Day 2

I did want to mention that we are driving through 6 states on our trip: Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Arkansas was yesterday's trip and it just seems like there is NOTHING in Arkansas. It is a very pretty state but when you spend 5 hours driving diagonally across the state and hit less than 5 major cities it is pretty boring. Pretty, but boring.

Isaac woke up this morning limping. At first we thought it was an ant bite on his foot but as the day wore on he could not walk on his leg without crying. We have pretty much narrowed it down to his fall from the bed but we are not sure where exactly the pain is coming from. There is no bruising, swelling, or redness anywhere. We have felt all along his leg and feet but he does not cry out at a specific place. We are perplexed! As the day wore on I noticed that he was probably running fever as well. His cousins had some fever virus last Friday and they played together all morning. We discovered right as Ewan was going to bed that he has a fever as well. Thankfully it is only fever but you all know how fever makes you feel. We were praying that they wouldn't get sick on this trip.

Anyway, here are the high points of our trip today:

1. Leaving Arkansas
2. Entering Memphis, Tennessee--what a beautiful city! We couldn't resist stopping at a few places on our way through.


We went to Graceland and spent $36 in 36 minutes. We paid for parking, took some pictures, bought an Elvis CD, and saw the actual house from the road. We would have had to pay $25/person and wait forever to get to the house. We didn't have time to do that nor did we want to pay that much.








Next stop: National Civil Rights Museum. We saw the hotel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. We got some cool pics and went into the museum part just to see the lobby. There is an amazing sculpture in the entry way and the whole feeling of the museum is powerful. I felt a powerful wave of emotion just standing there. We both want to go back to the museum and see the whole thing. If just standing in the entry was powerful, I can't imagine being able to see the whole thing. It was really fun to tell Ewan, in kid terms, about MLK about what he means to us and how he is one of our heroes.













Final stop: Sun Studios--where Johnny Cash got his start and recorded his first record. Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbisson, Johnny Cash...all those guys got started there. They were playing Johnny Cash as we walked in and Isaac said, "that's Johnny Cash." The workers got a kick that a 2 year old would know that. We didn't have time to go on the tour but we did get to poke around a little, get some pics, and got a t-shirt. We all had fun together at Sun Studios. Johnny Cash is part of our family culture and it was fun to go and celebrate that part of history together.












3. Seeing Tennessee, Beale street, and the Mississippi river.

4. Air conditioning in the car.

5. The boys napping for an hour!

6. Magnetic "fishing" puzzles by Melissa and Doug. My mom put together fun packages for the boys and we pulled out some new books and these puzzles today. They LOVED the magnetic puzzles and played with them several times throughout the day. Go Mom!!

7. Driving along the river near downtown Louisville to find dinner. Apparently we are staying close to the river next to a very posh area. I suggested that we find the hotel and then find a place for dinner nearby. Little did I know that as we drove down the road we would be passing country club after club and mansion after mansion. We were beginning to think that even if we DID find a place to eat it would cost an arm and a leg but finally we found a local joint and ordered food there. It was quite the beautiful drive though. Who knew that Louisville was so pretty?

8. Getting to the hotel.

9. Two boys who are real troopers.

Low Points

1. Isaac's limp required him to be carried everywhere today.

2. Both boys running fever at the end of the day.

3. Totally tired and sick boys=whining, complaining, and just not feeling good.

4. Sitting in the passenger seat with the sun beating down on me for about 3 hours. Thank God for air conditioning!

5. Having to leave our fun dinner find right on the river because we realized both boys were way too tired and not feeling well to be civilized. It was such a beautiful day to sit outside and enjoy the end of the day. We got our food to go.

6. Still feeling emotionally constipated.

7. I forgot to mention this in the last post. As we were about to head out on the road we got a call from the truck company telling us that our truck would arrive in PA over the weekend and would not get dropped off at our house until Monday. We were hoping it would get there on Friday which is why we decided to arrive by Thursday. That means once we get to PA tomorrow we will be on air mattresses for 4 nights. We knew that could possibly happen but were hoping for the best. We will have quite the adventure living in an empty house! It will give us time to paint the boys rooms though before the furniture arrives.

8. The time zone change means the boys didn't get to bed until almost 9:30 again (WAY past their normal bedtime). I am ready for normal life to start again!!!!

I think that summarizes our day--I gotta get to bed. Please keep praying for us. Overall, everyone is doing well and having fun together. We need those boys to get better quickly. Tomorrow is just 6 more hours of driving. We aren't making any fun stops so we can get to PA early enough in the afternoon to run all our errands.

Blessings to you and good night!

Day 1 of the Big Trip

Tuesday

We started out with the best intentions of leaving my mom's house by 9am but had no luck doing so. Jon was feeling stressed out that we were not leaving as early as we had planned and the tension was in the air. It didn't bother me that we were off schedule. I think it was because I was just HOPEFUL we would get out the door at an early hour. I also think that actually getting in the car made the move so much more real. It has of course become more real with every step--packing boxes, loading the truck, moving to my mom's etc. I haven't been able to emotionally engage with leaving my friends and family thus far because there has been no space for reflection. It has been getting through the next 2 hours. There have been moments of sadness but mostly life has been full of taking care of all the little details. Unfortunately I rediscovered that when things get really stressful and I get emotionally constipated my stomach rebels against nature and I find myself in the bathroom more often than I would like. Perhaps that is my body's way of providing reflection time??

Anyway, gathering up all our stuff in the house took a while and then Jonny had to pack it in the car. It is a good thing he is gifted at packing the car (and the truck for that matter). We had to get the car inspected on our way out of town because it had expired in May and we didn't want to drive all over the nation with an expired sticker.

We arrived at the inspection place around 9am and had to wait for about an hour before the inspector guy touched our car. Finally he got to our car and I looked out the window and saw him driving around the inspection store in OUR car talking on HIS cell phone.

What in the world? Isn't there something wrong with someone trying to do a car inspection whilst talking on their cell phone?

