We are in the middle of some adjustments to our bathroom. Which is creating a lot of dust & dirt upstairs. I am a big fan of the work that is being done. Let me say I have a wonderful husband who has put a ton of work in and now we have a skilled uncle doing the more technical bits. Go to it!
It's really not that much. This goes to show I would never survive a true remodeling project.
I can't stand the idea of a new baby coming home to an upstairs filled with dust. You know the kind of dust that can't just be vacuumed up but requires wiping down the walls. Thankfully only the bathroom will really need the hardcore cleaning. I have made my request clear...if the baby should come before the project is completely done I will want the entire upstairs clean when I come home from the hospital. :) Not too much to ask right?
I have added my own dust to the mix by doing a lot of sewing projects in the last few days. Perhaps I'm getting a little addicted. I'm not very good at reading or sticking to a pattern. Most things I've done I've either copied from a similar item I like or just made it up. I recently bought a diaper cover & bag pattern. The sizes were a little large & I realized the covers didn't have gussets in them. I ended up tracing my favorite infant diaper cover (I only bought one when Alex was that little cause they were so expensive) and then figured out how to attach the gussets. I can't seem to figure out patterns very well. Perhaps that says something about my ability to follow instructions. I only have one thing left on my 'to do' sewing list. Never mind I just remembered a couple of other things, argh. Ok, so the list I wanted to complete is done, the rest can wait til I feel like it.
I project a birthday of Nov 4. We'll see what happens. Until then, enjoy your clean bathroom. Tomorrow I will be drying my feet before I get out of the shower & then putting my slippers on so as not to cake my feet with the thin film of ceiling dust.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Composure
Alex has been a joy (most of the time) as a toddler because he's talking and doing some pretty hilarious stuff. The hubby & I have had a hard time the last few days keeping our composure. My husband has definitely done a far better job of stifling laughter or hiding his head where as I always seem to let at least 1 little giggle out.
For instance, we are very happy that Alex wants to pray at bedtime. It's very nice to hear him pray. For some reason he thinks he needs to pray at a higher pitch - I think it sounds more endearing to him. But the last few days he has taken it up a couple pitches and it's almost impossible to keep it together. I don't want him to think we're laughing at his prayer, it's just unbelievably high.
He's also very emotional about everything right now. I find it hard not to laugh sometimes when he's crying over the most ridiculous thing. He's wanting to do everything on his own and I can understand that's it's frustrating when things don't work out for him. Take for instance, lunch today. He really enjoys sandwiches, which he calls "meat & cheese", but becomes frustrated when the sandwich falls apart. He used to then open the sandwich up and eat the individual parts but with this greater desire to do it on his own, he instead starts begging me to help him put it back together. Smushing his bread together, like it's playdough and would stay together, he breaks down in tears over his crumpled sandwich. It's just so pathetic it's hard not to laugh. Especially since he's so much like another OCD member of our family (me). I'm trying to help him understand that's it ok and that it's still edible. We may just have to take a break from sandwiches for a while.
So I'm trying to bite my lip to stop the giggling but it hasn't been working so far.
For instance, we are very happy that Alex wants to pray at bedtime. It's very nice to hear him pray. For some reason he thinks he needs to pray at a higher pitch - I think it sounds more endearing to him. But the last few days he has taken it up a couple pitches and it's almost impossible to keep it together. I don't want him to think we're laughing at his prayer, it's just unbelievably high.
He's also very emotional about everything right now. I find it hard not to laugh sometimes when he's crying over the most ridiculous thing. He's wanting to do everything on his own and I can understand that's it's frustrating when things don't work out for him. Take for instance, lunch today. He really enjoys sandwiches, which he calls "meat & cheese", but becomes frustrated when the sandwich falls apart. He used to then open the sandwich up and eat the individual parts but with this greater desire to do it on his own, he instead starts begging me to help him put it back together. Smushing his bread together, like it's playdough and would stay together, he breaks down in tears over his crumpled sandwich. It's just so pathetic it's hard not to laugh. Especially since he's so much like another OCD member of our family (me). I'm trying to help him understand that's it ok and that it's still edible. We may just have to take a break from sandwiches for a while.
So I'm trying to bite my lip to stop the giggling but it hasn't been working so far.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
This is for my brother
I promised you I would post this since I couldn't stop laughing. Here it is.
I saw a short blurb about the Hond@ W@lking @ssist Device in Re@der's Digest at my mom's yesterday and couldn't stop laughing for over 3 minutes. The picture of the guy walking linked here (http://corporate.honda.com/innovation/walk-assist/) was shown. I just couldn't imagine wearing this thing.
I saw a short blurb about the Hond@ W@lking @ssist Device in Re@der's Digest at my mom's yesterday and couldn't stop laughing for over 3 minutes. The picture of the guy walking linked here (http://corporate.honda.com/innovation/walk-assist/) was shown. I just couldn't imagine wearing this thing.
Apple Picking
Thanks to my mother-in-law we have a few photos of Alex's first apple picking last week!
Unfortunately they are backwards in sequence.
Alex and Uncle D. sitting in the giant chair. Alex actually only ate 2 apples that day but stole a lot of bites from his uncle's apples.
Waiting for the tractor to bring us to the Gala apples. Alex talked about the bumpy tractor ride all week.
Alex admiring a few large apples all shined up for him.
Unfortunately they are backwards in sequence.
Alex and Uncle D. sitting in the giant chair. Alex actually only ate 2 apples that day but stole a lot of bites from his uncle's apples.
Waiting for the tractor to bring us to the Gala apples. Alex talked about the bumpy tractor ride all week.
Alex admiring a few large apples all shined up for him.Friday, September 25, 2009
We're not dead yet!
Sorry about the title. I've been meaning to post something for a long long time now but these last 2 months have flown by. My hubby has had a lot to do at work (which we are grateful for) and projects to tackle. Alex has been a handful, just a bit of that 2 yr old look you in the face & do it anyways defiance. I've been gestating, nesting, canning & sewing. So sorry our friends and this blog have not seen much of us as of late.
Alex's vocabulary has exploded in the last 3 weeks. My parents just returned from overseas Monday. My mom took Alex to the store & came back stating "I've been gone for 3 weeks and this boy knows his colors!" Yes it has been amazing. Alex is also being very silly, which is pretty hilarious. When he has pretty little, he made his first joke. He went the door w/ a bag and said "bye" and laughed. Now he laughs and laughs and can actually say the joke he's thinking. He's gonna be a funny one (or at least he will think so).
