The 1st Family Vacation (Part 1 - Georgia)

The plan is to take Wisdom and Truth on a 3 week vacation to visit friends and family. We will fly into Atlanta June 23, rent a minivan, drive about 1000 miles, and eventually end up fly home from Louisiana on July 13. You ready??? Let’s see how things are going in Georgia…

23 June – Shannon’s idea of getting to the airport 2½ hrs early was brilliant. So we arrived in plenty of time to learn that Delta would be charging $45 for our 3 bags, and that two of them were over the 50 pound limit. Unpack…repack…weigh…(repeat)…finally, all bags are checked in. But since we both have a child in our lap, we can not sit in the same section of seats (not enough oxygen masks). Thankfully, the gate agents were able to sit us across the aisle from each other. We make our way to security with 2 diaper bags, one purse, one laptop bag, one stroller, 2 adults, 2 infants. After removing all food and bottles from bags, laptops, jackets, shoes, etc…the 2½ hrs had shrunk to 50 minutes. So we grabbed some Wendy’s and hopped the train to the south terminal. Wisdom spent the first 30 minutes of the flight entertaining the other passengers, but after that, we all slept the entire flight…Thank God...’cause we were exhausted (Herm warned us that travelling with kids was “no joke!!!”).

24 June – After a great flight, we arrive at ATL about 7:15AM. We pick up our luggage without incident. The plan was to rent a car away from the airport to save ~$600. Bryan catches a cab to downtown to pick up the car, while Shannon waits at baggage claim with the Wisdom, Truth, and the luggage (including our car seats). While in line at Hertz, Bryan noticed that the minivan reservation was for Tuesday the 23rd, instead of the 24th…uh-oh, is that going to be a problem???? U betcha!!! The downtown location had no vehicles available today and the agents confirmed that no minivans would be available until after the 4th of July. In the interim, Bryan called Hertz to rent a raggedy, baby blue, Mercury Marquis from Hertz at the airport (only until a better solution could be found). Bryan retuned to airport 2 hrs later…without the rental car. It would have been another 30 minutes (or another $30 cab fare) if Kat and ‘Twan hadn’t come to the rescue with a ride back to the airport. The other saving grace was that a lady in the airport made a Starbucks run for Shannon, about one hour into the wait.

Thankfully, the rest of the trip goes much smoother.


W & T on their first swim at Miles 8th b-day.
(Can't believe we didn't take a pic with the Garrett fam)

Arjaye feeding Truth

Arjaye feeding Wisdom - she was such a good host and helper

Uncle Herman and Brenda

Wisdom showing Leslie some of her dramatics

Kit-Kat to the rescue!!!

Bryan's ole stompin' ground...'DA VALLEY!!! (Do yo thang Dr. Rivers)

After 47yrs of pastoring, Uncle Emory (Truth's namesake) enjoying retirement

Truth has been sneaking some of Aunt Jane's cookin'

(We missed Unc Sonny and Aunt Rosetta this trip, but we'll c them in '10)

Whit and Nat snugglin' with T&W

Wisdom and cuzzin' Paul

Truth ain't ready for farm work yet

Look out Hollywood!!!

Rainey and the fam

T&W loungin' in Unc Emory's corn fields

Look out Alabama, here we come!!!

A Weekend with Daddy...

To celebrate her very first Mother's Day with Wisdom and Truth, Shannon decided to.....leave them with Daddy. So while Shannon and Grammy Weezie sip umbrella drinks at poolside in 100 degree Vegas heat, Daddy is on duty. Walk with me on this journey:

Friday, May 15, 2009

4:30 AM - wake up to make the airport run. Wisdom and Truth are both awake, at least until we load them in the car. We leave the house at 5:15 and make the drop at 5:45. Thankfully there is no traffic at that time.

6:15 AM - pull into the driveway to be greeted by Jesus (not the King of Kings), our cement contractor. Oh that's right, they are pouring the back patio today. So as they start running the ground compactor, I realize, this t'aint gonna work. I still have time to make my Friday morning small group, so the 3 of us head for Tacoma YFC office, where me and the boi's have been meeting for about 8 yrs or so. Truth had been coming to small group for the last few weeks, but this was Wisdom's first time and it was cool, 'cause the fellas hadn't seen her in a while and what was the first thing they said....."wow, she looks just like Shannon"...I love when people say that.

8:15AM - Arrive back home. Wisdom fell asleep for the 3 minute ride home and stayed sleep another 10 minutes while I changed Truth's poopie diaper. Now it is flying saucer and Baby Einstein video time. Daddy made and ate a quick, but tasty, breakfast of the last egg, some leftover sausage, a piece of toast with Aunt Mickey's apply jelly (yummy!!!)



