I Can't Get Enough...

...of this sweet boy. I love to watch him grow and change...I love to notice all the new things he does and new sounds he makes...I love to study him, noticing things like the mole on the middle finger of his right hand, the way he's quick to wave and say "bye" (without the "b" at the beginning) when he sees someone getting ready to leave, his eyes that watch and absorb everything that goes on around him, the way he loves to talk on the "telephone" (which could be just a string held to his ear), his knowledge that socks go on feet and sunglasses go on faces and hats go on heads and his attempts to put them there (even though he himself can't get them on the right way). These video clips just make me smile as they capture a unique stage of his life (and unique stages in Josiah and David's lives, too, since theirs are the voices that are mostly heard in the videos!).

Tobin Bear, I love you so much. You are truly a treasure!

23 Weeks...24 Weeks...25 Weeks...

Well, it's been a while since my last pregnancy update.  So much for weekly pics and news!

I'm grateful to still be in the basically-feeling-good stage of this pregnancy.  These golden days of feeling Baby's movements, having an immensely precious connection with him/her that no one else gets to experience, having energy, not feeling sleep-deprived, not yet being at the point of waddling everywhere :), are cherished by me, especially since I know that harder days are coming.

It's a funny thing: on the one hand, I feel like things are slipping along so smoothly and easily these days.  I think, "Hey, I can do this!  It's not so bad, trying to balance the needs of my three sons and my husband and all the other people in my life while being pregnant--not nearly as hard as I imagined it might be during those emotional first weeks of pregnancy.  This is easy!"  But then, at other times, I think, "You know, this is kind of hard; and I think it's OK to admit that!"  But mostly, it does feel easy; and I'll be grateful for each day that feels that way!  :)

Although I'm not eager to rush through this stage, I do look forward to the baby being born for several reasons.  Obviously, the first one--and the most significant by far--is meeting our amazing little one and beginning the process of getting to know who the child is in all his/her uniqueness and God-given characteristics.  Besides that, I'm anticipating stepping on the scale and seeing my weight go down, wearing smaller clothes, being able to turn over in bed without a second thought (rather than the careful planning that rolling over requires in the later stages of pregnancy!), and seeing if the terrible eczema on my hands will lessen after the pregnancy hormones rushing through my body have departed in peace.  During the last few years, eczema has been a bothersome part of life for me; but my hands have NEVER been this bad.  On the good side, my hands are the only part of my body currently affected by eczema; but they are horrible.  It used to be that my fingers would get itchy patches and would occasionally get so dry that the skin would crack open.  Now, however, I have large, red, scaly, itchy patches--not only on my fingers--but worse, on the backs of my hands.  There is no way to hide it (other than a return to the glove-wearing days of the Victorian Period, but somehow wearing beautiful gloves and blue jeans at the same time doesn't quite work!), and I have had a number of people ask me if I burned myself (adults ask that) or the more blatant question, "what's wrong with your hands???" (kids blurt out that one).  I'm actually relieved when someone does ask me so that I can tell them what it is and assure them that it's not serious and not contagious!  If I lived in the Old Testament period, I'm sure I would have been cast out of the camp long ago and would have had to wander around calling out, "Unclean!  Unclean!"  :)  Maybe, after this pregnancy, the eczema will lessen tremendously.  Live ever in hope, right?  :)

Before each of my children was born, I always thought, "How am I ever going to...fill in the blank...with my children?"  With Josiah, it was a general, "How am I going to survive as a mom?  How am I going to do anything?"  :)  With David, there were two things that concerned me: how to take a shower if no one else was home to watch Josiah and David, and how to go out with both Josiah and David (this was when we lived in Israel...we didn't have a car so we either walked or took public transportation).  Before Tobin was born, I worried that I'd never get good at going to Walmart with all three boys.  Now I look back and grin sheepishly as I realize that somehow, I did indeed learn to do all of those things and now I wonder why I ever was concerned about them!

But of course, this time around, I have a new fear: how to handle mornings.  When Tobin wakes up, he is hungry and--not surprisingly--doesn't like to wait very long for his breakfast.  He won't understand if I say, "Sorry, Tobin, but The New Baby had a diaper blow-out, and I won't be able to feed you your breakfast for 5 more minutes.  Just be patient, OK?"  That will work for Josiah and David--no problem--but not Tobin Bear.  I've already resigned myself to sitting at the kitchen table with a Boppy pillow, nursing The New Baby and simultaneously shoveling Cheerios into Tobin's mouth...but if it gets too much more complicated than that, I don't know what I'm going to do!  A year from now, I'll look at this and laugh at myself--I hope!  :)  

Before I get to the adjustment period as a mom of four though, I have to give birth to this child.  I've been thinking more and more about the fact that somehow, this baby has to get out of my body!  Yikes!  :)  It was interesting after homeschool co-op last week to sit around with a few other moms and hears bits and pieces of their labor stories.  One of the moms got epidurals very early in both of her labor experiences and happily sailed through labor and delivery.  Another mom, who has 5 children and gave birth to them at home, obviously didn't have any medication.  But the third mom (who has 6 children) has done both: sometimes having quick labors and going the natural route and sometimes having longer labors that wear her out so much that epidurals give her the break she needs to recover her strength for the actual delivery.  In my mind, I had pictured her as going the strictly-natural route, and I was a little surprised--pleasantly--to hear that she's done both.  It was a completely peaceful, respectful conversation between all of us with none of the infamous "Mommy Wars" about the best way to give birth...but it did remind me of the reality of what's coming!  Ah, but at the end, A BABY!

