Coincidence? I think not.

It's funny how the Lord always gives us what we need when we're needing it the most.

If you are one of the few people who has made it known they are uncomfortable with my talking about my miscarriage, you should leave this post now and discontinue reading. I am not "whining," or "being dramatic" or "trying to get attention." I am currently going through something heartbreaking, and talking about it is the only thing getting me through. Keep your hurtful comments to yourself- if it bothers you, I am pretty sure there is a large "X" at the top of your browser. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me share what's on my heart today.

I've had a difficult time lately- each day, my spirit and body become more aware that my child is gone. On Christmas Eve, I would have been 20 weeks pregnant. Halfway there. Instead, I'll celebrate Christmas with my child and husband, and instead of looking forward to our new child, I'll be missing this one. I could sit here and expound on each and every "would be milestone" that is going to be difficult for me. Instead, I will talk about what the Lord gave me yesterday.

Yesterday, my devotion was about handling grief, and what to do when people close to you are grieving. The devotion talked about the Jewish tradition of the Shiva, in which they grieve for their loved ones for seven days. Any visitors to the home within those days does not speak unless one of the hosts speaks to them first. The families of the deceased simply sit there in quiet, comforted only by one another's presence. Words are not necessary.

The accompanying Scripture was from John, the story of Lazarus. I immediately read about the grief of Jesus for his friend, and how he wept for his friend.

Too often, when someone close to us loses someone, we try to almost take on the role of the Lord and explain what can't be explained. We don't know why death happens. We don't know why divorce happens. We don't know why miscarriage happens. Silence should be enough. We don't need to say anything because there isn't anything we can say. I've been guilty of this so many times- just wanting to say something because I didn't know what to say. A simple "I'm sorry," or "I'm praying for you" should have been it.

I've struggled lately to feel the Lord's presence. I know he is still here and he is hurting along with me. Some horrible part of me just wants to close off, shut down and just grieve. I'm trying hard to stay positive and to just trust Him, but this is hard. I should have thought about how Jesus raised Lazarus and how if he can raise Lazarus from the dead, he can get me through this. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't think about that. He also makes the statement in this passage that through Lazarus' rest, God will be brought glory. I don't know what his plan for me is. I don't know why my baby was called home. I know somehow he'll be glorified through it. I know these things, even though it is hard for me to understand it at the moment.

Please keep praying. I need it more than I ever have.

November 8- weekend

Friday was a good day- it was the perfect end to a rotten week. We spent some time with my parents and my great-uncle and great-aunt, who are in town. We love visiting with family, especially when we don't get to see them often.

Saturday was a beautiful day. Miss Emorie wanted to go outside and play, so we bundled up and headed outdoors. We have been seriously neglecting our flower beds, so we took the time to clean them out while we were playing. We got two and a half beds cleaned out, and have one and a half to go. We will finish those on Tuesday. I also plan on cleaning out our container gardens and replacing them with some fall color.

Miss Emorie went to her grandmother's Saturday evening, so the hubs and I could have a date. We went to P.F. Chang's. We had a reservation, but due to problems in the kitchen, it took an hour for us to get our food. The manager ended up comping our meal. We had a delicious dinner that ended up only costing us $3. On the way back home, we picked up sweet girl and headed home.

On Sunday, I was running a fever and not feeling very well. I am almost feeling better now, and almost positive this is the result of some nasty virus. I am hoping the husband and sweet girl are spared the fever!

Happy Halloween!

Emorie had a blast yesterday. After choosing four different Halloween costumes, she finally settled on Elsa from the movie "Frozen." I guess you can say we are a little obsessed with "Frozen" around here. I tried to talk her into being Anna since her dress is prettier, but Emorie wasn't having any of it. We saw several other Elsas when we went to the fire department, and several of my friends posted pictures of their own Elsas on my Facebook feed.

She wouldn't stop singing "Let It Go" long enough to get her picture taken. LOL. 

Waiting at the fire department. She was all for meeting Sparky and taking a picture of him until we got there. Then she was scared and wanted nothing to do with him. 

