Similar?

Yesterday Maeve was dressed in this cute little outfit. It was a white girlie onesie and khaki green shorts. She looked adorable and while I was taking her picture I remembered taking Noah's picture in a similar outfit! Noah's were actually camo and just a plain white onesie. He is only 3 weeks and she is 8, but I just had a moment of deja vu!!!

Memorizing

We've been working really hard on memorization with Noah. It's weird because part of me thinks it's pretty old school, but part of me knows that that is simply how I learned when I was a child. He does so well with it. I want him to be a more active participant in worship so we taught him the Lord's prayer. He can't remember debts and debtors (which is theologically a good idea!), but he does such a great job, huh!?

Thanks Afi and Amma!!!

We loved our package from Iceland!!!!

Transitions

Well, it's time to finally do this post, though I've been avoiding it.

In the beginning of June, I resigned as the pastor of Rock Presbyterian Church. After almost 4 years of service there I needed to be in a less stressful position.

At Rock I was responsible for so many different areas and committees. Each week I had to write a sermon and while I think I was good at it the task was so daunting to me. It would consume me each week and the stress from that would enter into our home life virtually every day. I never felt like I was doing my job well... never visiting shut-ins enough or doing home communions, etc. And then I had the chance to do confirmation this year and LOVED it. I seriously was so happy every time I had the teens in my office. Then in about March or April I preached a sermon about John the Baptist... about how sometimes in order to move forward we need to look back. It was about PHIL (yes, I hope you read this!) and Dandelions (smile!!!). I knew then that I needed to be in a place working with teens and being more creative and less administrative.

Of course this is exactly how God works because my friends told me about a position opening at the church in my town for youth work. I was pregnant, stressed about work, and a new position opened in my lap. I interviewed putting it all in God's hands, knowing that if it didn't happen then God would want me to stay put. Sure enough the interview was smooth as silk and the committee was sure immediately that I was the right person. I loved the possibility, but I was and am in love with the people and the amazing work God has done at Rock. Some of my great friends and I have worked so hard to create a church environment that we wanted to invite our friends too and the church blossomed soooo much. Worship was fun and meaningful, people were open and warm, it was proof to me that if you simply follow God's words and pray unceasingly that people will be drawn to faith.

But, it was not right for my family. It was not healthy to be a stress case all the time. I hated the idea of daycare and I couldn't figure out how to make it work.

Today was my first day the new position. I am responsible for children and youth and their families. It is an awesome opportunity. I make about the same pay, Noah goes to their preschool for free, Maeve stays with me in my office, I can walk to work and I don't shoulder so much responsibility. I will plan fun events and retreats. The church also has a partnership with South Africa and they send people every year to do mission work.... oh how I would LOVE to go! They said if I wanted to work from home I could and they will be as flexible as I need with the kids. I'll do a Sunday night youth group and a Wednesday after school club as well as make sure all of the teachers have what they need. I'll preach and do children's sermons occasionally as well.

It's certainly going to be different and I MISS MISS MISS my family at Rock, but I am so grateful for this opportunity and this new step for our family.

Oxford Pres is a totally new experience for me. I have never been a church this big, either worshipping or working. There is a whole staff of people and it is really the center of the community in Oxford. This picture is stolen from their website... building on the left and sanctuary on the right.


I hope this answers some of your questions!!

Maeve 8 weeks

Time is flying right by. Maeve was 8 weeks old on Saturday and I am just in awe. She is always with me so I definitely feel like she's a huge part of our lives, but at the same time she still doesn't talk or move so it feels like she is not really here sometimes. It seems that every day gets easier and easier. We are still fighting the thrush but it has gotten better. We still wrestle with reflux but it doesn't seem to hurt her much anymore. She has started spitting up larger amounts which is gross but she doesn't cry about it. She has become pretty angelic most of the day and then around 5 she loses it until 7 or so. I can deal with that! She has gotten much better in the car seat and is just overall becoming much calmer. I read that 6-8 weeks is the height of fussiness for many babies as it is the end of their digestive tract working itself out. I have special prayers out there that we are done with the extreme fussiness and drama.

Maeve is a rock star in so many ways. She is always along for the ride because we have so much going on and she usually manages to pull it together when we need her too. She is the happiest in her peanut shell sling and we put her in there whenever we are out and about and she just sleeps away.



She sleeps so well and I thank God for that all the time. Last night she went to bed at 7 woke up once at 2 and again at 6:30. This is perfectly fine with me! I need to work on tweaking the night so she sleeps more like 10-6:30 but I am happy with where we are.

She is pretty happy these days laying on a blanket staring at a toy or out the window. She isn't a fan of most contraptions but is starting to show more interest in her surroundings.




8 weeks have gone so incredibly quickly and I just can't imagine what she will be like at 1 or 2. I'm so excited to see and yet I don't want her to change at all! But, I am certainly glad she is a part of our family.... we all are!

Noah 40 months

So I don't normally do Noah age posts anymore because he has outgrown monthly milestones, but we were at a family reunion this weekend and I was trying to get Noah to pose for some pictures because he looked so cute. He totally didn't get the cues and I asked him to lean on the tree. Here are several variations of leaning on a tree:








We got better as we went.

At 3 and almost a half, Noah has changed so much. He is a rather sunny kid and generally very happy. He is incredibly verbal and speaks with clarity and depth. He loves people and is very social. He hugs everyone with great gusto and often knocks people over with his embraces. He is still pretty rambunctious and doesn't have the best boundaries, but we can see him changing daily and know that he will grow out of his wildness (hopefully never completely). Though we have passed through biting, hitting, throwing, and most tantrums, we are now focused on the task of listening. Noah is very good at "playing dumb" and ignoring everything you say. So, we started our first listening chart this week and Noah gets stars for good listening and x's for refusing to listen. Of course he will get rewarded for his stars. He is old enough now where we really can't chalk it up to him being a baby anymore or not understanding. He is learning what he can get away with and what he will be held accountable for. Whew... this parenting thing is HARD work! At 3 Noah is still a big sleeper. He goes to bed at 8 and wakes up at 7 most days. He still naps from about 1-4 with some coaxing. I know the days of no naps are around the corner and I am dreading them fiercely. Many of his friends have already tossed the afternoon nap.

Noah is still completely addicted to animals. Anything he can get his hands on from the animal world is his passion. He is very involved in imaginary play and sets the animals up in families and friendship groups. I love this little addiction of his and it is really fun to hear him play out what Paul and I say through the voices of his animals.

That's all for now. I just wanted to show off his new skill -- tree leaning!