good admist the bad

An update with my Grandpa:


He has been admitted to the ICU and is now on a respirator because, after a procedure to clean out his lungs, he can no longer breathe on his own.  They have him sedated, just so he doesn't agitate himself or the machine keeping him alive at the moment.  My dad is on his way to Louisiana to be with his mom and brother and sister who have also come into town.  My understanding is that they might need to make some tough decisions these next couple of days.  Please, please be in prayer for wisdom and peace from our Heavenly Father.


Yesterday was a tough day as I learned all of the above information, but what made it even tougher was when Seth fell out of his highchair onto the kitchen floor.  I turned away for one second and forgot that I had already unbuckled him and before I knew it, he was face down on the floor ... oh gosh I can't even talk about it I feel sick to my stomach.  I picked him up immediately and held him so close as I paced around the house as he cried.  I took a couple little peeks at him to see if there was any blood, and when there was none, I just held him until the cries subsided.  Then I pulled him away to give him a good look in the face and he gave me a huge smile.  Oh my goodness I have never been so happy to see a smile before!  But right above that smile was a huge bump on his forehead!  Ahhh!  Of course I called my mom right away for instructions and she told me to put ice on it.  Then I called my husband and then the doctor.  By the time Jack came home from work, the bump had almost disappeared!  Praise the Lord!  And Seth has showed no side effects or warning signs that the doctor gave me.  Thank you, Jesus, our Healer!


So, despite the bad stuff, God always brings the good stuff, starting with the quick recovery of my son.  But also, he slept like a champ last night!  Woohoo!  After a couple weeks of waking up every few hours like he was a newborn, Seth is finally sleeping through the night again!   On top of that, he popped his first tooth on Tuesday!  (I think that explains the many restless nights!)  And then, of course, the weather has been gorgeous lately ... a very nice break from the rainy weeks we've had.  Who cannot rejoice at that?!

(Helping mom with the laundry!)

(Summer weather here we come!)

heavy heart

I just got news that my Grandpa is back in the hospital ... a mere two days after he was released for pneumonia the second time this month.  I think it's amazing how the Spirit of the Lord works because he and my Grandma have been heavy on my heart over this weekend and all day today.  I was waiting to call them this afternoon (my Grandma tells me that Grandpa has been sleeping in like a teenager lately) and as I was leaving them a voicemail, I received a text from my mom saying that he's back in the hospital.  He's lived a long life, done many things, produced a wonderful family, gotten to meet his one and only great-grandchild, and knows the Lord as his Savior, and yet it's still hard to think that this could be it.  Please pray for healing - whether an earthly healing or a heavenly one, that is up to God - and for my Grandma that she might have unspeakable peace. 


This morning as Seth and I were taking a walk, I was listening to a sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle.  He's going through the book of Luke and this particular sermon was addressing The Cost of Discipleship (here's a link to listen to it ... PLEASE DO IT!).  In one phrase, this sermon is addressing those who consider themselves Christians to not give up.  You say you're a Christian, and yet where is your growth? Work gets busy, so you stop going to church.  Life gets busy, so you stop reading your Bible.  You're exhausted, so you stop praying.  Times get tough, so you stop giving.  And before you know it, your "come to Jesus" moment is but a memory.  There is so much more fulfillment in the Christian life than speaking a prayer and saying you're a Christian.  There's even more than just going to church every Sunday.  Jesus was pleading with His followers not to just stop at conversion, but grow through discipleship.  You will die one day ... it's inevitable ... will you die with a legacy for Christ? 


Interestingly I listened to this the same day that all of this is happening with my Grandpa, and maybe that's why it hit be so hard.  81 years of life is but a vapor.  Will my Christian walk be in vain by the time I reach my 80's?  Will I have allowed fear, selfishness, addiction, obsession, envy, idleness, depression, or success to get in my way of what the Lord seeks to do in and through me?  Will I leave a legacy for Seth and his children as a woman after Christ?

firsts

It's been really rainy and yucky around here lately, but yesterday we had a break in the weather so I decided to take Seth for a walk ... and not just any walk ... but a walk in his stroller like a big boy (i.e. without his car seat)!  He loved it!  He had his hands clasped on the tray in front of him for dear life, looking around like it was a world he had never seen before.  It was adorable!

(Getting ready to go!)

We also finally got our highchair!  I put it together this morning and just had to try him out in it.  Oh my gosh he loved it so much!  He definitely loves being in the action, so putting him up higher so he can see everything from a more adult level was exactly what he wanted.  In fact, while Jack and I were getting ready this morning, we just rolled his highchair into whatever room we were in, and he just sat there, perfectly content.  Haha!  Thank you, Jesus, for highchairs!

