A Lot of Catching Up to Do

It's been way too long since I've written.  I miss my blog, and have had several posts written in my head lately.  The best way I know to catch up is to post a bunch of pictures of what's been going on and start writing.  Samuel is changing so quickly, and he's so much fun that I don't want to let the time go by without documenting some of this.  So there. I'm back.  

The Crib Days are Over...  It's official, we had to take the side rail off the crib.  This was one transition I was holding out on as long as possible (for my own convenience!).  It all started on a Saturday morning when we were greeted in our bedroom by a little voice that said, "I cwimb out of my cwib."  Hoping it was just a fluke, we kept things the same.  After a couple of more mornings and naps of finding him at our bedside with similar greetings, I was still in denial so I just lowered the rail thinking I'd at least reduce the chances of a broken limb or something but still keep the "crib."  That lasted until I actually saw the process of him climbing in and out with my own eyes. Nuts!  After that I decided to take the rail off and do the conversion to a toddler bed.  This was in the evening on a night that Tyson works late, so I was by myself.  At first, Mr. Samuel acted like a big shot about it and was all excited climbing in, climbing out.  Chest puffed out.  Big boy.  However, to my dismay when it came time to actually go to bed, he completely freaked out on me.  Complete hysterics, uncontrollable.  Finally, I pointed to the bed rail leaning against the wall and said, "Is that what you want?  You want the rail back?"  "Yes!! Rail!!" Sigh...I'm tired, I'm by myself, my kid is losing it, and I proceed to put the rail back on which involves tilting the crib on its side for starters.   Twenty minutes later the rail is back on, and he's happily going to bed. That was an eye opener.  My outgoing, extraverted, adaptable child likes sameness and security.   I chose to re-think things in the morning.  I  quickly made my way out to the store the next morning to buy the safety rail you see in the picture.  This was our solution.  It's safe enough for him to climb in and out of but offers that little boundary of security he wanted.  He's doing just fine except for the fact that he gets up EVERY morning between 6:00 and 6:30, and now we can't just listen to him talk to himself in his crib for a while.  We find him standing at our bedside  saying things like "Here I am!"  "Let's watch a little TV," or "I want a snack."   Help!!!

 Getting Our Christmas Tree...  This month has been full of fun and surprises for this two year old.  He's made this season even brighter and merrier for us.  For the first time, the wonder of Christmas is on his radar.  We ventured out to pick our tree on December 1st.  We picked one from a tree farm called Pop N' Son.   The picture above is in the car on our way.  He was very excited.  

So were we.  When we let him down he took off racing through the trees like it was a maze.  There was another family there with a little boy around 5, and Samuel kept chasing him.  It was hard to look for a tree and keep an eye on the little kid in the red vest.

 Let's get this one!

 We found a winner!!  Let's take it home!

This is the tube they slide the tree through to fit netting around it for the ride home.  It looked like a fun tunnel to someone I guess.  

 Trimming it up and getting ready to load.

 They had a giant inflatable snowman.  It was huge!!

 Samuel was in awe of this whole process.  We were so busy getting ready for Africa last year and he was a year younger that we didn't focus much on the usual Christmas traditions.   He was bouncing off the walls with excitement when we got the tree in the living room.  He wanted to "help" with the lights.  He loved looking at all the different ornaments too.  Tyson's dad and step-mom gave us the neatest train that goes around the tree.  That was the icing on the cake!  You can see it a little bit in the picture below. It makes music and Santa waves.

 Last Friday night we went to a Christmas Party for Tyson's work.  The whole family was invited, so we all three went.  This is Tyson and Samuel before we went. Don't they look handsome?  When we told Samuel we were going to a "party" all we heard until we got there was, "Party! We go to party?  When we go to party?"  I didn't realize how much parties mean to this kid.  When we got there, he was just giddy.  The excitement went on all night, and when we left he said, "I had fun at my party." Oh dear!   On a side note, I've been trying to put some focus on the advent season and counting down to Jesus' birth, so Samuel will learn to enjoy the true meaning of Christmas.  I'll post soon about a couple of activities we're doing.  Anyway, I was trying to explain to him the other day that it will be Jesus' birthday soon, and he quickly interrupted me and said, "We need cake!"  I suppose we'll be making a birthday cake for Jesus. :)

His First Parade...  To keep in step with the Christmas spirit we went to our little town's annual Christmas parade on Saturday.  We live so close to the downtown area, we just walked.  This was Samuel's first ever parade.  I think it now ranks up there with parties!  It may be better than parties.  He came away with pockets full of candy and got to eat two lollipps while we were there.  When do you ever get to see Santa and the Chick-Fil-A cow within minutes of each other?

 I think he was trying to dance along with this drill team.  Needless to say the parade was a hit.  To be honest, I was kind of tired and tempted to blow it off, but I'm glad we went.  

 He loves to sit in front of the tree and watch the train every night.

