Embracing the Cough

Were does time go to! Some days I find myself counting down the hours to nap time and then to bed time, and yet then I blink and my babes are 14 months and 11 months.

So my 14 month old is a smarty pants that is for sure. she has figured out how to unlock my Iphone and I thought that she would not get it, however I think she was paying close attention to me when I would play with it and was working on figuring it out. Her bottom 18 month old molars have finally cut through. I am one happy mama about that. It means less middle of the night wakes up to a screaming and in pain baby girl. As a mother I feel helpless when I know I have done everything I can to help ease the pain and swelling and yet they still are in pain and it still hurts. This past month of colds was like that. Colds and teething, AHHHHHHHH! However I am happy to say that I think we have turned the corner and we are all getting better.

Jaris, my 11 month old is doing amazing. He is pulling himself up to standing and now shuffling along the couch and moving from holding the couch to the ottoman all by himself! WOW talk about a proud mama!!!!!!!!!!! I love watching him and how proud he is of himself. He also can crawl up the stairs from our toy room to our living room. He still has trouble with the reverse, however we will take it one step at a time. These days our fears and worries about his abilities seem to have disappeared. Someone who were to meet him now would never know that there was a time we were fearful and worried that he would never be able to sit up, crawl, walk, talk etc. I thought I may never hear him say Mama, or Dada, and now we hear that all the time. God is good, God would be good even if Jaris was not able to do all these things. I may find it harder to say, however the truth is no matter what God is with us and holding us and loving us!

Jeral's knee is doing fantastic, so much so that he does the chores more than I do. Some days it is just easier and more time efficient if he does them. Yet I still get the odd chicken thinking morning while I am doing the chores.

I got really sick last week. Whatever the kids and Jeral had for the past month hit me hard, and I was coughing up a storm. However I learned something from being sick. Since the coughing hurt so much I tended to fight the coughing and thus extended the time I was cough two fold as well as the pain. If I would have embraced the coughing and just let it happen when it was happening, while it would have been extremely painful in the moment, the moment would have passed and the gunk in my chest would have come up and I would have then enjoyed a break from the coughing for a bit. Yet because I was stubborn thinking I could fight with the cough and win I extended the length of time it took for the gunk to come up as well as the pain. each little cough hurt almost as much as a big cough. Once I figured that out it was big coughs are welcome!!!!! Normally I am not one to ask God what can he teach me through being sick - I would rather medicate and feel great while being sick. This time was different, and while the lesson was taught through my being sick, it is more than just about me accepting getting a cold. This translates into everyday life. I am not one to accept something I do not like, I fight it and try my best to change it even if it is something that has already happened. Yet the key to moving on is moving through whatever is going on by accepting it, embracing it for what it is, and in many cases also talking about it and feeling the emotions attached to it with someone safe. I know I have a long way to go with this. Yet I am thankful for the little reminders by Jesus.