First birthday

It's hard to believe, but our Abigail celebrated her 1st birthday back on March 9.  We were fortunate to be able to spend her birthday with my side of the family in Minnesota (where my eldest sister & her family live).  Abigail thoroughly enjoyed opening her presents (what kid doesn't like gifts, right?).  She very much disliked her birthday hat--as it was pulled off in a matter of seconds.  And the cake?  Well, she at first was quite adverse to it (as you'll see below), but after much cajoling, I eventually convinced her to at least open her mouth to try it! 

Happy birthday to our sweet Abby-cadabby!  We are so enjoying every facet of who you are, and we thank God for your beautiful life!  Mommy & Daddy love you!

Our birthday girl

saying "cheese" for the camera 

"I don't know about this mom" 

"You eat it.  I don't want that cupcake!"

"NOOOOO!!!"

 

"Ewwww"

"Okay, maybe sugar isn't so bad afterall!" 

 "hihi"

She's a girl that gets what she wants

Having two children always gives such a fascinating perspective as parents.  We are daily amazed at how DIFFERENT Josiah and Abigail are--besides just the obvious boy/girl differences.  In fact, we often find ourselves shaking our heads in wonder saying, "wow, Josiah never did this...." or "Josiah wasn't this.....".  Not that we are purposely trying to compare our children to some imaginary standard or compare them against one another. Not at all. In fact, I think if truth be told, Bryan and I often find ourselves wondering what exactly we've gotten ourselves into, but in a good way, mind you.  We truly believe children are a blessing from the Lord--it's just sometimes that blessing comes with some sweat and tears from the dear parents!

Case in point.  Abigail is fast. She RARELY sits still.  Both of our kids were early walkers, but Abigail seems to have a little extra "ummphh" to her.  And quite frankly this scares us!  You see, Josiah already is quite intense.  Though Josiah has a strong sense of justice and is motivated by "right & wrong" (which can make it easy, at times, to parent him), he is physically strong, physically active, emotionally volatile, and verbally alive (that is my euphemism for the kid just won't stop talking!). So we can't but help compare what Abigail does now through our lens of how Josiah has grown.

Take today, for instance.  Abigail already gets into way more than Josiah every did at this age (Abby is 11 months).  She also started crawling before Josiah and climbed the stairs before he did.  Josiah, though he mastered physical developments early, was still a very cautious kid.  Abigail seeems (at least for now) to throw caution to the wind.  When she sees something out of reach, she figures out how to make it within reach.  (if you'll remember, her pseudonym is Elastigirl).  She uses any means possible to reach items that are not suitable for children under the age of 3 (let alone under the age of 1), and she often succeeds. 

This is Abigail reaching for something on our TV stand.  These picture don't do it justice.  Abigail is notorious for adding inches to her height by standing on the tips of her tippytoes.  Is she taller than our TV stand?  NO!  Can she even see what is on our TV stand?  NO.

And here is another climbing adventure.  Abigail, not wanting to miss out on the full experience of piano playing, figured out how to climb onto our blanket basket.  Yes, that basket is about a foot tall. Does she even need this basket to reach the keys?  No.  She can reach them just fine by stretching her arms--though she wouldn't be able to actually see what she was doing.  And so, she figured out how to make herself taller.  And here's a video to witness it yourself.  No fear.  No concern about how to get down.  No fear of falling.  None. (Thankfully she had Mommy and Daddy within reach!)

Celebrating 6 years of marital bliss (and A LOT of hard work!)

Happy Anniversary to my love!  Six years ago today I said "I do" to the man of my dreams.  I am so thankful for God's goodness in our marriage!  Bryan, you are truly a man of honor and humility, and I know how blessed I am to be your wife.  Not only are you a faithful husband, but you are a gentle and kind father to our children.  I cherish our friendship, and I am so proud of all that you've accomplished in your life!  Thank you for walking with me, helping me to draw nearer to God, and for all that you've done to lead our family!  Thank you for making the past six years marital bliss (mixed in with some hard work, of course!).  Here's to our lifetime together! 

December 2005--do we look any different?

Duke Gardens, Feb 2006

Kiss, kiss!

Love!

Not just any Sunday

Today was our last Sunday in Park West HS.  For many of you in NYC, you are all too familiar with the DOE's decision that has banned churches from meeting in the public schools on Sunday.  While not an ideal situation (and not just for us, but for many churches in the city), to me, today represented a day to celebrate the goodness of God.  A time to celebrate the blessings of God.  The goodness that God has in store for our church corporately, but also for us as a family.

