A Family of Four

Ok, seriously, I really do want to blog more often. I know I keep saying that. I can't believe I haven't blogged since October. WHERE has the time gone? Since it's been so long, this will probably be a long post. Well, this is where we are now. We've celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, a New Year, and the biggest celebration this year  is welcoming our son into the world!  

 Murphy William Dearman was born March 13th at 6:03 am weighing 7 pounds 9 ounces. He is named after his great grandfather (my PapaJack-Richard Murphy "Jack" Pullig) and his Daddy (Matthew William) , grandfather (Wade William Jr.), and great grandfather (Wade William). His name means "Seawarrior/Determined Protector." And our prayer is that he is a warrior for Christ who is determined to stand strong for the gospel!  

 He's already 6 weeks old (today actually) and has been such a joy to us. He's a healthy baby boy and growing so fast. In fact at his 6 week check up he weighed 11 pounds. I'm not surprised at all, he's a great eater! We're so overwhelmed with the love we have for him and his sister. They truly are two of the greatest blessings we have! 

The reality of having two babies though can be very overwhelming. I have no idea how people handle twins (or multiples)! And how do people have more than two- you all are my heroes! We love them like crazy but they are both pretty high maintenance right now being a newborn and an 18 month old. We are good if we get dressed everyday and actually leave the house. I do try to though for our sanity-ha! Addie Grace has been adjusting really well surprisingly. She's just learning to not have as much attention from Mommy like she used to. She's pretty independent, so she's good at just doing her own thing when I'm taking care of Murphy (most of the time). She loves him and wants to hug and kiss him all the time. Anytime she sees him or hears him fussing, she says "baby" and wants to take care of him. It's the sweetest thing in the world! She will even bring him a blanket or burp cloth too. Her favorite is bringing him his paci (or taking it away and putting it in her mouth, depending on the day). But she's such a little "Mama" herself. There are times though when she still wants to be the baby too and be held, which is fine, because she is still a baby herself.  

One day at a time, we're adjusting to having two kids. It's tough but totally worth it all! My maternity leave will go until the end of this school year, so it's nice being able to be home right now. I'm so grateful for this time.The Lord is teaching me a lot right now through this season with two littles. 1~I'm realizing my need for Jesus more and more every day! Parenting is one of the hardest, yet rewarding jobs there is. You learn what it means to sacrifice your needs and desires to put your kids' needs first. It's hard to do that. I'm selfish, I want to just get a few hours of sleep at night, wash my hair, clean the house or just be able to do something for myself. But the fact is there are days when I have to function on 4 hours of sleep (if that) or not get anything done around the house. I'm learning that it's okay in this season to function that way because I rely on Jesus more. 2~God is really revealing a lot to me about my desire to "have it all together." For some reason some days I think I can be "Super Mom" or something. I think I can run errands like I could before and get a lot done on my to-do list as well. The truth of it is, as humans we will never "have it altogether" because we aren't perfect. It won't always be this crazy (or maybe it will, I don't know). I am slowly, but surely learning that this "having it altogether thing" is just not reality. No one really has it altogether. Even if they look like they do, they aren't perfect. I read something recently pertaining to parenting a newborn that said, "the most important job you have right now is taking care of that babies' needs" (I don't remember where I read that now, probably on another blog). It also said something along the lines of "the dishes may not get done, you may not get to do all the things on your "to do" list but your newborn baby is learning how life works and depends completely on you (and God's grace) to meet his needs. It's such a short season that they are this small, unpredictable and needy. So let the dishes wait, the "to dos" will eventually get done and take care of that precious life who is quite needy right now." (it was something like that) I'm trying not to get caught in the mindset of "oh, when they're older, it'll be easier because..." That will only make it worse. The fact is they are one month and 18 months right now and they won't be this little forever. I heard recently "the days are long, but the years are short." I'm sure I'll look back on these days and miss it! So that's where I am, learning to live in the chaos of all this and learning to love it, right where we are! My prayer is that I embrace what God is doing right now, right where our little family of four is and not long for something different. He's got a purpose in this and that's what it's all about! I'm continuing to be refined one day at a time through this process of parenting and even though it's hard, it's worth every minute!