After over 6 years of blogging on some site or another, I've decided to stop. My original reason for starting a blog was to keep extended family up to date on the goings on of all my kids. It seems now there are less time consuming ways of doing that. Blogging has become something of a chore and harder to squeeze in on a regular basis with four kids. I keep a journal for each child as well as a photo album, so don't feel the need to document in triplicate.
It's been a fun journey from childless to having four.Thanks for coming along with me!
For His Glory.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Thanksgiving Party
Today D had is first Kindergarten program and party to celebrate Thanksgiving. He did a great job remembering all his lines and reciting poems! It was fun to see how much he's grown since school's started and what a good student he is. D and I got to do a craft together and then D, Kyle, Grammie, K and I got to share a Thanksgiving meal with all his classmates and there parents.
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| D waiting for the program to begin! |
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| Just like Mama, D is the tallest in his class. :) |
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| A very attentive boy! |
Thursday, November 3, 2011
The Measure of a Mom
I've been having a lot of discussions with others and myself lately about self-worth and my role as a mom. With all of the availability of information these days we are bombarded with how every mother "does things". Of course most people only present their good sides online and so it's easy to start the comparing game and come up far short of ideal.
Our ancestors only had other family members as a gauge on motherhood, which in a way is good as family shares many of the same ideas, beliefs, worldviews, etc so one is mostly to be encouraged with that comparison. But when you start looking at how people from completely different backgrounds, beliefs, socioeconomic groups and even countries parent, you are bound to be discouraged. There is no way any one person could meet the ideal of so many different points of view. In fact if you believe as I do, there is no way to achieve ideal at all. So often I catch myself praying and asking God to make me a better mother and then realize that my prayer really should be "make me a good mother". Without Him I am completely selfish, self-centered, and manipulative of my family. I need Him in order to point my kids to Him.
Recently a list of what an Abiding Mom looked like was going around the social network. I printed it off and pasted it on my wall. It's a great reminder of all that truly matters in life and in our role as moms. That said, what do we do about all that other things we have to make decisions on that aren't of eternal importance, but are still important (i.e. education, health, meals, discipline, extra-curricular activities, etc.)? Like I said before, a hundred years ago there just weren't many options and a young mom simply did what her family had always done in regards to the business of life. Now with all of our convenient technology we have more choices and options then we know what to do with and yet we all want to feel like we made the best decisions and "did right by our kids". Of course once we decide something it becomes what is "right" in our minds in order to meet that need of doing the right thing for our kids. By default then any other choice has to be wrong. This phenomenon has caused divisions in families, churches, and communities. I don't have the answer to the question "How do we allow for a multitude of choices and still be confident in the rightness of our own?"
That leads to my question how do I measure myself as a Mom outside of eternal things if there is no "right way" OR should I not be measuring myself by anything else then by how I point my kids to Christ and all that that entails? That is so hard for me as it's not easily quantified and measured (which is totally how I think). I do though want most of all for one day both my God to say "well done good and faithful servant (Matt 25:21)" and my children to "rise up and call me blessed (Prov 31:28)". I just need to be reminded of that and trust in God's leading and equipping of me in the everyday. I heard once that one really doesn't get to see the "results" of how you did as a parent until your kids are parents. That is a long time!! One thing is for sure... being a parent has forced me to pray and rely on God sooo much more then almost anything else I've encountered in life.
In other measurements... the girls had their checkups last week. Both are completely healthy with no developmental concerns. :)
A is 38lbs and 41in (75% in both areas)
K is 14lbs 6ozs and 25 3/4 in. (K definitely has more rolls then A did at this age. But still only 75% for length and 50% for weight)
Our ancestors only had other family members as a gauge on motherhood, which in a way is good as family shares many of the same ideas, beliefs, worldviews, etc so one is mostly to be encouraged with that comparison. But when you start looking at how people from completely different backgrounds, beliefs, socioeconomic groups and even countries parent, you are bound to be discouraged. There is no way any one person could meet the ideal of so many different points of view. In fact if you believe as I do, there is no way to achieve ideal at all. So often I catch myself praying and asking God to make me a better mother and then realize that my prayer really should be "make me a good mother". Without Him I am completely selfish, self-centered, and manipulative of my family. I need Him in order to point my kids to Him.