A little girl and her daddy. Love them so much. 

We didn't go trick-or-treating. We went to the fire department, the police department, and then to her grandparents' houses. She had a great time, ate more candy than she has probably had all year, and then refused to take off her costume when we got home. 

Answered Prayers

If you've been praying for my Daddy, I thank you. He was admitted to ICU last Friday, due to a high fever and a very low blood pressure. He was found to have strep infection in his blood (but no strep throat), so doctors began several rounds of antibiotics.

Further investigation showed that his port-a-cath from his chemo had become infected. Doctors were planning to remove it next month anyway, but they went ahead and removed it today. He is now in a private room, but will have to have antibiotics through IV for ten days. We don't know yet when he will get to come home, but we know he will likely not be kept for those ten days.

He is in good spirits but ready to go home. Please continue to pray for us. Things are already much better than they were last week.

Love and blessings,

The Boone family

PS. Another prayer has been answered, but I will expand on that one more soon :)

A trip to the grandparents' house

Last week, my husband actually had a few days off from work. I say "actually," because he doesn't often have them. Since it had been several months since we'd gone to my grandparents' house in WV, we decided this would be the perfect chance to get away. We loaded up the van and headed north.

We were only able to stay two nights, but we spent a lot of time with our family, enjoyed the cooler temperatures, went shopping and enjoyed my grandmother's cooking. We also took Emorie to ride on the Ridge Runner, a train that I rode as a little girl.



Emorie liked the train until the whistle blew, or until we went through the tunnel.

We then let our kiddo play on the playground until it started to rain. We had a great visit, and I wish we could do it more often.

A week in review ...and a new blog series

This week has been great. Busy, but great. My kiddo went to the Children's Museum with her grandparents this week. She has been before, but was much younger and really didn't remember a lot about it. She really enjoyed the fire truck and the grocery store. She's a very hands on child, so the Children's Museum is right up her alley. She also got to spend an evening playing at her other grandparents' home. We are fortunate to live near both sets of grandparents, so she sees them often.

My husband works a lot and he actually had a four day weekend this weekend. He and I spent one of those evenings on a dinner and shopping date together while his parents watched Emorie for us. Yesterday, the three of us spent a day at the pool. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of our little fish, but she was surely upset when we had to get out of the water.

I am compiling a summer blog series on my home blog, Organized and Simplified, called Common Sense Cleaning. It is a chance for me to explain my cleaning and deep cleaning (yes, there's a difference) routines and to offer some tips I've picked up along the way. I'm pretty excited about it.

Speaking of blogging, I have gotten so many positive comments following my last blog entry. So many people have reached out offering prayer, support, or just wanting to talk and vent about their own struggles. Sweet friends, know I am thankful for your friendship and am praying for each of you. I thank you for letting me be honest about my imperfections and for offering a little encouragement along the way. God bless all of you.

Until next week, take care and come back!

A third birthday party fit for a princess

My little girl turned three last week. We celebrated with her daycare friends the day after her birthday. She had a small party with her classmates where they dined on cupcakes, chips and juice boxes. Emorie thought that it was the best thing ever.

My girl is just a tiny bit obsessed with the movie "Frozen." She just had to have a Frozen party. She even got some "Frozen" books for her birthday.

Her big gift this year was a wooden swing set which my Dad and I spent a day and a half putting together for her. It was about 100 degrees and I got a terrible sunburn, but she was so excited that we didn't mind. She also got her first bicycle. 

A good time was definitely had by all! 

A weekend filled with plantin' and family

If you can't tell, I took a bit of time off from blogging. My regularly scheduled blogging will resume at the end of this week. Our week has been extraordinarily busy.

How sweet is little miss Emorie?

Friday night was the eighth grade dance. I went, I danced, I helped give this year's eighth graders what I hope was a lasting memory they'll always treasure. I got home late, tired, but feeling good. 

Saturday morning led to a trip to Lowe's, where I purchased MDF and trim to create E's new chalkboard for her playroom. I'm not done with it yet. I also bought some shelf paper so I can give her little bookcase a quick make over. 

