After 5 years of being a stay-at-home mom, I found the wonder of mothering slowly starting to get crowded out by the mundane feeling. I realized our world seems to surround people with the negative, and complaining about blessings seems totally acceptable. So I decided to fight against that "normalcy" and focus only on the positive. I look back to my first year as a mom when everything was new and keeping house was fun and I aim to have that attitude again. This blog is my outlet to showcase the daily miracles that surround me in my blessed life as a stay-at-home mom so that I will never forget the wonder of it all.



Monday, February 25, 2013

She Sews



She chose the fabrics, thinking of her friends and their likes (and she nailed it).

She ironed the fabric (on the ironing board she bought for herself with her birthday money).



She counted popcorn seeds while I squared up the fabric with the rotary cutter (I thought it was too cute to not include).



And then, she sewed!  Felicity is the fourth generation to sew on this machine.  Though she has sewn with me before, helping me operate the machine while sitting on my lap, this was the first time she did it all by herself!  She was very proud.  And so was I!


And after lots of work, and a bit of help at the end with that dang binding, she had two lovey sleeping "pockets" to give to her two best friends on their birthdays.


I am hoping this is the beginning of a wonderful passion.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

There is Love Here

I was planning on getting on here tonight and sharing with you how long my week has been, how little Arrow has slept, how overwhelmed I feel, and how this transition from 3 to 4 children has really caught me off guard and thrown me.  But then I started uploading images from the last few days...........................


..................and I paused...........


..........and I looked at the beautiful faces of my children, smiling with pure delight, and all I see is joy, and all I feel is love.






(Lissy's been working hard on her handwriting)
 
There is love here.
Oh, Lord, PLEASE help my children to feel it, despite me.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

The House is a Mess...

...but we've gotten in two great, FULL days of home schooling.  Today we started The Story of the World and had a lot of fun with it.


Someone rolled over!  He was VERY proud of himself and boy did he ever have the cheering crew.  I have a feeling this little boy will think everything he does is pure magical the way the older 3 cheer him on.  And it IS magical.  And I'm glad the older 3 see that.



He is also getting very good at working those limbs that a week or so ago would just flap around uncontrollably.  He is grasping things, lifting his arms to touch our faces, and I've had to start moving my plate of food back when he's sitting on my lap at the table. 

 
Speaking of magical, there are trays of seeds soaking up sun in the playroom window.


And its ALWAYS a good day when Daddy brings home a load of planting dirt.  Oh the possibilities!



Yes, the house may be a slight mess, but I'm caught up on laundry, and our day was beautiful.  And really, that's what counts.  Maybe I'll clean tonight after the kids are in bed.  On second thought, maybe I'll sew...........................

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Playing Catch Up

 
Oh how I love every second of breastfeeding this go round.  Literally, every second.  I've always loved it, and when looking forward to a new babe, nursing is the thing I always look forward to the most, but I am over the moon about it this go round.  I guess a few kids in, I really appreciate the miracle of it more, and how fleeting this stage is.  This baby boy can nurse whenever he wants.  My favorite time of the day, hands down, is when we snuggle up in bed together at night, and he nurses to sleep.  Oh my goodness....he's so warm next to me.  Seriously, I think I may need to go wake him up and snuggle down with him again.  :)


After months of goobing all over his fists, Arrow finally found his thumb.  I thought for sure once he found it he would never let it go.  But, he surprised me and has only truly sucked it a few times, and continues to goob all over his fists the majority of the time.
 

 
We have bounced all our babies on our exercise balls, but Arrow especially loves it.  His nightly routine is sitting on Zac's lap on the ball and getting bounced while the two of them watch a program on the computer together.  This week, the ball has gotten extra use as Arrow has been gassy.  Sometimes, bouncing on the ball is the only thing that calms him.  And it helps those gas bubbles rise.  So we bounce a lot.  Just the other morning, Arrow and I bounced while Logan sat at my feet reading his lesson to me.  I told Zac I want to buy every new mom a ball.  Its even better than a rocking chair, at least in our house.
 
 
This little boy sure isn't little.  At 2 1/2 months he was in 9 month clothes.  Those sleepers that had room in the length a few weeks ago are now fitting snug and at 3 1/2 months, he's moving into 12 month clothing.  Those pants he's wearing in the picture above, I made for Kian.  Kian was over a year old and WALKING when he wore those pants.  Arrow hasn't even rolled over yet!  Our older 3 have all had the same growth tendencies.  In fact, they've all gone through times where they were so tiny, the pediatrician was concerned.  I knew "failure to thrive" was looming in Logan's charts when he wasn't even on the growth curve as a 9 month old.  Felicity, at a year, wasn't heavy enough to turn her car seat around.  Kian is 3 and is still able to wear 24 month sized pants.  Our kids have always been small.  I just thought that's how we made them around here.  Then Arrow entered our lives like a brick.  Oh my, its so fun having a big baby.  His rolls and squishiness.....ugh!.....you just can't get enough!  Plus, I have to be honest, I do take some pride in knowing its my Mama milk helping him grow those delicious rolls.  Speaking of rolls, we've never had a baby with them before and we are just learning the importance of "roll management."  Apparently stuff can grow in those things!!!
oops.