Unexpected Blessing #2

Well, I’m sitting on the couch listening to the monitors as your brother and sisters drift off to sleep.  Still in shock of the news your Daddy and I received today.  I hadn’t been feeling well the last couple of day…feeling a little nauseas, but then at the same time feeling extremely hungry.  I just shrugged it off as having a stomach bug and not really eating much.  Last night, I couldn’t sleep very much…I kept waking up and thinking, “What if we are pregnant?”  Again, I shrugged it off because there was NO WAY that we could be…we were being very careful.  I had been thinking most of the morning, “Could I be?  No, I can’t be.”  After doing that for a couple of hours, I decided that I was going to go ahead and take a test to just confirm that I wasn’t pregnant, so I wouldn’t keep worrying until I started my cycle.  Well, you should have seen my face when the pregnancy test came back positive!!  Your Daddy and I were waiting until Kyrie turned one…in just a week…to talk about Baby #4…whether you were going to be natural or adopted.  I guess God has given us the answer…He wants Baby #4 to be from Mommy and Daddy.  So even though we are totally surprised, we are so very excited to have you coming.  As we have learned over the years, God’s timing is PERFECT.  So we can’t wait to meet you, we pray that you will stay put and continue to grow strong and healthy.  We love you, Little One…our other unexpected blessing!

Be still

Well, I was sitting at the computer after finishing my Bible study and realized that it has been FOREVER since I have done an update!

The summer continued to be very busy, but so worth the time we were able to spend with the youth.  It was sad to see the unexpected visits come to an end, but at the same time it is nice to get back into a routine again.  Just because summer is over doesn't mean we aren't busy...it is just a different kind of busy.  At the end of August, Chris and I sat down and re-worked our schedule...I just felt like I had a lot on my plate...trying to keep up with kids, housework, discipling, cooking, ministry, spending time with Chris.  I was having a rather hard day, and I just kept saying to the Lord, "I just wish he (Chris) would come home...I just need to share with him how unhappy I am with how things are...how overwhelmed I feel."  So at lunch time, I hear the door rattling...I panicked for a moment because Chris is supposed to be at work.  When the door opens, I feel relief to see Chris walking through it...for a couple of reasons...not some CRAZY person breaking in to our house and that my prayers were answered.  I asked him why he wasn't meeting with the guy he disciples...he informed me that he just felt like he needed to cancel and come home.  We put the kids down for their nap, and we had a good talk about what was going on with me.  That night we sat down and looked at what we have going on weekly and came up with a new schedule that has been working GREAT!!!  I feel like the Lord gave us this schedule and helped to prioritize what is important.  I have to admit there are times when I want to stray from the schedule...like clean (yes, I'm a cleaning junkie, but I am working on letting things go) when I am supposed to be hanging out with the kids or be on the computer instead of having some time with the Lord.  We have been doing this new schedule for a couple of weeks now, and our home seems to be running so much more smoothly...kids are happier and Mommy is way less stressed!  As I reflect on the changes, I don't know why I didn't sit down sooner and pray...I mean REALLY pray which requires more listening than talking...about our daily schedule. I mean we have to eat, our house needs to be cleaned, our kids need to learn, but I never slowed down long enough to hear the answer to my question, "When should we do this?"  So I praise the Lord for being faithful yet again...where He was willing all along to be my guide and strength...I just needed to be still long enough to hear His answer. 

Summer Time Craziness

WOW!!!!

I didn't know how else to start this journal entry...life has been SUPER busy for us...it is summer time and youth ministry is in full swing!!!

