Writers' Block, with gratitude

I've had oh so much on my mind lately. Race, religion, rearing (the child, that is :-)...all things I've felt I needed to write about or at least express in some way besides letting them become the scrambled eggs of my mind. Life~ and a faulty computer~ have gotten in the way. And today I've carved out some time to write and my internet is actually working for the moment :-) However, I sit here with nothing. Not that my mind is empty; quite the opposite....just jumbled and today, with a headache that won't seem to go away :-( Hey, I made an unintentional rhyme...maybe poetry is calling?

Anywho, all I can come up with to share with you today is something that has been dominating my thoughts lately...how incredibly grateful I am for my husband and my son. Our story is unique, and I would not have one without the other. And I would not have either without God's grace and divine intervention. It's so easy to get caught up in the daily grind of laundry, groceries, bills, etc.~ but lately I've been called to "be still and know that [He] is God." (Psalm 46:10) Amazing what He'll show you when you listen. He's showing me that our little family truly is a miracle, with tremendous blessings only made possible by Him.

Eating My Words

You are not hallucinating. That is indeed a "Happy Meal" in my son's hands, and yes he ate its contents. And loved every minute of it.

Those who know me well know that food is VERY important to me. Even more important is what type of food and from what origin is the food that Judah eats. From day one, I have made it a priority to make his baby food~from all organic sources~and try to have him eat as healthy as possible. And at one time (okay, several times) I've made the comment "I'm not sure when Judah is ever going to eat a Happy Meal." Well, I gave in at a mere 16 months of age. I know, horrible right? Call it poor planning, but this baby was HUNGRY on our way to the beach a few weeks ago and we were out of healthy options (and all food for that matter) in our car. If you've ever driven to the Florida panhandle through south Alabama, you'll believe me when I tell you that there are not many established towns, much less fine eateries. Thus, we saw the Golden Arches as our best option.
Of course we ordered the apples and milk, instead of fries and a soft drink (he still hasn't tasted either of these :-) but I have to be honest~I cringed a little when he bit into (okay, devoured) his chicken nuggets. Judah, on the other hand, thought it was fantastic.

And yes, he found the surprise at the bottom!

The surprise for me was that it didn't hurt him or even upset his stomach. In fact, he was "lovin' it!" And just for the record, this Mama LOVES McDonald's too~although I now can count on one hand the number of times I eat there in a year. I did, however, frequent it at least once a week as a child, and I'm doin' just fine! Regardless, this will only be a RARE treat for our little Jman...at least until he can drive his own car :-)

Beach Toddler!

The title of this post makes me a wee bit sad, as most of you will remember this post. That's right, my "beach baby" is all grown up compared to the last time we went to the beach when he was a mere six months old and not even mobile....wow, how quickly things change!
A few weeks ago, Judah and I spontaneously joined my parents and my Granddaddy Joe in Destin, Florida...my most beloved beaches, where I spent almost every summer of my youth. Unlike our last beach trip when Judah seemed oblivious to the water and sand around him, this time he could not get enough! See the evidence in the pictures :-)

First time he steps foot in the ocean :-)

Tossing sand!

Loving the sand toys

Cheezin' with Mommy

 

Second to playing in the sand and ocean was chasing the seagulls. He thought it was hilarious!

It was difficult explaining why they kept running and didn't want to play with him, though!

My Little Beach Model

He even found some time for some beach yoga. Downward Dog on the sand is the best :-) 

Rivaling the beach for his most treasured spot is anywhere he is surrounded by rocks....including around the condo's air conditioning unit! Have I told you how much this boy is obsessed with rocks?!

One night we visited Baytown Wharf and although there were no rocks, there was plenty of dancing as it was the night of the Sandestin Music Festival. Our little man gets serious when he dances. 

 

I wish I would have spanned out a little in the picture, but can you tell that everyone surrounding him on the lawn turned around to take a peak at his "skills?!"

It was here that Judah also experienced his first carousel ride. Sort of...

As you can see, after one time around he jumped into my arms never to get back on the horse again. Okay, maybe it was a little to early??!

