A Spring of Joy

Daddy a beeg a blee adduuu ugha bleda shoes.

Those were Asher’s first words today when he got out of bed. Okay, so can anyone translate for me? In case you haven’t figured it out, Asher has entered the realm of talking incessantly, and he is certain that he knows what he wants, and he knows exactly what he’s saying. Only, I usually have no idea what it is. After several tries, much pointing, and finally, a “take Mommy’s hand and show me”, Asher and I will walk through the house together to find whatever it is that he wants. How his face lights up whenever we have finally communicated!

While Asher is babbling constantly, there are definitely things that we are certain that he’s saying, and we continue to be amazed at the new words he is daily adding to his repertoire. Some of his favorite words? Definitely, jeep! He will run to the window crying “Beej! Beej!”, and when he sees the Wrangler in our driveway, he will turn, drop his mouth open and grin with almost uncontainable excitement. He loves to talk about the “bee-bee” in Asher’s tummy (okay, so we’re still working on the placement of where the baby actually is, but hey, he gets the idea). He’s turning into quite the little musician…playing Mommy’s keyboard and Daddy’s “tar” whenever he gets a chance, and he loves to dance whenever there’s “nu-nic” playing.

I can handle the single words, it’s when those words are mingled with a conglomeration of jibber-jabber that I have the most trouble. He will call my name, “Mommy!”. Then when he has my attention, out comes a torrent of babble that makes my head spin, usually ending with “peees” (please), so I know he wants something. Figuring out what is the issue, and sometimes I think he gets as frustrated as I do when I can’t determine what he wants.

Teaching Asher sign language has definitely helped with our communication breakdowns. He knows that if he wants something, he can ask “please?” and tell us “thank you”. Now he’s learned a few more, but even sign is not without its hazards. Whenever we try to get Asher to say “love”, he gives us an obscene guesture. *sigh* Guess we’ll wait until he’s a bit more coordinated before we try that one again.

What adds to the confusion, are the imitations that he pulls off. He has started to mimic inflections whenever Brian and I talk, and it’s especially fun when we’re riding in the car talking, and all of a sudden we hear a repeat of our conversation in the back seat…no real words, but the expressions are there. It makes us laugh, and Asher will look at us wondering why it’s not funny when we talk, but it’s funny when he does. Are we giving our son a complex?

Despite the translation issues, watching Asher learn and grow in this way is amazing, and we delight in each new word or babble. Okay, so maybe I don’t delight in every new thing. It wasn’t that much fun the other day when I ran to the bathroom to throw up yet again (thank you, morning sickness!) and was followed into the bathroom by a curious boy. He stood beside me with his hand patting my back, and he would lean over the toilet with me and mimic every sound of my throwing up. You laugh…I know…but do you know what it’s like to try to throw up and keep your son out of the toilet at the same time? Ahhh…the joys of motherhood!

Speaking of those joys, you’ll have to excuse me, but I have to go. Asher just put his Dr. Seuss’s “ABC” book on my lap, pointed to the couch and said “jabby-jeeeba-dah-eeeed”. I think that means he wants me to read it to him on the couch. What do you think?

Oh, to have the simple joys of a child, for Asher finds delight in
every toy, in every walk, in every hug, in almost every moment of his
day. It constantly amazes me how Asher can amuse himself for hours with
a comb, or a water bottle, or a couple of make-up brushes. He will busy
himself, crawling around with an item in each hand, finding places to
store them, showing them to his stuffed animals, or even sleeping with
them. He is excited each day when he re-discovers them and will clutch
them to his chest with great satisfaction.

Throughout the week, I have watched as Asher takes his toys and hides
them in odd places. He then forgets where he has hidden them, only to
find them later where he is just as excited as when he sought them out
that morning. At one point I found him sitting in front of our closet
door fussing and pointing inside, and I told him that he couldn’t play
with our shoes just then (another of his favorite pastimes). He cried
and cried, and I tried to explain to him that we don’t always get what
we want (something I think I still need to learn). Imagine my sour
taste of humble pie, when I opened the closet later to find his comb
sitting right in front where he had slid it through the crack and
couldn’t retrieve it. I took him back to the closet, held him close,
gave him his comb and told him how sorry I was…of course, by that
point he had no idea what I was talking about, but he got snuggle time,
his comb back, and he got to play with our shoes.

