{What the Future May Hold}

We don't know what the future may hold, but we know that God is in control of all circumstances. We have several things we would like to see happen over the next couple of years, and we fully believe that it is in God's plan, we just need to work on patiently waiting on Him. We would like to have baby Ek #2, we would like to sell our current home and move into town, and we want to be able to work together in ministry.


When we first got married, we planned out our whole life, we had a 7ish year plan. We would start "trying" for our first child after we celebrated our 2 year anniversary. I would quit work to stay home and be the best little homemaker and mommy in the world, our house would be spotless and we'd enjoy meals around the table at breakfast and dinner(hahaha, D goes to work before 7, and I like my sleep. WHAT was I THINKING?). Our baby would be perfect, and because of my healthcare industry history, perfectly healthy. We would be always happy and enjoying each others company. When our baby was almost one, we would start trying for a sibling and immediately get pregnant. We wanted three or four children by the time we were 30.

God had a completely different plan for us. We found out we were pregnant two months after our one year anniversary, and Wesley was welcomed a little over a month before our two year anniversary. We were excited, but taken by surprise, as we hadn't really been trying for a baby. To further show us that He was in control, God allowed Wesley to be born three weeks earlier than his due date. When I first held him, I remember thinking that he was the smallest baby I had ever seen. He wasn't tiny, he was a healthy 6lb8oz, but so little. He was perfect. And for the first two or three weeks, all he wanted to do was eat and sleep. I had to have a csection, so it was a relief to be home and to be able to rest so much. Then, one night, Wesley started crying. Something that was usually reserved for diaper changes alone became eardrum bursting screaming for hours on end, every night, and most days. This lasted for about 5 months. He also had an umbilical hernia, acid reflux, and at 3 months, he got salmonella poisoning. So much for our plan of a healthy baby. He also wan't gaining weight as quickly as he should. At 3 months old, he just barely crossed the 10 pound mark. Over the next several months, his doctor would recommend formula supplementation, and no solids until 9 months. Once 9 months hit, and he got on solids, he gained 3 pounds in about a month. He stopped nursing around 11 months, and that is when we decided to start trying for another baby. This was in February 2011. Each month came, and each month was another negative pregnancy test. Then, from July to April, Wesley got 8 to 10 ear infections. The next July, we finally got tubes placed in his ears and got his adenoids removed. Since then, he has not had a single ear infection. We all, as a family, have gotten sick at least 1 week out of every month since September. It has been a not fun winter. Needless to say, we have been learning to really believe that God has everything in control. He has a baby planned for us, one day, in HIS timing.

In October of 2011, I was diagnosed with unexplained secondary infertility. My doctor put me on some hormones to regulate my cycles, because they are very irregular. Always have been, so I assumed it was normal. I started Clomid in January of 2012, and for the next 3 months, it would not work. The purpose of clomid is not necessarily to get you pregnant, but to make you ovulate, something I haven't done on my own on a regular basis, like ever. Each month, I would go in and get blood taken to see if the clomid had worked, and each month I would get a level of 0.2 to 1.8. This was incredibly discouraging. In April, it was determined that I was insulin resistant. So,  we decided to work on getting me healthy while still trying to get pregnant, but not with the clomid. Over the next few months, I changed my eating habits, and lost 5 pounds. In July, on my birthday, we got a gym membership, and I started going to the gym several times a week, and lost about 20 pounds. I had my first cycle, without the help of medication. Then, a month later, another. When I went in for my yearly checkup at my family doctor, it was determined that my insulin resistance had been reversed. All my other levels had improved as well. A couple months later, I went back to my GYN for my yearly checkup there, and she determined that I have PCOS. She told me to keep up the diet and exercise, and she put me back on clomid. She said that Wesley was a "miracle" because most women with PCOS have a difficult time getting pregnant without medical intervention. The first month back on the clomid, I ovulated, with a level of 9.9 ( they really want it close to a 10, so this is a great start). But, I did not get pregnant. I finished the second round of clomid last week, and will know  next Thursday if it worked. I am extremely anxious to see if it did, and will still have to wait another 7 to 10 days after that to even know if I'm pregnant, so please pray for me over the next couple weeks! Oh, and on the whole 3 or 4 kids by 30 plan, D will be 30 in November, and I will be next July.. so unless God decides to bless us with twins, that is not happening.

