MOTHERHOOD

This is my first Mother's Day. A few weeks ago, as I was thinking about what to get for my mother and mother-in- law and grandmothers, I suddenly realized, "Oh yeah, I'm a mother, too!" This is my first mother's day to be a mom, and from now on, I get to celebrate and be celebrated each year. But what makes me most happy is not finally holding the title of "mother" but the reason I hold that title, my baby. I'm celebrating him today and thanking God for blessing Jack and I with our long awaited very own child, Smith.


So even though I'm a very new mom, here are some of my thoughts of motherhood so far.

To me, motherhood is seeing my baby's face for the first time and staring in awe, realizing that I'm holding a tiny miracle in my arms, experiencing a love that is inexplainable and uncontainable.


Motherhood is being awake in the early dawn, my baby asleep on my chest, feeling his stomach rise and fall with tiny breaths.


Motherhood is not being able to get anything done because my baby constantly wants to be held.


Motherhood is holding my baby in one arm and trying to do everything else with the other.


Motherhood is a pathway to selflessness, with the needs and wants of my child taking the place of my own.


Motherhood is the wonderful job of taking care of someone who is helpless without me.


Motherhood is a messy house and a full heart, sleepless nights and skin-to-skin naps, showerless days and sweet baby smells, sticky boobs and an everlasting bond, poopy diapers and thrilling first smiles, ear-splitting cries and precious coos... Motherhood is the most exhausting and most fulfilling job. Motherhood is having a child who is worth it all.


"There's no work more complex, more important, or more exalted than that of caring for children. After all, it's what God Himself has chosen, above all else, to do with His time." - Mike Mason, 'The Mystery of Children'

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! You're hard-working and deserve to be recognized and celebrated.

Happy Mother's Day to my mom... You have been an amazing mom throughout the years and now that I've entered motherhood, I have so much more respect and appreciation for all that you've done for me. You are an inspiration to me. I want to be like you. I love you!

SMITH IS HERE!

Wow, after a long 9 months of being pregnant (which I fully enjoyed until the last week), Smith Elisha Mooring has arrived. He was born on March 19, 2010 at 2:28 pm. He weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and was 19 1/4 inches long. And he's absolutely perfect!




It was a scary experience though. That week, I had terrible constant pain in my back and upper stomach. I couldn't sleep and nothing brought relief. I didn't think I was in labor because the doctor said I hadn't dilated at all. And since the pain was constant, I couldn't recognize the start and stop of contractions. Finally, on Friday, Jack called the doctor's office and the nurse told us to go ahead and go to the hospital to get checked out. The car ride was the worst part. Every little bump was like a knife stabbing me in the stomach (sorry for the vivid details). I was so happy when we finally pulled up to the hospital.

The nurse hooked me up to a monitor and I was relieved to hear Smith's little heart beating normally. The resident doctor came in and checked me and said I was 4 centimeters. You don't know how happy I was to hear that... first of all, because Smith was going to be born that day, and secondly, we weren't going to have to drive back home. The nurse said I was having contractions 5-8 minutes apart.

They moved me to a labor and delivery room, and Jack and I were getting excited. We thought we'd probably have a while to wait, but I would be able to get an epidural soon, and we could just chill out until Smith came. A few minutes later, however, my doctor burst into the room and started talking a mile a minute. She said I had preeclampsia, and the only cure was to get the baby out fast. They were going to have to do an emergency c-section as soon as possible.

I was overwhelmed and scared, but immediately, Jack and Mama Cyndy started praying over me and we gave it all up to God. Even in the hurt and fear, I felt some peace. The nurses were hooking me up to all kinds of things, getting me ready to go into surgery. My nurse, Coletta, leaned over me and said, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper." I tried to hold onto that and remember that this was just an attack from the enemy, and God was so much bigger. He was in control.

Soon, the anesthesiologist came in and said they were going to give me general anesthesia, so I wouldn't be awake for the procedure and Jack wouldn't be able to be in there with me. I was sad that I wouldn't be able to see my baby right after he was born, but I knew they had to do what they had to do. So, Jack kissed me and they rolled me away to surgery.

That room was really scary and bright. They were doing all kinds of things to me to get me ready as fast as they could. I won't go into all the details, but the catheter was probably the worst part. haha.. Before I even knew they had given me the drugs, my doctor asked me what my name was, and I said, "Whitney Mooring." Then she said, "What are we doing, Whitney?" And I said, "Doing a c-section." And that was the last thing I remember from being in that room.

