Counting My Blessings - Day 2

Yesterday I counted my most recent "little blessing".  Today I'm counting my first, Jadon.  He was a surprise, in that we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl.  Ever since he was born, he's been surprising us - always keeping us on our toes.  My labor with him was a grand total of 5 hours (which I thought was really fast... until I had Madelynn, who came in 2.5!).  He came so quickly that the midwife was not even ready to "catch" him, so she scooped him up off the end of the hospital bed, only having one glove on.  He's been difficult to "catch" ever since... the fastest crawler that I had ever seen and, once walking, always on the run.  

It's been such a privilege to be Jadon's mommy.  He's an extremely independent little boy, which has definitely brought it's challenges in parenting.  Some day I will need to remember to apologize to him because, as the firstborn, we're figuring everything out with him.  (I'd like the think that as Madelynn grows, we'll have a better grasp on this whole parenting thing.)  At 3 years old, we're facing that power struggle that I recognize is part of his growing up.  We've had our challenges over the last few months, but I can't help but see how God is changing his heart, and using those qualities that can sometimes be frustrating, to glorify Him and encourage others - his incessant talking to speak the gospel, his stubbornness to stand up for his convictions, his unending imagination to remind me that there's more to life than what you can see with your eyes, his ability to make friends with anyone to remind me that we need to surround ourselves with people to encourage and to be encouraged by.  

So today and everyday, I am thankful for my son.  I'm thankful for his smile, his laugh, his wow-ser kisses, his tenderness, his tackles, his creativity, his thoughtfulness, his love for his baby sister, his ability to make people feel loved and special, his singing, his mischievous nature, and so much more.  

 

~ Carrie ~

Home Sweet Home

It's so good to just be home.  In fact, I think we've almost enjoyed being home a little too much!  Is that possible?  We've enjoyed being home and just enjoying our little family, especially now that there are four of us.  Now, that doesn't mean we've just come home and sat around.  It's been back to "normal" for us - Andy's usual work schedule, church services, meetings, shopping and errands, playdates, rehearsals, and visitors to accommodate.  And we're doing all of this while still adjusting to our little Madelynn.  So, I guess we're back to the new "normal".  

Madelynn is 2 months old now.  She recently had her 2 month check-up and is doing great!  She's growing well and impressed her doctor with how strong she is.  She holds her head up entirely on her own and can even fully support her body with her legs.  Her doctor was so surprised by this that he said to Madelynn, "Well, I guess the next thing I should be asking you is if you want to go for a walk!"  Having already had one baby, I am clinging to the days that she is not yet mobile.  Baby steps...

Madelynn has so far been a wonderful, easygoing baby.  She's fairly easy to please and is very happy.  She's so close to belly laughing.  When she smiles big she often squeals and makes a little cough noise like she really wants to laugh out loud!  She continues to pretty much sleep through the night - usually to bed between 10 and 11 and not rising until anywhere between 4 and 7 the next morning.  Hey, I'll take at least a 6 hour stretch every night!  

This week we will be moving Madelynn from the bassinet in our room to the crib in her room.  She has pretty much outgrown the bassinet, and she's sleeping so well that there's really no reason to keep her in with us.  We're also working on getting out of the newborn "sleep when I want to" phase and into a routine that works for her.  In the process we have discovered that she is quite a little princess... that is, princess of the 45-minute nap!  She has an internal alarm clock that unreal!  I'll take 45 minutes for now, but hopefully she'll begin to stretch some of these short naps into longer periods of time.  

Jadon is a great big brother.  He's always been Daddy's boy, but he seems to cling to him and want to do what Dad does even more than before.  He's rough and tumble, always covered in dirt, and always on a mission for this or that, but he rarely passes up on the chance to snuggle or play with his baby sister.

Life is good right now.  There are lots of ups and downs... good days and bad days... and days when I wonder how it is that I haven't pulled out all my hair.  So yeah, life is good.  But God is greater than the worst or best days.  I'm so thankful that for a God who knows me, even when I wonder who I am and how I got here; a God who cares for me, even when I haven't been the most caring wife and mother I can be; a God who is patient with me, even when I'm impatient (which seems like all the time).  When I think of all the ways that I - this novice mother of two, pastor's wife, and sinful child of God - fail Him, it makes me grateful that I serve a God who doesn't sigh or roll His eyes when I mess up.  Praise God that he fails me not.  Some further change is on the horizon for our family (minor adjustments in the course of our everyday life).  How great it is to have our Savior lead us by the hand.  

