Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!

It's been a long time since I've blogged. Being a mom keeps me so busy. I really don't know how moms have those super complicated blogs and do so many nifty crafts and activities that you see on Pinterest. It's crazy to me. I recently saw a picture on Facebook that describes me pretty well:

It does make my chuckle, but seriously, if I get my hair and makeup done it is a huge accomplishment. I even put it on my "to do" list just to make it a priority to not look like trash when my husband comes home. I've been better at it lately, because Eli has been going through some sunny weeks...which are about to turn into wonder weeks, so watch out world because I will look like a zombie. These wonder weeks that we are entering into are also the longest stormy period yet. It's supposed to last 6 weeks....pray for me.

I know people never like to hear the New Year's resolutions of others, but I'd like to list and talk about some of mine, if anyone cares. Maybe if people know what they are, I might be held more accountable for them. I would love some (positive) encouragement throughout the year to keep me going.

1. Pray and study my bible more:

I make this resolution every year, because we can always improve at it, and it's just so important.

2. Eat clean: 

every year I've gotten better at eating healthy, but there is a lot of room for improvement and I'm excited about my plans!

3. Save money: 

LOVE this one. I like saving money. I make my own laundry detergent, shampoo, make up remover, baby wipes spray, and I coupon and use cloth diapers. This year I would like to finally read my Dave Ramsey book and start following it. I want to do everything I can to make sure we can afford for me to work as a stay-at-home mom!

4. Make projects with my sewing machine:

I got a sewing machine for Christmas from the hubs (yayyy!!!) and I have MANY things I want to do with it...like make my own napkins and use them instead of paper towels (again with the money saving :)

5. Exercise:

I enjoy exercising to some degree, but it's hard for me to find a consistent time to go, especially now that I have Eli and can't take him with me. I'm starting a 12 week program with a friend next week and I'm hoping that is something I'll be able to stick to past 12 weeks!

6. Organize:

Pinterest has me excited about this one. I am generally pretty unorganized (or so my husband says). I do need to do a lot of organizing around here, though. When I was pregnant, the whole nesting thing got me to do a lot and I realized during that nesting period that I really DID need to be more organized.

7. Simplify:

I guess this kind of goes along with organization, but there are lots of things I want to get rid of. I need to go through my clothes, books, shoes, jewelry, friends (just kidding).

8. Be a better wife:

I pray constantly that I can be the godly wife I'm supposed to be. I pray that I will become more pleasing for my husband this year. I have some specific plans on how I'm going to do that. When I'm a better wife, Robert is a better husband...which he already is great.

9. Be a good mommy:

Most of the time, I don't feel like a bad mom. Although, it has only been 3 months...so I know there's a long road ahead. By the end of 2013, Eli will be 15 months old! I know I will be needing lots of patience to make it to the end of the year as a mom. Specifically, I want to be able to remain calm in the presence of Eli and to always speak calmly when I am frustrated with parenting (or anything else). My goal is to never yell (go ahead, tell me that's impossible...still a good goal to have, I think).

Okay, now that I have completely overwhelmed myself with my 2013 "to do" list...I think it is time for me to go to bed and focus on one thing at a time! 

It's been a really great year, mostly because my special little ginger bread man (Eli) came into our lives and made us even happier than we were before. 

I don't know what 2013 will bring us, but I'm hoping for great things :)

What are your most important resolutions?

my birth story

My baby boy was due September 16, 2012. The last several weeks leading up to the due date, I went to the doctor every week. For the last 2 months (maybe) the doctor kept telling me that she thought Eli would arrive at least a week late, because he wasn't dropping at all. I never looked forward to the doctor appointments because I always walked out disappointed that my baby wasn't dropping and I didn't want to have any interventions. I wanted to have an all natural labor and delivery. I had typed out a plan, discussed it with my doctor, and sent the plan to the hospital. I was determined to go natural. I wanted it so bad. I did try to be realistic, though, because I know labor never goes exactly as you plan...but I figured if the only problem was the pain I would feel then I could definitely suck it up and go through with it. I spent much of my pregnancy researching on natural births and I was very excited about doing it. Anyway...

The Tuesday before my due date (the 16th was on a Sunday), I had what I had hoped to be my final appointment. The doctor said Eli had progressed more downward and that I was 90% effaced!! She also said that my urine had progesterone in it which, according to her, means that labor is about to happen. She said we should expect me to go into labor the weekend of my due date. Oh, I was SO excited! Finally, we were making progress. She wanted to check me again on Thursday to see if I had dilated any, but when Thursday's appointment came, I had not made any more progress. The doctor said she would allow me to go all the way to 10 days past my due date before I had to be induced. I thought he would come way before that, certainly. We made another appointment for the Monday after my due date...I had hoped that we would have to cancel :)

Robert came with me to Monday's appointment, and we even packed our stuff in the car, just in case. The doctor checked my cervix...still no progress. So she brought in the portable ultrasound machine to see what was going on and to check my fluids. I couldn't tell what I was looking at...just looked like junk to me. The doctor started sighing and saying words that I won't repeat (she doesn't have much of a filter on her mouth)...so I freaked out and asked "WHAT'S WRONG?!?!"