The next thing I remember was being in bed and feeling extremely drowsy. I couldn't open my eyes. I could hear Jack, Leeland, and Mandy talking. And I could hear a baby making precious little noises. I remember thinking about how much I wanted to see him and hold him, but I couldn't speak. Soon, I heard Jack trying to talk to me, and for some reason, all I said was, "How much does he weigh? " I peaked open my eyes a bit, but everything was blurry. Jack brought Smith over to me and held him up. I could barely see him.





I soon was able to see a little more clearly, and finally, I was holding my little Smith. And oh my goodness, he was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen! I couldn't believe how perfect he was. And I couldn't believe that he was finally in the world, there in my arms. What a miracle!




It truly was a miracle that we were both okay. God had taken care of us. So many people (I probably can't even count) prayed for us. And if you were one of them, thank you so much. God heard every prayer and took care of Smith and I. We had to stay in the hospital for three nights, and I was really sore from the c-section. But I've been recovering really well.



Smith is now home with us, and life just couldn't be any better. I've never felt a love so strong than when I look at my baby. He is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. My life is completely changed. When I think of how much I love Smith, and know that God loves me even more than that, I am overwhelmed.

We're still getting the hang of things around here, feeding and such. But I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. I'm actually enjoying the midnight feedings, and even though I don't get much sleep, I don't mind. I'll do anything for Smith.

And Jack is the most wonderful daddy. I love to watch him with Smith. He changes his diapers, reads to him, plays piano for him, prays for him. It's so cool to watch. I'm so excited about this new journey we've begun as parents. We have a family now.

Life doesn't get any better than this.

SMITH'S ROOM

So we finally got Smith's room done this week. We painted, put together furniture, organized. Doing things that aren't normally fun are actually fun when it's for a baby! It's all becoming more real now, and we couldn't be more excited!

Here's how it turned out...













All I have left to do is make a little pillow for the window seat. I'm going to use the blue polka dot material I used on some of the letters above Smith's crib.

Then the only thing missing will be sweet little Smith!

FALL FRANKLIN TRIP

We went to visit my family a few weeks ago. Jack had to leave on tour the next week, but we had a good time. And I stayed for another two weeks. So fun!

Of course most of my pictures ended up being of Audrey and Whitaker. Gosh, how many pictures am I going to take of my own child? Probably thousands (in just the first year haha)...




We went to see Mary's baby, Jonas. So cute! Aww doesn't Jack look good? He's going to be a great dad.


We also went to Chris & Lilly's wedding. So beautiful!




Got to hang out with D'Arcy and see her twins, Benjamin and Peyton. They're getting so big!



The next week was Tyler and Analee's wedding at the farm...



Love these pics!




My great-grandmother, Nanny was in the hospital. She's doing so great now, praise God! So a lot of family came into town, and it was fun hanging out with our cousins. Me and Jennifer...


The weather was absolutely gorgeous the last week I was there. It's officially fall!! We got excited and bought some pumpkins. Even Whitaker liked them.



What a fun trip! And it helped being with my family since Jack was gone for so long. Well, happy fall!

OH BABY!

Well, after a long, long time of praying and waiting, God has answered our prayer... Jack and I are going to have a baby!



We are so overjoyed and can't wait to be parents! But right now, we're enjoying our last calm days together, and I'm enjoying being pregnant. I'm super tired all the time, but thankfully I haven't gotten sick. No weird cravings yet, but I've been eating lots of fruit (thankfully not candy, though I still love sugar).

God is so faithful! We went through a hard time and struggled with doubt. But we held onto our faith and believed that God would give us a baby in his perfect timing. This must be the right time! We're so thankful. Thanks to everyone who prayed for us and believed with us. We can't wait to meet our little one and for you to meet him/her too! One thing's for sure.. this baby is going to be loved!

ASIA TRIP

Okay, sorry it's taken forever for me to update.. So, we went on a mission trip to Asia a few weeks ago. First stop.. Tokyo, Japan. The Leeland guys played a show there, so we got to spend a few days there. Tokyo is so cool! Very modern, very clean.



The show went great! The venue was full, and people responded really well. Praise God!



So then we left for Siem Reap, Cambodia. Not at all like Tokyo! Haha.. Though Siem Reap is the second largest city in Cambodia, so it was pretty nice. We loved our hotel! But we weren't there long...



