ive been keeping a little secret...

baby #5 is due September 2011

SO excited to be able to finally share this news!

recovering...

just days after my last post, i was hit with the awful flu - not the throw up kind but the kind where i was achy, had chills, fever, cough, sore throat and congestion. it was down right awful.  i felt like i was hit by a truck.  i was down for nearly a week and one of those days i thought i might die.  it was not fun at all.  thankfully, it fell over a weekend so jamil was home and he was able to take care of the kids and the house.  i was so out of it for many days and then spend many days recovering, my house and high hopes of organizing it fell apart.  last week, i felt much better and began trying to get life back in order, i am still doing the same thing this week.  i was done for one week and it is taking close to two weeks to get things back in shape.

i have been horrible about taking pictures or even capturing sweet moments - life has been a blur.  and i can't believe it is mid february already.  so i feel like i don't have much to write about.

this past weekend we did celebrate our church's five year anniversary.  it was amazing.  our creative department made documentary and it told the story of our church and God's favor on our church over the past five years.  it was an excellent documentary, we have a truly genius team who puts videos together.  if you are interested in hearing more about Elevation Church and how God continues to bless our church you can watch it here, but only for this week.  you can also read more about it here and here.  of course i have no pictures, even though we were all dressed up - i wore a dress and jamil wore a suit. but not one picture was taken.  i really need to get better at that! 

so, i'm off to do laundry, its one of those things that i just can not catch up on.

a different kind of month & organization...

it certainly has been a strange start to the new year.  i have not been able to get into my usual motivated mind set.  and our schedule has been so strange and unpredictable. with our snow week - the kids were only in school on friday and it was a 2 hour delay, then starting the following week (last week) they had off of school on monday.   mid week, joshua woke up in the middle of the night and he was sick.  he threw up every hour for about five hours, so he missed a day of school.  good thing is it hit quick and he felt better the next day.  jamil and i were placing bets on who would get the stomach bug next.  when you have four kids, these things usually spread like weeds.  the week wrapped up, the weekend came and went and we thought we were in the clear.  until last night - jordyn woke up around midnight throwing up.  she only got sick that one time, unfortunately, she didn't make it out of her loft bed in time and we had a mess to clean up.  so, she is home today and feeling better. 

so, its been an unpredictable month and i have lots of things i want to accomplish and cross off of my list but i just haven't been able to get to them.  my one big goal for this year is to get our house in shape, it has become very disorganized and messy.  i do not operate under these conditions very well and it has gotten the best of me.  we are maxed out on space in our house because of our large family and all of our stuff but also because we have a lot of clutter and things we really don't need.  so in order to get some space back and feel more efficient i am going to be working on really organizing our home. i will be doing lots of research for organizing and space saving - if you have any great tips or suggestions, i would love to hear them!!   this is a long overdue project and i am ready to get started as soon as things get back to "normal"

not one but three snow days...

yes, i am sitting here just outside of charlotte, nc and we are on snow day number 3! how in the world can that be?  over christmas, we had snow and lots of it which made a beautiful white christmas!   and now just two weeks later we have even more!  the kids are on their third day of no school.  jamil was off for the first two days but headed back to work today.  we are getting a little bit restless and down to the bare bones of food and supplies.  and unfortunately yesterday and today the snow has not been fun to play in, it is mostly a sheet of ice on the top.  the first day was so much fun though!  with all of that being said, i think i am ready to get back to a normal schedule.  i have enjoyed the family time but all good things must come to an end!

well, i am off to try to keep the kids busy and from killing each other!


here are a few pictures from our first big snow:

blogging again & highlights of twenty ten...

hello!!!!! i know it has been a long long time! but im back and this time is for good!!!

after an unintended very long blog break, I am back to blogging and i am super excited about it!  one of my new year goals is to continue my blogging.  it is kind of awkward to return and try to figure out how to catch up on where i left off.  so much has happened over the past few more than a few months that i want to share.  but for now i will just post the highlights of this past year...

