The Truth about Santa Clause

So sorry this is long but I do hope you will take the time to read it. Before even having children, Paul and I made the decision that we wouldn't do the whole "Santa Clause thing" with our children. We want our children to focus more on the truth of Christmas than what Santa's going to bring them. Also, we don't want to lie to our children. Besides, I don't want an imaginary, magic man getting credit for the gifts that we will get for our children.We don't look down on people who do the "Santa Clause thing" with their children. Our children will certainly be allowed to participate and enjoy the fantasy of Santa Clause, i.e. sitting on his lap for a picture, reading stories, and watching movies about him. However, they will know that it is a fantasy. Paul and I haven't announced this publicly, but as it has come up in conversation, we have told people what we are going to do. It kind of shocks me that the typical response in some form or fashion is, "you're going to ruin his Christmas" or "you're going to take the fun out of Christmas." It may not be said in those exact words, but I get what they really mean. It saddens me that Christmas has become all about us and the presents we will get. We will throw in a reading of the Christmas story from the Bible somewhere in our celebrations in order to appease God and "celebrate" the birth of His Son. Why is it that one of the first questions we ask children during the Christmas season is, "what is Santa going to bring you?". Why not instead ask, "what are you doing to celebrate Christ's birth this year?" I'm sorry to get on my soapbox here, but I wanted to share this after I read an article by Mark Driscoll about what we tell our kids about Santa Clause that someone else posted on their blog. Here is the article orignally posted in the Washington Post : What we tell our kids about Santa 'Tis the season . . . for parents to decide if they will tell the truth about Santa. When it comes to cultural issues like Santa, Christians have three options: (1) we can reject it, (2) we can receive it, or (3) we can redeem it. Since Santa is so pervasive in our culture, it is nearly impossible to simply reject Santa as part of our annual cultural landscape. Still, as parents we don't feel we can simply receive the entire story of Santa because there is a lot of myth built on top of a true story. Redeeming Santa So, as the parents of five children, Grace and I have taken the third position to redeem Santa. We tell our kids that he was a real person who did live a long time ago. We also explain how people dress up as Santa and pretend to be him for fun, kind of like how young children like to dress up as pirates, princesses, superheroes, and a host of other people, real and imaginary. We explain how, in addition to the actual story of Santa, a lot of other stories have been added (e.g., flying reindeer, living in the North Pole, delivering presents to every child in one night) so that Santa is a combination of true and make-believe stories. We do not, however, demonize Santa. Dressing up, having fun, and using the imagination God gave can be an act of holy worship and is something that, frankly, a lot of adults need to learn from children. What we are concerned about, though, is lying to our children. We teach them that they can always trust us because we will tell them the truth and not lie to them. Conversely, we ask that they be honest with us and never lie. Since we also teach our children that Jesus is a real person who did perform real miracles, our fear is that if we teach them fanciful, make-believe stories as truth, it could erode confidence in our truthfulness where it really matters. So, we distinguish between lies, secrets, surprises, and pretend for our kids. We ask them not to tell lies or keep secrets, but do teach them that some surprises (like gift-giving) and pretending (like dressing up) can be fun and should be encouraged. We tell them the truth and encourage them to have fun watching Christmas shows on television and even sitting on Santa's lap for a holiday photo if they so desire. For parents of younger children wanting them to learn the real story of Santa Claus the Veggie Tales movie Saint Nicholas is a good choice. The Truth about Santa Claus The larger-than-life myths surrounding Santa Claus actually emanate from the very real person of Saint Nicholas. It is difficult to know the exact details of his life with certainty, as the ancient records are sparse, but the various pieces can be put together as a mosaic of his life. A Gift-Giver Nicholas was born in the third century in Patara, a village in what is now Turkey. He was born into an affluent family, but his parents died tragically when he was quite young. His parents had raised him to be a devout Christian, which led him to spend his great inheritance on helping the poor, especially children. He was known to frequently give gifts to children, sometimes even hanging socks filled with treats and presents. Perhaps his most famous act of kindness was helping three sisters. Because their family was too poor to pay for their wedding dowry, three young Christian women were facing a life of prostitution until Nicholas paid their dowry, thereby saving them from a horrible life of sexual slavery. A Bishop and Saint Nicholas grew to be a well-loved Christian leader and was eventually voted the Bishop of Myra, a port city that the apostle Paul had previously visited (Acts 27:5-6). Nicholas reportedly also traveled to the legendary Council of Nicaea, where he helped defend the deity of Jesus Christ in A.D. 325. Following his death on December 6, 343, he was canonized as a saint. The anniversary of his death became the St. Nicholas holiday when gifts were given in his memory. He remained a very popular saint among Catholic and Orthodox Christians, with some two thousand churches named after him. The holiday in his honor eventually merged with Christmas, since they were celebrated within weeks of one another. Misnomer During the Reformation, however, Nicholas fell out of favor with Protestants, who did not approve of canonizing certain people as saints and venerating them with holidays. His holiday was not celebrated in any Protestant country except Holland, where his legend as Sinterklass lived on. In Germany, Martin Luther replaced him with the Christ child as the object of holiday celebration, or, in German, Christkindl. Over time, the celebration of the Christ child was simply pronounced Kris Kringle and oddly became just another name for Santa Claus. Folklore The legends about Santa Claus are most likely a compilation of other folklore. For example, there was a myth in Nicholas' day that a demon was entering people's homes to terrorize children and that Nicholas cast it out of a home. This myth may explain why it was eventually believed that he came down people's chimneys. Also, there was a Siberian myth (near the North Pole) that a holy man, or shaman, entered people's homes through their chimneys to leave them mushrooms as gifts. According to the legend, he would hang them in front of the fire to dry. Reindeer would reportedly eat them and become intoxicated. This may have started the myth that the reindeer could fly, as it was believed that the shaman could also fly. This myth may have merged with the Santa Claus myth, and if so, explains him traveling from the North Pole to slide down chimneys and leave presents on fireplace mantles before flying away with reindeer. These stories of Santa Claus were first brought to America by Dutch immigrants. In the early twentieth century, stores began having Santa Claus present for children during the Christmas season. Children also began sending letters to the North Pole as the legends surrounding an otherwise simple Christian man grew. In sum, Saint Nick was a wonderful man who loved and served Jesus faithfully. So, we gladly include him in our Christmas traditions to remind us of what it looks like for someone to live a life of devotion to Jesus as God. Our kids thank us for being both honest and fun, which we think is what Jesus wants. My family is choosing to redeem Santa Clause and focusing on the birth of our Savior and how St. Nicholas exemplified Christ through his gifts of charity. My point is not for you to do exactly as we are doing, although that would be fine if you did or didn't. I just want you to think. Merry Christmas!

