Heather mentioned that I have not yet talked about naming Bethany. So here is her story!
Tom’s brother is five years older than he is and one of the things Tom was insistent on is that our children would have siblings close in age. So we were delighted when I conceived right before Heather’s first birthday!
BUT, Heather was a handful. By this time I realized that she was incredibly high energy. And that most babies and children slept more, explored less, were happy being held. Heather was SOOO hyperactive that she never even watched television. Sesame Street did not move fast enough to hold her attention until she was over 5. Heather cried herself to sleep almost every night. Heather was crawling out of her crib by the time she was a year old. She had climbed into her high chair by the time she was a year old. Following her unaware Daddy, Heather had even climbed up the ladder and onto the roof by the time she was 17 months old.
So if this story is about Bethany, why am I talking about Heather?
Because I needed an easier second child. Bethany is literally “House of Figs.” It is an oasis! And it was the place where Jesus went to find rest and peace. Did you know that during the Holy Week that he left Jerusalem and went to either the Mount of Olives to pray or to Bethany every evening?
But Tom wanted to wait until this little one was born before we named her. We did not even know if we were having a little girl or a little boy. Bethany's birth was a delight - after a full night's sleep and a great breakfast and lunch we headed to the hospital with strong, but easily bearable pains. And within an hour of so after arriving at the hospital Bethany arrived. It was so quick and easy – like spitting out a watermelon seed! Tom held this precious little life and looked at her and stated, “This is Bethany.”
And Bethany lived up to her name. She was an oasis as a baby and toddler. I would feed her, burp her and lay in her in the crib. She would look up at me and smile, close her eyes and drift off to sleep! Amazing! Heather NEVER had done that. Bethany did not say “NO” until she was almost two years old. Though she did learn to say “MINE!” soon after she said Mama and Dada. But that word was almost always directed at Heather. Bethany was the smiliest baby ever. She loved to be in the back pack she would smile at every stranger who came by.
And how will Bethany continue to fulfill her name? I think that her home is going to be a place where Jesus is known, where He is manifested. And her home will be an oasis for others who are searching for truth.
I am posting a couple of my favorite three girl pictures.
Tom’s brother is five years older than he is and one of the things Tom was insistent on is that our children would have siblings close in age. So we were delighted when I conceived right before Heather’s first birthday!
BUT, Heather was a handful. By this time I realized that she was incredibly high energy. And that most babies and children slept more, explored less, were happy being held. Heather was SOOO hyperactive that she never even watched television. Sesame Street did not move fast enough to hold her attention until she was over 5. Heather cried herself to sleep almost every night. Heather was crawling out of her crib by the time she was a year old. She had climbed into her high chair by the time she was a year old. Following her unaware Daddy, Heather had even climbed up the ladder and onto the roof by the time she was 17 months old.
So if this story is about Bethany, why am I talking about Heather?
Because I needed an easier second child. Bethany is literally “House of Figs.” It is an oasis! And it was the place where Jesus went to find rest and peace. Did you know that during the Holy Week that he left Jerusalem and went to either the Mount of Olives to pray or to Bethany every evening?
But Tom wanted to wait until this little one was born before we named her. We did not even know if we were having a little girl or a little boy. Bethany's birth was a delight - after a full night's sleep and a great breakfast and lunch we headed to the hospital with strong, but easily bearable pains. And within an hour of so after arriving at the hospital Bethany arrived. It was so quick and easy – like spitting out a watermelon seed! Tom held this precious little life and looked at her and stated, “This is Bethany.”
And Bethany lived up to her name. She was an oasis as a baby and toddler. I would feed her, burp her and lay in her in the crib. She would look up at me and smile, close her eyes and drift off to sleep! Amazing! Heather NEVER had done that. Bethany did not say “NO” until she was almost two years old. Though she did learn to say “MINE!” soon after she said Mama and Dada. But that word was almost always directed at Heather. Bethany was the smiliest baby ever. She loved to be in the back pack she would smile at every stranger who came by.
And how will Bethany continue to fulfill her name? I think that her home is going to be a place where Jesus is known, where He is manifested. And her home will be an oasis for others who are searching for truth.
I am posting a couple of my favorite three girl pictures.
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