january:

we started off 2010 on a bit of a sad note for us, my sister, julie decided to move back to pennsylvania.  we loved having her in charlotte for the 2 years she was here and we knew she would be greatly missed.

the year got off to a quick start with jaelyn on the move! she was walking and we realized

we officially have four kids on the go!

february: 

 we had a fun snow day! 

and the month was full of LOVE!!! at our church we had LOVE week!  we also had a fun time celebrating elevation's FOUR year anniversary and a very special 30th birthday celebration for our Pastor.

march: 

we celebrated two more special birthdays this month!

jesiah turned 5 years old -  and he had his first sleepover.

here he is with one of his very best friends, corbin.

and jamil turned 34 years old!

april:

we celebrated easter in a huge way.  we were part of a big move of God when elevation held one huge worship experience at the bobcats stadium (time warner arena) in charlotte, nc

 may:

my sister surprised us with a visit over mother's day weekend!!!

we took a trip to the columbia zoo and had a great day as a family!! 

it was actually in april but i am leaving the photo here!

during the spring i started working on my certification process to become a birth doula. 

in may, i was officially "hired" by the first couple who would later in the year have me share in their special day.  they have become a very special family to me!

 june: 

we took a family beach trip to carolina beach.

and not only did i attend my first birth as a doula but i was at two! what special days they were for me!

                                                   july:

jordyn's 7th birthday

and i also had the honor of attending two more births this month! very blessed!!

august:

jordyn accepted Christ and decided to get baptized!!!

such a very special day!!!

and our sweet jesiah starts kindergarten, can not believe my baby boy started school!!

i attended three births this month!!! two of them were extra special! 

the first was friends of ours, the schultzes, they welcomed sweet sweet baby boone!

the second was the the carsons, who i met earlier in the year and they had become very special friends.  

above i am holding their sweet baby girl ana grace

and below bethany is holding my sweet baby girl!!

september:

with my doula ministry off to a very busy star,t i took the month off and 

was able to go on a girlfriend's beach trip

and i celebrated my 35th birthday (ouch!)

october: 

josh turns 10 years old

how in the world is it possible that i am a mom to a ten year old! wow!

and little miss jaelyn turns 2 years old!!

i attended two more births as a doula!

november: 

this month was truly a blur for me...

it was a busy month, we opened our 4th elevation campus in blakeney! 

we attended a panthers game with our friends larry and janet.

despite many blessings and the season of gratefulness, it was a difficult month, honestly,

we had a life changing event occur that i will never forget or understand.

but God has been faithful and everlasting!

december:

jamil and i celebrated our 11 year anniversary!

i attended a birth of a friend from our old church on our anniversary!

but we celebrated the night before so it was all good!!

i was blessed to be able to have a girls night out with 6 of my favorite ladies to kick off the holiday festivities!

we had an amazing Christmas season, we spent a lot of time leading up to the big day at elevation for our Christmas eve worship experiences! what a blessing to be a part of something so big!!!

we had a wonderful christmas holiday.  jamil took a lot of time off from work 

and we were able to enjoy our family and celebrate the season!!!

it is so great to be back! 

i hope that you have each had a wonderful Christmas and great start to your new year! 

i promise to return soon!

blessings ~
dawn

september first...

is it really september first already?  it is hard to believe that summer is at it's end and fall is around the corner.  i have taken a few months off from blogging, mainly because i really have not had the time to keep up with it.  but i have missed it and as i get back into a routine i plan to make blogging part of it again.  this summer really threw me off, but it has been a great one. we have had lots going on at our house ~ lots to share and lots to tell!

i look forward to sharing more over the next few weeks.  God has really been on the move in our family and i feel extremely blessed!

be back soon...

it has been over a month since my last post, i think that is the longest time between posts. ever.

i have often thought of quitting this whole blog thing, since i have not been very good at it lately.

but i found after taking about a month off that i am really missing it. really i do.

i realized as i began writing this today that i celebrate three years of blogging this month. wow.

hopefully as i begin my fourth year of blogging i will be able to come back from this break refreshed and with lots of things to say.

i am sorry for an unannounced break and appreciate those of you who continue to read and continue to follow my blog!

so stay tuned as i plan to begin writing once again.  soon.

