Another D.C. Weekend

D.C is one of our favorite places out here on the East Coast. Though we've only been up there four times, we say each time we visit that we'd love to live there! Our motivation for the visit this time around was this little guy, Hudson.



Well, ok, we love his parents too! He looks exactly like his daddy but is already very much a babbler...just like his mommy! :) We ate up his sweetness all weekend and very much enjoyed the fellowship with S&A again!

Last time we were there we got some cool shots of Eden with some of the monuments, so that was one of my goals for Salem this time around. But after taking 30 minutes to park our Toyota Tundra in the spot meant for a tricycle, the capitol building and the Natural History museum was all we felt in the mood for! We still got some fun shots and really just enjoyed hanging out on the Mall for awhile.


Eden chased the pigeons and ran in lots and lots and lots of circles.




We'd never been to the zoo before and having kids is something that basically requires you to do that sort of thing. So we went to the zoo. The cool thing about the D.C. zoo is that it's free. AND, they have Chinese-speaking pandas. Well, that's according to Eden. This was a new fact to us, and one mysteriously not included on the little "Official Zoo Guide."
Oddly, the best picture we got of our zoo excursion was this one. A LOT of excitement for one day.


D.C. is a SERIOUSLY gorgeous place to visit. I think that's the Robert E. Lee memorial in the background.


One reason we love it so much is the hodge podge of cultures. While we were in the Natural History museum I tried to help a lady with her back pack. And then I think she thought I was trying to steal something out of her backpack. And I realized it a little too late that she had NO CLUE what I was saying and since my dutch/polish/swedish/whatever-it-was language is severly lacking, all I could do was muster up a "I'm so sorry, I'm as confused as you are" apology face.

And then at the zoo I tried to help a family of three have a picture together so that they didn't have to mess with the ridiculous timer. Doing my universal-sign-language-invisible-camera click apparently didn't translate well in Russian, and she looked at me like I was seriously deranged.

BUT despite my inability to culture-jump with success, D.C. makes up for it with all sorts of food from other cultures. We had THE BEST Thai food on this side of the planet. I think S&A ordering it in Thai may have added to the taste as well. So fun! And then for Mother's Day we had Lebanese chicken shawarmas, falafel, hummus, fried zucchini, and spinach wraps. YUM! And topped it off with an entirely too big piece of cheese cake from The Cheesecake Factory (which I'll gladly admit that I had no trouble polishing off all by myself).

Thanks S&A! We had an awesome weekend!!

11 Months!

Yesterday when I changed Salem's dirty diaper there was a completely legible piece of a book page matted between some not-so-pleasantness. I felt that it was a pretty good summary of the last month of his life. Not only is he doing great when it comes to eating a variety of foods, but he also likes to munch on (and apparently digest) some other inedible items.
I realize admitting this could get me awarded the "Un-Amazing Mother of the Year Award" but I'm afraid that the pictures to come might actually prove it better than the above story.
So here's a bunch of pictures to prove just how much Salem likes munching/teething/biting/slobbering on a variety of items and how I think it's more fun to take pictures of it than come to the rescue and make sure he doesn't choke on it. *though just as a disclaimer, he didn't ACTUALLY choke on any of the items* :)
















And recently we like to break the "don't let your child get used to sleeping on you" rule. He's quickly outgrowing the still-little-enough-to-want-to-sleep-on-us-phase so we're taking advantage of it before it goes. :)



He's also definitely a climber. Maybe that comes with the territory of being a boy, but he likes to climb and squeeze himself into tight spaces. Being the award winning mother stated above, I prefer to capture it on camera before coming to his aid.



He's currently gnawing on my knee as I type this....quite attached to his mommy.



But at 11 months old, his favorite person by far is his big sister. Regardless of the fact that to her, he's occasionally just something picked up from the grocery store. "Mommy, I got a Salem."



Other quick facts...
8 teeth
21.5 pounds
cruisin' along the furniture
pushing his hippo around the apartment
new favorite food: mango sticky rice
melts his mommy's heart

a little bragging never hurt anyone

Eden is becoming geography savvy...

And Salem is taking his first hippo-assisted steps...

take a gander:

A friend's blog recently inspired us to start teaching Eden the states and countries. She's LOVING it! And Salem may follow in his sister's footsteps and be walking by his first birthday!

The First Trim

Eden and Salem both had their first hair cut this week. Since sweet Eden was a bit unfortunate when it came to baby hair, she hasn't needed a hair cut until just recently! And then Salem's is growing like a weed...

Yes is hair had actually grown to the bottom of his ears. He wouldn't have been allowed to go to my high school. :)

So our new friend, Nicole, made a house call!



And yes I am feeding my 10 month old a popsicle so he'll hold his head still!



I promise the look above is him trying to get an entire hair clip into his mouth and not a face of agony.



Eden thought her "cape" was cool. And turns out she'll sit still too when promised a pink popsicle.



He's quickly turning into a little boy and loosing that "baby" look!



Eden didn't want me to brush her hair that evening because she didn't want me to "mess up her hair cut." I'm pretty sure that the next time they get hair cuts they'll be expecting popsicles and will be confused about not getting to sit outside in their wagon. Thanks Nicole for making it easy on us!!

Past. Present. Future.

Maybe a more apt title might be "The Bold and the Blunt."

Brandon is about 4 weeks away from his last final at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Has it really been 2 years?

