When I was pregnant, I prayed often for the sweet baby growing inside of me.  I had a journal and a prayer book just for documenting new baby happenings, prayers, special dates and verses.  I prayed for every piece of Cedar - for her fingers and toes, for a healthy gut and two working legs, but mostly I prayed for a good sleeper.  I prayed long, hard and often for a child who would sleep well.

I'm not sure why this was so huge for me, but from the moment I found out I was pregnant, I started heavy research on babies and sleep.  I borrowed sleep training books from my friends, recounted all of my nanny/babysitting/daycare memories with infants and began pleading with God for an infant who, for the love of God, would just let me sleep!  I also prayed for a baby who would grow into a child - and then an adult - who would know, show and share true and lasting joy. 

This, I prayed for, because I've struggled with my own attitude my entire life, and I wish for Cedar to walk through life without anxiety, without fear of the future and in confidence of her place in this world and beyond.  I pray that she wouldn't take after her "Negative Nancy" of a mother, but instead would light up a room with her presence, like her father.

Cedar and me at 38 weeks. 

And 39 weeks - the night before I went into labor.

Enter Cedar. 

 She was born with a smile on her face.  From the beginning people talked about her contageous joy (or gas) and we marveled at how well she slept.  She scared the crap out of me by sleeping straight through the night when she was just eight days old.

I don't mean to paint a perfect picture.  To be perfectly transparent, Cedar's baby-hood was very difficult for me, and we did spend many nights listening to our baby 'fuss it out' in order to teach herself to go to bed on her own.  This was not easy and it was not fun, but God certainly blessed us with an easy going little one who brought much joy and laughter to our lives when we needed it most.

He answered my prayers with a Yes!

 I chose this scripture to pray over Cedar since before she was born, and today it is tacked up in her room behind a canvas so I'll always remember.

1 Peter 3: 8-9

Finally, all of you, be like - minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

So will you join me in praying this over my daughter?  Will you pray it over your children, too?  This world is so negative and terrifying and wrong.  My heart aches at the thought of our tiny little child being thrown into the world to be a light, but that is beyond me and not in my hands.  

So for now, I pray.  For my baby, and for yours, too.  And for us.  The parents and grandparents.  The aunts and uncles and friends and neighbors.  That we would raise a generation that is strong and solid in The Faith.  That our kids would start great movements in Christ and would be fearless.  And most importantly, that they would understand and truly know the quality of God's love for them.  

Amen.

Updates

Cedar:

• Is learning to talk.  Cedar can now repeat most things when asked, and is otherwise just a jabber-box, although only God knows what she is saying most of the time.
• Has a new interest in "colors".  This love is close to my heart, as I am a big fan of "colors", too.  Even as an adult, I can spend hours painting, drawing, cutting and gluing and it makes me happy.  She does not have the mental capacity to handle crafts yet, so I will wait patiently, but for now she settles on scribbling her colors onto her paper.  (We use color wonder markers/books - they are wonderful!)
• Is making friends.  Sometimes I feel guilty that Cedar gets dragged around left and right to babysit for multiple families, but she is loving it.  She gets to play with new toys, learn new names and giggle with new friends.  Bless her heart, she has no problem walking up to just anyone, anywhere and giving them a "Hi!" and a kiss.
• is 18 months old, and I fear her two's are going to be rough.  She isn't often a boundary pusher, and she knows right from wrong, but her tantrums are enough to make me crazy.  I have a limited tolerance for grunting and whining, but I am working on tending to her punishments appropriately, and keeping my cool.
• Is all-girl.  She adores looking at herself in the mirror, wearing "pretties", (Great Christmas gift idea, people :) ) and singing and dancing.  I love her pink little heart.

Jody:

•  Will be starting school this winter!  I am so excited (and maybe a little envious!) that he is starting a new adventure, and I'm prepping myself for a an exhausting semester.  He will continue working full time at MRL and will be taking classes full time when he is not at work.  I think we can make this happen without both of us having multiple mental breakdowns, but only with Jesus' help.  :)
• Loves his home.  He works hard at maintaining and taking care of this place, and I love seeing his pride in our house.
• Has been making coffee for me when he gets off work (which happens to be, often, right about the time I am waking up for my day) so it's all brewed and available to me, simply by rolling out of bed and getting it my mug, ahhh - a luxery!  So, if he ever happens to read this, he should know that I appreciate it so much I NEVER WANT THAT TO STOP.  :)   Please keep doing this, Jody.

Kayla

• Is tired.  I cant get enough sleep, and I cant figure out why.  I sleep great at night, but I feel exhausted all day long.  Starting to wonder if I don't have some sort of vitamin/nutrient deficiencies or something.  
• Got a membership at Granite Fitness and I'm FINALLY hoping to get back into the swing of things (once my schedule regulates itself a bit more).  I have dropped off Cedar in the kids facility twice now, and she has done great!  I just need to be vigilant about getting up early in the morning for classes two times a week, per my goal.   Otherwise, on my days off, Cedar and I can go to the gym together for an hour or two of "alone" time.  Yay!
• Loves. this house.  But its so much harder to keep a large house clean!  Maybe that's why I'm tired!
• Has been getting back into drawing/painting/crafting.  I've been enjoying quiet evenings while Cedar is in bed and Jody is at work so I can just listen to music and draw.  I've painted several canvases and am hoping to make some fun holiday decorations here in the next month.  I am a giant nerd.

