Love Math & Why There's Always Enough

I was pregnant...AGAIN!

I was giddy.

I was shocked.

I was terrified!

Raise your hand if you've been there haha!  I hear it all the time... the greatest fear of a mom's heart when she's expecting another baby...

"I don't know if I have enough love for another baby!"

"HOW could I POSSIBLY love another person like I love my first child?"

"What if I'm just not cut out for loving another child?"

"What if this new baby somehow takes AWAY from the love I'm giving the child I already have?"

That's it right there, isn't it?  That's where the issue lies.  Or should I say, that's where the LIE lies?

Fiends....here's what I've discovered....

We've been doing the math wrong!

We look in the mirror and we see the shape of our body....the edges of the shell in which we live, and we see limits.  We see boundaries.  We see "only so much" and we assume that our love must be DIVIDED into the number of people we've been tasked with caring for.

We tell ourselves that "Right now I love as much as I can, so that must be my limit.  This max that I have to offer has to be DIVIDED and portioned out to all these people."

The natural world confirms this math, right?

There's only so much time.  Only so much money.  Only so much space.  Only so much energy.  Only so much...everything!  In the natural, we have to divide it up fairly and distribute it so everyone gets what they need...and boy, we do a lousy job of this in so many areas don't we?  So we see LACK.  We see "not enough".  We see limits.

But LOVE MATH is different....because love is not a limited "natural" resource!

Love is not a limited resource because it's fed by an unlimited Source, so there's always MORE to be had.

More than the sands on the shore.

More than the depth of the sea.

More than the stars in the sky.

And even those examples fall short because there is a measurable number of sands on the shore...there is a finite depth of the sea...there are only so many stars in the sky.  

Compared to the love that God can fill us with, the number of sands fall short...the sea is far too shallow...the stars too finite.  They are not only weak examples....they are infinitely inadequate examples.  Breathtaking, isn't it?

So rest easy, mama.  If you've been wrestling with thoughts of "I don't have enough love in me to offer another person"....start thinking in terms of multiplication instead of division!  Your Source of love is not yourself....it is God - He IS Love, and He is always MORE than enough!

"We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.  God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him." 1 John 4:16

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7

Lord, thank you for supplying me with even more than I need!  Sometimes I feel limited and like I'm just not enough....thank you for the reminder that I am not to trust my feelings because they shift and change by the minute.  YOU are true.  YOU are enough.  YOU are love.  YOU never change.  And, glory upon glory, it is YOU who lives in me!  I trust you, Lord.  Please reveal the areas of my life where I need to trust you more, so that I can earnestly surrender those areas and live in full alignment and submission to you.  Thank you for being strong in my weaknesses....may I be utterly weak in all areas so your strength shines through to the world!  For the building of your Kingdom and that all the world sees and knows your amazing love and grace, Lord Jesus. oxox

Read more...

Happy Baby Girl

I had a shoot with this adorable little cherub today.  What a job, eh?!

When Sammy saw me processing the shoot she said, "Scoot over Mama, I hafta kiss that cute baby!"

'Nuf said :-)

Read more...

Poop, Poop, and ....NO Poop?!

Motherhood can be so glamorous. Since having kids, I've spent more time discussing the bathroom (or diaper) habits of other people than I ever thought...or hoped...I would!  And when I say "other people" I'm referring to 4 specific little "other people".  Thankfully, we've managed to refrain from discussing the pooping habits of anyone else. So far.

Motherhood can also be unpredictable.  One minute I'm cleaning poop from places...man, I just don't want to think about how it got there!  And the next, I'm saying, "Why won't this kid just go already!  He/she hasn't gone in over a week!"  You'd think I'd be thankful, but as you can imagine, it makes for a pretty uncomfortable baby.

Thankfully, we're past the stages of unpredictable poopitude.  As kids get older, their little bodies get this basic function figured out, and we're all happy campers.  But when you're going through a phase with your baby, and you're wondering what's wrong and what to do?  It can seem like an eternity.  Take heart.  This too shall...pass.

I mean, really.  Could you have any respect for me at all if I didn't manage to work that in there somehow? ;)

I've learned a few things about helping a constipated baby over the course of the past 7 years and 4 babies, and thought I'd share.  I put it in the form of a new eHow article.  Check it out if you're having a problem with a constipated baby.  It also has some great tips that will help with gas.  Here it is in all it's glory:

How To Help A Constipated Baby

PS.  Mom and Dad...please try to refrain from smart-aleck "apple doesn't fall far" comments :)

 

UPDATE:  To see more great tips (that may or may not involve subject matter more glamorous or interesting that the bowel activities of this family), head on over to We Are THAT Family, the new host of Works For Me Wednesday (Huge Congratulations, Kristen!)

Read more...

