Each day with you is better than the day before...

The sound of the crickets chirping outside and the tick-tock of the clock remind me that we're back at home.   We've been out of town the past couple of days taking part in a friend's wedding. What a celebration it was to see these good friends joined together as one. Such a precious reminder to me that each wedding, each start to a marriage is a gift from God. The weather was hot and humid but we braced ourselves for the 100 degrees and above heat and headed over to the ceremony. Little one was good for about 15 minutes in his stroller--I purposely parked us in the last row. As the lovely bride was heading down the aisle little boy got squirmy and we walked further in back...I strained my neck to catch a glimpse of the groom and his reaction to his bride walking down the aisle toward him. What a beautiful picture. He was all choked up with this look of love in his eyes and even through the heat I could see his pleasure as she walked toward him in her pure white glitter gown. I started to choke up at this reminder at how Jesus stands at the altar looking at his church with a look of love and devotion--and what a deeper, more profound eternal love is this!

We danced the night away and enjoyed catching up with friends. We really miss our friends at our old church and sometimes it's hard being away from them. I told Thom as we drove home tonight that our friend's home who we stayed with is like this revolving door of community...the way it should be. I love how the 3 days we spent with them brought with it new friends that would drop by and visit. Sometimes just to say "hi" or "goodbye I'm heading out of town" and even to talk intimately, just to hang or reach out for support. I miss these guys and it was a privilege being part of the action in their house and reminder that we are still family even though we now live in another town. The freedom to just be in community--to relax, talk, eat, play games, watch "Parks and Recreation" and Jim Gaffigan's "Mr. Universe." Especially being a mom now it helps to be surrounded by friends that just love on our son. Takes the stress off and reminds me to come up for air and just be Amy again, not just "Mama." :-) 

Now...the house is quiet, little bug-a-boo is sound asleep in his crib, and we are uploading photos from the wedding. I look forward to scrapbooking memories...it will take some time but it's worth it. Thank you friends for being who you are, for loving us the way we are, and for walking this road with us. We love you. You know who you are. 

the bride & groom rehearsing for the big day...

me, hubby & bug-a-boo. 

bride & me. love this girl. <3 

rhythms of my life...

The sound of the lawnmower startled me back to reality. My head felt heavy and my heart full as I looked around the dining room of our brick home. Stacks of books and newspapers lay unopened in the middle of the table. I have such high hopes of reading these books one day, but it seems like when I'm all gung-ho starting a book and then put it down never to finish it. I keep longing for the day when we can take an extended vacation and I can finally read all the books I've been adding to my list for quite sometime. I glance at the floor and catch my eye on scattered cheerios and my son's sippy cup underneath my chair. These days life is filled with "to do" lists and demands. There are nights (like last night) where I lie awake unable to drift back off to sleep and find myself just talking to God. "Fill our life with joy. Give us hope in the midst of routine. Provide for us Lord. Lift us up out of financial debt and into a place of abundance. Pour Your peace over my heart now Lord. I need You." I wonder if the struggles come because God wants me to be more dependent. If I didn't struggle and things were more "easy" I would not come to Him as much or even just talk with Him. I was about to say "I wouldn't start the conversation..." and yet He is always speaking to me. 

This past weekend my husband, son and I ventured off to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina to join my parents and long-time friends for a couple of days. It is such a peaceful place on the island. Expensive too--which in a way removes some of the beauty for me. I love the simplicity of watching bike riders adventuring on the paths under trees and the sand as if they don't have a care in the world. We made it to the beach twice and I tried to spend as much time as possible in the ocean. The waves were violent tossing me here and there and it was all I can do to escape the force of each one crashing down on me. I "escaped" the roughest waves by diving head first into them and staying under until they passed me by. My favorite thing to do on the water is just to float...simply allowing the waves to hold up my body and rock me back and forth. A little more difficult to do when the waves are rough, but it is such a picture of surrender to me. Allowing myself to be lifted up and rocked...soothed...even just for a moment.

