motherhood
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new school year.
Monday was our first day of Classical Conversations (CC) co-op. It was such a wonderful morning: I was reminded why we chose to participate again this year. Judah is in the first grade class and Amie in the 4K/Kindergarten class and both love their teachers (who are called tutors). In fact, they loved school so much that on Tuesday and Wednesday they asked, “Why can’t we do CC every day instead of home school?” It’s a question I myself wrestled with all week as the three of us struggled to find our rhythm at home. It’s been way too long since we’ve had a regular routine and we all chafed against it.…
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baby reading.
I’ve been working away, in fits and starts, at my adoption reading this summer. After our home study, I fully intend to skim through Secrets of the Baby Whisperer again — my go-to book on newborns and scheduling with my first two kids. And when the baby comes, whenever that is, I’ll dig into What to Expect the First Year. But my favorite books to read when expecting a baby are Anne Lamott’s memoirs. I believe David’s aunt recommended Operating Instructions when I was pregnant with Judah. It was the middle of summer when I first read it; we’d just moved 600 miles north to Lititz, Pennsylvania, for David to start seminary, and I was 7 months pregnant.…
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five year old.
Our baby girl turned five this week. The other night David and I were watching home videos, laughing in delight and astonishment at our one-year-old Amelie toddling around, mostly hairless, with her big brown eyes and chubby fingers and toes, jabbering a mile-a-minute at the world around her. And now today she’s tall and slim, all long brown legs and bashful smiles in the presence of strangers. She’s losing that baby-girl innocence, she’s starting to notice looks exchanged and laughter at her cuteness and it embarrasses her. I watch her watching other girls, noticing their hair and clothes and shoes, and then sizing herself up, wondering where she fits. I ache inside,…
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making things happen.
So I shared last week about taking charge of my own well being, and can I just say thank you so much for responding, for saying that God’s teaching you the same things, that this is encouraging and exciting and maybe even revolutionary for you? Hearing your words make blogging so much more meaningful for me. I never check my blog stats: I honestly don’t know how many people read gentinofamily.com or where they’re from. Rather than try to grow readership, I’m much happier spending my time connecting with those of you that do stop by. I’m okay with this blog being small. If 2 people are inspired by something I write, it’s worth it to me! Thanks…
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gluten/dairy free kids.
Right on the heels of my recent food posts, comes a new trial: gluten and dairy-free kids. We have a couple health issues with the kids these days and a doctor recently suggested experimenting with a diet change. Don’t worry, they are relatively mild things at this point, but we feel like it’s worth a try now to see if symptoms improve and possibly prevent them worsening. So today we are two weeks into a two-month gluten and dairy-free trial. The doctor recommended starting with eliminating these two foods because they’re most known to trigger allergy/emotional/behavioral struggles. The first week went amazingly well. I had a talk with both kids…
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baby #3.
Well that got your attention, didn’t it? Yep, it’s true! Lord willing, there’s going to be a Gentino baby #3. We started the adoption process this week! Ten months ago today I wrote this post about dying to my dream of adopting kids, about learning contentment with my “right now family.” I really thought that was that. A closed chapter. But God has opened it again. He always surprises, doesn’t He? It happened so fast that we’re still reeling in a way from the shock of it. And in a way we’re not. Because it also seems like the most natural thing. You make think I’m crazy but the seed…
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our girl.
She’s an extrovert in a family of introverts. After a social event, when David and Judah and I retreat to three separate rooms with our books and Legos, Amie bounds from room to room debriefing about her day. For our girl, play time by herself is the worst sort of punishment. Her love language is physical touch. She wants to be in my lap, stroking my hair, having me scratch her back (or her arms or her face), sitting as close as humanly possible on the sofa. She feels deeply, knows what she wants and what she doesn’t. She’s in tune with the emotions of people around her and exudes…
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holiday honesty.
1. For the whole month of December “school” has been nothing more than a good intention, an uncrossed item on my to-do list. 2. That tired old condemning voice is whispering in my ear: You don’t deserve to homeschool your kids . . . you’re messing them up . . . you’re a failure. 3. I’m eating way too much dairy and sugar and feeling the effects. 4. I’ve gone running a grand total of one time this month. 5. I swore off household cleaning chemicals a year ago but this week, out of sheer desperation, I purchased a bottle of bleach for the mildew in our bathtub. 6. I don’t…
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greenville.
So my husband sent me to Greenville this week. On a mini-vacation. All by myself. Here’s how it happened: I was reading a novel, Joy For Beginners, in which a group of friends challenge one another to do something that scares them. Well, the young mom of the group gets challenged to take a trip all by herself. If you’ve been a young mom you understand why this prospect is terrifying. And also very liberating. The character ends up going to Venice and having a terrific time (albeit missing her family terribly). Obviously Venice is out of the question, but the idea still stuck in my mind and I told…
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normalizing (and learning to rest before vacation).
I’m sorry things have been quiet on the blog (and over email if you’ve emailed me). Do you ever feel like you get one area of your life more or less down and then realize with a start you’re letting several other areas slide? Anyway. After our beach trip I did some thinking and writing and asking myself the question, “What stresses me out right now?” and then as I listed some things I asked, “What of this is beyond my control and what do I need to take responsibility for?” I feel like I enter every vacation or family getaway stressed and burned out. I spend our three or four…