Sidekick

Blaise was my little sidekick for about 7 months.

He is such a good baby but our one little bitty issue has been that sweet Blaisey-boy has refused to take a bottle.  Seven months in with him and I could count on one hand the times we missed a feeding together (in which he pretty much just didn't eat).  I told our pediatrician at his last appointment that the Lord had done a work in my heart about it.  I can honestly tell you I see it as a blessing.  Blaise is number 4 and is pretty low-key most of the time.  He hasn't gotten all the one-on-one attention other children get.  So it's not a bad thing that he goes with me everywhere; he never gets left with a babysitter.  I guess it's been his way of demanding attention he might otherwise not get.

But a few weeks back, it all changed.

A friend of mine who goes to our church and who is also a speech pathologist has worked with Blaise on his bottle-taking skills in the past.  One Monday I had a work thing to go to so I asked Brandi if she would take Blaise and work with him again.  She agreed and we both laughed when I dropped him off that at 7 months, he was already in intensive feeding therapy.

Well, she worked her magic and Blaise took 6 ounces while I was gone.

I about fell out of my chair when she sent me the text to let me know.

And since then he's taken one bottle from me each day.  I am so proud of my boy.  And I'm so thankful for this one little bit of freedom.

I haven't really been sad about him getting older, but sometimes now I get these twinges of realization that his baby days are numbered.  He is sitting well.  And mobile, really; he can roll to anything he wants.  He gets up on his hands a knees so I know he will be crawling soon.  Shane said the other day that Blaise will just be one of the gang soon.  It's true.

But when did I blink?  Cause it seems like just yesterday that I was peering through hazy wee-hour eyes at that little milk-mouth.

I call him Blaisey, Blaisey-boy, Blaisey-boo and Boo.  Sim calls him Bwaze.  And every day at lunch, when Silas says what he's thankful for, it's always Blaise.  Then Silas goes on to say that Blaise is thankful for him.

I never knew one child could make such a difference.  Oh, how we all love Blaise...

Drury Girl

This darling has had a big week.  On Sunday evening she announced that she wanted to go to the potty.  We haven't really been talking about potty training at all around here.  I had pretty much decided to wait until Sim and Lieren were 3, when they were absolutely ready, in hopes that it would only take a few days.  But, the week before Christmas, sigh, Lieren decided she was ready.

I, if you can't tell, wasn't.  So I told her she was fine, that she had a diaper on.  That maybe we could sit on the potty later.

But she insisted.  So I caved.  And she went, just like she did it all the time.

Since then, she has not wanted to wear a diaper (although I have insisted at nap and bedtime).  And she has only had a handful of accidents in the midst of a multitude of great successes.

Sweet Lieren.  And trust me, now when she says she has to go...I believe her!

A few weeks ago Lieren got her first haircut.  I felt like she needed some shape because her hair has grown in layered and with bangs.  So the same lady who cuts my hair and has cut the boy's hair set Lieren up in the seat and gave her a little trim.  Lieren loved the attention and pampering.  It was so cute.  Cori even put a little braid in Lieren's hair and some sparkles.

Cori is so nice to me when I show up.  I try not to take all the kids when someone needs a cut but sometimes we don't have a choice.  Lieren's haircut day was that way.  I had all 4 in tow.  But Cori lets the kids watch videos on her computer, play on the iPad and on her iPhone, and gives them a treat as they leave.  So every time we drive by, they all holler, "There's the haircut!" and beg to stop.

Recently I have been telling Lieren that she and I are the "Drury girls".  The first night I said it to her, she just lit up.  It was like she realized she was part of a very exclusive club.  And since then, she reminds me frequently that we are the "Drury girls".  Just she and I.  Not the boys.  Not Daddy.  Not any of the other girls we know.  Just us.

Now that we have all the Christmas decorations out, Lieren is loving having the Nativity sets to play with.  I am sure she won't do it after this year, but this season I am loving hearing her talk about baby Jesus, Mary and Jofus.

You probably would never know this unless you are around us, but Lieren is extremely silly.  We are always laughing at things she does.  Having a girl is fun in the middle of all the boys, for sure!

A Simeon Story or Two

I left off the last time I blogged with the thought that this has been somewhat of an intense season around here.  I think I'll stick with that label for the time being.  The wonderful thing is, though, that in the intensity comes an increased awareness of Christ and His power alone to deliver us (2 Cor 1:8-11).  I have been listening to and singing this song all night (Hillsong's Cornerstone).

