(Trying) To Learn to Crawl

Maya is trying to learn to crawl. I think it's making her pretty mad that she can't quite get it. Or she's just being whiny and cry-ey for some other reason?

Maya at Seven Months

She sits up very well now.

Maya turned 7 months old on the 4th of July. As is my custom, now that she's about to turn 8 months, I thought I should finally make time to post the 7 month pictures. Our measuring puppy Patrick did not fit in our luggage, so he's back at home (note to self, next time you chose a "measuring item" chose something more packable!). So there's no clear way to see how big she's gotten, but I thought these pictures were too cute not to share. Happy late 7 month birthday baby girl!

Don't know exactly what's going on here, but isn't she cute?

Whenever she sucks her thumb (no paci for this girl) she uses both hands--the right hand helps to hold the left hand up to her mouth and she interlocks her fingers--here she is recovering from having water dumped on her head by going into her thumb sucking mode.

She LOVES water--fountains, the bath, the sink, the pool--loves it all!

She also had her first nursery experience on the 4th of July and loved it.

Maya and PaPa horsing around.

She has her PaPa Ernie's eyes.

Holy Moment

We skipped church today. We were feeling pretty tired out from a week of meetings and hurrying to try to get here and there. And our plane was delayed last night on the way back to Mississippi, so we got in a couple hours later than expected. We just needed a slow morning. But I'm pretty sure this was a holy moment. Introducing my daughter to grass for the first time. This is what she thought:

See ya later.

Awarded!!

Hey guess what! I got an award. The Cherry on Top blog award was given to yours truly! (I think I'm supposed to put the picture of that on my blog, but confession: I don't know how to do that). Now Abbe, the amazing woman who gave me the award can be found here. If I had to describe Abbe in one word, it would be brave. Her family is going through some rough times right now. And I don't mean she didn't find what she wanted at the store or her child is going through a phase or she wishes she had a new car rough. I mean the kind of rough that would shatter some people's faith. But she is holding onto Jesus, and I've seen Abbe hold on to Jesus over and over since I met her in college and I'm so proud to say that I know her. I just recently re-connected with her through the blogosphere, and I'm so glad I did. Check out her blog--it's rated BH (for brutally honest) and pray for her as she walks through a dark valley.



As a recipient of this award, I'm supposed to A. Tell readers 3 things I like about myself, then B. give the award to 5 blogging friends, so here goes.



1. I like my slightly different perspective. I am told by many that I am a very artsy creative person, and they can't all be telling lies, can they? I love beauty, and after years of struggle, I almost don't feel guilty about it anymore. As followers of Jesus, there sometimes can be this idea that we have to be super minimalists and not spend money on pretty things and not appreciate really fine things. But that is contrary to the very character of God who Himself, made things incredibly, amazingly, astonishingly beautiful!!!! So I like that I see beauty in lots of things and places and people, and that I'm almost always on the lookout for the beauty around me, and hoping to participate nobly in the call to create something beautiful.

2. I like it that I'm generally pretty honest and transparent. I hope it gives the people in my life a safe place to be themselves too.

3. This isn't like 100% me, but I love my marriage. I am very happily married (it will be 6 years in August) to the man of my dreams and I feel like we have worked really hard to make it the best it can be. We have had LOTS of fights. And misunderstandings. And differences of opinion, but we have learned to understand each other and to really love each other and to lay down our lives for each other in lots of ordinary everyday things and we're still really in love.



Now for part B--the blogs I want to award with the Cherry On Top award for that something special . . .

My mom gets the first Cherry On Top Award. She is seriously funny. She is building a house right now and writing about the perils of being do-it-yourself'ers. She loves Jesus and loves her family and her church and serves people all the time. She has a lot of wisdom for those of us who are new to this being a mom thing, and she makes me laugh.

My friend kelli gets the next award. We lead a very similar life but we're in different seasons (she's much more of a pro at it). Her kids do and say some really funny things (especially Naomi) and I love it when she shares them. She is the most patient mom I've ever seen and I aspire to be so slow to anger with my kids someday. She is very good at being creative in giving her kids interesting stuff to do even though they are bound by lots of limits and surrounded by a concrete jungle. She posts several posts at a time when she actually gets the time, so make sure you don't miss any. . .

My sister in law Lisa gets the next cherry. She doesn't post often (maybe this award will inspire her?) but every time she does, i laugh out loud. I'm sure I'm biased because it's usually my nieces saying funny things, but these are some funny kids and I love how Lisa captures these moments with them. She's really great at that--capturing moments. Can't wait to have some moments with her!