Brian finished staining & poly-coating the 2nd bookshelf! It looks beautiful and it's so nice to have a matching pair in our living room. Plus we rearranged the living room a little bit to make some more play space. Not as homey but definitely more spacious. We also FINALLY got curtains for our bedroom (there are blinds). It's so dark at night I have to carefully navigate my way to the bathroom 6 times a night! But I'm sleeping better :) Well until the baby decided to start punching my bladder the last few nights.
Tried a new soup recipe last night and it was awesome! So simple too, you should have everything in your house most likely. Finished canning tomatoes last night and all that's left (that I'm planning to do - the tomatoes were a last minute decision) are a whole lot of applesauce! We went apple picking for the first time this year with grandma and one aunt and one uncle. Alex loved it and has been talking about the bumpy tracker ride all week. I was nervous he would try to take a bite out of all the apples, as he usually does at our neighbor's house, but he shared 1 apple with his uncle and was satisfied. He even helped pick apples off the tree where he could reach. I have to say it was a wonderful morning. Hopefully I can get some pictures from Grandma for ya'll.
Well we're nearing the end of this pregnancy. Praise God that all is well. We've had quite a few scares along the way but I've been healthy & active for most of it. She's been in position for a month now and I'm ready to have my body back to myself(well you know...for the most part). I can't wait to have Alex crawl in my lap without sitting on my belly first or not get out of breath ever time I roll over (which happens at least 15times a night) in bed. It will be a big adjust to have 2 and I know Alex will be quite jealous of our attention. He likes to talk to my belly and show 'the baby' books, so I think he'll be a wonderful big brother once he gets used the idea.
Alex's vocabulary has exploded in the last 3 weeks. My parents just returned from overseas Monday. My mom took Alex to the store & came back stating "I've been gone for 3 weeks and this boy knows his colors!" Yes it has been amazing. Alex is also being very silly, which is pretty hilarious. When he has pretty little, he made his first joke. He went the door w/ a bag and said "bye" and laughed. Now he laughs and laughs and can actually say the joke he's thinking. He's gonna be a funny one (or at least he will think so).
Brian finished staining & poly-coating the 2nd bookshelf! It looks beautiful and it's so nice to have a matching pair in our living room. Plus we rearranged the living room a little bit to make some more play space. Not as homey but definitely more spacious. We also FINALLY got curtains for our bedroom (there are blinds). It's so dark at night I have to carefully navigate my way to the bathroom 6 times a night! But I'm sleeping better :) Well until the baby decided to start punching my bladder the last few nights.
Tried a new soup recipe last night and it was awesome! So simple too, you should have everything in your house most likely. Finished canning tomatoes last night and all that's left (that I'm planning to do - the tomatoes were a last minute decision) are a whole lot of applesauce! We went apple picking for the first time this year with grandma and one aunt and one uncle. Alex loved it and has been talking about the bumpy tracker ride all week. I was nervous he would try to take a bite out of all the apples, as he usually does at our neighbor's house, but he shared 1 apple with his uncle and was satisfied. He even helped pick apples off the tree where he could reach. I have to say it was a wonderful morning. Hopefully I can get some pictures from Grandma for ya'll.
Well we're nearing the end of this pregnancy. Praise God that all is well. We've had quite a few scares along the way but I've been healthy & active for most of it. She's been in position for a month now and I'm ready to have my body back to myself(well you know...for the most part). I can't wait to have Alex crawl in my lap without sitting on my belly first or not get out of breath ever time I roll over (which happens at least 15times a night) in bed. It will be a big adjust to have 2 and I know Alex will be quite jealous of our attention. He likes to talk to my belly and show 'the baby' books, so I think he'll be a wonderful big brother once he gets used the idea.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
The Return of the Squirrel
I am sharing this story with you because Brian and I just can't help laughing when we imagine it happening.
My parents' archenemy has returned, the squirrel. He's not the same squirrel cause they took care of him last year and this one has proven to not be quite as crafty.
A little history. One day my mom came into the kitchen to find a squirrel sitting on her kitchen counter eating hamburger buns! The squirrel had managed to trespass by chewing a hole in the screen about her kitchen sink. The squirrel quickly exited by the same route when it saw my mother. It may have terrorized the house first - I know one time it did. So this fight between a certain squirrel (part of his tail was missing) and my parents continued for a few years. The last year the had bought the heaviest weight screen you could get and the squirrel managed to destroy it. A plan was made to 'take care' of the squirrel. After consuming an entire box of Decon the culprit was found dead near the yard. And they rejoiced!
A few days ago my father came home to find another squirrel on the kitchen counter eating hamburger buns! Yes he had chewed a hole through the same screen (trust me this was heavy duty stuff by now). Only this squirrel was not so bright and could not figure out how to get out. Somehow my father managed to trap him in the bathroom and finally give him a good hard wallop. The squirrel hissed and hid itself under the kitchen table in the nook. Afraid to go anywhere. Dad had to remove the screen completely and wait for the stupid animal to figure out he could exit via the same window. And he did.
Now my mother has pretty much put metal fencing on her window frame instead of a window screen. We'll have to see if the saga continues and if the burger buns may ever live on unmolested by these ravenous creatures.
My parents' archenemy has returned, the squirrel. He's not the same squirrel cause they took care of him last year and this one has proven to not be quite as crafty.
A little history. One day my mom came into the kitchen to find a squirrel sitting on her kitchen counter eating hamburger buns! The squirrel had managed to trespass by chewing a hole in the screen about her kitchen sink. The squirrel quickly exited by the same route when it saw my mother. It may have terrorized the house first - I know one time it did. So this fight between a certain squirrel (part of his tail was missing) and my parents continued for a few years. The last year the had bought the heaviest weight screen you could get and the squirrel managed to destroy it. A plan was made to 'take care' of the squirrel. After consuming an entire box of Decon the culprit was found dead near the yard. And they rejoiced!
A few days ago my father came home to find another squirrel on the kitchen counter eating hamburger buns! Yes he had chewed a hole through the same screen (trust me this was heavy duty stuff by now). Only this squirrel was not so bright and could not figure out how to get out. Somehow my father managed to trap him in the bathroom and finally give him a good hard wallop. The squirrel hissed and hid itself under the kitchen table in the nook. Afraid to go anywhere. Dad had to remove the screen completely and wait for the stupid animal to figure out he could exit via the same window. And he did.
Now my mother has pretty much put metal fencing on her window frame instead of a window screen. We'll have to see if the saga continues and if the burger buns may ever live on unmolested by these ravenous creatures.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Sewing
Well I've really gotten into sewing the last few weeks. I took a beginners sewing class and lets just say I should probably steer clear of clothes. I seem to do a lot better with diapers or other projects I can visualize. I'm gonna try my hand at making some cloth diaper covers and fitted cloth diapers for the little one coming.
Had a little fall the other day and thought of LL. Fell on my back though and nothing happened - except some whining due to my sore body.
