The labor of love

I'm anxious to meet him.  My body is swollen, and I bear the weight of a blessing sent straight from heaven.  How blessed I am!!!  I am well aware that the "date" is nearly two weeks away, but something in me tells me I will see him sooner than that.  Something in my heart knows he's coming soon. 

I am anxious...."Do not be anxious about anything..."

"Be still, and know that I AM GOD"

I cling to the words in HIS book.  They are life...they bear life...this life. 

I drift off, but I wake before the sun.  Today is the day...I can feel it in the ache.  I begin the day, feeling like I know, but questioning myself.  As the minutes wear on, it becomes more clear.  The ache grows. 

I walk, and it surges; I sit in a tub and it courses.  It grows nearly unbearable, but I maintain composure.  I know HE has ordained these minutes.  It's only been 4 hard hours, and yet in some ways it feels like 4 days, and in other ways it feels like 4 minutes, and before I grasp the pain that courses through me like a tidal wave, I am looking into his eyes.

My thoughts are flying.  Thank YOU.  He's okay.  He's beautiful.  He's healthy.  He's perfect.  He is a gift straight from God.   Thank You! He is my flesh...He is his flesh...He is our flesh and our blood and our gift, and thankfullness overflows.

For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or I die.  Phil 1:20

The best gifts come in small packages!!!

Our little Lawson James arrived on December 30 at 7:55 pm.  (Daddy claims they got the time wrong...it was 7:54, he insists...so here we'll set the record straight.) at 7:54 pm.  He weighed 9 lb 5 oz, and was 21 inches long.  The best way to describe him, though...perfect!!!  God has been so good to us.

His name, although some might think it is odd....or unique is a word you might use if you were trying to be polite :), is special to us, as it was my Grandmother's maiden name.  James is my father's name.  We figured we give props to Dave's family with the last name :)

Aila's middle name, Ivy, is Dave's Grandmother's middle name.  We like trying to honor our family members with our name choices.

I will try to get a birth story posted soon, but we all know how reliable I am with my posting! :P  We'll see what happens.

So....without further adieu, here is our little man...

A few of my favorite things

So...obviously I'm a day late on this...and I've missed a few posts in between...give me a break!!!

1.  On Thursday night, Aila came in to our room at about 4 am.  She was half crying-half coughing, and she said, "Daddy!!!  I have a fever.  Can you wipe it?"  The kid cracks me up.  She also thinks you can "wipe off" hiccoughs. 

2.  On Saturday, when I got home from work, Dave told me that when they prayed before lunch, Aila said..."AND...thank you for Mama."  ...melting

3.  Every night when we go through our bedtime routine, we read 2 books, say our prayers, then usually Aila wants to rock.  Our rules for rocking are that eyes have to be closed.  She blinks furiously for about 3 seconds, then says, "I want to go back to my bed now."  A new addition to the routine, though, is that now, after I take her back to her bed, she wants me to sit with her...same rules apply...she lasts the same 3 seconds, then she says, "Can you go now?"...But wait...it's not over yet...then she wants me to stand in her doorway.  Same rules, same 3 seconds..."Mama, can you get out now? Nighty-night."

I love this kid! :) and I thank God for blessing our home with her presence.  What a gift she is!!!

A few of my favorite things

In the spirit of getting back into blogging, I'm going to try to do some new things.

Mondays, I just decided (because today is Monday), I will mention a few little blurbs about our week that I just loved!

So...

This last week, Aila said, "Mama, you are my best friend." (cue melting heart)

I pray this doesn't change.  It is a fear I've had since I first knew we were having a daughter.  I remembered my teenage years and how I didn't get along very well with my mother.  I remembered how many hurtful things I said and did to my mother, but mostly, I remember, at times, wishing my mother would just "back off".  (I'm so sorry, Mom!!!)  I don't ever want my baby to feel that way about me!!!  Hopefully, we'll be best friends forever!!!

Oh be careful little mouth

I can hear my precious little angel playing with her toys.  "She's so sweet", I think to myself as I walk by her room and see her patting Curious George on the back and comforting him from whatever had upset him.  I continue walking on to the kitchen to begin preparing dinner, but midway on my journey, I hear something terrible! 

WHAT was THAT???

I'm confused.

I hear it again. 

I turn and head back to the angel's room but I don't get very far before I see her putting George in the corner...."her" corner.  Her tone of voice is not what I would describe as beautiful.

"What did George do?" I ask.

"He was being very naughty."

"Ok, but what did he do to deserve his punishment?"

"He was being VERY naughty."

At this point, I explain to the little angel how important it is, when someone gets in trouble that their Mama or Daddy explain to them why they got in trouble, so they can learn to not do it again.  She shrugs me off.  I reiterate myself.  She shrugs me off again.  I finish by telling her to be nice to George.

I begin heading back to the kitchen. 

THERE is that awful sound again.  She is YELLING at George, and it sounds like she is chanelling a monster! 

Suddenly it dawns on me.....

Oh, Lord???  That's not what I sound like is it????  And the light clicks on.  We do alway have a "talk" after Aila gets in trouble about what she had done that was naughty, but do I ever question myself for the way I talk to her while she is in trouble?  No.  I DIDN'T, anyway.  I will now.  I had always thought that I was just talking louder so she could hear me over her crying/screaming/tantrum throwing.  Hmmm...now this doesn't seem like such a good idea.  I guess I wasn't giving her enough credit.  Even in her fits, she was paying attention to my every move and learning from me. 

My conclusion...work on it....

and....

kids are scary! :) 

A friend of mine recently posted on her blog about how she was striving to love her children in the spirit.  1 Corinthians 13 is the perfect place for me to start trying to correct some of what I've been doing wrong.

"Love is patient and kind.  Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  Love does not demand its own way.  Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged."  1 Cor 13:4,5