He's here!!!!

Erik and I are very happy to announce that Brayden Allen Wegener was born on Wednesday, January 11, 2012. He was 38 weeks and 2 days along, came at 12:31 p.m., weighed in at 7 lbs., 9 ounces, and was 21 inches long.

In other words, this (me at 38 weeks)...

...became this.

What a joy. :-)

We are all doing well even though exhausted and still trying to figure out what just happened! Tuck is very good with his new baby brother. Thank you for all the special comments, gifts, and congratulations. We appreciate you and your support through this journey!!!!

Lots more pictures and stories to come.

One final pic: the boys in my family. 

Love. 

smiles.

So I've just been living life lately. I'm taking time to enjoy these moments I have cooking for Erik, working full-time from home, etc.... in a year or two I'll be at a different place in life (and I don't know exactly what that means! I just know things will look different in some way!) I'm enjoying my time being married and hanging out with Erik and Tucker. :-) There's always something to smile about... sometimes it takes a while to find it and sometimes it's just something small. Sometimes it's big. Either way, smiling makes everything better.

Lately, some of Erik and my smiles have come from some new toys I bought for Tucker. He's very funny about his squeaky toys. And since this one is kinda funny looking, I thought it might bring you a smile.

Here it is before squeezing.

Here it is after squeezing.... 

Tuck loves his little squeaky toy. :-)

happy valentines day!

Some of you have probably seen these pictures before, but since Tuck and I had a mini photo session to get his valentine picture just right today, I thought I'd put a collage of all of Tuck's pictures with glasses on my blog to bring you a smile today. :-)

tucker, santa, and the future

You know, I assumed keeping baby stuff around me would be really difficult, but on a whim a few months, I decided to not take down my little collection of presents Brody had already accumulated.

 

It's in a room I'm not in all that often so it has actually become a good thing for me. It's a reminder of the future - one day Erik and I will have a baby to fill these clothes. I look at it and think, "One day," and then I smile. I also think, "Goodness, Brody has already learned how to share. He's such a good boy!"

The one potential problem with where they are currently positioned... they are on a shelf at Tucker's eye level. Every once in a while, when I'm in the room, Tucker will come and look longingly at the giraffes. I know he wishes they were his. But if you've seen what Tuck does to stuffed animals, you know these will never be his.

Case in point... this is a $2 Santa toy from the dog store. It was on sale. I decided to let him have at it....

And that was just after a few hours... this is santa now....

Nope. Hopefully those giraffes will always be safely in my future kids' arms or in their toy box. :-)

dealing with the "why" question

Fair warning... long content. :-) 

Prayer isn't always easy after a tragedy. Prayer, in fact, can be very frustrating because of that monstrous question "Why?" that looms over your head. Why didn't God change this? Why didn't God answer? Why did God let this happen?... as you well know, the list could go on.

As humans, that "why" question will unfortunately never be answered. The Holy Spirit may minister something to your heart to help soothe your questions and may even answer it, but the answer He gives you may make no sense to someone else. I think the biggest reason why the inevitable "why" will never be fully answered is because "now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely" (1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT).

We can't see the big picture. Only God can.  So if we can never completely understand why God does what He does, how can we continue to pray?

We can continue to pray because we believe. We believe God is good. We believe God is true. We believe God can't lie and we believe that God is faithful to His Word. He will perform what He said He would do.

The phrase "believe the best" has stuck out to me over the past few weeks.

No matter what situation you are facing and no matter how bleak life may seem, you have every right and even the ability to believe for the best in that situation. Believe God will bring a miracle. Believe God will work on that person's heart. We can always believe for the miraculous because nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).

When my water broke, we believed and prayed for a miracle... that the amniotic fluid would build up, that a new sac would be made, that Brody would live through it all.

Now the fact that didn't happen doesn't change a thing. I still should and can always believe for the best in future situations because that's the kind of God I serve.

Here's an interesting story that I kept remembering while in the hospital. It's in 2 Samuel 11-12, the story of David and Bathsheba. Wait. It's not really the story of David and Bathsheba, but what happens after that. The punishment David had to face was that his baby son was going to die. Now I have no desire to get into Old Testament theology about God killing or anything like that. Let's just say that I believe God doesn't kill, but He does allow things to happen.

The interesting part is what happens next. David's son became ill. David knew the son was going to die, according to what the prophet said. Here's what David did: "David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them" (2 Samuel 12:16-17).

David believed for the best in that situation.

The child did die. When the servants finally told him what happened, look what David did: "David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

"[David's] attendants asked him, 'Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!'

"He answered, 'While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, "Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live." But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.' (verses 20-23).

I kept thinking of that in the hospital. David didn't have a faith failure when his six days of prayer and fasting weren't answered. He was simply believing for the best in that situation. When it didn't happen like he wanted, he got up and continued on with life. I'm sure he spent time grieving, but he didn't give up on God because of what he went through.

Situations often look like faith failures when prayers aren't answered the way we think should be, but I think it's completely wrong to base your theology on the prayers you think were left unanswered. How do you know that God didn't answer your prayer? Perhaps it was in a way that you couldn't understand! How do you know that His way wasn't a better option than yours?

