After Four Years and 1,479 Posts, It's Time

Time to say goodbye?

Not exactly.  After all, goodbye is so final.

How about this:  I'm moving!!!

That's right.  After four fantastic years of blogging here at Life on Sylvan Drive, the itch to move got hold of me, so this will be my last post here on this site.  My new site is here.  ;-)

If you've been around for long, you already know that I rarely do giveaways--once a year when my blogiversary rolls around, and maybe when a new baby is born--that's it.  However, since this is the anniversary of my very first post {which seems} so long ago, I'm excited to do a giveaway now to thank you, my readers who have truly become friends, for walking down Sylvan Drive with me.

The prize up for grabs is a $20 gift card to Christianbook.com, and all you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post OR a comment on the first post of my new blog (or leave one on both, and you'll get two chances to win).  Make sure I have an email address for you, so I can send the gift card electronically.  I'll randomly choose a winner on Friday, January 21.

It's been an incredible, life-changing journey these past four years.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you, friends--and goodbye see you around!!  :)

Three Is

Three is the first birthday that a child understands.

Three is bundling up in a heavy coat and new boots, and waiting for Daddy.

Three is the long-awaited day of the first Daddy-Tobin breakfast outing.

Three is riding in the "Beep" (or, as the J-pronouncing population calls it, "Jeep").

Three is opening your own gifts.

 Three is a good age to receive The Boy Who Changed the World.

Three is taking birthdays seriously.

Three is starting to receive an allowance ($.30 per week, $.10 per year of life), and needing a bank in which to put it.

Three is being watched with interest by your little brother.

Three is a Hermie & Wormie puzzle.

Three is a snuggly ostrich from Grandpa and Grandma.

Three is needing Daddy to read the cards.

Three is being excited about a big package.

Three is loving Fisher-Price tools.

Three is bopping your head to a card that sings.

 Three is chocolate cake with chocolate icing and sprinkles.

Three is blowing out the candles all by yourself.

Three is playing with your new toy right away.

Three is Tobin!

Three is BIG!

And one more...

Three is ADORABLE.  ;-)

The Last Night as a Two-Year-Old

Once upon a time, I wrote a similar post to this one, only in that case, it was for David on the night before his 4th birthday.  Somehow, time rushed on, and here I sit on the eve before Tobin turns 3.  He'll never be 2 again.  Rather than be melancholy about that, I'm going to celebrate it--rather, celebrate him.  And so, my dear Tobin, this is for you:  one last look at you as a two-year-old, right before I tucked you in bed tonight.

It's a little strange to look back on this post announcing my pregnancy with you...

...and this post announcing your birth...

...and realize that those posts were about YOU!  We barely knew you then--just the tip of the iceberg--but without a doubt, we have delighted, during the past three years, in the gradual unveiling of your personality and all the unique attributes that make you you.  You are so very special, Tobin Bear...

...and so very, very loved!

A Funny Thing Happened Around the Christmas Table

We always get to celebrate two Christmases.  The first occurs on Christmas Day; and besides our little celebration and gift-opening in the morning with just our boys and my parents, we also have the fun of having people over for dinner.  Basically, any friends we have that don't have somewhere else to go that day get invited to our house!  :)  We've done this for years--as young marrieds in California, as expats in Israel, and now here in Virginia--and it's always interesting to see who turns up and what combinations of people end up together around our Christmas table.

The second celebration usually happens a few days later when my brother and his family from Pennsylvania come down, and any other family members that we can rope into coming are here as well.  Unfortunately, it's been years since we had all my family (my parents, siblings, spouses, and kids) together in one spot; in fact, I can't even remember the last time it happened.  But we celebrate with whoever can be here, and we remember those who cannot.

Besides being a chance for the adults to converse with each other, our times together are also a hoot for the younger generation.  Cousins are just so much fun!  It's also precious to see how quickly our boys reconnect with aunts and uncles.  I may be a bit biased, but I think my sons are exceptionally warm and affectionate.  ;-)

These pictures that I took during our celebration a week ago are poor technically, but the family togetherness they capture is precious to me.  

