Random

I realize the few people that read this are probably wondering when I will write about more important things...like how we are adjusting to life here, how our work is going, etc. But tonight all I can think about is:

* how my 2 year old will not eat dinner for anything, not even dessert!!!! (She must get that
from Marc, because it's sure not me!)

*my 11 month old has 4 teeth, 4 teeth! getting ready to break through and she is miserable!

*my little brother is graduating from High School next week and then coming to see us for two weeks!

*how my muffin pan is too big for my small oven :(

*and I have Amy's chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven as I type this....

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And, really, I can deal with things when I have chocolate on hand!

Also, here is Bailey's monthly picture with the bear, to show her growth. It's getting increasingly harder to get her to actually sit on the blanket next to the bear, so here are some shots we took anyway.

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This one is funny, not sure how I got a picture of them
in the same pose! Silly sisters!

Success!

We've gone 2 days in "big girl panties" and no accidents!!! (Give or take a few hours in pull-ups for naps, and of course I have not even thought about nighttime, but you get the idea!) Woohoo!!! We celebrated tonight and took Cerys to the store to pick out some new underwear. She chose a package of Disney Princess' underwear and a package of Mickey Mouse underwear. She is so proud!

The Ups and Downs of Motherhood

We first moved to Wales in October of 2002. Nine months later, we found out we were expecting our first baby! Total surprise, but we were very excited. A week later, I found myself in the hospital having a miscarriage. We were devastated. That was a very low point in our journey.

Seven months after the miscarriage, we found out we were expecting again! Although VERY nervous, we were very excited. I had a pretty normal pregnancy, and had a nice doctor that took care of us. He had a sonogram machine in his office (don't think American OB/GYN office, this is totally different) and we got to have a sonogram every month. This was a blessing to me because we were so nervous. It was great to see and hear our little one's heartbeat every month! Towards the end of the pregnancy, we moved to the capital-Cardiff. I still had my same doctor, so that was another blessing. D-day came, two days before my due date and sweet baby Cerys was born.

This was the most traumatic experience of my life.

I will not go into all the details here, but it was a long/difficult labor and delivery. I knew something was up when several midwives came in and out of the delivery suite and then the head midwife came in and all I could hear were muffled whispers in the corner of the room. I was terrified. An hour later, Cerys was born, but born "flat"- meaning no heartbeat, not breathing. They carried her pale, limp little body off to the side to work on her. You could have heard a pin drop in that room. I think I was probably in shock a bit, but I can remember Marc standing over my head crying and asking God to give her breath. I looked at one of the midwives and she was crying. That was not good. I asked her if we had had a boy or a girl and she was just whispered "girl". This lovely midwife stayed beyond her shift just to see Cerys born, she stayed with me after this while I was in recovery and came back the next day to check on us. She was a God-send. While not a believer, she experienced God in that room that day, whether she knew it or not! So...to make a really long story short- God answered our prayers, Cerys began breathing and was taken to the SCBU- Special Care Baby Unit, where she spent just one week! But it was the longest week of my life. I stayed in a hospital room one floor below the SCBU, and that's a whole other story...no toilet paper, no meals brought to me, and I had to ask for my sheets to PLEASE be changed after 4 days of sleeping on them. I'm sure most hospital experiences here are not like this, (at least I hope) but for some reason, this is just the way it was for me. Not a good start to motherhood. I don't think I can adequately express the exhaustion I felt that first week. Some of you know what I'm talking about. One week later, on Thanksgiving Day, Cerys was discharged from the hospital. Marc always says that was the best Thanksgiving Day EVER. :) My mom had come from Texas, thank goodness, because I could not think straight. It was November in Wales- dark, rainy, cold and the depression came on me like a tidal wave. I could cry just remembering it right now.

God in His mercy, reached down and came to my aid. It was a long 8 months or so, until I finally felt the depression lifting. We were finishing up 3 years here in Wales and headed back to Texas. I could not be more excited. I needed a break, I needed to get away from the rain, I needed to see my friends, I needed to eat Mexican food, I NEEDED to go to Target...ok, I'll stop right there. :) Anyway, needless to say, Motherhood for me had a very rough start. God bless my sweet husband who helped me through everything. I do not know what I would have done without him during that time.

