Without Maryn!

We have been without Maryn since Tuesday!

The first day or two was pretty nice.  I got some great one-on-one time with Josiah and running around to appointments was a lot easier.  Maryn just doesn't do well in places like that.  We also went to Kroger, and it actually went very well.  I've been getting Owen on more of a "routine," and it has really helped his belly, which means he's taking some nice long naps.

But now we kind of miss her.  Although if she was here, I'm pretty sure I would not be blogging right now.  I've had some awesome quiet times the last few days, and have read half of a novel!  I've been working hard on our new cooking blog (cookingwithmaryn@blogspot.com) and have been trying to clean up a good bit after our sickness.  Today was packing day.  We are going to leave in just a couple hours to go get our baby girl!

I can't wait to see her!  I hope she will let us cuddle with her and give her lots of hugs and kisses.

But all in all, I think this little trip to grandma and grandpa's house was really good for all of us.  I'm so proud of her (mostly I'm proud of myself, haha!), and I know the relationship between her, my parents, my Aunt Cathy and all the Ohio family has really gotten stronger.  She will remember these trips her entire life.

Happy Summer!

PS:  It's 102 degrees here.  No joke.  John's a/c in the Santa Fe doesn't work.  So let's pray he makes it home safe.  Maybe he'll buy a tank top to drive home in.  :-o

Owen's One Month Dr. Visit

Owen will be six weeks old on Monday, and we just had his one month visit with the pediatrician yesterday. It's no surprise that he is a very healthy little boy.  He has excellent head control, strong arms and legs, and healthy eyes, ears and belly.  He weighs 12 lbs. 7 oz. and he is 23 inches long.  He is the average size of a 3 month old!  

We got out his 3-6 months clothes when we got home, and they fit very well.  He was getting scrunched in those 0-3 months clothes, but I thought surely it was my imagination.

Owen is a delight.  He smiles a lot now, and is even trying to laugh and coo, although he can't quite get it out yet.  He really watches our faces and our mouths closely, even imitating some of our mouths' movements.  He hasn't rolled over in a while, probably because he's getting a little chubby.  But look how cute he is.  I could eat him up.

I think he loves me :)

 "we started realizing that our children had become judgmental little scoffers. Why? Because we were so busy comparing and contrasting our education, parenting, and worship style choices with those of other parents that we had marginalized the gospel before our kids. We were way more excited about high church liturgy, classical education, “courtship,” family worship times, you name it. We actually believed they were signs of spiritual maturity. The only problem was, we had neglected the one and only thing that could ever give our children and us the power and strength for real spiritual maturity—the gospel."
Luma Simms  Raising Gospel Centered Kids

Caught Ya

I caught ya being cute with your new hair cut!

 I caught ya cuddling with your siblings during movie night!

 I caught ya reading a great book!

 Silly, silly billy stinker pie.

Butterball Baby and the "Big Kids"

 I call Owen my little butterball.  His belly and his head are so round.  

And buttery.

 I put the newborn clothes away today.  Here's Josiah trying on the outfit that was my favorite on him when he was a baby.  I think Owen only got to wear it once.  Owen is a little bigger than Josiah was.

Owen turned four weeks old yesterday.  Josiah turns two in almost just one month.  Maryn will be....(gasp)...four in September.  Four.

Can you believe it?

My baby fetish

Some people have a thing for baby feet.

Or baby faces, or baby cheeks,

Or baby bums.

This is my baby fetish:

 Arm chubs.  :)

Look at the dimpled elbow!

When the dimpled elbows disappear and become bony little scabbed up elbows, it's time to have another.  Because we all need some baby arm chubs in our life.  :)

Wow.  What an interesting few days we've had.

busy week!

 I take pictures of Owen all evening after the big kids are in bed, as Owen sits up against my knees.  I love how they can sit against your legs when they're little.

 He's getting so big!  And has lots of facial expressions.  Oh, he's so, so, so sweet.  He loves to look at me.  I love to look at him!

