Everything You Do

My days as Gabe's Mom are spent cuddling, cleaning up messes, pureeing baby food, changing diapers, doing laundry, dancing to Sesame Street, saving Gabe from himself, lint-rolling dog hair, filling bottles, emptying bottles, laughing.... It's a redundant mix of the same thing on repeat, interspersed with moments when I honestly think my heart could burst from pure joy one moment and then collapse from pure exhaustion the next.

Sometimes I feel like I'm a hamster on a wheel. I'm pretty much content, but I'm just spinning around and around, day by day, doing essentially the same thing, but not really seeing sizable results of my efforts.

You might not understand this, but I love to listen to music. Around the house, when I run, when I drive in the car... I love singing along to the radio or to Pandora. Sometimes, I pretend in my own mind that I am in a real-life musical, that my life is a musical, where total ordinary moments turn into a song and dance fest. It's the six-year-old silly girl in me.

This morning, I guess I was feeling particularly lame, not particularly animated. There I was, sitting in my PJs (with Gabe snot-marks on each shoulder), hair a mess, attempting to get some work done yet trying to watch Gabe at the same time.

Type a paragraph or two... wait.. change a diaper... type another paragraph... wait Stuart don't lick the baby... type type type... Gabe don't pull the lamp over... 

Not glamourous. Not very stay-at-home-momish, not very working-momish either. I stopped and thought... Wow.  I do feel like a hamster. I realized I was doing the same thing that I did yesterday morning, and the morning before that.

Then, (like something out of a movie... or more likely, straight from the Lord) this song came on. The first few lines really caught my attention:

You're picking up toys on the living room floor for the fifteenth time today
Matching up socks
Sweeping up lost cheerios that got away

You put a baby on your hip
Color on your lips and head out the door

While I may not know you, 
I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes, does it matter at all?

And then the chorus:

Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long
(CHORUS)
As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you, 
Cause he made you, 
To do
Every little thing that you do 
To bring a smile to His face
Tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

My seemingly NON-GLORIOUS life as quasi-working woman yet full-time Gabe-momma can be GLORIFYING to the Lord. Even in the little things. Everything we do can be glorifying to Him when we do it in His name.

I picked up Gabe, danced around until the rest of the song ended, and then went back to my hamster wheel. Happy, content. To glorify my God in the little things I do.

Be encouraged today, friend...You don't have to pretend your life is a musical, though I do encourage you to try it now and then. If anything, take a listen and be encouraged too!

Bucky Beaver

Wondering where this post is going? :)

Well, it appears that Gabe's new front teeth are serving a purpose beyond his time in the highchair. He clearly chews on anything, and I mean anything. A few days ago, Chris entered the nursery only to meet Gabe, standing tall, chewing on his crib. White paint chips were splattered across his face. He legitimately took notches out of the crib.... I don't know if Gabe is trying to tell us he needs more fiber, or perhaps we should start letting him chew on Stuart's dog toys?

To reduce the beaver tooth action, I folded some towels and taped them around the crib rails. It looked awful and it was only a few days until Gabe had figured out how to pull/distort the towels, which made the crib, believe it or not, look even worse.

Yesterday, I broke down and bought crib rail teething-pad-thingys, as pictured below. They tie and fit all different types of cribs. They are machine washable and don't look too shabby either.

The little stinker, smiling for the camera.

It's only been 24 hours, but they are holding up well! Gabe's once angelic nursery is now switching into survival mode---- Can the nursery survive this kid?!