Miriam is 6 months old!

Our sweet baby is 6 months old! The days are long, but the years are short couldn't be any more true!

Miriam is ...
*teething! She is popping her first two teeth this week! She's definitely been more weepy and has wanted to be held more, but she is still a sweetheart.
*doing a good job growing in independence.  She is enjoying Baby Einstein quite a bit these days and easily sits through more than one episode at a time. She has also been doing a great job of hanging out on the floor in her bumbo seat through all my morning to do's.
*sticking out her tongue and making super cute and funny movements with her mouth all the time. Maybe connected to teething?
*watching her hands all the time. Her hands keep her occupied for short periods of time when she's hanging on her own and while she's being held.
*grasping objects and playing with toys some.
*sitting and bouncing in her saucer for decent chunks of time.
*starting more baby babbles that sound closer to talking than just baby noises.
*going through a big-time mama phase right now.  It can be exhausting with three other kiddos to care for too. But it feels wonderful to be the one she wants the most. 🥰

Miriam is also getting (at least some of) her first-year monthly updates during the age of the Coronavirus. It's really going well ... God is so gracious. But it has been rough. We don't get to go to church or family group on Sundays, storytime on Tuesdays, playdates on Wednesday, or Bible Study Fellowship on Fridays ... just to name a few things. Everything is virtual until President Trump lifts the quarantine. We are only supposed to visit the grocery store, drive-thrus, and places outdoors while practicing social distancing. It's been hard, for sure. But I am thankful for the grace and perspective and strength that God has been giving this mama and her family. 🤗 I guess the biggest perk of being a baby in this season of life is that Miriam doesn't even have a clue. She just gets held and loved on no matter what. 😘

FOTS: Faithfulness

I started some posts about the Fruit of the Spirit a few years back, and I never finished 'em. So I think I'm gonna slowly start writing about the Fruit of the Spirits (FOTS) again.

Here are my latest thoughts on faithfulness ...

It has always been the time to be faithful. But now ... in this season of the Coronavirus ... we have the opportunity to be faithful in the smallest possible ways.
Today, I can be faithful to
*load the dishwasher
*change a fourth poopy diaper
*handle yet another temper tantrum
*take my kids outside to play
*pray for that friend who needs encouragement
*get my workout done
*wipe up the huge water spill from Barbie's pool party
*skip dessert
*put the leftovers from dinner away
*sit with my shenaniganizin' daughter for a few extra minutes at bedtime even though I'm dead tired
*never give up doing my very best (and letting that be enough).

I can be faithful in these small things by allowing the Holy Spirit to transform my attitude. I can ask God to help me see each and every task as a way to serve my loved ones, and ultimately, Him.
Please, God. Teach and empower me to be faithful ... one day at a time. 🙌

Miriam is 5 months old!

This gorgeous babe is 5 months old! Precious. Beautiful. Laid back. Full of smiles. Miriam is the best! ❤

What has she been up to?
- Rolling from back to belly
- Watching her hands, playing with dangling toys in front of her face, and sucking on her fingers
- Drooling like crazy
- Smiles and engages with her surroundings and facial expressions more than last month
- Watching a bit of Baby Einstein
- Watching her siblings and laughing at their shenanigans
- Sleeping through the night maybe 75% of the time

So in love with our babe #4 ❤

Daddy is one class away from having his bachelor's degree in business management in the medical field. Mommy is learning to thrive and not just survive this crazy life with 4 kids under 5. And we're hoping to be in our own house by the end of 2020. God is faithful and gracious, and we are excited to see where He leads. 🤗

Miriam's 3 and 4 month posts

Well, I have a feeling a lot of Miriam's posts are gonna be late. Sorry, baby girl. I really am trying to do my best. Life is just a bit cray cray with you four kiddos around. And I am loving it!!!

So at four months, Miriam is ....

*still the sweetest, little personality

*starting to become fairly needy 😱 ... she wants to be held a lot more; she has already started wanting only me when I'm in the room, sometimes, not even letting her grandparents hold her without crying; she still gives me some independent time in her pack n play, frog seat, and on the changing table, but she doesn't last nearly as long as she did about a month ago.

*studying her hands a lot

*becoming pretty vocal with her baby babbles and coos ❤

*full of smiles and laughs when her siblings come to say hi, make funny faces, or give her a hug

*wearing 6-month clothes and 6-9/9-month sleepers, and she drinks 6-7 ounces of formula every 2-3 hours

*really getting good at sleeping through the night (9:30-ish to 7:30-ish many nights of the week) 🤗

Miriam really is the sweetest!

