We DO Matter!

Some days, you feel like you've done something right as a parent and the things you're trying to teach your children actually do soak in. The girls each got a $5.00 gift card from Walmart in their stockings for Christmas. Lainey has been asking when we could go to Walmart to use it since December 26th. We finally got around to going on Friday. Lon and I decided that the best attack for Walmart was to divide and conquer so he and Lainey went one way and Sarah Grace and Abby and I went another. Lon and I expected that Lainey would use her gift card to get herself something since they each got their own card, but she fooled us. She decided to use her card to get Sarah Grace something for her birthday. I told her how proud I was of her for thinking of someone else instead of herself and she said, "Well, it is her birthday." (I mean technically it's not, but Lainey seems to have embraced the "we celebrate birthdays for the whole month" philosophy.) It's just one of those moments that you feel like, "Hey, they do listen every now and again and it DOES matter what I'm trying to teach them!" Makes me think I should ride this parenting thing out to the end to see how it turns out!

This has been a busy week for Abby. She cut her top two teeth, learned to wave (precious!), and has learned to clap (equally precious!). We're working on blowing kisses as well. She had a check up on Friday and is doing great. She's weighing almost 16 1/2 pounds and, as hard as it is to believe, will be turning one in just a couple of months. Where does the time go?

As for pregnancy news, all continues to go well. I started feeling the baby move this week which is always a welcome blessing. I noticed it for the first time on Tuesday and then not again until today when it began in earnest. It's always such a neat thing during those first few days and weeks of movement when only I can feel it. For me, it's always been a real bonding experience as though the baby and I are sharing a few private moments of getting to know one another. Soon enough, this baby will be kicking hard enough for others to feel and sometimes see! It brings to life the verse in Psalms which speaks of the Lord knitting us together in our mother's womb. What a blessing to be a part of such a miracle!