 And here's my sweet little turtle boy.  Who gets cuter every day, and is getting way, way too big.

I pretty much breastfeed Owen all day.  He has been giving me a couple hours break each morning and each afternoon, but beyond that I pretty much nurse all the time.  Today was a hard day.  I hope tomorrow will be better.  He hardly nurses at all at night, and we sleep pretty well.  So I guess that's not such a bad trade off.  

We went to Target today as a family.  John got the groceries, and I took the kids Father's Day shopping.  Then John did Food Line from 2-3 and I did Food Line 3-5 while someone babysat our two oldest kids.  And then I fed my kids foods that come from cans, and we watched two hours of Thomas the Train.  Maryn has adopted a fantastic British kind of accent thanks to Thomas the Train and Angelina Ballerina, where she says lit-tle with the "t" sound rather than the traditional way Americans say it.  But she also has been calling John "Datty" and Josiah "Butty."  Which drives me up a wall.  I don't know why I'm so easily annoyed.  Lately especially.  

Tomorrow, we get to go to Kroger and Sam's Club, which will likely expend all of our time, energy, and any money we have left to our names.  Happy Wednesday!

THREE kids getting BIG!

Here's Maryn and Josiah being sweet.  But they aren't always this sweet to Owen.  We've had quite a few little "incidents" lately that have been uh, a little scary.  :)   I remind myself that babies are fragile but God is sovereign.  I pray for his life daily...:)  I say that in gest, but really, I do wonder how so many infants make it through infancy with big siblings around.

 Owen really gets cuter every day, and his face is changing.  So far I think he looks more like my dad's side of the family.  Perfect, since his middle name is Michael!  Maryn is a cross between John and me, Josiah is all John....MAYBE Owen will take after my family more.  We shall see!

He continues to roll over belly to back and today he almost rolled over back to belly.  I think he could do it if he had a reason to.  After our long car ride yesterday, I got him out (he had been crying) and he just smiled and smiled at me!  And he just wanted to stare at me the rest of the day.

I love being loved by a sweet little baby.  There's nothing like it.

 Maryn.  Acting like Daddy, with her headphones, his watch, his phone, and his Kindle Fire.

 Josiah's legs got stuck in his crib's slats this morning.  I was a little worried because his one foot was so swollen, white and cold.  Scary.  It was a good day to try napping in Maryn's room, in the toddler bed.  They will be sharing a room soon!  I honestly have no idea how it will work.  I am pretty sure it won't work at all.  Prayers please!  And any advice is welcome.

Life with Josiah has been pretty tough lately.  We are treading new territory here with a "normal" toddler.  I realize now that Maryn was never a normal toddler.  Ha!  If you know her, you know what I mean.  Oh Josiah, I love you.  You and your sticky hands, your crayon messes, your dirty face, and always smelling like ketchup and peanut butter even when you haven't had ketchup OR peanut butter in days or weeks.

Life with three!  Fun as can be!

aggghhh

I'm going to be really honest here and tell you that my oldest two children are driving me insane.  I can't imagine what's come over them :)

Anyway.

Here's Owen getting a sponge bath.  :)  

 I thought this little duck towel suit wouldn't get used, but it was actually perfect for sponge bathing.  He stayed warm and cozy.  Apparently not warm and cozy enough though...

 ALL CLEAN!  Hiii!

 Here's our buddy Eli coloring with Josiah while Eli's mama, Elise, vacuumed our whole house!  Yippee!  She's trying to make Owen's new little buddy come out.  His name is Aiden.  They live downstairs and Aiden's due date was today!

Rainy Days

We have been having a good old time indoors as we celebrate our rainy days lately.  Okay, so it hasn't really been raining.  It was actually the "first week of summer," and Memorial Day Weekend.  I may sound like a teenager when I say this, but everyone was out and about, traveling, visiting, and pretty much having the best week ever.  But we were stuck indoors.

