instruction specifically from Liberia and from Acres of Hope?

Last night Pat and I stayed up until midnight talking about it all. The conclusion we came to was, yes, the call was real and the call remains. I've been praying for months for direction and confirmation and there was something about last night's conversation that cleared up a lot of confusion for me. I had begun to question whether it needed to be from Liberia, or if we should pursue domestic adoption. As we talked, it was clear that God is telling us it is Liberia or not at all. That's how we are being led.

The system is still flawed. Honestly, I'm hesitant to jump back on that roller coaster. In fact I'm going to try to stay off of it and just let God work, continuing to focus on what I have right now. I'm even afraid of what it will be like at the end.

All I know is that in order to obey, there is a specific path laid out before us and we have to step forward.

It's hard to be candid about how I'm feeling about this. I want to be able to say, "Yippee! Isn't this wonderful. I'm so excited," but that wouldn't be true. I'm happy to have direction. I'm trusting that the feelings will return as God's plan unfolds, but for now it is a much more subdued and cautious with my heart Becky that is starting the journey again. I am just so thankful to really know that we are doing the right thing. I'm excited to be able to say in the future someday, "Lord, you did exceedingly and abundantly more than we even asked for. Thank you!"

Tweet

And the Winner Is.......

To wrap up our W.O.W. Carnival, it's time to announce the winner of a Starbucks drink on me. I wish I could afford to send you all one.

Using yesterday's Mr. Linky list and an online random integer generator.

Here is the result:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:2
Timestamp: 2008-05-23 13:47:05 UTC

So......Drink up, Alyce, and enjoy all of your hard work! I wish I could go out to coffee with you in person. : )

Alyce, if you could email me your mailing address, I'll send you your Starbucks Card. Your home office looks wonderful!

I am so impressed with all that each of us accomplished. I'm thinking about doing another W.O.W. Carnival next week. Start thinking of a project or goal you'd like to focus on for one week. Keep it simple so we don't get burned out! I'll announce the details next week.

Love,

Tweet

W.O.W. Results! How Did You Do?

So how did it go? My master bedroom is all clean! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Knowing that I'd be telling you all about my progress was so motivating! I'm so glad we did this. Crawling into bed with a peaceful feeling instead of thinking, "Ugh...this room is such a mess" has been wonderful.

I worked hard all week. Here are some pictures of typical piles. I actually thought to take pictures after I'd been working for awhile, so these are "neater than it really was" piles, but you get the idea. I wasn't about to photograph the dirty clothes pile. You'll have to use your imagination for that:

BEFORE:

AFTER ONE WEEK OF HARD LABOR: : )



You'll recall from my midweek update that although clean, our bedroom still felt like a bachelor pad.

Observe: No headboard, TV tray for my nightstand and a cabinet that was left over from King Charming's bachelor days for his nightstand, comforter that is too small for our bed, etc. etc.

The Master Bathroom got a thorough scrub down, too. Ahhhhh.....clean, clean. It feels so good. But it looks a little bare and boring, too, don't you think?

As I mentioned in that midweek update post, I'm on a mission to spruce up our room and bathroom. Wanting to be all done so I could have a big reveal for this post, I have been slightly obsessed. I had to find deals in order to do as much as I could for my budget. I've been shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, and shopping some more. Today, my girls were subjected to two solid hours in Wal-Mart while Mommy said, "This picture frame or this one?"

But alas, I couldn't pull it off in time. You'll have to stay patient for the "after decorating" pictures, and I'll have to be patient and remember to celebrate all that really did get done "Within One Week." Thank you so much for the cheerleading and encouragement. I love my bloggy friends. : )

The Mr. Linky is all set up below so we can see how you all did! I hope this carnival made the work more fun. It sure helped me. I'm already thinking, "OK, what can I get done this coming week?" This Within One Week thing might have to be a weekly thing for me......just on a smaller scale, and it must be a goal that does not require spending money or dragging my kids through store after store. Maybe cleaning out my car?

When you post on Mr. Linky, remember to link to your actual W.O.W. Results post, not the front page of your blog. I'll use a random integer generator online to see who gets a mocha on me from Starbucks. I'll announce the winner on Friday. Thanks to all of you good sports!

Love,

Tweet

Don't Forget To Vote For....

BIG DAVID


(In case you were wondering who I want to win tomorrow night) : )

Tweet

Keeping Kids' Toothbrushes Clean

Being the ultra-conscious-of-germs type of kids that they are (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA), my girls have a knack for dropping their toothbrushes on the bathroom floor. Unable to replace their toothbrushes every time I find them there, I've had to find a way to disinfect them. I just throw them in the silverware container of my dishwasher and run them with the dishes on the antibacterial cycle. They come out soft and looking brand new. It makes me feel better. : )

Stop by Works for Me Wednesday for other tips and tricks. I learn something new and useful every week!

Here's my past WFMW entries.

