Full on Joy

Now this is some full on Joy for ya -

Our friends Justin and Shelley are in China and TODAY they took their new baby girl, Layla, into their arms. It's a wonderful story - click on the link below to read about this miraculous day. One very cool part of the story - when they were matched with Layla, they found out she has a cleft lip and cleft palette. Justin was also born with a cleft lip and cleft palette. They got the agency to agree to wait to do the surgery until she gets to the US (so she can have the best care.) If you have time, also read the post on here about when their 2 1/2 year old son Henry picked out a teddy bear for Layla (it is so sweet!!)

http://www.bringinglaylahome.blogspot.com/

Ho Ho Ho

On a much more Joyful note, here are some of my favorite holiday photos. There were several, so I put them on a video. Enjoy!

Get it out

Today, I'm glad I have a blog. Why? Because I need to "Get it out." (PS - that is the title of my very good friend Alli's new blog, and I just ripped of her title. Partly as a plug :), partly because that's how I feel right now - I need to get it out.)

For those not in the 'Nati, we've experienced a terrible tragedy. You can read more about it here - http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Xavier-Student-Dies-After-Christmas-Show-Fall/VarSU94WEUi4O737ToCFMg.cspx.

A girl died at our church while performing in the Christmas show. That's not supposed to happen. Understatement. So I'm going to process out loud here a bit. It feels like it will be helpful to me, so that's what I'm going to do.

I realized today that while I still trust God in the future, I don't trust Him for that moment. Does that make sense? For that moment when this happened, I don't trust Him. I can believe in Him for the future, and trust Him again for next time, but I'm not so sure about that moment in the past.

So what does that mean? Well, I guess my next conclusion is, I don't fully believe that God is good. He says He's always good, but I guess I don't believe Him fully. And the root issue is, my definition of good is not the same as His, and I'm deciding my definition is right and His is wrong. Oops. Hold on. Stop. I better repent of that right now. He has to teach me what good is. When God says suffering is good, my flesh disagrees. Flesh, you are wrong. Sorry. God has to teach me what is good, and I have to line up with Him (not the opposite.)

A few more random thoughts in this -

Love looks different in suffering. It's easy to love God when things are good. It's a different, harder, but maybe more pure? type of love in suffering.

I'm interested in / ready for the End Times. I don't even really know what that means, but I'll tell you some of what it means for me. In John 14:12-14, it says the following -

12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

The night this happened, there were at least 10 of us who stayed up all night asking God to heal this girl. We asked him to do it in Jesus name. It is within God's character to heal. One of God's names is "Jehovah Repheka" which means The LORD is Healer. So if His name is Healer, I know I can trust Him to heal. But in this case, He didn't. I'm looking forward to the day when John 14:14 happens. I'm ready for that. Now I know that also will mean more suffering, but it also means we're getting closer to paradise. So, bring it.

One last thing (for now anyway) - the day after this happened, Brett told me to go to the church. No reason in particular, just go. A lot of my friends work there, and I thought I could just be there as a support. I ran into one of my friends named Darin. He used to be a brand manager at P&G, and now he is the executive pastor for the church. When I saw him, I asked him what I could do for him and he said, "I want peace. Pray that God will give me peace." Kate was sleeping in her car seat (just as she is pictured below), and he said, "I want THAT kind of peace." So I said, "Touch her hand, she'll impart her peace to you." It seemed weird, but that's what I said. The next day he saw Brett and thanked him for what Kate had given him. Brett looked puzzled, and he explained that Kate had given him peace, the thing he needed most. In the midst of death, it's reassuring to know that Life and Love ultimately will triumph. We're in a war. We know the outcome of the war, but as we lose some battles, it's encouraging to remember the victories.

Viruses

I hate viruses.

My computer has a virus.

I have a virus (well, really just a cold, but virus is the theme.)

What do I do for the computer? I downloaded a free anti-virus thing from Time Warner (per Andrew French, who is awesome!) But now my computer is still running slow. Hence, the lack of posts lately.

