I Love You, Little One

A couple of weekends ago, on one of our date nights, Dustin and I went to Borders bookstore and bought a couple of books for Mackenna. My favorite one that we  bought her is called, I Love You, Little One, by innovativeKids. It is a really neat book that you can add your own photos to. Anyway... I really love the book and I wanted to share it on my blog....

To my precious, Mackenna.

I Love You, Little One

If love were something you could count and you were seeking the amount that adds up to my love for you, here is what you'd have to do....

Count every tiny grain of sand on every shore in every land.
Then add to that the quantity of stars in every galaxy.
Plus tally up each leaf you find on every tree and bush combined.
Count every scale on every fish from every ocean if you wish.

To that you'll add infinity-
you could add all your life, you see,
and still your counting won't be done.
I love you that much, little one.

Changing Focus

This challenge by John Piper in his book, What's the Difference?, has really, really convicted me and made me see that my focus is so completely wrong. I pray that God would give me the grace to have a heart that finds joy in living my life only for His purposes and His glory.

Challenge #13
"That you develop a wartime mentality and lifestyle; that you never forget that life is short, billions of people hand in the balance of Heaven and Hell every day, that the love of money is spiritual suicide, that the goals of upward mobility (nicer clothes, cars, houses, vacations, food, hobbies) are a poor and dangerous substitute for the goals of living for Christ with all your might and maximizing y our joy in ministry to people's needs."

Moving... Again!

We're buying a house! Some friends of ours were selling their house so we decided to take a look, figuring we'd just look to get some house hunting under our belts before we purchased a house next Spring/Summer. But we loved the house and loved the price and loved the LOW interest rates that the bank offered us... so we crunched the numbers, talked about it... a lot... and bought the house! We'll close on October 12th and hopefully move in shortly after that. Whew! Mackenna will have moved twice in the first 6 months of her life! Hopefully we'll be in the house for a few years... finally a somewhat permanent home... with a washer and dryer (that's what I am most excited about!).

So, first step in packing is.... going through the closets and really working on getting rid of non-essentials. I love being organized and clutter free and we just seem to accumulate so many things... that we don't need. So, I'm posting a few ads on Craigslist and also making "Garage Sale" boxes so that next Spring I can have my very first garage sale!

We are so thankful that God allowed all the pieces to fall into place and we're looking forward to using our new home to glorify Him! We don't deserve His blessings, yet He pours them out on us. What an amazing and gracious God we serve!

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child... and Happy Mama!

So, one of the biggest challenges I have faced as a new mother is having a beautiful baby girl who doesn't like to nap. Over the past four months I have been so overwhelmed because I have almost no time to get anything done around the house. Mackenna is what some call a catnapper. Well, I did a lot of research and most things I read said, "Just get used to it. Some babies nap well, other babies don't." One thing I am is a problem solver and that answer just did not give me any hope. I kept thinking to myself, "There's got to be something out there that can help me teach my daughter to nap well!" And thus, I discovered, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth M.D. His advice is so practical and he offers a variety of solutions based on  your child's temperment, prior sleep patterns, and age. Mackenna was a mildly colicky baby and he explains that colicky children don't nap well at an early age so they actually become generally overtired so the sleep that they do get is not as restorative as the sleep of a well-rested infant. He gives great tips on how to handle an overtired, post-colicky baby and after applying his advice... Mackenna's become a napper. A great napper, at that!

So all this to say, this is my new book recommendation for all pregnant women and new moms!  I am thankful to God who has given us all good things, including minds like Marc Weissbluth's that can study and write and help sleep deprived new mothers!

08.13.10

So, this week was slightly hectic. Mackenna has a problem with acid reflux. She was on Zantac, and while that improved her spit-up and overall fussiness, she was still showing indications of uncomfort related to acid reflux. So, her doctor thought we should give Prevacid a try. It's a stronger medication. Well, we couldn't get Mackenna to take it. More ended up on her outfit than in her stomach. So, while the Zantac didn't work completely, it worked better than the Prevacid because she would take it. Mid-week I called Mackenna's nurse with a very fussy baby as background noise. I explained the situation and the nurse said we could switch back to Zantac, but that Mackenna's doctor wanted to increase the Zantac dose. So, we're back to Zantac! Most babies outgrow acid reflux between 6-9 months, so we're praying that Mackenna's battle with acid reflux will be over soon!