We also visited with family and planted some flowers in our numerous containers we've got stashed around this place. It was a great weekend, full of sunshine, fresh air and family, and I cannot wait for our three-day weekend this week. Please know that my outdoor planters are far from finished, but I am lovin' what we've done so far.

These red impatiens are planted in an old RC Cola wooden crate I found at my grandma's house. I was going to plant succulents, but when I saw these, I decided I'd really like them on my back porch. Plus, since we have our (currently unfinished) back porch decorated in red and navy, they match the color scheme. 

So the "RC Cola" is faded, but you can still see it.

Mother's Day weekend

I thoroughly enjoyed my Mother's Day weekend!

On Friday night, we went out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and then visited Michael's grandparents.

Emorie attended the Strawberry Festival with her grandmother, great-aunt and cousin, while the husband and I accomplished a few household tasks. She got her face painted and enjoyed the playground. Here's a picture of my sleepy sweetie after the Strawberry Festival- can you see the heart on her face?

When she returned, we took her to Burlington City Park. This park has an amusement park for small children with a carousel, a train, helicopters, boats, and little cars. There is also a walking track and playground. We love it because it's less than an hour from our house and the rides are only about a dollar each. Emorie loves it because she's fearless and loves the rides- the helicopters are her favorite! We were supposed to go shopping after the park, but a huge gully washer came up and we got soaked and had to go home.

Here we are riding on the train together. 

She loves the carousel- we rode it twice! 

My helicopter riding baby- her new favorite. 

She also rode the boats. This picture was taken only seconds before the torrential downpour began, which soaked us down to our skivvies. 

A soaking wet selfie- Emorie and I after getting soaked to the bone in a surprise rainstorm! 

On Sunday, we went to church, where we enjoyed a fantastic sermon. Mother's Day at our church is always Baby Dedication Sunday, which always takes me back to when we dedicated our sweet girl. Afterwards, we went to Cracker Barrel for a wonderful lunch with my mother-in-law, my husband's grandmother, and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. 

We definitely had a busy weekend, but it was a wonderful one! 

Weekend recap

We had a fantastic weekend, though a busy one.

Friday evening marked mine and Mr. B's fifth wedding anniversary. We don't feel like we've been married five years, but we have. My, how the time does fly! We didn't go anywhere Friday night, because we had gone out for a nice dinner the previous weekend for my birthday and our anniversary. We spent a quiet evening at home and just enjoyed one another's company.

This weekend, my grandparents and my aunt also came into town. They live three hours away, so even though we do see a lot of each other, we make it a point to spend some time together when they come down. My aunt, who is more like my sister than my mother's sister, and I went on a short, but very fun shopping trip. We are both crafters, so we hit up Hobby Lobby. I bought some wreath making supplies so I could finish up this project. I also made a mental note of several July 4/Memorial Day/Flag Day decorations I want to buy as soon as they are half-priced. We could have happily spent all evening in there, but we hurried over to the high school to watch my favorite cousin in her high school production of Tarzan. Sadly, we didn't get to watch the play as the loud music and some of the scenes in first part had poor Emorie freaking out. I guess she is a bit young to go to a musical :(. We ended up leaving and going to get some ice cream.

Emorie is involved in a program at church on Wednesday nights called "Adventure Kids." I am not one of the program leaders, but my mother is. I can definitely tell my kiddo has learned a lot about the Gospel through this program. Her Adventure Kids graduation was this morning at church. She sang four songs. This is important because last year she refused to stand on the stage or sing at all. She did a great job this year and even won her first certificate, for having the best attendance and the most badges in her class.

Singing away!

Serious face! 

"I am ready for a nap and I do not want to pose with my certificate!"

We have a busy week ahead, but we are ready for it! 

A birthday re-cap

Tuesday, April 29 was a pretty rough day at work, but fortunately, the day improved drastically when I left work. This was a good thing, since it was my birthday :)


I had already celebrated my birthday the previous Friday with my husband and daughter, and the previous Sunday with my parents and extended family with a home-cooked meal. On my actual birthday, we ate a home-cooked meal with my mother-in-law and father-in-law. He is a fantastic cook so I always appreciate and enjoy his meals.


