Summer Fun

Summer is off to a good start here in TN. We're busy keeping up with Abbi, as she has now learned how to pull herself up and is "on the go"!!

She loves to watch the rain when we get it. We pretty much  had nothing but rain for the months of May & June!!

We are still enjoying Andy & Wendy (Nate's brother & wife) living here in TN. It's great to have family around. We spend a lot of time together, and the girls, Abbi & Molly, are besties :)

We continue to explore new things as Abbi grows. It's no surprise that this child likes to eat....EVERYTHING. We recently tried some spaghetti....it was a hit! :)

 This is how we are greeted whenever Abbi wakes up....

We spent the 4th of July with some friends. Saturday night we went out to eat for Firehouse Subs and then onto Smyrna to watch the show. Abbi LOVED the fireworks and didn't flinch or cry once over the noice. She was mesmerized the entire time! :)

Abbi with "Aunt Cheryl"

 Abbi finding some grass :)

Cason, Kailyn & Eli

Kailyn Collins

Aunt Wendy Sommers

Cousin Molly Sommers

The "Brothers"

Sharon Collins & Cheryl with Abbi

"Sommers" Happenings

Well I realized the other day that I'm a blogger failure :). I update facebook regularly, but the blog, well it falls by the wayside. So one of my "things to accomplish" today, was update the blog :).
Lots has been happening these days as Abbigail continues to grow and bless our lives. She's into so EVERYTHING now, so we've begun "baby proofing" the house!

Some "things about Abbi" (to name just a few :) )
- She can now say "Dada"
- she can jibber jabber with the best of them
- she crawls all over the place
- she has begun the first stages of pulling herself up
- she can eat small foods with her hands (bananas/peaches/watermelon/soft meats/veggies)
- she can feed herself a bottle
- she LOVES to swim in the pool (& bathtub) and put her face in the water to blow bubbles
- she can "cluck" her tongue - this is our new favorite noise to make!
- she LOVES riding on daddy's shoulders and when he swings her in the air
- she can recognize people's faces now, especially her cousin Molly when she comes for a play date
- she has 3 bottom teeth - no uppers yet
- she loves to swing at the park

Nate is still painting and is exploring getting his business license to work more for himself. He continues to lead worship for the teens on Wednesday night and play for our worship band on Sundays. He was recently voted onto our church board, and is a little nervous being the "young one" :). He says, just about every week, that each stage of Abbi's development is his favorite. He's smitten with our little girl :), and she is smitten with her Daddy. He stays home to watch Abbi on mondays and loves that time with her. I love him having that time, and really appreciate all he does to help me around the house when he's home.

I am still working at America's Family Doctors in primary care. I reduced my schedule to 3 days a week, 10 hrs per day, and every 3rd weekend. I love my patients there and know that my hard work is appreciated. Abbi stays home with Nate on mondays and is with a close friend of ours, a stay at home mom, on wednesday/fridays. It's really the perfect set up, we think.

I am still a part of our rotating worship team on Sundays and enjoy every chance I get to sing. I've recently started up a new endeavor, photography. Many of you know that this has been a long standing passion/hobby of mine. I have had several opportunities to take photos professionally of some families/babies and keep getting more requests. You can see what I've done thus far by going to http://simplylifesommersphotography.zenfolio.com/ . I could be busier with this endeavor but I want it to remain an enjoyable hobby. To keep it that way, I only book 2 sessions per month. Each session challenges me and has been such a fun way to get to know my camera! :)

My parents and I have started making baby/child/adult headbands & clips to generate some extra income. This goes in spurts from super busy, to extremely slow. It gives me an excuse to constantly make new  hair accessories to doll Abbi up with though :). Our etsy site is http://www.homesteadcreations4u.etsy.com/

We recently bought a 15" x 4" pool and are enjoying it thoroughly. We decided TN is hot enough, for long enough, that a pool would be put to good use. It's just big enough for a few adults and kids to enjoy the sun while staying cool! Abbigail absolutely LOVES it! We put her in it the 2nd day after we filled it, when the water was still chilly, and it didn't phase her a bit! :) I have a feeling this baby is going to be a water baby :) like her mom!

