Lee and I work with Chi Alpha Campus Ministries at the University of Louisiana Lafayette.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Chi Alpha International = Bella's Entertainment Show

We brought our kids to Chi Alpha International last night (let me just interject here that it is really weird writing "kids" - like more than one...). Brennan wasn't feeling too good (he's congested), so I was just going to stay home with both of them. But, it's hard having Lee at home for a little while on a Friday afternoon and then sending him off again. So, we went as a family.

The food was delicious. The interns did a great job cooking fajitas. There was a ton of food. It was great!! Our discussion topic was "Motivation," and there were 5 questions that went with it. Lee and I went to the front of the Chi Alpha house because there's more room up there for Bella to run. The kitchen stayed full, but we had a few students (who've been around for a while) come up to the front with us. It was actually all guys. We tried talking about "motivation," but Bella's show was much more entertaining! She sang her ABC's, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Counting to Four and anything else she could think of, along with doing flips and jumping on chairs.

We then got to talk about family. How many kids did these guys want to have...what did they think it would be like raising kids. It ended up being really nice. One of the students actually told Lee that we show them that having kids can be fun. It wears us out at times, but our kids mean so much to us.
A lot of 18 year olds believe that they will have happier lives if they don't get married. That's crazy! Lee and I love being together, working together, building a family together. I couldn't be happier! But, if these 18 year olds (and 21 year olds) only see bitter, angry people in marriages that are failing, they wouldn't know how much fun marriage can be!

The students that we work with love us and they love our kids. We know that. And we are happy that we can be a healthy, godly example of what kind of marriage and family they can have for themselves in the future if they choose to put God first in their lives.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Bromance

Lee spoke at one of our Thursday Night Live meetings about "Bromance." It's about men (and women too, but men need more encouragement in this area) having deep friendships. There are 2 guys mentioned in the Bible who have this kind of friendship - Jonathan and David.

According to the story, Jonathan and David should have been enemies. Jonathan was supposed to be the next king of Israel, but because his dad Saul didn't follow God, David was made king. Jonathan's dad hated David, but that didn't stop Jonathan from loving him. I think this story in the Bible is the first "bff" example (best friends forever).

The cool thing is that after Lee spoke on this at the meeting, guys have been coming up to him to tell him that this challenged them in their relationships. Lee and I have even noticed that the guys in leadership (the ones who lead Bible studies on campus) are getting closer to each other.

One of the cool things about Chi Alpha is that you can't join it, you can only experience it. Everyone is welcome. There are students who could have sat next to each other in a classroom and never spoke 2 words to each other for a whole semester, but they are close friends because they sat in a Bible study next to each other, or cleaned the bathrooms together, or played ultimate frisbee every week together. I love looking on facebook and seeing the people who comment on each other's walls knowing that their initial friendship took place at a Chi Alpha related event. That is so awesome to me! It's the beginning of a beautiful, life-long, relationship. A true Bromance.

Friday, October 22, 2010

What a Week

It's been a crazy week!!

Highlights and Lowlights:

High: We had a great family weekend. It was our first big outing with Brennan. We went to the Boudin Cookoff downtown Lafayette. It was fun! Bella played in the water at Parc Sans Sauci. Some of the students were there and got to watch!! It was precious.

High: Bella and I went to "Come Learn and Play with Me" today (Friday). She had a great time. It's a safe environment, and I met 2 mommies there. I am definitely going back, and I'm going to do a little investigating...like possibly signing up for the Mother's Day Out program and possibly asking to design the owner's newsletter.

High: I went for my postpartum check up. I'm cleared to do whatever I want! :) It made me thankful for my health, my perfect delivery (which was super fast compared to what I heard while waiting for doctor), and my healthy beautiful babies. I'm one blessed girl.

High: We were super financially blessed this month from supporters and friends! It's amazing to know that people believe in us and what we are doing.