~ Carrie ~

Presenting: Madelynn Nicole

The time has finally arrived.  Actually the time arrived on June 13th, but the time to blog about the newest addition to our family has come.  Life leading up to the arrival of our baby girl, and then since she has arrived, has been incredibly busy.  I'm finally attempting to chisel out a little bit of time to announce the arrival of our little girl. 

The two weeks leading up to her arrival were stressful, to say the least.  I had been told that I would have my baby any day... but of course that didn't happen.  After lots of appointments with the midwives, ultrasounds, and a non-stress test, I was finally scheduled to be induced on Wednesday, June 13th at 7 am.  Baby girl decided to rush things and my water broke that morning at 5:15.  So we rushed to the hospital and two and a half intense hours later I was holding my precious (and big) Madelynn Nicole- all 9 pounds 5 ounces and 21.5 inches of her.  It was a crazy, fast, and smooth natural delivery, and I am so thankful to God for His protection over both my baby and myself.  

I've had an awesome recovery, and we've had very few bumps in the road in the last three and a half weeks.  The biggest hurdle we've had to deal with has been Madelynn's positive Coomb's test (we have opposing blood types that mixed at some point during pregnancy or labor), which resulted in her having jaundice and therefore phototherapy beginning at about 15 hours old.  We were so grateful to have an awesome nurse who paid close attention (even during an overnight shift) and caught this so early.  Originally we were going home on Friday morning, but because of her jaundice levels we had to wait (and weren't even certain we'd be released that day) and were finally discharged at 7:30 pm.  It had never felt so good to be home.  We were only released because the doctor made arrangements with a home healthcare company for Madelynn to continue to have phototherapy at home.  It was pretty neat, and we were so grateful that he pulled some strings to make this happen.  The icing on the cake was when the doctor called us at 8:30 to check in on us and make sure everything had worked out with the home phototherapy.  We've got a pretty awesome doctor.  

We've had lots of grandparents around to help, both before and after Madelynn arrived, and it has made our life so much easier.  Andy was also able to take some time off.  The first several days home went something like this: Saturday, doctor and blood work; Sunday, doctor, blood work, and church; Monday, doctor and blood work; Tuesday, blood work; Wednesday, lactation consultant; Thursday, stayed home and began packing; Friday, lactation consultant, more packing, and left for camp/vacation.  All of this = craziness.  

The last 2 + weeks have been... busy.  When Madelynn was 9 days old we packed up and went to New Hampshire for a week of camp, followed by a few days of vacation.  We returned when she was 22 days old.  That means that at just over 3 weeks old she had spent more time in New Hampshire than at our home!  It was nice to be away though.  The cottage we stayed at had air conditioning and lots and lots of family around, so it actually made life much easier for me.  It is nice, though, to finally be home and really start figuring things out as a family of four.  

It's been fun getting to know our little girl.  From the get-go we pinned a particular cry that, in our interpretation, means "don't mess with me".  She got so many pokes to her heel during that first week, and several nurses expressed her great displeasure with them.  She also despises diaper and wardrobe changes.  What does she love?  That's easy.  She loves snuggles, of course, and sleep.  She has been, so far, an incredible sleeper.  Since her jaundice levels have been back to normal (and we haven't had to set an alarm to get her up to eat during the night), she's been getting up once (sometimes twice) during the night to eat and for the most part goes right back to sleep.  She's slept through the night once, and one morning she slept until 9:30 am - and so did I, thanks to my hubby.  She's starting to have more awake and alert times, and she's even begun to give us some real smiles.  


Madelynn has already been such a blessing to our family.  We're spending our days getting to know her better and enjoying all the firsts of both she and our family of four.  

~ Carrie ~

Birthday Blessings

Ecstactic... and exhausted.
Proud... and in pain.
Optimistic... and overwhelmed
Blessed... and burdened.

This is how I felt 3 years ago when, after going into labor at 2 a.m. on the day I was due with my first child, I found myself holding him in my arms at 7:04 a.m... all 7 pounds 14 ounces and 19.5 inches of him.   April 2, 2009 was probably the most emotional day I've had in my whole life. 


This year on April 2, not only did suddenly find myself the mother of a 3 year old but also 30 weeks pregnant with my little girl.  Our life right now has been... well, chaotic, but it's also been filled with some tremendous blessings.  

