Sweet Sleep

For the past two nights, Sofia has slept 8 hours each.
I nurse her around 10pm, then she wakes around 6am to nurse again.
I can’t believe she is sleeping through the night already, though I am glad to sleep myself.

I kind of miss my tiny baby!

Seek Ye First

But seek (aim at strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:33, 34

These verses have been resonating with me for a week now. You see, last Sunday our Pastor was ill. He had been to the emergency room, examined thoroughly and released with a diagnosis of “We don’t know what’s wrong with you.”
His daughter-in-law, who is also my friend from high school (not Colleen) called his wife to encourage him. This was the verse she gave him. She told the church that he had mentioned during the 30 days of prayer that he never does any praying for himself. He prays for God’s kingdom, and he believes that God will take care of him, knows what he needs and will provide it accordingly.
So, then the pastors son, my friends husband, preaches a sermon about expecting God to give us things, like we deserve them. he read the scripture about the servant who had been working in the fields all day. The Master would not call that servant in to sit and dine at the table and be served, but would expect that servant to serve him. When the master had been served, the servant could then go and eat.

For a while now, I have been expecting God to heal me–like I deserved it for all that I have been through. Like God was in some way entitled to heal me–just because I am his child. All of that thinking, left me rather, well, selfish.
It’s like the little child that you so adore turning into a monster in the check-out line in the grocery store because she’s been good and now expects you to buy her some candy. “I want chocolate!” she cries. She throws a terrible fit of rage and embarrasses you beyond imagination.

I wonder if God has ever felt like that with me. Has he ever looked at me and thought, “When we get to the car, I’m going to bust your but!” Has he ever been embarrassed to call me his child? I would be.

So, back to Matthew 6:33. Seek first HIS kingdom. What does that mean? I asked God.
Well, first of all, I think it means that we must pray for his will to be done on earth–just as it is in heaven.
Second, I believe it is personal.
For me, HIS kingdom is at hand. What is “at hand” for me is my children. They are his kingdom, and a work worthy of my time, skill, and service. Yep. Service. Yuck.

You mean I’m supposed to serve my kids?!!!

You ask.

Yep. That’s what I’m sayin’.
It’s not what is popular. Serving does not mean spoiling. Giving them everything they want. It does mean that we must, like Christ, point them to God.

Let the little children come to me.

We are all familiar with this verse. I must usher my children into the Presence of the Lord.
How do I do that?
I must get in His Presence to bring them into it. I must start each day entering in.
There is a scene in The Final Battle of The Chronicles of Narnia, at the very end. The children find themselves in Narnia. They are being ushered to go “further up, further in.”
I love that part of the story. Further up I must go with God. Further into His Presence I must run.

So, all week God has been showing me this glorious principle of seeking His kingdom first. It has been hard to wrap my brain around the simplicity of it all, but God is so good. He continues to send me daily examples of what He means, and I am in awe of Him, once again.

Ethan’s Birth Story, Revisited

Okay.  I kind of left you all hanging about what happened after my own hospital recovery.  What about Ethan?

Well, I had to take a mental break from it all because it brought up so much emotion.  I had no idea I would react in the way I did, but I’m ready to tell the rest of the story.

Here goes:

Ethan remained in the NICU at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas for 54.  They would start him on breast milk, 2cc at a time.  For those of you who aren’t nurses, or familiar with cc’s, there are 30cc’s in 1 ounce.  So, Ethan started feeding on 1/15th of an ounce every 3 hours through a GI tube.  As he could tolerate that amount, they increased it to 4cc, 6cc, 8cc, 10cc, 15cc, 20cc, and so on.

Once he reached 30cc, they began adding HGH, or human growth hormone, to make him grow faster, even though his weight gain was slow and steady.

Each time they added the HGH, he would get-what the nurse called-a tummy ache.  He would stop digesting his milk, and it would sour in his stomach.  They did this twice.  Each time, he had to go NPO, or no food by mouth, and start over at 2cc’s of breast milk.  Each time he got sick, he would go back to the Level 1 NICU–the most intensive care for neonates.

After the second time, when Ethan was finally gaining weight and happy, the neonatologists came back and told his primary nurse to begin adding in the HGH again.  She bluntly told them, “No!  I wont do it.  If you’re going to do this to this baby, you need to find him another nurse.”  They quickly reviewed his chart, told her she was right, and stopped the order.  Thank God for Jennifer, wherever she may be!

Ethan recovered well in the hospital, and when he was 54 days old, we had him transferred to Longview to Good Shepherd Medical Center.

He couldn’t go home until he “nippled” every feeding, so we agreed to allow formula or a bottle of breast milk when I wasn’t able to be there.  I should have demanded a room-in, so I could be there at all times to nurse my baby.

But, after 3 days at Good Shepherd, Ethan came home on June 10th, 1999!  He had been in the hospital for a total of 57 days.  Then I was able to nurse him whenever he was hungry.  More on that tomorrow.

Photos:  1.  Ethan at 1 month old.  He finally made 3 pounds!

2.  Going home, Ethan was 4 1/2 pounds on June 10, 1999.

3 Months

Sofia is 3 months old today.  My, how time flies!  Here are a couple of photos of her today.

my colleen

i’m typing this one-handed, so forgive the lower case.

today, colleen came to visit.  this was the first time i had seen her in 8 years.  it was like we had never missed a moment, yet we had to ‘catch-up’ with one anothers lives.

it was great.  thank you, colleen, for the wonderful visit.  i look forward to many more.

Online Bible Study

So, Colleen has been doing this online Bible Study and I decided to give it a try.

I actually printed off all the lessons so I can do one a day.  I probably will not be posting them as a meme, as the study is structured, but I may post a few responses–just not everyday–unless it’s just that good!

Anyway, I put a link in my side bar.  It is the I AM, so you don’t have to be link.  Maybe you’ll join me!

New Header Photo

The photo above is from our Family Photos roll.

It’s all our feet. (Obviously!)

From left to right we have:  Leah, Sofia, Ethan, Levi, Elijah, Melody and Ronnie.

What a fun day we had!

new Family Photos

A dear friend was so very kind to take some photos of all of us at the park yesterday.

You can check out those photos by clicking on the link to the right entitled Family Photos.

Coos, Razzes, Squeals and Bites!

Most babies are cooing, razzing and squealing by four months.  Sofia is not even three months yet, and our days are filled with coos, razzes and squeals.  She is quite the happy baby!

Just yesterday, she found it extremely hysterical to bite me and then laugh as I sternly said, “No!”

A couple of gentle taps to her cheek and she was crying like I’d beaten her–and trust me, the taps were just that.  Tap. Tap.

Anyway, I think she’s gotten the point.  She tried it again this afternoon, but quickly let go when I said, “No!”

What a sweetie she is!

Christian by Bumper Sticker Only

“First Baptist Church”

“Fellowship of the Woodlands”

Even those of you sporting the ichthis, you know, the “fish” symbol.

While it’s so much fun to tout your Christianity on your car, and your t-shirts, and such, it should be equally fun to BE POLITE WHILE WEARING THEM!

I get so frustrated with my brothers and sisters in Christ, when trying to merge onto the interstate, a vehicle WILL NOT let me in.  So, I let them pass and squeeze in behind them, just as my lane ends.

Then.  What do I see?  

Non other than “First Baptist Church.  The Woodlands.”

I mean, REALLY!  Jesus would have let me in!