It's going to be a wild ride

I have had these pictures of the boys on my computer for a while now. I love them for a few reasons. The first being that their moments of quiet enjoyment together are few and far between. I hope that it is normal for brothers at this age and age difference to be competing a lot. Jeremiah is showing signs of jealousy and will only share (reluctantly and begrudgingly) if commanded to by Aaron or myself. Nathaniel is also showing signs of sibling rivalry by trying to insert himself forcefully into any situation in which I am trying to show special attention to Jeremiah. Yet, there are fleeting moments of brotherly affection and play like this picture captures. Notice how their arms and legs are intertwined?
The second reason I like these pictures so much is because you can see how these two sweet little boys have almost the exact same profile. There are so many ways these boys are different and then I glimpse their profiles and I see their similarities and their strong brotherly resemblance.
I am enjoying a quiet moment and cup of coffee this morning because we are gearing up for a crazy busy week. Aside from our normal household life here is a taste of what is going on for us this week:
Monday - Aaron has Jury duty. I will be cleaning the house and doing grocery shopping in an attempt to make sure that we have a peaceful environment for the rest of the crazy week. I will also be working from 6:30 - 12:00 tonight.
Tuesday - I will be running around doing errands and stuff in preparation for the wedding I am coordinating. I will also be finishing some baby shower invitations I am making for a different friend.
Wednesday - More errands. Hopefully some rest. I will work from 6:30 - 12:00 again. Aaron will go to a bachelor party (for previously mentioned wedding). Some kind friends will be coming over to watch the boys and put them to bed while Aaron and I are both gone.
Thursday - I will be decorating the church for the wedding. Hopefully friends will come and help. My goal is to get it all done in the morning so that the boys can have a normal nap time. I will be in charge of the wedding rehearsal at 5:00, Aaron will bring the boys to the grandparents and meet me at the rehearsal dinner. It will probably be a late night.
Friday - Wedding Day! I will run over to the church in the morning to make sure everything is ready (the boys will play at a friends house). Hopefully normal nap time for all. I will be back at the church as soon as Aaron gets home from work (4:00pm) to help girls get ready and coordinate pictures before the actual wedding at 7:00pm. Another late night.
Saturday - Leaving in the morning for Caleb & Moni's in Atlanta! You can bet by the time we get there I will be ready to hand the kids over to them and take a long nap! :-) The only problem will be that the boys will have just had a crazy week too and may not want to be handed over (again). But we are looking forward to the visit and hopefully a relaxing weekend after the craziness of this week.
Whew! You should see all the lists laid out on my counter top! But I love doing weddings - especially for friends. I like blessing them by (hopefully) taking away some of their stress by coordinating and being in charge of the details of their special day. I was hoping to not have to work this week, but my boss needed me and I could use the money so I am fitting it in. Nathaniel has a horrible runny nose and I am just praying that it will not turn into anything more serious than that. So if you think about it we could use some prayer this week. We will all need patience and flexibility. I am praying that we will also find moments of peace like in the pictures above, in the midst of a busy week.

Birthday Celebration

Yesterday we celebrated Nathaniel's 1st birthday with a little party. We had a great day! Here are just a few shots. We took so many!

Jeremiah enjoyed playing outside after church while hot dogs and hamburgers were cooking on the grill. Nathaniel took a little nap while we all ate lunch so that he was ready for all the fun of the afternoon. He loved being the center of attention and seemed to know just what to do - opening presents and eating cake all appeared to be old hat to him. Jeremiah did ok not being the center of attention. It was hard for him though... Bedtime came early last night for both tired boys.

Nathaniel is awake and ready to party.

"Is all this paper for me? It's too good to be true."

Presents are fun.

Dinosaur cake

"Let me at it!" He knew exactly who and what that cake was for!

He wanted me to feed him the cake because the icing was so sticky it was frustrating him to try and get handfuls of cake into his mouth.

The classic Nathaniel face - bright eyes and wide smile. Love it!

Woo-hoo! This is great stuff!

When you can't get the cake to your mouth using your hands your best bet is to just stick your face down into the leftovers on the tray.

We did make Jeremiah his own special cake out of the left overs. Nice dino scene Aaron!

Time for a bath! I think he looks like a long green bean.

Mama & papa enjoy the moment. Our baby is 1!

Trying to get a family picture at the end of a fun and sugar-filled afternoon.

