Five It Is

Wow- I'm embarrassed at my long break from posting. Life is full, not much sleep, but so much joy to be had. Yes, now there is five of us crazy Baylors. Schaeffer Ezra Baylor was born on December 6, 2007 at 7 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches. I survived my 3rd c-section with flying colors. He is complete sweetness; you can see it in his face. Isabel just turned 2 years old last month. Jack is the big brother in every way. He knows everything or so he thinks and is a great helper when I need another set of hands. He loves cars and especially the characters from the movie Cars. He knows all their names. Isabel does too. You pretty much have to know Lightning McQeen, Mater, Sally and so on if you live in our house. Even Anne is educated in cars. I am pretty much at home all the time with the kids, so I am extremely thankful for our spacious house. I have gotten out with the 3 kids by myself only twice. Baby steps is all I have to say! One time was to the doctor and the 2nd time was just this week when we went to the library. Thankfully Jack and Isabel were angels. Of course that isn't too hard when they hadn't been in months so even getting in the stroller was exciting! Somehow I am afraid I'll get someplace with the 3 and everyone will need me. That may happen but thankfully it didn't happen at the library.

Our college community group is going great. We are excited to have started Sunday morning breakfast at our house again. I am loving spending time with the women in our group. They come over throughout the week to hang out and chase our kids around. Josh does the same with the guys and they study.

We have had a crazy amount of snow lately thus the snowman. So that is a quick update. I'll make sure it isn't 6 more months until I post again.

Related to Biblical Femininity

For those who are interested, I have a few recent posts on the Penny University blog on biblical manhood and womanhood.

Biblical Femininity

So here are some notes from my class.This is all from Mary Kassian. She has written numerous books on the subject. I hope this is as powerful for you reading it as it was me listening. So freeing to think of God's idea of manhood and womanhood when you can understand how it works together. Anyway, the good stuff:
10 myths that the church believes that distorts our view of man and woman:
1.)"Some Christians are called to ministry and some aren't." Truth- we are all called to ministry.
2.)"Being in ministry has to do with where you get your paycheck."
3.)"Some jobs are secular and some jobs are religious."
4.) "I need recognition, title, and pay in order to minister."
5.)"A theological education qualifies you for ministry."
6.)"Being gifted qualifies you for ministry."
7.)"Elders, bishops, and pastors qualify for position because of gift, education, and special qualifications." Instead the church should focus on how he leads his home, his wife etc.
8.)"Church is an organization."
9.)"Authority is power; submission is weakness." Truth- it is God's choice for man to lead.
10.)"All about me." God doesnt need us.

She also explained what Genesis teaches us. Men and women were image-bearers, equal in provision, dominion over the earth, both accountable to God. But so many differences. These differences when honored lead to unity. There is goodness in these differences.
More to come as I dive in further with the class.

Summer Come and Gone

Well our summer plans ended up being filled with wonderful friends from Boston (the Joneses and KC) and a big move. We found a house, asked a friend to live with us who was moving here from Boston and would you believe it all came to be. Anyway, the house is amazing. So much more than I was praying for and thanks to Anne (our roomie) we all get to enjoy it together. She has her own floor, then the middle floor is all the living spaces, and the 2nd floor is our bedrooms and bathroom. Please come see us. We have so much space and are excited to open it up.

It was a busy summer as it took us a good 2 months to feel settled and organized with 2 young ones running around. We love having Anne live with us. Somehow she has managed to put up with our toddlers. Granted she has only been here 2 weeks but she still keeps coming around to eat with us and spend time together. Anyway, she is a part of our family and we are blessed to have her here.

We found out this month we are having a BOY! He will be called Schaeffer Ezra Baylor. Schaeffer after Francis Schaeffer the theologian. December 6th we will get to see his sweet face.

A quick update on our kids: Jack is still lining things up like some of you may know he likes to do. He loves cars. Every night we put his cars to bed and then he can go to bed. Every morning he wakes up and then asks if his cars are awake. He must know that they are sleeping and not having fun without him. So cute. Isabel is complete sassiness. She is beginning to play with dolls but she likes trains and all of Jack's boy stuff too. She is obsessed with shoes- putting on anyone and everyones. Really funny because she can walk in some shoes almost as big as her! The pictures are from Jack's 3rd birthday. Anne made the car cakes for him; she modeled them after some of his cars from the movie Cars. He was very excited!

I started this Seminary Wives class this evening on Biblical femininity. A few highlights from the class are to follow as this post is already long.

Millie

Oh my gosh! Millie is on YouTube!

Chesapeake Bay Retriever in the surf

Any of you who knew Millie should appreciate this video, I'm sure. Ok, so I'm definitely not making this up. I typed in "Chesapeake Bay Retriever" in the YouTube search. The second video was this one. Millie's new owner is a surfer, kayaker, lives close to the beach. Also, the man in the video calls the chessie "Millie". I'm telling you, this has got to be our Millie. We were like, no way. It was so cool to watch her play and know she is having fun with her new owners. We miss her so much. Try not to cry and laugh at the same time like us.

