My sweet baby J turned 1 on Thursday. I spent the actual day of his birth cuddling him and talking him about how much he has changed my life for the better. I'm sure he grew weary of all the hugs and kisses, but he never let on.
Friday, I began the daunting task of completing his 1st year baby scrapbook. I have managed to keep a baby calendar for the past year which is no easy task and ended up saving all the photos to do at one time. Thankfully, I have a very patient and helpful mentor to assist me in getting my creativity going and I was able to complete 22 pages of pictures before it was time to head to Norman to celebrate my mother's birthday with the family.
Saturday, we had J's birthday party. We decided a few months ago that while we wanted the huge celebration with family and friends, baby J is in need of NOTHING (except diapers, maybe) and we didn't want anyone to feel obligated to bring him a gift. So, we decided to ask guests to bring a donation for the local Humane Society instead for us to donate on J's behalf. I wasn't sure how people would respond, but we ended up with a half a truckbed of items to donate and J got to celebrate the day with about 70 friends and family at the local park. We still managed to come home with half a sheet cake which we gave to my teenage brothers to enjoy.
After J's park party, we headed out to my parents for the family party complete with burgers, fries, baked beans, and a marble cupcake with chocolate icing for J. He loved it! Mom and Dad bought him a little green tractor to ride around on at their house and he also received some money which we're using to open his college savings account. I'm sure he'll thank us for being so frugal one day, lol.
Today, I took J to church by myself because P was called into the office around 8am. J had a few minor meltodwns but ended up falling asleep in the end which was a relief. I know he probably sounds louder to me than he sounds to everyone else, but it's nerve wracking to balance that fine line between J learning to sit still and us being a huge disruption to everyone else. Hopefully, after a few more weeks of us being consistent, he will either find ways to quietly entertain himself or fall asleep without a lot of coaxing. Patience, patience...on both of our parts!
I had to resign from all of my organizations and boards that I have been serving on. It was a really hard thing to let go of because it's been my bridge between being a professional and being a stay at home mom, but the Lord was making it really clear that in order to grow, I needed to let go. My place is home with J and my job right now is taking care of him and taking care of myself ot make sure that Baby #2 has every opportunity to grow and develop in a stress-free environment. There have been a few days here and there where I have struggled with letting go of such a big part of my identity, but thankfully, it's getting better with each passing day. I know in my heart and head that those things were temperal at best and a distraction at worst, so it's better to not have my focus being so divided. I just need to stand firm on that conviction.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Patiently waiting...
I have about 2.5 more weeks before the end of the 1st trimester with Baby #2 who we are lovingly referring to as "Lentil" until we learn the sex of the baby.
Being pregnant with J was a piece of cake. I was a little tired, but I still worked 50 - 60 hours per week, kept my house in order, got all my laundry done each weekend, and had time for family and friends. Lentil is a whole other story. I have had morning sickness from the time I wake up until I finally fall asleep. 2am is my new bedtime and 9am is the latest I can sleep without J protesting through the baby monitor. I lost 6lbs since I found out I was pregnant, but I'm already showing. And, as of 3 days ago, round ligament pains are my newest companion on this journey. I had NONE of these troubles with J, so I'm making it through each day with extra prayer, 6 small meals (heavy on the protein), lots of water, and as little sun as possible.
In spite of the difficulties, I'm encouraged and I'm looking forward to our next doctor's appt. We should be able to hear the heartbeat and see the baby more clearly because our doctor has new ultrasound equipment. And, I'm really hopeful that 13 weeks will bring some relief from the nausea. I can handle the other thing, but feeling sick all day and all night really saps my energy.
P has been amazing during the process. He's been putting in 12 hour days at the office and then coming home in time to help get J ready for bed. He also makes dinner, cleans the kitchen, and helps me run errands so I don't have to worry about getting J out in this crazy Oklahoma heat.
Stay cool, friends!
