::Work::

It's hard to believe I have been home with Miya for close to 3 months now. Each month has looked very different from the last. The first month was the hardest in terms of adjusting to the new job as Mommy, but also the funnest because I just couldn't get over the fact that little Miya was ours and how much I loved her! Then the second was the most challenging because Miya's fussiness really peaked at that point and I felt so discouraged as I tried to care for her with no reciprocation and no clue what was causing the fussiness! The third month has been trying in terms of figuring out how to balance the role of both Mommy and wife. Now that being a Mom isn't quite so "new" (and I am getting more sleep at night ;)) I can tend to battle with how to juggle the new with the old. But by God's grace I am learning. Then to throw one more factor into the mix I will be going back to work more than likely 2 half days a week, which will be another big adjustment. Thankfully it doesn't take much to keep my license, but I have to admit the idea of leaving miya for even just a few hours a week is a sad one for me, I LOVE getting to spend my days with her! But I know this is just a season and eventually I will be looking into a different nursing position where I can perhaps work one shift every other week in the evening so Lew can watch her and I can still be with her during the day.

Something God has been reminding me lately is that even though I am staying at home, being a mommy to Miya and wife to Lew is my job, and it's by no means an easy one (even though I enjoy it so!) I sometimes forget that it's a job, but it is, and it's the job God has ordained for me! I was reading this excerpt from Keep a Quiet Heart from Elisabeth Elliot and it really encouraged me:

Wouldn't it make and astounding difference, not only in the quality of the work we do (in office, schoolroom, factory, kitchen, or backyard), but also in our satisfaction, even our joy, if we recognized God's gracious gift in every single task, from making a bed or bathing a baby to drawing a blueprint or selling a computer? If our children saw us doing "heartily as unto the Lord" all the work we do, they would learn true happiness. Instead of feeling that they must be allowed to do what they like, they would learn to like what they do.

St. Ignatius Loyola prayed, "Teach us, Good Lord, to labor and to ask for no reward save that of knowing that we do Thy will." As I learn to pray that prayer, I find that there are many more rewards that come along as fringe benefits. As we make an offering of our work, we find the truth of a principle Jesus taught: Fulfillment is not a goal to achieve, but always the by-product of sacrifice.

That last line is the one I want to remember, in fact I may post it in Miya's nursery so I see it when she decides to wake up at 3am to eat (a habit she had cut out but has now decided to reintroduce, fun times!) I can get so caught up in the busyness and can tend to only see the ordinary mundane tasks...but I forget how spectacular it is that I get to be this sweet girls Mommy, and that I get to have this loving man as my husband. I can be so blind sometimes to how TRULY blessed I am. I really want to grow in laying down my life for these 2 God has given as my family so I can know true fulfillment! I am quickly learning that there is no fulfillment in living for yourself.

The Good Stuff

I don't know how many of you read the Simple Mom blog (it's one of my favorites), but I read this on there this morning and boy did it make me think! Mommies if you haven't read her blog before you should check it out! :)

(taken from simplemom.net)

A few years ago, I read this excerpt from one of Erma Bombeck’s columns, when she discovered she was dying from cancer — it was titled “If I Had to Live My Life Over”:

“… I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage. I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded. I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace. … I would have sat on the lawn with my kids, even if it meant grass stains.”

It hit home. As I write this, I’m looking at a bottle of perfume — one that I love — that was a Mother’s Day gift in 2005. I’ve used about a quarter of it. I’m not sure if I’m waiting for the queen to visit, an invitation to the presidential inauguration ball, or just some amazingly romantic date with my husband. But for some reason, I hesitate to use it, as though it’s a precious commodity; that once it’s gone, it’s gone.

That’s true, to some degree. But I can just get more perfume, probably as another Mother’s Day gift. If I love it so much, why don’t I just use it?

Do you have something in your life akin to this? For your wedding, did you register for special china in addition to your everyday dishes? How about certain lotions, or soaps, or articles of clothing? Do you have eleven categories of towel types, like Monica does in Friends?