FYI: Shutterfly Cards

So, I'm dissapointed to tell you that I'm not going to be getting 50 free Christmas cards from Shutterfly. I did what I was supposed to do and was told I would get a promo code email in 3-5 business days, and I never did. Maybe my blog post wasn't good enough to qualify. This makes me sad because I really like the Christmas card designs by Shutterfly, but money's tight and I can't afford a bunch of cards from them. But, I'm excited to tell you that I still got a really great deal on Christmas cards. I got 60 Christmas cards for $5.29 including tax and free overnight shipping! I think that's a pretty good deal. They are not as pretty as Shutterfly cards, but a SAHM's gotta do what a SAHM's gotta do. I found out about this deal using southernsavers.com. The website told me of a deal from seehere.com. You can also get 50 free prints of any pictures from snapfish. Even though my cards won't be as pretty as I hoped, I did my best to save my family some money. Now, my Christmas cards should be out on time (as long as do good to mail them out when they get here), and by on time, I mean before Christmas.

Parker At 16 Months

Parker had what was supposed to be his 15 month checkup but was actually closer to 16 months. He weighs 25 lbs 10 oz which is just a little above the 50th percentile, and he is 33 3/4 inches tall, which is in the 97th percentile. Parker has added some new words to his vocabulary: nigh nigh= night night, stop, sit, and hey. That's all I can think of right now. He can also sign "please". I'm just so thankful that he is growing and developing!

Wanna Chance for Free Christmas Cards with Shutterfly?

