Bible School Videos

Another year of Bible School is over. This week has been so incredibly busy I can hardly believe the week is over. Below are 3 videos. Aliza's class singing. Josiah's class singing and the whole group singing a song. Aliza was so incredibly excited about the program. Not nervous. Just plain old excited. You'll see what I mean! I was very pleased that Josiah stood on the stage with his class. Even if I did have to be right there beside him.

I try be very conscious of how busy we are and how much we do away from home. I want our social activities to count and be worthwhile. Because of that things like Bible School programs become a big deal. Aliza's enthusiasm lasted all week.

Lots of Little Bits

 Oh my! One day has melted into the next! Here are some of the things we have been up to.

Foremost on my mind tonight is Jeremy's family. Jeremy's grandfather passed away today. He has been ready to leave his earthly body for several weeks now. He is rejoicing in his heavenly body now. For that I am thankful.

Now...shifting gears...

Putting this shirt on Anna brought back memories of our trip to San Fransisco when Aliza was little. The shirt was purchased on the Apple campus. We sure are fans of Apple products!

It's already time to dig potatoes again. We have been enjoying the produce from Grandad's garden. Strawberries, potatoes, beets, carrots, and green beans have already graced our table.

 Aliza started swimming lessons this week. I'm glad I waited until it was something she wanted to do because she has loved it. 

 We have baby raccoons who have decided to take up residence in our yard. This little guy and his brother were watching us swing this late afternoon. Tonight when we got home they were in the driveway. I guess they are cute.

 This week is Vacation Bible School. Josiah is growing up! He is sitting at the table this year and participating in the class. Aliza is just plain excited. During the opening program she can hardly contain herself because she can't wait to go to her class. Last night she came home and I asked her how Bible school was and she said, "Perfect! It was just perfect."

 Anna loves sitting on Aunt Janell's lap. This is her favorite reading position too. She wants me to sit on the floor and she plops in my lap with a book.

 And this is Lydia. She is the little one that I prayed for and cried over when the doctor ordered genetic testing and diagnosed her with low muscle tone. Well, let me tell you, Lydia has just turned 10 months old and she is walking. Not just cruising. She is walking across rooms and pivoting to turn around. Thank you, Jesus!

A Date Night

Every once in a while Jeremy and I go on a date. Dates usually get planned when we can no longer quite remember when the previous date was or dates are planned when we have something we need to do without the children. Usually this is some type of shopping or business to take care of. This time I was thinking of our upcoming date and I had an idea. I was so excited I wanted to call Jeremy right away to tell him. I was just getting ready to call him when he called me--to tell me that his car was having issues that turned out to be an oil leak that led to a new timing belt. I picked him up at the shop and held on to my idea for a better time to tell him!

He did like my idea and on the night of the date we took the children to my parents house. Aliza and Josiah both melted into tears when it was time for us to leave. I had to extricate Aliza from the car and Josiah closed my door with tears running down his face. They walked up the sidewalk together and looked back at us with the saddest eyes. Now that my heart was ripped out I worked on changing gears for some quality time with my husband.

We picked up sandwiches from Woody's Eatery and took them to the beach. It was evening so the beach was emptying and we sat and ate and watched the waves (and people!) and enjoyed being alone and together.

On the way home we got ice cream at the Island Creamery. On our drive back to my parents I commented that I finally felt relaxed and ready to talk. We had been gone 3 hours. And now--on our way back to our children--I was ready to start the date. It was nice though. A good date and so fun to just be together and not trying to accomplish anything.

We get back to my parents house and the children are having a snack and watching a hunting show and inform us that they are not ready to go home. Of course! We agreed they could finish the show and we visited for a few minutes while Josiah was making jumping obstacle courses around the house. We had just commented that we were ready to go when Josiah took a flying leap onto the ottoman and slammed his mouth on the edge of the TV speaker. He screams. Jeremy grabs him and there is blood. Lots of blood.

The short version is that the bleeding slowed down and we figured out that it was the gum above his top front teeth that was bleeding. After that I excused myself and went to the bathroom because I was about to pass out. I recovered and look at it again and realized that I could see way too much of his top tooth. I went to the bathroom again! haha. Josiah quieted down. We gave him Tylenol and we went home.

A very unromantic end to a date night!

I took Josiah to the dentist today. The dentist put Josiah on an antibiotic to prevent infection. I don't know how to describe it but it is like a badly skinned knee except it's on Josiah's gum. It's gross. Be glad I can't take a picture of it! Anyway, he will be fine. He ate some tonight and is playing and acting normal. I'll sleep much better tonight.

I think it's time to plan another date!

On the Water

 Josiah and Aliza had their first chance to ride on a boat. They were so excited. Especially Josiah, has waited for his chance to fish in Grandad's boat. When we arrived, Brian and Caleb were finished and then it was Josiah's turn.

He got high 5's from Caleb and Aliza before they pushed off.

 Aliza could hardly wait for her turn. Josiah fished for a while and didn't catch a fish so it was Aliza's turn. (That's Aliza in the boat below.)

 Aliza caught a fish! Then she was ready to go to Grandma's house. We left (Jeremy was patiently waiting to start watching the US Open) and Josiah went back out on the boat to fish some more.

Josiah must have been a good fisherman because I started looking at the clock at 6:30 wondering when they would get back. We arrived at the lake at 4:00. He caught several fish, but when he got to Grandma's house he was most excited about getting to ride in Grandad's truck.