The next morning, we drove to Anlong Veng. Just a little back story.. Cambodia is a country that has been greatly affected by a civil war. It started in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge started taking over, driving people out of the cities, killing all the doctors and government officials. They killed all the "smart" people and took all the farmers and worked them literally to death. In 4 years, they killed somewhere between 2 and 3 million people. It's unbelievable. In 1979, Vietnam came and pushed the Khmer Rouge all the way up to the north (where Anlong Veng is located), and for the next twenty years, they were at war. Finally, in 2003, the war ended. So, these people are still trying to recover from this. Most of the people live in poverty.


We had the opportunity to go to some of the villages where Food for the Hungry works. It was great to see what God is doing in this country. FH comes into a community and brings the people together. They show them the resources they have and teach them how to solve their problems. Then the people don't rely on FH to meet all their needs. They now have confidence to do things on their own. And you can see it in their countenance.


Jack and I got to meet our sponsored child, Phanna, and his family. It was so cool to meet him and see where he lives. He has brothers and sisters and even a twin! His mother and grandmother were very sweet and served us fruit. Now we'll have a picture in our minds when we pray for Phanna. (This also happened to be on our 2nd anniversary - one we'll never forget!)


We were in Cambodia for about 6 days, part of the time in Anlong Veng, and the last part in Siem Reap. Thankfully we got to rest in Siem Reap for a few days because everyone was getting sick. But they were able to rest and get well. We got to go to some amazing temples. They're thousands of years old! So crazy! Our favorite was Beng Malea, where we got to climb all over the rocks and explore like Indiana Jones. Ha..


From there, we flew to Dhaka, Bangladesh. And boy, was it a culture shock!! There are people everywhere! There are 160,000,000 people in Bangladesh, which is roughly the size of Wisconsin. Crazy! Way different than Cambodia. The traffic is insane. There are no rules on the road. So we did a lot of praying every time we drove anywhere. Dhaka is also the second dirtiest city in the world. And you'd believe it if you saw it!

Us girls had to wear Shalwar Kameez, which we called "three sheets." It's basically baggy pants, a dress, and a big scarf that must cover your "top area" at all times. If not, you're basically flashing people. So we got super hot! Also, the toilets are basically holes in the ground, "squatty-potties"... Not fun (especially in Shalwar Kameez).


Oh, the eating... You can only eat with your right hand. Your left hand is the dirty hand. And you have to clean your plate. We ate a whole lotta rice! But the food was surprisingly good most of the time. My favorite was non, a flat bread.

Please pray for the FH staff there. There's John and Kate, a wonderful British couple, who are the country directors.. Chelsea, an American who has been there for 3 years.. and Tim and Andrea, American couple who have been there only about 3 months. I really admire them. Bangladesh is definitely somewhere you'd have to be called by God to live in.


So we took a boat ride one night to Champur. Our room in the boat was well, let's just say the sheets probably haven't been washed in a really long time... When we got there at 4 am, we slept on the floor of a guest house. That day, we went to some villages where FH has been working for 15-20 years! Jack and I got to go to visit an adolescent group of girls. And then we went to their homes. They're really small and very close together, but the people were so welcoming. They brought us into their homes and even fed us. It was also cool because each house we went, the people from the last house would follow us. So we didn't actually know who lived where. They were all so close, a true community. They really inspired us.


The people we visited were all "sweeper" families. The government pays them (very little) to sweep the streets. And that's all they can do. And their children grow up thinking that's all they'll ever do. But since FH has come in, they've taught them that they can do more. And it's so cool to see how confident and unashamed these kids are. (Before, they would be ashamed to even say their name because their name basically is a title - in their case, 'sweepers')


We got to play with some kids later in the day. They were so cute, and they danced for us. We taught them the 'hokey pokey' which they loved.


The next day we went back to Dhaka and got to go to an FH school. The little kids were precious! We watched one of the classes. And then we visited their homes. They live in even worse conditions than the kids from Champur. They're in the city, so there's no space. A lot of the families live in old store fronts. We went to one family's home, a family of 6, and they live in one tiny room. It's literally the smallest room I've ever seen. I can't even imagine living there. And so many of these people live like this.



Well, the trip was amazing and life-changing. I'm so glad we went and got to see what FH is doing, but most of all, to meet the people. We will never forget their faces and their stories. Please pray for these people in Cambodia and Bangladesh, that they would come to know God, that the fathers would be able to provide for their families, that the mothers would be respected, that the children would grow up knowing that God has a great plan for their lives. And pray for the FH staff, for strength and health, and that God would fill them up each day so they can pour out on everyone they meet.

To see a lot more pictures, go to my facebook and look at "Asia Trip" and "Asia Trip Part 2"