The Foosh's

Jude & his monkeys

Jess — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:04:18 +0000

I had to laugh when Judo asked me to take a picture of him and his monkeys. These guys keep him cozy at night and is it just me or does Jude bear a slight resemblance to his furry friends?!:)

Eternal Perspective

Foosh — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:08:08 +0000

It’s funny the things that you don’t remember. I don’t remember my parents getting up with me multiple times in the middle of the night when I was a baby/toddler. I don’t remember drawing on the walls, wetting my bed, or refusing to eat perfectly good food. I’m pretty sure all of those things happened though because now I’m in the spot my parents were in not too long ago.

Thanks to the time change Jude has been waking up at 5 AM (he woke up at 4:30 AM Sunday) saying he’s hungry and Jess has been trying to convince our voracious 7 month old that he doesn’t need to constantly eat through the night. All this equates to utter exhaustion. But like all things in life it’s your perspective that ultimately influences how you process things.

Sure, in the moment when sleep deprivation is at it’s worse and all communication comes out with emotional overtones or incoherent sentences - I can’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed. But if I’m able to step back and consider how quickly these moments will pass and in the story of my life be just a blip, it’s all worth it. When I take a step back and shift my perspective from the here and now to be implicational and long term instead - what seems so big, isn’t anymore. Faster than I care to think about my boys will be Men and the foundation of their life that is being established today will have far reaching impact. With this perspective in place my actions become less selfish and more purposeful.

For Jess and I the way that we live and love is rooted in an eternal perspective not just for our lives but for the generations of children, grandchidren, and great grandchildren after us. While every day brings with it a new obstacle that has the potential to make us focus back on ourselves, it’s our desire to live in a way that is selfless. We constantly fail, but we are confident that grace is there to cushion our fall, prop us back up and give us the vision to live. If this grace wasn’t present than our failings would have power over us. Power to make us give up and quit or to make us live selfish and purposeless lives.

Just as it was established in our lives, it’s our prayer that our children will grow up with an eternal perspective rooted in life giving grace!

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

November is…

Jess — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:50:09 +0000

Thanksgiving!
Our thankful tree tradition is officially being kicked off this year- if you come to my house from now until Thanksgiving you can write what you are thankful for on a paper leaf and hang it from our branches, to be read on Thanksgiving day.

National Adoption Month!
To find out more visit the Child Welfare Information site. Or visit World Orphans, or No Hands But Ours, or the many other online resources for finding out more about the millions of children in need of a forever home here in America and across the globe.

“How wonderful it would be if we could help our children and grandchildren to learn thanksgiving at an early age. Thanksgiving opens the doors. It changes a child’s personality. A child is resentful, negative—or thankful. Thankful children want to give, they radiate happiness, they draw people.” - Sir John Templeton

Irresistible!

Jess — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:46:13 +0000

I just can’t get enough of these chubby cheeks!!!

New fall tradition

Jess — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:21:08 +0000

Hay rides and measuring up to the scarecrow at Carver Farms!

Boys & Leaves

Jess — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:05:53 +0000

A weekend full of fall~

photo shoots with Jude enjoying throwing the leaves all over his brother,

Owen trying to eat every leaf he could get a hold of,

Jude and Papa raking up a yard full of leaves,

…and of course, jumping in big piles of them over and over, and over!

Andrew also took our Fusion group (our 6th and 7th grade youth group) to a fun corn maze and we enjoyed a big pot full of soup chock full of autumn veggies. Andrew and I have also had some really fun date nights in this past week- we’ve made dinner a little more special by feeding and getting the boys to bed and then enjoying our own meal over a movie, playing a game, or just sitting and talking. I think after you have kids your relationship changes so much and it can be easily drown out by life getting full and focused on the kiddos, so we’ve tried to be really purposeful about our time alone together. We started together as newlyweds and, after the kiddos are out of the house and on their own, we will be alone together- with a solid relationship that was fed and nurtured apart from raising children together. That’s our goal anyway!

What is your favorite date night in idea? How do you find time to connect with your spouse alone amidst the busyness of life?