And I am going to break the rules and stop there. I'm just tired of how long this post has taken me. (and I'm a recovering people pleaser who wants to give the other 2 awards to like 5 people, so rather than offend and leave out anyone, I'm just not going to finish. Lame, I know. Just assume you were in the category of people I wanted to give those last 2 cherries to . . . )

I Attended, and Behaved Myself

Yep, that's right. I went to church yesterday for the Patriotic service and I behaved like the nice little southern girl that I'm not. I talked to all of the strangers, smiled at everyone, and only made 2 sarcastic comments (that I can remember): 1. When the little children sang a special number of "The B-I-B-L-E" I made fun of their very country accents. 2. When the music man forced us to "Greet six or seven people around you" I mocked him and defied him and only greeted 2.5 people and then just stood there repeating, "Is it over yet?" (go here: http://www.jonathanrauch.com/jrauch_articles/caring_for_your_introvert/ to read an article about introverts and you will understand why the meet and greet portion of many churches is like torture for some of us and makes us want to cry and hide under the pew).

I confess, I teared up. Twice. Once at a WW2 vet who could hardly stand up any more, but who was standing nearby to us and when they sang the Marines song he was standing and saluting--and that just got me. Just imaging how much he saw and experienced and how many of his buddies he saw die. The other tears came from two firemen decked out in their full firefighting get-up. I'm such a sucker.

Maya had her first nursery experience, and since the meet and greet will probably some day be her favorite part of church, she had a blast (or so the nursery women told me, but they could be lying . . . and it could all be a conspiracy to lure us into attending again next week). They said she was a very easy baby and that she liked everyone. Then I had a happy/proud mama moment, and pitied our next child in advance (no I am not pregnant, I just often pity any child who will have to follow in this uber-extrovert child's path).

We at the best steaks and pork chops I have ever eaten. I mean these things melted in my mouth. Then later, I made some homemade ice cream that turned out very strange and I was a bit disappointed--it was more like I would imagine frozen custard must taste, but it was still very yummy--just not like what I thought it would taste like. Give me your recipe if you have a good one. . .

Then during an afternoon teething session, we decided the baby pool made more sense than fighting the jet leg and the teething and the general grouchies to try to get her to take a nap. She had a blast in the baby pool and then easily went down to sleep. (i will post the adorable pictures once I figure out how to get them from my m.i.l.'s camera)

Then at 7:30 we were both so exhausted we went to bed too. We skipped the fireworks all together and I was a little sad when the sound of fireworks woke me up around 9ish, but it was a good day. We had plenty of world cup fireworks before we left home to come here, so it's ok. It was a good day.

Patriot or Pacifist?

Good morning. 4 a.m. and I can't sleep (aren't those some song lyrics?), so I thought we would chat. Tomorrow is Independence Day. Whoops, today. It is also Sunday (i.e. church day). I cannot decide what to do. I had originally planned on not going to church tomorrow. In the past I have had a really hard time with American church services on the 4th. (I'll explain in a minute) Plus, we haven't been in an American church in more than three years (it will feel very weird and new/different). Plus we are in the South, and I am from Kansas. There are a lot of factors. And I'm not sure, but I think I may be a Pacifist, and in the past, 4th of July church services (especially in the South) have caused me all sorts of inner turmoil because of my convictions, and disagreeing with how things were handled and what was said. So, I'm trying to formulate or articulate what it is that I believe, and what it is that I have issues with, all while deciding if I will be going to church with everyone else.

This is what is on my mind (and yes, I know some of these these things are self contradictory--I'm just trying to figure it all out):

