see you soon, Paul

Hi friends.

I ask for prayers today for my boss and sweet, sweet friend Lynn. Her husband of many, many years and best friend, Paul, died this weekend of a heart attack. Lynn was on Young Life assignment in Colorado, and one of her sons, PJ, was on assignment in Alaska. He just graduated high school in the Spring. Their other son, John, was the one who found Paul I think, although that's coming to me secondhand.

Please be in prayer for them as they deal with this unexpected and sad reality. Please pray that they will feel the arms of Jesus holding them tight and will lean on his unwavering faithfulness.

Paul IS an amazing person... full of life and jokes and stories. Matt and I always joked that EVERYBODY knows Paul. Whenever I would mention that I worked for Young Life, it was inevitable that the next question was, "Oh, so you know Paul?" What I loved about him so much was that he always said what was on his mind... no beating around the bush. I joked that obviously Lynn liked that quality in people since she married Paul and hired me. :) I only met him for the first time in December and then spent time with him on a couple occasions after that, but we talked on the phone most every day from October to February when he would call the office.

Actually, Paul has been one of Jonah's greatest prayer warriors, calling friends to pray and putting us on different prayer lists. I know he prayed for Jonah all the time, and always reminded me he was praying. He gave Jonah one of his first nicknames long before he was born, always asking me how "Cletus the Fetus" was doing. I hold these things very close to my heart, and think of Paul now petitioning the Father on Jonah's behalf IN PERSON.

He loves Lynn so much, and I would consider theirs a role-model marriage. He gave so much time to Young Life and was so passionate about leading kids to Jesus and starting up Young Life in new areas.

We'll all miss you so much, Paul, but we know that you are now where you've always wanted most to be. See you soon!

williams suffers scrabble defeat

Matt and I have spent the last couple of days mostly indoors. Matt was playing Frisbee on the beach on Tuesday and blistered the bottom of his feet pretty badly (I know, I know), so we've kind of been lying low. I mean, seriously, when sand would be a major problem for 2/3 of your family unit, it's really just best to stay inside. But I haven't minded. I can read looking out the window just as well as I can read sitting on the beach.

Speaking of reading, I finished "My Sister's Keeper," and I didn't shed a tear. Is that weird? I actually felt nothing. I kind of thought the ending was a little abrupt and obvious. Am I a cold-hearted snake or what? (Or maybe there's just enough drama in my own life that fake drama doesn't do a whole lot for me... Marley and Me, on the other hand, made me cry like a baby... after all, it was a true story.)

I have been taking Jonah out on the beach the last couple evenings when the wind dies down, and he seems to really like it. I mean, he's not out there smiling and laughing (something he hasn't done a whole lot of this week), but it's calmed him down when he's been fussy.

If the rain holds off, we're heading outdoors here in a little bit for a family shoot that Katherine is going to do for us. I'm excited, as it will be our first "real" family pictures. If it starts raining, we'll probably just do it tomorrow night.

Here is a news story I ran across yesterday...

On Wednesday, there was an epic Scrabble battle played on the hardwood (table). People came from all around (nobody at all was there) to witness the arduous challenge at hand. Player one, AJ Schwartz, challenged P. Williams, player two, to the match after word was spread that she, in fact, can rock the house (when she has decent letters) at Scrabble.

Yesterday, however, was not that day.

Play began defensively as Williams, with great skill, blocked off the whole top right-hand corner of the board. And although Schwartz was quoted as saying, "Defense wins championships," this theory was tested and disproved by Williams, who succumbed to defeat by a score of 307 to 206.

Williams was offered an assist by her husband, M. Williams, after she attempted to spell bagel b-a-g-l-e to her utter embarrassment. Although her play started out strong, things went down hill quickly for the twenty-something Scrabble not-so-pro.


Williams was known to take entirely too long for each turn (because she didn't have a doggone thing to play), while Schwartz proceeded to amuse himself by creating words and phrases on his tile holder. Contrary to popular belief, poopy was not had by both players, as Williams attested that she was seated the entire time, except for brief moments when she left the table to care for her son. Schwartz, on the other hand, provided no comment.

Schwartz played the game valiantly with his self-proclaimed combination of both "strength and honor" (whatever the crap that means). Although there were moments it appeared Williams might make a comeback, Schwartz proved more than once that he was the better man (because Williams, after all, is a woman).

To Williams' complete dismay, Schwartz continued to play high-point words while simultaneously blocking possible offensive thrusts using the letters "c" and "k" at the most inopportune (or opportune depending on what perspective) moments.

Williams also found herself stuck with the "q" (dagblastit) and kept it for half the game falling one letter short of the words "quote," "quilt," and "queen" at various points throughout the game.

