A Baby Changes Everything

2008

Three years ago, the Christmas story transformed from a very powerful, familiar story of Jesus' birth, to a far greater understanding of his love for us. The story changed for me on December 16, 2008. Expecting a child in the midst of the Christmas season made me really think more about the Virgin Mary and the birth of Jesus Christ.  I was terrified of the idea of birthing a baby even under the care of doctors and nurses in a hospital. How must Mary have felt in a dark, cold manager filled with animals instead of doctors? 

Holding Noah for the first time filled me with a new found love that was unimaginable and indescribable. 

 This new kind of love I felt was an all consuming love. One that filled me emotions I had never experienced before. Instantly I was ready to do whatever necessary to care for, nurture,  protect, guide, raise, teach and love this precious child. The urge to shield this delicate infant from any and all pain turned my stomach into knots when the nurses drew his blood for the first time. As time has gone on, I have realized my  desire as a mother is not to be a "great" parent by reading books and getting advice from others, but it is to mimic Thee Great Parent, my Heavenly Father. He sent his only son, a precious baby boy born in the manager, knowing that he would grow to be crucified on the cross for our sins. Now knowing how excruciating it is to see my own child endure any kind of suffering, I cannot fathom how hard it must have been for God to watch His son die on the cross. Even more, the tender newborn hands that would grow to bare the scars of the cross for a sinner like me.  

Holding Noah's hands are a reminder of how God has shown me His indescribable love. Though it took childbirth for me to grasp a much greater understanding of God's love, I believe everyone has their own journey towards that understanding and it surely is not through child birth for everyone. My prayer though is that God uses something very powerful and meaningful in your life to show His love for you.

Now, three years later, in this Christmas season we await the arrival of another baby boy in our family. I look forward to the many ways God is going to use this child to draw me ever closer to Him. Noah is the best earthly gift Rob and I have been given. However, I pray this Holiday season you receive the greatest gift of all, the unconditional love from Thee Great Parent, that comes when you accept Christ as your savior. 

                

                                                                           2011

Finally Finished

We are finally finished with our attic remodel!!

Tradition

Traditions. Simple actions that become lifetime memories. Memories that are passed on. Ones that are remembered. Tonight was the beginning of a new tradition in our home. We love carving pumpkins.We were blessed this year to have Nana and Papa with us from Ohio so they made the evening even more special.

After dinner we carved a traditional pumpkin and drilled, yes drilled, a pumpkin. I had seen the idea on the great "Play at Home Mom blog", they called it  Power Tool Pumpkins. Then, today while flipping through the channels they featured a similar idea for a table center piece on a new show called, The Chew. They didn't carve out the pumpkin, instead drilled the holes and inserted lollipops into them. It was a cute idea. Here is our version of Power Tool Pumpkins. Thanks for the great idea Play at Home Moms!

Then, we all watched Charlie Brown's The Great Pumpkin while snacking on Kettle Corn and fresh Apple Cider. The little one ended in the evening in his Halloween pj's with Froggy's Halloween  for story time. It was a precious evening and I will cherish this memory. My hope is for this memory to come to life each year as we celebrate Halloween as a family.

PS. After dinner this evening we tried a new dessert that I found through Pinterest. Here is a link to Pumpkin Pie Dip. It's delicious and easy!

Paci Puppy

Pacify. Comfort. Soothe. I guess I  am to blame for my nearly 3 year old still having a pacifier and for his ever changing teeth that continue to tell the world he is a child addicted to a pacifier. Why? The thought of comforting him has been more important to me than doing what I know is best for him. I suppose this is the hard part of parenting when you realize that you are the crutch for something you see in your child that you want to change. It's been so much easier just allowing him to have his "paci" (as he calls it) at night. But my rational is/was two fold. One, it does provide great comfort to him. But, two, it allows me to sleep uninterrupted.

It's been really easy to justify his obsession as just that but when I really think about it, it's equally my hesitation to say goodbye to the last piece of "baby" in him. The truth is his pacifier not only comforted him but also comforted me with the idea that he wasn't growing up as quickly as he is!

I've been asking others for ideas of how they were able to help their kids end their pacifier days. I've heard it all from throwing them away, sending them to children in need, having the doctor take it and the list goes on. However, my sister in law shared an idea with me about putting them inside of a bear at Build a Bear. I loved the idea! Turns out it's a fairly common idea as the girls at Build a Bear said they had made several before.

