At the Edge of the Water

Weinermobiles for all

2009-12-11T19:41:00.004-05:00

This is not a very Advent-y subject, but I need to share.

D. stayed home from school today with a fever and cough...maybe the fifth round so far this fall and winter (ah...young children and their germy ways...). As he loves to do, he set up shop mid-afternoon to work on a few projects. He started by working on a "hot dog car."

This made me giggle because clearly, he was dreaming of Oscar Mayer's Weinermobile, which he had never encountered and thus had no knowledge of. But I had a friend in college who actually interviewed to drive around the U.S. in one of the Weinermobiles. And due to the stiff competition for slots on the dog (heehee), she was not selected. This was very heart-breaking for her.

But in a five-year-old's heart, the Weinermobile exists before words like Weinermobile are known. And so, over the course of about an hour, the child had drawn, colored, and cut out five Weinermobiles.

They are taped to the wall in the living room, even as I type. One for each of us. There is a Weinermobile that says, "Mommy," down there right now. I feel nice about that.

The end of Advent, week 1

2009-12-05T14:03:00.002-05:00

Light breaks in.

I'm finding myself full of longing this Advent. I am longing for the Light of the world.

For Him to break-in, to be my hope in every moment. For Him to remind me that His good work in me - in others - is being carried on to completion.

For His Light to be satisfying - to be so satisfying that the temptations of other smaller, weaker, yet consistently enticing lights would appear to me what they really are - poor, dim candles that do not even compare to the fire of His glory.

Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel. You are the Light of the world. Without Your light, I walk in darkness.

Thanksgiving Rewind

2009-12-04T22:31:00.001-05:00

Second to marriage and the births of our three cute kids...Thanksgiving this year marked perhaps the fifth most glorious moment of my life. (I have truly pondered this, and it might really be the fifth such moment for me...or at least in the top ten...)

Kevin and I loaded up the van with the children and all of our gear and drove off to Missouri to surprise Nanny with Thanksgiving guests of the grandchild variety (for a host of reasons, we had to let Poppy in on the plan - he was a good teammate in Operation Nanny Surprise).

We had several wonderful, dear, sweet-memory-inspiring adventures over the nine days we traveled, and you will find my attempts at a photo journal below.

God in His grace was present with us in the good gifts of time with faraway friends and family.

First Stop: A Hotel I Will Not Name in Columbus, OH

2009-12-04T22:30:00.000-05:00

For good reasons, no photos. If you are ever traveling through Columbus and are looking for accommodation suggestions, I can tell you where NOT to stay.

Next stop: Rest and play with Auntie Stuff and Uncle C

2009-12-04T22:29:00.000-05:00

It didn't take long for the kids to get reacquainted.

Kevin and Uncle C busy with the Wii. Note the mesmerized child too close to the t.v.

Our Little Sissy says to Their Little Sissy, "So, you want to be roommates at Mizzou someday?"

More of Our Children admiring Their Children.

I fear I don't have the words to say this appropriately...but there is something so deeply right about our children loving the children of such dear friends. In my ideal world, our six children would grow up as next door neighbors...or would at least live in adjoining states...but for now we are friends living on the East Coast and in the Midwest. We miss you!

Next stop: Nanny and Poppy's house

2009-12-04T22:28:00.001-05:00

Here D. waits eagerly with Poppy for Nanny to arrive home to be greeted with our surprise.

Sadly, we didn't get the actual moment of Nanny's arrival in a photo. It was all very exciting, though. She pulled into the driveway, and after she stopped the car, we sent D. around to her side to be exuberant toward her when she opened the door (for those of you who love D. with us, this exuberance is not hard to imagine). The whole scenario was made a big tricky as it was nighttime and dark outside...but D. did a great job surprising Nanny, and we all visited happily ever after.

Next stop: Grandma Minnie's

2009-12-04T22:27:00.000-05:00

Poppy and D. on the tractor.

Nanny with her namesake.

Walnuts. (You can't see them in the photo, but the walnuts under the plastic crate are the items of interest.)

Grandma Minnie takes Sissy and D. for a spin.

Walnuts revealed.

Grandma Minnie's, part II

2009-12-04T22:26:00.000-05:00

The walnut story unfolds backwards...here is D. with hands full to take back to show the "city kids" in MD about walnuts.

While Baby Sister was a very supportive participant in the farm visit, a girl can only take so much...she needs a refreshing beauty rest now and then.

Sissy riding solo.

Nanny and Poppy's: Cookies and Kids

2009-12-04T22:25:00.000-05:00

We made some cookies to take to our friends' "in the country."

D. made a sort-of self-portrait.

And you knew I would slip in a matchie photo somewhere, didn't you?

Next stop: Visiting our country friends

2009-12-04T22:24:00.000-05:00

Little did we know how cute Sissy would look in all of our country photos when we dressed her like Laura Ingalls that day. (It was an accident, but she does look cute and pioneer-ish, doesn't she?)

So Dr. A. gave D. an egg recently produced by one of the chickens we met. Fresh.

Here we see Dr. A. in her groove as a mom, walking to the barn with O. This picture makes me happy and teary. Love you, A.

And here we are...once college friends...now grown-up friends.

Chickens in the Country

2009-12-04T22:23:00.001-05:00

So Drs. A. and J. have quite a chicken thing going.

Here we see Sissy looking a little trepidacious about Little Mermaid, the chicken.

D. was a little less afraid of L.M.

And Dr. J. in his groove as the proud chicken and child cultivator.

Back to see the 5 Rs

2009-12-04T22:22:00.001-05:00

We stopped back through Auntie Stuff's and Uncle C's on the way back to MD. I think these photos are actually from the first round of our visiting, but I just couldn't leave them out. Cute girls.

Baby sister: 9 weeks, 1 day old

2009-09-13T21:56:00.002-04:00

A boy and his sisters

2009-09-13T21:48:00.001-04:00

Birthday boy: A retrospective

2009-09-13T21:46:00.003-04:00

These are the artifacts of a 5-year-old's birthday.
What a big kid.

First Day of School

2009-08-28T11:53:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was D.'s first day of school.
Whoa.

The kid was ready, as evidenced by this before-school photo.

And he had a great day, as evidenced by this after-school photo.

Kids and Boats

2009-08-28T11:49:00.002-04:00

Grandpa is in the distance here. We Midwesterners never tire of MD's boating culture...

Auntie Stuff and Uncle C

2009-08-28T11:40:00.005-04:00

Auntie Stuff, Uncle C and their Baby Sister visited us this month in celebration of their ten year anniversary. It was completely wonderful (words fail here) to share this landmark with them.

Here is their date night photo:

And in a rare breach of policy, here I am in a photo with Auntie Stuff at a local seafood landmark. This summer is the 17 year anniversary of our friendship, and we really haven't done much over the years in documenting the seasons of our sisterhood. So. Here ya go.

(I will spare you the pages of disclaimers I want to write here. I will allow myself two: (1) think BABY WEIGHT, and (2) think post-partum hormones that convinced me to do something terrible to my bangs that resulted in something even more terrible happening to all of my hair in order to fix the bang problem.)

Kids in Red

2009-08-28T11:29:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Grand Nanny, the kids have these nice matching outfits. I love matching outfits...they weren't a favorite of mine when my brother and I were growing up, but now - well, let's just say I am equipped for the girls to match well into 2010. I'm still on the look-out for coordinating boy things.

So here are photos from earlier this month. Be assured that Baby Sister's safety and well-being were being closely monitored during the whole photo shoot. While I'm sure she felt awkward at times, she was never in any danger from her well-meaning siblings.

Nanny love

2009-08-01T20:26:00.003-04:00

Nanny has been here for more than a week now. My entrance into the mom-of-three world continues to be cushioned by so much help...This has truly been a sweet season for our family. Here are a few photos from the past days.

Baby Sister: 4 days old

2009-07-15T16:58:00.002-04:00

Looky what we found!

2009-07-12T15:07:00.002-04:00

So Miss Three joined us early Saturday morning at 4:30. My water broke at home at about 12:15, and the labor was fast and not terribly dramatic (except for that half-price epidural during the actual "delivery" part...).

We are all completely thrilled to get to know Baby Sister. We brought her home from the hospital today - the miracle of the 38 week baby! We'll post more photos as everyone wakes up and looks presentable. We are rejoicing and thanking God for His kindness to our family!

Still pregnant, week 37/38

2009-07-03T19:49:00.002-04:00

Um, yeah.

I have taken the advice of Mrs. B., Mrs. R., and others and am trying to redeem these "freebie" weeks before Miss 3 arrives. Earlier this week, I made a 11.5 day meal plan complete with accompanying grocery list. We are sticking to it and are feeling pretty accomplished.

Kevin did some home wiring today, which was another domestic achievement. Tomorrow we might paint some shelves that will go in the downstairs bathroom, and he got a birthday Weed Eater (pretty celebratory, huh?), which he might take on a trial run tomorrow, as well.

The kids and I did his birthday shopping earlier this week, and we have gluten-free cupcakes waiting for tomorrow in the fridge (thanks to Whole Foods, not my baking). I made a dent in thank you notes and other correspondence this week, too.

I just wanted to report that I'm not languishing 24-7, although I feel like it mentally and emotionally. I'm doing plenty of languishing - don't let me mislead anyone - but am also trying to actively prepare and anticipate for the busy season ahead.

We'll keep you posted. Next doctor appointment is Monday.

Still pregnant

2009-06-27T18:35:00.003-04:00

As of today, I am the most pregnant I've ever been. I have never before made it past 36 weeks, one day, and today is 36 weeks, two days. I'm happy for Miss 3; she will be the gestationally oldest baby I've ever delivered, Lord-willing, which might mean a less lethargic, hungrier, less jaundiced baby. We'll see.

But the fact remains that I'm still pregnant today and have no idea what to do with myself. We're doing lots of nesting projects, which is good. This past week was my first week of not going into D.C. at all...I am learning what is a good daily routine for the kids and me - of course this will all change when the small one arrives. Some of our summer plans are a bit on hold until then...swimming lessons, for example.

This could go on for weeks - what do people do in these situations?

Every contraction stops me in my tracks - I wonder if this one will be "the one." But so far no water breakage and no contractions that last longer than 20 minutes at a time. I went to the doctor on Wednesday and had made progress (I'll spare the blogosphere the details of that progress...), but nothing is going on that is producing a baby.

So I'll keep you posted.

