Pictures

I am sorry I haven't been posting too much lately...I think everyone understands though, right? Just a little not of update, we at the Hodges home are doing well, just trying to find normal...I just don't know where I lost it! Bethany is a true answer to prayers. I honestly prayed for a baby who was laid back, content and happy, or the grace the handle one who was not, and the Lord has sent me a quiet, happy, content little girl who really only cries when her diaper is changed. She hasn't even cried when Josiah threw some toys in her bed and they landed on her head. Josiah on the other hand is a confused little fella and I feel so bad for him! He does not handle well any attention that is not on him. He has never been like this before, but he can't stand for me to put my attention on anything else, whether it be a phone call, the computer, cooking or anything. If my attention to him is missing, he acts out like there is no tomorrow. He has started to cry like the baby does because he thinks I will react to him faster. He also has become really good at just throwing himself into the floor and hashing out a real good fit. There have probably been many times during the day that he needed discipline, but all I could see fit to do was to hold him in my arms and tell him how much I love him. Last week, for an entire week, my parents were here to visit and to help me out with our new addition. I had a great time with them here and was so sad to see them go, but I think that Josiah was affected by their leaving much worse than I was. He still goes to the bottom of the stairs and says, "Da-daddy and Mamaw! Come play!". He also has informed me several times that "Da-daddy on the potty", and "Mamaw sleeping". He has cried for them a couple of times and repeatedly asks for them so much it is sweet. Anyway, that is the update on us for now. Please pray that I will know better how to react to Josiah and handle him through this rough time. I am going to add some pictures as I promised before. Hope you enjoy!

Time for an update!!!

Well, for those of you who don't know...little Bethany Arlene Hodges was born on 12/5/2008, a few minutes before 2pm. She weighed in at 8 lbs, 7 ozs and 20 1/2 inches long. She has a head full of dark brown/black hair, and by far, the hairiest ears I have seen on a baby...ever. It's like she is growing a garden on the back of her ears! She is adorable!!!

Let me take a walk down memory lane and share a little with you all...

As I said before, Josiah's birth was not the best and left me with an experience much to be desired. The biggest things were that I wanted to remember the first time I held little Bethany, and I didn't want to wait over 12 hours to try to feed her and I wanted her with me in the recovery room. I came away from the experience ELATED! Everyone thought mostly I was just on a drug induced high, but I was feeling great and was happy about how everything turned out. Less than 24 hours after my surgery, I was able to have my catheter and IV removed and was walking around like it was nobody's business.

After the birth, Bethany was great. She nursed great from the beginning and has not skipped a beat since. The afternoon after her birth, my nurse asked to check Bethany out and while she was checking her over, she got a weird look on her face and looked at me and said that she was going to take her to the nursery for just a minute and would be right back. She did come back a few minutes later, without Bethany, and she was talking really fast and acting really nervous and told me that she was checking Bethany out and noticed that she was rapidly breathing and not calming down. The called the doctor down to check her out and he said he heard a really bad heart murmur. From there, they ordered chest xrays and an echochardiogram. They returned Bethany to me several hours later and said that they checked her out and she appeared to have three small holes in her heart. These are the types of holes that are supposed to close when the baby is born, but these have not. They checked her again the next day and she had no sign of the bad heart murmur they heard before. We are going to see a cardiologist in about a month, but the doctor thinks that there is no reason the holes will not close between now and then, and also that if they don't, they are so small no surgery should be required. I will keep everyone updated. Well, in the middle of all of this, Bethany did have a good bit of jaundice and was kept under bili lights for about 2 1/2 days. One day she was kept under the entire time and no one was able to hold her but me, and I was only able to hold her for about 30 minutes at a time to nurse her.

I was discharged from the hospital the day before Bethany was, but the hospital staff was able to let me board in a room that was not being used...with the understanding if they became busy or booked, I would have to go home. Well, that did not happen, and I was able to stay the night, and Bethany was able to stay with me in the room. The next morning Bethany was released and we all went home! We had a great morning at home and a great day in general, with all of us getting much needed naps. Josiah had come home and we were all excited to be a family together again!

Around 8pm, I sat down to feed Bethany and became really cold. I thought I was cold because I was walking around in a sleeveless shirt and pants, so I got a little more dressed. After I fed Bethany, I was shivering, so I put on a coat and got a blanket out. Eventually, I knew something was wrong when my teeth were chattering and I was shivering uncontrollably and I had three coat and two blankets on. Danny called the doctor and the doctor pretty much said wait until the morning or go to the emergency room. Through the night, I had chills on and off and blankets on and off. I was so much sicker the next morning. We headed into the OB's office and he checked me out and determined I had a severe uterine infection...to which he said I must head back to the hospital immediately for 3 or 4 days and that I needed to be on some extensive IV antibiotics. So, off to the hospital I went! My sweet sister in law, Amber came and picked up Josiah and took him back to our house so he could take a nap, my sweet mother in law came by our house to pick him up later and take him back to her house. My DH kept Bethany with him the entire time. My main concern was whether or not I could still nurse Bethany while I was in the hospital, and all of my fears were relieved, she was able to still nurse and stay with me in the hospital as long as someone stayed with me. So, the way it worked was Danny took Bethany home at night with him and gave her formula through the night. Danny then came early in the morning with Bethany and stayed with me until our cousin Miracle or Amber arrived. Miracle, Amber and Danny worked shifts on and off to keep Bethany with me all day and home at night. This was so very special to me that they would do this as they knew how much it meant to me for Bethany to feed well.

My second time around in the hospital was not as rose-y and peach-y as it sounds, though! For two days, the stat blood work that was ordered by my doctor was never done. When it was done, it wasn't done thoroughly and had to be done two more times. One of the times, a phlebotomy student came in to draw some blood. The phlebotomist teaching him stood aloof against an opposite wall as the student asked me where I would like to be poked. It was then that I looked over at the "teacher" and told him what a bad stick I was and I preferred that he do the poking [it was the student's first week!!!!]. About this time, my nurse also walked in, so I had three people hovering over me trying to find the best place to draw blood. The "teacher" poked and missed, laid the used needle on my bed sheet, and then let the nurse have a try. Well, the nurse missed too. About that time, the student picked up the used needle and poked himself pretty badly on my used needle [Oh, yeah, didn't tell you that a few minutes before they all came in, I had gotten the news that I was diagnosed with a staph infection called MRSA - it was "colonized within my nose" and not serious, but I guess it was contracted by the student now!], dripped blood on my covers and washed and dried his hands, but left his bloody paper towels in the trash can and on the floor on top of my shoes. I didn't realize there was blood everywhere for about an hour. I asked the nurse to come back in and handle the dirty sheets and trash and paper towels. The next day I had two of my three IV's "blow" because of some minor negligence on behalf of a nursing student's part. Finally, last Sunday morning, I was able to come home from the DR and I have been feeling really good since!

Danny was supposed to go back to work Monday night the 15th, but since we had not really had much time together at home since Bethany was born, he was able to get a couple of more days off, and he did not go back for the first time until last night. This gave us a few days home with Josiah and Bethany together trying to get used to our new little addition.

Josiah pretty much ignores Bethany for the most part. He has done a few funny things, for example:

• the morning after we got home, we were all waking up for the morning and Bethany was crying...all of a sudden, from Josiah's room, I almost heard his wheels turning...then I heard him trying to cry like Bethany, little baby whimpers. I think he thought we would come and get him out of bed quicker if he cried like her.
• He has told her no-no about many things, including sitting in her swing - he still thinks it is his!
• If he sees Bethany's pacifier lying around, he will bring it to her saying "I help!" then shoves it in her face...somewhat gently...
• the only thing I don't know quite how to handle so far are the fits Josiah will throw out of the blue. One minute he will be standing in the living room, the next minute he throws himself on the floor in a fit, over nothing! I guess he is trying to make sure he hasn't lost any attention. This is going to be a balancing act!!!

So, I know this is a long update, but it is over due. Danny told me tonight over dinner...you need to update the family blog, don't you? You know you are behind when your husband tells you you need to catch up on something!!!

Well, I am going to close this for now and maybe in a couple of days add some pictures. My parents are coming into town for a week, so maybe I will post again after they visit. We look forward to having them!

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, phone calls, visits, dinners and gifts. Your kindness is more than we could repay! We love you all!

The Hodges Family

Danny, Melanie, Josiah and Bethany

My DH Rocks!

Sorry I haven't kept up with this, but it is way past time for a new entry!

For the past two weeks at least, I have felt almost perfectly helpless to do a lot around the house and also to do any lifting of Josiah, including, but not limited to, changing diapers, lifting in and out of the high chair, or big boy seat, whichever floats his boat at the time, bath time and bed time. I have really only been lifting Josiah once a day and that is out of the bed in the mornings. So, Danny has been doing it all! Here is a little of what Danny's schedule is like: He works 3rd shift, so he generally goes in to work anywhere from 10pm to midnight each day of the week except for Wednesday nights. Danny generally gets home anywhere from 5am to 7am. When he comes home, he eats a little meal, usually washes any dishes I have had to leave behind, straightens up the dining room and living room - just because he knows how important it is to me! - and then comes to bed after slipping Josiah a little morning milk and coaxing him back to sleep so mommy can sleep some more. But wait! That's not all! Danny sleeps from about 8am to 3pm - roughly - we all spend afternoon time together, doing whatever needs to be done, and Danny usually helps me with more clean up and dinner. We might slip in a hand or two of our favorite card game after dinner, but after dinner, Danny gives Josiah his bath, readies him for bed, brushes his teeth [man, is he good or what???] and then, if Danny has time, he might catch him an hour or two of a nap before work. I just don't know what I would do without such a devoted husband and father. He never complains and loves everything he does. I look forward to having our little girl and taking some of the strain off of Daddy, but you know, he won't let me do that! He will just keep chugging along, doing everything he loves to do so much! Thank you, my sweetheart, for all you have been doing and for being such a wonderful father and husband!

