To Hades and Back Again

I once did a 6-week internship in a foreign country that is located in the center of the earth. Otherwise known as Hades. Otherwise known as The Hottest Place On Heaven and On Earth. Otherwise know as A Place to Experience Daily Temperatures of 157 Degrees and 459% Humidity.

I will leave the location of this place unnamed, as I would hate to deter anyone from going there, because the people are enough to make you fall in love for a lifetime. This country is a 3rd world country and we thankfully got to experience the fullness of it. One example, we washed our clothes by hand on the roof for 6 weeks. That meant hauling water up and down several times, and then hanging them out to dry. We ate their food, drank their coffee, used their toilets (a lot I might add), walked their streets, visited their houses, became their friends.

Our “ministry” consisted of visiting our neighbors and simply doing their life with them. We talked about Jesus and school and kids and cats and cheating in cards. We drank coffee in their living rooms with cement floors. (Because if there’s anything that tops off a day in Hades, it’s coffee). We played cards and baseball, took walks and one run (and never again after that as it took my body temperature approximately one year to stabilize to a non-heart attack range), did each other’s hair and makeup, danced, celebrated a wedding and new marriage, visited a water park Third World style, and laughed and laughed and laughed. We always laughed.

There were three other interns beside myself and I don’t think any of us have ever laughed so much in our lives. We truly experienced the fullness of life. And all without modern “amenities” and “comfort.” Sure, we had them to some extent. We had suicide showers (water heated by electrical currents) and places to sleep and food to eat. But better than that, we had relationship. Authentic friendship.

We shared everything. Sickness, clothes, secrets, prayers, burdens, fears, laughter, beds, motorcycle rides, dreams.

“And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common.” Acts 2:44

We literally got to experience this.

We were completely welcome into the homes and lives of those who call this country their own.We were loved and we loved back. They loved us well. They showed us a living picture of true joy, contentment, sharing all things, fellowship, faith, prayer. Every morning we got up at 5am to have our quiet times and then to pray with and for one another.

Oftentimes when you go to a place that is poorer, it’s easy to develop a Savior complex. (I didn’t make up that term but I don’t know where I first read it, so I can’t credit it. Again, let’s pretend I’m brilliant.)

I’m going to go there and help them. Change them. Teach them how things are really done. But often, most of the time, all the time, we are the ones changed. Suddenly that one time we said, I don’t know what I’d do without my two-car garage/children’s play room/4-bedroom house, seems so silly. Instead we start to think such crazy thoughts like, How could I live with less so that I could help more? Give more? 

Where do I see others with prejudice and judgment? When was the last time I looked at a person and saw a dirty face with unwashed clothes, and not the infinitely valuable creation that God knit together so carefully in their mother’s womb?

Lord, help us to love well. Help me to love like You do.

Mother’s Day Recap

I had a great Mother’s Day. Our church meets on Saturday night, so we had all day Sunday as a family. It was wonderful. I didn’t want to cook on Mother’s Day (I don’t want to cook most days), so it was a quick decision to go out for breakfast. It was completely up to me. After making clear that I wanted to go someplace new, and notsomewhere we always go, we talked about all our options. With resolve firmly in place to try someplace new, I settled on Food for Thought. Why reinvent the wheel, y’all? If it’s good, it’s good. No need to try something new.

After breakfast we drove around looking for a park that a friend had posted about that had looked amazing. While the drive was beautiful it didn’t take long to realize we were not on the same page. Unbeknownst to us, Matt had one park in mind and I had another (this friend had posted about several). Ultimately we were both right. Hear that, babe? I was right too. Eventually we found the park and had a great time.

After the park we headed home for naptime.

While the boys were napping, I reviewed Matt’s paper for school that was due that day. Dream come true. Check that off my Mother’s Day Bucket List. I did get to sit out in the sun for part of it though. So that kind of made up for it. Except for when the Apocalypse occurred. Otherwise known as The Attack of the Wasps. That quickly brought me back inside with lots of Evil Thoughts and Yells thrown at them for good measure.

Once the boys got up, we met my parents at U-Swirl. Free fro-yo for mamas! Holla’. For that I do not have Photo Documentation, but it happened, trust me.

