A Special Christmas Gram

Communication 101...for Toddlers

Last Friday night I was putting Micah to bed, and had gone through the normal bedtime routine (pajamas on, teeth brushed, water, sing, snug as a bug). He apparently didn't think I had nailed it as I normally do, and he began saying, "cold water." My response, "there's ice in that cup little man. It's cold." The two year old didn't like that, and began yelling "cold water" over and over again. I went to the kitchen and poured it out, then filled the cup with more ice (therefore it would be even colder). It didn't work. So finally, and I hope you don't think I'm a bad parent for this, I told him goodnight and shut the door. The yelling ended after a few minutes and he went to sleep.

Two days later Mandy told me that she knew what cold water was. After first congratulating her on this academic feat, I realized what she was talking about. She opened the refrigerator door and explained that to Micah, milk is cold water. Well that explains it. So I've spent some time this week getting Micah to say the word milk. He's doing much better now.

A Whirlwind of Change

The last few weeks have been full of change for the Grisham family. I began my real estate classes at the beginning of July, and passed my exam a little over a week ago. Some have asked why I'm going into real estate. The answer is that I've actually been in real estate for a few years now. A year after moving to Memphis I started working in the mortgage industry. Unfortunately, just as I was getting going the housing industry was falling apart, so I got out of it. Through that, though, I caught the real estate bug, and I've been dabbling in it since that time. So it just made sense to make it a little more official and go ahead and get licensed. I hope to help my friends (and friends of my friends) buy or sell their homes, but I also plan to get more involved in the investment side of real estate. As soon as all of the paperwork goes through (a week or so), I'll begin working with Revid Realty here in Midtown.

As if that were not enough to write about, here are a few more changes. First, Mandy has gone back to teaching. We were planning on her taking one more year away from the classroom, but a job opened up at Vollentine Elementary School, which is located in the northern part of Midtown. My friend Matthew Watson is helping his church, Living Hope, plant a church in that neighborhood, and they are already official adopters of this school. God has opened several doors that have led us to take this step.

This meant that we had to find a place for Micah. Adam is starting Kindergarten next week (another BIG change), but we now needed daycare for Micah. My mom will be with him one day a week, I'll be with him another, and three days a week he'll be at Union Avenue's daycare, which, if you didn't know, is located one floor down from my office. They gave us an amazing discount, which is the only way we would have been able to enroll him there. Yet another door opened by God.

These are the stories we mustn't forget. We have to tell them to our children. We have to remind them that God is active in our lives, that He has plans for us, and when we are faithful to take them, He guides and directs our steps. After all, He is quite good at opening doors that seem to be closed!

This is a difficult transition for Mandy. She is going to miss being at home with the boys. We know that they are going to do great in school, but it's going to be hard for her. She has also been doing so much with NC and with the Peabody movement. Many of those roles are going to transition to others.

I am definitely a glass half-full kind of guy, but I know that this is going to be tricky in a lot of ways. I know that God is going to help us, and I believe that our times together as a family will be even richer.

Happy Birthday Micah!

Micah turned two today. He is such a joy to our lives, and we are so blessed to have him as a son!

Parenting can be such a challenge. Our newest challenge is the word "No." Micah has recently learned this word, and I must say that it's pretty hilarious. He doesn't know many words, but this one is up there on his favorites, right after Momma and Daddy. Last night he and I were outside, and I asked him if he was ready to go back inside. His response was no. I then asked him if he wanted to stay outside and play. His response once again was no. He's learning how to communicate, and right now it's very cute, very charming.

Now Adam, on the other hand...

Last night I told him it was time to go to bed, and he said, "No." This is the second time he's done this. The first time was Sunday night. This was neither cute nor charming. I told him that this was disobedience, and it was not acceptable. His punishment was that he couldn't watch tv this morning before school. He cried and tried to tell me that he was sorry and he wouldn't do it again, but I had to insist on the discipline. Our bedtime routine of talking, praying and singing lasted a little longer than normal. We talked about why it's important for him to obey us, as well as what God thinks about it. I made sure that he knows that I love him, and then he went to bed.

