early morning walks

elise and i like to take early morning walks. i'm sure there are many mothers out there who have this same morning habit as well. this morning was especially nice. it was so cool outside, elise's feet were cold. i even had a sweatshirt on! there was a cool breeze blowing and i wasn't sweating by the time we got home.

we walk around the block, changing direction depending on how much sun is in her eyes. sometimes we walk around the football fields nearby. there's one spot on a neighboring street, where there are three houses close by with dogs that like to bark. you've got the pit bull on the leash, who's quite intimidating (but we're not scared anymore! plus i have an escape plan if he ever gets loose!), the white yipping dog who lives with the older couple, and then there's the house with three yippers. those dogs crack me up, because they attempt to sound quite frightening, but once you see through the fence the smallness of their stature, you almost laugh out loud!

elise gets quite serious on these walks. she looks at everything, soaking it all in, and hardly makes a peep. we noticed early on with her, that she loves being outside and seeing the trees. i don't know if it's just the color green she likes, the breeze, or if we have an outdoors girl already!

even with the cool breeze and warm sunshine, i couldn't get her to smile. she's got her game face on...or i guess i should say, her "walk face." hopefully tomorrow morning will be just as nice.

motherhood

i am a journaler. i make sense of my thoughts and reach conclusions by writing them down, but today i am going to journal online. i haven't done this before, so bear with me.

motherhood has been on my mind. it has been almost eight months since elise was born, and it has been filled with joy, laughter, and excitement. but in the past week or so, new emotions have entered my heart: frustration, resentment, and anger. i hate even admitting to that, because i feel guilty even feeling it, but that's the truth. as she gets older, she's more squirmy, trying to move more, lunging out of my arms and throwing my back for a whirl, biting me multiple times when nursing, and so on. yes, these are minor offenses, i know. but the emotions are still in my heart, and i long to erase them, and return to that blissful love and joy i have felt the past few months. this battle of emotions has come as a great shock to me...is this what motherhood is about?

i've been praying about it and the Lord graciously pointed out that i'm holding grudges against my soon to be eight month old. He then gently reminded me that because of Jesus' death on the cross, paying for my sins, He holds nothing against me. how can i hold something against her? the slate should be wiped clean again and again.

i'm also reading "Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother" by Carolyn Mahaney. it's based on Titus 2 and it's rocking my world. i'm only in chapter 3, but i recommend it to anyone interested. anyway, chapter 3 is called "The Blessings of Loving My Children." here's an excerpt that has struck my heart:

"As mothers, we have a choice. We can either resent the challenges and demands that accompany motherhood and persist in our selfishness, or we can draw from God's grace and receive His help to cheerfully lay down our lives for our children. Let's choose the latter. If we do, we are choosing Biblical greatness. As Jesus said in Matthew 20:26: 'Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.'"

the word "cheerfully" stood out to me. my prayer today is that God would give me strength and remind me throughout the day to draw on His grace, to forgive and move on, and to fulfill the call of being a mom...cheerfully! i want to enjoy this great calling.

nana's 84th birthday

my nana turned 84 yesterday. she's been battling dimensia for years now, but she is still smiling and joyful, and for that we're thankful. we have a picture of my great nana, nana, my mom and me when i was younger, and now we have another picture of four generations, including elise.

here's nana with her birthday cupcake

this is my great aunt hertha with elise. they really did have a good time together, despite lisey's face in this one. aunt hertha is one of the neatest women i think i've ever known. her husband passed away a couple years ago, and she's still going strong. she has continued to live near my nana and her sister, though hertha's family is down south. she is well read and seems to know a bit about everything. she's funny and doesn't miss a bit when it comes to humor. and she still volunteers at her church, helping to make meals for those who need them. she is so humble too. i'm thankful she got to meet lisey!

mama and her girl

my sister and me (sidenote: it just dawned on me today that she'll be leaving for college in a year, and i just don't know what i'm going to do then.) at least i have time before that happens.

nana and her sister jeanne

lisey's sick

aside from playing with blog background, we have a sick little girl in our home. yesterday elise was quite stuffy with a runny nose. and today she woke up with a 100.2 fever! this is a first for us and i've been praying my way through it, to stay calm, have wisdom to do what's best for her, and rely on God, our ultimate healer. i know it may sound melodramatic for a fever and runny nose, but having your child sick is such a strange feeling. it's completely out of your control, and no matter how much you may do to help them get better, it's in God's hands if they do or not. so, may my heart look to Him whether it's a minor or major illness. in the meantime, if you know any good tricks to try, or things to do for a fever or runny/stuffy nose, i'm open!

lisey's got a new ride!

yup, it's true. elise is outgrowing her carseat and her old stroller, so the other day we tried out the new one we received as a gift from my AM class as a baby gift. she loved it as you can tell!

now she can see all over instead of just up :)

while i'm posting fun things about elise, here's a hilarious picture. she's been teething again and we're anticipating those top teeth to come sometime soon. but one night, as a relaxing break, i put her back in her baby swing with a nice cold teething ring. i think she's as relaxed as a seven month old could be!

i'm slowly letting her feed herself and boy does she think she's hot stuff. and she is! she's amazingly accurate with the spoon!

and one more. i pulled out a toy we had been given. it's this way cool octopus with all kinds of cool textures on it's arms, numbers underneath and other sea creatures that attach. but forget all that stuff, we had fun putting just putting it on her head and making funny noises when it fell off.

60th anniversary

grandmom and grandpop celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary yesterday. we all surprised them with a dinner. they were quite surprised and seemed to love it. after dinner they fed each other cake, had a dance or two, and we even watched their wedding video. that was so cool.

here are four generations represented

here's all the fam that was there. i think we're just missing vanessa and laura and their families

and here's my favorite picture of the night...elise dancing with her oma and papa. the sweetest thing is that up until i pulled out the camera she had her sleepy face on. but once she saw the camera she smiled like a pro!