Tobin made himself comfortable...

...between his aunt and uncle...

...and looked at all the pictures in the photo book they made for my parents...

...before my parents had a chance to look at it!

You woulda thought he owned that thing!  :)

Anyway, what I was thinking about, when I started this post, is that as we were sitting around the stretched-out table eating, Josiah took a bite of something, felt something hard in his mouth, and discovered that one of his teeth had fallen out!!!  It had been loose for a little while, but not a very long time; and as far as we knew, it wasn't exceptionally loose.  But somehow he happened to bite down on something just right, and it knocked the tooth clean out!  That was the easiest tooth removal we've had so far.  ;-)

We *always* have to take a cousin picture.

A few things have changed since these cousin pictures from years ago.  :)

Right before the cousins started their trip back to PA, my David shouted, "We have to take a picture of me and Uncle David!"  He was right; we have to.  Always.  :)

Some things never change.  And you know, we really wouldn't want them to.

With a Bang and a Song

It's a good way to start a year:  staying up until midnight and enjoying the excitement that fact--midnight!--brings to the two oldest boys (the two youngest are sound asleep in their beds), playing a game of Skip-Bo with them during the last minutes of 2010, waking up Daddy who's sleeping on the couch, so that we can go outside on the patio and...

...celebrate with firecrackers and sparklers...

...and bang pots and pans!  

Even our rooster got into the act and started crowing.

Silly rooster.  ;-)

And then, after some hours of sleep, a day of being at home as a family, working together on various projects (Jeff did garden stuff, the big boys helped to carry wood, Tobin climbed the tall mulch pile behind our woodshed, I helped my mother organize her new kitchen).  Then quiet time in the afternoon, for most of the members of the family.  I spent my quiet time with my hands in the dishpan, which was lovely since not only did I bring order and cleanliness to my kitchen, I also got the chance to mull over my one resolution for this year.  After that, I sat on the living room floor with Shav; and, as he climbed around me and on me, I finished organizing my file box.  To completely finish a project is such a wonderful feeling!

Supper this evening was provided by Jeff:  ground bear and deer meat, given to us by one of Jeff's customers.  Jeff formed it into hamburger patties and grilled them, and I didn't have to do much for dinner!  But that leads to a question:  if they're made out of bear and deer meat, are they still called hamburgers?  ;-)

The crowning touch (and, oh, what a crown!) on this superb day was the annual Harmonia Sacra singing at Weavers Mennonite Church.  I've written before about these wonderful sings, but I know there's no way to adequately portray in words the joy I gain from participating in one of these.  I can't help but beam as I sing, I smile as I get up to take a turn in leading, I float home in a cloud of happiness, I gush about it to Jeff (who kindly stays home with the boys so I can go...although tonight, one of my sons chose to go with me...at the end of the video below, you'll see his face and know which one it was)...I'm energized by the whole experience, and it always takes me a while to unwind after it.  :)  New Year's Day wouldn't be the same without the delightful tradition of attending that sing.

Amidst the singing tonight, I paused briefly to snatch a little video of it.  It goes without saying that the video doesn't do it justice.  I really think you'd have to be there to experience the beauty and the majesty and the glory of the voices lifted in praise, using the same words and tunes that have been used since 1832.  But here's a snippet of "Hosanna."  I wish I was still there, singing it again and again...

Hello, 2011; you are most welcome.  I'm so glad you're here!

She's At It Again

There's not much time to blog tonight.  Christmas, Part Two, is in full swing over here; and we have beloved house guests sleeping under our roof tonight.  Plus, tomorrow is Part One of my parents' Very Big (Across the Parking Lot) Move.  But before I get a little sleep, I've gotta say...

That sister-in-law of mine!  ;-)  Three years ago, we caught her feeding David (who was two years old at the time) much more Oreo Ice Cream Dessert than he was "supposed" to have.  :)   And now, this year, look who's benefiting from her generosity!