9:15AM - Truth is starting to get winy, but before he can go down for a nap, I have to change poopie diaper #2. By 9:30 he is calm and falls asleep on the couch. Wisdom is now in the travel play pen, playing with her toys and sneaking peeks at Baby Einstein. Daddy is gonna try to wash the dishes....

9:55AM - Wisdom poopie diaper #1.

10:05AM - Put Wisdom down for a nap.

10:08AM - Truth and Wisdom are awake.

10:15AM - Wisdom manages to fall back to sleep, but Truth is up. By 10:45 he is clammering to eat. Do I wake her up and feed them at the same time, or let her sleep? I let her sleep and start feeding Truth his sweet peas. I have managed to unload half of the dishwasher and the contractors are still working away on the patio. Shan text me only to say that they had arrived, not to see if everything was going okay. Either she trusts that all is well, or....nothing else, she knows that daddy has a handle on thangs ;-)

12:00PM - Truth gulped down his sweet peas an hour ago and Wisdom is still sleeping. Yeah, I was supposed to wake her up at 11:00 to feed her, but she was sleeping so good. Truth has been a lil' winey, but so far things are going okay.

1:00PM - Wisdom managed to choke down the sweat peas - definitely not her favorite. So now we get dressed and get ready to hit the road. Shan told me before she left, "don't have Wisdom's hair lookin' a mess." So I set her down for a press and curl (i.e. 3 pony tails). She didn't look to bad.

1:45PM - We strolled over to grand paw and grandma Hopkins cause it was time for daddy to eat (they weren't home, but the fridge was open)....I was wondering why I was getting a slight headache. After a quick plate of beans and ham, we stroll across the alley to see Aunt 'Nanas. As you can see below, she is getting around pretty well in her wheel chair.



2:30PM - Made our way back to the Hopkins just in time for the 3:00 meal - sweet potatoes...yummie!!! Truth is pretty fussie the whole time and as mom is feeding him she notices that something is scraping against his nipple. Yep, Truth's first tooth is breaking through!!! Shannon is going to be sad that she missed it.

4:30PM - we make our way back home. Maybe I can finally get those dishes done.....we'll see.

5:30PM - they are starting to get restless. They didn't each much at the 3:00 feeding so they are getting a lil' hungry and Truth's tooth is bothering him. I have managed to keep them calm the last 30 minutes by having some floor time, now I need the Baby Mozart video to carry us through to bath time at 6:00.

6:00PM - just finished the bottles for the night and mom walked in to help with bed time activities. I'm glad she's here, it definitely helps. Of course she also brought some groceries (milk, eggs, salad, etc.). By 6:45 Truth is more than ready to get out of the tub and Wisdom isn't far behind. So we rush to get them dressed for bed and fed. Truth will not eat because his new tooth is bothering him. Wisdom eats pretty well but she still wants to fight her sleep and stay up with the grown folks. Truth falls right to sleep, but he will up soon to eat.



7:15PM - both of them are down. It took some secluded time in the TV room to get Wisdom down, but she eventually went.

7:30PM - Truth wakes up to eat. No problem, I was ready for him. The challenge is putting him back down without him waking up screaming, and of course, waking Wisdom up. After the 2nd try he is down.

7:50PM - Truth and Wisdom are down for the night and mom and I caught the final round of Jeopardy. Uh-oh...I hear Truth...

8:48PM - Please don't call CPS on me but I had to let Truth cry it out. He just stopped...58 minutes!!! Wisdom never woke up, but did let out a couple small cries near the end. Maybe I can get those dishes done.

What did I learn on my 1st day on the job? There is no down time. Either you are working for the moment, preparing for the next activity, or trying to catch up. By the way...I finished the dishes at 11:45.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

5:00AM - Wisdom is yelling. Not crying, just yelling like she does when she wants your attention. She used to scare Truth half to death when she did that but today he doesn't budge. So I take her into our bedroom hoping she will snuggle and fall back to sleep and at 5:39 she does just that.

5:40AM - Truth is awake, so I bring him into our room as well. He actually slept really well last night, the Tylenol probably had something to do with that. Truth woke up last night about 11:30 to eat, but after that, he slept through the night. Wisdom woke up a few times through the night. The fear with Wisdom waking up is that she will wake Truth up and the last thing I wanted was both of them to be awake.

6:15AM - Truth and I had drifted off to sleep, only to wake up to Wisdom climbing on our heads and playing with our faces. Oh well, so much for sleepin' in, let the day begin...



