Monday, August 30, 2010
Four Months
Owen turned four months old on Saturday. Four months? Really??? It's hard to believe how quickly the time is flying with this little guy! At his check-up this morning, he weighed in at 14 lbs. and measured 25 inches long. A growing little boy! He has been an absolutely incredible baby. He naps beautifully, sleeps amazingly well at night, and entertains himself really well when he wakes up from a nap or in the morning. Hearing him make his little happy noises warms my heart! He loves to be entertained by his fish on the activity gym and he loves to be sitting upright in his Bumbo. Watching big brother and having him close are more favorite activities. Owen loves to smile and has recently started laughing and really discovered his voice. His sweet little laugh and fun baby noises are priceless! This is one well loved little guy and we wouldn't trade him for anything in the world!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Wiffle Ball Night
We spent last evening with some great friends, families from church that we've met through playgroup and John's men's Bible study. We had fun eating pizza, watching the kids run around the yard, and playing wiffle ball. We really enjoyed getting some great outside time and putting our huge yard to good use with lots of activity! It was a great way to spend an evening!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Brotherly Love
Our boys really do love each other, something that we are definitely thankful for! Owen loves to watch Brennan and enjoys having him near him. Brennan loves to hold Owen, help burp him, give him his pacifier, give him kisses, wipe up his drool and spit up, and just generally be near Owen. It's becoming difficult these days to get a photo of only Owen because Brennan really wants to be near him for photo opportunities! There will likely come a day when they don't feel this way about each other, so we are relishing in this brotherly love for as long as possible.
Monday, August 23, 2010
The Divine Pursuit--A Guest Post
This is a new thing for our blog: a guest post. A friend from church, Nicole Unice, recently published a Bible study on the book of Jonah. Below, in her own words, is a bit about her journey through Jonah.
Becoming a counselor is a weird sort of schooling. What other graduate program teaches you how to listen, ask good questions, and read interpersonal dynamics? Who but future counselors study nonverbal cues, birth order, and “solution-focused questions?” Counseling techniques easily transform into entertaining party tricks: “Let me guess,” I imagine saying to my unsuspecting acquaintance while swirling my drink, “your deepest fear is turning into your mother, whom you find yourself resembling more each day?”
There’s another side to studying therapist techniques. Developing questions that pry back even the hardest shell takes practice. And there’s only one person that accompanies me to sleep, to the bathroom, to work—other than my toddler. It’s me. I am the unwilling recipient of my own therapy.
So I paid attention when I got all emotional about the story of Jonah. Do you know him? The bible Jonah, the telling-God-N-O Jonah, the swallowed-by-a-fish Jonah? Think way back to Vacation Bible School. You probably sang a song about him or maybe smoothed him up on a feltboard next to a smiling whale.
Jonah disobeys and isn’t loving, or at least, that’s the point when we tell the VBS version. But when I prepared a teaching series for a women’s group on the book of Jonah, I found myself stirred up, almost resentful, of what Jonah had become in those children’s stories. Like Jonah is a flat caricature painted by a heavenly hand to make us feel good about ourselves. Hey, at least I didn’t have to be swallowed by a big fish to listen to God. At least I wouldn’t defy God like that.
I got emotional because I thought Jonah could have had some reasons for running. That maybe following God’s orders and going to Nineveh was something excruciatingly hard for Jonah, something that felt impossible to do.
And then the therapist in me listened closely and asked a piercing question: “Hmmm….interesting. What are your Ninevehs?”
Hmmm is right.
I pondered my own Ninevehs and the Ninevehs of those I’ve counseled. I thought about the pattern of fleeing, obeying and resisting God found in Jonah—and found in me. I considered the things in life that would make me want to lob a fat N-O in God’s face, modern-Day Ninevehs like:
Living joyfully in difficult relationships.
Struggling through a hard marriage (or waiting on a good one).
Fighting with addictions.
Battling fear.
Making peace with the past. Wrestling with unforgiveness. Learning to wait. Embracing uncertainity. Raising difficult children. Choosing to care for aging parents. Going back to work when you want to stay home. Having children. Not having children. And the list goes on….
Holy Spirit calling: Jonah is me.
Jonah is you, too, if you’ve ever wanted space from God. If you’ve ever escaped from Him in heart or in action. Jonah is you if you’ve ever wondered how or why God would talk to you—and if you would obey. I know one thing: Jonah’s not a platitude to mount on a cross-stitch and hang in the bathroom. It’s raw, real life. It’s one of the many things I love about God--the way He enters our disheveled reality. The way He knows our crazy souls. And the way He shows us His soul for us, and for all his creation.
If you can relate, take heart, and take another look at Jonah. You might just find a friend.
