"When I Leave the Room"

I was listening to The Message on dish network while I picked up my bedroom this past Wednesday and Natalie Grant was live playing songs from her new CD.  She introduced a song that she and her husband worked on together written for her 3 girls. For some reason I started crying before she even started singing.  Yes, it could have been my crazy pregnant hormones or maybe and more likely it was God stirring in my heart to make sure I sat down and really listened the words.

 

This song has played every night since I heard it for my sweet girls as they go to sleep and I pat their little backs. It is able to perfectly put my heart into the words that sometimes at the end of the day I simply do not have.  For me, it hits home to the days we live in right now when the days are so long but the time is moving fast. It will apply to my sweet baby boy when he arrives and I face that moment of leaving him in his room for the first time and I have to trust that he will keep breathing without me by his side. I believe the words will also touch my heart many more times in the future as my children grow and I am faced with how much I don't know and must choose to fall on my knees.  

 

 

Good night
Looks like we made it through the day
The moon sighs
And I know that we're okay

Sleep tight
I love to watch you drift away
I would come with you but on my knees I'll stay

 

Good night
Five little fingers holding mine
Take flight
Into your dreams and lullabies

There's nothing more that I can do
But just fall more in love with you
And ask the angel armies to stand by
When I leave the room

 

I'm gonna fail you
I already have
Ten thousand times
I will fall down flat

You'll have a seat in the front row
Of everything I don't know
And all I'm trying to be
You'll see

 

Good night
There will be storms that we come through
In time
We will slay dragons me and you

I'll always wanna hold you tight
Keep you safe with all my might
So I will leave Jesus next to you
When I leave the room

 

And you will run ahead
As if you know the way
And I will pray more
Then one should have to pray

There will be words we can't take back
Silences too
And I'll be on my knees
You'll see

 

One night
When I am old and unsteady
You'll want me to fight
But I'll tell you that I'm ready

When there's nothing left to do
I will still be loving you
Then you'll fold your fingers into mine
And I will let Jesus hold you tight
When I leave the room

Natalie Grant. "When I Leave the Room"

Cruise 2013

Our cruise was only 3 1/2 months ago but it seems like a lifetime ago.  Since then we have moved states, newish job for Roger, 15 weeks pregnant... maybe that's why.  During the stressful move and long hours finishing the house Roger and I would pretend we were sitting on a boat in the middle of no where surrounded by beautiful water and beaches. It truly was an amazing vacation full of a lot of relaxation, food, and pretty much doing whatever we wanted to do whenever we wanted to do it. AHHHH...wish we were there right now! It's fun to look back at the pictures and remember the fun! So cruise recap ....GO!

To start the trip off we first headed from Shreveport to near Paris, TX to meet Roger's mom and Skyler to drop the girls off. By far the hardest part of the trip! Never being far from the girls and being with them 24/7 the past 2 years I truly felt as though I left a lot of my heart behind and a big part of my identity. So I cried for about 5 minutes and then tried to focus on the fun about to take place. So from Paris we drove back through Shreveport to Lafayette where we had to stop and get some duck gumbo at one of Roger's favorite restaurants. From Lafayette we headed Covington, LA where we stayed with the Nobles! Always a fun way to start a trip, catching up with friends.

So Sunday afternoon we drove to New Orleans to board the ship. I called the girls one more time before we left and listened to their sweet voices.... cried one more time and then looked for the right place to board the ship. We finally boarded the ship after walking around downtown New Orleans for close to an hour dragging our luggage looking for the right place to board.  So that was a lot of words but from now on will be mostly pictures. A lot of pictures.. .not for everyone.. only those truly interested!

From the balcony of our room  getting ready to leave the dock

 

the "beautiful" Mississippi river

First things first! Had to check out the food!

 

 

It took close to 9-10 hours for the captain to navigate the ship out of the Mississippi river into the ocean.

 

 

So we are on vacation right! We get to sleep in! Yeah, roger was up at 6:30,spark in hand ready to get this show on the road! But what a great view to wake up outside your window.

 

First day at sea! We ate an early breakfast, walked around the ship, went to a comedy brunch, humored Roger by going to a cooking demonstration, got a hamburger for lunch and laid out soaking up some sun!

 

Well, I soaked it up, Roger shielded it away:)

 

 

The best part of the cruise is the food of course. Each evening we spent a good 1-2 hours resting and getting ready for the evening dining experience. First night was elegant night.

 

Roger wanted to take a picture on the deck... fail.... note to self.. it is VERY windy in the middle of the ocean. Hour spent on hair... in vain

Try again a little less wind

 

My dessert and coffee... I pretty much had it every night.