After that we made a quick trip to the mall and then headed home. It was a great day. I love just getting to hang out with my family with no agenda. Nowhere to be, nothing scheduled.

We live very near a major river and we’ve found this park that’s about a 10 minute bike ride from our house that leads to lots of trails along the river. Micah’s very favorite thing is throwing rocks into the river, so yesterday when Matt got home from work we made it a family trip. We had planned to take him Sunday but didn’t get the chance, so we made it happen yesterday.

Please don’t email me and tell me how awful I look in this picture. I know, okay. Focus on Asher. Asher. Focus.

Can you believe this is a bike ride from our house?? There’s Micah doing his thing – throwing rocks to his heart’s content.

Me and my buddy.

We’ve been having perfect weather and we’ve tried to make the most of it everyday. I love having this kind of outdoor activity so close. It’s a great way to end the day as a family. Bike ride, hiking, river, maybe or maybe not some ice cream.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

A Mother’s Day

In light of this Pre-Mother’s Day Friday, some thoughts on motherhood.

Being a mom is complex. There are so many different facets and emotions, ranging from the intensely happy to the intensely not-happy. I’ve found it’s possible to feel opposing emotions at the exact same time. Wanting a moment to myself, but being happiest when they’re with me.

Last night I drove to town expecting to meet up with friends for a women’s group I’m in. I left the house early, wanting to squeeze in a couple of errands and have a little alone time. Turns out, the group was cancelled and I found myself in town with nothing but scarlet horizons and free and easy on the radar. I picked up a burrito and happily indulged in one of my favorite past times of years and years past. Eating by myself while reading a book. Oh, the quiet bliss.

Afterwards I debated heading to my favorite bookstore for another of my favorite past times. Picking through dozens of books and choosing one after another to sit down and read as much as I can before I have to leave. I decided against that and considered yet another of my favorite past times. Heading to the mall for a leisurely stroll and a healthy dose of people watching. Alas, no.

Ultimately I headed to Wal-mart (kill me a slow torturous death) to pick up a few items we needed. As I was walking in, it hit me.

I was thrilled when I found out that I was going to have an unexpected evening to myself. I couldn’t wait to do what I wanted to do with no concern for schedules and nap times and Spousal Boredom.

But after less than an hour, I realized that what I really wanted was to get home to my three favorite people in the whole world. My time alone was good for a dinner hour’s worth, but really that’s all I needed. What I really wanted was to be with my husband and sons.

Wanting to be alone but really wanting to be with them. Sometimes, they’re both true.

One of my favorite things about being a mother is the sweet secretness of it. Like those nights of cuddling them close and whispering into their ears every truth about them that I can think of. You are the apple of mommy’s eye. You make mommy sohappy. I love who you are. I love everything about you. You are loved more than you will ever know. You are so wanted. You were always wanted.

The tears as I’ve held them close and wept for every child abused and unloved and alone.

The prayers that I’ve spoken aloud over them, about them, for them. The conversations between me and the Lord as I’ve snuggled them before naptime and bedtime.

The way that I know them. Know know them. I know what that cry means and what this cry means. I know exactly what he’s saying when he’s frantically asking for burand he keeps hearing, I’m sorry buddy, I don’t know what you want. Butter, he’s asking for butter! I yell down the hall. Obviously. How can you make it any clearer, right?

Motherhood is sweet and refining. It reminds me that I’m a sinner in desperate need of the Cross every single day. It shows me that love is deep and rich and profound and it only takes a single moment to break your heart. Like when he says so sweetly,Yove YOU, Mommy! 


I love you, buddy. More than you will ever know.


*Linked up with kellyskornerblog.com and beholdingglory.com*

Math and Gratitude

I’d like to present a mathematical equation.

Two newly popped through teeth + terrified nursing mother = torture that should be reserved for only The Dark Ages

I’d like to present another mathematical equation.

Bugs are evil. Butterflies are bugs. Butterflies are evil.

My brain hasn’t done this much math in years.

On a related note, I’ve been praying lately that I would have a thankful heart. A grateful heart. I’ve tried to always be mindful and thankful for the good things in my life. You know, the big things. An amazing husband. Two sons that have stolen my heart. Food to eat. Not just any shelter over our head, but nice, comfy-cozy, spacious shelter. More than enough in the bank to meet our needs. You know, those kinds of things.

