Ramblings

Christmas is in the air.  Normally at this time of year Christmas would be just barely making it onto my radar, but this year for some reason is different.  I was so excited for Christmas things already in the middle of November.  I think the first snowfall drew me in!  I turned Christmas music on the first day we had those big white fluffy flakes coming down.  

Mark and I set up our Christmas tree and a couple other decorations the other day, we've been Christmas caroling and I spent a whole day at my moms baking Christmas cookies the other day.  Shopping is started and I have a list of what to buy for the rest of it, so all we have to do now is go out and buy it.  Thinking of ideas is the hardest part I find.  Often we end up wandering the stores looking for ideas which is NOT fun when the mall is jam packed with busy shoppers. This year I determined to have a list of things to get BEFORE we went shopping, so hopefully it will be more enjoyable.  

I've been thinking a lot about organizing lately.  I've been feeling like a lot of areas in our house are getting a bit cluttered and it's difficult to maintain tidiness without organization.  I have a difficult time being positive and happy when my house is messy so I think one of my winter projects will be to sort through and tidy some areas of the house.  Because our house is quite large we often end up just tossing things into closets and it doesn't matter if it's messy because there is a lot space to hide things.  I always admire people who have everything labelled in bins and this is what I'm going to work towards.  Besides it looking better to have it tidy, I really do enjoy tidying though I'm not a perfectionist in this area by any means!

We took Adalyn on her first road trip last week.  We drove 9 hours to Nipawin, Sk for the Nipawin Bible College Alumni weekend.  She did really well for her first time on a long drive.  She was happy while sleeping and not quite so happy while awake, but that was alright because she slept most of the way!  I wish I would have taken some pictures while we were there to prove that we went, but I didn't even pull my camera out once the whole weekend! It was so nice to see old friends and Mark's siblings again.  It was made more difficult having a baby to look after.  Other parents make things look so easy.  Before I had one of my own I had no idea of the conflict.   I wanted so bad to treat the weekend just like I used to, doing all the things I would have done had we not had a baby, but a little person just can't handle all the activity like I can.  Not only were nap schedules messed up, but there were also loads of people and noise at every place we went.  She was a bit grumpy on Saturday, but I was still proud of how she handled everything considering.  She did great over all and recovered some of her sleep in the couple days after. 

Our little one is just barely 5 months old.  Her latest accomplishments include sitting on her own!  She's been kind of sitting by herself for a little while now, but in the last day or two she's really seem to got the hang of it. 

Jolly jumping is her new favorite activity along with squealing and screeching.  

She has finally mastered the art of falling asleep on her own, and though this is lovely most of the time, her mommy still wishes sometimes she could hold her and rock her to sleep.

She has the most contagious giggle.  When she gets going I can't contain myself.  It's so awesome how freely the laughs bubble out of me when she laughs.  Little does she know how precious that is to me!!!  I treasure those moments laughing with her like crazy.  

The singer/songwriter Carolyn Arends has some beautiful poems/songs about babies and mothering.  One in particular really blessed me...

SMILES - Carolyn Arends

Today the gas man came to change our meter

He got distracted by the baby 

He coo-chi cooed and peek-a-booed....  

She smiled.  

He was transfixed 

Transformed  

Awash in her light.  

Gee, 

He said, lingering at the door  

That's the nicest thing that's happened to me all week.  

People 

(Relatives, friends, strangers) 

Will do anything to make 

her smile  

And when she does 

Their own countenances 

change...

They are softened 

Surrendered. 

Radient.

 She does not smile 

out of obligation 

or politeness 

She has not yet learned 

to wear a mask 

She doesn't know what

pretense is.  

She smiles because she wants to

and that is her power.  

There is something in the Bible

about unveiled faces 

and how they reflect the glory of God. 

I believe it

I've seen it 

In the unveiled smile of my baby 

And, if only for a moment, 

In the light of the face of 

whoever's smiling back.  

 

You're weird.

My two babes lounging after church.

Adalyn and cousin Isabelle playing

Simply Life Lessons

Today is one of those cool, windy, cloudy, kind of dreary fall days.  The kind of day when it’s best just to stay inside and bake, drink some tea and clean house.  So that’s just what I’m doing today.  I have a batch of buns on the go, some water warming for a cup of tea and my house is relatively tidy and the baby is sleeping.  Ahhh…. Time to relax a little and write down some thoughts.

