All in one day

This is how I found Faith earlier today when I noticed the house was abnormally quiet. She was asleep on the couch, and her fever was up.

Charity saw me taking pictures and didn't want left out, so she kept saying "teese," better pronounced as "cheese!"

Have you ever had a sick child, secretarial work to do for your hubby, and laundry pouring out of your house?

Well, let me tell you, I would LOVE to hire someone to help me right now. I am clueless on Ron's new side job and my children are in need of constant care (Faith is extremely whiny and grouchy due to her 102.3 degree fever axillary. I have given numerous doses of ibuprofen, tylenol... off brand, cold and allergy medicine, and 4 doses of her antibiotic. She is still fighting fevers, and I am getting weary. After all, this has been going on since Sunday night!), and my house is falling to pieces!

Okay, I must admit, I am proud of the great job I did cleaning the basement yesterday. It desparately needed it. Although, it is creepy and ugly down there, I must say it is now one of the most neatly organized basements I have ever had. I even bleached the floors, but I still need to clean the window sill areas... lots of spider webs! Should have taken before and after pictures! I felt like Mrs. Clean! But, now my upstairs begs my attention, and I am overwhelmed! If you are a lady who feels inspired to help and don't charge tons of money (because I don't have tons of money to give you), please call Mrs. Overwhelmed Pregnant Lady at 1 (800) NEEDYOU. Really though, hopefully, I will be able to tackle it during the girls' nap time. I am amazed how much I can get done during that time... might even drink a little cup of coffee, which I don't often do especially when I am pregnant, but it might just give me that extra boost!

I did actually get out of the house yesterday; I think I walked at least two miles! I took the girls to McDonalds and then I went to Meijers. I had to have some ice cream! My sciatic nerve was going crazy yesterday, and it was very painful! But, like I said, I had to have ice cream!

Dr. Appointment Nightmare

If you have never had to hold down your child's arms and legs while they fought and screamed full force... you'll have to go with me on one of Faithy's appointments where she gets her ears checked! Yep, for the past couple of years, Faith's doctors have been kicked, endured hysterical crying, and many troubling appointments... Faith has had many struggles with ear infections, and, once again, the problem has reappeared. It is amazing how strong a three year old can be!
I took my camera to take pictures of the appointment, but forgot all about it... things were too uptight. There is a new doctor in the office and I think she is either Muslim or Hindu... the clothing and head garb gave me that impression. I think she is from India. She was really nice. I wasn't sure how to feel about her since her beliefs probably totally contradict mine.
We survived the appointment, and Faith got her sticker. I hope she doesn't get sick again for a very long time. I am home from church tonight because I didn't think it was wise to take her with all the fevers she has had.

My girls and me

Okay, we are being being really silly in these pictures. Gotta have fun!

Thought I would post a few picts to make you laugh... I even took my hair down just for the fun of it... I usually wear it up. (It is hard to sit on that way.) It still hasn't reached my knees! I would love it if someone could give me tips on how to make it grow... it seems to be at a stand still. Yes, I am one of those people who believe in I Corinthians 11 and Deuteromony 22:5. Perhaps this is a new thought for some of my friends out there, but it a good one :-) I haven't always believed this way, but when I was a teenager I heard some preaching and then I decided to do my own study. Once upon a time, I was very short haired, tank topped, and wearing shorts (and, wearing very geeky glasses). Sorry you missed those very interesting days... really, though, I had very crooked teeth, and a personality that was dying to be picked on. Yes, I loved Jesus very much, I just didn't know He cared about everything in your life, including the way you dress, what you put into your mind, and how you take care of your body. I am still learning. Anyway, off my soapbox...

Faithy is still really sick, but acts fine as long as she is well medicated. She is going to the pediatrician this afternoon. I think last night's fever may have been the highest it has gone the past few days... 102.5 F axillary.

Hope ya'll stay in good health. Got my voice mostly back! Yeah!

