This weekend, Chris and I got to go out...this is really big news,
as we don't do this as often as we should! Anyways, we went to the
Steve Bell concert in Sackville on Saturday night with some
 friends. The concert was so amazing. Chris has really
enjoyed his music for the last couple of years.
 I thought it was okay, but wouldn't necessary choose
 to listen to it myself; however, he is such an amazing
performer/storyteller that I actually loved it.

We even went out afterwards, and didn't get
home until after midnight. This is an extremely late night for us,
 as we are usually fast asleep long before this time.
But we didn't have to rush home.

Chris told everyone who asked that we had tried
the parenting thing for a year, and decided that
it wasn't really our thing...

But, actually, Josiah had his first sleep over at his
 Grammy and Grampy Mealey's house! It seemed to
go really well, except that he decided to get up at 5:15 am
and not go back to sleep. He must have just
been too excited- oh dear! He's always up at the
 crack of dawn, or before. It doesn't matter how
late he stays up, Josiah loves mornings.
Sleeping in for him would be 6:30/7:00, and this rarely happens.
Normally, he is up around 5:45-6:00.

I feel guilty that Chris and I actually slept in until
after 8:00 when all of them were up so early!
 But it was so nice to get caught up on sleep.
(Thanks Grammy and Grampy!).
We really needed it, as we are both recovering from colds/flu's, etc.
We probably should not have gone out, because
I think we are paying for it a bit today
(as I am typing this, my voice is almost gone completely!),
 but it was worth it!

Psalm 103

When I was a kid, I went to 2 private Christian schools. One was amazing...the other was not so much. One of the teachers/pastors there thought it would be helpful to threaten us into good behavior quite frequently. Actually, most of them did so. I was a kid who was already so desperately trying to follow the rules, and already scared enough. I remember this teacher telling us on many occasions that God had a video camera, and that he kept track of everything we did wrong. On judgement day, He would pull out all of the tapes, and play them in front of everyone. The major problem with his story is that he had not included any grace or forgiveness element. What a hopeless message.

I literally felt for years, that no matter how much I confessed, my tape would still be played. I still need to consciously remind myself that this is not the case for someone who is forgiven. What detriment that man caused to so many young people back then. As I parent now, I am trying to learn how to show God's grace along with teaching and discipline. This is not an easy balance, and one that is sure to grow more difficult with age (both mine and Josiah's!).

This passage is a constant reminder to me:

"He has not dealt with us according to our sins, or rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving kindness toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him...(Psalm 103:10-13).

"As far as the east is from the west"...I love that!

The Tallest of Smalls, By Max Lucado (illustrated by Maria Monescillo)

I just recently got this book, and loved it!

In his newest children's book, The Tallest of Smalls, Max Lucado introduces us to a world of characters very much like ourselves. The streets of Stiltsville come alive at night with 'too smalls' who compete in order to see who is better. Some never get a chance at all. By luck, the main character, Ollie, is selected to be in the 'cool crowd', but things quickly unravel when he fails to meet the expectations placed on him by those in the group.

Max Lucado delivers the message of acceptance in a simple and eloquent manner. He offers hope to those who don't fit in, who can't keep up, and who feel worthless. It is the reminder that Jesus loves us just as we are. With beautiful and whimsical illustrations, this book is written for children; however I think it is a 'must-read' for anyone who has ever felt that they didn't quite measure up.

Update

What a busy fall this has been! I thought I would write and let you all know a few things that have been happening in our world lately.

We have been trying to enjoy the outside as much as possible. This was our last trip to the zoo. We had a season pass, so we went countless times throughout the summer. Josiah loves it, and knows so many of the animal names and sounds already. Unfortunately, he doesn't yet understand that the turkey, deer, and other prey don't really appreciate his roaring lion sounds! This picture is of Josiah and Chris sitting on the boardwalk at the zoo. He loves his dad!

Josiah turned thirteen months old yesterday. This picture is not from yesterday, but from a couple of weeks ago. If you really want to see what he looks like at 13 months,

you'll have to stop by! Or wait until I can post more.

Josiah is keeping us all busy. He is now running, and loves the park so much.

Here he is on a day we went with some friends.

I have been enjoying a couple of really great books. One is about raising boys. I have learned so much already, especially about Chris! I never thought that a parenting book would teach me more about my husband, but the book discusses how men's brains are formed/developed. Ahhh...
Anyways, I am in a book study that is dealing with the topic and learning lots. Although I must say that everyone has very strong views on this. Some are offended at the idea of letting boys be boys. I like it. Why work against their nature, to confuse them even more than they already are in this messed up world. Some of the liberal feminists in the group don't enjoy the book all that much! If I am honest, I have been finding these views quite draining lately, even more than usual. But, the book is great!! I hope that it will help me to be a better mom to my boy.

Other Highlights:

- We are strongly considering keeping our old car as a second...or maybe not! It has been so nice to not be driving around so much, and dragging Josiah out of bed at night to go pick up Chris. We'll have to see.

- My work has been slowing down this week, and we are trying to trust that God will work it out. We are extremely thankful that Chris' job has continued to be very steady.

