There is a Turtle in My Bathtub

I am serious.

There is a turtle in my bathtub right now as we speak… errr write.

Now before you turn me in for animal cruelty or give me some lecture on how irresponsible it is for me to have a turtle in my bathtub for 1000 different reasons let me explain….There is absolutely a good reason for this… or at least I think there is.

I was driving down the road and it had been one of those crazy kind of days. And I mean crazy!

I was operating on about 2 hours of sleep and with the birth of our 5th child only 4 weeks before I was a bit sleep deprived long before this day had arrived. But my baby was sick and a mama just can’t sleep when her baby is sick… or at least I can’t. So, I sat up and held him. I made him as comfortable as possible and just loved on him.

So I had taken him to the doctor that afternoon and then was on my way to the grocery store to get him some stuff the doctor told me to get for him. That is when I saw something on the road…

Yep, a turtle.

It was a narrow road and he was making his way past the white line so I immediately pulled over. Kind of like Dukes of Hazzard but in a very safe and responsible mom sort of way. Okay, so I used my blinker and merged over. But in my mind it was much more dramatic.

I don’t know much about turtles except they have shells and what I have learned from watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles… which did not help me much in this situation I have to say.

Did you also know that they have claws and are seriously feisty??? No laughing if you already knew that. And maybe they aren’t called claws but they sure felt like it.

So, I pick the little guy up and set him in the floor of my van. I tried to find a box but what do you know…. my van that usually has so much stuff in it that a small army could live out of it for a week was completely bare because it had just been cleaned out. And I mean completely. Hmm… well, how much harm can a turtle do, right?

Well that whole concept of turtles being slow… not true my friend. Not true. That turtle was seriously doing laps in the van and I mean laps. It even tried to climb my seatbelt which kind of freaked me out, I am not going to lie. All I kept telling myself was to not get in an accident and especially not get in a wreck because this turtle freaked me out. That would be super awkward to explain to the police officer that is for sure.

“So ma’am, what you are telling me is that you hit the light pole because the turtle that you have loose in your vehicle scared you….”

“Yes….sir….”

“And why did you have a turtle in your car?”

I obviously had no plan here other than the fact that I was saving a turtles life and that seemed like a good idea at a time.

I blame my husband too. (Yeah, he will appreciate me throwing that in here too. ;-) ) He had just told the kids about how he had found a turtle when he was a kid and kept it for a couple of days and then turned it loose again. I was thinking that the kids would like to see this cool little creature and then we could have this festive celebration of the turtle while releasing him back into the wild… a much safer wild with no narrow roads with white lines to worry about….

Finally, I did make it home. The kids were amazed and shrieked with awe and wonder… score 1 for mom. They started looking and studying it… score another one for mom. (As a homeschool mom you are always looking for ways to inspire kids to learn… even if that means pulling the van over to the side of the road and waiting as 30 cars whip past you… okay so maybe it was only 3 cars but still… and rescuing a turtle.

So, my week continued on to be crazy. A couple more days with a sick baby and even less sleep. a 7th birthday for my 3rd son. Soccer practices, volleyball games, more schoolin’… and a turtle in my bathtub. I kind of feel like that just demonstrates my life. No matter how much I try to have it together… how much I plan… how much I prepare… this totally random stuff just happens and we have to make the best of it… or not. That is the choice we have. You have to roll with the punches or let them knock  you down. I do my best to make the best of it and wring every ounce of joy out of life that I can.

Soon the turtle… no I didn’t name it… if I name something I automatically want to keep it… will be released at a pond where he (or she… I don’t know that either) can go on to do turtle things and live happily ever after (or so we hope) and I will clean my bathroom (turtles are surprisingly messy) and prepare for whatever adventure comes along next week. And I know that my kids won’t remember the day-to-day mundane tasks that we do in order to get through school and life in general but I know that they will remember things like the turtle in our bathtub…. and I hope they smile. I hope they even get a little chuckle out of it and tell their kids these funny stories too. Because this is what makes life interesting. That is what makes life fun.

So, if you managed to read this far… thanks. You will also be happy to know that the turtle was released and is on its happy little turtle way. :-)

See you next time Mr. or Mrs. Turtle. We sincerely hope you have a joyful life. And the next time you see the white line… turn around and go the other way. :-)

Our New Addition

We have a new addition to the {g} family and we couldn't be more excited.