Well, my daughter is asking me a thousand questions... and, she is very impatient for the answers, so I guess I had better end this post before I start typing answers on the computer... "His name is Arthur... DW... the mommy... the daddy.... I don't know... I don't know... Arthur... DW... I don't KNOW!" Can you guess what book she is looking at and wanting me to tell her everyone's name?! And, Charity, not wanting to be left out, keeps shouting "Mommy... mommy... mommy... MINE! Mine! (scream, scream)." She learned the word MINE off of Faith! GRRRR! My house can be very noisy sometimes!

So disappointed... not!

Faith dressed herself in this outfit... she needs a lesson on matching clothes, but it was rather funny!

My other little princess!

Okay, I am not glad that Faithy still has a fever of 101.3... but, she was scheduled to go to the dentist for the first time today... and, I knew it wouldn't be pretty... she doesn't even like me to brush her teeth... there is this war scheduled each evening. Well, I had to postpone the dental appointment for a couple of weeks.

I also have an eye appointment scheduled for her for next week... You would just have to know how blind I am to understand my concern for early care on eyes... Plus, as of right now, we have insurance... never know what the future holds, and doctor visits aren't generally free. I really don't think she has a visual problem, because she can see thing that are really far away, and often points them out to me. But, just in case...

Anyway, I had a great time in prayer last night, and I really am desiring to do my very best in raising my children... Oh, how I want to them to serve Jesus! It would be dreadful to see them physically hurt or to see them die physically (they mean more to me than I could ever explain)... but, spiritually, I don't think I could handle the sorrow if I knew they weren't serving Jesus, or worse yet, if they died without Christ! So I feel a special challenge these days to pour God's Word in their hearts, so that they can grow up with a passion for Christ and His Word, and lead others to Christ. Please, help me pray for them.

I'm back... partially

It all started a few days ago when my beautiful baby girl, Charity, developed a runny nose. Okay, no big deal, we can handle runny noses... it's gross and unattractive, but survivable... then, we left Saturday morning to visit my grandparents, parents, Ron's grandpa, meet with a church group... at Burger King, etc, etc (a very busy day to say the least). Now on the way down to my grandparents house, Faith was making quite the scene because she, too, seemed to be developing this cold... and, the stuffy feeling must have been getting on her nerves, because she was very dramatic about it. So, before I stopped at my grandparents, I pulled over to a Family Dollar and got a children's cold/allergy medication. This seemed to help, but then I was starting to not feel so well. When I have a cold, I can feel a little gaggy, but being PG and having a cold is not a good combination. To make a very long story short, my family is enjoying listening to me try to talk without my voice... you will just have to call me today to hear how this works. My husband thinks its a little funny... I told him that when we get old together, this is the voice he will hear from me. He laughed! I sound more sick than I think I actually am... I am extra tired and have been coughing up stuff (okay, now this is getting gross)... but other than that I am not really feeling that sick.
Sunday, Ron preached in Nelsonville. That is a very nice little church... felt like I have known some of the people forever. I enjoy adult fellowship when I can get it. Don't get me wrong, my kids are a blast, but sometimes, you know, it is nice to talk to someone who is also an adult!
We stayed in a hotel owned by a college... nice rooms, but it was so funny that they had so many signs reminding us to save the Earth, water, and energy. I was hoping it was okay to flush the toilet. The girls had a tough time going to sleep... so I did a motherly thing :-) and gave them each some cold/allergy medicine to help bring on the zzzz's. But, Charity got choked up on hers and try as I might, I could not help her. She ended up vomiting on the hotel floor. This made me start gagging. It was a very interesting evening.
Last night, when we returned back home, I discovered that Faith was fevered. I medicated her and went to put her toddler bed mattress on my bedroom floor so she could sleep in my room, because she had gotten ill after I had given her medication, and I was sure she would want Mommy. When I went in her room last night to get her mattress, I discovered a huge spider hanging out on the canopy over her bed. You just have to know how I feel about spiders! I have a very strong distaste for them! I quickly snatched Charity out of her crib, and had my husband get rid of the cruel-looking creature in the girls' bedroom. He was even amazed at the size of this thing. Anyway, Faith's fever got worse in the night, so I medicated her again and made sure she got her fluids. This morning she seems much better... at least the fever was much lower. Have you ever thought about how much money a mother would make if she got paid for what she did... nurse, teacher, cook, housekeeper, record keeper/secretary, laundry maid, referee, guard, etc., just how much money an hour would we make... but, the biggest job is leading the children to Jesus. Forget the money, my children serving Jesus, loving Him with all their hearts, souls, strength, and minds, and loving their neighbors as themselves... that is what I want out of my job. No money could compare to that!
Anyway, family night may have to be moved to another night because I am not sure how fun it would be with a bunch of sick people, and my husband being exhausted from last night's drive, then getting up probably at 4:30 am to go pray and get to work this morning at 6 o'clock.
Yep, this house needs to just go to bed for half a day. So, yes, I am back... but, not my voice, and those who know me well, know that without being able to talk well, I am not quite complete. "Yeah!" for computers where you can communicate without the voice!

