Astounding Article

I was recently reading an article in a magazine that has left me with many emotions and I wanted to share it. The June 2011 issue of Redbook published the article titled, "Why don't I like my own child?" Click on the article and read what this mother has to say about her struggles with her firstborn daughter...(make sure you hit the next button and read all the way to the end)

I was appalled when I first started reading it. Those of us who are parents know that there are moments in every mother's life where we could use a break away from the kids, but if you are anything like me, the break doesn't last long before Im ready to squeeze my little angel again and hear her say, "I love you Mommy!" So if my child didn't ever hug me or really respond to affection it might be tough. And if she didn't seem to develop age appropriately that would also be a hard thing to cope with. But I cannot ever imagine, no matter the circumstances, saying that I didn't like my own child. When you go for your first prenatal visits, the doctors explain to you all sorts of testing that can be done to determine if you unborn child will be born with developmental and/or physical problems. I'm sure everyone has different opinions on this matter, but I personally do not understand the purpose of the tests because if they ever came back and showed that there was a problem with my baby, nothing would change about how I felt about the child growing inside of me, and I would definitely not even for one millisecond consider aborting that baby simply because raising them would be a bit tougher.

So I keep reading the article and I begin to get even more frustrated as the mother talks of how her second daughter was born and she was just wonderful and there was this instant bond between them all because she was an easy baby compared to her first daughter who rarely cried and then grew to be such a happy, friendly child. It literally made me sick to think that a mother could feel this way and I cannot comprehend it. The mother's friend finally gave her a wake call, and I love this, she said, "You are Sophie's mother. You're suppose to be her rock - the person she can count on most in the world for unconditional love and support. It doesn't matter if you like her of not: you still have to support her." 


Sadly, it wasn't until the little girl was 7 years old that the doctors told her parents that she had a decrease in her growth hormones since birth making her about 3 years behind her age. The mother only then started to feel a huge guilt for the years she had tried to push her daughter to be more and wished she had been more when all the while, the little girl had no control over it and was being the only person she was capable of being. Sophie, now 9 years old, is receiving hormone injections and is blossoming extremely well. Towards the end of the article, it seems as if the mother was going down the right path on forming a healthy relationship with her daughter.

Will and I were blessed with an incredibly smart and healthy little girl and I pray daily that this baby growing inside of me will be a healthy happy baby as well, but if that is not God's plan, and we face the difficult task of raising a developmentally slow child I pray that I will love and embrace that child just as much as I love my Emma. I know that it would be a very very hard road but I also know that no matter what, I will always love my children no matter what. I hope that Sophie's mother can see what an amazing blessing her little girl is and that their bond can only grow stronger because she is missing out on one of he greatest gifts God can give us.

Easy as Pie!

I wanted to share with you a recipe given to me at one of my wedding showers. It was the neatest idea, the ladies giving my shower had everyone bring their favorite recipe for me to add to my recipe box. I ended up with some great ones, but this one has to be one of my favorites. It is so simple and quick yet incredibly delicious! Enjoy!

~Fudge Pie~

One frozen 8-inch pie shell

1 stick butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup cocoa

1/4 cup all purpose flour

(addition of my own, just makes it a bit fluffier! - 1/4 cup milk)

Add ingredients one at a time, in order listed above, blending slightly between each addition until all ingredients are blended well. Pour into frozen pie shell and bake for 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Fantastic with a glass of milk!

These are a Few of my Favorite Things!

It's that time of year again when the weather starts getting just a bit warmer, the trees start budding, and the flowers start blooming. SPRING! These are a few of my favorite things about springtime...

And Then There Were Four...

That's right folks! The Easler family is growing as baby #2 is on its way! 

We found out February 13th about this little blessing. We have been trying to have another baby since November, which most people would say is not long at all, but Emma happened right away so I guess I just never expected the next one to be any different. However, those two months of negative tests were incredibly difficult. Yet it made me realize how much I actually did want another baby to join our lives. We had always said we would start trying when Emma turned 2 but I just wasn't totally sure I was ready. After those two negative tests I knew without a doubt I was more than ready to take this step and when I fully felt this peace about it ... the next test was positive! Will and I are so excited and what little bit Emma can understand she seems very excited herself! She will already kiss my belly and say her baby is in there :)

We got to see Baby's picture for the first time on Thursday. It was an overwhelming wave of emotions when its little peanut body popped up on the screen and then even more when I heard its fast little heartbeat. It is truly the most unbelievable moment to see this little being growing inside of you for the first time. The are no words fitting for that moment. 