Zoo Day

2009-06-27T18:22:00.003-04:00

In my last couple of weeks at work, ("weeks" meaning going into D.C. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, mostly), Kevin took me in on Fridays, and I worked a half day while he and the kids did the zoo. I feel sad that for all of the times they've been to the zoo, I've only gone once since we've lived here, I think. Maybe we can do more family zoo days in the fall, when the weather cools down...

Apparently there is some kind of pizza exhibit at the zoo...who knew?

This is the alpaca (???) exhibit. Don't know where the animals were, but those kids sure are cute.

EDC

2009-06-11T20:30:00.002-04:00

Mrs. R. asked when #3 is due. I thought I'd give everyone the rundown, in case you haven't heard it from us yet. (One of the teenagers at church has heard me say this so many times that she repeated it to her mother word-for-word on Sunday. I realized that perhaps I've become something of a broken record...)

So, Ms. 3 is due on July 23. However, since my labors with D. and Sissy began at 36 weeks and 0 days and 36 weeks and 1 day, respectively, we are prepared for her to arrive sometime between Sunday, June 21 and Saturday, June 27. I am betting on Friday, June 26.

If I am still pregnant in July, you may find me to be an unhappy girl. Happily anticipating Baby, but unhappily still pregnant.

Revolutionary Things

2009-06-11T17:21:00.000-04:00

We have recently learned that D. is now man enough to operate the Swiffer. We don't turn him loose with the Wet Jet, but he does great with the Swiffer Sweeper. This is huge because (a) it is the first household task for which he can be responsible, and (b) Sissy has a mortal fear of the big vacuum. She tolerates the Sweeper pretty well, though. Regular Swiffering cuts down on the need to vacuum...the hard floors, anyway.

I feel a chore chart coming on...

A Day in Our Photo Album

2009-06-07T21:14:00.000-04:00

We've been going a little crazy with the new camera. Let's call her...Diva. Trusty the Betrayer is on a sabbatical of indeterminate length.

With number 3's arrival almost imminent, I think we feel frantic to immortalize D. and Sissy as "D. and Sissy" before they become "D., Sissy, and number 3." Maybe this is relational nesting.

Anyway...I can't even tell you how many photos we've taken lately, but what follow in the next post are some favorites from today. (Today's complete album is posted on my Facebook profile, for any interested parties.)

Picture pages...picture pages

2009-06-07T21:07:00.004-04:00

Sissy, in her mid-afternoon slump. As tired as she may be, she is not going to give up her post guarding the chalk.

D. in action. Diva allows us to capture the kid at his happiest - in motion.

Our church family staged a surprise baby shower for us today during the snack time between services. The little lamb was a gift for #3, but D. has adopted him and named him Liam. I don't think #3 will regain her rights to the little guy.

Was I ever so carefree?

D. had just told a joke here...Sissy thinks he is HILARIOUS.

Update from the Edge

2009-05-08T08:38:00.003-04:00

I don't have any new photos to post due to Trusty's recent misbehavior. But I thought I'd check in with a little family update.

March and the early part of April were probably the busiest month's of Kevin's pastorate so far. Just after Easter, seeking a breather and one last little trip before baby arrives, we made plans for a long weekend in Virginia Beach. It was our first "just us" vacation, and I felt like we (Kevin and I) were real grown-ups, loading up the kids, passing out the Cheetos, and driving to the beach. (The Cheetos were something of a theme...I felt covered in their orange-ness for most of the next few days. Please don't scorn us for giving our children Cheetos.)

The beach was lovely, and Kevin and D. went to an airshow with my brother, dad, uncle, and cousin. We also got to see my mom, aunt and Grandma ("Grand Nanny") as well as my sister-in-law, niece and baby-in-the-womb. I was so thankful to get to see so many of "our people." We grow accustomed to the distance from them - not in a happy way, but in a resigned way - which makes such visiting a real treat.

It was on vacation that Trusty became The Betrayer.

We've been toodling along since we got back. Sissy is in the midst of being a hilarious and frustrating 2-year-old. I don't know who taught her the concept of "right now," but we are paying for it - big time. Just imagine a sweet, squeaky little voice making all kinds of demands ending with "...right now." D. was in a similar stage when I was pregnant with Sissy, but I'd forgotten how hard it is to move the pregnant body fast enough to capture those teachable moments...

T-ball season has been a long series of rain-outs. I think we've played two or three of many more games. We hope all of the rain bodes well for our vegetable seedlings which may find their home in a newly-tilled garden patch this weekend.

[Accompanying the garden theme, Kevin just came in from taking out the trash. He reports seeing a brown snake in our yard. We do (kind of) live in the woods, but snakes already??? Bleh.]

Pregnancy seems OK. The practice where I'm a patient this time is watching for pre-term labor more closely than my previous doctor did, which is something of a comfort. Of course, I try to "fix-up" for my appointments so that I look like I feel great, thus avoiding the appearance of needing bedrest. I know that people have endured bedrest already having other children, but I just can't imagine what we would do...I'm moving toward 30 weeks with only one quick-trip-to-the-doctor incident, and everything seems to be on track.

Finally, this spring has brought refreshing fellowship for me. While Kevin in his role at the church has more quickly found community and brother/sister-in-Christliness here (which is a good thing), these comforts have been a bit of a long time coming for me. I think that a significant portion of this slowness has come from my state of heart and mind as we've processed Kevin's last call. Another barrier has been the normal and real demands of being a young family in a very busy place - surrounded by other busy families.

Anyway. In mercy and kindness, God has drawn me to His Word this spring - in study with others and in devotional quietness. He has reminded me that in His surrounding of His children, He often uses His people. Surroundedness is a theme these days, and I am thankful.

A Partridge in a Pear Tree???

2009-04-13T21:59:00.002-04:00

So I think my new background is actually from the holiday (meaning "Christmas" collection), but it looked springy to me...so here we go!

Christ is Risen - He is Risen Indeed!

2009-04-12T21:44:00.003-04:00

I taught D. the "Christ is Risen..." greeting this morning while we were waiting for Sissy to wake up. It was cute how the "Hallelujah" part was his favorite - I don't exactly know why saying hallelujah makes kids giggle (although I know that part of it is due to the "Hallelu - Hallelu - Hallelu - Hallelujah - Praise Ye the Lord" song), but it's cute to me, and the mirth is fitting a day of great celebration, I think.

So anyway, here is the rundown of our Easter Sunday:

Worship.

Post-worship photo shoot.

Bunny cake. (Tribute to Grand Nanny)

We spent the day with church-neighbor friends (see lacrosse photos below) and generally enjoyed the celebration that is the Resurrection. He is Risen Indeed - Hallelujah!

Spring training

2009-04-12T21:30:00.003-04:00

Marylanders will tell you that lacrosse got its beginnings somewhere around here. I don't know much about the history of the game, but it's true that there is a lot of lacrosse going on in our neighborhood. D. got to play a little today, which was cute. And...Safety Pup says that lacrosse looks much safer than football.

Eager kid.

Suited up and ready to play.

I mean, I don't know much about lacrosse, but it looks like he's got some technique going for him...

With Mr. Phil, one of the stand-in uncles for today.

We are so thankful that in being far from our families, God gives us great family fellowship in the form of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles and aunts who stand in for our faraway Midwestern kin. In the best ways, we are surrounded.

Earthy Folk

2009-03-29T21:03:00.002-04:00

It all started with these daffodils. (Actually, I'm not sure if they are daffodils. But they kind of look like daffodils, don't they?) They had all fallen over and were face down on the ground after an overnight rain, so I thought they could best display their beauty if cut and vased. So that's what I did.

And then we found this farmer kid hanging around, and we decided to put him to work.

We gave him plenty of breaks to enjoy the local fauna.

And then his sister woke up from her nap, so she joined in the outdoor fun. There was a bird singing somewhere nearby, and D. told Sissy that they should look for the bird in the flowers. Which I thought was pretty cute.

And there's Hunchy Hubby, for those of you who STINTed with us or have seen him otherwise display this hunching behavior. I think it has something to do with long legs. You see him there lopping off some of the deadness in our flower beds.

We're trying to act like homeowners do...puttering around in the yard, introducing the children to the wonders of nature. Trying not to curse at the gumballs.

The Girl in Her Birthday Dress

2009-03-29T21:01:00.001-04:00

Thanks, Nanny!

Sissy on St. Pat's

2009-03-29T20:55:00.002-04:00

Cute or not...I can't say that anyone has an easy time jumping into household tasks. Or maybe she gets this housekeeping grumpiness from her mother...

There's the sweet girl.

And a nice wagon ride to finish the day. Notice the other passenger, Diego. Sissy has adopted D.'s former plaything as her own.

March 19

2009-03-19T12:37:00.003-04:00

This is a big week for our family...Today is Sissy's second birthday, and this weekend we are hosting our mentor and friend Nelson Jennings in our home while he speaks at the church's missions conference. In the midst of all of the excitement, I decided that I could not move forward in life one more day without a color scheme in place for painting the downstairs.

Whew.

I don't know if this is pregnancy nesting or just the need to make this new home our territory. Whichever is the case, we have a bathroom that is partly "asparagus" in color - hopefully it will be wholly asparagus later today.

Baby #3

2009-03-10T10:42:00.001-04:00

I changed the look of the blog in HER honor. Yippee!

A photographer, I am not

2009-02-19T10:29:00.003-05:00

I think it's time to evaluate our camera situation. You might have noticed some quality issues in the photos I've been posting...and I will in part take responsibility for those. I mean, maybe I just don't have "the eye."

But I will also call into question Trusty. (I just named our four-plus-year-old digital camera...I mean, right now, I named him.) He has been Trusty, if not excellent in his craft nor able to make batteries last longer than...um...two-ish days.

Trusty has some delay issues that result in many, many of our photos being of blinking eyes, half-turned heads, and the post-smiling-for-the-camera confusion of little ones. He also has some complicated to-flash-or-not-to-flash issues.

So I'm asking, friends with the pretty pictures on your blogs, what is the best camera (for an extreme amateur) for the money? I'm ready to move up from the point-and-shoot, but I'm also not willing to break the budget for something for which I might truly not have a gift. Advice? It's welcomed.

In the Doghouse

2009-02-16T18:31:00.003-05:00

I've recently come to the conclusion (with the steady but unyielding help of Husband) that we won't be welcoming any real, live puppies into our life any time in the next five or so years...So the kids got real, live, stuffed (not alive-and-then-stuffed, but just stuffed) puppies for Valentine's Day. It was kind of a catharsis for me, even though Sissy and D. were officially the recipients of our new family members.

D. named both dogs, as Sissy didn't offer many ideas for her new friend. Jeremy and Emily they are. (D. has a penchant for naming things after his favorite playmates.)

