From Aden and Wiley to You

"I'm not tired . . .

. . . I was just rubbing my eyes for a little bit." - Aden, at naptime recently

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Last year as we celebrated Christmas, I realized that Aden was forming his own ideas of the season. I probably would not have given much thought to the traditions we celebrate, but it somehow dawned on me that Aden didn't know anything about Santa Claus. Aden saw the gifts under our tree, but never tried to open them. I don't think he realized that more than half the gifts were for him. Instead, he became fascinated by our nativity scene and the characters represented in it. He loved to hear about the angels and the shepherds, and the wise men and the star, and especially about Baby Jesus. This was the same Jesus we pray to and that Mommy and Daddy talk about. As I saw his true childlike wonder, I realized I had a unique opportunity to shape his view of Christmas. I began to look at the things we do for the holidays, considering the significance behind each activity. Some are full of meaning (the tree with lights, the gifts we give), while others seem pretty shallow (Santa Claus). We began to celebrate Christmas much more intentionally, emphasizing the Baby that inspired it all. One of the things we did was celebrate Jesus' birthday with another missionary family who has done that for many years. Aden got to help blow out the candles on Jesus' birthday cake.

So this year, we continue to be intentional in how we celebrate. I'm sure Aden loved being spoiled by gifts from his grandparents as we celebrated an early Christmas with Mommy's family last Saturday, but all day he also eagerly anticipated having a birthday party for Jesus. We had made a cake together, and he was again excited to blow out the candles and sing Happy Birthday. As I hear him recite (unprompted) various details of the Christmas Story, I like to think that he's beginning to understand what Christmas is all about.

Fast Forward...

There were many things that happened over the next two weeks, but we will try to summarize it all into one blog for the sake of time:

After flying to Michigan from Oklahoma, we spent four nights at Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's house on the lake. Our highlights there were being with family, celebrating Thanksgiving, and celebrating Mommy's birthday on the day we left. Aden sang his own birthday song to her without even being prompted to do so. It went something like "Happy Birthday to you, to my mommy. I love you."

We went from Michigan down to Fort Wayne, Indiana for two nights. There, we go to wake up to snow one morning, although it was gone fairly quickly. We spoke in our home church there and were reunited with many friends. Aden received a special recognition in the service when he was called up on to the platform. He wouldn't go without Daddy though and kept his head buried in Daddy's shoulder throughout the 'interview.' They took a special love offering for the boys. While Wiley has no idea what it was all about, Aden figured it out when one of the little boys in the church told him that he could probably buy a lot of cars with that.

We drove down to Indianapolis after that and spent three nights at Aunt Keri and Uncle Josh's house (along with Archie, their dog). We had fun with them playing around the house and even doing a little shopping. After all, we had some money to spend from Fort Wayne and found some new little cars for the boys that should come in handy on the many plane rides ahead of us. Uncle Kevin came over one night too and while Mommy and Daddy were out, they kept the boys entertained by turning a suitcase into an airplane.

It was then on to Ohio where we would spend the next ten nights, one of our longest stops yet in one bed. It's always fun to play at Grandma and Grandpa's house. There are lots of toys and best of all, the basement. Down there are games, a train and plenty of other things to get into. Wiley knows the word basement now, trying to say it himself. When he hears the word, he goes to the basement door and starts hitting it. It's amazing what they pick up.



Highlights from our time included riding on the pontoon boat at Great Grandpa's house (as it was finally pulled out of the water for the winter); making hand-made ornaments (snowflakes made from their handprints cut out of felt); a trip to the Air Force Museum; time with Radcliffes, Myers, and Statons (ENT who regularly volunteers at Kudjip); and our very last deputation service for this home assignment. Aden is pretty excited that now he will be able to sit with Mommy and Daddy through the whole church service!



This gets us caught up to within a week of this writing and we have more stories to share. Stay tuned.....

It's Christmas Time...

