Legit Thumb Sucking

I just had to post these pics real quick.

This is how I found Enoch at the end of his nap just now... Loudly smacking on his THUMB.. That's right, his thumb. All other fingers and hand parts excluded, just the thumb. And apparently it was quite tasty because he let me take my time in 'rescuing' him. ;)

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Merry CHRISTmas!!!

I just wanted to type a quick update for all of our family who we won't get to see tomorrow for Christmas. For the past few weeks, we have been busy but still doing well. I took a break from blogging so much just to try and keep our family and house running more smoothly. After the beginning of January, I hope to start blogging more again, but it may be February before the posts become regular again because Hugh has a lot of things leading up to the end of January.

Anyway, Enoch has continued growing and is interacting more everyday. {so fun!} We recently bought him a jumperoo (it looks like a pony) so that he has a place to practice using his feet, and let me just say that he has officially found his feet/legs! He loves to kick and squirm more than ever now! Here are a few pictures:

"Wow! What is this thing, mom??"

"I dunno, but I sure do love bouncing in it!"

And a video that shows how much he just LOVES to kick during diaper changes:

And another video of him playing yesterday:

That's all for now on updates, but I did want to encourage all of you to read the narrative of Jesus birth. Such a great reminder of all the miracles involved with Jesus' birth as well as the ultimate reason that He had to come to earth.. to make atonement for our sin. I hope you will join us in praising God for the gift of His son as you celebrate Christmas.

Merry CHRISTmas!!!!!

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Article on Advent

I just read this great article from World Vision about Advent. Definitely a good read:

http://www.worldvisionacts.org/real_advent

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Exercising

No, not me... I will begin my own exercising soon, but I haven't really felt up to it yet since I consider building my mommy muscles enough of a work out for now. ;D

Actually though, Enoch has been exercising... We've been practicing sitting up and standing up. No good pictures this time of standing up, but here are a few of him sitting up.

Such a handsome big boy.

Usually, I hold his hands when we do this during our play time, but Hugh thought it would be fun to try it without holding his hands...

That's why it's good for little boys to have daddies. :)

I love the way Enoch is looking at Hugh in these two- making sure that Daddy's got him. So sweet.

And of course, Hugh has also been exercising a bit too...

We like to call these daddy pushups ;)

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Decision Making

So today has been a little different than normal... First of all, I didn't give Enoch his normal bath this morning before bible study. The neckrolls weren't reeking, the hair wasn't too oily, nothing was built up behind the ears. He was pretty much still clean. So no bath. Decision made.

Then, when he slept through the 1st half of bible study and ate through the 2nd half, I decided that the timing would be perfect for making a quick w-mart trip while he napped. And it was. (This has been about the only good decision so far.)

After we got home, little man was so hungry that I left the groceries in the car in order to feed him faster. I mean technically it IS colder outside than it is in my fridge, so you could say that I was saving energy, which would've been a half way good decision, but I didn't actually decide to do it for that reason, so it doesn't count.

Anyway, after I fed Enoch and got him asleep in the big boy crib, I decided to unpack the mom van so that I didn't leave the groceries in there overnight accidentally (though that would have really saved us some energy). On the last trip in I accidentally slammed the door, and since little man isn't quite so used to the big boy crib, it startled him out of sleep. Then he realized where he was- alone on a hard mattress staring at the bars in his jail cell, or at least that's what his cries sounded like he had realized. So since it was basically time for him to eat again, I decided to rescue him (that's what Hugh & I like to call it).

Groceries on the table.

Mom to the rescue.

Eating great.

Falls asleep.

Enter the usual diaper change that wakes him up so that he can finish the other half of his meal and then play... only not so usual.

When I took off his diaper, I noticed that he had pooped. This was so relieving because he hadn't had much diaper action all morning, which was a little concerning since he has just started sleeping through the night and diaper action is one way to tell that little man is still getting enough to eat. So concerned mom is no longer as concerned. Whew! :)

WARNING:: the faint of heart should stop reading now....

So as I started wiping his butt, a few farts came out. Not wet ones though, so I was safe.

Throw the wipe awayand put the new diaper down, just in time for a few wet ones. Wet farts usually mean poop, so I grabbed a cloth wipe to clean up the mess and "catch" whatever else came out. As soon as I put the cloth wipe in place, sure enough he fired out a shot of poop. Poop that the wipe caught though, so the new diaper was still clean. Success.

BUT... not even a split second after the shot of poop, a fountain of pee shot 10" up and started spraying everything in sight. Shirt, diaper, legs, feet, changing pad, everything.

