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Lessons Learned in 6 Weeks

December 21st, 2008

Katrina, take this as your Sixteen Things About Me.    (PS – I know it’s not 16 things, but I can’t remember any more.  See #7.)

1.  I hate socks.   Pairing up the kids’ socks has officially become the bane of my existence.  Who knew all the socks look alike?  And yet there’s always one left over.

2.  Laundry becomes infinite when adding the third child.  Laundry, like dishes, always needs to be done, but I used to have laundry somewhat under control and in a sort of system.  Now it seems as if I wash 2+ loads per day (not counting the cloth diapers).

3.  Kennedy is going to be one tough little girl.  I always knew this, but especially in the past few weeks she wrestles with her big brother and still comes up smiling.  She has also started speaking in sentences.  Sometimes I forget she’s not 2 yet.

4.  Colby is the most compassionate and caring child.  When Carlee cries, he gets upset and runs to help her. When Kennedy needs help, he runs to her aide.  When I need something, he helps me get it; this has been a huge help to me lately, when the phone is on the other side of the room and I’ve just sat down to nurse Carlee.

5.  Carlee is a snuggly baby.  She is sleeping in our bed at night, even though I never ever wanted to sleep with our kids in the same bed.  But, this allows me to get *some* sleep in between feedings, and she sleeps better this way.  She will not be there for long.  And, I tend to fall asleep while holding her because she’s so relaxed and calm. I love how she sleeps with her fist under her chin and how she spreads her fingers out wide when I pick her up.

6.  I am so much less stressed this Christmas than I have been in years past.  Maybe it’s because I do have a newborn that I’ve released some obligations I held in the past.  I’m not buying many presents this year, mostly giving gift cards.  I haven’t bought all the presents yet and I haven’t wrapped a single thing, but it will get done. We’re just doing things on a (much) slower pace this year. And, I like it this way.

7.  My memory has been pretty much wiped.  I blame my general lack of sleep.  I used to be on top of things.  I feel like my memory system used to be like a Rolodex, with neat little cards I could pull out when I needed.  Now it’s more like a very cluttered Inbox, and I can’t even remember where I am in the pile.  I can’t remember who I’ve told what and when or where, so I just start repeating myself.  I blame my general lack of sleep.

8. Now more than ever, I’ve been impacted with the realism that God came to earth as a very tiny baby.  Wow.  I am weeping just thinking about it.  I love thinking about how the angels announced Jesus’s birth to the shepherds…  Here are the words to one of my favorite Christmas songs; we sang it this year in our Christmas musical.

“That Night”

That night in all of Heaven, there wasn’t a sound
as God and the angels watched the earth.
For there in a stable, the Father’s only son
chose to give Himself through human birth.
And when the cry of a baby pierced the universe,
once for all men were shown their worth.

And the heavens exploded with music everywhere!
And the angels spilled over heaven’s edge and filled the air!
And the Father rejoiced for He did not lose His Son.
But, He gained to Himself forever those who’d come.

May the Father rejoice over you this Christmas as you celebrate the birth of His Son.

Entry Filed under: Carlee, Colby, Faith, Family, Kennedy, Life