Writing

So, apparently, pregnancy and blogging do not work well for me. I wonder if anyone even follows my blog anymore...probably not. But, it gives me an outlet to begin working on something that Sean and God have been on me about for quite some time - writing.

Throughout middle school and high school, I had several pen pals (some of whom I am still friends with today...none of whom I have ever met). I was always known by the notes of encouragement I would pass out to people at church. I would write notes to friends when we went on vacation and even started a story, which was never fully completed. People always saw me with a pen and paper nearby. Six years ago, I graduated from college with a degree in literary studies with the full intention of writing "some day." I figured it would be the perfect career to have while being a stay-at-home mommy and raising a family, not to mention the fact that I really enjoy writing.

Well, it seems that "someday" may have arrived. Perhaps the reason I have neglected my blog so much is because I am ignoring the nudging God is doing in my spirit. Within the last two weeks, I have received a couple of words at church about writing and fulfilling my calling. Then, this weekend, I went to see the movie, "Julie & Julia" with a girlfriend of mine. While the main focus of this movie is about cooking, there is an underlying theme about writing, and it was even more fire under me.

I honestly don't know what I'm going to write about or where to start. Sean and I have a few ideas for children's books that we have been tossing around so maybe I'll start there. How to get published or who to contact....that kind of thing is what I am clueless about so if you have any suggestions or contacts, please let me know.

I'll keep you posted on what evolves from this journey. In the meantime, I could use all of the prayers, encouragement and support as I embark on this endeavor that cannot be ignored.

Still Here

Yep, it's been another month since I last checked in. While the nausea and vomiting are gone here at 19 weeks into the pregnancy, I am still about 2 months behind from all the time I WAS sick. My house shows for it too so fear not, blog friends, you are not the only ones suffering. LOL Because I know you just anticipate my new blogs with such excitement that to not have something new from me must be devestating. Ha!

Nathan has finished his t-ball season. We are having an end-of-year picnic at a splash park this Thursday to celebrate. These boys were just learning the basics of baseball, and they learned a lot in a few months. It was amazing to see them at their first practice and then at their last game - big difference! Nathan's goal for the season was to hit the ball all the way out to the grass (outfield), and he did that on his last game. Each boy got a trophy at the end, and you would have thought that someone had hand-picked one just for Nathan. He is so proud!

Both boys are growing like weeds. It is hard to believe that I will have a 3 year old and a 5 year old by the end of the year! They aren't "babies" anymore....but at least I'll have a new baby to keep me feeling younger.

While both boys are definitely growing, Elijah is the one who is huge. He inherited the Lingenfelter side's big bones (which skipped Sean). He is STOUT...oh, which, by the way, is what his middle name (Cade) means (we didn't know this when we named him but how appropriate). He is solid. He is just a few inches shorter than Nathan, but I think they are only 1-2 lbs. different in weight. When you pick them up, Elijah feels much heavier!

Speaking of Eljah...our passive baby has turned into a fiesty, defiant 2 year old. We are working on breaking his strong will - which wears me out often. The good news is that he is fully potty trained!!! He just mastered night-time and naptime training. Gone are the days of diapers and Pull-Ups for him. I am just happy that I will only have 1 kid in diapers this fall, not 2. Wahoo!

Sean is still looking for a permenant job, but in the meantime, he is working for my dad and brother. It gets a little overwhelming and stressful at times when you start thinking about the whole ordeal. He has a tendancy to get a bit depressed sometimes. But, we are continuing to trust God and know that He will be faithful to provide for our every need, however that may be.

Sean and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary this past Friday. My parents watched the boys overnight (Elijah's first time) while Sean and I stayed at the hotel where our wedding reception was held - Embassy Suites. We had dinner at a Japenese restaurant downtown that we like called Kenichi. It was great, as always. We walked through Victory Park and saw the Channel 8 news anchors preparing for the evening news. :) On Saturday, we had a late breakfast at the hotel and then went to the dollar theater for a movie before picking up the boys. Once we picke them up and were settled, we headed to Grapevine Mills Mall to look around AND have dinner at Rainforest Cafe. The night Sean and I were engaged, we had dinner at Rainforest Cafe. So, ever since Nathan was born, we have taken him there to celebrate our anniversary. The boys had a blast. Elijah was scared last year, but he LOVED it this year. He just didn't want to get too close to those moving elephants. LOL Overall, we had a fabulous weekend! I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man for a decade now. I am praying that we have many, many more to come. In the meantime, we will enjoy every day that we have together.

