Cool!

I was surfing around on other people's blogs last night and found a link to a really cool website.

Ten Thousand Villages

It as an awesome website with "fairly traded handicrafts from around the world." There are some really neat things on there and it doesn't seem too expensive.

I think that getting people Christmas gifts from a place where the money goes to help people in developing countries makes so much more sense than paying into the corporate greed of Wal-Mart!

Check it out!

Suficient Grace

Jeremiah is in bed.

I am exhausted; physically, emotionally, spiritually.

Today was challenging. By 10:30 Jeremiah was on his 4th pair of big boy underwear and I had cleaned up 4 puddles off of the floor. I have no idea if this is normal or if despite his psychological readiness to use the potty his physical readiness has just not caught up. After a tearful phone call to Aaron we decided that we will wait for big boy underwear until after Christmas. Until then we are back to just sitting on the potty first thing in the morning, after nap, and before bath and if he asks to. I just can't handle more than that right now. So, no more potty talk for the time being!

I went into work from 1 - 4 while Cherise was here. And there was stress there as well.

And tonight Jeremiah just seemed very negative and strong willed. Literally every question I asked was answered with "no, no, no." Bathtime was a struggle as was bed time.

I just sat on the couch and ate the last piece of pumpkin pie and prayed. What am I doing? I am not being the mother that I should be.

Then I remembered the verse,

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9

I was reminded that my strength is not sufficient for this task of being a wife, mother, director. Only by relying on God's grace and strength will I be able to extend grace to those around me and have daily joy.

I think it is beautiful that God gives us what we need and does not expect us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and use our own strength.

Tonight my prayer is that I will rely on His grace tomorrow.

A note from Aaron

So, here is Aaron's explanation for not wanting to use a chart or reward system for using the potty (or I guess really for any motivation). I see his point. God loves us unconditionally and provides us with the ultimate reward of salvation, regardless of our behavior. I guess that the difficulty is finding a balance. Maybe the key is to use the stickers as a way for Jeremiah to feel proud of his own accomplishments - not as a bribe or reward for "good work."

parents, teachers, anyone in a position of authority needs to consider how they interact with their students/ children. I believe these people have a responsibility to act in a manner that reflects how God interacts & deals with his children/students. The best example is Sunday school - if you show up - you get a sticker. If you bring your bible you get a sticker, if you bring a dollar or a friend or say your memory verse or whatever - you get a sticker. The manner in which you conduct the classroom is teaching students/children something. What is it teaching them? I will strive to reflect God's relationship with his children to my students and my own children.

Maybe it's merely symantics. But if a progress chart helps us keep up with our trips to the bathroom & shows how we have improved over time & continue to accomplish our goals then that's great.
I don't want a chart full (or empty as the case may be) of rewards for going to the bathroom.

Potty Training 101

Jeremiah sits on the potty and we read his favorite book, over and over and over again.
I have spent a lot of time on the bathroom floor today.
Jeremiah shows off his new "bog boy pants."
Well, they are really pull-ups but he saw the pack and wanted to wear them. I was just going to use them as back-up. They will supposedly get cold when he pees. Tomorrow we will get him underwear, I think it will help if he feels wet and dirty.

I decided to take the bull by the horns today and get abit more proactive with the whole potty training thing. So Jeremiah has spent some time on his potty while I read books to him. Still no pee in the potty, but it will come with time.
We are having a minor parenting style disagreement in this house since the potty training started. I am in principle all for a sticker chart or some kind of reward. Anything in my mind to encourage the process and make it go faster. Aaron thinks that we should not use rewards. He thinks that Jeremiah should be intrinsically motivated to use the potty or not. Of course it is possible to find research supporting both points of view. So, we have to do some talking and some compromising. Any words of wisdom or potty training advice?

 

Random stuff

This morning when it was time for Aaron to leave for work Jeremiah clung to his neck and said, "no, no, no."

After having papa home for most of last week Jeremiah is going to have to adjust to having only me around. I am going to have to adjust to having only Jeremiah around.

This morning we took a walk to Bi-Lo to get dish soap. Yes, we ran out of dish soap earlier this week and now almost every dish we own is stacked up on the kitchen counter.

We also did some yard work. Well, Jeremiah rode around in his wagon while I did the yard work. The wagon is a huge hit, makes doing yard work and taking the dog for short walks so much easier. Should have bought one a long time ago.

