Snooze

As you all know by now, Nashville experienced a terrible and monumental flood just under a month ago. It was a very sudden and extreme event that took everyone by surprise.

Just after 3:00 in the afternoon, I was saying good bye to my friend Trae (who had just finished cutting my hair). She closed down the shop and we parted ways with a slight comment about how heavy the rain was coming down. Within several minutes of driving away, I hit a patch of traffic. I had planned to stop at Wal-Mart to get a few things (like Shampoo because I was completely out) and some baby items. Having grown accustomed to the traffic in Nashville, I didn't think much about the waiting. I did notice a house next to the road which was slightly lower in level. The entire yard was flooded and the people were wading through the water to get into the house. Not sure why everyone was in the yard, but assuming everything was fine, I kept driving... not looking too far ahead and not realizing what was really going on. SNOOZE

Moments later, I found myself facing a flooded road. Several people ahead of me had made it through the water, so I thought I could too. I did... but halfway through I realized I was in deep, so to speak, and was just hoping I wouldn't get stuck.

Took a left turn to head to Wally World, my ultimate desired destination but ran into another flooded road. Again, thinking.. I can make it. And yes, I made it again, but now I was very afraid. Trae called to be sure I was safe and she too had ran into road blocks. She turned around to go a new route on 24 East and I took 24 West to head to my house. I actually drove quite cautiously and arrived home in a surprising 30 minutes. NOTE: I drove 24 West and passed several exits including Briley Parkway. Nearly a half hour later, the news was reporting that exit as being flooded and video proved it was completely underwater and impassable. Oh, the hand of God was upon my car and my path... I am certain of that.

It wasn't long before I heard from Trae again... she was trapped on 24 East just before Bell Road. If you haven't watched the news or heard, this was one of the worst trouble spots and someone actually lost their life after getting stuck in the flash flood at this exit. Trae sat for many many hours scared to death. We also lost contact for about 30 minutes and were fearing for the worst. Trae had just told me earlier that day "I can't swim.". SNOOZE

No one wants to face difficulty and this was a difficult situation. I can't tell you how scary it was to watch the flash flooding live on tv while my friend sat helplessly waiting for something. In that part of the interstate, there is no median- only a wall. And no one was turning around. But, an angel in disguise, a government vehicle, advised her to follow him. They turned around on the emergency lane and drove back to the prior exit. It was there she waited until Thomas was able to get to her and lead her home. Of course, this took hours due to the re-routing constantly to avoid flooded roads.

The Point: The floods were worse than any one person or any one place could have perceived until it was all over - days later. It wasn't until Monday that it began to sink in: tragedy, disaster, emergency, desperation, nothingness. All of this was sinking in. We drove out one evening to eat dinner and were amazed to see firsthand what we had seen on our screen. It was more than devastating, it was beyond words. SNOOZE

I asked Thomas if he thought our basement was okay. Many friends had more than a foot of water in their basement and they were having to use sump pumps and good ol' buckets to remove the water. It was a grueling process I am sure. Assured we were okay, I "double-checked" just to "be sure". SNOOZE: PLEASE LET ME SNOOZE NOW

And immediately I saw the water line on the wall leading into the basement. You could even see the "river" path in the yard leading to the basement door. New Note: our basement floor is all dirt and most walls are dirt... a muddy mess was waiting on us.

Thus ensued Thomas tracking through the mud and removing many, many boxes of photos, memorabilia, books, cds, tapes (yes I said tapes), and other "stuff". It was oddly exhausting to separate every single photo to dry in the sun. It was also oddly nostalgic to see pictures from college and even high school. Pre- "Thomas&Dita". But then, the saddest loss I would experience would be considered ridiculously silly and insignificant in light of what others had lost through the rushing waters.

Thomas retrieved a chest I had been saving since I was probably 13 years old. It contained so many memories. Letters from my mother as she struggled to put her life back together, letters from my grandmother who cared so deeply that I would focus on school/college, letters from my best friend from Junior High School after I moved 1,000 miles away for high school. Snooze...

porcelain dolls, my first Barbie (I bought her with my own birthday money when I was 8 and she cost about $9.) my report cards from 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade. certificates from Bible School. my high school diploma. letters to/from Thomas when we first fell in love. graduation cap and gown from HS & College. The list goes on and on.

