I want to finish blogging about NYC and I need to give you some updates on my boys, but right now there is only one story on my mind. It is an amazing story of Faith and Hope and a testimony to the healing power of our loving Jesus. I’m a little late pointing you to it, and I’m sorry. They could still use your prayers, though, so please join me.

About 2 and 1/2 years ago, I was sitting at my desk at work in a blubbering mess. I had just received an email from Rick C. about the daughter that he and his wife, Amy were expecting. The prognosis did not look good, but the faith of this couple was compelling to say the least. As I felt KJ moving inside of me, I was especially touched by their story and their ability to witness to so many people in the middle of their pain. Even in the middle of the work day, I sat in my chair, crying, talking to my baby boy about his friend, and praying. “Oh, God, please please please, save their baby”. Amazingly, it was Rick and Amy who brought me to the place where I could pray those words and know they were heard. They said, and TRULY BELIEVED, that they knew the God they loved could heal the baby they loved. While their journey was rough, their faith was strong. And against all medical odds, they were RIGHT. Precious Eva Faith is 2 now and such an amazing little lady.

But that wasn’t the end of the story for this family. Next came precious Ella. Please go over to their blog and read more about Ella Hope and her family. And when you do, be prepared to be amazed and inspired. Inspired by the Hope and Faith in this family and AMAZED at what a mighty God we serve.

Also, Sweet Mindy, has been doing a great job of putting up scriptures each day that I’m sure are such an encouragement to those that are close to this story and will bless you, too. Stop by her blog and thank her for her tender heart.

ABL

What do you get when you mix turning 30 with the craziness of two small boys, a marriage that you want to keep as a priority, a small window between changing jobs, and a certain husband’s dream of attending the U.S. Open? A MUCH NEEDED WEEK AWAY IN NEW YORK CITY WITH NO CHILDREN!

RRL and I were so blessed to get a week of just enjoying each other away from the responsibilities of home. While we certainly missed our boys, this break was much needed at this time in our lives and we were so thankful that we could make it happen (with special assistance from Nonna on the homefront)! Everything about the trip just fell in place. We were able to fly on miles, stay with some VERY generous friends in Manhattan, and score free tickets to the Open. We spent the week in a nice balance of seeing the sights, eating some amazing food, and getting some much needed R&R. There were a few mornings when I slept later than I have in YEARS. Here is a quick *haha* day-by-day recap (it might take more than one post):

THURSDAY

the day to learn a few lessons

On our first day in the City we had tickets to the Yankees v Red Sox game- the last time these two rivals will meet in the Old Yankees Stadium. It was so cool to be part of this historic occasion. We did learn, though, that just because it is much cooler in the City than it is for us at home, the sun is still shining. Despite one application of sunscreen, I got FRIED. I’m usually a little OC about sunscreen so this was a big blow to me and I learned to carry sunscreen with me everywhere I went for the rest of the week.

After the game we headed to Brooklyn for some amazing pizza at Grimaldi’s and ice cream at The Brooklyn Ice cream Factory. Both were recommended in our Frommer’s book (don’t leave home without one) and both certainly lived up to the hype! Our original plan had been to get our pizza, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge for sunset and come back for ice cream. Sounds romantic, right? Well, after over an hour of looking for Grimaldi’s, RRL found a hotspot to connect on his iPod Touch and we realized that restaurant was indeed right between Front and Water St (as we had been told) but there were Front and Water St on both sides of the bridge. NICE! From that point forward we learned to rely heavily on the iPod and never think that we could just wander until we found something.

What follows a delicious dinner and dessert better than a movie? A MOVIE UNDER THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE! Again, sounds very romantic and the scenery certainly did not disappoint (looking up at the lights on the Bridge, sailboats on the water, sitting in the park with a perfect view of the skyline, snuggled up with my husband). The movie, however, was The Shining. Watching a man try to kill his family while I am far away from my boys was not my idea of fun, so we left early.

A most unfortunate event occurred as we were leaving Brooklyn. Thinking that after a whole day of subway hopping we were experts, we accidently “hopped” onto a train going to Queens…and rode it about 30 minutes the wrong way. We arrived home 1 and 1/2 hours after leaving the movie. Good thing we didn’t stay until the end of the movie and that we learned from then on to read the signs before anyone hopped anywhere.