I absolutely love sending and receiving Christmas cards, especially the ones with photos. Every year I get so excited picking out the picture/s and the style of Christmas card. This year it is even more exciting because I'm using Shutterfly. They have some of the most beautiful Christmas card designs. These are not the same kind of card you would get at a discount store. You have the opportunity to be more creative with their hundreds of cards. It is hard to pick just one. If you want to browse their selection of Christmas Photo cards click HERE. At Shutterfly, you can also do some Christmas shopping. Personalized calendars make a great Christmas present for relatives and friends. To browse their selection of calenders click HERE. If your having a party and want to impress your guest before they even get to your party, Shutterfly also has unique and beautiful personalized invitations. To check out their collection of invitations click HERE. Now, if their selections do not impress you, you are sure to be impressed with their great deals. Shutterfly runs a lot specials throughout the year, so you can always get a good deal. But FREE is always a great deal. Shutterfly is offering 50 free cards if you blog about it! For more information about this deal click HERE.

Gratitude

I sang a song in church today, Gratitude by Nichole Nordemann. The lyrics to this song are amazing, and I wanted to share it with you. It really makes you think about God's blessings beyond the typical shelter, food, family, etc. that we typically think about during Thanksgiving. Basically, the song says Lord, please fill these needs but if you don't and you choose to provide in some other way, I will still give you thanks. I've been learning more and more about God's sovereignty. Growing up my idea of God was that He was watching things happen and if something bad happened, God would swoop in and makes things better. God is so much greater than that! Because God is in complete control, even bad things come from God. Yes, God is in control of evil. There is nothing that Satan can do that is not ordained by God. Romans 8:28 says, "God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose." (emphasis mine) I'm not saying God is evil, nor does he do evil, but he does ordain (to establish or order by appointment) evil in order to bring about his ultimate plan. His ultimate plan is for Him to receive the glory He deserves. One way of doing that in our lives is to conform us into the image of Christ. Hardships, whether just circumstances or schemes of Satan, bring about change in our lives. Have you ever considered a job loss, a death of a loved one, cancer, a house fire, or some other tragedy to be a blessing from God? It is just that. God is so good. He has blessings for us beyond what we can ever see or imagine. I pray that this Thanksgiving you will take the time to reflect on your life, through the good and the bad, and see God's rich blessings on your life. To hear Gratitude by Nichole Nordeman click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waYUzxK8TYA

Growing Up Too Quickly

Since we have friends and family far away, I wanted to do an update on Parker. I can't believe he is 15 months old! He is growing up too quickly. He amazes Paul and me everyday with everything he is learning. He is starting to point to body parts that we are teaching him. He's saying more words: b00n=balloon, puhpuh (for both PopPop and Poppy), up=cup to name a few. He loves to play with his toy drum, balls, and blocks. He loves to read and look at books. I often find him up in the recliner looking through his hardboard books. He's obsessed with balloons. He can spot one from a mile away. He even notices if they are on tv. Whenever Paul is around, he is attached to him. He eats independently. I still have to help him with the spoon if its something he has to use it with. He looks even more like his daddy as he gets older. He is so adorable(I think his daddy is adorable too)!

Name Change

In case you didn't notice, I changed the name of our blog. Originally, Paul and I were both going to blog using this blog. However, Paul never does, so I'm taking over. Muahahahaha!! (That was my evil laugh.) I know that most of my blog posts are about Parker, but I want to start blogging more about my everyday life. I want to including things that I've been learning spiritually, recipes, money saving tips, hobbies, etc. I decided to change the name of my blog to Proverbs 31 Woman because that is what I want to strive to be. I'll admit that I am nowhere near the godly woman as described in Proverbs 31:10-31. She is a very strong, hard-working woman. I am very lazy. Hopefully, this blog will hold me accountable in some way. (I know that's kind of a far stretch for an nonliving, virtual website to do.) I do hope that this will be a reminder of the life I want to live, and I hope it will touch your life in a positive way.

Spooktacular Halloween

Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, our church had a Fall Festival. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to put Parker in an adorable costume. He was the cutest cow ever! He had fun playing games and going on a hay ride.

This was his favorite game. He didn't want to give the net back, and he wanted to stay and play in the water.

