“Cheese.” Sweet deal: I eat some dirt. I get a bath. I knew I left my cow in here!

I’ve been struggling lately. It’s been a year of lots of change, it’s overwhelming, and Alan is so busy with his engineering classes. Some days I have been a borderline bitter/icky person. I didn’t realize just how gloomy I’d gotten until I was at Bible study Thursday night with some gals in my neighborhood, and I just HEARD MYSELF. Woah. I need to get it together!

This week I really hit a low point, and I just sat on my balcony (love that thing) and cried and prayed. I prayed something like, “God, I don’t know how or what, and I’m not even 100% sure what my problem is, but I need help.” And just like he ALWAYS does…..

God sent help. I didn’t have any ideas for Him on how He could help me. I just knew I needed help.

My patience has been tried and found wanting.

But God. But God.

God answers prayer. I remember in 2011, Daniel was a newborn, our third baby. The other boys were ages 5 and 3 1/2. Alan got orders:  Afghanistan for 6 months. There I was with three small boys, and no relatives nearby.

God provided. He always does. This wonderful mentor of mine, Deborah, sent me help in the form of her daughter and a couple of their friends. They took turns staying at my house from Sunday night through Wednesdays, every single week, just so I could have the help I needed. I was actually able to go to the grocery store by myself–and make dentist appointments. Such a luxury!!

Then when JD was born–I was such a pitiful c-section recovering, anemic, postpartum MESS. God was there. I just prayed, “God help.” He sent my mom. My neighbors brought food, constantly. It was such a blessing.

Dear God, I’m sorry you have to keep bailing me out of troubles!!!

I get the feeling he doesn’t mind doing it, though. I was just reading in the book of Jeremiah today. (Yes, I’m still in Jeremiah. I’m calling it the read-the-Bible-through-in-two-years plan this time.) I’m plugging away, but I’m also doing a new Bible study now.

Thursday nights I am now going to a Ladies’ Bible study group in my neighborhood. I’m excited about this, and it’s after 8pm, so I don’t have to feel guilty about leaving my husband, who desperately needs to be doing homework, alone with four little boys because they are all already in bed. This group is going to be a great blessing. I can see that already.

Then the very next night, Friday, I went to my homeschool moms’ group’s “Moms’ Night”. Lacy is uniquely talented at coming up with questions to get the group talking. When she announced the question this week, “How full is your tank right now, and what do you do to fill it back up when it’s low?”………..Oh, I knew I was in trouble. I knew I could not answer this question without crying.

“Maybe no one will notice if I slip under the radar and don’t take a turn at answering the question,” I thought.

hahahahaha Well, that didn’t work. So of course, I bawled like a baby, in front of a whole group of women that I only met less than two months ago. What else could I do? Say, “Oh, I’m great. My tank is so full. I love getting lost all the time, missing all my friends and family, and never getting to just hang out with my husband.”  Don’t get me wrong. Alan faithfully comes home everyday, in time for dinner, and he even manages putting the boys to bed. Usually, he tucks in all the boys and I do the baby. But once that is done, Alan stays up until at least midnight doing homework, just to keep up. We rarely ever get to just chill.

So there you go. These are not the easiest of times for us. I don’t know many people. It’s not perfect.

However, I totally think God put me in this position on purpose. I think God wants me to focus more on my own house and children right now. He knows I need as few distractions as possible to survive this FIRST year of home schooling.

The only hitch is that I tend to fill my tank by hanging out with friends. I hardly even get to hang out with my best friend, Alan, much less others, so it’s hard to keep my tank running.

This isn’t all bad either. It has forced me to depend more on God, to pray more, to humble myself more. I needed this, whether I like it or not.

Well, I told the Friday group some of this, through the crying, which probably made it impossible to understand anything I said. So embarrassing. They were wonderfully understanding though.

I even got the BEST compliment ever:  One of these sweet, sweet women said to me, “You remind me so much of Anne of Green Gables.”

YA’LL!!!  Best compliment.

I told you that God has answered my prayers again, right? He did. First, I got to go to the Bible study on Thursday and the Ladies’ Night on Friday. Both nights were so helpful.

Then today, two of these women invited me to two different things. I had to turn down both invitations because of Alan’s studies, but it felt so good to be invited.

THEN, and this is really exciting, Alan’s mother called and said that they are coming in just a few weeks for a help visit!!!  They want to come and help us!!  They want to take care of our children while we tend to the jobs we can’t get to. They want to be here on Saturday so Alan can actually work at the library.

Now we have this beacon of hope to look forward to! Help is coming, and we need it. I can’t even explain why we need it so much, but we just do.