Alex is talking non-stop these last 2 weeks. I would probably do anything to hear him say horsey cause it's soooo cute! He's learning to use his emotions to try to get his way or when he's even a teeny weeny bit upset. We're trying to teach him to listen & then respond (as much as his attention can handle) since most of the drama is unwarranted. I don't think he understands the concept 'then we'll..' or waiting for longer than a millisecond.
I'm afraid of when winter hits what this poor little boy will do 'cause he is in LOVE with the great outdoors. Yes I was outside as much as possible last year but with the baby I don't know that I'll be spending hours in the snow - hmmm. Some tips on that perhaps?
Well just thought I'd update yall a little.
Had a little fall the other day and thought of LL. Fell on my back though and nothing happened - except some whining due to my sore body.
Alex is talking non-stop these last 2 weeks. I would probably do anything to hear him say horsey cause it's soooo cute! He's learning to use his emotions to try to get his way or when he's even a teeny weeny bit upset. We're trying to teach him to listen & then respond (as much as his attention can handle) since most of the drama is unwarranted. I don't think he understands the concept 'then we'll..' or waiting for longer than a millisecond.
I'm afraid of when winter hits what this poor little boy will do 'cause he is in LOVE with the great outdoors. Yes I was outside as much as possible last year but with the baby I don't know that I'll be spending hours in the snow - hmmm. Some tips on that perhaps?
Well just thought I'd update yall a little.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Forced to Eat Paper
It was one of those days when you feel like you have too many things to do and are always having to return to the house for something you forgot...making you even later than you were to begin with.
Well those days never work out well for me because you know you can't rush a 2 yr old. It only makes it worse. I at least had realized this ahead of time and instead of rushing, remained calm and encouraged Alex along. I was feeling pretty good, I was on track for the doctors appointment after the milk pick-up and the farmer's market. Then I realized I never took my glucose drink! So I dropped Alex off at grandma's, ran back to the house to grab the instructions & the drink. Instructions: No food for at least an hour before you take the drink and none till after your appointment. Drink 40minutes before your appointment. Complete within 5min. I had 10min. I downed the drink in 1 minute and drove off.
Now it's hard enough for most pregnant women to drink this syrupy high-sugar stuff. Hard enough that my nurse had strongly recommended that I refrigerate it and use a straw. I thought for some reason I down it luke warm in 1 minute (after non having eaten for 3 hours) and keep it down! Then I ran to the house & back to check if it was locked. As I drove to the doctors my stomach began to register what I had just forced upon it and was threatening to rebel. I realized I wasn't supposed to eat anything after I drank this stuff and that I didn't have so much as have a cracker with me to keep it down.
Then I remembered, my brother-in-law used to eat paper! What harm could it be. It's not technically food and one little piece would probably do the trick. As I drove chewing on a corner of my instructions sheet I realized I had reached a new low. All so I could avoid driving to the doctors another day to get my blood drawn.
Well those days never work out well for me because you know you can't rush a 2 yr old. It only makes it worse. I at least had realized this ahead of time and instead of rushing, remained calm and encouraged Alex along. I was feeling pretty good, I was on track for the doctors appointment after the milk pick-up and the farmer's market. Then I realized I never took my glucose drink! So I dropped Alex off at grandma's, ran back to the house to grab the instructions & the drink. Instructions: No food for at least an hour before you take the drink and none till after your appointment. Drink 40minutes before your appointment. Complete within 5min. I had 10min. I downed the drink in 1 minute and drove off.
Now it's hard enough for most pregnant women to drink this syrupy high-sugar stuff. Hard enough that my nurse had strongly recommended that I refrigerate it and use a straw. I thought for some reason I down it luke warm in 1 minute (after non having eaten for 3 hours) and keep it down! Then I ran to the house & back to check if it was locked. As I drove to the doctors my stomach began to register what I had just forced upon it and was threatening to rebel. I realized I wasn't supposed to eat anything after I drank this stuff and that I didn't have so much as have a cracker with me to keep it down.
Then I remembered, my brother-in-law used to eat paper! What harm could it be. It's not technically food and one little piece would probably do the trick. As I drove chewing on a corner of my instructions sheet I realized I had reached a new low. All so I could avoid driving to the doctors another day to get my blood drawn.
Friday, June 19, 2009
It's a girl, or so they say.
We had the ultrasound done last week and found out we are having a little girl! When they say it's a girl I have some doubts in the back of my mind since they can sometimes really be sneaky boys. Anyways, right after we got home from our appointment, my (Sarah) mom and I went shopping. We hit a great garage sale around the corner and loaded up on cute baby girls clothes. I got a stroller from another garage sale yesterday and a couple months ago got a bassinet from a garage sale. Can you tell I like garage sales? Who doesn't, they are marvelous! We're due on Halloween (boo).
We are pretty excited to be having a girl. I had visions of her and Alex playing in the mud looking for frogs in about 5 years :)
Summer seems to be flying by. We have had 5 weddings and a slew of baby showers already. Brian has been asked to use his photography skills to help in 3 weddings - 2 he was actually the main photographer. He's done a great job but I think he prefers to just take photos at his leisure. He's also been asked to display 3 photos in a cafe/ice cream shop in town. I guess they have an arrangement with the local flickr group to display people's photos.
My neighbor and I put in a very very small garden this year. We don't really know what we're doing but we thought we'd try. I also cleared a spot last weekend and Brian helped plant some raspberry plants, thanks to Gma and Gpa. So hopefully we'll have a plan for next Spring of simplifying our garden and have a real vegetable garden in come May '10. I just try to remind myself, that it's ok if I don't turn out to be good gardener. As my dairy farm owner says, if you can't farm support your farmer.
I did that today as I made my first trip to the farmer's market. I was a little disappointed but I know it's early and I think Saturday is a much bigger day. As much as I loved the Holland FM last year I'm not driving all that way again this year!
I'm also enjoying hanging the clothes on the line. Don't ask me why but I just love it. The humidity I could stand without while hanging clothes & being pregnant but I don't control the weather.
Well enough of my ramblings. I thought I'd give a little update.
We are pretty excited to be having a girl. I had visions of her and Alex playing in the mud looking for frogs in about 5 years :)
Summer seems to be flying by. We have had 5 weddings and a slew of baby showers already. Brian has been asked to use his photography skills to help in 3 weddings - 2 he was actually the main photographer. He's done a great job but I think he prefers to just take photos at his leisure. He's also been asked to display 3 photos in a cafe/ice cream shop in town. I guess they have an arrangement with the local flickr group to display people's photos.
