The Vandevers

An Epic Year

2012-02-16T11:28:00.000-05:00

Ethan Jay Vandever was born a year ago at 6:08 am. Today, he woke us up at 6:30 am. I wonder if he thinking it was time to celebrate his birthday.

I remember when he was born I loved him so much. I didn't know what his personality would be like but I loved the idea of him. I loved him because of what I knew he would mean to me. I loved him because he was my son. Now, a year later I love Ethan for the little boy that he has become and because he is my (and Jason's) son.

He was so sweet as a new little baby. And often asleep.

He still seemed so tiny even though he was almost a 9lb newborn.

Today he is much bigger!

He has gone through a carseat, a bumbo chair, a jumperoo, and a swing.

Give this kid something to push around or throw and he is a happy guy. :)

One of my favorite things about Ethan is that he is so daring. You never know what he will try. He sees something he wants and goes for it. He has recently learned how to climb the door of the dishwasher. Yes, the dishwasher door. And my shoe rack. And random boxes in our house.

He has some brains to go with his daring side. He throws spoons inside the dishwasher because he knows that's where they go sometimes. And he will come running when I say the word "snack". But he often forgets what the word "no" might mean. Hmm.

And of course, he loves playing with a ball. I took him to Toys R Us to pick out a birthday toy. I took him to the fancy expensive ones and he took off towards a bin full of balls squealing in excitement. So, I bought him 2 new birthday balls.

I love this kid. He is so fun and unpredictable.

Happy Birthday Little Ethan Boy!

Valentines

2012-02-14T12:41:00.001-05:00

Jason and I went out for dinner last night. It was our Happy Valentines meal. I love that that was enough. To just spend some time together where we could talk and laugh and know we would not be interrupted.

When Jason and I had been married for about a year, my best friend at the time was getting married. I kept referring to her as "my best friend". Jason would get upset. He told me that I was his best friend and he was hoping that I would consider him my best friend. I didn't get what he meant for a long time.

I get it now. Intimacy in marriage is about having a friendship too. Not just a commitment and a kid and a house. I can honestly say that Jason is my best friend. He doesn't always understand me.... but I like that he tries. I don't always understand him.... but I try.

I should have taken a picture last night. Because since Ethan has come along, I have neglected making sure Jason and I take pictures together as a couple. But here is one of our little family recently. Happy Valentines Day! I hope you are spending it with your best friend. :)

Need a Lunch Date?

2012-02-08T13:12:00.000-05:00

Need a lunch date? Ethan can pick you up in his cool ride and entertain you with his lunchtime conversation. It will have to be quick, because he'll have to be back home in time for his afternoon nap.

What a Beautiful Morning! (and some pictures)

2012-02-03T12:11:00.000-05:00

Last night, Ethan slept from 9:30-7. Wow. Yes! I've learned that I was not feeding him enough during the day. Now, I bring snacks everywhere we go and feed him breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a bedtime snack. I am trying to give him finger foods, but the kid only has 2 bottom teeth. Peas and carrots are more than 2 teeth kind of snack. Nonetheless, we are trying.

I on the other hand, have not been sleeping well when Ethan does. My body still wakes me up at sometime during the night. I force myself to lay still and not think too much... hoping this will help me fall asleep faster. I am always tempted to get up and go to the bathroom. Or look at the clock and calculate how many hours of sleep I have gotten in this stretch. After a year of this, it has become routine.

Hopefully, I will be able to break the routine soon and Ethan will keep sleeping through the night. I nursed him at 7 and he went back to sleep until 8:30. It was a beautiful morning. :)

Ethan is saying, "Mmm!".

Ethan still loves the park and now we bring his ball EVERY time.

It is a hit with making friends and playing with friends.

Ethan loves to read. He does this all by himself.

It makes me feel guilty and like I should go read to him...

Notice the favorite purple ball in the background.

This was also Ethan's first time to ever wear jeans.

Bath time hair.

I wish I was a Bawla

2012-01-25T12:24:00.000-05:00

Check out this bawla.

Peace.

My Confession

2012-01-23T12:11:00.000-05:00

I confess to you I have never had an abortion. But I'm sure I know someone who has. They are so common nowadays... I'm sure that at least one woman I know has had one.

Yesterday was the 39th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade...bringing abortion back into the spotlight...bringing it back into my spotlight.

I can remember when I first got pregnant. When I found out that there was a little baby inside of me. I was overjoyed. There was no sense of dread. The fatigue and nausea seemed worth it, but it didn't seem real. Not until we had our first ultrasound. Something about seeing Ethan kicking around inside my belly made us feel like parents for the first time. He had arms, legs, and a little mouth. We saw him and knew he was really in there. That day changed everything for us.

When Ethan was born, he used to put his arms up when he was sleeping... as if to say, "Touchdown!". I looked back at his sonogram pictures and sure enough, I found a familiar one of him doing his "Touchdown" routine inside my belly. He really had a personality in there.

My heart goes out to women who have had an abortion. Thinking that the only way out is to get rid of their child. I know my child has caused me so much happiness and delight. I can't imagine my life without him. I pray that women considering abortion would be brave and have their baby. That they would stand up to whatever is looming over them and take a chance that their child can bring happiness and delight into their lives, no matter the circumstance.

Psalm 127:3-5

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.

How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Thankful

2012-01-18T11:32:00.001-05:00

Today is playgroup day. In a couple of hours, I will put some cookies in the oven and break out the toddler mum mums. A small group of women and their toddlers will show up at our house and we will play the afternoon away. At least the kids will. The moms will undoubtedly catch up on what happened over the holidays and mull over the latest milestones and worries that go along with them.

Tonight, Jason and I will eat the leftover Chicken Curry I made last night. We will play with Ethan and possibly watch the Netflix movie that has been sitting on our console table for about a month.

Right after this, I will send out the prayer requests from community group last night. I will pray for the women in our group. I will reflect on God's goodness to us and ask for His continued provision in our lives.

I love the tempo of my life in this season. There are times it is stressful- like flying with a wee little child or trying to clean a bathroom with Ethan at my heels- but for the most part, things are good. I am so thankful.

Ethan News

2012-01-17T13:28:00.000-05:00

Ethan loves his Daddy.... and his Daddy's banjo!

In other Ethan news, he is learning to put himself to sleep. I still nurse him to sleep, but he wakes up when I put him down. He will cry for a few minutes and then fall asleep. This is becoming our routine now. It's funny how much he has changed in the last year. I remember when I had to wake him up to nurse on both sides. Now, he is so heavy I can't lay him down without disturbing him. Don't be alarmed, his cry is not the screaming cry- it's the "I'm tired and I want to go to sleep" cry. Most moms will tell you there is a difference. :)

We have almost mastered sleeping through the night. Ethan does about 8 hours, then nurses, and goes back to sleep for about 3 more hours. I often wake up right before he starts crying. I look at the clock and think- when is he going to get up? Then he starts to cry from the next room. It's funny how we are so in sync with each other. He nurses for about 15 minutes, then goes right back to sleep. It will be weird to not do that soon.

Here is a pic I shot of him sleeping this weekend. He balls himself up and then sleeps on the right edge of the crib. I almost always find him like this when he is sleeping.

And your last tid bit. Ethan is an excitable guy. We went to Bodo's this weekend for bagels and upon seeing the ice cream toppings at the end of the counter- Ethan exploded into "Ooooh! Oot! " for a few minutes. He tried frantically to reach out and touch the rainbow sprinkles and dip his fingers in the caramel sauce. Thank goodness it was covered with a plastic barrier.

Ethan also learned how to pull the air vents up off the floor. He pulls them up and then sticks his face into the duct and tries to touch the dust inside. He even stood up and stepped in it on purpose ( I would like to know what he is thinking!) All the while, squealing in delight. Even the most mundane is exciting to our little Ethan.

As always, there will be more to come as Ethan does more cute stuff.

Passion 2012

2012-01-12T12:49:00.002-05:00

Our Community Group is awesome. There is a girl in our group who is in college and wanted to attend Passion. It happens once a year and it's basically a Christian conference with amazing worship leaders and speakers. It's like Woodstock for Christians. It's geared toward college students.. claiming Isaiah 26: 8 "Yes Lord, walking in the way of your truth, we wait eagerly for You, for Your Name and Your Renown are the desire of our souls."

She wanted to go, but couldn't afford it. So, our group collected money and surprised her with $300 + to attend the conference. It was in Atlanta and she was traveling there with some friends.

I talked with her this Sunday about it and she of course said it was amazing. She said that God did a lot of things there not only in her heart but in other's hearts. One of the workers at the Georgia Dome (where the conference was held) became a Christian... just from hearing what was happening there. Awesome.

Another thing was this song. She said this song did it for her. She was so in awe of Our God and how big He is. That He is all over the world working... and we are in one place having our one experience, but He is vastly bigger than our one experience. Check out the song for yourself.

The words are.... How great is our God. Sing with me how great is our God. And all will see how great how great is our God. The name above all names. Worthy of all praise. And my heart will sing how great is our God.

I was thinking about what she said. And I see it too. Some of our greatest friendships have been with Christians from other parts of the world. God is the same wherever He is. And worthy to praised in all the nations.

Big Helper

2012-01-11T10:58:00.001-05:00

Time for a Change

2012-01-10T12:20:00.002-05:00

I was getting a little tired of my hair. I have had the same cut for years. With a little boy and very little shower/style time it was time for a change....

Here is the hair before. ( I like how Justin "snuck" into the pic. nice. )

Here is the hair today. I chopped it off to the shortest layer and got a "long bob".

I like it. It's a tad shorter than what I am used to, but I think it will be super easy to keep up with. I was spending so much time straightening and blow drying my hair, just to have it end up in a ponytail anyway. This cut requires very little styling- because there are no layers.

Tis the season for new things!

The Art of Cooking

2012-01-09T12:32:00.001-05:00

When Jason and I got married, we made a list of all the things that we both like for dinner.

Chili
Tacos
Shake n Bake chicken w/ mac and cheese
pork chop potatoes
hamburgers
calzones
spaghetti
stir fry
sloppy joes
breakfast food
buffalo wings

It was a sad list. Over our last year of marriage, I have tried to vamp up the list to more healthy and from scratch type dishes.With a little help from Cook's Illustrated and some friends, our list is a little more diverse today.

tostadas with grilled veggies and homemade refried beans
spare ribs with homemade bbq sauce
Curry Chicken
homemade buttermilk biscuits
homemade chicken noodle soup
strip steak with corn and black bean salad
creamy orzo pasta with tomatoes, peas, and parmesean

There are more, but you get the idea. My newest recipe has come from Giada (Food Network) and it is meatballs. I combined it with a Cook's Illustrated recipe of Romano Cheese Pasta. It was so yummy!

Ok, so I took the pictures after we had eaten, but I can assure you it was delish!

Ethan cuteness sidenote: When we eat, I usually say mmmm applesauce or mmmm yummy food. Now when he sees us eating or food that he wants to eat he says mmmmmmm and smiles.

Christmas!

2012-01-06T12:37:00.000-05:00

We had a blast with Ethan and family this Christmas. Here is a photo recap of our events!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

2011-12-19T11:30:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from the Vandevers

(Pictures from our Christmas card below + one)

The Vandever Plague

2011-12-12T11:28:00.001-05:00

That's what it has been affectionately named. It all started a week ago.

Ethan and I attended play group like we normally do, hanging out with our friends not knowing that a horrible, nasty bug was finding residence in us at the same time.

It did not hit us until Wednesday afternoon. In fact, I got a few emails from people in the play group saying they had a stomach bug and came to the conclusion they had gotten it at playgroup- since so many people there came down with it. I read those emails and thought- Good gracious! How awful for them. I'm glad we have healthy immune systems.

Utter foolishness. Around 3 that day my tummy started to rumble. I went to the grocery store thinking it was nothing. When Ethan and I got home from the store, I made a beeline to the bathroom. I spent the rest of the afternoon laying on the floor next to Ethan's jumperoo watching him play with his toys. I was in the bathroom the rest of the night and much of the next day. Yuck.

Ethan did not escape this bug either. He had some bad diapers for 4 days. I kept him home from church so he wouldn't spread the plague to all of his little friends in the nursery.

Jason thought he had escaped it- much like I had. And my Dad was planning a quick weekend visit from Alabama. He drove down on Thursday afternoon and Friday. I was feeling better, so we decided to continue on with our weekend plans.

Thursday night at 3 am, Jason found himself sick and for most of the night. I called my Dad , by this time halfway to Virginia in Tennessee, and told him our news. He decided to brave it anyway.

Dad, Ethan, and I hung out most of the weekend while Jason stayed in bed. He had it much worse than I did. We mostly hung around the house and played with Ethan- except for the night I took Dad out for a birthday dinner.

Dad left yesterday and seemed fine. He texted me last night and said he came down with the Vandever plague in his hotel room. Oh the misery!

All I can say is, if you live in Alabama... I am so sorry for you. I sincerely hope you escape the plague that is spreading like wildfire here in Virginia.

(Speaking of wildfire.... I was tempted to just throw a match and burn everything the plague touched- like in The Velveteen Rabbit- to clean our house.)

Bathtime

2011-12-05T12:14:00.001-05:00

Who doesn't love a naked kid in a bath tub?

Update: Ethan didn't read my previous blog- he was off "schedule" all weekend. Now that it is Monday again- he went down for his nap like clock work at 11. Go figure.

