What Two Wise Women can do for a Soul...

Yea for visitors!!

My mom and my friend Sue came for a visit in June and I was OVERWHELMED with thankfulness at their arrival!
You see Jon headed to England for 3 weeks and they came to see to it that I survived at least the first 10 days of it! And I did more than that... I loved every minute!
Of course we totally missed Jon...there's just something that man brings to a conversation that makes me
always love having him by my side
(unless we're talking girl stuff, you know!).
And for the record, Jon is STILL NOT HOME!! He gets home Saturday night late, late, late. I am counting down the minutes!!!


There's just nothing like a Mom is there??
I've struggled DEEPLY the past few months
(hence the lack of blog posts),
but I gained SO MUCH healing from her time here.
She had the courage to ask me some HARD questions, but the love behind them really sent me to the feet of the King. I am SO thankful for her presence in my life!!!
There's something unique about her...
...She knows where I belong...
in the nearness of Jesus and my husband's arms!
She's such a RARE jewel!!
Ok. Can we all agree that my mom looks BEAUTIFUL in this photo??
She absolutely hated it, but I loved it so much I couldn't just toss it!

Ok. I've got tons of photos to share, so here we go...

First of all, these ladies sure did bring us the mother load! We got treats galore from them and from wonderful friends back home!!! Thank you Lindsee, Rachel, Jennifer, and The Moss's!!! We felt so special getting so many treasures!!

Every time we get a package, it (inevitably) has toys for Jude in it...and we set them out for him to find the next morning. Oh, and we always take a picture, like so...
Well, Mom & I agreed that she and I both needed to be dressed for this precious photo op, so we kept Jude away from the living room as long as possible before celebrating!!
The pic below was taken "Christmas Morning"
as we call it around here.

This was the FIRST and ONLY picture we got of Jude posing with a SMILE the entire time they were here. Oh trust me, he SMILED TONS!! Nonetheless, I think the reason is obvious. Once he got a hold of those new toys, he just didn't have ANY TIME to stop and pose!!! He's SUCH a typical boy!!

Grammie & Pops made sure this kid was SET FOR BOYHOOD!!! They set him up with a train set, books, bugs, a cool frog (plastic I assure you), a helicopter, an airplane, a motorcycle, and a baby (to practice with before Brennan)!! It was like Christmas!!! The first thing he did was go STRAIGHT to the baby, cuddle it (good sign ;0), put it in the boppy...
and then off he went to the "boy" things! So fun!
He and Grammie had TONS of fun pushing those trains around...and can I tell you??? Those trains still hold his attention for HOURS!!!

Ok. So now the sights...well, take what you can from the ones below! It was so fun to have a good excuse for photos with Mom & Sue!!!
(Real fast...I just have to tell you that the sights you are about to see are NOT our "normal". PLEASE believe me! I can post a pic of our trash dump next door if you'd like proof!!!)

Here are a few overlooking the Meditterean!Jude & I over a Marina...

Fun with Sue!!!
Again, WISDOM! I've known Sue as long as I can remember. I feel at ease in her presence, but yet SO challenged to not settle for just "being my(ugly ole')self". She and I are SO much alike, it gives me hope of what Jesus is making me into!! She turns that controlling/ domineering tendency into HUMBLE LOVE. I'm so thankful for her example! She also raised a pretty impressive BOY... so I'm hoping to take some hints from her!

It was beautiful!!! And INCREDIBLY HOT!!!
(Mom, Me, & Jude)
Grammie & Jude, of course!!
(Jude was so fascinated with the
construction going on over my shoulder,
I just couldn't snag a shot of him with a smile!!)

We certainly made SURE to get PLENTY of these!
My friend Joanie snapped this one unexpectedly! So sweet!!

Speaking of Joanie!! :0)
We NEVER have opportunities for pictures! I was so glad this one turned out!

Sue, Jude, Mom, & I
Ok here's the accurate belly shot! It's hard to believe I was only 5 weeks away from birth at this point. Brennan just feels so much smaller than Jude did!!! Maybe it's all the extra baby weight I had on that made him feel so BIG!!

And yet, another!
I LOVE these WISE women!!
They spoke SO much Truth over me while they were here!
I needed it so desperately! I'm so thankful for friends like these!

Ok, one of our adventures was to a REALLY big grocery store about 30 minutes away. We seriously browsed for about 4 hrs!! How in the world did we do that with an almost 2 year old, you might ask?? Well, the first 20 minutes were like this...(precious, huh?)
Then the kid seriously SLEPT in a shopping cart. We laid down some bathmats and he conked! I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture of it!!!

Mom & Sue treated us to some yummy Lebanese food (yep, we've got it here too!) for lunch. Jude's SO into wearing "grown up" stuff. He puts on our sunglasses and says "Cool!"
I just LOVE this shot!

And, for real, is my kid growing up or what?? He's wearing camo and eating his OWN ice cream cone!!! The sweet man at the ice cream shop gave it to him for free!!
Grammie showed him the ropes...but clearly not fast enough! He was a little disturbed when cold wet drops began hitting his feet. Let's just say "Brennan" finished that ice cream cone...and Mommy was thankful she'd dressed him in camo!