My neighbor and I put in a very very small garden this year. We don't really know what we're doing but we thought we'd try. I also cleared a spot last weekend and Brian helped plant some raspberry plants, thanks to Gma and Gpa. So hopefully we'll have a plan for next Spring of simplifying our garden and have a real vegetable garden in come May '10. I just try to remind myself, that it's ok if I don't turn out to be good gardener. As my dairy farm owner says, if you can't farm support your farmer.
I did that today as I made my first trip to the farmer's market. I was a little disappointed but I know it's early and I think Saturday is a much bigger day. As much as I loved the Holland FM last year I'm not driving all that way again this year!
I'm also enjoying hanging the clothes on the line. Don't ask me why but I just love it. The humidity I could stand without while hanging clothes & being pregnant but I don't control the weather.
Well enough of my ramblings. I thought I'd give a little update.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Shopping Zombie
So I (Sarah) was being quite indecisive and picky about which grocery store I was going to last night. See I was going grocery shopping alone :) after Alex was in bed (mistake #1). I had this sudden desire to go to a different grocery store since ours sometimes isn't stocked very well and is rather old looking. I usually love it but was in the mood for something new (mistake #2). So Brian did a search and listed off my options as I argued with myself over each one.
I finally decided to go to a grocery store that was farther away and the layout totally new to me...at 9pm at night! I proceeded to shop in Zombie mode. When I arrived the deli was just closing so I couldn't stop there and I was totally perplexed by the meat layout. Not only that but my cart kept shocking my hands! I've never had a cart shock me before. This happened throughout the entire store. I also had something poking my foot that I could not remove. (I found a sliver when I got home).
If you ran into a lady who looked like she had no clue where she was going, no one was 'at home' and was tired that was me. It took me twice as long to shop for half the amount of stuff I usually get! I never did find the ice cream toppings, oh well.
When I got home (2hrs later) I told Brian to never allow me to do that again. "Why, you won't listen to me next time either" was his response.
I said, all you have to say is "remember the time you went to store at ****" and it will all be very clear to me.
I finally decided to go to a grocery store that was farther away and the layout totally new to me...at 9pm at night! I proceeded to shop in Zombie mode. When I arrived the deli was just closing so I couldn't stop there and I was totally perplexed by the meat layout. Not only that but my cart kept shocking my hands! I've never had a cart shock me before. This happened throughout the entire store. I also had something poking my foot that I could not remove. (I found a sliver when I got home).
If you ran into a lady who looked like she had no clue where she was going, no one was 'at home' and was tired that was me. It took me twice as long to shop for half the amount of stuff I usually get! I never did find the ice cream toppings, oh well.
When I got home (2hrs later) I told Brian to never allow me to do that again. "Why, you won't listen to me next time either" was his response.
I said, all you have to say is "remember the time you went to store at ****" and it will all be very clear to me.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Confession
Confession; it's not a popular concept, and it's definitely not a popular practice. When I hear the word my typical reaction is to get all tense and defensive and start scrambling for excuses and justifications. Over the last decade though, I've learned a lot about confession; I've confessed to God, to my friends and mentors, to my wife, to my son, to my employer; I've listened to the confessions of my friends, mentors and wife; and I've tried to understand confession in the context of God's word.
The Bible has a lot to say about confession. A couple different kinds are addressed; the confession of Jesus as the Christ and the son of God, and the confession of our sins to God and to one another. Just to make it clear, I'm writing about the confession of our sins here.
I think the first idea I needed to understand was that our sin hinders our relationship with God. In Isaiah 59 the prophet writes:
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
And the apostle Peter tells us:
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect ... , so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
These passages show us one of the fundamental truths of our relationship with God. Our sin separates us from him and deserves his judgment. This is where confession comes in. A writer in Proverbs tells us:
He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
This seems to be the heart of confession throughout scripture. Our sin is not meant to be hidden, not from God, and not from our brothers or sisters. Mercy, forgiveness, healing and restoration are found through admission of guilt. In Psalm 32, David writes passionately about the anguish he experienced while concealing his sin and the transformation that occurred when he revealed it:
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "— and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!
I think we can learn a few different things from what David tells us in this psalm.
The first is that complete forgiveness requires cooperation from both the offended and the offender. How can you accept forgiveness if you have not first acknowledged your need to be forgiven?
The second is that trust and confession are inseparable. When we confess our sins we make ourselves vulnerable, and unless there is a relationship of trust between the sinner and the confessor, a confession cannot be made willingly. David urges us to trust in the Lord and tells us that the result will be immersion in his unfailing love. God's response to our sin is judgment, but his response to our confession of that sin is forgiveness, protection and security in his love. Because of this we know we can trust God with our sin. A passage from Proverbs reiterates this:
He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.
Finally, the whole psalm is a plea from David to us: Don't try to hide your sin from God, hide yourself in him. Don't resist God's discipline, confess your sin and enter his blessing.
In John's first letter he tells us:
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
Strong words. I think there is a tendency within our Christian culture to leave confession behind at conversion. We in insist that new believers acknowledge themselves as sinners and Jesus as Christ and Lord, but then what? I've seen broken people trying to portray themselves as whole, a lot of people who once trusted Christ with their sins trying to deal with them on their own.
Jesus took care of our sins past, present and future once and for all, we are forever forgiven. But we must continue to accept that forgiveness through confession and repentance. God is light, and the sins of those in a relationship with him are exposed by that light. The only way to keep our sins hidden is to remove ourselves from the light and break the relationship.
In another intriguing passage that touches on confession, James writes:
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
There's a lot in there. Trouble, happiness, sickness, sin, prayer. I'm interested in the sin part here. If I'm interpreting the text correctly this passage tells us that we should confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so that we will be healed because our sins have been forgiven.
There are a couple different contexts in which we need to confess our sins to each other.The first context is the confession and repentance of a sinner to the one he has sinned against. This context also includes our confession to God, since all sin is against him. The second context is the confession of a sinner to others who have not been hurt by the sin.
In the first context the purpose of confession and repentance is the restoration or healing of the relationship. With God this is purpose is always realized, but when we confess an offense and repent of it to the one we've offended, sometimes we're met with rejection instead of forgiveness. In this case God will still protect us and surround us with his love even though our vulnerability with the other person has been turned down or even used to wound us.
In the second context the purpose of confession is our own healing. We need the accountability and prayer of others as we pursue holiness. Our sin can be deeply entrenched in our lives and the healing can be painful. The intervention of our brothers or sisters in the process is crucial.
In my own life and in the lives of my friends I've seen the results of hiding sin . David's words about wasting away and sapped strength come to life. We are crippled by our secrets, and Satan gains a foothold. Sin is most powerful when it is concealed.
