Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Jack in the shop

Jeff has been out in the shop a lot of nights lately, working on a cargo trailer that he is using for this summer's "Hand Up Housing" (a church based community ministry that I'll explain more about later). He's been building shelves and putting all his tools in a tidy fashion. Total bliss for Jeff. He has had the wood burning stove going which makes the shop all nice and toasty and, frankly, he could be out there for hours and hardly even register the passing of time. Jack and I went out to visit him and check on his progress. I brought Jack's little "pushy cart" in the hopes that he would play with it instead of with the dirty stuff in the shop. Side note: Jack loves his little pushy cart. He piles his toys on top of it and pushes it all around the house. He doesn't need it to walk, he just likes to PUSH it. Jeff thinks that he needs some kind of cargo trailer of his own. Anyway......we were visiting daddy and all was going well......until he had to cut something with his saw. It made a big noise and Jack was very frightened. For the rest of the evening he clung to me and made very sad faces. Jeff was disappointed that he was so scared of the saw, but I assured him that as a true Gray he would soon get over it. At any rate, here are some pictures of the evening.

















Monday, January 29, 2007

Bathtime With Jack

Jack loves his bath. As soon as you ask him if he wants to take a bath he heads for the bathroom and throws open the shower curtain. He loves to watch the water run in, and he likes LOTS of toys in the water with him. The only problem is that sometimes he, well, poops in the water. I know, those of you with children are nodding your heads in agreement, and those of you without children are cringing and gagging. When Jack does "muddy" the water, I will frequently send out the poop alarm and daddy will come running. It takes two of us to right the world. One of us takes Jack, dries him off and gets him dressed while the other takes care of the bathtub and all the toys. Inevitably it is Jeff who gets bathtub duty, but he really is so good at it. He gets everything out of the tub and into the bucket. Then he sprays antibacterial Scrubbing Bubbles (the BEST thing ever invented), and then the toys go in to the dishwasher to be sanitized. We work pretty well as a team, especially when Jeff does all the hard stuff! Ha!

Jack is actually in the bath right now and I am hoping that he does not somehow "sense" the topic of this blog, because daddy isn't home at this moment and I'd have to do the whole thing by myself! Thank you, honey for always being such a servant.

I hope everyone's day has been a good one, and lacking any poop emergencies!

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

A Trying Day

Yesterday was a very discouraging day for this mama. Jack woke up at 5:30 a.m. and refused to go back to bed. It seems that he truly woke up on the "wrong side of the bed". He was cranky and fussy all day long. He had no physical ailments that I could see, but he was throwing tantrum after tantrum all day long. Around 5:00 I finally called my friend, Laurie, for some advice. It seems that her first son was also what we would call "a strong-willed child". Her son is now 13, and although he is not perfect, I see definite qualities in him that are strong, positive, desirable qualities. He is a born leader. He is quick to make a decision and go with it. Kids his age and older follow his lead easily. All very good qualities. Laurie assured me that she had to discipline him consistently everyday no matter how tired, how discouraged, or how little she felt like doing it. It was a great encouragement to me, and at the same time, it was hard news to hear. Although I knew that it was the right answer, it is daunting to think that those wonderful qualities that Caleb possesses, and that Jack could very well someday possess, depend heavily upon my comittment to guiding him, my consistency in disciplining him, my patience with him, and my desire to do what is right no matter how I feel. Wow. What a responsibility. I'm not sure that I'm up to it. I just keep reminding myself that no trial is given to me by God that I am incapable of handling. No matter what Jack does, I know that I can handle it, because if I couldn't, then it wouldn't be happening! That IS a great comfort.

I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength! Phil. 4:13

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

I've Been Tagged

a: available or single? Neither. I am happily married.
b: best friend: Jeff!
c: cake or pie: Pumpkin pie
d: drink of choice: Starbucks White Mocha, Coke products
e: essential item I use every day: Huggies wipees
f: favorite color: green
g: gummy bears or gummy worms: Neither--Sour Patch Kids
h: hometown: Dwight, Illinois
i: Indulgence? White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks
j: January or February: February
k: kids and names: Anne-marie Violet, 12, Bryan Joel, 12, Jack Douglas, 1
l: Life is incomplete without....: God and my family
m: marraige date: February 25, 2005
n: number of siblings: 2
o: oranges or apples: Neither....although I do like those little mandarin oranges
p: phobias or fears: Spiders...just read my archives
q: favorite quote: Don't really have one. Favorite verses: 1 Peter 1
r: reasons to smile: Jack's kisses
s: season: Summer and early fall
t: tag three or four people: Let's see...Michelle, Jessica, and Jeff
u: unknown fact about me: I was born with a birth defect--cleft palate
v: vegetables you don't like: Tomatoes and celery
w: worst habbit: whining
x: Hey, there's no x!
y: favorite food: anything ethnic....chinese, mexican, greek, italian......
z: zodiac: Taurus