We had the opportunity to host about 25 of our friends and family for Jadon's 3rd birthday party.  We typically invite family members and a couple of Jadon's friends (with their parents).  Other than the 6 family friends who were local, the rest were family members who came out for the celebration.  People had anywhere from a 3 minute to a 7 hour drive.  (Or in the case of one of my sisters, a 2 hour flight that left at 6 a.m. the morning of the party... and she rode back with my northern family at around 1 pm, giving her a grand total of less than 5 hours at our house!  That's one dedicated aunt!)  We were definitely feeling a lot of love from our family!  


To celebrate this day, I went with a Curious George theme.  It's one of Jadon's favorite characters, and made for a fun party theme, especially for a brunch.  

As a side note, this is the second time we've had a birthday brunch for Jadon's party and we love it!  It's different, it's not all that difficult to do, and there are less cranky kids running around.  Jadon was down for his afternoon nap shortly after 2 p.m!  That made for a happy Mom and Dad who had some time to pick up a bit and crash for a few minutes. 


So, for months now I've been doing searches via Pinterest and Etsy brainstorming and collecting ideas for Jadon's party.  We're not over the top by any means, but I do like to do a few (small, inexpensive) things to make it special.  Here are a few pictures from my big 3 year old's special day!  

The color palette, which was played off the books, was red, canary yellow, and light blue.  The mantle was simply decorated with Curious George books that we already had and balloons.  I bought a dozen helium balloons from iParty for about $10 and divided them up throughout the house.  My course of action when decorating for a party at our house is to basically hit the important areas, which is our case is the entryway (it's what everyone sees when they walk in the door, so I tied a couple of balloons there), the living room (hence the mantle), and the dining room (where all the eating takes place).  

Due to some extra craziness immediately before and after the party, my opportunity to take pictures was pretty much gone.  So, did I get a picture of the table and buffet of brunch foods?  Nope.  The kitchen counters displayed an array of delicious foods, some of the highlights being pancakes (inspired from Curious George Makes Pancakes), banana bread (sent to us by my grandmother who couldn't be at the party), and monkey bread (google it if you don't know what it is because it's delicious).

No pictures of the table or anything, but I purchased this tiered cupcake rack for about $12 from the Christmas Tree Shops (kind of splurge, but I know it's something I'll use again).  We also had an 8" round cake that I purchased from a local grocery store (when I saw how many people we'd have coming to the party). 

  
The cupcakes were funfetti with a buttercream frosting on top.  Then each cupcake was topped with some sprinkles, a banana runt (of course), and a personalized cupcake topper.  I ordered the toppers from a seller on Etsy and they were soooo cute!  I purchased 12 toppers for $12.50 (including shipping).

The only thing, other than cake, that Jadon requested for his party was to have party hats.  Of course he hardly wore his, but for $1.99 it was worth his initial excitement.  Also, in the back ground of the above picture you can see a monkey mask (available at iParty 4 for $3.99).  It should be said that although the interest in both of these items (the hats and the masks) among the children was short-lived, several of the "adults" at the birthday party were constantly entertained by either of these.  It was quite amusing.  

The only other costs associated with the party (besides food) were paper goods that were purchased from a dollar-type store that was going out of business (woohoo!) as well as the grocery store, and his gifts, of course.


What do you give a 3 year old who has a ton of toys?  For the past 2 birthdays we've had the philosophy of giving Jadon a couple little things (like a couple books), and then something "bigger" (for his first birthday it was a sand and water table, and for his second birthday it was a tricycle).  This year we really struggled with what "bigger" gift to get for him.  Ultimately we decided that, with the coming of our second little one, one of the greatest things we could get Jadon was some special time with Mommy and Daddy.  Using Jadon's favorite Curious George book as our inspiration, we purchased tickets to the Boston Aquarium for the three of us.  We know Jadon will love it, and it's definitely not something we would just do on a whim.  It will be a special time for our family of three before we become a family of four.  

The down side is that I'm not completely sure that he understood what we were giving him, but he definitely was not disappointed.  You can be sure to catch a few pics from our family adventure to the aquarium sometime in the next few weeks (hopefully).  

 It was a great day to celebrate such a big blessing in our life, and we're so thankful to God for giving us care over him.  We daily surrender this awesome burden back to our Heavenly Father, trusting that as we love, instruct, and correct our son that he will be directed to the One who loves him with a greater love than we could ever imagine.  

