A big weekend

Well, we had a very busy weekend.  It started off Saturday morning helping Mommy in the kitchen.  We baked some cupcakes and brownies for the church bake sale.  While we were baking, Daddy went to the CS Lewis Institute for a seminar.  We hung out as a family while we waited for Mimi to arrive.  When we got back from the airport,  I got my first haircut.  Mommy regreted cutting the mullet off after we had done it. She has admitted I look like a big boy now!  I was really good as Mommy and Mimi gave me my haircut.  I didn't want them to mess my hair up--that's what ladies compliment me most about!  Sunday morning I got up and went to church with the family.  I helped Mommy and Mimi in the nursery.  OK, so I was the only one in the nursery, so I really did help them out!  If it weren't for me, they wouldn't have had anyone to watch!  After church, Mimi watched me so Mommy and Daddy could pick up some fire wood.  It sure took them a long time.  Mommy and Daddy left their wallets at the house, so they weren't able to get any money for the fire wood man.   I'm so glad that they left me with my Mimi or they might have forgotten me some where!  I enjoyed my first fire and wonder when I can start helping Daddy build fires.  I heard Mommy say that I can't be alone with Daddy when it comes to fires.  I wonder what Daddy did when he was younger to have Mommy say that! On Monday, Mommy and Mimi took me to this HUGE grocery store called Wegmans!  I slept through most of it.  I'm glad that Mommy and Mimi had such  a good time, but I hope to stay home with Daddy the next time and let the girls go shopping.   When we got home, Mommy and Mimi made some of Big Grammy's famous bread.  Mimi and Auntie Doris finally figured out the receipe.  I'm glad that Mimi shared the receipe, so one day I can have some of this bread and Mommy can tell me stories about Big Grammy.  While Mimi was here, we were able to take a CHRISTmas picture.  You will see a couple of silly pictures of Daddy, but you will have to wait until our CHRISTmas letter to see the family picture!  Then on Monday night I hung out with Mimi, so Mommy and Daddy could go on a date.  They said that it was their first date since I was born.  They sure do need to get out more!  I was a good boy and took my bottle from Mimi.  I ate 6oz from her!  I might need to lighten up on Daddy and take a bottle from him soon! 

Well, I guess I should get going.  I've been pretty busy.  I'm looking forward to a day of just hanging out with Mommy and not having to go anywhere.  I sure can't wait for my Daddy to get home.  Maybe I can take a nap with him again this afternoon!

Growing, Growing, Growing

Well, Josiah is a little over four months old.  He is growing like a weed!  Chris and I had to go buy a few things over the weekend because he has gotten too big for his clothes!  We had to buy some 12 month onesies, so he wouldn't be squished anymore.  They are a little big, but it gives him some growing room.  If the outfit doesn't have a onesie piece, then he can wear 6 or 9 months.  He is still as skinny as can be.  He hasn't graduated from size 1 diapers.  As a matter of fact, the velcro tabs over lap each other!  Chris and I bought clothing when it was going out of season and just calculated how old Josiah would be.  Well, let's just say that it hasn't worked too well for our advantage!  

Josiah is learning to do so many things.  He is learning new sounds each day.  Sometimes he smiles when he does a new sound and sometimes he gets a scared look on his face.  He is doing a much better job sitting up.  He still isn't doing it on his own, but he is working on building up those muscles.  He is so close to rolling over.  If only he could get that shoulder out of the way!  Tummy time is still an ordeal each day.  The last two days, he has been looking out our bedroom window and seems to like it--well, only for so long.  It's not an immediate screaming!  He is doing a lot more with his toys. He's figured out that if he touches them in a certain way that he can make them move.  The newest thing he has started doing is putting things over his face.  When he is eating, he covers his face with his arms.  If he has a bib on, he puts it on his face.  If we give him his taggie blanket, it goes over his face.  He still loves his bath time.  Some nights I think he gets whiny on purpose  because he knows we will be put him in the bath tub.  Last night, he was as whiny as could be.  As soon as I started undressing him, he started smiling and making happy noises.

Chris and I are doing really well!  He is really enjoying me being at home.  He likes all the cooking that I am doing each day.  I don't mind the cooking either.  I am having fun trying new things and adding the special little touches that I couldn't do before when I was working.  Thank goodness we have the Wii Fit or we might need to go clothes shopping for ourselves!

Well, I should get going since the little one is napping and this gives me the chance to get some things done around the house.  Please know that if anyone would like to visit, we always have an open invitation.

Finally in VA

Well, Josiah is almost 4 months old.  Where has the time gone?  He is going to his four month check-up today.  There are so many doctors in the area that take our health care plan that we picked the closest one to us.  This practice is actually a family practice, so Chris and I will be able to go there if we like them.  If we don't, then there are MANY more to choose from. 

