Este es el día en que Dios ha hecho!

* The following post was written on 8/22 in anticipation of our trip to Guatemala *
For updates on our trip, click HERE

It's Sunday, and I ask that as we worship alongside our new friends in Guatemala, you lift up our church family at Calvary this morning. Please pray blessings over them as they have been incredibly supportive in prayer and encouragement. They are our family in Christ, and I love the way they love the Lord and how they disciple me in my relationship with Him!

Please pray that if they choose to bring Drew to church today, my in-laws would experience an easy transition when dropping him off in his class (hmmm... Lord perhaps it would be better if they stayed home?!?!). Seriously, though.

Please pray blessings for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law who might watch Drew today if my in-laws head back home. That they will just have as much fun together as they ALWAYS do!

Sábado

* The following post was written on 8/22 in anticipation of our trip to Guatemala *
For updates on our trip, click HERE

I thank God today for the people He has prompted to visit this entry and pray for these specific things. You are a blessing to me!

Today, I ask for you to keep my brother and his WIFE in your prayers! Pray that their wedding ceremony will be a sweet, sweet time. That the weather will be beautiful, that my new SISTER will just enjoy this day with little to no anxiety. That she'll have a wonderful hair day! That all the details they've planned from afar will come together and be even better than they imagined.

Please pray that Drew and his grandparents have slept well over the past few days. That they'll just enjoy a nice, relaxing Saturday. Please pray for their safety and health, as my in-laws will be preparing to travel back to their home tomorrow or Monday.

Día Dos

* The following post was written on 8/22 in anticipation of our trip to Guatemala *
For updates on our trip, click HERE

Today, please pray for Drew's grandparents as they take him to Preschool Orientation. My prayer is that Drew will not be anxious during this open-house, that he will have a positive experience when he meets his teacher for the first time, and that he will be excited to show off his new school to his Baba and Diado (that's Bulgarian for Grandma and Grandpa, by the way).

Also, please pray for my brother (the groom-to-be), his fiance (the bride-to-be), both sets of parents, and several other friends and relatives who will be traveling to Jamaica today for my brother's wedding. Pray for the weather, the flights, the logistics to all be orchestrated by God's perfect timing and provision.

Estamos en dirección a Guatemala

*For the next several days, I'll be featuring posts that have been written ahead of time, as we will be in Guatemala*

Today, my hubby and I leave for Guatemala with a team of thirteen other members of our precious small group from church. We will be working with an orphanage outside of Guatemala City, assisting them with a few construction projects, and mostly just loving on some kids.

And while I am incredibly excited about what God has in store for us, I am sending out a plea for prayers during this trip!

Today, please pray that Drew is excited and at peace with his grandparents when we leave. Pray that their first day together is filled with fun memories, and that he has an obedient and happy nature.

Please lift up my in-laws, praying that they feel rested and well and comfortable in our home. Pray that their time with Drew is filled with blessings. And pray that the air hockey table at McDonalds is working (one of my son's favorite activities with his Baba)!

While this blog will be written beforehand, please visit us HERE for current updates during our trip.

Going to Guatemala!

We've been on a countdown around here. In just a few hours, my hubby and I leave for Guatemala. Drew's been on the countdown because, while we're gone, he gets to stay with his Baba and Diado, then with his aunt and uncle, then with his Grandma and Grandpa. The kid is EXCITED!

And, truth be told, the hubby and I are excited, too! We've never done a trip like this together, and we're humbled by the opportunity God has given us to be a part of what He's doing at an orphanage near Guatemala City.

I have written and scheduled blog posts to publish each day while we're gone. It's hard for me to leave my boy behind, but easier when I know that you may just take a moment to pray for him in specifics ways while we're gone.

And I would love to return the favor. Please let me know how we can pray for your family, for your children, etc.

And please visit our Guatemala blog for updates!

Word of the Week 6

I'm somewhat reluctant to give you this week's word. Mainly, because it's definition is pretty unsavory. My secondary reason is because, when I explain it's meaning next week, I will have to go to a place in my history that I don't enjoy revisiting.

My inspiration for this word choice came from a dear friend's beautifully-crafted blog entry this week. As I read, I stumbled upon a variation of the word HYPEREMESIS.

I couldn't be more sincere when I say that I hope NO ONE ELSE in the world is as intimately acquainted with it's meaning as she has been (or as I, to a smaller degree have been).

