Making the Rounds

Quick Version...

Monday morning: Conway to Little Rock. Little Rock to Texarkana.

Tuesday night: Texarkana to Hazen.

Wednesday: Hazen to Little Rock and Back.

Thursday: Hazen to Lake City to Jonesboro.

Saturday: Jonesboro to Little Rock to Hazen to Conway.

The Long Version...

As you know from my previous post, I had to travel to Texarkana to be with some friends who experienced a sudden loss. As hard as it was to see them in this state, it was a really good visit. I was able to stay the night with my grandmother and visit with her and her sister.

At the service on Tuesday, I saw almost everyone who meant anything to my family throughout my childhood and teenage years. It's hard to go home now that my parents have moved away, but it was so nice to see so many faces and reconnect with old friends.

Wednesday, Jenny and I decided to try to trade in her car. I have been looking for a used Suburban or Expedition, and I had found one that I wanted in North Little Rock. I had just noticed a few days earlier that it had been on their lot since September. I was apparently a day late...they had just sent it to auction. So, the search continues. We have until the spring. Our car is simply not big enough for a family of four...especially when one of those members is 78 inches tall.

We had a WONDERFUL meal with Jenny's parents and sister on Wednesday evening. Her father's church was trying something new on Thanksgiving, so we had our meal a day early.

Thursday we traveled to my Dad's side for the annual Bunch Thanksgiving Lunch. All six of the brothers and sisters were there, so it was really great for my grandfather (who is 93 and kicking).

Friday, Jenny and I did a little Christmas shopping in the morning, and then my mom and I shopped for a few things that evening.

Saturday we headed back to Little Rock to get the dogs before the kennel closed at noon. Our poor four-legged children had been in the kennel since Monday, and since the vet doesn't open on Sunday we decided to hurry back and get them.

That afternoon we went back to Hazen for lunch with Jenny's Dad's side of the family. We put Benjamin down for a nap at the beginning of the Arkansas/LSU game and THANKFULLY he slept until the fourth quarter...a true blessing as loud as we were during the game.

Last night we ran a few errands and went to Lowe's to pick out a tree. This year's tree is smaller than normal since we are in transition and moving again in a few weeks. YEA for a House. Yea for Three bedrooms. YEA YEA YEA for a fenced-in yard again. We have been blessed to have a place to stay while we learned our way around Conway, but it will be SO NICE to be settled with all of our things.

HOPEFULLY we will be in and unpacked by January 4 and can watch the Razorbacks in the Sugar Bowl (again, hopefully) in our new home.

Have a great week!

An Unexpected Loss

Friday evening Jenny and I were waiting for a dinner table with Jenny's sister and parents. While we sat, I checked my facebook. A friend from Texarkana had written on her wall, "Praying for the Burns Family."

Immediately, I clicked on a profile belonging to one of the Burns kids. It read, "Dad had a heart attack and doctors say he is not doing good...please pray"

That was at 5:50 pm.

Within a half hour he had posted, "He didn't make it..."

The Burns are without a doubt one of the greatest families I have ever known. Dr. Burns was a pediatrician, and adored by his patients and their families. I did not have the privilege of being one of his patients. He did not start practicing in Texarkana until I was a few years old. Similarly, most of my friends had other doctors because we all used the doctor we had from birth.

He was devoted to his practice. I remember sitting next to them at countless football games and ballet recitals and hearing his pager go off. Or later in the age of the enormous Motorolla Hand-held Cell Phones, sitting in a restaurant while he talked to a frantic mother..."How high is the fever? Is the cough productive?"

He was devoted God, to his Church and certainly to his family. His wife is one of my favorite people in the world. Some years I send her mother's day cards from the Hallmark category, "Like a Mother." She was my sixth grade Sunday school teacher, and the one who led me to Jesus at Children's Camp when I was twelve.

His children are the best of the best.

Clay, the eldest, is one of my lifelong friends. We attended and graduated high school together. Clay was a groomsman in my wedding.

Kevin, only one grade behind me and Clay, went on choir tours with me year after year. We roomed together. We got into trouble together. He attended Ouachita with me and we were in the same graduating class. He welcomed his first child in the past year.

Emily, four years behind Kevin, is the little sister everyone wishes they had. Adorable. Bubbly. From the time I can remember. The epitome of a Southern Belle. She welcomed her first child this past year.

To say these people are near and dear to my heart doesn't even come close to how much I love them. As Jenny and I drove home from dinner on Friday evening I told her, "Almost every fun memory of my childhood and school years involves a member of that family."

Today I will leave for Texarkana to be with them. I may hug Mrs. Burns and not let go for an hour or so. I plan on spending a lot of time with Clay. I am heartbroken that this happened - and even more so at this time of year.

We grew up in an amazing church, and they are still rooted there. The only comfort I have had since Friday evening is knowing that they have been surrounded by people who love them every bit as much as I.

Pray for this precious, precious family through the days and weeks ahead.

I found this photo on Mrs. Burn's Facebook page, and I hope they don't mind my sharing it here.

Thank you, Dr. Burns, for being the force behind a family that has touched countless lives.

I am a better person having known you.

