Alive and Well

The fact that I haven't blogged in a while is really a good thing. It means that I have been busy and occupied, which is a very good thing. These are interesting and sometimes difficult times for our family but the Lord has been so gracious to us. Jon has started training for his new career, which means that he is off and away. He is doing great and really enjoying all that he is learning. Sonora and I have spent the last several weeks in SC with my family and have had a delightful time!

The days go by so much more quickly here with my family. It might have something to do with all the people and noise (my parents still have three loud and lovely children at home, one who lives across town and pops in occasionally, and one who will graduate from college soon and be back as well.) Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that there is always something going on here: two flag football teams, three separate choruses, one new puppy (Juliana's early Christmas gift, whom Sonora adores), home school groups and activities, a dinner for 35 tomorrow evening, and a party for 15 eleven year old girls the next day. What can I say, I'm a woman of action and I love all the hubbub.

It is difficult to describe Sonora's enthusiasm for her Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents, and all of the toys stashed all over this home. And did I mention the puppy, Millie? Sonora loves Millie so much that she wants to be just like her, e.g.- she barks, eats puppy food, and makes lots of messes.

We have also had some very special visits with dear friends of mine from days gone by and their beautiful children. I have been so blessed by visits with these wonderful friends and I think God for being able to spend time with them again.

And somehow my inner craftess has emerged and I have been hand-making Christmas gifts for the first time ever! I can't tell you how I've amazed myself (and my mother) through the creations that are even now piled high and ready to wrap. I've discovered that being a girl-on-a-budget has driven me to new levels of creativity that I didn't know that I had in me.... and I've had a lot of fun!

So that is what we've been up to. We are doing well, missing Jon, but keeping busy and productive...except for the eating puppy food part. That is not productive....

Ready, Aim.....

One of the many fabulous things about being married to Jon Shaffer is that you get to do this interesting stuff that you would not otherwise do were you not married to Jon Shaffer. For example, this morning he took me out on a hot date to the shooting range.... with our preacher! Romantic, eh? The minister at the Church we attend is a gun collector and has a membership to the local shooting range. He graciously agreed to take us as his guests and we really had a good time. (Sonora stayed with our wonderful neighbor and had a delightful time of her own.)

Until today, my firearms experience has been somewhat limited. I think that maybe I might have shot my brother's BB gun when we were younger, but thats about it. However, today I mutilated the outline of a man on a paper target with my new friend, Mr. 9mm. That man on the target, he will never bother anyone again.....ever.

Now I hate to brag, BUT - turns out, I'm a fantastic shot! My first six shots were right in the bulls eye and then I just kept bringing the heat! It was fun to impress the guys. So, as long as all future attackers stand very still about 20 yards from me and hold a paper target over the center of their chest, then we shouldn't have any trouble from them.

I have a new found knowledge and appreciation for bullet-toting weaponry. And we have the added bonus of discovering we have an expert markswoman in the family (wink)! 

I owe all of my skill to my excellent firearms instructor = my good-looking husband, and to those Luis L'Amour books I read about Old West gunslingers. They have made me the dangerous weapon that I am today..... 

Our Weekend Fun

Well we are firm believers in the old adage, "The family that pukes together...... lives happily ever after." Jon went first and just as he started feeling better I crashed and then poor Sonora tossed her cookies sometime after we checked on her at night and before we went to get her in the morning. So this past weekend our home was not the germ free cozy environment we like to keep it. However we are all on the mend and looking forward to happily ever after! 

Even while sick Sonora is so adorable. She has a little toy spoon and she has started spooning pretend food into her baby dolls mouths and then making little smacking and clicking noises and she'll finish every "bite" with a "MMmmmm, Mmmmmm, Baybay?" (Translation: That bite was delicious, wasn't it, Baby?) 

At Long Last

Jon posted more pics on our website under Sonora's link. You just might get the impression that we think she's cute. www.jlshaffer.net

Pictures In the Park

She Looks Great In Pink Frills, No?

The Little Momma

Sonora's personality grows brighter and bolder by the day. I love it! She has several little baby dolls given to her by her Aunt Juliana and she has always loved them. However now she not only loves but nurtures them. Several days ago I watched as she pushed a Cheerio between the baby dolls parted lips and left it there jabbering to her baby, then she grabbed it back really fast and shoved it into her own mouth and looked triumphantly at me as if to say, "Did you see that? Baby just scarfed a whole Cheerio!" Then on Sunday afternoon I walk out of the kitchen and spy her sitting the the hallway with her baby doll on her lap covered in milk. Yep, she raided the diaper bag, found the sippy cup of milk leftover from Church, held the cup up to baby's plastic lips and dowsed her with milk. It was so cute I couldn't stop her even though she accumulated quite a puddle of milk on the hardwood. What a sweet little nurturer. Shall I take a poll, is she ready to be a big sister? Hmmm.......

Back and Blogging

Okay, so I missed the rest of July and all of August and September. We've been a little busy and then I lost my momentum and then I was overwhelmed at the prospect of catching you up and then I was just enjoying the fantastic Fall weather that is now upon us and here we are in October. 