**** and excuse the way my blog is looking! it is under construction as i am working on a new look!***

on wings like eagles...

something you may or may not know about me is that i have a fear of heights.  i really don't like them.  it makes me sick to think about doing any kind of daring activity that would require being up high.  no way, never, would you catch me hang-gliding or jumping out of an airplane with a parachute for fun. also, i don't really think it is fun to climb up to the top of high places (towers, lighthouses, etc) and look down.  it would just make me sick. i am ok with flying in an airplane or riding on a roller coaster. i am not freaked out by that.  but the thought of being up high and looking around and seeing what is below or jumping from something that is high and falling to the ground is really scary to me.  in fact, i don't even like to watch a scene in a movie where the actor is doing that. yuck. makes me sick.

so i have found myself in this place in my life where i feel like i am being taken to new heights.  really high, really scary ones.  ones that are out of my comfortable place.  God has begun to use me in some different ways that i could never have thought of or imagined. ever.  so many of the things that He is placing in front of me, are really truly pretty scary for me.  they are so unfamiliar and they feel so out of my reach.  so high, too high for me.  and completely out of my comfort level.  i feel like these are things that are suppose to be for someone else and not for me.  honestly, i keep asking Him if He is sure that He has chosen the right person.  i think perhaps he is looking for someone else.  silly question. because He is God Almighty.  He doesn't make a mistake and He knows the plan He has.

every time i look around at the things in my life that are comfortable and instead of looking up at what He has planned for me, i know i am not doing what He has planned for me.  i am trying to stay where i am comfortable and do what i know how to do.  but, while in my comfort, i am being disobedient to what He is showing me and telling me.  i am trying to do what I want to do, because it is so much more comfortable.  but it is not what He has planned for me.

since i desire to follow His plan for my life, i have to put this fear of  these new heights aside.  i have to look up and rely on Him, the One who has given me these new levels to reach for.  the One who has chosen me, because He knows best. i am pushed out of my comfort zone and i trust in Him. i find my strength and my comfort in Him. 

 but those who hope in the LORD, will renew their strength.
       they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
       they will walk and not be faint.

isaiah 40:31

a few favorite things...

...from this special mother's day weekend!!

a special night celebrating a very special lady

*

a surprise visit from my sister for the weekend

*

a friday night dinner not cooked by me (carry out from pei-wei)

*

a beautiful and special bracelet from my husband

*

a day of shopping and eating sushi for lunch with my sister

*

an awesome worship experience and message at church

*

a morning to sleep in, arranged by my oldest son who took care of the little ones

*

a few handmade gifts from my sweet kiddos

*

a cookout with family

*

a visit to the hospital to see a sweet friend and her new baby

i hope that you each had a wonderful weekend filled with a few of your favorite things!

i hope you were celebrated well (if you are a mom)

and had a chance to celebrate your mother well!

it was a great weekend full of lots of great memories!

pictures may or may not follow soon :)

love & blessings,

dawn

sneak peek...

here is a sneak peek at atleast one of the things that is keeping me soooo busy these days....

it's not complete and definitely needs more work 

but i thought i would share one thing that is competing for my attention

 CLICK HERE!

check it out and then come back and leave me a comment and tell me what you think!

lots to catch up on...

ever really want to do something but time just rarely allows?
ever have so much to do that the "fun" things just get pushed aside?

that is how i feel about my blog these days!


i promise i will be back soon with lots of stuff to catch you up on!








