Babies and the Path of Gratitude

Having a baby always looks glorious on the outside. We see the youtube videos of laughing babies, cute things they do, and even some seem like mini Einsteins.  Then there are the difficulities... the long nights, the continous spit-ups, food thrown everywhere, your schedule is never your own, you revolve it according to their naps, and so much more.  However, the one thing you will never catch me do is complain about ANY of these or anything else.

Tonight, while my husband was feeding our son after his bath, I was picking up his toys and putting them away. I stopped looked around, and smiled. I just looked and realized.... We... are... blessed! Many people can have a negative attitude about all the work it takes to raise a child. About how annoying it can be to have to pick up these toys over and over every night. How repetitive it feels to wash those teething toys continously because the dog fur just finds its way to it every moment of every day no matter how clean the house is, like a child to sugar.  Yet, I don't, and WON'T, go there. Because we are blessed.

We are blessed first and foremost to have a... no THIS... child. We are blessed with the love of each other to support one another and create such an amazing family dynamic where we communicate and respect each other. We are blessed to have the items we do that our little one loves to play with as well as the ones that keep him safe. We are blessed with all the clothing to dress him up. We are blessed with loving family and friends, near and far.  We are blessed with all the medical technology that was able to help our little one through his trials. We are blessed with books so we can read to him and he can tear and chew on pages, food to eat and he can throw and splash, bibs and burpclothes to catch all that spit up and create lots of laundry (and blessed with washer machine!). I could seriously go on forever.

My point being that as parents, we are supposed to be teaching our children morals, virtue, truth, goodness, and beauty. And yet, Isaac has been teaching me more than I ever thought he would in the almost 8 months he has been born... more if you count in utero.  And the lesson I have been learning of late is everything follows your attitude. If we look on life in a positive way, all follows so. If we choose to look at it negatively, we are doomed to follow that path.  I have chosen the path of gratitude. I hope you do also.

Easter Blessings

[Written Sunday... published late... oops!]

Happy Easter friends and family! What a glorious one it is! We just left from Mass and man, can I just say my jaw is still on the floor with how heavenly it was.  One thing I love about my faith is I don't rely just on the way Mass makes me feel or what I get out of it.  Mass is about what I give. I am there to give honor, glory, and praise to my Lord Jesus Christ who has broken the chains of hell and opened the gates of Heaven, for lil' ol' me.  And lil ol' you too.   To sing Glory to God for all his works is one of my favorite things Easter Day.  For those of you who don't know, we abstain from singing the Alleluia and the Gloria hymns at Mass all during Lent. Lent is a time of reflection and penance.  So Easter morning, those two hymns are always my favorite! I love to sing them loud and proud with all the angels and saints.

While sitting after Communion it was beautiful watching the packed Church going up to receive Our Lord in the Eucharist.  It was especially beautiful to see the effort families put into dressing up.  The little girls twirling in beautiful dresses were magical.  The environment (flowers, families, trumpet sounding, real pipe organ, etc) all contributed to me being able to direct my mind and heart to the Lord.  As well as Fr. Lankeit's amazing homily.  He spoke of the importance of a personal relationship with Christ.  And without that, no theology, no apologetics, nothing will convince another of what the Truth really is.  Of course, Fr. did a better job explains it! But it truly is a must listen! I posted the YouTube video of it here.  Fast forward to minute 22:00 to hear the homily.Sts. Simon and Jude Phoenix Easter Mass 2017

Not only have I experienced all of these blessings, but to have a little one this Easter is quite extraordinary also.  I can't explain the joy in my heart every time I look at Isaac. His personality blooms every day. As much as I love being a stay at home mom with him, I knew it was time for me to get out more and start working.  I began putting my feelers out and actually got a part time job at a crisis pregnancy center called First Way.  It truly is a blessing to be part of that team and the way God has worked everything out.

Today has been enjoyable. (I am just able to finish this at the end of the day). A day with my new family and some friends.  Building new traditions, and loving each other. Painting eggs, having friends over. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

                       

One month down, One and Half to go!

Our little man is 7 months old! Gosh time flies. I said I was going to do updates more often than this, but life is just so busy.  Anyhow, Isaac is doing well with the DOC band. We have had several appointments for growth adjustments. They shave some off from the inside back left and front right to allow for some more growth.  Since his flat spot was on the back right, they try to redirect the growth there.  Apparently he is progressing very well.

Isaac has also been continuing with swim class each week. He knows his cues for going under water! When I give him the cue he closes his eyes and mouth. It's adorable.  Clearly he is sitting up, and just the other day, going into his room I found him sitting up in his crib on his own! So he is getting to the point of getting to the sitting point on his own also.  When we leave his room he likes turning off the light switch, too.  

Solids have been a fun adventure! He has tried lots of foods! Avocados, rice, carrots, sweet potato, blueberries, butternut squash, asparagus, peanut butter, eggs, oranges, tuna... and lots more.  He's going to be quite the foodie! 

The most exciting latest development is how close he is to crawling! He scootches backwards, but also goes on all fours and rocks. He's so close!  And his little tooth is peaking out also. Finally! Something to show for all that screaming and pain!

As far as the rest of life, mom is on the job hunt for some part time stuff.  Dad is still a rockstar at everything he does ... being supportive and making/fixing things around.  I love the team we are.