Julian's growing pains

Most days Dan and the kids pick me up from work. That way he gets out and about and I get more time with them (though the quality of the time is questionable - mostly yelling and screaming and hitting and asking for snacks). Some days it's just Dan who picks me up. We actually get to talk or just sit in silence (with the radio on). I usually text or call our sitter that we are on the way home. Last week, I called her up explaining our tardiness, mostly our fault but also Cubs traffic and construction. I wasn't anticipating any real information sharing or problems, but she begin to explain something about someone's finger getting slammed in the bathroom door. The two boys obviously playing with the door or chasing one another...From the phone call I thought it was Christian who got hurt, and as there was no dramatic screaming I thought it was ok. Then we got home. Dan went to pick up some Thai take out and I stepped into the fray, only it wasn't the usual hubbub. Christian was on one couch watching a show; Julian was sitting on Abby's lap looking unhappy. Then I knew I had misunderstood. It was Julian who was hurt. Christian had slammed the bathroom door - for privacy - and Julian's pinky got caught. It had bled, but stopped. And so it had seemed ok, but now the entire nail was falling off and first was getting in and I can only imagine it was throbbing. I called Dan to pick up a first aid kit - our medicine cabinet was not sufficient - and he brought home all the supplies necessary. He did the honors of opening the nail to clean it out applying the neosporin, and then tightly wrapping the nail and finger with a bandaid. Julian has been wearing one ever since. The nail is still falling off, but there is evidence of a new one growing underneath. This was Julian's first BIG OWIE. Though he's had plenty of minors falls and spills and scraps.

But it doesn't end here! This week Julian also had a big first...his first FLU. Again, our sweet babysitter was on call. I'll expound less on this episode due to its graffic nature. Suffice it to say that there was toddler puke on the carpet and couches, and all over his clothes. How can you tell a toddler to puke in the toilet?!? And then the following day it was the other end - plenty of diaper changes for that.

Julian bears it all well. He's a bit whiny but has the ability to distract himself with play, food, etc. I could definitely learn from him more about how to handle life's roughness in a gracious way.

Picture update of CP

Julian-isms and CP's new favorite jingle

Some Julian-isms:

The alphabet song...hum hum hum hum hum hum G, hum hum hum hum hum hum hum hum P, etc.

When he is pretending to be a race car, he bends his knees, bends over, sticks his arms backwards so he looks like an Olympic swimmer about to jump into the pool, revs his engine by way of vocalizing, and then takes off down the hallway. I think he always wins the race.

Another funny arm thing he does is when we ask him 'where did it go?' instead of opening his arms up and sideways, he pushes them down and back.

Last one for the post: tonight he thought it would be good to use the empty mustard container to crush the corn kernels that had fallen off of his plate. It was quite entertaining, though we didn't get any corn meal from his efforts.

Tonight we were in the living room. Dan was playing songs on his guitar in the vein of lullabies. Christian asks him to sing the cars song. We ak him what song he means and he sings, '1 8 7 7 cars for kids, k a r s for kids, 1 8 7 7 cars for kids, donate your cars today.'

Jonah a kid's story? A Bible Study Debrief

So last night at my small group we studied Jonah. For those unfamiliar, this story follows an Old Testament Jewish prophet as he runs from God. In his disobedience, he boards a ship, which subsequently finds itself in a squall. The sailors fear his God and, obeying Jonah's directions, throw him into the raging sea. The sea calms. And then underneath the waters a fish swallows God's prophet and keeps him in his belly for 3 days. In the belly of the fish Jonah seemingly repents of his disobedience. The fish vomits him out and he makes the 3 day journey to Nineveh preaching death and destruction for those who do not repent. The Ninevites immediately repent and God stops the judgement. Instead of rejoicing in this peace and mercy, Jonah gets bent out of shape under a tree.

So today I'm thinking of this. The irony and the self-righteousness and the heaviness of this short book. One question comes to mind - why is this such a popular kids Bible story? Can they get the layers of irony and symbolism and foreshadowing? If not, is the simple narrative worthy of telling to children.

And then I think about my sons. Hearing about the big fish resonates with them right now. Later will this impression morph into the richness of the theology of the everyday? Yes, your obedience means something I tell them (more than once a day for sure); yes, your disobedience means something. Your faith is seen by the world as you make decisions.

Those sailors feared the Lord and worshiped him even as God's own prophet fell into the depths of Sheol.

Those Ninevites immediately cried out to God for mercy and believed in his salvation even as God's own prophet preached nothing more than "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" and then pouted about God's compassion.

This the sign of belief and faith - definitely worth telling kids. God's faithfulness always worth telling :) And why not through the vessel of an enormous fish?

Matthew 12:38-42

Can this still be called a blog?

Perhaps not...but my account hasn't vanished yet! The biggest news since summer 2010 is the addition of Julian Paul Koehler to our family. What a joy he is.

Baby picture above and now a current shot:

Julian loves to communicate and sometimes we can understand him. He seeks meaning over the fun of using language (like his brother perferred) and even chooses to use words instead of emotional out bursts for the majority of his crises. Welcome change,that. Christian and Julian are already great play mates, though Christian still needs to learn more about personal space. The both prefer to be out and about - looking at cars, bugs, dirt, stairs and inclines, EL trains and metra engines.