Six Months

 Well little man, you are officially six months old.  You are exactly halfway to your first birthday!  It’s been, hands down, the most wonderful half year of our lives.  Here’s what you’ve been up to this month:

• You cut two teeth!  Your gummy grin is no more.  At about 5.5 months, your bottom two middle teeth started poking through.  You handled it like a champ, and daddy and I were so proud of you!  We love looking at those two little teeth, even though you hardly ever let us get a peek because you’re too busy running your tongue over and over the newest addition to your mouth.  So cute!  We think you might be getting a few more, but nothing has broken through just yet.
• You weight 19 and a half pounds, and you are 27 inches long.  You’re wearing all 12 and 18 month clothes now.
• You are eating about 9 ounces of baby food (made especially for you by mommy!) a day.  That is in addition to your milk.  So far, you’ve had just about every fruit and veggie I can think to make for you at this age.  On your six month birthday, we gave you mangos!  You loved them.  You also love pears (a LOT), apples and bananas.  You are less enthusiastic with your veggies, but enjoy sweet potatoes and green beans pretty regularly.  So far, you haven’t been too fond of peas (me either..yuck!)
• You can now sit up entirely on your own.  You tip over very rarely, usually backwards, but lately have gotten so much better at being able to catch yourself.  You love to sit on the floor and play with your toys, and I can tell you are SO proud of yourself for being able to sit up like a big boy!  We are pretty proud of you, too.
• Not only can you sit, but you also LOVE to stand!  You pretty much don’t want to do anything else.  When we stand you against the couch or ottoman, Toby and Emma will jump up and get right in your face..and you LOVE it!  You squeal and reach for them and their little tails go crazy.
• If we hold your hands and walk with you, you’ll take steps forward.  It’s the cutest thing, because you’ll look up at us with this big grin, as if you’re saying “hey mom and dad, look what I can do!”
• For a while, you were getting up on your hands and knees and rocking back and forth.  We thought you were about ready to start crawling!  But, after a few face plants (when you found your propulsion but didn’t quite get your hands and feet on board) you’ve now decided you want nothing to do with crawling.  You have actually refused to put any weight on your hands at.all and will fuss/cry if we put you on your tummy.  So, we’ve decided to back off on tummy time and give you some time to recover from the trauma of learning to crawl
• You love Toby and Emma!  This month, you’ve been really interested in petting and touching them.  Toby and Emma think it is the best thing EVER and love it when you pay attention to them.  You also love to laugh at Emma when she tickles you with her wet nose, and were cracking up over at Grandma and Grandpa’s house when Riley (their dog) starting running circles around you.
• You are very vocal.  You squeal and screech and love to pretend you’re an opera singer (going into octaves where no sound comes out).  You are also very vocal when you do NOT want to be doing something (like tummy time) or when we take away something you want.  You’ll throw a total fit, which I find pretty funny.  You stop as soon as somebody picks you up and/or distracts you with something else.  Oh, and you are LOUD.
• In the last month, we took our first family trip to the beach!  You really weren’t sure what to think.  You weren’t a fan of the sand, or the wind, or the sun.  It was a beautiful day though!  Daddy carried you in the hiking backpack, and then we put down a blanket and let you play on the beach.  I can’t wait to take you back when you’re a bit bigger!
• In terms of toys, you’re pretty much into everything we’ve got these days!  You still love your jumperoo, but have also really gotten into your play table and some of your bigger toys that you can sit up and play with.
• We started you on puffs, which has been your first foray into self feeding!  You love the puffs, and can actually pick them up really well, but you get frustrated trying to transfer the puffs from your hand into your mouth.  We’re still practicing.
• You also drink from a sippy cup!  You had a hard time with the traditional kind, but do really well with the cups that have a straw!  You learned to use them right away.  We're working on holding them on your own, because right now I'm usually helping you out quite a bit.
• You love peek-a-boo!  It’s a sure-fire way to get you to smile.  You think this is the most exciting game on the planet, and love it when we play with you!
• My dear, you have found your feet in a big way.  You were aware of them last month, but now you grab your toes and suck on them.  It’s hysterical.
• Your giggle comes so readily now.  I can just look at you and you’ll collapse into the most adorable giggles I have ever heard.  Your smile comes just as easily.  You are just such a happy little boy!
• We graduated you to the big boy bathtub this month!  You no longer lie on your back for bath time, now you sit up in your bath ring!  At first it scared you and you’d cry and cry…but after a couple days you figured out it was pretty fun to sit up like a big boy!  Now, you love it.  You play with your toys and just ignore daddy and I as we wash you
• You want everything that daddy and I have.  You can’t sit on our laps anymore when we eat, because you are constantly reaching for and grabbing our food.  When we go to restaurants, you go for the menu.  When I get a phone call, you try and take the phone off my ear.   When we read to you, you try and reach for the books, and if you can't get them you throw a fit.
• You are fascinated by my hair, but you are so gentle with it.  You twirl it around your fingers and make sweet cooing noises as you play with it.  I think it is so precious.
• You got your first real cold this month, which made me so sad for you.  It didn't last too long, though, and daddy and I just snuggled and spoiled you with extra loves until you were feeling better.
• One of my favorite things you do is how you put your hands on my face when you’re right in front of me.  You’ll put your sweet hands on either side of my face and run your little fingers all over.  You love to squeeze my nose, and you always pause when your palm is over my lips so I can smother it with kisses.  Then you’ll squeal, giggle, and keep right on going.
• Lately, when you’re sitting and playing and I come sit behind you, you’ll turn and reach for me.  Oh baby boy, I love it.  I think it is the most precious thing.  I’ll pull you into my lap and you’ll just snuggle me.  Melts this mama’s heart!!

