Lost & Now Found

Our sweet dog Jackson decided to take a neighborhood stroll yesterday when he disappeared around 7:45 am. I had been enjoying the cool morning air while reading my Bible and left the front door open! He took the opportunity to bolt. By 8 I realized he was gone and had the boys in the van driving around the neighborhood yelling his name. I think Daniel got the hang of it around 8:30 and he started yelling something that resembled "Jac-Jac" too. I called Charles and within 30 mins he had alerted the neighborhood watch, animal control, made a Facebook post, registered him on the Lost & Pound website, and printed colored signs. Needless-to-say, we were anxious and our anxiety only grew throughout the day. I probably checked the front and back doors several times an hour just waiting for his sweet face to pop up all excited to see me!  Everyone in the area was looking for him and helping to encourage us. We heard many stories of others who had lost their pets only to find them later that day or within a few days. Charles and I held it together somehow until the evening came and it started to get dark out. That's when  the sadness and panic set in. We couldn't imagine our sweet dog out in the street somewhere, so we choose to believe that surely someone had picked him up and was taking care of him...We both struggled to go to bed and eventually decided to leave his bed and food on the front porch in hopes of enticing him to stay and stop roaming. We were both disappointed when the morning came and there was still no Jackson. We both set out with the same plan: continue to search, put out more flyers, and most of all pray that God would bring him home. I started thinking about things that I have lost.  I have lost loved ones, toys, clothes, but never something that I cared so much about and not found it. I had never lost something of such value, not just financial value, but something of intrinsic value with which we had invested time and energy. He was part of our family. I began to get a small taste of what the Lord must feel searching for His lost sheep. It is a never ending, never giving up sort of feeling fueled by love. And oh the joy when He finds a sheep that had been lost and is now found. I experienced that joy when my friend picture texted me a pic of Jackson and said she had found him! Tears were streaming down my face as I pushed the boys in the double stroller through the park and into our driveway. I saw him for the first time in  24+ hrs, he was dirty and flea infested but he was our dog and he was HOME! Jackson was certainly a lot like us "sheep" when God finds us we are still "dirty" with sin, but thanks be to God who sent His Son to be perfectly clean on our behalf. And thanks to Trifexis flea and heartworm medication for "cleansing" Jackson from all unrightousness!

Daniel is ONE!

So much happens in a year!

I cannot believe my baby is 1 year old! This year has gone by fast and we have so many fun memories. It is hard to image life with out Daniel, he is such a big part of our family. Life has been a challenge juggling 2 boys and a husband in residency, but we have managed to make it through one of the more difficult transitions (so I hear) fairly well;) Daniel has changed so much and we are starting to see what kind of a little boy he is becoming. We hear from strangers and friends all the time how much Daniel looks like Charlie and they do favor one another and even have some similarities, but they are different in many ways too. Daniel is so strong and active, if I don't watch him all the time he climbs up on everything, showing me that he is a big boy just like his big brother. He loves to eat and is our constant garbage disposal. He now has 4 teeth on top and 2 on the bottom, and man does he like to use them...as evidenced by the bite marks on Charlie's arm today:(. Sad. He is a very fast crawler and manages to keep up with us all. More recently he has started using a walker to chase us around the house. And then the day before his birthday he started talking a couple of steps on his own. He is a very happy boy, however, when he doesn't get his way watch out for the drama to come out!  His sudden changes in behavior should not be news to me since all of us in the Scarborough home seem to do the same thing on differing levels;) I am thankful that God continues to refine Charles and I as parents through our children's' sin patterns so that we can see our own sin more clearly.  On another note Daniel is a very good sleeper and "easy" when it comes to bedtime which has been a real blessing since Charlie still takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to fall asleep at night. Daniel still sucks his 2 fingers and is a great snuggler just like Charlie. I am so grateful to have 2 wonderful boys that love me so well and are so sweet and teach me so much! Daniel: you truly are a blessing and we thank God each day that we have the privilege to raise you. Your sweet smile, joy, and tenderness are qualities that we pray grow in your heart each day as you learn more about your Savior, Jesus. Here are some pictures of our big boy from his birthday. I am going to make a separate post with pics from his Birthday Party with Ada!

   On his birthday we went to the Kroc center to swim, we made cookie pops, and had Chick-fila for dinner, then Daniel opened his Percy pillow pet from us:)

Here he is enjoying his cookie-pop

Here are some of my favorite Daniel "faces"

He loves getting into things!!!! and I mean everything;)

Here he is clapping, one of his new tricks

And here is our drummer boy walking!

