Thank you Lord for my sweet Haven Annabelle! I am feeling more blessed than ever to have her in my arms!
We had a very scary situation on Thursday morning. I have been watching a friend's son for a couple of weeks and I was upstairs changing Haven's diaper when I heard the doorbell ring. I didn't want to make my friend and her son wait in the cold so I hurried and finished and then quickly ran down the stairs while carrying Haven. I got about 5 stairs from the bottom and somehow fell. My chest hit the corner of the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. I still had my arm around Haven's lower body but lost my hold on her upper body. As I fell forward she hit her head on the corner of one of the banisters and on the stair. She cried for a second and I thought she was doing the thing when babies cry where they take a long breath before they wail again. I was holding her close and as I quickly opened the front door for my friend her upper body completely flopped forward and I realized that something was wrong. I held her up and she was unconscious. I screamed for my friend to call 911 and I started yelling Haven's name and tried to get her to wake up. The 911 dispatcher told me to put her on the floor and at this time she was awake but not responding at all. I had to keep stimulating her to keep her awake. This went on for about 5 minutes or so and she FINALLY started crying and became very agitated. A few minutes later the EMTs arrived in an ambulance. Within a few more minutes there were about 10 people in my living room. She was starting to come around and was scared of all of the people, which was good. They wanted to take her to the hospital by ambulance because she had been unconscious and and unresponsive for so long. They put her on a stretcher (broke my heart to see my little baby all strapped down!) and I rode with her to the hospital. I finally got a hold of Adam and filled him in. He met us at the hospital. By the time we got there Haven was doing much better and starting to act like herself! They did a bunch of tests and a Cat scan and everything came back normal! While we were in the hospital she was having fun watching IPTV, playing with toys, and cuddling with mommy. Once we were discharged we were all phsically and emotionally exhausted! Haven did really well the rest of the day and was just very tired and a little fussy. Since then, she has been doing wonderful and acting pretty much back to her old self! It was such a scary scary ordeal, but the Lord really protected all of us and we were very fortunate that it wasn't worse!
The last couple of days I have been wrestling with myself. I know that it was an accident but in many ways I feel like I failed at my most important job, which is to keep Haven healthy and safe. I also have struggled with envisioning Haven in her unconscious state everytime I have nothing else to think about or whenever I close my eyes. I have been praying that the Lord would just give me peace with this situation and that I wouldn't let my emotions overtake what I know and what I know is that I love Haven more than I could ever imagine loving a child, I have always done my best to take care of her, this whole situation was an accident, and that the Lord is so gracious and merciful as well as faithful in taking care of us and keeping us safe! Today I have truly felt much better about everything and I have a true sense of peace; peace that I believe can only come from Him. Thank the Lord that he is so faithful in answering our prayers!
"Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer." Psalm 4:1
"I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer." Psalm 17:6
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Ragamuffin
I often call Haven "My Little Ragamuffin." This is usually when she has food all over her face, disheveled hair, dirty clothes, and an ornery look on her face (which is probably most days!).
Well, after reading The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning, I have come to realize that Haven is not the only Ragamuffin running around the house! This was a wonderful book that dug deeper into the meaning of GRACE. I recommend this book and wanted to share a few of my favorite quotes:
"My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it."
"Jesus comes not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and the weak-kneed who know they don't have it all together, and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazin' grace."
"The saved sinner is prostrate in adoration, lost in wonder and praise. He knows repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven. It serves as an expression of gratitude rather than an effort to earn forgiveness. Thus the sequence of forgiveness and then repentance, rather than repentance and then forgiveness, is crucial for understanding the gospel of grace."
"Lord Jesus, we are silly sheep who have dared to stand before You and try to bribe You with our preposterous portfolios. Suddenly we have come to our senses. We are sorry and ask You to forgive us. Give us the grace to admit we are ragamuffins, to embrace our brokenness, to celebrate Your mercy when we are at our weakest, to rely on Your mercy no matter what we do. Dear Jesus, gift us to stop grandstanding display, to let the dishonesties in our lives fade away, to accept our limitations, to cling to the gospel of grace, and to delight in Your love. Amen."
As I think about how much I love my little Ragamuffin, Haven Annabelle, I am in awe of the fact that God loves me in the same way. Regardless of how disheveled, out of control, and "dirty" I may be, how much more does the Lord love me? In the same way that my little Haven can do nothing to make me love her any less, it is crazy to think that the Lord loves me in spite of what I do. I cannot even grasp this! Furthermore, no matter what Haven does eventually she wants the warmth and support of her mother and will come running to me, even when she knows she did something wrong. How much more does the Lord wait for us to run to him despite where we are in life, what we have done, or how "good" we are? We get so caught up in what we think we need to do in order to be loved by God that we forget that he is just waiting for us to accept the unending and unconditional love that he has for us!