Since we have gotten back from our trip, life has gotten very busy for us.  We started our SNL (Sunday Night Laughs) at our house.  This is the night when the youth come over to hang out.  The first night we had 23 people in our basement and the next time was 21.  We have had to strategically figure out how to fit them all in there.  Sophie has started "Baby Ballerina"...a dance class that is SO cute. Both Josiah and Sophie did a swim class for two weeks and will do another in August.  My niece, Tay, came to stay with us for 11 days.  While she was here, we celebrated Josiah's 4th birthday and Kyrie's baptism.  We had all the grandparents except for my dad here for those two days.  The night of Josiah's birthday, there was a crazy storm that went through VA...it was 80 miles wide and had winds that were 80 mph.  Quite a few people and businesses lost power...some for several days.  We were blessed that we never lost power...the lights only flickered a couple of times.  The church did loose power though, so Kyrie's baptism a little hot...OK, a whole hot since we were in a heat wave, too!   But it was humbling in the sense that thousands of Christians around the world go and worship in a church that has no A/C every week.  When I realized that, my complaining thoughts quickly disappeared.  We also had some of the youth girls over to our house a couple of nights to hang out and other night to decorate t-shirts for the mission trip.  We went into DC one day, so we could take Tay to the Museum of Natural History...I must admit we were so totally annoyed by all the evolution comments...but I won't say any more than that.    Chris and I celebrated our 10th anniversary...yes, 10 years!!!! Some of our friends came over for about an hour to watch the kiddos, so we could go get dessert.  We are going to go away for a night in August, so we will do a BIGGER celebration then.  On Monday night, Chris and I were so exhausted and wondering where our summer has gone.  We reflected on the last two weeks and realized that there were only two nights when it was just the Greenwood Family alone out our house....no wonder we were SO exhausted.  We have LOVED every minute of what we have been doing and wouldn't change a thing about it.  We love all of the youth and look forward to summer time because this is when we get to hang out with them...the last two summers, we have hated seeing the school year begin because we knew there wouldn't be any unexpected visitors knocking our door to just hang out.  I am already getting a little sad thinking about summer starting in just a few weeks.   

Our summer isn't even close to slowing down.  My mom arrives on Saturday because Chris will be leaving on Sunday for a week to take the youth to Chicago for a mission trip. She will be staying to help with the kiddos...Josiah has a TON of things already planned for his Mimi to do with him.  He gets back Sunday night and on Monday morning we pack up the car to head to NC for a few days to see Corey and her family.  We get back and then I have a shower that I am hosting plus we have youth camp starting.  Then I have another shower that I am hosting, then school starts.  I am just tired writing all that!!!    Please be in prayer as we stay busy the next several weeks. That God will give us the energy to complete the ministry He has called us to.  He has been faithful thus far, and I know He will continue to be faithful to us. 

Southeast Circuit

Date: 05/28/2012 02:51:54 PM
Well, we have gotten back home and have gotten our life back into a routine, so I'm going to take a few minutes to journal about our recent trip.  It took about a week to pack EVERYTHING for our 13 day trip--this is the longest we have been away from home with the kiddos.  As Chris put it, "This is just practice for our trip to the Grand Canyon."

We left on a Thursday and drove to NC to spend a few days with the Greenwood Grandparents.  While we were with Lin-Lin and Pa T, we road the train, played at the playground, picked strawberries, celebrated Mother's Day, played in their backyard, made bread, went shopping, went for walks, picked up summer clothes, went through school materials, got our teeth cleaned and visited with some friends.  Writing all that just makes me tired, but we aren't even close to being done yet!  We left NC on Monday and headed to Savannah to spend the night.  We were able to take advantage of the pool at the hotel and have some good family time.  We got up the next morning and went swimming again before we met some friends for lunch.  After lunch, we headed to Valdosta to the Perry Grandparents and the Moser Grandparents.  While we were in Valdosta, we were stayed busy, too.  We played with bubbles in the back yard, played a little golf and soccer, meet our newest cousins, went shopping, played with the cats and dog, played with cousins, had an early birthday celebration for Josiah, got our eyes checked, played on the slip and slide, ran through the sprinkler, went to a vow renewal and children dedication ceremony, Josiah and Sophie had their first sleepover away from Mommy and Daddy, celebrated Lin-Lin's birthday, visited with some friends and lost a wallet.  We left Valdosta on Sunday and headed to Northern Georgia to spend the night at the Mountain House.  We had LOTS of fun playing at the playground and enjoying God's Creation.  We also learned that the lost wallet had been found and was being mailed.  The next morning, we got up and headed to TN to see Pa Potter, Granny Kay, Aunt Sue and Uncle Don.  While we were there, we had fun playing in their back yard with all the new toys they bought for the kids.  While in TN, Mommy sprained her ankle (it had been raining, I was carrying a 24 pack of water and slipped off the curb) and was pretty much useless for a few days.  We got up the next day and headed to Roanoke, VA to spend the night and meet some dear friends for dinner.  The kids were able to go swimming that night and the next morning before we headed home.