 

quite the little girl...

last week, i took jaelyn to our pediatrician for her 18 month well check.
jaelyn is doing great!!!
what a blessing for a completely healthy and happy baby girl!

jaelyn is still a little peanut...
weighing in at 21 pounds (under the curve, guess it is like the 0%)
but now worries because she gained a pound since her 15 month check up!

and she measures 32 inches long (50-75%)

jordyn loves to dress her up!
excuse the wild hair - it was just one of those days!

jaelyn loves to talk on this old cell phone!
so sweet!
she is quite the talker, she says lots and lots of words.
and repeats everything too!!

i'm a doula...

the last several weeks have been quite an amazing journey. there have been a few bumps in the road and a few moments of completely being overwhelmed and full of doubt and fear. but throughout the journey God has been at work and showing me His will for me.

a few weeks ago, i told you that i was getting my certification to be a doula. so i thought i would tell you a little bit about where i am in the process and what has been going on in my life surrounding this big huge God led adventure.

i do not need to be certified to be a doula. so i am not waiting for my certification to "become a doula". God has given me this passion and desire for this field and i am claiming it. i am a doula! so i gladly and proudly accept the title of a doula!

part of my certification requires me to actually assist three families during their childbirth. that was the part that really scared me. i was really nervous how i would find clients who would hire me without my certification. but since it is part of God's plan. i have set it aside and let Him handle that part and when i did. when i accepted my title and claimed the role. He showed me that He will bring me the mothers and the clients that He wants me to support and encourage.

i have received confirmation after confirmation that this is God's will for me. it has been wild. you know when you pray about something and you ask for God to confirm it in a huge way like maybe a billboard. well, i feel like my confirmations have been even bigger than that. God has put so many different opportunities in my path. He has brought me so many connections and new friends already. and i just started pursuing this. but He has had this plan in the works for a long time, i just didn't know it!

i am so excited about my new journey!


since i haven't been so great about blogging lately and have a lot to write about, i will continue this in another post. for those of you who really don't care about reading about the doula stuff, i am working on a blog and website that in the future i will be putting the details there. but for now, this is part of my story and my life so i am sharing it here!

a day at the zoo....

on the last official day of spring break, jamil took the day off and we headed to the riverbanks zoo in columbia, sc {along with everyone else in the state of nc & sc} it never crossed my mind how busy it would be during the week of spring break. despite the crowd and managing four kids at the zoo, we had a great time! i remembered the camera but minus the media card, so we only had the internal memory with 21 pictures to take. oh well, here are a few pictures of the family at the zoo!

josh took this one.
this is where the super cool monkeys "hang"
but they were hiding and hard to get a good shot

a shot with me and the kids
right by the elephants, who were pretty stinky that day!
a fashion mishap: yes, i was wishing i had brought my
brown sling and not the black one, ooopss!

joshua showing jaelyn one of the animals,
i can not recall which one

my three big kids!

there is just something about palm trees that i love!

oh, look at the baby giraffe!
my very favorite animal that we saw!
love me some babies!

jamil & little buddy!

daddy & his girls as we are leaving the zoo!

what a great family day!!!

a piece of my story (part 2)...

this entry is the second part of a piece of my story and has a very exciting announcement at the end...

so, i continued to pray over the next few months. not sure exactly how God wanted to use me but know that i was willing to be used how He wanted to use me. it is really a scary feeling to know that God is doing a work in you but you can't really figure out exactly what it is. but i gave it all to Him.

i began a bible study in january and we are reading a joyce meyer book called a leader in the making. the women in this group all have a passion for other women and are in this study to find out how God wants to use them. this bible study and the reading that i have done has been instrumental me hearing from God over the past few months.

in the beginning of march, after watching a few shows which i love to watch about childbirth and babies, i started thinking about becoming a nurse midwife again. i began to pray specifically for God to show me if this is a dream that was mine or was it His. i clearly kept feeling Him telling me "no, not now". in my blog hopping i stumbled upon a few blogs that are written by nurses. and somewhere in that i found a blog written by a mother who was pregnant with her second baby and she had a few posts in there about being a doula. and i was intrigued. and i felt something stirring inside of me!

if you don't know what a doula is, basically it is a birth or labor assistant. she is someone who is hired to care for the mother during the her labor and birth. the word doula means "woman servant". traditionally, this role is given to friends and family members of the parents as a support system. with a doula, she is not only an encourager and supporter, but she is also educates and serves as an advocate for the parents. she is present at the labor and birth the entire time working with the father and any other support person in the delivery room to help the mother during this time regardless of whether she chooses to have interventions or a natural childbirth. a doula does not perform anything medical or give any medical advice.