It was (and is) a celebration day.  Even Abigail gave us reason to celebrate.  Thanks to our awesome and beloved nursery teachers in the children's ministry (shout out to Stella Lim and Alice Wang!), Abigail let me enjoy the ENTIRE service.  Yes, you read that correctly.  THE. ENTIRE. SERVICE.  For those of you who have personally witnessed her mommy-attachment, I always get paged after 5 minutes of inconsolable screaming.  But not today.  My little baby girl is finally learning that Mommy will indeed come back.

And as good as that made my day, God reminded me, through Josiah, that His goodness is truly evident in our lives.  As we approached Park West HS this morning, there were 2 homeless men sitting in the nook of the building.  Shivering and cold.  Getting closer, I wondered whether Josiah would even notice them.

"Mommy, why are those men sitting out here?"

Moved by his tenderness, we explained.  "Oh sweetie.  They don't have a home.  It's very sad and hard.  Sometimes people are homeless.  Do you want to give them some food?"

"No...."  Though he responded with a no, Bryan walked over with him and gave them a pack of fruit snacks.  Josiah was hesitant, and perhaps even afraid.

We went to church, and not thinking anything more on it, continued on our day.  As we left the school building, Josiah again asked about those men.

"Mommy, why don't they have a home?"

As we loaded our kids into the car, I tried explaining to Josiah about what it means to be homeless.  I tried conveying to him the sadness of the situation.  That many times those individuals have hard lives and don't have any money.  That often they are sick.  That they don't have food.  That these individuals represent the poor in our city.

We began driving home.  Josiah pointed out some cranes from the window.  And again, he asked,

"Mommy, why don't they have a home?"  His voice full of sadness.

"Mommy, who will build them a home?"

We explained again that they don't have money.  That they more than likely couldn't build a home.  That homelessness means they just don't have a home.

"We can give them money"

Bryan explained to Josiah how much God has blessed us as a family, because we have a home.  And that's why we thank God for our home.  We also suggested that we could think of a way to help them.  And that we could use our money to bless those less fortunate than us. 

"I can give them all my money." 

And that's when it hit me.  Josiah was referring to his own money.  This Christmas, Bryan and I purchased a piggy bank for Josiah to begin collecting money.  And that's exactly what he's been doing.  Finding pennies on the ground, getting his Daddy's leftover change.  Asking his Grandma & Granddaddy, or even his Uncle Kevin.  Any and every coin he sees, he wants.  And its his beloved piggy bank.  He ADORES his coins.  He ADORES knowing that he has them, waiting on the shelf in his piggy bank.

With tears in my eyes, I realized what a precious gift God had just given me.  Seeing through the heart of a child.  Truly believing that all those coins in his piggy bank were enough to solve the problems of those two homeless men.  Josiah was willing to give all he had.  My Josiah.  The same Josiah who hoards his favorite toys, and who would never dream of sharing his beloved items with his sister.

It's moments like this that remind me of the goodness of God.  That we can have faith and hope in our God to solve any problem, big or small.  Faith that believes coins in a piggy bank are enough to build a home in NYC for two homeless men.  Child-like faith.  God really is big enough.  If He was able to multiply five loaves and two fish to feed thousands, then He is capable and willing to do the same for us and for those two men.

It days like these that I am so thankful for the opportunity to raise a family in New York City.  What a valuable lesson, not just for Josiah, but for our whole family.

A Photomontage

Anyone who has kids is all too familiar with this scene.  It is our attempt to get a decent photo of the kids. Like usual, when we get a good one of Abby, Jojo is making some funny face. And when we finally get a good one of Jojo, Abby is throwing a fit.  In this series of shots, we actually got a couple of decent pics!  Hope you enjoy our photomontage.

Things started out well.  Abby was actually giving good smiles for the camera.

 

Not wanting to be left out (as always), big brother jumps into the shot--bringing his 2 beloved Banjo dogs.  Josiah's face... well, let's try this again.

Abby still in a good mood....Josiah has a half-smile---just a couple more tries, we think.

At this point, Abigail is getting tired of me holding her.  The agitation is rising.

Poor Josiah.  Now Abigail is flailing her arms and smacks Jo right in the head.  Pretty typical.  It may look like she's happy.... but....

Here it is.  The body-flopping, arm-flailing fit of Abigail perfectly captured by Bryan. 

 GREAT!!  Finally, a sweet picture.  Jojo was able to make abby laugh.   We should have stopped here...but we got greedy...

 

"I know, let's try abby on jo's back".  Jo was so excited.

 

Abby, not so much. And if you look closely, YES, that is Abigail trying to rip out Josiah's hair.

