So it's been a while...

Wow! A year and a couple of weeks has passed since I've blogged. I must admit that I'm not very good at being consistent with such things.
Since August 25, 2009, we've added a new member to our family- Ezra James. In the haze of the past five weeks since he was born, I've come to recognize just how ignorant I've been. I remember one time hearing a woman talk about not being able to get a shower before her hubby came home that evening. At the time, I thought, "How in the world can you not have time to take a shower? The kids sleep. It's a priority!" Ahh...now I've learned that life with a toddler and a baby is completely different than life with just a toddler. I'm thankful that God gently reminds me of my ignorance at times like this. Life's about learning, right?
Then, it finally happened today. When Ezra was born, I mentioned to Josh that we have to be diligent in not leaving the boys alone in a room together. Well, over the past 5 weeks, I've been slowly desensitized to this lesson. Today was the shocker that will help me to remember! While I was out of the room for a brief second, Elijah must have decided that he wanted to pick up his little brother. His almost-13 pound brother is heavy! To my horror, all that I heard was a large thump and Ezra screaming. I found him laying on the floor and Elijah running away. Thankfully, Ezra's okay. I took him to the doctor who gave him the all-clear. It could have been much worse! He hit the hardwood floors pretty hard!
Well, I hear Elijah waking up. More tomorrow...or a week from now...or maybe even a year! Who knows?

On my 30th birthday...

Today I've been trying to take some time to reflect on my 20's and to try to get a vision for my 30's. I've been amazed (once again) to see how God has worked in the past 10 years.
When I turned 20, I was just starting my junior year of college. (Wow! Was it that long ago?) I was excited about getting ready to teach, excited about a developing relationship with a guy named Josh, and traveling all around with the basketball team.
Then came the senior year...
Student teaching, Dad's sudden death, getting engaged, graduating, heading off to the CZ for a year..
Then came marriage. It's interesting. There are so many things we take for granted now. When Josh and I headed to NY a month before our wedding, we didn't have a car (Josh's had just died), didn't have a job (though I had applied to many districts), and didn't have a place to stay. But God was faithful. He provided all these and so much more!
Six years of teaching followed...along with buying a house, getting a dog, settling into a sweet (and ever-deepening) relationship with my hubby.
God is faithful! He has provided abundantly more than we have ever asked for.
Then came the long-awaited baby. He's such a bundle of joy and ENERGY! I've had to redefine myself as I became a stay at home mom, but it has been good. I'm thankful for the opportunity.
Now what? What does God have in store for the next 10 years? How will He use me? In whatever way it may be, I pray that my heart will be available and attentive to His call!

It has been a while...

Wow! Time flies by. It's amazing to think about all that was accomplished this summer. Visiting with family and friends, two weeks of basketball camp, many hours volunteering that the Downtown Pregnancy center... It has been fun!

Now we find ourselves in a "holding" pattern. Elijah may have been exposed to the chicken pox virus during Sunday School on the 8th. We are being very cautious, not wanting to spread it to someone else if he's infectious. This has meant keeping him out of the nursery, stores, the nursing home we visit. I must admit that cabin fever is starting to set in. I tend to take for granted the times when I can just grab him and head out to the store or to the playground at the mall. He's been pretty fussy with teething and a cold, too. God is using this time to work on my patience and perseverance! God is good.

Pruning...

As I was outside trimming the ever-growing trumpet vine and wisteria this morning, I noticed just how quickly it had grown wild. The wisteria vine had shoots coming out from all over the place- even on the very bottom of the "trunk". This left it looking scraggly and unkempt. Not a good thing. However, I came along with my pruning sheers to cut back the "bad" vines, encouraging it to grow in the others by guiding it to the right place. This was a healthy thing to do for the plant.
This made me think of the little one I was carrying on my left hip. He has areas in his little life that need to be "trimmed back" and other areas that need to be encouraged. For example, he's got this bad habit of throwing food on the floor. As parents, we have to teach him the culturally-acceptable way of eating at the table. (It wouldn't be cute for him to throw food on the floor at age 3.) This is an area that needs to be cut out.
However, he has a great fascination with all things mechanical. The reason why I was carrying him on my hip as I was trimming the vines was because he loves the lawn mower. He wants to be right up next to it as Josh cuts the grass. (He does the same thing with the vacuum cleaner.) Obviously, it's not safe for him to be near the lawn mower. But, if we're able to find ways to engage his mind in healthy electronics now, it's better for him in the long run!
This isn't an easy job for parents. But it is one that will make a world of a difference in the long run!
Ahhhh...the ramblings and connections of a "new" mom!

New Adventures

This past weekend was a lot of fun for the family. After working on taking out the bushes on the side of the house, we took off to the park for some kite flying. Elijah and Scout sat happily by watching as Daddy and Mommy tried to get it flying successfully. We finally decided that it wasn't balanced enough because of some missing tails.

After the kite flying fun, we headed to the playground so that Daddy and Elijah could go down the slide.

We've had a few other adventures recently. Elijah's crawling now. Enough said? Hee-hee

The other day, he had some fun playing in the pets' water dish. He loves water...so in his mind, why not? Needless to say, we moved that inside the crate.

Another crawling adventure included going into the pantry and dragging out the 10 lb. bag of potatoes. And where does everything go? In the mouth! (Don't worry...I washed it!)

With crawling, there are many challenges as Elijah learns his new boundaries. I am so thankful to have a loving Heavenly Father who gives us the wisdom we need to make good decisions!

Zoo Fun!

Elijah and I took off today to meet Ms. Noelle and her gang. We had the most fun at the children's zoo area where kids can splash in a "creek" running down the middle. Today was a warm, humid day, so the water really helped!

Later on, we took our first ride on the monorail. Elijah was fascinated by the zebras, storks, bongos, and the ostrich. What fun!

Everytime I go to the zoo I'm reminded of the amazing Creator that we have! He had to have lots of creativity to come up with all of the different types of creatures in the animal kingdom. I thank God for the ability to go see just a small portion of them at the zoo. :)

Living Life in Reverse

Elijah has entered that funny stage of motion where he moves backwards. The look on his face as he does this across the floor is hilarious! You can see those little wheels turning as he thinks, "Hey wait! This isn't the way I want to go! I'm getting farther away from what I wanted!". Priceless!

This little man has also reach the milestone of sitting up all by himself! Hurray! He has been able to be in the sitting position for about five months now. Put him up and he would stay there for a long time, but now he can get there. He loves being able to do that. When he does it, he usually looks around with a smile on his face looking for the coming applause. :)

In all of this movement, I've been able to get a small taste of what it'll be like when he's crawling/walking- and it's scary! This morning I left him on the floor in the middle of his room to go get something. As I came back upstairs I heard a crash. He had pulled the pole lamp in his room right down. No more leaving him alone mommy! :)