Rocking Chairs

I love rocking my babies. It is a quiet, relaxing time for us. Allison was out of the rocking mode for a while. Actually, Ernie suggested that we stop rocking her when she was about 7 months old. "Stop rocking her?", I asked. "But she's my baby!" "We may not get to have another one!" But in the end, he was right. She fell asleep much sooner in her comfortable bed than she did fighting me to the finish. (And God did give us another baby). Now she knows when we tell her it's close to bed time, that it is time to "rax" (relax). We get her favorite clutch blanket (her "duck") and her favorite blanket (her "bears") and we sit together for a few minutes. She either sits with me or Ernie on the couch or in the recliner (her choice, of course) and we snuggle for a little while.

Then, there's Nicholas. Our sweet boy was born 7 weeks early and I didn't get to hold him until he was four days old. It just so happened to be the day that I left the hospital, but he would be in for another 2 1/2 weeks. We got to hold him more and more while he was in the hospital and getting stronger. Then came the night before he came home and I got to spend the night with him in the hospital. I was the one who cared for him overnight. It was a feeling I will never forget. He wanted to rock and snuggle a little longer than Allison did. However, now you have to sit with him in just the right position or he knows that you are trying to get him to sleep. Sometimes it's too much of a fight and we just have to put him in his bed. We often end up going back in to get him (because he's crying) and we try sitting with him again. This time though, it works. We get his favorite blanket, he wraps his arm around it and lets himself relax. We rock, his little head falls to one side, his big blue eyes flutter and he goes to sleep.

Is there anything more peaceful than watching your babies sleep? Even though we've put them to bed and I know they are OK, I cannot go to sleep without checking on them one more time. Are they covered up? Are they comfortable? I say a prayer for God to keep them safe through another night.

I know they won't remember these times, but I hope it gives them a sense of peace and security. I hope they know that we love them beyond measure. And one day I will tell them about our special, quiet times in the rocking chair.

Quiet Time

I have some rare quiet time in the house at the moment, so I thought I would put up a quick post. Both babies went to bed willingly (!) (of course, Nick was taking one last bottle when he fell asleep) and Ernie had to run back to the office. The power went out this evening and he forgot he had one more thing to do.

It has been a busy couple of days. Allison is feeling better as far as the whole virus issue we were having, but now she has a little summer cold. It's not bad enough to slow her down though! She is such a sweet girl. She continually amazes me with new words and her understanding of things. She is a joy and a light in our lives. Nicholas is getting better and quicker at what someone dubbed his "bear crawl." He is also pulling up every chance he gets.

On a sadder note, Scotty's uncle passed away last Thursday. It was a tremendous loss to their family. I only had a few opportunities to spend time with Lee Bangs. But the times I did see him were times of laughter and smiles. I know that he will be greatly missed, but fondly remembered.

Today we spent some time with the Mommy & Me crowd. We've been getting together on Mondays this summer. We went to Chic-Fil-A for playtime and lunch. I think Chic-Fil-A was the choice because they have a nice indoor play center. How old am I?! I am choosing places to eat and play based on how nice the indoor play center is! I don't feel as old when we do things like go to the zoo, let the kids play in the gym at the Christian Student Center, or meet at someone's house. Those things seem to make sense for Mommy & me outings. But I have to tell you, when I was sitting in Chic-Fil-A today, I felt old! But I digress...

It is 9:30 now and time to start getting ready for bed. (See I told you that I am getting old!)

Date Night

Well, Ernie and I were able to go on a date Saturday night. We went to see a movie (Talladaga Nights - surprisingly funny) and then we had a nice dinner together. Of course, we went to Sunday School and church on Sunday. Lisa, Scotty, and Chelsea came over for lunch afterwards. It's always fun to have them over. The hard part is when they leave. (Allison isn't much on letting Chelsea go). Then later that evening, it happened...Allison had another yucky diaper. We got her all cleaned up and ready for bed (which didn't happen till 11:45 pm). Ernie is such a big help with our children. We literally took turns trying to get Allison to sleep. I think it was a combination of her being over-tired and not feeling well. We are staying home from Mommy & me this morning, and I am wiping down everything I can think of with Clorox wipes. Hopefully, some "down time", a bland diet, and some Gatorade for a couple of days will have things back in order.

I am looking forward to meeting my friends, Tanya and Kim, for some fellowship time at CC's Coffee House tonight. They have asked me to join them in helping with the church nursery. We are going to brainstorm over hot chocolate, coffee, and really big, yummy cookies.

Sort of a Bummer...
Well, this really won't be a great first blog. Allison seems to have a portion of the dreaded virus that is going around. It started with a day and a half of fever and was topped off by a dreadful diaper this afternoon. There has only been one of those so far...knock on wood. Looking back on this week, she probably started feeling bad Tuesday afternoon. She sort of acts out when she is sick. But she is also two, so it's hard to tell some days whether she is sick or whether she is just two. She's a sweetie anyway.
Nicholas is getting the hang of crawling. He's pretty quick! And what's really funny is he crawls on his hands and the bottoms of his feet. It's almost like he needs to figure out to use his hands to push himself up and he would be standing. It is quite a sight. He has started to pull up to the standing position on furniture in the last two days or so. He is going to be off to the races before I know it! Oh, and the other thing he is doing is dancing. I need to get that on video soon. He knows how to make certain toys play music and he will do so repeatedly and just bounce up and down. He is such a joy and I thank God daily for the miracle that he is.
That's about it for now. We are looking forward to the weekend. Pending Allison's health, Ernie and I have a date on Saturday night. Woo Hoo! :)

I've done it! I've jumped on the blogging band wagon. I have been reading other people's posts for months now, maybe even a year. I have been thinking recently of starting my own, so here it is. I will do my best to update often (hopefully, not "too often").

I've always enjoyed writing, but haven't done it for quite some time. I think this will be a little weird at first - sort of like someone reading your journal, but I also think I will enjoy it. It will be yet another creative outlet for me. (Some of my other outlets include stamping and scrap booking.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading as much as I will enjoy posting.