You know how when something unexpected happens and it takes you a few seconds to respond? Yeah, it happens to me too. I finally pulled the other end of the diaper up and over the fountain to stop it, thus ruining the new diaper I had been trying to salvage. :)

When I thought it was safe, I pulled the diaper back to survey the damage. Not too bad... definitely makes a concerned mom feel much better...

BAM- another shot fired. Much bigger this time though. All concerns about diaper action have now been washed away as far as the Mississippi. Now I just need to figure out how to recover. Oh, but wait, another fountain.

This is what remained...

So at this point I decided that there is no recovery other than a bath. Unfortunately, we're in the mid-feeding diaper change, so little man is still hungry. Plan: diaper, eat, bath, clothes, nap, groceries.

Sounds oh-so simple.

I decided to throw a tiny cloth diaper on little man "just in case" (saving the big ones that we're actually using for later). After about 2 minutes of Enoch chowing down, I realize that the tiny cloth diaper really doesn't cover all that much.

Oh well, that's okay. Surely he just pooped & peed everything out of his not-so-tiny body.

NOT.

Sure enough, he peed right through that cloth diaper onto the blanket I had him semi-wrapped in and onto my jeans. :(

But then he gave me this face and everything was okay...

After eating, I readied the babytub, filled it with water, put in the quite dirty little man, and prepared to wash. Sure enough though, that fountain was STILL not done.

Bath water contaminated.

Emptied and refilled the babytub while holding a wet sixteen pound dirty boy... groceries still staring at me from the table...

And then we finished the plan: eat, bath, clothes, nap, groceries. And might I say that after all that action, Enoch slept great in the big boy crib while I did the groceries, laundry, kitchen, and a little picking up. What a great little man!

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Daddy & Enoch

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago, but I wanted to post them anyway because they are too cute. This was just before Hugh left for a conference, and he was saying good bye to our little man... So sweet!! :)

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Don & Patti's Visit

Don (Hugh's dad) and Patti (Hugh's stepmom) visited us the weekend of Thanksgiving. They drove down from Minnesota to spend time with us and meet their new grandson. :) As you can tell, they each got to spend some quality time holding and rocking Enoch.

Patti and I also ventured out to shop a little on Black Friday. She found some great deals on a few things she had been looking for. I wanted to find a casual cardigan so that I could wear a few of my good summer breastfeeding tops a little longer, but I had no such luck. I brought home a nice grey cardigan, but I soon decided that it wasn't quite cheap enough for me to keep (will be returned this coming week if timing with the little one ends up working out).

This made me realize that I've been blessed by having such great thrift stores around here with prices that are much more reasonable for our budget. Of course everyone knows that it is near impossible to go to a thrift store when you have something specific in mind (a neutral colored, light weight cardigan, to be exact), so I had been putting off the trip to look at a few of my favorite shops for at least a few weeks. Well, let me say that amazingly enough God was gracious in not only providing a wonderful grey cardigan but also in providing it for $0.50!! Granted, it is missing a button.. but I never use the bottom button anyway. :)

This experience spurred me on in many personal aims that I am attempting (and oftentimes failing) to live by:

• live within or below our means
• consider the value of money in an eternal perspective (...more on this later)
• portray with my lifestyle that the earth is not my home
• live humbly and sacrificially

This is one of the passages that encourages me the most in this attempt:

¹³ These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴ For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

(Hebrews 11:13-16)

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Forsaken

This was my advent reading today:

Psalm 22:1-8

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
² O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
⁴ In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
⁸ "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"

I can't help but wonder if these words were brought to Jesus' mind in the time leading up to the crucifixion... Here is why I wonder:

Verse 1: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

"46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"... 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit." (Matthew 27:46 and 50)

Verses 1-2: Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

³³And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. ³⁴And he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch." ³⁵And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. ³⁶And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." (Mark 14:33-36)

Verses 3-5: Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

What strong affirmations these verses would have been for Jesus.. God's holiness was the very reason that Jesus needed to live a sinless life and die a sacrificial death in order to bring sinful men back into a right relationship with God. I would also imagine that these verses would have reminded him of the numerous Old Testament accounts of the Father's faithfulness, thus giving him hope and confidence in the Father's purpose for his life and death.