Judah also enjoyed breaking it down with Granddaddy Joe one morning to a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse tune!

So grateful for these two to spend time together!

The seafood we ate was delicious! Well, just Mommy experienced the seafood but I know once Judah is old enough he will love it! As most of you know, going out to eat with a toddler is always interesting and MESSY! His new interest is "dipping." We left the restaurant one night with a hair full of honey mustard...fun!

Pre-honey mustard

Lovin it!

Surely, this will make a good conditioner?!

All in all, it was a super fun trip. Thank you KK and K-Pop for very memorable Florida fun!

Party in Tha Crib

With our new nap schedule (we're finally to 1 successful nap per day!), comes a new wake-up routine. This one was decided by Judah, but his mommy loves it. Previously, he wanted me to come get him almost immediately after he awoke. Done. Get me outta this thing. Apparently, he's grown to love his bed because now he enjoys lingering for a little while, taking his sweet time after he wakes up~much like someone else I know ;-)  After a hug, I give him his coffee, I mean milk...just look how excited he gets over milk these days.

Then he sits in the corner and ponders deep thoughts with Shasta for quite a while, and sometimes even shares his milk with Shasta...so sweet! 

Sometimes he'll read a few books but because I had the camera out, he decided to throw a "party" on this particular day. He is such a little ham when he sees my camera!

The party then gets really crazy. I mean, the no-handed milk slam?!

Check ya Later!

Hope your weekend is just as crib-tastic!

What's in Your Kitchen Cabinets?

Look who's been in mine lately :-)

Small Spaces=Hiding Places=Smiling Faces

Missing Month (Part Two)

Okay, I must finish writing about the month of JUNE before we head into AUGUST! I know, can you believe it?! Where is the summer going?!
For starters, the end of June was a bit happier than the first. Why, you ask? JEFF COMPLETED HIS FIVE-YEAR UROLOGIC SURGERY RESIDENCY AT UNC! Quite an accomplishment, if you can't tell :-) I really can't put into words how proud I am of him. With great success, he completed a grueling year as a surgery intern, then four years of all things urology...responsible for hundreds of patients (and several residents during his chief year!) and maybe just as many surgeries. And on top of that we traveled the road of infertility (aka, a very difficult time in our marriage), then traveled the road of international adoption (successfully!), and were even forced to live apart for brief intervals during years four and five, due to work positions and other circumstances. Whoa. Although difficult at times, God has been gracious and merciful to us during the past five years of residency. Our marriage is stronger, and our love for one another is greater. And Jeff, well~he's simply amazing. After long hours at the hospital (and sometimes from home!) almost every day for the past five years, he has been an incredible husband to me and father to Judah. On days when I didn't think any human being could possibly stand on their feet and work any longer, he still managed to come home and help with household chores, spend quality time with me, give Judah a bath and rock him "night-night"~all after a hard day's work. This is truly worth celebrating, and that we did in June!

The Man of the Hour

Guess I should mention that we didn't get all fancy just for ourselves. There was a formal dinner/roast the evening of his "graduation." We had so much fun celebrating with everyone in the Urology Department! The next morning, we enjoyed a smaller, more casual brunch with Jeff's family.

Standing in one of our favorite spots in Chapel Hill (in front of the Carolina Inn :-)

Continuing the celebration and wrapping up the weekend was Father's Day. It was awesome to have Jeff's father with us that weekend, too, as we got to celebrate together. However, if I'm being totally honest it was sort of a stressful day, as we found out with less than 48 hours notice that our moving company would be meeting us at our storage sheds the following Monday morning to load up our things and head to DC. Yes, did I mention that on that Sunday NOTHING in our storage sheds (you are reading that correctly, we had multiple sheds) was ready to load on a truck the following day?! (i.e., not sorted or in appropriate boxes, labeled correctly, no decisions made on what furniture needed to be sold vs. stored vs. moved to DC, etc). Fun times. You could tell the day was stressful, as evidenced by the ONE photo I took of Judah and his amazing father. At least it's a good one :-)

