:)

Have you ever started reading a devotional that you tried to like, but just couldn't?  Someone gave me a devotional recently and I began reading it.  After reading a couple of devotions, I put it down and decided not to read any more of that particular devotional.  It was a devo for young moms. She had some great points, but none of it was anything I hadn't heard before.  She wrote in a way that I even found somewhat offensive.  For example, she talked about how she was late bringing lunch to her little kid at school one day and how all of the other parents probably thought that her child was on welfare, kind of implying that if your child is on welfare, that it means you aren't being a great mom.  When I read that, I thought to myself, "What will the mom on welfare think that picks up this book?  Will she feel bad?  Will she think that this author cannot relate to her and that all of these middle to upper class moms think poorly of kids and their moms who are on welfare?"  I teach in an inner city school.  Several of the students in my school are on welfare.  I have met some amazing parents who are on welfare!  She also talks about her other child's 2nd grade teacher.  She quotes her daughter's teacher, simply telling her how her daughter has been crying all day, saying that she felt sick and was disappointed because her mom wasn't there earlier.  She talks about the teacher saying that she told her this in, "the most nonhelpful manner in the history of time."  If a parent of one my kids had written that about me in a Christian devotional for anyone in the world to read, I'd be hurt.  First of all, the teacher was explaining why her child was upset.  If you ignore the situation as a teacher, or if you are not honest, that is looked down upon by parents.  Second of all, this mom is going into detail about how stressful it is to be a mom and to manage a few kids, (and I'm sure it is very stressful), but being a teacher is stressful as well.  Nobody realizes how stressful it can really be until they become a teacher.  Give the teacher some grace.  You don't have to paint her in a bad light to make your point.  In doing so, it made this teacher want to stop reading.  Maybe her child's teacher did have a negative tone, or even was a bad teacher, but does that mean it's ok to be disrespectful to her?  I don't think it is.  I know I only have 1 baby, but I do believe that having several children is hard.  I promise.  But I also believe that there is more to it than that.  When I'm having a rough time with Adia, I just think about how there are soooo many women out there who would give anything to have a fussy baby to stay up with at night.  If you know what devotional I am talking about, please do not think that I am harping on you for reading it!  I hope that this particular devotional reaches many moms and gives them helpful pointers for raising children in a Christian home.  Like I said, she had some great points and insight, but this particular devotional just wasn't for me.

Having said that, if any of you have any suggestions, please let me know.  :)  I would love a good mom devotional.  One that's about the Lord and that will challenge my walk with him would be perfect.

Here are some updates on the little squirt:

1.  Adia went to the beach for the first time.  She was fine with the beach and content just playing in her little tent, but she did not like the ocean!  She whined every time we took her near it.  She had the same reaction at the pool.  The water was kind of cold and there were a ton of kids in there.  There was no room to do anything and she kept getting splashed.  She was not a fan.

2.  Adia is taking a bottle about every 4 hours.  I just recently weaned her from nursing.  I noticed that I wasn't producing nearly enough milk for her, even though I was pumping extra during the day to try to increase my supply.  She also did not want to wait for the let down anymore.  She would rather play at that time, than eat.  My pump broke as well, so I just decided that since I'm going back to school in a few weeks, I'd just switch to formula now so that I wouldn't have to pump at school anymore.  So, I nursed her for 7 months. I think we did pretty good considering the problems we had at the beginning and the cases of mastitis that I had.  I am very glad I nursed her and I will nurse all of my babies in the future!  I know I'm going to miss it with her.  :(

3.  Still no teeth.  You can still see 2 little white lines and feel the bumps on her bottom row, but they haven't actually cut yet.  I know they hurt her sometimes because she will tug at her gums and cry occasionally, but it's not awful and she usually does very well with it.

4.  She is a chatter box!  Da da da da da, bl bl bl bl bl, buh buh buh buh buh, guh guh guh guh guh, ooooooo - these are all her favorites.  She's also discovered screaming.  She screams really loud to get attention (and often in public.)  She's not mad or crying, she just likes that she can do it.  When you look at her, she smiles or laughs afterward.  Little stinker.  :)

5.  Adia isn't crawling yet, but I don't think it'll be too long.  She kind of tries, but can't quite figure it out yet.  She sometimes moves backwards.

6.  She usually goes to bed around 8 PM and wakes up around 7-8 AM.  It's wonderful!

7.  Adia has tried a couple of finger foods, but has not done well with them.  She does great with mum mums, but that's about it.  We tried giving her a little watermelon one day.  She gagged on it and barfed everywhere.  Poor girl.  She'll figure it out one day!

8.  She really pays attention to the shows on PBS Sprout.  She loves to watch them.  For some reason, I think it's really cute.

9.  She's a dancer.  She dances all the time, and especially when she hears a fast paced song.  I adore it.

10.  Her hair is crazy.  It is getting fuller and it stands up all over her head.  I cannot tame it!

11.  Adia is a great baby.  She's very content these days.  She is usually very well behaved where ever we go and we receive many comments on how cute she is and how good she is.  What a sweetie.

12.  My baby is amazing.  Period.  Everyday, I tell her how much I love her.  "Adia, I love you more than I love air conditioning on a hot day like today....  I love you more than all of the grains of sand in the world....  I love you more than all of the stars in the universe...  I love you more than all the hairs on your sweet little head...." and so on.  I can't wait to see her every morning.  If I wake up before her, I just lay in bed in anticipation to see her.  She's the best little thing.  She's taught me so much about myself that nobody else could have.  I thank the Lord for her multiple times a day!  I probably kiss her cheeks 3 million times each day as well.  I cannot resist them.  Can't do it.