Perspective

Not that long ago a friend phoned to congratulate me on the birth of Breanne. (She had phoned some weeks ago and talked to Gerard, but I was napping) So after talking for a bit, she asked if I was fine with having another girl. (not the first to ask, or the first to say they were hoping for a boy) I told her that I did find out a couple weeks before having Breanne that she was a girl, as my obstruction has an ultrasound machine in his office. And to be honest, I was disappointed at first. I had wanted a boy, to balance out the boy ratio a bit, (and they are easier?) and it would be better for our bedroom situation. Only having three bedrooms, that way I could put two boys in one and three girls in another, as the days of Niessa and Timothy sharing should come to an end at some point.

But for me, it was so good knowing ahead of time that I was having a girl, as then I could "get over" not having what I thought I wanted, and get it all into perspective. Some of the thoughts were: that not even eight years ago we didn't know what God's plans were for us in having biological children and then here we are having our fifth in six years. (Gerard and I always say be careful what you pray for...) And the blessing of another healthy child, I should be thankful for even if it didn't fit into the plans I had for our bedrooms. lol. And by the time I had Breanne, I was soooo excited to be having another little girl. Then my friend said well you do have one boy, I don't have any, I would love to have one.

To which I replied, how many people in our Church would love to have four beautiful, healthy girls. You get pregnant easily/ don't have to spend thousands and thousands on fertility treatments, and have never had a miscarriage. You have had four wonderful girls in 5 1/2 years. What a blessing! (and it IS perfectly fine to want a boy or more boys...that's not the point I am making)

So it always shows...we want more

if we have no children we want children

then once we have that we want certain genders

and once we have one of the certain genders we want more of that.

And once we have lots of children we just want time to ourselves again. lol.

I think this picture speaks for itself. It was that time on the clock and that is A.M. when everyone in this house should be dreaming of sheep and SLEEPING, so I thought I should take a picture just in case in some years I start to think how nice it would be to have one of these sweet little bundles again. At this point, I think she is bound and determined to stay the youngest in this family as Gerard and I hardly even sleep together in the same bed (lol) ...he ended up sleeping again on the couch with her last night. And what a spitty thing she is. Just some more "remembering "pictures for me. I keep hearing the splat on my floor. Nice really nice. Spitty babies are a lot more work, she goes through multiple sleepers a day and I often have to change my shirts(it's cold wearing a wet shirt) (I had forgotten as Timothy was an incredible spitty baby...being an preemie something about an immature reflux, he grew out of it eventually) And to end on a positive side... Sharleen and I had fun dressing her up in clothes, as I usually leave my babies in sleepers. It just seems more comfy and warmer in the cold winter. (and easier to change) It's hard to believe that the first picture is actually her...she can be such a little doll.

Fire Hall Field Trip

This is Sharleen's kindergarten class (the second biggest class in the school) on a field trip to the local Fire Hall.

For such a large class of kindergartners, they behaved so well. Last year I went on both class field trips to the fire hall and it was not nearly as calm as this year. She was so happy that I could come with her on her field trip, although she woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and still had one this morning so she didn't go to school and we just met up with her class at the fire hall. (it seems to be one sickness after another)

What a precious gift from God, I am so thankful for her. I would like her to sleep a bit more...

...but her smile lights up my world, and I (almost) forget how tired I can be. It really is amazing how something like a simple smile from my baby makes my eyes watery. It really is the little things in life. Cooing with her Daddy. I love all these sweet pictures so much. She is not our easiest baby, but she melts our hearts just the same.

Notice the cloth diapers...I love cloth diapers. This little thing poops sooooo much so it is great not to be throwing all disposables in the landfills. I have two diaper pails and when all my diapers are gone I just have to throw them in the washing machine. So easy, and cheap. And now my girls are old enough to fold them neatly in half for me. I would recommend cloth to anyone.

I realized I did not have any pictures with my baby so I had to take some myself. (I am always the one taking pictures) This is as far as my arm could reach.

Nuts

This is the furry little guy that Gerard caught living with us in our attic. Does anyone need a new pet, he is kinda cute. Gerard didn't want him living with us as they could eat through electrical wires and start a fire. (what's with us and fires)lol.

Sunday

The whole family did not go to church today (since everybody has been sick I am avoiding the church nursery like the plague for a bit as I don't want my little ones to get sick again as I am tired of sick kids, and am not 100%myself) so that left more room for the kids to have friends over. They were all allowed to have one over and this is what came home with us. And what a nice time we all had together. Sometimes....the dynamics of a group of kids I have over can be a bit hair-raising...the boys shooting the girls and of course the girls screeching "trying" to get away...the boy/girl thing I didn't think started so young. I just wish we could take the utility trailer to Church so I wouldn't have to worry about not having enough seat belts, and then they could all have someone over when they wanted to. lol.

Niessa with one of her friends doing some crafts.

Even Daddy got in on the fun, the girls needed an extra hand to turn the skipping rope but then he thought he would give skipping a try too. I think it is so great that the kids are totally into skipping, I remember doing it all the time as a kid. What a beautiful clear day.

Sharleen posing with one of her kindergarten buddies.

I hope and pray that my kids will always have some good friends, and be good friends, as it will surely make going through school/life easier/fun.

Breanne

I can stick my tongue out too... This is how I like to sleep, in someone's arms.
Are you my daddy, yup, you're mine.

Skirt

Remember this skirt...(now if I was really computer-savvy I could put in the link and show you the picture of the huge rip) While I did get all thrifty and made it shorter and now she can wear it again. Especially with leggings, it doesn't matter how short their skirts are. Well, all I did was take the ruffle off and pin it on my mom sewed it all together for me as I still don't have a sewing machine. So thanks mom, Niessa loves it and it's nice to get some use out of something that I would have thrown out. Now...to fix all the socks with holes ...or not, I'm going with not.