Being stuck indoors doesn't bother me all that much, but I have felt extremely sorry for Maryn and a little bad for Josiah, too.  Our zoo membership has run out, so there's probably no hope for going to the zoo this summer.  Poor Josiah has yet to see an elephant since he's become obsessed with them.  And Maryn points out to me at least three times a week, "We haven't gone to the zoo in a long time."

I know, sweetie.  I know.

So I try to make things fun for them.  But all the neighborhood kids are having so. much. fun. right outside their windows.  Maryn has been such a big girl, such a great helper, and hasn't thrown a fit yet about not being out there.  But it breaks my heart.  I guess this is what the Baby Blues looks like when you have older kids.  

Hopefully my belly will be feeling better soon, and we'll get out there, at least in the mornings before it gets blazing hot.

 Poor Josiah had to wear Maryn's PINK paint shirt.  :)

Washing a baby...this kept them busy for quite a while.

 We made these adorable snakes.  We did some learning about reptiles and snakes, too.

 Maryn and Josiah made a hide out under the baby swing, so I got them to make Indian (Native American :)) headbands.  Cutest picture ever.

 Owen.  He's so cute.  We are taking him to the doctor soon because he's had gunky eyes.  I think probably just clogged tear ducts.  He rolled over the other day, at 9 days old.  I couldn't believe it.  I am going to try to get him to do it again here soon.  And he has grown out of newborn diapers.  He's definitely our biggest baby so far.  And look at him...he's so contemplative.

 I think he's probably a genius.  He's a lot like Maryn in the way he watches me.  I know they say newborns are blind as bats, but I don't believe it.  This baby studies my face and even reaches for me--I know it!  He turns immediately when he hears my voice and SMILED, genuinely smiled at me when I sang to him.  It was the I Love You (from Barney) song.  What a precious sweet boy.

John got home at 10 am today and has the whole weekend off.  I get him for almost four straight days!

And we got a new washer today.  It is NICE.  Like, really nice.  Happy birthday to me.

A day in the life

 We cuddle!

 We craft!

 We play!

 We take silly pictures.

 We cry...

We do random studies on West African Literature and African music.

We watch Angelina Ballerina.

We blog and facebook and text.

We read about the Garden of Eden and the Fall.

We stick to our routine as much as possible.

We....go to bed.

Good night!

The Big Reveal

It took 39 weeks for baby Owen to get to this point, and involved a very painful, uncomfortable pregnancy if I can be honest with you.  I was a little concerned how my older two children would take the addition of our precious little miracle.  Other than both kids being a little afraid of me and that big ol' hospital bed, they were extremely excited!

 They brought Owen a special gift, and what a surprise--Owen had gotten them gifts too!  I will have to get you pics of those gifts later.

 All three children have adapted very quickly to each other.  Maryn expressed her disappointment today that Owen STILL can't play, run or jump around with them.  Josiah has had one fit in which he bopped Owen right on top of the head.  Today Owen turned 8 days old, and I think the novelty has pretty much worn off and they are well into the swing of things.  It's hard to believe, but Maryn has really stayed busy (partially thanks to all the fun stuff Aunt Cathy and Mamaw brought), and we have hardly watched television at all.

 I need to get some better pictures of my Mama on here!  Here's one I took of her and Owen with my cell phone.  :)  I love his long arms.

So I guess we're doing all right.  I'm not too happy that John went back to work on Friday, 4 days after my c-section, and doesn't have a day off until Friday.  Or that our washer broke for good today.  Or that Maryn peed on the bathroom floor and then she and Josiah rolled around on balls in the pee....

Buuuut...enough.  Life is good.  Fun and interesting, at least!  We are blessed.

"We marvel at some of the experiences, through which we are called  to pass, but afterward we see that they afforded us some new knowledge of the Lord."  - G. Bowen

"He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."  Psalm 62:2

The Morning of Owen's Birth Day

It's time to write about Owen's arrival!

