Love!

I like candid shots, sometimes I get really good ones.

Hunting Cabin Trip

My parents took a vacation up at the family's hunting cabin for three days (June 12-14). On the last day, we went up to enjoy being out in the middle of nowhere. My "little" brother also came up, as did my grandfather. It was a very relaxing evening and made Thomas and I long to get out of the city even more.

It is about a 2 hour drive to the cabin, but the last half-hour is up a dirt road. It was very bumpy, and a little rough on my pregnant mommy bladder (my mom has a funny little anecdote about this drive and being pregnant, but I will let her tell it), and I couldn't remember how far it was, though I knew the cabin was at the end, so we just kept driving. We had the windows open and listened to the birds and tried to keep a hungry Eamon entertained.

But finally, we got there and found Mom in the kitchen and Daddy mowing the grass, which is what we usually find my parents doing when we visit them. We joked that Eamon will think that mowing the grass is all the Grandpa does.

Mom took Eamon to explore the pond and the boat shed and see some birds. Then Eamon walked up and down the hill with Thomas, while Mom, Curt and I sat on the front porch chatting and enjoying the pleasant weather.

Then while Thomas grilled the burgers, Daddy, Curt, Eamon and I explored the "big machine" sheds. Eamon loved the lawn tractor, was mildly impressed with the four-wheelers, and was a little intimidated by the grader (which is huge) and the back-hoe/front-end-loader. But he got to sit in them and hold on to the steering wheels!

Then we had supper and chatted while Eamon and Curt laid in the gravel. After some strawberry-rhubarb pie (made with corn starch instead of tapioca, so it didn't hold together as well as usual), Grandpa and Curt left. Thomas and Eamon and Daddy played in the gravel drive way some more, while Mom and I talked. Then we all went inside to get ready to leave. Eamon got his pajamas on, we packed up our stuff, and Mom and Dad started cleaning up the cabin.

Eamon fell asleep shortly after we got down the mountain, and didn't wake up when we brought him in from the car. It was a fun afternoon and a great start to the weekend.

I had a thought

I had a thought while washing dishes the other day. I get a lot of thinking done while I wash dishes, unless Eamon is "helping" me, when I just get rather wet.

I thought that as a Christian, and therefore a representative of Christ, my interactions with other people ought to be reflective of what Jesus thinks of them. That is why I ought to be building others up, helping them see themselves as Jesus sees them.

That means I need to be so close to Jesus that I know what he thinks of us. And considering that I have a hard time remembering how much Jesus loves me, I will be speaking to myself just as much as I am reminding them of this beautiful truth.

This also means that I don't have to overlook sin issues, because Jesus doesn't overlook them. But rather I can forgive them and not let them define the person.

This leads to other thoughts, but those thoughts aren't completely formed yet. I guess I need to wash some more dishes.

Thankfuls

There are times when I feel like complaining, when I am grumpy and tired and nothing is going right. Those times come more often than I would like to admit, but tonight, even though lots of things did not go as planned, I am thankful.

1. I am thankful for Thomas. He made root beer floats for dessert tonight. He took care of the baby while I was on the phone with my sister. He says sweet things and kisses me by surprise. He vacuumed the upstairs last night and washed the windows last week. He got me ice cream on a bad day. He remembered that I needed a nursing shawl and found two at a great price so he got them. He knows how to make me smile.

2. I am thankful for Eamon. After drinking his root beer float, he ran around and around the deck until he flopped down on his belly and grinned up at Thomas and me. He is learning to pick up his toys. He is talking more and more every day, saying the cutest things and telling me in great long paragraphs (that I can't understand) about things that he sees and thinks.

3. I am thankful for my sister's phone call tonight. It was good. She is a good person to talk to.

4. I am thankful that my friend had my wallet and let me come get it tonight.

5. I am thankful that it is bedtime and that tonight is cooler than the day was.

Lady Mommy and the Frozen Yogurt

Once upon a time, Lady Mommy, Sir Daddy, and Baby Eamon were riding in a carriage for a very long time. At the half-way point of the trip, Sir Daddy stopped to feed and rest the horses, while Lady Mommy went to find some special treat to celebrate the progress. She found some frozen yogurt and got a serving for each of them, even though the serving for Baby Eamon was a little big. She thought that she and Sir Daddy would enjoy finishing up what Baby Eamon didn't want to eat.

Baby Eamon was not happy that he did not get to be free from his seat, and when they all got back on the road, he made sure everyone knew how unhappy he was. He whined and fussed and cried and his frozen yogurt did not make him happier. This frustrated Lady Mommy because not only was her baby grumpy, but the frozen yogurt was beginning to melt and drip over the edge of the container. All Baby Eamon wanted was his Nuk, which he happened to drop in a very difficult to reach place.