We are going to rewind a bit and try to catch you up on the adventures of Aden and Wiley. The hustle and bustle has kept the blog from rolling, but we will try to get it back up to date.
A few weeks ago, we were in Oklahoma and had a chance to help set up the Christmas tree. This was pretty exciting for the boys. Aden was quick to help get all of the branches organized and on the trunk of the tree. Wiley was just having fun moving the branches from one part of the room to the other and climbing inside the tree box.
We kept it fairly simple with just a few ball ornaments and lights, but there were oohs and aahs when the lights were turned on. We capped off the night with some cookies and hot chocolate. The next morning was a 4am departure for the airport to fly back up to Michigan.

Wiley's Breaks the Silence

After a long silence, Wiley has become rather vocal about his lack of attention in the blog. He wanted to share a few things that will help remind everyone that these are the adventures of Aden AND Wiley.

- Wiley now has TEN teeth!

- Wiley loves dogs, and loves to play with balls.

- Wiley is getting big, just like his brother. (Though he doesn't yet weigh 20 pounds.) He is no longer nursing and can even out-eat his big brother.

- Wiley knows FIVE words in sign language (please, more, milk, all done, change).

- Wiley has a HUGE toothy grin.

- Wiley never cried on two flights today, in spite of a "significant" ear infection (diagnosed only yesterday).

- Wiley is on the verge of running, motivated to keep up with big brother Aden.

- Wiley is saying lots of new words, trying hard to earn more space on this blog. So, we have introduced "Wiley's New Words" in the column at the right.

Pretending

Aden is really moving into a phase of pretend play. Since we saw Tim Radcliffe play basketball a few weeks ago, one of his favorite things to do is to play "Tim." Aden loved to run back and forth in our hotel rooms, or a living room, or a church hallway, telling us to cheer for Tim or asking us to say, "Shoot the ball, Tim!" so that he could throw his arms up in the air. During our hours on the road, he was Tim playing the drums, or it was Tim's birthday and we would all have to sing Happy Birthday to Tim. We would clap for Tim and his amazing basketball abilities. Daddy would change "Tim's" diaper, or give "Tim" a bath, as Aden narrated his activities throughout the day. Just as it got to be quite an obsession, Aden shifted gears a bit. He began to play "Cilla." Cilla was the basketball player, Cilla would take a bath with Lydia (Wiley), Cilla was having a birthday . . . All of this has led into just what you would expect - Daddy and Mommy are now Bubba Jim and Aunt Kathy.

Playing Deputation

All of Aden's time on the front row of our services is starting to surface in his play . . .

Lately he's been playing "deputation," although he doesn't call it that. He usually just announces, "We're mishuwawies" or "We're speaking to all the kids." Then he talks about Samuel and Eli (a story Mommy usually shares), or asks us to sing in Pidgin. Sometimes he'll raise his hands and mimic the latest music leader, encouraging everyone around to "Pwaise the Lord". At least he isn't growing tired of church!

Niagara Falls

We spent the first eight days of November speaking ten times on the Central Canada District (mostly the Toronto area of Ontario). Since the drive from Xenia, Ohio to Toronto, Ontario would be quite long for our boys, we broke it into three days. We are getting pretty good at making long trips even longer. On the first day we drove an hour and a half north to Mount Vernon, spending the night after watching Tim Radcliffe play basketball (related blog coming soon). The next day we drove to Buffalo, NY and spent the night in a nice hotel (thanks to a good deal on Priceline.com) after a nice evening with Joel and Bekah Potter. The third day we stopped at Niagara Falls - both on the US side and the Canadian side - before heading on to Toronto.

On the New York side, once we had stopped for lunch, the boys enjoyed watching the river and hearing the roar of the falls. Aden's favorite part was walking up the steps and onto the half-bridge to look at the falls. Then he got cold and Mommy took the boys inside where it was warm while Daddy took more pictures.



