A Day in the Life with a Newborn +4

April 27, 2010 by 1 Comment

Warning:  This post was written by a sleep deprived mother of 5.  Proceed at your own risk of encountering incoherent thoughts and run-on sentences.

Day one of being home alone with all five precious kiddos brought this…

the good

  • Our oldest got all of her work with mom and independent schoolwork completed.  (amidst cries from her youngest sibling)
  • Our preschooler didn’t argue about going to his room for ‘rest’ time. (It was amazing!) He played contentedly for a long time – building with blocks, constructing with Super Structs, and playing with his cars and trains.
  • I think I experienced a couple of 5 minute naps in the late afternoon, in between each time the newborn’s pacifier came out.
  • I was able to sneak a leftover chocolate frosted cupcake without any of the kids noticing.  (Any mother can see the importance of this, right?)

the bad

  • I left the school/playroom to attend to our newest little one.  I returned 5-10 minutes later only to find toys strewn all over the floor –See Exhibit A, below. (At least they were educational games and they were learning – Yes?  No?  Okay, this may just be wishful thinking. It is more likely that the toddler just dumped them out.)

toys)

  • While I was reading aloud to the older children and holding our newborn (who was refusing to nap anywhere other than in Mommy’s arms), our toddler got into the pantry, took out some cereal, and was proceeding to locate a bowl for it.  I told her no and I removed the cereal box from her hand.  She then threw the bowl and began to run away from me, throwing toys, a book, anything she could get her little hands on. (Ahh, the joy of having a dearly loved, spunky, red headed two year old…)

and the just plain ugly.

Through groggy eyes and an unguarded tongue, mommy’s impatience made appearances off and on throughout the day.

Be completely humble and gentle.
Be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2)

(Yes, even when I’m tired… Ouch.)

In addition, we are also seeing much more of this

laundry(in lingering piles)

and this

clock

(Yes, that says AM. It could start with a 1,2, or 3.  We’ve seen them all!)


which, of course, means a lot less sleep!

But…. it is soooo worth it for this little blessing!
new little one

(In a blink of an eye, this stage will pass quickly.)

So, guard your heart and mind, mama.  Stay in the Word.  Pray for daily, hourly, and minute by minute doses of wisdom, grace, and strength.  Consider His faithfulness.

I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.  (Isaiah 41:10)

Filed Under: Mom's Heart, The Joy of Children, The Joy of Family, The Joy of God's Word

Bonding With Baby

April 10, 2010 by 2 Comments

DSC_0923 (2)
My precious little one, I’m a little busy right now…

-caressing your smooth sweet baby skin,
-smelling your newborn baby hair,
-holding onto your two little feet and long skinny toes,
-looking in awe at your two small hands and tiny fingers grasping onto mine,
-watching you stretch and uncurl your long skinny legs,
-running my fingers through the ends of your fine baby hair,
-tracing the outside edge of your perfectly formed ears,
-feeling you lean against me, knowing you feel loved and safe, as you lay your head on my shoulder and rest your arm on my neck,
-marveling at God’s Hand in the creation of you.

For you created my inmost being.
       You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
       Your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place.
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.
(Psalm 139:13-16)

I’m thanking God for you, little one.

Filed Under: The Joy of Children, The Joy of Family

A Little Easter Crafting

April 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment

completed easter bags lamb finger puppet

Our two oldest girls and I have just started to do some hand sewing using felt.  It is a great material for beginners to use!  We have been using My First Sewing Book: Hand Sewing by Winky Cherry, which I highly recommend, to learn basic hand sewing techniques and to learn to make some felt stuffed animals.

So, when I came across a post at Sewing School about these cute felt Easter bags, I immediately knew that it would have to be our next project.  The original idea for the bags comes from a book by Kata Golda called Hand Stitched Felt.  I am thinking if the projects in the book are similar to this one, we will have to go invest in it!

