Oh Jemima,
You are growing by leaps and bounds! (This post was written and then mysteriously vanished into thin air, so all the clever things that you have learned in the past month that I forget to recall are attributed to that minor tragedy.)
- You have quickly gained your balance sitting unsupported. You can transition to a roll, pull yourself up on all fours, and pop back into the sitting position. This happened basically overnight, and I'm flabbergasted. You can basically get yourself where you want to go in any direction except forward. Which frequently tends to leave you stuck in a corner, peering at me in dismay from cramped quarters underneath a chair.
- You have excellent fine motor skills and an aptitude for identifying tiny, dangerous chokables.
- Due to the above lack of mental preparation for your mobility and your exceptional pincher grip skills, we are now experiencing a high volume of choking alarms. Twice this week you have worked yourself up to puke whatever was not meant to be ingested. Let's please transition to the stage where you know better soon, okay? (Example, one evening I put you in your "spare crib" in the family room so you could safely play with toys while I worked in the kitchen. I returned to find you happily pulling bits of stuffing out from a small tear in a stuffed animal. Later to reappear as a large, gooey "hairball." Stressful, my dear, this is stressful.)
- You are eating much more rice cereal and veggies, typically at supper (except when I forget) and occasionally also at lunch. This really has not slowed you down in nursing, aside from sometimes flirting with the notion of sleeping through the night. Not enough to count on though. And it was just a few weeks ago that you clocked a record 53-minute feeding at 1am.
- Your brothers continue to lovingly dote upon you. Victor and Josiah can both carry you short distances, Elliot is your most frequent and attentive companion, and Calvin regularly brings you special toys (or piles them in your carseat for when you need them next).
- You enjoy playing peekaboo, pat-a-cake, and your own special game (where I give you a little squeeze, then you give a little wiggle, then I give you a little squeeze, and you give a little wiggle. It cracks you up).
- You are almost always happy when Momma is holding you. You are almost always happy when someone else is holding you, until you see Momma.
- You had your first real stint in the nursery on Sunday, and you did great!
- You wave hi and good night and extend the "hand of favor" to those you know, enjoy, or find interesting.
- You have two big teeth on the bottom, and one of your top teeth has popped through as well! (The next one on top is almost ready, I think, and you've been chewing on fingers on the side, so there are probably a few more on the way.)
This week in Sunday school we talked about Matthew 14.
There, following the death of John the Baptist, we see Jesus feeding the 5000, walking on the water, calling Peter to him on the waves, and calming in the storm. Even a touch of the hem of His robe was enough to bring healing to the throngs of people who sought Him out.
What compassion and what power.
Do you see what this means? All of those difficulties were just as completely under his control. Hunger, exhaustion, winds and waves, sickness. And why would He allow them? Why does He allow them for us today?
The aches and anguish of this world are a (temporary!) stage on which we see Him,
even today. They are the dark backdrop that reveal our need, reveal our inadequacy, reveal the brokenness of sin in our hearts and in the world. But upon that backdrop Jesus shines with immeasurable compassion, unparalleled power, total sovereign authority.
Jemima, I pray that the difficulties of life cause your eyes to turn to Jesus, our Savior, who is both strong and kind.
The children's choir at church recently sang this song:
Jesus Strong And Kind
Jesus said that if I thirst
I should come to him
No one else can satisfy
I should come to him
Jesus said if I am weak
I should come to him
No one else can be my strength
I should come to him
For the Lord is good and faithful
He will keep us day and night
We can always run to Jesus
Jesus strong and kind
Jesus said that if I fear
I should come to him
No one else can be my shield
I should come to him
Jesus said if I am lost
He will come to me
And he showed me on that cross
He will come to me
May you come to Him and abide in Him all the days of your life.
I love you,
Momma
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