Being pregnant with J was a piece of cake. I was a little tired, but I still worked 50 - 60 hours per week, kept my house in order, got all my laundry done each weekend, and had time for family and friends. Lentil is a whole other story. I have had morning sickness from the time I wake up until I finally fall asleep. 2am is my new bedtime and 9am is the latest I can sleep without J protesting through the baby monitor. I lost 6lbs since I found out I was pregnant, but I'm already showing. And, as of 3 days ago, round ligament pains are my newest companion on this journey. I had NONE of these troubles with J, so I'm making it through each day with extra prayer, 6 small meals (heavy on the protein), lots of water, and as little sun as possible.
In spite of the difficulties, I'm encouraged and I'm looking forward to our next doctor's appt. We should be able to hear the heartbeat and see the baby more clearly because our doctor has new ultrasound equipment. And, I'm really hopeful that 13 weeks will bring some relief from the nausea. I can handle the other thing, but feeling sick all day and all night really saps my energy.
P has been amazing during the process. He's been putting in 12 hour days at the office and then coming home in time to help get J ready for bed. He also makes dinner, cleans the kitchen, and helps me run errands so I don't have to worry about getting J out in this crazy Oklahoma heat.
Stay cool, friends!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Funny how quickly things change...
As of March 2012, I will have TWO babies under the age of two. :D
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Friday, July 8, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Sunday
Life has been crazy over the past month. P's work, my projects, family life, activities with friends...it's honestly been one thing after another. And while I have enjoyed so much of this over the past month, I realized today as I was listening to words of the sermon, I have inadvertently allowed my old nemesis, Distraction, to sneak back in and steal my peace in so many situations.
Reflecting on the past month, I had not realized how many nights I was laying in bed, unable to sleep because I had so many things running through my brain. I LOVE problem solving and processing through things and while this can be a really good quality, I can see where I wasn't closely monitoring some situations that I've encountered and as a result, this good quality turned into a processing overdrive that consumed a lot of time and lot of brain space.
J has spent more time with my family in the past month than he has in several months. This is a really good thing because they love him and he loves them...but what prompted him spending so much time with them is me stacking my day to day schedule with SO many activities and meetings and appointments that he couldn't attend. Is this bad? I'm not sure if it qualifies as bad...but it certainly defeated the purpose of me resigning from a job I loved to stay home with my beautiful boy.
I have also involved myself in things that are truly beyond the scope of what I can do to fix it. And, I'm almost ashamed to admit that in my zeal for fixing things, I've said things to several people in the process that have caused hurt feelings and friction. I realized that I STILL haven't learned that telling the truth doesn't mean telling everything you know.
I was convicted this morning of not investing enough time in people and in things that matter in the long run. I have been too focused on the details and I've been missing the big picture. I'm not abandoning anything by any means. I'm seeing my projects through to finish and I'm going to continue seeing family and friends. But, I'm resolving to be much more discerning in situations and to practice being reserved in what I say about situations. And once this round of projects is completed, I need to take a HUGE step back and regroup before I say "yes" to anything new.
Reflecting on the past month, I had not realized how many nights I was laying in bed, unable to sleep because I had so many things running through my brain. I LOVE problem solving and processing through things and while this can be a really good quality, I can see where I wasn't closely monitoring some situations that I've encountered and as a result, this good quality turned into a processing overdrive that consumed a lot of time and lot of brain space.
J has spent more time with my family in the past month than he has in several months. This is a really good thing because they love him and he loves them...but what prompted him spending so much time with them is me stacking my day to day schedule with SO many activities and meetings and appointments that he couldn't attend. Is this bad? I'm not sure if it qualifies as bad...but it certainly defeated the purpose of me resigning from a job I loved to stay home with my beautiful boy.
I have also involved myself in things that are truly beyond the scope of what I can do to fix it. And, I'm almost ashamed to admit that in my zeal for fixing things, I've said things to several people in the process that have caused hurt feelings and friction. I realized that I STILL haven't learned that telling the truth doesn't mean telling everything you know.