- We have an amazing caretaker for Josiah on Wednesday mornings...his aunt Debie! We are so excited that she has agreed to watch him. Chris is hoping to get lots of paperwork done, as well as the study and planning that his counseling week does not afford him.

- Josiah had tonsillitis, but is starting to feel much better.

-Josiah has molars coming in. He has been very fussy...and so have we!

- Josiah is drinking goat's milk. I guess that means when we get our hobby farm, we'll be thinking goats instead of cows! I wonder if Chris would be open to trying goat burgers?

- Chris got a glint in his eye when I mentioned that I think the colour tube may be going in our old TV. I have never been able to justify buying something new just for the sake of having the new thing. Therefore, Chris has had a long wait for the large flat screens that he drools over every time we walk into an electronics store. He's thinking, "Just on time for football season!" Maybe the timing is not so coincidental?!

- My mom and aunt came up last weekend so Chris and I could get away. We rented a cottage in one of our favorite spots, and did nothing all weekend. It was so wonderful!

- We are looking for a babysitter..anyone in Moncton have a good name they would be willing to share with us?

- We are wondering what to do about the H1N1 vaccine. We are against flu shots (obviously these are extremely necessary for elderly, respiratory patients, etc..., but I mean just for normal people), but I know this one is different. Everyone has a different opinion. Our doctor advised us against it. It's just one of those things that it would suck to be wrong on either side of! Having kids makes these things so much harder to decide.

- I got a couple of really nice emails from friends.

- I think I was born in the wrong era, for multiple reasons. One is Facebook (I really dislike it!). The other is the drop-in visits. I miss them, and wish that younger people liked them, or that I knew more older people around here!

- Still trying to find God's peace about being in this place. Doesn't feel like home at all anymore, but everyday I ask Him to help me make the most of it. We are here for a reason, and for as long as God chooses it for us.
I have been working so hard to stay focused on today, and to be thankful in everything. Some days, I do better than others!

And that's a very long update on all of us!

What a night! We took Josiah into the hospital last night, because he had a really high fever (almost 40C when we got there). He's been a little under the weather lately, but we thought it was just teething because he is cutting his molars right now. But, last night he woke up crying and burning. He projectile vomited as I was strolling him in through the emergency doors...poor little guy (and poor security guard)!

They checked him out, and it is just a flu. His very first flu! Telecare had us (by us, I mean me :)) worried that he might have a gastrointestinal infection, which it does not seem to be. As we were waiting in the hospital room, and the fever started to come down, Josiah started very loudly saying, "tickle-tickle-tockle-tickle-tockle...". One of the nurses peered in and asked if I was doing that, but when she found out it was Josiah, they all had a laugh. This encouraged him. If you know Chris, picture him when he takes something too far just for the laugh...

Josiah's fever is much better this morning, after a very long night. Hopefully he will continue to feel better. If the hospital taught me anything, it is the fact that Josiah desperately needs a haircut. Three different people called him 'she'. Not good! So Chris wins (he's been telling me for weeks now that our son is looking rather feminine, and that he needs his head shaved). I'll post a picture of the new haircut this week!

As for the weekend, we are going to hang out at home rather than go to NS for the best Thanksgiving dinner ever (does everyone think this about their own mother's cooking, or is it just me?!).

I am still very thankful! For a great husband and kid, for all that God has given to us and done for us. I know that we can't always see the ways God is blessing us, especially when it comes in the form of trials (which are more blessings for eternity than for now)! But sometimes He gives us a little break, some room to breathe, room to realize what we have and what He has done. I hope you all can experience that this weekend too. Happy Thanksgiving all!

These are a couple of pictures from Josiah's birthday. We had a small family gathering at our place. It didn't feel very small based on how crowded it was in our tiny little place! I had decorated outside, and hoped it would be a beautiful day to sit and play outside. However, the mosquitoes are insane here this fall!! Really, it is probably almost like spring in Manitoba. So outside was not very enjoyable! But we squeezed almost everyone in and managed to make it work alright.

Josiah seemed a bit overwhelmed, and clingy. It was kind of unlike him, because he is so outgoing and loves people. But I guess having so many faces in his space kind of freaked him out!

Oh yeah, and one-year-olds (or at least my one-year-old) totally do not get the concept of presents. Josiah did have a ton of fun playing with some neat toys and reading new stories after everyone left though.

Cake/Cupcakes

Digging in...

I think Josiah had a fun day!

I love his smile in this last picture. It pretty much summarizes how much he enjoys life. I have a lot to learn from this little guy yet...

One Year Ago...

This little guy joined our family!

Here's a 12 month reminder of how much he has changed since that day:

One Month


Video- under one month old



Two Months


Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten Months

Eleven Months

One Year

(after his birthday party!)

Can't believe we have a toddler already!

Josiah had his one year check-up, and he weighs 30 pounds, and measures 32 inches long. His feet are size six, and he is wearing a lot of 24 months/2 T clothing now. He is officially walking now too, although he still looks wobbly and falls frequently. It's pretty cute to watch. I'll try to post a video soon. He is talking up a blue streak, and starting to say a couple of two-word phrases. And he is still very busy and curious, as you can see!

We are officially back from vacation. Our trip was great in many ways. I have lots of pictures and stories that I will share (as soon as I am unpacked!).