How To Get Your Baby To Sleep Through The Night

We have 4 great sleepers in our house.  Well, 6 if you count hubby and me.  Sure, there is the occasional bad dream, fever, or ear ache that needs attention in the middle of the night.  But for the most part, our kids go to bed each night at 8 and wake up each morning at 7.  

All this sleep didn't come easy though.  Just like everyone else, we had babies who were up every two hours all night long...until we taught them how to sleep through the night.

I just wrote an eHow article detailing the process that we used to do this.  I'm sure it's not for everyone, just like co-sleeping wasn't for us.  But if you're interested in helping your little one sleep better, then I encourage you to give our method a try.  It worked great for us!

Click HERE for the article.

PS.  If you happen to go read the article I wrote, please take a nano-second and rate my article (all you have to do is click on the appropriate gray star up there by the picture).  Thanks!

Read more...

Clara Is 6!

Six years ago today I was holding my brand new baby girl by the light of the sunrise peeking through our hospital window.  

She had been born yesterday.  We weren't really expecting her yet, but when I went for my checkup my doctor said "I hope your bag is in your car because you're at 4 cm and I'm sending you to the hospital NOW."  Well, surprise to us!  

We got checked into the hospital, broke my water, and before we knew it I was off and screaming "EPIDURAL!!" I had done the natural childbirth thing with my first delivery, and let's just say I was ready for trying something different (besides, I had grabbed hubby by the front of his shirt and growled "don't ever let me do that again" after that first experience, so he was persistent about the epidural this time).

Clara was just moments away from coming into the world, when the doctor looked at my husband and said, "Would you like to deliver your daughter?"  Luke looked at her in shock, then he looked at me "Go for it" I said (happy and content as could be with those wonderful drugs on board).  Luke gowned and gloved up, and got ready to welcome his baby girl.  

His were the first hands to touch her as she arrived.  He held her, he guided her, he cut the cord, and he handed her screaming (and extremely pissed off) little body to me.  It was an amazing moment...the love of my life looking at me with wonder in his eyes as he handed our daughter to me.  Wow.

Clara was born...feisty.  I love that about her.  But it's a bit scary too.  

That first night, I was asleep in my room.  I always like to have my babies sleep in the nurse-supervised baby nursery their first night for fear that they'll stop breathing or something and I won't be able to help them.  They're just so fragile and little!  So Clara was in the nursery, and I was sleeping soundly in my room.

And then, from the recesses of my deep-dreaming-finally-done-with-heartburn-and-having-to-pee-every 2-hours sweet sleep, I heard the sound of a crying baby.  

"Someone's baby is angry", I thought.

The screaming got louder.

"Wow, someone's baby is sure upset", is the thought that went through my head even through my eyes were still closed and the dreams were still vivid.

It got even louder.

"Come on.  I'm trying to sleep here.  That baby has one heck of a scream.  Hope he/she's okay."

And suddenly...that glass-cracking noise...it was in my room.  Oh my, that's MY baby!

The nurse had an exhausted and weary look about her as she announced rather shortly, "This baby is hungry.  There's no comforting her.  I know she ate fairly recently, but there's no consoling her. She has to be hungry."  And she left me with...that very angry baby.  How could she?!

I picked up my little girl and cooed to her.  I patted her back as I adjusted pillows to prepare to nurse.  She settled in to nurse with a contented sigh.  Ahh, my first victory as her mama - I could comfort her when no one else could.

We nursed and snuggled and slept the rest of the night in my hospital bed.  The sun woke us up as it rose over the mountains outside our window.  It peeked up over the snow-covered peak, and shone right in Clara's face.  I was already awake watching her sleep, so I saw her little nose scrunch up and her head turn in protest to her sleep being disturbed.  She turned toward me, and opened her eyes.  She seemed to look right at me.

"Hi there, my sweet Clara Rose.  How are you this morning?  I'm your mommy, and I love you very much."

She looked at me - she seemed to study my face.  And then, as if she heard and understood and believed me, she settled back into contented sleep.

My baby girl.  My Clara.  I love you, my sweet.  You bring me such joy, and I'm very proud of you.  Happy Birthday.  Love, Mommy

*************************************************************

Clara wanted a "bunny" party this year, so a bunny is what she got!

She loved her cake :)

Ben and Sammy were so excited to give Clara their carefully selected presents.  I love how my kids love each other.  I was especially proud of Ben this year.  He's generally pretty tight cautious with his money, but this year he insisted that something from the dollar store would not do.  He spent $5 on a gift for his sister! 

Yaya came to celebrate with us.  It's always such a special treat to have her and Papa visit (we missed you this trip Papa) :)

Hubby and I got her a new bike - she loved it :)

Read more...