Dear Jeff and Pop: We would like to publicly apologize for the crazy stressfulness that was Father's Day 2011. We will certainly make it up to you in 2012 :-)
Love, Judah and Ginger

And wrapping up the month in full force was a move across states and up north to Washington, DC. Ahhh! Almost too much for one family to handle in one month! All things considered, it went pretty well. The actual day we moved (and about 3 days following) were some of the hardest days we've encountered. Word to the wise: never move with a toddler! Baby, okay. Preschooler, somewhat better. Older child, definitely better. But never a toddler! Judah was great, but just assumed everything (the boxes, tape, clutter, trash) was just one big playground...not to mention the fact that he had an altered eating and sleep schedule for a few days...in a new environment, none the less!  We could not have done it without the help of Grandma and Pop, so a HUGE thanks to Judah's grandparents for helping to make it happen!

Well, that's all folks. I've now caught you up to July, where we have one happy DC baby!!!

Happy Judah Day!

One year ago today~July 20th, 2010~Judah was placed in our arms forever. You may recall that I will always remember this day as a "glimpse of heaven."  The peace that surpasses all understanding, the indescribable joy, the awe and wonderment of life, and the miraculous way in which our family was formed...peace. joy. awe. wonder. miraculous...I believe this is what heaven will be like and I'm so glad I saw a just a glimpse of how we can begin to understand it here on this earth.

Framed pic of the first time he was placed in my arms

One year later, I could have never imagine the love I would feel for our precious son, and I have been filled with gratitude for God's grace. It is truly amazing how he took our situation and turned it into something so beautiful. For where there is brokenness, He brings healing. Where there is despair, He brings hope. Where there is death, He brings life. Today, we are on our knees thanking Him for the life of Judah Wells Nix.

My incredible husband sent me an email this morning from work, and with his permission I want to share it with you because he captures such vivid memories of this day last year as well as such raw, current emotion.

"I was just thinking this morning on the way to work about what a remarkable day this is.  I hope I will always remember, with the same clarity I do this day, when they placed Judah in your arms.  I remember the porch, what the weather felt like, how happy we were and how wonderful he was and is... I remember holding him in my arms on the way out to the restaurant as he fell asleep in the car and holding him at the restaurant while eating my steaming hot food because I was afraid if I put him down it would wake him up.  I remember how wonderful you were as a mother immediately, it was what God had ordained and because of that the two of you instantly matched....
Today I will try to focus on my favorite memories of that trip.....when they first placed Judah in your arms on the porch.  I really can't describe what that felt like to me.  The other was when we finally got off the plane in North Carolina.  We were his only connection to his short life in Africa, as is still true today.  At that point, when we arrived with our family there at the airport, we were his parents.  God has given us such an amazing gift.  I, today, feel like Abraham must have felt after all those years of waiting to finally be granted the gift from God of a son.  I pray that I will remember the blessing that he is and that our responsibility to him is higher than any feeling we have for him.  I hope that we will devote our lives to raising him in the way we think God would want and with God's blessings, as he was given to us from God out of grace.  We could never have deserved him, no matter how long and hard our suffering.  I agree with you every time someone says to us what a great thing you guys did....the great part of my disconnect and your disconnect with that is that God has blessed us with the realization of how wrong and foreign that concept is to our heart.  We realize that God gave us this gift, he answered the prayers of the longings of our hearts.  May we always remember that.  I love you and I love Judah and am truly joyful this day."

And a joyful day it has been! This morning, Judah played with new friends at church for several hours.

Later in the day, I made him chocolate chip cookies...gluten-free of course, so Dada can enjoy :-)

He has never had cookies before. 

(Don't worry, I didn't give him the entire platter!)

Hmm, what's this?

Until today, I've been telling him that graham crackers and Nilla wafers are "cookies." I'm afraid he now knows the truth about cookies :-)

Mama's so tricky.

 Our little cookie monster. 

Late in the day, we went swimming (his favorite activity these days).  And as I rocked him to sleep tonight, I lingered a little longer, squeezed him a little tighter, and gave a few extra kisses. Sweet Dreams, our Judah, and may you be blessed~ this day and always.

July 20th, 2011~Judah Day