It's a delight to have my parents and four younger siblings here for a visit.  They are loving getting to know Elijah.  As I am writing this, my mom is holding Elijah and talking to him, and he is talking right back in his own special coo-and-babble-and-laugh language.  I have never heard such a talkative baby of his age (not quite three months old).  He is already putting together sounds, he "talks" in response to us talking to him, and he seems to be desperately trying to communicate with us.  What a cutie.  Even when he refuses to go to sleep at 12:30am because he is talking away and laughing hysterically, it's cute. . .

We have excursions planned for every day, mostly in the mornings so that Elijah can still get a proper nap in the afternoons.  On Thursday we went to Glasgow Cathedral and were given an informal tour of the cathedral.  It was quite interesting, but sad to see so many of the vestiges of its Catholic history still lingering - in the crosses, the small chapels in every alcove, the stained glass which breaks the 2nd commandment, etc.  What a massive and impressive building - took more than 400 years to build!  We also walked through the "oldest house in Glasgow" on our way back to the bus stop.  We would have walked up the Necropolis, but it was a very rainy day and not nice weather for trudging up a steep, slippery hillside.

Today we took the bus up to Bearsden and visited the ruins of the Antonine Wall, the northernmost boundary of the Roman Empire.  There are a few sections of it still visible, including the ruins of a bath house which was once part of one of the garrisons which was along the wall.  On our way to find one of the remaining sections of the Antonine Wall, we wandered through the Old Kilpatrick cemetery which had an amazing view of the hills north of Glasgow.  It was a stunningly beautiful sunny day.

Tomorrow we are planning to visit the Clydebuilt maritime museum, which my dad will probably find quite interesting because of his naval background.  We have lots of day trips planned for the following week or two... Aberdeen, Stirling, Edinburgh, and Loch Lomond. . . so stay tuned. . .

But what I am REALLY looking forward to is having my husband home from his travels.  I miss him so much and it's hard to fully enjoy things when he's not here with me.  I am thankful that his trip seems to be going very well so far.  We are both hoping the days speed quickly away towards Thursday!!

Two are better than one, 

Because they have a good reward for their labor. 

For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. 

But woe to him who is alone when he falls, 

For he has no one to help him up. 

Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; 

But how can one be warm alone? 

Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.

And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. 
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Words cannot describe how much I miss my husband when he's away.  Those of you women who are military wives, I respect you from the bottom of my heart, because there is no way I could cope with what you valiantly face on a regular basis!

I am married to a man who works from home.  This has its own special set of blessings and difficulties which are different from the blessings and difficulties we would face if he worked a regular 9-to-5 job or if he traveled frequently. It makes it particularly difficult when he's away because I am so accustomed to his presence.

It's as though I am walking around with half of me missing.  It leaves me discombobulated and disoriented.  I feel lost and bewildered. I can't concentrate.  I flit from one thing to another, unable to focus my thoughts and energies or make rational sense out of my day.  I can't think through things clearly because my emotional compass, my support, is missing.  I am used to discussing everything with him and relying on him every day.

It's not good for my health!  I forget to eat regular meals. I lose my appetite.  Even chocolate icecream loses its appeal (shocking, I know).  When the cupboards are bare I wander the supermarket in a daze, not sure what to buy, because cooking for one is so depressing.

I become manically attached to my computer whenever there is any chance that he will be around for a chat, and, I must admit, many times when there is no chance, "just in case."  I have been known to stay up until 4am and finally succumb to exhaustion in front of my computer when he didn't appear for a scheduled good-night chat.  (Later, I found out that his co-worker on night shift had hogged the computer all night.  I could have strangled that unsuspecting, totally oblivious, inconsiderate co-worker.  And my husband for being so non-confrontational!)

Right now my love is in Zambia visiting Covenant College for two weeks.  This is the longest we've been apart since we got married.  I have been trying to just get through one day at a time without losing my mind.  I have been able to talk with David a couple times since he left, but the hiccuping internet connections and sketchy phone connections sometimes make Zambia seem even further away, though I am grateful to be able to hear his voice!

I am grateful that Elijah and I were able to spend 4 days with our dear friends Gavin and Allison and their 6 children. . . it was nice to have the company and the distraction.  Now I am busy preparing for my family (my parents and my 4 youngest siblings) to arrive here tomorrow!!  They will be visiting us for just over two weeks.  We have all sorts of fun sight-seeing planned whole they are here, and of course they are looking forward to seeing Elijah, who is a popular guy, it seems!  :)

My sweet boy is such a charmer.  He has developed an intoxicating little giggle and the widest ear-splitting grin you can imagine.  He is a tease (like his daddy!) and a cheeky little monkey.  I have so much fun with him, watching him get more responsive by the day!!  Tonight as I was putting him to bed he decided he was going to grin at me instead of eating properly, and then he abandoned his food entirely and spent 10 minutes laughing his head off at everything I did, before he was willing to continue nursing.  Then when I finally thought he was asleep in his bed, he woke up a few minutes later and amused himself by cooing very loudly and getting more and more worked up.  Eventually I went back upstairs to try to settle him down.  Without turning on the light I leaned over his basket to quiet him down and see if he would take his pacifier (often he will fall asleep almost immediately if I get him to stop waving his arms and keeping himself awake. . . silly boy).  As soon as he sensed that I was in the room, though, his tone changed and he started laughing at me again and "singing" to me.  Irresistable! 

I'm back!

We are now moved in to the new place.  :-)  Nicely settled with only a couple boxes still left to deal with. . . mostly Elijah's clothes that are either one size too small or one (or more) sizes too big, which I am still trying to figure out what to do with.  He's currently in between sizes which makes it very difficult to decide what should be brought out and what should be packed away!

I feel like I'm living in the lap of luxury - I now have a dishwasher and a double oven and a pulley system for hanging my washing indoors!

Sorry for the lapse in blogging.  It was quite a saga getting our phone and internet set back up after the move.  Then we finally thought we had it sorted, and our phone line was suddenly disconnected, and we still haven't figured out why or who did it.  That sent us all the way back to square one, and we had to wait another week for our phone line to finally be reconnected, and then we had to wait for our internet to be reconnected. . . and now here we are, and hopefully that is over and done with!

I am hoping to get caught up with posting photos of the wee man soon. He is getting SO big!  Right now, in fact, he is wearing something marked "3-6mos."  *sigh*  I don't understand baby clothes sizes.  Half of his "0-3mos" clothes don't fit him, and half of his "3-6mos" clothes DO.  And he is 2 months old!  No wonder it's been such a headache sorting out his clothing after this move. 

At the moment he is sitting in his car seat smiling at me, flailing his arms and kicking his little legs.  We have such fun together!  He is so responsive, it amazes me each day.  Already he is noticing if I leave the room, even for an instant, and he doesn't like it!  He is so much happier if mama is right there talking to him. . . or better yet, holding him!

So, yes.  We are all doing very well.  Elijah is sleeping well and eating well, for which we are very thankful.  David is keeping busy with preaching engagements.  We had another whirlwind trip to Skye last weekend - our first long-distance trip as a family.   and I will post more another time, because the munchkin wants fed!