4 months has come so fast!

This weekend sweet Eden Rose will be 4 months.  It has been 4 months of near perfect bliss.  Truly, I could not feel more fortunate, more blessed.  I have cherished each and every moment with our girl and am trying to not DREAD going back to work next week.  This maternity leave has been a busy one.  My mom stayed with us for about 3 of the 4 months.  We sold our old home, bought a new one and moved.  My brother moved in with us and is between careers and is here for an indefinite amount of time. We traveled to Washington a few times…one time I drove the 8 hours all by myself.  That was CRAZY!  I would pump as a drive.  (Thanks to FABULOUS pumping bras)  Then we would stop at Starbucks and each get the refreshment we needed from the long drive.  Her some milk, me a little chai!  It was a LOT of work by myself at 2 months.  The weather was HOT, spit up and constipation in full swing…the smells of sour milk and sweat drove me home early.  But nonetheless, I have no regrets for how these past 4 months have gone.  I feel so blessed.  The word CHERISH has been my mantra.  Lately, each morning, we just snug and snuggle as long as possible.  She is an awesome sleeper, sleeping from 8:30p – 7…then I wake her up (or daddy wakes her up…we often sneak her up a bit earlier, just aching to see our little girl), feed her and then she and I will snuggle in bed for another 2 hours before feeding her in bed and determining that I really should probably get up!  I just love those moments together.  Her turned towards me.  She will just stare into my eyes and do her sweet blinking thing, making cooing noises and smile at me.  MELTS my heart! How precious these mornings are to me!   I realize that we it won’t always be this easy, that we will probably have some regression once I go back to work or she begins teething or something…but for now, I am CHERISHING! : ) 

Our new house is a blessing out of my wildest dreams.  God just blessed us so much and things just all fell into place so perfectly.  It is truly my dream home and could be our forever home…with so much potential to grow with the ever changing needs of our family.  For now its perfect, we have our space and my brother also has plenty of space to make his own.  

I am getting back into wood working and am LOVING it!  We have boughten quite a few power tools and I am just getting so excited about the long list of projects I want to build.  Currently, I am working on a dining room table.  A modified version of THIS table:  

Thank you http://www.shanty-2-chic.com.  It has been SO fun to get back into the swing of things.  I am making a 2 base, shorter version of this table and have all the pieces for the bases done.  Yesterday, I began to assemble it.  It has been an awesome creative outlet for me.  I have not had any sort of a hobby for years and I am so excited to furnish our home with handmade creations at an affordable price!

Also, I can HARDLY wait to get started on our next baby and would already be pursuing it had our RE not recommended that year long wait.  I just LOVE it so much and really hope God blesses us with a houseful.  I know it would be completely chaotic, but I just LOVE loving on these little persons of our own making.  We have quite a few embryos, so I am just excited and hopeful about what is in store for us.  

Anyway, over these past 4 months, I have started at least 10 -11 posts and have not finished a single one.  Today, I am just going to post this.  This weekend I will be taking her 4 month photos so I am going to try my best to post one of those.  

Blessings to all! 

A letter to a high school graduate…

Since I can’t seem to get a post together for the life of me about this busy summer of ours or Miss Eden, I will share a letter I wrote today for a dear friend of mine whom I have known since she was 3.  Pretty crazy that she has now graduated from high school, her life before her.  I love her dearly. 

These are things I can’t wait to teach Eden.  I feel so blessed to have a daughter to love, to guide, and to pray for.  

***

Dear friend,

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.”  Prov 3:5-6

 

We have heard this verse a thousand times before.  I imagine it might have even been one of the first verses you memorized as a little girl.  Countless times you have prayed through it, heard others lean on it and even many more times you have sought to trust this good word.

 

You are embarking on one of the greatest adventures of your life.  You have completed high school and the world stands at your feet.  So many directions, so many paths, so many opportunities lay before you.  In your heart you hold dreams for your future, hopes for a family, love and fulfillment. 

 

Life will in time fulfill many of these dreams, but there will also be many other dreams yet dreamt, hopes yet to be had.  You will plan and pursue and God will sometimes redirect and reroute.  Don’t be afraid to follow him into new areas.  You may have seasons of drought, seasons spent in the desert of this life.  Just remember, God led Moses into the desert for 40 years.  It took him 40 years to become the man God would need to lead his people out of the Egypt.  God sometimes moves us into areas of detour…where his sole purpose is character development and preparation.  Never underestimate the beauty that these heart-wrenching seasons can produce. 

 

There will be many joys.  Treasure them, hold onto them, and capture them.  There will be friends that you hold near and friends with whom, over time, you will drift away from.  Bottom line, keep the ones who build you up, who make you shine from the inside out, and who encourage you and allow you to be yourself. 

 

Don’t fall captive to the image this world has created for you, for all women.  We cannot and will not ever live up to it.  Instead, remember that you have unique gifting and that your true beauty is measured in the love that you show others. 

 

Smile – there is no greater way to impact someone’s day…It’s simple, it’s easy, it’s yours to offer freely.  It will bless people in ways you will only learn of in heaven.  Make it a habit to smile…even when you’re grumpy.  Eventually, you will find that even in moments of grumpiness, you are able to go beyond yourself and allow God to use you to bless others. 

 

Don’t ever settle.  Trust in the Lord…if the path leaves you heavy, your stomach in knots, your heart unsettled, it probably is not meant to be.  Listen to these signs. God has given you a discerning, wise spirit.  Oftentimes we know the answers to our questions though we are afraid to admit it, though we are afraid to walk away or walk through the doors he is opening.  Be still, listen…the next step will sometimes-mean waiting; sometimes it will be to keep walking.  Ask God to help you to discern between the two.  He promises that He will make our paths straight…and he will do that.  One day you will look back on your choices, having trusted and sought Him and you will be able to say that he has fulfilled your dreams in ways far “beyond anything you could have asked for or imagined.” 

 

Lastly, a woman told me when I was turning 19 to pray for a man who would Honor, Cherish, and Adore me.  In time I added 2 more things to this list…that he would Desire me and Appreciate me.  That last part came from your mama.  There are very few people in this life who will truly appreciate you…ALL of you (the good, the bad, the ugly and the glorious) and show you such admiration.  Make sure you marry that man!

 

I could go on and on….

One day at a time.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Cherish the moments.

Pray without ceasing.

His mercies are new every morning. 

 

Oh, I do have one more thought for you.  A family I met in college lived by these words and sent their kids off to school every day with this line.

RECEIVE GOD’S LOVE. 

It sounds easy, but oftentimes we struggle to allow God to truly love us.  Receive His LOVE for you and you will find unending joy. 

 

Best,

Danielle