I know I am behind on photos, but I am hoping to catch up on those these week too. So, hopefully, I'll have a bunch of catch-up photos to post within the next few days. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! I'll check in soon.

T-ball Pics

"Outta my face, boy! I'm on the base!!!"

Coach Sean and Nate

Sean gets to help everyone bat!

Our little ball player running to base.

Go, Nathan, go!

We are very proud of our little man, and he is having a blast playing. If you want to check out a game, let us know and we'll get you the info.

Baby Caylin

Here are some pictures of our new niece, Caylin Dakota. Our boys are absolutely smitten by her so I hope that is a good sign of things to come this fall when their new brother or sister arrives.

I have some more pictures from our visit the week after she was born. I have yet to upload them yet. Oh, and that is new daddy, Andrew, with Nathan. :)

Keep Praising

This is a devotional I wrote for my MOPS newsletter, and I wanted to share it with all my blog-readers as well.
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“Life is full of unexpected surprises” - we have all heard that phrase before, and I dare say that most of us have experienced our fair share of “unexpected surprises.” I am sure that several life experiences have already come to mind. How we deal with these unexpected surprises is up to us. We basically have two choices: we can allow the burdens of this world to pull us down into deep despair, or we can praise God for His hand and will in our lives and trust Him to see us through. While the choice seems simple enough, carrying it out is something much more difficult.

In Psalm 34:1, the Psalmist says, I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. (NKJV) Perhaps, if we each got a handle of the depth of this Scripture, handling life’s difficulties would be so much easier. To be able to praise God continually – even through the hardest trails of life – would allow us to experience so much less stress and even draw us into a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus.

Like most of you, life has thrown me some pretty unpleasant “surprises.” Back in 2004, Sean lost his job, and I conceived our first child within the same week! For the first seven months of my pregnancy, Sean was unemployed. This should have rattled me to the core, but instead, I had a peace inside that I simply cannot explain (even now). I continued to keep praising God and putting my faith in Him to deliver us. Although the wait seemed to take forever, He finally did pull us out and provided for us in ways beyond our imagination.

I think my biggest “surprise” came last fall when we started trying to conceive. This had never been a problem for Sean and me. Nathan was conceived shortly after I got off birth control, and Elijah’s arrival was a bit of a surprise. J So, when we decided to start trying for number three, I never imagined it would take seven months! Every month when my cycle arrived, I would cry tears of disappointment. I wondered why God would not answer our prayers…especially when our four year old was praying fervently for a new baby. What kind of God ignores the prayers of a four year old child?! I really struggled with my faith during this time; I struggled with seeing God’s blessing in this area of my life. Of course, my past struggles with the uterine infection (following Elijah’s birth) just played into my fears of never conceiving again. Finally, my pastor told us just to relax and leave it up to God. He prayed over us one Sunday, and then told us to forget about it and let God do as He had planned. It was then that I refocused and began praising God for everything in my life – everything He had given me, everything He had done and was going to do. Sure enough, I got pregnant the next month.

The Word tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people. When we praise Him, He allows His blessings to flow in our lives. As you face life’s “unexpected surprises,” may His praise continually be in your mouth. Praise the Lord!

Still Alive

Yes, I am still alive. And yes, I know it has been a while since I have updated. The reason behind this is due to what I posted 2 posts ago - the baby! I have battled SEVERE nausea and vomiting with the pregnancy for the past 4-5 weeks. Luckily, I am entering my 2nd trimester, and the doctor says that should be ending soon. For info on more of that...check out the baby's blog. :)

Our new niece arrived on April 7th. Caylin Dakota arrived at 3:48 p.m. weighing 7 lbs. 7 oz. at 20.5 inches. She is a tiny little thing, but so beautiful. Per her parents' permission, I will try to upload and post some pics of her soon.

