Oh My.....

This is a gargantuan post. If you make it through your reward will be in heaven. :-) We are back home and settling into normal life again after a great 2 week visit from my parents and trip to Philly/Collingswood to visit my siblings & grandparents. It was a busy, fun, memory making time. My pictures are scarce for a number of reasons; I was relying on using my dad's pictures but he lost his camera, and when we were up north I was so busy with the kids and so exhausted that it rarely crossed my mind to take pictures. Such is life. So here is my summary.

Probably the best part about having my parents visit is just enjoying everyday life with them. I also especially love to watch them enjoy my children (and vice versa).

The series of pictures below is from the day we drove to Elijay and went apple picking. It was a beautiful day and a perfect activity to do with the boys since they can run around and explore. Really, what is not to love about pumpkins, fresh picked apples, fried fruit pies, and a petting zoo?

Oma & Jeremiah painted pumpkins together. I think it was one of the highlights of the week for Jeremiah. They proudly sit on our front step and Jeremiah exclaims over them every time we are outside.

On Friday night we treated my parents to a real small town event. High school football. It was a hit. The boys especially loved the band and the popcorn.

All the "men" on the front step of the Collingswood house.

Jeremiah & Uncle Ben make funny faces.

Jeremiah really got a kick out of playing the piano with great opa.

The boys hanging out.

One morning Nathaniel woke me up at 5:00am and I decided to put him in the car and head over to Collingswood (hoping he would go back to sleep - no dice). After getting lost in Philly because of an accident blocking my route and finally making it over to NJ I decided that doughnuts were just the thing. Jeremiah was pumped. I think he ate about 3 in the course of the day. My mothering standards dropped drastically during that week.....

Loving the Uncles

Oma and her boy.

My parents flew to and from Philly on the same flight as we did. A life saver let me tell you!
The Philly airport had this awesome playground that kept the boys occupied until time to board. Every airport should have one of these.

I am an idiot. I waited until the end of the trip to take of picture of the grandparents and the boys. So this was the best we got. Oh well.....

Jeremiah sat with Opa in the airplane. This picture cracks me up.

Nathaniel, Oma and I sat up front in 1st class. We needed the room. Nathaniel was a wiggle worm. Thank goodness it was a short flight.

Jeremiah ran straight to papa and Nathaniel wanted immediately out of his stroller and to be held by him (probably the first time in a week he volunteered to go to anyone but me). Even though we had a great time we were all happy to be home and in our own beds.

in Philly

We arrived in Philadelphia on Saturday after a fun day of flight. The boys are good travelers. We are enjoying time with my siblings, parents and grandparents. Jeremiah is enjoying lots of extra attention, walks in the park, stickers, and fun. Nathaniel is not really adjusting to well. Probably a combination of lower molars coming in, traveling daily between the house in Collingswood and where we sleep in Philly, and the normal separation anxiety phase. He has been very whiny, clingy, and doesn't sleep well. All of which are not really in character for him.
It is such a blessing to be here and able to spend good time with the family. I especially love having Ben & Ramona on this side of the ocean where visits and contact are much easier.

Preparations

My parents arrived safely in Atlanta on Friday and drove down to visit my grandparents in Florida. They are driving up to our house today and will arrive early evening. This visit has kind of snuck up on me, as have many things recently, and so over the weekend we were in a controlled frenzy of cleaning and continued organizing. I have a long list of things to do today, but am not feeling stressed because I know that my parents are coming to visit us, not inspect the cleanliness of our house or the state of our closets. So this morning I decided to prioritize. I think that I can ignore the few piles of things in the hallway awaiting their trip to the attic and focus on cleaning the bathroom, getting groceries, and making sure the guestroom (and office) is ready for visitors.
This morning the boys had a blast jumping around on the air mattras while I went about cleaning. Jeremiah has been counting down the days to opa & oma's arrival and has all kinds of plans for them ("I need to show them how I can ride my trike-cycle backwards!"). We can't wait for them to get here!

little gymnast

People laugh at me when I say that we may need to consider gymnastics in Nathaniel's future. But seriously, if he keeps doing stuff like this I am going to channel all that monkey climbing, jumping, fearless, incredible balancing energy into positive activities. And have I mentioned that he loves to hang upside down?
I snapped these yesterday. I put down the camera to grab him when he started walking along the top of the bookshelf. I wasn't afraid he was going to fall (he has a terrific sense of balance), I just didn't want to encourage the activity. I didn't take the picture of him balancing on top of the toilet tank! Yep, perched on the top of the toilet tank happily attempting to get to the water faucet in the sink.

