I'm sure He'll call his little ones

Lately I have been testing my memory of the songs I learned in Primary. I sing them to Hannah before most naps, and every night before she goes to bed. And during playtime too. This is my current favorite, which I try not to sing too often because I love it so much and I want it to stay special. 


I Wonder When He Comes Again


I Wonder, when he comes again,
Will herald angels sing?
Will earth be white with drifted snow,
Or will the world know spring?
I wonder if one star will shine
Far brighter than the rest;
Will daylight stay the whole night through?
Will songbirds leave their nests?
I'm sure he'll call his little ones
Together 'round his knee,
Because he said in days gone by,
"Suffer them to come to me".


I wonder, when he comes again,
Will I be ready there
To look upon his loving face
And join with him in prayer?
Each day I'll try to do his will
And let me light so shine
That others seeing me may seek
For greater light divine.
Then, when that blessed day is here,
He'll love me and he'll say,
"You've served me well, my little child;
Come unto my arms to stay."


I loved this song when I was little. I was sure that I was going to be one of the "little ones" when Jesus came again. I was a little disappointed when I turned 12 and graduated from Primary, because I felt that somehow the Second Coming wouldn't be nearly as fun for anyone not in Primary. The idea that Jesus loved children had been taught to me so well that I wasn't so sure that he loved everyone else just as much. Of course, I have since learned that He loves me just as much now as He did when I was in Primary. At the beginning of this opportunity I have to raise a new generation, I watch for the day when they might be gathered " 'round his knee". There is little likelihood that my children will be in Primary when the Savior returns to the earth, but it's my responsibility to pass on that hope.

I love Primary songs. As I have begun singing them to Hannah, I have been struck by the simplicity with which they teach such powerful truths. I think I may start regular posts based on Primary songs to further explore their teachings.

Hannah at 15 weeks

I'm sorry for the sad lack of blogging lately. I could use the "I have a baby and I don't have time for anything" excuse, but that would be a lie. If I need time for something, I can find it. Hannah and I are working on what schedule works best for her. We've gotten the day down until at least noon for the most part.

She wakes bright and happy with the sun - between 6:30 and 7 most days. Her bed is right next to mine so I know the moment she's done with sleeping - I can hear her sucking on her hand. Actually, for the past few nights she just makes sucking sounds with her mouth since I got her a new swaddle blanket and she can't get her hands out anymore :) I take her out of the swaddle blanket and she smiles big and stretches for a few minutes. Then I feed her and then she sits on the couch with me while I eat breakfast. Afterwards we play on the floor and have tummy time until she just can't stand it anymore. She's gotten a little happier with tummy time. Last week she started actually holding onto the toys I put in her hands, but only if she's laying on her back. She loves looking in the mirror too. Sometime between nine and ten I put her down for nap number 1, which is pretty consistent. She's happy to sleep for at least two hours, sometimes it even passes three. During the morning nap, I read my scriptures, then I ride the exercise bike in the basement, or turn on the wii fit. Or both. Then I shower. I always take a shower, even if Hannah seems to be waking up. Sometimes it seems like the fastest shower of my life, but it's worth it. If she's still fast asleep when I'm done showering and getting dressed, I eat a snack, do some dishes, maybe clean either the kitchen or the living room.

When Hannah wakes up I feed her again while I watch an episode of Monk. Then we go out and sit on the porch. She likes to be outside. I usually wait to take her on a walk though, because I know she'll fall asleep in the stroller and I'd rather she did that when it was nap time again. We play some more, we fold laundry, sing songs, etc. Hannah has a pretty solid two hour limit for staying awake, but the thing with the afternoon is that I put her down when she gets cranky, and then she's awake half an hour later. If I could keep her awake long enough to feed her again before nap time she would sleep longer, but she just doesn't last that long. Sometimes she wakes up to eat and I can put her back down, but that's not the norm. It's kind of hard to predict, and therefore hard to plan around. But that's life with a baby. I guess it was kind of a blessing in disguise that my job decided they didn't want me back after all. I'm not sure how reliable I would be trying to work from home. Hannah doesn't really entertain herself yet. I'm lucky if she's happy alone for a few minutes while I make a sandwich. Forget making dinner or doing dishes or laundry or anything like that while she's awake. But I sure do love being with her all the time. And we both sure love when daddy comes home :)

Hannah goes to bed these days between 8 and 8:30 usually. And she sleeps through the night. That started about a month ago. I had resisted swaddling her because she likes to sleep with her hands over her head, and because it's so warm. But I decided to try it when she was waking 1-2 times in the night (which wasn't so bad) and within the week she was sleeping through the night. And it's been consistent for a whole month. I know she might still have phases where she doesn't sleep through the night, but for now I'm so counting my blessings and enjoying my sleep.

So that's a little peak at life with my Hannah baby. She's so sweet. We love her smile and can't wait to hear her laugh. Sometimes I get a little chuckle out of her. She's nearly 11 lbs now. A couple more weeks and she'll be twice as big as when she was born. She's getting pretty good at standing on my lap while I keep her steady. Stephen has taken thousands of pictures, but they are all on his computer. Someday I'll be the photo manager. Hannah is not really quick to smile for the camera, so it's a special treat for Stephen when she does. She's so perfect. I can't believe we've already had her with us for 15 weeks, and yet I can hardly imagine life without her.