A Look into the McLaughlin Life

The desire of my heart...

2011-11-12T08:39:00.006-04:00

So here is the deal, I have 2 amazing little boys that call me Mommy! Carson, who will soon be 2 and Caleb, who will soon be FOUR, wow 4! Anyway, I have always wanted to have at least one child of each sex and especially have always had a deep desire within me from the time I was a little girl to have a daughter. SO, after have 2 precious boys that I absolutely adore, and who adore their Mommy I might add ;), I wanted to try one last time to have a girl. I say one last time because it took a little convincing of my husband to even go past 2 kids. He was raised in a family of 4 kids and it was a little stressful and hectic at times, so he has never wanted to have 4 or more children.

After trying for over a year to conceive with Caleb, and then surprisingly conceiving Carson with NO "trying" when Caleb was 16 months old, we were determined to plan this one. So, since our boys are 2 years and one day apart, I really wanted our third child to be close to that so he or she could grow up close to them as well. I went off of birth control in June of this year, AND we did a lot of reading up on supposedly how you can do certain things to help you conceive a girl. NO weirdos, its not positions or anything crazy like that. Just has to do with when and how often you do the jig around when you are supposed to be ovulating. (yes, I said "the jig" lol) So, when the time came around to take a pregnancy test, its usually around 14 days after you ovulate, I took a test, and to my disappointment, NOT PREGNANT. I was a little sad, but it was the first month we tried, so I knew that we could keep trying, no big deal. But, the weird part was I just felt pregnant. Robbie kept telling me it was just me wanting myself to be pregnant and overthinking it so it made me a hypochondriac. ;) But I knew something just wasn't right. So, in secret I went and bought more pregnancy tests. Yes, in secret because those things are expensive and I know Robbie didn't want me spending anymore money on them. I took them a few days after the first and still nothing. So, at that point I started to tell myself that I really just wasn't pregnant this time. But the next week, I just still could not shake this feeling of "feeling pregnant"...so crazily I decided to buy tests one more time and this time I got the digital kind so there was no guessing on the lines. AND...

VIOLA!

I WAS in fact pregnant. We later figured out at the doctor that I had just ovulated later than I thought. So, there goes all the "trying" for a girl out the window. All the stuff we did was now in vain, it actually was in God's hands. (as if it wasn't in God's hands all along!)

So we went when to the doctor when we thought I was eight and a half or 9 weeks along to have our pregnancy confirmed and check everything out. They always do an ultrasound to confirm and see how far along you are.

Here is our little peanut at 7 weeks! Already such a precious little miracle!

And so the pregnancy journey begun. I had already begun to experience nausea around 6 weeks, and it would wind up only lasting until 10 weeks!! Which was really awesome because with Caleb it last until 12 weeks and Carson 16. I was constantly dreaming about and praying for a daughter. Yes, I know at this point the sex was obviously already whatever it was going to be, but I still couldn't help but pray. I think it was more just conversations with God. "God, surely you will give me the desires of my heart. I already have 2 beautiful boys that I love with all of my heart. Please bless me with a little girl." And other prayers, "God, please let me be ok and happy with whatever the sex of this baby is. Every child is a gift from you." "God, please just let this baby be healthy, and let me be ok if its not."

So, I wound up changing doctors and when I got to my new doctor she kept going by my last period for my due date, instead of the due date from the ultrasound I had gotten at my other doctor. She kept saying I was further along than I was. I kept trying to correct her but I guess she just kept forgetting. So when I was 15 weeks, almost 16 I was in for a checkup and I knew we would probably schedule my ultrasound while I was there for around 18 weeks which would have been at least a little over 2 more weeks. BUT, she was still going by the wrong due date thinking I was 17 weeks. So, she said well let's schedule your ultrasound for next week since you will be 18 weeks along. My mouth was shut! haha, I knew I was only going to be about 16 and a half weeks when I had the ultrasound, but I knew it was completely possible to find out the sex via ultrasound at that point in the pregnancy. I was getting to have my ultrasound 2 weeks earlier than I expected. I was elated!!!

Those next 7 or 8 days until the ultrasound were so hard. I would lay awake at night just wondering whether I had a little girl or boy inside of me. Every time I tried to picture this baby being a boy I just couldn't do it for some reason. So, that gave me major anxiety. Knowing that statistically we were most likely having another boy and I couldn't even picture having another boy in my mind was a hard pill to swallow.