Husband was the general contractor for a doghouse this afternoon. I would like to honor him with a couple of photos.

Our Southern roots

2009-02-15T20:06:00.005-05:00

I'm sure that people from other parts of the country sew for their little girls cute little reversible jumpers with an initial monogrammed on the front...but I just haven't encountered those other pockets of culture too often. All I know about fancy children's clothing I learned in Marion, Alabama. So, this fall, when I found myself faced with a child-related sewing dilemma, I did what I've done since D.'s second Christmas...I called Mrs. W.

Here is Sissy in her imported garb - handmade by before-mentioned and beloved Mrs. W. (who probably wonders if we're alive: we're alive - we miss you - we love you - visit ANYTIME - third trimester, or not!). The dress is reversible and was also Sissy's Christmas dress (if the dress wasn't being held hostage in the kids' room, where they are supposed to be sleeping, I would showcase the "Christmas side," too) - but I knew from the moment I laid eyes on it that this would be her Valentine's dress. Isn't she sassy?

My Valentines

2009-02-12T10:24:00.001-05:00

A Long Time Coming

2009-02-12T10:00:00.001-05:00

So an update from our little corner of the world.

Moving, the holidays, and the beginning of 2009 have come and gone in a fog of thankfulness, moving-box-chaos, pregnancy nausea, and the extreme heroics of Husband. In the past couple of weeks, the nausea curtain has somewhat lifted, and I'm seeing all that I've been missing in the past months...Like

Our new house. Here it is in all of its Maryland winter glory. We are getting to know it with all of its ten-year-old personality and continue to be amazed and thankful that we are homeowners. This is thanks to our church, who owns a portion of the house so that we can own a portion of the house. We saw God act as our wise realtor as we looked and bought...he gave us a real estate agent at our church who worked and fought for us and in the end thanked Him with us.

Spring is showing us that we have a bit of gardening to do, and we have a leak issue that may be resolved with a master bathroom overhaul (this news has been a bit...daunting...), but overall, the home was move-in ready. We continue to finish with all of our moving boxes - hopefully they will be out of sight and out of mind soon.

We have all struggled with various colds and other viruses this winter...culminating in D.'s diagnosis of two kinds of mono and strep throat a couple of weeks ago. I will spare you the details of my new knowledge of the children's version of mono - the short version is that the virus expresses itself differently in little ones (thankfully), so while he has been pretty sick for a few weeks, it wasn't the drama that mono causes in teenagers or college students. (Thanks belong here to Dr. A., my dear college friend, who fielded a few frantic phone calls from her friends in MD during the process of D.'s sickness.)

Amazingly, Sissy has remained pretty healthy through these weeks of germ infestation, and we are all smiling as the sun is shining more and more and we have hope of winter sickness being gone for good.

I continue to work part-time and completed my big project of the year last week. What a relief! I do the event planning for our organization, and the big project is an annual meeting for our membership. I spent last Monday through Friday in Miami Beach, FL (where the weather was unusually wintry, I should add, lest anyone think I was truly on vacation...) and came home with such anticipation and joy that I watched out the window of my plane the entire two and a half hour flight home. Husband and I are both thankful for my work and for God's provision for our family in it, but we also share relief that my busy season is over and that life can be a bit more normal.

The spring brings a first for us: tee-ball season! D. is incredibly excited, of course. I am very nervous about my own behavior as a first time sports mom. I love justice too much to watch any little slight against my child or his team. I'm sure that Husband is nervous about the potential spectacle I could be...I'll keep you posted. We've heard that this league doesn't keep score for the little ones' games, so perhaps that will be a help...for the parents, at least.

I leave you for now with a picture of snowy D. This just a day before the strep diagnosis...He looks pretty happy, nonetheless.

Happy Advent

2008-12-07T18:31:00.003-05:00

Please do not google Blogger Police because you think someone has taken over my blog and has begun posting as my impostor. It's me. I'm posting. I miss you.

Photos of all that's new with us soon. Look for a gray house with blue shutters. And a very unclear black-and-white photo of a very tiny baby...anticipated to join us "out here" in June or July. And watch for debut photos of a red-headed four-year-old wearing a sheep costume in his first Christmas program. And don't miss the BEST CHRISTMAS DRESS EVER, imported to MD from Miss K. in AL.

I've retitled the blog and am thinking about its best use. Perhaps we can talk about Advent in these next days (a guest post, Mrs. R.?). I long for conversation and sharing with you who I know stop in and read now and then. I need your fellowship, so here is where I will start.

For Miss Susie

2008-09-14T08:57:00.004-04:00

Dear Miss Susie,
Thanks for thinking of us when you drove down "our alley." Since fall is almost here, my mom and dad have been thinking of our AL friends - especially of you Judson girls - and missing you deeply!!! (My mom is helping me with this post...I'm not sure what "missing you deeply" means...)

We are thinking of football, and pots and pans of food on Sunday nights, always followed by coffee and dessert. We are thinking about outdoor SGA events and visiting "your house" looking for books and movies to borrow. My mom is thinking about the time she almost fell off of the treadmill because something so interesting (???) was on the t.v.

So I wanted to post my photo(s) in the hat you bought me when we played at the mall. I'm getting bigger, which means I'm growing into it. Mommy calls it my Miss Susie hat.

We miss you and would love to load up a few cars with fun friends and spend an hour or two at El Tenampa together...Maybe we could make it onto the Polaroid wall.

LOVE YOU!
D.

P.S. My mom is posting some photos of our adventures this weekend on Facebook. You can see the county fair and open house at NASA there...

Thinking

2008-07-05T09:06:00.008-04:00

I've been thinking a lot lately. Not so unusual, being the life-is-more-real-inside-me-than-outside-me
introvert that I am.

I've been thinking about this very phenomenon, actually.

There are certain areas of life where I have a vision for something very different than what is at the moment. One example is diet/exercise/healthy living/my current size (I've debated writing about weight on the blog - it's very personal and almost awkward to read about, perhaps. But it's on my mind almost all of the time, so why not do some out loud thinking about it...???).

Another example of this inner hope-outer despair syndrome is housekeeping/homemaking.

And I just thought of another example: personal worship/devotional life.

Wow - and here's another: living in community with other people.

In each of these areas, I have a bucket-load of conviction. I think that creatures of a Creator are called to be good stewards of our bodies. I am instructed in God's Word not to be a glutton. I am warned against idolatry, and I know that food is an idol in my life right now. I am called to repent and to ask Jesus to be life in this body that chooses the wrong thing. I am called to exercise dominion over the world around me (appropriately), and my home is screaming for dominion to be exerted over it. I am to love God and His Word with my whole self, and it makes sense to me that part of that love would involve reading the Bible expectantly and consistently and living prayerfully. I know that humans were created for relationship and for community, and I know that the Body of Christ (the local and global Church) is to be a place for these things. I also know that the welcome of Jesus (borrowing this from you, CRS) is part of that fragrant aroma Paul writes about - friends and family and neighbors and co-workers will come to Christ, sometimes, because they have been in our homes and have been welcomed into our lives.

I feel very strongly about all of this - and I will defend those convictions until I am out of breath. These are the lofty things that inspire me - my thinking self cannot argue with any of it.
On some days.

On other days, I find myself living as if the conviction itself will "make it happen," and I truly act as if my external behavior and choices do not impact the call to live consistently within those convictions. It's as if my desire to put aside the idol of food, for example, is enough - the eating choices I make throughout a given day become disconnected in my mind from the consequences of my failures in this area.

The struggle is in the living out. The small choices moment by moment and day by day.

Here is how the inner hope-outer despair syndrome works itself out in me. Being sure of those truths as I am, I make choices that constantly undermine my living consistently within that framework. I eat when I am not hungry, and I eat too much when I am. I tell myself that these seemingly small, one-at-a-time choices do not impact the big picture of who I want to be, physically.

I fill my days with small busy-ness-es instead of choosing to be occupied with tasks, thoughts, and even rest that move me more in line with living as I believe I should - and as I want. I tell myself that the kitchen being a mess today - the whole day - doesn't prevent the opportunity to have friends over later in the week. I tell myself that keeping up with laundry each day doesn't mean that I won't feel behind later in the week. I tell myself that hanging those pictures in the guest room won't make that big of a difference in how I feel about our home. I could go on...

Instead of refreshing my mind with God's Word, or even seeking the quiet of worshipful meditation, I read a novel that takes me on someone else's journey, and I find myself glad to have gone there, but then worn out in approaching my own life. (You know, readers, that I am not scorning the joy of reading - especially of reading a good novel...it's just knowing that the escape is not always the best choice...) Or I escape online, reading many of your blogs, actually. Being with you in what you are posting, but neglecting things to which I am called in the process.

I have moments of great clarity about this syndrome, but I rarely record them. I thought that maybe this post could serve as a record - for me, more than for anyone else - that I've been here, thought this, and resolved - in the power of the One greater than me - to walk differently.

Kevin is

2008-07-04T11:55:00.003-04:00

today.
I wish I could give BB credit for the cake decorating, but - alas - I did it.
It was made with a lot of love, at least.

This post is dedicated to

2008-06-23T21:14:00.003-04:00

A certain pregnant friend from whom I haven't heard in a long time, although I checked your Facebook page, pregnant friend, and learned from other people's comments that you seem to be doing OK, albeit tired and pregnant. However, on this same Facebook page, I saw some photos you posted from a wedding you recently attended, and you look gorgeous! I know that you are probably still feeling a bit weary, but you look good.

Miss you! Wish I was there for your journey!

Toads Drink Coffee

2008-06-22T08:28:00.001-04:00

Margie Haack. Read her.

The string of loneliness unraveled

2008-06-21T07:35:00.006-04:00

I know you are thinking that I shouldn't get ahead of myself, posting twice in once week - and today, twice in one day. But this morning is affording me the time and desire and appropriate coffee buzz , so here I am. I have made a pan of muffins, they are cooling, and BB is sitting with me, enjoying Playhouse Disney. Sissy and Kevin are sleeping. There's no time like the present...

So I felt like I should say a bit more about the loneliness. Partly because it is a two-layered thing, and partly because I think there is a loneliness for moms who are shepherding their children through the toddler years that I haven't read much about out in the blogosphere. So I thought we could discuss.

