Other updates

After several nights of Ella battling bedtime and not falling asleep until 10pm (you can see my previous post for more details) I think we have finally figured out what the issue was...too much sleep for her. I know, some of you might say there is no such thing as too much sleep (ahem...Briana & Kelly! hehe) but she was averaging 12hours of sleep at night and then taking a 3+ hour nap in the afternoon. So, for now I am putting her down for her nap at 2pm (it was previously 1:30pm) and getting her up by 4pm. I am also not letting her sleep past 8:30am. That seems to be working! Not so much "me" time anymore...but that's ok. I am learning to embrace each stage we go through as it really does go by so quickly.



I have decided that Ezra is not a little boy, he is a little piggie! He is soooo big! He went for his 4month check up yesterday and weighed over 17lbs and is 26in long! 90% for both height and weight! The boy loves to eat! I had planned on waiting to start solid foods with him at 6mos (like we did with Ella) but he is definitely ready NOW =) So bring on the mashed naners' and sweet potatoes! I have a very bad feeling about the increase on our grocery bill =)



Remember I posted about the 1st showing of our house this past Saturday? Well, apparently the couple who saw it really like it. Their people called our people and told them that they were interested, but had a couple more houses they wanted to see on their list. They wanted to be called though if we had any other "interest" in the house by anyone else. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but that sounds promising to me! How crazy would that be...to sell the house the 1st day on the market w/ our very 1st showing?! It must be all those pointers I picked up from watching HGTV for hours and hours on end =)

Update on Jim (Jeremiah's dad)

We just heard from Debbie (Jeremiah's mom) this afternoon and here's what we know: After 24 LOOOONG hours in the ER they just got a room (Why in the world does it take so long?) and they are continuing to run tests. They did a CT scan of his head and neck and have heard 2 conflicting reports from the dr's. One said everything looked normal, one said there was a non-bleeding aneurysm. So, they are doing another CT, this time w/ dye, and are continuing to rule out other possibilities for his symptoms (severe headache w/ no relief for 10+ days and extremely high blood pressure). So, continue to pray, specifically that Jim is able to get some relief from the headache (even morphine isn't helping at this point) and get some rest. Pray that the dr's have wisdom in diagnosing him, and for strength for Debbie. Thank you!

Please Pray...

Jeremiah's dad was taken to the hospital in Jacksonville, FL yesterday afternoon for what they think is an aneurysm. He wasn't seen until 11:30pm last night (How I despise the inefficiencies of emergency rooms!) and we haven't gotten an update yet this morning. I'll update as we get more information.

Sore toes

Yesterday I was playing a game with Ella. It consisted of her running from me and me running after her. Yes, I know...very complex game =) Well, during the course of the game I jammed my left foot into the ottoman in my bedroom. I think I have jammed/sprained/broken something in my left foot? Not fun.

This morning Pastor Clay kicked off a new message series with an incredible sermon on the family. I'm not sure which toes hurt more...the ones I jammed yesterday or the ones that were stepped on today at church?

I love a good toe-stomping sermon. Although, to be honest, it's usually easier to think of how applicable the sermon is for someone else. Not today though. The Holy Spirit was doing a number on MY toes =)

I won't give all the details of the sermon - You can look up Ephesians 5&6 if you want. But I am just so thankful for opportunities to grow, for being in a church where I am constantly challenged to mature and work out my faith.

Here we go...

Our house went on the market yesterday and we had our first official showing today. We got a 30min warning thank goodness! I needed every bit of that 30min to get the kids and house and diaper bags and me and...you get the picture...together =) And that was with Jeremiah helping! We got the warning call from the realtor right when Jeremiah was in the middle of changing the oil in both vehicles and I had just told Ella she could dump out ALL of her blocks (so we could make a massive-cool creation!) on the living room floor. Oh yea, and Ezra was in the middle of his nap too. Well, we got the driveway and cars cleaned up, the blocks picked up, and woke Ezra up and headed to our friends house to hang out for a little bit. I have to say I am quite weirded out with the thought of strangers walking thru our house and looking into all our closets and stuff. Kinda freaky to me. I learned a couple of things from today:

1) I need to have the diaper bags packed and ready to go AT ALL TIMES!
2) I need to have a checklist of things to do b/f leaving the house
a) Open all blinds (I usually keep the ones in our bathroom and Ezra's room closed)
b) Hide computer/cameras/ipod/anything else of value in a safe spot
c) Hide dish drainer and other "cluttery" stuff in laundry closet
3) Keep the pac n' play and any other nap stuff in the back of the car AT ALL TIMES!
4) That our friends Michealla and Andy are awesome for letting us crash at their house!

