Small Steps to Big Stupid

You should probably read this post over at Stuff Christians Like. So good.

Baby Clothes

So, I have been looking for a coming home outfit for our new little bundle of joy.

I haven't found anything that I really wanted yet, although there are lots of cute options.

And many ridiculous options.

Let me put it this way: if you pay $50 for a coming-home-from-the-hospital outfit, you are an idiot. What I meant to say is, you may want to rethink that decision. Your baby will probably wear that outfit for all of 5 minutes and quite possibly destroy it with some kind of bodily fluid.

I'm all about getting something cute and special, but let's be realistic.

1000 Gifts (16)

301. The overwhelming generosity and love that the Body of Christ has poured on our family.
302. This post. Just scroll down to the blue box entitled "What a Mother Must Sacrifice". Absolutely beautiful.

303. Pandora.

304. Naptime. Just being honest.

305. Super fantastic conversation with a good friend visiting from out of state. love you.

306. Getting to share the laughter and the tears.

307. Isaiah 9

308. Christmas parties.

309. Get to see our baby again on Monday.

310. The sweet librarians we get to see at story time.

311. The right words at the right time.

312. A thoughtful husband who puts the needs and wants of our family before his own.

313. Being reunited with our family in just a few short weeks! I am only afraid of the emotions that may come blubbering out of me. I know they say your hormones are supposed to even out at some point during pregnancy...I feel like that has not been the case for me this time. Good luck to anyone who has to hang out with me in the next 3 months.

314. That Roman is learning to say how he feels. This morning when he woke up at 6:00, I told him he needed to go back and lay in his room for a little longer. He responded "I am very angry!" I laughed, but it's exciting that he'll have words for that instead of crying.

315. That Joe has started giving the boys foot rubs before bed. They love it and it's calming.

316. A blanket and a book when it's cold outside

317. Decaf chai. They have it at Dutch Oven Bakery in Boone now, which makes my life so much more complete.

318. Baptism class tonight. In all honesty, I'm not that excited about it considering we have been through the class before, but I'm excited that we'll have a sweet baby to baptise in just a few months!

319. Red-headed boys in the morning.

320. Classic Christmas movies. Roman loves Frosty the Snowman and Rudloph.

Only read this if you have nothing better to do.

..because it probably won't be life changing. :)
In true Ruth Ann style...I give you: a completely random list.

1. when I look at Roman and Judah's baby pictures, it makes me SO excited to hold our third little BOY! (Who really needs a NAME!)

2. corn chowder + a honeycrisp apple = best fall lunch EVER.

3. one of my favorite things Judah says right now is "gokay".

4. I had to put Judah in his first time out today. For climbing on the table after being told not to. I told him to go sit in thinking time and he went right over and sat down. I didn't know if he really would know what to do...but apparently he does. He kept getting up out of his spot...so I told him to sit down and he did. He started to get up again so I went to sit next to him...he looked at me and said "sorry". First time he has ever said that so it was actually kind of funny.

5. Roman is excited about halloween but he doesn't get it. Whenever I ask him what he wants his costume to be, he says "red".

6. Sometimes I catch myself saying absolutely ridiculous things. The other day I actually said this sentence: "That stays in your pants unless you need to go potty". Nice.

7. Joe really likes the name Elijah. I like that name a lot, but I feel like it's too common. Joe hates every name that I come up with.

8. the baby moves a lot now, which is the best part of pregnancy, in my opinon! :)

9. maternity jeans are stupid. No me gusta.

10. We took the boys to the pumpkin patch yesterday which was really fun. We also took our sidekick, Uncle Tony, so that I didn't have to worry about chasing or carrying one or both boys. He is the best uncle ever.

11. I asked Roman what his favorite thing about the pumpkin patch was. He said "Well, probably feeding the goats some food". And by "some food" he means, "my parents didn't actually buy me any food to feed the goats, so I picked up single kernals of corn that the other kids dropped and fed it to the goats." In our defense, he doesn't usually like to feed animals so we didn't think to buy any food. I know, we're classy.

12. God is teaching me a lot about marriage. Especially by opening my eyes to how good my husband is to me. In times that are more of a struggle, Joe always steps up and takes on whatever he needs to for our family. He is such a good dad, has such a servant's heart, and I'm so thankful for the way he gives of himself unconditionally.

well, I think that's all for now! The boys are both napping, which means I probably should be too. Have a great week!

What's in a Name?

