Lots of Stuff

For those of you who have been to our house you will see immediately the difference that matching curtains makes in our living room! :-) I have no idea why it took 5 years to finally finish this project - but no matter, it is done now. I like the fact that even with the curtains closed I can see the trees and the sky and let some sun in.

Last night we woke Jeremiah up at about 9:30pm and took him to watch fireworks at our local recreation center. We went with our friends the Simmons. While we waited Jeremiah (in his pj's) happily sat down in the gravel parking lot and built volcano's and castles with the older kids. He was a mess! Before the fireworks were supposed to start it began to rain. Jeremiah stood out in the rain holding his hands up saying, "like rain, like rain." At about 10:30 we figured that they had cancelled the fireworks and headed for home. Ironically as soon as we got home we could hear the booming of the fireworks in the distance. Oh well....

This morning we decided to head to the mall area to let Aaron browse around McKays (a huge used book and cd store that he loves) while I took Jeremiah and made some stops at Target and Babies R Us to start slowly getting some things we will need for this baby. It was fun to browse along the aisles and see all the cute stuff. I especially had fun checking out the bassinet's and getting excited imagining our little one snuggled in there (something we didn't get for Jeremiah for some reason)! However, I stuck with the practical and came home with a pump and some new bottles. This baby is going to learn how to take a bottle so that I am not tied down for the first 6 months like I was with Jeremiah!
Aaron's time in McKay's was productive and he came out with a stack of cd's and a few new PS2 games. Of course we could not leave without getting some books for Jeremiah.

So we are now finished with naps and preparing for a relaxing evening at home. Jeremiah is currently "helping" papa play his new PS2 Lego Star Wars game. I can't tell if they are winning or not........

Sleep

Jeremiah has been doing so well with his sleeping lately. I never have to stay in his room until he falls asleep for nap or bedtime anymore. We read books, pray to Jesus "pay Jetus", give kisses "give nose kiss mama", and leave the room. A few minutes later he is usually sound asleep. One day at naptime Jeremiah decided he wanted to sleep with all of his stuffed animals - Nijntje, Larry, puppy dog, and teddy bear. When I came in to check on him Nijntje was actually on his face! The noise from the door made him turn over and Nijntje fell off. But still a cute picture I think.

This is turning out to be a hard week for me. For some reason the past few days I have had absolutely no energy at all. I think it may be related to the fact that my latest bloodwork showed that I was pretty severely anemic. And of course I still have lingering traces of my sinus infection. But anyway, the past few days I have been unable to really have any energy to do anything around the house, concentrating what little energy I do have on taking care of Jeremiah and helping out with VBS. Poor Aaron came home yesterday after a busy day at work, took us to VBS, did bath and bed time, tackled the stack of dirty dishes that had been growing for the past few days, and then gave me a wonderful massage to help me relax before sleeping. He's such a great husband. Also, I must have had a growth spurt in my tummy because sleep has been elusive again and I am resorting to the help of Benadryl to fall asleep at night.

My growing belly has caused some signs of sibling rivalry already. I can no longer really pick up Jeremiah - but of course now he wants me to pick him up all the time, demanding "pick up mama!" with his arms raised toward me until I either give in and pick him up or lower myself down onto the floor and hold him there. Cuddling on the couch to read books has also become a challenge since my tummy takes up most of the room. Jeremiah tries to scoot closer and closer to me but it just doesn't work and he is perched precariously on the edge of the couch cushions. We now mostly read books laying down on his or my bed. One of Jeremiah's favorite things to do when we are cuddling on the bed is to stand up and then jump and land on his bottom. In the past it has not really mattered if he landed partly on me or accidently hit my tummy. But now it does as it is quite painful if that happens. The other day I had to get fairly firm with him and tell him that he needed to be careful around mama's tummy now - he looked at me, looked at my tummy and said, "no!"

But there are still signs of sweetness too - at least once a day Jeremiah runs up to me, pulls up my shirt and kisses my belly. "Hi baby!" Every night in our prayers to Jesus he asks that we thank Jesus for the baby. And every few days he asks me, "check baby otay?" wondering when the next doctor visit is.

So, we take it one day at a time and somehow muddle through, each day getting us closer to the arrival of our baby boy!