The Daily Grind

2011-11-30T11:23:00.001-05:00

As much as I was fighting a schedule- we have in fact fallen into one at the Vandever household. With Ethan taking 2 naps a day instead of 3- scheduling is a breeze. With 3 of more naps a day, it seemed like every time I turned around, it was time to sleep again and a schedule seemed too confining for me.

Our typical day now looks like this:

7:45-8:30 wake up and nurse
10:45-11:15 Ethan goes down for nap/ nurse to sleep
12-12:30 Ethan wakes up
between 2 and 3 nurse
5pm Ethan takes a nap and either falls asleep in car or nurses to sleep
8- bedtime snack, bath, and pjs
8:30-9 Ethan down for the night/ nurse to sleep
one time at night- up for a 15 minute nursing- right back to sleep

Ethan sleeps in his crib most of the time now, but if we are out he will sleep in his car seat. It's the best of both worlds for me. I don't have to lug his pack and play every time we are out during his nap time and he sleeps tucked away in his room when we're at home.

Nursing is so easy now. It takes about 10 minutes when he's awake and about 20 minutes when he's nursing to sleep. That's faster than the time it takes to make a bottle and clean it afterwards. I really love nursing now, because Ethan's walking and it is often when he is the most still and I get to cuddle with him. He does not like to cuddle much anymore because he has walking to practice!

Ethan is eating solid foods. And by solid I mean pureed foods and finger foods. He still does not have a single tooth! So, that keeps me from giving him serious solid things- like Turkey at Thanksgiving. He does eat things like bananas and scrambled eggs. Every time Jason and I or just I sit down for a meal, I make sure to feed Ethan solid foods. So, he's getting breakfast and lunch and sometimes dinner. He sleeps through our dinner time some nights. He gets a bedtime snack before his bath and he snacks on puffs, mum mums, and anything else handy for him to eat during the day. He drinks water out of a sippy cup- with no valve. He will take a bottle but does not get one very often. He is trying to use a spoon but has not even come close to mastering it. Ethan loves to pick up food and feed himself. He almost always wants to feel the food before it goes into his mouth- including the purees.

Ethan has only been sick one time. We both had a cold a few weeks ago that lasted about a week. There was green snot and the snot sucker had to brought back into play. Poor baby. I think all in all- that's great for the first 9 months. No ear infections or reflux. No pneumonia or major diaper rashes. It has been a good healthy 9 months.

I can see the transition from nursing happening now. It takes less and less time during the day to nurse. I see how it could be skipped altogether at times. I have really enjoyed nursing. The first few months were very hard, but once we got the hang of it, it has been nothing but rewarding. Now, I am not putting a timeline on when we'll stop. I used to say 6 months. Then I said 1 year. Now I say, when we're ready to stop. :)

Here are a few recent pics of our little man:

A Funny

2011-11-29T17:09:00.001-05:00

I received this in an email today and thought it was pretty good. Merry Christmas lighting to you!

Walking the Walk

2011-11-28T11:47:00.001-05:00

Ethan Jay Vandever may have officially taken his first steps a few weeks ago, but this Wednesday he started to officially walk by himself! All it took was Jason to be home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Ethan was so excited that his daddy was home for that long-- he would do anything Jason wanted, including trying out walking.

Since we have taken these videos, Ethan has become even more confident. He walks from person to person and last night he started to walk from thing to thing. I think this kid will be running by Christmas!

Amen!

2011-11-21T09:44:00.001-05:00

Having a Ball

2011-11-19T22:42:00.001-05:00

Ethan's favorite toy right now is a purple ball that Tom (his grandpa) gave to him when he was a month old. I have to admit, upon first getting the ball I thought it would be a while before he could play with it. But, the truth is he plays with it all the time. As he grows in his development, he finds new ways to play with it. The newest thing is throwing the ball. He loves it.

Real Faith

2011-11-16T12:35:00.001-05:00

Nebuchadnezzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Who names their kids such things? Crazy. Imagine being the teacher who stumbles over those names calling them out on the first day of school. Ridiculous.

These are the names of some of the men involved in my next favorite passage from The Bible. Actually Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were teenagers or "youths" at the time. (Daniel 1:3-4)

Nebachadnezzar is the king of Babylon. He thinks he is so awesome that he builds an image that he thinks is worthy of worship. The thing is huge. 90 feet tall, 9 feet wide, and made entirely of gold. I'm not quite sure what the image was shaped like exactly, but it was a hunk of gold nonetheless. (Remember, this did not work out so well for the Israelites at Mt. Sinai.)

Everyone is told to bow down and worship this image. If you don't, you get thrown into a "fiery furnace". A furnace may have been used to make bricks- heated at a couple thousand degrees. (So my Study Bible says...) Babylons liked to use it as a form of punishment, so there may have been one exclusively for executions. (Also a note in my Study Bible.)

And as you might have guessed- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse. So they are ordered into the fiery furnace. Before they are thrown in, Nebuchadnezzar taunts them and says, "And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?" (Daniel 3:15b)That little g was about to become a big G for the king, because by the end of the story he will believe that the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is the real and true only God of the universe- able to do whatever He wants. It takes a little fire to strike fear into the king's heart.

But that is not why I love this story. I love it for the next part. vs. 16-19. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O, Nebachadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God who we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you , O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

Ok, I added some italics. Because that is the best part. They knew the God whom they served. They knew God is able to deliver them. I love the But if not part. It shows that their faith in God was set. It wouldn't move depending on what happened to them in that moment. They had faith even if God did not do what they wanted Him to do right then. To me, that is real faith. Having trust in God even when you know things may not turn out ok, Trusting that God is able to perform miracles. That He can handle all that seems so hard for us. That in the end, He will make all things right.

The rest of the story turns out well for these teenage boys. They are thrown into the furnace that is heated 7 times hotter than usual-- so 14,000 degrees. Yikes. So hot that it kills the men who throw the teenagers into the fire. But, of course, the boys are not burned. They live... and get to hang out with a mysterious 4th man who appears in the fire. Angel? Jesus? Not sure, but would love to know one day. The king hauls them out of the fire and doesn't even smell a hint of smoke on them. Amazing. But if not? He is able to deliver us from anything. And the little g turns to a big G for the king. He believes that the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is the true God.

Nebachadnezzar declares, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in Him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way." vs. 28-29.

God had a lot of work to do on the king's heart. The king was still using violent means to enforce decrees and didn't know what to do about addressing God. All he knew was that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's God is real and able to save us. An amazing jump from where he was at the beginning of the chapter.

My God is mighty to save. He is mighty to save. Love it.

Grace Amazing

2011-11-14T12:37:00.001-05:00

Mephibosheth. Not likely to be found on any baby name lists. But in fact, it is a name of a man.

One of my favorite stories from the bible involves this man. You'll find his story in 2nd Samuel 9. There was a guy named Saul who was Israel's first king. God finds his heart wicked and takes his royal status from him. Saul has a son named Jonathon who became good friends with the man who became the next king- David.

Now David did not seek to be king. In fact, he was the furthest thing from a future king when Samuel found him. Samuel is the priest whom God sent to anoint the king that God chose- because he had a heart that longed for God. And David had this. Being a shepherd prepared him to lead God's people even when they became bitter or strayed from God. He had led sheep before.

David is put into power and Saul is killed. David should be happy right? He is, but he mourns the loss of Saul. He mourns the loss of someone who is supposed to be his enemy. And he mourns the loss of his friend Jonathon. In chapter 9 David says.... Is there anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathon's sake?

And there is. Mephibosheth. Now, Mephibosheth was supposed to run away to another place- far away from David. What king wants a potential heir to the throne he overthrew to survive? Not many. But this king did. So much so that he brought Mephibosheth into his kingdom and gave him a place at his table- with his sons. Mephibosheth at one point says... What is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?. He understands the weight of what should happen to him. His family is an enemy of the now king. But David wants to elevate him and bring him into his household because of his father Jonathon.

And he does. David even gives Mephibosheth all the land that was Saul's and provides workers to plant and harvest crops for him and his family.

Amazing. I see the gospel so clearly here. I am associated with sin that is an enemy to God. But, Jesus has been made my co heir because He shed His blood for the forgiveness of my sins. God, seeks me out so that he can elevate my position before Him simply for the sake of Jesus. I should run away and be scared of God's judgement on me, but instead God brings me into His presence and provides more than enough for me and my heart. Amazing.

Only your blood is enough to cover my sin.

Grace. Love it.

First Steps!

2011-11-08T11:11:00.000-05:00

Ethan took his first steps this Sunday at about 8pm. What a rockstar. He will be 9 months in a little less than 2 weeks. He is by no means walking on his own, but he sure wants to. Enjoy seeing his first steps into becoming a toddler. :)

Sleepy Boy

2011-11-06T19:03:00.000-05:00

Oh ya. This happened tonight. Hilarious.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-02T12:29:00.002-04:00

That's My God

2011-10-30T23:02:00.000-04:00

God is so good. Some friends of ours had a yard sale this weekend at our church.They are adopting a child from Uganda. You can visit their blog to find out more. I went to help sort some clothes on Wednesday afternoon thinking it would be easy peasy. I walked into our church and it was wall to wall stuff. Amazing. Furniture. Books. Video game systems. Clothes. Home Decor. You name it, it was there. I was blown away by the shear amount of things that were donated. A friend and I sorted through little girl clothes and it took us over an hour to get through the mound of stuff. And that was just little girl clothes.

April and Chris went from this much stuff on Monday.....

To this much stuff by Saturday.....

Incredible. They were hoping to raise $3k for their adoption. They raised $8k .

It's amazing to see God's hand on someone. To take faith so simple and blow them away. That's my God. A God who loves us with an everlasting love. That cares for each and every thing we care for. Who hears us when we pray and answers us. Who takes a little yard sale and shows off and shows my friends how much this adoption matters to Him. That's my God. I am so glad to be counted as one of His children.

Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol Him, all peoples! For great is His steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord! Psalm 117

Night Night

2011-10-26T12:52:00.000-04:00

Ethan is so fun. Last night we were putting him to bed and Jason started to play his animals that make noise. Ethan thought it was the best thing ever....

I have started praying this verse over Ethan. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 4. People ask me if I am praying for Ethan's future wife. I respond by telling them that I am praying for his salvation first. It would give me no greater joy than to know that the little boy that I love is securely in the hands of my Savior and my God.... to know that Ethan understands the depth and breadth of love that God has for him. That it even outdoes Mom and Dad's love for him. That would make me so happy! I pray that this is true for Ethan one day. Then, I will start praying other things for him. Right now, that is the most important prayer coming from this Momma to her God for Ethan.

Bye Bye Fruit Fly

2011-10-18T18:31:00.002-04:00

We are having a fruit fly infestation in our house right now. Some good friends of ours gave us a solution..... and we scored! Lots and lots of fruit flies.

The secret is Apple Cider Vinegar in a dish with Saran Wrap on top. Plus a few holes punched in the Saran Wrap. The bugs are attracted to the vinegar and crawl into the Saran Wrap to be close to it. They then find themselves trapped by the Saran Wrap and cannot get out. Death is then inevitable. Done. No more infestation.

Uncle Justin

2011-10-17T11:19:00.000-04:00

All the way from San Francisco....Uncle Justin.

Tuesday Nights at our House

2011-10-12T12:20:00.001-04:00

Tuesday nights at our house are Community Group nights. Jason and I are blessed to host a group of Christians in our house every Tuesday night. We start with some dessert and conversation, move onto prayer and discussion of the sermon that was taught on Sunday at church, then we split up guys and girls and have prayer time.

It is so fun to hear the heart of other Christians. You think you know someone, and then they reveal a piece of themselves that God is working on. It's beautiful. I love how God uses what people say in our group to teach me more about Himself. I am sharpened as Proverbs 27:17 says and my heart is encouraged. I find myself taking notes during the sermon so that I can meditate on it later and be familiar with the passage preached on before Tuesday night.

We are so blessed to have each other. I am so thankful for each and every one of them!

Wet n Wild

2011-10-11T16:18:00.000-04:00

Ethan and I attended our first baby swim class yesterday. We got there early and the class started 10 minutes late. Ethan was almost in panic mode looking at the water and dying to get in. As soon as we got into the pool, he started splashing with his hands and squealing in delight. This kid loooves water.

The class was really fun. We sang songs like Humpty Dumpty and Pop Goes the Weasel as we did different things. Some of what we do I have done with Ethan already. I was surprised. It's amazing how intuitive something like learning to swim can be. I did learn a few new tricks though-- like teaching your kid to grab the wall. It's for safety. And blowing bubbles under the water helps them to not be afraid to hold their breath underwater. All very good tips.

Ethan loved being with a class full of other babies. He loves other kids. He was staring at them and trying to make noises at them, but most of them did not understand his advances. :)

The best part was when the class was over and we went to the zero depth pool. It had lots of fountains. Ethan loved holding my hands and walking and playing with the water from the fountain. As we were leaving the class the instructor said, " Bye crazy man!". I thought- she doesn't even know. :)

Going With the Flow

2011-10-06T11:36:00.001-04:00

I chose not to do Babywise or The Baby Whisperer or any of those books. I definitely had moments where I wanted to talk to someone who had all the answers, but I did not turn to those books to find them. I found help from Dr. Sears books and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. I felt those books were more of an encouragement than a how to. They gave a base line of what was normal and what to be concerned about, but did not give a regiment. They gave freedom- to do things the way you think is best.

I am not a schedule type of person. I don't think I could live my life knowing everyday at 11 am I'll be doing this or at 2 pm this will happen. I know some people thrive in that kind of predictability, but not me. I love knowing that everyday will look different from the one before. I like to concentrate on the moment I'm in and enjoy it for what it is worth. That variety helps me to do that.