I must say we have some WONDERFUL travelers...we are so thankful!  We love all the memories we made with the kiddos, but at the same time everyone was so glad to be home and able to sleep in our own beds...the first thing Josiah and Sophie did when the got home was climbed the stairs to get their sleeping friends.  That night when I put Kyrie in her bed and started the mobile, she gave a big smile with a screech.  :)    

Trip Summary: 13 days; 5 states; 6 interstates + highways; 1829 miles; driving in LOTS of rain; 7 unloadings and 7 loadings of van; 3 hotels; 3 sets of grandparents; 1 set of great-grandparents; 12 other relatives; a train ride; strawberry picking; lots of green grass to play in; swimming; shopping; Mother's Day celebration; 2 birthday celebration; 5 children dedicated; 1 couple with vows renewed; 5 throw-ups; 1 sprained ankle; 1 fat lip; 9 falls; 1 lost wallet--found and overnighted by FedEx; 3 tired kids, but still GREAT travelers; 360 pictures to last a lifetime.

Yes, we are still alive

Well, it has been FOR-EVER since I have written a journal entry.  Life has been pretty crazy...it seems like I am always saying that...for the Greenwood family.  Maybe crazy is the wrong word...I guess busy is better.

We have continued with our normal weekly activities...family time, ministry, discipling, school, swim classes and then the normal household things like cleaning and cooking...and we can't forget playing with the kiddos.

Besides doing all of our normal activities, we had some extra things that have happened...my grandmother passed away on April 1st.  She lived a long and fulfilling 92 years.  She passed on many traditions and left a legacy for her family.  The biggest thing that she taught all of us is a strong love for our family.  I am at peace with her passing because I know she is in God's hands.  We then hosted 14 people at our house for Easter...we had friends over who didn't have family in the area.  We did a potluck style dinner and let's just say it was YUMMY!!!  A few days after Easter, we left for Vermont to attend my gram's memorial service.  We took two days to travel since the longest Kyrie had been in the carseat for a trip was an hour.  Our days were pretty long because whenever we stopped for lunch it was at least an hour and then we did a bathroom break/feeding Kyrie it was at least 20 minutes.  Kyrie did GREAT though along with Josiah and Sophie.  We did stay at hotels that had indoor swimming pools, so they looked forward to that each night and morning.  We are so thankful that our children are such great travelers.  We are praying that they will do just as well when we head on our big Southern Trip.  We got back from our trip, and two of the three kids got sick.  Some of my family had  a bug while we were there and even though we tried to keep hands cleaned they still got sick.  This bug is super contagious...it has gone through my extended family like the plague...Chris has named it the Nor-sick-ter.  We are thankful that the parents and Kyrie haven't gotten it, and we are praying that it stays that way.  

I know it has been awhile since I've updated what the kids have been doing.  Let's start with Josiah:  He is such a HAM!!!  He really has started trying to do things to make us laugh...and does a GREAT job at it.  He is doing great in school.  He has started reading books to us and has a chart to earn prizes after reading so many books.  He is working on counting to 100 and is getting pretty close.  I think he will do better once I get some of my teaching supplies that are being stored in NC.  We have started doing graphs and he is doing a great job with that. I continue to be very proud of how much of helper and protector.  The other day we were in church and there is this fire safety door that the kids have to go through to get to the nursery.  Josiah and Sophie were running ahead of me and when they got to the door, Josiah gave Sophie a "hug."  I told him it was so nice of him to give his sister a hug, and he told me that he wasn't giving her a hug but was protecting her from the door.  My heart just melted!!!

 Sophie is doing great in school.  She is really starting to take off with her reading, too.  I have noticed that she still has a hard time comprehending some things, and I have to often remind myself that she is only 2.  Her speaking skills and reading skills are amazing, and I often forget that she is 18 months younger than Josiah. She continues to have a fiery spirit...and we LOVE it!  She definitely keeps us on our toes, but we can't picture her being any other way.   We have really been working on her using the potty and is doing an AWESOME job!  She still doesn't tell us when she has to go, but she is keeping her panties dry.  

