Thursday, February 24, 2011

Bedrooms

A quick note to memorialize an important milestone: Greyson's first night in his room, away from mom and dad. Jude and Grey both share a room now. Mom and dad can finally have a quiet conversation without fearing of waking up the infant. Jude pretty much enjoys his new roomie. We hope this relatively easy transition continues!


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Saturday, February 19, 2011

Simple Faith and Sinking Islands

The other day as I traveled yet another hour from home to work, I listened to a moderately interesting article on NPR about the tiny South Pacific island nation of Kiribati. Almost entirely Christian, its inhabitants pray every day that tsunamis and climate change won't sink their country for all eternity. Their prayers are so focused, so humble and so sincere: "lord we ask that you come to Kiribati and lift up our islands so that your children don't sink into the vast ocean. Protect our country and lift it up [literally]."

I'm not sure why, but it struck me immediately that to the people of Kiribati this was not only a personal prayer of protection, but it was also a prayer of significant geo-political consequence. "Protect us from actions that are often beyond our control. Help people in distant lands to understand that their environmental impact has a direct correlation to the survival of our country and our very existence."

I thought: this really puts into context the valid yet fear-laden, vociferous and over-discussed geo-political prayers among some in America who pray intensely for things that in the end - I believe - are of lesser significance to the lord: the prophetic notion of the caliphate, the presidents anti-Christian theories about universal access to healthcare, and the infallibility of Israel's earthly leaders.

I may change my thoughts in a month or two, but right now my belief is: focus your prayers on the things that matter most: be thankful for the gifts of grace and mercy. Be thankful that we have a place in the lord's kingdom. And pray for protection for your family against the sin, temptation and separation from his word.

http://m.npr.org/story/133650679?url=/2011/02/16/133650679/climate-change-and-faith-collide-in-kiribati

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Thursday, February 17, 2011

Goings On + Mom's Visit

Jude is speaking in full and complex sentences. Very cool. Greyson is a gigantic infant. At 4 months he is almost 18 pounds. He's in 9-12 month clothes, and he's growing out of his sleep sacks. Greyson still sleeps in our room bc we're afraid to put he and Jude in the same room (selfishly we are only concerned about our own sleep). Jude got a warning at daycare today to "be gentle" after he pushed Garret down for no reason.

Rachel started work last week after a 4-month maternity leave. During that time her office moved from 3 miles away to 36 miles away. Major bummer. However... Two big positive results of the move are that the company felt bad about making 1000 people drive 2 hrs a day so everyone gets 1-2 days a week to work at home. And, rachel's in a vanpool with 5 other super nice ladies that leaves just down the street at 6:30 am, and leaving the office at 3:55 pm. When a meeting is about to go long, Rachel can say - in all seriousness - "I'm sorry I've got to leave to catch my carpool." I would love those 2 small luxuries but my schedule isn't too bad (qtr-end earnings release not withstanding).

Finally, mom (Carol) has been up here with is for 2 weeks. She's leaving tomorrow, and we are already very sad. She has been helping out during the critical transition from rachel's maternity to her starting work. And with Greyson's daycare not ready for him we absolutely needed her to be up here. Mom very graciously offered her time for two weeks, and it sounds like she's loved every minute bonding with Jude and Greyson. Jude lover her very much. And Greyson feels very protected, comforted and loved by her. We love you mom (grandma) and appreciate your time here from Texas. Thanks dad for giving her up for these two weeks.


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Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Closing out 2010

Yes, we know it's February, but this post is dedicated to the last couple of fun events of 2010: Christmas, and New Years Beach Blast.

Christmas: We let Jude open one give per night starting two days before Christmas. This was done "not" because we lack patience, but from prior year learnings we knew that Jude needed to understand that inside the pretty paper were some nifty gifts. Unfortunately it still didn't quite work this way.

Christmas morning came, Jude and Greyson wore matching pj's, mom and dad made a hearty breakfast and relaxed (just the four of us). When it came time for presents, Jude became fixated on each gift. When we opened an Elmo DVD, Jude wanted to watch the entire thing - no longer caring that there could potentially be other exciting Elmo products under the tree. In the end, I think we continued to open Jude's gifts up until New Year's Eve.

New Years Beach Blast: We celebrated the annual "Bellamy" Beach Blast this year in Pacific City, Oregon in a giant 3 story, 8 bedroom house. Okay, I'm not positive it had 8 bedrooms, but it "officially" slept 30 people, and unofficially it could comfortably sleep probably 80. Normally our family - with all the new noisy kiddos - fills a house to above capacity. Not this time. It was an uncomfortably huge house with a surprisingly teenie-tiny kitchen. Overall the trip was a resounding success with lots of great memories. Mitch and Kel came and some of us went to the beach, climbed the dunes and scanned the immense horizon (it was uncharacteristically clear that week, not a cloud in the sky). Lots of board games, Jude played in the tide pools.

For me though, the highlight was driving on the beach in Josh's new 4x4, then getting impossibly stuck in a sand dune. Jude and Heather tried to help as much as they could but eventually Chris picked them up at a gas station. Josh and I stayed, on our bellies, under the truck, trying to scoop sand from under the entire area. Sand was well above the axles. Over an hour later in the pitch black night, Josh and I (with the help of 4 local boys) plowed the truck free. It was an exhilarating moment for us all and will remain a great bonding story for decades to come.

Whew! Now that these stories have been recalled, we can focus on the new year and family news to come.