Baby Steps & A Miracle

I believe that every child is a gift from God.

Psalm 127:3 (New Living Translation) "Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him."

And each gift is different.

Psalm 139:13 (NIV) "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb."

Sometimes these precious gifts face more challenges than others. Sometimes we are blessed with "easy" lives, good health, and financial stability. Other times we face challenges, poor health, a difficult economy, desert days.

My post today, "Baby Steps & A Miracle" is just that.

Baby is taking steps; lots of them! She started taking a step or two here and there about a month ago. Now she walks probably 50% of the time. She will often start crawling if she isn't going fast enough. Maggie's personality is blossoming. She is wild, and willful, and naughty; yet is also snuggly, lovey, and sweet. Isn't that beautiful? The joy and laughter she brings to our home is a blessing. Each new thing she does seems to be a miracle.

And now for the big miracle. Magdalena does NOT have Celiac Disease!! After much debating we had decided to get her tested. When my doctor's office called with the results I was stunned! Negative?? How could this be? In my mind, we were having her tested in order to confirm whether we would be doing this life-long gluten-free diet for our little girl. And we were totally willing to do it! We were dedicated to taking care of our child, regardless of what challenges that may entail. We were sure that she had Celiac Disease, and even a couple of months ago she ate something containing gluten that seemed to hurt her stomach (up all night crying).

There was still a chance that she could have a gluten-intolerance without having Celiac Disease. The way to know is to slowly start to re-introduce gluten into her system. We have done this for the past week (since getting her negative result) and she has been stomach-ache free! Praise God!! Maggie was always a good eater, but now she's even better! She doesn't want to have anything to do with her gluten-free food that we used to feed her!!

Trent says that she could have just out-grown it, but I disagree. I will give the credit to God for working yet another miracle in my little baby's life!

Philippians 4:4 (NIV) "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"

Two little Girls

I have been wanting to repaint the big girls' room for a long time. About 2 months before we found out we were pregnant with Anne we had just torn out the plaster from one wall and put up new drywall... and we painted the "spare room" blue. Well wouldn't you know it, a few months later found out we were pregnant, and a couple months after that, found out we were expecting our first daughter. Trent refused to repaint a room since it had perfectly good paint already on the walls. Well anyway, we had a problem with our furnace awhile back and it was putting black soot on all the walls. After we replaced the furnace we were slowly (as in years) repainting all the rooms in our house.

-Before-

I decided that the girls really ought to have a pink room, so I chose a lovely old-fashioned pink color called Rose Shadow or something like that.... We didn't purchase any new furniture or bedding. If we did I would have chosen something painted white, but that looked aged and a pretty patterned quilt with pinks and blues... maybe someday we'll get some furniture of our own.

-Priming-

Back in May we painted Anne and Abbey's room and I was very pleased with the result. The girls love it, it brightens the room, and they love showing people who come to our house their "new" room.

-Daddy succumbing to the fact that he has 3 daughters. Smiling as he paints with pink!-

-Still wet, but getting pink... the doors still need painted-

-Loving it!-

-With their beds together. They call this their "trundle bed" like in Little House on the Prairie. Their beds are no longer like this since it resulted in too much jumping on the beds while they were supposed to be sleeping.-

-My mom had got these cute owl stickers for Abbey so we were able to put those up on the wall with her help. The girls really enjoy them!-

As difficult as it can be at times to have Anne and Abbey sleeping in the same bedroom, I am so thankful that they are! The girls have an incredibly close bond. They have been asking when Maggie will be old enough to sleep in their bedroom with them. Even though we will hopefully be moving to a bigger house next year, I love the idea of the three girls sleeping together in one room. Bunk beds and a toddler bed? Why not!?

40 Years!

On Sunday I had the privilege of preparing food to celebrate my mother and father-in-law's 40th wedding anniversary. I was a little worried that it would get stressful since I was taking all the food to their home, but it turned out very well. I did most of the prep-work on Saturday, then Sunday after church and we got the girls down for their naps I headed down to their home to make the salad and get everything situated. It didn't take me as long as I expected so I had plenty of time to relax before Trent arrived with the girls. Our little party consisted of the honored guests, Don & Diane Hess, and their three boys, (Troy, Todd, and Trent) Todd's girlfriend Sarah, and then myself and our three girls. It was nice to all be together for this special occasion.

I have a lot of appreciation for marriages that are life-long. Far too often we see broken families, divorces, and hurting children as a result. I was reading my Bible today and I read these verses:

Malachi 2:13-15 "Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, "Why?" It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth."

I think many of us know people who have divorced and have not produced godly offspring. Obviously, this is not always the case. But what I infer from this text is that godly children are more likely to result when a married couple is together as ONE. And when they commit themselves in flesh and spirit to the LORD first.

The other day when I was talking with Anne we were sharing how much we love each other. And out of nowhere she said, "But Mommy, I love Jesus even more than I love you!" And I was so excited! This is something that took me YEARS to understand. How can I love God more than I love my mom? Or more than Trent? But this little three - almost four - year old gets it! Praise God!

So, thank you, Don and Diane, for showing your boys (and me!) what 40 years of commitment is like. Maybe you had rough times in the mix, but you stuck it out, you remained faithful to God and to your marriage vows. Lord willing we will be celebrating your 50th and 60th!