i had researched this some time ago, but wasn't sure this was for me, i had bookmarked a few websites but felt i was really suppose to go in the direction of the medical field. so after visiting this blog, i went back and looked over the sites i had saved. i began doing research about being a doula and began praying. God quickly and clearly answered my prayers. i felt Him telling me that this is what he wanted me to pursue. things fell into place and i have begun my certification process to becoming a doula.

i am so excited about this new journey that i am on! it feels so great to have a direction and a place to put the passions i have. i can not wait to see how God works in this new journey. there is so much more that i want to share with you about this journey. i will be working on a series of posts that will share this journey. i am also gathering ideas for a new blog that is specifically on being a doula.

so there it is, my big exciting announcement!!! thanks for reading this piece of my story!

being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
philippians 1:6

many blessings ~
dawn

a piece of my story (part 1)...

several weeks ago, i wrote this post and i have been working on "my story". everyone has a story, and everyone's story is different. a few things have developed in my life and i wanted to share a piece of my story with you. i am posting it in two parts! so, here goes...


as a young girl, pre-teen age, i loved children. i started babysitting at like 11 years old or so. i babysat for a lot of different families. i would get so upset if i didn't have a babysitting job over a weekend. i loved it that much. i babysat all through middle school, high school and college. it was no surprise when i earned a degree in elementary education with a concentration on early childhood and became a teacher. i was only a teacher for two years when I was blessed with a child of my own. i quit my job as a teacher and happily became a stay at home mommy.

being a mom is when i developed a new love for babies and toddlers. with each baby i gave birth to, i became very passionate about pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. i also became very passionate for for other women, especially those in the child-bearing and child-rearing season. after my second baby was born, i felt like God had placed a calling on my life to become a labor and delivery nurse and eventually a nurse midwife.

by the time i had my third baby, i was the coordinator of a mops (mothers of preschoolers) group and the passion i had for other young mothers was undeniable. the thought of another women going through their season as a mom without knowing Christ burdened me. i know that i couldn't be a mom without God being the center of my life. my passion was so strong to tell other moms about Him. God allowed me to minister to other mothers during this season of my life and through our mops group. that was one of the sweetest seasons of my life.

after my season with mops was over, i was heading into a new season of my life, to pursue a nursing degree. God had other plans for me. i attended nursing school for one semester and loved it! after that semester, it was made clear to me that it was not time to finish my degree. nothing fell into place, so i withdrew from school and put that dream on hold.

it was a few months later when i realized God's plan for me. that was when he blessed us with another positive pregnancy test and with our fourth baby, jaelyn. during this season of being pregnant and becoming a new mom once again, God began to teach me that my family is my first ministry. i took advantage of this time and began to get my life in balance and just focus on my family. i didn't lead any type of women's ministry, i didn't volunteer much at my church and i didn't do many things outside of my family. as much as i want to pursue my passion to minister to other moms, He wanted me to realize my family comes first.

shortly after jaelyn turned one, i felt the passion in me stirring again and wanted to pursue what exactly God had in store for me. my passion is two fold, because i am passionate about other women (women's ministry) but i am also passionate about pregnancy & childbirth. i began to pray about what how God wanted to use me. i also began to research nursing schools during this time, i also began to volunteer at my church as the nursery coordinator.

after praying and researching nursing schools, i got the big red stop sign from God and felt like it was not the right time to go back to school. it was made clear to me that the strenuous hours in school and clinicals was not going to fit into our family's lifestyle. so, i put it on hold and i continued to pray.

but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness
and all these things will be given to you as well
matthew 6:33

....the next piece of my story/part 2 will be posted tomorrow, come back and read it, i promise it will be posted and it has an exciting announcement in it!

many blessings ~
dawn

one and a half...

