July 30, 2010

Our Life in Bullet Points

•Joycelen loves solid foods. Thus far we have tried green beans, peas, squash, carrots, bananas, and apple sauce.
•Green beans are her favorite veggie and she adores bananas. Peas appear to be Joycelen’s least favorite veggie – and it just so happens that they are my least favorite as well.
•On Tuesday, I had to travel out of town for a work conference. M kept Joycelen by himself. Since M is a heavy sleeper, he thought it best to allow Joycelen to sleep with him. Apparently, M got very little sleep since Joycelen kicked, flipped, and flopped all night long.
•The weekend should be a fun one – as it will be the first weekend in several weeks that M will not have to work.
•Tonight we plan on hanging out at home, hanging a few pictures, and cleaning out our closets.
•Tomorrow night, our church is holding a special prayer service that I am extremely excited about.
•Sunday will be the usual routine of Church, Sunday dinner, naps, etc.

That’s the quick version of life in our corner of the world. What is happening with each of you?

July 23, 2010

Foto Friday - Littlest G.T. Fan

My Daddy (Joycelen's Papa Babo) came over last Saturday. He was talking to her about the upcoming college football season and how he couldn't wait to take her to a Georgia Tech game. I turned around and found this sight...



This post has been linked to Foto Fridays @ Mama Michie .

July 22, 2010

Bigger Picture Moment: Finally Happy with Me

Life often gets hectic, busy, and in the hurried pace we can overlookg the bigger picture. Each week the lovely ladies of Bigger Picture Blogs invite bloggers to take a momen to find the bigger picture. If you would like to join in the fun, head over here for more information and to link up.
It has happened a few times lately. Once at the local department store while I was shopping for a new pair of dress pants. Then again, while standing in line at the local sandwich shop. In both instances, the comment was made “You are tinier now than before you got pregnant.”

It is not their comment that is surprising but rather my reaction to it – I am caught off guard - they follow up their comment with asking what I weigh – and I do not have an answer for them. Why is this important?

Each morning for nearly 5 years, I began my day in the exact same manner. Wake up, use the restroom, and step on the scale. Depending on the number reflected, I would set my daily calorie allowance, determine how long I would need to work out, and then head off to work. And I would happily tell everyone that my eating disorder was under control. I would proudly declare that I had not had a bulimic episode in ___ years.

But the reality was that I had exchanged an eating disorder for disordered eating. There was still a lack of joy in my life. Food was classified by “good” or “bad”. Workouts were done for the most calorie burn, not because I enjoyed them or wanted to challenge myself physically.

One year ago, I was settling into my pregnancy. And as I began to think of my child, and the kind of mother I wanted to be, I took a vow to love my body as it is , to focus on what it could do.

For 9 months, I listened to my body. I ate what I craved, worked out to the level I felt like that day, and embraced my pregnancy. Some days I ate tons of vegetables and fruits and would do my regular aerobics classes. Other days, I ate chocolate and skipped the gym to take an afternoon nap. I honored my body while it did the most pressing task it would ever do – nurture a human life. In return my body honored me.

Once my daughter was born, I continued the same pattern. I trusted my body to tell me what it needed. And five months post baby, I am at peace with my body. Let me state that again, after 5 years of active bulimia , 5 years of disorder eating… I am at peace with my body.

One of my favorite songs to sing to may daughter is Fingerprints of God by Steven Curtis Chapman. The chorus goes:

That I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece that all creation
Quietly applauds
And you're covered with
The fingerprints of God


Today I finally see what my Heavenly Father has always seen – my true beauty. And it feels wonderful!

July 18, 2010

4 Month Checkup

 

Joycelen had her  4 month check up last week. She weighed in at 14.6 pounds and measured 25 inches in length. Her development was right on target according to her doctor.

After to vaccines, Joycelen was sent home with the green light to begin trying solid foods.

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Since Joycelen had already been eating rice cereal in her bottle, Dr. C advised that we could begin to give her vegetables. I decided to start with one of my favorite veggies – Green Beans. (The spoon we used is the same spoon that my parents fed me from)

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Joycelen was uncertain at first if she liked the green beans or not.

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Then she decided that Daddy needed help in feeding her.

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After a few spoonfuls, she was eating like an old pro.

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The look of contentment post feeding.

 

She has been eating green beans twice a day for 4 days now. On Monday we are going to try another vegetable to see what she thinks about it. Do you have any recommendations on what we should try next?

July 12, 2010

Now we lay her down to sleep….

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It is no surprise that Joycelen is sleeping peacefully. But the big news is where she is doing her sleeping….

DSC_0034For that past week, Joycelen has slept in her crib. M and I (okay, I was) were worried that she would not transition to her crib easily. Ha!  She slept the whole night the very first time we put her in it.

We have finally established a nighttime routine. Joycelen gets at bath at her Nana’s house, then I pick her up around 6:30. We come home, have playtime, then have a final bottle about between 7:45 and 8:15.  Then we do a little reading.

