I love this time of year. The temperature is perfect, the days are longer, everyone is outside. We took advantage of it today by going to the zoo with our neighbor and her kids. 70 degrees, a slight breeze, blue skies, and some stinky animal poop. It doesn't get much better than that!
2008 is beginning to look like a year of a lot of "firsts" for me. I had my first ever ER and hospital stay last month. And this week I got stitches for the first time. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration - I should say I got my first stitch (not plural). I had to get a mole removed and they put a little stitch in it afterwards. For a girl who hates needles, I sure am getting poked an awful lot this year. Next week I have to go to the dentist. With the year I've had so far, I'm sure you can understand my apprehension. :)
Friday, March 21, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Remember. Never Forget.
This weekend I had the great pleasure of attending the annual women's retreat with my church. It was a great time to fellowship with some great friends, make new ones, and gave me some much needed time away from the busyness of life to spend with the Lord.
One of the themes of the retreat was remembering what God has done. I spent a good deal of time reflecting on all the amazing ways He has worked troughout my life. The people, events, and timing of things seems so intricately placed. From the events that transpired that resulted in me hearing the Gospel and accepting it into my heart, to the way I met Chris, to the death of my Dad, to the friends I made while working in highschool who challenged me which consequently resulted in Chris accepting Christ, to my attendance at UF and my "random" placement with roommates which led to my involvement in Campus Crusade, to our first professional jobs which ultimately led to the jobs we have today. Our marriage, the ministries we're involved in and support, the friends we have, the people we've seen grow or accept Christ, the people who have discipled us and the people we've discipled, the births we've had, the jobs we're in, the church we attend. Good times, bad times, the list goes on and on. All are a direct consequence of the way God began a series of events from the time I was a small child and arguably long before my life even began. It's as if He wanted me to be able to look back on them and be left utterly speechless at the undenyablity of His hand in all of it.
I think the words of this song sum it up better than I ever could...
How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He would send His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
One of the themes of the retreat was remembering what God has done. I spent a good deal of time reflecting on all the amazing ways He has worked troughout my life. The people, events, and timing of things seems so intricately placed. From the events that transpired that resulted in me hearing the Gospel and accepting it into my heart, to the way I met Chris, to the death of my Dad, to the friends I made while working in highschool who challenged me which consequently resulted in Chris accepting Christ, to my attendance at UF and my "random" placement with roommates which led to my involvement in Campus Crusade, to our first professional jobs which ultimately led to the jobs we have today. Our marriage, the ministries we're involved in and support, the friends we have, the people we've seen grow or accept Christ, the people who have discipled us and the people we've discipled, the births we've had, the jobs we're in, the church we attend. Good times, bad times, the list goes on and on. All are a direct consequence of the way God began a series of events from the time I was a small child and arguably long before my life even began. It's as if He wanted me to be able to look back on them and be left utterly speechless at the undenyablity of His hand in all of it.
I think the words of this song sum it up better than I ever could...
How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He would send His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Grooming a gentleman begins early.
One of the things that I've always loved about Chris is what a gentleman he is. Even when we were young teenagers, he was always quick to do things like open the door for me and let me walk in first. He was always super polite to his elders. He told me that these were things his mom required of him from a young age. You don't see that a lot anymore, but it is something we definitely wanted to instill in any boys we had. So, it was great to see Micah put those lessons to use the other morning at Chick fil A with a little girl his age on the playground. It was so sweet to watch him be so polite. He always let her go down the slide first. He helped her get up the steps. He opened the door to and from the playground for her. I hope him learning these things now makes his future wife feel honored!
In other news - I had my 6 week checkup today. I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight! Yippie! That's the quickest I've bounced back after a having a baby - it normally takes me 6 months or so. I think my illness after having Amy is the biggest reason for that. I guess something good came out of that whole experience. Even though I'm happy about that, my pre-pregnancy weight isn't much to brag about (145). I would love to loose about 15 more pounds. So, that's my goal. I've started bike riding again and plan to hit the exercise pretty hard (kids permitting). You all can hold me accountable. I guess trips to Melting Pot like we did this past Monday night probably aren't going to help me too much in that quest. :)
In other news - I had my 6 week checkup today. I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight! Yippie! That's the quickest I've bounced back after a having a baby - it normally takes me 6 months or so. I think my illness after having Amy is the biggest reason for that. I guess something good came out of that whole experience. Even though I'm happy about that, my pre-pregnancy weight isn't much to brag about (145). I would love to loose about 15 more pounds. So, that's my goal. I've started bike riding again and plan to hit the exercise pretty hard (kids permitting). You all can hold me accountable. I guess trips to Melting Pot like we did this past Monday night probably aren't going to help me too much in that quest. :)
Saturday, March 1, 2008
It's a little dusty around here.