No, I didn't die or fall off the end of this circular world,

but life has become entirely too busy... We just finished our 5th weekend of children's church, so now it is rotating back to the Beatty family. We had another youth garage sale on Saturday, and I think we are going to use this money to do something fun with the young people. Some of them are wanting to go canoeing (this word doesn't look right!). I like canoeing, but I don't know what I will do with my children... I am very picky about who watches them, and I am sure people wonder why I am like that, but you just have to know me... I am not telling all those details on my blog.

Too much work has taken place since I have given a decent update, and I will not bore you with all the details... but I can tell you that I am about finished crocheting the baby blanket, and I did make some dress up clothes for Faith... I also cleaned my house many times, but you can't really tell now. I found out that I can get tons of work done really fast with some good motivation... but, I still do not like putting away laundry... so there is still this pile of clean clothes on my computer rooms' couch.

Can't find my ultrasound pictures... feeling frustrated about that.

You missed some big events this week, as I was being sweet to my little girls and bought them Strawberry Shortcake bubble bath. I made them a bubble bath Saturday night, and left the room just to hear this gulp gulp sound, I quickly returned find that Faith dumped basicly the whole container in the bath water "to make more bubbles". Today, she dumped lots of rubbing alcohol on my bed while I was having devotions, over a half a bottle's worth! Charity knocked a small table with a sterio on it on top of her when Ron took her down to the children's church. (I was in play practice.) She has a terrible bruise across her little nose and under her eye. Oh, but we have had some really fun times in the past week or two as well.

Faith loves dress up, weddings, castles, and doing silly poses (yes, they are very hysterical). Charity loves dolls, chocolate, and bouncing up and down to "I Will Make You Fishers Men." (I actually had to stop leading this song for a moment a couple of weeks ago in children's church, because she was standing in front of all the other kids doing the motions so enthusiastically, that I could not control my laughter.) Yep, they can be lots of fun!

They both love playing outside.

I'm Back!

