On the road again

I am going there...

2012-02-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

“I don’t want to step on anyone’s beliefs, but well, here we go.” --Bryan Regan (comedian).

Truthfully, that is not my intent at all. My hope is to perhaps put something out there that can be encouraging for anyone who is struggling with feeling good about their children’s education.

Let me start by stating that I have many friends/acquaintances who home school. Over the past few years, I have experienced some insecurity surrounding our choice for our children’s education. Most of this insecurity stems from rubbing up against people who have been convicted to homeschool. When Don and I moved to Wilmore three years ago, many of the friends we made were homeschooling their children, or decided to do so while we were there. Seeing the home school phenomenon bloom around the country has caused me to take a closer look at my childrens’ education--which is a good thing.

Don and I have talked about this at length. I really appreciate Don’s perspective, which I will share more with you throughout this post.

Some background: I was raised in one of the worst education systems-- French schools in Nantes, France. Teachers threw chalk, used physical punishment, pulled students’ ears for making mistakes, occasionally refused to let children go to the bathroom (with results including soiling and/or wetting clothing). They also degraded pupils verbally in front of other children, ranked students according to grades, and even seated us in order of our averages sometimes. Tests were occasionally handed out in order of lowest to highest (or vice versa). They felt free to insult children, and intimidate them.

Most children repeated one grade in elementary school. Many repeated two grades. By the time they reached middle school, many children were one or two years older than the ones who made it through without any failures. When I was in the seventh grade, half of my classmates failed to pass into the eighth grade (incidentally, bathrooms were often filled with cigarette smoke in middle school, because students would smoke in the stalls. Gotta love the French).

How did I survive do you ask?

Number one: GOD.

Number two: MOM and DAD and a healthy godly home.

Number three: I did OK academically. So it didn’t kill me to be seated in order of rank, you see? I remember one time being ninth out of twenty something. At least I made it in the top half, I thought.

Now: not everything about French school was bad. Teachers did teach, and children did learn. I don’t remember goofing around much. I would say that many of the teachers I had did seem to like teaching and children. By the eighth grade children were learning two foreign languages at the same time.

Everything was taken seriously: art, music, and PE included. It was difficult, but being challenged in school is a good thing.

I think that most of us parents tend to fall back on our own experiences when trying to raise their own children. Is this true for you? Do you find yourself trying to remember what you did when you were a certain age, or how your parents handled certain difficult situations? It’s natural to learn from our past. There are two tendencies that we have in parenting: one is to try to duplicate the good parts of our childhood, and two is to try NOT to duplicate the bad parts. However, sometimes, the things that we remember as good might not necessarily be the best thing for our children, and the things that we remember as bad might not necessarily be bad for our children. I trust my readers to assume certain disclaimers including very obviously bad or good things. I’m talking about gray areas here.

In our parenting, some of us tend to overcompensate for bad memories, or try too hard to relive the past. As an example of this, I think that some of us think that since we had a bad public school experience, we must therefore protect our children from public schools.

Another phenomenon that I observe in our generation of parents is a desire to protect our children from more than just public schools. We even pray that habitually. “Lord, protect our children.” I do it too. But do we pray for them to be brave? Do we pray for God to use them as salt and light in His kingdom?

Incidentally, most the things we try to protect our children from are not necessarily what Jesus would want to protect them from. Do we try to protect their minds from bad movies or from becoming too popular among their peers? Most often, I find myself wanting to protect them from being left out, or from getting their feelings hurt, or from failure.

Last month, I watched a documentary entitled “Waiting for Superman”. It was an interesting film about certain public schools in very populated areas, inner city mostly. It definitely did not make the public school system in America look good. Some teachers who have tenure should not be teachers at all and the schools cannot get rid of them. Because of the no child left behind stuff, there is an excessive amount of testing going on. Teachers feel pressure to teach to a whole new set of standards, and much of the fun of learning is lost. Some classes were videotaped in which nothing was going on in the classroom. Literally, the teacher just sat around, I guess. The teachers’ unions have paralyzed the board of education in the DC area. They have prevented them from getting rid of bad tenured teachers.

By the time they reach middle school, many students are placed in a certain “track”. In other words, there is a track for students with higher grades and test scores, and then there is another track for children with lower grades and test scores. The children who have lower test scores tend to be placed in classes where the learning progresses at a slower pace, and so they fall behind. And there are even more criticisms that we can list against public schools. Gangs, peer pressure and abuse, lack of challenges, etc…

OK, so let me turn the tables a little bit on you. Here is why, for the present time, Don and I have agreed to send our children to public schools:

I like the structure of school. I like that our children leave the house, and that when they return home, they are not at school anymore. It is over. Yes they might have homework, but they have left the workplace, per se. I like that they are being exposed socially. I like that they are exposed to a variety of teachers, different teaching styles, different sets of knowledge, teachers with different strengths and weaknesses. I actually appreciate the education they are getting. I am learning (and/or relearning) a lot of things myself. I like that they see a lot of life. I like that they have to learn how to navigate many different social situations.

Personally, I feel that this is a good scenario for my own relationship with my children, particularly my oldest child. We butt heads a lot, and I feel that it is healthy for us to be apart sometimes.

We have been blessed with excellent teachers. If Jon David and Luke had not been to public schools up to this point, they would have missed out on some high quality educators. I have a lot of respect for them. They work very hard every day, and have taught more to my children than I can think of or list.

The older my kids get, the more we have to work through heart breaks--kids being mean; teachers perhaps not acting fair; Jon David and Luke not liking school on some days; getting bored; too much homework sometimes. When bad days come, this is when I doubt myself. Don reminds me of something that I think is a huge key to feeling peaceful about parenting, and really life in general: we are not here to make our children’s lives easy. We are not even here to make them happy. I might even go so far as to say that our number one goal as parents is not to protect our children.

Our goal is to help them to be good, godly, and walk in God’s path for them. Our goal is to help them press into God when they suffer. I can hardly even stand to type that sentence, because I don’t want them so suffer!! Sometimes Don reminds me of how hard I had it, and how I turned out fine. But I don’t want them to get their feelings hurt! Don is right, though: I can’t protect them from that.

I feel like I need to interject here that we are in a good school zone. This makes a huge difference for sure. We are also blessed with very good teachers. And I understand that every single family is different, and there are many different GOOD ways to educated children. There plenty of situations where homeschooling is truly better for a child than structured school of any kind. Again, please hear disclaimer, disclaimer.

I just feel like there are a lot of support groups out there for homeschoolers, but not a lot of voices saying “I’m glad my children go to public schools.”

I like the independence and responsibility that children must develop when they attend public schools. I like the prayer club that Jon David participates in. I like that Jon David has had the opportunity to stand up to a bully. I like their musical programs. I like that Luke has to do sit ups every day. I liked the mother’s day tea that I had when Jon David was in the first grade. I like field trips, field days, etc…

Is it bad for children to be bored? To learn how to deal with being bored? To be subjected to a set of rules that they don’t like?

Finally, it is my hope that by sending my children to public schools, I am giving them opportunities to shine Jesus’ light in a dark world. Jon David has had the chance to talk to a child who does not believe it God; he has had the chance to rescue someone who was being picked on. I believe that going to public schools gives them a chance to put their faith into practice, and to reach out to others. Are they too young to carry the light of Christ into the world? No. They are not. Children are strong on the inside. God made them that way.

Again: please read appropriate disclaimers into this: public school is NOT for everyone, and hey, there might come a day when I pull my children out. If something serious happens, or if they are truly being threatened, then I will not hesitate.

I’m just talking in general terms, about regular situations and better than average public schools.

I appreciate the chance to be away from my children, and then to come back together and hear about their day.

Whatever the choice is for our children’s education, I think that we all occasionally need to be reminded that most importantly, they are God’s children, and we have to let go of them. God has a specific plan for each of our children. And if we hold on too tightly, we risk not allowing them to carry out that plan. His plan is the best thing that we can possibly imagine for them… although it might be difficult to watch sometimes. God is the best teacher that they could ever have, and I don’t want to withhold them from Him.

Since I am a teacher by profession (well, technically, my certificate has expired now lol), I can be very critical of other teachers. It is good for me to have an opportunity to trust others, to humble myself and allow others to grab the wheel. I struggle with wanting to be in control of all areas of my life. So this is just one way that I can practice letting someone else have control of some of my most prized possessions.

At the end of the day, life consists of giving up our own will in order to let God steer the boat. I hope to teach my children that as well.

Perhaps this has been helpful to someone out there. I hope so.

Rob Bell and Greg Isles

2012-02-08T11:17:00.000-08:00

There is a member of our church who hands me a book every so often. I really appreciate it. I like to read (when I have time), and I appreciate a chance to keep up with at least part of what is being put out there in the world.

The two books "Love Wins" and "The Footprints of God" by Rob Bell and Greg Isles respectively, were difficult reads for me. Not because they took a long time. They were page turners for sure. But they gave me a sour feeling inside. I found myself trying to be sure that I had time to read my bible and not let these authors feed me my last thought of the day before I went to sleep.
The logic that Rob Bell uses to explain away hell was bone chilling. There was one page in which he listed all of the verses in which Jesus mentions hell, and then he proceeded to say "that's it." But the verses were convicting! Even through his lens, which he was trying with all of his might to use to force us to refocus on something else, Jesus' words pierced through and seemed to override whatever mumbo jumbo he was trying to say.
His language is manipulative. For instance, he says that hell is only mentioned 12 times in the new testament. Why does he use the word "only"? Why is 12 such a small number? Jacob had 12 sons.. There are 12 tribes of Israel...
Not all of his points were bad, but what he was trying to say about the afterlife didn't seem to have enough backbone. I returned the book, so I can't give many more specific quotes. What I have just shared is what has lasted in my memory.

Greg Isles' book is a sci-fi thriller, with phylosophy intertwined in it. At first, I couldn't see exactly where he was going religiously, which was a good thing. By the time I did realize what point he was trying to get across, I was too involved in the action part of the story to be willing to stop reading.
To me, this was the first time that I dove into the brain of someone who buys into science as his god. I was dumbfounded at the logic--or in my opinion, lack thereof. I think that his main point was that "consciousness" was our God. The irony is that he seems to acknowledge the existence of God, but believes that God had nothing to do with the big bang theory. He believes that He was just as confused about it as we are when the world came into existence! He also acknowledged that he could not explain the origin of it. There were several portions of the story that revealed what I believe to be reflections of the author's struggles in his own spirit. I think that it bothers him that no one knows for sure where Jesus was buried. I think he struggles tremendously with the whole "bad things happen to good people" issue. However, I thought that the co-heroine handled that pretty well by pointing out the good that did come out of a particularly bad situation, and also by stating that if it weren't for God's goodness, how much worse could the situation have gotten? Still, I confess that the suffering that some people endure is sometimes a hurdle to my own faith as well.
Having said all of this, it is one thousand times more difficult to believe what this guy believes than the bible. When you come down to it, you have to give up trying to figure it out. At some point, you have to let go and have faith. Cling to God with all of your heart. He is all we've got.

Coming soon... my thoughts on homeschooling versus public schools. Haha. Joke.
Well, maybe not.
No really.
I guess you'll just have to wait and see!

Comic relief

2012-02-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

I always sing to Caleb before I put him to bed. Lately, I often chose the song "Oh how I love Jesus because he first loved me." He loves to have me sing it about each member of the family. "Ah batas... Mommy. Ah batas... Daddy. Ah batas... etc..." Ah batas means "how about". So I proceed to sing each verse about each family member "Oh Daddy do you love Jesus," etc...
Well this is how the chorus goes: Oh how I love Jesus. Oh how I love Jesus. Oh how I love Jesus, because He first loved me."
OK, fade out on that scene. Next: Caleb is almost 2 and a half. He often refuses to do things. When I ask him why, for the longest time, he would say something unintelligible like "acaz. eee fuss lah me!" The funny thing was that he seemed fairly consistent in his uninteligibility. It was almost always those same sounds : "acaz. ee fuss lah me!" I finally figured out what he was saying in response to my "why" questions: "Because he first loved me!"
Well, final scene: the other day, I asked him why he didn't want to go poopoo on the potty. You might have guessed his answer: "Because he first loved me!"

Luke: Recently, I wanted Luke to take a bath. "Luke," I said, "when was the last time that you had a bath?" (This was probably a week and a half ago or so). His response: "Well, I had one in December!" Ha!!

Jon David (over Christmas), while driving through our neighborhood, looking at our neighbor's Christmas decorations. One neighbor had the traditional single candle in each window. Very elegant. When I commented on how nice it looked, JD said "yea, it looks so nice, you can almost tell that no kids live there."

:)

Christmas Dregs

2012-02-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

Above is the calendar that I made for Caleb, copying completely Jon David and Luke's--made by Wendy.

