Yes Lord! Yes Lord, Mommy I hear from the back seat, day in and day out. That's my 3 year old's current favorite song. She requests it EVERY TIME we get into the car (and sometimes when we're at home despite the fact that we keep the CD in the car). Actually the song is called "Trading My Sorrows". The refrain goes "Yes Lord. Yes Lord. Yes Yes Lord.... and my little one loves to sing along with it! Many days I get into the car dreading her request because I have heard the song so many times. As much as I don't want to listen to it some days though, I just can't turn her down. It's actually one of my favorite worship songs too and most days I can't help but sing along. This morning, just like every other for the past couple weeks, she asked for her "Yes Lord" song. And this morning, just like many others, I really didn't feel like it, but knew she wouldn't give up. So I put it on. This morning though, I had a mini revelation. It's kinda like God is using my little girl to remind me day in and day out (sometimes several times a day) to say "yes, Lord". Yes, Lord, I will listen to You. Yes, Lord, I will follow You. Yes, Lord, I want to do Your will. As you know, we're in the midst of a fertility struggle. It can be very hard at times to say "yes, Lord" during difficult times like this. I want to wallow in my sorrow and not be bothered with anyone's will but my own at times. But then this song comes on and it reminds me to say "I'm trading my sorrows" so that I can say "yes, Lord"! I just love seeing how our loving heavenly Father works through even the smallest people to bring others closer to Him!
Trading My Sorrows by Darrell Evans
lyrics provided by elyrics.net
I'm trading my sorrow
I'm trading my shame
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord
I'm trading my sickness
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord
[Chorus:]
And we say yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord Amen
I'm pressed but not crushed persecuted not abandoned
Struck down but not destroyed
I'm blessed beyond the curse for his promise will endure
And his joy's gonna be my strength
Though the sorrow may last for the night
His joy comes with the morning
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Made by hand
So about those pictures I promised of handmade Christmas gifts......
I didn't remember to take pics of everything, but I did get most of them. For my mother and mother-in-law I made some earrings. We also bought them some gifts that they had been wanting, but I thought a little something handmade would be a nice addition.
The tote bags are about the size of those reusable grocery bags, but much more durable!
Each tote bag contained a different mix in a jar. Some of the mixes I used made were Rocky Road Brownies, Basic Blondies, Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins, and Lemony Raisin Bread. The one pictured is for Rocky Road Brownies....yum!
I found these cute tins at Joann Fabrics on sale for about $1.50 each!
I filled each one with 2 layers of fudge. The fudge pictured here is Heath Bar fudge.
I also made basic chocolate fudge, chocolate walnut fudge, chocolate peanut butter fudge, and chocolate fudge with Andes mint chips pressed into the top.
The trivets came out great! Super easy too!
Just take an 8x8 inch ceramic tile, cut a piece of cork tile of the same size and glue them together using liquid nail
.
I didn't remember to take pics of everything, but I did get most of them. For my mother and mother-in-law I made some earrings. We also bought them some gifts that they had been wanting, but I thought a little something handmade would be a nice addition.
For a handful of our friends I made gift bags. I sewed tote bags and filled them each with a cookie/brownie/bread mix in a jar, a ceramic tile trivet, and a tin of homemade fudge.
The tote bags are about the size of those reusable grocery bags, but much more durable!
Each tote bag contained a different mix in a jar. Some of the mixes I used made were Rocky Road Brownies, Basic Blondies, Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins, and Lemony Raisin Bread. The one pictured is for Rocky Road Brownies....yum!
I found these cute tins at Joann Fabrics on sale for about $1.50 each!
I filled each one with 2 layers of fudge. The fudge pictured here is Heath Bar fudge.
I also made basic chocolate fudge, chocolate walnut fudge, chocolate peanut butter fudge, and chocolate fudge with Andes mint chips pressed into the top.
The trivets came out great! Super easy too!