While having said all of this, please pray for Danny as well. I know that he is becoming extremely nervous as the date for my c-section approaches. He worries about me and the baby and it is a very rough time for him. I know he feels lost without me at home too and thinks that everything including care of Josiah and everything else will fall on him even while I am in the hospital. I have care of Josiah taken care of until we return home, then Danny has about a week off with us and then Josiah will go back to Danny's mom's house. Danny is stressed and I think he feels pulled in many different directions, so please, as you pray for me on FRiday, remember him too.

But, needless to say, MY HUSBAND ROCKS!!!

Putting all of your eggs...

...in one basket...

Okay, so don't ask me how, but I seemed to have ended up with about 4 dozen eggs in my fridge and have been meaning to do something with them all for the past week or so. I bought a lot of english muffins, sausage and bacon and I am going to try to put together some muffins and freeze them. Right now I have three different little egg casseroles going on in the oven. One has ham and cheese in it...just for Amber [sorry, J/K, my dear sis - n - law!], the others are plain old egg and a little seasoning. I have learned to fluff my eggs up a little bit with milk or water to the scramble, so these are light and fluffy looking so far! So, does anyone else have some constructive ways I can cook up the rest of these eggs before I go into the hospital? I can't stay on my feet for long at all, so I am a little limited!

Josiah has been a delight this morning wanting to "help you mommy?", and I realized I still must be doing too much around the house and on my feet if my 21 month old walks around saying, "Wanna clean, mommy?"! So, while I have been cooking, and in an effort to be close to Josiah because I am sad about being away from him for a few days, I filled up the kitchen sink with water, got his potty/stool out and have been letting him "help" wash dishes. This has been his most fun thing to do in the last couple of weeks. Yes, it is messy, but sometimes I realize there is going to have to be a little mess to clean up in order for everyone to have fun, right? Plus, this will occupy him for a LOT of time and it beats just putting him in front of the "boob tube" to drain his brain! I am blessed that he does not like TV too much anyway. Every now and then when I need a break, he will sit long enough to watch a 30 minute VeggieTales movie, sometimes Elmo and sometimes Winnie the Pooh. Other than this, he could care less and would rather be doing other things! I hope it stays that way!

Well, I have taken my mandatory rest and am going to do a few more things [I will get up and do something around the house for about 10 minutes or so, then come and sit down for 30...hey, don't knock it til you've tried it! :-) ].

Playing with my blog...

I have enjoyed rearranging and changing my blog this evening. I did not know that it could be this easy! I chose pink because "pink is in the air" around this part of Roanoke, Virginia! Friday 12/5 is the date that my husband, son and I should meet little Bethany Arlene. I am so excited! Of course, there is a very slight chance that Friday will be a no go, but it is so slight I am not even considering it! We have been busy here trying to get last minute things done. I have mostly been sitting and delegating as my DH is doing. Going into the hospital is like going on a vacation. I hate coming home to a messy or unorganized home and there is only so much I can do from a resting state. I like to come back home to nice smells - you know, not the kind where...oops, you forgot to empty the trash before you left... or dishes piled up at the sink waiting to be washed. I really want to come home to my haven and rest, so we are still plugging away at at few things here in our home.

Thursday is a packed day for us with three different dr appts and a presurgical appt at the hospital, so that morning, really early we are going to drop Josiah off at Grandma's house [Danny's mom...who btw...is such a great mom and grandmother! I feel great with Josiah in her care for a few days now and a few days later. She has been such a help to me/us!!!], go to all of our appts, and we even thought we might be able to throw one more quiet night in the mix for just Danny and I. This will probably consist of one of our favorite things to do...Barnes and Noble...we love to go, sit and read! I told Danny tonight that I already miss Josiah and he is not even gone! Josiah melted my heart tonight when, for the first time, unprompted, got a baby doll[okay, so it was actually a naked Barbie doll...I have no idea where it came from...], put it in the new swing we have for Bethany, and turned the music on and said her name. He has been calling Bethany "Baby Betty" which I have been working really hard on, so tonight he turned the music on and gleefully exclaimed "Bet-a-nee!", over and over again. It really did do my heart good!

So, Friday morning is fast approaching and I am excited yet really nervous about my surgery. I don't want to go into too much detail, but my c-section with Josiah was not planned, but that is what ended up happening. The surgery was very invasive and some things were not what I wanted at all. Since the surgery was so invasive, it is a very bad idea for me to have future births naturally. Trust me on this, I could go into further detail, but will spare you unless you want to talk privately. But, I hope things will be different with this delivery. With Josiah, I was not alert AT ALL. I remember only a few things because right before we decided to go ahead with the c-section, I had been given two very powerful pain medicines...stadol and something else. I was loopy! In the operating room, I remember my DH with tears in his eyes getting down in my ear and singing "Great is thy faithfulness". I remember waking myself up snoring...yes, I snored through most of the surgery... and I remember hearing Josiah screaming and trying to comfort him from where I was. Danny was able to hold him and Josiah finally stopped crying when he was held up to my face and I was able to sing to him and whisper in his ear. I don't remember anything after this. I don't remember the first time I got to hold Josiah and I don't remember the first time I got to nurse him. I know that both were very long periods of time after Josiah was born and later I was really sad about this. Anyway, I guess what I am getting at is that I am glad that I expect this surgery to go better. I can be as alert as I want as long as the anesthesiologist knows what I want. I have already talked to the L and D nurses at the hospital and I have been assured that unless there is a problem with me or the baby, I can take Bethany with me to the recovery room and hold her or nurse her as long as I want or when I want. So, I am thankful that since I have to have a c-section, it will at least go the way I want it to this time. Well, I have gone on for long enough. I mostly wanted to say I am excited about our baby and seeing pink!!!

Kids do the darndest things!!!

Okay, so, I am supposed to be staying off of my feet, and most of the time I am able to accomplish that, but then there are those days...

Poor Josiah was extremely restless today and for the first time asked me over and over to "go outside and play?". I knew I couldn't do that and stay completely off of my feet because he likes to walk up and down the sidewalks in front of the houses in our neighborhood and look for dogs and cats. So, I thought today is the day I will take him to Chik-Fil-A and to play...nice alternative, and staying off my feet 75% of the time, right? Well, off we went. We had a nice lunch and I let Josiah play for almost an hour at ChikFilA while I sat and watched him and talked to other mothers. I can not tell you how many looks of sympathy I got today, but I can tell you that 4 times I heard expressions like, "Oh my goodness, you are huge!", or "Good grief, you are about to pop!". I guess people are afraid to ask when a woman is "due" anymore because what if they are wrong and the person is not really pregnant? Anyway...

My most utterly, mortifying and embarrassing moment happened when we were readying to leave. I put on my coat and I was putting on Josiah's coat as we stood beside a nice older couple eating lunch in their booth. The older man was very demonstrative in his talking and talked with his hands extensively. In the hand closest to us, the man had his fork with a forkful of food on it and was just talking to his wife. I saw Josiah's eyes following the fork, but didn't think much of it. I thought Josiah was just a little intrigued. Well, that man kept waving his fork and I didn't realize how close to Josiah he was getting, and when he stopped moving his hand, Josiah grabbed his hand and shoved the forkful of food into his own mouth! The couple thought it was adorable and I was apologizing and wanting to hide under a table when Josiah uses his best sign language and words together makes the signs for "more" and "please" and says it to the man. Then the man gave him another bite!!! He said he couldn't resist and thought he was the cutest boy ever. I can laugh about it now, but I tell you, I was mortified! I finally talked the man into letting me get him another fork as he was originally content on eating off the fork that had also been in my son's mouth...well, what can you do?

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving day with friends and family. God Bless!

Falling behind, and falling in general...

I thought I would quit falling behind and update everyone on the Hodges happenings for now. We are 2 weeks and 1/2 day away from meeting our little girl. I am very ready, past ready, but also do not like the thought of having to deliver at 37 weeks as slight problems can arise. My doctor figures fewer problems can arise if I deliver 3 weeks early, so we are going with his decision. He is a very good DR and has take very good care of me, especially this pregnancy.

