Stay At Home Moms

I've been having some struggles lately so I thought I'd express them and see what kind of response I get.

I don't work. By work I mean bring in any kind of income. At all. I don't sell make up, nutritional supplements, kitchenware or jewelry. And I don't have any kind of part time job that would include my son. I don't coupon cut or ebay, nor am I all that great with budgeting the money Dave gives me for the groceries each week. I told Dave before we got married that I wouldn't marry him unless he committed to supporting me as a stay at home mom, only working if it was necessary. And he has.

I have to point out that I don't need to work. Dave is not in jeopardy of losing his job, and we are living well within our means. We have a modest house in a great neighborhood and no expensive hobbies (Ok, so my shopping COULD get expensive if I let it).

I volunteer my time...I LOVE helping others in whatever way I can (yes, I offer FREE babysitting to anyone willing to drop off their kids at my house!) and I hate being paid for it. I live in the church during the year, helping out wherever I can (although I've cut back a lot since Eli came in to the picture!)

But a Christian wife's example, the Proverbs 31 woman, earned money and sewed for her family.

Proverbs 31:16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

Proverbs 31:18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.

Proverbs 31:22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

Proverbs 31:24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.

I guess some days I feel lazy, like I'm not doing enough, like I should be busier doing something for my family. I can count on one hand the women who don't work outside the home. I'm sure I'm being unrealistic with myself. But sometimes it's lonely being a stay at home mom in a working mom's world :(

Pictures of our summer

Me and Eli chillin' with Kitty cat.

Eli with his best bud, Elmo. When he came back from visiting my sister in law, he was attached at the hip to Elmo for a while.

This one is for my Grandma Stobie. Eli chose his attire this day...striped shirt and plaid shorts, not matching. Sounds like my Grandpa Stobie is whispering in his ear again!!

Sleeping with Eli :)

Only Eli would put a blanket over himself on a 90 degree day with high humidity. Poor child was dripping with sweat!

More exciting news!

We got our dossier submission date...April 14th! That's two years and one day of being Eli's mom :) We can plan on traveling a few months later. I'm still bummed we aren't getting another spring in Ukraine, but I guess the summer will be fine. I'm going to start praying now that the summer isn't as hot as it was this past summer! They had record heat waves (BOOO!!!) And since I don't like heat, and Ukranian's don't have air conditioning, fans, or open windows, I would be miserable. But whatever works! I just want to get over there to get my girl (and boy!).

Update...USCIS!

We got our USCIS date :) We're going in on Sept 22nd at 8am! And our home study is in Ukraine. I'm not sure if it's been translated yet...I'll update you on that hopefully soon :)

Sorry we've been MIA for a while. We've been BUSY! I'd guess that we've been out of town as much as at home this summer.

We were in Buffalo for a week with my family July 11-17th , which ended up being time with Dave's family. My mom had a severe allergic reaction to an antibiotic, which landed her in the hospital the week prior. But she didn't want to miss anything, so she and my dad and brother made the trip. My mom was in a lot of pain so she wasn't able to do much. And my sister in law was in the midst of an MS episode, so she could hardly walk. But they came anyway and left earlier than expected. I got to meet my nephew Dylan, who is 9 months old now. We ended up doing lots of swimming, and roller coaster riding with Dave's family and my youngest brother Alex.

Because he was with his two older cousins, Eli wanted to ride all the rides. His favorite was the log ride at Fantasy Island. He even tried a few smaller coasters...I'm so glad Dave was with me! There was one coaster Eli REALLY wanted to ride, but I knew he wouldn't like it. Dave took him on and remained calm as Eli screamed in terror through the entire thing and tried to escape. Eli LOVED the bumper cars and the go-karts.

We then came back home for a few days and left July 22nd for a funeral in Buffalo. About this time I was about due for a break...I was really impatient with Eli and he, in turn, was pushing my buttons. Sunday Dave and I headed back to Michigan while Eli stayed with my sister in law and her family. Ah, what a restful week. I slept a lot. I got to see friends I hadn't been able to see in a while. I even got to babysit my friends baby boy. He was so much fun :) Then I trekked back to Buffalo to pick up Eli, who met me with a huge hug! I was prepared for a "5 more days, momma". But instead I got an "I missed you. I love you. You're mine." Let me tell you, that was worth a million bucks in my mind.

We were home for a week, both a little sick with a sore throat. And then we went to Indiana this past Tuesday through Saturday to visit my parents.

Somewhere in between all this, my dad lost his job, Eli took swimming and a sports class, a ministry opportunity has presented itself, we bought Eli a new storage bed, and I found the BEST book "Am I messing up my kids" By Lysa T.

So I need your help (if anyone reads this!) We're trying to decide if we should move Eli in to the bigger bedroom with a smaller closet, or if we should keep him where he is and move things around to accommodate a bigger bed. What do you think?

I have more to post, but I'll leave that for another day. School starts Sept 8th so hopefully I'll have a little more alone time to post more. I have pics too. Phew! I'm tired!