Consider it pure JOY

It is 5am and I have been up with baby Rachel since 3am...

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."
James 1:2-3

This was the key verse during my Thursday morning women's bible study. This was also the day when I forced myself to face the fact that I think Rachel is a colicky baby. I have been down this road before. My last baby, Abi, who is now almost 3 was a classic colicky baby. From about 6 weeks old to 3 months old she would get into a crying jag every evening for no apparent reason and nothing settled her. It was a long couple of months.

Rachel is a bit different. I think her problem is that she swallows a lot of air when she eats and is uncomfortably gassy. But I haven't figured out how to give her enough relief and sometimes she just cries and I am helpless to settle her. [sigh] She is only 4 weeks old and I worry she is going to be a baby that I can't take out anywhere for fear she will start screaming. I do not look forward to being trapped with her at home for several months until she matures past this. Perhaps my concerns are will not come to pass.

That verse from James has kept playing in my head. "Consider it pure JOY..." According to this, I should be joyful when my little blessing is screaming NOT frustrated. I keep asking God to teach me because I am having difficulty with this. The rest of the verse goes on to say that the testing of your faith develops perserverence. I do get that and I can see how life's struggles do just that, but what I can't seem to really understand is how to have that JOY in the midst of it. I am going to keep praying for God to teach me about joy. I want to really understand the joy of the Lord that is not dependent upon your circumstances unlike happiness which is dependent on your happenings.

Hopefully the ramblings of the sleep deprived mom make some sense. Rachel seems to have settled to sleep and I am off to grab some sleep of my own. Sweet dreams....

God is in the details

I love this quote. It was said by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a brilliant architect who is also credited with saying, "Less is more."

When I put together this layout of photos of Rachel at 10 days old, this was the quote that popped into my head: "God is in the details." You can't help but marvel when looking at this wee little person so fresh from God. She has been created in tiny perfection. This can only be by the hand of God!

This page was created using parts of a scrapbook kit I have in the works. I started it well before Rachel was born, and I just can't seem to find the time or the brain cells to get it done. With being sick, I am finding that my brain has turned to mush. I am struggling to keep on track with the kids and the housekeeping. Creative stuff is just totally difficult to focus on right now. I am praying for God to take control of my details.

Really Rough Week

I have been trying to complete this post all week unsuccessfully. Like I said...

It has been a rough week. Sunday evening I started to feel bad - really achy and chilled like I had a fever. I went to bed early but couldn't sleep because I felt so bad. By morning I had realized that I had mastitis as my one breast was incredibly sore. Fortunately I was able to get in to see my doctor on Monday. He determined that I was in the early stages of mastitis and I have a sinus infection on top of it. No wonder I felt so lousy! The real bummer is that my hubby went out of town Monday leaving me alone with 5 kids for 9 days. Fortunately, my kids have been pretty good and my older girls very helpful. I stayed in bed all of Monday evening and night and woke up on Tuesday feeling WAY better. Because of this, I didn't rest enough and by Wednesday afternoon, I felt awful again and the antibiotics and Motrin were not helping at all. So, I crawled back to bed and pretty much stayed there all afternoon, evening, and the following day.

Today, I still feel kinda bad, but I am so sick of being in bed so I am up and trying really hard not to overdue things. It is so hard though when there is so much to be done and it is all staring you in the face and calling your name. (Literally, the kids do call my name!)

On a funny note, Tuesday was my son, Patrick's, birthday. His big sisters taught him how to play one of our PS2 games (Sly Cooper) and because of how lousy I was feeling and the fact that it was his birthday, I let him play for hours which is not the norm. And if I wasn't sure if I had let him overdue it, the next day he was running around the house playing with his little sister when I overheard him say, "You have just one more life, Abi, and then your dead."

The layout here I did earlier this week. This picture is one that my 9 yo daughter took of me without me knowing it. I only discovered it when I was going through my recently downloaded photos. We were looking at some really amazing rain clouds and I thought this verse was very fitting.

It reads: "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Isaiah 40:25-26

The layout was created using Doris Castle's Dreams kit. I love the rich color of the background and all of the papers in this.

Coming soon...

Well, baby Rachel was a bit high maintenence today. It wasn't that she was horribly fussy, just fussy anytime I tried to sit her down. So, I spent a good portion of my day with her in my arms which makes it difficult to get a lot of household chores done. So I created this brag book of jiffy scraps today so that I could feel that I accomplished something. I used an existing kit of mine called the Carpet Bagger Scrappin' Set to put these pages together. These are 6" X 4" pages designed to print and place in a little brag book style photo album. I want to put one of these together for myself to keep in the diaper bag. I think the kids would love having this to page through when we are out and they are restless. Plus, I don't normally carry any photos in my wallet so I can use this the brag on my kids a little, too. ;-)
This should be up in my Scrap Outside the Box store very soon.

