Just a normal day...

I want to learn how to celebrate the ordinary!

Today, as I sat down to write my blog, I realized that I don't have anything extraordinary to share about our day. It was just a typical day in our lives. So often, I call my Mom or Mom Q and say, "I don't have anything to tell, just wanted to call." That's what I feel like today. "I don't have anything to tell..."

Then I realized, that I am so grateful for an ordinary day. We didn't have any emergency room visits, our house was still standing when I arrived home, the cars are both working, everyone is healthy... Wow! It was an ordinary day! Whooo Hooo!

I also realized that I am going to quickly forget the ordinary. I feel like the days are going to stay fresh in my mind forever, but I know that pretty soon I am going to forget what is was like to have an ordinary day with Austin as a 2 year old. So, here it is... a complete blog dedicated to our absolutely, ordinary day.

I woke up and got dressed in my "mother's day out uniform." Red t-shirt, ponytail, jeans, sneakers, and very little makeup. I woke up Austin at 7:30 am and then he ate a banana and cereal while I packed lunches. I got him dressed and he cried when I turned off Mickey Mouse Club to get him to brush his teeth.

Austin typically finishes his breakfast in the car - while I become the bag lady.
- A diaper bag
- 2 lunches
- Nap mat for Austin
- Ducky or "quack quack"
- and numerous bags full of teaching tricks, supplies, and bribes for my own classroom.

If we leave early enough, we have time to pull through Sonic where I order my large Coke and we are off for a caffeinated day of teaching and learning.








Here we are in our car ready to go!
Not really, at the moment, I am driving a 2004 Honda Accord and James is still driving our awesome 1999 Toyota Forerunner with close to 200,000 miles. So, yes, this could be a picture of Austin in our forerunner.

School starts at 9 am and is a full day of play, music, computer, phonics, crafts, etc. until 2:00 pm.

We leave and Austin normally falls asleep immediately when we get in the car. Today, we went to the grocery store! Austin fell asleep on the way home anyway! Austin naps and I check email, blog, watch tv, or sleep... I should be doing laundry, dishes, or cleaning the house, but I don't want to:) After naps, we play and Austin helps me cook dinner. Tonight we are making lasagna. James comes home, we eat, we play, Austin gets a bath and goes to bed! Yeah for the ordinary!


I'll add a prayer on here later for Austin, but right now I smell my lasagna burning! - maybe i'll have an extraordinary story to tell after all!

My Butterfly

If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies. - Unknown


When I look at this picture of Austin, I just want to laugh out loud! Isn't he absolutely adorable. He was only 4 months old in this picture! He has those huge cheeks that widen whenever he smiles. I love it. Oh, I was so concerned at the time. Every time we went to the Doctor, Austin was off the charts in weight. He just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger (which is exactly what babies are supposed to do)! He was truly my little chunk! I cannot tell you how many times I was stopped in grocery stores by concerned elderly women asking me what in the world I was feeding that baby!

I took pictures of Austin in his diaper every month for the first year, and now as I look back over the pictures, I am amazed at the change from month to month, and now year to year! A baby goes through so much growth that first year of life.

We are so scared of change, and yet it is the lack of change that causes a new parent the greatest concern. Growth means change. Growth is both difficult and necessary.

Austin no longer has that baby chunk! He is growing into a little boy every single day. He has moved from rolling over to crawling to walking. He is no longer using sign language as much as his verbal speech develops every day. Today he said "more, chips, mom." I didn't know he knew the word "chips." On Sunday, he was working a puzzle on transportation, pointed to a taxi and said, "taxi, mom." I don't know where he learned the word "taxi!" Oh, he is growing!

This week I am teaching my four year olds a lesson on butterflies, and I am reminded once again how much preschoolers remind me of these flittering creatures. On Tuesday, one of my students, Keira had a birthday. She danced around the room all day making up songs. "Today is my birthday! I love my birthday! I brought cupcakes!" The song had its own unique tune as Keira flittered through the classroom. A little butterfly.

Austin was trying to communicate with me today at the BSM. We were eventually both in tears as his tantrum increased and I kept saying, "Austin, I'm sorry. Mommy just doesn't understand that word." Growth is both confusing and irritating. Just like a caterpillar growing into that beautiful butterfly.