I wanted to learn my mothering personality. I know what my personality is like as a teacher, but I wanted to stretch myself and see how I handled certain things. I have learned so much about myself as a result. I sometimes do the craziest things just to get a laugh out of Ethan. It's so much fun. And when I start to discipline him, which he doesn't understand, I find myself saying things like, "There are differences between wants and needs and this is clearly a want and not a need, so let's not use our need cry for things that we want." Haha- so funny that I say things like that. I know that Ethan is not mine- he belongs to Jesus. I am just stewarding him for the time being. Jesus must think I am pretty funny with my logic. :)

I want to enjoy my time with Ethan. I am not working outside of being a mom, so I have the luxury of taking time to do things with Ethan. I can nurse him to sleep and hold him while he naps. I can take a nap with him. Watching his precious little face laid sideways on our bed with his mouth open while he sleeps is one of my favorite things to do. I don't have to worry about other kids I'm taking care of. And I know that nothing could be more important than enjoying this little man. I think when he is older and I have to be diligent with discipline, I can remember these sweet moments and keep my calm. Or, when we have another baby, to recount the days of Ethan's infancy to him and let him know how precious he is and was to me during that time.

Having a disciplined life for me right now means enjoying life. Stopping to take in the beauty around me when I see it. And to enjoy it. To see my creator in my relationship with Ethan and to see how God loves us in the way I understand my love for Ethan. Beautiful.

For me, baby whispering and being wise about babies is praying and following the steps of where God takes me in each moment. Trusting that God will provide me the wisdom, love, and patience to get through this day and this moment. And to enjoy it while I do.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

Matthew 6:34

Ask and it will be given to you, see, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil , know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! Matthew 7: 7-11

All Night Long

2011-10-05T16:51:00.000-04:00

Ethan slept. Yes folks. Last night was Ethan's first night to sleep straight through! We put him to bed about 10 (because Tuesday night is Community Group night so he goes to bed later) and he slept until 6:45 this morning. Awesome! You would have thought I would have had a fantastic night's sleep, but no such luck. Nope. This Momma was up at 4 thinking- why hasn't he woken up yet. Then at 5:30 when he cried for about 30 seconds-- thinking did he go back to sleep or is he up?

Nonetheless, we are on our way to better nights. We have been for a while, but this is the first time he slept for almost 9 hours straight. Woo hoo! It took 6 months for things to get manageable and now this at 7 1/2 months. He will be walking and hopefully breaking some teeth in the next few months.... so I'm sure he'll be up at night for those things. I am so proud of him though. Go Ethan.

And now for your viewing pleasure.....

Book Resolutions

2011-09-25T22:30:00.000-04:00

It's not the New Year- but that does not mean that resolutions are out of the question. I love to read. In fact, I credit my love of reading with my poor eyesight- achieved while reading in the car at night as a child. The dim light did not help my eyes.

I love to read several books at a time. I am currently reading a parenting book, a Christian devotional book, and a novel. Actually, I finished the novel yesterday. I would love to journal more, but with Ethan, writing things is sometimes out of the question. I have a box of journals in the attic. It is so much fun to go back and read about what I was thinking through different seasons of my life.

I took Ethan to the library last Monday for story time. While we were there, I checked out a book for myself. I thought it would take me forever to read it. But, I caught myself reading snippets during nap times or going to bed early to catch a little time with the book. It's Sunday night, and I have finished it! Very unexpected. So tomorrow, I plan on getting another book. I would love to get back into reading more and finishing books sooner.

The book I read this week was The Preacher's Daughter. It is a series about an Amish girl named Annie. She is an artist and has to choose between her art and joining the Amish church and staying with her people. I am learning lots of things about Amish culture--including the fact that they don't like to distinguish themselves and be unique. It's against their culture. Art is a way to do that. It's very interesting. I am ready for the next book.

I also recently read The Help. I have heard endless things about it and loved it. The book lived up to all the hype. It might be the best book I've read this year. Jason and I went to see the movie last weekend and I bawled. It was so good and did a good job staying with the story from the book. A few things were different, but it transitioned really well to the Movies. I loved the story. It is so moving and powerful. And funny. Minnie was amazing. I loved her commentary in the book. So good. If you read one book this year, this is the one to go for.

If you have any books to recommend, I would love to hear what they are. Drop me a comment. :)

Trouble

2011-09-19T23:30:00.000-04:00

Ethan is full on cruising now. He's getting really good at it. The dishwasher was one of his newest discoveries. He also discovered how to take the childproof lock off the cabinet behind him. I think he thinks it's a toy that he has to figure out.

Jason and I opted to eat dinner in front of the tv tonight and let Ethan play while we ate. He was really quiet for about 10 seconds which was alarming. He was quiet because he was climbing the stairs! Yikes! I have never seen Jason move so fast!

He loves to make noise. With his hands, his spoon, or his toys. He loves things that are LOUD!

OBX

2011-09-11T20:40:00.000-04:00

The family went to the Outer Banks this week.... Jason, Ethan, and I that is. We thought camping with a soon to be 7 month old was a little ambitious. We met up with some good friends who were also spending the week there and had some great times with them. We discovered that Ethan can sit in one of those restaurant high chairs and eat baby food while we eat our meal. It made us more mobile to do that with him. He did try to eat sand again but we were on our A game and kept him from his favorite salty snack. We went to a few pools and beaches and he loved every minute of being in the water.

We stayed in a family friend's condo that had a lot of mirrors. Ethan loves mirrors. He would crawl up to one and start screaming at his reflection. He loves looking at himself. All the furniture was a good height for Ethan to cruise around on. He could grab onto the coffee table and walk around it.

We went onto this fancy pier to watch the fisherman and to see the huge waves from hurricane Katia. Ethan loved the wind and screamed every time the wind blew really hard. It was hilarious.

My favorite times were when we would go take walks on the beach at sunset. It was beautiful and the weather was so nice. And because of hurricane Katia, there were huge waves and the surfers would be catching their last waves of the day. It was really fun to watch.

Grandpa Visits

2011-08-28T18:13:00.000-04:00

Grandpa Harfoot braved the hurricane this weekend to come visit Ethan. :) I think they liked each other.

We went to Carter Mountain, Blenheim Vineyards, and Jefferson Vineyards on Friday. On Saturday we went to Peter Chang's for lunch, did a little shopping, watched True Grit, and then went to Grandma Patty's for dinner. Dad flew out today to get back to work for Monday. It was a whirlwind, but a fun one. :)

Back to School

2011-08-24T22:33:00.000-04:00

It's a little strange this year not going back to school. I miss it. I miss some of the teachers I worked with and I definitely miss the kids I taught. It is so fun to be a role model and teacher for kids. I loved the harder kids. The ones who don't have a lot of stability in their lives. The ones who show up on the first day and you think- ok this is going to really stretch me. I love it. That's why I went into teaching.

Teachers are the glue that holds our education system together. With a great teacher a kid can go really far. With a bad teacher a kid can believe they are not worth investing in and stupid. A teacher can change a kid's life... for good or bad.

I remember some of my teachers.

My high school chemistry teacher was awful. He taught for 20 minutes of each class and let us "hang out" for the rest of the time. I didn't understand and even went in for extra help before school because he coached the tennis team after school. He would sit on his computer and tell me to read a page out of the text book instead of answering my real questions. I learned nothing and decided science was impossible. He would have a former student bring him lunch every day during my class and talk to her for most of the class. My mom even met with him and he blamed my bad grades on me. He was later fired for having an affair with the former student who brought him lunch and poor teaching.

My 7th grade History teacher was the best. Mr. VandenBelt. He always had cool activities for us to do. We had a huge mock court project where we put the leaders of the Alamo on trial and examined their actions. (It was Texas history). We role played and I was a lawyer. It was really fun. Mr. V knew things about me- like who I lived with and what things I was interested in. He cared about that. He would walk around with a bicycle horn attached to a plastic pitcher and blow it at kids who had gum during class changes. They had to spit their gum in the pitcher. He kept it on his desk and it was disgusting. I loved him. He now teaches AP at my old high school.

Great teachers....

- love the kids. Do what they do for kids. Period.
- don't need awards. They don't need to be "Teacher of the Year" or get a Golden Apple. Their reward is the smile on a kid's face when they succeed. (Although when those great teachers are awarded- it's a bonus!)
-create a safe space for kids. Kids know that they can succeed if they work hard in a great teacher's classroom.
-persevere. Things are hard. Parents. Schedules. Other Teachers sometimes. Curriculum. Tests. Hours. Grading. Meetings. Great teachers keep loving their kids and doing the best they can despite those things.
-are creative. They know that what works for one kid may not work for the next. Teaching is about tests- but mostly about learning. How can one kid understand this and another kid too? What can I do to motivate them to care about this? Why is this important to my class? Is this fun? Is this a waste of time? Creativity is a must!
- are flexible. Lessons may have to change on the spot. A fire drill may interrupt an activity. A kid may have a meltdown in the middle of a lesson. A question may be asked that absolutely has to be addressed. A student may need some extra attention to boost their confidence. Great teachers know what is needed and adjust for those needs.
-discipline well. They are prepared and have great procedures. It is possible for any kid to be successful because of the preparation that went into their work. A lot of discipline is taken care of by doing those things well. Discipline from then out is firm and fair- not done to embarrass or belittle.
-have failed and learned from it. Teachers don't just become great overnight. It is a learning process. :)

Like I learned in college- "Capture a kid's heart and you will capture their mind forever."

No Worries

2011-08-24T14:05:00.001-04:00

I have gotten several phone calls and texts regarding yesterday's earthquake. Yes, the epicenter was about 30 minutes from Charlottesville in a tiny town called Mineral,VA. Ethan, Jason, and I are fine.

It hit a little before 2 pm. At first, I thought it was just a huge gust of wind shaking our house. I looked outside and saw the trees were not moving. The ground started to make a few groaning noises. I realized I was in an earthquake. I had to think for a minute about what to do. I ran through the natural disaster procedures in my head that I had learned. Tornado- get in the bathtub. Hurricane- get in a basement or the lowest solid part of your house. Earthquake- ??. I never learned that in school. I grew up in Texas where there are no Earthquakes. I thought if things start falling- I surely don't want to be inside. So, I grabbed Ethan out of the high chair and took him outside. All of our neighbors were outside. After realizing we had had an earthquake and everyone was ok, we had a laugh and went back inside.

Jason was in the middle of meeting. They all went outside when they realized what it was. When the shaking stopped, they went back in to finish the meeting.

An aftershock hit at about 8 last night. It was very small, but you could definitely tell it was an earthquake.

All is good on this home front!

Here are a few pics from Ethan and I's day yesterday. :)

To the Mattresses

2011-08-20T22:01:00.003-04:00

I know this blog has been all about Ethan lately-- but I can't help it! The newest dilemma is this....

Ethan has spent the first 6 months of his life napping in this swing. I knew the day was coming when he would outgrow it... and that day is here. I have been fighting it for a while. When I turn the swing on full blast it barely moves the boy. He does weigh 19 lbs.... I hand rock it and the whole thing creaks in protest. I have to hold the feet of the swing down so they don't come off the floor with the 19 lbs of momentum coursing through them. It is so time to give it up.

The other option is the car seat. Ethan will go to sleep in it really well. I just have to put a blanket on him, give him a paci, and rock him for a few minutes. He will fall asleep in the middle of anything if he is rocked.

The obvious option is the crib. He only sleeps in it at night. He sleeps in the swing or the car seat during the day.The pediatrician suggested that we teach Ethan how to fall asleep on his own in the crib. She suggested trying this during the day instead of at night. That way when he wakes up in the middle of the night in it, he can fall right back asleep without having to be put back to sleep. Makes sense. But easier said than done- especially now that he is crawling and pulling up. I have to wrestle him down the mattress to get him to lay down sometimes.

But, we have been working on it. And it is going surprisingly well. The first night he woke up at his normal time at night, I got him down on the mattress, calm, in about 20 minutes. Then the stare off began.... for the next hour. This is not fun at 3 am. But he finally went to sleep in the crib without eating. Since then we have been practicing during the day too and it is also going really well. It takes about 10 minutes of me holding his arms down while he is laying down for him to drift off. I have to hold his arms down to keep him laying down and not trying to sit up and crawl. Tonight when he went to sleep it took about 5 minutes and I only held his arms down for 2 of those minutes... Hopefully I won't have to hold his arms down at all soon.

This might have been easier to start earlier in his development, but we're doing it now and that's what matters. :)

If you give a baby a teddy bear...

2011-08-19T23:15:00.000-04:00

good luck getting him to sit still! This was an attempt at our monthly picture with Boris the bear. It shows how Ethan is growing. It was a little harder to capture this month...

First Solid Food

2011-08-16T23:26:00.000-04:00

Ethan finally did it. He made it to 6 months. This means solid foods for little man. We decided to start this weekend so that Jason and I could both be home and be able to enjoy this experience without the hustle and bustle of our weekly routines. We started with a mushed up banana on Saturday morning.

It was not well received at first. Ethan made a face and then felt the banana in his mouth. He swallowed and opened up for more. By the end of his first feeding, he was getting the hang of it. He is not used to wearing a bib. He liked to try to eat that too. :)

That night, we tried rice cereal just before bed. I was hoping that it might help him to sleep better at night. Although it helped him to fall asleep faster, it did not keep him asleep longer. He still woke up at his usual times during the night.

