Renae leaves:(

July 31, 2014

As it is with the military, we met and fell in love with Renae and her kids not long before they were supposed to leave the island for good.  This lady is funny, sarcastic, witty, and real.  Her kids are helpful, charming, sweet, and awesome with Jackson, Max, and Thomas.  Renae is one of the first people to whom Thomas would go without a fuss.  She was even able to babysit a couple times and walk away from me with him in her arms.  That boy has good sense about people.

These were actually taken the day Renae and family were leaving, when I realized we had no pictures of the two of us or our kids together.  Capturing memories with these military family people is so important, since we really have no idea when we might see them again. 

We will miss you Renae, Ethan, Keira, (Brent, Andrew, and Brandon too).  You made our lives better for the short time we got to spend together and we will cherish those moments.

Final goodbyes at the airport

Thomas at 7 months

At 7 months Thomas: 

is still waking around 10:30 pm and 2 am to nurse, then sleeping till 6:30 or 7 am

likes his pacifier and can put it into his own mouth

gets up on all fours, rocks, but has not propelled himself forward quite yet

sits up pretty well, but still topples after a while

cannot sit himself up

rolls all around the room if he is playing on the floor

seems to be losing interest in his exersaucer.  I think he does not like being stuck in one place

has the biggest smile and best giggle

eating lots of different baby foods, although we need to try more green veggies

wants to eat whatever I have on my plate and boy can he get mad if you don't give him something

will eat stuff like guac, refried beans, fish, and hummus.  Jackson and Max NEVER did that!

sits in the Bumbo better than Jackson and Max ever did

likes to "swim" with mom in the pool

is taking baths in the big tub.  He doesn't fit in the baby tub anymore:(

for some reason, I love closed eye baby pictures like this one, lol.

Crazy boy, he can fit the whole paci in his mouth, literally, the whole thing

He is already out of the baby tub!!

Our friend Renae left recently.  She is one of the few people who Thomas took to.  

30 weeks!

7 months!  But someone knocked the blocks around:)

We learn how to play chess!

In a recent box from Grandma and Grandpa Clemens, there arrived a chess set.  It is pretty nifty, being a beginner set in which each piece is labeled with the name, which direction, and how many spaces the piece is allowed to move.  This makes it very easy for the Mama who had to learn how to play along with the kids!  

Daddy did most of the teaching and the boys were off!

Shaving in the shower:)

Our friends leaving the island gifted us their shaving set, with Mr. Bubbles shaving cream and two razors. I had to lend Mike's shaving mirror to the boys for their shave in the shower.  What is it about little boys and shaving like Daddy?  Jackson and Max LOVE it.  

Thanks Bobbitt family for the shower and shaving fun!!

Of course, the joy of the whole activity means he MUST put shaving cream anywhere it seems reasonable to shave.   

VBS

Jackson and Max attended VBS (Vacation Bible School) the week of July 21st-25th.  The theme was "Son Treasure Island" and they had a blast.  Their little friend Ethan was in Max's group, so I caught some pics of them together.  

Here they are dancing to the songs at the end of the last session.  VBS music is super fun and all about Jesus and the kids always have a blast learning it.  In the past, I have ordered the CDs from Amazon, but this year the chapel must have gotten some kind of deal to reproduce them, so we got the music to bring home with us.  We have listened to it so much I also have it memorized (and I like it as much as the kids!).  

They wore their swimsuits on the last day because they played with water balloons during their game time.  Jackson had a great week!!  He came home with some great art!!

Max doing "the moves"

Jackson loses another tooth!

The big hole looks neat at first, but every day after the lost tooth I look at him and remember again that he is growing up so fast.  He was excited to lose the tooth, of course.  

Up until the night of the tooth actually coming out, we had been wiggling and checking it every night.  Each time, I would give it a tug for him, but we didn't want losing the tooth to be a bad or scary experience, so I did not pull with all my might.  Then one night, I had told the boys to get naked for a shower.  They were naked and waiting for me upstairs and of course, we hear them horsing around.  Next thing we know, there is hootin' and hollerin' and here they come, Jackson holding his tooth and Max, dancing around like a little elf.  Jackson was shouting, "Max knocked out my tooth with his body!!!"  Still no idea which body part knocked out the tooth, but it sure was exciting!  The tooth fairy brought $3, which Jackson got up to find in the middle of the night and put in his piggy bank.  No sharing with Max this time around!

The one next to it is also very loose, so we are now just waiting for that one to come out.

Serving with friends

God has orchestrated an amazing group of ladies that I meet with every week for Bible study.  One of the ladies, who had been in a similar group study before, suggested we do a service project together each time our study came to a close.  

We all threw ideas out there and we will probably rotate through them.  This time, we were able to go to a local homeless shelter/living space and serve dinner for the people who live there.  Yes, live there.  

The setting is a huge warehouse, basically sectioned off into 100+ cubicles.  The residents have to apply to live there and they have 2 years to move on.  There were quite a few little ones there.  I did not want to take pictures of the setting, as I felt it would be intrusive and probably uncomfortable for the residents.  

We basically planned a meal that would serve 150 people.  Ziti pasta in red sauce with meatballs, salad, cookies for desert.  We also had fruit and granola bars, which they could have for that night, breakfast the next day, or whenever.  We went around to the back of the warehouse, to the open garage door and set up right inside, basically a bunch of folding tables in a line.  We brought paper products and drink mix as well.  

It was an honor to serve along side these women (and one hubby) and to serve these people.  They were all so kind to us and were so happy we brought pasta.  Apparently, they get a lot of chicken and rice!