Birthday and Mothers Day

 Hello Yall :)

What a week it has been, I posted last Sunday about how I was sick. I ran a fever for a few days, Aaron and I decided I should go to the doctor, so I found out I had some sort of virus. :P
They gave me some antibiotics and I now feel a lot better. My throat is still sore, but besides that I'm great :)

I was sick on my birthday though, it was on the 4th (last Monday). Aaron usually has Mondays off of work, but he had to work it this time. But it was still a good day, just laid around with Jedidiah. When Aaron came home from work, he spoiled me with presents!

 

He built me a coffee table out of pallets, I absolutely LOVE it. I am so impressed with how well it turned out. My husband is truly talented :)

 I have a big bucket full of horse shoes that I kept from working at the stables, I am always finding uses for them. Who knew they would make good cup coasters?!

He also made me a spoon ring, the spoon is from my families old set. We have had it for as long as I can remember. So its pretty special :) 
He also gave me a pot of yellow tulips, they are in full bloom right now and look absolutely beautiful. They are sitting in our kitchen window. I love it how Aaron usually makes me presents and doesn't buy them, it means so much more to me when he makes them. My mom also made me a pecan pie for my birthday, which I wasn't really able to eat since my throat was so sore. I did however save myself a piece and ate it when I was feeling better.  

My  first mothers day :) I am so blessed to be Jedidiah Silas mama, it has been one of my greatest joys. Its hard at times, but I do love every minute of it.

After church we went to Panera for lunch, it was nice not having to cook lunch. Then we came home and relaxed the rest of the day, we usually have church activities in the afternoon but it was canceled since it was mothers day. We watched Downton Abbey (which is my new favorite show) we just started watching it and finished season one a couple days ago. We really enjoy it!

Aaron and I have decided we want to start memorizing verses together, we chose Isaiah 57:15- For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,

 who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
 and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
 to revive the spirit of the lowly,
 and to revive the heart of the contrite.

 

I don't have it completely memorized yet, but I'm getting there. We try and help each other a couple times a week.  Its wonderful knowing we both are working on the same verses.

How did your week go? Did you do anything special for mothers day?

-God Bless
Hannah Bamberg.

 

Spring at the prairie

I hope this Sunday finds you well, yesterday I had a sore throat, and then woke up in the middle of the night feeling absolutely terrible. I checked my temp. and its 100.0
At the moment it is almost 4am... I'm sitting on the couch in our living room drinking lots of water and trying to keep cool. Which is hard because I'm freezing and just want to wrap myself up in a blanket. So I thought I'd write on my blog to distract myself. I'm going to make a apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, green tea later. Hoping that will help my throat some.

How was your week? Was it a busy week or more relaxed?
I had a nice week, not to busy. I had a few things going on yesterday but besides that it was pretty relaxed.

On Wednesday. Aaron, Jedidiah, and I went to Prairie City this week. It was so much fun, the weather was beautiful. It was a spontaneous trip, but I think those are the best. We were out on a walk and we just randomly decided it would be a fun day to go.



Here is Aaron and I standing off from one of the trails, there was a 1 mile trail and a 2 mile trail.
We went on the 2 mile trail, it was so peaceful out there. Nobody else was there, just us. We currently live in the city. But we both grew up living out in the country, so we enjoy getting out in the country any chance we get.

Jedidiah slept most of the time while we were there, I was planning on feeding him when we got to the car before we left. But while we were out on the trail he woke up and wanted to eat. Thankful there was a bench to sit on. The ground was kind of muddy so I wasn't going to sit on that, and walking and feeding him is kind of difficult. So it worked out well :)

Love these boys of mine, I have been truly blessed with a godly husband and a sweet son. I love getting to spend time with Aaron on his days off. We usually try and do something fun on his days off, even though Jedidiah is little and cant fully enjoy the places we go. Its still memories :)

There is an area you can drive through, it has free roaming buffalo. I have been here many times, and I have never been this close to a live buffalo. He was right off the road, you don't realize how big they are until you are this close to one. We saw an elk from a distance, but it was to far away to get a good picture. This is a 8,000 acre, prairie wild life place. It is all restored Iowa prairie. It is so much fun coming here.

