New Pictures

Pre-Christmas Update

I sometimes forget that I have a son...I also forget that I have a dog, a house and a wife. Those are the moments that catch me off guard and when I snap back to reality I can honestly say how blessed that I really am. I have a beautiful mate who is in full blossom as a wife, a mother and friend. I have a growly boy who is a joy to play with, who is eating real food, rolling around on the floor and doing a great impersonation of an inch worm.

I have a job that I love, a job that I am currently bad at, but God has consistently provided for our basic needs from the get go. I have a new and wonderful appreciation for my own father who has been a commission only salesman for a majority of his life. I understand now where he earned his steadfast trust in our provider.

My boy is lucky. He has his Beka and GiGi, his Tootsi, and his Oma and Opa. He has three sets of of grandparents that love him up. Not to mention his Aunts and Uncles who adore him locally. We are blessed.

I have a new personal goal. It's a BMW GS 1200 Adventure. We were at Oma and Opa's house a couple of weeks ago to hang out and catch up. Opa had bought a new toy and as Opa's are...he was generous and let me throw a leg over his new bike. For example, using the term exhilaration is tame compared to riding the Adventure. Thanks Opa! It's an experience that I won't ever forget!

While I was having fun...Abby and Noah got to spend some quality time with Oma. Oma is my other mother who I've known for years and has been an incredible part of our lives. She fell in love instantly. It was incredible watching her with her little grandson, playing, cooing, cuddling..you know..being the cute baby that he is.

Go to my Facebook page to see Noah crawling. If I'm not your friend..send me a request.

That is all for now.

Josh
President of Wind in the Hair
President of Fatherly Duties

No More Do-Gooding

Since we moved back into our house, I have made a concerted effort to walk Raleigh Dog every morning. This is because she drives me crazy while I am home with her if I don't. I roll straight out of bed, throw on sock and shoes, layer on several jackets, and we are out the door. I look like a cross between the stay-puff marshmallow man and the crazy pajama lady. I think everyone is familiar with what crazy pajama ladies look like, you might even have one in your neighborhood. In my neighborhood, its me. Hey - I'll do whatever it takes for a little extra sanity in my life.

It is usually pretty dark and cold so we don't run across much excitement. Occasionally, we will meet another dog or worse yet, a squirrel, and Raleigh will be off like a shot and take my arm with her. A couple weeks ago, there was this little black dog with a broken chain trailing from his collar wandering around the neighborhood. My maternal hormones kicked in big time (I can't stand to see a stray anything without wanting to find a home for it - not my home though, let me be clear on that point), and we chased that poor dog around for thirty minutes. I never caught it, never even got close.

So this morning, while Raleigh and I were out for our walk, I saw a little black dog with some sort of non-contagious mange issue. I immediately knew it was that same dog. She had a name tag with the owners phone number, so I attached her collar to Raleigh's leash and started my merry way back home on my do-gooder's mission.

I got about three steps before I hear someone yelling "Maggie! Maggie!" and I realize that I have just taken this dog from its own yard. That's right folks, I accidentally almost stole a dog. I immediately let her off the leash, stammer something about thinking her lost and I promise I was going to call you when I got home with her, and practically run away - dragging Raleigh with me.

Once I regained my senses, I realized I could probably have handled that exchange a little better. So, I went home and showered, fed Noah and got regular clothes on the both of us and we made our way to her house with some toffee as a "I'm sorry I inadvertently tried to steal your dog, and by the way Merry Christmas" present. The world's cutest baby and some homemade toffee have got to go a long way in soothing ruffled feathers, right?

Unfortunately, no one was home in the house I though they lived in and I didn't want to knock on random doors looking for them, thereby adding to my crazy pajama wearing, dog stealing image - so we just went home.

All in all, I failed in my attempt to rescue a dog and in my attempt to make friends with a neighbor. No more do-gooding for me, at least until I quit blushing for this one.

The Momma

Thanksgiving Update

Hello.

I bet you have missed us so much, that you went out, bought me an Ipod touch, and are in the process of mailing it to me as we speak. Well, go ahead and send it on already!