Baby's First Haircut - Tips & Pics

We finally did it. Our little Thomas Robert got his first haircut. As much as I loved his little soft baby curls in the back...it was looking a bit mullet-ish. He was looking too much like a "Tommy Bobby" instead of a Thomas Robert. Not that there's anything wrong with being Tommy Bobby...if that's who you are. But not my boy. Not while I'm making the hair decisions around here. I like 'em clean cut. (Unless you're Carter, then long hair is just...fiine).

Just look at our little guy up there sitting in the big boy chair! He was having fun already - I had hope for a good experience instead of a hold-him-down-while-I-try-not-to-cut-off-his-ear sort of experience.

It was a family affair:



It was so cute how he gnawed on graham crackers while watching what was going on in the mirror:

Look at that- an actual SMILE during a first haircut!

Here's some first haircut tips for you:
1. Do the haircut when your little one is well rested and has a full tummy - not an activity to squeeze in after a long day of shopping.

2. Bring a snack.

3. Bring help. Bring lots of help. It works best if a parent holds baby on their lap. Someone else will need to take pictures. And someone else will break the crackers into bite-sized pieces for the little one. If you let them use their own hands, they'll have a mouth full of hair in no time.

4. And this is the best tip yet - don't let her/him squirt the baby's head with water. It totally freaks them out, and they'll be screaming in 2 seconds flat! She gave him a few squirts, he started to cry, and then I asked her to spray the water into my hand instead. I rubbed the water on his head to get his hair wet for easy cutting - it really is easier for her to see what she's doing when it's wet, and it cuts down on little fly-away baby hairs all over the place. He didn't mind me getting his head wet at all - it was the spraying that scared him.

The help can also distract the little guy. I could be mistaken, but I think he likes being the center of attention ;)

Howdy, Mama. What were you so worried about? This is easy as pie!

And then...suddenly...what's that brewing?

He was just DONE.

A few quick last snips, and it was over.

Look at my handsome boys!

(Sigh) My last "first haircut" is... done.

Read more...

Dancin' Gigglin' Fool...And Change

Oh, my little Thomas. He screeches at me ALL day long to the point of me wanting to absolutely rip my hair out...but he's so dang cute, he's pretty easy to forgive. His new thing is dancing. He finds a music making toy, gets it going, and then HE gets going. So darn cute! You can see for yourself in this video:

He's also quite the giggler. I just love how uninhibited kids are in their joy, don't you? You can't really see me in this clip, but I'm playing "peek" by hiding under his high chair tray (and nibbling his toes while I'm hiding), and then popping up to surprise him:

In other news...have you noticed how I'm have been quite the slacking blogger lately? Well, my little dancing giggler is now weaned. I go back and forth between feeling FREE, FREE, FREE AT LAST... and totally and completely useless. It's good to have my body back...the "workin' girls" are now free to be "party girls" once again ;-) (sorry Dad, more than you'd like to think about, I'm sure) But for 7 years I've been pregnant and/or nursing...it's tough to make the switch, especially knowing it's permanent.

Weaning has made my hormones run amuck too. I'm exhausted, I'm excitable...I'm nauseous, I'm starving...I'm crying, I'm giggling...I'm patient and loving, I'm a total raging B****.

Yeah, I feel sorry for my family too!

Now you know...

Read more...

Happy Birthday, My Little One!

My Dear Sweet Thomas,

How is it possible that your first year is past us already? It seems just yesterday that I sat on the couch, watching your little body tumble around in my belly... and tomorrow we're going to get your first hair cut! It truly was a blink. A blink filled with diapers, giggles, tears, new teeth, snuggles, and drool...but a blink.

Oh, my little one. I just don't have words to tell you how much I adore you!

You are my very last baby, so the feel of you as a babe in my arms will always be a fresh memory for me. Your growing up signals so many changes for us! We will never have another "first tooth", "first smile", "first word", or "first step" once you're past those milestones. I'm trying desperately to remember every precious detail.

You won't remember your first birthday, so let me tell you what you're like right now. The first thing that comes to mind is "LOUD"! You love your voice. So do I, which is a good thing, since it's in "play" mode all the time! :) You're also super high energy. Wrestling, bouncing, tickling, chasing...you're all boy! Let's see..."hungry" is another word that comes to mind. You devour whatever we put in front of you. And of course "joyful". That should have been the first word! You are ALWAYS smiling! You have an easy laugh, and a contagious giggle. Oh, I just love you so much!

My little boy. What does your future hold? What will those little hands of yours do in life? What will the Lord do with your energy and joy? I can hardly wait to see. Actually...I take that back. I CAN wait. So please, don't be in too much of a hurry to grow up!

Happy Birthday, Thomas my sweet. Grow healthy. Grow strong. Grow wise and good. But, for the love of your Mommy...grow a little more slowly.

Love,
Mommy

Read more...