D-Day

Dassah will be 3 months old in 2 days. Her personality is bubbling over, as is her spit she's learned she can blow bubbles with! Smiles, grins, laughs, grunts, coos, tiny shrieks, the occasional pouty lip & whimper-name your expression, she does it, the little drama queen. She's mastering the art of visual focusing & loves watching people & looking at things. She's beginning to grab onto toys...and my hair! Her Papi bought her a jumper-she loves dancing & spinning around...even though she's not quite the 4+ months it says on the box. I think Steve's brain goes something like this, "Whoever chose the recommended age for toys obviously didn't have an advanced child such as ours!" :)

7, 8, even 9 hours of solid sleep have become the welcomed norm as she settles into a routine.
Speaking of routine...Mommy's back to work! I love my job-Arkansas Children's Hospital, the OR team, my patients & families-I'm grateful for the opportunities to shed a little light, loving & caring for people with the love of Christ while helping to provide for our family at the same time. Three 12hr shifts. Those 3 days are challenging, but I count myself so blessed to be able to spend the other 4 with my family. With this change comes early mornings, late evenings, trips to & from Ms. Carol's (D's oh-so-fabulous sitter/nanny for whom we're so incredibly grateful), and Papi becomes Mr. Mom 1/2 the time! Steve has been an amazing help to me, making this transition a smooth and pleasant one. In the process, I think they've fallen even more in love with each other as they spend more time together. He's one super proud & super awesome Papi, and he keeps getting better & better. I love watching him with Dassah-if that's only a fraction of what our Heavenly Father looks like when He's thinks about, watches, & spends time with us...wow, His love is beautiful.

Here are a few pics of Dassah's Dedication on October 11th.

L to R: Proud Papi & Mommy, Pastor Rod, Dassah, Aunt Cat (sis-in-law whom I consider my sis), Nana & Papa (my parents Dwight & Pam), God-Grandmother Wilma DeFoggi, Ninny (Cindy Loy), Aunt Lissa (my sis), & Uncle Dustin (my bro).

As I thought about this day-the ceremony, the dress, the act of publicly presenting her to God in prayer-I knew I didn't want this to be something we did just because it's just what you do when you have a baby. I realized this was one tiny day in the life of dedicating our daughter to Christ. "To set apart" and "devote wholly & earnestly to" are a couple definitions you'll find if you look up the word dedicate. It's kind of where Dassah got her name: Esther's story captured me years ago along with the concept that we're here "for such a time as this". Hadassah (Esther's Hebrew name) was set apart for a purpose, and she remained devoted to her God to carry out that purpose. Dassah RayAnn was dedicated to God before she was ever conceived. As Steve & I prayed and hoped to add to our family, it was no question that if God chose to give us a child we would wholeheartedly give him or her back to Him. The miracle happened, she happened, and here we are one year after the journey began. Steve & I are completely honored & humbled to have been given the gift of parenting, yet we understand that this beautiful little miracle of life comes with great responsibility. Right now the decisions may not seem too tough: Is it too soon to put her in the nursery? (Her 1st Sunday in the nursery went great!) Which diaper rash cream should I use?.Should I put her on a schedule? Does the reaction to the vaccine outweigh the benefit?...and the list goes on, but in every stage of parenthood there will be questions to ask & decisions to make. I humbly admit I need God's wisdom & the Holy Spirit's guidance for every one of them! Every moment of her life, I choose to wholly devote her to God. I choose to relinquish my imaginary reigns of control and trust the very One who gave her life. Every moment of my life I hope to live in dedication to my God-to be set apart for the purpose He gave me, for every facet of my being-big and small-to be wholly devoted to Him. D-Day is every day...one day at a time.

London Fog

If you walked into my daughters room, you'd find this book on the nightstand next to the rocking chair: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver. I've had the book a long time, just never taken the time to read it. The title itself reveals a bit about the personality of the reader who would pick up the book. Describe the actions of Martha the day Jesus came to visit and you've got me pegged (and so many of us these days). Rather than stop to realize that the Savior of the world has come to visit your house, you stress out about all that "needs" to be done and spend the majority of the precious moments doing things for Jesus, not being with Him. Our anxious hearts and minds and ugly worry warts get the best of us.