Maybe you’re in the depths of early childhood rearing, like me. You’re up to your elbows in poop and snot, and you lost count the amount of times you’ve picked up the same blocks off the same carpet. Your day is peppered with breakfast, lunch, dinner, nap times, quiet times, time outs, and story time. If you hear Dora’s map yell “I’m the map!” one more time, you might scream.

The liturgy of our day’s everydayness can be numbing. It’s easy to forget about that good perfume, the bone china, the silk skirt. There’s spit-up to contend with.

Make this season of your life — whatever it is — more special with those special things you’re saving. Break out the good china for tonight’s homemade pizza. Let your kids know they’re special with those special little things, and don’t worry so much about the messes they’ll make. Bring out the “fancy guest” towels for your family. You’ll blink, and this season will be gone. That pudgy hand covered in dirt will soon be holding hands in a waltz with her groom.

Enjoy the little things in life. And make them more special by using the good stuff. Don’t wait for that perfect moment — it’s right here.

What “thing” are you saving for something special?

11 weeks and so behind!

Wow this blog has not only been neglected...but I have been looking back and it's become all about Miya! What can we say, she is much cuter and much more interesting than we are.
Also posting pictures on facebook is SOO much easier and faster so I have been doing that more, just to save time. We also are using shutterfly to post pictures. You can see them here.

I can't get over the fact that she is 11 1/2 weeks. Seriously, people said it would go "fast" but this is much faster than I expected! We have been through such a journey, learning to be her Mommy and Daddy and learning to not trust in our own strength while we do it. It's amazing to watch our little girl grow, and see her changing and learning new things right before our eyes. Since she has been babbling away I find that I can just sit and watch her and listen to her forever! Just this week she has started to enjoy a little bit of independent play, which is such a nice break for me. I lay her on her little play mat which has a mirror over it, and she will just lay there and coo/babble/smile/laugh, all while she kicks her little feet wildly. It's just precious. She also has started to spend a little time in her bumbo seat which is really funny.

She starts off doing good, using those neck muscles..and will stay that way for a good while...

Then she starts to recline...and looks something like this. It cracks me up every time. Don't you just love her little "kisser?"

weeee!

looking at me like I am crazy!

haha silly mommy.

trying on her bikini that she borrowed from her cousin, although daddy has decided his little girl will not wear a bikini at the beach!

smiles..

again, I love her little kisser :)

We are enjoying our girl so much. She has started to really grow out of the "fussies" and we are so glad! We actually saw a GI doctor this past week and she confirmed that she is sensitive to not only dairy in my diet, but soy as well. So that has been a huge adjustment for me as they are both in pretty much everything. We have seen a huge difference as I have cut them out, so it's worth the sacrifice. But I must say as soon as I am able (maybe when she is around 6 months) I am going to get myself a HUGE milkshake. We are hoping she does grow out of it.

It's been such a joy to watch her discover the world, she is very attentive to noises and lots of things catch her attention. The other day we were walking outside and she heard a bird chirping and turned in that direction just memorized by the bird. It was too cute. She also LOVES music, in specific we have this childrens CD that has 150 kids songs, sung by children, and she just loves it. It has been a life saver in the care as she usually screams whenever in her carseat, but yesterday I turned it on and she stopped, and even fell asleep! The only problem is I can't get these songs out of my head! I still have the words to muffin man and billy boy running through my mind :o)

She also has started to LOVE her bath time, so we now give her a bath every night! The only issue we have been running into is getting her to not go potty in the bath...we're working on it.

Our girl also has started to teethe. Thankfully it's off and on, but my pediatrician said she wouldn't be surprised if she cuts her teeth early, especially because I did. Miya is growing up WAY too fast! But we are enjoying every minute of it.

Well, I guess that is life for now! The Lewis Grandparents and Auntie Cherai are coming for a visit soon, and we can't wait for them to see Miya as she has changed a lot since the last time they saw her!

She survived...

...her first shots! But what a traumatic experience for her and us! She had a pretty bad reaction to the vaccines that lasted almost 24 hours. But all is well again and this video proves it. I am just loving all her smiles and talking :)