One More First: The Olympics

I've mourned passing through all my son's firsts.  They seemed to pass by so quickly...that first smile, his first real laugh (which I have video of), the first time he rolled over and the first time he crawled, his first tooth and his first solid foods, those wonderful first steps right after his birthday...

But today I just realized I have one more first arriving tomorrow and staying for a couple of weeks.  2.0 will get to watch his first Olympic games starting tomorrow!

I remember when the Olympics were every four years and we got to have a summer games and a winter games in the same year.  I'm so happy it's not like that anymore and we get a summer games this year and in two years will have a winter games.  The summer games are my favorite.  I love to watch the swimming and the diving and the gymnastics.  It's so awesome!

Since my son is very sports minded (he's a boy after all), we watched the Olympic trials for swimming about a month ago.  He was enraptured by it, clapping when the race was over and pointing to the swimmers.  He seemed to really enjoy it.  We also watched the women's gymnastic trials and 2.0 seemed to like that as well.

I don't remember the first Olympics that I got to watch.  I remember the 1996 Olympics and I remember the games in Barcelona.  I learned to knit while watching the Salt Lake City games (ten years ago if you can believe that).

Maybe 2.0 won't remember this summer's games.  But I hope he enjoys them while he can.  It's amazing to watch athletes push their bodies and do breathtaking things.  It's going to be the best entertainment on TV for awhile.  With the exception of Hell's Kitchen and Masterchef of course...but that's another blog post.

Making A Difference Through Diapers

I'm so very excited about this weekend.  I just can't wait to be a part of what I'm going to be a part of.  The impact of this weekend on the community in which I live is going to be enormous.  For once, I'm actually excited for the week to end as quickly as possible.

I've been praying for a few months now that God would help me find a way to give back to the community I live in beyond teaching Sunday school in Adventureland at church.  I love teaching Sunday school and would gladly do it every single weekend if possible.  Those kids in my class make my entire week and bring me so much joy.  I just wanted to do more.

This is where a friend from church and her new job came in.

I mentioned the Women's Choice Center last week after our visit there and I mentioned the diaper drive.  I'm not going to repeat that post again.  Today however, I got to see the other side of the diaper drive in a way.

Today I went out to the Women's Choice Center (WCC for short) to drop off some clothes and baby food. I was excited to go because last weekend, a diaper drive was done at another church here in the QCA.  I wanted to see where the bar is set for Adventure this weekend and I wanted to see what God was doing in this community.  There were so many diapers...it was amazing to me.  This diaper drive brought in 57 packs of diapers.

While that might not seem like a lot, imagine the impact that will have.  57 moms won't have to worry about diapering a child.  It's so cool.

I think it's important that our children see us making a difference in our community.  I think that it's important for them to want to make a difference in their world and they learn that from us.  2.0 went out to the WCC with me today and I showed him the diapers.  He doesn't understand yet, but someday he will.

When I think about it, without the help and love of my family, I could be one of those women who needs help buying diapers.  It could so easily be any of us.  I think about that, about what toll that takes on a woman when she can't provide something so simple for her child, and it weighs on my heart.  Imagine being one of the volunteers who has to tell a desperate mom that there are no diapers to be had because there weren't enough donations.  That's just something I can't accept.

The Bible says that what we do to the least of us we do unto God.  Every tiny life is so precious.  One pack of diapers makes so much of a difference.  I don't know about you, but I want my son to see that.

Protecting Our Kids: Movie Time

By now you've gotten out of bed, had your coffee, and probably turned on the news and seen that there was a shooting last night in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado at a midnight showing of the Dark Knight Rises.  12 people were killed and the gunman is in custody.  Media outlets and other various pundits and talk boxes are clamoring for more gun control.  None of these things were surprising to me.  In fact, it was an entirely different aspect of this whole situation that's bothering my motherly instincts right now.

Did you know a 12 year old was in the theater watching this movie?  Without his parents?

The Dark Knight Rises is rated PG-13.  So my question is why was this 12 year old child in the movie theater without parental guidance?

