Harry's Birth

Still haven't downloaded pics from Murfreesboro due to spring cleaning. It's been a great week for this and I've enjoyed it. I have to say that I have a ton of trash that needs to be carried off on the deck and a ton of other things I need to donate to Goodwill or Salvation Army. If the Salvation Army will pick it up, that's where it's going.
Hannah and Harry have been with mom all week and both got sick with sinus junk on Monday. Harrison did good after a couple of days, but Hannah is still sick. I have an appointment for her tomorrow morning, but she said she doubted she'll need to go so we'll see about that in the morning.
Anyway, other than my babes being sick it has been a productive week, I think. i am ready for them to return home. I've missed them!
~~~~~
Anonymous requested to hear about Harry's birth and start to life, so here it is....

I had an early morning appointment April 10, 2000. When I got there, my entire body was swelled up and my vision was as though i was looking at things under water. I had a splitting headache and felt miserable. Just six more weeks to go and I'd be better. Wait...six whole weeks? 'Fraid so.
I had only been in the examination room for a few minutes when the doctor came in. She shut the door, turned the light out, with the exception of a small lamp, and told me to lie down. I remember thinking, "Well, this is new."
She told me that my blood pressure was so high she didn't want me to move and that we were going to have a baby today. That two nurses were coming in to dress me and take me over to the hospital, which was attached to my OB office. So they dressed me, lifted me into a wheel chair, and off we went. My husband and older two children following behind me as I cried all the way to my room.
After several hours of monitoring, they put me in an ambulance and took me to Carolina Medical Center in Charlotte. When I got there, there were five doctors waiting for me, each with their own little staff of nurses.
Last I heard, my blood pressure had reached 271 over 248. I have no idea if it got higher than that and, quite frankly, I really don't want to know.
One by one, the doctors came in for an ultra sound and each one had the same disturbed look on their faces as they viewed the monitor. Their eyes would become increasingly larger and their neck would extend as though they were trying to figure out, just what in the world, they were looking at. That wasn't scary at all. (rolling eyes.)
To be honest, that's about all I remember, except when they first rolled me into my room, my daddy had already beat the ambulance there and was sitting in a chair in my room waiting for me and praying. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing this was one time he took advantage of having a car with blue lights and sirens.
They had me on so many drugs I don't remember a whole lot of Harrison's birth except them waking me up every now and then to push. Bruce's face was the first one I'd see when I opened my eyes and he would always whisper he loved me before I would go back out.
When Harrison was finally born I did wake up and beg Bruce to follow him out. His lungs weren't fully developed yet and his little cry was so weak. But they wouldn't let Bruce back until they were finished doing what they had to do to him.
Six weeks early, and my preemie weighed more than I did when I was born on time. He was six pounds, nine ounces. If I had gone six more weeks, he would have been huge. He was the biggest baby in the NICU. I remember looking at him next to the tiniest little people I had ever seen and thinking what a miracle each and every one of them were!

For days my vision was horrible and, from what my mother, former pastor, and Bruce said, my face was pretty well distorted from the medications I was on. I couldn't see to make my way down the corridors from my room to the NICU. My mom was taking care of older two children, daddy had to work, Bruce had to work, and my in laws had gone on vacation a day or so after he was born. So, needless to say, I was by myself and no way to get to my baby without the help of bothering nurses, who were already short handed. Most days I would just lay in my bed and cry for him. I wanted to be with him so bad. I think that time in my life was the absolute loneliest time in my life. Bruce would come up in the evenings after working fourteen hour shifts and I would be so happy when he walked through that door to take me to see my baby.
The next hardest thing we had to do was leave our baby at the hospital and come home over forty-five minutes away from him. That was the quietest ride home and I think we both cried all the way as we held hands.
He had some really tough nights and turns. It was like a roller coaster ride. One day he would be doing marvelous and the next we would get a call that he had a bad time of something and they had to do "this" for him. It was scary and I still couldn't drive yet to get to him. Bruce was supervising and his time of leave wasn't up for a few more weeks. It was HORRIBLE! But then we got a call from the hospital and they wanted to see us. So we went up and they had moved him from NICU to another nursery. He was doing very good. We were happy. He looked wonderful laying there without all those tubes. It was nice to be able to pick him up without permission.
After several days there, we got another call that he was ready to come home. So while Bruce was working, mom drove me to the hospital and we picked up my baby boy to bring him home. I was thrilled to be sitting in the rocking chair facing the front door. When Bruce walked in, we were the first ones he saw and he smiled from ear to ear, knelt down beside us and we cried a little bit again.
By the way, I had lost fifty three pounds within three days after his birth. That's how much swelling I had. The troubled looks on the doctor's faces was because my placenta, which should have weighed, on average, four pounds, ended up weighing four times that. Yep, a whopping sixteen pounds. They had never seen that before. This was one of the reasons I had to have him naturally and they refused a C-section. They really weren't sure what it was. But it was completely covered in blood clots and calcium deposits. They were amazed that Harrison had survived as long as he did in the womb and that neither of us had died. God. was. good.
~~~~~
Around six months, I believe it was, he came down with the Rotovirus. For thirteen solid weeks, my baby lay lifeless on my chest. I thought he would surely die in my arms. I had him to the doctor several times and each time they told me to take him home and keep doing what I was doing. So I did. I would pump him with pedia lite to keep him from becoming dehydrated. I bought every flavor/color they had and alternated between feedings. No sooner would he begin to drink the orange flavored, his diaper would be filled with orange color. The same went with all the colors. It was crazy. Without him being sick, we went through forty-two diapers a week. During those thirteen weeks, he was going through approximately five times that much. We were changing his diaper every thirty minutes to an hour. He was such a sick little guy. But God saw him through that. He had literally spent thirteen weeks with me holding him in my arms, sitting in a chair. Then one morning, he looked up and just felt better. I was so glad that ordeal was finally over.
~~~~~
When he was in the hospital after he was born, there were some things they found and he did require surgery around eight months. This was another ordeal this mama could have done without. The thought of him going into surgery, for what he was going in for, was very frightening for me. It was a long several hours that day and I was never so glad to see him wake up and smile.
~~~~~
So Harrison's first year was a rough start. But he sure has made up for it, let me tell ya! What a character he is. God brought him through all these things that first year and I know He has something very special for Harrison. He's a special person and I can't wait to see what the future holds for my baby boy. Well, he's not much of a baby anymore. But you know what I mean.

