i have a question

Does anyone else stay up late because you're too tired to get ready for bed?

precious moment

While the communion service was happening this morning at our church, I was quietly explaining to Henri again why we take communion and why he doesn't take it yet.

Henri whispered to me, "Mama, I want to be a sinner who loves Jesus too."

His words brought tears to my eyes. Maybe he was only saying it so that he could have the grape juice, but I still LOVED those words.

climb every mountain

Before we got on an airplane to fly out to visit Johnny's family last month, Henri had been insisting that he do one thing while were there:

He wanted to climb a mountain.

See, he's also been wanting to climb trees. But our two young trees just won't hold him.

Because Henri says he's getting bigger and stronger, he also wanted to climb a mountain.

This is where Johnny's dad (aka Bapa) comes in. Bapa likes to hike, and so do I. Three years ago, Johnny, Bapa, and I climbed a butte--5 miles up and 5 miles down. It was a long hike, and we all had sore knees after coming down it. The view at the top was beautiful.

Bapa and I wanted to take Henri up a "mountain", a smaller one. After much deliberating, we chose a nearby trail that was about a mile long that went up to the top of a "mountain". This mountain had a plateau on top with great views over the valley Johnny's parents live in.

We were joined by Aunt Kristin (Johnny's sister), Aunt Becky (Johnny's aunt), and cousins Natey and Kristian.

I wasn't sure that Henri would make it up. He kept asking to stop and rest, and got rather tired near the top. However, once he heard our family ahead of us shout that they had reached the top, he ran up. Henri did great on the plateau at the top, and we sipped water and ate snacks. He even ran ahead of everyone back down the trail. I guess going down the mountain was easier than going up.

weather boy

It's been fun for Johnny and I to see Henri learning more about our world. Here's Henri delighting in throwing rocks in a lake.


Have I mentioned that Henri likes to check the weather?

It all started back in May or June when we started to get thunderstorms. Henri had a tradition of of coming into our room whenever the thunder was a little too scary, and he continued the tradition this spring and summer.

And we'd talk about the sirens going off as storms approached.

He'd see me check the radar on the Internet. And I pointed out the approaching storm to him, explaining where we were and what the different colors on the storm meant.

We went into the basement maybe once or twice, and we talked about how we'd go under the stairs if things got really bad.

Around the same time, he got a book from the library that showed a tornado in it. And a tornado ripped through a suburb of our city. Then we went to YouTube so that he could watch some tornadoes in action.

Henri was fascinated. He began asking me to check the weather all the time and asked more questions about it. Then I showed him where the shortcut was in the browser so that he could click on it himself, and I showed him how to get to the radar.

Now he has a shortcut in his "user" in a browser on our computer. When he hears a storm coming, instead of hopping into our bed, he comes into our room, gets on the computer and checks the radar. Then he goes quietly back to his room.

He also checks the forecast each morning for me. For several days, they've been predicting rain and possible thunderstorms on Tuesday. He's always watching for the thunderstorms. When I told him on Saturday that his friend Toby would be coming over on Tuesday, Henri exclaimed,

"Toby can't come over on Tuesday! That's when the thunderstorm is coming!"

I assured him that Toby would not come over if there was a bad thunderstorm coming--that we would wait and see how bad this thunderstorm was before making that decision.

Johnny and I immediately knew who to tell first of Henri's latest fascination with the weather: Johnny's mom (aka Nani), who has been known to watch the weather channel daily (& probably now checks www.weather.com) to stay on top of the weather. I think he's made her proud.

As for us, we've enjoyed watching Henri go through another stage of interest and teaching him about it along the way.

gramps & gigi

aka "The Greats"
aka "Great Grandpa & Great Grandma"

(Johnny's Mom's parents with Henri & Cosette)

mysterious photographer strikes again

What we know:

• He shut himself in my in-laws' bathroom to take the photograph.

a few weeks ago on national night out

we had a smashing drive home

I just got home. The kids and I walked around a lake over the noon hour and walked through some park gardens.

Since the road around the lake is a one way, I went a different way home and found myself having to go around detours and through construction areas.

In one of the construction areas in single lane traffic, there was a fire hose spraying into the street. As I veered around it, I must have been looking down at the water. For when I looked up, traffic was stopped, and I rear-ended the man in front of me at a slow speed.

