Updates

A peaceful evening here in the Louwerse household. Both boys are in their beds (though Jeran actually took a nap today, so I wouldn't label him as sleeping quite yet), and James is out with some of "the guys". So here I sit happily (and wierdly) crunching my ice and thinking about what's new with our family.
I would definitely qualify our last couple of weeks with Jeran as an improvement. While "1-2-3 Magic" isn't magic, per se (some tweaking and minor modifications have been made to allow for our son's unique personality) the amount of yelling and frustration in our household have decreased SIGNIFICANTLY. Another victory of sorts is that Jeran has officially joined the ranks of the potty trained. It is wonderful (and cheaper!) to only be changing one diaper (for the time being anyway), and I'm just so proud of him. It speaks to how much he's growing and changing. In fact, his birthday is a week from this Tuesday. It blows my mind that I will be the mother of a 4-year-old. He is so full of imagination and personality. Tonight at dinner we were entertained by many creative songs and several stories (mostly about Thomas and his friends but who's complaining?). The personality side is presenting a challenge as far as how sensitive and loving he so naturally is. In the past week he has told the check-out lady at Aldi and a lawyer friend of ours who stopped by to talk wills (scary, adult stuff) that he loved them. This is tricky ground for me. I want him to remain open and friendly and compassionate toward others, but I feel that a line of comfort is crossed for people when he is so unabashedly emotional. I guess part of my "fear" stems from the fact that I just finished reading "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult and one of the main characters is picked on mercilessly throughout his school career. It made me think about what a target Jeran could become because of his vulnerability with others, and I guess I just want to protect him from the meanness that can be out there in the world.
Benjamin...our dear, Benjamin. We're dealing with a kind of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde syndrome with this one right now. In the past couple of weeks his personality has done a complete 180 from being the laid back, easy-going kid to a demanding, tantrum-throwing, crabby boy. I wish I knew on what to blame that. Sickness? He's been somewhat congested for most of his short life so it's hard to tell when he's crossed the line from regular congested to sick congested. More teeth perhaps? We have had a few more of those make an appearance in recent weeks. I don't know. It seems like more than that to me. He definitely realizes now that he has a will of his own and does NOT like to be told no. I just hope and pray it's a passing phase and will end shortly. Each day seems to find him busier and quicker. We've lost him in our teeny tiny house several times in the past weeks. It's always a "He was just right here!" moment. Quick as lightning. He also seems to have a penchant for being a people-person. He's constantly waving and saying "hi" to just about anyone and everyone (and "hi" can be translated as "hello" or "good-bye" in Ben language).
Next week both boys visit the dr. for their check-ups so we'll see what news there is to report on them in that sense.
If you haven't noticed because you've been living under the proverbial rock or simply don't give a rat's patoot, the economy is really in the crapper. This makes James's job slightly more stressful to attend to these days. What I love about him and the company he works for is that they care so much about their clients as people, so it's hard for him knowing how all of this is affecting their clients. What we continually remind ourselves of during this difficult time is that our hope does not rest in government or businesses or money, but solely in the Lord, who continues to provide for our every need. One way he has been doing that for our family is by providing me with some work (finally!). I'm still babysitting on Thursdays and also have been tutoring at the center where I previously worked. It's only a few hours a week, but it's great to be using that teaching part of my brain again. I also have the opportunity now to tutor a little boy twice a week about 10 minutes from our house. There's a program in the western 'burbs called Bridge Communities which works with local churches and the homeless. The program works with homeless people/families to get them transitioned from that lifestyle into housing, education, jobs, etc. It's a pretty cool thing. Anyway, the wheels were put in motion back around Thanksgiving and just now finally a student arrived at the location nearest our house. I'm looking forward to being able to work with him but also find it scary to be totally in charge of assisting him - no center director to fall back on.
Last week we had the treat of James's mom staying with us from Wed. night - Monday morning. His dad was here too on Sunday and Monday but the other days had a conference in the northern suburbs. The boys had a FABulous time with Grandma, especially Jeran who enjoyed all the new books and other activities she brought to entertain. She also was a huge help in assisting us with the long list of little house projects we've been developing over the past 5 years and are just now getting motivated to tackle. James and I were also able to get away for some time together while they were here, and that was a HUGE treat.
So I guess that's all that's up. If I was better at updating on a more regular basis you wouldn't have such a ridiculously long post to wade through, and I would probably remember to share more details. As it is I forget my own name these days so the daily stuff sometimes falls through the cracks. Oh yeah, and I'm pregnant (how 'bout that?) and starting the every-tw0-week appointments now which means we're about 8 weeks out from being a family of 5. The nesting instinct has definitely kicked in hard core (much to James's chagrin) so don't be surprised the next time you see/talk to me if I'm desperately trying to move/organize/clean something.
At the moment I am content with what's been done today (mundane things like cleaning out the van, laundry, dishes and fun things like hanging out with some of "my girls" and the kids this morning). So for now I will bid farewell and go find some way to relax. Except, oh wait....that dust on the mantle is calling my name. And the spots on the carpet. Wasn't I going to fix that lamp shade, like, a year ago?......