My Ebenezer

“Samuel took a stone and…named it Ebenezer, saying ‘Thus far has the Lord helped us.’” 1 Samuel 7:12

Yes, this is a coffee pot (not a stone) but a reminder nonetheless of the great faithfulness of our God. Shall I start from the beginning?

Some of you know about the health issues that have plagued James over the past few years. If not, lets recap: going on almost 6 years now James has had headaches and not just occasionally or often , but always. Everyday, all the time, terrible bad headaches. Years, literally, of going to see all kinds of doctors, getting tests run, drug after drug, led to not much information except that he had headaches and not much helped but hardcore, intense pain meds which still didn't eliminate the pain, just lessened it. He would go through times where he just decided that was going to be the norm and nothing was going to help. Frustrated and clearly in pain, it effected all areas of his life. I am not going to lie, I had a hard time dealing with it all as well, going from feeling sorry for him, wishing to do something to help to feeling sorry for me that I didn't have help around the house, or with Amelia, or a husband who wanted to hang out and have fun. Oh how I feel terrible for those selfish thoughts.

Finally, we both decided to get serious about figuring this all out. And James returned to his Doctor. What a blessing he has been with fresh ideas one after another. But more drugs, more tests, more guesses: we tried ADD meds, a gluten free diet, nerve blocking injections, just to name a few. And then! After years and years of prayer, tears, confusion, anger, and still more prayers, The doctor stumbled upon it while performing yet another test. Heighten pressure in his spinal fluid... his brain is reacting as if he has a tumor, but he doesn't or, technically speaking, pseudotumor cerebri, which is most common in young, pregnant, overweight, women. Doesn't really scream James, does it?

There is an easy fix. What? After all of this time, an easy fix? A pill. Yes, more drugs. After some time it will help decrease the pressure helping his headaches. WOW. Oh, and the coffee pot? These new pills make pop taste horrible, his preferred drink of choice. Supposedly, it tastes metallic and flat. Blah! So, the former coffee hater has tried several different methods of the coffee drink, cream, black ... creamer. Now though, the man drinks a giant cup in the morning and always makes a pot at night. He's hooked. And I am thrilled I have a friend now to sip coffee with or stop in at Starbucks but more so than that... I am thankful for what the coffee pot means.

Every morning it is a reminder. The Lord is with us and His grace covers us. I don't know why it has 5+years for this to be figured out, maybe to teach me a lesson in what a godly wife should look like, maybe a lesson in prayer, or maybe so God could show up a in very big way. They don't really know what caused the high pressure ... no other weird issues or underlying causes. Praise God.

He still is not completely headache free, not yet, but they have been increasingly better with a bad day here and there. But it's working. And whether it takes one more week or more years to clear it all up, God has it. He's got it. And every morning I have a constant reminder of His sovereignty.

Come, Thou fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

While the hope of endless glory

Fills my heart with joy and love,

Teach me ever to adore Thee;

May I still Thy goodness prove.

Here I raise my Ebenezer,

Hither by Thy help I’ve come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood.

A Few Things ...

1. We changed a few things around the house recently. Finally got some color on our walls and some new curtains.

We also painted our frames red to carry the red theme throughout the main area.
2. Amelia is crazy... What a joy it is to watch her grow, develop, and pick up new things daily... literally, each day there is something new she's doing. Today? Requesting to be held, sticking her arms up and sweetly saying, "hold you, hold you."

3. Like mother like daughter. I have this annoying this where I can't keep my eyes open during a picture... UGH! I think I anticipate to flash way to early... anyway, looks like Amelia is having the same problem.
4. I wish I could get a good picture of Amelia's hair. She has the curse... another thing inherited from her mother, curly, CURLY hair. 5. When all else fails (and by all else I mean a sorry excuse for a football team the Colts are), you root for the next best thing... Looking forward to another playoff week. Go, Pack, Go!

Visitors

This weekend we had company! Our first overnight guests. My cousin and her husband came down for a visit. We had so much fun doing nothing. In fact, Saturday we spent alot of time at my parents house watching football and sitting in the hot tub.

Here we are, robed up and ready for the tub.