My birthday boy

I can hardly believe that Nathaniel is turning 1 year old today. The cliche of time going faster and faster as you get older is proving to be true. This milestone has crept up on me. It really does seem like just yesterday that I felt the contractions starting knowing that the time had come for my second son to enter the world. I remember Aaron and I just kind of driving to the hospital in stunned silence wondering if we really were ready for this.
There are no words to adequately describe the gift that Nathaniel is to us. His very presence reminds me every day of God's sovereignty and goodness. His bright big smiles and silly antics make me laugh. His friendly personality charms others and brings sunshine into the world. His fearless feats stop my heart. His enthusiasm and joy remind me to savor each moment.
Last night I held him close in the darkness of his room. His head was nestled into that special spot in my collarbone, his little fingers gripped my shirt, his face so peaceful and still. I cherished the moment, knowing that this was officially his last night of babyhood. My mother's heart was full as I thought of the next morning bringing the reminder that he will continue to grow and I will continue to have to learn how to let him go. As I breathed in his warmth and baby smell I begged God to watch over him, to guard his body and mind, to cause him to love Jesus with his whole heart and serve Him boldly.
I still think that the hardest part of being a mother is knowing in your heart of hearts that no matter how much you love your children they are not yours to possess or have forever. At some point my job will be to release them into the world. There will be hurts I will not be able to heal, events I will not be able to control or shield them from. One day I will watch each boy leave my house to pledge his life to the woman he loves and start his own family. It brings tears to my eyes even as I write those thoughts. Yet last night as I held my little boy I was comforted knowing that God knew about Nathaniel before He even created the world! What an amazing thought! God already knows every moment of Nathaniel's life. And of course His love for Nathaniel is infinitely greater and more perfect than my love for him. What a comfort.
There is a Celine Dion album of lullabies that Aaron bought for me while I was pregnant with Jeremiah. It was a sweet gift considering how much Aaron hates that music. There is a song on there that I sing to my boys as a night time lullaby and a prayer for them (and me).
--
A Mother's Prayer
I pray you'll be my eyes
And watch (him) where (he) goes
And help (him) to be wise
Help me to let go
Every mother's prayer
Every child knows
Lead (him) to a place
Guide (him) with your grace
To a place where (he'll) be safe

I pray (he'll) find the light
And hold it in (his) heart
When darkness falls each night
Remind (him) who you are
Every mother's prayer
Every child knows
Need to find a place
Guide (him) to a place
Give (him) faith so he'll be safe
--
So, Happy Birthday Nathaniel! I can't wait to see what God uses you for in this life and the fun we will have as you continue to grow. May you feel God's love and presence always and may your life glorify Him.

Completely Done!

Last night was Aaron's final night of class for his teaching certification. Ever.
YEAH!
(sorry, had to let that out)
It had completely slipped my mind (horrible I know) but I remembered in time to run to the store to get supplies for a special dinner (pizza) and special treat (brownies & ice cream). Jeremiah picked out the special treat because he is really into that kind of thing now.
It was a little surprise and I hope it helped Aaron know how much I love him and am proud of his hard work and accomplishments. He has really worked hard this past 4 years.
It is hard to believe that this year he will actually be able to come home from work. Every night!
WOO-HOO!
(sorry, had to let that out too)

Painting

When we were at the store yesterday I was enticed to peruse the aisle of new and nifty back to school supplies. I just love all the new pens, markers, binders, and crayons. I decided that it would be fun to get Jeremiah a little set of water color paints so that we could do a little project together during Nathaniel's morning nap time. I think Jeremiah is feeling a tad neglected with Nathaniel's newfound mobility and the exploits that come with that taking up so much of my attention. He has also been missing his papa who leaves the house before Jeremiah even wakes up.
So today we broke out the paints. He loved it!
(I love how some of these pictures show the morning sun that streams through our dining room window... the reason I hate to put up curtains...)

What?

So - dad noticed the new name of our blog and commented on it.
I wondered how long it would take. :-)
I'm not very creative recently but I wanted to rename the blog. After a few weeks of nothing inspirational coming to mind I asked Aaron what he thought.
Aaron's last summer class was American literature. A quote from Faulkner, "My mother is a fish." One chapter, once sentence all by itself.
I have no idea what it means - something deep and existential probably. I gave up that kind of deep thinking when my life became about being a wife and parent on an average of 5 hours of sleep a night. :-) I just thought it was funny since my mother is a "fish" (Viss = fish in dutch) and I am obviously a "fish" so Jeremiah and Nathaniel's mother is a "fish" too.
Not quite sure how Aaron fits in there but he suggested the name so he probably doesn't feel too left out. Plus, I am the one that does the writing....

