March for Life.

Today is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and what pro-lifers call "March for Life," because of the 100k strong protesters at the capital. I've been to March for Life before, and it was hard, cold, and sad. It is not a rally, nor a party. It is a mourning of generation after generation of those who are nameless and faceless; silenced.

We talk openly with adults when the kids are around about politics, theology, and our beliefs. They don't catch most of what we're saying, so even though we openly talk about abortion and other controversial topics, when I asked Luke today if he knew what abortion was, he couldn't tell me. We pray for the unborn and for an end to abortion daily, and yet, his vocabulary doesn't yet comprehend violence against the unborn.

And today at lunch time, explaining to Luke all the people I knew at March for Life and our fight for the unborn, he became quickly confused about what we were fighting against. "Why," "Why," "Why," he had so many questions,"But why," why would babies need someone to fight for them? Aren't they safe?

No, dear child, not in this country.

I have discussed abortion with people many times. Those for and against. I've argued and fought over it; become impassioned with rage over it, but have also been compassionate and understanding. I hadn't, until today, explained it to a child.

I answered his questions modestly but truthfully--appropriate, I believe, for his level of understanding. And every word, even watered down and simplified, brought tears. Before I knew it, I was crying at the kitchen table over cheesy bread and tomato soup.

It's a sad thing to rub off some of the innocence that children are born with. After all, our children are surrounded by friends and family who adore babies and see each one as a blessing.

And I realized that talking about abortion is much different than actually explaining what it is. How painful it is to say out loud. There is a lot I want to write but can't. Instead, we pray for the unborn, we pray for an end to abortion, even though the children can't fathom a world of unloved babies.

While I can't be there today, I am raising the next generation in hopes that a March for Life for them will someday be unnecessary.

Celebration.

Last night was a big night. A first! My 9 month old slept through the night, for the first time in his life!!!!

This is no small feat. You see, Michael has always woken at least once or twice a night to nurse. This is old hat for moms, and not worth complaining about. This fall, however, a familiar pattern started that has happened with our older two boys. Twice a night nursing quickly increased exponentially--four times a night, bi-hourly, and then came the inability for him to sleep in his crib all together. For a time, the only way I could catch even an hour of sleep in the night was to sleep flat on my back with Michael cradled in my arm next to me.

I think most moms have experienced what I would call true sleep deprivation. For me, I become intellectually useless, and frequently lose my words in the middle of a sentence, or have the complete inability to focus. I also get a bouts of insomnia. I'll get so tired that I can't take nap during the day if I tried, or I'm so tired, but I still can't fall asleep at night.

Sleep is a big deal. And, I think it's worth celebrating! A week after Michael's tubes, and I think I can say that they were a success! I'm hoping for a better-hearing baby, more sleep for the whole house, and a refreshed, energetic mother who doesn't wake up thinking, "Okay, how well can I function today on two hours of sleep?"

Yes, yes, even though it is record cold outside, it's brighter than sunshine over here :) .

Hey, Look At How Cute I am!!!

Blogger-abandonment guilt. Here's a gratuitous shot of my ever-so-drooly, but oh-so-happy baby. Nine months?!?!?!

Minnesota.

I know this happens every year. But still, it shocks me every time! I think we'll stay inside. I'm wearing Smart Wool.

Bitter cold surges into lakes area | BrainerdDispatch.com | Brainerd, Minnesota

While I'm Here.

Hey friends,

As I posted before, we are super busy with the closing on our old house, the closing and renovation of our new house, and the day-to-day upkeep with the kids. Life doesn't like to slow down, does it?

I just wanted to pop in quickly and ask all of your prayers for our baby. He is getting tubes put in his ears tomorrow, and while it's not heart surgery, it's still an ordeal for us since he has to go under anesthesia and refrain from nursing for several hours. I'm a little worried about him getting upset about not being able to nurse through the night and morning, which he is accustomed to doing. We just hate to take away what comforts him and puts him to sleep!