Lets see, anything else to write? There are so many things going on in our lives, you would think I could write a novel. When it comes time to blog, well I draw a blank! I'll just end it for now with a promise to post more often. What better way to end, than with pictures & video? :)

Photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

The fun times of a 5 month old

In honor of Abbi turning 5 months old (last friday) I'm going to post two of her most recent videos. In the first; she amazed us with her spontaneous rolling over :) on the day she turned 5 months. Only to top herself and read to us shortly after that! :)lol

Merry Christmas!

I figured I'd put up a quick post before we leave for Ohio to celebrate Christmas with the Sommers side of the family. We went to WVa for Thanksgiving and as always enjoyed our time there with the fam. Abbi received a TON of spoiling from her Nana & PawPaw and uncles & aunts. Now onto some more spoiling in Ohio :).

Abbigail is doing well. She's already 4 1/2 months old! Where has the time gone??!! Last week she weighed 14 pounds (only a pound behind her 6 month cousin) and is 23.5 inches long (she was 19 when she was born). So she's still our rolly polly little girl and we're loving it! :) Here's a recent picture of her at 3 months

I just celebrated my 29th birthday. Nate absolutely SPOILED me this year. On friday we had our first night away from Abbi. We went for dinner, a movie and then stayed the night at Embassy Suites since that was our first night as a married couple; we decided it was fitting for our first night away from Abbi :). Saturday we lazed around the house all day and then Sunday he kept Abbi while I went out with my dear friend Jessica. Monday was a surprise night going to see Garth Brooks in concert (AMAZING!!!).  Tuesday (my actual birthday!) was spent with Andy & wendy, great cookie cake, 2 ADORABLE little girls and the coolest birthday gift from nate...... my mommy necklace :). He does spoil me :)

Here's a picture of our "outfits" all dressed up on Sunday. Abbi was fast asleep after church and wouldn't wake up for the picture...oh well :)

Till after christmas - hope you and yours have a wonderful one!

I hope I WIN!!!

this novice photographer has just entered to win a HUGE giveaway at http://www.soulographer.com/ .... This was my "first" attempt at a photosession w/ my niece. The stuff in this giveaway would just help me get better! :)

2010 Recap



As I sit around the house today listening to Abbigail growling, gurgling, and finding her voice, I can't help but think back over this past year. What a crazy whirlwind of a year it's been, really a crazy 2 years! Last year it seems it was one thing after the next. First we found out we would need to see a fertility specialist, then my dad had a heart attack followed by open heart surgery. Just when we found a specialist we liked; we found out I had to have unexpected surgery which pushed back our in vitro plans. Then in vitro.....that in and of itself was a big, tiring, happy, exciting, scary, frustrating, ordeal. Then....... the waiting. Did it work? Are we pregnant? Am I getting these nightly shots for nothing or is there a little one already growing? December..........drumroll please........YAY a positive test we were officially pregnant.
2010 began with smiles on our faces and a new bounce in our step as we began the year of preparation for Abbigail's arrival. Which brings us to this years' devotional I wrote for our church advent book:

Being Refined: No one said it would be easy.
"For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver." Psalm 66:10

As another year comes to a close, I find myself looking back over the last 12 months and evaluating all that transpired. If you are like me, you think about the happy memories first and then let your mind drift to the memories that cause you to wince a little. Maybe it's the loss of a family member or friend, the loss of a job, a "valley" that you had to walk through or are still walking through. We can all recognize that each year brings change, a refining process if you will.

Change is defined as: to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone. Refine is defined as: to bring to a fine or pure state; free from impurities.

This year I find myself recalling one of the most wonderful changes and adventures I've ever experienced; pregnancy. Each day brought about change for my growing daughter and it reflected on the outside of my growing tummy! The change often brought a lot of discomfort with morning sickness, little sleep, headaches, back aches, foot aches, swollen ankles and stretch marcks. The wondeful thing is that now I'm on the other side of the change, I remember it was uncomfortable but I find I remember it with fondness. The little kicks in the middle of the night, hiccups that made my tummy bounce, even tiny fingers tickling my ribs! It's amazing! Once the change is complete, once we are able to see the beauty that can come from discomfort, we quickly forget how painful it was to get to the end.