Now here's my dilemma. I don't want to create a double standard. It's not fair for Adam to get punished for saying something that gets a laugh when Micah says it. Now granted, the attitude (the heart) is the core issue here, and for Micah it's different than for Adam. However, I want to be consistent for Adam's sake.

Now for the even bigger dilemma: What about my obedience to my Father? What about when I say "No" to God? May my heart be sensitive to the Spirit's direction today. May I be quick to respond in obedience in whatever my Father says to me today. And I pray that my sons will come to know that I am this kind of man.

Merry Christmas!!!

A Mom and Her Boys

Mandy has written some wonderful things about our sons, Adam and Micah.

Micah got $10 from the Aldi's lady

Yes, you read that right. Mandy called to tell me that she and Micah went to Aldi's this morning. As they were in line Micah was his usual charming self. The check-out lady asked how old he was, and she told her that he turned 1 yesterday. After checking out, the lady left the register, even though there were quite a few people in line. When she returned, she handed Mandy a ten dollar bill and told her to get him something for his birthday. Mandy tried to persuade her not to do this, but she insisted.

What a humbling act of kindness! On the way to the lake this weekend Mandy and I were brainstorming about servant evangelism, and how we as a church can begin blessing people in the same way that Mandy was blessed this morning. This act gives even more momentum to it!

Another NBA Draft with my boys

Last night the boys and I watched the NBA draft together. This marked Adam's first draft (here's his first) and it was Micah's first. As a side note, I thought the Griz did ok. I'm actually pretty happy with Thabeet, and I was really glad to see Tyreke go #4 to the Kings and Dozier with the last pick of the draft. But enough of that. Here are a few more pics.

Vacation

We are in Orange Beach, AL this week with Paw Howard, Boogala (not sure how to spell that, but it's Adam's grandmother), and Megan. The boys did great on the long drive yesterday, and our first night was good. Micah slept in the bathroom last night, but we moved him into the closet this morning (is that wrong?). Adam is most excited about making smores and watching Star Wars: Episode I. I'm looking forward to eating a lot of seafood, enjoying the serenity of the waves crashing outside our door, and enjoying my family!

A Good Day

Today was a really good day. It was a family day. It was truly Sabbath. This morning I decided to take Mandy and the boys to Victorian Village. I had driven all around this historic part of Memphis but had never driven down Adams Ave. We're going to go again sometime soon and go on a tour.




When we got back I used an emusic coupon to get some new music - 50 new songs to be exact. I love music. Some of my finds: Bon Iver's Blood Bank, Great Big Sea's newest album, some Over the Rhine, a few songs by Adele, some Sufjan Stevens, and some Andy McKee.

After that Dad, Evan and Kelsey came over. Dad and I watched the Tigers beat UTEP. Great game. And it was great to see UNC lose to Maryland in overtime. We also enjoyed a little BBQ from Paynes after the game.

Finally, as if the day couldn't get any better, I introduced Adam to Star Wars tonight. We watched the first hour of Episode IV: A New Hope. Before you get too worried, I fast forwarded several scenes. Right before putting him to bed, I asked him if he liked it. His response: "I love Star Wars." That's my boy! My mom wants me to come by sometime soon and go through my toys, comics and baseball cards in their house. I'm looking forward to showing off my collection of Star Wars toys to Adam.

Oh, one last thing...in addition to being able to say Momma and Dada, Micah can now say Night night.

2008 Top Ten Lists: Moments

This past Sunday night we had a Night of Remembering and Giving Thanks. I decided that I wanted to "remember" the great things that God has done this year, so I'm including a top 10 list of moments/events.

1. Micah - Micah is such a wonderful baby. He is full of joy and always has a smile to share. The fact that he doesn't cry that much and sleeps through the night is definitely a plus. I am so blessed to be the daddy to two wonderful boys.
2. Dad - Dad's surgery was definitely a little scary, but I am very thankful that everything went as smooth as it did. I know that God was involved in a major way. Adam and I went to see him yesterday and he was continuing to recover well.
   
