Well, we transformed my baby's room and my little loves are now officially in big girl beds! They slept on the bottom bunk together for the first time on the 27th. We put them to bed at 7:30 but they played together until 9:30. They woke at 5:30am a little disoriented and thirsty, so after getting them a drink, I tucked them back in & they fell back asleep til 9am! I'm so proud of them! I heard them calling out "Hello!" when they woke, went in to get them and we had breakfast on a tablecloth in the living room while watching Winnie the Pooh.
We're not quite ready to introduce them to the top bunk. When they're better climbers & learn how to get up & down unassisted, we will assign days of the week to them and they can switch off sleeping on the top bunk. Sunday will be reserved as a treat for whoever gets the most stickers on their chart during the week!! Potty training has taken a step back but once they get used to sleeping in their big bed, I'm going to reintroduce it and hopefully we can get hang of it before their birthday.
Here's my growing girls! I feel so blessed to have been with them for almost 2 years! Every stage of their lives has been exciting. I will miss knowing them as babies, but I look SO forward to knowing them as little ladies!
I know my posts are typically of my girls' growth & progress. I love sharing all the new things they learn & pick up from week to week, but I want to switch gears and talk a little bit about my man.Yesterday we watched the movie "Courageous". For those of you who don't know, it is a movie centered around the moral/biblical responsibilities of a man at work & at home, as husbands & fathers. Most of the men in this movie worked for the Sheriff's Department. If you're not familiar with it, watch this clip before reading on.
It was a good movie, but it hit us pretty close to home. It has caused Ian and I to think and talk a lot about our roles in regards to his job on the police force.
Y'all honestly, I never wanted to be married to a cop. That life was never something I thought I would be able to handle because I've always been scared of being alone. I tend to see the gloom before the glory in most situations. How do I let my husband leave our home everyday knowing full well that it could be the last time I see him? How do I ever let go of him, knowing it might be the last time I'll ever get to embrace him? Ian is an invaluable part of who I am, and if something ever happened to him, how could I continue on without that part of myself? These are everyday worries that I carry with me until I hold my beloved once more. Yes, I worry, but the Lord has a way of delicately refocusing our views and that is why I'm not consumed by fear. I know my husband and I know my God.
Ian is more than my Hero! He is an amazing police officer and sometimes that means he's travelling the dangerous road. "Courageous", though a well made movie, does not even come close to portraying what Ian has to face on a daily basis. He sees and deals with pure hatred & evil. But he possesses a strength that I have never seen in anyone before. He knows what's right and fights for it! He is smart, calculating and always seems to be prepared for anything. He is never taken off guard because he never lets his guard down. He is always protecting. He's very open with me regarding the difficulties & pressures of his job, but he does not bring the street problems that he faces into our home. While caring for the needs of others, he still finds time to treasure his family and touch the heart of his wife. It might sound odd, but my worry for him when he's in the thick of trouble, means that someone else doesn't have to be scared anymore. When Ian is out on the job, I feel safe and proud, not alone and frightened. And that's only due to the peace of God. He began a work in Ian and I long before we met. Ian's purpose was to be a peace officer and so was mine; his job is to make peace and mine is to live in it! When he's out keeping us safe, I am with him. I send him out with a prayer for safety and greet him again with a prayer of thankfulness! And I can tell you now, after plenty of moments of dread, that I don't wish things were different. It is hard, but the hard is what turns the good into great!
The God that my husband and I serve has numbered our days, and nothing can happen to us until God desires our presence with Him and calls us to our heavenly home. Even when Ian is away from me, Jesus Christ still faithfully walks beside him and I trust Christ with Ian's care. Therefore, Ian possesses an armor that is unseen and cannot be removed or penetrated. He is covered in love and prayers and I am confident that he is as safe as he could ever be.
One of my favorite hymns is "Because He lives". I often hum it to remind myself to surrender my fears.
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know, He holds the future
And life is worth the living, just because He lives.
"...If God is for us, who can be against us?" Rom.8:31.
Continue fighting the good fight, Ian my Love!
Thankfully, our bedtime spats were short lived, but I tell ya...Phew! It sure was rough there for a while. Being a Mama is difficult sometimes. Last night was heavenly. I put them to bed, they went down without a fight and slept til 10am this morning! I hate it when my babies cry and wish I could fix it every time, but there really is something to leaving them alone to let them cry it out. They've learned that after I say goodnight, they won't see me again til morning and for that, I'm so thankful. Uninterrupted sleep is best for all of us!
They're in pullups during the day, diapers at night. We're in the same place potty-wise. We have plenty of days with wet pants, but they're doing much better at recognizing when they have to go #2 and telling me. They jabber to one another all the time & are starting to form sentences..."Sissy, where are you?", "there you are!", "all better", "I wanna hold you". They're also starting to sing along with us to songs in the car! It's adorable!
Another new development is rapidly approaching. We will probably be in big girl beds soon. They often nap at Nana's in pack'n plays and they've been climbing back & forth from one to the other.
Rather than putting them in toddler beds, Ian and I will be assembling the 30+ year old bunk bed he (all the Mader kids) slept in as a child. It's an incredibly fun bed and SO cool that his daughters will be sleeping in it now! We're probably still a few months out, but we're thinking about putting it together for their birthday in April. Pretty exciting!
We met freshman year(2002) at Western Baptist College, fell in love, got married, moved to Texas, had 3 beautiful daughters, and are living life and loving the Lord!!