Boo hoo.

For a more powerful brain -

Have a baby!

I saw this on Oprah the other day and I thought it was fascinating.

Jennifer, a mom from Wayne, New Jersey, says she began noticing differences in the way her brain worked after giving birth to a baby boy. Dr. Oz says this is a real condition known as "mommy brain." Dr. Oz says Jennifer's son, Benjamin, used up a lot of her omega-3 fats while he was in the womb. "Eighty percent of our brains are fat," he says. "So the baby sucks up a lot of that vital nutrient, sometimes potentially to the detriment of the mother." During pregnancy, Dr. Oz says a woman's brain also shrinks by about 8 percent. "You don't lose cells. The cells get smaller," he says. "It might be because you're focused on one thing, but the good news is after you give birth, your brain begins to rewire quickly. … Your brain actually gets more powerful than before you got pregnant."To combat "mommy brain," Dr. Oz recommends taking omega-3 fatty acids and getting plenty of sleep. "[Omega-3 is] important because we know that it actually allows women to recover from depression faster if they have depression after pregnancy," he says. "It also allows the brain to grow."

Sleep and Omega 3 fatty acids - do it.

6 months old!

Kate is 6 months old :) She weighs 17 1/2 lbs and is 26 1/2 inches. That's the 80% percentile - she's a healthy baby (obviously, look at those cheeks!) Yay, Kate! I love this baby!

$10 = Lots of time, less sweat, & less noise

That's right, for just $10 you can have lots more time, sweat less and have less noise in your life. How? Buy a new hair dryer.

I can't tell you how long I've had mine, maybe 3 years, but I just got a new one and I can't believe the difference. It's the same model, same wattage, but wow, a totally different experience. I bought it for $10, it's nothing special, but it went so much faster, it was a lot less heat, and it was markedly quieter. Awesome.

I read in the instructions (yes, as if I haven't been drying my hair for 25 years, I read the instructions) that you are supposed to clean your hair dryer with the vaccum cleaner every so often for maintenance. Anybody doing that??? Makes sense, it does fill up with dust and then it can't suck in as much air. I think I'll just replace it every year instead.

Canceled, Cancelled

In case you are curious, both are correct spellings.

If you are going to pick one, two l's is the American spelling, and one l is the British spelling.

But I'd say both are acceptable.

Advice everyone told me about being a mom

The advice I heard the most from people was "Make sure you sleep when the baby is sleeping." I'm telling you, everyone told me that. It's very good advice, but people don't do it. I did it, and I'm going to tell you how...

In the beginning, which is the hardest part, it took 12 hours of my day to get 8 hours of sleep at night. Babies eat every 3 hours or so, so that means you can get 2 hours of sleep at a time. So what that looked like was, if I went to bed at 11pm, I didn't get up for the day until 11am. I think there are lots of lies you can believe here such as "It's 11am, I shouldn't still be in bed." That may make you feel lazy. But I believe in prioritizing sleep. Especially after you have a baby. I didn't really have post-partum depression (which stats say 80% of women have), but I can tell you the 2-3 times I did struggle emotionally were days I slept less than 8 hours. I think they are connected (but I'm not an expert on post-partum. I am an expert on sleep, though, so keep reading...)

So, yes, I didn't get out of bed until 11am. Why? Because while napping on the couch is good (I did that too - and if you're keeping track, that means I was sleeping 10+ hours a day), it's not the same as lying in your bed and sleeping. It's just not. And, I still made my life work. I showered everyday, I went out and did things with people, I kept my house organized, etc. What I'm trying to say is, I still was able to do the things that were important to me. And I think that's largely BECAUSE I was sleeping.

Now, I'm only speaking about my experience as a first time mom. When you have more kids, I'm sure you need a whole new plan. But also, you know what you're doing at that point. Learning how to be a mom is hard work. I've learned how to do many things in my life, and I'd put this at the top of the list of challenging skills to learn. And my advice is, while you're learning the new job, get lots of sleep.

