Mother's Day 2016.

Happy Mother's Day! We had a busy day with Kley playing on the worship team at church, hosting company, and a get together with Kley's family in the afternoon/evening, but it was a good day! Kley and Norah gave me cards and flowers, and I am so thankful to be Norah's mom. I pray for her so often, giving thanks for her life, her comfortable nature, pleasant demeanor, contagious giggle, and the joy in watching her grow and learn. Being a mom is consuming and demanding, but it's so rewarding and I've learned so much about sacrificial love, both in how to best care for her and in how our Father loves us. I am so honored that He entrusted her to us. Norah, being your mom is one of my top treasures. I love you!

Norah takes a bit to warm up to the camera. Ha.

Love her smile!

The best family shots we could get before church.

Glad we got to see Aunt Elizabeth too!

I love this shot with Gramie and Grandpa!

A great family picture!

And this is my new favorite picture ever. :) I love my family!

Weekend recap and Tulip Festival sneak peek!

This last weekend was a full one but a good one! Jackie, my freshman roommate at Bethel, and her husband/son came to stay with us for Kari's wedding (another Bethel roommate). It was fun to see them and catch up. It's also exciting to watch our kids play together now!

The wedding was in Worthington, MN, which is about an hour away from us, so it was nice that we didn't have to travel far but could still make it to the wedding! 

Congratulations Kari- so excited for you!

This weekend we also tried on some Dutch costumes in preparation for Tulip Festival coming up soon. Here's a sneak peek! 

The tulips are already up and beautiful, so we had to go take some pictures of them in case they aren't there during actual Tulip Festival. So pretty!

Norah exploring the tulips.

Norah and Daniel.

It's basically every Dutch family's dream to get cute pictures of their babies by the tulips. It's neat to take part in those traditions!

Joe, Jackie, and Daniel- thanks for coming to visit us!

After checking out the tulips, we had to stop at the park. Norah could see the swings from the tulip patch and she had to go over. She sure does love swinging!

Swinging buddies!

Insightful/wise responses (to my previous baby #2 post).

The other day shared this post about (talking about) having baby #2. Originally I was hesitant to post it because it's a vulnerable and personal topic, but I'm so glad I did! I got several responses that were so encouraging that I wanted to share them (with their permission). 

So, if you are thinking about having more kids, I hope you find these encouraging as well! I also am so grateful for wisdom from older generations- it's so needed and valuable. These three responses are from women older than I, who either have grown children or older children, and having perspective from those who have already gone through this is so beneficial.

1. No worries, Kelsey. Your Father has your precious family well in hand and will grow it as He purposes. He will equip you with what you need at the time you need it, especially the overflowing billows of love!

I remember thinking the same thoughts you've articulated when expecting our second. How in the world could I love another child as much as I did my first? But I absolutely did and do. And then it becomes a generational habit...how could I possibly love a second grandchild as much as I do the first? And again--bingo! He's also my favorite!! But, honestly--how can I ever expect to muster up equal love for the third? Who am I kidding? I love her til I could just explode with it! As I step back and consider, what I see is that it's not my love that comes into play at all. It's God's love, and that precious Source is totally inexhaustible. So--I have two favorite sons and three favorite grandchildren and no second-placers.

The word that caught my attention most was "vulnerable". Perhaps the areas where we feel most vulnerable are those areas in which we have deceived ourselves into believing we have more control, more final say than we really have. There are certainly very personal issues under that umbrella, but not one that God doesn't handle perfectly for His beloved. The only vulnerability that really matters is our vulnerability to Him. After all, just as the old hymn correctly states, "Jesus doeth all things well."


2. For Emma's first 2 years of life I thought there was a good chance she'd be an only child. She was very high maintenance, and I couldn't imagine doubling the neediness! But after she turned two, we started talking about it more. Eventually I was pregnant with #2. The closer we got to the due date of #2, the more of an emotional roller coaster I was on. I was enjoying more of my 1-1 time with Emma, and wondered, like you, how I could love another as much. But when more children come, it all somehow falls into place. Your thought process is totally normal! smile emoticon It shows how much you love Norah and how much you are investing in her. Lord willing, when the time is right, more will come, and He will give you everything you need. wink emoticon


3. I think most moms have these same emotions - I know I did! Praying and seeking God's wisdom, and trusting that He will provide all that you need, gives amazing peace through this time.