So the day comes, October 28th, the day I will get to see my baby moving around on a T.V. screen. See that sweet little profile, see the hearbeat, and find out the sex of my baby. I made it at 9:30 in the morning so I wouldn't have to wait all day, I had already done enough waiting. We are driving to the appointment and Robbie keeps telling me that I have to be ok if its a boy because it probably is. I tell him to just be quiet and let me deal with it when I find out for sure. ;) We get back to the room, we have both of our boys. So, of course my curious little 3 year old is asking all sorts of questions. On one hand it is helping lighten the mood, and on the other hand I just want him to be quiet so I can concentrate on holding myself together. The lady gets our baby on the screen, shows us the head/profile, everything looks good. Shows us the heart, everything looks good. Shows us the spine and organs, everything looks good. Then she gets down to the butt and the baby is moving like crazy. So everytime she comes close to seeing, the baby moves again. Robbie and I both think we see a penis twice and I said out loud, oh its a boy isn't it. She stays quiet, as I am sure they are trained to do, until she knows for sure what she is seeing. She then finally gets a good shot, looks over at me and says..."Well, SHE doesn't have a penis!" I immediately burst into tears, can't believe what I just heard, and I say "Are you sure?". In fact, she is sure. She shows us her girl parts and types out Princess on the screen. At, this point Robbie is crying too, YES, my husband who doesn't cry over ANYTHING!

Here she is, our precious little girl! I told Robbie over and over, I TOLD YOU! I knew there was a reason I couldn't picture having a boy, it was because I had this sweet little girl growing inside of me. God had seen fit to answer the desires of my heart. We will be having a little girl in our family, due April 9th. Cali Grace McLaughlin. I was so beside myself that day and still am. Not only has God blessed us with a healthy baby, but a baby GIRL! I still can't get over being able to say SHE and HER. I love to talk about HER moving around in my tummy! Oh how blessed we are!

Caleb's Swim Lessons

2011-05-18T15:39:00.008-03:00

Caleb got to take swim lessons in April. It is usually a 4 week session, but because Easter is in April they just did a3week session. I have been meaning to sign him up for a while and the swim season started getting closer and closer, soI figured it was probably time. I have always loved to swim, from an early age and was actually on competitive swim teams in Middle school and high school, so it is really important for me that my kids learn how to swim and have a chance to develop a love for swimming.

Caleb already proved to us last summer that he is a little fish that loves to swim, so I knew that he would do great with swim lessons already being comfortable around the water. He was excited about his first swim lesson and was a ready and willing participantjust as I thought he would be. His fellow classmates on the other hand were another story....there was one other little girl that was totally fine just like Caleb, but the other kids were screaming bloody murder.haha. Caleb was fine for the whole lesson, but there was one point where I had to reassure him that everything was ok, because the other kids screaming and crying were starting to scare him.

I was so proud of him and how great he did. I won't say anything else because the pictures speak for themselves...

My best frand! ;)

2011-03-14T16:46:00.004-03:00

Ok, so here's the deal. I am a pretty emotional and sentimental person, ok maybe really sentimental and emotional...BUT, I don't really like to show that side of me a lot, except with my poor husband! ;) Today, is my chance to be sentimental and emotional with all of you...for a good reason! I am so blessed to have an awesome friend, so awesome that I wanted my blog post today to be about her. Our friendship is kind of funny, we have known each other for several years now and really have only started to get close over the last 6 months or so. But, I guess good things come in cool timing sometimes! Kirsten is one of the most giving people I know. Will give up her own chance to do something she likes just so you can do it, will spend her last penny on somebody else just because she loves to do for others, and will spend all of her time serving other people just because she allows God to use her like that! I am in awe of her kids, the incredibly godly and humble kids that she and her husband Kevin have raised, and love them just as much as I do her! I just wanted to say that she is one of those friends that make you want to be a better person and make you feel privileged to just be a part of their lives! I am so thankful for our friendship...

That is all! =)

New happenings...