So, since I mentioned falling behind, the dishes sit, stacked elegantly, yet dirty, on my kitchen counters...a few on the kitchen table, and a few on the dining room table. There is a lot of laundry folded, just not put away. There is a lot of dirty laundry piling up again, but what can we say...it's only going to grow bigger, right? The living room is a maze of my son's toys, scattered here and there, and we won't even begin to talk about my bedroom! I am okay with it all though. I simply wish I had the energy I had a week, two weeks or even a month ago. Last week I was asking my mother in law what I could cook for our Thanksgiving meal and today I was telling her whatever could be bought would be what I could bring. Energy...where did it all go? It probably went away with all of the swelling that encompasses me. Yes, just like with Josiah, I am swollen again, but that is what happens though. My sister in law dropped by tonight and she was like a breath of fresh air...as she always is! Amber found me upstairs sitting in the bathroom while Josiah was vegging in the tub. He was grouchy tonight, but he seemed to be so happy in the tub that I let him sit and get prune-like. When it was time to get out, Amber did all of the honors, diapering, dressing, lifting! Whew, I was glad she came over. It seemed like she knew that I was tired and came to minister just to me...she is so sweet! Speaking of Amber, she and I were talking and I was lamenting, AGAIN, the fact that I feel HUGE and we were talking about the differences between last pregnancy and this and we were just goofing off. She remembered, when I was pregnant with Josiah, how I went on and on about how huge my nose got. All of my facial swelling really bothered me last pregnancy and all I could see out of my peripheral vision was my huge honker. Amber brought up my previous lamenting and without skipping a beat reminded me how big my nose is now! We laughed as she often makes me do!

Speaking of falling in general, about a week ago, I had three falls in one week...really abnormal for me. The first two were harmless, really, and could have been worse, but praise the Lord, they were not. The first two falls I missed the first step on my way to the bathroom upstairs and bruised my knees. The third fall I had was not so glorious. Let me start by saying, it could have been MUCH worse, so I praise the Lord for His mercy! I was getting Josiah a cup of milk and I leaned the baby gate against the buffet table in the kitchen. On my way back through the kitchen/dining room door with the cup of milk, I hit the corner of the baby gate and knew I was going down. Josiah was right in front of me, to my right was nothing but another buffet table full of glass items I had been cleaning [candle holders, glass pitcher, picture frames, etc] and I was so afraid I was going to fall on Josiah. So, as I was falling in slow motion, I was trying to decide how I was going to land to have as little impact as possible, not fall on Josiah, not hurt the baby and not break any glass, but I was not successful in all of my musings. I did not fall on Josiah, but I reached for the buffet table, knocking off a bunch of the glass pieces, scattering them and breaking them, and managed to fall mostly on my forearms, a little on my knees and my side. On my way down, as embarrassed as I am to say it, all I could get to come out of my mouth was, "Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!". Josiah was terrified, screaming, and through his screams asking me, "Momma, are you okay?" over and over again. I gave him his milk and made him sit where he was because of the glass all around us. He and I were both barefoot which was not good. I yelled as loud as I could for Danny to come downstairs [since he works at night, it was perfect for him to be there to help me!]. He heard me and came to my aid. I thought I broke my big toe, but it is solidly bruised only, and most of my soreness is faded away. The worst thing to come of my fall is that Josiah has picked up on a new phrase, thanks to me. "Oh, crap!" How utterly embarrassing!

Well, that is all from me for now. Please pray for me as we have a few more check ups, then on 12/5 we head to the hospital for surgery!

Please forgive me!

I don't want to go into detail, but there is a reason I haven't posted lately. I am simply unable to sit in chairs without a tremendous amount of padding for a long time, so I haven't been able to spend much time on the computer. That is also kind of a good thing.

Well, to catch up a little, I have been given a tentative date for a c-section. I will go into the hospital early on 12/5/2008, Friday, and I will have an amniocentesis to make sure the baby's lungs are mature. If the test shows good maturity, a c-section will be on for around noon. If not, we will wait 1-2 weeks before scheduling a c-section. I am excited, yet still a little fearful, but I know and trust that God is in control and that is what calms my fear!

I told my husband that one thing good came from Obama being our next president...Olive Garden. Olive Garden, you ask? How on earth does Obama have anything to do with Olive Garden. Well, I am a realistically pessimistic person whereas my DH is an optimisit person, just not always realistically [I love you with all of my heart, honey!]. He was SURE that McCain would win just as I was sure Obama would win, so I smelt a bet in the works. I told Danny is McCain won, I would take him out to eat to Outback Steakhouse [one of his favorites] and if Obama won, we would go to Olive Garden [by far, my favorite and also one of Danny's]. So, tonight, to celebrate our last date night by ourselves, before the baby comes and without little Josiah, we will go to Olive Garden, Barnes & Noble and to the theater to see Fireproof. Josiah is going on an adventure of the first kind for him tonight. He has NEVER spent the night in someone else's house without mommy and/or daddy, so tonight, also to prepare for being without mommy and daddy when the new baby arrives, he will go and stay at Grandma and Grandpap's house until tomorrow afternoon. I really hope he does not give her a run for her money, but I know she knows how to handle them, so I trust everything will be well!

Well, I have sat here for as long as I possibly can. God Bless everyone!

Catching up...

I am catching up from last week. We had a busy week and an even busier weekend. We had the Troy Thomas family in town for the whole weekend and for the most part, we did a lot of nothing. I have been taking it easy as I get to the end of my pregnancy and they were content to sit with me and let me take it easy! I am so thankful for friends like that! We have another family staying with us Wednesday night so I have been busy preparing for more guests...I just love having people over and keeping guests in our home...if it has been a while, you should try it more often! So, let me start by saying...MY HUSBAND ROCKS!!! Danny had the opportunity to go to the Sara Palin rally in a neighboring city and I was feeling quite cantankerous and told him he could go if he took Josiah [halfway kidding...]. The next day he told me he got the tickets and he was going to drop Josiah off at his mother's house so Grandma and Grandpap could spend some time with Josiah. I was so excited at all the things it seemed I was going to be able to get done that day. I started working long before Danny went to the rally and by the time he left, I was pooped...too pooped to do anything but sit, prop my feet up and crochet and watch movies for the rest of the night. Danny is always trying to give me some alone time and this is just another reason my husband rocks!

I will close soon, but I wanted to share the crochet project I was working on. I love to crochet, especially baby blankets! So, here is the one that I finished for our daughter who should arrive in about a month. Hope you enjoy and have a great day!

The Keeper at Home

I have recently talked to or read my friends' blogs and recently realized that there are many misconceptions of the stay at home mom. Since I left the corporate world in December 2006, I have never been happier, more content and satisfied with my role as a keeper at home/stay-at-home mom. All too often though, I hear comments like these:

• Boy, you sure have it easy
• What I wouldn't give to be at home all day doing nothing
• What do you do all day?
• Oh, so you don't work?

These are just a few. To tell a couple on my husband [I love you dear, and am not upset with you anymore over your comments! :-)], one time a refrigerator repairman was coming over to look at our refrigerator. My DH works at night and sleeps during the day, so I was going to have to schedule this man in and work around him. When he asked Danny what time he should come, Danny said, "Come anytime you want, my wife doesn't work!". I thought to myself, your wife doesn't work? What does he think I do all day? And I also thought, sure! Let the man come while I have all 6 children that I babysit, better yet, since 5 out of the 6 are still in diapers, let him come when I am changing diapers or fixing lunch. Sure, come anytime, because I DON'T WORK!!! Instead of yelling at him or getting mad, I waited for him to get off the phone and I gently asked him, what do you think I do all day if you think I don't work, and better yet, what do you think three families pay me for if you think I don't work? Even as recent as last week, he made another comment, not really meaning anything by it, but we were at my OB's office for a check up. I was giving the DR my Blood sugar and Blood pressure reports [I have to check both as many as 4-5 times a daily for my health right now!] and the DR said, "Where do you find time in your day to do all of this?" And before I could answer, DH says, "Well, she's a stay at home mom!", like that meant I had all the time in the world. I didn't correct him in the office, but we got outside and I told him I knew he didn't mean anything by it, but that isn't the thing you say to any woman, especially your wife! Like I said, I know my husband didn't mean anything by his statements, he is just proud that I am able to stay at home with our son right now and he wants me to know how proud he is.

So, this has me thinking...why does America stereotype the stay at home mom as a lazy bum who can't get a job and wouldn't want one if she had one anyways? The many misconceptions of the stay at home mom has me really frustrated me since I became one myself. My DH sleeps during the day and when he wakes up, I tend to slow down a little in an effort to spend time with him. He does not see all of the things that go on while he is asleep. For example, in a typical day, especially since I still babysit an additional family of three, I am going non-stop all day long. I not only have to change diapers for two children several times a day, I have to help another one with his current potty training agenda. I also have to get breakfast, lunch and snacks ready and when I am not changing diapers or preparing food for the kids, I am menu planning, grocery list making, I wash dishes at least 3 times a day, I am paying bills, making necessary phone calls, cleaning up toys, preparing for nap time, wiping up spit-up or runny noses, I am keeping the laundry going, I am chasing down the little pup who has jumped the fence again, I am refereeing arguments between toddlers and the list goes on. No one knows or sees what goes on in my home, but typically, if you tell someone in the outside world that you are a stay at home mom, you see their red flags pop up like antennas. They automatically assume that you are a lazy bum who does nothing all day.

When I get to feeling down about how others view my working at home, I turn to the best keeper at home I know and find solace in her example and I am renewed and energized to fight the good fight and keep up the good work. Let me share her with you:

The Virtuous Woman

Proverbs 31:10-31

10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

This is for all of those stay at home moms I know who have nothing to do but sit around all day! ;-)

I love my crockpots!