On Friday, Jedidiah and I went over to my parents house. It was there city wide junk day, its where people put all the junk they no longer want on the curb and then Saturday morning the garbage guys come pick it up. A lot of people just through away stuff they don't want, its not necessary always junk. So neighbors and different people around the city go around and see if they can find anything that they can have and fix up. I wasn't able to do a whole lot of looking around. But my mom and my baby brother Elijah went around for a bit. I found this cute white shelf...thing. Its taller then my waist, and its skinny, but it has shelves on it. I am going to sand paper it and paint it, I will post pictures when I get it done. :) I cant decide what color though...I want something bright, that will pop. Most of my house is decorated in tans and browns, then will a teal blue accent color. What colors go good with teal blue?

I've been reading a devotion book called "A woman's wisdom, by Lydia Brownback" It is a wonderful book, for any young lady, or woman, in any sort of life...married, single, mother, grandmother, ect. It has helped me in so many areas of my life. It talks about different things we as woman can struggle with. It encourages to be a godly woman of Christ. I highly recommend reading it.
In my Bible reading I'm reading through Genesis, and Proverbs. I like always reading a Proverbs a day. I wanted to read through the whole Bible again. I did it years ago, and even though its not at the beginning of the year like when most people start reading it all over. I'm in Genesis, where it talks about Abrams life. I have read the Bible so many times, and every time I read it I learn something new. I love how God works on us through that. At times some passages will stick out to us, when we need it. Other times, a different passage will stick out to us. Its amazing how the Lord works :)


The other day, while I was folding laundry. I was looking at, and noticing all the different necklaces I have....and how they all have different stories behind them. With people that have gotten them for me, or I had bought them. Anyways, I thought I would show you all, and challenge you guys to do the same in your blogs. It might be fun :)

(My dad built me this necklace rack when I was 17, absolutely LOVE it)

                           Okay, I will start on the left side and work my way down the row.

Necklace #1
Its hard to see it, but its a golden chain with a gold cross. It use to be my moms, my dad got it for her. But she is allergic to a lot of metal so she was unable to wear it and gave it to me.

Necklace #2
A lady who is a good friend of mine, from our church gave me this necklace. I love the blue, and green beads on it. I've always thought it kind of looks western.

Necklace #3
Its a brown chain, with a stone on it and a little metal circle on it that says hope. I bought it for myself a while back, I have always loved how simple it looked. It was always kind of my every day necklace.

Necklace #4
This one means a lot to me, its real shells from the shores of Greece. My dad use to be in the military. He was deployed over seas, and was in Greece for a while. He would always bring us presents home from his trips. He got me and my three sisters shell necklaces. I got this when I was 10.

Necklace #5
Not a necklace I wear anymore, but they are my dads military dog tags. I use to wear them when he was deployed. He had a few sets, and he gave me one when I was little.

Necklace #6
Its a heart locket. You cant see the front but it has a sunflower carved into it. My grandma gave this to me a couple year before she passed away. I don't have pictures in the locket, but I have a small folded up piece of paper in it with a verse.

Necklace#7
Cant see this one very well either. Its a silver chain, with a horse shoe and a horse head on it. I wear this necklace the most! I usually always have it on. I got it for my 8th birthday.

Necklace #8
I found this necklace a year or so ago, at an antique store. The clock no longer works, but I thought it looked neat :)

Necklace #9
I love wearing this necklace when I get dress up, the black and white beads make it look fancy.
My best friend Jacque bought this for me, for a Christmas present.

Necklace #10
I bought this necklace for my senior prom alternative. Our youth group did a prom "alternative". Which was just all of us getting dressed up, in suits, and modest prom dresses and going out to eat at a nice restraint. We weren't aloud to have dates, just friends going out. It was always a good time of  fellowship, and we always had fun.

Necklace #11
It is a pink stone necklace, Jacque also got this one for me when she was in Tennessee.

Necklace #12
This was the first necklace I bought myself. It has all different color beads, and looks really pretty when wearing a white shirt. I love the bright colors.

Necklace #13
Funny story, I actually bought this necklace for my sister Heather...but for some reason I have it? Not sure how that happened :)

Its not a necklace but I do have my belt buckle hanging on the rack as well.

Hope you enjoyed this post, and have a wonderful Sunday. God bless-
Hannah Sue :)

My new life of being a mother.

Good Morning :)

Today is a cleaning day for me, Aaron doesn't have work. So I am taking advantage of him being able to watch Jedidiah so I can get some good deep cleaning in. I've already got the kitchen done, supper in the crock-pot, and some laundry done. A great start to my day, I still have a large mountain of laundry to get to, and I'm hoping to get the walk way swept and mopped.

