A fun bday present!

The UPS man knocked on our door today.

Thank you uncle Will and aunt Mariana for the Elmo's World Aquadoodle Mat! It's perfect and should provide lots of hours of creative fun. Jeremiah especially likes the stamp since he always tries to use mama's stamps. Now he feels special to have a stamp of his own!

Current Score

# of accidents on floor or furniture: 4

# of succesful trips to the potty: 6 (1 self-initiated before the timer even went off!)

# of underwear washed at end of day: 6 (there was some leakage even though he made it to the potty on time to not have a full blown accident)

# of toddlers who start out the day thinking that potty training is fun because he gets stickers but ends up totally rebelling and asking for his diaper back by the end of the day: 1

# of moms who wishes she could just wave a magic wand and have this be over already because she really really doesn't want to spend more money on daipers but she also doesn't know how long she can keep her cool: 1

# of bags of gummy bears bought at the store last night because mom is not above bribery: 1 (thanks for the tip Jess)

Let the games begin

We are starting potty training (again).

Jeremiah understands the concept and I have faith that he can do it.

He only wanted to wear his underwear yesterday morning, but then insisted on putting his diaper back on yesterday afternoon.

So, I have decided we will use m&m's as an incentive and hopefully have it down in no time.

We'll see.

Sitting up

Yesterday Nathaniel just seem to decide that it was time to sit up. He's been practicing a little bit but never seemed very excited about it. Then all of the sudden yesterday afternoon he just started sitting as if he had known how to do it all along.

He loves his blocks.

I love how he holds his arms up for balance.

Oops. Fell over onto my blocks.

That was fun, but now I want to snuggle my pillow.

3 years old!

Tomorrow is Jeremiah's birthday but today was his party. He has been looking forward to it with anticipation all week - especially looking forward to cake. We had people over for chili and cake and our house was full of family and friends. Here are some scenes from his special day.

The day had a Sesame Street theme and so we thought it only fitting that this day be brought to you by the letter "J" and the number "3".

Jeremiah loves to have people sing Happy Birthday to him!

Papa helps Jeremiah blow out the candles on his Cookie Monster cake. The other cake is decorated like Elmo.

The boys eat cake!

I've been looking forward to this all week!

Jeremiah also got excited about opening his presents. The biggest hit was the "Going Fishing" game given by Aunt Cherise & Uncle Chad.

The boys pose with their uncle and aunt.

Nathaniel (who won't nap with so much commotion in the house) gets snuggles from grandaddy.

Ava and Nathaniel laugh together.

We are so thankful for our little man. We have already seen him grow so much in the past 3 years. Over this past year we have seen him leave toddlerhood and enter the fun and exciting world of little boyhood. Our continued prayer is that he will grow to be a man who loves God with all his heart and desires to serve Him.

Tub time

Aaron had to go to class last night and so I was home with both boys. I decided it was time to try giving them both a bath at the same time. It was fun. Nathaniel had an intent confused look on his face for most of the time. I could just seem him thinking, "Where have you put me now?" Jeremiah was so well behaved and I was so proud of him for playing quietly and not getting too exhuberant in his excitement. He was very careful to not splash or scare Nathaniel.

The Proverbial Light

We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

Aaron will graduate from Berry College with his Masters of Education degree.

Saturday, May 10th at 2:30 p.m.

I am so proud of him!

He has maintained a 3.5 GPA in graduate school while working full time and being the most involved and terrific husband and father.

What a man.

We still haven't nailed down all the details but there will be a party of some kind at some point!

Busy Busy Busy

All of the sudden Nathaniel has morphed from the infant stage into the baby stage. He is suddenly more interactive and seems to have more understanding of what is going on around him. He recognizes his name. He grabs anything within reach and sticks it straight into his mouth. He seems to always need to be right in the middle of the family action. When Aaron and Jeremiah are wrestling Nathaniel watches, wiggling and making hysterical baby noises. I can tell he wants in! He continues to adore Jeremiah and Jeremiah enjoys finding ways to make Nathaniel laugh. And his first 2 little teeth finally popped through the other day!

Last weekend Jeremiah spent the night at his grandparents house. He got a much needed haircut and all of the sudden we are looking at a real grown up little boy! He loves to talk and is very curious. We have deep conversations about all kinds of things. He loves to read and learn. His memory is better than mine and so we are trying to put that to work memorizing his little verses from Sunday School every week. He is also a very meticulous little fellow and always insists that things be done in very specific ways. His Sunday School teacher was amazed that he actually sits still in his chair and listens to the story!