Daniel's 5th Month Day

Daniel is already 5 months old. It has all happened so quickly! As I write this he is scooting all over the floor, going from one toy to the next. He LOVES some tummy time, and cannot stand to be on his back for long. He is becoming very interactive and playful with Charlie and our dog, Jackson. He also loves playing in his bouncer. He is a little bit wild when he jumps around but Charles reassured me that he will not hurt himself. He is so smiley and happy! He is both similar and at the same time different from Charlie. It has been so good to see their personalities emerging. Daniel loves getting attention from everyone especially Charlie. He lights up when he hears Charlie's voice. He will even laugh when Charlie laughs. And Daniel's laugh is so sweet, it kind of sounds like he is sucking in. Daniel doesn't have any teeth yet, but I think they are close to coming in (Charlie had 2 teeth on the bottom by now). We have tried some rice cereal several times and Daniel is already pretty good at swallowing food. I have not been as consistant with feeding him as I was with Charlie, mainly because Daniel is usually sleeping at meal times. He still takes 3 or 4 naps; morning, late morning, afternoon, and evening. I try to get both boys down for afternoon naps at the same time so that I can have some time to sleep, check email, budget, or have some time reading my Bible:) Back to Daniel, he loves sucking 2 fingers (middle and ring fingers) on his right hand. His hair is starting to come in a little. He unfortunately had is first ear infection last month. We are praying he doesn't have his mommies ear issues:) At last months check up Daniel was in the 50 th percentile for weight and 95 th percentile for height. He might end up being bigger that Charlie one day. Daniel is currently sleeping in our pack n' play in the guest room. He is too big and rolly for the bassinet and I am not quite ready to put him in the same room as Charlie. He is such a joy and blessing to our whole family. It is funny how I can't remember life before him and can't imagine life without him. We love you Daniel!

Life over the past 6 months

I cannot believe it has been almost 6 months since my last post. So much has happened in our lives and I have wanted to document it all, but have felt completely overwhelmed at the undertaking. Now it is irritating me enough to make me post something, it might be more photos and videos than words:)...so here we go. Our family increased yet again, thanks to the Lord on May 17th 2011. Daniel McKain Scarborough was born into our family and has brought us so much joy (I will hopefully write a separate post about Daniel's birth story.) He has been a fairly "easy" baby, realizing that the term is very subjective. He has been a great sleeper and a happy kid. His big brother Charlie was a little weary of him at first but now he is in love with him. Charlie loves introducing others to his "baby broder, Danel". Which consequently is now his nickname (no, i did not forget the i). He kisses him about 40 times a day and has recently liked playing games with him like the "rollie pollie" game where they play on the bed together and roll around. Charlie can now entertain Daniel and comfort him, for a minute or so at least:)

Our last date night with 1 child, we went to Bonefish with a giftcard;)

Still swinging in the park days before Daniel arrived

Charlie accompanied me to many OB visits, don't worry he didn't participate:)

The morning of our induction, 6am

Our new family!

One of Charlie's big brother presents

Sweet kisses!

And a sweet little face!

life keeps going after baby Daniel arrives: the grass still needs cutting!
someone still has to drive the tractor!

and horses at uncle Otis' are still a bit frightening:)

Charles and I turned 28!

We visited the YMCA pool often

Charlie potty trained himself at 23 months!

He moved into a big boy bed shortly after

more kisses!

4th of July at Nana and Grandpa's house

Grandpa and Grandma GiGi came down for the 4th, she pasted almost 2 weeks later so these are treasured memories!

Scarborough beach trip: Watercolor Beach, FL

Daniel's Baptism

McKain beach trip: Beaufort, SC

Charlie turned 2! Thomas the train birthday party with Nana, Grandpa, Andrew, & Dana

And Daniel is now 5 months old! How does time fly????

Easter in Augusta 2011

We enjoyed a wonderful Easter weekend with friends and family this year. My parents came to stay with us Friday-Sunday. We had a very busy weekend with our 20 month old. Charlie is always busy, all the adults were just trying to keep up. One thing that was not captured on our camera was our egg dying adventure. Yes, that is right, we tried to dye Easter eggs with a 20 month old. It began with him trying to eat one of the dye capsules and ended with him trying to crack the colored eggs. It was a pretty funny event. I will have to share pics of this later when I get those pics from my dad. Here are a few pics of all the fun we had:) We are very thankful to the Lord for conquering death and sin in our place on the cross that we might have his righteousness and eternal life. He is Risen!