Becoming a counselor is a weird sort of schooling. What other graduate program teaches you how to listen, ask good questions, and read interpersonal dynamics? Who but future counselors study nonverbal cues, birth order, and “solution-focused questions?” Counseling techniques easily transform into entertaining party tricks: “Let me guess,” I imagine saying to my unsuspecting acquaintance while swirling my drink, “your deepest fear is turning into your mother, whom you find yourself resembling more each day?”
There’s another side to studying therapist techniques. Developing questions that pry back even the hardest shell takes practice. And there’s only one person that accompanies me to sleep, to the bathroom, to work—other than my toddler. It’s me. I am the unwilling recipient of my own therapy.
So I paid attention when I got all emotional about the story of Jonah. Do you know him? The bible Jonah, the telling-God-N-O Jonah, the swallowed-by-a-fish Jonah? Think way back to Vacation Bible School. You probably sang a song about him or maybe smoothed him up on a feltboard next to a smiling whale.
Jonah disobeys and isn’t loving, or at least, that’s the point when we tell the VBS version. But when I prepared a teaching series for a women’s group on the book of Jonah, I found myself stirred up, almost resentful, of what Jonah had become in those children’s stories. Like Jonah is a flat caricature painted by a heavenly hand to make us feel good about ourselves. Hey, at least I didn’t have to be swallowed by a big fish to listen to God. At least I wouldn’t defy God like that.
I got emotional because I thought Jonah could have had some reasons for running. That maybe following God’s orders and going to Nineveh was something excruciatingly hard for Jonah, something that felt impossible to do.
And then the therapist in me listened closely and asked a piercing question: “Hmmm….interesting. What are your Ninevehs?”
Hmmm is right.
I pondered my own Ninevehs and the Ninevehs of those I’ve counseled. I thought about the pattern of fleeing, obeying and resisting God found in Jonah—and found in me. I considered the things in life that would make me want to lob a fat N-O in God’s face, modern-Day Ninevehs like:
Living joyfully in difficult relationships.
Struggling through a hard marriage (or waiting on a good one).
Fighting with addictions.
Battling fear.
Making peace with the past. Wrestling with unforgiveness. Learning to wait. Embracing uncertainity. Raising difficult children. Choosing to care for aging parents. Going back to work when you want to stay home. Having children. Not having children. And the list goes on….
Holy Spirit calling: Jonah is me.
Jonah is you, too, if you’ve ever wanted space from God. If you’ve ever escaped from Him in heart or in action. Jonah is you if you’ve ever wondered how or why God would talk to you—and if you would obey. I know one thing: Jonah’s not a platitude to mount on a cross-stitch and hang in the bathroom. It’s raw, real life. It’s one of the many things I love about God--the way He enters our disheveled reality. The way He knows our crazy souls. And the way He shows us His soul for us, and for all his creation.
If you can relate, take heart, and take another look at Jonah. You might just find a friend.
Nicole Unice is a counselor and blogger working in family ministry at Hope Church in Richmond, VA. Her six-week guided study of Jonah, The Divine Pursuit, is available as a printed version or free download on her website. An online community using The Divine Pursuit begins 9/15.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Organization
I've been on an organization kick this past week. I love our house, but it is small. And we have a lot of stuff. Or maybe we don't have that much stuff but the amount of stuff that we have is magnified by the size of the house. At any rate, I've been trying to organize things and think about purging things that we don't need or haven't used. I want to make the most out of the space that we do have.
My first project was organizing Brennan's and Owen's rooms. The eventual goal is that the boys will share a room once Owen is a little older and his sleep is a little more routine. It's amazing how much small changes can impact the space available to us. After moving things around and out of Brennan's room, I was able to create space to finally set us his art easel--a birthday gift from eight months ago!
Now that I'm home with the boys full-time, I think a little more organization in the house will help our days be a little smoother and help me feel like the house may be a little cleaner than it actually is! Not to mention the wonderfully freeing feeling that purging stuff brings. I've found very little to purge thus far, but I hope my next round of organizational activities (here comes the laundry room!) will find more stuff to get rid of. Ah, here's to a little bit of sanity in small spaces!
My first project was organizing Brennan's and Owen's rooms. The eventual goal is that the boys will share a room once Owen is a little older and his sleep is a little more routine. It's amazing how much small changes can impact the space available to us. After moving things around and out of Brennan's room, I was able to create space to finally set us his art easel--a birthday gift from eight months ago!
Now that I'm home with the boys full-time, I think a little more organization in the house will help our days be a little smoother and help me feel like the house may be a little cleaner than it actually is! Not to mention the wonderfully freeing feeling that purging stuff brings. I've found very little to purge thus far, but I hope my next round of organizational activities (here comes the laundry room!) will find more stuff to get rid of. Ah, here's to a little bit of sanity in small spaces!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
A New Adventure
As a new stay-at-home mom who is looking for a way to bring in a little extra income, I did quite a bit of research into various work from home options. But the reality quickly proved that there are tons of scams, and a work from home desk job was probably going to be too difficult with a toddler and an infant who need quite a bit of attention. My only other alternative appeared to be selling something. But I wasn't so sure about selling stuff since I'm not really a salesperson.
