This year has been full of constant reminders of how fragile and precious life is. This past weekend Kreg, Westin, Kortney and I made a "quick" road trip to Salt Lake City to attend a funeral for my precious friend's 25-year-old husband who passed away last week from complications of testicular cancer and leukemia. The trip was exhausting on many levels, but I'm so glad we went. I was so thankful to see all the love and support that has been poured out for my friend, Karen.
Last night, my 31-year-old cousin, Stephanie, passed away from complications of ovarian cancer. It's been so hard not to give in to the questions swirling through my mind-- "why?" being the main one. I know none of us are exempt from death and it is impossible to predict how many days each of us have left.
Mostly, I am filled with thankfulness for the health and safety of my family, and with a renewed sense of what is really important. It's so easy to get caught up in our day-to-day routine that we forget to stop and think about how blessed we are, and about what our daily focus needs to be. When it comes right down to it, it doesn't matter if my house is clean. It doesn't matter if my laundry is done. It matters that I've taken care of my eternal salvation, and done my best to instill that desire in those around me, especially my children.
PS-- I'm working on weaning Westin AND helping him sleep on his own (he is NOT a napper and he still wakes up 3-4 times a night)... poor baby is distraught and I am drained. If any of you have any advice or words of wisdom, I am OPEN to it.
Girl. Friend. Oh my goodness, bless your heart!!! How exhausted you must be!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I love your message about priorities, it's so easy to get caught up in the day to day and forget what really matters.
Second, you deserve a round of applause AND a medal AND a day of pampering for breastfeeding this long. :) No advice there, Addi is weaning herself right now, so I'm in the other boat.
About the sleeping, here is a link that got Addi to sleep through the night. Keep in mind, she slept in our bed for 5 months and this worked almost overnight. She still takes one two hour nap in the morning and a hour nap in the afternoon and sleeps 12-13 hours everynight(minus the teething stage). It sounds harsh, but if you can get through the first two nights, your golden.
http://community.babycenter.com/post/a21400599/infant_sleep_consultant?cpg=-1#c2125903452
I'll be praying for y'all!!! You are such a great mommy, keep up the good work! :)
What a hard week both physically and emotionally! I love than in adversarial situations, your first turn is to God and his blessings and the acknowledgment that with him as the first priority everything else falls into its place.
ReplyDeleteOh Westin, you precious, too smart for yourself almost-toddler. The first time I thought Jonas slept through the night was the night I forgot to turn the monitor back on. Ha! I don't necessarily recommend this. I don't necessarily condemn it, either. ;)
Cannot WAIT to see you guys!!
Kim, I've accidentally left the monitor off a couple times too! Best sleep ever! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I am far removed from this problem to give advice. I'll bet you come up with something. God bless you and your sweet family. I am SOOOO looking forward to being with you all -------- IN TWO WEEKS!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your loses this past week. It is a blessing to be able to grow in God through these times, but difficult too. Our babies seemed to do best when we stuck to a strick routine. Same song, same drink, same prayer, same goodnight...maybe we bored them to sleep! Ha! Good luck. This will pass so quickly.
ReplyDeleteSo much to handle in one week! I am encouraged by your response to it all, though.
ReplyDeleteYou might already be doing this, but I'll echo Aunt Kathy's comment. We had to do the same routine EVERY night, and we even had to start doing it at nap time when Abby quit napping for a while. Diaper change, pjs, give daddy hugs & kisses, book, song, prayer, goodnight. *whew* I wouldn't totally ignore Kim's monitor suggestion, either... :) Hope he settles in soon!