But I wanted to be more intentional and thankful for the other things too. So-calledlittle things. But I was driving home one day recently and I realized that my problem isn’t being thankful for thankable things. My problem is I don’t give thanks for the things that I am not thankful for. The hard things. The unwanted things.

“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1st Thessalonians 5:18

So I tried it out. Asher went through a spell of getting up in the middle of the night and I decided to be thankful. So I dragged myself out of bed and thanked the Lord for my son and for his life and for being able to get up with him. And that’s about all I remember from 3 in the morning.

But it totally changed my attitude. And I know this is so circa 1998, and we all already learned these Gratefulness Changes Attitudes pep talks, but I didn’t. Because sometimes I think certain things don’t apply to me. And sometimes I think that if it’s verifiably upsetting, then I don’t have to choose a different path for my thoughts to wander down.

Upsetting situation + I get upset = usually lots of complaining and I-feel-so-sorry-for-myselfs

But that’s the very nature of this new life I’ve been given. I’m not the same. I don’t have to do the things I’ve always done. By God’s grace I can choose differently.

So, as my good friend once said, if this is a 10-mile journey, I’ve just taken 3 steps. All praise be to God.

A Myriad of Things

I’ve been a little bothered by a couple of things in my last wisdom post.

First, I think I may have inadvertently made it sound as if age and experience havenothing to do with wisdom. What I really mean is that ultimately wisdom comes from God, but much of it can also happen through age and experience as we walk with him. I just meant to say that simply getting old doesn’t guarantee wisdom. I’ve long said that I can’t wait to get old and be wiser. I just know that I don’t have to wait foronly that to have wisdom in my life. I’ve long prayed that God would give me godly wisdom (which is first pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy – James 3:17) that’s beyond my years and own personal experience. I desperately want to be wise and not foolish.

Really that’s the only thing that bothered me. I feel better already.

I have this weird obsession with Attachment Parenting. And I know, I know, all youBabyWisers are removing me from your subscriptions. I can handle it. I’ve lived through worse. Like 6 days without Dairy Queen. I can survive this.

I don’t know what it is. The whole natural birth, baby-wearing, co-sleeping (ok, not the co-sleeping) way of doing things is really fascinating. Obviously there’s so much more to it than that but of what little I know, those stand out.

I was once a staunch BWer, but after seeing the legalistic fruit it bore in my life and the little joys it robbed me of, like *gasp* rocking my precious babe to sleep every once in a while, I was done with it. I’ve found a happy medium throughBabyWhisperer. Similar concept as BW but erring on the side of Life and Freedom and Happiness.

Really that’s about all I have to say about that. Not too much Deep happening in these parts.

I should probably do a Child Update, since it’s been a while.

Micah, you are now 2 years and 3 months old. You are talking up a storm and repeat everything we say, which is so hilarious. You are super tall for your age, which makes you look older than you really are. You are a huge Daddy’s boy which brings great delight to my heart. I love the special relationship you and your daddy have. Your favorite thing in the entire world is to go on a “bak wide” to see the ducks and “bearwes” and throw “wocks” with Daddy. You both come back so happy and full of stories, which are always hilarious to hear.

You’ve been a great sleeper forever, except for this recent thing of getting up between 7 and 7:30. Not cool.

You’ve never been a picky eater, but we’ve found if we want you to eat mostly everything on your plate, we have to wait to put other things on the table until you’re done, like fruits and “ups” and “salda” (chips and salsa).

You’re still very attached to us when we’re out and about and have occasional meltdowns if we leave you with others, but I think we’re slowly but surely getting past that.

We love you so much it’s ridiculous. Oftentimes after we’ve put you to bed, one or both of us will mention how much we miss you and go over the stories from that day that made us laugh. We delight deeply in you and find great joy in getting to do things that serve no other purpose than simply making you happy. Sometimes Daddy and I passive aggressively battle over who gets to be the one to make you happy. Like who got to give you the chocolate cupcake today. I let Daddy win, mostly because I love seeing him love you.

