Mish-Mash

This post is sort of a compilation of what's been going on with me lately (& stuff):

Let's see...yesterday was Hubby's and my 6th anniversary!

We celebrated by not doing anything too extraordinary- church, quick trip to town, afternoon at home, evening church, KidZone practice, watching TV together... but it was nice. We discussed throughout the day what we were doing 6 years ago relative to the wedding & all...on our way home from town we celebrated 6 years of being married (our wedding was at 1, so we figured by 1:40 we were married. :) ) We also discussed whether our wedding day was truly 'the happiest day of our lives' or whether people just say that...there have been a lot of other happy, ordinary, less stressful days since then, you know. :)

I have some New Year's resolutions for 2009- just three of them:

1. To speak kindly and patiently to my family and to others.
2. To spend time consistently in prayer and in God's Word.
3. To send birthday & anniversary cards to our families. (I used to do this quite regularly, but it fell by the wayside after little Z came along.)

And, finally, I found these pictures this morning on the little camera I keep my diaper bag. I guess I hadn't checked it for a while. :)

This one's from last September (28th) on our trip to visit family in IA- Z is playing peek a boo with the lid to his food container.

This one is from October (24th)- Z had a cold & fell asleep in his backpack as we were working in the camp kitchen one evening...poor sweet little guy!!!

Hope everyone's enjoying their New Year & getting back into the swing of things- we've got a busy week ahead of us with a work group at camp, several evening meetings for Hubby, KidZone tonight, MOPS tomorrow morning...I'll try to check in at some point! Oh, and my wonderful MIL is coming this weekend...and staying through next week so that Hubby & I can have a nice couple-day getaway to Niagara Falls- sans baby- for the first time since Z was born! I'm excited...but nervous to leave Z!!! I know it will be fun, though.

2008: The Year in Smiles

It seems that this is the time of year that we get introspective and take a longer look at what we've accomplished in the past 365 days (or 366, as the case was this year). Hopefully, as you look back, your year is filled with joyful moments, lessons learned, and resolutions accomplished instead of with regrets or frustrations.

When 2008 began, I was a brand-new mom. I know, I'm still a 'new' mom, comparatively speaking, but one year ago, I had only been a mom for about three weeks. I was exhausted, confused, frustrated, overwhelmed... Earlier today I was remembering the feeling of panic that used to fill me when Hubby would walk out the door for work, leaving me at home with this inscrutable newborn. And a year ago I was crying a lot. My body responds to exhaustion by crying. And I cried. And cried. And cried. I had no concept yet of the loving sacrifice that is parenting. Although I had been married for almost five years, and in ministry for all that time and more, it took the 24/7 context of parenting my own child to wake me up and begin to truly teach me about selflessness and contentment. Not that I've arrived, mind you. But I see how far I have to go, and that's half the battle, right?

I'm now the mother of a toddler. A one-year-old. He eats 'real food' now, and walks on his own, and doesn't need me to sustain his life as he did a year ago, but he still needs me. Now he needs me to kiss boo-boos, read him books, give hugs to Elmo, feed him yogurt, and sing silly songs while I change his diaper. And I love every minute of it. His smiles and giggles are worth every second spent walking the hallway with a screaming baby on my shoulder, singing Amazing Grace for the 96th time because that's the only song my addled brain could recall the words to.

I am just completely thankful to God for all the blessings of 2008:

• a healthy, growing marriage relationship with my loving husband
• a sweet, healthy toddler
• personal growth in my pursuit of godliness and my trust in Him
• as always, His amazing financial provision throughout the year
• many opportunities for ministry at camp and our community

and so many many more- God's blessings are so bountiful- I was thanking Him for all He has given me the other day, and this verse came to mind: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over." (Luke 6:38) And that's how I feel about God's blessings in my life. They are so abundant. So, thank You, Lord. For 2008. And for not letting me stay the same as I was in 2007.

To close this post, I'll sum up 2008 in smiles. So here's a smile from Z for each month of 2008. Happy New Year!!!

January: (5 weeks old)

February: (2 months)

March: (3 months)

April: (4 months)

May: (5 months)

June: (6 months)

July: (7 months)

August: (8 months)

September: (9 months)

October: (10 months)

November: (11 months)

December: (One Year!!!)