Friday

Something is brewing and ’bout to begin

We each had one main thing we were especially looking forward to and Friday was mine. I was like a kid waiting for Christmas all day. Just a few weeks before, after much on-line research, I had finally found affordable tickets to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. This has been high on my “list” since it opened. RRL was very gracious to make it a really special time for me and did not complain at all as we sat down in the middle of a bunch of families with little girls (none of whom were nearly as squirmy with anticipation as I was)! The musical did not disappoint. IT WAS AMAZING and left you just believing that maybe, JUST MAYBE, the magic of Mary Poppins has a little truth to it.

Before the show we went to eat at a super yummy restaurant in Little Italy. We had been told to meet Antoine at the door and he ushered us to our seats with kisses and Italian hospitality. It was great (not to mention some of the best food I’ve ever tasted).

Saturday

A dream come true

RRL’s “big day” was Saturday…a whole day of Tennis at the U.S. Open. We saw an amazing line-up of players all day, including Venus, Serena, #1 ranked Nadal, Mike and Bob Bryan, and the fun upset match between Mardy Fish and James Blake. It was a LONG and very hot day of tennis that didn’t end until after mid-night, but it was a lot of fun. It was so special to get to watch RRL enjoy it so much after waiting so long to be there.

We also had the fun surprise of having the Brackeens join us for the weekend, including the Open. She does a great job on their blog of talking about the amazing day and also accurately described the only downer of the day as “the expensive/horrible food…more expensive than an airport, worse than a school cafeteria!” Because of that, we asked around and were excited to find out that there was a “Spanish Restaurant” not far from the tournament that we could walk to between the day and night sessions. Unfortunately, this is what we found:

It smelled as bad as it looks (I think that poor dog might be next). We went back to the $10 hamburgers.

Can you believe it? All of that in just 3 day! And there is still more to come. Stay Tuned for:

Sunday

Sometimes you pay for the experience

Monday

Our favorite NYC attraction

Tuesday

Just a walk in the park

Wednesday

Homecoming

The 29th is right around the corner so my “countdown to 30” installment for August will be here soon…be excited!

In the meantime here are a couple of quick snippets–

1) We went to a family reunion this weekend. The reunion part was so much fun and you should definitely check out pictures on Aimee’s blog. The roadtrip part was not so fun. We made the 6 hour trip down on Friday and back on Saturday. Wouldn’t have been so bad except for an oil spill and a bad wreck delaying us on the way there and the sub-par biscuits and one-star waiter at Cracker Barrel on the way back (no road trip is complete without a Cracker Barrell stop, but this one was one of my least favorites).

2) Thanks to Remotely Relevant Ramblings, I have a new and more efficient way of blog-reading. I know I’m probably WAY behind on this, but it is so cool to be able to read all of the blog updates on my favorite blogs in just one click. Be sure to follow her lead, though, on a resolution to still click over and comment.

3) As an addendum to my post about having little boys…
“Having boys means near death experiences that will scare the living day lights out of you (to quote my Grandmomma).” We were at a restaurant last night with friends and KJ was playing as we were about to leave. I looked over at him just in time to see him literally strangled by the rope he had been playing with. His face was turning red and he was not screaming for help, just staring at us wide eyed. I stood up and screamed while Ricky ran to rescue him. When they got back to the table, we were all in a shocked silence until KJ said “that hurt my neck” and I burst into tears. Praise the Lord that this story had a happy ending. We pretty much felt like parents of the year and are just so incredibly grateful that this will be a story we can laugh about later (much later). We STILL have a lot to learn about raising boys!

I’m not really a big birthday person. I mean, I appreciate that my family remembers my birthday and I do love a yummy cake or ice-cream cake, but I’m not really a “tell everyone and hope they sing to me in a restaurant” kind of birthday person. That said, I’m already thinking about my 30th (which is still 3 months away). Maybe it is because RRL and I are planning our birthday get-a-way; maybe it is because it is a big milestone; but really I think it is just because as a child 30 always seemed so grown-up and now it suddenly doesn’t. 30 does not really scare or depress me, it just amazes me. Can it be? Am I really old enough to be a mommy, a wife AND A THIRTY-YEAR-OLD? I do not really feel any different…I’m basically still 17, right?

While I’m thinking about ME, I thought I might just start blogging about ME. On each 29th between now and the big day, I’m going to blog a total of 30 random things about me. Thanks for humoring me, it has been a fun trip down memory lane.

We’ll start with a few “blasts from the past”

1) I once appeared in Seventeen magazine. It was a really small picture and not a great shot, but it was pretty cool, none-the-less. It was part of the High School highlight they used to do and they did a story about my high school.

2) I used to be a soccer referee for little kids. I loved helping them learn about the game and it was good money for a Saturday-only job in high school. KJ got his name because one of the cutest little boys that played. I did not ever really get to know him, I just liked his name.

