august

Friday, December 31, 2010

I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello

Hello, 2011. Hello sweet baby niece, we've been waiting for you! Hello 8 year old Bug and 3 year old Sugarplum Fairy- I bet you're every bit as great as last year's version. Helloooooo my handsome sailor in his uniform. Hello to making my own decisions, and not taking someone else's thoughts, however assertive or convincing, for my own. Hello adventures in keeping myself busy. Hello entirely different level of dependency on God, and sweet 16's on the 4th. Hello bride and groom. Hello new way of life, dance lessons for the Sug, much more yoga, mail-order science experiments for Bug, book clubs, visitors from Japan, homeschooling, letters from Illinois, and all the surprises a year can hold.


Isaiah 43:18-19
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.” (NIV)

Thursday, December 30, 2010

About A Bug

For the sake of transparency, and the fact that all of you can do simple math, I will go ahead and put it out there: Bug made his debut when I was just 18. Yes, we were teen parents; stereotypical in many ways, but hopefully not all. Due to blood pressure problems, Bug came into the world two weeks early, a gorgeous 9 lb 12 oz boy with a generous amount of red hair. He was perfect, and I was terrified. I could not imagine what kind of hospital would actually let 18 year olds go home with a baby. "Shouldn't we have to pass some sort of test? They just let you go?!"

A week shy of seven and a half years later, and the red-headed baby of the teen parents lives, relatively unscathed, and mature beyond his years. The red-headed baby is now a red-headed little man. If you are wondering why I'm bothering writing this, it is so from here on out, you know these things when I make mention of my firstborn: Bug is sheer joy. Bug only eats the head part on marshmallow peeps- it's a tedious process, but apparently worth it. Bug loves God in a way that amazes me, and not just because of his tender age. Bug is vitality itself- a friend once kindly described our rambunctious 3 yr old running in circles as "full of life", and that has yet to change. I hope it never does. You've probably in your adult life never asked as many questions as this kid. He is full of goodness like his father, precocious like his mother, and even at his moodiest he is nothing short of wonderful to be around. He knows everything about the ocean, and most things about dinosaurs and the rainforest, and on some days, everything about everything. He has complained for two years about not getting to do enough science at school. We always joke that he will for sure grow up to be some sort of "ist". Bug makes friends everywhere he goes- best friends. I KNOW he's not perfect in the conventional sense, but he is perfect to me. I embrace his "flaws" because to do otherwise would be to deny some very key parts of him, even the part that was a "biter" for a good year of his little life. Every now and then, that infamous red-headed temper will show itself, but I hope that means one day as an adult he will be able to harness that fire to stand up for the things he believes. He can be slow to forgive, but he is often the first to apologize. He is highly respectful of the oldest generation, which I think results more from a kind heart than the issue of manners. He loves to make people laugh, and is highly capable of pointing out the absurd in everyday life. His fake accents are better than yours. I've said it in different ways before, but Bug is someone I would love being around even if I had not been the mom that was lucky enough to hold him on that day a week shy of seven and a half years ago, when he was perfect and I was terrified. The terror has subsided... for now. But what of Bug's perfection, you ask?? I mean, you DID mention that he was a biter  and all...



Call me biased, but I think it's come out relatively unscathed as well.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

You, I, Wind, Land, and Sea

Surely the first post is the most overwhelming, right? I don't begin to know how to begin. Mostly, I'm wanting to blog to record whatever adventures result from my husband of eight years swearing into the U.S. Navy last fall, and I wanted to give myself some months (he leaves in a little over five for boot camp) to get into a groove before I attempt to explain what it's like for him to go away. Two years ago, I'd never have believed that I would ever move away from our relatively safe, quiet hometown, home to both sides of our family, a gorgeous backdrop of mountains, and all of our memories. But when this happened:


-then, well, I had to start warming up to the idea. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't "sprung" on me- we had lots of talks, and though I had some fears about a new life, I genuinely believe that this man can do anything he sets his mind to. He has always been supportive of me living my dream, staying home with our beautiful kiddos (who will each get their own post later), how could I not do the same for him? And like I said, the man can do anything. Except dance. But only when he swore in did I begin to really start opening my mind to the whole scope of it. My roots, so deeply planted, are being pulled up. What's shocking to even me is that I'm getting to be somewhat okay with that. I recite Ruth 1:16-17 to myself a lot:

16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”


So, the change, that's why I dare to blog. I hope somewhere in here, someone can find some encouragement when their significant other heads into this whirlwind, or at least can have a laugh at my witty children, random husband, my clumsiness, or utter failure at making things. There's so much to say and explain, but I'm going to save my material and not burn out three posts in...I hope.

**after reading a much better blogger and friend's first post, I remembered to add: thanks for looking! See, bad at this....