"He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'" Matthew 18:2-4
Well, after reading The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning, I have come to realize that Haven is not the only Ragamuffin running around the house! This was a wonderful book that dug deeper into the meaning of GRACE. I recommend this book and wanted to share a few of my favorite quotes:
"My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it."
"Jesus comes not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and the weak-kneed who know they don't have it all together, and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazin' grace."
"The saved sinner is prostrate in adoration, lost in wonder and praise. He knows repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven. It serves as an expression of gratitude rather than an effort to earn forgiveness. Thus the sequence of forgiveness and then repentance, rather than repentance and then forgiveness, is crucial for understanding the gospel of grace."
"Lord Jesus, we are silly sheep who have dared to stand before You and try to bribe You with our preposterous portfolios. Suddenly we have come to our senses. We are sorry and ask You to forgive us. Give us the grace to admit we are ragamuffins, to embrace our brokenness, to celebrate Your mercy when we are at our weakest, to rely on Your mercy no matter what we do. Dear Jesus, gift us to stop grandstanding display, to let the dishonesties in our lives fade away, to accept our limitations, to cling to the gospel of grace, and to delight in Your love. Amen."
***************
As I think about how much I love my little Ragamuffin, Haven Annabelle, I am in awe of the fact that God loves me in the same way. Regardless of how disheveled, out of control, and "dirty" I may be, how much more does the Lord love me? In the same way that my little Haven can do nothing to make me love her any less, it is crazy to think that the Lord loves me in spite of what I do. I cannot even grasp this! Furthermore, no matter what Haven does eventually she wants the warmth and support of her mother and will come running to me, even when she knows she did something wrong. How much more does the Lord wait for us to run to him despite where we are in life, what we have done, or how "good" we are? We get so caught up in what we think we need to do in order to be loved by God that we forget that he is just waiting for us to accept the unending and unconditional love that he has for us!
"He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'" Matthew 18:2-4
A Fall Day at the Park!
Haven and I spent some time together at Dewey Park a few weeks ago. She loved it!
Haven loves "cars." If she sees anything that resembles a car she says, "Brooom!" I think this is from Daddy pushing her around in her princess car!
She loves the playground!
And the Slide!
Sweet Haven Annabelle!
Blowing kisses
Grumpy Girl
Pig Tails!
My big girl!
Haven never ceases to amaze me with all of the new things she does everyday! She is talking so much and seems to understand too much for her own good! She is bossy and sassy (don't know where she gets that from!) and a girly girl with a slight hint of tomboy. I love her more than I could ever express!
Monday, November 9, 2009
3 Miles...Mommy Style
Picture this: A mommy (who is a little out of shape), a little dog on a leash (who is also out of shape), a large stroller with a large kid in it (25 lbs of pure muscle...ha!), a poop bag hanging off the side, a sippy cup that keeps falling on the ground, the large kid kicking her shoes off, the large kid poking her hand through weird holes in the stroller and then getting her hand stuck and crying, the large kid now trying to take her socks off, the dog starts lagging behind and the mommy must now pull the dog.
This was Haven, Eiffel the dog, and me on our exciting 3 mile run that we somehow finished in less than 30 minutes. I looked at my shadow at one point and thought, "Gosh, this looks somewhat like a circus act!" Oh well, I got a good workout in, got Haven outdoors, gave the dog some exercise, all while enjoying the beautiful weather! Mommys are sooo good at multitasking!
This was Haven, Eiffel the dog, and me on our exciting 3 mile run that we somehow finished in less than 30 minutes. I looked at my shadow at one point and thought, "Gosh, this looks somewhat like a circus act!" Oh well, I got a good workout in, got Haven outdoors, gave the dog some exercise, all while enjoying the beautiful weather! Mommys are sooo good at multitasking!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Superhusband
Yesterday morning, while lying in bed after waking up, Adam and I had the fantastic idea of making pancakes for breakfast. I asked him if he would run to the grocery store to pick up bisquick and bacon. After a couple of seconds he looked at me and said, "If I were Superman I would be back already!" I just stared at him and said, "Who says stuff like that? Or even thinks it? You are such a weirdo!" HAHA. That's my hubby.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Bye Bye Pooh!
Haven has this electronic Pooh book. If you don't touch it for a little while Pooh says, "Bye bye for now!" Yesterday, after this happened, Haven looked at me with a concerned look and her hand in the air and said, "Where go?"
People Pleaser
I think I would describe myself as a people pleaser. I always want people to like me and I hate confrontation. As I have matured in my faith, I have realized this about myself and how damaging it can be to me and others.....I'll get back to this point.....
