Blockbuster

It is Saturday, in just fifteen mintues it is lights out for us as we are participating in the Turn off your Lights Campaign tonight. I thought I would sneak a post in real quick that has nothing to do with anything, I just wanted to share it.
We worked real hard today. Actually, Jason worked hard today replacing windows, caulking, and even washing the outside of all of the window panes. I was feeling terrible and spent most of my day attempting work, sneaking blueberry muffins, and crying. Jason would pat me on the back and then go back to his window washing not really knowing what else to do. Today was one of those days when I felt to the core of my being a gratefulness to have him as my spouse, my constant, and my companion. He is drama free, solid, and loyal to the end. He also is a mighty fine window washer too.

We ventured out later this evening to grocery shop and pick up a movie at Blockbuster. This is what I wanted to share, you know for funsies.

Scene~ Blockbuster Video Store on a busy Saturday evening.

Samuel, holding my hand, looks up at me and say's loudly the following: POO-POO.
Daddy turns around hearing this just in time to see Samuel get in full squat position in the middle of the aisle and do exactly what he just said he was going to do. A grunt included.

I took him out of the store after this as honestly he stunk! I loved it though. There will be a time when he no longer announces his business and then just does it right then and there.

We (and most of Blockbuster) got a kick out of it.

Off to relax and recover. Hopefully this sick stuff get's out of my system.

Katie

ps. Hawaii bound in 10 weeks!!!!!

International TURN the LIGHTS OFF Night

Don't forget that tonight is the global event of turning your lights off at 8pm. Government buildings, offices, and homes all across the globe will be shutting off the lights at 8pm. In Austrailia the Syndey Harbor Bridge will go dark, the Golden Gate in San Fran, and even big buildings such as the Sears Tower. The Brabson house will be joining in the event too.
Grab a candle and relax. For me it will be just like living back in Ethiopia!

Kate

Subdivision verses Seclusion

It has long been my dream to live in a little house that has no screens on the windows and an outdoor bathtub. I want to step out of my front door and my back door and not see another house. Yesterday we went house hunting in Springfield. I remember being a kid going through parsonages that my parents were moving us into and chanting the Addams Family song with my siblings (we were not the most grateful of children!). This was not like that. I liked many of the elements about each house, but always found some really good reason why it was not the house for us. Sixteen houses, three sweet teas, and two dirty diaper changes later Samuel and I headed to the last house with our realtor. It is not secluded. It is not in the country. It does not have room for an outdoor bathtub. But, something about it felt like home.
It is a four bedroom home, which is perfect as we are adopting again and thus need the three bedroom. The fouth bedroom is open for an official guest room so that our poor guests (rare as they are) do not have to sleep in the basement with no escape from our pervert of a cat. One of the children's rooms has a built in reading knook. I say reading knook but Jason and Samuel lit up with images of a "FORT!!!". It has a door that goes from the kitchen to the outside deck. I love this because it will make indoor/outdoor eating ( a family favorite) easy and breezy. The yard has a great deck, plenty of room for Mihyla to roam, and a playground for the kiddos. It also has an above ground pool which we did not even want, but think would be rather fun.
The house is in an association that keeps up a niegborhood lake which all non-motorized boats are permitted on. We saw kayaks, paddleboats, fishing boats, and all sorts of images of summer fun around. There is a neighborhood playground and picnic pavillion. We found out that each year the neighborhood throws a fourth of July party and a fall bonfire. We are not really smoozers at all, but I can see us at something like that: "Hey Bob, your yard looks nice this year".....you know that kind of stuff.
The area just screams FAMILY, and yea kind of in the corny way that I usually flee from. I am thinking that the pool would be a good substitue for my outdoor bathtub for a few years...I need to see if the neighborhood association has a bylaw against skinnydipping! :)
The house is really close to Jason's work and also close to Lake Springfield~ another plus.
We are going back to it next week to look at it again. Jason wants to see practical stuff which I am so grateful for because it gives me a chance to focus on the fun stuff. Last night I went to sleep thinking of our family in that house. I could us all snuggled into the reading knook (ok ok MAN FORT), playing in the pool, coloring in the open dining room, you know...living life together in those walls.
If you think about it pray for us as we need to sell our current house quickly so that we can make this move. This house has been so good to us, many memories here for us, but I am not sad in selling it. Seeing that house yesterday was like seeing a pefect extension of this house.....just a little more room to grow.

