Congratulations, Daniel! I am so Proud of You!!!

Today we traveled about 7 hours (round-trip) to be a part of Daniel's ordination ceremony. That's right, my husband is an ORDAINED MINISTER, officially. I can't say that he is a reverend now, because he has been a reverend for several years now. This is the final step/level in the ministerial credential process for the Assemblies of God. Daniel's dad, both grandmothers, brother-in-law, parents-in-law, wife, and two sons were in attendance. The ceremony was at 2 o'clock, so Malachi was a little fussy, but both boys did well for all the traveling and time in carseats.

The ceremony was a wonderful time in the Lord's presence and receiving the charge of the ministry. I was able to take part and be right beside Daniel throughout the process. I don't have a lot of pictures, but I will post the family one's taken afterwards. Congratulations, my Daniel Scott, you have achieved a lot and are becoming a wonderful pastor and continued growth as a man of God. I love you!

The Gash (a week later)

Malachi's gash was fixed up last week with some glue. He did well but started squirming and made some blood mix with the glue. It wouldn't look so bad if it wasn't for the blood mixed with glue. The gash should be almost gone or minimal looking when the glue falls off (anytime between now and 2-3 more days). I don't ever want to see my son covered with blood like that again.

Summer Fun

Friday, last week, Malachi, Ezekiel and I went to Grammy and Grandpa's pool to swim and hang out with our good friends, Kyla and her Mommy. We had our hands full with Malachi (2 years), Kyla (17 months), and Ezekiel (5 months), but we all had fun in the water and eating our lunch at the table on the patio around the pool. I didn't get any pictures in the pool, but I got two afterwards. Enjoy.

We're In!!!

Malachi and Ezekiel are sleeping at our new house. Daniel and I are about to sleep here for the first time. Yay! I can't say that it's the boys' first sleep, but it is their first overnight sleep here. Most of the kitchen is put away, and one of the bathrooms is almost done. We still have a lot of work to do, but it's OURS! There is some resemblance of order around here. It's a good thing that we have a third bedroom, because it is the "junk/dump" room right now. It feels good. I'm exhausted. Good night.

A Day to End All Days

Two major things happened today (yesterday, actually---it's just 1am on Wednesday now).

1. We closed on our house yesterday morning. We are now the official owners of a house. Wow! This is our first house that we have owned. I am planning on moving in on Thursday. All of the renovations are not complete yet, but the house is live-able. I'm sooooooooo excited! Our own house! I love my parents, but, boy, do we all need our space! Mom and Dad are such a blessing. We couldn't have done the home buying without their support. Thanks you two. We are eternally indebted to you (really, we are)!

2. As we were leaving to close on our house, Malachi threw a temper tantrum and knocked his head on the hinge of the door which put a deep gash right above his eyebrow. When Grammy brought him out to us, his face was covered (and I mean covered) in blood. In the few short seconds from the time I closed the door to the time we started to back out of the driveway, the cut spurted ounces of blood out to which Malachi wildly spread all over his face. It was a very, very scary experience. Daniel rushed in after me, and I could hear the panic in his voice. Grammy talked me through what happened while I tried to calm down Malachi and wipe his face and hands clean at the same time (quickly, I might add).

Thankfully, Malachi calmed down enough for us to get out the door. We were only about 5 minutes late to closing. On the way to the lawyer's office, I called the doctor and scheduled a "sick" appointment. When we arrived (2 hours after the incident), Malachi's head still hadn't scabbed over. They took us straight to their in-house "surgery/procedure" room. The nurse practitioner said that he needed stitches, but glue would work just fine, too, and actually would work better for a little guy like Malachi.

She cleaned his cut thoroughly and then proceeded to "glue his head back together." Malachi did pretty well for being just 2 years old. He got a "pop-pop" (Dum-dum) and a truck sticker during the process. I'm glad we took him in. The only problem is that he can't get it wet until its ready to be peeled off (7-10 days from now).

And we're going back today (Wednesday at 10am) for his 2 year well check-up with shots. I tried to kill two birds with one stone yesterday, but it was too close to lunch. Fun, fun, fun. I really have enjoyed our Pediatrician, but, seriously people, I have made waaaaaaaaaay too many trips there in the past 5 months. Something's gotta give.

***Note to self and others...my sleeping pattern is way off due to an infant who hasn't been sleeping well lately. I took a nap today while both the boys were passed out, and now I'm wide awake at 1 in the morning. Something's gotta give. I need to get reacquainted with a few hours of consecutive sleep. I'm going to try to lay down and sleep again. Wish me luck. Oh, wait, you all will be reading this a long time after this is done. Thanks for the thoughts anyways.***

Pictures of the gash to come:)

Ezekiel at 5 months

Ezekiel, you are growing soooo fast! I can't believe my eyes sometimes, but I am enjoying you at each stage and looking forward to when you can sit in a high chair on your own.