So, that's the Word of the Week - HYPEREMESIS.

Last week's W.O.W was LUGUBRIOUS (also inspired by aforementioned friend - it's good to have smart teacher girlfriends).

Definition (straight from dictionary.com): mournful, dismal, or gloomy, esp. in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner.

As Tropical Storm Fay casts her lugubrious shadow over our state for the fourth day, I am surprised by my son's comprehension of the weather. Although we haven't talked with him much at all about it, we have had the TV on in the background throughout the multiple days of weather updates. As the latest update was being broadcast last night, my son studied the screen for a moment, then asked,
"Is Fay still here?"
Well, yes honey. It sure is.
"That sure is a big under-storm."

His observation wasn't incredibly insightful, but it did remind me of how strong and significant the influence of television is in our home. With my hubby's love for all things politics, I guess I won't be surprised when Drew asks my opinion about the current conflict in Georgia or my take on the upcoming election.

And while I LOVE my television time, I find it harder and harder to reconcile the time I choose (or allow Drew) to spend in front of the big screen with a verse that keeps coming to my mind today:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.(Philippians 4:8)

Go Fish!

Go Fish! is one of my favorite rock bands. If you haven't heard of them, you need to check out their songs. Some of my favorites include:
Jammies
The Mom Song
The Bible Book Bop
and Hit the Drum

Perhaps you've guessed by now that Go Fish! is geared toward the younger set... as in little kids. Their website boasts "Great Music for Kids that Won't Drive Their Parents Bonkers", and I have to admit that I seriously GET DOWN to their tunes.

Currently, the Jammies song is our number one favorite. We have been singing it every night as Drew gets out of the tub and stands on the sink to brush his teeth. The lyrics of the song help us through the routine (Wash your face... brush your teeth... say your prayers.... then go to sleep!).

So, tonight we're jammin' with the Jammie song in the bathroom, having a picture-perfect little moment. Then, perhaps inspired by the band who penned our favorite tune, my son decides to dump the entire container of fish food all over his bathroom sink in a dramatic finale to our concert.

I will not even begin to tell you how many fish flakes come in one container....

or how easily they get blown around by the slightest breath or movement in their general direction....

or how well they cling to freshly bathed, damp toddler skin....

or how once they get wet, you can't really wipe them up with a washcloth...

or how emphatically my son was determined to TRY to keep wiping them up with a washcloth.

(Oh, or how bad fish food smells...)

Hey, Fay!

It looks like Drew might get his first opportunity to experience a "Hurricane Party" this week as Tropical Storm Fay flirts with the west coast of Florida.

My hubby and I grew up near the coastal waters of the Sunshine State, so we've experienced quite a few impending storms over the past 30-something years. And we both have the same approach as those crusty Key-West fishermen types that they always find to interview as a hurricane approaches our state:

("Aye, I'm not worried, and I'm not leaving. I haven't evacuated this island in 87 years and I'm not going anywhere today!")

So, instead we celebrate by watching our local meteorologists make their predictions and get incredibly hyped up about the "Cone" and the "Spaghetti Models" and warn us all to Hunker Down! We play board games, read books, and watch the wind clean all the dead branches out of our trees. And if we don't lose electricity, we find fun games like the one below to play, as we enjoy a free day off from work and responsibilities.

So, enjoy the little activity below - see you on the other side of the storm!

86 words

Speed test

Word of the Week 5

This week's amazing adjective was suggested by my dear friend and talented author of the blog Surviving 4. (click HERE to be thoroughly entertained).

The word is LUGUBRIOUS (pronounced loo-goo-bree-uhs). Enjoy using it in a sentence this week.

Last week's W.O.W was abecedarian. It's pronounced, A-B-C-darian and defines "a person who is learning the alphabet." It can also be used as an adjective to describe anything arranged in alphabetical order or anything elementary or primary. Oh, and I need to give proper credit to my soon-to-be sister-in-law who already knew what last week's word meant. I'm still VERY impressed!

So, let's see... my little abecedarian's favorite activity lately is singing the alphabet "right, then WRONG!" Nothing pleases him more than a lively chorus of the ABC's, where the letter "W" makes an all-star appearance at least 16 times. "A B C D E F W, H I J K LMNO-W, Q R S, T U V, W X Y W Z!"

I'm already prepared for the first note home from his concerned preschool teacher...