As you know (or if you didn't know, you can probably guess) baby names have been a big topic of discussion at our house lately. We feel like we did a stellar job picking the names Roman and Judah (we are very humble, also...). The fact that we love both of those names so much makes it difficult to find another that we both feel is unique, meaningful, and worthy of what we can only assume will be another amazing little Pometto. (I know. I already mentioned our immense humility). :)

Anyway, I have been trying to convince Joe to love the name Silas as much as I do. I love it. He hates it. Every time I bring it up he tells me that he hates it and it will never happen. Of course, I realize at this point, if he feels that strongly, that it's totally out of the question. But, that doesn't mean I can't keep bringing it up just to hear his reaction. I'm a good wife like that.

So, yesterday I said "how about Silas? What's so bad about it? I love it!"

Joe's response is still cracking me up.

"Ruth Ann, if we name our child Silas, I will call him Kevin."

I love him.

Roman Rides a Horse

...and Judah got to ride too! :)

Thanks again to my Uncle Dan and Aunt Marla for letting us come and ride their horses! (And to Caleb and Cana for spending the day with us and helping the boys have fun!)

For a long time now, Uncle Dan (my dad's twin brother, by the way!) had been telling Roman that he should come out and ride the ponies sometime. So, knowing that Roman can be a little bit anxious about trying new things, I started showing him youtube videos of kids riding horses, and getting library books about horses, and showing him pictures of Uncle Dan's horses. He started getting excited about it and eventually asked me "When can we go ride Uncle Dan's horses?" So, we set up a time and kept talking it up.

Joe and I still wondered how he would do. And, although he was little bit nervous when we were walking towards the horses, he loved the whole experience. I think it helped that Dan just picked him right up and put him on Rockstar for his first ride. He didn't have that much time to think about it.

Judah, of course, jumped right on with no trouble at all. That one has no fear.

On about lap #57 Uncle Dan said, "Ruth Ann, I think you started something!" I think he's right. And I think it's fantastic.

Our Sweet Judah

For those of you wondering "where are all the videos of Judah?", this post is for you. Not that any of you are probably wondering that...but just in case. :)

I don't have many good videos of Judah for the following reasons:
1. He is so much different than Roman. Roman loves showing his "tricks" and people clapping for him, etc. He loves to be the center of attention. Judah...not so much. He doesn't care about doing tricks. He smiles when you clap for him, but it provides him no motivation whatsoever. He is laid back and on his own schedule. I love him so much I can't even stand it!

2. Whenever Roman is awake, Roman does all the talking...in videos or otherwise. It's hard for Judah to get a word in edgewise. But, as you can probably guess, he doesn't really seem to mind it. He just goes with the flow. It's amazing how much more he talks when you get him one-on-one.

Also, let's just talk about this:
1. Judah's pants are so crooked throughout the entire video. I'm a good mom like that. Very observant and attentive.
2. Do you like how I say "careful" AFTER Judah falls down? Nice.
3. the "Mommy", "Judah" game...yeah, we do that all the time.
4. Could he get any cuter? Or sweeter? What a blessing.

Let me be honest.

I don't really have any good reasons for this long blog sabbatical.

I feel like I have had so much on my mind and on my heart that I really don't know where to start writing. So, let me be honest. Here's a glimpse into my head at the moment:

I am so excited about our baby. I am tired. I am trying really hard to be patient with a certain three year old. We have had many a discussion, and lifted many a prayer about discipline...how to do it well and what specifically to do on a daily basis. I want to teach my children the right attitude to have in their heart, not just punish them for one specific act of misbehavior. Do I have the right attitude in my heart? Have I been purposeful today? Was I truly present with my kids today? What can we do to improve our marriage and therefore our family and our ministry? There is such a big world out there and God has been laying the children of the world on my heart. We want to sponsor a child. We don't know which organization to sponsor through. Our youth group is raising money to build wells in Ghana. I love those teenagers. I am praying that they are truly coming to know the Lord - not just knowing about Him. Why can't I ever get my laundry folded? Probably because I spend too much time on the computer. Judah is such a sweet and cuddly baby. He charms everyone in his line of sight. I love the stage he is in right now. I will have to stop calling him the baby soon. Bittersweet. I need to be more consistent with my God time. I am excited about the new women in our Bible study. I am excited about my friends who are having babies soon. I am praying for their journey of parenting. I wish my basement would organize itself. I have more important things to do, and yet it is driving me crazy. My "landscaping" (for lack of a better term) = complete disaster. Again, who has time to pull weeds while parenting a one and three year old? I am in the very awkward stage of "my maternity clothes look ginormous on me but my normal clothes are not flattering or comfortable anymore". I don't want to complain anymore. I want my words to impart grace to all those who hear. I caught myself asking for grace the other day (asking God to help me extend grace) when I realized I was the one in need of it. I need to take a shower and I should probably go to bed. Judah's last four teeth are coming in all at the same time...which means not too much sleep for anyone involved. It's really cute when he talks in his sleep. Roman fell out of his bed last night. He's was fine. And I learned today that he is a pack rat. He found an old container of crumbly play doh in the trash, brought it to me, and said "Mommy, you should not throw this away". He is so stinkin cute. But seriously, I should go to bed. I probably won't be able to fall asleep though because I am constantly racking my brain for a unique and Biblical name for our baby. Ideas?