Then we drove over to the Canadian side, marking a new country for Aden and Wiley. It was cold and drizzly when we arrived, and only cleared up a bit while we were there. Wiley rode in the baby carrier, wrapped in Mommy's coat, and Aden bundled up in a hat and coat. In spite of the cold, the boys seemed to enjoy looking at all the water. We even managed to get a decent family photo. As the boys became more restless, we decided it was time to get back in the car where they might fall asleep on the way to our first service. Just as we had walked back to the car and were driving away, the sun came out and made some beautiful lighting on the falls. So Mommy jumped out of the car with the camera and Daddy, Aden, and Wiley drove around the block before coming to pick her up.

Febuwawy eight - . . .

(pause) . . . - teen. - when Aden will be "fwee," according to Aden.

The Drinking Fountain

Sunday night we were in a church where Aden quickly made a new friend named Lydia. Lydia showed Aden the drinking fountain, and never having seen this before, Aden pushed the button and proudly exclaimed, "We're making water come out!" This amazing phenomenon kept his attention for quite a while, until eventually he walked away with a wet shirt.

The Pumpkin Patch

What is autumn in America without a trip to a pumpkin patch? Of course we had to take Aden and Wiley to pick out their own pumpkins. Yesterday evening the weather was beautiful, and according to the forecast, it could be our last opportunity to actually enjoy our trip to the pumpkin patch. So we coordinated our fall clothes for a family photo and headed out the door for Young's Dairy.

Wiley loved everything about the pumpkins. He liked to lay across them and see if he could get them to roll; he liked to crawl around them; he liked to hug them and see if he could pick them up. Aden had his eyes set on the tractors nearby, so once we had an acceptable family photo, he headed for the big machines. He tested them out and we took more photos, then the boys each picked out a pumpkin. Mommy and Daddy picked out a bigger pumpkin, and we spent some time looking at all the animals - goats, a sheep, a turkey, cows, chickens, and ducks.

We hope Aden and Wiley enjoy carving (or watching the carving) and decorating the pumpkins as much as they enjoyed the pumpkin patch.

Wiley is One

On October 9 Wiley turned one. He started the celebration when he woke up in the morning, generously giving out kisses to Mommy and Daddy and Aden. We then took him and Aden to Trevecca Nazarene University where Mommy and Daddy spoke in chapel, and later that evening to another church where Mommy and Daddy spoke. We had actually celebrated the night before with one of our LINKS churches on the Tennessee District. It was already Wiley's birthday in PNG, and they threw a party for him where he got his first taste of birthday cake.

After arriving in Ohio, we invited Mommy's family to join us for a family birthday celebration. Wiley had just begun to sit still for short books, and seemed to show particular interest in the zebra page of a zoo book. So we had a zebra-stripe theme at the party. Both Aden and Wiley got excited as we set the stage and blew up some balloons. Mommy helped Aden wrap a special gift for Wiley, and then Aden immediately brought it to his brother and unwrapped it for him while Wiley watched him and played with another toy. When it was time for cake, Mommy had decorated the cake with zebra stripes, and had a small bundt cake for Wiley to enjoy all on his own. Wiley knew just what to do with the cake and didn't hesitate long before diving right in. (Quite unlike his older brother on his first birthday! For those of you who don't remember, Aden didn't like the messy icing and flicked it off of his fingers rather than licking it off.) Aden was quite a help at the party, blowing out the candle and unwrapping the gifts. We finished the party with a game of Tape the Stripes on the Zebra. Now we have to try to convince Aden that even though he unwrapped the gifts, they were really intended for Wiley.


At his one-year check-up Wiley weighed 17 pounds, 10 ounces and was 28 inches long. He is walking more and more steadily every day, and walking is becoming more and more preferred over crawling. He seems to be saying quite a few words already, and really tries to repeat almost anything we ask him to. I think Aden probably did this as well, but we didn't always recognize it. Now our ears are more trained to understand what babies and toddlers are saying (or trying to say). He especially likes to identify tractors (cack-ah) and trains (coo-coo). We were thankful for a healthy report at the doctor's office and for our happy, growing boy.