I do believe Tobin ate virtually every bit of her dessert; and when she went into the kitchen and got more for herself and came back with a full plate, he wanted it, too!  It made me wonder:  if we set the entire dish of ice cream dessert in front of Tobin and let him eat as much as he wanted, would he eat the whole thing?!  :)

Tobin's not the only one who loves his aunt.  We are all big fans of their family, and I think my favorite part of every visit is the time after all the kids are settled in bed when my brother David and his wife Lori and Jeff and I can sit down in the cozy living room and talk.  Tonight we covered the topics of creationism, colleges, switching churches, rusty trucks and Jeeps, Craigslist, cigars, tithing, time shares, and more.  I love it. 

I love them.  ;-)

Christmas for Four

A Gift Only God Could Give

I loved Christmas Eve.

I loved seeing the living room set up with pillows and sleeping bags and blankets for excited little boys.  I loved hearing their daddy reading from our Advent book, Bartholomew's Passage, as he laid on the couch.  I loved feeling the warmth of the fire in the woodstove.  

For a full year, I had been looking forward to my night of sleeping on the couch near my boys and the Christmas tree; and, needless to say, I loved actually doing it.  Josiah and David and I were the only ones who made it through the night there.  Tobin tried, but after one too many times of bouncing up out of his cozy nest and bugging his brothers, I took him up to his room about 10:00 p.m; and despite his protests, he quickly went to sleep there.  Jeff fell asleep on our little couch, but also departed part of the way through the night.  But I stayed there, waking occasionally to shift my position on the couch, drink in the sight of my two oldest sons in their youthful peace-drenched sleep, and breathe a prayer of thanks for such moments.

When we woke up this morning--around 7:30 a.m.--a glance out the window showed a most wonderful thing:  it was snowing.  Snow on Christmas morning?  Unbelievable!  It couldn't have been more perfect.  As I rejoiced, I thought, "Only God could have given us this gift."

Sure, a weather forecaster could tell us the scientific reason for the snow arriving this morning.  This high pressure system here...and the low pressure system pushing against it...and the moisture from this storm system...and the winds from the south...blah, blah, blah...  But can a weather forecaster make it snow?  No.  Can you?  Not a chance.  Can I?  No way.

The snow this morning was a gift only God could give.

Almost as soon as that thought entered my mind, I realized that that was exactly what Christmas is all about.  Only God could give a gift like Jesus.  Thank You, God, that You did!

I'm tempted to write more tonight, to share more pictures, to capture in words the moments that made this Christmas so special.  But I can't.  You see, one of the gifts Jeff gave me is The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven; and I started reading it while I was munching on left-overs a while ago.  I could barely pull myself away from it long enough to talk to Jeff, tuck Josiah and David into bed, or do this post.  ;-)  I think it's going to be one of those books--the kind that makes you stay up WAY later than you should, just because you can't bear to set it down for one single second.  If my bedside lamp is still on at 3:00 in the morning, you'll know why.  :)

Have You Done It?

Last weekend, I had the privilege of taking part in a Christmas program for the residents at a local nursing home.  I've been wanting to do that for years, because outreach to the sometimes-abandoned elderly is dear to my heart; but I had never made it happen.  This year, however, Josiah wanted the opportunity to play a few piano pieces somewhere, and it worked out for him to play in this program and for me to sing in it.  

It was an incredibly moving experience for me; and if I had more time, I would write much more about it.  But here is what I want to focus on tonight:  one of the women in our group sang "O Holy Night."  And it got me.

Everybody knows that song, right?  When I hear the first notes of it, I usually think, "What a gorgeous song!"  But by the end of it, I'm thinking, "What a long song.  Whew, I'm sort of glad it's over."  Maybe I'm the only one who feels that way.  :)  I'm sure, however, that I'm not the only one who likes to belt out "O niiiiiiight diviiiiiiiine" when no one is around.  I'm pretty sure Jeff doesn't do that.  I'm pretty sure I have a time or two.  This year.  Every time I hear it on the radio.  ;-)

One of the lines in the song says this:

Fall on your knees.

