My Ebenezer

This past week, Tropical Storm Debby moved through our area, pouring what seemed like feet of rain on us.  Finally the sun re-emerged, but we still have standing water in our yard, and our dock is completely under water for the first time in its life.  Praise the Lord, a soggy dock was the worst of the damage!  Blessings.

Before the accident: And about a month after: While we were away on vacation last month, Noah bumped the same tooth twice within about a day's time.  Well, that tooth must have given up the ghost, because it is now a dark gray color.  I have known other children who have had a gray tooth, and it's not the end of the world, especially since this is a baby tooth and  should fall out in the next couple of years anyway.  But still, this is now what Noah looks like.  He's still my handsome little man, gray tooth and all!

At the moment, Noah is infatuated with cowboy boots.  We found an old pair at an abandoned house recently, and though they're several sizes too big, that doesn't seem to matter to Noah.  We let him wear them to a restaurant a few weeks ago, but he wiped out three times, so now he only wears them at home, though he asks to wear them just about every time we leave the house.

My gift is not hospitality.  It does not come naturally to me to invite people into my home and share what I have with them, especially on short notice. I realize this acutely on a Sunday morning during church when my husband whispers to me after the first song, "What are you planning for lunch?" "Nothing," I say, which isn't entirely true.  For a scavenger we have plenty!  In the fridge, we have half my leftover dinner from going to Ruby Tuesday's last night, some ham and cheese, even peanut butter and jelly for those of us who want to go all out.  Right. So in other words, "nothing."   "Because I want to invite so-and-so over for lunch today," Josh continues. Immediately vivid-colored snapshots of our house in its current condition begin flashing through my mind.  Our bed, unmade with pillows everywhere (thanks to my growing belly and my increasing need for pillows).  Clothes strewn around the floor as the result of wardrobe ...

I hit 17 weeks this past Tuesday.  I cannot tell you how happy I have been to be in the second trimester these last few weeks.   This is pregnancy like I remember it to be!  Stuff to report: 1. Last Friday two people who don't know me asked if I was pregnant.  This is a big step, because it tells me that I no longer look chunky, and am starting to look pregnant.  Always a relief!  Who wants to look chunky? 2.  I have been feeling the baby move off and on for a couple of weeks.  More off than on, really, but still; it's special when it happens! 3.  I am now HUNGRY pretty much all the time.  Melon or peaches always sound good, as does just about any food group.  I'm not picky these days. 4.  I have started exercising again, which is good, except it makes me HUNGRY.  See # 3. :) 5.  Almost everyone is asking if we plan to find out if we are having a boy or a girl.  YES.  Our ultrasound appointment...

These are some of the photos of our time in Connecticut.  I was heavier on the photos at the beginning of the week, and then missed some events entirely.  Fun defined:

This morning I made a tent for the kids to play in while Brianne and Titus were over.  On the way back to Noah's room to play in the tent, I heard a perfect illustration of the differences between boys and girls. Brianne:  "I'll be the mommy in the tent." Noah:  "I have a better idea: why don't we get the army guys and shoot them in there?" Brianne:  "That doesn't sound very fun." Ah, girls and boys.  I have to tell you, not much changes in adulthood, either. :)

So...the last few weeks.  We've had a lot going on--we loaded up our car and took a major road trip to New Jersey for my niece Susan's wedding on May 26, then continued on and spent a week in Connecticut before loading up and returning home.  That doesn't sound like a lot summed up like that in a single sentence, but it was jam-packed.  And very fun.  Some of my family I hadn't seen in a few years, and it was SO GOOD to see them again. Here are some of the photos from the New Jersey portion of our trip. Most of my family.  The happy couple, Mike and Susan Love that Noah can still sleep in the car! The Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  Very cool.  You feel like you're going to drive right across the ocean. Never get tired of this Or this. Waiting for the wedding to start.  That's me and Rachel, another of my nieces.  Yes, we're the same age.  My family is funny like that. :) Bubbles! I'd he...

Little Man took this picture himself.  And was so proud of it! When you live with a child, you get to witness every step of his growing up, but the perceived time involved is way warped.  You are convinced he'll be in the "dumping" stage forever, (You know the one: see a bin, dump it out, repeat until whole house is trashed.) but the cute never-met-a-stranger stage is over before you know it ("Say 'hi! '" you plead, as you're peeling your used-to-be-friendly child off the back of your legs). All of a sudden, Noah is rapidly approaching Five Years Old.  I see pictures of him as a baby and then look at his big kid face and can't believe my eyes.  When did that happen?  How did potty-training seem to last for an eternity, and now it's been three years since we finished?  I have no answer. All I know is that I suddenly have a child who correctly uses words like "interfere" and "drastically" in his everyday speech.  ...

13 weeks. For a few weeks there, I have to be honest: blogging just wasn't doing it for me anymore.  I would sit down at the computer, stare at it, turn it off, and go lie down.  I would think to myself, "I should take a picture of that." and then not care enough to go get the camera.  I wasn't myself.  Blame the pregnancy, or blame one of the 4 illnesses I have had since I found out I was pregnant (sick much?).  But hopefully I'm past all that now.  I'm 13 weeks, and I have noticed my morning sickness is not as bad, and Lord-willing this week I will also be able to put this 4th illness (nasal congestion combined with a monster sore throat) behind me. We had company over for dinner last night, which did me a world of good.  It forced me to clean up, for one (!), but it also reminded me that I used to do this!  I used to make a coherent, nutritious dinner for my family and other people and invite them into my home.  It helped me to ...

