Dear Jemima,
Happy half a year, sweet girl! In one way the time has flown by, and in another, it is harder and harder to remember what life was like without a little miss in our midst.
These days ...
- You are growing so mellow, laid back, and cheerful. Most of the time you are peaceful and happy, as long as someone is around to keep you company or you have one of your fascinating and intriguing toys to hold and examine. Your ability to scrutinize the world around you is one of my favorite things!
- You have begun to squeal and laugh out of a general sense of goodwill. It really tickles us when you're lying on the ground, kicking and entertaining yourself, and out of the blue give us your loudest happy squeals of laughter.
- Your 6 month clothes are pretty cozy, though you're still getting good use out of the fuzzy fleeces and footed pajamas. This month I actually managed to get you socks and shoes!
- You moved into your own room! With a little Covid quarantine on our hands, we did the Great Bedroom Rearrange and now you're in the downstairs room, brothers Calvin, Elliot, and Josiah are sharing the triple bunk, and Victor has moved to his own room upstairs. I'm so pleased to say that everyone has settled in nicely!
- You still get me up generally once a night. Lately it has been in the 2-4am range, but it could be as early as midnight. You sleep well bundled... footie pajamas, sleep sack, bundling (with one arm out!), and tucked under some of your specially handmade blankets. However, you typically skootch your way out of all the blankets by the middle of the night and wake up fussing with your head smushed against the top of your crib. Funny baby.
- You continue to take naps in the homeschool co-op coat closet (such a cozy corner!) and sleeping baby room at church, which allows our long mornings away to fit very nicely into your rhythm. Afternoon naps vary, but typically you take a good snooze from about 1:30-3:30 or 4pm.
- You roll! (Blue chair picture above shows off your new skill nicely.) You are so strong you can really prop yourself up during tummy time, but now that you know how to flip over onto your back at will, you don't stay that way too long!
- You are intrigued by all the things. Toys, books, mobile, trees, anything within reach. Lately you have begun making very skillful grabs for whatever is in my hand (plate of food, phone, etc). Must be alert!
- You do still spit, but we have happily moved out of the perpetual-sad-red-rash-on-the-chin stage.
Our sermon on Sunday was about thankfulness. This is one of the very frequently repeated commands in Scripture! Not just to "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), but even to give thanks "always and for everything" (Ephesians 5:20).
Many things happen in life that are not easy. Not easy to experience and not easy to understand. Sin has brought tremendous brokenness, sorrow, and pain into our world. It touches our life every day. It has twisted our own hearts to have broken worship receptors and to orient on our own desires and experience instead of keeping our eyes on the magnificent Lord who made us and carries us.
But this command to give thanks is so life-giving.
As Pastor Sam reminded us, it's almost impossible to be grateful and anxious. Grateful and jealous. Grateful and bitter. Grateful and unforgiving. Grateful and fearful. Grateful and impatient.
When God frees our hearts and enables us to see His goodness and articulate praise for the manifold ways that He is giving us good things that we don't deserve, we are richly blessed. Our capacity for enjoyment of His grace expands. Our perspective changes. Our hope rises. Our hearts are reminded of Who is writing our story and the good ending He has promised to bring.
Giving thanks, even before we can see or understand the good things that God may be bringing out of hard times, glorifies God because it testifies that we know Him and trust Him, even when His ways remain mysterious.
I pray that you will be granted a joyful, thankful, contented heart, my little girl, because God has utterly proven His great love for us through the awesome gift of His own Son Jesus on our behalf.
May we worship and enjoy Him throughout the journey of our days!
I love you, my sweet Jemima Faye.
Momma
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