We have been in our home for almost one year now and are still in the process of decorating it. I mostly received gift cards and money for my birthday. Two of the gift cards went toward new running shoes, while the rest will be used for house-related purchases.


I am really excited about what this new year holds in store for me!

Weekend recap

We had a busy, but fantastic weekend. Our school hosted its annual carnival Friday night. Our turnout wasn't as good as it usually is- we had a really bad thunderstorm and were under tornado watch, so a lot of people didn't show. I worked the concession stand and had a great time. I love people and being social, so putting me where I can talk to people is always good. It was a late night, and I was dead tired when I got home.

Saturday was mostly spent at home. We had a good visit with the hubs' grandparents and then went out for a late dinner and some ice cream.

Sunday was fantastic, as we had a guest preacher who preached a great service. Afterward, we went to lunch and came home and spent lots of time outside together.

Sunday night, we had an early birthday party for me at my mother's house. We had an excellent meal and an ice cream cake, and got to enjoy lots of visiting and fellowship. I very much enjoyed it and it certainly started my week off right.

Spring Break re-cap

What a busy but wonderful spring break we had!

First of all, I kicked off my spring break by participating in the Briar Chapel Earth Day 5k on Saturday, April 12. I've been aware of this race for some time but have never participated. It was definitely an enjoyable experience, and while it wasn't my best time, I did improve a few minutes over my last race in March.
                              
Second of all, I participated in the 21 day challenge. If you're unfamiliar, you can read all about it in my organizing and housekeeping blog.  My wonderful dad came over and helped add three shelves to our cramped and disorganized linen closet. We also cleaned, scrubbed and created a giant "donation" pile. The super spring cleaning extravaganza is not quite over- we are installing closet organizers in E's room and the guest bed, as well as re-organizing mine and the hub's closet. Plus, my awesome daddy and I are adding shelves to my craft supply cabinet as well. Our home is finally coming together- we've lived there almost a year but we just haven't had the free time to accomplish everything we've wanted to do.

Thirdly, we celebrated Easter with what was honestly the best Easter service I have ever attended. The message was amazing, the music soul-stirring and I was richly blessed during the service. My baby girl looked beautiful and my husband looked handsome. We visited grandparents for Easter and spent some much needed time as a family.

                              
                             
                              
While we didn't travel anywhere, we didn't have an action-packed, fast paced spring break, we did accomplish a lot and manage to spend some wonderful moments together. I wouldn't have it any other way. Countin' many blessings, indeed!

Saturdays are lazy days.

I used to clean the house on Saturdays, but by the time I'd get finished, it was too late to do anything. Now I try to get the bulk of the chores done on weeknights so we can have our Saturdays for family time.

This weekend was spent visiting family. My grandmother came to town, so we spent Friday evening with my parents and grandmother. My dad recently finished his last radiation treatment, so we had cause to celebrate. We went to dinner and spent some time visiting.

Saturday morning, we slept in and then the three of us got haircuts. Emorie spent some quality time with her grandparents while I tackled some of the tasks on my spring cleaning list. We finished off our Saturday visiting Michael's grandparents.

Sunday, we went to church and then finished out our weekend having dinner at Olive Garden!

Hope you all have a fantastic week!

Welcome to our new blog!

I regularly posted in our old blog, until I began to get burned out. I decided to take a brief hiatus, but the brief hiatus turned into almost a year.

So much has happened in that time. We have sold our house on Candlewood and bought a house with more room both inside and out. I am now almost finished with my fifth year teaching (my third in middle school), my husband just entered his tenth year at his job, and our little girl is getting ready to turn three. I've also started running again, have begun running 5ks and half marathons, and have lost fifteen pounds (bye bye, baby weight!)

More changes are on the horizon, and since so much had changed already, Lollipops and Ladybugs will exist now only as Emorie's electronic baby book.

You can read all about our new journeys here! And if you are looking for my organizing blog, you can find it here.