Sep8

Pregnancy Explosion

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Pregnancy Explosion

Today I am 33 weeks pregnant with Baby Boy #2. Unfortunately we do not have a name yet. And no, H is not getting to name him “Walker Texas Ranger”. Sorry!! Hopefully, we will decide/agree on one in the next 6 weeks before he comes.

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A lot of my friends have been having babies over the last 4-5 years but this year takes the cake. I have 16 friends that are due between now and March, including 3 that are due on the same day!! On their behalf and for their sanity I feel obligated to revisit my previous post on What Not to Say to a Pregnant Woman. I won’t repeat the whole post because you can read it yourself, but here are some things not to say to a pregnant woman:

- are you sure you’re not having twins?
- you’re only XX weeks/months along?
- wow, are you pregnant?!
- you haven’t had that baby yet?
- are you feeling OK?
- you look uncomfortable

Ladies, I wish you the best of luck and hope your pregnancies go well. I’ll continue to pray for the health of your babies and for patience when dealing with these comments.

Sep6

Testament Tuesday – 9/6 (Prayer Part 2)

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Testament Tuesday – 9/6 (Prayer Part 2)

Prayer Part 2: How God Answers Your Prayers

So you pray and you pray dutifully, but God doesn’t answer your prayers. You ask why? You think, I’ve done my part, why hasn’t God? But how do you know he isn’t answering them? Is it because it’s not the answer you are looking for? Could it be that you are asking for the wrong thing? Or you are looking for the wrong response.

How many times have you prayed for things that in the end you were glad didn’t happen? Most of us have, so many in fact that Garth Brooks wrote a song about it – in which he so profoundly says, “some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”

(I’ve tried to find the official video for “Unanswered Prayers” but I’ve had no luck. So instead of providing someone else’s version, here is a link to the lyrics.)

God does things in his own time and own way. And unfortunately, we aren’t privy to his reasons why.

As mothers we struggle with miscarriages and the death of our children. But we also pray for our children to be healthy. Could a miscarriage/death be God’s way of answering this prayer? This certainly isn’t the way we want our prayers answered but it most certainly can happen this way. And no one can better explain this than my friend Anne who lost her infant son seven days after he was born.

In Anne’s words:
I think every person who experiences a loss asks the question “why?”…I think every person questions their own existence, God’s existence…every person eventually has to make some sort of peace within his or herself in order to go on.
When Rip was in the hospital, I was so helpless.  I could do nothing to help my child.  It sounds like such a cliche, but it was quite literally like waking up in a nightmare…I was in physical pain from the surgery, my mind was all over the place from pain killers and hormones and emotions, I hadn’t slept in days, and all I could do was sit there and watch as my baby got worse.
At some point, the doctors allowed Parke and me to sit in on their “rounds”…which in theory is a great idea, where you as the parents can listen to the doctors discuss “the patient” and then ask questions…in practice it was horrifying to hear your child discussed as “the patient” followed by longer and longer lists of medical terms, none of which sound good.  As Rip’s mother I felt desperate to understand, trying to grasp on to some handle of the situation.
It was during one of these meetings when I felt like I just could not take anymore, I could not sit there and listen to them discuss this “infant male” for one more minute without losing my mind, when I heard a voice in my head say very clearly, “Anne, you need to relax, I will protect him.”
Of course I thought it was God.  And I relaxed immediately.  Rip was going to be okay, God was protecting him! I told everybody in my family what I felt and heard, I didn’t listen to anything else the doctors said.
And then Rip died. I have never felt so betrayed.
I was confused for such a long time…I know what I heard (despite the painkillers).  I know what I heard and I know that I felt peace after I heard it.
It’s taken me four and a half months but this is how I see it…I still believe that was God, and I believe he did protect Rip.
I believe that Rip is God’s child who was in pain, and he protected him in a way that he will never have to feel pain again.  He protected Rip in a way that I could not.
Now, it’s not like I am fine with Rip’s death because this happened.  Far from it, I am in turns furious, shocked, despairing…but like everyone else, I have to make my peace in order to go on.
There are still a million more questions out there, all of which have been asked with no answer…why Rip, why us, why, why, why? But I don’t have the answer to those questions, and I don’t think that I ever will.  What I do have is a belief that when I heard “I will protect him”…that was a promise that was not broken.