Here's a fun site a stumbled onto. It looks like a great resource!

Is this it?

When it comes to having a new baby, there are many ways it affects a family and there are many things to think about. I have have decided that there is a VAST difference between a man and a woman's brain here. As for me, I am concentrating on how I can get back into a routine of managing our home, teaching the kids, and gaining back a bit of normalcy all while tending to a baby who wishes to be cuddled 24/7. My hubby, on the other hand, is obsessing over our family vehicle. His concern is warranted. We currently have a minivan which we love. It is supposed to hold 7 passengers. I believe that for that to be possible, at least 3 of them would have to be diminutive elves that do not require car seats. We have packed all 7 of us into the van and it is quite a feat just to get everyone smashed in and buckled. That back seat really wasn't designed for 3 people, especially in car seats. [sigh] So the hunt is on for a larger vehicle. My husband is fighting the big van. This is reminiscent of when we first started looking at minivans right after we had children. He thought he was too cool for one of those, too. Eventually the convenience factor won out and we got one. Well, it is time to move up again, but question is to what. I am pretty convinced that the big 12 passenger van is the best choice, but my man is stll holding out hope for 8 passenger Yukon XL. I just keep praying for wisdom (and perhaps a large chunk of money to drop from the sky) to know what the right decision is. This photo is one that is in the running right now. A local dealer just got this one in. Perhaps we can take it out for a drive with all of the kids loaded in it today.

Anyway, my brain is so full today! I finally got baby Rachel asleep on my lap and I am going to try and lay her down and be more productive,

Crazy!

I was doing a little surfing this morning and discovered this photo. It cracked me up and I decided that I need a sign like this hanging in my house. Things have felt a bit crazy around here lately. I probably just have too much on my mind right now. I can't even begin to list it all. The real crazy factor is that it is raining and my energetic preschoolers are bouncing of the walls today.

I was feeling so ambitious today, but yet it is already mid afternoon and when I look around, it doesn't seem that I have accomplished much. [sigh] What a downer! As soon as Rachel gets done eating and goes to sleep I really need to kick into high gear!

Oh, the joys of motherhood!

I have to say that I have been a bit frustrated with the behavior of my 2 yo. Ever since baby Rachel came home. she has been whiney and misbehaving. She has also been choosing to boycott the potty. I have been trying to give her plenty of attention, but some days it is hard because she is just not fun to be around. But then I discovered this photo that my daughter took last week. In it I don't see that obnoxious child, but instead I see an insecure little girl and it reminded me of how vulnerable she is right now.

The journaling on this layout reads:
Abi, ever since we brought your baby sister, Rachel, home, you have been whiney and obnoxious and misbehaving. I have been at my wit's end with you, but then I look into your eyes and realize that you are so vulnerable right now. YOU have been the baby in the house for 2 1/2 years. You have been able to monopolize my lap and much of my attention. Now, you have to share that place with your baby sister and you are insecure. I will remember this and give you an extra hug today.

I used Doris Castle's newest kit at ScrapbookGraphics called Spiced Cider. I like how the warm colors compliment the photo.

It's Monday

Why are Mondays so hard? I am having trouble getting my head on straight and figuring out what needs to get accomplished this week. It doesn't help that I overslept and didn't get up until 8am, therefore I had to share my morning quiet time with 5 children. It wasn't exactly "quiet." I had a bit of difficulty doing any bible study or quiet reflection! Oh well.

I really have the bug to do some organizing around here. It's like I am doing delayed "nesting." I had the urge to do these things pre-baby, but certainly didn't have the energy. I still am not at full strength, but things are way less tiring because I am not carrying a baby around 24/7. Plus I get rest every 2 hours when the baby needs to eat. ;-)

Friday, I decided to make a dent in my out of control, messy school room/office. I COMPLETELY cleared off my desk. I usually have it piled high with papers and stuff. I have decided that this is going to be this room's "shiny sink." Any of you who are "fly babies" will know exactly what I am talking about here. I will at minimum keep my desk clean and shiny and hopefully the cleanliness will soon spread to the rest of the room. Perhaps, today I can pick another small area to clean.

Oh, and here's another layout I wanted to share. This is a photo that hubby took of me and baby Rachel. She was JUST born and the doctor had placed her on my chest so I could see her. This is a quickpage from Doris Castle's Pure Love album. I thought the colors looked great with this photo and it was so quick to do!

