"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm,
and carry them close to his heart, and shall gently lead those that are with young." Isaiah 40:11

Friday, February 18, 2011

My New Bathrobe





These pictures were taken after her bath a few days ago.  Rachel says, "This bathrobe from my auntie Evonne is sooooo soft."  Oh, how I wish you could see how playful and mischevious this little girl can be.  I see so much of my older kids in her.  Have I written here about her little joke with Daddy?  Daddy puts his nose to the side of her mouth and she moves her head so she can put his nose in her mouth....then both of them smile and laugh - and no-one gets quite the same reaction as Daddy does!  Rachel also LOVES to be swung (as if in a swing) in our arms.  She will cry if you stop.  And she loves getting her feet and legs massaged.  She will wiggle her body a little up and down when she is really happy - and she will be very busy moving her mouth as if to 'talk'.  And these days she is so quick to smile - as if you and her have this little secret joke.  I am so in love. 

But boy, are the feedings constant....and so very demanding.  I am so very tired of those little bottles already and how they keep leaking milk all over the place...My mom has said several times that feeding her really is a full time job.  Even though we know how things are, a very common line in our house is.."what? I just fed her 15 minutes ago." It is amazing how much I have been able to get done without this constant interruption.   

Having my mom here has been so marvelous.  I am seriously dreading Monday morning when she leaves to go back to Manitoba.  It has been different than other times in that I am now more hesitant to leave Rachel with her so I have only gone out on my own one time so far.  (the morphine was easier to administer than her new drug and I just feel nervous being away from her) But I have been able to do so many things that I haven't done in the past year and a half.  Let's see....I made meatballs for the freezer, canned soup, made banana bread and muffins, and rhubarb juice, made meat pies, organized some of the kids closet and put aside some baby stuff to give away.  It felt SO GOOD to do some of these things again.  And a bit sad to give away things that we will likely never use again. I put up some pictures on the wall of our three kids and last night, suddenly it felt like something was caught in my throat as I looked at our three beautiful children and thought about what it might be like to look at those pictures one day after Rachel is gone.  But most of the time, these thoughts do not cross my mind.  I mostly feel a huge amount of gratitude for the gift of knowing all three of these little people.              

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! Beautiful!
Love this post!
love laura

Valerie Ruth said...

she is so beautiful! i love these photos.

fiona said...

i'll have to agree - those pictures are so cute and rachel is so very beautiful! kendra, i rejoice with you over the moments you have had this past week to do simple domestic things that allow you to care for your family. i am thankful that this felt good and refreshing for you! . . . and i can understand how hard it is to go through baby things for the purpose of giving them away. we continue to lift you up to our loving Father each day as part of our family night time prayers, and i often pray for you too as you come to my mind during the day. lots of love!! we shall pray that monday brings you an extra measure of strength and joy even as you miss your mom.

Kathy said...

Rachel looks so playful and cuddly in her bathrobe. Moms are such a blessing that they can come and support you. Must have felt so awesome to organize closets and put food in your freezer.

Praying that when the time comes for your Mom to go that God will provide other supports for you.

Jen Penner said...

Rachel looks sooo sweet in those pictures. Makes me just want to pick her up and cuddle her!

Janet said...

Oh Kendera I just loved reading this update.Rachel looks SO-O-O sweet.I love the pictures of her.I feel like Jen said.I just want to pick her up & give her a big hug.She is adorable.I bet those pictures of all your children look beautful that you put on the wall:)
So nice to hear that you got things done that you weren't able to do for awhile.Thank you for all you are sharing with all of us.
Continued prayers are going out to you all.
Janet

Anonymous said...

Awwww. You're so beautiful and your smile. I was telling my husband last night about your sweet smile Rachel and how it makes me smile.

So happy Kendra that you had your Mom and time for 'stuff'. God is good and our Provider - what blessings He's given you since Rachel was born. In turn each of those people were blessed - I know I feel it just praying :-)

Lorissa said...

Love those pictures of Rachel! So glad you could have some time with your mom and some time to be domestic :-) Your family continues to be in my prayers and those of my Bible Study group. Cherish this weekend with your mom around!

Jaclyn said...

ADORABLE!!!!
Makes me want to take her in my arms and hold her tight.

Brenda Funk said...

Oh -- those pictures make my heart squeeze! so very precious. Missing you all so very much, but also so happy that your Mom has been able to be there -- timing was really good!