“I don’t have time for that…”

I probably should keep most of this to myself but I am not going too, mainly because I am not going to mention who this is so I don’t think it matters, but also because I know other’s are going through the same thing and maybe I can help someone… or not, whatever, but I am tired of having to drown in my own private thoughts.

I don’t have time for people who don’t have time for my daughter, or me for that matter. I don’t have time to dwell on why they don’t have time for us. And believe me, I am not just talking about the occasional outing where bringing a one year old might not be so fitting. Or even the friend who cancels on you because you tell her going out on a girl’s night requires you to bring a girl who just might be in diapers along with you. I am talking about ever; someone who doesn’t come around at all. I don’t have time for people who don’t have time for my family.

Recently this person got an iPhone. Want to know what’s great about an iPhone? It has facetime… something fairly simple to use, so someone could see what is important to them every once in a while, or what is important too most people in the world in their position… except this person. But what really takes the cake, what really is the topper, is that an iPhone also comes equipped with a snazzy little feature called the CALL BUTTON or the texting feature for that matter. I am sure this person knows this by now… but maybe I am wrong.

Regardless, back to the point, I don’t have time for people who don’t have time for my daughter, for my family, or for me. I don’t have time for people who would rather spend time with their friends they talk all sorts of crap behind their back about, then strengthen the relationships that really matter, the ones that are forever. I recently was told, this person doesn’t think I am happy, asking people who do have time for us, if I was “always this unhappy or always miserable” and the answer is HECK NO. I have a gorgeous daughter that I live for everyday, one that constantly keeps me laughing, smiling and proud. One that is so beautiful she makes my world stop spinning every time I look at her. I have a husband whom my daughter adores and I get to watch the beautiful bond they have established before my eyes every single day, I have a brand new house which I enjoy coming home too and making memories with my beautiful family, as well as a job that I absolutely love to go to everyday. So the answer to this person’s question is I am most definitely, absolutely not unhappy or miserable in any way, shape or form, and I realize I am blessed beyond words, consistently enamored with what the Lord continues to provide for me, with or without you, I am smiling. This person would know this, but this person chooses to not to, on his or her own accord.

You know what the saddest part is? I have waited for this person to change for years and years, and it never does and I keep thinking to myself, maybe if this happens this person will come around, maybe if I do this this person will call me to tell me their proud, maybe when I have my child this person will come to the hospital like the majority of other people in this person’s shoes, maybe this person will be a part of this child’s life at all, inevitably bringing me closer to them at the same time. But this didn’t happen, it hasn’t happened and I am now at the realization that it will not happen, and I just don’t have time for that anymore. I don’t have time to sulk. I do not have time to feel sorry for my daughter. I cannot change this person, I cannot shake this person and make this person open their eyes, I cannot yell, I cannot be mad any longer, I cannot continue to cry. I just do not have time for that.

So just like this person told me last weekend when I asked this person to come over and spend time with what’s important for just a FEW MINUTES… “I don’t have time for that..” Not anymore, not last week, not yesterday, not tomorrow, not in a few weeks I don’t have time for this at all, ever, anymore.

Love always,

Baby K and Me

“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.“

Joshua 24:15

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11 Things I Learned My First Year of Motherhood…

1. Occasionally babies are born with complications, and you will be scared, and you will be afraid, and you will want to rip out the tubes and kick out the doctors but everything that’s there is there to help her, and every little thing will be alright. At one point after my daughter was born she was breathing triple the rate she should have been, and her heart was tripling its workload along with it. You go in the hospital with every intention to have your healthy beautiful baby and then go home the next day. This is so untrue. Things go unplanned, and you have to just pray, and pray some more, and let God handle it, He’s pretty good at what he does. (;

2. When the day comes where you have to quit breastfeeding, it is not the end of the world. Other mothers will be there to tell you it is, but don’t listen. You are not a bad parent and your child is not doomed for remedial classes. You know better than anything else what is best for your child. Listen to your body, listen to your heart. Formula is not out to get your baby.

3. Postpartum depression is all too real. I was one of those people who thought it could never happen to them, how could people be depressed when they just brought this precious being into the world, but boy I was so wrong. PPD is beyond real and it will suck the life out of you if you do not seek help, an outlet. I choose to seek God, harder than I ever had before. I turned to him when I felt like there was no one else. He listened, He understood, and I never turned back. I ran to Him and kept on running. My depression eventually subsided and now I am a happy and healthy mother with a lot to look forward too.