Life is interesting. I have a job that I love, however, recently I have been going through stages of denial about certain aspects of what I do. There is a certain grind associated with being a salesman. A grind that I have never experienced before, and one that I am learning to deal with on a daily basis....more on that in another post.

Family Update!

Noah is 6 months old tomorrow. Six months of little grins, hidden smiles, funny cries, and just all around cuteness.

We are waiting on our laptop to be fixed so that we can more conveniently update the blog. So, in the mean time...if you have an old laptop gathering dust...I might be game to taking that bad boy off your hands if the price is right.

Josh
President of the Grind
Janda Corp

Long Time No Blog

Oh, my friends. Life has happened in the more than a month it has taken for me to finally give you an update. Here's the rundown:

1. We are back in our house! O Sweet Mystery of Life, at last we're home.

2. Mostly everything is fixed. Hey, we have a wall and heat and air - and that's all a girl needs, besides coffee and the occasional ice cream fix.

3. Noah is rolling over. Today I found him in his crib on his back and facing the wrong direction.

4. My child is sleeping in a crib and his own room and through the night - none of these things were facts when we moved out.

5. Raleigh dog is about to drive me to the brink of insanity. Today Noah, I, and a very nice workman named Isaiah chased her around the neighborhood because the door was open to let the paint fumes dissipate and she took that opportunity to bolt. My elderly, chain smoking neighbors quite enjoyed the show.

6. I have discovered that Crocs are magnets for baby spit up and given that they are about as water tight as swiss cheese I end up walking around in my own private puke puddle.

7. My brother Samuel is an incredibly talented man and re-finished our entire basement floor by himself. It looks incredible - pictures coming soon.

8. I am a working mother. Well, sort of. I don't really count it work if I get paid to bring my baby along and hang out with my husband all day.

9. I tried to cook dried beans and came out with pruney, raisin looking things that were about as edible as sawdust.

10. I am currently foraying into the world my sister so aptly named Kitchen Chemistry, which is basically "I haven't been to the store in ages and it doesn't look like I'm going anytime soon so I'm gonna scrounge in my cabinets for food that possibly might could go together, mix it up, throw it in the oven and cross my fingers". Tonight's fare is a concoction of rice, chicken bullion, cheese and tortillas. I'll let you know how it goes.

Ahh, its good to be back.

The Momma

Catch You Up

Its been a while since we have posted about the house. Partly because there has not been much going on but mostly because I forget.


They have built a new set of stairs and given us what is perhaps the ugliest railing known to man. They had to install a railing to pass codes but because there wasn't one there before all that was in the budget was a couple two by fours which they nailed diagonally down the side. We also have the workings of a new fuse box.

Gluttons for punishment that we are - we decided that while everything was out of our basement it would be a perfect time to refinish the floors. Both Josh and I have always wanted stained concrete floors. Part of the reason we bought this house was because of that possibility with the basement which will eventually be finished out into living space.

My fabulous brother owns a painting and repair business: http://www.streetsidepaint.com/ and is helping us. I use the word help very loosely because really he has done all the work. As it turns out, the basement was not empty. My brother and his son spent an entire afternoon emptying the basement into the storage pod. We are working to get the old linoleum glue off the floor and then its onto refinish-ville!

There is a moisture treatment on the outside of the wall and the trench is filled in. They are waiting until the torrential rains stop to level out the ground properly, finish up the electric, and start on the ac.


Up until this point a lot of progress was made very quickly, so this is a little hard for me. Oh, weather why won't you clear up?

The Momma

E-Camp Peru

My Sister and Brother-in-Law are headed to Peru with a team of folks from Fellowship Bible Church to teach kids on another continent how to worship God. They held E-Camp this summer for our church and it was one of the most amazing and profound things that I have ever witnessed in my life. Watching kids learn to worship God in such a profound manner, then leading the church in that worship brought tears to my eyes.

You can follow their progress here: http://e-camp-fellowship.blogspot.com/ They will post as they can and will tell their story as they progress through the next 10 days.