A few minutes later the guy came in and wanted to talk to Jon. Jon left to talk to the guy and came back in a few minutes later almost in tears because the guy failed the inspection. Terrible timing! Jon was irritated at himself for waiting to do it at the last minute and irritated at the guy because they disagreed on the issue. The car makes a creaking noise when you turn the wheel all the way to the right or left and they guy said the car slowed down and that the noise indicates some kind of problem. Jon didn't feel the slowing or "binding" as the guy called it. The guy admitted he was not a mechanic and couldn't diagnose the problem but insisted that there was a problem and failed the car.

That meant we had to go to a different inspection place and see if it would pass there. Thankfully the wait at the second place was about 10 minutes and the car passed just fine. By this time it was 11am and we decided we should go ahead and get some lunch. Einstein Bros. was across from the inspection place so we ordered some sandwiches to go and were on the road by 11:30. Tuesday was our longest leg of the trip so Jon and I were anticipating a fairly miserable experience.

The boys have not had their regular routine for several days in a row and have been missing out on probably an average of 2 hours of sleep a day. Most of you know we are sleep freaks and don't let the boys miss out on sleep very often. We also value friendships and relationships and wanted to get all the extra time with friends and family before moving. Because of their lack of sleep we thought the boys would be delirious, whiny, toddlers the whole way.

I know lots of you have been praying for us (and the boys especially) and I have to say a thank you to the Lord because they boys did AWESOME in the car. They were totally content to read books and play with toys. They didn't even fuss about music in the car. We were able to listen to mommy and daddy music with NO whining!

I think the highlight of their day was sleeping in the hotel. They thought the beds were cool and of course LOVED having the TV. We tried putting them in the same bed but that was too new and stimulating so we each slept with a kid. It turned out to be a good thing because Isaac is very touchy feely with his feet at night and I think it would have bothered Ewan. Isaac also fell out of the bed around 5am. Jon put him back in bed--no harm done--or so we thought.

And that takes us to Wednesday.....

The Move

The truck is packed and on its way to our house. Jon, 3 of our friends, and his dad helped load the truck this past Saturday. Jon, one of the Jarrods (there were 2 helping), and Josh stuck it out the whole day. They other Jerryd and Jon's dad had to take off at various points. They started at 9am and finished at 6pm. I have pictures but unfortunately packed my picture downloader thingy mabob so I will have to post pics later. I think one of the things that saved the day was that Jarrod had forearm forklifts. Those things helped the guys get the heavy stuff out of the house so much easier than just lifting it. I highly recommend them. It was a very, very long day but everything got on the truck and we had about 6 inches to spare--praise the Lord!

We left the house on Saturday around 7 pm and it was pretty messy. We were planning on going back on Monday to clean the house, do touch ups, get the carpets cleaned etc. Wouldn't you figure that on Sunday we were sitting in church and get a phone call from the showing service letting us know that there would be a showing Sunday afternoon??!! The house was a disaster with trash all in the kitchen (from when I cleaned out the fridge----peeeee-ew!) and messy carpet. Nothing for 2 months and then someone comes to see the house on the worst possible day. We haven't heard any feedback from the visitors. We do have a potential rental situation in the works but nothing definite yet. We should be hearing from the potential renters soon.

Monday was spent doing all sorts of errands and mostly cleaning the house and getting it back in tip top shape.

That takes me to Tuesday...and the next post.....

I'm Still Here

We are in the hurry flurry of packing like maniacs but I have some super cool pictures I want to post from our trip to Camp Buckner and the BBQ our friends in the neighborhood threw for us. I may not be able to post pictures until we get to Pittsburgh (one week from today!!) but I do want to keep posting on the excitement of our driving adventure (6-7 hours a day for 3 days across the country). So stay tuned. If we get a lot done today then I will be able to post some pictures this evening.

What to write about?

I usually have a few ideas about what I want to write about but I feel like I have writer's block. I got a weird comment from an "anonymous" person that said some hurtful things and I have been pretty uninspired since. Well, maybe self conscious is a better choice of words.

God has been speaking to me about how I need to trust in His love for me and to not let what other people think of me become an idol in my life. That is something I have struggled with my whole life I think! Oh, to be free from that!

I can't believe we are moving in 16 days! Our house still looks the same as it did 2 months ago. No boxes packed. Zero. None. I won't really be able to start packing until Friday and by then we will only have 1 week left to get the whole house packed before the moving truck arrives at our doorstep. I realized this this afternoon and have spent the rest of the day trying not to freak out about it. One week! One week? ONE WEEK!!! That is what is going through my head.

Speaking of the house....still NO movement on the house. We have not had anyone come and see the house since April 1st. 6 weeks. It is beginning to feel really pointless to keep the house clean and picked up all the time since no one comes to look at it. We had an open house, we have a great virtual tour online, great pictures, flyers in front of the sign, an add in the paper and those moving magazines you get at the grocery store. We reduced our price by $4K and are selling at a price that is competitive/lower than some of the foreclosures in the area. And still nothing.

I know that God is doing something even though I can't see it. God is faithful and has called us on this journey so we will not FEAR and we will trust Him regardless of how long it takes our house to sell. I have to admit that I thought we would have more movement than we have had. I think I was pretty realistic about it taking a while for the house to sell but I didn't think it would be this slow. It is very tempting to be afraid that no one will come and see the house for months and months on end and that this house will become our enemy.

Do you know something ironic? When we lived in San Antonio we bought a house in the inner city. It was a lovely house and we have so many great memories there. People cautioned us not to buy a house in the inner city because we would lose $$ and that it was an unwise way to use our money. We wanted to live in the inner city because we wanted to love and serve the least of these and because we felt like that is what God wanted us to do at the time. When you live in suburbia it is easy to ignore the poor and needy but when you live right next to them you get lots of opportunities. It was also affordable housing for us. We felt like we were following God's direction in our lives and were willing to risk losing some of our money because it was for God's kingdom. Well, when we sold our house in San Antonio to move to Dallas, we ended up making a decent amount money on the house. It was almost as if God blessed our decision to follow him and take that risk.

When we decided to move to the subarbs in Dallas we didn't hear the same cautionary statement from people. No one warned us that it was a risky move financially and that we would lose money on the sale of our house or that we shouldn't do it because it was dangerous to live there. I find it ironic (and humorous) that it is entirely possible that we may lose money in our investment of this house. I think we get caught up too much about what the world thinks about money and too many times end up making decisions based on loving money rather than loving God.