The first layer of the loneliness I mentioned this week is the to-be-expected pain of physical separation from one's friends. I can't even list all of the friends living faraway from where we are now - friends with husbands I haven't yet met, children I have never held, homes into which I've never been. In Alabama, we grew accustomed to the distance of friends living nearby but not always accessible (I think of Mrs. G. and me and our failed attempts at spending time together due to morning sickness, child sickness, husband schedules, work schedules...) and to the distance of close friends being an hour or two hours or four-and-a-half hours away. And on the other side of the Alabama coin, we lived with such nearness to our Judson friends - at the end of 2007, Judson College was literally our backyard, and Miss S. (yes, Miss S., this is you) et al. just a stone's throw away. We were knowingly spoiled with such good times and friends who lived with us in our home (figuratively) with or without notice.

I think that in being made for community, we will often long for geographic/physical closeness to those we love. And I do long for that. Especially as an introvert...I'm not looking for a wide and broad circle of friends. I would just like my little circle close by at all times. Not at all realistic these days.

But the other layer of loneliness is trickier for me. There are many women at our church here, and several women in our neighborhood, and several more from my work, with whom I would love to spend time. And in a sense, I feel called to be spending time with these women - some because I am called to fellowship with them and some because I want to share Christ with them, and all of them because I sense some kind of kindredness with them and would like to plumb the depths therein. But moms with young children don't often have opportunities to spend time with other women one-on-one or in small groups. Of course there are the possibilities of side-by-side time, being together while our children play, doing the getting acquainted thing while refereeing and reinforcing social skills. And I don't want to minimize the significance of friendships that rise out of play-dates. There is a reason why many moms at this stage rely on playgroups and play-dates for their own sanity as well as their children's. But I remember when Auntie Stuff first moved to GA, before we had moved to AL, I think, and she was lamenting this very thing. Play-dates may abound, but sometimes the play-date scenario doesn't really allow mom to make a friend of her own.

So how to achieve face-to-face time with other women at this stage in life? How to achieve face-to-face time with women of other stages - single women, married women without children, empty-nesters and retired women, too? I am just stumped about this. We live in a place where busy-ness is the rule, and even in our family, when Kevin is available (presumably when he could help with childcare so that I could spend a bit of time cultivating women friendships), I would rather spend time with him and time with our little family hanging out together. So the choice becomes making a friend at the expense of husband and family time...

I think I've come to the end of my thoughts. No solutions, but perhaps I've been more specific on the loneliness thing. Who else has something to say?

Summer reading

2008-06-21T07:34:00.000-04:00

Here is what I've been reading the past couple of months, in case you are looking for suggestions.

By Elizabeth Berg
I have just discovered Ms. Berg as a writer. Apparently, others have been enjoying her for awhile. After reading the first two on my list (below), I went to the library and checked out everything of hers they had. Of those, I have rejected a couple because I didn't want to "go there" in terms of the story line and characters. Those I've mentioned below, though, have been good journeys, albeit sad at times (VERY, VERY sad at some points).

Dream When You're Feeling Blue
The Year of Pleasures
We Are All Welcome Here
Never Change (only read this if/when you are feeling emotionally stable and able to handle deep sadness and a barrage of your own weeping

By Maeve Binchy
Kevin calls Ms. Binchy "The Maeve," as she's been a presence in my life since at least the Hungary years, if not before. If you haven't read her before, and I'm assuming that many of you have, she is Irish and writes wonderful, deep, sometimes complicated stories of many characters. I have read most of what she has written, although there was a time in my life when I couldn't read her because some of the relational journeys on which she invites readers were a bit dark for me. She is an extremely prolific writer, so I found a couple of newer pieces from her at the library. The first one is executed a bit differently than her usual style, and I enjoyed the variety.

Whitethorn Woods
Nights of Rain and Stars - I'm still reading this one, so I can't fully recommend it yet, but in case it turns out to be good, there ya' go.

By Mike Gayle
Again, many of you have probably already discovered Mr. Gayle. He is British, and the book I've mentioned below reads like a kind of male-oriented Bridget Jones. It was a quick, fun read. I tried another of his books but didn't find it so engaging...the title of that one was something like My...adjective...Girlfriend.

Turning Thirty

What's everyone else reading?

P.S. Miss S., speaking of reading...we've found a stack of your books in our unpacking. If you are missing something, it might be here in Maryland. Sigh...

Summer emergence

2008-06-16T13:11:00.003-04:00

Maybe if we all planned on a once-per-season post from GoaJ, we all (including me) would be pleasantly surprised if I ever exceeded the goal...Mrs. W's coffee has grown cold, Mrs. R. wonders if I exist anymore, and Mrs. G. has confirmed my aliveness from my comments on Miss S.'s blog. Truly, I've been slacking.

The big freedom-bearing news for this post is that I only have five more shifts at the hospital, counting the one I will be working tonight. I feel like the sweet chariot has swung low, and I'm on my way home.

"How do I get myself in these overwhelming, exhausting situations?" Kevin and I wonder. How does the mom of two kids end up with two part-time jobs, one of them happening on the night shift? I think sometimes I lack the judgment to see that things that seem like bad ideas - or at least extremely alternative ways to arrange a family's routine/schedule - are just that: bad ideas. We have seen God's provision in the playing out of these months of the bad-fit hospital job and the past four weeks of two jobs. And I will say good-bye to the hospital on June 30. These are good things.

I've been crashing a bit, probably in general tiredness and probably in the relief of knowing the end of the night shift is in sight. I think that sometimes when one area of clutter or chaos clears up in one's life, one is free to see other areas of neglect and weakness. I'm seeing my loneliness these days. My loneliness for the physical presence of women friends - and loneliness for deeper knowledge of God's presence in my innermost and in the more mundane-seeming day-to-day of what life is right now.

That's me. What about everyone else?

Enjoy the slide show below. It seems like we're always about one holiday behind on posting photos.

Check-in when you can. Love to all.

On the shores of the Chesapeake Bay

2008-06-16T12:54:00.004-04:00

This was Memorial Day weekend - Monday, I think. We found a great park on the Eastern Shore. The sea breeze was amazing - really, and the kids had a great time climbing and playing. We ate some quickly melting and dripping and blowing ice cream (no photos of that since everyone was pretty much covered in the dribbly deliciousness) and had a smashing time. Nanny was with us, as that was the first weekend of her ten day visit. Come back, Nanny...

Putting the fear behind me

2008-05-04T20:49:00.002-04:00

So, as Mrs. W. would say, this has been a very Krispy Kreme season for my blog. Part of what happened, I think, is that I got totally overwhelmed with my own plans for blogging around...um...mid-February. And although I have posted since then, I just could not get over my personal blogging failures. Heehee, but I'm only partly kidding here. Life has moved fast since - it is crazy to me that Kevin going on the mission trip three months ago began a season of life from which I am only now catching my breath. I am overwhelmed about and thankful for God's immeasurable richness - He is pouring out on us these days, and we are so thankful. But with the pouring out has come a pace of life that we haven't seen for awhile. And last time life was fast-paced for us, we didn't have two children. So fast-paced times four has been wild in some moments. I welcome the wild, but whew...

I think, too, that I had developed some kind of fear of posting. This fear is complicated, and I won't say I totally understand it, but I feel free to put it behind me tonight, which is nice.

After almost two months...

2008-05-04T20:43:00.002-04:00

Some photos of my kids...

New Job

2008-05-04T20:42:00.003-04:00

One of the richnesses of this season is a new job opportunity that has come to me via a friend from middle school (and junior high and high school) with whom I also went to college. We actually chose the same degree program once at Mizzou (actually, she chose the Agricultural Economics program, and I, feeling terribly indecisive about a major, read the brochure she brought back to the dorm and soon thereafter declared the Ag. Econ, major, as well).

After each of our roads have taken us here and there in the meantime, we are both in the D.C. area now. And a job has opened up within her organization, and she has offered it to me...and I'm so excited!

[Note: the hospital job, which has provided some income and, more importantly, health insurance, has been WAY less than satisfying. I don't think I would leave it apart from this opportunity, but, nevertheless, I am glad to move on - even after such a short time there. I will be phasing out over the next months as we get new health insurance in place.]

This new position is part-time, and once I learn the job and the organization, I will be able to work from home a great deal, which is so appealing. Not that I'm dreading going into D.C. a couple of days a week at first...I am so excited! (I have read the book Sammy's Hill about five times, which has given me most of my ideas about the D.C. work world, rightly or wrongly...probably wrongly, now that I think about it...)

I feel like the eager new graduate, packing up her lunch and heading off to her first day at her entry-level position - just ten years later.

Kevin is happy for me, and we're so thankful and amazed about the PART-TIME and WORK FROM HOME aspects...and that I'm actually, at long last, going to work "in my field." (I giggle every time I think or say that...)

Incidentally

2008-05-04T20:41:00.002-04:00

Our church is putting sermons online these days. Kevin is preaching for a few weeks this month (and has preached here and there since we've been there). You can listen to Pastor Steve, too, of course.

I am alive.

2008-03-06T10:44:00.003-05:00

Hi blog-reading friends.

I am alive. I have many ideas for posts - I hope they come to fruition in the next days. We were all sick again last week, Kevi being the least ill of the four of us. Just another cold. I'm still sniffling, and BB is still a bit...well...prolific with the nose emissions, but otherwise we're well.

I started training for the new job this week, which threw another variation into our routine (did I just imply that we have a routine? That might be a bit of an exaggeration...). Potty-training continues with some success, and crib camp is in full swing. While SBG has not made it a full night in the crib, a cumulative chunk of hours spent sleeping apart from us is progress. My first night shift is next Friday, so the night nursing must stop by then...

I just wanted to check in and let you know that posting is on my wouldn't-I-love-to-be-doing-this radar. Soon, I hope. Soon.

100 Things

2008-02-17T22:29:00.003-05:00

I read on someone else's blog recently that upon completing one's one hundredth (or hundreth? Blogger's spell-checker doesn't work for me anymore...) post, one writes a post detailing one hundred things about oneself. This is actually my 102nd post, but I will start the list tonight. I will finish it as the week ages.

