Hey Honey Bun,
Well, the week is coming to a close and we are still Swine Flu-free! It is crazy how much this outbreak is all over the news and on everyone's minds. They actually closed three entire school districts around where we live, but none just yet in San Antonio. I will admit that I heard the news yesterday and got a little freaked out. Not being in school just made me think that all those kids would have nothing to do all day long but roam around my neck of the woods and spread their germs! So I decided not to go to the grocery store 5 minutes from home, and instead went to the big nice HEB Plus (like a Super Walmart for non-SA people) closer to town. We have stocked up on anti-bacterial everything and are trying not to go too many crowded places. Unfortunately, we can't just stay home in bed all week!
Your daddy is all excited for his weekend getaway to the annual golf tournamant that his family puts on in Abilene. This year it is benefitting two charities, one of which gives backpacks of supplies to low-income schools - including the one your Grammy teaches at! So I think she will be volunteering this weekend just to chip in. Your daddy loaded up his new golf clubs and can't wait to hang out with all the guys. (Three friends from SA are going too!) Fortunately, he has been super sweet to help out around the house and spend lots of time with you since he will miss you all weekend.
This morning as we were driving to work, he called to tell me about a funny billboard that said, "Your Wife is Hot" in huge letters, then underneath it said, "Better get the A/C fixed." It made me laugh at first, then brought up a bit of fear...
I remember so many times when I was younger and my dad would go out of town for something, and inevitably, a major thing in our house would break or go awry. Like the car breaking down, or the laundry room flooding, or the dishwasher croaking. And I had a bit of a freakout wondering, "Oh crap, what is it going to be at our house?!?" So here's hoping we have an uneventful weekend!
Mommy is super thankful for our CBC "family" here that have graciously offered to babysit you while we have our Bowl-a-thon for work this weekend. Friday night you will be with Mr. Kevin (who I definitely think should be upgraded to "Uncle" status after all the times he has kept you) and Saturday you get to hang out with Dr./Aunt Kara and Mac (and Baby Morgan, who hasn't really arrived yet). I know you will be on your best behavior and have a great time!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Ha Ha! Finally!
Cameron,
Your sweet Aunt Rachael (whose birthday was yesterday - Happy late B-Day!) is an amazing scrapbooker. She painstakingly saves pictures from all their family activities and adds decorations and stories and has the most amazing scrapbooks all put together. Problem is that it takes so long to do it, that she is usually a bit behind on their activities. So apparently, she has decided that it might just be easier to blog! Yippee, she caved in! So now we can keep up with all The Hubbards!
Your sweet Aunt Rachael (whose birthday was yesterday - Happy late B-Day!) is an amazing scrapbooker. She painstakingly saves pictures from all their family activities and adds decorations and stories and has the most amazing scrapbooks all put together. Problem is that it takes so long to do it, that she is usually a bit behind on their activities. So apparently, she has decided that it might just be easier to blog! Yippee, she caved in! So now we can keep up with all The Hubbards!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
More About Compassion
Today Melissa (Beth Moore's daughter) wrote another amazing post from India talking about what Compassion International does. She described them going to rural areas and teaching mothers, who are totally secluded from the outside world, how to better care for their children. They teach them the basics of the gospel, and have seen the amazing impact that the Christian theology of human dignity and worth makes to these women, who are considered inferior in society.
I just wanted to share the link since I forgot to yesterday. And to brag on my sweet mother. She went yesterday and signed up to sponsor an Ethiopian girl named Dorcas (one of the most memorable biblical names for sure!) She said she remembered that the biblical Dorcas sewed, so she knew that common interest had confirmed that she was the right little girl. (Of course, biblical Dorcas was also kind to the poor and was raised from the dead by Peter!) I can't wait to hear more details and maybe send her some things too.
Praise God that yesterday was a record setting day for new sponsorships through Compassion. May every gift be blessed and multiplied!