Number Three is on the Way

Oh my, so much has happened. The biggest news is we are having a third child! I have been very excited all along which has been great. Unlike the first two when I was in shock for the first week almost and then excited. But I have been rather sick. So much so that Josh has taken over in the evenings. I am feeling much better, so hopefully the nausea is subsiding. Josh has almost finished the semester. He has a Greek Paper to turn in next week and then we will be doing some celebrating for completing 15 hours this semester. We also made an unexpected trip to Arkansas to see his grandpa last weekend. His grandfather had a heart attack and so they encouraged the family to come as soon as possible. The Rices graciously offered their home for a night's stay which was such a blessing since we got into Little Rock at 2:30 in the morning. But we stayed the rest of our time in Pine Bluff where his grandpa is in the hospital. It was quick, but we were glad we went and so thankful that he is doing much better. (Family Pick above is from that trip) I also included one that is about a month old of Jack riding in this car that he loves at a friend's house. It is kinda an issue because he monopolizes it even though it isn't his!

Isabel has decided to act like a toddler although she is only 15 months, so my hands have been tied with putting her in time-out. We started out slapping her hand but she consistently starting hitting back so we went to plan B! So any and all prayers are appreciated for all the drama that takes place in our house. Just as I did with Jack, I am realizing to take each day and each moment as it comes and not expect life to be a certain way. It seems I never quite learn this lesson.

I finished my hospitality class. Our final assignment was to plan and organize the spring event for seminary wives graduating from the program. I was on the food committee which was lots of work but really fun and a great learning experience. We planned the menu which turned out great including a chocolate fountain. We each made numerous dishes for 200 people! I made over 6 gallons of punch which turned out fine but was almost a catastrophe. You are supposed to make it, freeze it, and then take it out of the freezer an hour before serving for it to be slushy and add ginger ale. Well, I did this but for some reason it was still a bit frozen. Anyway, halfway through the event I was standing at the punch bowl scraping off chunks because we ran out of ginger ale. The punch was a hit but just not melting fast enough. It all worked out in the end but rather stressful in the moment.

So, we don't have any summer plans yet but will make some soon. Travel now before I get huge!

March Madness

Well the highlights since it has been a while from my last post. We went to my dear friends wedding March 10th- I was the matron of honor and Jack was a ringbearer. He has become quite the professional at walking down the aisle- maybe I could rent him out. Just kidding! I have to find humor in 4 weddings this year- crazy. So we drive to Little Rock and saw my parents, sister, niece, and grandmother. We stayed with the Rice family which was so refreshing and got to see Shannon and Jed as well. They were all a great help with the kids and of course they took such great care of us. My Mom still took care of us from a distance by having food delivered to the house so we didn't have to worry about meals. What great parents! Shannon even got up early two mornings to help us with the kiddos- she spent part of the morning chasing Jack around. So fun. The wedding finished with a bang even though I somehow forgot to bring Jack's tux- left in Louisville. Kinda funny now but not then. Again, thanks Mom for saving the day. I called her on the road and she went and bought another 2T tux for Jack. So if anyone ever needs to borrow a 2T tux- we've got two. So keep that in mind Shelley and Sharla and Carrie and anyone else with boys.

This is a crazy time for Josh with school- midterms and papers galore. So he is either home studying or at the library. The weather has been so nice here lately so he has been studying outside and Jack has been outside playing. Girltime inside and guytime outside- that has been nice. I even put Isabel's hair back yesterday- that was fun.

I took a class on Marriage and Family in February and now one on Hospitality. They have both been very refreshing for me. The Marriage one because it is good to be reminded of the basics. Where my focus should be and how to love Josh and so on. The Hospitality is a passion of ours so it is good to hear the president's wife share her story of hospitality and all her wisdom.

So me- well I have been a bit rattled lately. Thanks Shelley and Sharla for listening to my banter this past week about that. I realize that I let discipline overwhelm me with both kids- yes Isabel is in desperate need of being told "NO" and a hand slap at times well most of the time. I want things to be easy and it isn't right for me to think that way. Parenting is hard work and having kids that obey and respect and love and share and forgive and so on isn't easy so what am I thinking to expect them to do it naturally. It isn't in our nature apart from God. One thing is for sure- I am seeing how much we need God. How much I need God to have patience and love and tough love and more patience. Then how much our kids need to know about God to bring them out of their selfishness. Anyway, it has been cool to see this unfold when I look at parenting this way.

Oh- Isabel is walking as of our Little Rock trip.

Love and miss you all!

Isabel's First Birthday

Isabel's first birthday has come and gone. It is so weird that she is already one; mostly because this time last year we were living in Boston with our dear friends. My parents were here which was such a nice treat for the celebration. They really helped us out with things around the house: Dad fixing things, Mom reorganizing the kids room, and then treating us with gifts. Mom stayed a few extra days which was so great. We even managed to watch some movies when the kids went to bed. I was sad to see them go.

We just had a family celebration at home with burgers, fries, cake, and punch. Isabel is certainly acting older as she is into everything- kitchen cabinets, getting stuck in small spaces, climbing things, eating things she shouldn't etc etc. Wow! I am realizing now that Jack was rather easy in this department or it seems that way now. Maybe I just forgot already. She still isn't walking on her own but oh so close.

While my Mom was here, we met with someone from the IMB to talk about moving overseas, ask questions, and start the application process. It will be a long journey but we have at least begun. Very exciting and surreal.

One more bit of news. Josh met this guy in one of his classes and we had the couple over for dinner last night. We had such a good time with them which was very refreshing. She grew up all over Asia as a missionary kid and he is from Michigan. Anyway, I am especially thankful for a new friend.