Monday, January 22, 2007

First Kiss

Today Jack went to a new babysitter's house. I had an appointment to have my hair done and I called my friend Katrina to see if she would be willing to watch Jack. Katrina's daughter, Sophie, is 18 months old and absolutely beautiful. She has the MOST striking color of red hair that I've ever seen. I took Jack over and was a little nervous that he would cry when I left. However, Sophie came right up to him and tried to give him a hug! It was so sweet. So I told Jack, "Sophie's giving you hugs and kissies". When I said "kissy", Sophie pulled her pacifier out of her mouth and puckered up at Jack. He smiled at her and looked at me, and I said, "Jack, she's giving you a kissy". So he opened his mouth and leaned in! And that was Jack's first kiss (other than me and dad and grandma poo and Sissy and Aunt GiGi). He got along great with Sophie, and Katrina said that he didn't cry once! It felt great to know that I could leave him somewhere and just relax knowing that he was well taken care of. Of course, that's how it always is with G-Poo! I have to admit though, as happy as I was that he liked Sophie, a little sadness entered my heart at the thought that he will one day want to kiss another girl more than me! Good thing that a LONG way off!

Sunday, January 21, 2007

The Boy Loves His Dad

So far Jack and Jeff have survived their stomach flu incidents. Yes, that's right, Jeff got it too, again. Unbelievable that I have NOT gotten it, especially in the light of the fact that both Aunt GiGi and Grandma Poo have fallen to it as well. I guess we'll just keep praying.

On a much sweeter note, yesterday Jack was very excited that his da da was here when he woke up. He followed Jeff around (as he usually does) like a little puppy. However, Jeff had to leave, so he sneaked out the back door, thinking that Jack didn't see him. A few minutes later I noticed that I hadn't heard from Jack, so I went looking for him. The best way to find him is to yell, "where's momma?" and do a little fake scream. He will generally answer me back with a little fake scream of his own. He did this time too and I could tell that he was somewhere in the kitchen. Rounding the corner I found him with his back against the back door, coat in hand. When he saw me he smiled and said, "Da Da".

If that wasn't sweet enough, when I called Jeff on his cell phone to tell him, he got all choked up and said, "Promise me that you'll blog about that so I'll never forget it".

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Sick Again

Some time in the night Jack woke up and made a coughing noise, cried for a few seconds, and then went back to sleep. I didn't think much of it. I woke up and listened to make sure that he was sleeping again, and then went back to sleep myself. This morning when I picked him up out of bed, I noticed that he had corn in his bed. This was puzzling. He did have some corn chowder for dinner last night and I thought, somehow he has squirreled away some of his dinner and now it's in his bed. This is what you think when you've been awake for one whole minute. So I gave him his bottle and laid him down in my bed, thinking that I would just investigate the corn thing later. He finished the bottle and sat up and started talking to me. I don't know exactly what he said, but just after he finished telling me this long baby talk story, he threw up all over my bed!

So we are doing the whole "vomit schedule" (drinks of water a little bit at a time). He's not as bad as last time, thank you God! He did fall asleep in my lap this morning, a highly unusual occurrence since most of the time he will not actually sit in my lap. And after trying some toast and some water, he is sleeping again. He is playing ok and not too cranky, but I have had him quaranteened in the living room just in case he hurls again.

So, things are not as mommy would have planned for the day, but hey, this is what childhood is like, and I love taking care of my precious baby! Hopefully he will feel much better when he wakes up from his nap. I think I shall take the opportunity to take a much needed shower, since I was in the bed when he threw up! Mmmmmm......yummy!

Monday, January 15, 2007

Courtesy Post

Do you ever find yourself posting "just to post". Well, this is what is happening today. I don't really have anything significant to report. I just feel bad for those that check my blog day after day and there is nothing there.

Today was, well, just a regular day. Jack and I went to Lafayette this morning so that I could go to my ladies bible study. Jack cried the whole time for poor Margie. Then we went straight to Grandma Poo's house so that Jack could take a nap. I needed to go to the store, but had no desire to take a crying child in to do my shopping. So Jack took a nap while I watched foodnetwork. When Jack woke up we went to Culver's because the flavor was Peanut Butter Supreme. I was very excited. However, it was less than I expected--not enough peanut butter flavor. Jack ate the bun off my burger and some cheese curds and helped devour my one scoop of custard. He was very happy then so we went to the store. By the time all that was done, we were more than ready to go home. Home we went, where Jack refused for a solid hour to fall asleep in his bed. So he got up and had some supper and a bath. Then daddy came home and we spent some time with him before Jack went to bed at 7:30 p.m. So here we are. Daddy is working out on the treadmill, I am posting while my supper finishes cooking, and if Christ doesn't come in the next ten or fifteen minutes we are probably going to eat our dinner!