I just wanted to share the link since I forgot to yesterday. And to brag on my sweet mother. She went yesterday and signed up to sponsor an Ethiopian girl named Dorcas (one of the most memorable biblical names for sure!) She said she remembered that the biblical Dorcas sewed, so she knew that common interest had confirmed that she was the right little girl. (Of course, biblical Dorcas was also kind to the poor and was raised from the dead by Peter!) I can't wait to hear more details and maybe send her some things too.
Praise God that yesterday was a record setting day for new sponsorships through Compassion. May every gift be blessed and multiplied!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
One World, One Family
Sweet Girl,
Today Mommy is feeling a bit overwhelmed with emotion. In a good way! Most of my day was spent doing normal work, but about an hour ago and I decided to give my brain a break and catch up on my favorite internet blogs. I had been thinking about a family blog that I read probably a year ago, and had long ago taken out of my internet favorites. I was desperate to find them and couldn't remember whose website had led me to them. Then I miraculously (thanks, Holy Spirit) remembered that it would still be in my Recycle Bin! So I came back to this blog about an amazing family in Tennessee that had three children of their own, then adopted three more children from Ethiopia. And what a surprise - when I opened it up, they are in the process of adopting THREE MORE children from Ethiopia. And let me tell you, this family certainly has enough faith and love from the Lord to spread around. They are so inspiring. I have to say though, that it brought me to tears when I watched this video:
If you don't have a heart full of love and compassion for the poverty-stricken children of the world after that, then you just might not have a heart at all.
And then to top it off, I read this blog from Beth Moore's daughter who is visiting India right now with Compassion International. They are the organization that you have probably heard of at Christian concerts, asking you to sponsor a child in a foreign country. She is seeing children that are loved and cared for by families half way around the world, and she is excited to actually meet two children that she personally sponsors. How incredible to think that your tiny amount of money pays for a child to go to school and eat and have medicine? A child that otherwise would be uncared for and left alone to make it every day.
This is the part that touched me. She was thinking why it is that God loves the poor so much. Scriptures say they are blessed and will inherit God's kingdom, yet it is every Christian's job to care for them and protect them. Here is the quote that she read recently that made perfect sense as to why the poor hold such a special place in God's heart:
“Poverty, in a sense, exposes the truth of the human situation in its need of God. It dispels the illusion of being self-sufficient and secure, with no need of God. The poor are those whose material condition enables them to see more clearly than most the human need to be wholly reliant on God. It is in this sense that the biblical poor are understood as paradigmatic in their faith.” (Richard Bauckham, Wisdom of James, disciple of Jesus the Sage, 190)
And I realized that all of the things we consider to be fortunate to have - the big houses, the cars, the possessions - those can all just be hinderances to knowing and depending on the God who knows every starving child by name. How sad to think that we wealthy Americans believe that we can provide everything for ourselves, that no need in our lives must go unmet. It is our loss.
I am glad God hasn't called me to give it all up and move to Africa, but no one can say that you are not called by God to make a difference in the world. To love a child, to show compassion, to pray for their health and safety. I will be thankful for all that we have been blessed with, that you, my sweet girl, are fed and clothed and lavished with kisses every day. But I will also ponder what our part is in loving God's people around the world, one big family of God's children.
Today Mommy is feeling a bit overwhelmed with emotion. In a good way! Most of my day was spent doing normal work, but about an hour ago and I decided to give my brain a break and catch up on my favorite internet blogs. I had been thinking about a family blog that I read probably a year ago, and had long ago taken out of my internet favorites. I was desperate to find them and couldn't remember whose website had led me to them. Then I miraculously (thanks, Holy Spirit) remembered that it would still be in my Recycle Bin! So I came back to this blog about an amazing family in Tennessee that had three children of their own, then adopted three more children from Ethiopia. And what a surprise - when I opened it up, they are in the process of adopting THREE MORE children from Ethiopia. And let me tell you, this family certainly has enough faith and love from the Lord to spread around. They are so inspiring. I have to say though, that it brought me to tears when I watched this video:
If you don't have a heart full of love and compassion for the poverty-stricken children of the world after that, then you just might not have a heart at all.