Little surprises

Sometimes when I start to download pictures from my camera I find little surprise pictures that Aaron took while he is with the boys and I am at work. I like finding these little glimpses of the things that are happening while I am gone.
Today we went for a basic weigh and measure check up. Jeremiah is 34lb 6oz (1 lb gain since April) and 38 1/2in. tall (1in. gain). Nathaniel is 20lb 10 oz and 30in tall. That is average height (50th percentile) and low weight (10th percentile). His iron is also still low. I am not really worried about it, but it is good to know. Also good to know that he likes meat so much because he is going to start getting a lot more of it to get his iron back up!

Nathaniel in the puzzle drawer.
below: Nathaniel stuck in the bottom basket of the stroller.

A boy and a truck. Beautiful.

Bath time fun.

Fall football fun

One of the "perks" of being a teacher is getting asked to help out with extra-curricular things like taking the money at the middle school football game. That was Aaron's job last evening so I decided to load up the kids and join him at the football field for the evening. It was a gorgeous fall day and we enjoyed our time in the midst of the small town gathering (the sociologist in me was in heaven being able to observe all the people interacting). I enjoyed meeting more of Aaron's co-teachers as well as some of his students. The home team was winning 36 to 14 when we left in the 4th quarter with two very tired little boys. All in all I would say this is a great (cheap) way to spend some time together. It gave me a glimpse of what our lives will look like in a few years when the boys start playing sports. Fun!

Papa and the boys.

Nathaniel would not be still! There was too much for our little monkey to explore....

You would think that Jeremiah is cheering for the home team. Nope. He is yelling at the cheerleaders, "Stop cheering guys! You are making too much noise!" :-)

I love this.
Notice how the right eye brows are exactly the same. A friend of mine who always has these funny southern expressions mentioned the other day to Aaron, "You won't be able to deny him" when she met Nathaniel. She also told us that we could, "sell them on the street" if we ever needed extra money. :-)

A fun evening was had by all.

In light of heaven

Yesterday we were invited to Linda's house with other friends to remember the 3rd anniversary of Mike's death and to celebrate his life. Being at Linda's house is always refreshing. There is a timeless feel of tranquility in the setting of the quaint old farmhouse set back between two majestic old trees with the view of the mountain in the background. There is always fun and stimulating conversation since the house is always full of people of all ages and walks of life. After lunch we congregated on the porch and took some time to think not just about Mike, but about our salvation and the promise of heaven. Our missionary friend from Kazakhstan spoke about living our daily lives in the reality of heaven being our home. It was inspiring. In church earlier Travis' sermon was along the same lines and many of the worship songs we sang were about worshiping before God in heaven. It was moving to think of the people we love standing in God's presence and worshiping Him in a perfect and amazing way at the same moment that we were singing this song.

“There Is a Higher Throne” Words and Music by Keith & Kristyn Getty Copyright © 2003 Thankyou Music There is a higher throne Than all this world has known, Where faithful ones from ev'ry tongue Will one day come. Before the Son we'll stand, Made faultless through the Lamb; Believing hearts find promised grace— Salvation comes. REFRAIN Hear heaven's voices sing; Their thund'rous anthem rings Through em'rald courts and sapphire skies. Their praises rise. All glory, wisdom, pow'r, Strength, thanks, and honor are To God our King, who reigns on high Forevermore. And there we'll find our home, Our life before the throne; We'll honor Him in perfect song Where we belong. He'll wipe each tear-stained eye As thirst and hunger die. The Lamb becomes our Shepherd King; We'll reign with Him.

And we wonder....

This is why people don't like Christians and don't take Christians seriously.
I was so mad when I heard about this! (Seriously, read the article I linked to see all the petty, hurtful, narrow minded and racially charged "humor" they put on the box.)
This is not the way to get people to take "values" seriously. More importantly this is not the way to show the love of Christ in the midst on an already heated political season.
Shame on Focus on the Family! I was never a big fan in the first place. Now I am pretty sure that I will never spend my hard earned money on something by them or Dobson again.

