"Get the timer!"

Here's a little dialogue that took place between Jovey and her daddy recently:

Daddy: Jovey, please listen, or you will have to go to time out!
Jovey: I don't wanna listen, Daddaaayy!
Daddy: OK, to time out you go. Sit right there until I tell you to get up.
Jovey: Sighhhh. . .Get the timer, Daddy!

I'm thinking she knows all about the timeout thing, huh?

Just the right words

There are certain days when your children, no matter how wonderful or how cute, just tend
to. . .wear on every last nerve you possess. I had a day like that the other day, mostly due to lack of sleep, where everything was exaggerated and just not tolerated well by Jovey or myself.

So, to redeem herself, or so it seemed, Jovey decided to come up with 2 of the sweetest phrases, besides, "I love you, mommy." As we were sitting together, me still getting my emotions and thoughts together from the day before, Jovey says ever so sweetly, "Mommy, you're my friend" as she patted my leg. Of course, I melted and wanted to take back any inpatience or bad thoughts I had had of my beautiful, innocent little girl! Then, later, as I was begging her for a nap, and singing all the songs I could think of to calm her, even in her refusal to nap, she says, "Mommy, you're a great singer!" She grinned so large, knowing that was a good thing to say, and of course, I hugged her with all my might, needing to hear a compliment right then more than ever.

How can you deny such sweet sentiment from such big, wide eyes? I just know that someday, those phrases will come fewer and far between, so I cherish them now. . .even if she is learning to use them to make up for her earlier indescretions! :-)

Growing Pains

I have always dealt with my little girl's growing up with such grace and very little emotion. She walked early, ate by herself early, talks constantly, and through it all, I have thought it was just normal for her, so no big deal. However, last night, I had my first major mommy moment, tears and all, as my baby girl fast made a decision to let go of yet another baby need.

A couple of nights ago, Jovey had a horrible bout with a night terror. She had experienced nightmares here and there, but could usually calm herself. This particular incident, there was no calming down, and we did what we said we would never do after an hour of her all but making her self sick from crying. . .put her into bed with us, where she finally calmed down, laying there motionless and wide awake for 30 minutes. Poor baby!

Last night, as we attempted to try her crib again, she broke down and started majorly crying saying, "I can't sleep in my bed. It hurt me." We don't know what that was all about, but we knew we didn't want to do the family bed thing again, and we needed to figure out how to get her comfortable in her own space again. We offered her the big girl toddler bed that we had planned to introduce after the new year, as our new baby would need our crib. Excitedly, she said yes, and her whole dimeanor changed from panic-stricken to elated! We laid her down with a pillow and a clean blanket, and she slept beautifully through the night, with not even one attempt to get out and run around, my biggest fear.

My baby is becoming a big girl, which we have been encouraging lately, as we prepare our house and all it's occupants for a new baby, but when it happens with little warning, it sure can be awfully real! We thank God for our healthy, independent big girl, but mommy will always somewhat miss that baby, helpless, "I can only do it with your help" attitude.

'Til we meet again. . .

Jovey, as I have written before, has quite the vocabulary. In fact, she carries on a conversation better than some of my little kindergarteners back when I was receiving monetary compensation for my work as a teacher. :-) Lately, she has learned to use yet another word in context. While riding in the car the other day with Joshua and I, she says from the back seat, (words quoted directly), "Mommy, will you hold my water 'til I can get my shoe on, please?" Joshua looked at me as if to say, "what did she say?" We asked her to repeat it and of course, she repeated the same exact sentence. Laughing the whole time, I held her water. How could I deny such a well thought out and spoken request? Tonight, she used the word again. This time, she said, "Will you hold my colors (crayons in Jovey language) 'til I get my coloring book?" I am always amazed with how even young kiddos pick up those little words in our language and truly use them as their own with such ease and understanding. Just one question, "Can someone slow my daughter's learning down 'til I can catch up with her?" :-)

Baby Names

When asking Jovey if she would like for mommy to have a boy baby or a girl baby, she always replies, "a boy baby, mommy!" Then, the next question, "What should we name, or call the baby boy?" Usually, it's just baby, but tonight, while in the bathtub, Jovey replied, "ummm. . .Daddy's Boy!" Now that is something we hadn't considered!

