My Peacefully Chaotic Life

Wow, it's been a while since I've stared at a blank page and thought of how to fill it! I've not even been reading too many blogs. I pop on here occasionally to check for comments and I may check in on favorite blogs here or there though. I do Facebook but I've come to a conclusion. I think blogging to facebooking is as reading books is to watching television. Or at the least, reading classics is to reading People magazine. ;) It's not that there is anything wrong with it. It's fantastic for finding old friends and just keeping up with people. Some folks think it's good for nothing but gossip. I guess that could be true for some. I enjoy seeing the statuses and staying in touch with friends. I'm horrible with making phone calls and even emails. When I think back to junior high and how I would stay on the phone for hours I have to laugh because that is so not me now! Who has time? Facebook is easier somehow. Write on someone's wall, comment on their ...

Well, another dog lost. :( This time it wasn't a car but something more sinister...a rattlesnake. She was bitten yesterday evening and lasted about 4 1/2 hours. Poor little Chi-Chi is only about 6 pounds or so and just couldn't take the venom. LadyBug seems to be taking it the hardest among the children. Our Bassett Hound, Daisy, and Chi-Chi are the best of friends and poor Daisy has spent the day looking for her. So sad. The GuitarMan has finished his semester and is home now. I introduced him to Pilates this morning. We worked out together. Ha ha, now if that wasn't a sight I just don't know what would be! He has a new found admiration for it now though. Afterwards I cut the FisherMan's hair outside under the plum tree while the children played in the pool. He asked if there was a way we could be any more redneck. I had plenty of ideas on that if he wanted but he didn't want to take part lol. Apparently it was a rhetorical question. This week was one of apprec...

MONDAY (leftovers) roasted teriyaki pork tenderloin string beans/ butterbeans (choice) mashed potatoes/scalloped potatoes (choice) spinach salad TUESDAY Soccer night-$5 pizza :) WEDNESDAY ham (left from Sunday) fresh black crowder peas rutabagas (kids ate grapes) cornbread THURSDAY hotdogs (did you know they make them now with no nitrates? call me sheltered, I had no idea) tater tots glazed carrots FRIDAY grilled salmon glazed carrots salad potatoes SATURDAY lemon pepper chicken rice stir fry veggies salad SUNDAY smoked ham macaroni and cheese fresh peas mashed potatoes DESSERTS: vanilla pudding cake angelfood cake with strawberries fatfree pudding

Rain is pouring outside this morning. Peaceful now but I'm not looking forward to doing errands in it! But I am thankful that it turned out to be a nice weekend. We celebrated Cornbread's birthday Saturday. We originally had plans on doing it at the zoo. We thought it might be a good location to enable us to invite some folks who aren't really able to come this far. While it would mean a trip for those who live here, we also thought it would be a fun day for all the kids. Then we got the soccer schedule and had to regroup. It was not an easy feat! We tried to plan around games, GuitarMan's schedule, friend's work schedules...there was no choice but to do it Saturday night. That cut out inviting anyone from any distance. They kept talking rain and we thought, "Oh, my what will we do with a housefull of folks in the rain?" But we took the plunge and did it anyway and it turned out to be such a pleasant time. Soccer took up the morning and we followed that wi...

I mentioned on my last post that I didn't want anyone to misunderstand my absence from blogging. I did not want it to appear that my faith in God has been shaken. No, if anything, it is stronger than ever because He has held me up through all of the trials! But I have also worried a bit over another possible misconception. I don't want anyone to have this picture in their minds that my life has been shattered and that the miscarriage is all I think of....that it CONSUMES me. I guess deep down I feel as though if it reached this point that it would be also be a sign of dwindling faith or the questioning of God on my part. But there are things about it that I want to share. While it is always with me, time really does help. In the first days following a miscarriage it is more in the forefront of your mind and heart. But when you are blessed as I am with other responsibilities and concerns, you simply MUST forge ahead. I have a husband who is also grieving. It would not help ...

Hello to all my bloggy friends! I want to thank all of you that have faithfully checked in here for posts and continued to follow. Writing of any sort, even if it's just a little post about your day or your schedule, opens you up and exposes you. When facing trials and grief and I tend to withdraw and close myself off somewhat. I think with everything that has happened I needed a bit of a blog break. But I have really missed it. I think my biggest concern about not blogging was how people that do not know me in real life or perhaps know me and do not see me on a regular basis might perceive my absence. While losing Abigail was certainly a hard hit I don't want anyone to think that it has shaken my faith. Some bloggers like to write only about certain things such as a cooking blog, a Bible study blog, homemaking blog, etc. Well, my approach is a mish--mash of everything in my life. In the course of that, I hope to weave a picture of my walk with the Lord. I would not want my s...

The following was written the week after Abigail Hope was delivered. Well, this week has been a rough one. But, I am here and I can still manage a smile. I'll go ahead and apologize for a long post. I wanted to share Abigail's birth with any of you that might like to read it. Also I thought it might be a story that could help someone else who finds themselves in this situation. It is devastating to go in for a doctor's appt. only to be told there is no heartbeat. That is exactly what happened to us Thursday of last week. I had been through a miscarriage before and never wanted to face that again. In that pregnancy, the baby never developed properly. I had some female problems during that time that made it hard to pinpoint how far along I should have been. But it finally became apparent that something was very wrong. After many weeks I miscarried at home. Since then I have never taken a pregnancy for granted, assuming that it would turn out fine. Faith, yes. Assumptions,...