 I think the reason I haven’t written anything for a while is because I haven’t felt there is anything to write about.  We are back to normal life around here (or maybe we are becoming more accustomed to our 'new normal').  We haven’t done anything or gone anywhere special in the last while and we are just putting along merrily as the days go by.  Far too quickly I might add!  I just packed up the first batch of clothes that Adalyn has out-grown.  I’m so excited to watch her growing and learning new things, but at the same time it’s so sad to see my little new-born doll getting bigger.  It’s funny how that works.  She’s not that new tiny-wee baby that everyone oohs and ahhs over when I go shopping anymore.  She’s become just another baby to everyone else, but to me she’s still my little darling and I marvel over her cuteness every day!  It’s really quite awesome to watch her take everything in, her eyes wide open in wonder at the smallest things.  Things like the leaves blowing on the trees, or a pattern on a couch, or a stuffed pig.  She’ll giggle and get so excited over little things, like seeing herself in the mirror, or standing, or Daddy singing a silly song to her.  God has truly given us a gift and I think we as adults have a lot to learn even from a baby.  Oh the JOY of life!!  I don’t want life to get old and boring; I want to keep my eyes open in wonder at all the marvelous things Jesus has done and is doing, and to marvel in all the things that God has created!

A visit with my Great Taunte Lena.

It’s easy right now to feel like my life is just the same old story day after day.  My days mostly consist of playing with Adalyn, feeding Adalyn, changing Adalyn’s diaper, helping Adalyn go down for naps, doing our laundry, tidying, making food and cleaning the kitchen.   I have discovered that if getting married required you to get rid of your selfish ways, then adding a baby to the mix creates the ultimate environment for working on selfish behavior!  We only have one child and I can imagine it only gets better as you involve more kids. Haha (or worse, depending on your view point!)  It’s not that I don’t enjoy the things that I do-- this is always where I wanted to be in life --  it’s just that sometimes I get tired of doing them and lose the perspective of how important my role is.  It’s a hard concept to describe. There are just times that I wish that I could do what I wanted, when I wanted and have no one else be affected.

  

I was reminded of an old song the other day, the chorus goes like this…

”We have this moment to hold in our hands,

and to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand.

Yesterday’s gone and tomorrow may never come,

but we have this moment today.”

These thoughts got kind of mumble jumbled, but I think in the end I wanted to say that I want each and every day to be lived in fullness of joy and in a way that brings glory to Jesus.  Mark and I have been reading a book by Joseph Prince called ‘Destined to Reign.’  What a revelation of GRACE!!  I think I have been missing this point for a long time!  The only way to live this way in joy and bringing glory to Jesus is to believe in His grace and the fact that our sins are already paid for.  We have been made righteous through Christ!  It is not something we have to work towards.  We ARE made righteous by the blood of Jesus.  Right believing leads to right living.  Become Jesus conscious, not sin/self conscious!  Anyway, hope that all made sense in the end!  

Routine?

Routine.  Is this really what having a happy baby is all about?  I’m interested to hear other mother’s perspectives.  How soon do you need to start a bed time routine and how do you establish it if after you go through the routine they still aren’t sleeping and it’s another hour or two before they go to bed for real (after you feed them again and end up nursing them to sleep yet again?)  Some articles I’ve been reading say this is the key to helping a baby self-soothe themselves to sleep, but is 2 months old too early to try this?  In the past Adalyn has been really good at going to bed.  At about 5 ½ weeks old she started to consistently fall asleep at 10 and sleep until about 5 or 6 in the morning.  In the morning she would get up for a feeding at 8 and then sleep again till 9 or 10 in the morning.  Just lately though she has been fighting sleep both for naps and at bedtime.  We’ve let her cry for a while as there is obviously nothing wrong but the fact that she wants company and attention, but she never settles herself and usually it gets to be 11:30 or midnight by the time she sleeps.  I’ve tried putting her to bed earlier (like 9:00) and she’ll sleep for about 15 min and then be wide awake again.  It’s so hard to know what to do.  The book ‘Baby Wise’ says never to put your kid to bed while they’re sleeping, but this is the only way it seems to work these days.  Perhaps it's my new mothering skills once again causing me to be uptight and unsure.  It also doesn't help that I'm not necessarily a person who does well with establishing routine.  I was hoping some of you great experienced women could give me some good advice?

