Crying it out :(

So I know it's very controversial in the baby world on whether or not is ok to let a baby "cry it out" when doing sleep training.  Before we (ok, I) decided on the tact we wanted to take when we had Gracey and were desperate to get her out of our bed after co-sleeping for 12 months, I pretty much read about every type of sleep training method known to man-kind.  After trying several that did not work, I decided to let her cry it out.  With Gracey and Thayne, Chris was out of town when I did it, so by the time he got home- surprise! They were sleeping "like babies" (really, the person who came up with that misused phrase obviously did NOT have kids!).

Well, Chris is not out of town. And as I type this, Lissie is "crying it out".  And I guess I should confess that she did not start crying until I went in to check on her because she WASNT crying---that is until I left and shut the door....I know, I know.  But I was just positve she was sticking her nana blanket down her little throat, but of course it was laying at the other end of the bed!

I tried the method with the first two when you go in every 5 minutes and then lengthen the time out until the baby gradually falls asleep. This never worked for me.  I literally let them cry themselves to sleep.  Sounds harsh, cruel, right? Well, it's all worth it after 3 days when you lay your little one down and she sleeps 12 hours straight and still gives you that sweet baby smile in the morning- loving you nonetheless! 

While I do not do the "go in every so often and reassure them" thing, I do do the establish a routine and stick to it thing.  Here is what has worked in the past for us, so we are trying it on our third, precious bonus baby Lissie:

First, we do a bath.  This is actually her first sink bath- why? I have no idea. It just slipped my brain that she is still able to fit in the sink.  Let's blame it on it's-the-third-baby mommy brain.....

We then moved on to the bottle and her breathing treatments.....

Isn't he such a sweet daddy? :) And yes, her arms are restrained or she tries to "help"!  Daddy did a quick diaper check while I took pics of her lonely crib that have been privy to all of my beautiful babies tears, dreams, and yes, all forms of bodily functions!

Lissie's Nana blanket- she made one for all of my babies, and they all sleep with their special blankets

It really is the softest thing I've ever held- one of those you-have-to-rub-it-on-your-cheek kind of soft.

We traded Lissie's crib for Gracey's mattress in our bedroom until Lissie gets used to sleeping in her own room.  Lissie and Gracey share a room, and we didn't want Gracey to have to listen to Lissie's crying, so she gets to camp out on our floor for a while.

(She thinks this is the greatest idea E V E R and she told me she wouldn't mind sleeping on our bedroom floor forever.  I introduced the word temporary to her tonight)

                                                       
                                                           Monitors were set up and ready

The cd I searched for for a good 15 minutes that has sung Gracey and Thayne to sleep.  It is MIA.....

so we settled for Chris Tomlin's Hello Love

One last picture- sleepy eyes and all.  Sweet baby has no idea...

Well, as I end this post 30 minutes after I had begun, Lissie is sound asleep gripping her nana blanket with her little legs tucked underneath and her bottom stuck up in the air.  I thought about sneaking in for one last picture of her asleep....nah. So not worth it!

Sacred Moments

There have been many times in my life that I have been in a moment that I just wanted to freeze and dwell on for a while.  To record the sight, sounds, feelings associated with those seconds that I knew would soon pass.  Those moments that tears creep up and threaten to expose you.  Those moments that catch your breath.  Those moments that change you just enough that you know you will never be the same.   Here are a few of those moments for me that God led me to share today.  And if you think and remember nothing else from this sacred weekend of life, remember that HE IS RISEN! HE IS ALIVE JUST AS HE SAID!

• Nap time- now, stay with me here! For those parents who have small children, you know what a blessing and necessity nap time is!  I once said God created children with the need to nap for parents reprieve!
• That first sleepy baby smile of the morning that makes me feel like I am the best mommy in the world
• Watching my husband play with my kids and falling all over again
• Little rubberband-wristed and dimpled 3 year old hands pulling me down to his size saying, "Mommy, I want to kiss you!"
• Listening to my children pray- not only the prayer that I taught them to get them started, but the first time they say their own prayer all on their own while they are thanking God for every person they have ever know.  All the while, I am thanking God for letting me be their mommy!
• The first time my first born, diva, girly-girl of a daughter hits a ball from a pitch rather than a tball stand, looks over her shoulder to make sure I'm watching and to hear, "Good job baby!" before she runs to first base!
• Giving that kiss and squeeze good-bye while looking into their scared eyes on the first day of preschool
• Teaching my daughter to cook like mothers and daughters have for generations in my family
• Looking down at my hands to see my mom's, hoping and praying that they will be as strong and consistent as hers are
• Taking pics of my littlest sister before she goes to prom- I mean, I potty-trained this girl and taught her how to shave! She's not old enough to go to prom, graduate, move away to college.....
• Registering my oldest for kindergarten and watching her walk away for her assessment with confidence while other soon-to-be kindergartners are wailing, lying on the ground in fear
• Watching my other sister get married to a Godly man and feeling that I may have played a little part in their happiness- she caught the bouquet and he caught the garter at my wedding years before they even started dating!
• Being in the room with both of my grandparents when they passed away.  I was extremely young for the first, and 16 for the second, but the remembrance of the feeling of peace was so strong at both times
• Listening to my son sing to Jesus in the car and not missing a note or word, knowing that my prayer to God while he was still in the womb for him to be a lover of music was answered
• Seeing those 2 pink lines for the first time telling me my dreams to be a mommy were happening
• My manager at work telling me that I can work part-time---closer to the goal of me being able to stay at home full time
• The sound of the hospital doors closing behind us as we got to take Lissie home from her NICU stay after finding out just how close we both were to meeting HIM face to face
• Being completely broken, on my face on the bedroom floor praying to God to take the pain away- and He did in the form of Gracey coming to join me face down too and praying to God, "to make her mommy feel better"
• The feeling of peace knowing that today, when I asked my kids why we celebrate Easter in the midst of discussing dying eggs, my 3 year old and 5 year old babies showed me that they have already grasped a concept that many adults struggle with their entire lives---they both looked as me and said, "because JESUS IS ALIVE"  Out of the mouth of babes, right?

