It's Been 3 Years!

I guess I must have really slacked off on writing. Yikes,there's no way I'm going to catch up on life after 3 years. Plus, my readers already know what I have going on as I post things on facebook alot. But maybe I'll try writing on here more often than 3 years, just cause I miss it. Right now I'm enjoying the restful part of the day when my daughter is in bed for the night and all is peaceful. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. We plan to give blood at the blood bank at green Dragon. I love giving life. I love that there are smart people out there, smarter than me, that figured out how to take blood from healthy people to help those in need of more blood. We go faithfully every other month. I may not be rich monetarily but I can give blood as long as I'm healthy. Then we plan to shop at a food ministry. Seems like most food banks charge anymore for food. So those truly in need are up the creek without a paddle if they can't afford it. We were getting food and distributing it to many doffered people over the last 4 years but now the place we got food from went the way of all others, they charge. So I told my people I'm sorry, can't help anymore. I knew God would provide another way and He has. I found another food ministry who has sponsors providing the money to keep it operating so we can hand out food after all. Granted, it will be less selection and smaller quantities but it blesses my heart that I will still be able to bless others with food. Then we are invited to some dear friends for supper tomorrow night. Saturday we plan to get some furniture I have in storage and deliver it to a good friend. Looking forward to that too. Sundays are always awesome. I love our church, and the pastor and his wife. Never a dull moment at RROG. The theme right now is radical giving. Not radical hoarding, like the world is so keen on. Well this is all for now. I will try to update sooner than 3 years....

It's Been Awhile!