When Don, Rich, and Mike Jr. were growing up, Wendy started a tradition. She made Christmas calendars out of red felt. She decorated them with foam stickers, and sewed little white hooks on with red ribbons. In the top, right corner, she glued a poem about the 10 days before Christmas. With each of the ten ribbons, she tied ten miniature candy canes so that each of her three children could eat one candy cane every day from Dec. 15th until Christmas day.
When grandchildren began arriving, she set out to make one for each grandchild, too. Unfortunately, she had to stop after making Luke's.
My mother-in-law has been a tremendous blessing to me. I pray that the Lord takes care of her like only He can.
This was my first year to make a Christmas calendar. I wanted to continue on with what she started. With every step of making this (from trying to find each component at Walmart or Hobby Lobby to spending the time needed to sew and glue), I appreciated more and more the woman that is Wendy. I love you, Wendy. Our lives are much richer thanks to you.
Here are all three of my boys' calendars. Just like Wendy's three boys. :)

Don had spoken at "Christmas at the Square" in downtown Perry toward the beginning of the season. He did a fantastic job. We had a Christmas Eve Service at Grace Church. I thought it went really well, and once again, Don did great.
Afterwards, we spent some time with some friends before coming back home.
Jon David and Luke were of course full of excitement. We finally got everyone in bed, and began our last minute preparations. I went to bed around midnight.
Around 12:30, the phone rang... You know it's not good when someone you know is calling you at midnight on Christmas Eve.It was one of our church members. His wife had passed out at their home. Don headed out to the hospital.
The next morning (Christmas day, of course), I knew Don needed to sleep in. Little did I know that he had not returned home until 3:00 A.M.
Around 8:00, I thought we had better get our Christmas show on. I woke Don up and asked him if Vicky was OK... No, he said: she had passed away. I sat down on the floor and cried. Then, I wiped my tears away and opened my bedroom door to my three eager children, anticipating their Christmas gifts.
Vicky Malone was one amazing woman. She greeted all of the visitors at church, provided us with name tags, and made sure that newcomers felt welcome and knew where to go. The loss was great. We love you and miss you, Vicky.

That afternoon, we traveled to Thomasville to finish celebrating Chritmas with Grandma, Grandaddy, Uncle Rich, Aunt Laura, Nicholas and Andrew. We returned home on Wednesday since the funeral was that afternoon.
The anticipation. :)
Here are some pictures of our Christmas celebration this year.

Jon David and Luke each got to shop at their school for family Christmas gifts this year. It was fun to see them give gifts to each other (and Caleb and Mom and Dad too).

Below, Caleb is enjoying a gift from one of our church members:

Roll Tide!

Uncle Doug

2012-01-22T18:56:00.001-08:00

Well, in case you didn't know, Don has an Uncle Doug! Here he is. He came to visit. We had fun! He drew pictures with Caleb, rode bikes with Jon David, watched football with Luke, and just had fun. We enjoyed talking to him too. He also bought Christmas presents for all three kids. Thanks so much, Uncle Doug! It was great to get to know you.

Caleb's Christmas program

2012-01-22T18:43:00.000-08:00

Caleb had a Christmas program at Mom's morning out.
Below is a pic of him before he saw me.

Below is a pic of him after he saw me:

He could take or leave Santa. LOL

Last, but certainly not least.

2011-12-30T19:32:00.000-08:00

The first two photos are from our dress rehearsal that morning. The last three are from the actual performance.

The children's choir. How could I forget? Indeed, I couldn't. :)
I worked with the kids from our church on Wednesday nights in the fall, until our Christmas performance. It was a lot of fun. We had our ups and downs, but mostly ups!! I have come to love these kids so much. They are precious: each and every one. They did GREAT on their performance day, December 11th at church. We did not have costumes, only two hats per child to use as props.
I was VERY proud! Even the toddlers stood with us during the "Baby Jesus, We Love You" song. Great job, guys!! And thank you to Catreece for the VERY cute costumes!
I confess, having Jon David and Luke in the class was one of the most challenging things for me. We had plenty of frustrating moments. But in the end, they really turned around and impressed me. I am so thankful to have had this opportunity.

December crack ups

2011-12-30T19:27:00.001-08:00

Above, the three boys before church one day. I didn't quite duplicate these outfits on Christmas morning this year... so I'm glad I snapped this pic when I did! Try doing Christmas morning AND getting everybody ready for church!! Oh wait, I guess most of you probably did do that. lol

As I mentioned in the previous post, Mom came for a quick visit so that she could see Luke's Christmas program. Here are the boys during story time. Caleb steals my heart in this pic!
I recommend clicking on the photo.

Luke's school program

2011-12-30T19:19:00.001-08:00

Luke has not typically been my "ham it up" child. But he was on this night! Mimomo came to watch the program too, and Luke did not disappoint. Sweet boy. We were so proud! Great job Luke! He even had a few lines to say, and did great! He sang, did the hand motions, the works. It was truly a joy to watch him. Love you, Luke! We are proud of you!

.

Christmas time is here!

2011-12-23T08:02:00.000-08:00

Caulley Christmas 2011. Well, we are actually going to be at our house this year! As much as we love being with family during the holidays, I have always cherished the small holiday times when it's just the five of us... Call me weird. Maybe it's because I have memories of this as a little girl. Some of my Christmas memories include one particular night in France when it actually snowed! It hardly ever snowed in our town of Nantes, where we lived. But that Christmas Eve, it seemed magical.
Another Christmas memory I have it when we got our little puppy "Candy Cane," we called it!
I also remember getting a roll top desk one year. I have memories of Dad setting up the boys' toys and us spending hours just playing with our new toys... just our family. At the time, it was because we couldn't afford to go back to the US for Christmas. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
It's funny, I don't ever remember believing in Santa Claus as a child. It seems to be a federal offense here to even hint at the fact that there is no Santa to a child. (Did I blog about this last year already?... lol) I'm not sure if it's just different in the US, or if things have gotten considerably worse over the past few decades. I am beginning to figure out that retailers fully support Santa, and that it sure works in our economy's favor for every child here to believe. Afterall, according to most ABC family and Hallmark movie propaganda, anything is possible at Christmas time. Even when I think about "Miracle on 34th Street," a movie I absolutely loved until recently (especially the newest version), I now have mixed feelings. That movie sends an interesting message to a child. No wish is too big.
When I taught school 11 years ago, I believe it was my fifth graders who told me once that I was responsible for revealing the truth to them during their fourth grade year. I remember being dumbfounded that they hadn't known yet! (The best I can figure is that it must have happened during our cultural Christmas unit when I talked to them about St. Nicholas and how the idea of Father Christmas grew from there). But you know, now that I have children of my own, and understand more about the parenting culture here, it doesn't seem absurd at all.
I know everyone has different views on Santa Clause. One of my children believes, and one of them doesn't. The third one couldn't care less. LOL I am playing along with the child who believes, and I've decided that the other one was just ready to know the truth. It's interesting how relieved I feel that the truth is out. "But it's fun to pretend" we say. It's kinda nice to think about him finally understanding who is giving him his gifts.

The older I get, the more I realize how little in life I really have figured out. I read a book recently called "Heaven is For Real." I read the first few chapters back in the Spring and had to put it down. I was internalizing too much... What with my extreme dislike of stomach sicknesses, and my two brothers' near death experiences with a ruptured appendix... it was just too much for me to stomach (pun intended lol).
But what with several friends talking to me about how much they enjoyed the book, I finally decided to finish it. It was wonderful. I mean it. I really liked that book a lot. Don has been preaching through Revelation on Sunday morning, so maybe the fields in my heart were ripe for some harvest. Anyway, hearing this little boys' journey into heaven, and the different things that he was able to see... Wow. It was amazing for me. I realize that this is not the bible. But the author did a good job of quoting scripture and tying in the biblical truths that he was already familiar with. It was amazing how the little boy's witness lined up with so much of what the bible says. There was a really cool story in there about a Russian girl who has had heavenly experiences as well and paints. She is extremely talented and her mother, who was an atheist, has been challenged by the art of her own daughter. Anyway, when the little boy saw this particular girl's rendition of Jesus, he immediately recognized him. I still get chills when I think about this. There is a picture of her portrait of Jesus in the book. When I looked at it, I cried.
Thank God that we have Jesus to focus on during this season especially.
Thanks also to my sweet mother-in-law, who has blessed our family with many various Nativity decorations during this Christmas season.
Well, I didn't plan to ramble quite this much. Today of all days, I am really struggling with having the right focus. We are trying to potty train Caleb and I'm not dealing well with it today. Wouldn't you know it, it's my birthday. Ha! It seems like once you have kids, your birthday isn't so sacred anymore (not that it necessarily should have been in the first place, now that I think about it). Being cooped up in the house for a week along with my older two out of school seems to make it even more difficult. Funny how a seemingly simple thing like potty training can bring out the worst in me, and tempt me with discouragement.

OK, well, my sweet husband is home, and it's off to do some shopping by myself! I think this is what the doctor ordered. Gotta get some stocking stuffers because we all know that no man in a suit is actually gonna do that for me. ;)

So long, sis

2011-12-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

Sarah Caroline... Was is really that long ago that I was rocking you to sleep in your rocking chair at our St.Herblain house? And remember when we used to spend the night together whenever we traveled because, well, that's what sisters do!
How many times did Mom beg us to dress alike and sing Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye's version of "Sisters"?
It continues to amaze me how alike we are in ways: certain aspects of our personality like our tendencies to overanalize lol. But I am also equally amazed at how different we are. I could not be more proud of you for taking a giant leap over the Atlantic into Kisumu, Kenya.
I pray God's richest blessings on you and Chris while you are over there.
Thank you SO much for driving down to Perry a few weeks ago. I loved every minute of our visit.

Love you, and miss you an awful LOT. Sniff.

Tybee Island

2011-12-17T08:59:00.001-08:00

Clownin' around

2011-12-17T06:07:00.001-08:00

Caleb has discovered a new pastime. It is especially useful when I am getting ready in the morning. He gets in my bathtub with his cars, and pretends that the ledge is a race track.
On this particular day, all THREE wanted to try it out... It didn't last too long. But overall it works pretty well when it's just him and me at home. The little ledge it perfect for a race track. I wonder if the designer thought of that when he molded this tub? lol.

Below: sweet Luke "Jaimberdies" posing for a pic. I love that this photo captured the flowers that Don bought me! Fall colors and everything. ;)

Below: Caleb sporting the red head lamp.
Below: Caleb and I at his Mom's Morning Out Thanksgiving feast.
Caleb obviously thought that his chocolaty dessert was delicious.

One day, Luke set up the Precious Moments Noah's ark in Caleb's room. Every once in a while, he goes around the house straightening. No joke! LOVE me some of that!
Anyway, after this particular set up, he told me that I might want to take a picture. So what in the world do you think I did?

Tucker Elementary School

2011-12-03T09:57:00.001-08:00

Jon David at his awards ceremony in October. Thank you for that smile, sweet girl on the right.
*sigh*
Below, Jon David at his school program. He was a spider. You can see him below, spinning his web. "I'm gonna make you squirm" was the theme for one of the songs. It was all about creepy crawlies. Cute.

Fall festivities

2011-11-30T17:50:00.000-08:00

These pics were taken in October. The two above were taken at Mom's house. I took the boys to the Chattahoochee Valley Pumpkin Patch and these were their costumes. Jon David was a ninja, Luke was coach Saban, and Caleb was well, Caleb. Sometimes, it's just not worth fighting over a costume with a two year old.
Trick or treating
Notice that Caleb wore his costume today!

Caleb really got into it this year. So fun to watch our little elephant.
Sweet boy. There is some new construction in our neighborhood. Sadly, they even had to work on Halloween night. I wondered if they missed their families. They seemed to be mostly latin Americans. Anyway, Caleb passed by and yelled "tick O teet!!" The man kindly responded in a mexican accent "trrrrick orr (r twirling) trrrrrrrreet?" I sheepishly nodded, and then civilly attempted to steer Caleb on down the street. I guess he was expecting more candy? or a different response, because the next thing I knew, he was yelling at the top of his two year old lungs "Hey Man!!" And before he could explode with and new series of trick or treat repetitions, I finally succeeded in redirecting him towards the next house. Man! That kid does everything full out! Of course, in his defense, this did involve candy. I guess you have to take your candy very seriously.

Also, at one point, one of the homeowners handed out skittles. He refused to put the skittles in his bag, but wanted to hold on to them, and then eat them immediately.

The classic pose (Ninja, Saban, and elephant--or little AL if you want).
The more typical pose.

Below: at a park for a MOMS club outing.

The Georgia National Fair

2011-11-29T17:43:00.000-08:00

Holding a baby chick!

Above: in the red shirt, a girl named Grace. A good friend.

Two year old Caleb

2011-10-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to my friend, Heather, for taking these shots! I like them all. They capture so much of his little personality at this age. Good grief: it's hard to believe that these were taken almost two months ago, already!

Yea, he was done.

Something to blog about

2011-10-09T18:07:00.001-07:00

OK, wow. Well, first of all, I am catching my blogging breath after all of those posts. And the truth is, it is this particular post that has motivated me to get caught up to this point!
You saw the mini golf pics in the previous post. Our family took a vacation to Kissimmee Florida last week. The whole thing was a tremendous gift. I feel so blessed. We benefited from a few different connections and people's generosity... you know who you are. THANK YOU!!!
We stayed at a resort there, and enjoyed some pool time, some relax time, and while we were there... you guessed it, we visited Walt Disney World.

Now. Throat clear. I have to admit that I have some issues with Disney. They range from brainwashing children with youth, beauty and self worship to materialism to just plain old culture manipulation and fantasy propaganda: you know, the kind that says that you can and should be whatever you want, and that you should spend your life pursuing said goals.
Also, the last time we came to Disney World, Jon David was 18 months old, and well, if it hadn't been for Mom and Dad giving Don and me a day to do the parks alone, I'm not sure how much we would have enjoyed it. Jon David's favorite part was Tom Sawyer's Island and the escalator at Epcot. Needless to say, my expectations were kinda low. At least, they were fairly low for Caleb. I had a feeling that Jon David and Luke would have fun.
Having said this, we own a plethora of Disney movies. Among my favs are the Incredibles, Cars, and Finding Nemo. And Jon David and Luke frequently enjoy Phineas and Ferb, among other Disney cartoons.
As of today, I have to add this to the list: I am a fan of the parks. We spent our two days at the Magic Kingdom, and to quote the cheesy Disney slogan, we really did make some memories to last a lifetime. Many of our conversations lately have centered on when we might go again, and I confess, it appeals to me too!
We did not tell Jon David and Luke what we were scheming until the night before our first day. When we broke the news to them, that we were going to be able to go to Disney World, they were shocked. "It's probably going to take 6 hours to get there, isn't it?" asked Jon David. Next surprise: "No, it's about fifteen minutes away," was our response. They were elated.
So Caleb woke up promptly at 4:45 A.M. the next morning (thankfully, he went back to sleep eventually), and once all of the preparations were made, we set out for Disney World.

