Stage Sister
I know that most of you have probably heard of a “Stage Mom”, but what about a stage sister? If there is such a thing, then I am proudly one of them! It all started with my younger brother, Matthew during my senior year in high school when he was given the opportunity to be one of the select younger kids that took part in the high school musical “Joseph And The Technicolor Dream Coat”. My sister and I always took dance classes and would sing at church when we were growing up, but Matthew, he never had stage fright and has a love for the performing arts. I will never forget the very first time that Matthew appeared on Findlay High Schools stage with V.I.P. , the freshman show choir. Oh my goodness! He was grinning from ear to ear. I remember my mom and I chuckling about his goofy grin and how he just could not stop smiling, he was beside himself with joy. Nicholas is just as talented also, but for the most part, always wants to do the complete opposite of what Matthew does. Mom knew how talented he was and really hoped that he would decide to try out for V.I.P. his freshman year. Mom begged and begged some more for him to at least just try out. Finally, mom broke down and bribed him with a new video game (she was desperate). Now she was talking his language! Once his freshman year was over with V.I.P. he decided that showchoir was something that he actually enjoyed doing and decided to go out for FFE and made it.
One of my moms greatest joys was going to watch the boys perform. She never missed a competition or a show. She was always there with her red FFE sweater that was monogrammed with the boys’ names on it and had on her button with their picture so everyone could see what a proud mom she was. I have only ever gone to two of their competitions with her, but rarely missed an opportunity to watch them perform here at home. I also traveled with my mom and grandma to Nashville and NYC the past two years to go to their national competitions which was the most fun!
Well, today is the beginning of FFE’s 09-10 competition season in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. So, I will be making the hour and a half journey to Ft. Wayne this afternoon dressed in my very own red FFE hoodie with monogrammed names, and proudly sporting my button with Matthew and Nicholas’ handsome faces (although Matthew is now an alumni). I will chant “FFE! FFE! FFE!” when the time comes for them to take the stage and I will feel such pride when I see Nicholas up there and know that our mom is probably boasting to all her friends in Heaven “That’s my baby! Isn’t he great?” I love being a “Stage Sister”! I feel such pride when it comes to my “baby” brothers that I can not even imagine what a lunatic I will be when it comes to my own kids someday.
I love you so much Matthew and Nicholas!
Mmmmmmmm Meatloaf | Tasty Tuesday
So I don’t really know how many people out there are reading my blog. I am still fairly new to all of this and don’t know that I really have many “followers”, but I have decided to start a new blogging event. If anyone that does read and may have a blog of there own would like to join in, it is now “Tasty Tuesday”. All you have to do is share a recipe. It can be whatever you want. A beverage, salad, entree, dessert, whatever you have that is just down right tasty! But if you don’t have a blog, feel free to join in by coming back every Tuesday for a new recipe to try and also by giving feedback on any recipes that you might try. So here we go! My debut recipe will be my Savory Meatloaf, my husbands very favorite and one of mine also I must admit.
Recipe: Savory Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 2 beaten eggs ¾ c. milk 2/3 c. fine dry breadcrumbs or 2 c. soft bread crumbs 1 small finely chopped onion 2 tsp. dried parsley 1 tsp. salt ½ tsp dried sage, basil or oregano 1 ½ lbs. ground beef ¾ c. catsup 6 Tbsp. brown sugar 3 tsp. dry mustard ¼ c. French fried onions
Instructions
- In a bowl combine eggs and milk; stir in bread crumbs, onion, parsley, salt and sage and 1/8 tsp. black pepper. Add meat; mix well. Lightly pat mixture into an 8×4×2 loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 1 to 1 ¼ hours or until internal temperature reaches 160°. Spoon off excess fat. In a bowl combine catsup, sugar and mustard; spread over meat and then top with French fried onions. Bake for another 15 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
One Year
I can not believe that it has been a year already. One year ago yesterday was the day that my moms brain tumor was discovered and our families world was rocked. I was thinking today how this past year has seemed like the longest year of my life but at the same time the shortest year. I think about where we were and what we were doing a year ago and it feels like it was just last week, it is still so vivid. I will never, ever forget getting the phone call from my younger brother Matthew telling me that they had found a tumor. I was breathless. Cancer happens to other families, not ours. Brain tumors happen to other moms, not my mom. The fifteen minute drive into the hospital from our house was one of the longest drives I would ever make. I didn’t know what to do, so I turned on K-Love and turned it up. I just started listening to the promises in the songs. Prayed, begging God not to do this. The boys NEED mom, I need mom. She has had her trials. Not her, not this time. I reached a point of no return in my personal relationship with God that day. I completely surrendered, giving Him complete control in the situation. I let Him carry me through. He gave me a peace that can only come from Him.
