3 months old today!

He likes to read while he swings. We're teaching him early.


Wow. Three months have gone by fast! You probably won’t be too surprised to know that Gabriel has doubled his birth weight and has grown 6 inches! He’s now 14 pounds and 25 inches long. I knew he was growing and doing well because he has been quickly outgrowing many of his clothes.

He’s a sweet baby and pretty easy to take care of. His times of fussiness are few and far between. He generally hates his car seat but usually settles down once we get moving. He has been sleeping through the night for about 3 weeks now. Woo hoo! Go ahead and talk smack about me, you, the same women who gave me a hard time about my fast labors! I know you want to!

What else can I tell you about Gabriel? Well, the doorknob, ceiling fans, and the characters on the boppy are his friends. He likes to look at them and smile. He smiles quite often and has even given some chuckles here and there. He likes to look at Micah, but so far Micah is still not that interested in returning his gaze. Someday.

So, happy 3 month birthday to Gabriel; he brings more joy into our family.

Did you really say that?

You know how people sometimes say things that they “think” are in the Bible, but they are really not? A couple of them that really annoy me are “God helps those who help themselves” (where is the dependence on God in that statement?) and the one that really bothers me is “God won’t give you more than you can bear.”

I recently finished a book by Nancy Ortberg called Looking For God . One of the chapters is titled “Could We Please Stop Talking Like This?” and basically she’s reflecting on things that Christians say that are either offensive to non-believers or things that we say that are not theologically or biblically correct.

I love what she says about “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” She says “For starters, the verse that is derived from, 1 Corinthians 10:13 is talking about temptations, not trials or suffering. Beyond that, the idea implies that as followers of Christ, we are protected from heavy doses of difficulty. That is simply not true. This idea gives the impression that people going through rough circumstances have missed the protective shield. Please protect me from that kind of love. Of course we are going to face hard things in life. Unbearable, unthinkable, inexplicable things. And the power and the presence of God will meet us in those things. Difficult circumstances require from us enormous amounts of courage and faith that often come only after we’ve pleaded, searched, wrestled, and waited. Not as the result of a mindless and inaccurate phrase. The way we talk matters. We need to think deeply about the theological implications of what we are saying and remember that God is not simply a useful tool to support our politics or our beliefs. He is not a pawn in our hands. He is not the parking lot fairy. He does not comfort grieving parents by telling them He knew they could handle it. God is the powerful center. For our soul and the souls of others, it is worth thinking before we speak. Talk matters. The way we speak and what we say paint a picture of God in our hearts and minds.”

I ran to Oklahoma and back

Micah loves to push things these days, so I gave him the Swiffer and said "Get to work!" Ok, not really. He did have fun though!

We have a two car garage!
Front entrance and side entrance; fence to the back yard.
The farthest trees on the right at the end of the road are in Oklahoma. This picture was taken close to our driveway.

Well, Oklahoma is not that far. Just when you thought I had gone back to my days of training for a marathon…Oklahoma is about a five minute, maybe seven minute walk from here. Yes, we are that close to the state line. I’m trying to get back into shape and have slowly started jogging. It really feels like I’m just a step above shuffling my feet. I hear my high school basketball coach’s voice shouting “WHITESIDE, PICK THOSE KNEES UP!!” Oh well, it’s a start anyway.

I’ll post some pictures of the inside of our place soon. I’m sure the suspense is more than you can take! We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our dining room table. We actually have room for one! We still have to put things on the walls, but will work on that soon.

Micah started at the public elementary school last week. It’s only 2 hours a day, M- Thurs., but it helps some! We will probably be waiting for at least another month on the other school. Please pray that it happens soon. I’m anxious for Micah to get the therapy he needs!
You may be getting tired of reading this same line every post, but no, Micah has still not adjusted any better to Gabriel. This last weekend we went to visit my parents for Labor Day weekend and Micah spent the first two hours of the trip with his head turned toward the window so he couldn’t see Gabriel. I guess the only slight improvement is that he is not AS clingy to Wayne and me when Gabriel is not in the room. And when I bring the baby out from his room (if I’m at home by myself with them), Micah just goes into his room and closes the door now. I don’t like it because I feel like I can’t take care of both of them at the same time like I should be able to, but there isn’t much I can do about it. I know the LORD is helping me deal with it though, and I do believe one day Micah will not be afraid of Gabriel and will even like him.