Spoiled? Never!

Not Julia. Jack.

Every morning Jack gets up to an hour (ok, ok, much longer most days!) to snuggle up in the bed covers.

Spoiled? Jack? Never!

Once upon a time...

... in a land far, far away, there lived a woman who was half crazy. One day she decided that in order to grow to know her Lord just a little bit better she would cut off all modern forms of communication (or just the internet). And so for 40 days she ignored the computer. Now, at the end of her sentence she has come to the conclusion that a) the world does go on without you, b) you can have a small child and read books, c) she is still crazy, but hopefully a little wiser.

It's been a while. At the beginning of April I had a serious heart check about my life/time and where I put my hope. I realized I was more concerned with who posted on my facebook wall and who did or didn't leave comments on my blog then I was about how much time I spent with God. I saw in myself a person who had become so wrapped up in herself I couldn't go more than a few hours without logging on. So, I cut the cords. I took a drastic (for me) measure and logged off for a while. And it's been good. I've learned a lot about myself, that I can start and complete a task, and that God gives us way more grace than we deserve.

Alrighty, I suppose I can do a quick update on all things Windham. Julia turns a whopping 6 months on this Friday! I just can't even grasp it. She's now been introduced to rice cereal and sweet peas. Sweet peas did not go over very well at first, but now she opens her mouth up super wide when she sees the spoon. Of course, half the food ends up running down her chin, but we're backing progress.

Speaking of other Julia-progressions, she is now sitting up. She started right before she turned 5 months old. She would sit up for about a minute doing what I call the 'gorilla stance' - where the babe uses their hands to hold themselves steady; it looks like a gorilla to me. But at the beginning of May she started sitting upright. She's doing really well, and tends to only fall over when she's sleepy or irritated. And luckily she hasn't hurt herself too bad... just once when she flung herself back on the wood floors in our kitchen.

We're starting house church at our house this weekend. I'm really excited. These means I will actually be able to stay for the duration of church now! We rearranged the down stairs to accommidate for a sitting room and I must say it looks pretty sweet. I might just start spending more time down here.

Jack got a shock collar. Sounds worse than it really is. He has just kinda gone crazy with barking and running off, so we bought a shock collar that he wears every time we let him outside. I've used it once. He hasn't really barked outside since. Apparently, it's pretty effective.

Well, that's about it in a nut shell. I'm sure there's more that I could write, but I'll save it for later.

Puppy, baby and Cinco de Mayo, part 2

Jack is housebroken! Well, almost. He hasn't had any accidents in several days, and the ones that he has had were our fault because we weren't paying attention to how long he has gone between breaks. In fact, on Sunday morning, he woke me up at 6:30 by jumping up on the bed and whining. I took that as the "I need to pee" sign, grabbed him and took him outside. So, he's gotten down the idea that if he whines he gets to go "do his business". And that my friends is a huge step in puppy world. Needless to say, Jonathan and I are quite excited. Now, if only Baby Dubya is as easy to housebreak...

So far my morning sickness hasn't been as bad as it could (some stories of my friends' experiences terrify me...). I've had nausea, but nothing too extreme, and have only thrown up a few times. However, this morning proved to be a dosey. I woke up feeling not so good, but thought "I can push through this". About half way through the morning my toilet and I had become very close friends. At some point I thought "Sarah, if for no reason other than this, thank you for being such a neat freak and making sure your toilet is always spotless". After what seemed like way too long for my liking, I gathered up my battered self, emailed my boss and went back to bed. I woke up a bit more refreshed, but unfortunately, it hasn't lasted, and now I get to sit at my desk choking down crackers praying my boss doesn't ask too many questions before I can tell him the big news next week.

However, that story shouldn't overshadow the real story. Our Cinco de Mayo party rocked. I maybe biased, but I had a really good time on Saturday. The weather was beautiful and there was a really good turn out of people. We had a pinata, which turned out to be more for looks and less for hitting, as it was made out of cardboard and not paper mache. But it was fun all the same, and I think people really enjoyed themselves (at least I hope... and if you didn't please don't let me know). I think we might just have to make it a tradition. Plus, what made it really awesome, was the fact that Jonathan made homemade tortillas. Yummy. And our neighbor brought guacamole dip, which was fabulous. Yummy again! So, mark your calendars for this time next year and come prepared for the best party of the year. :)

Puppy, baby and Cinco de Mayo

Jack is finally crate trained! Well, for the most part at least. He's not barking all night and will actually let us sleep for 2 hours at a time, before he needs to be let out for a potty break. This is a major improvement from last week. Plus, he starting to go into his crate for naps on his own through out the day, and that is a really good sign.

