Water and the Word…

This weekend, Mallory will receive Holy Baptism! As a reminder, my posts on baptism are:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 and 3a
The Heart of our debate
Part 4
Part 5

And for further thought, a reminder of:
confessing evangelical’s post
and Kelly Klages q and a’s

I’d like to write more about Holy Baptism, and other matters of theology and politics. Mallory, however, requires my time and energy (eating between 500 and 1000 calories a day). So, I leave you with the words of Martin Luther in the Large Catechism, (McCain, CHP, Reader’s Edition), from Infant Baptism 56 and 57:

“I myself also, and all who are baptized, must say this before God, ‘I come here in my faith and in that of others. Yet I cannot rest in this, that I believe, and that many people pray for me. But in this I rest, that Baptism is Your Word and command. It is just like when I go to the Sacrament trusting not in my faith, but in Christ’s Word. Whether I am strong or weak, I commit that to God. But I know this, that He asks me to go, to eat and to drink, and so on, and He gives me His body and blood [Matthew 26:26-28]. That will not deceive me or prove false to me.’

“So we do likewise in infant Baptism. We bring the child in the conviction and hope that it believes, and we pray that God may grant it faith [Luke 17:2; Ephesians 2:8]. But we do not baptize it for that reason, but solely of God’s command. Why? Because we know that God does not lie [Titus 1?2]. I and my neighbor and, in short, all people, may err and deceive. But God’s Word cannot err.”

Congratulations are in order?

This time to Scotty … or soon to Scotty? Well, pray for him and his Swiss Miss as they discern marriage.

Mom-blogging…

HT Vox Day .

“[M]om-blogging - WOMAN-blogging - is still radical because there is still so much animosity, so much hate toward it, so much deprecation of it, so much dismissal of it, so much effort put into its marginalization. What is radical about it is that we push on, demanding to be heard, and demanding recognition of our worth as mothers, women, writers, business-people, innovators, people, against the ignorance of those who would keep us down.” Or so says Mamapop .

OK… so, when I “mom-blog” I’m being radical and revolutionary? Um… I don’t really see it like that. Nor do I really demand to be heard. I’m grateful for the link love I get from others. I appreciate being on someone’s blogroll. But, I didn’t, for example, go over to Hammerswing75 and demand Uncle Ben put me on his blogs of ill repute (thanks, by the way!). I’ve known Scotty since May 16, 2003, and he didn’t put me on his blog roll until recently (Enquiring minds need to know Scotty). Erapp from the Rapp Files doesn’t know me, but for some reason occasionally finds something worthwhile here and links to me (thanks, also). And there are a variety of other bloggers that link to me (I’d mention the other mom-bloggers, but I’m trying to make a point regarding sexism).

I blog for my own amusement. If others are likewise entertained, I’m glad. I don’t need special recognition for my “worth” as a mom, woman, writer, worker or a person. Nor do I think anyone is trying to keep me down. My vocation, or in military terms, my mission is to be Josh’s wife, Mallory’s mom, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and to do so with a cheerful attitude as Christ would have me do. I don’t need a special “Good job” or recognition from the New York Times or anyone else. My motivation is not fighting “ignorance” nor is it being an important “voice” or finding special “recognition.” My motivation is that I love Jesus, Josh, Mallory, my family, and my friends.

So, mom-bloggers, do you feel disenfranchised in the blogosphere?

As a random aside… Catherine shouldn’t whine about Vox Day taking her seriously. I’ve never met him. Don’t know his wife. He’s probably only ever visited me to see a review of his book. The men who frequent my blog usually only pay attention when I write about a topic they are interested in. I get more “male attention” when I write about theology, politics, or something vaguely economic. Men generally don’t like on-line diaries. Men read for information. If you want more men to read your blog, write about something they are interested in or be a very well written and cute blog, like Pianomomsicle . She is an example of vocabulary, an underdog trying to make it in a hard world, and is a great resource for cheap stuff. This is the internet; and we’re whining about a social activity; and people we’ve probably never met. The big difference here is there is no playground lady to keep men from “not being nice” to women. You want to play with the boys, learn to throw a football or play a video game. Don’t force the boys to play house and Barbies when they don’t want to.

And they all lived...

happily ever after ! Or, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as they both shall live.

