IrishOboe

Things I’m thankful for in no particular order:

1. Thanksgiving celebrations at Diana’s place!
2. The tradition in Switzerland that you always greet people by name.  I’m terrible with names, but this way there’s no way out for me.  If I cannot add the name to my hello or goodbye then I am forced to ask again for their name.  This is embarrassing for sure, but much less so than the hole I normally dig for myself, which is to continue talking week after week until it is truly too embarrassing to ask the person himself for his name again.  Getting to know folks is slow here in the heart of Switzerland, but I know many of the names of folks at church just because I’m forced to greet them by name when I say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye.’
3. Skype with the family celebrating Thanksgiving in PA!
4. The family is healthy again!
5. My “day off.”  With children, it’s hard to ever really have a full day off, but once a week Stephan takes over a number of duties and I give myself a mental break from all but the necessary work.  This time Joseph let me sleep until 8!!!  Then he let me work until 8:30 when he finally woke up.  Amazing.  Stephan swept, swished and swiped the bathroom and took care of Joseph in the evening so I could work on making space for the baby.  I now have the diaper table set up, the infant clothes drawer ready, and the baby bay set up.  I’m trying to focus on the essential first and then do those dream projects if there’s time.  Last time it worked out fine to put the last screws in the changing table while I was in labor, but I’d rather avoid the last-minute rush if I can!
6. The baby can hear!  Joseph slammed the toilet lid down and the baby jumped.  Praise God!
7. I found out that the folks in the cute neighborhood next door don’t have to move out until the end of March – not January liked I’d heard.  That’s good news to me because it means mad crazy construction noise won’t start when I have an infant of a few weeks.

Things I’m thankful for in some particular order:

1. Our nephew who is 8 years-old today!
2. People who speak hard things into my life (and invest in me so much it’s easier to listen to them when they decide to speak hard things in my life)
3. Pepperoni – I’ve finally found a Swiss substitute!  Lidl sells Feurika Salami and it’s quite a treat!
4. Red roses
5. Having no car: The other day we took a trip and it reminded me how uncomfortable it is to sit in a car while eight months pregnant.  I mostly walk everywhere now.  I’m so thankful that we’re within an easy walk (defined by 20 minutes or less) of: two farms, the train station, church, five grocery stores, a mall, an indoor/outdoor swimming pool, furniture and appliance stores, a walking path along a river, several playgrounds, a small animal park (free), the library, the toy library, the pediatrician, Stephan’s work, a drug store, and more I’m forgetting or haven’t discovered yet.  What a blessing!
6. Hagels!  Growing up we were occasionally spoiled with Hagels (such much more than just any chocolate sprinkle) and I loved them.  The other day I saw them in the grocery store with a sticker claiming they were requested by customers.  I couldn’t resist spending a little of my treat budget on them.  Yum yum!  The packaging says it all: “Because, every day, De Ruijter makes you enjoy tasty and qualitative products!”
7. Nine hours of sleep.  The other day I went to bed with Joseph at 10pm and he didn’t need me again until 7am.  What a luxury.  I hesitate to be thankful out loud for this since I know at least two ladies whose baby’s are not letting them sleep, but they are gracious and besides, I’ll soon have a newborn taking all that stored sleep away from me!

I’m still slowly making my way through “The Habit of Being” (the letters of Flannery O’Connor) and since I won’t be reading it again I thought I’d record some of the gems I find here

“I don’t like to criticize the work of people who are strangers to me.  You never know when something you may say might make them go jump in the lake.  I don’t mean I go around saying things that make people jump in the lake, but you might just step on a deep wound or something.” (page 396)

Oct. 27^th: Joseph says “ice” for “lights.”  He says “spices” and I can’t transcribe it, as with most of his words.  He gave me a kiss unasked for for the first time.  He found Daddy’s stash of paper for recycling (piled under his desk) and he put it in the recycle spot one piece at a time without any prompting!  We’d been giving him paper to put away for a while now, but this was the first time he did it on his own.  He can put books back in their shelves.

29^th: I spent a lovely day in Holderbank where we have missionary friends.  Stephan looked after Joseph, was it was lovely to just relax, enjoy good company and good food.  What a luxury!

31^st: We live in a Catholic canton so Stephan got the day off and we were able to visit the Swiss grandparents.  Stephan and I got to spend some romantic time at the Basel Herbstmesse (oldest, biggest, longest, etc. etc. fair in Europe or something like that) while Joseph enjoyed visiting the zoo for the first time!  Again, talk about pampering . . .

Nov. 3^rd: I’ve been experimenting with making our own peanut butter since it is rather pricy here.  From a bag of peanuts in the shell I made a batch for half the price the store sells at and we all liked it.  If only I could find unsalted shelled peanuts it would save a lot of the work.

4^th: Joseph signs “play piano.”  His signs are getting quite accurate.  It’s fun to watch!  More words: mouse, fish, squawk, and tea.  The last two are from a British book from V that is one of his favorites.  In the end they have a scrumptious tea and Joseph always supplies the last word.  (Now he has many such words he supplies in various books, I doubt I’ll write them all down.)  This morning he woke me up by giving me a kiss and then giving my belly a kiss!  How can you be upset at that?