I made some baby food yesterday- apples. And some more today- sweet potatoes. It is surprisingly easy and does not take that much time. I kinda enjoyed it. I added a little bit of cinnamon to each batch. Ethan loved the apples. I think we'll finish those off tomorrow morning.

I'm just not sure how often to give him solid food and when. We visit the pediatrician tomorrow, so we can talk to her about it in length. Plus we get shots. It's going to be a fun day....

Favorite Song

2011-08-13T10:00:00.002-04:00

This was my favorite song from camp this week. It is so simple but so true. Jesus, you are so good. :)

10/40 Expedition

2011-08-12T18:09:00.003-04:00

Whew! I just finished going on an expedition for the 10/40 window. Or at least I helped lots of kids to.Our church hosted a morning camp all week for kids to learn about Jesus. I volunteered to help out with games.

The camp was really fantastic. It was all centered on the 10/40 window and sharing the gospel and praying for people in that region. The 10/40 window is 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. It is origination point for all the world's major religions. It contains the most people who don't believe in Jesus in the world. They believe in their gods, but not the one true God.

Each day was a different place and a different focus. It gave the kids some exposure to different cultures in the world. For snack, they would have rice or noodles or whatever kids in that region eat. For games they would play things that kids in that region play.Each group of kids had a "base camp" that was a scene from a different part of the world. We would pray for the kids and people in each region everyday and talk about how God loves them so much. It was a really cool way to explain Christ to the kids and teach them about prayer and sharing the gospel.

There was this character called Addison Venture that showed up each morning. He was a guy in our church who was playing a part- where he was looking for the 10/40 window. He kept having crazy things happen to him. On the last day he finally understood what all the people on his journey were trying to tell him and he "Jumped to J". He accepted Christ as his savior.

I had a lot of fun with games. Each game had a spiritual connection. We would play the game and then talk about a spiritual truth. For example, we played a game similar to duck, duck, goose. At the end, I explained that in our game we had a hole in the circle that we were trying to fill, and we have a hole in our hearts that only Jesus can fill. We were created to know God and only with Jesus in our hearts can we know the one true God. We played a game where the kids had to pretend to be a dragon today. The head had to reach the dragon's tail and pull on it. I explained that the church is like a dragon. There are all different parts- head, tail, body, legs just like there are different kinds of people with different kinds of gifts in the church- singing, cleaning, teaching, saying hi and we need all these different kinds of people to worship God together. It wouldn't work if we were all a head or all a tail. And just like we had to be strong and hold onto one another to be a dragon, we need to encourage each other in the Body of Christ. We need to be strong for people who are having a hard time and need encouragement and help.

I'm glad that I got to be a part of what God did this week. Now I need a good night's sleep! :)

The gaming area... minus all the wild kiddos.

Ethan enjoying himself in the nursery.

Steppin' Out with my Baby

2011-08-05T14:37:00.002-04:00

Ethan and I caught a little time at the park today. We had a blast!

Fun on the web

2011-08-04T12:50:00.000-04:00

Here are some fun/interesting things I have found on the web lately:

A clip on the Today show about co-sleeping/bedsharing:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Photobook Making.

Something my mom is sending to me this week for Ethan.

New recipe.

Local fun for the fall.

Mark Driscoll's blog on parenting topics.

I'm trying to find this guy that Jason's cousins were telling me about yesterday. He is a youtube sensation. He reviews video games while playing them and saying funny things. If you know who that is, drop me a comment because I would like to at least see what they were talking about.

The Great Sleep Debacle

2011-08-02T16:48:00.000-04:00

Ever since Ethan was born I have been worrying about his sleep. Is he sleeping too much? Is he sleeping at the right times? Is he sleeping in the right spot? Why won't he sleep longer (at night)? Should I let him cry it out? Will he grow out of it?

Hmmph. It can drain a woman to worry so much.

After wrestling with Ethan at about 3 months to only sleep in his crib and at certain times of the day- I gave up. He does not have a set schedule, but he can sleep pretty much anywhere and does when he is tired. Here are some places he has slept recently:

-At playgroup with 5 other babies crawling around and making lots of noise.
-In Dairy Queen in his car seat.
-At home through our neighbors moving in and blaring loud music seemingly into our house.
-On a walk in the stroller through the neighborhood.

We have a routine during the day and I can pretty much tell you at what times he will sleep during that routine- but it will most likely not be in his crib. He will have to one day when he gets to big to sleep other places. But for now, he sleeps in his crib at night.

My newest trick is a certain song that he will fall asleep to in the car when played repeatedly. I think he likes the calm soothing voice of Garth Brooks in "To Make you Feel my Love" ( a song made famous by Bob Dylan). I love hearing it over and over, so it's a win win.

We have had a time getting him to sleep at night. In the beginning he would get up once from midnight until 7 am. Recently it has been every hour and a half. And you might remember my post about him crawling inthe middle of the night. This may have happened more than once. After much thinking and brainstorming with my mom and Jason, we came up with a solution.

We have this thing that used to go on the pack and play. It plays music and vibrates the pack and play for 6 minutes. I put that on the crib and when I put Ethan down in it I turn it on. It puts him into a deep sleep. Thank you Jesus!

Last night I got some of the best sleep I've had in a while. He went down at 9, got up when we were going to bed to eat at 11, slept until 2:30, ate, and then slept until 6. I even got him to go back to sleep until Jason got up for work around 7. Hallelujah! I am hearing the Messiah chorus in my head right now.

This has been the hardest adjustment for me as a new parent. I hope that it will only get better from here.

True Beauty

2011-07-28T14:27:00.001-04:00

I've been meditating a lot this week. I went to a great women's event at our church on Saturday. It gave me a lot to think about. An older woman at church held a seminar on biblical womanhood. It was her, a whiteboard, and an outline. There were about 15 women who came and we all sat in a U around the woman teaching. It was wonderful. No hype. No fluff. Just real stuff. I went in thinking most of it would be a refresher on biblical womanhood for me. How wrong I was. God has so much to teach me yet. Being a Godly woman is a lifelong task. I am just getting started.

I have been thinking and praying through the material we went through. I feel humbled. I feel loved and given so much grace. The thing that I hear God telling me is - press in. Listen for my voice. I love you and have so much to give you. Press into me. That is where you will find rest and peace and where it feels like home.

So, I am doing my best. But it is hard. I find myself sorting through my thoughts and holding them up to scripture and what I know God has taught me. I want that to be the thing I think about the most. Not comparing to my parents or my siblings or my friends. But resting in the plan that my God has for me. It's unique and beautiful. Press in.

One of the passages I have read this week in meditating is 1st Peter 3.

Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word,they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external--the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-- but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

Do you hear it? My value and my worth come from hiding my heart in Jesus. Not in what I look like or what my husband does. I can be beautiful with buck teeth and moles and a crooked, big nose. I can be beautiful while wearing a shirt that has spit up all over it and hair that has been tied back to keep a child from pulling on it. Do you hear it? I am beautiful because of where I put my hope and my thoughts. Not in the future. Not in my circumstance, but in my beautiful Savior.

Amen Jesus. Amen.

2 legit 2 quit

2011-07-27T13:10:00.000-04:00

Ethan is legit crawling now. Yikes. His favorite thing is long black cords that are plugged into the wall. He wants to crawl towards them and chew on them. He can crawl on carpet and hardwoods. We went to the splash park the other day and he couldn't crawl so well on the ground there.

He loved the park though. This kid is not afraid to stick his face in water or swing on a swing. He is fearless.

Boris the Bear

2011-07-22T10:37:00.001-04:00

Ethan loves his bear. Jason and I took it upon ourselves to name him Boris. We know another bear by the name of Boris who belongs to the Muntaneu family. They are Romanian and have funny names for several of their children's toys. Ethan loves his Boris.

We were very fortunate to become such good friends with Daniela and Stelu when their daughter was just a baby. We saw them go from a family of 2 to a family of 3 and change so much.

They lived in an efficiency apartment when we first met them. They invited us over and we walked in and saw- a bed, a huge desk, a pack n play, a tiny kitchen with a tiny dining room table and one bookshelf. I thought- where are we going to sit? I learned very quickly that these people were the real deal. We had the best time that night. When it was time for Lavinnia (their daughter) to go to bed- they put her down and turned out the light. We sat in the dark for a good 5 minutes in silence. When she was asleep the light came on and we continued our evening. We sang and talked and laughed. It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

Daniela would have me over for dinner each Thursday and we would go to a Bible Study together. Jason and Stelu would play ping pong or video games for hours. Daniela and I would cook together or get coffee and talk. It's a rare thing to find a couple that both Jason and I are such good friends with.

I miss them and would love to have them close. Daniela would be able to offer me so much wisdom and compassion with new motherhood. She is a wonderful mom and I use her life as a measuring stick for mine often. If she can do it, I can do it. It keeps me going sometimes.

Daniela and 2 of her kids- Adiel and Elyse.

Lavinnia and her Princess Esther dress she made with her mommy.

Stelu and Danutzza

Love them. So, we have Boris as a daily reminder of some of our best friends ever.

Practice Makes Perfect

2011-07-20T12:52:00.000-04:00

Last night was one of the worst nights we've had with Ethan since he was a week or two old. He is just starting to crawl and wants to practice all the time. He got up 3 times last night- the 2:30 waking was the worst. This is how it went down.

2:30 cry- Mom goes in to check on Ethan and tries to get him back to sleep without feeding. Unsuccessful. After a full feeding and diaper change- Ethan is placed back in crib. He will not fall asleep. Mom pats his back and gives him a pacifier. All he wants to do is roll over and try to crawl. Mom leaves hoping he will wear himself out and fall asleep.
3:05 Mom is in bed for about 3 minutes when Ethan starts to cry again. Dad goes in to try to get him to sleep. 20 minutes of leaning over crib, patting him on the back, while on his side is unsuccessful.
3:30 Mom's turn. Mom tries again for 30 minutes. Gets super frustrated because Ethan is wide awake and trying to get to stomach to crawl. She leaves room and gets Dad.
4:00 Dad attempts again and is successful.
4:30 Ethan is asleep but Mom and Dad are wide awake.
5:00 Mom and Dad are finally asleep.

This was a looong night. I don't know what got into Ethan except the fact that he was trying to crawl every time we went in there. Practice makes perfect kid, but not at 3:00 am.

Dinner and a Laugh

2011-07-19T09:18:00.000-04:00

I made this for dinner last night. It was pretty tasty and for the 2 of us will feed us again tonight. :) The chicken was super moist and the potatoes were really yummy. I think next time I'll add a few more veggies in the dish. Super yummy!

Ethan also found himself in the mirror last night. It was too cute. I thought I would share.

6 years ago Saturday...

2011-07-18T10:34:00.000-04:00

Jason and I were married.

There were multiple glitches that day including- a hurricane headed straight to Cancun where we were supposed to honeymoon. Jason had to do some last minute travel planning and we ended up going to New Orleans instead. When the flowers arrived- my bouquet was pink when it was supposed to be red. My good friend Molly went and made sure that the right bouquet would be delivered before the wedding. And just in case another good friend Barbara went to a local floral store and bought me a back up bouquet. I ended up with 3 bouquets by the end of the day.

All the ladies went to the salon together that day and got hair and make up done. It was a fun morning full of coffee and laughter. We had spent the night together at one of my best friend and bridesmaid's house the night before- Jade. Everyone stayed up until all hours of the night, but I went to bed at 3 am.

I remember making sure to shave my legs well that morning. It was the first time someone else would appreciate that. I remember being so nervous right before my walk down the aisle that I started to sweat profusely and had to stand in front of a fan. I remember needing help to say my vows- because I was a little distracted by all the things running through my head when I was thinking about when they mean.

I am so glad that I married Jason those many years ago. It was one of the best things I've ever done. I pray we will always hold true to these vows.

Faith. I take you this day as one who is precious in the sight of God to be my wife

I promise, by God’s grace, to love you as Christ Himself loves His bride the church

continually encouraging you in the word so that you may be holy and blameless

I promise to be kind and tender hearted, forgiving you just as God in Christ has forgiven me

I will live with you in an understanding way protecting and caring for you in all things

I promise to direct our lives into a life of faith in Christ granting you honor as a fellow heir of grace

So you can be the woman God intends you to be

Therefore I pledge you my life as a loving and faithful husband

Jason, I take you this day as one who is precious in the sight of God to be my husband

By God’s grace I will follow your leadership as head of our home

I will love you with the love that always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres

I will be slow to anger, quick to forgive, and quick to encourage

I believe that if God allows riches or poverty, sickness or health, peace or persecution, He is working

everything for our good, just as He promised

I believe I have been created to be a support to you and where you go I will go, where you stay I will stay

Therefore I pledge you my life as a loving and faithful wife.

The Brave One

2011-07-15T11:49:00.000-04:00

I love to read. Now that I am staying home, I have had more time to read than ever. Not since college have I read so much. Recently, my mother in law let me borrow a book from her called Room. It is about a girl who was abducted and held captive for more than 10 years in a room. She mothers a child by her captor who never knows what life is like outside of that room. It is an amazing story- purely fictional- but one that will make you think of what life might be like to someone in that situation. I would recommend this book.

Along those same lines, Jaycee Dugard was interviewed recently by Diane Sawyer. This woman was abducted at 11 and held captive for 19 (or was it 18?) years. She mothered 2 daughters by the man who abducted her. It was so interesting to watch the interview. She was refreshingly innocent - but I know she has been through the most horrible things. She has found a new and better life- the life she could have had for all that time. It was heartbreaking to see the dichotomy between her abducted life and her family life.