And then to top it off, I read this blog from Beth Moore's daughter who is visiting India right now with Compassion International. They are the organization that you have probably heard of at Christian concerts, asking you to sponsor a child in a foreign country. She is seeing children that are loved and cared for by families half way around the world, and she is excited to actually meet two children that she personally sponsors. How incredible to think that your tiny amount of money pays for a child to go to school and eat and have medicine? A child that otherwise would be uncared for and left alone to make it every day.
This is the part that touched me. She was thinking why it is that God loves the poor so much. Scriptures say they are blessed and will inherit God's kingdom, yet it is every Christian's job to care for them and protect them. Here is the quote that she read recently that made perfect sense as to why the poor hold such a special place in God's heart:
“Poverty, in a sense, exposes the truth of the human situation in its need of God. It dispels the illusion of being self-sufficient and secure, with no need of God. The poor are those whose material condition enables them to see more clearly than most the human need to be wholly reliant on God. It is in this sense that the biblical poor are understood as paradigmatic in their faith.” (Richard Bauckham, Wisdom of James, disciple of Jesus the Sage, 190)
And I realized that all of the things we consider to be fortunate to have - the big houses, the cars, the possessions - those can all just be hinderances to knowing and depending on the God who knows every starving child by name. How sad to think that we wealthy Americans believe that we can provide everything for ourselves, that no need in our lives must go unmet. It is our loss.
I am glad God hasn't called me to give it all up and move to Africa, but no one can say that you are not called by God to make a difference in the world. To love a child, to show compassion, to pray for their health and safety. I will be thankful for all that we have been blessed with, that you, my sweet girl, are fed and clothed and lavished with kisses every day. But I will also ponder what our part is in loving God's people around the world, one big family of God's children.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
The Doctor Weighs In
Well, yesterday I decided to call my friend Dr. Keith. It was a little awkward to tell him that I was worried about poop. But he is always very sweet and asks nice questions before giving advice. Here is what he thought -
1. We need to go back to smaller amounts for her bottles. She may eat all 6 oz. but probably doesn't need it.
2. Her system is adjusting since I have pretty much stopped nursing and now it is all formula.
3. We should try at least two meals a day with cereal and a 4 oz. bottle. He recommended no more than 24 oz. of formula in one day.
So now we have given Mrs. Cara some cereal for her to eat around lunch time, and yesterday I went and bought these adorable little trays to make my own batch of baby food. I am planning to start with carrots, so we will see how it goes. (Bo laughed at me and said he figures I will be all gung-ho in the beginning and get tired of it.) But I know we will eventually switch to store bought stuff, I just don't want to waste a whole jar of food when she will eat such tiny amounts to start with.
Yesterday, she had three poopy diapers. The good news is that she doesn't seem to be fussy or have an upset stomach. She is always hungry for her bottle when it is time, and she is obviously growing well. Here she was just last night practicing sitting up with Daddy!
1. We need to go back to smaller amounts for her bottles. She may eat all 6 oz. but probably doesn't need it.
2. Her system is adjusting since I have pretty much stopped nursing and now it is all formula.
3. We should try at least two meals a day with cereal and a 4 oz. bottle. He recommended no more than 24 oz. of formula in one day.
So now we have given Mrs. Cara some cereal for her to eat around lunch time, and yesterday I went and bought these adorable little trays to make my own batch of baby food. I am planning to start with carrots, so we will see how it goes. (Bo laughed at me and said he figures I will be all gung-ho in the beginning and get tired of it.) But I know we will eventually switch to store bought stuff, I just don't want to waste a whole jar of food when she will eat such tiny amounts to start with.
Yesterday, she had three poopy diapers. The good news is that she doesn't seem to be fussy or have an upset stomach. She is always hungry for her bottle when it is time, and she is obviously growing well. Here she was just last night practicing sitting up with Daddy!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Someday you will hate this post.
Cameron Darling,
I have no idea what to do with you sometimes. You are definitely a healthy girl, growing so fast that Mommy can't hardly keep you in shorts. But lately you have been doing something that totally mystifies me. I don't know what to think of it, so I am going to share it here in hopes that some other mom will give me advice. And I already know that you will die of embarrasment someday that I ever put this out on the whole stinkin' internet.