Never a dull moment at the Andrews household. Today's agenda - insulate the attic.
We've been wanting to add additional insulation in our attic for several years, but each year winter comes and goes before we find time to do it. With our electric bills continuing to increase, we were bound and determined to do it this year. But, yet again, winter has almost slipped past us. I guess we were a little preoccupied with the arrival of little Amy this winter. So, we knew this was probably the last weekend of reasonably cool weather and if we didn't do it now, it would be another year before it was done.
Little did I know how much work it would be. Chris spent about 5 hours in the attic blowing recycled paper product while his dad and I were down on the ground loading the hopper. I thought we were getting incredibly dusty loading the hopper, but Chris was 10 times worse. When Chris emerged from the attic, he looked like Pigpen from the Peanuts. Like he had rubbed a year's worth of lint from the dryer all over his body and then run a marathon. He was covered in head to toe with dust and all sweaty. Bleh!
All that and we're only half way done! Tomorrow after church we'll be attempting to finish the rest. Needless to say, the neti pot came in handy today. And I think Chris wants to do a sprinkler system next weekend. No rest for the weary! If anyone is bored and wants to help, come on by.
In the meantime, at least half the house is nice and cool!
We've been wanting to add additional insulation in our attic for several years, but each year winter comes and goes before we find time to do it. With our electric bills continuing to increase, we were bound and determined to do it this year. But, yet again, winter has almost slipped past us. I guess we were a little preoccupied with the arrival of little Amy this winter. So, we knew this was probably the last weekend of reasonably cool weather and if we didn't do it now, it would be another year before it was done.
Little did I know how much work it would be. Chris spent about 5 hours in the attic blowing recycled paper product while his dad and I were down on the ground loading the hopper. I thought we were getting incredibly dusty loading the hopper, but Chris was 10 times worse. When Chris emerged from the attic, he looked like Pigpen from the Peanuts. Like he had rubbed a year's worth of lint from the dryer all over his body and then run a marathon. He was covered in head to toe with dust and all sweaty. Bleh!
All that and we're only half way done! Tomorrow after church we'll be attempting to finish the rest. Needless to say, the neti pot came in handy today. And I think Chris wants to do a sprinkler system next weekend. No rest for the weary! If anyone is bored and wants to help, come on by.
In the meantime, at least half the house is nice and cool!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
I'm such a crummy friend.
I have a friend who has gone through a very trying few months. The day of "reckoning" finally came yesterday and the result wasn't what was hoped for. I can only imagine what it felt like for her. And I know there isn't much I can say to make it any better. How can I even begin to know what she feels like? I know neither one of us chose our situations, but I can't help but feel guilty that this has been so difficult for her while the same situation for me has been so easy. I know God has a plan (Romans 8:28), but I'm not sure me telling her that is going to make her feel much better right now. So, I'm left without much to say. Maybe that's a good thing. Some people probably think I talk too much anyway. :) I hope she knows I'll be here to listen if she needs it!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Abbey, doooo that?!
I think things are starting to get back to normal around here. I'm feeling almost 100% again and the kids have pretty much adjusted to their new little sister.
Katie is really into her baby dolls now that Amy is here. When I'm nursing Amy, she'll go grab one of her dolls, put it under her shirt and pretend to nurse it as well. Or sometimes she'll go put the doll in her bed and come out and say "Shhh. Baby night night". If Amy cries in the car, Katie will yell out "Amy, it's okay! Shhh!". It's too cute.
This morning when Katie woke up I was right in the middle of nursing Amy. So, she went to grab her doll so she could sit next to me and feed it. All of a sudden she looked down to notice one of the feet missing on her doll. She immediately got a very concerned tone and asked where the baby's foot was. I tried so hard to contain my laughter because this was obviously very distressing for her. Apparently Abbey (our dog) got ahold of the doll last night and chewed it's foot off. How do you explain that one? While I was trying to figure out how to respond, Micah quickly chimed in the way only a man can, "Katie, Abbey ate it." Katie yells in a broken hearted tone, "Abbey, doooo that?!". In adult language that is "Abbey, why did you do that?!". Katie then took a deep breath, looks up at me with sad eyes, and asks me for some band aids for the baby. Micah proceeded to put Abbey in time out while we doctored up the stump of a leg.
Kids are so great!
Katie is really into her baby dolls now that Amy is here. When I'm nursing Amy, she'll go grab one of her dolls, put it under her shirt and pretend to nurse it as well. Or sometimes she'll go put the doll in her bed and come out and say "Shhh. Baby night night". If Amy cries in the car, Katie will yell out "Amy, it's okay! Shhh!". It's too cute.
