(he looks manic here, but he's really just dancing around, squealing at the top of his lungs.)
Thursday, February 28, 2013
his own clothes :o)
Jasper picked out his own clothes this morning, for the very first time!! I have been joyfully anticipating this event for many months now, and it did not disappoint. :o) it was so, so sweet, it made my heart ache. First of all, Jasper was very intentional about picking all matching colors (as you can see, blue-and-green shirt and blue-and-green pants. He also picked out blue socks.) and then he was so, so proud of himself (with good reason!!). He kept squealing with delight and pointing to his clothes; it was so precious!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
laughter
One of my biggest prayers for our home is that it would be filled with laughter. Not a little laughter sprinkled here and there, but honest-to-goodness laughter on a regular, daily basis. I want my default "setting" in life to be fun laughter (as opposed to sarcastic, mocking laughter) whenever anything happens and I'm not quite sure how to respond. I want it to be RARE if we're not laughing and having fun with one another.
I have made it my life-long goal and ambition to make our home Jasper and Andrew's most favorite place in the world to be; I really want Jasper to love love love our home and yearn to be here. I want him to laugh more here then he does anywhere else. I want Andrew to count the minutes till he gets to come home b/c he knows that our home is a joyous, safe place. I want Jasper to want to have his friends over here instead of wanting to escape his home and parents whenever he gets the chance.
By God's grace, our home (and our lives) is filled with laughter and joy. We can always improve, but I know for a fact that Jasper's favorite place in the world is his home; he goes bonkers with excitement whenever we come home from anywhere, no matter how short we've been gone. He runs around squealing and bouncing off the walls with excitement, simply because we're home. My favorite place in the world is our home. I'm not entirely sure about Andrew... let me check... well, I just asked him where his favorite place is and he said, "with you.". So basically his favorite place is his home, too. I pray and pray and pray and beg God to let our home be filled with laughter and one of my key verses as a wife and mom is:
"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries the bones." Proverbs 17:22.
Because of God's great mercy and grace, we have a very joyful home and I pray we continue to fill it with laughter for many days and years to come.
I have made it my life-long goal and ambition to make our home Jasper and Andrew's most favorite place in the world to be; I really want Jasper to love love love our home and yearn to be here. I want him to laugh more here then he does anywhere else. I want Andrew to count the minutes till he gets to come home b/c he knows that our home is a joyous, safe place. I want Jasper to want to have his friends over here instead of wanting to escape his home and parents whenever he gets the chance.
By God's grace, our home (and our lives) is filled with laughter and joy. We can always improve, but I know for a fact that Jasper's favorite place in the world is his home; he goes bonkers with excitement whenever we come home from anywhere, no matter how short we've been gone. He runs around squealing and bouncing off the walls with excitement, simply because we're home. My favorite place in the world is our home. I'm not entirely sure about Andrew... let me check... well, I just asked him where his favorite place is and he said, "with you.". So basically his favorite place is his home, too. I pray and pray and pray and beg God to let our home be filled with laughter and one of my key verses as a wife and mom is:
"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries the bones." Proverbs 17:22.
Monday, February 25, 2013
few random thoughts
Just a few random thoughts from the last day or two that I don't want to forget down the road:
- teaching the 2 year olds' Sunday School yesterday, we had 2 pictures; 1 picture of kids who were sad and 1 picture of the same kids, except they were happy. We told our 2 year olds that the kids were sad b/c they sinned, but Jesus forgives us and gives us salvation, so then they were happy. We said that about a million times.
So then for our "review" Andrew said:
"These kids are sad b/c they sinned. Why are they sad?"
blank, blank stares from our 2's.
Andrew said again, "Ok. See these kids? They are sad b/c they were disobedient to God and they SINNED. Why are they sad?"
long, long silence then one of the boys said, "MEEE!!!"
Andrew said, "Ok- listen very carefully. These kids are sad because they sinned. See these kids? They are sad because they sinned. They sinned. They are sad because they sinned. Why are they sad?
long, long silence, then a different little boy said, "I know why they're sad! They're sad b/c they lost all their pockets."
Andrew and I stared at each other, burst out laughing, and decided it was time for snack.