We are almost done with getting everything settled.  Josiah's room was the first to get done.  It pretty much was done the first day we were here.  He likes having his own room and crib.  The first couple of nights were a little rough sleeping wise, but now he goes down around 8:30pm and sleeps until 4:30am-5:00am--it just depends on how hungry he is!   After that feeding, he goes back down until 8:00am. We will be taking pictures of his nursery and putting it on the website for you to see.  He is getting to be such a big boy.  We have one of those Bumbo seats, and he is starting to sit up on his own.  Every afternoon, we go for a walk.  Let me tell you, he LOVES to walk.  As soon as we get inside, he starts fussing.  I'm trying to figure out what we are going to do when it is in the 20's this winter.  I think we will need to purchase one of those stroller covers for him.  Right now, I am enjoying our walks because the leaves are changing colors.  I will also post some pictures of some trees that I took one day while we were walking.  It's not the same as fall in New England, but it is definitely better than the South!  Chris made me laugh the other day because he got home from work.  Usually, Josiah and Chris will go for another walk to get the mail.  I asked Chris if he was going to take Josiah and he told me that it was awfully cold outside.  He then told me that it was in the 40's and it was winter out there.  I just chuckled at him and asked him, "Winter? Really?"  He said, "Okay, maybe pre-winter."  I told him, "You should try fall and when it gets to be the 20's and 30's then it'll be winter."  Boy, is he in for a shock!   Josiah also loves his bath time.  He is trying so hard to get out of his recliner seat, so the other night we let him float in the bath tub while Chris held him.  He absolutley LOVED it!  Josiah is starting to "talk" a lot more.  He usually has a time in the evening when Daddy gets home where he just talks and talks and talks some more.  We say Josiah is telling Daddy about his day.  He is also big on laughing.  The other day, I was babbling to him and all of a sudden he started laughing.  I have no idea what I said, but I guess it was something that tickled him. 

 Chris is enjoying his jobs at the Christian school and the church.  He is definitely in his element.  The ESL classes at the school were split up and he got the older students (13-19 years old).  His Bible class is the most challenging because the majority of the students are not Christians and practicing different religions.  They have come from overseas for their senior year so they can graduate from an American school to go on to an American college.  They are asking him some really tough theological questions.  This is definitely a ministry for him which he is really enjoying.  Things at the church are going well.  He will be preaching his first sermon this weekend.  I think we will be able to attach it somewhere to the babysite for those of you who would like to hear it. 

I am so enjoying being a stay at home mommy.  I'm definitely in my element.  I have waited so long for this time.  It is as sweet as I imagined to be.  There were some tough times when I had to go back to work, but it is all worth it now!  I enjoy getting up in the morning and feeding Josiah.  While I'm feeding him, we read a Psalm and say our prayer.  Then he works out under his play gym, while I work out with the Wii. He usually goes back down for a nap at 10am and gets up to eat again.  Then we do whatever until his next nap around  1pm.  Then he gets up and we go for our walk and then start getting dinner ready.  We are finally getting on a schedule, so Mommy knows when to plan things!  I am so thankful that Chris is willing to work two part time jobs, so I can stay at home with our son.  I enjoy supporting Chris in his ministry.  We will be starting a Home Fellowship Group for 20-30 year olds in November, so we are really looking forward to that.  Cellblock 2030 will be making a comeback! 

Well, I guess that is it for now.  Please come back some time next week to see some updated pictures.  For those of you who have a Facebook account or would like to get one, we will be posting videos of Josiah that way.  Photographer mommy has taken too many pictures and has used too much of our memory to do videos. 

Who needs a schedule anyway?

We are a day away before my mom, Josiah and I start traveling to VA.  We will leave on Thursday and drive half way to NC.  Friday we will get up and drive the rest of the way to NC, so Josiah can see Papa T before he leaves for England to see Harper.  Then Saturday we will get up to drive to VA.  We are trying to break the trip up for the little one. 

Josiah's schedule has been all out of wack.  Before we got here, he was going to bed between 9:00 and 9:30 and sleeping until 4:30ish.  After putting him back to bed he would get up to eat before I went to work and sleep until 8:00.  Well, he hasn't done that since we've gotten here.  The last two nights it has been between 11:00 and 11:30 before he has gone to bed.  He has gotten up to eat somewhere in the 6:00 hour and then goes back to sleep.  So I am hoping that once we get to VA that I will be able to get his room organized and set up as quickly as possible and really start working on a routine with him.  The only routine that I've had this week is stretching him to not eat before 3 hours.  There were a couple of days when that didn't work too well, but I think it was due to him going through a growth spurt.  All I can say is that Mommy definitely needs a schedule and routine!

