Isaiah- 15 Months

This little sweetheart turned 15 months old last week. Feel free to pass this blog post up as I'm mostly writing it for my own memory's sake. And because I like lists, I'm just listing all the happenings here. 

In months 12-15 Isaiah: 

• Overcame an icky week-long stomach bug
• Enjoyed a visit from Lola, complete with yummy snacks to help his tummy recover 
• Learned to sign "eat" around 12 month. Around 15 months he also started saying "eeeeet" when he signs. He's quick to let us know when he's hungry! 
• Started waving bye-bye
• He loves to play "chase" with his Daddy. Josh says "Isaiah!" and runs to the other side of the house or up the stairs...Isaiah crawls (now runs!) to find him...Josh jumps around the corner....Isaiah screams in laughter. It's adorable. 
• He loves to dip foods, especially if everyone else at the table is dipping. A few of his favorites: hummus, yogurt, and ketchup 
• Gives high-fives
• Points to his ear when asked 
• Around 13 months he started getting on and off riding toys by himself 
• Making a "silly face" with his tongue out 
• New foods he's tried in the last 3 months are limitless but his favorites were: biscuits, ribs, olives, and ice cream 
• Loves to make towers out of blocks or cups and then tear them down 
• Night-weaned from nursing at 13 months and shortly after only started nursing twice a day (upon waking in the morning and before bed). 
• Right before his 15th month he began only nursing before bed and dropped the morning nursing. 
• Uses a fork and spoon just like a big kid. It's amazing how quickly he actually started getting things in his mouth. 
• One thing I've noticed about his personality is that he's quite cautious. He stops and assesses things before diving in. 
• Finally started walking around 13.5 months. Just in the last week he's really gotten steady and is walking more than crawling. 
• Went on 2 retreats with friends to cabins in the woods in the last 3 months. He loved the nature just like his mama and daddy. 
• Loves loves loves to throw balls 
• Has fun wearing shoes on his hands and walking around the house 
• Started pushing cars 
• Cut his top molars around 14 months 
• Started SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!! In his own bed! Around 14.5 months. He does still wake up around 5 many days to come to our bed for the last couple hours of the morning.
•   Grew the sweetest little curls in the back of his blond hair 
• Sweats like no one year old should 
• Says "cheese" for pictures 
• Loves to read the same books over and over and over and over and over. I'm not ashamed to say that I've hid books to keep from reading them the 100th time. He also thinks books must be read sitting in the lap of the reader. It's the sweetest. He often walks over with a book in hand grunting for me to pick him up and read. His favorites are counting books and any book with a picture of a dog. 
• Woofs like a dog any time he sees one or thinks of one. He really loves dogs. 
• Shakes his head "yes" when asked questions. If he wants to say no, he just whines :) 
•  Understands most everything we tell him even though he can't communicate much. It has amazed me how much a little one can comprehend. 
• Knows what he wants and when he wants it and likes to throw tantrums when he doesn't get it. Yikes.
• Starting say "night-night" last week 
• Can say "Pawpaw" and knows that it's my dad
• Started transitioning to 1 nap a day about 2 weeks ago. But right now, we're still taking 2 naps half the time. If we're out and about he'll stay awake and nap once but if we're home for the morning he typically naps. This is good for both mama and baby :)
• Fallen in love with our neighbors' 3 kids. He gets so excited to play with them! 
• Visited Mississippi a couple times to see grandparents. He really loves Pawpaw, Lola, Randaddy, and Naama!

Refugee: a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape persecution, war, or natural disaster

We're still adjusting to this new season of life in which God has placed us. It's beautiful and it's messy. It's joy and it's hardship. That seems to be true for most everyone's walk of life, though. Especially the Christ follower. We've explained through this blog and through newsletters that we moved to Nashville to serve among refugees. But many of you may wonder what that looks like. What are we actually doing? What exactly is a refugee? We're still trying to determine what in the world we're doing. Most of our ministry just happens as we go about our daily routines. I love that. But to give you a better picture of our surroundings in this seemingly unknown area of Nashville I want to give more insight into the life of a refugee.

A refugee is someone who flees their homeland due to persecution because of religious beliefs, ethnicity, or political involvement. Many of them sneak across borders in very dangerous situations- some dying before they make it to the border. For those who make it to a neighboring country, they typically find themselves in "refugee camps" i.e. guarded holding areas until a new country offers them a new home. The average wait is five long years. Occasionally, if a refugee's language and culture are similar to their host country's they will be permitted to leave the camp and begin a life in this host country. Others wait to interview with the UN. Those who can prove they are escaping persecution are processed and {hopefully} sent to a country of freedom. The U.S. admits tens of thousands of refugees per year (the exact number is determined each year by Congress). Refugees arriving in the U.S. are assigned to volunteer agencies such as World Relief or Catholic Charities here in Nashville who provide a number of services during their first 90 days in America. These agencies do their best to link new refugees with "sponsors" who help them make the difficult adjustment to life in the U.S. (This information was gathered by World Relief).

Please let that paragraph sink in. Think of the stories that each of these refugees must have. Stories that often go untold because they can't communicate well enough. Think of families that are broken during all the moving and escaping. Think of the joy that must come knowing that you and your family are finally safe in a free country but then to hear of the turmoil going on in your homeland or to see news of an awful earthquake that just wrecked your country. Think of how scary it must be when your husband starts his new job and you're alone at home with your kids not knowing a soul around you. Think of the loneliness of this form of life.

If any of you have traveled internationally you know the struggle that is grocery shopping or getting medical care or asking directions. After living in the Philippines I can relate to many of the struggles of acclimation. It's stinking hard. But I just can't relate to some of the stories these men and women and children carry. I've heard stories of brothers who were bombed. Children who were left because they couldn't make the trek to the camp. Friends lost in war. Such sorrow and hardship. Of course these refugees are thrilled to find themselves in a safe haven. They appreciate safety and opportunity. But man, most of all they appreciate friendship and being heard. In all that comes with rebuilding their lives (finding a home, learning English, getting a job, etc.) friendship is invaluable.

So that's where we've found ourselves- trying to stand in the gap of these refugees' long flights to freedom. We're spending time with families, sharing meals with neighbors, giving goldfish crackers to the same kid day after day, offering rides to work, practicing English and attempting Arabic, and praying over the brokenness of these precious ones. Many of them have little to no knowledge of Jesus. Our prayer is that they see Jesus in us and want to know him because of the love they've experienced through His children. We pray that they find peace in the one true God, not in a 'safe' country.

We don't have any official ministry titles and we're still going through a good bit of transition ourselves. Josh is looking for a new teaching job next semester and I am hacking away at a long to-do list while keeping our little one loved and nurtured. It's a good life and we're grateful for all of you walking it with us. Please pray for the refugee population in Nashville made up of peoples from Nepal, Burma/Myanmar, Iraq, Iran, South Sudan, Congo, India, and so many many more places.

If you have any questions or want to be a part of what's going on here in some way, then please email or call us. We could always use a helping heart :) Keep following the blog to see pictures and updates of some teams that Mobilizing Students is sending our way this summer!