I think it's important to invest a little of myself in this story. To care. To help be aware and do my part to help children and people who need help. It's such a tragedy that for all those years- no one figured out what had happened. No one who could have done something did. I hope and pray that something like this never happens to someone I love. I can't even imagine. I hope that I can help people who have something like this happen to them to find the truth. Here is what Jaycee is doing now. Amazing.

Milestones Galore

2011-07-14T16:47:00.003-04:00

There is no doubt that this kid is a handful! But a loving handful! He'll be 5 months old Saturday.

Taboo

2011-07-05T23:50:00.003-04:00

I have a confession to make. I used to be very judgmental of my friends who are parents. I thought things like-- why does it take so long for them to leave the house in the morning? Who cares so much about a diaper rash? and Why does (insert simple thing) make them sooo happy - why aren't they simply happy to be around their kids?

Oh the grace that I needed. It is downright hard to be a parent sometimes. Talk about dying to self. Whew! Nothing is sacredly yours anymore- even going to the bathroom. It's always in danger of being interrupted by someone who thinks their needs are greater than yours at the moment.

I cross my heart not to judge another parent's loving * method of parenting their child again.

Here are a couple of parenting methods that I used to be more judgmental of that being a mom has changed my thoughts on:

1. Where the baby sleeps at night. We want to believe that babies go in the crib at bedtime and wake up when the sun comes up cooing to say - I'm up now. This is not the case. At several interludes throughout the middle of the night said baby will be screaming for you to come take them out of their crib. Maybe they're hungry. Maybe they miss you. Maybe they can't get back to sleep. Maybe their gums hurt. But don't bring your baby to bed with you! They will surely die from you rolling over on them. :) Actually- women have been sleeping with their babies for thousands of years. From what I have read it is actually safer for a baby to sleep with their mom. They remember to breathe because they hear mommy breathing. Mom and baby's sleeping rhythms are in tune- making it easier to wake and feed baby during the night. Moms instinctively form a protective body position around their baby. For us, it works to bring Ethan into bed in the morning as Jason is going off to work. This way I can get Ethan to sleep until 9 or 10. Honestly, sometimes it is the best sleep I get all night.

2. Breastfeeding in public. Breastfeeding is hard enough with the frequency and latching- don't make moms hide away at home to do it. I have been shocked by the lack of public places that have a nursing area. The only one I know of is at Babies R Us. Even the family restroom at the Virginia Beach Aquarium is lacking a spot to nurse. I can understand why some women are driven to feed their babies in public. They don't want to be hermits!

Those are the 2 biggies that I know of. The next time you find yourself judging a mom with a screaming child or nursing their baby at Target- remember- they are probably doing the best job they can with what they know. And remember me and how walking in their shoes is different than you thought. :)

*(This post is not encompassing abusive situations having to do with neglect, physical harm, or emotional manipulation of children. Those are obviously not loving parents. They are not trying to lovingly parent their kids.)

G.O.S.P.E.L.

2011-07-04T22:48:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-07-02T23:09:00.001-04:00

Today is my birthday. Jason, Ethan, and I hung out at Carter Mountain this morning. Jason played with Ethan in the afternoon so I could take a long nap. Then, we went out for dinner with family tonight. It was a wonderful birthday. Now begins the 10 days during the year when Jason and I are the same age. :) Happy 28th to me!

Baby Dedication Sunday

2011-06-27T22:39:00.002-04:00

I have been struggling with a few things since having Ethan. Namely, wanting to protect him from anything that I consider harmful to him. A book I was reading suggested that you create a "Protective community" for your child. Their little hearts will absorb anything so the people and situations they interact with should all be pointing them to Jesus. I was really struggling with that. I don't want Ethan to live in a bubble that I create for him, but I want him to know God in a intimate way. How does this work?

So, I prayed. God calmed my heart and reminded me of Hannah in 1st Samuel. She wanted a child for so long and was unable to have one. Then, she gave her boy to God. She sent him to serve in the temple-- where she had been mocked and she knew there were some very unholy people and shady practices going on right under the priest's nose. She trusted God with Samuel (her son) and knew that she was giving Samuel to her Creator and not the circumstances around Samuel. Her faith was well placed, because Samuel grew up to be the spiritual leader of Israel.

God said-Look I can do this- I can show Ethan who I am. Just be faithful and trust me. Pray that he will have discernment to see me. Pray that Ethan will know me and love me. That's the most important thing. So, I am. I am trusting God to see Ethan through. To love Ethan better than I can and to protect him when he needs it and strengthen him when he needs strengthening.

Dedication Sunday came right on the heals of this lesson. God has a sense of humor and timing. :) God reminded me that He is the author and perfecter of our faith. It is my job and our church's job to point Ethan to Christ. But it is not my job to save Ethan- because I can't. There were lots of friends and family who came to the service. Ethan is a loved little boy!

Ethan loves Pastor Matthew as you can clearly see in this picture. He used to do somersaults in my belly when he would preach on Sundays when I was pregnant.

Ethan doesn't understand the whole praying concept yet. :)

John and Barbara (Jason's grandparents) and Tom and Lucy (Jason's dad and stepmom) came.

The Year of Fog

2011-06-26T09:00:00.001-04:00

I just finished a book entitled The Year of Fog. A woman(Abby) who is engaged to a man with a little girl (Emma) is left to watch her one weekend while her fiance (Jake) goes out of town. Abby takes Emma for a walk on the beach and Emma disappears.

The book walks you through the grieving process of someone who has lost a loved one. Someone without closure or hope...but is desperately searching for either. The book had some great moments. The book is told from Abby's perspective. She blames herself for Emma's disappearance and works herself ragged to find Emma. There are obvious problems between her and Jake. A few fun characters are thrown in the mix to help Abby grieve and process along the way.

The book went on a little too long without a resolution. Once some of the action started at the end of the book, I needed information quicker. I don't like suspense, waiting for the main character to analyze the present situation in length before you find out what happens next. I might have skipped a few pages at that point.

The end made it worth it though. I was left sad yet happy and wondering if it ended the best way. What would I have done if I were ___________ ? Would I be able to move on? Would I be able to forgive?

The book raised some great questions for me and helped me to have empathy for people who are going through missing (literally) a loved one. It helped me to see how someone without faith in Christ might handle something so hard. The book puts a little spin towards Jesus- sort of implicating His help to the main character at some points.

Sidenote: The book was pretty clean with minimal foul language and almost no detailed writings of sexual encounters... although there are quite a few in the book. The encounters are described in a realistic way very briefly but not in a romance novel gross way. The book is not written from a Christian worldview and questions faith in God in general.

Wild Child

2011-06-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

Jason and I have our hands full with this little one. :) I had to buy a crib bumper this week, because he was waking up all night screaming after he grabbed the rails on the crib while laying down and had pulled himself onto his side. He apparently didn't know how to let go and lay back down. The bumper has bought me some more sleep, because he can't do that anymore. What a funny kid. It's hard not to laugh when I go into his room at night and find him in his precarious positions.

Here is what I got to enjoy during breakfast this morning... on the floor with Ethan. :)

The Beach

2011-06-24T13:32:00.000-04:00

We took Ethan to the beach this week. What a hoot! I set the boy down on a towel near the sand. He looked around for a minute, reaches out to touch the sand, and then starts pummeling it in his mouth by the fistful.I was not expecting that! It went down in good fun, but came out with some trouble. He was pooping it out for days. What a wild child!

Then, we took him to the pool. He was more civilized there, wanting to watch the waterfalls at the pool.

Jason had a conference with his work, so we tagged along. Jason and I packed our things together in one suitcase. Ethan took up the rest of our car with his bathtub, pack and play, toys, stroller, diapers, etc. It was a good time, but more work than any other vacation I've been on. The memories are better though.:)

Presenting....

2011-06-18T20:56:00.000-04:00

Presenting Susan Tyler and her debut song...beam me up. Written by a family member in response to Harold Camping and his false rapture date.

Too funny

2011-06-17T14:31:00.001-04:00

Ethan has recently learned to turn over from his back to front..... this an important part of my story.

We had a stimulating evening last night- that's what Jason and I like to say when Ethan is overwhelmed by all the things going on around him. :) I nursed him like usual at bedtime. And unlike usual he was wide awake afterwards. No problem though. I put him in his crib and knew he would fall asleep soon. I left to go get ready for bed myself-- Ethan's room was unusually quiet for an awake baby. There was no talking or cooing. This made me suspicious. I thought- mabye he fell right to sleep. Wrong.

I went in to check on him and he had turned himself over and scooted all the way to the opposite end of the crib! I said "What are ya doing bud?" . He just smiled at me and laughed. I picked him up, gave him a kiss, and put him back on his back.

After a few minutes he whined and cried a little. I went in and put my hand on his tummy and he fell asleep within a few minutes. :)

Now that Ethan can flip himself both ways, life may get a little more exciting....Let the acrobats begin!

A Day in the Life

2011-06-15T23:23:00.002-04:00

7:35 Drag myself out of bed to feed crying Ethan.
7:50 Make myself presentable.
8:00 Show up for a dreaded dentist appointment involving Novocaine and drilling.
9:05 Arrive home to find Ethan and Jason snuggling in bed.
9:25 Jason leaves for work. Shower.
10:15 Feed Ethan.
10:45 Leave to pick up Jason.
11:00 Doctor's appointment for Ethan- shots included.
11:45-1:50 Attend to fussy baby.Naps and nursing included.
2:30 Go to playgroup. Ethan naps on the way home.
4:30 Arrive home and play with Ethan Talk to Grandma Clare on phone.
5:20-7:00 Jason returns from work.Hang out with Jason - see Ethan roll over for first time from back to front :). Eat dinner. Call Grandma Patty to come babysit. Ethan naps.
7:00- 7:40 Attend to fussy baby. Including tylenol and nursing.
7:40-9:00 Date with Jason sans Ethan. (Thank you Grandma Patty.) Yummy chocolate mousse at Bizou.
9:15-10:00 Put Ethan to bed. Bathing and nursing.
10:00-11:15 Downtime. Throw a load of laundry in. Plan tomorrow's errands, talk with Jason, blog.
11:20 Transfer load of laundry to dryer. Bed. Get a few hours of sleep before getting up to feed Ethan.

Babywearing

2011-06-13T17:25:00.000-04:00

I went a local consignment store called Sugar Snap today. I was looking for a new baby carrier that I could use around the house. I have a Bjorn- and I really enjoy it. But, I can't bend over and do things with it because it doesn't hold Ethan's head super well.

The first thing the lady at the store did was ask what kind of carrier I use. I told her and she said- "We babywearers hate Bjorns." First of all, I didn't realize there was a term called "babywearing". Second of all, I felt judged because I was not included in her babywearing camp because of my Bjorn. I was taken aback that she would insult the very carrier I have. She said babywearers hate them because they hold baby by the crotch and it seems uncomfortable. I think she thought I was a bad mom because I use a Bjorn.

Being that I didn't go in there to impress the sales lady- I pressed on. I tried on a Moby wrap- Ethan hated it. I tried on a Boba- Ethan started to cry. I tried on a Lucky baby sling- Ethan almost fell out of it.He kept arching his back and started to get fussy. He hated it. So, I decided to stick with my Bjorn- and brave the judging by all the babywearers. :)

I definitely think holding Ethan is super important. I have read so much about how babies being touched stimulates their growth hormones and they actually grow more. I think I can hold Ethan a lot without having to wear him in a carrier. I also think Ethan needs to be on the floor learning how to move around and play with toys. If he is always in a carrier where his movement is restricted- he may not be able to do all things he wants to do. Being that he wants to be in everything already, I think that's why he hated all the carriers today. I think one of the carriers that we looked at today would have been fabulous for when Ethan was little. But now that he is such a curious little guy who wants to try everything out, a carrier may not be his cup of tea anymore.

I'm glad we figured that out today! I'm thankful they let me try so many carriers on. Ethan's next trick is to roll over from back to front, and he is really close! He will be sitting up soon and crawling soon. I can't wait to see him figure all these things out. :) Mabye we'll revisit carriers in the future, but for now I think we have figured out Ethan hates being restricted in them- just like he hated being restricted in a swaddle when he was first born. :)

The Bjorn

The Moby Wrap

The Boba

The Lucky Sling

Ethan loving his play time

Milestone...

2011-06-06T22:23:00.002-04:00

How I love me some warm milky breath and some soft baby skin! Ethan is my favorite - after Jason of course. :)

He learned how to grab his feet on Sunday. I was so glad he started doing this when Jason was home. He has not been able to see Ethan do something for the first time, but we both witnessed Ethan doing this for the first time Sunday morning.

Then that was all Ethan would do. Changing his diaper, laying on the couch, even in his Bumbo seat- he reaches for his feet. In fact, every time he got up last night- he was grabbing his feet. Crying, eyes closed, in the dark, grabbing his feet. It was so cute. I wish I had one of those night vision cameras to catch it.

He is getting close to rolling over from his back to his tummy. I thought he was going to do it today but he didn't. These milestones encourage me and get me excited about the person Ethan will one day grow up to be. It's so amazing to see him do something for the first time. :)

All in a day's work...

2011-06-03T23:21:00.002-04:00

Sometimes being a parent takes a lot of creativity!

Moving on Up

2011-06-02T13:22:00.003-04:00

Are you moving in the near future? We have helped our share of friends move. Some across town, some into a storage unit, some from one apartment to another in the same complex, some into a new house. Jason worked for a moving company for a few months and I grew up moving every few years. Between the 2 of us, we have lots of moving experience.

