New milestone

I think that I can say it is official - Jeremiah will not sit in his highchair any more. Yep - after three days of major meltdowns every time I put him in it to eat I decided it was just not worth the hassel any more. So he is now a "big boy" sitting (standing and kneeling) to eat all his meals at the diningroom table. He is of course still abit short and his eating there makes a much much bigger mess then in the highchair. But he will eat his food there without crying and screaming.

It has been rainy and dreary the past few days (and I can hear the rain this morning) so yesterday was rough. There were a few more temper tantrums than usual and a general whiny attitude. I can't blame him, I felt the same way myself. It is hard to keep an active toddler occupied for 3 days in a row without being able to go outside. Thank goodness Jeremiah is really into puzzles now. I went to the store yesterday and bought 2 more! I would appreciate prayers today - it is forecasted to rain all day again today!

A couple of congratulations are in order:

Ben & Ramona set a wedding date! Check out their blog for details. I am so excited for them!

My cousin Kelly (and her husband Mike) had a beautiful baby girl!

Lollypop

One day last week when we went through the bank drive through the envelope containing my deposit slip also had a grape lollypop tucked in it. Up until now we have avoided the lollypop simply because the nice lady who works the drive through has seen that Jeremiah is too young for the treat. I guess this time she thought that he had grown enough and that he was in need of some sugar. We waited until our errands were finished and it was snack time. Now you have to understand that when eating Jeremiah does not understand portion control or how to take bites. Everything goes straight into his mouth until his cheeks are full and he can barely chew. So I tried to show Jeremiah how to lick the lollypop. No dice. After a few prelimanary licks the whole thing went into his mouth causing a cascade of purple colored spit to run down his chin. Then before I knew it he was crunching down. He wanted immediate sugar satisfaction. Needless to say I kept a close watch because I was afraid that he would choke on a chunk.
Enjoy the pictures.

 

Anniversary Celebration

We had an amazing day yesterday! It was a beautiful fall day, the air was crisp, the sky was blue, and the leaves were just beginning to turn. After dropping Jeremiah off at grandma and grandpa's house we drove to Atlanta, talking and enjoying the scenery. I still had no idea where Aaron was taking me. We made a stop at IKEA and had fun there walking around and dreaming about how we would like to decorate our house if money was not an option. Then we drove to the place that was my surprise - The Melting Pot. Aaron had called ahead for reservations and so a beautiful boquet of flowers was sitting on our table. As far as the food goes - YUM - is the only word to describe it. It was a delicious 3 hour fondue feast: cheese fondue, main meat fondue, and chocolate fondue. All with good conversation and good wine. It was perfect! We then stopped at Caleb & Moni's to pick up some stuff. We enjoyed sitting in front of their fire drinking coffee and catching up. We didn't get home until about 1am - but it was worth it!I feel blessed to have a husband who would go through all the trouble to plan a fun day for us.

As far as IKEA goes. An hour and a half there was definitely not enough for me. I can't wait to go back. But we had an unexpected find - when it is time for Jeremiah to move to a big boy bed (which will probably be around his birthday) we are going to make a choice between this one (that extends into a twin size as he gets bigger) or this one (which in the store had a mattrass on the floor and the canopy over the top - so no worries). There were many children running around the kids bed section at IKEA, trying out beds and telling their parents which ones were their favorites. Maybe making the event into a fun family outing will take some of the pain out of watching Jeremiah take that next step to independence.

 

6 Years!

On a gorgeous early fall day 6 years ago Aaron and I stood in front of our friends and family and made our vows to love, honor, and cherish each other for the rest of our lives. It was a wonderful day, and thanks to my mom's wise advice to live in each moment I have so many memories of that day. I remember how nervous I was before mom brought Aaron to see me - would he like the dress? would he think I was beautiful? I remember how we laughed when dad and Steve walked into the church wearing the exact same suit, bought in different countries (they didn't want to wear tuxes because they wanted to be individual and original). I remember walking down the aisle toward Aaron and seeing the faces of everyone who came to show their love for us. I remember Aaron stooping to tenderly kiss my hand before kissing me. And yes, I remember our "decorated" car.

