It Happened to Me

A friend of mine just recently wrote about a few things she learned while cleaning up her son's vomit and while reading her blog post I thought that I was lucky because Sariah had never vomited. Sure, she spit-up after nursing for months, but the clean up was minimal and normally only required a change of onesie or bib.

But today, it happened to me. I mean, it happened to Sariah and so it happened to me as well.

That is right. This post is about one of those not-so-pretty parts of parenthood...

After a few dark and rainy days, I woke up excited that the sun was out and we could finally go on a long walk. I got ready, we had breakfast and I had just changed her diaper, put on her jacket and shoe when she started coughing and I knew more was to come. Sariah vomited all over herself, all over me, all over the carpet and as I rubbed her back and told her she would be okay, I kept thinking: What am I going to do?

I hate vomit.

I have not vomited since I was a small child.

The sight of vomit makes me gag. Really, the thought of vomit makes me gag.

I didn't know what to do, so I prayed aloud.

I took off all my clothes and all her clothes and pilled everything on top of the dirty carpet and proceeded to take care of my little girl.

I am often amazed at the ways parenthood brings me to the feet of Jesus because I cannot do it on my own. It took prayer for me to get over my "I hate vomit" moment and I am so glad that I can pray about big things and things that may even sound silly, like vomit.

Vomit happened all over me today, and as a result I happened to find myself at Jesus' feet asking for the kind of strength I cannot come up with on my own. I praise Jesus that I was somehow able to take care of Sariah and clean everything up without crying or dying.

Mommy and Baby Time

Have I mentioned that I love being a mother?

Well, I really do!

Spending time with this little one is such a gift!

John took these photos - which I love - shortly after we woke up and neither one of us had brushed our hair yet. I hope these candid photos will help me remember the little moments of everyday life that are so precious to me.

Sixteen Months

Sariah...

• Likes to push books on shelves all the way to the back...I am pretty sure librarians don't like us
• Has a favorite new word: NO
• Loved spending time with family and friends over the holidays
• Discovered pomegranates and cannot stop eating them 
• Enjoys watching a few minutes of Curious George now and then
• Is learning to build things with Legos
• Likes to give kisses and hugs
• Has expanded her vocabulary: thank you, up, down, done, baby, bye bye, hat, one
• Can almost jump up and down
• Loves being with lots of people 
• Swims in the bathtub
• Can reach the door knobs and opens doors
• Loves dance parties 

She's Worth It

I have an almost 16 month old who does not stand still for more than two seconds. My little girl has an adventurous spirit and enough energy to climb Mt. Everest. She explores all day long and she likes it when I explore with her.

So, what do I do all day long?

I spend most of my day exploring this world with her.

We go on walks: pick up sticks, leaves and rocks, we say 'hi' to all the kitties and doggies we see, we color, we empty the dishwasher together, we read books (she flips through the pages before I can finish reading one sentence), we dance and we sing, we build towers with Legos and wooden blocks, we fold laundry, we eat yummy things, we play chase, we practice going down the stairs, etc. We do a lot together.

Whenever I leave Sariah with a family member or friend I always come back to hear the same question: "How do you get anything done? She never stops moving!"

The answer to that questions is always: "Well, I don't get much done during the day."

With Sariah's help, I can get a few loads of laundry done, I can load and unload the dishwasher and I can even vacuum at times...but in general, I am not super productive when she is awake and I am okay with that!

You see, I was used to being SUPER productive before I had a baby. I loved writing a To Do list for the week and crossing everything off as I got it all done. I had time to do what I wanted (even though I wished I had more time to do this and that). When Sariah was born, a part of me felt like my life was over. I was frustrated and ashamed to feel that way; after all, aren't mothers supposed to enjoy spending time with their newborns?!?!

I loved being with her from the minute she was born, but I couldn't get anything done that made me feel stressed and useless.

I wanted her to be happy sitting in her bouncy chair so I could clean, cook dinner, finish a photography session, write a few cards, read a few pages, etc. But all she wanted was for me to hold her...and I couldn't even reply to an email when I was holding her.

It didn't take long for me to realize that my desire to be productive was leading me to being frustrated with my baby all day and night long. It was in the middle of a very frustrating moment when I decided that I din't want to be just a mother, I want to be a great mother; a mother who enjoys being with her child. A mother who is able to put the To Do list aside in order to soak up these little years. So I stopped trying to be productive and started enjoying the time I have with my daughter.