Kyrie is getting to be such a big girl.  She is doing so much better with sleeping...usually only waking up one time during the night.  She is putting herself to sleep which is nice.  She has also started eating baby food...rice cereal, green beans, apples, pears, squash, sweet potatoes and peaches.  This child LOVES her some food!!!!  We are pretty curious to see how much she weighs at her 6 month check-up.  She continues to be an extremely happy baby.  When she cries, then there is something wrong.  We absolutely LOVE her smile and easy-going personality.  She is able to stand up when we hold...she has some STRONG legs...and sits up when we support her.  She has decided that the rolling thing was over-rated and hasn't done it for awhile.  The other thing that she has discovered is her voice...she makes all kinds of different sounds.  She does quite a bit of fussing...especially when she is eating and we aren't feeding her fast enough!!!

I guess that is all for now.  I am going to try to do a better job keeping this updated.  

More Sickness

Date: 02/26/2012 02:16:23 PM
OK...I'm so ready for "winter" to be done with.  It has been a fairly mild winter temperature wise, but this has been the worse winter for the Greenwood Family as far as sickness is concerned.  There has been someone in the family that has had a cold since the beginning of January..and most recently Josiah had a bout with pneumonia.  As much as I wipe things down, wash hands and have gotten the kids not to put toys or fingers in their mouths, I would think that we wouldn't have been as sick as we have been.  I guess Mommy can't control everything.   This has definitely been a time of learning for me.  The first lesson learned is pretty obvious...I can't control everything.   Even though I have come A LONG way in my walk with God in this area, it is easy for me to slip back in the habit of trying to control things.  Over the last several weeks, I have had to depend on Him for many things...strength and energy to care for sick kiddos after not getting much sleep;  strength and energy to care for kiddos when I haven't felt well; patience, patience and more patience with kiddos and a mommy who have cabin fever; and encouragement when it would be so easy to get down.  I share all those things to say that God is good, and He has met me right where I needed Him to.  Another thing I re-learned, is being thankful for our kiddos.  I know I sometimes take them for granted.  Last week after Josiah was diagnosed with pneumonia, I slipped into a small pity-party, but God got my attention rather quickly.  He reminded me that I should be thankful that I have kiddos who can get sick and that we have a pediatrician to take them to.  Some reading this might be thinking, "Has she lost her mind?"  or "Maybe she needs to go take a nap because her brain obviously isn't working right."  But let me explain...I am thankful that God has blessed us with three wonderful children.  We have quite a few friends that we know who are trying to get pregnant and are having a difficult time. So when God told me that I need to be thankful that I have kids who can get sick, I totally got it and my attitude changed from having a pity party to being thankful for sick kids and all.  Thank You, God, for reminding me what is important in life and for the privilege of these three wonderful children.    

 Even in the midst of all this craziness, we have had LOTS of fun hanging out as a family.  We have laughed quite a bit.  Chris and I were just talking the other day how this season has brought us closer together.  I do want to give a BIG shout out to the hubs because he has been super wonderful...even surprised me with a little shopping trip yesterday since I had been in the house so much and carrying a lot of the weight with caring for the kiddos.  He truly is a gift from God, and I'm so thankful for him!

 Well, I guess it is time to wrap it up.  Please continue to pray that the Greenwood Family is done with sickness for awhile.  If we aren't, then pray that we depend on God for strength and energy to get through another round.

 PS--I almost forgot....Kyrie is now rolling from her back to her stomach!!!

Valentine's Day 2012

02/15/2012 03:12:58 PM
Well, last night we celebrated our 2nd Annual Valentine Tradition...still trying to come up with a fun name, but nothing has come to me yet.  Hmmmm...still nothing.

Last year we had so much fun getting all dressed up in our fancy clothes and taking the kids out, we decided to do it again this year.  Josiah and Chris went to run an errand yesterday afternoon and came back with a rose for each of the girls.  Chris gave Sophie and Kyrie their roses and Josiah gave me my rose.  Then the girls headed upstairs to get all dolled up while the boys put on their suits.  After we were all dressed, the boys came to our bedroom door and knocked to ask us out on a date.  Josiah took Kyrie and me to IHOP for dinner...he was super sweet trying to open the doors for us...trying to be a gentleman.   Chris took Sophie to Wendy's...she let him know she wanted a cheeseburger from there...to show her how she should be treated as a lady.  I really enjoy our tradition...it is a great opportunity to show them how they should treat others and how they should be treated.  Well, that is all for now.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day...however you decided to celebrate.