On another note, things have been getting better with me and Seth.  I think we've found a new routine.  Though it's not ideal (or what I was used to), Seth loves for me to rock him to sleep, so that's what I've been doing, day and night.  And you know what?  I kinda like it.  I mean, he's not going to be a baby forever so I might as well take all of the rocking with him as I can get.  He's been much happier the past few days as well, which always brightens my day, no matter what.  

tough days

The past few days have been really, extremely tough for me with Seth.  Without going into all of the details, he's simply decided to be a lot more fussy, not willing to take naps without a crutch (i.e. breastfeeding or taking a car ride), adding to that his growing strength and ability to throw tantrums, I have been pushed over the edge.  It's so hard for me too because he hasn't always been like this.  He was such a mello, chill baby for the first couple months of his life.  And he was great at being able to put himself to sleep for naps.  Not anymore!  Granted he is in the midst of teething (I swear I'm going to see a tooth any day now!), and is growing at an extraordinary rate, so he has reason to be uncomfortable but goodness gracious already, this Mom has had enough!


And then I think about the Lord.  How merciful He is with us!  I mean really.  I get so to the end of my rope with Seth when he's been fussy for a week, but the Lord's mercy and patience with us is unfathomable.  Think about it:  how often do you go against the Lord?  If you're honest with yourself, it's daily.  Perhaps multiple times per day.  And yet you're still breathing ... God giving you another chance at making things right with him.  He'll give you minutes upon minutes, days upon days, years upon years full of mercy to find Him and be right with Him and to walk with Him.  Now that is patience!  Lord, my God of mercy, I need your patience!


(p.s. This is the only reason I'm able to write this right now ... Seth fell asleep on the way back from the grocery store, cuddling with his monkey from GG!)

bible college

Gosh sometimes I miss Bible College so much.  Right now is one of those times.  Of course I had a ton of fun with amazing friends and roommates ... a time when you're footloose and fancy free ... but also, and more importantly, a time when every ounce of you is living, breathing, hearing, speaking, and soaking in the Word of God and all that He is.  My schedule at Bible College was very rigorous - morning devotions each morning, Bible classes throughout the day, an evening full of homework and somewhere fit in there doing my on-campus servanthood practicum.  It was an itsy-bitsy tainted taste of the fellowship in heaven I imagine.  I was so surrounded by and filled with the things of His Kingdom that I would even dream about the Bible! 


And it was more than just homework and studying ... I remember being so filled with excitement to meet with the Lord to spend quiet time with Him that I would literally run across campus to my favorite spot (the prayer chapel by the lake) to do so.  Just like a little girl running so enthusiastically to be wrapped up in her father's arms.  Oh, how I miss those times.


And more than any of the studying and learning and fellowship that I had done there, I miss the attitude of my heart.  I was so humbled (well, at least compared to any time before then and any time since then).  I simply desired the will of the Father upon my life no matter what that meant.  If it meant selling all I had, I'd do it.  If it meant leaving my family whom I so desperately love, I'd do it.  If it meant making me look like a fool in front of strangers or non-Christians, I'd do it without hesitation.  I was constantly asking the Lord to search my heart to find any wicked way in me and purge me of it.  I'd ask the Lord for opportunities to serve Him and show my love for Him.  


I think I miss Bible College so much right now because I don't see these things in my life anymore.  Instead I dream about "The Bachelor" and am overcome with fear for what a truly broken heart before the Lord would mean in my life today and how it would impact my family.  I've grown so comfortable with my stuff.  The stuff that will be eaten by the termites in our walls one day.  The stuff that will break and fall apart.  The stuff that I am idolizing.  And yet I am holding onto it for dear life and am placing my trust and my comfort in it.  


Oh, Lord, break me of this.


And yet I need to keep in mind that though Bible College was wonderful, there is still so much more that the Lord has for me.  He has greater things to show and reveal to me than I ever learned at Bible College.  There is more in His Word than 2 years of intense study could have ever shown me.  There is so much more to Him who created me.  Him who wants my undivided heart.  Him who doesn't seek to make me miserable, but bring me great joy and fulfillment.  Him who is True.

6 month check-up

Just a quick update ...


Seth is officially 27 inches long and weighs 17.4 pounds!  In 2 months time he has grown 1 inch and gained 2 pounds.  WOW.  He's a healthy baby boy, growing and developing just as expected.  He got two shots today and each time does better and better ... today he barely cried! 


