Eating breakfast: (right to left) Me, Lou, Mom, Jenna, Dad
John with our friend Mike Gougeon
Me with Corina holding John
Lou with Jenna holding John
John with our friend Richard Meyers
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Caption Contest!!
Here is John with Fr. Maurer and his priest friends. Write a comment to tell us what you think the caption should be for this picture. We will post the winner on Sunday!
(Here's mine: "Can you tell what vocation his parents are rooting for?")
Fr. Maurer
A few weekends ago, Fr. Maurer was ordained. I have know Fr. Maurer (Jacob) for... hmm... about eleven years! He used to go to St. Olaf church, which is the church I grew up attending. I remember when he moved to Washington (from Hawaii), and started going to youth group with me.
I am proud to be able to say that I have known him for so long! In recent years, as I have placed a greater importance on my own faith, I have noticed a great sense of orthodoxy in Jacob. I can tell that he loves the Church and all her teachings. I know that he will be faithful in passing on the truth to all his future parishioners. How beautiful!
Here are a few pictures from Fr. Maurer's reception:
Here we are receiving a beautiful blessing from Fr. Maurer. I forgot to tell John that he is supposed to close his eyes for a blessing... oops!
Here we are with Fr. Maurer
A Conversation with John
Yes, as I mentioned in my "quick takes," John is starting to talk. Prepare to be amazed:
Friday, June 26, 2009
Sigh... (in a good way)
Tomorrow we are going to the annual St.Hilaire family reunion. It will be in Moxee, Washington. I was just looking at the weather predictions for tomorrow and I noticed something:
I love being a mother and wife.
Sorry to get sappy on ya! I know I have said this before, but I noticed it physically just now. As I was thinking about the plans for tomorrow, I felt a physical fluttering feeling in my heart (maybe I should go to the doctor!!). I am so happy and content in my vocation. I feel a real sense of purpose in everything I do each day. Perhaps the novelty will wear off, but I sure hope it doesn't.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
7 Quick Takes ~ Vol.1
I have decided to participate in something called "7 Quick Takes." My friend Kristine does this and I always enjoy reading her thoughts. The idea is to list seven thoughts that are too short for their own post but more significant than a status update on Facebook or Twitter (although I don't use Twitter anyway). I think this will be helpful to sum up events each week and hold me accountable to posting at least once a week. Enjoy!
1. My parents own an old firestation that is divided into three seperate living spaces. We will be moving into one of them in nine days. We have been really busy making improvements to the apartment. We will be getting new carpet and some laminent, Andrew is putting a new coat of paint on most of the walls, I have been lining the drawers in the kitchen, and I will be attempting to re-grout the tile on the kitchen counters. There is so much to do and we are running out of time!
2. John is starting to talk. And by "talk" I mean saying things like "Gaa!" in response to a question. We are very proud of him! We will try to document this on a video to share with you!
3. On Wednesday night, I read a book to John and he fell asleep. I put him in his cosleeper and he stayed asleep. This is very unusual because he normally goes to bed with us and he sleeps in our bed. So this was the first time that I felt like I "put my son to bed" - a milestone for me! =)
4. I have been researching cloth diapering. We have decided to give it a go! Since the down side is the large cost up front, we decided to do cloth and disposable for a while. Each month, we will buy a few cloth diapers. Eventually we will ween ourselves off the disposable diapers. For those of you who are also considering cloth diapering, I found this blog to be very helpful (thanks Carrie for telling me about it!). I have also started using cloth diaper wipes. They are working great so far! I found a recipe for diaper wipe solution online. You just spray this solution on the cloth wipe and use it like the disposable wipes. I acutally found that I only need to use one cloth wipe; whereas I was using 2 or 3 disposable wipes for each diaper change.
5. We went to Bellingham last weekend and Andrew's parents threw us an "Open House" for John. It was really great to see all of our Bellingham friends! We miss you all!
6. We have been taking John to our Holy Hour on Wednesday nights. He normally just sleeps the whole time, but this week he was very alert. I watched him as he stared intently at the stained glass windows. I wondered what he was thinking. His gaze caught my interest and I noticed myself looking in awe at the beautiful windows too. I love how John helps me to see the world with "new eyes."
7. Andrew celebrated his first Father's Day last Sunday. It has been really neat to watch Andrew be a father to John. I knew he would be a great dad - that's one of the reasons I married him! John knows Andrew is a great dad too. When He comes home from work, John will just stare at him and often smile. I am impressed at the interaction they have together. Here is a picture of them together on Father's Day:
Love you Daddy!
Pictures!!!
Sorry for the absence of pictures and posts lately. I never understood why all my friends with kids did not blog consistently... until now. We have been taking pictures like crazy, but never have any time to do anything with them!
So here are some pictures that have been taken over the last month. We will post more soon!
Our happy baby!
I love my sling. Thanks Great-Grandma Launceford!
John and Clare Herring - already getting acquainted! She is practicing for the arrival of her baby brother in a couple of months! =)
I think this was his first bath...