Low: Lee's truck broke down. Wouldn't start at all. He was not far from our house getting cardboard for the homecoming float, and he called me to come to the rescue. I towed his truck with our suburban back to our house. THEN I towed it to the mechanic's across town. CRAZY! (and that might be a part of a high). The mechanic told us it would cost one price, and then the next day his brother told us it would cost $300 more! When I told my dad (a diesel mechanic himself), he freaked out and told us to go tow the truck back because we were being ripped off. Luckily, the truck started and I didn't have to tow it back home. Now we are trying to figure out where we're going to take it. At least we didn't pay the $750 we were told it's going to take.

Sometimes when I think about my lows, I don't want to put them because they seem so petty. My 3 day headache doesn't compare to some of the other things that my friends are going through. We are a blessed family, no matter what goes wrong...or how rough the week may seem. God is so good to us. He wants good things for us. I want to be like the Apostle Paul in the Bible and learn to be content and have joy no matter what circumstances a week may bring.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Nap Time

Two months ago, Bella and I were in a pretty good routine. She took her nap around 1:30-3:30 pm with a little variation, and I could decide what I wanted to do during that time. I would often read my Bible and pray, catch up on a tv show, clean our house, or take a nap myself.
Now, things are different. It's almost rare for both babies to take a nap at the same time. It seems like when I get Bella down, Brennan is starting to wake up. On the days that their naps overlap, I don't know what to do with myself. I know the rule of "sleep when the baby sleeps," but there are so many other things that need to be done!!

I also know that this is just a season. I keep thinking how it seems like we just brought Bella home from the hospital and now she's a mini-adult :o) Things happen so quickly. Brennan is almost 2 months old already. That's just craziness. And that is what is getting me through life right now. I know that this season is going to pass by very quickly. The Bible even says that our lives are but "a vapor." Mists don't last for long.

The next stage will be here soon. He's already laughing and cooing. He'll be rolling over in no time - to get away from Bella. Bella's using reason and logic and using it to communicate with us. That's just insane. When the students see her at the cafe, they say they can't believe how much she's grown and how she communicates. They are the ones who say she's a mini-adult.

So, I may not get as many naps as I would like right now, but I know that soon enough, I can have as many as I want. And I will sleep through the night again. It's just a matter of time.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Staycare

I have thought about this a few times recently...if I were still teaching, I would be going back to work this week. I would be leaving my children in the care of someone else for about 9 hours of the day. Brennan is just 6 weeks old. He's so small. He wants to be held and cuddled. I want to be the one to do that! I know many mom's who want to do that too with their little one, but they don't have the option. So, thank you to our support team members who sacrificially give of their finances to us so that I can have the opportunity to be at home with my babies. It is worth it to make our own financial sacrifices for me to stay at home, too. It would break my heart every day to have to drop them off and pick them up and miss out on so much of their day every day.

Now, staying home isn't always the easiest thing. There are days when I want to pull my hair out every hour on the hour. Bella has gotten into this thing that when she wants something, she repeats it over and over until she gets it or gets your attention to see what she's doing. She talks ALL of the time now. Non-stop. I won't trade it, though.

I have a hard time imagining what it's going to be like when Brennan is 2 and Bella is 4. I'm happy that they will be able to keep each other entertained. It is hard to think that day will come!! After rough nights, it seems like it is oh sooo far away, but I know, it will be here sooner than I want it to!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Bella Slept Through the Storm...

Bella slept through the storm...

While I was up feeding Brennan, it began to pour down rain. Such a good sound that I haven't heard in a long time. I could hear the thunder and see the reflection of lightening through the windows. There was one really close lightening strike followed by an immediate crash of thunder - the loudest I've heard in a long time.
I began to think that Bella was going to be awake and afraid of the storm. I laid Brennan down and went to her room. She was still asleep in the same position she was in right before I went to bed earlier. She was sleeping through the storm.

