Successful Saturday

As I said earlier this week, Kirby has started talking up a storm and developing in cognitive ways on an amazing level. I know that this is when they learn and soak up the most (the first 3 years of their life they learn more than ever), but it is just amazing to me. When my mom came to visit a few weeks ago, she tried to teach Kirby that she was "so, so, so big". As mom said this, imagine her hands going up and getting higher and higher as she did it. Every once in awhile I will do it, but not much. Yesterday afternoon CR was playing with Kirby in his big, hideous chair while I was at the sink washing bottles. He was asking her how big she was and this is what I witnessed:

To make sure she was intentionally doing this, I asked her how big she was:

 This morning after she woke up they were playing peek-a-boo.  She loves to do this with daddy and lately she has been putting his hands over his eyes and pulling them off.  This morning when she did it, she said .....

 ..."a-boo".

Some other interesting things she is doing more of:
-When I say, "Hello, hello Kirby" she puts her hand or whatever she has in her hand up to her right ear and says "i".  Sometimes she says something else, but usually it is in the form of "hi" or "hello".
-When you say "bye", even if you are on the phone or not even talking to Kirby, she starts waving.
-When you are talking to Kirby and telling her "bye-bye", she waves both hands as fast as she can and almost jumps out of our arms she is so excited about it.
-Walking down the table, chair, couch, walls ... basically anything she can "balance" against.
-Sitting with daddy in his chair in the morning to watch the morning news.  She never relaxes any other time.
-Talking/playing with anyone we meet or see, and most of the time reaching out to go to them.
-We have been Skyping with my parents the last few weeks pretty regularly, so when we walk by the computer she starts waving "hi" to it.

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." 2 Peter 3:18

Freedom Friday ... insurance malarky

I don't like for my blog to end up being a place where I rant and rage all the time, but today is Freedom Friday so that is what I am going to do.  What in the world has this country come to with insurance?  For those who do not know, (because I sure did not until it came across to me) since we have such wonderful elected officials in congress there is no longer maternity coverage with individual insurance.  CR is self employed.  We do not have a group to get group insurance.  Group insurance is your only option for maternity coverage.  So I thought, well, maybe I will just check and see how much it would be if we paid cash to the doctor and hospital next time around.  Since I would have health insurance, you can get a "discounted rate".  Kirby was born via emergency C-section, so from now on I have to have them.  There is a slim chance you can deliver after C-sections, but in my case I think I will have to have them from now on.  Something about after a certain point the baby could not progress anymore.  Anyhow, I knew in the back of my head about how much it would cost because I remember the bills that we got before all the insurance had kicked in.  Are you sitting down?  The doctor side of things wasn't too bad - your looking at close to $5000.00 between office visits, labs, minimal sonograms/ultrasounds, and a normal pregnancy and C-section.  Now the hospital side of things will make you vomit.  Remember there has to be an anestesiologist, assistant surgeons, nurses, all the meds they use, you staying there, etc.  If everything goes "normal", $20,000.00!  Total it would cost no less than $25,000.00!  What?  MALARKY, MALARKY, MALARKY!  Thankfully I have an awesome sister (go see her at Freedom Insurance if you need anything) who researched some plans and helped us come up with a good choice.  I did not know, but you can stay on the school's insurance through Cobra and pay your own premium for up to 18 months.  That gives us 18 months to get all this together and figure out how Patrick Farms can be a group.  Either that or we over turn Obamacare and get it back to the way it used to be.  I vote the later.  Now I'm done (Dad, that's for you!)

Poor precious has been sick the last 2 days.  Wednesday I noticed when she was asleep she had a dry cough, then yesterday she was sneezing out of control all day long with a runny nose, last night we were up a lot with coughing, stuffy nose, and earache.  She kept holding her ear today and was so fussy, so we decided to take her in.  Allergies more than likely, but she did have drainage in her ear and the start of an ear infection.  We caught it before it was bad, though (just like last time).  Like I told the doctor, I know when she feels bad because she never fusses and the whole hand on the ear thing was new.  It was kind of confusing because lately she has been putting all her toys up to her ears and pretending they were phones.  It is so cute - she doesn't say "hey" or "hello", just starts jabbering away.  I think she is around many people who are always on the phone! 

"Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers." 3 John 1:2 

Thankful that these are the days of my life

I am so thankful that this is how we start everyday.  Well, mine and Kirby's day.  This is after we have had breakfast with Daddy and he is off in the field.  We walk every morning.  There have been a handful of mornings that we have not gotten to have our walk for one reason on another, and it seems to change the whole day.  This is more of a walk for seeing things and enjoying all that God has to offer us out here, not really exercises.  Speaking of which, I am finally getting into a routine of that again - thankfully!  She doesn't always keep the shades on, but it is a good habit to try to form!

 When we get back from our walk, she usually is relaxed and ready for her morning nap, which lasts anywhere from 1-2 hours ... usually closer to 2.  During that time I get to have my quiet time, start laundry or that day's chores, catch up on emails or phone calls, and workout.  As soon as nap time is over, it is time to play.  No time to snuggle for a minute, put her down to play.  She loves to discover new things.  This is a wheel off of a plastic storage unit in my Mary Kay closet.  She found it today while I was putting together some Loaded Look Books.  She looked at it for a few  minutes just like this, then held it up to me, then pulled it back, and so on and so forth.  I love this age - so curious.  I am so thankful that I get to be home to see her discovering.  

More on discovery.  Like I said, I have been able to get a workout routine going again.  Tuesday I started p90X over - whew ... and what better place to workout then on the extra cushy mat that we have for Kirby to play on.  Don't worry, I wipe it down with the super safe toy cleaner when I am finished.  Anyhow, today (after 2 days) she discovered my workout band.  She loved this thing.  It kept her entertained long enough for me to empty the dishwasher and snap some shots. 

 I am thankful for the Mary Kay opportunity.  I do not use my time as wisely as I might should to do this business better, but right now it is fun.  Right now I have a few handfuls of faithful customers that I get to take care of.  Right now, I feel that is all I can have on my plate while I soak up Kirby time.  I think that since I missed so much the first 9 months, I do not want to be apart from her much.  I have a hard time leaving her and missing out on her day when I run errands, so I am not ready to start having appointments all the time without her.  I took her to one and that was more work than I expected.  For now, though, I am thankful that I get to help women with the #1 skin care, I get to help them feel empowered when they open their own shop, and I am helping my skin by using the product.  She takes another nap around 1 and that lasts from an hour to two as well.  Sometimes I get a cat nap in there, but usually it is just a little down time for me and then back to paying bills, returning calls, selling skin care, etc.  When she gets up we play some more (hide and seek, chasing around the house, dance around the living room, swing on the porch, look at Boots) and then head up to feed the dogs who are, sadly, still up at the old house.  Sometimes we go visit Grinny and Daddy Ray some more.  While I fix dinner she will play by herself or watch Baby Einstein.  I was a little unsure about how much TV ... everything I have read says NO TV until after 2.  Well, that was abandoned when I had to go back to school.  The TV stays off all day around here except for music, and then I put on one of her learning videos.  Since I have been doing this, her vocabulary and babbling has quadrupled.  I know this is the age that it gets better and starts to come out more anyway, but I believe it has so much to do with these brilliant videos.  There are words in there that we have been working on for awhile before, and within this last week I can clearly hear her say them, such as "duck", "go", "head".  She tries to do Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes and tries to say some of the words as I sing it.  I don't want an ADD child from watching too much TV, but the more vocabulary they hear and from different sources is beneficial, that I know from my good education at Texas A&M.

This is how we end our day.  Happy on all accounts.   I am so thankful that these are our normal days.  I am so thankful that I get to make these memories with Kirby.  Today we had a full blown tickle fight with big, huge belly laughs.  She was tearing up she was laughing so hard.  Thank you Lord for giving me this opportunity, no matter how much we have to sacrifice to keep it. 

"Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever."

1 Chron. 16:34

Busy and blessed!

