One Year!

I can't believe earlier this month Eb turned one year old!  He has changed so much over just the last few months, not considering the whole year!  It is overwhelming that just a little over a year ago this amazing little man wasn't a part of our life.

So much has happened in the last three months - I hope I can remember it all!

Eb now has six teeth (four top front and two middle bottom) and is really close to cutting his two bottom molars.  Although they aren't coming in in the traditional order, I'm glad he's getting some molars, hopefully I'll feel more confident about his chewing abilities and he can start on some less blended food.  While he has added more sounds to his vocal vocabulary he isn't really saying more "real" words - but he is using "Mamma" and "Dada" in the right context now!  He also knows the baby signs for milk, more, book, up/down (it's pretty much the same sign) and just recently we added please!  Next we are hoping to add 'food' and 'drink' because we thing he uses 'milk' as a substitute for those sometimes.

While he hasn't been to a well baby check up yet we did weigh him on the scales yesterday, he was a whopping 26.4 lbs!  He easily fills out 18 month shirts and is somewhere between 12 and 18 month pants.  While he doesn't wear shoes much he is in size 6.

He isn't quite bold enough to walk on his own, though he has taken a step or two here and there.  We are pretty sure he has the strength and coordination, but he still considers it easier (and faster) to crawl.  His modes of transportation are much more varied than three months ago however!  He loves hanging onto furniture to scoot around things like tables, chairs and couches and recently he has taken to pushing chairs around the kitchen.

We finally introduced chicken into his diet successfully!  I am still making most of his baby food at home and although his diet is more varied his favorites haven't changed much - he still loves cheese best!  After cheese would be little dried pieces of peach and frozen blueberries (noodles are pretty great too!)!

He loves hanging out with his aunts, uncles, and Grandma and Granddad Garland! I think he is almost as comfortable at their house as he is at ours.  He loves that there is never a shortage of someone to play with or pack him around.  No matter how somber he may start out Aunt Hannah can always get a laugh or smile out of her nephew!

Eb loves any of his toys that he can push around or make noise with.  He has some stacking and nesting blocks which he likes to stack up, but does NOT like to knock down!  One of his favorite toys is a phone he got for his birthday.  He loves pushing the buttons like a big person and hearing the recording Daddy made for him, he also likes passing it back and forth so you can be in on his conversations.  His favorite books right now include Hop, The Foot Book, Llama Llama Nighty Night, and a Thomas the Train book that plays music for you to sing along with.  Although these are his favorites we make regular rounds through the rest of his collection, reading at least ten books a day, often much more!  We are so thrilled that he loves reading with Mommy and Daddy so much!  It is a steady part of his night routine to have Daddy read to him before bed, late nights at work often mean a restless boy until Daddy gets home!

Checking out his first Christmas tree!

Helping Great Granddaddy open his present!

Waiting patiently for his first tractor...

A fun new way to eat cheerioes - stick them to your finger!

All ready for his first snow (and not too excited)!

Walking on a rare sunny day!

Helping Granddad work on his new room!

Bedtime books with Daddy.

Oranges are so yummy!

Mmmmm Birthday cake!

Yeah, I'm cool.

Just what he wanted!

Playing before we got home!

Goodbye Leviticus!

Leviticus is usually hard for me to read.  There are a lot of lists, laws, dimensions and sacrifices (since they are building the tabernacle).  The disconnect from my experiences and the expectations of modern Christianity have always been difficult for me to overcome.  As I trudged through, some realizations finally started penetrating my sluggish brain that I could appreciate and hold on to - Sin is expensive, our God provides a covering for all - rich or poor, and God is unchanging in his grace even, in a world requiring sacrifice.

There are so many different sacrifices, so for the sake of simplicity I'm just going to focus on one that exemplifies all three characteristics.