I'm a huge fan of the Batman franchise.  I loved the latest movies, especially the late Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker.  The first movie wasn't disturbing or overly dark, but the second movie (with the aforementioned character) was rather dark.  Harvey Dent's makeup after half his face was burned off was a little disturbing to me and I'm an adult.  I've been looking forward to this last movie coming out for a long time.

But if I had a child who was under the age of 17, I don't think I would've let him go to this movie without me.  I might've sat in a different part of the theater (if my child were 15 or 16) or I would've seen it first and talked to my child about it.  Sending a child into this movie without parental guidance is like sending a soldier into a battle zone without a gun.  How can that child be prepared for what he's going to see?

Nate and I both like shows that 2.0 can't watch.  Not now, not for a long time if ever.  I try not to watch Criminal Minds in front of my son and I don't watch True Blood or The Tudors in front of him ever.  When I was checking out Nip/Tuck (which was awful by the way) and Dexter (which I really liked), I didn't watch those in front of him either.  Nate likes Star Trek Voyager, especially the Borg episodes, but those are a little scary for a kiddo like mine and we don't watch those episodes in front of him.  So far, 2.0 has never been to a movie theater, but when he goes for the first time, he's definitely not going to see something like The Dark Knight Rises or The Hunger Games (which was amazing as well) or Twilight.  Right now, the only thing 2.0 is allowed to watch unsupervised is Sesame Street.

If we don't protect our kids, who will?

When I went to the Hunger Games back in March, I had no idea what I was about to see.  I went with a group from church that included a group of younger girls (tweens I guess they're called now).  You know what the parents with me did?  They not only read the books so they would be able to talk to their kids about them, but they sat in the row directly behind them so that if something had happened that bothered them or caused them to have questions, the parents were right there.  The Hunger Games was rated PG-13. When I went to see Breaking Dawn this past November, one mom asked her sixteen year old daughter to miss the midnight showing because of the sexual content of Bella and Edward's wedding night, allowing the mom herself to see the movie first to make sure it was appropriate for her daughter.  Then they went to see the movie together.

Sometimes we have kids who are more mature than we were at the same age.  That's all well and good.  But maturity doesn't always mean that we have to push our kids out into the world and expose them to everything.

I want to protect my son for as long as I can.  He's only innocent for a short period of time.  Why take any of that away?

Choosing Life: Our Visit To The Women's Choice Center

As a partner with Adventure Christian Community (my awesome and fabulous church), I've had the opportunity to meet some of the most wonderful and amazing people.  Every time I meet someone new there, I find my mind blown all over again at what God can do with the people in this place.  We truly have another loving family in the people who attend there.

One of the amazing women I've met is the Director of Development at The Women's Choice Center in Bettendorf.  She has stretched me in ways I never thought possible.  I found out more information about what the Women's Choice Center does and one of the things they offer is diapers and wipes for women and families in need.  Their supplies are running low though and they are desperately in need of donations.  After learning that, I decided that the time had come for Adventure Christian Community to do something for the community we live in and we are having a diaper drive next weekend.  My son is the face of the drive and his adorable little smile is winning hearts all over town.  :)

Seriously...look at that face

So today we went for a tour and a presentation to learn more about what the Women's Choice Center does.  They are across the street from Planned Parenthood and they offer counselling, ultrasounds, free pregnancy tests, prenatal and birth classes, clothing, baby food, blankets, prayer shawls, and more for pregnant women.  If a woman (or a girl) comes in and wants to terminate her pregnancy, the Women's Choice Center goes over her options with her (and the father of the child or the woman's family or all of the aforementioned).  They are saving lives, one baby at a time.

They give baby showers for needy women and offer prayer and counselling after an abortion has taken place.  They are volunteer run and completely non profit.  I got to listen to a testimony of a woman who had come through the center when she found out she was pregnant and she was able to see an ultrasound of her baby, which helped her decide to keep the child.  She was there cradling her 3 month old daughter.  It was amazing and awe inspiring.