1. I am a creature of a good and perfect Creator. This is good news - important news - for me these days.
2. I am married to a very nice man who is in New Orleans right now. I miss him a lot.
3. I have two children: one of them shares my personality, and one of them shares my appearance.
4. I tend to be a bit melancholic, which - on the bright side - lends itself to my love of words and to my desire for expression (my own and that of others).
5. I love love love sugar. Which is a bad thing. Which means I will probably be dieting for the rest of my life.
6. I make a delicious spicy broccoli cheese soup (which comes from a Weight Watchers recipe), a large bowl of which is sitting in our freezer right now.
7. I have a fairly technical (and perhaps embarassing) system for deciding which Psalm to read on a given day, if I sit down to read that day.
8. I am deeply fascinated by and interested in Orthodox Judaism.
9. I just finished the biography of Hillary Clinton written by Carl Bernstein. An important read, I think, especially if one is a voter.
10. I love the Counting Crows. (Or Crowes...? I guess I don't love them that much. Ha.)
11. I am going on a women's retreat in April...I haven't done this sort of thing in years, I don't think.
12. Sometimes reading the Bible - or even approaching reading the Bible - scares me. In some ways I think this is healthy, in other ways it is a bit of a barrier.
13. My favorite thing to do at the gym is the elliptical. I love watching the numbers show my progress...my favorite statistic is the calorie count.
14. I do not wear mom jeans, although I do drive a minivan.
15. If BB is ever potty-trained, I will officially declare myself a life coach specializing in toilet-side motivation.
16. Pancakes and muffins are tied for my two favorite breakfast foods.
17. I love ethnic food...Mexican, Greek, Indian, and Thai/Vietnamese (tied), in roughly that order.
18. I went to the University of Missouri for my undergrad. Go Tigers.
19. When I eat French fries (which isn't too often), I group them according to size and eat them two or three at a time. Kevin was the first person to point this out to me.
20. Right now I am wearing my favorite black cardigan sweater.

Two bedtimes down...

2008-02-17T22:13:00.002-05:00

Five to go.

All is quiet here...the small people who live in this house are sleeping, and I'm hoping to organize the toiletries which came with us from Alabama but have not yet been unpacked. Which of course begs the question, do we need them, anyway?

All of this "alone" time (not quite 48 hours so far, but it seems like a lot) has led me down paths of introspection. BB and I are a bit at odds, and I hate listening to myself rebuke and correct him - because so much of what I say to him is apt for me, too. I am beginning to see that he and I have many of the same struggles, and I despise my impatience with him. I am met in many moments with my complete ignorance about how to parent him - how to love him - how to bear with him in what is hard for him. When Kevin is around, my parenting weaknesses don't slap me in the face so, for he is usually so patient and merciful with BB (and with me); I get away with my impatience (nicely renamed "firmness," or "strictness") as "the balance" to Kevin's mercy and compassion.

I guess I'm glad to be left alone to see the lack of this fruit in me. Or as someone said to me this week, the lack of my plucking this fruit for myself.

If you are the praying type, you could pray for my fruit plucking, if you think of it.

Church folk have invited us for supper tomorrow night. They live on the water, I think, so maybe I'll have some child-frolicking-joyfully-on-the-seashore photos to post soon.

Design notes

2008-02-16T08:24:00.002-05:00

I've redecorated the blog again. I chose a blue theme this time because I'm a little blue about Kevin being gone these next eight days. He's on a rebuilding trip with some men from church. They will be continuing the work in New Orleans.

On another blog design note, I'm seeing several of you with the lovely new blog wallpaper (Mrs. G., Mrs. M., others?). Where does this come from? I've looked among the blogger templates...anyone who wants to divulge the secret is welcome to do so.

Decorating those cookies

2008-02-16T08:19:00.002-05:00

We finished the cookie project yesterday. Instead of buying frosting in a can, we melted Dove chocolates to act as the sprinkle glue.

We had to give one of the cookies to some neighbors with a new baby...it would have been a nutritional disaster for it to stay at our house.

(Kevin being artsy with the camera.)

SBG, being her supportive self.

The aftermath.

Wildlife all around

2008-02-16T08:17:00.002-05:00

From the Valentine's Day 2008 archive. I think I dreamed about this moose last night. Or deer...is it a deer?

Our best Valentine's Day yet?!!

2008-02-14T22:04:00.003-05:00

Today has been a good day...I'm still riding the caffeine high of the evening (thanks, Mrs. G.) and thought I would type a bit before bed.

Before the day got really good, however, we had a few disappointing...um...drips. Yes, we're attempting potty training again. Why I decided to do this two days before Kevin leaves for an eight-day mission trip, I don't know - except that we ran out of size five diapers, and I DON'T WANT TO BUY MORE. SO...here we go again. This time, I know he CAN do it, and I know that he knows how to do it. We are battling a three-year-old's strong will in round number four.

We had a major wet pants incident mid-morning, and another wetness issue late morning...but he did a little business on the potty before lunch. A very little...No "big business" (I know that someone out there is loving these details...) all day until a very small big business just before bed. But none in the pants, which is something, I guess.

There are of course other funny anecdotes from these episodes, but I really don't want to turn the entire post into a play-by-play of potty training, so I'll skip them. We are going to be out running errands with Kevin most of the day tomorrow, so I guess we'll have to go with a Pull-Up...Maybe I should give up on this until Kevin gets home again.

And, if I wasn't punishing myself enough with the potty-training, I have also decided that it is time for SBG to sleep upstairs in the crib. This, actually, seems to be going somewhat better than the potty training. She is just too mobile to take naps in our bed, and if we're going to sleep in the crib for naps, why not all night? Tonight is the first nighttime in the crib, and she went down fine, but I hear her now. We'll see. Napping in the crib is here to stay, but we'll see about nights.

Challenges aside, I'll move on to the nicer parts of today.

Nanny sent us a Valentine's box filled with heart-shaped baking pans, cookie mix, icing, and sprinkles, and BB and I did the preliminary work of making and baking the cookies early this afternoon. He was all wrapped up in the apron he got for Christmas (thanks Auntie Stuff et al.) and was totally into the baking. I was sort of paranoid about hand hygiene since we're doing the potty-training thing, so he wore Ziploc bags as gloves when we squished the dough into the pans. (Soap and water only go so far, you know.)

We were gone so late tonight that we didn't have a chance to decorate the cookies, so maybe tomorrow. The look nice, though. Very heart-shaped.

Later in the afternoon I interviewed for a secretary job in the labor and delivery department of the nearby hospital. I am going to work part-time, Lord-willing, and I'm really excited about it. The job hasn't officially been offered yet, but the nurse with whom I spoke today basically said that it would be. I am thinking that I might go back to school to become a nurse when the childbearing chapter is finished, and I would want to work in labor and delivery if I did become a nurse (having had such nice labor and delivery experiences myself, mostly)...so I'm considering this a season of preliminary research. And I just like hospitals for some reason. Working at St. Luke's during seminary has been my favorite job ever (so far), I think.

After the interview, all of us (that is, the four of us) went on a Valentine's Day date together. We ate at our new fast food obsession, Chipotle (which, we know, is owned by McDonalds, but we still love it) and then explored a big mall that we hadn't visited yet. (As I read this, I'm a bit embarassed by the crass American consumer-ish-ness of our evening...fast food and a mall...don't scorn us...)

[Incidentally, for St. Louis friends past and present, the mall we visited is identical to the St. Louis Mills, but maybe bigger and newer. More American crassness in the "bigger and newer," I know. Mrs. R., are you rolling your eyes in disgust?]

We began at the Bass Pro Shop where BB was very entertained by the array of stuffed wildlife. He was a bit concerned about the big fish tank (he, like his mother, has many deep-running anxieties which pop up at some unusual times). I have only ever been to the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield, MO, so it was kind of a trip to the Ozarks for me. And the store piped in the country music, which added to the experience.

I'll spare you any more mall details. It was nice, though...

I think that this Valentine's Day was so nice because it wasn't filled with ridiculous expectations on my part (as most others have been)...and because it included all of my Valentines. (Would you like a cracker with this cheese? I can't help it...I'm enamored with my kids these days...) BB was totally into the bargain shopping, and SBG was her usual supportive self. I know I've mentioned this before, but she is just so "for us." It's like she's our personal/family life coach, smiling and clapping at each little victory. When BB learned to clap, it was clear that he did it for his own enjoyment, as well as for the praise he won from us every time he showcased his trick. SBG, on the other hand, I am sure only claps because she knows it pleases us. She just seems to be our gift of pleasantness and delight - as if she is delighted with us and so glad to be part of the team. What a gift. Her delightfulness coupled with BB's hilarious commentary make life very sweet here these days - wet pants and crib adjustments notwithstanding.

I like my Valentines so much (Kevi included, of course). It was a good day for celebrating them.

Finally, the Buffalo Chicken Dip

2008-02-08T20:32:00.000-05:00

I know you're on the edge of your seat about this dip.

Here's the recipe:

8 oz cream cheese
1 c. cheddar cheese
1/2 c. ranch dressing
1/2 c. "hot sauce" (But this does NOT mean Tabasco.)
1 or 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded

Cook and shred the chicken breast(s). Add to cream cheese, cheddar, ranch dressing, and hot sauce, which should already have been mixed until smooth. Stir it all up, and put into a baking dish. Bake at 350 until bubbly.

I still haven't really explored the glory of this dip. As Auntie Stuff noted, Tabasco has four times the "hot" of "normal" hot sauce (how would anyone know this?). I think that Tabasco should say something about this on their packaging. Anyway, next time I make it, I am going to use something that says "wing sauce" on the bottle. That should be safe.

I'm still slugging away at the enormous quantity of the EXTREMELY hot batch I made. I mean, I sweat, my eyes water, and my mouth BURNS BURNS BURNS. But I hate to waste good cream cheese. A dilemma, for sure.

Cute kids in the new digs

2008-02-08T20:27:00.000-05:00

This photo, while of course featuring the two nice children who live in our home, also shows off the clearance items we found at Bed, Bath, and Beyond last night. We found purple sheers that don't clash with the furniture and the candle pillar things on the mantle. And I had a 20% off coupon.

I'm becoming a little obsessed with coupons, etc. lately. I think it's the CVS thing spilling into all of life. Not necessarily a bad thing...

Note SBG reaching the point where she would like for BB to stop holding on so tightly to her neck/ear. I see where she's coming from.

Laundry boat with wipes cargo

2008-02-08T20:24:00.001-05:00

Note SBG's attention to BB. Pretty cute.

Here it is...The Chesapeake Bay

2008-02-08T20:17:00.001-05:00

I know that I'm embarassing myself a little in posting these photos...my audience including several accomplished photographers and all. But, I did want to share...

So, I took these out of the car window a couple of weeks ago when we traveled the actual Chesapeake Bay Bridge for a fun short trip. The sunset was beautiful, and I was just captured by such a famous moment. And the toll was only $2.50. Nice, inexpensive fun.

Poncho girl

2008-02-08T20:07:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted photos in awhile...Here is SBG. The poncho is one of my consignment sale finds. Someone asked me if I made it. I wish. Maybe 2008 will be the year I learn to crochet, or rather perfect my extremely remedial crochet skills.

