Set-Apart Motherhood: Reflecting Joy and Beauty in Family Life - Leslie Ludy

I'm currently reading Set-Apart Motherhood by Leslie Ludy for an online Bible study. The book is fantastic and we're reading chapter three right now.

A few things I have learned:

1. God's pattern for motherhood is victorious, joy-filled, and beautiful (2)
2. "Productivity is not God's highest goal for this season of my life; obedience is" (16)
3. The joy of motherhood is not dependent on whether the house is cleaned, if Pastor Husband took out the trash and remembered to put a new bag in the trash can, or if kiddos are actually listening to me or not. The joy comes from "an abiding contentment and peace, no matter what challenges I'm facing" (18)

So, I'm trying. I'm trying really hard at something that seems like it should be so natural. I have to really fight against my natural tendencies and the patterns I grew up with and, let me tell you, I fail pretty much every day...BUT the failures are less explosive with each passing day. It's working. The focusing on God's pattern and consciously making the decision to choose joy over frustration, anger, impatience, tiredness, irritation, and all those other non-joy-filled emotions.

When I choose joy it's so much more fun - the time spent with my kiddos and other people's kiddos. On Saturday we basically had two sets of twins. Our friends were moving and their little ones are the same age as ours and it was interesting, but we had a good time at keeping four tiny humans alive all day. It was one of the few days (I'm getting more days thinking this) that I felt like if we were placed with a baby the adoption agency would not be making a mistake.

Here are some joy-filled pictures from the last few days of joy-filled motherhood moments!

Ballerina Themed Baby Shower

I had the awesome pleasure to design for a ballerina themed baby shower. It was all about pink, polka dots, stripes, and (of course) ballet slippers. It was so much fun to do and made me wonder why I haven't had a ballerina themed party for Baby Girl yet! Maybe that'll be for birthday number four? We'll see!

Here's to a perfectly pink party for an almost-ready-for-her-debut baby girl!

Our Little Man

...is not so little. I realized this when I put up the pictures for his birthday timeline banner thing. He was a little baby man for maybe a month and then he just got big. He's just big. Not as big as Cousin Ponchito who turned one in May and is basically a man already, but Baby Dos is super big in comparison to his not-so-big sister.

Anyway, we took him to get shot...by a camera people!...at the park the week of his first birthday and they are so cute! If anyone is looking for someone who can do some of the most natural pictures of you, baby, family, events, etc., then give this lovely lady a call: Sara Lucero Photography. Gorgeous, all of her pictures and she's pretty dang swell herself along with her little family. Head over to her site. You will not be disappointed.

I loved all the pictures, but she got a sequence of pictures of Baby Dos going down the slide and I don't think she realized all that she captured.

Photo by Sara Lucero

Photo by Sara Lucero

Photo by Sara Lucero

There are sooooo many people who know and love our children. It overwhelms me every time when I think about all the faces that have smiled at them. There have been many hands that have held them and changed their diapers. This series of pictures portrays that it takes more than one set of hands to raise a child. For our children, consistently, it has been my hands, Pastor Husband's hands, and my mom's hands a.k.a. Ga. God's love is so present in these photos that I try to think about them during the times that I am anything, but content with the circumstances that are surrounding me.

Ga has been coming over every Tuesday since Baby Girl was born and she'll be three in September! When Ga is here Baby Dos doesn't even need me to exist so that's when I run around town doing errands, reading at Starbucks, or just getting stuff done around the house. I love that she was included in the photos because she has such a huge part in my kiddos' life. My sisters and I were raised super close to our grandparents and I am so thankful my kids are getting the same.

So, thank you Sara for the fun time at the park, beautiful pictures, and for finally meeting you and your precious family. Thank you all who have loved our children. Thank you Ga for being so present in their lives. Thank you Lord, above all things, for Pastor Husband, Baby Girl, and Baby Dos...and for Future Babes!

It's Party Time...Almost!

Baby Dos you are 11 months! Well, you've been 11 months for four days now...I'm a little late. Sorry about that, but life is crazy busy and if I didn't do this tonight it would probably be another week before I got to this post because we leave for camp tomorrow. Your first time at camp. Last year, you decided to be born during the week of camp. It was a couple days after you were born Papi left to pick up our campers and they made a pit-stop to come see you.

Now, it's almost been a full year. I can't believe it!

You're pulling yourself up, sitting yourself down - you were getting yourself stuck in the standing position and would cry for rescue - babbling, you have two bottom teeth, and love to play with your sister. I find the two of you in her room all the time, laughing at every thing she does. I'm glad that you were born with a playmate. I can't imagine you being an only child because you love others so very much.

You like to eat, but are picky about the way you eat it. Sometimes you don't mind if we feed you and sometimes you want to eat it all by yourself. It makes meal times a bit stressful, but some cute pictures have come out of it. You're good with a sippy cup and tonight you let me read a book to you without ripping it out of my hands. Progress!