We have had such a delightful Summer and Fall rich in travels, hosting, visiting, camping, birthdaying, and more traveling.  The Lord has been so good to our family and we have special memories from the past weeks and months. 

One of our most special memories was the first birthday of our very own Sonora Jane. We hosted a Fiesta to celebrate the occasion complete with steak and chicken fajitas, salsas, guacamole, cake with lots of sticky icing, homemade ice cream, a piñata, candy, The Marvelous Mariachis' of Mexico and an 'el slip n' slide-o.  The party was lots of fun and we have some great pictures! We are so grateful to the Lord for the privilege of being Sonora's parents, this past year with her has been so incredibly fulfilling!

I will talk to that wonderful man of mine about posting lots of new pictures to our website as that is his area of expertise. Then you can get all caught up with us at a single glance. Until that happens please know that our silence in the blogosphere has not been indicative of a lack of news to report, just the lack of motivation and time to report it. 

Speaking of news to report, I've got an intriguing and exciting little tid bit for you but it will have to wait for the next post........ No, I'm not pregnant. 

In Everything Give Thanks

Tonight I am grateful for bleach and its chemical properties which can cleanse the E coli out of the bath tub when a child poops in the bath water..... again .....

The 4th

I'm back tracking a bit (was the 4th of July really almost three weeks ago?) but I wanted to share a bit about our Independence Day weekend. On the 4th we spent the afternoon and evening with our delightful neighbors. These dear folks are some of the most generous hearted people I have ever met and I hope that I can be just like them when I grow up. They have a lovely garden and are always inviting the neighbors over to pick tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, okra, etc. because they say that they will never eat it all. Every time we turn around they are doing some good deed for us. They have kept Sonora for us, patched a tire, recommended mechanics, landscapers, doctors, etc.- just wonderful folks! They have 5 horses, 2 cats, 5 kittens, 1 dog, and 4 children (1 set of twins). They are trying to convince us that Sonora needs a kitten or two but I am refusing that bit of generosity.

So back to the 4th. We celebrated with our neighbors by swimming in their pool, grilling hamburgers and hotdogs and shooting off the largest home fireworks show I have ever seen. And did Sonora get scared by all the noise and smoke? No-sir-ee, she squealed when the bottle rockets screeched, cheered when the pretty ones went off, and clapped at every spark. She was precious and we had so much fun! She loves the neighbor kids and in between the lighting of the fuses she rolled around with the kids on the blanket. 

It was a fun and relaxing day but I do not want to lose sight of the fact that we were celebrating the birth of our nation, blessed by God. Ever since marrying a military officer my views on all patriotic holidays have completely evolved. Instead of a trite "thank you" regarding the founding fathers and all service members, I remember the feeling of sending your husband off to war and the nauseous feeling I still get every time I learn of the death of another soldier. I am not a hero, our hardship of Jon's deployment was so small compared to the continual sacrifices of so many others.  I only mention this to say that I feel deeply and intensely grateful for the lives and courage of those who founded our nation and for those who continue to carry out its vision. 

Back to the weekend. On Sunday we went to Church and then headed down to Atlanta to meet up with our friends, the Pattons. Jon and Eric became good friends while at pilot training and the wives and kids have become friends because they (the Patton family) are wonderful people and easy to enjoy! Lauren is two and Kaitlyn is just three months younger than Sonora. We had so much fun wading in the river that ran through the park and we almost busted a gut laughing as Lauren was chased in circles by this adorable tiny puppy who kept trying to nip at her undies and pull them down (the dress had gotten wet in the river and was drying out in the sun). The puppy was successful once and left Lauren with tiny teeth marks in her pantaloons which were around her knees and the rest of us holding our bellies laughing so hard. Sonora and Kaitlyn were fascinated with each other and spent a good part of the visit just checking each other out. It was so cute to listen as they started mimicking the noises made by the other one. It was also the first time that I have ever seen Sonora get jealous that someone else had her toy. She didn't fuss about it, she just took it back. *Sigh, maybe that will be the only time that will ever happen.....

We all had dinner at my favorite Chinese restaurant in America (the really good stuff is still in China) and then topped it off with dessert to go from the Cheesecake Factory. A wonderful day with friends filled with fun new memories and a great way to wrap up this special weekend. 

Catching Up

Sonora and I spent last weekend with my family in SC while Jon headed off to his AF drill weekend. My whole family was there and for a moment around the dinner table it felt like we had been transported back 5 years with 8 Harris' all talking and laughing at once. It made me so grateful to the Lord that we can still have those amazing moments together but it also made me realize that I love where we are now and it is good that it doesn't quite feel complete without Sonora and Jon there as well. We had such a special visit! We were able to celebrate my Dad's birthday which technically took place several weeks earlier (but whose counting), and since our favorite bakery closed before we could pick up the cake, the celebration will continue when once it can get picked up, lit up, blown out, and consumed. In true Harris fashion, Dad is choosing to celebrate "the month of his birth"- why confine the celebration to a single day we say! Let me add a special thank you to Juliana who spent the three hour car ride coaching Sonora on how to say "Ma ma"- she said my name more this weekend than any other time during her life. However, Da-da, baby, and bye-bye, have been spoken countless times throughout the past few months. She did start giving me hugs and kisses first, a fantastic trick that I never get tired of experiencing! 

