Eight years

 Moving around the world has been an adventure!  One of our greatest adventures so far, but our first adventure was 8 years ago when we said "I do!"

Last month Jason and I celebrated 8 years of marriage.  I mentioned it briefly on Facebook, but I want to take a minute and really tell you what our last 8 years have been like...

When we stood at the alter on that cold October afternoon, I had NO CLUE what the future held. Jason had been applying to medical school so I knew, or thought I knew, where that path would lead, but I never imagined it would lead here.

Medical school was tough, on him, on me and our marriage. Those first few years of marriage  is when a couple really gets to know each other.  Our first few years were strained. Long days of class and long nights of studying led to lots of stress and fights. We lived separate lives for a while. After Gavin was born Jason was on rotations away from home.  Gavin and I saw him on weekends mostly. I also had post-partum depression. BUT we not only survived, we grew in our marriage.  We put God first in our lives and our marriage, and He blessed so much.  God gave us a GREAT church and AMAZING friends, who turned out to be more like family, who encouraged us and set godly examples of what marriage should be.

Upon graduation we moved from Tennessee to Florida.

Residency held promises of long hours and short weekends, both of which held true.  Eli was a great addition to our family in January 2012, but even the joy of a new baby could not bring Jason out of what we call "the dark place." He struggled to connect with Eli because they never saw one another. Jason was overloaded and couldn't see the light at the end. And I again struggled with post-partum depression. Let us not forget about all of Eli's kidney issues and  subsequent surgeries.  During all these trials we had no family around to help alleviate any stress; but again our God showed us how much He loved and cared for us. He led us to another incredible church with amazing people.
(Oh we also had yet another baby, Holden, you think we would have some self control :)

Once residency came to an end we packed up and moved around the world to Okinawa, Japan.
So here we are 8 years later; 4 moves, 3 states, 2 countries and 3 kids.  We have finally come to a place in our marriage where we can be married.  I have joked for years that if  added up all the time we actually spent together we have only been married about 3 years.

Eight years. Eight long but some how short years. I love Jason and respect him now more than I ever could have thought possible. I have and will continue to follow this man around the world.  I am ready for many more adventures!

Long time hiatus

So... Apparently I have only updated our family blog about once a year! OOPS!
Well a lot has happen since my last update in APRIL 2013, but even more exciting things are going to happen in the next couple of months.  With the new baby on the way and our move pending I am hoping to use this to keep you all updated.  Life is changing quickly and I am hoping to capture some of it here.  Stay tuned...

Life lessons

It has been almost a year since I updated the blog, but with Facebook and Twitter I haven't been out of touch.
I started this blog to keep our friends and family updated on our life, but today I am going a little off topic.

The last few months I have been wrestling with some big issues, and I would like to share my thoughts on them.
I have been attending a ladies Bible study on Tuesday mornings and I have learned much from several of the speakers and their testimonies; but it has been in the quiet moments where God has really spoken to me.

One hot issue today is homosexuality, I have read several great blogs about loving and showing Christ's love to the LGBT community.  I agree whole-heartedly, but how do we show love to those outside our church walls when we can't show love to those inside.
Here is the issue that God laid on my heart; as a Christian woman do I extend that love and mercy to my sisters in Christ?
I am a hot mess!  I will be the first to admit that.  I work hard at being a Christian wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend, but I fail hard and often.  So why do I look through my broken and imperfect eyes to judge the wife, mother, sister... next to me?  So many days it is only by God's grace that I made it through the day.
We should be encouraging one another and helping to bear each other's burdens.  Too often we are too busy gossiping to hear a real need.   If I am gossiping, don't listen, tell me in love, to stop.  If I am speaking harshly or judging someone, remind me in love, that is not right.  If I have a bad attitude, tell me in love, to check it.  If we sit idly by listening while we tear each other down we will be left with wounded women who are worse off for having known us.

