Dishwashers

Unloading



Reloading





















So helpful. ;)

Planetary Pitstop

Earlier, rockin' it out like his Papa Denny

In the van tonight, out of the blue...

Noah: What's a Roman?

Me: A person who lives in Rome. It's just like we live in America so we're called Americans.

Noah: So what about the people who live on Saturn?

Me: There aren't any people on Saturn.

Noah: Then what does live on Saturn?

Me: Nothing.

Noah: Why not?

Me: It's too cold. It's just gas and rocks.

Noah: So is that where the spaceships get their gas?

Doctors' Offices

Last week, as we drove to our pediatrician's office for the boys' annual well-visits, I realized with GREAT gratitude that we had not been there since the last well-visit 6 months before. Why am I hesitant to even celebrate that our last sick visit was over a year ago? I'm not superstitious, right?

I'm also not trying to take credit for this. The boys do get sick occasionally, but for some reason, God has allowed them to visit nurseries and preschools every week for the last year and still not get seriously ill.

Compared to the number of medical visits we made the year before (countless, literally), it's something to celebrate.

Of course we're not taking any chances, so we loaded up on flu mist and vaccinations, quizzed our pediatrician on a host of issues, and thanked the Lord that both boys got a clean bill of health.

This week, we visited another doctor's office: Daddy's! Noah has been begging to go to work with Josh, so I drove the boys up to Vandy to visit his clinic. Aaron was very busy smiling, flirting, and checking everything out. Noah was more hesitant, watching, asking a few questions, listening to Daddy's heart, and then quizzing him on the skeleton in Daddy's "closet." One of the nurses gave them Hotwheels, and we finished with dinner at Au Bon Pain. The hospital was a hit. Let's just hope we return for equally happy reasons!

First Day of School

Both boys have started the school year, and so far, no tears, lots of new artwork, and free time for Mommy! Hip, hip, hurray!

Aaron has ten kids in his 2-yr-old class: 8 boys and 2 girls.
Both of his teachers have 3 boys of their own at home, so he's in good hands.

Noah spent the first day speaking to his teacher in his pirate voice.
He also chose 3 objects to take for show-and-tell:
a lincoln log, a construction truck, and a pickup truck.
Mommy's attempts at convincing him to take a family pic were...well...lame.

After attending "Mommy & Me," parent-only orientations, and the first days for two different schools, I feel really good about where our boys will be spending two mornings a week - and so do they. What a blessing. Another not-quite-equal-but-close blessing is the carpool that seems to be making it all work like a well-oiled machine. :)

Live Strong

I generally think of myself as strong. Not physically (have you seen me do a push-up? didn't think so), but emotionally.

Mostly through school, I discovered that it felt good to stand up to peer pressure, to remain loyal to that ostracized friend, or to take on a new and scary challenge. Lessons in courage, I suppose.

During my 20s, a few dear friends showed me how essential it is to be someone that is difficult to offend - to be flexible, assume the best of others, and not dwell on the details. Lessons in love.

Good lessons. Ones I've utilized many times.

But not always. Lately, I've been surprised by my own fragility. A harsh word. A scary fall. An unmet expectation. One errant email has the power to create a cloud over my head for far too long.

All reminders that security is easy in peacetime. I can rest on my laurels from past decades when the worst I have to bear is coming from someone who can't yet say his own name. It's the clouds, the red flags, that are adding new urgency to my time with God.

I don't want to become emotionally lazy. I don't want to give any room to bitterness. I don't want my heart weighed down by weakness. But I don't want it to become hard and impenetrable either. So I'm spending some time trying to remember that what I learned before (God is good and I can trust Him) makes what I'm learning this week possible. I can be humble and secure and at peace (i.e. strong) because whatever conflict I'm encountering does not threaten who I am or His purpose for me, it's just an opportunity to become more like Him.

Which means next time I'm under a cloud, I know what I need to do. Pick up my Bible, say a prayer, and replace that fear with gratitude...

God's Message:

"Cursed is the strong one
who depends on mere humans,
Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone
and sets God aside as dead weight.
He's like a tumbleweed on the prairie,
out of touch with the good earth.
He lives rootless and aimless
in a land where nothing grows.

"But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,
the woman who sticks with God.
They're like trees replanted in Eden,
putting down roots near the rivers—
Never a worry through the hottest of summers,
never dropping a leaf,
Serene and calm through droughts,
bearing fresh fruit every season.

"The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,
a puzzle that no one can figure out.
But I, God, search the heart
and examine the mind.
I get to the heart of the human.
I get to the root of things.
I treat them as they really are,
not as they pretend to be." - Jeremiah 17:5-10

"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." - Ezekiel 36:25-27

"Feel thanks and it's absolutely impossible to feel angry. We can only experience one emotion at a time. And we get to choose -- which emotion do we want to feel?" - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

Extraordinarily Two



Left & lower right: What in this picture does not belong?
Top right: The culprit.

Yesterday, I cleaned up all the toy trucks. Within 15 minutes, they had been redistributed 2-at-a-time to three particular locations: under the slide, in an empty box next to the trash, and on top of the piano. This is Aaron. Neat. But in an extraordinary way. ;)
He's mischievous and sensitive. Giggling or crying. Musical. Cautious. Social. Opinionated. Loving. Patient and then...well, not. I just can't capture him in a few words, so I'll try it with a few pictures. And then you'll have to come visit for the full effect. This little cuddler has his Daddy and I wrapped up. He'll get you too, if you don't watch out.



What 2-yr-old doesn't love shoes? Seriously.
It's the sequins that really make this special.

 

If he can push it, he's on a roll.
Round and round like there's a track through our house.
Nascar?

Yes, that's the birthday hoho. And the happy birthday boy.

I just had to include this for future blackmail purposes.

Notice the trucks in each hand?
This is no accident. It's perennial.
Or chronic...

Which can make drinking milk slightly more challenging,
but not impossible.

Neither of my boys likes to make a mess; they request napkins at every meal.
But that doesn't mean they're not capable of it...

Aaron LOVES to read.
He'll bring me books all day and climb in my lap
to listen and point out all his favorite subjects.
So far, I'm batting 2-for-2 on the boys-loving-reading front.
Thank the Lord.

 

Excuse me while I climb inside this frosty...
Aaron is always up for food.
And if he likes it, he'll eat a ton.
If not, forget it.
Yes, he's totally two.

 



The Farm

How many hours have we spent sitting in the window-seat, watching deer, wild turkeys, horses, cows, tree-frogs, lightening bugs? How many times have we played scrabble at the kitchen table, sipped coffee on the back porch swing, picked tomatoes in the garden, taken hayrides through the woods, run down Jenkins Road, sipped root-beer floats from frosty mugs, and watched a bushel-full of stars come out?

Josh's grandparents built their log cabin on Deer Trace Farm in Upton, KY with their own hands, and they've always welcomed us to that farm with the same exuberance. Thus, we took a few moments recently to visit the farm, celebrate its beauty, and prepare ourselves for its sale. We are very excited for Gigi and Papa's future and all the fun they will have when they find a new home that doesn't involve chopping trees and marathon grass-cutting sessions. And we thank God their exuberance travels with them. We also thank God for the home they've shared with us this past quarter-century...