Yesterday I really needed to get some housework done and it was close enough to bedtime that the little Princess was traumatized every time I left the room in which she was residing, but not close enough to put her to bed. So we pulled out the hiking backpack (she's too big for the snuggly pack, sniff, sniff) loaded her up and I vacuumed, dusted, polished, straightened, and washed with her strapped to my back. This worked exceedingly well for an hour and by the time I swung her down she was very relaxed and, we can only hope, an expert on what it takes to get this place ship shape. Soon I fully expect to turn her loose with a bucket and mop.....

Lastly but certainly not leastly, Sonora and I met with a friend for afternoon tea yesterday at a beautiful tea house. We spent two hours with Mrs. Brannan, a friend and mother of one of my dearest friends from college, sipping tea, eating delicious petite sandwiches, scones, and sweets, and trying to fit in all of the visiting that we possibly could. It was so fun to catch up and to celebrate the news that Hilary and Justin are expecting their first child making Mrs. Brannan a grandmother! Sonora is very excited about meeting her new friend soon. The tea itself was wonderful, Sonora loved the egg salad sandwiches and my favorite were the cucumber.  It was one of my favorite tea houses that I have ever been to, it had so many special touches. Thank you, Mrs, Brannan, for such a special treat! So, when the rest of you come and visit us Sonora and I will take you to afternoon tea at Chelsea's on Thornton. 

My first and greatest food failure

I'm going to go ahead and document that dinner tonight was the worst meal that I have ever cooked. I'm discouraged to the point of depression. I just love planning, slicing, dicing, sizzling and sautéing out a delicious spread that is tantalizing to the various and appropriate senses. My very kind husband insists that tonight's meal was "not too bad" but he is lying through his teeth. I attempted to make fish tacos, a West Coast treat (maybe they have them elsewhere, but CA is where I was introduced) that is a favorite of Jon's. Everything seemed to be going great until it was time to eat them. They were terrible, in fact, I don't even want to talk about it......

Welcome to the World, Jackson!

Congratulations to the new parents of Jackson Scott Hamilton. Scott and Rachael, we are so thrilled for you and praising the Lord for the safe and healthy arrival of Jackson! We can't wait to get our hands on him, he is such a beautiful baby!

Our Favorite Sonora Jane

On July 1st, tooth number four popped through! Sonora turned 11 months on June 30th and this very month we will celebrate her first birthday, I can hardly believe it! Not a grocery store trip or WalMart runs goes by that some kind stranger does not remind me to enjoy every minute of this time with Sonora. "They grow up so fast," I've been told more than 400 hundred times. And, *sigh*, it is all too true. My sweet baby girl has four teeth, loves pulling herself up on the furniture as well as unfolding all the clean laundry, giving kisses, singing duets with Mom, playing in the water, helping water the plants, listening to music, and all meal times! She rarely stays in place very long for a good snuggle because the world is constantly beckoning to her to come and explore. She is more fun than I ever imagined and I have never been so happy in my life! She is my precious little friend and we do everything together! This week we started a Mommy & Baby swim class and next week we have plans to meet a friend for afternoon tea. As you can see, we keep a very extensive social calendar.

Sonora has discovered drawers full of fun items in the kitchen and bathroom (yes, I did go purchase those little child safety locks, they just are not in place yet). Her current favorite kitchen toy is the rolling pen. I was vacuuming this morning and here she comes down the hallway dragging that rolling pin.... she also loves the vacuum cleaner and likes to crawl right in front of it while I attempt to clean the floors.  

If you come to visit us and find that one of your items is missing, just check our bath tub. That seems to be Sonora's current hiding place of choice. Yesterday I discovered a CD, two hot rollers, and Jon's deodorant in the tub. 

The other day Sonora found my purse and as it was at the end of the day and I had little energy left to take it away and distract her, I decided to keep pretending to read my book and just watch her. She pulled out pens and combs, old receipts and shopping lists, my wallet, credit cards, etc. She loved seeing how far she could slide these things across the floor and under the furniture. Some things she would take out and put back in over and over. However, her favorite find, of which I am so proud, was the item that she would take out, wave in the air, suck on the lid, wave some more, talk to it and sing to it was..... the pearly pink lip gloss! Thats my girl! It must be genetic!

Everyday that goes by we fall more and more in love with her, we are so grateful to the Lord for this awesome gift!

The Thrill of the Hunt

There we were driving along minding our own buisness when suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see it. "Stop the car," I gasp to Jon, "I have to have that rug." You guessed it..... yard sale. 