We had a beautiful Easter. We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus at church that morning with our church family. Afterwards, we went over to Sean's mom's house for an Easter lunch and egg hunt - even though it was wet and muddy. (Thank goodness for patios.) I have some photos from the special day that I am going to upload in a bit and hopefully, I can post those soon. (I'm making no promises as to when!)

Nathan is busy playing t-ball this spring, and Sean is busy coaching. It's quite humorous at their games. Instead of catching the ball and throwing it to the appropriate location, they are busy fighting over who got the ball. (Think football more than t-ball.) Kicking the dirt and playing in the grass are popular occurences as well. Luckily, most of our boys have learned to hit the ball off the tee...that's a big improvement! I should have some photos to post of this fun endeavor also. We are looking forward to this Friday when we get to go to the Rough Riders' baseball game with our whole team! (Rough Riders are our minor league team.)

Perhaps the biggest disappointment this month arrived on April Fool's. Unforunately, the news we received was not a joke. Sean was laid off from his job. So, he has been desperately looking for a new job. Every time I have gotten pregnant, though, he has changed jobs and always gotten something better. So, when I found out I was pregnant this time, I jokingly asked him if he was ready for a new job. Little did I know how prophetic that statement would be! He has had some very promising interviews so we are holding out hope on those. But, we know that our provision comes from God so we put our faith in Him to see what He has in store for our family!

Oh, and Sean took his professional engineering test this past Friday. It was an 8 hour exam. We will find out around July if he is "officially" a professional engineer. :)

That's about it. I will try to get some photos up soon because if you're like me, that's the most exciting part about blogs. :) Until then...Blessings on each of you!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

I have been trying to get this video to upload for weeks, and it finally worked today! Wahoo! This is Nathan singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and then some song about Leonardo, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, that he made up.

Nathan & Elijah's Big News!

YES, I am PREGNANT!!! Online calculators have due date as Nov. 9, 2009. Of course, I have yet to carry to 40 weeks so I'm hoping for first of Nov. I made my first doctor's appt. today - sono, bloodwork and dr. visit on March 18th. We are looking forward to it. We are all thrilled! Nathan is SURE it is a girl; I hope he's right. :) The boys will be almost 3 and 5 when the baby arrives, and I think that will be good spacing - esp. for Elijah.

So that I don't BOMBARD this blog with pregnancy news, I have started a pregnancy blog. You can keep up to date with pregnancy news at http://www.lingenfelterbundleofjoy.blogspot.com/.

Babies, Babies...Everywhere!!!

I announced earlier on the blog that I was going to be an aunt for the first time this spring...and Sean will become an uncle. His sister, Emily, and our brother-in-law, Andrew, are expecting their first child in April - the week before Easter. We already know that it's a girl, and her name is Caylin. :) We are so thrilled. I am hosting a baby shower for Emily in two weeks. We cannot wait to meet our first niece!

THEN, we found out last week that MY SISTER IS PREGNANT!!! We are even more thrilled. I have to say that I have been waiting for my sister to get pregnant for a long time. Although, having your baby sister pregnant is kinda weird....then again, my baby brother getting married is even more bizarre!!!

So, that's all the excitement around here. Everything is baby, baby, baby...I'm sure the guys are quite sick of it now!!! LOL

Ketchup

I know, I know...it's a play on words! Well, my sweet Sean keeps me on my toes with this blog thing and gently reminded me this week that I haven't updated in quite a while. So, here I am again with a "catch-up" post. :) Hopefully, this will be the last one, and I can stay up-to-date from here on out. Honestly, I haven't had much time to edit pictures so I haven't wanted to blog without photos. But, hey, you only live once, and I might forget all the fun things we've done if I don't at least write it all down. LOL

Since my grandfather's funeral was on my birthday, we did not celebrate that night. Well, that is, unless you count going out to dinner with family at my grandpa's favorite Mexican food restaurant there in town. They did sing to me and bring out a little dessert - which wasn't very good. Ha! My real celebrations were the next day - Jan. 3rd. My mom told me that she and my dad wanted to take Sean and I to lunch that Saturday and that my brother and future sister-in-law were going to watch the boys. That seemed a little suspicious to me, but I went along with it. When my dad drove into Spaghetti Warehouse, I was sure something was up...and seeing my best friend in the parking lot sealed the deal. :) But, I had a good time with some close friends and family...

