Easter, Birthdays, Punks and Gummy Bears

Why do I do this to myself? If I updated more often, I wouldn’t be in danger of giving you a novel of epic proportions! I will try to keep it simple.

April is a busy month for the Deirocini family as we celebrate our risen Savior as well as both Brent’s birthday and mine. Living on one salary for the time being and learning to live on a strict budget where we use cash only (for which we are so thrilled) means that celebrations aren’t quite as big an ordeal as they once were. I wish I could say I had something super creative planned for Brent’s birthday, but I was having a crummy day that day and unfortunately there are no “do-overs.” He is such a tender-hearted man, though, so I know my meager attempt of making homemade spaghetti for dinner with red velvet cupcakes for dessert made his heart melt…not to mention my trip to Sears to pick up yet another set of wrenches for his tool collection. Which leaves me to wonder just how many wrenches one can accumulate until their collection is complete?

Easter with Elizabeth was amazing. We chose to attend the Saturday night service at our church so we could avoid a hectic Sunday with a little one (that and I’m terrified of a crowded nursery). Meme sent her a beautiful Easter dress…which she pooped in on the car ride home from church. And when I say pooped, I mean it had liquefied and covered the back of her dress and pantaloons when I picked her up out of her car seat. Easter night she woke up throwing up after she had been put to bed for an hour. Must have been all the chocolate candy she ate out of her Easter basket. Oh wait, that was Brent and I who ate all her candy! Anyway, holding your baby while they are chucking is scary, but once the storm is over and you’re rocking your sweet little one, you never feel more like a mommy than in that moment!

My birthday was the best I’ve ever had. Brent gave me my card the night before my birthday and when I opened it, he had an itinerary for my birthday. The best part? He had taken the off from work to be with me. That alone was present enough. He let me sleep in and then served me a homemade breakfast in bed! For lunch we packed Elizabeth up and went to Cheesecake Factory thanks to a gift certificate his mom gave him for his birthday. Afterwards he took me to ToysRus to pick out a new stuffed animal. Okay, don’t judge! I still sleep with a stuffed animal, but it’s not a comfort thing. I need to have my arm wrapped around something when I sleep. Yes, I know I could just use a small pillow, but it’s just not as cuddly. Afterwards we went to the mall to just walk around, hit the chiropractor (I’ve been having major headaches lately) and later hit Target and a jewelry store. I picked out a diamond bracelet I like (that I won’t get for a long time), but it was fun just to window shop! Last night as we watched an episode of House, he rubbed my feet for thirty minutes! I think the whole day cost us $20, but it was amazing!

Today it was back to reality! Below is a picture of Elizabeth at "work" while mommy is teaching.

Speaking of reality, I’m going back to work full-time next year. God has an interesting way of working things out sometimes. His ways never seem to be our ways, but that’s a good thing. I actually want to spend more time talking about this, but I’d like to dedicate a post entirely to this thought because there are several other things wrapped up in it, a part of it being the last HUGE mountain we are asking God to move. Yes, the same thing we’ve been praying for since right before Christmas. He already opened several doors and we’re waiting on the last one. It’s been a long time since we’ve started this journey, but we aren’t discouraged! We only want his perfect timing so we are learning a lesson in patience.

Elizabeth goes for her 9 month check-up next week. She still hasn’t cut any teeth, but she’s sitting up entirely on her own. She’s also learning how to move her legs so crawling is probably on the horizon. Well, she does crawl, but only in the direction of “backwards.” She has brought so much joy into our lives and I can’t imagine life any other way!

Much love to all of you!

Snapshots...minus the snap...or the shot.

Okay, here’s the truth… I would update more often if I had the time to insert pictures to go along with my posts. Remember when you were a kid and all you cared about were the pictures in the book your mom was reading to you? I feel like I let my readers down by giving them a text-only version of what’s been going on in my life. There you have it. With that being said, there are no pictures for this post, so those who need a visual with which to follow along, you have my blessing to stop reading now.

So here are the last three months:

Elizabeth’s first Christmas was so special. Somehow, I managed to beat my brother out to get my parents for the holiday. They never come to Florida for Christmas, so all I have to say to David is, “I win, I win!!”

In January, I taught the Truth Project for two weeks as a J-term class at Master’s. Brent’s mom and my mom took one week each to keep Little Fuzzy Head while I was gone. It was so nice to get out of the house and be around students again, but it also made me realize that I’m not cut out to work both in the home and outside the home while my kids are young.

The annual Shot Show was in Las Vegas this year (as it will be for at least the next 5 years). Brent managed to get his own room so I was able to tag along for 4 nights! He was all taken care of by the company, and we purchased my plane ticket with sky miles leaving meals the only thing left for which to pay. It was an amazing deal and a much needed time of rest and relaxation (at least for me, since Brent had to go to work every day). I’m so thankful for my mom agreeing to stay an extra few days to keep Elizabeth.

Elizabeth weighed 12 lbs and was 22 inches long at her 6 month check-up. She’s still only in the 25^th percentile for her weight, but her growing curve is moving right along just as it should be.

We are now all caught up to present day! Most of you know that as of last week, I am teaching first hour 11^th grade English at Master’s. They had the full-time position open and believe me when I say they tried to get me to take it, but I understand my limits and I’m pretty sure I would have had a breakdown before the end of the school year trying to balance being a wife, mom, housekeeper, mentor, teacher, disciplinarian... After several attempts to make this work, I felt comfortable taking on one class especially since I could take Elizabeth to school and have someone personally watch her for me for the hour. The timing is perfect because it doesn’t interfere with any feedings or naps! I am so thankful for this opportunity to enjoy getting out of the house four days a week and interacting with my “kids”! It’s also going to be nice to bring home a small paycheck for the next few months.

Speaking of a paycheck, there are not words to describe how much Brent and I are enjoying our small group’s study of Financial Peace University. Several years ago Brent and I were able to pay off all our consumer debt and build up our savings. If things had happened differently, I would not be awarded the luxury of staying home with my sweet baby girl, so all praise be to God for giving us the motivation and the means to accomplish our goals! We feared and trembled at the thought of going down to one paycheck, but once it happened and we prayed and relied on the Lord, he has been sufficient to supply all of our needs. When we found out our group was doing FPU, we hesitated to join since we had already completed a Crown course, were out of debt, and were “doing okay.” We honestly decided to commit to the thirteen weeks for the fellowship of it. Oh God had greater plans. We have been reminded of so much and have learned so many new things in only the four short weeks since we’ve started. Dave Ramsey’s way of living is not just a list of suggestions, but a total lifestyle change. It takes discipline and hard work, but it is so worth it!!! Anyone wanting to get control of their finances and think about the future and the legacy that is being left to your posterity ought to consider taking this course. It even gives you the tools of how to teach money management to your kids! He points out Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Interestingly enough, most people don’t look at the very next verse, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” It’s a life changer!

So back to the paycheck…We’ve been praying for God to bless us so that we might bless others and my taking one class at Master’s is just one of the ways that God is pouring his rich blessings into our lives.

We still have one big blessing we are pleading with God to give us, but we are waiting on his timing. He has already opened so many doors that we thought impossible and now there is a mountain to move. It has been a total adventure and even if the outcome isn’t what we’ve hoped for, he has matured our faith and reliance on him and the journey was totally worth it.

Sometimes God takes us through the journey not because there is something at the end, but because the process is the prize.