I recently joined my first book club! The book club is made up of a few friends that I used to be in a bible study with. We wanted to have a way to still get together once a month and thought that a book club was a great idea. We have chosen a variety of books including Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, as well as some "secular" books that would provoke good conversation and challenge us in our Christian walk. Last night we had our first official meeting and the discussion was about The Noticer by Andy Andrews. Andy Andrews is an inspirational speaker and has spoken at the White House, for professional athletic teams, etc. It was an interesting book and we had great conversation. One theme in the book was basically that in order to be successful in life the most important thing you can do is be a person that others like to be around. The author even went so far to say that we should daily ask ourselves, "What would people change about me?" This really bugged me for two reasons. 1)I think that this encourages a very worldly view of what success is (i.e. make lots of money, have a big house, etc). 2) I think that it is imperative that we live to please the Lord rather than living to please ourselves or other people. I am not saying that it is a negative thing for people to like you and hopefully if you are living to please the Lord you will exhibit some characterstics that others DO love to be around; however, I think it is obvious that sometimes people don't like believers and at times it is impossible to please others as a Christian in certain circumstances.
Here are a couple of verses that have encouraged me in my attempt to not be a people pleaser but rather live to please the Lord:
"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galations 1:10
"On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts." 1 Thessalonians 2:4
I guess that the book was an interesting and quick read and, again, it definitely sparked great conversation and discussion. I just find it dangerous when books seem to give off the impression that they have all the answers to life when they have no scripture to back it up. I think that people are searching for answers and can cling to books like this and still find false hope. The only hope that is certain can be found in the Word of God!
I recently joined my first book club! The book club is made up of a few friends that I used to be in a bible study with. We wanted to have a way to still get together once a month and thought that a book club was a great idea. We have chosen a variety of books including Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, as well as some "secular" books that would provoke good conversation and challenge us in our Christian walk. Last night we had our first official meeting and the discussion was about The Noticer by Andy Andrews. Andy Andrews is an inspirational speaker and has spoken at the White House, for professional athletic teams, etc. It was an interesting book and we had great conversation. One theme in the book was basically that in order to be successful in life the most important thing you can do is be a person that others like to be around. The author even went so far to say that we should daily ask ourselves, "What would people change about me?" This really bugged me for two reasons. 1)I think that this encourages a very worldly view of what success is (i.e. make lots of money, have a big house, etc). 2) I think that it is imperative that we live to please the Lord rather than living to please ourselves or other people. I am not saying that it is a negative thing for people to like you and hopefully if you are living to please the Lord you will exhibit some characterstics that others DO love to be around; however, I think it is obvious that sometimes people don't like believers and at times it is impossible to please others as a Christian in certain circumstances.
Here are a couple of verses that have encouraged me in my attempt to not be a people pleaser but rather live to please the Lord:
"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galations 1:10
"On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts." 1 Thessalonians 2:4
I guess that the book was an interesting and quick read and, again, it definitely sparked great conversation and discussion. I just find it dangerous when books seem to give off the impression that they have all the answers to life when they have no scripture to back it up. I think that people are searching for answers and can cling to books like this and still find false hope. The only hope that is certain can be found in the Word of God!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
More Down Please
Haven's new favorite word is "down." I had been working on this word with her to alleviate frustration (for both of us) when she is on my lap and starts flailing her arms to get down. So, a couple of days she started saying it (yay!). Well, this morning she was in her high chair, finishing up breakfast and started yelling loudly, "DOWN! DOWN! DOWN!" I asked to her to say, "Down please." Well, she is used to saying "more please." I think she got confused and said, "More down"......while signing please. haha. I just love her!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Pumpkin Fun
This fall we have done so many fun things! I think that Fall is Haven's favorite season. She is absolutely obsessed with pumpkins! Haha! She gets excited whenever she sees them..... which is pretty much all the time since they are all over the place this time of year. Here are a few pics of our adventures with pumpkins!
Getting ready to carve pumpkins with bible study
Night Eyes at the Zoo with Aoife
In the Corn Pool at Center Grove
We picked out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch and we are happy!
We ran into the Bjurstroms at the pumpkin patch
Family picture in the corn maze. We got lost and had to walk through the corn to get out. haha
So cute!
Daddy and Havee about to go down the giant slide!
Billy Goat Haven. haha
Jacob and Haven in the corn pool at the Williamsons Pumpkin Patch
Leighton and Haven love each other
Uh oh.
Leighton is strong!
Haven and her cousin, Kamryn
HAVEE LOVES PUMPKINS!
MOMMY LOVES HAVEE!
Haven and her giant pumpkin! Isn't she the cutest!?!?!?!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Round 2
Here we go again. My second attempt at blogging. I started a blog for my daughter, Haven, last year after she was born. I think my last post was in January of 2009, so obvioulsy that didn't go as planned. I decided to start a new blog. I now realize that 1) the world doesn't completely revolve around Haven and 2) I hope to have more children someday.... and so I am going to try to blog about family, motherhood, cooking, sewing, faith, etc. I am not awesome at writing (I am told I write just like I talk) and my spelling is terrible so just try to bare with me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)