My front right side of my bumper, headlight, and turn signal were smashed down near my tire. His back left corner bumper was smashed in. No one got hurt. Henri asked me why we were turning into a parking lot (to get out of traffic).

I've never been in an accident that I caused before, and I wanted to make sure that I did everything right. We've been left hanging before by someone who hit Johnny's car. 911 told me they wouldn't send anyone out and just to exchange information. I called my insurance company, and they were fine with that.

The other man didn't speak English very well, but he was nice and hung around while I waited to give him a claim number from my insurance company.

I thought I could drive my car to the auto body shop my insurance told me to go to, but if I turned the wheel to the right, the tire hit the bumper. The auto body shop told me they would tow it, so I called Johnny to pick me up.

While I was on the phone with either 911, Johnny, the insurance company, the auto body shop, and the tow truck company, Henri and Cosette sat in their car seats at first; then Henri let themselves out and they crawled around the car (breaking my sunglasses--2 broken in one week). Then Henri talked and talked wanting to know what was going on. Finally, Henri informed me that he had to go use a bathroom now! The kind employees of the nearby paint store, led us into their backroom to find a restroom.

All in all, it put me home two hours later than I had hoped I'd be. Cosette was pretty tired since we were cutting into her nap.

Cosette is napping now, and Henri is crafting construction paper in his room. I praise God that he kept us safe and the man I hit safe. Although this will be a financial sting in the side (so sorry my Honey), I count it all joy and praise God for our country and the business systems set in place to help everything go smoothly so that both cars can be fixed.

21 months

• Now speaking a few sentences like:

"I did it!"
"I got it!"

• Attempts to say words like:

"Sandwich"
"Snack"
"Computer"

• Gives real kisses.
• Fully weaned, but still asks to nurse occasionally.
• Loves her "Lovey" and pacifier.
• Tries to do whatever her brother does.
• Laughs with her brother a lot.
• Mimics her brother's noises or tries to get him to copy her.
• Adores babies.
  

johnny's family

A photo from our trip
Johnny's dad, Bob, Johnny's mom, Nancy, Johnny's younger sister, Kristin, & Johnny

so I was wondering if I should read The Shack

Ah, The Shack, a popular fiction book, but is it good for me to read?

Here's Tim Challies' conclusion from his review:

Focusing on just three of the subjects William Young discusses in The Shack, we’ve seen that errors abound. He presents a false view of God and one that may well be described as heretical. He downplays the importance and uniqueness of the Bible, subjugating it or making it equal to other forms of subjective revelation. He misrepresents redemption and salvation, opening the door to the possibility of salvation outside of the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We are left with an unbiblical understanding of the persons and nature of God and of His work in this world.

But this is not all. The discerning reader will note as well that the author muddies the concepts of forgiveness and free will. He introduces teaching that is entirely foreign to the Bible, often stating with certainty what is merely speculative. He oversteps the bounds of Scripture while downplaying the Bible’s importance. He relies too little on Scripture and too much on his own theological imaginings.

All this is not to say there is nothing of value in the book. However, it is undeniable to the reader who will look to the Bible, that there is a great deal of error within The Shack. There is too much error. That The Shack is a dangerous book should be obvious from this review. The book’s subversive undertones seek to dismantle many aspects of the faith and these are subsequently replaced with doctrine that is just plain wrong. Error abounds.

I urge you, the reader, to exercise care in reading and distributing this book. The Shack may be an engaging read but it is one that contains far too much error. Read it only with the utmost care and concern, critically evaluating the book against the unchanging standard of Scripture. Caveat lector!

we're back

What a great trip we had visiting Johnny's parents! We came home tonight. We're unpacked. We need to do laundry, and we need groceries. Johnny's loving sleeping in his own bed again. The pictures are downloaded, but I'm not ready to go through all 700+ pictures just yet.

we've been out of town

visiting Johnny's family. Cosette did great on the plane with me. Henri did great with Johnny. We got here last Saturday, and are getting ready to attend a rehearsal dinner. Johnny's cousin is getting married tomorrow.

It's HOT here. Over 108 degrees.

Since we've been here:

• Johnny & I went wine tasting with is Uncle Dick and Aunt Becky. Super fun!
• Henri & I went mountain climbing. He made it to the top! (Obviously, not a huge mountain.)
• The kids have gone swimming.
• We've been visiting with family, including Johnny's parents, sister Kristin, our niece Iris, Aunt Alice, all 4 of Johnny's grandparents, Uncle Dick, Aunt Becky, cousins Natey, Christian, Mike, Ali, Dan, and MORE!