Excruciating

The last two days have not been fun. Excruciating is the word that comes to mind. The kind of day that leaves my chest feeling tight, my nerves stretched to the limit and my words coming out quiet and calculated just so I don't scream. I don't know if it is still readjustment from a busy weekend or if everyone has decided to test every little thing they have ever been taught at the same time...either way I can only hope tomorrow will be better.

So what kinds of things lead to this? An inordinate amount of fingernail scratches on Josiah's face and neck. A bruise on Aliza's nose from a tug-of-war match with a dining room chair that Josiah won. Outdoor play privilege being revoked because several someones couldn't abide by the yard boundaries. Ketchup being passed at the table by placing it in a bowl of jello. Mouths being wiped at the table with a wad of napkins instead of a single napkin. Daddy getting home late both nights. Temper tantrums because Daddy is reading at bedtime instead of Mommy. etc. etc.

It has been early bedtimes and it was Josiah throwing the temper tantrum tonight. I took him and silently rocked him while I tried to control my breathing during his screaming. Eventually he quieted and then he fell asleep in my arms. He was all quiet and soft and handsome and still a little boy. I didn't want to lay him down. So I sat there with him until my body quieted and my chest loosened and I felt that maybe I could get up tomorrow with some hope of a better day.

Sisters in Circle Skirts

 The 4 sisters wore circle skirts we made for Linda's wedding rehearsal. (Linda is wearing the pink top.) We each picked our own fabric and it was fun to see what each other picked and how different each one was.

 Aliza and Anna also wore their skirts.

Weddings are a lot fun. Really, they are. I threw caution to the wind this weekend and let the children stay up late and be involved in every aspect of wedding fun and visiting. It only happens once! It is now Wednesday and we are still recovering. I think we have caught up on sleep...now they need to remember how to play together happily.

No Longer A Baby

 This weekend was a whirlwind of wedding activity and visiting with family from out-of-state. My little sister is married! I can't wait to share pictures, but since Jeremy was the photographer the bride gets to see the pictures first. That means I have to wait to share!!

In the meantime, I have these pictures from last week. Anna hasn't been a baby for months, but this week it seemed like she grew up a lot. We took our first trip (of the season) to the zoo. I wasn't sure I was going to do it, but I let Anna walk. It was intense, but she did fine.

I relished the few minutes when all 3 were swinging.

 Anna has been reading books a lot. It's so fun when they discover books. Anna makes a few animal sounds.

 Jeremy switches the baby swing and the big swing, but I can't reach to change it back. So Anna took a ride in the big swing with her big brother pushing her. It was a bit cooler that day, hence the reason for Josiah wearing his heavy coat! I was nervous, but she hung on and did just fine.

 Of course, then she wanted to ride the double swing with Aliza. This one made me more nervous. That's the reason the picture is of the back of Anna's head. I was right behind her and stayed there!

I'm glad she is growing up because that is what babies are supposed to do, but I'm also aware that each day is very special and I need to store up all of these memories in my heart.

Singing

This is the second video I posted tonight. This one is Aliza singing in the car on our way to PA. I love listening to her sing Rooftops and almost always her hands are raised in worship.

Anna "Jumping"

The evening Jeremy arrived home, Anna stood in front of him and jumped and jumped. We had never seen her try this before. It was like she was so happy to have Daddy home she couldn't contain herself.

A Little More Grown-Up

 The title is referring to me. Last week Jeremy spent 4 days and 3 nights in New Mexico on a business trip. This is the first time that business has taken him out of state so a single parenting gig was also a first for me. I've never spent the night at home alone. I know. It as time for me to grow up a little bit more. And I did it--without laying awake scared every night. I woke up every night, but I was not afraid.

Single parenting is plain old hard. I carried so much tension in my body those 4 days. I don't think I relaxed once and since the children camped out with me at night I was with them 24 hours straight. Thank goodness they sleep...so at least they were quiet for a few hours.

The first day went well. The second day was horrible. It was rainy. Anna managed to dump a whole container for oats in the living and later a can of formula for the baby I take care of. Anna was clingy and crying a lot. It was rainy. Aliza bit Josiah which hasn't happened in ages. Bottom line: by the time I was cooking supper the tears flowed and I really had no idea how I was going to make it through only two more days.

That day was a pajama day. After supper we drove through TCBY for ice cream. It would have been an awesome distraction, but they were out of cherries. Josiah loves cherries and that led to yet another meltdown. In the end everyone did enjoy the ice cream. I enjoyed drinking my melted shiver later that evening.

Look! She is standing on a bag of sugar just looking for something else to carry around and ultimately dump! I cannot turn my back on her!

 The 3rd and 4th days went much better. I knew we had to stay busy so that's what we did. One morning we were at the beach and the other we spent playing at Janell's house. Both activities were super fun.

Janell had a big box of Thomas the Train cars and tracks. Josiah had a ball.

It was a perfect day to be at the beach. It's always fun to watch cousins play together.

 And, finally, we got to go to the airport to pick up Daddy. I know we got there way to early. I couldn't help it. The children got crazy in the waiting area. I broke a sweat chasing children off the luggage carousal. I was about to take them out to the car when the plane finally landed. Of course, Jeremy was at the back of the plane and it seemed like forever until we saw him. I was so excited I could have run out to the plane, thrown my arms around him, and handed all 3 of his children to him!!

 I maintained my dignity and let him walk calmly into the airport and let Aliza and Josiah run to him.

We anxiously waited at the luggage carousal to spot his suitcase. It didn't appear. We had to spend yet more time in the airport reporting his lost luggage. It was delivered to him around 1pm the next day. All's well that end's well.