So, we left Wales when Cerys was 9 months old and moved back to Texas. No job, no house, no car, nothing. It was just a little overwhelming. Not long after we got back I went to see a counselor which helped a great deal. Even though at this point I was out of the darkest part of it, I still needed to talk to someone about everything, since I hadn't told anyone really. So that was a tremendous help. At this point I had pretty much decided that I would be having no more children. Ha. That just makes me laugh. Little did I know. :)

A month after we had moved back, we went to see Marc's brother and sister-in-law in South Carolina, where they were living at the time. We have not seen them in a long time and they had added sweet little Jacob to their family, and the cousins had not met yet! We had a blast. Anyway, one day I mentioned to Rebecca that I was feeling kind of funny. I brushed it off, but a week later I was still feeling funny and had other symptoms, or shall I say lack of something. But I was on the pill and nursing, so I knew it was nothing. She told me to take a pregnancy test. I laughed. We went to Walgreens and bought the cheapest one we could find. 15 minutes later, I sat in her bathroom and cried as I watched the 2 blue lines appear. HOW IN THE WORLD COULD I BE PREGNANT!!! I was not crying tears of joy, I was in shock and that old fear had come rushing back. I was SO not ready to do this all over again.

But God is amazing. I learned so much during that season of my life. I was desperate for Him and He came through for me! I had a very good pregnancy with Bailey and a great doctor. I was very happy to have the experience of being in the States for this delivery! On our hospital tour, I started crying because the hospital was so clean and beautiful. Then they took me up to the maternity floor! I didn't realize you got to be in such a nice labor/delivery room and then you get to moved to an even nicer room! I was so excited!!! I had a scheduled induction for several reasons, but mainly to make sure nothing happened like it did with Cerys' birth. I struggled with fear and anxiety a lot during the pregnancy, and all I could think about was "what if's." I had a million questions every month for my doctor and one of them was always- "Now, you will be there for actual delivery right, because with Cerys, he never showed up! You will be there right? You won't be on vacation or anything? And you will be there right?" I'm sure she was relieved when delivery finally came so she wouldn't hear me ask her that anymore. Anyway, the night before I was feeling especially nervous. I slept pretty good and that morning before we left for the hospital, I read the following in my Daily Light "Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

A few hours later, little Miss Bailey entered the world with a loud wail and we both breathed a huge sigh of relief as Marc said, "That is the best sound in the world!" We might not have been thinking that a few weeks later at 2am, but we did at that moment. :)

Now, Cerys is 2.5 yrs. and Bailey is 11 months old! It's a blast...most days. Even in the midst of potty training!

There are many ups and downs in motherhood, but I would not trade them for anything. I'm so thankful for my girls and that they are healthy and doing great! I'm so thankful for my husband for going through all this with me and still loving me. Most of all, I'm thankful to the Lord for bringing me through the darkest season of my life so far and for being all I need!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone in the States!

Potty Training and our "New Normal"

Ugh. I think this is my least favorite "stage" of life so far. I would rather change a million dirty nappies (diapers) than mop you know what up off the floor any day! Cerys has been in her big girl pants the last 2 days and she's done quite well I guess. The first day, as soon as I put them on her I noticed a trickle running down her leg and a funny look on her face. Ok, one pair down...3 clean ones left. But she has managed to actually use the potty more than she has gone on the floor. A good start I guess. It'll be a fun weekend I'm sure.

Bailey, well...maybe she just needs one nap a day now. I still think she needs 2, but she just would not sleep much this week! She is not into having her nappy changed. My calm-just-lay-there-baby is no more. She tries to roll over as soon as the dirty one is off and she giggles and squirms the entire time I'm trying to get the clean one on her. She just starts flopping like a fish. She S.C.R.E.A.M.S while I'm trying to get her breakfast/lunch/dinner ready, as if I can move any faster.

Like I said, maybe Cerys was just an easy baby and I didn't realize it. :) This is our "new normal" I guess.

Have a good weekend!

Sigh.