Okay, so at the moment I am feeling another burst of glorious energy, but I sense it leaving me soon, so I am trying to get as much done as I can today. I already have Sunday's church lunch in the crockpot and tonights dinner in the crockpot and am busy cleaning and reorganizing the kitchen. What's in my crockpots? I am glad you asked!

Stew Meat w/ Rice [so super easy, and a big hit!]

1 pack of stew meat
1 can of cream of mushroom soup [I like mine w/ garlic]
1 can of french onion soup

Cook on low for 7-8 hours or cook on high for 4-5 hours until meat is cooked through.

You can serve this over rice, white or brown, egg noodles, or cous-cous! Delicious!

AND

Teriyaki Sirloin Strips w/ onions and peppers [this one is for my husband, not particularly a favorite of mine!]

4 Beef Sirloin steaks, cut into julienne strips

1 large onion, cut into julienne strips

1 large red or green pepper, cut into julienne strips

1/2 to 1 cup of honey teriyaki sauce [we like Ken's]

Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours.

We serve this many different ways...either over cous-cous, rice, or in tortillas. Mmmm!

MY HUSBAND ROCKS!!!

My husband rocks because not only did he let me go grocery shopping by myself, he encouraged it! I actually really like going grocery shopping together with him, but I was needing some "me time" and he knew it. I love my man!

Admission of Guilt

Okay, so I have been wearing this one pair of shoes since I have been pregnant. They have been the most comfortable, easy and functional shoes that go with just about everything [and if they didn't go, I didn't care...I am not a shoe person!]. Well, my feet are getting a little more out of shape and swollen and I can't wear those shoes any more and it is getting to cold to wear them, so it is back to the faithful tennis shoes! I put them on this morning and did not draw the laces too tightly because they were already tight enough. I walked around for a few minutes and my feet felt terrible! I couldn't believe how bad my feet were hurting! I got my son out of bed and we walked downstairs and by this time I was hurting so bad I was wincing and trying to decide what to do as I needed to go for a Dr's appt. Well, about that time, I sat down and looked at my shoes. Wouldn't you know, the reason for my pain was something that drove my Dad nuts for years and years when I was little! I put my shoes on the wrong feet! I couldn't believe the stupidity! Well, I fixed my shoes, which by the way, my feet feel much better this morning, and I called my dad, who I knew would get a huge kick out of this. So, when I told Dad about it, he said in the most pitiful and mournful aching voice..."I thought you would NEVER put your shoes on the the right feet and it killed me!". The bad part is, I realized the reason Josiah has been taking his shoes off and bringing them back to me...yes, you guessed it, I have been putting his shoes on the wrong feet. I haven't been doing it every time, but enough that my son doesn't like it! You can call me directionally dyslexic!

My Husband Rocks!

Okay, a few of my friends are doing this and I keep thinking I ought to add this to my blog; then I went to the blog of the person who came up with "My Husband Rocks, Fridays"!, then I felt really motivated to get on board as a way to build my husband up and think about all of the wonderful things he does for me on a CONSTANT basis!

My Husband Rocks, Fridays!

[yes, I know it is Saturday and I am a day behind!]

My husband ROCKS! On a daily basis, after working all night, the first thing he asks me when he wakes up in the afternoons is: "What can I do for you, honey?" Today I have been behind on what seems like everything. Here it is, after 6pm, dinner has almost another hour to cook in the oven, and my wonderful husband said it was okay that we are having dinner a little bit late because he is not all that hungry anyways. So, he packed up a bowlful of grapes and some animal crackers and said, "Why don't I take Josiah to the park for a walk and to play so you can have some time to yourself while dinner is cooking?". Isn't he thoughtful? He is constantly doing things like this for me, and that is just one reason "my husband rocks"!

Regarding that Last Blog Entry

I went back and read my last entry and laughed! It seems as though I was nesting even in my mind! I would love to know how other mother's out there learned to control this nesting syndrome. I am at a point where I really need to slow down on a daily basis, but my mind and body races to the point where I get frantic over things left to be done. Please pray for me to calm down and enjoy the last little bit of time I have with just me and my little boy. I know when this little girl comes along, it will be a different world!

The Nesting Syndrome

Okay, so I am roughly 6-7 wks away from having another baby and let me tell you, the nesting syndrome has kicked into overdrive with me. It is different this time around for me because with my DS, Josiah, I was put on bedrest at 32 weeks because of preeclampsia and high blood pressure. Whatever didn't get done before bedrest either didn't get done, my husband did it, or some of my dear friends and family came over and helped out to get things done while I delegated with my feet propped up. This time, so far and praise the Lord, I have not required bedrest. I tell you, though, I am going crazy. There are so many things around the house I see doing and I just don't know when I will ever get them done. Some say the "nesting syndrome" comes around because women need something to do to pass the time until the baby comes [must have been a man who said that!]. Some say it is just an indwelling desire to organize and have everything perfect. For me, I know...beyond any doubt...that I am going through the nesting syndrome because I feel like I will not be able to get ANYTHING done after this DD comes along. It is already hard enough to get much done with a beautiful toddling Josiah under my feet most of the day and I just know that it won't get any easier with # 2. So, after having shared all of this, let me share why I haven't posted in a while:

I have thoroughly cleaned the baby's room from top to bottom, including all of the baby girls clothes in drawers and organized with all of the beautiful dresses we have been given hung in the closet neatly. The drawers have been accurately labeled for the sake of my DH who may not be able to find things other wise. I have also cleaned out DS drawers and they only hold the clothes that he can wear right now and throught the winter. They have also been categorized and labeled. We took down the Thomas the Train table from DS's room and put it downstairs in what we now call the "play room". I have set up our beautiful $2 changing table that we found at a yard sale [with not a scratch or problem on it!] with a diaper changing pad I made out of my remaining Noah's Ark material, set with everything at hand for when the new baby arrives. I also have dusted/swept/mopped and rotated all of the toys and stuffed animals so DS will have "new toys" in his room to play with. We pulled up the crib mattress gave it a good cleaning with soap and water [why you ask? It just seemed important at the time!] and replaced the bumper pads and sheets. All clothes too big or too little have been stored for now by my wonderful husband. Consider the baby's room done [until next week, when I am sure I will find more to do in there!]

We set up a play room in our computer room so not all of the toys will be underfoot when you first walk in the door. We have set up the Thomas the Train Table with the tracks and the trains, several baskets of toys are accessible, the pac n play has been set up for the little girl I babysit to nap in [and it is thoroughly cleaned out! YAY!] Baby toys have been categorized and stored for at least a few months until the baby has need for them. Books have been put on a little kids shelf for reading enjoyment. All other items have been stored in the basement for now. The computer desk has been cleaned off and organized and all of my sewing materials/equipment have been stored within easy reach. Dusting/sweeping/mopping have all been taken care of!

I have gotten rid of or sold toys that are not played with or not desired by me anymore, toy box has been organized [I know, stupid idea...it already needs it again!]. Laundry Room and Diningd Room have received a thorough detailing. The kitchen is another story. I am working on that today and taking a break from it for now. At least all of the dishes are done and supper is cooking in the crockpot!

The pantry will be tackled this weekend and organized...it will take a while! The bathroom was emptied from top to bottom, scrubbed down from top to bottom and only necessary things were put back in the bathroom to be organized and straightened.

Our master bedroom, where the baby will sleep, probably for a few months at least, has been cleaned from top to bottom, organized and the baby corner has been set up for when the baby comes home.

Oh my goodness! As I write this, it seems there are so many other things that are needed to be done! I can't believe I am writing about it instead of doing it.

Well, having said that, happy cleaning/nesting or doing nothing for the rest of the week!

I got it!

I got my stinkin' driver's license in the mail. Yipee.

I've been tagged...

A friend of mine "tagged" me to tell 7 random things about myself then ask 7 others to do the same thing, so here it goes:

1. I have a terrible habit of reading the same book over and over and over again. All of the books on my shelves have probably been read about 5 times each, especially if the author is Janette Oke or Lori Wick.
2. I am an organization "junkie" wannabe, meaning I desire organization in every aspect of my home and life, but so often fail to suceed that I get discouraged and let things build up around me.
3. I love to wash/dry/fold clothes, but I hate to iron or put them away.
4. I also love to wash dishes, but hate putting dishes away.
5. I am hooked on thank-you notes. I know that sounds funny, but I send thank-you notes to everyone for everything. My husband thinks I am crazy.
6. I am a control freak and my husband loves me in spite of it.
7. I love to-do lists and have a 5 subject notebook filled with to-do lists and lists of all sorts from this year. I can't wait to start next year's notebook...pathetic, I know!

So, now you have enough information to use against me! I will tag seven other friends as well! Thanks, Christy! I enjoyed reading and sharing!