SBG has sped ahead on motor skills since we've been here in Maryland. I should send Dr. Alabama Pediatrician a note to let him know - I think he was a little worried at her nine month check-up. Maybe I was, too. Anyway, she's crawling and pulling up and into everything. A fun stage to watch if you're not the parent, but fraught with danger and constant disarray if you are...But I'm thankful that she's moving along.

Someone at church said that maybe she hasn't been pulling up/walking since her feet are so small relative to her...um...trunky thighs. Maybe that's it.

[I can't get Blogger spellcheck to work tonight...so please excuse whatever mistakes I've made. Just send me a little comment. Heehee.]

Happy things

2008-02-06T08:41:00.000-05:00

It's been more than a week again...just trust me that I've been faithfully posting to myself all of this time. It's just that my brilliant thoughts (ha) and the availability of time for actually typing and posting rarely coincide. But this morning...here I am.

I think my format will be bullets for this post. And I will report chronologically, working backwards.

Last night we got the news that the session (the elders) of our new church want to pay for the repairs that the Altima requires in order to pass the Maryland safety inspection and thus be registered and tagged. The estimate for these repairs was...$1000.00. The elders are counting these expenses as part of our moving costs. We had NO IDEA this was in the works and are so amazed and thankful - so. amazed. [As a side note to our AL friends: If you move to a state that does safety and/or emissions inspections, be prepared. We did these every two years or so in St. Louis, but the two-plus years without any inspecting in AL kind of added up, we think. And maybe the fact that the Altima is 11 years old this year has something to do with its...uh...needs.]
Monday night I was "shadowing" at a potential employer. (This is how busy life has been since I posted last: I haven't even been able to cover the fact that I'm looking for part-time employment. I typically have worked part-time since we've had the children, but we weren't sure when/if I would do so here. But the big car bill - which of course no longer exists now - was the reality check that pointed to our need for a little extra in the financial column.) So anyway, I was shadowing at an urgent care clinic, investigating whether or not I was interested in working there. And - here is the part that shocked me - I had a very clear sense shortly into my time there (like about three hours in) that this job was absolutely not for me. This does not happen to me - at least not in the area of work. I have typically been able, in the past, to talk myself into whatever was before me and available occupationally (for good or for ill). But it was so clear - I just felt constrained to leave...kind of like I felt constrained (in a good way) to marry Kevin. So, under this strange constraint, I thanked the people I had been shadowing and went on my way. I felt really relieved as I drove home. I have a phone interview for a totally different kind of position this afternoon. We'll see.
On Saturday, we bought this
The story behind the van is related to another matter. Since I'm not working yet, and Kevin's day off is typically Tuesday, I signed up to be an election monitor. This means that next Tuesday, I will be doing my (paid) civic duty, watching people navigate the electronic voting system Maryland uses. I have NO IDEA why I didn't sign up to do this in AL. I mean, just voting there was like a trip through Corruption Alley, and being an actual official witness to it all would have been...something. But I never volunteered there, and I did here...So Saturday morning, Kevin and the children dropped me off in another part of our county for my training. Which happened to be happening in the middle of every kind of car lot you can think of. When I called him to pick me up after the training, he said he would be by in the Quest he was test-driving. I will spare you the details, but basically, we bought a 2007 which was clearanced for an amazing price. Amazing. price. It doesn't have any extras, which might explain the pricing, and while it checks out mechanically with LOTS of warranty left, we can tell that the interior (carpets and upholstery) haven't been loved and gently cared for. Of course it was cleaned and detailed, but some of the wear just shows. Anyway, we are happy to take over loving it and caring for it gently and enjoying the great deal we got. And the picture is true to life - it's red. I'm liking a red van.

I think these are the major, recently-occurring details. In a list of ways, we are seeing God provide so concretely. I can't think of a time in our life together when our sense of His provision was so tangible - although in every way He provides for His children daily, we know. So much of the financial weight of the past months/years is lifting, and we are trusting Him to be taking us on the road to financial peace. But our hope is not in financial peace, but in the One who can move heaven and earth to bring it. He has brought so so much - financial and otherwise - to us in these past weeks.

On another note, we all have another cold; this time the children are the most sick. I remember when we arrived in Hungary, someone told us to expect six months of being sick as our bodies adjusted to a new set of germs. I fear we should expect the same here in Maryland.

Hopefully later I will post Auntie Stuff's Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe and tell you why you should never trust Auntie Stuff when she tells you how much hot sauce to use.

But until then...in the words of the Backyardigans, cheerio.

Because of Mrs. L.

2008-01-29T23:08:00.000-05:00

Mrs. L. did what I have long wanted to do - said I was going to do - never did...until Mrs. L. did it. She compiled a list of money-saving websites and added the links to her blog.

I have basically copied her list and added the links to my blog, too. I feel very cheap in doing this and am in fact now trying to confess, I think. Just so you know, Mrs. L. does have more links on her list than me, so you must visit her photography blog (look right) for the whole list.

Of particular interest is the "Money Saving Mom" link. Go to the "CVS 101" link on her blog. I was totally enlightened. I have never understood the CVS Bucks thing - and now I do...and there is a CVS five minutes from our house...can't wait!

In honor of Mrs. W.

2008-01-28T23:15:00.000-05:00

Mrs. W. pointed out that I haven't posted in awhile. This is true. I do all kinds of internal posting - I think I've mentioned this before - but you, the nice friends who continue to check this blog, don't have access to those mental (probably in more ways than one...) posts.

So, I've done some catching up tonight. There is more, of course, to share, and perhaps the rest will be forthcoming.

Thanks for checking, Mrs. W. et al. I'm glad you do.

Kevin is installed

2008-01-28T23:00:00.000-05:00

If you're not Presbyterian, you might be wondering what that means. Basically, it is the official ceremony, sort of, in which Kevin, as the new Assistant Pastor, takes vows of service to this new church, and the elders and congregation take vows of support for him and his ministry. The installation took place this past Sunday.

The service was rich for us. Pastor Steve asked us to choose the music, so we chose from our wedding/baptisms/ordination selections: Come Thou Fount, Praise to the Lord the Almighty, Jesus I am Resting (we missed you on that one, EGW, but a nice woman from our church sang it since you are faraway and otherwise engaged...), Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross, and In Christ Alone (we think this one is new to the group). I love the continuity of worshipping with the same songs at each of these huge moments in our life together.

[Additionally, in a less significant but nevertheless notable bit of continuity, I wore the same suit to the installation as I wore to Kevin's ordination in 2005. It fit a little better this time. Yea.]

I cried during Jesus I Am Resting. I feel like here in this place, we know more than before about what His rest is - and what it isn't. We are trusting God that this will indeed be a place of His peace.

And the photos...

2008-01-28T22:04:00.001-05:00

I know you're dying to know what's in my grocery cart

2008-01-28T21:17:00.000-05:00

I've been buying some interesting groceries lately, and I thought I'd share...You all know that I love nice food, and I've been in hog heaven (ha...I think?!!) with all of the grocery options around here.

I've been enjoying fresh baguettes from the grocery store - the selection includes French, sourdough, or various other specialty choices. I've been making soup, and the baguette goes along so nicely. I also made some nice roasted red pepper hummus recently and served it with little toasts I made from the baguette. And SBG enjoyed the leftover toasts - sort of like better tasting teethers.

My parents gave me a Trader Joe's gift card for my birthday. Mmmmmm. I bought some of that Greek strained yogurt that you hear so much about - and some honey to drizzle over it. I don't know much about honey, and I accidentally bought the kind with the waxy comb in it. Maybe not the best choice, but I like how au naturale it looks. The waxy bits are a bit distracting on the palate, though.

I also bought tzaziki, whose garlic-y aftertaste I am enjoying right this minute. (Don't imagine it - just be happy for me.)

And a couple of those nice simmer sauces...and some mahi mahi...and some tamari roasted almonds (for a much more reasonable price than Whole Foods, might I add).

I know that this grocery honeymoon will come to an end, but for now, I'm loving the smorgasbord that Maryland has been so far.

And last but not least...

2008-01-28T20:33:00.000-05:00

Cold Stone Creamery. Let's talk about the Cake Batter Batter Batter ice cream. Let's talk about how much of it Kevin and I ate in the 24 hour period surrounding my birthday last week. Let's talk about the brownie and chocolate chip cookie dough bits in every bite.

Let's talk about nursing SBG, which means I can eat copious amounts of this ice cream and not gain a pound...

And, by the way, I am 32 now. Very old. But happy, too.

More rich than a Krispy Kreme...

2008-01-15T22:03:00.000-05:00

Today was lovely here in the mid-Atlantic. We were out and about, still doing settling-in kinds of things, when all of a sudden, we were immersed in a delicious, blowing, swirling snow flurry. It's definitely been awhile since that's happened...

We dealt with our life insurance today, which is sobering. It seems strange to think through some kind of budget after one or both of us dies - and then to "buy" that much "financial security." And then, after feeling like one has made some good decisions, one realizes that one (or the other) would only experience the potential goodness of one's decisions if one or the other was dead...which would be miserable no matter what. (In the earthly sense...) Sigh.

On a lighter note, we also went to the MVA to get our new drivers licenses. The whole process went pretty smoothly - in fact, it took longer for Kevin to change BB's diaper than for us to get our new licenses. And about the diaper change: Kevin reported that BB sang the whole time - except when pausing to inquire about why a man went into a stall, quickly flushed, and emerged in too short of a time, according to BB. But about the singing: he's totally hooked on "That Thing You Do" from the movie of the same title. I mean, the kid sings ALL of the words. The part that cracks me up most - and imagine it in his sweet, high little three-year-old voice - is, "It hurts me so just to see you go/Around with someone new." He has no idea...

After the MVA, we toured the Annapolis waterfront. This was the point in the day when I paused, amazed and teary, at the place to which God has brought us. The water was beautiful, there were tons of boats/ships in the harbor (many of them sailboats - I can't wait for the view in the spring and summer), and we strolled around as if we belonged there. I ran into a Starbucks, and we had hot coffee to enrich the experience...there just are not the words to describe my exaltation. I am not joking. BB was running around, chasing seagulls, and SBG was happily along for the ride in the stroller. (Sadly, we forgot her mittens, and it was so cold...I keep checking her hands for frostbite this evening...)