Asher, you are now 8 1/2 months old. You are still a roly-poly ball of jiggly goodness. Just thinking about you makes me smile. You are one happy, contented baby. Except for when you’re not. And then you are one back-arching, arm and leg-thrashing, screaming ball of happiness. Except for the happiness part. 98% of the time, you’re happy and easy-going. 2% of the time your Dr. Jekyll escapes his confines and makes his way to the Outerworld. Yikes. But it’s usually easily solvable with some milk and/or bedtime.

You are still breast-feeding full time, and as of only 3 days ago, started taking a bottle. I’m kind of lazy on giving you solids, so you usually only eat solids 1-2 times a day, lunch and/or dinner. You are a great sleeper. You’ve mostly dropped your 10:30ish feeding, so you often sleep from 7 to 8.

*and all the angels broke out in the Hallelujah Chorus*

You take two naps a day, anywhere from 1-3 hours. Sometimes you get up after 45 minutes and I terrify myself that this is our new normal, and then your next nap you sleep for 2 hours and all is well again. But my Type A likes to tie myself up in freakish knots of anxiety until Reality proves me wrong again.

You and your brother get along great. Micah is very lovey towards you, although we do have times of having to intervene and remind him to be nice, gentle, kind, etc. Typical kid things, I’m sure.

Whew, I think that’s the gist of it. All caught up we are. I leave you now with proof of the Cutest Kids in the World.

 

How to Travel on a Plane with Children

What? It makes me so sad that it’s been over a week since I’ve posted. I have all these thoughts but I haven’t had the time to get them out.

(Except for all that time after the boys go to bed and I sit down with ice cream and something to read. Except for that time.)

I thought I’d write about something near and dear to my heart, of which is also fresh on my mind.

Traveling on an airplane and through airports with a child and/or children.

Micah just completed his 19th plane trip and Asher his 4th, so I consider myself a tiny bit of an expert. But only sometimes, because I’m also apt to make the same mistakes again and again. Like overpacking.

(Hi, my name is Sara and I’m a Chronic Overpacker.)

(Even though I so judge other families, only in my mind of course, who travel with too much stuff.)

But first, some important things to tuck in your back pocket.

You will get off schedule. There’s no getting around it. I try my best to stick with it to an extent but it’s just completely unrealistic to keep such things as naptimes at their regular time or for them to nap as long as they may normally nap, or anything else schedule-related. If you can tell yourself that beforehand, it lowers the Anxious Level an eighth of a notch.

You will most likely have at least one episode of a crying/screaming child on the airplane. Yes, the inner sanctum of your nerves will light on fire. But you will also survive, and so will everyone around you. Nobody has yet died from listening to a screaming child on the airplane. Stay calm, keep a sense of humor, and put those Foxhole Prayers to some good use.

Okay, Traveling With Infants and Toddlers.

• Consolidate your carry-ons. I use a simple school-like backpack and make it my purse and diaper bag. That way I only have one bag to keep track of and I can have both hands free. This is especially helpful through TSA screening. Also, if you have any liquids (baby food, tylenol, etc.), keep it all together in a ziplock bag so you can quickly get it out for screening.
• Pack one change of clothes (I usually do pajamas) for each child and about 3-4 diapers per child. Trust me, Madame Pack-Too-Much, statistically speaking they do not need any more than that.
• A small, umbrella stroller is your best bet. Anything bigger is usually completely unnecessary and a bigger hassle. Jogging strollers in the airport should be outlawed. (They actually are on some airlines, like everyone’s beloved Southwest Airlines.) Coming from someone who has to load those things, I have a deep-seated dislike (read: hatred) for jogging strollers in the airport. Unless the airport that you’re going to requires 4-wheel tread, leave it at home.
• Pack snacks and try to choose ones that aren’t messy. I’ve learned this the hard way. Apple slices are much less messy than bananas. The same with ham and cheese sandwiches over PB and J.
• Secure a DVD player. Seriously, this has been the biggest help for us on the airplane. It’s so hard (impossible) to explain to a toddler why they can’t get out of their seat and run up and down the aisles, so having something like a DVD player is great for when all your red-faced explanations break down.
• Between planes on your layovers, let them out of the stroller and run around like a crazy person. They need to get out their energy and it makes the next leg a little easier if they’re worn out.
• Search the maps and find where the kids’ play area is. Most major airports have them and some of them are pretty snazzy.
• Be kind and amiable to the people sitting around you. On our last flight today, as soon as we were sitting down Micah started kicking the seat in front of him. Of course I was stern with him about it but I knew that it was probably not going to stop anytime soon because it was mostly subconscious kicking, so I tapped the guy’s shoulder and told him I was so sorry and that I didn’t want it to drive him crazy, and I asked him if he’d like to change seats. I also told the flight attendant the same thing on his behalf when she came by. The passenger had a great attitude about it and behold, before we knew it Micah was passed out anyway. But it helps to go out of your way to be thoughtful of the people around you, especially the flight attendants.
• Lastly, try as hard as you can to keep a good attitude. Your experience will largely depend on your attitude. I’ve seen some parents so stressed out, for no apparent reason other than that they were in an airport and they had kids, that I was tempted to take medication myself. Stay relaxed, calm, easy-going. Have fun and make the best of it.