At this point, Abby was screaming & Jojo was complaining that his back hurt.

Our final attempt.  We are all coming undone at this point.

Keeping up with the Scotts

Keeping in vein with the heart of the blog to see what life is like with the Scotts, here are some videos for your enjoyment.  Now here is my warning: If videos of others' kids cause deep-eye rolling, then watch at your own risk.  I may be biased though, but I personally love watching videos of kids! =)

This video, we have affectionately nicknamed "Abby's Fire".  In case you haven't guessed by now, our little sweet abby has quite a temper.  You'll notice her seemingly random outburst during the middle of this video.  She is like this ALL THE TIME!  When Abigail gets mad, you'll know it.  Why she gets mad, who really knows.  But the fact of the matter is, Abby goes from calm to agitated in seconds.

Now if you know my husband, you know he has a legend as a car jumper.  Yes, that's right.  He really CAN jump over the front of the hood of a car.  So, when you're married to a man like this, guess what your kids learn to do at a very early age?  That's right! JUMP!  Here is Josiah's jumping training.

This video is one of my favorites.  Abigail LOVES twirling her socks.  She actually loves all things having to do with feet.  She is always trying to get people's shoes.  I think this is telling of how she'll be when she's older....

And finally, this one is especially for the grandparents.  A better video of our now walking Abby. 

Will the REAL Mommy please stand up?

May I have your attention please?
Will the REAL Mommy please stand up?

Coz' I'm you're Mama, yes I'm the real Mama.
All you other mean mamas are just imitating.
So won't the nice Mommy, please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?


Okay, okay. Back to reality. So I'm no rapper. And I should probably never attempt to rap (you can ask Bryan!). I don't listen to Eminem, nor have I ever, really. I have eaten M&M's before--does that count? But can anyone else out there relate to my remix of Slim Shady?

Let's be real here for a moment. To all the parents out there--did anyone ever tell you how hard it is to be a parent? Now, don't get me wrong and don't misunderstand--we would never trade our babies for anything in the world! But the truth is that its hard to be a parent.

As Josiah turned 3 back in October, our already talkative boy began asking even more probative questions and making more observations about life. Some of these in-depth thought patterns have been, quite frankly, refreshing! To see his heart unfold before our eyes has truly been one of the greatest joys as a parent. Those seasoned parents out there know what's coming next. There is always a flip-side. ALWAYS. Along with Josiah's increasing ability to clearly communicate his thoughts and feelings comes his ability to point out when Mommy is not living up to the standard I adhere to for him.

Let's have a go at a reenactment.

Mommy roles out of bed, tired and grumpy. (This is pretty accurate. For those who know me best, I am definitely NOT a morning person).

Entering the scene is a grumpy toddler, who like his mommy is not a morning person. (Don't you love how the Lord will give us children just like us in so many ways to truly refine our character! YIKES!)

Sesame street. Breakfast. Coffee. All must haves.

Baby #2 down for nap. Toddler #1 full speed energy.

Now here's where things can go awry.

Mommy thinking about how much nicer it would be to be in a cozy bed.
Toddler wants full attention.
Mommy thinking about how she needs a break, all the while being short and impatient.
Toddler becomes increasingly demanding.
Mommy begins acting on her flawed thinking, starts lecturing toddler about who knows what, and then...

"Mommy, please be nice to me!"

OUCH.

Yeah, it hurts to have our flaws pointed out to us. Especially by our own children. But Josiah was so right. On that particular morning, I had become so inward focused and in the flesh, that I couldn't even see beyond myself. I was no longer walking by the fruit of the Spirit, but I was being ruled by selfishness and rudeness.

Isn't it often easy to sit back and judge what you would do in a situation, until you are actually living it? Because let me tell you, I've definitely had my moments. I've had my days where I've continued to decide to do the wrong thing, where I've utterly failed as a parent.

But in that moment, I had a decision to make. I could decide to continue being rude and impatient with my son, or let the "real mommy, please stand up." The Mommy that God has called me to be: one who walks in the grace of God and who daily depends on the Holy Spirit--the Mommy that isn't afraid to admit to being wrong in front of my children or to say I'm sorry. Not a Mommy who is just striving for perfection or striving to make my behavior acceptable and my actions bound by rules, but a Mommy who is humble enough to admit that I am often wrong, that I too sin, that I need Jesus just as much as my children do to change my heart. And isn't that really a greater gift for Josiah in the end? For Josiah to see that we ALL fall short, even Mommy and Daddy. And it's just another opportunity to tangibly teach Josiah about the Gospel--that Jesus is REAL and only He has the power to save and change me.