A recent chapter brought a simple, but powerful truth to light for me. This particular chapter primarily focuses on worry/anxiety and why the Bible is so firm on why we should steer clear of it. It makes a great point - worry fixes our eyes on our situation rather than on our Savior. I've never thought twice about fog other than I hate driving in it. I clinch the steering wheel and strain my already weak eyes, anticipating that a deer, dog, or fellow automobile will emerge with no time for me to react. However, worry is much like a fog over our spiritual eyes and mind. According to the book, scientists say that "a fog bank a hundred feet deep and covering seven city blocks is composed of less than one glass of water. Divided into billions of droplets, it hasn't much substance. Yet it has the power to bring an entire city to a standstill."

Pretty crazy, huh? Think about a situation you've worried about or an issue that's been a source of much anxiety. Was it something that may never happen, something in the past you have no way of changing, or was it something you can actually change? Did you feel like it brought your world to a standstill? Next time worry fogs your mind and anxiety consumes your heart, think of London fog and focus on the facts. Our God is big. Our God is all powerful. Our God is madly in love with you and desires nothing more than His best for you.

Every book I read is a journey of personal realization and growth - I'm excited about where this one will take me!

Pregnancy=Amazing, Motherhood=Even Better!: Month 1

In the beginning...sitting in my living room watching Dassah stretch and squirm as she tries to wake up from her evening snooze in her swing. She will be 4 weeks old at 11:05 tonight...wow, how her 1st month has flown! I've decided to break down and write my first blog. So here goes...a glimpse inside my heart and mind, a piece of my life journal!

Life has changed more than we could've prepared for, but been better than we could've hoped for. After hours of labor, when our doctor placed Dassah RayAnn Flores in my arms, everything changed. I was already completely in love with the child growing inside my tummy, but seeing this little person's face, hearing her cry, smelling her smell, and touching her skin goes down as one of the most amazing, humbling, and awe-inspiring moments of my life. She's perfect, a miracle, and there's no doubt her Papi (Steve) and I are completely grateful for this opportunity to know her, love her, and watch her grow. It's true what they say...you realize how much God really loves and cares for us when you look at your baby and realize your love doesn't compare to His.

The past 4 weeks have been filled with mounds of diapers, tons of kisses, late night feedings, lots of laughs, strolls in the neighborhood, Dr. visits, and dialy rock-n-read sessions. The book of Romans, In A Pit With A Lion On a Snowy Day, O For a Thousand Nights to Sleep, and multiple parenting magazines have been on my nightstand. I've loved reading time - it's nice to be forced to stop and take the time to read. Plus, Dassah loves it!

To all my friends and church family, I miss you! I miss your hugs, smiling faces, and encouraging words. Due to the upcoming flu and RSV season, our Dr. has advised us to be very careful and keep her away from church for 2 months. I know - it seems like a long time away and a long time before we can introduce her! However, I'm thankful for all the phone calls and facebook comments, and (although live is much better) I appreciate live streaming from firstnlr.com/live. We look forward to seeing/meeting you all very soon!

I'm doing awesome - healthy, feeling great, and enjoying every moment with my daughter. Being Mommy is so much better when you have the best husband to experience parenthood with. Steve is amazing with Dassah...and he takes pretty good care of me, too! We have so much fun, and went on our 1st post-parenthood date last night!

Fun Dassah Facts:

Born on August 5th at 11:05pm. 6lb 7oz, 19 1/2 in. She's healthy, on track with weight gain, and growing longer and longer...I'm sad she's outgrowing some of her newborn onesies. We wake up hungry a couple times a night, but she's had a couple nights of 4, 5, and even 6 hrs of straight sleep! She had her 1st real bath last night after soiling her diaper, her outfit, and her Steve's jeans! After Steve handed her off to me in the towel, she decide she wanted a second bath...of spit up! So, we proceeded to give her a 2nd real bath. I get to experience most all her spit-up's and poopy diapers, so she's breaking her Papi in well with two spit-ups making it into his mouth along with the poo episode last night! She's a sweet baby, asking only to be fed, changed, and cuddled (what we all want, right?) I'll let you decide who she looks like...I'm thinking it's pretty obvious :)