Growing

When Nicole was first born, the number one piece of advice people gave Shawn and I was to enjoy her while she was young because "they grow up so fast".  We nodded our heads in agreement but since those early newborn days were some of the longest days of my life, I was skeptical.  Frequent night time feedings prevented me from feeling like there was ever a true seperation between day and night.  I couldn't comprehend how Nicole was going to grow up quickly when each day felt like it never really ended to begin with.  With those long, fragile, newborn days behind us, I can now nod my head in agreement with much more conviction.   It really does go fast! Nicole is now 7 months old and changing every single day.

Shawn and Nicole our first night home from the hospital. 

Watching Nicole change and grow has challenged me to be more tenacious about my own growth.  While I am not doing anything quite as remarkable as learning how to sit up on my own or feed myself cheerios for the first time, there are still a couple of key principles that I am borrowing from our sweet-spirited little girl. 

7 months old as of 6-7-16

1. Be observant. 

I love to learn new things but I was starting to feel overwhelmed by the amount of things I need to know in order to easily navigate life here.  I am convinced that Nicole learns something new every day just by being intentional about her observations.  Since there is no shortage of things to learn about navigating life here in Texas, I am adopting Nicole's powers of observation and letting my learning's come as our experiences allow.  For example, yesterday we were on a family walk and we learned that there are poisonous snakes called water moccasins that live in our neighborhood, as well as in the lakes here.  I will be scouting out a new walking path that does not involve any water front starting tomorrow!     

2. Be patient

My desire to feel settled in sometimes makes me feel like everything needs to happen today.  I start scanning my mental to-do list only to realize that I cannot accomplish the vast majority of what I want to get done in a given day.  It's in those moments that I have to take a step back and re-prioritize my list and practice patience.  Rooms will be painted eventually and pictures will be hung over time.  After all, if Nicole can patiently wait for me to wipe off her face, rescue her from her car seat or bring her new toys, I can practice patience as well.  In the mean time, our boxes are all unpacked and we have checked out almost all of the local grocery stores.  

3. Don't give up  

I can't even tell you the amount of times I have watched Nicole try to get herself from laying down to sitting all on her own.  She practices at least 100 times a day.  She hasn't mastered it just yet but she is no less determined than when she first started trying two weeks ago.  I have never had a knack for directions so giving up all of the familiar routes and roads of the Twin Cities was a very big deal for me.  It's going to take a long time for me to be able to find my way around our little corner of Texas, but I'm not giving up.   I already found my way home from Target, the library and the community center without using google maps.  I'm still too disoriented to drive anywhere in the rain, but for now that's okay. These things take time! 

4. Have faith 

It never ceases to amaze me how much Nicole trusts Shawn and I.  She is completely dependent on us to help meet all of her needs.  Her faith in us humbles me on a daily basis and reminds me how my faith in God should look.  God delights in my dependency on Him and He loves to meet my needs.  We moved here in faith and I even though I sometimes loose sight of why we came, one piece of fruit that has come from this is how much Shawn loves his new job.  He has a great sense of purpose and belonging there which has resulted in fun and productive days.  I love seeing him so excited about his work day - both before he leaves and when he comes home.  I consider it a great privilege to watch him live out his calling, both at work and at home.  We couldn't do any of this without the confidence that God has begun a good work in us and will be faithful to complete it.  

With love,

Erica