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Christopher David was born September 18, 1999 at 6:18 a.m. after another LONG labor. I went to the hospital Sept. 17 at noon and was already 5 cm. It took me 18 hours to go the other five. All but the last cm was done natural until around 3 a.m. I decided epidurals are necessary and I will never try to do it without one again. My doctor says I hold the record for long labors for post first-birth moms.

Christopher was 9 pounds 12 ounces and almost 24 inches long. He is adorable, has dark skin, dark hair, and is now smiling... :-)

Sorry it has taken me so long to begin writing again. I've been trying to adjust to life with three. It's not so bad actually and as always, I just love having them here. I just wish I could figure out how I could get the three-year-old and two-year-old to realize that fighting over pretend money doesn't seem to make sense... That's another article I'll save for later. For now, here is something on my mind that I thought would be nice to share around this busy season.

My speech topic that morning was time management. I arose promptly at 5:30 a.m. and spent the next few hours cleaning house, reviewing my speaking material, studying Bible verses and praying. I also managed to take a nice, long shower, shave, wash and fix my hair, put on make-up, and eat breakfast. The children began waking up around 7:00 so I nursed the baby and clothed the older two (now two-years-old and almost four). By 8:30 we were ready to go, or so I thought.

I loaded everyone into the van and as I started to back out of the driveway, I realized that I had forgotten to feed the two non-breastfeeding children breakfast. Argh!! A quick run back into the house produced two pieces of buttered bread, two small bowls of raisins, and two sippy cups of milk. It wasn't the best breakfast in the world, but at least it was moderately healthy.

The moral being that I am a good time manager, but it seems as if there is always something that can go astray so it's important to remember another aspect of time management...

The Bible tells us that there is a time for everything. I feel like mothers need to remind themselves that often our time must be spent forgetting the TIME. Your child will not wait to grow up while you wash the dishes. It's going to happen anyway. Your best friend may not come to know Christ if you spend all your time talking about everything but Him. Your husband may grow old while you are reading the lastest bestseller. You may not live to see tomorrow, but today is still here to enjoy.

I encourage you to enjoy this season and not become wrapped up in all the materialistic pressure society has placed upon it. Tell your children over and over about the birth of a Christ child who was born so long ago. Forget about the company Christmas dinner if it stresses you out. Take your husband aside and tell him how helpful he has been lately. Forget about buying gifts for two sets of grandparents, four brothers and sisters, twelve nieces, and twenty cousins. Write "appreciation notes" of one or two lines and give someone something nice that they can carry around in their wallet. Manage your time as a mother with respect for God's wishes. Don't get caught up in pleasing worldly desires. Please God. Remember this season that all is vain unless we glorify the God who created all time in the first place.