The changes are happening so quickly. The days are flying by and I want him to remain a baby forever. Today, he didn't want to take a nap, so I held him for a few minutes in a big chair, just singing in his ear. "Oh, I want this moment to last forever, I thought to myself!" Then I laughed at the image of a 6'4" college-aged Austin sitting in my lap being sung to by his mommy! Oh, I want to pinch the cheeks of that little four month old boy again! Don't let it go by too quickly, Lord!

"Dear Lord, I pray that you would help me to cherish every moment I have as Austin's mommy. Please let the days go slowly and allow me to capture the memories in my mind. Thank you that preschoolers teach me the importance of growth, and I pray that you would be with Austin as he grows. Lord, please help him to grow up into the man of God that you want him to be. Please never allow me as his mom to inhibit his growth by my own fears."

Be Kind to thy Sister...

Be Kind to Thy Sister...
Not many may know the depths of true sisterly love...

My sister and her son, Andrew

I don't have much to write about today from my own life, so I thought that I would occasionally dedicate a blog entry to all the members of Austin's extended family. So, today, I am going to start with the inspiration for my own blogging debut: My Sister, Jenny.

Jenny is a master story teller in both her speech and her writing. She is able to make a mundane task come to vibrant life with something as simple as a dramatic accent, a tale of something lost or found, or the description of something she saw. I few months ago, she started recording her days through a blog. As our parents daily read her blog, they started encouraging me in the same way, "Emily, you should write a blog too! Then we could keep up with Austin!"

Great Jenny, thanks so much.

Even though I am only 18 months younger than my sister, I never felt like I was compared to her. We grew up with such different interests and strengths that it was really easy to follow in her footsteps. Jenny doesn't mind a good adventure (or risk), so growing up, I was able to watch Jenny to determine which actions were "spanking worthy" and later "grounding worthy." To this day, I still call her about parenting and say, "Jenny, what would happen if I let Austin do this? Have you ever let Andrew eat that? Was he allowed to jump off ____? I still evaluate so many risks in light of my sister. Since I hate breaking rules (see earlier post), I love having an older sister to lead the way.

Jenny is the "queen of everything!" Really! If I can't track her down, I can always call my mom... "Mom, do you know where Jenny is today?"
"Mmmm.. ," She'll reply. "She is leading MOPS this morning, then driving to Brooksville to take Andrew strawberry picking. After that, she is delivering meals to sick friends while taking care of their 16 children. She has a small group meeting in her house tonight after leading her Beth Moore Bible study and then is surprising David (her husband) with a gourmet meal (she made herself) and an evening away at a luxury hotel (that she paid for making gift bags for orphaned children). So, I think if you call her between 5:00 and 5:03, you might be able to catch her."

I have never met anyone who can volunteer for everything and then do it all 100%. She lives life to the full everyday and she has this amazing fashion sense. (I know that doesn't really relate, but I just thought of it and it is something else that I admire.) Whenever I'm in town, I always ask to just walk through her closet.

I know that this blog might not be interesting to anyone besides my family, but I want to record all these thoughts somewhere. I want Austin to someday know how I felt about his family - my family. I want him to know where he got his love for shoes (Jenny and Granny) and his rich heritage.

So, Jenny, thanks for the inspiration to write this blog.

Do you have some good friends?

Do you have some good friends?
I never know quite how to answer this question. And strangely enough, I am asked this question a lot. Perhaps it is because we move quite a bit. Perhaps it stems from the fact that I have friends all over the country. Perhaps it is a question of concern since my best friends live thousands of miles away? Maybe people are just nosy? No, I think they mean well, but I am often asked, "Have you made some good friends in _____ (Denton, Fort Worth, at your church, at your school, in your neighborhood, fill in the blank).

So, today, it is time to finally answer the question - and hopefully identify with some other moms out there in blog land. Yes, I have many friends in _____.
I would love to introduce you to the ones I spend the most time with.

These are perhaps my most faithful friends. They are always there for me and really reliable so far. They aren't my best friends - as you can tell, they haven't learned how to sort, fold, or put away, so we are just hanging out together right now.

