Pleasantly Quiet

Have you ever reassured someone that everything's going to be ok? Is it just me or is it always easier to say those words when you're not the one in the actual sitaution. I know we mean well but sometimes those words or variations of it aren't helpful.

My son's speech is delayed. He's extremely bright. If you show him something once he gets it. He imitates everything and he's so loving. He's my angel- my firstborn and only boy(so far;-). I remember when I was pregnant with our daughter my biggest fear was that I wouldn't be able to love her as much as Nathan. (I do love her as much, but it was a fear during her pregnancy that thankfully didn't come true). Nathan is a fantastic big brother as well.

I've been blessed to spend a ton of time with Nathan and I really know him. When it started becoming evident that his speech was delayed I became extremely fearful of autism since one of the signs is delayed speech. Sam and I went overboard and had him examined 7 times by 7 different professionals to rule it out. I even did my own intensive study to rule it out by researching and digging up videos of autistc toddlers to watch their behaviors and I too came to the conclusion that it's definitely nothing more then a speech delay.

I'm not going to go into intricate details of Nathan's actions and I no longer take or answer questions of what he can or cannot do. Nor will I address treatment because I do want to respect my son and keep some things personal.

But it has been a trying year for everyone. Compared to what a lot of other people are going through a speech delay isn't a big deal. And through this experience God has blessed us with a wonderful Pediatrician whose own son didn't speak until he was three, a neighbor who's son didn't talk until he was three and a cousin whose son had a speech delay as well and it's really helped me to talk to all of them. A lot of other people have been supportive too but sometimes the best help comes from people who have been through what you're going through.

There's been a few negative things said and to be honest with you when I first started writing this post the goal in mind was to vent a little, but for some reason it's just not worth writing anymore.

God blessed us with our children. And to be honest with you even on the hardest day I wouldn't trade them ;-). Just one of the joys of motherhood.


-- Post From My iPhone

Why God Made Husbands

I'm so convinced that God made husbands to keep wives sane! I just love how when I want to panic or really fall into worry my husband is the true voice of reason. Thank you so much God for giving him to me. And thank you so much Sam for being that constant "rock."

No title

Do you ever feel as if you're being tested? I really feel that way right now. And it's not just my daughter's weaning, which isn't going so well. It's just been an exhausting week of changes in so many areas that's really taken its toll. The main thing sustaining me and holding me up is the very fact that God is in control and no matter how difficult situations seem I truly believe He can't make a mistake. That very fact is very comforting now.


-- Post From My iPhone

Joy

I'm experiencing one of the greatest joys in life, having my daughter sleep on my chest, while listening to her calm even breathing. I swear life doesn't get much better than this :0)

Gone in 90 seconds

I watched 20/20 on Friday about an 11 year old girl named Mikelle Biggs who literally vanished in 90 seconds. Her and her 9 year old sister were waiting outside for the ice cream truck when Mikelle's sister got cold and went inside to get her jacket. When she came out Mikelle was gone.

The sad part about this case is that it happened 10 years ago and still today there are no answers and no leads. It's as if the young girl totally disappeared. After extensive search efforts no body turned up. There are no suspects and no one saw or heard anything. The only thing left behind was the girls bike and two quarters that she dropped.

It was an interesting case and my heart goes out to the parents. Several years after the disappearance they held a symbolic funeral burying Mikelle because she's presumed dead. I honestly think death would be better than not knowing. Don't get me wrong both would suck but not knowing anything would be extra hard.

And then I got to wondering if God took her. I didn't spend a lot of time on this theory and I don't know if it's Biblical or not. I picked my husband's brain about it and he wasn't sure. I know that Enoch didn't experience death and I got to wondering if God still takes some people. Mikelle's case made national news but others disappear in the same and similar ways and are never heard from again.

So if anyone out there has a Biblical answer to this question then let me know. I'm not saying that God took her - I'm just saying I wonder if that still happens.

Manicures

So I was in Walmart the other day and working at the checkout was a muscular guy. His arms were totally tattooed and as I recall he looked ok but as he handed me my receipt I noticed his nails were freshly "done."

