It was a short 13 months after experiencing the gift of life through our firstborn, that we found out we would be having another child in November. I have to be honest…we were scared to death! It’s funny how you can think you have your life all planned out, then life throws those “curve balls” that we all have heard about through other’s stories. Well, we were thrown a curve ball.
Shane was already working three jobs to support our family, and I had just decided to go back to school and become a teacher. I can remember when we “let the cat out of the bag” that we were expecting our second child, a lady from our church followed me out to my car and asked, “You’re not going to try and go back to school now, are you?” Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that the one liner that lady dropped on me right there in that church parking lot was in fact MY motivation to continue with my plan to further myself. If I wanted to be able to support my children, help my husband to stop killing himself by working ALL the time, and ever see light again, I HAD TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL!!!! So, I enrolled in classes at the University of West Georgia and began a journey that would take some time, but would be well worth it!
Of course, when you already have one child that’s a girl, people will tell you that this time you will have a boy for sure. I knew that I needed a girl, because we already had a girl wardrobe, bedding, carseat/stroller, etc. Before we found out what we were having, a sweet lady from our church did the ole wedding ring trick on me to see if we would have a boy or girl. She tied my ring on a string above my wrist and held it up to see if it would go horizontal or vertical. I can’t remember which way it went, but it went in the direction that this ole wives tell says is a BOY! Shortly after this scare, we went to the doctor to find out OUR BABY WAS A GIRL!!!
God always knows what we need…and He absolutely knew that we could afford a girl over a boy at this point in our lives. Later, however, I know this girl will cost us; but for now, it’s affordable! God also knows how to make a terrifying situation turn out to be one of the best things that has ever happened to us. I went to the doctor one week before Carsey’s delivery, and he told me that if she didn’t come before next Monday, November 19, then I needed to check into the maternity ward to be induced. For all of you who already know, November 19th is my precious mother-in-law’s birthday. Carsey didn’t come any that week, so off we went early that Monday morning to have our little sweetheart.
We’ve all heard the horror stories of being induced, but my story is thankfully not one of them. At 7:00a.m, I began the induction process and little Carsey Jade came into this world at 4:48, again without any medications. She was absolutely perfect! She had to be the happiest baby we had ever seen and stayed that way until she turned 2 years old! God knew we needed it easy for a while, then our challenge began. What happened to our most well behaved daughter??
That’s the difference in children, and we are realizing now that although you raise your children the same, discipline them the same, and everything in between, they are their own little persons and are going to be different! Carsey was more of the rebellious type…she knew she was going to be disciplined if she didn’t do what we said, but she would just do it her way. Sometimes, it was extremely hard for us to discipline her, because she was too stinkin’ cute and would say the funniest things—not meaning to be funny! That’s when you have to turn your head and laugh in the most silent way, then turn back around with the meanest look on your face so that you could get your point across—and it looks like you’ve been crying yourself, because of all that belly laughing you just did.
That’s our little Carsey! She has brought joy to our lives that we can’t explain. She is our child who thinks “outside the box” as she asks questions about things that we, again have to turn our heads and laugh about, then turn back around with red faces as we have laughed so hard and answer her in the most serious way. She is also our child who we have to stay hovered over to MAKE her do homework, read, clean her room, pick up after herself, stop eating like a 2 year old, lower her voice, stop climbing the walls and flipping off the furniture, and LISTEN TO ME WHEN I’M SPEAKING TO YOU!!! She is worth all of this as we travel this parenting road, and so much more!! Carsey will always be our unique child who we often wonder which one of us she gets some of these unique characteristics from, but she will never have a problem lighting up a room wherever she adventures to in this world!
Shane was already working three jobs to support our family, and I had just decided to go back to school and become a teacher. I can remember when we “let the cat out of the bag” that we were expecting our second child, a lady from our church followed me out to my car and asked, “You’re not going to try and go back to school now, are you?” Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that the one liner that lady dropped on me right there in that church parking lot was in fact MY motivation to continue with my plan to further myself. If I wanted to be able to support my children, help my husband to stop killing himself by working ALL the time, and ever see light again, I HAD TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL!!!! So, I enrolled in classes at the University of West Georgia and began a journey that would take some time, but would be well worth it!
Of course, when you already have one child that’s a girl, people will tell you that this time you will have a boy for sure. I knew that I needed a girl, because we already had a girl wardrobe, bedding, carseat/stroller, etc. Before we found out what we were having, a sweet lady from our church did the ole wedding ring trick on me to see if we would have a boy or girl. She tied my ring on a string above my wrist and held it up to see if it would go horizontal or vertical. I can’t remember which way it went, but it went in the direction that this ole wives tell says is a BOY! Shortly after this scare, we went to the doctor to find out OUR BABY WAS A GIRL!!!
God always knows what we need…and He absolutely knew that we could afford a girl over a boy at this point in our lives. Later, however, I know this girl will cost us; but for now, it’s affordable! God also knows how to make a terrifying situation turn out to be one of the best things that has ever happened to us. I went to the doctor one week before Carsey’s delivery, and he told me that if she didn’t come before next Monday, November 19, then I needed to check into the maternity ward to be induced. For all of you who already know, November 19th is my precious mother-in-law’s birthday. Carsey didn’t come any that week, so off we went early that Monday morning to have our little sweetheart.
We’ve all heard the horror stories of being induced, but my story is thankfully not one of them. At 7:00a.m, I began the induction process and little Carsey Jade came into this world at 4:48, again without any medications. She was absolutely perfect! She had to be the happiest baby we had ever seen and stayed that way until she turned 2 years old! God knew we needed it easy for a while, then our challenge began. What happened to our most well behaved daughter??
That’s the difference in children, and we are realizing now that although you raise your children the same, discipline them the same, and everything in between, they are their own little persons and are going to be different! Carsey was more of the rebellious type…she knew she was going to be disciplined if she didn’t do what we said, but she would just do it her way. Sometimes, it was extremely hard for us to discipline her, because she was too stinkin’ cute and would say the funniest things—not meaning to be funny! That’s when you have to turn your head and laugh in the most silent way, then turn back around with the meanest look on your face so that you could get your point across—and it looks like you’ve been crying yourself, because of all that belly laughing you just did.
That’s our little Carsey! She has brought joy to our lives that we can’t explain. She is our child who thinks “outside the box” as she asks questions about things that we, again have to turn our heads and laugh about, then turn back around with red faces as we have laughed so hard and answer her in the most serious way. She is also our child who we have to stay hovered over to MAKE her do homework, read, clean her room, pick up after herself, stop eating like a 2 year old, lower her voice, stop climbing the walls and flipping off the furniture, and LISTEN TO ME WHEN I’M SPEAKING TO YOU!!! She is worth all of this as we travel this parenting road, and so much more!! Carsey will always be our unique child who we often wonder which one of us she gets some of these unique characteristics from, but she will never have a problem lighting up a room wherever she adventures to in this world!