The Blessing of Barb

Chris has been gone for nine days today. I fearfully faced five of those days alone. The other four days were a blessing beyond belief. I have never been more certain that God interweaves the lives of people for a reason.

Eight years ago my sister married a great guy, Andy. On that day Tim and Barb were introduced. I remember being struck by how genuine they were, a rarity in today's world. Since that day Tim and Barb have become treasures I would never trade. They are Grandma and Grandpa to Elijah and John and regular family to Chris and I. We speak of them as though it is totally normal to be close with your brother-in-law's parents.

Barb came on Monday and blessed our week beyond belief. Because of her visit Elijah felt loved and adorded by his Grandma and he got to have some special time with mommy at the fountain park. Because of her visit John was lavished with hugs, kisses, snuggles, and the first bath he didn't scream through. Because of her visit I was able to stay sane by having adult conversation, I was able to get some extra sleep, and my love tank was filled with all her words of encouragement.

Barb is such an example of a godly mother, wife, and servant. I treasure getting to witness and hear and learn from her example. Thank you doesn't seem like enough for the impact she had on our week. So thank you a thousand times!

30 Days

Dear John,

You have officially been in the world for 30 days. Congratulations on surviving so far. We promise it all gets better from here.

So far you have survived the yelling in your ear from your brother, the teasing of your father, & the drowsiness of your mother. You have successfully gone through 159 diapers, peed on things other than diapers 5 times, and only pooped out once. That is amazing!

We are so blessed to have you as part of our family. Our excitement is teeming over as we get to know you more every day. So far we have learned that you take things pretty seriously, you will scream for extended periods of time until someone comes to pick you up, and you hate baths. Most importantly we have learned to always have a burp rag handy and that you love to snuggle.

We look forward to what the next 30 days have in store.
Loving all of you,
Mommy, Daddy, and Elijah

Big Boy

I must have blinked because my little boy is quickly becoming a big boy. See for yourself.

Triathlon

Today was Chris' first race of the season. I love going out and cheering for him. I feel such a swell of pride when I see him out there giving it his all. But, I was nervous about going today. John had a very rough day yesterday; needing to be held most of the day because his poor tummy hurt (I think). How was I ever going to get two boys and myself out of the house by 7:15 and to the race and keep them entertained between Daddy spottings?

It happened perfectly. John slept great last night and got himself on a great schedule for the day. Elijah woke up all excited to see Daddy race. I was rested enough and had prepared enough the night before to be ready as well. Chris had a fantastic race. He beat his time from last year (but he did finish in third for his age group instead of second in his age group). Elijah was a super good boy cheering and playing at the park. John was a fantastic baby sleeping all morning. Plus, when Daddy was done Elijah got more park time and a cookie! What could be better?

Mommy Fog

Here I am, almost three weeks into motherhood 2.0 and the mommy fog is starting to set in. John is a great sleeper so most nights I get a broken 6 hours or a bit more so I really can't complain but I found the other day that I could not even get out of my jammies. This was fine by Elijah, he loves jammie days! Showers have become a luxury of every other day. And if I am not changing, getting a snack, or feeding one I am doing it for the other. Whew! But I love it. I think about how quickly it goes when I look at how grown up Elijah is already. When I think about how different things will be next summer when John is a year old and Elijah is 3 1/2, it makes me want to grip my boys and never let them go.