Berries, Blessings and the Blues

Where did October go?  Where did the first half of November go? Where did seven months go?

My kid is seven and a half months old.  When she thinks you're funny, she puts her hands to her mouth and smiles behind her fingers.  She wakes up talking to herself.  She sleeps with a giant, magenta, stuffed cat in her crib that she will not be without.  She weighs 15 pounds. She looks like how I would imagine Thumblina to look. Or Tinkerbelle. She giggles sparingly, but when she does, you feel like you won the peace prize.  She loves to try and eat the leaves that are falling in our neighborhood.  She touches your face when you're talking to her, like she understands everything you're saying, and then some.  She will only eat blueberries.  We will need to purchase an entirely new wardrobe that does not look like a miniature version of the purple people eater.  Even her little lips are purple.

Rich and I have spent most of this month in a strange, fog- awed by God's blessings in our lives, tired from out sleeplessness, moved to pursue new things, too tired to consider pursuing them, and doing it anyway.

God has made a few things more and more clear to us as we're moving forward as a family in the past few weeks that we haven't entirely processed yet, but since I've already invited you along in every other aspect of my life, here it goes.

1. We've been inspired to pray boldly, and surrender completely. We thought it was an oxymoron, too, but it seems to have revolutionized how we approach what we believe about God's character in a way that few other things have. If you want to know more about that, shoot me an e-mail.  Better yet, take me to coffee.  I will provide you with some decent conversation to chew on, and you will be the catalyst in a much needed night out.  Win-win.

2.  I have stopped complaining about not sleeping.  Well, not entirely, but mostly.  It's Rich's fault.  He gushes on and on about how Ellie is the answer to all we've prayed for and it makes it impossible for me to be cranky that she woke me up at midnight.  And again at 3.  Funny, I'm not less tired when I complain as opposed to not complaining, so I guess it was a good plan.

3.  God can work with anything, but He moves mightily when you take risks.  Step out.  Lay down your fears.  Whatever cliche you can imagine that means the same thing.

4.  God doesn't stop being God in your sadness.  His nature never changes, we do.

5.  Children are constant reminders of how we control nothing.  Ellie won't eat anything but sweet potatoes for days.  So, I buy all sweet potatoes just in time for her to switch to blueberries.  She won't wear a certain hat I think is adorable.  She pulls off her socks when we're out for a walk.  She doesn't go down for a nap when it would be convenient.

This coming month marks the beginning of holiday season and it only seems appropriate for us to be learning all of these things now.  I can't wait to panic over Ellie pulling ornaments off of our tree, to bake christmas cookies from the recipes my Mom found in my Nana's things, written in her own handwriting, with alterations in the margins, to have twinkle lights everywhere, sing Christmas songs and continue on this incredible journey we've started, with our first Christmas as a little family.