Advice no one told me about being a mom

This tip is for future moms. If you aren't one, don't bother reading.

Here it is - the big thing I wish I would have done before and during pregnancy: lift weights to make my upper body stronger. Why? The single most important reason - breastfeeding. At the beginning, you have to hold the baby in the same position 8-10 times a day for 30-45 minutes straight. And once you get the position right, you can't move. They make special pillows to help (boppy is good), but you still need upper body strength. Breastfeeding is hard for many reasons at the beginning, and if you have upper body strength, it's one less obstacle to overcome. I was so concerned about whether or not I could or should be doing aerobic activity, and in the end I don't think that mattered. But weight training would have been clutch. Plus, it helps you carry the car seat which weighs 10 pounds + whatever the baby weighs (currently Kate is closing in on 20 lbs, so that's almost 30 lbs.) But the issue is the longevity in the same position while feeding her at the beginning. Don't make the same mistake I did.

The palm of her hand...

When my parents were watching Kate last week, they got her dressed and ready for the day. I shouldn't have been shocked to see her in the shirt reading "Who needs Santa when I have grandpa." She definitely has her grandparents eating out of the palm of her hand. She is so loved - what a blessed little girl.

1-0

Kate's Ohio State-Michigan record is 1-0. Go Bucks!

Brett always sings the Rocky theme song when I put her in this velour workout suit. funny

Patience, mom

It is so fun when Kate does new things. This week, all the sudden, she learned how to sit up. She went from 10 seconds alone to 20 minutes alone overnight. Seriously - that's weird but great.

She also learned how to roll over. I went into her crib and she was on her stomach. She was soooo proud of herself. It's funny - she probably could have done it on the floor if I would have let her struggle longer. Apparently I've been coming to her rescue to soon. I've got to show more patience.

You All

Does anybody know the correct spelling of the abbreviation of you all. I always write y'all because in most contractions, you put the apostrophe where the letters are missing (example - does not = doesn't.) However, I most often see people write it as ya'll.

Although I've lived in Ohio my whole life, Southern Ohio is way different than Northern Ohio. I feel like I used to live in the "North" and now I live in the "South." I've acclimated to my new culture by picking up the word "y'all", but I may be spelling it wrong, and I don't want the other Southerners to think poorly of me.

Help.

Thanks.

Go Buy This TODAY

I am a peanut butter connoisseur. I would guess that I eat peanut butter more than anyone you know. I LOVE peanut butter. I'll put it on anything - pretzels, graham crackers, carrots, you name and it probably tastes better with peanut butter on it. I love a toasted peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich. Yummy.

So here's the dilemna - my good friend Alison Seddon has been talking about how partially hydrogenated vegetable oil should be illegal and is probably going to kill a large % of our country. I believe Europe has already outlawed the stuff. The problem is, this stuff is in THE ONLY peanut butter I find palatable - Jif. Until now...

I was starting to feel like death was a high price to pay for peanut butter, but I wasn't willing to try that weird natural stuff (sorry, I'm just being real here.) But then, I saw Skippy Natural and thought, alright, I'll give it a whirl; worst case, I'm out $3. Friends, I have to tell you, this stuff is DELICIOUS!!! It tastes BETTER than regular Jif. It's won lots of "chef's best" awards, and I give it my stamp of approval as well. And, I have to say, Jif has a slightly weird aftertaste, I think it's probably that crazy hydrogenated stuff, and this stuff tastes, well, like real food. I'm not going to tell you it's lowfat (because it's not), but at least it's not hydrogenated. And, you don't have to refrigerate it or stir it up like the other natural peanut butters. So go for it - try it for yourself TODAY - you won't be disappointed!

In case you're curious, hydrogenated defined: "To combine with or subject to the action of hydrogen, especially to combine an unsaturated oil with hydrogen to produce a solid fat." I don't know, but "solid fat" is probably not a recipe for success...

Delicious!!!

