Back at home

As thankful as I am to be able to work part time, I really do get sad when I can't be with my little guy during my events.  As awful as this may sound, during the day my events are so busy that sometimes I don't get a lot of time to think about him until I get home and I see his sweet smile and I get to hold him.  And it doesn't really matter that he's fussy because he needs to go to bed soon, I just want to hold him (and go to bed at 7pm with him because I'm SO exhausted).  I tip my hat to you full time working moms. When I have weeks like this where I work 40+ hours, I get a *small* glimpse into your world and it's demanding and I feel pulled in a thousand directions. 

So, here's some pictures that I took a couple weeks ago (I can tell because he doesn't have his 2 front teeth :) when we had some down time and were playing in our "blue room" downstairs.  I know I've said it before, but I seriously could watch this little guy explore this great big world we live in all day long.  He cracks me up sometimes.

Checking out his hammer..

Practicing yoga..

And more..

and moooore lol

Can you please get that camera out of my face?

His cheesy little smile :)

He loves the dishwasher.  It's his favorite place to hang out. Just wait until you associate this with chores..

Building Cathedrals

A while back I wrote about how I felt comfort in the fact that God was a God of details.  He takes notice of the small things.  He sees everything. 

Then, the following week at my Shepherding a Child's Heart study, one of our leaders read this excerpt from a book called "The Invisible Mother."  Needless to say, it was such an encouragement to hear.  Being a mom, I have a new appreciation for my mom (and dad).  There were so many things my mom did that went unnoticed- cooking dinner, grocery shopping, cutting coupons, watching the budget, driving us to doctor's appointments... scheduling our doctors appointments, doing our laundry, etc etc. And she did it sacrificially, every week, without my brothers or I taking notice or thanking her for that matter!  It's one of those things you don't think about.  I didn't think about the phone call that my mom made to schedule that doctor's appointment.  Or the planning it took to make the grocery list.. I just remember complaining while I was at the grocery store because I was bored (I'm sure I was SUCH a joy to have around as a kid :)

In the expert I posted above Nicole says:

No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, no hockey/soccer/piano/Scout/school meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

I love that perspective as a mom.  We are building great cathedrals.  I know it's easy for moms to talk about the hard, repetitive parts of their job, and I don't want to always draw attention to those times in my life. However, what God's been teaching me is the importance of my job. As a mom I find it easy to fall into the trap of thinking that what I'm doing isn't important, but it is so so important.  Amidst the daily tasks I tend to forget that.  So I need to refocus and see the big picture from time to time.  And I'm thankful for godly women who point me back to that ultimate purpose.

So thankful for this little man and how God's using him to teach me SO much!

8 months

{ 19 lbs and 28.75 inches }

• We picked out a verse for you: 1 Samuel 12:24.  I can't wait for the print we ordered to arrive with your baby stats and Bible verse! "Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you."
• This really should have gone on last month's post, but every time I sing the song "One thing remains" you get a huge grin on your face
• I wonder if you are going to be musically talented.. every time music comes on from one of your toys you start rocking back and forth. So cute :)
• You're eating Cheerios! And very small pieces of bananas.  I'm terrified of you choking.. maybe we can stick with baby food until you get all your teeth.. you're ok with that, right?
• We have successfully put up gates everywhere.  Although I did learn the other day if I let you, you can climb the whole way up our flight of stairs.  It was great and terrifying at the same time.
• You have 2 teeth now.. top ones look like they will be here soon!
• You finally learned how to climb down things.  It was a beautiful day for you and me when you accomplished this task.
• For some reason this month you have hated getting your diaper changed.  It is a stretching time for both of us :)
• You currently don't really like to go in your jumper anymore.. however you will pull yourself up on it and play with your toys while standing.  Whatever makes you happy :)
• You love to hit things away from yourself and then crawl after them.. then hit them away.. then crawl after them. 
• You LOVE crawling inside the dishwasher and fridge.  I need to keep a close eye on you these days.
• You like to do laps walking around our kitchen and family room with your "push toy."
• You have hit your "I don't want to leave your side phase."  It's extremely cute and somewhat inconvenient when I need to get things done :)
• The confused look you give strangers is hilarious.  I can't tell you how many people in the grocery store look at you and say "so serious!" or "look at that furrowed brow!"  I spend most of my time trying to convince them you are a happy baby you are just very curious lol
 

Can chores really be fun?

