A Team Week 76: Ticking Away

For a variety of reasons, this week reminded me that time is passing way too quickly and that I need to make the most of whatever time God's given me here.

First, Asher impressed me with his grown-up concern for his daddy's well-being after Eric's incident slicing his thumb.  Now when Asher wants an apple cut up, he will ask how we are going to cut it up and encourage us to use the apple slicer instead of a knife.  He also reminds us not to cut ourselves.

Next, I was surprised by a text from Asher's daycare showing me that he had written his name by himself for the first time!  He was so proud and wanted to make sure I saw his work!

Third, I realized how much I missed my boys and they missed me.  After a week together, going back to work and being apart was hard for all of us.  On Monday morning, I dropped the boys off at daycare while Eric went to the ER to get his thumb properly bandaged since it was still bleeding pretty heavily.  As soon as I began to take Avery's jacket off in their daycare house, he began to scream and cling to me, knowing what was coming next.  :(  That evening, he would not let go of me and the only way that I could get him to eat any dinner was if I allowed him to sit on my lap while he ate!  Since, Avery was on my lap, Asher decided he wanted to snuggle too.  Thus, I ate my tacos with one hand and no room for myself.

Fourth, we enjoyed Bible Study and our friend/pastor Andy's 80th 35th birthday...and if he is 80 35, that makes me almost 81, 36!!  :(

Video: Happy Birthday Andy (Allison, I can send this to you since you didn't get any pics if you'd like!) :)

Next, we spent Wednesday morning hanging out with our friends and I relished watching the kids play together knowing that their buddies (and ours would be leaving soon for their new home in Illinois).

I can't remember what they were all looking at...???

Sixth, my boys played together a lot this week, which makes me so happy.  I love watching their relationship grow!  On the downside, it makes me think of when they are older and hoping their relationship remains strong.  Don't grow up too fast boys! <3

Coloring together

Sharing an apple (no one was injured this time).

(2) Videos: Raspberries on Avery!

Seventh, Avery desperately needed a haircut!  I had hoped to get him one before our vacation, but he got so sick before we left that I couldn't put him through the torture.  When we returned, we decided it was time.  Usually our friend Heidi cuts his hair, but since her little girl was sick and we didn't want to wait any longer, Eric took Avery to Great Clips to get his hair cut.  It was his first time getting a haircut without Mommy and his first time getting a cut from a stranger and some place other than home.  I'm told that he did really well and didn't cry at all, but did give Eric and the girls at Great Clips the "cutest pouty lip ever" when they set him in the chair.

Next, I realized that this winter is almost over!  It feels like fall was just days ago and now Spring begins in less than a week from when I am writing this!  With such a warm winter, we have had very few chances to make any winter memories together in the snow.  Thus, when we had a small blizzard early this week, I made sure to take advantage of it on Saturday morning by going sledding at the park before it all melted away in the warmth of the next day!

Video: Snow Much Fun

Video: Asher's Version of Sledding

Asher's version of sledding is running down the hill as fast as possible pulling an empty sled.  We tried to convince him it is more fun to ride the sled down the hill, but he wasn't buying it.  I think Avery is a little confused on how to go sledding now!

The ninth reason I realized the fast pace of our life this week was Asher's helpfulness.  As we worked on cleaning up the house for a party we were hosting the following weekend, Asher took it upon himself to help out as well.  On top of vacuuming several of the rugs in the house, he also emptied his toy box so that he could vacuum all of the crumbs and other junk at the bottom out of it!  In addition to helping me to clean up the house, he also helped Eric snow blow the driveway after we got snow.

Asher's emptied toy box.

Relaxing while my little guy does the work.

Tenth, Asher also showed his independence by making himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch with no help from me other than pointers of what to do next.

Enjoy the fruit of his labor!

Reason number eleven: We played our first-ever board game with Asher (not just playing with the pieces but actually playing the game together!  On Wednesday during the week, Asher and I played once together and I kind of rigged it to make sure he won (I couldn't let him loose his first game ever!).  On Saturday though, we played again with Eric and this time he won all on his own!  Yay Asher!

High-Fiving Daddy after his win!

Next, Avery apparently decided that he is old enough to start drinking pop!  I thought I had hidden my can, but after leaving the room for a second, I heard Asher yelling "Mommy, Avery is drinking your pop!!"...at least it was caffeine free!

Twelfth, all of the random silly moments with my guys remind me that they will be grown and gone way too quickly!

Video: Get Her!!!...Avery Terrorizes Emma

My little dinosaur lover happily watching The Good Dinosaur!