Recently a friend of mine made a cake.  It stuck to the pan, it broke in half, and crumbled to pieces.  She managed to put it back together and cover it with icing.  Once the cake was iced it was beautiful, you would have never known how broken and fragile the inside was.  We are like the cake.  We are broken, stuck in circumstances we can't get out of and crumbling beneath the stress of life, but we put on a happy face so no one knows.  We don't want see judging eyes or hear harsh words.

Ephesians 4:31-32

 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

You are a hot mess!  I am a hot mess! Lets get over ourselves and lets be godly women who encourage, build up and strengthen one another.

Busy week ahead

It's been awhile since I have updated on the kiddos, here is just a snippet of what has been going on, (I will have a complete update later.)
Here is next weeks schedule:
Monday- Eli has physical therapy
Tuesday- Gavin's pre-operation appointment
Thursday- Gavin's Surgery
Friday- Gavin's post-operation appointment.

At Eli's 2 month check up the pediatrician diagnosed him with Congenital Torticollis,you can click the link to learn more,  but basically Eli only looks right.  Nothing that a little physical therapy wont fix.

Now Gavin.
Gavin  has what we lovingly call a creepy eye; the medical term would be Left Fourth Nerve Palsy.  One of the muscles in his eye is not working like it should so the stronger muscle pulls it out of place causing double vision and trouble seeing. The procedure is out patient, and should take 30-60 minutes but he should be good as new in a day or two.

This is one of those times where I REALLY wish we had our Nan Na and Grammy around to help,  BUT we will survive.  An awesome friend has not only offered to keep Eli, but to keep him overnight if we need.  Jason will have Friday off so we will both be home to pamper Gavin.

I am very thankful that aside from a few minor issues my boys are happy and healthy.  There are much worse things then a stiff neck and creepy eye.

Here are pictures just so this blog isn't completely boring.

Disney!

We Love Disney!  This wasn't always the case for me.  A year ago I was very resistant when Jason told me he wanted to take me (Gavin wasn't going with us) to Disney for a week to celebrate his med school graduation.  We went and had a wonderful time.  I "liked" Disney I didn't "love" it.
When we moved to Disney we purchased season passes and have been several times... each time we go I like it more and more. Now, I love it!  I love it not only because deep down I am still a little kid but I love it because of how much Gavin loves it.  Seeing his face light up makes me so happy.  This is our most recent visit

Gavin strapped to Sid's Rocket

Waiting in line to meet Buzz and Woody

All four of us with Buzz and Woody

Saying bye to Woody

Bye to Buzz

Ka-Chow! Lighting McQueen (The roar of his engine scared Gavin)

ps I also love Disney for the food!  

Wordless Wednesday - My Boys!

Welcome Eli Kimble

I can't believe it has been 2 weeks since we welcomed Eli to the world.  Here is Eli's story:
I was having contractions or about a week and finally on Thursday January 26th Jason told me to go to the hospital and be checked.  When they checked me I was about 3 1/2 cm and 50% effaced.  So they told me to "go walking"  and come back in about 2 hours to be checked.  I was so mad!  I had been having contractions off and on for a week and was really ready to get Eli OUT!
(Oh and FYI "go walking" is code for just go do something to get your mind off your pain.  It does absolutely nothing!  it DOESN'T increase labor or make you progress)
So I went home and cleaned.  I swept and mopped the floor, re-arranged the garage and made lunch.  I was not going to go back b/c I just felt stupid.  Going up and being told I wasn't in labor was embarrassing to me, but Jason made me go back.  And it turns out I had dilated another cm and was 75% effaced, but since I wasn't 38 weeks yet and water had not broken she couldn't admit me so they send me "walking" AGAIN!
We dropped Gavin off at a friends house went back and finally got admitted. I was finally 6 cm and in full active labor!
I got the drugs! I labored pain free for 7 more hours.  At 6:00 am I did one practice push then it was time. I started pushing at 6:06, pushed twice and Eli was born at 6:07.

8 lb 11.5 oz  21 inches long 

Perfect in every way!

