Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Well, the
Jones household is sick. I am not
sure how this bug entered out home, but it started mid-last week and has
traveled from my nasal passage into my lungs and now into Phil’s sinuses and
Maddie’s nose. We are all feeling pretty crummy, including our little lady,
despite the breastfeeding that is supposed to pass my antibodies onto her and
keep her from getting sick. I
guess it only helps so much! Maddie definitely seems like the healthiest of us
three, so nursing her must be doing something.
The poor
girl has had a tough time sleeping (isn’t that what I say every week?). We have actually brought out the
swaddling blanket again for the first time in 3 or 4 months. When she has a particularly difficult
night (like last night when she was up every half hour between 9:30 and 2), we
will swaddle her and it seems to give her some comfort so she will sleep the
rest of the night through. It
seems so silly to swaddle an 8 month old! She is the biggest “wiggle worm” we
have ever seen!
 |
| This is why we call her our wiggle worm. All bundled up for bed! |
This past
weekend was Easter and we had a marvelous time. Phil and I went to the Good Friday service at our church on
Friday afternoon. We put Maddie in
the nursery for the first time and, as expected, we were paged shortly
thereafter. I went to her, fed her
and changed her diaper before heading back to the service. When we came to pick her up afterwards,
the lady said that she was just starting to get a little fussy again. Mads
started crying when she saw me, as if to say, “I want to go to her!” I took her
and Maddie leaned into me and gave me the biggest hug I have ever received from
my tiny 15 pounder. I almost
started crying. It was such a
special moment.
 |
| Pure Love |
It was
difficult for us to have her in the nursery. I’m not sure when we will do it
again. I want her to grow up in Sunday school since I loved it so much when I
was a kid, I just am not sure when the right time will be for us to part with
her. Maybe when I’m done nursing
her it will make more sense. But,
I felt on edge and stared at the pager-screen the entire time during the
service. I felt like I couldn’t
focus for fear of missing her number pop up informing me that I was
needed. Well, we’ll figure this
out over time.
Phil and I
spent the day together on Saturday. We started off at a granite warehouse trying
to pick out the color that we want for our kitchen. We have it narrowed down to 2 slabs, but I want to call
around to some other companies and get some installation prices before signing
off on the project. We are
thinking, though, that we will do a light-colored granite with some earthy,
gold tones. It should brighten up
the small space, we think, which currently had black laminate. Later on, we went to the park and took
a walk with Maddie and the dogs.
It was fun! The dogs loved it since they haven’t been on a walk since
Maddie was born. Poor deprived
Maybelline and Lukie-boy.
 |
| A springtime stroll. |
 |
| It was nice to get some fresh air! |
Sunday was
fabulous. If anyone has every been
to Harvest Bible Chapel for Easter, you know that we pull out all the stops! It
is a full-out celebration. All
three of us dressed up in our Sunday best and headed off to the service. We took a family portrait together in the lobby (the picture
should be available today and I can’t wait to see if it turned out) and we went
into the sanctuary. The service
was great, as expected, full of loud praise music and confetti in celebration
of our Savior who conquered death and sin. We are so blessed by the worship ministry at our church.
 |
| HAPPY EASTER!!! |
 |
| Ready for Church! |
After
church, we visited with Phil’s mom and then onto my parents’ house where we had
ham, freshly baked bread (courtesy of my mom), and some birthday cake to
celebrate my brother-in-law, Mark’s, and my birthday. We had a nice time at both events. By the end of the day, my voice was completely gone—down to
a whisper.
 |
| Maddie was so amazed by her cousin, Brandon. She just stared at him for long period of time. |
 |
| Maddie got an Easter basket with her very own remote control and a CD of Sunday School songs. Miss Connie gave her her first Easter Bunny (seen in the bottom right corner), which she loves to snuggle up with and chew on. |
Tummy time
is going really well with Maddie! I had taken her to the doctor last week
because of some wheezing noises that she was making, but the doctor said that
she has clear lungs and no signs of asthma (Praise God). Phil and I are both concerned about
asthma, given our history with the illness, so this was welcome news. We are
just praying she doesn’t develop it later on. Well, when I was at the doctor, we got to talking about
tummy time. I was asking about
crawling and when it should happen…etc…and mentioning that Maddie HATES tummy
time. The doctor really stressed
the importance of it, which I knew, of course. I told her that she will cry after only 5 minutes. The doctor told me, “Well, let her
cry.” So, rather than only letting her cry for 5 minutes or less, I decided to really
try getting her on her tummy for 10 minute stretches, crying or not. Maddie has made such progress in the
past week and is rolling over so much more than she used to (she used to just
wait until I did it for her, but now she has figured out that if she doesn’t do
it herself, she’ll be there a while. Hahaha!). I am seeing her push up on her knees a lot more, too. She will actually tolerate being on her
tummy for up to 12 minutes before whimpering, which is amazing to both Phil and
me. Go Maddie!
The
seedlings are doing well. I potted
up some of my zucchini and tomatoes and I think I will do the same for the
cucumbers today.
I am taking
a week off of running due to the sickness in my lungs. Poor, poor lungs. They are so sad.
 |
| I took Maddie for a run in the running stroller for the first time last week. She had a blast and was pooped by the end. |
I am…drum
roll please…finished memorizing Titus.
I can’t believe it! God is so good to me. Yesterday, I was talking to someone on the phone and she
mentioned that it is easy for her to read something and then later call it to
memory. This person is an
inspiration. She, throughout our conversation would mention Bible passages from
the Old Testament, New Testament…whatever we talked about had a passage to go
with it. Am I envious? Well, I
will just say that it is not a gift that the Lord has blessed me with, but God
has given me endurance to finish the task that I felt called to complete. He
has disciplined me through this process and taught me so much about his Word
that I did not understand before.
I am so thankful to Him for walking with me and answering my prayers to
inscribe his Word on my heart.
Thank God for my dear sister who has been graced with the gift of
memory, but Praise God, also, for giving me humility to understand my
weaknesses so that I can fully trust in him to overcome that limitation. For His Glory. For His Glory.
I’ve debated
about which verses are my favorite from Titus. They are all so cherished to me
since I have spent so much time meditating on each and every one of them. I have narrowed it down to two short
passages, though, that speed up my heartbeat whenever I think about them:
But the grace of God that brings salvation appeared to all men. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly
passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present
age while we wait for the blessed hope,
the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who
gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people who are his
very own, eager to do what is good.
(Titus 2:11-14. Emphasis added)
But when the kindness of love of God
our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done,
but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of
rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our
Savior so that, having been justified by his grace we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus
3:4-7. Emphasis added)
Here’s a
link to the book of Titus in case any of you are interested in reading it in
its entirety. You’ll have to hit
the button at the bottom of the page to advance to the next chapter. Remember,
there are three! :)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus+1&version=NIV
 |
| One of my favorite pictures of all time. Oh, how I love these two! |