Noah picked the animal he wanted - a puppy. We stuffed the pacifiers in the arms and feet so he could still feel them then filled him up with stuffing. Noah enjoyed giving his new puppy a bath but decided that he didn't want any clothes for him - only a leash.

 
Last night was his first night without his pacifier. He cried a little and said he missed his Paci, however he made it through the night. We'll see how it goes...I wanted to hug him and say, "I miss it, too!". But instead, I praised him for being so brave and told him how proud I was of my big boy who is growing up.

Whose your Daddy?

"...and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." - Matthew 28:20

"Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." - Hebrews 12:1

Self Control

This video is a  "divine highlighter" of truth.  Watch it. It's worth your time, I promise.










All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new
You are making me new

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new


-Beautiful Things by Gungor


"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth." -Psalm 46:10


"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26

Be Present

Turn off hurry, worry and busy and spend some time with God.

Flashing Lights

I cannot remember how the world looked when I was three feet tall, however I imagine that I may have been better able to notice the vibrance of colors and excitement of things I now overlook.  For example, I think light up shoes are pretty snazzy but I would say that they probably could not entertain me for hours on end or distract me at school because of their brilliance.  I probably wouldn't change the way I walk to appease the firework display of my rubber soles. All in the same time, I know if they had existed (I can't ever remember having light up shoes) there would have been a magical time in my life that the flashing lights glittering the world in reds, blues and whites from my special feet would have captivated me too.
Some may see them as a distraction (been there - as a teacher) however I am starting to see them from a 36 inch perspective as spectacular.


I know that too quickly the little man stomping behind me will cease to be amazed by his flashing lights. Until then, I'm grateful his growth spurts made us try on four different pairs of shoes yesterday before starting our day to realize that he had literally outgrown his shoes overnight. Who knew a growth spurt would be the catalyst for such joy.

Attic Remodel

Advantages to making the decision to become a stay at home mom: endless. One big disadvantage to staying at home: having an entire classroom, acquired over the years, collecting dust in my attic!

The combination of an self diagnosed OCD personality and pregnancy nesting hormones have made it very difficult for me to be content with the mess my attic has become. It has also made it difficult to find books, tools and educational things that I'd like to use with my own son for the lack of not being able to locate much in the mountain of stuff.

After much discussion and preparation we made the decision to finish our attic and remodel the space. We are turning it into an additional living space and organized storage space. The living space will be similar to a little classroom with the intent to be used as a "Study/Homework" room. We had to be creative in the design to make the room flexible enough to "grow" as our needs for the space change over the year. 

       

The process...  

1.Move contents out of attic - yikes! 

2. Apologize to all potential house guests for having no room in the Inn. As the guest bedroom has turned into a storage unit for the attic remodel.(unable to show picture for fear of being turned into TLC's tv show Hoarders. Use your imagination - it's bad.)

3.Have a Garage Sale ..it's time to clear out some space!

 4. Realize I'm a bit over my head and bring in some help. Began consulting with a brilliant interior designer. 

(A sneak peak of what's coming....built in bookshelves, two built in desks, a window reading nook, storage closets and cabinets.)

5. Finalize blue prints and finishes.

                            The rug, the carpet and the paint finishes.


6. Begin Construction!!! Hooray!


I'll be anxious to post updates along the way. I cannot wait to see the finished room! 

Quiet Time Basket

Today I started attending a bible study through my church called Magnificent Obsession by Anne Graham Lotz. She has an interesting approach to her quiet time and I'm looking forward to spending more time in the word. Before the study began, the host of the study was giving some tips to making quiet time more successful.  She spoke about the idea of a prayer basket where you keep all the items you use during your quiet time so you don't have to search for them before you begin thus cutting into the time you have to do your devotional. I thought it sounded like a great idea because I struggle to maintain a consistent quiet time and seem to find many distractions that take away from the time I do have to do it. Tonight, I used her idea and put together a devotional basket. My basket includes: my Bible, a journal, pens, highlighter, tissues, and my current devotional books. I am hoping this helps me focus and be more intentional with my time! Try it! Anyone else have any tips on making a more successful routine of quiet times?