And when I heard Cara belt out that line in the activity room of the nursing home, I thought, "What am I doing on my feet?"  I was so moved by that whole morning of music that I could hardly keep the tears from flowing, though I hid it well, I think.  As I stood there listening to her, my thoughts were racing:  Yes, I should literally fall on my knees.  The awe that God's entrance to earth produces knocks me over.  But if I really do kneel now, what will everyone think?  I'm just here to sing harmony on a few Christmas carols, not to cause a stir or raise a ruckus.  What do I do?

I stood.  I didn't fall on my knees.  The program went on, I kept my tears of wonder in check, and the residents got cookies at the end.  Nice.  But not awesome.  Not awestruck.  I didn't do what the song said.

Until later...

Was it that night or the next that I was here at home, late at night, with everyone else asleep?  The radio was on in the background as I went about my various tasks, when suddenly I heard those familiar arpeggios as "O Holy Night" began.  It wasn't hard to figure out what to do.  Without delay, I dropped to my knees, let the magnificence of the lyrics wash over me, and worshiped.

So.

Have you? 

Have you heard "O Holy Night" this Christmas season?  I would wager (except I don't) that the answer is yes.

Have you done what it says?

Have you fallen on your knees?

********

Today, I sat on the floor near Shav and watched him play with the figures from our manger scene.

As he lifted the camel and moved the sheep and tried to set one of the Wise Men on the sloping roof and, yes, popped Baby Jesus' head into his mouth (until I gently admonished him, "Don't suck on Jesus, Shav"), I silently prayed.

"May the commonplace not become ordinary.  May my familiarity with this story not breed contempt.  May the easy availability of nativity sets of every size, shape, and material not diminish my respect for who these figures portray."

"Lord, may I never hesitate to fall on my knees before you, aware of the majesty of your coming, and filled with delight in your presence.  Let me not forget Who Christmas is all about."

Compared to Last Year, I'm...

...way ahead!

Do you remember my late-night Christmas Eve marathon gift-wrapping session last year?  I do!  And I wince a little every time I think about the stress of all that was going on last year, including the hour and a half I spent "throwing" presents into gift bags and stuffing tissue paper on top, when what I really wanted to be doing was falling asleep in the glow of the Christmas tree lights.  I was determined that this year, things would be different.

I'm happy to say that they are.  :)

Thanks in part to my friend Sally who came over one afternoon to watch my kids so I could have some time to myself (a portion of which I used to wrap gifts), and to Kathryn whose weekly visit to play with the boys gave me time this afternoon to finish the project, I am now able to say that all the gifts I needed to wrap are done: wrapped, tagged, bowed, and placed under the Christmas tree.

What a lovely feeling.

I can hardly wait for Christmas morning, so I can watch the faces of the ones I love as they open their gifts.  I must be growing up because these days...

...I'd rather give presents than receive them.  :)

40 Days for 40 Years

"I've really been getting a lot of nice emails recently," Jeff said to me a few nights ago as he stretched out on the couch by the woodstove.

I was puttering around in the kitchen, putting some things away, I suppose, or doing one of the myriad of tasks that accompany the keeping of a home.  "That's great," I said, and tried to hide the huge smile spreading across my face.

"What?"  Jeff asked.  "Why are you smiling?"

I wasn't going to tell him.  I was trying to keep it a secret as long as I could.  I knew he would find out eventually, but...

Finally I had to confess that I had arranged for someone to email him each day with thoughtful words of affirmation for him:  40 days for 40 years.  Jeff's not a big party guy, and it's nearly impossible to find a gift--a physical item--that means a whole lot to him.  Oh, he receives them graciously, but they usually don't touch his soul.  But words of affirmation?  They speak to him.

Back in September, I read on Krista's blog about how her husband (also named Jeff, incidentally) had planned 40 days of celebration for her 40th birthday.  "Aha!" I thought, "I could do something like that for my Jeff!"  But what to do?  I wished that I had the money to take him on a trip, but that wasn't possible.  I knew that I could easily make a list of 40 special moments with Jeff, so I did.  But what else?  Then it dawned on me:  simply contact 40 of his friends--ranging from guys he knew when he was young and single, to men that he's met and become close to during our years in Virginia, and from every time in between--and ask them if they would be willing to spend a few minutes jotting an email to Jeff expressing appreciation for his friendship and for the way God has used him in their lives.  The response was immediate:   yes, I'd love to help!  what a great idea!  I'm honored that you asked!  what day do you want me to send my letter?