Throughout moms week long hospital stay when I was driving back and forth every day, one song that kept playing on K-Love was Natalie Grants “In Better Hands“. God knew exactly what I needed in those moments and wanted to bless me greatly. I was listening to this same song on Sunday afternoon and it still brings me just as much peace. I love the fact that My God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He never changes. When everything else in my life is pure chaos, He is my constant. When no one else understands my hurt, He does. I love in this song the part of the chorus that says: It’s like the sun is shining, when the rain is pouring down. Oh my gosh! How that thought blesses my heart beyond words! To many, and possibly some of you reading, you may not understand how there can be joy in sorrow. I may seem crazy to you. My faith doesn’t make sense. We were not promised that this life would be an easy one. I know that, my sister and brothers know that and my mom truly knew that as well as many of you may know. But I praise God because even when it is pouring down, I have His love and really, that’s all I need. One of my very favorite verses since I was a teenager has been Acts 20:24 and it reads : “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” This is the purpose for my life. If there have to be storms in my life then I want God to use them in a mighty way. I want to learn from them. I want my love for Jesus to grow deeper and stronger because of them.
Many Blessings,
Emily
Fall, Fall, Fall
I love fall! It is by far my most favorite time of the year. Everything about it makes me down right happy. Football, the colors, smells, tastes and sounds that come with it. I look forward to cooking lots of yummy “comfort food” meals that both Jay and I love that just don’t taste the same unless they are made after September. Now that we have our own family, I love to find new traditions to start with our kids that they will always remember and hopefully pass on to their kids someday. On our first Christmas together after getting engaged, Jay had bought me a cookie cutter collection with over 100 cutters for every occasion that you could possibly imagine! Needless to say, I have never used them. They have been sitting in the box for five and a half years now (poor Jay probably had a bit of a bruised ego). So I decided that it was long overdue that we get them out and put them to good use! My wonderful little helper, Joel, was so excited to help mommy make cookies! Actually, I think that he was more excited to just eat cookies and lick the frosting cup just like any other 2 1/2 year old. We had such a blast making yummy pumpkin cookies together and enjoyed the time spent together as a family even more! I think this will be a yearly Yeater family tradition for years to come!
Joel Patiently waiting for mommy to get everything ready. Sort of….
Caroline was the quality control
Something wasn’t completely to her liking…
MmmmSugar!
Mommy’s GREAT helper!
One Year Ago
I was enjoying becoming a mommy for the 2nd time to our sweet little girl, Caroline Grace. She made her entrance into this world at 9:36 a.m. after 16 and a half long hours of labor and weighed in at 6 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 ¼ in. long. She was everything we imagined her to be and more. I can remember when the doctor first laid her on my chest, the first thing I said was “You look just like your big brother!”.
