Victory!!!!! For now anyway....

Hi everyone! Just a really quick posting to announce that for the first time ever my 2 1/2 year old and my 2 month old just had lunch (a bottle for Noah of course) together, then went down for nap at the exact same time! This means that I SHOULD have at least two hours to have my quiet time, clean a little, do some laundry, and get supper started. I should have done some of that this morning while Rayna was at preschool, BUT Noah was up from 1:30am to 5:00am eating and dealing with a little reflux, SO I decided to nap with him this morning!!!!! Okay...I was just excited to finally have them both napping together!!! WHOO HOO!!!!!

No Preschool on Friday?????!!!!!

With two small children, I have to say that I really value the three hours a day that my 2 1/2 year old goes to our church "weeschool." She has a wonderful time with the other children, and she learns so much! In addition to singing songs, learning colors and numbers, and doing creative movement, she is also learning to say the pledge to the American flag, Christian flag, and Bible. It is amazing to see how much her little mind can absorb so quickly! Anyway...during the three hours that she is enjoying going to school, I am taking care of the baby, running errands, cleaning the house, paying bills, doing laundry, and I must admit, sometimes catching up on a little sleep. The catch is that school only has class Monday-Thursday...this means that on Friday, I'm on my own with both kids all day long. Because Rayna gets lots of energy out at preschool, and because I tend to be really scheduled, the time between preschool and bedtime is overall pretty smooth and lots of fun. Fridays, however, can get a little crazy! If I don't make some sort of Friday plan, I will tire myself out running behind Rayna as she pulls out toys, changes clothes, and looks for snacks while I'm trying to clean the house or take care of Noah. This Friday I woke up ready for a great day, so we hit the floor running. I had everyone ready and out of the house by 9:00. We started at the grocery store riding in the biggest buggy available! The buggy is shaped like a car...Rayna sits at the top in the seat with a buckle, while Noah's baby seat fits right onto the basket (not much room left for groceries!). I'm sure that we are a comical sight making our way around the store. After that adventure, we moved on to the playground at a church in our neighborhood. Noah and I enjoyed the shade while Rayna played on the slides. Of course before we left I had to get in on the fun and ride the seesaw with her...Noah just slept in his seat under the shade tree. When I realized that it was after 10 am, I knew the library was open. Our library has a little children's room with puzzles, pillows, teddy bears, crayons, etc., and Rayna loves it. She had no problem playing for 45 min. while I fed Noah in the big green chair! Once Noah was done, Rayna and I read books until she couldn't sit still anymore. We moved on to the new art center next door to the library where we began working on Christmas presents for family ( I won't say what we made, because our family reads my blog at times!). Finally, I knew that she was all tired out and ready for lunch when she threw a temper tantrum because I wouldn't buy a pack of crackers. No problem...we live right down the street. We loaded in the car and headed home to eat lunch. After lunch, we loaded back up to run one last errand before nap time. By 2:00 everyone was asleep, and I was able to clean the house. By the time everyone was waking up, Daddy was home! It was time to get ready for the youth tailgate party and high school football game. The night didn't end until the ballgame and bath time were both over. Once everyone was fed and put to bed, Adam and I thought we would sit down for a little relaxing before bedtime...next thing I knew Noah was awake for his 3:30 feeding. He drank his bottle and went back to bed quickly. Getting ready for bed seemed like too much trouble, so I just left Adam in the recliner and fell right back asleep on the couch (Don't worry...Rocky still got to sleep in the bed in the bedroom). We were all up at about 7:30 this morning...eating, playing, watching cartoons and Fox News, and drinking milk and coffee. Once Adam and I got everyone, including ourselves, dressed for the day, we packed the diaper bag and set out on our adventure. By 9:45 this morning, we were heading out for an adventure in Hartwell! I sometimes joke that I think we need preschool on Fridays too, but to tell you the truth...I had a blast on Friday! I love the memories that I'm making with my children!!!!!!!
I'd love to hear about other things that you all find to do with your children when they are out of school! What does your family like to do for fun? Any suggestions for next Friday...I have a 2 month old and a 2 year old...what activities would work for us?