She said "ahhh the baby is footling breech."

Me:..."NOOOOOO!!"

(Yes, I actually screamed out loud. I'm sure the whole office could hear me. Now that I look back on it, it's kind of funny...)

Now we knew why he had never dropped.

Robert had no idea what that meant. He thought "breech" meant that the baby is about to come out or something...poor guy. So he didn't understand why I was crying. He asked what that was supposed to mean for me.

The doctor told him that I would have to deliver via cesarean section because he was too big to turn around. (My stubborn little boy...)

At this point, the doctor looked at me and saw that I was crying (hard). She tried to console me and said I could go natural next time... but that didn't make me feel better! All I could think about was the fact that recovery would be extremely difficult, the baby might have trouble with breastfeeding, I wouldn't get to hold him right away...and my entire plan had gone out the window. 

(Not to mention I had done zero research on cesarean sections...like that would ever happen to ME....)

The doctor left to go make the appointment and give me time to collect myself. There was no "collecting" myself. As soon as she left the exam room, I cried even harder. My sweet husband held me and tried to talk about the positives...the baby would be here the next day....and his head wouldn't be cone-shaped...

We left the doctor's office and called family and friends. My calls were just me crying, basically.

I talked to one friend on the phone, and she suggested that we just go out that night and spend time together for our last night as just the two of us...so we did. We went to pig out at O'Charley's (LOVE) and then went to Target to buy some things that would help with my recovery (cute, comfy pajama gowns...and other things). We dropped Maestro (my dog) off with his puppy sitter, did all the last minute things before bed, then snuggled and prayed together. After we finished praying together, I fell asleep crying and praying silently.

The next morning came too soon. I got 3 hours of sleep because I woke up way too early and couldn't get back to sleep. I was thankful for those 3 hours, though. At 4:30 am we got everything ready (packed the camera!!) and took one last picture of my pregnant self.

um...ew.

We arrived at the hospital and had to wait for a little while. My heart was racing while we were waiting. I could tell Robert was really worried, but he was trying not to show it so I wouldn't be more scared.

He didn't know I was taking the picture...he was just looking at me. Doesn't he look worried? :) 

They brought me back and started prepping me for the surgery. They asked all kinds of questions so I gave them my life story while they poked and taped things to me. One nurse was putting something in my arm, and got blood EVERYWHERE. I'm talking all over my arm, the bed, the floor, and the wall. The wall? Really? I don't even know how that happened.

Then they gave me some alka seltzer water to neutralize stomach acid. That stuff was so nasty, I almost vomited it back up.

The anesthesiologist came in to discuss what was about to happen to my body and to make me sign a paper saying that I knew what risks were involved...(at this point, I'm even more nervous).

The whole time they prepped me I was just having to breathe deeply and I was trying not to let anyone see my teary eyes.

They gave Robert the outfit to put on and he asked if he had to strip first...(LOL the outfit was see-through! Talk about comic relief)

They wheeled me to the OR and told me that Robert couldn't come in until after they put in the spinal. I hated that, because I didn't want him to leave my sight. I had probably 3 people in there rubbing my shoulders and stroking my hair as I was crying (still) as they put in the spinal.

People told me I wouldn't feel them put it in. Wrong. It only lasted a second, but it felt like a wasp sting. They laid me down and I immediately started feeling my body go numb from stomach down. It was really weird. They pinched me all over my body to make sure I wasn't in pain where the numb area was. It took a minute, but I finally could feel a difference between the pinch on my shoulder and the pinch on my stomach.

They brought Robert in and I was SO happy to see my sweet husband! He was standing up, but I asked him to sit down because I DID NOT want him to look at my cut up body, because I would see his face and then I would be freaking out more. He did look, though...but he stayed strong for me.

They started cutting me open and I could feel them moving around inside me. It didn't hurt, it was just the pressure of them touching me. Again, weird.

Robert held my hand the entire time while I was crying and praying to God that my sweet baby and myself would be okay.

