In Your Hands

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds, in Christ. -Phillipians 4:6-7

Dear Lord,

You know my heart.  You know I am a worrier.  I worry about my children growing up to know you.  I worry about what their lives will be like as teenagers.  I worry about their little self esteems and falls and spills they might make.  I worry about predators lurking around ready to prey on their innocent souls.  The list goes on and on.  But worrying never accomplished anything.  I am aware of that, and try daily to put their lives in your hands.  I am asking that you be especially with Andrew tomorrow as he heads to surgery.  I am trusting you with his care.  I am trusting that you watch over his surgeon and give him steady hands.  He is your child and I know you love him more than I can love him.  I trust that you will help me through the week and give me the patience and strength to care for him.  I pray that you give him a speedy recovery.  You are in control Lord, and I pray you help me surrender my heart and give us peace.  I put my son in Your hands. Thank you for your unfailing love.

Sarah

Andrew Update: 10 Months

This past month, Andrew finally rolled over from his back to his tummy, and is now rolling all over the place (hallelujah!!).  Talk about a late bloomer!  I continued to have concerns of him having delayed development, but the pediatrician didn't show any concerns.  He is pretty much on track in all other areas of his development.  So I guess I'll try not to be too concerned and count my blessings that he is still somewhat containable.  And although he may not be crawling yet, he is showing some interest in walking!  He might just be one of those kids who learn to walk before they crawl.  He has stood up for at least 10 second intervals and has taken up to 5 steps on his own.  However, I think it will still be a little while until he really takes off, because his tummy muscles are still not strong enough to keep him upright for that long (not to mention he doesn't know how to pull himself up on objects either).  He definitely looks like a drunken soldier.  The problem is, he thinks he can take off on his own, and wants us to let go of his hands.  We figured that between the Johnny Jumper and the Exersaucer, they have both given him a false sense of security.  He thinks he can walk without help because he was able to walk around in little circles with the aid of his toys.  It really is quite funny to see how independent he wants to become though.  Even if we put him up to the couch, he won't hold on.  His whole body shakes with excitement at the thought of taking off.

So for a long time, I thought that maybe he might just be this laid back kid, with an easy going type of personality (since he showed no interest in rolling over or crawling toward any objects).  But after seeing his newfound joy in walking, and especially his frustration when I set him back down, I don't think he'll be relaxed.  This kid is determined and he definitely lets you know when he is upset that he is on the floor.  He instantly scooches back to my hands to grab on and pull himself back up to a standing position.  He has places to see and he wants to go now!

As far as eating goes, he is finally done nursing.  It was a bit of a bittersweet event.  Like I wrote last time, I was getting a little frustrated with the biting, and distraction he was showing while nursing.  It was taking me forever to feed him because he kept whipping his head in another direction to look at something else.  Although he had nursed better than the girls had, and I was glad that it had been a more enjoyable experience this last time around.  In a weird sort of way, I was a little sad to think that this would be the end of my nursing experience forever (seeing as he will be our last child).  But just like pregnancy, this phase of my life has finally ended.  Oh the emotional roller coaster us women put ourselves through.

I am enjoying the new found discoveries Andrew is making, and am excited to watch him grow.  Life is rarely boring with this little guy, or with any of our kids for that matter.  And although the crying and uncertainties may weigh heavy at times, I am very thankful that God entrusted us with his care.  He is a joy that keeps spreading in our life. 

Thankful Thursday

I'm not one for having a clean house.  Sure I often keep the house straightened up, but unless we have company coming over, you can often see a layer of dust covering the tables and dust bunnies parading across the floor.  Needless to say my temperment leaves for much to be desired while cleaning.  My hubs would rather turn around and walk back out the door if he knows I'm trying to beat the clock by packing in 3 weeks of cleaning in 3 hours worth of time.  And you would think I would learn over time, but the vicious cycle has continued throughout my whole marriage.  I am simply a bear.

I had hoped that the girls had a little more type A personality ingrained in them, so that they would not procrastinate like myself and only clean when they knew it was only absolutely necessary, but so far that trait isn't showing through.  We go through daily struggles of trying to put away Polly Pockets and Barbies in their correct spot or eating over their plate so as not to have crumbs all over the floor and table.  And I try and remember that they are just kids, and training them is a slow process, but I don't want bad habits to go by the way side either.  More often then not though, I get frustrated that they aren't cleaning on my time table, and I end up cleaning it up for them, so I get things done when I want and how (which I realize is a disservice to them, but hey I'm being honest).

But the other day I was in another one of my mad dashes to clean a lot in a short period of time, when Kyra asked if I could play a game with her.  I hastily reminded her that we had company coming and if she wanted to enjoy her time with them, then I had to focus on cleaning at the moment.  She walked away looking somewhat defeated, but I blew it off while thinking to myself..."if she would clean up more of her mess more often then maybe I wouldn't have so much to do right now!"  About 1/2 hour later, I went into my bedroom to find that she had folded all of our laundry.  I had never even taught her how to fold laundry, or asked her to do it for that matter.  And you know what?  She didn't do half bad.  I burst into a huge smile and told her what a fabulous job she did, and how proud I was of her.  She told me that she wanted to help us out and that she even organized it by person and season.  At that moment I was honored to have such a thoughtful daughter, especially after I had snapped at her in such a way. 

I am trying hard not to get so worked up over cleaning these days, and remember to ask my children way in advance to clean up and do their part, so they are learning responsibility too.  And I am trying to exhibit some of the grace to my children that God and Kyra have so earnestly shown me.