I love my job. I love teaching the boys. I love holding my babies. I love getting to watch Daniel go from baby to big boy. I love writing my blog and growing it into something that more people will want to read. I love cooking. I love keeping a house that looks nice–haven’t actually managed that last one in a while. I love it all, but I just can’t DO it all lately.

My prayers have been answered. I feel so full of hope today. God is a gentleman. God will not force his blessings upon you. Just think how many atheists would be disappointed if he did!! It’d be like those women that get angry at men that hold doors. He will gladly help those who ask him to, though. He only asks that you obey his commands, but he does not force us.

Jesus summed up God’s commands in two things, in Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

That brings me back to what I was saying earlier about reading in Jeremiah. In today’s reading, Babylon had taken over Judah, and the remaining remnant went to Jeremiah and said, “Pray to God for us, and ask him what we should do, and we will do whatever he asks us to do.”

Jeremiah prayed on their behalf, and God told him that if the people would obey Him and stay in Judah through this time of Babylonian rule, there would be no famine or hardship. God promised to look over this remnant of people, if they would only trust him and not flee to Egypt. If they left for Egypt, all of these horrible things would happen to them as a result of their disobedience.

This should have been a true comfort to these people. Just trust God! He will take care of you! The prophet Jeremiah said it, and he had a spotless record!!! He’d been warning them that the Babylonians were coming if they didn’t cut out their evil ways for YEARS!

Well, in true faithless “do what we wanna do” form, the people ran off to Egypt. Of course, Nebuchadnezzar crushed Egypt too, so that turned out to be the wrong decision, just as God had said. If only they had listened. The thing is, God will not make us listen. He only asks us to. He is a gentleman.

I don’t want to be like the remnants of Judah. I want God in my life. God is always FAITHFUL. I know I can follow him anywhere, and so far he has brought us to such wonderful places, given us a precious family, and overwhelming peace in the midst of all storms. We know this too will pass, and we are seeing our God carrying us through already.

So today I’m praising him, and nothing else is going to get me down.

The post God provides, as always. Hallelujah!! appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I’m really glad I did because it was over two hours before Alan was done.

Do you know what I actually said a few weeks ago?  “Oh, it won’t be hard, prepping for the move, with just one baby here.”

I will give you all a minute to laugh at my stupidity. BAHAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA

One baby is all it takes to thwart perfectly good plans. Back to my story: a rough morning was had by all.

Alan: -At the beginning of the inspection, Alan dropped a brand new set of blinds, which we had just bought last night after the maid service broke them–and wouldn’t admit that they broke them. The blinds shattered all over the floor.

–Several lights just randomly decided to not turn on this morning that had never done that before….and the packers…..who do not pack light bulbs, as a rule, actually did pack the light bulbs that go to those particular light fixtures. Bizarre, considering they left us mountains of light bulbs, batteries, candles, and cleaning products. (Not complaining–just pointing out the irony of the missing light bulbs.)

-At the end of the inspection, Alan went to crank the van, and nothing. That’s right. He had to use his truck to give himself a jump-start.

-While sitting and letting the van run, Alan suddenly felt pain in his left arm. A wasp had gotten into the van and stung him in two places.

All of this before the road trip even started, but I have to tell you, he handled it all so well.

**********

Meanwhile, while I was skipping the home inspection, at the park:

First, I tried walking. JD started to cry, so I took him to the park. John David was well entertained by the playground equipment for about 20 minutes. Thankfully, just as JD was getting restless, a sweet family arrived. I have talked to Kevin, Liz, and their kids several times at our neighborhood park before. They are a really cute family with a daughter that’s Daniel’s age, as well as a daughter that’s JD’s age, and one more on the way.

I don’t know what I would have done without them today. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’d been praying all morning for help with this stressful move, and God came through for us as always. There are few accidents!

The little girls kept John David entertained. Actually, they kept me entertained too! It was amazing to see their toddler walking all over the place. I just kept thinking, “Wow, I can’t believe that’s going to be JD soon–walking all over the place!”

As JD was getting super cranky after an hour or so, they even shared their snacks with him. Kevin even held JD for me for a bit, which was a welcome break!

I want to wish this precious family much luck! Liz, I wish I were still there to offer you babysitting during those foggy postpartum weeks. I hope everything goes well. I’m sure it will. You two are such wonderful parents.

After these friends left, I pushed JD in his stroller, back and forth, around the park, until he fell asleep. I was so fortunate. I figured I’d sit on a bench while he slept, and maybe let myself just feel sad for a few minutes…….but then I was reminded yet again what made that community so great. Friend after friend dropped by and talked to me at the park. There was never a spare second to sit and reminisce–which was great! Thanks for stopping by, ya’ll, just to say hello, you really brightened this tired momma’s day!!