Back during week 23, I had a routine appointment with the midwives; and this time I saw Marty which was good because she's probably the one I saw the least during Tobin's pregnancy.  It was an enjoyable appointment, complete with a surprisingly short wait and a friendly chat with the midwife.  I love how they take time to talk with their patients!  I was measuring exactly right for this stage.  Baby's heartbeat was 148, solidly in the middle range.  My blood pressure was good: 122 over 66.  My weight was 160.5 pounds.  I was shocked when Marty said I had only gained 5 and a half pounds so far this pregnancy because, really, does this growth I'm sporting look like only 5 and a half pounds???  :)  When I got home, I had to look back in my records to see if she was right; and sure enough, at my first visit with the midwives, I was 155 pounds.  However, I'm really counting my starting weight as 150 because here at home, at the very beginning of the pregnancy, that's where my weight was hovering.  So, 10 and a half pounds.  That sounds more reasonable to me; but oh my, when I look at these pictures, I think I look all that--and more!  :)

~ 25 weeks, 1 day...on Palm Sunday

~ David wanted to be in the picture with me, so he picked a daffodil, too, and stood with me in the flowerbed while Jeff took these pictures...doesn't it look like he's thinking, "wow, Mommy is BIG"?  :)

Brilliant! ... and Not-So

Brilliant: the colors of nature surrounding me today...vivid green grass, gorgeous blue sky, white and gray clouds scudding across the vast expanse, attention-getting daffodils...I had the opportunity to get out of the house and drive several places today, and my time in the car brought such delight as I drank in the sight of such vivacious colors

Brilliant:  the way the dark blue of the paint I chose for my bedroom walls looks against the newly-painted white trim...dark blue and white is my absolute favorite color combination and has been as long as I can remember...I am immensely pleased with how the bedroom is coming along!

Not-so-brilliant:  my choice to stay up until 2:30 AM last night, just to finish reading a book...it's been ages since I did that, but A Voice in the Wind gripped me so much that I was powerless to put it down before I reached the end (even though I knew what was going to happen because I've read the book before) :)...fortunately, today was such a busy day that I didn't have time to sit for a moment and realize that I was tired...it's hitting me now though, so even though I would like to just peek at the first page of the first chapter of the next book in the series, I'll show great restraint and not even pull the book off the shelf!

Simple Sunday - Paint on the Wall

~ thankful for this smear of blue paint on my bedroom wall...also thankful for the ladder that's currently in the room (not a normal part of my decorating scheme!) and the total mess that is present everywhere in that room (which would normally drive me bonkers)...why?  because my bedroom is getting painted!!!...I've only been thinking about this and planning it for the past five years or so (no exaggeration), so to say I'm a little excited is an understatement  :)

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

7:00 AM

In my last post, I mentioned that Josiah and David stayed in their beds until 7:00 AM, the time that we allow them to get up (which is certainly not an original idea with us; although I can't remember from whom I first heard that idea, I know that a number of other people do something similar).  Susan commented with a question about how we do that--how do we get our children to obediently stay in their beds in the morning?  It's a very good question, and I'm glad she asked it so that I can write a little more about it.  My first thought was just to leave a comment back in response to hers; but knowing my tendency to be long-winded  :), I decided to turn it into another post.  Besides, it deserves its own post because it touches on some vital issues!

By the way, I hope very much that this doesn't come across as an oh-they've-got-it-all-figured-out-and-have-perfectly-obedient-children kind of a post.  I'm actually writing this after a rougher-than-normal day with the boys, so I feel very humbled and aware again of how only through God's grace and strength do we ever "achieve success" in the raising of our boys.  The glory is His.

The simplistic answer to Susan's question is this: we bought a digital clock, made sure that it was positioned so that both boys could see it from their beds, taught them what 7:00 (or later) looks like on the clock, and then told them they couldn't get out until that time.

The real issue is much deeper and more complicated however.  What do you do when the child challenges that?  How do you handle it when it's 6:45 and they wander into your room?  How do you get them to stay in bed even if they wake early?  How do you help them choose to obey?

