October Update

It's been a while since I posted and a lot has happened since then. For starters, Lainey found her fist a few weeks ago. She first noticed her hands at 6 weeks, but at 9 weeks, that is all she could think about. She loves holding it in the air and staring at it. 

This month, Lainey had her first Halloween and the day after that, she had her first cold. As a mom, I have to say that experience was probably one of the worst experiences of my life! It was horrible watching my sweet baby suffer. Every cough and sneeze made me want to cry! She only had the cold for about 3 days, but those three days taught me an entirely new dimension of God's love for us. Until I became a parent, I never realized just how much he loves us as there truly is no greater love than the love a parent has for a child. This became most apparent to me when I tried to help Lainey clear her nose. I used a bulb syringe they gave us at the hospital, and she absolutely hated it! She would look at me with those trusting eyes but then scream at the top of her lungs the moment it began to do what it was supposed to do and suction. This killed me because I thought from her perspective it probably seemed as if I was just inflicting pain. She had no idea I was doing it for her benefit. As I repeatedly went through this process, I was reminded of Zechariah 13:9  where it says,  "I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver and test them as gold is tested." The verse explains how God puts us through fire in order to purify us the way a refiner purifies gold or silver. Several times (more often than I would like to admit), I have blamed God for the wrongs in my life, believing he was the one putting me through suffering. The reality is, however, that evil exists in the world. And just as I wanted to rid Lainey of stuffiness using a bulb syringe, God wants to cleanse us of evil. Yet in order to do so, he must put us through fire. He isn't the cause of our suffering, but he has the cure. And while the cure may cause us some pain, it is worth it in the end. Little Lainey may not have realized it, but there was nothing I wanted more than for her to feel better. I love her so much, and it hurt me more than she can imagine to see her in pain. I learned so much through this experience, and praise God she is feeling better now!

Here are a few images from October....

The mighty fist

Lainey's going home dressed swallowed her when she was going home, but at 3 months, it fit perfect!

Lainey still hasn't mastered smiling and opening her eyes at the same time...

This is Lainey's famous pout. She goes through a series of cries and pouts before finally falling asleep. She just hates to miss anything! Finally, though, fatigue always sets in.

Here's our little Horton!

At the CEPC fall festival - my mom bought Lainey two costumes so she wore the Horton costume on Halloween at the ballerina costume at the festival.