Maybe you've noticed my lack of blog posts these last few weeks.  I have so much I'm behind on, and this blog is just one of those things. I keep meaning to take a few videos of Noah reading, reciting memory verses, singing, and just talking to me. I can't tell you how precious are the videos of him from past years.  I literally do forget what he was like and it's so much fun to go back and view his babyhood and toddler years.  I imagine it will be the same for his preschool years as well--I know one day I'll forget what Noah was like at 4 years old and it's important to me to remember. I have several books I wanted to write reviews about.  Recipes, too.  And my house?  Wow. I can't remember the last time I was this behind on cleaning. I feel like I'm behind on life in general.  I don't remember feeling this way during my last pregnancy; this watching life go by as a spectator who catches glimpses of it in between countless naps and sips of g...

Today I banished my crock pot from the kitchen.  I moved it to the top of the washing machine in the garage, where the wafting aroma stench of onions and beef wouldn't threaten to kill me.  Side note: when you're pregnant, there are very few aromas anymore.  Just lots of stenches.  It makes life interesting. But on another note, all complaining aside; pregnancy is an amazing thing, and I am so privileged to be able to experience it again, because it reminds me of the miraculous power of God.  "Just as you do not know...how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things."  Eccl 11:5.  I read this passage today and marveled.  I have wondered, just recently in fact, how God makes bones in a little child in my womb.  Miraculous.  He teaches the spider to make a web, perfect every time.  The Bible tells us God takes care of the animals, causes grass to grow on unseen hil...

(me at 8weeks. I can see a bump. ;) For the past year or so I have been following a housecleaning plan, with great success, called Motivated Moms.  This lady is great!  She takes all the household chores (and I do mean all) and divvies them up so that you do a little each day--maybe an hour total--and you never have to face an entire day of cleaning your house from top to bottom. Only trouble is, lately since morning sickness hit, I've been rather...unmotivated.  It's Freezer Food City around here at supper time (ie: what can I pull out of the freezer and stick directly into the oven that I don't have to look at or smell?).  Cleaning up the kitchen after a meal likewise is less-than-appealing, and so recently I had to buckle down and Just Do It after it had been a mess for *cough* days.  And dusting? Cleaning the bathrooms? I think a nap sounds much better.  I trust that once I hit the second trimester, things will get better.  But in the mean...

I had my second ultrasound this morning.  The baby has doubled in size since last week, and its little heart was still going strong!  Praise the Lord for faithfully growing our little baby. As for me?  I feel pregnant. Wonderfully pregnant.  That's code for sick as a dog. :)  Nausea is my almost-constant companion, but I'm so thankful because I know everything is fine.  The only food that sounds palatable to me (at least for today) is pizza.  Check out what I did at lunchtime when pb&j sounded revolting:   That's sauce and cheese on a soft tortilla!  You do what you gotta do. Praise the Lord for a good report this morning!  And pass the pizza please....

This was the prayer Noah prayed at lunchtime today, which I had to stifle giggles through. Noah:  "Dear Lord, please help Mommy to have a baby girl.  But if it's a boy, we'll be thankful anyway that at least you gave us a baby."

I got my first glimpse of our baby at my ultrasound this morning!  (Forgive the glare on my photo: it's a picture of the picture.  I can't scan.)  He/she doesn't look like much at this point, but it was a beautiful sight to me.  Little One measures about half a centimeter long; that little bright spot between the 2 crosses is the heart. And it was beating!  Isn't God wondrous? Praise the Lord!! Josh and I are a little sad because just seeing one baby means that the other one died (remember, they transferred 2), but we know that the Lord is in control even of that little life, and we REJOICE in the one that is still alive! Keep praying--I'm not out of the woods yet.  The doctor wants to see me again next week for another scan, and he said that after that point the miscarriage rate drops greatly.  Probably then, if all is well, we will make our news public.  Though as I write this, probably half the world knows anyway; I've had a hard...

Last weekend Josh, Noah, and I headed to Greenville, SC for our 10 year college reunion. Class reunions are funny things.  On the one hand, Josh and I were excited to see our classmates from college, but on the other hand we almost chickened out in the parking lot just before the reunion started.  "What if we don't know anybody?  What if we can't remember their names?  What if no one remembers us?  Our fears were unfounded, though.  Not only did I recognize everyone, but I even remembered a lot of their names, and was surprised at how many remembered me too.  While we didn't see any of our really close friends from college, we did see a fair number of people that we had known decently well, and were able to catch up with them. Other highlights from our weekend in Greenville included a hike on Paris Mountain, a walk through Reedy River Park, a haircut from my fabulous sister-in-law Andrea (oddly I didn't take a photo of that), and getting to talk wi...

Today I am 6 weeks pregnant.  Is it me, or is time standing still?  Maybe it just feels that way because I have an ultrasound scheduled for Friday, and it's taking forever to get here.  :)  Lord-willing by then, we should be able to see a heartbeat or two to reassure me that this all is more than just a really good dream. With the exception of a cold that I came down with yesterday, I feel pretty good so far.  With Noah's pregnancy I was sick by this point.  I'm trying not to let the fact that I feel pretty much great worry me.  Keep trusting the Lord, right? Right.

Noah:  "Daddy, is it true that if people laugh too hard they will cry?" Josh:  "Yes.  That happens!" Noah:  "So then if you cry too hard, will it make you laugh?"

Who would have thought pre-schoolers would get a spring break?  Not me, but nevertheless this week we find ourselves not having to rush out the door every morning, and spending all day everyday together.  It's been nice actually. Yesterday was Laundry Day, so we had Brianne and Titus come over for the morning.  That way the kids could play and I could sort, load, transfer, fold, and put away to my heart's content. Today we went to the zoo!  Along with everyone else in Jacksonville. :)  Jen and I took our kids and a lunch and spent a beautiful couple of hours there.   Lord-willing later in the week we plan to go to Greenville, SC for our 10 year college reunion.  How is that even possible?