Gainfully Employed!

Just a quick update (Caleb may be waking up any minute) . . . after much prayer and a lot of deliberation, Cameron and I decided that I should take the teaching/admin position at Logos Preparatory Academy.
Logos has a really neat set-up: students are in the classroom twice a week and spend the other days at home with parents taking the lead in their education. Teachers send home assignment sheets with students with work that parents help the child complete on the off-days.
I will be teaching second grade math, 3-4 grade art, and two sections of fifth grade science. I will also be serving as a part-time administrative assistant to the Dean of Students.
I really like all of the people that I have met there so far, so I am looking forward to the school year starting in a couple of weeks. After working on our budget with lots of help from the McCombs family, we realized we could make this work -- Caleb will only have to be in daycare twice a week and Logos will allow me to do much of the admin work from home. :)
If you think of it, here are a couple of things you could pray about for us: that we stick to the budget we created, that I can be effective in the classroom (I am a little nervous!), and that Caleb will do well at his new daycare center (I know I will have a hard time leaving him there!).

Will Caleb Remember the Alamo?

Probably not. But at least we have the pictures to prove he was there! We had a fun time visiting the Alamo and hanging out at the River Walk. We want to go back and explore some more in the future. Caleb was a champ as he spent a lot of time in his car seat, the stroller, and the pack n' play. I think today has been the pay-back though - super cranky kiddo!

Oh, Technology

Cameron finally joined Facebook last night after years of coaxing. I'm not sure why he had held back all those years, but ironically, he said that he had read an article only yesterday that wondered if Facebook is now outdated.
It's only a matter of time until the world is on to the next, cooler thing (i.e. Twitter). :)
Oh, technology.
It struck me that this is just symptomatic of our lives. We are always searching for something else to fill our hearts and we are easily distracted by everything around us . . . in the midst of filling our lives with 'stuff' and striving to get more 'stuff' it becomes harder and harder to hear the voice that is drawing us to Himself.
During this period in my life, I am attempting to work at hearing that voice . . . it's a challenge everyday. I am by no means where I want to be yet.

Slightly Unorthodox

As I was reading the other night (I will tell you about the book in another post), I had a small epiphany . . . I say 'small' because it really isn't that important, but it made me laugh pretty hard. I think I startled Cameron when I ran into the living room (because it was nearly midnight) and blurted out 'guess what, I know who my God voice is!'
He looked a little confused, so I began to explain . . . 'you know when you are reading passages of scripture and you imagine God's voice? (It did not register on his face that this is normal behavior), so I pressed on . . . 'well, I realized who my God voice is, it's James Earl Jones'.
Yes, James Earl Jones is the voice of God in my head. Feel free to laugh, but the next time you are reading, think about it . . .does that voice sound a little more familiar than you realize?? :)

Things I'm Learning About Parenthood

Here are a few of the interesting discoveries I've made about being a mom . . .

• I do not know how to keep a six-month-old entertained!
• I know surprisingly few of the lyrics to classic children's songs . . . just the tunes - weird!
• Baby boys will pee with reckless abandon the moment you happen to leave them uncovered
• The songs that toys play are catchy . . . I can't get them out of my head at times
• I relish moments that I have completely to myself - even a fifteen minute trip to the grocery store can feel rejuvenating!
• Parenting is a two person job - I truly admire single moms, I could not do this alone
• Babies require a lot of 'stuff' . . . we used to travel with one bag, we now travel with an entire trunk full of baby accoutrements
• A baby's laugh is one of the best sounds in the whole world; inconsolable crying when you are in the check-out line at the grocery store is one of the most stressful
• Each small illness your baby develops sends you hunting the internet or books for clues, all the while you are thinking 'should I call the doctor? am I overreacting?'
• Helping a small child stop crying and fall asleep is a MAJOR accomplishment
• Walking into a room and seeing your baby smile that huge toothless grin helps to put sleepless nights back into perspective (it makes you feel like a rock star!)
• Always wait until the last minute to put on your nice clothes before leaving, inevitably they will end up covered in spit up (or poop . . . it's gross, but it has happened!)
• Watching a baby try new things are moments of simple joy
  
• Getting a baby dressed is hard work -- they can be extremely acrobatic in those moments
  

Psalm 13

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD for he has been good to me. Psalm 13: 1-6, NLT

I am reading through Psalms currently and I couldn't stop thinking about this after I read it yesterday. I appreciated what the notes had to say about this particular Psalm: "sometimes all we need to do is talk over a problem with a friend to put it in perspective. In this psalm, the phrase "how long" occurs four times in the first two verses, indicating the depth of David's distress. David expressed his feelings to God and found strength. By the end of his prayer, he was able to express hope and trust in God."
I know that my 'enemies' (feeling anxious about finances, job hunting, etc.) aren't as severe as what David may have experienced, but I understand the feeling of looking to the Lord and asking 'how long?' . . . the final verse stuck with me and was exactly what I needed to be reminded of, "but I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me." Don't you love when that happens? :)

