For You formed my inward parts;
         You wove me in my mother’s womb. 
    I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
         Wonderful are Your works,
         And my soul knows it very well. 
    My frame was not hidden from You,
         When I was made in secret,
         And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 
    Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
         And in Your book were all written
         The days that were ordained for me,
         When as yet there was not one of them. 
    How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
         How vast is the sum of them!

Psalm 139:13-17

Before you were conceived I wanted you
Before you were born I loved you
~Maureen Hawkins

Feeling vulnerable about these pictures.  But I’m putting them up to show how baby is growing.  We can’t see him yet, he is still hidden away, getting ready to be born this February.  But, he’s mine and I already love him with passionate mama-love.  There isn’t an hour that goes by when I’m not touching my tummy, or praying for him, or thinking of him.  I found and washed all of our little baby boy clothes this past weekend and then put them all back away, in the closet. . .it’s easier to be patient when I can’t see those precious things.  Little Seth has quite the wardrobe of hand-me-downs from his four big brothers, besides a few new things that Grace and I picked out for him.  I love using the same outfits and blankets, some of them have been used for all five of my babies and the memories hang off them so thickly. . .I see them and remember how my little newborns felt in my hands, in their tiny sleepers and gowns (and most of the time they kicked their little socks of within those gowns, and I had to hunt for them).  What a happy surprise to find a itty bitty bare foot, it would make me pause and touch, study, marvel, and kiss it. . . .it’s interesting all the little things that mothers notice and love, and remember. 

Yesterday I sat and watched Caleb eating his ravioli for lunch and I was ready with the napkin to wipe off his face as he ate.  And I thought about mothers and how everything we do within the home has an air of secrecy about it.  Our husbands, most of the time, don’t even know exactly WHAT we’re doing all day.  But, it’s those little acts of service, and kindnesses, and love-touches that no one knows about except me and baby (or, babies), that make life so meaningful for us all.  The time I took to fix Grace’s hair, share a little dab of my lipstick with her, or help her clean her room.  The excitement I conjured up, over the boy’s lego creations.  The nutritious lunch placed neatly on a fiesta-plate, the cookie baking.  The hugs, the backscratches.  The lotion rubbed on after bath, not exactly necessary, but done out of care and love (David gets SUCH dry skin when the air gets colder).  Stories read, hours and hours of them, sometimes my eyes will fall shut I get so sleepy. . . .and don’t forget homeschooling and heart-training!  Now, that’s another subject all on it’s own.  No one knows exactly what I teach my children throughout the day, not even myself, because “more is caught than taught”.  Those little eyes are watching all the time, watching how mama reacts to the trials of life (like Math class, for instance).  My children get quite the show!  *giggle*

God my Father is a part of everything.  Part of what I love about being HOME with my children, is that God is here with us in such an obvious way, putting peace in the home-life.  (“where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst”) We can sense our Loving Father taking care of us continually.  He sees what I’m doing with the role He gave me.  “Am I doing okay, Father?”, I ask, as a child, feeling His smile and prefect understanding.  We take time to pray, sometimes just before we pull out of the driveway, we bow our heads and ask God’s blessing on our travels.  We pray before meals and thank God for our food.  We read the Holy Bible out loud and sing hymns from the hymnbooks.  What would I do without His mercy each day?  I’m constantly breathing prayers in and out, thankful ones, sorrowful ones, repentant ones, desperate ones.  There is no glory in my life, to be honest I feel mostly shame when I think over each day’s work, anything good, anything beautiful and fruitful, comes from HIM, the glory all belongs to God. 

When I tried looking for “pregnancy quotes” on the internet, I got an awful dose of what the world says/believes about pregnancy. . that it’s just a bother, something to complain about or be stopped.  I don’t buy it.  God does everything well, and in a special most lovely way.  His purposes are true and good and every new life is a gift to be treasured and nurtured. 

If you are a mother, thank you for all the little things you do for your kids every single day, because you love them.  Some of you are so
creative, you are constantly filling your children’s hearts with new and interesting ideas and past times.  Some of you have no special talents, (ha ha ha, just kidding of course) but you are THERE in the home every day, ready to listen, ready to comfort, ready to fill a need and wipe a nose.  Thank you for the self-sacrifice that you go through each and every day (because I know you really wanted that last cookie, but you gave it to “Jr.”) and when you get weary, remember that God made you a mother for a reason, think back on the way life used to be and know that you would not change a thing.  Thank Him constantly for the opportunity to raise up godly children, because a thankful heart is a happy heart.  Be motivated to keep pressing on, looking ahead, working toward your goals for your precious family.  It is SO worth it, every stressful moment will be rewarded if only we press on to the glory of God.  And don’t forget to LAUGH as much as you can. 

God bless you over and over, happy Christian mama!  Keep on!  Keep on!  Your children are a gift from God Himself.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”  James 1:17