God's Grace

I had every intention to update this blog sooner than now but it's just been one of those weeks. I have a long list of things to do while they nap and,when nap time finally comes, I just don't have the energy to get anything checked off my list. We've had a lot of quality time this week. Even when I'm not in the mood to do productive things, I am always ready to cuddle, play, and read with them!  I was thinking about that this morning on the way to drop Jay off at school. If I was hyper and energetic this week I surely would have stayed busy "doing" and would have had hardly any time for just being with the boys. I always feel guilty when I'm unmotivated and unproductive but maybe that is God reminding me to slow down and just love on my sweet children. My floors need sweeping, the bathrooms need a dose of clorox, my house needs to be picked up.....but do they really? I think what I really need more times than not is just to lay on the couch and read a book with my kids, play a game of catch, race some match cars, have a pillow fight, nerf gun fight, or make a huge mess teaching Jay how to bake muffins. Because that is the only thing my innocently wise kids will remember when they lay down to go to bed.

Yesterday Jay sat down to eat his breakfast and was passionately telling us a story when he knocked over his bowl. My immediate reaction was anger and exasperation. "Jay, you have got to start being more careful!  When we are at the table, it is time to eat! You don't need to talk, you need to focus on eating!"  I know, it sounds so mean when I type it out. And his little heart sunk, I could see it as soon the first word came out of my mouth. As he quietly finished his cereal I thought, "is a little milk on the table really worth all of this?" "Do I really want my boy to think talking at the table is so horrible?" Fast forward to when he's a teenager and I am begging him to talk, to tell me a story with that passion, I would never want to quiet that spirit. But isn't that what I'm doing every time I over react to something as insignificant as spilled milk? 

I was talking so a woman at church who has kids in high school/college and asked "How do I not screw my kids up?". She has become my unofficial mentor over these last few years. She is so wise, so Godly, so at peace with the fact that God holds her kids' futures and will take care of them. I ask her things all the time about parenting, God, marriage, etc. She responded with, "oh, shannon, you will definitely screw them up! But God's grace will always cover it." Thank God that He covers my many mistakes with His unfailing grace! I'm sure mom and dad felt like they messed up with us but, as I look back on my childhood, all I remember is how loved I felt when Mom tucked me in at night, how hard I laughed when Dad wrestled with us, how fun it was to go shopping with mom (because, during those shopping trips, she became my closest friend), or how unbelievably safe I felt in my Daddy's arms. It never occurred to me that they were stressed about saving for college, had a horrible day at work, or were just slap tired. I never saw it. I don't remember it. God's grace covered it.

As you can see, I've been reflecting this week. Every time I have weeks like this I am humbled to my knees that God chose to give us these perfect kids. Just this morning I was telling Jay that he really needed to hurry and get inside the school today (usually he meanders around making conversation with everyone in sight). I said, "it's really cold to you need to get your bookbag on, get right out of the car, and walk quickly straight inside." He said, "I know what I can do! I will skip!" As I watched him cheerfully jump out of the car and skip all the way inside I thought, "why isn't that my response to a cold morning?" I would have stomped in as fast as I could with my arms crossed, thinking how horrible it is that I have to be out in this ridiculous weather! Thank you, God, for teaching me through my dear little ones!

May the Lord bless them and keep them. May He make His face shine on them and be gracious to them. May He turn his face toward them and give them peace.

Now for some pictures:

Jay loves his "pajamas with the feet in them" that Carrie and Oren gave him for Christmas!

Fun at the zoo. Eli was thrilled about this baby lion, just his size

There is a glare here but Jay is cheezin big!

He was not happy when I picked him up to go find the real animals.

The fish are Eli's favorite!

Showing me an orange fish!

Jay was obsessed with this hedgehog.

He was super cute!

She had to keep asking jay to give him a little break from petting and just watch him. haha

Throwing catch with Daddy and Jay

Look at how well he is standing!

And oh so serious!

The youth group plays with him Wed nights and calls him a "future major leaguer". he plays catch all day long! Even when I give him a truck or other non-ball toy, he throws it all the same

climbing all over the rocks at the river.

playing in the dirt....what boys!

