Growing Boy

Caden Darrel Emerson was born in Montgomery, Alabama and celebrated his first birthday in Albertville, France. This year, we were on the road between Togo and Ghana when he turned two. If you have been following us on our Family Blog for awhile, then you are quite familiar with our Mattie the Bear pictures. We took pictures of Caden with Mattie every month until 6 months, then 9 months, 12 months, 18 months and now 2 years. Mattie has traveled thousands of miles all over the world to be with us today. He has been stuffed in boxes and mailed over the ocean, shoved in suitcases and squished into plastic bags. We brought Mattie to Ghana with us just to keep up with Caden's milestone pictures.

Click here to see Caden's 2 week old and 1 year old pictures with Mattie.

As usual, we couldn't choose just one. We hope you can get a small glimpse of our toddler's fun personality.

Baby Blessing

On October 22nd my home was invaded by a group of women very special to me. As a surprise to me, my teammates had planned a baby blessing and invited several of the expatriate women in town. They walked through the front door with balloons, yummy treats, cards of blessings, and an amount of energy that was exploding through their smiles.We enjoyed cupcakes, cookies, chicken salad croissants and punch. We told stories about our births our the births of our children (don't worry, scary stories were not allowed). We played fun baby shower games (you should see the pictures these women drew of my baby) and started a pool for the baby's weight and due date. My favorite part of the evening was when each woman shared with me a blessing for my baby, my family, or Brett and I as parents. I will cherish these notes (they came "scrapbook ready") throughout my child's life. Lastly, they gathered around and prayed over me...words cannot express this feeling.

Thank you to all the women (and girls) that made this night so special for me. In the midst of a very difficult time, you were the peace and energy I needed. I thank God for blessing me through each of you in His own special way.

Our TWO Year Old!

Many of you know that Caden turned two on October 25th. Due to the craziness of our lives, we decided to postpone his birthday party until a more calm date. We also thought it would be fun to celebrate with family, so be looking for pictures of that sometime in December. He's just two...he'll never know we celebrated his birthday a month and a half late, right?!

In honor of our world traveler, I thought it would be fun to post a list of all the places Caden has been...beginning with the day God created him.

1. Knoxville, TN
2. Memphis, TN
3. Birmingham, AL
4. Searcy, AR
5. Nashville, TN
6. Atlanta, GA
7. Israel
8. Montgomery, AL
9. All over France
10. Switzerland
11. Rome and Florence, Italy
    
12. Ghana, West Africa
13. Togo, West Africa
14. Benin, West Africa
15. Dallas, TX

Just this week we had pages added to Caden's passport because it was filling up so quickly. How many of you had a passport at two years old?

Swimming

Here is an almost forgotten video of Caden swimming for the first time with floaties. This was taken at Coconut Grove back in September. Caden continues to be a little fish and definitely prefers swimming with his Daddy. (I can't imagine why!)

Floaties
Uploaded by emersonstogo

35 weeks

So here I am at 35 weeks and five days. My countdown says I have only 30 days until my due date....I remember saying that with Caden and he was born 2 weeks later, so we'll see. I also thought I'd take this post to tell you about our doctor here in Accra, Ghana.

His name is Dr. Hiadzi, and although I can never remember how to pronounce it, I am so excited to know he is my doctor. There were several things that really impressed me about him and scored some big points in this mommy's book.

• He has little accent making him very easy to understand. (Most of the time I have to ask Ghanaians repeat themselves before I get it.)
• He understood me every time I spoke...we're talking my normal voice, no fake-Ghanaian accent.
• He showed genuine interest in Caden (big points for that one!)
• He answered all of our questions without hesitation.
• His confidence in the baby-world showed in the questions he asked and the comments he made.
• He thought it was ridiculous that someone would tell us what gender our baby was if they didn't know for sure (which happened to us twice in this pregnancy).
• He knew our baby was a boy with the first glance.
• He graciously explained to me how the "folds" would look different if it were a girl.
• He joked around with us when we asked for a photo of the baby's boy parts.
  
