October Craziness

 

As a family living in a modern world, I make every attempt to keep our electronic calendar up to date. It's the best way to keep Daniel and I on the same page, especially as our lives get busier.

October was a extra busy month. At the beginning of the month Daniel texted me, pointing out that every weekend was booked and that if possible he wanted to keep our November free.

In October, there was a music festival with friends, the JumpPark with our church, a day hike at the Ocoee Whitewater Center, a visit to the Compassion Experience, a trip to Old Mcdonald's Farm to pick pumpkins, camping with family in Georgia, and finally birthday parties, a neighborhood party, a Friends and Family day at our church. And let's not forget Halloween trick-or-treating, or Saturday soccer games and weekly swim lessons!

The last weekend of the month was especially busy. On Saturday Jack had a soccer game in the morning, followed by a friend's birthday party at lunch.

At the party, the kids were picked up by a school bus and taken to the local gymnastics gym for an afternoon of play (a ride on the school bus is a perk of living in a small town). Jack was over the moon about his first bus ride.

Then Saturday evening we attended our neighborhood block party, and finally Sunday was a Friends and Family Day at our church.

The Friends and Family Day was jam packed full of fun things. There was a potluck for lunch, then we came back that evening for a petting zoo with pony rides (a first for Isaac), face painting, kickball for the big kids, a hay ride, a family devotional, and then we ended the night with an outdoor movie. It is one of my favorite events with our church family.

I wish I could say that November will be more relaxed, but we are already busy. Last weekend we celebrated my birthday and this weekend is Jack's 5th Birthday. How is our baby already turning five! And before we know it Thanksgiving will be here.

Even though this is an incredibly busy season of life (and I know if will get busier as our kids get older), I am grateful for the times we are spending together. I hope we are instilling kindness in our children and that they are learning to treat every person they encounter with love and respect.

Baby Dedication 2015: Isaac

One of the downfalls of moving often when you are growing a family is that you sometimes miss out on baby-related events (like church baby showers and baby dedications). 

In the case of Jack, we had not yet placed membership at our church in Huntsville when it was time for baby dedication Sunday. So while we were in the audience, we did not get to participate in standing on stage with the other parents (we officially placed membership shortly after that Sunday).

This past Sunday was New Arrivals Day (or baby dedication day) at the church we currently worship with in Chattanooga. These events always make me feel a bit emotional. To start there was a slideshow of the new babies, followed by comments from the Children's Minister and then all of the families with new arrivals joined the Pulpit Minister on stage to dedicate our sweet babies.

As we walked up on to the stage I was struggling to choke back my emotions, but then Jack started acting goofy and I had something to focus on instead of crying (so really it was a good distraction).

(image via Clear Creek Church, Isaac is center with gray hat)

Before we were called up onto the stage, the Children's Minister explained that each family would receive a Mason Jar filled with 938 pennies to represent each week our child will be in our care, he then challenged us to make each week with our kids count. 

Once on stage our pulpit minister exhorted us to dedicate our children to God and to raise them as the bible has called us.

(image via Clear Creek Church)

He also requested that the congregation support us all in our endeavor to raise godly children (it was more eloquent than that, but I was trying to keep Jack from spinning around the stage – baby dedications are not a great place to practice spinjitzu). 

I'm thankful for our church family and for the opportunity to participate in an official baby dedication. Our prayer, and goal as parents, is that our children will grow up to love the Lord with all their hearts, souls and minds, and to love others as they love themselves. 

Afterwards the church provided a meal for all of the families so that we could have the opportunity to fellowship. We were thankful to have Daniel's parents join us on this special day.

Bike Parade and Ice Cream Social

Last Wednesday we attended the annual Bike Parade and Ice Cream Social at Clear Creek church of Christ where we worship. 

Unfortunately it started raining as everyone was arriving. However the rain only lasted as long as it took everyone to eat their ice cream and visit.

The back parking lot at the church building was roped off and the kids had a ball riding their bikes in big circles. 

There were big kids doing tricks on BMX bikes, toddlers on tricycles, a little guy on some kind of crazy bike-scooter cross over, and even a motorized pedi-cab which was a big hit with the kids. It was such a fun time.

I think Jack's favorite things were 1) pretending to conduct the big band music playing on the PA system; 2) getting off his trike to dance to the music; 3) riding off a curb and 4) riding in the wagon with friends.

I don't know what it is but big bands playing patriotic music (even if it is just being broadcast and not live) really makes me feel sappy and teary eyed. I guess it reminds me of my childhood.

I'm so glad that Jack got to participate in this bike parade since he didn't get to ride in the 4th of July one. After this outing, Daniel and I decided Jack has pretty much outgrown his tricycle and it's time to get him a real bike.

Thursday Things: Lake House Edition

This week we had the opportunity to stay at a lake house. We were under the impression that the house was in Sale Creek, TN (30 minutes from Daniel's work, 30 minutes from downtown Chatt). We found out after booking it that it was actually located in Harrison, TN. Harrison is directly across the lake from Sale Creek, but it is NOT Sale Creek. This meant a 50 minute commute around the lake for Daniel and I was still 20-30 minutes from anything. It was nice being on the lake but it was a little too far from everything.

A few things from this week:

1) Don't lock yourself out of your rental house immediately after you get there. Thankfully I had my cell phone and was able to call the owner and find a solution for getting back in the house.

2) Also, I am thankful that Jack was with me and not locked in the house!

3) Jack is fascinated by front-loading washing machines. Our washer and dryer are well over 30 years old. They still work, so we haven't felt the need to replace them. We bought them used 10 years ago because we are that cheap!

4) The lake house reminded me of something out of Grownups or Dan in Real Life. If I owned a lake house, I would want it to be like this. 

Large enough to have wall-to-wall beds in the guest bedrooms. A wrap-around screened-in porch with beds and seating galore and lots of fans for hot summer days. 

Wood paneling throughout (I don't care for wood paneling, but in this type of house, it just felt nostalgic). A huge dining table for lingering over a home-cooked meal or sipping sweet tea while playing games. 

The house was across the street from the lake. A trail went down to the dock, which would be perfect for fishing or canoeing or swimming.

5) Tuesday night we went to a lecture series at the Clear Creek Church of Christ in Hixson. There was a meal served before the speaker. This is our third week to attend. After the meal, the kids all play until it is time for "class." Jack was busy playing when I went to tear him away. I expected a meltdown. Instead this happened: 

"Jack do you want to go to class?" He looked at me, put down his ball and said, "Class?" and proceed to run all the way to his classroom –which was across the building– with no guidance. We trailed behind to make sure he went to the right place, and he did.

6) The speaker's topic was small groups and how they should be like a second family. He started asking if you had friends in your life who could just come over and make themselves a sandwich without asking permission to open your fridge. The point is that people in your life group should have that level of intimacy with you. 

We are still in the visiting stage at Clear Creek, but it is nice to know that we already have that level of intimacy with the family that invited us. It is such a blessing to have friends that we have known for the last 8 years and can pick up where we left off without worrying about having to "make" new friends.

7) This blog post by Hannah at Sundry Mumsy is a wonderful explanation about choosing to be connected to the internet world. Yes, there are plenty of things to be afraid about when it comes to the internet, but there is something sweet about sharing your life via the images and words you put out there. It's part of the reason I choose to blog. I want to be inspired by what I come across on the internet and I hope I am occasionally inspiring someone else. Besides, sharing my life online is a vital way for me to stay connected to my family who live far away!

I hope you have a blessed week! Today is Daniel's 33rd Birthday and we have some fun things in store for the days to come!