never-a-dull-moment

One day last week, I walked into the bathroom to randomly find this:

Yeah...

your guess is as good as mine. :o)

Jasper's heart

Jasper's heart is so, so very sweet and tender. He loves easily and has recently shown a growing interest in the Lord and loving the bible. It's so very precious! A few sweet examples from our past week:

- At breakfast the other morning, Jasper was supposed to pray a "thankful prayer" for our food. (a little background... he refused to eat his dinner of egg salad sandwiches the night before, and as is our rule in our house, if he doesn't eat it for dinner, he has to eat it for breakfast. If he won't eat it for breakfast, he has to eat it for lunch, etc. Also, he recently learned that eggs come from chickens.)

Anyway, the night before, he wouldn't eat his egg salad. So he was having egg salad for breakfast Thur morn. He normally prays before breakfast, "Dear Gowd. Thank you's for my's food. AAAAaaaaamen." On Thur morn, however, he said, "Dear Gowd. Pwease help me to eat my's egg sawad from da chickens. I's need Your's stwength to eat da egg sawad from da chickens. I's can't do it by myself. I's need Your's help to eat da egg sawad from da chickens. Pwease help me's to obey my's mommy and to hab an obedient heart. I's need Your's help to have da obedient heart. And pwease give me's Your's strength to eat da egg sawad from da chickens. AAAAAaaaamen!!"

Oh... how it melted my heart.

- The other day, Jasper and I were looking for a swim suit that actually fit Jasper. I knew we had one somewhere, and up till now, I'd been squeezing him into his 24 month swim suit. I couldn't find the 3T suit anywhere, so I stopped and prayed out loud with Jasper, "Dear Lord. Please help us to find the bigger swim suit for Jasper so that his belly doesn't hurt anymore when he swims. Please help us find it. Amen." We continued looking for another few minutes and we found the suit! As soon as we found it, Jasper said, "Pwaise da Lawd!! Pwaise da Lawd!! He's helped us to find my's suit!! Pwaise da Lawd!!" and he just kept saying it so joyfully and so enthusiastically for the next half hour or so. So, so precious!!!

- Friday, I took a quick shower right before lunch. I put Brody in his bouncy seat and put him on the bathroom floor right beside the shower. I told Jasper to play with toys or read books on the couch until I was done. I took a quick shower and then flung open the shower curtain and looked at Brody with a huge grin on my face. Except... Brody wasn't there. There was no Brody, no bouncy seat, no noise in the house whatsoever. My heart both stopped and sped up to 10,000 beats per second all at the same time. I was terrified. I raced out of the bathroom, searching in the boys' rooms, and finally found them like this:

After I calmed down (it took a while!), I oh-so casually said, "Hey buddy!! Whatcha guys doin'?" and Jasper said, "Oh, I's jus' readin' da Bible to Brodybug." Oh. my. word. This is my constant, heartfelt prayer coming true before my eyes (he also got them a snack of Animal Crackers to munch on while they were reading... how cute is that?!?). Then I oh-so-casually said, "Oh honey! That's awesome!! I'm so thankful that you're doing that!....Oh, um... by the way... how did you get Brody over there?" and Jasper said, "oh. I jus' drugged him over." ok, sweetie pie, ok.

quick update

Life here is great! This last weekend (Father's Day weekend) and today have been such a treat. We had a blast celebrating Andrew this past weekend, doing some of his favorite things (IE eating at Raising Cane's, watching Thor, I made him 2 homemade peanut butter pies, having Sonic and ice cream, watching shows together, etc) then yesterday, we had my parents and cade over for a Father's Day cookout and had so much fun! I am so blessed with the husband and dads we have in our life!!

(I sadly didn't get any pics from our Father's day cookout! What was I thinking?!)

Today was a super relaxed day with the boys. Jasper and i swam for a few hours this morning while Brody rolled around on a blanket in the shady grass and then took his nap. Then we ate lunch and then lathered up with sunscreen and took a mile bike ride around the neighborhood. We came back right as the thunderstorm rolled in so we huddled up under blankets on the couch and read books while the storm raged outside. I then tried to explain to Jasper what a circus was (one of his books was about a circus), failed, so pulled up good ole youtube and showed him videos of a circus.

That idea was both brilliant and crazy... Jasper fell in love with the acrobats. I mean, totally, completely, wholeheartedly fell in love with the acrobats. He would watch a minute of the acrobats swinging from ropes and swings and such, then he would run around the house yelling, "momma!! I's need sumethin' to hang from!!" and then he would proceed to hang from everything... the mantle, the shower curtain, the guard rail on his bed, the curtains, etc.

whoops! :o) I convinced him that the best (and only) thing to hang from would be the tree branches outside. So we're going to do that when Daddy comes home. :o)

We heard from CFA that Andrew didn't get the job. It was really disappointing to us, but we're trusting that the Lord has a better plan for us and we're hopeful for what the future holds. We're hoping to move closer to a set of parents, whether that's Marion or Atlanta, we're hopeful that Andrew will get his MBA and CPA soon, we're hoping to buy a house (either in Marion or Atlanta) that has a yard so our energetic boys can have some space to RUUUUN!!. :o) We're thankful that we had good conversations with both sets of parents and they both seemed to be in agreement and support of our heavily-prayed-about plans for the future.

