home from the hospital

if we are friends on facebook or you keep up with me in any other way ( i seem to be much better at updating everything but blogging), you know that i just made it home from a 4 day stay in the hospital. i've had to be pretty vague about everything because we really weren't sure what was going on, but now that i know i can clue you in.

about 3 weeks ago, i started getting really strong stomach pain after eating. like really intense pain beneath my ribs that woke me up in the middle of the night. being 7 months pregnant, i just chalked it up to really bad indigestion. then it started coming almost every time i ate. i started asking around and doing some research myself and had concluded that it was probably a gallbladder issue and could monitor it with my diet.

for a week, i tried to hold fast to a strict gallbladder friendly diet but was only able to eat toast and plain oatmeal. everything else would either make me terribly sick or cause me to throw up. this continued on and by last thursday i was unable to get out of bed. it hurt too much to stand and my stomach was so tender i couldn't change position without curling my toes in pain. those last few days were totally miserable. i couldn't do anything. i cried a lot missing my boys and feeling like i was never going to get better.

so this leads us to last friday. i couldn't stand without feeling like i was going to pass out and laying down was miserable too. early that morning i had started having light contractions and by evening they were 2-3 minutes apart and wrapping around my back. i called my sister (who is a PA), who called my midwife, and she came to check on me. they both agreed i should go to the ER.

they put me on a monitor and immediately checked out the baby, who thankfully looked great. the contractions were every 2-3 minutes apart but weren't doing anything, so i was immediately relieved that i wasn't in labor. they looked over my gallbladder, pancreas, liver, etc. and everything was fine. my blood work checked out as well so they transferred me to a different hospital with an NICU just to be safe.

my contractions continued through the night and i met with a surgeon in the morning who laid out the issue for me. he believed i had an obstruction/block in part of my bowel and that he could put a nasogastric tube in to try to decompress my stomach and hopefully it would correct itself. if that didn't work, i would need surgery, which would put our baby at risk of premature delivery.

a nasogastric tube is a thick tube that goes into your nose, down your throat and into your stomach and is just a miserable as it sounds. i was awake when they put it in and it made me cry like a baby. i had to keep it in for 2 days with no eating or drinking while my stomach decompressed. it was awful.

praise the Lord, my stomach did everything it was supposed to and by sunday the contractions had completely stopped and by monday i was able to get the tube out and start a clear liquid diet. tuesday i was able to eat normal food again and they let me out that afternoon.

it was a big waiting game with that tube, just praying that it would work and that i wouldn't need surgery. i'm so thankful that it did work and that i get to keep our baby safe inside for a few more months. and i'm really thankful for everyone that has carried us through these past few weeks and blessed us in so many ways. thank you for praying and encouraging us, setting up meals for my family, mopping my floors and scrubbing my tub, bringing us meals, and visiting us in the hospital.

and a major shout out to my mom who came and cleaned my house while i was lifeless on the couch, fed me, and kept our boys for nearly a week while i was unable to mommy them. i am blessed to have you and it is such a relief knowing that my boys were cared for the way i would have cared for them even though i couldn't physically do it myself.

as far as the healing process goes, there is always a chance that this could happen again. the surgeon said some of his patients he sees every 6 months and some it only happens once. we're praying we are part of the latter. i'm pretty weak from not eating for a few weeks, but feel like i'm getting back on my feet pretty well. i'm just blessed to be here, with my family and still pregnant.

my corner

i'm only 25 weeks, but i've been in full force nesting mode.

every closet has been cleaned out, winter clothes packed away and all of my half finished projects are being completed.

what was supposed to be my dream craft room is now going to be a nursery (i should have seen that coming) and so we had to find somewhere else to put all of my craft supplies.

i've been stashing them in random places around the house for a few years but thanks to my wonderful hubby they now have place to stay.

we've had that desk forever and one day we'll upgrade, but it works for now.

the metal cabinet i found at a flea market for $30

the hanging containers are from ikea

drew made the shelves.

i told him i wanted to paint them eventually, but i'm not convinced i will. i like natural wood.

and i bought the fruit baskets (storing fabric) from an antique store for $1/ea.

i just love mason jars

like the rain goodies

have you entered to win some yet?

thanks for stopping by!

happy weekend, friends.