One of my many flaws is that I can be very impatient. (In my own humble opinion, I am doing much better regarding my level of patience due mostly to the fact that I live with a wonderful man who frequently and gently reminds me to chill out.) Another of my many flaws is that I can be very picky, bordering on snobbish. (This too, I am working on.) These are two of the reasons that I have never been a big garage sale girl myself. However, as I mature in character and taste, I am truly enjoying finding the perfect artifact in the quaint antique shop or the road side garage sale. Plus you have the added value of a fun experience and conversational piece (and I have not even touched on the amount of money a girl can save). I mean which is more intriguing: 1.) "I found that item at Dillards beside the place mats." Or, 2.) "This little beauty caught my eye as I was flying by at 50 mph. There it was sandwiched between the dusty treadmill and the box of old door knobs. The previous owner said that it looked great paired with a large velvet animal print wall carpet." You have to admit, the second statement keeps the conversation alive much longer! 

Anyway, the point to this little tale, if there must be a point, is that I am the new owner of a zebra print rug ($7) - very fun! It is currently on the back porch airing out and awaiting a shampoo and deep clean. This little beauty caught my eye as I was flying by at 50 mph......

One man's trash....

     The other day I discovered a trove of treasures a mere ten minutes from our home. I'm furious to think that it has been sitting there the past eight months undiscovered by me! It is an entire district of antiques - books, vintage clothing, furniture, jewelry, paintings, glass ware, Elvis posters, you name it! There are probably five to seven different shops filled to the brim with the aforementioned delectable treasures! I was racing nap time as I flew through a couple of shops so I will have to go back (and then go back again), but even on this quick trip I managed to pick up several books. One of the books is the original Pinnoccio published in 1914... for three bucks!  Regardless of how charming you think the Disney version is, I can only imagine that it has nothing on the book! Back to the antique district, I had so much fun. The only severe disappointment was when I found a pair of canary yellow vintage heels that would have been mine for seven dollars had they not been three sizes too large. Oh well, if they had fit I would have then had to hunt down the perfect outfit and then I can only imagine that it would have needed the perfect earrings and now I can hear the wise adage in my head, "If you give a mouse a cookie....."

A Call to Action

Just this morning I received this email from my Mom who received it from her Uncle. It is the perfect follow up to yesterday's blog.

ONE MINUTE EACH NIGHT.... 9:00 PM Eastern Time. 

This is the scariest election we as Christians have ever faced and from the looks of the polls, the Christians aren't voting Christian values. We all need to be on our knees. 

Do you believe we can take God at His word? Call upon His name, then stand back and watch His wonders to behold. This scripture gives us, as Christians, ownership of this land and the ability to call upon God to heal it. I challenge you to do so. We have never been more desperate than now for God to heal our land. 

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 

During WWII, there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every night at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, it's people and peace. This had an amazing effect as bombing stopped. There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America . The United States of America and our citizens need prayer more than ever!!! 

If you would like to participate: each evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central, 7:00 PM Mountain, 6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying  for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, for peace in the world, the up-coming election, that the Bible will remain the basis for the laws governing our land and that Christianity will grow in the U.S. 

Someone said if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have . 

Thank You. Please pass this on to anyone who you think will want to join us.

The scripture above from 2 Chronicles gives me chills as I think of the power available in that promise. While I will aim for 9 pm each night, if it does not happen at the appointed time I am still going to take God at His Word and humbly cry out to Him on behalf of the world, this culture, our nation, her people, our authorities, and our land. Not only will God hear and answer our prayers, (in His infinite wisdom), but through prayer, (instead of anxiety or complaining), my heart is always given peace and true perspective. God does not disappoint!

All Is Not Lost

Sometimes I make the mistake of reading the newspaper as my major source of information. (We had several papers piled up when we returned from our vacation and unfortunately I tackled them all during one of Sonora's nap times.) I really feel that newspapers should come with warning labels to alert the reader to the fact that relying solely on said paper for information can make said reader depressed, scared, and disgusted. I truly had to repent before the Lord last night as I realized how askew my views were becoming causing me to resign myself to a fallen culture that seemed overwhelmed with destruction and evil and too lost to save. Upon hearing or seeing this attitude, Satan must sit back and laugh, feeling that his plan is working. After repenting and spending some serious time in prayer with Jon over our culture, the upcoming elections, the earthquake in China, the tsunami in Myanmar, the persecuted Church, the sex slave trade, and our own family, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness to the Lord Who is not overwhelmed by our plight or our prayers and has all things under His control.  We are not too lost to save, Christ's righteous blood continually offers salvation to all who come to Him. 

