A NEW CREATION

Yes, I have drastically altered my page, as you can see.

I found this template and fell in love with it. It's so symbolic and represents the way I've been feeling lately, and the things God is doing in my life right now.

Without trying to be too sappy or annoying, but holding to the desire to be truthful and blunt (but also pretty vague, this time around), the Lord and me are in a wrestling, hugging, warfare, eye-opening process of setting me free from a lot of junk that just has no business hanging around. There are skeletons in my closet and dust-bunnies under the bed of my soul and spirit that should've been dealt with and spring-cleaned quite a long time ago, my friends.

And God, in His wisdom, faithfulness and perfect timing, has chosen this time of my life, for reasons only He knows, to get down to business with yours truly.

So here's to the music of me and all that entails, whether it be the seasons of rain and stormy weather, or the kind I'm in right now, which resembles and feels like I'm smack dab in the middle of a typhoon...but a pleasant one, somehow, and one I've been waiting for most of my life.

Here's to freedom, to openness, to boldness, and to the beauty of feeling absolutely lovely in your very own skin, simply because it's the skin God made just for you.

And for the vast majority of you who have NO idea what I'm going on about, that's A-okay. Thanks for being my friend (and a fabulous one, at that) anyway.

THE STINKER

I have a Passive Aggressive Pooper in my house.
What is that, you may ask?

It's when a two-year old, who's fully potty trained aside from the daunting #2, absolutely refuses to do that particular business on the potty. Instead, he lies in wait for the opportunity to hide and go in his super-fab Lightning McQueen underwear. Like today, when we rushed to the potty six different times because he needed to go, then when he got there, he cried and moaned and begged to get down, go play, etc. And what did he do when he went to his room for independent play/nap time? You guessed it, my amazingly intelligent friends. He pooped in his underwear and stunk up the whole room. Awesome.

So, we'll try again tomorrow (because I usually only get one shot a day). *sigh*

But all in all, I must say my bud is doing stinkin' awesome with potty training. He tells me every time he needs to go, even when he's at a friend's house having a blast. He stays dry during nap time, and he's now staying dry during the night. This is going a lot more smoothly than I thought it would, for which I give thanks.

So pretty much we're rockin' the potty....aside from the passive aggressive poop. The Stinker. :)

P.S. If anybody has any poop advice, feel free to pass it on.

GROWING PAINS

I thought it'd be simpler to post here since not everybody knows what's going on with my little guy and several have asked.

Jasper is a bit over 5 months old, and for the most part, things are great and he's developmentally right on track. He babbles, laughs, picks up objects and brings them to his mouth, rolls over from tummy to back and back to tummy, props up on his elbows, etc etc. He cut two teeth at four months old and he's a champion eater, gobbling down his cereal from day one when we started about a week ago - this is great because he's starting to put on more weight, which was a slight concern early on.
There is, however, a downside with my sweet J. At his four month check-up, he was diagnosed with a neck muscle condition called torticollis. This inhibits the movement on the right side of his neck because the muscle is clenched. They believe it occured (as it does in most cases) in utero, being in a cramped position. Since then, we've been taking him to our pediatric chiropractor to do exercises and what-not. He has GREATLY improved in the last month, and we are really encouraged by this, but of course it stinks to know that there's something wrong with your baby and something that's making him uncomfortable. Because of this condition, his major milestones, like sitting up, crawling, etc. will be delayed by a month or two. Everything we've researched indicates the muscles should be pretty much normal and healed by 10-12 months of age. Until then, there are exercises and little play things we do everyday to strengthen and lengthen the muscle.
I was telling Michael last night how frustrated I was that our baby has this problem, because it only happens in about 2% of all babies, but he said something that made me re-think my pity-party real quick. He said, "Praise God that he has this and not some other 2% disease that cripples him or lasts forever, or even takes his life." Whew, that shut me up SUPER fast. Perspective is a huge eye-opener. So we're praying for his healing with thanksgiving for all of the Lord's blessings with our family and our sweet baby.
I'd really appreciate prayers for his healing. I catch myself worrying about it, and remind myself that God knows my baby and all the inner workings of his little body. He is fearfully and wonderfully made!

In other Jasper news:

--Yes, he's essentially a mini-Michael. Looks just like him. I. Love. It.
--He took his first swim last week in Mimi's pool. He was NOT a fan - too bright and slippery out there :)

So that's the deal with my other little pal. And here are some photos to go along with it:


Right after we had the problem diagnosed, around 4 months old.


Don't like this picture of him, but it shows how much he's improved in the past month since going to the chiropractor and doing our exercises. His head starts to droop when the muscle gets tired, but he's doing SO much better!




Maxin' and relaxin' with brother's Lamby.


"Say wha--?" (This picture is one of my absolute favorites so far)


Having a little chat...they're already conspiring.


Very first taste. Not a fan.


Are you kidding me, Mom?


Hmmm...this is actually kinda yummy.


Tummy is happy, I'm happy.


He kept his eyes closed the whole time. We were out there a total of about two minutes. I love the picture, though :)

BECAUSE HE'S TWO

1. I call Jasper "Jasper John" most of the time these days, and Bennett has followed suit. He sings the name and yells it in his brother's face all day long. And now Bennett has changed his favorite stuffed animal's name in honor of his brother. "Lamby" is now...."Lamby John." heehee, love this kid.



