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Saturday, October 31, 2009

Well, we did end up making pumpkin cookies. I got this infantino baby front carrier from my very cool and generous bro and sis in-law. I love it! I REALLY want Caleb to like it too. So far, he does OK. He did pretty well on this day. He has fallen asleep in it twice. It is a great way to carry him around so that I can still have my hands!



Mary Poppins returns. Mom did a retreat for the Southside Church of Christ Women last week-end. She did a GREAT job! To my shame, I took no pics.... not even of the breath-taking fall leaves... It was truly gorgeous. In my defense, however, I did have Caleb with me... He did great, but it's just not easy taking an infant to a retreat--just in case you were wondering.
I think one of the things that stuck with me the most from Mom's speeches was the Glory List. Mom encouraged everyone there to start a journal in which you list all of the things that you want to give God glory for. It's amazing how we forget to thank God for answered prayers, or unexpected surprises.
While we were there, Jon David got sick--fever, cold symptoms... A couple of days later, Don got sick, too. Exegesis paper due anyway...



Above: Mom telling Jon David and Luke a bed time bible story. Below, Luke on his field trip to the pumpkin patch. I was so thankful to be able to go. Thanks Mom!!


It was rainy that day, unfortunately. This pic below was too funny not to post. They were all sitting at a picnic table @ the beginning, waiting for the fun to begin. Luke did have a great time, but did not enjoy this waiting period, I guess. :) Unfortunately, he got sick too about four days ago.

Below, Caleb's 2 mo Dr.'s apt. He is growing and developing very well. :) Thank you, Lord!
And I managed to catch him sneezing. Ha!



"Easy babies are placid and easy to manage... Sure, they may have a fussy period in the evening, but it's not too long, intense, or hard to deal with... parents bask in their sunny dispositions.
But shortly... dark clouds may gather...." --Mark Weissbluth "Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child."

Yea, dark clouds. Today was dark and cloudy--even though the sun was shining outside, if you know what I mean. Rough night: I wake up @ 8:30 thanks to Don. I change giant poopy diaper. Show Luke the giant poopy (Luke and JD are facinated w/Caleb's poops). Have breakfast. Get roast in crock-pot. Put Caleb to bed. Prepare to do excercise video. Get Luke a snack. Do excercise video for 10 to 15 min... Hear Caleb crying. Pause video. Feed Caleb, while sweet Luke watches TV or plays. Put Caleb in bouncy seat. Turn video back on, do more aerobics for 5 to 10 min. Caleb fusses again. Stop and give up on video. Pick up Caleb... Forgot what came next. Eventually put Caleb to sleep again. Fix Luke lunch, I think? Mop the floor somewhere in there--small miracle. Caleb wakes up after 30 min or less. Nurse again... eat lunch. Put Caleb to sleep again. Get ready to go get JD from school. Time to nurse Caleb one more time before leaving... sound asleep. End up having to wake him up... Screams in the car seat on the very short 3 min drive to JD's school. Screams again on the very short drive home from Jon David's school. I get Jon David and Luke a quick snack, and allow them to watch TV while I try to nurse and soothe Caleb. He falls asleep. I put him in bed. Tell older boys that I'm going to take a shower while they watch TV. Jon David comes to shower to ask for more snack. I tell him he will have to wait: duh! (sometimes I let him get his own. I guess he was hoping for that). Get out of the shower. Get Jon David more snack. Hear Caleb crying. Go get Caleb. Lost track of nursing schedule, so feed him again... Watch Martha Speaks w/boys while nursing. Funny show. Love PBS kids. Put Caleb down. Get more snack for Jon David (he said he didn't eat a good lunch at school today. Seriously!). Caleb is sweet in his bouncy seat! Hurrah. Jon David's neighbor/classmate comes to the door. "Can Jon David play?". Ok, I say, but come back in @ 5:00 to do your homework. Ok Mom. Luke goes out the door to back yard. Jon David goes out the door to back yard... I still have wet hair. I bring my hair dryer out to family room, so that I can watch events unfolding in backyard. Succesfully dry my hair. Now feel like I should supervise outside activities... Caleb getting fussy. I grab baby carrier. Change Caleb's diaper, put coat on him, and put him in baby carrier. Walk outside with baby. Watch older boys play for a while. Caleb starts to fuss a little bit, then falls asleep!!!!!!! IN carrier!!--other small miracle. :) Don comes home. Hurrah! Talk to my best friend in the whole world (love that man). Feel encouraged. Thanks Don! Caleb wakes up. Go inside to feed him. Older boys come inside. Jon David does homework while Don helps, and straightens messy house... Luke does his workbook too. I pump some breastmilk while checking e-mail for fusion group location tonight. Put on make-up. Help Luke with workbook briefly. Fix mac-n-cheese b/c roast is not boys' favorite. Fix green beans too to try to give them something redeeming to eat. Caleb gets fussy. Feed him again and put him to sleep. Hope that the expessed milk will help Don while I'm gone ( but it is not much at all). Shocked that Luke chooses roast over mac-n-cheese. When he says prayer for meal, he prays for himself to get better right away (he has been sick for about four days: fever, cold symptoms... but has been much better today). After prayer, I take his temp... 101.4. :( No school for him tomorrow. Go to ladies group and have a blast for 45 short minutes. Get the following text message: "He is awake and screaming" (evidently, he had sucked down the little breast milk that I had pumped, and promptly spit it up again). :( I come home, feed Caleb while Don and two older boys watch America's funniest home videos... Have a hard time laughing. Cry while Don puts older two to bed. The most awesome husband in the world comes back out and encourages me... again. :) Says it will get better, it's part of it, it's for a season.... that Caleb is a good baby--and he is right. I get something to eat. Then blog. :)




