Playing in the Rain

We had huge downpour this afternoon. It was a warm day and there was no thunder or lightening so I put Aliza in her rubber boots and raincoat and sent her out to play in the rain. She LOVED it. And she was drenched when I heard the first clap of thunder and made her come in (which led to very loud protesting).

We have a new friend in our house, Boz. He likes the rain and sings about he rain and he uses an umbrella in the rain so Aliza thought she needed an umbrella too.

It's so fun to watch her learn new things. And Josiah now has toys hanging from his bouncy chair. He thinks those are pretty neat. His hearing must also be developing nicely because Aliza made him cry with her squealing for the first time today. Oh the joys of having two!

What a Weekend!

This weekend the 4 of us made our first trek to West Virginia to visit Jeremy's family. Josiah did really well for the first 3 hours of the trip, but both ways the 4th hour was utterly miserable with his screaming and Aliza trying to comfort him----(read with increasing intensity)----"siah...siah....SSSSIIIIIAAAAHHHH" She was only trying to be heard above his screaming and then by the time we hit Camden Ave, Aliza was imitating Josiah's breath-holding wail. That sums up the driving part.

Our excuse for going was for Karen and I to attend her church's ladies' tea. They call it a tea, but it is more of a luncheon. This year the theme was the 50's. They had the auditorium set up as a drive-in theatre complete with cars from the 50s, popcorn concession stand and diner for root beer floats. A small group in the church hosts this event every year and it is amazing. Elvis came in full costume and sang several songs (the most elderly ladies especially enjoyed him!), the entertainment was Price is Right (apparently it started in the 50s) and the craft was decorating wood cutouts of our initial (I guess they wore letter sweaters in the 50s). I'm pretty clueless about the 50s as you can tell!

Our tea time became quite somber when a lady at our table received a text message that her son had been in a motorcycle accident. I had just met her and she told us that she was a mother of eight children and told us about her oldest son (4th in the line) who had a motorcycle that he really wanted to race and how much she did not want him to do that. Quickly after the text message she received a phone call and her husband walked in looking very pale. Ultimately her son died that afternoon from multiple internal injuries.

Well, I was going on not-enough-sleep and a very early morning and I spent the rest of the day wanting to cry and hold my babies as close as possible. Watching someone basically find out that they lost their child in an instant made me think how quickly life can be snatched away. We aren't guaranteed another day. It made me think about how I always need to be prepared to face eternity at a moment's notice. There may not be time to settle with God or others on earth before our time is up. Don't hesitate a moment longer! If you are uncertain about eternity or don't have peace about dying--don't rest until you do!!! That is my lecture for today! =)

A Wednesday Evening at the Heslop House

The house was quiet and I was almost worried, but then I realized that everyone was happily engaged in an activity that they enjoy.

Josiah is sleeping. We've been teaching him how to sleep and he is a very good student.....more on Babywise theory later. (Janel, there is hope today. I'm totally pumped!) He's been making more and more happy noises when he is awake and his smiles are coming more easily now. And, yes, he did sleep through the night last night.

Aliza is watching Boz, her new favorite DVD character. It is a Christian Barney and teaches preschool concepts with Christian values. It is fun because she can tell us all about the songs and stories.

And Jeremy took his camera outside to take pictures. That makes my heart soar! It wasn't a very rational conversation on my part, but I told him he was working way too much in the evenings and we needed him. This week he has been available and tonight he did something he enjoys. That means he is relaxing too! Maybe he got some neat nature shots that I can post later.

Salisbury Zoo

Saturday was Earth Day at Salisbury Zoo. It was a beautiful day so every other family in Salisbury thought the zoo sounded like a good outing also. I've never seen so many strollers in one place! Aliza walked and walked and walked. Her cheeks were bright red after an hour, but she didn't have a shortage on energy. She has talked about all the animals she saw since....I finally figured out that "gos" are flamingos. That was a relief! She was even telling me that they were pink like her shirt....she must think I'm really stupid at times. =)

Christie, the hat Josiah is wearing was Graham's. Josiah will wear it all summer. Thanks!

Jeremy's parents were here from Thursday evening to Saturday so they got in on the zoo festivities. Aliza sure enjoyed having them here. It won't be long until I have no peace once she knows that they are coming.

Wow!

I laid Josiah in his bed at 8:30 this evening which means that I have had 2 hours ALL TO MY SELF!!! Unheard of. I actually did a scrapbook page (it was pretty plain. i'm out of practice.) and now I'm headed off to bed.

Josiah slept for 8 straight hours last night. Horray! AND the last couple days he has been sitting happily in his bouncy chair for 20 minutes once or twice a day. Yes, that means supper preparation must happen in twenty minutes. =) But it's really cool. He looks at the light or fan or some colorful object and once in awhile lets out a happy little coo.

Picture Post

Baby Dedication

In our faith tradition a baby dedication is a time where Jeremy and I commit to raising our child in the Christian faith, the church commits to supporting us in that endeavor and the pastor prays a prayer of blessing on the child. That's what we did today.

Dad talked about how it is important to pass on the stories of faith to our children and then he told the story (creation, sin, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, kings, Jesus, resurrection, etc.) to us and pointed out where King Josiah fit in the Biblical timeline.

While I was pregnant I prayed that the child I was carrying would be a leader, choose to follow Christ, be a soulwinner, and have a joy and passion for living. Late in my pregnancy we chose the name Josiah which means fire of the Lord. Before we settled on the name we looked up what role King Josiah played in history (we didn't want to name our child after an evil king!) This is what we found.... (an excerpt from The Student Bible)

Judah's slide to destruction was interrupted by the amazing rule of its alltime best king. Josiah came to the throne at age eight, but received good counsel from the high priest. In 31 years he carried out the most extensive religious reforms Judah had ever seen. He removed and destroyed the altars, idols, and symbols of ungodly worship from the temple, and destroyed pagan centers throughout the land. In a thrilling sequence of events, he oversaw the rediscovery of the Law of Moses and acted immediately on what it taught. No king equals Josiah for his sincere and devout practices.

Pastor Dad's blessing on Josiah was 2 Kings 22: 2 "He (King Josiah) did what was right in the eyes of the Lord...not turning aside to the right or to the left."