Beginner's luck???

Okay, so the past couple of days Emma has been constipated. (Marissa, seriously, where is this going? Bare with me on this.) Due to the difficulty with the poo, it's pretty obvious for us to tell when she is going (or trying to go). So it made me think, now might be a good time to introduce a potty chair. From the straining to the time of poo evacuation is at least a minute, so there would be ample time to disrobe the baby and stick her on the chair. I'm definitely not going to be forcing my daughter to be potty trained by 18 months, but I at least would like her to be familiar with the idea of not relieving herself in her pants all the time.

Well, Emma got a Target gift card for Christmas from her Great Uncle Mike and Great Aunt Sue. We ran to Target and purchased Emma's first potty (she also got some bath toys). The one pictured isn't THE potty, but you get the idea.
John was caught up at work and they needed him to stay late, so I was trying to keep Emerson occupied enough so that she would stay awake until he got home. So I got chili started and simmering on the stove. Emma finished her dinner. So I decided to give her a bath before she took her bedtime bottle. I figured we'll be up in the bathroom and she'll be in her birthday suit anyway, might as well plop her on it and see how she reacts.

The seat is still a little too high for her and her feet couldn't touch the ground, so she used me for balance (her version doesn't have the handles on the side). I really didn't think anything would happen considering she hadn't been straining or anything of that regard, but sure enough when she decided to get off her potty, she had left a little number two behind.

Anywho, it was probably beginner's luck and I'm not going to force it. It was just crazy that she happened to actually use it for its primary purpose on the first try.

apparently not "blogging."

So, December wasn't the best month for me as far as adding to this site. I really don't have an excuse, just laziness I suppose. Maybe January '09 will prove to be better.

I'm not really sure what the purpose of this blog will continue to be. For lack of any clear direction, I will probably just post random things happening to me and our little family.

For now, we are finishing up the house. It will hopefully be on the market at the end of January. We aren't in any particular HURRY to sell, sell, sell, but we do want to be debt free (which we will if we get anywhere close to market value) and able to move at any time. I requested some information from a few local realtors. We will see how it goes!

This is a picture of Emerson opening up gifts at Grandma and Grandpa Sharbaugh's house on Christmas Eve. Notice she is not wearing her cute outfit, but rather boy-looking pajamas. She pretty much spent most of the day in just socks and a diaper because of "accidents." John was the unfortunate one who picked her up not realizing she had blown out and it was slowly creeping up her backside. Good times. (By the time her b-day came around, she was pretty good at opening gifts!)

Okay, that's all. We're still all sick and hopefully John will be able to make it into work tomorrow. Poor guy. He got what Emerson and I are recovering from PLUS he caught something else at work on Monday. He's not doing so hot :(.

Living Every Little Girl's Dream

It's amazing how easy it is to get caught up in the mundane details of life and forget about the big picture and to fret about current life situations. For instance, all afternoon Emerson was being especially whiny AND I didn't have any familiar doctors to type for at work (not good when you get paid for productivity) AND there's still so much to be done on the house before we can put it on the market that just stares at me all day AND just the everyday upkeep and cleaning I am responsible around the house--so much to do and never enough time.

But, there's always enough time to do that which is important to you. So I was thinking, when I was little, what did I always want? I wanted a husband to cook for and a baby to take care of, all I wanted was to "play house." That's what's important, my family and what we are doing to honor God.

Today, it hit me. I'm living the life I've always wanted. I have a husband who loves me more than anyone I've ever known and who loves God even more than me. He doesn't have all the answers and in no way should I expect him to. We are learning, day by day, what God has in store for us. He doesn't love his job by any means, but we've been blessed and it pays the bills every month. Not only that, but he yearns for more--for himself, for us, and for our God. We are pursuing options that have been laid out before us as far as full time ministry. Our first thought was teaching English in China because the people there are yearning to know English, but what more a need can be met with the hearing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. More recently, we have been drawn to a ministry opportunity with Purdue University using English as an open door to international students. They have over 5,000 int'l students this year from over 120 countries. What an opportunity we could be a part of here in Indiana!

Not only do I have an amazing husband, but I have a healthy baby girl who amazes me every day with something new that she is learning. She tackles simple things like clapping or shaking her head in response to a question or climbing into and out of a chair. When she sets her mind to it, she is starting to master bigger things like climbing the stairs like a pro and taking a few steps at a time. She can be a real handful some days (most days she's a little angel), but one smile at her mommy makes everything worth it. I don't think she will ever know how much she means to me. Hopefully, I'll soon be able to introduce her to a baby brother or sister.

All in all, I've got nothing to complain about it. God is good.

First Steps!!

Yep. She did it. Emma took her first steps today. Almost 11 months. That's so crazy to think that 11 months ago she was still in my belly and today walking. Okay, not exactly walking, but 4 or 5 legitimate consecutive steps. Sorry, dad, you were out here JUST A WEEK too early.

I'm trying to figure out ideas for family Christmas gifts and all that... oh the possibilities (especially when people don't give much help with hints ;))

That's all for now. I'm tired and it's only 9:30. Ridiculous.

God's gentle reminders that He is in control.

It's amazing to have a day when you can sit back and realize that God really is in control, even in the little things.