If we don't step into the light on our own God will eventually expose us. Our sin will find us out. Depending on the sin revealed the consequences can be anything from embarrassment to divorce, from temporary rejection to a permanently scarred relationship. It hurts to be sinned against, but it hurts so much worse to find out that you have been sinned against and deceived.
It is always better to confess and repent now than to deceive ourselves and others and be found out later. Confession and repentance are painful, but we cannot take care of our sin by ourselves.
I've also seen the results of confession and repentance. The power of some of the sin in my life has been broken by opening it up to the ears and prayers of my brothers or my wife. The record of my sins is an open book to God, my wife and several of my brothers. I have no secrets that are mine alone, I am free. Confession and forgiveness have breathed intimacy and depth into my relationship with my wife that would never have been possible had I concealed my sin. There's no question that our relationship has been damaged by that sin, but confession starts a healing process that would otherwise never happen.
In conclusion, we sin. If I understand the gospel correctly then I know we will until the day we die. We will sin against God, against our wives, against our children, and against a lot of other people too. That's a problem, but trying to deal with that sin on our own by keeping it secret is the furthest thing from the solution. God's solution is confession and repentance; to him, to those we've sinned against, and to those who will hold us accountable in our pursuit of holiness.
The Bible has a lot to say about confession. A couple different kinds are addressed; the confession of Jesus as the Christ and the son of God, and the confession of our sins to God and to one another. Just to make it clear, I'm writing about the confession of our sins here.
I think the first idea I needed to understand was that our sin hinders our relationship with God. In Isaiah 59 the prophet writes:
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
And the apostle Peter tells us:
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect ... , so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
These passages show us one of the fundamental truths of our relationship with God. Our sin separates us from him and deserves his judgment. This is where confession comes in. A writer in Proverbs tells us:
He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
This seems to be the heart of confession throughout scripture. Our sin is not meant to be hidden, not from God, and not from our brothers or sisters. Mercy, forgiveness, healing and restoration are found through admission of guilt. In Psalm 32, David writes passionately about the anguish he experienced while concealing his sin and the transformation that occurred when he revealed it:
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "— and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!
I think we can learn a few different things from what David tells us in this psalm.
The first is that complete forgiveness requires cooperation from both the offended and the offender. How can you accept forgiveness if you have not first acknowledged your need to be forgiven?
The second is that trust and confession are inseparable. When we confess our sins we make ourselves vulnerable, and unless there is a relationship of trust between the sinner and the confessor, a confession cannot be made willingly. David urges us to trust in the Lord and tells us that the result will be immersion in his unfailing love. God's response to our sin is judgment, but his response to our confession of that sin is forgiveness, protection and security in his love. Because of this we know we can trust God with our sin. A passage from Proverbs reiterates this:
He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.
Finally, the whole psalm is a plea from David to us: Don't try to hide your sin from God, hide yourself in him. Don't resist God's discipline, confess your sin and enter his blessing.
In John's first letter he tells us:
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
Strong words. I think there is a tendency within our Christian culture to leave confession behind at conversion. We in insist that new believers acknowledge themselves as sinners and Jesus as Christ and Lord, but then what? I've seen broken people trying to portray themselves as whole, a lot of people who once trusted Christ with their sins trying to deal with them on their own.
Jesus took care of our sins past, present and future once and for all, we are forever forgiven. But we must continue to accept that forgiveness through confession and repentance. God is light, and the sins of those in a relationship with him are exposed by that light. The only way to keep our sins hidden is to remove ourselves from the light and break the relationship.
In another intriguing passage that touches on confession, James writes:
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
There's a lot in there. Trouble, happiness, sickness, sin, prayer. I'm interested in the sin part here. If I'm interpreting the text correctly this passage tells us that we should confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so that we will be healed because our sins have been forgiven.
There are a couple different contexts in which we need to confess our sins to each other.The first context is the confession and repentance of a sinner to the one he has sinned against. This context also includes our confession to God, since all sin is against him. The second context is the confession of a sinner to others who have not been hurt by the sin.
In the first context the purpose of confession and repentance is the restoration or healing of the relationship. With God this is purpose is always realized, but when we confess an offense and repent of it to the one we've offended, sometimes we're met with rejection instead of forgiveness. In this case God will still protect us and surround us with his love even though our vulnerability with the other person has been turned down or even used to wound us.
In the second context the purpose of confession is our own healing. We need the accountability and prayer of others as we pursue holiness. Our sin can be deeply entrenched in our lives and the healing can be painful. The intervention of our brothers or sisters in the process is crucial.
In my own life and in the lives of my friends I've seen the results of hiding sin . David's words about wasting away and sapped strength come to life. We are crippled by our secrets, and Satan gains a foothold. Sin is most powerful when it is concealed.
If we don't step into the light on our own God will eventually expose us. Our sin will find us out. Depending on the sin revealed the consequences can be anything from embarrassment to divorce, from temporary rejection to a permanently scarred relationship. It hurts to be sinned against, but it hurts so much worse to find out that you have been sinned against and deceived.
It is always better to confess and repent now than to deceive ourselves and others and be found out later. Confession and repentance are painful, but we cannot take care of our sin by ourselves.
I've also seen the results of confession and repentance. The power of some of the sin in my life has been broken by opening it up to the ears and prayers of my brothers or my wife. The record of my sins is an open book to God, my wife and several of my brothers. I have no secrets that are mine alone, I am free. Confession and forgiveness have breathed intimacy and depth into my relationship with my wife that would never have been possible had I concealed my sin. There's no question that our relationship has been damaged by that sin, but confession starts a healing process that would otherwise never happen.
In conclusion, we sin. If I understand the gospel correctly then I know we will until the day we die. We will sin against God, against our wives, against our children, and against a lot of other people too. That's a problem, but trying to deal with that sin on our own by keeping it secret is the furthest thing from the solution. God's solution is confession and repentance; to him, to those we've sinned against, and to those who will hold us accountable in our pursuit of holiness.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Teaching
I recently read that Jesus' purpose in teaching was to change the lives of those who were listening to him. No, really? It seems pretty obvious, right?
Maybe not.
Let me toss in a generalization. Our modern culture is infatuated with knowledge. Think about the news. We have news about everything. We value being informed about things that will never have an impact on our lives.
We learn facts in school that we will never use. The pat response to any complaints is that "You are being taught how to learn."
We have a game called Trivial Pursuit.
I'm not arguing for ignorance, and obviously a lot of knowledge that we don't use explicitly is used to form a framework for how we understand the world we live in. My point is that to a large extent we've disconnected knowledge from response.
For example, we can have disposable income, know of an urgent financial need that we could meet, and proceed to spend the money on ourselves without recognizing any kind of serious incongruity. Maybe it's the way we've been trained.