There are many powerful stories of hope reported through groups such as Voice of the Martyrs, Open Doors, World Vision, Prison Fellowship, and so many more. And for the situations that seem so hopeless, I believe that God has been waiting all along for us to cry out to Him to save us, for even when things seem "good", on our own, we are always hopeless! And so I desire to live a bold and fearless life in Christ recognizing that He has given "the immeasurable greatness of this power for us who believe, according to the working of His great power." (Ephesians 1:19 NRSV)

"So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith." (Galatians 6:9-10a  NRSV)

The Lake

MMMmmmmmmm, here I sit, still basking in the glow of a perfectly beautiful and blessed holiday (as the British would say). At 1:30 am Tuesday morning we pulled back into our driveway, newly returned from a most fabulous excursion to Northern Michigan. Jon's extended family have a cottage on a beautiful lake there and each summer everyone who can spends as much of the two week stay as they are able. It is filled with important traditions and delightful memories. The setting itself is a testimony to God's creative artistry, the water is a beautiful bright teal, there are sand dunes and hills surrounding our lake where just on the other side is lake Michigan. The sunsets are breathtaking and addictive, they warm you to your very soul. 

This summer was Sonora's first trip to the lake and it was so much fun taking in all her firsts. Her first time meeting her great aunts, uncles, cousins, and the cottage. Her first dried cherries, smoked fish, and faccacia bread.  Her first boat ride, her first time skinny dipping, her first trek up mountainous sand dunes, her first petoskey hunt..... she absolutely loved it all and we loved her loving it!

I could write pages and pages about this beloved cottage and lake and the people who make them so wonderful, but I believe that instead I will trust to the pictures to speak the thousands of words that I would attempt but could still not capture the allure..... Please check out the pictures on our website under Sonora's link: www.jlshaffer.net

Montgomery

We spent last weekend in and around Montgomery, AL, where Jon had to fulfill his Air Force reservist responsibilities and where Sonora and I played with several dear friends. As an AF reservist, Jon has to spend one weekend each month, his drill weekend, at the squadron at Maxwell AF Base. He has several other days throughout the year that he will need to serve in order to meet the reservist requirements but the main schedule enhancing detail is the monthly drill weekend. Maxwell is where we spent the first three weeks of our wedded life before being transfered to TX and was Jon's first base out of pilot training. Maxwell holds a special place in our lives and Jon really enjoys the folks in his squadron, many of whom were there three years ago. 

So while Jon is brushing up on protecting and serving our great nation, Sonora and I are dutifully and joyfully investing in friendships! We spent Thursday evening and all day friday with Matt, Shaunna, and Grayson West in Troy, AL. Sonora loved Grayson and tried to play with him but he really wasn't very impressed since she is still so little (Grayson will be two in September). However, that didn't discourage her any, she sat in rapt amazement as he ran all over the house and when he stopped long enough she scooted over to him and tried to crawl up the side of him. She loved the dogs and became an eager student of them, it worked, because now she can bark. On Friday Sonora made a new best friend, Mrs. Nancy, Matt's Mom. Mrs. Nancy kept the kiddos while the rest of us plus the Honduras team grilled, cooked, served, sold, and delivered chicken dinners to close to 400 people around town. The chicken plates helped to raise money for the mission trip that they will be going on in four weeks. It was a wild time and an honor to get to help in a small way. I cannot wait to hear reports and see pictures from their trip! Let me also add that the chicken was delicious - way to go Matt, Mr. Bubba, and grill guys! We wrapped up Friday night meeting Jon in Montgomery for dinner (with all the Wests) at Bonefish Grill, one of my favs. 

Saturday was spent with Jan and almost born baby Wynn at Jan's apartment pool. Wynn's due date is two days before Sonora's projected due date was last year and three days before her first birthday. We can hardly wait to meet her. It was so wonderful to float in the pool all afternoon and get caught up with Jan, not only a close college friend but my roommate and sister during our year in China. Sonora loved Jan and the pool! On this day she learned how to jump to me from the side of the pool. I would set her out of the water on the edge and she would scoot on her tiny rear till she was almost in the water then she would lean forward, throw her head in the air, close her eyes, lead with her chest, and fall into my arms. It was so funny and she did it all day long. There was a birthday party going on at the same time for three kids so there were children all over the place. Sonora is getting more and more enthralled with kids that are bigger than her and towards the end of the day she thought that, A) she was a big kid and, B) she could swim. She kept trying to leap out of my arms and take off with the pack, it was all I could do to hold her back! 

Saturday day night we attended a retirement party for one of the loadmasters in Jon's squadron, it was neat to see someone who has spent his life in the AF and hearing the stories others had to tell about him. We sat with Jon's squadron commander at dinner who works at the EPA in his other (non-military) life. He had a very interesting perspective on the oil crisis and drilling in the US etc. I enjoyed talking with him. Coming from an active duty perspective (even though it was of relatively short duration), it is interesting to see the reservist side of things, it is a totally different mindset. I get a kick out of hearing what they all do in their other lives. While Jon is enjoying being back, he also has said several times that he feels like he is developing split personalities because the lives seem so unrelated, military and civilian. 

Sunday we attended Church with Burt, Melissa, Nicholas, and Joshua. The boys are two and five months respectively, again, Sonora was thrilled to have friends to play with.  We spent the afternoon at their house eating delicious burgers and salad, playing their new Wii, and discussing the problems of politics and the world. Sonora especially enjoyed watching Wii bowling and eating Joshua's toys. At 4 o'clock it was time to pick up Jon and head back to our bungalow in the rolling hills of North Georgia. 

