I am here to meet your needs

Often, when my children wake up in the night, I rush to their side and murmur, "Mama's here, mama's here". Often with tenderness; other times with exhaustion; and sometimes, I'm sad to say, with frustration at yet another hour of sleep interrupted.

As I whispered it to Cole this afternoon, waking from his nap rather violently, I took delight in being there for him...gently nursing him back into slumber so that he could later wake with renewed energy for life again.

To me, the phrase "I am here to meet your needs" describes the essence of mothering young ones. God designed Mothers to be the lifegivers for their young. We see it throughout His creation; and most eloquently in His image-bearers, humankind.

Without a supplement (formula, a wet nurse...), infants would literally die without the sustenance their Mother's milk provides. Without touch, infants will not thrive. Without someone to listen to and respond to their needs, babies are helpless! By design, their cry demands an answer.

And God's answer was Mama. The person He created to constantly care for a baby. To nourish him; cradle him; smile at him; talk to him; care for him...to love him by meeting his every need, no matter what.

It is a truly noble calling.

At the same time, it often seems to be this precise round-the-clock neediness that can feel totally overwhelming, can't it? I recall sitting on my bed in the wee hours of the morning a few days after Graeme's birth. His was a c-section, so I was dealing with surgery recovery, which I found to be much worse, hormonally, than my natural birth with Cole. Anyhow, I sat on my bed, nursing Graeme for what seemed like the fourth time already that night, and I just started weeping as it struck me: I would never be an independent human being again. Yes, marriage is a dependent-relationship...my husband definitely needs me =) But nothing like a baby needs me, especially a nursing baby. I realized that, for the foreseeable future, I would be tied to a needy little one who would demand my attention, whether direct or indirect, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There would be no "recess", no "lunch break" - no "vacation" from parenting.

Having a baby makes you unselfish, whether you're willing to be or not!

It was a process, for me, though, to accept my design. Then it took awhile more for me to embrace it. I think that will be a story I share another day, as (speaking of meeting needs) it's time to finish dinner preparations and help my boys share the tape measure. Ha!

Some pictures from our last few weeks...

My "bumper sticker" for these baby-years

Or, I should say, one of the many I could share. Do you ever think of a phrase that would look really good as a bumper sticker?
I can't say I think of one very often, but yesterday I did.

It was just a long day, and I felt like I was cleaning up mess after mess after mess. My toddler had an accident; I did like countless sinks of dishes, as I was cooking all day; working with a laundry pile that seemed to multiply as the day went on, the blueberry that spilled on the seat that I had to feverishly try to get out before it stained....and so on - you get the idea.

On days like that, I can find myself weary with the seemingly endless demand on my energies for these messes we all make. That can disintegrate to complaining and "whining" (even if only in my head!) about these repetitive chores that come with a home with small children (and a momma who tends toward the messy, I mean, artistic side of things).

As I prayed for the Lord to change my viewpoint, I realized this: that Life is worth the Messes.

Living comes with demands, yes; but it comes with rewards as well. In fact, the living we do day-in and day-out is full of so much LIFE - learning, giving, trying, falling, getting back up; creating, exploring; resting, worshipping, eating; loving, hugging, laughing, crying.


So, yes, my young ones make extra laundry because they are learning: how to go potty in the big potty, how to hold a spoon or a cup.

I make lots of dishes cooking healthy, nourishing food.


We spill paint, milk, water, juice, markers, glue....but we spill them because we are using them to create, refresh and explore.

The glass is either half-full or half-empty. The choice - which way to view it - lies entirely with me.

17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

Proverbs 31:17

Vegetables = Comfort Food?

Well, in these two recipes, veggies meet comfort food! =) We really enjoyed these this weekend.


Pasta Primavera
Apparently, a signature dish from a world-famous restaurant. I followed the recipe almost exactly, though I sub'd regular tomatoes for the plum and didn't have pine nuts this time around. A few tips from my experience: if you can chop up all the veggies ahead of time, it would make for a fairly quick meal - with the chopping and cooking together, it took maybe 40 minutes to prepare. I used two pans: a medium saute pan for all the sauteeing, and then a large stockpot to cook the spaghetti. At the final step, instead of putting the spaghetti in the saute pan to mix with the cream sauce, I put the cream sauce in the stockpot and mixed everything together in that. Cuts down on a few dishes ;-)

I've never even had asparagus (that I can recall) and have always been rather afraid of it, I guess. It was wonderful in this dish. I don't imagine I'd love it by itself, but in a dish like this, you don't taste any one vegetable flavor over another...they just all blend together in lovely pasta creaminess!