7:00AM - Rice cereal for breakfast. definitely not their favorite.

8:00AM - They are both down for a little nap....let's see how long it lasts

10:00AM - Wisdom woke up at 8:45. We had time to get her dressed, whip her hair up and for me to take a shower. Her hair definitely came out better yesterday. Plus, she doesn't have any red or white barrets/rubber bands to match her outfit (I can't believe I just said/typed that...what is happening to me :-) Amazingly, Truth is still asleep. But I am going to wake him up so that I can get him dressed so we can take advantage of some of this beautiful sunshine. Also, the cement got poured yesterday, but the guys will come by for some touch up and clean up later today.

11:30AM - we got Truth dressed just in time to go to Sheridan Street Park (1/2 block away) for the 11:00 feeding . I loaded the babies, their squash, bottles, toys and a couple blankets in the bike trailer and we were off. Mom and dad stopped by the park on their way to the commissary. Three brotha's in an Expedition rolled up on me as arrived at the park. It was Fatso, Kenny and Robert, fellas I grew up with. It was good to see and talk with them, even though they clowned me a lil' for riding on the sidewalk with a helmet on :-) There were 2 beautiful young girls playing in the park while we were there, and it was great to see them taking advantage of the park, plus today is one of those perfect 70 degree days in the Pacific Northwest that we have spent the last 7 months dreaming about.


12:00PM - After scarfing down the squash and 5 ounces of formula each, it was time to pack it up and hit road. So we called Elias and Zander to join us for a bike ride. Elias couldn't find his helmet so the four us ventured to the St. John. Wisdom and Truth fell asleep before we got to J St. On the way back we stopped by Patience house to see Q and Matias (God-brothers), but they weren't home yet...we'll catch up them later on today. While we were out with Zander, Mhoytia took Elias to get a new helmet so we headed back out on the road. This time our neighbor Tabatha rode with us. She is a very good rider. This time we headed toward the bike trail to check on the progress Grammie Weezie and Pop Spann's new house.



2:00PM - We are finally back home and just time to relax and play before the 3:00 feeding. I also got to change Truth's poopie diaper #1. After getting the kids settled in and pushing the play button on Baby Mozart, I fixed myself some leftover chicken and corn that Shan made Thursday night. It was really good, but the best part was that it was already prepared.

3:30PM - They loved the carrots. Unfortunately, I already forgot my lesson from last night....in that 2:00 hour when I was typing on the blog and looking at pictures, I should have been preparing their bottles. So needless to say, when they finished their carrots, they were perturbed that they had to wait for me to fix their bottles....chalk that one up to a rookie mistake :-)

5:30PM - I broke one of the golden rules and let the babies take a nap between the 3:00 and 7:00 feedings. They were both winy and wanting to be held so I knew they were sleepy. So I let them sleep for about 45 minutes...we'll see how it plays out. Mom came by when they got back from the commissary. She brought some more baby food and diapers - can't have enough of those. I prepared the van routes for tomorrow. But I was really struggling to stay awake Jesus and the crew finished cleaning and pressure washing the cement. He will be back tomorrow to seal it. Mom and I decide to make a quick run to Fred Meyer and drop the van routes off at the church.

7:30PM - Mom went to check on Aunt 'Nanas so I was solo for the bed time drill. It was cool, 'cause I wanted to give them some play time to make up for the nap earlier.

8:30PM - Okay, play time is over, time for lil' ones to go to sleep. Of course, as soon as they sense it is sleep time, they get more active, wanna climb all over me, start flashin' the cheezie smiles....daddy ain't fallin' for that one. So I tuck Wisdom into the corner of her crib with a cozy and after about 20 min's she is asleep. Truth is a lil' trickier. I had to rock him for a while, but by 8:50, they were both down.

9:20PM - Truth is crying....I go up to check on him, everything is okay, he just wants to be held. So I head back down stairs and let him self-pacify.

9:37PM - Truth stops crying. Wow, only 17 minutes. Last night it was 58 minutes.

Lesson for today: not sure if I would call it a lesson, more of a confirmation. Mom asks if I would rather go to the office every day or stay home with the kids. It would be great to witness every development in Wisdom and Truth's life, but man, raising these joka's is a lot of WORK....with no coffee breaks in the cafe.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

6:30AM - Truth is awake and ready to eat!!! Wisdom is asleep in our bed. Last night was the best they have slept in their whole entire lives...all 7 months of it. Wisdom woke up for the first time at 2:00AM, and went right back to sleep after her 5 oz bottle. Truth didn't wake up until 4:00AM, then fell back to sleep after his bottle. Wisdom woke up again at 5:00 so that is when I took her into our room. I couldn't get her to settle down, so I let her play in the bed until Truth woke up, but she fell asleep about 6:00, just when Truth woke up.