Fun Times

Over the weekend our small group spent a few days at an amazing resort - we had so much fun relaxing, spending time in the pool and at the beach, and playing hours & hours of board games (Cameron commented that it felt like summer camp)! My hope is that we make this an annual trip! I am so grateful for the community that we have found in our small group -- moving to a new place is never easy, but I have been blown away at the way the Lord has provided friendships in each new place we have lived. Check out the resort's website: www.pointewestgalveston.com
Today is Cameron's birthday and I convinced him to take the day off! We went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science to see the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit -- I'm not sure how much longer the exhibit will be here, but I would totally recommend it.
Since Cameron was off today, he was also able to go to Caleb's six month appointment (it was his turn to hold Caleb down while he received his shots!). We got the green light to start solid food with Caleb, so below are a couple of pictures of our first attempt. He did not enjoy it, but we were cracking up! :)

So Tired

I need advice! I have been feeding Caleb nightly around 10:30 pm and he wakes up at some point between 4-6 am to be fed again. He weighs enough that he can physically make it through the night without being fed, but we think he may be waking up out of habit now. When he woke up this morning at 4am, we did our best to let him cry it out. We each went into his room to pat his back, give him a pacifier, etc. several times, but to no avail. After about an hour of crying, I fed him. I felt like a jerk letting him cry for so long and I'm sure our upstairs neighbors were not too happy with us! My thought is that if I don't feed him at 10:30 pm, he will just wake up sooner (2 or 3 am) instead of 4 or 5 am. Not sure what to do, let me know your thoughts.

6 Months

Guess who is 6 months old today? This guy! Caleb is rolling over both directions, sleeping pretty well through the night, sits up (with a little assistance), loves listening to Cameron play the guitar, is VERY vocal (he says 'ma-ma-ma' a lot . . . maybe it will be his first word?), and is getting ready to start eating solid foods in the next week or so. We tried out his booster seat over the weekend and he loved it! The first few months were very challenging, but it has been so much fun to see his little personality developing - he becomes more interactive everyday.

Weekend Re-cap!

6th Anniversary Date Night

Caleb's first ride in a swing at the park

Hiking at Brazos Bend State Park . . . .I know his hat is huge, but it works, right?!

The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday . . . okay, it's neck and neck with Christmas, but it's still at the top of the list! Here is a re-cap of some of the fun things we did over Caleb's very first 4th of July weekend:
The small group chicas came over for lunch and swimming on Friday . . . it was so much fun to have everyone over! Cameron and I made home-made ice cream on Thursday night to share with everyone (this is only the second time we have used our ice cream maker since we received it as a wedding gift - now that we realize how easy it is to make, it may become a dangerous and yummy habit!). Here is the recipe that we used from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook:
4 cups half & half, light cream, or milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbs. vanilla
2 cups whipping cream
Combine half & half, sugar, and vanilla. Stir until sugar dissolves. Stir in whipping cream. Place in your ice cream maker and follow the ice cream maker's directions. (It took about 40 minutes start to finish). The recipe also suggests that you could add fruit, chocolate chips, 2-3 tbs. of coffee crystals for 'mocha' ice cream, or almonds.
On Saturday we took our first trip to Brazos Bend State Park. I was a little nervous about encountering an alligator (I think Cameron was secretly hoping that we would!), but we never ran into any - probably too hot for them. We hiked for about an hour and Caleb was quite the trooper. The Garzas invited us to join their family for a picnic at Lost Creek Park and it was so much fun. Caleb had his first ride in the swing at the park - he seemed to enjoy it!
Sunday was our 6th anniversary - I can't believe how quickly time has passed! Avery and Will were great babysitters while we went out for the evening. Thanks to my parents for the Cheesecake Factory giftcard! We ate way too much and I'm looking forward to eating my leftover cheesecake! We took time to reflect over the highs and lows of the past year of our marriage and write some goals for the upcoming year. After a quick stop at Target, we ended our evening at our favorite new park.

Things I'm Lovin'

Here are a few things I am lovin' these days:
Summer evenings on the porch . . . we meant to exercise last night, but the lightning deterred our plans! Instead, we ended drinking coffee on the porch after Caleb went to sleep. :)
Embroidery . . . as a kid, I totally hated it! My mom would bribe me to finish little projects ("we can go to McDonald's if you work on this handkerchief"); but her persistence paid off! Here is a little surprise I made for Cameron on Father's Day:
Doubleshots Coffee Shop . . . Long live the independent coffee shop! If you are a Sugar Lander, go check it out. They are near the corner of Eldridge and West Airport. Super-friendly owners, yummy drinks, they have my favorite pastry (chocolate croissants), and a ping-pong table.
Library Cards . . .I haven't had a library card since college and I just got a card for the Fort Bend Public Libraries last week. I really like the way they have things set up -- you can keep books for up to three weeks and you can return them to any of the Fort Bend library locations - very cool!
The best part about all of these activities -- they are cheap or free! :)