• He offered me his hand to sit up after he was finished wiping the ultrasound gel off. At 35 weeks pregnant, you can imagine what a welcomed gesture this was.
• He took my talk of contractions seriously and put me on a fetal monitor for half an hour.
  

This man is answer to much prayer. We will be seeing him every Wednesday until the day of delivery. Also, I'm not sure if we've officially announced our baby boy's name.

Corban Stewart Emerson

Corban is found in Mark 7:11 meaning "a gift dedicated to God" and Stewart was chosen to honor my grandparents, Bill & Dot Stewart.

Halloween, Such As It Was...

We didn't really celebrate Halloween this year. It's not because we're anti-Halloween or anything; we both love the holiday and normally enjoy it quite a bit. This year, however, we are living in a culture far different from our own, a culture in which almost no evidence of Halloween can be found, besides a few bats and spiders hanging from the ceiling of a grocery store that caters to expatriates. On top of that, we're not even with our teammates at home in Kara, our little family that usually fills the culture hole that entered our lives when we moved to Africa.

BUT, since Brett's mom went to the trouble to send Caden a lion costume all the way from America, we put it on him for a few minutes (until he started sweating to death), snapped a few pictures, and ate some Smarties. Happy Halloween, West Africa style!

No Title Needed

In case your screen is too small to read the text on the picture....it says "scrotum".
We finally found a doctor that knew what he was doing and it only took us 35 weeks!

One-Arm Pushups

As you can see, Caden has been eating his Wheaties, or at least his off-brand cornflakes. We're not sure where he gets his amazing strength, but it's definitely not from his mommy or daddy :)

At Rest

That's where we are right now: in a state of restfulness. With all that has happened with April and contractions and worrying about the baby, we are now only 10 minutes away from a really good hospital. With all of the car drama from the last week, we are again driving a brand new truck, thanks to our dear friends the Crowsons and the Rieses. We will still have to find a new truck for ourselves by January, but it puts us at rest knowing that we have one for now. With all of the people who normally stop by our house, usually 4 or 5 every day, now 9 hours away and in a different country, we are able to spend all the time we want to as a family. We are strengthening our bonds of love and enjoying these last few weeks as a family of 3.

Are our problems all gone? No, of course not. But for a time, even a short one, we don't have to be burdened with them quite so much. We have never before in our 6 years of marriage needed rest so badly, and God has given it in abundance, just as He promised He would. All we have to do is seek Him, and He will draw near, take our troubles, and give us rest. The picture above says it all: we are connected to God, and He whispers words of rest to our hearts. We thank our great God so much for this time...

Comic Relief

Amidst all the stress our family is experiencing these days, God decided we need to laugh a little. A young man came to our door this morning asking if we wanted to buy some bread....or at least that's what we thought he said. When he returned, he opened his sack and we saw a rabbit. In French the two words can sound very close..... le pain (bread) le lapin (rabbit). So what did we do??? We bought the bunny as a birthday present for Caden. It only cost us $10! The best part is that the boy was selling the bunny to help pay for school books. How fun that our son has a new pet rabbit and we got to help another student with school supplies! Don't you love God's sense of humor?! Caden loves the rabbit and couldn't stop saying "rabbit" the entire time the young man was here. He offered to wash the rabbit for us and even to bring food for it later this afternoon. I think through this bunny we have begun yet another relationship with a Togolese student. Enjoy this short video and a few pictures of the event.



The first introductions.

New Rabbit
Uploaded by emersonstogo

Can you see the excitement on Caden's face?!

Caden and Yovo supervise the bathing of the rabbit. Don't worry...the dog was on a chain and unable to reach the rabbit. Don't you just love Caden in his boxers and rainboots?! His choice, of course!

Like We Needed the Drama

Most people who read this are well aware of our truck situation, so I'm not gonna delve into those sordid details right now. The purpose of this post is to inform everyone that last night, April started having some pretty strong contractions. They were about 8 minutes apart and 20 seconds long. I'm no nurse, but even I know that this sort of thing is not good. Fortunately, our friend Edith IS a nurse, and she said pretty firmly that this is not good. We were scheduled to leave for Accra on November 5th to await the baby, but we're going to have to leave two weeks early, probably this coming Wednesday.

