Once Upon a Time...

I want to tell you a story....

Once upon a time in a land far away there lived a very stubborn nation.  They had lived a tough life under the tyranny of others.  But, thanks to the grace of God, they escaped from that tyranny and began their life anew.  Thankfully, God placed in their hands a guide to His will for their life.  They only had to follow it.  

But...being a stubborn nation, they ignored what God wanted for them and let their hearts stray.  God sent blessing after blessing their way and still they would not follow His will.  He sent punishment their way and, still, they would not follow His will.  So He gave them over to their stubborn, hardened hearts.  They would not enter His rest.

Who do you think I am speaking of here?

Possibly Israel.  Possibly the United States.  The truth is, it could be either one.  

Just like Israel, we were given a chance to follow the will of God.  He even gave us instructions by giving us His word (aka the Bible).  Yet, we harden our hearts and turn from His ways day after day.

Psalm 95:7b-10
7b Today, if you would hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
9 "When your fathers tested Me,
They tried Me, though they had seen My work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
11 Therefore I swore in My anger,
Truly they shall not enter into My rest."

While our nation was not literally at Meribah or Massah, we have been in contention with God and we have tempted, or tested Him, which is the meaning of those two words (Strong's H4809 and H4532).  If any nation has followed after its own heart and neglected the word of God that was at their fingertips, it is ours!  We are just like Israel: "They knew God's ways well enough; but they did not like them; and would not walk in them" (Clarke).  What are God's ways?  How do we know them?  The Israelites had the 10 commandments.  We have the Bible.  He has given us a road map to follow His will!

And just like the Israelites: "It mattered not whether He blessed or punished.  They were impervious to both" (Expositor's).  It seems that no matter what happens to this country: fortune or famine, peace or terrorism, we never turn to God.  And this is why: "They strayed in heart; therefore they had an ever-increasing ignorance of the right road.  For the averted heart and the blind understanding produce each other" (Expositor's).  If that doesn't explain our country, I don't know what does.  The heart of the nation, the hearts of the people have gone astray.  Because of that, they can no longer see what is right...even when it is in the palm of their hands!  

We must be so very careful to keep our hearts in the Lord's will.  For once we begin to stray, it becomes more and more difficult to understand His way.  We are tempted and misled and eventually are hearts are hardened and "the seed sown on the rock never brought any fruit to perfection" (Henry).

Church, our job today, is to steady our hearts.  Our job is to give our hearts entirely to the Lord so that they do not harden and we are able to produce fruit.  For when we produce fruit, we encourage others to do the same.  And soon, one fruit tree becomes an orchard and then the orchard becomes an entire forest.  

Be the light in the darkness.  Be the fruit tree in this famished land so that one day, the Lord can harvest a forest full of fruit!

Must-Haves for Baby 3-6 Months

This post has been a loooooong time in coming!  Aelah is about to be 9 months and I've been meaning to write this since she turned 6 months!  haha.

I should preface, again, that these aren't actual necessities.  This is our list of "must-haves" that we don't think we could have survived without.  Though, in reality, I know we could have.  :)

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1. An Exersaucer! (or something similar)

Our little lady, like many others, was pretty nosey from the beginning.  But she, obviously, wasn't mobile at 3 months.  So the exersaucer was a great way for her to see what was going on, to get up off the floor. She absolutely loved it.  Wacked herself in the face a few times with the toys, but she loved chewing on them....still does!

This was the very first time she was in this....LOVED it!

2. Boppy Pillow

I didn't include this on my 0-3 month list and I probably should have.  So I'm adding it here.  While I never got the hang of it while nursing (it was just one more thing I had to figure out), the boppy pillow was the perfect place to lay her.  While she was awake, it was a nice place to prop her up so she could see a little bit better and later on, it was great for tummy time so she wasn't flat on the floor.  Naps were also great in the boppy!  Loved seeing her lay there so content and peaceful.  Additionally, it is great at this age for propping up behind them when they first start sitting up.

Full disclosure, she was only 2 months in this pic...but it was the only one I could find with her boppy....weird.

3. Teething Toys

Because of how much she loved to chew, we had thought Aelah was getting teeth from about 3 months on!  Currently, she has two nubs but nothing has broke through the skin yet and she is days away from being 9 months!  haha.  But teething toys were a lifesaver, these were a few of our favorites:

Sophie the Giraffe (see picture below)

These Blue Spoons - yep, she chewed on them before we started food

Wooden Teether

This is the...."Seriously? You guys are eating in from of me and all I get are these toys?" look.....