 

Aftern dinner we saw "The Brits"

 

 

 

Day 2 at sea was pretty much filled with the same relaxing things as day 1.

  Day 2 dinner Roger made reservations in the private steakhouse.

All dressed up and spiffy!

 

 

We were going to go to a comedy show after but Roge wasn't feeling good (oh yeah he went to the urgent care 2 hours before we left and found out he had an ear infection). So we went to bed around 9:00 like old people. Actually the old people on the cruise were partying way harder than we did. Ha! True Story

 

So we woke up bright and early on day 3! Jamaica! So excited to see land again!

 

little bit of land in the background.

 

Jamaica was one of the prettiest to arrive at

 

We ventured off the boat as soon as we docked to look around and maybe do a little shopping before our afternoon excursion

 

Yeah.. Jamaica is scary when you are not on an excursion.. from the bus ride to the shops.. the scary people that push you into shops.. the cab drivers telling you to get in the cabs.

 

So we headed back to our comfort zone until our excursion.. a little roof top putt-putt

 not a bad view for putt-putt

fueled up at one of our favorite spots on the boat! that was GOOD burger

Excursion was much nicer.. a large sail boat to cruise around and do some snorkeling. It redeemed Jamaica for me. Except for all the guy crew members that tried to give all the women foot massages.. weird.. no thank you

 

 

Day 4- Grand Cayman Islands! By far our favorite! Felt much safer and the beaches were beautiful!

 

 

Had to be boated out to the island from the ship

First we went Snuba Diving.. which I didn't have my phone to take pictures.. but if I ever get our underwater camera developed I will add in the pictures. But it was really fun once you got past the feeing of suffocation and ears popping!

 Went down to the 7 mile beach and ate lunch right on the beach.

 

Never seen this guy this relaxed

 

Love the Beach! If we had to go to one of the islands and stay for a while it would be Grand Cayman for sure.

 

 

 

Last Port of Call was Cozymel!

 

The most beautiful blues in the ocean I have ever seen!

 

So we signed up for a Mexican cooking and tasting excursion on the beach...it was really in a building on the beach .. they should be more specific

Can you get much cooler than that. I sure hope so

Sweet cooking goober...love him and his love for cooking

 

Basically we followed Oscar.. (the guy with the mic in the background) while he led us though 3 dishes.. cooking at the same time. Then we went upstairs to eat the fruit of our labor.  I won't lie I left the building before dessert because the ocean and beach was outside and I was tired of being inside and the time was ticking before we had to be back on the boat.. they will leave you!

 

 

 

So Roger appeased me leaving his dessert behind and headed down to the beach to find the Red Flag meaning no entry into the water because of the crazy waves and undertow. So we walked a little, sat a little and chilled before we headed back to the bus.

 

Goodbye Mexico!

 

The last day at sea was terribly rocky and windy and cold so we took advantage of our last day to do absolutely nothing and .... did absolutely nothing. We made sure to eat all our favorite things.. guys burger for lunch... homemade pizzas for snack and last night of leisure dining. 

 

It was an amazing trip! We were more than ready to see our girls!

 

Growing

I knew I would be good at this blog thing. One post every few months... that seems about right. I do have full intentions of writing some more catch up posts of our awesome cruise (which seems like a lifetime and a dream ago) and some other fun stuff. But for today I just want to talk about what has been going on with us DeCosters.

I heard a lady speak at church a few months ago about her family and how they move around quite a bit since they are military. She was sad because they were getting ready to move again but she said something that stuck out in my mind...she said, "that is how we grow." I don't know why that stuck in my mind because I had no plans of moving so I assumed I would have to find another avenue to "grow".

Well, fast forward several months to 2 weeks ago (Monday, June 3rd). Roger came home early from work as he was leaving for a "business" fishing trip (it must be rough). He walked in the door with a shocked look on his face and said, "you will not believe what just happened." "I just received a job offer in Tulsa, Oklahoma."

"WWHHHAAAATTTTTTTT!!!!!" So many emotions blast through your head and heart when you receive life changing news. Excitement, so much to do planning momma brain kicks in, nervousness, denial. After all I have this whole next year planned out..such as preschool, speech therapy for Emma, and many other things.  But after praying about the right move Roger accepted and he starts July 1st.  Yes, in 2 weeks, July 1st.  He will be plant manager for the same company but a bigger plant in Tulsa, OK.   

Oh, yeah... and this other small little thing.. WE ARE 8 1/2 WEEKS PREGNANT!!  We of course are super excited and blessed. Hormonal...yes, slightly crazy..... yes.....nauseous.....yes but so worth it for adding on a sweet new baby to the DeCosters around January 25th.