Also remember that this too will pass. We’ve been in every situation imaginable. We’ve been stuck in an airport for 12 hours with a 9 month old, we’ve had 4-hour layovers with both kids, we’ve sat on the tarmac for an hour and a half with a cranky, impatient toddler, we’ve had poopy blow-outs mid-flight, and everything in between. We made the best of it and lived to tell about it. And I’d do it again tomorrow. And the next day.

If there’s anything else I didn’t hit on, feel free to leave a question in the comments. Hopefully this helps!

Godly Wisdom?

I have some thoughts swirling in my head and I need to just write and get them out. You, my friends, might have some additional valuable insight and perspective.

First. There were two spiders crawling outside our garage door recently.

Second. I now sleep with a gun.

I have deeper thoughts. I promise, I do.

Recently I heard an older person make the following statements. This is paraphrased.

Young pastors, though they may know the Bible back and forth, don’t really know much more than that because they haven’t had the life experience to give it meaning. They’re really just teaching a bunch of theories. I think much differently now than I did when I was 30. Verses that I read before now have completely different meaning. I’ve realized that it’s not possible to understand certain verses until you’ve gotten older and experienced more of life. 

That was the general gist of it.

So here are my thoughts after I’ve had some time to think about it. By the way, by God’s grace, I was able to say not a word in response. If you know me, that’s nothing short of a miracle. I was trying not to be argumentative and to show honor and I also knew that once some people’s minds are made up, there’s no changing it.

So that’s where you come in. I get to bounce my thoughts off you and not have anyone jump in with a condescending nod and a You’ll understand when you get to my age. (Right?)

Initial thoughts.

From beginning to end, God called the young. Off the top of my head I can think of Samuel, David, Solomon, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-nego, Jeremiah, Mary, Timothy, and probably others that I can’t think of right now. These kids were not called to little things. God called them for big, history-altering purposes. Think about that. He placed his history-altering plans and purposes in the hands of kids, teenagers, young adults.

Also. James 3 tells us there’s earthly wisdom and there’s godly wisdom. It expressly says that godly wisdom comes from above (i.e. God). Godly wisdom comes from God. Not age. Not experience. Not the school of hard knocks.

Let me head off the next argument. Yes, you can gain wisdom as you age and through varied life experiences. Absolutely. Not all who age, however, gain wisdom. Simply having a life experience does not guarantee you will gain wisdom. Why? Because true wisdom comes from God. Just like we’ve already established.

That being said, I do believe there is a place for longevity and the wisdom of many years of walking with the Lord. Should a couple who’s been married a year and a half be giving marital counsel? Probably not. They should feel free to share the godly wisdom of others, but there are probably better-equipped marriage counselors.

So. Back to the above statements. It has really, really bothered me, so today as I was riding my bike, pouring my frustrations out to the Lord, I just gave him the whole situation and prayed for his peace. I was even willing to be wrong, even though the whole thing didn’t taste right, but I wanted God’s truth, not a battle of opinions.

Well. I got home today, put the boys down for their naps, spent a little time on the Internet, and then had my quiet time. I spent some time talking to the Lord, again pouring out my heart, praying for his peace and for the mind of Christ. And then I opened my Bible to this. To this, guys. I’m using a reading plan and this was today’s section. In other words I was not looking for anything to prove my point. I was simply starting off where I had last stopped.