On that day the verse we chose was
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make His face shine upon us
that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among the nations. -Ps. 67:1,2
We chose that verse because we didn't want our wedding or our marriage to be just about us, but to be about showing Jesus to the world around us.

The past 6 years have held a lot of change for us. Aaron graduated from Covenant, started working at DFCS and started grad school. I quit my job at DFCS to start Mercy's Chosen Children. We bought a house. We got a dog. We had Jeremiah. Through all of the changes in our circumstances we have grown and changed. Aaron has taught me the value of patience and quiet strength. I think I have taught him the value of strong opinions and confrontation. We are still growing and there is still much I have to learn about loving my husband unconditionally and fully.

I am so thankful for Aaron. He is a true gift to me. He is the exact opposite of me: patient, gentle, loving, calm, unmaterialistic, selfless, hard working. He shows me every day what it means to be loved unconditionally.

One of my favorite quotes about love and marriage is from CS Lewis:
Love as distinct from "being in love" is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from Go. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be "in love" with someone else. "Being in love" first moved them to promise fidelity: this quiet love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.

I am so thankful that God's grace, not our action, binds us together and gives me what I need to love my husband more and more as each year progresses.
God has been faithful and I look with joy and anticipation to the years we have ahead of us.

 

A serious thought

I just turned off the morning "news" in disgust. The headlining story was about Madonna adopting a child from Malawi. Come on. No wonder Americans don't know anything about world politics, our morning news consists of celebrity news and stories about the latest drink to hit the stands that is supposed to burn calories. We are too self obsessed.

But the Madonna story made me think about a number of things. The most important being - 50,000 children die each day in Africa from poverty and preventable diseases. In case you didn't catch that, or it didn't sink in, read it again. How is this acceptable in this day and age where the world is so connected? Does a mother in Africa feel less sorrow when her child dies than a mother in America or Europe? Does Jesus care less about the lives of the little ones in Africa than the lives of the little ones in America or Europe? Obviously those are rhetorical questions.

Jeremiah did not choose where he was born or who he was born to. God chose to give him to us. We have the means to provide him with healthcare, immunizations, healthy food choices, water that is not contaminated, a roof over his head. These are things that I take for granted every day. And then I see the pictures of the children who do not have food, who are dying of diseases, many of whom do not have a home due to war.

I had an idea today, every time one of us goes to the doctor we will donate the same amount as our co-payment to a reputible agency of our choice who will use it for poverty relief or medication in Africa. I know that I cannot change the situation in Africa all by myself, but I have decided that I can be more grateful for the ways I have been blessed and I can choose to give what I can to help others. I encourage you all to do the same. There are numerous ways to get involved. Check out Save Darfur and the One Campaign (which is on my dad's blog as well).

I am newly convicted to teach Jeremiah about the world around him, to have compassion for others, and to do whatever he can to help those who have less then he does.

A thought about Madonna's adoption: apperantly the boys mother died but the father did not have the money to support him. Would it not be better for Madonna to use her wealth to help the father be able to care for his own son?

Me time...

A moment of quiet.....

It has been a busy and exhausting morning and so I am unapologetically taking some "me time" while Jeremiah naps. Yes, there are dishes in the sink and laundry to fold (there always is) but I refuse to feel guilty. This is what my day has looked like already:

Up at 6:30 to shower and eat before Jeremiah gets up.

- At 7:20 Jeremiah is up and ready to go. But he doesn't want the usual toast for breakfast. A half and hour and two crying jags later he settles for sharing my bowl of cereal with me.

- By 9:00 I have straightened the kitchen and my room, walked the dog, read Jeremiah's current favorite book about 10 times, and prepared for an important conference call.

