Random Musings

Isaiah has been at my mom's house since yesterday after lunch. I'll tell you. It is weird not having that little guy around. The first thing I've noticed is how quiet it is around here. It's also unusual for me not to be explaining why I'm doing everything I'm doing. ("Mom? Whatcha doin' mom?... Why?) Also, I haven't heard, "Mommy, can you....?" a million times. It has been nice, though, to spend time with just Dan and Samuel, remembering what it was like to have just one kid.

So what else have we been doing? Dan and Sam and I went to home depot last night just to look at prices for some things and talk about some plans for the house. We got some wood to build some shelves in a closet for more toy storage. That was Dan's morning project today.

This morning I went to the gym by myself which was a nice treat. By the way, I am counting the days until Samuel turns six months old (May 6), at which time I can take him to the gym nursery.

Does anyone else think it's funny that facebook notifies you when you have a 'new friend'? "You are now friends with so-and-so." I don't need facebook to tell me that I'm now friends with someone I've known since I was ten years old! I just laugh at that.

So those are my random musings for today.

Mr. Roger's clone

Patty's blog post about amazing people reminded me about something I have been meaning to write about.

We had Missionfest 2008 at our church a few weeks ago. Our two missionaries were just great. Teresa Bill from the Republic of Congo told the best stories and had us laughing out loud. But Peter Marshall is the subject of this post. He was an older gentleman with an amazing sense of calm about him. He reminded me of Mr. Rogers - and I mean that as a compliment. On kids' night, he was a good sport and played right along with "Are you smarter than a missionary." You could tell he had a deep love for these kids that he just met. He had deeper compassion and concern for the people around him than anyone else I have ever encountered (and I know some very compassionate people).

On a personal note, after one of the services I was loading Samuel in his carrier. Samuel, as usual, was screaming because he despises being strapped into his carrier. Now, most people run as far as possible from a crying baby, and I don't blame them. I would too, but, well, I'm his mother. =) Anyway, Peter actually helped me get him loaded up and ready to go home. I was shocked and amazed. What a kind person. Talk about someone with a deep love for Jesus who shows Jesus' compassion to others. It made quite an impression on me.

Today there is a lack of a title...

Blogging has become more difficult lately. Not only is it harder to find the time to sit down and write, but it's just harder to think. For example, it's 9:00 a.m. and I'm exhausted already. The boys have been up for over two hours, and they haven't exactly been a pleasant two hours. Samuel cried for about a half hour. He wouldn't sleep, play, or watch Isaiah play. Plus he had been awake at 1:30, which made me feel like I deserved to sleep in a little bit. I don't know what gave me that idea. =) Isaiah's been fine, but he needs things. You know how kids are. He needs me to build him a track, get breakfast for him, get him dressed, etc. Speaking of two hours, it's time for Samuel to eat again.
Last night I was trying to plan our vacation. Just the thought of getting away for a few days makes the day-to-day more tolerable. It also gives us something fun to look forward to. We found a website for this retreat center in West Virginia with really reasonable prices, so that looks like the leading candidate right now. Well, Samuel's fussing has escalated, so it's time to go.

Heard around our house today...

• Isaiah, at the top of his voice: "I have common sense!"


• Me, to Isaiah, "Honey, please don't bonk your brother on the head."


• Isaiah, while running around: "Daddy, Mommy said to make fork chops!" (Actually I had said to flip the pork chops. They were marinating.)


• Me: "What's that stuck to his bum?" (It was a cheerio.)


• Me, to Isaiah: "Don't bonk your brother on the head."


• Isaiah, "Samuel James Borchert!" (when Samuel was inadvertently kicking the book Isaiah was looking at.)


• Isaiah: "I dropped my paint brush, so now I'm using my fingers."


• Me, to Isaiah: "If you bonk your brother on the head one more time, you have a time out!"


• Isaiah, to get my attention: "Hey, honey."

He didn't want to miss the big game...

Last night this sweet little angel cried for about an hour. We put him to bed around his regular time, 8:00 p.m. It was unsuccessful. So while he continued his screaming theatrics (and I couldn't help but wonder how babies don't lose their voices... I mean if I screamed for an hour, my voice would be gone), we tested out our best parenting skills. We rocked, we cuddled, we sang, we walked, and we checked for teeth. All to no avail. Finally we resorted to giving him Tylenol and letting him watch the Pitt game. At last, he was content.

Dr. Isaiah Borchert, D.D.S.

Tonight Isaiah started playing a new game. Dentist. Of course, he was the dentist and I was his patient. However, he offered more services than your average dentist. First he checked my teeth, telling me to lay back, giving me a drink, and asking me, "Does this hurt?" Then he checked my eyes... then had me look in a mirror and proceeded to style my hair (like only a two-year-old can). When he was done, I asked how much I had to pay him. Without missing a beat, he said, "A hundred dollars." I thought that was the deal of the century.

Listening...

Isaiah is becoming more and more aware of his choices and their consequences. He knows when he's listening to me and when he's not. He knows how to test his limits to see how much he can get away with. So the other morning he said, "Mommy, I'm listening to you today. I'm not going to say no to you, Mommy." Of course I responded with, "Good choice!" all the while thinking that he should do that every day.