He didn't have French tips or anything but the were shaped neat, kind of medium in length with clear nail polish. Eww. But I've been seeing this a lot lately and I'm wondering if this is a new trend.

My husband works in an office setting and it's very sexy to see him getting out of the car, cleancut, with laptop bag in hand. It's even more sexy to see him come in covered in grease after working under the car. But that's just my opinion.

I love clean nails on a man but polished and manicured? I couldn't imagine sitting next to Sam at a nail salon. So I thought I'd try to keep this question/answer session light this time.

The question is this: are manicured hands on a man a turn on or turn off? I'm not necessarily talking about length (although I do feel there should be a limit there as well) just the shiny polished nails.

As always feel free to pass this along. There's no right or wrong answer. You can comment on my blog or email me directly at LaToya_Murry@hotmail.com


-- Post From My iPhone

And the crown goes to...

There is a lot of buzz around Miss California, Carrie Prejean, and how she answered a question during the Miss American pageant concerning gay unions.



And you know what? I am so proud of this young lady and for taking the stand that she did. Instead of giving a "politically correct" answer she answered how she believed even though she knew it wouldn't be popular.



I know in the Christian community there is a lot of debate as to whether a Christian woman should be in pageants in the first place. I can't really comment on this issue because I'm totally on the fence. I know that the pageant world and the high fashion world are totally different and I'm definitely against the high fashion modeling industry but I've never really been able to come to a conclusion on whether or not I agree or disagree with the pageant world. We need missionaires in both worlds though. I don't know why people are so willing to send their children overseas to Hindi and Muslim countries for mission work but panic at the idea of them going into this industry.



I know a lot of people's issues is around self esteem and what it does to young women, blah blah blah. But hey kids today are horribly overweight and I feel it needs to be addressed. Not saying I'm going to enter my daughter in any beauty pageants, even though I think she's pretty enough to be (LOL of course I may be biased). But I will encourage healthy eating habits. And I will address it if I see her gaining too much. I don't plan on being insensitive, however, I will address that issue if it ever becomes one.



I struggle with my weight I always have and if she's anything like me she probably will too. I don't want her to have low self esteem, however, I think it's important to encourage healthy eating habits. Besides the humiliation of being overweight and if you've never been there, there is a ton of humiliation involved. Shopping sucks for one. Finding clothes that flatter and fit are hard and usually the plus size section is in the back of the store. Running into people who haven't seen you in awhile and witnessing their "silent" reactions. Not mention the old church ladies who feel the need to tell you, you've gained (as if you didn't already know).



And my family has a ton of health issues such as diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure and it's just stuff that I don't want my daughter to experience and it can all be avoided if she learns early on how to take care of herself and her body. And I don't want her to be a size 2 or fit into any mold like that. I may not like being overweight but I love my thighs and hips and back side area and I think I've blessed Peyton with that so I wouldn't encourage her to be too skinny either. Just healthy and as she grows I'll have to pray about how to do this without hurting her self esteem.



So I want to teach her different, African American food is cooked with tons of seasonings and though it tastes good it's not always good for you. So I want to learn myself and also teach her and my son in the process how to eat better.



LOL and I totally forgot where I was going with this blog post and I know it's all over the place.



But yeah so I'm proud of Miss California. Proud that she said what she said and that she's continuing to stick up for marriage. I really don't care about the new pictures coming out of the wood works. She was 17 at the time and made a mistake and admits that and to be honest with you I made a ton in my teenage years that I wouldn't want broadcast either.



And I'll use my blog to also say this. I'm TOTALLY 100% against Same sex marriage of any kind. I'm equally against same sex couples being able to adopt. Marriage is sacred and should be between a man and a woman (and they should be born a man and a woman - sex changes don't count).

Mother's Day

Wow! What a wonderful day. First off over the last few days I was able to listen to some of the most amazing sermons on Moody radio. I think I mentioned before that my favorite woman in the Bible is Hannah. I can't wait to meet her someday. She's inspired me so much that our daughter's middle name is Hannah. But I heard some wonderful sermons on her over the last few days and her story never ceases to inspire me.

