Having a Pollyanna Perspective during Pumpkin Season

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Emily Wurmnest

For the past month our family has been missing one element from it every day until late in the evening…. Chad! Chad is the head engineer at the Libby Pumpkin plant. This plant makes 80% of the pumpkin in the USA. This year they started 3 weeks early (July 28) and will try to go until the middle of November. This means that for 4 months, 7 days a week, 12-13 hours a day Chad will be at the plant.
When I first heard about this job 2 years ago it was only a 2 1/2 month ordeal and even then I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of Chad being gone every day for 2 1/2 months until 8pm at night. This year when they took on more pumpkin ground and more time I really wasn’t sure at all…but we have to do what we have to do. Right??
So many people say “At least he has a job…” “He makes great money.” Etc. Etc. Etc. While I am thankful for these things (and I truly am) I wonder constantly about the bigger picture. What are we sacrificing for the sake of America’s pumpkin pies?
We are only 4 weeks into this and Chad is exhausted. The kids miss their dad a lot and don’t understand why he won’t come home earlier. Chad and I are definitely not connecting as couple because we are both too tired to do anything after the kids go to bed. We watch an episode of something on TV enjoying the quiet and then head to bed.
While this isn’t ideal I think of the sacrifices other families make when someone is in the military. They may be gone for months if not years – usually an undetermined amount of time.
Or what about the single moms/dads that have to do all of this by themselves year round. These families are my new heroes.
While I am trying to detour the negativity about our short term situation of Chad temporarily being gone for pumpkin seasons I have to remind myself that he is at least coming home every night. There will be a definitive end to pumpkin season. He also will be home for the holiday season which is so important to me.
I am reminded during this seasons of themovie/book Pollyanna about the little orphan girl who moved in with her rich Aunt Polly. She brought a tired little town to life with good thoughts. She always found the good in everyone and in every situation. She even told the preacher who preached hell fire and brimstone that there were 826 “Glad texts” in the Bible. She had a different perspective on life and it spread like wildfire throughout the town. She played The Glad Game!

Sometimes we have to have a “Pollyanna Perspective” on life. We have to look for the good in every situation. There are so many good things that come out of this season of the year…..
I remember how capable I am to take care of the household, kids, etc all by myself.
We appreciate the time when he IS home more than usual.
I get more bonding time with the kids which I will someday miss.
The list could go on and on…. Do I always remember these and am I always “Glad” about this season… no! There are days that are absolutely horrible. With 2 preschoolers things are hectic and there are days they just can’t get along. Things don’t always work out how I want and the house becomes a disaster waiting to explode. However I try to remember the good things going on in life and put on my rose colored glasses if only for a while.
As Abraham Lincoln said…

Do you have your “Pollyanna Perspectives” on?

This little light of mine….

Posted on August 12, 2016 by Emily Wurmnest

This year was Jack and Lucy’s first year at VBS! They were both finally old enough so every day for a week we loaded up the car and headed off to VBS to learn more about Jesus. I volunteered to head up decorations along with being a 3 year old class Shepard. We have 400 kiddos attend our VBS which is an awesome site in itself but this year I was in complete awe of how much my 3 and 4 year old absorbed. When the music began on the first morning Jack stood up and clapped (he’s not much of a singer) and Lucy was bopping around to the music trying to sing along right away (she’s my little Broadway star in the making). Some of the songs we learned this year was a modernized version of “This Little Light of Mine” and “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.”

Lucy loved the music… Look at that smile!!!

Of course during the course of VBS I bought the music CD so we could continue the musical adventure in the car. The CD hasn’t left my CD player because the kids love the music so much. During the week I had a chance to watch as my kiddos began to learn the message within these fun songs. Lucy had all of the words down by the end of the week but Jack still wasn’t really singing them.
Last week in the car while listening to the CD for the one millionth time I heard a new voice join in the singing…. it was Jack! He knew all of the words but he didn’t want to sing until he was sure of them. Listening to both of my kids singing “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” made my mommy heart melt and I had a mommy meltdown moment. Tears of joy were streaming down my face as we were driving to our destination for the day.
It is obvious these days that the kids are picking up so many things from Chad and I. Sometimes they just come out of nowhere. Some of the things they are picking up aren’t our best traits. Lucy is picking up some habits from me that I wish she wouldn’t have. She is extremely stubborn and strong-willed which while it could be a good thing, it doesn’t always manifest as a good thing. Jack has a short fuse like me as well… getting angry easily. However they are picking up good things as well! Lucy has such a good heart and has a heart for people. She gets so excited about building relationships with people. She also loves singing and dancing which makes me so excited about possibly doing theater with her someday. Jack is very compassionate for things – he is so tender with his stuffed animals. He also has such a large imagination and isn’t afraid to be creative.
As I was driving and crying I began to think about our legacies. I am glad they are picking up good traits from us but the number one thing I hope to instill in both kids is a love for Jesus that surpasses all other things. I want them to have a relationship with Him that is so deep and evident.
When I thought about Jack just starting to sing the words when he was sure of them it made me think that maybe that is how it will be about his relationship with Jesus. It may not be something that is immediate but something that he will have to become sure about. Even though I hope it is soon as possible maybe it is something that will need to take time. That way when he does choose to follow Jesus it will be a lifelong commitment. That is what I have prayed for since the day he was born….and will continue to do so until he chooses Jesus for himself!

