thinking of Thanksgiving

I've been composing posts in my mind for weeks, and none of them seem to make it to this page. My mind's a little numb and my words are so slow, but rather than wait for the muse to strike, I'll just muddle through and try to say what's swimming around up there, regardless of how well I write it.

The last month or so has been so busy and emotionally charged. Political debates, a national election, a failing economy, a huge depressing bailout, a beautiful new baby, toddler temper tantrums, glorious Fall weather, and other things I can't remember now...

And today I'm thinking about the Pilgrims and the hardships that they suffered so they could worship God in peace. They braved an ocean, endured months of putrid food, stale air, filthy surroundings, and endless nausea, all the while praising a good God who brought them safe passage. They arrived at Plymouth, worked tirelessly to build shelter and find food, only to starve and freeze through two winters. Their suffering must have been beyond anything a spoiled American like me can imagine. And yet, they had the God-given wisdom and faith to know that God was with them, sustaining them, guiding them, and protecting them against unbelievable odds. Their Thanksgiving was an offering of thanks despite circumstances, not like ours. They knew that God gives and He takes away, and they could articulate this even in the face of starvation and death. They knew that serving God and obeying Him was more important than living comfortably.

In the midst of our nation's uncertainty and financial crisis, I am thankful for the legacy of the Pilgrims, for their faithfulness and example.

God help me to praise you in all things, in joy and hardship and give me the grace to obey and follow you even when it costs me dearly.

Minor Victories

Dana finally lost his tooth (two weeks ago, I'm behind)! AND he completely shocked me by pulling it out himself, which is a huge thing to him. With all of his ear infections over the years, he has a really hard time trusting us when we say something won't hurt. The fact that he pulled it on his own makes the next several loose teeth seem so much less daunting. Hurray for my big boy taking charge!

The kids announced to me yesterday that they love chili and my pickiest eater (Dana) even pronounced it his favorite food! For those of you who know my kids, this is almost as miraculous as a dead man being raised. Chili has lots of different ingredients all mixed up, in sauce no less, and that's down right offensive to our little diners. As corny as it sounds, I'm seriously grateful for this little victory. It's one more cheap and healthy meal that I can make and know they'll eat and one less stressful dinner time when everyone complains about the food.

I think I've figured out what's been bothering Jonathan... It's too loud over here. Who'd a thought? So, this weekend, we're going to get all of the baby gifts out of his crib in Clara's room and start laying him down in his crib instead of the bassinet in our room (the room with no doors!). We may even temporarily move Clara to the big kid room until he's sleeping through the night...

the spell has broken

My sweet, seldom crying baby let me have it last night. All in all, it still wasn't too bad, but it appears that he's human and that he's going to cry sometimes. Let's pray he doesn't get colicky all of a sudden and let's pray that Mommy makes it through the day without falling asleep standing up. I've still got homeschooling to do, a doctor's appointment to get through, and a bunch of maternity clothes to yank from my drawers. Hmm... maybe I should leave the clutter for the day and take the kids to the park... maybe.

Good or bad?

TV Reviews

So what does this say anyway? I think it says that I have two scripture references in the template and they're throwing the results.

The kids are happy and Jonathan's sleeping, so...

I'll pop in for a minute to let you know what's been going on around here.

First, those of you who love a good birth story will be disappointed. My labor was a really discouraging experience, except for his delivery of course. Everything was great until they gave me the IV drip, which is when my labor almost came to a halt and I got really weepy. Then, I made the really bad decision to try to speed things along with an epidural, even though I was managing the pain just fine (always worked with the other babies), which made things even less productive. Guilt, discouragement, feeling like a coward... these are all feelings that don't belong in labor. I went from about 3am to 8am like this, but thankfully my midwife arrived and broke my water. This got things going a bit, but after no significant progress, she started me on pitocin, which had to be upped three times while she manually dilated me. Thank you Lord that I didn't feel her do that. Shortly after 9am, she shocked me and said that she wanted me to push at will with each contraction. Within a few minutes I was feeling the need, but my emotions got the best of me and I just clung to the bed rails, crying. Here it was, my last baby and my last few minutes of carrying him inside of me. It was so sweet and painful all at the same time. When I let go and did what I knew I needed to do, out he came in three pushes. Matt caught him in his arms and held him while I took it all in. It's always so surreal. Joy and newness brimming over and I'm lost in it all, so much that I don't care that everyone in the room can see parts of me I wouldn't want my own mother to see, so much that the discouragement and sadness that overwhelmed me just a few minutes before is completely gone. Again, for the fourth time, I'm overwhelmed with the knowledge that God has made a little person, part me and part Matt and yet he's entirely new. He was then and he is now such a joy to us and to our family.

Since then, my mom came to help us for a few days, which was so very appreciated, and Matt's mom also came to get a peek at the baby for the weekend, which was a treat. Now all the help is gone, but so far so good. The kids really love their brother and he's proven to be pretty easy to spoil. He eats and sleeps well and he's about as snuggly as they come. I even managed to start up Dana's schooling again, which says a lot. Not that I'm so hyper-diligent, but this baby is amazingly easy!

More choppy/wordy updates to come. Baby needs nursing.

First Few Days with Jonathan and Dana's first missing tooth

Here are some more recent pics. I'll update later, but so far the transition to four kids is much easier than the transition to three was. It also helps that Jonathan is a pretty laid-back baby.

Get out and vote!

Here is a really amazing prayer spoken by John Piper (posted by my sister and her husband on their blog). It's truthful, honest, and reassuring on a day like this.

Slideshow photos of Jonathan

Jonathan Reeve Monahan

Jonathan Reeve Monahan

born October 31st, 2008
7 lbs. 6 oz.
20 1/2 in.

and well, the jury's still out on hair color. Looked red at first, but it's not a true red, not black... reddish brown? Auburn?