I've gotta tell ya, it was so fun. The boys all loved it, they were great. Don't get me wrong, Caleb had his meltdowns alright, but nothing that you can't expect from a two year old. Don and I were both pleasantly surprised at how much he liked being there, at how well he adjusted to being pushed with his naps. He was a good sport about the stroller. We went on Monday and on Wednesday. We had arranged with our friend to not enter the park until 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, which I thought would be catastrophic considering Caleb usually wakes up between 6 and 7 pretty much like clockwork, and naps around noon. But again, it felt like God's blessing was upon us. That particular day, he woke up early, like 6 ish, but Don went in and settled him down and he slept until after 9:00 A.M.!!!! I don't know if this has EVER happened to him before. Unreal!! Also, on the first day, he dozed in the stroller for about a half hour--again, something he hasn't done in ages.

I confess, I am having nostalgic feelings about it, wishing we could go back, etc... yes, to Disney World!! What is wrong with me?! Don and I both had a ball. We enjoyed so much experiencing it for ourselves, but also through our children.
And now for the pictures.

The anticipation... so fun!
Our friends were super generous with our kiddos. They bought each of them some souvenirs. Again, such a blessing.
The obligatory Cinderella Castle pic. Among the gifts that the boys received was an autograph book that we decided to turn into a Disney World experience journal. Jon David drew a pic in there that was hilarious. First, he drew many of the characters he saw in the parades (Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, etc...). Then he drew himself with the princesses. He had a frowny face. The caption said "me and the princesses. By the way, I'm a boy." Then, he tore it out. Too funny! It was neat to see how different their reactions were. Jon David really enjoyed the parades. He loved seeing all of the characters.

The classic Dumbo ride. Caleb LOVED all of the rides we took him on.
He even did Pirates of the Caribbean with us!

One of his favorite pastimes when we were not heading somewhere: pushing the stroller himself.
Below: this was my favorite parade! And one of my favorite moments of the entire time! Disney knows how to put on a show. They invited everyone to join in and dance with the characters and dancers in the street! It was so fun. Even thought this white girl can't dance!!!

Caleb was such a good sport in and out of the stroller. The picture at the top of this post is one of my favs! I asked him if he wanted to go see the monkey, and he walked right up to him! When we went on Wednesday, the characters didn't seem quite as warm and friendly, so I don't know if it was a fluke that Caleb got the monkey hug, but I was lovin it!!

Taking a break here to feed some ducks. I tried this again on Wednesday, and Don kindly pointed out the "Please do not feed the animals" sign. Sheepish grin...

Below: cooling off at the fountain. During this time, Don had taken the older boys to the Buzz lightyear ride. This one turned out to be the only ride that they kinda got burned on as far as the wait. They ended up waiting about an hour. For all of the other rides, we either did fast passes, or the lines weren't too bad. On Monday, the waits were in the 20 minutes or less range. On Wednesday, it was 10 minutes or less! Again, huge blessing, and I totally recommend going to Disney World over fall break!

Watching a show in front of Cinderella's Castle: "Dream Along with Mickey." The older two boys wanted to catch this one again on Wednesday. I was stressin' trying to make it to this one. We were running late, and it was just me with the boys while Don got a few fast passes. I do not have a great sense of direction, and we ran all around the park before finally making it! Jon David and Luke were so sweet: "it's OK, Mom, we just missed the princess part." Ah, the joy of having boys.

"

LOVE the jungle cruise. The tour guides are always hilarious! This one let Jon David and Luke drive the boat! One of our favorite jokes (that Luke especially likes to repeat): "Why is Cinderella so bad at soccer? Because she keeps running away from the ball!" Haha.

Frozone!
Waiting for "It's a Small World" ride to begin. Don and I would say that this one was Caleb's fav. He was precious staring at all of the moving figures at every turn.

He also really like the carousel.
Below, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror! And here we are at Tom Sawyer's Island. This brought back memories of my brother Daniel and me, yikes... would it really be 23 years ago???!!

Caleb caught on to Mickey Mouse real fast. After seeing a few shows, he would say "I like a Mickey Mouse." Below, he was waving and saying "Bye Bye Mickey Mouse!"

At one point back at the condo, as I was putting him to bed, he patted the mattress to his side and asked to Mickey to sleep right here. I talked him into letting Mickey sleep close by, but not in the bed. Today, however, Mickey Mouse had joined us for story time. Again, after his request, I tried to talk him into Mickey napping on the changing table. He was too sad. I gave in. The Mickey Mouse was one of gifts from our friend. A hit for sure!

Well, the end of the story is that Jon David and Luke proceeded to ride Thunder Mountain railroad with Daddy, which ended up being their favorite part of their experience (although Luke really like riding the race cars, and Jon David really enjoyed seeing the characters in the parade too). Then, after buying one last souvenir for each of them, we headed back to the condo.

Family vaca!!!

2011-10-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

Mini golf with the boys. We had a blast!

Caleb turns two

2011-10-09T13:14:00.001-07:00

Sweet boy actually blew his candle out this year! He is a PRECIOUS two year old. Does he still throw tantrums? Yes. But he is really growing up. He says SO much now. He can ask to watch a show on TV. Last week, we were at Cracker Barrel, and he looked at the waitress and said "chicken, fr. frithe!" Hilarious! He asked for chicken and Fr Frithe again last night. He loves to play cars. He will often say "Mommy, play cars wuf me!" or "play trainth wuf me!" He frequently bosses Luke and Jon David around. "Luka! Dayday!" Today, I was having a rough time with Jon David on the way to church. I told Jon David to shut his mouth. You can guess what Caleb said... as if someone was playing a tape back: "Dayday, shut a mouf!" Ugh...
As annoying as it is to hear him say some things, other things are precious. He sings Jesus loves me and the Alphabet pretty well (well, with some help). I love to hear him say Jesus.

A visit from the Johnstons

2011-10-09T04:32:00.000-07:00

Jana and Timothy Johnston blessed us with a visit this summer on their way to Florida. Jana is my oldest friend. No, not because of her actual age, but because she and I go farther back than anyone else. We were friends at the age of two I think. And our friendship survived being roommates in college! I love you Jana! God has brought us through a lot together. Looking forward to spending the rest of our lives being friends!

I like how realistic this picture is: you can see on both of our shirts the evidence of motherhood...

We also enjoyed a random quick visit from our Florida Caulley fam! Above: Caleb playing with Nicholas' socks.
We took the boys to the Aviation museum one day this summer. I love spontaneous family time. Well, actually, I love family time whether it's spontaneous or not!
So fun.

Fourth of July with an old friend

2011-10-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the fourth this year with our good friend, Tony Leuteritz from the island of Mauritius! It was really great to see him again after oh... maybe twenty years?! He has been a missionary there with his wife and four children for quite some time. There is a long connecting story between him and my Dad. We enjoyed visiting with him very much.

And, can we say slightly red neck here with setting the pine straw on fire?!

And finally, a tribute to our beloved Jeep Wrangler, that is now no longer in our possession. It took a few hard knocks, and symbolized some of what we went through over the past few years. I honestly hated to part with it, but am at peace now. It's a good thing. ;)

The Caulley family portrait

2011-10-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's picture day!

Flashback to summer: Grandma and Grandaddy's

2011-10-08T19:41:00.001-07:00

Our next big event was visiting with the Caulley family at Grandma and Grandaddy's. We had a blast!

Aunt Laura and Grandaddy had the brilliant idea of renting a giant water slide!! It was a hit!

Above: JD hoppin down.
Above: Nicholas flyin down the water slide!

Andrew was CRAZY on the water slide! Air borne!! Love it.

Above: Caleb and Evelynn hangin out.

And Grandaddy also had a great idea of getting a family portrait. It actually turned out really well. More on that to come. Above: the boys half dressed on picture day. LOL

Flashback to summer: Mimomo and BeePops'

2011-10-08T19:26:00.001-07:00

Catching up for some lost time. We had a great time @ Mom and Dad's this summer! Jon David and Luke LOVE Chattahoochee Valley Church. So do I, and so does Caleb! Thanks for loving on us so much everyone! (especially Mom and Dad!)

Above: this was actually at our house. Caleb LOVES to play with cars.

Back to school!!

2011-08-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

The silly pic! ;)

I am not sure that I can believe this any more than you can... August the first seems SUPER early to start school. But Jon David and Luke were ready, and the first school morning drop off went off without a hitch!
Don took Jon David, and I took Luke (w/Caleb of course). When Luke got in the van with me, he finally admitted that he didn't really want to go to school... sweet boy. I reminded him about how Jon David cried for his first day of first grade. I think that might have helped. Luke did not cry today. He was very brave, and did great. Don said that Jon David did great too. As far as we can tell, they seem to have gotten some great teachers this year. Praise the Lord!

Yes, Jon David's T-shirt does say "Dude."

Sweet little wannabe. Your time's coming! He wanted to put on his "baa paa" too...
We had a great playdate at a park this morning.
I can't wait to hear how their first day went! Lord, bless them!!!

Caleb: 22 and 23 months

2011-07-16T07:06:00.000-07:00

The grass mustache: Above, at Grandma and Grandaddy's in June.
Below, still at Grandma and Grandaddy's with cousin, Evelynn.

Above, at Mimomo and Beepops' house.

Caleb is preparing to launch. All of a sudden, he is exploding with development in so many areas. The most noticeable one to us is his speech. I must begin the list quickly lest I forget!

blanket: becket
mama: mama
daddy: daddy
juice: joosh
shoes: shoosh
I want: ah, ah (kinda nasally)
Often, when we are in the car, he will request his blanket and juice: "ah becket, ah joosh"
He frequently injures one of us, either by accident, or in an attempt to play.
He will repeat just about anything if we ask him to, and if he's in the mood, of course.
Right now he is on the floor, wrestling with Luke, kicking and hitting him...

Yikes... when I started this post, he was still 22 mo. Now, he is 23 months! We are careening quickly towards the wonderful two year old stage. AH!
So, here's the rest:
"Ah chi" : I want chips (and yes, chips/shoes/and juice all sound alike)
"Daw daw": hot dog
" ah tats": I want to jump (yesterday: he was standing on the back of the couch, exclaiming these two words, and plopping down on his bottom on the couch cushions).

Also, this is historical: we have been potty training. I know it sounds crazy, but he seemed ready... He has been doing well so far. He goes pipi in the potty, but not poopoo very well yet. Anyway,he says "iss a poopy!" when he has to go potty (even though he just goes pipi). And he sits down on his little potty, and goes! Then he says "ah pize, ah pize" which means: I want a prize! He has said our next door neighbor, Knox's name plain as day. He says more of a semblance to Dayday and Luke for Jon David and Luke. Don plays this game with him where he says "you better come see yo..." and Caleb says "Daddy!" Well, Jon David does it too now! He will say "You better come see yo..." and Caleb will say "Dayday!"
"Ah booket, ah booket," means I want to read a book.
He says nie nie for night night. Oh! And he says "ah shosh" for I want a show. Yes, he even says "mote" for remote. And he is quick to help you find it if you can't, and he is really wanting to watch something... sigh. The other day, I was scrolling through netflix, trying to find something for him to watch. He enjoys Word World quite a bit (wo wo). But he saw a picture of a dog, and said "daw daw!" I put the cursor on Kipper, and said "Do you want to watch Kipper? Then I pointed to Blues Clues and asked "do you want to watch Blue's Clue's?" He said "clue clue." And he says "clues!" while he is watching the show. Good ole Steve from Blue's Clue's. I like that show.
He will just about repeat anything these days. At dinner tonight, I thought he said the word sausage, I couldn't believe it! Then I said, "Are you kiddin me?" And he repeated it! "Ah Kin me?" It was so cute! Since then, Luke will often get him to repeat that little phrase.

He says "pl" for balloon. It is hilarious! He will even just blow a strawberry, you know like just sticking his tongue between his lips and blowing--to say the word balloon! ;) He also makes that same noise for the color blue. Right now, we have a blue balloon. ;) Fun times.
"Mon" for come on.
"Shlops" for flip flops.
He says socks pretty well.
"Bah, kick it," for I want to kick the ball. Soco for soccer, and sucker sounds a lot like that too.
Uh Oh, wat waz at? for uh oh, what was that?
He loves to play with balls and cars, and his family. He wants someone around him while he plays. He is precious. Today he wore seer sucker pants to church... So handsome, if I do say so myself!

Once again... it's a week later. I guess this is the relay post. Last baton, I hope!
Still doing pretty well with the potty training, except for the poop area.
He says s.h.i.t... for "sit", if he wants you to sit down... yea, it sounds kinda bad.

At my wits' end

2011-07-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

Hm. How to begin. This is definitely going to be a bit of a pity party.

Since my blog about our discovery of Luke's dairy allergy, I feel like overall, we have been dealing with that new reality pretty well. The past week or so, however, not so much. At first, we traveled to Columbus, then to Thomasville, so everything was a bit unusual anyway. There was no routine, really. We just went with the flow. And as far as eating, well sometimes, you just do the best you can and chalk it up.
Call it an unrealistic expectation, but I have always desired for my family to eat healthy. Don says that my family (the Joneses) are the odd balls, since we will eat just about anything.

