Back on the blogging train!

The month of March has found us quite a different family from what we were when I last wrote. Since we moved to Houston quite a bit has happened! Dave and I decided that it was time for Amelia to stay with her mother on a permanent basis since she started kindergarten. She seems to be handling it well and Jaxon is unsure what to do with all the attention when he spends time here! We usually have him half the week and his mother has him half the week.


We found out on September 10th that we will be expecting a baby boy around Mother's Day. Dave and I were both very surprised! We decided to name him Truett David Sparks. I am hoping for an all natural birth at a birthing center just down the road. My midwife is a really sweet Christian woman (she also owns the center). The rooms at the center are amazing. Each one has a large bed, comfy furniture, imported bath tubs (that look like huge soups bowls!) and an area for baby so he doesn't have to leave us once during the entire experience. After baby is born, we will leave the center between two and four hour later. I am so relieved that I won't be in a hospital full of sick people with multiple nurses and doctors coming in and out of my room. Of course if he comes early, I don't progress well or we have complications, we will be going to the hospital of my midwives choice. We are praying that things will go smoothly and as close to the plan as possible. Along with a natural labor and delivery, we are hoping to cloth diaper and we do not plan on vaccinating our children. We will also be treating illnesses with natural medicine as much as possible and seeing our natural doctor as needed. All of these decisions are things that we feel convicted about as Christian parents. We not have any family visiting at the time of Truett's birth. We will instead be headed up to Michigan in August to visit with everyone after Truett's immune system is better developed and we are better established in our routines :)

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

With guidance from the Lord, I have been spending a great deal of time researching a variety of illnesses, their causes (preventions) and natural cures. We have also been doing a lot of research on survivalism and being self-sufficient. God made this Earth with everything on it that we need to survive. He also made our bodies, as women, with the capability of bringing our children into the world and feeding them once they get here. I have started a binder with all of the information I have gathered. In my opinion, ignorance kills. I would way rather find my information with guidance from the Lord Jesus Christ rather than sit in a classroom for years and become cookie cutter white collar American.


Within the last few months I am proud to say that we have cut out 3 of our major bills and paid ahead a few months on several others. We are cutting back on everything. I mean everything from clutter to junk food! I think quality is probably better than quantity :D Since I got pregnant, I have had this urge to throw away tons of stuff and we have filled the Expedition twice with clothes and things for Goodwill. I seriously don't think I have had enough time in the last 5 years to go through all of my stuff and wonder what I actually NEED. Might have something to do with this one bedroom apartment, two dogs, two adults, a little boy and a baby on the way. In July, we will be making some major power moves again and we are very excited as well as preparing in advance! Stay tuned :)


In November, David began working as a security guard for a large energy company in the area. He also had an interview recently for a job at an upscale restaurant which he is hoping to transition to within the next few weeks. Though he has enjoyed his security job and the 50+ hours of overtime weekly, he is almost never home and works third shift. His health has declined a great deal since his job requires almost no physical activity and his sleep schedule has been greatly compromised. Hopefully he will find something more family friendly soon. For now I am grateful that for the first time in months, David will be at home tonight spending time with us!


When we first moved here, we began attending church at Grace Community Church right here on the freeway where we live. We have enjoyed everything from the fellowship and the worship to the messages and all the available programs. On Sundays we go to the morning service and Sunday evenings we have connect group at a friend's house. Mondays they have a young adult service called The Venue. Wednesdays we go to midweek prayer service and David attends Men's Bible Study on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. It's so nice being in a body of believers that love Jesus and are led by pastors that honor God and His Word. We have also been attending pregnancy classes twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Although the classes are very basic, we have enjoyed being around other Christian people. I am hoping to volunteer at the center once or twice before Truett is born. Last night we went to the Pregnancy Center banquet. The meal was amazing and the mystery speaker was George W. Bush! David won two golf passes in the silent auction as well as a large Easter basket for Jaxon (thank goodness I don't have to fight crowds in Walmart for the last box of peeps and Thomas the Train kite).

Next week, I will be headed to Nashville to spend some time at Paul and Victoria's house with my parents and my Uncle Steve and Aunt Vicky Hustyi. I am excited to get out and about one more time before our baby arrives. Though it will only be for a few days, I look forward to seeing my family and especially my little nieces Arabella and Felicity (who I haven't yet met due to her delayed arrival in November!) I am so excited that my son will have two cousins who will be brought up in the same faith my sister and our husbands were trained in!


Over the last few months we have also discussed our involvement with Facebook and if it is something that we really feel is necessary. As I posted today, we will be deleting our Facebook within the next few days. We do plan on keeping up with family in other ways, we just feel that depending on the internet for communication with family is a distraction and it's the opposite of what we want for our family. I am excited to get back to writing letters, cards and just making phone calls a few times a week! We will also be visiting family in Michigan over the summer. I am hoping to get back into sewing and scrapbooking. I think homemade cards and photo books are very special gifts and I am looking forward to showing family how much they mean to us in this way! It seems that the direction our world is advancing in is bringing a lot of destruction, and though we cannot 100% shield our children, we will do our best (according to the guidelines in the Bible) to lead our children down a path of righteousness.


Thank you all for reading, and I look forward to writing again. I am hoping to start a list of close family and friend birthdays so I can begin writing cards and letters on a regular basis. Maybe I will post something on Facebook about doing this sometime soon :)

God Bless, Elizabeth