So, in attempt to get caught up since the last post, here we go!
Baby 3 arrived May 24. Another beautiful, incredible baby girl, Brinley Sue. We all adore her. She's two months old today, smiling like crazy and sleeping through the night, HALLELUJAH!
We love having three girls. I can't wait to watch them all grow up together. From playing on the same sports teams, to developing their own interests and hopefully supporting each other to someday attending prom together! We've had more people than I would care to admit actually feel "sorry" for us that we didn't get a boy. Shame on them! I like how Michael put it, that there is a perfect, divine reason why we were blessed with three girls and who's to question God on that!? And coming from another dad of 3, Michael just has all the manliness that our family needs. :)
And that leads us to the exciting, yet more daunting task of attempting to successfully raise these three girls! I'm learning more and more that it truly takes a village to do it right. I won't lie and say that our plan was to have three kids in three years, but that's what we've been blessed with. And I do truly mean, "blessed". As a result though, we can't really fumble along with number one in hopes that we figure it for numbers 2 & 3 because we're kinda doing all of it at the same time! I'm a perfectionist people pleaser by nature, which is not a good quality to have as a parent. I have to fight the idea that misbehavior is a direct reflection of me as a parent. I have to fight the negativity that I can get from others, even though they may see it as encouragement from the "i'll pray for you" comments or the parenting advice columns sent to my inbox. Michael and I are learning to show grace to each other and to our girls and that God is the ultimate Father. A Father who not only daily shows us examples of grace and forgiveness, but then allows us to turn our failures around in ways to glorify Him. It's hard and embarrassing when your 3 & 2 year olds decide to throw tantrums at the same time, all while your infant is screaming and your back is burning from the looks of people around you. It's easy (for me anyway) to assume the thoughts of the onlookers are negative ones and get down on myself, down on my girls and turn a rotten situation into an even more rotten situation. Except that God, through some really wonderful friends and moms themselves are helping to teach me those are the exact situations where God wants me to show my children grace and to be an example of God's patient, merciful, but also firm love.
These children keep us on our toes and crack us up daily. So the next time someone says they'll pray for me and my parenting, I'm going to ask them if they could pray that I cherish every single good and bad moment with these three beauties. That I care only what God thinks of me and my parenting style and that more important than anything else, these girls might one day invite Christ into their hearts as well.
Until next time...
