Some cute pictures...

Isn't he cute?

She's already trouble...

Isn't she the cutest ever!

Footprints in the sand

You know, when I sit back and look at the past 4 months, on one hand I think how on earth did we make it, but on the other I know exactly how.

Presley was born into our 760 square foot home with no bedrooms. For starters, I was hormonal...she also has acid reflux, and in the beginning a gas problem more than the average newborn (overfeeding a little one sure makes that worse). She cried the majority of the day. I was going insane with being in the same space, same room with Presley and I couldn't fix her. I couldn't figure out why every time her head slightly went backwards she'd scream. I couldn't get sleep, and wasn't sleeping very well during the day (unless ofcourse we went to the Galla-rinis where she would magically fall asleep). We still think she was playing a little game with us :) I couldn't seem to get a handle quick enough. I went many days to the lactation nurses, the doctors and spent a lot of time researching on the Internet and books not to mention picking every mothers brain I came into contact with.

Yet by the end of the first month she was sleeping about 10-6 with a quick feeding in between, and was on her way to being a much happier baby (thank-you baby zantak and acidopholus).

God really won't give you more than you can handle. Even though I have whined and cried, probably more than the baby! About what?? lack of sleep, during the day and night, the small place we live in etc..but when you look at my past 4 months without the flesh talking, God's fingerprints are all over our lives and I am right in the midst of the grace I am begging for. For example...

1. The house we are buying, we first saw and fell in love with about 6 months ago. It was 629,000 and way to far out of our budget. After looking at many other houses and experiencing a few big disappointments, the house drops 80,000 and they accept our offer, just hours before a larger offer came in. We got our dream home!


2. I was hooked up with extremely knowledgeable nurses that explained why Presley had so much tummy trouble due to my overabundant milk supply. They set me up with a plan of pumping before feeding and alternating sides from feeding to feeding rather than during a feeding...worked almost instantly.


3. Zantak works wonders...


4. Acidopholus is a live culture that helps her little tummy digest the milk and breaks down bad bacteria in her tummy...helps a lot too.


5. She sleeps great at night...on average I get 5-7 hours a sleep a night....broken up of course


6. I am able to stay off work for a total of 5 months before returning!


7. A husband who comes home and after greeting me, asks where's the baby and spends a half hour playing with her...always asks if I need help in the middle of the night and takes her when he can to give me a break.

And those are the ones I can see...imagine all the ones I can't.

True there have been challenges, I think the most difficult; living in a small place...but when looking at how God has been faithful when I was totally freaking out is encouraging. He really was there holding us afloat. He really did hear our concerns about our living situation and money, He really knew I needed sleep at night and he was so patient while I whined and cried about how hard it was. I know sometimes things need to get difficult for us...at least for me as strangely as it seems, hard times always point me to the cross.

I have heard this a million times, but never before has it made complete sense as it does now.

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way.But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life,there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."The LORD replied:
"My son, my precious child,I love you and I would never leave you.During your times of trial and suffering,when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

written by Mary Stevenson

Perspective

My husband Terry started a blog as well. I am so happy about this because I cherish his thoughts and glean from his wisdom and to see his heart in journal form allows me to get a deeper glimpse of him. Today he talked about living in the now and how he thinks he may do the same as me, as far as not living in the now goes, but just in a different way. We continued the conversation in person when he got home....he was commenting on me on how I live in the past homesick for past events. What he thinks is interesting is that I long for a past that actually didn't exist. For example...when Presley was born, it really wasn't an easy labor (the picture is meant to show how not easy it was...exhausted doesn't describe it!). In fact it was the most painful delivery, and recovery. Yet I experienced a strong longing to be in labor and deliver her once more so I could experience thins glorious, wonderful and painless??? event again. So, I got to thinking that this is true and why do I do this. I think I do it because the past, as difficult as it may be is predictable, but the future is not, and its scary. That's where the negative side comes out. Its not even that the future can be scary, it will be scary. And again, I feel the nudge of the Holy Spirit gently correcting me. "For I have plans for you says the Lord....to give you a future and a hope". What a loving Father I have...what a fool I, we can be. Yet he always there, faithful in His promises and consistent and predictable...all the things a child like me needs while I stumble through life.

