Birth Control Challenged

Wife: "Honey?? I think it's time!"

Husband: "Time for what?"

Wife: "To go to the hospital"

Husband: "Uh...Are you sure? Oh my gosh... I mean are you sure? What do I need to do?" As he stands and scurries around like a chicken with his head cut off.



This could be the conversation you WILL have or have already had when labor begins and it's time to make the trip to the hospital. I know when I was pregnant with my first and labor began, the moment I told my husband and family that it was time to go to the hospital, complete chaos began. People were running into each other, trying to figure out what to put in the car and such. They were so freaked out that everyone ran out of the house and left me standing there alone. Sounds like a movie? Yeah I know. IT REALLY HAPPENED! If I had not been prepared (as far as my bags packed and stuff) the trip to the hospital would have been a nightmare.


So in continuing the theme of my last blog, I thought I would write a check list for your hospital/labor bag! Here is a list of things to make sure you pack with you to the hospital:


For Me:

1. Warm comfy socks/house shoes


2. Nursing gown and robe (don't use p.j. pants in the hospital because...well...they will get too messy)


3. Extra pair of clothes to come home in. (bring your smaller maternity clothes, not your "normal" clothes. Chances are they won't fit that soon after giving birth)


4. Toiletries/make-up


5. Nursing bra


6. Nursing pads


7. Camera/video camera


8. Lap top (if you have it)


9. Ipod and speakers


10. Chap stick (your lips get VERY dry)


11. Pillows (however many you need to make your hospital stay more comfortable)


12. Blankets


13. Movies (for down times in the hospital)


14. Cell phone chargers


15. Magazines/book/cards

For the baby:

1. Warm blanket (to come home with)


2. 1 cute outfit to come home in and for hospital pictures


3. P.j's


4. A hat


5. Baby mittens (they tend to scratch themselves a lot)


6. Socks


7. Boppy pillow


8. Car seat


9. Nursing cape (optional)


10. Newborn Paci (optional)


11. Burp cloth


12. No need for diapers and wipes, it's provided by the hospital

For the Daddy:

1. Extra clothes


2. P.J.'s


3. Pillows


4. Blankets (A few because it's freezing in the room for "non-hormonal" people)


5. Socks


6. Toiletries


7. Some snacky items

There it is! Hope it helps in preparing for your impending trip to the hospital. Yay!!! What an excting time!!! You're that much closer to seeing your precious baby!

Have you ever wondered why some sounds can calm you and put you at total peace? Why is that God allowed us to have ears to hear? He talks about in Revelations, "his voice, like the sound of rushing waters", or "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the spirit is saying"...I know He was talking about spiritual ears but I can't help but think of our natural ears in comparison. God uses the natural things to speak of the spiritual things.

I then thought of what my brother had said to me one time. He asked if I had ever heard the sound of a Lion roaring right in front of me. I said, no. He then began to describe the sound. "It was like it vibrated my whole entire body. I could feel the sound in my chest. The shear power behind it was unnerving. It scared me, I'm not going to lie." He said that at the moment, he broke down and began to cry because he was immediately reminded of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. This is what it must be like to hear the sound of the Lion of Judah coming for his bride. Why did God choose to use a lion when describing himself? There are much bigger and more powerful animals to use as a comparison for the Savior of the world, the one who set the universe in motion, the One who is coming at the end of the age to establish His kingdom here on earth. But then hearing the description of the sound a lion makes, it totally came together for me. The sound demands respect. A lion can be so calm and peaceful but when it needs to, it can attack and scare away any other thing that it wants to and defeat it. I am reminded of that Misty Edwards song, "I can hear the rhythm of the sound of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah." I am so glad the Lord gave us ears to hear the awesome sounds in the natural so we'll be able to distinguish the sounds in the spiritual. I am constantly blown away at God's creation. WE are God's creation!!!! He fashioned and formed us for a specific purpose and has a reason behind everything He makes. I am in awe at His creativity.