Just take an 8x8 inch ceramic tile, cut a piece of cork tile of the same size and glue them together using liquid nail
I also made a couple gifts for my husband. Shortly before Christmas, we finished painting and decorating our basement bar, but never gave it a name. So I decided to do that for him!
I bought a plain wooden sign and painted it for him. We decided that the bar was going to be a fun Irish pub, so after much deliberation I decided to call the pub "Son of a Leprechaun Irish Pub".
In addition to the entrance sign, I also made a set of 9 cork-backed foam coasters for the bar top.
They're made pretty much the same way as my tile trivets, but with a layer of foam sheet instead of ceramic tile. I drew the logo directly onto the foam sheet with permanent marker and then sprayed them with an acrylic sealant.
I'm super happy with how everything came out and can't wait to make more gifts for our friends and family throughout the year!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
My new [ad]venture!
Announcement: I am opening a store on Etsy!
[Insert shameless self-promotion here]
After creating several handmade Christmas gifts, I have decided that I may be able to make some extra money by doing something that I really like. I've come to really enjoy making jewelry, especially multi-strand necklaces and earrings, so that will be a large part of my store. However, I also have some great ideas for other crafts. So far I have made cute strawberry shaped coasters and an adorable orange slice shaped cell phone case. I will be posting my first items for sale this weekend. Check them out at Giggle Love Crafts!
Monday, February 7, 2011
There's this thing called secondary infertility
Who knew? I feel so naive thinking over a year ago that it would be easy to have a second child. Update: still NOT pregnant. I'm still charting using the Creighton Model and still love how much more it lets me know/understand my cycles. I used Creighton for a little over 4 months before getting the ok from my teacher to see the doctor for testing. I switched to a Catholic gyno who knows the Creighton Model. She looked over my charts and ordered a whole slew of tests.
Test Cycle
Nov. 29th : Standard cycle day 3 blood test (tests levels for all the essential hormones in your cycle)
Dec. 3rd : Hysterosalpingogram, aka HSG (a series of x-rays the document how a dye runs through your uterus and out the fallopian tubes, used to check for blockage of the tubes)
Dec.7th (4 days before ovulation) : Estrogen and Progesterone blood test
Dec. 9th (2 days before ovulation) : Estrogen and Progesterone blood test
Dec. 11th (ovulation) : Estrogen and Progesterone blood test
Dec. 13th (2 days after ovulation) : Estrogen and Progesterone blood test
Dec. 14th (3 days after ovulation) : Progesterone blood test
Dec. 16th (5 days after ovulation) : Progesterone blood test
Dec. 18th (7 days after ovulation) : Progesterone blood test
Dec. 20th (9 days after ovulation) : Progesterone blood test
Dec. 22nd (11 days after ovulation) : Progesterone blood test
Sometime during this cycle: Sperm analysis for the hubby
Dec. 28th : Test results
* All of my pre ovulation hormones are fine (yay!)
* The HSG showed my left fallopian tube is blocked. :( Not quite sure how since the main causes of that are usually endometriosis (my dr. said she didn't see any evidence of endo. during my annual exam) or pelvic inflammatory disease (caused by chronic vaginal infections - which I haven't had, or by an STD - also never had).
* Post ovulation hormones not as good as the pre. Diagnosis: Low progesterone. :(
* Hubby's SA came back with a slightly low count
Fixing us
Blocked fallopian tube: May be able to fix through sugery, though I'm a little leary of surgery, so since I still have one working tube, we're holding off on this. Hopefully things will work out without surgery. I have done a little research on my own and found this great fertility self massage that claims it can open a blocked tube, so I've been doing that occasionally in the evenings.
Low progesterone: I'm taking a 200mg once daily vaginal progesterone suppository. I started this last cycle from 3 days after ovulation until the end of my cycle and had a blood test to see if it was working on 7 days after ovulation. It worked! So I'll keep on this same regimin for now and *when* I finally get pregnant will probably have to stay on it for some of the pregnancy.
