My Ministry

The other day I had an epiphany.  I was at our Young Adult Group, that Josh leads and I was in the basement of the church, again trying to get Amelia to go to sleep so that I could go upstairs and be a part of the Bible study discussion.  This had happened several weeks in a row and I was getting frustrated that I spent most of my time downstairs trying to get Amelia to stop crying.  Thankfully we drove separately because I ended up leaving since she was so tired, but wouldn't fall asleep and was crying.  She cried all the way home until we walked through the door.  I took her to change her into a new diaper and pajamas and she let out a relieved sounding sigh, as if to say, "Ah, finally home and cozy."

After I put her to bed, I had my realization.  She just wanted to be home, understandably so, since it was past her normal bedtime.  She wanted to be free to squeal and even cry.  She didn't want to be sleeping in the church basement by herself (yes I had the monitor upstairs).  I had gotten a bit frustrated with her not cooperating, when it was completely not her fault.  She was just being a baby and wanted to be home at bedtime.  I was the one trying to make it work because I wanted to be involved in the discussion upstairs.

Then I thought about how we could get the neighbors to babysit her...every Thursday...and sometimes of Sunday nights when we have another group...  But wait, what does shipping her off to the neighbors tell her?   It would tell her that church activities are more important than she is.  Then realized that God has not called me to lead Young Adults.  He has called me to lead Amelia.  She is my full time ministry and I truly enjoy leading her because God has called me to it and it comes naturally.  I decided that most nights I won't go to the Bible study because it's stressful for both me and her and it's not what God has called me to do during this season.  Yes, I will have to sacrifice something small like not being a part of a discussion but the reward will be so much greater.  I want Amelia to know that she's not last on the priority list.  She is number 3.  God first, marriage second and her third.  I was telling Josh the other day that I feel like I work more now that I didn't when I was "working" full time.  Now my job and ministry are one, and I do it at all hours of the night and day.  It's the best job God's given me yet! ;)  She's pretty awesome!

Now she's starting to get a little more personality!  She's been testing the volume of her voice and squealing quite loudly.  She also does this strange fake cough and sneeze thing to try to get my attention, haha.  I think she's figured out that she can do cough and sneeze and it practicing that aspect of her voice.  She also has a goofy little side smirk that I love!  She's rolling over now and on her way towards sitting up!

Christmas Tree "Hunting"

 

Well...you only think you know the story about this Christmas tree hunt!  We bundled up (although it wasn't really that cold) and piled in the truck.  This is quite a feat because to fit Amelia in the car seat in the truck, the passenger seat has to be tilted forward, which means I have to practically hug Josh from the middle bench seat while he drives.  Amelia wasn't real fond of her snow suit so by the time we got to the farm she was crying and sweaty, hah.  We had only taken out $60 from the bank, thinking this would be more than enough.  When we got to the farm, the trees were $70!!  For one short little tree!  So in order to pretend like we were good parents, we took a picture with the tree and turned right around.  We ended up "hunting" for our tree at Lowes and it was only $26!  Then we went out to dinner with some of the money we saved, haha!  Well at least we had the tree cutting experience, we just didn't end up with a tree (from there anyway!).  Our cheap Lowes tree looks pretty good in our living room!  Sorry Amelia, you have two frugal parents...

2 months old!

Can't believe that Amelia is already 2 months old!  I was just thinking today that it seems like so long ago that we brought her home from the hospital and swaddled her every night.  From the time she was born she can now:

Smile when you talk to her
Grab your finger (my hair!)
Hold her head up almost all on her own
Sleep 6 hours at a time (most nights)
She notices and smiles at Jumanji, our dog
She is up to 5 oz. of milk at feeding time
Look at the pictures when Daddy reads to her
Loves bath time!

She's been going to physical therapy for her neck because one side of her neck was stronger than the other and this was causing her to look more frequently to one side.  We've been doing lots of stretches and she's not that fond of stretching out her neck.

She also has been having so much gas, that causes her pain after she eats.  The doctor says we may need to switch formula again since the gentle kind didn't help her.  It's hard to watch her be in pain and not be able to help.

Tonight all the neighbors are coming over for our Michigan Blvd Bash :)  We're having a potluck at our house to get everyone together.  We have an awesome neighborhood!  Of course they all want to see and hold Amelia.  We think of her as our little ministry.  We are praying for more and more opportunities for her and us to share Jesus with our community.