Maybe the sabbatical was the better option?

1000 Gifts (15)

281. being filled with sorrow for people I don't know in places I've never been...and being challenged to do something about it.
282. rainy days perfect for much needed rest
283. two cars! I got to go to DSM yesterday and see some friends. It was long overdue!
284. finding out the gender of our baby...two weeks from tomorrow!
285. the way Roman says "woolly mammoth". It comes out more like "woo-ee ammouth"
286. Judah slept through the night last night! Maybe the teething is almost over? I hope!
287. My husband - have I mentioned that he is amazing!?
288. Little boys running to the bath.
289. that we have a live-in-babysitter! Thanks for being willing to help out at the last minute, Tony!
290. Life Teen building wells in Ghana
291. Roman singing his two favorite songs: Our God by Chris Tomlin and How He Loves by David Crowder Band - this one is a slideshow set to scenes from The Passion of the Christ. I thought that was really beautiful.
292. Judah also tries to sing How He Loves...but he just says "oh, oh" over and over again. :)
293. friends that are never far away...even if they live a few states away.
294. Italian food. Baby always wants Italian food.
295. cooler weather
296. That sometimes God grabs you by the hand and leads you to safety (Gen 19:16)
297. That he can turn water into wine. Hope that He can turn this ugly, sinful, selfish heart into one that acts graciously, loves unconditionally, gives joyfully.
298. Pondering the word unconditional.
299. coincidences. God-incidences.
300. the freedom that it is to live life abundant

I had to share.

I had to share this beautiful response I got to my previous post. If you have missed the countless times I have referred to our dear friend, Jeff, just go read his blog and you'll see why we love him so much and why we are SO excited about him becoming a priest. He is so genuine and thoughtful, and he loves Jesus so much. :) Jeff, I really appreciate your response, your wisdom, and your friendship. I love it that you took time to answer a three year old's question while you are in ROME. It's proof that you will make it your passion to be Christ to everyone you come in contact with. The Church will be so blessed because of you.

********************************************************

Roman, Roman, Roman... You’re three years-old and already a theologian... you continue to amaze me. (Joe and Ruthann, he might have to skip Sunday School with this one and enroll him straight into some Catholic university...)

But now to the question at hand: “Did the Holy Spirit die on the cross?”

Ruthann, I shall begin with your intuitions because they are quite wonderful. The Trinity has indeed always existed... three Persons, one God, for all eternity... and so it might be said that each Divine Person was “present” prior to the passion, death, and resurrection of Our Lord, Jesus Christ; yet it might also be said that that “presence” was to be dramatically changed after the Son of God was to break into history, for our sake, and become Man. For after the Word of God would take on flesh, God’s relationship with us, and quite profoundly our relationship with Him was to change forever... (and quite for our good, might I add), but this change was only to occur after the Son’s obedience to the Father, through his Sacrifice on the Cross was completed by His Glorification in Heaven.

And this is why when you read in John 16 Christ's words, Christ is telling his disciples that “if I do not go, the Paraclete will not come”; because if he is not Glorified, his Sacrifice would not have been complete... (for what is a Sacrifice if it is not received?)

So don’t get the impression that he is saying that the Holy Spirit is not yet around (or even not yet able to be witnessed on Earth, for recall that he had already been seen at Christ’s Baptism, “in the form of a dove”)... Instead, Christ was saying that if he did not complete his work of atoning for our sins, we as unredeemed sinners would have never been able to share in the intimate life of the Trinity... which is a participation in their intimate Love... whom we call the Holy Spirit.

But now to answer the question a bit more directly... and to do this, we might think of what is meant when we declare that “Jesus died on the cross.” As St. Thomas said (see link), what we declare when we say those words is that Christ died “as man” but not “as God.” For as God, Christ could not have died; it would be impossible for him to have died... God is God, Existence Himself... the Great “I am”... and the Great "I am" could never have been or ever be the Great “I am not”... but in becoming man, the Word of God, through his humanity ,was able to enter death and so make an acceptable offering to the Father for all of Mankind.

So then when we turn to whether or not we could say that the Holy Spirit died on the cross, we have to decidedly say, “no”; for the Holy Spirit, as well as the Father, and even the Son, in his Divinity, cannot be said to pass out of existence.

But please don’t accept this as infallible, for I am far from it...

Jeff

http://www.newadvent.org/summa/4050.htm#article1

www.newadvent.org

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