Hamble Ramble

Sit here do I awaitening our new roommate, whom is cometh from Germany and has been delayed til midnight forth. There. That was fun to write.

So, I have a little time to reflect upon my life. Let's see if I can do a nutshell version, for all you all out there who haven't heard from me in a while

• We have been in Redding two months past the one year mark. That went FAST. I mean, REALLY fast. JM is about to transition to another job at Bethel (which pays a little better, bless the Lord in heaven) so he'll have an even more steady schedule, which is great. It will give him time to work on the pedal board design company he has started and is super excited about. So, that's fun.
• We have a few friends. Connecting with people is slow, but steady. A small group meets in our house, so that has been really great, and it's about to expand a little as we begin to reach out to the "young marrieds" who go to Bethel's Twin View campus. I look forward to making new friends there.
• Samuel. Samuel is 19 months old and so much fun. He's putting together 2-3 word sentences. And he'll tell me all about something he did by using key words. "Walk. River. Deer. Bird. Kiss. Five." (He wants to give the animals kisses and high fives.) :) He is also developing his WILL. So that is an adventure. :)
• Anybody out there read "Loving Our Kids on Purpose?" A great book on parenting that totally changed my perspective on the world, parent or not. It's too much to try to write about with my limited amount of time, but it's made me realize what a passive person I have been all my life, and the ideas in the book are empowering me to use self control and make my own choices, rather than just letting life happen to me. It is difficult to unlearn habits I've had all my life, but I know it's going to pay off in the end. Also, we may not end up spanking our kids (much), something I always assumed would be part of my parenting style. Are you intrigued? I highly recommend the book. :)
• As I mentioned way up there^, we have a roommate coming from Germany tonight. She'll be a first year BSSM student and will be staying with us the entire school year. If she likes us, I guess. :) This is her first time in the States, so JM and I get to be her first introduction to American culture. That's kind of a big deal, huh? If we were pranksters, we could have fun with that. Anyway, she's just out of high school and seems like a fun girl. We're supposed to teach each other how to cook. Can't wait to make me some STRUEDEL. 
• Speaking of cooking, I went on a 3 month diet trying to get rid of the thrush that Sam and I have had since he was born. I ate no grains, no sugars, no dairy (except yogurt), no fruit (except when I cheated with berries), no caffeine, no starches. What was left? Nothing. No, just kidding. Meat, veggies, yogurt, eggs and nuts, basically. I took probiotic supplements and antifungals. Ate loads of coconut oil. I survived it all, and guess what happened. Nothing. For real this time. Except gained 10 pounds. But the thrush is as bad as ever. Maybe I should just get PRAYER. I am at Bethel, for heaven's sake. Surely I can get healed of this thing.

So much for a nutshell. I'm sure I could think of more things to ramble about, but I guess I'll give her a rest. If you are reading this, know that I miss you and was probably thinking of you when I wrote it. Bye bye!

_h_

with a BAA and a MOO and a COCKADOODLEDOO

I figured the New Year would be a good occasion for an update of some sort. So, without further ado:

The Babe
What a different life I'm living than I was January 1 a year ago! Having a child has been the most wondrous, challenging, beautiful, fulfilling thing I have ever experienced. Who knew you could love like this? And who knew you could live on so little sleep?

Samuel is my daily joy, my laughter, my delight. He's so alert, inquisitive, watchful. And happy. He's a happy baby. Which is all my mommy-heart needs to know, even if I don't know how to get him to sleep through the night or not put the computer charger in his mouth or, for gosh sakes, to stop eating leaves. He gets so many comments from strangers about his big blue eyes. "Oh, he's going to be trouble!" they say. "Heartbreaker!" they say. Nah... he's gonna be handsome and kind, like his daddy.

But those eyes. Sometimes he looks at me and I think, "This kid knows me better than I know myself." He's deep, I tell ya. I imagine him in the future, carrying wisdom and understanding in a special way. Can't wait to see what he becomes.

I don't like to think about him being grown up. I know it will come way too soon. :)

Redding
And then we moved to Redding. It's been a good season for us as a family. JM has been busy running sound, working with the Worship Room and interning with the Bethel broadcast studio. We've enjoyed the more "normal" schedule, much different than the last few years we spent traveling.

I stay home much of the time. We put Sam on a nap/bedtime schedule soon after we moved, so that has limited my involvement with the Bethel community a little bit. They don't schedule things around baby nap times in the church world. Or anywhere in the world, for that matter. ;) But I did recently pick up a devotional set in the Worship Room once a week, and that has been good for me.

I guess I spent most of 2012 doing absolutely nothing musically or worship related. That was unusual, but I was OK with it. With my devo set, I feel like I'm kind of starting over... practicing piano, building song repertoire slowly, one by one. I feel like a beginner all over again, but I don't mind it. It makes me feel like I have room to make mistakes. When I felt like I was supposed to have it all together and be an awesome worship leader, it paralyzed me many times. I couldn't move forward for fear of failure. That fear probably still needs to be dealt with for real... but I am grateful for non-pressure situation to reintroduce me to stage ministry/worship leading after my little break.

Second Anniversary Date
Texas Brisket + Texas Pit Sauce
Yesssssssss.

Friendships. As I said before, Sam's schedule limits me a little, so I haven't been able to take part in the Bethel community as much as JM has. JM and I have made a couple-friend, whom we love. The wife part of that couple and myself have hit it off, and I look forward to seeing how that friendship grows. I have to fight my homebody tendencies and actually make plans to do things... but when we do, we always have fun. I look forward to getting a little more involved (finding a homegroup/moms group of some sort) as Samuel's naptimes decrease. I'm pretty happy with a small number of friends, but I would like the number to increase beyond 2. :)

Spiritually... My life with God looks nothing like it used to. Sometimes I find Him in the day to day, and that is oh so sweet. I am comforted in knowing that I am not rejected by Him because of my spiritual inactivity, but that He is near me at every moment. But largely, I feel I could use an awakening of some sort. An awakening of my heart to love, desire, seek after Him as I used to. It will look different, for sure, with my mom-schedule. But to have the same desire in my heart for Him and all that He has; that would be good.

I guess that's all. And a few New Years Resolutions, for good measure:

• Get back in shape! Need cheap gym membership with child care...
• Learn to put things away immediately after I use them -- the key to keeping a clean house?
• Schedule an evening devotional time after Sam goes to sleep. I think if I just sat and talked to the Lord for a few focused minutes a day it would change everything. I've just been so unorganized with my time... no more!
• Read more Sandra Boynton.

That's it, y'all. Merry New Year!!!

-h-