We decided to give Kate some cereal, and she LOVED it! I forgot how exciting food is!





Here she is grabbing the spoon from Brett - Give me more of that Delicious-ness!

We love Brett!

Happy Birthday, Brett! We love you! We hope you had a wonderful day!

Foiled by Time Warner

I still can't believe this...I have a story, but a little background is necessary before I dive in.

I believe that fasting is an important discipline. It's good for building self-control. It teaches us to put down our desires and rely on God. While I've been pregnant and nursing, I've looked for things to fast from other than food. Media seems to be the best because I feel like I "need" tv, internet, etc. So, practically what this looks like for me now is, I refrain from using media on Mondays.

Well, this week, I just plain forgot. When I realized it, I considered just fasting on Tuesday instead. But No! The election is Tuesday! I HAVE to watch all the juicy coverage. So Tuesday, I'm all revved up watching CNN all day. (Of course they have nothing to report except the weather's good for voting.) The time is drawing near, and at 5:30pm, my cable goes out. THAT'S RIGHT - Time Warner turned off our cable. When I called, they said they mistakenly thought we hadn't paid our bill; but they couldn't fix it until the next day. So there we were, no election coverage. Luckily, I have a car and Nikki lives a mile away. I watched a lot of it and then went home to poor Brett who was watching local coverage on our 2" battery powered TV (which as a side note is a WONDERFUL thing to own - we use it in the car, when the power goes out, when the cable goes out, etc.) But in all of this I wonder, was God trying to tell me something???

Buzzzzz

Happy Halloween! Kate is certainly the cutest bumble bee I've ever seen....

I think she got hot after a while - look at that face! Either that or she thought this outfit made her look fat. My dad said "tell mommy vertical stripes are more slimming"

She got over it - here she is telling me a joke

The video is only a minute but so cute!

Kate's Dedication

We had a dedication for Kate, and it was so, so sweet. The purpose was to bring a small group of family and friends together to celebrate Kate. We are so blessed to have her, and we wanted to take time to thank God for her. She is a miracle, and we want to celebrate that. We also wanted to have people pray blessings for her life. It was so sweet to hear the prayers, blessings, poems, and words of wisdom that people had for her. She is a precious little girl and we know God has special things for her because she is His cherished daughter. We felt so loved to have such a wonderful group of family and friends present to celebrate this miracle.

Kate's new best bud

Kate and I met Ashley and Stella in Indianapolis and the girls were best buds from the start.


I love Stella Corotis!!

We have so much to discuss...

Good Strategy

This was a smart strategy: I was on facebook and there was a link that said "Want to vote early?" When you click on it, you enter in your name and address and it tells you where to vote and gives you the directions from your house to the location. Very smart, Obama. Get out the vote so the lines at the polls don't turn people away. Now that I have directions, I'm going to vote early!

(and by the way, if you live in Cinci, the location is 824 Broadway St. downtown.)

http://www.voteforchange.com/?state=OH&source=sem-fo-ev-fb-oh

Population Explosion! Please Respond

I was on Pampers.com today and I participated in a poll. I thought the results were FACINATING -

"How many kids would you like?"

One - 4%
Two - 20%
Three - 15%
Four - 8%
More - 53%

(Total votes 101,825)

Obviously there are lots of assumptions & caveats you could make about the voters, but still, 100,000 people is not a trivial sample size. What does this mean about the future population?

My answer, in case you are curious, was aligned with the majority. I'm sure this surprises some readers, and frankly it even surprises me. I will caveat by saying I don't want to give birth to that many kiddos (I think 3 feels like a good # there.) But I think Brett and I would like to adopt at some point. Of course you never know what the future holds, but that's my answer today.

JUST FOR FUN, and if you feel comfortable sharing, leave a comment with how you'd answer the question. (And a little logistical note - I changed my settings and it now should be easier to comment.)

Accessories inspire action

Kate was so excited to be sporting her new gold sandals (a gift from the Kences) that she stood by herself today for the first time. It wasn't for long, but she did it!

