[day 31] stinkers!

Well, I was doing so well with my 31 days... trucking right along... until our "let's go camping as a family" extended weekend hit and I just did not get it together enough to post ahead of time!
I'm sorry, yall. I guess that means I "failed," although really just experimental in nature, this "31 Days" showed me that I appreciate blogging when I feel like I have something to say versus forcing something. (I'd like to think the quality of my posts is better with that method as well). So while I am so very glad I picked up new readers, and I certainly invite you back even though the series is over, I am not going to commit myself to daily blogging just because a series dictates such. :) I know that I found some other great blogs this month because of the series (and they all completed the challenge - hooray for them!) and look forward to their regular content resuming.


Let me leave you with a photo from our camping weekend, although it will be a post in itself later this week.

[day 17] status check

So, we are over the halfway mark of this 31 day journey. I have to confess. I am kind of in a slump. I have several more posts in mind, but the desire to post is just not there. I feel that by typing this, I am discounting the importance of my readers, and that is the furthest thing from my mind. This blog began as an experiment of sorts in 2007, joining this blogging world that I was involved in as a reader. Then when we lost Nathan in 2008, I really wanted to begin getting more frequent with my posting, as I found so much comfort from those who had also lost children. I guess since that time, I've just stayed with it, enjoying the people I've met through it, and finding so many great blogs through them.  As another positive, although I don't write exclusively about my family, this blog has helped me record some funny and sweet stories of them. So here I am now writing my 724th post! For someone that isn't too good at sharing feelings and thoughts, I'd say that's pretty good, lol. 

Being that I'm working at kicking out excuses this month, I guess there shouldn't be an excuse that keeps me from continuing since I do enjoy blogging. So bear with me, I'll get over the slump (maybe I just need another cup of coffee ;)

Do you blog? Do you ever find times that you want to quit?

[day 1] nothing, nada, zilch

Somehow I thought it would be kind of fitting to present my first excuse as one that must be "kicked out" to even participate in this 31 day challenge. Here it is, and if you blog, you must've said it at least once... I don't feel like blogging today. I just don't have anything to blog about. 

Ha! No excuses! This one's getting kicked to the curb because I'm in. All 31 days worth in...

If you're wondering what all this 31 days stuff is about, click on over to Nester, Emily, or Darcy and learn about the Challenge. I'm committing to kicking some excuses out of my life during the next 31 days of October.

update: Wowzers! I linked up just before 10a EST and am #274! Looking now at about 11:30a EST there are almost 350 different bloggers linked up! Here are a list of all of those participating: 31 Days Challenge.

500th post!

Well... I wish I had a glitzy giveaway to celebrate 500... but, it's just me, sitting in bed with my laptop, in my pj's, with my stomach growling. But, I noticed this was #500, so I thought I should acknowledge that ;) Ok, on with life... time to eat breakfast!

Happy 101 Sweet Friends award

Thank you, Elizabeth at Our Journey Through Life, for the award.

I'll continue the fun and post 10 things that make me happy below:
1. My newborn son's smiles.
2. My six year old daughter's creativity.
3. My husband's hugs.
4. A decluttered home.
5. Taking pictures.
6. Sharing those pictures.
7. Chatting with my best friend, who lives way too far away.
8. The mountains.
9. Finding a great deal on a new purse and "splurging" on it.
10. Paying off debt (which doesn't happen when I do #9, lol).

guest posting

I'm guest posting over at Married to a Youth Pastor today. Check out what I have to say here.

visitors, guests, & hits

Sweet! We hit a thousand since my blog's "resurrection" last summer.
Thanks for reading y'all. I'm excited to see what the year ahead holds for each of us. :)

twit, twitter

Ok, yall. After what folks have been saying, I've signed up for Twitter. It's so funny - we are such a reality-show, sound-bite living society today. Twitter feeds that, hm? It does intrigue me to be able to sign onto one site and be able to update a variety of sites. So, we'll see. :)

HTML secrets

Passing along some knowledge from the world of HTML...
If you'd like to learn how to incorporate strikethroughs or checkboxes
into your blog posts, look here! (Thank you, Lisa! - Be sure to stick around and look around the rest of her blog. This busy mom of 6 has got a great looking site and sure does know how to accomplish a lot!)

would you, could you, please?