Aye Aye Cap'n

Jeremiah got very excited about getting to go to Bible School yesterday. Yesterday morning as I was going through the ritual of telling him what we were going to do during the day. I told him that after his papa got home we were going to Bible School. The whole rest of the day he kept asking me, "go bible tool?!" Even though he was in the nursery and not in an official class he was able to participate in the opening program which is full of songs, skits, and puppets. And he got a sailors hat! I think he had a good time. Because I only help with registration of kids we are able to leave early and not be up too late. This morning he is excited to go again. This little man is growing up!

Monday Morning

It is a relatively cool and overcast morning here. A nice break from the constant sun and heat that we have had lately.

Our family had a nice weekend mostly here at home. I was able to get some much needed rest on Saturday with Aaron taking over most of the parenting responsibilities. It is so wonderful to have a husband who so willingly takes his day off to spend with his son and let me have a little break!

Sunday our church sanctuary was cheerfully decorated for this weeks VBS program. It's a boat/ocean theme (based around the story of Jonah) and so there were fish dangling from the ceiling and the front of the sanctuary looked like a boat dock with a lighthouse in the distance. I will be helping register kids for VBS while Jeremiah has fun with the 2 & 3 year olds in the nursery. It will make for a busy week but should be a lot of fun. Our VBS runs every evening from 6 - 8:30 so we may have some late nights too - but I am hoping that translates into Jeremiah sleeping abit later in the mornings!

Aaron's official last day at work is July 13th. He will then have 2 weeks off (no work or school) until his official first day as a teacher. He is however planning on taking some time one of those weeks to start his lesson plans and setting up his classroom. But we are excited to have a few weeks of time together as a family with no other obligations! We intend to hang out together, maybe do a few projects around the house, and generally rest and enjoy each others company before the craziness of the fall begins.

I want to again share some song lyrics with you from a song that we sang this Sunday in church. It reminded me of the basics of the gospel and the foundation of my faith. I hope it will do the same for you.

I See the Cross

I see the cross

And it's all I need to see

I see the cross

And it calls me to believe

--

No other way to be reconciled

To receive complete forgiveness

No other choice could have set us free

Could have paid the price of justice

So I come, as I am

To the place where mercy meets me

I see the cross

I see the cross

--

I see the cross

Lifted high for all to see

I see the cross

It's the love the nations need

--

You suffered and died, poured out your life

You showed us the way to truly be great

Yet this just begins the Father's full plan

Now there is a way to share in your resurrection

To live forever, through your death and life

To share in your resurrection, to live forever

Through your death and life

I see the cross

I see the cross

Mother's Day Out

Today we took the plunge.

We did it.

Jeremiah's first morning at the Methodist Church Mother's Day Out program.

I was so much more apprehensive about it than I thought I would be. We have never left him for that long (4 hours) with people he doesn't know and especially with a bunch of kids ages 6 months to 5 years. I was so worried. Would he be o.k. interacting with all the kids? Was 4 hours too long? Was I doing some kind of irreparable harm to him emotionally by having him do this?

When I dropped him off the ladies running the program were very nice and took my first time mother concerns in stride. They answered all of my questions and assured me that they would call me on my cell if he seemed at all upset. Jeremiah was intrigued by the vast array of toys and contentedly started to play while we were talking. I said good-bye, gave him a hug, and calmly walked out the door.

On the way to the car I just lost it and started crying. I know it sounds crazy (and that I am very hormonal right now) but it was just such a big step! I felt like we were taking yet another step toward independence and another step away from the baby who needs only me (us) to meet his needs. I was crying too because I want this to be a good thing for him, a way for him to socialize and build that independence that in a way I dread. I wanted the ladies taking care of him to like him and for him to make friends with the other kids.

I spent the morning outwardly calmly working on a big project for MCC. However, my eyes kept glancing at the computer clock, counting the hours until I could go get him again. When I arrived back at the church Jeremiah was calmly laying on the floor next to some toys quietly playing. He smiled and gave me a big hug when he saw me but gave no indication of having been traumatized by my absence. The ladies said he did great, though he was abit quiet and reserved as most kids are on their first day. We calmly headed back to the car and home while I asked him questions about his morning and "daycare".

