Nostalgia

I remember when I used to beg my parents to let Wendy "spend the night with me" in my bed. So when Joshua started in with the same plea last night, I could hardly say no. It brings me to tears almost on a daily basis to see how much these two love each other. To see Caleb run up to Joshua for a hug several times a day, or to see Joshua rush to Caleb's aid when he can't get a puzzle piece to fit or wants a book read to him is enough for me to want to stop time to savor the moment a little longer. I'm so thankful to see our prayers for them answered & I can't wait to see how their relationship grows. There's nothing like having your brother (or sister) for a best friend. I know from experience.

Oh, and Joshua did end up back in his top bunk before the night was over. After talking with him this morning, it sounds as if Caleb may have inherited some of his Mom's sleeping habits.
~T

Perks of homeschooling

No dress code!

September 2008

Today

Things we love about our kids

Joshua

~ he is the sweetest, most tender-hearted boy I know.

~ I love his smile.

~ he has a servant's heart already & always wants to help anyone that will let him.

~ I love how much he loves Ella, wants to be right at her side at all times, & can make her smile better than any of us!

~ I love how excited he gets every Sunday to tell us what he learned at church.

~ I love that EVERY day when he comes in from playing outside his first words are, "Where's Caleb?" and the next are "Hey buddy!" and they run and hug each other.

~ He refuses to admit that a "light saber" is not a "light SAVER".

~ I love the way his jokes make no sense at all but he laughs at them himself...for a long time. Then we get tickled at just watching him laugh which makes him think he told a really good one.

~ He gets the hiccups when he laughs hard, just like his dad.

~ EVERY time he takes a bath, he gets out and lays on the rug in the fetal position with his towel over himself to "get warm" & he's actually fallen asleep twice.

~ I LOVE they way he jams to Toby Mac in the back seat of the van playing his air guitar. But if you shift your eyes ever so slightly to the rear view mirror to look at him, he stops. (That's when I put on my sunglasses)

~ He always wants to help me in the kitchen & gets especially excited when he gets to wear his apron and chefs hat and make cookies

~ Last night after he read a book to Caleb and I was on my way to finish our bedtime routine, Joshua stopped me and said, "It's ok, Mom, I already read his Bible and prayed with him"

Caleb

~ He's always good for a laugh!

~ He's extremely curious. (yes, really) But regardless of whatever mischief he's gotten himself into for the day, I've learned to go ahead and laugh.

~ I love his blue eyes and the fact that he's the only one in the family that has hair you can run your fingers through.

~ I love that he already has such a dry sense of humor. He will do something he knows is funny but won't crack a smile.

~ When he does laugh, he gets the hiccups.

~ I love that he talks to himself (he totally got that from his Mom). Like after he puts the silverware away he says, "Good job!" or as he's coming down from Joshua's bunk bed, "Be keful!"

~ He loves to help like his brother & every time he hands you something he says, "He-we-wah" (Here you are) Not sure where he got that.

~He loves "pecaroni" pizza & has the book "Groun Bear, Groun Bear" memorized (Brown Bear, Brown Bear)

~ Whenever he has a dirty diaper he announces that he's "got a rock!" Just be sure he doesn't catch you in the bathroom or he will announce it on your behalf as well.

~ He also loves to jam to "Togy Mac".

~ He won't let you dry him off after a bath until you play peek-a-boo with him; or as he says, "kiddie-poo!"

~ I love that he can't hold his blankie without sucking his thumb.

~ I love that he always has to shake his rear end when he gives you a hug.

~ He gets hurt so often that when it happens now he immediately says, "I fine!!" before we even ask.

~ I love that he's taught us SO much: crayon will come off walls with WD40, permanent marker doesn't stain the skin for too long but Expo markers will NOT come out of bed sheets (believe me - I tried everything), if you put a brown paper bag over red candle wax that has spilled on the carpet, and then iron over it, it will come out - completely!! If you accidentally grab the bleach solution when hot chocolate gets poured on the carpet, it will take care of the chocolate but won't bleach the carpet at all! (I'm NOT kidding - bleach!)

Ella
~ I love that she's a girl :)

~ I love that she smiles a lot and is starting to laugh (which gives her the hiccups every time)

~ I love that she smiles the most when Joshua walks in the room, and starts screaming when Caleb walks in the room.

~ I love the dimple on her left cheek.

~ I love that she's sleeping through the night!!

~ I love that she has discovered her hands and is batting at her toys.

~ I love when I go to check on her in her crib, expecting her to be asleep, but she's just laying there wide awake and gives me that smile that melts my heart.

~We just love 'em!!!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Monday mourning

So every week Joshua learns a new Bible verse & I try to discuss with him what it means so that he understands it instead of just memorizing it. His verse for this week is Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Here was our Monday morning discussion we had before starting our schoolwork. Me: "So, what do you think this verse means?" J: "I don't know." "Well, what is 'Your word'?" "God's word." "And what is God's word?" "The Bible." "So, if the Bible is the 'light unto our path', then it helps us to see which way to go, right?" "Well, I can see where I'm going and I want to go play!"
Who else can relate to this on Monday morning? I know I can!

Our newest addition

So the Nuzum family has grown by two. Last week Joshua got two tadpoles in the mail from his Aunt Wendy for his birthday. Now as much grief as I could give my sister for giving me two more little lives to be responsible for, I'm probably as excited as Joshua is about watching our new little friends morph into leopard frogs. Well I've been trying to decide how to incorporate them into our homeschooling and decided to make a mini unit study out of them since Joshua has been a little bored with his Science book anyway.

