God has been good to us. At one time, He had given us five boys and one girl in our family. For many years Katie was the lone girl, and desired to have a sister in the family, but her hopes were not realized with four brothers born after her. The LORD sent another girl when Christiana was born in '98. Four other girls followed her, and the balance of siblings tipped in favor of the girls six to five. As we awaited the birth of our newest child, we wondered which gender he or she would be. God graciously gave us another boy, and Beth has commented, "It's so fun to have a little boy again."
It's always amazing each time we have had a new baby. The baby's siblings just dote over him or her. Stephen is no exception. All of the children--from the youngest to the oldest--enjoy holding him, and we've even had squabbles over whose turn it is. "You already have held him today. It's my turn!" While we never have liked squabbles, if there was something our children were to squabble about, then wrestling over whose turn it is to hold the baby is a pretty good thing. All in all, this lies at the heart of how we feel about children. Someone has rightly said, "If you love children, then your children will love children." Beth and I truly love our children, and so it is reflected in how our children love their new baby brother. Now, that's not to say we don't have any troubles, because we do. However, our hope is that all of our children feel loved by their parents and also by their siblings.
By the way, we've affectionately called Stephen "even Stephen" because he's the one who evened the score at six boys and six girls.
My other observation is that God gives grace to Beth to adjust her schedule to accommodate the baby. She is wise to keep track of his feeding times, and knows how long she can be away from the house. She has recognized his pattern of awake and asleep time. She knows when he's getting tired and crabby. She knows when it's time for bed. I guess that's just what a good mother does!
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