and the beginnings of a sweater vest for Emma (using yarn from a cotton sweater that was just too short on me for my liking).
This knitting book – Essential Baby by Debbie Bliss – is just too sweet! It’s projects are all classic and timeless, and range in time consumption from itty-bitty socks to a jumper or lacy blanket.
And the instructions are clearly written, too (a HUGE plus in my opinion!).
I stumbled upon this post this morning, and found it to be quite encouraging.
As some of you know, John and I have been driving one car since we got married. It has worked out fine overall, but there have definitely been times when I/we have thought about buying another!
Since we aren’t in a position to afford one (and by afford I mean pay cash for, etc) without digging into our savings, we have put the idea on the back burner for the near future.
Reading Liz’s thoughts on the subject was good, reminding me that not only are others in our situation thriving, but there are actually benefits to it.
Obvious benefits are financial, of course, but also personal. I, too, have had to be organized with my time and shopping trips, and that organization has been good for me. :)
There is one thing in particular that she said that was especially encouraging:
“On a more personal level, I feel that our situation has also blessed me with the opportunity to truly blossom in our home and to focus on my life there.”
It’s true. When you don’t have the option of driving away, home becomes your focus. My challenge is to take joy in that, and not let it become a grumbling point.
As I’m reminded of over and over, this season of life is passing quickly, and I need to focus on it, not the “someday”. Emma will be our only child for just a few more months, and she is growing so quickly. With the new baby I will need to focus on two instead of one, and there will be increasingly less time. Focusing on our home and each other (as well as our friends) is something that we will never regret.
And as Liz said to close her post, I may not get out much, but you are welcome to come over! I’ll put on the coffee or tea and we can visit a while. :)
Emma is tall enough to pull our DVDs off of the shelf, and last week we added it to the “no touch” group. She had been gravitating to the shelf more and more and I would often find her on the floor happily surrounded by – and chewing on – the movies that she had pulled off the shelf.
So, now Emma is learning to obey some more, and the DVDs are staying on the shelf (mostly).
Because of that I spent a moment putting them back into alphabetical order this morning. It had been bothering me a bit that they were all “messed up” and now they are back in order (for now). So nice.
Of course, I expect to find them spread out on the floor with our baby girl happily in the middle of them again ………… but it’s nice for now.
I love being a mother. I really do. Mothering a smiling and joyful (and willful …) baby is just so wonderful. Sometimes when I look back at my day, though, it seems as if all my effort accomplished nothing. True, the laundry has been washed, dishes done, diapers changed. But at the end of the day it is hard to tell because all of that “doing” is waiting to be done all over again. There are no marks of achievement when is comes to housework.
Emma is teething just now, and today she just wants to held as she sucks her thumb or trills to me as she plays with my hair. It is difficult to get much accomplished while carrying a nearly 20 pound baby, and combined with her want for more nursing and less “real” food, I am feeling a bit tired! So we have been sitting at the computer and I have been catching up on reading blogs as Ems absorbs comfort. As I was reading I found that this woman’s post from last week was good and very timely.
It reminded me of the story of how David’s mighty men went down to Bethlehem to get him some water from the well, and instead of drinking it he poured it out on the ground as a drink offering (II Sam 23:14-17). Of course, David had a purpose for pouring out the water – to him it represented the life blood of the men who had brought it for him – but I have always seen it from his men’s view as well: they so wanted him to have this water that meant so much to him, and then he poured it out instead of drinking it. All their effort gone. But their effort wasn’t gone. It was being used as an offering of praise.
The blog author was convicted about her setting “seen” accomplishments as idols in her heart. It was so good to read her transparency. I stopped to ponder: Can I go from needing a visible, tangible product of my labor to allowing it to be poured out before God?
from How To Be Lovely by Melissa Hellstern
“It’s the flowers you choose, the music you play, the smile you have waiting. I want it to be gay and cheerful, a haven in this troubled world.”
“What I always wanted, what I still want, is to create a warm and loving atmosphere for those I care about – my family and my friends.”
I love that Audrey was a homey type of person. I just love that.
Emma is just too precious. I don’t think I am able to not photograph her. Well, I could if I was forced to, but I would still be taking pictures with my mind. Those dimples will stretch out to knobby-ness all too soon (although I think she will keep her habit of sleeping with her hands by her chin)!
