WHY-Wednesday: Why I long to be simple.

(This post is written in response to our Sunday morning sermon from Sunday, June 15, 2014 by Dr. George Robertson at First Presbyterian Church of Augusta titled "You are (not) special!")

What does it mean to live a simple life?

Are we simple because of the modest way by which we dress?

Or by the small home which we own?

Or by the fact that we don't go on extravagant vacations?

Or drive fancy cars?

Or have fancy phones?

I am no expert in this, but I have a feeling that simplicity is not an end in itself, but a way of life.

The moment we find ourselves saying that we live simple lives, chances are we are not.

You see, I think simplicity is an attitude of the heart, not a standard of living.

To be immensely satisfied with what the Lord has entrusted us with.

To be grateful and enjoy every season of life.

To marvel at a child's work of art.

To be generous with our time and resources. 

To know and understand what really matters in life.

"'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free" 

 writes Joseph Brackett.

Simplicity makes us free.

And you see...

I long to be free.

Happy Anniversary

Celebrating seven years of marriage!

Thankful for the man I get to call my husband.

What can I say?

It's been a good seven years :)

WHY-Wednesday: Why do I cloth diaper? Part 3/3

Okay, so we have finally made it!

This is where the rubber meets the road.

The nitty-gritty. 

Why do I love to cloth diaper my babies?

*  They are environmentally friendly.  The Earth belongs to the Lord (Psalm 24:1).  We are only it's stewards.  We don't own it and thus, we must protect it.  What are you doing to fulfill your job as caretaker?  

*  They are free.  Aside from their initial cost and the (minimal) cost of water/detergent/power for washing and drying, they are completely free!  

(As a side note to this, you can register for them at just about any baby store, Target, diaper website or Amazon, and receive them as shower gifts). 

*  When it comes down to it, I am not the one doing the washing, my washer is.  I mean-- helloooo?  I even have a dryer, for crying out loud!  The physical effort required to keep up with my diapers is close to none.

*  I have no clue how much it costs to diaper my children.  "I can't wait to get my Tyke out of diapers" you say, "it will be like getting a raise!"  No kidding!  I honestly have no clue what paying for disposable diapers costs.  My guess is about $40 a month, but really, I don't know.

I think I'll just take those $40 each month and buy myself something nice... 

Something like, aaammmm, let's see-- a Vitamix (which I have), or a City Select double stroller (which I also have), or go out on nice dates with the hubby (which I do).

My point is-- are you sure you want to spend that money on poop-catchers?

*  Thy are cute.  

*  They are easy to use and handle.  These are not the diapers Grandma used.  As a friend once put it:  "cloth diapers have evolved faster than cell phones."  They are compact, durable, and easy to sort and put away after each wash.

*  Cloth-diapered babies are easier to potty train.  Granted, I've never potty trained a disposable diaper child, and granted... I've only potty trained Emma, but I'll tell you one thing-- when we did it, it was fast (at 25 months old)!  

I did not know this at the time, but when you potty train, you are essentially teaching your child to learn to make the connection between their brain and their bladder.  When you use disposable diapers, the urine is absorbed immediately, so the child barely knows he's even gone to the bathroom.  

A cloth baby, on the other hand, knows exactly when he has gone to the bathroom.  Because cloth does not give them a dry feeling after they've gone potty, they learn at an early age that when their bladder is full, something comes out.  You have basically potty trained your child while still in diapers.

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WHY-Wednesday:  Why do I cloth diaper?  Part 1/3

 WHY-Wednesday:  Why do I cloth diaper?  Part 2/3

Cards

Emma Girl loves her big cousin McNeill (better known as Meel around here).

Now that it's summer, Mc is able to come over and play and delight our little girl with her presence. 

We had a great time with her, in particular making our Father's Day cards.

Pull-up arrangement

It is ironic that I find myself posting a picture of my child with her 86 disposable pull-ups right in the middle of my WHY-Wednesday series on cloth diapering.  But it is what it is.  I hope you know by this that even though I really, really, really do love and encourage cloth diapering, there is a lot of grace involved in this also.

Anyway, so back to the reason why I was planning on posting this picture to begin with.