Eli was sure he was doing something very important and pitched a horrible fit when I made them come inside!

Marching!

I held my breath every time he jumped down and ran back up again.

Ok, so Jay has been moving down by Jake lately at night. This night, they started out on Jake's bed but I guess Jake got crowded and moved to the other side of the room. So Jay followed. This is exactly how we found him when he went up!  It is our new source of entertainment. :)

Working on a puzzle while Wes works

Eli loves playing in this car.

He loves riding in it too but Jay is a rough driver so poor Eli has had some close-calls...not that they deterred him at all!

Another night of sleeping with the dog. And, as usual, Jake moves to the other side for more room.

We have to go up every night after he's fallen asleep to move Jay back to his bed. Probably 5 out of the 7 nights he's down by Jake. The last two nights Jake has stood his ground and taken up the whole bed. So Jay has been in a tight ball with just his head on the dog bed. When we ask him about it the next day he always has some valid reason for sleeping next to Jake. "I was reading him a book" "he was scared" "I was scared" "i was showing him my gun" "he wanted to play with my car"

I know I don't post as many videos of Eli as I did Jay but here is a cute one. After watching Jay dip his food in sauce he decided he needed to also. But didn't quite get the hang of it. Again, it shows his cautious, thoughtful personality. Jay (and I) would have just smeared the food all in the ketchup and made a huge mess. Eli is so much like Wes, it's crazy!

I am really trying to get a video of him taking steps!  He has taken several completely on his own but I can't get him to do it for the camera!  And Jay is not the most reliable camera man either. Wes and I will work on that this weekend.

Christmas 2012!! (and some exciting changes!)

We got home from south Ga over a week ago and I am just now getting a second to update!  We have been playing with all of the new toys constantly and I reorganized the entire house by the time the unpacking was finished. Wes had 9 days off this year so we were able to spend a lot of time with everyone. There was a lot of driving and a lot of meltdowns but it was all worth it...there is nothing like being with family!

I posted all of the pictures we took below. I have some updates for each of us too.

Jay: Growing up!!!  Oh my, when did he grow up? I swear, just as the saying goes, I happened overnight!  He is smart, sweet, cuddly, stubborn, loud, and wild. Still the social butterfly of the family. He is a little negotiator too. I get both frustrated and amused every time we have a negotiation of whatever the issue of the day is. He can reason just enough to be a danger to himself and others and has more than enough persistence to get his way.
He still goes to preschool M-W-F and absolutely loves his teachers. They are wonderful and I can tell they love him as their own.
He can write several letters, some better than others. His favorite letter to write is "J"...obviously!!
He loves to draw pictures, especially of people, faces, and spaceships. They are almost unrecognizable but he works so hard on it and takes his time getting every detail perfect anyway.
He can hop on one foot (his proudest accomplishment of the month) and loves to do flips.
He talks incessantly, as he's always done. I love it and it keeps me laughing all day but, my goodness, just a few moments of quiet would be so nice every once in a while!
He loves rock-n-roll. No country, no slow songs. He will tell you the same thing-in just those words-if you ask him.
He is still a month away from turning four but I've thought of him as a 4year old for months now with his confident little personality and independent attitude. He is three going on thirteen, for sure!

Eli: He turned one and decided to be bossy and dramatic. Where did my laid back, sweetheart go!?  Jay has rubbed off on him. And I have to say, it is about the funniest thing in the world to watch him yell, hit, and snatch things from Jay. Like he is finally getting sweet revenge after a year of torture. I know we need to start telling him no when starts hitting (over and over, as hard as he can), but it's hard to say no when you are laughing so hard!  Jay takes it in stride and, usually, just walks away, after scolding him, of course.
He is still not walking. Today he is 13 months so surely it is just around the corner. He is a little expert on cruising along the furniture and walls though.
He only wants me or Wes....going through a big stranger anxiety phase. Even at Christmas, he would hardly go to anyone else, especially if we were in the room. I tried to stay hidden just to give everyone a change to hold him.