And, that's it!  Here are some quick photos.

 Princess Cedar.  Throwing a fit.

 Thanks for the winter coat, Grammy! 

 Cedar and I went on a date to the library a few weeks ago.  We drank coffee and ate caramel cookie waffles and "talked".  It was fun :)

 Cedar with her friend, Abbie.  (One of her new favorite words, too!)

 Another sweet friend.

 Scrumptious Squish.

 My girl is getting big.  Like, really big.  She used to look so small in this crib!

 Cedar is obsessed with babies.  Yes, I have baby fever, but my one and a half year old has it worse.

 We play this game "Self".

 I exist!  (Are you starting to wonder if Jody does??)

 Poor baby, stuck in time out while her friends play.  Stinker.

 

Doubts + Pride + A quick lesson

I went on vacation last week.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I woke up, put on nice clothes, curled my hair and drank black coffee in my to go mug as I drove away from my house, my kid, my dirty laundry, and my problems.

I parked downtown with the rest of Billings' high roller businessmen and women and pretended I was someone important as I walked downtown to the courthouse for...

Jury Duty.



I'm a little embarrassed at how much I enjoyed my civil duty, but

it felt very much like a vacation for me.  I didn't change any diapers.  I looked nice.  I had adult conversations.  I was expected to be somewhere, every day, and I was acknowledged and appreciated for being there.  As each day went by, I noticed myself feeling more and more "important" and thinking less and less of Cedar at home and whomever was watching her that day.  It felt great, and by the end of the week, I was ready to hit the books, pay the sitter, and become a fancy, money making business woman myself.  No kidding.

It sounds silly.  But for the first time in my life, and I mean ever in my life, I doubted my role as wife and mother.  I doubted it.  Very severely. 

For the first time, I felt small and mistaken in my "life choices" and completely convinced myself that I wasn't enough.  That, for whatever reason, God had messed up and stuck me in the wrong world - because this new world - the one where I was busy, smart, pretty, successful - that was the world I belonged in.  A fantasy world.

On Thursday, we stayed late making our final deliberations and I left downtown at 8 pm.  Cedar was already in bed and after contemplating calling a friend for a drink, I decided to hit Albertsons for some quick and necessary groceries.  The moment I walked into the grocery store, a wave of anger washed over me.  My fantasy was over now, and it was back to reality.  Diapers to buy, toilets to clean, dinners to cook and a toddler to scold.  A husband to fight with, and bills to pay. 

If I've ever talked to you about how my depression feels, I've described a big, grey cloud that sits above my head and drips negativity into my brain day in and day out.  A big, grey cloud that wont go away - for anything.  No matter what I do, this ridiculous cloud hates me and loves me all the same and it won't let me go.  It is so hard to overcome. 

I listened to my grey cloud all weekend as I performed my ridiculous, unimportant and incorrect tasks. 

I was tricked, though.  The kind of negativity in which I've become accustomed - and have learned (mostly) to cope with - was not what I was hearing last week.  There was no negativity, but instead I was overwhelmed with an ugly prideful attitude, and the more I thought on my life, the more I convinced myself that I was better than this, and that I was meant for more. 

This is a lie much harder to recognize, as I'm human, I'm sinful, and I love myself. 
Embarrassing truth.

I can't believe I'm admitting this, but it's important, because as I continue on in my walk with Jesus, I'm learning to catch the enemy in his lies, and as Christ followers, we need to be prepared to recognize the truth beneath his lies, which are clever, witty, attractive and in abundance,

and last week,

I was covered in them.

On Friday, in my nasty pride, I swept the floors, folded the laundry and changed diapers all the while telling myself, if I could just get through two more years of this, go to school, then I could land my dream job and my daughter would go to daycare and some other, more gently and better placed woman would take over the duties that I was beginning to loathe.

Here's the thing, (and I can't believe I even have to share this disclaimer, but in this land of mommy-wars and sensitivity, I feel I must) I have nothing against mothers who work and take their children to daycare.  I am not biased in either way, and still hope to have a career of my own someday - a career with which would probably require my children to receive care from others at times - but this is about my heart.  I know in my soul that God has me right where he wants me.  That I was made to be with Jody, to raise Cedar and to stay at home with them during this time.  And that may change, but I know my Jesus, and I know he would have me at home right now. 

Moving on.

One almost melt down, one real meltdown, and one good reality check snapped me back to life, thank God. 

Here's what i know:  My God does not make mistakes.

• I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.  I say, 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'  (Isaiah 46:10)

He is almighty.  He is good to me.  He sustains me with his word.  He forgives me in my sin and my pride, and he teaches me grace and mercy through the death of his son.  And while I'm covered in sin, day in and day out, he reaches out and snaps me back to life - life in Him!  How profound!  And how good.  Thank you, Jesus.