DSC_0037Good Night is our book of choice. M reads to us, while I rock her. If she is still awake at the book’s end, we rock a little while longer and I sing her a few lullabies. Then we tuck her in for the night and enjoy a little time alone.

It is hard to believe that my baby is already sleeping in her own crib…. 

July 09, 2010

Show Us Your Life - Favorite Bible Verses

This over at Kelly’s Korner, Kelly has asked us to share our favorite bible verses.

When I became a Christian at the age of 13, the only bible verse I knew was John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

However, I quickly came to love learning new Bible verses. My favorite book of the Bible is Proverbs, with its endless amounts of practical wisdom. As a fledging Christian who was going thru the trials/tribulation of puberty, I clung fast to Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

In my early twenty it felt as though every turn I took was the wrong one. I often questioned if I was doing the right things and if I would ever have the life I dreamed of living. When I would get discouraged I would turn to this verse out of Jeremiah 29.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. “ Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

The Lord has blessed me with a greater hope and future than I could have ever imagined as that young 20-something. Now, I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, a home filled with love and laughter, and career that I enjoy. With all of the blessings in my life, I could grow complacent/comfortable and lose sight of my ultimate purpose – to glorify God – so I keep this verse from Ephesians on my desk at work.

“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 (NIV)

What are your favorite Bible verses?

July 08, 2010

Bigger Picture Moments: Plans

Life often gets hectic, busy, and in the hurried pace we can overlookg the bigger picture. Each week the lovely ladies of Bigger Picture Blogs invite bloggers to take a momen to find the bigger picture. If you would like to join in the fun, head over to Sarah's for more information and to link up.

I am a planner and a list maker. My husband finds humor in the fact that our fridge is home to several lists (daily chores, weekly chores, monthly chores, and a shopping list). On those list, each day is assigned a task, each task assigned an estimated time to complete – I live by my lists.

My need for planning and love of lists is evident in all areas of my life. At the office, I have daily, weekly, and monthly to-do lists which are color coordinated to the respective areas of my job. I have a list of which workouts to complete on which days for my time at the gym. Again, let me state, I love planning.

It is not surprise then that when the husband and I said our vows a year and a half ago, I had a plan for how our “happily ever after” would unfold. We discussed and agreed (okay, if the truth is to be told, I told him and he just agreed) that we would wait a year and then begin to start a family. With the start of a new marriage, a fledging career, I was happy with my life as was – and in my most private moments I was unsure if I even wanted to be a mother. The more I though about it, the more fearful I became, and the better that year long seemed.

Then on July 4th, I took a pregnancy test. My husband and I were 100% certain that we were NOT pregnant. We had taken the necessary precautions, but my constant fatigue, weird food cravings, and tender body parts had our extended family asking “Are you sure you aren’t pregnant?” The test was our way to put an end to the speculation. Instead, that test (and subsequent) doctor’s visit confirmed what our families had suspected….we were going to be parents.

In the early days following that pregnancy test, I remember questioning God “Why, Lord? This wasn’t what we had planned”.

One year ago, I thought that the plan I had for my life was irrevocably changed – and it has – but what the Lord has given is so much better. One year ago, we had no idea that the Lord would bless us with an opportunity to purchase a large addition to a family farm, an addition that requires more time and more work, and likely would have caused us to delay our start. We had no way of knowing that our plan would have coincided with the departure of my company’s CFO, or how compelled I would have been to set aside my desire to start a family, in order to do more at job

God could see both the blessing and the stumbling blocks that lay ahead for us, and so, He chose to carry out His plan. A plan that is now a 12 pound, 4 month old with beautiful blue eyes and her Daddy’s smile. Today, as I hold my daughter, my life should be focused on serving my Heavenly Father, trusting in Him to lead and guide me, even when the direction I travel is not on my plan.

July 06, 2010

July 05, 2010

4 Months Old

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Joyclen,

You are now 4 months old.

  • You weigh 13 pounds and are measuring around 23 inches length.
  • You are wearing clothing exclusively in the 3-6 month range.
  • You are still wearing size 1 diapers, but should move up to size 2 diapers by the end of the week.
  • You can now “army crawl” across the floor. It is cute watching you pull yourself across the floor – trying to keep up with your older cousins.
  • You have started babbling even more. You have started making the “B” sound in addition to your cooing.
  • You are still a very happy baby who loves to smile. In the last month, you have started laughing – especially at your Daddy when he makes sill faces.

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  • For the first time this month, you attended day care. You impressed all of the teachers with how easily you made the transition – they all said you had such a sweet disposition.
  • On the 4th of July, you watched your first fireworks display…..or at least you did until you fell asleep.

One year ago today, Daddy and I were still trying to process the news that we were going to be parents. Admittedly, we were scared, anxious, and a little unsure of ourselves. But we both agree that if we had known then what we now know – how amazing you would be – then we would have had nothing to fear.

Our lives our so much better because of you!

Love,

Mama and Daddy

July 03, 2010

Happy Fourth of July!!!

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From our little firecracker!!

July 01, 2010

Foto Friday

 

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Playing in the Jenny Jump up leads to…….

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