Upon winning, Schwartz commented that he would like "to give all credit to Bulldog nation for his stellar education and ability to spell three letter words." He also gave credit to Williams (sort of) by saying, "To be the champion, you have to beat the champion." Williams was humiliated, but has agreed to a rematch coming Thanksgiving 2009 (or before if a certain someone (ahem, Jonah) will allow it). The nail-biting rematch is rumored to be a Pay-per-view event, coming soon to a webcast (but not really) near you.

jonah's first time on the beach

Tuesday, July 7th

pictures from yesterday

Our nephew, Will (Matt's sister Kim's youngest)

Matt's cousin, Todd, and his beautiful wife, Keila.

Will and his dad, Andrew

Aliana

Matt's cousin, Jake. I told him that this one was for all the hot honeys that read my blog. This pose is a joke. He doesn't usually sit around like this. Although it suits him, dontcha think?

Kim and Will

Matt's dad and our niece, Abby, ALWAYS have lots of fun playing together on the beach. This game is called, "Abby, don't throw my hat in the ocean. Abby then takes his hat and throws it in the ocean, screaming in delight as Grandaddy chases her back up the beach."

This one is called, "Abby sneaks up behind Grandaddy's chair and pours a bucket of water on his head. He then chases her into the ocean... again, with her screaming in delight."

This is my sorry attempt at artsy beach pictures. I apparently don't do artsy.

The group birthday party. Thirteen kids, tons of presents all opened at once, total mayhem. Pure bliss.

One of Jonah's many presents. He snoozed through the birthday party while daddy opened all his gifts. Can't wait to start playing with them!

And what you're all really here for - cute pictures of Jonah.

A little blurry, but I couldn't resist.

"MOMMY, kiss me RIGHT NOW!!!"

"Oh, shwoo. I feel so much better now. Thanks, Mommy."

independence day

UPDATE: Jonah slept through the night. 11-7. Eight hours of consecutive sleep. You guys do NOT play around. Woo-hoo!
*********************************************
Shwoo... five minutes to post.

We got to the beach around 6:30 Saturday evening. Here is the house we are staying in. Pretty sweet, huh? It has eight bedrooms, which is nice for the 19 adults and 13 kids (ages 7 and under) who are here together. It can get a little loud and crazy, but very fun! Thankfully, our family granted us the one and only third floor bedroom, so the only one making noise for us is Jonah (but he makes plenty of it... another rough night last night). The main reason for the third floor is that it has a sitting area with a kitchenette and a big dining room table. The counter and table space give us plenty of room to do dressing change, and the other kids aren't allowed up there, so I can keep all his supplies safe and clean, and don't have to worry about kids getting their hands on needles.


When we arrived, everyone was out back under the deck, having a good ol' 4th of July dinner of cheeseburgers and hot dogs. Fortunately we ordered from a local place, since we had all just arrived. Unfortunately, we were missing LOTS of food... like eight burgers, 2 hot dogs, and 12 or 13 orders of fries. So it took a while to get everyone fed.


This is Jonah's first cousin, Abby, and two of Matt's Aunt Katherine's boys, Nathaniel and Nicholas.


Matt's cousin Heather's son, Mikey. Look at those missing teeth! He was so proud.

Matt's cousin Tiffany's son, Charlie. Mr. GQ himself.

Tiffany's daughter, Anna Kate, and Heather's daughter, Aliana. Ali will ham it up for the camera any time you ask. SO fun! She even paused during a small meltdown today long enough for me to get a picture.

Tiffany's youngest son, Jack. He was not so excited about the upcoming 4th of July "show" in which he was supposed to be participating. He wasn't so excited about getting his picture taken either, but little did he know that I can't resist snapping photos of pouty kids. It's a weak spot. Gotcha Jack! Muah-ha-ha!

The 4th of July march. Beautiful Abby in fine form as Lady Liberty (with a chin strap).

All the kids - minus Jack who was still not interested, Coleman already sleeping, and Gabe, singing the loudest from Heaven.

Jonah was a little overwhelmed at all the commotion and the quick pace of activities upon our arrival. Can't a boy eat and poop in peace?

I'll let this sequence of photos speak for itself.

Here comes the lip...

This is Aunt Katherine's youngest son, Jake. He is six days older than Gabe would be. It's fun watching him grow and change, and thinking of Gabe at this age.
After the show.

With his 4th of July blanket. Notice the sticker monogram.

And the mastermind and planner of the whole annual 4th of July shindig - Aunt Melanie!

And here's my handsome hubby on the beach. Aren't I a lucky blessed girl?

And handsome hubby and me on the beach. By the time we got down there, everyone else had packed up for the day, but we enjoyed a few minutes out on the beach. This was yesterday. Today, we got out a little earlier and were able to spend a couple hours. Thanks to Granny and Grandaddy for watching Baby Jonut, so we could have some fun in the sun.

