No Coincidence-- Brennan's Dedication

Around this time last year, I shared a very personal post. A post about how I struggled with anxiety and worry and fear. A lot of this was tied to perfectionism and control. When things weren't perfect or when I couldn't control them, I worried and became afraid. I had been like this for a lot of my life-- getting stomachaches and experiencing nausea before school started or before big tests or after fights with friends or when I didn't do well on something. It multiplied exponentially after Cate turned one, got really sick for the first time, and spent a night in the hospital.

After that, a lot of stuff ensued with my own health, which you can read about the post I linked to in my first sentence. Medication kept my symptoms at bay, but I was still anxiety-ridden. So then I began fighting back. I wanted to be free not just from the medication, but from the worry too. I find it no coincidence that as I was writing that post about finally breaking free, God had been forming Brennan in my womb for about a week. Don't worry-- I had been off the medication for a month by the time I wrote that post.

And I find it no coincidence that Brennan is a peaceful baby. His dedication at church was on February 20th. We got to introduce him to everyone at the special dedication service and we talked about how he was a mellow little man.
Our pastor prayed for him, and prayed specifically that he would be a man of peace. How appropriate given that finding peace was something I struggled with for so long. And it definitely radiates from our little man. He doesn't fuss a whole lot. He didn't even cry that hard when he got his vaccinations at his two month checkup yesterday (he weighs 11 lbs 15 oz and is 23 inches long). He smiles and coos a lot. He brings us joy and peace. My Type-A personality has taken a bit of a back seat since his arrival. The dirty house doesn't drive me as crazy (although we did hire someone to come give it a good once-over deep clean), I'm not hung up on getting Brennan on a schedule (he's kind of put himself on one, but every day is a little different), the piles of laundry wait, you get the idea. There is just a peace about our house.

After Brennan's dedication, we headed out to the atrium of our church to enjoy cake with family and friends.
Cate had fun celebrating her little brother's special day with her friends as well.
I continue to pray for peace for both of my kids. I hope they are never up all night before a test or a presentation, nearly sick with worry. I pray that they don't experience the nausea and other unpleasant symptoms that come with being so full of anxiety. I pray for boldness and security instead of fear. I pray that we will be a family of peace, fully trusting in God and casting our cares on Him. And yes, Brennan was rockin' our family dedication/baptism gown. Cate wore it at hers, and my brother, sister, and I all wore it at ours. Brennan's name is embroidered right by his sister's which is right next to mine.

In other news, Brennan's two month check up was yesterday and he is one healthy boy. He hovers between the 50th and 75th percentile for head circumference, weight, and height. He's been sleeping more at night, which makes Mommy and Daddy so thankful. Last night he ate around 9:30, fell asleep around 10:30 and didn't wake up to eat again until 5:10 this morning! Way to go and grow Brennan!

Happy Thursday! We are excited to get with our small group tonight after a two-week hiatus due to sickness in some of the families. And our Girl Scout cookies are that we bought from a couple of our friends' daughters are in. Bonus!

~Melody :-)

Go Cincinnati!

Every year our church does a huge, city-wide day of service. About 7000 people volunteer to complete various projects all over the city. Some clean up trash, some spruce up parks, some plant gardens...the project possibilities are endless. We don't do work for individuals, but rather for community spaces and services that just need a helping hand.

Two years ago, we were just starting out at Crossroads and were a little overwhelmed, so we didn't participate. Last year I was in the beginning stages of all of my digestive issues, so we didn't get to participate either (but we did bring a bunch of Starbucks coffee to our thirsty and chilly small group).

This year we finally got to get in on a project. Our small group plus several other volunteers were assigned the task of weeding, planting, and doing some general sprucing up at Bethany House-- a local organization that serves low-income women trying to break the cycle of poverty.

We worked for a few hours...
...Cate hung around...literally...
...and in the end, it was quite spruced up!
I'd upload more pictures, but Blogspot, iPhoto, and I seem to be in a disagreement of sorts at the moment.

We'll definitely "go" again next year! We love our city more than I ever thought we would and we love that we can give back.