Now that I am reading Baby Wise #2, I realized that we will slowly have to transition you to eating more solids during the day. Most evenings you eat cereal at home around 6:30. You seem to act like you are still hungry after just a bottle, so we have upped the size to 6 oz. of formula. But now we have seen a very unfortunate consequence.
You are constantly having major poopy diapers. Like explosions. All over your clothes, your car seat, mommy's arm... Yeah. You were pretty "regular" in having one poopy diaper maybe every other day. Nothing disastrous. So now that this is a frequent occasion, meaning more than once every day, I am starting to wonder if this means we are feeding you too much or if you are not absorbing all the nutrients... Or something. You know how mommies can freak out and worry about every little thing.
But the thought of starting to give you actual baby food just makes me cringe. I hear the diapers only get worse. And right now, I cannot even imagine how that is possible. And Mrs. Cara will be the one to have to deal with you all day long once this starts. Better buy her a present - like a big tub of OxyClean.
I have no idea what to do with you sometimes. You are definitely a healthy girl, growing so fast that Mommy can't hardly keep you in shorts. But lately you have been doing something that totally mystifies me. I don't know what to think of it, so I am going to share it here in hopes that some other mom will give me advice. And I already know that you will die of embarrasment someday that I ever put this out on the whole stinkin' internet.
Now that I am reading Baby Wise #2, I realized that we will slowly have to transition you to eating more solids during the day. Most evenings you eat cereal at home around 6:30. You seem to act like you are still hungry after just a bottle, so we have upped the size to 6 oz. of formula. But now we have seen a very unfortunate consequence.
You are constantly having major poopy diapers. Like explosions. All over your clothes, your car seat, mommy's arm... Yeah. You were pretty "regular" in having one poopy diaper maybe every other day. Nothing disastrous. So now that this is a frequent occasion, meaning more than once every day, I am starting to wonder if this means we are feeding you too much or if you are not absorbing all the nutrients... Or something. You know how mommies can freak out and worry about every little thing.
But the thought of starting to give you actual baby food just makes me cringe. I hear the diapers only get worse. And right now, I cannot even imagine how that is possible. And Mrs. Cara will be the one to have to deal with you all day long once this starts. Better buy her a present - like a big tub of OxyClean.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Our Wild Weekend
This is what it looked like at my Aunt Cindy's house this weekend, just outside of Denver. Some places got up to two feet of snow! But here in San Antonio, we had beautiful weather and were outside enjoying it.
Saturday morning we slept in and decided to run some errands. The thought of a yoga class crossed my mind, but I am too lazy to go on my own. I need a buddy, so I think I am going to get Christy to go with me next time. Right around lunch time, all three of us were loaded up in the car heading to the bank when I thought I smelled a poopy diaper... We stopped at the restaurant we wanted lunch from and realized that we had a bit of an explosion! Bo decided to change her in the car rather than take her inside since it was all over her clothes and car seat. He basically stripped her down and used a billion baby wipes. Fortunately we were near our friends Chad and Kara's house, so we stopped in for an emergency bath (we basically hosed her off just in case) and soaked her clothes while we ate our lunch. It was the only way that outfit was ever going to be wearable again! We call their place our "In-Town House" since they never seem to mind us stopping in unexpectedly.
Then Saturday night, your Daddy and I decided to try one of the Fiesta events they had been promoting like crazy, "A Taste of New Orleans." Sad day that when we arrived, it was just booths where you could buy (overpriced) food and just stand around. Not horribly crowded since there was a Spurs game and another huge Fiesta event, but not quite what we had envisioned. We called it quits after about an hour. Lesson learned, not all Fiesta events are created equal. (Update: I just heard that the following night, someone fired a gun at this same event and got arrested when he hopped a fence and tried to hide out in the San Antonio zoo! We just missed out on all that excitement!)