Hey there, my faithful few readers ;)
If you wouldn't mind, for those that already subscribe to my blog... if you would, come back to my actual blog and click the "subscribe" RSS feed button (that orange one, on the right side, under my "about me"). I've just hooked up with feedburner to help me keep track of some stats.
For those of you that don't, feel free to join via RSS/reader or subscribe by email, whichever you prefer.
Thank you for joining me in this journey of Standing Firm in Quicksand!

p.s. I'm fiddling with colors and fonts. If any of this is harder to read, please let me know and I'll adjust some more.

year in review

Jan-April: Catching up. I had abandoned the blog.
(early) May: Anticipation
(late) May: The shocking loss
June: God's amazing peace
July: Back to blogging... 100th post
August: First week of kindergarten!
September: Remembering... traveling... tonsillectomy
October: Planting Nathan's tree... praying for our teens
November: Only children... Mercy vs. Grace
December: Stage fright... Mary's baby child

Hm - what a glimpse! I appreciate each & every one of you readers. Thank you for joining my journey here at Standing Firm in Quicksand!

to share more of my story

I've noticed recently that there have been many hits coming from the infant loss blog directory, that I feel compelled to share a little more than where I started this blog up again in July. I have gone in and typed out some of my journal entries into this blog, putting them in the actual date spots in which they were written. If you are looking for more of Nathan's story, feel free to click here to see all my posts labeled "Nathan." Scroll all the way down and then read, making your way back up.
My prayer is that they may be of comfort to those of you also finding your way out from under a shocking loss. I don't have all the answers for my loss (or for anything!) but I do know the One that does and take comfort that one day He will show me bits and pieces of why my sweet Nathan is not here beside me today. If you do not know Jesus Christ personally as your Lord and Savior, you too can have the peace that passes all understanding by asking Him to come into your life and fill you with the most amazing sense of mercy and peace. I would love to speak to you. So don't hesitate to email - just click on my complete profile under "about me" and click email under the "contact."
I put feelings and thoughts out there and just ask for your respect as you read and/or comment. I know you will. Thank you ahead of time.

May God help you through whatever you are struggling with today. Don't sink - ask Him to help you "stand firm in the quicksand."

being real, journal entries

9-28-08
Father,
I feel such a feeling of un-worthiness, of being so humbled b/c of your love. God, I am nothing in the wake of Your glory. Lord, my heart feels so hungry for you. I desire to be so much closer to you. I desire to see you, to know you more. Everything on earth seems so trivial, so beyond-the-point. Without you, what is anything? I don't even feel I have the words to fully express this feeling. I have not been here in too long of a time. I am overwhelmed to tears.
I feel the flood of emotion. How come you haven't give up on us when we've been so careless with Your love and forgiveness? How do I balance this closeness with you with what goes on day to day in my life? How do I grasp this feeling and keep it close? God, about my son, will you please hold him close tonight? I miss him, who he would have grown up to be. The wife he would've married. Lord, the family you might have given him. The works You would have done in his life. Lord, help me - use me - use my family - use Nathan's death - for new life, life in You.

10-1-08
Today I am bogged down in the fight w/ my husband from last night (even though we've reconciled this morning). I'm hurting for a stranger in ChickFilA whom I just overheard her stories of premature twins (2 sets), losing 1 of them (each time) a few days after birth. She was eating with her (one) 2yr old son, while the one remaining twin from the second twin-birth was still in the hospital, set to come home next week. God, I'm crying out for you. Make sense of this world. So much suffering. So much sin.


I'm debating whether I should go back and add in journal entries from when I lost Nathan. This blog was started a year + ago, when I didn't post much at all. Now, I'm on here quite often, but feel like the bridge from where I was to where I am now is missing. Those that tune in from the babyloss directory will be looking for entries to explain my loss. (At least that's what I did when I looked for others on the directory). I'd like to use this blog to help others... if that means to show them I'm human, with emotions, fears, disappointments, and joys and how I rely on my Savior for help through all that... or I might as well just close up now and stop. Thoughts? Lurkers but no commenters... don't know what a girl is supposed to think! ;-)

by the way

Do you like the new background? It's the easy way out, using a premade template, since I don't have a clue when it comes to code (and am too lazy to play around with it). It doesn't take too long to load, does it? I noticed a friend with one and thought I'd try one out. I personally like how the colors reflect the tones in the photo at the top.

blog principles

Wow, what a neat idea - check out Katherine at Raising Five. She's got a great list of "blogging principles." Thanks, Katherine, for motivating me to write my list to all my new/one-day readers:

1. Hello – Welcome! Just as I'd love to chat w/ you at my home or on the phone, you're welcome here at my blog. I love hearing comments and also spend a lot of time giving out comments of my own on fellow-blogger sites.

2. Honor – I want to honor God and my family and all new friends/visitors that visit my blog. I ask for you to honor me as I will also try to honor you if I comment on your site.

3. Honesty – I aim to tell you my honest thoughts... sometimes random, sometimes funny, sometimes sobering, sometimes plain-life boring, and sometimes I even hope to step on some toes as a challenge.

blogging options

There are so many options and things out there for blogger - I am just so not html saavy to understand most of it! I have found a great beginner blogger site.
So, I guess for now, we'll stick w/ this generic looking template and hope to be able to upgrade in the future! Anyone have any tips on blogging sites that are good for beginners? Thanks!

in the blogging world

Well, here goes - trying out this blog thing just like the millions of others out there!