Thursday, 04 February 2010

  • My morning


    I am woken by the sounds of Aubrey's toddler chatter coming through our fuzzy monitor. I roll over slightly, but not too much-- there's a baby laying next to me in bed-- to see what time it is. I'm grateful that it's after 5:45am, and then I wonder at myself that I can find any reason to be glad it's only 5:56am.

    I stumble upstairs and pick Aubrey up. She insists upon sitting on her bed until retrieved, though I have tried many times to convince her to quietly come downstairs in the morning so as to not wake her siblings. As predicted, Bronwyn's eyes are open: she's been woken by the talkative sister next to her.

    We come downstairs and the girls crawl under a blanket on the couch. I fetch Claire after hearing noises from the bedroom.

    Diapers are changed. Water bottles are filled. Aubrey gets her daily medication. I brush my teeth since I can't stand being awake for more than a few minutes without doing so. Jackson joins us downstairs because it's now 6:00 and he almost never sleeps past 6.

    And then?

    Then I stumble over to the coffee pot. The little red light is on and the coffee's ready: Daniel made it before he left for work this morning, hallelujah.

    I sit down with my Bible and coffee. I pick Claire up so I can nurse her while I read. The kids are playing with blocks that Papa made for them.

    My list is a mile long, but for now, we just sit.

    It's going to be a good day.


Monday, 01 February 2010

  • 1/4 of a year



    Photobucket


    Swoosh.

    That was Claire's first three months flying by. Gone. Over.

    Wahhhhh!

    I love the emerging personality, the added rolls and dimples, the baby giggles, the interaction, the way she tucks her bottom lip in and slurps away on it (!)... I even love the real tears she now cries. But I just honestly, for real, break-my-heart can't believe the newborn days are done.


    Photobucket


    Claire looks more and more like a red-headed Bronwyn to me. Her disposition as an infant reminds me the most of Bronwyn, too: she's generally pleasant, sleeps decently, adores a smiling face, and does okay with self-soothing in those moments when I just can't get to her right away.


    Claire


    And, oh! is this girl fat! She's mushy and smooshy and almost edible in her chubbiness!

    I. love. it.


    Claire


    Happy first three months, baby girl. You are a delight to this mama's heart.

    Just please, please, please stop growing now?


Thursday, 28 January 2010

  • My little reminder


    I received so many wonderful and greatly wanted/needed gifts for Christmas: professional quality muffin tins from Julia, a bedskirt for our bed from Daniel (yes, this is what I really wanted-- I guess I'm too practical/home-centered to want things like jewelry or special trips, etc!), a huge ceramic water pitcher from my in-laws, music books for lots of fun with the kids from my parents, and on and on it goes.

    But I got one special, special gift from my big sister that you will often find me staring at, especially on those days when I think I just want to throw the towel in and let everybody figure out what they're going to eat, where they're going to sleep, how they're going to get dressed, and when they should go to the bathroom on their own.

    It's not just that it's adorably wonderful. It's not just that it represents my own darling family-- us, captured as we are right now. It's not just that it was handmade, a special order with us in mind. It's that sometimes, some days, it's just what I need to look at to remember how blessed I am.

    Photobucket

    I'm blessed to have five little people running around my feet.

    I'm blessed to have a husband who takes an amazingly active role in our children's lives, in my life, and in our home.

    I'm blessed to have pretty things to look at and a cozy house to put them in.

    I'm blessed to have extended family, like my sister, who love all of us so much.

    I'm blessed that all of this comes from a Father who gives me heaps and heaps more than I deserve.

    And, somehow, in a very calming and reassuring way, this little gift of miniature people helps me-- in a glance (or a long look, if need be!)-- remember all that I've been given, and how I have a great big God Who is watching over us all.


Tuesday, 26 January 2010

  • Absence


    My computer time is limited these days due to the fact that my own personal notebook is, well, still broken. I have no one to blame but myself for this; I am, after all, the one who knocked it off my bed and squarely onto the power cord, breaking the power jack and rendering it useless once the battery was fully used up (basically, about 4 hours of use later). Honestly, I don't complain a bit about the fact that I only get to use a computer when Daniel's is available for my use-- that is more than I deserve! And I am beyond grateful for the online updates I grab here and there throughout most days thanks to Daniel's kindness in leaving this home as often as he possibly thinks he can go without it.

    But the truth is, I don't have computer access during the day. And when I do have it, I frantically gather recipes from websites that used to be available to me at the simple stroke of a key. I respond to emails. I order the miscellaneous items that I purchase for our home each month online. I check my gcal in an effort to keep my life together. I try to keep up with our family photos by getting them saved into albums that can be easily printed.

    I don't blog.

    And certainly, my lack of blogging is definitely somewhat due to the limited computer access I am granted. But it's also because I find that I'm less inspired when I try to sit down and make myself write. Blogging is fastest and most efficiently done in the moment of inspiration. Making myself write simply because I have a computer with which to write seems to take forever. And besides, where, may I ask, is the fun in that?

    But be assured, readers, we are alive.

    We are busy, but happy. We are laughing a lot and crying a bit, too. Homeschooling is keeping me thoroughly engrossed. Our calendars are filling up and our hearts are ever expanding. We're reading more. I'm eating sweets less. My floors aren't getting cleaned as often as they should, but the laundry is caught up. Claire is growing and getting the fattest cheeks. Aubrey keeps us laughing. Jackson says the sweetest things. Bronwyn is learning what it means to pray from her heart. Gabriel never stops drawing and creating the most amazing things. We are singing together, playing together, learning together, working together, and growing together. All of us.

    It's just not showing up online.


brietta

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    • Name: Brietta
    • Birthday: 9/6/1982
    • Gender: Female
    • Member Since: 10/13/2004
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