Now for us: Over Christmas Wes signed a contract!!! Yay!!! He made it. :)  Good riddance you crappy residency!  He will be joining South Georgia Eye Partners on August 1. Wes worked for Dr. Petermann after he graduation college and they have kept up over the years. He is based out of Valdosta but has a new office in Tifton, which Wes will be working primarily. We are so excited and cannot wait to get back to south Ga!  We are just so thankful everything has fallen into place and we can finally settle somewhere!
With that being said, Columbia has become a dear home to us. Our friends, our church, the youth group, our neighbors, work friends...each one is so special to us. My excitement about moving quickly turns to a knot in my stomach when I think about saying goodbye to these people who have become so important to us. We have loved Columbia from the first time we visited and will miss so much of this place. Even though I complain about residency a lot, Wes' Attendings and co-residents are wonderful. He often talks about their example and how thankful he is for the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the field.  It is a small, close-knit family. The training Wes received has been more than what he hope for and we will always cherish this program, this community. If it were not so far from family we would settle here in a heartbeat. It will be very hard to leave.

Now that the move is official we have to get this house ready to sell!  I am not looking forward to it and have a feeling it will not be as smooth as our Macon sell but we are praying that the right person comes along and we don't end up stuck with it or loosing a lot of money. So I've been cleaning, getting rid of clutter, organizing, and making a long list of things for Wes to repair. We will put it on the market by February. And please tell me how on earth I will keep this house presentable with two crazy boys in the house!!! Dreading this whole process is a vast understatement!

Well here is the fun we had at Christmas!

Cutie pie

Mama Ross made this fire coat for Jay. He is in love with it. He even wore it to school this morning for show and tell!

Teaming up on Papa!

Opening presents!

Eli is studying his new toy

trying to keep him entertained with my phone....until he tried to throw it across the room.

Doing some serious fireman work

Our Christmas Elf!

This must have been when he decided to just chunk the thing

And now he just has viewing privileges

Santa came to Mimi's house this Christmas

Still sporting the super cool Fire Coat of course!

Eli saw nothing fun about opening boxes, this boy is so serious!

Yay!  Cowboy guns!

He makes such a handsome cowboy

Then Kurt and Ash came with more presents!

It is superheros galore in our house now

Batman watching Spiderman fight the green monster

No wonder Jay always turns into a wrestling maniac after he sees Uncle Kurt!

What a picture. Ashley called Jay a few months ago and asked him what he wanted for Christmas. He quickly said, "a really big Batman". She texted me 20min later to say she ordered the biggest one she could find. He is spoiled!

Eli's first time with a dum-dum.

"where have you been all my life?" Since then, dum-dums have bailed us out of several public meltdowns.

At Aunt Gails fishing...he loves this thing!

Putting puzzles together with Uncle Alan....I'm not sure who was  helping who...

another pose in his cowboy attire, he has worn is Woody boots everyday since!

Wes and his boys

family picture

After Christmas we met the Ross' in Steinhatchee for a few days. The sunsets were gorgeous!

Bye Bye! This homebody was ready to get back to his crib!

Jay loved the boat but surely scared all of the fish away with his non-stop conversations

It was freezing!

Carrie and Jay walking back from the pier

I went to get Jay so he could see the fish Wes caught before they cleaned it. When Papa pulled out the knife Jay innocently said, "papa, don't cut the fish!" Uh oh. Maybe we should  have prepared him.

The next day was warmer and Jay stayed in the condo with Mama Ross so... much quieter too!

Redneck come to town!  We drove home like this....I was not proud. But Jay was not leaving his police car at Mimi's house. Fortunately the Dodge pulled us through, once again.

Jake was ready to get home too!

Eating with Aunt Carrie

Back at home cruising the neighborhood. Both boys love this car!

Back to fishing....pics are way out of order, sorry

I just thought this was a pretty picture

Trying to keep warm in our hats

Riding on the back of the boat while the fisherman look for their next hole

He stopped for a lunch break 15min into the trip

"where are all the fish, Daddy?"

"well Jay, you are probably scaring them away with all the talking"

What a life

By the end of the day I was COLD! I put on three coats, two hats, and barricaded my self from the wind. It was so fun though!

Finally! We have supper!

it is so beautiful down there!

Wes is showing off his photography skills