This time we decided to have a c-section without trying a VBAC.  I had been having contractions every night the week before Owen's scheduled date of arrival, so I wasn't sure we would make it.  But we did!

I have had my three children in three different hospitals, and this experience was by far the best.  I loved our doctor, I loved the nurses, all the medical staff, the anesthesiologist and anesthetists, etc.

Here we are in triage.  Woop woop!

I really don't like drugs, so I expressed my fears to the anesthesiologist because I'd had such a horrifying experience in Naples with their abusive nurse anesthetist and spinal headaches.  The anesthesia team was so sweet.  And the way they led me into surgery (walking) and showed me around, introduced me to everyone, led me through the procedure, explained everything, etc., made such a difference.

My doctor, before he operated, asked everyone to pause and listen to him for a moment, and said, "This is Amanda Erdman...she is having her third c-section...she does not want her tubes tied..." haha!

The anesthesiologist made sure none of the sensors needing to be placed on me were in front, so that I could hold my baby right after he was born.  And they gave me the very lowest dose of anesthesia possible by doing all kinds of weird things, including tilting me way back on the table to help the numbing rise up to my chest instead of just pumping me with more anesthesia.  It's so weird having a spinal and feeling so much tugging and pushing and pulling, because I think I'm going to feel the cutting.  Ouch!  My anesthesia was so low this time that I can say at certain points the surgery took my breath away with all the activity that was going on, and I think I gasped a few times for air as they did stuff behind that sheet.  It was crazy.

The anesthesiologist took this photo, and the triage nurse took the other one.  They both asked if they could get a picture for us.  Isn't that so thoughtful?  And everyone was so affirming.  My OB went on and on about  how I had a beautiful pregnancy and had managed my gestational diabetes well, and had a very healthy baby.  The anesthesia team said I had the best spinal they had ever seen (ha!  I'm sure!) and go figure, no one even had to slap me across the head to get me to stay still (thanks Naples).  Yay!  I love words of affirmation.  Really,  it's little things like that, I believe, that can help a new mom stay on her feet and not get those baby blues or post partum.  

We have all fallen in love with our precious baby Owen.  He is such a sweet addition to our lives, we can't imagine life without him.  He has a very laid back temperament.  He loves to lay in his Moses basket, and after he eats, if I wrap him tightly, will fall asleep on his own.  He's always done fine just laying on his back, no pacifier, no gassiness, no spit up, no tummy troubles.  I am amazed that God has had mercy on us and given us this healthy, happy baby who just goes with the flow.  So far...he IS only 5 days old afterall.  :)

I have been getting a good amount of sleep.  I slept over 8 hours the second night he was home, and the first night was only bad because our sweet little Josiah woke up for two hours during the night :)  

Thank you all for the prayers.  They are heard and felt, and we are blessed!

Countdown to Baby!

The other day, we planted our flowers that Maryn and Josiah gave me at church.

 I wasn't able to bend down and help her plant them, so I told Maryn what to do.  She followed directions so well!  She definitely has a green thumb.  Our neighbor Heather is always outside with her plants too, and Maryn loves to go over and watch her, and ask a hundred questions.  It looks like if we ever move, we will have to have at least a small garden, like it or not.

 Last night, the kids and I made mini biscuit pizzas while John was at work.  It was so much fun!  And Josiah is doing so well at following directions, too.  He smashed down his biscuit just right, spread on his own sauce, put on his favorite toppings (mushrooms, pepperoni and lots of cheese), and was more than happy to eat all the ingredients as we prepared the pizzas.

Maryn loves lots of toppings--mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage, black olives, and just a little bit of cheese.  She eats all the toppings off, of course, and then doesn't want to eat the crust.  Josiah picked his little pizzas up like a big boy and ate them bite by bite.