Okay, as far as the goals go, I didn't do terrible. Yesterday, I got up at about 4:40am and attacked my house. Still have a very big pile of clean clothes to put away, but I am totally amazed at the transformation of my house! It is really great what you can do when your children are sleeping! It really cheers me up to see it look like a home with a wife who cares. So excited to see what I can get done tomorrow morning... slept in this morning, exhausted from yesterday's activities.
My devotions have perked up more, except today, because I haven't yet had them, but I certainly do not plan to miss!!!
Exercised only one day! Took a walk... maybe 2 miles, guessing. It was very hot... but, I survived.
Did not do preschool at all with Faith. It is okay, she is only 3, I tell myself.
No, I didn't stay completely away from my computer... I desparately needed some parenting material, and found some Christian resources on my computer, because...
Had a very rough weekend with Charity, but I think it is improving (Miss Strong-Willed I'll Throw A Tantrum, herself). Discipline was exhausting! But, I got a couple of compliments about how well she has improved in church, I didn't have to even leave the service Sunday night! She really is a great and beautiful child... just needs some learnin'.
Have a cell phone now, and so does Ron. Yes, we have stepped into the 21 century, and decided to make it possible for us to reach each other, and for all those people who need us, and struggle to get ahold of us. I am really excited. I got mine for free, and, yes, it takes pictures. My phone is pink...
Which leads me into another subject.... who loves pink more than the Cook family?! Guess you can figure out what I am about to say about my ultrasound... pink, curls, ruffles, and lace. I cheated and found out what I am having, and you guessed it! My husband is definitely being outnumbered right now... but, says he likes girls, and that he is NOT disappointed. I was briefly, but then it turned to joy... they say the baby looks good, and obviously, this is what God wanted us to have. I have restarted the crocheted blanket, and it is definitely girly! Not to be overly proud, but I think we have extremely beautiful girls. I am really looking forward to holding this one in my arms come Christmas-time! This is one special present.
Now those of you wanting to see pictures... never fear... I will plan to put pictures on soon (not only of the baby, but other special events of the past few days. So stay tuned!

Time Out

Warning to all those who read my blog...
I have become an addict to my computer, therefore, I am now making a goal of removing myself from my beloved machine...
I will plan to post again Monday, August 13th, in the evening. Then, you may get updates about our ministries, my house goals (explain that in a minute), and, of course, the greatly awaited... ULTRASOUND!
How would you blogging friends like to be my accountablity partners for the next few days?
These are my goals, and I will tell you how it goes when I return... call it a type of fast, maybe.
Thursday night- Monday afternoon
- have a healthy devotional time each day (tough with little ones, but it can be done.)
- exercise each day for 20 min. (minus Sunday)
- have all laundry caught up and the house well cleaned.
- catch up on Faithy's preschool work (mommy time), and do some teaching with Charity, like reading books, showing her how to sit on a potty, and how to not throw a fit every time she doesn't get her way (Mommy time, too; although, the last part is not going to be very fun... disciplining this behavior should have been done a very long time ago, but, alas, I have spoiled her... May God help me undo my negligence.)
So, off I go to start my job as I aught to have been doing all along! Pray for me, and I will be looking forward to reading ya'lls comments when I get back from the SuperMom preformance. God bless.

Indians and mice

Here are some of Faith's Indian pictures, and some of the schoolwork she did yesterday.

AND....

WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE... PREFERABLY DEAD

MR. MOUSE, ON CHARGES OF BREAKING AND ENTERING, POLLUTING HOMES, AND FRIGHTENING EXPECTANT MOTHERS IN THE NIGHT.

REWARD: PEACE OF MIND AND SAFE KITCHEN

NOTE: CAUGHT BY TRAP LATE TUESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 7, 2007.

I am waiting for my husband to come home to dispose of the body! Gross!

Family Night Out- A Touch of Healing

Thank you all for praying for me, for I had a good dose of "medicine" last night.

I went to my dr's apptmt, and it took her a while to find the baby's heartbeat, but it was found! Praise God!

Ron, the girls, and I had a great family night out... I loved it!!! I think I really was needing that. Plus, while I was at the doctor, Ron cleaned our bedroom really nicely, and did weed eating outside. Clair and Melba Sams stopped yesterday afternoon, and we chatted a while... that was really neat. They actually stopped by for a key to one of the churches.