I am not saying that I choose loving God over loving money all of the time or even most of the time--it is something that I struggle with. Every time I do a Bible study on what God says about money I am convicted. Money is one of those subjects that gets people's blood pumping. Our old boss said the three biggest things married couples fight about are money, sex, and in-laws. Money has been our top contender. We have learned about how to talk and communicate about money but we have had some pretty big blow outs over the subject. It felt like a real victory the first time we were able to talk about our budget without me crying or getting angry.

Once we figured out that we brought different values and perspectives on money from our own families it got easier. It still amazes me that what you are taught about money as a kid will have a major impact on your marriage. Even if your parents never sit and talk with you about money you will still take away values based on what you see your parents DO with money. As a kid you pick up on what is important when it comes to money (saver, spender, giver? talk about it, don't ever talk about it). It makes me think about what values I want our kids to have about money.

I thought I didn't have anything to say but apparently I did. Do you think our old boss was right, are money, sex, and in-laws the 3 things married couples fight about the most?

Crazy Bleepin' Drivers!

I was driving to my mom's house yesterday enjoying some Veggie Tales music with the boys and some very disturbed driver decided to swerve into my lane and then slam on his brakes. Apparently the car that he was barreling up on in the right lane was driving too slow so he needed to switch lanes. Why he decided to slam on the brakes is beyond me. I honked my horn and he finally sped up.

As he sped up I noticed that he was swerving and driving in two lanes of traffic. It became obvious that he was drunk, high, or who knows what. It was 10am so your guess is as good as mine. I felt like I was in a dilemna. What is the correct protocol when you see crazy and obviously impaired drivers on the road? Do you call 911 or the non-emergency police phone? If the correct protocol is non-emergency police who keeps all the surrounding city police phone numbers in their cell phone? It seemed like an emergency to some degree because this guy was seriously going to cause a wreck. As I was debating in my head about what to do he exited and swerved between two cars almost causing another wreck. I didn't have enough time to get over to the exit and I didn't get the license plate number. If I felt more confident on the correct protocol then I would have taken better action.

So, what would you have done? What IS the correct protocol?

Cherry Tomato Face

Here is Ewan with cherry tomatoes in his cheeks. This picture makes me smile. I have had a hard morning and when I thought of this picture I smiled and had a little chuckle to myself. Hopefully it will make you smile too!

Chicks and Cars

I just got some wonderful pictures from Monica from our weekend trip to San Antonio and I think this one might be my favorite!

Look at the HUGE grin on his face...He has 2 absolutely gorgeous girls next to him who are holding 2 very cool cars. I don't think he could be any more thrilled.

I just have to take a moment and give a web toast to all our friends in San Antonio. You have been such a great support to me and our family. I love all of your kids as if they were part of my own family and I am so thankful for our friendship. Words cannot express the love we have for all of you. Thanks for coming to the party and sending us off to Pittsburgh! We will miss being able to see you while we are gone but we hope that you all feel free to come and visit!

Pictures of "The Belly"

I am 23 weeks along now and finally showing. We took our first pictures of the belly today. Here they are...

Ewan likes to talk to the baby and feel him move around. He couldn't resist being in the picture.

Ewan thinks my bellybutton looks really funny. Today he looked at it, laughed, and said, "It's sticking out. It's like a penis." Much laughter from mommy and daddy!

Sea World and San Antonio

We went to San Antonio this past weekend for a final goodbye bash with our friends. We stayed at a friend's house in Monte Vista which I named "Chatteau Abrams" as it was a perfect place for our family of 4 to stay for our visit. She had the most comfortable guest bed and soft sheets. Our mattress has seen better days and I felt like I was sleeping in heaven there.

We arrived on Thursday and got settled in. Friday morning we got up, had breakfast and headed out for a wonderful but long day at Sea World (pictures coming soon). We met our friends, the Odles, there and had a blast. Miriam and Ewan are the same age and love hanging out together. Ewan loved all the shows. He thought they were facinating. Isaac was easily distracted but he did enjoy watching all the animals. Both the boys really liked watching the sea lions at their little cove area and listening to them bark for food. The boys both got up at 6am after getting to bed late the night before so they were pretty pooped toward the end of the day. Ewan fell asleep in the car before we drove out of the parking lot.




Saturday we had breakfast with our friends, the Castros, at a super delicious place called Taco Haven in South Town. I highly recommend it next time you are in San Antonio! We went backto their house and sat in the backyard while the boys played. We headed back to Chatteau Abrams for a long nap and then spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for the party we had to gather all our friends together. That was a BLAST! It was so fun to catch up with our friends and we got to see some friend we haven't seen in quite a while.



Here are some highlights from our trip:

Isaac is looking at the sea lions.

Ewan and I looking at the sea lions.

Miriam and Ewan holding hands on our way to see the dolphins.

Isaac watching the dolphins with daddy.

Daddy and the boys on their 2nd ride ever. They loved it!

Ewan crashed in the car as we left the parking lot.

Isaac, Joaquin, and Ewan playing with sticks in the backyard.

More pics of the house

This is the back of the house. It kind of reminds me of a barn when I look at it.

This is the living room. We really like the stained glass accents on the window. It is small but it should make a cozy sitting area. We might make this room the dining room but I guess we will figure that out when we get there.

Here is the park that is around the corner a block away. I think this will be super fun! It is also next door to the farmer's market.

Here is the porch--and the porch swing. How fun will that be? There is also a dove nest under the porch.
This is the backyard. We are hoping that we can close off the fence in the back and on the sides of the house.

Things Are Settling

We are home from Pittsburgh. Whew. It always feels good to sleep in your own bed. Travel was good except that the airline mislocated our bags. We got them back late yesterday evening with everything intact. I think I have bad luggage karma--United Airlines totally lost my suitcase and never recovered it back in 2000. I was very thankful that they found both our bags--especially since I borrowed a friend's winter maternity clothes.

Assuming all goes well, we will be living in the house below.












It is a very cute house that actually is a 4th generation seminarian home. The priest at our church who is in charge of peeps going through the ordination process is the first seminarian who owned the house. It is very complicated but basically we are buying the house. I will post some more pics that we took later.