~ Carrie

TV Land

Before I was a parent I was a teacher.  I have to admit that I was probably a little judgmental as I got to know my students and learned how things went at home - bedtimes, when homework was done, what movies or t.v. shows they were allowed to watch, what responsibilities they did (or didn't have), etc.  Ashamedly, I often found myself thinking thoughts that began with, "When I'm a parent..."  For all the non-parents who may be reading this, trust me... it's dangerous territory.  For all the parents who may be reading this, you probably know what I mean.  


One of those areas that I've been recently challenged in over the last several months now is television.  In our house, we're not big t.v. people... and I'm proud of that.  But sometimes on those Wednesday mornings when I think, "Wow... What exactly have I accomplished this week?" - it's so easy to let the tube provide the entertainment and teaching for my toddler.   I'm guilty.  Initially I didn't think too much about it.  Jadon hardly watched any t.v. all summer.  He preferred to be outside.  So, as we fell into our new routine, I began to feel a bit convicted (and rightly so).  


I asked myself the question, "What role do I want the television to play in my son's daily life?"  I know of families who don't even have a t.v.  I honestly have to wonder how they do it; and at the same time a small part of me almost desires to toss ours in the trash at times (I said almost).  I don't want t.v. to be the teacher, but what t.v. my toddler does watch I want to be instructional/educational.  I don't want the t.v. to be Jadon's source of entertainment, but I'm okay with him being entertained by it from time to time.  I want what programming that he does watch to encourage his imagination and creativity, but not take the place of it.

Thankfully my conviction turned into action (which is not always the case).  So, here are some guidelines that our family has come up with for toddler t.v in our home. 

No t.v. after 9:30 a.m. (if it's been on at all). 
Jadon is typically awake for the day between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m.  In the next 3 hours, we will all be getting dressed/showered for the day and eat breakfast.  Andy will get ready to head out the door (make coffee, get a lunch together), and I usually clean up from breakfast and empty the dishwasher.  How does Jadon fit into all this?  Obviously he has to get ready for the day (dressed and teeth brushed), but it's really easy for Andy and I to go through our routines and suddenly realize that our son has been doing nothing but sitting in front of the tube.  

We've come to the point that we're okay with a little bit of t.v. during this part of the day (hence the guideline for this part).  What we've also done is made more of an effort to include Jadon in our morning routine.  This could include anything from picking out his clothes and getting himself dressed (a recent accomplishment), to helping get breakfast ready, to helping me empty the dishwasher (he pretty much puts everything away that belongs in the lower cabinets and drawers).  


Let me just say that once we implemented this rule, the t.v. time in the morning nearly vanished!  And, get this... No one has missed it!


Be picky.
I'm super picky about what Jadon is allowed to watch.  So much, in fact, that he knows some of the shows that he can't watch and will tell me if it's coming on next or just turn the t.v. off himself.  Andy is picky, too, and has been known to point out some aspects of certain shows that I felt were okay that maybe weren't as great as I thought.  

I do some research, pay attention to commercials for these programs, evaluate what fellow parents think, and ask myself if the show emphasizes qualities that we also encourage in our parenting.  We tend to look for programs that are intentionally educational, encourage imagination and creativity, and do not go against the qualities that we are trying to instill in our son.  Red flags for us are programs that emphasize whining, complaining, selfishness, and egocentrism.  When it comes down to it, at this point I'm okay with about 75% of the programming on PBS, and then a few shows on the Disney Channel and Nick Jr.  

Stick with 1/2 hour (or less) programs
I find that this prevents endless t.v. watching.  Reserve movies as "special treats", like a family movie night, or the third rainy day in a row, or when a parent is feeling under the weather.  


Make your child turn off the the t.v.  
This sounds ridiculous, I know.  We've really found that this works for Jadon.  Not everyone is okay with their child touching the t.v. (ours is older and not a flat screen - yes, we live in the dark ages), but we're fine with it at this point.  It really seems that by having Jadon physically turn the t.v. off when a show is over he's actually embracing the guideline, rather than having no other choice because it was turned off for him.  We've practiced this so much, in fact, that he will turn it off all on his own accord (even if I didn't say, "When this show is over the t.v. goes off."), and even when I'm not in the room.  It's amazing.  It has totally eliminated the tendency to watch show after show... even when a channel reels a child in my showing the preview for what is next as soon as the current show ends.  


Conclusions
Although this was definitely no scientific process, I know that I've seen awesome results in Jadon as a direct result of us tightening up on the television.  

