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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thoughts

I've been thinking on 2 Corinthians 13:10

" This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority- the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down."

This past week or so has been challenging with Simeon. He continues to have a somewhat negative attitude, and will misbehave in ways that just baffle me. Part of it is being a 5 year old boy, part of it is wanting attention that I can't always give him in the moment. As I read this passage, I realized that much of my attitude and discipline have been negative. It seems that God has pointed out that while yes, he has given me authority, He gave it to me to build my children up, not tear them down.( not that I have been purposely doing that) So my challenge has been to be deliberately positive in my interactions with Simeon, EVEN when I have to punish or correct him. Not easy. It seems that God is not only working on Simeon, but my attitude. It's funny how I see my heavenly Father trying to work in me, the same thing I am trying to do in my children. The beauty and other challenge in this...God does it so gently in me, he is so loving and patient with me...I need to be that way with the kids...Help me be more like you Jesus! As John the Baptist said, " May I decrease that He increase!"

Monday, November 17, 2008

Praise God!

Naomi is doing much better on the Nutramigen. Rich and I were getting a little worried about the price. At the rate she was drinking now, we figured it would cost us $100 every 2 weeks for formula...God blessed us beyond compare though. Our insurance is going to cover the formula at 100%! We are so thankful for a baby that is sleeping better and for his financial provision for the formula! Way to Go GOD!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

random news and information

My plate has been full...Wonderfully full. Between my involvement in Biblestudy, Mom to Mom at our church, social calls, church itself, homeschooling and caring for an infant, add to that cooking and cleaning, and well...I am wonderfully busy.

Rich is doing well at work. Things are busy as usual, and there is no shortage of work. He continues to be a great help with the kids. I don't know what I would do without him. Lack of sleep is not something I do well with. He has graciously taken the night shift on more than one occasion! I am so THANKFUL for him!

Trisha is doing well. She is looking forward for this trimester to end. Honors history is doing her in. She has yet another boyfriend. While I remember liking a ton of guys at her age, I don't think I had as many boyfriends as her. She is keeping busy with friends and babysitting. ( I wish I babysat now...can you believe she makes between $6-%10 an hour? It pays more to babysit nowadays than working for minimum wage!)

Simeon is doing well. He continues to be the helpful and protective older brother. As soon as Naomi cries as Biblestudy, he runs into the room to check up on her. He doesn't like many people holding her, and wants to keep her all to himself. Yesterday he had to have a flu shot, since Naomi is too young for one. He was so brave. Poor thing, I wish I could make it all better. He was so sad and dejected after it happened. He wouldn't let himself cry no matter what Rich and I said, but you could see he wanted to. The past couple of weeks have been a challenge with Simeon. He has developped quite the negative attitude about school and just anything positive in general. I borrowed one of Kelly's ideas and adapted it to suit us. Simeon is now earning colored popsicle sticks for responding to our requests without complaint or arguement. He is also earning sticks for being positive about school. So far so good. He loves earning sticks, and counting them regularly. Today, he "bought" his first prize with his popscicle sticks, glow sticks. It was so cool to see him excited, and I think now that he's actually earned a reward, he is more motivated to earn more.

Naomi is doing well.She is quite alert as far as baby's go. She loves to watch Simeon play, and responds with smiles and the beginnings of giggles when he talks to her. She loves her baby massage time, and gets all excited when I give her the massage cues. She is trying to engage with us, and often times will let me know that I need to pay attention to her. She is a joy to have around. We are so blessed! As of yesterday she weighs 9lbs 8 oz, and has officially doubled her birth weight. She is now 21 inches long. Still a little peanut, but in the words of our pediatrician, " We can almost say she's chubby." While she is growing well, we have been suffering with little sleep, usually no more than 2 hours at a time, as well as a very fussy baby. Dr. thinks it may be either a milk protein intolerance/allergy or reflux or both. We were sent home with a sample of Nutramigen to try. So far so good. We also have to bring a stool sample tomorrow. I'm just glad that the Dr. took us seriously and is working with us to get Naomi comfortable! Naomi also had 3 shots yesterday. Poor little peanut was wailing like nobody's business. She has been sleepy most of today, and so its been quite quiet around her.

We are looking forward to Thanksgivings long weekend, when we will be heading to Canada to visit my family, it has been a year and a quarter since I was last up. Gas prices being so low (under $2 a gallon in our area as of yesterday) certainly helps!It will be nice to reconnect with family, and for them to meet Naomi for the first time. I can't believe she'll be almost 3 months old by the time we get there. Time flies, doesn't it?

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Saturday, November 1, 2008