So we are looking forward to how we will grow this next year. Excited to see our family grow from 4 to 5, excited to see where God leads us to live and serve in the Tulsa area. We are so excited to live closer to Roger's family and the girls to be close to cousins as well as closer to old friends. We both have roots in the Tulsa area so in a way it will be like coming home.  Oh, and I am excited about the possibility of 2 bathrooms and living close to a taco bueno.

We are sad to leave our church here in Shreveport and the new friendships we had started to cultivate here. But as the lady at church said.."this is how we grow". 

We are praying that our house sells quickly and that we can survive these next 2 weeks as our AC is not working and kitchen is ripped out and Rogers tries to piece it back together in two weeks:) 

Thanks ahead for the prayers! This momma appreciates it!

Evie Joy

Evie Joy........where to start.  Browsing through pictures that I haven't looked at in over a year it is so hard to narrow down the past 19 months into a blog post. I can't believe that she is 19 months. It really blows my mind of how quickly it is going.  So let's start at the very beginning... it's  a very good place to start.... (my musical loving friends are finishing that song in their head right now:)

Evelynn Joy DeCoster
8lbs 6 oz 20inches long (a tiny baby- anything under 9lbs is tiny)
born at 11:29 AM
Shreveport, LA

 

I was fully expecting to have another dark headed baby but was surprised when she was born semi bald and blond(the foreshadowing of looking like daddy:).

 

 

 

Roger is still holding out for a boy one day.. but oh how he loves his girls.

 

 

Emma was so kind to give Evie a baby Minnie Mouse... lucky for Emma she in return received her beloved pink Minnie from new sister. I have so many cute sister pictures but I think that will have to be another blog in itself.

 

 

So sweet Evie came home to get loved on by the waves of family that trickled through Shreveport LA. She had a little bit of jaundice but thankfully it was still warm in October so she could sun bath everyday.

 

 

Sweet Halloween Evie. Love the outfit, Hate the bow! That was my first and last attempt at making a bow. It's not for me.. at least not without someone showing me the right way to make one.

 

 

Baby Dedication!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I remember thinking that Evie was such a laid back baby... that she was going to be my "really easy" child.  I now realize that of course she seemed laid back... she couldn't move... immobility seems very laid back when you are chasing after a extremely busy 2 year old.  Evie quickly showed bits of her personality through the next few months. Below are a few of the reasons I love Evie Joy.

 

Evie is a MOMMA'S GIRL

 

   

 

Evie's obsession with momma was at first very flattering... I mean who doesn't want to be loved.  Although, I think part of her love for momma was in reality the love of  her "having her way... the way she liked it and with as little change as possible." Evie took probably 5 bottles her entire life.. .the other attempts left everyone red faced and angry;) Don't get me wrong, Evie loves her daddy but it took her probably a good 9 months before she REALLY warmed up to him:)  So to keep all family members  happy, for the first year of her life, Evie and momma were never apart for more than an hour or so

 

 

Blond Hair! Blue Eyes! Oh My!

 

 

A girl version of Roger to be sure! It still amazes me to see how God made Evie. Blond hair and eyebrows and eyelashes. When people see me holding her they usually say... "she must look like her daddy."

 

 

My Observer

 

For so long Evie seemed very serious and did not smile unless she deemed the situation funny enough to smile. She has always been extremely observant of her world. Evie's world is mainly invaded by a loud 3 year old...otherwise know as "Sissie".  All those months of watching Emma do her thing and Evie is ready now to conquer this world.

Couldn't quite make it go... but heaven forbid help this child..she can do it herself! (It was a very frustrating bike ride for her) 

 

She has mastered the art of taking care of babies. Emma has taught her well.

 

 

For the Love of Fingers

 

Every parent has a child that makes them say "really? that's weird but I still love you." I can't remember when she started sucking on her two middle fingers (I should have been blogging), but I rarely see her without her beloved fingers in her mouth. They are her comfort.  When she is really comfortable she will rub her nose with the available pointer finger.

Not only are the fingers a source of comfort for Evie Joy, but they are a great place for storing things. She prefers to place many items in between her finger and nose including: food, trash, flowers, crayons, markers.... the list really good go on a long time.  - she makes us laugh

Evie's half eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

 

But every now and then I see Evie's real smile without those precious fingers in place.

I can't wait to watch Evie grow and change the next few years! It happens so fast and I am glad I can use this blog to help capture those moments! Evie Joy you are a precious gift from my Father and I hope to show you that every day!