2011-03-10T17:11:00.004-04:00

So I am a photographer, and have my own business, which I feel soooo incredibly blessed to have. I am completely passionate about what I do, and know that I am so fortunate to be able to stay at home with my boys partly because of the income it brings in. I had a very busy holiday season this past year and also had a pretty busy January, but decided for February, that for the most part I wanted to "take the month off". I didn't do any shoots in February, but had a lot of time to do some studying, took a workshop, dreamed, planned, met with people, etc. It turned out to be a GREAT month. Now, March is here and I am back at it. I have lots of babies coming up and that brings me to something else new that is happening. I have a friend named Rachel that I knew in high school, and have also reconnected with in the past year or two via Facebook. She posted a picture on FB a couple weeks ago of an adorable owl hat that she had crocheted. It caught my eye right away, not only because it was SUPER CUTE, but because I had been praying for a long time to find somebody local that could crochet newborn photography props for me. Not only is Rachel local, but she is a mom just like me who desires to find a way to stay at home with her son and also be able to bring in income. Sooo, double bonus! I am so excited to start working with Rachel, there are so many cute things to come. But, already I have had the privilege of taking product pictures for her. It was a first for me, but hopefully the start of many to come! I can't wait for her to get her business off of the ground and can't wait to see all of the cute things she creates! Here is a sneak peek...

WOW! It's been a while!

2011-02-21T13:07:00.014-04:00

I cannot believe that I haven't had a new post in over a YEAR now, well maybe I can, haha. Caleb is now 3 years old, going to preschool 2 days a week and learning new things every day. He is definitely in a stage of pushing the envelope as much as possible and mommy and daddy are trying to have lots of patience! =) He likes to tell Carson what to do and what not to do and also likes to act as if he is 20! Carson will be 14 months this week and STILL is not walking. This frustrates me sooo much because anyone who has held Carson for more than 2 seconds recently knows how insanley heavy he is!! He is a solid little boy and is wearing some clothes that Caleb can still wear! I really don't think it will be long before they meet in the middle on clothing size. He is a happy little boy most of the time, but very stubborn. Therefore, he gets very unhappy when he doesn't get what he has set his mind to, lol. I attribute his not walking yet to how stubborn he is. He just doesn't want to walk and he will walk when he wants to! I am praying that day is sooner rather than later!

On a different note, it is almost the end of February and we have had unusually warm weather lately, which I have loved! BUT, I realized last week with the first round of warm weather that I have almost NOTHING to wear. Yes, I mean almost nothing. I had forgotten that when I lost all my weight and bought new clothes that fit it was winter time. So, we are now approaching a new season and I must start shopping soon or I will just be wearing jeans and sweaters in the spring time,lol. I guess I can't complain though, I am so thankful to have lost the weight that I have. I pulled out a pair of size 15 capris out of my closet and couldn't believe I have come all the way from there to a size 6/8. I'm still not tiney, but I'm pretty happy with where I am at right now. Life is good!

P.S. I am going to try and blog a lot more, even if its about petty stuff. Keyword there is TRY! haha

I just can't settle...

2010-02-12T12:48:00.002-04:00

There is something about me that has truly always been a part of me, even before I was a Christian, but even more now that I am...and that is that I just can't settle. I just can't settle for mediocrity, especially and specifically in my marriage. A marriage is one hardest but amazing things that we experience in life. With that said, it can be SO EASY to just get content in your marriage(not in a good way). It's like when we get married we just think that we don't really have to try anymore because no matter what we are going to be together. When you were dating each other you tried so hard to impress each other, you always made sure to be caring, and went on dates all the time because you knew that there was no permanent attachment and you wanted to do everything you could to stay with that person. When you get married its like you realize that you are together for good and no matter whether you try hard in the relationship or just allow life to pass you by, you will still be together.
I really feel like God definitely never intended for marriage to get that way. I heard Jerry Falwell once say "if its Christian it ought to be the best". Now, I know that sounds extremely cheesy and probably a little "churchy", but it really does ring true. God commands us in his word to become more and more like Christ, who was completely perfect while on this earth. If that is the case, then in our marriage and in the rest of our life we should never settle for mediocrity but always try to strive for the best we can, continually trying to get better.
Robbie and I have really tried to live this out in our marriage, especially in the last few weeks. We had really just gotten stuck into this rut, our marriage wasn't bad or great, it was just kind of lingering somewhere in the middle. We were never meant to just "be along for the ride" in our marriage. In saying this, I am really enjoying being able to fall in love with my husband all over again. It's like we are dating again, we are actually trying to put each others needs and wants before our own and its awesome. I am so excited to be on this journey with Robbie, he is such an amazing man, and I am so glad he, along with myself, doesn't want to settle for mediocrity.

