My goal for Christmas 2014 was to be purposeful and peaceful.
I made a conscious decision to not fill our calendar to the brim, and was a little more selective on things like treats to make, decorating, and all the Christmas traditions that are fun but not absolutely necessary.
Being a mother to my three children has been challenging, but in the end, always a joy. I usually tell people that being a parent is both the most difficult and most wonderful thing at the same time. If only they could stay little! Enjoy each and everyday! Cherish every kiss and every laugh. Be glad to be the one to give them nutritious meals they may not be excited about, and to be the one they want comfort from when they get hurt or are sad. These are the things running through my head when I’m tempted to be grumpy when tired. I don’t want to miss out on enjoying my kids for the gifts that they are to me.
Here’s my snapshot of my kids this Mother’s day:
Recently, I posted the following on facebook: Air hugs are just as irksomely incomplete as playing only 7 notes of a major scale. Stay well everyone! Get rest, go exercise, stress less, pray more, laugh more, and of course…eat your veggies!
While this comment is referring to getting a cold this week, my family’s overall progress in health has been something I am so thankful for this year.
Here is a synopsis of what has been going on this past year:
Our little guy turned one today! To describe him in more than a few words: he’s strong, quite active, vocal with his deep voice, and so good looking!
Going from day one to today hasn’t always been easy. But there have been a lot of good memories that I’ve hopefully captured on this video. Enjoy!
I found this draft I wrote 2 years ago but never posted. It says “Last edited on November 30, 2010 at 3:41am!” Ah, insomnia can be quite productive at times. But that could also be why I forgot about it for a while. Or was it the Confundus Charm? Who knows, but here goes!
Bruce (4am): Waaa waaa waaa…!
Mommy: Bruce! Please, go to sleep! Why can’t you stay asleep? Every hour! Every half hour! Come on! Please sleep!
Jenni: God, help! I hurt so bad, and I’m so tired. Help!
Bruce (daytime): Waaa waaa waaa…! Achoo!
Kadie: Snot!
Violet: Boogers!
Jenni: Why are you being so nice to me when I’m being so mean to you?
David: Because it hurts more.
Jenni: Because it hurts more, you twit.
David: That would be stooping down to your level.
Jenni: I need chocolate.
Since Bruce is turning 6 months old, it is time to finish his birth story! In part 1, I covered the events preceding labor up to when I was holding my baby in my arms in the tub, with the midwives wondering if I was going to see if I had a boy or a girl. Sure enough! That little kung fu fighting baby inside me turned out to be a Bruce Lee… er… Lim after all!
Dear God,
Thank you for being a good God, for even when you allow strife in our lives, you use it for your good and perfect will for us. God, be our strength, for I am so weak. Guide us in your wisdom. Please have mercy on us and give us your healing power. We need your love to glue our family together when the stress of our circumstances can easily create a gaping hole. Give us your grace to be gracious with our children and each other when we are exhausted and depleted. Fill us with your life and let us serve you faithfully everyday.
Lord, let me be ever so thankful in my heart. Thank you for the gifts you’ve given me in my husband and children. Thank you for the precious time with them that you give to me. Help me not to take them for granted; especially my David. What an exceptional man you’ve given me! Wanting to marry me even though we didn’t know the future, or how much of a wife I could be to him as I was bedridden much of the time. How far we’ve come, and how much we’ve gone through in the past seven years… in the past several months! You’ve got our attention, Lord. We wait with expectant hearts as to what you will do, and what we will hopefully mature in.
Thank you, God, for giving much joy and happiness in our marriage these past seven years, and I pray for us to keep walking closer to you and to each other in whatever time you give us together on this earth.
In the name of Christ Jesus, I pray these things,
Amen, let it be done.
It has taken me a bit longer to get to blog about Bruce’s birth. I hardly get to the computer these days. But here it is: the birth story of our third child.
As I did with Violet’s story, the short version is that the labor was about 12 hours. The pushing stage was 5 minutes. I had a natural birth at Alma Midwifery Birth Center. It was another water birth, and it went very well. My midwife said the birth was “amazing.” Bruce was born on his actual due date, December 11th, 2011 at 3:23am, weighed 8lbs 6oz, 20 inches long, with a head circumference of 14 1/2 inches. He looked a lot like Kadie did as a newborn. We were very pleased to have a son!