House features:

1. Basement -for storage and laundry (not exactly looking forward to hauling laundry and cloth diapers up and down 2 flights of stairs but maybe it will help me lose that baby weight quicker) House comes with washer and dryer. Maybe we can figure out a way to hook up ours too since our laundry with be increasing. We don't want to get rid of our appliances because we know we will need them when we move back to TX. Most people include the appliances with the homes here.

2. First floor-1/2 bath (Very rare in this area. Most bathrooms are on the 2nd floor), living room , dining room, kitchen (comes with fridge, microwave, dishwasher--hallelujah!), large kitchen storage area with some ikea storage funriture (see below), mudroom.

3. 2nd floor-3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom. One bedroom used to be 2 bedrooms and someone knocked down the wall in between. We are deciding how we will use that portion of the room. TV room, play room, sitting area? No idea!


4. Attic/3th floor-The attic is finished and has 2 rooms in it. One room has a window unit and base heater and will be used as the guest room. (If you ever want to visit Pittsburgh...) The other room will be the office/study/bookholder room. It also comes with a desk and some other IKEA storage. It is a perfect get away for Jon to study in. There is a door that shuts off the 2nd floor from the 3rd floor so it will be quiet while Jon studies.


Other features:
The house has a small, but not fenced, backyard that we would like to seal off so the boys can safely play outside.

It has a really front porch with a porch swing. I am looking forward to that!

The house is 3 blocks from the school; one block from the park; one block from the farmers market; a couple blocks from the dinky movie theatre and several seminary families live on the block and behind us too.


The 2 biggest prayer needs we have are:
1) Selling our house! Pray, Pray, Pray! We just dropped the price and are doing "our" part to get things moving. The rest is up to God.

2) Find out which donors want to transfer their support from IV to Christ Church.

There are lots of things still up in the air but having a place to live makes it easier and it pleases my desire to nest and set up the house.


Other things to note:
We did celebrate our 7th anniversary while we were there. We went up the Duquesne (pronounced doo-cane) Incline to Mt. Washington (HERE is a better picture) and ate a very nice and romantic dinner at the top of the mountain. I had Filet Mignon stuffed with spinach and feta cheese (yummy!) with some green beans and banana bread pudding for dessert. Jon had Mahi-Mahi with some herby mashed potatoes and a dessert drink--I don't remember exactly--but it did have Bailey's Irish Cream in it. We talked about all the memories from each year of marriage we could think of. We noted how the first 2 years seem so different than the other 5. We had lots of memories of being in our first apartment and had some good laughs thinking back. We couldn't remember much about the first year we were in our house (3rd year of marriage) because the memories of having the boys overruled being childless in the house. I remembered more about being pregnant than anything else.

Jon and I decided that we are going to refer to the 7th year as a year of special celebration of our marriage because neither one of us like the stereotype mentality that the 7th year traditionally has (The 7th year itch--to ditch the marriage). We had a lovely evening together and I seriously think I have the best husband ever. He is the perfect man for me and I really do love him more now than I did 7 years ago while we were standing up saying our vows to each other.

Please Pray

Friends,

We are in Pittsburgh and in the middle of trying to figure out a place to live, how much $$ we have for housing (either buying or renting), insurance, where we can afford to have the baby, how much $$ we will be getting to live on from donors who want to support us in seminary, how long to stay here for seminary (2.5 or 3 years--in other words a more relaxed pace where Jon is around more often or a speedier pace that costs less financially but is perhaps more taxing on our family life).

I am overwhelmed at all the decisions that need to be made without knowing exactly how much money we will have to live on or practically how we will be living. We need God to work a miracle and sell our house in TX soon.

It does not help that I am pregnant and the nesting hormones are running rampant. We are leaving Pittsburgh this afternoon still without a place to live (as of 10am). We are hoping to get that part squared away by the time we leave but I want to know where we will live so I can imagine and plan where I am going to put furniture and get my nest ready before this baby comes.

Please pray for me to have peace in the Lord, to trust Him for our needs, for a lot of wisdom as it seems like we just have to make some decisions without knowing all the ins and outs of how everything will pan out.

Don't forget to discuss the poll below either :).

Poll on Diamond Rings

So, we have a friend who has been dating a lovely girl for a while. They are heading toward marriage and he is doing some ring shopping. He has been fininshing up getting a masters program so he doesn't have a whole lotta money. They have considered going the cubic zirconia route over the real diamond since they can always upgrade later.

I think this is a fabulous idea! I can understand from a guys perspective that you want to get your girl the best but if you can only afford something smaller than you would like to get her and she is okay with the CZ then why not save what you would spend on the real thing and get the CZ? No one would ever know and it could be their little secret. Later on after he is actually making $$ and can afford a real diamond then he can surprise her with it.

I took a poll at my play group and we were torn 50/50. 2 said they would rather have the real but very small diamond (because you can still upgrade later) and 2 said go for the CZ because you can upgrade later (I was one of those two).

What are your thoughts?

More On Names

I tried to convince Jon the other day that we should name this baby 'Ethan' (thanks for the recommendation Kim) and then we should have two more children--(girls of course) and name them Iris and Olivia. Then our kids initials would be:

Ewan


Isaac


Ethan


Iris


Olivia





E-I-E-I-O! Hahahahahaha! I had quite the chuckle over that one. It still makes me laugh.





Are you surprised that he didn't give the thumbs up for that one?

Thoughts I Had at Church

I don't know about you, but when I am near nature and am also in a setting where I am worshipping God I feel closer to Him. The service we attend at our church is held in the chapel. It is a contmeporary service that values creativity, casual dress, the liturgy, community, and a more spirit-led music time. The alter/stage looks out into a garden with a large cross in the middle of it. You can see a picture of it here at the end of the virtual tour of our church. It is a beautiful room to worship in.


I love it when Spring comes because the garden starts to grow more greenery and flowers start budding. The garden has been a symbol of the seasons of my own spiritual life. Sometimes I am feeling dry and lifeless in my relationship with God and looking into the garden during the winter feels comforting to me. Seeing all the budding growth in the spring gives me hope.