Life is just passing by...

2010-02-09T15:33:00.002-04:00

Do you ever have those moments in your life as a Christian where you just suddenly stop one day and realize that life has just been passing you by...what I mean by that is there are times in my life unfortunately where I find myself just letting life pass me by without stopping to invest in the most important relationship there is...my relationship with God. I feel like sometimes life just gets so crazy, things are happening so fast, that I find myself letting day after day pass without quality time with the one that makes all things possible. I am so thankful to serve a God that allows me to come back to him time after time after I have so foolishly let our relationship slip away, and just welcomes me with open arms. How incredible is it to know that NO MATTER WHAT I do, I can always return to the one who loves me more than ANYONE! Incredible...

Celebrating 2 years and new life!

2010-02-02T20:42:00.004-04:00

On December 28th we celebrated Caleb's 2nd birthday. I can't believe how incredibly fast my little man is growing up. It was a Monday night and we had some of Caleb's friends over for a party while I was VERY pregnant with Carson. He had a lot of fun with his friends and started crying when we sang "Happy Birthday", lol. He did a great job this year with opening presents and was actually interested and got excited about his presents. I am so proud of my 2 year old little man that is growing up so quickly and learning new things everyday. He is truly a blessing and brings great entertainment everyday! He is starting to talk in sentences and gets really frustrated when you can't understand what he is trying to tell you.

After everyone had left our house from Caleb's birthday party and we got Caleb in bed and were cleaning up, my water suddenly broke! I was only 37 weeks but ECSTATIC to not have to be pregnant anymore and to get to meet my new little man! My brother and his wife who were in town for the holidays came over and stayed at our house with Caleb so we could go to the hospital. We wound up having Carson Graham McLaughlin at 9:51 am the next morning.

I remember contemplating many times while I was pregnant how I would possibly able to love another son as much as I love Caleb, but as soon as they laid Carson on me and tears were streaming beyond my control, all those thoughts were completely gone. I loved him more than I could have possibly imagined! I am so blessed to be the mommy of two amazing little boys and can't wait to watch them grow up together!

My Almost 2 year old!!

2009-10-17T21:19:00.003-03:00

I have recently started to study/practice hard with photograpy and this picture of Caleb is from a recent practice shoot I did with him. I have the best subject to practice on! While looking at and editing these pictures I couldn't even believe how incredibly big my little man is getting. He does something new everyday and continues to look more and more like his daddy! I am so thankful for such a precious gift in my life. I always say that everyday I have the best entertainment I could ask for, haha. I don't think I will ever get over what a blessing it is to be the Mommy of Caleb, and soon to Carson. WOW, what an incredible life!

Baby Boy!

2009-08-19T11:46:00.004-03:00

Well, here is the big news, we are having a BOY! Yes, another one. We went
yesterday morning at 9:15 to have my ultrasound done. I was really excited because originally my ultrasound wasn't supposed to be until Friday, and my Docotor called me on Monday and asked to reschedule for Tuesday, and of course sooner=better for me! ;) So we went yesterday morning and I think EVERYONE except for Robbie was expecting them to tell me that I was having a girl, but we started the ultrasound and after a little shaking him around so we could see in between his little legs, there was no denying that we were having a BOY! I was a little disappointed at first, and felt a little tear well up in my eye, but then I realized that Caleb was going to have a little brother, VERY COOL!

Well we went out to Concord Mills last night to do a little "celebrating", woman style, and got to do a little shopping. When I suddenly realized in the Carter's store that I was going to be able to dress Caleb and Baby Boy #2 alike I got REALLY excited, haha. Anyway, the point is, it will be really fun and a huge blessing to be the parents of two little boys. I can't wait to meet our new little one, and see what life brings us. We are truly blessed, thank you God!

I'm an AUNT!