The Lord has really been kind and gracious to both of us. We are both at the point where it's ok to say goodbye to our life here in Columbus. A year ago, or even 8 months ago, I would have major panic attacks at the thought of leaving Columbus and our church here and our friends here. But slowly and steadily, the Lord has been changing my heart and showing me that it is good for Andrew to go get his MBA (while working full-time). and it is good to live close to parents. and it is good to follow my husband's leading.

Anyway, it's been an interesting and emotional week, to say the least, but Andrew and I are fully in one accord about future plans and we feel an amazing peace from the Lord that this is right for us.

Brody is such a smiley guy!! He has also found his voice, which means he squeals. A lot. It's pretty adorable. He also has learned how to laugh and it's so cute! It's also really cute, because he only laughs when you change his shirt. I have no idea why. And you can't just "pretend" to change his shirt to try to get him to laugh. You actually have to change his shirt. But you're reward with huge, deep, belly laughs that are crazy cute! So, needless to say, I change his shirt alllllllllll the time. :o) He's also sleeping through the night very well now, which is awesome! We put him to bed at 8, when we put J to bed. Then we wake Brody up around 9:30 and give him a bottle (which he often sleeps through) then put him right back down and he normally sleeps until 9 am. It's awesome!!

Jasper has been acting out a little bit. I'm pretty sure it's just to get attention because Brody is starting to take more of my time now (since he not only drinks bottles but also eats a lot of cereal throughout the day). It's been a little challenging with Jasper, but it's going ok. I try to hug him and kiss him and give him lots of attention whenever I can so he doesn't feel too ignored.

Anyway, both boys are napping hard, so I'm going to go lie down, too. These are a few random pics from the last few days.

 Texas Roadhouse on Father's Day

 B sleeping in my arms. one of the most precious things ever.

 The only family pic we got the whole weekend! 

 Jasper giving Brody hugs before bed time.

our little thumb sucker

random pics

here are a few random pics from the last few days. Most all the pics are just random, blurry pics of the boys... unedited... unpolished... but they are super, super smiley boys and the pics are just such a treat to look over this evening, at the end of a rather long day. These pics are a sweet reminder of the Lord's lavish love and goodness to me and Andrew!

The boys are absolutely, totally addicted to each other. Brody used to look only at me. But now if Jasper's in the room, he only looks at Jasper and just stalks his big brother with his eyes. It's such a dream come true to me. Every morning during my prayer time, I absolutely beg the Lord for the same things concerning the boys... every day... without fail. I beg Him to save them both at a young age. I beg Him to give them a deep, unshakable love for  Him and the Bible and obedience to the Word. I beg Him to save them from sin and the heartache of sexual impurity. And I beg Him that they would love each other fiercely, deeply, and whole-heartedly their whole lives. That they would be each other's go-to person. Their best friend. And that the only person who would ever take their place in each others' lives would be their wife. By God's grace alone, they seem to love each other like crazy and I am just so thrilled and humbled.

Jasper is constantly begging me to let him hold Brody in the "special" chair. So we spend lots of mornings in the chair... we most always do a "chair sitting" before breakfast. And then another one right after breakfast. And another one mid-morning... you get the drift. :o)

 the boys, just hanging out together

 we had such an awesome evening at the Clausons the other night... and this was really the only pic I took the whole night. Of the "Clue" board. Go figure.

 Jasper bought water balloons! he loves em!

nobody...

I've always known that Jasper loves Brody. Fiercely. But I've never seen it quite so... "raw" as I saw it tonight at small groups.

Brody has a very special ball that he absolutely loves. Wherever Brody goes, so does his ball. Tonight at small groups, I left Brody on the floor with his ball in the back room and I asked Jasper to watch Brody while I was gone for a second. The next thing I know, I see two older boys (ages 6 and 9, I think) running through the hall with Brody's ball and Jasper chasing them, screaming at the top of his lungs, "GIVE BRODY HIS BALL BACK!!!!" the older boys were screaming "NO!" and holding the ball over their heads, refusing to give it back, and shouting at Jasper. Jasper cornered the boys and continued to shout frantically "GIVE IT BACK!! GIVE IT BACK!!! IT'S BRODY'S!!!!!"

The next thing totally shocked me. Made me a little proud, a little aghast, a little ashamed, a little happy.

Jasper opened up and just started pummeling the older boys.

