Life with the Lin Family

I can’t believe Carter is 5 months already! It has flown by so quickly. The idea that he is almost half way through his first year is mind boggling and a little bittersweet. I have to say that the afterglow of the miracle is just as strong now as it was the first time I saw him.

Everday that I get to spend with my baby boy is such a blessing. Watching him grow and learn is the most rewarding thing I have ever experienced. I am reminded daily of how fortunate we are to have him. I remember the countless days and nights I cried out to God to have this child to hold. For him to fill my empty arms and aching heart so that I didn’t have to bare the pain any longer. As much as I would love to have as many more children as I could get Jimmy to agree to, :0) my heart is so satisfied with just Carter. I am so thankful for the Lord just giving me the one that I begged for. If Carter is all God has for us then I am thrilled. I can’t think of a better way to spend my life than enjoying this precious gift with my husband and not having to divide any time. Of course I would love to experience this all over again and again as well :0).

On Sunday we had Carter dedicated at church. It was a great event for Jimmy and I. Just another one of those moments we were never sure that we would have. The dedication ceremony allows us to publicly dedicate our son to the will of God and commit to raising him according to God’s principles. The Pastor read 1 Samual 1:11, which gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes. You may remember it from our Christmas cards… “O Lord Almighty, if you will answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime.” This is our commitment to the Lord.

Carter was able to share his big day with his whole “fan club”. Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Christine, Uncle Tom, Darrel and Julie all came once again showing their loving devotion to our little guy. Our baby boy is so loved by these people and we are so thankful that he has all of them in his life. He received a beautiful gift and card from Darrel and Julie that I will save for him forever. There is a long letter for Carter in it, ”…You are a gift to all of us, a reminder of the miracles the Lord gives. We love you Carter and we are devoted to being a part of your life forever…”. As a parent it is such a wonderful feeling to know that your child is loved and will have wonderful people devoted to him as he grows up. Between us, his Grandparents, his Aunt and Uncle and Darrel and Julie I know our son will know unconditional love and have great Christian influences to mould him into the man he will become.   

I rarely watch the Oprah Winfrey show but yesterday I watched one of the most amazing episodes. My Mom had encouraged me to tune in because she had seen a commercial for it. The episode was about Autism. Actresses Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson were on the sharing about their sons who both have autism. I was semi-interesed until Oprah asked what they felt triggered their sons illnesses. Jenny McCarthy responded “We have all heard the numbers and the statistics and I want to know what the numbers have to be for the Pediatricians and the CDC to start listening to the mothers who are saying “We vaccinated our babies and something happened”.” I got head to toe chills and actually stood up in my living room and clapped my hands at the TV (I quickly felt embaressed for myself and sat back down).

I was just so happy to see these celebrities speaking out about vaccine injuries on such a mainstream show. I again felt a little nudge of confirmation down this guided path and felt like God was reassuring me that we had made the right decision for Carter on withhold his vaccinations.

Jenny McCarthy also spoke about her ”Mommy instincts” and how she has followed them in the pursuit to try to help her son. I really found myself relating to the little voice she was referring to. I always thought that terms like “motherly instincts” and ”women’s intuition” were cliche and didn’t hold much weight. Now being a Mom and sorting through the parenting styles and theories for my son I know this “instinct” and/or voice first hand. But I also know it is not my own instinct or voice but one from God who continues to guide me.  

As our pregnancy progressed Jimmy and I were faced with decisions about becoming parents that we’d never had to consider before. Vaccinations, circumcision, natural childbirth, breastfeeding. The decisions have only increased in number since Carter was born. Independent or co-sleeping, delaying or introducing solids, cry it out or soothe him, delay vaccines or withhold them all together, cloth diapers or disposeables. All very controversial and all sides of each coin have substantial arguments.

Since Carter was born I have been inundated with opinions in all aspects of parenting. I learned early on to filter alot of what I was hearing and follow my “Momma instincts” of what works best for him and us. Most importantly, before Carter was born I gave it to a higher power. I knew there would be so many options and decisions ahead and that they could easily overwhelm us as new parents. I have prayed since I was pregnant for God to direct our path in parenting Carter and open doors when we are headed in the right direction and close them if we weren’t. I tuly feel that God has been answering my prayers and guiding us with resources.

During and even before my pregnancy Brenda was a great resource for natural chilbirth, but when my pelvic pain came up she directed me to find a Webster Certified Chiropractor. That was an easy pick because there was only one in Boise and Dr. Sally was a great resource in many ways. She was an advocate for natural childbirth, cloth diapering and withholding vaccines. When she moved away, God opened a new door to another Chiropractor in town that my Mom found. Once again another proponent for withholding vaccines who gave us information that sealed our decision on that but also introduced us to probiotics and other holistic resources for natural living. All of these people have offerred great info that has always ”felt right” with my heart as a Mom. 

And so I have marched on in this ”natural” direction of parenting and researched more and more into a style of “attachment parenting”. Everytime Carter goes down for a nap I am online in pursuit of more knowledge. Recently, I stumbled upon numerous articles about the harmful chemicals that we unknowingly expose our children to from the time they are born. Diapers, shampoos, baby wipes, diaper creams, baby powder, plastic baby bottles and vaccines. All containing harmful chemicals, mostly of which are cancer-linked agents. I was very alarmed by what I read and enlightened by alternatives to all these modern day must haves.

I am the first one to spring for the conveniences offerred in this day and age, but when you calculate the savings in the alternatives and the benefits they offer my baby boy I definitely began to seriously contemplate making some huge changes. Changes, like throwing out every item listed above and searching out organic products and starting to cloth diaper. And so I prayed again, Lord if this is something I should explore further for Carter and our finances open the doors. The next day at the chiropractor I got to speaking with a lady and somehow cloth diapers came up. Wouldn’t you know…She used to have her own business making and selling cloth diapers online when her kids were little. She just so happened to have a ton of inventory left that she needed to get rid of and I was more than welcome to come over and pick through whatever I like! Come on, seriously. That is so much more than coincidence. I know it is God once again directing my path as a parent.