The sun was so bright and warm that day. It was almost blinding. I sat on the ground for much of that time sorting through which letters to salvage, which to throw away. I tried hard not to cry but kept finding myself mourning the loss of my things or at least the "condition" of my things.

One other thing I found was a snooze button. yes, a snooze button. When I was in college, I bought a little white alarm clock for my dorm room. It came with a "remote" snooze button that was attached to a 4-5 feet long cord which connected to the alarm clock console. It was a nice thing to have at first, but quickly became a hinderance. a wall. a disruption from a much needed structure/routine. It was eventually retired and stored in my chest. Not sure why it was there until now:

I stood in my yard holding the snooze button realizing I had been pushing snooze all weekend. Most of us had in some ways. No one wanted to really face the reality of what had happened. avoiding the basement. cooking dinner like normal while the news ran story after story of flash flooding that Saturday evening.

So, my story concludes. We are safe, healthy, and blessed. And many in Nashville are also safe but in desperate need of rebuilding, clothes, simple necessities like school uniforms and socks, and countless other items. Let us not keep hitting the snooze in life. Let us wake up: taste it all: bitter or sweet: good or bad: and let us not give up the faith.

Psalm 69:14-16 (New International Version)

¹⁴ Rescue me from the mire,
do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
from the deep waters.

¹⁵ Do not let the floodwaters engulf me
or the depths swallow me up
or the pit close its mouth over me.

¹⁶ Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of your love;
in your great mercy turn to me.

On the move... and more to come.

So, here are a few quick videos of Jazz starting to crawl.. well I'm not sure how to classify it. but she is definitely on the move scooting on her tummy and pumping those legs! Jrew is a ham... he loves the camera. So, he makes a few appearances.

I will upload a new post very soon with a little coverage about the flood.

This video link is Jazz starting to scoot/crawl on her tummy.

This video link is Jrew laughing hysterically, in case you missed it on the last post.

Still Alive and Kickin'

and poopin' and cryin' and walkin' and runnin' and talkin' and learning how to sit up'in and workin' and eatin' and livin' and prayin' and thankin' God for Spring Break and warm weather headed our way!

It has been some busy days since I started back to work. It's unbelievable how quickly the kids are growing. Both of them are doing new things every day. I just want to do nothing but hold them, kiss them, and squeeze them when I get home from work. I love it. Jrew always greets me with the sweetest of smiles and usually with two or three new words. Jazzy is ready to eat when I walk through the door and simply must have her way. The Lord has blessed us indeed.

Jrew can now say so many words it would be crazy to mention them all. But, he is also starting to say phrases sometimes. A few days ago he wanted something I had and I put it away - he begged me to have it and said "I ona hold it". It wasn't quite so defined but that is exactly what he said, TWICE. Of course I didn't let him hold it because I believe it was a pair of nail scissors. He laughs all the time and truly thinks he was born to ENTERTAIN. Of course he was. That is what he does 24/7 - Scratch that - 23.5/7. He does spend some of his time throwing temper tantrums when I a) don't let him stay in the laundry room without me b) make him leave the bathroom and close the door c) close the refrigerator door without letting him play in there and a host of other reasons.

The newest words to make their appearance in Jrew's vocabulary have come from overhearing me and Thomas. UT-OH. As Thomas said, "I can't believe we're in the spelling stages now." We have definitely go to watch what we say. Now you know us very well probably, and we do not use fowl language. But words that seem harmless to us certainly do not belong in Jrew's world of language. He recently picked up "Oh shoot" and "Oh my goodness". I must admit it is very funny to hear him. He also says "love you" and "night-night".

Jrew is also sleeping in his big boy bed now. We have officially been doing this for about 2 1/2 weeks now!!!!

