Fun in the Son

4th of July Backyard Fireworks

Tim showing Gabe how to pull the string on this kid-friendly firework

Just a few of the cards we received for our birthdays on display on the piano (we had more that were on the window sill)

Funny story behind this picture: Gabe didn't like his stuffed animals staring at him while he tried to sleep so he asked Tim to turn them all around facing the wall...ha, ha!

Gabe asleep during a car ride home from summer camp...still wearing the orange (his favorite color) mask he made

Gabe still loves playing in this police car...love it when he shows off those dimples

Chase still loves his old John Deere Gator

Gabe still hasn't mastered the art of pedaling, but we think Santa will still bring him a bigger bike for Christmas

This is Chase simulating the Tahoe getting pulled out of the sand with the Gator and police car, ha, ha!

Orange ice pops are mandatory at the pool for Gabe!

Happy 15th Anniversary to us!

We’re well into the dog days of summer.  Tim and I both had July birthdays making me officially past the midpoint of my thirties and Tim another year closer to forty.  Time flies!  Before we all know it, the kids will be back in school and we’ll welcome fall.  I’ve already gotten all of the kids’ school supplies and soccer gear for the fall season even though I’m not just yet ready to part with summer.  I must say it’s been one of the best summers I’ve had as an adult!  I say, “as an adult,” because childhood summers are hard to beat reflecting on when we were all more tolerant of the heat and had fewer responsibilities.  However, I’ve been reliving many of my childhood memories with my own children this summer and that has been exciting in a different way.  

For instance, we’ve gone to Busch Gardens four times this year and hopefully we can still squeeze in one more visit before the end of the season.  I remember having a season pass as a kid and spending countless days there.  Those were the days before I could even drive when Mom would drop my best friend and me off at the park in the morning and come back to pick us up when the park closed.  I learned the park like the back of my hand.  Fast forward two decades, and I’m getting to walk the same park and ride some of the same rides I rode as a child. Chase is tall enough to ride some of the rollercoasters now so I’ve enjoyed seeing the excitement on his face as he’s ridden many rides that lots of adults won’t even attempt.  Tim and I were even able to squeeze in a date night at the park by ourselves when we could ride all of the “big kid” rides.  Unfortunately, my body can’t handle the rides as well as it could when I was younger, but I don’t let it stop me….pop in a Dramamine and ride on!

Not only has Chase conquered riding his first rollercoasters this summer, but he’s also learned to skate, improved his swimming, and practiced diving and flipping off the diving board at the pool.  Even Gabe rode the Elmo rollercoaster at Busch Gardens and conquered his fear of the water slide at the pool.  Both boys showed no fear at Water Country this summer on the bigger slides too!  Chase even did one of the Vanishing Point slides that entails a vertical drop (even I didn’t try that one….but, I had a good excuse since Gabe was too short to ride that one and I had to wait with him while Tim and Chase were the adventurers). 

Gabe may not be big enough for all of the rollercoasters and slides yet, but he’s catching up to his brother in other ways.  He’ll get to play his first season of soccer this fall with Tim coaching his team called the “Pirates.”  Gabe picked out the team mascot as he loves pirates.  He came up with a song that goes something like, “Ahoy! The pirate in the end…” We have no idea what “the pirate in the end” means, but we’ve heard that song hundreds of times.  Life with Gabe is like living out a musical as he’s always singing about something. 

If you keep up with Tim and me on Facebook, you’ve probably seen our beach pictures by now.  Although we didn’t encounter any “pirate in the end” during our trip, we started off with a little speed bump with the Tahoe’s half axle giving out on us and leaving us stuck in the sand.  I accidentally said a bad word when I heard the sound of the half axle breaking (shame on Mommy!).  Chase didn’t let me forget that I had slipped up and said a bad word and brought it up to me several days later which just goes to show that children are sponges and we have to watch everything we say and do around them.  When we were stuck in the sand, I remember Chase crying and saying, “I don’t want to live on the beach forever.” I had to snap out of that panic mode, which meant go from saying a bad word to being the mom I needed to be to console my children and remind them that everything would be just fine.  Indeed, everything did end up being just fine and we were back in 4WD on the sand with the Tahoe the very next day. 