Praise the Lord, our God of life!

first time for everything

So this weekend marked the date of Seth's first haircut!  Yes, he's only 5 months, but believe me, his hair was a long, scraggly mess.  He had a puff of hair on top, an extremely long rat-tail in the back, and a bald spot in between.  It was time to trim:

(Seth with Yessica, the lady who also does Daddy's hair!)

As you can see, we still kept a little of his puff on top, but just to match Jack's faux-hawk.  Yessica even put a little hair putty in to keep it spiked!  He did really well ... no crying or anything.  He sat in his dad's lap and had his own little apron (which he chewed on most of the time).  I filmed the whole thing and should have sent it to most of you, but if you didn't get it, let me know and I'll resend it.  He looks even more like a little boy now!

A friend of mine told me about a baby photo contest that Whole Foods Market was putting on.  We're supposed to submit a photo of our baby eating food and the top best pictures will win money and/or a gift card to Whole Foods (love them!).  Here's the picture we submitted:

(Sweet potatoes ... whoa!)

Pretty priceless, I must say.  I was sitting there with my camera in one hand, snapping pictures every few seconds and the spoon in  my other hand, feeding him.  This picture makes him look like he doesn't like sweet potatoes, but he really does.  Seriously.  And pears.  And peas.  And carrots.  Mmmm.  

peas + sneeze = no bueno

Yes, it has officially happened.  Seth sneezed while eating.  Here is the damage:

In fact, this is already partially cleaned up ... he had peas covering his left eye, so I had wiped that away before I lunged for my phone to take a picture.   I have to say, he wasn't the bit fazed by the whole ordeal.  After he was done eating, I thought I did a pretty good job of wiping him (and myself) down, but when we got to church a little while later, I noticed he was still majorly crusty (doesn't that sound appetizing?!).

Last night was tough with the little booger.  He has been sleeping really well at night, but not last night ... he probably cried for 2 hours again (off and on).  I've been going to a moms support group each week and the lady who runs it says that right before a child makes a new physical breakthrough, their sleep patterns go haywire.  I think that's true because this morning Seth was doing tummy time and started sticking his little tushy up in the air, trying to roll over, but his arm was in the way.  He's never done that before!  (He's rolled over twice, but I think it was more of a momentum thing than him actually pushing himself over, so I'm not really counting it. )  It's like their minds just won't let them rest and night until they figure it out.  So either he'll be a rolie-polie champ or he'll be scooting around with his butt in the air all the time.  We shall see!

where in the world is seth osorno?

We've known for awhile that Seth loves pillows, but this weekend Jack discovered that Seth loves hiding in pillows.  Why he loves pillows so much, I have no idea, but he thinks they're amazing.  Perhaps because they're so squishy.  Or maybe because they can be easily moved by little baby muscles.   Who knows.

(Can you find him?)

On another note, this weekend we went for our first family hike.  And by hike, I mean walking along trails (we haven't quite gotten into the shape we need to be in to take a long hike with a nearly 20-pound child).  Seth loved it!  Strapped to his daddy, he couldn't help but be mesmerized by all of the trees surrounding us.   He was fascinated by them!  Jack, on the other hand, was anything but mesmerized as he was busy huffing and puffing hiking up all the hills with all the added weight.  We can't wait for summer to come when we go out biking with Seth in a little cart hooked to the back of our bikes, or swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's pool, and more hikes.  So excited!

all in a day's work

Today was rather interesting with Seth.  He has learned how to hit, which has not been fun at all.  He has also learned how to pinch.  Ouch.  I didn't think he was doing either of these to hurt anyone on purpose ... because he doesn't understand that yet ... but I was proved slightly wrong today.  Seth got his first hand-slapping today.  After being so upset with me for laying him down for two seconds (he was screaming the second I put him down), I picked him up literally two seconds later and what did he do?  Grabbed my hair in one hand and the skin on my neck in the other and yanked the hardest he possibly could, accompanied by a huge scream.  Boy was he mad at me!  And boy was I mad at him!  His first sign of anger/frustration/whatever you want to call it.  He got his little hand slapped at that one (and followed with another scream and then followed by calming down).  Today was not his day.  Or shall I say that today was not my day.  But he's still adorable.  Here are a few pictures:

Seth threw up on my face this morning.

Then he decided to gnaw on the kitchen table.

Then he went on the elliptical with his dad and finally fell asleep for an evening nap.

Oh that little guy's personality is definitely coming out!  And we've got a feisty one on our hands!