Dinner time Discipline

Discipline is nothing new in our house, Jason and I began talking about it even before Gavin was born.  We wanted to have some rules, boundaries and consequences set in place so when it came time the two of us would be in complete agreement about the proper action.  HA!   We do agree on consistency first and foremost;  we both think spanking, (Gasp!) yes, spanking is appropriate for certain things but not for others.  The last thing we are in agreement about is, discipline needs to be consistent however the method is always evolving.

All of this came up the other night during dinner... let me give you the back story first. You see I have created a MONSTER! When Gavin was a little guy just beginning to eat table food(while Jason was in Medical school) , I fed him the same dinner that Jason and I were eating.  Then things changed, to be specific, Jason's schedule changed.  Dinner was no longer a family meal.  I would feed Gavin something simple, easy and usually uninspired (I ate junk usually.)  So add my lack of cooking to lots of traveling, living with family for six weeks, moving  and Jason's crazy intern schedule and you get one tired momma and a suddenly picky eater.  I have been making two dinners and just giving him what I knew he would eat not necessarily what he needed to eat.

Now, dinner the other night.  I made turkey spaghetti (which at one point Gavin loved!) Gavin knows what he wants and what he doesn't want, and he didn't want turkey spaghetti. We have been having a battle at dinner for a while, usually I cave and give him what he wants, chicken nuggets, fruit, mac and cheese. Well not any more.

Jason and I threatened everything from spanking and no playing with daddy to going to bed early.  He ate a couple of bites in response to those threats but it wasn't much, it took over 20 minutes for 3 bites.  Finally it dawned on me... what is the one thing this kids LOVES?  CHOCOLATE!  All I had to do was put a piece of chocolate in front of him and tell him he had to eat in order to get the chocolate.  That did the trick!  He ate the next bites fast and without hesitation. Voila, Bribery! (Although, I am pretty sure the proper name would be positive reinforcement.)

We use positive reinforcement all the time in other cases... cleaning his room, picking up toys, following directions...I guess it just never occurred to me to use it for dinner time too.  We will continue to use positive reinforcement at dinner until it no longer works, and we are forced to change our method yet again.

The lessons learned:
    1. Disobedience requires one form of discipline while not eating requires another.
    2. Discipline changes and grow same as the child.

Gavin's Birthday Party

For Gavin's first birthday we went all out. This year was a little more low key. On his actual birthday we took Gavin to Chick-Fil-A and just had cake here at the house. We continued the celebration today when Derek, Jason's bother came to town.  We went to Chuck E Cheese and had a BLAST!

Me and G

The boys racing

Loves the Carousel no matter how small

Redeeming the tickets he earned, he had 100

His Prize! (Not really sure what it is)

Our Family photo

Happy Birthday Gavin!

Two years have come and gone very quickly.  My little man is growing right before my eyes.

It is amazing how one person can change your life so much.  He is so amazing in every way.

His two year update:

Vocabulary~  The number of words he uses has increased tremendously.  He is starting to repeat words he hears and is really trying to name things he sees.  His favorite word is still mommy :)

He is still learning his manners but he is now speaking "please" and "thank you" rather than just signing.  

Motor skills~ His motor skills are great.  He loves working puzzles, building with blocks, using tools (his or ours) to help build things.  He can put his pants on, buckle his belt, and put his slip-on shoes on all by himself.  

Hobbies/activities~ He loves to color with markers, crayons and chalk on his new chalk board.  Throwing balls is still on of his favorite activities and he throws with both hands.  He will drive cars around for hours. Since he received a train table for Christmas he has been really into trains.  He loves to clean, he sweeps, vacuums (this he didn't not get from me), and puts his clothes in the hamper.  He throws is own trash away and will clean up a spill without being asked.   He sings along to songs and sings to himself while he plays. 

Diet~ Gavin is still rather picky about what he eats but he is now at point where I can reason with him to at least try new food.  

There is so much more that he does but I think it may only be impressive to me.  

Christmas 2011

Christmas this year was very different than any other year.  We were unable to go North for Christmas so we spent it in warm sunny Florida.  Joan, Bob, (Jason's parents), and Derek came here to celebrate with us.
This was the first year that I did not get to see any of my family.  Not going to lie, I cried.  I cried on Christmas Eve. I cried on Christmas Day.  Don't get me wrong it was a great weekend, there was just something that was missing, without my family.