Tweet

Did You Notice?

My baby counter is down to double digits for the days I have left! Thank you Lord for our miracle baby!

Tweet

Praise

I am continuing to have problems with my laptop power. I thought it was completely dead again, but last week I figured out a way to keep it on. As long as I kept it on a flat surface and kept the cord completely parallel to the computer, I got the power I needed. So my laptop became a desktop but I was just thankful to be able to use it until I can afford to get it fixed.

Yesterday, I was doing some cleaning and decided I was tired of my laptop sitting on our dining room table, so I moved it until I was ready to use it again. When I tried to set it back up again my trick didn't work this time. I couldn't get power to it at all. I tried every trick I could think of and finally gave up, thinking it was gone for good now.

For the last three years, I have been working on writing a book and guess where it has all been stored? I've been telling myself over and over again, "You've got to back this up." I've been emailing myself the chapters as I've finished them, and all of the first drafts are done, but I had never backed up all my notes or the chapters I am in the middle of rewriting and editing, only the completed ones. This process of editing and rewriting has been harder than the initial writing, and I woke up early this morning in a panic about it all. I stayed in bed praying about the situation, walked out to the kitchen, and looked at my laptop. THE BLUE LIGHT WAS ON!!!!!!!!!

I ran and found a memory card, backed up my all the work I've done on the book, and praised God. I am so thankful. So much of my heart and soul is in that book, and I'm so close to the finish line. I'm so thankful for the countless times He's blessed this project and showed me He cares about me.

This was a great way to start the day! I'll tell you all about the book when I'm finished. In the mean time would you pray for me to cross the finish line and get it done? Also, if I haven't emailed you back or have missed an email, please forgive me. I'm trying to get these computer woes worked out.

Tweet

Within One Week....How's it Going?

We are in the middle of a fun blog carnival and would love to have you join us! Read all about it here.

You can jump in at any point and just add a week to your starting day. One participant will win a Starbucks drink on me.

Here are the ladies playing along. Stop by and cheer them on! Bloggers NEED comments. Even if you don't know the person, send them some love. : )

1. Me : ) I'm working on my Master Bedroom. (Update below)

2. Alyce: She is working on her office. I'm so excited to see how it turns out, Alyce. I love your green wall paint! Do you remember what color that is?

3. Angie: Poor Angie! She has the hardest job of all of us.....MOVING! Yuck! Make sure you cheer her on.

4. Kimberly: Kimberly is working on an office space, too. She is a girl after my own heart.....books and scrapbooking. Tough stuff to organize!

5. Mia: Mia has a closet full of baby girl clothes to organize. You should stop by and cheer her on and read about her miracle baby, Sage.

6. My Mom: She is working on her Master Bedroom, too. I guess it is hereditary! : ) Mom doesn't have a blog, so cheer her on from here. Mom, if you want, I can post before and after pictures on my blog for you.

Having other people paying attention and cheering us on has been a great motivator. If you have a project or room you've been putting off, don't miss out!

I was so motivated, my Master Bedroom is already clean and clutter free. I'm going to deep clean the bathroom today and move on to some decorating. It feels so good to have it clean. I crawled into my clean sheets and looked around at the clutter free room last night and sighed a sigh of contentment. : ) I could actually bring my baby home to this bedroom. : )

Even though it is clean now, it still looks slightly like a bachelor pad. (comforter that was bought for a queen bed and not replaced when we upgraded to a King size two years ago, no curtains, TV tray for a nightstand, bare bathroom w/ no throw rugs). I sat down with Pat and asked him if I could use a tiny bit of the Tax Refund we got on Friday to update a little in our Master Bedroom. It is supposed to be used to stimulate the economy, right? : )

He said, "How much do you want?" Oh, King Charming, Oh how I love you!!!!

I don't know if I'll be able to pull off the decorating in one week, too, but I'll try! Stay tuned for the results! It will definitely be "on a budget decorating" but even a little update will be fun. : )

I'll post my results on Wednesday or Thursday with another Mr. Linky and then leave it open for a few days to make sure we give everyone enough time to finish up their WOW results posts. Can't wait to see!

Love,

Tweet

A New Carnival! Do You Have a Room That's Driving You Bonkers?

I had so much fun doing the book recommendation carnival in March I've been itching to do another carnival. Your recommendations were so awesome! I've got a wonderful summer reading list put together now. I love it! My mom just ordered the fantasy novels that Kimberly recommended. I'll have to borrow them when she's done. I plan on reading each one of the books you all recommended. : )

For the next carnival, I've been inspired by my new organization book, and Lysa TerKeurst's recent blog posts about her bedroom make-over using Wal-Mart purchases (See them here and here ). I am inspired to tackle the area of my house that really and truly has been driving me crazy: The Master Bedroom and Bathroom.

