Oxen

As promised I am writing today to explain how God relieved to me that my sons are Oxen. If I was to look up oxen on the internet (Wikipedia & the Dictionary) I could learn a lot about oxen like:

1. Working oxen are taught to respond to the signals of the teamster (mom or dad). These signals are given by verbal command, body language ("The Mom look"), and the use of a goad, whip or a long pole (index finger of pointing). In preindustrial times, many teamsters were known for their loud voices (Me? Loud? I'm sure that has to be a typo...I'm quite soft spoken *sarcasm*) and forthright language (Is it bad that I had to look up forthright? This point is mostly pertaining to dad, as he can attest I like to take detours to the point).

2. Oxen must be painstakingly trained from a young age. (While I love my sons SO very much and I think that are very good kids, discipline is painstakingly hard)

3. "ox, bull"), said to be from base *uks- "to sprinkle," related to *ugw- "wet, moist." The animal word, then, is lit. "besprinkler."(This describes Ellis. Ellis loves to sprinkle! I have lost count of all the times Ellis has sprinkled me and at Thanksgiving he sprinkled Dad in a manner deserving of an Olympic Medal (I can write this story if you want....let me know))


Overall, it is a pretty hard stretch for me to think of my wonderful sons as oxen, until God gives me some of His perspective.

Proverbs 14:4 Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,
But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.

There are times in my life when I feel like I'm not a good enough woman/person since my house is a mess and I'm not very productive. I have been over at some people's homes and they are MUCH neater than mine. Also, I know people that get TONS done during the day and are very productive. Sometimes this gets used as a weapon against me and I get down. The other day God popped this verse out amongst the verses I read in Proverbs.

I could have a clean life.
I could have a clean house.
I could have an organized and clean schedule.

However,
I have wonderful sons that are going to be mighty warriors for the Kingdom of God. I have two sons, at the moment, that are filled with the Love and Joy of Christ. God uses my sons to bring so much joy, peace (God's definition, not mine), grace, patience (OH, the patience that comes...), perseverance (try to stop a 2 yr old from doing something His way or putting him down for a much needed nap...I have truly seen, experienced, and respect perseverance in such a new way), and love.

There are days that Dad comes home and there are blocks everywhere, broken boxes from the construction and demolition of forts, dirty clothes from crafts and food, spit-up soaked onesie on a drooling 3 month old son, and mom still in PJs with dirty marks (merit badges) of the day. Life is dirty that day, but I know that sometimes those are the best/most remember-able days for my sons development and heart growth, as well as my own heart's growth.

"Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox."

So, while the true definition of oxen are not very becoming....I take great joy and love thinking of my children now as oxen some days.

Camel

I was playing with Ellis, our youngest son, with an octopus and I started thinking about characteristics of animals, and I came to a realization:

Sometimes I feel like a camel.

To explain this statement/thought here are some reasons:

1. I have to drink TONS of water - I'm not drinking enough and need to drink more

2. Two bumps - thankfully mine are for milk not as bumpers to carry people, although there are times when Eldin is climbing me when that point could be contested

3. I carry heavy loads when traveling - Ellis is packing on the pounds and the diaper bag has turned into a "Bag-o-Stuff" to take care of both boys

4. Some mornings I wake up looking woolly, like a camel or after Eldin has been using me as a new jungle gym

5. I'm jiggly in places that are just not right - need to work out, but who ever wants to...not me, in case you were wondering

6. I spit - well, I spit on napkins and tissues to wipe my son's face from caked on snacks and stuff

7. Give rides - most of the time it is for fun with the boys, but sometimes I must carry a boy to a nap and then the ride isn't as much fun

I'm sure I could think of more reasons, but I think 7 is enough. After writing this post I've come to realize that while the Chinese have years of animals (i.e. Year of the Ox, Year of the Lion, Year of the Rat, etc), as moms life is more of days, if not hours, of animals. Yesterday I was an octopus (long story involving a doctor's office, bored 2 1/2 year old, massive explosive diaper of a 3 month old), and today I'm more of a camel. I'm so thankful God created SO many numerous creations with each a unique life and character - it makes me smile and have so much joy in my life imagining myself as one, like a camel.

P.S. Tomorrow I will explain how I discovered that my children are oxen. It's a good one - you don't want to miss it so come back!

Seriously?

Ellis loves taking a bath because it involves him getting naked. He was enjoying this bath with his brother, but you wouldn't know it from this picture. I love this picture...it cracks me up. He was all smiles and then I snapped this shot. All I can think of when I see it is:
"Seriously mom? I'm taking a bath and you want to take photos? Seriously?"