I think. . .

Another Thanksgiving has passed and I can't help but just sit and meditate on people that have been such gifts and blessings from God in my life:

-I think of my daughter, Jovey, and her birthday on Tuesday, on which she will turn 2 years old! Where did the years go? The moments, the experiences, the learning, it passes by so quickly, and I praise God I am here to bear witness to each new event unfolds before her.

-I think of my husband, and how far we have come in almost 5 years of marriage. He's been in ministry, been in bank work, and is now back in full time ministry. He goes to school full time and manages to steal time for all of his work, plus set aside special time for us, his family! What a great guy God has given us to call husband and daddy!

-I think of my wonderful family and friends, who without, I would be lost and floundering around for sanity and sound advice. I have bent friends' ears so many times, especially about this "mommy" stuff, and my family, both blood and in-laws, have come through countless times on this journey of becoming and settling into adulthood.

What wonderful people God has placed in my life to walk alongside and help guide me through the wonderful as well as not-so-wonderful times. And, yes, God has blessed our family once again with a little one that we expect to see at the first of June. We pray for health now, and then, as we welcome this new addition and look forward to the future of our fun family of 4, sibling squabbles and all! I could feel no more complete than when I think of all the many wonderful things I have for which to be thankful. I could write a novel on how God has provided over the years, but trust me when I say that He has never let us down and has always come through when we need him most, whether it is a smile from our baby, a hug from my spouse, a call from a friend, or the presence of my parents.

Thanks, God, for being so good, even when I am not!

". . .Next time won't you sing with me?"

So Jovey's newest feat is to sing her ABC's. . .constantly! If we even mention those three letters together, she sings them without fail, loud and proud. She has been singing a lot lately, including "God is so Good," "Jesus Loves Me" and of course, "ABC's." She is also a big fan of any and every theme song to every children's show she watches, especially, "It's a Big, Big World!" We don't mind hearing these songs over and over again. It just serves as little reminders of how the house feels so much more like home with the sounds of Jovey's constant chattering and singing!

Marvelous Mommy

Apparently, I have graduated in Jovey's eyes to a level reserved for an elite group of people in this world. . .superhero! Starting about a week ago, Jovey decided that when she is in a nursery or in anyone else's care, even for 5 minutes, no one can take care of her basic needs (diaper changes, putting shoes on/off, getting her a drink, etc.), but mommy! She always gives the same reply in regard to any of these situations, which goes like this. . ."No. My mommy will do it! Later!" Sometimes, it's a sweet retort, but other times, it is said among whimpers and whines as someone takes care of her less than clean diaper for their sake and for hers! I must admit, it is super cute and makes a mom feel pretty good to think that no one else can do things for her, especially when I love to do things with and for her, but alas, I am dispensable in those small ways and it is a bit of a challenge to express that other people can and need to clean her and take care of her when mommy can't be there! For now, I will cherish that phrase, because all too soon, she will be 13 years old saying, "Gosh, my mom knows nothing!"

Savoring Sixlets

Having finished a trip of trick-or-treating at the zoo, Jovey wanted to hold her bag of candy in the back seat. That sounded innocent enough, and for sure, she couldn't break into the candy in the complete dark with little mobility, due to her car seat restraints. While driving along, we hear a sneaky, yet loud little girl exclaim ". . .mmmm. . .the green one is good!!!!" We looked at each other confused, then glanced toward the backseat where sure enough, Jovey was enjoying a green sixlet from a package she had sneakily opened during our return trip home. Now, we know that she was being sneaky, because there was complete quiet before the exclamation (as a friend of mine has said, never a good sign), but in her childish enthusiasm, she could express her pleasure no other way but to share it out loud with the rest of the car, therefore blowing her cover. We smiled, trying not to laugh too hard, and took the candy away, afraid she would choke on a gumball next. Oh, to be so excited over something as simple as a piece of candy again!

