A Blog Revisited

Here we are again, friends.

We're now closing out 2015 and, again, I find myself resolving to write more in the coming year. I think my motives have changed a little with this year's resolution though.

I started this blog years ago as a means of keeping in touch with family and friends. It was meant to be a glimpse into our lives to keep people up-to-date with work, school, life adventures, etc. Then it became a place to share cute photos of our growing family. Then I decided that there were too many creepy people on the internet that didn't need access to images of my children, or details about our family life, so I altered the privacy settings...

And now it is this. A private little space on the internet where I would still like to keep in touch with family and friends. I would still like to share stories of our adventures (although our definition of, "adventure," has changed over the last eight years) and pictures of our growing family (currently drafting this post at 34 weeks pregnant with baby number three).

I don't think I have the creativity, ambition or time to change the entire trajectory of this blog, but I do hope that it can be a little more multi-functional. I'd like for it to be more than a two-dimensional space where I provide brief updates about our lives. I'd like for it to be a place you visit to feel understood, to be encouraged, or, at the very least, to find some humor.

I may not update it weekly, but the updates that do surface after the kids go to bed, after Jon goes to bed and after I've successfully or unsuccessfully resisted whatever sweet happens to be in my kitchen, will be sincere.

Happy New Year, friends. And thanks for reading:)

The Throwback Post

I'm not sure how this has happened, but the year seems to have sprinted past us and THIS petite ladybug is going to celebrate her FIRST birthday next week!

In light of this, I thought it was high time to re-enter the blogosphere... with a throwback post. This gives you a sneak peek of B's arrival, and provides me with a little more time to figure out how I'm going to arrange my 'transitional' posts after a year of blogging inactivity.

So here we go!  A post I began almost a year ago and have "saved" (doesn't that sound intentional?) until now!

It's good to be back on the blog, friends.  I have missed you:)

*****

[This post was initially titled, "She's Here!" Since she's been here for almost 12 months, I think I should replace the old title with, "B's Arrival!" Yes.  I like that.]


Good news, friends: the wait is over!  Bronwyn is here!

[See, Jenn of the last post, she arrived before you turned 40.]

Actually, she's been here for about two months, but I've decided that it's finally time to document our time with here here on the blog.

To give you the quick run-down:

• B was born the first week of February at 4:00 PM, exactly.
• 7 lbs, 10.6 oz and 19.75 inches long.  Short and petite:)
• She is a very lovable, and well-loved baby.

D feeling B kick.  What am I wearing here?  In the week before B was born I just kind of threw in the fashion towel. Whatever fit.

Saying that the weeks leading up to Bronwyn's arrival were filled with anticipation would be an understatement.  My emotions were a mixed, ranging from impatience to excitement, to uncertainty about the delivery process following an induction. 

D remained optimistic. He had fun feeling her kick, and laying his head on my belly.  He would talk with her and about her.  And although he knew that her name was Bronwyn, when I asked what pet name we should give her ('fighting guy name' as D put it), he insisted on 'Thunderbaum.' I can't make this stuff up.  I have no idea how he came up with that name, but it stuck.    

And now, our new life as a family of four in pictures (in no particular order):

Nani is the best when it comes to playing with bugs and dinosaurs.

Heading home from the hospital!

Much of the day is spent like this...

I'm not sure what was happening here... I think this is his protective face.

This kid is a natural big brother, and B is surviving his affections.

A visit from Nani at the hospital.

Meeting dad:)

When David first came to see us at the hospital, he had to work hard to divide his affection among me, the baby and the chicken strips.

First picture as a family of four:)

First time holding his new sister! He was SO excited.

Unimpressed with the salon service at home...

Did your heart explode upon seeing this?  Mine did as I was taking it.

And then I had to snap back into parenting mode when this immediately followed...

Enough!

*****

Get Off Thine Ball and Love Thy Friends

[... Love 'Thy' Friends?...  or is it 'Thine Friends'?... Someone with a knowledge of Old English, please help]

If you had been a fly on the wall in our house this past week, you would have witnessed the mope-fest that was my sitting on my exercise ball in ill-fitting yoga pants, swaying from side to side with flat affect, making comments like, "This kid is never coming out.  I'll turn 40 and she'll still be in there."  Or, "If she waits any longer, we're going to have to scrap the newborn clothes and bring toddler jammies to the hospital."

I'll admit that I had expectations about when the new baby would arrive, based on D's early entrance into the world (38 weeks, 6 days).

Tomorrow is my due date, and this little miracle is showing no signs of budging. She is literally digging her heels into my ribcage as I type this in order to stay put.

