One Reason I'm Thankful

The Lord has this habit I don't quite understand: He likes to teach me things when one of my children are reeling from pain in my arms. I guess he really does like to identify with a crying baby.

So there I was, in the middle of an hour with Lydia while she thrashed in some sort of tummy ache. She had just nursed, so it wasn't hunger. Gas drops hadn't worked, so it was time to just sit there and hold her while she cried.

Something about that crying empties my mind, perhaps clearing the way for me to listen to God. Then came a reminder of something he showed me while I was holding a crying baby Josiah two years earlier: all around the world, there are babies in as much pain as Lydia was then, who have no father to hold them.

I expect God's lessons to consist of more facts, greater knowledge. But instead it was just a simple, "you should care more about this."

So we sat for a while, with tears in both of our eyes, until Sarah (four years old) awoke from her nap.

In Sarah's typical form, we then had to try every remedy again. Sarah had even thought of a few I hadn't remembered. But again nothing worked, so we both sat there with her while she cried.

I hadn't planned on saying anything, but my heart was so sad that I couldn't help but teach Sarah about it.

"Sarah, did you know that some babies don't have a mommy or daddy to hold them when they cry?"

Sarah solved that one quickly: "oh, so another adult holds them, then."

I realized what I as about to say would probably change the way she looked at the world, and it actually felt like a bad idea. But something in me felt she was ready to hear it. "Yes, sometimes another adult comes to hold them, but some babies don't have anyone."

That made her pause for a small instant.

But it was no more than an instant until she taught me another lesson. "Daddy," she said, "I want to learn how to take care of babies, so that one day if a baby doesn't have a mommy or daddy, I could be it's mommy!"

The excitement on her face only added to the power of her sweet voice. She had just learned that orphans exist, and already she wanted so spend her life taking care of them. That will teach Daddy a lesson!

I could only think of one thing to say, but now it feels like just the right thing. "I think that would make God very happy."

Since then, she has paid attention to the way we take care of Lydia, and asked to do almost all of it herself. She was already doing that to a degree, but seems to have an intentionality about it now. And she's declared her intentions, with the same words, to both Emily and me on separate occasions. She won't forget it, and seems to mean it.

It would be foolish for me to plot out her course when she's four years old: I don't know what the Lord might do with her, or if He will even call her to faith. And I can't hold her for her whole life to the same noble ambition she has today. But to get a glimpse for an instant of my little girl caring for the poor- that renews my vigor to raise all three of them to fear and love Jesus.

What if God allows us to raise three healthy adults who truly care for the poor? That makes every spanking, sleepless night, tear, and backache worth it.

So this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for the lessons God continues to teach us. He is a good father, with much wisdom to give. He gives encouragement when we need it. And he gives us the sweetness of children to remind us of it.

Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
Psalm 107:13

Happy 2.5 years, Josiah!

As I read back over Sarah's 2.5 year blog post I feel like she is so much the same as she was then and am surprised that those memories were almost 2 years ago. But as I read Josiah's 2 year post I couldn't believe how much he has changed in the six months since May. He is exposed to so much more as a second child and I think it is most evident in the way his favorites have changed. I have loved watching him grow an attention and affection for those around him in the recent months. He remembers and cares about the things he hears and notices going on around him.

Weight: 35 lbs 3 oz (93%)
Height: 39 in (98%)
Head: 19.75 in (72%)
Diaper: size 5 and potty trained
Clothing: 2T/3T/4T, shoe- size 9

Likes: scissor time, singing, freeze dance, playing catch, being tickled by dad, clementines, playing house with Sarah (they both like to be the baby), playing with cars, being "doctored" by Sarah, jumping on the couch, drinking water, bubbles, playing the Set game

Dislikes: getting in the car quickly, not being heard right away, going potty when he is having fun

Schedule/Sleep: Josiah is a pretty consistent boy. He is waking up around 7am, napping at 1pm for two to three hours, and going to bed at 7pm. I am thankful that he is still taking the afternoon nap- he needs it!

Eating: Josiah is generally a really good eater. I have noticed lately that he can be distracted from his stomach, especially at breakfast when the toys are just begging to be played with. Favorite foods are clementines (I love these too since the travel well and he can peel them himself), green peppers, grapes, cheese, and pancakes. He drinks a lot more than Sarah and gets his water bottle frequently.

Communication: He is really able to communicate anything these days we are thankful to understand the majority of what he is saying. His sentence structure is wonderful and he is always surprising us with new ways to say things. Josiah still likes to sing and will sing to himself in the back of the van. Favorite songs are The Solid Rock, Twinkle, Twinkle, Good Night Lydia, Praise God, and Jesus Loves Me. He is just starting to recognize some letters.