Regardless, it has been more frustrating than I thought to try to find a variety of things that I can cook that are 1) dairy free, 2) that avoids at least most of the components which Caleb is allergic to, and 3) that everybody in my family likes. In fact, I challenge anyone reading this to name one meal that I can with confidence say "Oh, we all love that!" besides hamburgers. (Caleb's food allergies: milk, eggs, peanuts, soy, and rice. Oh, and if you please, something that doesn't require too much more than 30 minutes of prep time. I also have a house full of testosterone, the youngest bearer of which is turning two in August, and requires energy amounts that I am not always provided with.)
Here are few examples:
Tacos (as close to a homerun as you will come--besides hamburgers--in my house):
Caleb and Luke are both allergic to dairy (I'm avoiding it as well). So we all have no cheese/sour cream, which is fine. Caleb also pretty much only likes the hard shells.
OK, score, right?
Up to the point when Luke was diagnosed, I was cooking galettes and crepes pretty regularly, also chicken and dumplins, and chicken crescent rolls. These are also what I might have called homeruns with Luke in the past. Now: Bnr! On all three.
Lately, I have been trying new things. We have been having smoothies in the afternoons for snacks, which is very healthy, and which we all love: I am very thankful for this, especially since I’m able to sneek some fresh spinach in there. Thank you, Lord! Luke also really likes bananas and peanut butter, and Caleb can eat bananas and almond butter. Jon David prefers a bowl of cereal with bananas on top. When I am not at my wits’ end, it is slightly humorous watching me go to this much trouble just for snack time! I usually dirty up several dishes, even between meals. Gone are the days when I just opened a box of goldfish or animal crackers and called it day. They are either allergic to one, of sick of the other. And I must admit: it is getting to me. I am tired of slaving over dinner, only to have at most half of my family members eat the food, and then having to continue to make alternative plans for the rest of the members, just so we don't all go to bed hungry. After dinner is over, there is always the clean up… The kitchen is usually a disaster, what with all of the pots and pans being used, and our adorable toddler wreaking havoc underneath his booster seat.
Spaghetti is tolerated pretty well. But if I make a sauce with bits of tomato, Luke doesn't like it (he doesn't like tomatoes). If I do a plain sauce, it's not Don's or my favorite. Luke might even prefer plain noodles, but I make him eat sauce. Thankfully, he eats broccoli, lettuce, and green beans. For that, I'm thankful. Sometimes I allow my mind to go here: I nursed that child for a year! And he did not inherit my taste buds.
Our friend Tony came to visit last week-end, and dinner time was quite disappointing. Don had made jambalaya. One of my favs!
*Caleb is allergic to rice. But it's not a severe allergy. I thought I would let him try it, since he, with all of his food allergies, is actually pretty adventurous when it comes to food. Well, in front of Tony, the doctor (to whom I had just confessed his rice allergy) he broke out on the backs of his legs. I had to give him benadryl.
*Jon David and Luke: ate a little bit, didn't like it enough to get full, so halfway through the meal, I got up and fixed them a hot dog. A hot dog! Instead of jambalaya.
We had watermelon for dessert, which Caleb liked. The other two didn't.
There are nights when I just skip the effort and go straight to sandwiches for them. Sometimes I think that I give in too much. How did I get to this point?

We come to Saturday night. Don had somewhere to go. I had cooked something called "chuckwagon casserole" from a pampered chef book. OK, I confess, the title is not appealing. But it is basically corn bread on top of chili. I thought Luke likes chili, in fact, all three kids like it. I like it too. I knew that this recipe wasn't top on Don's list, so I thought, I’ll try it tonight, since he is gone. It sure beats getting them fast food, or ordering pizza (especially since we can't do that anymore--cheese). So, I plow through and cook dinner, get everything ready, being careful to call Eryn and figure out how to replace the egg, milk, etc...for the cornbread portion. I even left out onions and green pepper, thinking that those would for sure turn Luke off.
You can probably guess where this is going.
I get the children to the table (after discovering that Luke had neglected to drink his smoothie today. It was left in its entirety, wasted, on the table.)
No matter, dinner was going to be good. Caleb started off by dropping some of his to the ground. Why? Why does food always have to end up on the ground with him? I know, I know, he’s a toddler. It’s to be expected.
I gave Luke one bite. As you might have foreseen, he didn't like it. It was the barbecue sauce. It left a bad taste in his mouth, or something.

I lost it.

I can't even remember exactly what I said. "You don't like anything!" probably or something like that. But my voice was pretty loud. I slammed a chair down, slammed a drawer in, left the room. Luke started bawling. So did Caleb. He even did the scream, then silence before the next scream. Then Jon David too. I tried to calm them down, but I was boiling inside. After I had calmed down, Luke made a comment about not being able to help it or something. I finally began to cry as I listed off the many healthy food choices to him that he doesn't like. Thankfully, I didn't list the dairy ones, as that is clearly beyond his control. More crying from the children.

You know, it's really hard when you are not allowed to be mad at someone. Like the food allergy thing. It's extremely annoying, but they can't help it!

Well, Caleb recovered somewhat, but not enough to eat very much. He had been grumpy and clingy a lot of the day. Finally, after having tried to feed him, I was weary, and I put him to bed, wondering if he had had enough to eat. He cried, but eventually went to sleep. And yes, it wrenches my heart out to type this confession out on this post... But he did have a really good snack...

I had been helping the older two with their star wars legos. Finally, we put them away, and I put them to bed, too (Luke, still not having eaten). He had taken a while to stop crying. I cuddled with him a long time, told him it was OK, but I was determined to not make him another dinner option. He wasn't even hungry, he said, just upset by what had happened... poor thing. I prayed for him for a while.

Well, I texted Don to please call me when his thing was over. Thankfully, he was on his way home and was able to talk to me. He was very understanding, and also helped me see that for the next year, especially during Luke's fast from dairy, maybe we just needed to cut him some breaks. Since Luke was still upset, I couldn't stand the thought of not giving in... Don also reminded me that in the past month, Luke had had to deal with the reality of his new life: no more cheetos, no more chocolate, no more pizza, no more goldfish (truly a staple for that boy, no joke), no more ice cream. Did I cave? You better believe it. I got off the phone and pushed open the door to their room, offering more comfort, and a PB and J. "Luke," I said, "I messed up. Can you forgive me?"

But to tell you the honest truth, I still felt a little bit like I had lost a battle. I know this sounds pretty dramatic, but I feel like a failure so many nights after we eat dinner. In my opinion, one of the major components of my job as a stay-at-home-mom, is to provide healthy food for my family. And well, I just don't know how much I'm succeeding.

Mamma said, right?

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children, she didn't know what to do (do three boys count?)
She fed them some broth, without any bread.
She spanked them all soundly and sent them to bed.

nursery rhyme by ?

Oh, and I have also been feeling the martyrdom of being the only female in a house full of boys... Random, but while we’re at it with the pity party, might as well, eh?

Caulley summer moments

2011-06-22T17:02:00.001-07:00

Technically, the first day of summer was yesterday. But when my big guys are out of school, it feels like summer to me!

Below is a demonstration of Caleb trying to climb over my attempt to cook dinner in peace.

Caleb and Luke: P90X'in it with Don. Check out Caleb: far right above. Below is a blurry close up:

Oh, and there is this Go Fish educational center in Perry! Evidently, the Governor dumped a whole bunch of money into this project. I took the boys last week for the first time. We went with several other Moms' club moms. So fun!

Check it out! A scuba diver happened to be cleaning the tank that day.

Above: Caleb, making it "rain" on a map of the state of Georgia. Don't you wish he could do that in real life! LOL

Outside, we walked past several large aquariums, and there was even a crocodile in one of them! Mostly, it was different types of fish, though.

Below, Jon David is sitting in the one of the fishing boat simulators, trying to catch something!

One of my favorite parts was all of the nice workers walking around. You can tell that they really want visitors! They were good ole red necks at heart, helping my boys figure out how to hold the fishing pole. It was really cool! I had a surprisingly good time. The center was simple enough to be interesting for the kids to roam around and explore the different activities.

A visit to David and Eryn's

2011-06-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

Long overdue! We finally made it. What a blessing to live close enough to do a day trip. We love y'all! Thanks for being so fun!

A puffle party

2011-06-22T12:51:00.002-07:00

So Jon David and Luke have been into club penguin a lot. Jon David asked for a puffle for his birthday. I could explain, but well, I'm not sure it's worth it. :) It's a little stuffed toy that looks like a cloud with hair and a face. They are supposedly friends with the penguins on the web site.
You know, between puffles and silly bands, somebody is making a lot of money off of basically--nothing! Ha!
Well, it made Jon David happy, and it didn't cost much, so why not? They were kinda perfect as little cupcake faces, which made my life a little easier.

The different color icing turned the kids' tongues red or blue:

We did presents before games, mostly, since the games were water games.

We did some water relay games:

But the piece de resistance was Daddy doing a jedi training obstacle course, with water balloons and water guns ready to defeat him in the final battle.

Eventually, it all ended in merciless water soaking for everyone:

--which, after all, was the point. How else are you supposed to host a backyard birthday party in Georgia in May?

Happy birthday eight year old!!!

Summa time

2011-06-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

I just recently heard that song (summertime) by Will Smith. Great song! Sorry it took me so long to discover it.

Mrs. G. Shipes (Luke's teacher assistant).
Mrs. D. Johnson (Luke's Kindergarten teacher). Thank you Lord for these ladies! They were great.

After Don's graduation, the end of school was at hand. Luke had an end of the year program.
Speaking of Luke, sweet boy: we just found out two weeks ago that he has a milk allergy. The allergist is saying no dairy for one year, then we might reintroduce it. We're talking no cheetos, no chocolate, no ice cream, no goldfish, no butter on toast... Sigh. Do you know my Luke James? Goldfish were part of his personal food pyramid! Not to mention cheetos and chocolate... Poor kid. Just when I thought my family's eating habits were complicated enough...
On the plus side, we are now being forced to eat healthier. More fruits and veggies. The trouble is, I still have picky eaters.
Here is an example of vegetable night at my house:

At the top we have Caleb's plate: mashed potatoes, spinach, a little bit of sweet potato, and I think I did some tylapia; bottom left is Luke: broccoli (his veggie of choice), with mashed potatoes and chicken nuggets; bottom right: Jon David's plate with chicken nuggets and sweet potato--he also had corn on the cob. And yes, top left is my salad spinner. So you can imagine what the kitchen looked like after using up this many dishes. If only there was more than one vegetable that EVERYBODY liked!
I've always wanted to be a low maintenance person. You know, the kind of person who can go anywhere, sleep any which way, eat whatever. I've wanted my family to be that way too. Wouldn't it be nice to take a trip, and whatever is served, your kids just gobble it up?
Not so with mine. But I love my family. And I have decided that the best thing that I can do is simply that: my very best. So I'll encourage them to try new things as much as I can, avoid the allergen triggers as much as I can, and if I feel like others look down on us for our funny eating habits, that's OK too. I'm starting to become familiar with processes such as calcium absorption, which foods contain the most calcium, and amazingly, I'm discovering that we can actually do without dairy. Also, dairy may not even have been that great for us in the first place! Crazy... Although I still think that if we had no issues, we'd all be having the occasional milk shake and Wendy's frosty. I have actually been struggling with random intestinal issues off and on for a while (that I am pretty sure are related to dairy intolerances), and am thankful for the opportunity to take the plunge with my two youngest sons into the dairy free world. You granola people out there, I have a new found respect for you. Give me your advice. I'm ready, and willing!

The Graduate

2011-05-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

Don wonders why people say "you did it!" As if it's a big surprise that he accomplished his masters. But I don't think that it's the element of surprise that causes people to say this. I think it's more a matter of chronological celebration. He DID do it. He arrived at the goal that he set out to accomplish a couple of years ago. This is the time to celebrate. Celebrate what? Well, the fact that he did it!

Brother Mike and nephew McClay.

Joey Fitzgerald.

Brad Johnson and Jason Jackson.

Jonathan Blackburn.

Jeremy Martin.
Jim Tremblay and Jason Aycock.

And here he is, ladies and gentlemen--bona fide.
On the way back to Georgia, we were rockin' out to some 90's tunes, including "Africa" by Toto; Babay babay" by Britney Spears; "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilara; "All that She Wants" by Ace of Base; "I'll be Watching You" by the Police; "Summertime" by Will Smith.

The Wilmore week-end was really great. Mom and Dad kept all three boys so that we could take in the full experience, and that we did. I felt God's gentle reminder not to forget the lessons that we learned during Don's time in seminary. Much like he told the Israelites when they were about to cross into the promised land, I felt him telling me to remember His mighty works. It's unbelievable how quickly I forget. Oh Lord, help me to remember! And help me to tell my children, so that they will know of your faithfulness to us.
We spent some quality time with some very dear friends. We appreciate you, and realize what treasures we have in each of you!

SOCCER

2011-05-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

,
There's a Backyardagans song that goes like this:

I'm a soccer monster, I love a soccer ball.
I'd rather play soccer than do anything at all.
SOCCER! Yea 1,2,3,4,
SOCCER! Put the ball on the floor.
SOCCER! Yell it one time more.
SOCCER! Pass, shoot, score. Pass, shoot score.

Well, if you can past the pitiful thought that I have a Nick Jr. cartoon memorized, it's kindof a appropriate for these photo captions. Luke has been a soccer monster this season! They have both done really well. But we have seen Luke really take off with it. It's so fun to watch them play!

