Happy Valentine's Day!

on being a parent

I have been a mama to my sweet Samuel for 7 weeks and 2 days (plus there were those 40 weeks of pregnancy...) In that blink of an eye time, I feel like I've learned more than I have throughout my whole entire life, and like I've learned nothing, all at once. The only sure, solid thing that Sam has taught me about being a parent is a lesson God's tried to teach me before, and I just couldn't grasp until now.

Parenting is completely, 100%, utterly and totally based on giving. To be a parent is to give.

{right now my mom is saying 'she finally gets it!' =) thanks mom!}

to give: up.
Eating meals while they're hot. Sleep. My waistline. My memory. Freedom to leave on a whim.
to give: deeply.
This tiny boy doesn't ask for my surface, my almost, my sort of. From birth, he has demanded my depth.

to give: all.
All my time. All my heart. All my patience, decisions. love, priorities...My life now? Our life? Is all for him.

to give: endlessly.
The days blur together. Night is day and day is exhausting and then it's over and another begins. They don't end, the feeding and diapers and snuggling and burping and feeding. Neither does the love. It just plain doesn't run out. Even when I'm in tears and Sam is screaming and Husby gets the smiles first... the love flows endless.

to give: more. til I'm empty.
Dig to the very bottom of what I know I am capable of, the end of what I have, then give more.

The funny thing is, when you're a parent, you want to give all this and more to your child.

I get it now, Lord.

-anna
{girlwithblog&baby}


linking up at Sarah's place

Techy Tuesday?

I go back to work in less than two weeks. While I'm nervous about balancing work and sleepless nights and every two hour feedings, I'm not dreading going back to work. I love my job. And the facts that a) it's part-time, and b)I do most of it from home, are HUGE.

Did I ever really tell you what I do? I'm the social networking and webinar manager for Vibrant Faith Ministries, a company that offers congregational coaching, youth ministry certification schools, and printed resources. All for the purpose of faith formation in the home, which I am all about! They're starting a whole new branch exclusively for this purpose too, Vibrant Faith @ Home! FYI, they're looking for reviewers for this new site, which offers TONS of ideas and activities for you to do as a family (read this, then email the project leader, Leif, if you're interested). It is way, way cool.

They also offer dozens of live webinars that are super affordable and very high quality. I actually teach three webinars myself, a series of Social Media 101-201-301. I teach congregations and individuals how to effectively use social media to connect with their members and each other. In addition to teaching those, I host all the webinars {I'm the behind the scenes girl =) }

I love what I do. I feel like I'm doing ministry in a whole new way =)

Here's why I'm telling you this: I know most of you are totally social media savvy. But in case you aren't, would you like some tips and tricks? I'm considering starting a weekly series, pointing you to helpful articles and posts, videos, tutorials and answering to your questions about social media. Is that something you would be interested in? Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, blogging, YouTube... Weigh in in the comments and let me know! What kinds of social media things would you like to learn more about?
-anna
{girlwithblog}

Sunday Simplicity: simply adorable

my snuggly boys.

yes, that's a tiny smile! in his sleep! so precious...

oh, that sweet face...

-anna
{girlwithblog&boys}

Friday Friends: the 7 week overdue version

Yeah. Blogging with a newborn just doesn't really work. Not for me yet anyway. The whole one-handed or typing on my phone thing just doesn't do it for me. So while sweet Sam slumbers in the moby wrap, I have two hands and silence.

Despite my absence in words that I write, I sure read yours! The google reader app on my phone is almost always out while I'm nursing in the middle of the night. Thank you for posting at all hours of the day, and keeping this new mom awake at 3:38am. =)

Here are my favorite posts from around the interwebs this week:
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the blog speaks - by the spectacular Heather of the Extraordinary Ordinary. This lady is the real deal, friends. So gifted with words. I'm bookmarking this post to pass along to those who question the worth of blogging.

Sarah speaks {In which Joe pics tools over sports} about our children knowing the us that we are now, not the us that we used to be. It made me think about who I want Sam to know me as, and what I have to keep plugging away at in order to get there.

Amy is doing a 17 day series on homemade cleaners, and she has got me convicted that I want to throw out all my bottles {I'm a Mrs. Meyers fanatic, and have to use them up before converting to all homemade because I'm cheap =) } This post is for homemade bathroom and toilet cleaners, and she swears it cleans boy bathrooms. Love it!

The newest blog I subscribe to is Kelle's. I love her words and pictures and sparkle. She makes me want to sparkle too.
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a couple sweet Sam pics for you:

it was camp sunday last week, so naturally we put our son in a giant tent at church...

...and had him wear tiedye. =)

-anna
{girlwithblog}

Sam's baptism day!

 This weekend was Sam's baptism, and it glowed. We glowed. There were family and friends everywhere, and God's love over all of us. My inlaws flew in from Seattle, and stayed for 5 wonderful days. We laughed more this weekend with them than we have in a while, and ate junk food and went shopping and just drank up our time together.

a few shots from the actual baptism:

'let your light so shine before others...'



my little man

socks

sweet, dear Samuel.

-anna
{girlwithblog}

thankful

I am so grateful for each of you. Thank you, thank you, for your encouraging words on my last post. That was a hard day for me. I am also grateful that the hard days have not been the norm. We have had much more joy than anything else. My husband has been absolutely incredible, and my son is a sweetheart (who just has no words yet, so he cries) =) I am blessed and count each of you a blessing too.
-anna
{girlwithblog}