A thousand times I've failed,

Still your mercy remains,

And should I stumble again,

Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades

Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

My heart and my soul, Lord I give you control

Consume me from the inside out, Lord

Let justice and praise become my embrace

To love you from the inside out

-From The Inside Out Lyrics-

 

Welcome to our HOME!

Sorry about my lack of writing.  I've taken pictures of our new house both before and after remodeling in hopes of sharing via my old friend, Blog, but just haven't quite gotten there yet.  I've also considering "chucking" out the old friend, Blog, as I feel I am, at writing, getting worse and worse.

But I'm here now! I'm hoping to rehash the last 2 months in a quick post, but this just seems unlikely.  Here goes: 

We have again, moved.  But, ahh...sweet relief for me comes in the form of something called Permanency - a word I knew well all of my younger days but was soon tossed out the window upon entering a marriage involving the military.  We PURCHASED a home, with which I am greatly in love!  Jody and I worked hard and fixed up our wonderful home which we bought while it was trapped in the 1960's,  and I feel like we have really made it beautiful.  We still have a lot of work to do.  A LOT.  But for now, it's comfy, spacious, and my new baby.  Oh, and my "old" baby?  She loves her new home.

 This is the front door.  We painted the brown paneling on the left a dark grey, replaced the orange flooring with some pretty laminate and painted all of the 'smokey' white walls and trim a fresh white.  Next, we will remove the closet doors and place a bench and coat hooks inside.  Some day :)

 Just beginning to remove wallpaper (and odd light fixtures) in the living area.

 Midway through.  I chose a darker gray for this wall, and while I was a bit nervous, I am very pleased with the finished product.

Ta-da!  A home.

This is the kitchen and dining room before.  Half of the kitchen was covered with carpet, as was the entire dining room.  The remaining chunk had that bright orange laminate again.  Very...interesting :)

And, now!  I painted the kitchen an eggshell blue and we replaced the floors.  We also updated the chandelier, and since this picture, I have painted the "china cabinet" a clean white and grey.  I removed the class and one of the shelves as well.  

Since these pictures, we've gotten a larger table so it is looking much more sophisticated.  Jody did a wonderful job installing the floor (with the help of some friends -- thank you!) and once again proved himself a handy-man-who-can-learn-anything-and-do-it-right-all-in-one-day. 

 This is our "office" - before.  Below are pictures of what we were dealing with in the office and Cedar's room as far as wallpaper and carpet goes.  Both rooms had two layers of stubborn wallpaper and ripped up, smelly yellow carpet.  Obviously, that had to go.  The office is also painted a light grey with white trim, and Cedar's room is all fancied up with light pinks and greens.  We had so much fun with her room!

 Cat wallpaper.  Naturally.

 Hours worth of peeling, scrubbing and soaking would render this: Not much.

 Cedar's room.

Office.

 I went a little cray-cray in Cedar's room.  With the help of my new friend at Pittsburgh Paints, I finally made a special room just for Cedar Mayonaise.

Mellow Mint and Pale Primrose.  Whoever has the job of naming paint colors - I'm jealous of you.

 Midway.

 This picture is no good, and it's not complete or decorated yet, but you get the idea.  Cedar is a girlie girl.  She was just built that way, apparently, so I just had to paint that room pink. 

Completed (but cluttered) office space.

My hubby working his tail (and feet) off scraping popcorn off of the whole house.  I kid you not, with the exception of the kitchen and one bathroom, our house was covered with that junk.

 And this, folks, is the view from my front porch.  Ahhhh.

Hi, house!  And pear-shaped body!

 I hope Cedar now understands that she is "home" as well.  The poor girl.  She was shuffled around from babysitter to babysitter quite a bit during the house-remodeling period, and I worried she was getting confused having lived in so many places in her short little life.  But, she seems to be happy and comfy here.  She is even learning to help out!  Above, she is 'mopping' with Mama and helping Dad rake some leaves below.  Does it get any cuter??

 My little angel is not so much an angel anymore.  Sigh.  She enjoys getting into mischief and can throw fits like the best of 'em.

 Cedar enjoys sticks more than anything else in the world.

Walks?  They are not exercise for Mom anymore.  This monkey hates sitting in the stroller for too long and enjoys hopping out and pushing it herself, while stopping every four seconds to gather sticks.  Maybe SOME day I will get to run again.

Because it's the ONE outdoorsy thing I did this summer - (I don't even recognize myself either) I had to show a few pictures from our drive through Yellowstone last month.  We had a dear friend from Virginia come up and visit us and we took a day trip.  It was fun, except for that it took all day and into the night, rained, I was carsick and Cedar whined in the car for hours on end. 

It was really not that fun.

I prefer backpacking, camping, driving through parks and fishing SANS children, and due to my current situation in life, these fun activites will have to take a backseat until we are further down the child-rearing road.

Which is okay, because I love babies.  Especially my baby.