Recently a list of what an Abiding Mom looked like was going around the social network. I printed it off and pasted it on my wall. It's a great reminder of all that truly matters in life and in our role as moms. That said, what do we do about all that other things we have to make decisions on that aren't of eternal importance, but are still important (i.e. education, health, meals, discipline, extra-curricular activities, etc.)? Like I said before, a hundred years ago there just weren't many options and a young mom simply did what her family had always done in regards to the business of life. Now with all of our convenient technology we have more choices and options then we know what to do with and yet we all want to feel like we made the best decisions and "did right by our kids". Of course once we decide something it becomes what is "right" in our minds in order to meet that need of doing the right thing for our kids. By default then any other choice has to be wrong. This phenomenon has caused divisions in families, churches, and communities. I don't have the answer to the question "How do we allow for a multitude of choices and still be confident in the rightness of our own?"
That leads to my question how do I measure myself as a Mom outside of eternal things if there is no "right way" OR should I not be measuring myself by anything else then by how I point my kids to Christ and all that that entails? That is so hard for me as it's not easily quantified and measured (which is totally how I think). I do though want most of all for one day both my God to say "well done good and faithful servant (Matt 25:21)" and my children to "rise up and call me blessed (Prov 31:28)". I just need to be reminded of that and trust in God's leading and equipping of me in the everyday. I heard once that one really doesn't get to see the "results" of how you did as a parent until your kids are parents. That is a long time!! One thing is for sure... being a parent has forced me to pray and rely on God sooo much more then almost anything else I've encountered in life.
In other measurements... the girls had their checkups last week. Both are completely healthy with no developmental concerns. :)
A is 38lbs and 41in (75% in both areas)
K is 14lbs 6ozs and 25 3/4 in. (K definitely has more rolls then A did at this age. But still only 75% for length and 50% for weight)
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| Baby K is already starting to out grow her washpod. :( |
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| She really is a sweet happy girl and so excited to be upright. |
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Pink Party
Abi decided that she wanted a pink party for her 4th birthday this year. So we did our best to make every thing we could pink. She invited 5 of her closest friends and seemed to have a blast. It's always interesting to get that many 3-5 year old girls together and see how they interact. For the most part they played quite nicely. Our "party craft" was coloring life sized pictures of themselves. Each "portrait" was very indicative of their personalities! I think the guests went home with full hearts and hands and I know that A really enjoyed having them all here!
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| The party table all ready to go |
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| Some of the decorations. |
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| Kaity's all set for the pink party! |
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| Abi and Kaity |
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| Attempting to help Mama blow up balloons. |
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| Go Abi Go! |
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| Happy Birthday to you! |
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| Time for Pink cupcakes! |
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| Enjoying treats. |
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| More friends. |
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| So much fun. |
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| Pink cupcake with pink frosting! |
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| Burning some energy on a beautiful day. |
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| I'm four! |
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| Fun beads! |
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| Fancy dress up! |
Monday, October 3, 2011
4
My #4 baby is already 4 months. She is starting to show signs of her personality. I think she will be more reserved then A or J, but still can hold her own. She smiles when smiled at, is occasionally ticklish, and laughs when genuinely amused. K is finally sleeping in the room with her sister in her crib. She still gets up once a night, but goes right back to sleep. Her day schedule is up for 1.5-2 hrs and sleeps for 1.5-2 hrs. She has had to be the most flexible as we have to take Dean to school and other such things. All the "big kids" love her and vie for her attention. K sucks her thumb when tired, so I guess I'll have to break all four of the habit!
We love and cherish our little baby and are so grateful that God saw fit to bless us with her!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
We love and cherish our little baby and are so grateful that God saw fit to bless us with her!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
For my records...
D and K had their check ups today. D was 49# and 47 in or 3ft 11in. Can't believe he's that big already!
K was 13 lbs 2 oz and 24 in (at 3 months 13 days). She's put on 4 lbs since her last check up two months ago and grown almost 2 more inches! For comparision A (at 4 months 6 days) was 12 lbs 8oz and 25.5 in. So fun too see kids growing and changing. It happens so quickly. All are healthy with no concerns too. :)
K was 13 lbs 2 oz and 24 in (at 3 months 13 days). She's put on 4 lbs since her last check up two months ago and grown almost 2 more inches! For comparision A (at 4 months 6 days) was 12 lbs 8oz and 25.5 in. So fun too see kids growing and changing. It happens so quickly. All are healthy with no concerns too. :)
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| Who is this? ;) I guess all my kids do look alike. |
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Older ones
Too often the baby gets the lions share of the camera and posts, so here is one of the three oldest on Labor watching the Colorado Balloon Classic. Awesome pic of the three of them!
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