This morning I had an appointment at WIC for both Emerson and I at 8:30. I had searched for an hour or so last night for my WIC folder. I had just cleaned up the house for when Dad and Karla were out here and knew that I had seen it somewhere--just wasn't sure where. Well, I thought I had all the paystubs and things gathered that I needed for me to re-apply (apparently, you're still eligible for x amount of months after a miscarriage). I could only find three of the pay stubs, so i had to grab another one out of our finance binder. Sure enough, when I opened it, I found the folder I had been looking for just in time for my appointment.

Then I realized it was already 8:10 and Emma was still sleeping and obviously I hadn't made her bottle. I get her up and get things going and I'm out the door with only 10 minutes to get to the south side of Indianapolis. I showed up only 5 minutes late for my appointment, but it didn't really matter because they were already running behind due to computer issues so it really wasn't a big deal.

Because of the computer issues, the appointment took a little longer than expected. I did find out that Emma is 51% in weight and 52% in height--about as average as they come! 19lb 6oz and I can't remember the height. Her pediatrician said she should be around 20 by 1 year, so we're right on track! Anywho, John called me on his first break just as I got in the car and was headed to the cemetery. I had looked online this morning and found that the cemetery was only 2 miles from the WIC office, so I thought I would look for Jordan's gravesite before I went back to the house. Our system was going to be down for work at 9:30, so I had some time to fill. It makes sense to me now though that the hospital I delivered Jordan at is a Catholic hospital and that religion recognizes an infant is life at conception. They hold a memorial service for the babies which were miscarried at St. Vincent's from the prior two months. The flowers were still on the gravemarker from the November 1 service.

Well, after leaving the cemetery my plan was to get my work done while Emma napped and then head over to Mom and Dad Sharbaugh's so that I could see some of John's side of the family. Emma fell asleep on the way home, so I thought surely that I wouldn't get a good nap out of her and that I'd have to break my work up into two parts. As soon as we got home I put her in her crib and thankfully she fell right to sleep. Like I said before, the work system was down so I was worried I wouldn't have any easy reports to transcribe. Sure enough, there weren't any doctors on the system I was familiar with. I prayed, "Lord, you're in control." As soon as I submitted my first report the hospital downloaded a ton of audio onto the system. Not only were there a lot of easy doctors, but I was able to submit all my work (my personal goal is $20/day--takes me 2 hours on a good day) JUST as Emma started making noises in her crib. Not only did I finish my work in Emma's nap, BUT I was able to do so in 1 hour and 45 minutes (I avg'd $13/hr--SWEET!) I got Emma up, we ate lunch, gave her a bath, and just as we were packing all our stuff up to go to Mom and Dad's, Julie called to make sure I remembered that today was Thursday when she was going to be in Brownsburg.

I know that it doesn't really seem like much, but when I'm at a time like this where I have NO CLUE what specifially God would have for my little family, it's nice to be gently reminded that He is always in control of my surroundings. What an amazing God that am I able to serve!

Highlights from the weekend

This is us happy after the Colts scored!


Well, the HIGHLIGHT of the weekend was being able to spend time with family. But, a close second was spending some of that time at Lucas Oil Stadium and seeing the Colts beat the Texans. SWEET! Oh, and we were on the goal line in the second section up from the field.

Also, my sweet darling Emerson decided she was going to ham it up at the restaurant during dinner. Too funny! I let her suck on my lemon and she got the classic "lemon face." Well, then she started just moving her mouth as close the lemon wedge as she could without actually getting any of the juice in her mouth. She would then quickly pull her head back and make the same face shaking her head. Not only that, but she would "coyly" look to the side to make sure everyone was watching her performance.

I'm sure there will be more to follow, but I'm pooped and off to bed. Have a good night!

Where would you have us go, Lord?

Quite the concept to grasp. So many questions. So few answers. Now what? In perfect timing with regard to our questions, I came across this missions article:

"Called to a Field" by Bill Commons, Strategic Initiative and Research for ABWE missions agency. (for the entire article: http://message.abwe.org/vol56no04/Called-to-a-Field.html)

Is the call to missions geographic? Many missionaries speak of how God called them to their field. What about those who sense God moving them into missions, but who have never had a “call” to a particular field? Can someone be called to missions without having a specific location in mind?

Dedicated believers who desire to be missionaries can go through life without feeling called to a particular location. I wonder how many never “go” for this reason

It is often assumed that the missionary call is to a field. Without that specific certainty, the call might be questioned.

God calls to a vocation and leads to a location. The same principal that applies to pastors also applies to missionaries

As God reveals His purpose for strategic life investment, unreached peoples and places come into focus.
The Lord of the harvest is still calling disciples out of local churches to go to the nations with the gospel. He is leading them step by step to the people and place where they will serve.

This article obviously doesn't answer all of our questions. But it gives us assurance that a heart for missions is what we have and even though we don't know right now where God will place us, we can step forward knowing that He will show us the way. In the meantime, we are getting the house in selling condition. We are praying to get $115,000 for it. Other homes in our neighboorhood are listed for just above that, so it's not an unreasonable figure. We are also researching the locations and ESL opportunities in which we are interested in possibly pursuing (Mexico, Spain, China, and campus ministry to internationals in the US).

We are very thankful for those who have come alongside us, shared our enthusiasm, and encouraged us to pursue a life in missions. It will not be an easy road, but with God's grace we will move forward one step at a time.