This is Gauge.

He is 17 weeks old and we have had him since the day before Easter.

He is truly the sweetest thing and he absolutely loves the kids. 

Welcome, Gauge, to {The Gressman Family}!

May you have a long and happy life with us. 

Family Fun: {The Corn Maze & The Pumpkin Patch}

A couple of weeks ago we made a family trip to the corn maze and pumpkin patch. We met up with some good friends and the boys had a ton of fun navigating their way through the 6 mile corn maze.

We then made our way to the pumpkin patch. It was so fun watching the boys select their "perfect" pumpkins. We must have examined nearly every pumpkin there. Ky was especially determined to find "just the right one" which meant that it didn't even have dirt on it. I kept telling him that we could wash any dirt off but he kept at it until he found the one he wanted.

Thank goodness Jason was there to cart our treasures back to the vehicle from clear across the field.

I was just as bad though. I spotted Kearyn's blue pumpkin clear across the field as well and couldn't resist claiming it as our own despite the distance.

I am so thankful for days like this.

Day 22: Chemo 2...Part 2 (My Inspiration)

So, as to be expected, my day continued to get worse. The next 72 hours will be the toughest. But knowing something is going is to be tough doesn't mean that you are giving into it. It is simply having the wisdom to say that you are indeed going through hard times and doing what you need to do in order to prepare and perceiver..

By living in denial, you are actually making things harder on yourself because you aren't putting on the armor of God to get yourself through this situation. Utimately you have to acknowledge that there is a problem so that you know how properly prepare. Everyone goes through hard times, it is what you do when your faced with them that makes the difference.I would rather live in Christ instead of living in denial.

These are the times that you press on. You walk it out even if it is one baby step at a time. You never give up. You perceiver and you keep fighting. You turn your tears of sadness and frustration to ones of joy. You rejoice in what you can't see and you cling to the hope that you know is there. Think of Jesus and what he went through for us; beaten, tortured, denied by those who were closest to him. Yet he doesn't deny me and he doesn't deny you. I call out his name and he is here with me, holding my hand, walking it out with me. I am not alone for he is by my side always.

At my weakest, I still have so much to be thankful for. I have life both here and in heaven. I have my husband and my children and there are no words to describe what a gift it is to see each of them every day, even if I can barely raise my head from the pillow. I have the rest of my family, my church family, and friends. With all that I have, the cancer means nothing, the treatment I can endure, and the sickness I can overcome. I am truly blessed.

MY INSPIRATION  

We Are the Gressman's the Mighty Mighty Gressman's

So I blogged yesterday about how we had some family pictures taken. I couldn't wait to give you a sneak peak of the festivities- and festivities they were! As you can tell from the the picture below, with three little boys and a baby girl, things don't always turn out just like you plan them....they turn out better!

We are The Gressman's, the mighty, mighty Gressman's and this is how we roll. :-)

My friend Jess Pollard from Jess Pollard Photography graciously agreed to take our pictures (we'll see if she ever agrees to again ;-). She was so patient with all of the meltdowns and more! Despite it all she was able to truly capture "our family" in the process. Thank you from the bottom of my heart Jess. There are no words to say how grateful I am for capturing these memories for me. 

If you want to check out more of Jess' work you can check out her web site at http://www.jesspollardphotography.com/

Happy New Year!!!

Well, some of you may have been wondering where I have been... We took some much needed down time as a family but we are back at it again full steam ahead. I just wanted to wish you all a very happy 2011. I hope that it is an incredibly blessed year for all of you.

Here is a quick little update on the fam!

Jason - busy as usual with the youth group. He recently started a new bible study at the boys detention center here in town and it has been amazing to see how God is working through that. Please pray that the boys find God for themselves and are able to turn their lives around before it is too late.

Andrea - busy writing, writing, writing. I have actually sold some of my articles recently and am super excited about that! Please pray that God continues to provide these writing opportunities for me and continues to provide me with inspiration!

Cale - busy with school again and basketball. Please pray that he continues to do well in his studies and that he has a fun and safe basketball season!

Ky - is back to doing school as well. Please pray that he continues to enjoy learning!