I Love You God, Amen!!!

Joshua and I have been trying to help Jovey learn to pray her whole life, praying out loud with her different times during the day, but especially at bedtime. We have been praying "call and response" prayers with her since she could communicate using words, evn though she still couldn't formulate the words or even know what they meant on her own, until tonight!

Tonight, as I rocked with Jovey and sang the old stand-bys, "God is So Good" and "Everybody ought to know who Jesus Is," I told her it was time to talk to God. I started my usual call, "Dear God," and she responded by rote. Then, we got to the first section of our prayers, thanksgiving. I started with "Thank you for Mommy and Daddy and Jovey," to which she responded, "and my Yellow school bus (yes, still quite an obsession as this blog progresses, especially since her favorite friend, Parker, has lent his to her for a while)." Taken aback, I took a different turn from my caller role and asked her what else she wanted to thank God for to which she replied, "for my Parker, my Lillie, my Nicole, and my Trebis (really Trevis, but hey, she's only 23 months old!)" We continued the prayer as usual, with Jovey finishing with her most animated phrase, "I wuv wu God, AAAAMMEENN!" She closed her nightly routine by saying, "I wanna go to Gigi's (what she calls herself, to my bewilderment) bed, momma, you sit?" I then placed her in her crib and stood outside her bedroom door until she settled.

Is it true? Is she starting to grasp the concepts of thankfulness, knowing that there is so much to love about who God is and what He has given us, even at this young age? OK, Maybe not totally, but what an awesome beginning! Wow, I know that it may have been a one time deal of lifting what she loves up in prayer without being prompted, but oh, what a sweet look right into the face of God and who he creates us to be: thankful, loving creatures that desire to recognize and acknowledge with sincere innocence and gratitude all of the blessings in our lives. . .even yellow school buses!

Thanks for all the gentle reminders, through the beautiful eyes of my daughter, that You are so awesome, that You are so in control of everything and that you are so good to me! I love You God, AAAAMMEEENNN!!!

Busy Mouth. . . Busy Ears

So Jovey is becoming more and more verbal by the second. She is learning to put words together and make sentences that really make sense, which is scary for us, but helpful in understanding what she needs or wants. The questions have now begun, the two top ones being, "How are you, Mommy?" The next one that is always exciting is, "What are you doing, Mommy?" Not bad, but heard about 100 times over the course of a day can be a bit tiring! Of course, it is not half as funny reading it as it is hearing it with her little girl voice and very dramatic inflection.

Joshua thought he had his hands full with my constant babble, but now, there are 2 women in the house and I have a feeling that his ears will be very tired at the end of the day from now on!

Buses and Tunnels and God. . .

While we were driving down to Myrtle Beach for a much needed family vacation in the sun, Jovey decided that she was the official bacl seat announcer for our trip. So, she was then, by default, also the school bus spotter for our area of the highway. If you have read my other blog entry regarding "Yellow School Buses," this makes a bit more sense in her small obsession with the large mode of transportation. Both days of the trip were speckled with her yells from the back seat, "I see a yellow school bus, mommy!!!!" Of course, the next phrase out of her mouth was, "I wanna see 'nother yellow school bus, daddy!" It's amazing how much more colorful a car trip can be with an almost 2 year old yelling out random comments the bulk of the trip.

That being said, we got an opportunity to drive through the mountains of TN and NC on the way to and from the beach. On the way there, we knew we would go through 2 tunnels, of which we let Jovey know about before hand and then commenced in holding up our hands, screaming and beeping the horns like mad people! Of course, Jovey said, "I wanna 'nother tunnel, daddy!" We went through the last one and just went on with our car ride. Last night, we were going through the same mountains coming home, and didn't even think about the tunnel that would be ahead about 30 minutes, as it was getting late and the car ride had already been mega tiring. Before any signs for the tunnel even came into sight, Jovey said from the back seat, "I wanna go through a tunnel, mommy!" Joshua and I looked at each other in amazement, thinking how she could have remembered that 8 days ago, we had gone through 2 tunnels on the very same road.