I try to get as much as I can during nap time and after bed time, but my home is not as neat and clean as it used to be, the emails sit in my inbox longer than I like, our meals are simpler, I wear make-up for special occasions...but she's worth it! My almost 16 month old will not always want to explore this world with me so I choose to enjoy every minute we have together until then.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5

~

We are so thankful to have Jesus as our light! Many times this last year we prayed that He would light our paths so that we may follow His will.

As new parents, we entered 2013 hoping to find a routine and sense of normalcy, but we discovered that life with a baby is always a great adventure! Sariah is a ball of energy and never ceases to surprise us with her extroverted personality. We can already tell that Sariah is a people lover and has the ability to bring joy to anyone who interacts with her. She is also incredibly persistent and in many ways challenges our patience, but we pray that God will guide us as we teach her to honor her heavenly Father with her all strengths – including her persistence.

Danielly continues to love mommyhood and completely melts every time Sariah calls her “Mama”. She is enjoying getting to know other moms through MOPS and is so thankful for the women who have been a great source of encouragement and wisdom this past year. Danielly had the opportunity to dive into photography once again this past summer and although it was hard to balance all the different areas of life, she is excited for the new experiences and challenges that are helping her become a better photographer. If you would like to see some of her current work, visit: http://www.DaniellyNobile.com

John is thankful for his job at Logos Bible Software and continues to gain more responsibilities as the company grows beyond anyone’s expectations. There is so much to do and not enough people! Some of John’s dreams came true this past autumn as he took Sariah on hikes near Mt. Baker and showed her a little bit of God’s amazing creation. Sariah loves going on adventures with her dada. The guys’ small group that John leads has been going strong for a year and a half and God has proven faithful time and time again. As each member grows closer to the others, they have been able encourage one another more and more effectively. It is wonderful to see!

This past year presented unexpected challenges and the roller-coaster of life took us upside down a few times, but we are thankful that Jesus is our hope and our strength; His light shines in the midst of our darkness.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and we wish you the best for 2014!

Blessings,
John, Danielly and Sariah Nobile

Sariah's First Snow

I put some snow in her mouth since she couldn't use her hands...and she wanted more. :)

The driveway was slippery. We need to get some snow shoes! 

Happy girl!

My pink snow bunny.

Watching the cars drive on snow.

She wasn't sure what to do with the snow, but she didn't want to come inside. I say it is time to hit the mountains!!

A New Year and a New Normal?!?

Life has felt a little pretty crazy these last few weeks and I am looking forward to a new year and hopefully a new sense of normalcy.

Almost a month ago, John and I (with the help of a lot of people) packed our things and moved to a new home. Our new home needed some TLC and we will forever be thankful to our family and friends who helped us clean, paint walls, paint doors, fix stuff, etc before we moved. That was a lot of work!

Despite all the help, moving and settling down has still been overwhelming - especially with an active toddler around.

Sariah put her never ending energy to use when we moved and constantly removed things from boxes and spread them everywhere possible.  Whenever I managed to put the belongings from a box in its correct place, I turned around to find everything back on the ground again as Sariah did her own rearranging.

I decided unpacking was only going to happen during nap time and after bed time...but bed time became an issue.

The nights were long as we helped Sariah get used to her new room which she refused to sleep in. Sariah has slept in her own room since she turned two months old, but the new bedroom with new lights and new smells was too different for her. John and I brought her to bed with us and she slept and snored while we tried to keep ourselves from falling off the bed because somehow out little girl takes up a huge amount of bed space when sleeping.

I wished I could go on a 'sleep vacation'...and then I slept even less.

When we felt a little bit more settled, John started having headaches that would not go away despite all our efforts and after 5 days of unbearable pain, we ended up in the ER hoping a CAT Scan would give us hopeful results.

I prayed and I asked God for strength, love, patience and wisdom...He had never failed me before and I trusted Him.

We were thankful to find out that John had an acute sinus infection that needed a little help from antibiotics and while we celebrated his healing and relief of pain, Sariah started teething yet again and spent most of her days crying, biting her fingers and rubbing her snotty face all over me.

I stopped attempting to be productive and spent my days and nights holding and comforting my baby girl...I am still not getting anything done.

Life has been crazy but the Lord has sustained me. He has held everything together when I thought life was going to collapse like a mountain-side landslide. He has helped me get up each morning and be what I need to be during each day.

Life has been crazy and hard but I am hoping for a new sense of normalcy in the new year.