After my miscarriage last year, I had a hard time with being content with just one child. I was supposed to have two children (everyone else seemed to be having more kids), and it was something that was ever present in my mind. One day it hit me that I really needed to be enjoying just having one. Instead of moping about not having the children I wanted, I needed to be enjoying to the fullest that gift God had given me (one – Becca). So I did. In the summer and fall I enjoyed doing all sorts of things with Becca that would have been harder if we’d had two. I stopped moping and enjoyed the gifts God had given me and learned to wait for His good.

Throughout life I need to stop thinking about what I don’t or should or would like to have. I need to enjoy the place God has me (single, married, having one, two, or six children, or even being empty nesters). I need to take what God has given and enjoy it to the fullest.

(Note – the panda bear outfit was a Christmas present from Uncle Jon and Aunt Ashleigh. Also, Becca has started asking to wear my “pink shirt” a lot…this is why you see her in an oversize red shirt. I try to tell her it’s not pink. . . . she doesn’t believe me!)

Speaking of enjoying Becca, I’m working at enjoying our last months with just Mommy and Becca. Our Mondays and Tuesdays are usually our down days (Wednesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays I teach piano lessons). Let me give you a rundown of this past Monday. After breakfast, we enjoyed swimming in the bathtub together (I swam, Becca took a bath). Then we read books on the couch (after bath time Becca gets to be wrapped up in Mommy’s towel and we read a book on the couch). After Becca was dressed, we had a photo shoot in her new dress from China that Anna Martin brought back as a gift. Then we built a tent, flew in an airplane, had lunch, napped, flew in the airplane again, read, and then waited for Daddy to come home while I made dinner. We have a lot of fun. Today I let Becca look at the door while she was waiting for Josh to come home. All of a sudden I heard, “Daddy – where are you?” being yelled loudly to the whole apartment complex.

About that airplane we flew in: Becca, on her own, made an airplane using our chairs. She loves sitting on her airplane and likes Josh and me to join her. Sometimes it’s a little boring, since Becca wants you to look straight ahead. We read books on the plane, and sometimes I let Becca eat her lunch on the plane.  The other day Becca fell off her airplane – it was rather a disastrous fall, but not as bad as falling out of a real airplane.

Becca had a movie night during one of our Friday family nights. She loves eating popcorn and really enjoyed the puppets on What’s in the Bible?. Becca also enjoyed watching Aunt Emily’s band concert webcast live from Dover, PA. Yay Aunt Emily.

The other day, Josh was reading on the couch and we told Becca to get a book and read next to Daddy. We died with laughter when Becca went directly to Daddy’s bed stand and came back with John Paton’s autobiography. Guess when she decided to read next to Daddy, she decided to read just like Daddy!

The rest of this post is cute things Becca has said recently.

One day after lunch I was wiping Becca’s face and expressed concern about wiping the sore chapped spot near her mouth. Becca’s response: “It’s not so bad after all.”

“Becca NOT yummy”, when we say were going to eat her up.

“Mommy NOT go teach piano lessons. Mommy stay with Becca!”

Around 8:45PM (Becca being in bed at this point) Josh had responded to Becca’s call from her room. While he was in there I heard her say very loudly, “Daddy NOT sing Jesus Loves Me.” He wasn’t even planning on singing.

We told Becca she was not supposed to push her chair away from the table while we were eating, Becca responded “Mommy teach piano lessons, Daddy go to work – Becca do it.” (Wow – at least she’s honest!)

“Soup – yummy! Green beans not yucky – green beans yummy – chew them up – mmmmmm!”

After talking to Becca about being sweet to Mommy, I taught her to cup my face in her hands and say “I love you Mommy.” Then I told her to find Daddy and do it to him. Becca promptly found Daddy (who was sitting on the floor), cupped his face in her hands and said, “Hello, my pet!” I guess we’ve been reading Snow White too much.

From a conversation when we were outside: Becca: “It’s windy”. Mommy: “Wow – Becca – I didn’t know you knew that word. What does windy mean?” Becca: “Blow a lot!”

“I do myself!”

“Becca NOT________” This started in SC with not wanting to blow her nose and not wanting to go potty.

“Mommy leave the door open.” Becca started saying this after we read her Bedtime for Frances. Oh the things she learns from books.

“Becca walk please.” Becca often says this when we’re driving somewhere . . . not what I want to hear when I’m driving!

This is something Becca often recites before Josh reads the Bible at the table: “Daddy read Bible, Becca not say yayayaya. Daddy read Bible (to) self, Becca say yayayayay.”

“Where Christmas tree go?”  Sadly, we took down the big Christmas tree this week while Becca was sleeping. She is missing it…but we left the little one up for her.