^"Do you see my two little teeth?!"^
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Beautiful Messes
I've started going to MOPs this year. The theme is A Beautiful Mess. We are focusing on how God brings incredible beauty out of our messiest situations in life.
It's a great thing to think about because who's life isn't messy?!
I've been working on my perspective lately. To look past my messes and unveil the beauty God is working on.
I'm feeling more content lately.
Several years ago I felt very alone and lost in life. I felt like no one could see life from my point of view, or didn't care to try, and I even felt like God had abandoned me; or else I had ruined my chances with Him.
I remember feeling hopeless and confused and I felt like I wouldn't be able to turn my life around. I was certain even my family members wouldn't give me a second chance or ever be able to look past my weaknesses. I had almost just accepted the idea that I just wouldn't be close with some of my siblings, especially my only sister. We just couldn't understand each other.
What a mess my life was.
In the Beatitudes Jesus says: "Bless it are the poor in spirit." Meaning; those who are needy. Those who are so weak they have to rely on God for EVERYTHING. I had definitely gotten to the end of myself and the beginning of leaning on Christ. I was most certainly poor in spirit... heck, I barely even had any spirit left! But where else can you turn but to God. And so I did. I relied on Christ to get me through every day, one step at a time. And things got better!
Fast-forward four years or so and here I am today. I confess I am not as needy or poor in spirit which means I don't always make enough time for God and that certainly needs work. But my life is rich and full. Instead of feeling alone I am surrounded by the love of my husband, daughter, and both of our sweet families. I have good and or wonderful relationships with most of my family, and my sister and I have never been closer! We spend most of every week together and our children love each other! We are going through so many similar situations in life we just "Get it"
The other day we went on a long walk with our kiddos and just the fellowship and connection we had made us feel like we could have walked for hours longer. What a sweet blessing
Sometimes my current life feels messy. When my husband is burning the candle at both ends and starts to feel weary and or discouraged, which makes me sad, not to mention makes for long Mommy Days for me. My house isn't always clean, the laundry isn't always done. My health isn't where I'd like for it to be and while I'm in no real danger, my health issues are certainly inconvenient and therefore messying up my life!
But I remember the Bible says trials produce perseverance and out of that comes many valuable things.
There is a song by Plumb that seems to go along with all of this. It's called Beautiful History. And it's basically talking about how even all the hard and crummy things in life that we go through are adding to the richness and fullness of our life's story. Our soon to be history or legacy, and God is the supreme author and knows what He's doing.
I am encouraged. And God is reminding me when I come to messes today that He's been in every mess of my yesterday and brought beauty from them all, and will be there when I face messes tomorrow and thereafter to work some kind of beautiful goodness out of the mess.
Thanks God.
It's a great thing to think about because who's life isn't messy?!
I've been working on my perspective lately. To look past my messes and unveil the beauty God is working on.
I'm feeling more content lately.
Several years ago I felt very alone and lost in life. I felt like no one could see life from my point of view, or didn't care to try, and I even felt like God had abandoned me; or else I had ruined my chances with Him.
I remember feeling hopeless and confused and I felt like I wouldn't be able to turn my life around. I was certain even my family members wouldn't give me a second chance or ever be able to look past my weaknesses. I had almost just accepted the idea that I just wouldn't be close with some of my siblings, especially my only sister. We just couldn't understand each other.
What a mess my life was.
In the Beatitudes Jesus says: "Bless it are the poor in spirit." Meaning; those who are needy. Those who are so weak they have to rely on God for EVERYTHING. I had definitely gotten to the end of myself and the beginning of leaning on Christ. I was most certainly poor in spirit... heck, I barely even had any spirit left! But where else can you turn but to God. And so I did. I relied on Christ to get me through every day, one step at a time. And things got better!
Fast-forward four years or so and here I am today. I confess I am not as needy or poor in spirit which means I don't always make enough time for God and that certainly needs work. But my life is rich and full. Instead of feeling alone I am surrounded by the love of my husband, daughter, and both of our sweet families. I have good and or wonderful relationships with most of my family, and my sister and I have never been closer! We spend most of every week together and our children love each other! We are going through so many similar situations in life we just "Get it"
Sometimes my current life feels messy. When my husband is burning the candle at both ends and starts to feel weary and or discouraged, which makes me sad, not to mention makes for long Mommy Days for me. My house isn't always clean, the laundry isn't always done. My health isn't where I'd like for it to be and while I'm in no real danger, my health issues are certainly inconvenient and therefore messying up my life!
But I remember the Bible says trials produce perseverance and out of that comes many valuable things.
There is a song by Plumb that seems to go along with all of this. It's called Beautiful History. And it's basically talking about how even all the hard and crummy things in life that we go through are adding to the richness and fullness of our life's story. Our soon to be history or legacy, and God is the supreme author and knows what He's doing.