James thinks Oreck should be my best friend ever (see previous post), but I see our relationship more as one of convenience.

My best friend! However, I have found that she is not near as interested in making me look good as she is in providing me comfort!

The worst friend of all - she just lays around and makes me do all the work. (This is my pilates mat!)

So, for all my friends living so far away, I am happy to say that i have made some great new friends, but there is always room in my life for you!

The Other Side of the Story

"We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself." John 8:41

Yesterday, I told you all about my messy side... today it is time to tell you about my other side... James Kenneth Quesenberry

When I make a mess, James is always there to help me clean it up. James loves a house in order, everything in its place (especially dishes and laundry). His "love language" is acts of service and he feels so loved when he comes home to me vacuuming..
sometimes I wish he felt love when he came home to a huge watercolor painting lesson going on in the middle of the coffee table...

I am so thankful for his patience in the midst of the mess, and I love having my best friend around to share in this adventure called "parenthood!"

I love to watch James and Austin play. I love to watch them wrestle on the bed at the end of the day. I love the way James throws the ball on top of the roof while Austin giggles with glee. I love the way Austin runs to the door and yells "DADA!!!" when he hears the garage door open around 6pm every night. And I love the way Austin screams "DADA" every time we pass a Starbucks. Maybe I should be concerned...

Oh, how we are so richly blessed! Some of my friends have really struggled over the years with the idea of God being a "father." Their earthly fathers invoked such hurt and pain that considering God a "father" was just too difficult. I, on the other hand, found it so easy to understand God as a Father. My own dad provided such stability, such security, and such love that I wanted God to be like my dad.

I believe that Austin is going to have the same kind of rich experience - with a daddy who is so head over heels in love!

"Austin, I pray that you will always understand how much your daddy loves you! I want you to know that he has always been so proud of you and loves to show you off to the world. Today, he was so excited that all the older women at Sam's stopped to tell him how precious you are. He loves to tell Austin stories, because he loves you. You dad will never be perfect, Austin, but I hope that you will always find it so easy to call God "Father" because of the daddy you have been given!"

Sometimes... okay... Typically, we are very Messy!

I do not mind a good mess. I am not talking about dust or trash, I am talking about paint, brownie mix, chocolate, sand... a good, real mess. My mom is an artist, so I quickly understood that there was nothing wrong with paint on your clothes and clay on your fingers. I want Austin to richly experience life - a life full of messy hands, tasting new foods, and painting huge pictures. Today, Austin and I decided to take a dip in the pool. We have a beautiful pool! Have I told you about our pool? It's about 2 feet wide and 1 foot deep (only $2 at Walmart). Today, I decided that Austin needed some outside time and since it is 102 in Denton this week, the pool was a great way to spend the afternoon. So we decided to splash, to throw water at one another, to soak each other with the hose while still wearing our good clothes. I figure that if it can be washed... well, you get the picture.

Can you just picture Austin and I sitting in our pool together. He actually has to sit in my lap because I take up the whole pool. Oh, I wish that I had a picture. Then again, this is my blog, and I don't want to look ridiculous in it!

I am not just a messy mom, I am a messy teacher.

Fortunately, Ms. Carrie doesn't mind a mess herself and our classroom is full of playing and painting. Yes, we often have to stay later than other teachers cleaning our room, but I like to think that we are boosting learning (I hope!).

I tried to find a Bible verse to bolster my argument for messiness. Did you know that "messy" is not in the Bible? Well, the word isn't. But, there are lives full of messiness, and a God who cleans it all up! Oh, that's the best kind of mess!

I am still writing, and writing, and writing...

I wanted to post a quick note that I am still writing, just not on my blog for a few days. As most of you know, my focus shifts when I have papers due. I have a paper due tomorrow by midnight, so I will not be updating my blog until it's done. So, if you have called, emailed, etc. in the last two days - I will try to call, email, write back on Saturday when this paper is in:)

- Emily

Blessed Among Bubbles!