I woke up to a wrapped gift at my feet. Sam had been sick all week and he knows I'm not picky on receiving gifts yet, him and Peyton set out early this morning to get me a printer and some decorative scissors! It was perfect, he'd gotten me a photo printer a few months earlier and after printing one set of photos our 2 year old broke it. I hadn't complained and I'd just received a coupon from Archiver's to get several free prints so I figured I'd just get those for now. But Sam is amazing and so attentive and surprised me with this and it was totally unexpected.

I've been journaling for so many years and just started scrapbooking recently and I'm noticing it can be a really expensive hobby (as I can imagine any hobby can be). But I've noticed over the last few months that Sam has gone out of his way to get me what I not only need but want so I can continue doing this. So the printer and the scissors were extra special.

And he knows how much I love hearing Mother's Day sermons and was all ready to go to church but since he's been so sick and we'd just spent the day before with our mother's I told him I'd rather stay in so he could rest and we did.

It was a wonderful day surrounded by the three people who mean the most to me. I love being Sam's wife and love being Nathan and Peyton's mother.


-- Post From My iPhone

How Am I Doing?

You know I'll be perfectly honest, I feel kind of low right now. There's only three things in life I truly care about:

1. Loving and honoring Christ
2. Respecting my husband
3. Loving and caring for my children

And to be honest with you that's it. I have hobbies that I love but they have very little value. I love scrapbooking and journaling to name a few but again it's level of importance isn't that high.

I honestly can care less if I'm told I suck at sewing (which I do by the way). My decorating skills need work and I'm not going to win any awards for cooking. But please don't label me a failure in the three categories I listed above. But lately I've been struggling in the third category.

I'd heard of guilt in motherhood but didn't realize it'd be so hard. I'll just give you an example:

Today my son and I went to McDonald's for lunch and playtime (you know on those climby things they have) anyway he went up and stayed on the top and honestly he was having a good time and there were two little girls there. There was a weird climby thing on one side and a tunnel slide on the other and he LOVES slides but he's only gone down tunnel slides a few times and if my son isn't familiar with something he won't try it. The little girls kept going down but he probably figured they're crazy and he wouldn't do it, anyway it came time to leave and I had to go up and get him (yes I really went in there) and when I reached him he threw a horrible tantrum, kicking, screaming the works so I spanked him right there on the spot. It was at the top of the tunnel thing and I'm already way to big to be up there and time out wasn't an option nor was "waiting out the tantrum". So he got spanked and shoved down the slide which he ended up loving and wanted to go back up in. But he couldn't cause we really had to go.

I looked at his tear stained face in the rear view mirror questioning if I could've handled the situation differently. I know why he was up there he was stuck not being bad, the spanking was for the fall out he had when I came up. I'm all for a spanking but I'd rather not spank in public I care about my child's feelings especially when others are around but I don't know what else I could've done in the situation and my son's pitiful tear streaked face is etched in my mind for some reason. And please don't email me or comment on how the situation could've better been handled or how spankings are wrong in your opinion etc. I kid you not I really feel sad over the incident and don't feel like being taken lower, it was supposed to be a fun day and though he needed disciplined I would've rather both of us remembered it for a great time.

I've been told to expect many more days like today in the future and that's fine but how do I deal with this "mother's guilt" I guess you call it.

There's other things I could write about like this. I could fill a book already. With Mother's Day approaching a program I listen to "revive our hearts" allow listeners to call in and express their thanks to their mothers. And to hear what some people say is amazing. Some are in tears as they pay tribute to their mothers. And every year I pray that my children will one day consider me worthy of such recognition.

I don't desire to be perfect. I made to many mistakes already and especially with the teenage years coming I may not always be liked. I have no desire to be a friend. I want to be their mom. I want them to know three things:

1. I love my Lord
2. I respect and deeply love their father
3. I so very much love them and want what's best for them

But right now I'm really not sure how I'm doing.

-- Post From My iPhone