I love to watch Asher play. He cycles through each of his toys
throughout the day, and will play for hours at a time, amusing himself
quietly in the living room. He has discovered the ability to put lids
on containers, and he will sit and put them on, take them off, put them
on, take them off….you get the idea. Each time, he will show me his
newly mastered skills with just as much excitement as he did at the
first. It is a sweet, simple joy…as he finds in everything.

Taking walks are his favorite part of each day. If I had the energy, I
think he would spend every waking moment in his stroller, and he will
sit up watching life around him zealously and delighting in every
passing attraction. He loves every living creature, and will shout
“doddie” whenever he hears one bark, “dirdie” whenever one flys
overhead, or “ditty” whenever one crosses our path. He will wave to
everyone who walks or drives by, and will point at things which
interest him yet puzzle Brian and me.

It varies from day to day how Asher will absorb his stroller ride. Some
days it entails sitting forward chattering the whole time, while on
other days he will lie back, juice in hand, sunglasses perched on his
nose and gaze quietly around him with only a soft grunt every now and
then. But each and every time we return home, he will immediately try
to get back into his stroller the moment I get him down. Rainy days
have become the bane of my existence, for Asher will sit at the door or
point at his stroller and cry when he can’t go for a walk. Few things
will distract him from this endeavor, and I have found myself walking
Asher through the living room and hallway so that he can have his
stroller ride…and he loves that, too!

Asher finds immense pleasure in his books as well. He will sit with
piles of books at his feet and chatter while he turns the pages. If he
should happen to find a picture of a kitty (which is probably in 2/3 of
his books), he will scream with glee and find me to point out the
“ditty” in the book. Then he will continue to sit and “talk” with the
kitty in the book until he picks up another book and replays the same
scenario.

Asher’s intense obsession with his daddy is played out every day as he
finds pictures of Brian throughout the house, and screams with sheer
rapture. “Daddy! Da-Da-Da-Da-Daddy!” Then he will sit, holding his
treasured picture, and talk with his daddy, pausing every few moments
to show me the picture yet again. It’s not just pictures of Brian that
excite Asher; he will watch our screensaver of baby pictures and squeal
at each one…pointing at the “oh dah” (his word for anything he can’t
say) with fascination.

If I even mention the word “bath”, he will scream with pleasure, trot
off to the bathroom, rip at his clothes the whole way, and stand by the
tub bouncing up and down until either Brian or I appear to give him his
beloved scrubbing. Mention any meal (breakfast, lunch, supper or
snack), and Asher will scream and crawl to his bib drawer to find a
bib. He will then sit in his high chair holding out both his hands, so
we can pray before he eats, then clench his fists with excitement when
he hears the amen. Mention a walk, and he will either find his stroller
or sit by the front door, all the while clapping his hands. Ask Asher
if he wants to read a book, and he will go to his box of books and pull
every one into his lap and wait for you to arrive and read to his
heart’s content. Ahhhh…I could go on for hours, for Asher’s joy
spreads throughout every aspect of his life.

Each night before bed, when Asher reaches for his bunny & bear and
snuggles down into my lap with a smile, it is truly my joy for the day.
To have this quiet time, holding my son and reflecting on the day past,
is such a calming time for me, and as Michael Card says, “…come to
the cradle of your child and pray that you might wake up as they nod
off to sleep. Come learn simplicity, naivete, simple, trusting faith.
Pray for them and over them and with them, asking the Father to be with
them as they grow to adulthood, and asking the Father to be with you,
as by His grace you become a child again.” As Asher’s eyes close in
sleep each night, I find myself thanking God for the lessons of my son
who has taught me so much by his ability to find life’s joy in simple
things.

Imagine a world where everything is Daddy. When Asher wakes in the morning, the first word he says as I come into his room is, “Daddy!” and he points to the door. He will crawl over to our bed and climb in next to Brian, lying his head on his shoulder, all the while chanting, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” like a mantra. If Brian is taking a shower, Asher will sit at the bathroom door and pound on it. If that isn’t effective in making Brian appear, he will sit and wait for him all the while chanting, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” like a mantra. When the door opens and Brian emerges, Asher is in Daddy’s arms and the world is all right again.