Above: carving pumpkins with Dad. I am pretty sad to say that I have no costume pics this year. :( To continue the sickness saga, Luke got sick Friday before halloween, and threw up right before Don and Jon David were walking out the door to go trick-or-treating... Ah, what a lovely life!
Momma said there'd be days.... right?

Thursday, October 29, 2009

One more time...


For the past few years
I wondered if God
Would give us a child.
Through my prayers and tears,
I asked Him to, please.
One more time.


I struggled with Don,
I fought with myself,
Desire persisted.
And as life went on,
I prayed about it,
One more time.


I knew that I should
For my spirit's sake
"let go and let God."
So finally I would,
I'd give up my dream,
One more time.


But what did God say?
I just couldn't hear.
Or maybe it was
That more than one way
existed...
This time.


And there was a day
Upon studying
A family photo,
I stared at us four.
But to my dismay
For the first time...


Inside my being
I suddenly felt
This feeling rise up:
Someone was missing
From our family.
Still, it wasn't time...


The months came and went
In two thousand eight
Until December.
Our lives took a change,
God called us away,
One more time...

It was time to move,
It was time to pack,
And then once again,
To talk about if
We'd try for a third...
One more time...


And then suddenly,
Don and I agreed:
The moment was here.
Amidst the chaos,
God planted a seed
One more time...


I looked at the stick:
the symbol was plus.
I was overjoyed.
And then I felt sick
Pizza was so gross...
One more time...


Don started his gig
In seminary,
The boys met new friends.
My belly grew big
I waddled along
One more time...


I decorated
With bears and balloons.
The room was prepared.
The clothes I folded:
I washed and stored them
One more time...


August twenty-two.
I woke in the night:
Contractions began.
My baby was due,
In labor I went,
One more time...


Hard work, sweat, and tears...
I pushed and I pushed.
I begged God for help.
To overcome fears,
I thought of Jesus
One more time...


And then he was here:
My wonderful gift.
The relief was great!
I snuggled him near,
My little Caleb,
For the first time.


Stayed in hospital,
I experienced
The magic again--
That God makes so real.
I drank it all in
One more time...


Then came the daily
And the nightly too
Of caring for him.
Often, yet gladly,
I cared for a babe
One more time...


I nursed and I burped
My precious third gift
That God chose to give.
I sing loud each verse
His song on my heart
One more time...


The glory is God's.
From deep in my soul,
I look up and thank.
He sees me and nods,
I feel Him with me
One more time...


Red leaf and red bird
Are signs of the fall.
Baby smiles and squeals
Are signs of our third!
God has given 3!!
A magical time.

