Full of Yourself?

I wouldn't consider myself a control freak by any means- probably just a little Type A at times. What can I say? I need a plan. Is this personality trait of mine wrong? I think our controlling natures are only sinful when they become independent of the Lord. After all, He did give us control over certain things when He created the world but soon afterwards, that control (Eve) was made independent of the Lord. Sometimes I wonder where God is in a certain situation and then realize I haven't given Him control to do anything with it. 

He must become greater; I must become less. (John 3:30)

In order for much to be made of Him, we have to continually be laying things down. Often times we have no problem surrendering the things that we don't like to the Lord. If you're having a yard sale, it's going to be easier to give up the things that you don't care for anymore than it is to give up something shiny and fancy that you've loved for so long. Here's the kicker, we not only need to give up the parts of us that we don't like but the parts of us that we do like. So many times the message is to surrender your sin, surrender the parts of yourself that the Lord's not happy with and while that is definitely what we are called to do, we are also called to surrender our big house, our nice car, our head knowledge, our gentle and loving spirit, our family, our independence. Does this mean that we need to divorce our spouse, sell our house, and be rude to people? No, it's giving control of those things that we grip so tightly back to the Lord and let Him run wild with them. He can do far better with them than we ever could.

Lately, I've had to surrender my sleep and my energy to make much of baby girl; to make sure she's clean, fed, rested, and happy. There are plenty of days I'm drained. I've given it all up for her. This is what God has called us to do. To be drained of ourselves to make much of Him so that He can fill us back up again with Himself. 

We can't truly make much of Him if we aren't daily making less of ourselves and that includes the "good" things in our life. We need to unclinch our fists.

Brooklynn, meet baseball

Being in ministry, you don't really ever get to get away on the weekends because Sunday duties call and being a college athlete you don't really have free weekends to get away either. For those two reasons, my brother Stephen, had yet to meet baby Brooklynn. Since Stephen's a senior at CSU and John is in his last year at SMC we decided that we needed to burn up the road to try to catch their last home games. Brooklynn got to experience her first baseball games and her uncle Stephen finally got to meet her!

Family Pictures

Some sweet pictures of our new little family! Thank you, Culpepper family!

Two Months!

Weight: 9 lbs 6 oz

Length: 21"

Diaper Size: 1

Clothing size: Still mainly NB! She can fit in some 0-3 months.

Eye Color: Blue

Favorite Toy: She's just now starting to notice the mobiles above her swing which is too funny watching her talk to them.

Sleeping Habits: During the day, she may nap once for a two hour stretch...that's if I'm super lucky!! She's going to be a tough napper when she's a toddler, I just know it! On the other hand, she usually sleeps through the night depending on when she gets put down. If we put her down early around 8 she will wake up around 4. If we keep her up she stays awake until close to 10pm, then she will sleep until 6:30-7. 

Best Moments: She's starting to notice things around her...the tv, lights, her mobiles, and her daddy's beard...which is super funny! Her facial expressions will get the best of you...they're so cute!

Hard Moments: She's super colicky/crys uncontrollably from around 4pm until she goes to bed. Hoping to outgrow that soon!!! She also is starting to be overly dramatic when taking a bottle...I can't always feed you baby girl! She has bad reflux so take cover if you're feeding her! 

Happy 2 Months, Brooklynn-girl!

Brooklynn-land

Long time no blog. All's well here in Brooklynn-land. It's her world and we're just living it for right now. I know my recent posts have been baby this and baby that but honestly, that's how I'm rollin' right now. Hopefully, I'll be able to add in some more ministry and "spiritual" (haha) posts here soon if she ever decides to take longer than a 30 minute nap. My daily schedule consists of feeding, changing, sneaking in a bathroom break for myself, and running around like a mad woman trying to get things done during her short-lived naps (and no, I don't nap ;)) So, naturally, blogging kinda takes a backseat.

This past weekend, husband preached for my dad on Sunday because all of their staff were out of town so that meant we got to see some of our friends and exchange newborn introductions. Since I'm the world's worst about taking pictures, I stole some that others have posted. Here's our weekend...

My brothers had yet to meet Brooklynn. The life of college athletes; duty calls. John & Angie finally got to meet her this weekend. Don't worry, Stephen, we're coming for you soon!

                                     

We also got to meet up with our great friends from Greenville. Stetson was born just a few days after Brooklynn. 

 Ready for church at GiGi & Papas!

 Brooklynn & Stetson. Cuties!

& Halfton got her to finally open her eyes from a nap!

She's 1 Month!

 Happy One Month Birthday, baby girl...you are loved!

Baby Heisman, anyone?

Weight: 7lbs...maybe a little more now

Length: Not sure. She was 18 a month ago :)

Diaper Size: Newborn

Clothing size: Newborn...which we have hardly any of and most of her newborn things are too big!

Eye Color: Blue-grey

Favorite Toy: Her hands...Haha

Sleeping Habits: She's a pretty good sleeper! She still sleeps in her swing because she needs the movement! At night, on average she will sleep 3 1/2 hours at a time. A couple of times she's slept more than 4 and one night she slept 6 1/2! During the day, she still sleeps a lot but she's also awake way more than normal!

The first thing people say when seeing her is, "Oh my gosh she's so tiny!" I'm thinking, "Oh my gosh she's getting so big!" Here's a reminder of how tiny she was!

What I've learned about Brooklynn

As the "one month birthday" of our girl approaches, there are things about being Brooklynn's mom that I've been able to experience. Here's the top 10 good, better, and best moments with our little one.

1. I know babies are supposed to sleep on their backs...but I'm 100% certain they'd sleep through the night if they could sleep on their tummys. Brooklynn sleeps best on a chest...Husband's chest to be exact!

2. Newborns are a nightmare for those of us that like keeping a schedule. There's no such thing anymore. 

3. Every whimper at night freaks me out. "Is she choking?!"

4. I'm pretty sure B knows when we're watching her. She cries at night until I sit up then she stops. If I lay back down, she starts up again. Attention-driven, anyone?

5. She likes to choke herself by shoving her fist down her throat when she's hungry. I try to tell her that's not the way to go! 

6. She hates baths...until you wash her hair :-)

7. She always has her hands up in the air or by her face. This makes the whole "swaddle" business a nightmare -- you'll break a sweat.

8. Cluster feeding. Really?

9. She has ninja arms and legs. It's a feat to get her diaper on. She will straight karate kick you if you're too close.

10. When I feel like pulling my hair out, all she has to do is pucker up or smile and I'm good to go.

We really have been super blessed. She's such a good baby 99% of the time. She definitely has her diva moments but she's a girl ;-)