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My motivation to blog has been really low lately and so this Five Things might be scraping the bottom of the barrel today. But hey, it happens to us all. I did write this post for
The Gift of Giving Life blog this week though. Here is snippet, and a cute picture of my little nursling.
The other thing that I have been thinking a lot about is something
Robyn quoted me as saying in her essay in our book about how breastfeeding is symbolic of the relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. In her essay I said:
It has always really impressed me that a baby has to
work pretty hard to get its milk. It has to learn how to latch on and
then they have to suck and suck for a while before anything gets flowing.
It can be frustrating and slow at the start. Yet the more they suck the
more milk their mother produces. If they were to stop sucking, the milk
would go away, but when they ask for more, it comes in abundance.
I think that is just like our Father in Heaven. He has
told us “ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto
you.” He has living water for us, but we have to be willing to ask Him
for it, over and over again. Sometimes we even have to work, and it
takes a while before anything comes.
If we give up and scream and cry because what we want
isn’t coming fast enough, then we miss out. We have to keep working and
asking, and soon His living water begins to flow—like a river. It
amazes me that this is one of the very first lessons that we are taught
when we come to this earth. God could have made breastfeeding a much
different process, but I think He knew that His children needed to learn
this right away.
I have been wrestling and pondering some spiritual
questions lately and have been feeling so frustrated that I don’t
understand. I want, so badly, to see and understand more than I do right
now. Yet it seems like there are some things that just don’t make sense
to me. I lack understanding, and I hate it. Really, hate it.
Then as I was watching my little boy tug at my breast I was
reminded that the Lord does not always teach us everything we need, or
want to know, all at once. Learning in this life comes line upon line,
precept upon precept and we can’t rush it or demand more until we are
ready for it. If we want more understanding, if we want to see the
glories that God has prepared for us, we need to come to His breast–
several times a day– and ask for His precious milk. It is just
waiting there, sweet and nourishing, and He is yearning to take us in
His arms. We just have to ask for it.
And ask.
And ask.
And Ask.
Read the rest.
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Last week (or was it the week before?) we got a few days of glorious rain, which in this dry, dry, dry, hot Utah summer was such a blessing. Jon rode his bike home from the bus stop and was sopping wet by the time he got home. He opened the door, gave me a big wet kiss, and then asked if he could steal the kids for a little bit. He told them to get their swim suits on (Rose already had hers on because she wears it most days) and he had a mischievous grin on his face that made the kids so excited. I was in the process of making dinner and so they ran out in the rain with their dad. When I looked out the window this is what I saw.
We live on a hill and it is amazing the amount of water that comes roaring down our gutters when it rains. Jon and the kids played out there for about a half hour, thoroughly enjoying themselves. Some of the neighbors even came out to watch. It was one of those moments that just makes you so happy to be alive.
Life is sweet.
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My sister-in-law is getting married tomorrow!
I love weddings and seeing her and her fiance so in love makes my heart so happy. They just have so many wonderful years ahead of them. It is so funny to think that when I married Jon I thought I loved him but compared to how much I love him now, it seems like nothing. Marriage is hard work, but so wonderful. I am just so excited for them to discover that.
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Can I just brag for a moment?
Yes? No?
Okay, I am going to anyway.
Last summer I put Asher into swimming lessons for a few weeks and he loved it. It was a really great situation because the lessons were inside and then afterwards they would let you stay and swim in the outdoor pool. It worked great because then Rose could swim too. I wanted to put him in again this year but Rose doesn’t turn three until the end of the summer and none of the pools take kids for lessons until they turn three. I knew that she would just die if she had to go watch Asher swim everyday and she didn’t get to get in. I guess we could have done the mom and baby class but I had no idea how I could have pulled that off with her and Abe. Yikes!
So instead we have just been going up to Jon’s grandma’s swimming pool (she lives in a condo) a lot.
A whole lot… like almost every day.
We have turned into “pool rats” (which is what– when I was teaching swim lessons and life guarding– we affectionately called the kids who came to pool every day) and it is wonderful.
I have been so impressed with what great swimmers they are getting to be. We went swimming last night and Asher swam across the pool by himself. Granted it was mostly doggy paddling, but it was swimming! And Rose can jump in the pool and kick her way out to someone standing in the middle of the pool! I was so proud and really impressed, because Jon and I didn’t really teach them how to do it.
The only downside is that now that they know they can swim (sort of) they are almost too daring in the pool. Last night Rose wanted to come to where Asher and I were and she just jumped in the pool all by herself. Luckily Jon, who was putting Abe in his clothes, heard the splash and saw a little blonde head bobbing just below the water. He hurried and pulled her up and while she was a little dazed she was still smiling. We tried to drill it into her that she can only jump in when mom or dad is looking at her, and so hopefully she understands. I guess now the next step will be to teach her how to tread water so that we don’t have to worry too much about her.
But oh, they make my little swimming instructor heart proud!
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Abe is a crawling machine! He has got
his rhythm down and he has just taken off. I think the most repeated
phrase in our house (besides, “Stop that”!) is “Where’s Abe?” He is
really adventurous and sometimes he disappears so fast. The other day I
couldn’t find him and I found that he had backed himself all the way
under the couch, just his little head was sticking out.
 |
| The little crawling machine with his great-grandma |
It has also been amazing to me how
he seems to know which objects are the most dangerous and goes for those
first. I have been working on sewing my dress for my sister-in-laws
wedding and without fail Abe always seems to go for my box of pins and
my scissors! There can be 100 other baby toys lying around on the floor
but he will crawl all the way across the room and pick up the sharp
pointy objects.
Sometimes it is just amazing to me that kids survive their toddler years.
Have a wonderful weekend!
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Author: Heather Farrell
I am a scripture loving, book writing, baby snuggling, garden growing, faith-centered disciple, wife, mother, daughter, and sister.
I believe words have the power to change the future and heal the past.
Sounds like a great week!
I really, really love your analogy on nursing…reading that reminds me how much I have loved nursing my baby. It was so great seeing you and Genna and having a house full of babies!