Finally, on top of all of the other richness of the day, I went to my first ESL class at our church tonight. I haven't been in that setting for almost three and a half years (has it been that long, Mrs. B?), and it was so good. ESL isn't something I sit around dreaming about, but when I'm in the setting, surrounded by learners who are spending their extremely limited free time to become better English speakers...my heart almost bursts. I can't believe...in addition to everything else...God has brought us to a church that does ESL.

So that was today. To me, more rich than a Krispy Kreme.

The new church

2008-01-13T21:53:00.000-05:00

Today was a red-letter day...SBG, for the first time in her little life, stayed in the church nursery for the entire worship service. Really, my thankfulness goes to the nursery workers and not so much to SBG, as she cried until she slept and basically had to be held and rocked the whole time. Thank goodness there weren't too many other babies needing care today.

Kevin and I realized that sitting together in church this morning was the first time since September that we have been alone (not that sitting in the sanctuary with other church folk is exactly alone...). SBG has been in one or both of our care at all times since my mom left AL after Labor Day weekend. Separation anxiety heightens everyone's anxiety, I'm remembering - not just the baby's.

It was good to be in church today, even beyond the good of a little break from our children. (I had a flash of mommy guilt in writing "the good of a little break from our children," but it's just true...BB, at least, was probably glad to have a little break from us, too.)

These two weeks in January (this week and last week, I think), the church is remembering the loss of two men who died within a couple of weeks of each other last year. One of the men died from a totally undetected enlarged heart (he was 32), and the other man died in a car accident (he was in his 40s, I think). We did not know these men, of course, but their young widows (both of them in their 30s) are still part of the church family, and we have met them. Each of the men left a young child, and these sweet ones we have met, as well.

As I sat in worship today, thinking of these women (one of them was sitting close to us), I just could not imagine the feelings of loss they are still dealing with. I could not imagine their fatigue at single parenting an three-year-old and an eighteen-month-old, respectively. I see the rawness of their losses, and I admire that they have walked through this past year with such courage and faith.

And I am amazed and thankful that God has brought us to this church which has truly cared for the widows in their midst. I thought of that verse from the book of James: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." There is a weariness in the church from the corporate grieving process, I think. But I think the weariness has come because the grieving and the service rendered to the widows have been done so well. The church itself has been visited with the affliction of these widows in its recognition that these (widows) are of them (the church body) thus their pain is its pain and their care is its responsibility.

My faith has been beaten and battered, I feel like, over the past two-ish years. And sometimes I am so cynical when I deal with other Christians - or even listen to them talk. I have become so skeptical about faith - while still trusting the Lord to hold onto mine - or to give mine again. But seeing the Body of Christ at this new church truly be hands and feet and ears and hearts to these two young widows and their small, small children - this inspires me. This proves the Gospel to me. This gives me hope. These two widows have been given courage by God Himself in the midst of this Body of Christ. I am so grateful that this, locally, is my Body now, too.

The view from here

2008-01-09T17:17:00.000-05:00

This is the view when one perches in BB's bed and looks out the window. BB's room is on the front of the house, so these homes face us and mirror ours. Our house looks exactly like (but in the mirror) the one behind the tree: the caramel-colored brick with the nice octagonal window. We like it.

Here is a cute kid I found doing the perching.

And it will be SBG.

2008-01-09T16:14:00.001-05:00

See below.

This would be a great time to go to bed, but

2008-01-09T00:39:00.000-05:00

Nice Kevin just got in with BB's prescription. Yes, we've been in our new home less than 14 days and have already visited an urgent care center (this one only opens in the p.m. and is cleverly marketed for children) and come away with antibiotics. An ear infection. Sigh.

Taking bets on who goes next...mommy or SBG.

Sometimes I post in 3s

2008-01-04T17:14:00.000-05:00

A few interesting tidbits:

1. We are considering joining a health club, and the one we looked at last night is owned by Duff's father (Duff of Baltimore's Charm City Cakes...Duff the Ace of Cakes...Duff one of my Food Network favorites). Isn't that fun? Whether we join or not, I will always feel like I've had a brush with fame.

2. When one gets on one of the major highways close to our house, one finds oneself almost equidistant between Washington D.C. and Baltimore. Also famous.

3. On New Year's Eve, we stayed in and watched Hairspray. Definitely a new favorite. And...guess what??? (Or maybe everyone already knows this...) It is set in Baltimore. Watching the film was a meeting of our AL world with our new MD world...sort of. The racial issues with which we became acquainted in rural AL were redemptively overcome on a dance show in Baltimore in the movie. Not to make the issues themselves or the overcoming of them small, but that bit of redemption portrayed in the movie was inspiring. A breath of fresh air after the separation that still exists and that was the cultural context in which we lived down South.

4. On an unrelated note, I received the Anne of Green Gables three disc set for Christmas. I introduced BB to Anne yesterday, and he liked her. (They've got the hair in common, you know.) We've been talking about her off-and-on for the past 24 hours. Perhaps BB will be a boy kindred spirit.

Out of order, time-wise, but on my mind

2008-01-04T14:56:00.000-05:00

A note to the Alabama friends who stood in our empty cottage until the very end of our residence there: your presence with us was the best good-bye. Those moments were God's provision for us, and my tears were full of sadness and gratitude and the true bittersweetness of our good-bye to you and to the town where we've lived together. Know that I will always treasure the picture of us awkwardly standing in a circle in our empty living room. You were home for us.

Online again

2008-01-04T14:39:00.001-05:00

Coming to you live from our new Mid-Atlantic existence...

The nice Comcast man spent some quality time in our home this morning, and we're now back online with t.v., a home phone, and internet. Yippee! One learns of one's dependence on these luxuries when doing without them...Sigh.

The trip out this way went fairly smoothly - until the mountains of West Virginia. Poor Big Boy apparently struggles with motion sickness, as we were made aware five times from WV to our hotel Thursday evening. He was so miserable, and there was little we could do. We gave him Dramamine, but I think it actually made things worse?!! By the end, he was dozing in his own...you know...while we sped east, praying to get to the hotel before another episode. The clean-up efforts were getting more and more inadequate each time - darkness fell, the supply of clean p.j.s was dwindling, and the...you know...had pooled in the car seats (the...you know...hit SBG's seat, too) and would not be accessible until we could take the covers off to be laundered. BB recovered after a good night of sleep (with one residual episode resulting in Kevin frantically calling the front desk for clean linens at 3:30 a.m.) and has been fine in the car since.

Our welcome from church folks here has been warm, and the weather has been deliciously cold. The townhouse is lovely to me (photos coming soon...), and unpacking is going OK. The kitchen is totally unpacked and in working order. No other room holds this boast yet, but the weekend is ahead of us!

More thoughts on returning to life in a big place later...I am finding the sleeping (or at least semi-consciously napping) American consumer is awake in me - I drive around with saucer-shaped eyes, taking in every shopping center, strip mall, and other nearby conveniences. I am ashamed of myself, but find relief washing over me. Am I such a slave to variety and convenience and consumer possibilities? Maybe I will find some of the lessons of the last two-plus years to be about American culture and expectations and appetites...I don't know. I'm processing as I go.

Christmas cast of characters

2007-12-25T13:04:00.000-05:00

We made it to Missouri. Perhaps in the future, should we have the option, we would choose not to drive for 9 hours at a time as a family of four in a 1997 Nissan Altima. But I also feel thankful for that Altima: it has been a faithful friend of mine for 7 1/2 years now, and it brought us safely here for Christmas - along with all of the other places it has safely taken us in our early marriage and young family seasons of life.

We will need to do some emptying of the car before the two days of driving east. My knees cannot travel in the dashboard all of that way. Baby sister has grown, I learned at her nine month appointment on Thursday, such that we had to switch car seats before our journey. The big girl seat lives up to its name...Anyway, we think that if we do some shipping from here, we can have a more spacious car experience for the rest of our trip.

My sister-in-law is here with us, as is our almost-one-year-old niece. My brother is just days away from coming home from Iraq but couldn't quite make Christmas. I have discovered the young Mrs. K. to be a kindred, and SBG and Cousin B. are very sweet together. Big Boy is having to watch where he runs, steps, and crashes his new metal tractor (why make metal toys, I ask???), as the girls are always underfoot and trying for greater mobility. We are hoping that Cousin will inspire SBG to crawl...

Photos follow in my newest slideshow. You'll recognize Nanny and Poppy, SIL and Cousin, and Grandma Minnie. Grand Nanny hasn't felt up to visiting until today, so photos of her with the kids should be along soon.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas in Missouri...blissful

2007-12-25T13:01:00.001-05:00

Slickdeals.net, etc.

2007-12-19T20:48:00.000-05:00

I have recently learned about Slickdeals.net. Wow. Fun.

And Mrs. L. was telling me about a couple of other sites like this one. I would love to put together a list with links to bargain-shopping sites like these. Please let me know if you know of one or two or more...

Watch for the list to grow on the sidebar of this page.

Progress

2007-12-19T19:46:00.000-05:00

Mrs. L. spent the day down south in our little enclave today. The kitchen is now basically all packed up, and the "kids' sleeping room" (except that Sweet Baby Girl doesn't sleep there...) is almost all packed up. The playroom and living room are approaching finished...our room is the hold-up at this point. Hopefully tonight. We have two very tired kids, and although one of them will be sleeping in our room - hopefully we can pack it up tonight.

We feel like we are moving - and our house finally looks like it.

In other news, Darcy is spending night number three in her new home. She really hit the jackpot...if we were looking for a better new home for her, we could not have found it. Basically, she has entered dog paradise, complete with her own holiday-themed place mat for her food bowl, her own stocking (with dog treats sewed on, of course), and her own new set of three dog brothers - even one they call Bing. What a happy providence! (Mr. Bingley is her brother who we took to the...humane society...a year ago.) Her new people wrote her birthday on the calendar, along with the month when she needs her shots, and we got squared away on her heart worm medicine today. I feel glad.

The suburban has sold, too. Don't ask us about it. We are grieving and then moving on to thank God that the ordeal is over.

So, all in all, we are set for pulling away from this part of the world Friday evening. The emotional parts of leaving come and go in waves. I have nothing interesting to say about that. That's just how it is, I think.

New hair

2007-12-14T00:22:00.001-05:00

I don't know if posting this photo is vain...but I got a new haircut this week.

Very typical me: big life transition, tons to do, deadlines looming - and I get a haircut.

But I feel very free. Not much hair left to fix, so I had better just pack some boxes. Yeah.

Diet Coke cake

2007-12-12T22:38:00.000-05:00

Mrs. L. gave me this idea a long time ago...Here is the recipe:

1 box of cake mix, any flavor
1 can of diet soda, any flavor

Mix up, and bake according to the directions on the cake mix box.