                                                                           AMEN!!!!

Intro, Worship and Monkey Bread

All of the research I have done on "the basics of blogging" stress that you need to pick one topic and stick to it when choosing the general theme of a blog.  Well, that is not this type of blog.  It will be about my life- which is not predictable, stream-lined, or able to be narrowed down into topics.  All aspects of my life cross-over into who I am.  I can not separate the mom, from the daughter, from the wife, from the friend....you get the idea! So, if you are looking for a craft themed, photography themed, advice themed blog, this is not for you!  I will simply be sharing about our lives in whatever seed God plants in my mind for the day. Eventually, I will be sharing a kind of biography that lets you know who I was, where I came from, and who God has made me today, but honestly, I am not sure I am prepared to write all of that down to share yet.  So, for now, if you want to share a little of our lives with us, read on!


For those who are mommies, you know what a true blessing it is to be able to get a full night's sleep! Well, last night was one of those glorious nights for our home.  Our youngest, Lissie who is an eight-month-old mess of a teething baby right now, slept all night.  I woke at 6:30 and proceeded to frantically jump out of bed and run to check and make sure she was breathing like any normal mom would do! She was still in baby dreamland.  It briefly crossed my mind that since everyone was still asleep, it would be a good time to sneak in a little early morning Bible reading.  That thought quickly escaped as my head hit the pillow for another hour of sleep.  Seriously, where do people actually get the willpower to forgo sleep to study? I have never been one of those people.  Maybe when the kids are older... (which I added to that ever-growing list- maybe when the kids are older I'll take photography classes, or start scrap booking again, or go to a gym class, or take a vacation with a good group of friends..anyone other moms out there have this kind of list???)

It truly was a peaceful morning, which in itself is another blessing in a home that includes 3 kids under 6.  I had a request for monkey bread for breakfast, (which suspiciously taste and looks like McDonald's cinnamon rolls on a larger scale...) so I began the quick prep for it and turned to the living room and saw this peaceful sight:

It is very rare that all 3 are playing at the same time, side by side in harmony, so I took a pause from monkey bread making to snap a few photos:

(Please ignore the mess of cords in the background- the never won argument with the gamer of our home to put away the controllers and it's pieces is a battle that I have forfeited!) 

If you are on a diet, I deeply apologize for the next photo, but it turned out so pretty, that I couldn't help but include the pic of the monkey bread!

After snapping the photos, I felt a gentle nudging that said, "stop and play...", but I reasoned that I still had to clean up from breakfast, prep the swiss steak to go in the crock pot for dinner, feed Lissie her cereal- all the excuses we as moms make that make us miss opportunities to play because of our "lists" of things that we feel we need to get accomplished for the day.  I missed that opportunity this morning, and have made a promise to myself and my babies that after the sacred hours of nap time, they will get their mommy time!

While I continued my kitchen duties, I flipped on the radio to a Christian station.  Now, I just have to stop and say that my kids are in love with music, especially Thayne.  He came into the kitchen and stopped playing just so he could sing along.  Gracey shortly joined him, and pretty soon we had a jam fest to "How Great is Our God".  I may not have a sweeter moment in my day than my kids singing at the top of the their lungs how GREAT their God is!  It was truly a moment of worship right in our little kitchen. I am getting little goosebumps all over just writing about it!

So, I guess the lesson for the day is the sweet reminder that worship can happen anywhere.  One of my personal goals that God brought to me a long time ago was to be in a constant state of worship.  As I cook.  When I am knee-high in diapers.  While at work.  Playing with legos with the kids.  He wants everything I do, am, say, think to be in response to Him as worship and love.  I hope your day is filled with just that- worship wherever you are!