I know that I often approach my time in God's word and sermons on Sunday with a kind of detached attitude. I'm interested, but I'm not necessarily looking for a deeper understanding of God's Kingdom that will change the way I live. I think I'm usually looking for a few more facts, a couple more concepts or connections that I can tuck under my belt. They help me build a spiritual framework through which I should be seeing all the time but which I far too seldom apply to my life. I don't really want my cage rattled when Jesus turns my world upside down with his teaching.
But Jesus didn't come to puff us up with knowledge, he came to open up the Kingdom and explain how it works. I think I want to let myself be rattled to the core. I guess this is what Paul was talking about when he wrote:
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Jesus knew it would be painful for me to go through this lifelong transformation, but I think the last thing he wanted was to throw open the gates of the Kingdom so I could stand there at the threshold with a pair of binoculars and a notebook. So Jesus, please take my hand and lead me in.
Maybe not.
Let me toss in a generalization. Our modern culture is infatuated with knowledge. Think about the news. We have news about everything. We value being informed about things that will never have an impact on our lives.
We learn facts in school that we will never use. The pat response to any complaints is that "You are being taught how to learn."
We have a game called Trivial Pursuit.
I'm not arguing for ignorance, and obviously a lot of knowledge that we don't use explicitly is used to form a framework for how we understand the world we live in. My point is that to a large extent we've disconnected knowledge from response.
For example, we can have disposable income, know of an urgent financial need that we could meet, and proceed to spend the money on ourselves without recognizing any kind of serious incongruity. Maybe it's the way we've been trained.
I know that I often approach my time in God's word and sermons on Sunday with a kind of detached attitude. I'm interested, but I'm not necessarily looking for a deeper understanding of God's Kingdom that will change the way I live. I think I'm usually looking for a few more facts, a couple more concepts or connections that I can tuck under my belt. They help me build a spiritual framework through which I should be seeing all the time but which I far too seldom apply to my life. I don't really want my cage rattled when Jesus turns my world upside down with his teaching.
But Jesus didn't come to puff us up with knowledge, he came to open up the Kingdom and explain how it works. I think I want to let myself be rattled to the core. I guess this is what Paul was talking about when he wrote:
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Jesus knew it would be painful for me to go through this lifelong transformation, but I think the last thing he wanted was to throw open the gates of the Kingdom so I could stand there at the threshold with a pair of binoculars and a notebook. So Jesus, please take my hand and lead me in.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Recent trends
As some of you may know, Alex chooses to speak in Alexeese and a bit of English. He has decided that English is not for him and therefore has forced his mother (me) to become bilingual. Of course this language would not be marketable on my resume or serve anyone else but there it is. One English word he likes is 'poop'. He recently has chosen to describe any food that looks suspicious as 'poop'. What he really means is yucky but thinks poop is a lot funnier. Recently we served Alex some chicken enchiladas which he quickly announced was poop! We tried to show him that it was good but he refused to take a bite until daddy put ketchup on it! Alex loves sauce and thanks to daddy just a little bit of special sauce led to Alex devouring his dinner.
Alex has taken to hording. Now I know for a fact he gets this from my side, traced back to my maternal grandmother. He hordes blankets, toys and anything else he finds interesting. He is attempting to be like his cousin Clara by hording as many items as he can in hopes of taking them to bed. Thankfully I put a stop to this early on. Although he has been successful at hording blankets. He usually has 5 blankets in his bed, although he never sleeps with a blanket over his body. He's unusually protective of blankets as well. Uncle Danny and I set-up a fort for Alex this week. I was expecting him to be excited (as you'll see why in the next section) but he was very concerned about the fact that 'his' blankets were all being used in this fashion. So he tore down the blankets and dragged them underneath his slide.
Alex has taken to hiding. He loves to hid underneath and inside furniture. He will spend a minimum of 10 minutes a day hiding somewhere. One favorite spot is on his rug underneath his crib with what else but a blanket and a book. His other common hiding place is inside the bench. It sits in our sunroom/mudroom and has sliding doors for the space underneath. He slides a door back, crawls in and lays down on some coats for a while. Usually talking on his cell phone. The first time I heard him inside there I was afraid he was stuck, but he can open the doors just fine from the inside as well. It's his favorite spot to call daddy from I guess or do some other business.
These are a just a few of the things he has recently done that I find rather humorous. Not to mention that it's nice to have a 10 minute break every once in a while while he goes and hides. I promise I check on him every few minutes but he usually refuses to come out.
Alex has taken to hording. Now I know for a fact he gets this from my side, traced back to my maternal grandmother. He hordes blankets, toys and anything else he finds interesting. He is attempting to be like his cousin Clara by hording as many items as he can in hopes of taking them to bed. Thankfully I put a stop to this early on. Although he has been successful at hording blankets. He usually has 5 blankets in his bed, although he never sleeps with a blanket over his body. He's unusually protective of blankets as well. Uncle Danny and I set-up a fort for Alex this week. I was expecting him to be excited (as you'll see why in the next section) but he was very concerned about the fact that 'his' blankets were all being used in this fashion. So he tore down the blankets and dragged them underneath his slide.
Alex has taken to hiding. He loves to hid underneath and inside furniture. He will spend a minimum of 10 minutes a day hiding somewhere. One favorite spot is on his rug underneath his crib with what else but a blanket and a book. His other common hiding place is inside the bench. It sits in our sunroom/mudroom and has sliding doors for the space underneath. He slides a door back, crawls in and lays down on some coats for a while. Usually talking on his cell phone. The first time I heard him inside there I was afraid he was stuck, but he can open the doors just fine from the inside as well. It's his favorite spot to call daddy from I guess or do some other business.
These are a just a few of the things he has recently done that I find rather humorous. Not to mention that it's nice to have a 10 minute break every once in a while while he goes and hides. I promise I check on him every few minutes but he usually refuses to come out.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
California Vacation: Saturday Morning
I woke up earlier than anyone else on Saturday morning and wandered downstairs. The backyard was already bathed in sunlight so I brought my Bible and prayer journal out there and was able to spend a very peaceful half hour reading and praying.
After that the kids woke up and the wondrous chaos of double family life ensued.
Here's Alex, still trying to wake up.
In the morning Hannah was gone for a while teaching, so Sarah and Jeremy and I took the kids down to the campus center again to visit the farmers market and to play amongst the trees and frolic in the grass.
On a side note, Alex has become obsessed with doors recently. He either desperately wants to open them if they're closed or he feels like he has to close them, especially if we'd like to leave them open. Here he is trying to open some office doors near the campus center.