Chores are a family affair around here. Since Jake has entered his "I don't want to leave your side phase" we pretty much do and go everywhere together- especially around the house.  As a side note- at times it can be hard to get much done when Jake just wants to be held, but I am trying to embrace the cuteness in this stage- he's cuddling more and wants to be held which really is fun (and unusual for our little mover).  So if chores and dinner have to wait, that's ok :)

Something that I discovered after we had guests over was that Jake loved it when I put clean sheets on the guest bed.  I would place him in the middle of the bed and shake the sheets over him and he would laugh and laugh.  It reminded me of that game you play in preschool where everyone held onto that rainbow colored parachute thing and you would move it up and down and then go under it.  Anyone know what I'm talking about?  I'm sure there's a more technical term for the game.  This friends, is why I'm not a teacher.

Anyway, I showed Dan and obviously the second we got the video camera out he stopped laughing and became disinterested.  Typical Jake.  So, the other day I snagged my camera and tried to get some shots of him reaching for the covers.  Seriously, I love seeing the world through a baby's eyes :)

Home Sweet Home

I've been doing a lot of thinking about our home lately.  After my last post declaring we had finally finished painting our entryway, I went to town searching for new ways to decorate it.  I searched Pinterest, Houzz.com, looked in magazines, searched through Overstock.  You name the website, I was on it.  I found myself cutting off my time in the Word in the morning so I could grab my ipad and start looking.  I tried to have Jake play by himself for just a little bit longer so I could check out that other house renovation blog.  I didn't realize that this decorating ordeal was becoming an obsession until my sweet Shepherding Bible Study leader sent all of us a blog post she recently read titled "What is the purpose of the home?" 

What can I say, God is so good at getting my attention.

This blog post reminded me that our home is a place of rest.  I should want to keep it decluttered and looking nice so my family can be at peace when they are in it.  It's a place where thankfulness dwells.  I should be thankful for the way my home looks currently and the fact that we are warm in the winter and we have a place to store our food and cook meals.  My home is a place where I welcome friends and strangers and those who are lonely.  Where I can be generous to others and where we can share meals and fellowship.  This is the true purpose for my home. 

I love it when she says "If we don’t cultivate a high and holy design for our homes, it is easy to slip into thoughts of frustration, comparison, or purposelessness."

Can we decorate and renovate our homes?  Of course.  But we need to do so with the true purpose of our homes in the forefront. I have lots of friends who decorate their home and do not do so for approval from others. They aren't obsessive about it. They purely enjoy decorating and take their time with it. They are thankful for what they have, and when they have the moment (and funds :), they enjoy changing things up or adding new pictures or a new chair to a specific room.

I, however, was so caught up in the small details of our home, and actually becoming stressed and anxious over *gasp* a rug in our entryway, that I was completely missing the big picture. You see, I was focusing on what the internet, magazines, and HGTV tell me that the purpose of my home is: a place to impress outsiders.  What was driving my hours of researching was a desire for approval from friends, family, and anyone who reads this blog and would see pictures of it to tell me that I'm so creative and that I'm a great decorator. 

Currently when people come into our home and we gave them "the tour" I find myself explaining how we want to change something in each room.  I will say " and this is our bedroom- but don't worry we're going to paint and add this and that's why I have these lemons because once we paint it... yada yada yada."  I assure them that our home is a work in progress.  There is no way we would live in our house in the current condition without changing the paint color, or doing this, or doing that.  I would say these things in hopes they wouldn't judge me for the way a specific unfinished room in our home looked.  The last thing I wanted to show people is that I was ungrateful for our home, and I sadly feel that they were left with that impression.

Sure I have walked into homes and felt impressed by their size, or their cleanliness, or how perfectly decorated it was.  But really, the homes that I loved the most were the ones where I was invited to make myself at home. Where I sat around with a blanket and a cup of coffee curled up on their couch.  (or let's be honest.. a glass of wine here or there ;)

So, I have still been working on decorating our home, but it's not as obsessive.  I'm keeping the big picture in focus, enjoying the process more, and growing in my spirit of thankfulness.  I am really looking forward to making our home into just that, our home.  Here are some things that are starting to make it feel like that.

For Jake's room!