Birthday Fun

On Sunday we celebrated Chad & Aaron's birthday's at Steve & Brenda's house. Here are a few pics that Cherise took. I was starting to feel sick and totally forgot to bring my camera. Thank goodness for loving aunts who remember that kind of stuff!

Nathaniel gets a kick out of being thrown in the air.

What I love about this picture is how it captures my idea of the boys. Jeremiah quietly playing with a Math game (remember our old Speak N Spell brothers?, just like that) while Nathaniel explores and on the prowl for some new discovery.

Nathaniel has a fascination with rocks.

Jeremiah has a fascination with watering plants.

A not very good family pic at the end of a long day.

Losing a friend

On Saturday morning as I was in the store searching for a birthday gift for Aaron my cell phone rang and I was informed that a dear friend and mentor of mine had died on Friday night. I was in shock. My mind became fuzzy and just finishing the grocery shopping and dealing with Jeremiah (who always acts out for my attention when I am on the phone) became complicated tasks to navigate. My brother who called me a few minutes later probably found me to be a distant and uninvolved conversationalist. Poor Aaron never did get a present.
I continued my day in a state of disbelief, praying for his children and family. I made it through a crazy busy shift at work. Grief came flooding in during worship at church on Sunday morning. I wept as we sang songs about God's comfort and praising Him with saints in Heaven.
Yesterday as we celebrated Aaron and Chad's birthday's with family I kept thinking of the people whom I loved and admired who have died in the past few years. People who loved Jesus and had instrumental parts in teaching me about him; Grandma Rachel, Joe McClure, Rock & Cathy Thomas and their son, Randy Moberly, Mike Summer, and now Rod Jackson.
I still have not processed the loss of Rod, not just to me but to his children, the church, Mercy's Chosen Children, and the community he served. He was larger than life. Always willing to sacrifice and serve. A bear hug from Rod would never fail to encourage. He was someone (like Mike) who you just never imagined not being around. He constantly challenged me to exercise faith that God could do big things. I smile when I think of him in heaven worshiping the big God he loved and served.
So this week we will attend a funeral and again be reminded of the nearness of heaven. I am pretty sure that we will be led by James Ward in his enthusiastic song, "Death is Ended." I will weep with sorrow at the loss of my friend but also with joy at the knowledge that "death is swallowed up in victory!"

Forgiveness & Humor

For some reason I was having a bad morning earlier today. I was grouchy. My thoughts were dark and selfish. And of course I was committing the ultimate no-no, taking my moodiness out on my kids. I was snappy and demanding. It was horrible. You know how in your head you know that you are acting totally irrationally and you know you should stop but your sinful nature has taken over and you just don't want to? That was me.
Then suddenly in the middle of cleaning up the kitchen I just started to cry. I sat down on the floor and let it all out. After I few minutes I heard Jeremiah come into the kitchen and I tried to hide my distress from him. He crept quietly up to me and said in a soft voice, "Mama, you look like you don't feel well." What a sweetie! I looked at him and said, "It's ok baby, mama is just a bit sad today." "If I give you a hug it will make you feel better." Ahh! I opened my arms and felt my heart melt as this little one squeezed his arms around my neck and snuggled into my lap. Even after how awful I had been to him all morning. We sat there on the floor for a few minutes.
There was nothing left for me to do but to look my son in the eye and asked him to forgive me, "I'm sorry I was mean and angry with you this morning. It was not right for mama to act that way to you. Will you forgive me?"
"Sure!" Jeremiah quipped in his signature way (if you have heard him utter this word then you know exactly what I mean), "It's ok mama."
"Thank you." I replied. Humbled and warmed by this child's ability to give love and forgiveness so unreservedly.
"Now let's go eat some fruit together!" I laughed so hard it almost made me cry again!

Outdoor fun

A serious Jeremiah.

Little fingers holding tightly to rocks. Nathaniel's first real pair of shoes.

Nathaniel bravely climbs the front steps and perches on the edge. Over and over again!
This child really has no fear.

Boys running

In action.

Hints of fall are in the air. I love all the little signs that the weather is about to cool and the seasons are about to change. I see the red berries on the dogwood trees. I keep the windows open longer in the morning as the humidity drops and the nights cool. I enjoy the way the light coming through my living room windows softens and goldens in the afternoon bringing dusk earlier. I like the darker mornings that help my kids sleep a bit later (we made it to 7:15 this morning!). And then there is the joy of watching 2 little boys play their hearts out in the evening between dinner and bath time.

