Report and Observations

I am happy to report that we had a wonderful trip to Wichita and lovely time with Mark, Debra, and Christopher. Tiernan was a real champ in the car. He didn't sleep as much as I expected, but he was usually content to play with toys and laugh at Robert's antics while awake. The drive was about 9 hours on the way there and 10.5 on the way back, the time difference mostly being due to traffic north of Dallas.

It truly is amazing how different babies are. Christopher and Tiernan are nigh opposites, except in their shared stubbornness. Christopher is a thinker and observer. Tiernan is a doer and climber. Tiernan is more mobile and active, but Christopher seems to understand more linguistically. And even with their differences they did seem to enjoy playing together.

Why yes, the baby is better at looking at the camera than his dad is.

I really enjoyed spending several days with Mark and Debra in the environment of their home. I feel like I know them and where they are right now so much better now. I wish I could do that with all my friends, just to get to know the 'real' or 'home' them. It's easy to be different when you're out in public or just for a few hours while somebody is over. But over an extended stay, defenses drop, and I love the authenticity of real life. 

Debra was a wonderful hostess, and we really enjoyed our stay. I have to say I was impressed. She took the meaning of 'cooking from scratch' to an entirely new level for me. I applaud her, but I don't think I could possibly keep up with everything she does. If you want a glimpse, check out her blog.

Oh, and I cut Robert's hair while we were there.

Monday Musings

It's a new day, a new week. We had a productive weekend--the weather held out on us, and we got a good deal of painting done. I hope to finish the north side of the house by the end of the week, and we'll probably tackle the south and east sides next weekend. If all continues to go well, we estimate we should be able to finish by the end of the month. Robert was a wonderful man and volunteered to take the hottest parts of the day, so it was only in the high 90s when I was painting. He also took Tiernan and did my weekly grocery shopping for me while I was painting so that I wouldn't have to do that this week. Isn't he amazing?

In Brady's sermon at church, one thing that stood out to me was when he talked about how it is no accident that we are exactly where we are in our stage of life. There have been times that I felt like my life as a housekeeper, wife, and mother in Austin jumped on me while I wasn't looking. Sure, we're living the American dream, but the American dream was never my dream. Yet here I am. My take-away is this: God has placed me here with a purpose, so what am I doing to fulfill that role? Am I being faithful with the time, talents, and treasures he has given me to steward? Am I living in anticipation of Christ's coming, mindful that it could be soon or delayed?

As I think about how I disperse my time, talents, and treasure, I face the issue of finding the balance between giving a task everything I've got and sustainability. I could do a lot more than I am, but I would also burn out and then spend a period of time not doing anything. However, when I am living a sustainable lifestyle balancing missional living, work, fun, and rest, I often feel like I'm slacking. It's true. I could be doing more. But could I keep it up? Probably not. Which is better? Bursts of energy, or consistency? I've done the burst-mode, and right now, I'm swinging the other way to sustainability.

They make it all worth it...

Weekend Crazies and Parenting Puzzles

We had a busy weekend, including four different parties of various natures and working in children’s at church. I have to say, Tiernan is a champ. He did fabulously all weekend in spite of of the crazy goings-on and transient naps. Oh, and I have an amazing husband who spoils me. When we went to Lowe’s to buy the paint for the house, he let me pick out another power tool. That’s three since Mother’s Day...now I have a jigsaw, circular saw, and a sander. But let’s not forget the woodburner, too. As for what I have been doing with said tools, here was one of my first projects: a coat rack/shelf for by the garage door.

On a different topic, I recently broke my resolution and went against my better judgement (Robert’s advice) and started to read a baby book. Invariably, it produced the same response as all the others: it a) made me feel like a horrible mother b) confused me beyond reason by contradicting every other book I’ve read and c) contradicted my experience with Tiernan. It insisted that late naps would not interfere with bedtime...except guess who was up until 11:30? Or the cute idea that an earlier bedtime would make the baby sleep later...nope. Not happening. I’m sure it applies to many babies out there, but Tiernan defied just about every point the author made. I’m glad that some mothers find baby books helpful, but they have failed to be helpful for Tiernan so far. (I have exaggerated. There are two that I read while pregnant that were actually helpful. But they dealt more with tiny newborn stage which we are past...)

While the baby book was thoroughly unhelpful, we are still having some issues with Tiernan’s sleep. From time to time he will wake up every two hours all night and refuse to be comforted except by nursing, which kills any chance for a good night’s sleep for me, which in turn makes me cranky and impatient and not up to the demands of motherhood. The book’s suggestions did not seem to apply, but it did get us thinking that perhaps spending some time observing and charting his sleep patterns would give us a better idea what we did need to do, so we’re starting there. We’ll see what happens next.