4. Moms are mean, every mother thinks the way they did it was the best way and they will stop at nothing to tell you that. IGNORE THEM. Don’t address it; don’t let it stress you out. All you can do is pray for them and hope they seek a hobby.

5. Babies are going to cry, sometimes for absolutely no reason. You have to breathe, you have to stay calm, they smell stress like a beagle on a rabbit hole. If you have to, walk away. Just because you leave them alone in a safe place for two minutes to regain your sanity does not mean you are a bad parent. You are just a parent who is avoiding going crazy pants. Pass the wine box please.

6. What someone’s four month old might be doing, could be advanced to what my six month old is doing. Babies grow at different paces. It does not mean your baby is inferior, or slow, or developmentally behind. Babies work on milestones at different rates. When their baby is crawling and your baby just learned to sit up, your baby might have three teeth and their baby has none. It is all perspective. Babies are different, they are not stock, they do not come one size fits all, they are different and your baby will catch up, they are just working on something else.

7. Your marriage will not be the same, physically, emotionally, time invested, it all changes. Ours changed for the better, we brought God into your marriage and He works through it on a powerful level. It is rare nowadays we fight, and if we do it is just joking, and all in fun. Kinsley brought us so much happiness it is difficult now to look at Evan be mad at him. After all he was a big part of giving me the greatest thing to ever come into my life. He is truly a gem, and although when we do fight it is often about parenting choices we love each other on such a deeper level because of her. He is truly a blessing to her and me.

8. Sometimes things come up in your baby’s life that you have no control over, and when that happens you have to let go and give it to God. It was when she was about two weeks old we noticed her ear was deformed, we took her to the doc and the doc said no big deal. It would be seven months later when that same doctor would tell us maybe we should get it looked at, thinking something may be wrong with her kidneys. She proceeded to tell us that in the womb our ears are formed from our kidneys. We were terrified, I prayed night and day up until her ultrasound appointment. I would wake up in a sweat from the shear thought of anything being wrong with that precious face. But then the day came when it was time to take her to the Children’s Hospital and I let go. I let go of the fear, the negative thoughts. I let God handle it and He did. She was healthy. There was not one thing wrong with her, and it was all because I gave it up to Him.

9. You will cry a lot. Seriously. When I put my child’s newborn clothes up, I cried. When I got to take my child home from the NICU, I cried. When my child said DaDa, I cried. When my child got her first fever, I cried. When my child went on her first plane ride, I cried. When my child started solid food, I cried. When my child sat up for the first time, I cried. When my child started crawling, I cried. When my child was baptized, I cried. When my child blew me a kiss the first time, I cried. She could probably fart and I would cry. I mean it’s getting to the point where every little thing makes me cry, and maybe its because I am more emotional as a mother now, or maybe it is because it is just all going by too fast or maybe it is because I am just so happy she is here and healthy. I don’t know, but you will cry, and you will have to make sure that every new piece of makeup you buy is waterproof. Reality.

10. You will laugh a lot. Seriously. My kid cracks me up. The way she stares at herself in the mirror, the way she blows kisses, the way she feeds the dog, the way she dances when you tell her no to remind you she is too cute to get angry at. She is just a blessing, she will turn around and make you laugh just as quick as she will make you cry.

11. You will pray a lot. SERIOUSLY. I NEVER prayed before having a child. I did not seek God; I was not in a relationship with God like I should have been. Believe me, having a child will make you seek things you never had before. I always believed in Him, but it took having a child to actually SEEK him. I have learned so much from her; I have learned so much from Him. To me, I saw Him through her, and it is the best thing to ever happen to me. It is a beautiful thing, the power of prayer is a beautiful thing, and you will do it often, and you will do it well, and He will listen always.