So last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I was praying for some insight into the bigger picture with this pregnancy.  I needed perspective. Badly. And God in his gentle wisdom started nudging me with questions like:

"What if this pregnancy is about more than bringing a child into the world?  What if it is an exercise for you and I to spend more time together?  What if it is an opportunity to understand the value of compassion and exercise it in the future?"

"What if the purpose of this physically/emotionally uncomfortable waiting period is bigger than you think?"

"What if this process of waiting and all that comes with it has more than one purpose?  Will you trust me through the waiting with the confidence that I'm working all of this out for your good and my glory?"

"What if I'm refining you through the waiting so that you can be a better friend?  So that you can be a more compassionate and relatable human being?"

That last thought struck a powerful chord with me.

Some of my most intimate friendships with other women have been born out of the ability to relate.  The ability to come along side one another and rest in the knowledge that we're understood.  It is entirely possible that God is using this last week of impatience and discomfort (on my part) to deepen friendships. And I think authentic compassion and understanding is a product of experience--there is no 'life hack' for cultivating a compassionate heart.  If someone were to approach Jon or me and share their struggles in having children, we could relate.  If they were to come to us with the grief that accompanies miscarriage, we could listen and understand that too.  If someone were to share their whirl-wind happiness of having a child before their due date, we could share in that excitement with them, authentically. And now, if we were to talk with friends frustrated by the thoughts and symptoms that come with waiting for a baby at or after 40 weeks, we can truly empathize.  It is entirely possible that God is attempting to round me out in the pregnancy-related empathy department.

The thought of His orchestrating the last week of pregnancy for those purposes makes me feel peaceful, relieved and happy.

Conversation Between a Pregnant Woman and her Belly

The late night musings of a pregnant woman suffering the inevitable heartburn that comes from cannonballing toast and Nutella after 10:00 PM:

Belly: Hey girl.

Jenn: You sound like a Ryan Gosling meme...

Belly: You're cranky because you had a late-night snack, stop projecting.

Jenn: That's accurate.  Sorry.

Belly: Remember that morning a little over three years ago where you were trying to manage the worst, most crushing, breath stifling pain?...

Jenn: I know where this is going. Are you bringing this up because...

Belly: ... you're almost 38 weeks pregnant?  Yes, I am.

Jenn: Ok, this is helpful to an extent, but...

Belly: And do you FURTHER remember that your last child was 8 pounds, 6 ounces and 22 inches long?  That's a good sized baby...

Jenn: Yeah, a person doesn't forget something like that.  Have you listened to the audio from our last labor experience?  That's all the medical staff kept saying.  "That's a good sized baby!"

Belly: I'm just trying to prepare you, psychologically, for what we're about to do in the next few weeks.

Jenn: I'm not prepared for this preparation [eyeing the shelf with the Nutella in the pantry]...

Belly: Don't even think it.

Jenn: Don't get me wrong, we are counting down the days until we get to welcome this new little person into our family, but I haven't allowed myself to fully remember the process that is bringing a life into the world.  Remember the 'Thought Fragment' post?  It's like that.  I have, however, looked back through about 3000 newborn photos of D sleeping and being adorable.  That helps.  Also, I eat my feelings when I get stressed.  You know that.

Belly: You want this kid to weigh 12 pounds?

Jenn: No...

Belly: Stop eating your feelings.

Jenn: I should also go to bed.

Belly: Agreed.  Hey, what are you planning on wearing tomorrow?

Jenn: Em...  I'm not sure.  You're kind of limiting my clothing options...  How about some kind of stretchy pants and one of Jon's button-down shirts?

Belly:  UGH, you're killin' me, Smalls!  Are you suggesting that plaid, flannel number that you're holding hostage on your side of the closet?

Jenn: Hey!  It FITS!  We're function over fashion at this point!  I've got like, FIVE shirts of my own that I can drape over you without looking completely ridiculous.  I can't justify the purchase of new, smocky clothing with only a couple of weeks left to go.

Belly: I respect your logic, but that thing makes you look like some kind of wayward, irresponsible lady-lumberjack.

Jenn: Jammies it is then...

Belly: Stop being a martyr.

Jenn: Fine.  Kimono dress as shirt over jeans?

Belly: Done.

Jenn: Ok.

Belly: Ok.

Jenn: ...We can do this.  We've done this before.  And Jon the champion husband and labor coach will be there.

Belly:  Unless you go into labor while he's driving to MN to pick up your mom from the airport...

Jenn:  You wouldn't dare...

Belly:  I'm just saying you should have a contingency plan in the event...

Jenn: We do, and don't even think about pulling a stunt like that while he's on the road.