Josh
President of Fatherly Duties
JandA Corp

Witness

As time rolls on and I am daily more entrenched in my new life - the life of a stay at home mom, I tend to feel frustrated. Not to say that I am not happy, I LOVE being at home. No, my frustration is more at myself. I feel the weight of the to-do list and yet most days it is a minor miracle that I get into the shower before 5pm. Somehow I just can't accomplish in a week half of what I used to in a single day.

And then I come across moments where I am reminded of what it is that I do all day. I had one of those this afternoon. I laid Noah down on the floor so I could do something really quickly and as I glanced back over my shoulder, there he lay.

Head up, resting on his elbows, eyes alert. A picture made even more perfect by that little bit of drool dripping from his lip. I could not help but turn back and revel in how big he is getting, how strong he is becoming, and how fast he is growing. And then he puked all over the place....

So what is it that I do all day?

I am a witness.

A witness to the growth and development of this precious, amazing little boy. To his smiles, his coos, his burps, his cries, his dirty diapers, and yes being a witness also means cleaning up his puke. I have the honor of seeing him every minute of every day - except for the few times El Presidente and I get a movie night.

I am also a witness to my husband. I get to see Josh sacrifice his time to support his family, I see him wrestle with the how to become the man he wants to be, I see him adore his son, and I get to see how much he loves me.

Most importantly, I am a witness for God and how immeasurable He is. There are no perfect words to describe His faithfulness, His love for me, His unfathomable plan for my life. He has this unstoppable way of bringing me to my knees in praise - by force in allowing a truck to hit my house, in awe as I watch the son He made and gave to me, and in joy as I see how He is growing and softening the heart of my husband.

Today I was reminded of what I do and Who I work for. It was Him who gave me Josh and Noah to love and to lift up. This phase of my life wont last forever and I bet there will be a time when I long for quiet days like today. So what if all the little things fall by the wayside, I am doing my job.

The Momma

Meet Melvin Cornknuckle.

He's me....or rather the name I've given to my sin nature. I was having a conversation the other day with The Momma, and I was relaying to her how some days I won, and how some days my sin nature won whilst dealing with work matters. Some days I feel lazy and let my sin nature take over and I am not productive. Some days I win..and I still feel unproductive.

So while ironing my shirt for my part time job at the de-pot, I relayed that I was going to name my sin nature Melvin. It's a name that doesn't conjure up anything scary or threatening. It's a name apt to my sin nature because it/he sneaks in smooth like, whispers innocent things in my ear...and whala...day goes to crap.

It's amazing to me that although I know Christ has beaten sin....I still feel trapped by it daily. I feel set in stupid routines that go counter to everything I could be if I just let go of those things that I shackle myself in everyday. How foolish is it to get out of bed...and gladly hop into shackles that you don't need? Honestly? Yet every morning I get up...look down at the dirty dingy things like they are the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn...slip them on, and walk out the door.

So from here on out I will be writing down in my day planner who won that day. Me or melvin. Here's the sad part....melvin has lost already...I just give him the field to play on. So on the days that he win's..it's my stubborn born-in sin nature that didn't trust God that day for the work He has already done.

Josh
President of Fatherly Duties
Assistant Slayer of Melvin
JandA Corp

Episodes 3-5: Trenches, Scaffolding, Rubble & Dirt

Episode 3:

They began excavation on the house last Saturday (I know, I know I need to update more often) and there is giant trench around the entire side and curving around both edges.


The view from the back of the house...


Standing at the top of the trench....


Episode 4: No progress was made on the house Monday and Tuesday. When I went by on Wednesday morning the entire cinder block portion of the wall had been removed leaving my basement open to the air. I had to grab something really quickly from the house so I didn't take any pictures.

Episode 5: By the time I drove by later that evening it was already bricked up. Its amazing how fast they work. I guess when they are paying for the repairs its a little more motivating. These pictures are from today when we went to pick out brick to fill in where they wont be able to use the ones they removed from the house.


It is so wonderful to see progress being made. Soon we will be home - sleeping in our own beds, with our things in their rightful places. Maybe, just maybe we will be able to settle down into some sort of rhythm for our new life.

I can't wait for the day.

