An Ahhhhhhh Moment...

I feel like I must be glowing from the inside out! My very first massage was a marvelous experience :-). A massage therapist from our church gifted me with a massage for myself and Jonathan. And Jackie, I have to say thank you from my head to my toes!

This was the perfect occasion for videos, and I set up the children to watch some great educational programs downstairs. Jackie brought in her mobile massage table with the donut shaped face pillow inserted at the end. First we massaged Jonathan with lotion, and then put him in the swing with some Baby Mozart playing on the stereo. Then I lay down on my tummy, put my face in the donut and settled down to the most relaxing hour of my life! Honey, can we spring for a massage every once in a while?

Preparing...
This weekend we are traveling back to Iowa to visit my family and our friends back home. I haven't seen my mother in over 2 years! We are staying at a hotel with a pool and the kids are so excited about the water slide which my friend tells me is soooooo fun :-).

We actually finished most of our cleaning this week (it's Thursday too - who says you can't change?). Tomorrow I just need to finish up the packing. How nice it will be to see everyone!

A Glimpse of Heaven

This may sound silly, but for me it was one of those moments you could just curl up inside of and stay awhile :-). I was reading this verse in my Bible:

"And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." -Genesis 9:16

And it occurred to me that everytime I am looking at a rainbow, my Heavenly Father is gazing at that same rainbow! That sense of togetherness with God, which sometimes eludes me, suddenly took form. I don't think I will ever look at a rainbow in quite the same way. :-)

Update

Almost 6 weeks old....
The baby is getting bigger! I keep telling everyone: "his diapers are tight :-)" Indeed his newborn swaddlers were definitely tight. Now we have him in size one. Last night he slept until 3am and then guzzled his milk so fast that he spit up all over me (a first!). Then he immediately wanted to nurse again :-). He is definitely showing signs of jaundice, which is unusual because I thought this was supposed to show up earlier on. It is quite disconcerting to find that the whites of your baby's eyes are tinged yellow. Frequent nursing is supposed to help. If only I can keep myself awake (big yawn!). One of these days I'm going to take control of my blog and make it cool like everyone elses. I'm sure there must be a yawning emoticon out there somewhere...

On a practical note....
We are finally getting back into our everchanging routines. I am trying out Candy's cleaning schedule, and so far I really like it :-). Today we clean the bathrooms and the kids do their own laundry - yay! We have been continuing to use the Robinson Curriculum and I have taken to having the kids do a math worksheet as part of their morning routine (before breakfast). David writes an essay everyday, and he is writing all about George Washington right now (from Josephine Pollards "Life of George Washington").

I am so excited! Today we are going to order blinds for our dining room and the kids bedrooms. :-) It has been a major problem in the dining room at mealtimes because of the glare of the setting sun in the evenings. And the kids rooms get soooo hot on summer afternoons, making naptimes difficult. I can't wait to put them up!

Hope

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." -Romans 15:13

This scripture has blessed my life, and been an anchor for my soul this past year. It's the only one that I know of that combines the essential ingredients of joy, peace, faith and hope. I have prayed it often for myself and others. Knowing that "hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost!" (Romans 5:5) Hope properly anchored, that is :-).

This morning I am

SO THANKFUL

for the Word of God! Lord, may it permeate my life today. Increase my faith I pray.