Strawberry Picking Outing

Raring to go!  We pretty much had the field to ourselves, and it was overcast.  Perfect.

 Caeden was none too excited about being in the carrier.  He was much happier when we took him out and let him walk around.

 Boys + dirt + fresh snack = happiness

No telling how many strawberries Caeden ate...including the dirt all over his hands and several of the green stems we didn't have a chance to pick off!

Micaiah must have said 100 times, "We pickin tawberries!!"  He'd pick one and then say, "OH!  That a GOOD one!" and toss it in the bucket. 

5 gallons later, we have been having our fill of strawberries this past week!

We Don't Always See the Fruit

At least not right away.  In this journey of motherhood with young children, so often the seeds we sow do not bear fruit for many many years.  We pour and pour out of ourselves praying that God will use our teaching, modeling, and even mistakes for good in our children's lives.  We pray that one day all of the seeds we have sown will bear fruit. 

But sometimes we do see fruit right away and in the moment.  These times can encourage us to continue on with perseverance. 

Scott and I really want for prayer to be a normal often done thing for our kids.  We don't want it to be any big deal for them to hear us praying out loud for them.  We want them to learn to readily pray for each other.  We know that for this to be normal when they are older, then we need to be doing that from the get go. 

So anyway, the other day Caeden slipped in the bathtub and busted his lip.  Scott and I whisked Caeden out of the bathroom to get some ice.  We happened to go back in just in time to hear Micaiah praying for his brother.  Unprompted and on his own.  Because Caeden needed it.  Because he knew it was important.  It makes me tear up right now just thinking about it.

I'm not trying to bragg on my child.  I just want to remember this sweet moment being that it was the first time he has ever done this on his own.  I also just want to remind everyone to persevere and keep on teaching your kiddos; there will be fruit.  If not today, then tomorrow, or the next.  But it will come.

  Loving on each other

Tidbits

Life has been busy and full lately. Not busy in a bad way. Things are going well!

The boys are growing like weeds. Micaiah has grown about an inch in the last month alone. Caeden is trying to get the hang of both walking and talking. He'll walk 5 or 6 steps at a time now before flopping down to crawl. Micaiah is loving this nice weather we've been having. All he wants to do is play outside. Too bad we only have one small patch of grass outside our front door to run around on. Soon and very soon, we're hoping to have a house and a yard for our little darlings.

Micaiah likes putting on his daddy's shoes. I'm not really sure what the thing on Micaiah's knee is called, all I know is that Scott wears it on his knee when he plays basketball. Speaking of, we found out that Scott has a torn meniscus in his right knee. He thinks his left one is torn too, but that one hasn't been diagnosed. He'll either need to tough it out and not be able to run or play sports anymore, or have surgery and then take it easy with running and playing sports from then on. The surgery would be a 20 minute, simple procedure. We just need to talk about it some more and decide the best thing to do and the best timing for it.

Scott celebrated his 32nd birthday last week. Too bad he wasn't feeling 100% as he had the beginnings of the virus that ran through our household. Caeden came down with hand foot mouth disease a few days before his birthday. It wasn't until the day of his party that we realized that's what he had. The day of the party Micaiah had the high mystery fever that starts off the virus. He then passed it on to Scott who got the fever on his own birthday the day after Caeden's. Caeden just had a few blisters on his feet, a few on the outside of his mouth and some inside his mouth. Micaiah had them all over. One day he complained of having dirt between his toes. It was a viable complaint seeing as how I was just about to sweep the kitchen floor where dirt has been tracked inside. However after cleaning the few specks of dirt he had on his feet, he was not satisfied. Come to find out, the poor boy had blisters all between his toes. :( Scott only had the sores in his mouth. And thankfully I didn't get the virus at all! Whew!

Church Update

(Sorry family, no pictures!)

We get questions all the time like, "So I thought you went to Augusta to plant a church. What's up with that?" On one hand I feel like an explanation/update is needed. But on the other hand I know we're not entitled to explain to anyone. But then on the other hand (if I had another one!) I know that people like to know. It's just that this is daily life for us, so I next to never think about explaining.

Originally, over a year ago, we thought we were coming to Augusta to plant a church just in the traditional sense of what you think of when you think of planting a church. Come to find out God had something else in mind. Does that mean we were wrong? Nope. We know that sometimes God can lead you in a direction that is totally the right thing at the time, but then He changes your direction. Just because you are led to go in an initial direction doesn't always mean that it will be your final destination. There are things to learn along the way.