Here is a quick note to other mothers of preschoolers. This is just an idea that I thought of sharing. Bathtime with your Bible!While talking with college and adult women, one of the most common complaints is when to spend time with God. We all want to wake up a half hour before the world begins and spend time alone with God - which is precious time, but if most of us are honest, we wake up 15 -30 minutes after the alarm has initially gone off. We feed our kids bananas and toast in the car on the way to work and our kids sometimes even show up at preschool in their pajamas.

So when can we spend that 15 - 30 minutes just alone with God?

When our kids are in the bathtub!

Austin loves his bath time. He would spend as much time in the bathtub as I would allow. A few months ago I noticed that I was really rushing Austin to finish his bath time quickly.
"Austin, let's hurry and wash your hair."
"Austin, let's not play anymore, mommy needs to go do the dishes."
"Austin, let's not climb in your bucket."
"Austin, are you trying to tell me your stuck?"

About a month ago, I realized what I was doing and thought, "Why can't I allow Austin to enjoy his time in the bath? Why do I live my life in such a rush?"
So, I started taking magazines or books into the bathroom with me and enjoyed some down time while Austin played in the water. This week it hit me... why don't I use that time for extra time alone with the Lord?

Austin doesn't seem to mind one bit. He is having so much fun in the suds, and I am finding the time so meaningful and enriching.

For example, yesterday I was having a tough day. We have made the decision not to fly to Florida for Thanksgiving due to the current cost of airline tickets and I was just feeling sad all day. At bathtime, as Austin played and splashed, I picked up my Bible and read Psalm 68.

Since my current Bible was still in the living room from morning church, I grabbed an old Bible from under my bedside table. I saw that verse 9 was circled and underlined heavily. Next to the verse, it said..."I am praying this for my time in Texas."

The verse: God sets the lonely in families.

You see, seven years ago when I moved to Texas, I was moving as a young, single woman attending seminary. I was so nervous and scared about being so far away from home, but at the same time claiming that God would set the lonely within a family.

As I read this verse seven years later I thought about my life. In that time, James and I dated and got married... we had Austin, and we have had beautiful friendships in both Fort Worth and Denton... God was faithful to his promise. He sets the lonely within families.

Tonight as I watch Austin splash in the bathtub, I hear the strong sounds of laughter coming from 30 Japanese students playing charades in my living room.

Oh, Lord, you do... you set the lonely in families.

"Lord, thank you for these precious bathtime blessings. I pray that in the midst of Austin's busy life, he will find time to read your Word daily and fall in love with you! I pray that you will surround Austin with the family of God every day of his life."

A Heart for the Nations

Sing to the Lord a new song
sing to the Lord, all the earth
Sing to the Lord, praise his name.
proclaim his salvation day after day
Declare his glory among the nations
his marvelous deeds among all peoples
Psalm 96:1-3

As many of you know, James and I went to seminary with plans to graduate and move to West Africa. Before we got married, we felt God pressing our hearts to the Nations - to tell others about the wonderful love of Christ. Maybe someday soon I can spend some time in a blog telling you how God changed our plans to match his plans, but we still feel that constant pressing on our hearts, to tell the nations about Jesus. One of the beautiful ways that God has fulfilled that love is with the international students at UNT.

Tonight, our house was filled with the smell of spaghetti and the voices of 25-30 Japanese students. What a wonderful evening. At first, Austin was cautious about all of the new faces, but before long, he was fascinated by his new friends.

After eating dinner, the students played frisbee in the backyard, while several girls spent time with Austin. I had to take this picture because they were treating Austin like a rock star. It was so precious to hear all the students saying, "Austin! Come here! Austin come here!"

Austin loved showing them his swing and his playroom. He had such a wonderful evening and cried when I told him that he needed to get ready for bath time.

Oh, how we have been richly blessed!

"Lord, please give Austin your heart for all peoples! Help him to understand how beautiful your world is through all the cultures and people that you have created. Help him to love others - from every nation. Stir in his heart a desire from a young age to travel and help him to fall in love with the people that he meets - telling them about the glorious love of Christ. As a mother, help ease my heart about Austin ever traveling abroad and help James and I to be wise stewards of our money so we will be able to help Austin travel to tell the world about you!"

Austin, Did you Know?

Dueteronomy 2:7 The Lord has blessed you in all the work of your hands.

