Father's Day

This past weekend was quite busy for the Askew family.  Saturday morning was somewhat of a mad chaos since Sam was up at 4 am and refuses to go back to sleep.  By the time Sam fell back asleep, it was time to wake up. We had an appointment at 9:30 am for brake replacement in Quantico, which is about 45 minutes away.  It took a 3 hour wait before we can finally get the car back, go home to quickly change, then attend a birthday party.   Then back home to have dinner with friends.  Through all this, whereas my patience with Sam wane as the day progress, he remains calm and watches Sam with content.  I had planned to give him a day off on Sunday...I figured with all the stress and sleepless of our house renovation, that he deserves one day of uninterrupted sleep.  But even that, I couldn't give him since my gallstones preferred to act up on Saturday, leaving me drugged up and drowsy.

We went to our friend's church on Sunday and they were so gracious that they provided lunch for us.  After lunch, we had planned to get his father's day gift, which is a stand-up clothes steamer (to steam his clothes before work instead of ironing).  Instead, we ended up going home and taking a long nap. After a long satisfying nap, we took Sam out for ice cream.

Eating ice cream at Nathan's Dairy bar is probably our favorite activity with Sam.  Not only is he usually behaved, he screams "ice cream" a lot, which pleases me as he is starting to increase his vocabulary.

We finally ran our errands before the stores closed and ended our day snuggling at home watching game 3 of the NBA finals and eating take out Bon Chon fried chicken.  I spent the rest of the time snuggled in the couch after a dose of percocet (my stomach has not settled and the pain is not something I like to battle with), while Josh took care of Sam by getting him in his pajamas and putting him to bed.

I had good things planned for father's day...I was hoping that Josh could take a break; instead I felt like I gave him more to do.  But through it all, he didn't complained and when I apologized for my lacking, he just gave me a kiss and said it's ok because he had a lot of cuddle time with Sam.  Of all the things that I love about my husband, this is why I love him most.  No matter the work I put him through, no matter my nagging, no matter my misgivings and shortcomings, at the end of the day, he always tells me it's okay.  It reminds me of his vow, when he said that he will stand in front of me to protect me, stand behind me to support me, and stand beside me all the days of his life.  And in almost 9 years of being married to him, I love him so much more.

Family visit

The past week has been quite hectic.  What's with the renovation and trying to get it ready for my in-laws visit, each day was spent cleaning and finishing the bathroom and kitchen so that it is functional.  We really enjoyed their visit and I was glad that Sam was not being shy or difficult.  He immediately got comfortable with them as if he's seen them everyday.

Last Sunday, we enjoyed a picnic at the Gray Ghost winery.  Sam enjoyed his cookies and playing with dirt -- his favorite toy :).

Monday was DC day.  We started off at the Jefferson memorial and worked our way to the World War II memorial.  We walked a lot that day and I am surprised that I managed to walk the entire mall without falling on my face.  Sam got to watch the ducks with his Aunt Leslie.  It was a tiring day but he had a great time hanging out with grandma.

 We ended the day with dinner at Okra's.  Sam was a bit cranky by that time, either from hunger or just being tired.  Grandma, Aunt Leslie, and Sage left on Tuesday.

We enjoyed the visit and we can't wait for the next one!

Patience

"Patience is a virtue."  Who hasn't heard of that.  I must not be virtuous because my patience keep waning each day.  Or is it because my son just pushes my buttons so well that my patience are all worn out and thin.  I used to pray for more patience.  I keep asking God to extend my patience to deal with my ever ornery son.  My friend Monica said I shouldn't pray for patience though because God will try me more.  She said I should pray for grace.  So I pray for grace, and more hair.

I'm sure my son is not aware of how much he's putting me through.  I can tell you that as of right now, he's taken all of the wipes out from his container and he's chewing them with gusto.  I pretty much submitted myself to many times outs because I could swear there are times when I just want to throttle him.  I can't wait for him to grow up, to be able to communicate, and to understand limits because right now, he does what he wants because it's what he knows is right.  At the end of the day, despite the many frustrations and tears, despite enduring the screaming, whining, and countless mess, I love my little boy dearly.  Now if anyone could spare more patience, please donate them to me because I definitely need more.