My favorite picture of you (because most of your happiest times are when you are with your big brother, whom you absolutely adore)

Even more cuteness (my second favorite picture)

This past Friday, this is how far you rolled all on your own in about 5 minutes. The blanket has become useless now.

"Reading" the book that Malachi opened for you that you rolled up to

Mommy, my arm and pajamas taste good!

I try to put EVERYTHING in my mouth! I'm going to give you a run for your money when I get more mobile.

Malachi at 2 years

I love you!!!

"Bob!" - meaning I want to watch VeggieTales now! even though I just got through watching one! I want it now!!! (Contratry to popular belief, he isn't happy all the time.)

I'm outside dancing and pointing to the birds and airplanes.

Mommy, don't take my picture!

Look over there! "Dog" (Kiev) is over there.

Chilling with Momma in the shade

"Ewwwww!" I have dirt on my hands.

Reading with your favorite little brother, Z

Wearing your "zha-zha" (sunglasses)

Dear Malachi,

I'm sorry. Your "Aunt" Lisa just said a few days ago that someone should take away her Mommy license. I feel the same way. This morning was a rough one on me, and I will have to say that my superb parenting skills did not come shining through. I'm sorry. You see, your little brother has been boycotting sleeping well at night. He's not hungry. He's just waking up and crying, and me (being the tired mom that I am) rush to his side instead of letting him "cry it out" a little. I have tried other methods besides letting him cry, and none of them are working too well. Last night I let Z cry, and it didn't work very well on the first leg of the sleep, but he slept like a champ on the second half. I got about 6 extremely interrupted hours of sleep last night, and that's been the story for the past 2 weeks, if not worse. I'm running on fumes.

While I'm glad this didn't happen while I was working, I am still exhausted and miss my summer where I should be sleeping (like the last 2 summers). Please forgive me for yelling at you and loosing my cool. I pride myself on having good patience with you, but I reached my breaking point this morning while I was home with you and Z all by myself. It doesn't help that we are closing on our new house tomorrow, and All 4 adults in the R house are needing some space.

I spanked you once or twice because you were very, very, very whiny, but I didn't hurt you. When I got upset and raised my voice a little too much, you just looked at me like, "Where's my Momma?" and "What have you done with the lady who loves me soooooo much?" I'm soooooooooooooooooooooo very sorry. I can't promise that it won't happen again, but I will try my best, and hopefully we will move into our new house soon and Z will sleep better. I love you little boy. You are a gift from God, and I'm sorry when I don't always treat you that way. I love you forever and always.
Momma

Updates and Random Notes

We are not moved into our new house yet. I am hoping to move in this week sometime. I would have liked to have been in about 2 weeks ago, but since we're doing all the work ourselves to save money, it takes a lot longer. Daniel worked on more flooring today. My mom slaved away in our kitchen while I took care of little boys and painted while they napped. She scrubbed cabinets and the refrigerator. She washed dishes and placed them in the cabinets. All the big stuff is painted. The master bathroom is the biggest challenge ahead. It's a good that there is another bathroom, because I don't want to wait much longer to move in. As long as most everything else is done, we're in good shape. We actually close on the house on Tuesday. Everything seems to be going smoothly. I'm hoping to bust a move on some more painting this week with trim and doors. Malachi actually took a normally long nap today at our new house. I hope we can do it again. It makes life easier.

Malachi used some of his birthday money to buy his own "mow-mower" and loves it. I'll try to post some pictures soon.

2nd Birthday Party

Thanks to Food Lion for this great cake! I wanted a VeggieTales cake, but Malachi was thrilled with a "choo-choo" cake.

Time to open presents! Yay!!!

Could he be the next Tiger?

A Wheelbarrow to "hep" outside

"Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday dear Malachi, Happy Birthday to You!" Blow out the candles, Malachi.

Malachi loves playing on his "side" (slide) outside.

A Little Too Much Birthday

Malachi's birthday party was this evening. He was very well behaved and had a great time with all the family and friends, older boys and girls. I'll post pictures later. He was all right until we pulled out of the driveway of our new house (where the party was held but where we do not reside yet). He whined all the way home while Ezekiel cried. Thankfully, it's only about 7 minutes from Mom and Dad's (where we currently "reside"). When we got home, it was more whining and tears. Even when we put him in bed, whining and tears. Daniel and I were about to pull our hair out. Ezekiel was crying a lot of the time, too. Neither of them got their full naps today, and both were thoroughly exhausted from all the excitement and fun. Don't get me wrong, it was a blast! But I'm glad we only do this once a year (or twice, once with each child). Now I'm very, very, very tired. Good night.

