Too long without an update

Gosh, it’s been so long since I’ve done an update…where to start? We have been here in Evans for a year now – that is hard to believe! It seems I was just pregnant and moving, and now we have a 9 month old and a 3 ½ year old! We are doing well - God has really blessed us here. We have met folks that I’m sure will be special friends for the long haul, and have found a church and Small-Group that we call home. Tom and I have really found work that suits us perfectly, and we are enjoying being close to family. Sure, we do miss the beach (and ofcourse you coastal folks) – but we are certain we are in the right place at the right time, and that is a good feeling! My sister Jewelia and her husband Jason and their 2 girls (about 3 and 1 ½ years old) just moved here last week, too!). We are excited about watching the cousins grow together! Our boys are so much fun! Thomas takes such good care of Austin – he always gets me a clean diaper for him, plays with him in the bathtub, tries to teach him to crawl, helps him if he’s toppled over, gives him teethers and toys whenever he fusses, talks about how he is always going to “pre-tect” him from “strangers” (funny stories he comes up with on this one – usually acting out Spiderman or Superman), and recently tried to swing him to the moon in his Johnny-Jumper (right – that is not for swinging…we’ve let him in on that). Thomas is still his fun-loving self – he’s constantly silly and putting on a show, and is always noisy and fast-moving (and a little whiny lately too since he’s dropped his nap L - unfortunately if he takes one – even for an hour - he can’t go to sleep at night until WAY too late). He is really starting to act sooo grown up – he decided to go with ‘Mom and Dad” recently instead of Mommy and Daddy, and starts many sentences with “actually” and “sooo”… Thomas nick-named Austin “BooBoo Baby” and I must say that it “stuck.” I catch myself calling him BooBoo often. (It all started when Thomas put one of his Spiderman bandaids on Austin a few months ago when he had a tiny scratch on his leg). Austin loves to play Peek-a-Boo – he’ll even ever-so-quickly snag a Kleenex out of my hand while I’m wiping his nose and hold it over his eyes and wait patiently for us to say “where is Austin?” to which he dramatically shows us where by throwing his hands down to his side and shooting his chunky white legs straight out – the cutest thing!!! He and Thomas play the “roaring game” – Thomas asks Austin – you want to roar with me, BooBoo? Thomas goes first and then Austin roars and tries to top his big brother – they usually keep going until it just gets too loud for everyone. They do this game with squealing, too. Too cute! Austin is sitting well, grabbing at and reaching for everything, and rocking on his hands and knees which has him scooting backwards (he’ll probably be fully crawling by the time you open this email). He is a happy little guy - you can see his two new little bottom teeth through his sweet smile (though often his tongue is in the way – it’s always sticking out, especially when he giggles). He is doing much better since he had tubes put in his ears at 5 ½ months – he had about 3 straight months of ear infections and way more antibiotics that I would have ever wanted! His little personality really blossomed once he didn’t have to live in pain every day! I never thought I’d look forward to surgery for my kids – but it was a huge blessing! The ear infection “season” left a few “scars,” for us, though – he stopped sleeping through the night after his first ear infection and refused to take his occasional bottle…unfortunately, his sleep never went back to the amazing all night without-a-peep-sleep that I worked so diligently for, and he absolutely will have NOTHING to do with a bottle – even though about once a week he used to suck down a 7 oz bottle without a problem before apparently associating it with ear pain. So, the latter has made life a bit inflexible, but (after trying EVERYTHING and then pouting a bit) I have embraced it…might as well, there’s not anything else I can do, so I will enjoy my special time with him and when he turns a year I’m going to take a break – Tom and I are going to Jamaica! In the meantime, God has taught me something neat: Holding out
Now I lay me down to sleep My bedtime schedule – sure to keep. I know Mommy will be home in due time So I kiss Daddy goodnight, and close my eyes. Mommy nursed me at three, and that will do You see I’ve learned to hold out – I know she’ll come through. I will not settle for anything less – Not just the right milk – I need the caress. The hunger could be met through another cup, indeed, But not the perfect amount, the perfect temp and speed. So I will close my eyes and wait Not to be tempted by counterfeit.
When the One who knows me best Is ready to give me that for which I what I long, My desire will then surely be fulfilled But while I wait, I will be strong. Lord, let me never be so hungry That I will let another meet the need, But let me always be so needy That only the Almighty’s provisions will I heed. If life doesn’t flow from the embrace of the Life-giver, Then I will let it pass me by, And though I hunger while I wait, I will hold out for the One who perfectly satisfies.
~Sohailla Digsby 3/8/07 Written after coming home from work (2 nights a month) to a peacefully sleeping baby who now contentedly refuses breastmilk unless it comes straight from the source – not in a bottle, not in a cup, not even mixed in rice cereal, and would rather just go to bed hungry….holding out… They keep us very busy! Tom is enjoying working a 5 day “regular” week as an Investigator in Property Crimes (he used to do murders/violent crimes at the beach – but this county has had less than a handful of those over the past many years – praise God!). He was blessed to advance very quickly to where he is and is very happy doing what he does! It’s amazing when we look back on the journey of how we got to this place in life and what doors God had to close and allowed to open for us to be where He has us now…back in Evans where we never really imagined ourselves - not working nearly as many hours as recent years, and enjoying the fleeting moments with each other! Me? Well, when I’m not blending baby food, changing diapers, nursing, carting Thomas to preschool, picking up HotWheels, answering all the “why?” questions of life, going to look and see what Thomas wants to show me (“Mommy – come look – I have to show you somepin”), and playing with 2 busy boys, I do a couple other “tings….” At the beginning of the year, I created a nutrition position at the 2 nearby YMCAs (the one in Evans and another in Augusta). This was a major “God-thing” since they weren’t looking for anything like this, and just simply said “okay” to my proposal (and since there are a ton of Dietitians in this area and no RD job openings). I do monthly presentations at each, and see a handful of clients per month. It’s just perfect for me - it is not too many hours, but keeps me on my toes in the nutrition field, which is good since the research is always changing and growing. I am still doing my children’s art/craft business – painting canvases, etc, and have several stores in the Southeast that sell my “stuff.” I love teaching aerobics here – these gym-goers are really into aerobics which makes it fun! I have started teaching Zumba (it’s a Latin-dance aerobics class that is my kind of FUN) at a few gyms and also at the dance studio where I danced competitively growing up. So, Tom and I sleep hard and not ever as long as we’d like, but hey - “these are the days”….we are doing our best to SOAK these little munchkins up because like everyone says – time flies even faster once you have double trouble (2 busy boys - that is)!