Memories and Images

I was up late with the baby last night. I was trying to convince him that he really didn't want to eat 2-3 times a night. In the interim (read - while he was crying in his crib and I watched the timer slowly click down until I could go in and comfort him) I sat in the living room, which was pretty cold.

After all was said and done (Alistair won, I was too sick and tired to go more than about an hour) I headed back up to my room to get some sleep. I laid in my bed and I was absolutely freezing, no matter what position I was in, how closely I cuddled up to Brad, I couldn't warm up. I finally went to the closet and got out a few blankets to pile on to keep me warm. As I laid in bed trying to go to sleep, a few memories came to my mind:

The first was of laying in bed in my Grandpa Gerbsch's house. It was awfully cold there in the winter at night, but grandpa had lots of (scratchy) blankets that he would pile on. So, my nose and face were a little cold as I drifted off to sleep, but there was a heavy pile of blankets on top to keep me warm.

The second was yet another from my grandparents, this time Grandma and Grandpa Lipa. I was often sick as a child and had a really nasty sounding cough (my mom says that I bark like a seal). When I would spend the night with my grandparents, my grandpa would give me a shot of Nyquil (the green kind), slather Vicks on my chest, and send me to his very warm and cozy bed with blankets piled on top. I would settle down and quickly fall asleep, waking in the morning feeling much better.

These aren't big memories, but these grandparents have been gone for over a decade, my Grandpa Lipa almost 20 years. I will often get a fleeting thought of them, but I am thankful for moments (even freezing ones in the middle of the night) that bring back to me vivid pictures of the grandparents that I love so much, reminders of the people that they were, and the way that they loved and cared for me.

I miss you Grandma and Grandpa Lipa and Grandpa Gerbsch!

Life Really Does Go on!

It's hard to believe that it's been since January that I've posted. Certainly much has changed in life with the arrival of Alistair Joseph in June. Since I'm waiting for him to fall back asleep in hopes of weaning him off of one of his two nighttime feedings, what a better time to post!

Ella turns five on Monday. It's hard to believe that we have had her in our lives for that long. She is such a blessing. Daily, she is a reminder to us of the goodness of God, the beauty and laughter of children, and the ways in which our children can delight us with even the small things that they do. I appreciate her sense of humor, her amazing intelligence, and her kindness and generosity towards others.

Alistair is just over 5 months old, and is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen. When he makes eye contact with you, his face lights up in an amazing smile that will melt your heart. He is a stubborn boy (I say he gets it from his daddy), and likes to get his own way. And, he's certainly making life interesting. Over the past few weeks, he's started eating real food and loves avocados and sweet potatoes. He's turned over a few times, but working on doing it more. I can't to hear his first word and get a sense of his little voice. What joy he brings to our lives.

And, they love each other! The joy that I see in their eyes as Ella goes in to greet Alistair in the morning, or reaches down to show him a new toy, or holds him in her arms is awe inspiring. We couldn't be more blessed than to have these two wonderful children as a part of our lives. We look forward to watching them grow and become the people that God is calling them to be in our world.

Dexter is a boy!

I had my 20 week ultrasound yesterday, and we got the wonderful news that Dexter is a boy. Big sister, Ella, who really, really, really wanted a sister is in a state of shell shock, but says, "I'll love the baby anyway, and give him lots of kisses." It's fun to know, and we look forward to meeting him in early June. And, in case you were wondering, no, Dexter will not be his name :)

Presidential Scholar?

On our drive to the Midwest for Christmas, we somehow got onto the topic of presidents, and who was president when. On a stop at a local K-Mart (we were early for a dinner date in Upland, IN, not much choice around) we found a place mat with all of the presidents and when Ella asked us to buy it, we decided that a parent couldn't go wrong. What we were not prepared for what would happen after we actually started using the place mat. Each meal is now filled with questions about the presidents: who was good (Abe Lincoln was the best, we tell her), who was bad (I'm not even going to post our opinions about that!), how long were they president (She finds it fascinating that Grover Cleveland has two pictures because he served in non-consecutive terms), who is alive and who is dead? She now has favorites which include: Andrew Jackson (who let all kinds of people into the White house and they got mud on the chairs), William Henry Harrison (who had the shortest presidency, dying after he refused to wear a coat or hat during a freezing inauguration, giving the longest inauguration speech in history) and William Howard Taft (who was so large he got stuck in a bathtub). We didn't think that she would enjoy it so much! Unfortunately, Brad and I are running out of presidential trivia to share with her. Do you have any good trivia on presidents that we can share?