Monday, November 22, 2010
Two Months
November 21st marked two months since my little girl was born. In this season of thanksgiving, I cannot stop giving thanks to God for Anika. Tears still come to my eyes when she smiles because I believe she is the most beautiful gift I have ever received. When she starts to coo and talk to me, I also get teary because love for her just pours out of my heart. I keep praying that our Father will continue to bless us with Anika for many, many, many more months and years ahead. Here are some picture updates of my beautiful baby!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Prayer for Purity
Now that Anika and I have sort of developed a routine and the whole parenting a newborn thing isn't quite as daunting, I have been thinking more about the future. Parenting is fairly easy right now. She cries, I try and read her and respond appropriately. Before I know it, she will be crying because I have said "No, Anika" and I have just disciplined her. Also I will be starting to teach Anika about the world around her: colors, shapes, animals, and food are easy. Teaching her about sin and how to stay away from sin and temptation will be much harder. I am realizing even more how much our culture is blurring the lines of sin when I think about how to tell my daughter what she just saw in a commercial on TV. Purity is a joke nowadays, or something that some people choose, but definitely not the standard. After watching some television episodes (namely Glee and Ugly Betty) I was dissapointed with the content and the message that the writers were sending to the viewing audience. Sin is overlooked and not called sin. Tolerance and acceptance are lorded over helping someone overcome sin-struggles. I do not want to over-shelter Anika, but I want to do my best to cultivate her heart for the gospel to grow as soon as possible so that she will, with the help of the Holy Spririt, desire purity.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
A Blessed October
I apologize for being a terrible blogger. Before Anika was born I thought, "No problem! I will be able to blog at least once a week to keep everyone updated!" I was wrong, but mostly for the good reason that we were kept busy with family and friends visiting often, along with me taking a trip to Minnesota as well. I will now attempt to catch you up with the wonderful goings-on we experienced in October.
The first weekend of October Garry's mom Diane was able to fly out as a surprise and see Anika. We had a great visit and she had fun bonding with her new granddaughter. She was also an amazing help around the house with all the things that get passed over when you have a newborn, like doing dishes and sweeping the floor. My mom also joined us that first week of October to hang out with me and help out with everything. I appreciated being able to leave Anika with someone I trusted to be able to get at least an hour nap in.
My parents took a trip to Florida the middle of October, and since they flew out of Omaha they stayed with us for a few days at the beginning and end of their trip. Again I had wonderful help cleaning the house and mowing the leaf-covered lawn to get ready for more relatives to visit around Anika's baptism.
The rest of Garry's family flew in on the 21st to meet Anika for the first time. I was really excited to have them here. We had fun hanging out, but mostly everyone spent their time taking turns holding Anika. Although an added bonus was that Garry's dad helped him finish (finally) the crib, and my dad helped with the final coat of paint, so now Anika is sleeping in a "real" bed in her own room.
October 24th was Anika's baptism. We were blessed with more family coming out for this wonderful occasion. My ocusin Amy drove up from the Lincoln area, and my Grandma and Grandpa Van Gorp came from Pella. God has been a faithful Father to our family over the generations, so I was humbled to be able to share the moment of Anika's baptism with all those believing family members with whom God has blessed us. I was reminded again that baptism is covenanting with our Heavenly Father, promising to give Anika back to Him, recognizing that she is His child first and our child second. My continued prayer is that God will use the Holy Spirit early in Anika's life to open her heart and mind to the gospel of Jesus Christ, to accept Him alone as the way of her salvation, and carry forth the love of Christ in her daily life to all she meets. I pray God will use Garry and I, our families, as well as her church family to bring about His will for her in her walk with Him.
After having family around, I was not looking forward to being by myself. Garry needed to travel to Iowa City for work again, so I decided to take my first road trip with Anika up to Luverne to have my family keep me company while Garry was away. I was excited to be able to watch Nicole's choir and band concert and to be away from home and daily housework for a little while. Anika did really well on the trip up and the trip back making me more confident to try the trip again in the future.
Now it is November and I can hardly believe it. Anika is six weeks old already! That number makes her sound really young, but here are some progresses we've made.
*she now wears size 1 diapers instead of newborn
*she is smiling
*she is starting to talk and coo more and more every day
*she has now outgrown her newborn sleepers
The first weekend of October Garry's mom Diane was able to fly out as a surprise and see Anika. We had a great visit and she had fun bonding with her new granddaughter. She was also an amazing help around the house with all the things that get passed over when you have a newborn, like doing dishes and sweeping the floor. My mom also joined us that first week of October to hang out with me and help out with everything. I appreciated being able to leave Anika with someone I trusted to be able to get at least an hour nap in.
My parents took a trip to Florida the middle of October, and since they flew out of Omaha they stayed with us for a few days at the beginning and end of their trip. Again I had wonderful help cleaning the house and mowing the leaf-covered lawn to get ready for more relatives to visit around Anika's baptism.
The rest of Garry's family flew in on the 21st to meet Anika for the first time. I was really excited to have them here. We had fun hanging out, but mostly everyone spent their time taking turns holding Anika. Although an added bonus was that Garry's dad helped him finish (finally) the crib, and my dad helped with the final coat of paint, so now Anika is sleeping in a "real" bed in her own room.
