Had a date with my husband tonight. Nothing fancy, just The Adjustment Bureau and conversation over dinner at the mall. It was so good. I return home after dates with him with a new appreciation for our baby boy & with a bigger appetite for life.
With a desire to be a better wife to him, to be a better mama to Ransom, to paint carpe diem, to abide in Jesus, to really bloom where we're planted, to live passionately.
Tonight I'm thankful and excited.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
back to work
Tuesday marked my re-entry into the work force. I have a little job as a church receptionist that gives me 6 hours a week. The work's not too crazy--manageable tasks that benefit from my melancholy* tendencies to have order & I'm gratified when I'm able to get everything done on my to-do list.
My first day back was the first of the month, the first weekday the church office is open, and newsletter day! There were lots of tasks waiting for me when I returned because of the day I happened to come back so I was double checking my work to make sure I was remembering how to do things.
But then, let's throw a baby into the mix!
That's right, Ransom comes to work with me. I'm SO blessed to be able to work at a job that allows me to bring my baby. I was very nervous about how it would work out, but I'm happy to report he did a great job while I did my job. :) Those baby Bjorn carriers are a wonder (we have a different brand of the same thing)!
I will keep praying Ransom will do well as I do the filing, the editing, the updating, the answering phones (haven't had to face that task yet), etc. that go on in the office.
For those of you wondering, this won't be a long term position. I intend to work for a few months (the goal is to apply my paychecks toward my student loan) & then to graduate into the position of a full-time stay at home mom.
We took this family picture on Friday. It only took about thirty tries before Ransom looked at the camera & the tv wasn't in the background!
Our baby is 3 months old today!
My first day back was the first of the month, the first weekday the church office is open, and newsletter day! There were lots of tasks waiting for me when I returned because of the day I happened to come back so I was double checking my work to make sure I was remembering how to do things.
But then, let's throw a baby into the mix!
That's right, Ransom comes to work with me. I'm SO blessed to be able to work at a job that allows me to bring my baby. I was very nervous about how it would work out, but I'm happy to report he did a great job while I did my job. :) Those baby Bjorn carriers are a wonder (we have a different brand of the same thing)!
I will keep praying Ransom will do well as I do the filing, the editing, the updating, the answering phones (haven't had to face that task yet), etc. that go on in the office.
For those of you wondering, this won't be a long term position. I intend to work for a few months (the goal is to apply my paychecks toward my student loan) & then to graduate into the position of a full-time stay at home mom.
We took this family picture on Friday. It only took about thirty tries before Ransom looked at the camera & the tv wasn't in the background!Our baby is 3 months old today!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
mama ponderings: excerpt from my journal
12-22-10
Wednesday morning
Right now enjoying Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack & Ransom's wakeful stretching. He's on a blanket on the floor.
Drinking a little coffee (again!...didn't care for it during pregnancy). Read Psalm 30 & texted Isaiah 12:6 to AJ:
Lately Andrew has told me he is eager for his band to play music together again because he has the desire to shout from the rooftops again, to do shows. He told me this on Monday night when he & I had a Starbucks date while mom watched Ransom. We read Isaiah 12 then & I thought this verse was a good one for AJ.
The boy got restless so he's in my lap now, wide eyed & watchful as Fur Elise plays on the CD.
I love kissing his wrinkly worry lines on his forehead. And I LOVE when his eyes are open & he's aware! And when he's cuddly!
Last night AJ, mom, Ransom and I went to the church so AJ could practice the music he's doing for a special on Sunday (my birthday!). The song is an instrumental Carol of the Bells/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen song. It sounded GOOD. And it was Ransom's first time hearing a live band. I'm not sure if he liked it because he was a little fussy that time of night, but there were moments he appeared to be taking it in.
This is a precious morning, enjoying & holding & watching & kissing my son.
I've taken to calling him "sweetie pie". May need to find a more masculine term of endearment for when he grows up.
Mom says he has a sweet spirit.
