Some Time at Home

I have had a simply lovely week off. I am wondering to myself why I don't do this more often. Oh yeah, cause I have a job. I have cleaned my house, hung wall hangings, fixed up my front flower gardens and visited my sister-in-law. Big "wahoo" on the cleaning the house part. I had really fallen behind on that... *gross* Even though I had five whole days off, I still didn't have enough time to get everything done that I had wanted. I didn't sort through my clothes or Joshua's clothes. I've been meaning to go through my little guy's things for a while... I also didn't get my peas, lettuce or radishes planted, which I want to do real soon. Adam tilled the garden for me though, so now it's just up to me. I had wanted to have two mulch bins built, but I would need some help for that. And I need to stake up our baby fruit trees soon, before they are perpetually bent over. (Poor little trees.) Having this week off just reinforces my dream of being a stay-at-home Mom. I love it just that much. I have more time to be creative and I feel like a much better housewife if my house is actually somewhat clean. Being creative to me merely means doing what I love, like gardening or hanging random windows on my walls as decorations. That is my creative outlet... Oh and as a side note, I hope to have a yard sale real soon.

Thoughts

After working six straight days in a row, I am very much ready for a week off. And that is just what I shall get. *Big smiles* My friend Carissa is coming home for the week and will be working for me at the daycare all next week. I am so ready to catch up on things at home. Though it appears that someone who loves me has straightened up around home today while I was at work. I came home to my bed made, laundry taken to the basement and living room tidied. Even the table was cleared off! What a guy! I think he realized that I needed a little help this week. I am so pleasantly surprised.

I have found that in the past couple weeks, as I have tried to be less controlling, Adam has been more involved in the active disciplining of Josh. I have been less quick to intervene and more hands off when Adam is at home. And my Mom has been proved right, that when the wife steps back, the husband will step in, concerning their children or child. I am really enjoying watching my guys interact with each other... Josh just adores his Daddy and the other day we convinced him to finish eating his supper just by telling him he needed to eat his supper so he could have strong muscles like his Daddy. Adam showed Josh his big muscles and then we encouraged him to eat more. Josh promptly finished his last two bites so he could be strong just like his Daddy.

Thanks again for all your prayers after I posted this. Marriage is a wonderful and hard growing process. And raising children together certainly can put a strain on even *perfect* relationship. We all have our own way of doing things and I know God uses parenting to teach us so much about ourselves. I am a slow learner, but lately it's been a bit easier to "let go and let God". And I know it's due to the prayers and advice of those who care about us. Much love to you all.

Baby Trees or rather Trees and Babies

I wanna go see the new baby. Please, can we go see the new baby? I want to snuggle him and kiss his smooth baby cheeks. I want to hear him cry his little baby cry. Please??? (Adam says I'm obsessed with the baby and that it's not healthy. I think he's silly. Every woman is obsessed with babies.)

Yesterday we planted our apples trees. Yes, we bought apple trees. And pears trees too. Last Sunday we took a drive to the nursery and we bought an Empire, a Twenty-Ounce and a Honey Crisp apple tree and a Red Anjou Pear and a Bartlett. They are one year trees, so it will take them several years to bear any fruit. Hopefully we will stay in this house long enough to enjoy the fruit of our labor. I plan to espalier our trees, for two reasons. Maybe three. 1.) We have limited yard space. 2.) I would like the trees to actively function as a border/fence on the southern side of our yard. 3.) Just because it is possible and I would like to see if I can do it. I suppose I'll keep you updated. Maybe even with pictures.

Now I am off to make BLT's for supper and hope some more about seeing that new baby. Whose name is Simon Elias. *sigh*

I'm All Smiles

Earlier in the day, when I thought about going to see him, I thought I just might cry. But I didn't. Just pleased as punch, was I. He looks just like me.

Reason to Rejoice

He's here! He's here! He came in the wee hours of the morning. 7 pounds, 2 ounces, 20 1/2 inches long. Rumor has it that his name is Abinidab Jehoiachin, but I have reason to question that... I am so glad I have the day off today, so I can go see him if I please.

Baby Fever

There's seems to be the smell of a new baby brewing in the air... I am anxiously awaiting tomorrow morning in the hopes that I can meet our newest family member. My brother and my sister-in-law went to the hospital this evening. I can't wait...