Have I mentioned before that I really hope and pray that this is a quick process?!!

New pictures of our Roly-Poly

What in the world?

It's almost 10pm and I am sitting on the couch listening to Ella. She is alternating between singing her ABC's and yelling sorry. We got home from church at 8pm and I changed her into her pajamas, tucked her in her bed, said prayers and read our devotional together, kissed her, and walked out of her room like I do EVERY single night. She usually goes right to sleep or just plays quietly for a few minutes and then drifts off. NOT TONIGHT. I don't know what is up with her? She started crying hysterically the moment I shut her door. I went in and checked on her and she calmed down. She started crying again the moment I shut the door. Checked again. Again, she cried. I checked (and threatened!) once again. We agreed that she could sleep with her door cracked and that stopped the crying. That was an hour ago. She is still up...as I said before alternating her abc's and saying sorry. Let's hope this night is a fluke!

Jiggity Jig...

We made it. We survived 2 days of skiing in the coldest conditions I have ever (or will ever) ski in. It was 3 degrees (-13 w/ windchill) on Sunday. Brrrr! Despite the frigid weather and VERY crowded slopes everyone had a blast and did really well. Out of the 22 students that went only 4 had ever skied before...so Jeremiah and I became the Grey Stone Ski Instructors =) With the exception of 2(they got real familiar w/ the lodge)...all of them picked it up really quickly! We did have have one injury, a broken hand of one of the middle school boys. Other than that, it was an awesome trip! The worship at night was led by Vicky Beeching and the speaker was Adam Robinson. Both were great and our students seemed to really soak in their messages. Ella and Ezra did great for my Mom and enjoyed their special time with her. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU MOM!!!! I swear Ezra got even bigger in just 4 days if that is possible =) And Ella's vocabulary expanded ALOT thanks to her Aunt Mya =) I know most everyone in Durham was sad not to see more snow here, but I was actually glad not to miss out on a real snow event with the kids. Now that we're home though...bring the winter weather on!

I'll post some pics of the weekend later.

Skiiiiiiiiiiiiiing

Jeremiah and I head out this afternoon to Boone, NC for a long weekend of skiing with our students from Greystone. My Mom is coming to watch the kids. I am so excited for a weekend to be with Jeremiah (and 22 youth!). It is a student life ski weekend, so I am excited for the worship sessions at night too. I am a little sad about leaving the kids, especially since we are supposedly getting SNOW here tomorrow, and I'll probably miss their 1st ever real snow =( Sigh... I know they are going to have a blast with their Nana and Aunt Mya...they probably won't even miss us =) Anyways, keep us in your prayers this weekend...for safety and that God will work in the hearts of our students (and us too!). Love you guys!!!

p.s. Oh yea, I am so excited that I am not pregnant this time. Haha. Last year when we went I was 8weeks pregnant and pretty much spent the whole weekend either throwing up or curled up in the fetal position wanting to throw up =) That whole weekend is just a haze of nauseous memories =)

Ella's new do...

Before...


After...


Isn't she so cutie!

Fun with stickers

Sister and Brother

Ella adapted really easily to Ezra joining our family. No huge jealousy issues or anything. However, she has pretty much been indifferent to him the first three months of his life. But this past week it is like she has all of a sudden realized that she has a brother. She has wanted to hold him, play with him, wipe his mouth, feed him, etc. all week long. Yesterday afternoon she pulled a chair all the way from her room into his room next to his crib and she was standing on it watching him look at his mobile. She kept saying things like, "See cow Ezwa? See horse?" (his mobile, obviously, has animals on it). When he lays on his playmat she crawls in next to him and attempts to "play" with him. It's just too cute to see. I love it!