I was convicted this morning of not investing enough time in people and in things that matter in the long run. I have been too focused on the details and I've been missing the big picture. I'm not abandoning anything by any means. I'm seeing my projects through to finish and I'm going to continue seeing family and friends. But, I'm resolving to be much more discerning in situations and to practice being reserved in what I say about situations. And once this round of projects is completed, I need to take a HUGE step back and regroup before I say "yes" to anything new.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Things are heating up!
In so many senses of that phrase.
Including...life at work for P. He's living under many microscopes at the moment with many tests coming his way to see if he will abandon his course, but he's hanging in there and asking for help from the one place he knows it comes from.
Including...our house. It's literally 80 degrees in our house with the A/C working overtime, ceiling fans on high, etc...we think it's coming up through the beautiful 1940s pine floors so we're either going to have to foam the underside of the house to close up the gaps or put carpet back in. I think J would like option 2 better now that he's pretty mobile and on the go most of the time.
Including...our pantry! A mouse chewed through the line that runs water from the water heater to the ice maker in the fridge and the only way we knew was when I decided to deep clean the pantry last night and discovered mold growing on all my cake mix boxes and taco shell boxes! DISGUSTING. We had to remove all the shelves, rip the sheetrock out about halfway up the wall, remove the laminate, linoleum, and sub-flooring, and we're going to have to treat the studs themselves. I'm so glad we found out that there was a problem before the wall caved in! Stupid mice.
Including...the tests and trials in general that are coming against us as a family and as a body. We know that we lose our lives in Christ and entrust ourselves to Him, there will be things that come against us. If we perservere and endure, we grow. The outcome is good when we stick it out and pass our tests. So, that's what we are asking for...strength to endure and wisdom to know how to handle everything that comes our way.
Including...others around us. This ties back into tests and trials, but as the weather heats up, tempers are flaring up left and right! Thankfully, I haven't had to endure a face to face flare up yet, but I'm ready to just step away from Facebook until things cool down. While I'm not on the giving or receiving end of ANYTHING, it's such a discouragement to see people lose their peace over something and then spew all over their friends causing the weaker ones to become inflamed as well. This leads to no good things and rather than continue to observe or end up "un-friending" a LOT of people, I think it's just easier to use Facebook as a place to post pics of J for P's family right now. Too many temptations to get involved in things that are none of my concern and too much opportunity for unnecessary battering of the soul.
Stay cool, be at peace, let not your heart be troubled, and endure as a good soldier of Jesus Christ!
Including...life at work for P. He's living under many microscopes at the moment with many tests coming his way to see if he will abandon his course, but he's hanging in there and asking for help from the one place he knows it comes from.
Including...our house. It's literally 80 degrees in our house with the A/C working overtime, ceiling fans on high, etc...we think it's coming up through the beautiful 1940s pine floors so we're either going to have to foam the underside of the house to close up the gaps or put carpet back in. I think J would like option 2 better now that he's pretty mobile and on the go most of the time.
Including...our pantry! A mouse chewed through the line that runs water from the water heater to the ice maker in the fridge and the only way we knew was when I decided to deep clean the pantry last night and discovered mold growing on all my cake mix boxes and taco shell boxes! DISGUSTING. We had to remove all the shelves, rip the sheetrock out about halfway up the wall, remove the laminate, linoleum, and sub-flooring, and we're going to have to treat the studs themselves. I'm so glad we found out that there was a problem before the wall caved in! Stupid mice.
Including...the tests and trials in general that are coming against us as a family and as a body. We know that we lose our lives in Christ and entrust ourselves to Him, there will be things that come against us. If we perservere and endure, we grow. The outcome is good when we stick it out and pass our tests. So, that's what we are asking for...strength to endure and wisdom to know how to handle everything that comes our way.