I still don't know how she knew anything about a tunnel, but we do know that we will never underestimate the impact that one small thing like a moutain tunnel can have on a toddler. If she remembers those details, we are confident that she hears God whisper through Sunday School songs, Bible stories, and her simple prayers to God each day. We pray that she will take a hold of each word she hears from Him each day and store them in her head and her heart so that when the day comes, she can have the precious relationship that Christians are so privileged to have with their Father.

Mommy's Pretzels

Joshua, Jovey, and I were looking at some pics of our vacation to Myrtle Beach last September in the excitement of our upcoming vacation there again this Saturday. Joshua looked at a pic of Jovey and me and said, "Look at all of mommy's cute freckles!" Jovey replied by saying, "Yes, Look at Mommy's cute pretzels!" You say tomato, Jovey says tomahto! :-)

Riding Alligators

My best friend, Nicole, and I were meeting up this morning at Southeast Christian to take a Mom's Bible Study together. As we tried to keep our kiddos occupied before major action started, we decided they would enjoy climbing the steps and riding the elevators down again. Jovey was more than pumped at the idea, running toward the doors of the elevator, yelling, "I ride the alligators, mommy!" Maybe a bit more adventurous than we had in mind, but hey, whatever keeps her happy! :-)

And So It Goes. . .

That you really don't have a clue as to how God's hand moves through your life, but when you recognize it in big ways, it makes you appreciate the small things all the more. Today, God moved and we were able to say we were firsthand spectators in the miracles he can claim each and every moment that we breathe as humans on this earth!

Today, as we were ironically leaving a hospital having visited friends who had just delivered a beautiful baby girl yesterday morning, Joshua, Jovey and I were playing the game of "1-2-3- JUMP!" with Jovey. Joshua was on one side holding one hand, and I was on the other. After the 2nd "JUMP," we knew something was wrong, as she whimpered and kinda tugged at her arm, saying, "hurt, momma, hurt!" Jovey rarely cries about anything hurting, as she is tough as nails, but we knew she must have been tugged too hard, and maybe pulled a muscle, or maybe worse.

Going home, her right arm laid limp in her carseat, and she tried to fall asleep, but was awakened numerous times to what she felt as pain in her elbow. We got her home, and she again favored her arm, unable to move it without wincing and crying in obvious pain. We quickly loaded her back up, took her to the kids section of Suburban hospital emergency room, and we, and other very close friends, prayed and just tried to keep her mind on anything but her poor, hurt arm. Joshua and I were beside ourselves, but remained as calm as possible for Jovey's sake.

We were seen very shortly after arriving, and when the door opened to reveal the pediatrician on call, we were so relieved and blessed to see the man who had seen Jovey in the hospital and had been her former pediatrician, whom we loved very much. He remembered Jovey and as always, addressed her as a person and manipulated her little arm through her brave tears, and shortly after he left the room so that she could calm down and we could test to see if she would reach for toys with her injured arm, she reached up with her right arm, bent it, and wiped the tears from her eyes, a feat that had not been able to be accomplished in over an hour. It was the most peaceful and joyous moment I think I have ever felt to date as a parent, other than that very first cry she let out on that early Sunday morning on November 28, 2004! She then reached for her baby and started talking as normal as you please, even pushing herself to a sitting position with her injured arm. She had experienced what Dr. Grille termed as Nurse Maiden's Elbow, where the ligament detaches from the elbow, therefore making it painful and impossible to move the arm where it normally should bend at the joint. His simple manipulation reattached it to the proper place, and she experienced immediate relief and was ready to pick out her favorite color sucker, yellow, and enjoy it on the way home in her right hand, as if nothing had happened. It is a common thing to happen in children under 5, and he said it could or may never happen again. A child had just been in on Monday for his 3rd case of it, so the Dr. taught the parents how to take care of popping it back into place on their own if it should happen again, as to save them a trip to the er.