Marc has just taken Cerys out for a little while (thank you honey!) and Bailey is actually sleeping (read below) and I'm eating a Pepperidge Farm Milano cookie, imported from the States! I have a house full of chores to do, but my first thought was to sit down, enjoy my cookie and do some blogging. Sigh. (There's nothing chocolate can't fix, right Adele?) :)

It's been an interesting few days. Bailey, our 11 month old (yesterday!) has decided she is not really into naps these days. She also decided to go on a nursing strike two days ago. So that leaves her really grumpy and me really tired (ok, grumpy too). I can't quite figure Bailey out. She suddenly seems like a different child to me. Now that she is crawling, she is into everything!!! And I do mean everything! I'm starting to think Cerys was not a normal baby- she was calm, never into much, she took her naps (mostly) and just seemed very content to play on the floor with toys. Is it normal for the second child to be so different?!? :) She is fast at lightning too. She has refused her morning and afternoon nap the last couple of days and so she is sooo tired by afternoon that all she does is cry. And that makes me want to cry. Cerys told me yesterday, "Mommy, Baiwey needs a sleep!"

We all went to Tesco the other day, and Cerys and Bailey sat next to each other in the trolley. They have trolley's here that have a child's seat and a built in infant seat next to it. It's nice, if you have your two children with you at the store. But it's not so nice because every time Cerys looked away, Bailey would reach over and yank on her hair. Then she would put both of her feet in the air and swing one over and kick Cerys. Poor Cerys, she was so calm about it all and just kept saying politely, "Baiwey, stop." And then of course Bailey would just let a loud scream and start kicking. We got our shopping done fast and got outta there!

Sorry this post is so random. Just hoping this "phase" will pass soon (oh, please let it be just a phase!) so we can get back to normal around here.

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Our little stinker!

Sew Fun!

We had a great time with Mimi and Gan-Gan! They left this morning and I've been busy washing sheets, towels, and dishes. All the laundry is just about done and the girls are in bed for the night!

In between meals and naps, we spent time taking walks, riding the train to Barry Island, shopping, watching Snooker, watching Cerys and Gan-Gan march around the back garden, and even sewing! Marc's mom is great. She and I shopped for fabric almost every day I think and we sure had a blast! I had a few projects lined up for her to help me on, and since I am not very good at sewing don't know how to sew, I put her to work!

I got a small table that was made out of scraps- someone was getting rid of it (gasp!) and it needed to be covered. I am using it as kind of a side table thingy in our living room. I also wanted to cover the IKEA stools that we are using for our bedside tables, and I wanted to cover a small glass window above Bailey's bedroom door. It's getting so bright in the mornings this time of year and our front door is glass, so the sun shines right up the stairs and right into Bailey's room through that window. She had started waking up way too early, so I was desperate to make it a bit darker in her room. So anyway, here are a few before and after pictures for you...if you are interested.

Before:

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After:
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(Marc took that picture above the fireplace, it's of Llanthony Priory, and we had it enlarged and put in sepia tone! Are you impressed? Thought so.)

And here is the bedside stool table-before:

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After:
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Bailey's room-
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So, there you have it. We had a great week with Marc's parents. It's always sad to say goodbye, especially for Cerys. She's been asking all day if Mimi and Gan-Gan are coming back! I enjoyed sewing so much that I'm currently looking for another project to do!

Here are a few more pics that I just had to post!

Bailey "helping" us sew, wearing a scrap of fabric on her head!

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Cerys on the train!

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Have a great weekend!

Fun Times with Mimi and Gan-Gan

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Thanks to all of you that commented on my confusion. :) I just feel like my post are so random and wondered if anyone was making sense of what I posted. So, I shall leave the title alone and just blog about whatever comes to mind...day to day stuff, the girls, ministry stuff, etc.

Marc's parents, aka Mimi and Gan-Gan (suppose to be Grandaddy, but this is how Cerys says it) arrived from Africa yesterday. They will be here all week with us. It's been fun watching Cerys, she is having an absolute blast! The last time we saw Mimi and Gan-Gan was in October, Cerys was not quite 2 and Bailey was 4 months old. We have already celebrated Gan-Gan's birthday and made a trip to the park.


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We did "Easter" crackers for party favors for Gan-Gan's party! Want to know what crackers are? I'm sure there will be more eating of left over birthday cake and trips to the park this week!


Have a great weekend!


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