It's been fun, so much fun, to see the emails arrive.  They're not even written to me; but as Jeff shares them, they bring back a mountain of memories and reminders of cherished friendships through the years.

I'm not sure it's fair for me to be gaining so much enjoyment from this when it's supposed to be for Jeff's birthday!  ;-)

Now That You're 40

My dearest love,

Now that you're 40, 40 seems young.

To tell you (and whoever else is reading this) the truth, I've had a tiny bit of apprehension through the years as I've thought about you turning 40.  We've known some people who have apparently gone crazy when they hit the big 4-0 and have made some terrible decisions, particularly related to their marriages.  I've wondered, would that be you?  You've always made me feel so incredibly loved and secure in our marriage, and I couldn't imagine life any other way; but would this birthday suddenly make you lose your mind and look for a way out?  I'm happy to report that, as of this morning when you kissed me goodbye before you left for work, you still seem quite sane and in-love with me.  ;-)

I've only known you for the last fifteen years; but from that time, it's not difficult to remember 40 significant moments for us.  Wanna take a walk down Memory Lane with me?

1. first time I saw you (on the steps of the university in Jerusalem)
2. the field trip to Ashkelon and your decision to stay with the small group of us that were heading to Tel Aviv to spend the night (instead of going back to Jerusalem with the larger group)...I knew I was falling hard for you on that trip because I was so jealous!  any time you talked with another girl from the group, it tore me up inside; I wanted you for myself!  :)
3. you going with me to Bethlehem to help out at Bethlehem Bible Institute (instead of going away sight-seeing during Spring Break)
4. "the talk" in the garden on the night of Passover
5. the kiss at Petra
6. the proposal at the Western Wall (I had no answer for you then)
7. you riding with me to the airport when I flew back to the States after that life-changing semester in Israel (and your suggestion to me that we hop on a plane to Australia together and get married! crazy man)  :)
8. our discussion on the big rock at Camp-of-the-Woods, hammering out not only our beliefs, but also how we would handle disagreements
9. our drive home from Washington, D.C., via the Skyline Drive, and all those deer we saw
10. the proposal here in Virginia (I still wasn't ready)
11. the proposal at Lover's Cove on Catalina Island (this time, I said yes)  :)
12. the many pictures you sent me of our first apartment, and your excitement about finding one with such a gorgeous view (the bay in San Diego)
13. our wedding, wonderful in every way
14. the pomelos you went to great pains to find so you could bring them to our wedding
15. the elaborate, romantic Valentine's Day dinner you planned and served me on the beach in Coronado
16. your compassion, during the first years of marriage, when I would occasionally wake up during the night with horrible headaches (one time, you fixed me some soup...another time, you mixed a little Kahlua with milk and gave that to me!)  :)
17. your statement on January 1, 2000, that you were ready for us to have a baby (two and a half years ahead of the schedule I thought we had in place!...it didn't take me long to adjust my thinking to your revised schedule)  :)
18. standing outside the Boys and Girls Club with the Fields and Bentleys and being asked to go on staff for the church, knowing that one of your (our, really) dreams was coming true
19. watching you preach in the Boys and Girls Club; standing in awe of your zeal and passion and ability to communicate and inspire (God uses you mightily because you're such a willing vessel)
20. your graduation from the University of Phoenix (I was SO PROUD of your diligence and determination)
21. your weekly trips to the Chula Vista farmer's market to get Oro Blanco grapefruits for me when I was pregnant with Josiah
22. the birth of Josiah
23. the sermon you preached the Sunday after he was born (which happened to be Father's Day)
24. the phone call you received, asking us to sell our stuff, pack a few suitcases, and move to Israel
25. the joy you brought into our apartment when you would return from a morning of Hebrew Ulpan (language learning) to have lunch with Josiah and I (we always eagerly awaited your arrival, often watching out the window to see you come into view)
26. the many, many times you strapped on the Snugli and carried Josiah with you during outings in Tel Aviv
27. our seventh-anniversary celebration, which included a stay at the famous King David Hotel in Jerusalem, fulfilling a long-held dream of mine
28. the evenings of walking with you to your Hebrew classes at that Ulpan that was further away; I was pretty far along in my pregnancy with David and I waddled as I walked; you slowed your steps to match mine; I loved that time to talk with you; sometimes we got freshly squeezed pomegranate juice on our way; Josiah was in the stroller, and after we kissed you goodbye, we would waddle our way home, looking in the shop windows, and watching the people on the streets
29. the birth of David
30. the time we spent in England while moving from Israel to Virginia, and your advice to me to just relax and enjoy everything (that was exactly what I needed to hear)
31. the day you walked into West Side Barber Shop with resume in hand (little did we know that God would use that shop to provide for our family during these years in Virginia so far)
32. the morning after your birthday in 2006 when you opened the door to our neighbor being held hostage by a gunman, and I saw first-hand that "greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13)
33. your encouragement to me in January 2007 to start blogging; I wouldn't have done it without you (little did we know just how much I would indeed blog over the following years!)
34. your calm demeanor when we were stuck in the ferry line to go to Ocracoke, NC, while vacationing on the Outer Banks in September 2007; we were stuck there because the battery of the van died! (talk about stressful!  whew!  but you handled it amazingly well)
35. the birth of Tobin
36. the way you missed me and the boys so intensely when you were in Israel without us in July 2008
37. the birth of Shav
38. you killing the snake (well, snakeS, since you've been a part of more than one snake incident around here); you're my protector and hero  :)
39. our decision to leave the church of which we were a part; I saw your heart torn to pieces by your love for God and for people and by your desire to see righteousness be done
40. late night talks on the couch ("can I sit at your feet, Boaz?") about where God is leading us and what the next step is