This spring around the same time every Sunday a little pair of robins comes to frolick in the garden, often stopping to rest on the cross. Today a pair of doves joined in on the fun and one of the doves sat on the cross and appeared to be listening to today's sermon (through the glass of course). I was quite amused. Yes, I was listening to the sermon too. It was about taking notice of others around you and responding to how God might want you to serve them.


We always sit in the front row at church so we are the first to take communion. Not only do I not have to worry (even though I know I shouldn't) about how many people took the cup before me but I also get to people watch when it is time to come back to my seat. (That isn't WHY we sit on the first row. We sit there because people often don't like sitting on the first row and we like getting good seats and helping our priests feel supported.) I am often struck by the space boundaries people have when it comes to communion. Some people like to leave a whole person gap between themselves as they come to the alter to kneel. Most people don't feel comfortable approaching the alter to kneel and find their spot unless there is a 2 or 3 person space. It is an interesting phenomenon to watch. It is interesting that folks don't mind drinking from the same cup right after the person that is next to them has just drank from (which in my mind is a very intimate thing to do), but they do want to make sure that there is a 12" space between them and the person next to them. It is one of those things that makes me go hmmmm....


Something really cool happened today! Isaac went to his potty in the kitchen, lifted up the lid and said, "I need to go peepee." Great! It was after breakfast so I asked him if he was going to pee or poo. I am going to go poopoo. And he did! Then he said, "Can I get a treat?" You betcha! He was so proud as was I.

House Stuff

This is a picture when our house was still under construction 2 years ago. It looks pretty different now--landscaping and grass make quite a difference.

Anyway, we are moving in 2 months and our house has not sold yet. The market is sooooo slow and there is a large number of foreclosures in our area which we are competing with--not to mention the new construction behind our subdivision. They are FINALLY building the Brookshires grocery store right down the street from our subdivision so hopefully that will be a selling point in our favor.

Please pray that a)we get more people coming to see the house and b) someone will see the house, love it and want to live in it. It is a great house and floor plan. Our whole adventure to go to seminary is all in God's hands but I think we need some supernatural intervention.

We are going to visit Pittsburgh next week to find a place to live and do the school interview. We have a couple of options for housing to check out while we are there--one very promising. It is a rental house 1 mile from the school, 1 block from a farmers market, and 1.5 blocks from a great park. On the first floor it has a living room, dining room, bathroom (unsual to have a bathroom on the 1st floor for this area), kitchen and eat-in kitchen area. The 2nd floor has 4 bedrooms and full bathroom. The attic is finished and separated into 3 rooms. The basement is not finished out but for a house with this many rooms you don't really need to use it for storage. It has a fenced in backyard right off the kitchen too. It sounds perfect and I am already wanting to live there without seeing it. There are so many possibilities with this house--we could have a "reading room/prayer room" and put our bookshelves and chairs in it. We could have the tv room on the 2nd floor or a play room. Jon will have his own study in the attic away from all the other activity in the house.

We are still undecided about whether to rent or buy so please pray for wisdom for us on our trip next week. There is a lot up in the air--housing (here and there), cars, finances, where we are having the baby.....We need some prayer support.

The Zoo, Neighborhood Egg Hunt, and More

The last few weeks have been full with activity. We had a neighborhood egg hunt, went to the zoo, had a (mostly) fun weekend at my mom's house, Easter dinner at the Parkers, and a trip to the after hours pediatrician for Isaac (that is why mom's was mostly fun--that trip was included in her weekend package).

I taught my last Bradley class until 2008 last week. The couple in my current class moved back to Alabama so we did not finish the series. They had 3 classes left. I am going to send them what they need for the rest of the series but it isn't quite the same. They are a very sweet couple and I enjoyed our classes very much. I hope they can find a good provider there in Alabama. They were planning on a homebirth here but it is illegal in Alabama for midwives to practice so they have to go to a hospital for their birth. Hopefully they can find a provider that is very supportive of the kind of birth they want.

I am not going to teach this summer since we will be moving and settling into a new place. Then once the baby comes in August and Jon starts school I don't think I want to take on the added stress of teaching a class.

I have a pasta recipe I want to post soon so stay in tune. Enjoy the pictures!

Potty training update: Isaac is doing very well at going to the potty. He has only had 2 accidents in the past 2 weeks. He has started telling us when he needs to go to the bathroom and is doing very well at not having any pre-pee-pee dribbles in his pants. He still has not had a real poo on the potty but that is because he wakes up from night time or nap time with a poop and doesn't get a chance to go. Overall, I am very proud of him and think he is doing great at this milestone.

Dallas Zoo

Last year we went to the Ft. Worth Zoo on Good Friday. This year we went to the Dallas Zoo. It turned out to be a nice day--a little chilly for my taste but the sun was out.

Here is Isaac looking at a mouse. Okay, it is fake but it looks real.










Ewan and his cousin, Riley, are riding the kangaroos.













Woah! Look at those HUGE koi fish!













At the children's area at the zoo they have a shallow stream that kids can play in. Ewan saw older kids with their shoes off running around in it and wanted to join in the fun. Now, why you would want to run around with no sock and shoes on in 50 degree weather is beyond me. I thought it was a bad idea but Jon "convinced" me to let him do it. Okay, what really happened is that I said I thought it was a bad idea. Jon said he thought it would be fun. I said, fine then you deal with all the complaining of being cold later. Of course the only part of Ewan's pants that weren't wet was the bum. To his (and Jon's) credit, Ewan never complained of being cold the rest of the day. He did have a blast too. Sometimes daddy is more fun than mommy.

Pictures of Friends at the Egg Hunt

Here is Ewan with his best bud, Warren, who by the way has the coolest hair of any kid I know. They have lots of fun and get to play together a lot.












Here are Kim and I and her sweet little baby girl, Isabella. Kim has become a good friend. She hosts our play group every week.













Sword fighting with Daddy.













Here I am about to enjoy a yummy cupcake. You can't see my belly in the picture but it really is there, I promise.