I opened up all the windows this morning, I love the fresh spring air. There is just something about deep cleaning your house, having all the windows opened and getting that fresh clean smell in your house.

Jedidiah will be 3 months old tomorrow, time has flown by. Though at the same it feels like we have always had him, its hard to imagine what life was like before we had our little boy. He is growing! At his 2 month appointment he was 11lbs and 24in long! When he was born he was 6lbs, and 21 in long. We have a skinny long little man.

Just within these last few weeks, Jedidiah has really started "talking". I mean, when he was first born he made little noises, he cooed and awed. But now he is really trying to make sounds and noises. Sometimes it even sounds like he is saying mama...but I think that's just me getting excited and hearing things. ;) 

His first 2 months, he was colic. He still is a little bit, but not near as much as he was. Every evening around 5-6pm he would scream and cry for an hour, nothing would calm him down.  

col·ic

noun

noun: colic; plural noun: colics

1. severe, often fluctuating pain in the abdomen caused by intestinal gas or obstruction in the intestines and suffered especially by babies.
   
   
   We had a lot of issues with it, we did how ever find that putting Lavender oil on his spine helped him calm down when he would have his fits. I felt so bad for him, there is nothing quite worse for a mother feeling helpless and not knowing how to help her baby.
   
   Our doctor told us, by 3 months colic goes away by 60% and by 4 months it goes away by 90%. There definitely has been a big improvement from 2-3months. He will still have those moments where we cant calm him down but I mean...he is a baby :)
                                                   ....................................................
   
   This summer my goal is to replace all our household cleaning supplies; soaps, shampoo, laundry detergent, lotion, tooth paste, bug spray, sun tan lotion, pretty much everything we use on our body. I want to switch to all natural and homemade.
   
   I have already made a all purpose cleaner for the kitchen and bathrooms, and liquid hand soap.

   
   (here is a picture of my liquid hand soap)
   
   It was so easy to make. All you need is a bar of unscented all natural soap, 9 cups of water, 3 tbl of coconut oil, and 20 drops of an essential oil. I used Thieves because I love the smell and its good to fight off germs. I have heard Lemon is a good one too.
   
   You need to use a cheese grater and grate the bar of soap, put 9 cups of water in a pot with the grated soap, coconut oil and essential oil. At a medium heat, stir till soap and coconut oil have dissolved. Let it cool for 5 hours, and it will thicken up in that time period. We love it, and its cheaper in the long run.
   
   Have you ever tried switching things over to all natural?
   Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday :)
   -Hannah Sue
   
   Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

Jedidiah Silas

It has been far to long since I've last written, but for any of you that are mothers, grandmas, or sisters to a newborn you know life can be crazy busy :)

Jedidiah Silas was born Jan. 30th at 7:38am, after 12 hours of labor. Aaron and I are beyond blessed to have such a sweet brown eyed little man! God is good!!!

One of my favorite pictures of him, I love the blue flannel shirt <3

10 days till due date.

How are you all doing this weekend?
I had a nice little date night with Aaron last night, just pizza, and a movie at home. It was cozy and sweet! :)

Today has been a pretty relaxed day, Aaron works Saturdays so I try to use it as a day to get extra cleaning done. I woke up at 5, and made Aaron his lunch then he went off to work. I went back to bed and slept till 9:30!! Which was WONDERFUL. I haven't slept so hard and well for a long time.

I plan on doing some deep, deep cleaning after lunch. I also might even open up some of the windows to air out our place. With it being in the 40s it feels so warm.

I tend to go on a walk first, hoping that might start some labor ;)

Are you a Pinterest person? I am :) I found this neat idea to make verse cards for labor and delivery. You make this little book full of encouraging verses for when you are in labor... I am going to make my verse cards today. The post gave some verses but I will probably add some of my own. Here are some of the verses...If you have any verses that come to mind please share them :)

“You keep him in perfect peace 

whose mind is stayed on you, 

because he trusts in you.” 

-Isaiah 26:3

 

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

-Philippians 4:13

 

“But you, take courage! 

Do not let your hands be weak, 

for your work shall be rewarded.”

-2 Chronicles 15:7

 

“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”

-James 4:8

 

“Cast your burden on the Lord,

and He will sustain you;

He will never permit 

the righteous to be moved.”

-Psalm 55:22

 

“I have set the Lord always before me;

because He is at my right hand,

I shall not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad,

and my whole being rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.”