Coach Don, handing out the trophies. :)

Easter!

2011-05-23T11:38:00.001-07:00

JD climbing a tree in our backyard (one of Luke's favorite things to do, too!)

Finding Easter baskets on Easter morning:

Dying Easter Eggs.

And here's to the mother of the year: we'll entitle this photo "choking hazard and tantrum alert." Yikes...

They had a great time hunting for eggs. Thanks, Aunt Laura!!

Fun with bubbles

2011-05-23T11:26:00.001-07:00

Ah, the simple joys of life.

Luke's Easter Egg hunt

2011-05-23T11:21:00.001-07:00

Does hunting for eggs ever get old?
Jon David did not have an Easter Egg hunt at his school this year... I guess you do eventually grow out of things like that. Luke seems big in these pics. He had a great time!

Luke's Kindergarten class at Perry Primary: 2011. His teachers have been such a blessing!

Caleb: 22 months

2011-05-23T11:06:00.001-07:00

Well, Caleb is 22 months old. Here are a few pics from his young days of 21 months.

He has really taken off with talking lately. If I ask him a question or tell him we're going to do something, then say "OK?" He will respond with an adorable "K" right back at me. Sometimes, he will even take the trouble of removing his thumb from his mouth in order to articulate. :)
He said "Daw daw" the other day for hot dog. He says "booKKK" for book (extra K emphasis). This is probably because I call them "story bookies" to him. So he might be attempting to say bookie instead of book. He and his two older brothers just spent four days w/Mom and Dad so that Don and I could enjoy Don's graduation week-end in Wilmore. He did great! He bonded with them quickly. He says "juice," and "shoes." For "mine" he says "Minah!" Too funny... but might not be in a few more days... He says "Blankie" for blanket and Cookkkk for cookie. He is really growing up! I think he grew during the four days he spent in Columbus. He will come up and either tug on your pants or push you from behind if he wants you to go somewhere with him. He has a way of communicating without being able to say all of the words that he needs to. He is a trip! Mom and Dad said that one day, they put him down for a nap, and heard him complaining. Finally, Mom went in to check on him, and he had grabbed a few things from the suitcase on the bed by reaching over his crib, and in the best Caleb talk possible, was pointing to the things that he had dropped between his crib and the bed, explaining himself in hilarious gibberish. :) What a blessing to have grandparents close by!!!

He is a riot. We are so blessed to have this little boy in our lives.

He likes getting into my make-up bag...
Some of his favorite toys: cars! :)

Night night, precious one!

Happy birthday, Luke!

2011-05-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

Luke had a great time celebrating turning six.

You get the picture.s.

Who doesn't like opening gifts?

They were all a HIT!

This picture of him hugging Dad is precious to me.

Sometimes, toes just help you read better!
This picture is blurry, but it captures his excitement upon seeing his and JD's joint gift: a basketball goal from Grandma and Grandaddy!!
And needless to say, Caleb was well taken care of too, as always! ;)

Happy birthday, six year old!!

Spring Break trip

2011-05-08T08:11:00.000-07:00

We decided to head South for our Spring Break. The trip started off with Caleb being sick, so instead of spending one night at Grandma and Grandaddy's, we spent two. Here is Caleb, looking pitiful in more than one sense of the word... check out that hat!!

Then, it was off to Rich and Laura's.

We celebrated Luke's birthday three different times this year! He had said that just wanted a family party. It turned out great! Since we traveled during the week before his b-day, everywhere we went, he got to eat cake! Laura made a yummy yellow cake w/chocolate icing, and had a gift for him. He was in hog heaven.

At our next destination: Dan and Mel's, there were cupcakes and another gift!

More fun for Luke James.

Caleb with sweet Colbie!!

And below, a sweet travel moment, from our many hours on the road during our trip. ;)

Can't believe I don't have more pics from Dan and Mel's!! Having too much fun, I guess... ;)

Luke's third party celebration in the next post. Stay tuned.

The ides of March

2011-05-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm a little behind.
In March, Jon David and Luke started Spring soccer back up again. Luke is a soccer stud this year. Last week-end, he scored six goals during one game! I'll try to include some more pictures in another post.

Dan and Mel and fam came to visit us over their Spring Break. So fun! They even came to one of Luke's soccer games. We arrived with strollers and camping chairs in tow. We set up camp on the side lines, and as you can see, enjoyed sitting and watching the game very much. (What can we say: this is what you get when you bring 5 kids to watch a soccer game--especially when it involves two toddlers, and 3 active big kids!)

In other news, Caleb discovered his big toe:
Jon David and Luke are finally coming out of their Calvin and Hobbes stage. We had to just bring it to a halt. But here is a memory of Jon David during his fan hood:

Yes, he is dressed for church here... which does in fact imply what you think: that he read his comic book in church sometimes.
A friend of ours had given us a bagfull of clothes for Jon David. (LOVE hand-me-downs, especially good ones like these!!) There were a few things that fit Luke as well. A real blessing!! They looked handsome in their new shirts, so I took their pic. Which, as it turns out, is a good thing, since we didn't even get an Easter pic this year!! That makes me sad... Although the vests that I put on them were kinda big, and falling off of their shoulders, and their shirts were not tucked in, so I guess it's just as well. But Caleb had a vest on too, and was so cute! Ugh... what can I say. "Yah yah p'eacha' wife..." It's very difficult to find time to do things like take a family portrait on Sunday mornings now.
I am SO thankful, though, for the family background that God has given me. It's really great to have Mom and Dad as a "backdrop" in my mental wanderings. When I am sitting in church, frustrated at having to tell one of the older boys to sit, or be still, or stop being so loud, or stop pulling my dress, or try not to get up again, or stand during a song, or sing during a song, or listen: in my mind, I almost subconsciously go to my childhood with questions such as "I wonder if Mom had to deal with this when we were little?" or "I wonder if she had to get the kids ready all by herself?" or "I wonder if she got frustrated with x,y, or z?" And inevitably, the answer is yes! I am so thankful that God gave me the background that He did, so that I don't feel quite so alone in the battle. It's amazing how God has provided for me, starting long ago, when I had no clue exactly what He was doing. Who knew that God had bottled up my parents' experience as preacher and wife in a bank account for me to withdraw from when I reached adulthood and began to need an anchor in the tossing seas of my negative thoughts? Pretty cool.

Below, Jon David is getting ready to receive an award at his school. (Btw, this event happened in April, I'm pretty sure). He wore "the lone stranger" veggie tales shirt to school that day, and his shoe is untied, which, apparently, is stressing out the kid to the left.

Way to go, JD.
And finally, Caleb and Luke: morning cuddle time. :)

A case for Joab

2011-04-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

Biblical scholars or other amateurs (as I am), welcome.
On Tuesday mornings, I have been attending a Beth Moore bible study at our church. It is the study on the life of David. I have enjoyed it very much.
I would have to say that I am a Beth Moore fan. In fact, during this past week's study, she asks the question "who are your heroes?" And I have decided that she is in my list of peeps.
However, for the first time while doing a study of hers (and I have done several--six to be exact), I took something and went a completely different direction than she did in my head. I have occasionally thought "hmmmm. Not sure I agree w/this..." But this time, I thought I can't go there w/her. It's nothing inflammatory or political. I'll get right to it.
We arrived at the point in David's life when Absalom was pursuing David and had already slept with David's concubines and so basically had usurped the throne.
Many of you will have read the famous battle when Joab thrusts three javelins into Absalom's heart. Absalom was hanging in a tree by his hair. Yes, it's true that David had commanded all three of his generals to be gentle with Absalom (which we assume must mean "please don't kill him") II Sam 18:5. So yes, Joab disobeyed orders. Sometimes I picture Joab as the "You can't handle the truth" guy. You know, the one you want as commander of your army, but when justice catches up with him, well, it doesn't look too good on paper. I mean, come on. It was a lose lose situation. If David had left Absalom alive, what would it have been like? We are not privy to this knowledge obviously. But considering Absalom's track record, and David's track record in acknowledging his sons' track records: it's hard to imagine a real pretty picture. Although maybe David was hoping to finally restore the relationship fully. Who knows?

I'm getting ahead of myself. We come to the place in the story when the report of Absalom's death reaches David. And the famous "Oh Absalom, my son, my son" words are still bone chilling, if not agonizingly painful to read with any imagination at all. "If only I had died instead of you..." we also read (II Samuel 18:33). The king had tremendous remorse over Absalom's death. Well, verses 2 and 3 of II Samuel 19 greet us with an almost Vietnam war soldier type of image. The soldiers learn of the king's grief, and basically put their tails between their legs. Read it for yourself! Their shame hit me like a ton of bricks this time: "the victory... was turned into mourning... The men stole into the city that day as men steal in who are ashamed when they flee from battle."
Enters Joab with a kick in the pants speech for the king. II Samuel 19:5-7. Really, you should go back and read it. "You love those who hate you, and hate those who love you." He tells David that it's clear to him now that David would have preferred for Absalom to live and for all of the soldiers to have died. He also tells him that if he doesn't come out to his men now, then they will have all deserted him by morning.
Unfair, you say? Unmerciful? Perhaps... I don't deny it. But can a case be made for the fact that it was needed? The men needed to hear from David that he appreciated them fighting his enemies, and saving his life! They fought to the death for their king, but felt ashamed. And this, my friends, should not be.

In Beth's commentary, she expresses the following sentiment: "The next time I suffer a painful loss, remind me not to call someone like Joab for a sympathetic ear." She then goes on to compare Joab's speech with the speech that Job's friends gave him, leaving him feeling miserable, alone, and perhaps even guilty (I can imagine) Job 8:4, Job11:16. Wow. Can we not say that we are dealing with two COMPLETELY different situations here? Job had NO guilt that we know of, NO history leading up to the testing that he had to undergo (or if he did, the bible doesn't reveal it to us). David was being pursued by Absalom, who though he was his son by blood, was clearly his enemy in this segment of the story, and by the way, wanted to take the king's life, something which even David himself clearly understood! (II Samuel 16:11). David even talks about being pursued by his enemies in a psalm he writes during this time, Psalm 3! And unfortunately, David is reaping what he had sown... whether it was because of his actions with Bathsheba and Uriah, or because he neglected to console Absalom after the Amnon/Tamar incident.

Let me back up even further. The bible tells us that after Tamar is raped by Amnon, after Absalom takes her in, that the king longs to go to Absalom because he is consoled about Amnon's death. Why doesn't he do anything? This remains a mystery. But would you like to guess who devises a way into David's heart to pluck at his emotions, and help him see that he must invite Absalom back home? Joab. He uses the same story like method that Nathan had used to convict David of his sin of adultery and murder several years prior. The method that Joab uses worked. Now, for some reason, my NIV commentary says that there must have been a political reason for Joab doing this. I don't know. I like to believe that Joab, though power hungry at times, was also one of the people who knew David better than perhaps David would like to admit.
Think about how much Joab and David had been through together. First of all, he was David's nephew: one of three sons born to Zeruiah, David's sister. Now, um, I can relate to Zeruiah. I have three sons, with a wild heart or two or three, and I also have a brother named David--of whom anyone acquainted with him would have to say has a heart after God, much like king David of old. But I digress. Joab, David's nephew, had been army commander for David from the beginning of David's kingship. David seems to have gotten very comfortable with Joab heading out and making war for him against many peoples and nations. There is even an instance when Joab says to David "you need to come claim this city yourself, because if you don't, it will be named after me."
One of the stories that gets to my heart the most is the incident with Bathsheba. David involves Joab in the death of Uriah, and in the process, innocent men die (besides Uriah, who of course, was innocent). Joab instructs his servant that if the anger of the king flares up, the servant is to also tell David that Uriah is dead. Do any of you remember David's response to the news? "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another... Say this to encourage Joab." Wow. Maybe I'm reading way too much into this. I'm sure I am. But Joab saw first hand how evil the king's heart was in that moment. He was one of the few who saw David at his very worst. In fact, when we look at the other "huge sin" that the bible mentions that David committed at the end of II Samuel--the one where he takes the census--Joab is in the middle of this too!! David sends Joab out to count the troops . But this time, Joab tries to refuse. He tries to talk David out of it II Samuel 24: 3. "May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do sudch a thing?" In I Chronicles 21: 6, we learn that Joab decides on his own to not count all of the troups, because David's request "was repulsive to him." Now let me add my own commentary at this point. If Joab were all bad, is it not true that he would have loved to carry out a wicked command such as this one?
In this strange exploring that I have been doing, perhaps I have romanticized Joab for some odd reason. Maybe it's because I like to play devil's advocate sometimes (although I hate that phrase!) But my heart went out to Joab this time. I found myself wanting him to be a good guy so much! But the end of the story... well, as David's life is approaching its end (much to my chagrin), we learn that another of his sons (Adonijah), gets Joab and two other prominent people on his side, and claims the throne. OK, up to this point, I don't think that there is any reason to believe that Joab is going against David. I think maybe he is just being practical (like, David's going to die soon, this is his son, sure, sounds like a plan to me!). Another reason I don't think that Joab is necessarily going against David is because after Nathan and Bathsheeba talk to David, and after Solomon is safely anointed king, the message is brought to Adonijah and his companions, and the bible says that they are "alarmed." True, the alarm could have been caused by just the practicality of the threat of a different claim to the throne. But is there any reason to believe that Joab was going against David?

