I went into labor at 35wks-I have to admit I was a bit nervous when they told me this was for real, but at the same time I knew the Lord's timing was everything and if this was the time ordained then so be, we would be ok and would pull through! Turns out they were able to stop the labor and I had to spend time in a hospital far far away from home(not really it was like an hr away, but still farther than I would have liked to have been). When I was sent home I got put on bed rest, so guess what this started my maternity leave 4 wks earlier than we were planning, and we were barely budgeted for me taking 6wks off, now I have 10wks off and was missing those last 4wks of pay which we were really counting on.
Now to the good points:
* I got to see my church family in action-they stepped right up to the plate when I called the youth pastor and told him we were going to need someone to watch Elijah last minute because I was being rushed away!
* We got to see God provide in miraculous and marvelous ways through our family and friends and so far have not had to touch our savings to account for the missed work!
*We got to see some family-Greg's mother and brother came down to help us, since we thought baby was coming early. We got to spend two weeks in fellowship with them and it was so refreshing. They also pampered me by spending so much time taking care of Elijah, cooking, cleaning, and helping to get my kitchen here before baby arrived!
* We got to spend 4 wks together as a family before our newest addition arrived. It was a time of great revival and renewal for me since Greg and I had worked opposite shifts for over a year so one of us was always home with Elijah.
*Elijah got a lot of last minute attention before he was no longer king of the house! Haha-although he seems to like his baby sister quite a bit.
*We got to see that when you pick a name that means In the Lord's Timing-HE is GOING to prove it!!
So now for the part of my maternity leave that happened after she arrived! She arrived April 6th, via C-section. Now I had one with Elijah so I wasn't really nervous about how it was going to go, but I will admit I was a bit worried about what would happen after the fact. Our family had already come out, so now we were going to have a new baby with me just having major surgery and a baby still at home! YIKES! I prayed very hard every day leading up to the birth that things would fall into place and be taken care of both on a financial aspect and for help taking care of Elijah. (I couldn't lift anything over 10lbs and he is 26lbs and not walking!)
The good points:
*We got to watch God carefully ordain everything again!
*Our church family was amazing yet again-Someone came to help me during the day with Elijah and others brought us meals. Can I just say they are absolutely amazing and we couldn't have done it without them.
*A wonderful lady and friend from work came by everyday when she got off and helped me out in the afternoons until Greg got home. She also started teaching me how to garden(something I really wanted to learn well) A blessing in disguise that I definitely wasn't expecting!
*6 more weeks of family time! It has been so amazing to watch Elijah interact with his new sister and to help us form some what of a routine with our new little one-which is still changing since she is still young!
*I got a much needed, longer than expected break from a stressful job-and now I think they appreciate me a bit more! -Always a good thing in my book! (I will say the did appreciate me before as well-I think haha)
* My dad came down and stayed for a week, he helped with the kiddos, did the dishes and he helped me plant a garden(something I had been praying we would be able to do this year, I love the unexpected blessings!)
I have seen God work in so many amazing ways during this maternity leave that it is absolutely amazing. I can say with more confidence than ever that he works all things together for the good of those who love him! I know there are more blessings that I am forgetting to list and maybe I will come back and add them, but this was getting long. I am blessed beyond measure and completely treasured my time with my family, and although I am sad to go back to work I know it is what must be done at this point in our lives. Until then I continue to pray that one day I will get to stay home with my family all day, but until then I will remain content and confident that I am where God wants me at this point in time.
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