- I got the spinach, carrots, and kale out of the fridge tonight to make dinner, and Jasper said, "SMOOTHIE!!" It did my heart so proud, b/c for the last week or so, we've been having spinach, carrots, kale, and fruit smoothies. What a smart cookie he is. :o)
- little things Andrew does that I don't want to forget:
* every morning, he moves my shower towel from its drying rack to the hook beside the shower. every morning without fail. for the last 7.5 years.
* every morning, he sets out my bowl, juice glass, and spoon.
* every morning since the day we got back from our honeymoon he writes me a love note. (yes, I have kept them all and plan to bind them all together someday)
* he has taken out the diaper pail trash every. single. time. I have never once in Jasper's entire life emptied the diaper pail.
* he fills up my keurig water reservoir when he sees that it's running low.
* he orders me K-cups when he sees that I'm running low.
* he researches and buys stuff for our home if I mention off-handedly that we need it or if he notices it on his own.
* he always asks how he can pray for me.
* he gets up extra early every morning to pray and read his Bible. and trim his beard and clip his fingernails.
* he watches "baby" with Jasper and sings him to sleep every night at 7:55.
* he never once, in our entire marriage, has asked me about what I spend money on or how much I spent on eating out or any random charge he may notice on the credit card bill.
* he affirms my physical appearance constantly.
love, love, love this man. :o)
- last week during dinner, Andrew asked Jasper what he talked about at BSF and Jasper said, "JESUS!" melted my heart to mush.
- I walked in the kitchen this afternoon to randomly find Jasper sitting at the dining room table, "reading" my Bible. Again, melted my heart to mush.
It's official, I have a mushy heart.
- teaching the 2 year olds' Sunday School yesterday, we had 2 pictures; 1 picture of kids who were sad and 1 picture of the same kids, except they were happy. We told our 2 year olds that the kids were sad b/c they sinned, but Jesus forgives us and gives us salvation, so then they were happy. We said that about a million times.
So then for our "review" Andrew said:
"These kids are sad b/c they sinned. Why are they sad?"
blank, blank stares from our 2's.
Andrew said again, "Ok. See these kids? They are sad b/c they were disobedient to God and they SINNED. Why are they sad?"
long, long silence then one of the boys said, "MEEE!!!"
Andrew said, "Ok- listen very carefully. These kids are sad because they sinned. See these kids? They are sad because they sinned. They sinned. They are sad because they sinned. Why are they sad?
long, long silence, then a different little boy said, "I know why they're sad! They're sad b/c they lost all their pockets."
Andrew and I stared at each other, burst out laughing, and decided it was time for snack.
- I got the spinach, carrots, and kale out of the fridge tonight to make dinner, and Jasper said, "SMOOTHIE!!" It did my heart so proud, b/c for the last week or so, we've been having spinach, carrots, kale, and fruit smoothies. What a smart cookie he is. :o)
- little things Andrew does that I don't want to forget:
* every morning, he moves my shower towel from its drying rack to the hook beside the shower. every morning without fail. for the last 7.5 years.
* every morning, he sets out my bowl, juice glass, and spoon.
* every morning since the day we got back from our honeymoon he writes me a love note. (yes, I have kept them all and plan to bind them all together someday)
* he has taken out the diaper pail trash every. single. time. I have never once in Jasper's entire life emptied the diaper pail.
* he fills up my keurig water reservoir when he sees that it's running low.
* he orders me K-cups when he sees that I'm running low.
* he researches and buys stuff for our home if I mention off-handedly that we need it or if he notices it on his own.
* he always asks how he can pray for me.
* he gets up extra early every morning to pray and read his Bible. and trim his beard and clip his fingernails.
* he watches "baby" with Jasper and sings him to sleep every night at 7:55.
* he never once, in our entire marriage, has asked me about what I spend money on or how much I spent on eating out or any random charge he may notice on the credit card bill.
* he affirms my physical appearance constantly.
love, love, love this man. :o)
- last week during dinner, Andrew asked Jasper what he talked about at BSF and Jasper said, "JESUS!" melted my heart to mush.
- I walked in the kitchen this afternoon to randomly find Jasper sitting at the dining room table, "reading" my Bible. Again, melted my heart to mush.
It's official, I have a mushy heart.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
coloring!
Jasper and I had such a sweet day today, just playing around the house and.... wait for it... COLORING!!!