I wanted to write Austin this letter after receiving a beautiful email from one of my former students, Becky Heyse - pictured above with Austin (6 months)

Dear Austin,

I want you to someday read this and understand how unique your life is. Before you were born, I worked at the Baptist Student Ministry at TCU. Every single day while you were growing inside of me, you heard the voices of some of the most Godly college students I have ever met. Every day, your mom would meet with five or six college women for discipleship and during those days we would talk about life, about our struggles, about you, about marriage, about school, and about growing in our relationship with God. Each and every day, those college students would ask me how you were doing, how I was feeling, and how they could be praying for us.

As the day for you to be born came closer, your dad and I had some decisions to make. Would I continue working with college students, or would I stay home with you for the first year of your life? The college students made the decision easy. They encouraged me to do whatever it took to be a Godly mom to you. I knew in my heart that although I absolutely LOVED my job, I needed to stay home with you and watch you grow that first year.

As soon as you were born, the girls came to the hospital to see you. They held you and prayed over you and asked when they could babysit. Your very first babysitter was Becky Heyse. She is so special to our family and I knew that I trusted my girls if I could leave you with them. Caralisa came over and helped your grandma do your footprints, and Hillary often babysat so I could pack, clean or sleep during those first few difficult days.

Those first days were hard, baby, because although I loved you, I missed my college girls. Do you know how special the Lord is? He allowed your dad to take a job as the Director of Baptist Student Ministries at UNT that summer after you were born. For all the relationships I was leaving behind, the Lord was preparing new relationships for us with the college students in Denton, TX.

Do you know, Austin, how blessed we are? You have already been on two mission trips at the age of two. You have a second home at the BSM, and your own home is constantly filled with college students who are trying to walk a Godly life. They love you, they play with you, and they make you think that you are a college student yourself. You are the only two-year-old I know who thinks that every beautiful, young college woman only has eyes for him. You are the only two-year-old at preschool who waits to be picked up to make a basket because you have been so spoiled by guys like Ryan Gay who always make sure you can reach the rim.

During these days, it is so difficult for us to be away from our family - your grandparents and aunts and uncles, but then I think... oh, do we know how the Lord has blessed us through the relationships with college students?

Your life will be different, Mr. Austin. You will not always have your grandparents at your birthday parties and you will not always understand why our home is busy and active, but I want you to know, my precious boy, that we have said Yes to Jesus and we truly believe that this will be more than we ever hoped or dreamed for you!

Love you,

Mom

Austin with Caralisa

Austin with Stephanie

Katy and Stephanie visiting Austin in the hospital

Becky visiting after Austin came home from hospital

Some of my precious, TCU girls.

What do you think that he's saying?

I don't have much to write about tonight, but I want to update my blog daily for the parents and grandparents so far away, so here is a picture from today.

What do you think Austin is thinking in this picture?

Here are some possible explanations of this facial expression...

- no more pictures, mom
- don't wash my face
- i want the camera...

but, none of these are actually correct. At this moment, Austin was actually saying, "Help, mama, STUCK!"

Yes, that's right, Austin was stuck in the tub. I use a small plastic bin (the kind of plastic bin that you use for shoes in the closet) to store Austin's bath toys. He has decided that more than any of the amazing bath toys he has accumulated, he wants to play with the plastic bin. Lately, he has been sitting inside his plastic bin during bath time, and tonight he got stuck.

I am glad that he is talking so much now - I am glad he has learned how to say STUCK!

There must be a paper due!

James says that he always knows when I have a paper due at school. When he arrives home from work, a room in our house has been freshly painted.
Procrastination? Maybe
Therapy? More Likely
There is something so stress free about painting, something so rewarding about watching a wall change colors immediately before your eyes. And something so fulfilling about see the accomplishment of a hard day's work.
So instead of writing papers, I paint.

Today, Austin and I tackled the Master Bedroom.
James has been asking me for a more masculine color in our bedroom - so today we went from "yellow ribbon" to "cup of cocoa"

I LOVE the new color and have some tips for having a great paint day.

1. Buy the paint while your spouse is at work. This alleviates the pressure of having to agree upon a specific color.
2. Paint while your spouse is at work. This saves marriages!!!
3. Allow your children to paint - remember to take off their nice clothes first

4. Make sure that your child is painting in an area that will be covered by your bed. Then, it doesn't matter if they paint on the floor. The bed was just pushed right over it.

