I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but this subject has just been burning within me. I'll write an updating post soon!
As I was reading some bible stories to the kids, we recently began reading about how Jesus loves the children. As Jesus was teaching, in a couple of instances it tells how the small children try and come up to Him. As they came near, the disciples began to rebuke them and told the mothers to take their children away. But Jesus was not pleased, and told them to let the children come to Him.
I've read these stories many times, and it was always "yeah, Jesus loves the children." But as I was reading it this time, the tears began to fall, and I realized He not only was showing love to the children, but to the MOTHERS as well!
Oh, how many instances I've been in situations where I felt my children were bothering people. And in my need to not feel like a nuisance with my children, how utterly neglected I've felt as well. Sitting alone in a room away from everyone else. But Jesus told the children to come, which also invited the mothers to come! He wanted them to experience His love too, when most of the time they probably felt neglected as well. How happy it makes me when people love on my children- in many ways it's a direct connection to loving me! I love being around family, because they genuinely love and want to be with my children.
Jesus was very important, and many people came to hear Him speak. But He wasn't too important for the children or their mothers. He loved them all, and as a mother...I really needed to hear this!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Absent from this world...
From the bloggin world, that is. :) LOTS of things have been going on. We've had 4 birthdays since I've blogged last (And that's just in our immediate family!), we've fixed the van, Rachel has gotten 4 teeth and started taking steps, we've finished part of the addition (the laundry room), we've gone to Nashville for a week, and many other activities. All things I wanted to eventually blog about, but just thinking about blogging all of that has made me wary and not wanting to blog at all. Ironic, huh?
Anyways, all is well with us. Josh's job is still going great. It's a temporary job, and we thought it would be over by now, but it's been extended for at least a few more months, so we are feeling super blessed by that. We are trying to get all of our financial affairs in order. Credit cards paid off, emergency fund funded, and other different funds started. So having this job be extended gives us more time to do just that!
The kids are doing awesome. They are getting so much better at playing with one another, and they are exceptionally careful and nice to Rachel. They have their scuffles, but who doesn't? :)
We've been using alot of our spare time to work on the house. We finished the laundry room like I said, and we are now working on the living room. Next is the kitchen, then the master bedroom addition. And the outside is also a big to-do! But we are getting closer. I've really felt an urgency to work on it, and to get it all complete.
This whole year has really felt like a year of preparation. Preparing for what you might ask? I have NO IDEA. Which is frustrating. (I'm a planner.) But I've really felt God leading us in this. He keeps saying "You need to get ready." So I know he's working out something awesome for us. So we are doing like he says...getting our finances ready, the house ready, and anything else in order that needs to be. Josh and I have been starting to feel "uncomfortable" in our lives, which feels like a sign God is pushing us towards something new. So I'm trying to just wait, and do what we are called to do right now. I guess there's a lesson in patience that's being wrapped in as well! :)
Anyways, all is well with us. Josh's job is still going great. It's a temporary job, and we thought it would be over by now, but it's been extended for at least a few more months, so we are feeling super blessed by that. We are trying to get all of our financial affairs in order. Credit cards paid off, emergency fund funded, and other different funds started. So having this job be extended gives us more time to do just that!
The kids are doing awesome. They are getting so much better at playing with one another, and they are exceptionally careful and nice to Rachel. They have their scuffles, but who doesn't? :)
We've been using alot of our spare time to work on the house. We finished the laundry room like I said, and we are now working on the living room. Next is the kitchen, then the master bedroom addition. And the outside is also a big to-do! But we are getting closer. I've really felt an urgency to work on it, and to get it all complete.
This whole year has really felt like a year of preparation. Preparing for what you might ask? I have NO IDEA. Which is frustrating. (I'm a planner.) But I've really felt God leading us in this. He keeps saying "You need to get ready." So I know he's working out something awesome for us. So we are doing like he says...getting our finances ready, the house ready, and anything else in order that needs to be. Josh and I have been starting to feel "uncomfortable" in our lives, which feels like a sign God is pushing us towards something new. So I'm trying to just wait, and do what we are called to do right now. I guess there's a lesson in patience that's being wrapped in as well! :)
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Updates...