Jadon's t.v. watching has come way down.  He watches little to no shows in the morning.  The only consistent time in his day that he watches t.v (20-30 min.) is before his nap and this is for two reasons: 1, it's the best routine on the 3 days that I watch another boy while I'm getting him down for his nap; and 2, it really does seem to help slow his body down in preparation for taking a nap. 


Jadon may watch one show around the time that I am preparing supper (let's be honest, that's often essential in preventing meals that consist of blackened shoe leather and mush), and maybe one before bed, occasionally a movie.  


Maybe that still seems like a lot to some of you, or maybe a dream to others, but it works for us.  And this pregnant lady isn't exhausted trying to entertain a 2 year old throughout the day (at least not any more than I already was).  His imaginative play has soared over the last few months.  He's become extremely independent in his play, but has also grown in his family responsibility (discovering things that he no longer needs help with, and participating in chores and helpful things around the house).  Part of this is just him getting older, but another part is less time glued to the television.  He's thinking more.  He's not being entertained as much as he is creating his own entertainment.  


All this to say, whether it's t.v. or something else... whether you're a parent or not... it's important to take hold of areas of conviction in our lives and act on them in faith.  Prayerfully consider what is best for you (or your family) and do something about it, trusting that God will honor your intentions.  And for goodness sake... if you aren't a parent yet take it from me - don't fall into the trap of "When I'm a parent..." because you just don't know until you're up to your eyeballs in diapers and cheerios.  Truth. 


~ Carrie ~

Family Worship

Some time ago, Andy and I were contemplating how to implement a time of family devotions for the three of us.  It's really overwhelming to think about roping down an almost 3 year old to sit still and talk about God for any amount of time.  Let's be honest, getting through a mealtime prayer is often challenging enough!  

During the Advent season, our family has what we call an "advent tree" in which we put up a new ornament each day, in addition to reading a Bible story or passage of Scripture.  We also usually sang a Christmas song and always ended our time in prayer.  Jadon grew to love this time and would often ask multiple times throughout the day to put up a new ornament on the advent tree.  After Christmas was done and I took down the advent tree Jadon was a little upset.  Andy and I realized that this was a great opportunity to begin an actual family devotion time that we call "family worship".  Here's what it typically looks like:

What It Is 

• 10-12 minutes of time together as a family in the evening (after supper), usually on the couch
• Reading a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible
• Talking about the story and what we learn about God in this story
• Sing a song
• Close in prayer

Source: amazon.com via Carrie on Pinterest

This is an awesome time for our family to refocus and spend quality time together.  It doesn't happen every night, but I'd say we usually have family worship 4-5 times a week.  The funny thing is that when it slips our mind, Jadon always remembers.  He looks forward to it!  That's not to say that this time always goes smoothly and that our precious little toddler always cooperates.  There are some evenings when it would definitely be easier to throw in the towel and be done with it, but we press on because we see the time as being so beneficial!  

What It Isn't

Our family worship time is not a time for extreme structure, even though we pretty much follow the same routine each time.  Changing up the location, who reads, who prays, and what songs we sing make each time unique.  

This isn't a time for reinforcing good behavior or giving moralistic lessons.  It's an intentional time of sharing our love for Christ with our son and teaching him about all that God has done for us.

Why We Do It

For some parents out there, a time like this may seem impossible to achieve.  Our lives are so busy, schedules are filled, and people are tired all the time. 

It may even seem overwhelming if you don't see yourself as being gifted as a teacher.  Honestly, by using the Jesus Storybook Bible you are given a lot of direction for application.  In fact, I often find myself challenged by the readings in this Bible.  The writer of the Jesus Storybook Bible recently contributed an article on a well-known blog that addresses the challenges of teaching and applying the Bible for young children.  You can read the blog post here.  It's a very insightful article that really makes you think twice about how to apply the Bible to a life of any age.   

Our church is great (and getting even better) at instructing children through God's Word from a very early age.  We are so appreciative of that, and yet are very cautious that this is not the only or even the primary means of Jadon's biblical education.  Andy and I desire to express our love for Christ and all that He's done for us to our son, and not just on Sundays but everyday.  Our time of family worship is a great, intentional way to do that. 

I would totally encourage you to not wait until you think your child is "old enough" to understand everything or sit completely still for the whole time.  The sooner you start, the sooner both your child and you will begin reaping the benefits of this time spent in God's Word and in prayer.  

~ Carrie ~