3 months old!

3 months old!

 

 

2 months old

 

1 month old

 

2 weeks old

Dear Jemima,

What a big growing girl you are! I feel like this month really brought the transition from little baby to big, chubby baby, and I love it.

In the past month...

- You are so smiley and responsive now, and your awake times are normally happy. You have fallen out of favor with getting strapped into your carseat, so that will often make you sad, but when you are held or one of your brothers sits by you in the baby swing, you give lots of contented smiles and coos.

- I can barely squeeze you into the 0-3 month sleepers, you fill out the 3 month sleepers, and I need to sort through and find the 3-6 month sleepers, because you are definitely ready! We saw another baby at a birthday party this week, and it was the first time that you looked like a big baby girl, not the little bitsy one.

- Normally I'll feed you once in the night (maybe 1:30am, maybe 4am) and then sometime 6-7am. You might have a little awake time then, or you might sleep all the way until 9:30am. You have a couple hours of morning nap and then a solid afternoon nap. Evenings can still be a little rough, sometimes you fall asleep for a bit around 6, but then we start the bedtime routine around 7:15 or 7:30pm. If I feed you around 6:30pm and then also when you're going to bed, you seem to settle right down and have a good sleep.

- At last you seem to be outgrowing the avalanche spits! You still certainly spit all the time, but not emptying your whole belly in the middle of a feeding. I'm very grateful for that.

- You like to be outside, and you like to be warm. Even on the 90+ days of summer, you seem to relax when we go outside. You are often happy in your swing, looking around and enjoying your brothers' antics.

- You are so attune to your surroundings. You're still sleeping at night in the living room, but we have to be really careful not to go traipsing through before you're deep asleep. You definitely notice when there is activity around! During the day you nap in our room, and you're doing a good job falling asleep in your bed. 

- You got to meet your Auntie Krista this month during our vacation in Iowa, and we had a big family celebration of Grammy's 70th birthday. I'm so thankful that we could all be together!

These have been busy days, sometimes a little breathless and stressful. We are looking more and more toward the coming of autumn and start-up of school. And my limited resources are so evident. You are a beautiful baby girl, and I think you'll grow to be strong and bright and capable. But no matter how "able" you may be, the most important things, those of eternal value, will still be impossible to accomplish or produce on your own.

Our world is constantly saying, "You are more than enough. Just believe in yourself. Love you. Follow your heart." But this is foolishness. Our hearts are twisted and sick with sin. Even when we want what is right and good, we are unable to create it. 

The hope that we have does not spring from ourselves but from the Savior who rescues us. We have been made precious because God has placed His great love on us through Jesus. And when we know ourselves to belong to the great King of kings, we may be secure and content and fruitful in the place where He has put us. 

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

When we trust in Jesus and are made new by His life springing up in us, we have more than our own puny resources. His own strong Spirit and power rest on us. 

I pray that you will flourish in the secure love of Jesus and look to Him for what you need all the days of your life.

I love you, my Jemma.

Momma

 

2 months old!

2 months old!

 

1 month old

 

2 weeks old

Dear Jemima,

Here we are at 2 months already! I feel like we are settling in to life with 5 kids and enjoying the joyful presence of "little sister" more and more.

In the past month...

- You are becoming so much more animated and responsive. One of my favorite things is when you'll lie on the floor, beaming and making your sweet vocalizations to me. As I tell your brothers, babies only talk when they are so, so happy, and we just love to hear you talk!

- You are gaining sweet chubby cheeks and legs, and you're growing great! You were 11 pounds at your check-up a couple weeks ago, and now you're wearing mostly 3 month clothes.

- You have been getting into a bit more of a routine (although I always expect a new twist as soon as I say that!). You normally go to bed a little earlier now (around 8pm) and then eat around 3am and 6:30am. Then you'll often sleep until after 9am. When we're around home, you'll take a solid mid-morning nap, but you do okay on the go too. (We had a fun family trip to Stillwater this week, and you were a champ.) You have typically taken a great afternoon nap as well, maybe 1-4pm. 

- You are still a big spitter. When you're tired, you'll gulp down milk so fast you get all kinds of bubbles, and they still routinely come out with drenching spits. But you're a little more efficient at eating too, and the middle-of-the-night feedings only occasionally take 75 minutes now...

- You still love being outside. You're happy lying in the shade on a blanket even during some of your most fussy times! And your big brothers will gather around you to entertain and guard you. That is one of my most favorite things to watch.

- Evenings can still be fussy, but it's normally a shorter troubled time, and sometimes you can make it without much crying. Unfortunately, I hurt my back this week and can't really hold and bounce you right now (this is sad for both of us!), but when I'm fully mobile, I get a good workout with you most days.

