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One Year Ago!

One year ago today, I was a brand-new mommy, in shock and awe of the amazing process I had just been through. There is so much to say about this past year. I am thankful for the amazing gift of Kirsten Jael in our lives. Today was her birthday, and unfortunately she has been running a fever since yesterday. I felt so bad for her. She has been crying and fussy, and just not herself. So we didn't do too much celebrating today. We did give her a little birthday gift this morning, and then had a "birthday cookie" tonight. But the real celebration is tomorrow night, and I am praying for a healthy little girl by then!

40 Days of Grateful

Last night in our small group, our application was to choose one discipline to practice for the next 40 days. This is not an attempt to become "more spiritual", but simply a way to allow God to use us, and to ultimately love God and love others more. There are SO many disciplines that I could choose, because honestly, I am very undisciplined when it comes to my spiritual walk. This is something I have struggled with for a long time, because I know that I should do better with daily devotions, etc. Thankfully, God is full of grace and does not base our salvation on how many hours per day we think about him, or read the Bible, or pray.

So rather than choose a discipline based on "doing", I decided to choose a discipline based on "being." More of an attitudinal discipline rather than something that I can "check off my list" of things to do. Since I typically have a rather critical attitude, I am choosing to focus on being grateful over the next 40 days. Now this is something I have been working on for quite a while, but I really want to be intentional about this and truly think about what I am grateful for each and every day. And I am going to write it down each day. Perhaps I will even update my blog with the list.

So, day 1 (yesterday): I am grateful for my small group! They are a great group of people and I am glad we are able to share with each other.
Day 2: I am grateful for the sunshine and the yellow leaves outside my window.

So what are you grateful for? I'd love to hear, and let's put together a great list!

A Pain in the Neck

Well I woke up Saturday morning with a huge pain in the neck. No, it wasn't Scott... LOL! It was a literal pain in my neck! It was about 5:30am, and Kirsten woke up for one of her many awakenings lately. As I sat up to decide whether I was going to go in to her or wait it out, I felt this pain all around my neck and upper back muscles, and could hardly turn my head. "Oh, no!" I thought, remembering the last time this happened (about 3 years ago). That time it was so bad that I actually had to go to the doctor's office - and Scott had to drive me because I couldn't even drive.

Well, thankfully this time it wasn't as bad. But, it did cause me tons of discomfort, and after feeding Kirsten (with the hopes that it would buy me some extra sleep time), I went back to bed. I couldn't fall back asleep for about an hour because the pain was keeping me up! I put some pain creme on and that helped some, and eventually I went back to sleep. Once Kirsten woke up again, thanks to the dogs barking a lovely chorus downstairs, I had the joy of feeling the tense muscles in my neck. I spent most of the day trying to figure out how to do my normal activities while having limited motion of my head and neck. It's not easy, people!

Thankfully Kirsten wasn't too fussy Saturday, or I don't know what I would've done. It was great that she took 2 good naps, and I slept during both of them! But by the time 5pm rolled around, I was starting to really need some help. I called Scott (he had been gone on a youth trip all day long and was scheduled not to return until after the missions conference that night) and asked if he might be willing to leave after the potluck and come home to help me. He did, and I was so grateful. He brought me some Chinese for dinner, and as soon as he got home, he took over with Kirsten and allowed me to rest.

Now, on Monday night, I am still feeling some dull pain, but it's not nearly as bad. I have done tons of stretching, neck rolls, etc to try and work it out. I have also used my pain cream plenty, as well as my prescription muscle relaxers from the previous incident, and ibuprofen as well. However, I am looking forward to this stupid pain being gone. It makes me ever-so-thankful for my otherwise healthy body, and the fact that I don't have any major ongoing health issues! Meanwhile, I may be checking out some local chiropractors and/or massage therapists if this type of thing keeps happening!

Sleep is NOT Overrated

Many people say that sleep is overrated. I couldn't disagree more. I think that most people who say sleep is overrated are not moms. Every mom I know LOVES her sleep! When something becomes scarce, it becomes more valuable, right? At least that's my experience.

When you have a baby, your whole concept of sleep changes. Sleep becomes anytime you can close your eyes for longer than 10 minutes, not necessarily a full 8 hour night. Sleep becomes the thing that you long for when you are making breakfast, folding laundry, or taking your baby for a walk. Sleep becomes more important than eating sometimes! (And if you know me, that is saying a lot!)

Thankfully, I am getting a lot more sleep than I was when Kirsten was a few months old. I definitely get longer chunks of sleep now. However, there are still days (and nights) when I just long to sleep with NO interruptions. To close my eyes and not be awakened until I want to be... approximately 11am, thank you. However, I realize that will probably not happen anytime soon! And that's okay. Because as much as I would love to have a full night's sleep or the ability to take a 3 hour nap, I wouldn't give up my baby girl for anything!

It's definitely a life-changing experience to become a mother, and sleeping becomes a much-loved pasttime, but the joy of seeing a child grow and change is priceless.

Fall is Here!

I love fall. I have officially decided that it's my favorite season. While I love summertime, and all the adventures it brings, there's something reassuring about fall. It's the time that everyone starts to come back home, settle down, and enjoy life. The leaves begin to turn and we're reminded of just how fleeting life is. The cooler weather prompts me to pull out my sweaters and fleece coats, which I love to wear. And now, another great thing about fall is that my beautiful daughter's birthday is right smack-dab in the middle of it!

So, to celebrate fall, here are a few of my favorite photos of this season!













Below: my daughter's hands inspecting a beautiful red leaf.













Below: Kirsten enjoying a stroller ride on a breezy fall day.

Writing

I have been thinking a lot more lately about my love of writing. I realize that as I have gotten older, and in some ways, busier with life, I have spent a lot less time writing. Yet, when I do write, I love it, and I sometimes get comments from others about how they enjoy my writing. So I am going to *try* and write more often, if only to get better and practice more. Perhaps one day I will decide to write a book. But for now, I will have to focus on writing on my blog. Hopefully my 5 readers will oblige me!

Of course, when one decides to begin writing more, one's mind goes blank. So this will be it for now, although I have another post with some updates on life in general.

Kirsten Meets Her Great-Grandparents Pier

My Grandparents Pier (my dad's parents) live in North Carolina, so they have never had the chance to meet Kirsten - until yesterday. I was so excited when they decided to come visit Maine for a special event going on here in the area, both because I would get to see them and because Kirsten would get to meet them! So on Sunday, I took Kirsten and we went to church at CPC, where I went growing up, since Grandma and Grandpa were going to be there. Then after church, we went back to my grandmother Lawrence's home for lunch. Thankfully Kirsten took her nap after church, so when she woke up, she was super-cute, and she thoroughly entertained all of us! Here are a few of my favorite photos of this first meeting!