Sue gave Mom & I a wonderful treat! She watched Jude while Mom & I went out for Japanese food! It's amazing what you'll find in Tunis!!!Anyway, he watched Fox & the Hound with her...and can I tell you he just hasn't been the same since?? He runs around the house asking for "more..." well, you can imagine a 2 year old saying it!!! It doesn't come out very clearly, but definitely provokes laughter from this oh-so-mature mother!!

Poor us, we just tried and tried to get a good shot of this, but really couldn't manage one!!
Although the picture doesn't reflect it, our time surely did FILL my SOUL! I am so thankful for the gift God's given me in this woman!!!

And finally, I just couldn't let you go without showing you how much this kiddo loves his daddy!! Jon called and we snapped this fun shot of Jude's joy!
A few mornings later he woke up with his hand over his heart,
sadness in his eyes, and these words on his lips...
"Daddy- bye bye- bus- miss"
He misses you SO much Jon!
WE miss you SO MUCH!!!

Thanks so much Mom & Sue for helping me have some fun while he was away!!!
Love you BOTH!

Fun with the Fam

(Be warned...this is a long post! I just didn't want the Estes fam to miss out on picture downloads!!) (We can file this one in the "for grandparents" category!)

We had such a great time while Jon's family was here! Jude caught on to their names weeks before they came, so he was fully prepared to run around the house saying, "Paw-Paw, Tce-Tce, and Def". Yea!

A fun fam pic from Carthage (minus Jude).
(Yes those are ancient ruins we're sitting on. ...from the Martyrs' days.)
(This pic really has a HILARIOUS story. We took 3 of these pictures and then disbanded. After reviewing them, we realized we all had our sunglasses on. So we regrouped to take yet ANOTHER photo (Jon was so thrilled). But SOMEHOW Jon missed the memo of WHY we were taking ANOTHER picture and kept his sunglasses on!! After this, we gave up. Mostly bc the boys thought I was being ridiculous! ;0)
A well needed shot of Ray & Carol!

I'll let you guess who this is!

The original Estes clan.
(Jon doesn't like photo shoots...and this was photo #6, I think.
He's just SO hard to read, isn't he?)
The Estes Dudes together. Jude's excited!!

Here are some of Ray and Jude playing together!
The horse in the book was "biting" Paw-Paw's finger. Jude just thought it was hilarious!!

Jude was kind of Paw-Paw's shadow (and CeCe's too). If Ray sat in a chair and got up, he'd go sit in it and say "Paw Paw". Or after CeCe napped on the couch, Jude laid down in her place and said "Tce-Tce". So fun! He just so enjoyed having them around! And it wasn't just Jude that enjoyed their time here!

You can see now why Jude likes this guy!

The first night Jeff & Ray (Carol came a bit later) were here, Jude got acquainted quickly! Here he is just laughing and laughing with PawPaw!!

Jon's brother, Jeff, was along as well! Because Jude is a little picky about who shares a room with him (aka NO one), Jon, Jeff, and I shared the living room! It was a slumber party every night and we stayed up past midnight talking TOO many times! I was so pooped by the time they left!!Me, Jon, and Jeff resting after walking thru the a museum in Carthage.
Jude playing with Jeff.
...laughing together...

But really. It sounds INCREDIBLY RIDICULOUS to say this, but Jeff's turned out to be a great guy. I know, yes, I am younger than him...but for goodness sakes, I was NINETEEN when I met he and Jon and would hope that we've all grown up a little since then. It was great to talk about life stuff and to see where he's headed and all. And yes, ladies, he is an ELIGIBLE bachelor. (He'll hate me for saying that!) (Maybe I haven't grown up!)

Jeff also brought Jude some cool "unkie Def" style clothes. Here he is showing them off.

I think he's trying to pull off the laid back
(it doesn't bother him that he's drooling),
emo style.
Bein' Cute.
(Those Chuck Taylor's he's wearing are from Unkie Def too.)

Does anyone else think he looks like he's conducting??
(You can notice in the background that I finally
got my pillows covered for my couch! Hooray!)

I know it's blurry, but he's totally dancing in cool clothes! This Uncle will make sure our kid is well-dressed!

We got to see a good bit of the touristy areas around us, which we hadn't done before. We both agreed that we wouldn't pay lots of money to come visit this place JUST to see those tourist sights. Spend your money on another cool country, if that's what you're looking for... Unless of course you're coming to see US! In that case, there's lots to do...like talk, and hug, and love on us!

A few cool places though...like... Bardo Museum (it's in our neighborhood)
where there are TONS of restored mosaics and cool ruins.
Here's Jeff, Jon, and Ray (Jon's Dad) together.

Jeff. Um, being funny.

The U.S. World War II Cemetery
There are over 3,000 soldiers buried here.
In our entire country, this place reminds me of the U.S. the most, which I guess makes sense. Anyway, there was GRASS...and it was GREEN, and everything was CLEAN...no trash, no dirt, no grime. The bushes were groomed and flowers were PLANTED (instead of weeds flowers).
It felt like home!