As this year ends, I can't help but think about our Refiner, what He desires for us, and the process through which we will pass to comply with His desires. Gold and silver don't refine themselves. They are filled with impurities that are inherently there. Only a Refiner can put them in the fire, work out the impurities, heat, bend and reshape the material. There is a reason this process is referred to so often in scripture. We cannot refine ourselves; we cannot bring about the change that Christ wants for our lives on our own. We are inherently riddled with imperfections.

This year I don't want to make resolutions with the intention of bringing about change that I think I need; change that I think I can accomplish in my own power to look better, feel better, be better. I want to begin the year acknowledging that only God can bring about change that matters. Going through change is never easy. The day to day refining often causes us to wince a little and feel uncomfortable. But when the changes are complete, when the end has come, we are left with a miracle. You may ask, "What miracle?" The miracle, that God can take us, all broken and filthy, and bring beauty.

I encourage you to embrace this new year and the chang ethat God will bring into your life. Allow Him to refine you, rather than trying to shine yourself up. I'm confident that His changes will accomplish much greater things and last much longer than any change you can make yourself!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TInqJ5NJrXc&feature=related

Faith Really Can Make a Difference

The title of this post is meaningful to us. Why? Well I'll tell you why. It's a line from a song that Nate wrote. This song has been 3 1/2 years in the making. He began writing it when we were in the midst of our fertility struggle; and finished it when we were holding our little miracle.

Yep, many of you know that Abbigail Lynn Sommers arrived on August 14, 2010. Weighing in at 8lbs and measuring 19 inches long. Everyday since then has been filled with more joy than we could imagine.

We'll be playing Nates' song at Abbigail's dedication next sunday, but I thought I'd share the words now.

Wanting to be a mom and a dad

Longing for something they couldn't have

Prayed so hard, almost gave up

When should they say enough is just enough

Can faith really make a difference?

Can love make it come to be?

Bring me home, wrap me closely in your arms

Let me know that you are here

Hold me closer in your arms

I want to feel you here

Not knowing when, not knowing why

the fear and pain keep me cold inside

The tears in her eyes, what do I say

How do I tell her it will be ok

Can faith really make a difference?

Can love make it come to be?

Bring me home, wrap me closely in your arms

Let me know you are here

Hold me closer in your arms

I want to feel you here

Now there is a mom and a dad

holding something they thought they'd never have

Cause faith, can really make a difference

Cause love, can make it come to be

Bring me home, wrap me closely in your arms

Let me know that you are here

Hold me closer in your arms

I want to feel you here

The song pretty much sums it up for us. For so long we've struggled, hurt, waited and prayed for a child. Over and over we felt God leading us to keep pushing on; that He would bless us with a child. His timing is perfect, even when we can't understand why. I still can't say why we had to travel this road, or why it took so long. I may never know. I hope our struggle will somehow bring glory to Him and touch someone's life. I believe that God was preparing us for Abbigail; not just any baby; but the one he blessed us with. It's our prayer that she will someday know that faith can really make a difference; that there is a God who will walk with her in the happiest of times and in the darkest of times. We pray that she will seek and find him and KNOW that He is God.

With her dedication a week away I'm finding that I'm more "reflective" on our journey here and the future yet to come. What kind of parents will we be? What kind of child will Abbi be? Are we living for Christ in such a dynamic way, that anyone who comes in contact with us knows Who we live for? Are we living for Christ the same way within the 4 walls of our home, that our children will know beyond a doubt that He is Lord? Everything I say and do will have an impact on my daughters' life. That's a HUGE responsibility, one that can't be taken lightly. It's a HUGE blessing and honor to have such an influence. How will I use my influence? How will Christ use His influence through me?