 Here she was at 5 days old

 Amelia was Wonder Woman for Halloween! -7 Weeks old

Finding my Worth as a Stay at Home Mom

Figuring out the definition and application of being a Stay at Home Mom has been a little more of a transition than I thought it might be.  Amelia was born a week after school started.  I didn't notice myself missing school the first week because I was already a week overdue and about to pop!  After she was born though, and Josh went back to teach at his school, the strange feeling set in.  I was missing the start of a school year.  My career as a teacher has been put on hold and instead I was home to take care of an infant.  It felt like I lost my whole identity and gained a new one, all in a matter of weeks.  Josh would ask me what I did each day and my list consisted of changing countless diapers, feeding Amelia bottles, cleaning the house and cooking.  These things seemed so mundane and meaningless.  I told him that because I wasn't "working" I felt like I wasn't intelligent anymore and was kind of useless.  What are changing diapers and feeding bottles doing to make any difference in the world?  When I was teaching, I saw results of the change I was making in those students.  Then God reminded me that if I didn't feed and change Amelia, she would die!  Though it doesn't seem real impactful at the time, I am showing her that she's loved by doing those things.

Today I read a few blog posts about finding worth as a Stay at Home Mom and found so much encouragement. One blog said:

"By the world's standards, it might not seem as though we have accomplished much. However, the world's standards don't apply to the profession of motherhood. In this profession, the little things are the big things: snuggling an infant, playing peekaboo, changing diapers, nursing, giving a bottle, attending tea parties with dolls, driving trucks in the sandbox, playing catch in the backyard, having a snack on the porch, listening to the saga of a teenage breakup, picking up a sick child from school … the list goes on and on. These are the accomplishments of motherhood. They can't be checked off a list. They don't earn you a raise. They are rarely measurable. But they matter a lot.

You and I can't look for our sense of accomplishment on a daily basis. We have to look for it over the long haul … that's about 18 years or so. What I do today does matter, but it might not be noted or valued for a long time. A woman in the profession of mothering serves and cares for her family as an extension of her relationship with God: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these…you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). With that perspective, there are no menial tasks, there is much accomplishment and there is a higher sense of purpose. Understanding that perspective is the highest form of self-care there is."

Amelia Jane Andrews

Heading home from the hospital

Amelia's best friend, Jumanji

First doctor's visit

She (finally) arrived!  She was 7 days late, 8lbs 10oz and 20 inches long!  BIG girl!  She settled right into her new home :)  So far she's been a very easy baby!  She sleeps most of the time and only wakes up to eat three times per night.  We even slept in until 9:00 the other day!  Although, this could all change in a couple of weeks once she really wakes up, haha!

Jumanji wasn't too sure of his new family member at first...  He ignored her the whole first day.  Now though, he follows us around the house as we go to change her or feed her.  He likes to supervise :)  Whenever she cries, he whimpers too.  Now, whenever she makes a sound, he'll wander over to her and check on her to make sure she's ok.  It's pretty cute!

She had her first doctor's appointment yesterday and passed every test with flying colors :)  Can't wait for y'all to meet her!  More pictures to come!

Three More Weeks!

A lot has been going on this summer!!  Josh has been working a lot at the local golf course doing their grounds keeping for his summer job.  I taught summer school here in Allen Park for about a month and now we're just waiting for the baby to arrive!  I'm getting bigger each day!  Nothing fits anymore but there's not really any use buying clothes for just 21 more days.  I just wear skirts or dresses everyday because I don't have any pants or shorts that fit anymore :(

Josh refinished our hard wood floors a couple of weeks ago and they look great!  When we moved in last year, most of the floors were covered with yucky carpet and when we took the carpet out, the floors underneath were in really bad shape.  Now they are shiny and light and much, much cleaner! :)  I spend my days cooking, cleaning, taking walks, reading and pinteresting things about babies.  The closer we get to baby time the more we realize we have no idea how to care for an infant!  Thank goodness for the internet, haha.

We've got everything in Amelia's room set: crib, rocking chair, clothes, diapers, toys and all kinds of things.  My immediate family had a surprise shower for us at our family's campout, my school had a shower for me, Josh's family had a big shower for us and our church had a surprise one as well.  As far as we know, we truly have every single thing we need for this baby.  Friends and family have been SO generous!

Getting ready!

7 more days of school!  I was so blessed to have found a summer school job right in my neighborhood!  I wasn't able to find much of anything for the summer and then this Allen Park Summer School job just kind of ended up in my lap.  It's only about 20 days and ends in the middle of July (so I won't be too big yet).  Perfect!

89(ish) more days until Amelia arrives!  We have the crib, my mom painted the walls in the nursery and Josh's mom painted a tree mural on the wall.  Super cute!  We still have a long way to go, but it's been so fun getting her room ready.

We planted our garden last week.  We got a little carried away buying plants (got them all for just $20) and now our garden is nearly double the size of last years!  Ooops :)  That just means a lot more produce and a lot more weeding...  Things are going really well!