~Melody :-)

Stop Traffick Fashion T-Shirt Launch

Friday night Eric and I headed out together for a date (thanks to my grandma for babysitting the monitor while Cate soundly slept). We went to one of our favorite coffee houses near the University of Cincinnati's campus-- Rohs Street--where $2.50 gets you "bottomless coffee." Heck yeah!
I love that their mugs are just a collection of mismatched mugs-- most of them souvenirs from various places. I also thought it was funny that my coffee was served in this particular mug, which I have at home (thanks to my dear friend Jane who gave it to me for Christmas along with some yummy coffee several years ago).
I also love their decoupaged tables! So fun! I found it funny that this was on our table :-). Eric and I certainly are coffee fiends (although I usually drink one cup of hot tea in the morning before I switch to a cup o' joe).
But I digress...our reason for going to Rohs Street was not for the awesome coffee. It was for an even better reason. My awesome friend, Emily, who started Stop Traffick Fashion, an online boutique specializing in accessories made by survivors of human trafficking, was launching her brand new t-shirts.
Don't you just love the designs?
I added the blue one and the one with the birdcage to my wardrobe while we were at the event. The t-shirts come from Freeset, which Emily's sister recently visited. Eric picked up a cool Freeset jute messenger bag, which is the perfect size for toting home all the used vinyl he finds at our local record store.
If you'd like to order a t-shirt, or one of the other fabulous accessories Emily carries, check her out. Click here for a direct link to the t-shirt page. The bags and jewelry were also on sale at the benefit.Two amazing groups performed music for the evening. Flaregun, a great local friend duo, played first (after a couple of Emily's friends provided some acoustic guitar music).
Flaregun was followed by Artists and Authors, a very talented husband and wife team-- also local. We have CD's for both groups and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! Flaregun's CD, "Ten Sundays", and Artists and Authors album, "Beauty in Everything" are both on iTunes. Download them. You won't be disappointed.
Another husband and wife duo, both artists, created works of art in front of the entire audience as they felt inspired by the evening. Their pieces were later auctioned off. Daniel's piece was all done on a computer (Mac's rock).
I love how his piece started like this:
And ended like this:
An angel with one wing bound up. It made me think about the things in my own life that keep me from being able to fully spread my wings. Things like worry and perfectionism (but that's a whole other post).

His wife started out with these words on her canvas:
She ended up painting over those words to get this image: A bird flying out of a cage with the words "Be Free" below it. I find it no coincidence that right now our church is engaging in an all church journey about freedom and during this weekend's sermon, they released a bird from a cage (outside, but someone was taping it live so we could see it from inside the auditorium). If you want some more good music (and this stuff is free), you can download the songs from our all church journey by clicking here. Andrea, from Artists and Authors, sings on several of the tracks. My favorite song is "When Freedom Comes."
Emily spoke about the mission of Stop Traffick fashion in between bands.
And Melissa, her sister, who was my awesome sub when I was on maternity leave, read a poem inspired by her trip to India and to Freeset.

Several local businesses donated great raffle prizes too. I won a haircut, halo highlight, and style at a local salon and have made my appointment to get pampered during spring break (just two weeks away). So worth the $5 I spent on raffle tickets. I was just sad my hubby didn't come home with the basket of coffee products he was hoping to win.
It was a fantastic event, for a wonderful cause, put on by a fabulous woman! I couldn't have asked for a better Friday evening.

~Melody :-)

Big Girl Baby

Whenever I ask Cate if she's my big girl or my baby, her response is always, "big girl baby."  I think that about sums it up.  She is turning into a big girl.  She plays independently-- which is good when I need to get things done, but I prefer to be down there on the floor playing with her as much as I can.

She also shows me what a big girl she's becoming when she tries on my shoes...or my Uggs, as was the case yesterday morning.  They proved a little more challenging than my sandals and heels.

And she was definitely a big girl last night as she watched the choir from Mamelodi, South Africa perform at our church.  Mesmerized would be the word.

