Looking back at these pictures of us together without children seems strange. I barely remember those years. What did we do with our time? I worked a full time job but I guess we had more time for each other.
We went to a friends wedding in this picture. I am sad to say her husband has recently walked out on her. After 13 years and 3 children. My heart is breaking for my friend and those children. They need their daddy and she needs her husband. I remember their wedding day.....
We celebrated birthdays with family and friends at Dairy Queen after church.
We went to the Valentine's Day banquet at church.
We took our first professional pictures together since our wedding. So young and so different without the children. Time and age can do so much for a person. We learn as we go in life and I am glad we had those first few years together before we had children. We were able to adjust to each other and living together before the boys came into the picture.
We traveled on planes to see family out of state (because we could afford it) for the holidays. We bought our first (and only) house while I was pregnant with our first son. I worked until the day before Jacob was born. I used my maternity leave and vacation time accumulated and called my boss and told I would not be coming back. I needed to stay home with my baby. I have been home ever since. God have me my children and I didn't want miss anything so I chose to be home with them. Even if it means pinching pennies to make ends meet. That's what we have to do. It's worth it! God has provided our needs.
Only one of her four sons actually breastfed — and he did so for only
a few weeks. But that didn't stop Amelia Boomker from setting the Guinness World Record for breast milk donation.
The
Illinois woman has donated 16,321 ounces of breast milk — the
equivalent of 816 Venti Starbucks cup or 241 two-liter soda bottles — to
the Indiana Mother's Milk Bank over the past seven years.
That
does not include the 7,000 ounces Boomker, 36, pumped after her first
son was born nine years ago. That milk was shipped off to a North
Carolina breast milk bank. Nor does it include the milk she fed to her
own children, each of whom drank breast milk exclusively for more than a
year.
"I have never really successfully breastfed, but I have produced a whole lot of milk," she said.
Milk
banks rely on donated milk to help sick or premature infants whose own
mothers are unable to provide them with human milk. Experts believe
pasteurized donor milk provides these most vulnerable infants with a
raft of benefits, including protecting against disease and allergies and
helping a baby grow.
Boomker, who lives in Bolingbrook, Ill.,
started pumping a few days after her oldest child, Danny was born. He
had a heart condition that required multiple surgeries, and the doctors
told her breast milk might aid in his recoveries. Four days after his
birth, he was wheeled to the operating room for the first surgery.
"I started pumping since he was not there. That was all I could do," she said.
Danny
didn't have the strength to latch. Boomker's next child had a high
palate and couldn't breastfeed either. She had a difficult recovery
after her third child's c-section birth and opted to pump rather than
breastfeed.
Her baby Connor, now 18 months old, tried for a few weeks but then opted for the bottle.
Boomker had an alternative: Pumping.
With
each child, she would pump between eight and 10 times a day for about
20 minutes each time. In all, she'd spend about three hours a day
pumping. She'd set the alarm so she could pump every few hours
throughout the night. After the first eight weeks, when she returned to
work, she'd drop to eight pumps a day.
Boomker would pump more than enough to feed her sons, and she'd donate the rest.
The
office where she works in corporate IT proved incredibly understanding,
allowing her to take conference calls from the lactation room.
When
her first child was born, the Indiana Mother's Milk Bank had not
opened. It had opened by the time Liam, now 6, was born. Boomker started
donating through the Indiana bank from from February 2008 through
September 2013.
She used to have to ship her milk but in the past
year or so she took advantage of one of the depots, which will accept
donations and then ship them to Indianapolis for processing. The bank
distributes milk in Indiana and throughout the Midwest.
When her
youngest child turned 1, the bank only accepted donations from mothers
for up to a year post-partum. Although the bank recently changed that
policy, Boomker's supply has diminished enough so that she's no longer
donating.
Still, she hopes her setting the record will shine light on milk donation and bring more donors to the milk bank.
And the certificate she got for her efforts has certainly been nice, she said.
"I went into work and showed the people this is why I have been sitting in the pump room for all those hours," she said.
~~~~~~~~HOW WE MET HER~~~~~~~~
When Jaron was born he couldn't keep down any of the formula's and I of course could not nurse him. The hospital didn't offer any kind of pump and I was so shook up didn't even think about pumping myself. So we went through several kinds of formula's trying to find something his little stomach could handle. Nothing seemed to work. Here is a list of all the different milks we tried with Jaron....