He responds to music! To singing: me singing "Jesus Loves Me" & "Ransom, little Ransom" to the tune of my song & "Goodnight little Ransom Goodnight" or AJ singing "Count Your Blessings", the song from White Christmas. Or mom playing the piano; that won her over, his liking her piano playing!
Oh and he smiles! Don't know if he knows what he's doing, but I love it just the same! He has his daddy's dimples!
Wednesday morning
Right now enjoying Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack & Ransom's wakeful stretching. He's on a blanket on the floor.
Drinking a little coffee (again!...didn't care for it during pregnancy). Read Psalm 30 & texted Isaiah 12:6 to AJ:
Shout and sing for joy
O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the
Holy One of Israel.
O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the
Holy One of Israel.
Lately Andrew has told me he is eager for his band to play music together again because he has the desire to shout from the rooftops again, to do shows. He told me this on Monday night when he & I had a Starbucks date while mom watched Ransom. We read Isaiah 12 then & I thought this verse was a good one for AJ.
The boy got restless so he's in my lap now, wide eyed & watchful as Fur Elise plays on the CD.
I love kissing his wrinkly worry lines on his forehead. And I LOVE when his eyes are open & he's aware! And when he's cuddly!
Last night AJ, mom, Ransom and I went to the church so AJ could practice the music he's doing for a special on Sunday (my birthday!). The song is an instrumental Carol of the Bells/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen song. It sounded GOOD. And it was Ransom's first time hearing a live band. I'm not sure if he liked it because he was a little fussy that time of night, but there were moments he appeared to be taking it in.
This is a precious morning, enjoying & holding & watching & kissing my son.
I've taken to calling him "sweetie pie". May need to find a more masculine term of endearment for when he grows up.
Mom says he has a sweet spirit.
He responds to music! To singing: me singing "Jesus Loves Me" & "Ransom, little Ransom" to the tune of my song & "Goodnight little Ransom Goodnight" or AJ singing "Count Your Blessings", the song from White Christmas. Or mom playing the piano; that won her over, his liking her piano playing!
Oh and he smiles! Don't know if he knows what he's doing, but I love it just the same! He has his daddy's dimples!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
some photos of the boy
Here are some promised photos of Ransom!
We're big fans of him; the worry lines in his forehead, his tiny double chin, his dark blue eyes, all that hair, his long fingers and long feet delight us! Thanks for looking! :)
Sunday, January 2, 2011
the joke's on me: the nesting to do list that never got a chance
For posterity's sake & for a laugh to look on later, here's the nesting list I wrote on November 28, days before our baby made his early debut & made it obselete. The ones in red are items I think I finished before Ransom was born, the ones in green are items that were finished afterwards, and the ones in black are what are still to be tackled:
clean bathrooms
play the piano
AJ's clothes in bedroom
find place for crafty stuff
work request for Willy-garbage disposal, spot in ceiling
banners in living room
paintings in closet
kitchen corner-clean up!
make waffles & freeze them
pregnancy pics with AJ
finish recording
finish getting Christmas gifts together
box to Goodwill
prewash cloth diapers
figure out line dry system for diaper covers
get matresses for company to use
spice shelf-finish & put up
read Isaiah
take recycling to Fred Meyer
dust
finish packing bag for hospital (as we were hastily leaving after my water broke)
make Jamie Oliver's sourdough bread
make Jamie Oliver's banana honey bread
tour of hospital
take care of pumpkins
make granola
paint toenails
get all thank you notes finished
organize recipes
put ultrasound pics in baby photo album
clean bathrooms
play the piano
AJ's clothes in bedroom
find place for crafty stuff
work request for Willy-garbage disposal, spot in ceiling
banners in living room
paintings in closet
kitchen corner-clean up!
make waffles & freeze them
pregnancy pics with AJ
finish recording
finish getting Christmas gifts together
box to Goodwill
prewash cloth diapers
figure out line dry system for diaper covers
get matresses for company to use
spice shelf-finish & put up
read Isaiah
take recycling to Fred Meyer
dust
finish packing bag for hospital (as we were hastily leaving after my water broke)
make Jamie Oliver's sourdough bread
make Jamie Oliver's banana honey bread
tour of hospital
take care of pumpkins
make granola
paint toenails
get all thank you notes finished
organize recipes
put ultrasound pics in baby photo album
a son!