Jovey is as fine as she can be and barely remembers seeing the Dr. by now, I'm sure. How GREAT is our God and how wonderful when we truly recognize His work both in and through our lives as his children. How dare we take for granted his care and his provisions for our safety. He longs for us to be whole and comfortable, just as Joshua and I did for Jovey this afternoon. Seeing her in obvious pain, laying helpless where she is usually running around with wreckless abandon was horrible, but oh how wonderful to watch her experience relief and comfort once again. How happy God must be to see us the same way! Jovey is wonderfully healed and we are better and even more thankful followers because of it!

The Jovey number line

Just so everyone is aware, the new way of counting, according to Jovey as she covers her eyes to play hide and seek with her uncle Caleb is, "one, two, tree. . .sees, seben, eight, nine, sees, seben, eight, nine, sees. . ." We're working on getting it straight, but her way sure is more fun!
:-)

"Do This, Mommy!"

Jovey is not very interested in copying me, but more so in me copying her. Whenever it comes to anything, I always hear the phrase, "Do this, Mommy!" Tonight, as Joshua had his guitar out, strumming random chords, as he so often does ;-), Jovey decided to get up and dance. She told me, "Dance with me, Mommy." I guess that my dancing must have been amateur and old fashioned compared to her hip free style moves, so she said, "Do this, Mommy!" She held her hands up in the air, turned in circles, while nodding her head frantically. I guess that is the way the kids do it today! :-)

I have been trying to get over a horrible stomach virus the last few days. It came with a quiet entrance and has lingered with an evil vengeance. Thank goodness for my husband's flexible schedule (a pro of being a minister, even though the cons can be that he may be out at 2 am counseling with a suicidal teen), I have been able to be with my daughter, but not right in her face, as he has run interference and tried to keep her occupied outside the house. At times, I have been too nauseous to speak, or be spoken too, but nothing has made me too sick to receive my daughter's sweet words or actions.

Before she and Joshua have left the house to go over to the office for him to do some work, or have just left to get out of the germ infested building we call home, she has never hesitated, completely unprompted, to say the following things: "Bye, mommy. I see you later, mommy." Running to the couch, "I kiss your head, mommy!" Nothing has been sweeter in my moments of feelings of total sickness than hearing those words and feeling her sweet kisses on my head! Just one of the many moments I have to come of shedding tears over the wonderful things about my daughter. What a blessing it is to be a mom!

Jovey and I got an opportunity to go and help my mom and dad, mostly mom, do some organizing and throwing away of some stuff before they prepare to move in the future, due to their retirement. Jovey was a sweet granddaughter and kept them smiling the whole 3 days. As we met Joshua, my husband, at Frisch's so that he could pick me up instead of making the long drive to Maysville, she ate her meal very well and in the middle, put down her cheeseburger, put her hands beside her ears, straight up in the air, and said, "I a rabbit, mommy!" We all just sat there, since she had never done that before and to think what had gone through her mind to spark such a dramatic monologue, we had no clue. Whatever it was, it was super cute, I must say. Sometimes, I believe that God whispers in the ears of children, just as he does us, but either the message gets lost in translation or it goes in just like it should and achieves just what He wants, it makes us smile and appreciate the life that He gives us all.

So Jovey, my almost 2 year old daughter, learns at frightening speeds all that is around her. A couple of days ago, she stood at the front door of our home and ran excitedly to me saying, "Mommy, I see a yellow school bus!" I asked her to repeat the phrase, as I half believed I heard what I did. Sure enough, she repeated, "Mommy, I see a yellow school bus!" I just replied, "Really?" We had seen an episode of Mr. Rogers 2 days prior in which Trolley was dressed up as a yellow school bus, and thus, she saw the real thing and was ecstatic to make the connection. I continue to stand in awe of the creatures that God creates us to be. How amazing that even at such a young age, things begin to click. I pray that as she learns other things about this world, she will soak all that she can about God and his everlasting, unconditional love for her and others around her.