Love, Love, Love, Love....

Love comes in all different forms. Husband to wife, parent to child, grandparents to grandchild, friend to friend. It doesn't matter how you share it, so long as it's shared. Valentine's Day is more than just me and my sweetheart. Although, without him, it would not be the same.

We celebrated Friday night by going out to dinner, exchanging gifts, and doing some other things uptown, enjoying the holiday a few days early.

This morning, the children woke up to a valentine card and a box of chocolates for each of them. Harrison was very eager to pass out his valentine cards to the family, but also eager to open his box of chocolates. LOL

Bruce took last night off from work. We had decided to pay our mothers a visit and spread the love around, so to speak. :) But before we went to see them, we stopped at one of our favorite Mexican Restaurants, Los Arcos. We exchanged cards. I gave Bruce one of his favorite candy bars. Are Reece's cups considered a candy bar? They're round. So what would they be classified under? You tell me.


Bruce has written me some of the most BEAUTIFUL poems over the years. I always look for his poems first thing and if he doesn't write one, I am genuinely disappointed. He did write me one for Valentine's Day and it was so sweet!


After lunch we visited with our moms. We took them a Valentine card and some Calla Lilies. I thought they were so pretty. We had some nice visits. When Bruce and I got home, he got in bed to rest before going to work tonight, while I picked up Hannah and Harrison to take them to see their grandmothers. So all in all, I think our mothers had a hard time feeling too lonely. I am sure, though, that their sweethearts were on their minds all day.


These are the pretty calla lilies we got our moms.

I love you mom! I love you, Marie! Y'all are the best moms ever!! We had a good time visiting with you and hope you had a good time with us too! :) Happy Valentine's Day.

Inquiring Minds Still Wanna Know....

I received another question from "Anonymous" and then a similar question from another "Anonymous" on how I feel about courtship and a quiverful of children. Thanks again, to both of you for being nice in your asking.

Here were the questions:

#1 Kristi, thank you for answering my questions.
I do have one more, if that's all right.
How do you feel about courtship vs dating? Do you believe it is a sin for a dating couple to hold hands or kiss before they are married?