Building Bridges

Let me start by saying I know that God wants me to write this posting, because the enemy is doing everything he can to keep me from being able to write: My dishwasher broke, so I'm having to wash all my dishes by hand; my ordinarily easy going two year old decided to scream for an hour a half at bedtime; my infant son can't stop eating; and of course my dog needed to go out as soon as I thought everything else was under control! I'm so thankful that my husband is so willing to help me, because with our team work and constant prayer, everything is calm now! Okay...for the first time in about six years, I am not teaching Sunday school, so I am able to be a member of an adult Sunday school class at our church. This Sunday our lesson was all about growing our circle of influence and building bridges with people, so that we have the opportunity to share Christ. I'm very excited to put this lesson into practice in my life, but I really have a hard time knowing where to begin. Until we moved to Elberton, GA in May, I had always worked outside the home, either full or part-time, and these jobs gave me opportunities to be around nonchristians on a daily basis. I shared something in common with these people, because of our jobs. Now, I have the awesome opportunity to be a stay at home mom. I know my passions are raising children, teaching, reading, working with young people, advocating adoption (we adopted my two year old as a newborn infant), and reaching out to families of premature babies (my infant son was born at 33 weeks and spent 13 days in the NICU), but I don't know how to use these passions to meet nonchristians here in Elberton. I have thought about trying to start a playgroup for preschool age children where I could meet other moms, and I've thought about trying to join the YMCA where I can meet other people. I know I need to reach out more to my neighbors! Still, I'm just not sure where to start! I'm so excited about the way our Sunday school lesson pointed out the fact that the apostle Paul was always reaching out to those around him, finding common ground, and presenting the gospel to them. I'm praying about how to follow that example in my own life.
So...I'm looking for ideas, advice, suggestions, prayers, helpers, etc. in this area of my life. After you read this, please leave me comments! Thanks everyone! Have a great week!

Being a stay at home mom!

I'm back!!!! Something a little crazy happened the other day, and I was not able to log on to my blog at all. My wonderful husband fixed it for me, so now I can write again! So...as I was sitting and feeding Noah yesterday, I caught the tale end of a Dr. Phil show. The show was all about moms who were so tired of their kids that they were ready to leave their families. I only saw one lady, but her story really reminded me something important that we all have to remember: As mothers...it is important for us to remember that we have to raise our children in a way that allows us to take time for ourselves, so that we don't go crazy. Not only did this young mother have no house rules for her children to follow, but she also felt guilty every time she spent time away from her children...so guilty that she thought she was a terrible mother. I will be the first one to say that I love my children with all my heart, but I do have to spend time away from them from time to time. My advice for any mom is to check out preschools and send your children for a least a couple of mornings a week. It is amazing how productive or even relaxing that three hours can be! Also, Adam and I have been very lucky to have two sets of parents who are begging to babysit the grandchildren! If you have these type of people in your life, allow the children to spend the night with them from time to time, so that you can have time with your spouse! If not, save money to hire a babysitter for the evening at least once a month. Finally, please please please find other mothers to have regular play dates with! It is amazing how nice it is to have grown up conversation after being with babies and toddlers all day! Once again, I love my children, but I have to say that we all need little breaks from time to time or we will lose our minds!

"God works all things together for the good...."

Good Morning! Well, I finally have time to post again....Rayna is at preschool and Noah decided to take a nap in the swing we borrowed from our pastor's family (Thanks Pastor Michael!) I have no advice today...just a prayer request and praise! If you know my family at all, you know that Noah was born in June, 6 1/2 weeks early and spent 13 days in NICU at Athens Regional Medical Center. Of course it was a stressful time, but I could get through it by placing my hope and joy in Christ. Well, as I sat out at a friend's yardsale on Saturday, I saw a lady walk up looking at Noah and me. She asked about him and told me that her daughter had just had a baby 3 weeks early who was in the NICU in Athens and not doing well. I have been praying that God would show me how I could use my experience there to reach out to others and point them toward Christ. I got the lady's phone number so I could check on the baby, and I'm planning to get together a little care package for her daughter as she deals with this situation. I am praising that God has given me this opportunity, and I am askung for prayer for baby Braydon. I am also praying that God will use me and my own experience in this situation.

Mother to Mother

My first piece of advice as a mother of two...create a bedtime schedule and follow through. We started Rayna on a flexible routine as soon as we brought her home from the hospital. By the time she was a month old she was sleeping at least 6 hours a night. Now that she is two, she is very used to her bedtime routine. Our routine is simple...bath, cup of milk, prayers in the bed, one bedtime story, hugs and kisses, and then goodnight. She knows that she is not to get out of bed until morning. Has she ever tried to throw a fit to avoid bedtime? Of course!!!! Still, my husband and I put her back to bed repeatedly without giving in until she figured out that we were not going to budge. We are now working on a routine with Noah. Due to the fact that he was premature, is he eating more often; therefore not sleeping through the night. Still, I am trying to be consistent and get him into a routine. Pray for me as I work on that!
My question to you... What are your bedtime routines? or Do you even think bedtime routines are important? I look forward to sharing ideas with you!