Daddy and I just cannot believe that you've been here for six whole months.  I look around our house and I see the evidence of you all around--the toys littering the floor every night after you go to sleep, the bottles waiting to be washed by the sink, your (not so) tiny clothes ready to be folded and put away--and it literally takes my breath away to realize, in that instant, that you're ours.  My heart still soars every time I have a chance to call you my son out loud.  My son.  Oh baby, you were so worth the wait.  I could never have known, could never have fathomed, the joy that God would pour into my heart with the gift of you.  We have been given the most precious gift, we have been mightily blessed. You have filled my heart with more love than I ever knew was possible.  Your tiny life has transformed mine, in the very best way possible.

Since the day we found out about you, we claimed Isaiah 40:11 for you:

He will tend to his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the little lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. 

I pray that you will always feel the warmth from that love, that safe feeling of being snuggled up close in the arms of your Father.  Daddy and I pray daily that God will guide us as we work each day to raise you into the man He intended you to be.  We are already so proud of you.  We already know that God will use you in mighty, magnificent ways.  We are so grateful that He chose us to have the front row seats.

You are so loved.  Every single moment of every single day. 

Thank you for a beautiful half year, it's been the best of my entire life.

Prayer Request

Please say a prayer for Megan, her twins are one day younger than Blake and just the sweetest things.  Her little boy, Knox, was just admitted to the hospital with a virus, and the poor thing is feeling pretty bad.  Please pray for a speedy recovery for little Knox, and that his sister does not get the virus! 

The Call

I’m sitting here listening to Praise Baby while my (almost) six month old stands at his play table, mesmerized by the music and momentarily hitting the pause button on what has become a mode of constant motion.  

And I’m taking this unexpected downtime to detox in the form of blogging.  Because lately, I’ve been finding myself with a whole lot of thoughts.

I’m not sure what started it.  I’m not sure what series of events played out first, because looking back, everything seems so connected.  I can’t really describe it.  I know I can’t, because I’ve tried and haven’t been able to find the words.  And that’s rare for me.  Because I’m nothing if not a words girl.

I guess all I can really say is this: my heart is changing.  It’s opening.  I feel convicted in a way that I’ve never felt convicted before. 

And it’s all about The Call.

It’s irrevocable. 

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Ephesians 4:1

Amen, right? 

I feel like we talk about it a lot.  'We' meaning Christians.  There’s a whole lot of lip service being dedicated to talking up The Call.

But you know what?  Reading that verse in Ephesians makes my heart clench.  I do the jitterbug with my eyebrows and cringe.  Because, let’s be honest…how often do I take a step back and evaluate my life?  Do a quick check-in with my inner self?