One more month, Baby Dos, and you'll be a year old. I'm excited to watch you grow, but I also want you to stop. My prayer is that you stay the same sweet, loving boy that you are for always.

We needed Baby Girl's help again because you kept trying to escape!

Tuesday Donut

We go to church at least twice a week - Saturday night and Sunday morning. Baby Girl calls Saturday night "big church". Sunday morning has been given the name of "little church", but it's her favorite because little church has donuts. Full-size donuts. Nothing cut in half and they are the good donuts. Not just a bunch of glazed. There are chocolate bars, maple bars, and - the most coveted of all donuts - donuts with sprinkles! Again, Baby Girl has her own name for them, "bagels with sprinkles". She especially loves the ones with pink icing and rainbow sprinkles.

So, I'm excited for the full-size donuts, of course, but Baby Girl gets only half a donut. I don't want to send my kid wired into children's church. I always tell her that she can half before church and half after she gets out of her class. She gobbles down the top part of her half of the donut and then moves to the bottom part. I wrap up the other half in a napkin and put in a side pocket in my purse.

By time church is over and we're leaving someone is usually crying. Does church ruin your kids normal eating and naptime routine? It ruins our and there's always that dilemma of do they eat lunch and then nap or nap and then eat or is naptime even going to happen?!

Anyway...the donut never gets back to Baby Girl. I don't feel bad because we both forget about it. Monday, we also forget about it because that's usually our day of rest. Tuesday, Ga (Granma) comes over and Mom (Me!) leaves the house to do errands and maybe drink a cup of coffee while reading a book. Tuesday is the day I use my purse and it's in the same state as I left it Sunday afternoon. After getting out of the car I put my keys in the side pocket and I find a napkin and wonder, "what did I put in here now?"

Sunday's donut has now become Tuesday's donut.

I'll confess, if it's not too damage, I will eat it with my coffee. If it looks like the picture of the donut above then I talk myself into throwing it away. Always a battle. The donut makes me smile because it reminds me of Baby Girl, her excitement for a bagel with sprinkles, and that I can still control her donut intake.

Ten Months!

Baby Girl helped with this one!

Happy 10 Month Birthday, Baby Dos! You had a little trouble not chewing on the numbers so Baby Girl helped you out a bit. You didn't seem to mind.

Well, it's been a journey to get this far, but life has now settled down some...for now. We do run into new adventures weekly it seems. You do great though. The times where you are done with life are when you're hungry and tired, though you do get frustrated at times. While your sister would just move onto something else you tend to scream at whatever it is that isn't working for you. You babble all the day long, mostly saying, "blah, blah, blah". You are also so very much entertained by Baby Girl. Anything she does is magical to you. It's adorable to hear and watch the two of you finally playing together.

You crawl to travel places now and have made your way all over the house including outside. It's because of this crawling that every tiny object ends up in your mouth! You are able to pull yourself up, but cry because you don't know how to get back down. Eating is your favorite time and you eat just about everything we give you. Sometimes we eat too close to naptime and that isn't much fun for either of us. I think I can safely say that you are sleeping through the night...nightime feedings are done! That's a bonus for your Mommy!

Baby Dos you still love others so very much and you charm everyone with your blue eyes and smile. Happy birthday, Baby Dos...love you!

No number here because we were at the hotel for this birthday.

Instagram pictures for while we were at Great Ga's house.

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Baby Girl Talk

We went to Ohio last November for Thanksgiving where we visited family and friends who are family. Our friends-family has a daughter who is a few weeks younger than Baby Girl and she is a talker! So clearly too! Before this time Baby Girl didn't say much, just a few things, but she was just quiet. I was a little sad about this because I love it when kids go around singing made-up songs. It's one of my favorite things to hear.

Anyway, after that stay, Baby Girl took a hint from her friend and started talking! It was amazing and every day since she has some new word, phrase, or song to share.

Here are just a few Baby Girl-isms:

"I need you!" - this is to manipulate Pastor Husband and it works 99% of the time
"I fine" or "I okay"
"Cold-y, hot-y" - a lot of things end in "y" for Baby Girl
"Outside-side" - not sure why "outside" gets and extra "side"
"I up down" - upside down
"My hair is crazy" - I always say this about my own hair
"D'you like it?"
"Aaaah! Dragon!" - pointing at Baby Dos
"I can't" - we get this when she's moody and it's her answer to everything!
"Too!" - I love you too

We had a whole conversation about Good Friday and this is her version:

The bad guys got Jesus. The bad guys put a bad crown on Jesus. The bad guys made a fire (I don't remember this part of the story). They put him on a big cross. Jesus got stuck on the cross. Jesus died! (That part is complete with her spreading her arms out and hanging her head down).

We're not sure what happened on Easter because Baby Girl chose to sit in the corner and cry during children's church. Guess we'll have to wait till next year for the good news!

She loves to sing every song from "Frozen" and she has some song she made up and every once in a while I'll hear mom, dad, and Baby Dos' name in her lyrics. Baby Girl likes the song for the "Little People" commercial and sings along to the "...and I'm only human" part. She also sings along to the Sara Bareilles song "Brave".