The Momma

The Momma

Episode 2

Thursday marked the second day of re-construction on our house. We got there after dark and we could hardly see anything that they had done. We just pointed the camera and let the flash do the work.

Here is the basement where they have punched out some blocks and braced the side of the house in preparation for removing the wall.
The basement was pitch black when we took this picture so this is the first time I have seen this. It took me forever to realize that the different colored blocks are where the stairs were.

Here is the side of the house where they have started to remove the bricks.

You can see the holes where the braces are coming through from the basement.

They are power washing the bricks and saving them to put back on the wall. Here is the nice neat stack.


This is the rubble from the few blocks they have removed.

The next episode: excavation.

But first, here's a peak at a place so horrible, so foul that only adults with nerves of steal and an iron stomach should view....


Are you ready for it?


Be strong....




AAAAAHHHHHH. oh the horror. I can't look. Hide my eyes.

The Momma

Life in the Compound

As I am the only 'outsider' I occasionally get asked what its like living in the Belbeck/Morlan compound.

I do have a little experience in this area. Josh and I lived here for a month three years ago when lightning struck and burned our apartment. And if you had asked me this even two weeks ago, I would have said that I wouldn't do it again. Don't get me wrong, I will always be thankful for the completely unselfish way they opened up their home to us, but we had some rough patches. There were space issues, communication gaps, and relational speed bumps that made it a little tricky at times.

But this time around, it feels different. Admittedly we are only a week and a half into this and there are many more days ahead, but things have changed. This situation is not as stressful, I have grown up a little (I like to think so anyway), there is an extra bathroom (you try living through 11 people sharing two bathrooms and trying to get out of the house at the same time every day), and there are no ants. But I think the two biggest changes are that we have learned to communicate a little better and there is Noah. I literally have to fight off the hoards who want to love on and adore my son. He is the bright spot in all of our days. My in-laws absolutely love having him here 24/7 and I love watching him be adored.

I also am learning to appreciate the little things a lot more. I have two wise Mommas who model daily what a mother should be. I have a sister-in-law who happily displaces her son and his clothing obsession to make my life more comfortable and organized. I have a mother-in-law who does my laundry. I have five sets of little hands willing to help and hold. I have a father-in-law who plays hide and seek with my dog.

So life in the compound continues to be fun, and busy, and loud, and crazy, and tiring, and stressful, and time-crunched, and uplifting, and messy. But I think that's the way God intended life to be. At least that is the way He intended this phase of my life to be. While I miss my home and the quiet routine of my days, I truly enjoy the company of my in-laws. How many people can say that with absolute honesty? And this time around, I enjoy living with them too.

The Momma

Reconstruction: Episode 1

It has been a week and a half since the truck hit our house. Today, reconstruction finally began. I met Contractor Josh today at 8am to give him a key and a release form to start tearing up our house - apparently he just can't start whacking at my walls willy-nilly, he has to follow procedures and precautions.

I am really impressed with Contractor Josh. He seems to be genuinely out for our best interest. While he was there today, he pointed out our basement door to the handyman and asked him to fix it. The door was not damaged in the accident, it was already messed up when we moved in. He has even thrown a few things into the project that weren't on the house but are the best things for it and will make it better. He has really gone above and beyond in making sure we are taken care of.

Anyway... Today begins the undoing - undoing the electric/wiring on the damaged side of the house... and removing the broken stairs...Wow, with the stairs gone, you can really see the damage to the wall.

But first things first, they had to install the port-a-potty. Those guys have their priorities straight.
Even though I consider port-a-potties disgusting and normally avoid them like the Black Plague, I am documenting this whole process and since this was the progress I saw today you get to see it too. But I'll try not to discuss the pot too much...

The dumpster arrived shortly thereafter, followed by the pod to keep our things safe while an entire wall of our house is gone.
During this whole process I was upstairs puttering around. Raleigh Dog decided it was a good time to make a break for it and ran down the broken stairs and slipped out the basement door which I had forgot was open. She's a speedy little sucker. I proceeded to curse her name as I chased her around several of my neighbors yards. Again, it was a cat that saved the day by distracting her enough so I could catch her. This is the third day in a row that she has got loose and the third day in a row that we have caught her because she was cornering a cat. Poor dog, this is the only excitement she gets these days.

