Getting Ready for Vacation

We leave Tuesday for our summer vacation.  We are so excited to get out of our house after being home bound for most of the summer.  Poor Sadie Jane has had to endure giving me a fashion show as I am trying to figure out what to pack for her.  I have realized this is going to be unlike any other trip I have packed for when I started making a list of everything I am going to need to bring for just Sadie!  We are heading to Merced for a few days where Sadie Jane will meet her cousins on the Nelson side.  Then we will be in Santa Clarita for a day then on to Long Beach for the majority of the time so she can meet the Callaway family down there.  I will try to post pictures along the way!

Sadie with Daddy

This Week with SJ

This week Sadie Jane has slept through the night 2 times!  I am feeling like a whole new woman.  I forgot how good 8 hours of sleep all in one chunk feels!  We'll see if she keeps it up but for now it is a nice break from the late night and early morning feedings.  She is a loud sleeper though and cries in her sleep a lot which keeps me up but I think we are getting more used to it.  Andrew just left for Water Ski Camp with the youth group for the next 3 days.  I think daddy is going to miss his little girl.  How can you not???  Look at all these cute faces she makes!

This Week with SJ

I love when I find Sadie Jane sleeping like that with both arms up.  She looks as though she finally surrendered to sleep, which she can fight at times.  I try to give her as many kisses as I can because I know when she is older she will not let me kiss her face all the time.  We just got back from the pediatrician's office.  She got her 2 month immunization shots a little early since we will be going on vacation soon.  She did well and I made it through it too:)  We were reminded recently that shots for babies are usually worse for the parents than the baby-so true!

Making the Most of my Time

I am finding I spend a lot of time feeding Sadie Jane.  So far all I have been able to do during this time is watch TV because I have been so tired and not motivated at all.  I have been convicted that I need to make the most of this time.  So this morning I started and read an article Andrew printed up for me recently.  Here's the link http://www.9marks.org/ejournal/young-mother-ministry-guilt-and-seasons-life.  It is called, "For the Young Mother: Ministry, Guilt, and Seasons of Life." 

I would encourage all you young mommies to check it out.  This is my favorite section that I found very encouraging:
"Are you discouraged as you spend day after day immersed in the mundane tasks of mothering? Then think of the honor of guiding the spiritual and intellectual and social development of young minds and hearts. Think of the thrill of teaching them eternal truths from God’s Word. Think of the importance of teaching your young children how to live under authority, and of preparing them for future relationships by teaching them about love and trust. Think of the delight of sending one more godly, vibrant, strong, secure, loving young person into this needy world with the courage to live well for Christ’s sake. What a worthy investment!"

Now I have to go try to comfort my crying baby for the 5th time this nap.  I will never understand why babies fight sleep and adults love sleep!

Our Sleepy Girl

This Week with SJ

Sadie Jane is now sleeping in her big girl crib (as I call it) for her naps.  We are trying to get her used to it for when we make the big transition in the next few months.  This is a picture of her mohawk from today.  After her bath last night she was so upset that I didn't get a chance to brush it so this is what it does naturally-interesting.