By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving

As I looked outside today, I noticed that the leaves on the trees here are starting to change color. Their tips are transforming into beautiful shades of reds and golds. God is so creative and so consistent. Every year the trees decorate creation glouriously.

It remined me of a forum post I made the other day about whether Christians are worried about the economy right now. Here is my post:

"I am learning what I can about the stimulus plans and things so that I can be well informed about what is going on. But I don't feel worried about it. I think that many people (including us probably) are in for some tough times in the next couple years, but God is BIGGER than that. He has promised to care for those who call on His name and he has never failed in that. A friend of mine always said, "I serve a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills!" and it is so true - He is able to provide all that we need.

I would also like to encourage all of you Christians not to give up tithing during rough times. Keep bringing your tithe to the Lord. He tells us this will lead to blessings in our lives. I know it can be hard to trust that giving money to the Lord first when there are so many bills to pay will not lead to destruction, but I've never heard anyone say, "I went without the necessities because I tithed to the church." God always provides."

I'm so glad to be serving our great God. I truly can "not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phil 4:6

Mommy's New Man

I got some great pictures of Jonathan today.













We are loving the fact that he is smiling so much now! In fact the other day I strapped both boys into their carseats and Jonathan looked right at Michael and giggled. For the next couple of minutes, they just laughed in conversation with each other in true brother camaraderie. It was the first moment they truly interacted with each other. And it was then that I realized all the trouble they were going to get into together and how much they'd love doing it together.

Here's the merote mom

To quote my 3 year old when he wants to watch a show on TV.

Sleep training

Jonathan, thankfully, likes to nap and sleeps pretty good. During the day, he has adjusted easily to a nap, eat, play, nap routine. Some of you know from talking to me that he likes this routine so much that he was continuing it through the night. When he would wake for feedings he would then be up for an hour before falling back asleep. I'd spend the time rocking him, bouncing him, giving him his pacifier, reading my Bible, praying, and wishing I could go back to sleep. I kept the lights dim and kept interaction to a minimum and it finally worked.
I am proud to announce that for the last 5 nights, Jonathan has gone right back to sleep after feeding in the middle of the night. I'm so proud of him. I can feed him, wait a few minutes while he grunts to get cozy, and then head back to bed - to toss and turn for the next half hour.
So, how do you sleep train the mom?

The difference between 1 and 2

Well, I find myself with a few free moments! Both boys are down for a nap and I have sat down at the computer without someone hanging on me! I did just hear the dryer buzz so I will have to attend to that shortly, but for now, I'll indulge in a post.
Being a stay at home parent with one child was definitely work, especially when the terrible 2s drain you of all you have. But often it wasn't overwhelming. Maybe this is because I don't clean my house from top to bottom every day like some people or spend hours in the kitchen cooking each night (10 minute meal prep for me! :)). I found that I could manage to spend a lot of time with Michael, do some house work, and find time for myself during the day. In fact, even when I was pregnant we had a pretty good balance going - albeit that most of "my time" was spent laying exhausted on the couch.
Now I have two boys to care for and instead of my Michael time - house work - Michael time - me time routine, I'm stuck in a cycle of Michael time - Jonathan time - Michael time - Jonathan time with maybe a bit of house work time or me time thrown in. But you see, even the house and me time has changed. I always seem to have one of them touching me. Either I'm holding Jonathan or Michael is trying to climb on me, run the race car over me, or sit on my lap.
As I sit here typing now, I feel so free of little hands and bodies. I realize that I'm still me! Wow - it is great to be JUST ME again for even a few minutes! Well, I hear one of the little bodies stirring and so I'd better get to the laundry quick - who would of thought that folding laundry by oneself could be such a treat.

Glad I'm not an elephant

We have made a couple of fun trips to the Pittsburgh zoo this summer. Michael loves to see the animals and it gives us a fun day outing to keep us from getting shut up in the house too much. Recently, there have been two baby elephants born at the zoo. They are so absolutely adorable and I just can't get enough of watching them.















Well, today I went to their website to find out some more information on them. First of all the two babies were born weighing 298 and 248 pounds. Can you even imagine?! How in the world does one even hold something that heavy in one's body? Wouldn't gravity just make life miserable? Then I read this: "Zuri's mother Moja, was pregnant for 688 days, the longest pregnancy recorded for an African elephant." Now I know I'm glad I'm not an elephant!

Welcome to the world....

Jonathan! This little one likes to make an entrance. My contractions started at 4:30 on Sunday morning and by 6:00 we were on the way to the hospital. So there we were, making phone calls to family to let them know we were on the way, calling friends who were going to watch Michael, and calling people at church who would need to cover for us, and waking up all of these people in the process! But after all the commotion of him choosing one of the busiest days on our calendar, he made his debut into the world at 8:45am, only 4 hours after labor started! :)















And it was a good thing we got this new wonderful baby, because our first child seems to have grown up overnight. For an early birthday present Grandma and Grandpa bought him a two wheeler and he is already riding it like a pro!