Jekyll Island

We spent one Saturday at Jekyll Island. It is less commercialized than St. Simons, so there were fewer attractions, but the solitude was very welcoming. We made a picnic lunch to have on the beach. And Jewel ate her very first sandwich. I mean I have given her cut up sandwiches, little bites, but this time she ate it like a big girl. Just another little milestone :)

Then we went down to the water, and played and played. I love this picture, mostly because of the look on Jordan's face.

It was a bit of a drive to the island, so we ended up staying past Jewel's afternoon nap time. Thankfully I had brought the ergo with me, so I buckled my 30 pound 18 month old to me, and we walked. We walked down this beach, not a soul in sight. I sang quietly to her, letting the waves and wind hush my voice and she started to drift. I just stared down at her long lashes and sweet, soft cheeks as we meandered through the sand. I know that soon she will be too big (who am I kidding here), and she won't sleep outside of her own bed. So I really savored this every aspect of the walk. That night when my muscles were tired and sore, I thanked God again for our beach nap.

Graduation Day

One of the perks of our visit to Georgia was going to the training facility to watch Jordan graduate from the first portion of his training classes.  Because this training occurs just 6 weeks before the program is over and they have their final graduation, not many families make it out to watch.  So it was special for us to be essentially the only family members in the audience (not to mention a little daunting for a mother of an 18 month old and a newly 4 year old...let's just say they had a lot of candy during the ceremony, but they were quiet).

It is a gift for a man to have an opportunity to be recognized for his hard work.  Especially for my man who has spent the last 3.5 years under the leadership of an insecure boss who was unable to affirm him without feeling threatened himself.  Also, for a man who at nearly 30 (yes Jordan, we are almost 30) walks away from his career and launches himself and his young family on a totally unfamiliar journey into a completely different line of work.  But, it true Jordan fashion, he did not hold back, he did not restrain, he dedicated himself entirely to becoming ready and working hard.  He has trained his body, mind, and spirit to prepare himself.  And in this little graduation ceremony, that God gifted us with attending, he was recognized.  In the four areas of training (tactical driving, academics, physical fitness, and firearms) Jordan scored and was recognized for being in the top percentage of his class.  What an honor for a man, especially in the company of men who have been in this line of work as their careers.  As each category was called, and each time his name announced, I could feel this swelling of pride inside of me.  It was important for us to be there, for me as his wife and for Silas as his son, to be able to witness the recognition of all of his very hard work.

I am so thankful that God knows exactly what we need.  He knows how to encourage his sons and daughters and provide them the strength needed to press on.  I am so thankful that we were there.

It was also very impressive to have the chance to meet Jordan's classmates and friends, and hear the class leaders sharing during graduation.  The class president shared the verse from Proverbs 27:17, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."  Then he led all of them in a mighty prayer.  Even though Jordan will only be working with one or two of these classmates, knowing that this is the environment of growth that he is in while he is away from us is such a gift to me.  There was an attitude of needing to choose...to rise to the occasion or to fall to the wayside.  These are the ones who have really risen to the occasion.

After the ceremony was over Jordan took us on a tour of the training center.  We saw his room, ate at the cafeteria (which, after all of the candy in the graduation ceremony, was less than a positive reflection on our parenting), and if the graduation ceremony was not enough to make Silas proud of his dad...seeing the police cars he drove certainly sealed the deal. 

We are so proud of you Jordan.  We cannot wait for you to get home, to be done, to be with us again...but we are SO proud of your hard work and so honored to be called your family.

getting ready

We were getting ready to go see Daddy. She stood at the sink, atop her little chair, in her baby slip. Primping, fussing, brushing, checking her reflection.

I think her Daddy will approve.

***WARNING***

I interrupt this Georgia Trip review for an important announcement.

JEWEL IS POTTY TRAINED!!!

I wish I could take credit for this amazing feat, but alas she did it on her own.  About a week before we left for Georgia, she started occasionally peeing in the potty before bath time.  The only interesting part about that was it seemed she really was emptying her bladder completely, like she had a little understanding of what the toilet was really for.  I let her do it, and always clapped for her if she did it, but I never asked her to or made a big deal about it.  Then she started coming to me and grabbing her diaper like she had to go.  She doesn't speak.  I mean she has about 10 words total in her vocabulary (5 of which sound very similar) and on a regular basis she uses maybe 3.  So, I guessed that it meant she had to go potty (mostly because she would walk toward the bathroom).  I let her go when she came to me and 'gestured', but again I did not encourage or heavily reward or promote this behavior.  I totally thought it was a phase.

