Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Love this

I loved this post today on one of my favorite blogs, Design Mom (see it on the list to the right? go visit!!). So sweet, it made me want to write a letter to myself, too! Maybe to give to my girls one day when they have children of their own?
You can read it here, or here it is, cut and pasted:

This is a letter that I wrote to myself. I wrote it to a younger me with the advice that I wish I had known when I found out that I was pregnant with my first child.

Dear Me,

You’re standing in the bathroom, scared as hell, holding a positive pregnancy test in your hand. Yes you’re married. But no, you weren’t exactly planning on motherhood just yet. You’re terrified. And you’ve learned that it does matter if you forget to take The Pill for a day (maybe 2? 3? Oops.)

But calm down little girl. Wipe the tears off your face. And think about that little kid growing inside you. A little kid (a girl!) who will to love you more than anybody else. A girl who will run to find you first thing every morning. A girl who will cuddle with you for stories every night. A girl who will learn from you, depend on you, and frustrate you. But a girl that will awaken a piece of your heart that you didn’t know you had.

You’re scared. You’re in the middle of your last semester of college. Your husband has at least 2 years of school left as well. You’re poor. You’re really poor. And what about the teaching career you’ve dreamed of since you were just a kid yourself? You feel like you’re losing a part of yourself–sacrificing your body, your brain, your ambition. How can you be a mother? Feed, clothe, clean, teach, carry a child? You can’t even take care of yourself (see what you did with The Pill?) how can you take care of a baby?

Megan, you can be a mother. And you will be a mother—a mother who will cuddle and nurse and rock her baby just like mothers have from the beginning. You will be imperfect. You will worry, oh you will worry, but you will raise that baby the best you know how. And “the best you know how” will be more than good enough.

So, go tell that good husband of yours the good news. Because it is good news. A baby is great news. And go blow your last 5 bucks on some ice cream. Being a mom rocks.

Love,
Me

P.S. Should I also warn you about the twins you’ll have after that little girl? You’ll do okay by them, too.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Welcome to my heart

Don't you love it when a book speaks to the depths of your heart, and puts into words the things you just cant seem to articulate?

This moved me today:

She says I shall now have one mouth the more to fill and two feet the more to shoe, more disturbed nights, more laborious days, and less leisure or visiting, reading, music, and drawing. Well! This is one side of the story, to be sure, but I look at the other. Here is a sweet fragrant mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery. Here is a soul to train for God; and the body in which it dwells is worthy all it will cost, since it is the abode of a kingly tenant. I may see less of friends, but I have gained one dearer than them all, to whom, while I minister in Christ’s name, I make a willing sacrifice of what little leisure for my own recreation my other darlings had left me. Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother’s heart, welcome to her time, her strength, her health, her tenderest cares, to her lifelong prayers!
(from Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss)

Oh, that my little ones would be welcome to my heart, my time, my strength, my health, my tenderest cares, and my lifelong prayers!



((and yes, Tabitha, if you are reading this, I STILL have your book from, like, 5 years ago...))

Monday, April 12, 2010

Little Mommy

Abby is turning into quite the little mommy. I often catch her "mommying" her baby dolls, doing the same things with them that I do with her and Charlotte. She changes their diapers, puts them in their high chair and feeds them, pushes them around in their stroller, rocks them while whispering "shhh baby, it's ok." And just the other day, she started nursing them.
I about died on the spot when she walked in the room, sat down next to me on the couch, and started trying to feed her baby. "I bwest feeding" is what she says. Oh my goodness, too much!! How she makes me laugh!




Thursday, April 8, 2010

Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter weekend, spending time with friends and family, and celebrating Christ's resurrection together!

My Mom had these dresses made for the girls- hand smocked!! Aren't they amazing? I love all the detail on them, and that the girls already have a special "keepsake" to pass on the their own children some day. Charlotte's is a little big on her, but she will grow into it this summer.





On Saturday the Weymouth's had an Egg Hunt and a party for the little girls. Abby had a blast looking for eggs.





Here is our attempt at a family pic on Easter morning- very hard to do with a fussy newborn and a crazy toddler who doesn't want to sit still, and wants to see each picture before taking the next one! And, trying to smile at just the right time for the self timer. Oh well, we will have nice pictures taken of us some day...


Sunday afternoon we had a great time getting together with all of Andy's side of the family here in town. The cousins had another easter egg hunt, and they each got little baskets with treats to take home. I can't tell you how much Abby LOVES her cousins (well, technically her second cousins). They are so sweet with her and she really looks up to them. It is so fun for us to watch her loving her family so much. This is one of our biggest hopes for our children- that they will grow up valuing and loving their family. It is such a joy to see that happening even now!