Each day brings its own trouble, and each trouble comes with its own call from God, "Do you trust Me?" I have been encouraged in these last days to intentionally, repeatedly remember in the hard moments, yes, God is worthy of our trust. He is working for our good. He loves to give good gifts to His children, and He does not afflict without purpose.

Here is a verse that is sweet to hold onto in hard times:

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him. (Lamentations 3:21-24)

Everyone experiences trouble. Life in this fallen world has struggle, heartache, and pain. But when we trust in the One who paid the ransom for our souls and made a way for us to be at peace with God, then we have unquenchable hope, forever hope.

I pray you will find hope as an anchor for your soul in Jesus all the days of your life!

I love you, little Jem.

Momma

 

3 Years Old!

3 years old!

 

 2 years old

18 months old

1 year old

 11 months old

10 months old

9 months old

8 months old

7 months old

6 months old

 
 5 months old

4 months old

3 months old

 2 months old

1 month old

2 weeks old

Dear Calvin,

At last the long awaited day has arrived! Your birthday! You are 3, big man!

What does the world hold for you these days?

- You are a delight, my son. You have a huge, beautiful smile, and you share it readily most of the time. I love to see that smile! When I tell you about something happy or fun coming up, you respond with an enthusiastic, "Oh, yay!"

- You love books! We can sit on the couch for an undetermined amount of times, reading and re-reading favorites. You particularly enjoy books about trucks, but you have a long attention span for most any readaloud, and I love it that you will still curl up with me for a long cozy reading time. This year you got to be a part of our new homeschool co-op, and many weeks you sat with us in the literature class for the younger students and listened quietly with the readaloud book and discussion.

- You are good at playing independently, good at playing with your brothers (while still sometimes needing a reminder to "use kind words" instead of screaming when upset), and good at welcoming others when friends come to visit. You also have reached a bit of a reserved stage, when we're in groups, and sometimes you prefer to stick close to me rather than launch out to play with people you're not so familiar with.

- You enjoy the construction site (i.e. big hole designated for digging in the backyard), and you are very busy getting covered with your fill of dirt this summer. It's great fun.

- You are very conversational and have such a vocabulary that sometimes it's hard to remember you're just 3. You love to point out things you see (an airplane! an excavator! a puppy!), and you love to tell stories of your adventures and experiences. FaceTimes with Grammy and Grandad or Grandma Kay are always fun.

- You can be very patient waiting for things that you look forward to. It has certainly been a long season watching all your brothers celebrating their early-in-the-year birthdays and waiting for the day when it will be your turn. But you have kept a happy attitude and generous spirit nonetheless. ("My birthday is June 17, and you'll have to sing happy birthday to you, and I'm going to eat ice cream and drink lemonade!"

- You are a wonderful helper, and you really love to watch and help me... in the kitchen, in my garden, putting clothes away, and so on. You use the sweeper to clean the kitchen floor most days, and you make a good buddy team with Victor to dust or clean the family room. I'm so glad that you are learning to be a good worker!

- You are a great eater, cleaning your plate without complaint most all the time. Sometimes you don't finish your dessert (a curious thing!).

- You are already showing yourself to be a good big brother, gentle with Jemima, whispering when she is eating or sleeping, patient when I can't be available as soon as you'd like. I'm so thankful for God's helping you to enjoy and excel in that new important role in our family.

Lately God has been reminding me just how much we can entrust to Him. Big things and little things, like a day's schedule or a health crisis, the ability to endure through long, quiet suffering and the joyful evidences of grace that pop up in unexpected moments. 

Our world does not function on the basis of trust. It is in the air of our culture to act on feelings and experiences, to demand evidence, to reject things that do not feel or appear to be true in our own contextual lens. But God has shown us in the Bible that He actually designs our days so that we have the opportunity to take Him at His word and trust. It pleases Him when we look not to the things that are transient but to the things that are eternal, basing our faith on the solid rock of His word.

I pray that, as you grow and encounter every level of challenge and temptation, you will increasingly practice walking by faith. For He certainly is faithful.

This summer, we as a family are working on memorizing Psalm 91 together, and verse 5 gives us this wonderful picture:

His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

We can trust God because He is faithful. His faithfulness is like a huge, protective shield ... and by exercising our faith in God's trustworthiness, we have a shield that can extinguish the fiery arrows of the evil one. 

There are troubles and trials each day in this world, but they are not given to us to crush us or defeat us. In God's love, those difficulties become opportunities to see God's faithfulness, to receive His mercy and help, and to grow in our reliance on and joy in Him.