Creide - is busy being Creide in all things that Creide does. He just makes us laugh. One of his new things....when he is thirsty he says, "I'm so drinky!" I have no idea where he got that from but it is too funny. Please pray that he stays safe as he seems to continually get hurt trying to keep up with his big brothers.

Kearyn - now 7 months old, can you believe it?!? It seems to be going by so fast. She is doing super well being the center of the household. As much as Jason and I try not to make her the center of the universe her brothers just pick up where we leave off. Each one of them simply adore her in their own special way. Please pray for her continued health and happiness.

We love you all and want to thank you all for stopping by and reading this little blog of ours. We had over 800 some hits last year! Please feel free to leave comments and if you want an email update to let you know when I post automatically just subscribe. (Upper right-hand side. :-)

Kearyn's Story....Part 1

Most of our friends and family know the struggles that we have gone through having our four children. I have not hid the fact that we have lost 5 babies due to miscarriage and the pain that we have experienced through those losses. Many of you were there when we lost our little boy last year half way through my pregnancy and witnessed and even experienced some of the heartache that we went through. Many of you may be asking yourself at this very moment what this has to do with Kearyn as this is suppose to be her story. A story of joy and laughter not one of such heartache. My answer to you....everything.

I am often  asked why we didn't give up on having our children. Why we didn't stop trying after our second, third or fourth miscarriage. My answer....God didn't let me. I tried to give up, I really did. There was a point where I said that I could not take anymore heartache and that I was done. I remember having that very conversation with Jason, my husband, as if it were yesterday. I told him that we were very blessed to have ours son, Cale, and that he would probably be the most spoiled child on the planet but he was our blessing and I was going to cherish every minute that I could with him. A few months later I surprisingly found out I was expecting Ky, our second son. Twenty-two months after Ky was born we had Creide, our third son.

When I found out I was expecting our fourth son in February 2009 our heads were spinning a little but we had a great deal of joy in our hearts. When we lost him my world was rocked to say the least. I found myself in such a dark place of grief and sadness. A despair that I had never known before. I had let my guard down. We were well past the first trimester. I had allowed myself to fall deeply in love with this baby and then so suddenly he was gone....

To make things even worse I had physical complications that went along with the loss and it was the only time in my life where I truly wondered if I was going to make it. I remember praying to God over and over that he keep me here for my boys. God was faithful and kept me here for my boys. It took me four months to recover physically but much longer to recover emotionally. (I am not sure if that is a journey that I will ever actually complete to be honest with you.)

Then there was that whisper I began to hear once again. A whisper from deep in my heart. A promise that God had placed there years and years before. A promise that I would have four children. As we read in Isaiah 7 about the promise of  the birth of Jesus it was like He wrote his promise to me to have my four children just as clearly in my heart. I just kept feeling this tug to try again, try again, try again. But every time I would talk to my husband about this he was not so agreeable. You see, he was the one that had to scoop me up that night and rush me to the hospital. He was the one left waiting in the waiting room as they took me back to the operating room. As I was put under he was very much awake. He not only lost his baby that night but he had so nearly lost his wife as well and he did not want to risk that again.

But as time went on God spoke into his heart as well and he agreed to try one more time. That was only the beginning of this journey. The beginning of this story. Kearyn's story.....

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our precious baby girl's story....

Kearyn Jaedance Gressman

May 31, 2010

the gressman four....

I think there is a point with the addition of each child that I have said to myself...."Wow, I have X number of kids now..." You just get so use to taking care of one child, then two, then three that when you add another one there is a bit of an adjustment period. These are the first pictures I remember taking of all four of my children together. And let me tell you it was quite interesting as you can probably tell from the pictures! ;-) (And these are only about half of the pictures taken! :-)

I have always dreamed of having four children. I believe that it was a promise placed in my heart long ago by God himself. This promise was what got me through all of the hard times and all of the losses. Don't get me wrong, there were several times when I did just want to give up but as I stare at the faces of my four beautiful children I thank God with all that I am that I did NOT give up. I can't imagine living my life not knowing each of these precious little ones that God has so graciously blessed me with. Thank you God for my Cale, my Ky, my Creide, and my Kearyn.

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Stay tuned for more conversation on the adjustment to having four children....