A Lot of Love in a Little Home
Good Morning, my friend!
Christopher fell asleep during "reading time" (that is what I call the time he & Annie spend in their cribs while I get ready in the morning) and so did Annie, but she awoke and is now playing at my feet with her little crinkly eared bunny rabbit. It is such a gift to watch her grow and become more active. I do not take these developements for granted. One thing quick about 'reading time'--the other day when I was quickly putting on my makeup, I heard this volleying of laughter coming out of the nursery. I deftly avoided the known creak-spot in the floor and quietly watched as I witnessed the two of these little people finding each other hysterical! It was truly the sweetest sound I have ever, ever heard. It made the sleepless night behind me fade quickly into distant memory.
This little nursery will, Lord willing, need yet another crib come September.
Yes, a few weeks ago, after walking past a jar of baby kosher dills at Weis Market and suddenly desiring to buy & consume the entire shipment of them, I bought a 'good' pregnancy test out of suspician. (I didn't dare buy them, because both boys-my husband and son Rick-would have picked up on my pickle fetish right away.) I say "good" test, because in the past, due to our budget, I would buy Dollar Tree pregnancy tests. That is how I found out Annie was on her way. But due to their low cost, and overall low performance, they are not always the most reliable. So, we skimped on meat that week (just kidding. kinda), and i had a trusted brand stick to pee on. As it turns out, and as my heart raced as I saw two lines evolve before my eyes, we have been given another little gift.
I'm still quite early and so I am tentative, but utterly hopeful. On another day, I will share my first three pregnancy experiences, which included ectopic, stillbirth (our little girl, Hope) and a miscarriage. It is those experiences that have made me extremely grateful for the opportunities I have had to carry & bring home healthy babies. And even though I never struggled with infertility or having to wait for long to become pregnant, I never forget there are many out there who struggle at the news of someone else so easily becoming pregnant. And so, as I said, I do not take this for granted.
Should we be able to hold this baby on this side of Heaven, this would be, yes, 3 babies in 3 years.
Crazy? Well, maybe.
Busy? Absolutely. Yes. Diapers will keep their spot on the antique dining room buffet (it has been converted into a downstairs changing table) and sleepless nights will stay the norm.
Planned? Well, I am not Catholic (although I have wonderful friends who are!), and I could be textbook proof that exclusive breastfeeding is NOT dependable birth control...but I still say it is the Lord who opens and closes the womb and HE is the One who determines when He wants a specific life to enter into this world's scene. Babies are little people who grow up and contribute to the world...and going deeper, they have a place in the beautiful, complex, unimaginable tapestry of God's purpose & plan. A child is not conceived at a particular time because the parent has 'planned' for him or her...but because God is ready to bring this person into the world to potentially affect the lives of those whose paths He has already connected. To me, that thought is one of the most meaningful and exciting reasons to have children!
Are we moving?
I have had that question asked several times since I've told a few people. It's natural to ask, and yet we have yet to receive any prompting or suggestion from the Lord that He wants us out of this neighborhood. We certainly feel called here for this time. We do not know the future more than anyone else knows for sure what the next moment, day, week or month will include. We do know that we have shelter from the cold winter winds, a place of refuge where love and peace abide...and that is something we are so grateful for. Yes, our house is a 3 bedroom 1920's brick duplex located in a 1920's-type suburban neighborhood (with fabulous neighbors) and with it's age comes ALOT of repairs and tender loving care. It is not big, it is not a show-house, but it contains people who genuinely love each other, and I would far, far rather live in a small home with love than a large structure with a lack of it. Of course, my husband grew up with 6 brothers, the youngest of which slept in a dresser drawer when he came home from the hospital, so the thought of many siblings in a small home is not foreign to him. For me, I just have come to love the people that live around us. None of us are perfect, but we are in each other's lives, and I have so many opportunities to pass on the Love that I have been given by my Father. This home has been a place where we have made many memories and it has endeared me to itself for that reason too. I think the children will 'survive' here just fine! :) As the Lord leads....
In addition to all this...I think of MOST families in the world and how most of them do not have a place that is there own and usually only one room, no running water, automatic heat, etc. We are LIVING LARGE!!! We really are!
And the bottom line: This Earth is not really our home. Thank God for that. Heaven is where we are headed.