Here are my toes after traipsing through dew covered grass, dirt and gravel driveways in really impractical but cute flip flops.


Look how repentant Raleigh Dog is... the little stinker.
Today's adventure in reconstruction is over and while not much visible progress was made, I feel better. My house is on its way to being healed and Raleigh and I got a little exercise too boot. Tomorrow begins another adventure in undoing: removing the brick but even scarier than that - unpacking my basement.

Good luck boys. I am glad its you and not me.

The Momma
Overseer of All Things Construction

How to Catch a Raleigh Dog

Our dog pulled a Frank Morris last night out of the Belbeck/Morlan compound. Frank Morris is the only possible escapee from Alcatraz. I like embellishment. Maybe we were just to lax in security, but I do like the thought of Clint Eastwoods face on Raleigh dog as she tries to escape the yard.

The best I can figure is that she ran up some boards behind the shed and escaped, or she shimmied her way through a hole in the fence where the gate opens. Either way she was gone like the rocket dog she is.

Lucky for us (Maddy, Abby and I) she was on a cat hunt...and she found and treed that sucker which was convenient since a dog barking at a tree is much easier to catch than one who knows they aren't supposed to be loose and won't come.

So the next time your dog escapes..let loose a cat.

Josh
Under Secretary of Dog Catching
President of Fatherly Duties
JandA Corp

Musical Houses

We are surrounded by folks that love us and want to take care of our family during this short time of homelessness.

We have stayed at the Belbeck/Morlan compound for the last couple of days. It brings hope to me that one day we will have a plot of land that we can all build separate houses on....far away from hills with trucks stuck in neutral, flood plains, mold and surrounded by many lightening rods.

This last weekend we stayed at another friends house while we had family in town. It was all together different than the Belbeck/Morlan compound. Where there are screaming banshees at the compound..there were no such banshees where we stayed.

It's always humbling when folks offer their homes to you. It makes me glad that we live in a community of folks willing to do whatever they can for their brother and sisters.

Josh
President of Suitcase Living
Father of Noah
JandA Corp

It' broken, but can be fixed

I can't help but relate our current calamity to my faith in God. I'm broken. Everyday I get up with a cracked brick, drywall in need of repair, a front door missing, grass gone awry....but my foundation is unshakable, solid and never in need of repair.

That's how I process and get through with the disasters that hit our family every couple of years. Our disasters just happen to be property related and easy for people to see. Others disasters can be hidden behind the walls of our hearts. The struggles of raising a child with special needs. The pain of a marriage in distress. The feeling of total abandonment by God when you don't feel He is answering your prayers. Disasters of spirit, of family, of the heart that no one may know about.

Ours are easily seen...and we are forced to deal with it openly. God hasn't put more on us than we can handle....but good Lord we're tired. Thank God He has put enough fuel in our tank to finish this race. He hasn't abandoned us, He sure hasn't abandoned you.

Josh
President of Husbandly Duties
Father of Noah
JandA Corp

Rebuilding The Belbeck Wall

We met with the contractor for our insurance company today. His name is Josh too - we'll call him Contractor Josh. He inspected the house and the site of the accident, making notes of what he thought should be done as well as what we wanted.

Contractor Josh thinks that in order to repair the wall they will need to excavate down to the foundation (at least 8 feet) and rebuild the whole wall up to the roof. They will need to bring in HVAC people and electricians in addition to all the construction.

We will have a structural engineer come in to inspect the rest of the house to make sure that there is no additional damage.

Right now, it looks like we will go through several weeks of repairs where we wont be able to stay in our home - if not longer. Things could easily change tomorrow.

Oh the joys of dealing with contractors, insurance agents, and men who allow their trucks to ram into our house.

Stay tuned for the next episode of "Rebuilding the Belbeck Wall"

The Momma

A Million WHAT IFs

Let me start off by saying that everyone is just fine. Its never good when you have to preface a story with that, is it?