My only wedding related advise... quick engagements are best... or at least those shorter then 15 months... no, really, they are.

Congratulations Mall Diva and Uncle Ben!

Tall husbands, cars, and the environment

Josh is tall. No, seriously, he's around 6 feet tall. Also, he is going to be the stay at home parent for now. And, he drives a big pick up truck. I am short; somewhere between 5'1 and 5'2, depending on who is measuring and the measuring instrument. I also cannot see over the dash board in his truck, nor can I reach the pedals. Plus, his truck doesn't have a back seat. In other words, he can't drive Mallory around in his truck, nor can I drive his truck. So, that means we either become a one vehicle family, or we purchase a vehicle to replace the truck.

We're exploring the vehicle purchase route. And these days, most vehicles are more fuel efficient then his truck. But, we decided to be environmentally consious and at least explore the possiblilty of a hybird. We decided to do some rough cost comparisons based on information available on-line. We compared within model standard and hy-tech and across models. The new fangled vehicles are more expensive then the old fashioned ones, so the question is: does the extra gas savings make the extra price worth while?

Josh and I looked at two scenarios. First, assuming 10 years ownership at 12,000 miles a year. Then second, 200,000 miles life. We also assumed $4/gas (present value high at the nearest gas station). Remember, we're using present value. In other words, is the extra price now less then buying the extra gallons of gas right now? What we discovered is, in most cases, it is cheaper to buy the plain old engine and the extra gas then it is to buy the more efficient new technology. There was one exception, but the standard was so ridiculous that there was no way we would ever meet it. If vehicle brand X got the very best highway mileage, we only ever drove on the highway, never on city streets, AND we kept the vehicle for 200,000 than it would be cost effective to buy the new hy-tech vehicle.

When looking out ten years and 200,000 miles, it's really hard to say what kind of usage we'll put on the vehicle. Who knows, it may not last 10 years or 200,000, which really makes the new technology expensive. At any rate, we also found out that the company that makes the spiffy new batteries can't keep up with demand, so there is a LONG wait (and it is hard to come by used hy-tech vehicles). So, we are going to be environment haters. What can I say, one of the fundamental rules of economics is that people look out for their own self interest. Perhaps when my car dies a slow and painful death (hopefully in several years or another 100,000 miles) the technology will be cheaper, better, and more readily available.

(By the way, for those super interested... my L-series Saturn still gets 30 mpg in the summer and 25 in the winter, combo city/highway, even though it is seven years old... the hybird Saturn Aura gets 24 to 32 mpg... so much for the technology being really slick and efficient.)

And what to Penguins Eat?

We had our new friends over on Friday for dinner. They’re new to the area after graduating from seminary, and we thought we’d show some friendship and hospitality.

They have an almost-three-year-old boy who was wearing a dinosaur T-Shirt. I asked about the dinosaur (a T-Rex), what sounds it made (roar!), and what it ate (meat). We went through the list of dinosaurs he knew, growled for each, and determined whether or not they ate meat or grass. Then he noticed Mallory’s baby-jungle-gym with a lion on it. So, we talked about lions, what sounds it makes, and what it eats. The food question stumped the poor guy. So, we suggested it eats zebras. Poor kid wouldn’t buy that. Nor did he think it would eat grass or kitty food (I just thought I’d check). And we talked about other animals. Eventually, we got to Penguins. We really didn’t know what sounds penguins make, but we asked what they eat; and without missing a beat, the little boy said, “Zebras!”

God bless little boys!

Bath time…

Mallory still isn’t big on baths. But, our favorite part is the post-bath cuddle. Changed, fed, burped, clean, and content. So, we rocked and sang our favorite hymns. I love the post-bath cuddle! She’ll grow up far too soon.

My favorite part of church services

Three years ago (has it already been three years?), Josh and I went to our first service at a revivalist church in what had been three years prior... at that time, I realized something that Erapp from the Rapp files points out; pastors are to proclaim absolution .

I didn't know how much I missed receiving absolution each Sunday until that Sunday nearly three years ago when the pastor didn't proclaim absolution. I love the sacraments, but each week, church isn't complete until I've received absolution.

Happy Birthday...