Low sperm count: Hubby was referred to a urologist. The urologist confirmed a double variocele (1 on each side, from what I understand it's basically varicose veins in the scrotum, but does not cause any health problems or pain, just occasionally low sperm count. The urologist also said that hubby's sperm count was actually not too low, just slightly below average. He did order a second SA just to make sure. We both go back to see this doctor this week. Aside from the low sperm count, hubby's been having some pain "down there" and the urologist diagnosed it as enlarged bladder and enlarged prostate. Hubby is on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds, but the pain seems to be getting worse in his prostate. Hoping this week's appointment can bring some more answers.
Other help:
* My gyno also prescribed me 500mg og Vitamin B6 each day to help make my "special area" more "sperm friendly".
* A friend is letting me borrow her relic of St. Gerard and I'm in the middle of a novena to him asking for his intercession to God for help in getting pregnant. FYI, the relic is a very tiny piece of material that St. Gerard touched at some point and is now enclosed in a little metal and glass case. It has been in her family for a long time and everyone, except for my friend, it has been passed down to has become pregnant! My friend however has adopted 4 lovely children over the years and has been blessed with a beautiful family! The novena I'm saying is a 9 day prayer said to the saint asking for him to take my requests to God. Since he's already in heaven and thus much closer to God than I am, he can more directly take my requests to God. Many women have attributed their pregnancies to the interccession of St. Gerard and I hope to be one of them soon! St. Gerard, pray for us!
Test Cycle
Nov. 29th : Standard cycle day 3 blood test (tests levels for all the essential hormones in your cycle)
Dec. 3rd : Hysterosalpingogram, aka HSG (a series of x-rays the document how a dye runs through your uterus and out the fallopian tubes, used to check for blockage of the tubes)
Dec.7th (4 days before ovulation) : Estrogen and Progesterone blood test
Dec. 9th (2 days before ovulation) : Estrogen and Progesterone blood test
Dec. 11th (ovulation) : Estrogen and Progesterone blood test
Dec. 13th (2 days after ovulation) : Estrogen and Progesterone blood test
Dec. 14th (3 days after ovulation) : Progesterone blood test
Dec. 16th (5 days after ovulation) : Progesterone blood test
Dec. 18th (7 days after ovulation) : Progesterone blood test
Dec. 20th (9 days after ovulation) : Progesterone blood test
Dec. 22nd (11 days after ovulation) : Progesterone blood test
Sometime during this cycle: Sperm analysis for the hubby
Dec. 28th : Test results
* All of my pre ovulation hormones are fine (yay!)
* The HSG showed my left fallopian tube is blocked. :( Not quite sure how since the main causes of that are usually endometriosis (my dr. said she didn't see any evidence of endo. during my annual exam) or pelvic inflammatory disease (caused by chronic vaginal infections - which I haven't had, or by an STD - also never had).
* Post ovulation hormones not as good as the pre. Diagnosis: Low progesterone. :(
* Hubby's SA came back with a slightly low count
Fixing us
Blocked fallopian tube: May be able to fix through sugery, though I'm a little leary of surgery, so since I still have one working tube, we're holding off on this. Hopefully things will work out without surgery. I have done a little research on my own and found this great fertility self massage that claims it can open a blocked tube, so I've been doing that occasionally in the evenings.
Low progesterone: I'm taking a 200mg once daily vaginal progesterone suppository. I started this last cycle from 3 days after ovulation until the end of my cycle and had a blood test to see if it was working on 7 days after ovulation. It worked! So I'll keep on this same regimin for now and *when* I finally get pregnant will probably have to stay on it for some of the pregnancy.
Low sperm count: Hubby was referred to a urologist. The urologist confirmed a double variocele (1 on each side, from what I understand it's basically varicose veins in the scrotum, but does not cause any health problems or pain, just occasionally low sperm count. The urologist also said that hubby's sperm count was actually not too low, just slightly below average. He did order a second SA just to make sure. We both go back to see this doctor this week. Aside from the low sperm count, hubby's been having some pain "down there" and the urologist diagnosed it as enlarged bladder and enlarged prostate. Hubby is on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds, but the pain seems to be getting worse in his prostate. Hoping this week's appointment can bring some more answers.