Shades, check. Pacifiers, check. Cow & Pig, check. Let's go have some fun!

Smart baby

Babies who have exersaucers are smart. I'm positive. I'm not saying it's necessarily causal, but I'm sure it's correlated. How do I know? Because smart parents have smart babies, and you practically have to be a rocket scientist to put this thing together. I struggled; it's a miracle this thing got assembled.

Obama Baby & Obama Mama

Today Kate and I went to an Obama Rally at Ault Park. It was so close we had to go see history. It felt like we were at a sporting event and we were rooting for our team - Team Obama. It was fun to see all the hoopla. Obama's speech was inspiring; he talked about freedom and the American Dream. It reminded me that we are all standing on our ancestors. Like my great grandparents who put their kids on a boat to America from Lebanon because they wanted a better life for them. That takes courage. You must believe deeply that freedom is important enough to risk your life for.

Here's a few pictures from the hoopla -

Getting Bigger

(I mean Kate - I'm actually getting smaller, thank goodness)

Doesn't she look big in her high chair? She hasn't started eating yet. The doctor said to feed her when she seemed "interested" in our food. Really? No huge interest yet. And the calories are negligible, so it's really just for "fun." Sounds messy to me, so we'll wait a little longer...


It's hard for me to believe, but she is learning to tolerate time on her tummy without screaming

Best Year of my Life

They say it’s my birthday! (well, yesterday) I’m 31 years old. I had a great birthday – I felt really loved. It started at 6:30 when Kate woke up, and after she ate I just enjoyed snuggling with her. Then at 8:30 flowers arrived at the door from Brett and Kate. I love getting flowers – I know they will die, but they are so beautiful. I got an amazing camera from Brett, my parents, and Nikki; I can hold down the button and continuously take pictures. Brett and I went out on a fancy date to the Precinct and my mom watched Kate. Then we went out with a couple of people afterwards for Beer and Cake. It was an awesome day.

We have a tradition that on your birthday that you answer 3 questions – 1) Best parts of your year 2) Toughest parts of your year and 3) What you’re looking forward to in the coming year. I highly recommend doing this – it’s fun and it’s good to reflect. Here are my answers –

1) Best Parts of the Year – This was definitely the best year of my life. After I quit my job, I felt like God told me to read Isaiah 61. I had no idea what it said, and when I turned to the chapter the title was “Year of the Lord’s Favor.” That has been my experience – I received blessings and favor the entire year. Quitting my job brought me so much freedom. I got to spend this year having fun, and it was amazing. And of course the obvious, Kate has been an incredible gift to us. I didn’t know how much I would love her. Overall, the best year of my life.

2) Toughest Parts of the Year – I’ve come a long way in my battle against performance, the need to define myself by my accomplishments. But in being a mom, this has definitely crept back in. Specifically, anytime Kate cries, I feel like a bad mom. I feel like I should be able to make her stop. And then, I feel embarrassed in front of other people, sad that I can’t help her, and overall like a failure. A newborn is a tough challenge for a performance junkie like me since they don’t really “perform’ – they just exist. They eat, sleep, play at little, and cry. Realizing this is freeing me up though.

3) What I’m looking forward to next year – Kate getting bigger and continuing to do new things. Maybe getting a job somewhere (we’ll see what happens.)

This year has really felt like a gift. I pray that I have more years as good as this one!

Welcome!

Hi, All!

Welcome to my blog! We'll see how this goes. The goals are -

1) not frustrate Kate when she's older because I kept no electronic journal of her life. I'm assuming in the future this would be equivalent to not having a photo album. so, this is a gift to her and those who want to see what she's up to.
2) share what i'm learning about being a mom so I don't forget it for next time and in case any other mom cares.
3) share anything interesting or funny

That's it! Expect a post weekly. I started uploading stuff earlier this month from when Kate was born, so feel free to check it all out, or not.
Love y'all!
Krissy

***By the way - if you have a blog and I haven't listed it on the side, comment and let me know the address! Thanks!

JOY

I'm going to be studying JOY and sharing what I learn. Why? Because I want more joy, and I bet I'm not the only one. Plus, I think it's something Brett and I know about ---people have said it's a gift we share. Also, I think some joy has been stolen from people lately, and I'd like that to stop.