First of all, with Tobin (14 months old) who still sleeps in a crib, obviously he can't get out before 7:00 because he's stuck in there.  :)  But his situation is different: he sleeps in a different room than the other boys, we haven't taught him to tell time yet :), and if he cries before 7:00, I get him and don't even try to enforce the 7:00 AM guideline.  He goes through phases of different sleep patterns; and back around the time he turned a year old, he was waking earlier than 7:00.  I didn't like it because not only was it more difficult to pull myself out of bed in the 6:00 range, it was also very dark.  Winter mornings are not when I like to get up early!  :)  But I knew it was just a phase, so I got to practice the art of self-denial and simply get up with him earlier than I desired.  Now he's back to waking up after 7:00 almost all of the time, so I'm grateful for that.  I try to pay attention to his need for sleep and adjust his bedtime so that he wakes later than 7:00, rather than earlier.  At this point in time, he normally goes to bed around 8:00 PM (sometimes a pinch earlier, but rarely later).

There is another factor with Tobin though.  Because he's a Babywise baby, we put him in his crib awake and he goes to sleep by himself.  For him, his crib is a happy place; and his normal pattern is to wake up (whether from a nap or from nighttime sleep) and play and talk and be content in his crib for a while before he's at the point of fussing to get out.  He likes his crib and the stuffed animals and crib toys in it.  

Now on to Josiah and David...  

I have heard from a variety of sources that if you focus on training your oldest, that training rubs off on the younger siblings.  Firstborns are such powerful forces in a family!  For better or for worse, they have a huge impact on the younger ones; but that can be used to our advantage as parents.  Obviously, we also deal with the hearts of every single child because they are each unique and will each have personal struggles that need the shepherding of a parent.  I'm not suggesting to ignore the younger ones!  :)  However, from our experience with morning wake times, I'm convinced that the fact that Josiah "got it" helped David immensely when we transitioned David from a crib into a bed in Josiah's room.  David sees Josiah waiting until 7:00, so it's very natural for him to follow suit.  Josiah, in fact, has a tendency to be a little policeman when it comes to David so I'm sure he has verbally "encouraged" David to stay in bed if he wakes early.  :)  

The question still remains, how do you train the firstborn?  I actually don't have too many vivid memories of this with Josiah, but here is what does come to mind.  When the child gets out of bed too early, you simply take the child back to bed (or if they are old enough and have gotten into the habit of getting up early, you simply tell them to go back to bed).  When the child is first learning this concept, lots of gentle reminders can be used.  

On the other hand, kids are smart--very smart.  :)  And they can conveniently "forget" the guideline, so parental discernment is needed about when to simply remind and when to take it to the next level.  If a child of mine gets up too early and comes to me and I instruct them to go back to bed until the right time, if that child does not obey, the issue changes completely from reminding about a new habit (not such a big deal) to direct disobedience (much more serious).  At that point, we would deal with it the way we deal with a blatant challenge to our authority (and there's not just one way that we would deal with it...depends on the age of the child and the training methods that work best for him).  But the child would realize that their behavior was unacceptable and that we take it seriously.

Another thing that helped me put this 7:00 AM guideline into practice with our boys was deciding very consciously when to begin this, choosing a time when I was not sick or extra tired or stressed, and giving extra attention to it for the first few days until they consistently started to obey it without constantly challenging it.  In fact, in this post from way back in June 2007, I mentioned how I stayed nearby when I first put David in his new bed in Josiah's room.  I found a project I could do and still keep an eye on and ear out for David as he adjusted to the new freedom of his different sleeping situation.  For me, when it comes to any kind of sleep training, I've discovered two things: first, it's always better for me to tackle it in the daytime at the child's nap, rather than trying to be coherent and consistent in the night; and second, sustained attention at the beginning reaps enormous rewards in the end.  If I can devote some focused time and energy to training the child, after a day or two or three, they get the lesson and don't really challenge it much after that.

All of this assumes that the child has learned basic obedience--that they are not commander-in-chief of their own little life and that they must submit to the authority God has placed over them.  That is the true challenge!  

For the first few years (even up to age 5 or so), I consider that the most important lesson for my children to learn.  Obviously, they are learning SO MUCH during this time: that they are loved and cherished and we hold them as precious gifts from God and that there is no one like them on earth and that they are WONDERFUL!  Lots and lots and lots of love and hugs and kisses and cuddles and FUN gets heaped on them.  But they also desperately need to learn this lesson of bowing their head to authority; if not, they will fight and kick and scream their way through life, rebelling against all kinds of authority that they will have to encounter.  I view it as a grave disservice to a child to NOT teach them that lesson early in their life.  Would the problem child in school be such a problem if the parents had, in a loving context, taught him/her the principle of submission?  Would the teen sitting in court for vandalism or theft be there if his mom and dad had taken the time and exerted the energy to teach him that he must bend his will and sacrifice his own selfish desires for the good of those around him?

There have been times in my life as a mother that I have been specifically concerned about my boys' obedience (lack thereof, to be exact).  One year, I wrote in my new planner that my top priority for the new year was to focus on obedience with Josiah and David.  Much higher than losing weight, organizing my closet, writing handwritten letters, drinking more water, even serving on another church committee...so much more important than those other worthy goals was the one crystal-clear goal: to teach my children to obey.  (Obviously, the very highest life-long priority for me is to grow in my relationship with God and to reflect His glory and likeness more and more.)