(notice the multi-tasking) ...who said life with a newborn was a lot of work?

Happy Valentine's Day!!
to my precious family...and everyone else. I know it's a total "Hallmark day" but I always do something to make it special.

So Sharleen and I made a cake for everyone and some cupcakes. She had so much fun practicing her cake-decorating skills. I even put a candle out for the surprise when they came home from school. They loved it, it was even the first thing Niessa told Daddy when he came home from work.

And then we went out in the evening, a big thank-you to Aunt Theresa who phoned the night before and said she would come out and babysit so we could go out. At first, I said "no" since no restaurants take coupons on Valentine's Day, lol, but we went anyway and it was good to get out together...

...and of course, baby Breanne who was as good as gold. It is so nice to be in the baby stage again...carrying a car seat, everyone wants to see a baby.

This is a letter that I received in my webmail account from Generation Cedar and thought it was really well written. I have been trying to post it for others to "glean" from, not everything works or applies to every situation. There might be something to help you or work for you.



"Friends,

Some things are too important not to write down to say deliberately to your children. The following is one such letter I wrote to mine. I pray it will be an inspiration to you.

Dear Children,

Should the Lord give you the gift of a husband or wife, and I hope He does, there are a few things I want you to know. Things that you may not hear from anyone else, and certainly not on the TV or other media. Sadly, your church may not even tell you.



Marriage, sweet little people is not for the purpose of your happiness. Happy as I want you to be and hope you will be, you must yet understand that marriage is God's design and His purposes must be pursued for you to be truly happy. His end is holiness and he will use all things in a life devoted to Him to fulfill that end.



To my girls,

Marry a man whose first pursuit is Christ. After that, he is not hard to please. Admire him, cheer him on, and show gratitude, and he will fall over himself trying to please you. Smile often, speak well of him always, and do whatever is necessary to try and maintain a pleasant mood about you so that it transfers to your home, making it a place where he and your children love to be.

You'll have bad days, of course, crying days even, and that's when you go to your bedroom, kneel on the floor, and beg the Lord to carry you. Then you get up, get a fresh perspective (the crayon will come off the wall), and try again. Above all else, make a home.

To my boys,

Marry a woman whose first pursuit is Christ. After that, she may be hard to please, only if you don't know "the secret". What is that? I'm glad you asked. The secret to pleasing your wife is to make her feel safe and treasured. You may have to move out of your comfort zone to do this at times. She won't always readily translate the oil change to love, though it means that. But let me give you a "secret question" a question you need to ask her often. It's not just the asking though. Be sure to focus your eyes on hers, maybe even touch her shoulder or face, and then ask: "What's on your mind these days? And then be ready to listen. She will perceive this as your protection over the matters of her heart. Tenderness, listening, protection. That's what she wants.

To you all:

If your wife or husband does something really stupid, forgive. If they do it again, forgive again. Forgiveness must be the propelling force in your life each day. Dwell on their strengths, and push out thoughts of their weaknesses. Take every thought captive-choose to love.

Here's that part you're not going to hear often:

If you find yourself "not happy", having lost attraction, disinterested, etc. you are not permitted to think about divorce. If you find yourselves arguing more and more, don't think about it for a minute that "the children will be better out of this" because they won't.

The vows you took on your wedding day were not suggestions. They were covenant vows, before a Holy God, family, and friends, to stay with this person the rest of your life, even if you don't like it. You swore a solemn oath and if you can't live up to it, don't get married. Decide up front that your marriage is irrevocable. There is far more motivation for getting along if your "marriage house" has no door.

Do not share intimate thoughts or feelings with anyone of the opposite sex. Do not find yourself alone for any length of time with such either.

Divorce is not a "private option"/It will affect multiple families for many generations. When you "separate what God has joined together " you permanently injure far more than yourself.

Guard your marriage as fiercely as you would guard your own life. Treat your spouse as an extension of your flesh, just as God sees you. Treat your spouse like other family members. You know "You gotta love 'em, they're the only family you got"

I want you to be happy, I surely do. But I will pray for you to be holy."

Thank you so much Auntie Theresa for surprising me on a dreaded Pro-D day by coming by for the afternoon. It saved me that day, that's for sure. And look what she has to "endure"...one can only imagine the noise in this picture...and I am glad you still have some hair left after the "hairdresser" was finished with it. lol

Breanne looks at who her big brother is.

Niessa reading to her sisters.

yup

yup. we got ourselves a high-maintenance little one. Cute as a button, and loved to pieces by all of us, she's just, well, high maintenance. What does that mean, she doesn't sleep a lot and doesn't settle much. All those wonderful things that babies are supposed to do. I wouldn't say she has colic or the new phrase" purple crying" she just likes a lot of companionship. She likes to be held and does NOT like to sleep by herself. Gerard and I have never liked having our babies sleep in our bed(as we didn't sleep well) with us but have both decided hands down that we like some sleep better than none, and so she is snug as a bug in a rug in our bed in every night. Gerard has slept with the kids or even on the floor so that I could get more sleep. Imagine that, only three weeks old and kicking her dad out of bed. lol. And this is #5, I should be a professional at this baby thing, but am often lost as to what to do with her. I guess I just expected her to be as easy as my last two, but I guess God knew that I needed really easy babies then and now my days are calmer so I can hold her and cuddle her more, and I do enjoy it as I know this very precious baby stage goes by all so fast. So very fast.

Daddy crawled back into bed with her on his way out the door before work to have a little chat with her...telling her to sleep a lot for mommy during the day.