My Department of Motor Vehicles Saga

Back in March of this year, Josiah and I took a trip to GA by ourselves. I don't like going by myself and just Josiah, but if I do, I always try to make as few stops as possible and get there as quickly as I can. So, I was about 2 hours from my parent's home, just inside the GA state line and I needed to stope and get gas. I decided to pay at the pump so I wouldn't have to get Josiah out of the car, but while I was pumping, I decided to open the back door to play with JoJo. I eventually got back in the car and left, got a couple of exits down and decided to get a drink at Starbuck's, when to my horror, I can not find my wallet AT ALL!! I panicked and drove as fast as I could back to my previous location to search for my wallet. We went inside at the gas station to see if anyone found it, I looked around outside and it was no where. I searched the car from top to bottom hoping beyond all hope that I dropped it inside the car, but it was no where. I had to face the facts, I must have laid my wallet on top of the car when I was playing with JoJo and then forgot about it and drove off. Even worse than this, I had to call my dad and tell him how stupid I had been. Dad was sweet about it, but I can hear the police officer wheels churning in his head thinking about all of the times he had told me to protect myself and belongings, etc., etc. Well, it gets worse. I had some business to attend to in GA and needed my birth certificate and SS Card with me to do it, and where do you think it was? It was ALL in my wallet, the dumbest place on earth for it all. I had to have my DH wire me money the next day and I had to cancel my bank cards, etc., and hear from family members about the ridiculousness of the situation. On top of that all, I had absolutely no form of identification on me whatsoever! Okay, so the next line of action was to replace the items I had lost, namely my Driver's license, SS card and Birth certificate, right? You would think it would be easy, right? Keep reading...

So, I get back home and I was told my the DMV that in order to get my license replaced I had to have two forms of ID and it could be 2 of these four things: SS Card, Birth certificate, Passport, or marriage certificate. Well, I didn't have what it took, so I turned to the SS Administration thinking I could use my marriage certificate and ss card when it was reissued. Well, at the SS Admin., they must work in conjunction with the DMV to not help people out, because in order to get my SS Card replaced, what do you think I had to have? Right...two forms of identification out of the same four listed by the DMV, which I STILL DON'T HAVE!!! So, next plan, get a copy of my birth certificate from the state of GA and use that in conjunction with my marriage certificate. Sounds easy enough, right? Think again! I ordered my birth certificate for $50 and got it in the mail in about 3 weeks, then went to pull our marriage certificate out of our strong box, where we thought we had it, but what do you think? You are right, again! It is not there. So, I write to the county court where we obtained our license and asked them to send me a duplicate copy for $5. So, a few days later this really nice lady called and said there was not a marriage certificate on file for us. WHAT?!?!? She said she saw where we had applied for a license but never sent in for the certificate. She told me she could send the license back to the preacher who married us for him to sign and validate, then she could issue the certificate to us. Dear old Uncle Jimmy signed that paper and promptly returned it for us. In the meantime, I spoke with the DMV commissioner dude who informs me that I have to have the actual birth certificate, not a duplicate copy. The SS Admin tells me the same thing. The commissioner of the DMV tells me to get the marriage license and then call him back and he would see if he could further help me then. Finally, we seemed to be getting somewhere!!! I got the marriage license and called him. He said that he has been given the authority to go ahead and file for my replacement license, then he asked me for my customer number from my driver's license. Huh??? I explained I didn't have it because my DL was lost. He tells me he can not help me with anything without my customer number and that he can not give out the number to me, it is something I have to provide to him for security. Okay, so I asked him how I could get my customer number and he said I would have to get it from my DL! I was dumbfounded at the stupidity!!! I told him I thought it was the dumbest thing I had ever heard and eventually just hung up on him. But, guess what? Yesterday I was going through some paperwork and I found a letter from the DMV that my husband had requested from them shortly after I lost my wallet. The letter was just a statement to say that I had a good record and no outstanding incidences and stuff like that. Guess what was at the top of this letter! My Customer Number!!! So, $10 and 3 minutes later, after 7 months of trying to get my DL replaced and drive as little as possible, I ordered my replacement card from the internet. The many lessons I learned are good ones. Everyone listen carefully:

• Do not EVER leave your wallet on top of your car
• If you do, do not drive off without picking it back up
• Do not store all of your personal identification in one place! NEVER store SS Card, DL or birth certificate together and definitely do not store in your wallet
• Send in for your marriage certificate as soon after you get married as possible
• If your DL # on your card is different than your SS #, write it down in a safe place for incidents like this!
• Listen to your parents...especially if one is a policeman who deals with this kind of crud on a regular basis!

Okay, I feel better now that I have vented and I hope you learn something from my very stupid mistake/s!

Mixtures of Joy and Sorrow...

The past month truly has been mixtures of joy and sorrow with several loved ones going home to be with the Lord. I wrote about a month ago about dear sister Rhonda Jones who died suddenly leaving behind her husband and five children. Please continue to pray for the Jones family as they still grieve their mother but strive to continue on in their everyday activities.

Then, a family friend, Elmo Nester, passed away after being ill for some time. We were blessed to see his dear wife at the annual family reunion the afternoon of his death. He will be missed, but we rejoice that his suffering is ended and he is with the Lord.

Last week, a dear sister in Christ, Ruth Adams, who had been ill on and off for over a year and a half, had a joyous homegoing to be rejoiced in. A couple of days before she passed she continuously asked those around her if they were seeing the angels that she was. On the morning she passed, after several days of not being able to move her arms or legs at all, she raised her arms, cried out "praise the Lord!" and passed away. It is times like these that you can not help but feel overwhelming joy for the loved one lost.

Sadly, Sunday afternoon, our family lost a dear loved one who inspired us all in her life. Grandma, Ethel Ayers Vass, passed away in the home of her daughter, Joyce, where she had been living for a couple of years. Grandma was a wonderful mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and even a great-great-grandmother! Up until about 3 weeks ago, Grandma still came to church every Sunday morning with her daughter Joyce, and was still even able to make some church meetings with Joyce on a regular basis. Grandma had a smile that could light up a room when you talked to her. She couldn't always hear you very well, but she knew you were there and that you were talking to her. My little boy Josiah would always go up to her and perch his hands on her knees while she sat in her wheelchair and would jibber-jabber to her like she was his long lost best friend. Grandma always smiled and talked back to him and loved on him. One of my personal favorite memories of Grandma was on the day after Josiah was born. Joyce brought Grandma to see us and to see Josiah. Grandma took Josiah in her arms and joyfully looked at his feet and proclaimed he was a beautiful baby! I don't think anyone told her she was looking at his feet and not his face! That day a four generation picture was taken. I was overwhelmed and in tears because I didn't know if Grandma would make it to meet our little boy. She did though! Even though she won't be here to meet the baby we are expecting now, I am so glad and overjoyed at the fact that she is no longer suffering in her body here on this earth. I rejoice to know that she is down at the feet of Jesus singing His praises and proclaiming His glory and righteousness forevermore!

We do ask for prayers for our family as we prepare to lay Grandma's body to rest this Thursday in her hometown. Even in our joy, there is of course sorrow too by all of us left behind. We will miss Grandma very much and as one grand-daughter wrote in a tribute to Grandma, she has left "her footprint on my heart".

While I'm thinking about it...

My dear mother in law is notorious for telling you stuff "while she is thinking about it", so in her honor, while I have cookies in the oven, I will share some info "while I am thinking about it"!

So, most of you know we are due to have a baby in December. The official due date is 12/25, but I will have to have a c-section because of some medical problems, so if the baby is healthy and all looks well, the birth of our daughter will be around 37 wks in early December. We have pretty much decided on a name early on...at least the first name was cemented in stone, but we hemmed and hawed about the middle name and then decided about a month or two ago. I just realized we must not have told everyone the name because I think I have told everyone, then someone else pops up and asks what her name will be. We are not a couple who cares about keeping it secret until the baby is born, so we are proud to announce that we will name our baby girl Bethany Arlene. Bethany is a name that I have long loved and wanted since being married and thinking of children. Arlene is a family name that originated with my Great-grandmother Voisie Arlene Davis. I have a few, but great, memories of my great-grandma and I thought about the family legacy presented. Not only is Mamaw Davis' middle name Arlene, so is my mother's and mine. I thought my grandmother's middle name was Arlene as well, but I have since found out her's is Ann, not Arlene. So there you have it! We can't wait to welcome our daughter Bethany into the world!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cans pumpkin
1 box spice cake mix
1/2-2 cups of water

Mix pumpkin and spice cake mix together 1st, slowly adding water, little by little until you have a nice creamy consistency. Cook for 20 minutes on 400.

If you are a Weight Watchers fan, these cookies have 1 pt. per cookie. They are great!

Just a quickie...

While my DS sits and eats his dinner and watches VeggieTales, "Rack, Shack and Benny" for the millionth time, I thought I might have a few moments to write about a funny...

Yesterday was the annual Vass Family Reunion [on my husband's side of the family] so Josiah and I loaded up and made the 1 1/2 hr drive to Hillsville to be with everyone. I made a quick stop at CVS Pharmacy before meeting up with Aunt Amber so we could caravan together. I pulled up at the drive thru window and a voice came over the speaker, "Are you here for a pick-up or drop off?". Before I could say that I was picking up, my little munchkin in the backseat yells out: "Need to eat, pease!". I cracked up and so did the associate. I told her I was there for pick up while Josiah kept yelling "pease!" in the backseat. It is pretty funny because we haven't been drive-thru junkies for a long time, but Danny does go to get drinks from drive-thrus pretty often and I guess Josiah put two and two together. That was my delight for the day.