Today, August 13, 2010 is Mackenna's Four Month Old Birthday! Happy Four Months, Mackenna Grace! Other than not napping well, she had a great day! She had lots of smiles and giggles all day long! Something new that Mackenna's learned how to do over the past week or so... SQUEAL! When she gets excited, she squeals. When she starts to giggle, she squeals. When she's thinking about giggling, she squeals. When she sees her Duckie Rattle, she squeals. She loves practicing her squeal. Mommy loves seeing the look on her face after she squeals. Her thought progression goes something like this..."Wow, that was a cool noise. Did I do that? I think I did! I think I want to do it again! Yep, I did it again. I am sure it is me! Now I am so excited I am going to stick out my tongue and kick my feet!" I love her! I love being a stay-at-home mom (yes, even on the rough days... like... um...yesterday)!

Mackenna loves rolling over onto her belly... but she can't quite get how to roll back over... although she has done it on her own twice... on accident both times! Hopefully soon she'll be rolling back to front and front to back. She likes to try to sit up when I put her in her bouncer, swing, and car seat. Obviously she can't sit on her own yet, but she sure tries! She loves when we help her sit up on her playmat! She'll usually end up playing with her feet and looking up at us like, "Wow, do you guys have these feet things too? They're awesome! You should play with them sometime!"

Mommy had a good day too! I got some GREAT deals at Kohl's. Overall, I got $100 worth of baby clothes for only $30! Hooray for two 15% off coupons, $20 in Kohl's Cash, AND a great sale! A lot of the clothes I got for Mackenna are 6-9 months... I can't wait for her to wear them! I also got a chance to work out again today! That makes 3 days this week. My legs are SO sore and all I am doing is the Elliptical! I can't wait to get back in shape! I feel so much better when I work out and eat healthy. Now, I've started the working out part.... still need to work on the eating healthy part! Ugh! Why does chocolate ice cream have to taste SO good?!?

Well, it's Friday night, Mackenna's asleep, and I don't HAVE to clean bottles until tomorrow morning... so I think I'll bid you adieu and go spend some time with my hubby!

Womb with a View

Click here to view this photo book larger

08.10.10

The past few days, Mackenna has been a little more irritable than usual and has not been napping well at all. She had finally gotten into a good napping schedule and I could pretty much count on a 2.5 hour nap every morning and an hour nap in the afternoon. Well, she must be growing or something because her internal clock has changed once again and I am left to figure out her new biological rhythm. But, I am so thankful that I am able to be home with her and learn how to take care of her at each new stage.

So, today we're trying a longer wake time with lots of exercise! Dustin put together her Fisher Price Jumperoo on Sunday evening and she loves playing in it. She'll keep herself content for about 10-15 minutes. That's pretty good! She doesn't particularly like it when we turn on the lights and sound though. She's content just jumping and playing with the colorful toys that shake, rattle, and roll!

Learning how to effectively take care of an infant and keep a household running has been quite a challenge for me. In my mind I envisioned that once I was at home I would have oodles of time to cook, clean, coupon, grocery shop, do laundry, and maybe even bake some bread! Reality is that it's a good day if the toys are cleaned up and the bottles are sanitized before I go to bed. I am faced with the truth that I thought WAY too highly of myself, thinking that I would be able to perfectly execute being a stay-at-home wife and mother. One thing I will admit is that I have been guilty of laziness but I cleverly mask it by saying, "I am so tired and Mackenna's a high-maintenance baby... I deserve to just relax!" There is some truth there. I am very tired. And Mackenna is a relatively high-maintenance baby and also has some pain issues with Acid Reflux which makes her slightly more fussy. But, I still am called to be a godly wife and mother. I am very thankful for a husband who is so understanding and encourages me daily. He doesn't expect me to be perfect and he is very quick to remind me that he thinks I am doing a great job. Nevertheless, this is an area I need to grow in. If I know that Mackenna will nap for two hours, I need to be vigilant to make the most of those two hours!

Speaking of naps... the monitor has just indicated that my precious Mackenna has decided to wake up earlier than usual. Until next time!