When Lee and I encounter the storms of life, I think it is important for Bella to sleep through the storm. Sure, I want her to know that we live in an imperfect world. I want her to know that there are struggles, and that her mommy and daddy may not always see eye-to-eye. But for now, she needs to feel safe and protected. She needs to live a blissful, carefree life. She's 2...she should enjoy it.

Maybe I need to sleep through the storm as well. I'm safe. I'm protected. God is working in me and through me. There's not much else to really do through a storm besides get a good night's sleep. Instead of worrying that my roof is going to fly off, I should just go to sleep. If it does fly off, then we'll deal with that. That's what insurance is for. :) But there's no sense losing sleep until then!

Embrace the Moment

I really don't enjoy 3 am feedings. It's so hard to get up...be up for 20 minutes or longer and then know that I'll be up again soon. I'm just not a morning person. I find myself thinking, "I can't wait until he sleeps through the night." Embrace the season. Soon, before I know it, he'll be walking, talking, and not wanting me to hold him close for any amount of time. I only have this short season once in his lifetime and mine.

We're in a drought in Lafayette - and everywhere else too. Everything is dry and thirsty. It's really dusty. Embrace the season. There have been multiple, beautiful days to play outside with my little girl. When the yard is soggy and gross, it's hard to take her out. I can do that when it's dry.

It's easy to look to the future when the current circumstances are not lining up like you'd like them to be. It's more fun at times to live in the past or the future and not the present. There's so much in the moment that we're living in. It's important to plan for the future and reflect on the past. It's where we're going and how we've been shaped into who we are. But we can miss so much if we don't appreciate where we are at now. God wants to teach me something now just as much as He did in the past and will in the future.

Now, when I'm up at 3 am, cuddling a little boy who is going to change the world, I will embrace the moment. This moment is going to lead to another moment, and those moments with him are going to transform him into the man of God he is called to be. This is a powerful moment now.

Next time you find yourself doing something that may not be enjoyable, but you know you have to do it...embrace the moment. The next time circumstances are not making sense, there seems to be stress and chaos...stop, and embrace the moment. The adventure is a good thing.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Hearing His Voice

Is listening to the voice of God is different from listening for the voice of God? Maybe it is a position of the heart...a state of mind. Both require being in a distraction free zone.

That's really hard to find. With a newborn and a 2 year old, everything about me seems to be a distraction right now. There's not a lot of silence. So, how do I hear from God? How is He speaking to me? I do believe He is still speaking to me, even if I'm not hearing anything. I want to do whatever it takes to hear Him. That is something I have to learn to do in this new stage where there's a baby crying, Elmo and Bella singing, and thoughts of all the other things that need to be done right now and really all I want to do is sleep for a few more minutes.

I know He is speaking to me, and I desperately want to hear Him. Maybe He will speak to me through my little girl as she's singing, or the look in Brennan's eyes when he smiles, or a quiet moment with my husband. His voice is there in all of those...I just want to know what He is saying.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Phone Calls and Legacies...

Lee and I were able to talk to some good friends yesterday. Such a comfort knowing that we have people we can call on who care about us. It's really cool that they are people we both love and admire, and have for a really long time now. They are a part of who we are today...a part of our legacy.

Whose legacy are we a part of? Who is going to call us after years of not seeing us just to talk about life? Is what we are doing impacting people enough that they would feel that way about us?

We are so thankful for our support team members - those who give of their time by praying for us and those who give of their finances to support us in our adventure. Because of their investments, we are working to build relationships with the students of UL and hope share in their legacies.

Speaking of legacies - our own little legacies are growing right before us. Brennan is going to pass up Bella soon. He's already in 3 month clothes, even some 3-6 month stuff. He's just so long. He's going to be a tall boy...and a great big little brother.
Bella is still doing great with him. She loves to be with him. Brennan will be 6 weeks old on Sunday. It's flown by. I feel really good physically and emotionally. That's a huge blessing I don't want to take for granted. It's still crazy to think that we are now a family of 4.