Well, needless to say, the past year has been a whirlwind for the Prentice family. Our little girl, Meredith Grace, arrived about two weeks after I was put on bedrest. She has been such a blessing for our family and I can't imagine life without her. She is now 10 months old and really beginning to take her first few steps and babbles like crazy. She has got daddy's personality and looks (except for her newly developing curly hair...she gets that one trait from me!). Complete strangers gravitate towards her fun-loving spirit and big blue eyes, which she uses to stare at people (especially at restaurants and at the grocery store).
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| Here is a picture of Meredith from just a few days ago. I am so excited because her hair is long enough for pigtails! |
I feel compelled to keep up a blog because of the Hearts at Home conference I attended this past weekend. There were a ton of fantastic speakers that encouraged me very much. The headliner was Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. Chad and I watch their show regularly and are amazed that they are raising 19 children who are giving, polite, and respectful. You don't see that too much in today's culture! I listened to them speak, as well as Marianne Miller (Crown Financial Ministries) on "How to Raise Grateful Kids in a Culture of Consumerism", and Julie Barnhill on "Confessions of an Imperfect Mother".
My big takeaways from the conference were that all moms struggle with guilt, I am not alone in this journey of motherhood, and I have one of the most important jobs in the world. For the first few months after Meredith was born, I really struggled with being a stay-at-home mom. It may sound odd since many women would do anything to stay at home with their kids, but I somehow still had this attachment to my job (since I was still technically on leave) and struggled with the colicky bouts from Meredith's struggles with sleep. It's probably because I had been working full-time ever since college and had never known anything else. Or, maybe because I realized I didn't have a routine or a "boss" like I did in the professional world. However, once I began to get Meredith established on a routine and also get myself on a routine of having various set engagements throughout the week, I began to have a different attitude. I now love staying at home with her and honestly, could not imagine any other way of being a parent. Not to condone those parents who wish to work full-time and place their children in daycare, but I just couldn't do it with Meredith. I don't trust anyone else to do this very important duty of raising my daughter.
This conference reiterated to me that though this may be the hardest job in the world and there may be days I don't feel like I accomplished anything, it is worth it and I am appreciated. This is my job! Sure, I don't receive a paycheck, performance reviews, or promotions, but once I realize and start treating it like a job, I will be more productive with my time and my family will feel the effects. I want this blog to be a keepsake for Meredith one day, so she can look back at funny stories, trials, and hopefully learn a bit more about her mother at this stage in my life.
Stay tuned...hopefully it won't be another year before my next entry! :)