So as we embark on this amazing journey once again, we are so incredibly thankful that God has blessed us with this precious life and greatly look forward to our future with two little ones in our house! 

Healer

I was introduced to the artist of this song by a good friend of mine in Texas a couple of years ago. This song is my very favorite of hers thus far. It's one of those songs that when I am having a tough day or things just don't seem to make much sense, I can listen to it and I am reminded in a powerful way that no matter how hard life may get sometimes, God is always there for me and my ultimate Healer. So I wanted to share this song with you and I hope it brings hope to whatever tough situation you may be facing...

Closing a Chapter...

August of 2009, Will and I signed the final papers and were handed the key of our very first home! It was the most amazing feeling to have a house that was actually ours.

We watched it be built from the ground up. Our apartment we were living in at the time was 30 minutes away from the new house yet we would make many drives down there just to see the daily progress.

Our families came down to help us move in. I was lucky and got out of doing most things because I was 6 months pregnant with Emma :) So my job was setting up house, which I did pretty quickly because I couldn't wait to have everything in it's place.

We had so many great memories in our house. The biggest was bringing Emma home from the hospital to the beautiful nursery we had decorated for her.

So when God called us away from Texas in July of 2010, needless to say, it was a very emotional for us. We did not expect to be leaving our sweet little home so soon after moving in but God had bigger plans for our lives then we did and we had to follow His plan.

The house went up on the market and without much interest we struggled until we got a renter in it in November. And yet again God had bigger plans for us. We were called to move again in March, this time back to our home in Tennessee. We continued to rent our house in Texas and moved in with my mom and dad until we decided how to proceed. We decided to put the house back on the market around September and in doing so, our renter moved out. At this point, we were paying the mortgage again and needed to move forward with our lives here in Tennessee so we really needed to for the house to sell.

With each showing, we never had any further interest. It was very difficult and a time where I had to learn patience and completely trust that God had a master plan for our family. We then had a curveball thrown at us in November. A guy in our church had a house that he was selling and wanted to show it to us. We looked at it and pretty much fell in love. So now we were stuck. We can't have two house payments so all we could do was pray that if the house here was meant for us then something would happen with our house in Texas.

Then a little over a week ago, we got not one but two offers on our house. We countered and within a day someone accepted our offer, which means, as long as everything falls in to place, we have sold our house! The close date is set for March 16 or before. And while I am so excited and thankful beyond belief that this burden will be lifted, there is a part of me that is breaking. I will never again walk through the doors of my house; I will never again sit in my little girl's nursery; I will never again stand in my kitchen cooking dinner while I watch Emma playing. And I know, some may say its just a house and yes it is, but I am a very sentimental person and it was more than just a house to me. But life moves forward and I know that there are great things in store for our family in the future. I don't know if the house we love here is meant for us but I do know that wherever we end up, we will make more great memories just like we made at 500 Jennifer Drive...

Cookies

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 eggs

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 cup flour

1 cup blueberries

1/2 pkg cream cheese, cut into 1 tsp cubes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy. Blend in the lemon zest, juice and eggs. Make sure to scrape off any bits of zest that stick to the mixer paddle.

In a separate bowl whisk together the baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour then mix it into the wet ingredients. Gently fold in the blueberries so as not to burst any. Refrigerate the dough for about 15 – 20 minutes to make it stiff enough to roll.

For each cookie, roll 1 heaping tbsp of dough into a ball then flatten it slightly into a disc shape. Place a 1 tsp cream cheese cube into the center and form the dough around it creating a ball again. Bake them for about 10 - 14 minutes until the edges brown slightly. Transfer them to a cooling rack and enjoy!

*I haven't tried this recipe yet but I found it on my new addiction, Pinterest!, and thought these cookies looked incredible!*