I'm SO SO SO thrilled that Jasper is starting to show an interest in things such as reading and coloring! We had so much fun this morning, coloring for 45 minutes.
One of the (many) things I've learned from parenting a toddler is that I need new coloring "tools" since all we have are sharpies, highlighters, and pens; I've walked into the kitchen on several occasions to find Jasper "coloring" our kitchen floor with sharpies. They are now out of reach. :o) So until I can get some crayons and/or washable markers, we color with highlighters and pens, which Jasper really seems to love.
Jasper's favorite part of coloring seemed to be coloring in all the of the "corners"; he concentrated very, very hard on that part. And in true Jasper fashion, he also liked switching seats a lot. :o)
I'm SO SO SO thrilled that Jasper is starting to show an interest in things such as reading and coloring! We had so much fun this morning, coloring for 45 minutes.
One of the (many) things I've learned from parenting a toddler is that I need new coloring "tools" since all we have are sharpies, highlighters, and pens; I've walked into the kitchen on several occasions to find Jasper "coloring" our kitchen floor with sharpies. They are now out of reach. :o) So until I can get some crayons and/or washable markers, we color with highlighters and pens, which Jasper really seems to love.
Jasper's favorite part of coloring seemed to be coloring in all the of the "corners"; he concentrated very, very hard on that part. And in true Jasper fashion, he also liked switching seats a lot. :o)
Monday, February 18, 2013
feeding the bugs
One of my friends just recently asked me what I do all day with Jasper. As I pondered the answer to that question, one thing kept coming to mind. We feed his bugs. All day, every day, Jasper is adamant that these 2 bugs have a healthy serving of Rice Chex Cereal and we spend much of our day lovingly putting little piles of Rice Chex on each bug.
Bug #1
Bug #2 (this book- published 1983)
For some unbeknownst reason to me, these 2 bugs have captured Jasper's whole-hearted love and devotion. He drags these bugs around with us everywhere, feeds them, hugs them, kisses them, talks about them, and gets them his binky whenever he thinks they're tired. Gives them his froggy, gets them clean diapers when he thinks they've pooped, etc. If Jasper had to choose between me or the bugs, I'm not sure I would win. :o) They're currently his bff and it's so darn cute. :o)
Sunday, February 17, 2013
This is Our Life Project update
I wanted to update my photos from the different weeks of the "this is our life project". The idea is to take photos each week pertaining to that week's theme and then choose the 1 photo that you like best. At the end of the year, I'll hopefully have 52 photos that accurately display what my life looks like, day-to-day.
Week 1- "evening routine". we always feed Jasper yogurt every night after he gets his pj's on. In this photo, he's making his beloved "motorboat" sounds as Andrew "flies" the yogurt to Jasper. It's a precious routine that we've done every night for over a year.
Week 2- "this makes me want to freeze time". I love watching Andrew and Jasper interact and sometimes I feel as though my heart can't hold all the love I have for these 2 guys. If I remember nothing else from this stage of my life, I always want to remember Andrew's tender love for his son.
Week 3- "this makes me laugh". Jasper goes crazy, absolutely bonkers, in the tub. He gets so excited, he acts like he's on crack. It's absolutely hilarious. He mainly just joyfully shrieks at the top of his lungs and splashes like a crazy boy. If you look closely, you can see that the wall behind him is covered in water due to all his splashing.
Week 4- "a different perspective". Jasper longs, yearns, and begs to do the dishes. He acts like it's the world's greatest activity and I'm not about to correct him. In fact, I use "dishes" as a reward for him (IE Jasper, if you eat all your ham, you can do the dishes!!! And it actually works!!). A typical day here in the Meade house includes approximately 3 different times in which Jasper has done the dishes. Anyway, we have lots of pics of him doing the dishes, but this is the first time we've taken a picture of him doing the dishes while looking down at him.
Week 5- "capture the light". Here, I was just trying to use some natural sunlight to get a creative shot of Jasper looking for helicopters, another of his favorite activities.
Week 6- "a good morning". My bible is the most precious possession I own; I cherish my time in the bible more than life itself and I must spend time with the Lord each morning before Jasper wakes up. If ever I have to miss my bible time in the morning, I feel as though my whole day is off kilter and I just feel so grumpy and crabby. In order for me to truly have a "good morning", I must have read my Bible and centered my thoughts on my precious Lord.