He has been perfecting what I like to call "Jack Attack" on Madeline lately. She is less than pleased. Maddy will be strolling around the house and out of no where Jack comes barrelling after her. I think he has her confused with one of his siblings. After all, she is his size and color. But to his disappointment, she doesn't seem to want to play all that much, she just likes swatting him on the head. Which oddly enough makes he want to play with her more. Go figure.

On Sunday we announced our baby news at house church. It was kinda funny to see some people taken completely off guard, while others were like "We've know that for months!" It has been a wonderful (even though sick) last ten/eleven weeks. One thing that I didn't count on though were emotions. Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's most pregnant women, but I am so emotional. And over things that normally wouldn't make me cry. Here are two really funny examples:

1. On Thursday Jonathan and I watched the movie Deja Vu. The opening scene is all these navy men with their families getting on a boat. Anyways, you just know something bad is gonna happen, and I just start bawling. I told Jonathan "I can't watch this, please can we just stop the video?" He just looked at me and was like, um, nothing's even happened, these people are just getting on the boat. After about five minutes I was okay and watched the rest of the movie.

2. This weekend I was reading my latest Southern Living magazine, and came across this Cook for the Cure ad for breast cancer. All it was, was a pink apron that said "Who do you cook for?" and I just melted. Tears were swelling in my eyes and I was like "Oh goodness, that is the saddest thing I have ever read." Poor Jonathan walks through the door at this point and probably thought, I'll just come back later.

There have been plenty more, with me just seeing something and turning into a big cry baby. It's quite interesting to say the least.

So, I am coming up on 2 1/2 years of living in Iowa. And this weekend is Cinco de Mayo. Now, I've never celebrated Cinco de Mayo in Iowa, because if my memory serves me right, I've always gone back to Texas for some reason or another during that time. Well, it looks like May 5th will be spent in Iowa, which is very, very far away from Mexico.

I'll be honest and say that even while in Texas, I never went all out for Cinco de Mayo. I maybe just went to a good Mexican place (hmmm... Trudy's), had some Mexican beer and listen to Tejano music. But for some reason this year I want to go all out. I'm talking pinata, sombreros, Tejano music blasting and lots of dancing. Maybe I'll through on a poncho for some added flare. Of course, I doubt that will happen, but it would be fun. One thing is for sure, I most definitely want some Mexican food that night. Maybe Jonathan (or should I call him Juan?) will cook me up some yummy, yummy carne guisada and Spanish rice with spicy salsa and chips.

**If you're in town and we do make some good Mexican food, make your way over to our place for sure!***

And ye shall name him Jack

We've finally named the puppy. He really looks like a Jack, or as much as a dog can I suppose.

Puppy Windham

Still no name. Hopefully he'll be called something other than "puppy" tonight.

It's official

It's official, I survived my trip. About half way through the week I thought "Hmm, traveling with three guys is a lot harder than it seems." Not that I didn't love hanging out with Jonathan, Matt and Michiel, but a little more estrogen would have be nice! But even without an extra girl, the trip really was awesome. We went to a Yankees game in NY and ate a Philly cheese steak in Philadelphia (which was so yummy, but not too good for the stomach!). D.C. was just the way I remember, overwhelming. For an area that is relatively small there is so much packed into it. We went to three different musuems and saw all of the monuments we could. Matt and I visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Very appropriately the weather that day was very sad and dreary. This was the second time I went there, and I must say that the second time was more heavy then the first. Perhaps it's because of all the classes I took in college, but I think I cried the whole time I was there.

It's official, we got a puppy. We drove up to Calmar last night with Joshua Abdo and picked up our puppies. The Abdos named there little guy, Copper. Jonathan and I haven't fully agreed on a name just yet, so I will wait to announce it later. Once we have all the pictures uploaded I will put them up. It was interested, because it was a really bitter sweet time last night. There was the part of me that was so excited to be getting a puppy and then there was the part of me that still misses Judah. Judah will never, ever be replaced, and he will go down in history as one of the single greatest dogs ever (and the best I have personally ever known). But last night, when we were visiting with all the puppies, I knew this is what he would have wanted. Sure, he would be so jealous if he were still around, but I know he would be happy to know we're happy.

And now, the part that most every one has been holding their breath for...

It's official, Jonathan and I are pregnant! I am about ten weeks along. We went to our doctor's yesterday morning and everything appears to be going well, and Baby Windham seems healthy. We were able to hear Baby W's heartbeat. That, I think, was the coolest thing I have ever experienced. There is something about the swish-swish noise that makes my heart fill with joy. God has really allowed Jonathan and I to experience some amazing mountain tops in the last month, and it continues to point to His worthiness of all the glory. I am humbled by God's desire to bless us, and grateful for the times that He has carried me through some very low valleys so that I can more fully understand His wonder and grace.