One of my favorite things about her is any time I put her down on the changing table or sit her somewhere to face me, she just grins and grins at me. It makes my life knowing I have her love ❤

I haven't been sharing what mama's been up to for several posts because I feel like a miracle has happened when I actually get a blog post written! Ha!

But lately, and for the past year, I have really been growing in my faith, and more specifically, my prayer life. I've practiced to the point that I almost always turn to the Lord first in my circumstances instead of worrying or condemning myself. And when there is a need, I lift it to the Lord right away. Or if I need wisdom, I ask God for it. It may sound simple, but these habits have been life-changing. I am so thankful for the power of the Holy Spirit in my life.

Miriam's birth story

Our beautiful baby #4 was born on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 ... 6 days AFTER her due date. 🤯

I never would have dreamed that my fourth baby would be late. My body was so uncomfortable; I thought she'd go early, for sure! But just like all of our babies, Miriam needed her own birth story. 😉

I don't really have Braxton Hicks contractions in my pregnancies. When my contractions start, it's go time! So when I started having some super mild contractions a week-and-a-half before Miriam's due date, I thought that was the beginning of the end. ... It wasn't. And I basically had no other signs of labor. My due date came and went. I called to schedule my induction the day after my due date because I was fairly miserable at the end of Miriam's pregnancy. My body was worn out! For good reason ... 4 babies in five years and Miriam literally right after Elisha! And it's good I scheduled my induction because the earliest they could get me in was Wednesday, 6 days after my due date. We arrived at the hospital a little before 4am that Wednesday morning. I started the pitocin by 5am. I thought for sure Miriam would come quickly. Again, she had her own plans. I got my epidural early, and I was given pitocin for about 8 hours before she decided to come. I hit 6cm, and my epidural started to wear off. I asked for more epidural meds, and then grabbed Darrell's hand and cried and breathed through the pain. Thankfully, my anesthesiologist gave me more medicine just in time. By the time my doctor arrived, baby and I were ready! 5 minutes of pushing, and our beautiful girl was out! Thank you, Jesus!

Miriam has added so much joy and so many lessons learning to our lives. I am learning so much about dependence on the Lord and walking in freedom in this season of my life. God is so gracious, and I am so thankful for our Miriam Joy. ❤

Haddie is 4-and-a-half!

Wow! My Haddie girl is so grown up!

Haddie is our super strong-willed, tender-hearted, artistic, intelligent, and beautiful 4-and-a-half year old! She is my most difficult child these days, and she pushes me to the edge of my patience (and sometimes, sanity) more than anyone or anything in my life this far. But wow, I am thankful for her! Her little life has taught me so much about grace and dependence on the Lord and my own depravity. She also has the sweetest, tender heart. She's gonna be a world-changer when she meets Jesus! I'm confident her strong will is gonna make her a leader instead of a follower, and I'm praying her tender heart will make her a servant to everyone she meets.
Haddie really enjoys coloring, drawing, stenciling, doing crafts and schoolwork, giving gifts and getting gifts, playing in tubs of rice/sand with ponies and other treasures, wearing dresses, painting her nails/putting on makeup, pretending: being a ballerina/fairy, puppet shows, dollhouses, etc., being in control, holding and loving on her baby sister, telling Bethel what to do, playing with Bethel, making Elisha laugh, Sunday School, and playing outside. Some of her favorite shows are Muppet Babies, Team Umizoomi, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Bluey, Frozen, and Hotel Transylvania.
Haddie has been extra into pretending lately ... wanting me to put on puppet shows and plays with her. She hates it when anyone leaves the house and insists (over and over again) that we wave at her in the kitchen window as we leave and often cries, and gets fairly frantic about the details of our departure. She is already talking about going to kindergarten next year ... she wants to ride the school bus, make new friends, and write in a notebook. Too cute! 😁
Our girlie sure does wear us out, but wow, we love her! She is the coolest!

Bethel is 3 years old!

Our gorgeous, silly, stubborn, sweet, moody, wonderful Bethel girl is finally three!

