Teeth

Nurturing a teething baby all through the night when you're 42 years old, you have an anatomy that's altered from cancer surgeries, and you have the responsibility of 8 other home educated children to wake up and mother the next day is NOT for the faint at heart.  I remember asking my mom, shortly after I began learning to read, if the book in the bathroom by James Dobson was about me.  "Am I a strong WILD child?"  I didn't read it as strong willed, but as strong wild.  "Is that book about me?"   Today I'm thanking God for that persevering hudzpa He wired me with, bc it is not a cake walk to usher in baby's 5th, 6th, and 7th teeth during the holidays, and yet, I am, indeed, strong and wild enough to celebrate her momentum into more dental fullness.

The summer Jo lost her front baby teeth, from those permanent ones emerging, was the same summer our Baby Love got her first FOUR baby toofers! These 2 tiniest Simmons girls are too cute with their new teeth.

At first, sweet Jo had a bit of snaggletooth goin' on....

But then they finally were gone... Finally! They hung on FOREVER

Annemarie cut her first 2 on this marshmallow bag Abbie let her chew on while grocery shopping with her.

Interestingly enough, seventeen years ago, Abbie cut HER first 2 teeth on a cardboard package of some grocery item I'd handed her at Walmart, so I could get through the checkout with a fussy yiddle teething girlie who needed to rub her sore gums on something. I didn't have baby whispering older siblings in tow, way back then, like I do now... to keep the baby's mind off of 'the fussies' with some other intriguing distraction :)  I was solo back then, doing my strong wild child thing in West Texas, with my family and Shane's far away, yet it was a grand adventure that equipped me for all the teething motherhood moments between then and now.  I wouldn't trade a moment of it.  What an honor to be needed for comfort and compassion by these 9 sweet little babies Jesus entrusted to me, through all their teething woes. There aren't many job descriptions for 'go getter,' über organized women, in our 'advanced' modern western culture, that include the hormonally and emotionally rejuvenating blessing of holding and snuggling a velvety skinned little person, whose entire disposition lights up from your presence and nurturing touch, no matter how much they're hurting.