Birth June 29th, 2005-July 12 Similac
July 12, 2005-August 22, 2005 Enfamil
August 22-24 pure goats milk
August 24-26 Neocate
August 26, 2005-May 31, 2006 Dairy Free Donor Breast Milk (Amelia Boomker)
May 31, 2006-June 30, 2006 Lactose Free Enfamil
July 1, 2006-June 30, 2010 Vanilla Pediasure (3 a day)
Currently he still drinks Vanilla Kids Essentials Boost (1 a day)
When Amy's baby turned one and her milk content changed the milk bank wouldn't take her milk anymore but we needed it for Jaron. She told me she had so much in her freezer and I was welcome to come get it. So that was when Wendy's was doing a promotional thing with Airtran and the more cups you got you could get points for a ticket. So my family all helped me collect cups to get a ticket to Chicago to get the 2 coolers of milk for Amy. She met me at the airport and we checked them in as luggage and I flew back home. She really is an amazing woman!!!! I found this in his baby book.
I never really know how to accept a compliment from someone else. Especially from a stranger, it's so hard when someone tells me I'm pretty but I don't feel pretty. Just a simple thank you would do but I can never get the words out of my mouth.
My husband always seems to complement me on the days I feel the worst. When my head is hurting or when I feel so ugly and fat he always knows the right things to say to make me feel better. But I just can't say thank you and I don't know how to accept it and be grateful so then I feel horrible because I rejected his compliment. What's wrong with me?!?! Apparently I have a very low self esteem and its buried down deep, i just hide it well. And I am sure I am not the only one. I am just the one of the few willing to share my story.
The bullying started in 2nd grade when I was 8, I got glasses.
Then when I was 11 I moved from my moms to my dads to a new school with no friends. They bullied me there too. Kids are mean! They picked on me and my little brother.
It was a very hard 2 years in 7th & 8th grade.
Then there was high school where 3 different girls I know wanted to beat me up and told me all the time and I still don't know why. Boys always breaking up with me because I wouldn't go to bed with them and the endless drama between the girls. So needless to say I never really fit in and still don't to this day.
I had to learn to like myself no matter what anyone else thought. My self confidence comes from they way my parents raised me. I am naturally outgoing and I love to talk to people. So like most people do I push those feelings far back in my mind and dress up nice and socialize trying to forget.
But when I am in pain from a headache (sometimes for days at a time) that is when satan really gets in my head. I have learned that no matter what comes against me I will not lay down and die. I refuse to let the devil steal my joy. I am not a lazy person and I am not a quitter! My husband and children need me and just because I am in pain doesn't give me the right to give up on life. I have to keep going. I have too much to do and these little lives depend on me.
So (after 22 years with headaches) I have learned to compartmentalize the pain in my mind and separate my thoughts trying to block out the pain and focus on what needs to get done. In order to function in pain I might not talk much and I probably won't be smiling but I am still doing what needs to be done. Those who know me can always tell when my head hurts. Some days are easier than others.
My self image is a deeper issue and I don't usually have much time to waste thinking about it. So when those negative feelings surface my husband is always there to remind me that I am beautiful and he loves me just the way I am. Thank God for my husband. {and thank God for make up}
Do you struggle with these same problems or feelings? Please feel free to share your story or mine. Just click on the links below to comment or share this post.
Of course there will always be those that comment wherever I go.
"Are they all your boys?!"
"Oh MY you really have your hands full!"
{this comment bothers my oldest son}
But the ones who whisper so obviously about me as I walk by, seem to get under my skin more than others. I would rather them say it to my face. I am a pretty blunt person and I wish people would treat me with the same respect.
Are they whispering because I'm in the skirt? are they whispering because I have so many children? are they talking about me because they read my blog and they know I don't vaccinate? I will never know what they're saying.
Psalm 41:7 " All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt."
Once
upon a time, I had time for myself. Now, my toe nails need some love.
My hair is neglected. I can’t take a shower without an audience. Proof
that somebody needs me. Knocking on the door little fingers
underneath...somebody always needs me. There is so much to do for these
little people that when I want to do something for myself I have so
much guilt. (motherly guilt-another post) Or I am just too tired to do
anything else.
Somebody always needs a snack, a band-aid, a different sock, ice cubes in their water, a Toy, a tissue, a hug, a story, a kiss, a spoon, a bath,...... Some days never seem to end and it can really take its toll. Then, it all started to hit me, they need ME~Mommy.