We are both exhausted. Jeremiah because his nap time is usually around 1pm and I didn't pick him up until 2pm. He is now fast asleep in his bed apparently none the worse for wear. My exhaustion is a combination of lack of sleep, pregnancy, the work I did this morning, and the emotional stress of being part of this one more step toward my son's independence. I need a nap too.

All I can say is that it sure is a good thing that God gives us these little steps to take as parents before we drop our kids off at college! :-)

10 weeks to go!

That's right folks! We have reached another milestone in this pregnancy - I am 30 weeks pregnant. Only 10 more weeks to go! I can hardly believe it myself. God has been so faithful in giving me the strength that I need each day to accomplish the things I need to accomplish. We have also seen Him answer so many prayers in such a tangible way, clearly displaying His love and care for us. I remember when I first found out I was pregnant I told my friend Shanna on the phone. She started laughing and said "Sarah, I can see how God is going to use this as a blessing in your life." At that time in my state of shock and weakness I was not so sure and told her that she needed to pray that He would reveal that blessing to me. Well, that prayer has been answered. Through this pregnancy I have learned in a very real way how to rely on God on a daily basis for everything that I (we) need. I have learned to trust Him even more deeply. And I have come to love this little life inside of me and am excited for the role he will play in our little family.

The next 10 weeks are going to be very busy for us. Next week is our church's VBS which I have agreed to help with, Aaron will be quitting his DFCS job and starting his teaching job, and we are looking forward to a visit from my parents! All of those things should help the time pass quickly! I am still very tired and fighting off the last of this sinus infection - but again I know that God will give me what I need.

Thanks to you all for your prayers. Keep them coming as we enter this final stretch!

He's a teacher!!!!

Aaron doesn't even know this yet because he is at the library with Jeremiah picking out books - but Summerville Middle School called and

they are giving him the job!!!!!

As of July of this year Aaron will be a language arts teacher at Summerville Middle School!

I am so proud of him. These past 3 years have been a lot of hard work for him, and a lot of crazyness for our family. But now we are truly seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, this means that we will have a very crazy fall with Aaron in a new job and us having a new baby - but I know that God will give us the strength we need. He has shown himself to be faithful and we know that will continue.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and putting up with our constant updates.

Aaron's Job Update

Pray today!

Aaron just called the principal to see if they had made a decision yet and he said that he was waiting for his assitant principal to come in today and they hoped to make a decision today.

So, pray that they would look favorably on Aaron and choose him!

Father's Day

We had a restful and relaxing Father's Day. Jeremiah had spent Saturday night at the grandparents house so Aaron and I got to sleep in and take our time getting ready for church. Then of course we had a yummy lunch of steak at Steve & Brenda's house and naps for everyone in the afternoon.
I always knew that Aaron would be a great father. The past two years have shown me the true depth of his love, patience, and involvement with our son. I could not ask for a partner in life and father of my children who is more involved or selfless in the way that he cares for our son. I am thankful.

No word

We haven't heard anything about Aaron's job interview, which I think is a little strange. His interview took less than an hour and he felt like it went really well. They had said they would be in touch today. So, we are not really sure what to think.

Another opportunity to trust God.

Faith, Values & Poverty in Politics

This is a very very interesting video in which the leading Democratic candidates for president were asked questions about faith, values and poverty in politics.

I don't have cable and I don't remember this particular "debate" being publicized in the regular news so I was happy to come across it in the God's Politics blog that I read.

Again, I do not agree with everything that all the candidates said but I was glad to hear these topics being discussed. More information for us as Christian voters to make informed decisions!

Another Interview!!

Aaron got a call from the assistant principal at Summerville Middle School today to set up an interview. This is very very promising!

She actually called here at the house first and when I told her Aaron wasn't home but could I give her his work number her actual words to me were "Is he still interested in a job?" She then proceeded to talk to me for about 10 minutes telling me that the Social Studies teacher that they had hired had decided not to take the position and so they saw Aaron's resume. One of Aaron's friends in his Master's program class just got a job at that school too! He had told Aaron last week to keep calling them again and again until he talked to someone. Aaron had talked to the assistant principal earlier this week but she had told him that she was pretty sure all their positions were now filled.

Now this!

I just talked to Aaron - he said that it sounded like the interview was more of a formality and that they were pretty desperate for a teacher.

