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Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Children's Bible?

Olivia is really getting into books lately. Before we would read to her while she tried to squirm away. Now we sit down together and she turns the pages while I read. Sometimes she even finds a book and sits down with it by herself and reads. Its a great way to settle down for a nap and it's a wonderful opportunity to snuggle with our hyperactive kiddo.

I thought that now would be a good time to start reading her Bible stories, but I don't want her to tear the pages, and she doesn't sit still without pictures. Does anyone know of a good children's Bible? We have one, but the theology is really bad. It was given to us by a friend of ours, but I don't think that she read through it, if she did I know she would have bought us a different one.

The problem I'm finding is that they all change the message and make God appear less in opposition to our sin. I don't want to introduce Olivia to a God that is all buddy-buddy with her today, and then when she's getting older all of a sudden spring all of the stuff about God's wrath against sinners.

The book that we have now says, "God was not angry with Adam and Eve, He was disappointed." That's a flat out LIE! I was so surprised to see that. God didn't say, "Aw shucks, they can't live in my cool garden anymore. That's so disappointing. I took a lot of care making it." No God said, "Now you will surely die." That sounds pretty angry to me.

Is there a children's Bible out there with good illustrations and clear Law/Gospel theology? I want to make sure Olivia gets the whole story. If she grows up believing that she is a sinner redeemed by Jesus, her faith will grow her up in joy for all that the Lord has done for her, and we'll have the proper foundation as parents to deal with her sin as she grows up, even from an early age.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Hey! Who cut the apron strings?

This past week has been a week of empty nesting for every mom I'm close to. Including me.

Rob's mom just sent her oldest daughter, Ginny, off to college three states away. Mary loaded her up with stuff, and packed her in the car with Bob (my father-in-law) and off they went, leaving 5 hours later than they said they would. They probably got to their hotel around 4 am.

Even though Rob's brothers played the Hallelujiah Chorus and ran around the yard wielding signs that said, "We're free!" it was sad in spite of the ridiculousness of it all. Rob never really left his home, even though he moved out. We're only 20 minutes away and we go to the same church. We see his family at least once a week, and Olivia plays with Rob's siblings like they are her own. This is the first time any of Mary's kids really left home, and even though Ginny'll be back in two weeks to visit, for right now she's gone.

My mom's youngest, my brother Kyle, just went on his first date. No more little boy for my mom, he's a highschool sophomore and he's a babe magnet. Well, he's a marching band-babe magnet. But hey, I was in the band myself and there's no shame in that.

Apparently Kyle's little girlfriend is really beautiful, too (Go Kyle!). But my mom is still sad that there's no way Kyle's ever going to ask her if he can marry his mommy ever again. And in a month he'll be 16 and getting his license. After that it's all done. There is only a little adult in kid skin left. The metamorphosis has begun.

Then there's me. This is the moment I've been waiting for. I moved Olivia's crib out of our bedroom. My advice to all engaged couples, don't rent a one bedroom apartment, you might just have a baby.

That's what happened to us, and we've been struggling to make it work for 10 months now. But last night was the last straw. Olivia threw a temper tantrum (the first ever) at 1 am because I wouldn't nurse her. I had just fed her at 9 and at 12. That's closer together than she eats during the day. Then, when Rob tried to calm her down she did the scary possessed back arching thing and screamed. It was amazing. I'd never seen her like that before. It was like a little teenager had moved into Olivia's infant body. The scariest thing of it all was she tantrums with the exact same cry that I did when I was younger. I cried like that all the way up until highschool.

Thanks Mom for wishing that I'd have one just like me. Forget about me taking care of you in your old age.

So last night in the middle of Olivia's fit we open up the portable crib and put her in the dining room. Then we waited. It broke my heart, but she wouldn't calm down no matter what we did. And trust me we tried everything.

Rob and I discussed that we think that she's just too old to be in our room anymore. We wake her up when we come to bed and she just wants to nurse or play. It's getting exponentially worse every night. So this morning I woke up and during Olivia's morning nap I rearranged the kitchen and put our table in there. Then when Olivia woke up I moved all of her things into the dining room. It's finished. She has her own room.