Friday, June 12, 2009
The best job...
Today I went to the grocery store to get some more milk. I had John in a wrap that some friends got for us. I have not used it too much because John and I both get pretty hot in it. However, it is very convenient when I need both my hands free. I also don't like carrying John around in his car seat - that can get really heavy.
On our way back from the store we passed by some people who were smoking. Once I was beyond them, one of the men (in his 20s) said "I would never wear that thing... it looks like she is pregnant again." It is always awkward when you hear someone talking about you and they think you can't hear. In my head, I turned around and said "If you are going to be negative, please wait until I can't hear you." But the real Lindsey is way too timid to say that to a stranger. The "in my head" Lindsey is so bold sometimes!!
This negative comment made me think about how motherhood is so unappreciated. First of all, I wouldn't mind being pregnant again, so his "negative" comment was not really that negative. I think every aspect of motherhood is beautiful, albeit challenging at times. For example, it is a good day for me when I even get dressed and out of the house! When you have a baby, doing anything takes at least twice as much time. Using the wrap probably saved me 15-20 minutes! And we all know how precious time is.
I am reading a book right now called How to Change Your Husband. The title is effectively deceiving, because the book is all about how to be a better wife. This book has been an amazing read. I have learned so much about my vocation as wife and mother. One of the points the author makes is that staying at home to raise your children is the best gift a mother can give to her children, husband, and herself.
In our culture, staying at home to raise children is frowned upon -at best. Andrew and I hope that I will be able to stay at home with our children. God has really pointed us in this direction and given us much support to make it happen. However, I know it will be difficult and I will be faced with disparaging comments such as the one above.
More wisdom from the book How to Change Your Husband:
"Those wives who [stay at home to raise their children and keep their home] will be martyrs because it will be difficult to do that all society is not doing. It will be like swimming against the tide, but happiness and fulfillment awaits the mother who tries and makes it to her island, her home."
The comment I heard today puts a pit in my stomach. But I know being a mother is and will be wonderful. I just pray that man will open his heart towards parenting and... wearing your baby in a wrap! (Babies like it!)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
I've been tagged! Here are My Eight
Tagged by Kristine
- Being moved... At the beginning of July we will be moving into an apartment in my parents house (decommissioned fire station) I am excited for the move to be over with. I just don't like moving!
- John's baptism... still don't know when that will be.
- Having a larger kitchen (the kitchen is a lot bigger in our new apartment)
- Going to bed tonight
- Owning our own house
- Spending the rest of my life with my best friend Andrew
- Having more children (God willing)
- Seeing old friends
- Went to Michael and Krystal's wedding - Congratulations you two!
- Slow danced with my son at the wedding reception =)
- Went to a birthday of my friend's son
- Saw my brother
- Missed my nap =(
- Nursed John (a lot)
- Finished watching the movie "Curious Case of Benjamin Button" with Andrew
- Changed diapers (chicken and baby)
8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
- Go visit Italy again
- Sleep less without being tired
- Find a magical way to keep the house clean without all the work
- Play the guitar more and be better
- Laugh at things that are funny (sometimes, I think things are funny but I don't laugh out loud. I don't know why)
- Go on vacation with the two men in my life... maybe camping?
- Sing in front of Andrew (I'm shy)
- Go to Heaven
8 Shows I Watch: - we don't have a TV, so I don't watch much...
- CSI
- What Not to Wear
- Heroes
- Lost (used to)
- ----
- ----
- ----
- ----
Congratulations Jon and Katelyn!
On June 7th at 2:14 am
Oliver James Ralston was born!
He weighed 7 lbs 13 oz and was 20 inches long.
I received this picture and information on my phone this morning. For those of you who don't know, Katelyn was one of my bridesmaids in our wedding and she has been my good friend since high school. Shortly after we found out that we were pregnant with John, Katelyn contacted me and told me the great news about her pregnancy. Then a few months later, we both found out that our babies were boys! Katelyn was really supportive for me when John was overdue. As it turns out, Oliver was overdue also! So our sons already have something in common!
This morning I told John that his friend Oliver had been born while we were sleeping. He smiled =D but I think that was just a coincidence.
Jon and Katelyn, we are so happy for you! He looks beautiful! Oliver, we can't wait to meet you!
Love,
Lindsey, Andrew, and John
Thursday, June 4, 2009
20 days old!
This is what John looks like after he has had a good meal =D
Well, today is John's 20th day out of the womb! I can't believe it has already been 20 days - crazy! All these days seem like one big blur of dirty diapers, breastfeeding, and not sleeping (for me - John does plenty of sleeping). I have been trying to nap everyday, and that has been going well. It just makes the day go by faster though, and I don't feel productive when I nap. But I know it is good for me, so I do it!
John is such a good baby! He has been a little grumpy lately because of the hot weather (I think). He hardly ever cries and his temperament is very laid back. For those of you who have not met him yet, I can't wait to share him with you!!
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