It is another beautiful day, almost 70 degrees and sunny. I am hoping that Jeremiah will take a long, long nap this afternoon (since he is in his own bed) and then we will go rake more leaves.

Our Christmas tree is up and decorated. Jeremiah likes to say the word, "nativity." I have no idea why.

He is starting to talk in sentances - the problem - I don't know what he is saying.

We have informally started the potty training process. Jeremiah's favorite book is "A Potty for Me" - I think I have read it about 100 times. Last night Aaron put him on the potty before his bath. No pee. Until he stood up. Then pee was all over the floor. I went in after his bath to say goodnight. While he was hugging me he started talking about pee-pee. I thought he was telling me about the pee on the floor. Nope - when I put him down the front of my shirt was soaked in pee. That kid is smarter than me! :-)

Have a great day!

Geiger Family

Me and my cousin Susan.
I haven't seen her in years. She got married a month ago to a man from LaFayette (go figure) and lives about 1/2 hour from us. We have plans to get together soon!
By the way, I think we kinda look alike. :-)
Justin (Susan's new husband), Susan and Grandma Barbara.
A group of people were playing domino's - it got kinda competitive.
Uncle Henry, Aunt Gayle (they live in Birmingham), cousin Brenda (her husband Boyd and thier 5 children were also there), and Grandpa.
They were the other half of the domino's game.
At the other end of the table a trivial pursuit game was going on.
Cousin Ernie (back safe from Iraq), his girlfriend (I don't remember her name...), cousin Jody (her 5 kids were there too), and Aunt Glenda.
Uncle Ernie was cooking the hamburgers and hotdogs and somehow I didn't get a picture of him.

On Saturday afternoon we took a beautiful drive up the mountain into Mentone, Alabama for a small reunion of the Geiger family. It was at a gorgeous state park that we have now discovered and want to go back to again. The day was perfect, sunny and about 70 degrees. We met so many family members that I haven't seen in years and years. So it was a bit overwhelming. I mean, you would think you have a lot to talk about but after so many years it is almost like, where do we begin. But, it was neat to see everyone.
We relived a lot of memories. Memories of playing at Aunt Gayle's farm. Susan and I had memories from all the time we spent together in Willow Grove, and our trip when we were younger to visit my Grandma Rachel in Florida.
There were kids everywhere! About 13 in all I think. But a big playground kept them all busy.
My cousin Rachel wasn't there. She is expecting her first baby in May. I am hoping to reconnect with her, since she lives in Birmingham.
After a day of running around outside Jeremiah was completely exhausted. We left the park at 6pm and it only took him about 30 seconds to fall asleep with his teddy tucked under his arm.

After this busy Thanksgiving weekend I am reminded of the connections we have to family. We may not see them often. They may be completely different from us. They may annoy us sometimes. But we are connected.

 

New Wagon!

Aaron puts Jeremiah's new wagon together.
Jeremiah sees his new wagon. What is this?
I think he likes it!
Taking a ride with his friends.

 

 

 

Thanksgiving 2006

Jeremiah finally warms up to Adriel and Juliana, literally about 1/2 hour before we left.


We had a fun day yesterday. A pretty drive to Nashville. We had hoped that Jeremiah would sleep - but no luck. But all was well, he went down for his nap right before the Thanksgiving feast and so we were able to enjoy the meal. And it was delicious! I will brag abit and say that my pumpkin cheese cake was a hit as was the apple pie. Yum Yum....
Jeremiah was a little bit unsure what to do with so many people around, so he mostly just ignored them and went about his business exploring and playing. Although by the end of the day he was saying "nats" (Stan) and "noj" (Jon) and about a half an hour before we left he decided to be friends with Adriel and Juliana. It was a quiet ride home with Jeremiah asleep the whole way.

 

Jeremiah holds baby Sophia. He was very interested in investigating this new little person.
Mike, Juliana, Adriel and Aaron play a game after lunch.
Uncle Jon takes his nap in the sun. I think we have a picture similar to this from last year. :-)
Grandma holds a sleeping Sopia.

 

Camera Update

The camera showed up in our front closet! Apperantly we brought it in and put it in the closet with purses, bags, and coats and never remembered that we had done that.

Good news for you guys - we can post the pictures we take over Thanksgiving! Hee Hee!

