Surprise!

Despite an accidental post (that lasted less than 10 seconds) of my previous blog, Richard & Debbie were surprised Friday night!  The party was a wonderful celebration of 40 years of love and commitment, and the weekend was whirlwind of family fun. 

For the first time in 6 years we didn't let anyone other than Jason's family know we were coming to town, choosing to focus our limited time on the party and a bit of relaxation (a huge change of pace for Jason).  It was definitely the right choice -- but it still felt odd not seeing Uncle Jim, Aunt Jan, Matt & Emily, the Daniels, the Allens...etc, etc...

Nevertheless, I wouldn't change a thing.  Rather than exhausted with heads spinning, we boarded our flights to Charleston relaxed, but still ready to see the dogs.

A few highlights of the quick trip...

Necessities

One of Charlie's and my Activities of the Day today was packing for our whirlwind weekend trip to Kansas City for BaBa and PaPa's surprise 40th Anniversary party (and no worries... I won't be posting until after the party).

Anyway, I had thought I'd done a fairly thorough packing job: shorts, t-shirts, socks, underwear, swimsuits, jammies, toiletries, snacks...  But either I was downright negligent or Charlie knew an excellent pre-nap delay tactic when he saw one.  He added a few things to our suitcase:

• Crabby Towel
• Little Bella (stuffed version of Grandma & Grandpa's precious pug)
• 2 "Party" Monkeys (better known as Sock Monkeys)
• His "old" Bible and his "new" Bible
• Green blankie, 2 "blank" blankies and a boat blankie
• A Pocket for Corduroy
• A is for Ark

I am going to leave it up to Jason and Charlie to determine whether Charlie's reading and cuddling needs take precedence over Daddy's desire not to run around naked for 3 days...but one thing is certain, we will not be checking a second suitcase!



Fashion Sense?

I'm not sure if this is a sign of unique creativity or abject boredom, but apparently the layered look is back in style...at least according to one three year old we know...

Say it isn't so...

I will be the first to admit that I'm not always completely rational...  Once in a while I get worked up about something inconsequential or fail to recognize the importance of some other event or risk, etc...  What can I say?  It happens.

So it may not come as much of a surprise to those who know me best (Jason, Mom...) that one of my biggest concerns after losing my job was that I would have to start cleaning my own house again!

Lest you think I am a complete princess, I did grow up doing various chores including mowing the yard (until the blessed day we found out I'm allergic to all kinds of grass) and cleaning my portion of the upstairs, and I even worked at the carwash (albeit briefly...babysitting was more my cup of tea), and until June 29 of this year, I had not been without a job since I turned sixteen. 

I just don't like to clean.  When I lived in a 490 square foot apartment by myself it was at least quick, then for a while right after we got married it was like playing house, then after we moved South  I didn't mind it at first because I just adored our home, and before long Jason started to pitch in when I pointed out that unlike yardwork and other "boy chores" it's a mandatory, regular, year-round drudgery.

Then in May 2011 the heavens parted and the angels started to sing:  for my third Mother's Day Jason gave me the best gift a man could ever give a woman -- even better than the Wine of the Month Club or the Brita Water Pitcher!!!  He gave me Leslie.

The original intent was for Leslie to just come for a surprise deep clean, but I oohed and aaahed and thanked and begged and made all sorts of ridiculous promises (even going so far as to offer my ironing skills) that we got to keep her!  And for 13 beautiful months Leslie and Herman showed up every two weeks and transformed our home.  It was heaven on earth...

Then I lost my job, and the dream was over. 

Now, being the best cleaning team in history, Leslie and Herman actually gave me one extra cleaning about 2 1/2 weeks ago, so I was able to stretch the glory just a bit longer.  Then this weekend I realized we had family from Canada coming over for dinner, and the dust was thick enough to write in, so I scurried around Sunday afternoon and made the first floor presentable.

But today was the big day.  Today was the day that I dragged out the cleaning supplies, enlisted my three-year-old side-kick and tackled some serious cleaning.  We dusted, we mopped, we vacuumed (even behind the washer and dryer for some unknown reason), we scrubbed,  and you know what?  It wasn't so bad.