GIVEAWAY:: like the rain shop reopened!

a few months ago i received an email from a sweet lady asking if i would be interested in putting my jewelry in her outdoor market she was hosting in april. i took a peek at the location, which is a fantastic old barn, and the details, local and uniquely handmade, and immediately knew i had to do it.

forget the fact that i haven't made a single piece of jewelry since i found out i was pregnant, and when i got the email i was still battling bouts of nausea, etc. i had maybe 10 pieces that were sellable at the time so i had to get busy like, yesterday.

i learned a lot about making jewelry when i started a year ago.

what works and what doesn't, what lasts and what won't.

this time around i have done things a lot differently.

i've switched from resin because my cabs always turned out so inconsistently and i know someone was bound to get high off that awful smell.

i switched the type of metal i was using to one that is much more durable and will withstand tiny hands grabbing and pulling.  this goes for all my jump rings, earrings, rings, chains, etc. everything got an upgrade and that makes me happy.

i'm making things in colors that i love and in styles that i wear.

i've reopened the like the rain shop and to celebrate i'm giving away one of these vintage fabric necklaces to one of you lovely ladies. your pick!

to enter you must be a follower of my blog

to earn extra entries

1. "like" the like the rain shop on FB

2. blog/tweet/status update about this giveaway

3. go over to the shop and tell me which item is your fav.

all who enter the giveaway will be able to use the code "giveaway" to receive 25% off of anything in the store.

because mother's day is in a few weeks and you should treat yourself.

or your mother.

or your sister who is a mother. 

***this giveaway will close Sunday April 22nd at midnight!***

happy commenting!

pretend

i seriously love this part of parenting.

they're growing so much and turning into these funny little guys with great imaginations.

fear and parenting

i guess people's knowledge of kansas stopped after the wizard of oz was created, since that's usually as far as they go with it. i find that  funny.

but, yes, we have tornadoes. every single year. not the kind that whirl your house away to a pretty little munchkin land, just the kind that uproot trees and bust out windows. growing up here that's just a part of life. i have seen too many tornadoes to freak out every time i hear a siren or panic when the sky turns that nasty green color. it just happens.

this past weekend, even though i knew they were coming, even though i had time to prepare and gather flashlights, water and snacks before hand, even still, i opted for the less classy option and for whatever reason, i freaked out.

i hate admitting that because i'm always very calm and not a reactor. i react like a week after something happens and randomly start crying.  by that time i can't really remember why it is that i'm crying just that i need to get it out. it's weird.

last year, when the joplin tornado happened, i followed the aftermath really closely. i have friends that live in joplin and everything that they were going through really affected me. i listened to stories of mom's that were holding on to their kids and were helpless as they were ripped from their arms. parents who were driving the streets looking for their lost children and spouses. my heart broke for them.

when the sirens went off on saturday i realized how truly powerless i am and that scared me. i can't stop a tornado from taking one of my children no matter how tightly i hold them. i don't stand a chance against a storm like that, i'm helpless.

so i cried and worried and kept my babies close to me all night. i prayed under my breath for protection until my sister in law asked if we could pray together. so we did.

as we were praying i remembered something i had seemingly forgotten as those hours were going by. i am weak, i am helpless, but i am not without strength and His arm is not too short to save.   His power is made perfect in my weakness. and i my weakness has never been more apparent to me than at that moment.

so we prayed. we called out families and people we knew by name and asked for their protection. we asked for the storm to move, to stop, to change course. and then i felt peace. like my heart was comforted and i wasn't trying to be the one in control anymore. it was a relief.

these babes are entrusted to me for a time, but in the end, they aren't really mine. some days that's easier to say than others, but i know that it's true.

happy things

contending

when it's early, i'm tired, and i've been fighting caleb back to sleep since 5 am, the trip to the couch to sit with the Lord in the morning is hard.

while laying in bed, i can think of a million reasons why i need to go back to sleep and how i'll be better throughout the day if i just closed my eyes and gave in.

some days i do just that.

but more days than not, i've been making a point to get up, put my feet on the floor and make my way to the couch every morning.

i'm not a morning person. i don't like to wake early and i think that's why this time works best for me.

my house is quiet, my brain hasn't turned "on" for the day, i'm not weighed down with the issues of the day, my body isn't hurting.

those 10 steps to the couch feel like a mile some mornings, but to this day, i have never once left my time with the Lord feeling like i should have just gone back to bed.

his faithfulness to me, even in my tired and sometimes unwilling state, draws me closer to him.

there are days and sometimes weeks that my time is interrupted. like every single day last week caleb woke at 5 and wouldn't go back to sleep until judah was up for the day.

i sat at church on sunday morning feeling exhausted and discouraged and thinking things clearly weren't working. i was frustrated because my kids were fussy during church and i couldn't focus. i was irritated that drew gets to be on the worship team and i am left to watch the kids while he worships. dumb.

at that moment i felt the Lord tell me to not give up because it hasn't been easy, but to contend for my time with him. and to not give into the frustration or be discouraged about my kids in church, but to contend to have them sitting at his feet and to know the presence of the Lord.

contend...that was clearly the Lord because that word is not in my vocabulary. 

i'm a quitter. if something is proving itself difficult i'll find a loop hole and wiggle my way out of it as quickly as i can.

but i'm not going to do that now.  these things are just too precious. i'm going to contend and press in knowing that is faithfulness is bigger than my excuses and frustration. it's worth it.