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The children and I are finishing up the Narnia stories. You know, I read those books over and over as a child and never "got" the Christian references. Now I read them to my children and literally choke up with Lewisian pangs of joy from time to time. My children don't understand why I weep at the illustrations of providence in A Horse and His Boy. They can't figure out why Reepicheep's pure passion for finding Aslan's country makes him one of my favorite characters. They haven't the context to know why Eustace's transformation rends my own heart with gratitude. Tomorrow night I'll be overcome with a joyful ache at the exhortation to come "further up and further in!" Tomorrow they may not understand why. Someday they will, and their innocent love of these wonderful stories and their simple love of the Lord will interact in a magical way...and they'll weep, and shout with joy, with me. |
Posted in Family
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I love potty training. I love potty training. I love potty training...
(repeating ad nauseum) |
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Posted in Family
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Mine is. He said, "Hey Mom! Wanna see what it looks like when I think too hard?"
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You would think, having experienced 25 kid birthdays before today, that these events wouldn't surprise me anymore. And yet, as I sat across the table from my Andy, I couldn't believe it's been eight years already.
Andy was my easiest c-section, and he was born ready to take on the world. He (loudly) insisted on eating the very millisecond I was out of recovery and able to feed him. He had no patience for nurses trying to get blood samples from his heel, and consequently flipped himself right over after the first stick (much to the shock of the poor nurse!). He was a patient and content baby, and he is still my easygoing, go with the flow, happy, easy to please child.
I'm so pleased to see how the Lord is developing him. The last year has witnessed remarkable growth in his maturity in relating to his siblings, in his diligence with schoolwork, and in his love for the Church. He loves being with God's people. He loves helping within the church body. He loves coming to the Lord's Table. What a joy that is for this Momma to see.
Of course, I can't get too carried away or wax overly rhapsodic. These reflections came during the traditional "all request" birthday feast, for which Andy had requested spaghetti and meatballs. It is hard to focus overmuch on Andy's growing maturity when his lower face is completely covered in tomato sauce. |
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My oldest is ten today.
Ten years ago this morning, I was sitting on the couch, wondering whether or not to call the OB's office. I hadn't felt J moving much in the last couple days. That seemed to fit in with what the OB said would happen toward the end of the pregnancy. Heaven knows there wasn't much room anymore. So I waited. And debated with myself about whether or not I should call. Finally, I did, and was instructed to come down to the hospital for a BPP.
The sonogram lady was not encouraging. I desperately wanted her to tell me something--he's alive, he's going to be okay, something! But all she could do was shake her head and tell me the doctor would tell me the results of the BPP. The results were bad. He wasn't moving. We went in for an energency c-section.
No first-time mom wants this kind of delivery. Few consider it thoroughly or prepare themselves for the eventuality. I didn't. A whirlwind of flurried activity later, a baby boy was born to us. He was immediately whisked away to the NICU, and we were instructed, about 12 hours later, to prepare ourselves to say goodbye to him due to some complications. The neonatologist had one more last-ditch effort to try, but our son was expected to die. A few hours later, we were informed that J had made a turnaround. God had spared our son!
He is 10 today. And I am very thankful to have him. |
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My sister gave birth to her firstborn today! Little Lydia Katharine made her appearance, to the joy of my little sister and her husband. I'll get to see her Thanksgiving at the latest...woohoo!
Now...WHAT shall I knit for her? |
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It seems like ages ago when our now 10-year old boy was our only baby. Every milestone was new and crazy. We were much more neurotic back then. I have NO idea how this idea made it past all the "baby development" book studying, but for some odd reason, at age 1, we were actually waking the boy up in the middle of the night to drink formula out of his bottle. I told you...we were neurotic.
We took him in for his one-year check up, and our pediatrician asked about his sleep habits. We told him of our nocturnal feeding habit, and the dear man looked at us like we were nuts. Waking him up to eat? Very gently, he let us know that Jonathan's nutritional needs were met by his daytime meals, and that we should discontinue these feedings. Then he gave us the Golden Rule (okay, not THAT Golden Rule) of habit-breaking in young children:
Three days.
Those three days will be unpleasant, especially the first one. But three days are all it takes to break the habit of a midnight feeding (when no longer necessary), a bottle habit (changing to the cup), or even the seemingly unbreakable connection between a child and his pacifier. We couldn't believe it. Surely not! But Dr. E was right. Three nights of no compromise, and Jonathan was sleeping through the night, poor kid. The rule has always held true for us...strange but true...call Ripley.
So when we decided that Ellie's connection to her beloved "suckie" had transformed from "helpful" to "obsessive", we put Dr. E to the test again. Those of you who know Ellie will have some idea of the impending horror we were facing. We had a great trump card, though...Ellie adores her big sister Katie, and Katie is a big girl who does not need a suckie! We played it. And it helped. A little. That first night was unpleasant (poor Sean...he didn't have the benefit of coma-inducing migraine prevention meds to help him get through that night). The second night was better. And here we are, the third night, not a tear or whimper to be heard. Dr. E wins again...three days is all it takes. |
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You know, the Lord has given me a rare and wonderful gift, one I do not come CLOSE to appreciating enough. My husband is an amazing man. He is a father who is so committed to our children that he will work an inhuman schedule to provide for us. He has set aside many of his own "dreams" because he honors his responsibilties and cheerfully fills his ordained role. |
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I'm constantly amazed/amused at what comes out of these kids' mouths. Yesterday Sean was leading family worship, and the conversation turned to the story of Jael. We talked about the story and Deborah's song afterwards. 9yob says: "That song is imprecatory, isn't it Dad?" Giggle--this from a child who needs constant reminding to chew with his mouth closed and zip his fly.
Our older girl (almost 6), had a toenail injury recently, and was reluctant to allow me to put antibiotic ointment and a bandaid on the wound. It looked like it might be getting infected, so I told her that it was important to treat it so the infection would not spread, and Daddy happened to mention (in his "why have children if you're not going to mess with them?" way) that if the infection spread too much, the doctor would have to take her foot off. She SPRINTED into the bathroom, and underwent treatment. HOURS afterwards, she asked me if she "barely made it in time" to get the ointment on...she thought another few seconds would have meant a lifetime of hopping. Poor girl.
Children are great. |