Time will tell... the future is still that... the future. Here in the now; I will treasure every moment. I will pray for the days needs and know that they will be provided. I will pray for the future and know that it will be taken care of. I will trust. I will rejoice.

"We prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted us what we asked of Him. So now we give her to the Lord." (1 Samuel 1:27-28 - paraphrased)

Devotional

I was asked to contribute to your church devotional book again this year. We hand this out over the holidays to our members and guests. I was honored to be asked again to contribute but nervous to think about what God might have me share. Below is the devotional or conversation rather, that I wrote for this years' book.

Who do you cling to? Who do you put your hope in?

What a year! If this were a year to ask the question, "who do you cling to?", this would be it! In our country alone we’ve witnessed the downward spiral of our economy; needless killing sprees of college campuses and military bases; the continued war in Iraq that claims more peoples lives each day; and so on. In our very own church family we’ve struggled through the loss of jobs, the loss of family members, the financial strains our families and church are under, and the list goes on and on. I beg the question, who do you put your hope in?

It was Saturday, I had the day off and had vowed to spend the entire day in my jammies, in bed, watching movies. The phone rang and I remember feeling irritated because I was in the middle of the movie. It was mom, dad was having all these symptoms – it was all a blur but I remember switching into "professional mode" and telling her what to do; dad was having a heart attack…... I’d be there as soon as I could get there. I hung up the phone and switched back into daughter mode, running around the house to pack and screaming out loud for God to save his life, he wasn’t done here yet. I’ve never pleaded with God more than I did that day.

The following months brought open heat surgery and more emotions than I can put into words. I tend to find songs that put into words my emotions during different times in my life. During this period it was a Seventh Day Slumber song that says, "I’m barely hanging on, with all these empty feelings. I’m hurting in so many ways. And though I can’t pretend, to understand your reasons. I still belive that you’re God!". Everything was out of my hands, out of my control, I could only cling to God.

As summer hit, I was still making frequent trips to WV to help Dad and Mom. He was recovering, his spirits were up, but the setbacks kept happening. He still had a lot of fluid in his right lung because his heart was functioning well below that of a normal healthy heart. We also found out that our chances of conceiving without intervention were next to impossible, and the words "in vitro" were brought into our lives. Other life stressors were thrown into the mix and I found myself starting to feel like I was going to just break under the weight. So many times in life it’s easier to try and "handle" things on our own than give them to God. As the weight kept loading me down, God gently reminded me that I wasn’t meant to carry it alone. My "theme" song as the summer months passed was also a Seventh Day Slumber song that simply says, "I surrender, all to you, all to you". Do you have things in your life that you need to surrender?

Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls". Matthew 11: 28 - 29

Early fall started and things felt like they were settling back into a "normal" rhythm, or what was to be considered normal now. Then we heard the words, heart transplant, and normalcy went flying out the window. Dad’s heart was not improving, at all. There was just too much damage from the heart attack. He’s to be put on the transplant list. Next we had unexpected surgery for me as we were getting ready to do in-vitro. And the weight on my shoulders felt like it just piled right back on. I felt hopeless. It’s amazing how Satan LOVES to remind us of all the stress and things that are happening that just don’t seem "fair". It steers our focus on a path of self pity and defeat, instead of steering our focus to the One who is the conqueror. To the One who can give us comfort and strengthen our grip, so we can plant our feet and hang on!! Do you feel hopeless? Do you feel like you have nothing or no one to hang onto?

"Then you will know that I am the Lord, those who hope in me will not be disappointed."

Isaiah 49:23b

Winter, we’re hanging on. Our feet are planted, and we’re awaiting to see what God is going to do. We’re standing firm that God is not done with us yet. We’ve prayed and are praying for healing of Dad’s heart. After claiming healing for dad, his lung has no fluid in it. For the first time since the surgery, the fluid is gone!! I find myself smiling and saying aloud, I am amazed by you Lord! We are moving forward with in-vitro in a matter of weeks, knowing that God has guided us this far and will not leave us. 2010 may bring a healed heart and new babies, or it may not. But it most assuredly will bring another year where Christ reveals himself, where He cares for His children, where He once again proves Himself to be one worth clinging to.

