The school year is offically back in full swing, and I am back to the grind in my new first grade classroom. Oh, my first graders...I could already fill up a whole other blog with things that go on in my room! I'll save that for some other time. :o)
Me going back to work each fall is always an adjustment for Bear. This year it was even more so because three days before the year started, our nanny left us! It wouldn't be our house without drama I guess, and we were left scrambling to find someone to keep Tucker. But God is good, and our history with Him in these exact situations enabled us to have a sense of peace over it. We knew He would provide the perfect person, and provide He did! Our dear friends gave us the name of a lady that watches their kids occasionally, and we called her up and she readily agreed to keep Bear. She is such a blessing! She lives right in the neighborhood where I work, pretty much right down the street, and she is precious! She is the proud mother of seven kids, (that's right--SEVEN!), she loves the Lord and she adores children! She homeschools all of her kids, and she keeps a couple of little ones around Tucker's age. She does a Christian-based preschool curriculum with Tucker and the little ones from 9-1 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on the other days they go to the park, play with her millions of toys, and sometimes they bake! She is supermom! They've already made blueberry muffins (Bear's favorite) and chocolate chip cookies. We are just singing His praises for sending us Miss Melinda and her precious family!
Thankfully there haven't been many tears when I leave him in the mornings (well, I should say there haven't been many tears for Tucker in the mornings, but always tears for mommy!), and he usually throws a fit when it's time to go so we know he's having fun. Only 172 more days til school's out! I think I may have to step up my game next summer or Tucker's going to start to realize my mommy-short comings now!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
The One Whom Jesus Loves
I wrote this entry in my journal this summer and just had to post it...
I've been having a conversation with Tucker that spawned from a book I had recently read. The author brought to light how difficult it is for me to accept that Jesus loves me. I totally buy into Him loving everyone else, but I always imagine that I will be on the outskirts of His interactions with everyone else when we get to heaven. (I've been praying over this, and my spirit is starting to see the truth, don't worry!) But the author pointed out how sure John, Jesus most loyal disciple, was that Jesus loved him. In fact, it became John’s identity. When he was writing books in the bible, he didn’t say, “and Jesus said to John…” He would write, “and Jesus said to the disciple that Jesus loved.” “The One Whom Jesus Loves” is how John saw himself. And the author made me realize that we should all feel that way. That should be the identity of every Christian yesterday, now, and forever. So I made the decision to make sure Tucker grew up knowing that Jesus loves Him completely.
I started to do what the author did. I would ask Tucker, “Do you know who you are?” And he would say, “What?” (Not “who”, mind you, but that cute toddler talk again. “What?”) And I would tell him, “You’re the one whom Jesus loves!” And I would smother him in hugs and sugars and talk about how special he was. That was on Monday. He only needed about 48 hours to accept this, praise God!
On Wednesday night, the night of the morning he confessed his fears of “being died”,(I'll post that story soon) Patrick, Tucker and I were laying on the bed watching some TV before it was time to read books. And as we were watching I snuggled in close and repeated our exercise. “Tucker, do you know who you are?” I whispered in his ear. “What,” he asked. “You’re the one whom Jesus loves.” He nodded, and what he did next made my heart want to burst. He turned over to see his daddy and he exclaimed, “Daddy, I’m the one who Jesus loves!” He was so proud! Then he turned to me and said, “I’m the one who Jesus loves!” and he gave me a proud hug. I smiled and laughed and held him tight, and silently praised God for this precious realization for him. His new identity had been confirmed. “The One Whom Jesus Loves” may have been John for centuries, but for now, it’s just for Bear, “The One Whom Jesus Loves.”
Blessed be His name!
I've been having a conversation with Tucker that spawned from a book I had recently read. The author brought to light how difficult it is for me to accept that Jesus loves me. I totally buy into Him loving everyone else, but I always imagine that I will be on the outskirts of His interactions with everyone else when we get to heaven. (I've been praying over this, and my spirit is starting to see the truth, don't worry!) But the author pointed out how sure John, Jesus most loyal disciple, was that Jesus loved him. In fact, it became John’s identity. When he was writing books in the bible, he didn’t say, “and Jesus said to John…” He would write, “and Jesus said to the disciple that Jesus loved.” “The One Whom Jesus Loves” is how John saw himself. And the author made me realize that we should all feel that way. That should be the identity of every Christian yesterday, now, and forever. So I made the decision to make sure Tucker grew up knowing that Jesus loves Him completely.
