A Nazirite No More

" During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the LORD is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long." Numbers 6:5

At least for me, there was truth to the old adage that if you have a lot of heartburn during pregnancy, your baby will have a lot of hair. Owen came out needing a haircut. His long hair has become his trademark. But...it was time. After much deliberation of when we should cut his hair, we made a trip to SportClips this morning for this special first in Owen's life. He is a Nazirite no more; his new haircut makes him look more like a little boy and not quite so baby-like anymore. Let's just hope his strength doesn't leave him now like Samson's did after his hair was cut!

9 Months Old!

Owen turns 9 months old today. Where has the time gone? After months of contentedly remaining in one spot, he has really become a roller over the past month or so. He's on the verge of crawling, so I expect and am preparing for more angst from Brennan over a more mobile baby brother!

Relative-ly Speaking

We were able to spend some time last night with my aunt and cousin. They were in town briefly to check out Virginia Commonwealth University. VCU was the third of three colleges they were visiting, so we enjoyed getting to talk up Richmond and all its greatness. It took Brennan a little while to warm up since the last time he had seen them was on his first birthday! But it was great fun to get to catch up, introduce them to Owen, and let Brennan get reacquainted with some extended family members. Maybe we'll see them again in the fall when VCU starts for the new school year?!?

Amazon Mom

Shameless plug alert: several months ago, I heard about a program sponsored by Amazon.com called Amazon Mom. After hearing about the benefits (free two-day shipping, discounts on diapers, etc.), I immediately signed up. Ah, the joy of buying diapers online for a discounted price! By participating in the "Subscribe and Save" program where you can arrange to have diapers automatically shipped to you on a predetermined schedule, you can save 30% on each pack of diapers. Score! (The upside to this S&S program is you can cancel it at anytime and the re-sign up when you need diapers next)

Today, my big order of diapers arrived. We now have two good sized boxes and some packing paper which have already provided loads of fun for the boys and will likely provide more fun until it's time for these things to mysteriously disappear. So, thank you Amazon Mom for cheap diapers and inexpensive fun for my kids.

Bedtime Fun

Last night was time to get a little silly while getting ready for bed, with a little help from a fireman's hat and some good dancing music.

Practicing his mad standing-man skills and rocking the most amazing baby hair ever

He had more fun hiding his face than actually looking at the camera

And it was great fun to wear the hat backwards

Fire Chief Owen in his fireman pajamas

Where it happens

If you've seen the movie "Amazing Grace" about William Wilberforce and his crusade to end the English slave trade, you probably, like me, got a certain measure of goosebumps at the end when Parliament finally passed the law that ended the practice in the British Empire.

It's an emotional moment, made more so by the tributes to Wilberforce by his peers, who recognized his steadfast devotion to a righteous cause that they themselves so often failed to have the courage to stand for. Can you imagine what it would have been like to be in the room when something so monumental took place? I've seen that movie a half dozen times and it never fails to make me want to make such a difference in my time. But the idea always fades.

This week it burst to life again, without having watched the movie again. I did not have the opportunity to be transported to early 19th century England, but I got what, oddly, might be the next best thing: a seat in the third row at a Virginia house of delegates committee meeting.

The setting seems innocuous enough -- perhaps even boring. I myself yawned in the middle of writing the sentence. But I was in rapt attention during the hour or so I was in that room on Thursday morning. If you've done this a hundred times, as most of my colleagues have, the impact has doubtless worn off, but not for me. It was a whole new world ... a world beyond rhetoric, bluster, promises, libel, accusations, lies, half-truths and endless debate -- everything that politics usually brings to mind.

Politics has always been a topic of discussion, a dividing point and a surefire way to turn friends into enemies, spoil moods and kills conversations. In that room though it was something else entirely: it was action. It was a moment. It was the hinge upon which the door of history turns. In that room ... it's where it happens. It's where modern day Wilberforce moments can happen. If such change is to happen in our lifetime (and it must, because there are as many horrors in this day as there were in his), it will happen in rooms like that one.

In that room dreams, idealistic goals and ambitious visions of righteous movements became attainable. Because, in the end, all you have to do is get more people to decide to act than to stay silent.

What's stopping us?

Building

We busted out the Legos while waiting for Owen to wake up this afternoon. Here, he's in process of making "Daddy's building". We've gone to visit John at work a few times, and the building must have stuck in his mind. He was so excited about his project and super focused as well! He even made it complete with a big doorway and a hallway. Gotta love Legos!

On Our Nightstand, Part 9

Since I haven't posted one of these in a while, I have some catching up to do! Here's some of the books that we (I) have read recently that I'd recommend.

1. "Firefly Lane" by Kristin Hannah
2. The "Redemption" series by Karen Kingsbury
3. "1-2-3 Magic" by Thomas Phelan
4. "The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food" by Ben Hewitt
5. "Eat, Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert
6. "The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World" by Jennifer Baggett
7. "Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys" by Stephen James and David Thomas (HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone with boys!)
8. "The New Strong-Willed Child" by Dr. James Dobson

John has been listening to a number of audiobooks on his commute to work and has really been enjoying being able to redeem the time spent in the car. Brennan still loves his books and story time at the library. I'm introducing Owen to books in the hope that he will love books as much as the rest of us do. This is definitely a book-loving family!

Back to Blogging

We haven't fallen off the face of the earth! 2011 got off to a crazy start for us! We started off the year with several doctor appointments for Brennan thanks to some horrible diaper rash and a never-ending battle with his colon. Thankfully, a referral to a GI specialist has us on a path to some colon cleansing. We go back in early February to find out if things are clearing out or still backed up. It also means that potty training will not be commencing for us any time soon, but we'll just be glad to get a little regularity in his day! Then, both John and I ended up with a nasty stomach virus which took out a few days last week. We're glad neither of the boys ended up sick and that we are all in good health now, with the exception of some minor runny noses and coughs.

After a break from most things over the month of December, it's felt a little challenging to get back in our routine. I think I've only taken out our camera twice to snag some photos! But now that health has returned, I'm hoping that this week will be our first "normal" week of the year! And I'll try to do better about getting the camera out to capture some lovable moments with the boys. Stay tuned for photos!