Mommy Pigg

You really just have to roll with it when you fall madly in love with a man whose last name is Pigg. Ten years of marriage later, hubby and the kiddos (which I refer to as ‘my people’) get a real kick out of calling me Mommy Pigg. So here I am in all my Mommy Pigg glory.

How did I get here? You know that girl with whole heart? We were freshman year college roommates! Oh girl, how did we get here? I am crazy honored that she asked me to blog for you all!

The journey: After college I got married, became a school counselor, and had three sweet boys. My life journey thus far has included many seasons; joy, sorrow, relief, longing, calmness, and wild. We walked alongside my sister-in-law through a 20 month battle with cancer that ended with her joyously meeting our Lord. We lost a baby to miscarriage but had three healthy boys. We made two major moves and started over with friendships, churches, and jobs. I talk a lot about seasons and believe that they are a huge part of our lives.

The here and now: So in this season every day looks just about the same; I stay at home with my three boys, ages 5, 2, and 6 months! I work hard to take care of my family, feed them well (hear me saying ‘feed them enough’ because they are human garbage disposals), honor God, and spread joy around me. The boys take an incredible amount of brain power (and some days there just isn’t enough) but I long to raise men of character.

My passions: Let me just say that I am passionate about my husband; this man is so wonderful! He and I began a mission in January to simplify our life and create space to enjoy it while serving others. I love to be active, be on the go, and take my people with me! We are trying to figure out how to be better versions of ourselves both individually and as a couple. As much as I hate to admit it, I am a little behind the times on the clean and organic movements. So we can walk the journey together as I become a healthier and more thoughtful consumer.

Moving forward: Yes! Let’s walk this life journey together through the crazy seasons and celebrate the highs, stick together in the lows, and laugh through it all! For me, laughter is key. Why, you ask?

Because my people call me Mommy Pigg.

Steph

My Bad, God

Whoops! On my jog this morning I realized that my current state of, “Boo hoo, poor me…without the injectables I can’t get pregnant this month,” is entirely unfair to my God. So sorry, Lord, my bad!

Yes it’s true that with the injectables my chances of a pregnancy this month would be 50% and without the injectables I only have a 15% chance, but in January I did ZERO treatment and got pregnant when my chances were 0.00005% of “no chance ever” so…what does that tell ya? It tells me that my God is WAY more powerful than science and if he wants me to have a baby and, more importantly, when he wants me to have a baby, he will make it happen.

My God has no awareness of femara, clomid, FSH injections, IUIs, or IVF. In fact, I imagine him up there on his throne laughing hysterically at me going, “Chelsea! Chill out, girl! It ain’t time yet! Gimme a chance!”

So, whether you’re current state of suckage involves the death of a loved one, job loss, sucky medical diagnosis, or a house fire…sit back, get your head outta your ass and give God a chance to show you what he’s capable of. His plan is SO much better than yours!

Again, so sorry God that I threw myself a pity party doubting you!

What’s your God capable of?

Love and Live with a Whole Heart

I watched a movie this past Sunday called “Mary and Martha” about two women that meet in South Africa and bond over the death of their sons to malaria, a disease that kills nearly half a million children a year. The women band together to bring awareness to the disease and seek financial aid to help protect the children of South Africa. 

Photo Credit: poptower.com

The main character, Mary, said she wanted to be “extraordinary” and I found myself wondering how I too could be extraordinary. What makes a life extraordinary anyway? I pondered this question through Sunday and it’s been weighing on my mind until this morning when I remembered the words of the elderly Noah in my favorite movie, The Notebook…

“I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough”.

Read these words again and again until they become a part of your soul and schema. THIS is how to live an extraordinary life…LOVE!

If you love others with all your heart, you are living extraordinarily! This love should also spark a passion for something outside yourself. Find your passion and be compassionate!

What’s your passion?

A Baby Will Not “Complete” Me

Take these pills, give yourself this shot, make this smoothie, drink lemon water, schedule your sonograms, go to the specialty pharmacy, pay the medical bills, slow down your exercise, eat salmon and avocado, increase your fluids, jump, sit, beg, bark, roll over…

Raise your hand if you know this feeling. Fertility treatments are extremely time sensitive; something few people can understand. Fertiles will say, “Just relax, don’t let it consume you”, but it’s completely impossible to relax when you’re given a chart and a packet full of instructions every month broken down by day and hour. This can take a toll on your life, but also your friendships, your faith and especially your marriage.

I’m a Christian, but I totally forgot what that means until a complete meltown last week. I was still trying to find my footing after my recent pregnancy loss and was crying (bawling uncontrollably) to my dad. I was really struggling with envy, anger, and self-loathing while watching both of my sister’s happiness, the oldest with her toddler and infant boy, the youngest pregnant with her first, and wondering why this hadn’t happened for me.

My little sister and I got pregnant at the EXACT same time! Why did she get to keep her baby and not me. I felt my baby was a boy and yet she’s having a boy? Why not me? Why? Why? Why? As I tried desperately to find answers I realized that “why” is a seriously dangerous word that can pull you straight down the rabbit hole. God does not answer “why”.

After peeling me off the bathroom floor after what felt like an eternity, my father and big sister encouraged me to reevaluate where my focus was. Even though it’s damn near impossible NOT to focus on a baby when you’re entire life revolves around your fertility treatments, I remembered this verse:

1John 2:15-16 “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world”.

I have allowed my focus to shift from the cross to what’s in the world, or more accurately, what’s NOT in my world. I cannot allow my want for a child to be what defines me, complete me, or gives my life purpose. Yes, I want a baby more than anything else in the entire world, but if I never become a mother, my life still has value. I’m a wife, a sister, a friend, a stepmom, a counselor, and a badass aunt!

Do I want to watch my child in their school play? Yes! But I can cheer on my friend’s daughter in her dance recital, too. Do I want to show my children the wonders of the world? Yes, but I can travel with my nieces and nephews, too. Do I want to raise servants of the Lord? Yes, but I can also model a servant’s heart for the children I serve as a counselor, too.

I want a baby because I desire to see my love for my husband incarnate, because I think it’s our duty as Christians to “fill” the kingdom, and because I was loved so well as a child that I want to pass that love on to my child. I want a baby, but I’m not incomplete without one either.