Megan (future SIL), Sam (brother) and me

Chris (BIL), me, Charity (sis)

Dad, me, Mom

Amber (BFF) holding her 2 year old, Isaac, with me holding her 4 year old, Grant

That night, we met our best friends, Jason and Malia, for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Yum! Then, we met my siblings and their significant others for some ice skating. Shall I mention that 30 year olds should NOT ice skate?! I fell once, but I banged my knee up pretty bad. It is just now feeling better.

The Whole Gang (L-R): Megan, Charity, Sam (in front), Sean, me, Malia and Chris

Sean and I about to hit the rink - amazing we're standing!!!

This is what your knee will look like if you ice skate over the age of 29. LOL

January started off with a bang, but got kinda boring after that. LOL My dad went on his annual mission trip to Nepal a week after my birthday. He was gone for two full weeks, but they flew by fairly quickly. We spent some time with my mom keeping her company.

On February 7, my MOPS group hosted a couples' Valentine's dinner for the parents. It's called MOPS & Pops. The theme this year was Hollywood, and we were told that we could go as our favorite movie stars/characters. We chose to go as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. What do you think?

We agreed not to do too much for Valentine's because we are working on paying off our debt this year - and we have a big 10th wedding anniversary coming up in June. Well, Sean took me literally and did NOTHING. Yeah, I let him hear about that. :) I made some waffles...well the waffle maker and I had a falling out so the boys got frozen waffles...that we topped with strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast! Sean and Nathan went to Home Depot to build...made Mommy a nice jewelry box. (Elijah made me one at Lowe's the week before.) When they got home, we had chicken nuggets for the boys and honey BBQ chicken wings for Sean and I for lunch. Dessert was these red velvet cookies with cream these filling. They were good, but we forgot to put them in the fridge later that night, and we had to throw them out. :( We used a gift card and brought home Jason's Deli for dinner - I love their chicken salad sandwiches (it has pineapple in it!). After getting the boys to bed, the boys and I enjoyed homemade chocolate covered strawberries and watched "Fireproof." **Married/engaged couples - if you haven't seen that movie, go check it out NOW!!!** Sean did make up for his Valentine's blooper by bringing home flowers and chocolate that Monday after work. :)

Made with red velvet cake mix...baked like cookies...filled with cream cheese icing!

The boys loved them - not sure why they are eating them this way!

Last weekend was full of parties...on Saturday, the boys attended a birthday party while I hosted a bridal shower with church. Later tha evening, we attended Sean's mom's surprise birthday party. I won't say how YOUNG she is, but it was a BIG one! :) We celebrated at Texas Land and Cattle with other family members and some of their close friends.

Elijah enjoying cake at a friends' party! ARGH, Matie!!!

Elijah with Gigi, Osye and their friends at Gigi's birthday party!

And, here we are today...Elijah and Sean went to the store this morning to get stuff to turn on soaker hoses for the foundation. Deuce had destroyed the others so Sean got new ones and a tie down for Deuce (to be used while soakers are out/on). :) Meanwhile,I straighted up Elijah's room - we can walk through it now - and then I cleared and organized the linen closet while the boys napped. Tonight, I addressed som baby shower invites. Exciting, huh? I wanted to get into Nate's room to work tonight, but I didn't get a chance. Oh, well. Maybe one day next week.

"I Wanna Go Home!"

This will be my last "catch-up" post for the evening. Perhaps the writing of this post is why it has taken me so long to update...