-Psalm 1:8-9

 

“God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear

though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved 

into the heart of the sea,

though it’s waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at it’s swelling.”

-Psalm 46:1-3

 

“I lift my eyes up to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.”

-Psalm 121:1-2

 

“The fear of man lays a snare,

but whoever trust in the Lord is safe.”

-Proverbs 29:25

 

“Fear not, for I am with you;

be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

-Isaiah 41:10

Counting down the days.

Hey Yall :) 

Ahh the holidays are finally behind us, I usually am a little sad when Christmas is over but not this year. I have anxiously been waiting 9 months for January to get here, and it FINALLY has.

:PREGNANCY UPDATE:




I am 38 weeks pregnant!!! This picture I took yesterday after my OB appointment. Jedidiah and I are very healthy. I am 2 cm dilated, and 50% effaced. He can come any day now. Preferably sooner then later :)  My doctor believes baby will be on the smaller side, around 6lbs. Both Aaron and I were only 6lb babies so that's why he is probably going to be on the smaller side.

Since I've been in the 9th month sleeping is near impossible. Trying to get comfortable, rolling side to side, tends to keep you up most of the night. Not to mention those insane power house kicks Jedidiah likes to do right as mama starts falling asleep.

Aaron and I are so excited to meet our little man, we just want to hold him and fill him with love and kisses!

I've been having lots of braxton hick contractions, which is all part of getting closer to the end. We get so excited though thinking its the real thing and then they end up being nothing.


:NEW YEAR:
Aarons family came up from Alabama at the beginning of January, they stayed for 4 days, It was nice to see them!
One of the days they were here it was -30 outside, his older brother Cal lives in Florida. So the cold weather was a little bit of a shock :)



Well I am off to go get groceries, I hope you are having a wonderful day.
I do want to leave you with this quote from a book I have been reading, I hope it encourages you like it did me.
"As disciples of Christ, we are servants of God, and as servants,  we keep our eyes on Him and receive our instructions through His Word. Recognizing our servant status is the essence of wisdom. "-Lydia Brownback (A woman's wisdom)

Busy, Busy, BUSY!

Hello Everyone :) 

Oh my, such a busy time of year....isn't it? I apologize for not being able to write till now.
Mine and Aarons life right now is pretty much all revolving around waiting for the day our precious son arrives. We are getting so anxious, nervous, and excited for the day. I want Christmas to hurry up and get here so I can hold Jedidiah, but this is such an exciting season in our lives, I am trying to enjoy it. Baby had the hiccups for the first time the other day, what a sweet feeling that is. Though I was woken up from it, it was still so very precious. At night while we are sleeping, if Aaron has his arm wrapped around me, he said Jedidiah often wakes him up from kicking :)

I finally purchased a baby bag, and packed it all up for the day we will need to grab it and rush out the door. We hooked the car seat up in the car, and hopefully are all ready to go.

Oh my have I been nesting, I washed every article of clothing we have for baby. Also all the blankets, and sheets. I felt the need to down size on mine and Aarons clothes, and got rid of 2 garbage bags full. Got the linen closet organized, and all the boxes that were under our bed are gone! This week I felt like baking so while I was at the grocery store today, I bought stuff to make chocolate chip cookies (healthy version) its a new recipe so I am excited to try it tonight. If they turn out well then I will post the recipe.
(34 weeks)

I have been keeping up with walking 3-5 times a week, I do stretches and squats everyday. Its getting so hard to keep up with the working out, baby has gotten so big. I have been taking it easy though, which has been good for baby and I.

In my personal devotions, I have been reading John. I have also been working on the fruits of the spirits. I take 3 of them, and try to apply them to my week. This week I'm doing Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. I have the list of them pinned up on our fridge, and I try and go over them through out the day.

We did our Christmas a little early this year, Aaron has some family that will be up here with us. Since this is our first Christmas as a married couple we wanted it to be by ourselves. So we opened presents the other evening, it was so much fun. He got me a scarf, a CB fleece, moccasins, and some Bath and Body works body sprays. :) All the body sprays were new scents except for 1 of them, and I absolutely love them!

My family Christmas party is this coming Saturday at my parents house. With parents, 5 brothers, 3 sisters, 2 sister-in-laws, 1 brother in-law. 2 nieces, 4 nephews, AND me and Aaron the house tends to get crowded! Its so much fun though, we are all so crazy together. Love the memories we make :)

What are some fun things your family does for Christmas?
God Bless-
Hannah Sue