Several years ago, Tim and I would have allowed something like that to ruin our vacation.  However, after experiencing much greater hardships in our lives, we realize that there’s no need to sweat the small stuff any more.  We have friends who are fighting much bigger battles in life right now, such as stage IV cancer; those bigger battles that are life threatening make car troubles pale in comparison. During those bigger battles, it seems like pity parties are warranted.  Nonetheless, God is always good and faithful to us and He gives us a sense of peace that surpasses all understanding; He uses our struggles to mold us into better people, not to harm us. (Read Philippians 4:7 and Jeremiah 29:11.) As a beach bum, I love the story of footprints in the sand and visualizing the Lord carrying me when I’m weak.  If anyone were to ask me, “what’s the appeal to being a Christian,” my response would be: regardless of what struggles I’ve faced in my life, I’ve always had hope and peace through Jesus (even during those rock bottom moments) that makes life worthwhile and fulfilling.  Plus, God’s love and grace is a gift that I thankfully don’t have to earn. 

While God often strengthens us and gives us grace during our weaker moments in life, we should still sharpen our spiritual and mental tools through reading scripture.  I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not always consistent with deep-diving into God’s Word like I should be.  However, one neat thing I did over the past couple of months was read “The Birth Order Book” by Dr. Kevin Leman (Christian author).  I got this book through winning a baby shower game back in April (the book was the prize).  I’ve heard Tim’s family talk about this book several times over the years and I always wanted to read it for myself.  My mother-in-law has always told me I function more as a firstborn than a middle child and she was right.  However, the book also says many times that middleborns are the hardest birth order to pinpoint.  Even though I have many firstborn qualities (reliable, conscientious, a list maker, well organized, etc.), I also have some of the typical middleborn qualities: sociable, friendly, outgoing, takes life in stride, laid-back, easygoing, not competitive, peacemaker, mediator, avoids conflict, etc.  However, I didn’t always have all of these qualities nor do these qualities always work in one’s favor.  For example, I remember being painfully shy during my elementary school years.  My older sister did a lot of the talking for me back then, so I was always the quieter one in the family being sandwiched in between the older, talkative sister and the baby in the family.  As my older sister started to grow up and make friends outside of the family, I was forced to be more independent and started to come out of my shell more.  I also wasn’t born a natural leader like most firstborns; the thought of giving a speech or being in a lead position at work would have given me a heart attack several years ago, but now it’s more instinctive. 

The Birth Order Book also pointed out that middleborns tend to make the most patient spouses due to the fact that they often avoid conflict (Tim, I sure hope you’re reading this, LOL).  However, this can work against us middleborns as we often don’t stand our ground as firmly as we should since we’re conflict avoiders.  Tim and I make good matches since I’m a middleborn with a blend of firstborn and middleborn qualities and he’s the baby in his family.  I’m proud to say that we’ll have made it to 15 years of marriage on August 25, 2016.  It hasn’t always been an easy road for us, but marriage is worth fighting for, especially when it’s rooted in God’s love. In spite of our struggles, I'd still marry Tim all over again if I could; there's no doubt in my mind that we're stronger now as a couple than we've ever been.

Anyhow, I highly recommend this book as it provides insight not only to yourself, but it helps you better understand others.  I didn't mean to give a book report, but it's a rarity for me to find the time to read a book cover to cover.  Furthermore, Dr. Leman puts a Christian spin on everything (although still sticking with the facts), which is always spiritually uplifting.  Aside from putting “The Birth Order Book” as a must-read on your to-do list before summer ends, be sure to just simply have fun in the Son. “Fun in the Son” has been FOEC’s motto for the summer.  That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to travel to a beach, go to a theme park, or wade in a pool…rather, just soak up the “Son’s” rays and blessings in every day living and don’t take the simple things in life for granted.