Funny story about "SPACE"

I was getting ready today to go for a baby shower and had a lot on my mind. Caleb wasn’t feeling well so I put him down for a mid-morning nap to get some extra rest and then decided to jump in the shower. Sydney wanted to play a computer game but I told her she had to wait till I was done with my shower. As soon as she heard the tap get turned off in the bathroom, she came running to the bathroom to see if I was ready for her to play her game. I repeatedly told her “not yet” and told her to wait. While I was combing my hair in the bedroom, she came in and complained that I was taking too long. It had been a long week and part of me needed her to be patient and part of me just needed some space to be by myself to get ready, to think of what all I needed to do for the day.

So, I turned to Sydney and said “Sydney, you’re going to have to wait a little longer AND you need to give Mommy some space”.

Sydney looked at me with a confused look – looked around the room and said “but mommy, there is lots of space for you and me in here”.

I thought to myself, I’m not even going to try and explain this to a 4 year old who cannot wait any longer.

I had to write this one down and maybe someday when she’s a teenager and she tells me that she needs her space, I’ll have to remind her of this line she once said and see what she thinks of that!

I'm loving it

Caleb had his first corn on the cob this summer. I think he's lucky that he doesn't need to floss after eating corn (like the rest of us) because his teeth are all quite spaced out. Sydney can chow down at least 3 heads of corn. She must have Iowa genes somewhere in there. I'm surprised Caleb didn't try eating the cob either, but he does a pretty good job eating every kernel he can get his teeth on.

Jeanne Jugan Nursing Home

I'm so grateful to my friend, Katie, who introduced me to a nursing home in D.C. that she volunteers at. I've been taking the kids for several months now and it's wonderful meeting the residents there and spending time with them. Some of them don't have family; some have alzheimer's and dementia. Sometimes, the kids play bowling with the residents and help put the bowling pins in the middle of the room and hand them the ball to roll. Other times, they have tossed balloons to them. Sydney likes to bring a book with her so she can read to them. Mr. Brown, Kathleen and Paul are some of the kids favorite residents to visit. We always feel so grateful whenever we come.

Grant comes to town

This past weekend, Grant (or should I say "Uncle Grant") came to town. On Sat. afternoon, we went to the Spy Museum in D.C. John wanted to take the GW parkway so he could show Grant some of the scenic sights in town, but he got so excited that he kept missing his turnoffs, and we ended up in Georgetown - stuck in traffic - and worried if we were going to make it to our 4 o'clock show at the museum. Luckily, we made it through all that traffic and got there in time. Phew! After the museum, we had dinner at Kopitiam (The Malaysian Restaurant) and John took Grant to see the Lincoln Memorial while I played with the kids on the lawn by the Vietnam War Memorial. On Sunday after church, we just stayed indoors and the kids had fun with Uncle Grant. While the kids napped, we three played Settlers of Catan and Grant won. Before he left that night, we sang sang Happy Birthday and had some brownies. Yum yum. Happy 25th Birthday Uncle Grant!!

Dissertation Progress

So, the last 4 years are slowly coming to an end and John is still cranking on his dissertation. The goal is for him to defend in mid-September. He's working his tail off and hoping to finish the race soon. We're heading to MI in mid-August to look for a house and hopefully we can find one that fits our family needs. We are all very, very proud of the way John continues to persevere and do his best everyday. I don't know how he does it but there is a secret in there somewhere. This is a picture of the Cherry Hill trail that we have often gone on (these past 4 years). Lots of tears, and lots of laughter as we talked and prayed about big and small decisions. The kids have been apart of it all as we have walked on this trail as a family. When we first started on this trail, Sydney was a baby in her stroller. Now, when we walk as a family, Sydney rides her bicycle and we push Caleb in his stroller. We will miss this trail after we have moved, but hopefully we will find a new trail in Michigan to make new memories on.