Christopher fell asleep during "reading time" (that is what I call the time he & Annie spend in their cribs while I get ready in the morning) and so did Annie, but she awoke and is now playing at my feet with her little crinkly eared bunny rabbit. It is such a gift to watch her grow and become more active. I do not take these developements for granted. One thing quick about 'reading time'--the other day when I was quickly putting on my makeup, I heard this volleying of laughter coming out of the nursery. I deftly avoided the known creak-spot in the floor and quietly watched as I witnessed the two of these little people finding each other hysterical! It was truly the sweetest sound I have ever, ever heard. It made the sleepless night behind me fade quickly into distant memory.
This little nursery will, Lord willing, need yet another crib come September.
Yes, a few weeks ago, after walking past a jar of baby kosher dills at Weis Market and suddenly desiring to buy & consume the entire shipment of them, I bought a 'good' pregnancy test out of suspician. (I didn't dare buy them, because both boys-my husband and son Rick-would have picked up on my pickle fetish right away.) I say "good" test, because in the past, due to our budget, I would buy Dollar Tree pregnancy tests. That is how I found out Annie was on her way. But due to their low cost, and overall low performance, they are not always the most reliable. So, we skimped on meat that week (just kidding. kinda), and i had a trusted brand stick to pee on. As it turns out, and as my heart raced as I saw two lines evolve before my eyes, we have been given another little gift.
I'm still quite early and so I am tentative, but utterly hopeful. On another day, I will share my first three pregnancy experiences, which included ectopic, stillbirth (our little girl, Hope) and a miscarriage. It is those experiences that have made me extremely grateful for the opportunities I have had to carry & bring home healthy babies. And even though I never struggled with infertility or having to wait for long to become pregnant, I never forget there are many out there who struggle at the news of someone else so easily becoming pregnant. And so, as I said, I do not take this for granted.
Should we be able to hold this baby on this side of Heaven, this would be, yes, 3 babies in 3 years.
Crazy? Well, maybe.
Busy? Absolutely. Yes. Diapers will keep their spot on the antique dining room buffet (it has been converted into a downstairs changing table) and sleepless nights will stay the norm.
Planned? Well, I am not Catholic (although I have wonderful friends who are!), and I could be textbook proof that exclusive breastfeeding is NOT dependable birth control...but I still say it is the Lord who opens and closes the womb and HE is the One who determines when He wants a specific life to enter into this world's scene. Babies are little people who grow up and contribute to the world...and going deeper, they have a place in the beautiful, complex, unimaginable tapestry of God's purpose & plan. A child is not conceived at a particular time because the parent has 'planned' for him or her...but because God is ready to bring this person into the world to potentially affect the lives of those whose paths He has already connected. To me, that thought is one of the most meaningful and exciting reasons to have children!
Are we moving?
I have had that question asked several times since I've told a few people. It's natural to ask, and yet we have yet to receive any prompting or suggestion from the Lord that He wants us out of this neighborhood. We certainly feel called here for this time. We do not know the future more than anyone else knows for sure what the next moment, day, week or month will include. We do know that we have shelter from the cold winter winds, a place of refuge where love and peace abide...and that is something we are so grateful for. Yes, our house is a 3 bedroom 1920's brick duplex located in a 1920's-type suburban neighborhood (with fabulous neighbors) and with it's age comes ALOT of repairs and tender loving care. It is not big, it is not a show-house, but it contains people who genuinely love each other, and I would far, far rather live in a small home with love than a large structure with a lack of it. Of course, my husband grew up with 6 brothers, the youngest of which slept in a dresser drawer when he came home from the hospital, so the thought of many siblings in a small home is not foreign to him. For me, I just have come to love the people that live around us. None of us are perfect, but we are in each other's lives, and I have so many opportunities to pass on the Love that I have been given by my Father. This home has been a place where we have made many memories and it has endeared me to itself for that reason too. I think the children will 'survive' here just fine! :) As the Lord leads....
In addition to all this...I think of MOST families in the world and how most of them do not have a place that is there own and usually only one room, no running water, automatic heat, etc. We are LIVING LARGE!!! We really are!
And the bottom line: This Earth is not really our home. Thank God for that. Heaven is where we are headed.
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