Because I know Pat and I are the only ones seeing that room, our bedroom became a catch-all. It is so easy to close the door and hide any mess. The rest of the house can look good for guests because all the clutter is hidden in our room.

Although it has been driving me bonkers for awhile, I keep putting it off because it seems like a low priority compared to the rest of the house. After seeing Lysa's bedroom transformation, I don't want to put it off any longer. I really want to make our room a clean, nice, cozy place for King Charming and me.

What about you? Is there a house project or a room that you've been putting off, but would love to see organized? If you were really honest with yourself, is there a room that is driving you bonkers? If you don't have a room to work on, do you have a project? Recipe cards a mess? Scrapbooks you haven't touched in ages? A sewing project you wish you would start or finish? Only you know that one place or project that would make you overjoyed to have done.

Here's how our carnival will work this time. Let's be cheerleaders for each other to tackle the room or project we keep putting off and then we can report back how we did. Next Wednesday, we'll check back in with each other for a W.O.W. Report (Within One Week).

Here are the guidelines:

1. Write a post about the room or project you want to work on this week. You can include before pictures if you are brave, but you don't have to!

2. Come up with a few goals that are reasonable to accomplish within one week.

3. Add your name to the Mr. Linky below. In parenthesis next to your name, put the name of the project or room you are posting about. e.g. Becky (Master Bedroom). Then copy and past the link to the INDIVIDUAL POST about this carnival, not your blog's front page, into the URL line. You can email me at everydaybecky@gmail.com if you need help knowing how to do this. * Please remember this step *

4. Go visit the other bloggers who post and offer advice and words of encouragement! We will cheer each other on throughout the week. If you want to do update posts about how it's going, just come back here and add another link. Invite your readers to join in the fun. Feel free to use my Within One Week button at the top of the page by copying and pasting it into your post.

5. On Wednesday, I'll do a blog post titled W.O.W Carnival Results about how I did on my project, and I'll put a new Mr. Linky at the bottom for you to post a link to your own results.

6. As always, you can still participate even if you don't have a blog! Just leave a comment telling us about your project and will cheer you on from the comments section of this post.

7. Check back often for updates and to cheer on the non-bloggers in the comments section.

This is going to be fun! For added inspiration, I'll draw a random winner from the participants next Wednesday to get a $5 Starbucks card so you can have a mocha on me to celebrate all your hard work. Won't this be fun!

I can't wait to see what we get done!

Tweet

The BEST Maternity Clothes Ever!

I am so spoiled now, I can't go back! : )

I discovered a new type of pants/shorts/skirts at Motherhood Maternity called "Secret Fit Belly." Oh, if I could have only discovered these gems earlier (or they had been invented earlier!).

The belly on them is made out of a seamless microfiber that is incredibly comfortable and smooth under my clothes. With the other types of maternity belly styles, I am constantly yanking my pants back up where they belong. I never have to do that with these. The belly isn't tight at all, I hardly feel like I'm wearing anything, but somehow it just stays put.

I now own the convertible crop pants (can be pants or capris) and 2 bermuda shorts, one in khaki and the other in khaki green. Thank you, thank you, thank you to whoever invented these. I'll be coming back for more as the budget allows! : )

(Don't you think they should send me a gift certificate or something for all this advertising) : )

You can check out the other WFMW posts here.

I'm hosting a blog carnival and Starbucks giveaway this week. Do you want to join in on the fun?

Tweet

Mother Daughter Tea

Mother Daughter Tea at Church on Saturday

Now you've seen my puffy prego face. This is why I avoid cameras for nine months. : )

Our Friends Around the Table

Angela and Amanda

Olivia and Jessie

Donna and Shannon (Our sweet hostess)

We were all happy to have Grandma with us for Mother's Day this year. The tea was beautiful, but slight torture for two little girls. We got there half an hour early to get a table. The tables were full of delicious looking treats (scones, lemon bars, huge chocolate covered strawberries, and tea sandwiches, etc) The girls waited and waited to be served so they could taste all of that heavenly looking stuff. Then the tea party started and we had singing and worship first. They ended up staring at sweets for over an hour before they finally were served. Then the tea sandwiches were served first, so they had to wait even longer for the chocolate. All in all they did very well at their first tea party, though I'm not sure Amy was too impressed with the sitting still for so long.

After the tea, King Charming sent Mom and I out for a day of fun and told us not to come home until we were done. We shopped, got a pedicure, and had our make-up done at Dillards. We went out to dinner and would have gone to a movie, but I was too pooped. It was a great day! It was a wonderful weekend!

I wish we lived closer to my mom and dad. I'm thankful that we see each other so often despite the distance, but for some reason it has never worked out for us to be together on Mother's Day. Mom and Dad are teachers and I was teaching pre-kids, so Mother's Day always came at a tough time to get away.

Hopefully, Mom and Dad will retire soon and we can spend every Mom's Day together. (Hint Hint)

What a great weekend! I'm so blessed.

Tweet