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

Back in October, we carried on the Camp family tradition of going to the SC State Fair. Arden took off his usual two weeks of vacation from UPS so he could work with his friends at the fair. I remember the first time I joined the Camp family at the State Fair. I was dating Paul, and he and I met Arden, Elise, Mollie, and Michael outside the state fair grounds. I parked my car and got into their van which was packed full of cakes and other goodies that Elise always makes for their friends. The traffic was bumper to bumper, so Arden gets out of the van with a yellow rain jacket on (it was raining lightly) and a box full of Krispy Kreme doughnuts in his hands and proceeds to walk in front of and stop the traffic to let us in. While we were still in the traffic, Arden walked on to the entrance gate. I will never forget him waving us in like we were an airplane taxing into the gate. That was the first of what is now a yearly tradition for me. This year we got to enjoy the fair with a toddler which makes it a brand new experience. We ate plenty of food (Thanks to Arden's friends at Carousel.), took in all the exibits, petted some animals, rode some rides, and visited with family. We had so much fun that in fact we went both weekends. I took so many pictures that I created a slideshow to share our State Fair experience with you.

Parker's First Birthday

I know this is three months late, but I finally got around to editing some of the pictures from Parker's birthday. So, better late than never, here we are celebrating Parker's first birthday! We had a family get together at our house. The kids enjoyed some time splashing around in the kiddie pool. We enjoyed a meal together and then, of course, some cake. Parker got many great gifts. We all enjoyed celebrating such a special day with a special boy.

This was my first real attempt decorating a cake by myself. It's not perfect, but I think I did a pretty good job if I say so myself.

Smash cake!

Mr. Independent

Parker's quest for independence has begun and along with that...tantrums! I've been allowing him to practice self-feeding with a spoon during breakfast time when he's eating oatmeal or grits. He's been doing a great job with that because those foods easily stick to the spoon. Now, he thinks anytime there's a bowl and a spoon he has to have the bowl in front of him and no one can help him. This doesn't work out so well for things like soup. So, of course, a fit of rage follows. This either makes meal time really messy or really loud. Most of the time I choose the messy versus the loud. Parker happily stabs away at his food with his spoon and when all else fails he just picks up whatever he's eating with his hands. Although it is frustrating sometimes because it would be easier for me to spoon feed him, I'm enjoying seeing Parker grow and develop. Parker has his daddy's temper and my dramatic side. This makes for a cute (well, most of the time) fall on the floor tantrum when he doesn't get his way. Most of the time he just whimpers and falls on the floor. Although sometimes that leads to bangs and bruises from hitting some object which leads to wails. Thankfully, we haven't had to deal with these fits in public. Oh the joys of toddlerhood!

The Flock

Along with cooler weather, football, and leaves changing colors, one of my favorite things about fall is seeing the beautiful flocks of birds migrating south. I am absolutely amazed everytime I see a large group of those tiny, black birds (I'm not sure exactly what kind of bird they are)

moving like a wave across the sky. The flock of birds seems to have one mind as they move up and down and side to side. They move together so elequently as if performing a choregraphed ballet in the blue sky. When they land, they land together painting the fields, trees, and power lines black.

As I watch those migrating birds move together, I can't help but think that is how God wants His people, His church, to be. If it was one bird flying across the sky, I would glance and think that's nice, but what makes me stop in amazement is the flock of hundreds of birds moving together, stopping together, sharing the journey together. Imagine if we, God's children, worked together the way those birds do. It's not about only one person, but about every single person doing their part of the Kingdom's work for the glory of the Father. Then, the world would stop in amazement, as they see the light of God shining through His people. Oh, how I pray that would be true!

Just Sayin'

I'm so sorry that it has been forever since I have posted. I'm going to try to catch you up on Camp life lately. It probably will take a few posts to do that.

I wanted to share a little of Parker's growth lately. He has left the baby stage behind and is now a toddler, which makes me so sad and excited at the same time. One of my favorite accomplishment is Parker's new words. I could tell for a while that he understands what we are saying and can get his point across using gestures and babbles, but now I'm catching some words. I wanted to write them down before I forget these firsts. Of course, he says "mama" and "dada." Now he says... "ba" - ball "pupuh" in a whisper voice -puppy "lie"-light "key"- kitty "bu-bye" - bye-bye He also moos like a cow and does some sort of a meow. Of course, he doesn't perform on command so if you ask him to say some of these things he might just look at you like you're crazy.