From Oklahoma, we made our way east to Tennessee. We are finding that it takes a little longer to make the long trips as Aden and Wiley like to "stretch their legs" a little more. It is always helpful when we can break a trip up and so that is what we did. Our first service in Tennessee was not until Wednesday night, so we left on Monday afternoon to make the ten hour trip. The first day, we drove to Little Rock, Arkansas where we stayed with family friends, the Harrises. It was dark and rainy for most of the trip, so daddy was happy to take a break as well. Roger and Carol took good care of us and we had a great time getting to know them (for Aden and Wiley) and catching up with them for mommy and daddy. The second day we drove to Memphis, Tennessee where we stopped long enough to get a picture with Elvis (actually we stopped for the bathrooms but his statue was at the rest stop) and then on to Jackson, Tennessee to see some friends with connections from both daddy's college days as well as from Kudjip. The Harpers had invited us to stop through on our way. We were planning to have dinner and drive the rest of the way to Nashville, but mommy didn't feel well and they had said we could stay the night. So we did. They had a big great dane dog named Jinx and he was about twice as big as Aden. He was really nice though. We enjoyed our time with them as well. On Wednesday, we finished our drive over to Nashville with plenty of time before our evening service.
We had a great time meeting new people in all of the churches and visiting friends around the Nashville area. We played at Uncle Bob and Aunt Beth's (Merki)house. We played at Uncle Mike and Aunt Becky's (Hancock) house. We had dinner and a surprise shopping spree with Tera and Shibu. We also got to play on the boats at the Bass Pro Shop (after dinner with James and Jonquil) and pretend we were going to Hawaii, Vanuatu, Samoa and most of the South Pacific. The Opry Mills mall had a carousel that was fun to ride on as well as a train that Aden and Daddy rode on that took us all through the mall. Grandma and Grandpa also came down for part of the time and traveled with us to the churches (and watched Aden and Wiley while mommy and daddy had a date night).

It was a fun week in the Music City and the weather was perfect. We enjoyed all of our time with the churches, Trevecca and our friends and even had a chance to celebrate Wiley's 1st birthday with one church. We would later have a family birthday party for him (that should be the next blog), but first it was on to Ohio...

Trip to the Zoo

What is a trip back to the US without a trip to the zoo when you have little boys? We had to go fast because the weather is quickly turning cold. So before we left Oklahoma, we were able to go to the zoo with Aden and Wiley's cousins, Seth and Corey to the Tulsa Zoo. We had a great time seeing animals that we had only seen in books before, riding on the train, and playing with cousins. We saw monkeys, giraffes, rhinos, lions, reptiles and birds. It was a fun way to be with family before heading out for our next destination - Tennessee.

Weekend Away

We had a long weekend last week and spent it up in the state of Washington with family. We flew to Seattle, which anytime we are in an airplane it is a vacation in itself for Aden. We actually stayed in Anacortes at a very nice beach house. The weather was perfect Fall weather and we had a great time hiking around Deception Pass, taking the ferry out to San Juan Island and just hanging around this big, beautiful house with family. Aden's highlights were riding a Big Wheel that was at the house and getting to wear the helmet, playing with aunts and uncles and grandparents, skipping stones at the water, and being in the car while we drove it onto the ferry boat (and the ferry boat ride itself). Wiley's highlights were crawling all over this large house and exploring the new spaces, eating, getting spoiled by Grandma, eating, 'going along for the ride', showing off his new found ability to walk, and eating. The trip back on the airplane was not as exciting since Aden missed naps most days and the adrenaline rush was wearing off, and Wiley had an ear infection (we discovered after the trip which explained a lot). We were not the most popular people on the plane, but we didn't let that ruin the fun weekend we had.

One small step for man . . .

. . . one big milestone for Wiley. We'll let this video speak for itself, as Wiley took his first steps on Tuesday this week. While the video only shows two steps, he has taken as many as five. It won't be long before he's able to keep up with Aden!

Amamas!