Ca-ca Addict

My son is a ca-ca addict. In case you don't speak Z, that's a cracker addict. Doesn't really matter what kind of cracker, if he sees it, he wants it. If you try to give him a meal without some type of ca-ca or noodle, he will cry and repeat the word 'ca-ca' over & over. As if I'm required to give him one because he can say the word.

Tonight I sat him down to a nutritious meal- shredded chicken breast, green beans, and noodles (from chicken noodle soup). Until I brought him the noodles, he refused to eat anything else, and cried, 'ca-ca, ca-ca'. I can't wait to get his prescription for a multivitamin- I will feel so much better about his nutrition when I can just give him that!!!

We had a great Christmas, though. Z got a bunch of presents from my family & enjoyed opening them & playing with them. Hubby got him an Elmo doll, which is one of his favorite presents. He loves to hug Elmo & then hand him to me to hug. He loves his ball popper from my aunt & uncle, and his Tad doll from my great-aunt, too. And he got some Handy Manny tools, which he loves because the hammer talks & he can pull out & push back in the tape measure.

He's been pretty good the last couple days...a little fussy here & there, which is to be expected...but he's been spitting up again, which he hasn't done for a few months now, and it's kind of wierd. So I've started keeping this super-specific journal of everything he eats & when he sleeps & when he gets fussy & sick, etc...so I can see if there's any patterns in what he eats. Then if I eventually need to go to the ped (to discuss changes in his acid reflux meds), I can show him my 'research'. I know, I know...ultra-hyper 'first-time mom' and all...but like I said to Hubby today, "If he had heartburn, he wouldn't be able to tell me...all I can do is observe what I see & record what I know."

Make a Joyful Noise

On the way home today in the car, I was listening to some praise music & singing along with gusto. And quietly, from the backseat, I heard a little voice singing a 'song' of his own! It was so cute. He does sing from time to time, around the house or in the shopping cart at the grocery store, but it was so neat to have him sing with me!!! Just a fun little tidbit of my day to share.

The rest of my day has not been blog-worthy- I've been grumpy & so has little Z. Sometimes I think his attitude is a reflection of mine. Is he old enough to understand when I'm grumpy? I also washed a whole load of Z's laundry with no soap. And didn't realize the soap was absent until after I had washed and dried the whole load. It's back in the washer now. (*sigh*)

Oh, and one more interesting thing I've done today:

"Hmm, Mom, what's that in the toilet? A bottle of hand soap? And how did that get there? Hmmm...I have NO idea."

Right, Z. So I fished the hand soap out of the toilet. And washed it. Z is now in his bed, calming down from a tantrum. He's quiet now, and playing with his toy. I'd better go get him. :)

This post has been revised to contain, you know, the truth.

Ha- you know what's funny? I started writing a post the other day about how Z's tantrums were getting better...and he hadn't been so fussy lately...and then yesterday was just about the worst day we've had in a month, I think. Funny how things can change so quickly... :) I deleted that post, by the way. :) I really thought we'd be heading to the dr. today- Z was SO grouchy last night & up crying 3 times before midnight...but then he slept through until 7:15 (MUCH later than normal!) and seems perfectly happy this morning. I'm attributing it all to teething, and going with that. Besides, it's snowing too bad to head to town, but you know if Z was really sick, we'd be there anyway, right? :)

We bought our stocking stuffers for each other yesterday- so I'm excited to exchange those! And Z has some presents to open from grandparents & great-grandparents! And we're planning a nice meal as a family & a nice breakfast the day after Christmas, so I'm looking forward to that.

Lately, Z LOVES when I blow bubbles. He knows the bubble jar & even when I hide it, he knows where it is & cries for me to blow bubbles. It's so cute. He laughs like crazy & tries to catch them. When they pop by our faces, he reaches out & wipes my face (not too gently, but it's still adorable...I guess it's more like getting slapped, but it's pretty cute anyway.) :) He is just learning by leaps & bounds every day- he knows where his feet are (if you say foot, feet or toes) & what lots of words mean- eat, lunch, breakfast, snack, cracker, clap, wave...etc. He is so smart, and it is SOOO fun to watch him learn each day!