Charlie's new watering can from Aunt Linda

She also equipped him with gloves and a shovel to help in the yard:)

It is always fun to play in the shed, especially with Grandpa!

Charlie's 1st Easter egg hunt did not go as planned, but was very funny!

He really enjoyed the fake grass more than the hunt:)

Easter Lunch: Shrimp & grits, Apricot glazed ham, green bean casserole, biscuits, and chocolate pie (not pictured here)

It has been a while!

Hello world! It has been a long time since my last post and I am regretting not documenting Charlie's progress through life as well as Charles and mine's journey through this pregnancy. This post will probably be a paragraph of rambling but I just felt like writing some things down while I had a minute.

He loves to play hide n' seek in the shed

It has felt like a long 8 months. Some of you know that I had a kidney stone recently that has made this pregnancy a little less than pleasant. Thankfully I have had no other problems since passing the stone a few weeks ago. I am happy to say we only have a little over 4 weeks until D-day. I am much more tired this trimester and can feel it daily. I try to take the bursts of energy I receive to "prepare" the nest (or repair it). Life with 2 boys +Jackson has kept me busy and I am sure Daniel (yes that is officially his name...it only took us 7 months to name him) will only contribute to the disasters in this house:) (side note: most of you know that we named him Daniel after our sweet friends and mentors, Mark and Rachel Daniel. His middle name is our only secret and will be revealed on his birthday). Charlie is starting to really be a helper when it comes to clean up time. Maybe he will take after me:) Our babysitter said that he initiated clean up time the other night prior to bedtime, yay! What a proud mom I was when she mentioned that. I have so much to be thankful for in regard to Charlie and Charles. They both have such a sweet loving spirit that is a perfect balance for my easily frustrated heart (esp. during pregnancy). Charlie is so fun to be with each day. Every morning he greets me with a happy smile and his blanket. He immediately starts off the day talking about the lawn-mower, blower, trains, milk, or the trucks on his new sheets. Just one example of how he lives life...taking off full speed wherever he goes. He is starting to say more and more and has recently been learning his colors. He is stuck on saying yellow and green even though he doesn't seem to quite know which one is which. He can also say blue, red, ball, truck, go, bubbles, "hi", "bye", lawn-mower, blower, car, please, up, down, TV, choo-choo train, book, "ouch-ie", duck, and other words only a mother would know. Today he said "I'm sorry" or a variation of that. He hit me and we talked though it and I told him he needed to say sorry, which he did very well then when I told him that I forgave him he started pretend crying. I am pretty sure he didn't understand it but it was so good for my heart to see him go through the motions of forgiveness. I know God is using Charlie and Charles to help my heart not hold on to resentment and unforgiveness (which has been a huge struggle of mine). How can you withhold forgiveness from your child when you want them to learn how to forgive quickly and completely just as Christ does for us? I am sure I will struggle more with this as Charlie gets older and shows more disobedience, but for now I am enjoying this sweet stage of learning.

He loves daddy's lawn-mower...

...and blower!

Charles has also been instrumental in helping me through so much this pregnancy and the last 3 1/2 years of marriage. I would not be the mother I am today without him. He is so different from me in so many ways, which oftentimes I resent him for. But God knew best to put someone so demanding and hardheaded (me) together with someone so agreeable and loving (Charles). I am thankful he is the father to my 2 sweet boys!

We are excited to say that we will be staying in Augusta for the next chapter in our lives. Charles is looking forward to starting a pediatric practice in South Augusta with Josh Lane in July of 2012. We have already seen God's hand in the preparations for this and are excited to see all the ways he will use and teach us through this experience.
We are all a little anxious for Daniel's arrival. He is expected to arrive during a busy NICU month. But we are thankful God is in control of when we meet the newest member of our family. And I am becoming more and more excited to see what he will look like and how he and Charlie are similar and different. I am also anxious and excited to see how Charlie does with all the new changes once his brother arrives. We are praying for a smooth transition for all of us, and we know that it will only come through God's grace. I am thankful for a sovereign God who does not treat me as my sins deserve but is faithful to his promises and loving towards all he has made. I now hear the cries of my almost 20 month old. I will post this along with some pics later tonight when all is quiet again:)

Charlie's current bed (with the truck sheets that he loves to talk about after naps)

The boys new room

Charlie's future big boy bed!