Belief

The following quote is long but worth the read. I am just now reading Blue Like Jazz and am wishing that I had read it a year ago when dad mentioned it to me.

Better late than never.

Read the book!

"The thing I have to work on in myself is this issue of belief. Gandhi believed Jesus when He said to turn the other cheek. Gandhi brought down the British Empire, deeply injured the caste system, and changed the world. Mother Teresa believed Jesus when He said everybody was priceless, even the ugly ones, the smelly ones, and Mother Teresa changed the world by showing them that a human being can be selfless. Peter finally believed the gospel after he got yelled at by Paul. Peter and Paul changed the world by starting small churches in godless towns.
Eminem believes that he is a better rapper than other rappers. Profound. Let’s all follow Eminem.
Here is the trick, and here is my point. Satan, who I believe exists as much as I believe Jesus exists, wants us to believe meaningless things for meaningless reasons. Can you imagine if Christians actually believed that God was trying to rescue us from the pit of our own self-addiction? Can you imagine? Can you imagine what Americans would do if they understood that over half the world was living in poverty? Do you think they would change the way they live, the products they purchase, and the politicians they elect? If we believed the right things, the true things, there wouldn’t be very many problems on earth.
But the trouble with deep belief is that it costs something. And there is something inside me, some selfish beast of a subtle thing that doesn’t like the truth at all because it carries responsibility, and if I actually believe these things I have to do something about them. ….
My life testifies that the first thing I believe is that I am the most important person in the world. My life testifies to this because I care more about my food and shelter and happiness that about anybody else.
I am learning to believe better things. I am learning to believe that other people exist, that fashion is not truth; rather, Jesus is the most important figure in history, and the gospel is the most powerful force in the universe. I am learning not to be passionate about empty things, but to cultivate passion for justice, grace, truth, and communicate the idea that Jesus likes people and even loves them."

Camera Withdrawal

I know in the scheme of things and with all the problems in the world this is nothing - but we have lost our digital camera. We have no idea how this happened or where it is. The last time we remember having it was on Sunday at Linda's house. Not having it is making me realize how much we use it, not just to take pictures of Jeremiah, but to share pictures and experiences with you.

Last night Jeremiah was riding his popper around the house. He has finally figured out how to move it all by himself and so his new favorite pass time is to ride around the house chasing Penny Lane and laughing hysterically. I said, "Aaron get the camera and video this so we can post it on the blog." Oops.

Anyway, I am so mad that we have lost the camera right before a busy week of get togethers with family. There will be many photo ops I am sure. We will bring my trusty film camera - but then how can I share the pictures with you?

So, believing that God cares even about small details please pray that our camera will show up. We really don't want to have to spend our Christmas money on a new camera when our old one worked fine.......

Thanksgiving Preparations

Monday morning. Again.

Why do I always feel like I spend Monday morning trying to recuperate from the weekends events?

It has been a busy morning again. But it is Aaron's day off so having him around is nice. Right now Jeremiah is napping and Aaron is working on our backdoors - replacing the locks and stuff so that we can actually come in those doors from the outside. It will make unloading groceries easier for me.

We have already been to the store. I had a shopping list a mile long with everything we needed for the Thanksgiving weekend. I am making a pumpkin pie, apple pie, pumpkin cheesecake, and 7 layer mexican dip to take to the Viss family get together in Nashville (Thursday). I also want to put something together to bring the the Geiger family get together in Mentone (Saturday). And I wanted to have some nice things for just us here at home to enjoy while we relax on Friday. So we dropped a wad of cash, loaded up the car, and now the kitchen has stacks of cans and boxes everywhere and the fridge is full!

This is going to be a busy week. The house needs to be cleaned. Obviously baking needs to be done.

But I am looking forward to all the family get togethers and festivities. This will be our 3rd Thanksgiving with Viss family in Nashville and it is a tradition I like. A pretty drive through the countryside brings us to Uncle Bob & Aunt Evy's house which is full of family. And this time we will get to meet Sophia - the newest addition to the family. I can't wait to get my hands on her! And on Saturday we will enjoy hanging out with various members of the Geiger family at a beautiful state park in Alabama. We'll see how Jeremiah does with all the traveling and excitement.