*********

Once we finally hit the road, we were starving. I never even had breakfast. With Joshua safely in Alabama, we thought, “Hey! We can eat at Chick-fil-a!” Woohoo!!  And so we did. The JD/possible peanut allergy thing never crossed my mind. We’ve had so many things on our minds.

The next time we stopped, we discovered a little red rash on JD’s face. Just peachy. Chick Fil A uses peanut oil, and I had given him a french fry. We gave him some Benadryl and drove on. The bad news is that the Benadryl worked. I was suspicious before, but now I am just sure of it. We have another peanut kid on our hands.

It was a very successful road trip today. We made it to Knoxville. Then we decided to stop, to give JD a chance to play in the hotel room before bed. That has worked nicely so far.

********

The three oldest boys are doing great in Alabama. Alan’s parents have sent me a few pictures.

……and a couple of good quotes:

Alan’s parents: Who wants to say the blessing?

Dan: Me!!  Me!!!   Danks, God. Amen. 🙂

****

Nonna (after taking the three boys to a museum–with Janet and her grandkids):  I’m so tired I can’t see straight.

Oh, Nonna, how we know that feeling!!  Thank you so much for doing this!!!!!

****

One quote from our road trip today:

Alan: Yeah….you’ve got an Anna voice, trying to sing an Elsa song…..

Humph! Whatcha tryin’ to say, Alan?? 😉 Ha! That’s okay. Idina Menzel is one of a kind.

****

Tomorrow: We’re meeting Alan’s extended family for lunch in Alabama!  Plus, we get reunited with all of our children. Can’t wait!

The post Road Trip Day 1: First stop, Knoxville appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I’m back from my Alabama visit!  I caught the last flight from Atlanta to Baltimore last night.  It is a good thing too because  each flight after it was cancelled, due to the weather. And boy, do I have some tips to share about flying with an infant. Of course, I had to go and learn them all the hard way.

Best things about my trip:

• I got to visit with family.
• I got to hold a precious newborn.
• I spent time SITTING on a sofa.  : )
• The food!  Oh, the food!!!  We had Arby’s!!!  We had Swiss Cake Rolls, Fage Greek yogurt–my very favorite, but I’m usually too cheap to buy it, pizza, and oh!  Goldfingers chicken!!!  It was a party in my tummy.  : )
• We went through many of Granny’s things, mostly clothes, jewelry, and cards that she’d saved.  I brought home a few beautiful broaches that will remind me of Granny each time I wear them.

The visit part was awesome.  The flying part was where the work came in.

Have you ever flown with an infant?  It’s not really my favorite.  While waiting to board one flight, this nice, well-meaning lady came up and talked to me.  She said, “Just wait….” and I must’ve had a look on my face that let her know this wasn’t actually my first rodeo, because she stopped and said, “Is this your first?” Of course, you know I explained that I have four, but she went on to say how much easier it is to travel with just one, rather than two or more.

Well, yes, that’s true, BUT that does not negate that traveling with even just one infant is difficult–especially when you’re traveling ALONE with the infant.  Oy.  I have flown with four different babies at different times over the years–usually without Alan–but also a time or two with him.  It’s much easier when both parents are present.

Here are a few lessons I’ve picked up over the years on flying with infants:

#1. Ergo Vs. Strollers    

While I use my Ergo often, I’m not really the queen of baby carrier wearers.  I have trouble fastening them by myself.  I also have back issues, so I can’t wear them for very long at a time.

On my flight down south, I decided to only use the Ergo. I didn’t even take a stroller with me because I figured I can travel rather quickly that way. After all, I had a crazy short layover in Atlanta.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THAT.

If you love wearing your Ergo, fine, but I highly recommend that you have a stroller with you. Have the stroller for when your back starts to hurt so badly that you become super jealous of the people in wheelchairs.  I spent a few minutes there at the end, fantasizing over riding in one of those wheelchairs, let me tell ya!

While in Alabama, I went to the store and picked out the most awesome little almost-umbrella stroller I have ever purchased.  HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS:

I used this stroller on the trip home, and I didn’t bother with the Ergo.  It worked much, much better, and I won’t spend two days with an achy back as a result of it either.

#2.  Food

Food is the number one way to entertain little ones on an airplane.  JD is pretty messy with his food, so for him I used a bottle of apple juice.  My kids have to drink apple juice for their bathroom issues, so it’s a guilt-free tool for us.

JD still doesn’t really take a bottle, so he mostly gnawed on it, took sips here and there, and played with it.

Breastfeeding usually solves a lot of problems too.  Don’t be afraid to breastfeed your baby on the airplane.  People, in general, are very understanding, and if they aren’t, who cares?  Babies have to eat whether your seat mate is weird about it or not!

Which brings me to point #3:

#3. Breastfeeding on an Airplane….

Oh, the joys…I have this weird problem:  When I feel nervous or uptight, my milk STOPS.  It just won’t let down for the baby.  No milk = mad baby.