Last night around 9 o'clock, Josh had just got home from work and was cuddling with Noah while I was making dinner. As I was removing the roast from the crock pot, we heard a loud noise followed by a crash that shook our whole house. I knew immediately what had happened - a car had hit our home.

We live on a corner and on a hill. On the side our house is one of the main streets to our neighborhood and off that street are houses at the top of a hill. Our neighbor's driveway points directly towards our kitchen. They were having a party last night and one of their guests left his truck running. Somehow the truck came out of park, rolled backwards down their driveway, across the main street, through our yard, and into the side of our house. I was inside the house just to left of where the truck hit.

The flashing lights of the fire trucks and police cars brought out all of the neighbors. Who is that little redheaded boy? He flitted around the scene taking pictures of his own for a while a then disappeared into the night. As it turns out, a car-hits-house accident is not the best way to meet your neighbors - we still haven't got a word out of the guy across the street. But we did get a smile which is more than 11 months of waving has accomplished. And then a mysterious man with an eye patch showed up to watch the show, we don't know who he is either.

The truck demolished our brand new air conditioning unit and put a giant dent in the cinder block.
There was no alcohol or illegal substances involved, just a questionable ability to operate a vehicle. Of course, the truck was uninsured and because no one was in it at the time it can't even be classified as a moving violation - just a random accident.


The stairs down to our basement were right where the truck hit. I say "were" because now all the supports are broken and the stairs themselves have come off the wall about eight inches.


Here is the large gash in our yard where the truck hit before encountering the side of our house.


The inside of my basement.


Its never good to see the light of day through what is supposed to be a solid wall.


Last night all I could think about (besides wondering why me) was all the what ifs: What if the truck had been going a little faster, what if the grass hadn't absorbed some of the force, what if it had hit the brick instead of the rock solid cinder block, what if I had been on the stairs instead of in the kitchen, what if it had come through our house, what if Josh hadn't been home, what if what if what if....?

This morning after the dust has settled and all the shock is gone, I am thankful. Thankful that I have a God who didn't let any of those 'what ifs' happen, thankful that we are all safe and unhurt, thankful that my husband can be kind and gracious in moments of high stress when I want to do physical harm, thankful for police and firemen that respond so quickly and are so kind, thankful for family that comes at a moments notice with little information, thankful for the same family who lets us stay in their home instead of letting us boil in a house with no ac in the hottest month of the year. But I am still learning to be thankful for days like this, for the bad things that happen - it might take my whole life to learn that. God has a plan and I know He is sovereign, but don't ask me what He means by orchestrating the events of my life - I'm just along for the ride.

So I have no idea what tomorrow brings, or even what today brings for that matter. I have no idea what kind of invisible damage has been done to my house or when it will be fixed. All I have to rely on is my Sanctuary, my husband, my darling little boy, and my wonderful family and friends. It seems like I have a lot, after all.

The Momma
Dispossessed but not Disbelieving

Fur Fought the Law

There has been a war going on in my house for quite some time now. A war between me and ... and a very devious foe. Most days I am on the defense, just barely able to hold my ground in this crazy battle. But today, today I faced my enemy straight on, took a deep breath and yelled "THIS IS SPARTA!". Somehow that made me a little braver.

But who is my enemy you ask? This is my enemy:


No not a flower, that is dog hair. And this, this is my weapon of choice:
A Furminator. Raleigh does that fur taste good?

Raleigh loved being furminated.


I could have made a whole second dog from the amount of hair that came off her.
Raleigh joined the battle against the fur - once it was off her body, and decided to eat and roll in it.

Then it was time for a bath. Does that water taste good, Raleigh?

Does that soap taste good?

After the bath, it was a mad scramble to get her dried and to her crate because there are few smells worse than wet dog (the worse ones also have to do with dogs).

Don't worry, she was rewarded for her service in today's battle.
So fur fought the law, and fur won. Fur will always win, the law is simply outnumbered. But at least the law can feel like she prevented one less sweeping, vacuuming marathon day.