Video: The Good Dinosaur

You have to fast forward to about half way through.  Avery gets really excited when he sees the dinosaurs come on the TV!

He is such a goofy guy!

Pants on your head!

Next, Avery has been showing interest in the potty since he sees his big brother using it.  After it taking us 3.5 years to potty train Asher, we are trying to take advantage of it.  He still hasn't gone yet, but likes to sit up there for a few seconds, so we are trying to get him more comfortable with the idea...and a 17 month old on the potty is cute for some reason.

Reason number thirteen...our little mister affectionate, is becoming a bit too affectionate for this momma's comfort!  At church this Sunday Avery and his little friend Lilou hugged goodbye.  That afternoon the Laillet family had lunch at our place and Lilou gave everyone kisses before she left.  She gave Eric and I both kisses and then gave one to Avery.  After Avery got his kiss, he went back for another!

Britni, Lilou & Avery

A friendly hug.

Finally, I will end on a serious note...reason number fourteen...Sometimes things happen that you really can't even appreciate or wrap your mind around for some time afterwards.  This Sunday I had one of those experiences.  Our church is gearing up for our reintroduction to the Kenosha community.  This year the church is celebrating its 110th anniversary and that in conjunction with the fact that our senior pastor of 30+ years retired last fall and we now have a new lead pastor, we (the church) have decided to remind everyone that we are still here and that our doors are open.

Since Eric and I started attending IBC in 2007, it has been continually evident that God is doing amazing works in and through the church.  We have seen many come to Christ, in addition to church growth in both spirit and numbers.  Unfortunately, another evidence of what God is doing is the efforts that Satan puts forth to hinder our growth.  We experienced one of these such moments this Sunday.  At the end of the service Eric and I were sitting in our usual pew near one of the back doors of the sanctuary when we heard a voice behind us loudly respond to what our pastor had been preaching by asking "What is the Gospel?"  My initial response was one of shear annoyance as I thought, "you'd know the answer to that if you had been listening!"  (Pastor Andy has been doing a sermon series on the Gospel and was finishing up a sermon on how our sin separates us from God.)  I turned around to see a man that I'd never seen before standing in the door just 10 feet from where Eric and I were seated.  Then my irritation continued to grow as the man continued to walk down the aisle toward the stage and respond to the words on the screen which read "freedom comes at a cost", by saying "that sounds like slavery."  Again, it was everything in me to restrain my hand from reaching out and smacking him upside the head.  "Seriously," I thought, "if you'd been here the whole time you would know that our freedom from the sin that we are slaves to does come at a cost and that cost was paid by Christ's death on the cross!"

As the man made it a few steps down the aisle, he was met by our ushers who kindly tried to escort him out of the sanctuary so that we could finish our service.  He, however, refused to go and instead was escorted to the pew directly in front of Eric and I.  While our pastor tried to wrap things up, this man continued to argue with the ushers making claims of harassment and physical assault and proceeding to call the cops to report them.  He argued with them that they needed to get out of his way and that he could do what he wanted due to freedom of religion (obviously this dude wasn't right in the head/heart).  While he called the police, we ended the service with a song (Mighty to Save) and I decided to put my singing voice to good work by praising God and singing my heart out while also making it difficult for the police to hear anything other than our praises! ;)  Moments later, church was over and we all left the sanctuary.  I went and got my boys, while the police talked to our church leaders and the man (who left with no charges pressed by either party).  It was over and thankfully everyone was safe and sound, but it really didn't end there.  For me, it really didn't sink in until later.  As the day went on, and I thought more and more about what had transpired that day it bothered me and to be honest, it scared me.  I realized how this situation could have ended so differently, so terribly.  I was reminded of all of the shootings that have become so 'common' these days and how scared, confused and terrified those people must have been.  I was reminding how quickly an every day moment can turn to a horrendous event never to be forgotten.

That evening, after lunch with friends and a busy day with the kids, I finally had a chance to talk to Eric about what had happened.  While I was singing my heart/lungs/voice out, I could tell that Eric was very anxious and in protective mode.  I asked him about it that night and asked if it bothered him that I stayed to sing even after the service had ended and many had left.  His response "Yes.  I just wanted you to leave.  I kept thinking that if anything happens we are both in here and our boys will be alone."  Those words will forever be etched in my memory.  They remind me of how short life is and how thankful I am of every day/every second that I have to spend with my amazing boys.  It is also a good reminder that even when my days are done, I know where I will spend my eternity, and although I was seriously perturbed by the man that disrupted our service and caused me to fear my heart aches as I know he is still searching for Truth, even as time continues to tick away....

Alive!  IBC's Easter Sunday Billboard Invitation on my drive home from work.