On David's death bed, he instructs Solomon to pay back Joab for shedding the innocent blood of Abner, son of Ner, and of Amasa (who I think was Joab's cousin).
This is definitely the point at which I run out excuses for Joab. But because I saw a potential shred of good in him at other points of the story, I explored a little further.
First: Abner. There was a strange incident in II Samuel chapter 2 in which Abner (the former commander of now deceased king Saul, now commander of temporary Israelite king Ish-Bosheth) and Joab (David's army commander) meet up at a certain pool of Gibeon with some of their men. Abner suggests that they let some of their men fight. Joab says OK. Many of their men kill each other. "The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David's men." --vs. 17. In the next few verses, Asahel (one of Joab's brothers) chases Abner, and essentially forces Abner to kill him out of self-defense. Joab and Abishai (the two brothers still alive), then chase Abner, but Abner talks them into stopping the violence--which I might argue, Abner started.
If I were defending Joab in court at the trial for him killing Abner (which he does in the following chapter), I would say that 1)Abner started the fight and 2) Joab was avenging his brother Asahel. At one point, the NIV note in my bible says that this is not a valid argument, though, since technically they were not at war I think? But you have to consider that all the Israelites had to go by up to that point was the "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" type of law handed down to them by Moses. Joab didn't trust Abner as David did in chapter three. He saw Abner as a threat. Was this authentic? Were his motives wrong or right? Only God knows.

For the Amasa section, fast forward back to where we started, with the death of Absalom. Joab gives David a kick in the pants, and David begins acting like a king again. One of his first actions is to replace Joab with Amasa, which makes me a little sad for Joab. If David was being purely political (trying to win over the Israelites), that one political move sure stinks for Joab! Just like that, he was fired. Could David have been angry with Joab for killing his son, Absalom? Could he have been irritated at the speech Joab gave him concerning his men? Was David justified in this? Or was he simply acting out of annoyance or practicality. In II Samuel 20:4, David tells Amasa to summon the men of Judah b/c his kindgom is being threatened by a traitor named Sheba. For some reason, vs. 5: "...when Amasa went to summon Judah, he took longer than the time the king had set for him." And there is no more explanation than that. As a result, Abishai and Joab's men are sent out under the command of Abishai (Joab's brother). Amasa comes to meet them (vs. 6) and then Joab kills him... Definitely a crime. I wish he hadn't done that.

I'll say this for David. That he is tremendous hero of mine. How many people do you know are very good looking, a super star writer and singer, a braveheart warrior, and yet dedicate every last bit of that talent to God!? God owned him. He had moments of straying away, but his heart remained unadulterated because of his passion and dedication and love for the Father.
Now, for those of you who know extremely talented people, or artsy people, etc... well, such talents don't come from the scientific or mathematical or logical side of the brain, you know what I'm sayin?. Just think about what the results would have been if David had taken a personality test. I imagine that he was outgoing, but perhaps just a little dramatic and impulsive too. The story of David's mighty men risking their lives to get him a drink of water cracks me up --well, kinda. In II Samuel 23: 15, David says "Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water...!" And then, when he has the drink, he won't drink it b/c he recognizes that they risked their lives. OK, now, if I were one of those men, I picture myself in slow motion as he pours the water out (vs. 16) on the ground going "noooooooooooooooooooooooo!" God knows David's heart, and it was probably a really noble kingly thing to do, but my practical side says "dude, drink the water." All this to say, that David was a bit of a drama queen, don't you think? In a good way, of course. ;)
So, back to Joab. He was kinda the Jacopo from Count of Monte Cristo, the Jessep from A Few Good Men (Jack Nicholson): rough around the edges, but I think there was some good in there somewhere. He tended to be there one to do David' dirty work, when it needed to be done. And frankly, that's how I tend to see Absalom's death. But perhaps God doesn't see it that way. I want to be careful with my feelings and thoughts, because I am so incredibly human, and He is so incredibly God.
Unfortunately, things didn't end up so well for Joab at his death. Solomon had him killed. Interestingly, Joab chose to die in the tent of the Lord. Lord, have mercy on his soul. God knows best, thank goodness. Better than Solomon, David, and especially me!

One of my favorite Joab quotes:
"Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him." II Samuel 14: 14. Technically, a woman spoke these words, but look hahhhdahhh (to quote the rafiki from the lion king). Verse 19 last sentence reveals that these were the words of Joab.
I believe that there is truth in that quote. Only God decides a person's ultimate fate. God knew both David and Joab's hearts. He saw everything visible and invisible that went on inside of them.
A strange intrigue about Joab. It was kinda fun digging around in centuries old writings to see the pages come alive. Let me know if you have any such experiences. I'd like to share them with you.

A blog emergency

2011-04-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I have one of those days when I think I can't believe this is happening and I don't want to forget it! Yesterday and today both had such elements, so here's what happened.

First: it was after school. I think it was while Jon David was eating a snack (see, I'm already forgetting details!) Jon David told me that he had made a new friend, whose name was AnnaBelle. This intrigued me for obvious reasons, so I asked him to tell me how he made this new friend. He said that he was swinging on the swing set, and she came and started swinging too. She started to make a singing noise "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa", and Jon David started teasing her by saying things like "do you wanna nuckle sandwich, cause I'm about to make a delivery?" and something else kinda clever that I have already forgotten. He said that she kept on doing it, and he kept on telling her to quit. I said "and then did she quit?" He said no, that she just kept on giving him that smile like she was going to do it again. And he said that he liked that smile. Sweet boy. I feel the need to interject at this point that according to JD, there are several boys in his class that have gotten to where they "like" a girl this year... But he says that he doesn't want to play with them when they chase girls for girl friend reasons.
Later that evening, at dinner, Don asked JD and Luke if they liked to sing (I had told Don that it bothers me that they don't really sing in church). Jon David simply said that when he sings and hears the sound of his own voice, it sounds so good, that it embarrasses him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) So that is why he doesn't sing. Priceless!

This morning, at breakfast, Jon David burst out with "why does a man have to marry a woman?" After asking him a clarification question, he said "why do they have to wait until they get married to have a baby?" I looked at both of my older boys and I said "I'm going to tell you the truth. You don't have to get married to have a baby. Some people chose to do this before they get married. But God doesn't want them to."
Wait for it. And here it is: He then asked me "how does it happen?" I clarified by asking if he meant "How do they have a baby?" "Yes" was the answer.
Well, I said, "I'm not going to explain everything to you because it would probably gross you out." I asked them if they had noticed that boys and girls' bodies are different. After identifying a body part--or two, I just basically said that when a man and woman kiss together (a phrase that JD and Luke sometimes use to refer to kissing), sometimes they do other things too, and that's how the seed gets to be there. He also asked if this was why a friend that he knew got a divorce. At this point, I went to get Don (who had just gotten out of the shower). Keep in mind that we are barely starting the day here! You NEVER know when kids are going to ask tough life questions. Don helped clear up the divorce confusion. Jon David is so smart. I wonder if he suspected that this friend had something happen involving the whole "outside of marriage thing." So Don explained that this was true. That is what happened (an affair--in adult language). Jon David decided that he does not want to get a divorce. Praise God! Oh Lord, protect my boys, give them all three godly spouses. Who knew that before 8:00 A.M., we would have a brief sex talk and explain what an affair was!!!???

This brings me to today at lunch (all these things happened in a matter of 24 hours! I realize I'm being a little dramatic here, but still).
I brought Caleb home from Ladies' class today, and he was hungry. I put his lunch in the microwave, and when I went to retrieve it, he started making blowing noises with his mouth (something that he has picked up on since I do it to cool his food down). He went over to the table, and I helped him into his chair. When I brought the food over, he had his little head bowed, and his hands scrunched up to his forehead, and was mumbling something. I prayed for the food and said amen. "Men" he said. Love being a mom on days like these. This is the good stuff.

And Luke James. Within the past couple of weeks, he has learned to ride a bike w/o training wheels, turned six, and informed me today that he has gone a record 17 days without putting his hands in his pants! (gotta love boys)
Posts on our Spring break trip and his birthday party are still to come!
Here are a few sneak peak pics. More details later.

In other news, this is often what happens to my make-up when I'm trying to get ready for the day:
Sweet sleeping baby:

And here, well, what can we say? There may or may not have been a chocolate cupcake involved:
(This was at Dan and Mel's house over Spring Break. Again: more details to come.)

Facebook depression

2011-04-05T11:28:00.001-07:00

A guy who goes by Chris J the genius wrote an article recently asking the question Can Facebook cause depression. Laura brought this to my attention over Spring Break. I have been intrigued by it ever since, and decided to go and look at the article myself.
YES would be my immediate answer to the title question. Why would I say yes? First of all, because I have felt depressed during my occasional-if-not-sometimes-more-frequent-than-I-would-like-to-admit-FB usage. And because several people that I know have had some depressed or injured feelings due to FB as well. And the reasons vary! For most, it's the classic why them and not me sensation. And we're talking anywhere from look at their pictures! They are having so much fun, I wish my life was fun like theirs... to "So and So" hung out with HER? Why wasn't I invited?... to "Dude... she has twice as many friends as I have!" and not to exclude "How did she just get 177 comments? I only get 2 or 3 at the most..."
The article speaks mostly to teens. Which I find interesting. We are struggling with what teenagers struggle with. Always have. Think about it. We all still want to be the "it girl." I still wanna look cute, be liked, raise a family, and stay in shape all at the same time! And facebook is certainly not to blame for our insecurities. But it can definitely exacerbate them.
I knew someone in the not-so-distant past who had to hide friends because of feelings of jealousy and inadequacy due to facebook. I myself have taken breaks, or even avoided looking at certain photos for similar reasons. By the way, blogging is very much the same.
The irony is, many of us want to portray the exact same image that causes us so much grief!! It's almost like, without realizing it, we want other people to experience the same jealousy that we experience! Only, we want them to feel that way about US.
I don't know. Maybe sometimes we just want to remember the good times. I imagine that mostly, our motives for posting adorable or insanely fun pics are innocent... still. It's food for thought.
I have a lot of respect for people who are willing to be real. My sis-in-law Mel is a great example of this. Thanks, M!
If only we could finally learn the lesson that our mothers and youth ministers kept trying to implant into our brains when we were 15: it's only what God thinks that matters!! And if only we would spend more time listening to Him and delaying our gratification for immediate approval... Relationship with God requires stillness. I'm not sure that FB was designed to help keep us still.
Having said this, I like facebook. And I probably will still keep trying to post cute pics. :)
I think like most things in life, it can be used for good or bad. The point is: use it, don't abuse it.

Well, that was a nice little sermonette. OK, so now, I'm going to see if I get any comments. Heehee.

Joshua 14: 11 and 12

2011-03-06T18:13:00.000-08:00

"Caleb requires energy" is an understatement. The boy is on the move almost all of the time. He LOVES to be outside. He wants to play ball with me, kicking it up and down the street. He loves wrestling with Daddy and Jon David and Luke. During the day, when it's just me and him, he follows me around the house, either getting into what I'm doing, playing with something else in the room, or pulling on my pant leg, loudly complaining about his need--whatever that might be (often, he just wants to go back outside). He is very vocal about his unhappiness and desires. Unfortunately, he is not yet old enough to enunciate what those wants are. Meal times are no exception. He often reaches for a variety of items at the family dinner table. Eventually, he wants down, and meanders over to my chair, and pulls at me until I get up. He then climbs up in my seat and enjoys whatever he can find on the table (that I cannot get to fast enough...). Relaxing? Enjoyable? These are NOT words to describe eating with Caleb Thomas.
Recently, the constant creation of messes and interruptions of my activities and nagging, pulling, fussing, and well, just plain belligerence, got to me. And I had a thought that I believe God may have used to encourage me. I had been reading in Joshua, and came to chapter 14. This is when Caleb comes to Joshua and says (I'm skipping around in verses 6-12): "You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God...about you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. ... I, ... followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years.... So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day.... the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said."

I couldn't help but wonder what kind of toddler this Caleb might have been? The thought makes me smile. Maybe my Caleb will become great like his namesake. Do you believe that a name can impact a person?

Recently, Jon David, Caleb and I were outside enjoying puddles on rainy day:

And then, randomly, Jon David asked me to take a picture for his album cover??!! Evidently, he's coming out with a new CD. Um. Wow. Not sure who all's in the band. But, check it, homies:

OH, and then all cool factor is put aside as he dons his dance move (learned from Daddy!)

Below are some Caulley boy moments, for your pleasure. ;)

"Sitting on the back porch with Daddy:"

"Sittin' in front of the tube:"

"Morning cuddle time:"

And well, my man:
Let's just go ahead and cover the cheese: "Handsome!!" and "I love this man!"

First Perry Post!

2011-02-15T10:23:00.001-08:00

About three years ago, "Fireproof" came out at the theater. Don and I were living in Colorado. We took a date night and went to see it. I loved it. I loved that it made it to the big screen, despite the lack of big time Hollywood features. I loved the message that it sent, albeit dorky at times.
I also really enjoyed feeling like I was back home in a sense. There is something about the way people live in the South that is unique. "Duh," you say. Well, OK. But when you are so used to it, you forget that certain mannerisms, accents, and ways of life are original.
Living in Colorado for a couple of years was enough to do two things for us (among many). First: we fell in love with the Colorado landscape (who wouldn't!!?). Second: we realized that we missed the South! Yes, we missed the "y'all", the buffalo style chicken wings, Alabama football (can you believe I'm saying this?), and even the weather (yep). I remember watching that movie and feeling a pang of homesickness at the drawl in their voices, even the houses and neighborhoods. The house that the main characters lived in reminded me so much of my parents' home in Georgia. I don't know, there was just something distinguishably southern about it. It was official. I missed the South.
Over the course of the next few yrs, Don and I both nursed a longing to return "home." Incidentally, I just finished reading a book called "Longing For a Homeland." I recommend it. I enjoyed it very much. For me, it gave some meaning to my feelings of homesickness. I get very nostalgic from time to time, for a variety of places from my youth (and Chi-hi-hildhood--that was for you, Mom--Sound of Music).
Living in Kentucky, although closer to the South, is still not what some consider the "true South". The good thing is that there are no red necks--WRONG! Haha. We actually liked the red neck qualities to good ole Nicholasville and Wilmore. We fit right with our banged up Jeep repaired a la duct tape, our older van with a few dents, and our front yard littered with boys' toys on hot summer days. I digress: although you can find Sonny's BBQ and Chick Fil A, winters in KY can be pretty brutal, and frankly, when you think that it's only a short trip from Cincinatti, well, it doesn't exactly make you feel like crankin' your country tunes, you know what i'm sayin'?