Another delight of the day was that Josiah was one of the show stealers at the family reunion. Cousin Bambi fed him...lots... so she was his best friend for the rest of the day, plus everyone else thought about how cute he was as he begged food off of nearly EVERYONE! Yeah, real cute...that's one of those habits I have been trying to break to no avail. Just because ANYONE has food, Josiah feels a certain entitlement to it. Well, overloading once a year won't hurt him too much...I don't guess.

New website!

A real quick note. I was reading on a friend's blog about a Radio List Serve where you get to create your own compilation of artists that you want to hear and I love it! Go to pandora.com and create your commercial free radio stations! Thanks, Christy!

The Lord's mercies are new every morning

Today Josiah returned to his former loving ways. He was happy most of the day and very loving. When he awoke, I didn't hear, "Need to eat, mommy!", but instead, I heard, "Big hug, mommy?", and it was just music to my ears. This afternoons nap was a riot. I put Josiah down at 12:30 and he usually goes right to sleep within a few minutes. Well, today, he played and played and played in his bed. I loved listening to him having a good time. After about an hour, I knew he would be really grouchy if he didn't get his nap, so I went in and loved on him for a minute and told him he had to take a nap to which he said, "Okay! Need night-night!", and he fell asleep for almost two and a half hours after that! Wow, did I get a lot of...nothing done! I sat and worked on a puzzle I have been meaning to do for years. I also did some menu planning and I watched a movie. Talk about being a bum! It was nice, though and I don't regret doing nothing all day!

On another note, I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. The doctor and dietician like to tell you not to blame yourself, you've done nothing wrong, it's not your fault, and stuff like that. I do beg to differ, though, at least in my case. Here's my story: Most of you know that I am already overweight. I did lose 70 lbs before becoming pregnant with Josiah, but I was not able to get off all of my baby weight with Josiah before I became pregnant again this go around. I did do weight watchers and I did exercise on a fairly regular basis, but my eating habits have been way off. When I say my eating habits, I don't necessarily mean what I ate, but it is how I schedule my day. I HATE to eat breakfast and I always have. I noticed when I first turned to weight watchers, that was the one thing I changed that I think did the most for me. With this pregnancy, I have not wanted to eat breakfast or even think about eating until around noon or thereafter. This is a REALLY bad habit, guys. Anyone out there reading this, if you skip breakfast or wait a long time to eat after sleeping all night, you are doing your body a big disservice! So, with gestational diabetes, I have to prick my finger for blood 4 times a day and check my blood sugar levels and record them. I thought I would never be able to prick myself, but I have become an old pro. I have a really strict diet that I am to follow, consisting of 3 small meals a day and 3 small snacks in between. Did y'all know that the most important snack that you can ever have is before you go to bed at night? Haven't we been taught a little differently than that...you know, don't eat after 6pm or 8pm and things like that? Well, I have made changes mostly in my eating routines and VOILA! my blood sugar levels have been normal for the past week, without one single day of being over the recommended level. Pretty good, huh? I even ate mexican food tonight, the same dish I usually eat at the mexican restaurant, and my levels were GREAT 2 hours after my meal. So, if you are pregnant, and you want to avoid gestation diabetes, eat regular meals and snacks. Now, I know, doctors and dieticians are right to some extent...there are many factors that cause gestational diabetes, but if 75% of patients can control it with their diet, then what does that tell you? As far as other pregnancy related health problems, I did have preeclampsia with Josiah. I had high blood pressure from the end of the 1st trimester on with JoJo and so far with this pregnancy my BP has been at a borderline high. I check it about 5 times a day, get an average for the day and report it to the DR once a week. I want to avoid preeclampsia this time around, but gestational diabetes also increases the risks of preeclampsia. So, in short, please pray for me and my overall health. I feel GREAT and I am doing GREAT, I am eating well, putting my feet up several times a day and also taking a daily nap as requested by my doctor, so we will just have to see where we are when it comes time to meet our little girl. Please pray for me in the remainder of my third trimester and also for my family as they depend on a healthy wife and mommy too!

Mama Drama

This may sound really weird to all of you mama's out there, but last week is the first time I really realized that Josiah's mood for the day depends on me and vice-versa. Last week my little man was the happiest, giddiest, lovingest and sweetest little boy I ever thought was. He was so happy and that made me happy and we had a GREAT week. We played a lot together, he played alone a lot and kept himself occupied. Disciplining was kept to a minimum and did not create a whiny little boy for the rest of the day when I had to discipline. All in all, I was really surprised at how we "play" off of each others moods. Today, I realized it as well. Today was a day that I would like to start over and do again. Josiah woke up screaming from his bed. He is putting more and more words together and some short sentences. His phrase of choice this morning, in between shrieking cries was, "Need to eat! Mommy! Need to eat! Gilk, Gilk! Pease!!!". It was cute at first, but got old quick. I have long learned that I need to fix Josiah's breakfast before getting him out of bed, because he is very impatient and grumpy when he is hungry and sees me fixing his food. So, I go and get him out of bed and have been greeted for the past week with a big hug and kiss, but not today, no, siree! I asked for a kiss and the mere request sent him into a temper tantrum where he threw himself back in his bed and hit his head, accounting for bruise # 1 today. We got downstairs without much further ado and he ate his breakfast somewhat cheerfully, then we got down to other business. Let me tell you, Josiah whined, cried and threw temper tantrums ALL DAY LONG! It is this that turns my day into funk city. I can't stand the constant whining and tantrums when I tell him no or correct him. At one point today, he climbed up into a chair and then fell out of it onto a little riding lion in the floor. I picked him up, checked him out and comforted him and quickly noticed bruise # 2 appearing swiftly on the forehead. He was bound and determined to show me what happened, so he got out of my lap and banged his head as hard as he could on the lion just to show me what happened. The comforting cycle began again and I noticed bruise # 3 appearing on his cheek. It was then also that I noticed a scratch and a bruise under his chin...where it came from I know not! He tried to show me what happened two or three times and then began hitting his lion as hard as he could because he was mad at it. I finally put the toy on the front porch after disciplining Josiah for his actions. This was the unforgivable. Josiah put on the biggest tantrum yet with that "my feelings are so hurt" poochie lip. I just ignored it and tried to go on about my day. He went on with this for about 15 minutes and I considered putting him back in bed for my own sanity [also, please understand, I was babysitting three other children today...one is 6 yrs, 2 yrs and 1 yr old] but decided against it. But on and on it went. Danny got up and could see that I was in a bad mood and not to be reckoned with at the moment. He was having his own problems with Josiah also. At one point, after Josiah threw himself in the floor again, banged his face, resulting now in bruise # 6, I began to cry myself. I often do not do this, but today I was broken and battered. Josiah saw me crying even though I was trying to control myself and he came over and said, "Are you okay?" which is another favorite phrase, but usually he says it when he hurts himself and someone is nearby, he will ask if they are okay. I picked him up, told him how much I loved him and informed Danny I was taking a nap. "What time do you want me to wake you up?" he asks. "Whenever you want, my dear!" It was a good nap and I woke up to my little boy crawling and climbing all over me and rubbing my head like Daddy does. Then he began to give me "kisses on the wips!" which we have been trying really hard to get him to kiss us with his lips and not just press his cheek to us. What is the point to all of this you ask? I guess in a way I am just venting, but I have been going over this day in my mind and wondering what I would do differently and there are so many things. Most importantly, I would have prayed throughout the day for guidance and patience. There are so many times I don't know how to react to Josiah's reactions and most often I do it in the wrong way, so I need guidance. Patience...I lack it so much and I think my poor little boy has gotten this lack of patience from me! He learns quickly! I have been thinking about the verse in the bible about "create in me a clean heart, oh god, and renew a right spirit within me." I know I may not have all of the words to the verse right, but this is my prayer for tomorrow! Let me say one more thing...I am so thankful to my DH because even though I was in a bad mood, he didn't let me affect him, instead, he let me take a nap and took Josiah out for a walk [even though he didn't change him out of his PJ's first...but hey, who's to know?!] which seems to be the highlight of Josiah's day. Josiah didn't come back in a much better mood, but I am praying the same prayer for him tomorrow as I pray for me. God is on His throne and is able to do above all I ever ask or plead! Thanks for listening to my whining!

Mixtures of Joy and Sorrow

Yesterday I learned of the death of a dear sister in Christ, Rhonda Jones. I am extremely saddened by the loss of this family. She was such a loving wife, mother and sister at Grace Chapel PBC. As long as I have known Sister Rhonda, she has always been serving others and putting others first. I remember a few years ago when we heard she was seriously ill with a condition that could kill her, all across the country brothers and sisters in Christ, family and friends poured out prayers on her behalf and on the behalf of her family. Whenever someone passes away, I can't help but rejoice thinking about them in the presence of their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I think of the song "I Can Only Imagine" which is a popular Christian song and has been for a few years. It really makes me long to be with Jesus. Oh, Sister Rhonda, no longer do you imagine, you are living with your Saviour! Prayers and hugs to her family and loved ones!

Home again, home again, hippity-hop!

When last I wrote, I was preparing for a monumental event and a little mini-vacation. A little at a time over the next few days, maybe I can share my time away with you. Let's start with going to the chapel...