I felt a few giant tugs and I heard them say that the baby was out. I couldn't hear him crying yet. I'm sure it was probably only a few seconds, but the wait for his first cry seemed like an eternity. I couldn't see him (they didn't show him to me) but I could finally hear him cry and then I started bawling, of course. I felt so relieved that my precious boy was alright. I looked up at Robert as Eli was crying and could see that Robert was crying, too. That was the sweetest moment of my entire life. He didn't even cry like that on our wedding day. He wanted to stay with me but I told him that it was okay to go see the baby. Actually, I really wanted him to go see Eli, take pictures, and make sure he was alright. I heard the nurse say "he's a healthy, 9 lb 5 oz baby boy!" and everyone in the room gasped at his hugeness. 

When Robert came back to me, I asked all kinds of questions. What did he look like? Did he have hair? What color was it? I smiled when Robert said his hair looked reddish :)

Robert then held the camera to my face and showed me the first picture of my beautiful baby.

Oh, it makes me cry to see this picture. He came out conducting :)

At this point, I no longer felt relief...I started to feel nauseous. A friend told me the day before the surgery to make sure to let them know if I feel even the slightest bit of nausea. So I told them that I was starting to feel sick. It was just a little bit sick, but it escalated quickly. Before they could give me the medicine that would counteract the nausea, I started vomiting. This was the worst part of my experience. I couldn't feel my stomach, so it felt like I had forgotten how to vomit. It was hard to make it come out. I guess this is why they have a suction tube thingy at the ready...because they started sucking it out of my mouth. Gross, I know, but it happened. I cried through that, too, because it felt AWFUL! The medicine they stuck me with started working immediately, though, and I started to feel much better.

Then it felt like I couldn't breathe, like some big fat kid was sitting on my lungs. And no, it wasn't MY big fat kid. He was already out, remember? I asked the doctor how much longer it was going to be, because breathing was difficult. She said 20 minutes, and the reason I couldn't breathe is because my uterus was outside my body??? Well, it took much less than 20 minutes...maybe 5 or 10.

FINALLY it was over!! They sent daddy with the baby and rolled me into the recovery room. I was told I would have to be there for 2 hours. That made me feel kind of bad, because my friend, Lindsey, had been waiting the whole time (which I really appreciated). So she would have to wait longer. Finally, she went home and came back later, which I'm glad about because it took forever to get settled into a room.

They finally let me hold Eli and feed him...3 hours after his birth....which I was not happy about, but oh well. My natural birth plan went out the window, so why not destroy my entire plan altogether? I'm not bitter....(yes, I am.)

Even though it was a tough pregnancy and delivery didn't go as planned, I would go through the agony all over again to get my sweet, precious, beautiful son!

I love you so much, my Eli bug!!

My first time holding my little boy outside my body. Look at his little hat lol

Eli Grayson Charnock 

The new and improved Charnock family

study on bikinis vs. clothing

I've seen this video floating around facebook and no matter what your view is on how much clothing to wear, this video is definitely worth a watch. The speaker talks about a study that was done on men that saw pictures of girls in regular clothing and girls in bikinis and how their brain reacts to it. Want to know what a man is thinking about what you wear? Give this a watch. It's only about 4 minutes.

What message do you want to give?

preparation for the future

So...we recently found out that our baby is a boy! We had not started any registries or anything before because I figured that would be too difficult without knowing the gender. We started one registry the day we found out and I immediately wished I had started sooner. We need so...much...stuff. And most of the stuff I just stared at trying to decide which kind we should get! Anyway, I went home a little overwhelmed and exhausted and thought about how difficult it was to decide what we should get for Eli. 
I then had another thought...something way more overwhelming and WAY more important. I'm responsible for getting this boy to Heaven! Just THINK about all that I need to do! This is going to be way harder than deciding which stroller to get!
Luckily, we started preparing for this in advance. Even before we got married, we started discussing what things we would do with our kids and how we would raise them. I know this doesn't mean we're always going to know what to do or that it's going to be easy...but it's definitely a start. We've been praying for our future children for years now and continue to pray for this one and any more children that we might have one day. I believe that gives us a head start in raising our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord! I'm so excited for what the future holds!
We also covet your prayers as we embark on this difficult and exciting journey. Pray that we never get lazy and that we stay consistent in the way we live our lives and in teaching our children to fear God.

My baby boy!! He's yawning in this picture.

chance to voice your opinion for science standards!

Apologetics press just put an article online that has the information for how we can voice our opinions to affect science standards in public schools! Please take a few minutes to read the article and follow the instructions! It's our duty as Christians to make our voices heard on these matters. This may be the only chance we get!


Go here: http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=1614


If you want directions on exactly what you need to do, go to this website, and click on "directions for feedback" at the very top of the page:


Directions for feedback


This took me only a few minutes- it's very quick. Can you give just a few minutes of your time to make a difference in what is taught in science? We need actual science back in the science classroom!


Have an active part in changing the world!

was Jesus being hateful?