If you've been following our truck situation, then you are well aware that we don't need this right now, at all. We just have to accept that it is happening and deal with it. We've got an amazing support team in our teammates, fellow missionaries, our sponsoring church, our family, and of course our friends.

We would really appreciate your continued prayers. All of this is so much to take in all at one time, and we're struggling to deal with it all. Please pray for my beautiful, radiant wife and our unborn child. Pray for me that I will be strong in the Lord for them. Pray that we can, when this is all past, praise God and bring further glory to His name...

Brett

Maternity Portraits

When I was pregnant with Caden my sister-in-law, Betsy, took maternity portraits of me at 32 weeks. It was her first "job" as a photographer and Brett and I loved the results! We couldn't imagine having those beautiful pictures of Caden and not having any this time around. So here I am at 33 weeks taking advantage of a slightly cooler morning to let Brett take pictures of me. I enjoyed playing around with the coloring of the photos afterwards to get these results. While it is not Betsy-quality work, we enjoyed attempting the look we wanted amidst a limited backdrop here in Togo. (Betsy, I still want to send you the originals and let you play.) These are a few of my favorites. Caden enjoys giving the baby kisses and hugs...so cute, I love it!

Brett says...

the world needs to see this face. And I agree.

Big Boy Bed

We are now into night #4 of Caden sleeping in his "big boy bed". Although it's not the final big boy bed, we did convert his crib into a toddler bed. He has done great and is thrilled about the transition. The first night he woke up a few times, but since then he's slept his normal amount at night and at nap time. Just after we finished putting the railings on, he climbed onto his bed and couldn't stop smiling and squealing....this video is dark, but it gives an accurate account of the excitement.

The ironic thing is that we made the move in hopes he would get out of bed on his own and play in the mornings letting mom and dad have a few more minutes of sleep rather than a 6 AM wake-up call. No such luck. When he was in his crib, he would rock back and forth on his feet while holding onto the crib railing and whining till we came in and got him. Now, he just stands up, does the same rocking motion, and whines until we open his door and tell him he can get out.

This was night #2...saying night-night prayers with Daddy.He looks too excited to sleep, don't you think?!
Caden insisted on sitting like Mommy while we read one last book before bed (night #3). The next morning, Caden woke up and came out of his room on his own! Now I know one day I'll be posting about Caden not staying in his bed...but for now, this was a huge step. We'll see how tomorrow morning goes.

A First For Me

I have read numerous posts of people being tagged to make lists of things about themselves. I always enjoy reading these and learning a little more about my friends. Ironically enough, I have never been tagged...until now. Thanks Betsy! So with a curious husband waiting to read my answers, here we go:


1. Who is my man? Brett Darrel Emerson
2.How long have we been together? We recently celebrated 6 years of marriage on Sept.1st
3. How long did we date? 4 months dating + 5 month engagement=9 months (when you know it's the right person, you just know...right?!)
4. How old is he? 30
5.Who eats more? Right now it's a bit of a toss up....oh the joys of pregnancy!
6. Who said "I love you" first? I honestly don't know. We told each other we loved each other in a brotherly-sisterly-Christian way since day one I think.
7. Who is taller? Brett
8. Who sings better? me...but Brett has definitely improved since we got married
9. Who is smarter? Brett
10.Who has more of a temper? Brett...I just shut down.
11.Who does laundry? both of us....but mostly Antionette, our houseworker
12.Who takes out the garbage? Antionette ("taking out the garbage" is totally different concept in Africa)
13. Who sleeps on the right side? I prefer to. But when I'm pregnant I sleep on the left...this allows me more room with the body pillow. (Brett is a bed hog)
14. Who pays the bills? I used to, but Brett has been doing it since we moved to Togo. Actually, our day guard pays most of the local bills for us...you have to go to the building, no paying on-line or over the phone.
15. Who has sharper computer skills? We both have our computer areas that we're sharper in.
16. Who mows the lawn? uhhhh, Eric (our day guardian)
17. Who cooks? me, Antionette, and Brett is a pro at throwing anything in a tortilla
18. Who drives when we are together? Brett
19. Who pays when we are out? Brett
20. Who is more stubborn? Brett
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? me, I hate conflict.
22.Which set of parents do we see the most? now that we're in Africa, it's equal
23. Who asked out who? I sent the first email (thanks to his ex-girlfriend for the e-address), but after that...I don't remember.
24. Who kissed who first? he kissed me...at the Wishing Well in DisneyLand
25. Who is more sensitive? ME, remember, I hate conflict.
26. Who has more friends? Brett
27. Who has more siblings? Brett
28. Who wears the pants? Brett

So there you go...28 bits of information about me and my man.