While in Hawaii, we had an opportunity to speak to some groups of children. We spoke to four different groups on three different days. Mommy usually did all of the talking during these times. Part of her presentation included a song that is played during a slideshow of pictures. The song is in Pidgin and uses the word "amamas" a lot. After the slideshow is over, Mommy always asks the kids if they can say that word with her - "amamas." Once they do, she tells them that they did a good job and explains what the word means (Happy). We haven't spoken to any kids' groups or heard that song for over a week, but we realized that Aden is listening and picking up more than we realize. This week, out of the blue he started saying (with as much enthusiasm as he had heard it), "Everyone, can you say 'amamas'? Good Job!" It has also evolved into, "Mommy, can you say 'amamas'? Good Job! Daddy, can you say 'amamas'? Good Job!" I think by next Home Assignment, he will be able to give our deputation talk for us.

Race For the Cure

This past Saturday, we all participated in the Susan Komen Race for the Cure in Tulsa. There were a lot of activities going on, as well as a 5K Fun Run/Walk and a One Mile Walk. Our whole family went together to represent Grandma, and to help future and current fighters of breast cancer.We had a good time in the process riding in the wagon with our cousins. Most of the group did the One Mile Walk. Mommy and Daddy with Aunt Andrea though did the 5K Run/Walk. Mommy and Daddy hadn't run in a long time so said they would probably walk for at least part of it. However, their pride got the best of them and they ran the entire 5K. With literally no warm up runs beforehand, this 3.2 miles was quite an accomplishment. All of a sudden though, they are walking around funny and say they can't hardly bend over to pick us up. It was fun though, and we hope to make it an annual (for us it will be every other year) event of our family. Here are some pictures from that day.

And so the journey ended..or did it just begin?

We left Hawaii on Monday night and arrived into Oklahoma on Tuesday morning. We had a great time and it turned out to be a very nice way to break up the trip so that the boys could transition slowly into the time changes. While in Hawaii, we spoke nine times but had a lot of free time to see the island. The boys loved going to the beach, of which we spent most of our time at Waikiki and the North Shore (Sunset Beach and the Banzai Pipeline).

Unfortunately the big waves are in the winter, so Aden and Wiley did not get an opportunity to ride the waves. I think they were too busy eating sand at each beach to care. Not sure what that's all about.

We drove around the entire island, went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, rode a train and ran the pineapple maze at the Dole Plantation (and couldn't believe that they were selling pineapples at a price of 3 for $23 and people were buying them), visited Pearl Harbor/Arizona Memorial, and took in as many sunsets as we could.

On the Big Island, we drove around the entire island, as well as sampled Kona coffee (not the boys, it makes them too hyper), went to the southern most point of the US, saw the massive amount of black lava rock that cover the ground on this island, visited the Hawaii Volcano National Park (although the air quality was reported as being bad for infants and children, not to mention daddy, and we didn't stay too long) and finally...played on every playground that we saw.

It was a great time and one that I am sure the boys will both soon forget if they haven't already (because of their age, not because it wasn't memorable). It was fun to see them enjoying the moment though and I am sure they will never believe mommy and daddy when they tell them someday that they have both been all over Hawaii. In the words of Aden, we close by saying "Ah-woh-ha, Hawaii!" Although, for him I think that actually translates as "Is it time to get on another airplane yet?"

Ah-Puwa! - Not just a name in Hawaii...

How do you get a two year old to brush his teeth? It's not always easy, but we have found a way that seems to work most of the time. When Aden is denying that he is tired and ready for bed, asking him to come brush teeth does not usually sound too appealing and it is met with either a "NO!" or simply running away to hide. However, when daddy changed the question to asking him if he wants to come spit, a two year old boy can't seem to refuse. He comes running. Ah-Puwa! is the sound of spitting. He hasn't actually learned how to spit, but that is the sound we make to represent what we are doing. After a good brush and a few 'Ah-Puwas', he knows that the bedtime story is next. It has worked well for Aden so far, but we will see in a year if Wiley is so easy.