We fly back Monday night, and we have lots of pictures to show for it.

cosette eats peanut butter!

And loves it!

We've been intending on delaying the introduction of eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts with Cosette until she is three as suggested by Henri's allergist.

But a few weeks ago, a friend accidentally gave Cosette Johnny's peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

Could Cosette be an allergy-free girl? I hope so. And things are looking positive.

anyone else get nervous when you fly...with kids?

We head out on Saturday to attend a family wedding and stay with Johnny's parents who live states and states away. Johnny hasn't been out there in 3 years. We're hoping to hike, go wine tasting, and visit with lots of family whom we don't get to see too often.

As the day approaches, I find myself getting more and more nervous. We're flying separately. Cosette and I are on a free ticket using miles on one airline. Johnny & Henri are on another airline that had the lowest price tickets. But we fly on the same days.

Two days ago, I checked our schedules and noticed that I had a 35 minute layover between connecting flights. I'll be flying into a satellite terminal and then having to shuttle to the main terminal before having to walk all the way to the other side of the airport to catch our connecting flight on a commuter flight and different airline.

Yesterday, I told my neighbor who is a flight attendant about it. She thought the layover was way too short and that I'd be running with Cosette through the airport. I checked what time the next connecting flight would leave. It left 8 hours later. Um, no, I didn't want THAT long of a layover.

I tried to duplicate the trip online (as if I was buying it online; we went through an airline agent)--nope, it wouldn't bring up my two flights together.

I started to study the airport maps and even e-mailed them to ask what the fastest way to get to my gate would be.

I asked Johnny to call the airline so that I could be assured that the layover time was sufficient. He called. He got a message that they had a very high call volume and to call again later.

Do you feel my nerves and my shaking as I imagine:

1. Running through the airport with Cosette in my arms.
2. Missing my connecting flight and having to wait at the airport for 8 and a half hours with a tired 1 year old.

I called the airline when I woke up this morning.

Agent response: "Oh, no, that's FAR too short of a layover for that airport--especially since you're switching airlines. I'll put you on an earlier flight out of your city."

And she did. At no charge. And I feel SO much better.

Feeling the adrenaline still blazing through my veins, I packed the kids in the stroller and jogged to the river and back. Then I took them to our local wading pool.

I get a little nutty when it comes to flying. Why is that?

Speaking of nuts, I got sunburned on my back during my jog.

small group kiddos

A few months after we were married 7 and a half years ago, Johnny & I joined a small group from our church. We met with these families weekly to fellowship and study the Word. Because we lived all over the city and the number of small children had grown from one to many, our group disbanded when Henri was an infant. Here's a picture we took of the kids at that time.

In age order (L to R): Elliot, Drew, Micah, Naomi, Henri, Avery, and twins, Soren & Marit.

We occasionally get together to catch up, and we all still attend the same church. Earlier this week we met together again.


From youngest to oldest (L to R): Cosette, Oliver, Soren, Marit, Avery, Henri, Naomi, Micah, (back) Drew & Elliot.

henri's new permanent jewelry

Here's Henri sporting his new MedicAlert bracelet.


The bracelet came in the mail today. His allergist recommended that we get one for him back in February, but I obviously haven't gotten around to it since Henri is in my direct care most of the time. (In case you don't know, Henri is allergic to eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, & shellfish).

I found out last week at a food allergy support group that Food Allergy Initiative has provided a grant to MedicAlert so that children with food allergies can become members of MedicAlert and get a bracelet at no cost. So I finally made the call and ordered Henri the bracelet that's designed for him to wear always and not remove. On the back, it lists his food allergies and a phone number to call for medical instructions in an emergency.

• Epi-Pen Jr. & Benadryl--check
  
• Food Allergy Action Plan--check
• MedicAlert Bracelet--check

This mama bear is trying take the right steps to protect her boy. It can be a tricky balance, trying to figure out how much to ask others to do for him, versus bringing his own food for him whereever we go. We are still praying that he will outgrow his food allergies and never encounter a serious reaction.

4 and a half

Last week Henri's friend Joshy stopped by to say goodbye. His family is moving many states away for a few years.

Henri & Joshy started to talk about how old they are.