Written to all that have a problem with the church and with what the bible says.


In Revelation, there is a candlestick which is the church, signifying its identity (Rev. 1:20). Was Jesus hateful when He said to the Ephesians that He would remove their candlestick if they didn’t repent (Rev. 2:5)? To remove the candlestick is to remove their identity as the church which belongs to Christ. Jesus died and is the Savior of the body (Eph. 5:23), which is church (Eph. 1:22-23). Thus, to remove their identity as the church (the people, NOT the building) would be to remove their salvation, which is in the body. They would not be Christians, as they wouldn’t be following Christ, thus they would lose their identity as Christ-ians.

Was Jesus hateful when He proclaimed the religious leaders of His day to be hypocrites, because they were instituting their own religious traditions rather to obeying the commandments of God (Mark 7)?

Was Jesus being hateful when he accused Saul of Tarsus of persecuting Himself (“Why persecutest thou me? (Acts 9:4)), while Saul (later called Paul) thought that he was actually doing the will of the Lord?

Many people think that they are in the will of God, yet do not open His word and read what God’s will really is. Rather, they stand in the seat of God and declare what they think that God’s will is, And when they are told that what they are teaching is wrong and damnable, they quote their favorite verse, “Judge not that ye be not judged “ (Mat. 7:1), which is completely taking it out of its context. “Judge not that ye be not judged” is the summation statement of Jesus’ discourse on hypocritical judgment, which followed. It does not condemn discerning what is right and wrong and informing others of the consequences of not being right with God. 

Not everybody who claims Jesus as Lord will enter the gates of heaven. These are the very words of Jesus: “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mat. 7:21-23). Saul thought that he was doing God’s will, but the Lord told him that he wasn’t. The one who does the will of God enters into heaven. The implication is that there are many who think that they are doing God’s will, yet are not, and the consequences are very serious.

There is a reason why Paul said to Timothy that the scriptures were profitable to instruct us in righteousness (1 Tim. 3:16). True righteousness is to obey God, which we are commanded to teach others what God has commanded, as Jesus said, “All power [authority] has been given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you (Mat. 28:17-19).

We are commanded to teach all that the Lord has commanded, which includes what He said in Mat. 7:21-23. It also teaches that we are not to follow the traditions of men: such as using instruments, when the command is to sing with the instrument being the heart (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16); or, partaking of the Lord’s supper only when man says it ought to be, rather than on the first day of the week (Acts 2:42; 20:7)(which incidentally, every week has a first day). It also includes the teaching that one must be faithful to God, rather than teaching falsely, “once you’re saved, you’re always saved” which scripture teaches against: “For after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned again to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in her mire” (2 Pet. 2:20-22). It includes teaching against the sinner’s prayer, as even Saul (Paul) of Tarsus wasn’t even saved when he was praying for three days, after realizing and repenting of the things he has done in persecuting the Lord’s church (Acts 9:9-11). 

The scriptures can be understood by the one who loves and has a desire for the truth, but the one who refuses to accept truth will simply twist the scriptures to say what they want them to say, or completely ignore them instead. The common idea is, as long as we accept Jesus into our hearts, we will be saved, yet there is no passage in scripture that so much as hints as this idea. It certainly sounds good, but that is not what the Bible teaches. However, if that is what I want the Bible to say, then I’m sure that I can find some passage to which I can twist to say just that; but, then I would be guilty of changing the Word, as the Lord has always condemned those who do such (Rev. 21:18-19; Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Pro. 30:6)

When we learn and know those things which God will condemn on the day of judgment, if we love others, we will share that information with them. Of course, Satan calls this not love, rather, he calls it HATE. Nobody will be the judge that condemns anyone. However, we know that if we murder, rape, or steal, that a judge in our world will condemn us to a sentence in jail. Likewise, we can know from God’s Word what He will condemn, which He will sentence us for an eternity is hell, thus we warn the world. It is not us doing the judgment, rather than warning others of the judgment. If it weren’t for this, there would be no need to evangelize and upset people by telling and warning them about the Truths of God. I, personally, would rather not upset anyone, but sadly, this is the reaction of many who hear the truth.

One day, everyone will know the truth, and won’t have a choice but to accept it, but that day will be too late for those who didn’t accept it afforetime: “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess God [even the athiest]. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:11-12). We all have a choice: either we bow to God here on the earth (submit to His will), or bow to Him after this life, which will be too late. 

I love you, and this is why I continue trying to help you, although you try to degrade and insult me. I’m sorry that you feel this way, but I do not apologize for the truth, as “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32), if you accept it and obey it (2 Thessalonians 1:8). I have become your enemy it seems: “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” (Gal. 4:16). My desire is the same as God’s, “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy. 2:4), which includes you.