Two 2-year-olds' birthday parties!

In July Jameston was invited to celebrate his buddy, Jackson's, birthday. The boys had fun playing in Jackson's new pool in the backyard, as seen in the following pictures.

"WHEE!"

They also had fun throwing and chasing balls in the yard after swimming!

They enjoyed eating yummy hot dogs and bar-b-q inside, and

they especially got a kick out of the special visit from Elmo. Well, Jackson, did for sure!Although Jameston loves Elmo on TV, he didn't having much to do with Elmo in real-life. He wouldn't go near him to hug him or sit on his lap. The most he would do was give Elmo a five (while hanging on for dear life to Brett)!]They boys ended the party with some delicious ice cream and cake! Thanks, Jackson, for inviting us :-)

And at the beginning of August, we headed up to Cache, OK, to celebrate our niece, Layne's, 2nd birthday. Sweet cousins holding hands!

Here our the cuties getting ready for the pool (and playing with the kitchen sets):JW was OBSESSED with the bead necklaces he found at Layne's house. He's not used to seeing those :-)

And Jameston's mommy was OBSESSED with taking pictures with her new dSLR camera that weekend (and ever since)! Here's a good one of Miss Layne:

We enjoyed a little bit of a "cool front" that evening, so the kiddos had a blast playing outdoor!

The birthday day!

Jameston playing hoops with Uncle Jared

Layne loved her new "Fairy Princess" backpack

These cousins could play for so long together...they also had fun reading to us :-)

Now we are gearing up for our little fella's birthday in less than a month. Can't believe it, but whether I am in denial or not, it's coming!

Lakin' it!

The last Saturday in July we headed to Lake Ray Hubbard to meet up with some of Brett's co-workers. Thank goodness we were by water because it was another triple digit day!

My boys were ready for the water! We took Jameston's inflatable pool to set in the shade. He had fun, as usual :-)

But Lance, Oksana and their three daughter brought something that blew Jameston away: a modern Slip 'N Side!

Checking it out first

Daddy helping himWhee!!

Headed to the "big water"

All geared up and ready to go

Must take time for a juice break!

Afterwards, we hung out on their beautiful lawn taking in the scenery

Headed home We hope to get a couple more trips in before the end of summer!

Jameston's Jargon

Thus begins my chronicling of our not-so-little-anymore boy and his growing vocabulary. I've been meaning to start this for the last month, and I wish I had a memory that retained every cute (and surprising) thing he has said so far. Let's hope I can keep this up, and that I can keep up with him! He has been "talking" in sentences, 3-5 words max but mostly unintelligibly (mimicking intonation), for some time now. I would say, though, that over the last month his "jargon" has become more and more recognizable. We have our typical, everyday conversations that revolve around the dog, eating, playing, etc., and then we have had some quite random discussions, say, about Mommy's driving...cracks us up! We have learned that he wants to repeat everything, I mean everything, we say, as you'll see from examples below. Enjoy!

Music to my ears:

"Daddy/Mommy/Jameston (sounds more like Jason)/Boomer's funny/silly!"

"Let's pray." ~ Makes my heart smile :-)

"Go again." ~ when we are doing something he loves, like jumping in the pool, chasing each other, etc.

"Turn light off." EVERY time we leave the room, even if we're coming back :-)

When I get to be home with him all day, I hear the following at least twenty times a day:

"Watch this, Mommy!"

"You doing, Mommy?"

Sentences we'd rather not hear twenty times a day:

"Don't want it."

"Not Jameston's."

"My juice, my doggy, my toolbox {insert the name of any object or proper noun}." Was endearing at first when it was, "my Daddy/Mommy" but further exacerbates our sharing issues

Examples of sentences that quickly reminded me how fast he's growing and learning:

"Boomer eat the ice."~ after we dropped a piece from the ice-maker

"Mommy, wipe your feet." ~ after we came inside Saturday morning when it was raining, and he pointed to the rug Words/sentences that crack us up:

He'll exclaim, "BABE" (more like "Bayeb") after he hears me do so when I'm talking to Brett from another room

"Mommy, slow down!" ~if I have to brake strongly.

Don't know where he gets some of this stuff, but we are having a riot of a time deciphering it all!

Papa love

One thing is for sure...Jameston loves his PaPa! When he came to visit for a conference recently, JW didn't want him to leave!

Reading his "Honk, Honk!" (i.e., Cars) book

Helping PaPa and Daddy put together the rocking chairs

Running to...

catch up with both of them. Classic!

And they all just so happened to be wearing blue. Love it!

Time stand still, time speed up

Lately, I have felt torn between these two sentiments when it comes to Father Time.