#2 Hi Kristi,
As someone who was not raised in the Christian faith I have wondered what your feelings are on the following issues (if you do not answer I totally understand) but hope you don't mind me asking. The first is, as a fundamental Christian, what is your view on those Christians who are Quiverful? The second is, what are your feelings on dating and "courting"? Do you allow your children to date, or should they be courting someone before they marry them? For clarification, my understanding of "courting" is that you do not spend time alone with the other person, a chaperon needs to be present (but if I am mistaken please feel free to "set me straight". Also, did you date your husband or did you court him before you both got married? One final question, do you follow the belief that your children should remain at home until they get married? Thank you for reading my comment. Although I was not raised in the Christian faith, I was not allowed to date while I was living with my parents. For myself personally, I can see advantages and disadvantages to both dating and courting. As for the Quiverful issue, I have mixed feelings about it, while I am not totally against those who believe that way, I have to honestly say I do not totally support it 100 percent either.

These are sensitive subjects for some Christians so I want to make sure my answers are respectful of them.

First of all, yes, my husband and I dated, if you can call it that. We met a few weeks before he left for the military, so we got to know each other, mainly, through letters and phone calls. When he would come home we would date. For our own family we do allow dating. Although I feel we are still treading water in that area, seeing our oldest is the only one allowed to date at this time. So far, his dates have either been chaperoned, at church gatherings, or a group thing. He was and is so focused on school, work, and the academy he hasn't really had time for dating. That's why I still feel we're treading water. I'm sure he has held hands, snuck a kiss...or two...but I don't think it is a sin. Most Christians that do courtship, fall back on I Corinthians 7:1, "Now concerning the things you wrote unto me: it is good for a man not to touch a woman." This verse is not a commandment, but rather a warning. The chapter goes on to say that the reason it is good not to touch, is because one thing can lead to another and that, as Christians, we need to be careful what we do that can lead to sin. The marriage bed is the only bed that is undefiled. The Bible is clear about fornication, so we need to guard ourselves against it and it is important to teach our children that. On the subject of courtship, I support any family that does it the right way. I've seen it work in the lives of other blog friends and also friends we know in person. The way it has been done has been a blessing to watch and it is even more of a blessing to see how successful it has been in their marriages. I think it falls under family government, rather than Biblical command. I am for courtship and support families that do it.

Do I believe children should remain home until they marry? Not necessarily. I think that falls under training our children again. If we train them to be hard workers, save their money, and be responsible with paying their bills, and seeking God's will for the right spouse, I have no doubt they'll be fine should they decide to leave home as a young adult. I would like to see my children be responsible in those areas before they do leave home, so it's up to me and their dad to make sure they understand the importance of a dollar. This moving in and out of the home, back and forth, in and out, shows a failure somewhere. I understand that things happen and sometimes children have to come home, but when parents have not taught responsibility in these areas it can only lead to chaos. Personally, I would like to have time alone with my husband and see my children responsible enough to be on their own and have happy families of their own, visiting for birthdays and holidays, and Sunday lunch. Not moving in and out and in and out because they're irresponsible and too immature to know better. For dating, courtship, leaving home, and anything else in their children's lives, Christian parents should rely, but not neglect the training part of Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it."

What are my views on Christians who are quiverful? I LOVE THEM! I was raised an IFB fundamentalist and have been steeped in fundamental families. I don't recall my parents ever discussing the whole quiverful issue. My dad was a graduate of Bob Jones and at the time he was in school it was a very fundamentaist University. Not so much now. But even then I don't recall hearing them discuss having lots of children. It wasn't until I was an adult and married on my own that I even heard the term quiverful. To be honest, I only know a few families that actually trust God enough to decide how many children they have. Are you familiar with the Duggars? I love to watch their show 19 Kids and Counting, but they are not the norm for modern Christian Fundamentalists. The largest families I know personally have six children. Bruce and I wanted more children, but because of difficulties with our third child that could have resulted in one or both of us dying, we decided that three was our quiverful. :) God knew that if one, or even two doctors, had told us not to have anymore, I probably would have anyway. But God wanted to make it clear to me and had EIGHT doctors tell me not to have anymore children. I admit I was devastated. But, I prayed and asked the Lord to remove that desire from me if it was not His will for me to have anymore and He did remove it. But I also admit that I am looking forward to spoiling grandchildren when that time comes. I can tell you right now, it's going to be very bad. I will be happy to spoil them rotten and send them home. I am not in any hurry, but I do look forward to grand parenting one day, because every child is a sweet blessing from the Lord. Psalm 127:3 "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward."