You can read more about our church's unique partnership with Charity and Faith Mission Church in Mamelodi by clicking here.  Scroll down and watch the videos-- they're awesome!  Eric and I hope to go on one of their mission trips to Mamelodi sometime in the next few years. 

And while I don't have any pictures to show it, Cate is in many ways still my baby (and always will be).  I'm reminded of this when she's tired and just snuggles up against me.  When she falls down, scrapes her knees, and cries for mommy.  When she needs her diaper changed or help getting some food on her fork. 

My big girl baby is becoming more of the big girl and less of the baby though.  There's no denying it.  So instead I just soak up every moment with her. 

~Melody :-)

P.S.  Cate is a big 20 month old today!

P.P.S.  No word on our computer yet.  Hopefully we'll know in the next couple of days if our hard-drive can be recovered.  I've got some great pictures from this weekend that I can't wait to share.

Happy Mother's Day

Today I celebrated my first Mother's Day. While I was pregnant with Cate on Mother's Day last year, we had no idea yet. Eric was wonderful and picked up a card from him and a card from Cate (he used to give me cards from the pets since I'm kind of their pseudo-mom), beautiful roses, and JUNO...I love that movie! He also picked up donuts from the Ridge Donut Shop, one of our new favorite places. After church, we headed to Mimi's Cafe in Mason. It was our first time there and absolutely wonderful! Thank goodness Eric remembered to make reservations, otherwise the wait was over an hour. Here's a picture from church today. Cate is wearing a cute little purple dress with matching cardigan and socks that look like Mary Jane's. Our church choir director's wife passed on a ton of adorable clothes for Cate (her Cate is two years older than ours). Cate is set with summer clothes now. I think she could go 6 weeks and not wear the same outfit this summer.


Last night I also had the privilege of taking my baby girl to church for the mother/daughter banquet. The theme was Cheerleaders/Go Team and Cate and I joined my grandmother. Cate looked adorable in her Miami polo onesie and khaki skirt...you can't really see it that well from the picture.


Eric also weeded our flower bed out front and got it to look amazing yesterday. You'll have to come by and see it. It was almost dark when he finished and rainy today, so we haven't been able to take a picture.

I have to say, I love being a mom and feel absolutely blessed to have the little girl I have in my life. And I'm thankful for my own mom as well...I wouldn't be the mom I am today without her example. I'm thankful that I have a supportive husband who helps me raise our little girl...he's a wonderful father. I'm thankful that God has given us the means to provide for our little girl. I get frustrated sometimes when I read articles or posts on Cincymoms or other websites where women think that only stay-at-home-moms are full-time moms and that working moms have it easier. Or that working moms are wrong to be working. I think all moms are full time moms. I think about Cate all the time when I'm at work and can't wait to get home to her. But I have to work. My students need me and I like my job. God put me at that school for a reason. Eric and I both love our jobs, but as a public school teacher and a non-profit worker, a single-income home isn't even feasible.

Even though it's sometimes tough to leave her, I know Cate is in good hands. She's getting 1 on 1 attention from my grandmother, whose watching her right now (and 2 on 1 attention most of the time because my Uncle is there too). I know that by working, we can help her go to college, travel, and experience all of the blessings life has to offer...things my parents worked to give me. I'm lucky though. Of the 365 days in a year, I only work 185 of them. I finished my Master's last summer, so I don't have to worry about going back to school. That gives me 180 full days to be with Cate. Plus, with the way our schedules work out, Cate is only with someone else for 6 hours a day.

The last 3 months or so have been amazing. Cate is growing everyday and I never ceased to be awed by the miracle that she truly is. I pray every night that she'll come to know and love and worship the God her daddy and I know and love and worship. I pray she'll outlive us both. I pray she'll always know how much I love her. And I give thanks that I'm her mom. It's worth the spit up, extra laundry, dirty diapers, and tears to see her smile back at me. And here's a little glimpse at what we get every day.

~Melody :-)

PS...

