houses for you and me

since we've been talking about houses in preparation for ada's party, isaac has become aware that not everyone has a house, which was our goal, in part.  he asked me how come not everyone has a house, and i told him that not everyone has enough money to buy a house, and that, in fact, people borrow money for their houses since they are so expensive.  he said he thought we should give some of our money to help someone buy a house.  i was so excited that he wanted to be generous in such a special way.  then he told me "but not my money from my piggy bank."  oh well.  we'll keep trying.  i get it.  it's hard to be generous.  i don't do it well either!

when you are 16

today when ada and i picked isaac up from school, ada insisted on climbing into her seat by way of the driver's seat.  she said to me, in all seriousness, "mommy, can i drive?"  and i said, "no, baby.  you have to be 16 to drive a car and you aren't even 2, so that means you can almost drive in 14 years."  she replied, "Ohhh.  okay."  and after a pause she said, "Can i drive now?"

I know it'll seem like tomorrow and she will be!  in the meantime, i'm glad we are only getting ready for her 2nd birthday and not her sweet 16th!

a BIG surprise!

i am so excited!  a kind of excited i don't remember feeling the first two times because i was so terrified, but a surrendered and wonderful and amazing kind of excited--so much so that it only feels fitting to write about it so that i won't forget it.  if it's within our control, this is the last time i'll experience this revelation excitement--the last time i'll ponder in the quiet of my own heart and soul the miracle of a little life within me on the very first day i get to know about the gift of his or her existence.  in this very moment, only the Father in heaven and I know about this little one.  I feel like God is letting me in on a divine and holy secret, just a small part of His plan to be revealed in some unique and creative way to this world.  i've been praying that God would give us this baby, and jeremy told me last night that he has been too, and though Jeremy does not yet know that God did, indeed, answer that prayer,  I am taking a break from the tasks of the day to praise our God from whom ALL blessings flow and to pray for this little one that He, the creator and savior of the universe, dreamed up before there was even time for the very purpose of bringing Him glory in some way. I can't believe i have the privilege of carrying this little one these next nine months, and beyond, and as much as I, honestly, don't love being pregnant, I already love this child so very much.  And so this last time, I really want to enjoy the miracle that's taking place inside of me.

I wonder if she's a girl, or if he's a boy.  I wonder how she will bless our family, in what ways he will stretch us, what she will be like, how he will interact with his siblings....  I wonder so many things, some of them practical (like where will he sleep and how in the world will we fit 3 car seats in our car?) and some of them not (like who will she be and how will he best know God?).  I wonder how his little life will change the lives of his siblings.  Isaac and Ada do so well together...finally!  They love each other.  Can they love another little one too?  Can I love another one well?  I struggle to love the precious ones I have with joy and patience.  Is there enough of me to go around, and to still invest well in our marriage?

I have no choice but to trust that God is more than enough for us as He grows our family with great purpose.  I can't wait to tell Jeremy.  I'm so, so excited about knowing this baby and raising him or her with Jeremy by my side.  I wish I could hold her or him today!  July 10th ish is our due date.  Finally, a summer baby!!

Hooray!  I am so very full this day.
i was suspicious when i noticed how strong my fingernails were on the way home from gymnastics  with Ada today.  I am so grateful!  And now...off to decide how to tell Jeremy he is a daddy again!  Thank you, Jesus, for knitting this baby together within me.  What a miracle!  Please bring this little life here safely, and may He or she be filled with your Spirit and an eager participant in your Kingdom work.

"Sing over me, draw me close to rest in your peace.  Sing over me, oh sing"

a little surprise

i've been dreaming about ada's birthday party for a while now, even though it's still a month away.  after having a few hours last june with an old friend, howie, who works full time as a missionary building homes in mexican border towns, i realized that AMOR, a ministry that is dear to my heart and primarily "builds hope" by providing poor families with safe, dry homes, is struggling financially and therefore is only able to build half as many homes this year.  That means that only 600 families will benefit from the two room structure AMOR builds so well instead of normal 1200 families.  It also means only half as many volunteers are blessed by the experience of using their hearts and hands through AMOR to help build these homes and love on these families.  It's been my experience that I gain way more than I give when I am serving in this capacity.  I knew that the First Pres. group was taking a break from serving on the border due to the dangerous drug traffic and related crime, but it had not occurred to me that other churches were also choosing other avenues in which to serve.  Fewer servant groups, in combination with low giving, has left AMOR with a long waiting list of Mexican families who pray for a home for their babies.  I can't even imagine.

We have been conscious this year about supporting AMOR, and since Ada's birthday is at Christmas time, I thought that, with housing on our hearts, a gingerbread party would be fun!  Because of that, and because of her interest at Daystar, at Nana's and at RuRu's with the dollhouses there, I decided this would be a fun year to get her a dollhouse, as a tangible reminder of God's grace in our lives and also as a prompt to teach her to "build hope," however God might call her to do that.

