Mama vs. Dada

There is a distinct difference when Hudson calls our names.

“Ma-MAAAAAA” is always this high-pitched, drawn out, demanding tone that qualifies as a yell.

This word is quickly followed by it’s close associate: Dada.

But no hollered word here. No insistence. No drama.

“Da-da” is said in this quiet, sweet tone with a soft smile on his face.

I’m trying to figure out if he’s mimicking our personalities or has different feelings or needs toward us, but for now I can’t wait to catch this disparity on video!

Happy Birth-day Ezekiel Matthew Thompson!

Born Friday, October 7. 9:28 a.m. 7 lb, 15 oz. 21.5 inches long.

It’s amazing that a birth comes down to numbers. And a cute face.

The pre-story isn’t nearly as interesting now! My sister Torey’s probably already forgetting the 26-hour labor…difficult night…followed by a c-section. OK, maybe that memory won’t fade for a while!

But Ezekiel is adorable and healthy and he and Torey are already settling in at home!

This proud aunt and new cousin (a word we’re working on!) can’t wait to see him in just a few days! Quickly followed by the newly-christened Uncle Steven next week.

Welcome to the world, EMT!

Steven calls it the “Merrick panic.”

I say that term usually applies to the rest of my family. But not to me.

Need a definition?

Merrick panic=that moment when you prepare to leave a store, new town, tourist stop (fill in the blank) and you have nothing to purchase. This usually results in another term…the “Merrick panic purchase.”

I must admit the term applied to me during a glorious day in Idaho over Labor Day weekend. Wandering through a quickly-closing farmer’s market, I told Steven to “go back and grab some of that huckleberry jam!”

I didn’t notice one detail about that jam until we got home. $9.00.

When I asked Steven why he didn’t question my purchase, he explained it away as alleviating the “Merrick panic” by making a “Merrick panic purchase.” I guess he thought he got off cheap!

Sadly, I am not the one who has been able to truly enjoy this exorbitant purchase. Hudson, evidently, has fancy taste and is dogmatic that every waffle he eats must now be dunked in the huckleberry jam caviar that I toted across the country.

I guess he “feeds into” my Merrick panic!

High-res photo available here

If it smells like a mouse…

My list for Steven before leaving for a conference was short: take out the trash and set the mouse traps.

“Do you really want to deal with a dead mouse?” was his reply.

Right. So let’s just maintain the “keeping the bread in the microwave” plan until Steven is home to play mouse catcher.

Great plan. Except that the mouse must have heard our scheming and decided he couldn’t wait until Steven was home.

About a day into our four-days-without-Dad experience, I started smelling something. It took me hours to realize it was when I opened the microwave. And by Day 3 I finally came to grips with the fact that the ever-escalating smell emanating from my cooking machine was, indeed, the mouse.

Not that it kept me from using the microwave. Nope. Somehow I was undeterred as I test-sniffed each item before putting it in my mouth. Since I couldn’t see a plausible hole where the mouse could have entered, I kept telling myself I was over-reacting.

I saved that for when Steven convinced me reacting would have been the sane thing to do.

I started to re-heat leftovers on the night of Steven’s homecoming and he was repulsed that I’d been so dogmatic in my efforts to keep eating reheated food. Tossing the microwave out the door with a “let’s go out!” we had full stomachs and a new machine within 2 hours.

I guess we had the most expensive mouse-trap on the planet.

While Dad’s away…

It’s rough work keeping busy when Dad’s away. Today’s activities included:

Being Baby Moses in a basket (with covers, of course!).

Being a roly-poly at the Tumble Gym.

Eating 3 condiments with our chicken at Chick-Fil-A.

Trying on a Tar Heel blue wig for size…at Rose’s no less (if you’re from the South, you might recognize that high-end store:).

What the News Doesn’t Tell You

Working for a national news organization, Steven confronted it every day.

News-worthiness. It isn’t as cut-and-dry as you learn in journalism school. Sometimes proximity, timeliness, prominence, doesn’t create a value system for giving space to stories that aren’t happening in our borders.