I am so grateful for the chance to get to see and invest in these relationships each month. (We missed you, Hil and Justin! We will catch you next month.) Each of these friendships began in college and they are now some of my dearest friends in the world. What a blessing it is to get to see you so regularly! We had a fantastic time with everyone, thank you for your generous hospitality and friendship!

Of Daughters and Grapefruit

This is Jon now, my wife has become quite the prolific Blogger so I have to share my funny daughter story...

So there I was standing in the kitchen this morning, well really it was the afternoon since I don't wake up until 1pm, cutting up a grapefruit for breakfast.  Lisa was off at the pregnancy counseling center, I was baby sitting, and Sonora was crawling around my feet.  I thought I'd give a small taste of grapefruit just to see what she thought.  I started off slow with just a little juice and small bit of pulp.  I expected a funny face and to have her quickly lose interest.  Boy was I wrong...she loved it.  She kept looking up expectantly at me for more and she finished off all the pulp in the first half of my grapefruit.  And then she demanded more!  She hollered for me to hurry up while I cut the second half and then we started sharing the full size bites of grapefruit.  I would take a bit of the section and give her the rest,  She absolutely loved it!  I was blown away and so proud.  It was a great father-daughter bonding event!

P.S. While I've been typing this post Sonora crawled up onto the printer box next to the futon, then up onto the futon and then off the edge.  Don't worry I caught her, and caught it all on video.  It appears as if our 10 month old is quite the adventurer!

Meet Clint Harris

For those of you who know my (Lisa's) brother, Clint, you will understand this video and get some serious chuckles. For those of you who do not know him you will neither understand nor like him after watching the video linked below.  Here's the background: Clint's girlfriend Abby has been living in Memphis, TN. She will soon be moving to Columbia, SC to be near Clint. Abby's co-workers in Memphis have never met Clint and have begun to tease Abby about her fictional boyfriend that she has made up in order to keep from seeming desperate. So, Clint remedies the situation by creating this masterpiece.  

Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-clJjoVgyU

Part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3zkEouYNv8

PS- I really like Abby, anyone who can put up with this man is special. 

Momma Mia

This year was without a doubt the best Mother's Day I have ever had! It is perfectly appropriate for me to only now be revealing the details because we just put together my Mother's Day gift this week. On the actual day I was taken, by the loves of my life, to the Cheesecake Factory in Atlanta. Our dinner was perfectly exquisite and dessert, cheesecake of course, was truly one of the tastiest delights that I have ever put in my mouth. And when it is Mother's Day and you are the Mother, you get to say things like, "Why don't we split an appetizer, entree, and dessert?" and they just say, of course dearest, whatever you desire. We had these avocado southwestern schisuan egg rolls (I might be a bit off on the official name) with a tangy spicy sweet dipping sauce to start us out- incredible. Then a delicious chicken entree with romano crust and pasta recommended by a dear friend and co-mother, Shaunna, also a Cheesecake Factory fan. And did I mention dessert? Positively heavenly! Let me just say the bar has been set high for all future Mother's Day dinners. Now on to the gift that I have started to enjoy this week. I have wanted, for quite sometime, my own gourmet herb garden. I hesitated to plant such a garden because of all the transition in our lives, I didn't want to leave my little garden behind. However, now that we are settled into our new home and transition is still ahead of us (with all this FBI business), I finally realize that the way to skin this cat is with portable pots. And so, per my eager request, my gift was my very own garden of herbs in two large and lovely pots! I love them, they are fresh and fragrant. Thyme, sweet basil, lemon basil, rosemary, mint, parsley, and cilantro, I have no excuse for not creating savory culinary masterpieces! I'm a big fan of Mother's Day.

The Bane of the Season

Bathing suit shopping, yuck! I had put it off long enough this season, it was time. I was hoping that one of the old ones stuffed in the drawer would work for this year but to my dismay I discovered that my pre-baby suit is, how shall we say, a little squeezy, and my maternity suit has a tendency to slide right off these days. So, there was nothing for it but to enter the fray of bathing suit shopping, yuck! I am convinced the Lord hears the prayers of bathing suit shoppers desiring to be as modest as possible. I had intended to head to the mall but was swinging through Target to pick up some odds and ends and just happened to wander through the women's clothing department. There, on the clearance rack I spied the only suit in the store that I would dare wear in public, there was only one,  it was just my size, and (drum roll please), it was only nine dollars! Now this suit, it is no 1800's bathing outfit. I secretly think that it would be quite fun splashing around in frilly pantaloons with a bathing dress and matching parasol, but since I need the suit for skiing at Glen Lake this summer, I had to pick something a little less vintage, besides, I probably would have lost the parasol in the wake.  I truly believe that God honors our desires and searches as we honor Him, even as it relates to bathing suit shopping, yuck! (Let me go ahead and clarify, Jon did not post this one!)