3. Pergola - Dad and I shared several weekends together building our pergola. I'm not much of a handyman, so this was quite the accomplishment. Getting to hang out with Dad made it all the better - plus, the outcome would have not been the same without him :)
4. Vacation to St. George Island - We got to spend a week on the beach with Mandy's family. We wondered how it would be with a three week old, but Micah did great. It was a beautiful place, and a much needed rest.
5. Kaboom and CYPN - When we moved to Cooper-Young to start a church, we wanted to be about the neighborhood. We wanted the neighborhood's needs and desires to become our needs and desires. The Kaboom Playground build at Peabody Elementary School and the formation of the Cooper-Young Parent's Network were two tangible steps towards this.
6. Changing jobs yet again - This year I went from the mortgage business to the property management business. I went from zero properties in June to fourteen as of today. I really enjoy it, and it serves as a great support system for church planting.
7. MCAP - I met Hugh Halter and Matt Smay at the Exponential Conference in Orlando last April. In May I was given the money to go through their seven month online coaching program. It just finished, and I gained so much through it.
8. Neighborhood Church - this year I felt that we moved from being a church plant to becoming a church. It seemed to have happened sometime this summer, but it definitely feels that way now.
9. Third annual toddler Halloween party - our party in 2006 was one of the first parties we had. It feels good to say that we've done something three years in a row. In February we'll have our third annual Super Bowl party.
10. Advent Conspiracy - we just finished up our second year of participating in the Advent Conspiracy. I think this is one of the best things our church did this year. The highlight was the "Think Globally, Party Locally" Party hosted by Josh and Ginger Spickler.
    

Merry Christmas, from Adam & Micah

You gotta love this picture

Micah Update 6

This little guy really likes to sleep. Last night he went to sleep around 10:00 and woke up at 5:15. I'm sure it won't last, but we're going to enjoy it as long as we can!

Micah Update Pt. 5

If all goes as planned, we're set to go home today. As great as this hospital is, it will be good to be at our house, sleeping in our bed. Mandy was able to walk around the third floor yesterday. When she had a c-section with Adam, it was day five or six before she was able to do this, so we were very pleased. Micah has been discharged, and we're waiting to see Mandy's doctor this morning so she can take out her staples.

More pics

If you want to see more pictures, click on the slideshow to the right. It will take you to our Flickr site. Then click "robgrish's photostream", then "Slideshow" at the top right.

Introducing Micah Jonas Grisham

Yesterday ended up being a little crazier than we would have liked, but I'm happy to say that we now have a beautiful baby boy. Micah was born yesterday at 5:38. He weighed 6 lbs 8 oz and was 20.5 inches long.

As the day wore on, Mandy's contractions were getting stronger, but the dilation was very slow. That, coupled with the fact that Micah's heart rate was occasionally spiking, caused the doctor to want to perform a c-section. Mandy's doctor was not there, so we didn't really have a choice, though we wondered if she would have done the same thing.

The bad news about all of that is that the surgery was pretty rough on Mandy, though once again she was such a trooper. It also means a longer road to recovery. The good news is that we had Micah a lot sooner than we would have had she continued laboring, and he was very healthy! Almost all of his family got to see him soon after his birth as well. Even Adam was there when it happened.

At the hospital...

A little after 5:00 this morning, Mandy woke me up and said that she had been up most of the night having contractions and thought it was time. My first feeling was guilt for having slept through it all. She was very calm, which impressed me, and told me to call my mom and ask her to come to the house to keep Adam. I got up and called Mandy's parents. We got ready, then waited for my mom to arrive. We left the house around 7:00.

When we arrived the nurse said that she only dilated 3 cm or so. An hour later this was still the case. Normally, they would probably send her home, but since she had a c-section with Adam, they wanted her to stay. Megan is here, and Mandy's parents will be here soon. I'm sure Adam is having a great time with his Nana (she is taking him to the Children's Museum this morning).

Her contractions have been getting stronger over the last hour, so hopefully they are doing what they are supposed to do. We may be here for awhile, but I'm glad we're here.

More to come soon...

Micah Update Pt. 4

We are expecting Micah in the next few days, or at least that's what Mandy's doctor is saying. Mandy is quite uncomfortable these days, so she is very ready for him to come. Last night we started burning our home movies of Adam's early days onto DVD's. There were quite a few videos that we had never watched before, so it was a lot of fun. It was fun for Adam as well. It made me excited to have another baby in the house.