By the time we got to Georgia, she was telling me almost every time she had to go, we were using maybe two diapers a day.  Even out in public she would 'motion' that she wanted to go and we would go.  I started feeling torn.  Here she was, just shy of 18 months, and really acting ready.  Should I just embrace it and go?  Should I wait until she is older and can hold it longer?  Would she really do it if she had underwear on?  A couple days before we left, my friend Aubrie was visiting us in our Georgia Home, and I had just put Jewel down for a nap.  I had been sharing with Aubrie that I did not feel like I wanted to do potty training with her even though she was showing signs of being ready.  We are on vacation, we have a trip back, then in a few weeks (after an unpredictable AZ schedule) we have a seriously long road trip, a new house to get used to, all things the 'experts' tell you to avoid when making a big transition like potty training.  A few minutes later she started crying.  This is unusual for her so I went in to check.  She was standing in her crib, grabbing her diaper, saying 'ow' (one of the 3 she uses on a regular basis...which is great).  I took her into the bathroom, she sat on the potty and pooped and peed.  Once I got Jewel back to bed, Aubrie said, "Um, Sommer, I think she is going to potty train whether you want to or not."

So, after keeping her diaper completely dry the entire trip home from Georgia (yes, even on the airplane, we went in the miniature bathroom more than once), I jumped on board and bought her underwear.  The first day I put them on her, she peed in them the very first time she went pee.  So I took her to the bathroom and reminded her about the toilet and peeing on the potty.  I gave her clean underwear and we went back to our day.  She was dry the rest of the day (including two naps).  She had one more accident the next day and has been totally dry ever since.  I keep a diaper on her for night times, for my own sanity mostly, I'm not ready to add sheet washing into my daily routine.  But, this morning she woke up at 6 wanting to go poop on the potty. 

I have a feeling that this will be character of a lot of Jewel's life.  When she is ready, she'll go for it.  I am praying constantly for wisdom with this one.  I was actually dreading the potty training process with this firey, strong willed, little whipper snapper, but by the grace of God he had other plans for it.  We will have our battles, we already do.  I mean here we are potty trained, and she doesn't talk, uses a pacifier...a lot, and has about 13 sleep aids in her bed (not including the pacifier), and finds it hysterical to be as naughty as possible.  I am learning the differences in parenting from one child to the next.  I was so 'by the book' with Silas in many ways.  Almost everything we did was very parent directed.  Jewel is totally different than him.  It's not just the genders, it's their personalities and bends and little beings.  My prayer for both of them is that Jordan and I would be Spirit guided in parenting them, but that I would also fully enjoy them as the individual gifts they are.

For now, I am enjoying this gift.  And, of course she looks beyond adorable with a little butt cheek hanging out of her little (well, they are size 4T) panties. 

Angel Hair

As a toddler, I had soft curly hair. As I got older I can remember my mom fixing my hair for me, and even when she pulled it back into a pony tail she would try to keep down some curls around my face. I insisted on smoothing them back, liking the more sleek and less frilly look. Although she relented, I can remember her often running her fingers through my curls when they were free.

When I was in elementary school, my mom used to braid my hair in double french braids when it was wet. After a day or so, we would take it out and I would have kinky, curly hair. My second grade teacher loved it when I wore my hair that way to school and would always affectionately call it my angel hair.

As I got into middle school, my hair started to get more curly on it's own again.  I saw my second grade teacher, Mrs. Bradshaw, one summer when I was helping out in a classroom at my dad's school.  She immediately noticed my curly hair and commented again on my angel hair.  My mom joined in her affections for the curls, still taking the opportunities to fluff up my hair or move them out from behind my ear. 

I went to Tennessee for college.  In the early fall and late spring the humidity transformed my loose waves into tight ringlets.  I fussed over how to make them look right and what to do with them. 

Jewel has similar hair to mine.  Although when it is wet, it reaches beyond her shoulders, when the water weight is gone it bounces up into soft baby curls.  In Georgia, she had the most amazing hair.  I looked forward to every morning, fixing it so that it would be out of her eyes while she played, but not pulled back too much so that the humid air could wrap it into bundles of curl perfection.  All the while we were at the beach, it would become more and more curly, and I would be more and more drawn to touch each curl and marvel at it's softness.  She would shake her head as I ran my fingers through her hair, or even push my hand away.  It really isn't until you are a mother yourself, that you can fully appreciate your own mother.  Of course now I know that it wasn't my mom's lack of fashion sense that caused her to keep whisps of hair out of my tight pony tail.  She just thought I was beautiful, because I was her little girl. 

My little girl is so beautiful.  Her golden hair does curl better than I could have imagined.  Her sweet little face just brings a smile to my heart.  God gave her these eyes...they are the softest green, maybe a little bit of light blue too...they sparkle and sparkle.  And her entire body expresses all that she is thinking and feeling.  I am overwhelmed by her, delighted by her, amazed by her.  And I do just love her angel hair.

Oh, the beach!

