Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to my precious, precious Mother!

The depth of your love for me is something I'm only beginning to understand

as I learn what it is to be a mother. I have so far to go, and such big shoes to fill.

What a legacy of legendary mothers I come from.

 

You are selfless, always putting others needs above your own. 

You cover our family in prayer, and tirelessly give of yourself for the glory of the Father.

You and I share so many memories, so many laughs, so many tears of joy and sorrow.

I am so incredibly blessed, so overflowing with thankfulness, and so terrible at finding the words to express my sentiments. 

I absolutely love you and wish you the sweetest Mothers Day, your first as a Grandma!

To My Sweet Lila Tate

Disclaimer: I absolutely did not write the following. I came across it on Laura Rowe's blog and immediately connected to the words. I really can not imagine putting the emotions of my first Mothers day into any other words. 

What a privilege it is to have this child entrusted to my care.

I just so badly want to play my role well.

 
 

I want to set her up for life right.

I want her to come to know Christ at a young age 

and I want her to be deeply convinced of His love for her. 

 

I want her to find what she is good at, and work hard to be great.

I want her to love people well.

I want her to be bold, and confident, and secure in who she is.

I want her to shine wherever she goes.

I want her to understand that she is a part of something bigger than herself,

and that we are not called to be as selfish as our culture would have us be.

I want her be silly and joyful, 

and genuine and kind.

I want her to have a wild imagination and adventurous spirit,

with feet firmly planted in the Truth.

I yearn for my time with her to be purposeful;

 time spent not only filling me with joy, 

but filling her with what she needs to be wonderfully, uniquely her.

Fully being used for the glory of the One who made her a part of His perfect plan.

Clarkson says, 

"And the fundamental mission of motherhood now is the same as it always was: to nurture, protect, and instruct children, to create a home environment that enables them to learn and grow, to help them develop a heart for God and his purposes, and to send them out into the world prepared to live both fully and meaningfully. It's up to us to embrace that mission as our own, trusting God to walk us through the details and to use our willing mothers' hands as instruments of his blessings."

The details of my role as a mom right now are more simple than they will probably ever be. 

I have years to prepare my sea legs for the waters of 

rebellion, boy problems, body image, and girl-fights. 

But the job, nevertheless, has already begun. 

I already catch the wheels turning behind those baby blue eyes. 

She watches us with an inquisitive eagerness to mimic our movements. 

The realization that your life is being imitated is a big pill to swallow, 

and it has forced me to challenge myself to make my own days as meaningful as possible.

I am reminded to put down my phone, close my laptop, leave some chores on the to-do list,

and invest my time where it matters the most.

The way I love my husband, the way I care for friends, and the way I walk with God,

are lessons being spoon-fed to my daughter daily, 

molding her perspective.

Lord willing, I have 18 years to use my life to

  impact hers before I release her to the world.

Sally Clarkson wraps up my ramblings well when she explains 

the reason for her writing this book was to 

"remind moms of the value God places upon their lives and to help them respond wholeheartedly to his call on their lives... I will attempt to create a complete picture of how we are called to live as mothers, so that the integrity of our own lives will reflect the beauty of God's original design"

Everyday her curiosity grows and it becomes more and more apparent 

that she is watching our every move. 

I echo Clarkson when I say that my prayer is that the integrity of my life

will yield the foundation she needs to thrive in this big world.

Taken from: http://laurabrowe.blogspot.com/

Month by Month: 4 Months

You've officially grown out of your newborn clothes and several of the 0-3 months size. You can wear most of the 3 month clothes you have, which has opened up an entirely new wardrobe full of cute little outfits. You heartily approve of the bright dresses, and love to pull the skirts up into your mouth.

You are still wearing size 1 diapers, but I think you're ready to move up to size 2.

Your hair no longer sticks straight up in the middle, but its longer and just flies everywhere in no particular pattern or direction. It's what's referred to as a 'hot mess', but it cracks me up. I'm just so thrilled that you have hair.

You smile ALL.THE.TIME and it just melts my heart.

You celebrated your first Easter, with lots of goodies and quality time with extended family.

You went to the church nursery for the first time and did great.

You officially experienced your first sickness. It was just a little cold germ that resulted in a snotty nose, but I hated to hear you so congested for about a week. We had to keep a cool mist humidifier in your room each night while you slept. Even when you're sick you are still such a great baby. We toted you all over town one day and you were content to just ride in the stroller and smile at other shoppers before you finally dozed off for a good long nap.

You went on your longest car ride to date when we went to Birmingham to visit twin babies Charlie and Noah. You were so exhausted from the day that you fell asleep on the car ride home, even though you should've been hungry. I even moved you out of your car seat and into your crib and you still slept the rest of the night.

You love to play in your new bouncy seat. You like to press all the buttons that light up or make a sound, and have figured out how to turn the seat to get to the toys you want to see.

Your cute little 'coo' sounds have now evolved into full blown shouts. You rarely use your voice for when you are mad. You prefer to shout and squeal at your toys and the bird mobile above your crib. I think you just like to hear yourself squeal. Either way, it's cracking us up.

You still love to have your hands in your mouth. Recently you've decided that placing both thumbs in your mouth at the same time is especially tasty.

Your motor skills are really improving, and you reach out and grab toys or blankets or most frequently MY HAIR. It's so sweet when you reach up and rub our faces.

Even when you were in the womb, you loved to kick. You've always moved your legs constantly, but now you make us laugh because you bring your feet together and lock your toes. It must be comfortable. 

You've always liked to sit in our lap and look at books, but now you really study each page. You also like to swat at things on the page that really look interesting, sometimes making it difficult for me to hold the book or turn the pages.

Oh how we love you little girl!

4 Month Check Up

We went to the Pediatricians office today for your 4 month check up. You weigh 12 pounds 3 ounces and are 25.4 inches long. You're still a tiny little thing.... in the 25th percentile for weight,  50th percentile for your head size, and 75th percentile for height.  You had to get 2 more shots and one more oral vaccine. I know it's necessary, but I still dread it every time. It's just pitiful to see you so upset!

Milestones

Two milestones, previously unrelated but now suspiciously connected.

1) Several weeks ago, you went to the church nursery for the first time. Up until that point, your nap time had coincided with the service. Now you are way too vocal to sit through the service. I worried about you because you hadn't taken a nap that morning, but the workers said you did great. We celebrated by going to lunch (which you slept through).

2) After your second week in the nursery you woke up one night struggling to breathe through some serious congestion. We had one rough night of little sleep and lots of sitting in the bathroom with the steamy shower. After that, we survived a week of snotty noses and sleeping with the humidifier. Luckily it was just a little germ, and it didn't seem to affect your mood or slow you down at all. I'm glad you're feeling better........because you're going right back in the nursery :)