RazNoggle

I know you’ve all been dying for your fill of the coffee quote. You’ve all become coffee quote-a-holics, ha! So for your entertainment, here it is.

“One cup of coffee is worth 40 years of friendship” ~ Old Turkish Saying

Yesterday morning the boys slept till almost 8!!! WOW! They then entertained each other quite nicely while mommy was getting ready for the day. When I did go into the room, Qade was walking around holding his build-a-bear cow named Buford. He looked slightly concerned as he told me “Boofud cying.” It really humored me to think that not only was he pretending that his cow was crying, he was also working hard to comfort him by hugging him tight as he walked around the room! What an imagination for a 2 yr old! I was pretty impressed. But just to let you know Buford got over it quickly and Qade took him out of the room and placed him in his special plastic chair. So fun!
Myles is doing so well! He has cut 3 teeth in the past week and a half, and has one more on the way (I think). Yet he hasn’t been fussy or grumpy at all. He’s such a sweet heart! He is sitting up well on his own these days, though I often put a pillow behind him anyway because he will topple over if he gets excited about something. He has finally mastered the “roll-over” ha! We were wondering if he’d just forget about that talent altogether and just go to walking! I knew that when he was finally motivated to do it, he’d just do it and that’s exactly what he did! Qade was slightly disturbed when Myles rolled within reach of his carefully lined up cars. I can tell already we’re going to have some ’sharing’ issues. Qade doesn’t mind sharing when he can choose the toy and take it to Myles. When Myles comes to get one himself, well that’s a different story.
I’ve been working on camp registrations lately. It’s exciting to see the names of campers that have come in the past, and of course all the new names! Can’t wait till we get to meet everyone! Our staff will be slowly trickling in over the next couple of weeks, and we’re really looking forward to getting to know them well. Camp is an awesome place! We love it!
Well, I’d better get busy on this… what is it… Wednesday?? I think so. Well happy day to you anyway.

That’s what I’ve been asking myself. For some reason I thought today was Tuesday for the longest time, and was even going to say that I finally “figured out” that it was Tuesday, but since writing the title for the post and the first sentence I have ‘figured out’ that it is actually Monday. Wow! Should have know just based on the fact that my brain refused to work, duh! So happy Monday to ya!
This morning I got up, got ready, got baby and boy up, fed baby, put screaming boy back in his room, fixed pancake-egg-bacon breakfast, changed several diapers, and decided when baby was fussing for nap that Mommy seriously needed one too! The grandparents are here and Stu is done with work, so I handed over my “captain-of-all-things-kid-and-home” cape to whomever felt like taking it on, and hied myself back to bed. It was much needed!! Now and then I just kind of hit a wall, and with all of the running around that we’ve been doing recently along with how busy we are going to presently be, I knew I needed a bit of a reprieve. Ahhhhhh… sweet nap-time! Myles and I slept like babies and I have no idea what else went on, neither do I want to. Now I know why Myles is always SO much happier after his mornin’ nap. I should join him more often.
Well, “the time has come (the walrus said) to talk of other things.” We attended Joey’s memorial service at IBC in Phoenix this past Friday. It was a very nice service and we’re glad we got to go. A huge answer to prayer is that both bodies of the missing boys have been recovered. So there will be a funeral for Joey sometime this week. It is a blessing, but it hurts too. I know his family really needed this closure to be able to move on from here. It’s been a long process! Three weeks is a LONG time to have to keep reopening the grief wounds, but we know that “Jesus is good” as Joey liked to say!! Three people indicated that they accepted Christ during Joey’s memorial, and we know that he was up there shouting with the angels too!
Camp is looming upon us like a giant about to swallow us up! That’s kind of how the last couple of weeks of preparation feel! It’s going to be a great summer! We are so excited about the staff that God has put together for us, and we’re supper excited about the campers who are coming. Summer camp is just an exciting time all around. I feel so privileged to be a part of it. I know that my part is small and limited because my main “job” is mommy, but I’m so glad that I get to visit with sponsors when the drop off their campers. I love working in the snack shop so that I can interact with the staff and campers! It’s great! This year the staff dynamics are different now that we have more staff families, but I think it will enhance rather than detract from the program that we provide to the campers. I’m sure looking forward to getting down there.
I’m not, however looking forward to packing! Ugh! That’s what we have to do this week. We’re going to be camp bound pretty soon, so that means that I have to get my act together and figure out what in the world we need. There’s all the “necessary” baby gear, and of course Qade will need his bike, and oodles of other stuff on top of the regular clothing and so on. T’will be an exciting time, I know.
Well, I suppose I need to stop. The word count is up to 634 already and I’m sure you all have other things to do besides read my blatherings. Have a marvelous week!

