Tonight, as I sit her awake after a difficult day, I find comfort in my favorite Psalm (139). I read it again today, like I was reading it for the first time. A few things stood out to me this evening:
1. Before a word is on my tongue the Lord knows it completely (v. 4). He knows everything I have ever said or will ever say. And He still loves me!
2. God is always with me through the presence of the holy spirit. v. 7 says, "Where can I go from your spirit and where can I flee from your presence?" I can't. Sometimes I want to run away and hide. I cannot hide from God. He loves me too much to let me hide.
3. God has already written the book of my life before I was even born (v. 16). God saw me in my mother's womb and knew the whole story of my life. It is so nice to be that known by Him. Who says we don't have a personal, loving creator, who is actively involved in our lives (provided we let Him be)?
4. The Lord's thoughts are precious (one translation says "amazing") to me...What He thinks matters, and it should matter more than what anyone else thinks. I want to be right with Him.
5. I'm not so sure about v. 23 that asks God to "Test me and know my anxious thoughts"- but he already knows them. I want to be tested by God and found approved.
6. I trust that God will "lead me in the way everlasting." He will lead me in the right direction as I seek Him. He will be my guide. I don't have to make every decision on my own, or between just me and Micah. God will be our source and strength as we look to Him. I am so thankful for a God who speaks to me, even when I sometimes have a hard time hearing His voice, He is faithful to get through to me somehow.
I love you, Lord. And this Psalm is another proof that you love all of mankind. You are truly amazing.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Signing and Speaking
I'm loving the age Kaitlyn is right now. From about 6 months on, it seems like she is learning something new almost weekly I'm so proud of our little princess. She is starting to communicate, and nothing makes her speech-pathologist mommy happier!
So far, she can wave "hi", sign "more" (which is closer today than the jerky movement she was making when signing "more" over the past couple of weeks), and she seems to imitate "all done."
Tonight, it was time for her to eat before bed. She started to whine, and I said "do you want to eat?" She signed "Eat" for the first time. Then I used the sign for "milk" and she imitated it! What a smart little cookie. I will take communication any day over whining (which she does from time to time).
She has been babbling "dada" for awhile. Tonight, she repeated "mama" four times on command, and I even got it on video. It's like music to your ears to hear your child say "Mama." I remember crying several times with my Autistic speech patients who were very delayed in speaking when they finally said "mama" for the first time.
Other updates on Kaitlyn:
Pulling up/ standing: This morning she woke me up at 6:15 and when I looked at the video monitor she was standing up in her bed for the first time. Micah lowered the crib all the way to the bottom before bed tonight. She is also starting to pull up on the coffee table.
Crawling: Katie is finally crawling on all fours rather than just army crawling. It's still kind of awkward and she gets around faster with the army crawl (and can still hold her remotes and purple bottle), so she often still chooses that method.
Toys: As mentioned above, her favorite toys are two remotes that we no longer use and a soft purple toy bottle that comes in a picnic set her Momo gave her. If we let her, she will carry these with her all of her waking hours. Once, I tried to let her sleep with purple bottle, but that was a mistake- instead she rolled around her crib playing with it for an hour.
- We have learning time daily (when I'm home with her) at her high chair after her morning meal. I teach her about 4-5 different toys, use signs to describe them, play tea party, and have her try to differentiate between them. Mainly just playing and building vocabulary at this point.
Sleeping: it seems that it is time to cut a nap. Kaitlyn is still taking 3 naps, which range from 30 mins to 2 hours each, usually averaging about 45 mins to an hour. Hopefully if we cut her down to two naps, they will be a bit longer. She still sleeps at night from 7 PM til about 6 AM.
Teeth: She has her two bottom teeth in (as of about 2 weeks ago.) Kaitlyn seems to be teething again with lots of drooling and a runny nose, but no fussiness this time, so maybe it's just allergies. I hope the poor thing didn't inherit my allergies.
Happy Valentine's Day
So far, she can wave "hi", sign "more" (which is closer today than the jerky movement she was making when signing "more" over the past couple of weeks), and she seems to imitate "all done."
Tonight, it was time for her to eat before bed. She started to whine, and I said "do you want to eat?" She signed "Eat" for the first time. Then I used the sign for "milk" and she imitated it! What a smart little cookie. I will take communication any day over whining (which she does from time to time).
She has been babbling "dada" for awhile. Tonight, she repeated "mama" four times on command, and I even got it on video. It's like music to your ears to hear your child say "Mama." I remember crying several times with my Autistic speech patients who were very delayed in speaking when they finally said "mama" for the first time.
Other updates on Kaitlyn:
Pulling up/ standing: This morning she woke me up at 6:15 and when I looked at the video monitor she was standing up in her bed for the first time. Micah lowered the crib all the way to the bottom before bed tonight. She is also starting to pull up on the coffee table.
Crawling: Katie is finally crawling on all fours rather than just army crawling. It's still kind of awkward and she gets around faster with the army crawl (and can still hold her remotes and purple bottle), so she often still chooses that method.
Toys: As mentioned above, her favorite toys are two remotes that we no longer use and a soft purple toy bottle that comes in a picnic set her Momo gave her. If we let her, she will carry these with her all of her waking hours. Once, I tried to let her sleep with purple bottle, but that was a mistake- instead she rolled around her crib playing with it for an hour.
- We have learning time daily (when I'm home with her) at her high chair after her morning meal. I teach her about 4-5 different toys, use signs to describe them, play tea party, and have her try to differentiate between them. Mainly just playing and building vocabulary at this point.
Sleeping: it seems that it is time to cut a nap. Kaitlyn is still taking 3 naps, which range from 30 mins to 2 hours each, usually averaging about 45 mins to an hour. Hopefully if we cut her down to two naps, they will be a bit longer. She still sleeps at night from 7 PM til about 6 AM.
Teeth: She has her two bottom teeth in (as of about 2 weeks ago.) Kaitlyn seems to be teething again with lots of drooling and a runny nose, but no fussiness this time, so maybe it's just allergies. I hope the poor thing didn't inherit my allergies.
Social: Kaitlyn loves all of her friends! She enjoys interacting with other kids and had the best time meeting a new friend (1-year old) at a baby shower we went to today. Thank you, Lord, for a social kid after working with so many autistic ones.
Kaitlyn continues to be a very good baby. The word the Lord gave to Joyce for her is that she would have a "gentle and forbearing spirit." She does seem very gentle and tender-hearted. I wouldn't trade her for the world!
Here are some recent pictures of Katie Sue.
I love my purple bottle!
Happy Valentine's Day
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