Sin is expensive.
These Old Testament books tangibly show us the cost of sin - and it is high.  Leviticus lists the required sacrifice for various offenses experienced in our human walk and I was amazed at how expensive the list could become in a very short time.  In Lev. 4:27-32 we see the price of an unintentional sin (once you are made aware of it) is a female goat.  Now if you're like me, I sin all the time, some of it is premeditated, some sporadic, and some I completely miss until days or weeks later.  Can you imagine every time a sin was brought to your attention needing to  buy, or remove from your herd, a goat to pay for it?  And this is one of the cheaper sacrifices!  Some of the sin offerings require a lamb and a bull.

I'm very happy we are no longer required to physically sacrifice an animal for our sin, for our firstborn son, for cleansing after childbirth, for cleansing after touching a dead thing, for... well you get the picture.  That being said, I can't help but wonder if we might be more conscious about what pleases or displeases God if we DID have to do those things.  God is very clear that sacrifices alone do not please Him, He wants these to be a reflection of what is going on in our hearts (Isaiah 1:11 and Deut. 10:16), but I can see these tangible sacrifices serving as vivid reminders the cost of breaking God's law, and reinforcement not to do it again.

God provides a covering for all.
Lev. 5:7 "But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation for the sin he has committed two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering."  These sacrifices weren't to fill the Lord's belly, or make the priests fat.  They were to make compensation between the offender and God, to restore relationship.  God took care to insure financial state did not prevent that restoration.  Not all sacrifices include this provision for the poor, but MANY do.  Just a reminder that the Lord desires a relationship with all of us, one that's not dependent on our physical state in this earth, or what we can bring Him.  As C.S. Lewis said, "God doesn't want something from us.  He simply wants us."

God's grace is unchanging.
It is hard for many people to see God's grace in this period of biblical history.  There are such seemingly harsh consequences, so many warnings of God's wrath and so much blood to cover iniquities that I can understand how one could get fixated on those things and miss God's grace.  Two thoughts come to my mind.  First: God is one.  We cannot separate His grace from His righteousness and holiness.  In His holy state Gad cannot tolerate anything less than holy to be near Him, and lets face it, we are all less than holy.  So were the Israelites.  Run-in's with a holy God, while having a 'stiff neck' and without the covering of Christ's blood are bound to have messy consequences, in spite of God's immense long-suffering and patience.  Second: This WAS a demonstration of God's grace.  The time was not ripe for Christ yet, but in God's love and desire for His people He did not want to wait to have a relationship with them.  So He established His covenant with Abraham and provided His descendants with a way to cover their sins and allow them communion with Him - sacrifice.  While it seems brutal, this laid the foundation for our relationship wit Christ today.  Without sacrifice God's people could not stand in His presence.  While it doesn't involve physical sacrifice of animals, the same is true today.  Without Christ's sacrifice we could not stand in the presence of our Holy God.  Oh that we would take that sacrifice as seriously, and see it as precious, as the Israelites did the sacrifice of goats and bulls.

Top Ten Things I Look Forward to in Indiana

With our move coming up so fast I thought I'd share some of my excitement! There are tons more things I am also excited about but these are the ones I find myself talking about the most.

10.) SNOW!!!

Do I really need to say more? I love sledding, snow angels, snow ball fights, and coming in to warm up from all the above with hot chocolate. I love how it lays on the branches, making bare trees beautiful, blanketing the ground like a thick, pure comforter.

9.) Milk from the source!

While I'm not a big milk drinker (I know, shocker right!?! Growing up on a dairy farm you'd think I'd love the stuff!) when I do drink milk I want it super fresh, un-homogenized and raw (un-pasteurized). It's hard to find a place that I feel handles the milk and cows responsibly enough to have safe raw milk, but at home I know exactly what goes on and couldn't feel safer drinking milk straight from the tank!

8.) Grass!

Yes I know Florida has grass, but it isn't proper grass that you can run barefoot in.

7.) Familiar flora and fauna.

I think I about made Chris crazy every time we drove to Indiana - I started naming trees and plants as soon as I could recognize them!  Now I get to see them all out my window!

6.) Seasons!

I finally discovered seasons in Florida - but they just aren't the same as Indiana.  I love the burst of color and smells Spring brings in the form of budding trees and blooming bulbs!