His interview is tomorrow (Friday) at 11:00am - they want to interview him that quickly so that they can recommend him to the board (if all goes well) at the board meeting on Friday night!

Please pray with us! I am trying not to get too excited - but as you can tell from my rambling and all the exclamation marks that I feel excited about this. I also think it would be an ideal location for Aaron as it is only 20 minutes south of our house and exactly on the way to the school where he will still have some evening classes. Also, he would be excited to be at the same school with his friend. I am also excited at the prospect that this time tomorrow all this uncertainty could be over and we could know for sure what Aaron will be up to next year!

Pool time again

Since this is the afternoon that Aaron is gone to class I thought it would be a perfect time to pull out the pool and waste away some time before dinner. It has been so hot and dry here! So after nap time we slapped on the sunscreen, set up the pool in the shade, and whiled away a good hour and a half just splashing and playing. I think that this year the pool will offer Jeremiah more distraction and play time than it did last year. This year he is big enough to really play with the assorted toys that find their way into the water. He is also big enough to climb in and out of the pool by himself, which provides him with all kinds of entertainment. This afternoon he spent most of his time filling up his watering can, climbing out of the pool, running over to his swing set, crawling onto the bench swing, and then pouring the water over his feet and the swing. I'm not sure why this was entertaining - but it was.
It was relaxing for me to sit in the shade with my feet in the water (and my legs occasionally being watered, hee hee) looking at a magazine, enjoying the occasional breeze and watching my son enjoy his time outside. Even though I still don't feel great (and can't really hear) I was getting bored of being inside.

A larger perspective

Two weeks ago in church we had a beautiful time of worship. Every song that we sang had to do with Christ's lordship over the earth and his final coming again. It was a powerful time of worshiping God for his greatness and power. It was good to be reminded that while there is so much intimate and personal about God and my faith - there is a larger, global, and eternal perspective to.

Of course, this past week my perspective telescoped and focused on just my house and more specifically my bed. I spent so many hours in bed just feeling miserable and praying for relief from this sickness. I completely lost the eternal perspective in the face of my immediate need and uncomfortable situation. But, the beauty is that God met me there too! The awesome, powerful, creator and sustainer of the universe came and sustained little ole me in my little needy moment.

So today, as I continue to struggle with weakness and sickness and just try to make it through the day I am going to remember the power of the God who sustains me and that one day I will stand in His presence with His people and my sin, weakness, and sadness will no longer exist!

1. All hail the power of Jesus' name!

Let angels prostrate fall!

Bring forth the royal diadem,

And crown Him Lord of all;

Bring forth the royal diadem,

And crown Him Lord of all!

2. Ye chosen seed of Israel's race,

Ye ransomed from the fall,

Hail him who saves you by his grace,

And crown Him Lord of all;

Hail Him who saves you by his grace,

And crown Him Lord of all!

3. Let every kindred, every tribe,

On this terrestrial ball,

To Him all majesty ascribe,

And crown him Lord of all;

To Him all majesty ascribe,

And crown him Lord of all!

4. O that with yonder sacred throng

We at His feet may fall!

We'll join the everlasting song,

And crown Him Lord of all;

We'll join the everlasting song,

And crown Him Lord of all!

Favorite Bands

If you and I have ever talked about music for very long I have probably mentioned Infradig. So in case you didn't know I thought I would let you know your chances to see them perform are quickly running out. Their last show is supposed to be sometime in the late summer/fall of this year. Check out this slideshow/interview/performance

My favorite drum playing brother-in-law Ben says their drummer is really good.

You can download FREE... let me say that again... FREE shows from Internet Archives.

FREE.

You just download a ZIP file or ogg vorbis/flac if you have figured that out & burn it to a CD. It's not hard. And it's free.

Aaron's Job Update

We got a call from the principal at Trion Middle School that they had chosen another candidate for the job that Aaron interviewed for. This was a bit disappointing - but not unexpected as they were supposed to let us know last Thursday.

It is funny though, not too long ago news like this would have had me in a tail-spin and a nervous wreck wondering what we are going to do. But today I truly feel at peace in God's plan for our family. I guess all this baby stuff this year has taught me more than I thought.