- My co-workers arrive at 9:30 and one watches Jeremiah while the other one and I spend an hour on the phone with some DFCS workers trying to convince them that one of our families are not child molesters just because they want to adopt a 14 year old girl. It took all the patience I had not to lose my patience and say some very unprofessional things.

- After the conference call we were all drained so I made the exective director decision to have a staff lunch at McDonalds. I spent the hour there trying to keep Jeremiah from climbing over the back of the booth and from choking himself by stuffing whole chicken nuggets in his mouth.

- During a quick trip to Wal-mart I again diffused 2 temper tantrums when Jeremiah wanted to get out of the buggy and take everything off the shelves.

- Once back home I caved before another tantrum hit and let Jeremiah pick up some pinecones before carting him inside for a much needed nap. During the process of getting ready for a nap I once again dealt with another tantrum.

So, I need a rest and a break. I am seriously considering opening a bag of candy corn that I bought as a treat for Aaron (it's his favorite) and watching part of a chick flick......

"burp" makes me laugh

Jeremiah got a new book yesterday. It's about manners. As soon as I got to the page about burping he busted out in his hysterical belly laugh. (I guess this shows he is a true boy - laughing at bodily functions already.) I just had to get it on video to share. Hope it makes you laugh too...

More animal sounds

Thought everyone would like to hear the newest additions, frog and bird. We also did donkey - which he says backwards. I have run out of animal sounds to teach him. Guess we should move to our colors or shapes or something.

First time for everything

There have been many times when I have looked with envy at mothers out shopping or walking, pushing strollers with peacefully sleeping babies. Jeremiah was always too alert and curious to fall asleep while there was scenery passing by. And so I would be the mother that had to cut my walk or my shopping trip short when he became too exhausted to sit still and cried to be taken home to his bed.
So imagine my surprise when halfway back from Bible study this morning I looked to down and saw Jeremiah fast asleep! And he stayed that way until we got home and kept sleeping right through while I put him in his crib.
I figure there are 2 explanations for this: 1) he is still so exhausted from our busy week last week he just couldn't keep his eyes open any more or 2) he is finally getting mature enough to realize when his need for sleep is more important than his need to see the scenery.
The question remains, how long will he nap this afternoon? And will he be able to fall asleep in his stroller on our next shopping trip?

Oh yeah, he has added "ribbit" and "tweet tweet" to his list of animal noises so stay tuned for more video. And I think that I have exhausted my list of animal noises. We are going to have to move on to something else....

 

Monday

It is an absolutely beautiful fall day here and we are slowly working on getting back into the swing of things. It seems that last week was more tiring for Jeremiah than I originally thought - he took a 3 hour nap yesterday afternoon, slept until 7:15 this morning, was quiet all morning, and is now into his 3rd hour of his nap today. Poor little guy.

I am proud to say that I have been pretty productive today. I have caught up on emails, did a HUGE pile of dishes, and cleaned the bathroom. Go me! I have an excuse for not doing laundry yet - I left my suitcase in Gatlinburg and it won't be returned to me until tomorrow.

Jeremiah finally got to see opa and oma on the webcam again this morning. You'd think after three weeks of asking for them on a daily basis he would have had a lot to say. But no, he sat on my lap and looked shy. What is up with that? Anyway, I got to hear all about their trip to South Africa. Fun!

We spent some time outside this afternoon, Jeremiah avidly picked up pinecones for about 1/2 an hour. The leaves are beginning to change. The light has turned golden. The air is cool and crisp. It is truly a beautiful time of year. Can't wait to get Jeremiah a wagon for hauling all those pinecones in!

Back

Just a quick post to let anyone who is interested know that we are back safe and sound. An exhausted Jeremiah and I pulled into our driveway at 5:30 last night after being on the road since 2:00. I am so proud of Jeremiah! He did great! Despite the fact that sleeping in his pack-n-play, that he is quickly outgrowing, is not very comfortable anymore we only had one night of restless sleep. Despite the fact that he cried when I left him at the beginning of each morning, he seemed to have a great time with his Aunt Cherise ("Cheez"). Today, he and I are both in desperate need of some rest so we are relaxing here at home and will both take naps.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers. I once again felt grace, strength, and patience that came from a source other than myself.