Being a new mother I am learning what it means to be a soother and to be soothed. My son is 10 months old and it is hard to believe he is nearing his first birthday. Plans are in full-swing for his dinosaur themed-pool party mid-August. I love the adventures of life as a mom where each new day he does something or discovers something new and we can be a witness to this amazing journey. I love how my husband Thom and I look at each other and say "did you see that...did you hear that?" We don't want to miss a thing. Wow, I just got Aerosmith in my head...
He'll hold up his long, "beefy" arms and just want to be shielded from the world. I wrestle with the balance of coming quickly to his aid and waiting to see if he can "self-soothe." Through this time of tension I usually find myself praying. "Lord would you soothe Him, right now to help him get back to sleep?" I peel myself out of bed in the middle of the night to see him pressed up against the crib wanting to get out and needing reassurance from me that everything is OK. I need that reminder too. I need soothing too, especially in the wee hours of the morning when all is quiet and dark. It seems my heart is beating the loudest during those hours. "I am with You." a still small voice whispers to my longing soul. Today my soul feels like an onion--layer upon layer to unravel and discover. I am thankful that I don't have to go this road alone. I try to--and fight myself to simply surrender to the waves...the rhythm of my life.

The gift of rest...

Today is Saturday. For some reason Saturdays always feel like they are longer than work days. Maybe because you have the whole entire day to do what you want to...my mind floods with ideas. I can read a book, write a song, do some painting, go on a walk, write in my blog :-)...etc. Then the necessary house work comes to mind...laundry, dishes, cooking...thankfully today my hubby has taken care of the latter two! Just laundry to do today and take care of the little one. It is hard to believe how fast he is growing. Izzy is now 5 months old. What growth he has made in just a month! He is more sociable and engaged with the world around him. He can play on the floor for about an hour before becoming fussy and ready for a change. He is a gift and I am humbled to be his mother. I am humbled to be a wife too. What hope filled my heart this morning. I have been fighting this nasty virus going around (well we all have in the Watson household)...and all I wanted to do was sleep in bed but couldn't fall back asleep. Thom was playing "Shane and Shane" in the background and the worship songs filled my heart with joy beyond what I feel and see. "We exalt you...Your name be lifted high..." It made me smile hearing the sound of dishes being done and laundry started...and the sound of our baby talking to his toy sheep on the floor. My bet is he will be a very social little boy...just a hunch.
I am humbled at the thought that I worship the Giver of all my gifts. He is the One who deserves my praise, not the gifts. That is so hard sometimes as a wife and mother when I want so much to show my husband and son how much I love them and value their lives. How much more does the Lord deserve my love? When I at times over think all this stuff I sense the word "Grace" so strong, so clear on my  heart.
The chimes are blowing wildly outside. It's been cold lately...winter is trying to squeeze it's way in the southern air. I actually had to borrow a winter coat from my mom! Getting sick makes you more aware of how you're dressing when it's cold! (Note to self: not a great idea to head out to work with a head of freshly showered hair without a hat or scarf). Oops.
Thom and I have been on a LOST kick lately. For those of you who watched the TV show when it was on I am behind the times but catching up to the show. Wow, what great storytelling. Like Thom said this morning, "you know it's great storytelling when you become attached to the character and are sad to see the story ending...they become real to you." I close my eyes and think about all the characters and the stories from the past...the whole concept of time.
The Christmas tree is still up and stocking still hung. It's so hard to part with Christmas decor. It took creativity and time to display it that it feels so short-lived to take it down once "Christmas-time" is over. The tree is real so it's very dead and prickly. I'm actually kind of afraid to touch it in fear of needles falling everywhere. Ornaments decorating the tree mean something special...the framed ornament of the family in New York City this past Christmas, Izzy's first dinosaur ornament from Grammy, our "Couple's First Christmas" ornament from last year...all to be stored away until next year when we'll hang them again.

this would have been our Christmas tree, but too expensive! Haha!

best gift. 

eating rice cereal for the very first time. He liked the place mat more!

meeting his great-grandmother for the first time. 

Statue of Liberty! 

My cousins & mom at a NJ diner. 

our 5 month old! 

Life is busy. I am learning that life is so much richer and enjoyable when I rest. It is easy to rush from here, there and everywhere...but rest is precious these days. Sometimes my mind and heart just need some time to catch up with the rest of my body! I am thankful for my life. The town we live in, the brick house we call "home", my family who knows and loves me the same. The daily routine requires a lot...get up, shower, dress, coffee, lunches, breakfast, diaper changes, pack up the diaper bag for the day, drop off the baby, head to work, back home again, supper, relax, get ready for bed...time is precious. To slow down a moment to enjoy doing the dishes, the next diaper change, making dinner, to enjoy these times as a gift.