The little one can't sleep or hear with all the fluid stuck in his ears, so we are very much looking forward to the results of the procedure. Thank you!!

Up to.

I promise that my reasons for neglecting this blog are just! I'm not abandoning it for good, but as you can see, we've been busy. Just a 'smidge. 

Getting close now!

Overheard.

You know you are in a different generation when your five year old says....

"I am going to invent a bread with bubble inside of it. I'm going to call it 'Luke's Bubble Gum Bread.' I am going to sell it at LukesBubbleGumBread .com ."

For the record, I buy a lot of household items online, but not bread...yet.

Home away...away from Home.

Our young family has so much to be thankful for this Advent. For years now our family has had a plan. The plan entailed doing what was necessary to establish ourselves near our family. I've written about this before, in regards to moving, job changing, and the importance of our children growing up near loved ones.

We had to trust a lot that the Lord would take care of us, that we were doing the right things, and that every time we changed directions that it only brought us closer to our goals. And now, in the past few weeks, it is amazing how quickly it is all coming together.

Our house sold yesterday. We put it on the market less than six weeks ago, and yesterday we signed a purchase agreement. Those who have tried to sell a house in the past five years know exactly what a miracle that is. We promptly sold our house, because another house is waiting for our family. A close family member had been considering changing living arrangements, and we agreed years ago that when the time was right, we would try to buy the property and raise our family there.

That time is now. 


So, if you're wondering what is going on with the lack of posts, there it is. We are in the middle of finalizing the sale of our house, collecting our things, arranging the purchase of another house, leaving our parents' house, moving ourselves and our three boys into our permanent home, and decking the halls with boughs of holly.

For a family that has been displaced so frequently, Advent holds particular significance for us. Soon we'll be entering into our own Nazareth.

Soundtrack.

My new favorite Christmas album. Wow, does this guy have a nice voice. 

And the song currently stuck in my head during sleepless nights? I gush...

Variations on a Theme.

The past two weeks have been interesting. All the three boys contracted a nasty chest cold that left them with fevers and coughing. All through the night the boys were waking from their coughs and needing medicine to reduce their fevers.

And then there's the baby. He was struck with his first double ear infection and antibiotics. He was, after all, worthy of the antibiotics since he had been sick for over a week and wasn't getting better.

Combine the sickness with daylight savings and....

....WHAM!!

NO SLEEP!

Between the coughs, fevers, and ear fluid causing infection, daylight savings caused an already sleep-deprived family to new levels of...well, depravity.

Last night was the kicker. The baby woke, as he does, and I fed him. Then, even though it was only 3am, I laid him back in his crib to hear a symphony of babbles, bubble blowing and growling. It went on, and on, and on. I did the only logical thing a mother in my situation could do, which was to nurse him to his heart's content until he fell asleep. The only problem is that nursing that much has a tendency to cause projectile spit-up and wet jammies and sheets.

You see the picture I'm painting, right?

Anyway, it was well after 5am before the baby was back sleeping. Half dreaming and half awake from the endless baby noises, I had the distinct thought that if a child were raised in the jungle as the famous Man Child was, he might, in fact, sound like the baby did last night. He does his fair amount of growling, after all.

My thoughts then wandered and I wondered, if a child were raised by a pack of wolves as opposed to a tiger, perhaps he might howl instead of growl. We hear about children who we suspect may have been raised by a pack of wolves, but I have yet to see any headlines. My baby growls, and my older two do have a tendency to behave like wild animals on occasion, but I'm afraid I have to bear (Ha! Pun!) the responsibility for that one.

Come on, boys, Pop Tarts for breakfast!

The Rocky Road to Dublin

Am I the only one who really, really loved Sherlock Holmes?

I loved it. The musical score is on my iPod, my text message notification is The Rocky Road to Dublin (the song in the video), and I am genuinely looking forward to the sequel, which comes out on December 16th. 

I may, or may not, like the movie based solely upon the leading actor, Robert Downey, Jr. The jury's still out, but I might have been the only one that saw Iron Man 2 in the theater, and Robert Downey, Jr. seems to be the common denominator. 

Before you write me off for good, I swear my motives are purely innocent, Watson. This is just cool. 

Yeah, cool. 

Mouthpiece

It's big news right now that the Duggar family is expecting their 20th child. It seems that while their family is overjoyed with the news, everyone else feels they need to criticize them. One particular comment that seems to be recurring is calling Michelle Duggar "selfish," for being "not happy with what she has," "making her other kids raise the little kids," comments about her health, and being "excessive."

How can we call a woman selfish who sees every child as a precious gift from God? How can we call a woman selfish for joyfully enduring months of exhaustion, sickness, fatigue, and the physical tolls of pregnancy? How can a selfish woman cope with labor, delivery, recovery, and then months upon months of breastfeeding, sleepless nights and diaper changes?

Most importantly, how can we call a woman selfish when she does these things because she believes it is her purpose, when it fulfills her because she is upholding her belief that all life is sacred, and she has been abundantly blessed for recognizing it?

This husband and wife have given everything of themselves not only in giving their children life, but to provide and educate them through the example of Christian service; putting others before themselves as Christ did.

Say what you will about the Duggar family, but selfish? No way.

A Month in.

I got a text from Mark last night telling me that he met his requirement for billable hours for the month. He completes his first four weeks at his new job tomorrow. He texted me because he was out of town and spending the night in a hotel. In four weeks, he has been on business out of state, stayed in two different hotels, been up all night working twice, and has put easily over 700 miles on his car.

Sounds intense, right?

One might think. Then, when added to additional stress of putting our house on the market, arranging to move to a new house,  as well as mishaps with our car, living without our belongings, and having three busy boys in general, you'd think we'd be on the brink of a breakdown.

We're not.

I cannot adequately explain how happy we've been this past month. Despite some stressful situations and (literally) sleepless nights, we are content. All it takes is for me to look back at our life a month ago today. There we were, in a house that wasn't ours, a town where even after a year we knew only a few people, and days and weeks gone by with nothing to do, nowhere to go, and general feeling of loneliness and isolation.

Here we are, a month in, and the month of "Thanks." I can tell that my children are happy. I know I am happy. Surrounded by family and friends, we are very thankful that our journey has brought us back right where we started.

Happy Friday.

Milestone.

***Attention** **Attention***

We have a LOOSE-TOOTH in our family! The FIRST loose tooth!

Bring on the Halloween candy!

Brains.

I laugh sometimes at how different my boys are from me. If I had to put myself into a category, I would definitely be the "creative" type. I have instant access to my creative side, and writing stories, poems, songs, music, etc., has always been second nature. As my oldest boy is growing up, I am finding that his brain works in ways that are a mystery to me.

Yesterday was Luke's first piano lesson. We decided to put our young five year old in piano at this particular time to see if it would push his budding brain to think in ways that he's not accustomed.

For example, yesterday the baby was crying in the crib. Luke heard him, checked on him, and went to tell me."Mom," he said, "Michael is crying. His face is pressed against the parallel lines in the crib."

Yup. The parallel lines. Luke is just...just...literal. He colors, puts together jigsaw puzzles, and builds with blocks and legos. And.that.is.it. For all the storybooks he's been read, for all the free time to play, he has little to no imagination. For him, all he knows how to "play" is building and solving.

What?????

So, to spark a little right-brained action, I thought piano would be the perfect challenge. I should have expected it out of him, but he seemed most impressed, looking at the keyboard more thoroughly, at the patterns the keys made on keyboard. Three black, two black, white, etc. And to think I thought piano would work the OTHER side of his brain, here my kid is looking for patterns. I should have known.

This is all confusing and new to me. My mind doesn't work this way, and I definitely get frustrated at times with the lack of "play" that my oldest should be able to do. But, we're trying, and maybe this will be a step in the right direction. Get it? Right Brain?

What type of learners do you have in your home?