I hope this finds you and your families having a joyful holiday season.   I was reminded today that my true joy and all my hopes and dreams can all be found in no one other than the One whom we're celebrating ~  Jesus!!

Our Little Cowboy (and a cat's worst nightmare)

Tyson took Samuel out to practice riding last Friday afternoon.  A friend from his work has a horse and has invited us out to learn more.  This time it was just Daddy and Samuel.  From the looks of things, he had a great time.  

Tyson knew I would say something when I saw this video of Samuel riding with no one holding on to him, and of course that was the first thing that came out of my mouth.  What?!?!   After the initial shock, I was pretty proud of my boy for his bravery and balance. :)

Again, my initial response to this video was, "Did you wash his hands afterward?"  I need to chill!  The kid has no fear, and that cat was a very good sport (thank goodness!).  Note Tyson encouraging SJ to get the cat!

Look, Dad!  

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY to Our Samuel {24 Months with 25 Pictures}

4 Days old

 One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

 Six Months

 Seven Months

 Eight Months

 Nine Months

 

Ten Months

Eleven Months

Twelve Months

Thirteen Months

Fourteen Months

Fifteen Months

Sixteen Months

Seventeen Months

Eighteen Months

Nineteen Months

Twenty Months

Twenty One Months

Twenty Two Months

              

Twenty Three Months

2 YEARS OLD!!!!

We love you, little boy!

Where My Help Comes From

As I was driving down the road earlier, this old hymn came on the radio.  It really hit me in the heart, so I came home and found it on youtube and thought I'd share.

There's a line in the song that says, "Here I raise my Ebenezer."
I  wondered what "my Ebenezer" meant and found that it's from 1 Samuel 7:12 "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen.  He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the Lord helped us."  


Thank you, Lord for that reminder today.  I needed it!!

Visit to a Village

Julie, the leader of the preschool where we were in Mozambique, invited Samuel and I to join her one afternoon to go visit some of her students in their homes in one of the villages nearby.   There are around 47 different villages surrounding the preschool, clinic, and compound where we stayed.  We gladly accepted her invitation and went along.  Samuel noticed the difference and was a little reserved for the first...two minutes!!  After that, it was just another day of fun and exploration for the little guy.   The homes were mainly made of mud with thatched roofs, and the people spend most of their time outside.  We first visited a sweet little girl and her mom.   They kindly offerred Samuel a little stuffed animal.  It was the only thing that resembled a toy anywhere around.  Of course he wanted to take it with him, but I kindly thanked them but wouldn't keep it.  I quickly figured out also, that once we visited the child's home they then wanted to come with us to the next house.  Therefore, by the time we were leaving we had an entourage of 10 kids with us!  So fun!  (See the last photo)

At the second home we came to, these two little boys were playing on the reed mat with a broken cell phone which Samuel promptly bent down and helped himself to.   

 Then comes along the helpful little girl who's tagging along from the first house to intervene and take care of the situation.   All the little girls wanted to hold Samuel and take care of him.   They gave it their best, but it was like trying to herd a little cat!  They're all so used to care taking from such a young age.  It was very common to see girls as young as eight years old carrying a baby on their backs.

I found out later this plant that he is pulling on and trying to climb through will blind you if a piece breaks off and gets in your eye.  Thank you Jesus for your mercy!  It was planted all the way around this family's home like a fence.  Come to find out it's an attempt to protect their property from trespassers.  If you look closely there are chickens on the other side pecking around.  He was trying to get to them.  I think they had already run from him once.  

Come back Samuel!  Get away from the poisonous plant, please.  

About that time, I was ready for a couple of moments of sanity, so I packed him back up on my back.  These precious little girls were having so much fun.  They love posing for the camera. 

More fun posing.

There was no shortage of "help" with Samuel.

Before we left the second home, Julie told me to wait a second because the family mentioned something about a chicken.  Sure enough a few minutes later the father emerged with one of their live chickens to give us as a gift!  This was a huge honor b/c food is scarce and they so badly wanted to show their appreciation to Julie for all that she does for their children through the preschool.  They would not take no for an answer, so off we went with our live chicken.  Do you see the little girl holding it in her left hand by it's feet?

On to the next home with the chicken in tow.  That poor chicken was just a squawking and carrying on. It got swung around a few times then cradled like a baby doll once too.

I cannot remember the little girl's name who has hold of the chicken.  It's starts with an M, but I just can't think of it.  She was so funny.  She took full responsibility for the chicken and wouldn't let any of the other kids help her.  She was really proud.

Here are all of the children that ended up with us by the end of our journey.  They were walking us down to the main road where we would turn and walk back to the compound.  I was taking the picture and Samuel was on my back.  That's Julie with the children.   They love her so much and she adores them.  Our plan to visit a couple of kids turned into an entire afternoon in the village visiting multiple families and walking along with lots of precious souls.  It was a privilege and an honor.  My heart was full of joy and gratitude as we walked back home.