I find that it takes a significant amount of energy and mental focus for me to train them in this way.  But when I'm on top of my game, so to speak, I don't dread their disobedience because I recognize that it gives me the opportunity to speak life into them by training them in how to live correctly.  Kevin Leman mentions this in his book Have a New Kid by Friday--this idea of actually looking forward to their mistakes because of having a plan for how to deal with it and how to turn it into a learning opportunity for them.

I remember when I decided to teach David to obey my verbal commands.  He was crawling around and decided to go over to the steps and see if he could go up them.  At that point in time, I knew it was not at all safe for him to do that by himself; and rather than throwing baby gates up to block all the dangerous parts of the house, I realized that I could teach him to obey, even at that young age.  You know what?  It worked!  I gave him the opportunity to disobey, watched him like a hawk (even if he didn't realize it), then dealt with his behavior and taught him not to go up those steps.  We never had a single incident where he tried to go up and got hurt as a result.  (To clarify: we did, however, have a gate at the top of the steps leading downstairs and also had a barrier around the woodstove.  Those truly dangerous spots, where one mistake could cost him terrible suffering or even his life, were blocked.)

Obedience protects.  When the child steps out from under the umbrella of obedience and submission to God-given authority, they are no longer protected and will much more likely "get wet" as a consequence of their disobedience.  I have often used this umbrella imagery with my boys to help them understand this principle of the natural, completely normal consequences of obedience versus disobedience.  It's just a fact of life, and you can only fight it so long before you realize you're just banging your fists against a stone wall and only accomplishing the act of bloodying your hands.  Some children take longer than others to learn this lesson.  ;)

Before I leave the subject of obedience, I must mention that I can always tell when my heart is particularly troubled by what I see as a lack of obedience in one of my children because I have a recurring theme in my dreams when that is the case:  the theme is wild animals tracking and attacking my children.  At this point in time, I feel confident in Josiah's basic obedience (so we've moved on to other issues like the condition of his heart while obeying!); but when he was still learning this lesson, I would dream this about him.  With David, I had a dream like this not too many months ago, which reminded me that obedience is still an ongoing lesson with him.  The dream has had a number of variations--sometimes the animal is a tiger, sometimes a bear--sometimes we're in a place I don't recognize, sometimes we're here in our home.  Often I'm inside the house, and my child is outside, and I'm struggling to reach the child or make my voice heard or somehow communicate the warning that they need to come inside to be safe from the predator.  I always wake up from such dreams in quite a panic; they are the type of dream that lingers so forcefully and causes you to feel the raw emotion of it for hours afterwards.  It's not as if I've had hundreds of these dreams during the past almost 7 years of being a mom, but it has been consistent enough for me to recognize the pattern.  I don't put a whole lot of stock in my dreams since they are usually quite absurd; but in this case, it seems like these dreams do accurately reflect the deep concern of my heart in the times when they come.

Whew!  I know that was a lot more than Susan asked for; but with a quiet house this evening (Tobin and David in bed asleep, and Josiah with Jeff at dress rehearsal for our Easter play), I could let my thoughts and my fingers flow freely.  This is the result:  lots of words.  :)

I do want to clarify one thing though.  The 7:00 AM guideline is not a hardship for the boys.  It is not an area of wills clashing.  It is a very normal thing for them to sleep past 7:00 AM; in fact, as I mentioned in the last post, it's rare for them to both be awake before that time.  David's normal sleep pattern is to sleep until close to 8:00 AM, if not later; and Josiah, although he usually wakes up before that, does not often awake before 7:00.  If I noticed that my boys tended to naturally wake up at 6:30 or even 6:00 and that their body rhythm didn't seem to budge even if I adjusted their bedtimes, I wouldn't fight it and make a huge issue out of this.  There are enough other issues that are more important!  But this works very well for our family, particularly since we don't have to get up and out the door by a certain time every morning.  If the boys went to public school, that would all be different.  For us, just one of the many advantages of homeschooling is the ability to have relaxed mornings.  :)

Ah, I hear the Jeep!  Jeff and Josiah just got home, so I'm off...  :)

33

It's been a sweet day.  How could it not be, with a venti mint hot chocolate and a piece of banana chocolate chip coffee cake at Starbucks for breakfast and chocolate ice cream from Kline's as a bedtime snack?  :)

My day officially started with hearing Josiah and David talking and laughing together a few minutes before 7:00 AM, which made me smile.  It is rare that they are both awake that early--usually David is the one who sleeps in--but this morning, they woke up before 7:00, then obediently stayed in their beds until that magic hour when they're allowed to get out of bed.  After that, they quickly came into our room and sang in whispery voices (since Tobin was still asleep in his room just off ours) "Happy birthday to you!"  I loved it.  :)