This is the first year that Jeremiah really understands the concept of his birthday and he is in some excitement about his birthday celebration this weekend. I made him little invitations to hand out to his friends in church and yesterday we went to the party supply store where he picked out Elmo plates, Cookie Monster and Zoe napkins, and a Big Bird table cloth. It was so fun to watch him pick out his own things. He laid them all down on the floor side by side and thought for a little while about which ones he wanted. It was a serious decision for him. :-)

This week is very busy. I am starting to go into the office for MCC to work every Monday through Wednesday from about 7 - 10pm. It is the only time when I can go without children and get lots of work done. I fell into bed completely exhausted last night but am trusting in God for the strength I need. Of course there is extra housework to be done this week because I didn't do any last week and because we are having a birthday party here on Sunday. But the extra work reminds me of God's blessings to me and so I try and sing my way through it.

Psalm 51

Travis' 2nd installment in his sermon series on confession of sin was again thought provoking and encouraging. I was reminded that like David no matter how much I sin God's grace is bigger than my sin. I was in desperate need of that reminder.
This Psalm is well worth the read and reflection.

Psalm 51
(To the choirmaster. A psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him after he had gone into Bathsheba.)
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Wishing for a nanny

It is on mornings like this that I find myself fantasizing about what it would be like to have a nanny. I have barely slept all week. Nathaniel has whatever weird fever thing that Jeremiah had and so I spent the day yesterday holding him (literally, he would not let me put him down) and trying to entertain Jeremiah in quiet ways (which is impossible since he doesn't understand the concept of quiet). I ended up losing my patience with Jeremiah more than once yesterday which wasn't right or fair to him. Last night Nathaniel wouldn't stay alseep for more than about 1 1/2 hours before waking up fussy and whining because he obviously wasn't feeling well. I am wearing the same sweats that I have worn all week. I have accomplished nothing productive this week. All I want to do is crawl back in my bed and hibernate for a few hours.

So you will have to excuse me for thinking this morning about how great it would be if someone would walk through the door to take care of my kids for a little while so that I could get some sleep.

Valentine?

I am feeling distinctly un-Valentiney (is that even a word?) today. After 4 days of nursing sick children, dealing with the constant whining and clinging of said children, lost sleep, a messy house, and the fact that I haven't been able to change out of my sweats in more days than I care to count, I don't feel a single romantic cell in my body.

Why is it that our culture feels the need to focus on one day of the year as the day that you have to be ultra-romantic? Why is it that I feel that if I don't give Aaron a card today and make him a nice meal and spend time gazing into his eyes that something is wrong with our relationship?

The truth is that Aaron shows his love for me all year long in so many ways. When he gets up at the crack of dawn to work all day to provide for our family and then comes home and works until late at night to finish his graduate school work. When he takes an active role in the lives of our children even though he is tired. When he helps with chores around the house even though those are things I am supposed to do. When he doesn't complain if I have not been able to cook dinner.

So even though I don't feel like doing the whole Valentine thing today I hope that Aaron knows how much I love him even if that love is not manifested by a gourmet dinner and wild passion but in more simple ways like by being patient with his children, managing to finish a load of laundry, brushing my teeth before he gets home, and greeting him with a simple kiss at the door.

It seems to me anyway that the true measure of love should be in the simple, selfless everyday things that we try to do for each other.

6 Months

It is hard to believe that 6 months ago today our little Nathaniel was born! His name means "gift from God" and that is really how we feel about him every day. His loving, happy personality brings us joy every day and his big smiles light up our world.

I love being greeted with a happy smile when he wakes up. I love the little tuft of hair on the top of his head that sticks straight up. I love how he watches his big brother with a worshipful look. I love the chattering and screaming noises he makes in an attempt to communicate. I love how he reaches for my face with his little pudgy hands.

A few years ago when we were making our plans we did not plan for Nathaniel. But we are thankful every day that God knew better than we did and gifted him to us.

--

Newest discoveries -

Feet: He loves to lay on his back and just play with his toes.

Sitting: He can sit unassisted for a few seconds at a time. Then he gets excited about something, starts wiggling and falls right over.

Tummy Time: Now lasts for longer and consists of him wiggling with all his might to try and get on his back again. His butt is usually sticking up in the air. So cute.

Sippy Cup: Since the bottle is still a no go I thought we would try a cup. He loves it and gets the concept. Unfortunately the cup is just a tad to big for him to manipulate all by himself.

