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month: nine

micah9monthstextIt's begun.The crawling, the cruising, the bruising... Micah is officially on the move. Not that he wasn't crawling last month, because he definitely was. But it was more of a crawl, crawl, fall rhythm. Unlike now, where we can't get him to stay put.

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DSC_0052_SnapseedLast summer, my husband and I had an ongoing debate over whether we should get a coffee table or ottoman. And I mean, ongoing. He wanted something to put his feet on and I wanted something to put drinks and ya know, cute little decor-ish stuff on. :) Well, we compromised and got this leather ottoman that has a reversible top that can flip over to place drinks, etc on. Let's just say... this was the BEST decision we ever could have made when it comes to having furniture and a baby. Micah loves to hold on and cruise around the ottoman and the two little smaller ends (pictured above) are just his size! They are super baby-friendly. When he falls, we never have to worry about him bumping his head against something hard. Good decision, hubby. 

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DSC_0101_SnapseedThere are definitely places in the house we still need to baby-proof. When Micah is roaming around, Josh and I are on high-alert! One of us has to watch him at all times. It makes it a little difficult when I'm home by myself with Micah during the day. Carrying him in a Moby is becoming increasingly more difficult on my back. It's funny to think he weighs less than the amount of weight I gained during pregnancy! It just feels a lot heavier OUTSIDE my body! haha.

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DSC_0112_SnapseedThis is the view I get these days.

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DSC_0131_SnapseedA little help, mom?

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I had to ask his daddy to come in the room to make him laugh, so I could catch at least a few pictures of that big 'ole smile! :)

Notice the bruise on his left arm? No idea where that came from. But I'm guessing it came from one of the many falls he's taken doing crazy things like standing up in his rocking chair (don't worry, I put the camera down in a snap after I caught these photos!)

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micah-2 One of the things I forgot to mention last month, was that Micah has started feeding himself! In fact, he would much rather feed himself than let me give it to him on a spoon. He also has 6 teeth now, so he is getting great at chewing (+ biting, ouch!)

Let's talk about how much food he's eating... Breakfast: oatmeal cereal mixed with yogurt (the only way he'll eat it!) Lunch/Dinner: fruits + veggies, bread, and little bits of whatever we're eating He snacks throughout the day. He really really loves the Lil Crunchies (veggie dip flavor!) Still exclusively breastfed, and today at our checkup the ped. said I could start cutting back to 3-4 times a day. All that eating... and he only weighs 18.4lbs! Looks like he may have his daddy's metabolism. ;)

DSC_0151_SnapseedAnd his daddy's expressions... I mean, look at that face. ;)

(this is when I know it's time to put the camera down!)

 Other 9 month highlights:

- Gives high fives - Plays hide and seek - Learning to wave - Gives "kisses" (aka bites my face) - Speaking of, biting is a new bad habit - Loves the pool and the beach! - Enjoys walks outside (usually falls asleep) - Understands "no, no" - Says "dada, baba, yaya" pretty much everything but "mama" - Has a little bit of separation anxiety (noticed when I leave, or someone else holds him) - Still sleeps great! Takes two naps around 9-11am and 2-4pm, and goes to bed around 7:30-8pm. Wakes up bright and early at 6:30am!

 

Preparing for Parenting

Image 1 As a new parent, I'm enjoying the relative ease of being able to share, sing and talk about Jesus with my little boy. There is no pressure, nothing I need to be "politically correct" about. He's too young to comprehend it all just yet.

But I know the time will come when he will have questions. When he will wonder why we go to church 2-3 times a week, why we pray before we eat, why we sit and read our bibles, why we choose not to drink alcohol and change the channel when sexual images come on TV. I'm sure he will have friends whose parents do things differently and he'll be tempted to compare. There will be things that we do wrong that we'll have to apologize for. Soon he will know our flaws.

The statistics of pastor's kids leaving the faith is even more disheartening. The responsibility to make sure that "doesn't happen to us," can seem overwhelming at times.

So with all this in mind, we have given a lot of thought about how we will raise Micah. Not to say we won't do things differently when the time actually comes, but we've thought a lot about how our parents raised us and what we would like to change or do the same.

Here are a few of the ways we are preparing for parenting.

1. Live out our faith at home. We believe this is one of the greatest things we could do as parents. Showing Micah what it looks like to follow Christ in every area of our life. Being careful not to act one way at church and another at home. Reading the Bible together as a family and making it a priority. Hopefully these things will help Micah see that Jesus is not just a part of our life, He is our life.