So then I wondered if that's how God feels when we wake up in the morning and pray, "God I just want to listen to your guidance and obey you today." There's nothing wrong with reaffirming that in the morning, but does God think, "Yeah. You should do that anyway!"

It's amazing what we can learn from two-year-olds.

Four months

Can you believe Samuel is four months old already? He had his check-up with the pediatrician today. He weighs 17 pounds, which is in the 85th percentile. That just means he's bigger than 85% of boys his age. His doctor said he's a social baby because Samuel was smiling and interacting with her. She said his head is as strong as a 6-month-old, meaning it doesn't flop around. She also made some suggestions to help Samuel sleep all night. He was sleeping all night since just before Christmas until about two weeks ago. Lately he's been waking up once or twice at night, but he doesn't need to eat. We don't know why he wakes up. So she suggested that I make sure to put him in bed when he's still awake so he learns to fall asleep by himself.

Here's a video of Samuel's latest trick:

Fun morning

Since we had Missionfest this week, Dan worked Monday and took today off. It was nice to have him around this morning, because I got to sleep in a little bit. He took Isaiah to school, and then I picked him up while he watched Samuel at home. When I picked him up, we had time to go to the library. Now, I know some people think libraries are dorky, but that's probably because they haven't been there lately. Our library has shelves full of great books, DVDs and videos for kids and adults, and puzzles for kids to play with while they're there. And the best part? It's FREE!

So it was really nice to spend some time with Isaiah at the library because I was able to give him my full attention. It was a nice change from always watching two kids, and Isaiah had a lot of fun.

One Hundred Posts

Well, this is it. Post 100. As I reflect on my blogging experience, I realize that blogging has made me a more positive person. It has helped me think about why certain things might be happening in my life and what I can learn from them. Blogging has also been a great outlet. When I'm upset about something and I blog about it, I actually feel better. It helps me sort through my thoughts and hopefully come out with a valuable lesson which I will freely share with whoever is reading.

Also, a note about the title of my blog. As you know I am a very private person. Are these last 99 posts really my innermost thoughts? Sometimes, but many of my truly innermost thoughts remain to be written (after all, I am still a private person). But I am learning to peel back the layers and let more of myself show through.

Isaiah's latest

The other morning I was making Isaiah some toast for breakfast. Our conversation went something like this:

Isaiah: Mommy, is that bread from Giant Eagle?

Me: Yes

Isaiah: Mommy, did you get that bread from Giant Eagle?

Me: Yes

Isaiah (with a furrowed brow): Were you at Giant Eagle by yourself? (As if I forgot to ask his permission)

Me, laughing: Yes. I went last night while you were sleeping.

Isaiah: You went to Giant Eagle while I was sleeping? I want to go.

It's funny how he's becoming more aware of what's going on. Another thing he says lately when Dan and I are talking: "Mommy, what are you and Daddy talking about?" Even when he's playing, he's still listening to our conversations. Ah. He's growing up so fast.

Dedication

This weekend was crazy. My dad, sister, brother-in-law, neice, and their black lab all got snowed in at our house on Friday night. We had plans to go to this nice restaurant in Ellwood City, but instead ate blueberry pancakes, bacon, and sausage at our house. Then on Saturday we went up to my aunt's house in Greenville just to spend time together as a family.
Why was everyone here? For Samuel's dedication. Most churches have some sort of ceremony for babies, all with different purposes. Our church dedicates babies. The dedication is actually more for the parents than the baby. In short, the parents publicly declare that they will raise their child as God would want them to, teach their child about Christ, and be godly examples to their child. We dedicated Isaiah when he was about six weeks old. When Samuel was about that age it was too close to Christmas, so we decided to wait a few months.
I take the dedication very seriously. It's like entering into a covenant with God, that I will teach Samuel about Him and be a Christ-like example to Samuel. It's Dan and my most important desire for our children, that they grow up knowing Christ, not just thinking that God is up in heaven and some day when I die I'll see Him, but actually walking daily with Him.

Like the dentist in Little Shop of Horrors

I went to the dentist today. The last time I went to the dentist was right before our wedding. So that was a while ago. It was one of those things I meant to get around to... Anyway, Dan and I went today. It was by far my worst, most painful dentist appointment. I thought I was doing a good job, faithfully brushing and flossing. I thought my teeth were pretty clean. Apparently I was wrong. The hygenist was scraping and poking, over and over. Ow. There was a point when I actually thought to myself, "This is worse than having a baby," although I don't really think that's true. Let's just say that from now on, no matter what, I will go to the dentist more often.

Safety

Teresa Bill from the Republic of Congo spoke at our church tonight. She talked about all sorts of cool stuff. Apparently the city they live in is pretty dangerous. Plus since they are the only white people around, they are targets of theft. So they have a wall around their house, paid day and night guards, two big German shepherds, and they pay their neighbors to come to their aid if they're being robbed. She said that there are robbery attempts at their house about every other month. Wow! That's scary! After church I came home and thought about how I take safety for granted. We live in a very low crime area, rarely lock our house, and never give it a second thought. So I was thankful for that tonight.