Let's all laugh at the fact that I just knew I would be back to blogging the week after Polly's birth. I had post ideas for that entire week and it never occurred to me that I wouldn't feel well enough to sit at my computer, let alone that I wouldn't want to put her down for one single second. The last two weeks have been perfect and although I'm ready to return to this space, I am very much enjoying our quiet, lazy days and our posting schedule will likely be a little lighter than normal until I return to work. Thank you all so much for the prayers, well wishes, and patience -- Polly and I are both doing so well and appreciate your love and support! While none of the following photos are graphic in nature, there are real time photos of Polly's Cesarean delivery, so if you are ...
mothering
My Mommy Heart
Y'all, six years old is hard. Ella & I have had a bit of a hard year, but we're pressing on. I wrote a little bit about it back in October and I still feel like we are very much in this same place. I keep on praying that when we turn seven the switch will instantly flip and everything will be back to normal. I'm not sure if it's the age, or school, or responsibility or just me, but six years old seems to be full of sass and drama and one very strong will. I'm easily frustrated because she is such a precious child and I want to enjoy her at every age. It's hard to enjoy someone who is sullen and constantly frustrated with you for one thing or another, no matter how hard you want to. Part of the problem is that Ella and I are virtually the same person. We're emotionally charged, with a ...
Not a Narcissist
Sometimes I need to learn a lesson. Other times I need to be hit over the head with a book. I know last week that I mentioned Vicki Courtney spoke about not raising narcissists. I'll admit that I pretty much cringed the entire time she was speaking. Not because I disagreed or even that I didn't want to hear what she was saying, just because I felt like there might as well have been a spotlight aimed at my face. While my goal isn't to raise spoiled brats, sometimes I think I'm letting it happen by default. Why not let them have a lunchable if they doesn't want lasagna? They wants to wear skinny jeans every single day - why not? An iPod for a birthday gift... Ella's responsible enough. What I was failing to realize is that I'm raising them to think that the entire world revolves around ...
Post-Modern Mommies
I won't tell you which one, but I went to a break-out session on the first day of dotMom that I was less than impressed with. It was geared towards teaching your child to have a heart for missions and I was pretty excited about it. The speaker presented a lot of useful information, but it wasn't anything I didn't already know and I was regretting not spending that time for something different. Fast forward to Saturday and I found myself in Jen Hatmaker's session called Parenting The Kids We Have, Not the Kids We Were. It was described as the "nitty-gritty of raising disciples in a post-Christian society... unpack[ing] what makes our kids' generation tick, what they love, what they hate, and how to show them Jesus in a way that won't make them puke". Can we talk about how amazing it is that ...
dotMom 2012
Last weekend I went with two friends to Lifeway's dotMOM conference in Birmingham. I knew that I was in store for a wonderful weekend, but I had no idea I would walk away with so much knowledge. The information was invaluable and I learned so much about the kind of Christian woman and intentional mother I want to be. I've spent the last few days marinating on the words I heard and processing how I want to translate them into our lives. I've re-written my notes (mostly because I'm a nerd) and reviewed scripture. It's amazing how your entire perspective on life can change in just under 48 hours. I'm not sure I can even begin to tell you all of the things I learned and how this weekend changed my life as a mother and a wife. I wish I even knew where to start! Instead, I thought I would share ...