Isn't that amazing? No added fat beyond that which is already in the mix. No added sugar...

Now, obviously, if one was making a white or yellow cake, one would choose diet Sprite or 7-Up.

The devil's food version tasted really good tonight, topped with some Lite Cool Whip. Very Weight Watchers-friendly. And festive enough to be called birthday cake, which is what it was for us this evening.

Happy belated 30th, Miss Susie.

Advent family worship

2007-12-08T21:29:00.000-05:00

Finally.

Tonight we got out the nativity scene and set it out, piece by piece. While we did not realize my ideal of the past two years to individually wrap each piece and choose one from under the tree to unwrap over the course of a couple of weeks during Advent devotions...we did un-box the set and talk about each piece as B.B. set it out for us.

I loved it, even if the process didn't meet up with my wild Advent dreams. This is the first year that B.B. is engaged (somewhat) with the Christmas story, and I think he was really tracking with Kevin as he talked through the narrative. Kevin read the story from B.B.'s picture Bible, and we sang "Away in a Manger." Here comes my favorite part -

While Kevin and I were singing (we haven't done so well on teaching the Christmas hymns/carols to B.B. so far...), B.B. was handling each piece of the set. I loved watching his hands run over the designs carved and painted on the pieces while he was deep in thought (wouldn't I love to know what he was imagining in those moments...).

Kevin and I bought this nativity scene two years ago. We hadn't had one before this one, and I began dreaming then that it would be the one our children would remember and look forward to each year. I want the pieces to be worn fifteen years from now - glued and re-glued and maybe an ear or staff missing altogether. We have been offered other "children's" sets, but I am completely uninterested in something that sets one set apart for the children, leaving the other one to be "mommy's," not to be touched by small hands. We will have one nativity set - and it will be all of ours. It will be handled and broken and loved and remembered, and prayerfully, it will always be for our kids one of their first pictures of the beauty of redemption.

I glimpsed a picture of that beauty tonight.

Mommy tries Christmas photos

2007-12-08T21:22:00.000-05:00

After this effort, we called our faithful and talented friend Miss Susie...She took a great family Christmas photo and even got Big Boy to smile.

Blueberries

2007-12-08T21:15:00.000-05:00

S.B.G. has been less than enthusiastic about learning to eat baby food. I can't blame her - it smells weird, and I've never even been able to bring myself to taste it. But she is almost nine months old, and it is a bit wearing on Mommy to be such a big girl's only means of nourishment. (Not that I'm complaining too much...S.B.G.'s food needs plus Weight Watchers have brought a loss of 22 pounds so far since late August...)

ANYWAY. Just this past week, we have moved up to two jars a day, which is amazing progress. She also eats - or sucks on and spits out - Cheerios and Rice Chex. We went on a big taste adventure this morning and tried blueberries and apples. She seemed to approve.

B.B.'s favorite pose

2007-12-08T21:11:00.001-05:00

I'm sure you've noticed that Big Boy loves to get into this pose with Sweet Baby Girl and then request I take photos. It's sort of funny - Anyway, I thought S.B.G. looked pretty cute and happy in this one. I find it's important and sometimes difficult to catch the happy before she grows weary of B.B. hanging on her neck. Notice Snow Penguin, who is hopefully becoming her lovey. B.B. never had a lovey, which I have always felt a bit sad about.

Advent in Italy

2007-12-07T23:31:00.000-05:00

Well, we know that my regular and numerous Advent posting idea has been a bit of a...well...unrealized dream. But, and this is beautiful to me, my spicy Italian and French friend Mrs. R. has come to the rescue. Mrs. R., incidentally, is married to Rev. R., and they have four children and are church planting in Italy these days.

Here are all of the things I love about her swooping in with Advent in Italy lore for us:

1. She is a friend from our time at Old Orchard Church during the St. Louis years. We were actually nearby neighbors for about a year - a fact that makes me sad now, thinking about how we did not really take advantage of such geographic closeness. Anyway, the Old Orchard friend coming to the rescue motif is lovely to me...
2. Mrs. R. loves Advent.
3. Mrs. R. knows the misery of moving, of being sick, of having sick kids, and of all three of these occurrences coinciding. Her compassion in sharing her Advent stuff in the absence of mine has ministered to my soul.
4. I think that the idea of international Advent is delightful.

So, here is what she writes:

Thankfully, this year we ARE off to a good Advent season. For once, I was aware of it coming up so I didn't have to scramble the day before to get stuff going. We leisurely got things out (we being E. and I) after Thanksgiving and got all set up. Knowing that [Rev. R.] was going to be in London for the first Sunday of Advent meant I had to do the meditation and so it was GOOD that I was prepared!

Well, what do we do? Besides the classic Advent calendar with a wee bit of chocolate inside (felt project E. & I have crafted : ), we have the wreath with candles and have a family Advent meditation each Sunday of Advent. Besides, we have an Advent book, a gorgeous affair eye-pleasing to all ages. We open a door on each page (one per day) and read the Scriptures behind it. The kids love to figure out who opens what door (N. HAS to open Dec. 21 as it is his birthday, so they do the math backwards to see who will start. This year E. [the second E.] has been promoted to the grade of door opener too.), and then I read the story behind. It does help to keep the focus on Christ!

The last thing we do is have our own little "Lessons and Carols" festival. The kids don't know many carols (there are basically NONE in Italian) but we are exposing them through playing LOTS of Christmas carols and so they recognize them when they hear them. I love the unfolding of redemptive history in the lessons intermixed with the carols! Anyway, this is our Advent thus far.

Advent in Italy - the photo version

2007-12-07T23:21:00.000-05:00

I know that you are not as much interested in my commentary as in the Advent artifacts, but don't we agree that this Advent wreath is just lovely? Inspiration for me for next year...

Mrs. R. MADE this. And she fills it with "bits" of chocolate. Simple and European (the "bits of chocolate") and so lovely.

Here is the Amazon.com link, for interested parties.

Explanations

2007-12-04T00:26:00.000-05:00

We've been sick here at the cottage.

Lots of sick.

It all started Thursday, November 8. I am now taking my second round of penicillin (and hopefully not contributing to the super-bug-immune-to-antibiotics phenomenon).

Things are looking up.

This is why my Advent fire has not yet moved past the kindling stage. This is also why my house is a scary pit and no new boxes have been packed (except the two Kevin filled while entertaining the children one afternoon).

Keep checking. There may be a special "Advent in Italy" post in the works. (Yes, J.R.?) And I have a few things to share, too.

Just not tonight.

Snuggly kids

2007-11-29T15:54:00.001-05:00

Today. After naps.

Tri-purpose post

2007-11-25T23:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, belatedly. I'm sorry I didn't do more thankfulness posts before/during the holiday, but we had a houseful of fun, which meant no blogging...The third purpose of this post, in fact, is to show-off some of Mrs. L's photos of the day on Thursday.

The first purpose, however, is to alert you that this blog may become something of a narrative of our move in the coming days (26, to be exact - the moving truck pulls in empty on December 21, and we meet it in Maryland January 2ish). A friend complains that blogging is an activity rife with self-consciousness. "How am I feeling?" "What are my goals?" "My thoughts are so interesting that I would like to think out-loud so that the entire blogosphere may enjoy them, too." Looking ahead to posts detailing our packing up, closing down, and moving out...well, this sort of chronicle might become even more self-conscious than usual Girl on a Journey fare. Consider yourself warned, and keep checking at your own risk. (Oh, but I do so hope you will keep checking! Blogging puts before me the crowd of witnesses surrounding us from afar. Be with us in this, too, I beg.)

The second purpose of this post is to make official for me (and for you) my goal of using the blog as an Advent public service announcement during Christmastide. I LOVE Advent. I mean, LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Anticipation and incarnation...beautiful and mysterious and heart-and-mind-capturing...what's not to love? Kevin and I love it together, although I am the one more likely to kick up my heels and celebrate any and all things Advent at the drop of a hat. So, in the middle of moving and the temptations to skimp on Advent pondering and meditating and celebrating this year, I want to post this-and-that relating to Advent regularly.

For starters, check out this article from one of Christianity Today's publications. It may seem a bit wet-blankety on the topic of Advent, but I think the author provides some informative historical context. Enjoy. Perhaps next time I will post some suggestions for Advent crafts...or something.

Finally, here are those photos I mentioned earlier. We are so thankful for dear friends who are as family to us. Here are the Rev. and Mrs. L. and family and Rev. and Mrs. R. and family with us on Thanksgiving Day.

First, the kids, aged almost 18 months, 4 and a half years, 3 years, 3 and a half years, 8 months, and two years. Whenever all three of our families are together, invariably one adult begins musing on the fact that except for Big Boy and Miss L., all six of these children could exist at these ages in the same family. Scary.

And all of us...You may remember the Two Tall Pastors from Sweet Baby Girl's baptism. They make nice bookends, don't they? And I am surrounded by the famous Mrs. L. and Auntie Stuff.

Monday thankfulness

2007-11-19T16:45:00.001-05:00

What's not to be thankful for when one is staring at such sweet kids? We recently discovered that S.B.G. can sit up. This was big news, as she is eight months old (today), and I was beginning to wonder...I knew she had the strength, but the balance was not forthcoming. Anyway, we decided to try Sitting-Up Camp (hopefully with more success than the now infamous Poop Camp) late last week, and - surprise to mom and dad - she sits! She still doesn't get herself there from laying down, but we're just thrilled with the sitting-up skill itself. This makes playtime ever-so-much-more fun for everyone.

And a very belated note of thankfulness...one week ago, Kevin was in Maryland doing his presbytery exams in preparation for our move. One week ago, I was moaning in bed in Alabama, chilled and unable to overcome (not even with the help of four ibuprofen at a time) a fever and fiery sore throat. I was despairing at the prospect of caring for both kids in my sorry state...when Mrs. L. heroically offered to take B.B. for the next 24 hours. I mean, I have no idea what I would have done...He had a great time, improved his oral hygiene (with lots of joie de vivre, according to the photo), and came home in time for me to be enlivened by the prospect of Kevin returning to us, too.

After I picked Kevi up at the airport, he took me to the Urgent Care, where the nice doctor gave me penicillin and free cough medicine. Life changing...really.

This Monday finds me thankful for friends who would care for my child when I thought his little life was going to be full of too much Diego and too much cereal out of the box while Mommy shivered in the corner. Yea for Melissa! Yea for Kevin passing his exams and coming home! Yea for Urgent Care in rural Alabama!