4. Noisy Toys

When I say "noisy," I don't mean toys that have volume buttons or flashing lights.  I mean simple toys that can be distracting and fun for a tiny little human.  :)  These were our favorites:

Crinkle Paper from Marleys Monsters.  Definitely one of Aelah's favorites from very early on.  And I recommend it to any mom I can!  So convenient to tuck in a purse or pocket!  (See picture above)

Maraca Egg - We had one that was gifted to us awhile before baby from the Earthbound Trading Co.  I found it after she was born and it was one of her very favorites from the beginning.  Daddy was playing with it when she laughed for the first time!!  These ones are also super cute!

Rattles - obvious?  yes.  But there were so many times that the rattle in the diaper bag saved the day!  I thought this one and these wrist rattles were pretty neat!

5. A Mirror

There was a mirror on the back of our bathroom door when we moved in that we replaced (it was outdated).  I have plans to fix it up and use it elsewhere.  But it was just sitting in the closet.  She loved that mirror!  She sat and talked to the baby in the mirror for hours.  And we used it for pictures but all she would do was give the other baby kisses.  ;)  If you don't have a large mirror for baby to play with, this plastic mirror is a safe bet and is very similar to what I used in the day care scene!

Video wouldn't upload of her talking to herself.  But I still love this picture!

6. A Good Sippy Cup

Aelah refused to take a bottle.  On a whim, I got out the Nuk sippy I had gotten at a yard sale and she took to it like a pro!  We probably would have introduced it around 5 or 6 months anyways.  But it was a definite must have for us right around 4 months!

First time with a sippy...drank over an oz when Mommy stepped out of the room for just a couple seconds....

7. A Play Mat

While definitely not necessary....at all.....it was still nice to have a designated place to lay her.  And she loved the hanging toys and the tiny mirror that was attached.  :)

Pretty sure she was sitting and fell....but then she layed like this for awhile.  Too funny.

*BONUS*

A Bumbo.  To be honest, we didn't use our bumbo as much as I thought we would.  We got her one for Christmas and I was SO excited...but it was set aside much earlier than I anticipated.  I included it on the list, however, because when I worked in the day care world, bumbos were a lifesaver!   They are perfect for when baby can't quite sit on their own but hates laying down because they can't see!  Aelah did love hers...but only until we pulled out the exersaucer.  They also come in handy when feeding starts...but since we did baby led weaning, the high chair was best.  If I had spoon fed, we probably would have used this A LOT more.

This was also taken when she was 2 months. Can't believe how different she looks...

So, that's our list.

What would you add to it??

Aelah Grace: 8 Months

Those cute little toes!  I just want to eat them up!  ;)

 A couple weeks late on this one, as usual.  But this little lady is keeping me busy!  And I am soaking up every single moment of it!

I could add cords and wires to this list but I didn't want any judgy looks.  I wouldn't let her play with them, of course,.but they definitely seem to be her all time favorite thing ever!  ;)

How am I growing?

So hard to tell without a doctors appointment.  She is so much more mobile now, I really think she is thinning out.  So we may have lost a bit of weight...but I highly doubt that.  We have an appointment the end of this week though so I'm anxious to see the changes.  She has pretty much grown out of her 6 month clothes though I still have a few things I didn't pack away.  Some of the 9 month brands are still a bit big yet.  Since she grew so quickly in the beginning, it is amazing to me that we have been in the same clothes for so long!  We even made sure to get a bunch of summer clothes in 12 months - now I'm not sure we'll need them!  That's just how it goes I guess...

How am I sleeping?

Sleeping through the night has continued to be the trend.  Sometimes she wakes up between 11 and 1 or between 4 and 5.  But all I have to do is give her a paci and she usually goes right back to sleep.  So thankful for this (knocking on wood over here....).  But who knows what will happen once teeth actually decide to appear or some other developmental change.  ;)

How am I eating?

She loves her food!  Very much!  If she happens to nap through dinner time we have one cranky bear on our hands.  So she definitely depends on that evening meal.  But breast-milk is still her primary nutrition.  I've started giving her some oatmeal or cereal some mornings.  And she has been eating a "snack" for lunch.  We're slowly getting to three meals a day.  But I'm not in any rush.  She is happy and healthy and that's all that matters.

What else is new?

She is officially mobile!  She started king of scooching around and within a week she was crawling.  It is still very unique but she gets around very quickly.  I am getting less done around the house but enjoying watching her grow and change every day.  Even if it means pulling her out of the same corner or away from the TV stand every 2 minutes.  ;)  

This was the original scootch, army crawl, whatever you want to call it....I already miss how cute it was....

Her personality is really coming out as well.  So many faces, so many noises.  She laughs, she gets mad.  It is so fun!  But makes it a bit difficult to tell her no.  haha.

And she looooooves the pool!

Thank you Aldi - this is the best $5 I've ever spent.  ;)

And here are a couple of my other favorite pictures from the past month:

Our ray of sunshine...even when it rains every. single. day.

THAT face!  The super excited I can't contain myself face.  By far one of my favorites.