Joshy said, "I'm four and a half."

Henri: "Four and a half?"

And ever since then, Henri has been wanting to know when he would be four and a half like his friend Joshy.

Good thing it was today.

Henri is officially four and a half.

Since he has a winter birthday when we are confined to the indoors, I thought we'd do whatever he wanted to do during the day today. I suggested wading pools and parks, a chance to get outside and enjoy the hot weather.

Henri: "I don't want to do any of that! I want to go to the library to pick up my books!"

Okay.

Then he added: "I want a gun and a bow and arrow too. I want all my friends to come over."

I explained that we wouldn't be getting him any presents, and it was too much of a last minute thing on my part to invite guests over.

This morning I told him he could decide what we would eat for dinner. I needed to go to the market anyway. He asked for pizza and rice crispy treats.

Okay.

Off to the market we went to pick up, amongst other groceries, pizza (which I rarely buy) and marshmallows to make rice crispy treats. We also stopped at Target to pick him up some more glue since he was out, and he spends his time gluing and cutting construction paper during his "rest" times in the afternoons. I did end up letting him pick out something from the dollar section. He didn't get the water gun. He wanted the wooden construction trucks which were identical to ones he already had.

Okay.

After Cosette woke up from her afternoon nap, we walked to the library in the blazing heat. Whoo! It's hot out! We picked up the 3 books that were waiting for him and headed back home for pizza and rice crispy treats.

We then headed out as a family for black dirt, grass seed, and fertilizer. Our lawn needs some help. But Henri was bouncing off the walls, climbing up on bags of mulch and dirt. It was pretty cute to watch him show some other customers how big his muscles were.


Johnny and I giggled, but it was getting late and his obedience was waning.

At the end of our day, Henri said, "I want to call Joshy and tell him I'm four and a half too."

Okay, Henri.

my new favorite corn bread recipe

We like to eat corn bread whenever we have chili. Since we learned about Henri's food allergies, I've been trying to find an egg-free corn bread recipe that we really enjoy. I've tried quite a few recipes, but none have turned out moist. They're either dry or if I cook them for a shorter time, there's still batter in the bread.

Then I tried a new recipe, and it turned out delicious! To celebrate, I decided to share the recipe with you.

Corn Bread (Egg-free)

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup corn meal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup milk or vanilla rice milk or soy milk
  
• 1/2 cups olive or vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp corn syrup
  

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease an 8" square pan.
2. Combine the dry ingredients--flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Stir in the wet ingredients--milk, oil, vinegar, and corn syrup.
4. Pour batter into pan.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until the sides begin to pull away from the edge and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Voila! Perfect, moist, egg-free corn bread.

childhood reasoning

Henri thinks that a mommy's tummy has to "break open" in order for a baby to come out.

What else are those lines that go down the center of their tummy for?

Should I correct his reasoning? Perhaps that line of thought works for c-sections, but what about the other 75% of births?

cdc on vaccines

Thanks everyone for your comments on vaccinations. Though I was tempted to leave it at that and remain torn on the issue, I pressed on with more research, but this time reading more on why we should vaccinate. The CDC has some interesting articles (pro-vaccines obviously):

• Some Common Misconceptions
• What Would Happen if We Stopped Vaccinations?

Those articles made me feel better about following along with the vaccine schedule. However, I do have a few more concerns:

Doesn't it seem like they're so excited about vaccinating for preventable diseases that they're developing vaccines for everything, and therefore, getting carried away? I have yet to get over the fact that it seems harmful to mess with our immune systems so extensively at such a young age. (I put that in italics because I KNOW that I have no scientific evidence to back that up.)

For example:

• Did Cosette really need to get a Hepatitis B vaccine at the hospital as a newborn?
• A Chicken Pox vaccine?
• Gardasil?
• The author (a doctor) of one of my books on food allergies was hoping for a food allergy vaccine to be developed.

I'm still reading about vaccine safety, and I really appreciate the comments from my previous post as well as e-mails on the issue. I have been questioning this for years, and I'd like to try and settle the issue in my mind.


More importantly, please keep praying for my friend Mck Mama and her baby's heart.

home from the grandparents & prayer need

We just got home from my parents house for the evening. My family was pretty tired, but I was still so awake that I drove us home. Henri got to play with his cousin Chase, whom he LOVES! They ran around the yard with water guns, played in the dirt in the dirt, and gleefully got very dirty. My little niece, Brynn, is crawling, and is absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to meet my other niece next month.

