Seven Months Old

What a handful Cooper is getting to be! He's still not officially crawling yet, but he gets around by rolling and scooting. He's learned to pull books off of shelves, tablecloths off of tables, and all sorts of other mischief.

But he's a joy. He smiles all the time, is learning to recognize things and respond. He loves to be read to and sung to and to go outside. He babbles and giggles and is forever doing "raspberries." He has three teeth now. And wild hair.He keeps me busy; I'm feeling my age a lot these days, but he's worth it all. We're so thankful to have him in our lives.

The Death of Osama

Okay, I confess. The first thing that popped into my mind when I heard the news was the Wizard of Oz song: "Ding, dong, the witch is dead." Of course I had to change the words a little.

When I got on Facebook and saw my friends' thoughts about it, it made me think some more. It was interesting, really. Their responses were extremely varied, not really following the political or faith lines that I usually see. Many have had changing thoughts as the day has worn on.

Some, of course, rejoiced (even some liberals who have always opposed the war). Others lamented that he was in hell. A couple quoted Ezekiel 18:23: "Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?"

Another, rather amusing, quote I saw was from Mark Twain: "I have never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure."

Interestingly, a couple speculated that he either wasn't really dead or that he died some time ago and for some reason they government didn't want us to know. After all, it is suspicious that they "buried him at sea" before they even told us he was dead. Also, it takes longer than few hours to get the results back from a DNA test, which they claim to have already done.

Time will tell. Or maybe it won't.

I don't know how I feel about it. I have mixed feelings, I guess.

The best quote I saw all day, was this one:

"There is only one death that brought the world peace, and we celebrated that last week."

Ultimately, Jesus is the One we need to put our hope in, not in the death of a man, evil though he was, or anything else.

He is the Prince of Peace.

Answering our Cry

I'm learning so much about God's love for us through being a parent. Another sudden understanding came recently.

Some time ago Cooper rolled from his stomach to his back. He did it several times over the course of a few days and then stopped doing it. I wasn't too worried. I figured he'd do it if he needed to.

About a month later, he learned to roll from his back to his stomach. Well, apparently he really had forgotten that he could roll stomach-to-back, and he didn't like being on his stomach. So he would cry. And Don or I would roll him back over onto his back. The process would soon be repeated.

I finally wised up. I knew he was physically capable of rolling onto his back, but why would he bother figuring out how to do it if we did it for him every time? So I put him on the floor and sat in a nearby chair and watched. He rolled onto his tummy and cried. I sat and watched. It hurt to watch him cry, knowing I could easily solve his problem, but I knew it would be better for him if I didn't. After a few minutes of crying pitifully, he did it -- he rolled onto his back. Within a couple of days he was rolling across the floor with no effort.

Sometimes we cry out to God to answer a specific prayer for us, and He seems silent. We cry and cry, pleading for the thing we want, until finally we figure out what we need to figure out. God was there all along, watching over us, but He knew we would be better off if we had to work a little harder to learn something, rather than having Him do it for us.

So next time you think God isn't answering your prayer, think of Cooper rolling across the room. Maybe it will all make a little more sense. ( :

Six Months Old

Wow -- how time flies! Cooper has now passed the six month mark and is growing by leaps and bounds. He has covered a lot of milestones in the past few weeks: first tooth, baby food, sitting up, and with rolling over both ways he has developed his own form of transportation: rolling across the room, so I am continually having to go get him and bring him back. I guess he's preparing me for the crawling and walking days ahead.
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Though he is keeping us busy, he is keeping us entertained too. Each day brings something new, and we're having a lot of fun finding out what it will be. The hugs, kisses, smiles and giggles are so rewarding -- what joy he is bringing to our lives!

Thankfulness

I wished a friend from my Bible study a happy birthday today. But I think that, rather than being happy, she is somewhat depressed because it is a "big one." (40, I assume) Well, that one has come and gone for me, but it made me realize that I really don't lament my birthdays anymore, not even the big ones. Since my friend Pam died of cancer at age 38, leaving behind 5 children, I know firsthand that none of us really knows how much time we have left. Every year, every day, every breath we take is a gift, not to be taken for granted. Now I am thankful for every birthday I have: another year to live, and now another year to raise my child and watch him grow.

So I encourage you, as I encouraged my friend today, not to dread your birthdays or even be depressed by them, but to use them as an opportunity to thank God for another year of life.

A Parent's Love

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." I John 3:1a

Now that I am a parent, I have a new understanding of God's love for us. I have always heard that there is nothing I can do to make God love me more or love me less. I'm not sure I ever completely understood that . . . but now I understand it much better.

I loved Cooper from the time I first found out he was on the way, long before I met him. He didn't DO anything! When he was born I loved him (even though he had caused me a lot of pain and misery through my pregnancy and his birth). He's cute and mostly sweet, but he still doesn't really understand much except his own needs. But I still love him.

He pulls my hair, wakes me up in the night and poops in his diaper, but do I love him any less? No! He is my child, and I love him.

Though my love for him will never be as perfect as God's love for His children, it is a reflection of the type of love He has for us. And I am so thankful for His unconditional love.

Five Months

Cooper is five months old now. We're having so much fun! He is learning and doing new things every day. It is so rewarding to go get him out of bed in the morning and be greeted with a huge smile! We have to laugh at his "raspberries" and the shrieks he makes as he is experimenting with his voice. It's so neat to watch him study his hands and his feet and discover what he can do with them. He giggles when we play "peek-a-boo," but is also quick to let us know when he is not happy about something. He loves to be sung to and read to and will listen intently when we explain something to him.I'm loving every day of being a mom. Some are easier than others, of course, and some days I am overwhelmed, but I am so thankful to God for the privilege of raising one of His children. Don and I pray daily that we will have the wisdom, strength and health we need to do it well, and are definitely finding it character-building as we seek to be godly role models. Life isn't the same as it used to be. Going to the grocery store to get one or two thing is a major ordeal; sleep is much more of a luxury than it used to be, and talking on the phone is no longer a relaxing activity, but our little fellow is worth it all!