3) In 7th grade I won the regional science fair for my experiment on how electro-magnetic fields affect the growth of vegetation (powerlines and plants). As a result, I got to attend “Environmental Camp”. It was totally as nerdy as it sounds and I loved every minute of it.

4) I had 11 bridesmaids (4 college roomies/friends; 3 childhood best friends; 2 sister-in-laws; 2 might-as-well be sisters that I babysat). I love each one of them so much that I could not narrow it down at all. RRL managed to come up with 11 attendants as well so we indeed had a “host” of witnesses clustered around us.
5) In middle school I won a speech competition in the humorous category with a Brer Rabbit monologue. Don’t ask- I don’t remember it. I do still love public speaking. Sometimes that makes me wonder if I just love the sound of my own voice.

6) My brothers and I used to love to play cowboys. I just had to put that so that I could include
this picture. It is my favorite of the three of us and still sits beside my bed.
7) My college roomie, M, was really the one who taught me that jogging could be fun. She and I had a goal to run all of the stairs in the coliseum. I think we only ever made it about 1/2 way.

8) I studied abroad in Oxford, England between junior and senior years of college. It was one of the very best things about my college experience. One of my favorite memories was that I got to go to Wimbledon. One other girl and I decided to go out to the campus to just look around while the tournament was going on in hopes that we could see something. After we bought our $2 tickets to get onto the grounds we met a very nice Englishman who offered to GIVE us his day passes for the rest of the day at CENTRE COURT! We got to see the men’s doubles finals. It was awesome…RRL, who actually likes tennis, may never forgive me (at least until I find a way to take him).

Stay tuned for “A bit about me”

While we were on the Nashville mission trip, we worked at a summer program for inner city kids. I was slapped in the face with something there that I was so amazed by. My boys have only really ever been around people just like them. I’m keeping a perspective here, I realize they are 6 months and 2-years-old, but still. KJ is really only friends with kids the same color as him, with the same general economic background and the same religious beliefs. While I was sad to admit that, it wasn’t the amazing part. The amazing part was that KJ waltzed into a room of kids VERY different from him in nearly every regard, and did not even notice. I was expecting some quizzical looks, some awkward questions, maybe a little intimidation. But not all… There were kids and there were toys and that was all he saw. My first reaction was to pull out the hand sanitizer, ask the kids to not touch the baby, and generally shelter my boys. KJ’s first reaction was to jump in and make new friends. C-bugs first reaction was to giggle at 5 new faces that were about 3 inches away from his nose at one time. I just stood back and watched and PRAYED. It sounds terrible, but I must say that my prayers in that moment started out something along the shallow lines of “oh, please don’t let my boys get sick; keep the germs away; keep them safe!” Over the week and slowly to even the point where I am writing this, my prayers have begun to change “Lord, let my boys know you more clearly; help them to always view their neighbor with the innocence of a child; let them never be afraid to get their hands dirty in your name; May they always be eager to open their hearts a bit wider to love a few more of your children; help me find ways to expand their view of the world around them”. I’m pretty sure I need to say a few prayers, too, about my own attitude in the situation. It was not a pleasant experience to realize how much I have to learn about the way I view people and the way I serve the Lord.

What a big responsibility it is to be a parent! In the very moments when I feel like I’m a pretty amazing mom (like taking my kids on a mission trip), the Lord shows me how much I have to learn (like the fact that prayers work better than hand sanitizer). I sure have a lot to learn.

ABL

Ask KJ how old he is and he will be glad to tell you “I be two” while working hard to try to hold up just the right number of fingers. Our little man turned two almost two weeks ago and while we definitely celebrated (a couple of times), the important day went by unrecognized in the blogging world…sorry, buddy. I’m sure more of the “terrible twos” may be headed our way, but for now I love having a two-year-old (most days). He comes up with the funniest things to say and do and we are always laughing. Yesterday I was taking a rare opportunity to lay in his bed with him while he was going to sleep for his nap. All of a sudden he rolled over, held my face with his two little hands and very urgently declared “i want pancakes…ok, mommy? Pancakes. Ok!” What a funny boy! Another of my recent favorites- We were all 4 in KJ’s room one afternoon. RRL and I were talking or something and not completely paying attention to the boys. Suddenly we heard “ride, ride, ride”. C-bug was laying on his stomach and KJ had straddled him, was holding on to the back of C’s shirt collar and going for a ride. Oh, what a mess.

Here are a few pictures from our recent bday celebrations.