Here are some moving tips that we have accumulated throughout the years:

Packing:
- Get as many free boxes as possible. Put the word out- see if anyone has extra boxes to give you. Ask around at stores. They can either give you boxes right when you ask or tell you when to come back to pick them up before they go in the compactor. U-Haul has a "free boxes" section in their packing store. Sam's has a "free boxes" rack at the front of their store. Spend your money on packing tape and sharpies- and as little as possible on boxes.
- Pack the things you don't use often first- like books, cds, holiday decorations, and off season clothes.
- Pack everything possible before the day of the move- some things you might wait on are: the bedsheets and comforter, your hairdryer, clothes you wear the day of the move, things in the refrigerator.
- Put all of your cleaning supplies in a box or tote that you can keep handy during the move.
- Put tools that might be needed during the move in a handy place- screwdrivers, hammer, drill....
- Put all the important things you want to keep up with in a special bag or your purse- like your phone charger or the netflix movies you need to drop in the mailbox- that way you don't "lose them" in the move.
- Pack everything before your friends arrive to help you- people do not want to pack your stuff the day of the move- if you need help- ask for help before the day of the big move and have a "packing date" with a few friends.
- Use your linen closet and newspapers to help you pad the fragile items you are packing. This will save you lots of money on packing supplies.
-Label your boxes or things you have packed- on more than one side. This will make taking the things off the truck much easier. You will get your boxes put in the right room and people will not have to ask you where anything goes as they unload. Labeling on more than one side will help when the boxes are stacked on top of each other.
- Make a donate pile as you pack. If you haven't used something in a year, you probably don't need it. Throw it in a pile and take it to the trash or good will. This will keep you from moving unnecessary stuff.

Getting people to help you:
- Move when the most people you know will be available- like on a weekend- or an early evening during the week. And try to move during the most comfortable part of the day- not too hot or too cold.
- Offer food and drinks- people are more willing to do manual labor when they know their basic needs will be cared for.
- Communicate: send out an email or text with information for your helpers like when the moving will start, where to meet, what time you expect to be done, what kind of food or drink you will be providing, and lots of thank yous in advance.
- Ask specific people- if you send out a general email to all your friends and no one responds, it is likely no one will show up. Take an hour a few weeks before you plan to move and call your most reliable friends. Ask them to help and get them to mark their calendars. Then you will know who you can count on and not worry the day of the move.
- Get phone numbers. Make sure you have the phone numbers of everyone who will be driving a vehicle during the move. This will ensure that people do not get lost on the way to your place with a carload of stuff and no way to find you.

The actual move:
- Rent a bigger truck than you think you will need. Don't try to save $20 on the truck. You always have more stuff than you think you do. Think about how much money you are saving by doing one trip. Your friends are free (except for the food you are offering), gas is expensive, and time is money. You will save at least an hour of moving time by renting the bigger truck. The more efficient, the better.
- If you are moving across the country or state- rent a nicer truck (like a Penske) to give yourself piece of mind that you will make it to your destination without any truck problems.
- If you are moving in town- it is best to give yourself a buffer day before you move in. You can get your keys, clean the new place and put the all important toilet paper, soap, and hand towels in the your new place. People will have to go the bathroom at your new place when you are moving. Trash cans are nice to have in place as well.
- If you are moving in town- move your kitchen by yourself. Dishes and small appliances are easy to put in your car and take to your new place. You can spend an afternoon laying your stuff out and deciding where everything will go before you move the bigger things. That way your house will be in somewhat of working order before you move in. You will at least be able to have a bowl of cereal the morning after you move- because you will know where everything is.
- If something is important to you and you are worried about it making it through the move. Move it before people come to help on your own- if at all possible. This way you can be gentle with it and make sure it does not get broken on a packed truck or dropped by someone carrying too many things.
- Keep some tools handy in case you need to take things apart to fit them through doorways or into a truck.
- Be ready when your friends show up. Give them things to do right when they get there. Make sure the truck is ready to load. People get antsy when they have nothing to do.
- Be prepared to do a final trash run and cleaning of your old place the day following your move. It will need to be cleaned and inspected before you can get your security deposit back. I recommend taking pictures. This way if you need to contest something, you have proof.

Moving takes a lot of planning and effort. Don't underestimate the importance of organization in moving. Something will go wrong- it always does. The better organized and prepared you are the better you will be able to handle the problems that arise during the actual move.

Actual problems we've encountered when helping friends move:
1. Locked keys in truck on a HOT day while moving things into truck.
2. Truck is not ready on time promised (often true during busy moving seasons).
3. Storage unit moving into too small (almost too small). :)
4. Cars of people moving broken down.
5. Things taken by neighbors during move- because things were sitting outside without a truck and were assumed to be "give away" items.
6. People helping to move get lost or separated from group during drive to new place.
7. New place's septic system leaking into the carpet in master bedroom.
8. Something very valuable and important broken in move.
9. Furniture will not fit through doorway.
10. Air conditioner to old or new place is broken during a summer move.

The Night Shuffle

2011-05-29T23:52:00.000-04:00

I am about to hit the sack--but am tempted to stay up for another hour- because I will be getting up then to feed Ethan again. I am so thankful this season is just that... a season. We had dinner with some friends tonight who have an 8 year old and a 5 year old. How sweet was it to have them admire Ethan? They loved and loved on him. When Ethan sneezed on the 5 year old, he jumped up and yelled how disgusting it was that the baby had just sneezed all over the place. Then, he wanted to show the baby his room. :) Too cute.

Here begins the nightly shuffle. Up at 1 am, up at 4 am, up at 7am. Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle. How sweet it is to know that Jesus shuffles for me. Constantly interceding on mine and the church's behalf. I am so loved by such an amazing God. I hope that this truth helps me to keep going and not succumb to feeling sorry for myself and my nightly shuffle. :)

Ethan, I hope that one day you will understand how much you are loved and cared for. Your mommy and daddy would do anything to keep you safe and show you love. I hope that you understand that. I hope that one day you understand God's love and that you see a glimpse of it in our love for you. That's why we shuffle.

Hero?

2011-05-23T16:33:00.001-04:00

I was singing Hero in the shower the other day- you know the song by Mariah Carey. And I was a little baffled by the words. I don't think I ever questioned them until that moment. Let me refresh your memory if you don't know the song....

There's a hero
If you look inside your heart
You don't have to be afraid
Of what you are

There's an answer
If you reach into your soul
And the sorrow that you know
Will melt away

And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive

So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you

It's a long road
And you face the world alone
No one reaches out a hand
For you to hold

You can find love
If you search within yourself
And the emptiness you felt
Will disappear

And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive

So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you

Oh ho, Lord knows
Dreams are hard to follow
But don't let anyone
Tear them away, hey yea

Hold on
There will be tomorrow
In time, you find the way, hey

Then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive

So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you

That a hero lies in you
Mmm, that a hero lies in you

I grew up with this song. But I know that if I look inside myself to find a hero- to find comfort and what I need to "be strong" and "cast my fears aside". I will be sadly mistaken. I need to look elsewhere for that. Like this song....

You are good, You are good
When there's nothing good in me
You are love, You are love
On display for all to see
You are light, You are light
When the darkness closes in
You are hope, You are hope
You have covered all my sin

You are peace, You are peace
When my fear is crippling
You are true, You are true
Even in my wandering
You are joy, You are joy
You're the reason that I sing
You are life, You are life,
In You death has lost it's sting

Oh, I'm running to your arms,
I'm running to arms
The riches of your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

You are more, You are more
Than my words will ever say
You are Lord, You are Lord
All creation will proclaim
You are here, You are here
In your presence I'm made whole
You are God, You are God
Of all else I'm letting go

Oh, I'm running to your arms
I'm running to arms
The riches of your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

My heart will sing
no other name
Jesus, Jesus

Oh, I'm running to your arms
I'm running to arms
The riches of your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

What a difference a song and it's lyrics can make to your heart. :)

http://youtu.be/0IA3ZvCkRkQ -Hero Music Video

http://youtu.be/au3EGgISYMc - Forever Reign Music Video

Why I Love Nursing

2011-05-19T18:07:00.000-04:00

I have grown to love nursing. I knew that it would be hard to get a hang of at first, but I never thought I would grow to love it so much. Here are a few reasons why:

- It's so good for Ethan. Scientists are still discovering ways that breast milk is better than formula! It helps Ethan's changing colon and feed his brain. It changes in structure and consistency as Ethan grows. It constantly creates antibodies for Ethan to ward off sickness. It reduces his risks of childhood and adulthood illnesses.

-It's so good for me. At one month after birthing Ethan- I had a mere 13 pounds to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I don't own a scale- or I would know how far I've come since then. It reduces my risks of breast cancer and diabetes later on in life.

-It's so easy and convenient. Ethan downs a meal in 20 minutes. There is no warming up or mixing a bottle. I don't even have to wash the bottle after he's done! It's great. If he is hungry- I can feed him at any moment. If he's fussy and just needs something familiar and comforting to calm him down- nursing always works.

-It's a special time that I get to have with Ethan. It has helped to create a bond between the 2 of us. He finds comfort in me and I love getting to hold him and enjoy him. He is always so cute when he nurses.

-It's such a miracle. Something from me goes into him and nourishes him. It transfers into all the rolls on his body and drool from his mouth. It's so amazing that all that is possible because of milk that comes out of me.

It took a little while for nursing not to hurt. Ethan being older has helped with that. He can latch on really well and I don't have to hold him so gently. He really only nurses 4 times during the day. The rest of the times are going to bed, at night, and when he wakes up in the morning. Easy peasy. Once I got through the first 2 months-- everything was smooth sailing.

I would highly highly recommend nursing. I'm going to try to do it for the first year. I will keep you posted on if I am able to make it or not.

Ethan's New Toy

2011-05-18T10:41:00.000-04:00

Ethan got this new toy- a jumperoo. I must say at this point it is more entertaining for us than him. He will tolerate 10 minutes at a time in it. When his feet can touch the ground and he discovers he can jump- I think he will love it. When he can reach all the toys and spin himself around- I think he will love it even more. :) Until then he is too cute in it.

Labor of Love

2011-05-17T13:24:00.001-04:00

When Ethan was a brand new baby, we did what most parents do-- had Ethan sleep in our room. He slept in his pack and play for the first 2 weeks. He did not do very well because he was flat on his back and would constantly spit up and wake himself up to cry. I tried to burp him- but even to this day Ethan will not burp at night.

So, our solution was to put a a little bouncy seat in his crib- in his own room. This way he could be propped up and sleep at the same time. It worked perfectly- he gave us 2 stretches of 4 hours of sleep at night. What a great baby!

Until now... Ethan has outgrown his seat. He will wake up in the middle of the night crying because of the precarious position he has gotten himself into. He will scoot down to where he is literally hanging off the edge of the seat. He will turn sideways so much his little head is under his body and he can't get it out from under it. Yikes! He doesn't need it anymore. He has slept plenty of times on his back now in different places (pack and play- our bed while mommy is showering- our bed on Sunday morning when we want to sleep in).The only problem is- he does not like sleeping in his seemingly huge crib alone.I can't blame him.

I don't think I would change what I did with putting his seat in his crib. It gave me peace of mind that he would not choke to death on his spit up.( Plus some desperate prayers in the middle of the night.) It allowed us to put him in his own room at 2 weeks. It was something he enjoyed and was helpful in getting him to sleep long stretches at night.

I knew this day was coming- when I would have to teach Ethan to adapt to something new, to try something he didn't like for his own good. His first big lesson. Sleeping in his crib alone.

It started last night. I'm not into crying and I don't think Ethan is either. I looked up some methods of people who agree with us. I stumbled upon a video of Dr. Sears (whom I am loving) and a method he suggests. He suggests that when you put your baby in their crib- to place your hand on his chest and stay there until he falls asleep. It lets him know that you are there and it will be ok.

I never did this with Ethan when he was in his seat. He would fall asleep on his own- no big deal. But with his seat gone- he will cry and cry. So, to reassure him that it is ok -he can fall asleep without his seat- I have used this technique. I just put him down for a nap in his crib and he started to cry. I went in and put my hand on his chest for about 5 minutes. He fell asleep and I left. We did this 2 more times and he is out cold.

I think he will be able to get more sleep because he won't turn himself upside down in his seat. But it will take a little bit of effort on my part to get him used to the crib.

Here are some pics of Ethan asleep in his seat.

One Month Old- so little!

Two months old- getting bigger...

Three months old- too big!

Love is like fire

2011-05-11T14:37:00.000-04:00

Our little family is proving to be quite the attraction. People want to be close to us, to watch us, to enjoy our warmth-- like a fire. Just like a marriage is undoubtedly a picture of the gospel- Christ and His church, a family is a picture of the gospel.

The gospel- the good news about Jesus. He loves us-- like we love Ethan. He is so patient and tender towards us. He delights in us. I can't tell you have many moments we have spent just admiring Ethan and enjoying his little personality. He is such a delight. God loves us and is the best Father we could ever have. Jason is doing his best to be a great Dad and I am doing my best to be a great mom. To love Ethan the way God loves us.

I've heard people say they would do anything for their kids- even throw themselves in front of a moving train to save their life. I can honestly say that Jesus did that for me. He threw Himself in front of me to protect me from sin and death. He did everything for me.

Everytime I hear that song- your love is like fire, that burns for all to see. This is my desire, to worship at your feet. Let this fire consume my life. Let your love take me deeper, draw me closer to where you are. All I want is more of you. I think of our family. I pray that this is true of our family. That we would see God clearly for who He is and put Him first.