My Views of Kirby on Wordless Wednesday

"...to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." Titus 2:5

Sermon Sunday .. on Wordless Wednesday

Thankfully we were able to make it to Sunday evening service.  I wasn't going to post anything, but the Lord has really been placing sharing this on my heart.  This is a really hard subject for me to grasp and to talk about it, because part of it breaks my heart, so I will not be able to pour much into this post.  But, I am going to share what I feel is most important.  Bill preached on the First and Second Resurrection.  Right now, before we get too deep, understand this: YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF THE FIRST RESURRECTION.  How do you get to be a part of that?  Ask the Lord to be your personal Lord and Saviour.  "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9  You can do it right there where you are.  Stop reading and pray.  If you want someone to talk to you more about this, call me now.  I have an entire outline we can walk through for you to understand.  Back to the resurrections.  The first one is for God's select.  This is for His saved people.  Those who are "Dead in Christ" 1 Thes. 4 will rise first.  You will reign with Christ for eternity.  (Col. 3:4; Matt. 25:21)
The second resurrection is for those people that are lost.  You do not want to be here for this.  (Dan. 12:2; John 5:29; Matt. 10:28) You want to be long gone and reignin' with Him.  This is what breaks my heart.  I know way too many people that are in that second resurrection.  It breaks me.  It should break me more often than when I hear messages like this.  I always cry when Bill preaches on this subject matter.  I do not want some of my own family and my friends and my students and .... to not be with me in Heaven.  Here is where I really get tingly and numb: if you die without Christ, whatever you die "with" will be with you forever.  If you die with cancer, you will always have that cancer pain and never have the medicine to cure it or help the pain go away.  If you die as a sexual predator, you will have that desire forever without any way to fulfill it.  If you die as an addict to drugs or alcohol, you will constantly want one more hit or one more drink, and never be able to fulfill that desire.  Ever.  For all of eternity.  While being pretty darn hot if I can imagine. 
Here is a great way to sum it up: If you are born twice (once from your mother, then once born again in Christ), then you will only die once (your physical death).  If you are only born once, then you will die twice.  Where do you fall?  What resurrection will you be a part of?  If you can not say with 100% certainty in your heart that your going with the first, do something about it now.  Call me, call a pastor, just drive to a church and tell them you want to pray with them ... call on the Lord is all you have to do.  Just do it, don't put it off.
"For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God..." Job 19:25-26

Weekend update ... ha, like SNL

We got busy Friday and Saturday... well, not busy actually.  CR was off, so I was busy being not busy with him.  We just enjoyed him being home with us most of the days.  So instead of a long, drawn out freedom of speech, I am just going to share some cute updates about Kirby. She is trying very hard to walk on her own and she talks to everyone, everything, every non thing in sight.  It is such a fun activity to make up what she is saying.  She has a fascination with bags: 

 She really likes to wave now that she has it down.  Yesterday I asked her where her daddy was (he had to go spray for a couple of hours):

 She pointed towards the door as she said, "dadda, dadda, dadda" ....

 and then started waving sporadically.  I think she was basically saying, "dadda, bye bye"

 At Home Depot Friday night she was visiting with a little girl and then the little girl told her bye-bye.  She waved, and waved, and waved ...

even long after the little girl was gone.

CR and I had to miss out on the church service this morning.  When we got finished teaching Sunday School, our nursery pager was going off.  Kirby was super tired and very fussy.  So we hoped in the Patrick's car and decided to take her for a ride to fall asleep.  She got her morning nap in and was ready for Sunday lunch with the usual crowd.  We did, thankfully, get to teach our Juniors Sunday School class again and we really enjoyed it.  The students are starting to open up more and share so that we aren't just up there "preaching".  They are getting involved, we worked through some real life applications of our message last week and this week, and I even talked to them about applying what we hear Bill preach every Sunday.  It is totally different, they say, then what they used to do, but they seem to be enjoying it and participating well.  I told CR, "This is what the Lord has placed on our hearts to do, and we have to do His work, not our own."  It would be much easier just to sit and visit the whole time like they claim they do, but that is not our "job".  Their eyes and hearts told me they were craving what we were doing, so we went with it even more this time and had a great response.  Thank you Lord for this opportunity for CR and I to share and grow right along side with these kiddos.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt. 28:19-20

Thankful Thursday

Today I have been reminded about how thankful I am for my salvation.  I am so thankful that I know God as my personal Lord and Saviour.  I am so thankful that He gives me what I don't deserve and doesn't give me what I do deserve.  I can not imagine going through life without Him.  There are so many things that I know I fall short of, but just to know that I am saved and walk with Him daily is so refreshing.  I can not imagine a world of darkness, uncertainty, and despair.  Because of Him, I have hope(Jer.17:7-8)  Because of Him, I know I am going to spend my life in Heaven for eternity.  (John 3:16)  Because of Him, we had the faith to keep going when we were longing so much for her:

Because of Him, we know that we will make it through without me teaching.  Our hope and salvation is in Him, not this world and the temporal things that make it.  Because of Him, I can face tomorrow, no matter what is in store.  I owe my life, to you my Lord ... here I am.

