Wednesday, December 16, 2009

two more chompers

Abigail's top two chompers poked through a couple of days ago. I was expecting her other bottom tooth to pop through, so the top two caught me by surprise:) The drool is still rolling out of her mouth, so she'll probably have 4 teeth before long!

Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Memories of Christmas times long past


My husband came home from Bible Study Monday night and made me an amaretto latte in my favorite Christmas cup, bought at a china shop in London many years ago. It's quite amazing how the simplest things can bring back floods of memories. I'm looking forward to time spent with family sitting around the fire reminiscing, enjoying new memories unfold of first Christmases and looking forward to many Christmases to come. Here are some of my most favorite Christmas memories off the top of my head:

1. My mom's cinnamon rolls and tea ring, enjoyed before we open gifts on Christmas morning.

2. Singing Christmas carols at a train station in Japan with our church, proclaiming our joy to the world.

3. Snow on Christmas Eve in Belgium. It was truly a gift from heaven, since we were often homesick and were more used to rain in the winter than snow flurries. And of course, the joy of watching our new puppy enjoy his first snowfall.

4. Enjoying the fondue tradition with my new family on Christmas Eve. My first fondue Christmas I ate the most I've ever eaten in my life! I felt terrible and yet so happy to be with my new husband and his family. I resolved to use more moderation for future Christmases, and I'm happy to announce that whilst pregnant last year, I exercised much restraint and was able to actually enjoy the Christmas Eve service:)

5. Driving to see Christmas lights with my Grandma and Grandpa Higgins and listening to the Bing Crosby Christmas classics on the radio. Grandpa always knew where to find the best lights in town.

6. And most of all -- reading the Christmas story with both families on Christmas Eve. What a blessing to hear tidings of great joy!

These are only a few of my favorite memories. I could blog for hours on memories of Christmases past, but my baby is asleep and there are things to do! Nevertheless, I am looking forward to seeing my Iowa grandparents in less than a week and my family shortly after.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

overdue Abigail update

It is 9am on Saturday morning, and Abigail and I are having some girl time before daddy wakes up this morning. We have had a busy 9 weeks, and we're all looking forward to some R&R over the holidays.

Abigail is now 10 1/2 months old, which is hard for me to believe, and has hit several new milestones in the last couple of weeks. I should come to expect that she usually hits her milestones a couple of weeks after her pediatrician tells me she should. This leaves me biting my nails for a couple of weeks, leaving me to trust the Lord.

Abigail is finally pushing herself up to a sitting position all by herself. She's been sitting well for a long time, and all the books said that babies learn to crawl when they fall forward on to their hands and knees. Not Abigail! She would go directly to her tummy and roll. She still isn't crawling, and I expect that she'll go right to walking. She has excellent balance and cruises all over the house, as long as she has something to lean against. She has perfected her roll, sit up and pull up technique, though she's still not pulling herself up on every piece of furniture.

Where does that leave me? Busy! She now needs constant vigilance and some extra consoling when she takes a tumble. She has had a few bumps and bruises in the last couple of weeks, but she's a resilient little girl.

Daddy is awake, so I'll leave you to go make breakfast. Happy Saturday to you all! Hopefully we'll get to see you soon:)

\
I got here all by myself!
If you look closely, you can see her bottom tooth!


Abigail is eating cheerios, puffs, potatoes, carrots and bananas (sometimes...these are a bit slimy and hard to pick up...). Thankfully, she also still lets me feed her pureed baby food to supplement her newfound feeding skills that still need some polishing.




Tuesday, December 8, 2009

the sunrise from on high

"And you, child, will be called the
prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to
prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his
people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our
God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us
from on high
to give light to those who sit in
darkness and in the shadow of
death,
to guide our feet into the way of
peace."
Luke 1:76-79
I have been living through a period of numbness the last couple of months, opening up my Bible day in and day out for a fresh word from the Lord. I trust that the Word is living and active and will pierce through this numbness, but sometimes the wait is long and my heart feels chilled in this waiting. And yet in this waiting, I am encouraged. At Bible Study this morning I sat and listened to Christ's second "I Am" statement from John 8 -- I am the light of the world, whoever comes to me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life. So I will keep going to the Lord. I love the Luke and Matthew portions that speak of Christ's birth, and with new joy I read of "a sunrise from high." I am thankful for the wonder of this picture of Christ. My prayer for this season is that the sunrise will continue to guide my feet into a way of peace, that I may be a blessing to those around me. I am thankful that I am warmed in this waiting.