So I ask you, who do you cling to? Who do you place your hope in? I choose to place my trust in the Lord. I choose to cling to Christ. I choose to plant my feet on the solid rock.

Do you?

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." Psalm 46:1 - 3

hospitals, surgeries and more

Well I write you today from my bed. We had hoped this month i'd be on bed rest due to our invitro treatments; but instead I'm on bed rest b/c of surgery I had yesterday. I went for my baseline ultraound last week and an endometrioma was notice on my left ovary. It had to come out; so yesterday I had a laparoscopy to remove the endometrioma. I felt sick from the anesthesia last night and quite drugged - but didn't have much pain or swelling. This morning I woke up to a pretty swollen abdomen and in some pain. Sooo I'm taking it easy this weekend. Nate is at work at the moment; but I've already had a friend stop by with flowers and another friend bringing dinner tonight. In our times of need; we feel SO blessed to have the friends that we have here. It's hard going through "tough times" when you're away from family; but as we've said in the past TN is our home and our friends are our second family now. We are just so blessed to have found our church and friends.

A few weeks ago we were in Ohio for Brian Eichorns', Nates' friend, wedding. While we were up there we threw a baby shower for mim. She's due December 20th. Wendy and I worked our butts off for the weeks before and then to get it decorated when we got there. We made sugar cookies on a stick for the party favors - and decorated each of the differently - so that was our day from 9am until 7pm on friday. They turned out so yummy and cute though!! The week was super busy but nice to be with our family for a while. Below are some pics from the shower.

On our way home from Ohio we swung over to see my parents. It was only for 1 night but I was happy to see them. We chopped and stacked dad's wood for the winter so it'd be done and helped out a little around the house. Dad is currently waiting to hear from the Cleveland Clinic to get evaluated for the heart transplant list. Once he's evaluated there; we're going to try and get him on the list here at Vanderbilt as well. The more lists he's on; the better chance he has to get a heart quickly. we are praying that direction at least.

Nate and I will be doing in vitro next month, Lord willing. Apparantly I only have to wait 2 weeks from the surgery to start on injections for IVF. We don't want to push it if my body isn't ready; so we're just going with the advise of our fertility docs. Hopefully it'll be next month though! :-)

Alrighty, this was short but I don't have much else to say at the moment.

Summer 2009

This posting is a rather "uneventful" post as we haven't taken any major vacations this summer. We have been a little burnt out when it comes to traveling; after traveling back and forth from WVa so much in the last 6 months. So for our summer we decided to restrict traveling a little, work as much as we could and get some things done at the house :-).

Though it's not as glamorous as a big, fun vacation - we've still managed some fun times with friends, and lots of home improvement projects.

Here are some random pics of a typical sunday night at our house with the "gang".

Wendy and I went blackberry picking a few Tuesday's ago. It was "city picking" at its finest. The farm had nice, neat rows of THORNLESS blackberry bushes. We picked until our fingers were purple and then came home. We washed them, bagged them and froze them. Meanwhile we started working on new:-).curtains for my living room/dining room and I taught wendy how to make salisbury steak and mashed potatoes and for dessert......... blackberry cobbler :-) yummy!!

With Andy and Wendy being here; wendy and I have spent many Tuesdays shopping at home goods stores to help her set up house. Somehow that translated into me wanting to make some home improvements and decorations. So I bought some shelves for Nate to finish and put a photo collage in our entry way. ** the big middle picture doesn't have a pic in it yet - but everyone likes to remark on the nice looking family in the picture :-) **

Here are my curtains :-)

My curtains turned out pretty good :-). We found italian silk at Jo-Ann Fabrics on MAJOR sale; so I was able to do curtains for my living room window and then 2 for my double doors in the dining room - all for less than $30! :-) Woohoo :-)

This past week I worked on putting Venetian Plaster in our guest bathroom. Nate helped me put the first coat on sunday and then Tuesday I placed the second coat and did the burnishing. And here is the final product :-)