I've been a little busy lately & have not had the time on hand to liberally blog & post photos of our baby boy Ransom. He was born fifteen days before his due date. On Thursday night we were watching It's a Wonderful Life, when Andrew started getting excited (about what, he didn't know, but he felt anticipation for something, "as if Christmas was the next day") and my water broke, but I didn't realize it till the movie was over & I went to the bathroom. Even when I went to the bathroom, I wasn't sure my water had broke; we had to call a doctor to ask.
I had expected a little more nesting time so my suitcase for the hospital was not completely packed, I didn't have a birth plan written down, we had not yet toured the hospital, I hadn't painted my toenails yet (hey, that's an important one!), my mom wasn't in town yet, and there were several unfinished projects I'd hoped to work on, etc. We were thrust into parenthood earlier than we expected but I see God's timing in it & felt Him working through the labor & delivery & the events afterward.
At the hospital it was confirmed that my water had broken & that in order to avoid infection I'd have to deliver the baby within a certain time window. My contractions were five or so minutes apart & I was dialating slowly so I was allowed to rest during the night & to get labor going I was given pitocin at 6 a.m. as well as a sedative that knocked me out till 8 a.m. (it was blissful rest, indeed) when I started having harder contractions. I was able to walk the halls a little, I labored on a birthing ball & in a jacuzzi but after awhile the contractions were hitting me one intense one after another intense one after another one with hardly any break. I was getting discouraged because whenever the nurse checked my progress, my cervix seemed to be dialating slowly. AJ was with me the whole time, allowing his hand to be death gripped by me whenever a contraction hit, offering me encouragement & comforting touches.
I had purposed in my heart (just like the way that phrase sounds right now) to get as far as I could without an epidural & then maybe getting one toward the end, hoping that would make for a quicker delivery. I got to that point, AJ told the nurse, and the anesthesiologist was SLOW in coming... I was trying to think kind thoughts and not mean ones about this anesthesiologist, hoping the pain would soon be over. And then my body had the urge to push. We told the nurse, who checked me & informed us that I had dialated to 9 3/4 cm. The doctor who was on call said I could start pushing to see if that gave me relief, or I could take the epidural (the lovely anesthesiologist had by now shown up). She, the doctor, also said that the epidural could slow things down but if I wanted to push, the baby could be here within the hour. I opted to push because it felt SO much better than riding through the contractions.
Ransom was born at 1:24 p.m. on December 3rd. Because of a new hospital policy, as soon as he came out he was placed directly on my bare chest, both of us covered with a blanket, to allow for bonding time between the two of us.
Bliss. Joy. Skin on skin. Praise Jesus for this policy!
Having been thrust into this parenting adventure so suddenly, I am thankful that there seemed to be a blanket of grace surrounding everything that happened, whether it was a helpful nurse, or a hospital policy that allowed for me to feel the feelings of being a mother immediately after having labored for our baby.
Andrew got his bonding time with Ransom too, taking off his shirt & cuddling Ransom for an hour with a blanket over them.
I know so many people were praying for us & I felt the influence of those prayers throughout the whole day. Thank you SO MUCH if you were one of those people!
The afternoon really is a perfect time to have a baby, I think, because the adrenaline hit me as soon as that little boy was placed in my arms & I was fresh as a daisy till 9 p.m. to take in all of the newness of him & to enjoy the visitors we had at the hospital.
He's four weeks old, will be a month old tomorrow & I can hardly believe it! Time has flown by. Will post more pictures soon.
I had expected a little more nesting time so my suitcase for the hospital was not completely packed, I didn't have a birth plan written down, we had not yet toured the hospital, I hadn't painted my toenails yet (hey, that's an important one!), my mom wasn't in town yet, and there were several unfinished projects I'd hoped to work on, etc. We were thrust into parenthood earlier than we expected but I see God's timing in it & felt Him working through the labor & delivery & the events afterward.