Sorry I've been missing from the blogging world. Life always takes precedence, and lately I've been overwhelmed with life right now. I have been missing blogging though. I've had several topics I wanted to write about, but I just need more time! :)
Kids are all doing great right now. The older two are still struggling with playing nice with one another. We have constant battles all day. But realistically, most of the day they play very well together. I just always seem to remember the fights! We also started doing "school". We just read bible stories, do little workbooks, and a lot of coloring. Just getting them used to sitting still and listening. They've really been doing very good. And every morning they ask when we are going to start school, so I guess they are enjoying it!
Rachel is now crawling on her hands and knees, and she's very fast! She's into EVERYTHING! I think I clean up more after her than Elijah and Hannah. She's also pulling up on everything, and starting to cruise around the furniture. She's getting better at going to other people, but she's predominantly still a mama's girl! (One day, I'll get some alone time!)
We are without a van right now. Well, we still have it, it's just currently not running. We found out that it has a bad cyclinder head valve that is leaking. I don't understand all this lingo, but apparantly it has something to do with the motor, and it's bad. Josh is currently spending all his free time taking the engine apart. He's been thinking about getting into mechanics lately, and everyone says to just get your hands on it and try. So we figured this was a good chance! So that's what we've been up too. Following an instructional book. And honestly it's been enjoyable. We've been doing it together, and it's nice to just have an opportunity to be with him. Any opportunity! But it does stink going back to one vehicle.
In other news, Josh and I both got smartphones. And I'd like to stay that I'm completely blown away by how advanced this phone is. I mean, my old phone, which was not a bad phone, is absolutely outdated! I just can't believe how far phones have come in two years. It seems so crazy. But it's nice to be able to do EVERYTHING from my phone. Except for blog..I haven't figured that out yet.. So I'm still using the old desktop. That's partly the reason for not blogging lately. I just never get on here anymore.
Need to run! Well, I really just need a shower while everyone's happy! :)
Kids are all doing great right now. The older two are still struggling with playing nice with one another. We have constant battles all day. But realistically, most of the day they play very well together. I just always seem to remember the fights! We also started doing "school". We just read bible stories, do little workbooks, and a lot of coloring. Just getting them used to sitting still and listening. They've really been doing very good. And every morning they ask when we are going to start school, so I guess they are enjoying it!
Rachel is now crawling on her hands and knees, and she's very fast! She's into EVERYTHING! I think I clean up more after her than Elijah and Hannah. She's also pulling up on everything, and starting to cruise around the furniture. She's getting better at going to other people, but she's predominantly still a mama's girl! (One day, I'll get some alone time!)
We are without a van right now. Well, we still have it, it's just currently not running. We found out that it has a bad cyclinder head valve that is leaking. I don't understand all this lingo, but apparantly it has something to do with the motor, and it's bad. Josh is currently spending all his free time taking the engine apart. He's been thinking about getting into mechanics lately, and everyone says to just get your hands on it and try. So we figured this was a good chance! So that's what we've been up too. Following an instructional book. And honestly it's been enjoyable. We've been doing it together, and it's nice to just have an opportunity to be with him. Any opportunity! But it does stink going back to one vehicle.
In other news, Josh and I both got smartphones. And I'd like to stay that I'm completely blown away by how advanced this phone is. I mean, my old phone, which was not a bad phone, is absolutely outdated! I just can't believe how far phones have come in two years. It seems so crazy. But it's nice to be able to do EVERYTHING from my phone. Except for blog..I haven't figured that out yet.. So I'm still using the old desktop. That's partly the reason for not blogging lately. I just never get on here anymore.