So today we worked on creating a "frog folder" for him and talked about the life cycle of the frog ie. egg-tadpole-froglett-frog.... So later, as he sat drawing pictures of his tadpoles, I asked him if he could tell me what he learned about how his tadpoles will change. This was his reply: "Well first they were eggs, then they hatched into tadpoles, then they will turn into....mmmmm.....omelettes?" They never cease to keep me in stitches. Here are a few pictures of J studying his tadpoles. Stay tuned for when they turn into omelettes.

Superbowl Sunday

After a great morning at church, we came home and made the final preparations for the arrival of my Uncle Ken and Aunt Mary Lou to arrive. They live in Ohio, but had spent the week in Brasstown, NC at the John C Campbell Folk School and decided to spend a day with us before driving back to Wooster. It is this pair of elder Nuzums we have to thank for introducing Joshua to the Wii several months ago. So, I guess we can also thank THEM for the pummeling that each of us suffers each time we try to beat Joshua at any of the games. As you can see below, we made sure Uncle Ken understood how much we appreciated his influence.

Later that evening, Mary Lou and Ella enjoyed telling one another stories. It was a great visit.

The Christmas Story - Nuzum Style

H to the O

DAD-GUM!

I think he's watched Cars a few too many times...

Daniel is FULL!

We officially concluded the fast this evening at 6:00. More about how we celebrated later. Today was the final sermon in our series entitled The Gospel at Elevation. I won't steal all of Pastor Furtick's thunder, but I can't continue this post without sharing this number with you...903. That's not our attendance or the amount of money in the plate or the number of times someone coughed during the sermon. Nine hundred three decisions for Christ in the past three weeks! WOW! Praise Jesus. You can read more about it here.

In the interest of full disclosure...I have to admit that Tonya and I did break the fast for 1 meal on Friday evening. As you read, it was our 10 year anniversary - so we decided to forego the fast for 1 meal and celebrate. (If anyone wants to debate the spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law - bring it!) We successfully got our grub on at Bonefish. If you have one of these near you, I highly recommend it. The Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer is phenomenal - and I hate seafood - so you know it's good.

Saturday we were back to the fast. We went up to Concord and ordered Josh and Caleb's new furniture. Then we stopped at Concord Mills so Tonya could buy some "hospital clothes" in preparation for Ella's arrival. (I have to digress here to pat myself on the back. Early in my married life, this would have resulted in an argument. Why do you need "hospital clothes?" They give you clothes to wear...you don't even have to bring your own. It is illogical to buy special clothes for a situation where clothes are provided for free! Serenity now! These days, I'll admit that I still have a fleeting thought or two along these lines...but I've learned 1) mommy deserves it, period and 2) keep your mouth shut when you think things like this.) So, we sat and ate our brown-bag-DanielFast-approved lunch in the parking lot before heading inside. We took care of business and then thought about spending a bit of time brousing through a few more stores...and then the melt downs started...which means it's time to go. So we left.

Then comes Sunday. The final day. Day 21. The day I was convinced would never arrive. I made it through lunch without much of a problem. But then, it became very difficult. I only had 3 or 4 hours to go. But church was over...the series was over...the whole objective behind us fasting corporately had been realized. Why would it matter? And then I was remined, ever so gently, by the Holy Spirit that the real benefit of the fast was my relationship with God. Maybe I need to keep fasting...so I can get that into my head.

Our small group has been planning a feast/celebration in honor of the fast and all that God has done in our church and our lives over the past few weeks. Everyone was asked to bring meat for grilling and a dessert. We brought apple-chicken sausage (it's much better tasting than it sounds - really!) and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies...which I made...this afternoon...without licking the beater or the spatula or the bowl or eating a single cookie. Howdaya like me now?

After our discussion of our experiences during the DanielFast, we fired up the grill and started eating. It was like manna from heaven. Pictured below is a very full, very satisfied, very blessed small group.

Blessed beyond measure

What a blessing they are to me, to us. What a blessing they are to each other. I am amazed by God's ability to reveal Himself to us through raising and knowing these boys, my sons.

Elevation Church

I know many of you have heard me rant and rave about the great things God is doing at our church ...but I have to do it some more. It is truly miraculous to watch what is going on in the lives of the people here, including me. It has never been so obvious to me that I am right in the middle of something God is orchestrating. I feel like I'm living in biblical times...watching things like this, this, this or this happen on a weekly basis. (Don't worry, I'm not going Benny Hinn or Branch Davidian on you. But I guess you could say I drank the kool-aid.) I've bought in 100%, becuase there is no explanation other than God. Not to mention, Joshua (scroll down to "Quest") loves it and the music is ridiculously good!

Thank you, Lord, for bringing us to Charlotte to be a part of this!

It's a Girl!

Introducing Li'l T #1. Tonya and I are both shocked; we were both so sure she was a he. We're in a bit of a daze...thinking of all the things that will be different this time around. Thankfully, all measurements and such are completely normal and we're on target for a September 25th due date. Thank you, Lord, for protecting our little girl.

The funniest reaction so far has to be Joshua. It went something like this...

[Obstetrician enters room after ultrasound is complete.]

OB: So, Joshua, what did you learn today?

Joshua: [blank stare at mom and dad]

OB: What did you see on the little black and white screen?

Joshua: a baby

OB: a baby...what kind of baby?

Joshua: a girl

OB: What do you think about that?

Joshua: I wanted a brother!