To be fair, I do think I might have gotten the job done a bit more quickly without Charlie's help, but he was having a ball and entertaining me at the same time.  Who knew a vacuum was so exciting?

And now that we're almost 2 hours into today's nap (following a 3 hour nap yesterday!), I think we just might have a chance of surviving this "at home" thing after all.  (But trust me, Leslie is still on my speed dial should I ever find gainful employment!)

Olympic Moment

Charlie: Can we watch girls do bar tricks?
Daddy: Sure.  Come sit down.

Charlie squirms around a bit until the opening montage of the Fab 5 starts...

Charlie: Wow.  Those are pretty girls.
Daddy: Do you watch the tricks for the pretty girls or for the tricks?
Charlie:  For the tricks...and the pretty girls.

Bliss

There is only one thing in the world that could make Charlie's and my days at home seem stressful: five days of nothing but swimming, laughing, watching the Olympics, visiting random animals and eating my mom's cooking!

Despite a wacky stomach bug that waylaid pretty much everyone at one point or another (poor Charlie on the plane!), we had an absolutely fabulous time in Texas.  Mom and Dad not only spoiled us with home cooked meals and extremely lowkey adventures, they even banished Jason and I from the house Saturday night without Charlie -- for a yummy dinner with a fabulous view, lots of laughter and a mountain ride in a convertible.  It truly doesn't get any better!

Aunt Angie and Uncle Bill were able to adjust their work schedules a bit and spend lots of time swimming and eating with us all -- not to mention visiting the El Paso zoo and whizzing around the go kart track at Bobo's. 

I think Charlie summed up how we all felt as we boarded our second plane yesterday, "I want to go back to Texas!!"  Of course, Jason and I were able to refrain from shouting it...

Thankfully, Mom and Dad's next trip to SC is already on the calendar and we should be spending an equally relaxing week at Edisto for Thanksgiving...I should probably start cooking now!

Another Bible Study

Last night our Ladies' Bible Study covered Romans 8:28 and I had to share the notes, because I believe this is one of the most misused verses in the entire Bible.  God NEVER promises believers an easy life (nor should we use this verse to promise that to each other...)

Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

• Problem - If this is true, why do we suffer?
• Author - Paul
• Formerly Saul: "Pharisee of Pharisees" (Acts 23:6) - extreme persecutor of Christians (Acts 8:1-3)
• Saw Jesus on Road to Damascus and Believed (Acts 9)
• Completed at least 3 missionary journeys reaching as far west as Spain (Acts 13-21_
• Wrote Romans, I & II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus and Philemon -- letters of doctrine and application
• Context - Letter to the Romans
• Written preceding a visit there -- had been hoping to visit for quite some time (Romans 1:10)
• Outline of Letter
• Chapter 1: The Gospel & Perils of Unbelief (Key Verses 1:3-4, 19)
• Chapter 2: No one is any better off than anyone else (Key Verses 2:8-9)
• Chapter 3: All are guilty, but able to be justified by faith (Key Verses 3:10-16, 28)
• Chapter 4: OT Examples
• Chapter 5: Results of Justification (Key Verses 5:1-2)
• Chapter 6: Believers' Victory over Sin (Key Verse 6:11)
• Chapter 7: Unity with Christ and Ongoing Struggles of Believers (Key Verses 7:4-6, 25)
• Chapter 8: No Condemnation for Believers, despite struggles of Chapter 7 (Key Verses 8:1, 26-39)
• Chapter 9: God's Sovereignty (Key Verses 9:19-21)
• Chapter 10: Faith Resulting in Salvation (Key Verses 10:8-11)
• Chapter 11: Jews & Gentiles (Key Verses 11:11-12)
• Chapter 12: Service (Key Verse 12:6-13)
• Chapter 13: Submission to Authority (Key Verse 13:7)
• Chapters 14-15: Purpose of Conscience/Responsibility to One Another (Key Verses 14:13-15)
• Chapter 15: Purpose of Paul's Blunt Approach (Key Verse 15: 15-16)
• Chapter 16: Greetings & Love
• Argument of Romans 8:28
• Jesus was declared God through resurrection (1:3).
• It doesn't matter who you are (2:8-9), all are guilty and deserve death (3:10-16), but God will justify (save) anyone through faith in Jesus (3:28).
• The results of justification (salvation) are peace, hope and glory, the ability to surrender ourselves to the righteousness of God rather than to Sin (6:11) and most importantly, unity with Christ and freedom from the Law (7:4-6).
• Nevertheless, all believers (even Paul!) continue to struggle with sin (7:25), but receive no condemnation (8:1).
• Therefore, "all things work together for good to those who love God" (8:28), because He created justification to save us from our sins and unite us with Christ (Romans 1-7) and despite our inability to live up to that rightesousness (Romans 7-8), "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor lthings present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus"
• Application of "All things [working] together for good"
• Does NOT mean that believers will not suffer (Hebrews 11: 32-40)
• Does mean that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (8:18) (eternal life with God, from whom we deserve to be eternally separated)