And away we go...

In about 30 minutes Jeremiah and I will leave for my MCC training weekend in Gatlinburg. As always, I am tired before I even head out the door and I am dreading the weekend with almost every cell in my body. I am reminding myself though that God has always given me the strength I need, when I needed it. That I am blessed to have this awesome job that I love and that lets me be home to parent Jeremiah. And that if I get too stressed out by the time we arrive there is a hot tub waiting for me! :-)

Please pray.

Birthdays!

Congratulations to my dad on his 53rd birthday! He and my mom are enjoying a much deserved vacation in South Africa. What an amazing place to be on your birthday. My dad has always been important in my life. I think that we have always had a special bond. He has taught me much about God and the world. I hope he is having a great day, enjoying the people around him and feeling the love of those of us who are far away. You can read his thoughts about his birthday here.

My sister Mariana's birthday is tomorrow! She is such a loving, caring, outgoing, fun person to be with. I have learned a lot from her about how to love others and how to love God. I am so thankful for her (and extremely proud of her as well)! I hope that she is feeling special and loved all the way up there in NJ.

on the motorcycle

Jeremiah loves to sit on "papa's" "bike". Thought you would enjoy seeing him on the bike talking away and telling us all about it.

On the motorcycle

Jeremiah loves to sit on papa's motorcycle. I think his facial expressions tell the story!

Overalls

I love these pictures! Jeremiah wore his first pair of overalls today. Shouldn't every little boy have a pair of overalls? And then Steve & Brenda had put some fall decorations on their front porch so we had to get some of him on the hay bales. Classic.

We have a had a great weekend. The women's retreat was such a blessing to me, even though I didn't go to sleep until 4:30 in the morning. I am definitely too old for that! :-) The weather is absolutely gorgeous and we are spending a lot of time outside.

I leave early Wednesday morning for Gatlinburg to train 4 potential foster/adoptive families. This training session will be a little bit different because two of the families are deaf so we will have a American Sign Language interpreter. Please pray for us. Aaron will be bach-ing it here and I will have Jeremiah with me. He will be the only child there though and his Aunt Cherise is coming to take care of him - so I think he will have a great time!

Early morning cuddle

It seems our 3 day trend of Jeremiah sleeping until past 7am is over. He was up again at 6:15 this morning, although he didn't seem to happy about it. Anyway, we were all feeling a bit groggy and having a hard time getting moving for a number of reasons. First, it was still dark for crying out loud! Second, it was cold ! I came out of our bedroom to find Jeremiah snuggling in a chair with two of his "friends." So incredibly cute! Ok, I know I am his mother but I sometimes have to gush! And since this my blog, I can gush...

I am off to an over-night women's retreat tonight so the boys will be on their own until tomorrow afternoon. I am sure they will survive.

Aaron's second look alike

This cracks me up. It is so fun! With Aaron's second picture you will see that his #1 match is none other than - drum roll please! - Eddie Vedder!!!! That should make the Viss brothers proud! :-) I always knew Aaron was HOT!!

Look Alikes - Funny!

Ok - this is pretty fun and funny. I got to this webwite via a friend, who found it via a friend etc..... Check it out! And can we be proud that Jeremiah supposedly looks like Mike Meyers! :-)
I tried to get Aaron to do it but with no luck.....



Edit - I got Aaron to do it! Check out all the handsome fellows he looks like!

gymnastics on the bed

Jeremiah can turn a summersault, he did right before and right after this video. But this is funny anyway. Aaron has taught Jeremiah to do all kinds of arobatics and and gymnastics on our bed. Mostly they consist of Jeremiah throwing his body around and seeing how he lands.