The Momma, The Law

Work, Life....string cheese

I'm in one of those seasons of life where I'm not able to see anyone...except those that want to pay for my time. As of right now I have many jobs strung together that will hopefully produce enough income to pay the bills, raise a child, feed the dog, put gas in our vehicles, keep the phone on...etc...et al..et nomoney.

Some mornings I feel like string cheese that's been sitting in a car on a hot, humid August day. I've kind of congealed into a blubbery mess until I get refreshed by seeing my wife, letting my boy sleep on my chest and have Raleigh dog attack my feet.

I've only done this for a week or so and I already feel distant. Distant from God. Distant from Abby and Noah. Distant from myself as I put on this new skin of commission only and $9 an hour from Office Depot at night.

I struggle with being the husband God has called me to be. It's hard. If I didn't have the love of my wife, giggles of a little boy, a mentor for a boss, support of my family...I'm not sure I could wake up every morning facing the mountain I have to climb that day. My mountain today includes meeting with a possible client and quoting to possible jobs....it's the most encouraging mountain I've had in two weeks.

Josh
President of Fatherly Duties
Rugged Mountain Conqueror
JandA Corp

Close Confines vs Wide Open Spaces

This morning was a little rough. My boy decided that screaming at the top of his lungs would be much more fun than a restful nap. I am trying to find a good balance between teaching him to soothe himself and being there when he needs me, so I let him cry as long as I could stand it. After listening to him cry for two hours lightly interspersed with five minute cap naps, I finally picked him up and off to sleep he went.

After lunch he was so tired he could hardly keep his eyes open. Not even the usually bracing feeling of a cold, wet wipe on his nice warm tushy could wake him up. Thinking that he would finally get some sleep, I set him down in his bassinet. The minute his body touched down, he commenced the screaming. So I picked him up and pondered the situation - what could be the matter?

Then it hit me - he looked a little cramped in there. So, just for fun I set him down in his crib. The minute his body touched the sheets... he grinned at me and fell fast asleep.


Does this mean that the age of the bassinet is over? I, for one, hope not. Besides the convenience of having him right beside me for the nighttime feedings, I don't know that I'm ready for him to graduate to his own room.

Maybe its a fluke, maybe he will be happy to sleep in his bassinet for many months to come, maybe he will stay this size for a little while longer until I give him permission to grow and become and big boy. Maybe my laundry will do itself, maybe fresh groceries will appear in my fridge, and while I'm at it maybe we'll will the lottery.

The Momma

Future Boxer??

11 Pounds 15 Ounces of Adorable

Yesterday we went to Noah's two month checkup. I'll tell you about that in a minute, but first I have to take a minor detour:

My son is two months old - how did this happen? I just brought him home from the hospital yesterday. He has officially outgrown all of his newborn clothes and yesterday I put a pair of three months pajamas on him - while he certainly didn't fill it out in the width aspect, they were already too short. He gets those long legs from me - one of the only things he gets from me, but that's beside the point.

OK, so yesterday we went to the pediatrician and all I cared about was how much he weighed. His doctor is a wonderful lady, came to us highly recommended, and is just granola-crunchy enough for me to love her yet not so fruity that I don't respect her. Well, she originally took one look at Josh and I and then and there decided that two giant folk like us were going to have a mongo-hungarian behemouth of a baby. Then Noah came at a very respectable 7lbs 3ozs and it threw her for a loop. Ever since then she keeps saying things like "He's gaining weight just fine, I just think he should be bigger" or "I want him to be in the 90th percentile, by such and such a date or I'll be concerned...". For a while this really worried me. I fed him every three hours (or less) on the dot around the clock whether he was hungry or not. Problem was if he wasn't hungry he simply wouldn't eat. I finally decided to trust my instincts and my baby's belly and let him sleep as long as he would at night. He's hungrier and happier, I'm happier, and we all get more sleep.

So yesterday, all I cared about was his weight gain, not because I was worried but because I wanted his doctor to eat her words. Of course she didn't, instead she says: "His weight gain is good, he's only in the 50th percentile, but his weight is good".

Only in the 50th percentile? Are you kidding me? This kid is off the charts, one in a million, so super-special there is no percentile that can accurately capture his cuteness.
What does she know? She's only a doctor, she doesn't have a mother's perspective on this boy.