Stung

Even though it is still hot steamy August in Georgia we are bidding goodbye to summer as Aaron heads back to teaching. We have been so spoiled to have him around so much these past few months and both of the boys and I are keenly missing his presence during the day. I especially miss his morning help with getting the boys up, dressed, and fed while I caught a few extra minutes of sleep or actually had time to shower and dress. I am going to try very hard to get a better morning routine going for me and the boys. I am just so not a morning person....
Aaron will be teaching 6th grade this year. He will teach one block of social studies and two blocks of language arts (English). Yesterday Aaron had to stay late at school in order to "meet the parents" of the students. The boys and I were restless and tired of each other's company by the end of the day so I decided that we would brave the heat and spend some time playing outside. It was muggy and miserable but I managed to sweep the front steps and get rid of the remains of our failed attempts at veggie growing (so sad!). I then collapsed into a chair with a glass of water and watched the boys play on the swings. All of the sudden Jeremiah was in hysterics. He was crying and jumping up and down and screaming bloody murder. I couldn't figure out what was going on - until I saw his little hand.

It seems the poor fellow was stung on his thumb by one of the big mean-looking wasps that hang out in places in our yard.
We ran inside and when I mentioned putting ice on it he started hysterics again. I finally turned on Thomas and he let me put ice on his thumb.

What an eventful evening!

Nathaniel ended up with the bag of ice. He likes Thomas as much as Jeremiah does and starts dancing any time he hears the theme music. However, he rarely sits still long enough to watch it. He prefers to go over to the bookshelf and pull all the books off, searching for the Thomas ones. I spend so much time picking up after this baby! I love looking at these kiddos profiles - they are definitely brothers.

New Obsession

I have just spent over an hour looking at this blog which is my new obsession.
must.go.bathe.children.
I have a confession to make. I cook out of necessity. Not because I enjoy it. The irony is that I think I am a relatively good cook. It's just that cooking is not on my top 10 list of things to do. It takes so much time and effort. It makes a mess that I have to clean up. The food that I spend time cooking is eaten in a few quick minutes and I have to start all over again in just a few short hours.
I have a few simple rules when it comes to cooking.
1. The ingredients must be things that I can find at my local grocery store. I don't have time to drive all over the place looking for some obscure, expensive ingredient.
2. The recipe must be pretty quick to assemble. Again, since I don't enjoy being in my kitchen I don't really want to spend a lot of time in there.
3. The result must be something tasty that the majority of my family will eat. I am not a short order cook. Aaron won't eat veggies so I usually have to find a dish that I can easily add a salad to or if I find a good veggie recipe then I need to be able to find some meat to go with it.
So, imagine my delight at finding this blog with 365 days of crock pot recipe's!
I am in heaven!
I love using my crock pot but often lack the imagination to do anything beyond salsa chicken or chili. I have already written down some of her recipes to try (who can pass up sloppy joe's, french toast, baked ziti, 5 layer brownies, or sweet & spicy chicken wings just to name a few)! I can't wait!
I dare you to check it out - and not get sucked in! :-)

Catching Up With Pictures

I found a lot of pictures that I thought would make all grandparents and aunts & uncles happy to see. Plus they kind of let you know what is going on with us now. Enjoy.

When Jeremiah and Nathaniel have loving moments it is very sweet.

Nathaniel loves to wrestle and has a pretty good body slam.

Nathaniel discovered a "friend" in the mirror. He loves that little person he sees and gives him lots of kisses.

Nathaniel has decided he needs to feed himself and pitches a royal fit when ever I try to feed him. He even insists on trying to feed himself his pureed baby food, which makes a huge mess. He's the 2nd child so I give in. He gets really dirty. :-)

Sibling rivalry.
Aaron intended to take a cute picture of the boys playing together. But Jeremiah swiped the bottle from Nathaniel (look at the glee on his face) and all hell broke loose.

Nathaniel's pitiful "you hurt my feelings face." Even the nurse was impressed and said she had never seen quite so pitiful a face - and she gives tons of shots every day. He really does get his feelings hurt. All I have to do is say "no" in a semi-stern voice and the little face bunches up, the chin start quivering and I see this face full of dispair and hurt.....

We went blueberry picking again with Shanna and Eli. It was early in the morning and overcast so it was pretty cool. We got a pretty good harvest in 2 hours and keeping tabs on 3 little ones. The boys had a blast. Just look closely at how dirty Nathaniel is!

Jeremiah took pride in his role as the big kid and "helped" watch Eli. It was sweet. Watching him I get glimpses of what I must have been like as a child.

The boys playing in the little house. They had fun together.

VBS

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus...who...endured the cross...and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2
Vacation Bible School was a huge hit with Jeremiah. Every night he was excited to go and he eagerly participated in the songs, games, and activities. I got such a kick out of watching him enjoying it so much, taking everything in as well as learning so much about being around other kids and obeying other adults.
These are just a few snapshots because on the last night when I finally thought to bring my camera the batteries died.

All ready to go!

Jeremiah had a little bag that he was given by his teachers so that he could carry the stuff he was supposed to bring back every night (his book & name tag) as well as the crafts he did.

