Last week, Josh's older brother, Jeff (or "Uncle Beff," as Micah affectionately calls him), came to visit for a few days. We thought it would be fun to make a day trip to the beach while he was here, since he is currently landlocked in Virginia. Now, I'm not the most uptight parent, or person for that matter, but I must've googled, "Is it okay to take a 3 week old to the beach?" a couple dozen times. I realized after my third day of Google searching, that my fears were less about the beach and more about what people would think about me taking her there.

I forgot there were so many fears involved in parenting. Some good and necessary, and some we tend to make up ourselves. But if there's one thing I do know and have learned through my short experience as a mom so far - it's that God gave my children specifically to me for a reason. And because I know this, I also trust that He will give me the wisdom and discernment I need to parent them as well.

Having kept one child alive for a year and a half now, I can tell you from experience, this is a lesson I would have liked to know from the beginning. It would have helped my self-esteem a ton when facing all the decisions and opinions on whether or not to get the epidural, vaccinate, breastfeed, or let my child watch TV. I needed the confidence to know that God has entrusted these decisions to me for a reason. And while that can also carry with it incredible responsibility, the point is that it's mine to carry.

So tomorrow I will wake up and make a hundred decisions for my children. Juice or water? Peas or Cheetos? Bath or not? And there are many factors that go into these choices we make. For example, you may look at the few questions I listed and already have an opinion on what the "right" choice to make is. But sometimes the area is grey. And sometimes the answer can be both. For example, a newborn doesn't need to be bathed every day. But a messy toddler probably does.

And while it may not be a good idea to take a 3 week old baby to the beach in 90 degree weather, without a tent and on a super windy day. Change the conditions and it's a perfectly, relaxing place to be.

So all that to say - we went to the beach. Yes, with a newborn. And yes, we had the most relaxing time. It was 75 degrees, probably cooler in the shade of the huge tent we sat under, and there was just enough breeze to cool us off without covering us in sand. The drive to the beach is only an hour, so you can bet we will be making lots of trips this spring/summer.

I said this on Instagram, but one of my greatest desires for my children is that they live and enjoy life! Not live in fear. So I guess that starts with me modeling it for them.

family, mama stuffCassidy RobinsonApril 7, 2014 Comments

The Challenge of Two

It's been just over two weeks since I made the transition from one to two children. And in these short, but long, two weeks, I can say without hesitation that it's been one of the biggest challenges of my life. But not in a bad way. Because I believe in good challenges. The kind that grow you more as a person. The kind that chip away the sinful, selfish desires and replace them with patience, with kindness, and with unconditional, overwhelming love.

And that's what having children does to you.

I learned this well after Micah was born. On top of learning what it means to put someone else's needs before your own, answer cries at 2am, 4am, 6am, and sacrifice many warm meals and showers in order to feed a hungry baby for the 12th time that day - my husband and I also learned a valuable lesson in faith.

After Micah was born, we spent nearly every other week driving an hour to the pediatric cardiologist, where they poked and probed and made my newborn little baby cry. As I watched helplessly, I learned that sometimes love hurts. And doing the best thing for your child, isn't always the easiest thing. A lesson I wouldn't have minded waiting a couple months (or years) to learn.

But God was working through all of it. And the end result was healing in Jesus' name! My faith and many others, was made stronger because of my son's heart defect. And that made it all worth it in the end.

So after all we learned and experienced with our first child, you would think we would be thoroughly equipped for the challenge of handling two... under two.

But we quickly learned in the first few days home from the hospital, that we needed a double dose of the patience, kindness and love that we thought we had acquired from having one child. Our tanks were running empty... fast.

In all honesty, our second child has become the easy one. We've already been down this road before. We know what to expect with her when she cries or wakes up in the middle of the night. But the challenge has come in the form of our newly promoted big brother. The baby turned toddler overnight. Screaming and tantrums included. And it's not like he's jealous of his new little sister, in fact, he is the sweetest when he has her in his arms. I truly believe it's just normal 18 month old behavior, that is amplified now with our attention split between the two of them.

I may have had enough patience to deal with our oldest throwing his food and rubbing it in his hair when he was the only child. But now I need enough patience to also handle a baby spitting up all over mine (and if anyone was wondering, breast milk is not a good natural hair conditioner).

Though it's hard and uncomfortable, this season of motherhood and parenting is a daily refining process. As soon as I think I am comfortably sailing through, God allows what we all know as a "growth spurt" to occur in the child we think we have figured out or He gives us another one! Right now, it's both for us. And I am very, very thankful. Because in this season, I am constantly forced to rely on God to supply all of my needs.

I may not have enough patience for tomorrow, but I have more than I did yesterday.

family, mama stuffCassidy RobinsonMarch 31, 2014 Comments

Hannah Leigh | Newborn

When Micah was one week old, we had a sweet friend come over to our house and take newborn photos for us. It was so special to be able to have these photos taken in the comfort of our own home. And I still look at them often, remembering how small and delicate he once was. I knew I wanted newborn photos of Hannah as well, but this time I decided I would attempt to take them myself. So here it is... my first newborn photoshoot of our precious 10-day old little girl, Hannah Leigh. :)