A Gracious Place

Sunday, April 29, 2007

He Remembers


He Remembers
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.
This is Dan’s rose. Yes, I received it as a birthday gift a couple years ago, but Dan has saved it from the trash several times, so he has adopted it. It is one of those little rose bushes that is a potted plant, but “everyone” knows you treat these things more like flowers in a vase and as soon as the little plant starts to go down hill you toss it.

Dan gets attached to plants and doesn’t give up on them as quickly as I do. I am thankful he doesn’t, because this little rose bush has become very special to us. It is a reminder in our home that the Lord sees our plight and that He cares. Just when you feel as though you can’t go on, just when you feel as though there may be no hope, just when the rose bush is brown sticks with just one green leaf left…He reminds us that He cares.

You see the last time this rose bush bloomed was right before we found out I was pregnant. It was our darkest hour. Now, as we hold a little one in our arms and endure the last leg of this marathon called seminary, as Dan keeps running even though he can’t feel his legs beneath him; the rose bush blooms and we remember that our Heavenly Father sees our plight.

Today in Sunday school we read in Isaiah about the Assyrians who were sent as a judgment upon Israel to destroy them because of their unfaithfulness. But the Lord saw their plight and gave them hope in their darkest hour. He promised He would preserve a remnant and that “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse: from his roots a Branch will bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1) So though the vine of Israel looked trampled on, destroyed, brown and dried up…He sent Isaiah with a message of hope.

The True Vine lives that we might have life. The Father saw our plight and made provision. So today as I look at the rose bush and am reminded of His physical provision, I see beyond that to the hope He gives in His Provision which is eternal.

“In that day you will say:

I will praise you O Lord.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away an you have comforted me.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

In that day you will say:

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done, proclaim that his name is exalted.
Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”
~ Isaiah 12

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Lounging with Lucy


Andie 5 wks 4
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Blue Eyes


Andie's Smirk
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.
Andie's eyes are looking more and more blue. I think they may stay that way. At first they looked really dark and I thought they were going to be brown. This look is what I call her "smirk".

Girl Time


Girl Time
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

A Birthday Wish from Mom & Dad


Danny
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.
"Happy Birthday, Dan!"

Happy Birthday Dan!

It's 2:45am and has been Dan's Birthday for several hours now. Andie and I got up early to "celebrate";o) We were just thinking about how much we love you and how thankful we are to have you in our lives. You have just a four more weeks until graduation and we are so proud of you. YOU CAN DO IT! And once again, we will look back on God's faithfulness which got you through weeks of too much to do and not enough time to do it.

Happy Birthday, Honey!

Celebrating and Cheering!
Your biggest fans-
your girls

Now time to go decorate and wrap your presents. We are having a blast!

Friday, April 13, 2007

Miracle Blanket


Miracle Blanket
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.
Here is Andie with her new “Miracle Blanket”. After it came in the mail it dawned on me that I actually bought something on the INTERNET with MIRACLE in the title. If that doesn’t scream gimic I don’t know what does?! However, as you can see it’s working great already and we haven’t even wrapped her in it;o) As shady as the name sounds I can appreciate it because it corresponds with Miranda Claire’s special code name…Miracle:o) And that she is!

In other news…
I think we have a GIANT on our hands. I was growing a little suspicious (no pun intended) noticing that her clothes were getting snug- maybe they just shrunk? That’s always our excuse right;o) So I got out the measuring tape, stretched her out, and measured her. She grew a whole inch in two weeks!!! Myself having not grown in nearly 10 years this just doesn’t seem right. At this rate, by the time she is 2 yrs old she will be 6 ft tall!

Miranda hasn’t smiled a real smile yet. I thought she did the other day as I was telling her “I love you, Miranda.” What better time to smile? She gave a big smile and then an equally big burp and I had to chalk that one up to gas. This morning as I tried to get her to smile I got more of a smirk-like “I know something you don’t know and I am way to cool to smile at you mom.”