October 24th was Anika's baptism. We were blessed with more family coming out for this wonderful occasion. My ocusin Amy drove up from the Lincoln area, and my Grandma and Grandpa Van Gorp came from Pella. God has been a faithful Father to our family over the generations, so I was humbled to be able to share the moment of Anika's baptism with all those believing family members with whom God has blessed us. I was reminded again that baptism is covenanting with our Heavenly Father, promising to give Anika back to Him, recognizing that she is His child first and our child second. My continued prayer is that God will use the Holy Spirit early in Anika's life to open her heart and mind to the gospel of Jesus Christ, to accept Him alone as the way of her salvation, and carry forth the love of Christ in her daily life to all she meets. I pray God will use Garry and I, our families, as well as her church family to bring about His will for her in her walk with Him.
After having family around, I was not looking forward to being by myself. Garry needed to travel to Iowa City for work again, so I decided to take my first road trip with Anika up to Luverne to have my family keep me company while Garry was away. I was excited to be able to watch Nicole's choir and band concert and to be away from home and daily housework for a little while. Anika did really well on the trip up and the trip back making me more confident to try the trip again in the future.
Now it is November and I can hardly believe it. Anika is six weeks old already! That number makes her sound really young, but here are some progresses we've made.
*she now wears size 1 diapers instead of newborn
*she is smiling
*she is starting to talk and coo more and more every day
*she has now outgrown her newborn sleepers
Thursday, October 7, 2010
My Growing Girl
Anika has been filling up our lives for a little over two weeks now, and every minute has been wonderful. Yes, even getting up in the middle of the night is wonderful because it is time I get to spend with my little girl. I'm sure the wonder will wear off soon, so I am trying to enjoy and remember this time in our relationship.
Having a baby has made me realize exactly how much my mom loved (and still loves) me. My daughter is helpless to feed herself, to clothe herself, to change herself, to move herself, and do pretty much anything. I am her sole source of food, and then Garry helps me do the other things, but while he is at work, I am her only caretaker. I really wish I remembered my infancy, if just to realize sooner how much my parents loved me immediately. I wish I remembered my mom sacrificing sleep to feed me, being willing to get bodily fluids all over her when changing a diaper or burping me, talking to me sweetly, and being ever-so-careful with me since I was so fragile. With this leap into motherhood I can imagine my mom doing the same things I now do for my daughter for me with the same love I have for my Anika. This love is an amazing thing. I only wish I hadn't taken my parents' love for granted as a young child, as a teenager, and as a young adult. How much better would my heart have been and my honoring of my parents would have been had I thought more often about my infancy. I guess better late than never feeling this at all, right?
God is blessing little Anika richly and I am so thankful for the growth she has had recently and that her checkups are going very well. She was back up to her birthweight by the first week, and this second week visit she had gained a whole pound, so she now weighs a whopping 7 lbs 8 oz. Her cheeks are definitely filling out and her legs are getting a little more plump, which is great. She needs some fat on her to keep her warm in the cold Nebraska winter.
Here are some recent pictures!
Having a baby has made me realize exactly how much my mom loved (and still loves) me. My daughter is helpless to feed herself, to clothe herself, to change herself, to move herself, and do pretty much anything. I am her sole source of food, and then Garry helps me do the other things, but while he is at work, I am her only caretaker. I really wish I remembered my infancy, if just to realize sooner how much my parents loved me immediately. I wish I remembered my mom sacrificing sleep to feed me, being willing to get bodily fluids all over her when changing a diaper or burping me, talking to me sweetly, and being ever-so-careful with me since I was so fragile. With this leap into motherhood I can imagine my mom doing the same things I now do for my daughter for me with the same love I have for my Anika. This love is an amazing thing. I only wish I hadn't taken my parents' love for granted as a young child, as a teenager, and as a young adult. How much better would my heart have been and my honoring of my parents would have been had I thought more often about my infancy. I guess better late than never feeling this at all, right?
God is blessing little Anika richly and I am so thankful for the growth she has had recently and that her checkups are going very well. She was back up to her birthweight by the first week, and this second week visit she had gained a whole pound, so she now weighs a whopping 7 lbs 8 oz. Her cheeks are definitely filling out and her legs are getting a little more plump, which is great. She needs some fat on her to keep her warm in the cold Nebraska winter.
Here are some recent pictures!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Healthy, happy little girl!
Garry and I took our little Anika to her first check-up tonight at the pediatrician. We are extremely blessed to have a wonderful pediatrician at our church, so we are seeing her for all of Anika's needs. Even though Anika does NOT like getting undressed and being cold, she did wonderfully in all areas of health. She has already gained back four ounces that she dropped and is back up to her birthweight, which is amazing. I wasn't too surprised because she has been eating really well. Dr. Belin also said that everything about Anika is looking very healthy and she seems to be right on track. Anika's blood tests from the hospital also all came back negative, so we are full of praise for that. I am overwhelmed by God's grace to us in our beautiful daughter and am trying not to take her progress and clean bill of health for granted. Our Father in heaven is providing for us abundantly more than we have asked, and I can only pray that His will be done in my little Anika's life.
We were also blessed by having my parents come down for a quick visit so the new grandparents could spend some time with their granddaughter. We had a nice time and Anika was held enough to last her at least a week...or until we are able to see them again.
Meeting Grandpa Sparks
Time with Grandma
Practicing tummy time with Daddy
We were also blessed by having my parents come down for a quick visit so the new grandparents could spend some time with their granddaughter. We had a nice time and Anika was held enough to last her at least a week...or until we are able to see them again.
Meeting Grandpa Sparks
Time with Grandma
Practicing tummy time with Daddy
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