Your daddy's big excitement of the weekend was shopping for a new set of golf clubs. He will probably go by and pick them up this week sometime, but they were nice enough to loan him a few different clubs to try out and see which he liked. (Last I heard he is leaning toward the Ping G5s.) I am trying not to protest since that will mean that he wants to go play with them more often now, but he says that he wants golf to be something he teaches you and you can eventually go do together. How cute will that be? I just hope you don't develop your mommy's temper when it comes to golf. Bad things tend to come out of my mouth when I whiff the ball a few times in a row...
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
And Action!
In case some of you are wondering about the new picture here on the blog, Stellan is an adorable baby boy who is only one day older than Cameron. You can click on his picture to go to their family blog, which normally has adorable stories about their entire MckFamily (I have linked to her blog, My Charming Kids, before.) As of right now, Stellan has been in the hospital for over three weeks battling some heart conditions and last I read, will be headed to Boston this week for a very risky surgery on his tiny heart. I have a special place in my heart for him because of the age thing, but also because his mom is an amazingly strong Christian woman who has endured all this with so much grace and faith.
On a happy note, I have been meaning to post these pictures for a week now! Being home this afternoon while our new door is getting installed finally gave me a chance to sit down and do it. Here we go!
We are still working on sitting up without help, so here is the before....
And here's the after when Daddy moves his hand...
I love to play in my new bouncy saucer!
Mommy and I play a little game I like to call Pajama Head!
And I am determined to hold my bottle myself, even though Daddy still helps me anyway.
Suddenly this week, I have decided I am tired of cereal. Maybe Mom needs to add something tasty to it just to change things up!
Being a big girl keeps me busy and sometimes just leaves me pooped!
On a happy note, I have been meaning to post these pictures for a week now! Being home this afternoon while our new door is getting installed finally gave me a chance to sit down and do it. Here we go!
We are still working on sitting up without help, so here is the before....
And here's the after when Daddy moves his hand...
I love to play in my new bouncy saucer!
Mommy and I play a little game I like to call Pajama Head!
And I am determined to hold my bottle myself, even though Daddy still helps me anyway.
Suddenly this week, I have decided I am tired of cereal. Maybe Mom needs to add something tasty to it just to change things up!
Being a big girl keeps me busy and sometimes just leaves me pooped!
Monday, April 13, 2009
An Open-Handed Easter
Baby Girl,
We had another head-spinning weekend trip to Abilene, but I know everyone loved getting to see you. Mommy and Daddy? We were mostly just the chauffeurs. We left Friday afternoon and were tired and grumpy when we arrived. You did great in the car, other than the massively poopy diaper in Mason to christen your first ride in Daddy's new car seat. So bad, I had to carry you out of the gas station bathroom in just your clean diaper, with your clothes wrapped up in a bag. (By the way, I went to a million places this weekend that don't have a diaper changing station. Infuriating to carry a kid in and have to figure out how to change her on top of the wet sink counter...)
Anyway, Saturday we met your Savta and Sabba and Uncle Jordan for an early lunch, then headed to see your Great Grandma Stella at her new assisted living home. She has so many pictures of you all over her room! She was excited to see you and hold you. Your Great Aunt Margie was also there filling us in on the exciting new hobby of walking and hunting for spare change. Hilarious!
Then that evening, we headed up to see your Gigi's family. Your Great Grandpa "Stumpy" was having a birthday celebration, so we got to see your Uncles Tanner and Chance and all the family! You had a great time with your Great Aunt Sara
who talks in a silly voice and danced around with you. We even got to meet her husband Derric for the first time. You had a rough time taking a nap amidst all the excitement but still were a sweet girl for everyone.
Then Sunday morning we went to church with Grammy and you were wonderful for the nursery. They were very sweet to try and feed you even though you weren't super hungry and came home and took a long nap. Had to rest up before all the afternoon's festivities! We had a big lunch with all our family (even my cousin Ben came down from Oklahoma!) and the weather was nice for our humongously-over-the-top-ridiculous egg hunt. I think we had about 500 eggs for just Jordan, Ryan, Miriam and Emerson (though she mostly just carried around her basket smiling and waving).