seriously, this momma can not believe that

her sweet baby girl is eighteen months old today.

one year ago

this year



jaelyn is growing and changing so much,
many days, i hear myself asking,
"where is my baby girl?"

it surely is bittersweet.

jaelyn is such a busy bee these days. she is all over the place and into just about everything that is in her sight and in her reach. i spend most of my days chasing after her!

and she spends most of her days trying to keep up with her big brothers and big sister. gone are the days when she would just sit and play.

as if three loud and vocal kiddos were not enough, we have been blessed with another talker!! yup, jaelyn talks so much and has a word for everything. it is super cute to hear her talking.

jaelyn has started climbing! she climbs up on the little chairs and loves to "sit-sit". we found her sitting in jordyn's loft bed, she climbed up the slide and made her way into the bed. crazy, i can not take my eyes off of her.

she is a pretty good eater and is a great sleeper. she is still taking two naps a day! it is crazy to think that when she was a "baby" she gave us such a run for our money and was so hard to get to sleep. now it is a piece of cake! we put her in her crib and she goes to sleep. honestly, sometimes i miss her getting up and rocking her. i can't believe i am saying that!


jaelyn is such a sweet baby girl!! we could not imagine our lives and our family without her. she is such a blessing and every day i could just eat her up!!

holy wonderful easter weekend...

wow, is about all i can say! we had a very busy but a wonderful easter weekend. i am going to put the events over the past weekend in one big post. i will try to keep it short and sweet!!


to start off our easter weekend, on friday evening we went next door to my in-laws house for a cook out. the kids had a great time playing with their cousins. we ate and the kids had an easter egg hunt.

my four kiddos with my nieces!

on saturday, we pretty much stayed around the house, getting ready for easter sunday, ironing clothes, baths, washing hair, etc. we also made some food for the next day and dyed easter eggs. one of my dear friends who now lives in georgia came in for the weekend so i got to spend a little bit of time with her in the afternoon. of course i did not take a picture.

the kids went to find the basket in our closet!

that evening, we gave the kids their easter basket. i think it was last year when i started this tradition, i load up a huge basket full of stuff the kids can use over spring break. it is a way to replenish toys and activities that we are out of and it keeps them busy over spring break. last year, i filled it with a lot of arts and craft type stuff. this year, i filled it with indoor and outdoor activities. it had play-dough, bubbles & wands, hula hoops, jump ropes, balls, painting activity, some candy, silly bandz, gum, water guns and a swing for outside for jaelyn, little people dolls for jaelyn, chapstick for jordyn. they loved it although i don't know how busy it will keep them throughout the week, because they played with most of it today already. the novelty may wear out soon, but let's hope not.

here's some of the goodies!

a quick shot of all four before we left for church
easter 2010

on sunday morning, we headed uptown to time warner arena where we had one huge church service. i was able to go to the service and just attend. we did not have a full blown ekidz, so i did not have to serve. which i missed serving, but enjoyed the little break. let me tell you, the service was amazing. i have never been so proud of my church and my pastor. the time and effort put into pulling off a service as big as this was so worth it. we had over 11,000 people in attendance and over 700 salvations made.





WOW!! i was so overwhelmed and so moved by what God did in that arena. God's presence was felt and known by so many in the large crowd. we had awesome music, videos, our students were on stage worshiping, thousands and thousands of items were donated to local charities and we had 50 people baptized. it was truly amazing. i could go on and on and probably will in another post all about elevation. but until then, we made the news several times. you can go here to watch a news clip on tv and you can go here to read an article in the newspaper.





after a little bit of nap time, we ate dinner with my parents and took a few shots of the kids before dinner. i never did get a great shot of the four of them let alone a family picture.



today, i am still in my pj's and trying to catch up after the busy and extremely emotionally exciting weekend. i hope to get a few things done and out of the way today, so that i can spend some time enjoying the spring break week with the kids! i also plan to spend the week taking some pictures of the kids as we go out and about and do some fun things, we have plans to get together with some friends and also take a trip somewhere fun on friday!!