On the Road Again

Ahhh some Willy Nelson to kick off the morning...well Caroline and I head off to our 2nd camp for the summer tomorrow. We will be at Furman Univ. in South Carolina from Thur-Sun teaching the bible story segment during the main sessions. Last time it was pretty difficult for me, but CDH did awesome. We have switched her schedule now to the 4 hour feeding schedule, 7-11-3-7, then she goes down for the night until 7am the next morning. This schedule seems to really fit w/ her now. I think I was trying to do it too soon when I tried it @ 8, then 10 weeks...she has settled into it well.
The pics posted this week are some captures of Father's Day at Jake's parents house. Jeff and Edi (Jason's bro and wife) were still in town b/c of Edi's emergency appendectomy the weekend before...so all of the boys were at the Hodges house, and our two new babies were hanging together. Also you'll see a pic of Caroline's first adventure w/ cereal...hilarious. This week we got to add apples to her cereal...next week we add bananas!
So in watching a "House" rerun (we love this show) on TV the other night, one of the characters a little girl, was hurting...and it broke my heart to realize that there are going to be times, and actually already are times. when CDH is hurting and I will not be able to do anything to ease her pain. This is a hard realization as a parent. I know my p's had to go through it, realizing that they wouldn't be able to ease my pain all the time. Thank you Lord that you fill that gap. I do not know how people make it through life without knowing the Savior.

More later after our trip to Furman!

I love this!

More 3 Month Pics

Father's Day & 3 Months Old

I can't believe that Caroline is 3 months old today! Wow!
So the pictures posted today are just a few of the pics I had taken for Jason for Father's Day. Mandy Miller (Brian Miller KS Tech Dir @ Bhead) took them! Holy cow she totally has a gift. I will put more out there later ...these are just a few of them.

Caroline and I had a good/hard week at camp. She was a total trooper. I think it was more difficult for me than her. I have a whole new respect for single moms. How do they do it? We spent a lot of time in our dorm room @ Wake Forest b/c she would be napping and I would be learning the next talk that I was to do later that day. She slept well at night...better than I did! Caroline must be a camp girl b/c she did really well.

Currently, CDH is a very good sleeper, loves to smile, coo, and truly has a joyful spirit. It is so fun to see answers to prayers that we prayed all during pregnancy, and to see the Lord blessing this experience.

Some biggies for this week are...introducing some solid food! Dr. Denmark says that as soon as they begin producing saliva you can begin to introduce foods b/c now they have the enzymes to break food down...cool huh...that usually happens aroudn 3 months...she has been drooling for about 3 weeks now, so I think we will give it a try this week! Pretty fun!

I love this adventure! Many people have been asking Jason if I am bored yet...the answer is a resounding NO!

I love being a mom!

Cousins

Well little Miss Caroline and her new cousin (2.5 weeks old) Eli Hodges met on Friday for the first time. We have had an interesting weekend concerning little Eli and his mommy, Edi. Edi had to have an emergency apendectomy yesterday...so I became the resident "wet nurse"...not literally, but Praise the Lord we were able to take all 31oz of frozen milk over to them so little Eli could continue to have breast milk and not formula. Edi should be able to nurse again after 48 hours...so late Monday. After all of my blogging about being concerned about my milk supply,and lo and behold the Lord fed two little ones the last couple of days. What a blessing to give it away to my new nephew. Again, who are we to doubt the Lord's provision. In His timing, in his way, and in his proportion.

Caroline and I will venture out this week on our first away trip from her Daddy. We are going to go work at our first of 3 camps called Camp Kid Jam w/ the ReThink Group. Our first camp is this Tues-Sat @ Wake Forest Univ., then at the end of June we will go to Furman, then off to Orlando on July 8. I am sure staying in a dorm room and learning to be oh so flexible will lend itself to some fun stories for the blog next week.

Have I mentioned lately that I love this?

Bath time

Bath time is a favorite in the Hodges household. Caroline loves it.
Also there is a great smiling pic w/ a little rattle around her wrist and us hanging out on the porch.

I love being a mom!

11 Weeks

Wow tomorrow she will be 11 weeks old! How is that possible? Okay, time has passed that's how...Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. I was waiting until we returned from Kansas to post something. Lot's happend: Caroline traveled on the plane amazingly well, slept in a separate room while there for the first time, met cousins, and her aunt, and great-grandparents, had a "sip-n-see" shower, etc etc...now that we are back in ATL she is sleeping in her crib at night for 10hour stretches.
Hearing her cry is still such a difficult thing. Often times there is nothing I can do other than let her cry it out...perhaps it is a reminder that it is difficult for the Lord to hear our cries as well...often knowing that sometimes we actually NEED to just cry it out.
I am learning about giving her independance even now. I was telling Jason the other night when she slept in her room for the first time, that I have been "letting go" since the day she was born. The day she was born I had to let go a little bit, b/c now she wasn't actually in me...then it was letting go to not actually have her in her moses bed in whatever room I was in, but letting her sleep in another room, then there was the night we let her cry upstairs for the firstime while we were downstairs, then the day she took a nap in her crib...and now she sleeps in another room....then she will go to school, she will date, and one day leave us. So, it is good to do this letting go in small increments...letting her grow, letting her cry, but always reassuring her that we love her, and even when it is a hard day and she is sad, we will be there by her side, sometimes holding and rocking, sometimes patting on the back, and other times when she is inconsolable we just pray over her, and let her "cry it out".

I love being a mom!