This girlie is the most articulate, melancholy 3-year-old I've ever known. She is amazing! She is incredibly weepy at times but also super silly. You can often catch her singing gibberish to the toon of worship songs while she puts a puzzle together or colors a picture. She enjoys reading books with anyone in the house who will read to her. She likes puzzles, coloring with markers, wooden stamps, play-doh, kinetic sand, ponies, and playing outside. Her favorite shows are Muppet Babies, Little Einsteins, Team Umizoomi, Blaze and the Monster Machines, and Peppa Pig. Bethel is good at sharing, has a great imagination, loves being silly and playing just about anything with Haddie, enjoys crawling around and playing chase with Elisha, and is particular about hugs and kisses ... she gives them out only on her own terms. Some of her favorite foods are meat-cheese-and-crackers lunchables, cheeseburger happy meals from McDonald's, smoked sausage, applesauce (all kinds of flavors), spaghetti, and cheese pizza.
She is beautiful and hilarious, and I am so thankful she is my daughter. ❤

Miriam's 1 and 2-month posts

 

Isn't she gorgeous???
I am so in love with our beautiful Miriam Joy 😍
She is absolutely the sweetest baby. 🥰
I am, of course, behind with her posts because, like I said in Elisha's 1-year post - wow! - life with four kids under 5 is cray cray!! But wow, it's an adventure! And I truly love it.
So ... what is Miriam up to these days?
She smiles a lot ... which is so precious!
She is getting better at occupying herself, which is incredibly helpful. So I just rotate her around the house throughout the day, and she's happy.
She's still up once or twice a night, but she's given us a few full-night sleeps.
She is the stinkiest kid we've had so far ... faking us out with farts everyday, and she cries every time she poops.
She eats every 2 hours when she's awake for it.
She has made all of us, especially Haddie, fall in love with her.
She is growing like a weed - 12 pounds 9 ounces at 7 weeks old and already wearing size 3-month clothes.
And she is so strong, lifts her head and can almost hold her head up completely by herself.

Elisha is one year old!

Wow, this post is beyond late, but life with four kids under 4-and-a-half is crazy, okay. 😉 Better late than never! I'm determined to post all the monthly posts in EACH of my babies' first year of life, but I never made it my goal to post them in a timely manner. 😉 #realisticmomgoals 😁👍🤗

So our little buddy turned a year old almost two months ago. Around that time, he had just started coasting along furniture, and to be honest, the rest of what I share is probably after he turned a year because I've already forgotten what he was doing right at a year. I blame that on having his Irish town four days before his first birthday. 😉
*Elisha became a big brother. 🥰
*He has literally explored the entire downstairs (everywhere he can get to, that is), so I think he's bored a lot of days. I try to help keep him occupied, but I'll admit that he's on his own to roam quite a bit because of my 4-under-4.
*He's still not walking, but he's getting close. He can stand on his own, and is close to being brave enough to let go of both of our hands to take a step.
*He still only has four teeth ... surely, the next ones will come in soon.
*He loves playing peekaboo in his high chair, giving me and his sisters hugs, pulling his sisters' hair, pushing the stools out of the way so that he can play with the vcr/dvd players, eating our food and will pretty much never take baby food anymore, being held, crawling all over me when I sit on the floor with him ...
*Elisha is the sweetest boy, and I'm curious to see how much of his stubbornness will stick with him as he gets older.
I'm so thankful to have a boy ❤

Elisha is 11 months old!

Oh, Elisha dude! You are one, crazy guy! You are such a silly, happy, stubborn baby, and I am so thankful for you.

Elisha's been keeping us on our toes lately with all his 11-month-old shenanigans. But it has been fun (almost all the time). 😉
He's pulling himself up on to furniture and our legs when we're sitting down. I'm sure he'll be coasting along that furniture within the next week or two. We've also had to put the gate up because he started climbing the stairs a couple weeks ago. He is incredibly loud and bubbly. He loves to laugh. He's starting to do a little peek-a-boo of his own ... I've only seen him cover an eye or two during meal time in his high chair. He likes to start squealing halfway through most of his meals, which is pretty hilarious but makes meal time twice as long. He popped another tooth in the past week or so, and so he's backing off on his baby food again. He does still like crackers and applesauce though ... those are probably his favorite foods at the moment. He is mighty stubborn for naps and bedtimes still ... so sorry, dude, but you'll be continuing to tough it out on your own more and more as your little sister arrives. And he's trying to rip off our faces and rip out our hair with his violent hugs and kisses, but it is worth it! So adorable!

Elisha is the sweetest and the happiest! I'm so thankful for our baby boy! It's crazy to think that his little sister will be here by the time I share his 1-year post! We're so close!