I started to do what the author did. I would ask Tucker, “Do you know who you are?” And he would say, “What?” (Not “who”, mind you, but that cute toddler talk again. “What?”) And I would tell him, “You’re the one whom Jesus loves!” And I would smother him in hugs and sugars and talk about how special he was. That was on Monday. He only needed about 48 hours to accept this, praise God!
On Wednesday night, the night of the morning he confessed his fears of “being died”,(I'll post that story soon) Patrick, Tucker and I were laying on the bed watching some TV before it was time to read books. And as we were watching I snuggled in close and repeated our exercise. “Tucker, do you know who you are?” I whispered in his ear. “What,” he asked. “You’re the one whom Jesus loves.” He nodded, and what he did next made my heart want to burst. He turned over to see his daddy and he exclaimed, “Daddy, I’m the one who Jesus loves!” He was so proud! Then he turned to me and said, “I’m the one who Jesus loves!” and he gave me a proud hug. I smiled and laughed and held him tight, and silently praised God for this precious realization for him. His new identity had been confirmed. “The One Whom Jesus Loves” may have been John for centuries, but for now, it’s just for Bear, “The One Whom Jesus Loves.”
Blessed be His name!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Five years later....
Today is Patrick and my 5th wedding anniversary! Here's my Top 10 reasons I love Patrick...
10. He makes my breakfast
9. He likes to quote movies/TV shows
8. He's never met a stranger
7. He has a tender heart
6. He likes to go to the mall
5. He's my best friend
4. He cleans the house
3. He an incredible father
2. He's loves the Lord
1. He knows everything about me, and he still loves me!
I am so blessed!! Here's to 55 more years Schmoopie! (No, your Schmoopie!)
10. He makes my breakfast
9. He likes to quote movies/TV shows
8. He's never met a stranger
7. He has a tender heart
6. He likes to go to the mall
5. He's my best friend
4. He cleans the house
3. He an incredible father
2. He's loves the Lord
1. He knows everything about me, and he still loves me!
I am so blessed!! Here's to 55 more years Schmoopie! (No, your Schmoopie!)
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Standing on Watch
Tucker's imagination carries him to the strangest places and most random scenarios. I love it! He's always role playing, making up stories, using different "voices" when he plays with his toys, and it just cracks Patrick and me up. Last weekend was prime example.
My brother was in town and we were hanging out at my parents. My dad moved the coffee table a little so Bear could have more room to play, and Tucker immediately dropped to his knees and began examining the little indentations the tablelegs had left in the carpet. Finally he shouted, "Look! Tracks! We better look for more!" So off went Uncle Paul and Tucker on the hunt for the mysterious "tracks". Finally Paul asked him, "Tucker, who do you think made these tracks?" And Tucker matter-of-factly responded, "Jesus!" Then he quickly added, "Shh!! We have to keep looking--He might be coming back!"
Look on son! He will most definately come back!!
My brother was in town and we were hanging out at my parents. My dad moved the coffee table a little so Bear could have more room to play, and Tucker immediately dropped to his knees and began examining the little indentations the tablelegs had left in the carpet. Finally he shouted, "Look! Tracks! We better look for more!" So off went Uncle Paul and Tucker on the hunt for the mysterious "tracks". Finally Paul asked him, "Tucker, who do you think made these tracks?" And Tucker matter-of-factly responded, "Jesus!" Then he quickly added, "Shh!! We have to keep looking--He might be coming back!"
Look on son! He will most definately come back!!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Pitter Patter of Little Feet
I love Sunday mornings for a million reasons. I love that Patrick is always home on Sundays, that we get to "sleep in" til 6:30 when Bear gets up, that we always make a big family breakfast, and that we linger in our jammies until it's time to go to church. I guess that's our new Sunday morning tradition. But the best part of Sunday mornings is literally the pitter patter of little feet.
We always know Bear is up because first we'll hear his door creak open, which is followed by these little pitter patters of his feet walking down the hall to our room. When I hear those little feet, I just light up inside, no matter how tired I am. Then he pats us tenderly with his chubby little hands, (or "pets" us, as he calls it), and when we open our eyes he's right there in our face, smiling at us, right at eye level because you know that's just how tall he is, and he says "Good morning Mommy/Daddy!" Of course, Tucker thinks we don't wake up until he reaches our beds, but I'm always up by the crack of his door. But I always lay in my bed like it's Christmas morning, smile on my face but squeezing my eyes shut, because I don't want to ruin his surprise for us. My heart races like I'm about to get the biggest most expensive gift ever and I can hardly stand to keep my eyes shut. When he "pets" me, and says "Good Morning Mommy" and I open my eyes to see his precious face right there, I just melt every time!
