Monday, September 18

more smiles

A smiling boy and Missionary Nature Stories

Last Wednesday, Aaron started smiling in response to stimuli. He smiled for the first time at his grandma, which about sent her through the ceiling with joy. There's no one who can elicit smiles better than grandma! Sorry the picture is fuzzy...



Remember in elementary school when we'd sit on the edge of our seats while the visiting missionary regaled us with stories of the 8' snake he killed in his bathtub or the tarantulas and scorpions they'd find in their shoes?

I've got news: You don't have to be a missionary to have scary nature stories. You don't even have to live in a foreign country.

This morning there was a 2 1/2" spider in my bathroom. It was a very VERY scary spider. His body was about 1 1/2" long and the legs were at least that long. I'm usually ok with killing spiders by stepping on them (as long as I'm not wearing flip flops or other open toed footwear) But this spider was an unbelievably huge one. My fearless husband trapped it under a glass after chasing it around for a few seconds. Then we sprayed it with spider killing spray. It would have splattered if we squashed it, it was so big.

Seriously, I've never seen a bigger spider in Michigan. It's still on my bathroom floor, under that glass. I hope it's dead. I wouldn't let Michael pick up the glass for fear the spider killing spray wasn't strong enough to do him in.

Wednesday, September 13

miscellany

Mom and dad do such a great job taking photos when we're at their house. Here is a very recent photo of our little guy.

So there's an ice cream truck in our new neighborhood. It's green and it plays tunes like "Yankee Doodle" and "Dixie" (wha?!?) If I had the guts (and the stamina) I'd chase it yelling "I want a Firecracker Pop! Come back! Come back!!" But I probably shouldn't chase ice cream trucks until I'm in good enough shape to actually do the chasing on foot.

Tonight is the first night of school year youth group, which Michael & I help with. It's getting a major structural revamping this year, so hopefully we will all get organized and it will be a smooth transition. Looks to be a promising year! It's fun to watch the kids interact with each other as well as get to know them a little more.

Our roof project should be getting underway soon. It's been raining, so last night dad an Michael climbed up there to wrap the chimney and surrounding roof in yet another bright blue tarp. I don't live in a trailer, but...I still have good stories.

More as we get opportunities!

Wednesday, September 6

the end of sleep as we knew it...at least for now

Well, all of you who are jealous of my son's marvelous sleep patterns - cease your jealousy!

Aaron has come down with a cold. The poor little man is extra snuggly and sleeping fitfully, and I, mean mother that I am, keep squirting saline spray up his nose and then sucking out all the congestion. Needless to say, I am not his favorite person at that moment.

And for the last 2 nights, he's been waking up every 2 hours all stuffy and choking. Thankfully, he goes right back to sleep after a suctioning session; no extra feeding necessary.

More pictures will be posted soon, but for now, pray that our little person can survive his first immune system challenge with as little discomfort as possible.