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Andie's Bloomers


Andie's Bloomers
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.
I have been wanting to take photos of Andie like these before she gave up her newborn status, but there hasn't been a good time. She turned one month yesterday, so I got zealous today. A "good time" turned out to be right when Dan got home from school (exhausted and hungry). There are still a few more to take though...because we didn't get one with her favorite stuffed dog Lucy Jalebe aka Growth Chart. (She got these adorable bloomers from her Auntie Paula).

Mommy's Arms


Mommy's Arms
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Personal Training Begins


Snuggles with Mommy
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.
Baby girl and Dan are sleeping and I decided to stay up until her 11:00 feeding and take advantage of the computer since Dan needs it a lot these days for all the papers/projects. He only has three more weeks to get all of his stuff for the semester completed. We are down to one car now. Our other one has serious engine problems and has been laid to rest. It will be a bit of an adjustment for us getting used to sharing a car.

Well, today was our first day all by ourselves. Dan's parents left yesterday afternoon and Dan went off to the library to study all day today, so Andie and I had our first day of "personal training" as my NZ friend calls being a stay-at-home mom. It was off to a great start because our four week old baby girl SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT for the first time last night. I fed her at 10:00, laid her down at 11:00 and didn't hear a peep until 5 am. I couldn't believe it when I looked at the clock. I would have been pleased to see 3 am. We will see how she does tonight. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a pattern. We really couldn't ask for a better baby. The Lord has answered our prayer. We were a bit fearful because we knew the end of the semester would be a difficult time and had NO idea what parenting would be like!

She goes 3 hours between feeding during the day. This is how every three hours go- I feed her, change her, have a little play time, and put her down for a nap- and repeat. I am following suggestions in a book called BabyWise. It seems to be going well so far. It is at least helping Dan and I because we feel like I know what she needs, it gives me confidence. I know that if she just ate she won't be hungry for at least another 2 1/2 hours and if she has been awake for an hour or more she is probably ready for a nap and if she fusses besides that her diaper is dirty...again:o) We also watched a DVD called "The Happiest Baby on the Block" about how to calm a fussy baby. We have become swaddling machines. I even ordered a special swaddling blanket, called The Miracle Blanket, online because soon her receiving blankets will be too small to swaddle her in. I started a list of things to do, and today checked off just ONE...As an avid list maker, I told Dan that I am just going to have to consider taking care of Andie a HUGE accomplishment each day or I will feel like I have accomplished nothing. The one thing I did do was get out and run a couple errands. I kept the first outing pretty simple and it wasn't as memorable as I thought it might be...she slept through the whole thing. It was really the same as usually, just that I had to lug an awkward carseat around with me.

Dan and I went on a walk after dinner and we were talking about how funny it is that everything the baby does seems to end in "time"- playtime, naptime, bathtime, diaper changing time, bedtime etc. And how funny it would be if we referred to everything we did the same way...worktime, grocery shopping time, getting dressed time...:o) Anyway...random thought for the day.

I wish I had picture to post of Andie's "torpedo" poop yesterday. I was changing her on the floor and it went EVERYWHERE- on the dirty diaper, the clean diaper, her blanket, my pants, my sock, the floor, my hand... I wanted to get a pic, but the camera wasn't ready and we were, understandably, a little anxious to get it cleaned up. Dan thought I saw a snake (his worst nightmare) the way I screamed. After the initial scream, I laughed through the whole thing. Unforgettable:o)

Sunday, April 08, 2007

He Is Risen!

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.
In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?
He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:
‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”
Then they remembered his words.

Friday, April 06, 2007

Cozy wompus


Cozy wompus
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.
She situated her arms under her head like this all by herself.

Tummy Time


Bottoms Up 2
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.
Andie endures about 5 minutes of tummy time each day before she starts complaining, but today she found it to be especially enjoyable. She slept like this for an hour and a half!

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Meeting Papa & Nana Blosser


Meeting Miss Miranda
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.
Papa and Nana Blosser arrived yesterday to meet their little granddaughter. Miranda’s getting lots of attention¬–hugs and kisses…and lots of presents from friends back in Indiana! We had an awesome day together, and we’re looking forward to fun times the rest of the week. Click on the picture to see more pictures of these proud grandparents and Lil’ Miss Miranda.