Sure we were up too late and ate too much but we had a good weekend telling stories and catching up.

In other news, James passed his test he took in November! We are so excited to have this massive test behind us. With one more down and just one more left to go, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Looking forward to having an entire evening with my husband again, study free. And he not only passed but with flying colors, 9 out of 10, which a 5 is "passing."

We are praising God for the passing test. Here hoping May's test is a similar outcome.

Have a good week!

18 months.

Amelia's new year resolution was to FINALLY get rid of her Paci. My original plan was to have it completely gone by 12 months. But since it was only thing that seemed to calm the child who never holds still, I avoided the issue. But I knew it was a good time; one less thing we have to remember when we travel or she stays somewhere, she wasn't extremely attached to it ... it was time. It was only out of my own laziness that we hadn't yet ... Slowly but surely all baby things are coming to an end. Only diapers and the crib left.

So, she is now paci-free, with minimal pain too. It just took her about twice as long to fall asleep than normal, which is entirely too long but not many tears. Naptime remains the hardest ... It is just too hard to calm down.

She gets more fun with each day. She plays wonderfully by herself and I no longer feel I have to constantly watch her, just check in a few times. She is still an expert at destroying the house.

Her vocabulary is exploding and tries to say everything. It is amazing how being able to communicate a bit better makes things easier. When she is done eating, reading, napping, taking a bath ... she says "Amen!" Ha, not sure why, but it's so cute. Hands straight up in the air, "Ah-min, Ah-min!" She can identify anything football- helmets, pads, fields, when the TVs on and yells "football" until we respond. She can spot mickey mouse a mile away, she asks for help constantly, and she has mastered a cute little 'peas' (please). She loves to sing. Some of her favorites are ABCs, she sings the B,D, I, P, S, X . She likes My God is so BIG! actions included. and I've got the Joy, Joy ... and after anything fun, different, or a song is finished, she pleads to do it again ... "Gan, gan"

She has mastered the spoon and is trying her hand at the fork. She has become a great helper around the house too. She helps me load the dryer, she helps clean up her own messes, she loves to help unload the dishwasher, and she also has helped me dust.

She is so much fun these days. And it is incredible how much her little brain can just soak in. She has her 18month appointment coming up in the next weeks ... 18 months already, really?

the 12 days of Christmas ...

We have had a crazy month, or rather, week. Christmas was wonderful and I think we successfully crammed all that we could in the past 7 days.

1. Christmas at the Plaza

Since our church meets at the theater, a Christmas eve service is a little difficult. Instead our 2 year tradition is to get a ballroom downtown at the Crown Plaza and have a meal together. We love sharing in the fun and celebration of Christmas with the fellowship of our church family. We had a great time with friends worshiping, laughing, and, of course ... eating.

2. Candymaking

For 20+ years or so, we've been making candy with a few family friends. Monday was the day. There was 25 people and we were only missing 2 of the regular bunch. It snowed so much during the 3 hours we worked that a few got stuck in the driveway. We had fun and Amelia loved having so many people to watch and run around with.

3. Cookies!

Tuesday my sisters and I with my mom spent the morning making cookies, a new tradition. We got 3 different kinds of cookies done with minimum difficultly.

4. Wicked!!!

I have been begging James for YEARS to take me to see 'Wicked' and for my Christmas present, he surprised me with amazing tickets. We sat 6 rows from the stage and on the aisle. It was awesome. and We are still singing from it. We had a great date night out among a crazy week. So glad James finally listened to my begging :) Hope we can do it again!

5. Roommate Reunion

Thursday, I was able to see 5 out of 7 of my college roommates. We have tried to get together at least once a year, all 8 of us. Although, only 6 could be there ... it felt like we hardly missed a beat. I love these girls and so glad we could make it happen, even if it was only a few hours.

6. Humphrey Christmas

Thursday evening we headed to Lafayette to see some of the Humphrey clan. Amelia got to play with her second cousin, Olivia and run around with Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Great-grands. Ah, and the BBQ was delish! Thanks Angela for hosting! Always fun to be together.