Foodie: One who has an ardent or refined interest in food

Our child loves a good meal! Sonora tasted her first solid food (and I use the term solid loosely because there is nothing solid about runny rice cereal) at five months old and had absolutely no use for it so we waited until she was six months old and then started introducing yellow and orange vegetables into her diet per our pediatrician's counsel. She is a big fan of real food, not the runny fake stuff. She loved vegetables from the beginning. We waited a week between introducing each new food to make sure that she would not have any food allergies and then between seven and eight months old we turned her loose. She loves new food, the normal and the exotic. The only food that she really did not take to at first was mushed green beans and smashed peas. She made terrible faces and gagged on each spoonful. However, remembering what a doctor in Abilene said, who was also a specialist on childhood obesity, I continued to introduced the aforementioned nasty green stuff. This doctor said that you cannot and should not determine whether or not a child likes a certain food until it has been introduced to them at least eighteen times. That is a lot of times, I'm betting that most people give up after two or three. Anyway after seven or eight meals of the mushed greens she forgot that she wasn't a fan and gulped them down with everything else. Now, our little foodie enjoys avocado, eggplant, papaya, bean sprouts, you name it! I'm hoping that she will be like her eight year old Uncle Alec and eat whole cucumbers and tomatoes during movies (instead of popcorn), and turn down a cheeseburger for a chicken caesar salad!

Making Memories

We had such a great Memorial Day weekend with my (Lisa's) family. We spent a lot of time outside enjoying battlefields, waterfalls, creeks, trees, frogs, trails, sun, and shade. We did not enjoy the ticks as much but there were a few of those as well. Thank you so much to Mom, Dad, Natalie, Mitch, Juliana, and Alec and to Grandmother and Grandaddy as well, who all came and contributed to such a fun weekend. We had many delicious meals and with all those hands in the kitchen, cleanup was a breeze. It makes having lots of kids to help in the kitchen sound so appealing..... of course there are many other appealing reasons to have children! Sonora adores her Aunts and Uncles and loved giving her Grandmam and Grandaddy lots of slimy kisses, is there a better kind of kiss? I submit that there is not.  

I think that one of my favorite parts of the weekend was our trip to Greeter Falls in Tennessee. The drive was lovely and a rousing game of 20 Questions over the walkie talkies between the two cars helped to keep us entertained. If you are ever looking for some good 20 Questions topics may I suggest "Baklava" and "Alan Shepherd" as tricky options. 

Once we reached the park we had a fantastic hike to the falls and cooled off by wading in the rather chilly pools and rivers below the waterfall. It was so much fun. I couldn't believe how much Sonora loved being in the freezing cold water. Her little toes felt like ice cubes when we pulled her out but she just couldn't get enough of the water. My mom has always said that kids do not have nerve endings.

That evening was also a highlight as we had dinner at a fun Italian restaurant just up the hill from the walking bridge in downtown Chattanooga. We ended the evening by polishing off mom's birthday cake from Marble Slab Creamery, de-lish! We extended the birthday celebration to this weekend though the big day was last Saturday. There were so many other highlights from this weekend including two Larkin nights (listening to my Dad read the most recent chapters of the book he is currently writing) - a big time family favorite; listening to the kids quote the entire chapter of Romans 8 from memory complete with actions- very encouraging; watching Natalie perform Love is a Fallacy by Max Shulman - fantastic; picnicking in the park - even more fun with Grandmother and Grandaddy; and so much stimulating conversation and laughter. A truly wonderful weekend, the only thing that could have made it better is if Clint and William could have joined us. William did join us via telephone and is the person on the other end of the phone that Natalie is holding to her ear in the family pictures that we took on the bridge.

A perfectly fabulous weekend, thank you to everyone involved!

(I would like to add more pictures but it has taken quite some time to attach the three that I have included. Perhaps I can get my fabulous and tech savvy husband to post them all on our website. So stay tuned...)

The Way of the Future....

Let the record state that since this blog took off there has been a new post every single day. Let's not get used to that OK? The past few days I have been preparing for company this weekend. My (Lisa) family is coming to spend Memorial Day weekend with us and we are very excited. We have lots of outdoor expeditions planned because this is such a great area to be outside. Currently the schedule includes a trip to the largest and oldest Civil War battlefield, hiking to a waterfall and swimming in the pool below once we get there, tubing/rafting down the creek, and lots of eating. But my muse today is not God's incredible creation and our love of exploring it. Today, my muse is house cleaning. I love a clean house. The smell, the look.... so fresh and peaceful, I just love it. In fact, at our home in Texas, which had new thick carpet in all the living areas (as opposed to our home in Georgia that has hard wood floors), I admit that on more that one occasion I would step from the kitchen tile, to the fireplace hearth, to the chair in order to avoid messing up the vacuum cleaner marks on the living room floor thereby extending that freshly vacuumed look! However, after sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping only to have it need everything again just a few days (if not hours) later, you have to ask yourself, why in the world did we ever give up dirt floors? I have four rooms of floors to go before my family arrives and I think to myself, if this were all dirt, I'd be done. It's just something to consider. Dirt floors, pure genius.....