Rachel has been eating lots today, so I got another one handed page done. These are shots as I was on my way out the door to the hospital. I had an 8:30 appointment to be induced.

This page was completed using Doris Castle's Precious Moments kit.

Well, here I sit typing one handed while feeding baby Rachel. You would swear she has a built in alarm clock that tells her that it has been exactly two hours since her last feed. I really can't complain though, because she has been a very good dispositioned baby. It probably doesn't hurt that she gets no shortage of attention around here.

Yesterday, she had her first doctor's visit. Obviously she is eating well because at 9 days old, she has already gained 8 ounces and grown 3/4". Yay! She actually SLEPT through her entire exam with the doc! He poked her, listened to her and looked her all over, but she was just a sleeping rag doll. She didn't ever wake up when he pried her eyes open and shined a light into them. After he was done and I was getting her dressed, she opened her eyes and looked at me like "did I just miss something?" Too funny!

I am trying to get myself back into some sort of routine with the baby, the house, the kids and the schooling. I have a long way to go! This week has just flown by! Hopefully next week will be a little better. I have had it pretty easy this week because I was not supposed to drive and had to say no to stuff and cancel appointments. It has been SO NICE just being home. It is making me think that I really need to limit the running around that I usually do. That can be tough with managing our apartments, though. Perhaps I need to have just a couple of days that I leave the house and fiercely guard my other days at home. The other great thing this week has been that my "peeps" from bible study have been bringing me dinner every night. That has been SO GREAT! Although I have been teasing them that I am never gonna lose the baby weight because they are feeding me too well! Good friends are such a blessing!

I managed to put this layout together rather quickly the other day. This is Doris Castle's newest kit called Sweet Decadence and she included a couple of quickpages with it. It was so pretty and I immediately thought of this photo when I saw it. My daughter snapped this wonderful photo of my mom holding Rachel for the first time. Isn't it great?

With all this eating that baby Rachel is doing, maybe I will get a jump start on her baby book!

Reviving the art of one handed scrappin'

So what do you do when you have to feed a hungry baby and want to be efficient with your time? You do it in front of the computer and scrap one handed!

This first layout was really fun to do with Betsy Tuma's Aa to Zz PSD Templates which are on sale right now at Scrap Outside the Box. I may just have to do an entire album with these templates. They are so EASY to use!
Layout Credits:
Betsy Tuma's Aa to Zz templates
Papers by Doris Castle
Mo Jackson's Crepe Paper flowers
Mo's Charm alpha
Mo's Betsy's bath - old tag
Mo's Designer DooDad labels

The tag at the bottom reads:
Rachel
meaning little ewe; one with purity
Little label reads:
2 days old

The top photo is of Rachel laying all cozy in my hospital bed and the bottom photo is of her dressed and ready to come home from the hospital.

This other layout is of Rachel's first bath at home. Yeah, she wasn't lovin' it! My daughter snapped these photos. I just love what she captured in the main one. So pitiful!

Journaling reads:
Rachel's very first bath happened shortly after her birth and took place in the hospital nursery. She got her first bath at home when she was 5 days old. Since she is not a fan of even being undressed for a diaper change, it was no surprise when she began to holler about being naked AND wet. Poor thing! We made the ordeal a quick one and she settled as soon as she was covered in her wrap-me-up hooded towel.
October 1, 2006

Layout Credits:
Backgrounds, ribbon trim, duckies, tub charm are from Mo Jackson's Betsy's Bath
Letter "b" from Mo's Caroline.
Stitches from Mo's Stitches One.
Water splashes are my own (from Splash City.)

Rachel has been a great baby so far! She only fusses when she is hungry and when I change her diaper. Although she eats like clockwork even through the night, she doesn't keep me awake any longer than it takes her to eat. As for myself, I am not supposed to drive at all this week which has forced me to cancel appointments and just stay home. It has been great and allowed me to rest. I was able to avoid the c-section and had a regular delivery so my recovery has been relatively easy. I am SO thankful for that!

My little ones have not been the best behaved since I came home from the hospital, but they are adjusting and everyone adores Rachel. My older girls argue over whose turn it is to hold her. Patrick doesn't pay much attention to her at all and Abi just loves to talk to her and "pet" her. Now, if I could just get Abi to stop wetting her pants, I would be a happy camper. I know it is common for toddlers to have potty training issues when a new baby comes into the house, but this is the first time I have experienced it first hand. I have cleaned quite a bit of pee off the living room carpet in the last few days. [sigh] I just hope this passes soon.