I guess this post will just be a little update on what's going on with me and my beautiful little family.
- About two weeks ago Ariel started sleeping at night! Since she was born she had her schedule switched (awake at night, asleep during the day) and then one day it just switched. She woke me up crying because she was hungry and when I checked the clock it had been 3 hours! Say what? Perhaps it was just an anomaly, a brief respite from the Lord? I wasn't going to hold my breath. And then it happened again! Another 3 hours before her next feeding! Up until that point she'd been waking up every 1 -2 hours to eat at night, and staying awake for a long while each time.
That next day I walked around in fresh-wide-eyed-wonder ...colors seemed brighter, smells stronger...is this what it felt like to sleep? I had forgotten. But I figured it was a one hit wonder and we'd be back to her usual the next night...but instead the opposite happened! She's now sleeping 2-4 hour stints at night between each feeding and seldomly waking up after.
PRAISE
THE
LORD
- After passing the newborn sleepy phase (where you could have hung her by her toes and she wouldn't have woken up) Ariel started wanting to be held ALL. THE. TIME. Even when she was in a deep sleep you couldn't put her down. Lots of other parents were encouraging us to just leave her and let her cry it out, but after trying it really didn't feel right to us, and after doing some research we really didn't agree with that method of parenting. And so the only alternative was to hold her, which meant I couldn't really get anything else done.
It's really funny what the Lord will choose to speak to you through...
a few mornings ago I woke up with an eminem song in my head from middle/high school. I don't even know how I remembered the lyrics but what was stuck in my head was
"you only get one shot, do not miss your chance to glow, cause opportunity comes once in a lifetime"
After rapping it a few times in the kitchen my husband told me he thought it was a word from the Lord for me to just be thankful and live in the moment; this opportunity to cuddle Ariel without interruption would likely never happen again in our lives. Funny how when you "learn the lesson" He kind of moves you on in your life.
A day or two later Ariel totally changed and is now much more content to lie down when she is napping, or sit in her swing for a little while.
And I did the laundry and snuggled my daughter.
PRAISE
THE
LORD!
- The Lord has been speaking to me and my husband, Elijah, about being faithful in the little, about cultivating the gifts he's given us here in this season if we want Him to trust us with more in the future.
So we are signing up for WorshipU with Bethel Church in Redding, California. It's an online learning program for worship leaders. They have online videos teaching you everything from theology to songwriting to vocal/musical instrument lessons. We're also going to be starting a worship night at our house 1-2 times a month in the near future.
Besides that we've also been working on songwriting and are putting together a little home made album.
- I am getting my hair cut today! Having really long hair and a newborn is no bueno. At least not for me! It's constantly getting in the way while nursing or when I'm trying to pick her up, and it feels hot and sticky on my neck and shoulders while I'm carrying a baby around. So I am lobbing it off today! I feel pretty nervous about it, last time I cut it short the lady didn't put enough layers and I had the dreaded "triangle head" (my curly haired girls can I get an amen?!)
- We started trying to use cloth diapers and I realize I hadn't bought nearly enough, (I'll give my thoughts on CDing in a later post) but we bought some more and I'm excited to get started! Can't wait to share how it's going!
- Also, I've been trying to wear Ariel for awhile now. We've tried 3 different carriers and for the most part she does not like it. I've tried everything I can think of to get her to settle down in there but so far nothing. I'm going to keep trying because I really want to be able to wear her so if any of you would like to keep us in your prayers please pray that she would love being in the sling!
- Life is sweet, and hard, and boring, and wonderful all at the same time as I continue on this journey of motherhood...learning how to remember to keep my husband first, learning to still pursue the Lord, learning to be content and thankful in this slower season of life, learning, learning, learning.
And falling more in love with Jesus, always more of that Lord!
This is just a quick glimpse at what we've been going through in the Nelson casa, I'm excited to pick back up blogging - its nice to have a place to chat with all you big people, although if I can be totally honest the conversation does feel a bit one-sided :/
;)
Well that's all for now,
happy homemaking!
Prayer Requests:
-pray our garden would yield much fruit (that's fancy talk for grow a lot of food)
-pray Ariel would continue to grow healthy and strong
-pray we would come up with ways to get her to settle during her usual fuss period (starting anywhere from 6-9pm until 11-1am)
-pray that Lij and I would be disciplined to do what we feel God asking us in this season
-pray for contentment and joy
-pray Lij and I would find ways to connect and have quality time in this new season with a newborn
Thanks for all your love and prayers
-The Nelson Casa
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