A Long Time Ago, But Not So Far Away

After our first week in MS (yes, this is a long overdue post!) and all the doctor appointments, we took a little break and went to Baton Rouge to spend time with Thomas' family. We had already been able to see his older sister and her family with their new addition and Thomas' parents earlier in August, but it was a treat to see his other brother and sister and their families.

Isaiah enjoyed lots of play time with his cousins, aunts, uncles and, of course, Mimi and JanJan!

He really enjoyed driving JanJan's truck

Getting some "boy time" with cousins, Nevil and Nathan and Uncle Carlos

Building with JanJan and Luke

Aunt Emily invited us to Gymboree where Isaiah got to play with some other children on all kinds of fun equipment!

But I think his favorite thing was driving around the garage and driveway with Luke, with the help of Mimi and Uncle Rich.

We enjoyed that visit before Isaiah's surgery, which you already know went very well, and we've even been back a couple times, but you'll just have to wait for those pictures, eventually.

At the Ballpark!

One of our favorite things to do in America is America's Favorite Past time. Here are some shots from our visits to the ballpark in MS.

One night Thomas got us really good seats! I've never been so close to the action at a baseball game. Unfortunately, it also rained, so we spent about 4 innings further away under cover, but we enjoyed a good bit of the game up close, too.

When my dad came down for a couple nights, we got to go to the next to last MBraves game for the season. Isaiah was doing so well after his surgery that we couldn't pass up this opportunity to go to the park.

Little Man decided he needed more than just his hotdog, so when I wasn't paying as much attention, he took mine out of my hand and chowed down!

We had quite a night! Isaiah won a pizza and was given 3 baseballs, and one of those balls was signed! And of course, it was just great hanging out with family.

And someday I'll post some more about what's been going on. I really will. Eventually. Today we are heading to Hattiesburg to visit with family and to visit a new church. Please pray for our safety and good times!

First Family Sighting

Not THE first family. This was the first time we got to see the majority of Thomas' family. We celebrated the birthday of one nephew and the birth of another nephew, which was great fun.

Isaiah saw his grandparents for the first time in 6 months, and they were so much clearer than through Skype. :)

Playing with cousins is so much fun!

And here's our newest nephew with his proud uncle.

Isaiah was a big fan of the little nephew.

And Jake was an adorable birthday boy! His mama did an amazing job on his monkey cake, but somehow I missed getting that picture, maybe I should just get her to do it again. :)

It was only one day, but it was very special and made us anticipate the next special visit with everyone else, a perfect respite after a week chock-full of doctor visits!

Rewarded Anticipation

We looked forward to lots of things this summer for our time in the States.  I especially looked forward to playtime for Isaiah with other children.  He was so happy to be around kids so much this summer--first his cousins in Baton Rouge, then kids at the different churches we visited, not to mention all the wonderful playmates in CA that he met!  So here's Isaiah enjoying some of his special friends, some new, some not new but maybe not remembered, but all really fun!

Isaiah with some of his Slawson cousins, Nevil and Jake (although Jake is a Reaves by surname)

My friend Anna and her 3 year old little girl Emily came and had dinner with us one night at the Nott's.  Anna is a very special friend and Emily is a really great little girl.  

She and Isaiah have a lot in common, including a love for music that they shared with us that evening.

I think they both really love "outside", too.

Emily got a short guitar lesson from Thomas.

And here Anna and I are with our wonderful children!  Thanks for taking the extra effort to come out to "the middle of nowhere" just so we could have some special time together, Anna!  I can't tell you how much it meant to me to be able to talk with you face to face!

Another special treat was having a meal with the Hendersons, where Lala gave Isaiah some of his first, now favorite foods.

Eating his first catfish

And if you look very closely, you can see the remnants of his first oreo on the corner of his mouth.

Playing with Bo, who introduced Isaiah to Thomas the Train and all his friends

With Bo and his little sister Mary Claire, both lots of fun!

When we went to NC, I was very much looking forward to meeting my friend, Ginger's little girl Bella.  Bella will be a year old in September (ooh, I hope that's right--it's hard to remember dates when you weren't there for the beginning!).  She's an amazing little girl, and lots of fun!  Being able to see Ginger enjoying her daughter so much was just as much fun for me, too.

Pausing from play to get a few shots

I even got to hold Bella for a moment!

They had a great game of chase

And we tried a "baby swap" for a picture, but Bella wasn't too sure about her mama holding anybody else!

And then we went to CA, where we met tons of new friends.  As you might have already seen we got to spend an entire day outdoors (besides travel time, of course), enjoying the sequoia trees and then a beautiful lake.

Isaiah sporting his swimwear with one of the girls we met.

Then he was showing her sister how to open and close doors when we got back to their house.

He wanted to be in on all the action!

And when we got to church on Sunday, he was very pleased that everyone was there all at once.  Unfortunately I don't have many pictures from Sunday, which is really sad because I just don't have the words to express to you how much fun Isaiah had.

And when we met my friends David and Cathy, Isaiah got to play catch with Silas and some other little boys at the park.  He was having so much fun that he didn't even want to come to his mama!  (that is really rare!)

Last year I really wanted to find Isaiah some friends to play with fairly regularly.  Now having seen him enjoy the other children so much, I really want to find him some playmates.  Please pray that God will increase my language and open the hearts of some Russian mothers to give us opportunity to build relationships, and of course, not just for Isaiah's sake, but for the spread of the kingdom as well.  God has given Isaiah this amazing personality, and I know that He can use Isaiah's happiness to give us opportunities to be a witness of His grace!

Goodbyes

When we put Isaiah to bed the last night in Baton Rouge, he said goodbye to most of his aunts and uncles and cousins all at once, which turned out to be rather difficult for him apparently.

Hugs for Aunt Emily

Starting to get distressed when saying goodbye to Aunt Sandra and Uncle Carlos.

But the real kicker was thinking he was saying goodbye to Grandma!

Isaiah had already said many goodbyes, but I think that he had just reached his limit!  Or maybe he realized that this was it, and he wouldn't see anyone for a while.  Or maybe he was just exhausted and had no idea what was going on, but just think how happy he'll be to see them next time no matter what the tears were for this time.  He really loved seeing his family!

Generations

Isaiah is blessed to have met 4 of his great grandparents, at least he will always have pictures of being with them.  On our trip home, we weren't able to make it up to MO to see Thomas' grandmother, but thankfully he got to spend time with my grandparents and make some memories.

Four Generations with my dad and his mom.

Kisses for Great Grandma

Telling Great Grandpa a joke, or something funny, anyway

Four Generations with my mom and her dad

And then all of us with my parents and grandpa

Saying goodbye to Great Grandpa at church (he got kisses, too, the photographer just wasn't fast enough, I guess)