Well we have plugged away at several more months here at the Johnson household! We found out that we are having another boy! We are so thrilled about that and decided that we are going to name him Micah Andrew. I am actually in my 31st week now and so we don't have too much longer to go! I am so thankful that by my 14th or 15th week my nausea subsided and these last few months I have actually had energy to keep up with our big guy, Daniel! Only recently have I been feeling the fatigue really start to come back. What with my big old belly and all I suppose it's about time! But other than that, I'm doing really well! I still have yet to get swollen feet or legs, and my fingers really only swelled up one time, but have since been back to normal and I'm still able to wear my wedding ring! This is a great accomplishment for me, since with my first pregnancy I would have long since been swollen all over, including in my face! So I thank God for that, as well as the fact that I have not gained near as much weight this time around, and should only hit about the 30-35 lbs mark for the whole pregnancy! That is about half the weight I gained with Daniel! Praise God!
In other news, I have begun potty training Daniel. He's 22 months old, and I really feel like it's time! I would like for him to be trained by the time Micah comes in about 2 more months, and I think 2 years old is plenty old enough to trained to use the toilet! We've been at it for 5 whole days now, and I must admit it is so much harder than I expected it to be! For the first 4 days we pretty much had zero success, and I was pretty close to throwing in the towel. I was growing more amazed by how short my fuse was with my son who suddenly decided that if he has to be toilet trained then he is NOT going to have a good attitude and will disobey mommy in all other aspects as well! I have had to discipline Daniel more times in these last few days than I have had to do in a long time! So I have been very, VERY frustrated and been feeling pretty hopeless.
Then I remembered my great God and how even mundane things like potty training are important to him. I know that I cannot do this on my own, and so I have been asking God for His help! I have been seeking much forgiveness as I have more than a few times lost my cool with my son, and I have also been seeking wisdom as to the best way to go about this proccess that will be most beneficial for my son. So today, day 5, God blessed our efforts and helped Daniel to go pee pee in the toilet 4 times! Daniel really seemed to start to understand more the sensation of needing to pee, and started understanding the feeling of the muscles he needs to use in order to go pee pee. So anyway, as exciting as that all is (it is for me, anyway!) we finally had a successful day! Of course we still had more accidents than successes, but I cannot complain.
God has been so faithful, and I am so much more aware of my need to turn to Him to help me, even in potty training! I am not going to make the mistake again of trying to do difficult things on my own. I simply need Christ for everything, including potty training my son!
A friend reminded me of this verse...
"I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1,2
And I have been reading Lamentations the last few days, just as a side note, and have been greatly encouraged as well by these verses:
"Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! The Lord is my portion, says my soul. Therefore I will hope in him." Lamentations 3:19-24
Here the author of Lamentations has been mourning for 3 chapters the destruction of Jerusalem and God's wrath upon the sins of Israel, and yet in the midst of this, he can call to mind the steadfast love of the Lord and His faithfulness and still have hope! Surely in the midst of my tiny, minute trial of potty training, I can remember the steadfast love and faithfulness of my great God and have hope!
Lord, you are so good to me despite what I deserve! Thank you for the joy of motherhood and thank you for the mundane trials of every day life, like potty training! For in them, you continue to show yourself faithful and good and continue to show me my great need for you!! More than anything I need to be reminded of this: I need Christ! In everything, In all things!
In other news, I have begun potty training Daniel. He's 22 months old, and I really feel like it's time! I would like for him to be trained by the time Micah comes in about 2 more months, and I think 2 years old is plenty old enough to trained to use the toilet! We've been at it for 5 whole days now, and I must admit it is so much harder than I expected it to be! For the first 4 days we pretty much had zero success, and I was pretty close to throwing in the towel. I was growing more amazed by how short my fuse was with my son who suddenly decided that if he has to be toilet trained then he is NOT going to have a good attitude and will disobey mommy in all other aspects as well! I have had to discipline Daniel more times in these last few days than I have had to do in a long time! So I have been very, VERY frustrated and been feeling pretty hopeless.
Then I remembered my great God and how even mundane things like potty training are important to him. I know that I cannot do this on my own, and so I have been asking God for His help! I have been seeking much forgiveness as I have more than a few times lost my cool with my son, and I have also been seeking wisdom as to the best way to go about this proccess that will be most beneficial for my son. So today, day 5, God blessed our efforts and helped Daniel to go pee pee in the toilet 4 times! Daniel really seemed to start to understand more the sensation of needing to pee, and started understanding the feeling of the muscles he needs to use in order to go pee pee. So anyway, as exciting as that all is (it is for me, anyway!) we finally had a successful day! Of course we still had more accidents than successes, but I cannot complain.
God has been so faithful, and I am so much more aware of my need to turn to Him to help me, even in potty training! I am not going to make the mistake again of trying to do difficult things on my own. I simply need Christ for everything, including potty training my son!
A friend reminded me of this verse...
"I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1,2
And I have been reading Lamentations the last few days, just as a side note, and have been greatly encouraged as well by these verses:
"Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! The Lord is my portion, says my soul. Therefore I will hope in him." Lamentations 3:19-24
Here the author of Lamentations has been mourning for 3 chapters the destruction of Jerusalem and God's wrath upon the sins of Israel, and yet in the midst of this, he can call to mind the steadfast love of the Lord and His faithfulness and still have hope! Surely in the midst of my tiny, minute trial of potty training, I can remember the steadfast love and faithfulness of my great God and have hope!
Lord, you are so good to me despite what I deserve! Thank you for the joy of motherhood and thank you for the mundane trials of every day life, like potty training! For in them, you continue to show yourself faithful and good and continue to show me my great need for you!! More than anything I need to be reminded of this: I need Christ! In everything, In all things!