Baby Girl is still a quiet, introverted child, but if you ask her the right question she can go on and on. It's fun to sit with her and have a conversation. I so enjoy those moments.

Cousin Time

Today Gma, Auntie, and Panchito came over to visit and play with Baby Girl and Baby Dos. Panchito and Baby Dos are two months apart and both look like their dads, meaning, they don't look brown and have blue eyes. When we're out and about with them people think they're brothers, even twins! Auntie and I wonder who they think we must be...their nannies?

Playing with Gma.

Cousin Bath Time!

At one point the attire was diaper and socks only.

Recent Adventures

Yes, I am still catching up from Christmas. All the decorations have finally come down and are in the respective boxes and the boxes are still in the dining room. Halfway there, right? Well, to finally put the holidays to a close, I am posting the last of our Christmas-holiday-fun pictures.

On December 23 we made our finally, all day trip to Disneyland and we have never seen Baby Girl so excited! Captivating speaks truth - there really is a princess in all of us and it'll bloom and mature as long as someone doesn't come along and smash that princess to bits. Baby Girl was in love with the princesses and she doesn't even really know who they are, but something inside of her just sings whenever she saw one of them. We decided to wait in the line for the princess meet & greet Disney has now and it was probably her favorite part of the day. Minnie Mouse may have come a close second, but it was during normal naptime hours so there was a tantrum before and after the picture. Baby Dos and I waited an hour for Mickey Mouse! Insane. We wanted to end our last trip with the fireworks, but they canceled last minute due to wind...boo. Other than that, it really was a fun day, good weather, lots o' people (so many the park closed), and I think Baby Girl had the most fun she's ever had there.

Next, we went to my college roommate's wedding out in Temecula. The couple lives out in New York (so lucky! with the exception of all the snow happening right now). It was so pretty, the whole wedding, and very thoughtful. Thoughtful to their guests, to each other, and to God. He wasn't lost in all the details. I love weddings that make Him the lead role because He is the one that gave us marriage. We should thank Him, loudly. This couple has done it right from the very beginning of their relationship and I'm thankful to know them. Oh, and the cake...the best wedding cake. Ever.

Finally, the last adventure of 2013 - Mexico. I'll admit, I am not a fan of Mexico. I never went much as a kid and I don't even know where in Mexico my family is from...we don't even speak the language! Probably one of the reasons why it's not on my top ten list of places to go. Thank goodness, Pastor Husband knows it like its his first language. Anyway, we went down to San Felipe because one of our friends was going and there's a family down there Pastor Husband is very close to from all his missionary work. It was a good trip and actually very restful. The babies slept through the night and took a nap each day, which means the adults got to take a nap every day too! We took one of our youth-turned-college-unofficially-adopted-daughter with us and I don't think she's had that kind of sleep since she started college. We ate and slept - my perfect kind of vacation. We also did many things that ended with, "Only in Mexico".

Feliz Navidad

A little late...

cousins

Baby Girl's first bike

Gma and her children (minus one, he's in Ohio)

Gma and the grandkids (minus a bunch; some in Ohio, Oregon, and Florida)

Gma and the GREAT grandkids take one

Gma and the GREAT grandkids take two (minus two that are in Oregon, two in Ohio, and one on the way in Florida!)

The Christmas Wall

For two years now I've been wanting to make Baby Girl a felt Christmas tree (thanks to Pinterest for that idea) and for two years it hasn't happened. There is a slight chance it may happen this year, but if there is no tree there is a wall. Baby Girl and I decorated tonight after Baby Dos went to bed...please stay asleep, please!

Baby Girl is such a toddler, which is both entertaining and exasperating. She likes to watch Mickey Mouse and try to put one foot on the ottoman and one on the couch. BAM! She falls to the floor every time. There's the spontaneous burst of dance, usually her version of ballet, which is when she kicks a leg out and then spins. We catch her crawling on the ground pretending to be a dog, or a cat, or a frog. Yesterday, she grabbed a carrot and started hopping like a rabbit. Coloring and reading are still a favorite way to past the time. Oh! Baby Girl can spell her name! Just out of the blue we were playing with the letters in the bathtub and I started spelling her name and she finished spelling it on her own. Now, I have her spell her name at least once a day because I still can't believe it. She knows her letters, colors, and numbers. The girl may be in diapers until she's ten, but she can spell her name.

The girl can make me crazy beyond crazy, but she's also a lot of fun and it's so sweet and fulfilling when I hear her call my name - hoping it follows with a kiss and a hug. She likes to also just go around saying, "Mom, Mom, Mom" for no particular reason. When I'm in the kitchen for more than a few minutes that's her cue to run in and grab an apron so she can help.

Baby Girl actually wanted her picture taken! She's covered in spaghetti and yogurt.

Homemade vanilla wafers just for Baby Girl.

The Christmas Wall

What she did when I asked her to smile. 

Yeah, I don't know...her new pose?

Making sure every thing is on just right.