It's been 8 months since I've written in my blog so I guess it's past time to write again. Hmm..I didn't write since Gabrianna Elise was born! Well, I don't feel like writing about her birth and the beginning because that's so long ago so I guess I will just write about the present. Gabrianna Elise is almost 8 months old. She is truly the light of our lives. And, it just keeps getting better! She keeps getting more beautiful and more loveable and almost everything she does is so cute! Notice I said almost everything! One thing that she does that is a royal pain sometimes is that she fights sleep! Why babies do this is beyond my understanding but she does it! And teething, well, that is a NIGHTMARE at times! Talk about frayed nerves and tears ready to flow over anything that goes wrong! Oh, but then her darling smiles and babbles make Mama and Daddy melt all over again! She can almost crawl now. She gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth and sometimes takes one or two steps before she collapses onto her belly again. But she can get into sitting position now from her belly and she gets all over the place by pushing with her feet against the floor! She gets into cords now, and trust me we have alot of them around here! She is trying to pull herself up alongside of stuff now too. Eventually we will have to move quite a few things and I don't know where we will go with them, since we have such limited space in this apartment. Guess we will figure that out when the time comes. Gabrianna sleeps well for nights though. She goes to bed around 7-9 and sleeps until 5:30 usually. After I feed her she goes back to sleep til 7 or 7:30 and sometimes she blesses me exceptionally and sleeps in til 8! Sometimes I wake up and need the bathroom but to go to the bathroom I would have to walk past her crib to go downstairs and I don't want to risk waking her up so I try my best to sleep and forget that I have to go! On Saturday we were invited to a breakfast and had to get up at 6AM. I didn't want to wake her so we very quietly crept out of our bedroom to head downstairs and low and behold, there was our darling daughter sitting in her crib in the dark, watching our bedroom door because she heard a noise! She lit up in smiles when she saw us. I didn't know she could sit there so silently and content so much so that we had no idea she was awake! She does well in playing with her toys some days and other days she is clingy and grumpy and nothing suits her. We are trying to get her to eat food that we stick in the babyfood blender but my goodness, is she ever picky! She loves babyfood carrots in the babyfood jars. So we made her carrots pureed with water and with rice and made it to the approximate texture of her baby food. She hates it and pinches her mouth shut and gags when I manage to get some into her mouth! I tried several times and we tried meatloaf and mac & cheese. Same story. Depressing! We had tried something with pizza sauce and pasta too I think. Not sure what to do. I don't want to keep relying on babyfood when we have this delightful babyfood blender. I don't know what her problem is, that she insists on having the jars of food. I had even put it in jars to fool her but she was not to be fooled! Stinker! She still nurses well, so I am thankful for that! We are enjoying church real well. And Wednesday night church too. We volunteer with a local ministry 2 days a week and really enjoy that. I don't always get alot done, depends on my daughter, if she is clingy that day or if she is willing to play with the toys I bring along. It sure is fulfilling though, to help others out like that. On Sundays I always sing in church. It was a big stretch for me to sing solo at first but I'm used to it now and look forward to it. It gives me a chance to practice and better my voice/skills. No one threw anything at me yet so I think I must not sound too bad. This Friday we plan to go to the Gospel Express Auction. Well, Friday night is before the auction but we plan to enjoy the singing and then come back for more singing Saturday night. My husband made 4 dresses to sell at the auction. I would love to know what they sell for but we don't want to stay for the auction on Saturday. That would be be a good idea to spend a whole day there with a baby who is teething off and on and who fights sleep! Oh dear, that would make for a raggedly worn Mama! My husband is quite the seamstress, or maybe there is a different way to say it beings he's a man?! Anyway, he sews very nice dresses! He sewed 3 for Gabrianna. Two of them she wears now but one is for her in another couple of months. He has made some for baby gifts and one for a friend who has not had a baby but we are believing with her that God will bless her yet with one. We had fun going through some of my old scraps of fabric from dresses I made years ago. We sorted through them and found some that are big enough to do a dress for Gabrianna. We cut them out and will eventually get them all sewed. I need more zippers for them. I love to sew. My hubby's drive comes and goes. He also plans to sew a lap throw for me out of scraps. They are all cut out, just need to be sewn together. I am doing cloth diapers with Gabrianna to save on costs and I find great happiness with that and I really enjoy hanging them up outside on these beautiful days and even though we usually have the blind pulled down in the living room so no neighbors peep in at us I sometimes have to crack them open a little so I can see the diapers flapping in the breeze! Satisfaction! Doing laundry has always been a fun thing for me, especially when I can hang things outside. I love the smell of laundry that has been hung outside. In the winter I have lines in the basement that I use but things take so long to dry down there. It's damp, and water comes in when it rains alot. A friend just gave me some homemade soap and softner and I am pleased with the soap. I had not tried the softner yet. It is quite a bit cheaper to make your own laundry soap so I just might do that eventually. We are learning to rely on God for everything. It's a huge lesson for me and I want to pass all the tests so I can be promoted! I came from a family who was not rich but had enough for necessities always, and most times a little leftover for a "want" item, even after putting some away into savings. Now with being young married and having a baby and not a steady income, let's just say I have learned to streamline costs and do without many things I thought were necessities. I have learned that you can live without paper towels and napkins and CHOCOLATE! Did I just admit to being able to live without chocolate????!!!!!! Sniffle, hiccup, sigh! Indeed it's a hard thing to do but yes, I am breathing even though it's been months since we have had any chocolate candy in this house! I have learned what it's like to do without many other things too, and how to get creative with cooking when I don't have most of the ingredients I usually use! I just think I have to have cheese and milk and cream of soups. Most of the time those are delicacies we don't have so I rely on my darling hubby to help me! He is very good with creative cooking and he is teaching me how to "make do" with what we have. He is good with seasonings. That is something I am still learning. Another big thing I am learning is sacrifice. My husband sacrifices like crazy for me and Gabrianna and he is teaching me to do the same for others. He is always sharing with others and giving things away. I am ever the reluctant one. If I think we might use it soon for something, I want to hang onto it! But my husband is living out in front of my very own eyes that indeed it is more blessed to give than to receive. Giving freely and cheerfully is an art and blessed are those who do it! I am doing it more and more and I know it's storing treasures in heaven. But I have miles to go to reach the place my husband is at. But then, we are not supposed to be comparing ourselves among ourselves, are we? Well, I hear my little girlie up in her crib. She is awake and I think she would love to see me pop my head up and get her so I will sign off for now. I don't know if I will do better at keeping this updated but I will try to! God bless you all!

