~ 2 Weeks ~

Subtitled: The Good, the Bad, and the Pretty

Here's the Good

Well Baby E (I just absolutely love calling her Baby E) is officially 2 weeks old now. I really can't believe how fast time flies. At two weeks, she is still wearing newborn diapers and mostly all newborn clothes. I estimate her being around 8 lbs. She is a champion nurser and burps like a grown man!!! She has starting spitting up a little in the past couple of days, and I'm pretty sure it's because she over eats! :) She sleeps pretty good too. We are following the same bedtime ritual that we've used with all the others, and are hoping for the same results since they've all been/still are excellent sleepers. We aim for putting her down around 11:00 PM, and we try to get in bed at that same time. She usually wakes up the first time at around 3:00 AM and then again around 5 AM. Lately she ends up staying in the bed with us after that 5 AM feeding. That makes Wesley a little bit crazy, but I just can't help it. I was getting up and nursing her in the living room, but I kept falling asleep and spending the next few hours in the rocking chair. So I just gave in and started nursing her in the bed, and well I fall asleep there too of course!!! We usually get up for good at around 7:30 AM. I nurse her again at around that time and then all the little people get a turn to hold her while we get the day started. She does not like to be swaddled. Swaddling just makes her mad, and she fights her way out. :) We are finally starting to see her eyes. She's starting to be more alert and stay awake for a little while after feedings. This morning she was up for about 1 1/2 hours after her 8 AM feeding. A lot of times she watches us with just one eye which has led to me nick naming her "one eye". :) After a little working with her, we've got her using the "Nuk" pacifier. In the hospital, she was given the "Soothie" paci and she preferred that type at first. However, we did not. It's just a personal preference, but we like the Nuk better and feel like it is better for babies mouth and teeth. So we've now successfully made the switch. Although if we just left her along, she would totally be a finger sucker. We are trying hard to avoid that. :) So she sleeps, nurses, soils A LOT of diapers (we've gone through I think 5 packs in these 2 weeks), and enjoys being held and cuddled by the "minor" crew quite a lot!!! Elizabeth is just a sweet, sweet easy baby, and we all love her to pieces!!!

Now for the Bad

Don't be fooled though! Everything around her is not peaches and cream. Life is awesome, but it's also awesome HARD! I wouldn't trade these days for anything and am so, so, so grateful to have a new baby in my arms, but it's not without a lot of adjustment. My house is a total wreck (yes I know that doesn't really matter, except it does matter to me), homeschool has been hard (I'm learning to like the classical approach more and more since I can read to them or listen to them read while I'm nursing) (Heather I see you smiling, I see you!), we are watching a lot more TV than before, and Bella Peace uses Elizabeth's feedings to create havoc and chaos (BP is going to be the death of me!!). We are in desperate need of a new schedule and routine. Some structure. I feel like I need a paper bag or drugs or a straight jacket every time Wesley walks out the door for work. I'm sure I flash him puppy dog eyes which say, please don't leave me here alone with all these children, with this chaos, with this messy house, with all these school books! I know that I do, because he looks at me as to say I'm sorry I'm leaving you but I really have to go we have to pay for all of this. :) Does anyone else out there know what I'm talking about? It's like this is so totally my dream life, but that doesn't make it easy. I know that there are some who have the total misconception that if you have a big family you must be supermom or you must have it all together. My family and close friends know that's a lie!! I'm not supermom and I don't have it all together. Most days I'm barely hanging on and praying that God's grace and mercy covers over my many mistakes!

And finally, the Pretty

No ugly, only pretty. Pretty pictures. These pictures are all from the past week.

I think Elizabeth is going to like mirrors as much as the other Minor girls. She loves to look at her reflection in the mirror when she's on the changing pad. Vanity, already!!




Big Sister Bella Peace giving Baby E her pacifier. In this picture, I think Elizabeth looks a lot like pictures of my younger brother.


Here's "One Eye" at 2 weeks old



Wide Awake!!


The kiddos have enjoyed several field trips lately. In 4 days, they went on 3 different trips. Last Friday Wesley took them to see Columbus ship replicas, the Nina and the Pinta. The ships are on tour and in our area for a stop. Saturday was free museum day so of course we took advantage of that. And yesterday, they went to a local farm/pumpkin patch. This many field trips is not usual for us. It's just worked out this way lately. I've hated to miss out, but I have to admit that I've enjoyed the time to lay around and cuddle with Elizabeth. Here are some pictures from yesterday's trip.


Is he a country boy or what!?!

Good Friday, April 2, 2010

Today was Good Friday. It was indeed a "good Friday". However, I am totally exhausted tonight. AND, my back is totally killing me. I think it's the result of a very busy day.