Week 7- "negative light- it's a positive!". The whole idea behind this week's theme as that it's sometimes a good thing to have "empty" space in a photo because it puts the viewer's focus on the primary object. So I intentionally took photos of Andrew and Jasper with some empty space in them.
I really love this photography project and am looking forward to snapping more pictures to capture Meade life. :o)
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
All boy, oh boy!
Jasper is ALL boy.
Let me stress this again: he. is. all. boy.
He is a pure, authentic, 100% boy wrapped up in a huge, hyperactive bundle of energy.
Today, his toddler boy energy kinda exploded all over the place and has left me reeling and feeling dazed and confused.
For example, today:
- Jasper lit 2 matches in the span of 15 seconds and caught the kitchen table on fire (which I quickly blew out before any real damage was done).
- Jasper locked himself in our closet upstairs closet while eating cough drops and talking about poop.
- While I was distracted, Jasper climbed on top of the dining room table with a random straw (still wondering where he got that straw from) and was sipping my lukewarm coffee through a rainbow straw before I had time to blink (which could explain why he's so hyper right now).
- Jasper is currently trying to throw his vroom-vroom duck in the toilet as Andrew tries desperately to stop him. Jasper keeps saying the duck has to go pee-pees (creativity is good, right???).
- Despite constant discipline, Jasper threw his cups (yes, plural) high in the air during dinner tonight, spraying us all with scrambled eggs and other fluids (yes, he had put the eggs in his cups).
- Before naps today, Jasper had to go give his 2 bugs (BUGS!) hugs and kisses goodnight (he won't give me hugs or kisses, but he gives these ancient, old, 2-dimensional, sickly-looking bugs hugs and kisses).
- Right before nap time, i was rocking Jasper, he was all snuggly in my arms, I was softly singing "Jesus Loves the Little Jasper's", I thought he was asleep, when all of a sudden, he bellows at the top of his lungs, "BIG POOP!!!!" Completely randomly. No mention of poop had been made in hours.
and my personal favorite:
- Jasper thought the door frame in the basement was chocolate and stood there for a good 12-15 minutes, licking and chewing it (yes, it's solid wood). It was the most peaceful 12-15 minutes of my day today.
I know I'm going to, but someone, anyone, please tell me I'm going to miss these days!
Let me stress this again: he. is. all. boy.
He is a pure, authentic, 100% boy wrapped up in a huge, hyperactive bundle of energy.
Today, his toddler boy energy kinda exploded all over the place and has left me reeling and feeling dazed and confused.
For example, today:
- Jasper lit 2 matches in the span of 15 seconds and caught the kitchen table on fire (which I quickly blew out before any real damage was done).
- Jasper locked himself in our closet upstairs closet while eating cough drops and talking about poop.
- While I was distracted, Jasper climbed on top of the dining room table with a random straw (still wondering where he got that straw from) and was sipping my lukewarm coffee through a rainbow straw before I had time to blink (which could explain why he's so hyper right now).
- Jasper is currently trying to throw his vroom-vroom duck in the toilet as Andrew tries desperately to stop him. Jasper keeps saying the duck has to go pee-pees (creativity is good, right???).
- Despite constant discipline, Jasper threw his cups (yes, plural) high in the air during dinner tonight, spraying us all with scrambled eggs and other fluids (yes, he had put the eggs in his cups).
- Before naps today, Jasper had to go give his 2 bugs (BUGS!) hugs and kisses goodnight (he won't give me hugs or kisses, but he gives these ancient, old, 2-dimensional, sickly-looking bugs hugs and kisses).
- Right before nap time, i was rocking Jasper, he was all snuggly in my arms, I was softly singing "Jesus Loves the Little Jasper's", I thought he was asleep, when all of a sudden, he bellows at the top of his lungs, "BIG POOP!!!!" Completely randomly. No mention of poop had been made in hours.
and my personal favorite:
- Jasper thought the door frame in the basement was chocolate and stood there for a good 12-15 minutes, licking and chewing it (yes, it's solid wood). It was the most peaceful 12-15 minutes of my day today.
I know I'm going to, but someone, anyone, please tell me I'm going to miss these days!
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