Sometimes I enjoy being needed, but usually it is exhausting. But, it isn’t meant to be enjoyed every moment. God made me their Mother. It is a position I prayed for long before I would ever understand all that it would require of me. And I have to admit this is the toughest job I have ever had.
The sooner I can accept that means that I am never off the clock, the sooner I can find peace.
Being "Mommy" is a privilege and honor. Being "Mommy" means I neglect
myself and put others before my needs. My body is usually hurting but my
heart is full of love.
Night time is the best. When my youngest crawls into bed with me. Who knows what time of night. He wraps his tiny arms around my neck and kisses me "I love you Mommy".
One day that little boy will grow up to be a man. There will no longer be any sweet words whispered to me in the night. Just the rain of the sound machine. I will sleep peacefully through the night, never a worry of a sick child or a crying baby. It will just be a memory. These years of being needed are exhausting.
I have to stop complaining of the lack of sleep and how hard some days can be. I am trying to savor every moment and enjoy the hugs and all the little things that come with each day. They grow up way too fast. I know I am going to miss these precious times so I am trying to focus on the good. I don't have a career, my boys are my career. One day I will get myself back.
But today I give myself away because they need me.
I
am sure there will come a day when no one needs me. Our boys will all
be gone and busy with their own lives. I will be in some nursing home
watching my body wither away. No one will need me then. I might even
be a burden to them. Sure, they will come visit, but my arms will no
longer be their home. They won't need my kisses to cure their boo
boos. There will be no more tiny sticky fingers to wipe or shoe laces
to tie. I'm sure my heart will long to hear those tiny voices calling
out to me, “Mommy!"
So after the snow melted we had a really warm day. So I planned a scavenger hunt for the boys at the park and we packed lunches and took a mini field trip.
We found this hollow tree the boys loved!
The playground is really big and they all enjoyed getting out of the house.
So I finally made a doctor's appointment for myself and I went back for my shoulder and back muscles that have been hurting for months. She was very thorough and sympathetic for me and how have I dealt with this so long?
She noticed how swollen the muscles in my back were on the right side and suggested I start back on the muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory meds again. But this time instead of taking them only at night she said the muscle relaxers will help this heal if I take them 3 times a day as directed. The only problem with that is they make me drowsy.
She also sent me to the other office for an x-ray to make sure there wasn't anything else wrong. To my surprise the x-ray tech pointed out my spine is curved. She of course is not a doctor and was not diagnosing me with anything but she was nice enough to give me a copy of my x-rays on a disc.
I wonder if it's always been curved or is this something recent because of the swollen muscle or is this what caused the swollen back muscle??? I have so many questions now. Was I born with scoliosis and is that why I have headaches? Is there a cure or a way to fix this?
I am not sure but I have been taking the muscle relaxer for 5 days straight and it makes me so drowsy. I have a follow up with the doctor next week then an appointment with physical therapy next week also. I hope we can get this fixed so I can get back to normal {whatever that is}
One day right before Christmas I spiked the boys hair up after baths and took pictures. They all combed it down right after the pictures because they don't like it spiked up
The boys all got new scooters for Christmas, new movies, shoes, boots, games, DS games and much more!
Tonia, Tim & Terri (my brother and sister)
We had a small Christmas play at our church and our three oldest boys were shepherds. They all had verses to quote and I sang "Mary did you know?"
Chris's mother was here for 10 days to celebrate Christmas and visit with us. She loves to shop so we did a lot of that while she was here :-D
This was the day we were taking her to the airport. She was sad to leave and we had for her to go but she had to get back to work.
The day after Christmas we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary and we went to Longhorn to eat dinner. Something we never do but it's nice once in a while. We sat down in a little booth and I noticed an elderly woman in the booth behind me sitting alone. I immediately felt bad for her, wondering if she was a widow. We told our waitress it was our anniversary she congratulated us.We ate our meal and when offered dessert we declined. We waited patiently for the ticket, but instead the waitress brought us this dessert to share (I just assumed it was compliments of longhorn) Then she told us that one of the customers in the store took care of our bill. I of course had to ask was it the woman who just left and was sitting behind me. She wanted to remain anonymous. I have NEVER had that happen to me. I have heard so many stories of people "paying it forward"....
WHAT A BLESSING! We couldn't believe that a complete stranger would pay our bill and the dessert and left a tip for our waitress.
God does still take of those that want to live for him.