Regarding the first statement, it seems that Jameston is growing by leaps and bounds, and all I want to do is push the "Pause" button and keep him at this age. Although he is still little, and reminds us of that fact weekly (okay, maybe bi-weekly) with his Not-So-"Terrible-Two" tantrums, I feel that he has transformed from a baby to a little boy in no time flat. I often find myself wanting to rock him to sleep some nights just so I can make sure he still needs his Mommy (although I know he needs me and Brett in different ways now), and then I quickly have to tell myself, "He's not little anymore." :-( These realizations have started to occur even more, especially when I get my weekly emails from Parents.com talking about starting pre-school! What?! OH, and he is talking in sentences AND talking back (I didn't think that started until they were teenagers)! He doesn't do much of the latter, but when he does, it is hard to believe. Hard to believe that our little boy will be 2-years-old next month. Sigh. I really do know now first-hand what "grown-ups" and parents were talking about when they told me that children "grow up so fast."

On the other hand, I feel like time is going by at a snail's pace when it comes to me moving on from our miscarriage. It seems like it happened so long ago when, in fact, it was just four months ago. Four months?! When we got the news in late March, I hoped so much that we would be pregnant again by now. Hard to believe I would be 7 months along now. It has been really tough, and I know that we will never forget the loss and the pain. But...I feel that I will be able to move on more when we have something to look forward to instead of being reminded of the heartbreak of the past.

The past four months have felt like an eternity. I used to have a fortune cookie quote in my car in college that stated "Time heals all wounds." I don't know if I fully agree, but I do know that time eases the pain. I am reading a book called, "When the Hurt Runs Deep," by Kay Arthur, given to me by my mother-in-law. It is a good read for anyone, currently grieving or not. I highly recommend it for those who are needing comfort from a scriptural stance or looking to help someone during a difficult time.

Over the last several months, I have learned a lot about myself---some days I feel more normal while other days I feel slightly insane from all of the emotions. I feel that I have learned, as I have posted before, the true definition of patience. And, trust, oh trust...we have had the bible verse, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding (Prov. 3:5)" in our house for four years now...but it wasn't until recently that I have really listened to and understood this verse.

More important than learning more about myself, I have grown in my faith. I have been through some tough things before this (my parent's divorce, family issues, etc.), but nothing as difficult as the last four months have been. I am not writing this so that others feel sorry for me; I guess I am writing to let people (mainly myself) know that healing takes time. I know that I will get through this with God's help. He knows what is best for our family. And, although I like to plan and be in control, HE is in control. I am still working on this patience thing, but what I know is that God's timing will be perfect. Even if it is later than we had hoped for, it will be perfect!

The days when I am sad about the past or anxious about the future, I think of the song, "Praise You in this Storm," by Casting Crowns. I know this "storm" I am experiencing will pass, and that many others have gone through something far more difficult. This song, which is based off of the scripture at the top of our blog, really speaks to me about placing all of our trust in our God and realizing the blessings we have. If you haven't heard it, I recommend you take a listen. It is a great song for anyone who has ever gone through a trial before, which, I am pretty sure, we all have. Here are my favorite lines from the song:

"...I barely hear You whisper through the rain,

"I'm with you"

and as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise

the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus: ...and every tear I've cried

You hold in your hand

You never left my side

and though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

...I lift my eyes onto the hills

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth."

This song and the book I just finished give me hope and the knowledge that, one day, the suffering we experience will be redeemed in ways we cannot even begin to imagine.

Guatemala 2011

Finally, my Guatemala post. Here are some of my favorite pictures (I could have had a record post if I had included all of my favorites) from our annual trip, in no particular order:

Flying in to Guatemala City on a Friday night with volcanoes in the background~Beautiful!

We toured Antigua and some of the churches on Saturday

and later in the week on one of our off days

And we usually strolled around town each night after we got back from clinic

Clinic days: We would leave somewhere between 6:30 and 8 a.m., depending on how far the town was from Antigua, and would be greeted by lines of people who had gotten up way earlier than we had that morning...

I probably saw anywhere from 30-50 patients a day, from ages 6 months to 80+ years old

I had an Audiology graduate student from Tech with me this year...Nathan was a trooper and made my life a lot easier since he is fluent in Spanish. Don't know what I did without him that past two trips!

We met some amazing people while we were there

We go to serve but are served by them by way of their kindness, patience, and gratitude

Preciousness

While I was focused on all-things-ears, Brett was able to finally be a part of the Construction Team this year, since Nathan was my assistant. Here he is trying to paint a basketball court with lots of inquisitive kiddos observing:

He had to make a game out of it so that they wouldn't step on the paint. So, he had the boys "guard" the lines. Love it!

Another great picture

Brett and I stayed an extra day, when we had time to relax, and went to do more sightseeing

The team

Again, we were blessed to be able to make this trip this year. Again, we were humbled by how grateful the people there are. For what little they have in possessions, they make up with their faith and actions to others. We are so thankful to get to be a part of it all, and we look forward to many more summer trips there!