One day, we will see Him just as He is. For now, let's keep our eyes of faith fixed on Jesus, for He is faithful.

I love you, sweet son,

Momma 

Calvin (6.23.21) 3 years old

1.       What is your favorite color? blue

2.       What is your favorite toy? truck

3.       What is your favorite fruit? orange

4.       What is your favorite video to watch? Mighty Machines

5.       What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? sandwich

6.       What is your favorite thing to wear? my new pjs

7.       What is your favorite game? Sequence

8.       What is your favorite snack? pretzels

9.       What is your favorite animal? rhinoceros

10.   What is your favorite song? Jesus Loves Me

11.   What is your favorite verse? He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

12.   What is your favorite book? cat book

13.   Who is your best friend? Isaiah

14.   What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play with my new baseball

15.   What is your favorite drink? root beer

16.   What do you like to sleep with at night? my blankets

17.   What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? cheese sandwich (?)

18.   What do you want for dinner on your birthday? hot dogs

19.   What do you want to be when you grow up? a worker

20.   What was one of your favorite things that you did this year? swimming in the swimming pool

21.   What is your favorite place to go? buy some toy trucks at a toy store

1 Month Old!

1 month old!

 

2 weeks old

Dear Jemima,

Happy one month in our home, little one! What a month it has been, and we are so thankful.

I love to see your cheeks getting rounder, your eyes alert and bright more often, your little arms and legs stretching, and the sweet expressions on your face. Every baby is a miracle, but I realize that very poignantly with you.

At one month...

- You are eating and sleeping very well ... most of the time. Life is still very unpredictable, and the rough nights are still a reality, but in general you settle in for bedtime between 8:30 and 9:30pm and have at least one 5-hour stretch of sleep in the night. 

- Early on, you had a bit of a tongue tie, which made feeding you extremely painful, but since the ENT resolved that, nursing had been so much better. You developed a habit of really emptying your belly with a gully-washer of a spit once or twice a day, but keeping you more upright to eat seems to be helping that. You're getting a little bit speedier too, maybe taking a half hour more often than an hour now. But we really work on burping you afterward, lest you drench yourself with the aforementioned spits.

- You are atune to your surroundings, maybe more than your big brothers were at this stage. But you still snuggle in to snooze even when we are out and about, which is lovely. 

- You love to be outside (even though we're in the middle of record-setting heat), do well in your carseat, love to go on walks, and prefer to be in the Baby K'tan when we're moving (unless you're asleep). You have peaceful, alert awake time often when you're just resting after a diaper change.

- Evenings are often troubled times, with frequent crying between 7pm and bedtime. (When I brought you along to our ladies' small group prayer, you added your own sad background noise most of the time!)

- You are the best little snuggler. I love to hold you while you sleep, and you will snooze for hours on my shoulder. But you are also doing great taking naps in the pack-and-play and settling into your crib for the night. You still sleep 20-22 hours a day, aside from eating.

- Your brothers have been sweet and gentle to you, frequently wanting to peek at you while you sleep or give you a kiss on your head before you go to bed. You are a very blessed little sister!

In women's Bible study this summer, we are just beginning a study on prayer, and it is a fitting focus for this season. Not only was the last year marked by weakness and neediness in many ways, I am still very aware of how much every day and all the areas of life call for God's help, wisdom, and provision. But our huge needs are perfectly matched to God's huge promises of care, response, and goodness.

Moment by moment, as our needs exceed my capacity, I want to lift them right up to God, who hears us, who invites us to bring Him our cares, and who refreshes our hearts with the vision of His own power, love, and mercy.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

My most frequent prayers for you right now are that you will eat well (and not spit it all up again), sleep well, and that God will shape your heart to be a gentle and quiet spirit, trusting in Jesus, fearing God, and doing what is right without being frightened by any other fear. May He cause you to be a strong, faith-filled, and humble woman of God.

What a kind Father we have. May you love, trust, and follow Him all your days!

I love you, little Jem.

Momma

 

Jemima at 2 Weeks (plus the full blue chair line-up)

Jemima at 2 weeks old

 

Calvin at 2 weeks old

Elliot at 2 weeks old

Josiah at 2 weeks old

Victor at 2 weeks old

Be still, my heart. Five little bundles. One saggy-cushioned blue chair, marking the beginnings of our life with five little members of this family.

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:20-21). 

Jemima is doing really well so far. She has had more rocky nights than her brothers, but we are starting to enjoy some 4-hour stretches between feedings at night, which is so luxurious. Nursing was a rough start, but we got a little tongue-tie resolved last week, which has reduced the pain considerably. On Friday she was well-past her birth weight (6 lb 11 oz) to 7 lb 6.5 oz, so bravo little piccolo! 

