new blog

Check out our new blog at www.smeter.blogspot.com! If you don't think I am crazy now, you will after reading what our family is doing! ENJOY....and please post lots of comments!

Seeing answers to prayers

I love looking back at old journals and being able to see how God has answered prayers. In the past week or so I have been going back through the Purpose Driven Life book. Today's lesson was about trust. The question at the end of this chapter was in what areas do you need to trust God the most? I started reading what I wrote approx 5 years ago......I wrote that I needed to trust God with having more children. It was a very difficult time in our life. I had just experienced two miscarriages and so desperately wanted to have more children, particularly a boy! I wrote that I needed to trust God with having more children on 9/23 and guess what happened exactly 9 months later to the day???? I delivered the most beautiful boy in the world! I was already pregnant when I wrote that, but I am sure I didn't know.

Today, I was reminded that God's plan for our lives is far greater and bigger than any plan we could create.

Psalm 147:11 The Lord is pleased with those who worship him and trust his love.

love this

It's CONTAGIOUS!

No, it is not an illness this time, although Radlee was up coughing all night. This morning I have witnessed just how much my attitude is like a virus. The old saying "when mommy isn't happy, no one is happy" is such a true statement. Also, when mommy wakes up with joy, it seems to equally affect everyone in our home.

After reading yesterday's post, you might be tempted to call mobile crisis, but hold the phone, a ray of sunshine is peeking through that cloud of gloom. I admit I have a love/hate relationship with days like yesterday. Oh how I hate that feeling of despair. I hate feeling like everything is falling apart; but I love the brokenness that brings me back to the loving arms of my Savior. I love how He allows me to repent of the ways I have pushed Him aside, yet He forgives me and wipes my slate clean. I love the way brokenness forces me to examine my heart and the many idols I have put before my Father are revealed to me! In response to the place I was at yesterday, I have decided to make a few changes in our home.

1. Regardless of my plans for the day, I need to get up and get ready. It is amazing how a shower and a little make-up can change an attitude.

2. Designated times everyday are going to be electronic free times. This means no TV, computer, xbox, PlayStation, DS.....etc. Hopefully, this will encourage more time spent together playing, reading, and conversing. This is a fairly easy task during the summer months, but on cold and rainy days this is much harder. The TV/games has gotten out of hand lately. It is unhealthy!

3. I am the most excited about this next task.....Jeff and I watched the movie Fireproof a few nights ago. It was a great movie. I know that our church is doing the bible study called The Love Dare that goes along with the movie, but like I said in my previous post, I haven't been to church in awhile. Me and a few friends are going to do this study together without our husbands knowing. I think it will be great to watch just how our marriages can be positively affected, by the changes the wives start making. (shhhh....don't tell Jeff....he doesn't read this blog)

Basically, with this study, there is a different challenge everyday for 40 days. Today's challenge was to avoid saying anything negative to your spouse for the entire day. So far, I am doing a great job! OK......it is only 8:30 a.m., but hey you have to start somewhere!

Although it is only 8:30, I have witnessed how my attitude affects everyone in our home. For instance, this morning, in addition to being positive, I went a step further and offered to cook Jeff some eggs. While I was cooking, he came in and unloaded the dishes from the night before. I was quite surprised. Then I was taking laundry downstairs and Radlee offered to carry the basket down for me. It was so sweet! It is amazing how attitudes truly are contagious!

I hope I can continue on this path towards a new transformation in our home. My desire is that we lead our life as a family in a way that truly honors Christ.

Content

What is wrong with me lately? I just feel so unhappy with so many areas of my life, but am not doing anything to change what I am unhappy with. There ae so many areas that I feel like I am not doing a good job in, but I am doing nothing to fix them. I am just going to lay it all out there....I don't really care who reads this or what anyone thinks of me.

1. I am struggling with laziness! I feel like all I want to do lately is sit around and watch tv. I have been wasting so much time. I am doing ok with my school work but I just seem to be doing enough to get by. I am not really enjoying online classes and think that is part of the reason.

2. I don't feel that I have been spending enough time with my kids. Yes, I am with them all of the time, but I mean quality fun time together.

3. I just feel so horrible about my appearance lately. I always do this in the winter. I hibernate and gain weight and then none of my clothes fit, so I just sit around in my sweat pants and feel sorry for myself.

4. Money.....well the lack of money is always a problem for us this time of the year. I think that is part of my problem.

5. This should have been first and then all of my problems would make sense. I have been so distant from God lately. I haven't had any quiet time or even been to church in a very long time. I work on Saturday nights now, so I just go home and go to bed on Sunday morning. I know that when God is not in the center of everything, all things just don't seem right!

So, this is where I am at right now. I don't exactly know what I plan on doing about these issues, but something has to change!

LIFE

Whew.....it has been a little crazy lately. Working nights, even though it has only been a few lately, is kicking my butt. It is such an adjustment. I feel so bad for always thinking my sister is just being lazy. (oh by the way Ashley, I use to think you were lazy....but I don't anymore ) It totally messes up my sleep pattern. I am now so sleepy around 8 am, and I realized it is because that is my "bedtime" on the nights I work.