First thing I've learned about Joy - it's about Resonance with God's heart. One of the clearest examples of Joy that I've found in the Bible is the story of the Lost Son. When he comes back, his dad throws a bash. The dad's joy is a reflection of his resonance with God's joy in the son's repentance. I think we all experience joy from the things that God is joyful about. A few examples for me - Kate's smile, being on water, having dinner with Brett, playing my guitar.

More to come...

4 MONTHS

Kate just had her 4 month check-up and she is doing great! 15 lbs and 25" - 75% percentile. She had a fungal infection (which was not a big deal - Lotrimin is clearing it right up), but I felt really bad I didn't know what it was. But, that's why you go to the doctor. She got her shots and here's a good tip - give Tylenol BEFORE the shots. She cried so much less this time than at 2 months. So, I cried a lot less too :) She's so much fun -

WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT...

Nikki came to the rescue! I LOVE that Nikki lives in Cincinnati. She means so much to me, and I'm so glad that she's close. When our power went out for a week, Nikki was a champ and let us stay at her house the ENTIRE time. It's generous to let people stay at your place, let alone a newborn. To top it off, she let Kate borrow her teddy bear.

Can you imagine back in the days before TV? I asked my grandma what they did, and she said they played games, cards, puzzles, etc. I think people were probably more connected to one another then - doing things together vs. just being in the same place.

VACATION IS THE BEST

We had such a great vacation at Norris Lake. We have wonderful, generous friends who invite us down and there is nothing better than being on the water. I think the point of working is so you can go on vacation :)

.

BABY BUCKEYE

Kate can go to college anywhere she wants, but we sure are proud when she's in her scarlet and gray.

Her friend Cana, the Buckeye Babies, ready for game day




The Buckeyes are #1

The Beauty of Spontaneity

Recently my friend Kelly told me I’m the most spontaneous person she knows; I think that is a huge compliment. Motherhood makes it more difficult to be spontaneous, and she was asking me how I was adjusting. It certainly hasn’t been as easy, but I have continued to hold onto the value of not letting life pass me by simply because I have previous “plans” (or lack thereof.) Maybe I learned this from my grandma…

This past Thursday, my 87 year old grandma received an offer to fly on a jet on Saturday to Washington D.C. She, along with 10 other veterans, would be visiting the World War II memorial. My grandma has seen the memorial before, but she would not let this opportunity pass her by. So, just 2 days after she received the invitation, she would board the jet and headed to D.C.

I think this is AWESOME! When life comes your way, you don’t make excuses. Even if they are very reasonable excuses, like “I don’t walk as well as I used to.” No, when life comes your way, you say ‘I’m in.” Maybe that’s why at 87 her mind is as sharp as ever, because she continues to run after life (okay, walk slowly, but you get the point.) I hope her sense of adventure and love of life are always part of who I am.

APOLOGIZING IS UNDERRATED

Recently, I messed up. Afterwards, I went back and forth between feeling guilty and feeling like it wasn't really my fault. Overall, it was a small thing, but I couldn't get it out of my head. That is, until I apologized. And then - WOW, a weight was lifted. It doesn't even matter if the person accepts the apology; confessing that you've screwed up is freeing. It's funny that before you do it pride tells you it will be bad if you apologize. But once you do it, you are free.

DADDY'S GIRL

Even though Kate slept through most of her first buckeye game, both daddy and baby had a wonderful day.

"Daddy Kisses" with the Honey Bunny

3 MONTHS - WHAT I KNOW ABOUT KATE

She is JOYFUL

PRECIOUS

TALKATIVE

PEACEFUL

RELAXED

A LITTLE POOH BEAR