Still More Musings from a Childhood Friend

Journeys (Dave Heavner) 5/4/96 The Sea. I took a journey in my mind, and ll these things I left behind: concrete, steel and these four barren walls; to stand by the sea and listen to the gulls. I saw myself standing upon a rocky cliff by the sea, surrounded by the dancing showers of misty spray as they caressed my face. All was so peaceful, and the only sounds were the lonesome cry of the gulls as they darted playfully among the pearly white foamy crests of the majestic waves as they marched like soldiers to the shore, only to dramatically exhaust their strength and power against the unyielding rocks. The faintest first fingers of a blazing morning sunrise began to stretch across the shimmering waters as if stroking them lovingly. It was God saying, "Good morning" to His creation. The cool morning air was saturated with the aromas of the sea. I stood as if in an enchanted trance, gazing lovingly upon the glory that surrounded my solitary figure, and feeling as if I were one with it all. It was truly mesmerizing. I felt the spray upon my face, and I closed my eyes to bathe in the cool moist, and refreshing kisses it left upon my cheeks. At the same time I invigorated myself in the aroma of the fresh salty air, as the cries of the gulls lulled me. I breathed ever so deeply, as if to fill my inner yearning spirit witht the captivating essence of the moment. I was alone to be caught in the early morning majesty of the sea, and I cherished it all. I wondered at the beauty. I marveled in the tranquility. I revelled in the oneness I felt with the whole splended picture. Like this was but a moment in time that would not have been at all without my presence so silently observe its being. It was as if I were sharing ancient secrets with mother nature, as she whispered into my ear through the various sounds of hter world that presently surrounded me. The sea is music. Its sound is enchanting to the soul, and its composer is GOD. Rocky Mountain Meadow: Another journey I took afar, to heal the pain of this soul-wrenching sear: the threats and the curses being thrown everywhere, I escaped to a mountain meadow full of colors so fair. I stood at the base of a majestic mountain full of vibrant colors. It stretched before me like an endless sea of life. Beautiful butterflies, large and small, drifted serenely, floating in the calm mountain breezes. Flowers of all colors and descriptions swayed slowly back and forth as if dancing to some secret music that nature played for them alone. THe supple blades of long, luscious green grass that stood between them like a carpet that God Himself laid, felt soft and cool beneath my bare feet. I opened my arms wide, and tilted back my head, breathing the perfumed air as I spun round and round in the grass and tenderly loving all things. Overhead, wispy white puffs as fragile as a breath journeyed to no particular destination through a saphire blue endless sky. The mountain itself stood beside me like a silent majestic guardian of this beautiful sacred place. Its pinnacles reached alone, out of view, and to look upon it was to view enormous and unmoveable strength and fortitude. I knelt down in the tall soft grass and gently touched a flower. Its petals were soft and supple. SO fragile, and yet so beautiful. There were vibrant colors all around me, richer and deeper than I'd ever viewed before. Ruby reds, dazzling sunlight yellows, harvest moon golds, newborn pinks, sunset oranges, and violet. All the colors of the rainbow surrounded me in proud display. It was as if the flowers knew they were there and knew how very beautiful they were. A living canvas painted by the Artist up above. The mountain breezes caress them, and whisper lullabies to them on a lazy spring day. There I stood among them alone, like an invited visitor to be entertained by the glorious mountain host. A mountain meadow is a tranquil, enchanting place to be alone, with God.

More Musings from Childhood Friend

A Prayer from the Depths of my Heart (Dave Heavner) 4/14/96 Hello Jesus, my old friend, I've come to talk to You again. With Open arms that You might reach me, with open heart that You might teach me. But my tears, like silent raindrops fall; through it all, Echoes in the sound.....of silence. Through restless dreams I've walked alone; darkened streets that I have known. For me, Your love was yearning, but my stubborn head kept turning. But now, my Lord, I reach out for Your light that splits the night, I reach out to the sound.......of silence. I'm sorry Lord, I went astray; I used to walk in my own way, What was it I was seeking? What were the words that I was speaking? As I sought to fill that void inside; there was too much pride. I chased the wind......of silence. And though I now in confines be, I take a look back and I see, In my sins, Lord, I was dying, in my sorrows, I was crying, But, Lord, for me you died on Calvary, upon the tree, Upon Your cross....of silence. Now as I lay me down to sleep; I pray dear Lord, my soul to keep, But if I should die before You wake me, I pray dear Lord that You might take me, To a place where no more tears will fall; through it all, Take me in the the sound.....of silence.