Name tag

Jeremiah has a fixation with name tags. We wear them in church on Sunday morning and it is probably his favorite part of Sunday. So image his pride and joy at getting to wear a bright read button with his name on it! We kept it so that he can still wear it when he wants to.

Puppet friends.

The main program had fun puppets that would pop up from behind the scenery to help sing songs or tell funny jokes to keep the little kids interested. The puppets were one of Jeremiah's favorite things and he talked often about seeing a monkey, giraffe, mouse, turtle and little boy puppet. We got there a bit early every night so I could help with some things, and one evening Jeremiah got to "meet" the mouse puppet. The wonder of a child's face!

Lining up.

VBS started every night with all the classes lining up in a straight row. Whoever lined up the straightest and quietest got the "gold ribbon award." It is not easy to get 15 4-5 year olds lined up straight and quiet for about 15 minutes, but they did really great job and even one the ribbon one night.

Bible verse

Jeremiah did a great job learning his Bible verse. Every night they learned another sentence, were supposed to practice at home and then come the next night and say the verse to their teacher. One evening when we were driving to church I asked Jeremiah if he wanted to practice his verse so that he could say it to Miss Karen. He said very mater-of-factly, "No thank you, I already said in once."

Singing Songs

Of course Jeremiah loved the music! He learned a lot of new songs, most of them scripture verses. During the singing time the leaders would go up to children and let them sing into the microphone. Jeremiah thought he was something else to get to do that!

Evening Program

I just loved to sit and watch Jeremiah perched on his front row seat, his eyes wide, observing and participating in the main program. He was soaking it all up and would have lots of things to recount to Aaron when we got home at night.

Making friends

Jeremiah did pretty well in his class of about 15 other 4 & 5 year olds. He did pick up some new habits (whining being the prevailing one we are trying to nip in the bud) but in general I think it was good for him to learn how to function in a larger group and where he wasn't the center of attention. He was so well behaved and generally seemed to get a long with the other children.
--
I am so thankful to be in a church with people who love our kids so much! All of the VBS teachers and helpers were so kind, encouraging, and fun. It was such a blessing to sit back and watch my son being taught and loved by others. We feel this blessing not just during VBS but every week. When we leave Nathaniel in the nursery and return to find him playing happily or being snuggled by the nursery workers. When we hear Jeremiah's stories of what he learned in Sunday School. Being a parent now I understand how much it can mean when someone takes the time to nurture my children. I encourage anyone to bless other parents in the way that I am being blessed: help with VBS, teach a Sunday school class, volunteer in the nursery. You will never know how much it means to the parents of the children you care for!

Glorifying God

Jessica's Story from Chris Winesette on Vimeo.

Travis preached a great sermon on Sunday about glorifying God in every circumstance and situation in life. He then posted this video on our church website. I knew Jessica when she was is college. She was around Aaron's age and in the same network of friends that he had and who attended Highlands. I remember her enthusiasm, her sense of humor, and her depth of character. We had a couple of deep conversations that I will never forget about seeing our worth in Christ instead of in the world's definition of beauty (which I always thought was ironic since she was such a beautiful girl). I have not seen much of her since she graduated from Covenant but she has often been in my thoughts and prayers. I was so saddened to hear about her death but joyful to hear of her reunion with Christ.
This video is well worth the 16 minutes of your time it will take you to watch it. Your faith will be challenged and encouraged.

Considering Cloth

Here is a funny thing. This past few weeks I have been considering switching to cloth diapers. My reasoning for this is not really financial since we don't really spend a lot of money on diapers. We are cheapskates and by the el-cheapo Wal-Mart brand which is only like $14.00 per box of close to 100. I just can't bring myself to pay more for the fancy brands which seem to work just the same for us. My reasoning is really environmental. I just cringe every time I empty the trash and think about those diapers taking almost 200 years to decompose. That just does not seem like good stewardship of the earth.
I have looked into other brands of disposable, yet decomposable diapers, but they are just crazy expensive - ending up to be something like $2.00 per diaper. Yikes! We just can't handle that on a little teacher's salary.
I considered doing cloth diapers with Jeremiah, but him being our first I was just a little scared. And then with Nathaniel I still wasn't sure if I could handle extra laundry.
But now that Nathaniel is almost one year old and we are not changing 20 diapers a day I feel like I could handle the cloth option. It will take an initial investment (unless I could win them here) and there are so many choices and options out there that I am still a little overwhelmed. I mean seriously: Kissaluvs, bumGenious, Yucky Duck, are just a few brands - then there are things to consider like all-in-one (where you wash the whole thing), or the ones with the insert, some are one size for all, some are different sizes. It is all a lot to consider. But I really think that we can do this and I am hoping that we will make the change soon!
The question is if we buy cloth diapers will any of our siblings consider using them for their children so we can pass them down? :-)