We arrived here almost 2 years ago with a few expectations. Be here 2-3 years. Brandon gets a degree. We see where God takes us from there...hopefully within the continental US of A.

Just 3 short months into our journey at SEBTS, God started showing us a different plan. By way of SEBTS, He moved in us, changed our hearts (both at different times), and began preparing us for returning back to The Big Chicken. (i'm linking that because I can't remember if I've ever clarified why I call it that...just take a look and see if you can't see it.)

I'm interjecting at this point a little tangent about SEBTS. I can not say enough good things about this school, what it has done for our family, specifically Brandon, and what is has instilled in us. I literally don't even know where to begin to sing the praises of SEBTS.

But I will link you to this. Watch it. and watch it again. And then if you find yourself disagreeing with anything David Platt is saying, then you're theology is messed up (there's that blunt part). If you want to talk about points in his sermon, please leave comments as I'm married to a man that studies and goes to the school with all the answers. :) ha! only kidding. (well, just a little) But I do believe that SEBTS is firmly grounded in the word, teaches straight from scripture, therefore teaching TRUTH. And week after week the speakers in Chapel are just like Platt, motivating, teaching, inspiring, and ultimately sharing the gospel with every word.

So carrying on...

After knowing that our future was going to look differently than what we'd "planned," Brandon switched degree plans (thereby losing a $6000 scholarship...but thus, the Lord HAS provided anyway! amen!), and we began the paperwork to return back overseas.

So four weeks from now we'll be loading a trailer with hopefully not very many belongings to take to Texas where we'll be spending several months enjoying time with family and allowing Brandon to take 9 more hours of online courses during the Fall.

We have our names officially on the books for a certain job, but if you know much about Aunt Lottie Moon, you know she's been struggling to make ends meet over the past year or so. This affects us. We're hopeful for a March 2011 deployment, but have been told at this point there are no guarantees. We're just waiting. And there's not much more we can do but wait and be ready.

And then yesterday a man who trusts in Christ as his Savior approached us with these words, "I can't believe you are going to *the big chicken*. I mean, North Carolina has perfect weather and it's so beautiful. Plus, you know they're communist, right?"

(were we born yesterday?!) whatever, I digress.

He continues, "I just don't think I'd ever want to go there. There's just not anything there that would make me want to go.

(oh you mean like lost people going straight to hell?)

Ok sure. Maybe that's not EXACTLY what he was meaning. But he might as well have come out and said it.

So during this whole waiting process to head back overseas where we feel like our family is called to, desires to go, and is eagerly anticipating, please please please don't approach us with questions or comments such as this,

"Are you taking your children with you?" (Really?! Well, we do plan on it. You can come and visit and babysit if you'd like)

"You know they're communist right?" (matter of fact we did attend 8th grade history)

"I'm so glad it's you going and not my son/daughter." (We actually HAVE been told this...and if you find yourself feeling this way, then please understand that I think your knowledge of God is extremely lacking (blunt part #2) and would LOVE to have a chat with you about Him!) (and go back and click on the Platt link above!)

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Am I getting under your skin?

I hope so, I guess.

But that's our plan for the coming months. This way you'll understand what's going on when the background of our pictures all of a sudden turn from forests to the barren plains of Texas.

We'll be there...waiting...waiting...waiting...to be sent!

Afternoon at the Park

Eden has a new fascination: "capalillars."


And Salem's favorite place when outdoors:

The Making of a Family Photo

It should be written in the Official Parent Handbook..."So you want your child to be still, stay calm, smile at the camera, don't poke each other in the eye, and be happy the entire hour we'll be taking your picture. Are you kidding me?!" (addendum: "Are you insane?!")
None the less, I thought our family could handle it. I mean, I get to take pretty people's photos all the time and their kiddos do fabulous. Shouldn't mine be the same?
So Jordan, our awesome friend honing her photography skills, was kind enough to shoot some family photos for us! She did absolutely awesome and we appreciate and love her so much! I took the ones that I'm not in and Jordan took over the role of jumping-singing-dancer-behind-the-camera-so-the-kids-will-look-this-way person. Thanks Jordan!!
So below is the process of trying to capture that elusive family photo! Hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoyed editing them! :)
*warning: quite possibly wayyyy too many pictures ahead!*

Pose #1: Fail.
Salem was far too concerned with Eden being behind him where he couldn't keep an eye on her. And Eden was NOT thrilled with him touching her. Meanwhile Brandon and I try to put on "everything's fine!" smiles while keeping a death grip on our children.



Pose #2: Fail.
Salem: "Hey, a bird!" Eden: "Is this what you mean by smile?"
Can you tell that Brandon and I are having a conversation through our teeth? I think it was something along the lines of, "this is NOT going to work."



oh wait! FINALLY we get Salem to look at the camera! woops.


Giving Salem a little down time...I took a few of Eden.
The result of saying, "Eden, look into the lens!" leads her to believe there is actually SOMETHING in my lens:


but yet the result of, "Eden, smile!" gets this:


Both kiddos this time. Salem gets his first (of many) taste of grass. Eden's obviously thrilled about it.


But for a millisecond there, they were both smiling!


We got some other really great ones too!






LOVE this next one. Eden was being unusually cuddly and it's like Salem is saying, "uh, hang on, gimme one more second with this finger."


And even some great family shots too!