So Lady Mommy set down the frozen yogurt and reached to get the Nuk. Unfortunately, she leaned right into the frozen yogurt. It soaked through all layers of clothing and was sticky and messy and gross. And Baby Eamon still kept fussing. Now Lady Mommy was not happy. She felt like she couldn't move without getting anything else sticky, but everything she touched was already sticky.

Sir Daddy was driving the carriage and did not understand why Lady Mommy was so unhappy, but there was a resting place just down the road, where they planned to stop. Since Lady Mommy refused to do anything with Baby Eamon until she changed her shirt, Sir Daddy got Baby Eamon and let him run around. Then when he saw Lady Mommy's shirt covered with frozen yogurt, and her undershirt also covered with frozen yogurt, he began to be more sympathetic, but didn't laugh until Lady Mommy had a clean shirt and she was able to laugh about it too.

Lady Mommy ate all her frozen yogurt and much of Baby Eamon's too. She might have let Sir Daddy have a bite or two, but she can't remember. It was chocolate, and she needed such cool goodness to sooth her nerves.

Baby Eamon ran around for a little bit, then wanted his melted frozen yogurt. Fortunately, there was just enough left. After a much longer break than they had planned Lady Mommy, Sir Daddy, and Baby Eamon continued on their very long journey.

The End

GA Trip

We wanted to get in a visit to Thomas' family before I got too much farther along in my pregnancy. We haven't been since Christmas. On that trip, Eamon slept in the car, but not the hotel, therefore we didn't sleep in the hotel either. So this time we decided, why bother with stopping overnight if we can't sleep anyway; let's do it in one go: 15 hours with a 20 month old and a 27 wk pregnant lady. I was a little worried about the trip, but besides one adventure involving frozen yogurt, and a few fussy stretches, it actually went really well.

We had a lovely time while we were there. I found it mostly relaxing. Eamon didn't like sleeping and was a little overwhelmed most of the time. But he loved the dogs and all the attention. He especially loved watching Grandmommy take care of the dogs in the morning and being with Aunt Anna. One morning, as soon as he saw her, he said "An-nie" with his cute little talking voice. (He has a voice for babbling and a voice that he uses when he knows he is saying a word that we understand.)

We went to a wild animal safari. We visited with Aunts and friends. We went to the church were Thomas used to go and saw many people that I haven't seen since our wedding shower. Thomas got to visit with some of his sisters and his mother one-on-one. I got to nap every day and not worry about dishes or cleaning the house. However, we were very disappointed that we didn't get to see Mema and Dandy (Thomas' grandparents). It was in the plans for both to visit, but Mema got sick, and Dandy was unable to walk due to some leg spasms. We were very sad to miss seeing them.

Eamon began talking in earnest while we were down there. He has learned more words since being home, but he relied on words to communicate in GA much more than he does at home. Now he begins saying the words he knows, whether or not they are applicable to the situation. He walks around the house saying, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" or "bubble, bubble, bubble" or "doggie, goggle, doggie, ducky." And the other night at dinner he tried imitating his daddy after Thomas got him to eat his chicken by speaking in French.

The trip home went smoothly. Eamon slept and slept through NC and several rest stops in VA. We didn't want to stop and have him wake up and be fussy, but right when we thought we must stop or bad things will happen, he woke up. We read stories and sang a few songs and listened to "The Piano Guys" and all went well.

I think we are still all recovering from the trip. We have had a crazy week and a half since getting home, so Eamon hasn't been sleeping well, Thomas has had a horrible headache, and I am feeling large, hot, and tired. But only a few things are on the schedule for next week, so we should be able to get back in the swing of things. And it isn't supposed to be quite as hot. Since we don't have our air conditioners in, I am quite thankful about that.

We talk about his aunts and the dogs pretty regularly. This morning he asked to see pictures of his Aunts and Grandmommy. I am pretty sure he had a wonderful time and misses everyone.

Pre-GA pictures

Here are some photos I have wanted to share but haven't had time to get them from my camera to my computer then re-sized for my blog.

Here is my 26 week (I think) picture. Tomorrow I will be 29 weeks. I feel much bigger, but I am not sure that I actually look it.

Thomas and Eamon playing the piano. Eamon is great at adding descants and getting in the way of the melody.

We had lots of fun playing outside this spring. He would pick up little stones and put them in the pocket of his push-car thing.

One day we just sat on the front porch and watched the cars go by. He was very disappointed when I told him it was time to go inside.