Some Natalie/Mommy time

Just some recent shots that Daddy took of his girls. Have a great week!

Sheep

Talking to a good friend the other day confirmed many of my suspicions. I have been batting this rather radical thought around for many months now. I've been playing with it; turning it over; looking at it from other angles; talking it through with others. But in a brief sentence she made it clear. My thought is this, Dr. Dobson, Pat Robertson, good ole Jerry Falwell, the "right" list goes on~ they all have something in common. These days they can talk people out of wanting anything to do with Christianity. They do a great job of focusing on the family issues, trying to speak on "God's behalf" (how audacious), and blasting anything that threatens their beliefs. Showing off Jesus? Not there. My friend~ she's a warrior for Christ. The last several years she has been great friends with a homosexual couple. She's had them over for dinner, gone to church with them, gotten to know them, been a real friend, and genuinely loved them. When they broke up she walked with the guys. When one of them came to her home brokenhearted telling her that God has been dealing with him about his lifestyle she took the open door. She held his hand and discussed that God's commands are what is best for our lives. He makes them because He desires to protect us. She continues to walk with him as he seeks God. This guy is making life changing decisions because God is bigger then him. My friend gets to be blessed by being included in the process. She is blessed because she chose to honor God's command to love. She didn't sign a petition. She didn't give him a lecture. She didn't dwell on his sin anymore then he dwelled on any of hers. She gave him to God and loved him like crazy. All the "American Family Action Alerts" in the world don't touch this.
I believe there is no greater action then when one of His children draws closer to Him. It's become hard for people to hear Jesus calling because His sheep are making too much noise. They won't stop yelling from their safe pen long enough to let Jesus do the calling. There is nothing less appealing then a bunch of sheep stuck behind a fence baaing at the same time. We should thank God today that Jesus is a Savior who knows no boundaries and loves to jump fences. He goes and finds those who are lost. Maybe one day the rest of the sheep will go with Him while He is looking. Maybe will start escorting others in with Him instead of yelling at them from our cliquish group. I know I'm stepping out to follow Jesus while He looks. I'd rather be with Jesus in the world then on the "right" or "left" side of the fence any day.

Matthew 25:32-36 "And all the nations will be gathered before Him' and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. for I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirst and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited me in; naked an you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to visit Me."

I Corinthians 13:1-2 "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not love, I have become a NOISY gong or a CLANGING cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountain, but do not love, I am nothing."

I'm officially a mom...

I decided yesterday that I'm officially in the mom club. Now, you might be thinking, "surely she has known this before yesterday". And on some level you'd be right. The labor, the sleepless nights, the endless diapers, the constant second guessing were all clues. But, yesterday, ahhh, yesterday, it all became real. Natalie and I had a great day. She had eaten well and napped well. She had apple juice for the very first time from a sippy cup. She didn't drink much, but it was fun. Then she woke up from her afternoon nap. (The following is not for those of you with a weak stomach.) I noticed she had spit up more sweet potatoes then usual. I cleaned her up, cleaned up her crib and walked into the living room with her. Then she threw up. It would have projected across the room, but I was in front of her. I felt it ooze through my shirt and run into my bra. Nice. I quickly got her over a blanket. She just kept throwing up. Now I was scared. When she finally stopped I was amazed that so much could come from such a small body. And she cried. I stripped us down and held her. Then we had round two. Not much was left for this time around. I called Chris and told him he needed to come home. He did. He found us in the floor over a towel. He cleaned up the carpet, while I cleaned up us. She started again and I called the doctor. When the nurse called us back she told us it may be the stomach flu and to give her Pedalyte. Chris purchased some. By this point, she was dragging. The vomitting had stopped, but she was clingy and clearly didn't feel good. We coaxed her into drinking some. It was amazing. She drank about an ounce and after a few minutes was smiling again. She was fine for the rest of the evening. We decided her body just didn't like the apple juice. I've had several mom's today tell me that juice is sometimes hard on kids. Why don't I know these things ahead of time. :) So we started bedtime last night still concerned about dehydration as she hadn't peed since she threw up. I carried her quickly to the bath after taking off her diaper. Then I felt it. She wasn't dehydrated. She had saved it all for me. My shirt and pants were soaked. She was happy. I had been puked on and peed on all in one day. Now, I'm in the club. Now I'm a mom.