Summa Time

This summer has been a time of firsts for all of us. Bright's first fishing catch, Zion's first visit to Michigan, Daniel's first message series, my mother's first time to bury a parent. It was wonderful to be home for 2 1/2 weeks. Bright really got a chance to know his uncles and aunt and his dear cousin, JJ. We went to the beach, a petting zoo, Uncle Kody's farm, rode Uncle Tom's speed boat on Lake Michigan, and so much more. Grandpa made sure nobody went hungry, and Grandma made sure nobody's love-tanks were empty. Uncle Jack made sure nobody quit laughing, Uncle Kody made sure nobody felt incondsidered, and Aunt Denise made sure nobody stopped smiling. I really do love my family, and miss them very much when we're apart. But that is the beauty of living far off...I might not otherwise know how much we mean to each other.

Rollin' in KC

Well, for the past week and coming week, Kayla and the boys are in Michigan for a big family reunion. Tickets were just too much so I have stayed home. I now spend the majority of my time strategically finding meals at my sister's house and missing my family.

This past Thursday and Friday I took a road trip with Lance, a dear friend, up to IHOP in KC. We stayed with John Harrigan and had a thoroughly good time. At one point, we found ourselves in a hardware store that was selling some "tight" hats for just 50 cents!

It was an immediate purchase, secured without question, and with great joy. As we rolled through KC, filling out the bench seat of my pick-up, I in my infinite wisdom (gained on the internet), explained to the boys that "Dubs" referred to 20 inch rims on "pimped out" cars. Furthermore, that "Dubs minus duces" were actually 18 inch rims, which are smaller in size yet sufficient in style.

At a barbecue joint we actually pulled out the tape measure and found many different diameters of rims, some 17 inches, some 22. Needless to say, mass confusion and disillusionment ensued...

The Daily Grind

Things in the Rupp household are beginning to settle down again. The past nine weeks of sleepless nights and cluttered days, lots of dirty diapers, lots of spit-up, and the occasional breakdown (by either Zion, Bright, or Kayla) are finally giving way to a more stable lifestyle. I am up just once a night to nurse now, and Zion is taking longer naps during the day. Bright is doing great, as always. He knows 30 countries on the world map (for those of you who don't know, he is a bit of a geography nut). It is a hoot to hear him say "Madagascar" and "Kazakhstan." The other day, Sue-Sue (his great-grandmother) said "Iran", pronouncing it "eye-ran" and he corrected her promptly, saying, "It's Ee-ron." We all had a good laugh about that. This Saturday we leave to go Michigan for 18 days, just the boys and me. I am very excited but will miss Daniel terribly, as will Bright. Zion will be fine as long as his milk supply is there. :) We are very excited about "The Great Reunion" coming up August 17-19 at the Harrigan Country Bunker.

Poured out

What is it like, you ask, to be the mother of a newborn and a two-year-old? Picture, if you will, me in my underwear (which, by the way, is not a pretty sight) and a stretched-out tank top covered in spit-up, attempting to nurse a screaming 6-week-old while a very cute toddler crawls all over my mountain of clean laundry with poop smooshing out of his diaper and a face covered in Malt-O-Meal. I lay the baby down to change the toddler's diaper and the phone rings. I'm expecting a call, so I leave the poopy toddler on the floor next to the screaming newborn and race to the phone, only to step on a toy airplane. I limp across the room and begin hunting through the diaper bag for my cell phone. By the time I find it, I've missed the call.


But then there are other moments. Like today, when I put on the painted rock necklace that Bright made me (with Grandma's help), and he squealed with delight to see it hanging around my neck. I wore it all day, even to the park where I held my precious sleeping Zion in the shade and watched my sweet, delightful Bright throw rocks in the creek. I wouldn't have traded that moment for all the world.

Sunday was my first day back in the pew since the baby was born. It was SO good to stand there, in cute clothes instead of my husband's boxer shorts, washed up and out of the house, worshipping the Father. We were singing a particularly moving song that resounded in my heart. The lyrics were, "Fill me up, so I can be poured out." That is what motherhood is, being poured out. And so I prayed, "Fill me up with You, so I can be poured out all over these children. Through my sacrifices day to day may they see you, and KNOW you, forever. Amen."

Growing Like a Wildflower

Four weeks ago Zion was only 4 and a half pounds. Now after much eating, pooping, spit up-ing, and sleeping he has gained 3 whole pounds! (Notice the unashamed use of the classic "before and after" strategy with these pics - I could do ad's for weight loss medication easily, and with some practice, maybe even age defying make-up.)

A good friend in Memphis, who has three sons of his own, taught me once that you can never let your sons beat you in anything. They need to know that Daddy is invincible. Well, I've been hitting the gym pretty hard for the past few months in an attempt to gain weight and my youngest son is already showing me up - I can't even touch three pounds... I guess even the ol' vitamin D whole milk doesn't stack up to momma's breast milk. And I don't even poop nine times a day.

Big storm come through a couple of days ago. High winds and heavy rain. Headed East on I-40 we passed a large sign, downed by the wind. Kayla pointed out that while the expensively engineered sign had fallen, all the little wild flowers stood around it like nothing had even happened. Peter and James were right, He is indeed opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

"It's rodeo time."

I can't remember the last time I went to the rodeo, but when ever it was, it wasn't as fun as tonight. We loaded up Bright and Zion, crossed the river, braved the crowds, and experienced the Ol' Fort Days Rodeo first hand. Well...kind of. The lines were way too long to actually get tickets to see the big show. But for a two year old, the big show is often something that we adults deem as rather small.

Thankfully, Grandma knew better and invested in a stash of tickets, resulting in much joy. While on our newly broken merry-go-round stallion, Bright spotted the "Jeeps! Jeeps!" I'm pretty sure he really thought he was driving. After riding the train and the miniture horses, it was time to go home. As I put him in the truck, I said "It's time for a bath." His response was instantaneous, "It's rodeo time."

Little guy

Things are going better than we expected. Either Zion is a really good baby, or we are much more laid back this time around. Maybe it's both. He is gaining weight and looking more like your average newborn. The major issue we have is people calling him "Zi-ON." My mother-in-law says, "Tell people it's like 'Ryan' with a 'Z.'" But I don't have the heart to correct people most of the time. I guess some people grew up thinking Jerusalem was built on Mount Zi-ON. It makes him sound like a creature off of Star Trek. Oh well. All-in-all, we have very few complaints. We are truly blessed. In the photo above you can see how little Zion really is. He won't believe it when he is a grown man, I'm sure.