I woke up the day before she was born on Sunday morning and wasn’t feeling very well. We had decided to not go to church and just take it easy. I had taken a shower and I remember Jay’s mom and cousin stopping by while I was back in the bathroom getting ready and I really started to feel some pain in my lower back so I decided to lay down to take a nap and see if I felt any better. When I woke up around 1:00 the back pain had gotten worse so I decided to call my mom and give her a heads up that today might be the day even though my due date was two weeks away. My mom was nothing short of ecstatic at the idea of Caroline’s arrival. She told me to try and go for a walk to see if it was real or not. I went out and sat on a swing on Joel’s swing set for a little bit then told Jay I was going to take my cell phone with me and take a little walk. By the time that I had made it 3 blocks and came back around I had had 4 contractions in a 10 minute span. I remember that it was so cold and windy that day. I decided to come straight home, not wanting to have my water break while I was out and alone since walking had done that with my labor with Joel. Once I got home, the contractions stopped so we decided not to do anything, thinking maybe it was false labor. I went about doing things around the house and Jay decided to pack his things and get Joel ready and pack the car just in case something happened. Around 4:00 the contractions started back up coming about every 4-5 minutes. I let them go one for an hour before we finally made the decision that it was time to go once they got pretty painful. We called my mom and grandparents to tell them we were headed in and would be dropping Joel off to my grandma and grandpas house and called Jay’s mom to tell her what was going on. We finally made it to the hospital around 5:15 or so and by that point my contractions were relentless and coming about every 45-60 seconds. My nurse, also named Emily, got me all settled and checked me, and we found out that I was 4 cm. As soon as they would let me, I got the epidural. Sweet relief! My mom and two younger brothers came and sat with us in my room. Neither Jay nor I had eaten since breakfast that morning and were both starving so I sent Jay and Matthew out to bring me some Chinese food so I could eat once Caroline was born. Little did I know that wouldn’t be for another 11 hours! My sister, Lindsay, called from Florida to see if Caroline had come yet and when we told her she hadn’t, we decided to all make guesses on what time we thought she would come and how big she would be. Needless to say, we were all off in our guesses. I suppose Caroline wanted us to know that she was running the show and would come when she was ready. After sitting around in my room for a couple hours and not really showing any signs of progress, my mom and brothers decided to go home and get a good night’s rest and come back in the morning.
The next morning I remember waking up around 6:00 or so because my epidural had worn off and I was feeling the intense contractions. When I rolled over in my bed, I saw that it had been snowing and the ground was covered with a light layer. It was so beautiful! Around 7:00 my doctor came in to break my water and told me it wouldn’t be too much longer until we were ready to have a baby. I couldn’t wait! At that point, my arms were aching to hold this new precious baby that I had been waiting so long to see. When it came time to push, the doctor asked me who would be in the room with me. I had always thought that I would never want anyone in the delivery room with me except for my husband. But for some reason I was really feeling like I wanted my mom there and that it would be so special to her since it was her first granddaughter. When I asked my mom if she wanted to stay and be there for Caroline’s birth, she was so excited. I remember Jay being on my right side and helping me with my counting while I pushed and all I could hear was my mom almost squealing with joy and saying “Oh Emmy! Oh Emmy! She’s right there honey! She’s almost here!” Just like Jay and I, my mom’s eyes were filled with tears when she saw Caroline and heard her first cry. I cannot even begin to imagine what she was feeling as she watched her oldest daughter give birth to her first daughter! I am so glad that I asked my mom to share in that experience since that would be one of the final days that we would share together before she got her diagnosis. I believe God was preparing me for what was to come and wanted to bless both my mom and I with this wonderful memory that we would share together. I think about that day all the time.
When Caroline was only 6 days old, my mom went to the ER with what she believed were headaches as a result of high blood pressure. It was a Sunday afternoon when I got the call from my little brother saying that they had done a CAT scan on my mom and found a large tumor on her brain.
Today is a happy day because we celebrate the life of our precious little Caroline. However, I can’t help but feel a little sad because of the things that both Caroline and I have lost. Even though my mom got to meet her, she never really got to know her. My mom loved to babysit Joel and to have sleepovers with him. Caroline will never get that. She will know how much her Mimi loved her because I will tell her all the time, but she will never experience my moms warm, contagious love for herself. Even though Caroline only got 6 days with her Mimi, I praise God because Caroline could not have come at a better time. She was the little miracle that lit up a dim and sad situation and carried us through some tough times. I love you so much my sweet girl!
I love you so much, I love you so much
I can’t even tell you how much I love you
You’re special to me, You’re special to me
I’m so glad to have you as part of my life
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