Watching the kids play reminded me of Alex's uncle Tom's childhood ways. As a toddler Tom used to like nothing better than the attention of a young lady. When we used to camp together as family he would go missing sometimes on his tricycle, but we always knew we could find him at the site with a teenage girl. There weren't any teenagers at the play area but Alex was pretty happy playing with all the little girls, and some of them who were a few years older than him seemed to think he was the cutest thing ever. He really didn't have much of a choice on whether to play with girls or boys I guess, since the ratio was about 10 to 1.
As we were playing uncle Tom himself was beginning his drive from Phoenix, Arizona to see us.
After that the kids woke up and the wondrous chaos of double family life ensued.
Here's Alex, still trying to wake up.
In the morning Hannah was gone for a while teaching, so Sarah and Jeremy and I took the kids down to the campus center again to visit the farmers market and to play amongst the trees and frolic in the grass.
On a side note, Alex has become obsessed with doors recently. He either desperately wants to open them if they're closed or he feels like he has to close them, especially if we'd like to leave them open. Here he is trying to open some office doors near the campus center.
Watching the kids play reminded me of Alex's uncle Tom's childhood ways. As a toddler Tom used to like nothing better than the attention of a young lady. When we used to camp together as family he would go missing sometimes on his tricycle, but we always knew we could find him at the site with a teenage girl. There weren't any teenagers at the play area but Alex was pretty happy playing with all the little girls, and some of them who were a few years older than him seemed to think he was the cutest thing ever. He really didn't have much of a choice on whether to play with girls or boys I guess, since the ratio was about 10 to 1.
As we were playing uncle Tom himself was beginning his drive from Phoenix, Arizona to see us.
Monday, March 16, 2009
California Vacation: Friday
Friday morning we got up at 4:40 AM Chicago time so we could catch our 7 AM flight to LAX. We caught the flight handily and even got to see the Grand Canyon in the morning light along the way:
At this point you may be wondering why we were going to California. I'll tell you. We were going to California to visit Sarah's sister Hannah and her husband Jeremy and their two daughters Clara and Ruthie. We had tens of thousands of frequent flier miles left over from Australia, and Alex was just about 2 years old so he wouldn't be able to qualify as a "lap child" much longer, so we decided to ditch the ice and snow for a few days and hang out with some well loved family.
So as it often happens at the end of our flight we were there! California! Sun! Warmth!
It was wonderful.
Hannah and Ruthie picked us up and we rolled on back to their house across the street from the campus of the University of California Irvine, where Jeremy is a professor of Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic. Here are a few tastes of our arrival:
The kids warmed right up to each other - Alex and Ruthie are almost two and Clara is four. I think it's been about a year since they've seen each other.
After the kids woke up from their post lunch naps we took a walk down to the university campus center where we got some frozen yogurt and watched the kids play in the park area.
Sarah does not mess around when it comes to Alex trying to jump into fountains:
That evening we had a nice dinner at home, played with the kids outside, and went to bed early.
At this point you may be wondering why we were going to California. I'll tell you. We were going to California to visit Sarah's sister Hannah and her husband Jeremy and their two daughters Clara and Ruthie. We had tens of thousands of frequent flier miles left over from Australia, and Alex was just about 2 years old so he wouldn't be able to qualify as a "lap child" much longer, so we decided to ditch the ice and snow for a few days and hang out with some well loved family.
So as it often happens at the end of our flight we were there! California! Sun! Warmth!
It was wonderful.
Hannah and Ruthie picked us up and we rolled on back to their house across the street from the campus of the University of California Irvine, where Jeremy is a professor of Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic. Here are a few tastes of our arrival:
The kids warmed right up to each other - Alex and Ruthie are almost two and Clara is four. I think it's been about a year since they've seen each other.
After the kids woke up from their post lunch naps we took a walk down to the university campus center where we got some frozen yogurt and watched the kids play in the park area.
Sarah does not mess around when it comes to Alex trying to jump into fountains:
That evening we had a nice dinner at home, played with the kids outside, and went to bed early.
California Vacation: Thursday
We were supposed to fly out of Grand Rapids at about 7:40 PM on Thursday night. We were supposed to connect in Chicago and take the last flight of the day to LAX. It may come as a shocking surprise to you, but that didn't happen.
Our flight out of Grand Rapids taxied into take off position about a half hour behind schedule and waited for the good word from Chicago to take off (Chicago was holding us off due to rain and strong winds). We ended up waiting on the runway for what seemed, especially to Alex, like forever, but was probably more like an hour.
It really wasn't too bad, especially since Alex had a grand old time cavorting around the mostly empty rear portion of the plane and making friends with the flight attendant and several passengers. He did have one near disaster when his feet slipped off the armrest he was climbing on and he found himself diving head first toward the floor while his mother and the flight attendant watched in horror. I saw it happening in slow motion and my body was taken over by a kind of papa superpower as my arms neatly inserted themselves under his freefalling body with the speed of lightning, swooped him up softly as his hair brushed the floor, and flipped him back up to the safety generally reserved only for those standing upright on solid ground.
Eventually we did take off. This gave us a chance to think with great concern about our connecting flight in Chicago, but we were reassured by the flight crew that all the flights out of Chicago were also delayed, and that we would be fine.
When we got to O'Hare Sarah threw Alex in the carry pack, front style, and we rushed to the nearest flight monitor. It showed that our flight to LAX was currently boarding. So we ran 0.4 miles (at the least, I just measured it on Google Earth) with all our luggage from our arrival gate in Terminal G to our departure gate in Terminal H. When we arrived the gate was closed, the flight was gone, and we were very, very sweaty and very, very disappointed.
We ended up staying the night in a Holiday Inn Express at the "distressed passenger" rate. Our stay lasted about 6 hours since we caught the first flight out to LAX in the morning. Alex and Sarah were able to sleep pretty well but I ended up tossing and turning the night away.
Overall we figured it really didn't work out too badly (except for the whole lack of sleep thing). Had our flights all gone as planned we would have been getting into LAX at 11 PM California time, with an hour car ride to Jeremy and Hannah's place in Irvine where we would have hit the sack immediately. As it ended up we got into LAX at 9:30 AM California time on Friday and were able to spend an hour in the car soaking in the sun and scenery on the way down to Irvine.
Our flight out of Grand Rapids taxied into take off position about a half hour behind schedule and waited for the good word from Chicago to take off (Chicago was holding us off due to rain and strong winds). We ended up waiting on the runway for what seemed, especially to Alex, like forever, but was probably more like an hour.
It really wasn't too bad, especially since Alex had a grand old time cavorting around the mostly empty rear portion of the plane and making friends with the flight attendant and several passengers. He did have one near disaster when his feet slipped off the armrest he was climbing on and he found himself diving head first toward the floor while his mother and the flight attendant watched in horror. I saw it happening in slow motion and my body was taken over by a kind of papa superpower as my arms neatly inserted themselves under his freefalling body with the speed of lightning, swooped him up softly as his hair brushed the floor, and flipped him back up to the safety generally reserved only for those standing upright on solid ground.