The funny thing is that I'm kind of sad about it. I'd have my feelings hurt if I was kicked out of Rob's room. But I belong there, Olivia is supposed to be growing up. Not staying the same.

It's the end of an era for us moms. And I'm learning that to be a good mom you have to be ready to get your heart broken, because that's what they do to you from the minute they leave your stomach. From that day on they are just getting farther and farther away from you, and you're supposed to let it happen. You're even supposed to show them how to do it. And then one day they leave for college or get married, and they don't belong to you any more.

It makes me want to have another so that I can have a little baby again. That's how God keeps up going through labor. We keep hoping the next one will stay little forever.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Sleeping sound


sleeping sound
Originally uploaded by Devona.
Here's our darling Liv taking a nap. She looked extra wonderful so I thought that I'd share.

She's starting to get attached to the little bear in the top of the frame and the cream colored fleece blanket. When she's really tired and I take her to her crib she claps when she sees them and then pulls them up close to snuggle herself to sleep.

I wish that it worked that well in the middle of the night. She wakes up so much, and every help that has been suggested to me only works for a couple of nights and then it's back to waking up every two hours or so. I have no idea what's up with that, but needless to say, I'm often exhausted.

I guess that's what I get for having such a delightful day-time baby. She can't be perfect so we suffer at night. I keep encouraging myself by thinking, "Everyone sleeps through the night sometime. I'm not going to be getting up with her like this when she's in high school." Hopefully she figures it out before then though.

Oh yeah, if anyone has the room in their email box and wants to see an adorable video clip of Rob and Olivia walking around our livingroom, let me know and I'll send you a copy. It is so funny, and very typical of an afternoon with Olivia.

Friday, August 19, 2005

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

I used to write blog posts on a regular basis.

But that was before the computer kicked the bucket. Then we went on vacation to Virginia.

Now we're back, the computer is fixed and we're back in business.

This is just a short note to tell everyone about Olivia's first steps. They happened on Tuesday while we were visiting Rob's family in the evening. Olivia was making her rounds on the coffee table in the livingroom while I ate some icecream. Then when she noticed that I was eating icecream without her she took her first timid steps from the table to the couch where I was sitting. It was about three steps to get there with her arms outstretched for balance.

Of course she was rewarded with some tasty frozen dessert for her efforts. She applauded herself, and we applauded her in return.

The performance has not been repeated. For whatever reason, she is back to crawling and cruising. She enjoys walking with her hands in ours, but if you let go with one hand she immediately sits down and cries in frustration. Walking is only done on Olivia's terms.

Maybe in a few days she'll try again, and stick with it.

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Measure twice. Cut once.


Measure twice. Cut once.
Originally uploaded by Devona.
Rob left me alone with no car while he went to work every day this week. Then our G5 broke unexpectedly. I had nothing to do and no where to go.

Olivia has been pulling my hair for months now. It's really aggrivating. And then to top it all off, on Thursday I had a knot in my hair about the size of a quarter.

In my boredom and desperation I cut off all my hair with the scissors that I use to trim Rob's gotee. That's right. In the bathroom, during Olivia's nap.

It looked really bad.

Then Olivia woke up and cried because she couldn't recognize me. I had made a really bad choice, and she was surely letting me know.

Fortunately she got over it, but my head still looked like I had gotten into a argument with a lawn mower.

To fix it I went to Famous Hair and paid $15.00 to get it evened out. Now I have the shortest hair I've ever had in my life.

Rob told me that I have to put little notes on all the scissors in our house now that say, "Measure twice. Cut once," so that I'll take a minute and think before I do anything this impulsive again.

I think I learned my lesson.

Monday, August 01, 2005

Parliament of Fools

This is a new blog for those who love literature. It's a cyber-book-club, open to all to comment. It's just getting started, so there's nothing too spectacular going on at the moment, but if you'd like to check it out, feel free to stop by. You might recognize some of the contributors.

Oh yeah, if you have an insatiable appetite for fiction, and I didn't know that to email you, email me, and I might put you on the list of contributors.

That's all. :)