Emotionally Yours

Dear Malachi and Ezekiel,

I have been overly emotional the past week or two watching you boys grow. I don't know if its because my hormones are trying to get back on track or if I'm just entering the sure-fire "mom" stage of life where I get choked up at every moment---or maybe its all the stress. I just want to cry sometimes (not tears of sorrow but of joy).

Malachi, the other day you were helping your Daddy "clean up" branches in the back yard of the new house. He gave you a little branch while he carried a few big ones. You were so excited to help! You would carefully carry your branch to the front and hand it to Daddy to put on the pile, then happily grab your Daddy's hand to walk back to the backyard for another round. To see you look at him with such adoring eyes makes me smile and a little choked up. The past few days you haven't wanted your Daddy as much because I have been home with you a lot, and your poor Daddy has been working his fingers to the bone trying to get our house ready to be lived in, but I know that in about 2 weeks you will be able to spend some more time with him and want to spend more time with him after that.

Ezekiel you are smiling more and more each day, and I just love to see you look at me and laugh. It just melts all the other bad "stuff" that goes on in my heart. I also love to watch you watch your Daddy. You love to hear his voice and look at his face. You don't get to spend as much time with him as your Daddy would like, but I know that you are fully aware who he is and love to hear his voice. You may be a Momma's boy right now, but before too long, I bet you'll be wanting to do whatever your Daddy and big brother are doing.

In two years, I may lose both you boys to your Daddy, but that's ok. You have an EXCELLENT role model for a father. Not only does your Daddy love you, but he is passionately in love with Jesus, and that's the thing that matters most. I have three precious males in my life, and I thank God everyday for giving all three of them to me. I wouldn't want to go through life without them.

Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with the two most beautiful, precious boys in the world and the most wonderful, hard-working husband this wife could ever have. Malachi and Ezekiel, I love you and pray that you will always desire to be in the center of God's will. It truly is the best place to be.

Emotionally yours (sniff, sniffle, sniff),
Momma

Welcome to the World

Our pastor and his wife welcomed their newest baby boy into the world this morning. This is their fourth boy! Welcome to the world, Seth Benjamin!

We can't wait to see you later tonight. Congratulations Abe & Ike on being big brothers again and to Eli who is now a BIG brother and not a little brother anymore.

Our church is full of boys! All three of the pastors on staff have boys. Including our two, that makes 7 pastors' sons. Whoa!

The Birthday Boy

After Daniel got home (while Ezekiel was taking a nap), we sang to Malachi and gave him a birthday "cake" brownie. [Sorry, kid, it's all we had on hand. We're saving the cake for your party.] He loved to hear us sing to him (because he LOVES music). He even blew out the candles all by himself. He didn't eat any of the brownie but was able to find one of Grandpa's "pop-pop"s in the cabinet of the island. We then went to the house to try to work on the floor. I didn't get a chance to do much, but Daniel almost got the hall finished. He was still working after 9pm, so the boys and I ran to Sonic to pick up some dessert. Malachi had an Apple Cherry Slushy. He kept smiling really big saying, "ap-ple-poo" and "ice" and "mmmmm." It was a hit. And by the end of the day, we got Malachi to answer the question of how old he was with the correct answer of "two." I love you, Buddy! Happy Birthday (all week long)!

Comparisons

Ezekiel Luke at about 2 weeks (March 2007)

Malachi James at about 2 weeks (July 2005)











Ezekiel Luke at about 4 months
(June 2007)

Malachi James at about 4 months
(November 2005)

Happy 2nd Birthday, Malachi!

Happy Birthday, Malachi James! You are two years old today! I have tried to explain that to you, but I don't think that you totally get it yet; especially because we are still working on numbers. I think the concept is still a little abstract for you. Yesterday I tried to get you to answer the question, "How old will you be tomorrow?" with "two," but it wasn't coming. I told you to hold up two fingers (like a peace sign on one hand), and you held up both your index fingers on each hand. It was so cute! I guess you understand more than I think you do.

"Heh-met" [helmet] as you call it. Thanks Grandpa!

We're working on colors, too. You love to say, "boo" [blue] for every color, but you will also try to say red, orange, and "geen" [green]. You are slowly beginning to understand. At first, I had a fear that you might be partially color blind, but now I know you can see just fine. You can tell the difference, and you LOVE to "toe-toe-er" [color]. You like going to most restaurants because they offer you crayons and color sheets. Yay! We proudly display your artwork on the refrigerator, and you often ask for someone to get it down so you can add more to it.