Now that you're 40, I realize anew that, in all the ways that matter, you've made me a extravagantly wealthy woman.

Now that you're 40, I still can't believe that you chose me to share the adventure of your life.

Now that you're 40, I stand in awe of who you are as a man:  your talents and abilities, your convictions, your provision for us, your boldness and courage, your character and integrity, your tenderness when appropriate, your knowledge base which is so vast (you seem to know something about everything!), and the love you lavish on me and our family.

Now that you're 40, I look forward to the next set of memories we'll build in this new decade of your life.

Now that you're 40, I love you more than ever.

I am yours,
Happy

All We Need Is the People

We're hosting a fellowship potluck tonight, and today has been a day of preparation for that.  I've had good helpers, especially when it came time to make the birthday cake.  ;-)

The chairs are waiting.

The plates are waiting, too...

...as are the glasses...

...and the forks, knives, and spoons.

All we need now is the people!

When You Let Your Children Play with Your Nativity Set...

...you never know what might happen.  All the figures might get pushed very close together...Baby Jesus might be given trucks to play with...the shepherds might end up on top of the stable (as seen in the 3rd video down)...and, worst of all, Jesus might lose a hand!  

All those adventures happened in Christmases Past.  Here in Christmas Present, I discovered this scene last evening:

All the figures were laying on their backs.  All except the camel, that is...

...he was standing upright in a tiny space between the stable and the fence.  There wasn't enough room there for him to fall down.

But why were they all laying down?  Had an earthquake come by and rattled them all to the ground?  Had the angels appeared and overpowered them with majesty and glory?  Had some kind soul gently laid the figures down so they could go to sleep?

Then I found a clue:

See it there on the top of the stable?  I'm not sure what it is or where it came from; but to my untrained eye, it looks like a picture of a Star Wars storm trooper (is that what they're called?)  Maybe some imaginative boys were mixing genres of play!

Since all my sons were asleep in bed when I found it, I removed the scary face picture from the roof, set up all the figures, and arranged them the way I like it.

Sleep soundly, sweet one-handed Jesus!  Aren't you glad we take literally your command to let the little children come to you?  ;-)