I'm so blessed that God picked him for me. I'm hoping his little face and tradition will stay imprinted on my heart for the rest of my life.
We always know Bear is up because first we'll hear his door creak open, which is followed by these little pitter patters of his feet walking down the hall to our room. When I hear those little feet, I just light up inside, no matter how tired I am. Then he pats us tenderly with his chubby little hands, (or "pets" us, as he calls it), and when we open our eyes he's right there in our face, smiling at us, right at eye level because you know that's just how tall he is, and he says "Good morning Mommy/Daddy!" Of course, Tucker thinks we don't wake up until he reaches our beds, but I'm always up by the crack of his door. But I always lay in my bed like it's Christmas morning, smile on my face but squeezing my eyes shut, because I don't want to ruin his surprise for us. My heart races like I'm about to get the biggest most expensive gift ever and I can hardly stand to keep my eyes shut. When he "pets" me, and says "Good Morning Mommy" and I open my eyes to see his precious face right there, I just melt every time!
I'm so blessed that God picked him for me. I'm hoping his little face and tradition will stay imprinted on my heart for the rest of my life.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Lessons Taught, Life Learned...
I love the idea of being important enough to take up webspace. Think about it. Just about everyone can access the web now, the "world wide web" now, and here the Chamberlains are marking their spot, staking their claim in the vastness of it all! We're awesome!
Anyway, I (Valerie) thought mostly that this would be an easy and fun way for me to record our precious memories of Tucker Bear. He's getting so big now. How did that happen? One minute we're finding out we're finally going to have a baby, and the next we looked up and he's three-and-a-half!
I love my son. I love his mind. I love that every day he is truly learning something new. Right now it is the letter T, for Tucker of course, but also for Thomas the Train. Somehow T's have fallen in place all around him, and he loves to discover them and proclaim them solely for himself.
He has also, like any good Texan would, discovered his beloved state. The shape of the state is proudly displayed on his "Native Texan" birth certificate, (framed and hung ceremoniously in his room!), and I suppose that's where he saw it first. But lately we've seen it quite often. In buildings, on highways, and probably most imporantly on an episode of "The Backyardigans"! So as it should be, Texas is engrained in Tucker's heart, and whenever we see one he gets so excited. We have them carved in the sides of a lot of our highway overpasses, and today on the tollway he squealed with delight in the backseat and shouted "Mommy, I live in Texas! I was born there!" And then he giggles when I tell him that I, in fact, live there too. I mean of all the coincidences!
Oh to be three again! Tucker is learning so much about the world around him, and he's teaching Patrick and I just as much about life. Drink it in! Enjoy every minute! Play hard! Love shamelessly! And of course...fight for what's yours!
What a kid!
Anyway, I (Valerie) thought mostly that this would be an easy and fun way for me to record our precious memories of Tucker Bear. He's getting so big now. How did that happen? One minute we're finding out we're finally going to have a baby, and the next we looked up and he's three-and-a-half!
I love my son. I love his mind. I love that every day he is truly learning something new. Right now it is the letter T, for Tucker of course, but also for Thomas the Train. Somehow T's have fallen in place all around him, and he loves to discover them and proclaim them solely for himself.
He has also, like any good Texan would, discovered his beloved state. The shape of the state is proudly displayed on his "Native Texan" birth certificate, (framed and hung ceremoniously in his room!), and I suppose that's where he saw it first. But lately we've seen it quite often. In buildings, on highways, and probably most imporantly on an episode of "The Backyardigans"! So as it should be, Texas is engrained in Tucker's heart, and whenever we see one he gets so excited. We have them carved in the sides of a lot of our highway overpasses, and today on the tollway he squealed with delight in the backseat and shouted "Mommy, I live in Texas! I was born there!" And then he giggles when I tell him that I, in fact, live there too. I mean of all the coincidences!
Oh to be three again! Tucker is learning so much about the world around him, and he's teaching Patrick and I just as much about life. Drink it in! Enjoy every minute! Play hard! Love shamelessly! And of course...fight for what's yours!
What a kid!
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