Mother of All Quests

The Brabsons are overwhelmed. Truly. We have never been so full of nailbiting anxiety. We are tired and restless at the same time. Mostly, it is Jason's new job and the upcoming move. We have questions....will we sell our house? will we find a house? will we be able to afford me continuing to stay at home? And on and on. Then, there is the other type of concern that keeps me up at night. Will we be able to adopt again as planned and hoped? Do N and B (two Ethiopian kids) know how much I care for them? Will they find a family? Can I find them a family? Are we that family? Again, on and on.

We spent Sunday morning in our living room together, pajamas on, reading the Bible. We began our study on the subject of the character of God as our father. Quickly, this moved to a study on what the Bible says about parenthood. What truly is our role as mothers and fathers to our children?

"My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad; my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right." (Proverbs 23:15)


Somedays I get caught up in worries. I forget that I can 'laugh at the days to come' for I believe that God is providing for us. I forget to put my trust in prayer for N and B and the other children that I love dearly who so desperately need families. I forget that I have been entrusted with a life for which I am responsible for raising up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

'Fathers, do not exasperate your children, instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.' (Eph. 6:4)
'Fathers, do not embitter your children or they will become discouraged.' (Col 3:21)

I am going to spend time discovering how it is that we do not exasperate and embitter our children, how we raise them up in the training and instruction of the Lord, how we create in them obedient and loving hearts. What do I need to do as a mother to one day have my innermost being well up with joy as I look at my children who are speaking the wisdom of the Lord? I can instill things in my child's spirit that will bring blessings to entire generations of people.
Talk about adventure, that is the mother of all quests.



~ Katie

On a different note, I received another letter from Ethiopia today (from N). Ah, my heartstrings are so pulled. I love this child as my own. Please pray for he and his sister. Pray that I can find them a family. I have been working hard to do so.

Walk the Distance

Stephen Wright once wrote that 'anywhere is walking distance if you have the time'. This morning I sat down and penned out my to-do list. Grocery Store. Return overdue library books. Clean house. You know the drill. After Samuel's nap we gathered our belongings and headed to the car. It was beautiful outside today, 60's, finally. Samuel calls his rarely used stroller his "car". When I told him to walk to the car he stopped on our porch and stood by his stroller. Hmm, I thought to myself. I wonder if we could walk to all of our errands today. It was already getting later in the day and I had no idea if the nice weather would stay around. "Let's do it Moose" I chanted. After loading him up in the stroller, packing our library books, grocery list, and a cup of sweet tea in the drink holder we headed down the sidewalk.
The thing about walking everywhere is that after you get around the fact that people stare at you oddly and that sidewalks in general are in very poor shape its not so bad. I love to walk. When I travel, walking is one of my favorite pasttimes. There is no better way to actually take in the surrondings than to experience them by walking through them and among them. I saw buildings today in my hometown of five years that I have never seen before. I saw stores that I never knew exsisted and smelled a myriad of pizza shops, bakeries, and chocolatiers that had remained hidden to me. It was so nice to have pink cheeks again, to feel flushed and windblown. We walked and walked and walked. Samuel was ever so content eating crackers and pointing at traffic. We made it to the library, exchanged books and walked on. We went downtown and visited unique local shops marking item after item off of our grocery list.
What would have taken me twenty minutes in the Jeep ended up taking three hours. What a good use of three hours. Walking took a somewhat mundane normal event and polished it up to reflect a bit of adventure for both of us.
I was thinking today after I came home (and even Jason commented on my unbelievably chipper disposition) that perhaps this walking thing is the way to go now that warm weather is returning. Look out Bloomington here comes the walking Momma!
I just hope I do not run out of sidewalk.