The long white gown Cate is wearing in the family pictures is the first of many family traditions we are introducing to Cate. I grew up in a church where new babies were christened (baptized) and my grandmother made the gown as a christening gown. My brother, sister, and I all wore it and on the tucks at the bottom of the gown, each of our names, birthdates, and baptism dates are embroidered. Our current church does dedications instead of infant baptism. But Cate still wore the gown and looked adorable. You can kind of see my name embroidered below.
And here I am wearing it as an infant (pictured with my grandma, mom, dad, and grandpa- grandparents are my dad's parents).Cate's name is now embroidered on the tuck next to my name. When my brother and sister have children of their own, their kids' names will be embroidered on their tuck. Cool huh? My mom also brought down a ton of dresses I wore when I was little (most of them also handmade by my grandmother). We'll post pictures of those as she wears them. And I have to be a bragging wife and say that Eric's song that he wrote for Cate and played in church for her today was fabulous. We videotaped her dedication, but haven't checked the tape yet to see how it turned out. But if you can't hear him singing, we'll have a repeat performance here at home and we'll try to get it up soon so those of you who couldn't be with us today can here it.

~Melody :-)

Dedication

So, after two months, we invited the whole clan to our little church and had a small prayer and showing of support to dedicate our daughter to be raised in a Christian home. It was great to have all of our family around us (In all, I think we had 18 people surrounding Cate for her prayer). I can't believe how much influence she already has on the lives of our family and friends and how the very nature of being a family has been a witness already to our friends, coworkers, and others. God is truly amazing. I know that we will have hard times in this journey of parenting, but God has a reason and purpose for it all. And our prayer is that Cate finds that grace in God one day. Here are a few pictures from the day. And by the way, because of all the family being around, she has slept so soundly the last couple of nights. :)

Here we are getting ready for church this morning. Cate has started to be a little more cooperative with the camera and smiling when she should.

Her cake from the post-dedication festivities.

The White/Shook Clan.

. . . And the Riggs/Smith Clan

And Finally Cate in her post-festivities clothes getting ready for our walk to the Library. And for those of you that don't get the reference on the shirt, two people who are Miami Alums and marry are nicknamed Miami Mergers, so she is the result of one incredible merge. Enjoy the beautiful weather.

- Papa E.

Cate's Debut

After a great night of sleep last night (well earned after two nearly sleepless nights before that), and since Cate has managed to gain quite a bit of weight since birth, we decided it was time to take her out. She really hasn't left the house except for a couple of late night drives (more to help housebound Mom keep her sanity than to put Cate to sleep), two pediatrician appointments, and a quick trip into Kroger (we were already out and she was asleep). So today we took her to church to meet everyone. We got there a little late since she took her time eating before we left and then proceeded to sleep through the entire sermon (no offense Kirk). And she was definitely warmly welcomed by all.

Eric is singing tonight, but we thought it might be a little too much stimulation to try to take her out again. Besides, it was so warm out today, we couldn't resist taking a little walk and trying out the stroller. Zoey has definitely been given less attention since bringing Cate home, but she's done really well. We think she needed the walk as much as we did. She always wants to know where Cate is and wants to be near her to make sure she's okay. Sierra, being the independent feline that she is, could care less about Cate.

We still can't believe how big Cate gets seemingly every day. Every day it seems like the newborn sized diapers get a little snugger (we're not quite out of them yet), her clothes fit her a little better, she seems a little longer when she stretches out and other things (like losing her umbilical cord) are happening. Below are a few more recent pictures of Cate.

We only recently realized that nearly 10 days after Cate's birth, we still didn't have a family picture. So after Eric and I went on a short date to Panera on Friday while his parents watched Cate, we took a family photo.


We also learned on Friday that Cate loves being in her sling so she can be close to Mom, but Mom can have her hands free to get some things done.


And here's Cate with Daddy before going to church this morning. You can't really tell in the picture, but yes, she is wearing pants again! :-) Daddy also learned a very important parenting lesson after church as well. Nursing + putting Cate in her swing right away = a spectacular show of projectile spit up. Cate just smiled...she must have known that as gross as it was, it was pretty funny to her.

~Eric and Melody