I think I've been having baby fever lately. There are so many people I know either having babies or about to have a baby. I could count them on one hand, but then I would have to move on to the next. And then there is those having their second baby. Fine. I admit it. I'm slightly jealous. I've often wondered why God hasn't given us a second baby yet. We've wanted one for a while... I'm not upset and overly anxious about it, since I know God has everything in His hands and His timing is best. But when I was younger, I figured that I would be like my Mom. I always wanted a large family and since my brothers and sister and I were all basically two years apart, I thought that was how it would work for me too. I guess I am not quite the "cookie cutter shape" of my Mom that people think we are. Sometimes I wonder if it'll just be us and Josh. Sometimes I feel bad he has no one to play with but me. (I'm not really that much fun.) Sometimes I just want to smell a new baby. Now where is that new niece or nephew of mine???

Where Would You Keep YOUR Treasure??

I am a trunk junkie. I mean, I love trunks. Old trunks. Big trunks. Pirate trunks. I'm sure that, at some point in time, this was a real pirate's trunk. And now it is ours. Just don't look too closely. It's old and needs a little TLC before being put back into commission. Maybe some cleaning and scrubbing, sanding or sealing... Anyway, it will be put to good use. I was also told that it needs air holes. Silly me, the trunk junkie.

Learning to Follow

*Taken on Sunday at Niagara Falls, on a family outing.*

I am learning that God still has so much to teach me. And He typically chooses to use the people closest to us to teach us those things. Thanks you all for your comments, advice, encouragement on my last post. For those of you who were concerned, our marriage isn't "on the rocks" or on the brink of it's demise, but every marriage has it's own struggles and right now, this is something that we need to work through. Like I said God has a lot to teach me... Having an additional person in the family adds another dimension through which God can work to show me my weaknesses and I need to learn to let go. I like to control things... Basically everything. I was reading today in Luke 6, in the passage about looking at the speck in your brothers' eye, and it was just a reminder of how I do that. Reading on in the chapter I came to verse 49. "But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently: and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great." I thought to myself how similar I can be to that man who did nothing. I know I need to let Adam be the leader of this home (no matter how much it kills me) and yet I consistently want to hold the reins. So God is using my little boy to teach me to let my leader do the leading and to start letting him be the Father of that little boy. This is a two person job. Make that three, with the Lord as our true leader.

PS Thanks for all your prayers. Adam has really been a good boy these past couple days. ;) ;)

Discipline and The Act of It

I think we need help. Our opinions differ sooo much. We have no idea how to discipline a child *together*. We don't agree one bit. And I am ready to give up. Fine. If you don't like how I do it, then you do it. All by yourself. Don't come in and tell me to apologize. I'm not sorry and I think he deserved it. I am tired of being told not to do something right in front of small child. No wonder he cries, "Daddy, daddy!" all the time. No wonder he doesn't care what I say. I think we need to have a series of "consultations" with older, wiser couples who have had years of experience raising and disciplining children. Maybe I am too strict. But if I am, I would like to know how I should be doing it, and still get my child to listen to me, to sit when he is supposed to sit, to be quiet when it is time to be quiet, and to respect me, and those who need to be respected. And I think we need to be able to agree on how to raise this boy. Right now there is still time to get our act together. But we don't have long until he could morph into a monster who knows exactly how to divide and conquer his parents to his benefit. So, yes. I am asking for help. How do we come together as one parental unit and actually begin acting like it?

Happy July!

We skyrocketed into summer this week. Our week started out in March and ended up in July. It is 82 degrees outside. *Perfect* weather. I think it's calling me. I've been working all day. Good-bye indoors. Hello wonderful outside, beautiful, gardening-type weather. If only it was May I could plant my veggie garden!

Wishing The Time Away and Wishing It Back Again

There are a million and one other things I could be doing at the moment, but instead I sit and eat a pbj sandwich, feeling sad and a little sorry. My bff's husband got a job on Tuesday. He starts next week. In Virginia. They are leaving tonight. Within a weeks time, they went from "just arrived back home from job-searching in Cali. for a month" to "he's got a job interview in VA" to "we're leaving this weekend". I'm not really sad for my "loss", but more for her and her family. The two of them got back from VA on Thursday morning (from the interview), are packing up today and leaving tonight. It's such a whirlwind and has left no time to even have a family dinner before they're gone. So I am sad. Sad that the good-byes are to be so rushed and sad that they are leaving so soon. I am sad that her Mom is sad. I am glad that he has a job and glad that he will be able to provide for himself and his wife. But sad that the job is so far away. Virginia does not sound close to me, no matter how I look at it. With the only exception being that it is closer than California. I wish there was one more week in March. And here I was wishing the month of March away just a few shorts days ago.