This one cracks me up!

To Market, To Market

Our house goes up for sale in exactly 9 days. Consequently, we have been busy getting ready. Today was spent cleaning our carpets. Man, they look so much better! We should have done that a long time ago. We also cleaned out ALL our closets. Whew, I'm glad that task is done =) Then Jeremiah took all our "excess" stuff up to the farm to store. I cleaned all the baseboards and chair molding...all the stuff you don't notice until you start to look at it through the eyes of potential buyers. I pray (pray, pray, pray!!!!) that it sells quick.

Ella thought it was great fun having the sofa in the kitchen =) She also liked helping Daddy with the carpet cleaner machine =)

WeeSing Silly MOM

I was driving home from having lunch with Jeremiah this afternoon and was jamming along to some "Where is Thumbkin?" with Ella. She likes it when I do the motions too. And, of course, I am always happy to oblige in order to keep the peace in the car! I had pulled up to a stoplight when we got to the "Tallman" finger (yes, you know which finger I am talking about). I looked out my windows and realized I had cars on BOTH sides of me looking at the crazy woman giving the world the finger.

2008 is going to be Great! oh, this is Jeremiah!

Well, its here. 2008. Man, we were supposed to be living on the moon and driving flying cars by now. I figured that everybody gets to blog about how cool their church is, and it seemed like a good time to show all of you up =) Man, things are going crazy at Grey Stone. Last Sunday we had 785 in attendance, not bad considering that a year and a half ago we were lucky to get 350. I know, numbers aren't anything, but its cool to see the place packed at both services. Anyway, we have a ton planned for 2008. The Student Ministry is picking up steam and we are having new guests each week, they actually come back too. We will start off campus small groups called c-groups this year, start Student Ministry Teams, start Friday night events in the new gym, and thats just the 7-12 graders. Our college ministry will kick off with a brand new room in the attic of the church, start Tuesday night bible studies, c-groups on Sundays, and travel to Haiti with my dad in May. Our church is building new class rooms, remodeling the gym for a brand new modern worship service called Elevation. No it was not my idea to call it that, but the logo is going to be sweet. So, needless to say, I may lose my mind this year. I have to recruit small group leaders, ministry team leaders, a band, get the sound system, visit Duke a lot, and teach on Tuesday nights! I am pumped, but I am definitely going to need some prayer. So, if you guys think about it, pray for our church and for me. 2008 is really going to great!

Ezra in action (he loves his Aunt Cate!)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Visitors

Sunday nights are always kinda crazy around here trying to get back out to church. I have to get the kids up from their naps, feed them dinner, pack both diaper bags, etc. This past Sunday night I was busy feeding Ezra and wasn't really paying attention to Ella. After I finished with Ezra I went to go change his diaper and caught Ella playing with the telephone (or as she calls it, the "hello"). I took it from her and didn't really think anything more about it. For some weird unexplained reason I have always made the tv remotes a "no touch", but never made the "hello's" a no-no. I was putting Ezra in the car-seat, ready to walk out to the car when the door-bell rang. I opened to door to find two police officers there asking me, "Ma'am, we got a 911 call from your number. Is everything ok?". I didn't even get a chance to answer when Ella peeks from around my legs and says, "Hey Guys!" Obviously, I explained that there was no emergency...I just had a 2 year old that must have accidentally called them. I made Ella apologize and had the officers explain to Ella why she is not allowed to play with the "hello" anymore. Her eyes were as big as saucers as she looked up at them =) Fortunately the officers were very understanding. One of them even made the comment that she understood...she has a 3yr old herself. Still, it was quite embarrassing. I am happy to say that the whole thing did help to restore some of my faith in the Durham City police. It couldn't have been more than 5-8mins from the time I caught Ella with the phone to the time the doorbell rang.