One of the last days in October was a beautiful Sunday.  My friend Natalie asked if we wanted to spend the afternoon out at her parent's house.  I had been thinking about getting the kids out of the house and enjoying the weather so we headed out there after naps.

As you can tell, we were super careful to keep life jackets on all the kids around the water.  And boy, am I glad we did!  As the sun began to set, we walked back out on the dock one more time to let the kids feed the fish.  It was lots of little kids all in one area and we're not quite sure what happened (that is, none of the 5 adults who were all standing right there actually saw it) but Simeon fell in.

And can I tell you how Not Surprised I was?

In the split second after it happened, I thought several things.  One of which was that Shane had already left so I was the sole parent responsible for rescuing my son.  I also remember realizing that his head was above water and that he didn't seem panicked at all.  But also in that split second, I couldn't think of anything else to do.  So I jumped.

With my jacket on.  Which had two things in its pockets.  My camera.  And my phone.

Natalie's husband, Paul, also jumped in to save Sim.  So we all ended up soaked.  We pushed Sim out onto the dock then I climbed out after him.  Natalie's mom brought us towels and I just stood there holding Simmy and thanking God he was ok.  Several of the other kids were crying about the ordeal.  But not Sim.  His first words to me?  With great excitement in his eyes, "Mommy, where'd that fish go?"

Sweet, sweet Simmy Nash.  The boy has a passion for life that is unequaled.

This past summer Blaise was in the baby swing on our swingset and Simeon walked in front of him a little too close.  The swing hit him right in the chest.  Instead of melting in a puddle of tears, Simeon jumped back in front of the swing and declared, "I want some more!"

Sim is pretty creative, too.  Just recently he was building with our Trio blocks, making something that looked like a wall.  I asked him what it was and he said, "It's a church building!"  Think he's heard us talk about that much?!?

Sim keeps us on our toes, that's for sure.

Phone and camera were replaceable.  Sim, not so much.

Teaching and Building

We are living in a bit of an intense season right now, which is one of the reasons I am so surprised that the Lord gave me the sweet opportunity to teach at our women's Bible study this week.  The teaching schedule was planned out long ago, and the added pressures we have been living with only made the study and teaching more meaningful to me personally.

I taught on busyness.  We are doing a 5-week series called Get Real, in response to what the women of our church said keeps them from contentment.  I've never taught on such a large scale, but felt very sure about what the Lord gave me to say.  And to hear that the Lord is using it in the lives of those who were there has been pure redemption.  I've shared many tears in conversation with our women since then.  Truly I am deeply humbled and thankful.

Here is the link if you want to listen...moms of young children will certainly relate to lots that I talk about.

Speaking of our church, Shane has had the added pressure and fun of helping plan the youth space in our new building!  We are so excited for 11.11.12 when we have the grand opening!

I love these pictures of our kids at the building this past summer.  They just look like little ministry kids playing in the rocks outside the unfinished building!  And someday we'll get to tell them their names are written under the flooring in the doorways to the rooms where they belong right now (infants, 2 year olds, 4 year olds).  Praying God uses us and our church to build a strong spiritual foundation in their lives...

SchoolBoy

Silas started to preschool last month.  It was such a milestone for our family.  I really didn't know how it would go or what Silas would think.  But he has blown me away with how much he has jumped right in without hesitation.  He absolutely loves it.

The first day was shorter than a typical day.  Shane and I went to parent orientation while Silas was in class.  I was really thankful it worked out that my sister was in town visiting so we got to leave Sim, Lieren, and Blaise at home with her.

Silas was thrilled to finally put the last sticker on the countdown that his teacher gave him when she came for a home visit a few weeks before.

Notice the Toy Story backpack?  Yeah, we let him pick out whatever he wanted.  He told me he wanted this one because it had green on it.

I wanted Silas to have something to put in his backpack on the first day because he was so disappointed that he didn't get any school supplies of his own.  He had gone with Shane to buy school supplies to give away in a backpack through a ministry our church does each year.  So we gave him a verse to carry instead.  It's one he had just memorized for church and a reminder not to fear.

Greeting friend Haley right outside the school...

And getting his first glance at his classroom...

I am so proud of Silas.  He has really risen to the challenge of school.  Even though it's strange to have him gone, it's fun to see him grow and mature with this new experience.  And its so cute to see him get excited about the little things about school!