Peanut,

On your second birthday, I want you to know that you are such a joy to your Daddy and me. We love the way you always make us laugh, are ever ready to smother us with hugs and kisses, and how you are quick to apologize when you know you have hurt us. Your baby brother already looks up to you and adores you. It is amazing to see how he watches everything you do and can pick you out in a room. So many others love you, too, friends and family alike. When you walk through the doors at church, more people recognize you than they do your Mommy and Daddy. As your little blond head prances down the halls and you show us “this way, that way” to go to class you leave a trail of smiles. One of my favorite things about your birthday party was how you displayed such pure joy at every single present anyone gave you…each was your very favorite. You seemed to know, already, how to show your gratitude and make the giver feel so appreciated. I am already praying that you will always bring that same sunshine and joy with you wherever you go and that you will never grow too old to use your gifts to make others feel welcomed and loved.

You are learning so much right now. I love that you light up when you count or say your ABC’s or spell your name. It cracks us up when you tell us “Mommy name is A____, Daddy name is R____”. It is not enough to see a truck, you like to know exactly what kind it is and that makes me smile (and also brush up on my construction trucks knowledge). I love that when we go the park to climb and run and play you come home sweaty, dirty and smelling like a little boy. You tell us all the time that you can do it “by self” as you climb to the tallest slide or eat your favorite foods or brush your own teeth. And indeed there are more and more things that you can do all by yourself now than you could one year ago.

As I think about the year coming between now and your third birthday, I know you have a lot more to learn. We’re working on listening and obeying on the “first time”. Sharing with friends and especially your baby brother are going to continue to be tough lessons to learn. And who could forget that we’ve still got potty training ahead of us! Above all, though, I pray you will continue to learn more about our sweet Jesus. I love to hear you tell about Jesus riding on the donkey or to tell me you are ready to go to class to learn about Jesus. I love to hear you pray “Thank you God for this day” and recite the things you are thankful for. It is so special to me to hear you sing “God is so good” and other songs you’ve learned in chapel. Your sweet voice singing about Jesus nearly brings me to tears. But baby boy there is so much more to know about Him. Thank you for being such an inspiration to me to want to learn more about Him, too. Your Daddy and I can’t wait until the day that you accept the Jesus you are learning about as your personal Lord and Savior.

Thank you, KJ, for all you do for our family, for the joy that you are and for the way you make me want to be so much more.

I love you,

Mommy

1) We took both of the boys to the doctor today. It was 2 years for KJ and 4 months for C-bug. To see them you might think we only feed one of our children. KJ is at the very bottom of the charts, height and weight. C-bug is at the top, weighing in at an amazing 16 lbs and is already 26 inches. While we were there, KJ learned a new word…stethoscope. He can say the whole thing, all three syllables. His vocabulary totally amazes me these days (I am slightly biased, though). Here is picture of them from this week (can you tell that C-bug has the sweetest dimple in his left cheek?)…

2) I’ve taken to calling the baby, “C-bug” (insert his name where the ‘C’ is). I’m not exactly sure where it came from, but think it evolved from snuggle bug. It really stuck when KJ started calling him by that name and it is ever so sweet when big brother says “Its ok, C-bug, don’t cry, baby brother” or “watch this C-bug” or C’mon C-Bug, go to K’s room” (as if any day now his baby brother will get up and run with him) or “mommy, where’s C-bug go” (KJ always says “where’s insert name go?” sort of combining the two questions).

3) I was starting to feel like we were really over the hurdle with our little (or big) C-bug but the last week or so has been a little rough. He is still sleeping great at night but will have major meltdowns at least once a day where nothing will console him. He arches his back to the point that you cannot even hold him. These usually happen in public. I know I shouldn’t be, but I can not help but be terribly embarrassed and feel like everyone is staring. Recently we were in Target and having a major scream-a-thon. I finished as quickly as I could and left. As soon as we left, he was fine so we went to another store in the same area. I was oh-so-pleasantly greeted in the second store by someone who recognized us from Target and just HAD to say “Oh, look, its the screaming baby from Target”. Thank you very much.

4) On that note, Saturday at church a very nice man asked me how old my baby was. I told him 4-months and he responded “wow” (in a moment of vanity, I thought he was going to say “Wow, you look great for having a 4-month-old) but instead he completed “wow, you look REALLY tired. Have you been up all night?” Thank you, Lord, for that little dose of humility.

