Hi, sorry that I have not been posting quite so regularly. Over the past couple of weeks I haven't managed to find the time. But hear I am, the boys are asleep, and I have a moment of calm. Rather than sharing a thought or experience, I thought that this time I'd give you a run down on how we are each doing.
Clayton:
Clayton is doing really well at balancing the pressures of an impressive study load, with family life. I've been impressed at his increasing capacity as he will often rise as early as 5:30am even after studying late into the evening. Fellow students are astounded at how parents like Clayton are keeping up from week to week, doing so well, and yet still actively involved in raising their young families. I know that only a generation ago, men had very little involvement with their children, but I only have to look at how wonderfully my son's lives are enriched by having their father take such an active interest in their lives.
As I type, Clayton is in week 8 of 10 for this quarter. So far, he is doing really well. He is absolutely loving the challenge and the tremendous satisfaction that comes from gaining a slightly 'fuller' revelation of, and deeper insights into God and His character, though his study of the Minor Prophets in Hebrew. Already very thankful for being able to study here at Fuller, as subjects like these are simply not available in Australia. He is also very grateful for his lecturers; for their depth and breadth of knowledge. And it seems that his lecturers love him too!
Judah:
Well, Judah has been journeying though a rather rough patch, but seems to be through the worst of it. About a month ago we decided that it was time for him to be rid of his beloved dummies. When he was ready, he did so - fully understanding the permanency of his actions. We had a little ceremony. Judah threw his dummies, and Nathan his bottles, down the trash shoot. There were high fives all around, cheering, praise and shouts of excitement.
Anyway, Judah was doing just fine until it came time to go to sleep. How could he sleep without them? Well, for the next few nights, I would sit by his bed side stroking his head until he would fall asleep. Naps were another story. He just didn't know how to go to sleep during the day. On top of being short of his usual sleep quota, our son was also (for the first time), showing signs of feeling unsettled with all the changes that where in his life. It seemed that any changes, even the smallest and pettiest, were the source of great insecurity.
In all of this we found that Judah was remarkably in touch with his emotions and able to express some of his troubles with us. One of them was to do with not having a house to live in. Perhaps living in an apartment was all too much like living in a hotel, and somehow lacked the sense of permanency and security that he was looking for.
So it seemed that his dummies had provided a greater source of comfort and security than we had first realised. For a few weeks, our little boy found it hard to hold himself together with regular tantrums which were becoming increasingly difficult to manage.
In desperation, we turned to God, who was able to reveal a few insights in Judah's soul. We also sought wisdom from a few family members and friends. We've discovered a real blessing in having a child psychologist in the family - Thanks George - your wisdom, insights and strategies were both practical and effective. Thank you to those of you who prayed for us during this time. Your prayers made a big difference. Judah is now back to sleeping well, even back to taking his nap, (although I'm having to restrict it, in order to ensure that he can go down to sleep at night). We haven't had any major tantrums now for over a week, and there has been a massive improvement in his behaviour. We still get the usual 3 year old battle of the wills, but all in all, he's back to his usual happy self again. Praise God!
Nathan:
Nath is changing a lot. He's just gone 20 months and is growing like crazy. He has a lot more hair. Since we've been here, I've had to cut it twice already! He's getting stockier too. Still a cute size, but just more solid. He's more active than ever. Very much the wriggly boy. Loves to be able to walk around independantly and will wriggle and squirm free of you so that he can run about and do his own thing.
He still enjoys a good cuddle though. This morning Clayton and I were having a hug, and reaching his arms up towards us, he pined, "I want tuddle. I want tuddle."Every day we are left astounded at his development. He seems to have quickly acquired the skill of constructing sentences in order to effectively express himself. He's even using words like I, I'll, my, mine, and me correctly.
Some examples from today, "I want breakfast", "I'll do it mama!" and "Give me the wallet!" He will still occasionally refer to himself as Nathan instead of 'me'. Like, "No, don't push Nathin!" I almost forgot to mention that he has started trying to recite his numbers in order, 1 to 10! It's amazing what is coming out. It's not even like I push him or make any special effort with him. I take no credit.
Me:
I enjoyed a lovely Mother's Day on Sunday. I was woken to receive presents; chocolates, body lotion and bottle of massage oil. I was given a card that said on the cover, 'For you, Mommy'. (Gotta love the American spelling). I was granted a luxurious sleep in, and brought a beautiful cooked breakfast; omelet, toast, OJ and fresh fruit. We attended the morning service at church, and came home for a nap before heading out to Santa Monica Pier. We had a lovely afternoon together.
Judah and Nathan kept on insisting that we were at San Diego. (We'll take them there some day.) If only everyday could be Mother's Day. Monday morning came around all too quickly and with a great thud!
I've been enjoying my new friendships a lot and just loving the Fuller Wives Support group. Realising that although this is a really close community, it is also a very transient one. There are students coming and going every term.
Caught up with some family friends Tom and Janette Boland, from the church that I grew up in. Spent half a day at Disneyland with them which was really nice. It's amazing how you can just take off where you left off with friends that you haven't seen for so long.
I'm enjoying interacting with Clayton and what is going though his head. It's making me hungry to get into some study for myself. I am considering the possibility of doing a few subjects next year. At the least, I'll audit some subjects - that means sit in the classes and have the option of completing assessments. It's virtually free, you just don't get the piece of paper for it.
So that's a summary of how we're all doing.
