West Texas Road Trip

Last week we loaded up and drove 8 hours to the other side of Texas to be with Kevin's family for the funeral for Grandmother McNabb.

We left before dark on Tuesday morning, fueled by donuts and kolaches (a traditional Czech roll). When it comes to long car trips, we need just a few essentials to ensure a peaceful trip: Blankets, pillows, snacks, juice boxes, books and, everyone's favorite - DVDs! If we have those essentials, we're good to go!

Although Erwinna lived in Colorado in recent years, she raised her family in Grand Falls, Texas, a tiny town southwest of Odessa. We met the family in Monahans and had a wonderful two days remembering Grandmother and being together.

Throwing Pottery

Today Naomi and Johnathan got to throw pottery... And miraculously, we didn't break anything!



Our friend Rachel has a beautiful pottery studio called Joy Pottery, and she invited us to come and play with clay. They loved squishing it to make worms and race cars (I have to admit I couldn't resist the urge to squish it, too!).




Then we learned how to use the potter's wheel. Mrs. Rachel made it look so easy as she whipped out a pitcher in no time flat! She taught us how to prepare the clay (I think this was called wedging), center it on the wheel so it doesn't come out lopsided, and pull it up into something beautiful.

Naomi and Johnathan each took multiple turns throwing their own little pots. Johnathan prefered working with very tiny pieces of clay and swirling lines in them. Naomi loved making bowls and using the wire to cut them off the wheel. I had always wanted to try it, too, just to feel what it was like to have the clay mold beneath your hands. It was really cool - and not as easy as it looks (unless your goal is to make a lopsided bowl with a hole in the side, like mine!). Maybe some day I'll take a pottery class... I'll just add that to all the other things I want to learn, including knitting, scuba diving, and the penny whistle!

Mrs. Rachel travels all around with her potter's wheel, sharing her testimony and demonstrating how we are like clay and God is the potter. It was so neat to get a taste of all the illustrations how that verse is true. We pray for soft hearts that are like the wet clay - ready for God to mold into something beautiful!

Johnathan's "Workouts"

Johnathan had his first occupational therapy appointment on Wednesday morning while Naomi was at preschool. He was delighted to find that they had a fire truck toy - That's just about all he needs to be happy. So after playing with that, he did some swinging, listened to a CD to help with his auditory processing, and pulled himself up an incline on a scooter using a rope (he pretended he was a firefighter rescuing burning cars).



We also learned how to do a brushing and joint compression technique that should help his brain adjust to some of the sensory issues that bother him, and help him be aware of how his arms and legs are working. He had a lot of fun with all the new equipment to check out and play on!

Back to School

Our winter break from the preschool schedule was nice and relaxing - not driving 20 minutes back and forth for drop-offs and pick-ups. But Naomi was thrilled to go back today.

And, in a new development, a spot opened up in the Mother's Day Out program for Johnathan. So today he packed up his Broncos lunchbag and nap mat and joined Naomi at "school". He trotted into his 3's room as if he did this every day and picked up a crayon to start his coloring project. Mommy didn't even get a second look! He was quite excited to be a big boy with his big sister. He did great today and will go on Mondays several times a month. Hopefully this will give him a little "pre-preschool" fun and give Mommy a few days to catch her breath and get ready for the baby until school gets out in May.

Stretching

Johnathan has been sporting his AFO and night brace for over a month now, and for a three-year-old, he has quite the good attitude about it all! During the day, he wears this AFO under his shoe. Isn't it cool-looking, with all the race cars and helicopters and fire trucks? And we found the perfect socks to go under it - very comfortable (do you know how hard it is to find knee-high socks for boys? I can attest that you are highly unlikely to find them in any stores! Thanks goodness for online shopping!). The AFO keeps his right foot at a 90 degree angle, stretching out the tight heel cord, so he can't walk on his toes.

Here is his AFO - he can even take it off and on himself (when he wants too!).

And at night, when the AFO comes off, Johnathan's knee immobilizer goes on. It keeps his leg straight, which stretches out his tight right hamstring.

Sometimes all that stretching means that he wakes up in the middle of the night with leg cramps. But Johnathan's not a complainer - he'd rather curl up his legs when he sleeps, but he goes with the flow about all this new stuff. And the smile on his face and his sigh of contentment are priceless every morning when the knee brace comes off!

In Memory of Great-Mom McNabb

Today Kevin's grandmother, Erwinna, went home to be with her Savior. We will miss her dearly - her love for her family, her gentle spirit, and her uncanny ability to keep her grandson Kevin in line! But we are glad she is finally free from pain and is home in heaven.
Grandmother McNabb with Mom and Dad Boaz and nine of her great-grandchildren.

What I learned from my pastor... 1/3 & 1/10/10

Oops! Got behind on my sermon-posting last week.... Although that doesn't mean I didn't learn anything, honey!

Between series, Kevin is doing a few topic messages. Last week's came from Psalm 100. I was interested to see the two parts that alternate in that Psalm - how we should respond to God, and why we should respone that way. We should make a joyful noise, serve Him with gladness, and sing in thanks and praise. Hmm - I'm not sure that kind of joy and thankfulness predominates my disposition many days. The second part of the Psalm 100 explains why: He is God. He cares for us tenderly like a Good Shepherd for His sheep. He is good. And His love and faithfulness endure through all generations.

This week, Kevin spoke from 2 Corinthians 8, primarily about how the church should and does handle the gifts and offerings it receives every week. For each of us, the Bible poses three main questions about how we handle our money: How did you get it? What are you doing with it? and What is it doing to you? If we can answer those three questions in a way that please God, we know that we are using the gifts He has given us in a way that brings Him glory and bring us freedom rather that bondage to our money.