On another note:
If you do not know her already, would you mind zooming on over to my friend Mck Mama's blog and praying for her baby? The baby is at 23 weeks and has a super fast heart rate. Mck Mama is in the hospital now for a few days on an IV medication to try to slow the baby's heart down before it gets damaged.

who should we believe when it comes to vaccines?

I've been wondering about the safety of vaccines ever since over five years ago I learned that a friend was delaying vaccinating her children. That mother gave me a book to read.

Then we had our son. I asked my doctor about the safety of vaccines, and he had nothing to say about them--except that we would want to protect our children and society from infectious diseases.

Then I met another friend and another friend and another friend--all choosing to not vaccinate their children.

Then we had our daughter. And I asked our new doctor about vaccines, and he said that giving her the vaccines now would allow her to not have to get them in the future like if she went on an overseas missions trip. Yeah, I could understand that. OF COURSE she would need to be vaccinated before going overseas. So we vaccinated our daughter.

At least eight different vaccines given 2-4 times each have been given to my children.

Then I had a friend with a son who has autism. And I thought about all the kids I know with ADHD. And I thought about my son's food allergies and the rise in all these disorders. Could vaccines be causing them? Are vaccines causing more harm than good? It would be a logical fallacy to simply look at when they are given and say that one caused the other, but it would be worth studying, don't you think?

Today, I FINALLY got around to watching a very long but interesting video that was sent to me back in the middle of February. YES. I AM SLOW. BUT in my defense, it was two and a half hours long. Granted I could have watched it in pieces, and I did throughout the day, but it was so captivating that I wanted to finish it.

Anyway, the video asserts that the toxins in vaccines are/may be the cause for the rise in autism, Crohn's disease, asthma, ADHD, and other neurological and autoimmune disorders.

Then I'm also reading my food allergy books. The latest author/doctor referred to the studies on autism and vaccines as "junk science".

So seriously, who should we believe? I'm deeply confused and torn on this issue. I'm a mama who just wants to protect her children.

I think that both of my children have received all their vaccinations until they start school. Henri starts next year, which will require him to receive more vaccinations, unless we opt out. So should I opt out? I'm undecided.

enchanting evening

My husband, children, and I headed to our friends, Josh & Becky's home for the first time tonight. Our friends, Nathan & Rachel also came. We had a wonderful time eating a delicious assortment of appetizers, including mango & tomatilla salsas, gourmet cheeses, fresh figs, and more. We were outside amongst Becky's lovely gardens and feasted on our dinner in charming chairs.

The children ran around getting as dirty as can be. Nevertheless, the adults enjoyed ourselves in our conversations with one another. We stayed rather late for a Monday night with the children still awake, but we didn't want our time there to end amongst the burning torches and delightful discussions. Ahh, Cosette was showing all the signs of needing to go to sleep (restless & starting to cry), so we had to tear ourselves away from the picturesque dinner party.

Hopefully, we'll do it again soon. Until then, Lord-willing, I'll see these ladies tomorrow morning at the beach.

Becky, Me, & Rachel

a word from our girl

Hi, I'm Cosette. Sometimes people call me Cosy. Yes, my parents found my name in Les Miserables. It's summertime in these parts, so I've been enjoying running around outside. Let me tell you a little about myself.

I like:

• bubbles
• cell phones
• purses
• my family
• water
• books
• dogs--Yes! I will pet them now!
• trucks
• my "Lovey" and pacifier

I dislike:

• wearing a bike helmet
• entering the church nursery
  

I'm picking up more and more words though I couldn't say any words one year ago. But I guess that's the way it is when you're a baby.

Here's a picture of me a year ago. That's Nani holding me. We flew in an airplane to go visit my Papa's family. We're going again next month. I'm very excited to go on an airplane and be forced to sit in Mama's lap for hours and hours.

I was a chubby girl. Just as a baby should be.

Do I even look like that baby anymore? Mama thinks I've changed a lot.

Anyway, hopefully, I won't be so sick this year. We'll pray that my brother and Papa are healthy too. See you soon Nani, Bapa, Cousin Iris, Auntie Kristin, Gramps, Gigi, Great Grandpa & Grandma, and the rest of the family and friends who are far, far away from us.