Giving Thanks at School

Thursday was Benjamin's first-ever Thanksgiving Feast and Program. Ben goes to our Mother's Day Out on Tuesday and Thursday, but since he is such a good napper, we pick him up at noon and he naps at home. This will likely change when the new baby arrives, which is fine with us. He LOVES his teacher.

Her name is Mrs. Chris. Think New York. More specifically, think Coffee Talk on Saturday Night Live. She is classic. Her accent is hilarious. And she definitely has the personality to go with it.

Earlier this week, they made place mats for their Thanksgiving Feast. Mrs. Chris explained to them what it meant to be thankful for...how we are thankful for our mommies and daddies, our brothers, pets, etc. When she asked Ben what he was thankful for, he thought a minute and then exclaimed, "YOU, Mrs. Chris. Thankful for YOU!"

Apparently she burst into tears over the sweetness of the moment. When his other teacher, Mrs. Nicole entered the room, she found Mrs. Chris crying over Ben. Funny...we cry over Ben almost every hour! Just not always for his being so precious.

The Place Mat

These are a few of Ben's classmates. Cohen dead center...Jenna in the Pink Bow. He loves them. They're also in his Sunday School class. I love that our new church has more kids his age.

Notice who is nowhere to be seen...

Yes, there is our son. Standing off to the side crying on Mrs. Nicole's shoulder.

Sometimes it's just hard to be in the spotlight.

During lunch, he wandered out of the room and found these friends.

Love that they sort of match the scarecrows on his shirt.

A friendly scarecrow doeth like good medicine - Ancient Proverb

We are so excited about Thanksgiving. We will be seeing pretty much all of our family over the next week. I am trying to diet (surprise, surprise) up until the holiday so that maybe I'm ahead of the game in the weight department. Still...I'm really looking forward to eating.

We saw on the weather this morning that the high for Thanksgiving Day is 45 degrees!

Twenty-Three Weeks

Luke William Bunch is 23 weeks along in his journey into our lives. He is the size of an ear of corn. Apparently we have progressed from the fruit category to the vegetable category.

Weekend Getaway

This past weekend Jenny and I - joined by our friends Hillary and Josh - took a few days to get away before the holidays and the dreaded third trimester where you are afraid to wander very far from your OB.

We had been talking about doing something for our thirtieth birthdays (which the three of them celebrated this year...mine was in 2008), but New York was too expensive, too far, and would take too much time.

Since Jenny is extremely familiar with Chicago, and it is a fairly easy drive from Arkansas, we decided to head there for a few days.

We all left Wednesday and stayed at my parents in Jonesboro so that we were two hours towards Chicago when we left on Thursday morning. We made it in 11 hours, including an hour-long stop for lunch, SEVERAL potty breaks and rush-hour traffic once we reached the city.

We stayed in Schaumburg and found an incredible deal on a hotel there. We had separate rooms, a large bathroom and dressing area, and a kitchen. The hotel included a full breakfast every day, so we were able to head out each day with full bellies.

Our best decision by far was to use the CTA Park and Ride system. For $6, we were able to leave our car in a CTA garage for the entire day. For another $5.75 per person, we purchased all-day tourist passes to ride the L Train and city buses. This way we didn’t have to deal with traffic into downtown, we did not have to pay for parking and we were able to hop on a bus whenever one of the two preggos needed to sit and ride for a bit.

Our Blue Line Train Pulling in at Cumberland Station

Me and My Bride Speeding Along the Tracks to Downtown

Macy's, State Street

If you are familiar with the history behind Marshall-Fields historic store on State Street, you will remember that they are famous for their window displays during the holidays.

Several years ago, the store was purchased by Macy’s, but they continue the annual tradition. The theme for this year was “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Clause.”

The Tree in the Walnut Dining Room, Macy's Spans Three Stories.

Love, Love this City.

Gino's is everywhere in Chicago, but this is by far the most famous location.

You typically wait an hour for a table, and take your pizza order before drinks and

appetizers/salads because it takes almost an hour to prepare...

THIS!

Historical Church on Michigan Avenue.

The site for Luke and Sadie's Wedding in a couple of decades.

Love Old Churches Like This...

Two Pregnant Cupcakes in Search of a Cupcake...

Luckily Sprinkles of Beverly Hills just opened in Chicago.

There was a lot more packed into our three-night stay in Chicago, but this is all I can post about due to time. Keep checking The Bazyk's Blog for additional pics.

Living Well

Yesterday morning, Jenny and I received word that the mother of one of Jenny's close friends had passed away. She had been sick for a long time, but was not critically ill, or even in a hospital when it happened.

It has us all in shock. At 30 and 32, Jenny and I do not feel old enough to have friends lose a parent. Reality has hit hard. Our parents are aging. We are at the age where we will have to face their changing health.

And as I think about this, the words of a young pastor come to mind. You've likely read this somewhere. Kyle Lake, pastor of University Baptist Church in Waco, planned to speak these words the morning of his tragic and untimely death several years ago. I remember being in our own church in Waco the morning it was announced, and feeling as though the wind had been completely knocked out of me. It was the same feeling yesterday when I heard about this sweet woman.

