Kidstuff

Our church is awesome. Have I mentioned that? Well I should say the people at our church are awesome. I mean I like the program stuff we do, don't get me wrong, but I LOVE the people. Our church is partly family integrated. What that means is instead of having programs for kids, we incorporate them into the church service. (this includes an occasion worship song for the kids with hand motions...so cute!) We do have a room for 0-3 year olds, but after that kids are out with their parents the whole time. Most people probably wouldn't like this. That's why almost every church out there has programs for children and youth groups for older kids. What I love is that at Red Door we want to empower parents to train and teach their children. One of the things the kidstuff (that's what we call it) team does is create packets for parents to take home each week that contain a lesson for you to do with your kids and things to talk about. Well last week the take home baggie contained stuff to make rice crispy treats! We made them together and talked about how life can be sticky and messy sometimes, but Jesus came to make all things clean and new. We told Mary that Jesus came to make her clean. She smiled and kept eating the marshmallows before they could melt! Here are some pictures:

Eventually she will learn to be modest, but for now she occasionally likes to practice for toddlers gone wild.


We've started keeping Mary out with us during the service. I think it is a great time to teach her to sit quietly. Although she eats lunch so she doesn't really have a choice:) That girl sees food and she eats it! And after she's done eating she colors on the kidstuff packet.

Crochet

I've gotten back into crocheting. It started when a fellow blogger posted some pictures of some hats she'd made her kids and then I thought, 'my kids need hats, and I'm tired of looking around for ones I like!' So I made them hats. Then I got crochet fever. So I bought a book called Baby Blueprints Crochet and I've been making the things in that book. If you want to crochet things for your kids or for other people's kids as gifts that book is seriously awesome. I like every single pattern in that book. It's worth it. Here are some of the things I've made:
The dress is gigantic. I used a bigger size yarn than you were supposed to, but I thought that would just make it a little bigger (I wanted it a little bigger than the largest pattern size). But it made it A LOT bigger. This thing isn't going to fit her until she's 5.

And a couple hats as gifts:


I also just finished the sweater that is on the cover of the book, but didn't take any pictures of it yet. It's the most adorable sweater! I want to make some socks next, but sock yarn is expensive! And socks are so cheap.

Noah Videos

This video was from a couple months ago, but I think it is so sweet. You'll have to excuse the part where I have to put down the camera to get Noah out from under Mary:

And these two are recent:

Strange Places

My kids end up in some strange places. Noah is getting to the point where he just wants to crawl. He doesn't really like being on the floor a whole lot anymore because he just wants to move! But he can't yet. He gets himself into funny positions though. Yesterday Ian told me that Noah worked himself almost completely under the couch! Just his little shoulders and head were sticking out. And today I watched him squirm all around and eventually got stuck under the coffee table (picture below). He was crying, but that's just a moment that has to be caught with a camera.

He's perfectly happy otherwise:)


And Mary has started to really enjoy sitting in her basket of diapers...

Current Reads

I'm currently reading three books. Well, one is just a re-read: Babywise II, always a pleasure:) The other is called BestFeeding. Can you guess what it's about??? I'm only reading this because I'm thinking of completing the training to become a Doula or a childbirth educator. There's a lot of independent reading you have to do, so I thought why not start those books as I try to decide if I want to do that. I have no desire to work really, and both of those things would require a decent amount of time and energy. I'm thinking it could be cool to have that knowledge even just to help people for free? It's something I'm interested in, so we'll see what comes of it! Anyways, Bestfeeding is ok. Nothing profound or new that I haven't already learned in other books that aren't exclusively about breastfeeding, but I'm only half way through it!

The other book is called To Train Up A Child. It was given to me by a good friend who has very similar parenting views. She gave it to me with the warning that they can be kind of rigid, but it's mostly good. She was right! They definitely tell you their opinions (sometimes stated as fact) and make no apologies. I like that. Just get it out there ya know?!? A lot of the stuff they say flies in the face of our culture, but they aren't afraid to say it. Basically I like it a lot so far. It's very practical and straight to the point. It's kind of what I wish Shepherding a Child's Heart would have been! They have a lot of the same methods as Shepherding without all the filler talk and wishy washy stuff crowding up the place. It's half the length if that tells you anything. So...there's a couple books for you:)

P.S. I finished Feminine Appeal and it was AWESOME! A must read for every woman. I've already bought copies for two of my friends and they are almost done with it.

You'd have to be crazy...

I was just doing a little light reading about the medical risks associated with Epidural Anesthesia (sarcasm). And it made me want to post it here. I can't count the number of times I've heard people say, "you'd have to be crazy not to get an epidural." At first, this always made me mad. Now it's just kind of funny. It's funny because in my head I'm thinking, "You'd have to be crazy to get one." But I don't really believe that. It's totally natural to want to avoid pain. I get that. Believe me, I have the lowest pain tolerance in the history of man. I nearly passed out the last time I had to get blood drawn. I cry when I get a headache. I could go on. The point is, you don't have to be superwoman to give birth without medication or any medical intervention at all.