Wow!! My husband is 30 years old! Where did the time go? If feels like just yesterday when we were in high school together. Now we have been married for 8 years and have 4 beautiful children!

Nathan's birthday was on the 15th of December but we had his party on the 13th. It was such an AMAZING party, thanks to Anthony and Tracee Smith who hosted the party at their house. Everything was decorated so beautifully and the food....Oh the FOOD...was delicious! We had fajitas with all the fixins. I personally believe it was better than any restaurant we could have gone to! The goal of the party was to show Nathan how special he is. I had a little surprise up my sleeve for that...(evil grin). If anyone knows Nathan, you know that surprises are SOOO hard to keep from him. He figures anything and everything out. Well I had all his friends and family chip in to get him a Taylor guitar for his birthday. This was a big deal because you see, a few years ago Nathan had to sell his super nice Taylor guitar that he bought and paid for himself before we got married. It was a collectors edition. That guitar was his baby. And he had to sell it because we ran into MAJOR financial troubles. He felt that the only way to help provide for his family, was to sell it! Since then, I have always thought, why didn't I just refuse to let him sell it? It meant so much to him and it was a HUGE passion of his heart. I have regretted that decision ever since.

Well...when I was thinking of what I could get him for his birthday, that was the first thing that popped into my head. I just knew that I would never be able to pay for it myself (because they usually cost $1000 and up), so I sent out a secret email asking his friends and family to help out. And they did!!!!!! We were able to surprise Nathan with a Taylor 210ce and an awesome case. He was surprised out of his mind! He could not believe that we all did that for HIM!!! Our goal was accomplished :)

Here's some picture from the party




Nathan never thought in a million years that he would have another Taylor again, and while his new guitar is not quite as nice as his old one, the sound on it is AMAZING!!!! One sign that I knew he was thrilled, is when he got up the next morning, he immediately grabbed it and started playing it. It brought a tear to my eye, to say the least.

So THANK YOU AGAIN all you who made this dream come true! You have no idea what this meant to Nathan and I. Love you guys!

Nathan is the most AMAZING individual that I have EVER come in contact with. He loves the Lord with his whole heart and pushes me to grow in Him more. I love this man!!!!!! When I tell people of how great of a husband, father and friend he is, I often wonder if people really understand that I'm not lying! He is the same man at home in private that he is around hundreds of people. His character and integrity amaze me! Nathan is the BEST husband in the world, and I mean that! He is constantly serving me and the kids. I honestly think there is not one selfish bone in his body! On our wedding day, instead of taking communion, we washed each other's feet, which was symbolic of servant hood. This foundational principle we built our marriage around. To Serve one another daily and put each other's needs before our own. Nathan exemplifies this to the millionth degree! How did I get such an AMAZING husband???? I know what you're thinking, you're making him sound perfect. Well...he pretty much is. There is not a whole lot of bad things that anyone, not even his wife, can say bad about the guy! I think that speaks volumes!

So here's to you Honey!!!! I love you more than words can say! You inspire me everyday to be a better wife, mother, and lover of Yeshua!

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY!!!! I pray that this next chapter of your life, you will see the favor of God poured out even more. That you will walk in an even greater anointing than you ever thought possible! I love you!

Ashlyn had her first school field trip to the zoo last Friday! And although it was tiring, we had lots of fun! Oh and we HAD to go on the one of the coldest days of the year. It was freaking freezing! 

Ashlyn's good friends from her class

Her whole class

This girl totally fell asleep on me in the bus on the way home. Awkward!!!!!

Then we came home and immediately got ready for Ashlyn's sleep over. She had about 3 friends (which was all I could handle for my first sleep over). All the girls had a blast! I will definitely do this again. And while it was exhausting, I had a lot of fun! The girls made their own pizzas. We set up a huge tent in the basement where they watched movies, ate lots of junk food and slept (very little). We even did make-over's on the girls! Fun had by all.

