The A Team Week 52: Light in the Dark

This week the craziness of life continued as I continued to work like mad to get a project done at then came home and worked to get ready for Avery's upcoming birthday.  It is crazy moments like these that I know I wouldn't survive without all my boys to keep my sane.  They (big and small) are a breath of fresh air and a light in the dark.  With this week being a particularly gloomy week in my world, the love and smiles they gave were the momentum I needed to keep going.  

Asher wanted to hold his little bro.

Monday was a tough horrible day at work that unfortunately put me in a bit of a funk for a the remainder of most of the week, but in moments like this my heart bursts with joy despite the craziness around me.  His smile makes me smile.

On Tuesday, Avery and I spent some time while dinner was cooking looking at the sales papers, which basically means I looked at them when he threw them all over the room.  Afterwards, I realized that Avery is developing the same stinky, sticky little feet that his big brother has when he walked across the papers and they stuck to the bottom of his feet!

He could not figure out what was going on as this paper continued to stick to his foot as he walked about.  He'd try to shake it off, but it just stayed there, giving me a much-needed laugh.

Video: Our Little Noise Machine

Avery loves to make noises/sound effects and still gets a big kick out of blowing fart noises.  Here he is blowing raspberries on a ball outside.  The video is short, but this was the end.  He had done this constantly for about 5 minutes prior!

Wednesday: Avery getting new perspective on the world around him.

Wednesday: Spaghetti for dinner means baths before bed...and styling fun for mommy! :)

Friday: Asher found his suspenders and insisted on wearing them to daycare.  A much-needed smile for mommy before heading into work for another day.

Finally, the weekend came and I was able to breathe a bit easier again as I forced myself to forget the prior work-week and focus on my family and the birthday celebrations of the next week.

This made me smile with the reminders of my amazing little blessings: A fart gun, a clip of baby hair and dinosaurs under construction.

Saturday: We had strawberry Belgium waffles for breakfast.  I gave Asher his with strawberries, banana and whip cream on top.  He proceeded to fold it in half and eat it like a sandwich.  Again, another smile. :)

Avery discovered the dehumidifier in the laundry room and enjoyed blowing his hair around in the fan.

Video: Avery and the Dehumidifier

On Saturday afternoon it was gorgeous outside.  We all played and worked outside.  Our neighbors had given us a large box that they were getting rid of that I was going to cut up for party decorations.  As soon as the boys caught sight of it, they both came running over.  Avery was determined to make sure I didn't destroy it and held a sit in!

On Saturday night I came downstairs after putting Avery to bed to find Eric and Asher looking through the telescope together at the moon. 

It was fun to watch the father-son bonding, but we realized Asher isn't quite ready for it yet as he couldn't comprehend that he needed to look into the eye piece, close one eye and not move the telescope.  I did have a chuckle though when Eric was looking at Saturn and said that he lost it and Asher came running over to me and excitedly (and a tad concerned) exclaimed, "Daddy Lost Saturn!!"

On Sunday morning, we headed to church to enjoy a special service marking Pastor Dave's retirement and Pastor Andy's installation as senior/lead pastor.  It was a very nice service complete with a personal video message from Matt Redman himself (Pastor Dave's favorite Christian musician), a daddy-daughter duet of Tom and AJ (P.D.'s son and granddaughter), and a baton/bible pass from one pastor to the other.

Matt Redman's video message to Pastor Dave

Tom & Addison's daddy/daughter duet.

Pastor Dave & Pastor Andy

It was wonderful and emotional as it really marked the end of an era and the start of something new.  While I look forward to seeing where God takes our church under Andy's leadership, it does mean change, and change is something I have never been good at.

This particular Sunday was September 20.  Exactly one year prior my good friend Jen and her family moved back down to the South (the day after Avery's due date and 4 days prior to his birth).  Then, another one of my good friends moved down to Illinois.  Two months later, our friends Britni, Fabien, Theo and Lilou all moved down to Texas.  Finally on this day (2015), it dawned on me at the church service that PD's retirement not only meant the start of something new and no more PD sermons...it also meant no more Pastor Dave and Judy!  When the service was over (after an already emotionally stressful and exhausting week) it hit me.  I had to say goodbye to two more of my IBC friends, as they will be stepping away from our church for the next year or so to give Andy a chance to take the reigns.  While I get it, I was in shock and saddened by the idea of more change.  This year has been full of more of it than I would like.

For years living here in Kenosha I prayed for close friends...friends that got me and friends that I could really open up to.  It took a while, but eventually my prayers were answered.  Then in just one year I was put back to square one as my three closest friends here in Kenosha (and in our church) left to start new adventures for their families and my pastor of 8 years and his wife (our friends, supporters, listening ears and pseudo-parents/grandparents) also started an adventure of their own.  The emotions of disappointment, loneliness and anxiety of the future rushed in, and despite the glimmers of light in my boys throughout the week, the darkness began to close in around me once again.  I pushed on through my Eeyore demeanor and did my best to tell myself that things will look up and new friends will come even though it means starting all over again as though the last 8 years never happened...but they did happen (and have been the greatest years of my life) and even though my friends are gone, thanks to technology I can still keep in touch with them frequently and see their faces despite not begin able to talk to them at church every Sunday like we used to.  I pressed on and forced myself to spend the rest of A Team Week 52 focusing on my boys, the beautiful sparkles in my life, and let them push away the darkness with their radiant smiles, giggles, snuggles and kisses.  Regardless of the change ahead and the unknowns in our way, I know I am blessed...and with adorable little faces like this at home how could I be anything less?