Me, too

I've been inspired by this post from my friend, Monique. She's so honest and I love that. Of course we are not perfect and along with some great play dates and fun things that Evy and I sometimes do, there are MANY more guilt-ridden daily rituals that plague me when I go to bed sometimes. So, I'd like to jump in her confession booth with her and share a few of my parenting "sins" as well.

1. I, too, really hate Little People play but even ranking above that is the tea party. Ugh. I really don't know what it is, but it makes me SOOOO tired. I thought that this would be what I would treasure and look forward to. After all, I love a great table setting (Evy has a cute tea set) and I'm even making her a pink tablecloth for her play table (though it's not a princess print on plastic coated flannel like she wants...). But for some reason, as cute as I really do think it is when she drags out all of her stuffed animals and lines them all up around her "picnic blanket" and she even makes them all "place cards" using our printer paper and her crayons...well, it just bores me to tears! I wish it didn't.

2. There are many days where there's way too much TV. I try to balance it out, but, man, Fridays are tough. I tell myself that at least it's "educational" and there aren't any commercials (she only watches PBS, we don't have cable). So, she watches SuperWhy, Word World and Caillou on some days to her heart's content! On the really bad days, I then let her play with those same characters on the computer!

3. Yes, I too, clean more than I play. There's a never ending list of things to do! I try to make myself give her x number of minutes to play with her per day, but it is soo hard and such a struggle. "Okay, MaryEvyn," I find myself saying. "Right after I fold these clothes, we'll do that." "Well, Evy, right after I put these dishes away, we'll play." But then it's 5 minutes to lunch, then I need to clean up after lunch.....

4. Where's the Bible time? Good days: I read her Jesus Bible to her and we talk about it before we do anything else. Awesome days: we practice a Bible verse or two as well. Most days: she gets a Bible story and prayers before bed. Still just as heart felt, but it just doesn't seem as "instructional", y'know?

5. Evy wakes me up! No, I am NOT a morning person by anyone's definition. Why is it that my bed is most comfortable when I wake up in the morning. So, I am actually very ashamed to admit it...Evy wakes me up. She bolts into my room, climbs into my bed and begins talking. At that hour, I refer to it as "yammering". She continues this until I can't take it anymore, or until she inadvertently hits me, so I drag my poor, selfish body out of bed and stumble to the kitchen to make breakfast. I'm really not awake until after I eat.

Well, I think that's enough humble pie for me today. (Plus this makes 3 blog posts in one day!)

Thanks, Mo, for keepin' it real!

The update

Well, my house is a flurry of activity.
As I write this:
* Reed is running around outside with duct tape, electrical pliers and wires in between calls to our expert electrician friend, Chris. And there's some sort of circuit "board" on my kitchen table. Apparently, our house was on the brink of electrical disaster when we came home!
* My mom is chopping green onions and digging out things from our kitchen. I think there's some celery and apples involved, too!
* Holly is browning sausage (it smells wonderful!)
* MaryEvyn is complaining that "No one will play with me!" in her most woeful voice completely forgetting that she has had a playmate in Aunt Holly and Gram for the last 2 days straight!
* My dad, PawPaw, is supervising it all from the wing chair, though he has just acquiesced to read Evy a story.
And me, well, I'm fielding a few phone calls, answering emails, checking blogs, and updating you guys! Don't worry, I've already taken two good naps and one good pain pill!
Here's the simple version: Dr. Dunn found a polyp that may have caused some blockage and a couple of areas of endometriosis. He was able to take care of both and I was home and in bed by about 11:00 this morning. The nurses were wonderful and all told me that I had the best doctor in the business (and they see a lot of them!). If you haven't figured it out yet, hopefully you won't ever have to, but should you need a fertility specialist, I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Dunn! Also, one of the nurses there is the wife of a guy that works with Reed and she was a patient of Dr. Dunn's as well. She was able to come by and visit before the surgery.
So, there's the run down, pretty much. I'm feeling as well as can be expected. Some pain in my shoulders and side and, of course, my incision sites (one at my belly button and another about 3-4 inches below that - both very small) are rather sensitive. Other than that, feeling okay. Nothing that wasn't mostly expected.
Thank you all so very much for your prayers. I really, truly felt encouraged and comforted by them and can't imagine going through any of this without my Savior. Now, hopefully, if it's the Lord's will, we'll have baby news in a month or so, right?!! So keep up the prayers and, really, I can't thank each of you enough for your prayer and concern. We are so very blessed and (this isn't just the drugs speaking) I love you!