Love always,
Baby K and Me

Slowing Down and Speeding Up…

Recently my daughter started crawling, even more recently my daughter started standing, and a few days ago she started walking while holding on to something. Call it hindering, bad parenting, or whatever else you want too but I started to feel like each time she did something new I was sad. I would usually throw out a smile and encourage her but inside it was heartbreaking. The days seemed so short, and she was growing so fast. When she was first born, the days couldn’t go by fast enough. I wanted to get her off of those machines, the beeping was driving me insane, I wanted those stupid tubes to come out of her nose and mouth. I was tired of watching her repeatedly rip out that feeding tube. Those days lasted FOREVER. Then once she was home we had some difficult days and some difficult nights and I thought I can’t wait till morning or I can’t wait till your father gets home. Now I am constantly finding myself asking when will it slow down? My answer is always never. It doesn’t slow down, I don’t need other mom’s to tell me that, it’s becoming increasingly obvious. I recently started a new job at a company not far from where we live. Obtaining a job was completely my decision, Evan makes plenty of money and we were comfortable but I was being called to do something, and that was to find work. Being out of the house is wonderful, I loved spending all my days with Baby K do not get me wrong, but I had this overwhelming feeling God wanted something different for me. So we found a daycare and we have made this transition with limited complications. Looking back on it, I’ve had this job for a little over a month and I started to think about why I was called to work. And recently He gave me an answer. I needed to realize it’s not the quantity it’s the quality and it hit me almost as instant gratification. It made sense and I truly felt like His message had come in more bold than ever before. The time I have with her is all about the quality. So we changed things a bit, in the mornings Baby K and I have special mommy and me time which we both love, where we eat breakfast, play with toys, get ready and sing songs like Jesus Loves Me. In the evenings when Evan gets home, we read stories, eat dinner, give her a bath, and play till she is tired out. No stress, no fussing, no sitting at home wondering if she is tired of being at the house all the time. I am a happier person and I am a better mother for it. The milestones she makes are beginning to feel less cumbersome on my emotions and are making me proud and encouraging and she is such a social butterfly she loves being around the kids at the daycare all day. To top it all off the Lord blessed me with a wonderful job, with wonderful people, in a wonderful environment in which I can come home stress free with a smile on my face to ensure the time with Baby K is nothing short of such quality which was ultimately the quest from the beginning.

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

Love always,
Baby K and Me

Does He hold your hand…?

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.

1 Samuel 1:27-28

I did not always have the greatest relationship with God. I was not raised in the church, I attended private school till the first grade and then that was it. I left terrified of God and only went to church occasionally on Easter or Christmas Eve. I knew he existed, I never doubted Him. I always knew He was there and I never wavered from that feeling, however, I did for many years live without a relationship with Him. I did not talk to Him, I did not pray to Him and I did not attend His house every Sunday. But He found me when I got lost and I am forgiven and now walk back hand and hand with Him. Except now, it is not just me and Him, now we are joined by my husband and our daughter and for this I am forever grateful for the blessings He has given me.

Baby K was baptized today. Methodists believe baptism is essential for babies although salvation is a life long process and as she becomes older she will have to profess her love for the Lord and Jesus Christ by herself. Of course Evan and I will steer her in this direction to the best of our ability. As our preacher was reading the vows Evan and I had to accept as spiritual guiders in her life and accepted them wholeheartedly I thought to myself how beautiful she was in her long white dress as she held so still and serene for the preacher. I had been so sure she would try to wiggle out of his arms. But she didn’t, she stayed motionless, the only time she has stayed calm in someones arms all week, practically all month. And I thought isn’t that something? The Lord has made her steady, held her so she did not waver like her mother. I truly believe God has a plan for her, that she will be raised up as a model for Christ in the whole lot of living she has left to do.

Often I think of my life before I truly accepted my faith, how I never felt completed or satisfied. How I would drive past churches and think why people wasted two hours of there weekend every weekend. And I think to myself praise the Lord he steadied me. I wouldn’t have the blessings I have today without the hand of God in mine. Without the hand of God in my husbands. And for this I realize I would have nothing if I remained the same. It fills my heart to know Baby K will always be wrapped in the arms of the Lord, that she will never fall off His path, and if she does Evan and I will be there to guide her back into His loving arms. What a glorious day, praise the Lord, we are immersed in His love. She is a beautiful girl, and I will continue to thank God for her everyday.

Love always,
Baby K and Me

Be Still My Heart…

There are few places I’d rather never have to be than a children’s hospital. It is by far one of the worst places to ever have to come to, however, I always walk out more humbled than I was before. I cannot explain to you how much respect I have for the children in there, not to mention the beautiful people that call that their work place. They are all heroes in the most pure sense.
We got to the hospital around 11 yesterday, my stomach was in knots. When I walked in, I almost had no emotion, I was just there. I was numb, I was walking down the colorful hallways but I couldn’t tell you the blue walls from the yellow, it was all a blur. However, when we got checked in the staff was beyond welcoming, they laughed with us, they comforted us and Baby K was as happy as pie. We walked back to the radiology department, everything was over so quickly. Baby K cried for most of the testing, but she quickly calmed down with a bottle afterwards. Next, we waited, we waited for what felt like eternity but what was probably more like about thirty minutes. Finally, the tech came in and told us it would be 24 to 48 hours before they knew anything. My heart sank.. I couldn’t wait that long. I must have given her a disheartened look because she smiled and said she wouldn’t worry to much. That was enough for me, I practically skipped out of that place. It wasn’t more than two hours later I received a call from Baby K’s doctor. Her ultrasound screening was NORMAL. Who would’ve thought the word “normal” could have had such a profound impact on me. I was and still am elated! The news meant that the only surgery Baby K needs is plastic surgery and that is the best news. I cannot describe to you in words the way I have felt these past couple of weeks, between the worry and the stress, it completely drained the life out of me. It is truly the most fulfilling feeling in the world to know your child is healthy, in every sense of the word. Worth the wait every single bit.
I sincerely believe God sent her to me. I believe she is a gift from God to Evan and I to fulfill our lives. And I also truly believe he has put us in these situations to make us stronger, to strengthen the love we have for her and with each other. He wants us to have these experiences not to suffer but to learn from them. I faithfully believe he wants Evan and I to realize the value of the wonderful gift he has given to us, because he knows Baby K has big things to do in her life both spiritually and personally. As tough as this situation was I truly see the beauty in this experience, and I am learning from it as I know Evan is as well.