A Young Environmentalist

(This is the 2nd post for today but I had to share.)

A few days ago some serious work began on the house behind ours. If you have been to our house then you know that the house behind us was a horrible, ugly, monstrosity worthy of being condemned. But one of our neighbors has bought the house and is redoing it inside and out in order to sell it. Therefore, the scene bordering our back yard is a little boys dream of large trucks, bulldozers, and men working with chain saws and other construction equipment. Jeremiah is quite intrigued and spends a lot of time at the dining room window standing on his little stool and watching all the activity.

Today the workmen began cutting down the tall pine trees around the house. As the sounds of chainsaws and falling branches filtered into our house Jeremiah desperately wanted to go outside and watch. So during Nathaniel's morning nap Jeremiah and I went into the back yard and I explained to him what was going on. He watched in amazement as a man was hoisted up in the bucket of a high lift and began whacking away at branches. We stayed outside for quite a while.

A little while later when we were back inside and Jeremiah was watching the continued tree cutting he started getting very upset. He was crying, pointing outside and trying to tell me something. I got him calmed down and asked him to use his words. Our conversation went something like this.

J: (large tears rolling down his cheeks) That man needs to put it back!

M: Put what back sweetie?

J: They need to stay on!

M: Are you sad that those trees are being cut down?

J: Yes. They need to stay on.

I eventually got him calmed down but continued my morning abit perplexed as to the root of this conversation. Especially since at different points of the morning Jeremiah would come up to me and in a whiny voice continue to insist that "They need to stay on" as more and more limbs were piling up.

Then it occurred to me. He was reacting to our explanations to him of a documentary we were watching a few weeks ago about consumption of the earths resources. He walked in while Aaron and I were watching the segment about the forrests and he wanted to know what was happening to all the trees. When Aaron tried to explain it in a simple way Jeremiah was mostly concerned about what would happen to the animals if there were no more trees.

It seems that in his mind he is linking the cutting down of our neighbors trees, clear cutting of forests, and the loss of wildlife habitat.

Wow.

We want to raise our children to be concerned with the world around them and it actually seems like some of it is getting through.

But now I have to explain to him that cutting these trees is ok......

The Best Laid Plans...

Yesterday morning I woke up energized and ready to tackle some major cleaning and organizing projects around the house. Our weekends always seem to be busy and on Monday morning I am greeted by disheveled house. It usually depresses me. But for some reason yesterday I was raring to go.

Then...

At about 10:30 a.m. Jeremiah was looking really tired and actually asked me if he could go take a nap. Ok, but what is going on here. A few hours later he wakes up with flushed cheeks and a fever. He spent the rest of the day on the couch or on my bed sleeping and just being quiet. Jeremiah is not quiet by nature. His temperature hovered between 102 - 104 for the rest of the day.

I spent the day snuggling him, reading books, coaxing him to drink liquids and keeping Nathaniel away. Last night after the boys were in bed and my house was just as dirty and unorganized as it had been when I woke up I almost lost it. But then I remembered the wise words of a woman I admire, "God has given you your children to care for. Your job is to love them." I remembered that my worth as a mother does not lie in how clean and organized my house is but in how I show God's love to my children. I think I succeeded in loving my children well yesterday.

This morning Jeremiah appears to be his usual energetic and healthy self. There is no sign of fever and he is ready to go. My energy from yesterday is gone considering I was up a few times last night to check for fever, give juice, change diapers, and nurse Nathaniel. Today the way to love my family is to clean the house with a joyful spirit regardless of how tired I feel. I am thankful for a God who will love me by giving me just what I need to love my family today.

Confessing Sin

As we start the season of Lent Travis is preaching on the spiritual discipline of confessing sin. Last year was the spiritual discipline of reading the Bible.

If you are like me confessing sin is not one of your top favorite things to do. I shy away from confessing my sin for so many reasons. Pride. Shame. Denial.

Yet not confessing sin keeps my relationship with God from being based on grace and my relationships with others superficial.

I am not particularly excited about being challenged in this area. I am hopeful though that my stretching in this area will bring great reward in my spiritual life.

--

This song was a hymn originally written by Martin Luther. We sing it in church as a praise song but I am always struck by the vived reminder of God's grace despite our sinfulness!

From depths of woe I raise to Thee the voice of lamentation;

Lord, turn a gracious ear to me and hear my supplication;

If Thou iniquities dost mark,

Our secret sins and misdeeds dark,

O who shall stand before Thee?