Later, Ron dropped me off at the mall, and gave me $20 to spend... It was fun. I bought a couple of things at Bath and Body Works. A VERY RARE treat, since we aren't exactly rich... but I love certain smells of lotions, air freshners, candles, and I even love the smell of household cleaners (bleach, Pinesol, fabric softner, carpet cleaner, etc). I am a little picky when it comes to perfumes, etc., because some of the generic stuff gives me headaches or reminds me of a funeral home... definitely not what I need.

Then, we went out to eat at McDonalds, and went swimming at Caesar's Creek. (No, not the beach part, we went to a more secluded area.) Yes, we were very appropriately dressed... I am sure that those who were going by on their boats probably wondered why we were so fully dressed... It took Charity a while to get comfortable and stop crying. The water was definitely not too cold... Yesterday was a very hot day. Faithy didn't really want to leave, but it was late and the mosquitos were coming out. I have to confess, I am a little whimpy when it comes to smimming in lakes. I can hardly stand the feeling of that stuff on the bottom or the stuff floating in the water... Maybe its seaweed and sand, but it still grosses me out... I still had plenty of fun!

On the way home, we sang and sang together. Then, stopped at Meijer's, and got home at a late time, but it was a great evening. Thank you, Ron, for the wonderful family night out. Most of all, thank you, God, for knowing my frame. He knew just what I needed.

I do feel so much better. Got a miniture vacation last night.

Faithy has been working on preschool almost all morning... coloring, cutting, gluing, using watercolors, playing dress up, etc... right now she is wearing an Indian costume with feathers in her hair... I told her about the Indians who lived in America a long time ago. Since I used to be involved in mission work with the Navajo Indians, and we recently took a trip to New Mexico, I was able to explain it more simply. I will have to share those pictures later.

good days and depression

Interesting how you can have such a good day, and still feel very depressed... yesterday, children's church went really well... We even had the live fish, but Ron had to buy it Saturday because he was unable to catch one. The overall lesson of the morning was giving everything to Jesus. We had a quite a bit of kids this week, but it was really nice having our teenagers at church helping. They did a great job!
Last night Ron, the teens, and I had to speak about youth camp, and that went well, except I didn't get to show the 180 pictures I had on a CD... It was supposed to be on a laptop in the vestibule, but I think communication wasn't well... so everyone had to settle for the 25 picture I had made up on a poster. It was fine.
I was so down yesterday that I spent half of the service last night crying, and part of the afternoon as well. I think hormones are playing a big part in it... but, I am getting tired of the blues. For all of those praying family and friends of mine who read my blog, please for God to heal my sadness. I really don't have much to be sad about, except I get tired of myself, and I feel lonely. Funny, huh? How can I be lonely with two little kids, a teen/youth ministry, children's ministry, outreach, new projects, housework, a good husband, etc., to keep me busy? I guess it is possible since I am. I think sometimes Christians don't like to talk about depression, but I think it is good to be REAL, and admit life is not always bubbly. Check out Jeremiah... he was a little on the moody side, but he was a great prophet. I sometimes get annoyed if I feel like people are always pretending to be happy, but I have done it... it is better than moping around...
Well, I am looking forward to my ultra-sound next week.
Really I have to go... got to catch up on a very large mess. Yeah!

Roses and Car washes

Okay, so I didn't go scrub my house down after I posted yesterday. I actually went outside and smelled the roses... really! Here is a picture a rose on one of my rose bushes. Thought it was too pretty to not share. Then, I took pictures of my girls... then, of all things, I walked probably close to a mile for some M&Ms! Pregnant women get desparate some times, and my emotions were begging for chocolate!

Today has been an interesting day so far. I was about to put Charity in the car this morning when I realized her diaper had leaked all over her... when I got into the house to clean her up, I realized it actually was all over the carpet. AAAugh! So I bathed her and put a clean outfit on her while Ron hurried to try to scrub the mess off the carpets... bless his heart... I actually got out of most of that job this time. We were just on time for the youth carwash.