What a feeling to know God is on our side!! With Him on our side who can be against us??

Love always,
Baby K and Me

Can I Deal…?

June 10th. It’s May 30th. That means I have over 10 days before I can get my daughter into the children’s hospital for her ultrasound testing. I am a little overwhelmed. The wait is exhausting. I often find myself staring at her wondering is something wrong? Do I not know it? Is she in pain? Is she suffering? My head is freaking out, but my heart stays firm in Christ that every little thing will be alright. Many of you have reached out to me, wondering what is going on, what is happening, is she alright and the truth is we do not have the answers for you at the moment. It is truly a blessing that you all care so much, from the strangers to the immediate family, we love you all.
The truth is, I have only told close friends and family the situation. So I thought I would explain to the everybody elses the situation a little further, so you know what we are going through, and you can pray for Baby K.
When Kinsley was VERY young, probably only a few weeks old, we noticed her ear was a little different. Like she had two lobes. It didn’t seem to bother her, besides the fact she played with the different ear, a little more. We reported it to her doctor immediately after discovering the deformity. (The NICU did not notice it in her hearing test.) They did not seem alarmed at the time and we moved forward with the idea it was nothing more than a growth inconsistency in the womb. Well, fast forward to her nine month appointment, the doctor seemed more concerned about that ear this time around. Her doctor explained to me that our ears are formed from the urinary tract when babies are developing in the womb. Who knew, right? Well now, she is concerned that her kidneys might be effected based on all the extra tissue her ear has. They scheduled us to see a specialist at Scottish Rite (which if you don’t live in Atlanta is the Children’s Hospital here) and go in for an ultrasound accompanied with additional hearing tests. So we learned that the best case scenario would be that she has to have plastic surgery, performed by a pediatric plastic surgeon to remove the extra tissue or lobe around the ear. Worst case scenario, she has something wrong with her kidneys or urinary tract and we move from there. Flashingback to her NICU days, when she was born, many of you know, she had an extremely accelerated heart rate. She was stripped from us, and sent down there almost immediately. However, once she stabilized, they released her to us without figuring out the cause. I am praying that whatever was causing the infection or accelerated heart rate is not because of kidney malfunction or any thing of the sort.
We do not have answers right now, nothing could be wrong, or there could be a lot wrong, we just do not know. We are asking you to join us in continued prayer for her, as we get through these VERY long last 10 days without answers.

Love always,
Baby K and Me

Do Not Fear…

As Kinsley grows older, I do too, although the physical changes in me do not shine as much as hers do. Today is a milestone for her, as she turns nine months old in just a couple of hours. To me, she is amazing because, to me, she is incredibly close to perfect. However, she has not had it perfectly easy. God has presented her with a couple of challenges in her short life and I am learning slowly that I must not fret at them. I must continue to grow, as she grows, deeper into my faith, and settle further into my relationship with God, in order to remain on both feet during times of turmoil. I do realize that God would never put me, my husband or my child in a situation we could not come out of stronger – not only in our strength but more importantly in our faith and to this, I am given hope.
Today Kinsley had her nine month doctor appointment, and the thing about doctor’s appointments, is you do not always hear what you want to hear. Most of the time, the doctor comes in with good news, however, there are days when the news requires you to sit down. This was one of those sitting down appointments.