More Neighborhood Egg Hunt

We have an annual egg hunt in our subdivision. I am on the social committee along with some of my other friends. Darlene, the leader of the social committee, does an awesome job coordinating it all. We have games, a hunt, and face painting. The fire department also comes out and lets the kids check out all their gear. Here are some close ups of the boys collecting their eggs and a super cute on of Ewan wearing a fire hat.

Ewan is trying on the hat to see how it fits. He still wants to be a fireman when he grows up.

Crashed on the Floor

Ewan had a hard time going down for his nap last week and ended up crying at his door for 5 minutes before crashing on the floor. I thought I'd snap a shot of him snoozing since I don't actually see him sleeping that much. He loves his blankies and that thumb!

And Baby#3....

is another boy! As my best friend told me today, you are going to be a mama surrounded by a bunch of men.

BabyBoy looks healthy--he has all 4 chambers in his heart, his kidneys look good, his neural tube is closed, 2 arms, 2 legs, 10 fingers, 10 toes. We saw him suck his thumb and rub his hand across his face.

You might be wondering how I am feeling about having another boy. Well, we were really sure it was a girl and I really was wanting to be a mama to a baby girl. Maybe sometime in the future. I am totally happy that God has blessed us with another boy. Having boys is great--there is something special about a son and his mama. I love playing with rocks, sticks, bugs, checking out bulldozers and all the other "boy stuff" that comes with having boys.

The real stickler is coming up with a name! We had a hard time with the boys and we already had a girl name picked out. I am open to suggestions...We had thought about Carr as a choice....get it Carr Parker? Car Parker? Hahahaha....

Here are some pictures...

So you are looking at the baby's butt and the little "turtle head" sticking out in the middle is the baby's penis. Cute huh?

Here is the profile shot of the baby. His hand is up near his face and his legs are up in the air. That is our little guy!

Arbuckle Wilderness

This past Saturday we ventured on a spontaneous journey to the Arbuckle Wilderness, located in Oklahoma, about 2 hours from our house. We decided it might be the only time we could go with all the other moving things coming up.

The Arbuckle Wilderness is a drive through safari where you get to feed animals from your car. I definitely recommend it if you are looking for some adventure and an adrenaline rush.

We packed up the kids and got in the car and left around 10:30. We stopped in Gainesville to get Subway for Jon and I and some chips for the kids. We packed a lunch for them with other healthy choices but thought since it was a fun and special we'd let them pick out some chips. Chips are not a regular part of our diet so it is a real treat to pick some out. Of course they both picked out Cheetos. I wanted to post a picture of how Isaac eats his in the car.

His way: Dump them in your seat, move your legs out of the way, and play fish for Cheetos! It was a pretty big mess as you can imagine.

Ewan, as you can see is as happy as a lark eating his Cheetos. No complaints from him at all!

The camels were the most exciting to feed. They were definitely the most aggressive and had no problem invading our car and surrounding us until we surrendered our food. I was taking this picture of Jon feeding the camels and when Jon turned his head two camels were sticking their heads in the car on my side making their way into my lap to get the food cups I had left there while taking the picture. Jon motioned for me to look at my window and there were 2 camels in my face heading for an area that I don't want any camel teeth near! I yelled out, "Drive! Drive!" and Jon started rolling up the window. One of the camels hit its head on the top of the door as it was pulling its head out. At the same time I was yelling, "Don't chop its head off!!!!". It was very exciting to say the least and we all had a good laugh about it. Ewan got a little nervous and told Jon to roll up his window because he didn't want the camels to poke his eye out. Another good laugh. We fed emus, sheep, rams, geese, giraffes, and camels. They tell you not to feed the zebras because they can bite--you didn't have to tell us twice. The ostriches were hanging out with the zebras so we didn't feed them. I get really nervous around ostriches. They look so menacing and their necks and beaks look freakishly strong. Talk about poking out your eyes!

Here are some other highlights:

It was a long day. We drove straight from Oklahoma to small group and finally got home around 8:30. We don't skip naps and delay bedtimes very often but this was worth it. There is just something special about building family memories full of laughter, isn't there?

Pregnancy Hormones

I enjoy being pregnant but the costs that come with it are undeniable. Today I had a sobbing meltdown at church and 90% of my tears were from the hormones.

I went to check on him after our Sunday School class to hee how Isaac was doing and get the potty report. Isaac had a poopie accident in his class this morning. Of course that is never fun to clean up for anyone and as the mom of the pooper I feel especially bad for the nursery worker. I was talking to one of the nursery supervisors about what happened when one of his teachers came out to fill us in. She said that we should start putting a diaper on him during church because she can't handle it and it grosses her out. I said that I would just keep him home for a few weeks to work more on the poop factor because I am not going to put him back in a diaper. Norma, the nursery supervisor, who is very sweet and helpful, said not to do that and they maybe we can move Isaac back to his other room where Georgia can keep an eye on him. He had been in Georgia's class for several months and she knows him really well. Norma thinks that maybe Georgia can watch for Isaac's signals better since she knows him so well.

As we are having this conversation I can feel my face getting hot and my eyes starting to burn. Logically, I know that the nursery teacher's request for him to wear a diaper is fine and she said that the gag factor is her but that she just can't handle it. Emotionally, however, I feel embarrassed for my son and afraid that they think I am a bad mom because I can't get my kid to poop in the potty at church. I feel ashamed and afraid that somehow the teachers won't like Isaac (or me) anymore. And part of me feels hurt (even though I know it is dumb) that she would get "grossed out" by my child who I think is wonderful and one of the most special creations around.

As we were walking away from the conversation the tears started coming and Jon and I went to his office at the church where I cried my eyes out for a while. As I was crying I was thinking about how I was having such an over-emotional reaction to this whole situation, that it wasn't personal, that I didn't need to feel ashamed or embarrassed, and yet the tears and sobs kept coming. Jon prayed for me and I heard God say, "Don't feel embarrassed or ashamed. It is okay. Just rest in me". Hearing from God always helps my heart but it still took a while before the tears would stop coming.

I doubt this will be the last emotional over-reaction I have during the pregnancy and perhaps I should learn to accept them as they come rather than loathe myself for having them--and trust the words that I hear from God. I guess I am surprised at how internally I realize I am over-reacting and yet the tears come anyway. Pregnancy Hormones--sigh.