We are so blessed by the many ways in which through Christ we have new life. Think of all that His death and Resurrection accomplished for us! Peace with God, hope for the future, freedom from the bondage of sin and death, meaning and purpose for our suffering... we have so much to be thankful for.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Scrumptious

Serious cuteness happening here.



I could gobble her up!!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Three Weeks!

Charlotte is three weeks old today. It feels like the past three weeks have just flown by, and I can't believe that she is almost a month old already. I also can't believe that at this point with Abby, we were on our way to Arlington, Va, for Andy's brain surgery. I look at Charlotte now and can not imagine how we did it with such a small baby. I am so thankful that this go around is much more low-key! Although, having a 2-year-old at the same time has had its share of craziness, stress, and moments of desperation, too. (Side-note: do all moms compare each new pregnancy/newborn to the last, or is it just me??).


Here are some shots of what we have been up to the past three weeks:


Lots and lots of family snuggles!!




Charlotte's first sponge bath at home. How she hated it, until we gave her a paci, of course!!





Charlotte loves to sit in her bouncy chair and look out the window. And, she is trying desperately to find her hands, as you can see in these photos. I fear we might have a thumb sucker when she finally does!!




There is something absolutely IRRESISTABLE about a sleeping baby...


My Mom stayed with us for a week after Charlotte was born. I really have nothing more to say abut this except THANK YOU GOD.

My Mom is the most calming presence. We are so different- I am incredibly task-oriented while she is totally relationally-oriented, I am organized while she can be a little scatter-brained (it's the musician in her!), I am often rushed while she is unhurried, I am very opinionated and can be judgemental, she is one of the most open-minded and loving people I know. She is a constant reminder to me of the things that are truly important- people, not tasks; resting, not rushing; listening, not talking to be heard. I still have so much to learn from her! I am so thankful for where the Lord has brought our relationship over the years, and I am so thankful for her! We all went through Bubba withdrawal when she left.





Although we slowed down a bit when Charlotte was born, Abby seems to have missed that memo.
But I wouldn't have it any other way...

Alexe Weymouth and her girls came to visit when Charlotte was just a week old! How fun to get all of our girls together.


Our two #2's... Charlotte and Madeleine

Lallie is Abby's bestie, and future JMU roomie (we have informed her that she can go to any school in Virginia, but if she goes to JMU we will pay for it... and if she goes to Tech then her GRANDFATHER with pay for it!!)






And few more of Charlotte that I just though were too cute NOT to post.. but then, I am pretty biased...





The last three weeks have been such a blur- it seems that life hasn't slowed down as much as I thought it would (probably due to the 2-y-o!!). We are exhausted and sleep-deprived, but we are enjoying Charlotte so much and are loving our new family of four. She is such a sweet baby, she loves to be held, more so than Abby did, and really only fusses when she is hungry or tired (or wants to be held...). She reminds me so much of Abby but I am already seeing so many differences, both in her appearance and demeanor. We love her so much!
And Abby is doing great! She surprises me every day with how capable she is of being a good helper and a good comforter and companion for Charlotte. A few days ago I noticed that it would bother her when CHarlotte would cry a lot (she would say "NO baby, STOP!!" until I got Charlotte calmed down). So, we have been working on how we care for our sister when she is sad and ways we can help her feel better. Yesterday Charlotte started to fuss in her bouncy chair, and Abby walked up to her, started patting her belly, and said "shh, it's okay baby sister, it's okay, I love you baby sister." I about died on the spot- it melted my heart to see her loving her sister so well, and it was such an encouragement to me to see her respond to what has felt like DAYS of instruction on being kind.
And how my heart needed this encouragement! Because it has been HARD caring for a newborn (who nurses every two hours!!!), and shepherding, instructing and disciplining a toddler at the same time. MAN, no one told me it would be this hard! Okay that's a lie, many people told me it would be hard, but somehow it didn't register until now. This is the hardest thing I have ever done, EVER. I am having to let go of my natural desire to be "in control" like never before. I am having to trust God and depend on Him in a totally new way. I am learning more and more that my deepest need right now is not more sleep, or a girl's night out, or a pedicure (although I would about DIE to have any one of those right now!!). My deepest need right now is to learn how to die to myself. How thankful I am that I know the One who did this perfectly, for my sake, and that His Spirit lives in me and is working in me!