graciaroseannouncementI know things have been quiet here for a bit. Over Easter weekend, we welcomed sweet Gracia Rose to the family. Three times now, God has given me one of the most effective forms of stress relief known to woman– He’s given me a newborn to hold. If I overlook the physical recovery and the missing hours of sleep, I open myself to the gift of this sacred time. Before the birth, I was used to being up and about the house getting things done. Now, tops on my to do list is to push my feet against the ottoman and cradle my sleepy infant.

I watch Gracia’s chest rise and listen to every breath and sigh. I nurse and watch her melt into baby dreams. As with my first and second, God has once again taken my attention off of what “needs” to be done and put it on what He has done. God has created yet another living, breathing soul from Craig and me.

In this pattern of meeting my baby’s basic needs and pushing all peripherals aside, I get to live out some of the most freeing advice: “Pray every way you know how…so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.”

Eating, sleeping, and breathing are tops on my baby girl’s agenda and I find myself stuck with her in my lap not because she demands it, but because the return to the basics of life gives me the freedom to sit still and take it all in. I have several half-written pieces to tell you more about Gracia’s name (pronounced “Graysha”) and her arrival, but if it takes me awhile to get another piece posted, you can guess that I’m sitting in the glider instead of the office chair.