Summer Days

Summer time is.....

Clothes hanging on the line:


Cupcakes for a baby shower:

Playing games at a family picnic:


Snuggling your brother at the end of a day full of hot, sweaty play:

And of course - watermelon and sprinklers on a Sunday afternoon:

A good break and other randomness

The boys are getting better at playing together for short periods of time. Yesterday they were both excused from dinner because they were not eating. A few minutes later Aaron and I heard them from their room - Jeremiah was sweetly explaining too and pointing out to Nathaniel the animals on their wall. "Look Nathaniel, this is a giraffe. He has a long neck. Look Nathaniel, this is a elephant. He has a trunk." So cute. Of course, this quiet moment of instruction quickly turned into a wrestling match (see below).
It is also nice to have an older brother who can read to his younger brother (see above). I try to have them sit for a few quiet moments in the morning (after enthusiastic play time) and let Jeremiah read. They are getting better about doing this for longer than just a few pages. Jeremiah is quite the expressive reader, he does inflection, expression, different voices and everything!

I will admit that the past few days have been a bit stressful. I have been irritable (gasp!) and impatient (surely you jest!). Aaron and I have been working hard trying to get the house in order and the kids were feeling our lack of invested attention and acting accordingly. So this morning when we had to go to Chattanooga anyway (to pick up a light fixture we were buying off of Craigslist) I decided to put aside our to-do list and make a fun outing of it. We played in the water fountains and wading river outside of the aquarium and had yummy pizza at Mr. T's. And of course we had to top it all off with ice cream. It was a nice break and helped me realize where my priorities need to be this summer. Sure, I want my house to look a certain way and there are things that need to get done, but not at the cost of my relationship with my husband and children.

Fun with others

One of the most fulfilling things for me as a parent is to watch the interaction between my children and the people who I love the most. Here are pictures from our vacation that capture some of those moments.

This picture of Nathaniel and my grandfather will be cherished.

Playing "This little piggy."

Nathaniel loved Uncle Daryl!

Ben & Jeremiah chill out and watch a movie after a busy day of picnic-ing and hiking (see below).

I know this picture is a bit fuzzy, but I love the look on Jeremiah's face.
He had such a great 2 weeks with his oma!

A classic grandfather in hot-tub with grand kids shot! :-)

Fresh!

This is what $8.00 got me last night at our local farmers market. Sugar snap peas that are sweeter than candy, crispy green beans with a cool flavor, sweet yellow squash, scrumptious zucchini, and a bag full of 8 varieties of dark leafy greens. All of our veggies for a week plus some good conversation and a nice walk on a summer evening. Can't get that at Wal-mart.
Perfect.

Home Again...

A fun and fast 2 weeks are behind us and we find ourselves back home trying to adjust to a normal routine. The boys proved once again to be excellent travelers and surpassed my expectations in every way. Our days were spent taking walks, playing in the hot tub, taking naps, eating simple and delicious meals, and enjoying visits from various family members. A perfect vacation with just the right mix of rest and activity. And just to keep things from getting boring we were even visited by a black bear cub who hung out on our front and back decks for a little while!
As I have time to download my pictures I will share more memories. However for now I think that these two (stolen from my dad) sum it up.

The adjustment back to "real life" is being made more challenging by a number of factors. First, coming back to a house that was left in the midst of unpacking is proving to be a tad stressful for me. I woke up Saturday morning fully prepared to deal with unpacking vacation things only to be met by the unorganized mess of our still unpacked regular things. I am trying to remember that making this house a home is a work in progress but I am now more than ready to hit the nearest stores for paint, lighting fixtures, bedding, window treatments and furniture.
Second, while having Aaron home all day during summer vacation is certainly a treat it is also an adjustment. We are going to have to learn how to structure our days, divvy up parenting duties, and communicate lovingly regarding our expectations.

This summer is going to pass quickly and we have many fun things to look forward to. But for right now I want to get my linen closets organized while the boys are still napping.....

This & That before we go

No, we are NOT potty training yet.
Jeremiah and Nathaniel found the training potty in a pile of stuff. Jeremiah decided it needed to be in the bathroom so that he could teach Nathaniel. I was standing in the hall laughing so hard as I listened to him boss Nathaniel around. This was the finished product. :-)
Nathaniel has been talking about "pee pee in the potty" because he watches Jeremiah do it. However, on the few occasions that I have actually gone through the process of removing the diaper and sitting him on the potty he looks at me like, "ok, now what?" I figure if the kid can't take off his own pants yet there is no way we are starting potty training.
Nathaniel seems to have a fertile imagination. He loves his play doctor kit (even before "the incident") and spends most of the day walking around with the stethoscope around his neck. He has also developed a love for hats that is directly inherited from his father. Aaron has a collection of hats of all sorts and when Nathaniel found it he promptly claimed this same hat that was Aaron's favorite as a teenager. :-)

