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. 

Just a few pictures this week.

We didn't really have an eventful week this week. Michael went to Myrtle Beach for the week for a fire conference, and Emorie and I held down the fort here at home. It was a busy week for both of us and we have been worn out.

My big girl is learning how to write her name. I only helped her with the lowercase E. 

A beautiful fall day involves playing outside :)

And look how big my girl is getting;

A family fun day with a little creativity thrown in

Forgive me, but I've been behind on my posts as we have had a difficult time lately. Life is slowly returning to normal, and I'm doing all I can to keep it normal.

This weekend, my husband was not on call. We asked Emorie what she wanted to do. She wanted to go to the Greensboro Children's Museum. When we arrived, we found out they were having a fall festival. The museum was serving cider in the Edible School yard, having puppet shows in the library across the street, presentations at the historical museum, and Art Quest was having fall crafts.

Our daughter is 3 and we weren't sure how much she'd like the historical society, so we played at the museum, went to the puppet show, and then went over to Art Quest.

Art Quest was so cool. I never knew it existed before. At Art Quest, which was free, by the way, kids create different art projects and learn while they are creating. Emorie made a rag doll out of paper, fabric and yarn, and then she made art prints using leaves, fruit, flowers and paint. It was a lot of fun for her and we enjoyed it, too. 

It was a fun weekend and I am glad we let Emorie choose the activity! 

Be still and know...

For the past four days, this verse has been my constant. I actually read this verse the morning of September 2, 2014, when I found out Emorie was going to be a big sister. We had two ultrasounds, the first one showing me being two weeks off. Two weeks later, we had another ultrasound. The baby measured only one week larger, but the heart was beating. I felt hopeful.

Then, I began experiencing complications. On about Wednesday of last week, I could no longer deny something was wrong. I went in for an emergency ultrasound on Friday, only to discover the baby had not grown and the heartbeat was slowing. My heart sank. I began calling family members and friends. I posted a message to our friends and family on Facebook: "It's hard to say goodbye when you never got to say hello. Please pray for us during this difficult time."

On Saturday, the contractions began and I truly knew it was over. My body is still aching, but the pain is slowing. My heart is still aching, but I am beginning to feel a little bit better. While at this point I am unsure what will happen next, and whether or not we will attempt to have more children, I am sure of this. I am definitely not alone.

To the lady who saw me crying in the waiting room and asked if she could pray for me, thank you. To the ultrasound nurse who held me and let me cry, thank you. To the doctor who sat with me and told me not to apologize for my tears, thank you.  So many of my family members, co-workers, and church family members have sent messages, cards, and have called, and for that I thank you. My coworkers gave me a card and a gift card. My teammates prepared my classroom for testing so I wouldn't have to do it when I returned to school.

I never realized before how many of my friends and family members have experienced this before. I miscarried Emorie's twin, but chose to instead dwell on having one healthy baby remaining. I really didn't feel the loss until after Emorie was a year old. This time though, it's completely different.

I don't write this entry to seek attention. I don't write it to be graphic or to share too much with others. I write it because miscarriage is something people don't typically talk about. Talking about it is the only thing helping me right now. Maybe someone someday will be in the same place, will find this entry and it will help them. Maybe when things are better, I'll read this again and realize how far the Lord has brought me.

I have read numerous blog entries from other mothers who have experienced loss. I've spent time talking to my family members, church family members, and friends who have experienced miscarriages. I am hurting but not alone. Keep us in your prayers. Our hearts are broken but we will be OK.

And God is still God.

Shopping guide: Growin' up in God's Word

My family is Christian. I grew up in church and so did my husband. So, you can imagine it's important to us that our daughter be raised in church as well.  Unfortunately, our church attendance as of late has not been as good as it should be. We are working to get back on track.

I have been faithfully reading devotions, reading my Bible and been more actively praying daily since June. I am not bragging about this, just stating it here to keep me accountable. A lot of things have happened in my life this year, and most of those things were a huge wake-up call for me. A lot of bad things happened this year, but some good things happened, too.

I'll talk more about the good and bad later, but I want to use this time to blog about some books we purchased for our daughter. My little girl is 3. Some of the books and materials we have purchased for her are a bit mature for her at the moment, but will be perfect in a few short years.

She has a toddler Bible. It is a board book, and she loves the pictures and Bible stories within it. She carries this Bible to church with her.  It's actually recommended for ages 2-4 and I purchased it for about $10 from Wal-Mart. It's perfect for her now, but when she turns four next summer, I'd like to get her one that's a little more mature. I haven't done much shopping around yet, so I'm not sure what we might get.

A few years ago, my librarian uncle gave Emorie a Books-A-Million gift card for Christmas. My kiddo is not short on books, for which I am grateful! We went together so she could choose something. We got some age-appropriate story books, and we also picked up this one-year children's Bible story book. It's a little too mature for her, but I've found if you explain the story to her, she understands it. Also, if we read a story she is already familiar with, she understands it just fine. 

Right now, you can buy this for less than $10 on Amazon. 

We have a book sale that comes to our school about every other month. They usually have some really nice things for low prices. I've often bought Christmas gifts from them. This past February, I found a copy of The Love Dare One-Year Devotional for Couples, which I quickly bought for me and the hubs to peruse. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the children's one-year devotional book, Jesus Calling.  I realize this is a bit too mature for my girl now, but in a few years, it will be perfect. Currently, you can get the book for $10.30 on Amazon. I think I paid $12 for it. I am so excited about reading this with her someday soon. 

Do any of you have some recommendations for Bible story books and kids' Bibles? I'd love to hear about them. 

Good Saturday morning to you!

Thanks so much for praying for my sweet Daddy- he is at home now, not completely back to normal, but on the mend. We are extremely blessed, as most people who have septic shock do not survive. That alone should indicate the power of prayer.

Please keep him in your prayers, as he is still recovering and isn't himself again just yet.

This school year is off to a good start. I have a great group of young men and young women, but am struggling to get back into the swing of things. Sadly. my home is what is going by the wayside. I will be spending my Saturday giving my home some much-needed attention :) Today it is raining, so I will not feel guilty for staying in the house :)

Please visit my house blog, http://www.organizedandsimplified.blogspot.com. I will be posting some projects on there really soon.

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 :)