Happy 1 month birthday to Mallory! We are celebrating with an evening trip to my parents. But, right now, she is in her crib, complaining to Eeyore that I'm leaving her lay while she finishes her business. (No sense in changing her diaper *before* she finishes or mid-job.)

Yoda was right... Doo or Doo not; there is no try.

Mallory Milestone...

Mallory took a bottle for the first time just now! Kind of important as Josh is going to be the stay at home parent after I return to work, and I want her to have a full year of milk. So, for those of you trying to do something similar... (warning, uninterested men should quit reading this post now)

Pick a time of day when you know your baby will be calm and express before hand. Offer her the fresh bottle and not part of your existing stash. Make sure there is a little milk on the nipple so she knows what she's getting and aim for the roof of her mouth. It took about five minutes for her to catch on. Also, feed her in a different place then where you breast feed.

We're just going to do one bottle a day for a week or two; and then by the end of Josh's drill, I want her to be up to two bottles and then three before I go back to work. I'm also doing one extra pump a day for now. I want four or five feedings stored for the first day back at work; then I want four or five feedings for baby sitting or emergencies.

Things I've learned... go for the "slow" nipple or baby will wolf down the bottle and you're more likely going to have a spit up episode. Every one needs to be calm. We tried Sunday night to give her a bottle so I could have a full night sleep, and Josh could be more involved. That didn't work well because we don't have the warm the bottle/feeding timing worked out yet. I'll let you know if we experience nipple confusion or not; and how we decide to deal with it.

Update: I heard somewhere that it is impossible to feed ones baby too much breastmilk. Somewhere should stand corrected. Mallory lost a meal and then some this evening; no fever; nothing. And so, the hotline nurse suggested that I feed her smaller amounts... So, I had to ask, "How does one know how much one is feeding her?" The nurse elaborated and said 20 minutes should be sufficient... well, we already do 20 minutes at a time; so we're going to try, try, to cut her off at 15. And the doctor wonders how my baby gained a pound after being home for three days.

Is she pretty in pink?

Heck yeah! And Mallory will have lots of pink, and will wear it until she is old enough to protest. But, she also looks great in froggy outfits and has worn a dinosaur sleeper. Every so often, on slow op-ed days, one finds a feminist lamenting that little girls behave like little girls .

My blog is pink, but blue is my favorite color. I look good in both pink and blue, and have been known to wear a variety of colors. HG looks good in orange, and Becky got away with wearing jeans (clean and no holes) to church in elementary school. I noticed in today’s op-ed by Emily L. Hauser , how some don't lament the truly important factor in raising little girls and boys… teaching them math facts and teaching them to read.

My sisters and I engaged in all sorts of girly activity in our day. Barbie and Skipper dated various NKOTB dolls. We read Little House and Anne of Green Gables and moved onto Jane Austin. We watched Disney, Kevin Sullivan, and various romantic comedies. But, God help the sister who brought home anything but an “A” in Math. (Trust me, I brought home grades other then “A” in Math in sixth grade and learned my lesson.) Those who did not bring home “A’s” in Math were chastised by the statement, “Obviously you did not even try… your dad was good at math, therefore you should be doing better.” Now, my parents were more forgiving of B’s in other topics… namely English… but one must not leave the “B” honor roll.

You see, there are more important things in life then what little girls do when playing pretend. There are also more important lessons, such as the world does not revolve around them, that they sin and need to repent, that applied math subjects are more important then women’s studies, and that true self-esteem comes from doing a job well.

So, how girly will Mallory be? It is way too early to tell… but the nearest martial arts school is next to a dance school… she is already being taught about the Twins line up, and she has a Twins onesie that matches one of Josh’s T-Shirts. She will probably learn about astronomy and minerals from one grandpa and from another she’ll learn about animals and from another, more about baseball. And if she wants to learn to knit, crochet, do needle point, and cook, we have plenty of people who know how to do those activities.

There is nothing wrong with being girly and feminine… there is everything wrong with not being able to do arithmetic. And if one is going to lament all that is girly and feminine, one should quit whining about the games kids play and start teaching both boys and girls things that will lead them to success in adult life.

Local Bands…

I’m adding a new section to my links for local bands where I am acquainted with a member. Give a listen; give some support if you like the music.

As a side note… neither of these bands are Confessional Lutheran, nor are they what one would call “Christian music,” so preview before listening in front of kids.