So over a year ago we thought we were moving here to plant a church. God shifted things and took us on a journey of learning about organic church. We spent many, many, many months thinking over that idea and figuring out what it looks like and going to that training I wrote about awhile back (which by the way Scott informed me later that the title of that post sounded a tad arrogant. I in no way meant that I, Ashley and Ashley alone, am enough to be the church of Christ!). But then over the last several...many...months, things have changed again. While the principles of organic church are still very much important to us, we don't feel like God has us here strictly for organic church. And by the way, "organic church" is just a word. It basically means small churches that spring up out of life where relationships, dicipleship, and intentionality are hugely valued. I kind of feel like it's just a buzword, and I don't want to get hung up on the terminology. I just don't have anything else to call it.

Anyway, God has been honing our calling one tiny step at a time. This has been a very slow journey. That's probably another reason I don't ever think about updating about it. We've looked at how God has gifted us. We've looked at what is important in the body of Christ. We've thought about a lot of stuff! Basically we feel like God has asked Scott to "call the church to be the church." He wants to meld the organized church with organic church. I really don't know what this is going to look like. Like I said, God seems to be revealing things to us just one little thing at a time.

Upon moving to this apartment, we decided that after a year of being "unchurched," it was very important that we get back into a gathering of believers. Scott felt like we should check out the First Alliance church that is within walking distance of our apartment. I didn't go the first time because we had two sick babies. When Scott came home he said that we didn't need to go anywhere else. The church's one and only pastor of 40+ years had just retired. The church hasn't changed much in all those years since it's beginning. It's in need of a complete transformation.

Now, this wouldn't ordinarily be our first choice of a place to gather with other believers. However we feel like God has us there for a reason, and we're exploring what that might be. And the possibilities of what might be makes me like it. :) We met with the intentional interim pastor the other week and there are some big things in store for the church. That's all I can say for now. As I always say, "We'll see what God does." If there's one thing I know from this journey, like I said earlier, just because you start out in one direction doesn't mean that's your final destination. So who's to say in another year that this is still where we'll be? But it's where we're headed right now, so we'll see what God does. :)

Little Drummer Boy

You have to watch this video (link the bottom). I love love LOVE this version of the song Little Drummer Boy.

I used to really dislike this song. As my Aunt Mac used to say, "too many rum bum bum bums." But I think it's the extra words that have been added into this version that makes me love it so. That and there's a funny memory attached to it for me now.

Two years ago Micaiah was almost 3 months old. We had just traveled back to Gwinnett from Augusta that day. Micaiah never was one to sleep very well in the car after he was about a month old, so he had not slept well that day. He was cranky and overtired to say the least. Nonetheless we packed him up to head to the Gwinnett Arena for the Christmas Eve service. I forgot his paci. In his state he *needed* a paci.

Being at the Gwinnett Arena, it was LOUD. As soon as that drum line came out during Little Drummer Boy and started barreling away, Micaiah's crakiness went from bad to worse. I could not calm him in the squishy tight stadium seats. I tried taking him to the cry room thinking he would be ok if it wasn't so loud. No luck. I tried sqeezing into a bathroom stall to nurse him. No luck. I tried walking him through the lobby to bounce him and sing songs in his ear. No luck. Finally I ended up in tears right along with him.

Thanks to a dear friend, I found out where the nursery was. I was a regular nursery volunteer, so I thought that even though I hadn't signed up for him to be kept in the nusery that night, if I could just find someone I knew, they would let me rock him in peace or something.

Have you ever thought about how awkward elevators are on a normal day? I have, and this was worse. I felt bad for the people in the elevator with us because we were both in tears for the agonizingly long 30 seconds it took to get to the downstairs floor.

I was able to make it past the nursery security officer. I think he had pity on me knowing that there's no way I was going to harm any of the babies in the nursery since I couldn't even keep my own baby from crying. Anyway, I found some people I knew, left Micaiah in someone else's arms while I went back upstairs to get Scott.

I told Scott I was just ready to leave. By the time we got back downstairs, Micaiah was peacefully asleep. Aaaaahhhhh.

Two years later, I can smile.

Watch the song and enjoy.
(it won't let me embed the video, so follow this link and watch)
http://vimeo.com/16074082

This is Christmas

I've really grown to dislike all that Christmas has become. The comercialization of it. All of the emphasis on gifts, the wreaths, the trees, the red and green. Even Santa and that ever popular Elf friend. Just so you don't misunderstand, we do have a Christmas tree. We have some red and green sprinkled about, I like Christmas wreaths, and we do give gifts (just not with Santa, but that is not what this post is about). It's just the heart of it all in this culture today that gets me.

We've been doing an advent calendar this month where we put up a different part of the story of Jesus' birth each day as we read through the story. For the last week or so Micaiah has woken up each morning and said very excitedly, "Baby De-us on calendar!!!" We always tell him "Not today, we'll put him on the calendar on Christmas."

I just love his eager anticipation...on a 2 year old level...of our Savior. That is what Christmas is about: celebrating our Savior King and remembering his birth. Only like we're trying to teach Micaiah, it doesn't stop there. He actually already came, took death for us, and is coming again! We not only want to look back and remember, but we also want to continue to look forward with eager anticipation. May we remember what Christmas really is and not make it about anything else.

