Long time away from the blog. We spent much of July traveling (or having Jonathan away from home) and enjoying our last days before the start of his new job on July 31st. We are adjusting to our new normal: JB working 14/15 shift a month instead of 22, me working 10 hours per week instead of 20, and Jackson entering the "Terrific Two's". We've been enjoying beach and pool days, the park, zoo and some time in Hatteras, which was great fun! We celebrated Jonathan's birthday (August 8th) with a dinner date at Costal Grill and watching Shark Week, Jonathan's perfect day.
We have been struggling with finding patience in having a 21 month-old at home and often find ourselves getting short with him and the whining, tantrums, "no" and hitting. We are seeing some progress, although slowly, with him in speech therapy and hope that helps with his ability to ask for what he wants or tell us if he is hurting, frustrated, etc. Until then, we continue to pray often and take a deep breath and figure out when to discipline, when to give grace and when to realize that he truly can't speak or is just acting like a child, which he is. The good thing about this phase is that it has really made us trust in God more because we can't do this with our strength alone.
Enjoying the pool with Max, who has the cutest cheeks you've ever seen!
J and BB. His favorite new phrase is, "Dada, Mama, BB".
What do you take on your morning run? Jackson takes a banana, cheerios and raisins, a homemade fruit/veggie smoothie and milk. No pants, though. That would be too much.
We enjoyed a morning at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens water park with the Nurture Mom's Ministry from church. I am so grateful for this ever-expanding group of women, of all ages and stages, who meets for play dates and panel discussions on faith, marriage and motherhood. Please let me know if you would ever like to join in! It is so encouraging to be with other moms who have long left where we are, many who are right in the trenches with me and those who are coming along later in the journey of being a mother.
During one of J's naptimes, JB and I tackled the porch and painted every white thing including the swing, chairs and table. WHEW!! I think we got more paint on ourselves than we did on the railings but it looks great and was long overdue. Now, time to get out the 'porch red' and paint over our white streaks on the porch!
J and three dogs fighting for time in the pool
He is my most-excellent gardener. The big tomatoes have been a fail (both rodents and lack of sun as they have been dominated by the cherry tomato bushes), as have the red, yellow and green peppers, but we have buckets-full of cherry tomatoes and herbs that have made for some delicious dinners!
J got in his car and said, "Bye Dad". Oh my, don't start so soon little one.
We finally enjoyed a playdate Sarah and her two kids (sadly, not pictured!) and Lael and Jordan joined us at the zoo. We enjoyed the bear, saw elephants up close and even got to see some 500# turtles mating....well, wasn't that a spectacle that you'll never forget!
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