Jeremiah has been working on some paintings to give as gifts for some people we are going to see soon! He literally spent about 4 hours on Monday morning painting.
I am in the midst of packing and organizing for our vacation. We leave tomorrow morning to meet my parents in Roanoke, Virginia (half way point) and then on Friday we take the rest of the trip to the house we are renting in the Pocono's. Aaron will join us in a week. I have not had the experience yet of driving that long with the boys by myself. So we shall see how tomorrow goes. Some friends are letting us borrow their Volvo station wagon (my dream car! hee hee) since the a/c in our car is broken. This is such a blessing since taking the Saturn would have meant some serious downsizing in the luggage department.
I am ready to be on the way! I have been jealously watching from afar as the family celebrated Will & Mariana's graduation from law school, had a special birthday surprise for Ramona, and had a house warming shower for Ben & Ramona. I am ready to be with them!
We do not have a laptop so I will be computer-less until we get back. I am actually looking forward to disconnecting for a while. But be sure I will have lots of pictures to share when we return!

House or Home?

The kitchen is situated smack dab in the middle of the house. It connects from the "turtle room" to the dining room and the office/master bedroom. It is very spacious and I have been having fun actually having enough cabinet space for all my appliances and dishes. It will eventually need some updating but it is clean and well cared for. The little cut out window lets me keep an eye on the boys while they are playing in the sunroom and gives me a gorgeous view of the back yard while I work.

The living room.

This room is long and narrow so we are going to have to experiment with furniture placement. The dining room is connected to this room. (But I didn't take a picture of it because right now it is just a room with a table and chairs...)

The "master bedroom."

Is connected to a small office area and doesn't have any walls right now. But I decided to claim it as the master bedroom because 1) it has a separate entry to the back deck and 2) it has a connected bathroom! We are going to buy wardrobes from IKEA (there is no closet) and hang a curtain to create a door. So far though I don't mind the open space, it lets so much light through and disciplines me to make my bed every morning. :-)

The guest bedroom.

I am so excited that we have a room that is only for guests! I can't wait to straighten it up and make it an inviting place for our visitors to stay. Jeremiah has already started calling this "oma & opa's room" but other guests are more than welcome. smile. Right now it is full of extra boxes and stuff to sort through that we can't hardly walk in there but we will get to that this summer. This room will also have an area for my stamping and sewing supplies. Yeah!

There is a small room off of the carport entry that we call the "turtle room" simply because the previous owner (Ms. Pat) kept her collection of turtles in here. Right now it is a great room for Jeremiah's easel as well as a mud room. All of our shoes, coats, bags, and strollers are stored nicely here and out of our regular living area. This will eventually evolve into the school room when the boys are old enough for "formal" homeschooling.

Connected to the "turtle room" is the sunroom. This room is large, sunny and connects to the back yard. Ms. Pat was so kind and left us the wicker furniture. This has become the play room. The boys have toys and books out here so that they can play and make a mess that I don't stress over.

There is that weird moment in the process of moving where the initial hectic flurry of getting everything simply into the house is over, the basic necessities of everyday life are put away ,and the work of transforming the place from a house into a home must begin. That is where we are stuck. I am leaving with the boys for vacation in Pennsylvania next week and we have decided to put off all painting and other projects until we return. So for the time being we are enjoying living in the new house but haven't really had the opportunity to put our stamp on it and make it truly our home.

So much to tell!

This is a HUGE post! Hang in there! :-)

We got everything moved over to the new house this past weekend! Aaron took Friday off of work and we had lots of help on Saturday so everything really went very smoothly. The house is of course in a subdued state of chaos with boxes everywhere and us not able to find simple things like the dust pan. But already we are loving the extra room and space to spread out. The boys room is the only room that is complete. With the fresh paint on the walls and room for all their toys it is a spacious yet cozy place for them to hang out.

In the process of looking through old boxes I found a stuffed Goofy that belonged to me as a child. Nathaniel was so excited. So now his friend is Goofy and Jeremiah has Bob.

We have been enjoying our yard and back deck area. The weather has been so cool that we have been able to have all our windows open and spend most of the day outside. This is not normal for our area. Usually by the end of April I am ready to turn on the AC and have to make myself wait until May. So, no complaints from us! It is such a blessing to have a back yard that is fenced in and so well maintained. I love to sit on the deck and sip coffee while I watch the boys run around and explore. Yesterday we had a picnic lunch in the gazebo and were enthralled by a bright red cardinal flitting around our bushes and bathing in the bird bath. Of course, there is also raking and weeding to do. :-)

Nathaniel after the stitches in his lip were done.