The big brothers are so sweet to her, making signs to decorate her crib and giving her little kisses on the forehead. We are so thankful for God's mercies in so many directions.

The Name: Jemima Faye

Dear Jemima,

Though you are our "grand finale" baby (we think), your name was perhaps the first one settled on by Daddy and me. Way back when we were thinking of what to call our first baby (who was, I felt quite certain, a girl), the name Jemima was our first choice.

Like each of our kids, your first name is special to us because of what it reminds us about God. 

 

In the Bible, the story of Jemima (ESV "Jemimah") begins with the story of Job. Job was a man who believed in God, served God, taught his children about God, treated his family, employees, and the vulnerable in light of God's love, and feared and revered God (Job 1:1, 5, 23:11, etc). And yet, for reasons that he could not fathom, God sent him suffering of the deepest and most painful kinds.

He lost his livelihood, his possessions, his children, and his health. Even his friends thought that such profound and sustained suffering must be a sign that God was judging him. To walk through deep waters amid such accusations and questions was a trial of the soul like few taste. 

But Job had hope like an anchor in his soul.

Though He slay me, yet I will hope in Him (Job 13:15).

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God (Job 19:25-26).

The real question is, was God trust-worthy?

We get an actual answer to that question in James 5:11:

We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

Indeed, God was and is always worthy of our trust. After Job's anguish, questioning, and outcries, God vindicates his faith and restores his health and prosperity, "and the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before" (Job 42:10). 

Not only that, but, in true resurrection-type joy,

the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. And in all land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. (Job 42:12-15)

To us, the name Jemima is a reminder of "joy that comes in the morning," of the indestructible hope that belongs to those who trust in God, even when nothing makes sense, and of the way Jesus' victory over sin, death, and the curse is so absolute that even our deepest sorrows and losses may be transformed to joy in Him.

Dear Jemima, when we look at you, we see a little picture of Jesus' resurrection joy. And we pray that you will know that joy in the fullest measure, as you come to trust in Jesus yourself!

Your middle name, like each of our kids, has a special connection to our family.

My mom's name is Patty Rae. Daddy's mom's name is Meredith Kay. And your middle name, Faye, is in honor of both these amazing grandmas. 

Faye means "faith," and faith is the greatest legacy that Grammy and Grandma Kay have given to our family. Like Paul wrote to Timothy, "I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well" (2 Timothy 1:5).

To have two grandmothers who faithfully pray for you, model trust in Jesus, and desire to strengthen you in your own faith and life in Christ is a priceless gift that we thank God for.

And, how fitting that you arrived on Mother's Day, when we remember the sacrifice and investment of these women in the lives of their families.

Grammy shows such gentleness and patience to our family, as a wonderful picture of God's lavish grace and love. She is thoughtful about the specific needs and preferences of each one, and she is an unmatched "giver" of time, care, service, and encouragement. 

 

Grandma Kay is a joyful, whole-hearted lover of God. She prays earnestly, seeks God in His word faithfully, and responds to the leading of the Holy Spirit in specific and faith-filled ways, and she is full of joy to be a "trophy of God's grace." 

 

Jemima, we are blessed beyond measure to have these grandmas in our family, and I know you will be the recipient of unmeasured grace because of their investment in your life.

These are the special thoughts behind your name, and we pray that ultimately, your name will be etched in the Lamb's book of life, as a sign of your belonging wholly to Jesus Christ forever! 

Love you, sweet girl,

Momma

Introducing ... Jemima Faye

Dear Jemima,

You were a sweet Mother's Day surprise, arriving a 4 days early (just as Calvin arrived 4 days early, on Father's Day 3 years ago!) on Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 8:39pm. You weighed 6 lb 11 oz (just one ounce bigger than Victor at birth), and you were 19.5" long. 

You appear to have some red hair (more hair than your brothers), and you certainly bear the Katterson family baby resemblance. 

We were disappointed that your brothers couldn't come to meet you in the hospital (because ... Covid), but they are all taken with you nonetheless and shower you with kisses, special cards, and many amazed observations (her eyes are so big! my hand can basically cover her whole face!).

What a road we have been on, especially these last few weeks before your arrival. Every baby is a story, and you, my sweet girl, have come with many an interesting plot twist. 

The verse that comes to mind when I look at you is Psalm 30:5:

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Your name was chosen (over 9 years ago!) especially because of the picture it gives of God's new-life-joy that triumphs over sin, death, and brokenness of all kinds. 

We love you so very much, Miss Jemima Faye, and pray that you will be filled with the pleasures forevermore that are ours in Jesus!

Momma