Including...others around us. This ties back into tests and trials, but as the weather heats up, tempers are flaring up left and right! Thankfully, I haven't had to endure a face to face flare up yet, but I'm ready to just step away from Facebook until things cool down. While I'm not on the giving or receiving end of ANYTHING, it's such a discouragement to see people lose their peace over something and then spew all over their friends causing the weaker ones to become inflamed as well. This leads to no good things and rather than continue to observe or end up "un-friending" a LOT of people, I think it's just easier to use Facebook as a place to post pics of J for P's family right now. Too many temptations to get involved in things that are none of my concern and too much opportunity for unnecessary battering of the soul.
Stay cool, be at peace, let not your heart be troubled, and endure as a good soldier of Jesus Christ!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
The Worst Afternoon Ever
Since there is a lesson to be learned in every situation, I'm not going to complain about yesterday...but I am going to say to myself, "For goodness sake, let's get this learned and get over it so we don't have to do THAT again, self!"
1. J did not nap yesterday. At all.
2. He's also teething - two at once.
3. Payday - had to swing by the office to pick up P's check since he was out of town
4. Several errands to run in the 100+ degree weather. J and I were both sweating like a couple of piggies after about 20 min.
5. Sat in line at the bank for 15 min which led to several loud protests from the backseat.
6. Race around the grocery store only to end up spending 10 min in the checkout line because my debit card wouldn't go through.
7. The check out announces (rather loudly) that I don't have any money in the bank to cover it...or that's what she thinks might be the problem.
8. Gather J and groceries, head to car (since the boy bagging my groceries did not offer to help like they usually do)
9. Unlock trunk, load groceries.
10. Attempt to shut trunk but cannot because the latch is stuck in the closed position
11. Realize that the trunk lid is too lightweight to attempt the 5 mile drive home without the possibility of having to stop several times which wasn't an option with a 9 month old in the backseat
12. Call Mom
13. Call sisters A and E
14. Call P
15. Call parents home phone
16. Call brother in law
17. Call Dad - the only one who answered his phone
18. Tell Dad what's going on, he offers to drive the 20 miles into town to pick us up and take us home
19. Call bank to ask about debit card status and get put on hold for 18 min
20. Hang up and call bank back who offers to call me back
21. Put J in front seat and crank a/c all the way to full blast
22. Brother in law calls back, offers to come to rescue
23. Mother and brother show up (Dad sent them)
24. Move all groceries and J over to Mom's car
25. Brother in law arrives with tools and manages to get trunk lock pried open so trunk will close
26. Thank everyone, leave J and groceries with Mom, drive to bank
27. Arrive at bank, wait in line
28. FINALLY get to speak to someone only to determine that all is well, funds are in the account
29. Drive home
30. Mom arrives with J as I am attempting to unlock front door
31. Realize rather belatedly that using the front door key to try to pry the trunk lock open was a bad idea
32. Mom offers to go in through the dog door
33. Trying hard not to laugh
34. Mom realizes that her shoulders won't fit through
35. Mom also realizes that the extra key to my house is in sister A's car and she is at least 20 miles away
36. Realize that J and groceries have been in the heat almost 2 hours at this point
37. Decide to break back door pane and unlock back door
38. Mom insists on doing it
39. Mom comes back about 3 min later and states that the glass is tempered and she can't get it to budge
40. Mom proceeds to search her car AGAIN (4th time) for an extra key
41. Take screwdriver, march to back door, and smash pane for all it's worth
42. Glass shatters
43. Cut index finger and wrist
44. Unlock back door
45. Wrap finger in paper towels
46. Let Mom and J in the house
47. Put away groceries
48. Clean up broken glass
49. Cancel longstanding dinner plans with friends
50. Await husband's return
All is well that ends well. J fell asleep at 8pm (an hour ahead of schedule). I think I'm going to have an awesome scar on my index finger. And P wasn't upset about anything. BUT, what I realized, at each point along the way is that all of my busy-ness is detracting from my job. I'm not giving my job 100% and I really need to focus my energies and attention on making sure all the house related tasks are in good standing before I throw so much of my energy into running around, serving on committees, helping Mom with her projects, etc... so that's what I'm doing. Granted, I'm only one day back into my routine, but it's been a very smooth day and baby J has napped like a champ. I'm willing to trade in some of my busy things if it means things are peaceable "on the job."