Need to run! Well, I really just need a shower while everyone's happy! :)
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Boy oh Boy! Where does the time go?
It's been a month since I blogged last? Actually, I know exactly where the time went. Into some precious kiddos! Into potty training, playing outside alot, playing inside alot lately due to the heat, and much more. Oh, and I can't forget those 3 amazing weeks of us all having an AWFUL stomach bug. It was great fun! NOT! It slowly but surely went through all of us, and I was even lucky to get it twice! Taking care of kids, and being sick yourself is seriously one of the hardest things about being a mother. There's never any time to rest, so you just have to soldier through. BUT...we are all in complete health once again, and it really makes me appreciate not being sick! :)
Updates on us:
Hannah and Elijah are becoming the best of friends. They play together all day. And although they do have some scuffles throughout the day, they seem to really enjoy one another! One of my favorite (and not so favorite) things they do is when they are going to bed at night. I can hear their little voices carrying on a little conversation! It's super adorable! Well, until it goes on for an hour and then it has to be stopped. But I still love it just the same.
Hannah is pretty much potty trained! After a long period of trying to wait until she was ready, I finally just dug in my heels and told her it was time! I said I would write a blog about that ordeal, but time just got away from me! It took about 3 VERY frustrating days. Almost to the point of wanting to give up completely. But then, it was like it just clicked in her head! And she was potty trained from then on out. She's only had a few accidents, and she even stays dry most nights! YAY!!! She still wears a pull up at night, because she's not completely reliable...but she's doing amazing! I'm so very proud of her!
Rachel turned 9 months, and she's changing every day! We just had a check-up and she weighed 15.8 pounds. She's 27.5 inches long, and her head is 16.5 inches. Still very small, but the doctor said she was healthy, and looked really good. Her size is no indication of how she eats though. She's ravenous at every meal, and eats almost everything I give her! I've also started making her food. Usually I just puree what we have for dinner, and then I also have some days where I just make a lot of her baby food. She seems to really be liking it! She's still breastfeeding about 4 times day also.
Rachel's sleeping through the night! This has been the best improvement of all! Being able to sleep again really changes your outlook on life! haha :)
She's been crawling for about a month now. And she can go from crawling to sitting up now too. This makes it easier on her and me! Not easier on the other two though. haha. She's usually following them around, and getting into "their" toys. :) Recently, she's been trying to pull up on the couch and other furniture as well. She only gets to about her knees, but she's really trying hard!
Other tricks- She really likes to dance! It's adorable. Anytime I sing or she hears music, she'll sit up and start grooving! I need to get a video, because it's so funny! She's clapping too, and we are still working on waving bye-bye.
I've been doing little odds and ends fix-its around the house. Like painting, and caulking, and anything else I can do. We still have a long way to go, but one day! Josh has been so busy with work and side jobs, that we've really only been seeing him at night! But I can't complain about the work! Our next big project is to finish the addition- starting with the laundry room! That space is much needed, so I'm getting excited!
Anyways, i have a little pair of hands pulling at me wanting some attention, so I"ll try to blog again soon!
Updates on us:
Hannah and Elijah are becoming the best of friends. They play together all day. And although they do have some scuffles throughout the day, they seem to really enjoy one another! One of my favorite (and not so favorite) things they do is when they are going to bed at night. I can hear their little voices carrying on a little conversation! It's super adorable! Well, until it goes on for an hour and then it has to be stopped. But I still love it just the same.
Hannah is pretty much potty trained! After a long period of trying to wait until she was ready, I finally just dug in my heels and told her it was time! I said I would write a blog about that ordeal, but time just got away from me! It took about 3 VERY frustrating days. Almost to the point of wanting to give up completely. But then, it was like it just clicked in her head! And she was potty trained from then on out. She's only had a few accidents, and she even stays dry most nights! YAY!!! She still wears a pull up at night, because she's not completely reliable...but she's doing amazing! I'm so very proud of her!