11 Months Recap

Don't worry. I will be posting about Parker's first birthday soon, but I wanted to recap his 11th month first.

• started walking like a pro.
• started climbing the furniture.
• started the weaning process. (I found this very hard for me.)
• loves to eat except vegetables. I have to give him the veggies first in hopes that he will eat some or mix them in with other things.
• holds a toy phone to his ear, although sometimes he gets it more on the back of head.
• gives out kisses when you say, "give me a kiss."
• still loves to snuggle when he wakes up. I hope that continues forever!
• started wearing some 18 months outfits. He is such a tall boy.
• waves bye-bye most of the time.
• loves to push things with wheels and make the vroom sound.
• is very good at throwing balls.
• still just oh so sweet and lovable!

Sorry for the Boringness

Sorry for the boringness on our blog right now. For some reason, my background has disappeared and won't let me add a new one. Since I'm not a computer/technology savvy person, I have to wait until my husband figures it out. And since my husband works two jobs, he doesn't have a lot of time to fiddle with our blog. So hopefully one day soon, it will get back to the prettiness.

Sweet Memories

Last night I made my first batch of peach marmalade. This brings back so many memories. I thought about standing next to my Grandma Bertha as she made the best homemade biscuits ever. I was always amazed at how clean her hands were when she finished. She didn't even need to wash them. I don't know how she did it! When those biscuits were done, we would split them open and top them with butter and homemade peach marmalade. This was and still is one of my favorite desserts. I remember her telling me I could have the wooden bowl in which she made those biscuits when she died. I felt so uncomfortable about that because I didn't even want to think about her being gone. When Grandma Bertha died, my mom and I took over the peach marmalade making "buisness." Every summer we would get a big box of peaches from McLeod's Farm in McBee and make several batches of peach marmalade. Instead of putting it on top of homemade biscuits, most of the time it was the frozen Pilsbury ones. Not as good, but it would do. It takes a lot of practice to make great biscuits. I hadn't made any peach marmalade since the year my mama died. Even though I was married, I still made a batch of peach marmalade with her that summer. I wanted to make some marmalade last summer, but I was very pregnant and just didn't feel like doing it. I couldn't wait to get my box of McLeod's peaches this year. Last night, Paul and I made our first batch of peach marmalade. There's now a jar sitting in my refrigerator waiting on me to make some biscuits. (My biscuit making skills have come a long way, but they are no where near that of my grandma's.) I'm very tempted to just have biscuits with peach marmalade for supper.

Growing Up, a Little Monkey Time, a Fight and a Bloody Lip

I haven't been doing a very good job of blogging lately so I decided I needed to catch up. Parker is just one week away from turning one years old. I just can't believe how fast this year has gone by. Over the past couple of weeks I've really noticed that Parker is loosing his babiness. He has really gotten walking down. He even attempts to run sometimes; he hasn't gotten that down yet. Personality has really developed. He is beginning to express his independence. Although he still eats a lot, he has become a little picky in what he eats. I have to start with the veggies first in hopes that he will eat some. I've begun the weaning process which I think is more emotionally hard for me than him. And with all his new found mobility and independence, Parker got his first busted lip last night. The accident that caused the busted lip wasn't that bad, but trying to get it to stop bleeding was awful. I'm going to have to buy some popcicles to have on hand for the next bloody lip. Today, we took the children's group from the church to Monkey Joe's. It is a nice, air conditioned place full of inflatables. Parker had a blast exploring in the toddler zone, which I think they call the Mini Monkey Zone. He crawled, walked, and climbed all around the pint size inflatables. He even met some friends and one enemy. That brings me to the fight part as the title suggest. Parker got into his first scuffle with a mean, bully kid. I had turned away for one minute to take a picture of the other children who were eating near by and when I turned back to check on Parker I see this kid, I'm guessing around 18 months or so, tackling and scratching my precious baby boy. I quickly put my camera down, took off my shoes, and jumped into the inflatable to safe my child. He wasn't crying, but he had a look of distress that said to me "Mommy, please save me from this thing." Poor thing had scratches on his face and neck and even lost his sock in the process. A minute later I noticed another mama jumping in the inflatable to save her child from the mean, bully toddler. Of course, the bully's mama was over playing cards with her girlfriends and was oblivious to all of this. Parker's getting tougher and being a little boy, I know these won't be the last of his injuries.

