My new nephew

My very first nephew was born yesterday morning...his name is Nehemiah James Smith.
He weighed in at 9 lbs, 7 oz., and was 21 1/2 inches long.

I am so excited for my brother and his wife and family.
It's also a little bittersweet since seeing and hearing about sweet little Nehemiah brings back a flood of memories from almost 7 months ago. I could hear his little cry in the background when I was talking to my brother yesterday afternoon.
It's amazing to think that he and his cousin Alethia were the same length (21 1/2 inches long) though he weighed over 3 pounds more than she did (both at 39 weeks gestation).
We think she would've taken after both of her grandpas and been really tall!

It will be so fun to have a little boy in the family now, and I can't wait to see my nieces and nephew and the rest of my family when I go up to visit in about 6 weeks.
It can't come soon enough!

From the heart of a 6-year-old...

This past week, I was having a discussion with my 1st graders about losing loved ones.
I shared with them about Alethia Joy, and many of them seemed to remember hearing the news last year after it happened. (All of my students were at our school last year in kindergarten, so I saw them at lunchtime and throughout the day.)
We talked about how hard and sad it is to say good-bye to someone we love and how much we miss them.
As our talk continued, these little ones said things like, "I want to pray that you have another baby, Mrs. Myers."
Another one chimed in, "I'm going to pray that you have 6!" I could feel my heart bubble over with joy at the child-like faith I was witnessing.

Then our conversation turned to thoughts of Heaven. We spoke of seeing many of our loved ones in Heaven and how wonderful it will be to see our Saviour Jesus too!

One little brown-eyed girl piped up and, to my surprise, said, "I want to die right now!" My first thought was.. oh my goodness, how morbid! But her tone of voice wasn't one of depression and sadness of any sort. Rather, it was quite the opposite. She had a big smile on her face and was joyful in proclaiming her thoughts. [Though I've only had these students in my class for 13 days, I have already been able to tell that this little girl would easily win the awards for "most encouraging," "most joyful," and "most caring friend." ]
My first response to her proclamation was something to the effect of "well, we need to remember that God has put us here on earth right now, and so we shouldn't really want to die, but we should be thankful for each day that God has given us to live."
But she wasn't thinking about wanting to end her life here on earth...her mind was focused on the eternal life to come.

As I contemplated this conversation throughout the next few hours and then days, I realized that she possesses the attitude that we should have, in many ways.
No, not the desire to end our lives. I truly believe that God is the giver of the gift of life (James 1:17, Psalm 139:13, Psalm 22:10) and is also the only One who should take it away.
It's the hope of eternal life that this little 6-year-old girl brought to my attention.
So often our minds are focused on only earthly things...the trials, difficulties, heartaches, as well as the day to day joys consume our hearts and minds. At least I know this is so true for me.

But we have been commanded to "set our mind[s] on things above, not on the things that are on earth." (Colossians 3:1-2)
May we live our lives in light of the hope of the bright future ahead that God has promised for those who have put their faith in Christ Jesus.
I can't wait to finally be able to see my Savior and hold my babies.

It was so sweet and special to see a "deeper" side of this group of 1st graders who I have already come to love. I am so thankful that I teach at a Christian school where we can have the freedom and opportunity to talk about the things of the Lord and the truth of God's Word.

And I love how sometimes the Lord uses 6-year-olds to help me realize how much I need to focus my mind on Him.

Last weekend

It was nice to get away last weekend and spend some time at the beach and with family...

We were able to go out to the water for a couple of hours before getting ready for the wedding.

The bride and groom, Victoria and Mike (I loved their cake!!)

My sister-in-law Shannon and me

Sister-in-law Shannon, Daniel (Tony's brother), Roni (Tony's mom), Stephen (Roni's husband), me, Tony

Not my own strength...

This quote sums up where my hope lies on this 1-month milestone of losing baby "Grace."

"God gives to His servants this promise:
You'll not have to face life alone;
And when you grow weak in your struggle,
His strength will prevail--not your own."

It has been a long, rough, emotional past week for me, but I am soo thankful that in my weakness, He is strong. And I am depending every day on that strength. I don't know how I could get through each day with it.

School is in session...

2 days down, 178 to go!

Here are a few pics from my classroom:

So far, everything has been going pretty well at school. The first few days are always quite exhausting, with the transition (for both students AND teachers) from the summer schedule to being in school all day, and all the training of procedures, rules, and just figuring out each student and how he/she "ticks," so to speak. But it seems to be going fine for the most part...my kiddos seem to be pretty well behaved, and I am looking forward to getting into more of a routine starting next week!

On another note, this has been a really rough week for me personally. Throughout the busy days of work, it is easy to mask my feelings and be distracted with other things, but when I get home in the evenings... I have just been hit hard emotionally and many tears have been shed. Just missing my babies soo much.

I'm looking forward to the weekend of going to the beach for Tony's cousin's wedding. I think it will be good for me to just get away for a little bit...

Good-bye to summer...

One week of teacher work days has passed...and school starts on Wednesday already!
Yes, our school does start very early! The summer went way too fast.

I'm looking forward to another year of teaching 1st grade, anxious to meet the students who will be in my class, and overwhelmed at the thought of all that needs to be done!
I've finished setting up and decorating my classroom (picture will be posted soon), but not sure if I'm ready for those little 6 year olds yet. Ready or not, here they come... very soon!

So...if I don't do a great job of keeping up with my blog in the next few weeks, now you know why!

6 months

It has been 6 months since Alethia Joy was born. In so many ways the past six months have felt like years to me, and yet at the same time, it's amazing and hard to believe that our baby would already be 1/2 a year old...what a huge milestone.

Lately, the Lord has brought to my mind the word "truth." In case you didn't already know, the name "Alethia" (pronounced uh-LAY-thee-uh) is actually the Greek word for truth. My husband, being a seminary student and having thoroughly studied Biblical Greek, came up with this name for a daughter before we were even pregnant! Back then, I had no idea what meaning the word "truth" would have at this point in my life, and I also had no clue the impact that my baby girl Alethia, who never even had the chance to breathe the air of this earth, would have on my life today.

The world longs for truth. It is where we find our hope.

A quote I recently read said, "Emotions lie to us and people mislead us, but God's Word speaks the truth we are desperate for, even as we weep with grief. Truth soothes our fears, changes our feelings, and shapes our thoughts."

In reading through Psalm 119, I have found nuggets of truth that I wanted to share with you...the things that have encouraged me and sustained me and reminded me that the Bible (the living, breathing, Word of God) is our source of truth in this dark world.

"...I will not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on your commandments." (vs. 6)

Living my life according to God's Word is not always an easy thing by any means...but God has promised that when we live like this, we will not be put to shame!

"My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!" (vs. 28)

I have learned that this is the only place to find strength!

"This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life." (vs. 50)

What greater comfort can there be...God keeps His promises to us.

But then, I can definitely relate to the author David when he says this..."My eyes long for Your promise; I ask, 'When will you comfort me?'" (vs. 82) I truly know and believe that God is my source of comfort...but in my humanness, I long to see God's promises being made known to me in a tangible way.

This verse really hit me hard..."It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes." (vs. 71) Wow.. can I, like David, truly say that it ultimately was good for me to suffer and go through the anguish of losing my babies...in order for me to learn and experience more of God's truth?? Is that how this experience is going to bring God glory? What a challenge to my heart.

And this is the conclusion that I find my hope in, even at this milestone of 6 months without my baby girl:

"If Your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction." (vs. 92)

"Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight." (vs. 143)

May I delight in God's truth.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.'"
John 14:6