9:00AM - They both are getting some good floor time today. I spoke with Brian and Gene about the vans a few times. I truly appreciate those brotha's (and Reuben) for helping with the Transportation Ministry. I spoke with Shan for a while and they are having a great time. Truth napped from 8-8:45, so Shan spoke with Wisdom and of course Wisdom tried to eat the phone.

11:30AM - The 11:00 didn't go very smoothly. They do NOT like peaches. But no prob, they tore their bottles up. Everyone is dressed and its in the 70's outside, so we are going to hit the bricks. Not sure where we will go, but we are gonna do some walking with the stroller.

12:45PM - We are at TJMaxx, looking for some swim trunks for daddy. Truth slept the whole way there and back. We walked past the Grand-Spann's new house and it is coming along. The floor and the stairs are in. The view of Mt. Rainier is beautiful.

1:30PM- We made it back to Grand-Hopkins where mom is cooking shrimp, and Aunt Bea is talking about the new car she wants but knows she doesn't want to pay for :-). But the onions are bothering Truth's eyes so we walk the block. There are a bunch of guys at the park having a barbeque. Then I run into Tanya (used to be Baptiste). She looks great and it is good to see her doing well. Her aunt, Willie Dean, is at her grandmother's so we walk up there to see her. She looks great too. It has been tough for her since Simone passed, but she is hangin' in. Uh-oh...it's now 2:40 and I just realize that I forgot to grab the kids food, so we hustle home to grad sweet potatoes, and then its back to Grand-Hopkins to eat.

4:30PM - Truth and Wisdom have been bouncing from arm to arm, even spent some time on the floor. While I was changing Wisdom, she pead on the floor. Thankfully, it was only on the floor and it cleaned right up. I need to give Aunt Bea a jump in her Cadillac (I didn't even know she still had it) and mom needs to check on Aunt 'Nanas stocking. So, we are off....

5:30PM - The Auntie's are all taken care of some mom and I take Truth and Wisdom for another stroll. Unfortunately, we walk past the park where things are winding down, and they left a bunch of trash. Wisdom and Truth have been sleeping off and on for the last hour or so but I think I am going to try the same method as last night (an hour of play between 7:00 feeding and sleep). Shannon called to talk with the babies (see pic). Yeah, the sunscreen was on a lil' thick.

8:00PM - Wisdom and Truth both ate well. Sandra and Britney came by to lend a hand with bath time. It was definitely nice to have the extra hands and Britney's willingness to go into the other room to grab things I needed, but forgot to bring with me. It was individual baths tonight, not a whole lot of splashing time. Roni came by just as it was time to start putting them to sleep.

8:45PM - They are both sleep. Sandra and Britney went to see Aunt 'Nanas. Roni and I are going to get something to eat.

10:30PM - Wisdom starts making some noise, so I go up to check on her. I rock her for a lil' bit, but then she settles down and falls back to sleep.

11:40PM - Shan just text (is there an "-ed" to show past tense...I will have to look that up....some other day) to say they had made it, so Roni is off to the airport (thanks a million). Now I have to plan my hustle. How do I get all of the things done that I wanted to have done by time Shan got home (dishes, laundry, mail, garage, etc....and update the blog)?????

11:45PM - just as I was starting the hustle Wisdom is crying. I enter the room to discover that both of them are awake and scootching around in their cribs. Thankfully, Truth doesn't see me walk in and I try to stay stealth. I pick up Wisdom to feed her 5 oz's. While feeding her, Truth recognizes that I am in the room. It is dark so he can't really see me, but starts to wine and pulls the bumper in his crib down so that he can see me...but it is dark, so he is not totally sure that I am in there. By the time Wisdom is done, his wines are more pronounced and he sees me lay her down. So I pick him up to feed him 5 oz's.

12:40AM - Truth and Wisdom are sleeping. The load of clothes is in the dryer, the garage bay is clear, the mail for Shannon is stacked neatly in the dining room, the plants have been watered and the water replaced in the Mother's Day roses, the dishes are washed, the bottles are made.

What have I learned this weekend??? That I would never want to do this without Shannon. I thank Him for her.

Two Lil' Tax Deductions

So much has happened since the last update, so let's try to capture some of the highlights...

Wisdom and Truth were Dedicated (back to God) on April 05 and it was so beautiful that Pastor Madison had "Granpaw" Hopkins anoint their heads with oil. W&T were dressed to the nines.