Here we are enjoying the national dish of our country...Couscous! If you haven't had my neighbor's couscous, you just haven't had good couscous!!

Ok. Jude was just a total hoot this night! He was just so wound up, we laughed and laughed!! Enjoy the video!
I had to throw in one of me and Jude!
And last but not least, Jon and Jude enjoying a fun book my parents sent Jude way back at Christmas! How appropriate! This kid loves him some Daddy!!

Here's the deal. My b-day was last Sunday, but after this crazy long post, I'm just too pooped to do another. Pics will come later. :0)

P.s. Get ready to hear about our new baby's name. I'm so excited!!!

Aunt Amy, Fun Pics, and Something to Look forward to!

We were SO thrilled to have my sister Amy come visit us this past week!!! We had fun exploring the city and playing together with Jude! But when we left we were SURE worn out! We stayed up PAST midnight EVERY night she was here!

Jude didn't sleep while she was here either. He woke up several times a night and at or before 6am every morning! He just wanted to play with Aunt Amy!!
It was so fun how Jude seemed to remember her. He just knew she was kin! They connected instantly and laughed and played and laughed and played and laughed and played....Here are some VERY fun pics of our time together!!

After a few blog posts, you may begin to notice that we aren't far from the Mediterranean! Here's Amy & Jude by the water.Trying SO hard to get a good picture!!! But this child was in all out rebellion to the camera!!
Too bad this is so far away (I was keeping an eye on our purses!)! Jude is looking up at Amy with delight and she's telling him some sweet thing! As you may notice in the background, that's right ladies and gentlemen...a real life Dodge Ram Truck! That is surely a rarity around here!Near the water there's a yummy Lebanese restaurant! Mmm!

Not only did they play, Amy & Jude read and read and read and read and read!! Amy sat down with Jude in our new hammy-down GLIDER (check it out, it's bright orange...don't ask me why) and I handed her (the norm) four books to read to Jude. She was like, "FOUR??" Haha. Then Jude kindly welcomed her into the book-a-minute world of Jude!!

So, you may think it's weird that we ate sushi in Tunis with Amy, but you must know that she came not only to love on Jude, but also to bless us! So Amy treated us to sushi TWICE! Amy and I had a date there, and then Jon wanted some too! It is a bit pricey, but it's nice to have some food that's familiar! The year before we left the states sushi became a regular treat for Jon and I...esp since you can buy it at HEB!
Amy & I on our date! After months of talking on the internet, it was a great time of sharing...in PERSON. It's amazing what a little eye contact can do to enhance communication! What a gift!

It's so nice to have someone with us to take family pictures!!!
This is the clock tower in the center of town. It was a quick shot out the window of a taxi! Woohoo!! (although I don't remember who took it)

And, I know you've all been wondering if the blue doors ACTUALLY exist in this country or if it was just my advertising! Well, here's proof!
After long days of play and travel, Jude was finally pooped. For the first time in almost a YEAR this child fell asleep in my arms! What a special treasure!!

This was the night Amy left. Jude sat on her suitcase like he didn't want her to leave!!

I was really surprised at how MUCH it hurt when she left. I guess I didn't see it coming, I was just enjoying the time together! She also left two surprise notes from my parents on the bed in Jude's room for us. Oh my. Jon took Amy to the airport (cause I can't travel alone at night here) and I went to put Jude to bed. When I walked in the door and saw those notes I literally fell apart. There were no words. I was already a wreck, but then those letters!! So Jude sat, quite perplexed, with me as I cried on the floor. It was a hard, hard night!!

While Amy was here, I gave Jude (and Jon) a haircut! This is the "before" pic (opening our special gifts from Grammie, Pops, and Aunt Amy!)And, well, you'll see the "after"s in a sec.

I definitely prefer it long (ok maybe not as long as in the first pic (he was starting to look like a precious little girl!)) but this new cut saves me from having to cut it for the next four months!!

After she left I realized we'd been depriving grandparents of some fun photos! So I pulled out the camera and decided to catch Jude in action! Here he is doing a few of his favorite things!

Um...reading.

Who needs toys from Target??
It's amazing how a little bit of water will entertain an 18 month old! This was my first experience with this Mom trick because it's been too stinking cold here (and without a heater) to let him get all wet! But he sure did enjoy it! At first he cried when the water spilled, but then, you know, he got used to it and even spilled it on purpose for fun!!
You can see his very "focused" look (JUST like Jon's).
I just love how this (very out of focus) picture shows the precious shape of his eyes and his flat Asian bridge. He's the perfect blend of TWO! (but he totally has my lips)

No words!! Haha!! There are tons of captions I could put with this picture!!
One of the only times my son is still enough to look almost picturesque!

We're so excited about sharing Jude with Jon's family (uncle Jeff too!!) in a week and a half!!! It will be a tight squeeze getting us all into this two bedroom place, but that's how we like it!! We CANNOT wait!!!Look closely and you'll see that Jude is looking at pics of Grandpa ("Paw-Paw"), CeCe ("Tce-Tce"), and Uncle Jeff ("Jetf")! We're getting ready!!