5.) Having our own space.

We have been blessed with great apartments everywhere we have lived but I am so excited to have a yard, where I can plant whatever I want, and lots of room around us!

4.) Wood Stove!

So many wonderful memories are associated with warming up by a wood stove. At our new house we are going to get to use the wood stove as our main heat supply!  When it is cold nothing heats like wood!  I'm so excited Eb will get to make the same kinds of memories I now treasure.

3.) Getting to garden!

I love growing my own food, and now I will have the space and tools!

2.) While I can and have made wonderful friends every time we have moved, I am excited to be closer to some of my most intimate of friends!

1.) The thing I am probably THE most excited about is being close to family again! I'm so thrilled that my son will get to grow up near enough to his extended family to really get to know them - I am also excited for me because now I will not only be able to visit them whenever I want but also call them in as backup!

Top Ten Things I Will Miss About Florida

While my primary emotion during thus move has been excitement about going 'home', I have made enough memories and connections in Florida to find sadness in this departure too. Here are the top ten things I have come to love about the temporary home God placed us in!

10 - Lizards!

These little creepy crawlies gave me fits when we first moved here, but they became a regular sight and kind of fun to watch!  It is amazing to me how creative our Creator is and how many different critters you can find in just one day's drive across the country!

9 - Swimming Pools!

It seemed so luxurious that every place we looked at for an apartment had a pool, but after living here I understand that its like having a swing set in the North!  The heat is so oppressive and persistent that in order to enjoy being outside it almost has to involve water!

8 - Orange groves.

Not only do I love the delicious citrus that comes from these trees, the perfume from their blooms is heavenly!

7 - Dr. Seuss flowers

              
So that's not their real name, but it's what they remind me of! These little flowers helped me mark the seasons in Florida, popping out as the temps cooled.

6 - Sun, sun and more sun!

I am sensitive to day length and as days get darker and shorter my mood and energy often reflect the shift. When we lived in BG and it became dark at 4 in the afternoon, this necessitated at least weekly trips to the tanning bed just to get UV rays to perk up my system. Not so in the sunshine state! SAD never came knocking while there!

5 - Free, Fresh Produce!

Between the classes I taught, my research, other's research and helping others harvest we had an abundance of seasonal produce at almost any time of the year - except middle of summer.

4 - Summer afternoon thunder showers

Almost as dependable as the sun during the wetter summer months were afternoons thunder showers. I loved them, especially when I could sit in our balcony and enjoy them. Large clouds would start brooding about 12, burst about 2 or 3, and clear out for a beautiful sun set in the evening.

3 - Live Oaks dripping with moss

These amazing trees never cease to amaze me. Our apartment was surrounded by them and they strike such a unique profile as to be unforgettable. Surviving hundreds of years in ever changing surrounding, they are true symbols of endurance and vitality.

2 - Convenient access to everything!

I was so spoiled! I was 15-20 minutes max from anything and everything my heart desired. Wanna get a movie? No problem! Forgot to buy bread? No big deal! Wanna get Chinese? Here's a huge list of options! Now the closest Walmart is a good 30 minutes - and not much else is around that Walmart!

1 - Abundant Grace Christian Church!

We love these people! The church welcomed us from day one and we found community, support, fellowship and family through the church at large and our Bible Study specifically. If one thing were to tie me to Florida, and even make me desire to return at times, it would be our precious church family. We miss them so much every day and can only pray we find something close at our new home!

Reading through the Bible... Again

So last year I had ambitions of reading through the Bible in 90 days.  I got off to a good start but as you might have noticed, lost steam after a month or so.  As many times as I have tried I still have not read through the entire Bible, and I'm sad to say there are whole books I haven't read.  The Lord promises He will be faithful to those who are seeking him, so I'm not going to let my past failure keep me from trying again!

This time I'm trying a schedule that should take me through the Bible in six months.  While this takes longer than the 90 day plan, you are still reading enough to feel like you're making significant progress and get a full picture of the story in each book.  It is also a more do-able amount of reading each day, usually between 6-7 chapters.