Thank You Father!!!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

A visit from Niki, Fall Break, Caleb laughs!

Wow... has it really been that long since my last blog? Time is flying! Even though it doesn't always feel like it.
Luke has a new name for Caleb: Mr. Sweet Toes. Here's Mr. Sweet Toes napping in the swing. I think this was when he was 6 wks old... He will be eight wks on Saturday. He is not too crazy a/b the swing anymore. He seems to sleep best in his bed, now.



I don't know a better caption for this than "this makes Daddy's heart go bonk bonk bonk" (can you tell that we say that a lot in our house? :) )

Roll Tide! (the Kentucky game)


Below is a picture that I really need to post, for my own sake, really. Last week was rough with this precious child. I don't think it's appropriate to go into too much detail on a blog... I am praying that he respects his Mommy. I am shedding tears over this one... Sometimes I feel like a total failure, and wonder if God gave me Jon David to remind me that I can't do it w/out Him... I am just asking God to give him the desire to be a good boy. And this week, I feel it! God does hear, and answers. Jon David has been praying for himself, too. And I told him that I KNOW that God will help him, because that is just the kind of prayer He wants to answer.



He and Jon David both have been taking care of their "Teds" (teddy bears). They have put diapers on them, and they like to put them in Caleb's toys (bouncy seat, car seat, and the other sort of hang down toy that we have). I even helped them put sweaters on them when we went outside. Luke has especially enjoyed this, I think.

Caleb has been doing really well. He has his occasional rough day, and then he has a great one!
Tomorrow marks the beginning of fall break for the older two boys. Here is my action plan:

A.M.: Breakfast, dressed, feed baby. After one of the feedings, during Caleb's happy time: go out in front yard and let boys ride bikes, scooters, etc...
Lunch
P.M.: Between baby naps, feedings, etc... Try to have at least one planned "fun" snack for each day. Monday: popcorn snack and Adventures in Odyssee movie that the boys received from friend recently (not watched yet).
Tuesday: hot chocolate w/marshmellows

Fastforward... Today is actually Thursday. The first half of fall break has gone well, considering... Don and I have had a bad case of colds. The boys had them first, and then it was our turn. I don't know if we got a worse case than the boys, or if it just took a harder toll on us b/c of lack of sleep, etc... Anyway, it's been very annoying. I think we're finally on the mend, now. Thanks, friend, for dinner last night! You know who you are. :) I think one of my love languages is food.
Jon David and Luke have done remarkably well during fall break. I think they have missed each other being in school and soccer and all. I remember LOVING vacations when all we did was stay home. I know that probably sounds super boring. Sometimes, I'm a home body. Even though too much time at home does drive me nuts eventually. ;) I have great memories of reading Asterix books over and over again, building boats, houses out of boxes, telling Playmobil stories, writing at my desk, playing secretary, etc...
It's been really neat watching the boys play house w/their teddy bears, play school, put together puzzles, make a club house in the shed, ride their bikes and tell starwars stories, play football, and even read books by themselves.

I am eating it up. Like I said, today is Thursday, and we do plan to leave the house today. I think we'll try to go to the gym so that they can run around.
Below was our set up for Monday and Tuesday, when it was not too nasty to go outside. I watched them from the front porch ride their bikes. When Caleb went down for a nap, they set up their Teds to watch them.
Yea, for you Southern people, I don't think it's supposed to get higher than 50 degrees today...

Yesterday, I felt probably the worst (cold wise). It was late, and I couldn't get Caleb to go to sleep... Don was still not feeling 100% either... 10:00 P.M.... And then Caleb starts to smile at me (he smiled for the first time a couple of wks ago). But this time, he laughed too! It was adorable! Don actually got the first laugh out of him a few days ago. But his giggles last night made this weary Mommy's hear soar. It sort of made the day seem better, all in a matter of seconds. :)

Thanks so much, Don for grabbing the camera!!!!!!! :)

One of our special new fall break snacks was Nutella. It was the boys' first time to taste it. Yummy!
Last wk, my friend Niki came to visit me!!! We have not seen each other since we both lived in Castle Rock in January. It was so good to see her. I miss her.


I hope to make pumpkin cookies before the break ends... We'll see if that happens!
Until the next blog...

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