One Week Down...

I only have a couple minutes while Charlie is contentedly drinking his juice.  I'm on the computer to look for jobs and decided I'd rather update everyone regarding our new lifestyle.

Basically, last week was fabulous!  Charlie napped like a champ, we had outings of various kinds each day (Wannamker sprinklers, grocery store, lunch with Daddy) and we learned some fun facts about Washington DC and South Carolina.  Honestly, it was much better and more fun than I'd ever imagined.

That said, I am still looking for a new job -- for a couple reasons.  One - one good week does not mean we're going to love this long term.  Two -- we are still working through our finances, i.e. exactly what do we "need" to spend each week vs. what we used to spend each week and how will paying off a floating object or two with my severance impact that spending...

Since we do have my severance to buy us some time, at this point I'm still looking for another "sweet deal" like I had before (good money from home with flexible hours).  As the year winds down, if I'm still looking, we may start relaxing our criteria and determining what lifestyle changes we can handle. 

In the meantime, though, Charlie and I just finished Table Time (our at-home replacement for Circle Time) and are about to head out to Walmart, because he has decided that since Daddy wears undershirts, he needs to wear them, too.  That's our adventure for today!

Wondering...

If I should get a sassy new pixie cut?  Or maybe a confident bob?  Or perhaps glamorous extensions?

Why, you ask?  Because based on the past 20 hours, a hairstyle defines one's personality more than I ever imagined. 

After a fun lunch with Daddy (Chipotle finally made it to Charleston!!!), Charlie and I stopped by All About Hair for a much overdo trim -- I tend to put off his haircuts because they just never turn out that well.  Charlie watched closely as Ashley chopped and combed and his blond locks fell to floor, and when she combed it up into a mohawk to work on the top his whole face lit up.  Just that morning he had asked for a mohawk and I had declined -- nothing we own ever gets it to stick up that way.

Seeing his glee, Ashley offered to "style" it for him if Mommy approved, and of course I did, so she pulled out the "glue" (sigh...just waiting for him to try this at home), and we were all set.  Charlie was happy, Ashley was charmed and I was amused.  It seemed like a win-win-win -- until post-nap that was. 

Suddenly, my sweet, albeit slightly mischevious, boy was scrunching his button nose into tough guy faces and acting like a little Hell's Angel.  Jason assures me that it's just Charlie being ornery, but after a week of "yes Ma'ams," long naps and help around the house, I'm sure it's the hair.  Thankfully we have a birthday party at the pool this morning, so we can ditch this little biker attitude.

And in all reality, we all know that I will be keeping my medium-length, side-parted, blah haircut.  In part because I'm cheap and lazy when it comes to my hair, but moreso because I'm not sure we could handle any additional sass, confidence or glamour in this family.

The old, old story...

It was no surprise last night when we heard Charlie hollering for me a mere 10 minutes after he'd gone down to bed.  It appears that his metabolism responds best to sitting down to a meal or laying down for bed -- most likely because those are the only times he's still.

Anyway, not too long ago Jason and I instituted a rule that if Charlie neglected to use the restroom prior to bed or meal, we would not read any stories when he went -- our futile effort to institute proactivity.  So, last night as I sat on the bathmat, Charlie started to tell me stories.  The first was about three little pigs who wanted some sugar...then got a tummy ache and went to the doctor, and the doctor said, "No more sugar for three little pigs!"