Monday morning started out great! I was getting a lot done and the boys were being so well behaved. The day was finally warming up so I decided that we should go outside and do some work on the deck and in the yard. Somehow in a split second Nathaniel managed to ride his truck down the steps of the deck and landed face first on the concrete patio resulting in 2 large splits in the middle of his bottom lip. I grabbed the boys and headed to the ER, trying to keep my cool. Stitches were definitely needed but Nathaniel was just not giving in to the sleeping medicine. So he had to be stitched up while he was awake with 2 nurses physically restraining him. There are no words to describe how I felt as I stood next to him while he was screaming and crying saying "mama! stop! no!" over and over again while the doctor was stitching him. I just stood next to his bed singing, crying and praying. As the doctor was leaving the room Nathaniel (who was happy to be sitting up again) calmly said in his sweet voice, "Bye doc-er. Tank U!" That sent me into fresh waves of tears. Really, I was a total baby.
Thankfully Nathaniel seems completely fine now. He has slept well and seems to be his normal happy and adventurous self. His lip still looks swollen and the stitches are still visible but he doesn't seem bothered by it in the slightest.

On Tuesday my grand parents stopped by to visit with us on their way through the area. It was a perfect spring day and we spent the afternoon sitting in the gazebo playing games and chatting. It was wonderful!

We are hoping to spend the next few days relaxing, unpacking and just spending time together. I leave next week with the boys to meet my parents in Virginia and then head all together to a cabin the Pocono'c for a few weeks. Aaron will join us when he is finished school for the year.

Obedience

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. -Ephesians 6:1

Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God. -Deuteronomy 12:28

The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures. -Psalm 30:17

And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. -Ezekiel 36:27

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. -John 3:36

And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. -Acts 5:32

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. -1 John 5:2

We have really hit some challenging behavior with Jeremiah. It seems I spend the whole day correcting disrespectful and negative behavior. That first moment when my sweet little boy ran to his room, slammed his door, and yelled "JUST BE QUIET!" hit me like a ton of bricks. The knowledge of the sin in my child's heart caused me to sit on the floor and cry.

Aaron and I are not very strict parents in the traditional way. We think more about correcting the underlying emotions and reasons for behavior rather than just focusing on good outward behavior. This is not always easy since concepts of sin, emotions and motivations are a bit of a challenge to a 4 year old mind. But we believe it is worth the investment.

Recently, in an attempt to converse with Jeremiah about why we obey (instead of the flippant, "just be a good boy") I decided to start looking up Bible verses about obedience. Jeremiah has a terrific memory so I thought that memorizing some scripture together would help us both. A simple search of the word obey on ESV online brought up 169 verses! Wow. God is really serious about this obedience stuff. When people in the Old Testament did not obey what God told them really bad things happened. In the New Testament there is an obvious link between belief in Christ and obedience to him and the Holy Spirit. (And I didn't even post any of the verses about wives obeying their husbands.....)

Thinking about obedience is not fun. My sinful and rebellious heart wants to do things my way. My lazyness doesn't even want to consider the discipline and work involved in obeying. The influence of the culture around me discourages moral absolutes and sees obedience as an antiquated tradition. Yet the Bible is clear.

In my search for getting obedience from my child I have been challenged at the lack of obedience in my own life. It seems we have a lot to learn together.

Randomness

I have been really bad about taking pictures these past few days. I find it hard to do in the midst of packing, keeping 2 boys out of trouble, and the normal every day accomplishments of feeding and clothing said boys. But here are a few to catch you up.

I once read a parenting book that talked about how bad it was to "bribe" your kids. Well, I now wonder if that person was really a parent. I have resorted to bribery in the past few days just so that we can cope and get things done. We have a stash of lollipops (I save the ones the lady at the bank gives us) that is perfect for "rewarding good behavior."

Jeremiah really really wanted his new room to be painted green. He picked out a nice green that we originally liked, but once we saw a larger paint chip realized it was a bit too bright. So we settled on a more natural mossy green that is calm and soothing. The boys room was painted on Saturday and Jeremiah was excited to get to help out. Of course, on Monday night he somehow got into the room, picked up a roller with white paint on it and did a little painting of his own....good thing the green paint was already dry and Aaron was able to quickly wash the white paint off.

We have finally found something that will keep Nathaniel occupied for more than 5 minutes at a time! Legos! We had a large box of Duplos hiding in the closet that Jeremiah never really played with. In the process of cleaning and packing the box made it out into the boys room. Nathaniel will sit quietly for up to half and hour (!) making towers and other creations. He has done this at least once a day for the past 5 days. I am amazed! This is the kid who has shown disdain for all the toys we have in our house. I am also now searching yard sales and the internet for more. :-) He also likes to walk around all day with a stethascope around his neck. Funny.