I tried to get a picture of his boo boos but it's hard to tell from this picture. This was after a lot of the redness went down so it doesn't look that bad.

P.S. I tried to upload some more pictures but it was taking forever so I gave up.

Weathering the Storm

This afternoon was quite a scary adventure for Parker and me. I went to Sumter to do my usual weekly grocery shopping. I saw on the radar there were some storms in the area, but they were small cells. First stop was CVS. When I left there it was beginning to drop rain. I said a prayer that Parker and I would make it inside Walmart before it started to pour, and I prayed for a good parking place near the buggy return. The Lord answered both of the prayers. While in Walmart, it started pouring and popping lightning. Then I got text alerts for a severe thunderstorm warning and tornado warning. I called my sister to pull up the radar so I could know what to do. She told me that the worst was yet to come and I should get out of Sumter. I emptied my buggy. I hate to just put stuff anywhere in the store, but I made an exception today. I was just outside of Sumter when it started pouring again but this time with wind. My sister called to see where I was because she saw on the radar more stuff developing. At that point, I pulled over at a gas station which was open. I crawled in the back seat, got Parker out, headed through the torential rain and wind, and as I got to to the door the lights went out. I thought the power went out, but no, the store had just closed! So I headed back through the torential rain and wind put Parker back in his seat, who is now scared and crying. Next door is a Chinese restaurant, but I'm was not sure it was open. At this time, I knew from talking to my sister that they were reporting rotation in the area. I was too scared to stay in the car so I took the chance and got Parker back out of his seat and ran through the torential wind and rain again into the safety of the Panda House. When we walked in the door, there were four Chinese adults and one child who immediately went "awwww" and started saying something in Chinese. Then one of them quickly brought paper towels and started drying Parker off. They were so nice and were understanding of why I invaded their store. They even offered Parker a little miniture cup of jello, but I politely declined. Finally it cleared enough to set off for Pinewood. I did get into heavy rain but no wind. I was so grateful to open the door to our house and be safe inside. Now I got to go back to Sumter tomorrow to do my grocery shopping since I only came back with two sticks of deodorant and some peptobismal.

10 Months Recap

• standing a lot more on his own.
• took his first steps, which made him oh-so-proud of himself.
• uses "dada" for both me and Paul.
• understands the word kisses and gives the best open mouth, slobbery kisses.
• eats like a horse. I don't think he would ever stop eating if I didn't stop giving him food.
• loves to push his train and John Deere gator around. In fact he likes to push anything around-laundry baskets, chairs, strollers, toy basket.
• grinds his teeth! This one is very aggrevating.
• still loves to look at books and play with balls.
• is very observant when he is in a new environment. He will sit still and check everything out.
• has become a daddy's boy too.
• likes to be chased.
• likes to climb.
• still the most precious thing ever!

A Few Steps at a Time

For those of you who follow my blog but are not on facebook, I just wanted to let you know that the past couple of days Parker has been taking some steps. He is so thrilled with himself. He can do about five at a time. I'll have to post video later.

Out of the Funk

I must confess that over the past year I was in, what I call, a spiritual funk. I wasn't in one of those "valleys" or facing one of life's "storms" that resulted in me feeling separated from God. I was being disobedient. I had done what the church in Ephesus had done in Revelation 2:4. I had "left my first love." I was like people who divorce because they have fallen out of love with their spouse. It was a gradual fade. At first, you skip spending time in God's Word one day out of the week in order for you to get a little more house work done or to catch another tv show. Then, it becomes two days, three days, and before you realize it, where once you held a devotion to God's Word, now stood a love for fleshly desires. I was lazy. Yes, every once in a while I thought, "I really should spend some time reading my Bible and talking to the Lord. I'll do it after this tv show goes off." Next thing I knew, I couldn't hold my eyes open, and I would go straight to bed without giving my relationship with the Lord another thought. I continued to go to church and sing songs whose words rang out praises to the Lord, but my heart had been emptied of the joy of my salvation. I'm sure it was noticable. Sometimes when I'm up in the choir loft and look around at people's faces when they are singing, it breaks my heart when the look on people's faces is one of boredom or discontentment. I'm sure that's what I looked like. As I was rolling around in the mud and muck of my sin, I finally came to my senses much like the prodigal son. I was tired of feeling so far away from my Savior. I had wasted too much time. I repented of my sin, and prayed for the Lord's help to get me out of the pit. The Lord is faithful and true to His Word. He says in Matthew 7:7, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you." Wow, how he has done just that. No, it didn't happened over night. I had to be disciplined to open my Bible and spend time praying rather than turn on the tv. But, the more and more time I spent in God's Word, the more quickly the joy came back. God's Word is good! I have realized how important His Word is. I understand that His Word is life in a whole new way. The very foundation of my relationship with Him is His Word. I'm a far from perfect, but the fact that my fleshly desires are still at war in my heart even though I have turned my heart over to the Lord is no excuse to continue in sin. (You should read Romans 6 sometime.) That's why scripture tells us to die daily to ourselves. I am writing this for several reasons. One is to confess my sin publicly. Another is I hope that this helps someone else who may be in a "spiritual funk." But, most importantly, I want to rejoice in the work of the Lord in my life. My His name be glorified!