But then I read a book called "Be Centsable: How to Cut Your Household Budget in Half" by Chrissy Pate and Kristin McKee. I was blown away by what I read. After exploring their website and beginning to apply some of the principles I learned, I got so excited about my new money-saving techniques that I decided to take the plunge and become an educator with Be Centsable to help others learn the same things I had learned.
As an educator, I'll be presenting workshops to teach people how to save money by using coupons effectively, using store incentives, and how to plan and create a stockpile. If anyone in the Richmond area is interested in attending or hosting a workshop, just let me know! Also, if we are traveling to your area, I can do workshops there as well! I'd love to spread the knowledge!
But then I read a book called "Be Centsable: How to Cut Your Household Budget in Half" by Chrissy Pate and Kristin McKee. I was blown away by what I read. After exploring their website and beginning to apply some of the principles I learned, I got so excited about my new money-saving techniques that I decided to take the plunge and become an educator with Be Centsable to help others learn the same things I had learned.
As an educator, I'll be presenting workshops to teach people how to save money by using coupons effectively, using store incentives, and how to plan and create a stockpile. If anyone in the Richmond area is interested in attending or hosting a workshop, just let me know! Also, if we are traveling to your area, I can do workshops there as well! I'd love to spread the knowledge!
Friday, August 06, 2010
Outdoor Play
Even though the temps in Richmond remain rather hot (still too hot for my taste!), I'm trying to get the boys outside regularly. Brennan enjoys being outside, and it helps him nap a bit better in the afternoons--always a great motive for some outdoor fun!
Beans may be good for the heart, but they are GREAT for some outdoor play! He was fascinated with our bin of beans and spent quite a bit of time playing with them--way more time than I would have ever expected him to play with anything!
Beans may be good for the heart, but they are GREAT for some outdoor play! He was fascinated with our bin of beans and spent quite a bit of time playing with them--way more time than I would have ever expected him to play with anything!
Outdoor baby in a Bumbo! He is really doing well with sitting up in it and definitely seems to enjoy experiencing the world from a more upright position.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Louisville Sluggers
Our road trip to Indiana took us through the lovely state of Kentucky. However, a TWO-HOUR backup on the interstate outside of Lexington made our opinion of the state decline by the minute. It took us nearly two hours to go less than five miles before we finally made it to an exit where we could get around it and see the delay in the distance. It appeared there was possibly construction that was only letting a few cars through at a time. Ugh. That fun episode inspired John to rename Kentucky as "Ken-sucky" for how horrible the delay was!
On our return trip, we hoped that a visit to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory would redeem the state for us. It worked. We really enjoyed our time there and loved getting to see how the bats are made. The day we toured, they were making bats for Alex Rodriguez. Maybe he used one of those to hit his 600th home run!
Meeting Ted Williams
Holding David Ortiz's actual bat from 2005 (hence, the white gloves--it's considered an historical artifact)
Little sluggers
The world's largest baseball bat
Thank you, Louisville Slugger, for redeeming Kentucky!
On our return trip, we hoped that a visit to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory would redeem the state for us. It worked. We really enjoyed our time there and loved getting to see how the bats are made. The day we toured, they were making bats for Alex Rodriguez. Maybe he used one of those to hit his 600th home run!
Meeting Ted Williams
Holding David Ortiz's actual bat from 2005 (hence, the white gloves--it's considered an historical artifact)
Little sluggers
The world's largest baseball bat
Thank you, Louisville Slugger, for redeeming Kentucky!Road Trip
We just got back yesterday from our road trip to visit our friends, the Franks, in Bloomington, Indiana. John and Chris were roommates back in Austria days. We enjoyed touring the grounds of Indiana University, taking the boys to WonderLab, hiking at Lake Griffey, playing in the backyard, swinging on the porch, and just enjoying some great company! Good times, good times!
Owen and Zeke enjoying a little fresh air at IU
Snack time!
He LOVED being out of his car seat and in a little fresh air!
Brennan had a blast throwing sticks and rocks into the stream below the bridge
Brennan and Max returning from a wagon ride around the yard
A mini-nature lesson at Lake Griffy
Good times with good friends!
Owen and Zeke enjoying a little fresh air at IU
Snack time!
He LOVED being out of his car seat and in a little fresh air!
Brennan had a blast throwing sticks and rocks into the stream below the bridge
Brennan and Max returning from a wagon ride around the yard
A mini-nature lesson at Lake Griffy
Good times with good friends!
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