Going on with Life

Well, this past month has made all the difference in the world in our home. Natalie is finally what I would call completely settled in. She will now play on the floor alone, she goes to sleep by herself, and I have atleast a new "normal" life. Praise the Lord. After 2 entire months of sitting in our big recliner holding her in my arms and after more than a week of listening to her cry because I wasn't holding her, she finally realizes that I'm not leaving her, that she can play in the floor alone, she can sleep in her crib, and yes, she can go to sleep on her own. That last thing was totally new to me....I'd NEVER put my big kids to bed ALONE, and let them go to sleep ALONE. I've always been the mommy that wanted the very attached children.....but Natalie would take any sane person over the edge. She would only go to sleep in her bouncy seat, and if I got up out of THE CHAIR, she instantly woke up and cried, and no she would not go back to sleep. So after I finally figured out that it WAS OK for her to cry, I began putting her in her crib, turning on the big box fan, and let her cry it out on her own. She also would not sit alone in the floor....at all. So there we had to let her cry it out too. Man, that was a hellish 2 weeks. Pardon my language, but there is no other way to describe it. I honestly thought I was loosing my mind.

Now, I'm so very proud to tell you that Natalie is a very good baby. She'd still prefere that I carry her most of the time, and I do a great deal, because I like it too, but I am able to clean my house, ride in the car with out her screaming the entire way, spend some time with the older kids, and Natalie is okay. I am so very proud of her, and of myself for helping her though that rough time. Praise God!!!!!!

Natalie is also much more independent.....when she came home she was 5 months old and couldn't pick up a toy and bring it too her mouth. Her hand-eye coordination was not good at all. She also couldn't roll over---either way. But Josh didn't roll over either. I think that due to her breathing problems she had before, she simply couldn't breath well enough to be on her stomach. But today, she is rolling over, both ways, she will get onto her knees from lying on her belly, she can rock back and forth on all 4's, and sit up from that position. It's awesome. But I'm loosing my little baby so fast. She can say 3 words, dada was her 1st during her
6th month, mum mum (mom mom)and bub bub (Josh) just this past month. Let me tell you, you've never seen a prouder big brother than Josh was when she said bub bub. Now sissy (Ashley) is so darn jealous. It's so precious to see how much they adore their little sister.

I am loving being a stay at home mom. It's a blessing and an honor and something that I never take for granted. But I have to share with you that we are having some financial difficulties and I ask that you help us to pray about those, that God can take care of it all in his own way. I really don't want to go back to work. I am a much better mommy when I don't have the stress of my job to deal with too. For those of you who don't know, I'm an ER nurse besides a mommy. I love my job, but it is very emotionally tiring. Eddie is still going to school full time besides working, so it's very hard on him too. He'll finish up his bachelor's degree in Nursing this May.. he's an ER nurse too, and is planning to go to Vanderbilt University this fall to obtain his master's degree, and will be a Nurse Practicioner by May of 2011. He will have to go to school on student loans to complete this last part, but already has a physician that will pay those off for us if Eddie will work in his ER for 3 years. What a blessing it will be to get those loans paid off, but we have to get approved for the loans first. So we would greatly appreciate your prayers as we work through all this. With the worsening economy, the hospital where Eddie works has cut out all the overtime, and that has caused us to fall short on our monthly budget, so it's definately not been easy for us. Thanks in advance for your prayers.

I'll post some pictures this week. We've had a tough couple weeks. We've recently had a death in the family---my uncle who had terminal throat cancer went to be with Jesus last week, and my grandmother has been in the hospital and is now home, but is on oxygen all the time.---Both my uncle and grandmother are/were smokers.....so anyone out there that smokes, or has family that does.....well, you know they need to quit.