There you have it. I posted. Sorry folks, but this is as exciting as it gets.

Friday, January 12, 2007

The Castners

One of the cool things that happened over the holidays was that my sister and her family came for a visit. Not too unusual for the holiday's, right? Well, that might be true if she didn't live in Chile! She and her husband and 4 children are missionaries and they were home on furlough. I have this tiny picture of them because I have yet to scan the big one they gave me. Anyway, if you're interested in hearing about them, or know them and want to check up on them, you can visit Michelle's new blog The Castner Chronicles.

Here's a bigger one for you. I believe this was taken in Chile before they came home.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Lunch date

Today I had a lunch date with my little man. He is absolutely the BEST guy (besides daddy) to go to lunch with because he loves going out! As soon as I asked him this morning if he wanted to go bye-bye in the car, he went right over to the door and tried to open in (that would be the door to the garage where the car is parked). So we got our coats and shoes on and went to the mall. That is where we usually we go, because it is just easier there. I take the big stroller and all of our stuff fits inside.

So, we had lunch at Panera Bread. Jack loves Panera. I always get him the same thing: a pumpkin muffin. All his very own. And he eats the whole thing. I got soup and a sandwich and we were good to go. Jack always attracts attention wherever we go, so there is never a dull moment. Today the lady next to us was laughing at him because he was sooooo excited when he saw his muffin. She said, "my he's happy about that muffin". And I replied, "He's had one before so he knows it's his". He was laughing and clapping his little hands and making his little gobble gobble noise with his lips. So cute. After that we walked around the mall to the play area. Jack loves the little play area. I took his shoes off and let him go! He ran all around with his hands up in the air, laughing and cackling. Then he got back in the stroller and took a little nap! Perfect! I walked around some more and got a new pair of jeans and a sweatshirt for dirt cheap at JC Penney! Jack woke up and we loaded in to the car and came home. What a wonderful day! The little munchkin is taking a quick nap now and daddy is on his way home. Hope that you all had a great day!

Saturday, January 06, 2007

The New Years' Blues

Well, I've got the blues. And NOT for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Every time Anne and Bryan go home Jeff and I have a couple days of moping around, but this time has been particularly hard. I think that it must be because they actually moved over the break to Georgia and we've never seen their house or their school or anything. Everything is new for them, and although they were excited to be starting a new chapter in their lives, there was also some understandable nervousness and fear about this new place. I think that it transferred to me, because watching them get on that plane to go home was pretty hard.

I find myself in somewhat of a "gap". A lot of my readers will remember a similar blog posting by a good friend of mine about being in the gap. There are several situations happening in my life that I know are of God, and yet it requires patience and waiting. In my heart I know that I am prepared to wait, it's just that sometimes the waiting is, well, kind of boring. After the excitement of Christmas and the plateau of New Year's Eve, I find that my house is a mess, Jack is sick with a cold or teeth or both, Jeff is frantically working on a video editing project for church that is due in a couple of days, and I am left to myself with my melancholic thoughts. I am very thankful for my friend Gaylene, who is working her butt off on my eliptical as I write this, because she is always around to help cheer me up. I am also thankful that my husband has such a servant's heart and is doing so much to serve in the church. I think I need a party or something, you know? Any body want to come party with me? I was looking at all the fun pictures from my friend G-knee's party and that just depressed me even more! So maybe I just need to invite all of my readers to come and hang out with me, k? I'll see you around 7! I don't have any cool video games but I can make some great appetizers!

Comin'?

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

For Anne and Bryan

"More Than I Can Say" --Twila Paris

The One who makes the children is watching from above
He placed you in a family so that you could know His love
A mother and a father to hold you here on earth
But he was with you long before the moment of your birth
And if you don't have a mother He will sing you lullabies
And He'll be right beside you everyday
When you're all alone at night in bed
If you feel like crying it's okay
He will wipe your tears away

He loves you more than I can say
And He is always taking care of you
He loves you more than I can say
And more than I can say He hopes
That you will love Him too

The One who hears the children has known you from the start
He placed you in a family so that you can feel His heart
A mother and a father to keep you safe and warm
But he was with you long before the day that you were born
And if you don't have a daddy He will be your father too
And He will always keep you in His sight
When it gets too dark to see ahead
And you can't find your way it will be alright
He will be your guiding light

He loves you more than I can say
And He is always taking care of you
He loves you more than I can say
And more than I can say He hopes
That you will love Him too