--
To wash away the crimson stain, Grace, grace alone availeth;

Our works, alas! are all in vain; In much the best life faileth:

No man can glory in Thy sight,

All must alike confess Thy might,

And live alone by mercy.

--
Therefore my trust is in the Lord, And not in mine own merit;

On Him my soul shall rest, His Word upholds my fainting spirit:

His promised mercy is my fort,

My comfort, and my sweet support;

I wait for it with patience.

--
What though I wait the livelong night,And till the dawn appeareth,

My heart still trusteth in His might;It doubteth not nor feareth:

Do thus, O ye of Israel’s seed,

Ye of the Spirit born indeed;

And wait till God appeareth.

--
Though great our sins and sore our woes, His grace much more aboundeth;

His helping love no limit knows, Our utmost need it soundeth.

Our Shepherd good and true is He,

Who will at last His Israel free.

From all their sin and sorrow

A nervous morning

This morning I awoke at 7:15 to the sound of pitter pattering feet in the hallway. I was in deep sleep because instead of going back to sleep after his 4:30am nursing Nathaniel had decided to stay up and play until about 5:30. I decided to forgo the before Jeremiah wakes up routine in favor of some extra sleep. I don't wake up quickly or well and so I felt a bit groggy as I crawled out of bed. I turned on the news in order to see about the final election results and instead saw the local news weather guy telling us that there were tornado watches in effect, to not go outside and to be ready to take cover if needed. What the heck?

I looked outside and sure enough. It was really really dark and pouring down rain. I kept the tv on while we went through Jeremiah's morning routine.

About an hour later I heard this really lound siren noise. What is that? I un-muted the tv. The weather man is telling me that the tornado watch is in effect for our county. I have never heard that siren before so I figure that we are being told to take some kind of cover.

I take this seriously because the year that we first moved into this house there were really bad storms. One day when I was home I heard that there was a tornado watch but I was sceptical that a tornado would actually come to our town. All of the sudden the sky got pitch black and Penny Lane went running for cover. I went to the door to see what was going on. I later heard that a tornado had in fact touched down less than a mile from the house.

So anyway, I learned my lesson then.

But as I thought about where we would take cover in the house I realized that the very thing I love about our house, windows everywhere, makes it difficult to find a place to hide in the event of a tornado. Every single room has a window and there are no walk in closets. So, I gathered up a few books and toys and took the boys into the bathroom, which has the smallest window. We hung out there for about 20 minutes. I figured it was safe to come out once the siren stopped. But I kept a nervous eye on the sky for the rest of the morning.

It is now a beautiful warm sunny day and I have the windows open to take full advantage of the fresh air. But I am still a bit nervous and thoughtful about how quickly life can change. The news is showing stories of families in areas not that far from us who have lost their homes and some have lost loved ones. I am abit concerned about our family members who live in the Nashville area. I am reminded again of God's total control over our lives. I am thankful that all I experienced this morning was a few minutes of uncomfortable nervousness on the bathroom floor.

Starting politics young

See if you can figure out who Aaron brainwashed Jeremiah to tell people to vote for!

After nap snuggles

I love these pictures!

Enjoy!

More Everyday Fun

I've been trying to do more baking. Jeremiah likes to help. His favorite "chore" is licking the beaters. "Yummy choc-co-lat mama!"

Jeremiah is a detailed and meticulous little fellow. His new Thomas train set is a water works set where the trains can go to get washed. After I showed him how to pretend each train was getting a bath Jeremiah went running down the hall. I asked him where he was going. "I go get towel mama." Ok, "Why?" "To dry Thomas mama, he is all wet." It should have been obvious right?

Jeremiah thought Nathaniel should wear the sailor hat. Thank goodness Nathaniel is a laid back little guy. Jeremiah has decided now that he needs to help Nathaniel (push his cup in his mouth, wipe his spit up with a rag that ends up all over his face, splash water all over his face during a bath, turn him around so he can't watch tv) and to play with him (bounce him in his bouncy seat, throw balls at him usually hitting his head, yelling in his ear). Thankfully Jeremiah's abuse usually makes Nathaniel laugh.

Nathaniel is really getting very interested in effecting the world around him. He is practicing reaching and grabbing a lot. He loves to play with his little animal friends that hang on the toy bar of his chair. Not only does he hit them to make them swing he will also sit and patiently hold them and touch them. This chair has been a life saver - it keeps him occupied for long periods of time.