Now Reading :: October

Jess — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:22:28 +0000

Here’s what you’d find on our coffee table these days…

Irresistible Revolution: Living Life as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne
I’m over half way through and challenged to take the overwhelming feeling of wanting to sell everything and move to the slums of India and apply it to our life here in Otis Orchards, where we feel called to live and love. For now:).

Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper
(If you click on the title you’ll find a link to read it for FREE online!) I’m only in the 2nd chapter but intrigued to find out how the author has wrapped her faith and beliefs into meaningful family traditions. I long to throw off the weight of meaningless holiday clutter and celebrate the every day and the special day alike with purpose, beauty, and meaning- all while reflecting Who we live for.

The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
A childhood classic- the tale of a little duck on the Yangtze River, with his mother and father and sisters and brothers and 42 cousins!

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
Funny little stories and great illustrations.

Jude has also been getting into Dr. Seuss books and listening to them on tape (from the library) during mealtimes, or before naps. He listens while staring off into space and when it’s over tries to make up his own rhymes. We’ve also been enjoying lots of books about fall: apples, pumpkins, leaves, etc.

What are you reading or listening to?

Green water play

Jess — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:32:22 +0000

Sometimes you just gotta mix things up a little.
Add something extra. Water play + food coloring= FUN!

6 months old & using the potty!

Jess — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:27:55 +0000

This is most likely one of those pictures that Owen will want to hide from any and all future lady friends!! But it’s also stinkin’ cute, and is evidence of at least ONE of our boys using the potty! I will not bore you with all the potty training methods and excitement I’ve tried that have not worked with our almost 3 year old. This is the kid who couldn’t asleep on his own or sleep through the night until this spring, at 2 1/2 years old. He’ll decide to use the potty (hopefully some day soon!!) when he’s ready just as he all of a sudden decided he would be able to sleep on his own, despite any earlier attempts to coax him sooner. Owen however, is a potty pro. I’ve tried elimination communication with both my babies- a fancy way of saying I take them to the potty when I think they need to go to save on diapers and in theory, avoid the potty training battle altogether. Obviously this didn’t work out so well with Jude who refused to use the potty after he was one year old, although it was still worth it from how much I saved on laundering my cloth diapers up until then. But I am already noticing that Owen let’s me know when he has to go much more clearly than Jude ever did and will pee just about every time I put him on the potty seat. (While smiling- it’s really cute! And at this point most of you are thinking I’m a little loopy, but that’s quite alright!:) He hasn’t pooped in his diaper since he was 6 weeks old, not because I tried really hard to train him not to, but it just happened- and I’m still amazed! This is a common practice in Asia, Africa, and other places and one of my favorite things in China (and most amusing) is seeing little ones bundled up for the dead of winter with their little bums peeking out of their split crotch pants- for easy peeing access of course! It’s not uncommon to see a mom hold her baby out over the floor of a subway or street and let the babe have at it- no one bats an eye! Of course there are more sanitary ways to practice this but over all I think it’s sad how diaper companies are convincing more and more people world wide to use diapers instead of their traditional way of pottying their children. Don’t even get me started on formula companies.

Any one else heard of this method or tried it themselves? Think I’m crazy?:) Have any funny pictures their kids will be embarrassed by in the future?!:)

Side note on our little Owie Bear- we had his 6 month check up last week and he’s in the 80% for height and weight! (Down from 95th) He was so still and quiet while the doctor checked him over and gave lots of smiles, sweet bear.

Baked Squash

Jess — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:38:37 +0000

Some of the lovely squash we picked up at the farm last weekend- usually I’d just decorate with it, but this year I followed the lady at the farm’s easy instructions and baked up this yummy squash that even the Hubby approved of! To bake, cut off the top and scoop out all seeds and stringy insides, then cover the inside with a little butter and brown sugar. Put the top back on with a little space to vent, and then stick on a glass baking dish with a little water at the bottom. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or a little longer, depending on size of squash. Serve as is with a spoon to scoop out the tender inside. Delicious! You can do the same thing with acorn squash, and I’ve seen this with dried cranberries inside as well. What are you cooking up this month?