Ooh, I hear him waking up- guess I'd better go! Hope everyone's having a fun Christmas week! :)

Tantrum City Here

So. I am the proud mother of a one-year-old. I still can't believe that. This year just flew right by! And, oh, his little personality. It is a-changing. The temper tantrums are UN-believable. And also hilarious at times. He sits on the floor, legs out in front of him, and puts his head down between his legs, face touching the floor, and screams at the top of his lungs. Then he turns over onto his stomach and stretches his head up with his hands on the floor (like a downward-facing-dog in yoga) and has the saddest look on his face while he screams. It is too funny. Also, sometimes, he grabs at his face with his little hand while he's having a fit, as if to say, "AAH, MOM, I'm so ANGRY!"

What sets him off? Let's see...today I took a piece of trash away from him...that made him mad...if he brings you a toy and wants you to play with him and you don't do it RIGHT AWAY that irks him...and he's always grouchy when he's hungry. Also, diaper changes? Yikes. I put a mirror up by his changing table so he can see himself in it, and that helps some, but he is always trying to turn over and sit up, so we struggle with that, too. I think he's teething this week, too, so that doesn't help. He was pretty good this afternoon, though, and now he's been asleep for almost two hours, and I got to take a little rest myself, so that was very nice.

So, I guess if you think of it, pray for God to give us wisdom in parenting these new personality 'traits' that are showing up in our TODDLER! :) Believe me, that's what I pray for ALL day long- "Lord, give me patience and wisdom!"

Surprisingly, Duff hasn't called to hire me yet...

Your rainbow is strongly shaded pink and yellow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are a joyful person. You appreciate everyone around you. You're good at getting people to like you. You are a good listener and your friends are glad to have you around in difficult times.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Friday was my little Z's FIRST birthday! Such a happy and saddishly sweet day all in one! My parents came out for the weekend to celebrate, and Z ate cake and opened presents, and it was so fun. Here are a few pictures:

Letting everyone know he's one!Digging into his cake- he was kind of unsure at first, but then I gave him a taste of frosting, and he looked at it for a minute and dived right in. :)Oh, yeah, he's got the hang of it.

Really excited about all his new toys! :)

Oh, and yes, I made the block-shaped cake. Loosely blockishly shaped. Actually, I shaped the cake like a cube, and then frosted it, using most of the white frosting that I had. The rest needed to be orange & blue for the decorating...and then I put the cake in the fridge & I don't know if it settled or what, but it came out like a lopsided lump instead of a cube. So there you have it. My first attempt at cake decorating. Martha Stewart, I'm not. :)

But we had a great weekend- I love that Z is only nursing once a day now, in the morning when he gets up. It's so nice to be almost done...as far as finishing the weaning process...now that I'm here, I'm kind of like....ummm...I could keep nursing for another week...I guess it seems like the end of a mothering chapter... I'm such a sentimental doofus, I know. He's eating real food now, too, lots of times, like we went to Bob Evans the other day & he ordered off the kids menu- grilled cheese & cottage cheese. He loves cheese. And turkey. And bread. And graham crackers and waffles and goldfish crackers. And bananas. It's such a fun stage. :)

Well, I'd better get to bed. Hubby has a cough & we all have just an edge of a cold somehow, so we're not feeling great. Z is over his cold for the most part, and I never got it too bad, but Hubby is coughing like crazy tonight! Hopefully we'll all feel better soon! We'll be at home tomorrow for a relaxing day...making cookies, cleaning the house, and hanging out as a family. :)

The Turkey is IN the Oven

Well, I started out the morning around 6 am with a rather UNthankful attitude. So instead of sharing about teething, biting, weaning, colds, and other things that I'm NOT as thankful for, I'll move on to what I AM thankful for.

I'm thankful for my sweet baby! Last Thanksgiving, I was hugely, uncomfortably, 39 weeks pregnant. My delivery was smooth, and other than acid reflux and one ear infection, which are minor in the grand scheme of things, Z hasn't had any health problems. And he'll be a year old next week! And my life has changed SO much because of the things I've learned in parenting Z.

I'm thankful for my patient, loving Hubby. He is so good to let me have time to relax when I need it...every night he gives Z a bath so that I can have a few minutes to myself. And he listens to me...and that's huge, because I talk A LOT. :) He does a lot of other things for us, too, like working to provide, shoveling the steps, cleaning off the car, plowing the driveway...