Ellis is amazing and such a great boy. He is growing up so quickly that I'm having a hard time keeping up with what clothes still fit him. I just had to get him socks 6-12 months, because his 0-6 months, at his current 3 month old status, are too small. He is healthy and we are blessed. He loves to have great conversations in the morning and I'm trying to catch them on video. It has been hard since when I introduce the camera he stops everything :).

My computer has had some issues this last month, but we finally seem to be up and running. I hope to post some more photos soon.

Ellis 2 Months

Ellis had his 2 month check up this week and the stats are in:

Length: 23" (Growth Chart 50%)
Head Cir.: 16.25" (Growth Chart 75%)
Weight: 13 lbs. 8 oz. (Growth Chart 90%)

Our little Chunky Monkey is doing great! He has had some colic issues, but we have been changing my diet in hopes to help and it has improved.

Life is going very well and crazy at the same time. We have enjoyed family and friends that have visited and look forward to spending some time with Nina and Papa soon. We have some photos, but time is too crazy for me to upload them at the moment so they will have to wait for the time being. I have to run and get a shower while Ellis is sleeping and Eldin is with Daddy playing at work/church.

Portraits

Yesterday Ellis and I went to visit a new friend as she is opening a photography studio soon. She usually does photography of older children and adults, so this was fun/experiment/trial. As with life, things didn't go the way we "planned", but it was a great time. He didn't sleep like I thought he would, but Cheryl was able to get some amazing shots. Just click on the title of this blog to see some. I was so blessed to get to know her a little more and I'm excited to know a great woman of God with passion for His kingdom. We had a good time.

Arrival

God blessed us with another son that came into this world Friday night.

Ellis James Bowick
8/13/10
9:36pm
6 lbs. 6 oz.
20" Long

We are all doing well and we will post pictures and links to video soon.

Thank you God for blessing us and keeping us all healthy.

Perfection & Pregnancy

This summer has been quite crazy, to say the least. Our family has been under attack from the enemy since Fall of 2009. Thanks to so many of your prayers what the enemy meant for evil, God has turned to good. We felt called to leave the state of Florida, but took everything slowly since I was pregnant and we would need income to support the family. Then the spiritual battle took some physical form and the following happened:

- Our House was rented out in a couple of weeks, with no place for us to live
- Tony's last day of work at IRC was the first Friday of May
- We all lived out of suitcases and parents houses almost 3 months
- Ellis is so active that he dislocated my pelvic bone around Week 25

We were sad that things ended so quickly at IRC and miss many of the people there. However, I was so excited to be out of the storm and moving forward to a new dawn. God was so amazing through this whole process that I find it very hard to put it into words. And this brings me to the title of this post.

For those of you who don't know, I struggle with perfectionism. I did not know this fact about myself until about 4 years ago. This is how my perfection takes form. I think/feel that if I cannot do it perfectly or as good as "so and so", then why even try. It is truly debilitating! I am surrounded by so many gifted people in my life that I feel "hopeless" of any gifts that I may have. So I sit on the sidelines and awe at all the talents of my friends and family. Unfortunately, this post site has been part of this tragedy. When I have a chance to get online I immediately check all my friends blog sites and am sad when they don't update it daily. However, I have maybe done 3 blogs during the entire summer. The pictures from my sister-in-laws blog are amazing and plentiful. Articles and the amazing writing post from some of my friends are on a professional/epic level. So here I am sitting with very few photos (Eldin is SO fast and I've been exhausted in pregnancy/life) and not gifted in writing well - I have a husband that has a degree in English. Don’t get me wrong….I don’t think a lot of people read this blog, but for those who have/do I am sorry. I know there are a few family members that rely on this site to keep them updated on our life since we all live in different states. After a rough night and morning I have made a decision to not sit on the sidelines. Will I relapse? – Probably. However, I’ve been waiting for the answer to this question has been part of the problem. I feel guilty that I might relapse and “fail” again so I have been stagnant. Well, no more…I’m on the move. I have had some very funny, difficult, and glorifying events occur in my life over the last 6 months that I want out so I don’t forget them years down the road. I need to do this before Ellis gets here or who knows what I will lose.
This is probably a “boring” post, but I felt I needed to put this in “writing” to hold me accountable. As proof I'm working on my perfectionism, here is a picture that is far from perfect :).



This boy and pregnancy is so different from Eldin that half of my maternity shirts cannot even contain him/me anymore. I am truly all belly and still have 3 more weeks to go (4 from the picture). We are blessed and I hope that some of our adventures are recorded sooner than later.