9 Months Recap

• celebrated his first Mother's Day.
• was dedicated to the Lord.
• went on our first family vacation.
• ate his first handful of sand.
• continues to cruise around on the furniture.
• can stand by himself for a few seconds.
• loves to push his walker around.
• says "mama" and "dada".
• has separation anxiety.
• finally got his first tooth! Followed by 2 more in the 2 days after.
• chases Isaac around the living room.
• loves to pull all the books off the bookshelves.
• gives lots of hugs and kisses.
• weighed 20 lbs 10oz and 29 3/4 in long at his 9 month checkup.

Baby Dedication and Vacation

Our church traditionally holds Baby Dedication on Mother's Day for all the babies that have been born over the past year. Parker was one of four babies dedicated this year. He did really well waiting for the ceremony. He even helped Paul with the announcements. However, by the time the Baby Dedication ceremony was over he was ready to get down and play. I'm am so proud to have a son to dedicate to the Lord. Really, Paul and I are dedicating ourselves to raising Parker to become like Christ. Our prayer is that he commits his life to the Lord at an early age and with our discipleship, help him to grow deeper in his relationship and to reflect the love of Christ with his life. What a joyous and scary responsibility we have! We are not alone; we have God's Word to guide us along the way.

That afternoon we left for a much needed vacation to Myrtle Beach. This vacation would not have happened if it weren't for the generosity of a couple in our church who allowed to use a week of a timeshare they have. We are very appreciative! Since Paul is working two jobs, we were looking forward to having time together as a family. Parker enjoyed playing in the sand. He even ate some sand! I must admit I like going to the beach, but I just wish the sand wouldn't stick all over you. It doesn't help to have a sand-covered 9 month old crawl all over you.

He got upset when we told him not to eat sand!

8th Month Recap

crawling like crazy!

pulling up on anything and everything.

crusing around on the furniture.

squats down to go from standing to sitting instead of just plopping to his bottom.

gets into things he knows he's not supposed to.

When he gets caught, he flails around like he's trying to get rid of the evidence.

loves to explore.

smiles all the time.

loves playing peek-a-boo.

so so very ticklish and has the cutest giggle ever.

discovered that splashing the water in the bath tub is fun.

went to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time.

say bababababababa and bubuya which sounds like he's saying byebye (I don't think he realizes that he is actually saying something that has meaning yet.)

bounces up and down to music.

loves the Bill Green commercials for some reason.

gets MAD if you take something he really enjoys away from him. (I hope this doesn't mean that he has his daddy's temper.)

still has no teeth.

gets all the attention from shoppers when we are out and about, especially the old ladies.

weighs 20 lbs 14 oz.

continues to be the cutest thing ever!

He loves to pull all of his toys out of the basket. Green peas anyone?

It Didn't Work

So putting Parker to bed an hour earlier than usual didn't help with the nap situation. He cried all through his morning nap today. I hope this is just a funk he's in and he will be getting out of it soon because I like nap times. That's when I get the most done.

Success!