Welcome to the World, Dash!

Congratulations to Derek & Jenny Thompson on the birth of their little boy, Dasher Everette! We can hardly wait to meet baby Dash in person! Sonora is especially looking forward to teaching him all about peek-a-boo and the merits of  the Cheerio!  We love you!

Sonora Spotlight

It is difficult to explain how sweet, beautiful, and talented our wonderful little girl really is, but I shall do my best to enlighten you. The past two weeks have been filled with new tricks for Sonora as she is getting stronger and more coordinated. She is starting to go from belly crawl to sitting up (with such perfect posture), back to belly crawling, to balancing and rocking on hands and knees, back to sitting up, etc. Such skill, I tell you! Then her newest trick, that not even Jon has seen yet, is pulling herself up to a standing position on the edge of the bathtub or ottoman. Of this trick, she is currently most excited about. As soon as she gets herself pulled up and standing she squeals with delight, waves her hands in the air, thereby letting go of her support and tumbling wildly backwards where I scoop her up at the last possible second and she squeals even harder. We are still working on the stability factor.

Last week she began saying her first word: Bye-bye! She cannot say it without waving as well, but what is goodbye without a good wave? She is pretty consistent in saying it at the appropriate time and also thinks that it is quite a funny trick. Her second word is shaping up to be "Bible", I kid you not! Twice now she has looked at or patted that Holy Book and said quite clearly, Bi-ble. I will wait until it happens a few more times and then I am most definitely ordering a "My child is the most pious child ever" bumper-sticker.

Her favorite game is peek-a-boo, she will play with anyone, anywhere, anytime. In restaurants she will use the table cloth as peek-a-boo cover, in Church she will use her dress, she is resourceful. Yesterday as I was cleaning the kitchen, she became desperate for a good round.  She grabbed Jon's shorts out of the pile of laundry that was awaiting its folding and started playing peek-a-boo with each inanimate object in the room. First the chair was delighted with her sudden appearance behind the shorts, then the fan, then the plant, the couch, etc. Each piece of furniture had its turn and she just grinned and grinned each time she pulled the shorts off of her head, as I watched while peeking around the kitchen window. It was precious!

Sonora is a constant source of delight and joy, we are so grateful to the Lord for this most amazing gift of a child!

Maryland, Virginia, & People We Love

Where to begin..... If I (Lisa) try to go back and capture everything so that our lives are officially up to date on a blog then I will sink under the pressure and this blog will not even get off the ground. And so I will only go back as far as last weekend and therefore hopefully keep this thing moving forward.

We left last Thursday and drove up to Annapolis, MD to visit Jon's cousin Sarah and her husband Zeb. We had so much fun with this fantastic couple in their wonderful digs. Zeb and Sarah literally live across the street from the Naval Academy. As they are on the third floor you get a great view over the academy walls from their windows. Each morning we watched the midshipmen raise the flag at reveille and we laughed every time because the speaker system was on the fritz and you could only hear every 5th or 6th note and even those came out a bit screechy. Nevertheless the large and beautiful flag was unfurled and it was fun to have front row seats while sipping our morning coffee. Annapolis is right on the water and has brick cobbled streets filled with shops, all sorts of eateries, and beautiful historical homes. Sonora loved cuddling with Sarah, head-butting Zeb, hiding Cheerios under their couch, eating corned beef at the Irish pub, listening to her own echo in the beautiful Naval Academy chapel (it looks like a European Cathedral), watching the boats on the water, and waking the whole apartment building up before 7 am each morning! Thank you Sarah and Zeb for a delightful time!

After leaving Annapolis we headed to Purcellville, VA to meet up with Lisa's family and the family of our favorite Will Glaser. Will and Natalie began courting this past Fall and we have really enjoyed getting to know this stellar young man and his family. Will graduated from Patrick Henry College, the school both he and Natalie attend, and we were graciously invited to the festivities. Between the Harris', Shaffer's, and Glasers' (and their extended family present) there were twenty-something of us, taking Purcellville by storm. Some highlights include each of William's awards at graduation, getting to finally meet everyone, politely kicking the lady and her dog out of the gazebo at the park so that the moms could take pictures of William and Natalie "where it all began", Jon and my sketch in the park titled "Will & Natalie Together at Last", the fun and delicious restaurants we took over, late night chocolate fondu, Will's sister Jessica on the harp - exquisite, and watching the Blockbuster hit: A Little Trouble on the Train starring Will and Alec. PHC is situated so beautifully in the rolling hills of Virginia and the weather was perfect. We love William and his family even more now, thank you to everyone for so many special memories!

Just the beginning

This is the beginning of our family Blog...I imagine that my beautiful wife will keep this up mostly and I will be the technical support.  If you have any complaints email Sonora.  We'll try to post some commentary to fill in the details to the pictures we've posted on our website www.jlshaffer.net  We hope you enjoy!

--Jon, Lisa, & Sonora