Per my previous post, we all saw Pawpaw on Friday, Dec. 26th. When Dad and Uncle Bill took him back to the VA nursing home, they told him that his residence there was probably going to become a permanent thing. They were already scheduled to meet with the directors there about permanent residence the following week. Pawpaw seemed to understand - although, he was so confused recently that who knows how long he remembered that or how well it even computed.

On Sunday, Dec. 28th, he was admitted to the hospital with some breathing issues. My dad was not able to make it up to see him that day, but had planned to go on Monday if he was not better. The nurse told Dad on Monday that he was doing better, and they were planning to release him on Tuesday. So, Dad decided to hold off on his visit until the following day when they were scheduled to meet with the nursing home director.

All Monday night, Pawpaw told the nurse, "I wanna go home! I wanna go home!" At 6:44 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 30th, he sat up in bed, breathed his last breath on earth and entered heaven's glory - his eternal Home.

Pawpaw lived a long, fulfilling life; he was 83 when he died. He had been married to Mawmaw for 53 years when she died in Jan. of 2003. He had two sons - my father, Gary, and my uncle, Bill - who are both ministers. He had six grandchildren: me, my sister-Charity, my brother-Sam, and our cousins - Jason, Angela and Melissa. And, he met two of his great-grandchildren: my boys, Nathan and Elijah.

My brother wondered why he had to die this year; why not next year? You see, Sam will marry his sweetheart, Megan, this November, and he will have only one set of grandparents present at the wedding. I remember asking the same question when Mawmaw died. My Nathan, her first great-grandchild, arrived one year later. Yeah, there's a lot they will miss...I am the only grandchild with children; my sister and I are the only two who are married. My youngest cousin is only 13!!! But, I like to think (whether it's true or not, I don't know) that they aren't missing ANYTHING; rather, they have the greatest seat in the house!

We buried Pawpaw on Friday, Jan. 2nd, my 30th birthday. My family asked if that was okay, and I realized...how appropriate for him to be buried on the 30th anniversary of him becoming "Pawpaw." It was hard, but it also seemed right. My dad and uncle performed the ceremony; they'd have it no other way. I did a power point of his life to Chris Tomlin's "Amazing Grace: My Chains are Gone." Indeed, Pawpaw is now free!

The funeral was much harder than I expected. It wasn't so much Pawpaw's death, in and of itself, that bothered me. It was the fact that I no longer had ANY grandparents living on that side. It was like a whole chapter of my life was ending, and I wasn't prepared. Growing up, we spent a lot of time with the Taylors - they kept us when Mom and Dad went on trips and had us over "just because." When my brother was born 7 weeks early, my mom could not get him out of the house for 3 months. That summer, my grandparents took my sister and I to San Marcus on vacation. When Mom was in and out of the hospital before Sam was born, we often stayed with Mawmaw and Pawpaw Taylor. THAT'S the kind of grandparents they were; they were a stability to us, in good times and bad. I just never dreamed they would both be gone so soon from my life.

So, there you have it...the reason this blog has been delayed...I just didn't feel like typing it all out and dealing with it all over again. But, now it's done and I can move on! If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I know it was long...

In case you can't tell...we're sitting at a table outside covered with rocks...but they weren't really rocks; they were cookies...heck, that's why I'm blowing on them! Yeah, the family loves this photo; I'll NEVER live it down!

They've got the best seats in the house now.

Clarinel "Mawmaw" Taylor, 1931 - 2003

Joe "Pawpaw" Taylor, 1925 - 2008

He made it to two of his grandchildren's weddings - mine and my sister's.
The only complete 4 Generations picture we ever got: me holding Nathan, Pawpaw, my dad holding Elijah (Jan. 2007)

He was laid to rest with military honors for his time spent as a POW in WWII. Goodbye, Pawpaw...