Thoughts on having baby #2.

(This post has been sitting here as a draft for a few weeks, waiting around for me to step up and post it. Today is the day, I guess! Also, this is not a pregnancy announcement!)

Talking about having another baby feels really vulnerable and personal, yet somehow people still ask, "So, when are you going to have another?" fairly often. I don't mind that question, especially from close friends, but there were times I remember people asking during Norah's first year of life (whom I didn't know well) and it made me feel uncomfortable. Before Norah turned one, I had no desire to be pregnant again, yet, and still felt like I was learning how to be a mom to one.

I know lots of people have kids close together, and however many kids you want to have and however close you want to have them is completely up to your family (well, really up to God's timing), and that's great. There were times when people asked me early on if we were going to have another soon, and it made me feel bad. Should I be wanting another already? Is there something wrong with me that I don't want another yet since everyone keeps bringing it up? The answer is no, and I learned that over time. I had a friend bring this topic up to me too, because someone asked her the same question when her first baby was just a few weeks old. You are still recovering from labor at that point! Holy cow.

I was talking to Kley about this last night, because the conversation of having more kids is on the rise (not that I am going to discuss that on the blog, because that's personal to our family), but it was an interesting conversation. We know we want more children, but now that it's getting closer, it just made me fearful last night. I know your heart just magically swells somehow and you love all your children the same, but I was thinking about how I could love another baby like I love Norah. I know I will and I logically know that's kind of silly, but I was thinking it.

I often forget that Norah will grow up. That sounds crazy, but when I think of having more children I sometimes think of just multiplying the "needy" stage. For instance, today I am taking care of some other children too, so for a few hours today I will have an almost 3 year old, 17 month old, 13 month old, and 11 month old in my house. That's a lot of neediness, so sometimes my vision is narrow because that's what I know right now. But, Norah will grow up to go to school. There will be a day when she'd rather hang out with her friends than me. Sadness. (But that's also good, because growing up is good too.)

Motherhood is such a roller coaster. I love these first years so so much, but they are also demanding, which makes me scared to have more. But then I think about Norah growing up and not needing me so much anymore, and I just want to keep being needed.

I don't really have a solution or a logical thought process to this post, but I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering/worrying about having more children. It was comforting because this morning I read Matthew 6:25-34, where it talks about not worrying because worrying won't add to your life and God will take care of you. I need to remind myself of that often! So, whenever we do have another baby, I know we will be excited and so thankful. Scared too, but that comes with the parenting territory! It's scary to raise children, but it's the best and so worth it and so rewarding. Every pregnancy and child is a miracle!

(This topic came up in conversation with friends the other day, after writing this but before posting, and some advice given was, "If you know you want to have more kids, just get pregnant again before you chicken out!" I thought that was good advice, considering what I was thinking about, and funny how the timing worked!)

Favorite FREE iPad apps.

(This is sort of a follow up post to our thoughts on screen time.)

Here are some of our favorite FREE iPad apps (we haven't researched a ton about this, but this is what we've found so far!):

1. Praise Baby DVDs- This is not an app, but these are the only "movies" Norah has ever watched. She loves them! We love that she is watching something age appropriate/captivating and hearing Christian music.

2. Laugh & Learn Learning Letters Monkey App by Fisher Price- This is one of the top favorites. There are four different settings you can choose- ABC, 123, music, and shapes/colors. It's educational, bright colored (captivating), and fun to listen to.

3. Animal Sounds & Photos for Kids and Babies App by Kidstatic- This goes through 10 real life animal photos. It plays their animal sound and says the name of the animal (with it also written on the bottom). Norah loves to scroll through them. You can also purchase more if you want.

4. Baby DJ App by Applifto Inc.- This is a fun music app! It comes with three free pages (you can buy extra), with 9 "buttons" per page (the free pages are called Funky with animals, Smileys, and Signs, like road signs). Each button plays a different sound or beat, so you can create your own music. You can even record it and play it back too.

5. Magic Doodle Picture Book App by Babyfirst- This shows a black screen with a pictures underneath, and you have to swipe the whole page "clean" to see the picture.