Rachel turned 9 months, and she's changing every day! We just had a check-up and she weighed 15.8 pounds. She's 27.5 inches long, and her head is 16.5 inches. Still very small, but the doctor said she was healthy, and looked really good. Her size is no indication of how she eats though. She's ravenous at every meal, and eats almost everything I give her! I've also started making her food. Usually I just puree what we have for dinner, and then I also have some days where I just make a lot of her baby food. She seems to really be liking it! She's still breastfeeding about 4 times day also.
Rachel's sleeping through the night! This has been the best improvement of all! Being able to sleep again really changes your outlook on life! haha :)
She's been crawling for about a month now. And she can go from crawling to sitting up now too. This makes it easier on her and me! Not easier on the other two though. haha. She's usually following them around, and getting into "their" toys. :) Recently, she's been trying to pull up on the couch and other furniture as well. She only gets to about her knees, but she's really trying hard!
Other tricks- She really likes to dance! It's adorable. Anytime I sing or she hears music, she'll sit up and start grooving! I need to get a video, because it's so funny! She's clapping too, and we are still working on waving bye-bye.
I've been doing little odds and ends fix-its around the house. Like painting, and caulking, and anything else I can do. We still have a long way to go, but one day! Josh has been so busy with work and side jobs, that we've really only been seeing him at night! But I can't complain about the work! Our next big project is to finish the addition- starting with the laundry room! That space is much needed, so I'm getting excited!
Anyways, i have a little pair of hands pulling at me wanting some attention, so I"ll try to blog again soon!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sleep training 101
I don't know if anyone else is like this, but I can't remember the hard times of having babies/children. For example, I can't remember how I potty trained Elijah. I remember it as a distant memory of me going through it, but I can't remember the emotions/feelings or how I even went about it. I don't know if it's my mind blocking out stressful times, or most likely God allowing the memories to fade so I'll actually have more children! :)
The same goes for sleep training. You would think that I'd be somewhat of an expert being on my third baby. This is nowhere near true! It feels like I'm having to relearn everything. And every child is different in how they handle it, so I guess you just have to do what you feel is right.
So, saying all that, the title of this post is in NO WAY trying to tell other people how to get their babies to sleep through the night. This is just what we did this time, and I would like it as a reference point for myself for the future. :)
Well, we got to that point where something had to be done with Rachel. Early on, she was actually sleeping through the night. I thought I was blessed to have a baby that just learned it on her own. Well then she started waking up once (not a big deal) then it started getting worse and worse and I knew it was just her waking up to be held and comforted (nursed) back to sleep.
So I started researching a lot of different ways of sleep training, and I think I kinda took a little bit of everything. So here's the plan we followed:
After she eats dinner, I let her nurse as much as she wants. Off and on all evening. Then about an hour before bedtime, I turn down all the lights and (usually) do a bath. Then she gets pajamas on, and I nurse her some more if she wants it. When I see that she starts to get sleepy (she usually starts rubbing her eyes), I lay her in her bed awake and tell her "I love you" and "Goodnight." And then leave the room.
The first night, she did not like this at all. She cried for a little while. I think I only can go about 10 minutes before I have to go in to check on her. And if she gets really upset, I'll go in before that. But when I do go in, I usually try not to pick her up. I rub her head and her back until she's calmed down again, and then I leave the room. Then we repeat this process. The same thing goes for the middle of the night.
The first night was definitely hard. It took her about 30 minutes to go to sleep the first time. Then she woke up twice during the night. The first time it took her about an hour to go back to sleep. The second time, I caved and just nursed her. But at least we had cut out one nursing session.
The second night was hard too, but she went to sleep the first time a lot easier. And then she only woke up once during the night, and it took about an hour to get her back to sleep again. But then she slept the rest of the night. And I didn't nurse her at all!