A different perspective for the day...

Now that I'm rested, etc., I do feel a sense of accomplishment. I did manage to get both Mallory and myself ready for church by myself. Yup. By 9:30 I was wondering if it was a lost cause, but God settled Mallory down enough so I could get dressed. But I still need Josh. He should be home soon.

How is it...

How is it that Mallory knows it is drill weekend? I mean, apart from Josh not being around during the day? Since we had our unit picnic on Saturday, we didn't make it to Saturday church as a family. And I was thinking about going to early service to sit with my folks, but Mallory knew Daddy needed a good night sleep, so she decided to be awake from 1 am to 4 am, even after I followed my mom's advice and woke her up every two to three hours during the day. So, after I laid her down at 4 am, I went to sleep, rather soundly, and at 5:30, I hear Josh and Mallory talking, so I thought, "How did I miss her crying?" I apologized profusely to Josh, and explained the situation. And he gave her to me and went back to sleep for another half hour.

And so, as yesterday we obtained means of taking care of excess supply, Josh promised me a full nights sleep tonight!

Drill Weekend...

It's drill weekend again. Good practice for when Josh is on his two weeks; except this is going to be drill-lite. We have the annual picnic today. So, all night, I've been practicing not passing Mallory off to Josh when she is inconsolable and I will care for her myself all day tomorrow. She is Daddy's girl, though.

Yesterday evening, we met Josh's Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, and their friends. Josh's cousin registered for college and we all had dinner together at a good half way point. "Pass the Baby" was the game of the evening, and Mallory loves to cuddle.

Well, I'm almost done with my breakfast, so I'm going to get ready for the day while she is still quiet and listening to Bach. Yes, I'm slowly converting her! But, I'll probably switch CDs this evening. Oh, and I'm also able to wear jeans! Before you get to jealous, I did keep track of clothes as I lost weight on Weight Watchers... so, they are not the jeans I wore before I started to "show."

True Presence

So, when I'm feeding Mallory or rocking her, I occasionally sing hymns to her. It's a tradition I picked up from my dad. I've first been going through the hymnal I grew up with, the E. Free one. I know all those hymns, and I'm still learning those in the LSB. I'm being careful to keep within good Lutheran Theology, though. So, as I was rocking her yesterday, I thought about an old favorite in a new way. All my life, I have been singing about the true presence of Christ in sacrament and never knew it!

Great is Thy Faithfulness
"Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth;
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide.
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow;
Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside."

Fabulous hymn, now means even more!

Bundling...

And I'm not talking about wrapping a baby in a blanket...

Buy a 152 pack of diapers (about two weeks worth) and the package comes with 30, yes a whopping 30, wipes. Now, even assuming your baby is a dainty pooper... and Mallory is not... that still leaves something to be desired.

More baby pictures…

Mallory will receive baptism on August 3rd, in case I haven’t mentioned. We’re very excited about it! We’ve been saying The Lord’s Prayer, The Creed, and the Ten Commandments every day for her. We also met with Pastor to discuss the importance of Holy Baptism and what it means; and also, for my benefit, to review that it is not a work of man but a work of God.

And of course, we have the sweetest and the best baby in the world. For a week now, she’s been staying awake long enough to be bored, so we’ve been trying to tempt her with toys… trying to get her to grab onto a toy at minimum. And today, for the first time, she has grabbed an offered toy… a math toy no less! (OK, not a “real” abacus, but still a math toy none the less.) It does my heart proud!

Also, we have the picture of our sleeping beauty!

I apologize for the quality of the lighting… I’m getting new lamps for my birthday in a few weeks (an early gift). We just haven’t addressed lighting… and it is also raining.

Homeruns…

Justin Morneau has class. He acknowledged that the Home Run Derby was all about Josh Hamilton. But, I can’t help but wonder if Hamilton played the contest poorly. Hear me out. It’s great that he set a new Home Run Derby single round hitting record and got a second round by (or is it bye?). But, he failed to employ strategy. You see, in hind sight, all he needed to do to get to the first round was to hit nine or ten. What if he would have stopped when he got his slot? Or what if he would have say, doubled the highest contender’s home runs instead of using all ten of his outs? Then we could have an entirely different outcome. When the slate was wiped clean during the third round, Joe Mauer pointed out that it was still anyone’s win. The question is, when running (hitting) a long race, do you use all your energy during the first leg, or do you pace yourself so you can make it to the end? Morneau played a game of “just enough” which was what it took to win the Derby. Hamilton, so it seems, played for a record, and not to win. When we look back on this year’s Derby, we’ll all remember Josh Hamilton and his spectacular performance, but, and there is a but, Justin Morneau did what it took to win.