First zoo trip in pictures

it's a gorilla or a "ga-la-la" as Micaiah says it

Christmastime

I was thinking recently about Christmas trees, and how if we're going to go as far as to put a tree in our house as something that represents Christmas and decorate it (it's kind of strange when you really think about it), then why in the world would I put a fake tree in my house? I don't know. I might just be a real tree convert after this year. The tree we have is a very nice, hand-me-down artificial tree. We only use half of it or else it would be way too big for our liking. For those of you who know Micaiah you may get a kick out of this: Micaiah has really enjoyed seeing the Christmas trees in the stores lately. When I asked him if he would like to put a Christmas tree in our house, the first thing he said after "yes" was "pime (climb) up". After I shot that idea down, his next grand idea was to "knock over." He actually has been very gentle with it and enjoys it. However he is extremely concerned by the fact that he has a first Christmas ornament that still doesn't have his picture in it. I told him I would put one in it, and he will NOT let me forget as he reminds me multiple times a day. :)

You can tell the section Micaiah decorated.

I made an advent calendar this year to use with the boys. It is based largely off of Noel Piper's 'Noel Calendar' which is no longer available. We have the story of Jesus' birth that is divided up with a different part of the story added each day. It is read so that each day you start from the beginning again and then just add on the next part and put up the corresponding piece. At first, Micaiah didn't understand that we don't put it all up at once. So we had fun reading the story several times from start to finish in the beginning. :) Now each morning at breakfast he reminds us that we need to "read calendar," as he says. I love how the story is repeated and built upon each day because now after several days of repeating it, Micaiah is able to say some of it. His favorite part is where Luke 2 is quoted, and it starts "O Bethlehem..." he says "OOOOO Beh-hem". Just cute.

A little of this and a little of that

So obviously I haven't written anything on the blog in a long time besides Caeden's monthly updates. Our lives are just so full (in a good way!) that I've had little time for it. Also my computer has been on the fritz so I have been sharing Scott's computer. That's not a problem, but it's just one more reason I don't do much of things such as blogging.

I did want to give a little update on what we've been doing around here lately though.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Scott and I have been doing a LOT of thinking and praying about where we're at in life, where we've been, and where we need to be. Ever since we moved in August of last year, we've been in a season of transition...and it's not over.

*Micaiah turned two! We had a fun time throwing him a party. One of his current loves is trains, so I made him a train cake. Recently, "Happy Birthday" is one of his favorite songs. We sing happy birthday to everything: Mama, Daddy, Caeden, 'Cai' (as he calls himself), grandparents, dogs, trees, candles, shorts...whatever happens to catch his eye.

*Caeden is now 6 months old. I cannot believe how fast his first year is flying by. Before we know it, he'll be running right alongside Micaiah.

*We've started him on solid foods now, and it has been so much fun. We are doing a "Baby-led weaning" style, which is basically letting the baby learn to self feed from the start, and as their abilities progress and they take in more and more solid food, they in turn take in less milk. Probably the best thing about it is that it is a really simple, no fuss, method. No purees, no adding only one food at a time, and no spoon feeding. We just offer him fresh, good food and let him have at it. It has been so fun to watch. He's not very proficient yet to say the least. Supposedly it takes about two months for the baby to actually consume decent amounts of food and realize that it fills the belly. It has been neat to watch him explore the different tastes and textures thus far.

*We are moving! We're just moving into some apartments in the area for 6 months while we continue to seek God and what he wants for us. This is so, so, so very exciting for us!!!

*Micaiah has said "lehdeleh" to mean "all done" since he was probably about 13 or 14 months old. I have no idea why he decided that is how he would say it, but we know what he means so we haven't worried about it. I just figured he would say it the right way eventually. Oftentimes lately he will shorten it: He'll say "leh roomtime" for "I'm all done with roomtime" or "leh pah" for "I'm all done with the potty." Well the other day I asked him if he could say "all done" and I walked him through each word. And he did! Perfectly! Who knew all I had to do was ask. :) He's a goober.

*I cut Caeden's nails the other night. It was time for bed, so I just left the clippings on his nightstand to get them later. The next day Micaiah was playing in the room while I changed Caeden and I heard a "whoooo whoooooo whooo." Then I heard a "keen up." Yes, Micaiah blew the nail clippings all onto the floor. I have learned my lesson.

*Still nothing has happened with our house. We're not really sure what God is doing with that. Maybe he wants us back in it. It's something we're pondering.

*I joined a MOPS group in the area and I've really been enjoying it. There are some playdates and fun field trips planned for the fall that should be really fun! Hopefully we can get Micaiah more used to being around other kids. It kind of freaks him out right now to have a bunch of other kids around without me there.