But I think the day that I am looking forward to the most is Friday. We have agreed - no company and we are not going anywhere. We are going to enjoy being together, just the 3 of us, with no plans or "to do" lists. And of course, football on the TV. I may decorate the Christmas tree if the mood strikes.

Of course, I think of last Thanksgiving when mom and dad were here and I miss them. I think of Will and Mariana in New Jersey and I miss them too. Ben & Ramona will be in their own little place. Caleb & Moni will be in Miami enjoying their time with Moni's family. Steve & Brenda will be driving down to Atlanta with Chad & Cherise to be with Aaron's grandparents, aunts & uncles etc.

I have so much to be thankful for that to list it all here would take all day. God is good to me. His grace is amazing. I deserve nothing of what He has given me. Thanksgiving often gets overlooked in the rush to Christmas. May we all take time this week to reflect on God's gifts to us and to thank Him with our hearts, lives, and lips.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Visiting Uncle Caleb & Aunt Moni II

All of the pictures posted below are from our short-but-sweet visit to Caleb & Moni's place this weekend. I was too tired to write, but wanted to get the pictures up for you to enjoy. If you want to see video of Jeremiah dancing (and who doesn't?) go over to Moni's blog which is linked on my page.

We had a good time and I think that Jeremiah did great. We drove down Friday night and he slept the whole way. It took him awhile to settle back down to sleep once we arrived, but that's ok. Saturday we went to the park in the morning and then relaxed watching football (there were some great games on!) and eating snacks. We headed back home again Saturday evening, Jeremiah once again slept the whole way.

It was so nice to spend some time with Caleb & Moni, just chatting, hanging out and enjoying eachothers company. Definitely something we need to do more often!

Visiting Uncle Caleb & Aunt Moni

 

 

 

Headed to ATL

I have a busy day today. Cherise is coming by this morning to watch Jeremiah for a few hours so I can work. Such a blessing, let me tell you, and Jeremiah loves playing with his aunt. And then, tonight after dinner and Jeremiah's bath we are driving down to Atlanta to visit Caleb & Moni. We have been promising to visit them for a long time now and I guess Aaron all of the sudden figured we had better do it now or it won't happen. You know how you keep waiting for the perfect moment to do something? When you are less busy. Or when you have enough money. Or when you are not so tired. Well, obviously for us "the perfect" weekend was just not going to happen so we had to decide to just go. We will come back home on Saturday night (notice how we planned our driving to coincide with Jeremiah's sleeping). So a short but sweet visit. It is easy to do when they are less than a 2 hour drive away.

If you have been praying for us I want to say thanks. The past few days have been challenging but I am learning some key things.

First, things go much more smoothly when I make sure I have scheduled one on one time with Jeremiah during the day when he gets my full attention. I think I am going to buy a kitchen timer so I can let him watch the timer and understand that I will be with him in a minute.

Second, although it probably sounds silly to others I think the approach of talking to him and trying to get him to express his emotion is starting to have some impact. His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds and even though I don't think he always understands the concept in the moment the consistency of it over the past few days has had some slow results.

Third, I am totally dependent on God's grace for the patience and consistency that I need.

Now, here are some fun things that Jeremiah has been doing lately:

- Making more and more 2 word phrases: "no bob" and "no larry" are the most common ones heard around here. "No auto" and "bye papa" are the other favorites.

- Recognized the letters A, B, C and J!

- Imaginative play with his friends Larry, Nijntje, and Teddy Ruxpin. Jeremiah likes to seat them all at his table and try to feed them or give them some of his drink. It is incredibly cute to watch.

- Turn around and around in circles and then wobble around as he tries to walk.

- Talk, talk, talk, talk!

It works!

A little while ago I posted about putting a light in Jeremiahs room on a timer. The idea was that he learn that even though he wakes up he should play in his bed until the light goes on.

Guess what!

It works!

I was prepared for battle. But the whole process has been fairly easy and with little fuss. Jeremiah seemed to get the concept right away and seems to enjoy his early morning play time. When I am in the bathroom preparing myself for the day I can hear him chattering and singing to himself. So sweet. The timer on the light is set for 7:00am. Some mornings he wakes up at 6:30, some mornings he wakes up when the light comes on, and once he slept right through it until 7:30!

Who ever thought of this was a genious!

Now - another topic.