Just to Share

So, tomorrow is a big day. For me, anyway.
I actually don't have much time to write about it, but I'll be going in tomorrow to a day surgery center so that my wonderful Dr. Dunn can perform a laparoscopy/hysteroscopy. Our hope is that he will find the cause of our infertility with baby #2. He will be able to see anything he needs to and if he finds a problem, he can fix it right there.
I'm scheduled for 8am but should be done in only a couple of hours at which point Reed will bring me home to recover for a couple of days with my mother and Holly's help.
So, the reason for this post is a shameless plea for prayer. Pray for Dr. Dunn's steady hand and that this will be the end of fruitless effort month after month. Pray that our hope will remain in God and nothing else. Pray that recovery will be speedy! Homes don't revolve so well with a mama who can't stand up! (But I'm secretly looking forward to the rest!)
Thanks, everyone. And, as always, I will keep you all updated afterwards.

Recovery

How was the trip?
Recovery.
I remember this post written by Aaron Ivey that I read a while back and when I read it, I was incredibly moved and one of the things he says in it is probably one of the reasons I insisted on going on this trip.

"i strongly believe that every single follower of Christ needs to make every effort to get out of the country at least every other year, if not more. for the sake of recovery. "

Everyone else on the trip expressed this as well. Only let it not just be a moral guilt. No, it is the conviction of serving, bowing to, and buying into other gods.

Read that post. It says everything I am feeling right now and that I hope to remember for another year until I go again. and again. and again. and hopefully someday take MaryEvyn with me. and hopefully you can come, too.

God is with the poor. Go and you will see Him more clearly than ever.

Mexico Mission Trip Slideshow

Heading to Mexico

Ever since I felt God tugging on me to go on this trip I had mixed feelings. I must confess that there is part of me that dreaded it. The part of me that can only think of the sacrifices: the heat, the lack of plumbing and electricity, the hard work and sore muscles, the dirty, the strange bed, the long trip... But there is that wonderfully excited part, too, thankfully! Serving, painting (I do enjoy a clean coat of paint!), community with people working and sacrificing right along with you, singing along with Tony's amazing guitar talent! I am also joyful about you and our church participating right with us as you pray and hear what God does in and through us. And I'm looking forward to sharing pictures and telling MaryEvyn how others live and how her Mom and Dad obeyed God and went!
So, today, Saturday, I am packing, preparing, taking a monster trip to Walmart, and hugging my sweet girl whom I'll be away from for 5 days. We'll snuggle up on the couch tonight with Aunt Holly and watch the Sound of Music which we just got and kiss her sweet little head. Then tomorrow after church, the fun begins!
So, I invite you to be a part of it, too. Pray for us! (Pray for my in-laws keeping Evy - they'll need their rest!)
Can't wait to tell ya stories and share pictures!
See ya in a week!

Discovery Green

Hey, everyone!
This past Monday Reed had off work so we headed to Discovery Green, a great new park downtown (well, I consider it downtown). It's across the street from the G. R. Brown convention center and you should definitely meter park if you find a spot. But we had a great time. Evy rode her bike from the parking lot to the park itself. We ate a picnic lunch (though there are a couple of restaurants/cafes that looked pretty good!) and then headed off to the "Rain Tree". She loved it!

Hair

Okay, I'm not sure how this mom has time to do this and does she do it every morning?! BUT...if you've ever seen a cute little hairdo (especially on a little girl) and wondered how and if you could do it, you have to see this great little blog! Click here! Sooo cute. If I could get Evy to sit still long enough and let me comb her hair without screaming, I may just try one!

What a weekend!

Ah, the Fourth of July. Hot, humid and red, white and blue! Parades, fireworks, hot dogs and chocolate chip cookies. Sweat, swimming, grilling, family and friends. This was all a part of our weekend experience. Here's a taste:

Our neighborhood parade

(We just barely made it before the rain. Remember last year?)

Then Evy got to swim with Braelyn!

The closest thing Evy gets to a little sister! (for now, anyway!)

Then we took Evy to see fireworks. Because we chatted so long, we were awarded a terrible view over the trees and around the water tower, so she sat on Daddy's shoulders until...

This looked too comfortable to pass up!

The next day we headed to a splash party. It was a doozy! What fun!

But the best part was getting to hang with my sweet friends whom I was blessed to have in the same place this weekend!!

Oh, and then of course, the wonderful news of baby Ethan's birth on Thursday.

Congratulations, Coffmans!