After that, I got ready and left the house.  Since my birthday landed on a Wednesday, Jeff's day off (I wish that happened every year!), he graciously agreed to stay home with the boys and let me have some time out all by myself this morning.  It was thrilling.  :)  I went to Starbucks and used the gift card that I won in a give-away on Jo Ann's blog, then sat there and started reading A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers.  It's been a number of years since I read it--probably ever since Carolyn Fields had all the women in her discipleship group read it way back in San Diego--but I'm enjoying it immensely and being challenged by it.  Only problem is, now that I've started that book, I want to sit and read it while I should be doing other things!  :)  

After Starbucks, I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond because Jo Ann, in her generosity, decided that since it took her longer than expected to get the Starbucks gift card to me, she should include a gift card to Bed, Bath, and Beyond as well.  OK!  I'm not complaining!  :)  I peacefully walked through the whole store with no little people tugging at me or wanting my attention.  I thought about a few things I might like to get; but when I saw this sign...

...I knew I'd found the one.  It was the first time I'd seen a sign with this saying, and I look forward to hanging it in our bedroom as a reminder of the wonderful love story woven through my life!

My last stop before heading home was the nursery to get my big gift: a magnolia tree!  I have some magnolias already, but I want to continue the row of them all along the western side of our property.  This tall specimen was actually $20 cheaper than I thought it would be, so that made me happy.  :)

After I arrived at home, we got ourselves ready and headed north, my parents included, to eat lunch at the Olive Garden in Winchester.  It's a long trip for just a lunch out, but oh so yummy...and worth it on such a special day.  :)

Then home in mid-afternoon for a nap (interrupted by vivid dreams of characters from A Voice in the Wind!), followed by family time with no set agenda.  Jeff loved me through acts of service by working on a few little projects around the house, and I went on a little nature walk around our property.  First, I found my mother up on a ladder, pruning the grapevine! 
Then these cheerful daffodils caught my eye...  
Ours are on the north side of our house, so they always bloom later than most in the area.
Some hyacinths...
...which I planted a few years ago around the base of my fringe trees.
Green grass... It's kind of silly to take a picture of grass, I know.  I only wish the color was better in it so the vivid green would be visible (I'm too tired tonight to even try to edit it to correct that!).  One of the things I love about the month of March is how the grass greens up.  Beginning of March, it's brown.  Beginning of April, it's beautifully green.  What a difference!
Water drops on lily leaves from our light sprinkle of rain earlier...
But most precious by far of all the things I saw around our house is the treasured face of my little Tobin Bear.  He's gorgeous to me!

It's always interesting to me to look back on my previous birthday posts (appropriately named 31 and 32!).  Last year, I posted some old photos; and this year, I decided to take another trip down Memory Lane (and, by the way, I pulled these old pictures out of boxes and albums and took pictures of them with my current camera to post here; that's why the quality of some of them is not the greatest...but again, I'm too tired to do anything about it now!).  It's hard to believe that I was this little girlie...

...who grew up and (skipping a bunch of years!) became this skinny college student...
...who had short hair and liked big earrings...
...and went off to Israel and met an almost-too-good-to-be-true man and fell crazily in love and was wooed long distance by him and received countless letters (real letters, hand-written, not emails) from him and occasionally even flowers...
...and who became engaged to him and could hardly wait to marry Prince Charming...
...but who still had to finish her senior year of college, but fortunately had fantastic friends to help her through...
...who finally did graduate, three weeks before the wedding day...
...who embraced the adventure of being a newlywed in the far-off land of California (here at the San Diego Zoo...there's a lion in the bottom right corner of the picture)...
...and did silly things like kissing Jack (from Jack in the Box restaurant, but most East Coasters probably haven't heard of that restaurant) on Halloween...oh, you guessed it, it's really Jeff inside that silly head he made!...  :)
...and came back to her college campus in Pennsylvania a year or two later to dress up in her wedding gown and take more wedding pics, just for fun  :) (since the wedding was in Virginia, we didn't get to take real wedding pics in this gorgeous location)...
...and who eventually became a mother--A MOTHER!--to her firstborn son...
...and her second...
...and her third (but there are plenty of pictures of that on the blog already!), and now is expecting a fourth.

What an incredible adventure the past 33 years have been!!!  

At this stage of life, I feel a very deep sense of contentment.  Oh, sure, there are some things I'd like to change; but overall, I feel like I am living out my earliest, most cherished dream.  Surely I must be the most blessed woman on the face of the earth.  In the words of The Shack, God must be "especially fond" of me.  How grateful I am!!!!!!!!

Things I've Jotted Down

ONLY ONE MORE DAY...

until I get to change my blog header.  :)

And--oh, yeah--tomorrow's my birthday, too!!!

********

As the days fly by, I sometimes hear something that one of the boys says or I notice something that they do, and I think to myself, "I must write that down!"  So into my planner goes a little note about whatever it was, along with a good intention to blog about it, and then...it never happens.

Today, I'm sorting through these random (VERY random!) notes and finally blogging about them! 

Going back in time...

March 18 - Josiah said he wants to have 17 kids...I'd better warn his wife  :)...I'm sure he got this idea in his head from a TV program about the Duggar family that we watched during our mini-vacation...since we don't have a TV here at home, one of the highlights of staying in a hotel for us is watching TV  :)...the boys want cartoons, of course; but during our evening in Virginia Beach, we overruled them and watched a very interesting program about the Duggars and some friends of theirs (another family with 17 kids, I think)...in about 30 years, it will be fun to remind Josiah of this day when he expressed his desire for a LARGE family!

March 16 - Tobin tasted brownies for the first time  :)

March 16 - on the same day, David asked, "Is my tongue a piece of food that got stuck in my mouth?"  :)

March 10 - for the first time, Tobin sat up by himself!!!...at least, this was the first time that I found him in a sitting position; maybe he's done it before when I didn't see him  :)...when I opened the door of his room on this day, there he was in his crib, sitting up and looking around the room so proudly...since then, he's done it a number of times; and for a while, he would sometimes fret after he had been in his crib for a little while but before he was done with his nap or even fell asleep...I would go in and find him in a sitting position--stuck--not sure how to get back to a laying-down position!...now he seems to have the hang of going both ways...Tobin is behind the "average" schedule with this accomplishment, but my boys are always at the later end of the normal range of large motor skill milestones so I'm not a bit worried

March 9 - it was a warm day, and I opened the windows for the first time this year...I am so happy to have windows open, and I miss that fresh air when I have to keep them shut

March 8 - first day this year without a fire in the woodstove

March 3- Tobin got his third tooth!...we were in Colonial Williamsburg, waiting for the guide in this particular building to start her talk; she didn't seem particularly interested in or fond of children (in contrast to the other guides we had encountered there who did an exceptional job interacting with the boys)...Jeff was holding Tobin on his lap, trying to keep him entertained and quiet, letting him gradually slide backwards (and Tobin thought it was great fun to be upside down!), when he noticed something new in Tobin's mouth...sure enough, Tobin's top right tooth had poked through!

end of February - I didn't write down exactly which day this occurred on, but Tobin ate bear for the first time!...we don't normally eat bear, but one of Jeff's customers had brought in some bear meat for him so we all had some of that...Tobin was quite fond of the burger made out of bear and venison meat...I tore off tiny chunks of it, and he managed to mash it up between his gums, and then clamored for more!...I certainly didn't eat bear when I was 13 months old  :)

end of February - I also jotted down during this week that David says "wen" for "then"...he can say the "th" sound if he focuses on it...when he says "30," he very consciously makes the "th" sound and does a very good job with it...but with the word "then," I haven't corrected him and helped him think about the "th" because I've been enjoying his cute little "wen" too much!...he'll say something like, "wen I'll put on my shoes, and wen I'll get my coat, and wen I'll go out with Daddy!"...and I love it  ;)

another thing about David's language development - David was in the habit of saying, "I wuv you," so Jeff started teasing him gently by saying back, "I wuv you, too"...when David heard it, he realized it wasn't correct so he concentrated and said, "I love you" and got it right...now he'll say, "I wuv you and I lllllove you" with a huge emphasis on the "l"...he's a sweetheart!

middle of February - I made a note that Tobin doesn't like applesauce, but does like pizza...whoever heard of a 13 month-old who doesn't like applesauce???...when I slip some in his mouth, he wrinkles up his face and acts like it's the worst thing in the world...silly boy  :)

February 14 - David was having a hard time going to bed and said, "When I'm an adult, I'm going to let my children stay up until midnight every night!"...we'll see about that, dear boy; we'll just see  :)

February 14 - also on this day, I wrote down something that David says once in a while...if he sneezes and nobody says, "Bless you," he'll pipe up with, "What do you say to me because I sneezed?" and then we'll remember and say, "Bless you"...he helps us mind our manners  :)

February 10 - Josiah says, "pregnick," instead of "pregnant"  :)

February 9 - Josiah had some exciting news to report to us, something he had heard from the neighbor girls about a traffic accident or something or other...the "facts" coming from his mouth didn't seem terribly convincing, but he was certainly delighted with his role as a reporter and he said over supper, "Do you think I'll be a news presser?"  :)

February 9 - I saw the first robin of the year, always an exciting reminder to me that spring truly will come again!

January 30 - Josiah exclaimed tenderly to me, "I can almost imagine freckles on your face!"...maybe that's because there are freckles on my face  :)...perhaps they're lighter than they used to be, but I can't imagine that they entirely disappeared...it's been a while since I've really studied my face in the mirror though so who knows?  anything's possible!...I often tell Josiah how much I love his freckles, and it seems that he thinks they're an entirely adorable feature to have  :)

end of January - David bragged to Josiah, "My cup is bigger than yours!"...but quickly added, "But that doesn't make me better"...ah, maybe he's finally getting this lesson I've been trying to drill into both of their heads, that winning a competition (whatever it may be about) is not as important as realizing and affirming the worth of each individual (don't get me wrong: I think some competition is healthy, and it's not necessary to be all about "we're all winners, I'm OK, you're OK, let's never keep score because it might damage your precious self-esteem, etc." all the time...but my boys are competitive to the nth degree, and it sometimes needs tamed down a tad!)

end of January - Josiah made up a song and sang it gleefully, "Narnia, Narnia, is waiting for you!"...I really wish I had captured that moment on video  :)

end of January - one day, David got into the playpen with Tobin; and I don't even know what he was doing, but he made Tobin laugh and laugh and laugh...I often think that the laughter of children is the sweetest sound I know

January 14 - I can't remember exactly what precipitated this, but David said earnestly with big eyes, "I don't want to go to school!"...although we don't know what the future holds and we take the educational decisions for our boys on a year-by-year basis, I do look forward to homeschooling him...I would miss him so much if I had to send him off to school!

Tobin Loves to Help

In this case, he noticed that David was building a design with dominos, so Tobin eagerly took upon himself the job of handing them to him. I loved how David would say, "Thank you!" and how Tobin vocalized as well, as if to say, "You're welcome, dear brother." :)

Simple Sunday - Family Ties

~ thankful for family ties that bind our hearts together, even when time and distance separate us...specifically, I'm thankful for the visit we enjoyed this past week from my Aunt Joyce and Uncle Jay who live in British Columbia...the last time we saw them was almost three years ago, and God only knows when we will see them again...the time they were here this week flew past far too quickly...Aunt Joyce is my mother's youngest sibling and her only sister--think they look alike?  :)

How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along!

~ Psalm 133:1 in The Message

10 O'Clock on a Saturday Night...

...is perhaps not the best time to be deciding which songs I'll play tomorrow for the prelude and offertory during our church's worship service.  It really would have been smarter to choose my pieces much earlier in the week, and then I could have actually practiced them!  But instead, I never carved out even a five-minute gap in this crazy week to look through my music and plan for tomorrow.  The only thing that was planned in advance--and the part I'm most looking forward to--is playing two duets with Lily, my piano student, during the prelude.  That will be the musical highlight, for sure.  :)

Now that it's 11:00 PM, it's hardly the time to try to catch up on this past week (which went largely unrecorded because of family sickness--yes, again--and computer sickness--yes, again--and the most joyful reason of all, a visit from some of our Canadian relatives).  Here are two tidbits; that's all I can squeak out tonight...

We went to a homeschool day at the New Market Battlefield today and had a good time there.  Even though it was cool and damp, we did not get rained on (for which I was grateful); and the lighter attendance at the event actually came with a side benefit for us--more personal attention from the staff and volunteers!  The highlight for both Josiah and David was this soldier training in the mock boot camp.  They're such boys.  ;)

Changing the subject, I recently read this quote in the book Quiet Moments for a Woman's Heart:

The beauty of the house is order.

The blessing of the house is contentment.

The glory of the house is hospitality.

The crown of the house is godliness.

~ author unknown

As I look at that list of virtues (order, contentment, hospitality, godliness), I feel a deep desire to grow in all of those areas!  Yet I know that godliness is the one I most need to focus on because, from it, all the others will flow.  It's a ceaseless quest...

That is, until we find our true home in heaven.

A Diagnosis...and An Award

As it turns out, the headache that I labeled a migraine (in this post) is more likely to have been "just" a sinus headache, produced by the pressure of a sinus infection.  Although it shared characteristics of a migraine (one characteristic at least: excruciating pain), it did not include the vision disturbances that are so common with migraines nor the nausea associated with true migraines.  (To be exact, I did have a tiny bit of nausea with it, but just a little...probably caused by the all-consuming pain.)  Anyway, last Friday evening when my parents were up here for supper, I told Dad that I still felt a small amount of pain behind that eye, as well as stuffiness in my head, so he went to work and started poking and prodding to determine the culprit.

First, he pushed on the sides of my neck, checking my lymph glands, I suppose.  At his typical doctor question of "does this hurt?", I told him that I was sure if he pushed anywhere hard enough, it would indeed hurt...but that no, that particular location was not extremely sensitive.  

Then it was on to the sides of my nose with the same question, and I said, "No, that doesn't hurt, but don't push like that on this spot above my right eye, or it will...OW!!!!!" (as he matter-of-factly pushed on that very spot).

"Yep, it's a sinus infection," he said calmly.  "Do you have any antibiotics here?  Let's get you started on one."  

I'm not quick to jump on the antibiotics bandwagon, but that night I didn't hesitate an instant and have been faithfully taking Amoxicillin ever since (well, except for that 24 hour intestinal virus episode when I couldn't keep anything down; that put quite a crimp in my 3x-a-day medicine taking).

Isn't it ironic that with all the high-tech gadgets and diagnostic tools doctors have available, sometimes the most effective means is just fingers poking the places that hurt?

********

On a happier note, Michelle from Somerset Cottage graciously gave me an award some time ago.  I am always extremely honored to receive an award, so thank you, Michelle, so very much!  It truly means a lot to me!!!  

Here is the description of this award:

The Love Ya Blog Award~ These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award. 

Here are my nominees:

Jo Ann at Just As I Am - Jo Ann's blog is relatively new to me.  She always makes me laugh, and I won a give-away on her blog...so I'm a big fan.  :)

H at First Things First - H is a friend from high school days that I've enjoyed reconnecting with through blogging.

Sarah at Nesting in Pleasant View - Sarah has an incredible story of trusting God through times of loss and times of gain.  Recently she's been blessed with a beautiful daughter, Anna Claire.

Jeanette at Blessed by Baseballs and Bows - Jeanette's family includes biological and adopted children, and I admire her ability to be real as she mothers with strength and grace.

I know the award said to nominate 8, but I'm going to stop at 4 because I need to do a few things now before we head out the door to Josiah's last session of SVCC for the spring.  All the blogs I've listed in my sidebar are meaningful to me and all deserve an award in my book.  :)

Praying for Health

I had to smile when I read Kristal's comment this morning on my Simple Sunday post: "I'm so glad that you are feeling better."  Because, you see, I'm not.  Or rather, I wasn't--not when she wrote it, not when I read it.

It seems absurd to write this, but sickness has once again struck me--this time, in the form of an abdominal virus that included frequent trips to the bathroom and, worst of all, wrenching stomach cramps.  Not to be too graphic, but I wonder what my baby was thinking as I threw up and set off these huge waves of convulsions in his/her safe, normally placid little world.  I'm hoping that I'll pass the immunity I'm accumulating to the baby and make this one less sickness he/she will ever have to get!

This particular illness hit me about a half an hour after our lunch guests departed yesterday afternoon; at first, I was so worried that it was food poisoning and that I had accidentally cooked something bad and infected the whole family as well as our guests!  The fact that my mother, too, got sick did nothing to relieve my mind; but a phone call to the Ebys and a report that they were fine made me much happier.

Happier, but still in pain.  Pain last night.  Weakness today.  But most of all, discouragement.

I used to think I was a healthy person.  I used to think we were a healthy family.  But the past few months have taken away my confidence in those facts and made me wonder what in the world I'm doing wrong.  

Why does it seem like we pass from one sickness to the next?

Why does it seem like, at any given point in time, at least one of us is not well?

Why does it seem like I've written way too often about our various health issues on this blog?

Is God trying to teach me something???

To keep things in perspective, I realize deeply that our minor sicknesses are nothing--NOTHING--compared with what so many other people are facing.  It could be so much worse.  We have so much for which to be thankful, and I do give thanks.

However, I also pray specifically:

~ for Jeff to remain healthy...he seems to be the one who floats past our germs the best, and that's a huge blessing...last night in bed, I scarcely wanted to breathe in his direction, lest he be the next one to get my latest bug...but God has protected him from most of the things the boys and I have dealt with this winter

~ for me to regain complete health...that my strength would be back tomorrow (just in time for a field trip with our homeschool co-op), that my stomach cramps would completely go away, that the sinus infection that seemed to be the source of my horrible headache last week would be gone, and that I would have grace and patience to care for my little ones in the meantime...AND that I would be able to relax even when I feel like I'm behind in every area of life!

~ for Josiah to remain healthy (since he seems to be feeling well these days!)...but in particular, for God to open his ears...at Josiah's evaluation with the speech therapist that I mentioned a few weeks ago, she tested his hearing and discovered that he wasn't hearing correctly (or at all) in the higher frequencies...she wants to test him again on Thursday and see if it has improved...if not, I'm not sure what the next step is, but it's definitely a source of concern for us

~ for David to, like Josiah, stay healthy (since he too seems to be doing fine)...although tonight he coughed a few times and asked me for some cough medicine...I assured him that he could get a drink of water and that would take care of the problem...one thing is for sure: my boys like medicine...they open up for it like little birdies with beaks wide open, clamoring for their share and jealous if their brothers get some and they don't...oh, these silly boys!...guess that goes to show how far children's medicines have come in the realm of taste since it certainly wasn't that way when my parents were children!

~ for Tobin to be healed of his runny nose, sneezes, little coughs, etc...I'm reminded of how difficult it is to know what's really going on in the body of a pre-talker, but his recent fussiness makes me think he might be suffering a bit

~ for my dad to stay healthy (you'd think with all the exposure to germs that he gets, he'd be sick more often; but no, he's not--he must have built up lots of great immunity by now!) and for my mom to recover her strength from this recent virus

I've been reading the Gospel of Luke in The Message, and these words about prayer from chapter 11 caught my attention yesterday:

Don't bargain with God.  Be direct.  Ask for what you need.  This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in...

So, God?  I'm asking.  For health.  For the ability to function and fulfill the tasks You've set before me.  For the discernment to learn what You want to teach me through these times of illness.  For the grace to relax and allow my body to recover, knowing that my worth is not measured by what I accomplish or how clean my floor is.  But, God, could I please learn all this and be healthy at the same time?  :)