I love the beach in Oregon. It boasts of God's amazing power with giant crashing waves, whipping wind, jutting rocks, breathtaking cliffs and tree covered mountains all around. I love to go there and feel the physical reminder of His greatness and majesty. There is comfort in knowing the God I serve has that kind of strength in his creation as a manifestation of that same strength in his love for me and protection of me.

If the North West coast is the expression of the Lion, the South East side is the Lamb. Sitting on the quiet sands of St. Simons Island, there is a gentle and soothing comfort. Here the waves are sweet little laps against chilly toes. There is a soft breeze to cool our skin from the warm sun. Behind us tall blades of grass sway quietly to and fro. God is still expressed here, in the way he whispers reassuring words in times of need, his personal touch that we only recognize when we are in daily communion with him, and his remarkable and unchanging faithfulness.

Our first day time visit was incredible. At the house there had been a little bit of wind, so I was thinking the beach would be even cooler and probably windier, but we ran through the dollar section at Target and grabbed some buckets and shovels just in case.

Much to our delight, the air was completely calm on the water. The sun was even warmer there, and we found great use for our new toys. There was next to no one on the beach with us, and the kids were totally enthralled with their new surrounding. I did a lot of just watching and admiring them, lost in one of my many "really, God? You had all of this planned for us? You knew exactly what would feed our souls. Your love is amazing. I love this place, I love these kids, this is just incredible!" I was obviously not expecting the kids to get wet, or really even that dirty (thankfully sand and wetness is not permanent damage to any clothing). We stayed for hours, until we were exhausted, pink skinned, and starving for lunch.
Of course this meant I stripped them down, brushed off as much sand as I could, and put naked little bodies into car seats and got home as fast as we could.

Georgia House

Before the kids and I left for Georgia on Valentines Day, I typed the address of our rental house into the GPS and labeled it "Georgia House". Today, if we were going back, I would label it something much more appropriate; like "Georgia Paradise", or "Best Vacation Ever", or "Our Little Slice of Heaven". With the unknown in front of me, I never would have thought to call this little place our home, but it certainly was that for the two weeks we lived there.

Each morning we woke to the sun, working it's way through the fog, illuminating the back yard and the marsh stretching out behind the house. I let myself sleep until the kids woke up...every day. Usually around 7:30, Silas would come climb into my bed and I would doze while he caught up on the latest happenings of Curious George. Jewel would be up by 8, and I would retrieve her for a few last minutes of snuggling before the sleep totally wore off and the day began.

I would go straight to the kitchen for coffee and making sippy cups of milk. The kids would head outside in their jammies to see what the temperature was and to begin their morning of play. We would sit on the porch swing and feel the warmth of the sun motivating us to activity. We ate breakfast at a little round table in the yard, talking over the ideas for our day. They commenced their backyard adventures while I cleaned up dishes.

Silas washed the sand toys in the water spigot.
They both ran out to the "mechanic" as Silas called it, excitedly waiting for a push.
There were countless shells to be organized, studied, counted and arranged. And, with no other playmates, Silas took extra effort to include Jewel in his activities.
- Over here Baby, come and see this.
- Oh, Jubee-do, here, let me help you.
- No, no Baby, that's not a good idea.
- Good Job Jewel! What a big girl you are.
- Jewel, I love you Baby.

She doesn't use words...she uses affection. She smothered him with snuggles, hugs, kisses, and when it was just too much to handle she has to hit and pinch to really express her overwhelming love. We are working on that.
Everything we did was accompanied by the sounds of wind chimes made from shells. Even here, all the way back in Arizona, I can hear the gentle clattering of the breeze in the backyard. Some days we just stayed here, in our pajamas, moving from one phase of the day to the next in the backyard. When we were hungry we made a meal, when we were tired we rested, we played together and found moments of solitude.
And even on these lazy days, the sun was sure to wear us out. And early in the evening we enjoyed the quietness of sweet and peaceful sleep.

Finding this home was a blessing in and of itself. Before the trip we looked at hotel rooms, suites, extended stays, counting up the cost of requiring a second bedroom for sleeping purposes. I was still excited to go, but I knew I would be sacrificing a lot of sleep and so would the kids. Just a couple weeks before I left, Hessel recommended checking out vacation retals by owner. I felt like it was a long shot, assured that it would for sure be more expensive than a hotel room. But, due to a recent cancellation, this place was available. The advertisement offered a three bedroom, two bath house with a yard that was 5 minutes from the training center where Jordan is living. They offered a discount for those who were there visiting family at the training center. The total cost was significantly less than all of our hotel searches. We stretched out, each in our own room. We cooked all of our meals at the house. We put the kids to bed and watched movies in the living room. We left toys and books strewn about the floor and dishes piled in the sink. Obviously the back yard was our biggest treasure, but being 5 minutes from Jordan and 15 minutes from the beach was also a huge perk. Every day we were there, every single day, there were multiple moments of being overcome with gratitude and swept away by God's gift.