Kinsley Nine Months Ago

Kinsley Now
Kinsley has never had it easy, since she was just a few hours old. When she was born I held my baby for an hour, Evan even less, before she was taken away from us, to make that dreaded incubator ride to the NICU. For days we waited for news, only getting to hold her every two hours and only while she was connected to machines. Eventually the wires and tubes were disconnected and we fast forward to nine months later, where our baby has been home, happy and thriving. However, as our children grow we sometimes run into problems, and here we are at another bump in the road. So as a family, Evan, Baby K and I are asking for your continued prays as we face another speed bump and we hope that you will continue to pray and ask God to watch over her until we can get the answers we are looking for.

For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
Isaiah 41:13

Love always,
Baby K and Me

Gone Baby Gone – To Daytona…

Life has been crazy the past couple of weeks, mainly because we have had company but things are quiet again and I finally feel like I have a second to myself to write this blog. A few hours ago, we returned home from Daytona Beach after being gone for four days. It feels good to get things back to normal, finally, and I am looking forward to completely unpacking and washing the sand out from all the baby things. Fun fun.
I basically wanted to use this particular blog to say happy mother’s day and share some photos from our vacation. I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you enjoy the last few hours of this great holiday to celebrate all the amazing women in all of our lives, the ones still here, and the ones that have left us too soon.






































Love always,
Baby K and Me

Baby K’s Big Night Out…

Last night the family made the trek out to Turner Field for the first time this season to watch the Braves take on the Marlins. It was Baby K’s first baseball game and I couldn’t wait for her to see it. I knew she would not understand what was going on, or where she was, but the lights, the people and the noise excited her far more than anything else she had ever seen. They even had this certificate they gave her for being a first timer. She also got loaded up on braves gear, including a baseball cap and freeman shirt jersey. She is too adorable not to spoil, haha.

You know, I feel baseball, more than other sports, has a glue like substance to it. I guess what I mean by that is being at the ballpark, I see more families, more dads with their daughters, more moms with their husbands and kids. It is reassuring, that in this day we still have things out there beyond television that can bring families together. Baseball to me is steadfast, it was one of those rare things that you can look to and for the most part is untouched or unchanged. I want my Baby K to know some things remain the same, some things will always bring us together, that you can take something that has been around for over 150 years and it still have a positive impact on the people it touches. I want Baby K to be exposed to something both me and her father enjoy equally. Being a parent is about exposing your child, exposing your child to religion, or their ABC’s or new vegetables and as important as exposing all those things are, I don’t want to forget to expose her to the fun things, to the kinds of things that will make memories for her.
I look forward to the next time we go to the ballpark as a family, it truly is one of the best memories.

Love always,
Baby K and Me

That’s What I Love About Sundays…

Sundays are for family, they are for cooking Sunday dinner, they are for grocery shopping, they are for leftover homework I put off, BUT MOSTLY they are for God.
When I was younger, probably about 4 or 5 I was actually terrified of God. I am not sure what it was, I think it was probably me taking the lessons the wrong way, like I thought he would flood the world and I might not make it on Noah’s ark (after all I thought he only had room for 2 of each kind), or maybe it was the Jonah and the whale story that scared me, or maybe it was when they taught us one day Jesus was going to come for us and take us away. Of course, I didn’t fully understand these stories and my childhood mind was a creative one so I elaborated these stories and made them many moons more intense than they ever actually were, but the point is, these thoughts faded and I quickly became an adolescent of God, and eventually became the woman of God that I am today.
Now I have a beautiful daughter, a beautiful daughter who has no earthly idea who God is or who Jesus is, or what in the world the bible is and it is my responsibility to introduce these things to her. MY RESPONSIBILITY. In my opinion, the biggest responsibility I will ever have. It is my responsibility to send her to church on Sundays, to read her stories from the bible, to make sure she even has a bible, to make sure she knows that God is not only reserved for Sundays, that she knows she can open her bible on a Tuesday if she would like or to make sure she DOES NOT have to be afraid of him. I want church to be a part of her life, I want church to be a part of our families life, something not just for Easter Sunday or Christmas Eve, something we get up and go to every Sunday, or even a Monday, or if we feel the call to go on a Thursday, we go. We pray. Whenever we feel the need. I want that to be my daughters life and I hope she will accept that kind of life when she has the ability to say no, but chooses not too.
Baby K only now knows the nursery of our church, the large brick walls painted with scenes from Noah’s ark and Daniel in the lions den, but soon she will be receiving Sunday school lessons with the older kids in daycare and I can only hope she feels some sort of completion, some sort of heart felt love, some sort of recognition that she has someone other than mommy and daddy to run to when she needs him. This is what I want for her, and I hope one day she wants the same thing for herself.
Sundays are for lots of things,
but mostly Sundays are for God.

Love always,
Baby K and Me