Going to be a long week

I am tired this Monday morning. Last week was a whirlwind of different events, changes to our schedule and beginning work on the new house. By last night the boys were in the midst of major emotional meltdowns and Nathaniel had a fever. To top it all off 6 of the 8 koi in our pond at the new house died over the weekend because we didn't run one of the pumps right.
I was actually happy to awake to a cool drizzly morning and see that rain is in the forecast for the rest of the day. I will use it as my excuse to wait until Aaron gets home to move more stuff over to the house. In the mean time I think that the boys and I have earned a day of rest. I know they have earned a day of my undivided attention.

The pond

It was a busy day. But at the end of the day of running errands and coordinating a wedding we were able to turn the key to our new house and enjoy! We got some fast food and had a picnic in our sunroom while the boys ran around and got acquainted with their new house. They eagerly "helped" take down all the old, dusty curtains and carry them outside. We enjoyed poking around the house, peeking in closets, checking out all the cabinets in the kitchen, imagining where the furniture was going to go. The yard of course was also a place of great exploration. We fed the 8 gigantic koi in the pond. The boys exclaiming loudly as the fish came to the surface with their big mouths open to gulp down the food. We poked around the beautiful flower beds wondering what surprise blooms were in store. We examined the 2 outbuildings and imagined where the bamboo fencing around the pond is going to go.
Ms. Pat (the previous owner) left us a note telling us that this home had been filled with love and she was greatful to know that we would be raising our boys there. I felt priviledged to have met her and known a bit of who she was so that we feel an even deeper connection to the house as a real home.
I had brought my camera anticipating taking some fun pictures. But my batteries ran out....
However, these 2 pictures give you an idea of the view I have from my new back patio. Pretty good huh? :-)

More thoughts from Jeremiah

We were supposed to be closing on our house yesterday, but it got pushed back to Thursday. So instead I decided to load up the boys on what was scheduled to be the one sunny day of the week and run a bunch of errands in anticipation of "the big move." We pondered over paint colors and fencing at Lowe's. We picked out art supplies for some special gifts at Hobby Lobby. We tried to find mama some summer clothes at Target (clothes shopping for myself with 2 little boys in tow was not a good idea). And because the boys did so great on this expedition we finished off with lunch and play at Chik-fil-A which always excites the boys because they get to pick out their very own helium filled ballon to take home.
We were driving home listening to the Veggie Tales worship CD and Jeremiah always gets excited when Bob the Tomato quotes a verse from Jeremiah. "Mama! Mama! Bob said my name!"
I decided to take the opportunity to tell Jeremiah abit about how he got his name.
"Bob said your name because mama and papa named you after a man in the Bible who told other people about God. We hope that you will grow up to be a man like the prophet Jeremiah and always want to serve God and share His Word with other people."
Jeremiah replied, "Ok. I also want to grow up to be big like papa. Then I can tell Nathaniel what to do."

Where babies come from....

We have been having some really interesting conversations with Jeremiah recently. There has been lots of baby talk in our house. No, we are not having another baby. Aunt Cherise is now visibly pregnant and baby girl cousin is now known as Lily. Jeremiah is excited about having a cousin. Nathaniel has no clue what the heck is going on and looks at me like I have lost my mind when I show him how to touch aunt Cherise's belly and talk to cousin Lily.
I often tell the boys how thankful I am that God gave them to me, just like God is giving Lily to Chad & Cherise. This morning while we were snuggling on the couch Jeremiah calmly explained this to me completely out of the blue:
"Mama, God gave me to you. I think you were on the road or maybe on the driveway. And God just put me down in a box and I got on my tricycle and there I was!"
Not quite the way it works kiddo. :-)

Truth

It's a rainy, cool day. Before kids I would have stayed in bed, read a favorite book and taken a nap. But, since I have kids who don't stay in bed longer than 6:45 a.m. those things are no longer an option.
Don't get me wrong, I truly and deeply love my kids. But I must be honest and say that there are some days when I just want to be selfish and do what I want to do. So they watched TV this morning while I got the coffee going and spent an hour poking around the internet.
I am in a funk.
I have been for a few days.
I realized this morning that I usually get into a funk when I let life get too busy and forget to keep the truths of scripture in the front of my mind. I let the messages from the world around me seep in and take over what I know to be true. "You have to look like this to be beautiful." "You come first." "There is no right and wrong." "Your material possessions define you." "You deserve the things you lust after." Today being a prime example. If I was keeping the gospel foremost in my mind then waking up to care for my family should be a joy, not a trial. I would have remembered that "Love suffers long...does not seek it's own...".
I have a box that a college roommate gave me. When I read a verse that really strikes me I write it on a 3x5 card and put it in the box. Then when I have a day like today I just grab the box and read through a handful of the verses that I have put in there. As always with God's Word I always get what I need from the verses I pull out.
Today's verse:
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eye.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.
The are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
- Psalm 19:7-11
What a perfect reminder for me today!