At the hospital it was confirmed that my water had broken & that in order to avoid infection I'd have to deliver the baby within a certain time window. My contractions were five or so minutes apart & I was dialating slowly so I was allowed to rest during the night & to get labor going I was given pitocin at 6 a.m. as well as a sedative that knocked me out till 8 a.m. (it was blissful rest, indeed) when I started having harder contractions. I was able to walk the halls a little, I labored on a birthing ball & in a jacuzzi but after awhile the contractions were hitting me one intense one after another intense one after another one with hardly any break. I was getting discouraged because whenever the nurse checked my progress, my cervix seemed to be dialating slowly. AJ was with me the whole time, allowing his hand to be death gripped by me whenever a contraction hit, offering me encouragement & comforting touches.
I had purposed in my heart (just like the way that phrase sounds right now) to get as far as I could without an epidural & then maybe getting one toward the end, hoping that would make for a quicker delivery. I got to that point, AJ told the nurse, and the anesthesiologist was SLOW in coming... I was trying to think kind thoughts and not mean ones about this anesthesiologist, hoping the pain would soon be over. And then my body had the urge to push. We told the nurse, who checked me & informed us that I had dialated to 9 3/4 cm. The doctor who was on call said I could start pushing to see if that gave me relief, or I could take the epidural (the lovely anesthesiologist had by now shown up). She, the doctor, also said that the epidural could slow things down but if I wanted to push, the baby could be here within the hour. I opted to push because it felt SO much better than riding through the contractions.
Ransom was born at 1:24 p.m. on December 3rd. Because of a new hospital policy, as soon as he came out he was placed directly on my bare chest, both of us covered with a blanket, to allow for bonding time between the two of us.
Bliss. Joy. Skin on skin. Praise Jesus for this policy!
Having been thrust into this parenting adventure so suddenly, I am thankful that there seemed to be a blanket of grace surrounding everything that happened, whether it was a helpful nurse, or a hospital policy that allowed for me to feel the feelings of being a mother immediately after having labored for our baby.
Andrew got his bonding time with Ransom too, taking off his shirt & cuddling Ransom for an hour with a blanket over them.
I know so many people were praying for us & I felt the influence of those prayers throughout the whole day. Thank you SO MUCH if you were one of those people!
The afternoon really is a perfect time to have a baby, I think, because the adrenaline hit me as soon as that little boy was placed in my arms & I was fresh as a daisy till 9 p.m. to take in all of the newness of him & to enjoy the visitors we had at the hospital.
He's four weeks old, will be a month old tomorrow & I can hardly believe it! Time has flown by. Will post more pictures soon.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
goals for 2011
Here I am, awake at 4 am with a sleeping Ransom in my lap, attempting for the first time to blog on my phone. A rough working list of goals for 2011 is on my mind:
love & enjoy God more
love & enjoy husband more
love & enjoy our baby more
get a Starbucks gold level card (free soymilk!)
work with Andrew on us having a planner/system
put arts & craft stuff in upstairs storage cabinet
put stuff in upstairs storage cabinet in downstairs or outside storage areas
write more thank you notes
write more encouragement notes
be more generous
make our bedroom an En Gedi
play piano
pay off my student loan
get a family picture taken
paint something
sew something
plant something
make cards
sing more
make a mixed media collage
skype with family
host people in our home
Ransom is stirring...signing off for a little cuddle time with our son.
Happy New Year!
love & enjoy God more
love & enjoy husband more
love & enjoy our baby more
get a Starbucks gold level card (free soymilk!)
work with Andrew on us having a planner/system
put arts & craft stuff in upstairs storage cabinet
put stuff in upstairs storage cabinet in downstairs or outside storage areas
write more thank you notes
write more encouragement notes
be more generous
make our bedroom an En Gedi
play piano
pay off my student loan
get a family picture taken
paint something
sew something
plant something
make cards
sing more
make a mixed media collage
skype with family
host people in our home
Ransom is stirring...signing off for a little cuddle time with our son.
Happy New Year!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)