Wisdom and Truth are now 6 months old and started on baby food. So far they have a preference for the vegetables over the sweeter tasting fruit (they definitely got that from Shannon). Squash is definitely their favorite.

We are very close to the point of having to baby-proof the house. Wisdom is rolling over with ease and able to scootch backwards. She is even doing push ups. Truth is able to rollover, but he's not as fluid as she is. They have also graduated from bouncie seats to jumperoo's/exercausers.

Now for the good news....Christie (SMG) recommended the book, "Twelve Hours' Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old" by Suzy Giordano. We are definitely not to 12 hours yet, but they are adapting well to the schedule Suzy outlines....putting a little cereal in their bottles at night seems to help too.

The best mommy in the whole wide world just turned the big 4-0 today (more on that in the next update)!!! Not sure if she met her goal of losing the last 10 pounds of baby weight, but even so, it's all distributed in the right places (a special comment from Bryan ;-)

Bryan definitely hasn't lost his 15 pounds of baby weight, but he did get the taxes done, and what a difference Wisdom and Truth make (now is that a literal or figurative comment....hmmm).

After the baby dedication services

Truth: "I hate it when the water splashes in my face"

Truth: "I don't think she likes the rice cereal mommy"

Wisdom practicing for her and mommies spa dates

Wisdom: "Playing is hard work"

Uncle Aaron and Truth having a cheezin' contest :-)

A trip to Dr. Weatherby's....I think Wisdom and Truth knew what was coming.


Wisdom: "look daddy, the good part is coming up"

The moments you cherish

Look at Sandra handlin' 'em. She has such a gift.


Truth: "You lookin' at me...I'm lookin' at you"

Wisdom: "This tastes better than rice cereal."

The 4-month Update....in the 5th Month

Sorry for the delayed update, but I am sure you understand.

Truth and Wisdom are doing great and so much has happened since the last blog update.

Wisdom has received the right of passage into "little girl-hood"....she got her ears pierced :-) She only cried for 2 seconds, it was tougher on mom and dad than it was on her. She has developed a very strong personality, and she sure is inquisitive (not nosey....inquisitive). She loves to watch TV, but can't stand going to sleep. She will fight her sleep until she just can't fight anymore. But she does like to sleep in...like her mama.

Truth didn't get his ears pierced....nor did he get a tattoo. It is hard to believe that he is the same lil' boy that we could barely get to eat 15 cc's. He is "bend your knees when you lift" solid. He has discovered his thumb and when the binky is nowhere to be found...he goes to the thumb. He has really learned to pacify himself (at least in the day time). He wakes up every morning at 6:00AM.

Shannon and Bryan are doing well. It is official, we will not be having any more children. If we do happen to get pregnant, regardless of gender, we will name the baby "Miracle"....because it truly will be just that.

Who do you think did it?


Truth and Grandma Elaine


"A tisket a tasket...Wisdom in a basket"


The Posh Home crew...the best shopping in Tacoma!!!


Chuck showing Truth how things are done at Intel.


James and Cassandra givin' Wisdom some love.


Cuzzin Kayla showing Wisdom how it's done.


"Auntie Nat, you hurry up and get better"


The God-brother's...Hassan, Emari and Truth


Truth holding his bottle with one hand....just showin' off.

Mommy and daughter...


...Father and son

3-Months Old...Yippee

Wow, we have made it to 3 months and it has been a great first 3 months. We got to be a part of history as we celebrate "A New Birth of Freedom". Truth and Wisdom have been growing so much. We have began that critical process in their development....sleeping in their own crib. We LOVE our babies, but it sure has been nice to have have our bed back (even if it's only for a couple hours.)

We have started a weekly parenting class for the four of us. We are learning a lot of fun, learning activities that we do at home. Wisdom is still doing a lot of talking and singing. She is so beautiful and she takes some amazing pictures. Truth's demeanor has changed so much. He has learned patience (thank God) and is now enjoying the bouncie seats. Both of them have started teething and are trying to fit their entire fist in their mouth. Truth has even started sucking his thumb.

Truth and Wisdom chillin' on the couch

Uncle Hank giving Truth the giggles

Taking our first family neighborhood stroll.
Thanks to Miles and Grant for our cool new ride!!!

Wisdom is ready to, but Truth needed a special rehearsal

session with Dr. T .

Marlo and Jamie swoop in for a visit

The Macy's Crew....thanks for taking care of our Grammie

We are so proud of Jamila!!! Thanks for hangin' out with us.

Look how fine Shan is as we squeeze in a date night.

Shan has started taking yoga to help with the final 10 lbs of baby weight.