About work.....well It is getting some better. I hesitate to write too much, because I don't know who might read this from work! I will just share a few of the details. It was really hard on me at first. It was quite a different crowd of folks than what I am use to. However after the past few weeks, their personality types make much more sense to me. It definitely takes a strong personality to work in the emergency room. All types of people come in and I mean all types!!! Wow! I think I have been living in my own little naive bubble all of my life. I had no idea how many people have serious mental problems. I say that not in a joking way, but in a serious sad way. The need for Christ in so many people's lives is so evident. My hope is that I can be a "light of hope" when I encounter these people! My hope is that my heart doesn't become hard to this walk of life! My hope is that I never become a person that believes I am beyond having the same struggles so many of the people I have witnessed in the past month. I am grateful that life hasn't always been easy for me, because now I feel I have so much empathy for so many of these people. My heart aches when I see a patient that feels they just can't take it anymore! Individuals who think they might be above others drive me insane, and that is probably my biggest struggle while at work.

My sister is getting quite a kick of my mishaps while at work. She finds the stupid things I say quite funny and said I should blog about them. I think she just wants to have a good laugh at my expense. I may share a few things from time to time......remember I am still pretty "green" to this whole medical world. Yes, I know a little from school, but I am not deep into my studies yet. All I can do at ths point is learn from my mistakes and laugh about it at this point.

For instance.........the other night a seriously ill patient came in. It was the first time I had been at work during this type of situation. I was instructed to call a person who I had never heard of and request what I thought she said was a bed. I was nervous and could barely hear all of the commands that were coming from he patient's room. So, I figured out who this person was that I was suppose to call and requested a bed.....which I thought was pretty strange. If the person was dying, why would they need a bed for him? She figured out that they were probably saying vent and not bed.....I felt like the biggest dork!!

A few nights ago we had several admissions. Like I said, I know a lot of the terminology, but I still come across lots of words that I am still figuring out. Also, the doctor's hand writing doesn't help matters. So, I call this time for a bed for an admission. The diagnosis was N/V/D....easy right? I proceed to tell the supervisor the patient has Nivid. I just thought Nivid was another new term that I haven't heard of before. But then.... He said Nivid....I have never heard of that! Then he proceeded to tell me it was nausea, vomiting, diarrhea! I promise the writing was bad and it looked like I's and not /! I just have to laugh at myself!

Funny YouTube Video

Super Bowl Sunday

Here are just a few pictures from our small Super Bowl party. It was also Abbie's birthday, so we celebrated with cupcakes and a few gifts. We all tried to just keep it simple and enjoy each others company. I think the kids had a really good time together too!

Circus fun!

The kids have been begging us to take them to the circus this year, so we just decided to go for it. We went with some dear friends, and I think the kids had a blast. I was really impressed with it this year.

 
 
 
 

My little man!

Radlee has always been so physical. He is really gifted athletically. He is so aggressive, until he gets on the field or on the court. I think he just likes to observe until he really gets it. We just started basketball. He loves going to his games and practices, but when he is in the game he just sort of runs around and does his own thing. I just want him to have fun! I love that he thinks he has done such a great job no matter what. Usually when he comes up to me after the game, I will say something like, "wow, dude you are so awesome". He just says, "I know!!!" I am just glad he is enjoying it for now, and maybe all of the other will come later. Here are a few pictures. I need to try and get some better ones next week. He is happy to be playing on the same team as one of his best buddies,Preston!

the purpose of trials

Like many of you, I set some "realistic" goals for 2009. So far, I am on the right track on some of them, but of course I still need to work on some others. I expect 2009 is going to be a great year for our family. Now for a small little brag session..... Our sweet big boy is growing up and playing basketball now. He had is first game this past Saturday, and it was a hoot! Maddie is getting so big! She is such a sweet,precious girl. She is becoming a really good little reader. Brittany is the best teenager a mom could ever ask for. She does what she needs to do to get straight A's without me even telling her. She has such great goals and ambitions for herself. She is driving once again too. I am just so proud of the beautiful girl she is both inside and out. Jeff and I are striving to work together as a team with our new schedules now that I am working. This has been a struggle, but I know we will get it! My hope is that we will strive to continue to grow in the Lord by seeking the changes needed to develop the character traits He desires for us!