That’s what I’ve been thinking the past few nights. I’m happy to report that the boys have completed their 3rd successful night of rooming together! Ahhhhhh, tis so nice! I sleep OOODLES better when there’s not a baby in my room. So far our routine has been that Myles goes down around 7 (he just can not last longer!) and then about an hour later (it’s been more like an hour and a half because the grandparents are here and Qade is reveling in the spoiling) Qade goes down. The tricky part has been getting Qade into his room and rocked and into his bed without totally disturbing the sleeping Myles. It hasn’t been easy, let me tell ya, because Qade has decided that he needs to pitch a royal fit every time “nigh-night” is mentioned. Ugh! Last night we did manage to wake up Myles, but he gave a short fuss and that was the end of it, so I’m encouraged that he can figure out how to get back to sleep even when interrupted by his brother.
So Myles is still getting a “bet-time” bottle before I go to bed. I’m going to start working toward getting him off of that, but for now one hurtle at a time. Anyway, 2 nights ago I creapt into the room, so as not to wake Qade, and snagged Myles out of his crib. As I made my way to the rocker to sit down I noticed something on it. In the dark it was hard to tell what it was. I knew Qade had been up after I put him down so I figured it was some of his animals or something. Just before I started to sit I looked a little closer and realized it WAS Qade!! He was all curled up, sound asleep, in the seat of the rocker! Ha! Poor guy, it would have been a surprise if I had sat on him. I had to go get Stu to see it, and he transported the sleeping tot back to his bed. Last night I again went in not knowing what to expect. I looked at Qade’s bed first, no him. Looked at the rocker, no him. Looked at the pile of animals and blankets on the floor, still no him. Hummm?? Stu walked in and I told him I couldn’t find Qade. I had picked Myles up already, but suddenly the crib started rattling, and low and behold, out crawled Qade from under it! Ha! As far as I know he spent the rest of his night in his big-boy bed, but I wouldn’t bet money on it for sure! As long as he sleeps all night and wakes up happy I suppose it doesn’t really matter.
Well, my parents came for a visit, and it’s been so fun to have them here. Qade just LOVES all the attention and spoilin’ he gets. They watched the boys for us while we attended the funeral for Mark this week. It was a good service, and the grace that the family is showing in the face of all of this is amazing. It really makes me so thankful that we do have a relationship with Christ and a promise of life eternal. Joey’s memorial service is this week as well and we are planning to go to that as well. Joey hasn’t yet been found and there’s a possibility that he won’t be by this point. Please continue to pray that he will be recovered. The family would really do well to have that closure, I know.
Well, we are all wearing Lime-Green today in celebration! Hope that you all have been having a swell week. Ta ta for now.

Hi! Happy Monday everyone! I had a marvelous Mommy’s Day yesterday! My hubby got me some awesome foot rub lotion and it came with a foot rub too!! Qade and Myles got me a new comforter set for our bed!! I’d been looking for something in Chocolate and Blue and sure enough we found it! Daddy says that it was Qade’s suggestion so I’ll give him the credit. It was so cute yesterday at church. The “little kids” class came in at the end of the service and handed out roses to all the moms. Qade gave me a rose and the “card” that they made for us. The teacher took poloroid pictures of them (I didn’t even know those cameras were still around!) so the kids had their pictures on the front of the card. It was sweet. I’m so happy I get to be a mommy! Yesterday it came back to me that a LONG time ago when I was like 15 or so, I remember praying that God would let me have kids someday. Nice to remember that God hears our prayers and answers them in ways that so amazing! I didn’t know back then just how incredible it would be to be a wife and mommy, but I’d never trade it for anything, ever!

So today is “recovery Monday” and that’s what I’ll be attempting to do. Recover the house from the weekend! I’ve got laundry a goin’, dishes in the sink, a baby diaper to change, and lots of fun to have with my boys today too! I was going to put some of the cutesie stuff that they’ve been up to lately on here, but my blogs tend to be a little wordy anyway, so I’ll save that for another post. I’ll just tell you that Myles is working on getting 3 teeth through right now, but is still his same happy little self, amazingly! If ever he had an excuse to be grumpy that would be it. Love my lads!

Enjoy this song. It cracks me up!

Hey Everyone! Happy Saturday! We slept in!!! Well, after I got Myles up at 6:30 and gave him breakfast, THEN we all slept in! It felt good! I’m very happy it’s the weekend and that Stu is gonna be HOME all day today! He can play with the monkeys all day! They’ll love that!

I thought I’d share a song w/ y’all that has meant a lot to me. It’s called “In Christ Alone” and just about everyone and their parrot had recorded this song. We sang a choir arrangement of this during summer camp in ‘07. Anyway the words really make me think. Especially lately it’s been a blessing to me. Hope ya like it.