Verses 6-8: ⁶ But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"

⁴¹So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ⁴² "He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" (Matthew 27:41-43)

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Learning to Fall Asleep

We've been working on teaching Enoch to put himself to sleep (after lots of playing and then some rocking or something similar to make him calm & sleepy). After a few weeks of training, he has gotten pretty good at it, for the most part. Normally though I have to rock him for at least 5-10 minutes to get him calm before I lay him down to fall the rest of the way to sleep. Well today, he actually fell asleep during tummy time. :)

As the next step in our sleep plan, we've also started putting him in his crib for 1-3 naps each day for the past few days. At first we thought it was hopeless because he wouldn't fall asleep at all, no matter how sleepy we got him before putting him in.. In fact, we could put him all the way to sleep, and he'd STILL wake up... crying! :( but perseverance has really paid off because he is getting more used to it, and he is now (sometimes) able to comfort himself back to sleep when he partially wakes up. :) Definitely not a completely mastered skill yet, but an exciting step of progress nonetheless.

Anyway, back to today's story... So after he fell asleep in tummy time, I carried him to his crib, where he woke up...

And then within 10 minutes of wiggling, hand sucking, and fussing he had put himself back to sleep!

Enoch is used to sleeping in a rock n play sleeper which we park beside our bed at night and move around the house during the day. I highly recommend this product to new moms for these reasons:

• quite portable
• comfortable for baby (kind of envelops/snuggles him)
• has a beneficial upward slant to help with digestion (avoid spit up)
• can easily be rocked with your foot or hand (especially nice when laying in bed half-asleep trying to rock the baby back to sleep... just rock it with your finger!!)
• washable
• easy to assemble
• great place for baby to sleep when traveling out of town

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Videos of Play Time

Here are some videos from the past week. Again, this post is mainly for grandparents who want to keep up with what we're doing. :)

This is Hugh "teaching" Enoch how to roll over. Pretty cute daddy, huh?

This is Enoch and I practicing our vowels. Sorry for the obnoxious mom kisses at the end... that's just his reward for getting all the way to "u." :)

And this is an incredibly long video of us playing ball with a soft ball that was sewn together out of fabric. Grandma Mary saved this ball from when Hugh was a baby (28 years ago!!), and she brought this for Enoch when she visited. Enoch really likes looking at it while he's on his tummy, and he also likes to "play" with it like in this video... He has also just about figured out how to get his thumb in his mouth, as this video also demonstrates. :)

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Isaiah

So for the past few days, my advent readings have been taken out of the book of Isaiah. These passages have encouraged me to praise God for providing so many prophecies about the coming Messiah that Jesus would fulfill while He walked on the earth. (Though I will definitely admit that sometimes Isaiah is hard for me to understand.) Here is one of the passages that really caught my attention.. check it out:

⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

As I read this passage carefully, I noticed that all we bring into the picture is nothing but bad and yet Jesus takes our bad on Himself and brings us good... Let me show you what I mean:

Here's what we brought:

• griefs
• sorrows
• transgressions
• iniquities

Here's what we did:

• esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, afflicted
• went astray
• turned to our own ways

Here's what Jesus did:

• borne our griefs
• carried our sorrows
• was stricken, smitten by God, afflicted
• was wounded
• was crushed
• took on chastisement
• marked with stripes
• took our iniquity

Here's what Jesus brings to us (after all of the bad we brought):

• peace
• healing

How amazing is that? Such a clear picture of Ephesians 2:4-9 --

⁴But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,⁵even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved- ⁶and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

As a last side note, this is a word cloud of the Isaiah passages that I read through this week. I think these are very neat visualizations because they are created so that words appear larger the more often they are repeated.

So you can see that in these passages, the word Lord appeared far more than any other word. Which words stand out to you the most? Which ones surprise you by how large or small they are?

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Light

During my advent reading last night, I was challenged to think about what a stark contrast there is between light and darkness. Isn't it interesting how light and darkness cannot exist in the same place? Darkness is merely the absence of light, yet in the absence of light there is blindness and uncertainty.

Ever slept in a new place and tripped over something at night that you couldn't see on the way to the bathroom?

Ever seen cockroaches flee when exposed to light?

Ever been amazed at how the darkness which covers the Earth at night disappears when the sun rises?

Only where light breaks into the darkness can reality be seen: things that were once invisible, cloaked in darkness, become visible. This is true not only of the physical world but of the spiritual one as well.

Only the true light can reveal the reality of the darkness in each of our hearts, the darkness that welcomes sin and leads to death, thus separating us from God...

Only Jesus, the light of the world, is able to take our sin and give us His righteousness because He bore the sins of many on the cross and rose again to sit down at the right hand of God. He alone is able to shine His light into the darkness of our hearts and restore our relationship with God because of what He has done.

