Milk

I really enjoy blogging, but it seems like most people (myself included) write about cute kids and happy times. When things are tough, I sometimes feel even more isolated because it seems like everyone else has it all together. Surely I am not the only who feels this way. In an effort to be transparent and real, here are some of the things that have been knocking around in my head lately: the good and the ugly. . .

Recently I had a revelation/ break down/ mother of two moment that ended in laughter. I was in the midst of sharing with Chad all of the things that have been on my heart lately that I never say. Mostly I was talking about not recognizing myself anymore. Somewhere between the extra baby weight that is hanging around my middle, the “mommy talk” that is eating my adult vocabulary, and the endless hours spent cleaning up poop and throw up and changing diapers and wiping snotty noses and nursing around clock, I stopped recognizing myself. Now don’t misunderstand, I LOVE my children, my husband, my job, my life. But at the end of the day, when I collapse into bed in oversized sweats, and think back on all I have done that day, it feels that any contributions I have made are relatively small. I was sharing all of this with Chad, and in the midst of pouring out my soul, I said in all seriousness, “I feel like all I am contributing to the world right now is milk!” Chad stopped me, had a good laugh, and decided that was his favorite new quote.

After some reflecting, I was reminded of Ecc. 3 “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. . .A time to be born, and a time to die. A time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to embrace and a time to refrain.. A time to be silent and a time to speak."

And here are a few that I’ve added that reflect my season: "A time to indulge and a time to sacrifice, a time to doubt and a time to have faith, a time to play and a time to discipline, a time for health and a time for sickness." I am looking forward to the time for dancing again! It must be just around the corner. . .

Speaking of sickness, one reason I have been discouraged is that our family has been SICK this winter. Since a few weeks before Thanksgiving to now, I think we have all been well at once only a couple of times. January has been exhausting—Pierson had RSV, Ava got pink eye in both eyes, then a cold, Chad and I both got nasty colds and now Chad has the stomach flu. Will we ever be well again? My body and my spirit are weary right now.

Still, I trust that God is involved in the details of our lives—even throw up and pink eye and sleeplessness.

On a lighter note, Ava still keeps us on our toes. My mom was watching her a few days ago for me, and she found Ava sitting facing the wall in the corner. When questioned about it, she said, “I made a pretend bad choice, so I put myself in pretend time out.” Wish she was as receptive to sitting in real time out!

Do blondes have more fun?

Ava came in wearing this wig the other day after it had fallen off of one of her dolls. She tried it on her unsuspecting brother, and we got a good laugh. The first thing Chad said when he saw these pictures is, "You're not going to put these on your blog, are you?" He thinks Pierson will not appreciate it when he's older. I can't help it. They make me laugh, so I have to share!

Happy New Year! Our internet and phone line have been down for about a week, and we just got a guy today to come and fix them. I have many more photos to post, but for today, I'll just share this one of little Pierson. What an expression! He looks like he's up to something.

We've had a good Christmas, but an exhausting one as well. We stayed in Abilene this year, which turned out to be a good thing because both of my kids got sick, and being sick at someone elses house is always tough. Ava just had fever and a cold for a few days, but Pierson's cold turned into an ear infection and an upper respiratory infection (some version of RSV.) We have been giving him breathing treatments every four hours, and have been quarantined to the house for a week now. I haven't felt like we've had much of a vacation. We all have cabin fever!

We did enjoy time with the Thompson family during Christmas, and Chad's mom came to visit for several days last weekend. Ava was so excited about Santa this year, and has loved playing with all of her new toys! As many new toys as she gets, I am always amazed that she ends up being the most content playing with random things around the house in creative ways. She is so into "pretend" these days. She spends most of her day pretending to be someone else. It cracks me up!

Ava's funny comment of the week was last night when she called me from the other room to say, "Mom, I don't have a care." Not sure what she was trying to say, I asked, "What do you mean by that?" " I just mean I don't have a plan." Good to know. My three year old doesn't have a care or a plan. Where does she get this stuff! Funny girl.

We'll keep you posted on Pierson's health as he continue to get better. I'll post more photos later. I'm just glad to have the internet back and be connected with the outside world again since I have been at home so much the last week!