Turkey Cheese Casserole, or, Cheesy Pie (from Healthiest Kid by the Sears)

With this much cheese how can you go wrong? This was perfect for a dinner-breakfast (we had pancakes with it). Might also be good with some bread crumbs...there are lots of breakfast casseroles out there, but I did like that this one used turkey and cream cheese - hadn't seen those two before.

Serves 6-8

1lb ground turkey
3 medium zucchini, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt (or, to taste)
4 eggs (used local, free-range)
1/3 cup milk (next time I might try cream)
4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup mozzerella, grated
1/2 cup cheddar, grated

Preheat oven to 425. Brown the meat, and season as you cook with 1 tsp. basil and salt/pepper to taste. Cover the bottom of a large pie pan/casserole dish with browned meat. Layer on the zucchini and green onions. Add the Italian seasoning and salt to taste. Whisk the eggs and milk together and pour into the dish. Sprinkle all three cheeses on top. Bake for 30 minutes (mine took about 40 minutes b/c I used a deeper casserole dish).

Blogging Block

Over the past few weeks, I've had quite the time coming up with the desire to blog. Not that I don't have ample subject matter, just not so much the "want-to" to write about it.

Most of my friends and family are now on Facebook, which somewhat eliminates part of the original purpose of this blog. Namely, to share pictures and updates with friends and family.

So, while I am a bit slow on posting, I just wanted to explain myself for anyone who is not on said-facebook ;) I'm still here, and will post as I have the time, desire, and sufficient interesting subject matter LOL!

I also have come to a humble conclusion about my own opinion. I've often been tempted to use my blog to share my political, spiritual, parenting or marriage or birthing or ___________ opinion......but frankly, I don't see the value in shouting from my little soap box when there are so many others who share their opinions quite better than I probably could. It is not either my mission or my purpose in life to convince the general "you" out there on the internet about things that are near and dear to my heart. It *is* my mission and purpose to love my husband, teach my sweet babies, care for our home, minister to my family, neighbors, friends, draw near to God....

As a wonderful prayer on the wall in my Mother's guest bathroom states:

Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs...With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end.
17th Century Nun's Prayer

so blogging is taking a bit of a back-seat for me at this season of life. I'll be sure to post as I have time and energy towards it. Just be patient as I am slow these days :-) Blessings to you and yours.

Summer Album 09

Click here to view this photo book larger

a visual aid for my toddler

I am a visual learner. I'm wondering if my son is, as well.

Graeme is a helpful boy - I'm convinced it's in a child's makeup to enjoy helping. There's nothing like being productive while spending time with someone you love to make one just feel good, right?

Since laundry is a daily task around here, I've been brainstorming to find ways to let Graeme help. Tried letting him "help" sort and fold. That didn't go over extremely well, though we will continue to work on it :-) He much preferred jumping on top of the pile of laundry, and climbing the "mountain, Mama!"

So then I thought of this:



Each drawer is assigned a picture of what goes in it. As we (ahem...I) fold the laundry, we pile Graeme's clothes into these categories. Then I ask him to take ______ to the drawer it goes in.

And it's working wonderfully! Graeme finds delight in locating the correct picture, opening the drawer, throwing (I mean, setting) his clothes in and running back to report the job accomplished.

It does help me, as it's one less pile to put away.

But it helps him a great deal more. It's giving him a sense of ownership, pride in accomplishment, and teaching him the pleasure of each thing being in its own home.

Delicious, Real Food!

Snapped a picture of all the food I bought Thursday on our trip to the Farmer's Market and Publix to re-fill our refrigerator. I felt so...GOOD, knowing that our family will be eating all this nourishing food. I'm really working to fill our pantry and fridge with whole foods as much as possible - though, certainly, we buy our fair share of ketchup, the occasional bag of chips or cookies, and canned or staple items. I try to get those at the Commissary once a month, as it's a good hour trip there.

This just looks good, doesn't it? :) I think we'll have a bowl of peaches for breakfast...Happy weekend-ing!