Poor Little.

When you're a starry-eyed newlywed couple that's just about to have a baby, you don't think of days like this. All you can think about is how amazing it will feel to be parents and have a family of your own. When that little baby is born, you think "This is perfect! This is what I was meant to be!". You know in your heart that you will do absolutely anything for your children, that life will never be the same again.

On days like today, I don't regret my choice to have children, even though I've had to clean up various bodily fluids that make me gag just thinking of them. Hands can be washed, I say to myself. On days like today, I don't wish for life to be the way it used to, even though I've had one boy puking on the toilet while the other screamed in his crib because he had a soaking diaper, was hungry, and wanted out. On the contrary, as I'm rubbing my frightened and sad toddler on the back while his tummy ejects its contents, as I fetch a distraught eight-month-old from his temporary prison, as I change the sheets for the third time, I realize that I am thankful. No, this isn't what I imagined when I said to Joey with a gleam in my eye, "Let's have a baby!"  (although it certainly was and is bound to happen), but I find that this new realization of parenthood fits me so well. When things start to get messy and my mothering instincts kick in, sometimes I catch myself thinking "This is just what I was meant to be", and although I do not welcome the presence of this sickness, it gives me the chance to be thankful for the job God has both given me and equipped me for.

Here's hoping this little boy is feeling better tomorrow!

those devilish little pearly whites

I call this one "Teething" :

Can't you just imagine the volume that accompanies this picture? 

Sigh. Benji is in full-on teething mode. He cut a tooth sometime last week, which has not brought any relief because there's at least one more tooth that has yet to break the skin. He is screechy, impatient, and grumpy. He wants to eat all the time. He never seems to get into a deep sleep, so he's exhausted (and exhausting).

Despite all of that, he's still my precious little baby boy. He still gives awesome smiles and contented cuddles. I heart him ever so much.

In other news, Joey and I decided to throw in the towel on the boys sharing a room - at least for the time being. It was a party in there! every night! until 9:30! and it made the boys grumpy to match! They just love each other way too much to sleep, which is a bitter-sweet problem to have. So now the "office" has been moved to our (admittedly massive) bedroom, and our sleepy-time routines have been reestablished. Hooray for normalcy!

Seriously. As soon as I think I've "figured out" this parenting thing, a wrench is thrown into the situation and suddenly I feel like I have a newborn again. I am so very thankful that God (through His word) has been giving me the strength to face each day. Never have I been more aware of His provision than I am now. I am also so very thankful for my husband - my bestest friend and constant support!

as I wait for my husband to get home

Today I felt overwhelmed right from the get-go. Joey left for work 15 minutes early (and let me tell you, I noticed every second of those 15 minutes), wasn't able to come home for lunch, stopped by for half an hour in the afternoon, and has not been home since (it's now 9:45).

I know from experience that days like today aren't usually my favourite, and today was no exception. I felt exhausted and weepy for the better portion of the day. Still, even though I was in a decidedly melancholy mood due to the absence of my husband, there were moments of great joy that burst through at the most unexpected times - and it just so happens that we caught some of them on camera!

Benjamin was a fan of the spinach/banana puree I decided to try out on him. He looks skeptical in this picture, but if he could, he would tell you that it was a highlight of his day, I'm sure.

Judah was ever so pleased to have his daddy home, even though it was for such a short time.

I seriously love this kid's big blue eyes. So different than my own... so beautiful!

The evening sun was beautiful, as usual. I took a moment to give our dog some lovin'. 

  Some of the awesome things about today?

• Both of my babies were in bed and ASLEEP by 7:15 PM
• There were leftovers for lunch (a rarity)
• I watched and was moved by one of my favourite Jane Austen novels depicted through film
• There were monster cookies to be found and consumed by yours truly
• the Word of God is AWESOME and ALIVE
• Judah and I were besties

Some of the not-so-awesome things about today?