2009-08-12T11:37:00.003-03:00

I am so excited to say that I am now an Aunt! My brother and his wife just had a beautiful little boy named Gavin Ray Hooks on July 25th! I had the priveledge of going and staying with them for the first week they were home, to help them in any way I could and of course to get some good quality time in with my new little nephew, Gavin! When they came to pick me up from the airport the day I arrived and I looked down at little Gavin for the first time I couldn't believe how incredible TINY he was! I guess after a year and a half of life with Caleb I had forgotten how small he was when he was born. Caleb weighed a pound less than Gavin at birth, CRAZY!!! It was such a blessing to be able to be there with them to help when I could and just see them as new parents! (they are GREAT by the way) I got there on a Tuesday and stayed there without Robbie and Caleb until Sunday when they came down. We then Stayed until Wednesday as a family. It was really cute to see Caleb's curiosity with Gavin, because we will have our own little bundle of joy come January. Caleb likes trying to put Gavin's paci in his mouth, haha, so cute! I love all of these monumentous moments in life that we can look back on a smile about! Life is an amazing thing!

Here we go again...

2009-06-23T15:35:00.002-03:00

So a little over a month ago, on my birthday I might add, I found out we are expecting again. This came as quite a shock because we were not "trying" to get pregnant, and with Caleb we had to go through infertility treatments to get pregnant. So when I just had this feeling and decided to take a pregnancy test, I was VERY surprised to see that little window say "PREGNANT"! But, after the shock has started to wear off we are getting excited. I am scared to death to be the mom of two kids, but can't wait for Caleb to have a playmate. This pregnancy has been VERY different from my first one. I have been way sicker that I was with Caleb. Sometimes just getting up and going to the bathroom can seem hard right now. Crazy, I know, but its true. Things have smells that never did before I was pregnant. Now EVERYTHING has a smell, and not only has a smell, but a smell that makes me gag. I am hoping and praying that after I get through the first trimester the nausea will start to diminish, because if it doesn't this is going to be one heck of a pregnancy.... "Lord please show me some mercy..."

The things he does...

2009-03-25T21:36:00.003-03:00

Sometimes, well all of the time, being a mommy to a 15 month old son is an adventure! Tonight, while Robbie was cooking dinner, yes Robbie, not me because I hurt my knee pretty bad today. I somehow got tripped up on Robbie's foot or leg or something and my leg twisted, and my knee popped out of place. I experienced the most excruciating pain I have ever felt! I went to urgent care, waited for a couple hours to be seen, got x-rays done, and finally they told me that they thought it was my MCL that was hurt. They gave me a brace to wear, crutches, and some very powerful pain medications. Sometime in the next few days I am supposed to go see an orthopedic doctor. Anyway, all of that to say...Robbie was cooking dinner while I was sitting on the couch hurting and feeling sorry for myself, while Caleb was looking for an adventure. So all of the sudden from the kitchen I hear Robbie yell "Oh my gosh Samantha, you have to come see this!" Now, picture me with my hurt leg, huge brace on, trying to "jump" up off of the couch scramble to grab my crutches, and hobble over as quick as I could to see what he was talking about, and this is what I found...

All I could do was laugh...I wanted to be that protective mother that jerked him off of the chair because he could slip and fall at any moment and get hurt, but I just couldn't do it. This was just too cute and HILARIOUS! Caleb had, all by himself I might add, pulled the rocking chair over from the corner of the room, climbed up in the chair, stood up, and started playing piano. I think we might have a child prodigy on our hands! ;)

These are the moments...

2009-03-09T15:20:00.004-03:00

We got to go to the beach this past weekend for a couple of days and it was so much fun! I just love being able to get away from everything with my two men and just spend time together. It was a gorgeous weekend and the place we stayed was AWESOME! (Dunes Village Resort) The rooms were awesome, but the best part was the indoor water park! I love the water and always have, so it was fun to get to enjoy the pool and water slides even though the water in the ocean was too cold to enjoy.
Those moments, the moments where I could just relax with my family and not worry about anything else, are the moments I live for. I can't wait to go on more random spontaneous trips with my family in the near future!

I love you because...

2009-02-16T16:21:00.004-04:00

I am one of those girls that absolutely LOVES the simple SWEET things, and my husband doesn't always remember that( of course, he's a man, lol), but he does every now and then, and when he does its usually something REALLY sweet! So, this Valentine's Day I didn't get diamonds, or roses, or anything like that, I got my man's love. Not only did he just say "I love you", he let me know WHY he loves me, which I especially love to hear because then I know he really does, haha. I woke up Valentine's Day morning to a really cool thing on my mirror. Robbie had taken pink sticky notes and spelled out "I love U". At the top it says " I love you because..." and then on each of the other sticky notes below is a reason why he loves me. PRETTY SWEET!

My Life verse...