Monday Morning Randomness

I'm not sure why I love this picture. I just do. Maybe it is just that Moni captured Aaron and Nathaniel having a little moment together. I have no idea what they are doing but I love how Nathaniel is intently watching Aaron and Aaron is obviously intent on showing Nathaniel something. A perfect father-son moment.
I am awake this morning energized and refreshed after going to bed at 8:30 last night! Work this weekend was hard (and sometimes frustrating) and due to various weekend events I never did get a chance to take a nap. My enthusiasm led to an early morning burst of house cleaning. Funny how freshly vacuumed floors (the whole house!), a clean kitchen counter free of dishes, made beds, and a clean bathroom lift the spirit and make me feel like I can take on whatever the day brings. Which really is just more housecleaning and grocery shopping. The exciting life of a stay-at-home mom! hee hee. I am planning to continue wading through the mess and confusion of the guest room/office this afternoon, especially since mom and dad are due here in just a few short weeks.
We have reached another milestone with Nathaniel. He is now completely weaned. Part of me always felt a little claustrophobic with my boys inability to take a bottle. Yet this morning I felt a certain sense of loss when I realized that I had not had my 5 a.m. nurse and cuddle time with Nathaniel in 3 days now. I am 99.9 percent certain that I will never nurse a baby again. A small part of my mother's heart is grieving the severing of that special bond between me and my little one. It really seems like he is growing up so much faster than Jeremiah did and some days I just want to make time stop and enjoy his baby-ness for a little bit longer.
The news of Aaron's need to take another class is still taking time to sink in. The implications this has for our family this fall are pretty great. I was hoping to be able to drop down to working 2 nights a week and helping teach a Jobs for Life class one night a week. That will not happen if Aaron has to be gone at least one night a week again. I will have to stay on at work for 3 nights and it would just not be good for us if I am away another night on top of that. Of course we are also having to rethink our financial budgeting and situation as well.
Jeremiah continues to explore deeper issues in his 3 year old brain. Yesterday we attended a funeral so that led to some explanations of death, salvation, heaven etc. When we were driving home we had a conversation like this:
J - "Is God in this car?" (we have been talking about God being everywhere.)
M - "Yes, God is with us in this car."
J - "Is God at church?"
M - "Yes, God is at church. We go to church to worship God."
few moments of silence
J - "Oh. Well he should stand up and sing then."
:-)

I could scream!

But I haven't.
Aaron told me this morning that his adviser told him that he has to take one more class to get his final certification. Yep. I sat there in shock with my mouth open with no words to say. It seems that when she was filling out his final certification paperwork (for his raise) she realized that he was supposed to have 15 hours of a certain area and only had 12.
I can't tell you how angry I am right now.
I am trying desperately to remember that God is in control and in the long run this is not a big deal. But in the short run it feels like a big deal because it means 1 more night class, us trying to find the money to afford the class, and Aaron not getting the (significant) raise that we had hoped on coming with the start of this school year.
There is a slim chance that the adviser will be able to get creative and count one of the classes he took at Covenant as an undergrad so I am praying for that.

In the meantime I am enjoying the cooling weather and the hints of fall. I am enjoying watching the boys learning to play together (learning being the operative role, it really doesn't seem to come naturally). I snapped this picture last week and I love it! Both of these little fellows love music. They also play more with our household items than with their actual toys. This picture reminds me of a picture my mom has of my two brothers at about this age drumming on pots and pan with wooden spoons, the same delight and abandon on their faces. This picture reminds me of the joy than can be found in simple things and everyday moments.

More impressed

I must say that I found John McCain's speech last night to more impressive than I had anticipated. I still haven't decided if I will vote for him but his words were enough to cause me to take a closer look. I stole these quotes from my dad's blog (keeps me from doing the work...) so if you read both of us you will recognize them. I have a painting in my bathroom that a friend made for me which reads, "The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it." Sounds a lot like what McCain was trying to say.

"Long ago, something unusual happened to me that taught me the most valuable lesson of my life. I was blessed by misfortune. I mean that sincerely. I was blessed because I served in the company of heroes, and I witnessed a thousand acts of courage, compassion and love.