I have to admit that Josiah has been a wonderful baby through this all.  The only times he has gotten fussy is when he is hungry or when he needs some time to himself.  When I say fussy, he isn't crying or screaming.  He makes a noise that sounds like a motorcycle starting!

Again, we ask for continued prayers as we will all be traveling over the next few days.  Chris is heading back to NC today.  His mom, sister and stepdad will be traveling to NC tomorrow.  They will all leave for VA Friday afternoon after packing up the truck.  Then everyone will leave for GA Sunday.

It's Official

I wanted to let all of you know that I got an offer from the church in VA this last weekend. I officially accepted last night and we are planning on moving at the beginning of October. I am traveling up to VA on Friday to look at some housing options and to finalize the job situations. God has been sooooo good to us through all of this. It has taken much longer than we were hoping, but everything is falling into place perfectly. His timing has always been perfect and once again He is showing it. Thank you so much for your prayers and your encouragement over the last few months. We are excited to finally be make to doing ministry "officially." The church is an EPC church called Reston Presbyterian Church or RPC. The church website is www.rpcconnected.org if you want to see more. We wanted to let all of you know. I'm sure we'll write more soon.

30 years

Well, it's official...I've been on this earth for 30 years now. I've heard people talk about how their 30th birthday was hard because you are another decade older, but I don't feel a bit different than I did last night when I went to bed at 29. I guess I've always liked my birthday because I look at it as a chance to have another year to grow wiser. This year I will have LOTS to learn as I learn to be a mother to Josiah. As I sit here, I realize how much of a privilege it is to be his mother.

On Monday, I got some very sad news. One of my friends from work lost her baby as she was delivering him. She was 2 weeks from her due date and didn't have any problems during her pregnancy. I've been asking, "Why?" a lot this week. During this time, I've also realized that I have no right to complain when Josiah won't go to sleep at night or he won't take a nap during the day or when I've only gotten a few hours of sleep. I'm sure my friend would love to have the opportunity to hold her crying baby who won't go to sleep and to be awakened in the middle of the night to feed her baby. I ask that you pray for her as she goes through this time of sorrow. I can only imagine what she is going through, and I'm sure it isn't even close to what she is really feeling.

Chris heard from the church in VA today. They are meeting tonight to discuss him and the position. Hopefully, we will hear something by next week. We will let you know something as soon as we hear from them.

Josiah has finally gotten over his colic. He has been going to bed around 9:30pm and sleeps anywhere from 4:00am to 5:00am! Eventually, we will get him to bed earlier so Mommy and Daddy can have some adult time, but we are just thankful that he isn't crying for 3-4 hours at night. It really broke our hearts to hear him crying and being in such pain.

We hope you all have a great weekend and thanks for all the prayers that have been sent up on my behalf over the years and the prayers that are being sent up on Josiah's behalf over the last few months!

For I know the plans...

Well, it's hard to imagine that Josiah is now 6 weeks old. It seems like he has always been a part of our lives. As I sit here, I try not to have a heavy heart. On Monday, I will be returning to the classroom. For how long? I don't know. Things are moving along with the churches in VA and SC, but nothing is finalized yet, so we feel it would be pretty foolish for me to quit my job and not have any income coming in. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in VA. Chris and I can see ourselves at this church ministering. The only problem is they want Chris to work part time and have a lower salary. For Chris' position to go full time, he is the one who would be in charge of reaching out to people and get them involved. The reality is Chris would have to work a second job which would mean less time to focus on ministry and chances are he wouldn't be as effective in getting people to the church which means it would take longer for the position to go full time. Chris talked with the chair of the search committee last night and just shared his heart in the matter and how he wants to be able to provide for his family and have our needs met without struggling each month and how he wants to be most effective for the church. They are meeting on Wednesday to discuss if they will recommend him to the session with a little bit higher salary. Then, in two weeks, the session will meet to vote on whether they will agree to us coming. I know the Lord has called me to be a stay at home mom, but there is obviously a reason why I'm going back to the classroom. He has a plan. I know one day down the road I will use this sorrowful time to minister to another woman. It's just never fun going through these moments. I just wish I could be at peace with the whole situation. I do have great comfort in knowing that Chris will be staying home with Josiah to take care of him while I work. He is a great daddy and loves our little man so much! He says he will even bring him into work during my free times so I can get a Josiah fix. He will work Monday and Friday nights and some on Saturdays. He was very understanding when I asked him to limit his time at work during the week, so we can have time together as a family. It will also be very stressful the first few weeks of school, so I will need as much support from him as possible.

Please continue to pray for us and especially me as I return to work on Monday. I know the Lord has a plan for the Greenwoods.