It took the older boys by surprise, but they soon started kicking Jasper and punching him. Jasper continued hitting and kicking the older boys, with huge gulping sobs coming out of his mouth as he continued to scream "GIVE BRODY HIS BALL BACK!!!!" and they continued to kick and him and say, "NO!!!"

Did Jasper back down? Not on your life. Did he pause? hesitate? think about what he was doing?

No way.

While screaming, "IT'S BRODY'S BALL!!!" he took a step back, lowered his shoulder, and with all his strength body-slammed the 9 year old against the wall (Kathy, if you're reading this, I'm so sorry Jasper body-slammed Ethan!!). The 6 year old continued to punch Jasper as Jasper continued to body-slam the 9 year old, who held the ball, against the wall.

And it was at this point that I finally caught up with the boys and pulled them apart (like, I literally had to pull them apart like they show in movies). The next words just melted me. Jasper, sobbing, gulping, frantic, his face bright red with tears streaming down his cheeks, said, "Momma! Dey took Brody's ball!!! I need your's help protecting my Brodybug."

Oh, Jasper. So fiercely loyal. Such a great character strength.

And this is when I realized...

Nobody, and I do mean nobody, had better mess with Brody or you'll have Jasper to deal with.

Bullies, you've been warned.

*** should I deal with the whole "kicking-punching-bodyslamming" issue? probably. but for now, I'm happy in the knowledge that:
A. Jasper can most definitely hold his own and
B. Brody will be fiercely protected.

*** we got Brody's ball back and about 17 seconds later, the older boys and Jasper were all happily playing with cars together, as if the body-slamming event had never even taken place. Boys are great!

it's a precious life

I've really been struck by the past few days at what an utterly precious life I have. I'm so blessed beyond measure and I'm so thankful for the many things God's given me.

For example:
- a husband. And not just a husband, but a husband who serves me selflessly. every day. With joy and without complaint. A husband who plays with our boys. And feeds them (and trust me, feeding our ravenous brodybug is a full-time job in and of itself :o)). And provides for us. And who wakes up every day and goes off to work with joy and integrity. I love him and am so thankful for him!!

- Jasper. Jasper is a kid and it's SO fun! He's no longer a toddler, no longer in between a toddle and a kid. He's a full-blown kid now. :o) He talks a lot, is super creative, asks questions, listens, obeys for the most part, loves on Brody like you wouldn't believe. His heart is tender. His hugs (and questions!) are frequent and it's just so sweet. Some things that he's said recently (they're not anything special, but just little insights into his mind that I don't want to forget):
    "Do blimps have engines?"
    "Sometimes I'm mean to udder kids. Sometimes I hit udder kids and not show them wuv. But I always,         always, always wuv Bwody and show Bwody wuv. I will always protect Bwody and hit udder kids if they      mean to him"
    " Momma, afta dinner, do you wanna go out and dig up your Salvia and wook for spiders wid me?"
     "Momma, you wanna go in my room and cuddle wid me when you're done wid da dishes?"
    "Sometime, I would weally wike to see a huge lobster carry a huge wock (rock) over to Miss Sandra's        yard."
    "Momma, you're not bery stwong. But Dadda is weally, weally, weally stwong and he can move dis tree        for me."


- Brody. Brody continues to be an extremely sweet, peaceful, smiley baby and we all just utterly love him and can't get enough of him. I feel like I blinked and all of a sudden, he's become much more active! He's rolling and cooing and giggling and blowing spit bubbles (you know he's super happy if he's blowing spit bubbles. It's his love language. :o)). His eye-hand coordination has become just awesome and he can now see things, reach over, and grab them! He has had a rough week of sleeping due to all his rolling around in the crib. I think he rolls in his sleep and then gets disoriented and then wakes up. However, I think we're out of that phase now (ptL), because the last few nights he has slept like a champ!

- CFA interview. We're so, so thankful that God has allowed Andrew to have another interview at CFA this friday and we're in constant prayer that God will make it very clear if He wants Andrew at CFA or not (we're hopeful that He does!). Please join us in prayer about this. We've been working to get our house ready to get on the market and have met with our realtor, took pics of the rooms, etc. We have the "for sale" sign in our garage and are prayerfully considering if we should put our house on the market before Andrew gets a job offer from CFA or if we should just wait and see how it all plays out. We feel it would be easier to "show" our house if I wasn't also swamped with packing the house and getting ready to move...

I think that's all for now... here are a few random pics.

 Starbucks date at the park 

 COSI 

 Flying a kite with Grandma

 Mother's Day at Red Robin!

 J's new backpack!

 Jasper's 3!!

 B still really loves his lion!

 firepit!

 J's bday party

 the boys in their swim suits! 

 a brotherly heart-to-heart

 our pool!

 Up at the farm for John's goodbye party.