Sunday, March 02, 2014

7x7 fail, but Soaking in the love

Well, I never got a post up yesterday, so I wasn't quite successful with the 7 posts in 7 days challenge. But I had a good excuse! I was recovering from our first major outing of Katie's baptism and dinner on Friday, which kept us out of the house from about 12:00noon until 8:00pm!

Resting with my baby girl in her sweet spot under my chin!


Then after resting most of the day yesterday, we had dinner with our good friends last night and celebrated a sweet 2yr old's birthday. The kids had a blast playing with their friends, and the moms and dads all had a great evening visiting. The amazing Cowgirl Cupcakes were a big hit, as was the curry made by our friend's sweet nanny from Sri Lanka. The kids were pretty much all smiles all evening!

They also enjoyed doing a little talent show :)


I am just soaking in these fun days and special memories. We considered heading back home with Steven today, but we have our rental cabin until Thursday and I felt like I needed a few more days.  I'd like to make my doctor visit this week and will hopefully be ready to drive home this weekend. I'm going to take advantage of the help from my parents and the meals being delivered by my old homeschool group.  I'm really not looking forward to a road trip with a newborn, or packing and cleaning things up here, but it's almost time. We've got to get home for Steven's t-ball and the girls' ballet and just normal life with Daddy. It will have been six weeks that the kids and I were gone! Back to real life we must go. We have to introduce the baby to her home!

Tommy gives her lots of kisses!

Everyone is asking how I'm doing physically, and my recovery is really going well. I've weaned off the heavy pain meds and just take Motrin as needed. I've handled outings the past three days (we went to downtown mass today), and am feeling more capable of doing things around the cabin and handling the boys. This evening I used my stretchy Moby-style wrap for the first time and Katie seems to love it just like the boys, so that will allow me to have my hands free and to do a little more with the kids and cabin. I am looking forward to some restful days this week and I want to take some time to pray about our plans for Lent as we approach Ash Wednesday. It always seems to sneak up on me, and I have a hard time figuring out a good commitment or sacrifice to make as we prepare for Easter. 

Oldest and youngest after mass today

Emotionally I'm doing much better than I was earlier this week. I think the baptism, the time with friends, and weaning off the pain meds helped me to feel a little more myself. Spending a week in bed is important after having a new baby and major surgery, but it's hard for a gal like me who is an extrovert and loves spending time with friends. Going back home next weekend will be a new challenge after this little "babycation" where we've been quite spoiled by our friends and family. But we have come to a point where there's now the hope of moving back here at some point in the coming years. So that hope will allow me to try to enjoy our remaining time in south Texas without feeling like I have to make it a permanent home. 

I am hoping that this week I'll continue to heal physically and emotionally from the delivery and that I'll be able to manage alright with all the kids. The boys have been especially challenging the past few weeks, so I think I'll need to make an extra effort to give them the attention and the discipline that they need. Although it's been a burden on our family, especially for Steven and for the pocketbook, I think this whole experience of moving out of town for the delivery has been a very healing experience for me. I have been able to slow down and enjoy things with the children, spend time with family and friends without the added stress of staying in their homes, and most of all I've been able to get through a pregnancy and delivery with confidence and hope. I think it has helped me to heal from the emotional trauma of my previous deliveries, and it has given me hope that maybe we will be able to welcome more children in the future if it be God's will. All thanks be to Him as His hand has surely been over it all, as everything came together in His perfect timing. 

And I must end with the beautiful and poignant verse,  Isaiah 49:15, from the First Reading at mass today: 

"Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you."


1 comment:

Steve Finnell said...
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