Posts from — January 2008

Gage was looking for his dry erase board this morning. He was in the middle of looking over his school assignments for the day, which are written on the board, and set it down.  When he went back to get it, it was nowhere to be found.  We spent about 10 minutes looking for this thing and I was getting so frustrated. Gage cannot function without it, and he was having a fit and I was losing my patience because I thought he had lost it. I kept saying, “Gage, this makes no sense. How did it just disappear?” The whole time, Shea was sitting on the couch watching TV and every now and then he would so sweetly say, “I don’t know, Gage.” It never even crossed my mind that this little guy might have it. So, finally, Gage went over to the couch and started pulling the big pillows away in a last ditch effort to find his precious dry-erase board. And, there it was, hidden in the pillows by the one and only Shea. It was so hard for me to not laugh. Gage started pointing at him, saying, “You lied to me, Shea!” I explained to Gage that he doesn’t know what “lying” means, but considering how advanced his little scheme was to hide something, I’m not so sure anymore.

Shea decided the week before our trip to NC that he was done with diapers.  Just like that, he was done.  I was getting ready to put a diaper on him for his nap and he started crying, saying, “No, Mommy.  Me want underwear.  No diaper.”  So, I went with it.  And, he has not worn a diaper in about 5 weeks!  Now he walks around saying, “Me wear underwear.  Bye-bye diapers!”  He has even progressed to going by himself.  I usually help him, but every now and then I’ll tell him to go by himself and he walks into the bathroom, moves the stool over to the toilet, and climbs up like a big boy.  He even remembers to hold the important part down!  He says, “Me hold pee-pee down, Mommy.”  As I’ve told people that he is out of diapers now, they have all asked what we did.  It really was a progression.  I started letting him wear underwear around the house on the days we were home and would put him on the potty often throughout the day.  Then, at nap time, I put a diaper back on him.  And, even on the days that we were on the go, I would take his diaper off before nap or bed and let him go on the potty to conserve the diaper, really.  It feels so good to be diaper free!  Thanks, Emily, for reminding me about this huge accomplishment!  I almost forgot to tell the world!

Yeah, it seems that I’ve put my blog on the back burner these past few weeks. I can’t say that I’ve been terribly busy. I’ve just been struggling with getting into the swing of things since we returned from our trip. So, I’m going to do a random update and I may or may not expand on some of the things I list later.

1. We took a marriage class 2 weekends ago, and God used this class to make me realize something. I have been a perfectionist when it comes to my marriage. I have a list of things in my head that I think a healthy married couple should do. If we aren’t doing them, I feel like our marriage isn’t good enough. I was set free from this bondage by hearing my husband tell me that he is completely happy and satisfied with our marriage and that all of those “things” on my list are good things, but that they don’t have to be done to have a good marriage. He reassured me that the fact that he is filled with love for me when he thinks of me during the day, tells him that we have a great marriage. It was so freeing for me to realize how bound I had been by this set of rules I had construed in my head.

2. We sent out a support letter before Christmas, and upon our return, received 3 responses from people who want to help pay for Jared’s schooling. It was so encouraging for us and gave us hope that we just may be able to finish seminary without having to take out any more school loans.

3. I’m brainstorming on ideas for school with Gage because I think he has too much free time. He needs to be busy ALL of the time, and because he is so high energy, I tend to send him outside instead of giving him things to do to keep him busy. I don’t want him to have to do busy work, but I just feel like he needs a major project that he can work on in his free time. I’m also planning on bringing a few more subjects into our school day.

4. I started back on Weight Watchers this week. I’m on Day 5 today, and it’s going really well. I’m a lifetime member, but I’ve gone over my goal, and have actually gained 10 lbs. since August. I feel good about getting this under control and am determined to get back down to below my goal weight.

5. Our friend Mandy is moving here! In fact, Jared and some guys from church unloaded her truck today. We’re so excited to have her close by and I can’t wait to be able to hang out on a regular basis now. So, if you’re in St. Louis and need a photographer, she’s the woman for you! (the baby on the front page of her website is our very  own, Shea)

6. The weather today is gorgeous! Shea and I went for a walk today with my friend, Wendy and her boys and then enjoyed the campus playground . I didn’t realize how bad I needed a sunny, warmer day! After 10 degree weather, 40 degrees feels warm. And, it’s supposed to be even warmer tomorrow. I see a bike ride in our near future.

7. I’ve been thinking a lot about how different personality types respond to campus living. I think they need to write a book about this and have everyone read it before they move here.

And, that’ s about it for now. I’m still planning on posting some pics from our trip to NC. I’m just proud of myself for actually posting. Man, this weather today did me some good!

I know I’ve kept all of you blog stalkers just waiting in suspense for my next entry.  I do apologize to my large fan base!  We spent 3 weeks in NC and are very glad to be home.  The trip was good, but probably a little too long.  And, I think I can say that I have never experienced a trip back home which brought me through such a wide range of emotions.  It’s all way too much to write about here, but I am physically and emotionally exhausted.  We were able to spend some good time with family and even catch up with some friends we had not seen in a long while.  It was so good to pick up with friends right where we left off 3 years ago.  At the tail end of our trip, I ended up spending time with a close friend who is going through one of the absolute hardest times of her life.  Jared dropped me off to stay with her and I am so thankful I had that time with her.  We kept commenting on how crazy it was that it just so happened I was coming through NC at this time in her life.  It was such a gift for me to truly help her bear such a heavy burden.  I know that I have never suffered with a friend like I did this past week.  We clung to Christ and cried out to Him together in desperation.  And, we both knew He was there in a big way.  My faith was strengthened by watching her cling to her Savior.  After all of that, Jared and I (well, really just Jared) drove through the night and we arrived home on Wednesday morning.  This weekend, we took a class here at seminary entitled “Gospel-Centered Marriage”.  It’s given us a lot to process.  Most of it is stuff that I’ve tried processing before, but somewhere along the line life got in the way and I forgot.  So, tonight, we’re going to rest and spend some needed time together.  We are really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things, and especially looking forward to seeing our church family tomorrow.  We’ve missed being home.