Josiah and I rode with our cousin Hannah to Susanna Guess Taylor's wedding on August 23rd. We arrived a few days before the wedding and Josiah and I were able to participate in a few of the goings on of the preparations, then we promptly got out of the way! Josiah and I were able to attend the Bridal Luncheon for Susanna on Thursday afternoon after we arrived. Josiah was not meant to be a guest, but endured dramatically well for his mommy! He was the perfect little gentleman and I was happy to be able to stay for the whole luncheon. If he began to act out, I would have just left and not thought another thing about it, but he was great! All of the ladies there shared with Susanna something memorable about their wedding day and it was fun to sit back and listen to old and new stories and share with Susanna what married life was all about. After the luncheon that day, my sister in law, Wendy came and picked me up and we went shopping for the wedding. I didn't have a dress and I was upset that the only outfit that I had to wear was mostly black in color...it is hard to find plus-size maternity clothes...let me tell you! Well, I did find a dress, not too happy that it too was mostly black, but decided it would do and I would be happy with it. I was happy to know that a lot of the women at the wedding were in black and I did not feel so weird! You always think of black at weddings being a big faux paus [sp?] and I guess it has taken a turn and now is incredibly stylish and classy! Well, the wedding itself was beautiful. It was short, sweet and to the point. They had a very sweet kiss after being presented as husband and wife and Susanna was simply radiant! I was not able to get as many pictures as I wanted, but the few I did get showed their entire happiness that I am sure will only grow better with time! This wedding was on the 39th anniversary of Susanna's parents, Zack and Judy Guess and Aunt Judy was gorgeous! She had a very lovely sleeveless dress on and her hair was beautiful and she was almost as radiant as the bride! Wendy and I stayed at the wedding for a little bit of the reception but had to leave soon after because Wendy's dear husband, my brother Andrew, was keeping Josiah and their daughter Bailey at home for us so we could enjoy the wedding. It was a lot of fun without Josiah, but I would have still gone with him or not! If you are a facebook member, there are tons of wedding pictures out there for you to see, so go check them out! You will be glad you did! I will write more about our trip a little bit later!

Feeling REALLY sentimental

August 23rd, 2008...this is one of the days I have prayed for and dreamed about for so long. This day has nothing to do with me...nothing at all, except for the fact that I get to be a witness and enjoy one of the weddings I have looked forward to almost more than any other in my short lifetime. This is the chosen wedding day of Susanna Guess to Aaron Taylor! Woohoo! Can you hear me shouting in Virginia??? Susanna and I go way back...let me take you there...

Susanna and I are cousins on our mother's side...to put it simply, our grandmothers are sisters. Susanna is and has always been one of my best friends. She is one of the neatest people ever with such an amazing personality that people just naturally flock to her. My earliest memory of Susanna was when we were both about 4 years old, or thereabout. I don't know when or where it was, but we were on a BIG Davis family reunion. I remember vividly that me, Susanna and Jeremy Fulmer were almost inseparable. I don't remember all of the details of that reunion, but I came back telling EVERYONE that my bestest friend was Susanna. I even named one of my favorite dolls after her.

There are so many more funny and vivid memories that stick out...I won't go into great detail about this one, so as not to re-hash too many old memories or embarrass others who were involved [namely myself!], but Susanna was there for me when I wrote my first love letter, when I was probably about 10 yrs old. She even encouraged me in my idea to spray the letter with perfume and put lipstick on and kiss the letter. She was able to provide a stamp and the address of my intended because she is such a wonderful friend [my goodness, this was over 22 years ago, and my face is still lit up like a fire! I am still SOOO embarrassed!]! Since the letter was also sent anonymously, when it was later mentioned by this poor young man, Susanna was able to identify me as the sender...girl, I am forever in your debt! Just kidding...friends to the end, right? :-)

Another wonderful memory that I have is when Susanna and I took a trip to Arkansas with Uncle Tony and Aunt Patty [her grandparents]. That was by far the most fun I think I have had on a trip! We laughed, sang, snacked in the backseat of that van...we told the most appalling secrets, I am sure. One thing that sticks out in my head was the church meeting that we went to in Arkansas. I am not sure what church it was, but Susanna and I were simply not used to singing in the manner that this church sang. Not that it wasn't beautiful, or sweet, but we never knew that it would take 30 minutes for the congregation to sing "Brethren We Have Met To Worship". We tried to sing as slow as everyone else, but we could not do it without hysterically laughing most of the way through. Sometimes, even now when I visit some country churches and this song is called out, I wonder...how slow can it go?

I was going through my sentimental box the other day...you know, we girls keep these kinds of things! There have only been a few letters/cards/gifts over the years that I have kept in a special place. I have a box of letters and cards from my DH when we were courting/engaged. I also have an ongoing box that I keep for his cards. etc., now. Susanna and I spent a lot of time writing back and forth over the years and I have kept all of her cards and notes of encouragement and silly cards just for the heck of it! I love going through those and just remembering our special friendship.

Many of you know that Susanna was my maid of honor when I got married 7 years ago. Before the wedding, she came down to help me do birdseed packs and other miscellaneous things. We stayed up until all hours of the night talking and goofing off. I don't remember much else about what we did, but this was a big time in my life and she was there for me. I remember my wedding day after I walked down the aisle, she adjusted my dress and veil for me, she held my flowers for me when it was time to speak my vows and she simply smiled through the whole ceremony [I know because I went back and watched her!]. That is one of the reasons I can't wait to go and be at her wedding next Saturday. I know I will be grinning from ear to ear and shouting on the inside!

A lot of things have changed. I have gotten married, phone calls and letters have been somewhat fewer and shorter, but before kids, and when I was working overnight, I was thrilled when my phone would ring and Susanna would be on the other end. She kept me awake all of those nights where I probably would have gone to napping and missing a few phone calls. Instead, she endured elevator hold music as I answered other lines and had to handle other calls. I always enjoy my phone calls with Susanna and I love coming home sometimes to hear that she has left a message. A few weeks ago, Susanna left a REALLY long message and my DH said, "Does she remember she is not talking to you, but to the voicemail?" We had a good laugh over that.

After 5 years of trying and praying for children, when I found out I was pregnant, Susanna was the first person I called because I simply could not contain myself [sorry for anyone else who didn't already know I called her first...let by gones be by gones !:-) ]. I remember what she said...she was making cookies for something and she said, "I can't believe you told me now when I can't scream!!!" She screamed the next day, though, I heard it all the way from Virginia! Susanna came to the baby shower my church held for us even though I told her she didn't have to...because I knew that was a long way to come! She has been such a wonderful friend and treasure to me. I simply can't wait to see this next part of her life unfold!

I know this has been a really LONG post, so forgive me, but I was feeling really sentimental and wanted to say a few things about such a wonderful friend!

Much Better!!!

Josiah still has his moments, fits and all, but over all, he has been a much happier and joyful little boy. He has really enjoyed spending a lot more one on one time with mommy and daddy and I think this makes him so happy. Daddy loves to take him on walks and Josiah loves to go. Josiah just sits back and takes in all of the sites and sounds of the great outdoors while Daddy gets his much loved walks in. Mommy spent a lot of time with Josiah on Wednesday playing with Mr. Potato head. None of the pieces got in the right places, but he still had fun because I was sitting in the floor playing with him most of the morning. He did not throw his high chair tray today which was a big plus in my book! The biggest thing is that I have been in a better mood since Tuesday. I realize more than ever that Josiah's moods and actions are based largely on mommy's moods and actions and I needed to make an attitude adjustment more than anyone else did. Well, all is well in the Hodges household and attitudes are better than ever...for now!

Mama said there'd be days like this...

Ever had one of those days? You know...you sit down the night before, plan your next day to a perfect "T" and have all this glorious stuff you are going to get done, then "BLAM!!!". It hits you...NOTHING is going to go the way you wanted it today. Cleaning, cooking, menu planning, straightening and organizing...nope, not here, not today. Instead, I dealt with a DS who pitched fit after fit after fit, threw toys when mommy told him no, screamed impatiently when food was not delivered in what he felt was a timely manner, and a tray of food on the dining room floor as a result of this incredible impatience. Well, DS is not the only one who lost his patience. Mommy lost her cool as well and was in a rage. Unfortunately, it has seemed to affect the whole rest of my day...isn't that terrible? So, we went and took naps...both of us. We neither one woke up in better moods, but Daddy was up and manned the ship this afternoon. Josiah still pitched fit after fit after fit. I am really at a loss to know how to handle Josiah's fits. We try the tried and true punishment, I have tried more attention, thinking maybe Josiah is acting out because mommy is always so busy, but I just don't know what else to do. Well, tomorrow is a new day, right? I am not making any plans for tomorrow except to spend a lot of time with my DS and see if I can get into his little heart and figure out what is going on. Maybe I need to spend extra time with the Lord tonight and check out mommy's heart and see if that is the answer to my little boy's acting out and temper. Please pray for my attitude!