Yep, I guess so!!!! After 9 short days in Belgium, I am back to the harsh reality of life here in Texas. And although I really wanted to be with my kids, I honestly was not ready to come home. I LOVED Belgium!!! It was freezing and even snowed while we were there, but I loved it still. It felt like home. It could have something to do with the fact that I knew so many people over there and that Jon's family is the most hospitable family in the world. Words can not even come close to describing my experience in Belgium. God did some powerful things. I am still processing everything that took place there, so I think I will wait to write a detailed blog on the spiritual aspect of our trip till later.

We didn't have Internet access very much on our trip so I didn't get to write blogs while we were there. However, the first night we arrived in Belgium, I wrote a blog about my "so far" experience and was hoping I could post it but didn't get to. So here it is:


Belgium Day #1

Wow!!! I can’t believe that we are actually here! It’s completely what I thought it would be. Beautiful. Cold. Rainy. Quaint. Historical. Totally Amazing!

We arrived at 10:30am on Friday October 24th (my birthday!!!) Our flight was long and tiring but ultimately, uneventful. Which is good! We had a non-stop flight from DFW to Amsterdam. From there we had about an hour and a half lay over, then it was a 25 min flight to Brussels, Belgium. When we arrived I thought Jon was about to come out of his skin he was so excited! He just kept saying, “I get to see my brothers and mom and dad” with a big smile on his face. He practically ran off the airplane. It was so cute! However, when we came out of the gate, no one was there to meet us. We looked and looked, but no one. Finally after about 20 min of waiting, we find out that Jon’s mom told Tim (Jon’s little brother) to pick us up at 8:00am instead of 11:00. He had been waiting in the car, sleeping, the whole time. Poor Tim L Once our luggage was loaded in the van it was off to Christophe’s house for some lunch and R&R. Even though I have never been to Belgium before, it was comforting to know familiar faces. I know almost all of Jon’s family so it felt like a reunion of sorts for us.

Chris lives in a beautiful home. Ramonda fixed us a WONDERFUL lunch, rice, chicken and broccoli mixture and fruit salad. It felt so nice to have a warm home cooked meal to start the trip off right. Then the sweetest thing, Jon went out and bought me a little birthday cake. It was precious and I adored it. I can’t believe he was so thoughtful! It made my birthday special because he actually thought ahead about something. Destiny you would have been proud (you probably told him to do that ) Lol!!!!

After Liz and I did the dishes for Ramonda, we loaded up in the van for our long journey to the middle of no where. This is where the youth conference (can’t pronounce the name so I wont even try) will be held. It’s in this huge prison like place. Seriously I feel like we should be in an episode of Prison Break. It’s sorta creepy but not, at the same time. Currently I am typing this as I sit in this rickety bed wearing about 2 layers of clothes to sleep in because it’s so cold that I can almost see my breath. Oh Lord help me! The drive was humorous! Jon drove us in this OLD van that didn’t have power steering and was a standard to top it all off. Jon drove like a maniac but he did better than I would have done for sure. All of us were jet lagging BAD too! We all kept head bobbing on and off the whole time. We all caught each other, more than once, with our mouths open, head back and totally asleep. It cracked me up. Liz and I got to laughing so hard about something but we wont say what that was (wink, wink Liz). Once we got there we had to wait for everyone else to get there before we knew where to take our luggage and such. By this time it was about 6pm and we were starving. For dinner, we walked to get some French Fries, of course, then came back to make preparations for the youth conference. There will be about 350 youth attending this conference. It should be awesome! I actually have no idea what to expect but I’m sure it will be great!

After taking a Hot shower (thank you Jesus), it’s off to bed for another day of Belgium! Woo Hoo! I miss my sister, kids, family and friends though. I hope they are doing ok. Well I better get some sleep. Love to all.

I'll post an extensive picture blog later!