*Remember last year when I failed royally at preparing my heart and mind for Christmas? Well this year I've started thinking ahead early. I am adapting this simple countdown to use during Advent with the boys. I also just ordered this book to read during my quiet time. I've heard it recommended before, and it sounds like it's good stuff for the soul. It's hard to believe that the holiday season is just around the corner.

*The last little tidbit: Micaiah is now sleeping in a 'new bed' (as he calls it). Actually his crib just converts to a toddler bed. We tried doing this 4 months ago, but he was not ready. Maybe more accurately I was not ready for the training it would require. So we put the railing back up and waited. We tried again this past week and he has done great. He has done very well with going right to sleep, and waiting in the bed after he wakes up until someone comes to get him instead of getting out to play. Whew!

Happy Weekend everyone!

"numping", splashing, and swishing

As much as we long for a home of our own, we sure are enjoying having a pool in the backyard! We took both boys out the other evening to play. My favorite thing is when Micaiah asks to 'nump' aka jump. He has grown more and more brave throughout the course of the summer. He started off not even wanting to get in the water!

pasty boy needs some sunlight

We've been working on not yelling inside, and so here he was discovering that it's ok to be loud outside. Each time he would do it he would love over at us to make sure we weren't going to be mad about it. :)

Nump!

Our Littlest Buddy

I thought since I hardly ever post to the blog, I may as well use my spare time now to do a post. Ha!

Our littlest buddy, Caeden Elijah, entered the world March 31. We are so excited to finally, and officially, be a family of four.

I went into active labor around 1:30 Thursday afternoon. Scott and I were on our way out to eat lunch. I had been having tons of false labor in the days and weeks preceeding, and at this point I wasn't sure today would be any different. However as we were eating I noticed the contractions were beginning to feel "different." I mentioned to Scott that perhaps we should start timing a few. They were coming every 5 minutes. By the end of lunch, they had moved to every 3 minutes.

We went home, and I decided to do the "lay-down-and-see-if-the-contractions-go-away" test. They didn't. After some time Scott suggested I should take a shower to distract myself and get ready just in case this really, really was the real thing (I still doubted in the back of my mind). Something about the shower kicked things up a notch because then the contractions were getting much harder. We got to the hospital around 5:00, and by the time someone came into the room to check me about 45 minutes later, I was already 8-9 cm dialated. My wonderful midwife arrived about 45 minutes after that at which point I was STILL only 8-9 cm. She broke my water which made things much more intense, but it also progressed things. I think my words were, "I really hope this is going to be over soon." A little less than an hour later including 20 minutes of pushing, Caeden was born!

He is perfect, and we left the hospital the next evening because we were both doing so well. I like being a second time parent so much more than a first time parent. Everything is easier. There is so much less stress than I had the first time around. Caeden is nursing like a champ and sleeping pretty much all the time. :)

It took Micaiah a day or two to warm up to him, but now he is getting much more used to having a baby brother around now. He will frequently sign "baby" and ask to see him. He says his name with a repeated hard "c" sound. He will prance into Caeden's room saying "c c c c" and try to look in the crib for him. It is just precious.

Snow day!

Ok, so this isn't from the snow day, but I know some people would like to see Micaiah trying out his new Christmas present from Mimi and Papa. Scott rigged it up on the basketball goal since we're only here temporarily, and hooking it up to a tree would take a lot of work to only have to take it back down before too long. Works like a charm!

Micaiah and his "meh meh"

He voluntarily tasted a bit of snow and quickly decided he did not like it.

He was not so much a fan of walking on the snow because it was so crunchy. He much prefered to stand in one place or be held. Yes, I KNOW he is extrememly mismatched and wearing a raincoat, but you gotta do what you gotta do!

We have had a lazy day. Micaiah and I literally spent the entire day in our pjs. Scott was kind enough to hang out with Micaiah after his morning nap and get him going with roomtime so that I could konk out for an hour. We enjoyed a fire in the fireplace, hot chocolate, and a fun round of Apples to Apples. Micaiah is now in bed, and I wish I had some dessert to round out the day. However I've had entirely too much dessert lately, so I'm on a dessert fast for a few days. Stay warm!

Christmas

We hope that you had a fabulous Christmas and were able to focus on Christ. We sure had fun traveling around the south and visiting family. However I realized once our Christmas travels were over and done that I had not taken a single picture. Luckily, upon checking our camera, I found that Scott had snapped a few while I wasn't looking (although obviously I did look at one of them if I'm in it!) But only a few. Here they are for your enjoyment!


Micaiah really was happy here; I'm not sure what the face is about.

Micaiah playing with some Tupperware dishes that he received. I still have not used them for their real purpose because he's had so much fun playing with them! Fabio looks drugged, but it's just the camera shot. He was happy as ever to be in the middle of everything.