Did I mention that we left our fabulous camera at home? Grammy let us borrow hers temporarily, and of course Rachael and Amy took a zillion pictures anyway. Hopefully we will be getting a CD of pics soon that we can post. So much family in such a short time!
And since the whole point of the weekend was to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, I have to share this amazing post from Beth Moore and a cool story from my mom's church. At the end of the service, the pastor was talking about God's generosity and "open-handedness." So they gave every family an envelope with money in it - between 5 and 100 dollars. (Ours had $10.) We are supposed to pray as a family and decide on how we can bless someone else with it. After talking with Bo, we decided that we want to go out to a restaurant and without telling them, we want to pay the bill for some other couple. Maybe we will send them a little note with a blessing on it. I think we would just have a fun time watching their faces when the waiter tells them that they are taken care of! A nice picture of the free gift of forgiveness that Christ's death and resurrection offers us.
I really liked the Max Lucado quote I heard this weekend. Sorry for paraphrasing, but I think the point of it was this - When talking about God's love and redemption of mankind, the only thing more illogical than why he would still forgive us, is why we would choose not to accept his forgiveness.
We had another head-spinning weekend trip to Abilene, but I know everyone loved getting to see you. Mommy and Daddy? We were mostly just the chauffeurs. We left Friday afternoon and were tired and grumpy when we arrived. You did great in the car, other than the massively poopy diaper in Mason to christen your first ride in Daddy's new car seat. So bad, I had to carry you out of the gas station bathroom in just your clean diaper, with your clothes wrapped up in a bag. (By the way, I went to a million places this weekend that don't have a diaper changing station. Infuriating to carry a kid in and have to figure out how to change her on top of the wet sink counter...)
Anyway, Saturday we met your Savta and Sabba and Uncle Jordan for an early lunch, then headed to see your Great Grandma Stella at her new assisted living home. She has so many pictures of you all over her room! She was excited to see you and hold you. Your Great Aunt Margie was also there filling us in on the exciting new hobby of walking and hunting for spare change. Hilarious!
Then that evening, we headed up to see your Gigi's family. Your Great Grandpa "Stumpy" was having a birthday celebration, so we got to see your Uncles Tanner and Chance and all the family! You had a great time with your Great Aunt Sara
who talks in a silly voice and danced around with you. We even got to meet her husband Derric for the first time. You had a rough time taking a nap amidst all the excitement but still were a sweet girl for everyone.
Then Sunday morning we went to church with Grammy and you were wonderful for the nursery. They were very sweet to try and feed you even though you weren't super hungry and came home and took a long nap. Had to rest up before all the afternoon's festivities! We had a big lunch with all our family (even my cousin Ben came down from Oklahoma!) and the weather was nice for our humongously-over-the-top-ridiculous egg hunt. I think we had about 500 eggs for just Jordan, Ryan, Miriam and Emerson (though she mostly just carried around her basket smiling and waving).
Did I mention that we left our fabulous camera at home? Grammy let us borrow hers temporarily, and of course Rachael and Amy took a zillion pictures anyway. Hopefully we will be getting a CD of pics soon that we can post. So much family in such a short time!
And since the whole point of the weekend was to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, I have to share this amazing post from Beth Moore and a cool story from my mom's church. At the end of the service, the pastor was talking about God's generosity and "open-handedness." So they gave every family an envelope with money in it - between 5 and 100 dollars. (Ours had $10.) We are supposed to pray as a family and decide on how we can bless someone else with it. After talking with Bo, we decided that we want to go out to a restaurant and without telling them, we want to pay the bill for some other couple. Maybe we will send them a little note with a blessing on it. I think we would just have a fun time watching their faces when the waiter tells them that they are taken care of! A nice picture of the free gift of forgiveness that Christ's death and resurrection offers us.
I really liked the Max Lucado quote I heard this weekend. Sorry for paraphrasing, but I think the point of it was this - When talking about God's love and redemption of mankind, the only thing more illogical than why he would still forgive us, is why we would choose not to accept his forgiveness.
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