The last of the fall photos (for now) and some thoughts on parenthood

This past week we were in Chicago.  It was so so nice to see our old friends again :)  I thought I would take way more pictures than I did.. but there was so much catching up to do I ended up only taking some at our small group social.. so I'll share those later.  Although Chicago still feels like home (since we've been in NY for 2 months) it felt good to walk into our home here.  This place is slowly feeling like home which is really nice :)

Anyway, I just finished the book "Give Them Grace" which I'm pretty sure I've talked about a thousand times already (I definitely will give a review soon...) but something really hit me from the book as we were traveling.  Jake seriously did amazing on our flights to and from Chicago.  I was even shocked how good he did.  When we landed in Syracuse a sweet couple sitting behind us on the plane complimented us on how well he did.  Although we had toys and other things planned for him to do, it is seriously by God's grace that he was content for the full two hours.  Almost every parent I know has a game plan when it comes to their kids and plane rides and we all know that sometimes they do well, and other times they don't.  I wish I could have taken the credit for Jake's great behavior but I can't.

Elyse in her book (mentioned above) talks about how as parents, we need to understand that we can only do so much to instill godly, character building qualities into our children.  Yes, do I want to be able to say "Jake's awesome because I'm just that awesome at parenting."  Sure, my pride totally wants to be able to say that.  However, Elyse reminds us that while we should strive to be loving, godly parents, A + B doesn't always = C.  We are not guaranteed awesome kids because we think we did everything right.  It is going to ultimately be by God's grace if Jake grows up to be a godly man.  Obviously, I am going to do everything I can to point him in that direction, but in the end, if he does, I can't take credit for that.  There are going to be other parents out there who are doing the exact same things as me and their child may grow up to be rebellious and disobedient (or that could be me).

I know that might sound bad.  But really ... it's not.  It's not bad because I am not going to be an awesome parent.  I am going to fail.  I am going to mess up.  I am going to yell and be impatient and be prideful and selfish and not be the wonderful parent that I desire to be because I'm sinful.  So I'm so thankful that God is in control.  That He can step in and transform Jake even when I mess up.  Elyse says:

"We have far too high a view of our ability to shape our children and far too low a view of God's love and trustworthiness." 

That's honestly so refreshing for me as a parent to hear.  I don't have to strive and take all the responsibility for Jake's actions on my shoulders.  I desire to be a caring, loving mom because I love God and know how great it is to know God and therefore hope and pray that Jake some day will do the same, but it's not all up to me.  This was such a good, good reminder for this mama to hear this week :)

Annnd onto our fall pictures.  How's that for a smooth transition? Two weekends ago we went to Cider Mill and it was so fun to eat donuts, watch them make apple cider, and watch Jake get super excited about the flowers and pumpkins.

This kid LOVED the donuts.

Ummm.. dad.. I'm ready for the next one.

Jakes face here kills me.  This is him trying to pick up a pumpkin ha

Exploring Binghamton

We have tried to spent as much time as we can outside on the weekends exploring our new town because EVERYONE tells us the fall here is beautiful.  And we all know I love fall so there isn't any other way I would rather spend my days :)  Since Dan is now working at a Kraft plant (and he works an hour away) the week days don't leave too much time for getting outside so we try to make the most of our weekends. Just last Sunday they had a little music festival on the bridge a mile from our house so we wandered down.  Although Binghamton as a city isn't what it once used to be, the one thing it does have is a lot of old charm.  I love that every home is very unique.. yet almost all of them have a front porch.  It's so fun to walk around and wonder what that room would look like inside or how the sun must shine through those beautiful floor to ceiling windows.

On another note.. we're headed to Chicago this weekend and I am so. stinkin'. excited.  So blogging will probably be limited until I get back.  However, you know that means we will have lots of pictures so get excited.

Happy Friday!

I like to stalk my husband ha.

This is usually what our pictures usually look like.. Jake trying to get down ha.

Can you see Jake?!

Making room for interruptions

I am always, always encouraged when the ladies on this blog post well.. really.. anything.  A couple weeks ago they shared a quote that resonated all too well with me:

“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own,’ or ‘real’ life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life—the life God is sending one day by day; what one calls one’s ‘real life’ is a phantom of one’s own imagination. This at least is what I see at moments of insight: but it’s hard to remember it all the time.”

Honestly, I had many interruptions when I worked in event planning full time.  I truly believe that what makes a good event planner is being able to handle interruptions and not let it ruin your whole event.  But with Jake... the "interruptions" can seem endless.  He wakes up early from a nap. Or more recently.. he simply doesn't go down for a nap.  He gets sick when mom is invited to a much needed play date.  He wants held right when I start cutting up the raw chicken to cook for dinner.

And God is slowly showing me that it is wise to hold my plans loosely.  The scheduler/ planner in me desperately wants my day to go exactly as I envisioned it in the morning when I sat down in front of my day calendar.  But what I forget is sometimes the day I planned out for myself isn't the best plan for my day.  Sometimes I'm supposed to pick up that phone call from a friend when I technically planned to be cleaning the bathroom. Sometimes I'm supposed to sit outside on the porch and let Jake rearrange the pumpkins from our table to our porch swing for 15..20... 25 minutes.  

Every day God uses Jake to show me that He has a better plan.  He wants me to slow down and listen to Him.  Sometimes I get everything done on my to do list.  But many times I don't.  And I am "working" on  realizing that that is not necessarily a bad thing.  More often then not, I've realized it is a good thing when an interruption comes up. And I'm grateful God uses this little man to teach me these valuable lessons :)

Our Seneca Trip part 2

Here is our second (and last :) post about our trip to Seneca Lake.  I think the rest of the trip can be nicely summed up with our favorite memories/ lessons learned bulleted below:

• Always have friends to sit in the back of your car and entertain your child on road trips.
• Bring Andy Everding with you as a tour guide on every road trip- we made some last minute change in our plans and he found the best restaurants and wineries on his phone within 5 minutes.
• If any night is going down hill fast, download Ellen's game "Heads Up." Instant fun and entertainment.
• Wine slushies are very very good.
• When Banana Republic outlet have a 50% sale, standing in line for whatever amount of time to check out is always, always worth it.
• On the other hand going into Stride Rite outlet to purchase new shoes during a sale for your son may not be quite worth the craziness (if only we didn't have to measure Jake's huge feet...
• Having another person to push your stroller on morning runs makes the run much easier (and more enjoyable :)
• Trips to the park can be ruined by nasty gnats flying into your eyes and mouth.
• When your friend offers to treat you to a manicure and pedicure.. double check to make sure the "salon" is not located inside a Wal Mart.  Oh the joys of moving to a new area lol 
• Saying goodbye is not fun :(

Despite that last bullet point, we had a blast :)  You can see Becca's blog about our weekend, too!

In front of "Opus" this coffee shop we visited in Geneva. So cute!

Jake isn't the only one who has fun at the park...