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1st Corinthians 2:1-5

In addition, my commentary said this.

Paul avoided Greek rhetoric and focused on the message of the cross, so that the Corinthians would put their faith in Christ who was crucified rather than in the ability of human messengers. 

And also.

Mere intellectual persuasion does not save people. Saving faith is produced by the heart-changing power of the Holy Spirit as the gospel is proclaimed. 

On a similar note, I was once told by a pastor’s wife that she knows people come because it’s her husband preaching. Not because of what’s being taught but because it’s him teaching it.

Yesterday I read an article in which the writer addressed this very thing. He said that if a pastor knows that the people believe that, he needs to call his people to repentance. It’s not the messenger, it’s the message of Christ and him crucified that we should seek to know and teach.

I mean no disrespect. I want to honor those older than me. (And younger than me.) (And those that are the same age as me.) I know I have so much to learn and grow. I want to make sure that I stay humble and teachable and go back to Scripture as my guide, not anything else.

Because it’s important that we weigh everything on the scale of Scripture.

1st Timothy 4:16 says, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching.”

I only mean to say that being well-intentioned does not get us off the hook for erroneous doctrine. These are not bad people. Obviously. Not even in the ballpark. And I’ve said so many things in my life that were so far off-base, it’s ridonkulous. But that’s why we can’t stop seeking the Lord through his word. We have to be spending time with the Lord, asking him to examine our hearts, giving us a desire for truth, purifying our hearts and minds. We have to be in community, listening to one another, being teachable, teaching others. And we have to do it in a spirit of love. If anything in us has an I’ll-show-them tinge to it, we need to stop, repent, and ask the Lord to give us his love and humility.

The purpose is not to be right. It’s to be godly and established in God’s truth and love.

By God’s grace, I’m in process. And by God’s grace, sometimes I do the right thing. Which, in this recent case, was to stay zip-lipped. And zip-lipped I was.

Dad of the Year

I’ve said before that Matt is Micah’s most favoritest person in the entire world.

He is a daddy’s boy through and through. And for good reason. Matt’s the best dad I’ve ever witnessed in real life. He’s loving, patient, kind, involved, funny, fun, interested, crazy, consistent, and he thinks his boys are the best sons to ever grace a father. (Which I agree.)

It makes my heart more joyful than I can express to watch Matt interact with his sons.

But here’s the thing. What about me?

I don’t think my sons realize they hit the Mother Lode (I hate puns, but there you go) when they got me for their mama. And in case you’re wondering if I mean that, yes. Yes I do.

How many other mamas out there get hit with a craving for a Blizzard an hour before dinner, thus causing a cycle of events that culminate in a mom and her two boys in their bike trailer heading to quench said craving?

How many other mamas out there think that having a good time requires ice cream and slides and sunshine and airplane trips to get there if you have to?

How many other mamas think that pizza for lunch and ice cream for dinner are recommended by the Academy of Pediatrics?

(I’m noticing a theme here. Maybe having to do with ice cream.)

So I ask again, Dad of the Year, what about me?

When I lamented to Matt that I’m not one of those moms that create an entire themed day centered around Valentine’s, he said, Yeah, but we’re fun.

So there you go. I may be arrested by the Academy of Pediatrics and my boys may grow up thinking that ice cream is part of the Food Triangle and they may never see a heart-shaped pancake in their lifetime but at least they’ll say we had fun.

Right?

Micah and Asher – Brothers

I believe a lie. I know it’s a lie, but I still believe it. Here’s the lie (but not lie in my head).

If it’s organic, then it’s healthy for you.

Organic ice cream. Healthy.

Organic whip cream. Healthy.

Grass-fed beef burger. Healthy.

And not as in it’s less bad for you than non-organic or factory-produced beef.

As in it benefits-you-part-of-the-food-triangle-slightly-above-vegetables good for you.

As in it should be a part of a healthy diet. Every day.

My right brain is telling me that’s not true. My left brain is saying, You’re a Right Brain, what do you know?