2009-02-01T10:00:00.004-04:00

"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." -Proverbs 3:5&6

This is such an amazing promise from God. A long time ago I heard a very wise man say that we all should have a life verse, not because God commands it, or because we are not a good Christian if we don't, just because it is an amazing thing to have one verse that we can constantly come back to that keeps us looking in the right direction. So, not long after that I set out on a mission to find my "life verse" and this was it.
I love this promise from God because it encompasses the Christian life. If we can learn to FULLY trust in God with everything that is in us, totally forget our way of thinking, make sure that we look to him in everything that we do, then HE will make our paths straight.
It is so amazing to me after soooooo many times of reading this verse and reciting it in my head, I STILL stray from the beaten path in my walk with God. BUT, the absolutely incredible part is that because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, no matter how many times I fall, or stumble, or stray, He always forgives me, he always wipes my slate clean, and he always allows me to find my way back to the path.
My point in taking a moment to dwell on my life verse today is three-fold: Firstly, we as imperfect human beings will ALWAYS fail; Secondly, God's grace is MORE THAN ENOUGH to cover our failures; And lastly, find a verse that you too can call your "life verse", it is something that you will value forever.

Family is a gift that lasts forever...

2009-01-19T11:32:00.010-04:00

With the holidays always comes time with family, but this year after the holidays were over I have had the priveledge of having much more time with family. My brother, Grant, and his wife Ashley are in town staying with us for 10 days. They just moved to Pensacola, FL from Hawaii where my brother was previously stationed. My eyes have just really been opened lately to how important your family is, and how precious of a gift that it is. When no one else is there and you feel all alone, aside from our creator, we will always have family. It has been so much fun to spend time with my brother and his wife, my parents, my MawMaw, my cousins, and my Aunt and Uncle.
One woman in particular has really shown me and Robbie unconditional love, and has opened my eyes even further to the gift of family, and that amazing woman is my (step) Mom. I put "step" in parenthesis because if I didn't tell you, you would never know that we weren't her biological children because of the love and selflessness that she shows us. She has helped heal wounds, shown me what unconditional love really means, and just shown such a great example of a Christian mother! I love you!
I also have a wonderful biological mother that I love very much, and is a great Nana, but its a DOUBLE BLESSING to have two great Moms!
I just can't say enough about my entire family who are all wonderful people, and to all of you who I didn't speak to specifically in this blog, you have all taken part in making me who I am and
I LOVE YOU VERY VERY much!

ONE!...wait what???

2009-01-05T12:29:00.005-04:00

I can't believe my little boy is ONE! Where did the time go!??! But man, what an incredible year it has been! I have watched my little bean turn into a fun-loving little boy. I am one of the luckiest mom's in the world, I had an incredible baby who at five days old slept through the night (and has ever since I might add), didn't really cry very much just grunted to let us know he needed something, and has always been very mild mannered. It has been an honor to call myself Caleb Haiden McLaughlin's Mommy for a year now, and I can't wait to continue with that name for the rest of our lives. To know that God has entrusted me with such an amazing little boy is such an honor and I hope I never get over that.

We had Caleb's first birthday party on his birthday, Sunday, December 28th. It was so much fun to be able to celebrate Caleb's first year of life. We had friends and family over to our new home and ate lots of food and cake, and watched Caleb open the sea of toys he recieved! =) But, definitely the best part was watching the confused look on Caleb's face as we all stood around him singing Happy Birthday with a cake that had fire on top sitting in front of him, lol. The other GREAT part was getting to watch Caleb dig into his own little Birthday Cake, just waiting for us to tell him to stop because surely he wasn't aloud to be making a mess and eating something this good! I love my little boy and I can't wait to see what this years brings us!

A season for everything...

2009-01-04T00:27:00.005-04:00

I just had to sit down tonight and talk a little bit about my man...now for those of you that hate all of that mushy stuff, I will try and keep most of that out! Robbie has just blown me away lately with how selflessly he has given himself to his work and the position God has him in at Next Level Church right now. He is not getting to do all of the things that he has always loved and is EXTREMELY talented at, like leading worship, speaking, or shepherding. But, he is just doing what he feels like God has called him to do right now, because he loves getting the opportunity to learn from and work around some of the most amazing leaders! AND not only is he doing it, he is doing it whole-heartedly, and passionately! He is constantly giving himself away without needing or requiring praise for it, but he still does it and doesn't complain. I watched Robbie go to the church this morning at 8:00 am, and is still there now, even long after everyone else is gone, working, without complaint. Why, because he loves his church, his job, and his God! WOW, what an incredible man of God that truly loves his creator and longs to see everyone know the savior he knows!

