new jeans

Well Google Friend Connect decided to be a booger so I had to start that over. So if you were following me through it, you aren't following the new blog.

So head on over to everday evans and follow me. Again. If you want to.

LOVE my new blog. SUCH a pain though. It's like breaking in a new pair of jeans. The old ones were so comfy but full of holes...the new ones are pretty but need to be washed 1000 more times...

time to say goodbye

Goodbye old blog, hello new one! Head on over guys, but remember, it's like I just moved in to my new house so there are probably a lot of unpacked boxes. Ignore the mess and enjoy it for what it is right now ;)

tomorrow, tomorrow!

Let's start this new blog switch over right with 20 Everyday Evans points to whomever can name that tune the fastest!

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY! Remember to switch your blog rolls, update bookmarks and RSS feeds to

www.everydayevans.com

I'm a little sad to see this blog go. It's like owning your first house! I learned a lot about me, writing, and God through this little place. And I got to meet all of YOU! So prettyprettypleasewithacherryontop come follow me again, I don't want to lose you!

I guess you are expecting a knock out post for tomorrow...which means I need to get to writing... ;)

i'm so excited and i just can't hide it

Sooooooooooo...

As of Sunday afternoon, August 28, 2011, Reach In, Reach Out, Reach Up will cease to exist. Ok, not really. That was a little dramatic. But I won't be blogging under that name any longer. I told you a while ago that ch ch ch changes were coming and I meant it!

My new domain:

Everyday Evans

You clicked that link expecting big things, didn't you? Well sorry to disappoint, but no sneak previews here. You must wait your turn like everyone else ;)

Ok here's just a little preview:



Seriously though, I don't want to lose any of you in the change-over, so make sure you update your bookmarks or RSS feed. After Sunday make sure you follow www.everydayevans.com. Google Connect will be ready and waiting for you! Also, starting sometime next week (according to my supernerdysogladheistechsavvy husband) we will be forwarding Reach In, Reach Out, Reach Up to Everyday Evans. So one way or another, Imma getcha there!

SO EXCITED!

More to come...stay tuned!

oh how pinteresting

It's my new addiction.

Pinterest.

Hours of enjoyment totally useful fun! Join, pin, follow, love.

things we all do

I just found this site

Things We All Do

...and wasted a LOT of time. It's way fun. Please find #232 and #143. Yup that's me. And because it's fun to call out your spouse, Eric is #183.

the awkward silence

While in the midst of infertility, there are a few questions you dread someone asking. Conversations start normally and innocently enough, and then they always end the same.

"So how long have you been married?"
Five years of bliss.

"Oh wow! Do you have any children?"
Not yet. Yes, but he/she is in heaven.

"What do you do?"
I am a math tutor for high school students at Bright and Beautiful Learning Center.

"Why don't you work full time?"
God has put it on mine and my husband's heart for me to work part time right now. Why don't you mind your own and stop giving me that judgmental look?

Awkward silence. Subject change.

It may seem like the worst question for infertile me is the one about children. It's not. I know that one is coming, and even though I feel a strong desire to answer yes to that question sometimes, I know the path of least resistance is a simple "not yet." I'm not technically lying, since I know that in their mind they are really asking the question "Do you have any living children?" even if they don't realize it. No one asks the question expecting me to tell them of my heaven-born baby. So I give them an out before they even know they need it.

No, the hard question is the last one. It's the one I don't often expect coupled with a look of "why would this childless woman only work part time?" As if the only two categories for married women are full time work or full time stay at home mom. My inbetweenness throws them off.

I feel the need to answer the mental questions I can see them asking me in that awkward silence.

Yes, originally I stopped working full time with every intention of becoming a mother. No, two years after quitting my teaching job that still hasn't happened. Also, no, I don't feel like we heard wrongly from God. I fully believe that what I have been doing for the past two years has been exactly God's plan for my life. I could list all the ways my husband and I have been blessed by it. I could list all the opportunities I have had because of my part time status. Just as easily, I could list all the ways people have tried to take advantage of it, or scorned it.

The point is, my identity has nothing to do with people. It has nothing to do with my job, full time or not. It has nothing to do with whether I have seven children or none. My identity is in Christ Jesus. My self-worth comes from the love and forgiveness I have received from Him. My purpose in life is to glorify God in all I do (or don't do, if that is the case.)

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.- 1 Corinthians 10:31

It's so easy to judge someone you have just met. It's even easy to judge someone you have been acquainted with for years, but haven't known. It's not easy to judge when you learn the heart of a person. I'm not saying I have this concept down, I don't. But in the many (painful) lessons the Lord has taught me on this infertility journey, this is one I will cherish most.

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7

doppleganger of yore

So remember my doppleganger post? Guess what! I have another one, except she is from my past. Well, not technically. She is in the present but my doppleganger is from the past!

She's flippin cute too, if I do say so myself. Meet mini-me:




Oh and here I am about 3 years old (insert awwwwwwww here):
Similar, no? I showed my mom and she confirmed it. She also said that the eeriest part is how serious she is...I might have been a little serious as a child.Where did that go?

this really cool blog

Stop on over to my one and only's blog:

Everything Matters Today

He has really amped things up over there ;) Also, his may or may not be an indicator of the direction my little blog will be taking!

before and after

I had started to realize that I viewed my life in two parts: before we lost our child, and after we lost our child.

Everything in my world was shaken to the core. My ability to make decisions had gone out the window. I didn't trust anything I said or did to be a part of God's plan for me.

You see, before our loss I was sure.
I was sure about adoption.
I was sure about a sibling group.
I was sure about going through foster care.
I was sure about being ok with not being pregnant, or having a biological child.
I was sure.

After our loss I was uncertain.
I was uncertain that I wanted to adopt.
I was uncertain that I wanted a sibling group.
I was uncertain about going through foster care.
I was uncertain if I ever wanted to become pregnant again, or have a biological child.

Before and after.

The truth is, my life is partitioned into two parts. I was just wrong about the event in which my life was divided.


If you want to read the rest, please go over to Held where I am guest posting today.