I do not know why this one picture makes me so happy. Christina took it. I’ve never done months or even year pictures – I tend to choose the favorites sent to me by my kiddos since Christina was 10 & other family who are better at picture taking.
Picture of a Baby
September 19, 2023
I do not know why this one picture makes me so happy. Christina took it. A friend gave us a blanket with months on it for Laud. I’ve never done months or even year pictures – I tend to choose the favorites sent to me by my kiddos since Christina was 10 & other family who are better at picture taking. It is not my forte. (Also, I always forget)
Once Louis gave Becky the “picture phone” (in 2012 that’s all it really did was take pictures) and she discovered her love of photography. I also heard my father say, “I was never really there, I have the pictures and videos for your mom so I can relive it” a few times. I know he loves that he left us a legacy of thousands of hours of family videos and so many pictures it literally takes weeks to watch them all – all digitized too. But I wanted to be there. I wanted to be in the moment. I guess I’ve grown some, now I understand the “need” for having time stamped pictures. I still don’t take them much.
Christina fell in love with her baby brother – I knew they all would once he was born. They tote him around and play with him, change him and burp him, and argue over who gets him. Christina was more excited than I was over the blanket. She said, “and we put Pooka (Laud’s stuffy) here. Mom you have to keep that stuffy for all twelve pictures, it’s the marker.”
Yes, I will keep Laud’s special stuffy from Grandma so that you can mark the months – but Laud likes his giraffe from Mrs. Heather better. (My kiddos call the giraffe “Bestie” – well, one of the team sisters who rides the afterschool van I drive calls him “Bestie-Billy-Bob-Jo.”)
When I look at this picture I’m overloaded with emotion. Laud is still (barely, but still) wearing the girls’ favorite of his preemie outfits from Mrs. Hannah. He’s my smallest miracle! He was just over seven pounds at the time of the picture. He’s only just in newborn and 0-3 month clothes at 6 weeks! All of them are such little miracles! I’ve been so blessed to enjoy 8 of them! I have amazing friends who have blessed us with clothes, diapers, food, love, conversation, and so many things! My baby looking so peaceful and tiny on his blanket reminds me of all the blessings we have in our life. I’m so thankful for everything God has given us – especially for friends!
I’m sitting at the desk at gym, taking payments and checking liability waivers for our open gym one Friday at noon (every Friday noon to 1pm is Open Gym – basically, allow your kiddos to expend all their energy just before naptime!). She pulls up into the handicapped parking space. I smile.
This woman is such an amazing encourager to me! She has overcome more physical and medical challenges in her life than I could ever understand. She has five little ones all five or younger and normally is accompanied by at least one nephew in the same general range. She is such a blanket of calm mothering in a sea of chaos – and her smile! Such joy! She chooses joy!
I call her the “Chaos of Joy Mother” because you’d think her life with five littles zero to five years old would be chaos. (I see some of her posts on Facebook and yes, it’s laughable, amazing, lovable chaos!) Add in farm animals, countless stunt-double-training apparatuses in their kid-ninja-warrior yard, kids turning the house into ninja training course, and homeschooling… I love her beautiful chaos! She’s the type of calm mother I hope I am. Minus the goat and stretching births out a bit, one of my girls pointed out that there were some family tales we turned into “The Funny Sisters” stories that are probably relatable.
She encourages me by her love of life! She is always doing something new or allowing her daughter to try something new. They grow in love, life, and faith by expounding on the adventures life hands them. This is such an encouragement to me. I pray for them and thank God that I see her. She probably doesn’t see herself as an encourager, but she totally is by the joy she shares!
Sometimes chaos is where you find your joy. I know some of the craziest moments in my life are where I felt I couldn’t do anything else BUT find joy in Jesus and look up.
While I’m driving to my first school on our afterschool pickup route, I happen to hear “Season, a Joy Bringer” and I smile at her anecdotes. She is always focusing on how to share joy. I feel the Chaos of Joy Mother is always sharing something she finds joyful with us – some see it as joy (like me) and some as craziness (are you kidding, you did/allowed what?!). In our journey of life, I am super thankful for those who encourage me. I pray I am an encouragement to others.
I’m super thankful for the Chaos of Joy Mother because she and her little angels always make me smile with their love, wildness, and crazy adventures!
I’m looking at the man cross the coffee table as I talk. I knew even though he said it was okay to bring my baby (at this point, I’m 8 months pregnant) to work with me, there would come a time when my baby would be better off with Daddy and her siblings than at my office with three doggies, a kitty, and office phones.
Almost seven months later, I’m
answering Louis’ call while at work and we are discussing Christina and Becky’s
schedule for the night while Thea, hearing Daddy’s voice, is yelling at the top
of her lungs. Louis says “She really doesn’t need to be in the office.”
We’d been discussing it, but I was
very reluctant. See, I can’t stand being
behind a desk… I want to be active, moving, teaching. Other adults don’t help. I hate being still. (Maybe
why I don’t listen to midwives or doctors saying “get bed rest” and instead I’m
riding to gym with my girls and Louis – yes! He drove! – when Thea is hours old
to watch their practice.) I wanted
Thea with me.
Kitty shows up & Thea is in her
play seat. Kitty has stayed away from
her the whole 3 months the kitten has been in the office. Kitty jumps up on the table of the play area
and Thea giggles, excitedly pets Kitty, and rubs her hand over her face and
head. Spots break out – a rash… my baby
is allergic to cats! Now I won’t jeopardize her health so from then on she
stays home.
I’m sure that was God saying, “quit
being stubborn! Listen to your husband.”
Leaving her home is the hardest
thing ever for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m
totally thankful for my job, I’m just sad that I can’t have my little love with
me.
