April 3, 2011, at 10:27 pm | As I round the bend into this last month of pregnancy, I’m trying to check off the remaining items on my to-do list. I’m enjoying the process of setting up the nursery, since I didn’t have the pleasure of doing so with the twins (our families kindly painted, decorated and organized it for me while I was hospitalized). The nursery is pretty well stocked with diapers, wipes, blankets, sheets, and those types of items. But, as of a few days ago, I hadn’t yet filled the dresser drawers with clothes. Part of the reason was because I needed to go through the girls’ old clothing and see if I had any gender-neutral items I could use again. I finally remembered to have Jim take the boxes down from the basement shelves, and I spent a long time sorting through the newborn, 0-3 and 3-6 month items. I came away from this nostalgic experience with a few impressions:
1) Our friends and family were amazingly generous with their gifts and hand-me-downs. I honestly don’t think I bought a single item of clothing for the girls in their first six months of life.
2) People really like to shop for twin girls. There’s just something enchanting about buying matching frilly outfts.
3) I can’t believe my girls were ever so little. I kept holding up those preemie and newborn outfits and shaking my head in disbelief.
4) I’m so thankful I had one baby shower prior to announcing we were expecting girls last time. The green and yellow sleepers are going to be put to good use this second time around.
5) It seems so silly to put all these perfectly good clothes back into boxes because they’re pink and purple. It wouldn’t be that bad to dress our son in a few flowery onesies, now would it? (Jim, don’t answer that).
After I filled a big basket full of the girls’ clothes that I can use for the baby, I realized I still needed to go through all the newly-purchased items to remove the tags and wash them. But I balked. I couldn’t do it. Right now, I have all the adorable new clothes that we’ve received from friends and family folded and sorted by size, but they still have the tags on. It’s not that I expect to return these items. I’m not really worried or anxious about the health of the baby; I’ve actually felt quite relaxed during this pregnancy, an attitude which has surprised me most of all. But there’s something so final and certain and confident about washing new baby clothes, as if I’m counting my chicken before he hatches, so to speak.
But I keep reminding myself that it’s really no different than removing the tags from my own new clothes, or from Becky and Susie’s clothes. None of us, no matter how old or young, are guaranteed to be around tomorrow to wear those new outfits. The Bible says, “…You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Yet despite this uncertainty about the brevity of life, none of us are called to be paralyzed with fear, but rather to ensure that we are prepared for eternity and then to go about our lives here serving the Lord and trusting Him. I need to trust that He knows what’s best for me and for my family, and will do all things for His glory and our edification.
So, as I begin to fill the drawers with newly washed baby clothes, I can rest assured that just as I am providing for the needs of my son, the Lord is providing for the needs of His children. I am washing my son’s clothes in preparation for earthly life, and the Lord has washed away my sins in preparation for eternal life. I don’t know how long any of us will spend here on earth, but I know that those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb will spend forever with the Lord.
April 1, 2011, at 11:39 pm | A predicted snowstorm thankfully fizzled out today, leaving us with only a little bit of rain on this first day of April. I was so happy that we weren’t ankle-deep in snow that I refused to spend the afternoon inside. So despite the still-chilly temperatures, I told the girls we were heading outside for a bit of adventure. We started out looking for rain puddles to jump in.
But we didn’t manage to create any exciting splashes, so we moved on to the few remaining snow piles we could stomp on.
But the snow was rather anti-climactic, so we continued our quest deeper in our back yard. We shuffled through wet leaves, hopped over fallen trees, and looked for something – anything – that was exciting.
We finally stumbled upon (literally) a series of mud puddles and we knew we had finally reached our destination. This was what we had been searching for: wet, gooey, filthy, glorious mud.
I’m learning that an adventure’s not worth having unless it necessitates doing an immediate load of laundry.
Here’s a glimpse of the girls enjoying their stomping grounds:
I hope your day was filled with adventure, with or without laundry detergent!
March 31, 2011, at 9:30 pm | Didn’t you know that cowlicks are now the “in” hair-do?
At least, that’s what I’m telling Becky.
(I’m just glad she’s not imitating Dennis the Menace’s challenging behavior, given her propensity to copy his hairstyle!)
March 30, 2011, at 10:43 pm | 
One more month to go! April 30th is just around the corner!
“Hey, little guy. Snuggle in for four more weeks, OK? No more preemies for me!”
March 29, 2011, at 9:51 pm | You know spring is overdue when the kids beg to go outside and eat at the picnic table in breezy 40 degree weather.
Notice I took this picture from inside the house. I’ll let them experience the fresh air for me.
March 28, 2011, at 9:46 pm | I gave Susie pig-tails in her hair for the first time today. She was very proud of her new ‘do.
Susie: “Yook! I’m sooo bwootiful.”
Susie: “See Becky? See?”
Becky: “Ooh. Very nice.”
(What I can only imagine Becky was thinking: “Very nice for pulling, that is. This is too easy!”)
March 27, 2011, at 9:51 pm | Once upon a time, many years ago, Jim’s life revolved around a little girl. And her trampoline. When he would get home from work in the summertime, Jim and this little girl would spend nearly every evening jumping and flipping together in the backyard. Nothing made him happier than seeing her laugh when he would throw his body weight into the center of the trampoline, catapulting her little body (safely) into the air.