Well friends, I’m sorry I’ve been the bummer of a blogger lately. Life has been busy, and with everything that has happened recently I just haven’t felt like keeping up. But I know that even when we’re sad and hurting, we can still smile and laugh at funny things and enjoy the breeze and the birds, I’ve seen some interesting ones, Oma! My heart hurts right now it’s true, but I still find little springs of joy in my daily life. Living with my 2 little monkeys it’s hard not to have a smile on my face frequently. I hope you will all continue to pray for the Merrill family and the other family as well. Joey has still not yet been found, and even though we know that he’s gone, we need the closure. No matter how the odds are stacked against hope, it still persists and we know that God can work miracles, but we have to be able to let him go. The family is in limbo without knowing exactly how to plan. Please pray that the boys are found soon!
Qade and Myles are doing great! Mr. Big-Stuff is now 2 and seems to be getting years older by the day. His comprehension and communication skills are really improving so fast it’s amazing! He is back to sleeping in his crib right now. He’s been asking to sleep there instead of his big-boy bed, so I’m just putting him there for now. He will have to survive the summer in his pack-n-play anyway, so I’ll put him back once we get home after camp. By then I hope to have the boys being roomies anyway, so he won’t have an option. Myles is his own sweet little self. He’s doing great at sleeping at night, but does tend to get disturbed by Stu and I. He’ll wake up at 4am or whatever if he hears us roll over, so I’m thinking that maybe sleeping w/ big bro might help. Perhaps Qade is a quieter sleeper????? Myles is quickly approaching his 7 month mark, and still has no interest in rolling over from his back at all. Lazy boy! I “make” him have some tummy time each day, and he can skoot around on his belly pretty well, but he doesn’t like it at all. He has been having a blast in the exercauser though. I haul it outside so we can sit in the shade and watch Qade ride his “bike.” It is warming up and getting nice, but I tend to still be pretty chilly in the mornings. Makes picking clothes interesting.
We’re gearing up for camp, and really are getting excited about that. There are lots of details yet, but there are many more people to help work those out as well. Hope that y’all are doing swell and enjoying your spring times. Can’t believe summer 2009 is already upon us! Time sure does fly! Ta for now.

Joey worked with us last summer at Camp On Wheels. We’ve known his family for a long time. They came as campers to TWR and Joey was one of Stuart’s campers. Joey worked with COWs their first summer as well. He is a upperclassman at IBC in Phoenix. Last week a group from IBC hiked the Grand Canyon as they do each year. Joey and his younger brother Mark and sister were with the group. Details are sketchy from where I sit at this point, but the fact is that on Thursday 3 people went into the Colorado river at the bottom of the Canyon and didn’t come back out again. Among those three were Joey and his brother Mark. I’ve spent the greater part of the last 2 days asking “why Joey?” I ask it because the Joey that I know loves God with all of his heart. He was training for the ministry and had already made a huge impact in a church work he was helping with in Phoenix. He treated people with respect and compassion, especially the kids at camp. There was always a BIG grin on Joey’s face, he loved life, and loved to have fun. I wonder why him instead of so many others?? Why take one who’s heart was so bent on serving Jesus instead of one of the many who have turned their back on him, or even shaken their fist in His face? Why Joey when we were so happy to know him, and looked forward to working together with his ministry in the future? Why Joey when now there will be a void that it will take many to fill? Why Joey?
I don’t have an answer to the why exactly, but I do have a thought that helps it. Stu reminded me about how much Joey loved God. Quite honestly he puts me to shame! And the thought came to me that like Enoch, God wanted to be with the one who loved him so much. I think of how it was when Stu and I were engaged but apart while he was in school. I loved him so much and just wanted to be with him. Now Joey is with His Jesus, the One he loved so much. I need a reality check. Too often I think that this here is our reality, but it’s not. Our reality is eternity, and there’s only a very thin veil between us and God. For Joey that veil has been removed. I know he is having fun, and is filled with joy beyond compare, and I can see that big ear-to-ear grin on his face even now.
I can’t change what happened. I still wish it hadn’t happened, but I know God can see the bigger reality of the situation. I’m so glad that I got to know Joey. He and Mark are safe now in the arms of Jesus. We will miss them here, but never forget that we will see them again! Joey has left a lasting legacy in the lives that he touched. I would be thrilled if our boys grew up to be godly young men like Joey. We’ll miss you, but hopefully learn to be more like Christ through your example. Thank you, Joey!
Please join me in praying for both families who have lost their loved ones. At this time Joey and the other young man have not been found. Pray that they would be recovered quickly. Thanks!