Asher will play in the bedroom while Brian gets ready for work, follow him out to the kitchen, and watch with wary eyes while Brian gets his computer together and gets ready to leave. Then Brian gives him a good-bye hug, and the tears begin. Once I unlatch Asher from his clinging to Brian’s neck, Brian will head off to work, and Asher will point for me to take him to the sliding glass door so he can watch Daddy walk down the hill. (This morning he even forsook his beloved bananas (that’s na-na in Asher-ese), and we had to move his high chair over so he could watch while he was eating his breakfast.) Once Brian has disappeared behind buildings, Asher will stand at the door for the next 10 minutes or so while pointing down the hill, all the while chanting, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” like a mantra. When I finally distract him with either breakfast or toys, then Daddy is forgotten, but only momentarily.

Throughout the day, Asher will periodically go to the front door, try to reach the doorknob and call out for “Daddy!” I try to explain to him that Daddy will be home soon, but he has no concept of what that means, and the mere mention of Daddy will bring him to even more panicked tears. He wants Daddy to come home NOW, and he will continue to stand there all the while chanting, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” like a mantra. But ahhhh…you should see Asher’s face light up when he hears the key in the lock, and he will come toddling from wherever he is in the house to meet Daddy, all the while chanting, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” like a mantra.

From the time Brian gets home until bedtime, Asher will follow Brian wherever he goes, and he revels in any attention Daddy gives him. He loves the evenings where he and Daddy go out to run errands together, and he will wave bye-bye to me with an excitement that is immeasurable. However, should I even leave a room with Asher while Brian is home, Asher will hold his hand out for Brian over my shoulders, and cry, all the while chanting, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” like a mantra. As the evening wanes, and bedtime approaches, Asher will trot off with Daddy to get his jammies on, but at last, he finally reaches for me and not Daddy when he returns for his nightly nursing. Once he’s finished nursing and his teeth are brushed, it’s time for night-night (that’s nigh-nigh in Asher-ese) kisses and hugs, and if he manages to get his arms around Brian, he won’t let go. He will lay his head on Daddy’s shoulder and look at me as if to say, “I dare you to try and take me away.” If perhaps, I am the one to put him down for bed that night, Asher will scream the whole way down the hall, and reach desparately for Brian, all the while chanting, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” like a mantra.

I am constantly amazed at the picture I have of how God must delight in his children when I watch Brian and Asher, and I long to see Asher one day delight in his Heavenly Father the way he does in his Daddy. Watching Asher’s longing for his father makes me love both my “men” even more. For Asher to be so in love with his daddy…for him to miss Brian while he’s at work…for him to relish the attention and the time Brian spends with him is the way it should be. Mind you, it’s not always easy for me when I spend hours every day with Asher, and as soon as Daddy gets home, I am suddenly forgotten. I have my days where I look at Brian and think, “What’s so special about you?” Well, let me tell you….Brian’s sheer joy of living, his ability to see things through the eyes of his child and his constant amazement with his son is infectious. I could fill pages telling you the wonderful things about him. What’s so special about Brian? Everything! And in Asher’s world, it’s enough that Brian is just “Daddy”.

I think last night was one of the sweetest nights we’ve had. Asher was jammied, fed, brushed and whatever else he needed, and as I started to take him to bed, he began to cry for Brian. Instead of giving him a hug and letting me continue my journey to Asher’s room without Daddy, Brian came with us, and all 3 of us lay down on the daybed in Asher’s room and snuggled. Asher lay between us, his head on my chest and his body on Brian’s, his treasured bunny and bear in each arm, and he would turn his head to look at each one of us and smile, his enormous brown eyes delighting in the presence of both his parents. As Asher’s rhythmic breathing soon told us he was asleep, Brian and I couldn’t get up…we couldn’t lose this moment together with our son. It was wonderful…it was perfect. But as we finally got up and Brian gently lay Asher in his crib, I watched the two of them and smiled at the picture…and all the while “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” echoed in my head like a mantra.

A secure wireless network encrypts all the information you send using that network.