Have any of you other breastfeeding mommies had this no-let-down- when- nervous problem?

On my first flight, I was walking down the aisle, looking for my seat. All I could see in the area I were men.  “Noooooo,” I thought, “Oh, please, no, oh please, no, don’t let that be my seat next to the pretty man,” because it really looked like it was.  I did not want to have to breastfeed next to the handsome man.

I was lucky.  My seat was right in front of his, right beside a SUPER sweet girl, about my age.  PHEW!!!!  She was awesome.  We had such a good time talking, I really wish I’d caught her name.  She was a kindred spirit.

All went well with the breastfeeding.

Yes, I use a nursing cover.  I forgot mine, so I had to use a blanket, which is only a little more difficult.

On my return flight, I DID have to sit next to a man, about my age, and guess what happened?  I felt uncomfortable, as he was not a dad yet, so I knew he was probably uncomfortable, and my milk would not let down.  What is wrong with me???  Am I the only one with this problem???  Tell me I’m not the only one!!!  Ugh.

THANKFULLY, the lady I mentioned before, that I’d talked to at the airport, who’d said, “just wait until you have two kids”, appeared out of nowhere, and rescued me with a strand of Mardi Gras beads!  JD  was in Heaven with those beads.  Thank you, bead lady!!!!

God provides.

I simply fed JD later, after we landed at the airport, in a carefully selected seat near a window, across from a nice grandparent-ish couple.  Halfway through the feeding, this young man behind me–that liked to look around, but I’d forgotten all about him–suddenly said, “Oh, sorry!” looking at me….apparently he’d gotten a peek.

There was really nothing to say to that…..so we’ll move on.

#4. When the baby fights sleep, and the crying begins….

The very last flight was when JD started to lose it.  Don’t worry, I didn’t cry, but JD sure did.  Whatever you do at home to quiet a crying baby is what works on an airplane too.

Joshua was the type of baby that never cried once, the airplane just lulled him to sleep, and I thought flying with babies was so easy.

JD was more difficult, but he only got really upset on the very last flight.  We were sitting by the “We’re not talking here,” type of guy.  Boo fun.  I do not like sitting by non-talkers.  Holding the baby with no one to talk to is lonely.  The talking soothes JD, so without it, I was left with sleepy-grumpy-poopy JD.

We’ll talk about the poopy part in a minute…..

As it turns out, it’s perfectly acceptable to stand up, rock your baby back and forth, and even sing to him.  : )  Can you picture it?  Yes, I had to resort to all of these things, but at least he went to sleep.

#5. Diaper changing on an airplane:

Somehow, JD always chose to do his business ON the airplane.  Great.  I handled this 3 different ways, all which worked just fine:

A.  On a flight where the back row was empty, I snuck back there and used that row to change his diaper where no one could see us.

B.  On a flight where I boarded first, so the seats around me were all still empty, I hastily laid JD in my lap and changed him right there.  Thankfully, it was just a wet one.

C.  JD went full-on messy diaper during our very last flight, so I just marched him down to the airplane bathroom.  Do the plane bathrooms have changing tables?  Um, no.  I put the lid to the toilet down, sat there, and changed a seriously poopy diaper right there in my lap.

This would’ve all been a lot harder with a Daniel-sized toddler.

#5.  EARS

If your ears are bothering you, their ears are probably bothering them.  I tried to keep a pacifier in his mouth for this, as it never happened when he was hungry. In the past, I have done the whole feeding during the descent thing.  The descent always seems to be the worst for ears. JD seemed to handle it best lying down, rather than sitting up.

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 Our journey was quite the adventure.  I do have this knack for getting myself into scrapes.  On the way home, I ran into a major snag when I couldn’t find my car in the parking garage.  

Advice to myself:  Always write down your parking space number.  

I spent ten minutes wandering around the 1st floor of the garage in the freezing cold because all I remembered was that I parked on the 1st floor, to the left of the elevators……I didn’t realize there are 4 different sets of elevators….

 I ended up with a cold, hungry baby, getting back on the shuttle bus, not really sure where to look next.

Guess what happened next?  Remember my post about the kindness of strangers?  I ran into some more angels-in-disguise.  Their names were Bob and Jan.  They were a grandparent-ish couple, and they asked me if they could drive me around the garage until we found my car.  We found it right away because I remembered exactly how I’d turned into the 1st floor and driven to the third row.  Phew!  Thank you, Bob and Jan!!

Again, God provides.  Be silenced, all ye who credit coincidence; there are few accidents.

Okay, so my next big goal is to start making better decisions so that I’m not constantly requiring help from strangers!!!

The post Expert Tips for Flying with an Infant (that I learned the hard way) appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.