"Deep Thoughts"...

It's been a long couple of weeks at our house. John just got back from a five day trip to Denver (training conference for work). So happy to have him home! :) It's strange, but it seems the shorter trips always go by slower. The two weeks he was gone to Israel about this time last year went by so much faster than the few days he was just recently gone. Wonder why it works out that way...? John also started his online study course last week. The first week wasn't too bad--even with having to study while being out of town. The second week may not be so easy; he has to squeeze in 40 hours of study time per week from here on out--on top of juggling a 40-hr work week with family responsibilites. It's not gonna be pretty.

Jonathan earned his first award of the year in AWANA last week! He got his Jumper Patch!!! He looks so handsome in his little Cubbies vest--now w/his patch sewed on. He's growing up so stinking fast. His vocabulary continues to grow and improve as well. We're still working on a few things, though--like enunciation. Jacob is slowly getting there when it comes to walking, but he is improving (at least, I think he is). He now seems more comfortable taking steps, and he leads rather than follows. Now if we could just convince him to let go...
The boys got a little wild yesterday afternoon. We had lunch at my Nana's after church, like we always do. She has a bird bath out in her backyard, and also a milk jug of water that at one time had a little Miracle Grow in it. With a little help from Paw-Paw, Jonathan figured out how to empty the water in the milk jug into the bird bath! He kept filling it til it would overflow, and every once in awhile, Paw-Paw would empty the bird bath so he could start it all over again. He did this all afternoon! He had a blast "giving the birds a bath!" Jacob wanted to be out where the action was, so Paw-Paw took him out and let him dip his feet in the bird bath. Apparently, Jonathan also figured out how the water hose works. At one point, he took the hose and sprayed his brother! A laughing Paw-Paw brought them both in the house soaking wet. They sure had a good time, though.

I had my annual physical on Friday. Everything seems to be perfectly normal with me. Good news, because nothing seems to be perfectly normal with our appliances. Our fridge is leaking something out the bottom. We had a thermometer in there; the temp would fluctuate between "food zone" and "spoilage." I started getting paranoid so I took it out and threw it away. So far, the fridge is still running. The food is still cold, and nothing seems to be thawing out. My parents are doing some remodeling at their house. The ice dispenser went out on their fridge. My dad has been telling us we can have their fridge if we want it--once they replace the ice dispenser. So we're either going to take theirs (if they get it fixed this week) or we're going to break down and buy a new one when John gets paid on Friday. Next month is one of two months out of the year that John gets 3 paychecks, so we can use the spare one to buy a new fridge. Now if our fridge will just hold out until my parents fix theirs or until John gets paid--whichever comes first...
I got a feeling that after the fridge, the dishwasher's gonna go next. It's leaking, too. There are some days I really miss apartment living. We have fixed/replaced one thing after another every year for almost three years now. And we've been in our house almost four years. Good times!

Anyway, that's about all that's going on in the world of Merriss right now. We're thankful for all the wonderful blessings God has given us, and we're trusting Him to bring us through the trials that come our way. After all, we have hope in a God who loves us. We're called to live lives of faith, not lives of fear. That's the lesson God's been teaching me the last couple of days--just thought I'd share. And this has been "Deep Thoughts" by Jennifer Merriss...
OK, I'm done now, I promise! I'll get a pic of Jonathan all decked out in his Cubbies uniform up soon. Hope everyone's week is off to a great start! Until next time...