The Big Move

The past couple of weeks have been incredibly stressful. We managed to pack up our entire house, move half of it into a storage unit, move the other half into our apartment, and finish cleaning out our house so that we could close on Friday. It's hard to say goodbye to such a nice house and go back to renting, but I have to keep reminding myself that this REALLY is for the best. We are saving around $400 on a house payment and lots more on gas. The next step is to pay off another large sum of my student loans and see where that leaves us financially. All in all, we are making good progress on eliminating our debt! Wahoo!

I took a few days off of work to get settled into our new place and I'm already feeling like we are at home. I thought the transition would be much harder, but I'm actually enjoying rearranging and organizing. Most of our apartment has been updated but there are some parts that are "still in progress" and will be under construction throughout the next year. For instance, we have some crummy hard wood floor in our bedroom and it won't be carpeted until Christmas break so we had to lay a bunch of rugs all over. There is also lots of trim work to do, especially in Josiah's room. He will hopefully be crawling in the next couple of months and the last thing I want is him digging into the pealing paint chips and enjoying a not so good snack.

On that note, Josiah has not transitioned very well. He hasn't been sleeping well and since I've been stressed and fighting an upper respiratory/sinus infection for about 2 weeks now my milk supply has decreased a lot. That makes for a very hungry boy in the middle of the night too. We are all adjusting to these changes and I continue to pray for some relief from all of these sleeping/eating issues with Josiah. Everyone keeps telling me that around 9 months things will really smooth out, so Lord please make these next 2 months go fast!!!

Oh the Sweet Sweet Sounds...

...of Father and Son at play! Josiah has started giggling, and although he doesn't do it often it is still one of the cutest sounds in the world! I have tried to make him laugh and have been rather unsuccessful. That must be daddy's special gift!

Josiah has also started teething (no teeth have popped through yet!) and so everything is going in the mouth and I find drool all over the place! He also continues to suffer from horrible reflux. The Zantac helps with reflux pain but it definitely doesn't help keep everything in. There are days where he will go through 4-5 outfits and I have done more laundry than EVER!

Josiah also LOVES to eat! Show him the bottle and he starts to whine...show him a spoon and he starts to cry! Seriously! I have had some success at making my own baby food, but also some epic failures, sometimes multiple epic failures in one night while Josiah is bawling in his high chair waiting for me to serve him something. I've officially stocked up on some organic jars of baby food for occasions like that. He absolutely loves sweet potatoes, squash, and bananas. Surprisingly, he doesn't really care for apples. He used to love green beans and peas but not so much anymore.

Lastly, Josiah is starting to improve his sleeping habits. He is most definitely a tummy sleeper and still needs his paci when he goes down to sleep. Napping at daycare still isn't very good, but when he's home I can usually get him take 3-4 naps. He is only eating once per night and has been sleeping 10-11 hours a night. We were having an issue where he would wake up at 5:45 a.m. on the dot every morning and that was NOT happening for me! My alarm goes off at 6 a.m. and I am not a happy camper if I have to wake up before my alarm. After a few days of crying it out he eventually learned that 6:30 or 7 a.m. is a much more appropriate time to get up in the Potratz household!

From The Desk of Sir Andrew

My lovely husband has been asking me for a pick-up truck ever since we got married. He’d always lay out a list of reasons why we needed one and I would always shoot him down. After almost 4 years of turning him down, I finally gave in and have allowed my husband to purchase a pick-up truck. It wasn’t until I saw this [well thought out] proposal sitting on the kitchen table that I finally agreed:

FROM THE DESK OF SIR ANDREW

Proposal to Allison, most esteemed and lovely wife:

On the matter of the machine known as a “pick-up truck,”

Thine humble, handsome, husband makes the following proposition:

That thy humble, handsome husband may look for a “pick-up truck” which shall:

a) not exceed 3500-4000 dollars

b) be an automatic, and therefore drivable by the esteemed and lovely wife

c) be four-wheel-drive

d) have the ability to haul a trailer without the addition of any parts to said “pick-up truck”

The following conditions will be accepted by thy humble, handsome husband:

a) should the financial need arise, thy husband shall willing part with said “pick-up truck” or “jetta buddy” depending upon need, condition, and value of said machines

b) thy humble, handsome husband shall surrender all Christmas and birthday money for the following year back to the savings from which the truck was paid for

c) thy humble, handsome husband shall not purchase any said “pick-up truck” that the esteemed and lovely wife has not driven, or passed on the opportunity to drive first

d) thy humble, handsome husband shall not purchase any said “pick-up truck” until he FOR SURE has a place to roast coffee

e) thy humble, handsome husband shall continue to love the most esteemed and lovely wife more than any “pick-up truck” regardless of how “cool” said machine might be.

It was so good, I immediately gave my permission and even removed some of the “conditions” that my humble and handsome husband thought of. It only took 3 days for him to find a truck that he wanted and starting next week we will be official owners of a pick-up truck.

Finally Feel Like Living

One of my favorite music artists is Elizabeth Hunnicutt. I saw her open for The David Crowder Band once and I immediately fell in love with her music. She takes such awe inspiring poetry and puts it to music. One song that really hit home for me was her song "Finally Feel Like Living."

As I look over my life, I can say I have TONS of regrets, and maybe that's how it is for lots of people, but I especially find myself thinking about these regrets on a daily basis. I made so many awful mistakes and decisions when growing up and now they come back to haunt me. I've prayed over and over again that God would help me to forgive myself and forget about what I've done, just like He's done for me, but the enemy still creeps in and brings back the feelings of guilt and shame. But one thing I am starting to learn is that I am totally wasting away when I spend so much time worrying about my past. The other day I heard myself saying to someone "I wasted so much time focusing on other things when I was younger, that it really kept me from growing my faith. I mean...look at my faith now! I could have such a deeper relationship with Christ NOW if I hadn't wasted my time back then!" My husband is a marvelous man and he said to me, "If you are having those thoughts and feelings, then they are from the enemy! You know the Truth of the Cross, and it has washed away the shame, regret, fear, and sin from your past." And then to have him pray over me was just breathtaking. Embraced in not only the love of a wonderful husband, but also of Jesus my Savior!

Elizabeth Hunnicutt
Finally Feel Like Living

I heard somebody say,
"The worst decision you can make
is to make no decision"
& I think they may be right,
I'm still trying to decide
Oh this feels like a collision

Cause what if I regret some choice along the way
What if failure finally catches me

If I want to fly
I'm gonna have to say goodbye
& start a brand new way of life
That finally feels like living
& I've got to to try
Stop holding on to all these lies
I'm tired of wasting all this time
I finally feel like living

I could wait until I know
just what to do & where to go
But I might be here forever
I could surrender to my fears,
like I've done for all these years
& never know if it gets better

There's a chance that I might miss these old familiar walls
& these chains I couldn't even see

Oh I thought I was
But I wasn't living
I'm stepping out
Into a new beginning