Emma is only wearing diapers at night.  She is in undies all during the day and at nap time.  We still had her wearing her cloth diapers at night (since I am already doing diaper laundry for BB), but it had started to become more and more of a nuisance.  She is almost thee years old, so laying on her diaper table to get her diaper on is no longer on the top of her priority list.  She would much rather stand up like a big girl when getting ready for bed.

I considered purchasing some cloth pull-ups, and may eventually do so, but for now, I thought it would be fun getting her some cartoon diapers.  She loves choosing which character she'll wear that night, and for $30 that will last two months of night excitement, I consider it worth it.

Anyway, so back to the picture--

Emma was doing her morning "quiet time" the day after we had purchased these pull-ups.  When I went in to get her out of her room, I was so tickled by her arrangement, I had to picture it!

WHY-Wednesday: Why do I cloth diaper? Part 2/3

Did you know that using disposable diapers is not the norm?

At some point over the past 50 years, using disposable diapers has become the "normal thing to do," and anyone who cloth diapers is weird and odd and probably has too much time on their hands (which may be the case, but I'm okay with that :) ).

Even though I was raised very "green," and have always been environmentally friendly, I remember initially dreading telling people I was going to cloth diaper.

You know-- the looks, the rolling of the eyes, the well-intended "oh-you-just-wait-until-you-have-to-rinse-those-dirty-diapers" warnings, etc.

I just couldn't understand it.

Why so much fuss over something that people have been doing for centuries?

Why so much fuss over something I am *privileged* to get to do?

My mom once told me she had gone to see Graciella (our former house-help from growing up) after she had had her baby.  She lived in a small, humble, brick home-- a luxurious home compared to how most lower-class Mexicans live in.

My mom says she held her little girl and noticed she had no diaper.

She had no diaper.

 No cloth, no disposable, no nada.

Did you know that using disposable diapers is not the norm?

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WHY-Wednesday:  Why do I cloth diaper?  Part 1/3

WHY-Wednesday:  Why do I cloth diaper?  Part 3/3

A big sister's little brother

Wouldn't you know...

That Baby Byron's favorite toy is Emma's play lipstick.

He will go find it, carry it around, stick it in his mouth.

Oh, how he loves it!

I think it reminds him of his very special index finger, which he loves to suck on in his crib.

****

He is a big talker.  Words such as:

da-da-da-da

ta-ta-ta-ta

ma-ma-ma-ma

na-na-na-na

ba-ba-ba-ba

He will turn 10 months this week, so we've also begun weaning him.

(I never thought I'd be so excited about this, but I am!  I guess I should be sad, right?  oh well...)

WHY-Wednesday: Why do I cloth diaper? Part 1/3

So here I go...

You knew this day was coming.

You saw it from a mile away.

And you were dreading it.

(Or were you?)

Why do I cloth diaper?

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Did you know everything we do has a price tag?

I mean, really... think about it--

Cook at home?  Kitchen will get dirty.

Go out to eat?  Will spend more money.

Let the kiddos watch TV?  Hinder them from developing their creative skills.

Don't let the kiddos watch TV?  You go insane as a mother.

Exercise?  You get tired.

Don't exercise?  You don't burn calories.

Clean the house?  Miss out on relaxing.

Don't clean the house?  House stays dirty.  

Buy new clothes?  Spend money.
Don't buy new clothes?  Don't look/feel as nice.

Take a nap?  Miss the chance to do something without kids all over you.

 Don't take a nap?  Remain tired.

Leave your home nice and cool during the summer?  High power bill.

Don't leave your home nice and cool during the summer?  Sweat all summer long.

Save money each month?  Miss out on shopping sprees, going out to eat, etc.

Not save money?  Not build retirement account. 

Use disposable diapers?  Pay $40 a month per child on diapers.

Use cloth diapers?  Dealing with human waste and extra loads of laundry.

When it comes to covering your kiddo's bottom--

what price are you willing to pay?

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WHY-Wednesday:  Why do I cloth diaper?  Part 2/3

WHY-Wednesday:  Why do I cloth diaper?  Part 3/3