7. Christmas EVE.

We spent the afternoon/evening at my parents house. It was fun to see how excited my niece and nephew were about presents. My mom decided she would let each kid open one present before we ate dinner to help hold them over. Each got a book so they had 3 to read and keep busy with.
We had a great dinner, played games and watched our traditional Christmas eve movie we have watched since young kids. Oh, and we sat in the hot tub... excellent new tradition.

8. Christmas morning.

Amelia was even more fun this year than last. She could open more on her own and was excited to see what was behind the paper. She woke up to find her stocking bulging with books, Veggie Tales, and fruit snacks! And after opening presents for Momma and Da, we spent the morning playing with all the new toys.
9. Christmas day

After a good nap :) that was much needed. We headed into Danville and spent the day with James' parents. Ate more ... and had more presents. Amelia got a nice kitchen to master her cooking skills. She was quite content to take her play food in and out of cabinets and ovens and pans. We spent the afternoon in front of the TV watching NBA ... oh and eating. :)It was also nice catch up with Uncle Michael.
10. Smith Christmas

Sunday, after church, we met again at my parents house for my mom's side of the family. And did the usual, food, gifts, sit around and play games and watch sports. Thankful for the colts win :)

OK, so it wasn't 12 days of Christmas activities, but it sure did feel like it. James got the spend the week home with Amelia and me. It was nice for both of us to feel like we had a short vacation. Amelia only got half as much sleep as she should of but seemed to do well most days. We got Zoo passes, gifts cards for date nights, kitchen tools for momma, and garage tools for Daa... We truly had a blessed week of family and friends. We ate entirely too much and will probably enter the new year with that infamous 5 extra pounds. We have enjoyed our Christmas memories with Amelia. And, most importantly, we are incredibly thankful for the gift of Christ Jesus. Hopefully, Christmas found you well. Merry Christmas and Happy new year!!!

Happy Wednesday!!!

This weekend, Amelia was able to enjoy playing in the snow for the first time. She was quite unsure at first but decided she was excited to be outside. Daddy made her a snowball and she immediately tasted it ..."mmm!"

I am still not sure what she thought about being ankle deep in it ... or how her world was now all white and cold. She repeatedly ran around saying, "cold, cold, cold." I love being able to watch her discover new things and how she employs all 5 of her senses now to learn about them.

And, still, points out trees... everywhere.

Our advent calendar activity today was to go get donuts! (One Momma was looking forward to) I am enjoying these activities and gives me something out of the normal to look forward to. But today was great! We stopped in at Dunkin's and got a few donut holes to munch on. We had fun playing around, giggling, and popping wonderful delicious fried dough. Amelia pounded 3!

Amelia seems to be growing up fast and today I felt it. Sitting at a table, almost conversing with her, I could almost see her growing ... 2, 3, 4, ... 10. I am thankful for our happy, healthy toddler and with eager anticipation, I look forward to the next weeks, months, years watching her.

Christmas time is here...

Ah, I am just busting at the seams with Christmas spirit. I have been looking forward to all that this time brings ... decorations and music, family and traditions, and most importantly celebrating, worshiping, and thanking Christ Jesus.

Sunday we were able to get our tree. My parents came with us per tradition, although we missed the rest of my family.

Amelia thoroughly enjoyed walking through the trees. This kid could just walk for hours and with tons of trees to check out... we could have kept her busy all day.
We found a good one and Daddy and Papa cut it down for us ... now to decorate!


In eager anticipation of the season, I made some crafts last month. the Noel sign...
I also put together an advent calendar. I wrestled with a few different ideas for how this would work. Finally settled on one, and got it done the day before Dec. 1st. Each day we have a Christmas related activity. Some are as simple as watching a movie or making cookies, but we also have days to visit a nursing home, deliver goodies to a neighbor, and write Elsa, our Compassion Child. Along with our activity, we have scripture to read to prepare our hearts and minds for the season.

December 1st activity was get a new ornament for the year. Because we own few ornaments, I decided last year, we would make a new tradition to let Amelia pick out a new ornament each year. We had fun finding this one, and this year, she actually had an opinion about one.

Oh, and she is not foaming at the mouth here... she is sucking on a mint m&m :)
And the first snow on the first day of December was perfect! Enjoy your holiday season. I am sure we will!!!