All for Me?

The past few weeks have really been a blessing, despite all of the craziness of traveling and Billy being gone.  I wrote a post last week about how God keeps revealing himself to me, but I continue to be struck again and again by just how amazing it is that God hears my insignificant little prayers.  It is just so exciting to know that even though I am one little person on this people-filled planet, God listens to and answers even my smallest of prayers. 

The latest example of this is last night, I got Barrett down to sleep before 10, which is really good for him.  But, about 15 minutes later, he woke up.  Then, for the next 45 minutes, every time I would be almost asleep, he would wake up and start crying again.  About the fourth time, I was starting to get frustrated, so I said a simple prayer as I crawled back in bed that Barrett would stay asleep, but had very little hope that it would be answered.  I woke up 4.5 hours later to...silence.  Barrett was still alseep!  I had to get up and pump, which was actually an answer to another prayer.  You see, I haven't stored any breastmilk for when I go back to work and Barrett starts going to daycare.  With just 4 weeks to go, I realized  yesterday that I really need to concentrate on building up that supply, but Barrett eats so frequently that it is difficult.  If I pump, there won't be anything left when he wants to eat.  So, all in one night, God showed me twice that even my seemingly insignificant requests are heard.  Barrett slept for 6 hours straight and I got my first bag of milk stored in the deep freeze.  Thank you God for being steadfast, even when I doubt your goodness!

The Many Faces of Barrett

Lately, Barrett has started to interact much more with his surroundings.  This includes cooing, watching people and things as well as smiling.  Yesterday, I even witnessed him flopping over from his belly to his back.  That's right, he is so strong he rolled over at only 7 weeks old. I have been trying to capture some of these playful moments with the camera, so here are a few of my favorites.  I had to throw in one of him sleeping too, because they are all just so precious when they sleep.

On the Road Again

Barrett is going to be a well traveled tike before he is even able to crawl.  In the past two weeks, we have spent very little time at home.  We spent a weekend at the lake in Greenville where Barrett took his first boat ride.  Then a weekend at "home" consisted of a family reunion and baby shower, and then we were off to Lake of the Ozarks again for 6 days of fun to celebrate the 4th of July.  Before we even got home from that trip, Billy had to hop on a plane bound for Israel for a week-long work trip.  So, now the children and I are in Greenville for a few days, since I've never had to care for two children by myself for an extended period of time. 

With all of this going on, God is constantly revealing himself to me, which lends an overall feeling of peace and stillness to the constant craziness.  When I was feeling overwhelmed, two of my friends came over to help me one evening.  When I was getting short tempered because of a lack of sleep, Barrett slept well two nights in a row, allowing me to get back to back nights with 8 hours of sleep (no, they were not consecutive, but one or two feedings at night is great for Barrett).  When I was exasperated with Audrey, I came up with an effective punishment that, combined with some heartfelt conversation, seems to be working well.   It is amazing how God's presence is so apparent when you turn to him.  Even though I feel like my prayers are small and insignificant, God is hearing them and revealing himself in the way they are being answered.