1. J did not nap yesterday. At all.
2. He's also teething - two at once.
3. Payday - had to swing by the office to pick up P's check since he was out of town
4. Several errands to run in the 100+ degree weather. J and I were both sweating like a couple of piggies after about 20 min.
5. Sat in line at the bank for 15 min which led to several loud protests from the backseat.
6. Race around the grocery store only to end up spending 10 min in the checkout line because my debit card wouldn't go through.
7. The check out announces (rather loudly) that I don't have any money in the bank to cover it...or that's what she thinks might be the problem.
8. Gather J and groceries, head to car (since the boy bagging my groceries did not offer to help like they usually do)
9. Unlock trunk, load groceries.
10. Attempt to shut trunk but cannot because the latch is stuck in the closed position
11. Realize that the trunk lid is too lightweight to attempt the 5 mile drive home without the possibility of having to stop several times which wasn't an option with a 9 month old in the backseat
12. Call Mom
13. Call sisters A and E
14. Call P
15. Call parents home phone
16. Call brother in law
17. Call Dad - the only one who answered his phone
18. Tell Dad what's going on, he offers to drive the 20 miles into town to pick us up and take us home
19. Call bank to ask about debit card status and get put on hold for 18 min
20. Hang up and call bank back who offers to call me back
21. Put J in front seat and crank a/c all the way to full blast
22. Brother in law calls back, offers to come to rescue
23. Mother and brother show up (Dad sent them)
24. Move all groceries and J over to Mom's car
25. Brother in law arrives with tools and manages to get trunk lock pried open so trunk will close
26. Thank everyone, leave J and groceries with Mom, drive to bank
27. Arrive at bank, wait in line
28. FINALLY get to speak to someone only to determine that all is well, funds are in the account
29. Drive home
30. Mom arrives with J as I am attempting to unlock front door
31. Realize rather belatedly that using the front door key to try to pry the trunk lock open was a bad idea
32. Mom offers to go in through the dog door
33. Trying hard not to laugh
34. Mom realizes that her shoulders won't fit through
35. Mom also realizes that the extra key to my house is in sister A's car and she is at least 20 miles away
36. Realize that J and groceries have been in the heat almost 2 hours at this point
37. Decide to break back door pane and unlock back door
38. Mom insists on doing it
39. Mom comes back about 3 min later and states that the glass is tempered and she can't get it to budge
40. Mom proceeds to search her car AGAIN (4th time) for an extra key
41. Take screwdriver, march to back door, and smash pane for all it's worth
42. Glass shatters
43. Cut index finger and wrist
44. Unlock back door
45. Wrap finger in paper towels
46. Let Mom and J in the house
47. Put away groceries
48. Clean up broken glass
49. Cancel longstanding dinner plans with friends
50. Await husband's return
All is well that ends well. J fell asleep at 8pm (an hour ahead of schedule). I think I'm going to have an awesome scar on my index finger. And P wasn't upset about anything. BUT, what I realized, at each point along the way is that all of my busy-ness is detracting from my job. I'm not giving my job 100% and I really need to focus my energies and attention on making sure all the house related tasks are in good standing before I throw so much of my energy into running around, serving on committees, helping Mom with her projects, etc... so that's what I'm doing. Granted, I'm only one day back into my routine, but it's been a very smooth day and baby J has napped like a champ. I'm willing to trade in some of my busy things if it means things are peaceable "on the job."
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