This morning when Katie woke up I was right in the middle of nursing Amy. So, she went to grab her doll so she could sit next to me and feed it. All of a sudden she looked down to notice one of the feet missing on her doll. She immediately got a very concerned tone and asked where the baby's foot was. I tried so hard to contain my laughter because this was obviously very distressing for her. Apparently Abbey (our dog) got ahold of the doll last night and chewed it's foot off. How do you explain that one? While I was trying to figure out how to respond, Micah quickly chimed in the way only a man can, "Katie, Abbey ate it." Katie yells in a broken hearted tone, "Abbey, doooo that?!". In adult language that is "Abbey, why did you do that?!". Katie then took a deep breath, looks up at me with sad eyes, and asks me for some band aids for the baby. Micah proceeded to put Abbey in time out while we doctored up the stump of a leg.
Kids are so great!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
I hate needles.
I've been known to nearly faint anytime I need to have blood drawn. In fact, one of the biggest reasons we began having our children at home instead of a hospital is because the thought of the possibility of getting an IV in my arm was too much for me. So, you can imagine my reaction when I had to go to the ER this week.
I thought something might be wrong when my post birth cramping was starting to get progressively worse instead of better late last week. But, being the stubborn person I am - I wrote it off as normal because it was my third kid (the cramping supposably gets worse with each kid). I noticed I had a slight fever on Saturday when Micah and Katie were playing doctor and they took my temperature. I still wrote it off as nothing and continued popping my 800mg of Motrin to dampen the cramping and fever. By Monday, there was no denying the possibility of something being wrong -- I had the shivers and my fever hit 103.2 by mid day. But, I still wasn't willing to give in. Monday night was my demise. I couldn't sleep, I was freezing to death, and by the wee hours of Tuesday morning I was beginning to hallucinate. My fever was now at 104.7. Chris called Sharon first thing Tuesday morning to let her know. Since we couldn't be certain what it was, she decided to send me to the ER to be checked out and shortly thereafter, they admitted me to the hospital.
Now, I've never been to an ER let alone a patient in a hospital. I'm hardly there 5 minutes and they're hooking me up to an IV, taking x-rays, examining my insides, drawing blood from both arms, bleh! Within 2 hours, I had been poked and prodded me in every which direction to figure out what was wrong. Let's just say - they left no stone unturned. In the end, I was diagnosed with a uterine infection. They gave me IV antibiotics and by the next day, I was feeling almost 100% better.
I've been home for a few days now and am feeling much better. I think we're starting to get into the swing of things with having 3 kids. I don't know how we would have gotten through the past 2 weeks without our families. They have been a tremendous help. It's been weird to think about what an uncomplicated pregnancy I had, an "easy" birth, and such an easy going baby and then to have such a crazy couple weeks postpartum for me personally. You just never know when things might come up. We are so blessed to have such a loving family who comes together to help each other out in times of need!
I thought something might be wrong when my post birth cramping was starting to get progressively worse instead of better late last week. But, being the stubborn person I am - I wrote it off as normal because it was my third kid (the cramping supposably gets worse with each kid). I noticed I had a slight fever on Saturday when Micah and Katie were playing doctor and they took my temperature. I still wrote it off as nothing and continued popping my 800mg of Motrin to dampen the cramping and fever. By Monday, there was no denying the possibility of something being wrong -- I had the shivers and my fever hit 103.2 by mid day. But, I still wasn't willing to give in. Monday night was my demise. I couldn't sleep, I was freezing to death, and by the wee hours of Tuesday morning I was beginning to hallucinate. My fever was now at 104.7. Chris called Sharon first thing Tuesday morning to let her know. Since we couldn't be certain what it was, she decided to send me to the ER to be checked out and shortly thereafter, they admitted me to the hospital.
Now, I've never been to an ER let alone a patient in a hospital. I'm hardly there 5 minutes and they're hooking me up to an IV, taking x-rays, examining my insides, drawing blood from both arms, bleh! Within 2 hours, I had been poked and prodded me in every which direction to figure out what was wrong. Let's just say - they left no stone unturned. In the end, I was diagnosed with a uterine infection. They gave me IV antibiotics and by the next day, I was feeling almost 100% better.
I've been home for a few days now and am feeling much better. I think we're starting to get into the swing of things with having 3 kids. I don't know how we would have gotten through the past 2 weeks without our families. They have been a tremendous help. It's been weird to think about what an uncomplicated pregnancy I had, an "easy" birth, and such an easy going baby and then to have such a crazy couple weeks postpartum for me personally. You just never know when things might come up. We are so blessed to have such a loving family who comes together to help each other out in times of need!
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