I am encouraged. And God is reminding me when I come to messes today that He's been in every mess of my yesterday and brought beauty from them all, and will be there when I face messes tomorrow and thereafter to work some kind of beautiful goodness out of the mess.
Thanks God.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
7 Months Old
I can't believe my little girl is 7 months old already! Time sure has gone by quickly.
My Sweet Hannah-Kate is growing up.
Here's what's new with my little Sugar Plumb...
- Hannah Kate weighs 18 pounds 5 ounces and is about 26 inches long. She is my healthy, bouncing baby, with big bouncy curls to match!
- She is completely night weaned! She gets nursing all during the day, along with solid foods and one last time while we rock before bed and that's it! No more night time nursing! She can hold off til breakfast now.
- Hannah Kate finally sleeps through the night! Her schedule is rather wonky right now because she is putting herself on a 2 nap schedule and getting tired earlier, but on average she sleeps from about 9pm to 7am. She may wake up once but only for a few minutes and she puts herself back to sleep.
- I believe the reason for the ease in our nights now is because Hannah Kate is a Tummy Sleeper! One morning, just a day after telling Ryan how anxious I was that she was outgrowing swaddles, she wriggled out of her swaddle sack and turned herself over on her tummy and went back to sleep. I woke up to find her on the monitor, hands free on on her tummy!
So I put away the swaddles, and followed her cue, and started putting her to bed on her tummy and just like that; We found success!
- We also found success on our third attempt at travel! We surprised some family by making it up to Houston for Allie's 3rd Birthday! And Hannah Kate actually slept while we were there! She had fun with her extended family, and showed her Texans colors cheering with Daddy during her first TV Texans Game...
- She got some great clothes from Cousin Allie and has been sporting them around town. We got countless compliments this morning at the grocery store! And no matter what she is dressed in we cannot go out without someone exclaiming how beautiful she is and "Look at those curls..." etc. I'm thinking I may submit a photo or two to some local Baby Model Agencies.... ;)
- Hannah Kate sits up so well now! In grocery carts, on the couch and the floor and she loves books!
- She got her first tooth this month!
- We are super excited about the change in season and the upcoming Holidays! So many firsts are ahead for my baby girl!
- One thing that has blessed my heart this passed week has been the questions and comments I've gotten.
"You can tell she isn't used to TV"
"She is so happy, does she always smile this much?"
"She sure does love her Mommy"
"She is going to be such a helper and good big sister one day."
I work really hard at what I do, and with HK being so young, it can feel like a thankless job and hearing these things has done my heart so much good and I am encouraged!
I am loving every moment of the present stages! Some moments are harder than others but when I get a slobbery kiss or a vise like hug from my bouncing baby girl, I think how lucky I am and how I never thought my heart could hold so much love.
Thank You Jesus, For My Hannah Kate!
My Sweet Hannah-Kate is growing up.
Here's what's new with my little Sugar Plumb...
- Hannah Kate weighs 18 pounds 5 ounces and is about 26 inches long. She is my healthy, bouncing baby, with big bouncy curls to match!
- Hannah Kate finally sleeps through the night! Her schedule is rather wonky right now because she is putting herself on a 2 nap schedule and getting tired earlier, but on average she sleeps from about 9pm to 7am. She may wake up once but only for a few minutes and she puts herself back to sleep.
- I believe the reason for the ease in our nights now is because Hannah Kate is a Tummy Sleeper! One morning, just a day after telling Ryan how anxious I was that she was outgrowing swaddles, she wriggled out of her swaddle sack and turned herself over on her tummy and went back to sleep. I woke up to find her on the monitor, hands free on on her tummy!
So I put away the swaddles, and followed her cue, and started putting her to bed on her tummy and just like that; We found success!
- We also found success on our third attempt at travel! We surprised some family by making it up to Houston for Allie's 3rd Birthday! And Hannah Kate actually slept while we were there! She had fun with her extended family, and showed her Texans colors cheering with Daddy during her first TV Texans Game...
- She got some great clothes from Cousin Allie and has been sporting them around town. We got countless compliments this morning at the grocery store! And no matter what she is dressed in we cannot go out without someone exclaiming how beautiful she is and "Look at those curls..." etc. I'm thinking I may submit a photo or two to some local Baby Model Agencies.... ;)
- Hannah Kate sits up so well now! In grocery carts, on the couch and the floor and she loves books!
- She got her first tooth this month!
- We are super excited about the change in season and the upcoming Holidays! So many firsts are ahead for my baby girl!
- One thing that has blessed my heart this passed week has been the questions and comments I've gotten.
"You can tell she isn't used to TV"
"She is so happy, does she always smile this much?"
"She sure does love her Mommy"
"She is going to be such a helper and good big sister one day."
I work really hard at what I do, and with HK being so young, it can feel like a thankless job and hearing these things has done my heart so much good and I am encouraged!
I am loving every moment of the present stages! Some moments are harder than others but when I get a slobbery kiss or a vise like hug from my bouncing baby girl, I think how lucky I am and how I never thought my heart could hold so much love.
