Claire Update

Welcome to my first brag session! Quite ironic that I am choosing today since I have been so wiped out from lack of sleep. Little Claire is wonderful, but her sleep patterns are wearing me out! But, as every mom and parent knows, you are still inthralled with your little one.

Bragging may be the wrong word because that implies that someone has done something out of the ordinary or to a level not yet seen. Claire doesn't do much but just look adorable and everything she does is just so stinkin' cute! So, gushing would be a more appropriate term.

One of my favorite things to watch is her finger/fist sucking as she is talking and talking at the same time. She is developing a melodic range that would rival most opera singers all while keeping the slobber making to a maximum! Kisses are certainly not for the faint of heart and are best taken with a burp cloth nearby.

Last week, she turned over for the first time! Claire showed her determination on Saturday by spending an entire hour trying to and turning over. And it can really frustrate her when it takes too long or too much effort to get her roly-poly body flipped over. Once she gets turned over, she's not too happy. Tummy time is not her favorite hour - or more appropriately 3 minutes. But when she looks up at me with raised eyebrows over her blue-green eyes, I melt.

Most spectacular recently has been Claire's to take a bath, dry off, diaper, lotion and almost have her pj's on before she begins crying. Bathtime smiles are some of my favorite and border on miraculous. She can be fussy and grumpy seconds before and morphs into the sweetest girl in the tub. There's nothing like a nice soak to sluff off the day's troubles.

Claire displayed shades of her mother this afternoon. Desperate for a little time out of the house, we strolled over to the corner store for a Dr. Pepper treat. Silently and almost motionless, little girl takes in the green trees, sky and street sounds. She is like this for 30 minutes - never cracking a smile, talking or even uttering a fuss. We come in and I put her down on the couch. Instantly, she begins talking and jabbing fingers and fists in her mouth. I chuckled. When I am out running errands I can hardly wait to get back and give my husband a play-by-play no matter how mundane the time was. I just need to share! And so glad that my little girl is sharing with me. Hopefully (and prayerfully!) she will always want to share her thoughts, ideas and emotions with me.

Okay -I'll stop boring you right now. But before I go, I wanted to post a link for a Gerber babyfood coupon at Target. It is for $1.00 when you purchase two items. If you buy the $0.47 stage 2 babyfood, it is actually free! The greatest thing is that you can print off multiples and buy as much as you want. Don and I bought a selection of items and paid $5.78 for $25.28 of babyfood. We felt like we were robbing the joint!
http://babycheapskate.com/ You will have to go to the 07.07 archives and scroll down to the Happy Parent's Day posting for 7.21. Stock up and enjoy the savings!

Couples Connected

Today we implemented a relaunch of our Bible Community at church. It is a class for young marrieds, mostly with families. It is newly titled "Couples Connected" and tagged with "Making friends for life while growing in Christ". For different reasons the class had shrunk to 7 - 9 couples. We have a new director for the class that had a vision for the class to focus our purpose and to reach those in our church who weren't involved in a Bible Community. After a couple months of planning it kicked off today with a five-week marriage series and a BBQ afterward.

So, with a 4-month old baby who is not incredibly portable and trying to connect with as many people as possible - I am wiped out tonight! I found myself sitting on the couch this evening and thinking about our class. No matter what it is headed for growth (we had 141 people today!), but what else? I would love to begin a group for new moms with 3 - 6 month olds. Could there be lifelong friendships develop? Or even better yet - discipleship? Or a group of moms who are sold-out-dedicated-ferocious prayer warriors for their children and husbands?

What about our men? Will our men in the midst of their fun activities find that friend that sticks closer than a brother?

How does this kind of thing happen? Not having all the answers I believe it is a lot about being a willing vessel. Just saying to God, "I will begin what you put in front of me and you use what I have." I've found that He does the supernatural work and we get to enjoy the results. I found this out first hand when I served as a missionary in West Africa just out of college. A local pastor asked me to help him with the women in his town who were new converts. I had no idea what a 23 year-old white girl had to give to village women who got up at 3 am to get water for their family, balancing the containers on their heads. I went with a good friend who was a translator. We began with 10 women and at the end of a month, God had grown it to 25 women. He already had this in mind, but just needed to use an ordinary girl who received a blessing in the process.

Maybe God is already using you as a vessel and you don't see it yet. Or you have a desire in your heart to start something? What is stopping you? Start putting some plans in place, no matter how small, but stay after it!

"And yet, Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand." Isaiah 64:8

Welcome to my blog!

This is my first voyage into the world of blogging and I am kind of excited. Being a new mom I feel a little lost with my new job and being at home full time, so hopefully this will bring some focus and remind me who I am. I have always enjoyed writing, but have gotten out of the habit, so maybe the creative juices will begin flowing again.

What can you expect to see in my blog? Probably some recipes, stories about my family, Don and Claire, and some introspection. The name of my blog whispers about who I am, a Christian woman who wants to make a difference and fight the enemies that try to destroy us. Fighting, but never forgetting that I am a princess from my mascara laced eyes to my inner wishes to the relationships I cultivate. Hmmm... What great idealic language! Most often I don't believe these things about myself, but I want to! I want all women to be the princess warrior God designed us to be, so maybe we will make this journey together!