In our almost 5 years of marriage, we have had our house up for sale on two different instances. The first time, we had it up for sale for about a year, then found out I was pregnant and we decided to take it off the market until we felt like the time was right again. Right when we made a decision, we were selling by owner, a couple came out and made an offer. Three days later, it fell through, and we were so disappointed. But, I didn't really want to be either newly pregnant or moving with a brand spanking new baby. So, we waited. In May of 2012, we decided to put it back on the market, and listed it with a realtor company. We had several showings that were promising, but none of them ever made an offer. We had a 6 month contract with our realtor, and at the end of it, we decided to take it off the market. A couple weeks later, we went through a pretty major renovation. Most of the problems people had mentioned were the kitchen being outdated, the ceilings looking old and dingy, and the carpets being old. All of this is true. Every single one of those items are original to the house, which was built in 1988. So, we decided we would fix it, and pray about what to do in the meantime. We removed the old "popcorn" textured ceiling, and primed and painted it a bright white, we painted our old, contractor grade kitchen (and bathroom) cabinets and bought all brand new matching appliances. We also painted the kitchen, dining room, and hallway a fun blue color and replaced the floor in the kitchen and bath. I had so much fun in the 3 weeks it took us to work on that project, working side by side with my husband. We also bought some clearance paint for $5 a gallon and plan to use it in all the other rooms. We also found a really great deal on some laminate flooring and plan to replace all the main living areas old, dingy carpet with that. I am so excited to see what its going to look like when it's all done. That being said, we have been trying to figure out when we would list the house again and how, and we are still praying through it, so in the meantime, we are enjoying our home. The home that D lived alone for the first time in, the home we came home from our honeymoon in, and the home that has seen our family grow. It will be a bittersweet moment when we sell this old home and move to a new house. But it's not the house that makes it a home, it is my wonderful husband and son whom I love so dearly, so we will make our next house a home, whenever that happens. Our current house is on an acre of land, surrounded by 80ish acres of cow pasture. It's a very peaceful location most of the time, but it is on a highway where 18wheelers, tractors, and buses fly by at 60mph, so not very safe for playing in the front yard. In fact, Wesley is completely enamored with all things vehicular and likes to run toward the street to look for them.... and he is pretty fast. I shudder to think about what would happen if I wasn't fast enough to catch him. So, we plan to move into town, into a neighborhood, with a good school system (just in case I decide later not to home school).

In ministry, we have always been in completely different areas. Duane worked the sound for worship services, and did "technical stuff" and I was always helping in the children's area. We each helped out from time to time in the other's area, but very rarely together. We used to help out in our youth group and really enjoyed that, but over time, our church has matured and all our youth are grown. We basically have younger children or adults at our church. Not many teens. Last year, we realized, were convicted really,  that we were both too over committed and not spending nearly enough time together as a family. So, we each stepped out of our ministries to figure out where God would have us serve together. We had a vision, but didn't know how it would work, so we spent time in prayer. Last April, we helped a small team of men, one of whom is our pastor, get ready to go on mission in Africa. We helped them figure out supplies, helped pack backpacks, and really enjoyed it. In December, our pastor asked us to co-lead a new ministry under our missions team that would essentially help prepare others to go on mission. We also are to figure out other ministry opportunities and people groups who need outreaching. We are still figuring out how all this will work, and ironing out details, but we are excited to be a part of this! The great thing is, it is just what we had been praying about and was our vision, but Greg, our pastor, the visionary, took it a couple steps further.

All these (pages) of stories are to show that no matter what we want or plan or expect, God is in control. Did we get our plan fulfilled exactly as we expected? No, not at all. But, had we really prayed about it and sought God's will in it all? Not really. God has a plan, He knows when our next baby will arrive if our house will sell and when it needs to happen. I know I spent way too much time worrying about it, and what good did that do? None. I am glad to have gone through all of this, it has made me really look to the Lord for answers instead of just relying on myself. Who knows what would have happened if we'd sold the house, moved, and had a couple more babies by now. I would have missed out on all of this sweet time with my boy, and I cherish the last almost 3 years with him.

It's a really good thing that God's got this, because if He didn't have it all planned out, our lives would be completely different. It has made us closer as a family and we will trust in Him and His timing as we go forward.

Thanks for reading. Sorry it was so long :)  

{You're Quitting Facebook? WHY?!?}

If you're reading this, most likely you know that I recently announced the deactivation of my Facebook account. I know, in this day and age, it seems like Facebook is a day to day necessity for most people. And, yes, I have spent my fair share of time on it over the last several years. You see, that is the problem. I have spent my fair share of time, plus much much more time, on it over the last several years.
When I first got on the networking site, I enjoyed "catching up" with old friends and seeing what people were up to. Over time, it stopped being less interactive and more "looking in from the outside" and has become an overly time consuming avenue that has led me to compare myself and my life and family to others. Yes, I still enjoy seeing the fun news of weddings, births, pregnancies, and every thing else going on in everyone's lives, but I realized, I am spending so much time looking at what other people are doing instead of actually picking up the phone to call the person. I know I will lose touch with a lot of my Facebook "friends" but in actuality, how can a person be considered a friend, in the true sense of the word, if I haven't spoken a word to them in years? I get the "likes" on my statuses and photos and the occasional comment, but, honestly, I haven't had a real conversation with over 90% of the people on my "friends" list in weeks, months, or years. I want meaningful friendships that are real, face to face friendships where we know each other for who we really are, not who we seem to be on Facebook.

I hope that I can spend more time with my face not looking at a computer or smartphone screen, and, quite honestly, being so easily distracted with the things of this world. If I profess to be a believer, my time should be spent in the Word and in prayer, not spending loads of time on the internet. I am not condemning people for having a Facebook account, or saying that it is wrong to have it, but in my personal case, I spend more time lately focusing on the things of the world than on things eternal, and my relationship with my Savior is suffering because of it.

This blog is mainly to keep family and friends updated on our lives. It most likely won't be anything earth shattering or even very interesting or well written, but I like to chronicle our lives, especially with our growing boy, and have kept pictures with captions on facebook for so long and have been afraid of losing them all. I have now downloaded all of my pictures and will start putting them on here.


Feel free to comment at any time, or email me or even call me :)