Jazz is a sweetheart. She is doing so well holding up her head, she started sitting up in the bumbo this week. If you don't know, a bumbo is a small chair for infants that basically wraps around their little body and legs to help teach them how to sit up. She does so well in it, I just can't believe it. She's doing this probably a whole month sooner than I would've expected. She is growing out of the crying incessantly stage and is becoming very alert and aware of her surroundings. She is starting to notice Jrew and he is loving it. He leans down and says "Jazz". He talks to her all the time. Tonight, he and I were trying to teach her how to laugh... That was so much fun.

Jazz is nursing well. She had a very difficult time taking the bottle when I first went back to work but is doing fine now. One day I thought I would have a fit because she had only drank 2 ounces of milk the entire day! She's up to normal now. Drinking between 4-5 ounces each feeding! I can't believe she's outgrowing clothes like a weed. She is starting to wear some of her new and hand me down clothes in the closet. What a cutie. She smiles all the time now and I can't wait for her to pick up giggling.

I must go to bed now. I will try to update more often and with more pictures. We are making plans to go to a local park this week "Dinosaur Park". I've been told to bring my camera and Jrew will love it. So, look for that post soon! It has been a bit tough lately but we are so blessed beyond words. We are so thankful God is faithful each day and his provisions are neverending.

The above picture is Jrew playing with these very large sunglasses - Baliwood Style!

Let's just compare: This is Jrew at 12 weeks above and Jazz at 12 weeks below. They are definitely brother and sister. But she is definitely a princess! :)

New pics and videos...

It has snowed quite a bit in Nashville. It's very pretty and it's been kind of nice to be locked in the house together as a family; watching movies, eating snacks, sleeping in, etc...

Anyway, here are some pics from our venture out yesterday.

Here is our 6 week check-up. 9 lbs. 9 oz. !!

Baby Contest Pictures

So, my friend Megan has alerted me to a Beautiful Baby contest that Regis and Kelly are sponsoring. The deadline is Jan. 29 and I think you can only submit one photo. It doesn't really say you're limited to one photo, but it says that to submit a photo. One of the rules is that the picture must have been taken within the last month and cannot be professional. So, all the pics we had done at Christmas are out because Jonathan took them and he is a professional photographer.. on the side and not his full time job.. but still...

So, I gathered some photos I took at home and I also took a ton of pictures today. I actually took both kids to the park by myself... with the help of my double stroller. It was soooo nice to get out in the fresh air and since I went to a park that is not very busy but very wide open, I thought I'd take a bunch of pictures of Jrew to see what we could come up with.

So, look at these and see if you think we have a shot. Pick the one you think I should submit and (hopefully) vote for it. If you think I should keep taking pics and see what I come up with... I will. :) The picture number and caption are just above each photo.

Photo 1 -

Not really for voting - just so you can admire (along with me)

his incredible thick long eyelashes. Love this shot!

Photo 2 - No explanation needed - except I wish his eyes were open.

Photo 3

Cute, even though his smile isn't nearly as big as it is in these other photos.

I like how his hands are resting on his lap.

(obviously unplanned since I didn't have anyone there to

help me pose/prompt any of these pictures).

Photo 4

He's wildly excited about being free from the stroller in these shots!

Photo 5 - He looks amazing in this color blue! :)

Photo 6 - Warning: The resolution on this photo isn't really all that great.

May not make a good impression on the judges. :)

Photo 7 - Sweet shot - I asked Jrew to say cheese and he did... imagine that!

A Rich Man's Paradise

Some people have told us that we have a "rich man's house" now because we have a boy and a girl. Well, we are very far from rich, but we are truly blessed to have these sweet little bundles. I am merely updating this post to keep a record for my future self of all the incredible things Jrew is learning so quickly and how Jazz is doing at nearly 4 weeks old!

Baby girl is doing well. She slept last night from 12:30 am to 5:00 without waking! Sweet for me. I am hoping she will do the same again tonight.. then we can claim a pattern. She smiles sometimes in her sleep and I am definitely not rushing her to grow up any quicker. I can take my time to see her smile - and laugh and roll over and crawl and walk and talk and grow up. She is such a sweetie. She does not like to be wet (nobody does - come on) and she loves to snuggle. If she's awake, she pretty much wants you to hold her. She is nursing really well. Sorry if this is TMI - but she often tends to be a picky eater, unlatching and re-latching multiple times. This indeed makes a huge mess all over the two of us. I guess I could count that as a good problem.