2008-12-04T01:39:00.003-04:00

"Thankfulness." Wow, such a hard word to live out sometimes. I know this is such a God-glorifying word, but man is it hard to have it be a part of my thinking. But, God has totally been changing my heart lately. I have, since Robbie and I got married, felt like we were just struggling so bad financially, and were just in a really hard spot. And it hasn't been until here recently with things getting tougher and the economy getting worse that God has really changed me, every day I get up even when I am struggling, and sometimes wondering how we will pay the bills, and just think "thank you Lord that I have bills, bills mean I have a house to live in, a car to drive, electricity to live with, and an education." The thought that I never imagined I would have "Thank you Lord for my bills", but WOW, think about it, if you are priveledged enough to have bills, whether you think you can pay them or not, you are blessed, MUCH more blessed than most people in the world.

It is definitely time for our generation to step up and move past all our crazy selfishness and indulgences that swallow up our entire being. We must move past ourselves and on to the well-being of others.

This is why I feel so blessed to be a part of a church like Next Level, and feel so thankful that we have other churches in our city like Ridge that desire to team up and change the landscape of Charlotte, and our world.

Fragile Happiness

2008-11-18T12:04:00.006-04:00

One of my best friends,(I love you Courtney!) sent me such a blessing this morning in the form of an e-mail, and in the e-mail was a Blog posted by Beth Moore's daughter, Melissa. It was talking about her son getting this red balloon at a restaurant and how he loved it so much and it made him so happy, but she kind of cringed when he got it and was playing with it because she knew that happiness would be so temporary and would soon end with sadness because she knew that the balloon would soon pop or get a leak and be gone just like that. She then went on to say how it reminded her of what God is probably always thinking when he looks down on her saying this, Oh, baby girl, that is so temporary. It's already got a leak in it - you just can't see it yet. Find your joy in me! I'm everlasting! My unfailing love it what your heart truly seeks. Man that just BROKE me when I read that! It is sooo true, so many things that we try to find happiness or fulfillment in are soo temporary and will soon "pop" or "get a leak" and will turn into sadness, or emptiness. It makes me think of the terrible week I had last week, and how things go wrong and I just feel so defeated, but I have to remind myself that no money, no job, no things will ever fulfill me, and even when I feel like I won’t even have money for the necessities of life I just have to remember that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and he WILL provide! So many times I let my happiness rest on whether or not we have a little extra money, or I can buy this outfit for Caleb, or my marriage is going well, or my business, or whatever it may be at the time, and all of those things are so fragile as she said and NONE of them will EVER fulfill me! So I must remember that no matter what circumstances I face at the time in my life, good or bad, that God holds me up and showers me with his unfailing love and WANTS to do it!

"God you are so merciful, and never cease to amaze me! Thank you for your unfailing love!"

Here is the scripture that Melissa had in her blog post, it is so fitting, and beautiful! May we rest in God's words of truth!

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning. O Israel, put your hope in
the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
(Psalm 130:5-7)

But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose
hope is in his unfailing love.
(Psalm 33:18)

In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as
we put our hope in you.
(Psalm 33:21-22)

Sick week! =(

2008-10-31T18:30:00.005-03:00

Man, it has been way too long since I have posted a blog and I figured it was about time to start again! Well, the whole family has been VERY sick this week, no fun at all. I always knew that being sick was terrible, but that misery multiplies times a gazillion when you have to see your baby sick, take care of him, and take care of yourself all at the same time! It started off with Robbie, then Caleb last weekend, and then my body finally decided to get it around Tuesday, ugg. But, last Saturday we did get to do something fun, we went to the pumpkin patch. It is Caleb's first Haloween and he got to get his first pumpkin and see a WHOLE BUNCH of them. We also got to go on a hayride, see animals, and watch Daddy and Tio go through a corn maze. I say all of that stuff, knowing full well that I just wanted to go for the photo op! lol. I took a gazillion pictures as always, and actually made Robbie hold the camera for the majority of the time, so it wouldn't seem like 10 years from now that I was just a ghost in this time, lol. But, it saying all of that it was a lot of fun! Caleb is at such a cute age right now, because instead of saying what he is thinking, everything comes out in an expression! So the faces are priceless! I try to catch all of them in a picture, but that definitely doesn't happen! Today is Halloween, and we are not dressing Caleb up, going Trick or Treating, or handing out candy at our door. We are going to the Opening Night for the Charlotte Checkers! Definitely a McLaughlin thing! We love our sports, so much fun!