Mall Hiking

We had plans to go hiking this weekend at Starved Rock State Park, but the cold weather kept us inside. This was not as bad as it sounds as "inside" was three days of a lodge that had an all out indoor water park. Can't complain about being stuck inside this time! I just uploaded some pics of the trip on our brabsonfamily.com website. Jason and I packed the car with Samuel, Mihyla, and a book bag each to head off for what actually had that vacation feel. Grand Bear Lodge was a great environment. We ate ice cream by a big roaring fire, splashed around the waterpark until we were wrinkled, and did kartwheels on the beds in our room.
My brother and his friend Tim came along for part of the time adding a little college minded flare and fun to the trip, which included short sheeting, shaving cream, and late night chatting. Kudos to the guys for surviving on cheap bread and goober the entire time! (Goober, by the way, is that questionable product in which peanut butter and jelly share a jar).
Samuel loves to swim but it took some time for him to warm up to the waterpark atmosphere. He was overwhelmed with the noise and all of the options....pools, waves, lazy rivers, tubes, floaties, slides, shallows, deep, fountains. On day one he wanted to do everything but made the same wide eyed expressionless face the entire time. On day two he talked a little more, smiled some, but remained very clingy to us both. On day three he was King, fearless and expressive. It just took some time and a pair of bright orange floaties.
On a different note, before this trip Samuel and I went on a date. That's right. It was our first Mom/Son date. He took me to a fun mexican joint and then we decided to walk around the mall. My date fell asleep at the mall leaving me to wonder with a cup of coffee for the next two hours. I started counting the other moms that were walking around like me. Here was it took to qualify in my count.
1. Mom in my age group (20's-30's)
2. Walking around with a stroller
3. Alone (except for child)
4. Drinking a coffe drink or other mall bought beverage)
Guess how many I counted? I was amazed. Here is the thing. I enjoyed being alone for about forty minutes. It was nice to browse some racks with no pressure and no plan. Each time I would pass by one of these fellow mom's we would smile at one another because we obviously had somethings in common and have chosen to spend our afternoons the same way. I kept thinking to myself how nice it would be if we could all connect rather than walking around alone. I guess maybe I was thinking that most of us were walking around thinking a bit of companionship would be nice for our afternoon. Here is the number- seriously. There were 34 mom's walking the mall alone, with one child in a stroller, and a cup of something to drink, all in my age group. This is the first time that I have gone to the mall with Samuel and although it was enjoyable with the spring coming I do not think I will be there much. It was so interesting to see all of us walking around alone. I wonder, truly, if they thought the same thing....that it would be nice to know one another...to have someone to pal around with for the afternoon...to share that cup of coffee? After my count ended I had a chance meeting of running into a gal that is in a playgroup we attend. We laughed upon seeing one another both thinking the same thing. And, yes we sat down and got a cup of coffee while our kids shared a bag of animal crackers. It was just as refreshing as I had imagined when passing those 34 other momma's. Why is it so difficult for us to make friends, even momentary friends, when it is clear we have some common bonds that could benefit us. Stay at home moms are often socially deprived and we desire connection (especially with other moms), but yet we do not speak in a public and social environment. Perhaps, it is because we have all lost the art of basic friendly conversation making a real greeting feel creepy and uncomfortable? I don't know.
Anyway, Im off to watch the tube with my hubby and get ready for bed. We are a bit waterlogged from the weekend and have a event filled week ahead of us.
Check out our trip pictures on: www.brabsonfamily.com

-KLB

Daily Dose of Adventure

So my son today was hilarious and amid dancing around yelling "Elmo" all afternoon managed to sit and listen to his mother read to him the history of the Bounty. We are going hiking this weekend....about time. But, in the meantime I decided that a part of adventure is simply learning something new. I have always had an interest in nautical history and in addition to Samuel learning about the characters on Sesame Street as he grows I want him to know of the voyages that many a men have taken in the name of God, country and glory (and some voyages that men took by force rather than freedom). So I sat on the couch and read aloud the true story of the Mutiny on the Bounty. So, no today we did nothing grand and nothing that could be noted as outright adventurous, but I got lost in a good book and Samuel said a new word today~ boat.
For mommies, adventure sometimes needs to be simple and creative. Think of ways to make your mind explore without leaving the house. Learn about a new place. A culture. A tradition. Share it with your children and before you know it you will be crusing the high seas with mutineers.

Katie

ps...who is so excited about this family hiking weekend!
pss....who is also so excited about an upcoming trip to Hawaii that we booked today! And, we are camping on the beach.

James Taylor in my living room

I was going to post. I have been thinking about it most of the day. I had several thoughts cross my mind that I thought were blog worthy. We just put the Moose to bed. I sat down on the couch, took a breath, and the silence was an unusual disturbance. I do not know why, but I turned on the tube rather than the radio. Low and behold after flipping through three shopping networks, the Catholic network and some studly people working out I came to a station that is broadcasting an intimate concert with James Taylor. I really like his music.
When I was a kid and my parents had a James Taylor CD and a Carly Simon CD. They were married once you know. These were the very first CD's that we had in our house and I recall them with great detail. I remember one evening listening to Carly Simon singing "Your So Vien" and having my parents tell me that the song was written about James Taylor. Maybe this is true. I also have this vague memory of singing "T-bone" over and over again with my dad while we were riding in a Uhaul truck on one of our moves. Regardless it all started some sort of musical infatuation with James Taylor. So, all this to say that there will not be a blog tonight as James Taylor is in my living room commercial free.
So, Goodnight you moonlight ladies
Rockabye sweet baby James
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose
Won't you let me go down in my dreams
And rockabye sweet baby James

-KLB