Mama is so excited (and a little nervous) to plan Elisha's first birthday party, meet Miriam, and grow as a mama as she juggles FOUR kiddos in the coming months.
I've been thinking about this season of life lately.....thinking about how much I truly love it, about how HARD it is, about how incredibly blessed we are, about how much I'm growing as a person and a Christian, and about how HARD it is. Yes, it is doubly hard right now. 😉 But oh, the joys of spiritual growth! I wouldn't trade that for all the world! I am more exhausted than I've ever been, getting pretty stinkin' uncomfortable with this pregnancy, and overwhelmed with all the time with my kids and the busyness of our lives .... but I am so excited to meet and love our little Miriam Joy, grow as a wife and a mama, start up the motherhood ministry at Calvary, cheer on my hubby while he finishes his degree, and embrace new mercies for each day. Life is just too good to stay bogged down for too long. I'm gonna do more than just hang in there with this next big transition with MJ. I'm expecting to thrive ... a little at a time, day by day ... and pick myself up, ask for help - daggonit! - and snatch up all the grace I can find. Through constant practice, not by being perfect. #thankyoujesus 😁

Radiant with Joy

Radiant with joy.
Doesn't that sound amazing? I mean to truly live that way ... to be so full of joy that others just SEE it in you, on you, and all around you ... wow. I want that kind of joy.

God gave me a verse a few weeks ago, and it has been sticking with me ... coming to mind and teaching me a little bit more about this lesson concerning dependence on God.
I have struggled with depending on God for so many years. I want to embrace the Truth that God is made perfect in my weakness, but I really hate being weak, especially, if I've been working at that weak area for a long time. But ya know? That is pride. ... Dangit. Another struggle to work through. 😉 But to embrace this Truth that depending on the Lord is ok, even good, is tough! But I'm learning that I can find JOY in my need for God because my need for Him is His purpose for me. So instead of feeling guilty and condemning myself over every little mistake, I need to dust myself off, take a deep breath, and whisper, "let's try this again, Jesus." And then remind myself that becoming more like Jesus is a process, and that's perfect!
God gave me Psalm 34:5, which says, "Those who look to the Lord for help will be radiant with joy. No shadow of shame will darken their faces." This promise is beautiful for this season of my life because joy can be so easy to find as a mama, and yet, so hard at times too. If I want to radiate joy, I need to ask God for His help instead of relying on my own strength. And my joy will grow as I remember that I don't need to feel shame when I sin because Jesus has already taken that mistake and covered it clean with His precious blood. ... Wow. Jesus, help these Truths soak in! I don't want to live in condemnation any longer. I want my joy to be full, complete, and radiant. Thank you, Jesus, for your power in my life through your word.

And thank you, Lord, for our beautiful baby number four whose middle name will always remind me of your promise of joy to me. Can't wait to add her to these beautiful babes of mine!
Miriam Joy Thompson
9/12/19

Elisha is 10 months old!

My sweet boy ❤
I can't believe he is 10 months old already! He and his sisters have been keepin' me hoppin' these past 10 months .... it's hard to believe his little sister is only 7 weeks away from being born ... give or take a few days. 😉 I am so excited and overwhelmed. It's gonna be crazy and amazing! ❤

Well, this boy has been a busy, little guy this past month. He is crawling everywhere and getting into anything he can get his hands on. He is starting to reach for things on low tables ... I'll probably be sharing that he's pulling up on those tables in next month's post! He has popped his second tooth through, and we're confident he's working on more. He's still a stubborn napper during the day, but he is starting to have some quiet time in his crib and being put to bed without being rocked to sleep. He's experimenting with more solid foods like noodles and pancakes and eggs. He really likes toys that make noise and chasing after balls. He's giving hugs and kisses. ❤ I know I always miss a few things, but those are the highlights.

Mama is getting more exhausted by the day .... but also more excited. I can't believe it, but I'm actually looking forward to Miriam's birth (usually, that's the scary part!)! The time in the hospital can be so precious ... other than sleeping on the hospital bed. 😉 I've also been making plans for homeschooling Haddie for preschool this school year and starting up a motherhood ministry at our church this fall. I'm reading parenting books, watching through the first five seasons of When Calls the Heart for the third time, and continually striving to not only keep my sanity but cherish the moments. Yep, I'm keeping busy! 😉
I truly love being a stay-at-home mom, and I wouldn't trade it for anything ... even on days like today when my children are doing everything in their power to keep any of us from having a quiet time. 🤯 I love you, my sweet children!