Me and My House

It's the beginning of a new chapter! Matthais, our second son, is a week old today.  God is so good.  I was able to give birth to him through VBAC this time (vaginal birth after c-section), which was my biggest prayer with this pregnancy--not to have another c-section.  Labor was a whopping 34 1/2 hours, all in all, but most of that was contracting and waiting for me to dilate fully.  Thanks to my best friend, Epidural, it wasn't too bad and the pushing wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated (there's some hope for all you mamas-to-be!).  I had my fears and even cried when they told me it was time to start pushing, but by God's grace and strength, the support, love, and prayers of many, and my husband holding my hand the whole way through, I had a beautiful birth.  As soon as I felt him come out, I was nearly hysterical--the relief and release of all that emotion and stress--and then when I heard his first little cry, I lost it.  I burst into tears and cries of elated joy, awe, and gratitude.  It was the most amazing thing I had experienced in my life. Carlos and I were speechless, and at the same time energized from witnessing something so beautiful and awesome

In my last week of pregnancy, I was craving cheesecake, so much so that I went through the trouble of making one, only to have it ruined by using generic cream cheese!  For my first meal at the hospital after giving birth, they served spaghetti, and what else for dessert but--yes--cheesecake! :)  Even with that plastic wrapped hospital grade cake, I felt that God is so good and cares for me so personally, down to the details of my seemingly trivial life.  I felt like He was patting me on the back and saying, "Good job."  He is so amazing.

Matthias means "Gift of God" and he is just that.  When we came upon this name as we were searching for baby names, Carlos remembered asking the Lord for another child.  He specifically prayed, "God, can You bless us with another gift?"  The next thing you know, I was pregnant, and so 'Matthias' it was.

Now that I have two children, my life is drastically changed.  Jedidiah is 2 and a half, still a baby himself.  It hurts my heart at times to see the difficulties for him adjusting to having a baby brother; things like having to wait for Mommy to hold him, and not being able to take him places, our usual every day activities before Matthias came about.  But my heart also swells with pride when I see him take it with grace, understanding and accepting that things have changed; like watching and waiting while I'm breastfeeding and not trying to inflict any harm on his brother, or simply pointing and saying, "Baby! Baby!"  He is a good, sweet boy, though he has his terrible-two-year-old moments.  I love him so much and miss my buddy, but I know it's all in due time.  I can't wait to have Mommy dates with my Jedidiah down the line!

So now we are a family of four.  How blessed and rich I am.  I am ever amazed and in awe at the goodness of my God, His love to us, to me, His favor upon us...and I wonder at His plans for us.

Lord, may our family be consecrated to You.  May our lives be for Your glory, honor and praise.

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Amen.