Wild-Haired Strawberry Thief

He saw them on the counter and managed to get them down to floor-level without spilling a single one.

It's a Perfect Day

After the cold temps and dark mornings, it's starting to lighten up much earlier in the mornings. All this week, there's been great weather and today it's just beautiful. I've only got a few minutes, but I wanted to capture the moment in writing as best I can. I have different "photographs" in my mind of various events that have happened in my life that I'll never forget. One that I recall vividly is during the attacks on the Twin Towers on 9/11. I was out in the field with my Military Police unit over in Germany and we were all huddled around a small radio, trying to listen to the newscasts for more details as the events unfolded. Our intelligence specialist was closest to the radio and was taking notes so we could brief the commander on the latest information. Several other soldiers were seated or standing around him as he wrote...silence pervaded the TOC. (Tactical Operations Center) It looked like something out of a Norman Rockwell WWII painting. But, that's another story!

Today is just one of those many days at home with the kids. The type of day that the grandmothers and parents of older children tell you to treasure. I sit here watching as our two little gifts from God play contentedly in the living room. Violet is busy climbing from one piece of furniture to the next, making her way around the room without touching the floor. (I remember doing this Pipi-Longstocking-inspired game myself as a child!) Sure, it's a little dangerous and something could get messed up, but she's being pretty careful and I have to admire her skills. And Justus is happily banging on the rainbow xylophone his grandparents gave him for Christmas. Sometimes he runs over to get another "banging" toy such as the small metal frying pan from the kitchen set that makes such a satisfactory noise! They are both happily engaged and not in need of mommy...for the moment, at least. It's a precious picture and I hope to remember these times as they are slipping by so quickly.

Okay...gotta run...I hear a suspicious clanking sound that probably means Justus has transitioned to "fishing" in the cat's water bowl.

Violet's Ballet Performance

After a week of Exploring Ballet Camp, Violet and the other ballerinas showcase their grace and beauty in a breathtaking performance of Swan Lake. Hannah, a friend from preschool, also attended the camp, so it was a lot of fun! Thanks to Oma Judy who sponsored Violet's attendance at the camp.

The Younger Sibling Is Never Bored

So, when Justus was still en utero, I worried about him not getting as much parental attention as Violet, the firstborn. Then I realized there are trade offs. Perhaps he has to get along without being constantly doted on by Mommy...but Big Sis has stepped up to the plate. This video offers you a slice of what life is like for Justus every day.

Us With Our Offspring

Justus' New Hardware

We got Justus' hearing aids this week and are getting used to working with them. The audiologist said to consider it a successful day if we get them in for an hour a day. With little ones, it's hard to keep them in because they are not upright and the aids often fall out or dislodge. They also tend to squeak a lot, so we are always trying to keep them from doing that: very challenging as we have found. His reaction to the hearing aids has been positive...lots of smiles when he can hear us better.

The Precipitous Arrival of Justus Paul Chruma

Several months ago, a friend of mine had a most exciting birth story. Despite their well-laid plans, she ended up delivering their third child in the front seat of their mini-van after a hectic ride to the local hospital. All was well with my friend, the baby, and her van. But, after reading her account, I felt nervous about the same thing happening to me, so Jason and I readied our mini-van "just in case." We had blankets and a shower curtain laid out in the back along with an OB kit I borrowed from the Rescue Squad where I volunteer. Our actual birth plan was to labor at home, then head to the hospital to deliver with the help of a midwife.

In the wee hours of Friday, 18 September 2009, I awoke to some contractions that had begun spontaneously. I decided to try get some sleep so that in case it was the real thing, I'd be rested. I'd had several rounds of false labor in the week prior, so I didn't get too excited. The contractions came every so often, but I did get to sleep most of the night. Around 9:30 am, things got rolling and by 10:30 am, my mom was writing down times/duration of each contraction. I had an appointment set up later that day to see the midwife, so at noon, I called her to let her know I thought that real labor was in progress. The contractions were regular and lasting between 45-75 seconds, so we were pretty hopeful this was it. She said I should continue laboring until I felt ready to come in to the office so she could check me. After hanging up the phone, I though to myself, "How will I know if I'm ready for an office visit? I'll have a better feeling for when I'm ready to go to the hospital, so I'll stay home until then."

My mom took Violet over to a neighbor's house to eat lunch and to play while I continued to labor. Our plan was to have her present for the birth, if possible, but during the labor, she needed to be elsewhere. I called Jason to let him know this was the real thing and that he should probably come home from work. He was in the middle of a meeting, so I was only able to reach a graduate student in the lab who had to go down and interrupt the meeting to tell Jason to come home. When he got home, I was pretty uncomfortable and felt that it was time to go to the hospital. He went over to pick Violet up from the neighbor and by the time he got back, I was ready to leave.

2:07 pm: The contractions were strong, but I figured that we'd get there and they would tell me I was at 6-8 cms and still had some time to go. As soon as I climbed into the back of our van, I thought, "There's no way I'm going to be able to ride in this van for 20 minutes to get to the hospital...I'm just too uncomfortable." Kneeling in the back of the van in my white t-shirt and old, grey Army shorts, I told Jason to call the Rescue Squad. As soon as he did, my water broke with gusto and immediately the head began to emerge! I couldn't believe how fast this was happening!

At this point, I realized that the shower curtain, however ingenious, was not the best choice for this type of situation. Think Slip-N-Slide! I also thought I had to get this baby out before the squad arrived...it was Friday day, and I wasn't sure who was on duty and hoped that it would be minimally embarrassing! (remember, I've volunteered there for about 4 years now) Next thing I knew, my mom appeared with a bunch of absorbent pads and saved me from the Slip-N-Slide. She had to help me pull off my Army shorts while I shouted, "Mom! What do I do? The head is coming out!" She calmly directed me to consider pushing and within 2-3 pushes, the baby was out. Mom carefully directed the baby to the floor safely onto the pads. It took us a few minutes to check to see if it was a boy or girl...we were too focused on making sure the baby was breathing.

During all of this, Jason freed Violet from her carseat, so she had a ring-side view of the birth. She kept reporting back to Jason as events unfolded and she got to announce that the baby was a boy. Jason also got on the phone with the midwife and was calling out instructions as the baby came out. Within a minute or two after delivery, the ambulance pulled up and Kostas, John H., Ross, and Will appeared. And yes, all I had on were my white t-shirt and those Army shorts hanging off one leg! It may have been more awkward for them because at that point, I really didn't care. They covered me with a sheet and I was able to slide out to the back of the van and onto the ambulance cot.

It wasn't until we got to the hospital that we found out how big he was...10 lbs and 11 ozs! I was pretty much out of it for the next 24 hours and just wanted to lie in bed. We expected the baby to be big, but he certainly exceeded all our expectations!

We chose the name Justus Paul for several reasons. Justus is a strong, masculine-sounding name and it also has some obscure Biblical references...just our style! Acts 1:23 talks about Joseph (Jason's middle name) Barsabbas who was also called Justus. He was being considered as a replacement disciple after Judas died. They drew lots and Matthias ended up being chosen. There's another reference in Acts 18:7 to a man named Titius Justus who housed Paul on one of his missionary journeys. Paul is certainly a Biblical name, but we chose it in honor of my (Laurel) mother's father. She was very close to her him growing up and he died on my 2nd birthday, so I'm the only one of her children who knew him.