Hopes and Dreams: 10 weeks

This has been a big week for Taylor in the sleep department. On Thursday night we started giving him a bottle of formula before bed. It seems to be helping his tummy stay full longer so that he can sleep longer! On Thursday night he slept from about 11 to 6:30!!! Friday night he slept from about 10 to 5:30, Saturday night from 10 to 4:30, Sunday night he was up twice and last night he went from about 10 to 3:30. So he's not very consistent but he's sleeping longer than 3 or 4 hours and it's so nice!!! While Andy feeds him the bottle I've been pumping just to keep my milk supply up and then freezing it for an emergency or whatever.

Our neighbors named their baby boy Tru Edwin. He was born back on the 9th - 2 weeks ago! You can be praying for them. He's a healthy baby but he's pretty fussy and Heather seemed so tired and so overwhlemed when I talked to her. I can so relate!!! Lily was a tough baby too so I tried to be encouraging while not telling her what to do. Babies are all so different and it's just trial and error to find what works with your particular kid. And it's such a short phase even though it feels like it's never gonna end when you're right in the middle of it and completely sleep deprived. Please pray for Jeremy and Heather!

Also, a friend of mine had a baby boy on the 10th and his name is Carter Stephen. Stacy and I student taught together at Becker in 2002. She and her husband and their daughter Allison live in the cities. We used to do a better job keeping in touch before we started having babies! Anyhoodle, it sounds like they're all doing well. Praise the Lord for healthy babies!

I decided not to lead my small group of high school girls this year. Part of me feels really badly about it but I don't regret the decision. I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed by some of my responsibilities at church and something needed to give. Also, the groups are going to meet on Sunday nights this year and I don't think I'd thought that through entirely and how it would affect my family. Since Andy works every other weekend sometimes Sundays are our only day to be together as a family. I feel like I need to protect that time and that my family needs to take priority right now. I have the rest of my life to lead small groups and I have these kids RIGHT NOW. Perhaps God is calling someone else to step up!

MOMS started today. Yay! It's so fun to be back with all those women. I remember the very first time I came to MOMS when Lily was just tiny; I pulled into the parking lot and I thought I'd never seen so many mini vans in one place in my life!!! :) Some of the gals on the leadership team are coming over on Thursday morning. We're meeting to put the small groups together based on the surveys women filled out today with their book preference. There are 4 choices this fall: 1) A Mother's Heart by Jean Fleming 2) Have a New Kid by Friday by Dr. Kevin Leman 3) Got Teens? Time-Tested Answers for Moms of Teens and Tweens by Jill Savage and Pam Farrel and 4) Every Mom's Fear Factor: A Mom's Guide to Courage in a Dangerous World by Allie Pleiter. They all sound excellent!!! I've read A Mother's Heart and it's SO good. If I end up leading that one I'd like to buy the 2nd and 4th books just to read on my own. Since I have so much free time for reading these days. Ha!

Here are some photos from this week. Enjoy!

Lily LOVES corn on the cob. She ate two whole ears for lunch on Thursday. :)

Our NEW library opened this week. It's so awesome. It's got a wonderful children's area and one of my favorite things is the new bathrooms! There's a separate/private nursing area attached to a single bathroom which is such a fabulous idea! Anyway, we had a great time and look forward to lots of trips to the library!

In the Exersaucer for the first time. This kid loves to be upright so we're looking for ways he can do that. We stuffed blankets all around him to prop him up and he really enjoyed it for several minutes. He's still too little for the bumbo chair - too wobbly yet - and he gets bored in his swing. Any ideas???