Scotter will be eleven months in two days, and soon after a year. I’ve started to put last years blog onto Adobe InDesign so I can eventually publish it. Reading over last January’s posts has made me reflect over this past year. I wrote on the 26th of January 2011:

The last nine months have challenged my self identity. The six years previous were spent in the pursuit of the identity of singer and performer. While I have done a fair share of singing, and a good deal of teaching these past months, neither has played the largest role in my life. Leaving the question, if I’m not a singer or performer, then what am I? There have been weeks that have been absorbed with nothing other than home projects, cleaning, cooking, and errands. At other times I spent most of my time studying French, learning about art history, and planning an itinerary for our France/Italy trip. While I’ve been completely content with my life about 98% of the time, there have been those times in the other 2% when I’ve asked, “What am I doing with my life?!” Is my time really best spent making homemade bread, quilting, painting walls, and drawing comics? I’ve felt pressure to go out and get a job so I can make money. Because isn’t money the sign of success? I comfort myself by thinking that all of my work on our house will hopefully pay off when we sell it. But what if it doesn’t? Have I wasted all the time I’ve spent learning how to drywall, tile, paint, texture, install hardware, and decorate a home if it never earns me a buck? I think not. Life is about growth, and looking back I think if all I’ve accomplished is my goal to “take myself less seriously” than I’ve found success! 

Thinking about my current state of self identity I’ve found great joy in the realization of how content I am. I’m confident that I am doing precisely what I should be doing at this point in my life. Sure there are the questions of how to spend the hours of each day. (How much time should I spend cleaning? How much time should I spend playing with Scotland, how many students should I take on, etc) but overall, the question “What am I doing with my life?” hasn’t arisen. I can thank this in part to my sister, Brigette. We have babies a week apart. And when they were about four months old we were chatting about our new roles as Mothers. I asked Brigette how she felt, if it was everything she thought it would be. She said yes, and then something like this: “Before I had children, at the end of the day I always felt unsure of whether I was using my time in the right way. Now when I kneel before my Maker each night, I know that He’s pleased with what I’m doing.” Her comment really struck me. Ever since, I’ve shared that peace. God gave me a child, and I believe He is happy when I immerse myself in the joy of Motherhood. 

With that here’s a few recent pictures of our little guy:

This was Scotland’s Christmas tie that I made for him. He looks so handsome in it.

Scotland’s latest thrill is climbing into things. Do we have a gymnist on our hands? 

Sitting on the edge of the basket.

He is confidently going up and down stairs.

He has six teeth with one more on the way. (I’m still trying to get a shot of them.)