That’s why it’s so important that you set up your Wi-Fi network so that it’s not susceptible to someone hacking into it. That’s because there are a number of easy ways an attacker could snoop on your network. First you need to make sure you use an internet provider that’s safe for you,many of us don’t know what to do in order to find the best provider; however, by looking online you’ll be able to find a lot of services with great reviews.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re using a laptop, a tablet, a cellphone, or a home Wi-Fi network.

“These are things that you can do and there are a few ways you can set it up,” says Gwynne Shotwell, principal security strategist at Cisco. “It might be that you have a smartphone. It might be that you have a smartphone that you install on your laptop. It might be that you have a tablet. And you have one of these routers in between. And you could set it up to get a connection from a device that comes out of your Wi-Fi network.”

How hackers can spy on your wireless network

First, hackers could use your router as a Wi-Fi antenna. “For wireless devices it’s all about the antennas, the antennas are the things that they use to transmit information,” says Shotwell. “The antennas make it possible for them to transmit. They allow them to create a Wi-Fi network.” In the case of a mobile phone, the antenna is built into the phone. “When it comes out of the box, it’s a handset that’s capable of connecting to the wireless network in the area. And if you’re in a crowded place, your handset might take advantage of that and go onto the wireless network when you’re not even there.” Wireless routers don’t do that. “If there was a hacker who is connected through the Internet to the Wi-Fi network and has found a way to communicate with the antenna on the router, he could intercept the information that’s being sent and they could potentially intercept it before it leaves your router and go on and do something with it,” says Shotwell. “So the antennas that they build for their router, that they put in their home, they can steal the information from that antenna in your house and get it to go on to the router.”

When an attack like this is successful, it becomes more important than ever to keep a secure digital backup of any important data that you store online. That’s because an unsecured router can be used by an attacker to infect your computer. When the hacker attempts to download malicious software, he might use a virus to infect your routerand that can also cause problems with your computer.

How to Keep Your Router Secure With an older router that is still using firmware that has not been updated to the latest version, you might not even realize that it’s been hacked. “This is very common,” says Shotwell. “We will get an email from someone saying they’ve infected their router with malware and they need to replace it.” If you have not updated your router’s firmware, you can find instructions on the Internet on how to do so.

If your router is completely infected, you might want to try purchasing a new router, says Shotwell. If you are using an older router, however, you might want to check with the manufacturer to see if they can help. Even if you purchased a router that does not use firmware older than June 2012, you could still be infected with malware that will get installed when you log into your router. That malware will probably have been installed by a hacker

If your objective is mainly to lower your mortgage loan payment, refinancing might make sense. But it might also turn out to be a trap: You could wind up with a higher mortgage payment, even if the total value of your home has decreased. And you might not have sufficient equity in your new home to cover your new debt.

For that reason, it’s important to consider the financial implications of both the loan you choose and the process of refinancing, which varies widely depending on what’s being refinanced. For this, we recommend to read this information here.

Debt consolidation. Sometimes you’ll be able to consolidate your debt in one debt, such as credit card debt or home equity lines of credit, by consolidating your revolving debt and then refinancing your existing debt. But because this is not a way to avoid paying interest, you can wind up paying more overall. And because you won’t pay interest on your first payment, this could make you even more likely to default.

Sometimes you’ll be able to consolidate your debt in one debt, such as credit card debt or home equity lines of credit, by consolidating your revolving debt and then refinancing your existing debt. But because this is not a way to avoid paying interest, you can wind up paying more overall. And because you won’t pay interest on your first payment, this could make you even more likely to default. Mortgage refinancing. Mortgage refinancing offers a way to reduce your interest rate. But the rate you pay depends on your credit history and the terms of your mortgage. And because the rates you pay may be different from those offered by lenders, refinancing could result in a loss on your balance of debt.

What are some options for reducing the interest rate of a mortgage, credit card or other loan?

Finance credit cards. One option is to apply for a credit card with the card company to avoid any interest rate hikes. The rate on a credit card is determined by the terms of the card’s credit limit and the time in which you pay off your debt. For example, if you can’t pay off your credit card debt in full each month, the rate on your card will increase. In addition, certain cards may impose annual fee charges.