John 15:12-13
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

You know someone loves you when....

2011-05-09T21:22:00.000-04:00

they love the people you love. My mom demonstrated her great love for me this weekend by visiting our little family. I know it is quite a journey from Houston to Central Virginia. It means an entire day in an airport/car. Packing a suitcase, sleeping in a strange bed, and in our case being awakened throughout the night by a little bundle of joy.

My mom braved it all. She loves me. I know it. Here are some pics and a video of our visit.

We had a great time just doing simple stuff- like going for walks with the stroller, having tummy time, playing with Ethan, rocking him to sleep, and making him laugh. It was so fun. Thanks for coming to visit Mom!

TV...what's that?

2011-04-30T11:02:00.000-04:00

Jason and I have been watching a little less tv lately. We have our own personal entertainer and I think he's pretty cute. Here are some of the latest antics....

Tummy Time! Ethan can hold himself up like this for long periods of time.

Jason and Ethan playing. You can't hear this- but Ethan was laughing like crazy and trying to talk to Jason.

Hangin out with Dad while he checks on the newly planted flowers.

Finding his feet! So cute. He has also just found his hands and stares at them for long periods of time.

Taking a bath. Ethan loves to stare at the bottom of the kitchen cabinet. I don't know why.

And finally sleeping- with his hand holding his head up. Too cute!

With all of these fun and cute things we don't need tv anymore. :)

Good Friday

2011-04-26T09:21:00.002-04:00

As a person who is usually distracted by kiddos during a service when there is no childcare, Jesus gave me a new perspective this year. I had Ethan of course, but he was good. He slept the entire Good Friday service and never made a sound. The children around me were not always as quiet. I saw a little girl run down the aisle in the middle of prayer time. Another boy had to be taken out for yelling, " I want Daddy!" repeatedly. And anytime there was a quiet moment- it was surely not quiet. It was filled with the sounds of children.

Jason and I went to a church in Texas where every Sunday morning a large freight train would pass right behind the building drowning everything out with its whistle for a few seconds. It was so distracting. One Sunday, our pastor stopped in the middle of the message when the train passed. I thought he was waiting so he would not be drowned out by it. Instead after it had passed, he said, "Did you hear that?". As if we could have missed it. He went on to explain that he was thankful for that train every Sunday. The train is barreling towards its destination- warning all who stand in the way of the danger coming. Letting everyone know to get out its way so they will not be hurt. He said the church is like the train. We are commissioned by God to be heralders of the gospel. We are all headed for sure death and an eternity away from God. The church's responsiblity is to loudly proclaim the gospel warning the world of the danger that is to come. Letting the world know that they can be saved from their sin and have new life in Christ and spend eternity with Him. After he said that, when the train would pass sometimes he would just stop and smile and point at the cross behind the pulpit. We all knew what he meant. We were all encouraged and not distracted.

So, on Friday I was thinking of how kids can be a distraction, but can also be an encouragement. We need young ones to be raised up to be a part of the church. To help build the church up. We need worship leaders and Sunday school teachers and Pastors. That little girl running down the aisle during prayer or the kid screaming for his daddy may surely be one of those one day. It is encouraging to me that Jesus cares so much for these little ones. He takes great joy in them being there even if they don't understand it. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news- even to the little ones. I hope that these kiddos will understand how deep and wide and tall God's love is for them. That they will understand what the Jesus dying on the Cross means. That it won't just be a tradition, but a time of rememberence. I hope that they will be drawn close to our God and that He will save them. I pray that for Ethan every day. I so want him to know his maker.

Good Friday was good- to remember what Jesus did and to see what He is still doing- even in my little family. :)

My Epidural- the good, the bad, and the ugly

2011-04-21T09:32:00.000-04:00

The good... for 8 1/2 hours of my 12 hour labor I felt nothing and could even sleep.

The bad... Ethan came out with his head sideways. I almost had to have a c-section but in the end had an episiotomy and a vacuum was used to pull little man out. According to my doctor, if I had not had an epidural I could have labored in some different positions to get his head to turn.

The ugly... my left knee is still numb. 9 weeks later I still have numbness. It was very numb right afterwards, but it has been tingly and itchy and recovered some feeling. I still have a band of numbness right above my left knee-- it feels funny when I shave. The nuerologist said my nerves could be bruised, much like skin bruises and it may take a little while to get feeling back. He wants me to come in and see him if it doesn't go away.

In hindsight, I think I would do it again. My labor at the beginning was so painful. My contractions were about 30 seconds apart. I think that was worse than the actual labor part. Now, if I had to have a c-section I may be telling a different story right now. I think I would rather have natural labor than major surgery.

Thank goodness we ladies only have to go through labor a few times in our lives!

Make War Y'all

2011-04-18T12:08:00.002-04:00

Holy Hip Hop...gotta love it!

Regrets

2011-04-15T08:58:00.004-04:00

Can you believe I already have regrets as a mom and Ethan is only 2 months old? My biggest regret is the hospital. I don't think I really bonded with Ethan until we got home from the hospital. I think part of the reason was that I hardly held him in the hospital. With the exception of when he was eating, someone else was holding him. We had too many visits from people. People were coming before work (which was before official visiting hours), in the morning, during lunch, after work. We had so many visitors-- and a few of them came more than once a day.I know that everyone was excited to see Ethan, but it was too much. Jason and I did not get much sleep and consequently did not get much alone time as a family.

Don't get me wrong, we love our family and friends. We couldn't have made it after Ethan was born without them. They made us meals, held Ethan so we could get a shower or go to the grocery store. They cared about us and checked up on us. They made sure we had everything we needed. And they love Ethan really well. and us really well. But it wasn't until we got home that we really had privacy. This privacy allowed Jason and I to start to bond with Ethan. We had little stories and moments with him- with just the 3 of us.

I think our next go round at the hospital will have to be different. I want to hold my baby and bond with them. I want to get more sleep and more time as a family. I want to be able to take a shower and actually have time to blow dry my hair or put make up on in the morning. I want to be able to read a book or have some down time to relax. I want to be able to sleep when Ethan is sleeping-- at least enough to get a good nap in everyday. I am going to make sure these things happen next time.

I want to have visitors, but mabye we could institute a once a day limit. We could carve out a time of the day for "family time" that is just Jason, Ethan, our new little one and I. We could make sure people ask before they hold Ethan and know that they may not get to hold him right when they want to or at all on each visit. Yes, it's all going to be very different next time. Live and learn right?

Little Ethan at the Hospital

Advice

2011-04-12T10:17:00.015-04:00

I am reading many a book about babies lately. Most of them were given to me during pregnancy. They are good, but seem to conflict with each other about baby advice. Here are some examples:

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding says:
-Share a bed with your newborn. It's the only way to get great sleep at night. You won't even know when they're nursing and they will feel safe and secure.
-Nurse your child as often as they want to. Don't worry about a baby eating too much or gaining too much weight. They will regulate themselves and how much they should eat- much like we decide if we are going to have a large meal or snack on a bowl of cereal.

What to Expect the First Year says:
-Put your baby in another room after 1 or 2 weeks. It helps you to get more sleep because you don't hear all of their baby noises and it helps your baby to get more sleep because you are not checking on all of their baby noises.
- Nurse your baby every 2-3 hours. When they cry because they want to eat all the time ( a page about a woman feeding her child every hour) it could be because they are greedy and want to eat more than they need. Distract them with other things to try to stretch the time between feedings.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The books all contradict each other on major topics. I think just experimenting and finding what Jason and I can live with on these topics is the best way.The books have good ideas, but are not the expert on my little guy. As long as Ethan is clean, fed, and happy then we are doing a great job.

2 hands...

2011-04-11T10:12:00.000-04:00

I know I know. It has been a while. Life with a new baby is interesting. I feel like I have more down time than I did before when I was working as a teacher full time. But, the difference is I seem to always have my hands full- literally. It is hard to sit down and type anything with 2 hands. Ethan is sleeping right now and I am putting off a shower to type this.

Life has been so good lately. It is so fun to hang out with Ethan and see him changing and growing. He is a wild man! He likes being held and cuddled, but he loves trying to stand up, cooing, tummy time, going for walks, and anything that is active. Yesterday, he and Jason watched some of the Masters together. He may just really love his daddy and not golf though.

I have tried to not let myself think that I have to stay inside all the time to await Ethan's next feeding. We went and played frisbee golf with Jason after work this week, we went to dinner at a sit down restaurant as a family on Friday, we have gone to the downtown mall for lunches with friends, and have gone on countless walks around the neighborhood or parks in town. And we have people over at our house constantly. It helps me to not feel cooped up.

I used to think I could not go to the grocery store with Ethan for fear of him freaking out and crying. What would I do? In public? That all changed when I was at Hallmark one day and I was faced with my fear. Ethan started to freak out and cry uncontrollably. I had literally just fed him before we left the house 15 minutes earlier. I didn't think he was hungry and fully expected him to fall asleep. But he was doing his hungry cry (it sounds like he is saying " ma, ma" over and over). I checked out and the lady behind the counter even said "I think he's hungry." So, I took him to the car and sat in the back seat and tried to nurse him. He grabbed right on and ate like he was starving. There I was in the parking lot, sitting in the back seat of my car, nursing my child. And... nothing. What was I so afraid of? People just walked by and didn't notice. Now I figure if he freaks out when I am out with him somewhere, I can always nurse him in the back seat of the car. Which I have done a few times since- but not because he has freaked out-- but because it is a new option for me in going out with him. :)

Here are some more recent pics of our little peanut.

Double Rainbow

2011-03-17T10:07:00.000-04:00

You know you want to laugh today...

It's True

2011-03-10T11:08:00.001-05:00

All the hype about babies being a lot of work at the beginning is true-especially when you are new at it. I think the hardest thing for me is not knowing what to expect. Is he tired, hungry, bored? Yesterday, Ethan wanted to eat every 2 hours. Today he wants to sleep. He woke up at 8, ate, and fell asleep at 9. Not just a little asleep but out cold. It's been almost 2 hours and he is still out cold. Yesterday I couldn't get him to sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time. It must be a growth spurt.

I hear that at 6 weeks babies start to have more of a rhythm to their schedule. They become more predictable. I would like that just so that I know what is going on and what Ethan is needing at the moment. But I am enjoying him being so tiny. I don't want him to grow up too fast.

Ethan has been a great sleeper at night. I have been trying since the first few days of his life to teach him the difference between night and day. During the day we talk and play and go outside. The lights are all on and the house is noisy. At night the lights stay off except for a nightlight.We don't talk very much and sleepiness is encouraged. It has worked to some extent. Ethan goes to bed at 11:30 or 12, sleeps until 4 or 5, eats, then goes back to sleep until 8 or 8:30. Not too bad for a 3 week old.

Things coming up this week:

- Ethan gets his first bottle.
- Ethan gets his first pacifier.
- Mom goes to her final visit with Dr. Wolanski.
- Ethan goes to his one month check up with the pediatrician.

Worst Job Ever

2011-02-27T20:00:00.020-05:00

So, let's take a break from little Ethan. Jason and I were picking up a pizza for lunch the other day and Papa John's just so happens to be next to a income tax store- Liberty Income Tax. To advertise for the store, they hire people to stand on the street and advertise. This girl had the job of dancing in a statue of liberty outfit next to the street so that people would notice the income tax place. How embarrassing! I sat in the car with Ethan for a few minutes while she danced and Jason picked up the pizza. She was going crazy. People honked at her and even yelled things out their windows. She yelled back and laughed at what they said. I wonder how long her shift is. Sitting there for 15 minutes seemed like an eternity of her dancing. She seemed to enjoy it but I think I would hate it.Dancing in front of people in a situation where it is awkward. Wearing a costume. People honking at you. In any weather. I think this job has got to be one the worst out there.

Once again I can't get the pic to rotate. I need to work on that.

Friends and Meals

2011-02-26T20:33:00.000-05:00

We have been so blessed with meals from our friends. We have had lasagna, chicken pot pie, roasted chicken with spanish rice, and tacos.We even had a "special delivery" one day on our doorstep. A friend had gone to the store and bought us a bunch of breakfast food and left 3 bags of groceries on our doorstep- including fresh fruit, bagels, and even flowers. We are so loved. Plus, it has been wonderful to see people everyday when they bring food over.

They put me to shame. I remember when I made a dinner for some friends who had just had a baby. I brought over a breakfast casserole. I was not sure if it had been cooked all the way through, so I told them it may need to be cooked a little while longer. What a fail! I bet they had cereal that night instead of eating my casserole. I will do better next time.

Some of our friends also made a coupon book for us with things we can redeem- like trips to the grocery store or a homemade dessert. Today, I redeemed a manicure/pedicure session with my friend Destiney. She came over with all of her goodies and we soaked and pampered our hands and feet. It was so wonderful. My feet have been so swollen for months. I have not been able to reach my feet to do a good job on my nails for a while. So, now with my feet back to normal and the ability to reach them- they got some love. Boy did they need it! It was fun to hang out and catch up with Destiney at the same time.

I am feeling a little couped up and in need of getting out and connecting with people. These meals and coupons are helpful to get me reconnected with the world. It will be a few weeks before I feel ready to go on bigger outings with Ethan other than a walk or a visit here or there. I want to enjoy him while he is so young, before he starts doing things that older babies do- like sitting up and babbling. It is so fun to just look at his smallness. He is so cute. :)

Here are a few more pics.

He's here!