Yesterday was a tough day. I think we are hitting a stage where the lack of words for emotions that he feels causes frustration so squeals, foot stomping, and other forms of squeaking and vocal exclamations are more common now. And at least once a day we have a sit down in the floor and cry episode. So the challenge for me is to keep my cool and try to be consistent in my dealings with this behavior. It is not easy since consistency is not my strong suit. I mostly try and give him my full attention and use words to try and get him to tell me what he wants or what he is feeling. I want to give him the tools to express himself, not just punish him for negative behavior since the root of his behavior is probably frustration. Any ideas from you veteran moms (or dads) out there?

Serious Again - but not political

I am abit tired again this morning (again). Last night I took Jeremiah over to Steve & Brenda's so that I could go with the youth group to the annual fundraising banquet for our community's crisis pregnancy center. I went more out of obligation than real desire. I have been to banquets before and have not been inpressed by the speakers. Most speakers that I have heard for the pro-life position tend to be less informative and educating and more over the top emotional and political, and sometimes just downright rude and hateful regarding those that do not believe what they do. That turns me off.

But last night I was impressed. Scott Klusendorf of the Life Training Institute was the speaker. He speaks all over the US and Canada using medical and philosphical arguments for pro-life. He was well educated, thoughtful, and funny. Here are some things that I took away from his talk.

1. Our society makes truth relative. Most people say that they do not want to impose their truth on others. While this is ok when it comes to things like what flavor of icecream is the best, it is not ok when it comes to the value of human life. Hence the argument we frequently hear: "I believe abortion is wrong because it kills a baby but I believe people should make their own choice." Think about what that is really saying, I believe that killing babies is wrong but I think it should be ok for people to decide to kill babies.

2. Here is a helpful tool to use when you are talking to others about why you value unborn human life:

S - size: does the size of a person indicate their worth as a human? Is a larger person more valuable than a smaller person?

L - level of development: are people who are more developed (physically, intellectually, psychologically, etc.) worth more than people who aren't? Are adults more valuable because they are further developed than say a 4 year old?

E - environment: if you move from one room to another does that change who you are fundamentally as a human? What difference is there in the make-up and worth of a child between the womb and the 8 inches of birth canal?

D- degree of dependancy: just because one human is more dependent on another, does that make them less valuable?

3. I was reminded again of the spiritual battle this is part of the abortion debate. It is easy to forget that about 4000 babies are aborted every day in the USA. It is easy to forget that the textbook for med students in their bio ethics classes states that since babies are not self aware until they are older than 30 days (out of the womb) than it is ethically ok to kill them.

Now - let me clarify a few things.

* I believe that the causes of abortion in this nation are complex. I do not think that we can simplistically say "no abortion" without also addressing issues of poverty, lack of education, domestic violence, and mental illness.

* I do not believe in vilefying people who are on the other side of the debate. According to the Bible we are all sinners. There is no sin that is worse than another. We should treat others with the same grace that we have been shown.

* I do not believe in violence, rudeness, or emotional manipulation.

I challenge everyone to at least pray for the crisis pregnancy centers in their communities. Consider how you can be more involved in this issue. Can you volunteer some time at the center? Can you donate money? Can you organize a group in your church to help in some way?

This is an area where truth must be defined and defended.

Note: The website that I linked above has a very powerful video about the effects of abortion with pictures of aborted fetuses in the first 12 weeks. Please look at it. It is hard but it is real. It shows clearly that even before 12 weeks of justation fetuses are children and human, completely formed.

30 good years

Jeremiah and Papa made me a birthday card.
Yeah for mama's birthday!


So, it happened. Today I turned 30 years old.
It was not as traumatic as I had anticipated. Hee Hee.
It has been a nice weekend of celebrating. Just simple times and moments but I have felt loved and special all weekend long. Today my awesome mother-in-law made me lasagne for lunch. My favorite! I have received nice and thoughtful gifts, cards, and phone calls. Thanks!

When I left home at 16 years old my dad "gave" me Psalm 16 and I have pondered it many times since then and it has kind of become my life verse. As I have thought about my life and reflected on the events that have lead to this time and place I am ever more aware of God's grace and goodness to me. My life has turned out abit differently then I had planned way back then. But it is good and I am truly blessed. Everything that I have is from Him and I can only thank Him. And I look with excitement to what the future holds!

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you. (v1)
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. (v5,6)
I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore, my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure. (v8,9)
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures for evermore. (v11)