Read Anne’s blog. Rip’s story can be found here.

Anne experienced the ultimate test in faith and passed. Yes, her initial response of anger and hurt was normal. But she got it right. She realized that God did indeed answer her prayer – just not how she wanted or would have ever wished for. I have learned a lot from Anne and admire her greatly.

You may not have experienced what Anne did, but I imagine you have been in a situation where God did not answer a prayer the way you had hoped. Or maybe you didn’t realize that God answered your prayer. One of my favorite verses on prayer speaks about this, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). God will answer your prayer in his time and in his way. We just need to keep praying and pay attention. Do not give up and if need be, reevaluate what you are asking for and/or how you anticipate God responding.

Verses about prayer:

Matthew 21:22 – “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

1 John 5:14-15 – And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Psalm 118:5 – Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.

Psalm 22:2 – O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

1 John 5:14 – And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

Mark 11:24 – Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Matthew 7:7 – “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.“

 

Sep1

Lullaby Clothes Fall Sale – 20% off

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Lullaby Clothes Fall Sale – 20% off

Lullaby Clothes is having a Fall Sale!! Place an order in September 2011 and get 20% off.

This applies to personalization/monograms as well – they are just $4.

Our current inventory for customization:

Girls:
hot pink skort:
12mo – 2

purple short sleeve t-shirts:
12mo – 1

white short sleeve t-shirts:
12mo – 4
18mo – 4
24mo – 4
3T – 2

Unisex Short Sleeve T-Shirts:
royal blue:
2T – 1

black:
12mo – 2
18mo – 2
24 mo – 2

Unisex Long Sleeve T-Shirts:
white:
12mo – 1
24mo – 2
3T – 9
4T – 1

navy:
12mo – 2
18mo – 1
24mo – 4
3T – 5
4T – 3

red:
24mo – 1

grey:
24mo – 1

White Onesies:
newborn – 3
0-3mo – 1
3-6mo – 1
6-9mo – 1 (long sleeve)
12mo – 1

Check out our Facebook page or our Web site for some of our available designs. Remember we have over 17,000 designs so please email us for PDFs of our designs. But if we don’t have what you are looking, we can get it.

 

Aug28

Bows, Bows and More Bows

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Bows, Bows and More Bows

On my most recent trip to Hobby Lobby I bought tons of ribbon to make hair bows. I make them in 3 sizes (based on the ribbon size).

Small: $4
Medium: $6
Large: $8

Here are some of the colors I currently have.

Aug23

Testament Tuesday – 8/23 (Prayer Part 1)

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Testament Tuesday – 8/23 (Prayer Part 1)

Prayer Part 1: The Power of Prayer

As Christians, we are taught at a young age to pray. We pray before eating and before going to sleep. But do you pray throughout the day? Some of you may be thinking, I don’t really have a need to pray throughout the day, unless of course something bad happens or there is something I really want/need. If you’re one of these people, then you may not have experienced the “everyday” power of prayer.

Many people think the power of prayer as something only experienced on a large scale (hundreds of people praying) or something earth shattering (a loved one being cured of cancer). But the power of prayer can happen at any time to any one.

Here is my recent “everyday” power of prayer experience:

Reaves had gone to bed without any major delays or problems. H and I went to bed at our normal time. I was particularly tired and fell asleep in the middle of my bedtime prayers. (I pray throughout the day as things happen and needs come to mind but I’m fairly routine at night – thanks, prayers for family/friends and as most parents do, prayers for my children). About 12:30am, Reaves started crying and I went into his room. I’m not sure what woke him up but I had a very hard time calming him down. I had tried just about everything I knew to do to try to get him to stop crying and get him back to sleep. Lying there beside Reaves, I begin to pray to God to help me figure out how to comfort him. As I did, I realized that I had not finished my prayers and specifically had not prayed for the baby (I was about 13 weeks pregnant). No sooner had I finished praying for the baby, Reaves feel asleep! I believe this was God’s way of reminding me not to forget my prayers and to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I went back to my bed and prayed thanks to God.

As you can see, you don’t have to have an emergency or be in dire straits to have a reason to pray or experience the power of prayer.

Philippians 4:6 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Aug22

Loggerhead Turtle Hatching

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Loggerhead Turtle Hatching

While at the beach, we had the opportunity to see some baby loggerhead turtles making their way to the ocean. I’d never seen this spectacular event and have dying to. Especially since we had 4 nests in front of our house.