Thank You Jesus, For My Hannah Kate!
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Update
So, Life has continued to be pretty busy.
We have had a lot of firsts lately.
We had our first flight with Hannah-Kate, and she did great! Didn't like to sleep in Chicago but when we returned we discovered she was teething which brings us to another first; her first tooth!
Hannah-Kate is now a regular at the YMCA's Child watch and does GREAT while Mommy works out. This is a huge relief and good for us both!
We went to our first MOPS meeting too and she did pretty well there as well! That's where I saw this incredible video and was greatly encouraged. LOL
Mom Bohemian Rhapsody
Today we did some Autumn cleaning! I love this season! I know it's still a few weeks before we actually hit fall but it's close enough for me. This is my favorite season for fashion, colors, weather, holidays, etc. I just love fall! It's like a new beginning! And God knows it's always nice to have a fresh start to look forward when life is tough. And nothing starts a new beginning better than a clean home with marvelously fragrant candles burning!
I'm setting goals for myself and recruiting my husband to help me find the time to be able to accomplish them. I want to write more, read more, do things that are good for me mentally, physically, intellectually, spiritually etc. I think we made a good start in discussing it today.
We still haven't found a church but haven't been around much the past few weekends so we will try again tomorrow.
SLEEEEP!!!! Thank You Jesus!
After being up for several nights straight in Chicago, Ryan and I decided we needed a real plan of action to move forward in sleep training. We had talked about night weaning Hannah Kate now that she is on solids and continues to gain weight like a champ, but that never really lasted past the first couple of hours because Mommy was tired and nursing worked! Although it only worked for a short period of time.
So, with my Husband at my side we decided that while we are not fans of letting her "Cry It Out" until she falls asleep on her own, we did decide that we needed to give her more of a chance to self soothe by waiting just 10 or 15 minutes before going in to comfort her and try to help her back to sleep. This worked! Now I'm only getting up to feed her sometime between 4:30am and 6am, and just once! She does wake up a few times at night and I watch her on the monitor and time her fussing and she always goes back to sleep within her 10-15 minute time frame and this seems a lot more gentle to me than her crying for 30 minutes to an hour. This I can handle. And it seems to just be getting better every night! I'm thrilled! Eventually we will cut out the last feeding but it seems like she is already naturally pushing it to be her wake up feeding so we may not even have to.
I'm so excited about her sleep progress and how well she does giving Mommy breaks at the Y and at MOPS. Now that Ryan is back in school I can't imagine not having those little breaks.
We have had a lot of firsts lately.
We had our first flight with Hannah-Kate, and she did great! Didn't like to sleep in Chicago but when we returned we discovered she was teething which brings us to another first; her first tooth!
Hannah-Kate is now a regular at the YMCA's Child watch and does GREAT while Mommy works out. This is a huge relief and good for us both!
We went to our first MOPS meeting too and she did pretty well there as well! That's where I saw this incredible video and was greatly encouraged. LOL
Mom Bohemian Rhapsody
Today we did some Autumn cleaning! I love this season! I know it's still a few weeks before we actually hit fall but it's close enough for me. This is my favorite season for fashion, colors, weather, holidays, etc. I just love fall! It's like a new beginning! And God knows it's always nice to have a fresh start to look forward when life is tough. And nothing starts a new beginning better than a clean home with marvelously fragrant candles burning!
I'm setting goals for myself and recruiting my husband to help me find the time to be able to accomplish them. I want to write more, read more, do things that are good for me mentally, physically, intellectually, spiritually etc. I think we made a good start in discussing it today.
We still haven't found a church but haven't been around much the past few weekends so we will try again tomorrow.
SLEEEEP!!!! Thank You Jesus!
After being up for several nights straight in Chicago, Ryan and I decided we needed a real plan of action to move forward in sleep training. We had talked about night weaning Hannah Kate now that she is on solids and continues to gain weight like a champ, but that never really lasted past the first couple of hours because Mommy was tired and nursing worked! Although it only worked for a short period of time.
So, with my Husband at my side we decided that while we are not fans of letting her "Cry It Out" until she falls asleep on her own, we did decide that we needed to give her more of a chance to self soothe by waiting just 10 or 15 minutes before going in to comfort her and try to help her back to sleep. This worked! Now I'm only getting up to feed her sometime between 4:30am and 6am, and just once! She does wake up a few times at night and I watch her on the monitor and time her fussing and she always goes back to sleep within her 10-15 minute time frame and this seems a lot more gentle to me than her crying for 30 minutes to an hour. This I can handle. And it seems to just be getting better every night! I'm thrilled! Eventually we will cut out the last feeding but it seems like she is already naturally pushing it to be her wake up feeding so we may not even have to.
I'm so excited about her sleep progress and how well she does giving Mommy breaks at the Y and at MOPS. Now that Ryan is back in school I can't imagine not having those little breaks.
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