2. I went in to get Bennett up this morning and found him standing in front of his blinds, washing his window with half a bottle of Germ-X. Awesome. And in case you were wondering - yes, Germ-X is quite effective at getting those windows shiny, sparkling clean, although the smell is quite strong.

BLOG-WORTHY

I finally have a few things to share that I feel are blog-worthy. So here's the first...

Michael and I are total dorks, and we like it that way.

While discussing how we wanted to celebrate our 6th anniversary, he jokingly suggested going to Six Flags, and I said, "YESSS!" It sounded like such a fun idea, we hadn't been since we were dating, the discounts are awesome right now, and it was a change from the typical dinner and a movie. He thought it was hilarious that I actually wanted to go, but humored me.

We dropped the kiddos off at my parents' house on Sunday and headed out. First, let me say that the trip was great fun and I'm so glad we went. Second, here are the observations made from our little celebration:

1. Some rides seem a lot smaller now than they did years ago, and some seem a lot bigger (and scarier :) ).

2. The Texas Giant is not as much fun as I remember it being (it was always my favorite). I was amazed to find my teeth all in their original places when the ride ended, and I'm sporting some new bruises on my arms from slamming around in the car.

3. People watching is more fun now than ever. And man, were there some people worth watching :)

4. This place is crazy-ridiculous on how they try to leech money off of you. You pay for the tickets, you pay for parking (unless you park behind a nearby restaurant and hope they don't tow your car - hee :) ), you pay out the butt for a bottle of water, not to mention the food (which we refused to do), and the games, t-shirts, souveneirs, etc etc are insane. I understand my parents' perspective now.

5. That was definitely our last time to go without our kiddos. For me, it'll be a lot more fun going with our family when the boys are older and I can watch them enjoy it all.

6. I can't walk nearly as long or excitedly as I used to :)

7. I used to want to win one of those gigantic stuffed animals from the rip-off games SO badly when I was little. So it was funny to realize this time how truly unlikely it is to actually get one, and that even if you do, it's MISERABLE because you have to carry the thing around the park in the hot sun the rest of the day. Not to mention that it's a piece of crap you have no use for in the first place. But it was lots of fun and really cute watching kids wanting that stuff and trying for it as hard as I did years ago...and also a little foreboding to think about our kids begging us for it someday. Oy vey.

8. Perspective and hind sight are beautiful things. Somebody should learn how to bottle it, and then we could all take it in healthy doses a little earlier. Of course, then we'd miss out on the opportunity to laugh at ourselves later :)


While we were at Six Flags, we decided we had to ride six rides (in celebration of our six years), and then we brainstormed how we could celebrate year seven and year eight in the future:

Year Seven: drink 77 oz. of 7-Up (because that's less than 7 bottles) while watching either 7 episodes of 7th Heaven from the 7th season (YIKES) or the Magnificent Seven (probably what we'll do), and get somebody to watch our kids so we can have an entire day of rest (you know, because God rested on the 7th day and all).

Year Eight: Go see the 8 Wonders of the World (yeah, right), learn to play Crazy Eights....and that's all we've got so far for this one - it needs a little work.

We only got through years seven and eight because the lines weren't very long for any of the rides. We anticipate being married far longer :)


After Six Flags, we went out to eat and rented a couple of movies, grabbed some Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and relaxed the night away. It was fantastic.


And finally, because it's better late than never, here are 6 things I love about my husband (and although this idea is most certainly NOT original, it's heartfelt and good for both of us, I think):

1. He plays and interacts with our boys all the time, and they ADORE him. It's a beautiful thing to watch.

2. He truly, truly wants to please me, and he works so hard to show me love and meet my needs.

3. He listens and is gentle with my emotions and hurt feelings, which goes a LOOONG way to resolve most of the conflict we have. He's definitely better at this than I am.

4. He takes care of the boys at the drop of a hat, whether it be an appointment, a Girl's Night Out, special occasion, etc. He's always willing and so supportive about helping with them. I know a lot of husbands do this, but I know a lot of them don't, so I'm very thankful for this.

5. He is daily searching himself and seeking God to grow, become a better husband and father, etc. A lot of people say this flippantly or in passing about others, but it's absolutely true about Michael. He's in the Word every day, he meets with others for accountability, he makes sure to set aside time every week to talk with me about how we're doing and how he's doing, etc.

6. He is such a hard worker and a WONDERFUL provider for our family. We are blessed by God because he has a job he loves, but Michael is always looking for extra things here and there to make it possible for us to live comfortably and for me and the boys to have all we need, and a lot of what we want. He sacrifices a lot of time and energy for teaching and for going to school himself, so that he can keep on being the provider of our home and so the boys can have me stay home with them.


Thank you Lord for how far you've brought us, for the way you've held us close, for the things you've taught us about ourselves and each other that have brought us closer to You and closer to each other!

I believe that soon I will be ready with words that will begin to do justice to Michael and I's testimony of our relationship, which I believe is important to share, and glorifies God by doing so, so stay tuned for that somewhere in the near future.