Potty Training: We decided at the end of July to give potty training a three day trial and make a decision for go forward with it or wait until January based on how things went. Well Josiah did great, so we went forward. And then the next day he got a very, very, very yucky stomach virus. So we put potty training on hold and started from scratch a couple of weeks later which was just a couple of weeks before Lydia's due date. He picked it up well and had accidents for a while, but doesn't really anymore (though he has mastered the art of only going enough in his underpants that he doesn't have to actually take the time to go to the potty). Big differences from our experience with Sarah are that he has no qualms about going in his diaper during nap time, night time, and out of the house time, so we are still diapering regularly throughout the day and he is already going on the big boy potty. We let Sarah use froggy potty for a long time, but Josiah got comfortable going on the big potty while we were in MS recently and we decided on the drive home to put froggy potty away and see how it went. He is fully self sufficient from getting on to pulling his pants back up, which is wonderful!

Random:
- He is so sweet to Lydia and takes special time when she is awake to talk to her and otherwise entertain her.
- He has started to be able to tell me what they did in nursery- songs they sang, story they read, what he played with, who was there, etc.
- He has started pretending to be people. Favorites characters are his friends Bubby and Baby Isaac.
- A pair of blue light up shoes make him really happy.
- Josiah loves to brush his teeth and have them brushed.

Next appointment: next May for his 3 year well visit

At his two year appointment back in May. Selfies are a fun to ways to wait for the doctor!

Loving the spray bottle this summer.

Sometimes it is fun to play the tourists!

Rare one on one time on our drive to NC.

King of the rest area!

Pappy and his boys throwing rocks.

Big fella' ran out of room to stretch out his legs :)

He has really gotten into playing Sarah's set game.

Americana! Popcorn at the Cape league baseball game.

Oh, you know, just driving a fire truck.

Everybody likes a little company, right?

Watching Sarah's swim lesson.

I think this was the day Lydia was born :)

What you can't see in this pic is Lydia in her bouncy chair at my feet. She was upset and Josiah went the extra mile to create the perfect comfort. I'm not sure being read to comforted her, but it sure was sweet!

Vaseline. Everywhere.

Happy 2 months, Lydia!

We are having such fun with our little Lydia. She is a generally happy baby and the delight of her brother and sister, not to mention her mom and dad! We are enjoying the transition from newborn to baby and the smiles and coos that go along with it. As I look back through photos I am amazed somewhat at how she has changed physically, but more so in how she has matured. It is so fun to enter the interactive stage!

Weight: 15 lbs 10 oz (99%)
Length: 24.75 in (99%)
Head: 15.75 in (90%)

Nursing: It's going well. She is a solid girl and has a good belly to go with her rolls.

Schedule: We try to start Lydia's day at 7:00am and use a feed/wake/sleep cycle in approximately 3 hour intervals through the rest of the day. That means she is loosely eating around 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, and 9:30-10pm (because I get tired!). At that point she makes the call. And she hasn't been consistent over the last week. One night she didn't wake up until 5am (her best was after JT's wedding, 11pm-7am!). Then the next few nights it was 1am, 3am, 6am. Last night it was 3am and 6:40am. We are tired, but good. She is a good napper and trooper while we are out and about.

Sleep: Lydia still loves the paci and attacks her thumb (and is starting to have some success) to sooth herself. Her awake time is usually about an hour, then she yawns or get the hiccups. We call them tired hiccups :) Then she will nap for 1.5-2 hours.

Physically: She is a very strong girl with the cutest even cap of dark fuzz on her head. We are still at headband length and look forward to her hair getting long enough for bows. Her eyes still look like they will be brown, maybe with a little green. She is smiling now and gets so tickled and excited when we get close to her face and talk to her. The kids like to ask her to "tell a story" when she starts cooing, and she saves her best talking and smiling for our friend Kim. She started getting a case of baby acne around one month and it got worse for couple of weeks, but is now completely gone. Lydia loves tummy time and can get her head way up, which delights her cheering siblings. She even fell asleep on her blanket a few times!

Next appointment: Friday, January 9 at 9:20am in 2015!

Her first wedding on her first monthiversary!

I love a sleeping baby! Such peace (even though my flash crinkled her eyebrows!).

Lydia met Uncle T. I'm not sure who was more uncomfortable about this photo op :)

Lydia had a new friend at JT and Laura Kathryn's wedding. "Whose baby?" was the phrase of the evening and I'm pretty sure Shaun's definitive answer was, "not mine!"

I seem to remember Sarah being a little overprotective :)

Lydia has no lack of attention

Finding her fist

"Now why do I need to hold the marshmallows?"
Sarah and Josiah thought it was just hilarious that Lydia would hold the mallows :)

I think this one looks like they are really having a conversation. If Lydia talks as much as Sarah, there will be a lot of words between these two!

She took her first bottle on November 3rd

Our beautiful girl!