Other help:
* My gyno also prescribed me 500mg og Vitamin B6 each day to help make my "special area" more "sperm friendly".
* A friend is letting me borrow her relic of St. Gerard and I'm in the middle of a novena to him asking for his intercession to God for help in getting pregnant. FYI, the relic is a very tiny piece of material that St. Gerard touched at some point and is now enclosed in a little metal and glass case. It has been in her family for a long time and everyone, except for my friend, it has been passed down to has become pregnant! My friend however has adopted 4 lovely children over the years and has been blessed with a beautiful family! The novena I'm saying is a 9 day prayer said to the saint asking for him to take my requests to God. Since he's already in heaven and thus much closer to God than I am, he can more directly take my requests to God. Many women have attributed their pregnancies to the interccession of St. Gerard and I hope to be one of them soon! St. Gerard, pray for us!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Store bought or handmade?
What type of gifts do you give for the holidays? Do you buy all of your gifts? Make most of them? An equal combination of store bought and handmade? I've always bought all of my gifts for family and friends. It can be so hard finding something personal that way though. This year I decided to make a lot of gifts. Part of it is to save money. But partially also because I never know what to get for my friends. You know the ones that you definitely want to get gifts for but don't get to see every weekend and so you can't quite pick the perfect gift in the store? I love sewing and baking and have just ventured into some jewelry making. I love crafts in general and realized that I could use my craftiness to make things for my loved ones.
In need of ideas for some easy homemade gifts?
*cookie mix in a jar
*baked goods (brownies, cookies, fudge, rice krispy treats, etc) stored in a Christmas tin
*jewelry
*personalized stationary (calligraphy or stamps)
*knitted scarves or hats
*fleece blankets
*dinner gift basket, complete with recipe and non perishable goods used in the recipe (think pasta dishes)
*coupons (free babysitting, cook dinner, girls/guys night out, coffee date w/ friend)
*mini scrapbook or just a couple scrapbook pages
After the holidays I'll share pics of what I decided to make for my friends and family!
In need of ideas for some easy homemade gifts?
*cookie mix in a jar
*baked goods (brownies, cookies, fudge, rice krispy treats, etc) stored in a Christmas tin
*jewelry
*personalized stationary (calligraphy or stamps)
*knitted scarves or hats
*fleece blankets
*dinner gift basket, complete with recipe and non perishable goods used in the recipe (think pasta dishes)
*coupons (free babysitting, cook dinner, girls/guys night out, coffee date w/ friend)
*mini scrapbook or just a couple scrapbook pages
After the holidays I'll share pics of what I decided to make for my friends and family!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Mini Office Assistant
She makes copies, sends faxes, and orders pizza! Alli loves being our little office gopher. She regularly helps us make copies and send faxes (she loves pressing the buttons!). Today she even decided that we were going to order lunch! She brought over a take out menu and said, Mommy I want lunch. We asked her what she wanted. She looked at the paper a minute and declared, "Pizza!" Guess we should order food less often for lunch, lol.
Friday, September 24, 2010
He's actually ready this time!
Last Sunday at church I realized that my hubby is actually ready to have a baby. Alli was a surprise and he definitely wasn't ready for her. This time we've been trying for almost a year and he said he was ready, but I wasn't sure. Every month when the test was negative he would shrug it off and say it's just not time. It seemed like he didn't really care either way. But this past Sunday at church there was a little baby a few rows in front of us. Hubby turned to me, pointed out the baby boy and said, "look how cute that baby is! I can't help but stare at him!" It melted and broke my heart at the same time. It was exciting realizing he really does want another baby right now, but at the same time I was hurting because I haven't been able to give him one and I'm pretty sure it's something wrong with me. Poop! Hoping to be able to do something about this soon!
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