We are having some good times as we wait for baby Owen to arrive!  Josiah has been really tough though.  I literally try to keep him outside as much as possible.  He does much, much better out there.  Indoors he is just a little monster, throwing fits and picking fights with his sister constantly.  It sounds like having a newborn will be loads of fun, doesn't it?

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

One of my favorite memories of my mom...

So, my mom was a single mom for a while.  It was just her and me, and she had this creepy stalker for a few years.  It's kind of a long story I won't go into here.  Anyway, the stalker eventually went crazy crazy, and burnt down a house down our street and stabbed my mom's water bed and stole her purse and tried to steal her car...Anyway, not all that happened at once, but let's just say my mama and I were a little freaked out.  She never let me see her scared much, but I remember we slept in the living room together for a while after he stabbed her water bed.  We slept in the living room and she sang "Kumbaya My Lord."  Which is actually kind of hilarious.  If you know my mom,  you know how much she enjoys "Negro Spiritual Songs," as Kumbaya is described on Wikipedia.  I am not sure where in the world my mom thinks of her bed time songs.  For Maryn she sang The Farmer in the Dell.  I'm thinking maybe I'll make her a list of some good ones before she babysits again.  ;-)

Anyway, as we laid there singing Kumbaya (I can't even type that without laughing), I thought she had the most beautiful singing voice in the world.  And God really did use that song, and her presence, to give me peace.  She was (and is) a wonderful protector.

Nesting

First, man oh man, I hate myself when I read the last blog post because I sound so cocky about teaching!  Have you ever known a mom who writes one of those supermom blogs?  I don't read supermom blogs any more.  Only blogs of people I know who are humble and real.  So, sorry for acting like a moron.

I got the kids to bed just after 7:30 tonight.  When I came out of Maryn's room I saw the kitchen floor and said, "Floor, you are dirty.  And I have a brand new mop head that needs to be used."  So I pushed aside all the dirty dishes, filled the sink with hot water and Murphy's Oil Soap and mopped all the floors.  But then I realized while I mopped that the baseboards were dirty.  And that made me realize the walls were dirty and the cabinets, and several areas needed decluttered, and the laundry needed to be put away, socks needed to be sorted and put away, and the bathroom was dirty, and things smelled funny, and Murphy's Oil Soap makes wood things look so shiny, so I cleaned all the  wood things in our house, and that made me think of glass things so I cleaned all the mirrors and windows...  Then I did the dishes, made blueberry bread, and fried sausage for our lasagna tomorrow.  I only stopped a few times to play my favorite 80s songs, and take a few gulps of water (I usually missed my mouth a little bit and dropped water all over myself).  All that took me only two hours.  Then I took two Benedryl and three Tylenol, and then I threw up.

And so now you and I both know what nesting looks like.

Good night!  :)

Cubbies, Bible, Kids, etc.!

Maryn has completed her first year of Cubbies.  She completed the book.  She memorized 24 verses of the Bible (some of them were quite shortened).  On Wednesday, she received her reward and we took her out for frozen custard at Culver's.  

She made a card for her teachers, Miss Adrian and Mr. Junior.  It says "Thank you for teaching me about Jesus."  I love the way she made the letter S in Jesus.  :)

 Here's the front of Maryn and Josiah's cards.  I thought you might like to see in case you need some ideas for Mother's Day cards.  :)

 We had our neighbor, Ella, over to make a card for her Mommy.  She did such a great job coloring in the lines!  She said, "I'm going to color like Maryn."  :)

I love our church's children's ministry.  The people who volunteer in Maryn and Josiah's rooms love those kids so much.  They really teach them about God beginning from the day the babies enter the nursery.  A child's mind is a wondrous thing!  I love it when people don't underestimate kids' abilities.  There are far too many songs rich in gospel truths (Jesus Loves Me) and a child's memory is so absorbent that it's foolish not to fill them up from the beginning (even in pregnancy!) with His Word.  

