A Change

So, I decided to change the look of my blog.

I'm struggling with a UTI and a cold and just needed some way to get my mind off of how yucky I feel.

I've been wanting a change to my blog's look for awhile, but didn't really know how or what theme I'd have it in. Then, last night, I was just browsing through the internet and ran into a site with background tiles...I didn't know how they are used and so I did research on that and the rest just snowballed until I came up with this cute new look.

Although the changes are very small, it took me a while to figure out how to manipulate things. I don't have much time right now...I just wanted to test my Post Template out and it seems to be working. Now every time I write a post, my little picture of a chair automatically pops up...

I need to credit the site where I found my graphics and other sites that helped with tutorials...I'll have to do that later though, by adding on to this post...For now, DearHubby needs me to run a little errand for him so I'll need to do that quickly while the girls are asleep!

NOTE TO SELF: I also need to remember to change my daily ramblings area to match this main area...Hopefully I remember all the changes I made...

It's Dessert Time

Having people over your home just fills it up with so much cheer!!!

I used to think that I needed to always serve a meal to invite company over. Well, that's not necessarily true. We had leftovers last night and I wasn't in the mood for cooking a whole new meal, but DearHubby and I really wanted to open our home up to some friends for some time of fellowship. I decided to bake chocolate chip cookies in the afternoon and gave our friends a call to invite them over for dessert and coffee after dinner.

Dessert worked out so well and that was just the icing on the cake! The true dessert was enjoying our brother and sister in Christ!!!

Catching Flies...

I don't know what it is about our house that attracts the flies, but it does...(read more)

The Promise...

I had such a hardened heart when the renovation work of our home started. It wasn't that I was against the renovation, but I just thought it was bad timing.

I was spoiled by my parents while they were here because they cared for DearDaughter1, cooked, cleaned, and shopped for me while I focused my time on DearDaughter2. It was challenging for me to pick up those responsibilites when my parents left. I wasn't fully healed yet and DearDaughter2 was just very colicky...she cried a lot, which was every time she was awake...

As I was healing and learning how to get back up on my own 2 feet, the renovation work on our home started. I felt like a huge load was literally dumped on my shoulders and I had to carry it on my own without anyone's help. At one point I was so overwhelmed that I told DearHubby that I couldn't take it anymore and I was leaving for the rest of the renovation time. I even looked up plane tickets to fly out to my parents'. Blessedly, I still had a little sense in me and realized that the plane tickets were more than we could afford. I had no choice but to stay and persevere through the situation.

I thank the Lord for bringing me to that low point because it was when I was at that low point with no where else to go that He led me back to Him. I sought forgiveness from DearHubby regarding my lack of support for this project. Then, I made it a point that last week of construction work to get up every morning and spend time in His Word and prayer. The Lord was faithful and He helped me get through that hard time.

Anyway, when the end of the 3rd week came (the time my father and brother in laws left), DearHubby and I reflected back to this challenging situation. We were thankful that we got as much accomplished as we did on the house renovation, but I felt that we were really robbed of enjoying these first moments with DearDaughter2 because our focus were on other things. So, I asked 1 favor of DearHubby...I told him that when we have our next child (Lord willing) the only thing I want to do for the first month is to spend time with our family...no construction work, no family over, nothing but time to ENJOY our family. DearHubby agreed.

It Gets Better...

I want to remind myself that things do get better and that there is light and hope at the end of a dark tunnel (specifically speaking of a newborn)...

It is 7:16am and I just put DearDaughter2 back to sleep. Her last feeding was at 10pm last night and she was asleep by 10:30pm. She woke up around 6:45am this morning for a brief feeding and I put her back to sleep for another hour or 1 1/2 hours.

Of the 2 girls, I was concerned that DearDaughter2 would be the harder one to sleep through the night. As a brand new baby, she struggled much with her digestive system and was waking every 45 minutes crying in pain. I thought I would never get any sleep. This lack of sleep lasted for about 4 to 5 weeks and then suddenly one evening DearDaughter slept 7 hours! She had gradually been giving us more sleep. It started with 3 consecutive hours and then 4. Then after that momentous 7 hour night, she consistently gave us 5 hours. In addition, I have found that DearDaughter2 can put herself to sleep (sometimes) and I have surprisingly found her asleep on the floor or on her bouncy seat. So, I just wanted to remind myself that it gets better.

My 2 girls are very different already, but the one thing that I have tried to do is be consistent in the Parent Direct Feeding method. This method is basically a sleeping/eating routine where the baby has an eating time which is followed by an awake time which is followed by a sleeping time. I truly believe by following this routine, this helped both girls get into a sleeping pattern that helped them sleep through the night and even in taking their naps. DearDaughter2 actually gets tired between 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours after her feed time and sometimes when I don't respond to her cries in a timely manner she puts herself to sleep because she is that tired.

It was definitely a challenge establishing such a routine while the construction work was going on, but I tried my best and it looks like the Lord is blessing my best attempts. I think the key to this blessing was perseverance and consistency...