Browsed by
Category: mothering

our teething babe

our teething babe

The past few days have been filled with lots and LOTS of Emma holding, Emma comforting, and trying to find ways to relieve her discomfort.

So, when I heard her pull out the basket that holds our CDs tonight – which is usually a “no touch” item – I ignored it and let her play. She wasn’t being destructive, just curious. She pulled most of the cases part way out and slid them back in, playing with a few colorful ones that caught her interest. It kept her busy and distracted for quite a while.

Now the thing is, she is happy but I feel bad that I was inconsistent!

8-10 pounds away from pre=pregnancy weight!

which is an awesome thing, considering that I gained 60+ pounds. I’m not sure how it happened, but one day before I was pregnant I was slender with toned muscles, and then I woke up a few weeks later pregnant with those toned muscles turning into something very un-toned and not so slender.

500th post

500th post

WOW!

I’ve officially blogged 500 posts ……… wow. I skimmed back through some of those posts, and enjoyed a few moments remembering what was happening around me when I wrote them. Some of them are funny (or are now), some not, some short and some long, but all of them were relevant to me at the time. Kind of nice to look back at where I’ve been, a bit like the Israelites and their stones of remembrance (Joshua 4:1-9). But enough about that.

I picked up a book at the library yesterday entitled a child’s garden by Molly Dannenmaier. Such a lovely book filled with photographs of yards and gardens planted with children in mind.
The blurb on the cover says “60 ideas to make any garden come alive for children” and the photos illustrate just that: vibrantly inviting living play areas. There are three sections of the book starting with the introduction where Ms. Dannenmaier makes her case for complex natural play areas. The other two sections are titled, “home territories”and “how children really play” with subsections of water, creatures, refuges, dirt, heights, movement, make-believe, nurture, and learning. Some of her ideas are elaborate, but some – such as dumping a pile of sand in the shade or growing a tepee of sunflowers – are very simple.
It’s a beautiful book, and a calmingly inspiring read. :)

emotion

emotion

the last few months of being pregnant with Emma found me dealing with emotions and battling fear. Not constantly, but still battling it. Being a slightly overconfident, self-sufficient, stubborn and fairly secure person, fear is a fairly foreign emotion for me. Especially the kind that made my heart race and woke me up with nightmares.

Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you may go. Joshua 1:9

I would all of a sudden become convinced that John was going to die, and I would have to give birth and raise Emma alone, or I would be overcome by the possibility that Emma could be born with severe defects. John would wake up and pray with me, over me and for me. I memorized and meditated on scripture about trusting God, about not fearing. And it helped.

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.

After Emma was born the fear subsided. There was (still is sometimes) definitely the first time parent nervousness of checking and double checking her breathing while she slept, wondering if she really is okay, if she is growing normally, if I am a “good” mother. But overall I have been able to turn those fears over to God and He has given/is giving me the grace to trust Him.

God is able to make all grace abound to you … II Corinthians 9:8

night time kisses

night time kisses

Do not kiss your children so they will kiss you back but so they will kiss their children, and their children’s children.
– Noah benShea, Poet, philosopher and author of Jacob the Baker, Jacob’s Journey and Remember This My Children.

The way earthly parents treat each other and their children teaches their children how to view God, their heavenly Father. Older siblings (and I mean much older) have the same opportunity as their parents: do those who trust you see an unconditional, “I love you whether or not you deserve it, whether or not you want me to” kind of love? Do we kiss each other good night, even after a day that seems to have been filled with nothing but bickering? Or do we silently drift off, hoping that tomorrow will be better?