So today, I'm cleaning out my cupboards.  There's baby food all over the place here that I don't need anymore.  I'm going through baby clothes that I don't need any more (even though we're trying for another child, there are some clothes that I'm not going to need again.  Even if we have another boy.) and I'm getting ready for the diaper drive next weekend.

If you are reading this and you attend Adventure, don't miss your opportunity to help this wonderful organization and bring some diapers to church next week.  They desperately need sizes 3 and 4, but they take everything.  If you have some baby clothes or blankets that you don't need anymore, here's your chance to make a difference.  If you're crafty (like me) and want to make some blankets, they need those too.

I'm so very excited to be part of something so wonderful and can't wait for their next volunteer training class so I can do more.

Homeschooling

When we found out about our son's impending arrival, Nate and I started talking about school.  Granted, we had a lot of time back then (and still have a lot of time now) to make a decision about what we were going to do with schooling, we've come to a consensus now.  

We will be a homeschooling family.

No we aren't religious zealots.  No we aren't anarchists trying to indoctrinate our son to overthrow the government someday.  We aren't planning on raising our child in a bubble or concerned that he's not smart enough for public or private school.  Rather the opposite in fact.

Nate has an IQ of 165 and mine is 155.  Nate has ADD.  I was bored in school and finally gave up trying somewhere between 8th grade and high school (with the exception of my honors classes, which I loved).  2.0 is very smart.  He's learning how to do things at a rapid pace (all toddlers do from what I'm told) and I can see the wheels in his mind turning.  But he's also very active and likes to be in everything and running all over the place until he falls over with exhaustion.  That's just how boys are.

Would it be a good idea to put him in a learning environment that doesn't have any wiggle room?  I don't think so.  Plus, public schools are not what they used to be.  I had a good public school with a wonderful curriculum and teachers that cared about their students.  That's not the norm.  I don't want my son in a classroom that's overcrowded where he gets lost and where he's presented situations at ages where he might not be emotionally able to handle them.

Private school is expensive and is getting more expensive every single day.  That's not going to work for us either.

That leaves one option.

Thankfully we have a school district here that supports homeschooling.  There's online K-12 school in Iowa as well that will help us supplement parts of 2.0's education that we might not be the best at teaching (like math, my nemesis).  

The benefits of homeschooling are so vast and I think it's worth every sacrifice I have to make.  I'm excited to teach him at home and watch the world unfurl before his curious eyes as he reaches out with both hands to grasp the knowledge.  Nothing could be better about being his mom than that.  

The Prayer Shawl

I've been in a knitting kick lately, partly because I love the hobby and have missed it and partly to put off the edits on my fourth book while my cold readers finish it.  It's hard for me to knit and write because of the trouble I have with my hands.  My nerves can't handle that much repetitive motion.  More often than not, I choose writing.

I found this book at the library about knitting monster toys and I've been clicking needles for two weeks now.  It's required me to learn how to use double pointed needles and to learn knitting in the round as well as how to pick up stitches and knit heels (something useful when knitting socks, which I will never do).  After knitting monsters, I picked up a book on prayer shawls.  After all, I have friends having babies very soon.

When I read about the history of prayer shawls and what they are used for now, I was very humbled and very eager to play my own part on the tradition.

A prayer shawl is knitted with prayers as well as stitches.  They are wrapped around someone in a time of crisis or actually during prayer in some religions.  When I lost my dad, I really could've used a prayer shawl while I was mourning in the hospital and later at the funeral.  It's made to give comfort and warmth in times when it might be hard to find either or both of those things.  It can also be used in times when there is the greatest joy to protect and nurture that joy.  After looking at the patterns and reading about the events that spurred the creation of the shawls, I am excited to get started.  I just need more information before I can get going.

One of the shawls I found was called a nursing shawl.  The story behind it talked of a couple getting pregnant with twins.  The pregnancy progressed normally until an ultrasound showed that one of the twins was growing faster than the other one and might not survive the pregnancy.  The shawl was knitted after that news was passed on and with each stitch, a prayer was prayed.  As the pregnancy continued, the woman was in distress and had to be delivered early.  Two little children were born, one 3lbs and the other 2.  This shawl was wrapped around the mother after her C-section and then was draped over the incubators of whichever child was struggling the most during the time they both stayed in the NICU.  Wouldn't you know that each child did better when this shawl was draped over them?  Talk about the power of prayer.