Oh my goodness! CRAWLING!!

2008-08-26T16:21:00.003-03:00

I would have to say this is probably the first milestone in my son's life that I wasn't all that excited about when it happened! Well, maybe the first couple of "crawling steps", but it was all downhill from there! The house we are in right now is really hard to put up boundaries in, especially down stairs because there are not really any narrow doorways where I would be able to put gates up in. So, my day consists of a lot of chasing Caleb around and taking things out of his hands, or MOUTH! BUT, in saying all of that, it is VERY cute to see him squeal and laugh because he is able to move from one end of the room to the other to get something he wants. And let me tell you, when he gets his "eye on the prize" there is no stopping him. Although, he hasn't quite figured out yet why his head hits the coffee table every time he tries to go under it. (he's usually trying to get to our chiuaua, abby, who weighs like 3 lbs!) He will be 8 months this week! I can't believe it, time is flying so fast and before I know it he will be walking and talking too!

You have done great things!

2008-08-23T23:23:00.005-03:00

Man, God is so amazing and has truly done great things! It seems like no matter what he does for me, I always doubt him, and then he just proves me wrong over and over again. Well, we didn't get the house we were looking at in Crismark that we wanted to rent, BUT we found out that we actually qualify to buy a house! This is something that we thought wouldn't even be possible for us right now, but my dad and stepmom spoke some wisdom into our lives and told us to at least just find out if we would qualify, because you never know until you try, right? So, we took their advice and they were oh so right! We are now in the market to buy a house! One of the most exciting and scariest things we have ever done. We might even be able to build a house which we would really love to do. Sooo, we are now looking to maybe build in Crismark! Life is good, and God blesses even when I am not faithful to trust him. GOD ROCKS!!!!!

One of the most dreaded words EVER: Moving!

2008-08-18T10:26:00.000-03:00

Ahh moving, such a dreaded thing. Robbie and I have done it already 5 times since we have been married.(and we have only been married 3 years!) We are currently renting a house in Matthews, we love the house and love the location, but definitely couldn't buy this house and stay here long term because its too small to grow a family in. Our landlord just let us know that she is putting the house up for sale, SOOO, we have to move! UGH!!! Not only does moving totally suck, we have to somehow come up with a security deposit for a new house, which we definitely do not have right now. We found a house in a neighborhood called Crismark in Indian Trail that would be perfect for us, its got 2 more bedrooms than this house, more square feet, bigger girage, in UNION COUNTY (I have wanted to be back in UC for awhile, lower taxes, better schools, etc.), just all around a great house. So we will be putting in an application for the house today and just praying that God works some kind of miracle for the security deposit. So all of you reading this out there, get in touch with me and book a Pampered Chef show! haha.

The Lost Identity of a Mother

2008-08-12T11:48:00.000-03:00

Wow, can I just say that I am no longer Samantha McLaughlin, young, vibrant, spontaneous, crazy 21 year old. I am now MAMA! It's crazy how different points in our lives totally change our identity, especially becoming a Mommy. I can no longer, eat, sleep, play, PEE, work, or anything else for that matter, when I want to. My life is no longer about Samantha its about Caleb. I only fulfill my needs once his have been totally met. It's crazy to me how much life has changed since I had Caleb now 7 1/2 months ago, WOW! My identity of Samantha McLaughlin has totally been lost somewhere and I now hold the identity of Caleb's Mommy, truly one of the most beautiful yet trying identities in the world. SO, in saying all of that, I am creating this blog to keep my sanity, to somewhere within myself keep the Samantha McLaughlin side and not just the Mommy side. (Although the majority of this blog will probably consist of me telling stories about my adventures as MAMA) I thought, "You know what, if I want to stay sane while raising Caleb, and eventually probably many more children, then I have to release my thoughts somewhere." So, out of that thought, this Blogspot is born! Coming soon: Many more blogs on "A Look into the McLaughlin Life."