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know

Here is a question that came the other day from anonymous. After the whole email ordeal I've been more careful about anonymous comments, facebook friend requests, etc. But I decided to answer this comment anyway.

"I like your blog and have followed for a while but sometimes I get confused about where you stand as a fundamentalist. Could you clear that up for us about where you stand on skirts, Bible translations, racism, head coverings, submission, home schooling, home church and anything else that may be associated with fundies? And do you work? If not, how do you feel about women that work outside the home?"

I had no idea I was so confusing, but yes, anonymous, because you were kind in your comment I will answer your question.....or questions. :)

First of all, thank you for stopping by and for leaving a comment.

Am I a fundamentalist?>>>>>>>> YES! I am. I am not a fundamentalist because of the crowd I run with, but rather because I believe in the fundamentals of the Bible.

I usually do not like that term. Mainly because it is associated with so many things now days. Mainstream fundamentalist are labeled this simply because they have different standards and ways of life that the rest of the world just can not understand. Then you have the extreme fundamentals that blow up abortion clinics or the twin towers, for their "cause." I also shiver at being called an IFB Fundamentalist because we tend to club each other over the head on issues, which makes us all look like a bunch of idiots. We tend to forget what the main goal of Christianity is, and that is winning souls to Christ.

I am an Independent Fundamental Baptist, or IFB.

I am KJV only. I believe the King James Bible is the only correct translation for ENGLISH speaking people. There are many that believe it should be for all languages, but it is not. Do I believe a person can be saved reading another version? Yes, I do. Some that run in the IFB circle say that it is impossible. But God is not limited to a version of the Bible and therefore, if He chooses to use another version to speak to the heart of the unsaved who is searching for salvation, I believe He can and will. But the KJV is for me. I do not own another version. I do not want another version. We do not believe the KJV will take us to Heaven. It's whether or not you believe in Jesus Christ and have accepted Him as your Savior. That is the most important thing. I won't argue over the KJV. For one thing I have never seen anything positive come of it. You won't find me on forums that debate it or passing emails to someone. I think that sometimes fundamentalists get so caught up in fighting their standard that the vision to win souls is lost.
"For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in Heaven." Psalm 119:89

Skirts. I like 'em. I've said it several times here at Thimble Thoughts that the Bible is clear on working out our own salvation. God knows areas in our lives where we need more help than someone else does. And in the area of how a lady should dress, the Lord knew my weaknesses. Do I believe you have to wear jumpers everywhere so people aren't sure if you're coming or going or skirts clear down to the ankles to where your toes are barely sticking out? No. And I have skirts that are knee length, but I do prefer the longer skirts. Bruce wouldn't care if he came out today and saw me in a pair of pants. He probably wouldn't even blink. It's my decision and my conviction and it was made between God and me. Some of the Godliest women in my life wear pants. Am I Godlier than them because I don't? Absolutely not. It's just something that God and I worked out together in my own salvation. I do believe in modesty. There are many ways to define it. And that is a WHOLE other blog post. LOL
"In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety: not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;" 1 Timothy 2:9


Racism. It does not fit in with my type of fundamentalism. So to answer the question, I'm against it. Red, and yellow, black, and white, they are precious in His sight. God is not a respecter of persons. Every soul is precious. The "whosoever will" is not just for the white, IFB Christian, and we are told in Matthew 28 to go out into all the world, preaching the gospel and baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons." Acts 10:34

Head coverings. I really don't have any thoughts on head coverings, except I have never thought a lady needed one to show submission to her husband. The Bible is clear that our hair is our covering. I don't think our hair has to be clear down to our waist though, either. Not that I mind it. As a matter of fact, if Hannah's hair wasn't so thick and heavy she would have it. And if mine would grow nicely past my shoulders, so would I. Back to coverings... I've never known anyone in person that uses a head covering. I have seen some other bloggy friends use them though. Again, I believe that is an area where you have to work out your own salvation. If you think God would have you cover your head with something other than your hair, then cover away. But I can't find anywhere in Scripture where we need to do that. Therefore, I do not use head coverings and God has never dealt with me about that.
"But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering." I Corinthians 11:15

