In the meantime

1.  With each stage, you think “This can’t get any better.”  And then you reach the next stage—and it is so much more fun than the previous stage. 2.   There are times when it’s okay to let the baby cry…and cry…and cry.  She’ll eventually fall asleep and wake up.  Chances are she’ll be much more civil towards you and the rest of the world. 3.  If you don’t like this stage…just wait it out.  It’ll change shortly. 4.  If you like this stage…enjoy it, because it’s going to change soon! 5.  A sick baby is no fun—the nights are the worst! 6.  Moms don’t have an “off” switch.  Dads do. 7.  Poopy diapers are all relative. 8.  Don’t be afraid to do that thing you thought you’d never do—it won’t be the end of the world.  The baby will be just fine and you’re no less of a mom because you did it. 9.  A lot of parenting is a...

I cannot begin to tell you how much it thrills my heart to see Talitha smile at me, to snuggle with her, to watch her sleeping face, to hear her giggle, and to see her wiggle all over on the floor.  We are so blessed to have Talitha with us.  God is so incredibly good to us.  Being a mom has been one of the most wonderful and most difficult experiences of my life. Perhaps having Talitha has also helped ease some of the pain of our miscarriage, as in some ways, we have "moved past" the will we ever hold a baby of our own in our arms?  question.  At least we know that {maybe} we were just another couple that fits into the "first babies are often miscarried" statistic.  I don't know...   Whatever the case, I came across the following post on Lessons from Suffering in Life  in my draft archive the other day and finally feel like I can post it.  I post these not because I feel like I've mastered these lessons but because I need to be ...

The first week after Talitha was born, my parents were here, so they basically took care of all our meals during that time.  Then my parents left.  For almost the next two weeks, ladies from church brought us meals.  It was such a blessing to know that a hot meal was coming each day and I didn’t have to even think about what to make for supper!  (Sometimes that thinking part is the hardest part! haha!) Anyway… during that time, instead of a hot meal for supper, one friend brought us some frozen breakfast burritos.  Ok guys, let me tell you something: for those of us who always have to have a hot breakfast, those burritos were the best. idea. ever.  Period.  I say that because, for about the first month after Talitha was born, there were so many mornings I was so tired I could hardly make myself get out of bed, much less get out of bed in time to make Isaac breakfast before he had to leave for work....

I sat there in the recliner, holding my Little Girl.  She had been crying, hysterically so, with giant crocodile tears welling up in her eyes.  I picked her up. She stopped crying. She was crying for Mommy. Wait a minute…     She was crying for Me .      I’m her Mommy. And then, while Talitha snuggled up with me, I was the one crying. They were mostly tears of joy, tears of overwhelming thankfulness to God for giving us our Talitha. But there were also tears because I missed ever getting to hold our Twins, tears because of all of the “what could have beens.” But in the end, there were tears because I know God is good and He does bring “joy in the morning,” despite the sorrow in the night. Last week at the local MOPS-equivalent get-together, a couple ladies shared on Infant Loss Awareness Day. Yes, it has been like almost three years since we miscarried, but as one of the...

Some pictures...until I get around to writing something actually worth reading! :)   And yes, these are slightly out of order.

Welcome Talitha Hope Stanley!   Born July 18, 2017  8 lbs 5 oz  19 inches