One of the things I've re-discovered through reading Genesis again is the immutability of God.  Many people mistakenly believe the God of the Old Testament is different, not as merciful or loving, as the God of the New Testament.  They are sadly mistaken.  God shows His tangible love and provision for His people through individual stories over and over again throughout Genesis.  This grace extends to those surrounding His people as well - many people were blessed because of their association with Abraham, and in particular God promised to spare the incredibly wicked cities of Sodom and Ghomora for only ten righteous men.  He also purposefully rescued the one righteous man he found in the area, Lot, even though he was reluctant to leave.

Thank you Lord for evidences of your grace throughout all of scripture.  Thank you Lord for the reminder and confirmation of Malachi 3:6 "For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed."

Afraid to crack that egg?

We've all done it.  You are digging in the fridge and find a mysterious carton of eggs.  How long has that been there?  Are they still good?  Do I dare crack one to find out?  Never fear!  Here's a sure fire way to tell how old those eggs are!  

With all of the chickens running around at Mom's, we sometimes have a surplus of eggs and lose track of what order they were collected in! When that happens we pull out a bowl or glass of water and give the eggs a little bath.  If they float we know they are old and need tossed, if they sink we know they are nice and fresh!

Just like this...

 The brown egg just happens to be really old, so it floats like a cork.  The white egg is fresh so it sinks all the way to the bottom.

So what exactly is going on here?  Well egg shells aren't as solid as we tend to think.  They are actually porous to allow gas exchange in case there is a chick growing inside.  Over time the dense liquid inside the egg can evaporate and shrink, allowing more air to displace the space left behind.  Eventually the egg is so much lighter that it floats when placed in water!  Obviously this doesn't happen all at once so there is a gradient of where the egg stays once placed in the water.  The freshest eggs lay right on the bottom, the oldest float to the top, and those in between - well, they settle somewhere in between the top and bottom.

Surfing around on the web you will find lots of opinions about what to do with the "floaters".  Some say toss them, some say that as long as they were stored at an appropriate temperature you can use them for boiled eggs - here at the farm we like to play it safe and toss all the ones that float.  We also try to use only the freshest eggs in things we might consume raw (like cookie dough!).

So next time you encounter those 'mystery eggs' confront them confidently with a bowl of water and you will never be surprised by that awful sulfur smell again!


Please note: I am not a medical professional   Common sense should dictate your decisions about your food.  If there is any question in your mind about food's safety please throw it out!

Hello 2013!

After and unintentional sabbatical I'm trying to get back into the swing of blogging!  Things have been delightfully busy/crazy around here and I'm excited about documenting this busy season of our lives!  I thought about doing some back posts, but I think it best if we just pick up from here.

Its hard to believe how many monumental changes took place in 2012.  We became parents, I chose to leave the PhD, we moved back to Indiana, Chris secured two very good placements for his internship and.... we found out we are going to be parents again!  Whew! Crazy awesome year!

It's interesting how right C.S. Lewis was about us humans. We really are creatures of fluctuation.  Just last year (not really that long ago in the grand scheme of things) I was READY for change!  Having our son, moving back to Indiana - it all couldn't happen fast enough!  This year I wish I could slow down the ferocious rate at which time wants to run.  Eb is a year old (my baby is quickly becoming a toddler!) and so close to walking, Chris is so close to being finished with school and our newest little one is already 16 weeks along in this pregnancy!  As I said, wonderful things, but so crazy busy!

This year, as in many years past, my main goal for this year is contentment - though for different reasons than in the past.  I am enjoying this stage of life.  I love being a mother and homemaker.  It is not without sacrifice, but I know that this is where God wants us for this season.  It is just going so much faster than I ever expected!  I am also missing the many people we came to know and love while in Florida.  While it has been invaluable having my family so close, I am occasionally dealing with the isolation blues.  Once again I want this year to be characterized by leaning into the Lord for my needs and learning to bloom where He has planted me.  I can't wait to see what this yea has in store... though I hope I get plenty of time to enjoy it too :)