Summertime

I miss running.  It sounds odd, but it’s true.  Running was therapeutic for me.  It was calming, relaxing and refreshing.  It was my time alone to think, and my best times with God were on the road running, listening to music and worshiping. There are not really any words to describe a beautiful August evening, the fields ripe for harvest, the smell of summer in the air, the crickets and grasshoppers chirping, a combine humming in the distance…  Somehow walking isn’t quite the same and doesn’t give me the same rush as jogging does.  I realize I could start up again, and I hope to, but it doesn’t get to be relaxing and refreshing until I’m somewhat in shape, which I wouldn’t be now!  Running to me now would be exhausting and I’m guessing pretty frustrating as I was running 3-4 miles 3 or 4 times a week last summer.  I’m sure if I tried now I would barely make it one.  I’m a bit upset with myself with how little I’ve gone for walks this summer, but now with Adalyn it always seems like so much more work.  I think actually getting out there is the hardest part, but once I’m out I love it. 

We’ve had some interesting things going on here in the last couple of weeks.  Here’s a picture to capture the first one…That hole, my friends, is the result of our extremely talented and desperate Black Lab dog whom Mark accidentally locked in the shop.  I suppose he must have been pretty desperate to get out chewing through 2 bits of plywood and some insulation!  

Next, we sent another house on it’s way!  Yay!  It feels good to say good-bye to another one! 

And of course we can’t forget the Adalyn picture updates…  She is such a happy girl, though I have yet to capture a really great picture of one of her beautiful smiles.  They melt my heart!  She is growing so fast and learning so much!  Her favourite thing to do these days is stand. Haha She’s so strong!

Adalyn and her friend Kayla from church.  Kayla is one month older.

Sitting in her own chair!

Bonding.

We enjoyed a lovely day at Falcon Lake with Mark’s parents the other day.  Adalyn’s first time on the beach.  Now that summer is drawing nearer to an end, I finally feel like I am able to enjoy it!  Too bad we’re almost into September already!

Grandma and Grandpa babysitting.

Lounging on the beach

Angela and Isabelle trying to enjoy the water.  She didn't like it so much this time!

 

 I'm thanking God for all these awesome blessings!

Camping and other things

(written on August 5, 2011)

I was just reading back to my first post after Adalyn was born.  It’s amazing how quickly things change and how fast you get used to a new life!  Adalyn is just about 6 weeks and I can’t remember what it was like before she was born!  A lot of the things I was so worried and anxious about back then have now become almost second nature.  Adalyn has settled into more of a routine and I am learning what her needs are, although I still definitely don’t understand all baby talk! 

I think a large part of why things are going so much better now is the fact that I am getting more sleep!  Adalyn has slept 7 hr stretches two nights in a row now!  Agh, it’s so awesome!  I feel so rested in the morning when I get up after sleeping that long myself!  I had almost forgotten what it was like to sleep so many hours at one time without having to get up!  Things always seem better when you’re rested!

We went camping to Spruce Woods last weekend.  Adalyn’s first real adventure!  It went so well!  Marks’ family has a huge extended family campout every other year.  This is with his Dad’s uncles and aunts and cousins, so it is quite extensive!  I was a bit scared to go, but it really was easy taking a newborn camping!  They don’t need anything other than to be held and loved and fed.  I didn’t have to worry about bringing food or toys for her, I could feed her whenever she was hungry and didn’t have to worry about what time meals would be served.  After watching some of the others who had kids a bit older, I was very glad Adalyn was as little as she is.  She slept pretty well at night too.  It was really cold the first night so we bundled her up real good and she was fine.  She slept about 6 hrs straight.  Pretty good I’d say!

Adalyn all bundled up for sleeping in the tent.

Matching cousins, Isabelle and Adalyn.

Auntie Riss and Isabelle

Grandpa and Adalyn

Enjoying some good company.

The main park area was completely flooded out this year so we couldn’t do the things we would normally do when we go there.  Normally we would go swimming, mini-golfing, paddle boating, ect. and the main attraction there is the sand dunes.  There is a nice walk through the dunes which we would usually do, however because of the flooding we couldn’t get to this area of the park.  Someone arranged instead to go on a trail ride in pick-up trucks.  They have some really nice back country trails there and it was really cool to see a different area of the park in a different fashion.  I braved it and took Adalyn along on the truck.  I didn’t really know what it was going to be like when I left, and it turned out to be quite a bit bumpier and a lot longer than I thought.  We took a bunch of wrong turns so it took much longer to get to our destination, but it was fun exploring!  At the end of the trail there was a beautiful little walk to a look-out.  Adalyn was fussing by this point and I hadn’t planned to feed her along the way.  (I hadn’t brought my nursing cover with)  I walked with the others out to the look-out, which included quite a long downhill climb on nice soft beach sand.  As I was walking down, I was thinking to myself that it was a bad idea. Haha.  By the time we got to the end of the trail Adalyn was NOT happy so I turned right back around and booked it back up the hill as fast as I could.  I quickly fed her at the trucks before the others came back and she was very good the rest of the way back.  It was a nice adventure and I’m glad I conquered my first time mother worries and went.  I’m trying not to let a baby stop me from doing things I would normally do. 