I’m seriously living for the day when I can come into the office at 6am, even 5am, and leave at noon or 1pm. That is my working goal. I don’t care if that means less pay… I want to be home with my children. My loyalty instinct keeps me returning to work. I LOVE teaching. I LOVE coaching – and I get to take all my children! I feel that with the way the company wants to expand, I will be able to move to 5am to noon or 6am to noon one day soon. I’m praying that’s soon. I’ll even work from home on weekends or evenings if needed. I want to be home.
I think that’s an issue a lot of us women feel but are afraid to say. We just want to be home when they are home! We want to be around our teens so we can learn about these amazing young women. We want to counsel our preteens and research their deep questions alongside them. We want to guide and protect our elementary kiddos and watch our preschoolers, toddlers, and infants with wonder and awe as they grow and explore. We want to help mold their little characters as that is the reason God gave them to us. He knew we could mold them the way He wants. He gave them to us so we could be a part of their lives and our heart knows that. We desire to teach our children.
I feel a great empathy with those who can’t stay home or make their schedules work the way they want. I watch my single sister (who has an amazing daughter she pours everything into, by the way) struggle with the “failure” she feels for not being around as much as she wants to be. Girl. That is me too. I can’t stand being away. I wanted a job where I could keep my children with me. (Running a cab company, I was always home! Even gym coach, my kiddos are there with big sister or awesome ladies/young ladies or now, Grandma!)
God is teaching me patience. Also that I can’t be everywhere at once. He is also teaching me to look from all
angles.
Louis has been working 60 to 80+
hours at 2 or more jobs since Christina was born. He’s been so busy or sleeping between jobs
all their lives. Now, he has one job at
evening/night leaving as we are going to sleep.
He gets to cook amazing meals, homeschool them, and watch them
grow. He took Thea home one afternoon
instead of leaving her with my mom and Paige in the afterschool/babysitting
room at gym. He said he loved it. “I can
see why you miss taking her to work.” He said.
He loved “hanging out” with Thea for five hours by himself. She ate two jars of baby food, some rice,
some apple, played all kinds of giggling games with Daddy on the bed, and then
snuggled with him and fell asleep on his tummy.
Louis said he loves this part of being a Daddy.
Daddy and Thea
I was smacked upside the head with
the realization that I was being rather selfish in my desire to always be with
her. Louis wants to be just as involved
in our children as I do. He loves the
baby giggles, snuggles, and laughter just as I do. He feels powerful and insignificant and totally
blessed just like I do when one of our angels falls asleep snuggling. We are of the mindset that each may be the
last – but honestly, there is a feeling of finality with Thea that wasn’t there
for anyone else. (I’m not saying we won’t have another, just being honest about feelings –
I am totally open for whatever God wants)
I need to let Louis have as much baby time as he wants.
So, in this season, it’s the hardest of all for me; I’m away from my children ten hours a day. I’m willing to work for the day when we have four teams, a location I can show up at to make sure the vans are stocked, the teams are off with all their supplies, and I’m joined by someone else in the office who allows me to leave at noon. This is what I hope for. A little more at 8 to 4 and hopefully, I’m early morning and working from home.
My Thea, my little love, is at
home. I rest securely in the knowledge
that her Daddy is relishing his time with her, and her big sisters and brother
will help see that she’s entertained and well fed!
YES!
I can remember 19 different homes in my early years. My husband and I have shifted houses 10 times
in almost 17 years.
I am intimately aware of moving.
I know just how many boxes can fit
in a 5×8 moving trailer. I can look at
your furniture and see it morphing into place inside a moving van like blocks
in Tetris – just with some blankets and pillows strategically placed here and
there for padding.
WGV Gymnastics (which yes, I call “my gym” even though it’s not mine, I coach there… but I love it!) just moved from their old facility to the new one at 135 Center Place Way, Saint Augustine, in World Golf Village area. (They literally moved across the pond!)
We helped with loading a trailer and
cleaning. Our monster was the pit – do you
know how many giant trash bags are needed to clean out 15,000+ 6”x6”x6” foam pit
blocks? We have no clue, but it’s
upwards of 500. And that doesn’t count
those wrapped up in the tarp!
Our new facility has amazing new equipment, huge cooling fans, the climbing rope (Kimberly’s favorite), and I can’t wait to teach classes in the new preschool area! Our after-school program is very nice. We have two vans that pick children up from area schools. (Mill Creek, Pacetti Bay, and Palencia Elementary, to name a few – check with the office if you want to find out if your school is covered!) In this program, you can pick which days you need pick up, and your students will have assistance with homework, crafts and games to entertain them, and snacks while they wait for you to pick them up! Since we are a gymnastics facility, the bonus to the program is access to specified gymnastics classes.
Dozens of people helped out in this massive move. Teamwork. That’s why I only know a small facet of the whole picture.
We finished by sorting all the blocks into good, bad, and ugly. Good went to the new pit, bad to be shredded to make new mats, and ugly to the trash bin. Our teamwork system was separated into groups of various sizes doing specific tasks: One pulled bags up out of the pit, one opened bags, one put good blocks neatly into uHaul boxes, one bagged up the bad & trashed the ugly, and one took “train cars” (aka uHaul boxes loaded with pit blocks) to the door to wait for the “engine” (aka the truck to the new gym).
Lucas and Jillian loaded the bags out with a rope (before it got reassigned to another task) while Kimberly tosses bags up to be sorted! This teamwork went on for hours.
While I only know the pit blocks intimately during this move, I am super excited for the new facility and our growth from here out. Come and see us at 135 Center Place Drive at WGV Gymnastics!