On an October morning, in the Gulf of Tonkin, I prepared for my 23rd mission over North Vietnam. I hadn’t any worry I wouldn’t come back safe and sound. I thought I was tougher than anyone. I was pretty independent then, too. I liked to bend a few rules, and pick a few fights for the fun of it. But I did it for my own pleasure, my own pride. I didn’t think there was a cause more important than me. (…)

(In the cell in Hanoi) I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even feed myself. They did it for me. I was beginning to learn the limits of my selfish independence. Those men saved my life. (…)

I‘m not running for president because I think I’m blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. My country saved me. My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God. (…)

If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you’re disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them. Enlist in our armed forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach an illiterate adult to read. Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier. Because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself. (…)"

Disillusion

I have written before about my interest in politics. This election cycle has brought much to watch, debate, and consider. However, I still cannot put myself directly in the camp of any one candidate.
So here are some of my thoughts. I welcome comments but can we please keep the discussion civil and free from personal attacks? Thanks.
While I was initially very impressed with Obama and his general ideas of equality and the need for America to relate on a global scale I am finding as time goes on that there is less and less substance to his proposed policies and I am frankly getting tired of being fed the "change and hope" line. Also, the more I delve into his views on life and abortion the more scared I become about his general attitude toward the most vulnerable of human life. This is especially scary to me because I generally don't see a candidates stance on abortion as a make or break issue. But I have read articles now about Obama's failure to vote against a law that basically would make it illegal to fail to provide medical care to a pre-mature infant (thus causing it to die) which is being practiced in some hospitals now and I shiver to think that a man who claims to stand on principle would not stand up against this blatant disregard for the most vulnerable of human life. (Interesting note: the proposed bill was supported by the most liberal of democrats Clinton, Boxer and Kennedy.)
I have been following McCain since he went up against Bush almost 8 years ago now. At that time I loved how he was so different from the rank and file Republicans that I knew (and I took a lot of flack for that in this area that I live). He appeared to be willing to stand for what was right despite what others thought of that. I was impressed with his initial attempts at immigration reform. He seemed to be thoughtful and balanced. However, I am not impressed with him in this election cycle. He appears to have the "might makes right" concept of foreign policy that I so despise. And I will admit openly that I have been against the Iraq war since before it started and before it was ok to be against it.
Watching the conventions my distaste and disillusionment with politics has grown. The democrats were over the top and the unabashed "worship" of Obama was a bit scary. The republicans have just fallen flat. Last night was the clincher. I was ready to be excited about Palin as the VP pick. I had actually heard a lot of good reporting about her on NPR which showed her as someone who holds similar social and moral beliefs as me but was not willing to let those define her or her administration in Alaska (a good balance I think). But her speech let me down. There was very little substance and too much of the same ole political sniping and sarcasm that has sickened me in the past.
I started this election cycle (I watched every primary debate) excited about the possibilities but am now feeling hum-drum and uninspired. And still not sure who will get my vote.....

Made it through...

We made it through our crazy busy week last week! God was good and gave us all energy and patience that we didn't know we had. We also had so much fun despite the changes in schedule and lack of sleep. After being up late on Friday night for the wedding we woke early (when you have kids you learn that no matter how late everyone stays up the night before a child's body clock will usually always wake him close to the time he usually wakes, which for us is 6:30, ugh!) on Saturday morning, threw our stuff in the car and headed down to Caleb & Moni's in Atlanta. We had a fun weekend there. It is so nice to zip down there for a quick weekend. We enjoyed hanging out at their house, swimming in the neighborhood pool, attending their church, and meeting some of their friends at a BBQ. Here are a few snaps.

Nathaniel is a carnivore. Jeremiah is not. However, we discovered that Jeremiah will eat meat in the form of Honey Baked Ham.

The neighborhood pool is literally about 5 houses down from Caleb & Moni's. It was so nice to be able to throw on bathing suits, walk across the street to the pool and have a relaxing swim before bedtime. It was so nice it tempted us to look at the house that was for sale across the street from Caleb & Moni (there is even a middle school right down the street). :-)

Jeremiah enjoyed some extra attention and playtime. He loved playing this game where he unlocked boxes and found a treasure.

We always enjoy the Rock Band video game that Caleb & Moni have and it is always a favorite for everyone to play.

Nathaniel rocks the drums.

Jeremiah tries the guitar.
Although, the drums were his favorite and he seemed to find the beat most of the time. A drummer in the making?

Self-portrait at the end of a fun weekend.