I'm thankful for the ministry God has led us to at the camp. I'm thankful that Hubby's 'job' isn't just a dead end, but it's an opportunity to serve God in every little task we do. I'm thankful for MY job, only part-time, I can bring Z with me and he can be a part of our ministry, too. It's perfect.

I'm thankful that we're not rich. (say what???) No, really. I'm thankful that we're not rich. I remember a few years ago, when Hubby and I were first married, I was talking to my MIL, who is infinitely wise...plus she reads my blog, so I'd better say something good... just kidding, Mom! :) No, really, though, as an aside, that's something else I'm thankful for- a great relationship with all of Hubby's family! Anyway, I was talking to my MIL, who has been a pastor's wife for about 25 years, and I remember saying to her, "I'm not asking to be RICH, I just don't want to STRUGGLE so much." And I will never forget what she said- "You know, sometimes I think God allows us to struggle so that we will learn to depend on Him." And that is so true. I've learned a lot about leaning on God and His provision for us has been amazing. And if we were rich, and didn't NEED anything, we wouldn't have been able to see God provide EVERYTHING we needed for our little Z. So many people have given us toys, clothes, and furniture for him, I haven't had to buy hardly anything.

I'm thankful that I have a family to be home with, in a warm house, with an extravagantly (hopefully) delicious dinner to savor together.

On a more practical note, I have never cooked a turkey before. Or stuffing. The mashed potatoes I should have down, but I'm praying about that turkey. :)

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, and for a unique perspective on giving thanks even when we don't feel like it, check out Angie's post. I cried and laughed, and was reminded how important it is to submit to God.

Our Vacation- Part 2

Wow, we've been home from vacation for a week and a half now...it's hard to remember everything that happened! :) In my last post, I wrote about the camp conference, and driving down to Hubby's youngest brother's house in Chattanooga, TN, with Hubby's middle brother & his wife (A&A).

So we got to Chattanooga around 8:30, and Z had screamed for about an hour earlier in the evening while Hubby & brother were trying to have a conversation. Us lucky ladies got to ride in the screaming-free car. :) We met Hubby's youngest brother & wife (J&E) at BW3's (which, by the way, if anyone knows why it's nicknamed that, since there's only 2 W's in Wild Wings, I'd love to know), and we ordered some food, but Z was a little scared of Hubby's youngest brother, having not seen him for a while, and Z was tired & grouchy & wanted down...so us girls didn't stay too long, just long enough to eat, and then we headed to J&E's house.

Friday we all just hung out at the house, played games (typical for a family gathering), talked, played with Z. It was so fun & relaxing. On Saturday, J&E took us in to downtown Chattanooga - to the Art District, a cool coffeeshop, a walking bridge & to a cute carousel! Z rode the carousel & rode in the stroller & even took a nap while we walked around. It was so much fun, and such a cool downtown area! The weather was gorgeous- probably in the upper 50s or so- WONDERFUL considering it was probably snowing here at the time. :) When we got home that afternoon, I started feeling a little yucky, but sometimes I get nauseous headaches, so I attributed it to that...until I got sick. And I NEVER get sick like that. Even during my pregnancy, I never hurled. But I had the FLU. Yuck. Then, during the night, my SIL E got the flu...then in the early morning, A&A left for home, but only made it an hour down the road, and stopped at a hotel, because BIL A had the flu. I felt so yucky on Sunday, but we had to pack up & head to Nashville, because our reservation started that day...we managed, and actually by Sunday night I was feeling a lot better, and able to eat some crackers & soup. Thankfully it seems it was just a 24-hour bug, and I was back to about 90 percent by Monday! Hubby was only sick during one night, and a little nauseous the next day (Sun. nite & Mon.), so thankfully he didn't have it too bad!

Nashville was fun- someone had given us a week at a condo resort place, so our suite was really nice- Z had his own room, and we had a whirlpool tub in our master suite. Love it! :) I probably took 10 baths in the week we were there. :) We enjoyed relaxing as a family, taking Z to swim in the WARM pool, and playing on the resort playground- just swinging, mostly. One of the highlights of our Nashville trip was taking Z to his first zoo! He liked the animals that were active, like the meerkats & this one stork. But the animals that were just laying around, he wasn't really sure what he was supposed to be looking at, and it was kind of a cool, wet day, so some of the animals were kind of boring...but overall I think we had a good time. Hubby & I enjoyed the zoo, too, probably more than Z!

