"My beloved is unto me as a bundle of myrrh." Song of Solomon 1:13
Wednesday, February 13th, 2019
When they’re this small I just want to find a way to bottle up all their tininess. One so quickly forgets how little they are at this age, you hear that all the time because it’s too true. All I can think to do is click my camera at him trying to find a way to record and keep his smallness in some measurable unforgettable way.
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Saturday, January 19th, 2019
38 Weeks. What a gift. In such a short time we will finally lay eyes on our dear new son for the first time. I’m eager for that moment but I’m also still soaking in these last days of having him on the inside. The entirety of this pregnancy has been such a blessing. All pregnancies are blessings of course. This one had so many moments of anxiety and worry for me but every week was one more miracle and gift and here we are now, at the end of the waiting, ready for the next blessing of finally holding this little one. It has not always been pleasant, but it has truly been a joy to carry this child.
It strikes us that there will be 3 years between Josephine and this new baby. We have never experienced this age difference in our children. And while it does have some wonderful new qualities to it we will always know why it is and feel this age difference with sorrow.
This pregnancy feels very different in some ways for me and Phil. There’s almost a sense of this being a “first time.” I’ve bought more and gotten dreamy eyed over little baby shoes and swaddles more than I have in a long time. Mooney much of the time just wanting to waste the day looking online at onesies and swaddles for this baby.
I’m enjoying these final weeks. The “nesting” has kicked in and I’m obliging it as best as my old tired body will let me and I almost have that satisfied feeling that everything is as “ready” as it can be.
The bustle of nesting takes it’s toll and gives over to the necessary stillness that comes as well during these last days. The time your body requires to just sit and rest. In these moments the goodness can really sink in. The good fact that a baby will soon be in your arms and the arms of all those who have come before.
This mama says it well:
“This is such a sweet, special season, these final weeks of carrying my baby, a time for really slowing down, looking around me at what I’ve already been blessed with, and savor it all the more. There really is no need to stress about “the list” or “the mess” or anything else.
Because all that will matter in just a few short days or weeks is going to be that we’re all here. All ten of us. Together.” Keeper of the Home
I am so excited for that day when all our babies meet their brother and it will suddenly be hard to remember what our family was like without him. In my exhaustion I find joy and I give thanks for all of it, all these blessings. For the past 38 weeks of them and for the many blessings to come.
Sunday, November 22nd, 2015
The church year we keep comes to an end today, the last Sunday of the Church Year and a new year begins next Sunday with Advent. Today we were reminded of the end of the world and pointed to Christ our Savior who has been given all things. Who keeps His promises and who will come again.
It of course made me think about the past year, specifically about the ways we have numbered our days by the observations on our church calendar.
So I took some time this week to look back through this blog at the section on the Church Year. I had already forgotten much of what we have done this year.
Psalm 39
“Show me, Lord, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure.
But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.
Save me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the scorn of fools.”
Tuesday, July 21st, 2015
I had no idea what to expect when I decided to marry Phil and that this would mean having to live in a small rural town in Nebraska. I was enchanted by the charms of this lovely place from the beginning but was unsure how I would handle actually living here.
But, it was Phil I wanted and if I was to have him it meant having this town too.
It was a hard adjustment for me but the beauty and simplicity of life in this place grew deep into me.
We have loved so much about our little town. We have been happy here, raising our babies here and starting so many traditions here.
I will miss how much harvest and planting seasons affect our lives. I will miss the tractors and combines that drive past our house everyday. I will miss watching the crops grow and walking the many hills. I’ll miss the oldness of the trees and maybe even the smell of money wafting in from the feed lot on the edge of town.
But as Nanci Griffith says, the heart of any town is the people that you’ve known. We have made some dear friends in this place. It is them we will miss most.