Anyone else have any pregnancy hormone stories?

Potty Progress!

Isaac had an accident this morning. Sigh. I had just asked him if he needed to go and he said, "Nooo". Okay, I thought I would give him 10 more minutes while I finished cleaning his bathroom. When I went back to take him he had totally peed in his jammies and underwear. So, for the next 2 hours--yes, that is 2 hours--we had a verbal discussion. All I was trying to do was get him to answer this question: "Isaac, where do we go pee-pee?". His response, which he totally knows by the way, is supposed to be, "In the potty!" but instead all he said was, "I don't want to say it.". Arrrrggghhhhhh!

I don't know how he can be so stubborn! Oh, wait--he is my child. Drat! Sorry for all the hell I put you through mom and dad!

Anyway, I was feeling totally discouraged and sad that Isaac didn't WANT to want to pee in the potty--know what I mean? His little heart was hardened and he decided in his little 2 year old mind that he didn't want to say that he knows he is to pee in the potty and not in his underwear.

But alas--this afternoon we turned a corner. We had a house showing today (woo-h00) and took the kids to the park. I was thinking as soon as we pulled in the driveway that it was time to get Isaac on the toilet so we wouldn't have another accident. We got in the house and he came out of my room holding his crotch saying, "Uh-oh, uh-oh". Jon said, "Hurry, get to the potty!" So he got to the potty and I took his pants down and he promptly sat and peed. This would be one of the first times where he took the initiative and realized--I gotta go now, help me before I have an accident. In the past couple of weeks he ran to me saying, "I gotta go potty"--but only after he already has gone everywhere.

I was so proud of him for taking the initiative. Then, a while later we were playing outside and he started looking at me grabbing his crotch again. He was telling me he needed to go. Let me tell you--one of the great things about having a boy is being able to pull their pants down outside and let them water the grass! I was so thankful for his initiative--especially since I have been praying for him about that specifically. So, thank you Lord for getting things to click in his head.

Funny story about boys vs. girls. One of my friends in the neighborhood has a little girl a few months older than Isaac. She is potty training too and is doing a great job. We play together frequently and she has seen Ewan pull his pants down and pee outside plenty of times. The other day she went outside and my friend turned around and her daughter had her pants down around her ankles. Friend asked, "what are you doing?". Her response: "I'm going pee-pee like Ewan!" Of course as a girl you have no aim outward so her pee ran all down her legs in into her pants. I get a phone call saying (jokingly yet seriously), "Um...Ewan can't pee outside in front of Melody anymore". We had a good laugh about it.

Ewan really likes peeing outside though and so does Isaac for that matter--I think it is a natural instinct or something for men/boys to enjoy "marking their territory". It will be hard to explain to him next time we are playing around our friend that he can't just pee outside whenever he pleases. I suppose he has to learn it sometime though.

If this next baby is a girl then I don't know what I am going to do! I guess I will carry around the inflatable potty wherever I go.

Peeing During Pregnancy

I wish that peeing in your pants was not part of pregnancy.

I have had more problems with this pregnancy with incontinence! Today we were playing outside with the "big as Ewan" bouncy ball. Of course it got tossed in the street and proceeded to travel down hill slowly --but fast enough for me to have to run 2 houses down to get it. With every step I am feeling my underwear get a little more damp with every step. Dang it!@@!

I do my Kegel exercises but it seems to do no good (even though I know it is). I really wanted to go inside and pee but that would require taking both boys inside and I never want to disturb outside mojo when both boys are having a blast. Note to self: Remember to pee before we go outside next time!

Recipes

So, I have had an idea for posting for a while now. I love to cook and even more I love trying new recipes. I thought I would post some of my favorites and some of the new ones I try--only if I think they are keepers. Last night I tried a new one from my Whole Foods Cookbook. This cookbook has lots of keepers in it. I'll post one of Jon's favorites sometime soon.

Southwest King Ranch Casserole
The Mexican Chicken Filling
3 Tbsp. canola oil
1 1/2 cups diced yellow onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp coarsley ground pepper (I just used regular black pepper and it was fine)
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups shredded cooked boneless chicken (tip: you can used leftover baked or rotisserie chicken for this dish. I boiled 3 medium/smallish skinless, boneless chicken breasts until they were cooked and then shredded it in the food processor. You can even cook the chicken breasts early in the day to save you time putting dinner together.)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro

The Casserole
2 cups grated Monterrey Jack Cheese
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (tip: we always have a bag of shredded MJ and Cheddar cheese on hand so I just used that)
2 cups bottled tomatillo sauce (I used Herdez brand bottled sauce--it was the perfect amount)
8 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup chopped green chilies, drained

To Prepare the Mecixan Chicken Filling:
Preheat oven to 350.
Heat the canola oil over med-high in a large saute pan. Add the onions, and cook them until they are translucent, 2-3 minutes. Blend in the garlic, paprika, cumin, black pepper, and salt. Add the chicken, and heat through. Remove the pan from the heat; stir in cilantro.
To Prepare the Casserole:
In a small bowl, combine the cheeses. On the bottom of an 8X8 1/2 inch pan at least 2 inches deep (I used a square brownie pan) spread 1 cup of the tomatillo sauce. Top with 4 tortillas, overlapping as necessary. Spread half the sour cream evenly over the tortillas. Add 1/2 cup of the remaining tomatillo sauce, 1 1/2 cups of the chicken filling, 1 cup of the cheese mixture, and one half of the green chilies.
Top with 4 more tortillas, the remainder of the sour cream, tomatillo sauce, and chicken filling, 1 cup of the cheese mixture, and the remaining green chilies. End with 1 cup of the cheese sprinkled on top. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly on the surface.

Yummy!

Serve with a nice green or spinach salad and you have a tasty meal! It tastes even better the 2nd day. I am eating some now for lunch! I don't think it is too spicy for kids but mine wouldn't touch it last night. They were missing out!

Potty Training Update

Well, Isaac is doing very well at potty training. Monday went very well. He had a pee pee accident before he had a success in the potty which I was hoping wouldn't happen. I think I gave the first day a B. He did better in the afternoon and was getting the idea of how it all works. He does a great job emptying his potty bucket--he already knew how to do that from watching Ewan learn how to do it over a year ago.