The third night, I think was the hardest. It was like she was realizing what was going on, and just wanted to see how far she could go before I would break. haha. I think she woke a total of three times, each taking about 30-45 minutes to get her back to sleep. I think I even picked her up and rocked her a couple of times that night, but I had decided I was going to cut out nursing all together. And we did it!
Since then she's really done awesome! She goes to bed A LOT easier, and IF she wakes it's like once during the night and we pat her back and she's back asleep! She usually goes to bed around 9, and then wakes up anywhere between 6-7:30 in the morning in which I will get up and nurse her. If she sleeps during the night, I am TOTALLY ok with that! :)
And we do have hard nights here and there. One night, she woke up and it took me about 2 hours to get her to sleep. But I think she was having some gas issues. But nights like that will just happen sometimes. All in all, it's been a major improvement in the sleep department! And the other night, when I was up all night with Hannah getting sick, she didn't wake once! That was definitely a blessing in itself!
And since she's been sleeping through the night better, she's been a much happier baby! That's been the best thing of all. She's happier and plays better during the day, instead of just wanting to nurse and be held all day. I think she was just tired before, all the time! I understand that, though, because I was too! Things are definitely looking better!
Next time, I'll post on how Hannah's potty training is going! We've been busy around here!
The same goes for sleep training. You would think that I'd be somewhat of an expert being on my third baby. This is nowhere near true! It feels like I'm having to relearn everything. And every child is different in how they handle it, so I guess you just have to do what you feel is right.
So, saying all that, the title of this post is in NO WAY trying to tell other people how to get their babies to sleep through the night. This is just what we did this time, and I would like it as a reference point for myself for the future. :)
Well, we got to that point where something had to be done with Rachel. Early on, she was actually sleeping through the night. I thought I was blessed to have a baby that just learned it on her own. Well then she started waking up once (not a big deal) then it started getting worse and worse and I knew it was just her waking up to be held and comforted (nursed) back to sleep.
So I started researching a lot of different ways of sleep training, and I think I kinda took a little bit of everything. So here's the plan we followed:
After she eats dinner, I let her nurse as much as she wants. Off and on all evening. Then about an hour before bedtime, I turn down all the lights and (usually) do a bath. Then she gets pajamas on, and I nurse her some more if she wants it. When I see that she starts to get sleepy (she usually starts rubbing her eyes), I lay her in her bed awake and tell her "I love you" and "Goodnight." And then leave the room.
The first night, she did not like this at all. She cried for a little while. I think I only can go about 10 minutes before I have to go in to check on her. And if she gets really upset, I'll go in before that. But when I do go in, I usually try not to pick her up. I rub her head and her back until she's calmed down again, and then I leave the room. Then we repeat this process. The same thing goes for the middle of the night.
The first night was definitely hard. It took her about 30 minutes to go to sleep the first time. Then she woke up twice during the night. The first time it took her about an hour to go back to sleep. The second time, I caved and just nursed her. But at least we had cut out one nursing session.
The second night was hard too, but she went to sleep the first time a lot easier. And then she only woke up once during the night, and it took about an hour to get her back to sleep again. But then she slept the rest of the night. And I didn't nurse her at all!
The third night, I think was the hardest. It was like she was realizing what was going on, and just wanted to see how far she could go before I would break. haha. I think she woke a total of three times, each taking about 30-45 minutes to get her back to sleep. I think I even picked her up and rocked her a couple of times that night, but I had decided I was going to cut out nursing all together. And we did it!
Since then she's really done awesome! She goes to bed A LOT easier, and IF she wakes it's like once during the night and we pat her back and she's back asleep! She usually goes to bed around 9, and then wakes up anywhere between 6-7:30 in the morning in which I will get up and nurse her. If she sleeps during the night, I am TOTALLY ok with that! :)
And we do have hard nights here and there. One night, she woke up and it took me about 2 hours to get her to sleep. But I think she was having some gas issues. But nights like that will just happen sometimes. All in all, it's been a major improvement in the sleep department! And the other night, when I was up all night with Hannah getting sick, she didn't wake once! That was definitely a blessing in itself!
