Things I Am Thankful For...

I am thankful for...

- My salvation through Jesus Christ and the hope of eternal life with Him.
- A loving husband who has also become an amazing & doting father.
- A beautiful daughter who makes me smile each and every day. She is healthy and perfect in every way.
- A family that loves each other-- including two parents who remain in love with each other after 28 years-- and is able to get along and have a great time on holidays.
- My own health, including the ability to play with and care for a quickly growing baby!
- A home that I can call my own, with a roof to keep me dry and heat to keep me warm (even if it does cost a pretty penny to fix when it breaks down, like last week!).
- Food to eat, clothes to wear, a car to drive, and even a few extra things to make life exciting!
- A job where I can make a little money and still keep my little girl.
- A church where I can worship freely (even if it does tend to be a huge source of stress for my husband, its Worship Pastor!).
- Friends

Happy Thanksgiving!

Working Mother

I didn't think I would be going back to work, but in the midst of quite a few financial "surprises" that drained our savings account, I was offered a position as the secretary at my church. I had heard it was available back when I was pregnant, and I thought if I had to work after the baby that it would be ideal. I knew the previous secretary had a young baby and brought him to work. So a few weeks ago I applied, and even though there was some debate about hiring me since I am a member at the church, last week I was offered the job and I started Monday!

So far it has been great. It's very low-stress, and though there is a few things that do have to get done (church bulletin, newsletter, Power Point announcements, etc.), it's not busy. I only work 9am-2pm Monday through Thursday. So I still have plenty of time in the afternoons to go home and take care of my household. Right now, Leah is able to stay in the office with me. Since she's not using her bassinet at home anymore, we took it to the office. She's been a little fussy this week and I've had to hold her a lot while I'm working, which really does slow down the work, but I think she has to get used to being away from home, in a different environment. She's never been a great napper anyway, so it's something I've been working on, even if it means putting her down in her bed three times before she finally stops fussing.

Eventually Leah will be able to stay in the nursery that is held at the church during the day. There is a preschool that meets here weekdays and they have a baby nursery. Right now, she is much younger than the other babies and they are also already full. They are trying to work out a plan to get another crib and another teacher so she can stay there (and for only $14/ day) but it may take some time. For right now I do enjoy having her with me, even if it does sometimes make working difficult. I just don't want to miss a moment of my time with her, even if she is just down the hall and it's only 20 hours a week!

In other news, Leah has started giggling! Yesterday, the 21st, I had her on my knee, bouncing her around like she was in an earthquake and she got this huge open-mouthed grin on her face and out came the cutest little laugh I've ever heard. It made me laugh so hard! At first Brett didn't believe me, but then she did it again. She loves to be bounced around, she loves it when people make faces at her, she loves to be talked to in a high-pitched voice. Seriously, that laugh made my entire week! As soon as we get a battery for our video camera I'm going to have to capture it on film.

Now that we've passed the sleepless nights and the uncertainty of the newborn days, Leah is so much fun and I can't get enough of her adorable smiles, her cute little noises, her sweet smell. I've always heard how eventually when you have kids you won't remember what life was like before them, and now I see how true that is. She fits into our life as if she's always been there.

Couldn't you just eat her up??! :)

Leah @ 11 weeks old (in photos)

She's slept through the night for 3 nights in a row. Well, it was 6 hours straight starting on Nov. 11th (and after she ate she slept another 4), and then 7 hours the 13th and 8 hours last night! It directly correlated with the day she started sleeping in her own room upstairs, in her crib, rather than the bassinet in our room. Maybe it's quieter for her, or maybe I just don't hear every noise she makes and get her up when she's not really ready. She has also started taking fairly long naps around lunchtime, and then another later in the afternoon.




She's just starting to notice her toys, and will laugh at the ones hanging from her playmat for quite a while. She unintentionally bats at them with her hands or her feet, and it seems like she's starting to learn that she is the one causing the rattling noises.











She loves tummy time and works very hard at holding her head up and trying to roll over. Once she even flipped over from her tummy to her back, but it hasn't happened again, so it was suprising even to her! She's very active on her tummy for awhile, but then tires herself out & falls asleep just like that.







Her eating habits are still pretty unpredictable, but we've moved up to the 9 oz. bottle because she seems to want more than just 4 oz. at a time sometimes. She still wants to "graze" every once in awhile, esp. late evening when she stays awake for 3-4 hrs. at a time, but as her sleeping patterns become more regular, her eating patterns are following suit. Since we got our new glider chair for her room early this month, she's been having most of her meals while rocking!








The changing pad in her room has magical abilities to make Leah the happiest baby in the world. (Either that or she just loves having her mommy or daddy looking down at her and giving her attention.) She's really started to find her voice and makes a lot of cooing and laughing noises. Her entire face lights up when she's happy and she can't open her mouth wide enough to express her contentment. This is the face that makes all the sleepless newborn nights worthwhile!

Leah's 1st Trip

We have just returned from a long weekend to Chattanooga for my best friend Elizabeth's wedding to Dan Thomas. It was such an honor to be her matron of honor. It was probably the most fun wedding I have been to in a long time! I told Elizabeth that day she looked as if she was part of a fairy tale-- the weather was chilly but beautiful, the fall leaves were the perfect colors, her dress & hair looked amazing, and everything seemed to go off without a hitch.

Leah was a trooper the whole weekend. We did a lot of running around getting ready for the wedding on Thurs. & Fri. and Leah just hung in there, barely fussing, sleeping a lot. She seemed to really love being around new people, in new surroundings. She slept like a champ in her pack 'n play (which inspired me to try her out in her crib now that we're home), even sleeping 6 hours Thurs. night.

Leah & I flew down to Atlanta on Wednesday. It was only an hour flight, and Leah slept the entire way. We got to the airport two hours early so I could get through security, etc., so I was able to feed her and get her to sleep before we ever even got on the plane. I ended up getting to sit in a row all by myself, since the flight wasn't full, so we had plenty of room to spread out. The flight attendants were also great. On the trip back from the wedding on Sunday, Brett drove the 3 of us. It was an 8 hour drive. Again, Leah slept for much of it. We stopped for an hour for lunch so she was able to eat & play some, then went right back to sleep. She only cried once, about the last hour of the trip & I got in back, fed her a little & she was fine. She is going to be a great traveler!

The Bed & Breakfast where the reception was held was really beautiful, set on a lake with the mountains in the distance. Brett & I got a room for Friday & Saturday night. We had a huge king sized bed, a jacuzzi tub, a separate sitting area & a small kitchenette. It made for a great mini romantic getaway after the wedding was over!

The beautiful bride & groom

Family photo

Elizabeth & me