I'm sorry, but we're not doing much special for you today. Daddy has a sports camp all week (8am-5pm each day). And to add insult to injury, we're trying to quickly remodel the house to move into. Tonight we'll probably go to the house, and I'll paint while your Daddy lays laminate wood flooring. (He was able to pretty much finish your room last night in about 3 hours. Way to go, Daddy!) Your birthday party is planned for Saturday at our new house. I don't know if we'll be sleeping there yet, but we hope to have most of the floors in and the painting finished.

However, to try to make it up to you (as though you really know the difference!?!) Ezekiel and I took you to lunch at Chili's where you were able to feast on chips and salsa and a pita pizza with "tea-a" to drink. You had a blast and got to color, too. I did buy you some "choo-choo" (Thomas the train) cups with straws to use at the house. You were very excited about that purchase as well.

I love you, Malachi James! Keep being the sweet, polite little boy that you are. I can't wait to see you grow and mature into a BIG three year old. Hold on tight, kid. This year is going to be a wild ride! You have given us joy and blessed us more than you'll ever know. I thank God everyday for you, my precious boy.

Playing in Ezekiel's exersaucer
I thought that you wouldn't like being in there (like your seat at the table), but I was mistaken.

Trying to get back into the exersaucer after Momma took you out.

Ezekiel's Weigh-in

Ezekiel had his 4 mo. check up yesterday (2 weeks after he turned 4 months). He got three shots and one vaccine orally. He had a fever until this afternoon, but he seemed to handle everything well and slept even more than usual. He is...

13 lbs., 9 oz. and 25 in. long

He was 11 lbs., 8 oz. and 23 in. long at his 2 mo. check up. That's two pounds in about two months. We're on the right track. He's not gaining weight as quickly as Malachi but is definitely healthy.

Our First 4th of July Celebration

This was the first time that Daniel and I have been able to celebrate the 4th of July with children, and the first time in a looooooooong time that we have even had a chance to celebrate ourselves. We spent the morning sleeping (until about 8:30am when both the boys woke us up). It then took all four of us almost 2 hours to get out the door. We decided to do breakfast out as a family (which never happens due to our crazy schedules). We slipped in under the time limit before the restaurant starting serving lunch. Then, it was on to our new house (which we just turned in paperwork to start the buying process today) to do renovations.

Once at the house, Ezekiel slept for awhile and then it was Malachi's turn. We have one pack 'n play at the house, and Z was asleep in it. So, I tried to move Z onto a blanket on the floor without disturbing his current nap. I then put Malachi with pillow, blanket, bear, and "bop" in the pack 'n play. He slept for about an hour and a half (as opposed to his usual 3 hours). I was able to knock out a lot of painting and use up most of a paint can in the kitchen while Daniel did lots of "odd jobs" around the house. After both the boys were awake (around 2pm), I took them to the McD's drive-thru for a simple lunch in a car with no AC. Boy was it hot! It's a good thing that we still have a warranty on the van. Now I just have to find time to take it to the other side of Charlotte and wait on it with two small children! Ha, ha, ha:) After eating, we finished up painting and doing other things at the house and headed back to my parents for a few minutes of relaxing (after 5pm).

At about 6:30pm, we loaded up the car with the "limo" (double stroller) and the four of us and headed out to FA for their celebration. We listened to a local band (Cambpell) that is getting more popular and Tait. After that were the fireworks. Malachi did well, but I could tell he was scared by the noise and had to be held close. Ezekiel loved to look at the colors but was scared by the noise. Daniel and I really enjoyed them, and getting out of the FA parking lot was a whole lot easier than what we had previously experienced many years ago out at Lake Norman. It was a lot of fun and a safe, Christian, non-smoking, non-drinking environment. A good time was had by all (especially Malachi who was able to get a shaved ice)!!!