After a week in Nashville, we had to come home, and our trip home was NASTY. By the time we got to Cleveland, it was snowing, and it took us 4 hours to come the last 90 miles. Then, after we got our stuff unloaded into the house, and I was getting Z down to sleep, the power went out. And stayed out for half the night. And came back on. And went back off. Thankfully, our house didn't get too cold before it finally came on to stay around 4 am. But we were wishing we would've just stopped at a hotel, that's for sure. :)

It was fun to be gone on vacation, but nothing beats being home.

Our Vacation- Part 1

Our vacation started out with a 7-hour drive to Southern Ohio for a camp conference. We left after church on Sunday, and drove through the afternoon. With stops for the baby to stretch & eat & all, we got there around 8:15 that Sunday night. The conference was held at Scioto Hills Camp, where hubby & I worked for a couple of years, so it was neat to see the changes they had made, and see everybody we used to work with, too. Hubby's brother & wife work at a camp in Iowa that also attends this conference, and the thoughtful S.H. staff put them in the room RIGHT next to us! So that was a lot of fun.

On Monday morning, we got up and hopped on a tour bus headed to Cincinnatti. We were nervous about how Z would act on the bus, but he did fine- slept some, played some, wasn't too fussy, and NO screaming, thankfully. After about three hours, we finally arrived at the Creation Museum. First, we all had to get our tickets (since we had a group of about 80 people there), and then take a group picture. After that, we got to enjoy the museum. It was amazing. The indoor, walk-through part is so neat. If you're a person who really enjoys informational reading, there's plenty of signs to read, and if you're not, there's lots of visual displays, life-size animals, plants, a life-size Garden of Eden, life-size dinosaur models, even a life-size model of 1 percent of the ark. It was a great experience. And then we went outside- there are fun bouncy bridges to walk on, paths & trails with flowers all around, and a petting zoo with a camel, goats, a pig, llamas, donkeys, sheep, etc. Z was a little unsure of the llama, but liked the sheep & goats.


We returned to the camp that evening, and Z slept the WHOLE way back- three hours- on the bus- thankfully! Tuesday morning, the actual camping conference began- the camp held different workshops about camping, including a workshop that Hubby & I attended on the challenges and rewards of raising children at camp. Hosted by Roger Williams, who is the director of Mount Hermon Camp in California, AND the father of Joy Williams. Heard of her? I have! :) It was really cool to hear about raising camp kids from someone who has been there & raised kids who love the Lord & serve Him. The SH staff had thought through the childcare aspect of the conference really well, so everyone with children under 2 were in the same lodge, with the childcare held in the middle room of said lodge. So Z could take a nap even if I was in a workshop, and I ended up getting to go to all the sessions & workshops, so that was very nice.


Of course, the best part of the conference is getting to see all of our friends from other camps (Hubby has been to 6 of these, and this was my 4th conference). And going back to our old 'stomping-grounds' to see how they've updated & even remodeled parts of the camp was really neat, too.


The conference was supposed to end after an early lunch on Thursday so that everyone could get on the road. But the speaker, the afore-mentioned Roger, needed a ride to Cincinnatti to catch his plane, and had to leave at 11. We were originally planning to drive down to Hubby's youngest brother's house in TN with Hubby's middle brother, and I was pretty excited about driving down together... but Hubby wanted to help the speaker out, and it was only an hour or so out of our way, so we ended up volunteering to leave early and take him to Cincinnatti. I wasn't overly thrilled about missing out on the drive with his brother & his wife, but I reluctantly agreed when I heard that no one else had offered to take him. He and Hubby ended up having good conversation the whole way there. The kicker, though, was that when we arrived at the airport, Roger said, "Thank you for allowing me to borrow your husband for these couple of hours". I was like... "uh, yeah, no problem..." with my head down in shame...I can be so selfish sometimes!!! We ended up being able to meet up with Hubby's brother & his wife a couple hours down the road anyway, and I rode with my SIL, and we had a great time talking & LAUGHING after all. :)

Alright, I'm going to close this post here...and work on another one to tell you about the rest of our trip. It may be another week before I get around to it, though, I'm warning you... :) Have a great Thanksgiving, all!