"One Thousand Gifts"

is a suiting title for Ann Voskamp’s biographical book.  She recounts her struggle with viewing God as ungracious and her mission to change her perception by listing one thousand things she is thankful for.  According to the back cover, she "beckons you to leave the parched ground of pride, fear, and white-knuckle control and abandon yourself to God who overflows your cup."  She "turns pain into poetry" and "gently teaches you how to biblically lament loss."  Her list has reminded me that God’s love for us is obvious even in the smallest “gifts.”

Some of my favorites from her list are:

Clean sheets smelling like wind

Bare toes in early light

Jam piled high on toast

Moonlight on pillows

Kisses in the dark

Frost’s first crunch

Kettle whistling for tea on a cold afternoon

Crackle in the fireplace

Wool sweaters with turtle neck collars

Toothless smiles
Suds all colors in the sun

I began making my own list, which I will add to periodically here on this blog:

1. Old leather boots resoled

2. Live jug band

3. A father’s happy tears  

4. Homemade pie crust with butter-- shameless

5. Snapping uncooked asparagus

6. High pressure warm shower in small, steam-trapping bathroom

7. Blowing bubbles in facial cleanser

8. Babies’ toes

9. Yellow light on white sheets

10. Winter-cool wood floors under quick bare feet in morning

11. Coffee aroma in 7am kitchen

12. Undercooked chocolate chip cookies

13. Cherry blossoms falling like snow

"What is that?"

I’m looking forward to the “What is that?” questions.  Mom, what is that?  This is butter.  We can make some out of heavy cream sometime.  Where does cream come from?  From cows that go "Moo Moo."  I’m using the butter to grease my skillet so that my eggs don’t stick.  What’s an egg?  This is an egg; it comes out of a chicken.  What is a chicken?  Chickens are fat birds that can’t fly and go “Clucka!”  Here’s how you crack an egg.  You try the next one.  Look at all the ooze ooze out.  Doesn’t it look like snot?!  Watch it slosh in the skillet.  Now we can watch how the fire cooks the egg.  Mom, why do we have snot? 

Right now we are still at questioning eyes, “Mom, why can’t I roll over?!”

"Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus"

He Rolled Over

Our little man rolled over for the first time today.  :)  He was tummy timing (I didn't catch the roll on video, but I will try) when I saw that he was trying to throw his right leg and hip.  But alas he was too close to the edge of the mat and I knew his head would hit the wood if he rolled.  He achieved his goal sooner than I could move him and hit his head he did.  I picked him up and rejoiced for him even though the poor little guy was crying.  "That was you're first time to hurt yourself, Blue Eyes!  You have never caused yourself to get hurt before.  Good job!"  Haha. 

What do you think?

http://www.savesara.com/SarasStory.php

Cloth Diapers vs. Disposables

I did some math on diapering costs and thought I'd share my findings with you.

Disposable Diapers from the store cost about $.20 each give or take. The average parent spends $72/mo on diapers. That's more than $850 in the first year. Plus you'll need a diaper pale- prices vary.

Cloth Diapers cost me about $150 + utilities for Nate's first year. If you have a washer/dryer, free water/electric/gas, then that is all it will cost you. If not, factor in the cost of one load every two days (it likely costs less than $700/yr.) I really like the brand that I chose. They are size-adjustable, so they will fit your baby from birth to 18lbs (10-14 mos.) They do not leak, are not too bulky, and are really cute. Plus washing diapers is not as tedious as I had anticipated- you can purchase more diapers to wash less often. Here's my cost breakdown:

-$60 on five Thirsties DuoWraps at $12 each. http://www.amazon.com/Thirsties-Wrap-Meadow-Size-6-18/dp/B002FB7FBO/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1326144232&sr=1-1.

-$64 on 16 Thirsties Hemp Inserts at $4 each. http://www.amazon.com/Thirsties-Hemp-Inserts-Pack-Small/dp/B002FB7FLE/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1326144437&sr=1-1. These are soft and wonderfully absorbant. You can also simply buy prefolds at Walmart for approx $1 each.

-$18.50 on one zip up wetbag http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Wise-Washable-Reusable-Swimwear/dp/B006G1MXOS/ref=sr_1_10?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1326144602&sr=1-10. This is big enough to hold all of my diapers at once. It does not leak at all and it seals in the smell completely. Plus it comes in lots of fun color options. I just empty the diapers into the washer and turn the bag wrong-side-out to wash them. (Once your baby starts eating solid foods, you will have to rinse the poop off, but that's not as bad as it sounds and should be done even with disposables for the environmenment's sake).

-$12.50 will buy you a mini wetbag for your diaper bag. http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Wise-MINI-Wet-Dry/dp/B003II923M/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1326144817&sr=1-1. I just ordered mine; I have been using ziplock bags.

Remember there is no reason to polarize your choice. I keep a stash of disposable diapers too. Here's a helpful cost calculator website that you might find worth using: http://www.babycenter.com/baby-cost-calculator.

It is hard to eat when you're crying and hard to not cry when you're too tired to eat. 
Poor little guy.  He is sleeping soundly now and I am unpacking from our 2.3 week Texas trip.  Hello New Jersey= Hello cold.