Reminiscing

The past few days I have been really focused on trying to get some of the books read that I have been referred. We are at the initial stages of some very basic sleep training and need all the advice and counseling that we can get! TRUST ME…..we (I) have absolutely no idea what we (I) are doing!!! And it just got me to thinking and wishing..longing for my grandmothers!!! My mother’s mom was known as Granny and my dad’s mom went affectionately by Momma Mae. Granny raised 11 kids, two of those being a set of twins, and managed just perfectly without all the Parenting books, advice chat rooms and websites, and certainly without all the modern day MUST HAVES that you can find down the 101 isles at Babies R US! HOW IN THE WORLD DID SHE DO IT? I mean…she didn’t have a Boppy or a Bumbo and didn’t have any Dr. Brown bottles! What did she do without the Night and Day Bottle Warmer or the Eddie Bauer Soothe & Sway Play Yard? I wish I could just sit down with her for 1 day and have her pour into me all her parenting knowledge. How did she know what to do when?



This morning I was sitting in my breakfast nook and I have a very old wooden curio cabinet that we have used to store some of our favorite heirlooms on. My eye first caught a smallish 5 tier, silver candelabra that was placed at the front of the 2nd shelf. It’s funny how just a glimpse of some object can bring a wave of emotions. When David & I got engaged, my Granny was bound to a wheel chair and had not been getting around very well. Since most of my family is from a small town in East Texas, Palestine, we had chosen a little local store to register in for our home-town shower. I remember my mother telling me how cute my grandmother was. She insisted that my mom come get her and take her so that she could pick something out herself for me & David. My grandmother came from an extremely humble background and had always had limited resources. My mom said as she pushed my grandmother through the store she inspected all the items very carefully! When she came to the candelabra, she knew right this was it. My mom cautioned her that it was a little pricey but Granny dug through her purse and purchased the gift with love! I miss her so very much! I wonder what she would think of Brayden, what advice she would give.


Two shelves down is a shelf that has a set of a very old Sliver Tea Pot and Serving Set. This is from Momma Mae. It reminds me of what a servant she was her entire life. It was very rare to go for a visit that she wouldn’t be loading your arms up with things as you were walking out the door. Seriously, she would have you walk through her house and she would say “Now sweet, don’t you need this mirror at your house? Well, what about this little crystal squirrel. I found this at Tuesday Morning’s and I would love for you to have it!” I have never met anyone in my entire life that put others before themselves like Momma Mae.


These two women gave me such beautiful examples of the selflessness that Christ calls us to. There are so many other vital attributes that these two women taught me as a young lady. I pray that as Brayden grows up, I won’t be so caught up in the latest Baby-Must-Have or the Parenting-Must-Do that I forget to teach him the things that I learned from my grandmothers.

Brayden & Blue Jeans

Brayden wore blue jeans for the first time EVER today. We have had several pair that we have been itching to get him into but they have all been way too big for him. UNTIL TODAY.... Yeah! He looks so adorable! Of course I grabbed my camera to get some adorable pictures...and my battery is dead. Since it is snowing outside like crazy, Brayden & I have opted to spend a quiet, cozy day at home near the fire. I'll have to get a camera battery another day and record his 2nd day in blue jeans!!

This week has been great! He has done really well adjusting to life in his room! He seems to like his crib and loves to play on his floor gym. He loves to nap on his tummy but oddly enough doesn't like to play on his tummy. We have also started the early early stages of sleep training. Right now we are just focusing on established a sleep, eat, play routine. This has been challenging because he likes to sleep, eat, play, eat..... uh-huh! The boy is eating alot!! Last night we got him down an hour earlier than we ever have and he stayed down for 5 1/2 hours. Monday night he was down from 11 pm - 5:30 am. Hopefully, we are heading in the direction of sleeping through the night. Regardless, our PT says that we are way ahead of schedule for a preemie in regards to scheduling, eating, and sleep patterns. This is a VERY good thing to for a momma to hear!

Week before last we went to our 1 month appointment with the Pedi and he was so pleased with Brayden's weight that he put us on regular formula!! Dr. Coco said that since we had brought him home at 6 lbs 1 oz he was hoping to have him at 8 lbs 6 oz by month 1. Well, considering we weighed over 10 lbs....this graduated us to regular formula! And honestly, I think this is the reason that for the past week and half he has been wanting to eat ever hour and a half! We were preparing our previous formula at a higher calorie count than this regular formula mixes at. I think that we are on the tail end of that now though, as he is curving back at eating every 3-4 hours.

Other than that....we are just plugging along! Adjusting to a "new normal" as my cousin to eloquently stated. I will get my battery replaced and post some new pictures soon! Love to all...

Kelli

Be careful what you pray (wish) for???

After the last 6 months, I am beginning to understand why I should never be careful what I pray for, as if I wasn't expecting God to answer the prayer in the first place.  I think the Bible talks about being "luke warm" with our faith (and subsequently our prayers) and many of you know what it says about that.  Thus, I am doing all I can to be very blatant in my daily prayers.

With that said, I must also mention that I think the "honeymoon" is over.  The first month with Brayden was, shall we say, accomplished on adrenaline.  Kel and I were sooooo happy to finally have him home from the hospital that we floated thru December and into January riding the ecstatic emotions of having a baby.  The first month is behind us (sadly) and we are moving on and up.

Now, don't get me wrong...we still are so overjoyed for this little miracle that Jesus dropped in our laps...and every day is full of new things that he is able to do that are WAY beyond his "development stage."  However, I think for me personally, the lack of sleep has begun to catch up with me, and I know Kelli gets more and more excited when I get home from work so she can have a little more "me time" to catch up on whatever she needs to. 

All this to say that, again, we spent the last 9 years in fervent prayer over being able to have children of our own...whether naturally or thru adoption.  Now that that prayer has been answered, I have to look back and say that I must be very deliberate in what I pray for from here on out.  I serve a God, and His Son Jesus, who are in the "business" of meeting our needs, but not always our wants.  He wants to do what is best for us, in HIS TIMING, that will further His kingdom.  So, I now am trying to step back and, while holding this little spitfire of a baby, look at what Jesus has in store for him and his future.  Is he going to be a Pastor?  Will he be an athlete?  Will he be a doctor/lawyer/teacher...or heaven forbid...a banker.  :) 

You know... I have to say -- I give him to You, Father.  Whatever Your will is for his life, allow me to be your instrument that gets him there.  That raises him to be a child of Jesus, that loves You dearly, and that is open and available to your calling.  I feel that is what Kelli and I tried to do in our marriage -- even thru the hard times of infertility and it led us on a path directly to Brayden.

So, Jesus, do your work thru me and Kel as your instruments in molding this little guy into the MAN you want him to be.  Well rounded, polite, disciplined, and on fire for Jesus -- the rest will take care of itself. 

I'll end with this... Luke 18:2-8 says ..."He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'  "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?  I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

So, again, Jesus will not keep putting us off...those who cry out to Him day and night -- so be very blatant in the desires of your heart, and know that steady plodding with Jesus will get you the answer that is wrapped in His will for your life. 

Side Note -->  Anyone else make it to the last phrase there???  "...will he find faith on the earth?"  Where are we as a society?  Is anyone else fearful for the future of our country...marinate on that for a little while 

Thanks for stopping by...DD