May the Fourth Be with You

    I cannot believe how quickly time is going. How are my children all as old as they are? I know there is nothing I can do to slow time down, so I'm trying to soak up every second of it. Zac turned 12 in January. It's crazy to think he's going to be a teenager in less than a year. He's in middle school. What happened to that kindergartner? Abby turned 11 in February. She's getting so grown up. She's so helpful and dependable. I tell her all of the time that she's going to be a great wife and mother one day. She loves hearing that. Colt and Cora are 4 months away from 3. They are so tall. They weigh 32 pounds. I was a tiny child and weighed 35 pounds when I started kindergarten. They are going to be the size I was at 5 when they're 3.

     All 4 of my kids are big eaters, but I can't complain. They all eat healthy, for the most part. I cook a lot, but I love doing so. I love knowing my family is eating healthy foods from our garden and from local raised meat. Mentioning, we have an order in for half a cow. The cow goes in to the butcher on the 31st. It's local raised Carroll County beef.

     This year we planted a raised strawberry bed and a raised asparagus bed. We have about 8 asparagus growing at the moment. The strawberries are blooming, so we'll have some in June. I'm sure the kids will eat them before the reach the house. That's okay with me! I cannot wait for both the strawberries and the asparagus to take over the beds and become abundant. We also planted a couple of apple trees. They are also blooming. We should have apples this year, too.

     We haven't planted much of our regular garden, yet. So far we just have onions planted. I see some green tops peaking through. I have plenty more onions that my great grandma gave to me. I cannot wait to plant green beans. I am hoping to grow MANY green beans.  All 4 of my kids are big green bean eaters. I fix 2 quarts and there are usually no leftovers. I would like to plant more peas. We eat a lot of those, too.

     My toddlers are playing with toy cell phones at the moment. They are making me use my mouse as a phone as I type this. They are too stinking cute! I feel s blessed and thankful every day for the life I have been given. There were times in the first 5 years of our marriage that  I struggled with feeling content when we struggled with infertility. Our hearts wanted children so much. Then, God blessed us with 4 children in 3 and a half years. While going through infertility, I knew that having children would be amazing. It's even better than I could ever imagine. My heart is full. I won't lie, there are times I wish I could have another baby. I think I feel that way for a couple of reasons. First, I think because I only had one viable pregnancy. (This is silly, but I struggle with what to say there. I've been pregnant twice, but I miscarried our first, so I can't just say, "pregnancy". I can't say pregnancy to term, either, because 36 weeks 6 days isn't full term. Close, but not quite. So, I guess the way to classify it is "viable pregnancy".

      My husband and children make me so happy. They keep me busy, but oh so happy. My heart goes out to the millions of infertile couples around the world. Shawn and I were talking the other day about how we saved every dime we could to pay for infertility treatments. I would never get a pedicure, manicure, purchase any unneeded clothes, spend money on eating out often, etc. We knew that if we were going to pay for treatments, we needed to cut corners anywhere possible. I am so thankful we did what it took. Our lives are so full and happy. I pray for the infertile couples in the world. I pray you find a way to pay for the ridiculous cost of fertility treatments, even if you have to cut out fun/frivolous activities like we did.

God Bless!

Sam