• I am personally patriotic--for weeks you will probably be reading about things I am just loving about being in America
• I am not sure that patriotism should be something we say/do in the church
• America is a great place to grow up
• I am grateful that I was born American
• Every time I see an American soldier in uniform in the airport, I have an urge to thank him/her
• I appreciate the service that our armed services give and I appreciate and want to honor those who gave their lives (but I'm not sure that church is where we should do that)
• I have a real struggle to see how about the last 3 wars the U.S. has been involved in were/are any of our business
• When churches choose to have color guards present--they bring guns in the church and I am very uncomfortable with the symbolism of that statement
• I believe church should be a place where anyone from any country can find refuge and belonging amongst the family of God
• Often, it seems that war is glorified during 4th services
• It is often implied that God is somehow "on our side" and think that's pretty darn presumptuous
• I wonder why when we pray for our U.S. soldiers who are fighting in wars abroad, why we aren't also praying for the people who they are shooting at, who if they die, will more than likely spend an eternity separated from God because they have probably never had a chance to hear and respond to the Gospel
• I question whether a lot of the things we are "defending" when we are fighting wars are worth defending (i.e. a lifestyle that consumes disproportionate amounts of resources, a standard of living that is ridiculously inconsistent with the rest of the world, extravagance and greed, defense of our super-power status, etc.)
• I wonder how I can reconcile in my heart/mind things that Jesus said like, "turn the other cheek" or "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" with the idea of war and aggression
• I wonder why we think it's our job to make sure democracy is everywhere, instead of letting nations chose for themselves how they will govern--even if it doesn't serve our interests
• As a follower of Jesus, I have more in common, or more solidarity with other followers of Jesus around the world than I do with many Americans
• The way that some churches conduct their 4th of July services leaves me feeling like I had to chose sides--either America, or my allegiance to Jesus and the worldwide body of believers
• I selfishly want to go to church tomorrow and feel like I fit in--mostly because for the last three years, I have felt like I don't, and if I'm going to fit in anywhere in the U.S. now, wouldn't that place be the church? (but because I can be cynical, I believe I may feel more like a sore thumb there than anywhere else, so I want to avoid it all together)
• I don't want people to talk about me if I am not at church tomorrow and I don't want my family to feel like they have to lie for me about why I am not there
• I don't want to miss out . . .

So where does that leave us? I had planned not to go to church because I didn't want to have to deal with all of this. It's now 5:48 a.m. and I'm going back to bed. I'll let you know what I decide and how it goes.

First Impressions

This is some stream of consciousness stuff. It is 11:25 p.m. and I'm taking a little break from sleeping. Our first full day here was great. Shoot, our first partial day here was great. I'll go even further--the trip was great. Traveling with a baby for longer than a 24 hour stretch is insane. Brazil lost and is out of the World Cup (told you this was going to be stream of consciousness--and my stream is flooded!) I didn't know it, because there were no fireworks to announce it. Our child is popular in every country she has been to so far. France thinks you are hiding bad things in your stroller if you come from our country in the Middle East, so they don't let you have your gate checked stroller, and you carry everything (2 large carry-on's, large diaper bag, large child, large car seat) everywhere. That should read: your husband carries everything. Bodies in jet lag do funny things. And so do babies. At the airport in Houston, there was grass between each runway. And big black ladies driving extended cab golf carts full of people. And restaurants that sell a tamale platter with pulled pork, rice and refried beans with a Dr. Pepper (can I get a woo hoo?!). You're not supposed to put your tp in the trash can here. If you forget that and do, people think you are gross. Speaking of people, there are a lot more colors and body shapes than I have seen in a very long time. It is beautiful. And hey, guess what--you can shop here and you may not have to buy the very biggest size that the store carries--it is amazing for your self esteem. And people are kind of addicted to phones here. And you may not have any teeth, but you'd better have a cell phone. Papa's fall in love with their first grandbaby real fast. Then they immediately start feeding them age inappropriate foods (and Maya is a huge fan of Wendy's frosite floats). There are a lot of choices here. In milk. In food. In race. In the color of car that you drive. Family is a precious gift. So is being able to pick up the phone and call yours without doing the math to figure out if they are awake yet. Pork is delicious and smothered in barbecue sauce, it is heavenly. They call them minutes, not units and cell phones, not mobiles. We are a little bit like the beverly hillbillies right now. Things are very very organized and orderly here and there are even rules about which direction you are supposed to exit the bathroom and how fast you should drive. Some of the unspoken rules are really hard to perceive for foreigners, and for those who feel like foreigners. People eat a lot here. Like in the car, in the airport waiting area, in the bookstore--wherever you'd like. Strangers don't come and take your baby on a tour of the restaurant while you are eating. They don't even kiss her face and hold her hands and pinch her and say, "Stab the eye", "God wills it", or "In the name of God". And then your very extroverted child misses it. But she makes up for it by obsessing over Grammie's puppy dog, whom she frightens with her exuberance and her flailing arms. It is like a refrigerator everywhere here! Tomorrow I will go and buy a sweater, and it won't even be the largest size. Not everyone watches CNN International. Or even CNN. That is all, I am going to go back to sleep now. . .