This week my mother turns 50 and my Father-in-Law turns 60. I hope you guys don't mind that I just posted your ages! As I laid in bed last night suffering a short bout of insomnia I was thinking about them both and the parties we will be celebrating this coming weekend. It reminded me of when I turned 20.
For some reason or another I dreaded turning 20. It seems so silly to me now, but it's true. I was literally stressed about the whole ordeal! (I tend to stress out about very silly things...likely the source of my Crohn's, haha!) I think it was because I knew so many things were going to happen in the coming 10 years. Reg and I were in a serious relashionship at that point in time, so I knew we would be getting married, and I knew we'd (hopefully...depending on my Crohn's situation which was very active at the time) be having kids. I wanted to be done having kids by the time I was 30. Mostly I think I was stressed because I'd be leaving childhood behind and be moving into a new stage of my life - adulthood.
Everything I was stressed about happening happend. There have been some moments over the past 9 years that were definatley worth stressing for - getting married and planning a wedding ( I NEVER want to do that again!!) a Crohn's flareup that led to my second surgery, the death of my Grandfather, 2 pregnancies (which thankfully went smooth as silk) the birth of Holden (which involved a few hiccups) and the birth of Axton (which involved LOTS of hiccups, including him having a stroke and stay in the NICU), and I'm sure there have been many other stresses too!
I have not been alone, not even once throughout any of these situations. I certainly couldn't have gotten through any of it without my Lord! One of my favourite verses is 2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
I am not nearly as stressed to turn 30 as I was to turn 20. Perhaps it's because I've learned, through all of these things, that I am not alone in this life - God will carry me through! When I am weak, that's when He is strong!!
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Saturday, 28 May 2011
No Girls Allowed
OK, so I have a little confession to make...I never wanted a daughter, nor do I ever want a daughter. I know, that's really bad isn't it!! Reg and I have always planned to only have 2 kids an we knew that no matter what we were given, we were only getting 2 chances. I am so glad I got my boys!!
We cheated both pregnancies and found out the sex at our 20 week ultrasounds. With pregnancy #1 we both wanted a boy. We thought a boy would be nice to be the eldest child, especially if someday #2 was a girl, then she could have that typical "protective" big brother. When the ultrasound tech showed us we were having a little boy, we were ecstatic - Holden had his name even before we arrived home.
After Holden was born and as he grew and became his own little person it became clear to Reg and I that we wanted our second child to be a boy too. When I got pregnant again I was convinced we were having a girl - Reg went into denial and only ever said it was a boy. Of course, that's what I wanted too but I made it my goal to try to prepare Reg that he may indeed have a daughter. This was an impossible task as Reg was convinced that "I can only make boys" - you can't see me, but I'm rolling my eyes right now :)
The day of my ultrasound my nerves and my mind were going full swing. Yes, I wanted a boy the first time around, but it seemed like this time I wanted a boy even worse! (The following is terrible...) What would I do with a girl? How would I ever survive the teenage years? The screeching, the dolls, the pink??!! Finally the moment of truth had arrived. I had just spent half an hour with the ultrasound tech in silence, listening to her blab on about who knows what, my mind racing as I watched the blurred screen convincing myself with every move of her "wand" that I had just seen the "girl parts". . Once Reg had joined us in the room she asked us once again if we were sure we wanted to know...uh, duh...YES!!! Please tell us and do it quick before I have a heartattack!! Then she said the words I had been waiting to hear...your having a boy. I was so excited that I didn't hear anything else. Another boy :) My little family was complete!
I told you that was terrible, but I'm just being honest! I wouldn't trade my boys for the world - but you know what...I'd likely be saying the same thing if my 2 boys had ended up being 2 little girls.
We cheated both pregnancies and found out the sex at our 20 week ultrasounds. With pregnancy #1 we both wanted a boy. We thought a boy would be nice to be the eldest child, especially if someday #2 was a girl, then she could have that typical "protective" big brother. When the ultrasound tech showed us we were having a little boy, we were ecstatic - Holden had his name even before we arrived home.
After Holden was born and as he grew and became his own little person it became clear to Reg and I that we wanted our second child to be a boy too. When I got pregnant again I was convinced we were having a girl - Reg went into denial and only ever said it was a boy. Of course, that's what I wanted too but I made it my goal to try to prepare Reg that he may indeed have a daughter. This was an impossible task as Reg was convinced that "I can only make boys" - you can't see me, but I'm rolling my eyes right now :)
The day of my ultrasound my nerves and my mind were going full swing. Yes, I wanted a boy the first time around, but it seemed like this time I wanted a boy even worse! (The following is terrible...) What would I do with a girl? How would I ever survive the teenage years? The screeching, the dolls, the pink??!! Finally the moment of truth had arrived. I had just spent half an hour with the ultrasound tech in silence, listening to her blab on about who knows what, my mind racing as I watched the blurred screen convincing myself with every move of her "wand" that I had just seen the "girl parts". . Once Reg had joined us in the room she asked us once again if we were sure we wanted to know...uh, duh...YES!!! Please tell us and do it quick before I have a heartattack!! Then she said the words I had been waiting to hear...your having a boy. I was so excited that I didn't hear anything else. Another boy :) My little family was complete!