This is the beautiful territory we were in!

Can you spot all the houses?

  Mark has finished one house and started on his next two which are supposed to be finished by the end of September.  We currently have 4 houses going on our yard!  Quite a job site. Haha.  One is sitting right outside my dining room window on our lawn.  It’s moving sometime next week.  It feels so good to be busy, though at the same time Mark doesn’t have much energy after 11 hours of work a day in the hot sun.  At least we know there is money coming in!  We’ve had a few slow years so this will help to make up for it!
 

 

I decided to post a picture of my very pitiful garden.  I have a big problem with comparing myself to others.  I always notice those who have magnificent gardens full of fresh produce and blooming so wonderfully, so to post this picture is quite embarrassing.   I have to admit, I always try to show the best of myself to others so they think I am awesome and have it all together.  I think so many of us do this, when really inside we feel completely opposite.  So here is my terrible garden for those who feel the same way.  If your garden looks like mine, or if your house isn’t completely tidy and organized, or if you don’t make awesome meals every day, or if your bed isn’t made, it doesn’t matter!!!  You can have aspirations and goals, but don’t let it make you feel less of a person because your garden sucks.  There.  That’s my little lesson for the day.  It’s as much for me as for anyone else.   

Well, this post is getting quite long by now and quite random, so I’ll leave something for another day…

A wedding and a visit

My Granny was here to visit this last week!  It’s been so marvellous having her around.  If I wasn’t off doing something else this week, I was over at my Mom and Dad’s visiting.  She is such a beautiful, pleasant person to spend time with and is so full of wisdom and stories.  I am so inspired by the stories she tells of the old days when her and Grandpa were younger, trying to make it.  My Grandpa was so inventive and creative and Granny so full of fun and willing to go along with his interesting ideas.  If ever I begin to think that my life is difficult and begin to wonder how I can do everything, I need only to think of the example of my Grandparents and I realize I have life very easy! 

 It was such a blessing to be able to share Adalyn with my Granny as well.  I’m so glad she was able to see Adalyn at this early stage.  It’s such a beautiful thing watching the generations interact.  I wish I could have introduced her to my Grandpa as well.  He was a person so rich in character.  She has such a rich heritage!    

 My cousin Bonnie got married this last Saturday too!  What a beautiful wedding!  Her new husband Tai is so obviously in love and so adoring.  Bonnie looks so happy, I am so confident he will treat her like a queen for the rest of their lives.  I am SO excited for them!  He is a godly man and though I don’t know him well yet, they seem so perfect for each other.  I was so pleased to be able to spend the morning at her house with her and her sisters while they got all done up.  I left Adalyn at home in the care of Mark while I was there.  I was privileged to witness Tai the first time he saw Bonnie the morning of the wedding as well.  So awesome!

I don’t actually have a great photo of Mark and I and Adalyn at the wedding because the photographer took some of us.  I didn’t take my camera out to take my own pictures because I figured her photos will be way nicer and we can just get them from Bonnie later.  So unfortunately the nice pictures of Adalyn at the wedding will have to wait… but here are a few until then.

 As a result of the wedding, my good friend Rachel was here to visit this week as well!  It’s been an exciting last couple of days!  Rachel is a true friend.  She is one of those people who when visiting after time apart, it feels like no time has passed when you see them again.  Though it is wonderful to meet new people and make new friends, there is nothing quite like old friends.  Very refreshing to visit with her again and to introduce her to Adalyn as well!  

Mark is just about done one house for the summer, but still has two more to finish by October.  He’s doing such a good job juggling busy work and new family life.  He still has the ability to calm me and Adalyn when I am tired and frustrated.  How he does it, I don’t know!   I love him.  

  

We think Adalyn has begun smiling consciously!  I haven’t caught it on camera, but she definitely responds with a smile sometimes.  She is so much more aware of things now than even a week ago.  She can follow people with her eyes as they cross a room and listens much more intently when people talk to her.  Not that she didn’t listen before, but she just seems much more interested now than she used to be.