We were nice and late to church that night =)

Thoughts on Blue Like Jazz, Part 1

For Christmas Jeremiah got me the book, Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller. He describes his book as "Nonreligious thoughts on Christian Spirituality". We are reading it together at night after the kids are asleep. So far, several thoughts have resonated with me. It seems like each chapter covers an issue Miller grappled with regarding spirituality. In chapter two, Miller writes about the depravity of man. He shares the story of his watching the news at night and hearing of the atrocities happening in the African Congo. He shares these things with a friend over coffee and they have a conversation about it in which they start to say things like, "I can't get my mind around it. I keep wondering how people could do things like that."

Later on in the conversation his friend asks him, "Do you think you could do something like that? Are you capable of murder or rape or any of the stuff that is taking place over there?"

"No"

"So you are not capable of any of those things?"

"No, I couldn't" "What are you getting at?"

"I just want to know what makes those guys over there any different from you and me. They are human. We are human. Why are we any better than them, you know?"

"He had me on this one. If I answered his question by saying yes, I could commit those atrocities, that would make me evil, but if I answered no, it would suggest that I am better evolved that some of the men in the Congo. And then I would have some explaining to do."

"Actually,"I told him reluctantly, "I have always agreed with the idea that we have a sin nature. I buy the idea we are flawed, that there is something in us that is broken."

Later on in the chapter he writes of a protest he was a part of. After the protest he wonders if he had actually accomplished anything? Could they actually change the world? Sure, they could elect different representatives and that sort of thing. But the underlying problem was not a certain type of legislation or even a certain politician; the problem is the same that it has always been.

I AM THE PROBLEM.

"I don't have to watch the evening news to see that the world is bad, I only have to look at myself. I am not browbeating myself here; I am only saying that true change, true life-giving, God-honoring change would have to start with the individual. I was the very problem I was protesting. I wanted to make a sign that read "I AM THE PROBLEM!"


"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure." Jeremiah 17:9

Now, I know this might come across as a depressing blog. But, for me...someone who was raised in the church and accepted Christ as a child. Someone who is now a pastors wife and involved in active ministry. This is something that is easy for me to forget... just how desperately I need the Lord. That apart from Him I have no hope, no purpose, and not even the possibility of true peace.

This is worth reflection.

Out of this reflection bubbles up a humbling gratitude for what the Lord has done for me. Done for everyone. He offers the answer to my depravity. He offers hope, purpose, and peace. This is the farthest thing from depressing! Praise you Lord!

Smart Girl

This morning Ella and I were eating breakfast together. She was enjoying her "squeeze" yogurt(go-gurts, her newest favorite food!)and had finished the whole thing with remarkably little mess. She was examining the outside of the container and asking me "what's that Momma" about every little thing. I wasn't really paying attention and was just rambling off stuff. Well, she pointed to a shape on the container and asked what it was:

Ella - "What's that Momma?"
Me - "That's an octagon"
Ella - Silence for a good 30sec.
Me - Kept checking my email
Ella - "No Momma, that's a hexagon"

As you can see from the below picture, the shape has 6 sides, not 8, and is therefore a hexagon. I stand corrected by my 2 year old.

Just for Briana

Old friend...these are for you!

Priceless

Despite all the great (and very appreciated!) gifts I got this Christmas, there are a lot of things in life that no amount of money can buy:

1- Getting up earlier than everyone in the family, making a cup of coffee, and spending quality, uninterrupted time with the Lord
2- The feeling you get after you go running
3- A husband who tells me that I look most beautiful when I wake up in the morning with no make up on and my hair all a mess - never mind that I am wearing a spit-up stained t-shirt to round out the look!
4- Healthy Children
5- A friend who calls you just to see how your day went
6- The feeling you get after you do something you know the Lord wanted you to do - even when you absolutely didn't want to do it
7- Pulling on a pair of pre-pregnancy jeans and not only can you button them, but you don't have any "stuff" hanging over the top
8- Getting both kids down for a nap at the same time!
9- The feeling of having a nice, clean, and organized home
10- Being silly with your kids and messing up that nice, clean, and organized home
11- Knowing you have people in your life who "get you"