First Day of Preschool...Again!

So my son has an autism spectrum disorder.  Still learning about what that means, but what is still the same, thankfully, is that I know how to be his mommy.  And today he FINALLY started his new preschool after being MIA for almost 4 months.  And though we bit our nails and prayed fiercely, HE DID GREAT!  So great that husband and I decided to celebrate, and we went all out...new toy at Target, haircut at SportClips, dinner at a pizza place, and a cake.  Heck, we wanted him to know that it was a BIG DEAL to "listen to his teacher" today.  And I think he got it.  But tomorrow he'll probably ask for cake again.  At least there's leftovers.  :)  I thank God for the little victories, like today.  Tomorrow is a new day, good or bad, but one thing's the same, I have an amazing little boy.  (and girl, of course, more on her later.)

Five Minute Friday: Cherished

Dear daughter, do you know that you are cherished by me?  Do you know that you do not need to win the approval of anyone on this earth, because I simply adore you?  Do you know that when you awake in the morning, I can't wait to see your smiling face?  Do you know that I absolutely love to watch you sleep at night?  I love it when you call out to me for help; I love it when you thank me for the little things.  I love watching you love on your little ones.  That love that you feel for those two babes, multiply it by a thousand and you STILL would not come close to the amount of love that I feel for you.  Remember, dear one, I sent my one and only Son to DIE for YOU.

When you are tired of caring for others, remember I care for you.
When you are tired of being up all night with little ones, remember I keep watch all night over you.
When you feel defeated, remember I defeated the grave.  I won the battle so that you don't have to fight it.

Keep pressing on, dear one; you are CHERISHED.  LOVED.  ADORED.  If by no one else, by ME.

(Just a reminder that God cherishes each and every one of us.  Remember that.)

Five Minute Friday returns...Opportunity!

from the Five Minute Friday series at lisajobaker.com

When I first think of the word "opportunity," I think of job opportunities, "the opportunity of a lifetime."  But today, when I saw this topic, I immediately (surprise, surprise) thought of the littles.  My kids.  And what an opportunity I have to be their mom, to raise them up in God's word.  I've been speaking more of God into their little ears these last few days of 2013.  For example, Jackson asked where God was; I told him "in heaven.  But also in our hearts."  He responded, "But I can't feel Him."  Ding, ding, ding, an idea came to me.  I beckoned him over and told him to close his eyes and I would help him to feel God.  I gave him a great big hug and loved him hard, and asked him if he felt it, to which he responded, "yes."  Yay!  I then asked him to help Daddy feel God, and sure enough, he repeated the process.  What a blessing.  He's also into princes and kings lately, and I told him that Mommy and Savannah were God's princesses, and he and Daddy were soldiers in God's mighty army.  He wanted to be a prince, so I allowed him that, but told him princes are soldiers too sometimes, ha.  It's really fun to think of filling their heads with wisdom for a lifetime instead of just the ABCs and such.  Hopefully, Jackson will be back at school next week, another change, but it comforts me to know that God is teaching my kids through me, and what an opportunity it is for me to use every moment with them to teach them God's love. 

Happy New Year!

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."--Philippians 4:4-7

Today is New Year's Day, a day of resolutions, of reflecting on 2012 and thinking of ways to make 2013 even better.  I recently read a blog post about choosing a word for the year.  I've decided to make my word "PEACE."  A search on Bible Gateway yielded 249 verses including this word, so I think I have a lot of reading and meditating to do!  The above verse from Phillipians came immediately to mind, as does the reference to the fruit of the spirit:

Galatians 5:22-23:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. "

We have now moved to such a serene environment, there is peace surrounding us, and I want there to be peace IN us.  The Prince of Peace, as He is called in Isaiah 9:6, wants soooo much to give me His peace:

John 14:27:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

My husband agrees with me that this would be a great "word" for 2013, although I think he is thinking more along the lines of, "A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict,  but the one who is patient calms a quarrel."--Proverbs 15:18.  I definitely need to work on that, too.  :)

So looking back on 2012, the highlights/lowlights were:

• hearing God's guidance to move back to North Carolina and planning for that big move
• my dad taking a job in China
• my mother in law retiring from her teaching ministry
• my dear cousins adopting sweet baby Reagan, a long-awaited blessing
• fellowship with the BEST CHURCH EVER, New Life Christian Fellowship
• moving to North Carolina
• leaving behind a great job and service but starting a new job that brings me so much joy and peace
• graduating from the National Health Service Corps, finally
• our son being diagnosed with sensory processing disorder, developmental delay, and autism-spectrum disorder
• buying our first house and moving in
• my sister getting pregnant, yay!

God has really walked beside me and my family this year, and although I have not been as faithful as I would have hoped to be, I know He still loves me and will help me to do better this year.  I cannot doubt His provisions and loving-kindness after this year.

Looking ahead to 2013, I hope to:

• get plugged into my new church, Chapel Hill Bible Church
• make some new girlfriends and "couple" friends and reconnect with some friends I haven't seen in a few years
• work out at least 3 times a week
• read my Bible every day, even if just a page from my devotional, "Jesus Calling"
• teach my children how to love the Word of God
• learn how better to help Jackson succeed in life
• date my husband more
• be an aunt!!
• learn how to keep up a home

Happy New Year!!

Moving Day!

So now, hubby and I are homeowners!  It's the best Christmas present we could ever have asked for.  It's amazing how different it feels to have your own home!  I love it so much.  I can already tell a difference in the kids too...they are trying to let it sink in that we don't ever have to move again, poor dears (God willing, of course.)  There is a forest/state park across the street that we didn't even know about, where the kids can go on nature walks (which Jackson LOVES), and where JW and I can run to our hearts' content.  There are deer that just show up in our yard.  We have a fire pit on our front patio and we actually had s'mores on Christmas Day!  All the boxes are unpacked, the house feels like our HOME, and we are so thankful.  I am so excited about the memories we will be creating in our new dwelling. 

Tears

So, it seems everyone is posting and blogging about the horrible tragedy in CT last week; and me, not usually one for news, can't stop thinking about it either.  I've been crying randomly, just imagining dropping your sweet child off at school and...that's it.  Especially at Christmastime, when the excitement and joy usually are running high, and our minds are constantly racing to find new ways to bring the magic of Christmas to their lives.  This picture was posted on facebook, and I love it.  It is comforting to me to imagine Jesus there with those 20 children even before the event happened, waiting with them, easing their fears, possibly even showing them His glorious face so they would not see the bloodshed around them.  I'm weeping right now.  And you know what..."Jesus wept" too.  And I love it that our President reminded our nation of that fact...He is crying with us all too.  And He is here to give us a hug and wrap us in his warm, strong embrace.  Let's run into His arms right now and be comforted; hug your children tighter tonight; and pray for our nation, which is somehow seeking God even more it seems like after this tragedy.  Once again, Romans 8:28...

The Liebster Award

I am so excited to tell you that I was nominated for the Liebster award by Natalie Lingren at "The Nurse Practicioner Mom".  Thank you so much Natalie for nominating me and for your great blog, which I discovered while doing the Five Minute Friday series on lisajobaker.com, a great way to meet other bloggers.   Liebster means dearest or favorite. According to Natalie “It's an award for new and upcoming bloggers who have great potential.”



There are a few rules for this award:

1.Thank the person who nominated you and link back to the nominator in your post.

2. List 11 random facts about yourself.

3. Answer the 11 questions presented by your nominator.

4. Create 11 questions for your nominees and answer those too.

5. Nominate 11 fabulous up and coming blogs with less than 200 followers for the Liebster Award.

Eleven Random Facts About Me:

1. My favorite "food" is Cool Whip.

2. I love to scrapbook and wish I could spend more time doing so.

3. I wish I could be a stay-at-home-mom, but I'm also thankful that God has called me to service as a physician.

4. My favorite Bible verse is Psalm 37:4, and has been since high school when I first became a Christian.

5. I speak Spanish.

6. My favorite book is Anne of Green Gables.

7. My favorite movie is "Legally Blonde."

8. The best day of my life was when I became a mommy.

9. I drink too much Diet Coke.

10. I won't water my flowers and they die very early.  No clue why I do this.

Questions for me from my nominator:

1. How did you meet your significant other? When I was in med school at Michigan State, a guy I had a crush on introduced us--we talked on the phone for a month, finally met, and despite 2 break-ups and some drama (on my part, of course), we have been married now for 6 years and have 2 kids ages 2 and 4.

 

2. Vacation at the mountains or the beach? Beach, preferrably in NC

 

3. Favorite childhood book?  Anne of Green Gables

 

4. Are you cooking a Holiday meal? Are you happy about this?  I just cooked my first Thanksgiving meal with my mom's help, and it went very well.  We are moving into our first house on Dec. 21, so I'm thinking very low key for Christmas dinner.  I will probably enlist my mom's help again.

 

5. What current project are you working on?  Learning all I can about Sensory Processing Disorder and autism so that I can better help my son succeed in life.

 

6. Do you own an Esty shop, and if so what is the URL so we can check it out? I wish!  But my friend's shop is http://www.etsy.com/shop/ittybittyforkids?ref=em, so you can check that one out.
 

7. If money wasn’t a factor and your kids were all grown what career would you choose?  Same as now, family doctor delivering babies. 

 

8. Cloth or disposable? Napkins, diapers, towels, or nursing pads…your choice.  All disposable.  I applaud those who can use cloth diapers, though.

 

9. Are you a messy or a cleany?  Somewhere in between, though I think my husband would call me messy.  I am very organized, but sometimes I get overwhelmed and tired and don't always pick up after myself.  I try to live by the poem in this post.

 

10. What kitchen appliance can you not live without?   coffee machine--I still use an "old-fashioned" type vs the pods.

 

11. Favorite season?   Autumn--the pretty leaves and the anticipation of Christmas to come.

Questions for my nominees:
1.  What is your favorite thing about blogging?  I love to get a chance to express my thoughts creatively, and I love the opportunity to feel connected to other moms.

2. What is a New Year's Resolution that you find yourself making year after year?  I'm going to read my Bible every day.

3. How do you find time to stay connected with your "real-life" friends?  It's really hard; I have to make a conscious effort to call when I can concentrate and not be distracted by crying babes in the background.  Face-time is very hard for me still.

4. Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest?  Facebook sometimes, it lets me feel connected to friends that I'm far away from.  Never Twitter yet (maybe if I had a smartphone).  Pinterest on occasion, but it kind of makes me gloomy that I'm not making all of the cool things I see on the site.

5. What is one of your favorite TV sitcoms from when you were growing up?  The Cosby Show.  I still love to watch reruns.

6. What is a piece of clothing that you wear even though it's embarrasing?  A hunter green Winnie-the-Pooh sweatshirt from the Disney store from high school; I don't wear it out, but I love it.  Embarrasing!!

7. What is one thing you are proud of from your school years that you sometimes think about to make yourself feel better?  I won the spelling bee in 8th grade!  (But then I misspelled "gherkin" at the State Bee.  Darned pickles.)

8. What movie are you looking forward to watching this holiday season--holiday classic and one coming out in the theaters.  "Elf," with Will Ferrell, and "Les Miserables" in theaters.

9. What books are on your nightstand to read right now?  "The Out of Sync Child Has Fun," and "Jesus Calling" devotional.

10.  What did you make for dinner tonight?  Cheesy Garlic Chicken in the CrockPot from a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

My 11 Nominees:
Emily Nelson at http://emilyfirebrand.com/
Meg Danekas at Itty Bitty
Andrea Long at Full Circle
Bekah Kaskubar at The K-bar Ranch
Becky Emerick at Reaching Ahead
Julie at Mercy Notes
Erika at Ltrs2mom
Ali at Glory Itches
Michelle at Moments with Michelle
Kelly at Rocke Blog
These Little Lives