"Human felicity is produced not as much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day." - Benjamin Frankin
Levi and I have started, very gently, to wean. I made it a year of breastfeeding exclusively and have since introduced cows milk. It was a HUGE milestone for us! I can't imagine any better way to have cemented a bond with my child- his name means "Attached; Joined in Harmony" in Hebrew. I couldn't have picked it better. I don't plan on weaning on any kind of time frame- baby led weaning allows for the child to do it at their own pace, when they are comfortable with it. He is nursing between 4-6 times during the day and 1 time at night, which is a huge improvement from before. We introduced cow's milk, and he loves it! We may keep going for another year, he may be done in 2 weeks, I have no idea- but I know I will let him stop when he is ready.
We are inching towards our "down with the debt" resolution. Our goals at the beginning of the year included no credit card debt, no car debt, and knocking down my student loan by 25%. Yesterday, we paid off our car and one credit card. One hefty card, one pretty slim card, and we are done. As a family, though, we are going to be pulling off some pretty "big ticket" things this year: a trip to Spain for a month, possibly a new vehicle (something that can seat 7, our little Santa Fe is just getting too cramped), and a few other things to be mentioned in future posts.
Jose and I got a new bed. This has been SUCH a long time coming. We joked before that we slept in a hammock because it sagged so much. Flipping your mattress every 5 days because your back needs a break is really just TOO much. So we too a little left over tax return money (thanks, Uncle Sam!) and headed to our favorite home goods
Unless you spend $600 over budget and have to take it all back. Every stinkin' time! It's like grocery shopping when you haven't eaten for 4 days and are drooling over every thing you see. We went for a mattress, and ended up getting a new bed (with the under bed slats that are able to customize how firm it feels, don't you know), a mattress cover, a blanket, a duvet cover set, a sheet set, and "OOOOO! Shiny! Let's get two of those"... "Oh wait, I haven't seen these in forever, I HAVE to have them"..."I hate that we don't have any dishes that match. We are down to 5 plates, and Levi broke another cup today. What do you think of these?"
Originally, we thought we were absolutely fine picking up extras. But when we got home, we discovered that two big checks we thought had cleared were actually floating around in bank space somewhere...so that meant loading every single box back into the Santa Fe - actually inside, because it was raining today- loading the kids in, and driving 2 hours to Orlando to take everything back. The boxes were so large on the bed we bought that I was driving, and could not see anything on the right side of the car. Jose joked that we were on that show "Blind Date" from the 90's because we couldn't see each other. In order for me to change lanes, Jose had to verbally guide me and I had to totally trust him because I had no way to look out a window or a mirror other than the windshield. Awesome, but crazy experience.
This week has been one of new discoveries, tears, worries, wondering how we will do it all, how we will make it, good news, bad news, and everything in between.... But I rest in this:
"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. "Matthew 6: 25-26, 30-34, The Message
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