Front Row Seat

This morning was the first Sunday service of our three month deputation tour. We decided it would be best to pass Wiley to Grandpa Ben, who was happy to hold him. Aden, on the other hand, selected a front row seat. Mommy and Daddy were a little nervous and asked him several times to make sure he really wanted to sit front and center. But since that's where Mommy and Daddy were sitting, that's where Aden wanted to stay. We told him repeatedly that we would leave him there while we got up to speak, and he would have to sit quietly . . . but he still wanted to stay on the front row.

So, we got up to speak not knowing if Wiley would catch a glimpse of Mommy and cry out for her, or if Aden would start running around or whining. Wiley was a bit squirmy in Grandpa's arms, but did just fine and was very quiet during the service (especially once Grandpa stood up in the back). Aden stayed on the front row, and never uttered a peep! In fact, he sat and listened to the entire presentation, and gave Daddy a big, supportive grin every time they made eye contact. Of course, we can't expect this from them with every service, but today we watched our well-behaved boys with pride (and awe)!

Waikiki

Aden and Wiley have had quite a few adventures in the last couple of months . . . so many, in fact, that we've been unable to keep up with the blog! Together we've been around the world and back again, in countless airports and airplanes (though no matter how many hours or how many planes, Aden never seems to tire of them); we've been to parks, driven over bridges and through tunnels, ridden buses and boats, adjusted to too many time zone changes, and now we've finally landed.

For a couple of weeks, life seems to be slowing down a bit. The boys have discovered the joy of the ocean and the sand here in Hawaii and can't get enough! While our time here has been a much needed bit of a break (even though Mommy and Daddy are speaking during our stay here), it could be the calm before the storm as we begin our tour of the US over the next few months.

The Quilt

Of course, Wiley loves it already!

Remembering . . . and missing . . . Grandma Sue

While Aden and Wiley are too little to really remember their Grandma Sue, we deeply miss her already. She loved all ten of her grandchildren, and was almost always caring for at least one of them. As we looked through photos recently, we found many of Grandma holding her grandchildren.

We remember our last furlough, the last time we saw her, when Aden fell in love with her. He would reach for her, even preferring her above his mommy and daddy. He would let her cradle him in her arms, snuggling up to her in ways he wouldn't do with Mommy and Daddy. She had a special place in her heart for each grandchild, and he seemed to sense that from the moment he met her.

When we came back to PNG, Aden loved talking to Grandma on the computer, showing off for her, telling her he loved her, praying for her, and telling her all about his trucks.

Wiley didn't have the chance to meet Grandma Sue, but we're thankful for modern technology that allowed Grandma to "meet" him over the internet. She often said of Wiley, "I can't wait to get my hands on that baby!" Grandma would be proud to know that in one stack of papers we found at Grandpa's house recently, we learned that Wiley's great-great-great grandpa was also named Wiley!

We will especially miss Grandma when we go back to the US for our home assignment in a few weeks. We are thankful for the legacy she has left, for the testimony of her life that we can share with our children. We know she was proud of her grandchildren and loved them very much!

Identity

We have been paying closer attention over the last few days, and we are now certain that Wiley knows Daddy (Dada) and Aden and calls them by name. Mommy, however, has been waiting for recognition, so we have been working harder on that recently. Wiley has been able to repeat and recognize her, but today was a very special moment in the process. As Mommy worked to get dinner ready, Wiley was crawling at her feet moaning for her to pick him up. Finally, he pulled on her skirt and cried out very clearly, "Mama!" Immediately he had her attention and was wrapped up in her arms!


We did have Wiley's 9-month check-up last week, and most everything looked good. He was happy through the whole appointment and didn't cry once. Of course, it helped that he didn't have to have any shots! We've realized that Wiley is a small baby, but this was confirmed by his weight. At 7040 grams and 26 7/8 inches long, he actually has only gained a couple of ounces and about a quarter inch in length since his last check-up at 6 months . . . despite the fact that he has an amazing appetite and out-eats his older brother. We're making a few changes in how we feed him, and will weigh in again in a few weeks to see how he is progressing. We are not too worried at this point, since he is meeting all his milestones and seems to be developing well otherwise.