2011-02-21T22:36:00.000-05:00

Ethan Jay Vandever was born on February 16th at 6:08 am. No induction was needed. My water broke at about 6:40 on the 15th and I was thrown into labor- with contractions less than a minute apart. An epidural and 12 hours later (with some other stuff I was spare you from) Ethan was born. :)

I was so overwhelmed that he was actually outside of me and not inside anymore. I will be honest. It took a few days for it to sink in that I was really his momma. He likes me a lot. That helps.

Some funny things that have happened since we got home from the hospital.

#1- I wake up with Jason sitting on the bed in the middle of the night with his finger in Ethan's mouth to which Ethan is sucking away frantically. He had been trying to get him to sleep for 2 hours. I said- let me take over. Jason said- good. This kid is pyscho. All he wants is to suck. I said- did you just call your child pyscho? We both laughed.

#2 While Jason and I are changing Ethan's poopy diaper- a delayed pooping occurs. Apparently, our little man was still going. We had to decide, do we put a new diaper on him? Do we let him finish? It was decided to stand there and let him finish. While his diaper is open and I am attempting to catch the poop that is coming out, Ethan promptly pees on his own face. We are such good parents.:)

Here is a pic or two of this cute little guy. I am a little bit biased.

Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T16:37:00.001-05:00

Valentine's Day-- pre-babiness. This is what we did to celebrate.... :)

Mom made the heart shaped pizza- pepperoni and mushroom- yum! Jason and I made a barbeque chicken pizza- yum! And for dessert we had chocolate covered strawberries. Followed by the movie Up that was showing on TV. We laughed a lot. That movie is pretty great.

You can see that I am about to drop this child on the floor. :)We have an induction planned for tomorrow. That will make him born one week past due. Not too bad. I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day too!

Rest, Nest, and Wait

2011-02-13T20:19:00.000-05:00

I decided against the castor oil. So what does one do when they are 40 weeks and 4 days pregnant? Rest, Nest, and Wait.

Today I took a nap. Then I cleaned out the freezer, cleaned the bathrooms, dusted the house, and am currently doing laundry.

I'm ready to meet this little guy. I saw a friend of mine who was due after me had her baby. She posted some really sweet pictures on facebook. I was a little jealous. Ok- I might have said- that's not fair! Instead of - Yay for them! Oh I am so ready to have this little man.

If he doesn't come by tomorrow- I'm sure we will be inducing Monday or Tuesday. Our doctor does not want me to go past 41 weeks. He doesn't want the baby to get very big and the placenta to be put under too much stress.

Hopefully I will be posting some pics of a baby soon!

Castor Oil

2011-02-08T22:52:00.001-05:00

So here I am still pregnant. I am ready to not be at this point. I hear a lot of things from people about their pregnancies and almost everyone has told me you get to that point. The point where you are ready to not be pregnant anymore. I am there. This morning I thought I had started labor- but it did not progress.

We went to the doctor this afternoon and he said I was having some good old Braxton Hicks. He said- what do you want to do? Do you want to be induced? Do you want to wait? Now keep in mind my mom is here for the birth of our child and she flies back to Texas on Sunday. I feel the time ticking away. So, what to do? The doctor said the baby is ready ( I am 90% effaced and at 0 station) and up for anything. We agreed to see what happens in the next couple of days and revisit him on Monday if nothing has happened.

He did give me one option. Castor Oil. I told him about the cupcake and it made him laugh really hard. He said none of that stuff works. But castor oil has worked for hundreds of his patients. He said if I wanted to try to induce labor this was the best way. Drink 4-5 ounces of castor oil mixed with orange juice in the morning. Apparently, this means I will spend about an hour in the bathroom clearing out my bowels. The good news that clearing usually then leads to the uterus being stimulated into labor. He told me he has surgery tomorrow until noon- so to try it in the morning if I want to do it and I should give birth by tomorrow night.

Interesting I know. But, is this really how I want my child to come into this world? I may need to think on this. I hope to go into labor tonight or tomorrow morning on my own before this decision would even need to be made. What to do, what to do.....

Once again, I will keep you posted. :)

Lemon Drop Cupcakes

2011-02-04T14:44:00.000-05:00

So, there is a rumor in Charlottesville that if you are wanting to go into labor you can try this unconventional method. There is a cupcake shop in town called Cappellino's Crazy Cakes. They sell Lemon Drop Cupcakes. If you are pregnant and past your due date, the lemon drop cupcake can help to start your labor.

I met Jason downtown today and we had lunch together. After lunch we were joking about getting a lemon cupcake. So, we decided to go for it. :) We walked down to Cappellino's and they were very busy today. They seemed to be out of lemon drop cupcakes. The lady behind the counter asked how she could help me and I asked if they had any more lemon drop cupcakes. She smiled and said, "When are you due?" She and I laughed. She went on to say that she knows of 16 women who have been past their due date and ate one of the cupcakes and went into labor within 24 hours of eating one. She said one lady ate one and an hour later, her water broke. I asked if there was anything special in them. She said not that she knew of- just lemon juice. They gave me the cupcake on the house and asked me to keep them posted on how everything turned out.

Jason and I went back to his office and ate our dessert. It's been an hour and nothing has happened. I will let you know!

Getting Ready with Prayer

2011-02-02T12:54:00.002-05:00

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please Him (God), for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek him.

What a truth. I am holding onto that truth right now.

So, any day could be the day that I go into labor. Apparently, bringing the worst pain I have experienced in my life. I need to pray a lot right now. I need strength and encouragement from my Heavenly Father to make it through.

Last night, we had our community group (our small group with our church). We split up guys and girls for the second half and share our prayer requests. Then, we pray for each other. Last night, instead of praying for everyone, they all wanted to pray for me specifically. How humbling that these women would want to pray for me and what is coming this week! I was and am so encouraged. Hearing their prayers was like hearing the heart of God. They were praying things for me that I had not even thought about. It was really sweet. I hope that God will reward our seeking of Him together last night!

I also wanted to post a few pictures from the surprise shower that these same women threw for me a few weeks ago. I was beyond shocked. They got me good. :)

What a Man!

2011-01-27T09:02:00.000-05:00

I was going through a stack of old mail yesterday and found something very interesting. Sports Illustrated had sent a small card saying that they would stop sending the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and add a regular edition to the subscription that my husband has.

I asked him what the card was. He said he emailed SI and asked them to stop sending him the swimsuit edition. I didn't know you could do that. He said he didn't either but thought he would try. It worked. What a guy!

Whenever we get that edition he has me throw it away for him. He doesn't want any interaction with it. It makes me feel so respected- that he would go so out of his way to not look at other women in a sexual way.Yet another reason why I am so in love with Jason. :) He makes it easy.

Symptoms

2011-01-25T11:29:00.000-05:00

So I'm not as techie as I thought because I can't get this photo to rotate. But nonetheless, here is the progress of my baby bump as of Saturday night. Big I know. Gigantic I know. 2 weeks until he comes. Momma is ready.

I have had a pretty easy pregnancy and some of the more uncomfortable symptoms have shown up just in the last month. Those include- cankles, swollen everything pretty much, back pain- especially on the left side, throbbing feet, the ability to only wear a few pair of shoes because of swollen feet or comfort, fatigue, so thirsty!, so hungry!, nesting urges, trouble sleeping and being comfortable, getting up every few hours at night to use the restroom and think- really that was it?, and a few more personal ones.

There have been some positive emotional "symptoms" too. The biggest one for me is how close I feel to Jason. I know we are in this together. It's fun getting to see how he cares about me and his soon to be son. Last night he wanted to talk about holding the baby with 2 hands. He wanted us to carry him carefully. I assured him that I have held many babies before and have not dropped one. I asked if he had ever held a baby- he said Lavinnia. (Our friend's first child). We then recalled a time when she fell off the couch when he was supposed to be watching her. :) Hilarious. She survived though. I told him that our kid will probably survive too if something unexpected happens to him. I think parenting with Jason is going to be really fun. He is a good guy and it will be fun to see him loving our little boy.

2 weeks to go. I am ready to be rid of some of these symptoms. Bring on the baby!

Pregnancy Dreams

2011-01-18T06:52:00.000-05:00

The rumors are true. You do have the strangest dreams while pregnant. Mabye it's the hormones, mabye it's the fact you get up several times a night to empty your bladder, mabye it has something to do with feeling a new person all the time but not officially meeting them yet. Whatever the reason, I have been having the strangest dreams lately.

Here is one of my favorites. In my dream Dana Nowell (blog on the side blogroll) came to visit. In real life, she just had a little boy a few months ago. In my dream she brings her little boy to visit and his name is Little Buddy. All she wants to do is take a nap- with me and Little Buddy. So we both lay down with Little Buddy between us. While we are sleeping, she rolls over Little Buddy, me, and falls on the floor. She wakes up and makes tea. Then she wakes me up. We sit down for tea and she says she forgot something. So, she and Little Buddy walk down the street-- yes a 4 month old walking-- to her car. They get in and drive off. End of dream.

Every time I get up to go to the bathroom and come back to lay down, my dream changes to something new. So the good news is that they don't last long. Some of them are really weird.

I am looking forward to:
*Being comfortable when I sleep
*Sleeping on my stomach again
*Not getting up to go the bathroom
*Being able to breathe when I lay on my back
*Having this baby in my arms instead of carrying it around in my belly :)

Daniel

2010-12-19T09:50:00.001-05:00

Do you ever read about amazing people in the Bible and wonder if they have ever done anything sinful in their lives? I mean we know - all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I know that. There are people like David who were so awesome and amazing in their early life and then fell to pieces when God exalted them. Who thinks it's ok that his daughter was raped by his son? Who has a man killed because he knocked up his wife and doesn't want people to figure it out? Those are obvious sins.

But what about Daniel? I read some Daniel this morning and there is not one mention that I can find of wrongdoing in this dude's life. He did everything right: the eating veggies instead of meat, the whole not worshipping a huge golden idol thing, the believing God could save him even if God chose not to. The list could go on and on. I am thinking - where is the sin in his life? Where is it? Did he get angry? Did he lose his temper? Did he have indecent thoughts? I am sure these had to have happened. But what didn't happen is those things controlling his life. He was so faithful to the God of Heaven- the one true God- and not all the little gods that people were trying to worship around him.

Amazing- fiery furnace and a den of lions. Getting in trouble for praying or not worshipping twice. Being exalted only to be torn down by kings. All through it, he never once considered the king's exaltation a treasure. The God who made him was his treasure. And it showed. Amazing.

I went on to read some more and was struck by what Gabriel and the man in his vision in Chapter 10 ( I think Jesus) said to him. They said--

At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved.
and
O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.

How amazing would it be to have Gabriel- an angel of God and Jesus (I think) - the Son of God who is also God say this to you? You are greatly loved. Yikes! That gives me goosebumps.

I know that he was not loved because he was such a holy person. God loves all of us who are in a right relationship with Him. But Daniel was able to be in fellowship with that love so clearly that he heard it directly from God. Amazing. If that is the reward for a santified life- I'll take it. To know that you are so loved by someone who is so holy is indescribable. It's like a high- but a holy one. Thanks Daniel for teaching and encouraging me with your life today. Thanks Jesus for seeing fit to have it written down and for sustaining and strengthening Daniel throughout his life so I can understand what faithfulness really looks like.

Mmm Holiday Recipe

2010-12-18T09:50:00.000-05:00

I love mushrooms. I know that there is a significant part of the population that would disagree with me. I will admit they have a rather sponge like consistency and absorb any flavor they are combined with. Some people don't like how they burst their juices in your mouth after they've been cooked or have to be chewed a few times when raw. I love it all.

I made some mushrooms to take to a housewarming party last night and they were not a hit. I ate almost all of them because I love them so much. I don't think the people there were mushroom people. I did take the leftover filling and served it with crackers. This was a big hit. The filling is amazing- I just don't think people appreciated it inside a baked mushroom.

In the off chance that you are a mushroom person, here is the recipe. If you are not, you could make the filling and serve it with crackers.

Ingredients:
2 cartons of bite sized mushrooms
1 tube Jimmy Dean mild sausage
1 block of 100% real cream cheese
some pancake syrup

Directions:

Filling:
Brown the sausage
Squirt some syrup into cooked sausage- mabye 1/4 cup
Add cream cheese
Stir until melted

Mushrooms:

Destem mushrooms
Clean by using wet paper towel and wiping off dirt- if you rinse them in a dish drainer they will absorb too much water and become slippery
With a small spoon, fill each mushroom with filling and place on a baking sheet or pyrex dish
Cook for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven

Serve leftover filling with crackers.

Yummy!

Where have I been?

2010-12-17T12:15:00.002-05:00

I can't believe the last time I posted anything was in October. Wow. Well a lot has happened since then, including..... my brother's wedding. It was so fun to see my brother tie the knot. The wedding was beautiful and they thought of every last detail. Including their wedding dance. Here is a little magic from their special day.

The next big event was my Mom's graduation from college! She had so many people come into town to see her walk across the stage. I got to spend a lot of time with her. It was fun to have some quality time with my mom.

We have also been working on Baby Vandever's room. It has gone from a cluttered office/guest room to a nursery. We had it painted last week and have a few pieces of furniture in it. It makes the whole baby thing so much more real. Soon I will be covered in spit up and be losing lots of sleep all while getting to see what Jason and I look like if you were to put us together in a person. It's going to be fun and life changing! Here is the nursery so far.

My Dad comes to stay with us tomorrow for the next 2 weeks. We have 8 weeks until Little Vandever arrives. I have a few weeks of school left. It is all going by so quickly! I will try to update the blog more frequently...but I cannot make any promises. :)