A Good Good Friday

Christmas and the Easter weekend are the most important dates in the Christian calendar. Celebrating first the birth and then the death and resurrection of Jesus.

It still blows my mind that God chose to send his son to earth at all ... and then out of his overwhelming and abundant love for us, sacrificed him for you and me. As a mum I can’t imagine giving up my girlies to that kind of agonizing death, even if I knew that they would come alive again a few days later. I’m just grateful that God has a much bigger heart than me!

While Easter is at a slightly different time each year, for me it is always a time to reflect on that ultimate sacrifice. Last year, Good Friday gave me a different memory which is also close to my heart and will now come to mind every Easter. The birth of my second daughter, Naomi. With a straight forward delivery and healthy mummy and baby, it was definitely a good, good Friday for us in 2011! (We get to celebrate her first birthday in a couple weeks time.)

We’re unlikely to be called to sacrifice our daughters to death but they may choose to follow paths for God that we find difficult to stomach. We need to be ready to let them go when the time is right. Just like our parents have had to say goodbye to us and their only grandchildren as we’ve followed our calling into mission, moving all over the world.

Right now I’m just going to make the most of every minute with my beautiful daughters and prepare them as much as I can for whatever excitement life brings them! Including sharing with them what Easter is really all about ... before all the chocolate eggs and fluffy bunnies came along! 

(Sorry this is a few days late in posting ... the way we’re using Internet while we’re away from home is adequate but not ideal!)

Sweet Dreams

It seems that once we’re on the brink of perfection when it comes to our girlies sleep routines, something happens to upset the applecart!

Abigail was the perfect child. At three months old she found her thumb and then slept for twelve hours a night every night and had a couple of two hour naps during the day. I had friends asking me what my secret was and if I could bottle it ... and others avoiding me at mothers and toddlers groups because they were jealous! Apart from a four month blip last year when Abigail had night terrors, we have been plain sailing and it rocks.

Consider then, the shock when it seems that second time round my secret is safely locked away somewhere that not even I can access it! Naomi is not all that fussed about sleeping solidly either during the day or night.

We had just about cracked it last year ... getting about five nights out of seven without having to share our bed with her. Then we had to fly back to the UK to renew our visas and update our supporters and it all went to pot! Ironically with a US birth certificate Naomi didn’t even have a visa to renew like the rest of us. When we returned to the States we were all sick, so it wasn’t til the New Year that she settled back into having a good nights sleep. 

Then there was teething and Mark’s month away in Papua New Guinea and some more teething. Sound familiar?! There’s always something. This last month has been pretty uneventful. Thankfully the night sleeps got better and Naomi’s even been happy to sleep in her bed during the day for the first time in a long time (I was working on cracking the night’s before I tackled the days!)

Then ... Florida happened! We’re having a great time down here but it seems like we’re back to square one with Naomi’s sleep. We’ve been playing musical beds most nights and even once with Abigail when she fell out of bed twice in one night!! In the almost two weeks that we’ve been away, we’ve only had two uninterrupted nights and most of the others Naomi has spent the majority of the night anywhere but her bed! (The bed is so small that when she moves in, Mark has to move out!)

Day time naps since we got here are completely non-existent unless we’re driving somewhere, she’s tucked into her sling or she’s curled up on me ... the minute I even go to lay her in her cot even if she’s soundly asleep, she instantly wakes up and freaks out! It does make some things a little bit more difficult to negotiate but I’m holding it all together somehow!

It appears that Naomi needs more time to adjust to change than the rest of us. At least we know in advance and so can be prepared. Everything in life is about being flexible ... this is just another one of those learning experiences that comes with parenthood. We’re waiting for this ‘season’ to end and for sleep to reign in our house once again. I know it’s out there somewhere!

Disney Princesses

I have to admit I have always been a bit cynical about Disney Princesses. After all they seem to have taken over everything. Pyjamas, backpacks, umbrellas, dolls, sunglasses, cups, plates ... the list goes on. If you can buy it, there is probably a Disney Princess version of it, which also costs more! Until you have little girls you may not notice they really are slowly taking over the world!

Abigail loves all kinds of things, including Disney Princesses. Jessie is her favourite Toy Story character but there is a very limited amount of girlie Toy Story things out there ... it’s always the Buzz Lightyear or Woody ‘boy’ alternative to the girlie Disney Princess option. Last year when she started wearing pull-ups, she was actually disappointed when she had to have the Princess ones and not the Toy Story ones! So the Princesses have started their takeover of our house too! Oh Disney, what are you thinking?

This weekend I officially scored a hat-trick when it comes to Disney. I am not sure whether I am proud or embarrassed by the fact that I have now been to three of the Worlds Disney Parks. Paris, Los Angeles and now Florida! (There are still a few more out there for me to conquer!) Not only that but I visited all three as an adult. This weekend was actually the first time I’ve gone with children. Yes, I am a big kid and it was a totally different experience. Whereas my previous trips had been all about the rides or Mickey Mouse or even the Winnie the Pooh characters ... this time it was definitely all about the Princesses!

From the minute we told Abigail where we were going on Saturday morning, she was all about Cinderella and Rapunzel, her favourites. They were definitely our priority. The excitement in her face and the bounce in her feet was adorable when she saw them and to be honest, brought a tear to my eye on more than one occasion during the day. Yes, I am soppy but her face was so full of emotion that it was difficult not to react as her mummy!

Seeing the princesses through a three year olds eyes has changed my opinion of them ... even if they are totally over-marketed! Amongst other things during our time in the Magic Kingdom, Abigail got to meet, hug and chat to, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella and Rapunzel and later on in the day she got to dance with and high-five Jessie ... so it seems that some dreams really do come true!