On Christmas Eve Jason did yard.... somehow that doesn't seem "normal."  Christmas Eve is supposed to be filled with last minute wrapping and cookie baking.
Aside from all the stuff that didn't happen or the people I didn't see, I had a great Chritmas with my boys and my in-laws.

Christmas Eve we open one present each.  Joan got all of matching Pjs for us to wear on Christmas morning.

Me and all my boys!

Yep, we have on matching pjs for Christmas Morning.

After our family photos we opened stockings, then had breakfast.  Homemade Cinnamon Rolls.

Gavin was peaking to see if the cinnamon rolls were done

That is the face that made Christmas wonderful

Play Group

Gavin and I have made some great new friends here in Jacksonville.  Every Friday we get together with the Little Acorns for a play date. It is great since they are all in the same situation as we are in.  The play group is an extension of the Oak Leaf club.  The Oak Leaf club is the family support group for the military physicians.

Friday the play group met at the local fire station for a tour.  Gavin LOVED the trucks.

Wearing his Fire Hat

The whole Gang

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving seems so long ago even though it was just last week.

We had no family to spend it with but God has given us some amazing new friends to celebrate with.

 Jason works with an amazing group of Interns/residents, and most of them are in the same boat as us.  We celebrated with 4 other lovely families, the Hray's, the Pierson's, the soon to been Dr. and Mrs. Gossert, and the Daab's, who graciously opened their home to all of us.  The food was delicious and the fellowship was just what we all needed. For a few of us it was a our first Thanksgiving without family, that didn't stop us from having a great time.

Gavin had a great time playing, although I am pretty sure the only thing he ate for dinner was peanut butter fudge.  :)

Many pictures were taken that day, just not by me, I only have a few to share hopefully I can get copies of the others

Here are the only ones I have.
Me and G rolling out our dough for the desserts

The ladies: (Form left to right) Beth, Cristy, Laura, Me, and Bonnie

It was  a great time. 

November Update

November came and went in the blink of an eye.  It is all a blur.  I will try to remember some of the highlights.
We spent one weekend in Orlando visiting Derek, Jason's brother.  While we were there we stopped by Animal Kingdom for the Safari ride to see some animals up close.

After Animal Kingdom we headed over to Epcot for some delicious food (no wine :)  

And the best part of the trip.  DATE NIGHT!  Jason and I actually got to go on a date courtesy of Derek, who watched Gavin for us.  The last date night we had was in July.  We were long over due. We did nothing fancy just dinner and dessert but it was great to just talk and be alone together.

Once we got back home I finally put Gavin's play set back together.  He received it last year as a Christmas gift from Jason's mom and dad.  We took it down when we put the TN house on the market.  Now that we are finally settled and completely unpacked I was able to put it back up. Gavin loves it and plays on it everyday.  It makes my days much easier.

Update on Gavin:

He is FINALLY talking-ish.  He is speaking some words very clearly,and is now making an effort to repeat words that he hears.  He tries so hard to tell me stories but I still only understand about a tenth of what he is saying.   

• The words he has learned (or now speaks clearly)  this month: Bubbles, up, down, off, on, out, max, bye, turtle, dog, peanut butter, bath, spoon, water, juice, cheese, cereal, more and birdy
• He knows all is body parts. 
• He is still learning animals and their sounds, there are just so many.
• He is now starting to dress and undress himself with limited help. 
• He does a great job picking up after himself. 
• Food:  He is still very picky except with cereal, he will eat any cereal 
• Still getting the hang manners, he says "please" or "thank you" not both, it is a work in progress.  

Gavin is very independent gets out food when he is hungry, puts his clothes in the hamper, wants to do it all by himself.

Halloween Pics

Gavin was so excited he wouldn't stand still long enough for the picture

Helping me pass out candy 

He was done wearing his costume I caught him twice trying to take it off

Dad finally made it home now time to Trick-or-treat

Away they go.  They made it to four houses!