Jrew has picked up many new words and understands way more than we ever thought he would at this age. I'm sure it's normal - but to us it's genius of course. So here are some anecdotes about Jrew from this week.

*Earlier this week, Jrew came into the living room and started poking around by the lamp (as always). He picked up a rolled up wet diaper and started walking out of the room. I decided to follow him to see what he was planning to do with it... he walked straight into his room, to the diaper pail, and patted on the lid for me to open it. The amazing part of this (to me) is that the diaper pail is behind his head when he's getting changed... so I'm not quite sure when he saw me put diapers in it... but he's very observant.

*He came into the bathroom with me one day last week (more TMI, but he's a toddler, right?) Anyway, he tried to hand me tissue and I said no thank you. He pulled off a piece and put it in his mouth - realizing how nasty it tasted he started spitting it out. I said "Jrew, don't eat that. Why don't you blow your nose?" - So, he put his bare hand up to his nose and blew. I laughed and said "No - use the tissue" and so he did. He put the tissue up to his nose and blew.

*Jrew knows and can demonstrate that he knows his face, hair, nose, mouth, eyes, and feet. He can now say many new words including apple, shoe, open, out, thank you, baby, and Jazz.

Now, here are random and stupid thoughts from me (I probably need more sleep). Again, more information that you may want to know but perhaps humorous enough to make it worthwhile. These are actual thoughts I would never - ever tweet... but I guess this is just as bad. Anyway - random thought #1 - If men did nurse babies and it was normal for them to do so - would people freak out if they saw a man nurse in public? Random thought #2 - it has been said to me before that women who do not have curly hair want it, and women who have curly hair do not want it. I do not count this true for me because I actually like my hair. But, I do think the same can be said for women who are top heavy. LOL

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Let's just put it all in a list:

What I have done/ or what has been done in this household:

* Jazz pooped on dad's side of the bed (okay with me) but peed on my side (sheets must be

washed immediately).

*Jazz peed on the couch (slipcover must be washed or at least removed immediately)

*Jrew played in the bathroom trash. His hands were washed immediately.

*Within 60 seconds, Jrew put his hands in the toilet - I mean Jrew dipped toilet paper in the toilet using his bare hands. (his hands were washed immediately.)

*Thomas took a short trip to Kinkos - meanwhile both Jrew and Jazzlyn took turns crying/screaming until I put one down and tended to the other. (i.e. diapers changes, feeding Jazz)

*Had a very nice and pleasant dinner with our dear friends Rachel and Jason - Thank you Rachel for the invite and the delicious Christmas dinner.

*Thomas had to leave to tend to Christmas Ninjas - I must explain that in a different post. But a very good and self-less reason to be gone a few hour on Christmas Eve.

*Meanwhile - Jrew refuses to go to sleep unless I am holding him - while Jazz screams consistently because she wants to eat. So, I spent an hour (at least) going from one baby to the other - living room/kids room/living room/kids room. You get the picture. Jrew screamed for a solid 15 minutes while I nursed Jazz on one side. Then I went to rock Jrew and Jazz screamed until I gave in an came back. I nursed her on the other side while Jrew screamed his head off again...

*I finally ended up sitting/kneeing beside Jrew's crib to pat him on the back with Jazz in my arms for around 3 minutes when Jrew finally gave in and fell asleep.

WHAT I HAVEN"T DONE YET:

*I haven't wrapped one single present.

*I haven't cleaned one single dish.

*I haven't cooked one single thing for tomorrow's nutritional needs (except Rocky Road candy - can you live on that?)

*I haven't washed any sheets for my bed and this must be done or I cannot go to bed.

*I haven't washed anything else for that matter.

YET - with all of this undone I had to stop and write this post before it lost it's charm. And now I bid you farewell - good night.

Ho - Ho - Ho: Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. Hopefully.

PS - Here is a very cute picture from today. Notice the blue "breakable" vases on the shelf: Jrew somehow managed to move one of them (base and lid) to the bottom shelf today when we found him about to search the insides of the vase) FUN!