Mary, the Mother of Jesus

Every Sunday, I spend at least one hour-ish of the three hour block of church in the mother's lounge feeding Brayden. It is a small room with three rocking chairs. Every once in a while there is another mother there to chat with but most of the time it is just me; me and the single painting on the wall. It is called "And It Came to Pass Also That a New Star Did Appear" by Judy Law. It is a painting of Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ cradling the baby Jesus in her arms. She is in the stable (underground of course) and staring up at the opening where starlight is flooding in. The painting shows a calm, thoughtful moment of privacy between Mary and her son.
Many an artist has pondered what went through Mary's mind on these occasions. Did she know her son would change the world? Did she know that he would save the world? Did she know that He would suffer and bleed to save us all? Did she know about his remarkable life or his predestined death?
When I look at this painting, I don't think she's thinking about any of that. I see a more human side of her. In many ways I see me. At Christmas time, people kept saying things to me like, "You must feel like the Mother, Mary, with a newborn in the house." I didn't know how to respond. Who am I to pretend I can relate to being the mother of the Son of God?!
But then I look at this painting....(if you want to see it, click here)

Maybe we have more in common than I thought. The scriptures say nothing about Mary's mother being with her when Christ is born, just as my mother could not be with me. I'm sure she had to go with her husband to be taxed and could not or would not be in Bethlehem with Mary. Mary had to learn to breastfeed her son without the help of a mother or friend or midwife. I have no doubt that breastfeeding was just as hard then as it is now. She was not able to call her mother for help when everything seemed to be going wrong.
 In this painting, I see a Mary who is pondering the daunting task of just being a mother for the first time. What do I do now? Can I really handle this? How will I know if what I am doing is right? In the last four months, I have asked myself those questions a thousand times over. It's comforting, I guess, to know that even Mary, the woman who raised Jesus Christ, might have had the same feelings and doubts that I have. I guess it means that if I do my job right, maybe my son can grow up to be like Jesus in every way he can. I have been given a guide in the scriptures. If I follow it, I will succeed.

And so it begins.....

It's official....Roy and I have decided to try it:

Yup, that's right. I am going to try cloth diapers. So far my stash consists of 2 bumGenius one size diapers, 3 FuzziBunz one size diapers, and 2 Fuzzibunz perfect size medium diapers.
Today was my first day trying them out. The bumGenius fit great and did fine. The first Fuzzibunz I put him in leaked poop (which they are not supposed to do) and left red marks on his back. After an afternoon of research I didn't find a solution so I will just keep experimenting. It's got to be the fit...I have a small stash to just test it out and decide what I like before I go full bull on the process.
I really want this to work though. If I can handle cloth diapers it'll save us a ton of money. Not to mention...
Isn't he ADORABLE!!!!! (This is the bumGenius "albert" style diaper - it has Albert Eintein's equations on it!! I love it!)

 He's happy. And so am I. : )

Lots of Random....

So first of all...
I never blogged about Brayden's first Christmas!!! Sadly....I was so caught up in it all I didn't take one picture. :( I am so sad...I didn't even think to take some fake "First Christmas" pictures later with him in his adorable elf sleeper. It was a wonderful Christmas at Grandpa Simpson's even though I didn't get any pictures. Here is a picture of the us when we made Christmas cookies to take to our friends. Our wonderful friend Chelsee was in town and came to help.

I also realized that I never posted this:
Roy's work does an ugly sweater contest each year. This year, I made Roy's...kind of. We got a plain nasty green old man sweater from DI and I added a few things....ruffles, bells, holly leaves, and the awesome tassles. He didn't win but I was super proud. :)

Valentine's Day this year was great. I made my gifts for Roy and Brayden. For Roy, I made this "52 Reasons I Love You" from a deck of cards. I would highly recommend this project to any woman feeling a little down. It is very therapeutic to remember how amazing your spouse is.

I also bought a blank hoodie and added an "XO : ]" logo and a bleach pen design (I used the tuturial at I am Momma Hear Me Roar to do the bleach pen art). It gave it a kind of designer look. I love it! I made one for my dad as well. He thought I bought it this way! I am so proud!

For Brayden I made this cute little onesie. It is not perfect by any means but it's still pretty cute. The design idea came from this site.

Roy "and Brayden" were super cute!!! I woke up to this on my bedside table:

Then a scavenger hunt ensued...I found little paper hearts all over the house: here, on the shower door, on the bathroom mirror, in my breastfeeding spot. He also made smaller versions that were from Brayden. These I found in Brayden's room...and ....

I loved it!!! Each heart is a coupon for things like a night out or a foot massage (Roy hates giving those so it's a big deal!)

And of course I'll finish with some adorable pictures!
Roy is acclimating Brayden to doing his chores.

 He actually looking at the ducks!!

Roy built him a little fort on the couch...

I love my boys...and everything about them.
My two favorites sounds in the world:
 1. Roy telling me he loves me.
 2. Brayden giggling.
My favorites sights:
 1. Roy's smile.
 2. Brayden's smile
 3. Roy rocking Brayden to sleep at night
My favorite feelings:
 1. Roy's kiss
 2. Brayden's smooth skin
I am so lucky because I get to experience all of my favorite things every day. I am so blessed.

Family Pictures

My awesome cousin Cariann did our family pictures a couple of weeks ago. They turned out awesome! She was really fun to work with too. Check out her website here. We had so much fun and they all look great. We are going to hang one of them up in our front room.
Enjoy!

Silly Boy

My little gamer :)

We finally got some snow here in Highland.

And I made some toddler crayons for my niece's birthday. They were a pretty big hit.

I love you, Brayden

Almost three months old.
It has gone by so fast and I love you more and more each day.
I love it when you recognize my face and smile at me.
I love it when you talk to me and giggle when I try to imitate your sounds.
I love it when you laugh and giggle and squirm as I try to change your diaper.
I love it when you get so enthusiastic about eating that you slam your face against the breast.
I love it when you stop crying as soon as I hold you in my arms.
I love it when you play with and talk to Daddy.
I love it when you wrinkle your nose before you sneeze.
I love it when you fall asleep with your hands above your head.
I love it all...
It is not easy by any means...
I have days when I just cry because I feel like I am doing everything wrong;
But you can always make me feel like I am the greatest mother in the world,

If you just smile at me.
I love you, Brayden.