Two Precious Lines

(Baby bean's first show: She & Him!)

Up to this point, my life is not at all what I expected it to be at age 23. And praise God for that!

As a teenager, I had big plans of leaving Nebraska as soon as I could and I dreamed of being a successful career woman. God had other plans :)

One great love and a baby later I found that my calling (and now one of my biggest passions) is to be a mother and a homemaker. There is nothing more fulfilling than being certain that I'm doing what I was created to do. Following God's plan works like that, I guess.

As Truman and I started our lives together I had dreams of a large family. Those dreams grew when Penny entered our lives. The beginning of motherhood was SO hard (and still is) but I felt whole as a mother. Giving life to one of God's children is a high calling and I was honored to be chosen to mother Penny. I couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to experience it all over again. I felt ready to continue growing our family, but God was telling me to be patient. I'm not good at the patience thing. Being young, married, with an intentional first baby is a rare thing in our culture. So the thought of a second baby so soon resulted in a long of strange responses. I wanted to check my motives. Was this a competition thing? Was I feeling like I needed to keep up? Was I unsatisfied with just one baby? (A ridiculous question, if you ask me.) Was I focusing too much on the future and not staying in the present? 

After a lot of prayer with Truman, I realized that this desire for another baby wasn't about a status or number, but about continuing to do what God has called me to do: mother. The question was when was the timing right? Truman felt that it was best to wait until a suspected promotion with his job (he's rocking that, by the way). He got a promotion on May 29th. On May 30th I had two positive pregnancy tests. How's that for timing!? God sure does have a sense of humor. 

As always, there are a lot of uncertainties ahead of us. I'm a few weeks away from being through my first trimester so I'm currently learning how to let go of my need for control (because I have none) and trust that God's plan is perfect. It's hard not to fear the "m" word but I'm daily having to give my fears to Him. I SO aware that two little ones really close in age is going to keep my hands full, but I embrace that! Lord willing, for the next 20+ years I will have a house full of kiddos making messes, playing loudly, spilling milk, and leaving grass-stained clothes everywhere. Taking care of my family is what I'm good at. It may not be good compared to someone else's standards and I only succeed by the grace of God, but if He chooses to bless us with multiple children then I say bring it on!

We are so excited for baby #2 and, once again, I'm left breathless at the creation of human life.

Cheers to a messy, chaotic, challenging, and FULL life!

(And if you're the praying kind, prayers that our little one makes it through the next few weeks would be appreciated. Thank you!)

J.

Summer Music Essentials

 Now that summer is finally in full swing, I made a playlist :)

If you know me well, you know that I was probably born in the wrong era. Everything about the 50's, 60's and 70's inspires me (okay, except disco). I've been told that I have an old soul--I think that's accurate. The warm weather inspires me to bring out some of the greatest and put it in a playlist. It's the perfect list to join you during this warm, sunshine-y week!

Have a listen {here}

Happy Summer!

Jord

Oh, and P.S. Led Zeppelin was definitely supposed to be on that list, but Spotify is lame and doesn't have any of their stuff, meh. 

Penny Emerson : 8 Months

My sweet Penny girl seems so old. And I know more experienced moms laugh and think "just wait." But this month I have really seen her personality come alive. I can sense what she is going to be like when she's older. I am just purely filled with joy. I'm blessed beyond words to be living out my calling as a mother and spending my days with this little one.

 Little P at 1 month!

She is officially on the move! It only took her a week to learn how to crawl and now that she knows how the girl won't. sit. still. I can't get quite as much done now that I have to keep an eye on her, but I just LOVE leaving the room for a second only to come back and find her propped up against her toy bin rummaging through toys. The amount of time I watch from a distance with a full heart would probably add up to a full day's worth of cleaning. Spying is much more fun :)

She plays shy. Make no mistake. This girl is not shy. But if she wants your attention she'll tilt her head. This has resulted in a few accidents with wooden booster chairs...oops.

Girlfriend is L.O.U.D. Holy cow. She screams, shrieks, yells, sings, the works. And she must get her pipes from grandma and aunt Kal because she can go forrrrevvveerrrr. She loves to hear herself. Especially in places where it echos...like every public place. Yep, we're THOSE people. Sorry. She's never mad or fussing so I can't really tell her to stop :) However, I can totally tell when she's chewing me out for something. It's hilarious now, but that will end during the toddler years :)

Since we are still a one car family, the days when I have the car are filled with running errands. She is such a trooper and LOVES to ride in the cart. She's always making friends with strangers and loves to kick her feet against the cart. If you stood at the opposite side of Hobby Lobby from us, I'm certain you could hear her. Again, sorry :)

She also loves the water. We haven't been able to swim much outside since June is being a stubborn Ox but I'm looking forward to spending many days at the pool!

She stood in two states at once for the first time while we were exploring the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian bridge. 

She figured out how to peek above her crib when she woke up from her nap so many times I would walk past her room and see this tiny little head waiting for me to come and get her. Love it.

She loves being tossed in the air by daddy. She gets to giggling so hard. He'll come home from work, pick her up, and toss her in the air a couple times. It's a fun little ritual :)

We also visited the Holy Family Shrine for the first time. 

We spend a lot of time swinging at the park in our neighborhood. 

Had to finally put the crib down!

She found the door stopper. Lately I've been setting her in front of it while I do some cleaning. That wonderfully can entertain for quite a while!

And my absolute favorite: The Snuffy Face.

She started making this ridiculous face one night when I was changing her clothes. It's her "I'm not pleased" face. I cannot get enough of it.

Penny is very outgoing and strong-willed. She's loud and determined and very curious. When she's happy she is SO happy and when she's mad she'll let you know it. There is no playing quietly, she's a talker. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous for the times when we have to start teaching her and disciplining her more seriously. I want to be able to celebrate her fun and wild personality and I pray that God would give me to grace to know when to celebrate and when to mold. I am impatient, easily-discouraged, and quick to respond so this will be a learning process just as much for me as for her. I have struggled with feeling so unqualified to raise a child and most importantly be an example of Jesus to them, but a friend so kindly reminded me that God doesn't give us something because we're qualified. He qualifies us. It is so reassuring to know that I'm not doing this alone.