31 weeks

Coconut Grove

We took our last vacation as a family of 3...

We traveled to the Coconut Grove beach resort in Elmina, Ghana. It is located right on the Atlantic Ocean, and we enjoyed falling to sleep to the sounds of waves.

I'm not sure if this was a full moon or not but it gave the most beautiful moonlight across the rocks on the beach. The picture doesn't do it justice.

Caden was terrified of the ocean. I convinced him to play with some blocks in the sand. Then his creative Daddy convinced him to dig for a small coconut he buried in the sand. Caden didn't realize that the "nut" was moving closer to the water each time until a small wave took over his digging spot...and then he freaked out again. Note to self: Next time, bring more toys for playing in the sand!

Rain Forest Rope Bridge

While in Ghana we were able to visit Kakum National Park where the rope bridges are over 100 feet off the ground. It is home to elephants, monkeys, and bongos (large antelope)...none of which we saw. But we had a great time with Matt & Grace (moving to Togo in a year) and Emily (our curent school teacher).

Safari Caden

Caden loved the bridges but couldn't stay awake on the hike down to the car...poor thing.
Group picture: the Emersons, the Hangens (future teammates), Emily (current school teacher)

Hamper Time, a Bummer and Vacation

Every night after his bath, Caden takes his dirty clothes from the bathroom to his bedroom and puts them in his clothes hamper. At least this is usually how it goes. Sometimes Caden puts Caden in the hamper.
The bummer is that we had our 4th ultrasound yesterday and we still have no definitive answer on whether the baby is a boy or a girl. We've finally just resigned ourselves to the fact that we'll have to wait until he or she makes their debut...
The irony of the whole thing is that with Caden we had every opportunity to find out and chose not to, and now we want to know and can't find out, even after 4 tries! We love surprises, but this is getting ridiculous!
Here is the baby's spine and ribs. At least we know it has those. Seriously though, the ultrasound was a blessing just being able to know that the baby is healthy. Praise God! Caden, of course, wants to do everything that mommy and daddy do, so he was all lined up and ready to go for his own ultrasound. We're pretty sure it would have confirmed the presence of fruit snacks.

We are headed to the beach today for several days, so we will be out of touch with our known world. We are celebrating our 6th anniversary as well as these last two years of our little 3-person family. That's all about to change, but we want to pause and reflect on how amazing this time has been. Having one child to focus all of our love and attention on and enjoy to the fullest has been a beautiful season in our lives, and we thank God for it. Now if He can just prepare us for baby #2, we would greatly appreciate it!

What do you think?

I saw a poll on a friends blog and thought I'd give our readers a chance to cast their thoughts about the gender of this baby. Remember, one doc thinks it's a boy while another thinks it's a girl. What do you think?

We hope to have another ultrasound on Friday...if the baby cooperates, we'll let you know. If not...we'll leave the poll open.

1st Day of "School"

Caden experienced his first day of preschool today. While it was just for the morning and Mommy stayed to help out "Miss" Becky (his teacher), he seemed to really enjoy it.
Caden's classmates: Gabe, Owen, Asher (not pictured)


Circle Time with "Miss" Becky



"choo-choo" to recess train
(the other guys are 3 yrs. old, Caden couldn't reach Owen's shoulders...too cute!)

Caden would prefer to swing all day!

This is mostly just some structured social time for Caden once a week. We don't expect him to participate fully in everything just yet, but thought we'd give him the chance to start learning. We don't have lots of options for playgroups or other special activities, so we take advantage of what we do have. We are blessed to have friends/teammates that are willing to help us make our children's lives as "normal" as possible.