Now, that little girl isn’t so little anymore. His niece Allison is nearly all grown up, a fifteen-year-old living with her family in Arizona. So, for seven years now, he’s been without his trampoline buddy. And his trampoline.
Until now.
When we bought our house last summer, the previous owners offered to leave their old trampoline in the yard, free of charge. I was tempted to tell them to simply dispose of it before we took ownership of the property, but Jim was excited about the prospect of future trampoline fun. So we accepted their offer, but for whatever reason, never even tried out the trampoline. It was soon covered with the leaves of fall, and then the snow of winter. But yesterday while he was doing yard work, Jim must have sensed that a new trampoline season was in the air. He walked inside the house with a big grin and asked the girls if they wanted to join him outside. They were ecstatic, and after we bundled them up, they eagerly headed toward the giant contraption in the yard. But once we picked them up and set them inside, Becky had a change of heart. My little adventure-seeker was not so keen about feeling the floor bend and sway under her feet. She screamed in panic and begged to be held. Jim picked her up and assured her that jumping was fun, but she was not going to be convinced.
After a while, she consented to sit on her daddy, but she wouldn’t set foot back on the net. Susie, on the other hand, decided that she loved the weightless, buoyant trampoline experience, and was all too happy to bounce in circles around her sister and dad.
Becky soon joined me on terra firma and we let Susie and Jim do all the jumping.
They had a blast bouncing away, and I think I saw a youthful giddiness in Jim’s step as he once again enjoyed seeing a beloved child delight in the simple pleasures of a trampoline.
March 25, 2011, at 11:00 pm | As an avid reader myself, nothing makes me happier than seeing my girls enjoy a good book. However, sometimes they “enjoy” their books with a rougher touch than I would like. It’s a pretty frequent occasion in this house to hear a telltale rrrrippp sound, followed by an “Oops!” and then a “Mommy, fix it with tape!” (The girls think Scotch Tape is equivalent to miracle glue, by the way; they expect tape to fix broken dolls, toys, crayons, etc.).
For the vast majority of our book collection, I don’t mind sacrificing a page or two on behalf of their literary pursuits. However, there is one book that I rarely let them handle because of its age and its importance to me: A 1961 edition of The Little Engine That Could.
It was given to me by my maternal grandfather when I was two years old, and it includes an inscription from him (the smudges you see in the picture are my efforts to obscure our last names for security purposes). I just love his handwriting. Because he passed away early in my childhood, I don’t have many things to remember him by, so this book is especially precious to me. I can’t thank my Gramma enough for saving it for me and my kids!
The other night, Jim got out the book to read to the girls. I can just imagine my Grandpa reading it to me and later on, my sister, with the same love and affection in his voice.
I love the classic illustrations, as well as the classic message of the book.
I haven’t been feeling well physically these last few days, and I’ve needed to remind myself of the Little Engine’s persistence and fortitude. Whenever I feel like I’m chugging up a hill with a heavy load (or a heavy belly), I hope I can echo the words, “I think I can. I think I can!” And I know, that when my strength fails me, as it always will, I have my Lord and Savior to lean on. His blessed words are even sweeter to my soul: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
March 23, 2011, at 10:00 pm | The other night the girls and I were driving home from running errands and I spotted the lights of a police car who had pulled someone over to the side of the road. I figured this was as “teachable” a moment as any, and I asked the girls if they knew what police officers did. When I didn’t hear a response, I informed them that it was the police’s job to discipline people who have done something wrong, like broken the rules of the road.
When we came upon the scene and the girls saw the blue and red flashing lights for themselves, I heard one of them mutter in the backseat:
“Uh oh…someone’s getting a bare bum fankin’ (spanking)!”
If only all the wrongs in the world could be righted by a well-timed swat to the rear!
March 22, 2011, at 10:23 pm | I may not be the world’s thriftiest individual, but as far as I know, I have never literally thrown money down the drain.
I can’t say the same for my daughters.
Yesterday, I noticed my garbage disposal was making an awful racket and I asked Jim to look at it when he came home from work. He obliged and rummaged his hand around in the drain for a few minutes and then looked up in surprise and informed me, “There’s a coin in there.” It dawned on me that the girls had been playing with a few nickels out of my wallet earlier in the evening, and when I asked them to clean up the family room before bedtime, in all probability, one of them tossed the coin in the sink in an effort to quickly rid the area of toys. After all, they see me throw all manner of food and dishes into the sink. Why not money?
We were able to remove the offending nickel from the drain, and although it’s a bit worse for wear thanks to the garbage disposal’s valiant destructive efforts, I believe it’s still usable.
I didn’t think I was going to have to start teaching the girls the value of money until later on in life. I guess I better get started, or else risk having larger denominations flushed down the toilet!
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ABOUT US I'm blessed to be saved by the grace of God, loved by my wonderful husband Jim, and embraced by my twin girls, Rebecca Faith and Susanna Joy and my sons Jimmy and Danny. I started this blog in May 2008 when I was hospitalized for pre-term labor at 24 weeks gestation. The Lord allowed me to keep the girls inside until they were 34 weeks along, and on July 27th, Rebecca made her debut, followed by Susanna, five minutes later, on July 28th. We ecstatically welcomed Jimmy into our lives on April 25th, 2011, and Danny on August 31, 2012. This blog has been a personal journal of faith and motherhood and the only way I can remember which child did what and when. Thanks for stopping by to share in my Faith and Joy! Feel free to e-mail me at: [email protected]. |
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