Our small miracle

You often hear people say, "God is good" or "Praise God" when something goes well or when life is good. Sure....
But the reality is that God is ALWAYS good and we should always praise him. No matter what. Period. There is no condition to his goodness and it's one of those things that gets on my nerves. God is good in all situations, even the tough ones. Even more so in the bad ones, I think, because we have to rely on his goodness and grace to see us through those situations. This is Mateo in his isolette @ the NICU (4 lbs 4 oz. born at 32 weeks and 1 day gestation)

Tomorrow is when Mateo should've turned 18 months...the big 1 1/2. Instead, he is almost 20 months old and a happy, thriving toddler.

From 4 to 24 pounds, we are daily thankful for the little boy that he has become. In the pictures below, he is holding a teddy bear that is wearing one of his preemie outfits....
You don't always know why things happen as they do, or for what purpose, but this much is true: that God uses all things...

^"2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. " James 1:2-3

It is really hard for me to look at NICU pictures of Mateo. But I do it anyways b/c even though it is sad for me to see my baby like that, it also makes me overflow with thankfulness for how far he has come. He was not the "angel" baby that some brag about, nor is he the most independent of toddlers, but we love him. Just like he is. Just how God created him.

He is growing up more every day and I can now honestly say that I enjoy being with him all day (even though 5:30pm often doesn't come soon enough ;) He loves to help me with everything from putting things in the trash or recycling, folding diapers, sweeping the kitchen, organizing toys, etc. He no longer cries for 12 hours a day, he falls asleep on his own, sleeps through the night, has 16 teeth and a new haircut, laughs a lot, loves to watch animals in the back yard, could eat his weight in bread and raisins, does all my couponing with me, is in love with his daddy, and loves to give kisses on the cheek.

Mateo = gift from God.
This we know to be true.

A time for laughter

I've been thinking a lot lately about how these last couple months have been filled with a lot of restoration for my little family. I think of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 when it talks about how there is a time for everything.... verse 4 especially stood out to me:

¹ There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

We are definitely laughing and dancing, now. Our first year of parenting was not very fun and we both agree that we made it through only b/c of God's grace. While many parents were raving about how fun having a little baby was and how they were savoring that stage.... we were all too excited for it to pass. Different people have different experiences. For some reason, that only God knows, things happened as they happened and even though every trial is supposed to make us joyful, we certainly didn't feel that way. Sleep deprived, energy deprived, family and support deprived, etc. etc. We were drained.
But now we are thankful for this (hopefully longer) season of rest. This is a unique season when Mateo sleeps from 7pm-7am. When we have our evenings together. When I can be home full time taking care of my boys and the house and the errands, etc. When for the first time since I can remember I am not busy busy like a chicken with my head cut off. No more degrees to get. No more homework. Been there, done that! No more sitting behind a desk. No lesson planning, grading, meetings, etc. Granted, I am still working on trying to be a little less busy. I still tend to get myself over committed...but at least this time it's by choice and not b/c of a demanding job at a title 1 school.

For the first time since high school, I did a sewing project. I made curtains for the living room, Mateo's room, the office, and valances for the kitchen. We are finally finishing the unpacking in our house. I'm doing some post-pregnancy and baby-stage nesting if there is such a thing.
I'm able to be involved in ministry for the first time in a while. Teaching the kids at church has been a fun season of time.

I'm also trying to take care of myself. Chronic problems like my back and throat pain are getting addressed. Physical therapy...so nice. Finding out I'm allergic to a lot of things- like milk and sugar cane....not so nice, but still good to know ;)

Now I better not blink b/c this time might be over. But for now, with my wonderfully awesome husband, my (almost) 17 month old son, and our great God teaching us and leading us.... we are going to be thankful and enjoy these days. Life is not easy, but it's been an awesome change.

1 Peter 5:10 (English Standard Version)

¹⁰And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.