Musings From a Childhood Friend

Yet Will I Have Faith - David Lee Heavner 4/25/96 When they don't know what to tell me, when with my mind their games they play, when I get a different answer each and every day: yet will I have faith. When I while away the hours, wondering what is yet to be my fate, when all I want is information, but still they make me wait: yet will I have faith. When I stare out of my window on a bright and sunny day, when I close my eyes and travel to places very far away, when I pray for others yet for myself have nothing left to say: yet will I have faith. When the questions to the answers are as if yet unasked, when the actors in this play of life as of yet remain unmasked, when seeking truth in a world full of lies remains my greatest task: yet will I have faith. When the truth I've found in God above remains my primary source of love, when through this glass I darkly see the love and peace that waits for me, when in captivity I yearn to be free: yet will I have faith. ~This was written while he was sitting in a jail cell. Moonbeam Mountains ~David Lee Heavner 4/24/96 Moonbeam mountain is a place I used to go whenever I was lonely and needed nature's glow. In the gentle summer sunshine or the blazing shades of fall, up on moonbeam mountain, in peace I found it all. The moonlight played upon the pines at night as it cast its heavenly glow, and it really took my breath away when it danced on winter's snow. I always felt the Creator's presence there no matter where I went, and as I slept under the starry skies, His presence was my tent. Many fond memories I have of it, that spring up like a fountain; for a little part of me yet remains up on Moonbeam Mountain. I Love You (Dave Heavner) July 4, '96 Give me just a moment to tell you how I feel, for what I have to say to you from my heart I know is real. Give me one moment in time, my Love, when all my dreams come true; just a moment out of life, my Love, to spend my life with you. Give me the happiness that I thought I'd never find, for you're all I've ever dreamed of, and true love is never blind. You're the morning song within my heart, and my evening sunset's glow, you're the only rose in my garden of life, so won't you stay and grow? You're the stars that shine within my sky each night, and the sun that lights my day, you're the breeze that whispers in my ears so sweetly and the trees that gently sway. So give me just a moment and now I'll say to you how I feel in just 5 words: My Darling, I love you! ~I was going through some old letters and came across some thoughts and poetry by this childhood friend and thought maybe it would be of interest to some of my friends to read these thoughts. If not, well, it gave me more practice typing! I burned a few calories just exercising my fingers! :)

Texas Trip

Back safe from the Texas trip! It was a long trip, 3 days in Texas and 4 days driving! Thankfully, we stopped at a motel overnight. I am not sure how I would have coped with having to sleep sitting upright. We were in a 15 passenger van and I was on a seat with my husband beside me and a carseat on the other side. So there was no lounging room at all. My feet and legs swelled up really badly from having them hang and then once we were in Texas they didn't go down because the heat was bad! We put up a dog kennel one day and I thought it looked shady but we were out in the sun quite a bit so that made them swell. On the way home though, I made a discovery. Propping them up on my husband's lap is the cat's meow!! The whole trip home he let me and the swelling completely went away. I felt bad for him because he had hardly any leg room and his knees hurt yet he sacrificed so I could feel better. I love my husband! He puts up with so much since I'm prego! Emotions that I wasn't planning to let run wild, like I cry over nothing sometimes or one bit of frustrations directed at me puts me in tears. Yet he loves me anyway and promises I am not scaring him away from having more children! He just got done spoiling me and shopping for me at 2 big sales from 2 favorite stores of mine and now I'm stocked up on body wash, perfumes, and lotions! He makes me feel like a queen! The wedding in Texas was fun! Mandie and David looked so happy and Mandie looked so pretty in her white dress! Brought back so many memories of my wedding day. They faced some trials and persecutions just like my husband and I did for getting married as well as some other political things that happened over their wedding time. My husband and I could feel for them! I was just at the midwife and although my blood pressure was in a good bracket, the bottom number was a bit higher than 2 weeks ago when I was there. She said it's a sign that I was stressed. Ah, yeah, I have to agree. The trip was very stressful for me! She said it's very important to avoid stress for my health and the baby so I am trying hard to take good care of myself and my husband is being a sweetheart too! Thankfully my blood sugar test was fine. For the way I love my candy, especially chocolate, I wasn't sure what she would say! I don't eat much baked stuff, just candy! I have to eat more protein though. That's not too hard because I do love nuts and meats. Anyway, that's all for now!