A Typical Day This Week

My cell phone smells like coffee and my TV smells like Dr. Pepper.

Drew is finally feeling better after a week-long knock-down-drag-out battle with some kind of virus. Unfortunately, we have traded in the bad bug for a bad attitude.

This past week has been filled with drama and temper tantrums, and a flair for the mischievous.

Yesterday, we stopped by the mall to pick out a birthday present for a friend. I allowed Drew to pick out a long plastic tube filled with candy at the register because he'd been very obedient and good during our shopping excursion. My only condition was that he had to wait until we got to the car to open his package.

We briefly stepped into Ann Taylor Loft (SALE!) on our way out of the mall, which is where my son figured out how to untape the top of the tube all by himself. When I gently reminded him that the lid must stay on the package until we got out to the car, he gently reminded me that he preferred to eat the candy "NOW!".

Meeting my own stern gaze with equal resolve, he promptly removed the cap and dumped the 575 small pieces of candy all over the hard wood floors of the Loft. (I was actually impressed with how far that many pieces of candy can scatter in just a few seconds.) After a quick clean-up and an apology to the store manager, I escorted my son out of the store and toward the car. In an all-out effort to save himself from punishment, he screamed at the top of his lungs the ENTIRE WAY OUT OF THE MALL, kicking when I held him, falling to the floor when I made him walk.

And this morning, I was enticed to "...come see the beautiful new picture I drawed for you, mommy!"

In his hand he held a mushed up tube of Dr. Pepper flavored chapstick (hey, I'm off the soda for 15 days now, I get my fix wherever I can... it's not cheating!).

I quickly followed him to the living room, where he had created a lovely circle, which was completed colored in and several squiggly lines across the huge screen of our television.

"Oh, no you didn't!" was the gist of my response. To his credit, I'm sure he was expecting something a little more encouraging, like "... tell me about your pretty picture. What was your inspiration with the big globs over here?"

Completely shocked by my reaction to his masterpiece, Drew erupted into tears and began shrieking. I'll spare the details of the next 20 minutes, but I will tell you that the whole episode finally resulted in a call to our Pediatrician.

Yes, I called the doctor because my son was throwing a fit. With a few hours of perspective, I actually give the nurse a lot of credit for carrying on a conversation with me without laughing.

"Hello. My son was very sick last week and now he's really acting very bad."

How old is he, maam.

"Three. And I know that three-year olds are difficult. But I'm just a little concerned because he was sick last week and I'm hoping that there's a disease out there that begins with a high fever and is followed by a week of temper tantrums."

Well... I guess...

"I mean, maybe it's the medication, right? I've heard that medication can alter a child's behavior."

Yes, that could definitely affect his moods.

"Good! That's what I thought. So, by Monday, we should have our boy back."

Well, I guess we'll have to see on Monday.

"Also... he's been very hungry and thirsty lately. Is there any advice you can give me for that."

You should feed him and give him something to drink.

"Yes, yes... that's a great idea. Well, you've been incredibly helpful."

As a side-note, my cell phone fell into my cup of coffee while I was driving down the road the other day. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my son's behavior this week, but now my phone is throwing some pretty mighty tantrums, too. Which makes it fit in perfectly around our house these days.

A Change of Clothes and a Bath Towel for Naps

I received Drew's packet in the mail the other day. The packet containing all the information we need in order to prepare ourselves for our very first day of preschool.

The packet that explains all the guidelines we must familiarize ourselves with, laid out on brightly-hued letterhead with pictures of rulers and apples.

The packet that contains permission slips that must be signed so Drew can participate in occasional field trips to the library.

The packet that made me cry...

As I was sorting through all the papers that arrived in our school envelope, the introductory letter contained instructions for Orientation Day and the First Day of School. I was honestly doing just fine, kind of excited, actually. As I pored over the instructions, the Director asked that each child bring a change of clothes in a plastic bag to orientation (to be left at the school, I'm supposing in case of any unfortunate accident or mess... do they want us to bring a change of clothes every day???), along with a bath-sized towel for nap/rest time.

Still doing just fine... then I started thinking, "Oh, that will be fun. Drew and I can go shopping and he can pick out his own towel for nap time."

And that's when it hit.

There are many laws of motherhood that perplex me. By far, the most astounding law of motherhood is the "Unexpected Cry". For a non-crier, this is still a shocking phenomenon to me. One minute, I'm excited about school shopping with my big boy, the next minute, I want to bawl my eyes out because he's growing up so fast.