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

This idea of always hoping and believing for the best in a situation reminds me of my dog, Tucker. Every time he hears you open a bag of food, open the fridge, open a cupboard door, or do anything related to food, he jumps up from his napping position and runs to find you. He patiently (okay, not always that patiently) begs with his eyes, his whining, and his vast amount of tricks (sit, lay, shake) in hopes that you will share with him.

No matter how many times we reject him, Tucker always comes back for more. You can almost see it in his eyes, "Maybe this will be the day you'll share!"

Erik and I let him lick our plates and share some small bits of food with him, but Tucker is always hoping for more.

I want that same persistence in life. The "why" question hinders persistence. True, I do have to deal with my questions in some fashion so I don't shove them so far inside that they explode years down the road. On the other hand, I can't let them hinder my persistence to come to Jesus.

Jesus will never stop loving me or taking care of me. The past may make me or even the people around me question why God allowed certain things, but those questions should never hinder me from persistently coming to Jesus through prayer.

These words may seem like I have it all figured out and am continually coming to God and don't have questions. That's not true at all. I know what to do; that doesn't always mean I do it. But I want to... and I know God will ultimately take my want and help me make it a reality. 

who leads who

I think I blogged about his last fall... maybe not... but when I'm walking my dog, I like to use a "gentle leader" that basically muzzles him slightly so he doesn't pull as hard. When we first put it on him last fall, let me tell you, it revolutionized my life! I was so taken back by the transformation that I literally felt like one of the witnesses from an infomercial: "I used to hate walking my dog, but with the gentle leader, walks are fun again!"

All that to say, Tucker has gotten used to the tugs he gets on the gentle leader, so he still pulls slightly when he wears it. Today I took him out without it, and when he began pulling on it to get to another dog, I pretty much let him lead and ran after him! I must have looked pretty silly!

One time walking Tucker I had the thought: who leads who? In my relationship with God, am I pulling God around or is He leading me where He wants me?

As Tucker's owner, I know what way is safe for him to go. Tucker would bound out into the street without supervision - especially when a leaf blows away from him or he spies a rock in the middle of the road. He doesn't know what is safe and what isn't - he has no concept of it. I have a feeling that me, as a Christian and human and non-God, I have no idea what is safe and not safe when I'm not letting God lead me.

It's funny, when I take Tuck to the dog park and he doesn't have the leader on, he pulls and pulls and pulls and strains as hard as he can to get to the park faster -- and in the process he can't hardly breathe! We always tell him, Tuck, if you just slow down and walk with me, you'll get there soon enough and not lose your breath! And yeah, he's usually too overcome with emotion to listen, but that's okay, he is a dog. :)

Just random ramblings before going down to clean the kitchen. Erik will be coming home soon. Fish tonight. I like that my husband goes and has fun for a day and brings home dinner!!! :)

All for now. Have a blessed week!

Writing update!

Hi everyone!

So I have super cool news! This spring, I have five devotionals I wrote coming out in a book called Blissfully Blended (a compilation of many different devos/authors). I wrote the devos over a year ago and the book is close to being complete. I found it online:

http://barbourbooks.com/product/Blissfully-Blended,6918.aspx?Tab=Books

If you download a sample (the read inside link), the first 25 devos are printed and mine is day 10!!!! (wow! I'm super happy about that!!!) I have four others that are going in the book.

I have the chance to be in another book for this company - Heavenly Humor for the Chocolate Lover's Soul. I have to write two samples and then if they choose mine I could get published and maybe write more stories. I'll keep you posted and if they aren't chosen, I can always post them here for you to read. :)

Once these type of writing opportunities come around, it gets my mind thinking in that direction. I've tossed around this book title for a while: Everything I Need to Know About Life... I Learned From My Dog. Here's a glimpse of what would be inside:

1. Be persistent.
No matter how many times you push Tucker's paws off the counter, table, bed, or sofa, he always jumps back up again. No matter how many times you tell him "no, you can't have any of my dinner," he'll still push his nose up to your plate in hopes he can get a morsel or a lick of anything good. And if he sits still long enough and tilts his head just so, he can almost guarantee himself some type of treat or goodie. Life deserves that kind of persistence.

2. Be joyful.
No matter how long Erik and I leave Tucker in his cage, I have never once walked up to let him out and seen him sad, mad, or upset. His tail is always wagging when he knows he gets to come out and play. Plus, no matter how bleak or upsetting situations can get in life, we can always look to our dog and I guarantee we'll be smiling in moments. Their joyfulness is infectious... and ours should be too. Not because we can put on a fake smile, but because we have a deep joyfulness knowing what Jesus has done for us.

3. Love people.
Every time someone comes to our door, Tucker freaks out. He jumps on them, wags his whole behind (not just his tail!), and pants ecstatically as he welcomes them to our home. (Sorry to all those who have experienced it!) I'm certainly not recommending loving people to the extent that you freak them out or make them nervous, but always, always love people in a crazy, wonderful way, where they can't help but wonder where you get that kind of love. (Hint: it's from Jesus!)

