Having Fun in Lompoc

Yesterday Phoenix and I ran some errands. We went to Wal Mart to buy a few things, and I noticed some sandals on sale for $7. This seemed great to me, since I am not willing to spend more than $10 on shoes for him. They were these cute brown sandals, but when I put them on his feet he tried to shake them off and said "Yucky!". My 22-month-old son has a taste in shoes? What? I laughed at him, especially after I replaced his worn out, camo-style tennis shoes, and he seemed more than content with those.

Then we went to the Annual Lompoc Flower Festival, which is just a fancy name for the city's summer carnival. A lot like Mesquite Days. The karaoke was bad (would have been much worse if I joined in), and Phoenix enjoyed playing on the playground. Even with carnival rides and sticky food all around him, he chose the playground. His new thing is lying down on his belly in the sand and squirming around like a snake. I'm not sure if he just likes the feeling of the sand on his skin or what, but every time we come home from these trips, his shoes are loaded with sand...and so is his diaper.

On the way home I saw a license plate that said "Having Fun in Lompoc." I smiled and thought to myself how true that is of our life right now. Yes, Isaac is working super hard, and sure, we have days that are difficult. But mostly we are enjoying this season God has given us, as a small family of three, waiting for #4 to come into the world, and just having fun in Lompoc.

"...Be content with the things you have..." Hebrews 13:5

Life in Lompoc

Things in Lompoc have been great. I have adjusted to the almost-always-windy weather. Phoenix and I enjoy the occasional warm, wind-free morning, but we usually just wear our jackets. The days go by so much faster when we spend time outside on stroller walks or sometimes I let Phoenix lead the way and chase him around the apartment complex. These are the most charming apartments we’ve stayed at. I really like it here. At the beginning of the day, it feels like a hurdle to cross over- what will we do today? How can I keep Phoenix entertained? I feel a constant pressure…Am I teaching him enough, do I spend my days in a way that pleases God, am I raising him the right way, what could I do differently, what more could I do? Then I remember “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Phoenix is doing some pretty cute things lately. He has two sippy cups with straw lids (he never did like those kind you have to tip up to get the drink to come out). Yesterday he discovered that he can play with them as if they are umbrellas, since they look like little umbrellas (that is one of the words he is learning from reading his books with me). So he carries them around our small, but cosy, apartment and says “mmm-brell-ahhh”. He played with them in the bath last night, and while the water ran he put them under the faucet, just like real umbrellas. It’s so cute, and I’m proud of him for being so smart and creative.

Also, I noticed after our stroller walk this morning that Phoenix was not following me up the stairs like usual. We have a stone path in the grass by our stairs and he was walking on it over and over. He has discovered these little paths all around the apartment complex and loves to walk on them. So on our second walk of the day today, I led him down a few stone paths, and whenever he sees one, he just HAS to walk on it. When he does little things like this, it makes me worship God in my heart and fall in love with Him and my son even more.

Yesterday, Isaac sold an alarm to a man who is a strawberry picker. The guy took him out to the strawberry fields and let him help pick some. That was so neat, he came home with 10 pounds of strawberries! They’re all over the fridge and freezer. It’s a good thing Phoenix loves strawberries, he could eat a whole package of them in one day. On Sunday we are going up to Santa Maria to pick more berries in that man’s field (how generous of him to share), and then church at Calvary Chapel Santa Maria. I’m excited, I love going to new Calvaries and I’ve wanted to go to this one for weeks. Then Isaac said we could go out to eat after, and I said “Olive Garden?” Here in Lompoc we have no chain restaurants, just little mom and pops and lots of authentic Mexican food. I love pasta and soup and salad, so Olive Garden sounds wonderful to me. Isaac is such a trooper, he goes there with me even though he would rather eat a steak or some ribs somewhere. He knows how much I love food!

The pregnancy has been good. I still get nauseous from time to time, mostly towards the end of the day. My legs are starting to cramp and my lower back hurts, but I am happy to feel the baby moving inside. We call it “Baby J,” since we’ve decided to wait to find out, and our names are Joslyn for a girl or Jaxon for a boy. I really feel it is a girl, but it will be wonderful to push our baby out and hear “It’s a…”. I love surprises. I never thought I was the type of person that could wait 40 weeks to find out if my child is a boy or a girl, but something put the idea in my head and heart after we moved here, and now I am excited to wait. It is really special that God is the only One who knows if it’s a him or a her. As I type this, Baby J is kicking around in there. :) I’ll be in my 20th week tomorrow, so almost halfway.

I’m learning a lot from my Bible studies. Ever since we decided not to have a TV in our home, we’ve started reading the Bible and praying together every night. I love it! I’ve wanted to do this with Isaac for over 3 years, but we never seemed to make a habit of it. I never stopped praying that Isaac would lead me in this area and now I see God working in him in awesome ways. It’s great because I’ve prayed that God would be the center of everything in our lives, and we hear His voice more and more as we let less and less of the world into our lives. God is good. :)