This week's points of interest...

Thanks to Pianomomsicle for putting up a picture of Mallory and me . Also, Mallory is discriminating like Kara’s Joshua . She also agrees with her Aunty Becky… if it’s Baroque, don’t play it. So few can appreciate Bach. Mallory wasn’t about to go to sleep Thursday night, so Josh took us for a drive. Some things are worth burning gas over. And even though she didn’t stay asleep long after we got home, the drive calmed everyone down sufficiently.

We had lunch at my parents’ house on Sunday. Dad asked how we like Mallory and I said that I can’t imagine life without her. Dad pointed out to Josh that husbands take a back burner once children are born because new mothers can’t imagine life without their children, a position wives used to take on their husbands. You know, I think my dad is right to an extent, though not in the manner he meant. A 22 month deployment is enough of a separation for me to imagine life without him, even though we had regular contact. I really don’t like it when Josh is gone. I find my quality of life is greater when he’s here. I tolerate life without Josh, and I’m content for the sake of his military career, but I can’t say it is my favorite state of life.

I love my growing family.

Tomorrow we meet with our pastor to discuss baptism. I’m glad. I learned a lot from my little blog series on baptism. Mallory will receive Holy Baptism on August 3rd. I’m excited for her entrance into the Christian family. Josh was reading John 3 to her today.

Random points of interest…

I’m starting to recite the Lord’s Prayer and The Creed to Mallory during her quiet aware states when she’s feeding. I’m also thinking next week we’re going to start reading parts of the Small Catechism, too. We also read her the creation account in Genesis, and we’ll read her the creation account in John next. John is my favorite of the Gospels. We’ll also read Isaiah 52 and 53 to her; and I Corinthians 15.

Mallory is doing well. She was discharged on Friday at 7 lbs 5 oz, and for her 1 week appointment on Tuesday weighed in at 8 lbs 4 oz. She has mild anterior tongue tie, for which we have an appointment with an ear, nose, and throat specialist. She’ll probably get that stringy thing under her tongue clipped a bit. It could (but isn’t) affecting her feeding; but it will affect her speech.

I’m starting to feel a bit better myself, provided I get both a morning and afternoon nap. If I stay still for the next couple of days, then I may attempt church on Sunday. The issue is being able to walk into the sanctuary and the up to the alter for Sacrament rather then desire.

One thing I really like about being post-partum is the foods I am enjoying again! Particularly, I am glad to be eating bananas, kiwi, and sweet potatoes. Those were two big stables of my diet while Josh was gone and also until morning (all day) sickness struck. I don’t get much potassium outside of bananas or kiwi; and foods do not get much more nutritious then sweet potatoes. Also, I’m actually planning meals again; so that means Josh and I are eating much better!

I’m really grateful to be an American this Independence Day. Past years, I’ve posted something more patriotic, but this year, the physical benefits of being an American are fresh in my mind. Women in other countries with the complications I’ve had die; particularly women in third world countries. Say what you want about the evils of capitalism, and there are some evils to it, but morally, it provides for the best research, development, and care one can have. Who cares if drug companies and medical device companies and medical research institutions are greedy or profit driven? Motives didn’t matter when Mallory was born, and they shouldn’t matter.

And some specific prayer requests…
*My incision is healing nicely, so pray that it continues to do so. Related, I’m only using OTC drugs for pain and they seem to be working well.
*Pray that my blood pressure stabilizes.
*I only have one physical goal in mind right now, and that is to be able to carry Mallory up and down the stairs of our house before Josh’s two week training in August. So, pray that I’m recovered enough to do so.
*In general, I feel like I’m recovering nicely. It helps that I had a very restful day yesterday, will have a restful day today, and also tomorrow. I’m doing the stairs a bit more often, and I made my own breakfast this morning. I also made coffee for Josh. I’m hoping that next week, I’ll be a bit more help around the house.

Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend!