Celebration of Motherhood

Yesterday I went to a double baby shower, though it wasn't called a baby shower. Instead they called it a celebration of motherhood and that is exactly what it was. The women that hosted had set up beautiful and elegant decorations and at each place setting was a small booklet of papers full of wonderful prayers, reminders and encouragement for us women as mothers. It was great.
After eating we played games, but not the traditional games. We had charades and karaoke. Now there is just something crazy about getting up and jamming to a round of Funkytown on the karaoke machine at a baby shower, but it was tons of fun.
But what I want to mention was the charades game. The topics for the charades were all baby activities. The first one was "burping a baby", then they got more involved as you picked from the cup. One woman got " nursing a baby in a crowded library". Another got "struggling with the baby while trying unsuccessfully to get your husband's attention to come and help you" It was hilarious. After a number of these funny but true multitasking charades, it was my turn again and I got "changing a diaper". Relieved that it was an easy one, I acted it out and said "that was all?" Another women wisely pointed out that it doesn't always have to be difficult... sometimes changing a diaper is just changing a diaper and we don't need to worry about the ten other things that need done or that we are trying to accomplish. Sometimes just being in the moment with that one task is all we need, to remember that we are blessed with this time to be mothers. In the chaos that is my house some days, I need to stop and breathe and take things one task at a time, enjoying the moments of feeding, burping, reading, singing and yes even changing a diaper.

Actual Snow in Tennessee

Well, the weatherman finally got one right. We got quite a bit of snow and ice here in Nashville and the pictures to prove it. Last night and today the boys went out to sled and found the street a complete sheet of ice. With no cars able to travel the road it made for perfect sledding. They started at the top of the street and would make it down about 6 houses, it was awesome. I think Christopher might have enjoyed it more than Ristow. They had such a fun time and the ice made the sled go pretty fast. Ristow had a look of excitemnt and fear as he went speeding by me. I think that feeling is what bloys of all ages crave. It was great to watch.

Today Jessica is 8 weeks old and we bundled her up to partake in the snow day too. Since we don't get snow very often, it is a pretty big deal. She was so stinking cute in her little fuzzy outfit, our little snow bear.

Baby Smiles

Finally at 7 1/2 weeks old, Jessica is gracing us with her super cute smiles. I tell you, those smiles are a great reward for lack of sleep and all the hard work that babies are.

Chicken Butt Vs. The Bible

Today I took Ristow to the store with me and he was super cranky, so on the way home I tried to think of something to change the mood. I thought for a moment and snickered to myself and said "Ristow....know what? ... Chicken butt!" Well, that is all is took and within seconds we were both laughing and coming up with more great "know what" answers.
Then at dinner tonight Ristow tells his dad the great new saying he learned today, with more giggling. A few minutes later he says "Want to hear the bible verse I memorized?... may the words of my mouth be pleasing to you God, Psalm 19:14" We were so proud of Ristow being able to memorize scripture.
But then I say to Christopher "Great, I am teaching him chicken butt and he is learning bible verses"
Christopher says "it's ok, that's why we are sending him to school!"
I don't think that "chicken butt" jokes bring God great pleasure and joy but I do believe that He is pleased when we share love and laugh as a family, building bonds that will last a lifetime.

May the words of my mouth be pleasing to you God, help me to continue to use my words to build up and encourage others, to bring joy and to honor You. And thanks for letting us enjoy the occasional chicken butt joke too!

A Weekend of Love

This weekend held many things. It brought the 10yr anniversary of my marriage to my amazing husband, it brought visiting college friends, and it brought much laughter and lots of love!

First, I cannot believe that it has been 10 yrs since Christopher and I got married. It has been a wonderful time full of many great adventures. The latest one, the birth of Jessica, we are still adjusting to and learning to truly enjoy. She has expanded our love to yet another dimension. It is wonderful to see how God has blessed our family and our marriage.

Then descended the girls......

Christopher was a champ this weekend as 3 of my college girlfriends came to visit. He let us overrun the house and he wrangled Ristow all weekend. It was wonderful. It was such a great time of love and care for one another as women and as mom's. It was the perfect girl's weekend, we did tons of girl stuff.....from dying hair to eating brownies and ice cream while watching chic flicks to getting tattoos and drinking margaritas. These women are so important to me and provide a type of fellowship that is nourishing to my heart. All women need women in their life that they can lean on and cry with and laugh with and support. I am convinced of the importance of this daily, and thankful for the provision of these women in a time when I really needed them.

God has blessed me greatly.

Tabby brought her 9 week old son Jaylen with her and it was neat to see all the differences and similarities between him and Jessica.

Little Warrior

This morning I was awakened by a fearsome sight. Warrior Ristow, as I would come to learn, was showing me his mighty display of camouflage power. He had gotten into my make-up bag while I was sleeping and used mass quantities of my eye shadow to create his disguise.

I had no idea how to respond, just waking up and all. I explained the misuse of my makeup was inappropriate and then to my dismay he asked for his own makeup. Luckily he wanted his own makeup to use for warrior paint and not a show girl disguise instead ;)

After slathering his face with ponds cream, we got cleaned up and ready for school, of course we were late as I had not factored makeup removal into my morning schedule. Ristow always provides interesting parenting experiences!

Christmas

We had a most blessed Christmas this year. While it was our first time as a family of four it was also our first Christmas just our little family at our house. We had a lovely time with friends on Christmas Eve day and enjoyed church in the evening. Then to have Santa visit our own house and put out cookies and carrots for him and then to see the presents in the morning was truly magical for my five year old son. This year Ristow asked Santa for an electric train set. He was so excited to see it set up around the tree Christmas morning. We had a relaxing day together playing and resting, it was great. We are thankful for Christopher's parents who were able to join us the next day and spend the weekend with us. We had a great visit with them. The last night they were here we spent at my mom and dad's eating a great dinner and watching our dad's battle it out playing Wii. It was a fun way to end our Christmas family time. We did however deeply miss those family that we were not able to see this year and plan on making every effort to see them soon. Much love!