For me, 2009 started off with BIG changes. I switched all of my classes to online this semester. They were pretty easy classes, so hopefully this won't be a change I regret. One of the biggest changes was starting a new job. I have really struggled with this. The job is quite easy, but those lurking feelings of inadequacy and not fitting in with other personality types has been quite stressful. I think this is probably common for most when starting new jobs or maybe I am just a "social dork". Something that has been really helping me during this transition period is a book I have been reading called Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen. My dad is a fan of Joel, so I thought I would see what he really likes about him. I have found that I really like what he stands for. He is a great Godly man with such great biblical advice. His book has been such a blessing! It has completely changed my thinking on many different issues. I wanted to share this paragraph from his book that truly transformed my thinking. I guess this is something I have always known, but for some reason this time it spoke volumes to me.
p 209
God often allows you, too, to go through situations to draw out those impurities in your character. You can rebuke until your "rebuker" wears out. You can pray, you can resist, you can bind, you can loose, you can sing and shout, you can do it all, but it's not going to do any good! God is more interested in changing you that He is in changing your circumstances. And the sooner you learn to cooperate with God, the sooner you'll get out of that mess. The quicker you learn your lesson and deal with those bad attitudes and start ruling over your emotions, the quicker you'll go to the next level in your spiritual journey. We must recognize the refining purpose of trials. We can't run from everything that's hard in our lives.

I love that God knows me and loves me so much to allow me to go through hard situations to mold and refine me. Of course we have to be willing to open our hearts and eyes to see what He is trying to teach us. What is God using to teach you right now?

Stacy's blog

My sweet baby cousin just started a new blog....ok she is not exactly a baby anymore!! Go over and check out Stacy's new blog and leave her lots of comments so she will keep updating! She is one of the sweetest girls on this planet! www.stacyslifestories.blogspot.com

A New Do!

Yesterday, one of my best friends called and wanted me and the kids to go with her to our other bff's house for a play date. I probably just should have just went, but I felt so lousy from working the night before and only being able to sleep for a few hours. (The night shift is taking a little more adjusting than I thought it would) Being the sweet friend she is, Mel asked if she could just take Maddie with her. The kids had a great time. Since one of Melissa's daughters just had her hair cut a week ago, Maddie was dying to get her haircut too. Our other friend Angie's daughter also wanted to get her hair cut, so we decided to let them go together. I reluctantly stayed at home but I got play by play updates on how it was going from Melissa and Angie. Angie also took lots of pictures for me and emailed them later. I can't believe I let Maddie do it without me there, but that just shows the trust I have for Mel and Angie. I am so glad Maddie was able to share this sweet memory with her dearest friends!! When she got home, I thought she looked so adorable and grown up! She loves it too. Here are a few pictures of her "new do". Thanks Melissa and Angie.

Pride

When pride comes then comes shame;but with the humble is wisdom. Proverbs 11:12



Tossing and turning for many hours during the night is a common occurrence. I usually lay there for many hours thinking about a range of different topics. Many times after about an hour or two, I get up and watch discovery health channel and infomercials. Sometimes I resort to taking some kind of medicine such as Tylenol pm, but that only results to feeling even more tired and miserable the next morning. Tonight, I decided to do something productive and get up and write/type all of the thoughts that were racing through my mind about my first day of orientation at the hospital. So that is what I am doing right now at 2:15 am.
Starting a new job for many is a "nerve racking" experience. Cheerfully greeting others and meeting lots of new folks quite frankly is not my "cup of tea". For those rare spunky outgoing folks (you know who you are) it is lots of fun, but for more introverted folks, such as myself, it can be rather painful! Most of us would like to think we really don't care what our peer's opinion is of us, but the fact is most of us desire to be liked and desire to make a good first impression. During today's orientation, the facilitator had us individually introduce ourselves and state the department we would be working in. One by one I heard names followed by RN or some other noteworthy title. Then it was my turn....ummmmm Christy....unit clerk....gee whiz! I felt so inferior and frustrated. I found myself cringing with envy. I wasn't just coveting my neighbor, I was coveting the entire room of people. Good grief, couldn't they at least think of a better title. Why unit clerk?
Here is the deal....I am becoming more aware of my own struggle with pride. Although it is no ones fault except for my own, sometimes I feel frustrated with myself because I am __ years old and still working on my degree. I hate to admit when I don't know something or need help. This is something I know I need to work on. Being content and happy where I am at in this journey is key to living each day to the fullest, which is one of my own New Year's resolutions! Proverbs 27:1 reminds us not to boast about tomorrow, because we don't know what tomorrow will bring.
My desire, as I make my SLOW climb up the education ladder, is that I will not only think about what new opportunities my education will bring, but that my eyes will be open to the opportunities presented each day. Also, I hope I will always be reminded to not judge others by their title. For this lesson, I am grateful to still be at the bottom of the pack. Everyone has different plans and purpose while here on this earth.
There is nothing wrong with seeking and using our God given talents! In fact, I think God wants us to constantly seek and experience our full potential; however, this world often reminds us we must achieve significant "titles" to be considered a success. As a matter of fact, we tell ourselves we must have some remarkable title in order to be of value. Christy, mother of three amazing children, wife of a devoted husband, and daughter of the never-forsaking Heavenly Father should be and IS enough.

Back to reality

I'm back! Whew this past week has been a whirlwind. We are all trying to recover from a short trip to Virginia, get back to school, and start working. I am going to update more tomorrow, but right now I am off to give kids baths, do homework, and start unpacking our bags. Check back tomorrow. I won't let you down!