Washington DC, Pregnancy, WW2 Weekend, Baby Shower

I see it’s 2 months since I last wrote so maybe it’s time I write again! Friday June 1st was WW2 weekend in Reading. My husband talked so often about this awesome place where they have re-enactors who play out parts of how it was during WW2. I was really curious to see this place finally because it seemed to be a favorite place of his and til next year we will be pushing a stroller, Lord willing. So we got tickets and went this year. Til we were done traipsing all over the place, I began to wonder if I was the smart one after all! I have about 10 weeks left til the baby arrives and this is the most I’ve weighed in my entire life! My feet do not appreciate the extra weight and neither does my bladder or my back! My husband’s knees were acting up too. Guess they have sympathy pain for me?! LOL! Actually he had knee surgery in his one knee when he was just entering the teen years and it’s never been quite right and I guess the other knee didn’t appreciate having to bear the extra weight over that time so it developed an attitude as well. Anyway we had a good time in spite of that. I got a better understanding of WW2 era. This was my birthday gift to my husband, taking him there and all. Yet like to wonderful sweetheart he is, he made sure we rested a lot for my sake and found the porta potties when I needed them and bought me food as soon as I was hungry, etc. And, he found some patterns from that era, patterns to make dresses. He got me some of them. I can’t wait to try them! We had to laugh at the set up they had for a radio station of those days. Well, not the set up but rather the people that sang. There was a lady who was the lead singer and she….well…let’s just say she did not have the voice it appeared she thought she had! It was a little grating on the ears, if I may say so! And then when they came to the song, “God Bless America” she had some more people join in (only re-enactors in uniform). Oh my! God bless this one man! He jumped up to the one microphone and belted it out with all might and main and wow! That guy could not sing! His heart was in it and he was making a joyful noise and I appreciated that! However, usually people don’t belt it out like that unless they can make a melody roll! We had tickets for a beef dinner but they had tornado warnings out and the sky was very ominous so we decided not to stay. Most of the stands shut down because of the winds being very strong already and the forecast and it was starting to rain. We blessed someone else with tickets who was planning to stay. I couldn’t wait to get into the car to rest my throbbing feet but alas! Apparently 150 other people had the same idea! We had to stand in line for the shuttle buses! Sigh! I thought longingly of how at airports when they see a harried mother with children or a pregnant woman, they part the waters and let her go into the front of the line. Not happening here. Oh well, I will never ever again think it’s dumb when they give such people first priority. For some reason it makes total sense now! Anyway, we probably only waited 20 minutes for a shuttle but it seems much longer when your feet are throbbing. June 2nd my husband’s sisters and mom put on a wonderful baby shower for us. What a blessing that was! As a first time mom I didn’t realize quite how much babies cost but I’m finding out even without the dear little gem being here yet! Such an endless list of things to get just to be prepared! We did a registry at Babies R Us. We had fun picking things out. My husband loved the scanner and he liked it so much he scanned some things just for fun. Needless to say I had to take some of it off in case someone would actually buy some things I didn’t need or want instead of what was really needed! But at the shower we had some fun games. They had 4 or 6 different diapers with a smashed piece of candy in the middle. We were to guess what candy it looked like and see who wins. It really looked like poop which is what it was intended to look like! And there we were putting our noses up close to what looked like poop in a diaper. In the beginning of the party we were given 3 clothepins each. Throughout the party we weren’t allowed to say “baby” and if someone caught us saying it they took one of our clothepins. Whoever had the most in the end won. It didn’t take me very long til I lost all of mine. It’s just too hard to be prego and not say “baby”! There was also a basket of 15 baby items that we got to see briefly and then it was hidden and we were supposed to remember all the 15 items and write them down. I had them all except 1. Someone else got all of them though so I didn’t win! I got blessed with a lot of goodies for the baby. It was so much fun to open them and see what’s in each package! There are still so many things left on the registry that I need though. I left the registry open and I can let it open til a few months after the baby’s due date. So anyone buying baby gifts to give at birth can still go by the registry. Oh, and there was delicious cake and icecream and chips and dip and veggies and meadow tea. June 3 my mom and dad, sis, and husband and I went to Washington DC to see some friends. They hosted us there for 2 nights and we really enjoyed our stay. They cooked some awesome food for us and big breakfasts. We spent a day at the Holocaust Museum and half a day at the Smithsonian Institute. My feet throbbed something awful as well as my back. However, I did enjoy the museums a lot. I had seen both museums before but it was quite some time ago and I know a lot more about Adolph Hitler now so it was more interesting. My husband is a history buff and he teaches me a lot. Now we are getting ready to go to Texas for a week. We have a wedding there and it takes awhile to drive out. It is really warm in Texas. Hope my legs and feet are recognizable by the time I get there! They tend to swell up when traveling since I’m pregnant. And I hope Texas people believe in AC. I can barely get my breath without it in this heat. Well, I don’t know when I will write next but God bless you all in the meantime!