However, during the final leg of our seminary journey -- you know, the part where we had no idea where God was leading us, when I felt like Indiana Jones stepping out into nothingness and having nothing but a grain of mustard seed of belief in God that He was bringing us to just the right place, yea, that part -- we decided that it was time to put our yearnings to return South behind us. After all, we literally had no idea where God was going to put us, and so it seemed detrimental to continue to hope too specifically.

OK, well, I guess you all know where I'm going with this, so I'll get right to the point: It's so good to be back!! In many ways, God gave us the desires of our hearts.
Our house is in an older neighborhood. There are many trees (so far, pine trees are the main ones I recognize, since the others are not yet in bloom, and I have no agricultural background). Our neighbors are very nice. And the high school is walking distance from our house. Sometimes, when I drive the boys to or from school, we will see the sports teams out practicing on either the football or baseball fields. We have already talked about going to see some high school games this year. Can't wait! We are at the beginning stages of discovering Perry. But so far, we like it a lot!!
One of the best parts about being here is proximity to family. For those of you reading this blog who are far away from family... I have been there... Please don't take this as an "in your face." On the contrary, I know how it feels... to an extent. I debated about whether to even include this portion in the post, but then I feel an obligation to just express how thankful I am. And I am: truly thankful.

Here are a few updates on the children. We'll go in birth order. :)
Jon David was in a school play a couple of weeks ago. He came home from school one day before the performance, very excited about his part. He had one line, and was given permission to make his own dance moves! Haha! Has he forgotten his CoC background? ;)
Anyway, it was hilarious. Mom came up, and we went together. Bless his sweet seven and a half year old heart. He was a little reserved at first; he forgot when to say his two word "line" ; and he had to go to the bathroom towards the end!!! (why, oh why did I not remember to have him go before we left!!?). But what he was most upset about was that there was a mix up at the end of the performance, and he could not find me or Mom! :( I felt really bad about that. By the time he got to us, he was pretty upset. Having said this, the bulk of the play went well, and he was jammin' with the dance moves! I was cracking up. I guess he was one of about a fifth of the group (maybe less?) who were dancing down front. Hilarious! He even did one of Don's crazy moves that he taught him. I was cracking up, and loving it!
Here is the photographic evidence. ;)

True confession: I was having flash backs from the Central High school pep rallies, w/all of the kids dancin' on the bleachers... oh dear. There were probably about a hundred kids on the stage w/JD that night.Above: the move that Don taught him. Kinda hard to describe. We'll just call it the Caulley move.
I can just hear Will Smith telling this white boy to quit biting his lip!

And then, there's the classic: Walk like an Egyptian.

One day last week, I picked him up from school, and he immediately began telling me about an interaction he had with a classmate named Brendan. He said that they were playing football at recess, and he tackled Brendan, and that made Brendan mad. Brendan kept trying to get back at Jon David after that, and Jon David avoided him. Finally, Brendan caught him unawares, and jumped on Jon David's back. Jon David said that he (JD) started crying, and wasn't sure what to do, so he decided to take a while to think about what he should do next. Finally, he said, he decided that it was time for "payback." Yikes, I thought. Well, he came up on Brendan, and tackled him again. Brendan seemed upset. Jon David said that he realized that his plan didn't work, so he told Brendan that he was sorry, and Brendan apologized too! Ha! Have you ever in your life?
Jon David proceeded to come home, and make a comic strip out of his adventure from the day. Can you guess the title of his comic strip? "Dr. Payback." He drew on many sheets of notebook paper, and stapled it together. I should state that another source of inspiration here is the famous Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, which he has been feeding himself a heavy diet of ever since he got a hold of the books that Don has -- on loan from Grandaddy. He has been reading them faithfully every night before he goes to bed. This morning, he even brought one out to read before school, but he didn't have time.
Here are some samples from his writing. Yes, we'll sell copies for $50.00 a piece. JK

Below, the bubble in the top left should read: "let's finish this!" Which is what he said at one point. Forgot to mention that. What a kid. ;)

Luke: A couple of wks ago, he told me that a kid in his class named Xavier (what a cool name!) asked him if he would like to be his friend. Luke responded that he was hoping that they could be friends. AWWW! ;) It has been an adjustment for Luke to go to school for seven hours. In Kentucky, his half day program was only three hours! At first, he would say that he missed me. But he is doing much better now, and his teachers brag on him, which makes me feel good, of course. He is precious, as always.
Yesterday was Valentine's day, and he said that his favorite valentine that he received at school was the one he made for himself with his own Sports card valentines! Hilarious. The kid loves him some basketball.
He is one of the most compliant kids I have ever known. Rarely will he express jealousy over a prize that Jon David has received at school. He is good at sharing, and likes making peace. Having said that, he also is fiercely competitive, and is not shy either about expressing himself if he is not in the mood to bend to the force of a certain older brother.

The move was kinda hard on Caleb. I think in general, transition times are hard on babies, because they keep having to change routines. He is a typical toddler, getting into everything. But he is adjusting very well to our new surroundings. He does well in the church nursery (after initially making me feel kinda bad for dropping him off. :(
He is pretty much down to one nap a day(wouldn't you know it, the day that I'm typing this, he only slept for 45 min this morning!!! So I hope he takes a second nap at some point today!).
He runs around everywhere, loves to go outside, push the garage door button, attempt the tricycle (though it's still a little too tricky for him). He LOVES Jon David and Luke, wrestling with Daddy, cuddling with Mommy, watching TV... Poor guy, we sit in the car lane for up to an hour most week-days while we wait to pick up JD and Luke at two separate schools! The life of a third kid... Overall, he is a joy, and I find myself thanking God for my "special gift" so much! I call him that because all of my children are that to me, and because he is my last, and since Don and I had talked in the past about if we might want to stop at two, I appreciate this time with him a whole lot.
He doesn't talk a whole lot yet, but is good at making his opinions known! He says bye bye, Me (for Mommy), "uh oh", "dah!" (for Daddy), "deh" (which I'm pretty sure means "there", you know, like when he is giving me something, or trying to get a toy just right, etc...). He also rattles off a lot of babble that often sounds like (dadadada, dis, tuh tuh, etc...).

As for Don and me, well, we both feel like in many ways, that we have crossed over into the promised land. We realize that just like the Israelites, there may yet be battles to fight, but man, was it worth the wait! I am thrilled to see what God is doing, and I am so excited that I get to be a part of it! We absolutely love being here so far. I pray that God will continue to bless our family, bless our children and keep close watch over them at school, give them godly friends, help them to be a friend to the friendless. Praise God for his faithfulness.

To end this post, I am pasting some lyrics here from a song by Russ Lee. I heard this on the radio this morning on the way to Ladies' class, and thought how fitting.

I smile when I think about
The way You've turned my life around
I smile when I think about
The happiness in You I've found
I'm so amazed at what Your love has done
And when I think the best is yet to come
I smile!
I smile!

Wandering the dark
Lost in the confusion
I thought I was losing my mind for sure
I searched with all my heart
Looking for direction
Something to believe in
And there You were
And You were reachign down to me
You were everything I needed
I'm so glad You found me, Lord

'Cause You've turned all my gray skies
To the brightest blue, yes, You did
And my life feels like sunshine
And it's because of You
All because of You.. I smile

Grandma and Grandaddy's!

2011-02-11T11:05:00.000-08:00

"You'll shoot your eye out!"
;) (quote from "A Christmas Story").

Zidon Avisha -- professional

2011-02-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

Although Jenny Forrest Dixon doesn't call herself a professional, our family is very grateful for the wonderful photographer that she is and for the pictures that she took of all of us during our Christmas vacation. These are cherished memories.

www.jennypicturesthis.blogspot.com is her web site. If you scroll down to her second most recent entry (or maybe third depending on how soon you check) you will see that our fam made her blog! ;)

(the Christmas scooters :)

End of Zidon Avisha

2011-02-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

Caroline!

Daddy time.
Caleb with crazy hair! Makes his odd nickname "flam-a-row" seem appropriate somehow.
Girl time!

Below: Caleb playing peek-a-boo:

Temporary Good-bye to Sarah and Chris... who are currently on a 6 wk trip in Africa!!

And Mel with the newest Jones addition: Colbie Jean! Otherwise known as "Jeaner Beaner Ever Seen 'er." And yes, just typing that out makes me hum the little hum that goes along with it. Ha!

Zidon Avisha

2011-02-01T17:21:00.000-08:00

Warning: Warning for what? Well, if you can make it to the bottom of this post without getting carpel tunnel from scrolling down the length of pictures, then never mind. The sad part is that this is only part one of the Zidon Avisha report! At what point does it become a documentary?

What did we do for the actual Christmas holiday, you ask? We were not in Kentucky. We were not in Georgia. We were in Alabama! Oh yes, my friends. We are fond of being On The Road Again Caulleys.
Seriously, it was a great time. What did we do? Well, a lil' of this:

And a lil' o that:

My Aunt Laura holding Caleb!
And now for the Christmas Eve celebration:

Christmas Eve pajamas!!

A very cool rendition of Jesus' birth story from memorized scripture--by my bro, Dan. Impressive, and inspirational.

And the reading of "The Night Before Christmas", of course!

I was just as riveted as I was at the age of five. lol

...Christmas morning!

Scooters!

Another Santa request... the Wii music game. ;)

More miscellaneous fun.

I believe I failed to introduce Emory: Aunt Sarah and Uncle Chris super friendly dog! Caleb LOVED Emory.

Above: Uncle Dean and me!
Below: a memory of Dad's sacrifice. Dad, you're a champ. ;)

Caleb and Mimomo!
Merry late Christmas everyone!

Christmas at BePops' and Mimomo's

2011-02-01T17:15:00.001-08:00

The boys' enjoyed their gifts very much!

It's pretty neat to see them get so excited when they get what they really wanted. Jon David had asked Santa for this.

A lego pyramid game. It's pretty neat. He has enjoyed it quite a bit.

Wilmore remnants...

2011-01-26T07:32:00.001-08:00

Our last few days in Wilmore consisted of packing up all of our belongings, AGAIN, and of wonderful friends reaching out over and over again: from watching our children, to inviting us over for dinner, or bringing us dinner, to giving gifts, to just hanging out one last time before our departure.

We miss you all so much!
I like this pic below, even though it's not the most flattering of Luke. One: because his good buddy is in the pic with him (trying to keep the name safely undisclosed in cyberspace. ;)
And two: because behind them is the backdrop of that point in our lives. Our belongings were packed, but we still weren't sure WHERE the final destination would be.

Might I interject at this point that the boys were pretty much oblivious to the stress or concern that their parents may or may not have had. Yes, they were praying right along with us, that God would move us to the right place, and yes, they were sad to leave their friends... but they were also just excited for the adventure, and along for the ride (like Dory--from "Finding Nemo" inside the whale "whee!!!" when Marlin was super stressed about how to get out.)

In the midst of the craziness, Santa made an early delivery (we were super excited about the after Thanksgiving sale price on this baby!). And how convenient of Santa to deliver one of their Christmas list items right before our trip! Especially one that would help entertain on such a long trip down South! Santa is such a thoughtful guy.

We kept trying to tell Jon David that the chance of them getting a DS was very slim.

You can imagine their surprise!

The celebratory dance:

Christmas blessing

2011-01-20T08:23:00.000-08:00

On December 22nd, 2010, Jon David was baptized. He has been talking to us about doing this for a long time. Don and I have hesitated quite a bit, mostly because of his young age. We prayed for wisdom, and sought advice. But Jon David continued to bring it up. We finally decided that we did not want to keep him from it any longer. Don and Jon David prayed about it, and talked about it together. Don asked him some questions, and read some scriptures with him.
In the midst of our life transitions, we asked Jon David if he would like to get baptized at Chattahoochee Valley church, since we would be stayed with Mom and Dad for a while in December. He was very excited.

He took the whole thing very seriously. I would catch him during the day, just sitting and thinking. He seemed to be pondering the event and preparing himself. I love that boy.

There was that one moment when I remembered: well, he is still seven years old, and his hyper personality came out for a brief second. *sigh* and chuckle. ;) But he quickly regained composure. Don didn't even notice. The moment lasted as briefly as it will take you to see the following pic. In fact, the only reason I got it on camera was because I was just trying to snap several shots, and when my finger hit the button, this is what he did. It cracked me up so much, because it is so Jon David. Oh God, take this little boy, and make of him what you will.

God bless you. Happy re-birthday, precious treasure!

