Singin' the Blues

Yes, I know, I have not blogged in quite some time. Allow me to explain.

I do have a real, non-cyber life. It mostly revolves around my husband and 2 little kids, and sometimes the needs of the household supersede the desire I have to blog. Last month, as everyone is well aware, it was Christmastime -- and I had cookies to bake, gingerbread houses to put together, presents to buy and wrap, parties to go to and bring goodies for, family to entertain, traveling to pack and prepare for, etc, etc. Of course every other mother on the planet was facing these same challenges.

Then we went away to visit family in NY. And both kids came back and promptly got ill. Audrey especially has not eaten much of anything for a week and has been running a fever pretty much continually unless there's advil in her system. Oh, and coughing up a lung. Today we made our second trip to the doctor, and it looks like she has a mild case of pneumonia. Yuck. It's supposed to be in the 60's for the next few days, and we may very well continue to be stuck inside. I am pretty much wiped. Every morning around 5 am, when the meds wear off, Audrey is up crying that she is hot (and she is in fact burning up with a fever). SO, I've been spending an hour or two helping her relax and sleep again. Of course, no one sent the "today is a good day to sleep in" memo to Carter however. About the time Audrey is asleep, Carter is waking up. Thankfully, this weekend Chad got up with Carter for a few days so I could catch up on a little sleep. Yesterday was our anniversary, and those plans are postponed till next weekend. And I haven't seen anyone besides the doctor and pharmacist in ages. It's all a little depressing. So please excuse my very long complaining session here.

I will say there is something to learn in all this. And that is - learning to put someone else and their needs before my own. Learning to "deny yourself" as Christ talks about in the gospels. So, I have been denying myself the opportunity and luxury of blogging for now. Other more important people and responsibilities prevail!

PS - I would appreciate prayers for the kids, and for me. It's so hard to watch them be sick.

Also, I will post some Christmas pics later. For now, I somehow managed to get both kids to nap simultaneously (not an easy task!!) so I have things to do while I have a little peace :)

Spaghetti Face

Carter really enjoys trying out all kinds of table foods. Lately, he will eat just about anything off my plate. So when we had spaghetti the other night, I let him try some. He went on to eat a whole bowl (and some leftovers the next night). Think we found a favorite ...

Does this kid have cheeks or what?

Technology

Today I did something brand new.

[DRAMATIC PAUSE]

Today . . . I sent my first text message.

Chad and I finally got our own cell phones. We used to have just one that we used for emergencies but we found that it was too expensive; on top of it, when the antenna broke and I took it to Verizon, they didn't even know what kind of phone it was (and needless to say, did not have replacement parts!) I think they thought I dropped in from another planet, at least that's the way the guy looked at me and my phone.

So anyway, as Chad and I are spending more and more time running around with the kids and with Chad sometimes traveling for work, we decided to get some phones. Okay, I admit, they are just the "pay-as-you-go" tracfones. But suddenly I have become part of the information age.

I used to wonder why my parents were so behind the times, especially when it came to technology. I think we were the last kids in the neighborhood to have a microwave, a VCR, Atari, etc (am I dating myself here or what?) And later on, I was impatient when they didn't have email or a home computer. (The addition of a long-distance grandchild kind of put that into fast forward, however.)

NOW I realize why it took them so long. They were busy living life, keeping a roof over our heads, making sure we kids kept out of trouble, helping other people out, doing the million things that parents do every day . . . Now that I am a parent I realize these things. Some days, I barely have time to brush my teeth, let alone sit down and figure out something new - who has time to text message??

So today I was checking out at Target, and looked at my phone (since Chad is out of town), and there it said "you have a message". Once I got to the car, I figured out how to look it up, and the silly phone actually said "Reply?" I tentatively pushed "reply" and next thing you know, I was "texting" Chad.

I am so proud of myself. Am I a cool, hip mom or what? :)

Handwriting on the wall

I know Thanksgiving is way over and Christmas is in full swing, but just had to post this belatedly.

Lately Audrey has a huge interest in writing and spelling out words. A few days before Thanksgiving I came out to the living room to find this taped to the wall. For a moment, I thought she was an absolute genius ... until I realized that she had copied it from something hanging on our window. :) In any case, I think it's pretty darn good for a four year old!


We have much to be thankful for, including all the things that our children are learning! (Wasn't she just born? You turn around and they're leaving you messages on the wall!)

I made an elf of myself

Okay, if you want to see something pretty funny (and a tad bit weird) that involves our family, please click on the following link:
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1125161404

Every time I look at this I can't stop laughing!

Enjoy. Tis the season to be jolly!

Re-learning old lessons

Why is it that we humans can't seem to learn a lesson the first time? It seems to me that we often have to learn something over and over and over and over again. I know I do.

And alas, I see this in my daughter. A month or so ago, she started throwing herself to her knees, bursting into tears, and yelling "WHY??" in response to getting the answer "No" - a word she appears to enjoy using, but seems to be not so fond of hearing. Anyhow, for a few days she would go straight to timeout each and every time she threw herself down. After a couple days, whaddaya know? - this behavior vanished. (For once I was successful in eliminating a problem behavior!!! Yeah, me!! Probably because this particular one drove me absolutely insane.) So a few days ago, I noticed a disturbing pattern - yup, once again, throwing herself down and making a scene. So. . . I guess I shouldn't have been patting myself on the back yet. And back to timeout we go.

Yet - am I so different? Do I learn my lessons the first time? Sometimes ... but unfortunately, it seems as if the most important lessons are the ones that take some time (and a few cycles of re-learning) to sink in.

For example, since we began attending our church 2 years ago, my husband and I envisioned potentially starting a small group for younger married couples. Our small church has seen a lot of growth lately, and so, with the pastor's encouragement and blessing, we decided to take on the ministry of beginning a small group. Immediately my insecurities started taking over. What if no one is interested in joining the group? What will we study? What if a Bible scholar joins the group and thinks we are spiritually stupid? What if we're too quiet/introverted/etc. to lead a group? What if people drop out? Maybe people won't like us . . . etc, etc. If I would have stayed with this train of thought, the group would have never even gotten started. And truly, don't our insecure thoughts get so absurd sometimes? I used to lead small groups as part of my JOB, for pete's sake, and no one ever ran out screaming! :)

As I began to pray about all my insecure thoughts, however, the Lord reminded me of something quite important -- this group wasn't about ME!! It was something He was fashioning and forming, for His glory. If it was going to happen, He would be the one building it. He would lead us through the process. This was not Chad & Amy Smith's group, it was God's, and I needed to put it all in His hands, trust Him, and keep my paws off of it!

This is a lesson that I have learned many times before. I could go on and on with stories of how God has provided -- for my cross-country move for graduate school, how I raised almost $3000 for a missions trip in a few weeks . . . I even see God's hand in how I ended up with my husband! God is always faithful and always provides when we trust in Him, and not ourselves. I am so grateful for this truth, even though I seem to have to learn it over and over again . . .

So, here we are, a few months into our group. In September we had the four other couples over to our home for dinner as kind of a group "kick-off", and as I sat at the table and watched all the positive energy in the room, I was so thankful. Thankful that God had brought the group together. Thankful to get to know these fellow believers. Thankful to be used by God in a way that was so exciting. And oh so thankful that God had helped me see that this wasn't about me. The real joy for me is standing back and listening to God and letting Him work through this.

Keep praying for us as we seek to serve God in this new way. I, for one, am praying that I will continue to trust God with the things He has called me to do -- and that I will believe and not doubt.

Handsome boy - with new teeth!!

Just adding some new pictures of Carter. We had a little "photo session" after breakfast this morning because I was trying to get some pictures of him with his new teeth. He cut 3 top teeth in the last month! (Can you say sleep deprivation?)

Carter is nine months old now. He is taking after his big sister and waiting to crawl until he's good and ready. I guess he's such a content little guy that sitting around is good enough for him right now. At least I'm not having to chase him around and babyproof everything yet!

Here he is!

Mommy's sweet boy

"See my new teeth?"
Audrey made this exact same face (with the wrinkled up nose) when she was little!

I love my Cheerios!

I think he was trying to look around the camera to see me!