The girls absolutely loved the process and the end product turned out great as well!  Take a peek!  In the pictures, you will see four bags.  Our kindergartner sewed one for herself.  I made a bag for our toddler.  Our oldest daughter (a second grader) made a bag for herself AND one for her preschool aged brother.  These were fun and easy for beginners to complete and take pride in!

sewing the easter bags1sewing the easter bags2

We did decide to make a lamb finger puppet instead of the bunny puppet. (That is just our family’s preference, as we tend to focus on Christ, His sacrifice, and the Resurrection around Easter time instead of the ‘Easter bunny’.) We encouraged the girls to recite memory verses with their ‘lamb of God’ finger puppets.  Also, one chose to use her bag at Good Friday services to hold a small Bible.  The other decided to use her bag to hold some crayons and paper.

sewing the lamb puppets

We just had the picture from Sewing School to go by, so I had to come up with measurements, etc. on my own.  It wasn’t too difficult to do.

For the Easter bag:
Fold a 9 by 12 inch piece of felt in half, placing the folded edge at the bottom.  Cut a two inch strip from one side.  (This strip can be used as one the handles.)  From a coordinating color, cut a pocket shape and another 2 by 12 inch strip (for the second handle).  Pin the pocket onto the piece to be used for the bag.  Sew.  Pin the side edges of your bag, with the pocket now on the inside.  Sew.  Flip the bag inside out so that your pocket is now on the outside.  Fold your two 2 by 12 inch strips lengthwise and pin.  Sew.  Pin the newly formed handles to the outside of your bag.  Make several X stitches to firmly secure the handles to the bag.

easter bag pieceseaster sewing project

For the lamb finger puppet:
Cut two 3 inch by 3 5/8 inch pieces of white felt.  Also cut a small tail and a shape as seen below for the ears.  Cut a small oval face shape from light pink, tan, peach, or gray felt.  Sew the tail to one of the white rectangles.  Sew the face to the other white rectangle.  Sew the mouth, nose, and eyes onto the face (or draw with permanent marker).  Insert the ear piece at the top, between the two pieces of rectangular felt.  Pin to secure.  Sew around the edges of the rectangle pieces, leaving an opening at  the very bottom.  Voila!  A lamb finger puppet to make a home inside the pocket of your Easter bag!

lamb pieces

Filed Under: Crafts and Sewing, Easter, The Joy of Holidays, The Joy of Homeschool

Trusting God with the ‘What-Ifs’

March 13, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Do you have any ‘What ifs’ looming in your mind?  You know, those nagging thoughts of what if this happens or this?  And, as you wait for what really is going to happen, the ‘what if’ questions seem to increase in intensity within your mind?

When the ‘what ifs’ crowd in, I have to remind myself that God is the blessed controller of all things.  The outcome, that I can’t yet see, will not happen by chance, but by His decree.  It is all in His loving hands – for my good and His glory.

Focusing on what might happen takes my focus off of Christ and places it on my circumstances.  Circumstances change, but God is sovereign and unchanging.   In Hebrews 13:8, it states that.. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. If I dwell upon who He is and think of His character, I am more likely to trust in Him.

Dwelling on my ‘what ifs’ can lead to great anxiety, but trusting in Christ can lead to peace and security in the midst of the unknown.

So do not fear, for I am with you.
Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
(Isaiah 41:10)

He will have no fear of bad news.  His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.  His heart is secure.  He will have no fear.
(Psalm 112:7-8a)

Psalm 141:8a says,
“But my eyes are fixed on You, O Sovereign LORD.  In you I take refuge..”

Oh Lord, may you quiet the ‘what ifs’ that roar within me. Fix my eyes upon You and Your Sovereign might.  May I take refuge in You, trusting You…

Filed Under: Mom's Heart, The Joy of God's Word

Blazing New Uses for our Entry Way

March 1, 2010 by 1 Comment

I always thought that our entry way was the most unused, largest waste of space in our home  – until recently.  Two weeks ago, our entry way was altered to accommodate several events during our indoor winter Olympics.  Then, last week, it was transformed into a trail ready for our pioneers to blaze!pioneer girls

Where the trail begins… Independence, Missouri (aka the front door).
starting out

The ‘Rocky Mountains’ and a river for the wagon train to bravely cross…
rocky mountains and river

Where the trail splits – Will the pioneers head to Oregon or to California?  (Most of the pioneers in our home decided to follow the California trail to the living room to see if they could be successful at panning for gold!)
the trails split

Our youngest pioneers using the trail (Yes, that is a dolphin in my toddler’s hands.  These two little ones also experimented with trying to cross their toy trains and cars over the mountains.)
younger kids on the trail

And, of course, the covered wagon!
Covered Wagon

What will our kiddos think of next?

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Filed Under: The Joy of Homeschool
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