I think it would make a nice baby shower gift and I'm hoping to complete it in time.  I won't make it for the first friend (who is due at the beginning of October), but I should make it for the other once I know if she's having a boy (which is what I suspect) or a girl.

I also found a pattern to knit a hat that has Princess Leia buns on the sides.  Now that's cool.  :)

The Awful Week Continues...

Never ever ask "what else could go wrong?" or say "it can't get much worse" because it can and it will if you tempt fate.

We'd lost out on a job and lost a baby in one week.  I didn't think it could get much worse than that.  I was right and wrong at the same time.

First, I noticed the van was running hot.  At least I was checking the gauge.  I hadn't noticed a leak anywhere but when I had to add fluid to the radiator, apparently there's a leak somewhere.  My father in law was in the area and came out and looked at it and he found the leak.  The bad news is there's a leak.  The good news is it's minor and easy to fix.  I just stay close to home and keep all trips in the van to a bare minimum for the next few days.  I can do that.  It was too hot to move around anyway.

Speaking of the hot weather...

The same day the van springs a leak, my air conditioner suddenly just stops running.  In the middle of the heatwave.  Fantastic!  Of course this happens after 5, so my landlord's office is closed and now it would cost me an additional $35 to have them come out and look at it since it's not listed as an emergency in my lease.

By the way, did you remember my son has asthma?  Right.

Now that night wasn't so bad.  It wasn't awful hot yet because we still had some air moving from the fan in the furnace and it was cold from the remaining air in the pipes.  But then we got into the next day and it got hot very quickly.  I couldn't open the windows because it only would get worse.  It was awful.

Thankfully my mom came to the rescue and put us up in a hotel for a couple nights while the air was being fixed.  It couldn't be fixed until Monday.  :(

Now we're back home, the a/c is fixed, the van will be fixed in the next couple days.  We're alive.  2.0 didn't have an asthma attack in the heat.  We have a very good friend who lives kitty corner from us who doesn't mind taking me out when I need to go somewhere so I don't have to worry about being stranded with my child if the van overheats.

I'm not thinking about nothing else going wrong.  I'm not tempting fate again.  I'm just thankful we have what we have.  I'm thankful we're home and no one got sick or had to go to the hospital.  I'm thankful we have people in our lives who love us and care about us.

It's all going to be okay.  :)  This too shall pass.

The Awful Week

Last week was wretched.  There's no other word for it.  Well, yes in fact there are other words for it and since I'm a writer, I can think of a few.  Abysmal, miserable, deplorable, poor, scummy, woeful.

I've been through some horrible things in the past and managed to keep my head about me.  But last week it all just piled up and piled up until I simply couldn't take anymore and I lost all hope.  I just wanted to curl up in a dark room and sing happy songs to myself all day.  Or something else equally crazy.

Nate applied for a better job that he didn't get.  We had to deal with bills we didn't have the money to pay.  It just looked horribly bleak.

Add to that the loss of another pregnancy as I had what I believe was a chemical pregnancy.  Talk about a let down.  You see (or in my case kind of see) a second line on a pregnancy test and then suddenly there's only one again and you know what's coming.  I've been here a couple of times.  I knew what to expect.

I just couldn't stand anymore stress or loss.  I couldn't handle rejection.  I needed something to break and it didn't.

The disappointment continued to the weekend and I'm still a little depressed this week.  Things are just not going the way we'd hoped and prayed they would.  It's very easy (especially in this heat with no A/C in the van) to just sit inside and wallow.  Instead of wallowing though, I started knitting.

While I knit, I pray.

While I pray, I find comfort.

When I find comfort, I find the strength to keep going the next day.

It also helps to have friends who can look at you and say "your attitude really stinks and you need to change it".  I have friends like that and I'm thankful for them.  :)

So I'm going to keep knitting.  I have a monster I'm knitting for a certain little boy who smiles at me and says "mama" just when I need to hear it.