Christmas thoughts

I have been listening to Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God: The TRUE Tall Tale of the Coming of Christ. It is a wonderful cd with original music that chronicles the story of Christ from Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt through Christ's birth. It is very succinct, telling the story in about 30 minutes in a very dramatic and real way. Our worship team has performed it 2 years now and it is always very moving.

This year the story of the birth of Christ strikes me even harder since I have become the mother of a baby boy myself. When I listen to Away In A Manger, I really question whether Jesus, "no crying he made". I'm sure even Jesus as a baby had to let Mary know when he was hungry! Peterson's song Labor of Love makes me tear up everytime and I wanted to share it with you:

It was not a silent night - There was blood on the ground

You could hear a woman cry in the alley that night

On the streets of David's town.

And the stable was not clean. And the cobblestones were cold.

And little Mary full of grace with the tears upon her face

Had no mother's hand to hold.

It was a labor of pain. It was a cold sky above

But for the girl on the ground in the dark

With every beat of her beautiful heart

It was a labor of love.

Noble Joseph by her side - Callused hands and weary eyes

There were no midwives to be found On the streets of David's town

In the middle of the night.

So he held her and he prayed - shafts of moonlight on his face.

But the baby in her womb

He was the maker of the moon

He was the Author of the faith

That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain

It was a cold sky above

But for the girl on the ground in the dark

Every beat of her beautiful heart

It was a labor of love.

For little Mary full of grace - With the tears upon her face

It was a labor of love.

When I think of my labor story and the complications with it. Being surrounded by experts in modern medicine and remembering how much we prayed and David's concerned face as I began laboring I cannot even imagine Mary and Joseph's night but I feel that I have a little more empathy with Mary's story. As I stare at my quickly growing little boy I remember how Mary "treasured all these things in her heart" Luke 2:19 She didn't have a digital camera to capture each moment as Jesus grew but I'm sure she enjoyed them as much - or maybe more- than I am enjoying watching Reed grow. My prayer this Christmas is that Reed will follow in Jesus' footsteps and will grow "in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." (Luke 2:52)

Merry Christmas!

First Trick!

Reed rolled over for the first time yesterday (Thursday)! I had him up on the couch cushion and he rolled over 2 times to his right (from stomach to back). So I put him on the floor and he rolled over to his left! This morning he did it multiple times again so I was able to get it on video and he was able to do it over Skype for Bittle (David' mom). According to some baby milestone charts only a few 3 month olds can turn over but most turn over by 4 months. Reed is only 11 1/2 weeks and will be 3 months in 10 days! ( If we counted from his due date he would have just turned 2 months!) As I try to type this posted he is nursing sporadicly - stopping to smile up at me and coo! Life just gets better and better!

First Road Trip

We took Reed on his first road trip to Florida (south of Jacksonville) to visit his Great Grandparents (my mother's parents). He was a great traveler and spent the majority of the trip like this:

It was a very special weekend. My grandparents are 94 and 95 and still live at home. They are both mobile and still do many things on their own. They have been married 73 years and are still very much in love - it is a great thing to watch! Granny and Grandad were so happy to meet Reed. My mom flew down to join the festivities and get 4 generations together. Grandad always tell the story of when I was little he took me to the bank and sat me on the counter while he did his business. He loved showing me off to the people at the bank. He is still banking at the same bank so we took Reed to sit him on the counter so Grandad could show him off. We spent a lot of the time playing with Reed...
Granny rocked Reed to sleep

And Reed listened while Grandad told stories and sang songs to him:

We enjoyed being together and were so thankful to have the 4 generations together.

Schedule

I've decided we need a schedule...Reed needs a schedule. I have enjoyed my baby for 8 weeks now and as the end draws near ("the end" being an eventual return to work) we need to have something that resembles a schedule. My mom was always a big fan of the schedule. I remember during summer and holiday breaks from school, she would always comment on how my brothers and I were out of sorts because we were off our schedule. Early bedtimes were a big part of our schedules. Even in 3rd grade I was going to bed at 7:30. I remember this because this is when I started competitive gymnastics and practices were from 7-9pm on Monday and Wednesday. My mom was really worried about this because it would interfere with bedtime. I don't remember how it all worked out - well the gymnastics was good - but I don't really remember my disposition due to the later bedtime.

So Reed and I started a schedule this morning. What better time to start a baby's schedule than a week and a half before going out of town? :-) But this morning instead of falling back in bed with him at 7:00 and nursing while we both dozed until 9, I got up out of bed and into the rocking chair and fed him while David got ready for work. Then I put Reed on the floor to play with Bentley while I fixed breakfast for myself and David.

I let him play too long and missed my opportunity for a peaceful transition to nap time, so after I calmed his crying, I put him in the swing and he fell right to sleep. I was able to pump, shower, blog, and put a load of laundry away! He is now starting to wake up and I am so excited to be able to hold, feed, and play with him before he goes back to sleep and I continue the projects I have for the day! I know this schedule will take some getting use to. I attempted some of the schedule last night and he slept for 5 hours straight! I know this will be hard but there are rewards!! As the mom it is my job to make sure the hard things are done so that Reed has the opportunity to turn into a well adjusted, disciplined child of God. I pray that he chooses that path!

1 minute with Reed (8 weeks) & Kate (8 months)

Kate came to visit and was so excited to meet Reed! New pictures have been posted on Facebook.

1 minute with Reed - 6 weeks old

I went to the Dr today and she said everything looked good. My BP was 110/70 without medication! She gave me the H1N1 and regular flu vaccinations and I took them to protect Reed since he cannot be innoculated. Reed fell asleep on the way home from the doctors office and I kept him in his car seat until he started waking up - which I thought was worthy of videoing! The kid is full of expressions!

Happy Halloween!

This costume is size 3-6 months so it swallowed him, but was more "pumpkinish" to me that way! The costume kept him so warm that he slept the majority of the time he was in it! All in all, he enjoyed his first holiday. Next year he may even get some candy! More halloween pictures can be seen here.