Day After Christmas

It has been a tradition in our family to spend the day after Christmas with the Taylors. This was a tradition when I was younger and has carried on through the years. Mawmaw used to tell me that Christmas did not occur for her until the day after because that's when all of us were there. *Sigh, I miss that lady!*

Once Mawmaw moved to heaven, we continued the tradition and spent the 26th of December with Pawpaw at his place near Bonham. Our traditional meal was brisket and sometimes ham when Mawmaw was alive, and it later turned into BBQ from a local restaurant once Pawpaw was in charge! LOL

My grandfather's health had been a bit shakey for the past couple of years. He had been in and out of the hospital, had a pacemaker put in, lived with my parents for a greater part of last year, etc. The Sunday before Thanksgiving, it appeared that he was not going to pull through. The family was called in, and we remained at the hospital the entire day. His will to live pulled him through, though, but he wasn't quite the same. He returned to us very weak, frail. He relied on oxygen to breath and a wheelchair to get around. We did not even get to celebrate Thanksgiving with him because he was in the hospital. Around the 1st of December, he was released into a VA nursing home, no longer able to live in his home even with assisted care.

He was able to get out of the nursing home for 3 hours at a time so we kept our family tradition and celebrated Christmas at his house with him on the 26th. We had the traditional BBQ meal and banana pudding for dessert. I don't know that Pawpaw ate much food, but it didn't take long for him to devour that banana pudding. :) He even spilled a bit on his shirt in the dash from the bowl to his mouth.

Those 3 hours were up quite quickly, and it was soon time to take Pawpaw back to the nursing home. It took my dad, my brother and my uncle to load him in the car. I don't know why, but I walked out with them. I was holding Elijah, and when Nathan stuck his head out the door, I told him to come give Pawpaw another hug. I felt that it was going to be the last time we saw him. The boys waved and blew him kisses. And, he returned to the VA facility.

The pictures from this gathering are quite sacred to the family, but here are a few I got to share...

Thanks to my aunt and uncle, Elijah now has this annoying...I mean, wonderful...toy called Elmo Live!

You can see Pawpaw in the back of this picture, behind Nathan.

On our solemn car ride home...I just didn't feel like talking much...God gave us this to behold.

Christmas Photos - only a month late!

Apparently some people actually read my blog...hmmmm, that's good to know because I've been wondering...and those people who do read it have been asking for an update. Geez, once a month isn't good enough?! I jest, I jest!!! Of course it isn't! It's just been quite crazy around here, and you'll find that out soon enough from the updates...

But, I couldn't update without at least including photos and info on Christmas. :)

Christmas Eve: We attended an afternoon candlelight service at my best friend's church in Plano - Grace Community. Since we got out right at dusk, and they are located right next to Deerfield, we decided to take the boys on a tour of lights. They loved it! After our short sight-seeing, or should I see "light-seeing," tour, we headed to Sean's mom's house for Christmas Eve dinner (tradition is soup, baked potato this year) and gift exchange with his grandparents and aunts. We headed home around 9 to get cookies made for Santa and get two very excited little boys in bed. For some reason, I didn't get pictures at Sean's mom's house...I kept forgetting once I started helping the boys open! But, here are a few other shots from the day...

These are Boo-Boo Kits that the boys and I made as gifts.

What was inside of the Boo-Boo Kit!

Look what Santa left Elijah!

Look what Santa left Nathan!

Christmas Day: Our morning started before sun-up on Christmas Day. Ugh! Be forewarned...apparently, I am not very good with the camera at that hour b/c I didn't get the best shots AND my point and shoot was on a wonky setting so some of those shots are BW! Anyways, we got up between 6 and 7, I believe, to open gifts as a family. Then, we went to Sean's mom's for Christmas breakfast and to exchange gifts with her, Sean's sis and brother-in-law, etc. From there, we went to my grandparents' house in Burleson for lunch. (The boys and I slept on the 1 hour trip there.) We stayed until dark to see my grandfather's Christmas lights, which he is very proud of! That evening, we went to my parents' house to celebrate Christmas with my parents and siblings. It was a very busy day, but filled with lots of love and family...we wouldn't have it any other way!

Ever seen Sean in glasses?

The boys with Daddy and Uncle Andrew

It was a long day for all of us!

Proof that I WAS there, even though it's a HORRIBLE shot! Thanks, Babe!