6. Giggle Gang App by Fisher Price- This has a colored keyboard on the bottom and each color has it's own little creature that goes with it, so you can hear the song that goes with the color, or play your own notes on the keyboard.

7. Disneyland Explorer App by Disney- This is not even an actual game, but Norah loves it! It actually is really cool. You can go through your own virtual tour of the real Disneyland. You can scroll through and see everything that's there!

8. Drawing Desk App by 4 Axis Solutions- This is a neat coloring app. You can choose from photo, doodle, kids, or sketch desk. You can add pictures, objects to color, and basically choose any color, pattern, or utensil to color with.

9. Bible for Kids App by Life.Church- This is slightly old for Norah, but I LOVE it because it has tons of Bible stories! (I say it's a bit old for Norah because they are more lengthy than her ability to sit through right now.)

What are your favorite kids apps?

Our family's thoughts on screen time.

I have a lot of thoughts on children and screens, mainly that they are on them too much, but it's an important topic and I wanted to talk about it. While I am not a big advocate of screen time, we do use it sparingly. We don't have to travel super far thankfully, but we travel somewhat frequently to visit family with several hours in the car, and the iPad has been a good distraction when she's sick of sitting in her carseat.

It's obviously up to each family to decide how much screen time your children have and what content they are viewing, but we have chosen as a family to limit it and to be very mindful of what Norah is watching. Kley and I have had several discussions on being careful of what we are personally listening to or watching when Norah is in ear shot. Not that we watch terrible things, but Norah is absorbing so much and copying/repeating a lot.

We really want the things Norah is seeing and hearing to be God honoring, age appropriate, and (mostly) educational. We are not perfect at that, but that is our goal. 

Here are some questions I think are beneficial to ask in regards to screen time:

1. What am I personally using as screen time in front of Norah? I do use my phone in front of her, but I try to make it purposeful when we are together (like looking up directions, a recipe, calling family/friends, etc.). When I do have to respond to an email or something in front of her, I try to explain what I am doing and why. I (make a good effort to) save the Instagram or FB checking for when she is sleeping.

2. Why am I letting Norah have screen time? Is it for a good purpose? Am I just being selfish or lazy and wanting a break? Am I giving in to her begging for it? I think this is an important question to think about.

3. What are we letting her view? Is it God honoring? Not that it has to be specifically Christian all the time, but is it appropriate? Is it good for her age level? Is it educational?

We mainly use screen time for when we are traveling in the car (on a long trip, not just around town). We use the iPad when we are at home very sparingly, because I think other things are more important and more valuable than screens, like reading books, playing outside, making a craft, pretend play, manipulative play (such as age appropriate educational toys, like practicing lacing cards to work on fine motor skills, for example), etc. The few times we use it at home are when Norah is sick or on those occasional days where everyone is grumpy and we both need a short break so I don't react in frustration/anger.

Screens are powerful. Norah knows how to operate our phones and the iPad without us spending time teaching her. She learned from watching. While Norah doesn't have screen time often, when she sees it she wants it, and when it's time to be done with it she has a hard time putting it away. There is something about screens that draw you in and keep you there. I don't want Norah, or Kley or myself, to miss out on what's happening around us or time we could spend together or with others, because we are absorbed in screens.

I didn't mean for this to turn into a rant, and I originally meant for this post to be about Norah's favorite iPad apps (another post to come!), but as I was writing I just thought it was an important topic and good reminder for us to think about how much screen time we are viewing, why we are viewing it, and the content we are viewing.

Run to Him.

Below is a post from my Instagram that I wanted to share here too:

I've said it before and I'll say it again- motherhood is such a roller coaster. Occasionally it's frustrating, mostly it's so enjoyable, and sometimes I'm overwhelmed at my love for her. I'm so happy that Norah is growing up and doing things like riding her first bike, but I'll still take the cuddles anytime. She's recently been running to me when she gets hurt and she'll sit with me for a few seconds, and then get up and run away again completely fine. As I was rocking her before nap, watching her close her eyes and suck her little thumb, I had a beautiful analogy of her running to me with a problem is how I should run to Him with my problems. Norah runs to me so quickly and looks to me to comfort her. I want to run to You like she runs to me.