"Christmas Time's A Comin'"

If you attended our Christmas Variety Show, you will recognize the title. This blog isn't about the show, but since I mentioned it, I thought it went very well. This has been the most relaxed year for me as the director. I guess I've just come to realize that things usually fall into place, so there is no need to freak out beforehand. We had well over 200 in attendance which isn't bad in my opinion. The only issue was my voice. I woke up Sunday morning and had lost my voice. I really thought that once I got it warmed up, it would be better. I was wrong! At 3:00, I was gargling salt water, drinking tea, taking DayQuil, taking honey and lemon, and I STILL couldn't sing. After we rehearsed a few times, I realized that I just couldn't sing, so Pastor Lori graciously took my solos and I just squeaked through the other songs. I didn't recover my voice until Wednesday. I was so frustrated, I could have cried... it's just disappointing to practice things and prepare to have it all changed up at the last minute. Oh, well. There's always next year!

Usually, Christmas Day is a fun day to spend with family, open presents, play with them, eat and chill out. Not for the Barrineaus. Our Christmas is probably the most hectic day for us... well, Christmas and Thanksgiving since it's pretty much the same routine for both days.

We wake up at Chuck's parents' house. We usually go to Georgetown a few days early since his parents and sister see Micah and Aiden the least. We open presents with Chuck's parents, his sisters, his nephews, niece, and great-niece. Then, we eat. It's usually barbeque since his dad cooks a hog a few days before. This year, we also had a turkey.

Then, we leave and go to my mom's house in Mt. Pleasant. We eat again and open presents with my mom, my sisters, their husbands, and my brother. Last year, we played a little pool, but there wasn't much time for that this year.

After that, we go to my dad and step-mom's in West Ashley. (By this time, we usually have to make a trip to our house in Summerville to unload our car so there is room for more presents.) We eat... again. Usually, it's Puerto Rican food, which is awesome! Then we open presents yet again.

Cons: With all the traveling we are exhausted by the end of the day, I don't feel like we really get to see each family member because we spend just a little time at each house, there truly is no downtime, and Micah has to wait until the next day to get his presents out of the boxes since there isn't time for him to play. Oh, and we eat way too much food! Joy is going to kick our behinds the next time we workout!

Pros: Micah and Aiden get to see all their family in one day, our parents get to see their grandchildren, the boys are the only grand kids so they get insane amounts of gift which they get excited about, we eat lots of food :-)

Chuck and I saw "Four Christmases" a few weeks ago and laughed because it's pretty close to how we spend our holidays... minus the drama, etc.

I don't know... maybe one day we'll stay home and have our own Christmas with our own family traditions. I don't foresee that happening anytime soon. It's ok, though. We love our families and look forward to spending time with them any chance we get.

Anyone else have a crazy Christmas?

Update

Wow, my last blog was July- pathetic.

Since July, we've had a major change- Aiden arrived!! Needless to say, I am SO happy to not be pregnant anymore! I LOVED being pregnant the first time around, but this time- not so much. A large part of it was due to the fact that I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. It was a total freak thing. I did not fit into any of the risk categories. I had to go to a class about it and a nutritionist put me on a strict diet. I also has to check my sugar 4 times a day. Holy cow, was I happy to get rid of those needles! Anyways, Chuck and I made the most of it, and tried some new recipes, etc. On the bright side, I started losing the baby weight before Aiden even came.

Partly because of the diabetes, my doctor decided to induce me. It was wonderful knowing exactly when he would be here. I was able to clean my house from top to bottom so it was ready for me to come home!

The morning that I was being induced, I was suppose to be at the hospital between 6:00 and 6:30. Chuck and I set the alarm for 4:45 so we could leave by 5:45. We slept through the alarm and woke up when Adam (Adam and Lori stayed with us the night before) called to see if we were awake. After Chuck had a short conversation with Adam (while still asleep) I woke up and realized what was going on. We jumped up and rushed to the hospital.

At the hospital, everything went well. I had an epidural, which was wonderful. Most of my family was there, so I had plenty of excitement to distract me (which was great since Aiden was in no hurry to get here). The nurse checked me about every hour or so. At about 5:00, she came into check me and I was about 7 cm. Thirty minutes later, she came in to adjust my IV and decided to check me again. She said that I was 9cm and she was getting the doctor. My doctor came in and said, "If you sneeze, this baby will come out, so hang on!" She left to change clothes and it was a whirlwind after that! The nurse kicked everyone out, prepared the room, and called the nursery. My doctor came back in and told me to push. I pushed twice and Aiden was here- less then 10 minutes and NO STITCHES! Hallelujah!! He was here on August 25 at 5:54pm. He was 6lbs. 8oz. and 20 in. long.

When we got home from the hospital, we took a day to sleep, then life picked back up again. We had a meeting that Saturday, church, End of Summer Party, the Kids Crusade, a trip to Columbia, a trip to Greenville, a trip to Myrtle Beach, a trip to Georgetown, and a trip to Falcon, NC. As I type, Chuck is speaking in Aiken. Things have been so busy, and Aiden has fit into our life just perfectly.

We are so thankful for our new addition. Micah absolutely loves him, and Chuck and I are continuously commenting on how much we love our family. God has been so good to us!

Dinner Conversations With a Two Year Old

Chuck and I had an interesting conversation with Micah at the dinner table tonight. We got on the subject of Micah being a big brother. Previously, when the topic of another baby comes up, Micah would refuse to acknowledge it. If we asked him if he wanted to be a big brother, he would yell, "NO!!!" (I'm sure everyone can picture exactly how he says it, too! )

Tonight, we asked Micah again if he wanted to be a big brother. He put up his hand and said, "Not yet! Not yet! It's my birthday first!" (He will be turning 3 on July 31st.) Chuck and I looked at each other, surprised at the different response. I asked him, "So, after your birthday, you want to be a big brother?" He replied, "Yes!"

Hallelujah! We've had a breakthrough! Micah has accepted the fact that he will not be an only child. We started to talk about him protecting, holding, and having to be very gentle with Aiden. Micah seemed very excited about all of it.

I then asked Micah where Aiden was. Micah looked down at his stomach and said, "He's in my belly! See?! (as he poked his stomach out)" It was hilarious!

Apparently, Aiden is in Micah's belly and I'm just bloated. The mind of a two year old is so interesting!

We're home!

Holy cow, it has been over a month since I last blogged. That's because it seems our life has been in fast-forward for quite some time. This is what has been going on:

Camp- We were at camp for 3 weeks! While I'm not a camp kind of girl, we did enjoy ourselves. It's nice seeing old friends and meeting new people. I also enjoy the volleyball games (yes, I did play), although they got a little too intense this year!! LOL!! I realized during the last week how much Chuck and I want a Nintendo Wii!! ;-) Micah had a good time too. Although we realized that we had been there too long when Micah started calling our camper his "camper home." He keeps asking us when we are going back! We are SOOO thankful to be home. Being in the middle of nowhere makes you really appreciate your comfortable home. I am continuously thanking God for my shower, bathroom, bed... etc. The list goes on and on!

House- The kitchen is almost done, HALLELUJAH!! There are only a few more cosmetic things still lingering, but it looks fabulous! I love it! And our entire downstairs carpet was replaced with hardwood floors. This is WONDERFUL for someone who is constantly concerned about the cleanliness of carpets and feels the need to scrub them every other week!! Seriously, I am much more relaxed not feeling like I need to scrub carpets! Now, we are just trying to get things ready for Aiden. On the to do list is painting and switching some rooms around. Hopefully, most of it will be done this week.

Micah- My little boy will be turning 3 years old on July 31st! I can't believe it!! He is growing up so quickly!

Pregnancy- It is almost over! I am now about 34 weeks. Since I last blogged, I found out that I have gestational diabetes. It's crazy because diabetes doesn't run in my family and I don't fit into any of the risk categories. I had to attend a class about it where they provided a nutritionist who put me on a strict diet, and they taught me about taking care of myself. In addition to the diet, I have to check my blood sugar 4 times a day. Pricking your finger in not fun. On the bright side, this has caused Chuck and me to eat healthier which is something we've wanted to do anyways. Chuck is enjoying making new meals, and they have all turned out SOOO good! I've actually started losing weight already. My doctor wants me to gain 10 more pounds before I have this baby, so we'll see how that goes. Other than that, everything has been going well. I'm trying to enjoy this pregnancy since I'm planning on it being my last. I'm just ready to get some decent sleep and for the exhaustion to go away.

All in all, things are great. I'm excited about the new things that are yet to come, and I'm so thankful for my husband, Micah, church, everything! Life is great!

Freedom

As everyone at RM knows, Micah is a two year old with an attitude. Chuck and I are trying to break some of this. Well, he was talking back today, and when he wouldn't heed to my warning, I put him in time-out. I was washing dishes and forgot to pay attention to the time, so he had to sit longer than usual. When I told him he could get up, he jumps to his feet and starts jumping in the living room yelling, "I'M FREE!!! I'M FREE!!!"

Micah has experienced true freedom today...

What is Your Potential?

Alright, my husband has reminded me that I have not blogged in over a week. I guess it defeats the purpose of having a blog if you never write, so I'll do better.

There is something that has been on my mind for the last several weeks. I recently heard a pastor speak on potential. He said that God only judges us based on OUR potential. He used Billy Graham as an example: Let's say that through the crusades that Billy Graham held, 5 million people were saved. That would be considered a HUGE success. I know that I haven't reached 5 million in my life so far. But what if Billy Graham had the potential to reach 10 million people. Do you think God would be satisfied with him only reaching half of his potential? While God would be rejoicing over the 5 million people who are now living for Him, I believe He would be mourning over the 5 million lost. (Please know that I am not saying that Billy Graham didn't live up to his potential. This is strictly an example.)

It has made me think about a lot of things. We are all so caught up with comparing our lives to other people's lives. Some may think that they are doing enough for God because they are more committed that their neighbor. None of that matters. When we die, God is not going to look at us and say, "Well done good and faithful servant because you led more to the Lord than Sally." No, it doesn't matter what anyone else has done. All that matters is what God has put inside you to do.

This has made me take a look at my life. What in my life am I doing simply because I have compared myself or my life to someone else? No one is immune to this. We have all at one point or another been influenced or affected by other people.

Bottom line: I don't want to miss it. I don't want to die without reaching my potential. I don't want to waste time. I don't want to become prideful and think I have done enough for the Kingdom of God because I've done more than someone else. I don't want to think that I'm insignificant or a failure because I haven't done as much as someone else. I want to reach my potential and do what God has purposed for me to do.

New Things

I'm usually not one who is incredibly excited about changes. Being that I'm a planner, I usually make a mental list of all the bad things or inconveniences that accompany the change. But I feel like we are going through so many changes that I am SOOO excited about!

First, Micah is potty training. Hallelujah! We've tried a few times before but stopped if he became really frustrated with it. I continually talked to him about it and made him tell me all the steps of "pee peeing in the potty." Well, when Adam and Lori came this weekend, they had begun potty training Ethan. Micah decided he was ready. This time around has been a piece of cake- maybe because he actually initiated it. Anyways, he has been in underwear and hasn't had a single accident. Thank you, Jesus!!

Second, we bought a car. It's really exciting because it's a reliable car. It's also VERY baby compatible. It has a DVD player and a flip down baby mirror for the driver that I think is so cool! But aside from all that, this is the first vehicle that Chuck and I have picked out together. We sat down and decided the things we wanted, and overall, it was a fun process.

Third, our kitchen is being remodled. I am THRILLED that this is going on. We will have a dishwasher!! I don't know how I've survived for two years without one. It's a miracle!

Fourth, Aiden's arrival is quickly approaching. I'm still getting used to the idea of having two kids, but I'm so excited! I feel much more relaxed and prepared this time around, and I'm thoroughly enjoying my full nights of sleep right now since I know they are numbered.

Last, but not least, I'm still excited about all the new things going on at and in store for Restoration Ministries. I am so thankful for the people at RM, and for the opportunity that God has given Chuck and me.

Good things are in store, and I believe I am ready for change.

Steph's Version of the "Monday Mind Dump"

I realize it's Tuesday, but here is my belated "Monday Mind Dump" as Charles calls it! I thought service was great. I know that we say it all the time, but we truly love RM! So, here are my thoughts:

-The praise team has learned a couple new songs, one of which we sang during service. It's called "I Call Your Name," and I LOVE that song! It is so powerful.

-My husband made me nervous throughout the enitre message. Did anyone keep track of how many times he said "crack"?

-Charles likes to use the lapel microphone. The only problem with that is that he wears all of his shirts untucked. The mic pack makes him look like he has a serious ghetto-booty! I wonder if they sell mic packs in "extra-slim."

-As Charles said in his blog, it was an incredibly long day. We had a very productive staff meeting, then our men's and women's Bible studies. By the time I got to the Destiny Seeker's Bible Study, I was brain dead. Sorry if it seemed like I was zoned out!

So there is my take. Again, I love RM, and I am so glad to be at a church with some excitement. I really look forward to Sundays!

New Blog

Alright, I gave in. My husband has been trying to convince me to get into this blogging, Twittering (or I guess it's called "tweeting") stuff for quite some time. While I am still refusing to join Twitter, I have created a blog. I mean, I'm a woman. I can think of LOTS of stuff to talk about! On the bright side, I now have an avenue of revenge for the comments that Chuck makes about me in his sermons (ie. I cannot cook, I fear that I will bleed out from a paper cut wound, I look like a squirrel has made a nest in my hair when I wake up in the morning...). Yes, this may be worth it! ;-)