I'm sorry I forgot to post about night feeding detox for day 3 and 4. So here's the recap. Night 3 had only a few minutes of crying in the night. Night 4...silence! He slept from about 7 pm to 6:30 am. I couldn't believe how easy it was to get him sleeping through the night. Why didn't I do this earlier!? The hour and a half of crying the first night was worth the nights of continuous sleep (although I still find myself waking in the middle of the night). Although now I have a new sleep problem...the afternoon nap. The past few days Parker has been protesting his afternoon nap. Remembering what Dr. Weissbluth said in his book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, Parker may be a little overtired so tonight I put him to bed an hour earlier than usual. He was already showing signs of being tired so I did our bedtime routine and he is already asleep and it's only 6:15! I hope this helps.

Night Feeding Detox Day 2

Last night was much, much better. Parker woke up right as Paul and I were going to bed around 11 pm and cried for about 15 mins. 15 mins! I couldn't believe my ears. After that, I would occasionally hear a small cry for only a minute and then silence. I don't know if he was fully awake during those short minutes of crying or just transitioning stages of sleep. Keeping my fingers crossed that there will be no bouts of crying tonight.

Night Feeding Detox Day 1

At one point in time, Parker slept through the night (6 -7 hours), but recently, ok actually about a couple of months, Parker would wake a couple times in the night. Instead of fixing the problem to begin with, I was lazy and would just nurse him and put him back down. Now, a couple of months later, I'm ready for a full night's sleep, but I know in order to get that we are going to have to endure a little more nights of hardship. Last night was the first night of night feeding detox. I put Parker down at 7 pm and before long he had drifted off to sleep. I'm so glad that I got Parker used to going to sleep on his own when he was little so at least I don't have to fix that problem. At 2 am Parker woke up crying. I didn't go in there, but I would keep peeking in on him to make sure he wasn't stuck in the rails or something like that. After about an hour I went to lay down in the guest bedroom since there is no clock in there. Around 3:40 am I woke up after having a weird dream that Parker had broke the rails on his crib and was crawling around his bedroom and jumping off his bed. I heard nothing. I peeped in, and there he was asleep. Whew! After about an hour and a half, he surrendered. I wish I could end the story here and tell you that I awoke at 7 am to a smiling, happy baby, but that's not the case. When Paul got up at 5:15 am, the squeak of the bathroom door woke up Parker. I didn't go to him this time either. He would cry a few minutes and drift off back to sleep. Then, he would wake and cry a few minutes. This continued until 6:30 when I got him up and put him in the bed with me while he nursed. I was very ready for naptime today so I could also get a nap. He hasn't napped as long as he usually does, but that is to be expected when you don't get a good nights rest. I'm hoping there will be improvement tonight. I'll let you know how it goes.

7 Months Recap

As of today, Parker is 8 months old, so that means it's time for the 7 month recap. This month Parker hit a huge milestone. He learned to crawl, first backwards and then forwards. This means there is no stopping him now. He is working hard at learning how to pull up. When he stands up with some assistance, it is really obvious why he is in the 97 percentile for height. He is tall! Parker also learned how to transition from laying down to sitting and from sitting into crawling and vice versa. It is so neat to watch a special toy catch his eye because there is nothing to stop him now from getting to it. I think our cat, Isaac, is slowly realizing he better start getting out of his way. It just depends on how desperate Isaac is for attention. I guess having your tail pulled and being beat up is better than no attention at all.

Parker is now enjoying all kinds of food. His favorites are pears, bananas, and green peas, but he detests green beans. When we have green beans (I buy the frozen whole green beans.), he enjoys gnawing and sucking on it though. He is a very messy eater because he puts his hands in his mouth while he's eating. Then the mess gets transfered to his head, ears, tray, you get the picture.

Parker is a mama's boy. When he is tired, no one else will do. Also, when he is tired, he is ready to go to bed. If I don't get him to bed around 7-7:30, he is not a happy camper. Once he gets in his bed, he rolls over, sticks his butt in the air, and goes to sleep. I learned the hard way not to mess with his bed time. As Dr. Marc Weisbluth, author of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, says, "sleep begets sleep." This is very true for Parker. If he is overtired, he has trouble going to sleep and staying asleep.

Parker is a very happy baby. I get so many comments about this, even from complete strangers. He is just a delight! I could go on as any mother could about their child, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to spend all day reading this.

Trying to look like his Uncle Michael with an orange gotee.

I just couldn't resist!