5. Tell your child what a great job they did on the one little square you allowed them to paint before you sent them to their room for nap time.
6. Continue to paint in absolute peace and quiet, enjoying every moment.
7. When your spouse comes home, tell him how difficult it was without him and how easy he makes things when he is there (even though you loved your day!)

Our day...started with Prunes...I should have known

It was just one of those days...
It started with prunes, yes prunes...
My independent, precious, little son decided that the only thing that would do for breakfast this morning was prunes. Typically, I wouldn't have a problem with him eating prunes for breakfast. I am normally just glad that he isn't begging for cheetos for breakfast.
But today, I needed to run errands...
the bank, home depot, the post office.

Disclaimer: this post might be jumbled as I am very tired tonight!

When I asked Austin if we could look for something different for breakfast, cereal, grapes, a banana... he just replied, "No, Mama, Runes!"

So, "runes" it was.

The prunes fully took their toll right in the middle of Home Depot. Typically not a big deal, but by that time James' car had broken down, my car window stopped working, and I spilled a huge coke on my new white t-shirt. Just some of the little frustrations of daily life. As I pulled Austin towards the bathroom in Home Depot (he wanted to look at, take that back, pull out all the paint samples in the store), we passed an elderly couple sitting on a bench.

What a happy young man, they said as Austin sang his way to the bathroom. (Notice, that they didn't say, what a happy mom as I was not excited about cleaning the prune mess). Austin grinned up towards the couple and shouted, "Blue Shoes!" while holding his blue crocs up in the air. It was as if Austin was saying, "you know, it really doesn't matter what else happens today, mom let me wear my awesome blue shoes!"

Have you ever had a pair of shoes like that? You know what I'm talking about. A pair of shoes that doesn't match anything in your closet, but just makes you happy. Austin's crocs are those pair of shoes. They are bright blue and he wants to wear them with every single outfit. In the midst of my miserable day of spilling, frustrations, etc., Austin was just thrilled and singing about wearing his blue shoes.

My sister, Jenny once gave me a pair of shoes like that - brown high heels that look like they are made out of crocodiles. They are awesome. So, today I went home and did two of my favorite things, painted the house and wore my crocodile shoes while doing it!

The Apple of my Eye

"he guarded him as the apple of his eye." Deuteronomy 32:10

I wonder if Austin will ever know how much I love him. Until I had my own child, I had no idea that this type of love was even possible. Yes, I love my friends, my family, and especially James, but this love is so different... sacrificial, pure, whole, indescribable.

I grew up knowing that I was loved by my parents, but I had no idea... did they love me this much? Do they still? I believe so. Having a child of my own has dramatically changed my own relationship with my parents as I understand their sacrifice and love for me in such a new understanding as a mother.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I remember a song sung regularly in my home...
Daddy loves his little girl
She's the apple of his eye.
Daddy loves her, Daddy loves her
Daddy loves his little girl.

I love the phrase "apple of his eye" because of the rich memories it holds from my own childhood. I want Austin to understand and feel this same type of love - he is the apple of my eye. The most beautiful part of the phrase is that is is Biblical. God uses this phrase twice in Scripture to describe his relationship with mankind.

In Deuteronomy, God uses the phrase to describe his relationship with Jacob - his protection and care over Jacob's life. Zechariah also uses the phrase to describe the nation of Israel - the apple of God's eye.

A friend of mine passed along another blog this weekend - the story of a woman who recently lost her child. I spent the weekend in tears as I read the heartbreak so beautifully expressed in Angie's blog. Last night I pulled Austin into the bed with me after he had fallen asleep in his own crib. I just wanted to lay next to him and watch him sleep. I just wanted to hold him and thank the Lord for his health and safety. I wanted to thank God for being blessed with the gift that is Austin, and I wanted to thank him for a lesson in learning how to love...

Oh, he is the apple of my eye.

"Lord, I cannot begin to express my gratitude that you love us like a father loves his children. Please enable Austin to understand a fraction of the love that his parents, grandparents, and family feel for him."