The story

2011-01-02T18:03:00.000-08:00

Two years ago, God called Don, Jon David, Luke, and me to go away from our home in Castle Rock, CO to Wilmore, KY so that Don could attend Asbury Seminary. We packed up all of our belongings and headed to Kentucky in one of the worst snow and ice storms that Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky had known for quite some time. God allowed my morning sickness to subside and guided our two cars safely across... He parted the Red Sea for us, You might say. We arrived in Wilmore to an apartment with working electricity--though the buildings on either side of us, and many houses on our new street did not have working electricity because of the storm.
Also, because of all of the snow days taken in Wilmore, Jon David hardly missed any school at all! God gave him a wonderful teacher in a wonderful school, walking distance from our house--the playground visible from our front door!
But despite the triumph of the trip, a desert feeling slowly settled in upon us like a sticky blanket. Don was not able to get a job. The weather was cold, wet, and rainy. Like any new place, we didn't know a lot of people. It took time to settle in. The weight of our financial situation also settled in upon us. We had two children, and one on the way.
Some smaller details included finding out that I would be a 3 boys Mom (after having prayed for a girl, though I LOVE my 3 boys now!!!!), and finding out that I had gestational diabetes.
But just as God provided water from a rock for the Israelites, He provided for us in amazing ways. Our landlord had a 3 bedroom/2 bath house come available to us just wks before Caleb's due date. Gestational diabetes turned out to be a blessing b/c of how healthy I was forced to eat, and I felt more energetic. The move to the next house in Wilmore was the smoothest one we've ever had. And the YMCA gave us an incredible deal on a summer pool membership and swim lessons for both boys.
The events surrounding Caleb's birth are amazing too. God provided Don and me with one last date before baby boot camp. Our friends Zoe and John were watching Jon David and Luke for us, and we let them spend the night sort of a last minute decision! Caleb started his dramatic entry into the world that very night--the first time we had let JD and Luke spend the night with a friend--and in our new town of Wilmore! And with the very people we wanted to have on call for this sort of situation.
Labor was only a few hours long, but was difficult. Don prayed. Caleb came. Don and I sat in the hospital at 7:00 A.M. together, holding our baby, 9 days before his due date, w/o anyone else knowing yet... Nancy Shirey, my midwife, was another huge blessing, helping me to position myself different ways to allow Caleb to come. And there he was, perfect and normal in every way--thank You, Lord!!
Because of another twist of events, Mom was able to come and stay with us for 3 whole wks after Caleb's birth!! It was a precious time. She took the older two to school, cleaned, cooked, held Caleb, spent time w/Don and me... amazing. After her departure, we slowly began to find a routine, only to be thrown off kilter by Caleb contracting RSV in October. Besides emotional, physical, and mental stress, this cost us several trips to the ER and Doctor's office and pharmacy--draining a large chunk out of our finances. Each of the rest of our family members took turns getting a variety of viruses throughout the fall. Christmas time offered us a respite from the onslaught of sickness.
The year 2010 started off with a bang: Caleb scared us in the night waking us with strange shrieks and a listless body. Panicked, we dialed 911. A trip to the hospital in an ambulance only revealed constipation... Though it was a reassuring diagnosis, the event slashed into our savings even more. We continued in our mediocre health, with a trip to the ER for Luke once--afraid he might have meningitis. Relieved and thankful for good news once again, the trailing bills back lashed us with more monetary demands. Caleb totaled 4 ear infections by the end of the Spring of 2010.
As an important aside, the year 2010 began with bad news about my precious mother-in-law, Wendy, as far as physical health--the details of which, frankly, are still causing fresh surges of pain at the thought.
Our house in Colorado went back on the market in March, after a yr of good renters -- thank You, Lord! As the summer drew near once again, we began to see the bottom of our monetary barrel -- which we could now see had started off with a wonderful amount--enough for me to have stayed home with the children, and Don to go to school full time -- with some loans to compensate the gaps. Nevertheless, we continued to pay our rent and mortgage every month...
I received an image of God guiding me by the hand. I was blindfolded. He was not allowing me to see yet where we were going. He only wanted me to know that He is my leader.
At times, Don and I both lost hope simultaneously. There was one time in particular that I hit rock bottom: Caleb continued to have rough nights, leaving Don and me in an exhausted stupor. I lashed out at God. I became angry and bitter. I wanted to give up. No longer did I want to be brave, patient, perseverant, or Proverbs 31 like. I remember feeling so calloused at breakfast that morning, saying that "I hate our stupid life." Don said that it was bad when both of us were upset at the same time. I said well, I guess God's just going to have to do something, then isn't He?
It was an awful time for me--probably the time in my life that I have felt the furthest from Him. I felt hurt, abandoned by Him. And then a new morning came, and I thought about what I had done. I repented, begging Him for forgiveness, and asking for His mercy.
Gently, tenderly, in the way that only He can, He has restored me to Himself.

In the midst of these spiritual and emotional journeys, Don and I began thinking about moving back to CO. Don had a particularly spiritual experience one night, leaving him wondering if we were suppose to move back. Relief flooded us as we drank in the idea. We wouldn't have to worry about selling our house anymore! We could be back with our friends and neighbors that we missed. The idea seemed too good to be true: all we needed was for Don to find a job. We shared the news with friends and family. Many offered to help. Time passed--and no possibilities arose job-wise. It seemed too strange that there wouldn't be a single opportunity -- could this be God again? In the mean time. Our Campus minister @ church recommended Don to a search committee that he knew of looking for a minister in KY. I struggled to shift my mind back away from the possibility of returning to CO.
And then Don took a trip to Israel with his Dad. It was a wonderful time for them, and for me, too, staying with my Mom and Dad. The boys and I were well taken care of, and enjoyed good health.
But upon their return, we all learned of Wendy's increasing difficulties, making us desirous to move close to them. There were now three states that we were heavily considering living in : CO, KY, and GA.
Don's hometown seemed like a good place to live, and an easy place for him to find a job -- especially considering all of his family connections. But once again, God seemed to be closing that door. Even more oddly than the door closing to CO, the door to GA seemed to be closing, too -- no job possibilities. Our morale was low. It was difficult to trust God. I remember praying with Don one night, and seeing in my closed eyes: the image of a man riding a horse. He seemed to be shining and firey (sp?) at the same time. But I was not afraid. There was darkness all around, and I don't remember understanding how far away the man was from me. But I received a feeling of deliverance. To this day, I'm not sure how to interpret it. My first reaction was to take it to be for Don's sweet mother. But I'm unsure if that's accurate, or what that would even look like.
So we receive a phone call from the KY church, interested in Don. Presently, this was our only option. It was looking more and more attractive. We gave up the idea of moving before Don's fall term was completed.
Our house in Colorado rented in late August on a month to month basis, steering us further away from the road back out west.
The semester progressed with joy and healing in the midst of waiting. Don and I realized what wonderful friends God had surrounded with in wonderful Wilmore, KY. Throughout our desert experience, God had provided us with manna from heaven -- just as He had provided his people, the Israelites, with manna from heaven, all those years ago.
God gave me an amazing fusion group -- a group of seminary wives with whom I met monthly, to live life with, pray together, and encourage each other. We received meals, phone calls, dinner invites. We learned more about living in a community. The Asbury seminary Spouse and Family Ministry was a real blessing--offering events and date nights with free childcare provided! I was able to go to chapel with Don some, exercise some, go to communion with other ladies, etc...
Southside Church of Christ was a real vessel for God's manna too. Immediately after we placed membership, Caleb came, and we were provided with 3 wks worth of meals! Some brought gifts as well. We were overwhelmed with their generosity. But this was just the beginning of their loving hearts. Sunday after Sunday, they cared for our children and taught them valuable lessons in Sunday school.
During the summer, Jessamine county offered free lunches to all children in the area who lived there. All we had to do was show up at a selected location, right there in Wilmore, to receive the food. Both boys qualified for free lunches or breakfast while they attended school there.
One day I received 3 boxes in the mail: each containing new-like clothes for Caleb. But not just cute clothes: I'm talking Gymboree and Baby Gap brand stuff! One of Don's generous friends from his hometown had decided to freely give us all of her little boys' clothes that he had outgrown. They were in such good shape, and such good quality!
I chuckled to myself as I realized the irony of Caleb being our best dressed baby -- while we were in our most humble of living conditions! Isn't that so like God? Not only does he want to take care of us, but He wants to take care of us Lavishly!!!
And WIC--a blessing.
Medicaid: HUGE blessing.
2 more excellent teachers for JD and Luke!
Super random: I had always wanted my refrigerator to have organized looking magnetic frames for my photos. And one day, a dear friend just handed me a bag full! Ha! God is amazing. He will take care of every detail!
I finally began to learn that God does provide. He will provide. I believe it.
Early in the summer, I longed to grow my faith in God, to restore our relationship. I posted a question on FB randomly asking how to get a hold of a video study. And old college acquaintance suggested that I contact my church. I had been hoping to do the Believing God study by Beth Moore.

So I called the Southside Church office and asked if they had any Beth Moore studies.
"There's one here he said... Believing God," it's called. Are you smiling yet? :) God is truly amazing.
One day I received an e-mail from Spouse and Family telling about a seminary student wanting to cook a meal for a couple for free as a date. I was the second to respond, but she insisted, so Don and I received a succulent dinner by candlelight one evening. Lavishly, I tell you, lavishly, does He give.
I feel the tears behind my eyes as I think of the names of our friends and family supporting us through these times, offering prayers, words of encouragement, watching our children... manna from heaven.
One day, Don came home from class, and told me about a really great talk he had with one of his professors... encouraging him to do Phd work. Other friends had encouraged him in this arena. It took me about 12 hrs, but I finally lost it. How could Don be doing this to? I was so done being flexible and brave. I wanted to step off of this train. I realized for the the first time a sad truth about myself: I had come to desire what I viewed as stability in my life enough to make me want to deviate from God's will. This grieved me tremendously.
Don explained, that of course, his desire was in no way to rock my world. But because of the uncertainty of our situation, he felt the need to explore all options. He was right, of course, and I began to come around.
Throughout our adventure, I can see that God has strengthened tremendously my marriage with Don. One time, Don talked about us charging through life together. I love that image.
So he took the GRE, and we began looking at web sites: Baylor... Notre Dame... and others...
It's like that day when a bully threw me in the deep end of the swimming pool when I was very small. I thought that I might die right then and just go on to heaven. I didn't even try to swim. I completely gave up and waited--which was the best hing that I could have done, because I floated to the top.
Time passed, and we began not to feel right about Phd school. Partly because of the progression of a job possibility not too far from Wilmore.

Mom and Dad came for a visit and for part of Mom's b-day celebration. Soon afterwards, Don was asked to come for an interview with the church in Ky interested in him. We loaded up and went as a family.
Shortly before the interview, Don informed me about a job posting on the ATS website for a ministry position at a church in Perry, GA. Random, I thought, and not likely -- the location is too good to be true, for one thing (close to family, and all).
Shortly after the interview though, he was asked to come interview with the church in Perry.
The feeling that we experienced after the interview was, well, good. Really good. Dare we hope?...

Rich and Laura arrived for the Thanksgiving celebration.

We had decided to go ahead and move in w/Mom and Dad at the end of the year if we did not have a job by then. So as soon as Caulley Thanksgiving came to end, it would be full fledged packing time @ our house.

Don got a call the day our family arrived. Good news. He had been selected to come preach on the 19th. After enjoying Thanksgiving with family, we began packing.
We were reminded once gain of our deluge of blessings as friends helped us pack, watched our children, cooked us meals, gave us gifts, and prayed for us. Our cup overflowed, and so did our tears. I am so tempted to list names here. Thank you all soooo much!! From the bottom of our hearts. My prayer is that 1: You will receive at least a hundred fold what you gave to us, and 2: that we will pass along the blessings that we have received to spread God's love wherever He so choses. I've never been crazy about chain letters or chain recipes or whatever. But this kind of chain, I can do!!!
The morning of our departure from Wilmore, there was a sheet of ice covering the ground, and both vehicles. Don and I had to walk gingerly on our driveway in the dark to get the children and ourselves to the car. It was very cold--obviously, and it snowed on us for the first portion of the trip. By the time we got to TN, ice chunks were flying off of us onto the road behind. I prayed that God would protect us and the other drivers. Do these driving conditions sound familiar? The thaw was full on by the time we reached the Southern TN border. Kinda like when Aslan came to Narnia. Georgia, here we come!
We left the kids with Mom and Dad and headed to Perry for our try-out. We felt welcomed very warmly and sincerely with a friendly, relaxed dinner on Saturday evening. The next morning went really well, too with a meet and greet, and with Don preaching. We were so impressed with the people there. We felt very comfortable, and once again warmly welcomed.
I suppose there is a small chance that I am biased, but Don did a fantastic job . ;)

More waiting. Christmas in Alabama. So fun! return to GA. Don flies to Wilmore, loads up the truck with our stuff from our house and dries it back to Mom and Dad's all in less than 48 hrs. Thanks again to our Wilmore friends!!
The U-Haul truck is sitting in Mom and Dad's driveway as I am writing this.
It is to be "turned in" today. Will we hear news today? God's timing is impeccable.

I ended the above writing several days ago. Don received the job offer yesterday. We both wept and hugged each other. Mom and Dad let us have a date later that night. We were so excited that at times, we could hardly speak.

Oh God, my soul praises you. May Your name be praised. You are good. Your love endures forever.

Let the new adventure begin.

Santa's elf

2010-12-07T18:32:00.001-08:00

Below: the sag has officially been busted. Check out them pants. (OK, so Don just read this and was like: what is a sag? Well, I thought it would be clever to play on the "bustin a sag" phrase. I guess that purpose has now been defeated. )

Hey, at least he's eating an apple!
Maybe that will make up for him eating a sucker in the next picture... I often let the older boys have a piece of candy after they do their homework... Guess who has also discovered how good candy tastes?
Merry Christmas!
Oh! and here a blast from the past. Anyone recognize this little tot: