Saturday at the Fair

After having breakfast and J going through a huge stack of books to "read" we headed out to the Dane County Fair. Today they were having a farm tractor display for the kids and a fire truck and rescue equipment parade. We saw the tractors first and J got to sit on a bunch of them. Later, they were moving them out and we watched them all drive away.


We stopped at the petting zoo which was pretty small. J loved the tortoise. It had the coolest shell and was just sitting in the open eating grass. We headed to the barns and saw all the prize cows. Just as we were walking down the last row of cows we saw the rescue parade coming.


We quickly left the barn and headed to the nearest trucks. Once they were parked, we brought J over to see and who walks out but Birch the guy who leads our Pal Zone group! He's also a volunteer firefighter. He volunteers with his girlfriend and she took J under her wing and showed him around. He sat in the driver's seat, got to wear a helmet, went in the back and saw the jackets and boots. Then he put on a helmet again and just walked around. It was so funny because the helmet was really heavy so J was a little wobbly. We also went next door to a fire truck that was giving away kids fire helmets. J was very protective of his helmet. We went into the Expo area to see all the booths after that and he wouldn't put his helmet down. Even when he had it off, he had to hold it. They had an inflatable gym with slide that he really wanted to go in. Once he got in line he was afraid so a little girl held his hand and I walked along outside cheering him on. He said he wanted to go again but then when it was his turn in line he got scared and decided not to. There was an Indian woman we met at the park who had a booth so L bought a little fancy heart notebook so he can write my anniversary poems in it. Very sweet! J was starting to melt down so we headed out. In the car, his lids were getting really heavy and then he did fall asleep. Then it was nap time.

I decided to pick another Beth Moore book for my devotional study time. This one is called, To Live is Christ - joining Paul's journey of faith. I really like doing biblical character studies and Beth Moore's format is good with verses to read and then commentary. This one on Paul should be good. It says this book will trace Paul's life from early childhood to death focusing on his amazing ministry. Beth hopes it will provide a sharpened awareness of the personal calling God has placed on our lives. I look forward to that. Today I read Galatians 1:15-16. Beth shares that she accepts many of Paul's words as a personal challenge. In these verses we learn that Paul was set apart from birth and was called by God's grace. Beth creates a story that would have been like what any Jewish boy would experience after birth. She shares how his Jewish heritage impacted his lifestyle in a major way. He was raised to be a devout Jew. That meant study of the Torah, focus on marriage and performance of good deeds.


J had a long 3-hour nap today. He was really wiped. He was pretty hungry when he got up so I gave him some cheese to tide him over since we decided to go downtown for dinner. We tried to have a date night, but couldn't find a sitter. We went to where we thought a Chinese buffet was, but it wasn't there anymore so we took a walk to the capital square. It was still humid and probably 85 out but it was a nice walk. We ended up eating at an Indian restaurant. When L's food came out, it was sizzling and it really freaked out J. It was tandoori chicken which they bake in a special oven and it comes out on a hot plate. He wanted me to hold him for a bit so I took him out of the high chair and then he was on the verge of crying when I put him back. The waiter noticed and I told him what happened and next thing I know he's bringing J a "mango lassie", a creamy mango drink which J sipped down. He wanted to try my beef curry and I told him it was spicy. He took a bite and then was trying to wipe his tongue, saying "it's spicy" so I gave him a drink. We saw Madison's own Art Paul Schlosser, a State Street musician I've known since I was in college and then got to know better when L and I attended the same church with him. He played a couple songs for J and we all danced. We left soon after and J was happy to get home.

Firemen at the Park

I read the first part of Luke 3 for my devotional time today. It says that in that year, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, and he went out to encourage others to prepare the way for the Lord (verse 3:3) preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Beth shares that daily repentance/confession is like refreshment for our souls. We come away cleansed and ready to be filled. Beth asks if we are preparing the way for the Lord's work in our lives. That's a good question. This had me examine and ask if I am spending good quality time with him, spending time in prayer and worship; seeking direction and guidance from him. I think these help prepare the way for his work in our lives. Some of the people are asking John what they should do and he says that (verse 3:11) the man who has 2 tunics should share with him who has none. This made me ask myself how am I doing that, how are we helping the poor? I have the desire to, but haven't made it my priority! I think it was last month when I was thinking about all the possessions I have and wanting to sift through them to share with those in need. I still want to do this. The people were wondering if John was the Christ and he told them in verse 16 that one more powerful than he will come...who will baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Jesus was baptized by John who was very humbled to do so. Then you heard the voice of God saying in verse 22 "You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well-pleased."

It was a beautiful day again today. Not as warm as yesterday, but bright and sunny. After lunch, we had some time playing outside. Then for my gardening project I wanted to pick up some mulch which they have at Elver Park near our home. We picked a great day for this project since the firemen were there with 3 trucks practicing using the hoses and driving and backing into tight places. We watched them for awhile which J enjoyed. I got my mulch and then we played on the jungle gym for a while. Before we left, we stopped by the fire truck so J could get a closer look. Several firemen were standing near the truck putting away hoses. J pointed and said hose, fire truck. One of the firemen asked if J would like to sit inside - would he??!! So he had me sit in the driver's seat and he handed me J. He was thrilled wanting to put on a helmet and press the buttons but we told him no buttons. We have quite a story for daddy tonight! Meeting Engine 12. On the way home in the car, we were listening to the oldies station. A song came on and J says "Elvis!" Believe it or not, the song was one by Elvis. I know he's heard him before but I didn't know he could pick out his voice. Maybe we have a little Elvis fan.

This afternoon, J only took a 1 hour nap so he had to join me in my chores. He did really well playing by himself while I put away the laundry and fixed dinner. I tried to teach him matching his socks but he didn't quite get "same" and "different". J really liked the alfredo chicken with broccoli that we had for dinner. God has been answering prayer in that meal times have been going better the last few days. We've actually had a couple days with no meal melt downs. Thank you Lord! Tonight we spent the evening with our life group. It's just 3 couples for now. We were discussing the sermon of Revelation 2:1-7 where the church in Ephesus was doing all kinds of things right yet they had "forsaken their first love". We had a pretty good discussion.

My little fireman...

This morning I felt a little grumbly in my heart. Not because of anything specific, just a general feeling that thankfully ended up going away. We went this morning to do our grocery shopping. We didn't have a chance to fit it in over the weekend. I wanted to leave our afternoon open in case our friend was coming over but it turned out she couldn't come.

Spending time with God today was nice. How wonderful that I can just come as I am, my junk and all, and he accepts me. He cleanses me as I lay these things at his feet. He pursues me and enjoys spending time with me. This was good to just think about for a while. Today's reading in 2Samuel 20-21:14 didn't go very deep for me. The battles continued as Sheba (a Benjamite) plans a rebellion against David and lures the men of Israel away to his side while the men of Judah stayed with David. David sends his men to overtake Sheba. Even though Joab is no longer commander, he gathers the men and leads them to the fight. He ends up killing (in a very graphic way) the new commander David appointed. Then he goes on to the battlefield where a wise woman of the town gave Sheba over to Joab (again in a graphic scene). There was a famine in the land and David sought the Lord in it.

After lunch, Julian and I took a walk to the park. It was a little cold with the wind, but otherwise a beautiful, sunny day. It was amazing, we had the park to ourselves for the entire half hour we were there. Again we spent most of our time on the jungle gym. Julian isn't really into the swings right now. We climbed up to the higher level where the slides are where I really have to watch him because there are a couple areas that open up leaving room for a fall. We did the slides a few times and then Julian ended up going down the slide on his own for the first time. He called me to go with him but then he was scooting forward on his own so I just let him go. I heard him squeal with delight on his way down. He does really well when there are no other kids. He gets nervous when there are too many kids around. I don't blame him.

He didn't sleep very long for his afternoon nap, maybe one hour. When I was putting him in his crib, he reached out and touched my face and said something really cute. We had this really nice moment, me just holding him and hugging and kissing him before I laid him down. It was sweet. When he got up, I was finishing some things online so he came over and wanted to see Elmo dancing. So I found Elmo on You Tube and then we watched Mickey Mouse. We even found Elmo and Mickey Mouse (in costume) dancing together. Tonight was our YMCA night, so we just had sandwiches and fruit. My workout felt harder today. I don't know why sometimes it feels harder than other times. I picked Julian up from the nursery and the staff asked me if someone in our family is a fireman. I told them no. They said he is so into the fireman/firetruck things and plays the part so well (like playing with fire station Little People and wearing a fire hat and playing the part of a fireman) so they thought maybe he had a relative who was a fireman or something. I think it must be the Elmo Firehouse video he watches.

After the YMCA, it was time to give Julian a bath and tuck him in for the night. After finishing up the last of the dishes, getting the coffee ready for tomorrow and doing the blog, I'm ready to get tucked in too.