3 Generation Photo

Next month will be the one year anniversary of my mother's death (April 29). The idea came to me to make a 3 generation photo of my mother, my daughter and me. I found an old photo of my mother holding ~N~ as a baby. I copied the photo, cut out baby ~N~, and in his place inserted baby Clara. Then I cut myself out of another photo and put me next to my mother. I am quite pleased with how it turned out:




Whenever I see this picture, it feels like my mother left Heaven for a moment to come and snuggle with her little granddaughter, just like she would have done if she were still here. It is a treasure to me, and even though my mother can never hold Clara on this earth, it is a reminder that she loved me in just the way I love Clara.

Last night I dreamed of mother. She came to visit me and I took her to a friend's house where we had been invited for a meal. She was tired though and didn't feel like socializing much. I was wearing her leather jacket, the one Daddy gave me this Christmas. I don't remember much else. The feelings though, of being close to her again, of spending time together with her, are still fresh in my mind. I have had many dreams of her. Each time I wake up from the dream, so thankful to have been "with her." For it really feels like we were together and that she was alive again. Sometimes dreams are more than they seem.

Marla

"Little Miss" is having a nap.... so Mommy is blogging. Funny how I'm ready sometimes for her to take a long nap, but then when she does, I miss her and want her to wake up!!

Lately I have run across some interesting web sites. I'll share them with you.

One of them came up after searching for creative writing ideas I could use with my boys. They are finishing up their English workbooks this week and I thought we could use some writing practice, but I was lacking in the idea department. That's when the internet is a brilliant tool. Check out Pizzaz! Creative Writing and Storytelling Ideas. Here you can find ideas to get your kids started on poetry, fiction and other writing projects.

Another interesting site I came across this week has to do with breastfeeding activism. The site is called ProMoM Inc. - The Three Minute Activist. Here you can be updated on all the good and bad relating to breastfeeding, from praising the Discovery Health Channel for finally televising a birth show where the majority of the mothers and babies are shown nursing right after the birth, to emailing formula companies to help discourage them from giving out free formula samples to new moms in hospitals.

And just for fun, try this one: ACLU Pizza. A guy tries to place an order for a pizza delivery but finds out the pizza company knows more about him than they ever should!! Its an eye-opener for those of us who think the government is already way too intrusive in the lives of the American people. Let's hope it NEVER gets THIS BAD.

Changing gears now.... I have to mention that Clara found her thumb this week and is quite enamoured with it. I've always thought it was the cutest thing to see a baby suck its thumb, and I'm glad I've got one of them!! ~N~ was a thumb sucker, but ~D~ was not. I found a poem about thumb sucking when ~N~ was a baby. I've searched my house and the internet for it but I haven't been able to find it. The only line I can remember went something like this: "Twiddle dee, twiddle dum, I'm not going to stop sucking my thumb." I'd love to find that poem again!!!




If you smile as often as a baby does, you're bound to have a Happy Day!
Marla

We've had many moments like this. There isn't anything sweeter than a sleeping baby in your arms.....

A reading marathon and its results

During my daughter's nap times this week (and also while she nurses), I've been devouring the book "End of the Spear." I finished it about an hour ago with tears in my eyes, for two reasons:

1. it was an awe-inspiring true story that motivates me to live the Christian life with boldness and joy,

2. I was heartbroken for the loss of one of Steve's children, who tragically and unexpectedly dies.

I could also add that I was sad to finish the book. It is one of those books that you hope would never end, or at least there will be more books to follow that continue the story. I have not seen the movie that has recently come out, based on this book. I highly recommend that you read "End of the Spear," and if possible, to start the story from the very beginning with Elizabeth Elliot's book "Through Gates of Splendor," and then the follow-up to that one, "The Savage My Kinsman," also by Elliot.

This was the first book I've read since Clara was born. I didn't think I'd actually be able to finish a book with a new baby to take care of, but where there's a will, there's a way. After reading about what life is like in the jungle for the Waodani, I realize how very different our North American way of life is. I'm grateful that God saw fit to put me here and at this time period in history. I'm happy to have the modern conveniences of life, like dishwashers, computers, cars, and washing machines. But these things, which are supposed to help us live better lives, at the same time bring about stresses and problems of their own.

There's more I'd like to write but my baby is waking up!


Check out 101 Reasons to Breastfeed Your Baby