Eventually we did take off. This gave us a chance to think with great concern about our connecting flight in Chicago, but we were reassured by the flight crew that all the flights out of Chicago were also delayed, and that we would be fine.
When we got to O'Hare Sarah threw Alex in the carry pack, front style, and we rushed to the nearest flight monitor. It showed that our flight to LAX was currently boarding. So we ran 0.4 miles (at the least, I just measured it on Google Earth) with all our luggage from our arrival gate in Terminal G to our departure gate in Terminal H. When we arrived the gate was closed, the flight was gone, and we were very, very sweaty and very, very disappointed.
We ended up staying the night in a Holiday Inn Express at the "distressed passenger" rate. Our stay lasted about 6 hours since we caught the first flight out to LAX in the morning. Alex and Sarah were able to sleep pretty well but I ended up tossing and turning the night away.
Overall we figured it really didn't work out too badly (except for the whole lack of sleep thing). Had our flights all gone as planned we would have been getting into LAX at 11 PM California time, with an hour car ride to Jeremy and Hannah's place in Irvine where we would have hit the sack immediately. As it ended up we got into LAX at 9:30 AM California time on Friday and were able to spend an hour in the car soaking in the sun and scenery on the way down to Irvine.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
We're Back!
Brian, Alex & I flew to California last Thursday night and arrived Friday morning. Let's just say we ran a long ways (with Alex strapped to me) to miss our connection & then sleep 4 hours in a hotel. But everything went smoothly otherwise.
Best vacation in a long time! It was so good to see my sister and her family. Alex slept like a champ and followed the girls' schedule so it made life a breeze. The weather was beautiful, we ate lots of frozen yogurt and as usual Hannah cooked up some delicious food. We got to see the rich & surgically enhanced, God's beautiful beaches and collect a few rolly pollies for Alex's bug box. We spent every day outside enjoying the sun. Alex wouldn't even eat breakfast until after he got to enjoy the backyard. Hannah's house is beautiful and it is always wonderful to go somewhere where you don't have to pack much because they already have it all! Go Heis's!
Tom drove to over to see us on Saturday. It was so great to see him & Alex went to him right away. He even said I love you to Tom as he left! That is the only time he's ever said it. :)
Well I'm sure Brian will post lots of pictures on his flickr account and some here. Thanks to the Heis's for such a wonderful time, we wish you lived closer so we could crash your place more often.
Best vacation in a long time! It was so good to see my sister and her family. Alex slept like a champ and followed the girls' schedule so it made life a breeze. The weather was beautiful, we ate lots of frozen yogurt and as usual Hannah cooked up some delicious food. We got to see the rich & surgically enhanced, God's beautiful beaches and collect a few rolly pollies for Alex's bug box. We spent every day outside enjoying the sun. Alex wouldn't even eat breakfast until after he got to enjoy the backyard. Hannah's house is beautiful and it is always wonderful to go somewhere where you don't have to pack much because they already have it all! Go Heis's!
Tom drove to over to see us on Saturday. It was so great to see him & Alex went to him right away. He even said I love you to Tom as he left! That is the only time he's ever said it. :)
Well I'm sure Brian will post lots of pictures on his flickr account and some here. Thanks to the Heis's for such a wonderful time, we wish you lived closer so we could crash your place more often.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Happy Birthday Laura
There's lots going through my head today about you. I wish you were and we could celebrate your birthday. Every year we are the same age for just 1 month and then I become the eldest. Every year Mark beats me by 3 weeks and has to remind us who is older. I saw your mother today and we agreed that we'd do anything to have you here with us. You'd probably be married with a little one running around. I like to think that you are blessed to have our little one with you in heaven. I miss you lots and love you so much. Happy birthday beautiful girl.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Too cute to be good
Alex has been interested in the potty for the last couple months and I am more than happy to encourage this interest. A couple days ago he sat on his potty and announced to me the various adventures he was having with the potty while I was cooking dinner (there is a half bath just off the kitchen). Alex knows that he is not allowed to be in the bathroom alone with the door shut so he quite often makes a game of closing and opening the door just to see what I will do. I thought today was one of those days and was quite easily distracted with making dinner, so Alex would close the door and then I would go open the door and he would close the door... you see how this was progressing. I was finally at a pause in the cooking so I dragged Alex out of the bathroom and thought it rather cute that he had stuffed a few Kleenex in his potty (he's also big on having to wipe every time he's near the potty).
When Brian came home I asked him to look in the bathroom at what Alex had done. Brian was not impressed. I did not understand why, until he pointed out the big chunk of wall paper missing! I then realized that Alex was being way too cute at the time to not have been involved in mischief.
I avoided mischief today. I relented and finally let Alex 'help' mommy wash the dishes. I made sure all things sharp were washed and put out of reach before I put him beside me. I was quite impressed with his minimal splashing. He loves bubbles in the bathtub so of course bubbles in the sink kept him fascinated well into dinner time without a fuss. Perhaps this will need to become a regular occurrence. :)
When Brian came home I asked him to look in the bathroom at what Alex had done. Brian was not impressed. I did not understand why, until he pointed out the big chunk of wall paper missing! I then realized that Alex was being way too cute at the time to not have been involved in mischief.
I avoided mischief today. I relented and finally let Alex 'help' mommy wash the dishes. I made sure all things sharp were washed and put out of reach before I put him beside me. I was quite impressed with his minimal splashing. He loves bubbles in the bathtub so of course bubbles in the sink kept him fascinated well into dinner time without a fuss. Perhaps this will need to become a regular occurrence. :)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Anymore snow?
We are getting a little tired of winter already. It's hard to believe after all our initial excitement and hard work at staying on top of the shoveling. But it has happened, we are ready for summer. I just came in from shoveling and chipping at the hard packed snow with one of those short handled sharp shovels (often used for digging holes). I am a little tuckered out. It was the chipping that did me in.
Alex, on the other hand, is not. He loves to go sledding and throw snowballs for hours. He will occasionally lie down for snow angels (he has a fear of laying on his back). Brian made him his own sledding hill in the front yard this past weekend. The neighbor girls broke it in for us.
I can picture Australia and it's warmth right now, I don't even have to close my eyes. So please, Lord, don't let it snow into April this year.
Alex, on the other hand, is not. He loves to go sledding and throw snowballs for hours. He will occasionally lie down for snow angels (he has a fear of laying on his back). Brian made him his own sledding hill in the front yard this past weekend. The neighbor girls broke it in for us.
I can picture Australia and it's warmth right now, I don't even have to close my eyes. So please, Lord, don't let it snow into April this year.
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