Hi Mandy, how’s it going?  You doing all you can each and every day to live a life filled with the grace of the Father?  Are you showing His love to this dark world?  What specifically have you done today?  This week?  This year? ….Have you even cracked open your Bible today? 

Uh.  Do I have to answer that?

It wouldn’t be pretty.

And I’m certainly not proud of the answer. 

I’m feeling convicted.  I feel like I’ve been sitting in a boat, anchored in the storm while I let the waters churn and turn all around me.  I’ve got a life vest snugly fastened around my chest and a raincoat hood over my ears.  I’m comfortable.  But I see the waters, and my heart understands that I’ll never get to my destination if I don’t move. 

I feel like I'm slowly giving up my seat in the middle row and starting to scoot towards the outside.  I want to jump into the deep end knowing that I can’t swim.   

I want to get uncomfortable so that I can learn to tread water.

I want to trust. I want to ditch the life vest and live with a reckless abandon for the things of this world, because I don’t need them.  I want to put feet to my faith because that’s what we are called to do.  No more lip service.

I want to share this blog post.  I read it last week by accident.  I’ve never read this person’s blog before, but I stumbled upon it quite randomly.  But this post hit me head on.  I love her heart.  I love her story and her passion.  

Truth be told, I’m still processing.  I was so moved that I shared it with Adam, and after he had read it, I told him that I felt like God was peeling back another layer of my life onion.  I know, you’re probably reading that with the same scrunched up face that Adam had on last night.  Life onion??

My life onion is a work in progress.  Each layer that gets peeled stings, it can get a little uncomfortable, and more often than not leaves me feeling a little weepy.  Because every layer that’s peeled away leaves me just that much more raw.  More vulnerable.  But, in the end, I know that the best part of me is beneath everything on the surface.  And I know God is planning to make something amazing out of the finished product.  Those cracked and peeling layers are no good for the final masterpiece.  They’d ruin it.  I have to let them go, even when it leaves me bleary eyed. 

Get it?  Life onion. 

As I processed with Adam last night, we talked about why it’s so hard to live a life worthy of The Call.  And what it exactly means to live that life.  We came to the basic conclusion that we are called to love the lost, to care for those who cannot care for themselves, to look on the broken with the rose-colored glasses of the Father, and to live today with eternity in our sights. 

We are called to fight the “good fight of faith” (I Timothy 6:12).

We are called “to glory and virtue” (II Peter 1:3)

We are called to the “pure and genuine religion” of caring for the orphans and widows (James 1:27)

We are called to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8)  

That last verse is a personal favorite. 

Act justly.

Love mercy.

Walk humbly with your God.

I want that. But it’s hard.  Adam and I agreed that, at least for us, following that Call is just uncomfortable.  It can put you in awkward situations.  It can burst personal space bubbles and put you on the spot.  Like really on the spot.  Try as we might to live our lives transparently and fully—leaning in and listening—we looked at each other last night and acknowledged what we were both thinking: we’re still very comfortable.  

And I think that means we’re not there yet. 

God calls us to do big things.  Loving a lost world should never be, and will never be, comfortable.  That’s just the nature of the beast.  Literally.

And so we held hands and prayed.  We renewed our commitment to living the life that we have been called to, and I know God is moving.  It’s scary, it’s exciting, and it’s uncomfortable....

...so I’m pretty sure we’re on the right track.

Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know and holds us responsible to act..

Proverbs 24:12

Moving Mountains

This song has been moving mountains in my heart. 

Bring your love to life inside of me
Why don’t you break my heart ’til it moves my hands and feet

For the hopeless and the broken
for  the ones that don’t know that you love them
Bring your love to life inside of me

Do you ever catch yourself mindlessly singing song lyrics throughout the day without realizing what you're singing?  I've caught myself doing that with this verse. Over and over again.  Multiple times a day. 

I feel this song.  I feel the gentle prodding of my Savior, and I feel my heart changing.  I feel God moving.  And I want to move with Him. 

I want to put feet to my faith. 

There will be more to share, I'm sure.  But for now I'm just focusing on listening.  On leaning in and being present in this season. 

I cannot wait.