4. Love your master.
Tucker knows Erik and I. As his masters, he loves being by us and cuddling with us. Every time he sees us, he gets happy. We should be the same with our Master and Lord, God.

5. Mark your territory.
Tucker is 10 months old. Since he could barely walk, he instinctively marked his territory wherever he went. I usually roll my eyes and groan, but one morning I took notice as he marked almost every driveway, sidewalk, mailbox, and stake in the ground he went by. He wants people to know where he's been. How much more should we do that as Christians? We should leave a recognizable mark behind in every place we've been: lives changed, new souls for the kingdoms, attitudes reversed.

I'm sure I can come up with more as I watch and learn from my 10-month old puppy. For now, I better go make dinner.

Smiles all around. :-)

our first (almost) plumber's story

So Erik and I have our first story that thankfully didn't involve a plumber (and isn't too disgusting!). Our downstairs bathroom stopped working about a week ago. Well, it still worked somewhat - it was just reallllllllly slow, and slow enough where we couldn't really use it.

That, of course, is a problem.

We plunged it plenty of times, but still no change. I even went to the store and asked an employee if there was anything like drano you could use on a clogged toilet. He smirked and said, "Pretty much no. That's the job for a plumber or maybe a snake you can purchase." His look was relatively humiliating, but I kept reminding myself I'd probably never see him again...

So Erik and I were somewhat resigned to the problem and the possibility of spending money on a plumber. Until last night...

I decided to put all the carrot peels down the kitchen sink, and apparently, it didn't like that. Within seconds, both the garbage disposal and downstairs bathroom was plugged... great... So I decided to hunt online and see what "how-to's" were available for plugged pipes.

Long story short, Erik looked online, and then grabbed the plunger and thankfully cleared the garbage disposal. He decided to go purchase a plumbing snake for the toilet since we were both convinced the clog was way down the piping system and wouldn't be reached with a coat hanger, one of the online suggestions.

Erik came home, put the $8 snake in the toilet, but was perplexed when it couldn't go far. He tried and tried, and then bent down to see the problem. Lo and behold (I know, that's an ancient phrase!), Tuck's missing dog bone, which was circular, was right there, out of sight.

Thank goodness, we hadn't called a plumber.

On another dog story, we did decide to put up our Christmas tree, in hopes Tuck would avoid it (I know, a lost hope). And let's just say, now the bottom of the tree is surrounded by furniture, a baby gate we use to keep Tucker out of places, an overturned stool, and a few other of our things that are faithfully guarding our carefully decorated tree.

:-)

a laughable moment

So picture this. Erik is cutting up a bunch of bloody deer meat in the garage with a friend. The two of them are going in and out of the house as they get set up... but Tucker is left inside with me, while I catch up on some work.

Where do you think Tuck wants to be?

The first couple hours of them working in the garage weren't so bad. Tuck whined every once in a while, but slept for a good chunk of that time. But then he saw Erik's friend come in and go back out. That reminded Tucker he's missing out. So he went over to the door, sat down with his head facing where the door opens and whined, making a more ruckus than he previously had.

Once I had caught up on my work, it was 10:30 p.m. I took Tuck outside on a walk to do his business, and after coming back in, realizing I was super, super tired. I thought, "What's the point of staying up if I really should be sleeping?" (I knew Erik would be up for another few hours finishing his project.)

So I told Erik I was heading to bed. At first I put Tucker in his cage downstairs, but while I got ready for bed, he was whimpering and whining, pretty much because he knew Erik and I were both around, but he wasn't with us. Not cool for him. I thought to myself, "If I put him in his kennel upstairs, he'd at least be by one of us, and the complete darkness should tell him, hey, it's time for bed!" So I did that.

But Tucker didn't think it as cool as I did. He started whimpering and whining... not the full blown whining, just the "ohhh, really? I don't want to be here." I thought, perhaps he didn't get enough water, and was kind enough to bring him some water while in his kennel - but he didn't budge. So I went back to bed with Tuck in his kennel, and he whimpered probably every two to three minutes.

I decided to wear earplugs.

Two hours later, I wake up to Tucker making a LOT more noise. He was whimpering, yelping, pretty much saying, are you serious? Get me out of here right now! I yelled at him to be quiet, but nothing stopped him.

I was seriously annoyed...

So I went and opened his cage to see what he'd do while I went to the bathroom... my goodness, he put up such a fuss because the door was shut and he couldn't leave our bedroom!

The annoyance was building... especially since it was the middle of the night and I was trying to sleep!!!

So I opened the door and he dashed downstairs, right to Erik who was inside cleaning up the mud room. I came down, rather grumpy, and told my side of the story. Erik laughed pretty hard... and then said, yeah, once I came inside, I heard Tucker's barking increase. He knew I was down here.

At that point, I was like, are you serious? And let the dog stay with Erik while I went back up to bed.

I woke up one more time when Erik and Tuck came up to bed, and then finally I got a good night's rest. :)

Happy Saturday! Hope that brings a smile to your face!!