The "Mongo-Hungarian Behemouth" Momma

A Whole New World

Yesterday was my very first day in my brand new job. That job? Being a stay-at-home-mom. I willingly left a job I love to minister to a little boy I love more.

What's that, Women's Lib?? What are you saying? You didn't work so hard for years just so I could stay home? Sure you did - you worked hard so I could have a choice. And I choose Noah. And Josh. And my home, and Raleigh dog.

And who could blame me?
So, I gave up a cubicle, incredible co-workers, and a really handy paycheck and while I don't regret it, I will miss it.

What's more is that Josh is sacrificing his free time for a part time job (in addition to the full time and part time jobs he currently has) so we can make this happen. I feel extremely humble that he would do that for me and for his boy. I am so determined to honor him by really, truly taking care of everything that needs to happen here so that when he is home he wont have to worry about anything. In fact, I am so determined that I christened my first day with so much work, errands, and chores that I feel like the walking dead this morning.

Lesson learned: in order to take care of my family I need to take care of myself. But that doesn't give me license to squander my time in frivolous things. No, I just need to learn how to handle this whole household more effectively. But I am getting some primo on the job training.

So here's to staying at home and loving it, and being very sobered by the responsibility.

The Momma
Guardian, Custodian, and Defender of all things Home.

My Silence...it is broken

I have been away on a mental retreat gathering my forces to become the best President I can be for my little group.

I'm now back.....and you should be giddy. (those butterflies in your stomach prove it's true).

Fatherhood is AWESOME! I fall deeper in love with my wife every day as I watch her blossom into the Mother God has called her to be. I fall more in love with my boy everyday that I watch him grow, giggle, squirm, poop, smile (after the poops), grin, chirp, scream....well....everything my mini-me does.

It lays upon my shoulders a completely different set of responsibilities that I am now held accountable for. That can generate immobilizing fear but I have a Father who will provide, a father who is behind me..and men in my life worth emulating to become the man the Father has called me to be.

That is all for now.

Josh
President of goofy grins
Reveler of screaming boy
JandA Corp

Slacking Off

We have been informed that we have been extremely negligent in the picture posting arena, so here are some new photos to appease the masses. However, you don't get a clever story with these - deal with it...

First tub bath - splish splash having a fit

Meeting great-grandma Jo for the first time.

GrandmaJo loving her great grand.

There are no words for this one...

Hanging out on his mat



And this, this little grin melts my heart...

The Momma

Family, Fourth, Fun, and Very Little Sleep

This week my sister Ari, her husband Ashley, and their four little boys came to visit. Hence no posts - who has time to blog about all the fun they are having while they are having it? Not me, I like to soak it all up and then reminisce about it later. Which is why Facebook doesn't really work for me. Its all about updating your current status - no one wants to know that I had Penne Rustica from Macaroni Grill two hours ago, by this time its irrelevant. OK, end of tangent...

My sister and crew came to visit, and while my tiny little house was so chock full of people it bore distinct resemblance to a clown car, it was good to see them - especially Ari. Texas may only be a few states away but it might as well be Botswana. However, my sweet sister braved a thirteen hour car trip with four small boys just to see me and my small boy. She cooked for me, did my laundry, we went out to dinner with some amazing women, she encouraged me in motherhood. We talked, we laughed, I cried - it did my heart good. Do you have anyone in your life that fills up your tank just by being around them? My sister is that for me. She just gets me - maybe it has something to do with being made with the same stuff.

All that to say, the only picture I got of her this whole week was a snapshot of her behind in the background of one of the pictures of her kids. As much as I know you would like to see her hiney, I'm not sure she would appreciate it. So instead here are some other pictures from this week....

London boogeying in the pool.

My man Poindexter.

Ashley delivering a beat down.

Napping on the 4th.
Marshall who's favorite phrase is "What is this?"

Parker on the world's longest slip-n-slide.

My boy chillin' with his Tootsie.

Riggs and Noah who were none too happy that we interrupted their conversation.

Happy Belated 4th of July!

The Momma