Belly:  I'll do what I can.

Jenn:  Thank you.  And thanks for physically protecting my baby for the last 37+ weeks.

Belly:  Welcome.  Thanks for running me into fewer people and counter-tops over the last week.  I can see you're making a conscious effort.

Jenn: I have been!  Thanks for noticing.  Bedtime?

Belly: Bedtime.

Jenn: We can do this:)

Christmas 2013!

Helping dad set up the tree.

Have I waited long enough to post a Christmas recap?  I believe I have.

This Christmas was magical for a few reasons:

1. Jon's schedule wasn't very demanding.  Unlike Thanksgiving, he didn't have to work Christmas eve or day, and was also off on new year's eve and day.  And maybe a few days in between...  I can't recall--it all felt like a gloriously long weekend where we got to have great family time. Reality set back in this morning when Jon was up at 5:00 to be at work by 6:00.  In short, we'll see him on Sunday.

2. Back to the positive.  This year, we decided to observe advent for the first time as a family (pronounced, "owvent," if you were to ask D).

This has been the answer to a question I've been mulling over since David was born--especially this year, since he's old enough to be captivated by kid's toy advertisements.  The question being: how do I demonstrate the truth that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of our Savior?  How do I focus his anticipation on THAT, while still doing fun Christmassy things (without having the excitement of a new Skylander toy eclipse the excitement of the gift of Jesus)?

For those of you with more wisdom and well-established Christmas traditions, this may be a non-issue--and if you have suggestions, I'd love to hear from you!  For us, we're still 'trying on' Christmas traditions and figuring out ways to show D what our faith is all about.

Three-year-old-friendly nativity.  The two other wise men, not featured, were played by Iron Man and Spider Man.  Sometimes there were tigers.

Advent calendar things.

Advent candles.  As a child, I associated candles with really special occasions.  Birthdays, fancy dinners, Christmas eve services at church (where I would always burn at least one finger with hot wax).  I still feel this way, although now I understand the value of holding candles upright.

This year, at a women's advent tea I attended, we made advent wreaths out of split logs and silk flowers. Arm a bunch of resident and staff wives with enough hot glue guns and craft supplies and some beautiful things can happen:)

Once I explained what it was, D was fascinated by it too and insisted that we practice lighting and blowing out the candles three times before we used it at dinner the first night.

3. We had very much the 'white Christmas.' 

Last Christmas, we also had snow, but that was accompanied by three days without power.  That wasn't the case this year.  We were able to enjoy a nice, simple Christmas, and D and Jon were able to bundle up to play outside for a while knowing that they would return to a house with heat.  And cookies. 

And now a photo unload of the last month:)

More tree assembly.  Serious stuff.

Tree decorating.

More decorating...  This was actually a daily practice--removing the ornaments (usually with his claw-grabber toy) and then re-trimming the tree later.

Making salt dough ornaments to send to family.

"Mom, I'm making you dinner."

Preparing to go outside.

Learning the value of an honest morning's labor...

[2 minutes later]....aaaand that's enough of that.

Bundled with dad:)

"Dad, I want to wear on your glasses."

Jenn 800 weeks pregnant.  Or 34 weeks.   

On days where it's too cold to play outside, we have some nice indoor options.

Cookie baking.

The 'dad' cookie.

When we moved from Little Rock to Wisconsin, we decided to leave our small supply of Christmas trappings in storage because of space issues.  So this year, we had fun making (mostly kid-friendly) things to hang on our tree.

Clothespins and hot glue!  Hot glue is a running theme, can you tell?    

We all agreed that the angry owl was a mistake.  Nothing says 'Christmas' like an art deco owl glowering at you from underneath your child's happy hand-print ornament.

Christmas tarantula.  Courtesy of D.

Normally, I wouldn't post so many tree pictures, but the process of making things with D throughout the month is the point I want to emphasize.  There were days where I was searching for creative things to do with him and I found some really helpful tutorials online:

Clothespin snowflakes and monogram ornaments

 http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2013/11/easy-holiday-ornament-ideas.html

Christmas tree music paper

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/253960866460613834/

Jute wrapped ornament

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/253960866458885862/

Craft stick and clay pot children's tutorial

http://todaysfabulousfinds.blogspot.com/2011/11/craft-stick-and-clay-pot-childrens.html

Felt and pinecone owls

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/253960866458886201/

Bird in a pot

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/253960866458712854/  

Christmas morning!

Milk noms.

Post-Christmas-morning-snow play with dad.

Not even the snow can keep this boy from getting in some good swing time.

Dad's foot, D's foot.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year!