Someone asked me how I made it through birth. The first time I made it through because I had heard so many awesome stories about natural birth and I wanted to experience it for myself. It's not like these women love pain, but at that point every woman I knew who had gone natural had a positive experience with birth. And everyone I had known who had not gone natural had horror stories. Things have changed since then for sure. I know plenty of women who have birth experiences that are just fine and they had epidurals. I still don't know anyone who had a completely natural birth and had a bad experience though.

With Noah, I didn't have that motivation anymore, because I'd already had that experience. I got through it with him because I sincerely believe with all my being that it is the best (most healthy, least risk involved) way to give birth. Again, epidurals aren't evil, but I'm not willing to take the risk. Anytime I would think, 'this pain could be over in an instant' I just reminded myself of all the things I know to be true about epidurals, and even the other medical pain relief they offer. And I sobered up. Here is a link to that article:
http://www.healing-arts.org/mehl-madrona/mmepidural.htm#medical_risks_epidurals_cesarian

But I'll add my own, non-medical risks: it might not work! I personally know two women whose epidurals just plain didn't work. So they went in thinking they would have no pain and they had all kinds of pain. That would suck more than anything I think. Maybe it was doctor error, but either way not fun. Also, you can avoid unnecessary intervention. With the freedom to move around you can almost always avoid the use of extraction devices and episiotomy (if you have a doctor/midwife who knows what they're doing).

One of the scariest, and most common problems with epidurals is that the anesthesia used in the process passes through the placenta. You read that right! If you aren't allowed to have ibuprofen while you're pregnant why on earth would an OB think it's a good idea to put a local anesthetic into your system (not to mention the drugs used to induce women). Yikes.

All that to say, I still believe it's just one day. Pain during childbirth was a result of the fall. It's not morally wrong to try to reduce or eliminate that pain! I reminded myself that even if I had to have a c-section I would still be going home with a baby at the end of the day. That's what is most important. But I do believe that all our decisions matter. We just need to find the balance of those things.

Rant.Over.

A good day

As a mom of two you have enough bad days that you really need to savor the good days! Today was just all around good. I literally only had to correct Mary twice today. And this is such a relief after a long period of her testing the boundaries. Yes Mary, they are still there! Noah slept great and was exceptionally happy while awake. Plus, he got really tired before bed and just snuggled on me. Then he giggled while I prayed for him. Is that not the best sound in the world? I (almost) always choose to love my kids and act accordingly, but today I'm overwhelmed by the feeling of love for them.

Boys will be boys

This is a phrase I have disliked until very recently. A while ago I told Ian about something I saw a little boy doing and how annoying it was. I can't remember exactly what it was, but something I thought for sure should have been corrected (probably screaming for a toy or yelling at his mom because I was in a toy store). After I told him Ian said, "Ha! Boys will be boys." I didn't say anything then, but I was concerned. I thought Ian meant that because this kid was a boy it was Ok for him to do what he was doing. I think that we have this perception that little boys are crazy, hyper, out of control beings who need to be set loose in order to thrive. While I do believe that especially toddlers have a lot of energy and need to let it out, I don't think that's a license to do whatever they want!

I'd heard Ian say this phrase over and over again. Well the other day I told Ian that Noah kept grabbing at the lamp in his room and I kept telling him no and pulling his hand away, but I thought it was going to take a while to teach him not to touch it. Again Ian said, "Boys will be boys!" But later that day I heard Ian in Noah's room saying, "Noah, do not touch!" He came out and told me that he gave Noah a couple hand thumps and told him not to touch the lamp. Well the next day as I was changing him, Noah looked up at the lamp and reached out but stopped his hand! He looked at me then back at the light and grabbed it. I told him no and pulled his hand away and he didn't try again. Well, he didn't try again that day, but he hasn't done it much since.

I tell this story to highlight a couple things I've been thinking about lately. One is that certain things may explain behavior but they don't excuse it. I think this is what Ian means by boys will be boys. That may explain why they do certain things, but that does excuse their behavior or make it OK. This is a minor incident and I don't think Noah was grabbing the lamp because he's a boy or anything. I haven't really seen any gender differences between my kids yet, besides the obvious. It's just nice to know that Ian and I are on the same page with things!

Another good reminder this brings up is the house-proofing your child concept. It would be so much easier to move that lamp than to keep telling him not to touch it. But what would he learn if I moved the lamp? Absolutely nothing. It's not going to hurt him to touch it, it's just not something a 6 month old should touch. One thing I have going for me this time while I begin to house proof Noah (because he gets more mobile every day!) is that I've already seen the benefits of this with Mary. She's not "into everything", and I don't have to follow her around all the time and tell her to stop touching things or take things away from her. In fact, she asks for most things now that are not her toys to make sure she's allowed to touch them. That comes from house proofing. Now, all I need to do is be patient, consistent, and endure through the frustrating parts of training "do not touch". It takes months, but in the end it's worth it!