Reaves and I were swimming and I noticed a crowd of people about 200 yds down the beach. At first I didn’t think anything of it and then I was like, I bet they are watching turtles. I literally pulled Reaves out of the water and started dragging him down the beach. Poor thing, his little legs couldn’t keep up. Meanwhile, I yelled to my sister to get my camera. Reaves and I were running down the beach followed by my sister, aunt, my aunt’s sister-in-law and aunt’s mother-in-law. I’m sure we looked funny (again, pregnant)!

We found out that a home owner noticed that two turtles had gotten out of the nest, so they called security. Security in turned called the Turtle Watch Team. I guess the nest wasn’t every deep since some had gotten out and they normally don’t hatch during the day. They were worried about survival so they dug up a layer of the nest and removed 25 baby turtles. The nest had about 100 eggs. They placed these turtles in buckets and released them close to the water. The remaining eggs should have hatched that night but we didn’t stay up to find out.

Here are the pictures my sister took.

My mom had gone up to the house and wasn’t there to see it. So as my sister went to get her, I decided to go get my other camera so I could video the turtles’ journey. So I start running back to our tent. Yes, running. Again, did I mention that baby Coker is set to arrive in 9 weeks?? I know I was a sight to see. And man did I get my exercise – I ran back. But it was worth it because I managed to get the last turtle heading out into the water.  Loggerhead Turtle Hatching

It was amazing!!

Aug22

We’re Back!!

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We’re Back!!

From a long vacation at the beach! I know vacations are supposed to be relaxing but chasing after a 3 year old while 7 months pregnant is not my idea of peace. Yes, we had a great time, but relaxing it was not. Here are some pictures of our action packed 2 weeks.

For the first couple of days, it was just H, Reaves and me.

The next couple days was our 6th Annual Palmetto Beach Bash. Unfortunately one family couldn’t come this year.

The next week H had to go back to work but my family came down. Reaves’ favorite part was getting a new bike!

 

Aug2

Testament Tuesday – 8/2 (Missing Christ?)

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Testament Tuesday – 8/2 (Missing Christ?)

Are you so involved in religion that you miss Christ?

Sound like a strange question? It’s kind of like not seeing the forest for the trees. Need me to spell it out more? Are you too focused on the details that you miss the big picture?

But, you ask, we need to focus on those details, don’t we? Well it depends. As a church? Probably. As an individual? Maybe not. Ever heard of “the devil’s in the details”? In this case, this saying is doubly true.  (And yes, doubly is a word!) The devil works in mysterious ways, often getting you to do one thing when you should be doing another.

Yes, a church can be too focused on activities that it gets away from its mission – to teach about Christ and bring its members to know Jesus.

But I’m not here to analyze what my church, your church or any church for that matter is doing right or wrong. I’m hoping to get you thinking about your involvement in your church.

How many church activities do you participate in?
Wednesday night classes, Sunday school, Sunday night activities, worship, more?  This probably depends on how big your church is. The bigger the church, the more activities. But the smaller the church, the less people there are to participate.

Why do you participate in these activities?
Are you pushed to participate by friends and/or family? Are you truly interested? Do you want to learn more about Christ/God? Do you feel God calling you to participate?

What are you giving up to do these activities?
Time with your family? Another activity that you may be more interested in or better suited for? Do you miss worship because you’re teaching a Sunday School class and then helping get communion ready?

Certainly these commitments are harder to evaluate when you go to a smaller church. You may feel more obligated to help out or participate. Especially if you think no one else wants to or is able to do it. But what if there is someone more qualified? What if someone else feels God calling them to teach Sunday School but you signed up because you didn’t think anyone else wanted to do it?

Now I know you are all thinking, is she telling us not to participate in any of the activities? No, I’m not. By all means, participate, lead!! We need people to teach Sunday School, we need support groups, prayer ministries, missions, etc. But I am asking you to evaluate your commitments – what you are giving up and what you are gaining?

Do you think the more you participate or contribute the better you will be seen in the eyes of the Lord? What about the eyes of your peers? Is this how your salvation is determined?? NO!!

In John 5:39, 40 – Jesus says “you search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.”

You may not be searching the Scriptures, but are you searching your activities?