I told you that was terrible, but I'm just being honest! I wouldn't trade my boys for the world - but you know what...I'd likely be saying the same thing if my 2 boys had ended up being 2 little girls.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Fabulous Fibre
So I've only been blogging for one day and I already have a request! This is encouraging :)
As many of you know, I have had Crohn's disease for 12 years. I'm just going to be blunt about this - Crohn's is an unpleasant condition involving your bowels. It's basically an infection in your intestines which involves lots of pain and diarrhea. I have had 2 surgeries to remove the infected sections of my bowels, causing another condition...short bowel syndrome, which as you can guess leads to even more diarrhea. From here on out I shall refer to it as a big capital D.
For over 8 years I struggled with D - as you can imagine I tried everything under the sun to fight it, from diet to prescription meds. Nothing worked!! I struggled to maintain a weight of 100lbs. Not only is D draining physically, but mentally too.
About 4 years ago I was introduced to Psyllium - funny word, yes, but this funny word has changed my life!! Here's how it works. Psyllium is a fiber, which is ground into a very fine powder. When you add this powder to a liquid it acts like a little sponge and expands. Every morning before I eat anything else I add psyllium to either applesauce or yogurt and voila - my D problem is solved. My good friend psyllium gets in there and absorbs all the excess water in my system, while at the same time forming a type of "plug" to slow my food down. But, my friends, the benefit of psyllium doesn't end there. If you have another common bowel issue, just for fun let's call it C for constipation, psyllium will fix that too. And, if you happen to be concerned that your gut is full of yucky toxins, psyllium scrubs and cleans as it makes it's way through. It's a mutli-tasking, fabulous fiber!!
Here's the link to where I get it - http://www.nationalnutrition.ca/detail.aspx?ID=1577
Any more requests? Haha!
As many of you know, I have had Crohn's disease for 12 years. I'm just going to be blunt about this - Crohn's is an unpleasant condition involving your bowels. It's basically an infection in your intestines which involves lots of pain and diarrhea. I have had 2 surgeries to remove the infected sections of my bowels, causing another condition...short bowel syndrome, which as you can guess leads to even more diarrhea. From here on out I shall refer to it as a big capital D.
For over 8 years I struggled with D - as you can imagine I tried everything under the sun to fight it, from diet to prescription meds. Nothing worked!! I struggled to maintain a weight of 100lbs. Not only is D draining physically, but mentally too.
About 4 years ago I was introduced to Psyllium - funny word, yes, but this funny word has changed my life!! Here's how it works. Psyllium is a fiber, which is ground into a very fine powder. When you add this powder to a liquid it acts like a little sponge and expands. Every morning before I eat anything else I add psyllium to either applesauce or yogurt and voila - my D problem is solved. My good friend psyllium gets in there and absorbs all the excess water in my system, while at the same time forming a type of "plug" to slow my food down. But, my friends, the benefit of psyllium doesn't end there. If you have another common bowel issue, just for fun let's call it C for constipation, psyllium will fix that too. And, if you happen to be concerned that your gut is full of yucky toxins, psyllium scrubs and cleans as it makes it's way through. It's a mutli-tasking, fabulous fiber!!
Here's the link to where I get it - http://www.nationalnutrition.ca/detail.aspx?ID=1577
Any more requests? Haha!
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Introduction
I have been contemplating blogging for quite some time now, but after a visit from a blogging friend this morning I have decided to jump in head first. And so my blog begins...
I will start with an explanation of my blog's name. I often think of my life as quite normal...let's say ordinary :) But when I really think about it my life has been far from normal...lets say extraordinary :) I have experienced some truley unique events and circumstances so far in my life and hopefully this blog will be a chance for me to hash them out, a journal of sorts, perhaps??!! I guess what this blog may hold is as much of a mystery to me as it is to you right now.
Well, my first blog must end here - the cry of my 3 month old son is beckoning!
I will start with an explanation of my blog's name. I often think of my life as quite normal...let's say ordinary :) But when I really think about it my life has been far from normal...lets say extraordinary :) I have experienced some truley unique events and circumstances so far in my life and hopefully this blog will be a chance for me to hash them out, a journal of sorts, perhaps??!! I guess what this blog may hold is as much of a mystery to me as it is to you right now.
Well, my first blog must end here - the cry of my 3 month old son is beckoning!
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