I was very discouraged on Tuesday when he had accident after accident all morning after the big training day. I thought for sure I had failed as a trainer but the afternoon went much better. I think on Tuesday and Wednesday he was learning that he could hold his pee and how to start it and stop it better. Thursday and Friday he only had one accident and actually made some poop in the potty. Today he has not had any accidents at all but had a poop right in his diaper right after his nap. I am still putting him in diapers when he sleeps. We have had a couple outings and he has done very well at keeping dry pants. He loves wearing underwear. The biggest improvement that needs to happen is for him to go straight to the potty when he needs to pee and just go. Right now we are in the phase where we watch him and the clock and take him to the potty when we think he needs to go. He will grab himself and say I need to go when he needs to go but if we weren't there to help then I think he would have more accidents. In the book we use, we aren't supposed to guide the kid at all and let them handle their toileting all on their own (going to the toilet when they have the urge, pulling down their pants, sitting down, peeing/pooing, wiping (although helping with the poo wipe), pulling up their pants, emptying the potty bucket in the big toilet, replacing the potty bucket). The book trains kids to be self sufficient but I don't think I am that great at the training and the way we have adjusted it seems to work fine.

I like going from diapers to underwear and not turning back. We have never used pull ups with either of the boys--mainly because I don't want to pay for them and I can wash clothes very easily and I think they don't do the job of toilet training. Also, a lot of my friends that have used them have said that when their kids are using them they will pee/poo in them because they know they can. I think that makes the toilet training take longer.

Ewan is pretty self sufficient at toileting himself. He still needs help pulling up his pants sometimes and wiping but he goes straight to the big potty when he needs to go and doesn't need my help. He even uses the stool to turn on the fan when he needs to poop. He is very particular that the fan is on. I never remind him about having to go and he does a great job. He has been a big help in celebrating Isaac at all his successes at potty training. He is proud of his little brother too.

Nursies?

A few weeks ago when Jon was out of town my mother came up to help put the kids to bed while I taught my birth class. We were sitting at dinner at Ewan looked at my mom, then looked at me, then looked at my mom, then looked at me and said the following:

Ewan: (Poking my mother's breasts) Are those your nursies?

Mom: Yes.

Ewan: My mom has nursies. Okay, but you don't have anything to drink out of your nursies. My mom is going to feed the baby with hers.

Mom: That is right Ewan.

My mother and I were containing ourselves from laughter because it was such a funny thing for him to observe and suddenly be aware of at dinner. He is a smart kid and is figuring out the world.

Now, some of you may be wondering why I don't discourage him from this conversation. Let me tell you why. Because breastfeeding is NORMAL and NATURAL. Breastfeeding isn't sexual in nature and for sure Ewan's poking and prodding isn't either. He is learning about babies and body parts. That is normal. I want him to grow up with a healthy idea of what breasts are for. I would hope that he would grow up to be a man who supports his wife and encourages her to give their baby the best food available. Sure, when he gets older he will enjoy the sexual nature of breasts but that isn't all they are for. Breasts were made to feed babies and it is a pity to me that so many people try to make breastfeeding something "gross" or sexual. I think it is ludicrous when people say nursing women should hide themselves and/or go sit in a bathroom somewhere to feed their babies "in case someone sees something". Um, have you seen the way women dress these days? Have ya ever walked by Victoria's Secret in the mall? Have you ever seen their commercials? Have you ever seen the covers of Maxim magazine? Have you ever seen the suggestive poses that Brittany Spears and Christina Aguilara have done in their music magazine spreads? Have you ever seen beer ads? I see more cleavage and boob walking around the mall than I see from women nursing their babies! Anyway, I am sure you get my point although I know that most of you who read my blog aren't naysayers of breastfeeding but I thought I would go ahead and let you know why we consider this normal conversation around our house.

(The picture above is of a woman who has a video series out on breastfeeding that is really good. It covers the how to's, the benefits, personal testimony etc.)

What's Going On...

1. The pregnancy is going well. Morning sickness is almost behind me. I get nauseated occasionally and am throwing up about 1 or 2 times a week now. It has been several days since I vomited. Whew! My belly is beginning to poke out a little. It is more obvious to me than others. I am officially in the in between stage of normal clothes and maternity clothes. My clothes still fit but they are getting a little uncomfortable and are starting to look funny around my belly. In other words I feel more fat than pregnant. Blech! Maternity shirts look unflattering since my belly is little to show for. Thankfully this stage only lasts a few weeks. It turns out I have really only gained about 2 lbs. I am not complaining! I am almost 16 weeks along now. I think that by the time I was 20 weeks with Isaac I had gained 8 lbs. We will see what happens with this pregnancy. I know the weight gain will come.

2. The house is on the market but we still have not had anyone come and look. It makes keeping the house clean seem like a futile attempt but you never know when look-i-loos will start coming. There are about 10 houses in our subdivision up for sale now (about 10% of our subdivision). I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Perhaps if buyers come to look at a house in the neighborhood and see ours they will want to take a peek. Lord, send that buyer soon!

3. I got to go to San Antonio last week to visit my best friend, Jenny. She had a baby at the end of January and I went to go and help out for a few days. What gift my family gave me to be able to go for 5 days! Thank you husband! My in-laws helped out too and for that I am very thankful as well. I got to hold my little "nieta" (niece in Spanish) and play with my "nieto" (nephew). I cooked meals and let Jenny take some naps while I hung out with Joaquin. I had such a good time with the Castros. Thanks for letting me come and visit! There is nothing better than spending time with your dearest friends over meals and casual afternoons sitting on the porch. Being in San Antonio made me wish we lived there again. I love that city. I probably love it more because I have such good friends that live there. If they all moved away I would still love the city but it wouldn't be the same.

4. We are moving in 3 months! Can you believe it? Holy bleep! It is coming around the corner soon and we have a LOT to do. I don't even know what all we need to do but the list is just lingering out there. I don't feel worried or stressed about it yet.

5. The big potty training day for Isaac is next Monday. I am excited for him and this important milestone in his life. I am praying he will learn quickly and take it all in stride. I'll let you know how it turns out.