It happens every year in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. Inundating rains cause flooding, damage property, kill scores.

Yet, right now (deep breath). Right now, it is happening to a place and a people that hold a part of my heart.

In northern Thailand, including Chiang Mai where we lived for two years, flooding is making rivers out of streets, lakes out of homes. It is heart-breaking to see the devastation. And when I scour CNN or the New York Times, there are no headlines. Not that there is room to “slot it” when other troubles take precedence.

There is no proximity. No prominence of these people who are searching for food and water and shelter. Yet, in that corner of the world, missionaries and Thai Christians are giving out food for body and soul.

Want to keep up with something beyond the national homepage? Follow this site and pray: www.heartweavers.com

This is My Father’s World…

This morning, evidence of the night’s teeth-chattering thunder and rainshowers squished onto my Tevas as Hudson determinedly made his way up the bank to the road. Bound for the park, he didn’t notice my “ewww” at the sensation of being wet.

I should have known what I was getting into. 45 minutes later we ventured home, beating sand out of our shoes, sweaty from the play and wet from adventure.

And it really was that: a foray into the natural world for a brief time. Something I would have missed out on with my “ewwws” if I wasn’t keeping up with an 18-month-old BOY!

At the park, a wet slide became a water chute. Rain-covered branches became a self-powered shower. The wet sand, a great pedicure exfoliant.

How can I help but find joy…and sing.

This is my Father’s world,

I rest me in the thought

of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;

His hand the wonders wrought.

Rise to Meet You

This morning is atypical…although I wish to God it wasn’t.

My eyes opened at 7 a.m. Not to the sound of someone trying to get Mama’s attention or to an alarm. But to silence, morning shadows and SATURDAY.

I felt almost giddy as I crept my way to my chair, turned on my new lamp, lit the tea light candles in my fire place. And mental sang the words of the song:

“You are my God, early in the morning will I rise to meet You, rise to meet You”

I haven’t made this kind of appointment in a while. Between doctor’s visits and settling into a new life, the idea of getting up earlier than my two alarms has been daunting. But today, today I will sit in the joy of being still. And to think on another song:

I am blessed,
I am blessed,
From when I rise up in the morning,
‘Till I lay my head to rest,
I feel you near me,
You soothe me when I’m weary.
Oh, Lord,
For all the worst and all the best,
I am blessed.

All along the road less traveled,
I have crawled and I have run.
I have wandered through the wind and rain,
Until I found the sun.
But watching eyes,
Ask me why,
I walk this narrow way,
I will gladly give the reason,
For the hope I have today…

(“I am blessed,” Rachel Lampa)

Just like Carolina football, I’m on a roll. As in, I’ve been on a Hudson-posting agenda for a while so maybe I’ll write something deeper than a detailed caption sometime soon!

But speaking of Carolina (and my single-minded posts:)….Hudson went to his first football game last Saturday! Despite the threat of 57 degrees and rain, we braved what turned out to be a beautiful prelude to fall and crisp temperatures!

After tailgating with Steven’s childhood baseball coach, we headed to Kenan Stadium to take in the sights, sounds and smells (yea for funnel cakes!) that accompany the world of football. Hudson was enthralled from entering the tunnel to throwing his hands up for his favorite sign: touchdown!

Of course, as we departed at the start of the 4th quarter, a new UNC child football just HAD to be purchased. Dada’s already working on his kicks and catches.

Hudson is obsessed with his toothbrush. He comes by it honestly…he watches his mother do her “heavy handed, gum destroying” routine every day.

Got a problem with Hudson’s behavior? Better than a cookie or a banana chip (that’s a whole ‘nother story!) is to say, “Hudson, want to brush your teeth!?”

So to say he adored his first dental appointment is an understatement. First free new toothbrush (attached to a balloon!). Reclining on a turtle pillow. Getting to touch everything he felt like exploring from the lights to the sink. His idea of heaven right now is probably the pediatric dentist’s office.