Obviously we are still praying for God to provide a teaching job for the 2007/2008 school year (which here in GA starts the end of July!) but we know that God loves us and has the best plan for us.

Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers!

Quick

Just a quick note in the hopes that there are still people reading this and not completely tired of hearing about the saga of my sickness.
So far I feel just a tad better but not much. Aaron is back to work today.
Please pray for me! I need for these antibiotics to kick in ASAP! And I would really like to be able to hear....

Another Update

I woke up this morning still not feeling quite human so I asked Aaron to stay home from work - which he lovingly did! He again took care of Jeremiah this morning while I got some extra sleep. I think they must have played outside for a few hours! Anyway, he did have to go to class but I was so thankful to have him here today. I can tell that the antibiotics are starting to work and the congestion is loosening up. But my head still feels like it is full of cotton balls and I really can't hear very well at all. I also get tired and dizzy when I am up and out of bed for longer than an hour or so. I am praying that by tomorrow all of that will start to clear up.

On another note. Jeremiah is now in the 4th hour of his afternoon nap. I hope this does not mean he is getting sick too! I have been doing my best to stay away from him, always washing my hands before I touch him, and I haven't kissed him 4 whole days!

One thing that I forgot to write about regarding my last visit to the midwife. I couldn't find a babysitter so Aaron and Jeremiah came along since I knew that I would be there at least an hour for the glucose test. We make it a habit to tell Jeremiah first thing in the morning what is going to be happening that day. So Aaron had gone through the whole, we are going to the dr. today while he was dressing Jeremiah. Then on the way to pick Aaron up from work I was reminding Jeremiah what we were going to be doing, "We are going to pick papa up from work and he is going to come with us to the doctor so we can check and make sure that the baby is ok." When we got to the parking lot at Aaron's work and Jeremiah was climbing out of the car I heard him say, "check, baby, otay!" He has said that a number of times now since the doctor appointment! And today he decided that he didn't want to just give the baby a kiss, he wanted to give him a hug to! I love watching him learn to bond with the baby already and am hoping it will make for an easier adjustment. Yesterday I tried to have him leave his hand on my tummy to feel it move, but he wasn't patient enough for that. :-)

The Irony...

Usually when I have a cold I run to the doctor who tells me, there is nothing I can do, go home, rest, drink plenty of fluids and you'll feel better soon.

This morning when I woke up with no improvement and the added bonus of crusty eyes I told Aaron that I had to go to the clinic. So we dropped Jeremiah off with his grandparents at church and headed to the clinic. Thankfully we were the first ones there. The doctor walked in, took about 30 seconds to examine me, and announced that I had a very bad upper respiratory infection as well as pink-eye. (It is still a mystery to me where the came pink-eye from.) I obtained a prescription for antibiotics and was home within the hour.

Why is it that the one time I think - oh this is just a cold, I'll wait for it to get better- it is in fact an infection and if I had just gone to the doctor on Friday I would have been feeling better by now?

I guess the lesson here is: if Sudafed and Benadryl don't seem to be helping then go see a doctor!

Anyhow, please keep praying for me. I have already taken 2 doses of the antibiotics and am waiting for them to kick in. Aaron has to go to work and school tomorrow. I still feel really really bad and can't hear very well. And now of course I have this trouble with my eyes. I am keeping away from Jeremiah as much as possible as pink-eye is very contagious.

This is so not fun!

Sick, Sick, Sick

I think that my body has finally rebelled against all the lost sleep and energy. I have the worst cold I can ever remember having. I have spent the past 3 days in bed, barely able to move, so congested that even Sudafed won't help, hardly able to hear, and with a terrible earache. The only good thing is that I don't have a fever.

Seriously, this is NOT fun!

The first 2 days were really rough because Aaron couldn't get off of work. I will admit that Jeremiah watched way more TV than is probably good for him. But I had no other option, getting out of bed was painful. Thankfully I have been able to rest a lot today as Aaron has taken over all parenting and household responsibilities and I have not gotten out of bed until now. The only reason I am out of bed now is because I was getting bored!

Please, please pray for me. I have one more day to rest (tomorrow) and then Aaron heads back to work. I would at least like to be able to hear by then! :-)

Also, pray that Aaron and Jeremiah won't get this nasty thing.