And like the physical reality, once light is revealed, the darkness flees... it no longer exists. This is also true of our hearts.

What a blessing it is to have such a simple physical reality that mirrors a much deeper, oh-so important spiritual reality. This is my take-away from yesterday:

The only true, revealing light is Jesus, and living in Him means walking in the light, not the darkness.

⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:4-5)

¹⁶"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. ²⁰For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. ²¹But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." (John 3:16-21)

¹² Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Thank You, Lord, that You have given us light in Jesus, not only to see how utterly black our own darkness is because of sin, but also to bring us everlasting life in your Kingdom of Light through Jesus' blood. Draw me more and more into the light and out of the darkness that I may be made perfect and complete at the coming of Christ.

...for more on celebrating Jesus' first and second comings through Advent Readings, check out these ministries' recommendations:

UBC

ISCA U of Arkansas (on facebook)

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Our Little Winter Bundle

On Sunday it officially turned what I would deem as cold.. Highs in the 40s, lows below freezing. No more running out to the car without a jacket on for me. :( Because of the weather, we had to really bundle Enoch up on the way to worship. It seems like last month I was trying to keep him cool because he over-heated so easily, but now I think my battle is changing. Thankfully, one of our friends got us a car seat cover just in time.. We used it yesterday when we went shopping, and it worked great!! It unzips really easily, so temperature control is easy to manage, & it's even weather proof, so Enoch will also be protected from the rain & snow. So much better than the blanket alternative!!

(the pictures of the cover were modeled this morning, which is why 1-Enoch is in his pjs, and 2-Enoch is not buckled up.)

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Grandad's Little Cowboy

A few of Granddad Craig's friends got Enoch a sweet cowboy outfit recently, so I thought we should go ahead and get some pics of him wearing it before he outgrew it (He's growing sooo fast!!). The outfit was definitely made for a long, lanky boy-- the sleeves were a little long and so were the pants, but Enoch's tummy did fill it out nicely... (: Anyway, we did a little photo shoot on the couch, and he was pretty patient with this amateur photographer.

He started out asleep...

And then he woke up...

And started to laugh...

And then laugh some more...

And then he posed for a smiley pic...

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Enoch Playing with Daddy

This is mainly for all of the grandparents out there wanting to keep up with Enoch's development. :) He has really started responding well to touches, sounds, and even facial expressions. Hugh really likes playing with him and singing to him at this stage. ;D

Enjoy the video. (This is a link to the video on youtube in case it's too small to see here.)

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Changing Traditions

Over the past few days I have been reading Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper and her husband John. The book is about creating traditions in which we can help ourselves, our children, and others around us treasure God more. She cleverly breaks traditions up into 'everyday' traditions and 'especially' traditions (the latter being special days such as Christmas and Easter).

Although I haven't reached the holiday section yet (which is why I picked up the book in the first place, seeing as how our first holiday season with a child is drawing near), I have nonetheless been encouraged and challenged by this very practical book so far. Not only is Noel a great writer, using stories, experiences, and scripture to explain her thoughts, but her book's advice is easily understood and applied. She places a huge amount of emphasis on being intentional with time, words, actions, habits, etc. so that God is the center of our lives. She makes the insightful point that this takes planning and consistency and should not be left to chance.

How convicting this book has been for me since I am so apt to spend time cleaning the house, to spend energy planning how to get my next nap in, or to spend words on meaningless small talk. I hope this book's encouragements really do change my habits/traditions. I pray that I would be more and more crucified with Christ so that my worldly nature would no longer live, but Christ would live in me... that the life that I now live in the flesh would be lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me(Galations 2:20).

I really appreciate how Noel pulls from these main verses to show how the wisdom of the Word of God can and should be applied to our traditions, both the everyday ones and the especially ones:

Deuteronomy 11:1-2, 7, 18-19

1 "You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. 2And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline[a] of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm,

7For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD that he did.

18 "You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Psalm 71:6-9, 14-19

6Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.My praise is continually of you.

7I have been as a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge.
8My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day.
9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.

14But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.
15My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge.
16With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

17O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.
19Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?

Psalm 78:1-8

¹ Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!

² I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,

³things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.

⁴We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

⁵He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,

⁶that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,

⁷so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;
⁸and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

2 Timothy 3:10-17

¹⁰ You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.¹²Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom^[a] you learned it ¹⁵and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷that the man of God^[b] may be competent, equipped for every good work.

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