And since she's been sleeping through the night better, she's been a much happier baby! That's been the best thing of all. She's happier and plays better during the day, instead of just wanting to nurse and be held all day. I think she was just tired before, all the time! I understand that, though, because I was too! Things are definitely looking better!
Next time, I'll post on how Hannah's potty training is going! We've been busy around here!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Progress is always good
So, lately I've felt pretty emotionally beat up. I was feeling lonely and unproductive. And like nothing in life was going my way. I really was throwing myself a pity party. I was drained. I have huge self esteem issues, and they always seem to come back when you are at your lowest. The devil doesn't play fair folks!
I really started feeling it last week, and I felt like everything was spiralling out of control. I finally had a break-down and confessed to Josh how I was feeling. How I didn't feel like I was getting anything accomplished in life. (I know, I know- Motherhood is a huge responsibility! But sometimes you get to the point where you don't even think you're good at that.) That's where I was. I function better when I have a goal in mind, and I can see progress.
Josh sat down with me and we talked. He pointed some very important things out to me. For one- I wasn't sleeping. Rachel has literally been getting worse and worse at night. Waking 3-4 times at night, and staying up for over an hour. Not fun, and I was too drained to even deal with it. But he convinced me that this is definitely the root of all the issues. And he was right.
I didn't have any energy. No energy to manage the house, no energy to make friends, no energy for projects. I was just functioning on a very basic level. If I could get the kids fed and bathed and in bed that was good. But that's not enough for me.
So last week, we started some sleep training with Rachel. And to really makes things hard, it felt like the time to start potty training Hannah as well. Talk about a rough week. Why not compile it all in one week? haha
So that's what we've been dealing with. And we are starting to see progress. In both areas. And progress is always very, very good!
I'll write a litte more when I have another chance!
I really started feeling it last week, and I felt like everything was spiralling out of control. I finally had a break-down and confessed to Josh how I was feeling. How I didn't feel like I was getting anything accomplished in life. (I know, I know- Motherhood is a huge responsibility! But sometimes you get to the point where you don't even think you're good at that.) That's where I was. I function better when I have a goal in mind, and I can see progress.
Josh sat down with me and we talked. He pointed some very important things out to me. For one- I wasn't sleeping. Rachel has literally been getting worse and worse at night. Waking 3-4 times at night, and staying up for over an hour. Not fun, and I was too drained to even deal with it. But he convinced me that this is definitely the root of all the issues. And he was right.
I didn't have any energy. No energy to manage the house, no energy to make friends, no energy for projects. I was just functioning on a very basic level. If I could get the kids fed and bathed and in bed that was good. But that's not enough for me.
So last week, we started some sleep training with Rachel. And to really makes things hard, it felt like the time to start potty training Hannah as well. Talk about a rough week. Why not compile it all in one week? haha
So that's what we've been dealing with. And we are starting to see progress. In both areas. And progress is always very, very good!
I'll write a litte more when I have another chance!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Much needed trip!
Josh and I decided that as soon as the Valdosta house was finished, we would drop everything and take a trip down to the River house. So that's what we did this past weekend! It was so awesome, and very much needed. We just relaxed all weekend. We did some swimming, a lot of playing outside, and took naps as well! It was nice to just be together as a family. And we had a few "adventures" as well. We saw an alligator, a snake, and some deer. We really had a good time- the kids are already asking when we'll be going back! :)
Rachel hanging out on the dock after swimming.
Ready to fish with Daddy.
Trying to fish- nothing was biting.
Ready for lunch- swimming makes you hungry!
I told him if he gave me a REALLY big smile, he could have some more chips. :)
Josh did alot of grilling out!
The kids found a small grill and were cooking us dinner!
Rachel is such a cheeser!
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