With that being said, I’m linking up with Kelly’s Korner Blog today because it’s all about moms with all boys. That would be me.

My boys are 18 months apart (and yes, this was planned, and no, I’m actually not overwhelmed, and yes, sometimes it’s really busy, and no, I don’t wish for some peace and quiet ((Liar!)) and yes, thank you, they’re the cutest boys ever, I agree).

Micah, our oldest, just turned 2 in February, and Asher, our Little (even though he weighs 25 pounds) was born on August 27th.

We’re in a really fun season right now because Asher is able to “play” back with Micah to some extent. And by play I mean stare interestedly and reach for whatever toy Micah is holding, which then causes Micah to say very sweetly, No, no, ma toy. Of which we’re working on. Hearts that share. Hearts that love our little brother and look out for him because you guys are brothers and that means you’re best friends for the rest of your lives and that means you look out for each other and love each other and protect each other. We review that a lot.

I wanted a little girl really badly both times, but now after having two boys I’d totally choose another little boy.

(Judah. I love that name.)

(We’re not pregnant.)

(If we were pregnant and it was a girl, I’d be ok with that too.)

(But still. Judah. Super cute.)

Here’s a couple pictures from St. Patty’s Day.

 

 

There we be. Over and out.

Big Changes

A couple of days ago, Micah slammed a door on Matt’s head. Matt was leaning forward, Micah tried to shut it, and the corner made friends with Matt’s forehead. Matt let out a constrained yell and walked away holding his head, saying over and over how much it hurt.

Being the good dad that he is, he let Micah know that he was ok and that his head just hurt a little bit.

As he was holding his head, he was like, I just want to punch another guy in the face right now.

Ok, I can understand that. I want to punch something sometimes too when I’ve stubbed my toe or smashed my finger. Mostly I just Christian Curse.

But then he was like, Seriously, when I get hurt like that I just want to immediately get in a fist-fight with another guy.

Apparently this is common knowledge in Man Land. Hitherto, I was unaware.

In other news, I have my old job back. Not my old job at Delta, my old old job with Skywest.

Seriously, I could not be happier.

It’s a long story and the airline world can be super complicated so I’ll try to be as concise and understandable as possible.

I was hired on with Skywest Airlines in August of 2007 shortly after we moved to Missoula. Skywest is an independently owned airline that operates regional flights for major airlines. At that time here in Missoula, Skywest operated Delta and United. You get full travel privileges with whatever airline you operate. That means that we got full travel privileges on Delta and United. Amazingness.

When Delta and Northwest merged (biggest computer nightmare ever) (I’m sorry to every passenger that traveled in the months following that – we sucked big time) the bid went up for Delta at the Missoula airport.

Skywest did not get the bid, a new regional company created by mainline Delta did. Since I had just found out I was pregnant, I needed a full-time position for the insurance benefits, which Skywest did not have at that time, only part-time.

Commence the most difficult season of my entire life. Not only merging two companies, but transitioning to a brand-new company with new everyone (manager, trainers, etc.) with lots of Big Chiefs and very few Little Chiefs, in addition to the actual physical process of moving was enough to make me hate my life every day for months.

I missed Skywest with every fiber of my being. But it was what it was and for almost three years I made the best of it.

Obviously that came to a tipping point in February and I quit. I had already talked to my old manager at Skywest and told him that if he had a position open, I would love (emphasize love) to come back. Since officially I’ve been on furlough with Skywest, that would mean that if I could get rehired before June I would have my old hire date back. (In the airline world, your hire date is everything – schedule bidding, travel privileges seniority, etc.).

Well, last week my old manager let me know he could bring me back!

*really cool break-dance move*

I was (and am) so happy. The hours will be infinity times better, the atmosphere and working environment are more peaceful, and since United and Continental merged last year, that means travel privileges on officially the largest airline in the world.

I really sought the Lord in this, being completely and totally willing to turn it down if it wasn’t the best for our family, but after meeting with my old manager yesterday, things are even better than I could’ve hoped for, particularly schedule-wise, which was my main concern for our family. So we’re moving forward, and I am ridiculously happy to have my much-loved flight benefits back.

I’ll be going away for recurrent training mid-May and will then start the beginning of June.

Bienvenidos a mi old (new) job.