To start a blog...

Since we moved to CO a year ago I've contemplated starting a blog to keep friends and family updated on our life. I gave up on the idea since I am not the best writer and we are not very interesting. However, since Micah's diagnosis I revisited the idea and decided that a blog is easier than emails. We want friends and family to know what is going on in our lives. Another reason I never started a blog was I couldn't come up with a title. So now that I needed to pick one I based it on Psalm 28:7, The Lord strengthens and protects me, I trust in Him with all of my heart. Our life is an open book and we want our journey to be a testimony to God's greatness. So this blog is the story of our life, living for Him. I hope that our story can be encouraging to others and that we can build our community of prayer partners through this blog.

Now then, I have a whole lot to catch up on since it took me a year to start this thing!

September 2013, Tim and I welcomed our second baby, little Mr. Micah Robert. He was adorable and perfect but we quickly realized we could not afford to raise two babies without a change. While holding a 3 week old baby, Tim asked me if he could apply for a job in Denver CO and only by the strength of God, I agreed. In a huge whirl wind of craziness, trusting God had some sort of plan, 2 months later we had rented out our house in PA and were moved into our house in CO. We moved 1400 miles from everyone we knew with our 3 month old and 20 month old.

In those few weeks Micah had become a very colicky baby. He did not sleep more than 2 hours at a time, he nursed constantly, had reflux and a milk protein intolerance. I swear I only survived those first few, long and lonely, months in CO by Gods will (and my friend Jen!). I forced us getting settled by quickly unpacking and getting involved in bible study and MOPS at our church as soon as possible. By summer we had made friends and were feeling connected. We started a community group through our church and made great friends with one of our neighbors. Micah out grew his milk protein intolerance and I stopped nursing, though he still didn't sleep totally through the night (or to my standard of "night"). Micah's pediatrician kept telling us to let him cry it out, but it was so hard for me. Not only because this kid has some strong lungs and can scream, but we never had to let Ben cry it out and it was like a knife in my mommy heart. But I needed sleep. I am a sleeper, one of those people who needs 9 hours a night or I am not a happy camper. Needless to say I hadn't been a happy camper in a very long time, so I resorted to ear plugs and made Tim promise that he would not let the screaming get out of hand. With ear plugs and an amazing husband we all started to get more sleep and my 'sanity*' started coming back. Micah started to be a great sleeper and all was well in the Stocker house hold (even though we are in CO).

*Sanity* Apparently I don't like sanity, or I really don't have any... because that 'sanity' got us talking about having another baby. You know, the kids are healthy and sleeping through the night, I'm not nursing, we have a great community here, we did the whole 2 kids close together once, why not throw another kid in the mix!? I need to say, besides the fact that God was telling us it was time, we have two amazing little boys who are incredible and such great kids that they make it easy to want another. So Tim and I actually decided to try to have a baby number 3...

I'll leave off there for now since from late summer up until now will probably take a few posts.