Our homeschool group had a planned trip to an assisted living facility today. Wesley took Grace, Mary Ruth, and Bella Peace while Luke and I had other plans. The kids sang songs to the residents, discussed what "Easter" really is all about, and then participated in an egg hunt while the residents watched on. The residents there seem to really enjoy the children. We weren't sure if our family was going to participate or not, because it's so easy to get distracted by things like egg hunts, bunnies, baskets, frilly clothes, etc. and miss the real meaning of this holiday. We've really been evaluating our traditions lately and trying hard to keep our focus. I'm really glad that we decided to participate, even though we were not all able to go together. A good time was had by all, and I believe the Lord was glorified through it.


Luke and I headed the opposite direction. He was in desperate need of some spring/summer clothes especially a new pair of khaki slacks. This is a necessity in his wardrobe. Dressing boys is so different than dressing girls. Much simpler. He pretty much wears khaki slacks and a good shirt every week to church. He almost always only has one pair that fits at a time. I just make sure to wash them as soon as he takes them off. This time of year, he basically just wears them to church of if we are dressing nice for something. He had really out grown his current pair. They were pretty short on him. So, we went shopping. Fortunately he gets some hand-me-down play clothes from my cousin's little boy, so he never rally needs much. (Thanks, Leigh!! Keep 'em coming!) I rarely shop for our kiddos in stores, because I do most of our shopping in consignment sales or thrift store. But, it's hard to get nice boy things at these places. I guess boys are just really rough on their clothes.

It was fun to be off with my #1 boy. It's amazing how quickly he's growing up. He looks so handsome and grown-up especially in his new clothes!

After Wesley and the girls finished at the assisted living facility, we all met up, had a quick lunch together, and then I took all the kids to run a few more errands while Wesley headed to work. It was a very full day.

Bella Peace is also getting so big. She almost 2 years old!! She is very independent, and she is a pretty good listener. But, I still tend to carry her when we are walking through parking lots. I guess all that carrying today combined with my growing belly is taking it's toll on my back.

As a sidebar, today it was 84 degrees here! I LOVED it!!! It's currently 78 degrees in our house, and it feels so good. Wesley will probably want to drop the thermostat when he gets home, but I'm very cold natured and this is perfect for me!!

So this week, we've been trying to make sure we kept our focus as far as Easter is concerned. The past two night, the kids have been asking some very big questions. They received a book earlier this week as an Easter gift (thanks Nana and Papa!!) that goes through the Easter story. It starts with the triumphal entry and goes through Jesus' ascension into Heaven. It also gives the exact scripture references for each part of the story. At the end it's got pictures for the kids to point to and put in the correct order and also to use to retell the story themselves. The day we got it, we read all the way through it at once. They loved it. Since then, we gone through it a couple more times. But, at night before bedtime I've been reading through all the different accounts in the Gospels. We've done this in years past, but not so thoroughly as this year. Also Luke and Grace are just getting much more attentive as they get older. So they seem to hear a lot of things for the first time lately. AND, they had a whole lot of questions. Tonight I spent about an hour trying to answer all their many, many questions (as well as you can answer some of these things). Here's some of their questions, why did Jesus pray to God if Jesus is God, how can God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit be three in one, who is Pilate, who is Herod, why people wanted to kill Jesus, why did the vail of the temple tear apart, what was the vail, why was their a vail, why did they wrap Jesus' body up in clothes, how did they put the stone in front of the tomb, why were the women going to put spices on Jesus' body, what did Jesus look like after He rose from dead, when is Jesus coming back, will it be tonight, what if we are asleep, what will happen when He returns. Can I just say, whew!!! This is tough stuff!! I was tempted to make an SOS call saying, "Oh, Wesley do you think you can come home now and help me out just a bit!" I guess I know what we will be talking about over breakfast in the morning!!

It's really cool that they are asking these questions. They have such a greater understanding than I did at their age. I'm so thankful for that! In Mission
Friends Wednesday night, Mary Ruth received some plastic eggs that had different objects in them to remind us of the Gospel. She has used these to completely share the Gospel with us several times this week. I'm so proud of her.

So, what about you? What is your focus this Easter? What do you know about the Gospel? I can tell you that I didn't know the things my kids know when I was their age.

"The Gospel" is the good news. That's what it literally means. And the good news is
this...

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 11:25
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live

Act 16:31
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Romans 5:8
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

2 Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Happy Easter!! May you keep your focus on the real meaning of Easter, and remember that Jesus came so that we "might have life, and [we] might have it more abundantly"!!