change and blessings

Well, change is upon me again... and maybe I'm getting more comfortable with it, ask me next week and I'll let you know! Tomorrow I will leave my official "teaching career" for now and venture into a new world as a nanny. While my classroom days are over I look forward to teaching a little 2 1/2 year old boy and my darling little girl. This summer we'll add a new baby to the mix :) I know there will be adjustments to make and lessons to be learned. My "teaching" days have been filled with younger and younger children recently, but not anyone quite this young before. Upon our first meeting I learned two crucial details about Mr.S... he loves tractors and cooking! What a lovely combination :) I've been researching the typical development of 2 year olds, along with games, and activities for them. I've been a fan of the blog "I Can Teach My Child" for awhile now, and look forward to using many of her ideas with this little man. I have a pile of things, in my dear husband's office (lacing beads, Mr. Potato Head, magnetic blocks, learning CD's, puzzles, etc), that I can bring in my bag of tricks once I figure out exactly what he's ready for. After visiting his home, I also know he has plenty to play with and lots of room to play as well. Some of my books are organized for our first few weeks together... a typical boy pile with transportation books, and dinosaur books; some Valentine books that we'll read as we do a few holiday crafts; some alphabet and counting books; "The Napping House" which will be perfect before nap time; some favorite character books (like Clifford and Curious George); and finally some easy "I Spy" books.

So with this new opportunity we're rejoicing in the following blessings specifically (some about the job, others about the time I'll have free at home):
~ 9:00am-5:00pm work days, only 4 days a week!
~ on busier weeks for the family I may be needed for longer hours which will be made up with more time off to enjoy Moriah and be home
~ outings to the library's story times, parks, the zoo, etc.
~ a very kind and thoughtful family to work for who have already gone out of their way to make me feel very comfortable in their home with Moriah as well
~ 3 weeks of paid vacation a year... a huge perk :)
~ days with my little one
~ learning baby sign language and teaching it to Moriah
~ getting Moriah back on a well structured nap routine (day care hasn't been the best about this lately when they banned swaddling!)
~ adding fruits and vegetables to Moriah's growing palate (and making them at home)
~ grocery shopping and cleaning on my day off so that we'll have more weekend family time for fun
~ serving Matt by helping our home run more efficiently so that his time in sermon preparation and school work can be maximized
~ maintaining friendships with other mom friends and their babies since I'll have time for play dates
~ visiting my old school with Moriah, and potentially volunteering with some of the students a bit
~ maybe blogging on a more regular basis (weekly perhaps) to share some of my ideas for enjoying both of these little ones and our fun throughout the days :)

I know that in the midst of such blessings there will be hard days that will not be easy... I hope to rejoice in the Lord and remain thankful even then. Please pray for my patience and strength throughout each day and especially as we settle into our new routines. Change is never my favorite, but it almost always promises new challenges and rewards as well.

Two insights from very wise men that have been on my mind lately...
"The place where God has put the wife is the husband’s home. Most people have forgotten nowadays what a home can mean, though some of us have come to realize it as never before. It is a kingdom of its own in the midst of the world, a stronghold amid life’s storms and stresses, a refuge, even a sanctuary." ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer (find the entire wedding sermon here)


"Now observe that when that clever harlot, our natural reason . . . ,takes a look at married life, she turns up her nose and says,
“Alas, must I rock the baby, wash its diapers, make its bed, smell its stench, stay up nights with it, take care of it when it cries, heal its rashes and sores. . . ?” [LW 45:39]
What then does Christian faith say to this? It opens its eyes, looks upon all these insignificant, distasteful, and despised duties in the Spirit, and is aware that they are all adorned with divine approval as with the costliest gold and jewels. It says, O God, because I am certain that thou hast created me as a man and hast from my body begotten this child, I also know for a certainty that it meets with thy perfect pleasure. I confess to thee that I am not worthy to rock the little babe or wash its diapers, or to be
entrusted with the care of the child and its mother. How is it that I, without any merit, have come to this distinction of being certain that I am serving thy creature and thy most precious will? O how gladly will I do so, though the duties should be even more insignificant and despised. Neither frost nor heat, neither drudgery nor labor, will distress or dissuade me, for I am certain that it is thus pleasing in thy sight. . . . God, with all his angels and creatures is smiling—not because the father is washing diapers, but because he is doing so in Christian faith." [LW 45:39-40]
~Martin Luther, shared by the GirlTalk blog yesterday