Sonograms, Due Dates, Confusion

It would seem that every time I go back in to the DR they need to do an sonogram. Every time they need to do a sonogram they measure the baby at different weeks gestation, thus giving a different due date. The first time I went in, the baby was measuring with a due date of 12/25/2008. With the next sonogram, the baby was measuring further along than the DR thought and we were given a new due date of 12/15/2008. Today, we had the "BIG" ultrasound where they check all of the really important things like arms, legs, organs, brain, heart, etc.,. Everything looks great, except the baby was in a poor position and they were not able to get a good look at the spine [which means another ultrasound in a month...sick of them, I tell you!]. The due date is now reading aproximately 12/26/2008...kind of funny! So, I am about 20-22 wks along, depending on which sonogram I choose to go by. It is frustrating to me that they keep giving different dates. I wish they could just pick one and give it to me. It doesn't even matter what the due date is, because I will have to have a c-section and the DR will pick the due date based upon the baby's health, my health and how close I am to the estimated due date. Anyway, I am sure a month from now I may be reporting to you a totally different due date and all that good stuff. We did verify that our little baby appears to have all the makings of a little girl and for that we remain extremely excited!

I hope to scan an sonogram picture soon and maybe post it. We did get some good profile pictures...this little girl has some long arms and legs...Josiah did too!!! That must be what is kicking me!

Sunday

So, for the first time in forever, I laid out of church today because of this lingering respiratory infection. I enjoyed the time alone, but missed being in the house of the Lord. I listened to a couple of sermons on line and also to some hymns and this lifted my spirits. I was cooking at the same time, glad to have a Sunday dinner at home, for the first time in SOOO long since we have been having Sunday lunch at church every Sunday for the past few months. We had a nice lunch and a wonderful naptime. There is just something about my Sunday afternoon naps with the family. I just don't know why I enjoy them so much, but I do!

Josiah and I have had a fun time playing this afternoon/evening. He has been "reading" his books a lot and coming to show me what he has found, along with playing with his little kitchen set and riding his lion. We decided to go outside for a while. We went for a walk down to the end of our block and back. Josiah loves to show me what he finds along the way. He picks up leaves, rocks and sticks and wants me to tell him what they are. This is one of his favorite games. We got back to our yard and I decided it was time for some water fun. Josiah loves to play in the water and water the flowers. He is pretty good at watering the flowers if I do say so myself! He desperately does not like to get his hands dirty though. He insists his hands are yucky and wants me to clean them when they have dirt on them. I got eaten up while I was outside and usually the mosquitoes do not find me so tasty. I have soooo many bites tonight though!

This has been a good Lord's day for me, just a little bit down because I wanted to be in church and couldn't be. I know the Lord had other plans for me though and it was good to have some rest and time alone.

Back again...

Maybe I should catch everyone up since my last post...

Last Friday, August 1st, my mother-in-law and I took a trip to the Mossy Grove PBC annual meeting. It had been years since I had spent any time in that neck of the woods. I was graced with so many memories for friends who have moved out of the area, friends who are still in the area, and a wonderful meeting. Unfortunately, one of my lovely migraines surfaced making a lot of our visit somewhat miserable for me. I learned one valuable lesson: never leave home without your migraine medicine! Yes, we were only gone for 24 hours, or a little more than, but as I learned, you can never be too cautious. I do believe this migraine was by far the worst I have ever experienced. It was a throbbing, pulsating mess that had me in the bathroom sick between 3 and 4 am. It came and went at random, but I do praise the Lord that it finally went and has not returned. I am struggling to find the cause and the triggers to my migraines. I wonder if they are stress, food or hormone related, as most of them are. Well, my hormones are going strong now, being that I am almost 6 months pregnant, and unfortunately, stress is a factor of my life. I also noticed that the last three times I have had a migraine that the meal I ate before the migraine was a chicken salad sandwich from Chik-fil-A. Hmmm... that is off of my menu for good...at least until the baby comes! I can't wait to visit the Mossy Grove area again when I am feeling a little bit better and it is a little less hot!

One of my favorite times on this trip was my visit at the Thomas Family's home. Troy and Rebecca Thomas have become dear friends and I love them dearly! Their children are so sweet and kind, and good role models for my own son! Their home was lovely and a simple joy to be in! Rebecca shared with me a lot about homeschooling and the curriculum they will be using. It has very much interested me and enthused me about homeschooling in the future. I so want to homeschool my children and I hope laws in VA don't change so much in the next few years that I won't be able to. Josiah enjoyed playing in the family play room with the other kids, breakfast was a treat, and Josiah slept well, which is always a worry for me when we are out of town.

When I last wrote, we were getting ready for some visitors this weekend, but we had to call and arrange for our visitors another place to stay because I became more and more ill as the week went on with an upper respiratory infection. I did not want to get them sick, so I had to release them to stay somewhere else. Unfortunately, they had to cancel their trip because one of the visitors was sick as well. Please pray for me as far as my sickness. If I am not a lot better when I go back to the doctor on Monday, he will consider putting me backing in the hospital because I am having a hard time breathing. I feel a lot better already, but I am laying low this weekend and not doing much of anything but resting [I know many of you wonder why I am up this late, but I was so tired this afternoon, I ended up taking about a 4 hour nap...also, I crave water at night and tonight has been a lot worse...I need to wait for 3 glasses of ice water to make its way out of my system...]. So, visitors have been rescheduled and cleaning has been put on hold until my energy renews!

I am really looking forward to spending the day with my DS tomorrow. He is just the joy of my life! He is having so much fun out doors that I am going to have lunch on the front porch [my DH cleaned it off and put up a lovely table and chairs set!], and we are going to play in the yard. He loves the flowers and calls them "wowers" and has to kiss them every time he walks by them! I love it that he loves the outdoors so much, I just wish the heat was not so hard on me! We will probably play in the water and just have loads of fun!

I love watching Josiah blossom. I know I have said it about other phases of life, but this period where he is just learning to talk and developing more personality is one of my favorites. Ever since our trip with Grandma, Josiah has been saying "Dramma!" all over the place. This morning, he had been babbling and her name came up every few minutes, then he walked over, got the diaper bag, kissed my leg, walked to the door and said, "Dramma! Bye-bye!" and tried to open the door like he was leaving. It was precious! He is saying a lot of words now, among which are: apple! nana! gook [for book]! gilk [for milk]! wowers! babo [for baby]! yucky [for any and all trashcans]! and dedu [for Jesus]! He is also singing [incomprehensibly, of course] and waving his hand like he is leading songs in church. He loves to talk on the phone, when no one else can hear him and he loves his bath time and loves his books. He now sleeps with one of his favorite books and instead of crying in the morning, he wakes up and I hear him "reading" his book.

Well, it is late, and now that you are caught up with us, I will close this for now. Happy August!

Breakfast Casserole

Here is a recipe for a breakfast casserole that I am going to try on my visitors in the next couple of weeks. If anyone else has any breakfast casseroles that are simple and easy, please e-mail them to me at mellighodges@yahoo.com. I would love to try them out!

1 lb. pork sausage
1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 small onion chopped
4 lg eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Brown the sausage in large skillet and drain the excess fat. Press the crescent rolls in the bottom and up sides of a large greased casserole dish; press seams together and pinch to seal.

Sprinkle with the cheese and onion. Combine the eggs, milk and seasonings and pour over mixture in casserole.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until eggs look set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yummy!!

Gracious Hospitality

Gracious Hospitality. Gracious Hospitality? These two words, or rather, this phrase, has been running through my mind today and I thought I would share my thoughts.

I have been incredibly busy this week getting ready for some brief company this weekend and some not so brief company next weekend. Combine this incredible busy-ness with major second trimester "nesting" and what have you got? My DH called me [when he knew it was safe to say it, and not a second before hand] the hormonal witch of the east. I LOVE having company, but most of the time as I struggle to babysit my daily charges, take care of my own DS who is constantly into EVERYTHING he can get his precious little hands on, and clean the house at the same time, I admit I do get worn out and I begin to doubt myself, doubt my house, and generally anything else I am able to doubt, I do. I worry what my guests will think about how hot the upstairs of my home is, or I wonder what they will think about my front porch that is always a mess and seems to overwhelm me. I also wonder about meals to serve. What will they think of the tried and true? What if I deviate from the "safe" meals I have cooked 100 times over and I bomb? Well, I actually have come to the conclusion that most of these worries that I have do not have anything to do with hospitality. From the Words of the Lord, our Bible states in I Peter 4:9: "Use hospitality one to another without grudging.". I use this especially in regards to what our own little church is going through right now. We have been looking for a pastor since the beginning of this year and the Lord has graciously brought a Godly man and his family into our midst that has agreed to be our interim pastor until the end of the year. While this family has been visiting, we still have other preachers coming a long way from out of town to preach for us and they must have a place to stay. I think we as Christians should always be willing to give of what we have and open our homes as much as we are able. It doesn't matter if your table cloth doesn't match your dining room. It doesn't matter if the house isn't as clean as you would like it to be. It doesn't matter what excuse you can come up with, we should be willing to open our doors to visitors when we are able to and share with them what you do have and also to share with them what the Lord has done for you and how He has blessed your life. This is as much a pep talk to me as it is advice to all of my dear sisters in Christ. I have two families I know of that I often use as examples. There is a dear couple in my church that is so often able and willing to put people up in their home. They are so loving and kind and EVERYONE comes away thanking them for their hospitality. Another is my mother in law. She is at anytime willing to drop anything and everything and have people in her home visiting, staying for short or long visits or just dropping by. Her home is always open to anyone who she may be able to minister to. Both of these families inspire me to let go of my doubts and fears and focus on what truly is important and that is ministering to the saints.

May the Lord bless us as we endeavor to be the godly and virtuous women He has called us to be!