Seasons

1There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

2a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

9What does the worker gain from his toil? 10I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

There are seasons in life, there are seasons in mother hood.  This is reality. Some are seasons like spring, full of hope and promise, warm breezes and scented blossoms.  In other seasons, the hope is buried beneath a blanket of snow.  It's still there, but a little harder to find.  For me these seasons are the fog of pregnancy and newborns.  There are joys and treasures, but sometimes the overwhelming nausea, crazy hormones and sleepless nights tend to dim my eyes to the eternal realities.  And yet in these times, I cling to the knowledge that God is good, God is working, and this is a season intended for my best, that I might revere Him.
And then the baby turns 6 months, and the scent of blossoms are in the air again.  The realities that I knew were there, those branches that were laying dormant are bearing fruit, and the joy is brimming at the surface again.  We are in a very good season right now, rich and full.  And while I know that there will be difficult seasons again, I praise God that through these ups and downs He endures forever, and is opening my eyes to a rhythm that will make winter not seem forever.  I praise God that he is awakening the hearts of my littles, and we're beginning to see fruit.  I praise God that he is awakening my heart to more truths and realities.  And I am thankful.  For my winters and springs and seasons between.

Deja vue

 Levi, my van buddy (trip to Canada 2012)

 Jessie my van buddy (trip to canada 2009)

Levi exersaucer 5 months

Jessie exersaucer 6 1/2 months

Jessie eating a spoon

Levi unimpressed about food (or the bib -gotta work on that :)

Three

After a delay due to illness, we finally celebrated this little girl turning three.

And celebrate we did!  Because as with life, Jessie doesn't do anything in half measures.  

She is our thunder and sunshine girl.  That first year was more full of thunder.  She was intense, and came home from the hospital not wanting to sleep.  She hated baby food, and nursed every 3 hours for the first year.

But there was also sunshine.  When she was three months old, we took her to San Diego, and got to enjoy a trip with just the three of us.  Here we're looking at the place we got engaged, while holding our third daughter.  What a blessing!

She LOVED being outside.  Going boating, sitting on the deck, watching the birds - she loves life!

Dinner times were not loved :)

But she has grown!  She's now in the 80th percentile for height, and loves descriptive words.  She's applying her 110% now to vocabulary and imagination.  She can't go to bed because she's "terrified of the giant skunk that is snuggled in my blankets and he doesn't want to share."  This statement turns into peals of laughter.  Kittens are "just so adorable."  And the dead fish yesterday was a huge highlight.  I needed to get it out of the tank before it, "faded into nothing."  She took apart my vacuum cleaner filters, washed them and replaced them when she was two.  She also threw a load of laundry in the washing machine and washed it on hot.

She could author a book entitled, "101 things to do while in a corner."

This is one talented, observant, imaginative little girl!

And I love her with my whole heart  - her zest for life, her persistence, her complete unfettered love, her infectious giggle.  She teaches me about characteristics of God, and how patient he is with his children.  God knew we needed Jessie in our family to balance out the 'by-the-book' older ones.  She teaches me to think outside the box and to be free with opinions and ideas.

I praise God daily for Jessie-Lynn Hope!

Blessings

This is what blessings looked like this morning.  A friend stopped by with sustenance.

And, knowing our daughters love of glitter and the outdoors, she made a sparkling snowman craft, "so the girls could make snowmen indoors."  

Smiles on the faces of little girls, a couple of lessons done, sun shining in the window, a little Levi who seems to have a very mild case of the flu, and almost a full night of sleep.  Last night we had our first real meal in a week, provided by another friend from church.  Saturday I had a smoothie dropped off by another friend, and our dinner tonight is a freezer meal from another friend.

We are blessed.  This church that God has called Francis too excels in loving each other in a million practical ways.  We got a glider rocker for Levi's birth.  Francis' well worn/falling apart/favorite bible was just sent away to be recovered in calfskin. 

None of this is organized, and I remember in one of the first phone interviews asking what the dynamics of the church were like, and one of the guys said that his wife wasn't feeling well, and they had 3 meals at their door within 24 hours.  This is just what they do, who they are.

And now we get to be blessed by it!  What a wonderful picture of abundant generosity and 'one-anothering' looks like.  It can't help but snowball into contagious generosity, abundant grace.

We are thankful.

Flu central

This is our current situation.  Do we look a little desperate?

Well, we are!  So far 5 out of 6 have fallen, starting with Francis.

Levi is the only one standing strong, but it looks like he might be coming down with it, and let me tell you, it is miserable!  High fevers, body aches, painful coughs, and the chills have led to more watching TV in the last 7 days than in the previous 6 months!  Jack has eaten numerous cough candies, and seems to like them.  Jessie's birthday cake remained untouched in the fridge for almost a week.

My chalk board looks like a medication record.  Our nights are like a night shift, and meals have been slim to nil.  On the plus side, our grocery budget was nil, although I think the med purchases may have balanced it out.

Jessie is feeling better, though, and is walking around chanting, "Don't touch Levi's toys.  Don't touch Levi."  Now if the rest of us could summon enough energy to keep up with her...

Illness with a infant in the house is always a lesson in fear and faith.  Before Levi even gets it, I've got him hospitalized with influenza A, childcare arrangements made for the girls, and plan x, y, z.  Fears of sepsis, intubation and shock can parade around my mind unless I start talking truth to myself.

  

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." Mt 6:34

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you O LORD, make me dwell in safety." Ps 4:8

"I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from?  My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip- he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you -  the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.  

The LORD will keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121

And then I can sleep in peace and rest.