If you made it to the end of this post, well done! Thanks for humoring me as I spill my mind onto the blog.

Little Homemaker

Mary is such the little helper and I love it. Last night while I was making dinner she kept saying, "Mary help you" and pushing one of the chairs over toward the stove/counter to help me. Now, her helping is not so much help, but Ian and I talked about how it's important to let her "help" now while she's feeling extra helpful and to let her know we appreciate it. Someday she will actually be able to do things well that we'd like her to help with, so right now we're trying to encourage her spirit of helpfulness even though it can take more time to get things done (and be much messier!).

I've been thinking a lot lately about cultivating my spirit more instead of just my actions. Then a post popped up today on my google reader from the raising homemakers blog. Here is an excerpt:

"It’s just that I fear that with the emphasis on getting women back home, we have confused our message of hope and turned it into a burden that we didn’t intend to make. We’ve given the wrapper – the “stay at home” part – without the contents – glorifying God through and in the home.

I believe that womanhood is rooted in the home. Mothers who stay home do a greater service to their children than mothers who work. Daughters and wives who keep home full time have my deepest admiration - they’re my heroes. But not simply because they stay home. Because they have a vision for their role in the home, whether they’re there 24/7 or only after the work hours.

“Coming home” physically is only an outer manifestation of a heart issue. A woman can be “at home” physically and somewhere else spiritually and wholeheartedly. And vice versa. Yes, the more natural way is at home – it’s the best way - the benefits of being at home far outweigh anything else this life has to offer for women. But only if we dedicate it to the Lord. Only if we have a vision that goes beyond private wish and fulfillment. Only if we look to His Word as the ultimate directive for our life – not the books and blogs of those who share our same views."

I really loved this post. Yes, I want to be home physically full time(obviously) but I also want to be here spiritually, mentally, and absolutely wholeheartedly. It's easy to check out sometimes or to just get things done throughout the day (organize, clean, launder, feed children, etc.) and not really engage my mind and heart. Yes, I think even if you don't stay home because God's word encourages it, it will still be the best thing for your family. However, God will be most glorified when we are living for His glory on purpose. I want to keep that at the forefront of my mind. This is the joy set before me! So when things crumble I don't crumble. I'm supported by that joy. The same joy that Christ had when he endured the cross for me.

I'm a believer

I've posted before about the wonder weeks. I gotta say, if I wasn't a believer then, I am now. This week Noah has not been himself. Waking in the night again (grrr), fussy randomly, chewing on everything even more than normal. His tooth popped through Monday, but the behavior is still continuing. He has a cold, but he's usually not like this with a cold. After having gone through my mental list of possible causes and ruling them out I thought of the wonder weeks. So I calculated how old Noah is: 26 weeks, and looked at the wonder weeks website and sure enough 26 weeks is mental leap #5. Apparently this is when kids start to realize distance and space. So they can see something and realize that it's far away from them or realize that mommy left and he can't get to me, etc. I need to suck it up and get that book, but I have like 10 to read right now. He's also moving around a ton more now. I just want to freeze time. Stop growing!

Mornings

The mornings are always a fun time here. Both kids are pretty perky when they wake up. Mary usually wakes up and says, "Noah's wake??" then she inquires about her oatmeal:) Here they are in their matching PJ's:

Hyper

Mary gets really hyper when people come over. I think she may just turn out to be an extrovert. The other day two good friends were over and one told Mary to give our big stuffed bear a horsey ride. So she proceeded to run around the house as fast as she could holding the bear on her back:


It was really cute! But we're not quite sure what to do with her when she gets so crazy! Noah thinks it's funny and laughs at her.

6 months old!

It's hard to believe it, but Noah is 6 months old! He is sitting up mostly on his own. Still can be a little wobbly sometimes though. His second tooth popped through today. And he has been sick for the past 3 months it seems! A friend wrote me the other day and said while she was reading in Genesis she read that Noah sounds like the Hebrew word for rest. She reminded me that it's so interesting because our time with Noah has been relatively peaceful and we've gotten a good deal of rest for having a newborn. He's also quite the sleepy baby. I was talking about this with another friend and she said that her son's name means "war-like", which is funny if you know her kid:) I then told her that we will be naming our next kid obedience.

My prayer for Noah is that his soul could be peaceful and rested in God all his life. That he could be a person that people feel safe with. A place of rest for other people. Pictures of my CUTE CUTE CUTE baby:

Christmas

It has taken me this long to post Christmas pictures because photoshop has made me believe that no picture is ready for the world until it has been run through editing. Sad I know. I just look at a picture now and think, 'how could this look better???' Anyways, here are some pictures from Christmas eve and Christmas day.