Logan - My Little Love

I love my sweet and precious baby boy. He truly is a gift from the Lord. This morning we sang songs, read books and played with his toys. It is so much fun to watch him develop new skills each day. Three weeks ago he had no interest in his toys or books. Now, he smiles and laughs when we play with his rattle, and he looks at the pages of the book as I read to him, smiling as he observes and listens. It is fascinating to watch a little baby as he learns how to hold objects with his fingers, wiggle his toes, and laugh as the ceiling fan spins around and around. What a blessing and a joy for me to stay home with Logan each day and watch him develop from a newborn to an infant and eventually to a little boy. Thank you Lord, for bringing this sweet bundle of joy into our home to be a part our family. We love him so much and are so grateful for him.

4 Reasons to Use Cloth Diapers

I knew I wanted to use cloth diapers before Logan was born, but I have been surprised at how much I love using cloth diapers. Consider the following reasons and see if you would like to try cloth diapers for your little ones.

1) Cost Savings: There is an upfront cost of about $500 to buy all needed materials for cloth diapers. The cloth diapers will last from birth to potty training, and for subsequent children. I heard the average cost of using disposable diapers ranges from $2000 - $5000 per child. That's a huge cost savings worth considering!

2) Better for the Environment: One disposable diaper takes 500 years to decompose. One child will go through at least 5000 diapers from birth to age 3. Multiply that out by 500 years and your great-great-great-great-great grandchildren will be born when the diapers you currently use are finally breaking down in the landfills.

3) Less Diaper Rash: Most babies who use cloth diapers experience less diaper rashes, if any at all. Logan had a pretty bad diaper rash the first month of his existence, when he was using disposable diapers. Once we switched to cloth diapers and the rash cleared up, he's been rash free ever since.

4) Cute Colors: Cloth diapers come in all sorts of fun colors and patterns. They are easy to use and just plain cute on his tiny little bottom.

We bought all our cloth diapers from www.diaperjunction.com and www.kellyscloset.com. Check it out!

Turn off the tube

The average American watches 28 hours of TV a week, that breaks down to 4 hours a day. Most likely the majority of the TV hours takes place in the evening, after work, during dinner, before bedtime. I was thinking about how much time Americans waste away by watching TV, when there are all these major social issues going on, crime on the streets, homeless folks, orphanages, women and children seeking safety in shelters, the list goes on. What if each family across the nation chose one night a week where they turned the TV off and the entire family spent those 4 hours working on any one of the social issues present in today's society. Progress would be made and families would spend quality time together doing good rather than watching life pass by in two dimensions.

Compassion brings us to prayer

Recently I have been following a family of 6 from Iowa who just lost their 22 month old son, Ben. The father has been writing daily updates, both leading up to the sad outcome, and the days following. The father's trust in the Lord throughout this whole process has been amazing. In the midst of extreme sadness, he continues to praise the Lord and ask for prayer requests for him and his family. You can hear his intense disappointment and broken heart, but there is no bitterness, only trusting in the Lord's will.

My heart hurts for this family I have never met. Becoming a new mom has opened a door of compassion that didn't exist before. Because I hurt for this family, I have been praying for them on a daily basis. I think people try to protect themselves from pain and suffering, yet it is the pain and suffering that brings us to our knees to pray. If I had closed my ears to hear the heart-wrenching story this family is facing, I wouldn't have known how to pray for them, or even thought to pray for them. Pain and suffering bring about compassion, all of which leads us to prayer.