2. Admit when we're wrong. Showing Micah (and any future children) that we're not perfect won't be very hard, he'll see us make lots of mistakes. But admitting them will make all the difference. And asking forgiveness when we wrong him will be even more important (and I can only imagine, very very hard!) We want our children to see us in the best light. I know I already care what Micah thinks about me and he's only 8 months old! It's part of loving someone so much that you never want to do anything to break that bond. But the best way to teach children the gospel, is to show them mommy and daddy need forgiveness too.

3. Train them for righteousness. We have discussed this one a lot. We've heard parents talk about not wanting to "pressure" their children to go to church, to read their Bible, or do anything basically that might make them feel forced to follow Jesus. We understand this and get where the parents are coming from. But we feel a responsibility to train our children to love the Lord and the things of God. And there will be times when they may not want to attend church and we will make them go. We find it ironic that when it comes to school or extracurricular activities, parents have no problem pressuring their kids to make good grades and be the best they can be. But when it comes to faith, we want to sit back and let them decide for themselves. Training involves discipline, and sometimes we need to be pushed to do the right thing.

4. Show love unconditionally. This one seems easy right now. Nothing Micah could do could make me love him less. Even when he claws my face with those razor sharp nails (Geez! What is it about baby nails?) But what happens when Micah decides to stray from our guidance? And does things that honestly, I can't even bring myself to write down because of how brokenhearted I feel even imagining it! What happens then? Our love will be what brings him home. No matter how good we parent, the choice is still his to follow Christ. If he strays, we cannot stray from loving him the same or we are preaching that love is earned through action, which is exactly the opposite of the love offered through Jesus Christ. This does not mean we won't discipline him, we plan to do a lot of spanking in our home (Proverbs 23:13) but it will always be done in love. Even if that means we need to take a few moments to compose ourselves and pray before we do.

Being intentional as parents is important. Sure, our son just learned to crawl and he probably won't be able to talk his way into trouble for at least a couple more years. But if we don't begin to plan now for the future, then we'll resort to being led by our natural tendencies. And let's just say... mine aren't too pretty.

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My Greatest Calling

Image I've neglected this blog for too many weeks now. I could start by blaming my busy schedule with a busy baby, but the multi-colored shapes flashing in my head from playing too many levels of Candy Crush convict me.

I have an addiction and it's not good.

But really, I don't want this blog to be an empty space for me to vent or only share the monthly updates of my baby. Those are the things that draw me to this space more often than not, but they are not a good representation of my life as a whole.

Sure, motherhood has completely consumed me. I am infatuated with my precious little baby and I cannot remember what I actually took pictures of before becoming pregnant. But despite what my Instagram says about me, I do actually have a life. And by life, I mean a calling. And a great one at that.

I'm a disciple of Jesus. Surrendered to a life of ministry.

Some days I forget that, to be honest. I wake up and feel the pressure to be the best mom and the best wife I can be (lately, in that order too). And while those are very high callings, I never want them to replace my ultimate calling to be His hands and feet. To love and serve the world. To tell others about Jesus.

I have the wonderful blessing of being "married to the ministry," in a sense. My husband is a student pastor. So you would think this would come easier for me. And while I may be attending more services and church events than the average person, this doesn't mean I am necessarily fulfilling my calling.

It can be easy, especially for pastor's wives, to sit back and enjoy the fruit of our husband's labor. We can hide out and write off the many prayers we send up on our husband's behalf as fulfilling our ministerial duties. But that's just it, we're fulfilling our ministerial role as a wife. What about the part of my calling to make disciples of all nations, to love others as Jesus has loved me and to carry one another's burdens?

That's what I want to be known for. I love being called Josh's wife and Micah's mom, but above all I want people to know me as a follower of Jesus. A sister in Christ. A daughter of God.

And some days the best way I can make a disciple is by training up my son to know Jesus. And the best way I can love others as Jesus loved me is by sacrificially loving my husband. But I never want that to replace my heart for people. I never want to pass them by because I'm too busy wrapped up in my own little world of wife and mom.

A very important little world, no doubt.

Anyway, I hope you hear my heart. This weekend was an example of a way I was able to feel the complete fulfillment in every area of my life. I led on the worship team while my husband was preaching, and simultaneously Micah was fed, changed and loved on.

I chatted with people after every service and there are some hurting, others rejoicing and some who really need to accept the grace and forgiveness of Jesus. And I was able to help be a part of showing them that.

Seriously though, my husband delivered a FANTASTIC message this weekend. I encourage you to watch it below. 

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