I'll be a day or two behind on posts. I have a lot to post about today too, but it's taken me all day just to get this one up. We're having a great time, and Jonah had a pretty good day today. We are not getting much sleep though, since Jonah has decided that his favorite time to be up (although unhappy) is the middle of the night. Pray for sleep! :)

desde la playa

I haven't had time to post from the beach yet, but we are here safe and sound. Jonah slept all but the last 20 minutes of the trip to Florence, and slept all the way to the beach from there yesterday. It's 4:00 on Sunday, and Matt and I still haven't made it out to the beach yet. We just finished up dressing change, and I think his parents are going to watch Jonah now so we can head out. So excited!!! I'll miss him once we're out there though. What can I say? I'm totally whipped.

The reason for the late start today? Jonah stayed up screaming from 2am to 4am last night, so we all slept in a little bit this morning. I think the new surroundings are throwing him for a loop a little bit. He's been a lot fussier than usual. However, he was sooooo cute last night. We all went out on the ocean front deck to watch the fireworks, and he took his bottle on my lap, completely relaxed (that's a big deal for him - to be completely relaxed for a bottle), soaking it all in. He LOVED it. And it was so beautiful - almost a full moon, a nice breeze, fireworks literally in all directions. It was great.

I do have some great pictures from the kids' annual 4th of July "show," but haven't had a chance to get them off my camera yet. So check out Katherine's blog for some cute pics. I'll try to post some soon.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July! Off to the ocean (except not really because I'm scared of the ocean... but you get the idea.)

cheese and rice that's a lot of stuff

So, I'll make sure to take pictures, but let me just say that the amount of stuff we're taking on this eight day trip is INSANE. The following is The List. (I really wouldn't advise reading it all because it's boring, but I'm typing it out more so you can see how lengthy it is.)

A week's worth of bandaging supplies (with extras thrown in just in case):
16 8x20 Transfer
30 6x8 Transfer
6 Lite pieces
50 Vaseline gauze
10 needles
50 sterile gauze
2 Polysporin
3 tubs of Aquaphor
12 4x4 Conco gauze
20 3x4 Conco guaze
8 2x4 Conco guaze
10 1x4 hand guaze
LOTS of Tubifast (Jonah likes to pee on his leg dressings)
12 Tongue Depressors
3 Northern Essence Diaper Salve
Clorox wipes
big scissors
silver scissors
suture scissors
plastic tweezers
metal tweezers
12 Chux pads
40 alcohol swabs
2 Lotrimin
saline drops
5 cloth water proof pads
diaper changing pad
finger nail clippers
bath inflatable pad
bath tub
receiving blankets
Jonah bath towels
blankets for bath tub
gel pads
wash cloths for Jonah
blankets for dressing change
dressing change diapers
burp cloths
2 swaddle blankets
boppy
vibratey chair
swing
Pack-n-Play
sleep positioner
pillow cases
mobile
diaper bag
water containers for bath and bulb syringe
bottles
formula
Beneprotein
rice cereal
clothes
clothes for family pictures
laptop
DVD's for Jonah for dressing change
2 hand sanitizer
breast milk
pump
pumping bottles
storage bags
pumping bra
cooler (with aforementioned milk)
SIDS monitor
Dawn
Cetaphil
Johnson and Johnson baby wash
video camera
cloth diapers
wet bag
diaper liners
Simple Green
Charlie's Soap
Grease Lightening
beach towels
towels and wash cloths for us
meds (Carafate, Magic Mouthwash, Tylenol, Prevacid, Mylicon)
syringes
1/2 tsp measuring spoon
pacis
sling
kids' gifts (12 bday presents for our "all the kids" bday party)
toys
camera cord and charger
camera
wet wipes
beach totes
books and magazines
sunscreen
beach chairs and umbrella
swim suits
cover-ups
bottle brushes
Jonah's notebook

And although Jonah very rarely wears clothes unless we are going out, I proceeded to pack every single piece of EB friendly clothing he owns. I don't know why. I couldn't stop myself.

Oh yeah, the final item on my list - birth control. My mom said if she had had to pack all of that stuff, she wouldn't need a reminder to take her birth control.

So, I'm tired. Very tired. And tomorrow we head to Granny and Grandaddy's, and then Saturday it's off to the beach. Kathryn is pet/house sitting for us, so I'm thankful Raya will not be all alone. And maybe she can water my plants too (even though I never ever water them even when I am here). I'll try to get some pictures of all the stuff. It's ridiculous. Jonah's stuff is not even in suitcases. We are so beyond that at this point. You know those big long flat plastic storage containers that fit under your bed? We now have three of them stuffed to the brim with stuff ready to be loaded in the car. And that's without my and Matt's suitcases and most of the big items on the list or things I couldn't pack until today. Sheesh.

I'm going to need a vacation after this vacation.