Today

I woke up this morning not wanting to wake up...but my job (as a mom)required that I do otherwise. My spawn likes to rise bright and early (I can't complain, its usually around 8 am) but my late-night habits make it seem way too early to be getting up.
So alas, I rose and got the little bugger out of bed for the day.
We did our usual morning routine...breakfast (cereal, eggs, fruit - that girl can eat!) and getting dressed/changed.
Right now we are renovating the upstairs of the house, so most of our daily tasks remain downstairs..it's kind of like a little apartment, which I feel blessed to have. We have an extra kitchen-ette down there so we can still do the normal thing we do while the upstairs is getting remodeled.
I can't believe how the little one can pick up so many words already! She's like a little parrot! Today the latest word I've deciphered is "shower". She had been saying something like "zsha zsho" to me the past couple days, and today when I got her up from her nap, I had a towel wrapped around my head, so when she said it - i figured out she was recognizing that I had been in the shower!
Some of her other words include "luna" (spanish: moon) "brrrrats" (grapes) "mook" (milk) "buggy" (bunny) "mlah" (frog) "bakum" (vacuum) and "meese" (please).
I can't name everything she says, because she repeats things so much and attempts to say a lot! But those words are some of the ones she is consistent with.
Other things we did today included walking the baby around the block in her new wagon (from Craigslist!), visiting the recording studio (the new DRCC album Holy Rain 2 is coming out soon! - but that's another story), and having dinner with my in-laws.
It was a good day. I like busy days.

Family Update

Well it's been a long while since my last post and a lot has gone on... Madi has since turned the big "1". We just bought a house. And we are expecting our second baby. Well much more than that has happened too, but its way too much to explain. Those are I guess the "big 3" that I can think of.

I've been a lot more sick this pregnancy and am wearing out the phrase "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired"... but I'm hoping that this too, shall pass (as they say usually the sickness subsides around 12 weeks, which I am approaching).
I am excited that Madi and her new sibling will be so close in age, but I'm also nervous about the task of now caring for 2 young children during the day by myself. I'm sure God will give me the strength I need, but it seems a daunting task when I think of how exhausted I've been with one little one in the mix. I know that God's timing is perfect and that the next little guy/girl will be a big blessing to us, and will hopefully be a nice little friend for Madi.

Buying our first house was another exciting but scary thing, as a purchase is a lot different than a rental. We rented for the first 6 years, and now having already moved, I see how much work owning a house really is - there is so much to do and so little time - espeically with kids! But it's a process...I've talked to several older people who have owned homes for years and they all say the same thing " there's always SOMETHING" . I think the lesson is to prioritize what needs to be done first, budget in mind, and not get overwhelmed and think it ALL has to get done NOW. Because that's pretty much impossible. As soon as you finish one project, something else comes up. Or your eye sees something it would like changed or "updated". (ah how the grass is always greener)... I hope this experience will teach me how to be patient, a good steward/budgeter, and content. I hope I can have fun with the house but not get sucked into the "always need to change something" mindset. I hope we can just enjoy the place and the blessing that it is...do some projects, sure, but just not get too carried away.

Where is Mono?

Pictured here is Madilyn sleeping with her favorite toy monkey, whom we call "Mono" (spanish for monkey). Since I've taken this photo, Mono has sadly gone missing. The last I saw him was 2 weeks ago at church, dangling by his legs from Daddy's back jeans pocket.
Mono wasn't just any toy monkey, he was Madi's (and our) favorite. We bought him at Target one day because the package label said he was made from "100% natural fibers and dyes", and because at the time Madi was putting almost every toy we gave her in her mouth, we felt a little better that she wouldn't be eating any potentially harmful substances (although she still plays with pretty much every other toy the same way).
Anway, I digress. Mono was a comforting stuffed animal, and I know Madi liked him because whenever I'd put her in the carseat and she was grumpy, her eyes would light up when I handed the monkey to her. His nose was all brown and orange from her biting at his face all the time too.
Well, I'm not sure if he fell out of Daddy's pocket in the church parking lot, or in the highschool lobby, or if he's buried in my car somewhere, but I hope someday we do find him again.

Changes

Its so crazy how having a baby changes things. I really can't believe how just having Madilyn in my life has made me see life so differently. I was recently watching an episode of "17 Kids and Counting" (reality show following the Duggar family...they have 18 kids!). They were on a mission trip to El Salvador, visiting poor families, taking them food and Christmas gifts.
I have been to Honduras many times, but not since Madi was born. So just seeing the show brought back memories of my own mission experiences. But I think now being a mother, the way I see things is so much different. I started to cry when I saw the Duggars visit a family who had several children, and a new baby. The mother asked for prayer for the health of her baby, because a neighbor's baby had died recently due to malnutrition. I couldn't help but feel such sorrow...such sadness for the mother who feared she may not be able to provide the adequate nutrition her baby needed just to survive.
I don't know if I would have cried if I hadn't had my own child. I think I'm just more sensitive to those things now...having a baby of my own and thinking what it might feel like if I were in that poor lady's position.
God really has blessed America with a lot of things. I feel very fortunate to live here, but I hope I never forget that there are so many people out there that don't have the same kind of standard of living as we do. I don't know why I was chosen to be born here...all I hope is that I am continually conviced to help those less fortunate. To be grateful, and to give, to learn to serve and have compassion and share what has been given to me.