One option is to apply for a credit card with the card company to avoid any interest rate hikes. The rate on a credit card is determined by the terms of the card’s credit limit and the time in which you pay off your debt. For example, if you can’t pay off your credit card debt in full each month, the rate on your card will increase. In addition, certain cards may impose annual fee charges. One option is to apply for a credit card with the card company to avoid any interest rate hikes.

Before you apply for a credit card, determine if you qualify for an introductory interest rate and whether you’ll be charged any fees. If you’re thinking about applying for a credit card, use the Discover it App to find out if the introductory interest rate is the right one for you. Learn more about what you should know before applying for a credit card.

Do you qualify for a credit card? When you apply for a credit card, the creditor will ask you some basic personal and financial information. The information your creditor needs includes your: marital status,

age,

education,

employment status, and

location. To get approval, the creditor will usually run a credit check. After you apply, the creditor will determine if you’re eligible. The credit score

We celebrated Asher’s 14 month birthday this week with a bang…another ear infection, cutting not one, but both bottom one-year molars and a week of intense fussiness. Each morning or naptime, when he awoke, it was like dealing with a bear just coming out of hibernation, and it took almost every ounce of self- control for me to not just leave him in there to fuss at the walls around his room. I didn’t want to deal with another day of not getting anything done around the house, of not being able to leave him for two seconds, or of having my legs grabbed constantly while I fixed dinner. It didn’t help that I wasn’t feeling well either…with a sore ankle swollen beyond recognition and a cold starting to dance its way into my head, all I wanted was to sleep and live life on my terms.

Top all that with Asher’s newfound awareness of climbing as being something fun to do, and his discovery that anything that has an outside opens up to an inside full of wonderful things like cell phones, wallets, lipstick, diapers and wipes. I couldn’t go into a room for two minutes without Hurricane Asher leaving unbelievable carnage in his wake. After a week of tripping over emptied purses and diaper bags, almost killing myself on pots and pans spread all over the kitchen floor, and skidding on make-up brushes and hair accessories scattered all around my bedroom, I was at a veritable clutter breakdown.

You can only imagine my state of mind when you couple all those things with finding footballs in my kitchen cabinets, goldfish crackers in my purse, and socks in my camera bag. I would walk into the living room or my bedroom to find piles of Kleenex pulled out of their box and strewn recklessly about. It didn’t help that I had married the king of clutter himself, and I found myself angrily picking up after Brian nearly as much as I was picking up after Asher.

Needless to say, thinking of motherhood as a wonderful calling was the last thing on my mind. But then I re-read something that struck a chord deep in my soul and brought me back to the reality of what a joy my calling really is…that being Brian’s wife and a mother to the most beautiful boy in the world was something that I never wanted to give up. Nor was being a wife and mother about me, about my needs or about what I wanted; rather it was about sacrifice and serving God by serving Brian and Asher.

The quote was from a book I just finished reading called Romancing Your Child’s Heart by Monte Swan. In it he was telling the story of how he was at a conference one day and was watching out the window as a little boy sat in a mud puddle by a soccer field splashing himself and his shoes and socks, so meticulously removed to keep them from getting dirty. Monte smiled to himself as he watched the boy, then he realized that the boy’s mother was standing next to him watching also. Basically, he asked her what her secret was–why it didn’t matter to her about her little boy’s mess. She smiled sadly and said how since she had lost the boy’s brother to leukemia things had taken on a whole new perspective. “I have learned,” she said, “the difference between things that matter and those that are incidental. [My son] is with me and we love each other–that matters. A little dirt and water don’t. He is just a boy loving God’s creation in a way that makes God smile–in a state of innocent wonder. Who am I to rob them both of this pleasure?”

Need I say more? And as I stand next to Asher’s crib at night with Brian’s strong arms around me, and we gaze at our little miracle, I realize that my sweet boy, even when he seems to be such a little terror, is only finding joy in discovering the life that God has given him. He is doing what comes naturally to little boys…learning by doing. Picking up toys or pans or make-up brushes two or three times a day is nothing compared to eternity and the few short days I will have with Asher before he heads off into a world of his own…one where I pray he will cling not to my hands, but to the hand of the One who has given him life, and there he will just continue doing what comes naturally to little boys…discovering life.