Live. And Live Well. breathe. Breathe in and Breathe deeply. Be present. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now. On a crystal clear, breezy 70 degree day, roll down the windows and feel the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.

If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool Autumn day to freeze your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be alive. Get knee-deep in a novel and lose track of time.

If you bike, pedal hard… and if you crash then crash well.

Feel the satisfaction of a job well done—a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed. If you must wipe the snot from your 3-year old’s nose, don’t be disgusted if the Kleenex didn’t catch it all… because soon he’ll be wiping his own.

If you’ve recently experienced loss, then grieve. And Grieve well. At the table with friends and family, laugh. If you’re eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke.

And if you eat, then smell. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven. And taste. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of Life. Because-it-is-most-definitely-a-Gift.

I'm thankful to have these words to reflect on. I'm thankful to have had a lifetime of memories and love from incredible parents. I'm thankful that our friend had a special day with her mother before she passed away.

I pray that every person who reads this will consider how precious it is to savor every moment that we are given to spend with our loved ones.

A New Leaf

Okay, so this is a long, long time coming.

Our lives are being controlled by an unstoppable force. It's threatening our health, our wealth, and our sanity.

It's unpredictable. It's uncontrollable.

It has no respect for time, convenience, or geographic location.

We have been held prisoner - for well over a year - by the poor eating habits of a precious little redheaded boy.

Let me just run you through a typical day...

Monday. Eggo Waffles. Slathered in butter. Uneaten. Followed by a pop tart. Thrown to the dogs. McDonald's Biscuit on the way to the grocery store. Half-eaten.

While in the store, screaming for Nemo Fruit Snacks. Two packs consumed. At 10:30. Along with an entire sippy cup of oranje juice.

Noon. Stick Soup requested. Stick Soup not touched. Two saltines eaten. Another cup of orange juice consumed.

1PM. Down for nap. Cup of Milk in the bed with him.

4 PM. Wakes up. Wants popcorn. Eats popcorn.

6:30 PM. Dinner is served. He screams. He doesn't want it. We fix frozen nuggets and Ore Ida "Crispers" french fries. Two fries eaten.

8:00 PM. Ready for bed. Screams for waffles. Two are prepared. Half of one is consumed.

8:20 PM. In bed. With another cup of milk, which he works on for about a half hour while he falls asleep.

Wake up.

Repeat.

Every.

Single.

Day.

I'm ashamed to admit, but I will be honest, that some days he has Chicken Tenders from Burger King for Lunch and Chicken McNuggets from McDonald's at Night. IT NEVER FAILS. THAT is what he will eat. Every time. And we get sucked into his wants rather than doing what we know is best. Every time.

Until now.

It's 4 PM on Wednesday, and Ben has not had fast-food since Sunday evening. And quite honestly, there's not a lot he has had since then either.

It's a fight I just decided we were going to have. And it's really not a fight. Or if it is, we're not participating in it anyway. We just decided a few days ago that this was how we were going to approach life with Ben from this point on.

And it's not his fault, nor is it entirely ours. We had a TERRIFIC experience from about 9 months to 18 months. He had a great appetite. He ate all sorts of vegetables. You could prepare Taco Meat and the kid would devour a bowl full.

Then the ear infection from hell started. And yes, I said the ear infection from hell. It was the worst 4 months of our lives as we waited and waited for the inevitable, "Well, now we can put tubes in." And in that time, he lost interest in food. Who could blame him? He felt like crap for four months. He had a fever at LEAST 50% of that time. It was agony for us. It was agony for him.

We've just been letting him have his way for far too long.

Today, while I was home for lunch, he arrived home from Bible Study. He had apparently been asking for Burger King Chicken in the car, and Jenny stood firm. This was after he had an assortment of fruit and other choices in front of him at Jason's Deli. Jenny will admit to having wavered for a moment, at which point she called me to ask what I thought she should do. She agreed when I said "Absolutely Not." He came in cranky, asking for popcorn. Asking for Trick or Treats. Asking for Nemo Fruit Snacks.

I made myself a cheese quesadilla. Then I made him one.

We set it in front of him, and we went on about our business.

And eventually, he ate it. It was then than Jenny quoted something she read on a friend's blog...she thinks it was this family...that said, "Your only responsibility as a parent is to prepare healthy food and put it in front of them. It's their choice if they are going to eat it or not."

It's as simple and profound as that. Maybe you've all heard that time and again. I'll admit, I've heard versions of the same thought before. Just not that concise.

At any rate, it was exactly what I needed to hear three days into this new phase of feeding our child.

So pray for us. Pray for Ben's appetite. Pray for us to stand firm and make the choices he needs us to make. It's a hard, hard position to be in for any parent.

My Reason for Getting Up this Morning

Aside from work, ministry, husband-ing and father-ing. This is why I got out of bed this morning.

The red cup.

And as if it was some sort of a sign, the quote reads, "Our friends think of us as an odd couple, but we only think that its odd when we're apart." I'm so thankful that my beautiful wife is my best friend, that she loves the holidays every bit as much as I, and that we are healthy and well enough to break away from life for a few minutes, and savor this prelude to the holidays.

The only downside? Well, it only happens once a year.