5) Speaking of Church, have you read, Screwtape Letters? I’m getting it out to read again because I feel some of the tactics of ugly Wormwood and Screwtape might be at work in my life right now. To be more specific, I am starting to wonder if these little demons wait for me at the door to church trying to ensure that I have a miserable experience each time I show up to worship. More specifically, I feel like every-time we walk through the doors one or the other of my children so drastically consumes my attention or frustrates me that I forget altogether while I am there. I say this slightly tongue-in-cheek, but I do believe in the spiritual battle that goes on for each of our souls and I do believe the devil knows I crave the fueling I get by worshiping my Lord with my husband and by being in our small group bible study (neither of which have happened a single time in entirety since C-bug was born). I’m not really looking for advice here since I think it is somewhat of a personal battle, but I would appreciate your prayers.

6) While I’m on a C.S. Lewis kick, (one of my favorite authors by the way) I thank God everyday for a good friend who recently celebrated her birthday! This quote from C.S. Lewis very clearly defines how we became (and remain) friends. Happy Birthday, Tara.

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one”

We’ve had so many of those moments over the last couple of years as our oldest boys are 3 weeks apart and amazingly, our youngest boys were also born 3 weeks apart. Really, I might go insane without her encouragement and reminders that in some twisted way, what I’m going through is normal. Here is a picture of our oldest boys. They sure love each other.

Amazingly, I think that is about all for now. I guess if I posted more regularly I would not have to go on these marathon sessions.

ABL

Elisa tagged me. I do not think I have ever been tagged…if I have I do not think I responded. Says a lot about my consistency (or lack thereof) in blogging. This one is pretty easy, though, and light-hearted and fun so I thought I would give it a whirl…

What three skills or hobbies would you learn if you had unlimited time, money, and tools?

1) COOKING- this is one that I stole from Raina, but actually totally agree with. I would love to pay someone to teach me to shop and cook on a time and money budget. I would love to have a large index of recipe’s that I am confident making in my brain. I’m not a terrible cook, just never have time to think through the meals that I fix ahead of time and I am not creative at all.

2) SWIMMING- What I really want to do is a triathlon, but the major hurdle is swimming. I am not necessarily afraid of water, but I am not very confident in it, either. I would love to be a strong swimmer and have an “efficient” stroke- not one that leaves you worn out after half of a lap.

3) DRIVE STICK SHIFT- Ok, I know this is lame and I debated even listing it, but I really would love to learn to drive a stick shift car. We do not own one so there is no need for this skill, but it is just something I have always wanted to learn. In college Mel would occasionally let me shift while she drove (and did the clutch) which was the coolest, but doesn’t really count. I seriously used to have nightmares that I would be out somewhere and someone would get hurt or something terrible would happen which would lead to me being the only one available to drive for help. I would jump in a car with great urgency only to realize it was a stick shift and I was STUCK.

Does it say a lot about my life right now that those are my 3? Maybe one day, when my boys are grown or at least big enough to tie their own shoes, I will pursue cool hobbies and skills. Until then…this is me!

ABL

I will continue the “My thoughts” posts soon, but wanted to take a quick break for some KJ stories and recent pictures of the boys. I suppose this is appropriate for Valentine’s day, talking about two of the people I love most (after their Daddy, of course). KJ is developing such a funny personality. It really is best when experienced first hand, but I wanted to try to give you a glimpse:

Hope you enjoyed those as much as I do! I am blessed.

Facing the following moral dilemma, what would you do?

Say you are leaving Target, having successfully completed a pretty sizable shopping trip by yourself with both of your boys for the first time. You get out to the car, unload the purchases, buckle both boys into their carseats and go to return the cart. As you approach the cart you realize that two items were accidently left in the basket, and did not get paid for. You look back to the boys, think how close it is to nap time and how you are already pushing the limits. Then you look to the items, take into account that the total of the items is probably $4. Do you:

1) Pretend like you do not see the items, leave them in the basket and hope the next person that finds them will return them inside.

2) Decide that the $4 pales in comparison to what you already spent and what you continue to spend at this establishment and just place the items in your bag. As consolation you think maybe your husband could return them later.

3) Load both boys back into the cart, grab the items, your wallet, and a fake smile and go inside to pay for them.

Based on the fact that I am telling this story, I suppose you can guess which road I took. Let me tell you, though, it was a dilemma and I did not take the high-road joyfully. When I looked at KJ in the backseat of my car, though, I just couldn’t feel good about handling it any other way. I explained it to him on the way inside (as if he could understand), telling him how we have to do the right thing even when it is not convenient. I think the only line that stuck with him was, “Ah nuts, Mommy messed up and we have to go back inside”. Now he’s been saying over and over “nuts, side”. Ah well.

I did buy myself some gum to make the trip worthwhile!

ABL