Welcome to This Big World!

She has finally arrived! After waiting for nine months, everyone in a family and friends are anxious for the arrival of a new baby. The mother even more so. When the baby sleeps past the due date, it’s difficult to not become anxious.

Our fifth grandchild arrived on January 3rd. She is the fourth girl in the grand baby line-up. Our first grandchild, a boy, will have to be patient and keep praying for another boy to bond with. There may be many opportunities ahead!

Brand new babies are so tiny, special, and adorable. They have a unique smell and they are cuddle experts. They also don’t sleep much, need diaper changes, and want to eat…a lot. New parents have an adjustment period, and it can be very trying. Much patience and prayer is needed to get you through those first couple of weeks.

Then you kind of slide into a daze and survive at least 18 years, more years added with each child.

At the time, when I was struggling with four children under the age of nine, there were many days that I thought it would never end. I would never sleep again, take a shower or eat without interruption. My days for the rest of my life would consist of getting up, getting dressed, making a meal, doing laundry, cleaning up, making a meal, cleaning up, doing laundry, making a meal, cleaning up, doing laundry, getting baths done and then hoping for a few hours of down time. When the flu season hit, I didn’t even dare to hope for that last point!

But it did end, and now I watch my three daughters struggle with the same routine and sense of being buried in the laundry room…alive, with children calling, “Mommy, Mommy!” as they drift away. And those years don’t seem as though they took as long as they did while I was living them.

I absolutely loved being a stay-at-home-mother! I was always extremely thankful that I didn’t go out to a job everyday. We lived very frugally, didn’t have much, but I was with my children. I really enjoyed taking care of our home, fixing meals and washing clothes. It was my life, for a very long time.

But I also don’t want to go back to those days! I think the biggest lesson in life is to enjoy and make the most out of every day you have, and live in that day. Don’t wish for the past, or expect the future. Just settle down into the today. Make the most of each little minute, even when many of those are spent at the kitchen sink, or sitting in a rocking chair nursing a baby…all. day. long.

Welcome, baby Ashlynn! We are so thrilled to have you as part of our family. We are excited to get to know your unique little you and all the plans God has for you as you grow into the woman that God has designed you to be. We pray for the new parents, and God’s direction in the way little Ashlynn should go. We pray for patience, long-suffering, and sleep. You have been given a wonderful, precious gift. Cherish it.