The youth car wash went VERY WELL! We are now ABOVE our missions pledge, and we still have another fund-raiser scheduled in two weeks... not sure what we are going to do about that yet. We washed so many cars today, I am about exhausted! Praise God for His help! Six young people showed up and worked to reach their pledge. It was a little scary with some of the cars being VERY, VERY new and beautiful. I was hoping everyone would be pleased with the work.

After the youth car, we had to drive a couple of the young people home, and then I had to go grocery shopping at Aldi's. Did well there, too.

Ron is now out calling with Charles Beatty, and later he HAS to go fishing. Really, I demand it... we need the fish for children's church tomorrow. Yes, we are very serious about our ministries :-) I have to still get a few thing together for children's church, and I have plenty of housework to do, as usual.

So glad that today has been a more cheerful day, minus the rough beginning.

I was going to put more pictures of the day on this post, but my computer isn't cooperating, so I will try to get them on here later... don't worry, teens, your car wash pictures are on the way, Lord willing.

For those who are asking, my ultrasound is on the 13th! This Monday's appointment is just a regular check-up!

Added Later: Got 'em! Car Wash pictures!

Help!!!

I've got the blues...

For those who don't really know me personnally, I am NOT always happy and blubbly. I have actually had people tell me that they thought I was one of the happiest people in the world... or, that they thought I was always happy. That is very sweat... so wish it were true... but, I am actually one of the moodiest people in the world!

This week I have been happy, angry, sad, overwhelmed, and depressed. Ever felt lots of emotions at once? It is a strange feeling, and it looks weird, too.

Being nausated and tired doesn't help... having received the news that a dear friend has breast cancer also doesn't help... and, neither does bad toddler days, let me explain this one...

Once upon a time, there was a young mother who was proud to say that her now three year old was well potty trained... until The Bad Toddler Day hit... about 5 accidents in one day! Not sure what her excuse was, but Faith had me mopping, steam cleaning carpets, washing stinky laundry, etc., from morning until night! That was a couple of days ago, I don't think she has had one since. I was very angry that night (is that an un-Christian word... angry?). To top it off, a MOUSE is in my house, saw it while I was taking care of a urine mess! It just added fuel to the fire.

My kids have been waking up alot lately in the night. Faith woke up the other night screaming and crying, "I don't want pizza in my bed!" Don't ask?! I don't know.

Warm chocolate milk seemed to relax Charity a few nights... I think her excuse for waking up so much may be that she's been cutting her eye teeth.

I have screamed, I have cried, and I want a vacation!

Tomorrow, we have a youth car wash for missions, and the next day I teach children's church, and the next day I have an OB/GYN appointment and lots of housework to do. I don't see a vacation in the near future... may God give me the strength I desparately need right now.

Another thing, my house is out of control... doesn't anyone, including myself, know how to clean up after themselves! It seems I can't keep up. HELP!

I guess that this blog is my escape... my connection with the "outside" world...

Guess I would love a hug and some encouragement, but I will have to hug my laundry and dishes. Okay, enough whining... got to get to working on my house.

Need to give thanks, though, because God took care of another need this week, and I thank Him for never failing to supply our needs.

In all things, give thanks!

Catch up on some old news

Before I forget... My mother-in-law came over on Sunday afternoon and so did one of my youth, and helped celebrate by birthday... Thanks ya'll! Another one of my youth, Brittany, shares the same birthday as I do, so she called me Sunday morning and we shared "Happy Birthdays." She had been at Clinton Camp, so we didn't see each other that day... hope she had a great 15th birthday! She's a neat gal!

Then, my dear sister-in-law, Shenna, watched the girls for me on Monday, so that Ron and I could go on a date. Thanks, Shenna!

I have taken it somewhat easy today, since I overdid it yesterday and mowed the grass when my husband wasn't home, and was experiencing some pain. My OB/GYN would probably not be happy if she knew some of the things I try while being pregnant... I guess I am a little stubborn, and like to see how much I can get done.