Meet our family!

Posted on August 6, 2016 by Emily Wurmnest

Hello friends! Welcome to the Twice as Blessed Nest! We are a family of four from the Midwest who enjoys all that life has to offer! Before we begin I would like to share Chad and my story to show you how we got from infertility to being twice as blessed within a year!

Chad and I met in 2007 at church. I was finally and for the first time in my life content with being single so God decided it was finally time to introduce me to the man I would spend my life with. Chad came to our church because his church of 20 people had no other young people other than his siblings. He was getting anxious to meet someone so he decided to check out our church — and ended up sitting right behind me. During the greeting time I turned around and was surprised to see someone around my age that I didn’t know. However I was bound and determined that I was going to be single for this season so I began to think of how I could set up this cute guy with my best friend… They were both tall and single so why not?! However I couldn’t this thought out of the back of my head — boy he was cute! What if…..
Chad continued to come to our church and sat with me since he now “knew” me and we began to go out to lunch afterwards. Eventually we started dating officially and the rest is history. We never had the ideal dating situation as he was working 2nd shift when we met and then moved to Michigan for a year after that.

Our wedding day – July 25, 2009

We got married on a beautiful day in July 2009. We honeymooned in Jamaica and returned home to Chad’s job changing to 3rd shift. So much for newlyweds getting used to sleeping in the same bed…

Over a year later Chad got back on 1st shift and we decided to start trying for a family. After a year and a half of trying I went on infertility medicine for 6 months which made me horribly sick. The doctor and I decided to wait for a while because IVF wasn’t for us yet. We looked into adoption during the summer of 2011 and decided to get put on a list and adoption website!

On January 22, 2012 we got a phone call during lunch after church saying there was a family that had a baby boy who was 2 days old and they had chosen us to be his parents!!! We were so excited that God had finally given us a child. So we quickly packed up the car and headed to Memphis, TN where we met our son Jack who was only 3 days old.

Picking up Jack from Tennessee

Life as we knew it changed dramatically as it often does when children come into the picture. I quit my Special Education teaching position and became a stay at home mom. 3 months after Jack came home Chad had to work the CAT strike over 2 hours away so he was gone a lot. However the stress of not being able to have a baby and work was gone so life as we knew it was beautiful!

One day I wasn’t feeling good and thought I was coming down with the flu. Days later I still didn’t feel quite right so for fun I got a pregnancy test. I took the test and unpacked groceries while waiting (I wasn’t worried at all – they always turned negative). When I glanced over at the test it read POSITIVE! I didn’t know what to think. Then I looked down at the sleeping baby in the swing… and I laughed. God had quite the sense of humor. We had asked him to give us a baby if it was His will. Apparently His will was 2 babies within a year! One was adopted and the other was through pregnancy.

Pregnant….

….and Blessed!

Pregnancy with 24-7 nausea and low blood sugar is tough enough, but add a 3 month old baby you are learning to parent is extra tough. But I learned how to ask for help and somehow we managed to get through pregnancy. On January 4, 2013 Lucy was born on my 30th birthday. (I had always wanted to have kids by the time I was 30… so God definitely made sure it happened even when I was positive that it was impossible.)

She’s Here!

Lucy is born January 2013 and we are a family of 4!

We became a family of four and have felt beyond blessed. Have we loved every moment… no! Life isn’t perfect and there are imperfect moments. Would we trade this life for another? No! We love our life through the ups and downs. Join us on our imperfect, roller coaster of a ride life! God Bless!