Generations

I am so enjoying this new generation currently having babies!  I am also so grateful I have not had one ounce of sadness that my childbearing years are over.  I miss my babies being young but not the intense level of exhaustion, up all night and full on attention that infants require.  I see that ghostly hollowness in new parents eyes like they can only half focus on life and are counting down the minutes until naptime!  I think it’s a shame that these most precious days of infancy are sometimes left in a fog of confusion.  I am grateful that I took a bazillion pictures, journaled for each of my kids about funny, sentimental moments and did all I could do to capture the moment, even if I bugged doing it.

I have so enjoyed watching young men as new dads.  Of course, Dan is my hero as far as Dads are concerned.  He truly is the reason the Wog kids have made it thus far in their life.  The infant days would have sent me over the edge or definitely sent me screaming into the night but Dan was ever-patient, walking the babies in the night, sleeping in a chair with the baby on his chest. Whatever it took to let me sleep so I could survive the day of constant demands with the babies.  I have so much compassion on new parents because it is still too fresh in my mind how difficult it is functioning with no sleep.  No one can ever prepare you for it until you walk through it yourself.  It is brutal to say the least, even though you are so happy and in love with your baby.

It’s been an amazing thing to watch a new generation of our family come forth. Especially because it's not me adding to our numbers!! My nephew Britt is so capable and involved with his son Caden’s care, which is no surprise at all.  He loved my Maggie so much and would carry her around when she was a baby!  It was awesome to see four generations in my family for the first time at Thanksgiving!  My Mom and Dad not only have so much fruit in their family as far as numbers but also the spiritual impact that will come through all the many generations is going to be an incredible thing to watch.  They have given our family a strong spiritual foundation to build our lives upon and I am thankful beyond measure.

One of my most favorite pictures that I have seen lately is one of James sporting a Wog Blog T-shirt holding his new baby Cassie!  I could kick myself for not whipping out an infant Wog Blog onesie. What was I thinking??  I must have had a lapse of t-shirt making focus or something.  I just love seeing James as a Dad.  Cassie is in very safe hands.  James has recently been in touch with his violent, protective side of fathering a beautiful girl.  I think Dan and him are starting a Weapons Training Dad’s Club!!  

Baby James

With all the changes that last year brought, I am overwhelmed with gratitude that I am still a part of what God is doing.  I appreciate anew all the long-term relationships we are blessed with.  I love the fact that I held Britt and James when they were infants themselves and now I get to cheer them on as they bring up their outstanding children!  I don’t do New Year’s Resolution but one goal I have is to value true friendships and relationships like never before, to show more mercy and love and to be less negative and judgmental.  At the end of my days, I want to have many people along side of me who can rejoice about all the wonderful things that God has done!  I think it is time we give more honor to all generations and learn from each other!  When I am a grandmother, I want to sit in church with rows of little Wogs being raised to serve the Lord, all the days of their life!  I am committed to stay the course and do whatever it takes to achieve that goal in my life!!  That will be the best legacy I could ever have!  Now if I could only secure a marriage with Cassie and Eddie!  He will need a strong firstborn girl for sure!  Now that would take my blogging to a whole new level!  #thewogblog #generations

Christmas Season 2012

December was a complete blur.  I don’t really know what can be done to simplify and slow down the craziness.  It feels like it’s unstoppable.  I don’t think it’s just because I have 5 kids.  I am sure that magnifies the madness but even people with two kids are stressed to the max.  I don’t think it helped with Dan and my birthdays thrown in the mix either.  I felt like all I did was dole out money for gifts and parties and such.  It’s the biggest challenge to not resent the whole month on the calendar.  I really made an effort to but aside my “Grinch” feelings and to enjoy the season of songs, plays, dances and parties. 

Annie had a two-day championship at UNF and was swimming in 9 events.  We were very excited about it but it did take up a Saturday and Sunday in the busiest time of year.  She swam her heart out Saturday and swam late into the night.  On Sunday, she woke up saying she didn’t feel good.  I told her she could rest and skip the meet and she got quite vocal and proclaimed, “I AM SWIMMING!”  In retrospect, I should have stepped up as a parent and forced her to rest even though she had a great day of swimming and cut time on all her events.  However, when she woke up with a fever on Monday morning, I thought she had pushed herself too hard after all.  I took her to the doctor assuming her sinus infection was back which it was but had a terrible surprise when she tested positive for the Flu.  The doctor prescribed Tamiflu for all 7 of us and what a depressing moment it was to find out that the medication was about $50 a piece.  I had a moment of decision at the pharmacy, chance the flu in our large family or suck it up….I opted for prevention.  I have to say within two days Annie was on the mend and the rest of us stayed well so props for Tamiflu!

The kid’s had a school play and after 2 days free of fever, I let Annie be in the play.  Again, I probably should have resisted her begging and told her no.  After a couple songs, we noticed Annie swaying funny.  We had been focused on Ed’s cute little song and didn’t clue in until Annie’s teacher was rushing on stage to catch her from passing out.  Thankfully, there were several paramedics in the audience who all rushed to help and to make sure she was OK.  I don’t know if she locked her knees, or if she was still sick or if it was just the fact that her shepherd headdress was cutting circulation off to her brain.  I was just grateful that she was not seriously sick.  

What was really freaking me out was that Ms. Vicki picked her to be Mary in the church play.  I told Vicki after she passed out that we needed to replace her and she was calm and said she could sit down and would be fine.  On top of Annie’s drama, Ms. Vicki had picked Eddie to be the Christmas star.  I was freaking out.  He isn’t my most compliant child and I would rather him stay a donkey as he was in the school play!  Thankfully, the church play went really smooth, Annie didn’t pass out and Eddie only threw up a Miami U at the end of the play and didn’t knock down the set or anything!  I sighed a HUGE sigh of relief when that was over.

Christmas finally arrived despite the Mayans saying the world would end on December 21. Somehow all the mass amount of gifts got wrapped and all the children seemed satisfied and happy. I did however find Christmas cards I forgot to mail under my truck seat.  I felt like I wanted to sleep for a week or more.  I am most thankful that despite sickness everywhere, people hacking up lungs, I managed to come through the holidays still healthy.  I am truly grateful for all my many blessings, all my children and the chaos and love that they each bring to my life.  I am still pondering how to better manage the Christmas season and the only way I can see, is to leave the country for a month.  If I go missing next year after Thanksgiving, don’t be worried.  I’ll be back in January! Happy New Year!