Then he tangented into something about firemen and somehow ended up telling me that Jesus not only lives inside him, but in his stomach.  Which begged the question, "Does he eat and drink when I do?"

Flashback 30+ years and I distinctly remember laying in my little yellow room with the froggy wall hanging and asking my mom the very same question -- with a visual image in my head of an empty inside of my body with muscle-like walls and Jesus standing in the middle. 

Suddenly aware of the power of early memories, I asked Charlie if he knew why Jesus was so important.  Shaking his head no, he said, "Yes."

So I told him, "Well buddy.  You know that God created all of us and is perfect, right?"
"Yes."
"But we all make mistakes."
"I don't make mistakes."
"Yes, Buddy, you do, and so do Mommy and Daddy and everyone else.  Those mistakes keep us away from God, and there is nothing we can do to fix it."
"Why?"
"Because He is perfect, but Jesus is God's son and God sent Him to be born and live here on earth -- and He never made a mistake -- but then He died on the cross for our mistakes."
Blank stare.
"It was kind of like Jesus didn't do anything wrong, but then He went to time out so we wouldn't be in trouble."
"Why?"
"Because He and God loved us so much, they wanted us to be able to be with them."
"Oh.  Ok."
"Well, then He came back to life and He is alive right now, so now we can be with God."
"When? Today? In Heaven?"
"Well, sort of.  God can live in you because of what Jesus did, if you believe it.  Then someday when either you die or Jesus comes back, you will go to Heaven to be with Him."
"Just me and God?  Not you and Daddy?."
"No, Buddy.  Daddy and I will be there, too, and Charlie, the day you understand and believe that with your heart and not just your head will be the very best day of your entire life."
"Ok.  I'm done now."

Clearly not the environment in which we planned to share the complete gospel with Charlie for the first time, and I suppose I'll have to apologize someday if he has the visual memory I do -- but pretty exciting to know that he's at least heard the whole story!

Island Time...

Who would have imagined what a difference 40 miles could make?  And don't get me wrong, we still love Summerville, but spending a week on Sullivan's Island was the perfect escape from all of our recent life changes.

As is my habit lately, I did a horrible job capturing the week in pictures, but to sum it up, we spent our days racing around in golf carts, lolling about in tide pools, laughing with cousins, aunts/uncles, siblings, neices/nephews and grandparents; taking fabulously long naps listening to the waves and eating wonderful meals. 

Throw in our first Charleston carriage ride, a shark on the beach and Charlie's first exposure to Justin Beiber ("Mommy, please sing Baby!!  Please, Mommy!  I don't remember it!") and you pretty much have a complete picture of our bliss.

I don't suppose newfound unemployment bodes well for moving to the island one day...?

Dear Toy Box,

June 14, 2010 I sobbed as I turned right onto Orangeburg Road from the Toy Box Daycare parking lot.  I had just abandoned my baby in a building full of strangers for the very first time, and I was brokenhearted.

July 6, 2012 I teared up as I turned right onto Orangeburg Road from the Toy Box Daycare parking lot. I had just dropped off my baby in a building full of wonderful ladies who love him for the last time, and I am heartsick.

I am trying not to question the wisdom of pulling Charlie out of  a place that he loves so much -- whether it be for good or for a while -- but it's hard.  Over the past 2 years our family has come to adore these ladies and there are no words to express how grateful we are to them.

To Mrs. Tracy and Mrs. Shelly, thank you for creating such a wonderful, fun, bright, challenging and Godly atmosphere for my baby to learn, but even moreso for hiring these spectacular women to care for him.

To  Miss Alisha, Mrs. Irene, Miss Chelsea, Mrs. Whitney, Miss Kita, Miss Brittany, Miss Brittany, Mrs. Brenda, Miss Amanda and Mrs. Jo-Jo -- and all the other ladies at the Toy Box who though you may not have been his teachers, have laughed with him, eaten his woodchip meals, helped him tie his shoes, and given him hugs  -- thank you for loving him.

And for showing that love through all of the hard work, dedication, time and effort you all put into every single day with Charlie and his friends. Thank you for changing him, for feeding him, for holding him, for correcting him and for being his beloved teachers.

We will miss you all dearly and promise to use the knowledge and tools you've given us to continue to learn and grow into a funny, bright, joyful boy.