So, while Drew and his Daddy played ball in the driveway that afternoon, I stood by the kitchen counter and let a few tears spill onto the pages of the preschool packet.

(There's nothing like a good bargain at Marshall's to bring back the excitement, though. Pictured above: Drew's Bath Towel for Naps - $3 - woohoo!)

Word of the Week 4

Abecedarian

I had my doubts that this was actually a real word, especially when I read the pronunciation, then read the definition. But good old Mr. Webster confirmed that it was. Too good!

Last week's W.O.W was eponyous, meaning: giving one's name to a tribe, place, etc. As in: Romulus, the eponymous founder of Rome. Or Drew, the eponymous inspiration for my blog title.

Updates...

Several of my last few posts deserve an update, and since I'm sleep-deprived(Drew has been sick for the entire week), it's a good idea that I just make some brief follow up comments to some of my recent posts...

So, let's start with Providence:
The Lord cleared my entire week's schedule because He knew that we were going to need an entire week to kick whatever "bug" has grabbed hold of my poor child. Whew! We are ready to have our old Drew back, but my blog has certainly been neglected for a much more pressing duty.

Maxine:
For Momma Maxine it appears that no other babies (besides Mr. Watermelon) have been born into our fish family. When I researched this breed of fish (not exactly goldfish, but something like it), I learned that they can have up to 10 babies at a time,so we're pretty fortunate. Wow! Oh, and Mr. Watermelon's doing great! Getting bigger every day!

My Departure from Diet Coke:
I'm happy to say that I've not had a drop of the stuff for 8 days! It helps that I've been preoccupied with nursing a sick child, but the cold-turkey approach hasn't been too bad. Don't get me wrong, I've almost slipped up a half-dozen times, but the point is that I DIDN'T. Yahoo!

Providence

Providence - the foreseeing care and guidance of God or nature over the creatures of the earth.

Last week was one of those weeks where my daily organizer was vital to my existence. Activities filled each morning, afternoon and evening. Special events, conventions, dinner or coffee with friends, playgroup, prayer group... oh - and our 10 yr. anniversary thrown in for good measure. All of it fun and invigorating, as this is the pace I choose to run most of the time.

But, yesterday I flipped to the fresh page of this week - eager to see what was in store. I was surprised to find clean, blank space. So little going on in my own life that the only thing I have written down on one of the days is a doctor's appointment for my mom. And I'm not even taking her to it... just have it written down so I could make sure she wasn't watching Drew during that time.

And just in case I wondered for a moment about how unlikely it was to have so many free moments, I was reminded of God's divine Providence in my life.

This morning, as my house was waking up, Drew stumbled out from the bedroom disheveled and pale. As he crawled into my lap, I cringed at the heat rising from every surface of his skin. He wimpered a plea for medicine, and I jumped into "nurse" mode.

Hours later, our house looks more like a hospital ward than a cozy home (sheets replaced by towels, used medicine dispensers, tissues, and buckets litter the guest bedroom floor. And, though I know this will be an exhausting day, I just can't help but thank God that He has once again ordained my week in His divine providence, giving me nothing to do but care for my boy.

Word of the Week 3

EPONYMOUS.

Found this word in an article in the NY Times this week (O.K., my dad found this word in an article in the NY Times this week). I like it a lot and am excited about revealing it's meaning in a blog-related way next week for you.

(Last week's W.O.W was "Ubiquitous". As in, "Present, appearing, found everywhere". At Drew's house, balls are a ubiquitous commodity. Soft balls for throwing inside, balls for throwing outside ONLY, soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, bouncy balls, golf balls, and beach balls. I don't think Drew knows anything about bowling balls yet, and I'd like to keep it that way. I can only imagine what my son could do with a few unsupervised minutes and a long hallway.)

Seriously!?!?!

I think my blog is mocking me...

Today is the first day of the rest of my soda-free life.

I just landed on my site to make sure everything was in order (do you visit your own blog, too... does that say anything about me?) and the ad titles running on my Google ads right now are Buy Diet Coke, Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet 7UP, etc.

Seriously?!?!?!

(Oh, and I told Drew this morning that Mommy wasn't going to be drinking soda anymore. His response? "Good. You can drink lots of water now, mommy. Did you bring some water with you to drink today?")

I think someone has put him up to this.