7^th: Joseph officially doesn’t crawl anymore.  Of course he can, but walking is his preferred mode of transportation.  That means he’s slower at stairs, but is much more like a little boy than a baby.  Where did the time go?  It’s the shortest years and the longest days . . .

He signs “bread” and “banana.”  Swimming time is going very well.  I’ve been saying “one, two, three, jump” and letting him jump from the side of the pool into my arms.  Today he supplied his own “one, two, three” (with only the three sounding anything like the number) because he couldn’t wait for me to count to jump in.  I’m still working on teaching him that he shouldn’t get in the water without me there.  Pool time takes a lot of vigilance!  He can also consistently swim when I launch him from my arms to the stairs and pull himself out.  He is good at catching himself when he falls so he doesn’t hurt himself – even if it is slippery inclined tile.  This session he accidentally fell head-under twice and came up without a cough for any sign of surprise.

“Hot pot” and “pepper” sound similar, and both sound like “Bappe” (Daddy in Swiss German) but he still says “Mama” for Stephan and me.  “All gone” sounds like “kaka” which is also his word for “cracker.”

9^th: Joseph says trash (“ksh”) while holding a plastic bottle.  He wants to throw it away but I point him to the recycling.  Since then he grabs trash whenever possible (and mostly he’s right!) and throws it away in the kitchen trash, opening and closing the door appropriately.  What a help!

10^th: Joseph says “poo” when he needs to go #2.  That’s a great help, as he can usually wait until we can get him to the potty before he soils his diaper/underwear/whatever he’s standing over.  Said “bath” (ba).  He got out the AquaDoodle and then came to me saying he word for house/mouse/mouth (“auf”).  He was clearly asking me for something.  I then guessed he was saying “mouth” and by that he meant he wanted the AquaDoodle pen which we don’t let him put in his mouth.  I was right.  What a smart dood!

He can blow into a tissue.  (Yes, we’ve been sick.)

12^th: We visited D+A S.  It was a great pleasure, but oh, how a new place is so tempting for a toddler to explore!

13^th: Joseph walked down three steps without holding on to anything.

14^th: Joseph is now a help with laundry, and not just in spirit.  He can empty and load things according to instructions.  He doesn’t always follow, but he does enough to be counted a help since I can hang up laundry while he fills the washer with the next load.  What fun!

At dinner he asked for some cheese (signing) then he held his piece of cheese out to me and said “chs” (cheese) and then turned to Stephan and said “ka” (for Käs – cheese in Swiss German if I knew how to spell it).  He’s used German and English words before, but this was the first time he showed us that English is Mommy’s language and German is Daddy’s.  Raising a bilingual baby is amazing!  He understands as much of what Stephan tells him as he does of what I tell him – even rather complicated sentences.  I don’t know why it amazes me.

He knows his body parts in German and when we read the book that talks about them he points to each part, including his bottom.  So cute!

15^th: Tante A gave us some money to spend at the fair on Joseph.  We bought a wooden Alphabet puzzle.  Joseph loves it.  He knows a number of letters from his signing book, but needs prompting from us to say the letter before he can say it.  However, the other day he picked out the “I” and said “eye” and he’s done it a number of times since.

He says “muesli.”

He says “ppph” and does a very good “potty” sign if he notices he’s peeing.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t use the sign much when he needs to go.  I have to read other clues (taking off the diaper, hopping off my lap, suddenly getting still, grunting).

Notes from Stephan:

Says “ma” while holding a fist to his mouth for “mommy milk.”  Says “please” (psh).  Climbs up on chairs and then tables and beyond . . .

When it’s time for the Bible readings and prayer he becomes very excited, holds his hands in the air and says “maaaay!!!!” for “Praise the Lord.”

He blows kisses.

He loves to pick up the pot after going and walk it to the bathroom himself.  This is a dangerous affair, but he often makes it there without spilling and then dumps it in the toilet as well.  

Things I’m thankful for in no particular order:

1. Halloween candy (and the thoughtful people that made it possible for me to have some!)
2. The tickler, and how I can use it to carefully tuck away encouraging notes from friends and have them pop up at random times, yet they always seem to pop up at just the right time.  It’s thoughtfulness and love multiplied all over!
3. Friendly strangers
4. People who model Christ’s love by seeking out ways to serve others.  Someone from church called and offered to take Joseph for a walk so I could have some time to myself before the baby comes.  What a thoughtful gift when we are so new at the church!
5. Homemade caramel sauce
6. “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matt. 19:26
7. Family walks

Things I’m thankful for in no particular order:

1. Time off and the people who make it possible
2. Daily family prayer and Bible reading time lead by my husband and loved by our toddler
3. Coffee
4. Candlelit nights
5. The babymoon: this time around I am treasuring each moment alone; each time I want to do something and I have two free hands and there’s nobody in the way of doing it; each time I sleep 5 hours at a stretch; the moments alone with my husband; moments at the pool where I can swim because Joseph needs only eyes watching and no longer an ever-present hand; etc. etc.
6. Shelter, heat, yummy food, and a soft bed where I can lie down with my family and feel safe
7. Baths

I've long been wanting to write about joy and how husbands can encourage or distroy it in their wives and to thank my husband for all the emotional work he's put into understaning me (though it took us both many months (years?) of work!).  My sister wrote a post on joy that I decided to comment on rather than write my own post.  If you're interested you can read it all here.