"How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me."  Psalm 116:12

Wordless Wednesday



"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4

Tenacity

Tenaciously trying to hold tight to these memories of Kirby Rose.  She is so much fun and developing her own quirky personality.  She is quite the character.  Over the past week, she has gone from 4 teeth to 8 teeth.  The new 4 aren't all the way in yet, but they are all pushing through at the same time.  She is constantly gnawing on her hands.  The other day she gnawed so hard she hurt herself.  Didn't learn her lesson, though, because hands in mouth have been the story today. 
Since I have been quite the cowgirl lately, Kitty has been keeping Kirby while we are gone.  They have so much fun together.  Today when I went back up there they were doing the cutest thing in the kitchen.  Kirby would crawl towards Kitty and Kitty would walk over her (straddled of course).  Kirby would get to the other side and look up and giggle, then do it all over again.  Snapshot on both accounts.  Granny was having a ball and so was Kirby. 
She is trying to say more and more words.  She babbles all day long and sometimes I can make out what she says.  The other day I said, "fudruckers" when I stubbed my toe and I swear she said it back.  Just the sound I know, but it made me laugh instead of cry about my toe!  She is working hard on the "b" sound.  She says a form of "duck".  I knew that would come close to first because we have so many on our walls and we talk about them all the time, tell them goodnight, and sing to the one in the tub.  Tonight when I was rocking her she yawned big, said "mumma, mumma, mummma" and then put her head on my shoulder.  Snapshot.
She is still being good about sharing and giving.  She loves to play independently, but likes it even better if you play with her.  Sometimes she acts like she doesn't know what to do when someone sits there with her ... so excited and doesn't know where to start so she just hides her head in my lap.  Snapshot.
She loves her daddy and loves when he can be home.  Lately he has to work most of her wakeful hours, so mornings are all they get.  Saturday he got a little bit of rain so they shut down for the day.  You could tell that she had a little more chip in her chipper with daddy around.  She was excited and giddy.  She held him close when he picked her up and there were sweet moments throughout that entire day.  Snapshot.
The other day I came across some pictures that Kitty had taken throughout the time she kept Kirby during the day.  I chose some of her favorite things she did while there:

This was before I was actually back to school ... first time we left her to run errands though!

Sleeping in Granny's arms - this never happens anymore!  So glad we have this photo!

The animal/number spinner that she still plays with everytime we go up there!

She liked to get into the bottom book shelf, so Granny got smart with a baracade!

She wants to learn how to sew!

Probably her favorite thing to do ... ride in Daddy Ray's car.

And talk on his phone!

Happy girl in her high chair, probably throwing all the toys on the floor just like that ...

"My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways." Proverbs 23:26

Moving (cows) Monday

Last Wednesday night CR said his dad was bummed out because his high school work hand was not going to be able to come Thursday to help him sort and load cows.  I asked if I would be able to do it, not knowing it was a week long project.  I say this just so you know I was in over my head when I volunteered, but I have enjoyed every moment of it.  Have you heard the song, "She Thinks We're Just Fishing"?  It's a country song ... can't remember the artist ... maybe Trace Adkins.  Anyhow, it talks about a daddy taking his little girl fishing and how he is building memories, but she thinks they are just fishing.  That song came to my heart this morning as we were driving over to the cattle lease and visiting.  I have had so much fun hanging out with Ray and (trying) to help.  For the most part we usually get done what we needed to get done.  It is extremely hot (the weathermen had fire on the forecast), though, and the pens at this place aren't designed too well.  I am certain an Aggie was not the engineer of them.  Nothing is square, so when you are trying to get them in the trailer it doesn't always go as planned.  So we go back another day and get what we missed and so on and so forth.  Good stuff.  Here is a picture of me today once we finally made it home ... safely and no heat strokes:

The iPhone didn't do it justice ... I was as red as a beet!  I also like working the cows with Ray because it reminds me of times I used to work them with my dad at his place in Bedias.  The first night after we worked the cows I told Ray, "You know, I could work cattle every day."  I guess he took it to heart ... and I am thankful because it has been fun!

Here is CR's latest daily agenda:

Strip the cotton!  Yes, I say he is stripping when people ask where he is.

 Dump the cotton from the stripper to the buggy.

 Buggy dumps on the module builder.

Modules lined up on along the rows to be picked up and taken to the cotton gin.

There you go, hit repeat about 50 times. 

"Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper and be satisfied."  Proverbs 13:4