Malachi-isms and More

• "pack-pack" - backpack
• "horse [minus the 's' sound]" - horse (you just can't teach him to not say a "bad word" yet)
• "ha-ma" - airplane and 'Handy Manny' on Disney
• "zha-zha" - french fry, sunglasses, glasses, water (I still think he could be a very good Russian speaker, if only I had paid more attention in college!)
• "Beep-bee" - Grammy
• "a-nay" - Annie (the golden retriever that lives next door to my parents)
• "dog" - Kiev and any other dog
• "tat" - Riley and any other cat
• "Da-day" - Daddy
• "Hot dog" - Mickey Mouse (I know I've said this before, but its so cute!)
• "Mi-mi" - Spiderman
• "vroom-vroom" - car
• "choo-choo" - train (especially Thomas)
• "e-moe" - Elmo from Sesame Street (I wish I knew where he learned that one because he has NEVER watched it with me---well, once but that was when he was sick and waaaaay after he started saying Elmo.)
• "ha [very, very nasally]" - tire (again, he would make a good Russian)
• "ice" - ice and rice

Malachi still LOVES his little brother. In the morning, sometimes he will call for Z instead of Momma or Daddy. He will hold him oh, so tight when he holds him on his lap. He will shove him away when he is through. He loves to play with the toys on the exersaucer and lay on the blanket with Z. He tries to share his food and drink sometimes.

He doesn't have a whole lot of sentence structure yet, but occasionally he will put two words together to form a "phrase or sentence." He is trying to copy more and more words that he hears. He has conquered the body parts and clothing items (except pants, shorts, skirts, etc. are all "shorts"). He is beginning to get his colors and has difficulty counting (but is trying hard). Anytime he notices something in two's or three's it becomes "two, two, two," followed by a big grin.

I've attempted to try to potty train him, but he just pull apart the pieces of his potty and runs around naked. He also likes to take other people in the bathroom and make them turn on the light, close the door, and sit on the big potty (clothes still on is just fine by him). Once we get settled in our new house, I guess I'll work on him more.

My plan is to have a party on the 14th of July to celebrate Malachi's 2nd birthday (actually July 9th) and welcome us into our new (finally just our) place.

Since Saturday, we have been feverishly working into the night to get the house ready. Daniel still has a big job ahead of him of laying the laminate floors in the master bedroom, Malachi's bedroom, and the hallway. He also still has 1 and a half bathrooms to tile. We are leaving the carpet in the front bedroom (office and Z's bedroom [later]) and the living room. We may do laminate later in the living room, once we get settled and see how things are going. We were also able to leave the linoleum in the very large kitchen. The house is (if you couldn't tell from before) a 3 bed, 2 bath house of a large eat in kitchen with island and laundry "room." It also has a one car garage, a fire place, and is set on 1/4 of an acre (with LOTS of trees and brush). Pastor Craig was helping in the yard yesterday and found two snakes. We will probably not paint the master bedroom, Malachi's bedroom, and the bathrooms. Everything else (including all doors and trim) are getting new paint. We took some before pics. I can't wait to show you the finished product of before and after.

I must go make more calls and balance the checkbook before the boys wake up. I love you all and hope to hear from you soon!

Watching "Hot Dog" ("Mickey Mouse Clubhouse") together at the condo at Myrtle Beach

4 and a Half Months

Ezekiel is starting to change from what I like to call the "infant" stage to the "baby" stage. When I think of infant, I think of a newborn. When I think of baby, I think of a small child who smiles and coos and is learning by watching all the things around him. He really is changing quickly. His personality continues to come out more. He is looking like he is actually "playing" with the toys on the exersaucer. He doesn't like to be left along (unless its naptime). He'll cry when I walk away from him to go into the kitchen or something, and he will be happy when I return.

His eyesight isn't the greatest yet, but he can see from farther away than he used to. It often takes him awhile to focus in on something, but when he does, a big smile will appear (especially when he sees me:)) He LOVES to hear his Daddy's voice and laugh at him. If he's eating when Daniel tries to talk to me, he will immediately pull away and look for his face. It's precious but a little frustrating at times.

His routine was easy to figure out (it only took me about 2 days). It fluctuates around an hour of each thing, and he does well if he misses one of his three naps, but if he misses more than 1, it's over!

• 8am - wake up and smile at Momma
• 8:30 - eat breakfast and play until naptime
• 10:00 - down for a nap
• 11:15 - up from a nap
• 11:30 - eat "lunch" and play until naptime
  
• 1:00pm - down for a nap
• 2:30 - up from nap, time to eat, play until next naptime
  
• 4:00 - down for a nap
• 5:00 - up from nap
• 5:30 - eat "dinner" and play until bedtime
• 8:00-8:30 - eat and drift off to sleep

He gets a bath about every other day. It was about every 4 days or more at first because his skin was sooooooo dry, but now his skin isn't as dry. Baths are more frequent now.

Ezekiel will usually wake up once or twice at night and want to eat or nurse to go back to sleep. It was a little rocky there about a week to a month ago. He was waking up anywhere from 4-5 times a night. Boy was I tired, but I think we're out of the woods now, and I have learned that its OK to let him cry a little.

Ezekiel shows that he is the happiest when he sticks out his tongue