If you have a three year old, for example, I know you've probably heard them say something like, "For more games and activities go to PBSkids.org!"  That's in the commercial break between PBS shows.  Or how about, "Come along with me on the Dinosaur Train!  All aboard!"  Yep, your kids can memorize Scripture!

So far in Maryn's little life, she's memorized the first five points of the catechism we use (she had these memorized at age 2, and that's not unusual).

She's memorized most of Luke Chapter 2 and all of Psalm 23 as well as many Bible verses beyond her Cubbies verses (Ephesians 6:1-3 is a good one to start with).

You can download the catechism we use free here.http://sojournchurch.com/2009/06/27/a-catechism-for-boys-and-girls/

These CDs (also available free on Spotify) are great for Scripture memory.  The Seeds of Courage is a favorite.  http://www.seedsfamilyworship.net/  I might listen to it in the car sometimes.  By myself.  :)

I don't think we'll have Maryn in Cubbies or Josiah in Honeybees next year.  That commitment was rough on our family, and I think Maryn and Josiah would benefit more from memorizing Scripture we choose for them.  I'd like to give Maryn MORE time but larger passages.  One verse a week was a little fast and I don't think she had adequate time to really store them in her heart or understand them.  

But, AWANA is a good program.  I continue to be a little disappointed in the resources I've seen for children's ministry and I think Cubbies could use some work.  However, I LOVE the toddler curriculum at our church.  Plenty of age appropriate (sensory!) activities for babies-2 year olds.  It's called Heartshapers.  So cute.  I haven't seen the curriculum that Maryn uses in her class, but I love the stuff she brings home too.  

And that's my teacher schpeel!  

Adios.  And God bless!

More things I don't understand

There are so many things I don't understand about our culture.

My facebook feed lit up yesterday after North Carolina's vote with so many hateful, hurtful comments.  Not towards homosexuals, but towards "hicks," "hateful Christians" and "ignorant Conservatives."

One comment read, "What do you expect from a bunch of hicks?"

Another thing I don't understand is how so much of our culture, especially in our media, can make fun of homosexuals.  How many SNL skits make fun of them?  It's ridiculous.  Does anyone complain about that?

Why do anti-gay and yes, some Christians boycott things like JCPenney because Ellen Degeneres is their new spokesperson?  I don't know.  I'm pretty sure not everyone in every ad for Target, McDonald's, or Pizza Hut is a Christian.  Is Ronald McDonald a Christian?  Should we boycott his products?  Should we boycott Target and Starbucks because they contribute to many things that promote the homosexual agenda (I'm certainly not boycotting Target and Starbucks, idk about you!).  These things are so silly, so ignorant to me.  

Here's one passage in the Bible about homosexuality, but there are many:

"Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error."

- Romans 1:24-27

Homosexuality is a sin, and there's just no getting past that.  BUT I am a sinner too, and so are you, and everyone else.  Should I and everyone else have to recognize civil unions as marriages?  No, I don't think I should.  Marriage is a covenant instituted by God.  Marriage is a Christian word.  A union between a man and a man is not a marriage, and neither is a union between and woman and a woman.  God's word defines a marriage as a union between one  man and one woman.  

Would I vote against a marriage amendment defining a marriage as a union between two people, man/man, woman/woman or man/woman?  Yes, I would vote against it.  Because I don't believe our government and everyone else, including myself should have to recognize it as a marriage.  It's not a marriage.  Marriage, as defined in God's Word (which He wrote) is a covenant between a man and a woman.    

The thing is, I know that the way I see it is silly and ignorant to a lot of people, probably even to most of my blog readers.  But it's okay, you know?  We can agree to disagree.  Seriously.  I have read and heard plenty of arguments FOR gay "marriage" (ones that are not completely ignorant, hateful, etc.) and I can see where those arguments are coming from.  But I personally believe we have to take God at His Word, and I've come to realize even in the last couple years how that ancient, miraculous and sacred thing called "Marriage" is not something to be dealt with lightly or to be twisted in any way.