• Benji is teething and ever so cross
• I changed SIX poopy diapers
• I miss my husband
• ...

And would you look at that! The good definitely outweighs the bad and I am definitely not to be pitied. :)

there's plenty love to go around...

...when the grandparents are around!

overhwelming

It's when my babies look at me like this that I realize I am the luckiest girl on the planet.

there are no "little" things

A friend emailed me a link to this article today. It was a source of encouragement to this stay-at-home-mom on this very average, "little" day. I hope you find encouragement from it!

You can visit Ingrid Schlueter's blog here. 

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Little Things (When Done In Love)

The world celebrates things done on a grand scale, the building of big things and awesome places, and it celebrates “great people” who have powerful connections, impressive credentials and great influence as celebrities.

My son and I had a conversation last night about how very differently Jesus viewed things. The disciples told the mothers of young children to get lost when they brought their little ones to Jesus for a blessing. Why would a great teacher have time for someone’s squalling brats? Be gone, women. He has bigger fish to fry.

Instead, our Savior took the children in his arms. He told his arrogant disciples that unless they became like the little ones in their simple faith, they would never see the Kingdom of God. (Matthew 18:3)

We often scorn little things in our lives, the mundane, the seemingly worthless things we do, day in and day out. The cleaning of a kitchen or bathroom, the changing of a diaper on a baby, shopping for groceries. Yet no act is meaningless when it is done in love.

Mothers know that the eye contact made with little ones while a diaper is being changed triggers some of the biggest, sweetest smiles. Augustine once said of his mother, “I would have perished a thousand times in my own filth without her care.” It really isn’t such a little thing after all, caring for a baby. Every touch and every contact with a child is a chance to ensure that child knows they are cherished, and that helps them grow.

It’s amazing what little things come into our lives from others that aren’t little at all. In the last year, I cannot tell you the number of times someone has sent me an email right at the moment when I needed encouragement. I received one from Germany a few weeks ago, and just last week, one from Northern Ireland. They were listeners who once heard me on the radio program I co-hosted. They just thanked me for the work I had done and told me what it had meant to them in their lives. The times I think that I wasted 20-some years of my life are always interrupted by a “little thing”—a kind note from someone that made all the difference, and I know it was God’s hand of kindness through people.

The example set by our Savior was unmistakable as you read through the Gospels. What you begin to see is that there are no “little things” in God’s economy when they are done in love. The woman at the well had a little conversation with Jesus – a woman he wasn’t even supposed to speak with as she was a Samaritan (and one who was co-habiting after numerous failed marriages.) That “little” conversation offered the woman eternal life — living water that would never let her thirst again. Many lives were touched in her village, because she carried that joyful message to all who would listen.

No matter how unimportant you think your life is, the little things you do matter. I have a friend I have known since high school. She has been in a wheelchair from a motor neuron disease since just after college. She lives in assisted care due to the progression of her disease. But thanks to Facebook, she is able to share music. My friend posts beautiful music videos that bless everybody who will listen. We swap music videos, and she occasionally posts on my facebook wall, “more music!” Together, we enjoy God’s blessing of music. She blesses my life.

The phone rang at home the other day. It was a very difficult day in many ways. At the other end of the line was a family friend of many years. “Just checking on you guys, seeing how you are doing…” A call at the right moment from someone who cares. What a head lifter! A “little” thing that wasn’t little at all.

What little thing can we do today that will serve someone around us? Every time I get impatient with the demands of a toddler, now nearly a preschooler, I am reminded of the example of our Lord. He could have so easily sent the mothers with children away. He had the credentials as a Big Person. But for all time He modeled for us what really matters, and He showed us how it is done when He took those babes in His arms and blessed them.

There is an old song with these words:

Does the place you’re called to labor

Seem too small and little known?

It is great if God is in it,

And He’ll not forget His own.

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this is a re-post of an article written by Ingrid Schlueter at "the Hope Blog".