It's so funny

Anyone that has talked more than 30 minutes with me in the past month can tell you that Presley is an awesome baby that sleeps fairly well at night ( 8 hours with a feeding in between)...but during the day its a different story. People would say, "sleep when the baby sleeps". But by the time I fell asleep the baby was up. Most days out of the week she can sleep as little as an hour. Last time I checked 2 1/2 months was still newborn but she's not sleeping like a newborn...But as a good friend keeps telling me (thanks Sarah) she is her own person, an individual. What you can't see out of this picture is the huge 56 inch TV with Baby Einstein playing. You also can't see the hour she just spent being fussy and me putting her in her bouncer to watch Baby Einstein for just a few moments while I frantically made a sandwich in the kitchen hurrying so that I could feed her. As I finished making the sandwich I was surprised to see her calm down. I thought, maybe I have time to eat it...then she was still watching so I thought maybe I could write something in my blog. After going through the video once, since she was still interested I turned it on again...and much to my extreme surprise she did something she has never done before...Fell asleep on her own. God knows when you just need a break :)

Time

If there is one thing I could change about myself right now, it wouldn't be the pregnancy weight I gained, or the amount of sleep I'm getting. It wouldn't be my job or the amount of money we have. It would be the ability to stop and enjoy now. All my life I have either longed for the future to come or the past to come back...as well as longed for the past to leave my memory. I can't see to live in the now. This is something I pray about constantly because it feels as though life, the wonderful life that God has blessed me with is passing me by!



I do have pockets where I am able to sit back and take it all in. Like when I got married, and the first few years of marriage...but right now with a 2 month old baby I find the days slipping out of my hands. It could be that this is the first time for motherhood for me, or that I'm too tired, or that its kinda tough right now and I am looking to the future when it might get easier....that's when I realized that it's mainly the last part. When things are difficult for me in life, or even uncomfortable my instinct it to fix it and make it better. That's is when I start longing for the past or future.



I know that the Lord does not desire for me to live the life he gave me this way. Especially that through Christ I have joy, peace and comfort. He bears all my burdens...yet the enemy loves for me to live in a state of regret or longing.



So for today I am going to fix my mind on Christ. He is my strength, my joy and my peace. He is the reason I was created and when things in my life might be uncomfortable or even unbearable, I need to run to His feet and rest in Him.

A bunch of stuff

Today...little Presley had her first set of shots. I think that she cried more out of anger than pain. I don't think I ever got the boob out faster! She stopped crying right away. They also gave her tylenol before and she slept for a long time after that. Regarding her reflux, the Dr. does not want to put her on Reglan or rice cereal. First she wants to increase the amount of Zantak. The dr. said that Reglan speeds up digestion so that the milk goes through her system quicker. She also said that since Presley was thriving so well that there was no need for Reglan.

Presley weighs 12lb. 11oz. She was 7lb. 14 oz. when she was born and has definitely gained a good amount. She is right on track with all her milestones such as smiling, cooing, and lifting her head when she is on her tummy.

On another note, I went and saw my friend Heidi who just had her baby a week ago. Marley is abosultely precious and it is hard to think that Presley was that little. When I was looking at Marley, I was thinking wow we made it this far. I must always remember that it is the Lord who has helped up this far.


Presley also went swimming for the first time on Sunday July 22nd. We went over to our friend Sara and Marcus's house. Presley really likes her bath, so we figured she would like it and she did! She just looks like she is really relaxed in the water.

Newborn Life...

How cute! Presley needs her little mittens so she does not scratch her face. Presley is in her first week of life here :)

Life has changed...

She's tired!!! What about us? That has and still is taking time to get used to. From now on it's not only about us. There is this little precious life completely dependent upon us (upon me at eating time) for her survival. Oh how God is once again bringing me to my knees in need of Him and His Grace to make it through these days.

First time blogging

Presley Noelle Lu was born on May 21st, 2007. I love this picture...it was taken just seconds after baby Lu was born. I think it captures the miracle of life and the blessing from God a new baby is. Ripped from the comforts from the womb, into a cold world...but she was made by God to glorify him and Jesus will spend Presley's life chasing after her to rescue her from the pain the world can bring.
So we got pregnant...sometime in August of 2006. The first 15 weeks I was pretty sick, mostly in the evening. The rest of the pregnancy was awesome! At 40 weeks and 2 days I still felt I could have been pregnant forever. I loved feeling the baby move and the excitement about what she would look like and who she would be.

Terry Lu and Kathleen Conaway married on July 23rd, 2004 after 4 years and some months of dating. I have often said, and truly felt that marriage brought on the happiest years of my life. I love being married to this man! What better way to express our love then to have a baby! >