Submission. Oh me. This is such a broad topic with so many different views. I do believe God set up a chain of command for the home. From top to bottom is God, the husband, the wife, the children. Children obey the parents, wife obeys the husband, and husband obeys God. But the Bible also says that the husband is to love the wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. I have seen marriages where the husband likes to spout off the submission verses, but tends to skip over the whole love your wife part. And vice versa, actually. In our home, I believe Bruce has the final say in everything, but fortunately, Bruce isn't the type that believes he HAS to have the final say in everything. We talk and discuss things, weigh our pros and cons, and make decisions together. But if there is a decision made and I disagree with it, I let him know I disagree, but I won't fight with him over it. See, I don't have to give an account for the decisions he makes in our home. I'll only be accountable for how I respond. I heard someone at a ladies meeting say one time, "Submission is 1% action and 99% attitude." And that's what I believe. As my Pastor has said before, anything with two heads is a monster.
"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is head of the church: and he is saviour of the body." Ephesians 5:23

Homeschooling. We homeschool our children. I use to think that homeschooling was for everyone and was somewhat of a homeschool snob. But God showed me early on in my homeschooling endeavors that good kids come from Christian schools and public schools too and my kids have formed some tremendous friendships with children from all types of educational backgrounds. For us, homeschooling is certainly a conviction and I try to encourage and help those that are getting started just like a friend of mine helped me. Most people want to know, first thing, where we stand on socialization. We're for it! I don't believe we have to keep our kids away from every person that does not think like us. Giving them opportunity to socialize can be a great way of training them in everyday situations that they will encounter later and when we're not around for them to ask us how they should handle it. Usually when something happens, we always sit down as a family and discuss it, go over from a social standpoint and a Biblical standpoint of why or why not what happened was wrong or right.
"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuteronomy 6:7

Home church. I had never heard of home churches until a couple of years ago. I really didn't know what to think of it, but after searching the Scriptures I can't see where it is Biblical. I understand that the reasoning behind it is because the first churches were started in the homes. And that's great and all, but God set up the church to be distinct and laid out a specific plan and order for how the church was to be set up. I could be wrong, but from what I have seen in home churches, it's more like a big Bible study where there is no real Pastor, but the men take turns giving the Bible lessons. As it stands right now, I do not believe in home churches or that they are ordained of God. If people want to get together for Bible studies, that's great, but we should all be a part of a local church, which is set up in God's design. Again, there was a reason God designed the church the way He did and established the under shepherd, which is the PASTOR. You can study on all of that in I Timothy, II Timothy, Titus, and Acts.

Do I work? I have not worked outside the home in fifteen years. I am currently trying to start a photography business. So far it is going good. I think I've come a pretty good way since I started just taking pictures. I still have some things to learn. I'm reading more and watching tutorials and I hope that the business takes off because I love it. Because we homeschool, it is a way to, not only earn a small income, but it's something I can work around our schedules. Even the Proverbs 31 woman worked to help earn for her family. On top of loving to take photographs, I like to see the look on people's faces when they love their pictures. I also clean a house every other week. I've been doing that since sometime in September.
"She maketh fine linen and selleth it; and delivereth girdles to the merchant." Proverbs 31:24

No, I do not have a problem with women that work outside the home. My mother worked when I was growing up, but she was always home before we left for school and she was home when we got home from school. So I know she worked, but I don't remember having a "working mom", if that makes sense. Once we were all grown, she took a job as internal auditor for a company based in Savannah, Georgia. She traveled Monday through Friday across the Eastern US, and came home for the weekend. She loved it. I did not love it, but only because I worried for her safety. My dad missed her through the week, but he was fine with her working and when he would have time off or if she had to work through the weekend, he would go with her or drive to wherever she was. If daddy had not wanted her to take the job, she wouldn't have. She seemed to always be able to balance being a Godly mom and wife, who also happened to work outside the home. She was a great example to me in that area and I can respect the many Christian women in my life that continue to keep their home and work outside of it too. The Bible says that we, women, are to be keepers at home. I think as long as you're able to work outside the home, without neglecting the role God laid out for you as a keeper at home, there is nothing wrong with working outside the home.
"To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." Titus 2:5

I can't think of anything else about "fundies" that you would want to know. But you're always welcome to ask. Thank you again, Anonymous. I hope this answers some of your questions and you are less confused about where I stand as a fundamentalist.