When I started looking for dollhouses, I was super discouraged.  They are all pretty pricey (mostly over 3 digits) and seemed less than unique, much unlike my girl.  I happened to look on craigslist Sunday night and found a cute, wooden, blue house in need of some loving that very much reminded me of the house my sister made me when I was little (only it's smaller).  It was only 25 dollars, so I inquired about it right away, and was first in a line of many to get to stop by and look at it.

I told Ms. Paula, the homeowner, that I could pick the house up Monday morning, but would have to back into her driveway and sneak it into the trunk without the kids seeing it.  We headed towards Franklin, which worked perfectly because Isaac had gymnastics in Franklin that morning anyway.  When we passed the gym, he of course freaked out that I was going the wrong way.  I told him that I had a surprise to pick up.  He and Ada both got really excited and immediately started trying to guess what it might be.  Isaac said, "It must be a pumpkin!"  I decided to let him know that it wasn't actually a pumpkin, so he said, "I know!  Maybe it's a cow!  No, that's too big."  So Ada said, "Then it's a horse."  Isaac said, "No, Ada.  It's a rooster."  And so finally they settled on a new puppy.

I'm excited about giving this "new puppy" a new life.  I think it needs a good coat of pink paint on the outside and some sweet little touches on the inside.  I can't wait to work on it, and to give it to Ada for her second birthday.  Hopefully she and Isaac will spend a lot of creative hours enjoying it together, and in the end, will be reminded that everything we have is a gift from God.  I hope they will learn to give generously in response to his extravagant love.

"because that's how god made it"

today we were driving home from preschool, and ada starting talking about how she doesn't like to sleep when the sun is out or when the moon is out.  isaac tried to tell her that we take a nap when the sun is out and we go to sleep when the moon is out.  she asked him why.  and he said, "because that's how God made it, ada."

"take me see dr. nancy!"

My dear, dear friend, otherwise known as my large, white laptop, took a turn for the worst last week and pretty much stopped working.  Though I am sad to see it go, I am thrilled about the gift of a new computer.  When we walked up to the Apple Store last Friday afternoon, both Jeremy and I were taken by surprise at the huge line of people (the kind of line that requires special ropes and free beverages to keep everyone safe, organized, and caffeinated).  Of course we had picked the day that the new I-phone was coming out to attempt to buy a new computer.  Based on the amount of chaos in that store, I think everyone in town has a new iPhone except for us.  Thankfully, though, i do have a new computer!

As Kyle called us back to be helped, we followed.  Ada didn't.  She took off the opposite direction, heading into the crowd of strangers, and so i quickly reached my arm out and grabbed her little wrist, pulling her towards me.  She immediately started crying in pain, and kept telling us her arm hurt in between sobs.  I've never known Ada to cry for so long, which worried me to pieces, and complicated my feelings of guilt in having injured my little one in an effort to protect her from getting lost in the crowd.  She even started saying, "Take me see Dr. Nancy!"  Since that wasn't possible, we went to Walgreens and bought her a "bracelet" to help keep her wrist still.  She wore it with pride all weekend, and it wasn't until Sunday that she complained of pain again.  Our friend from church looked at it Sunday evening, and told us to ice it and give her some tylenol.  Thankfully she's doing great now, and even had fun at gymnastics this week. I've thought many times these last few days about how awful it is to have hurt my daughter.  I was trying to help her, and in the end caused her pain.  Forgive me, Ada, for I know it's not the last time I'll accidentally hurt you.  And though I"ll never hurt you on purpose, know that I hope God will convert your pain to his glory.

That little girl is so playful and spunky.  What a delight it is to watch her grow.

"i didn't do it!"

We would love for our children to grow into compassionate people who care deeply for others.  So far, they mostly care about themselves, and therefore whenever one of them hurts the other, one of the first things we ask them is if they checked on their sibling.  Yesterday Isaac and Ada were playing on the couch cushions in the living room while I was loading the dishwasher.  When Ada started crying, Isaac ran into the kitchen to say, "Ada's hurt but I didn't do it!"  I asked him if he had checked on her, and he said, "but mommy, i didn't do it!"  

I think we've somehow communicated to our little buddy that if he hurts someone, he should at least check to see if his victim is okay afterwards.  So we talked briefly about caring about people when they are crying or hurting no matter how they became sad.  

Last night I had a meeting at a church in Franklin, and our friend Ann Marie came over with her daughter, Ayden, also 3, to babysit.  Ayden fell backwards out of her chair at the dinner table, and Ann Marie told me that both Isaac and Ada came over to her right away to check to see if she was okay.

I love those little ones.

ryan and amanda's wedding

We had a big weekend in Chattanooga celebrating our friends Ryan and Amanda as they stepped into the mystery of marriage together.  Ryan used to work with me, and in fact, stepped into my job at the church doing junior high youth ministry for a while, and Amanda is the love of his life, who we also enjoy.  Ryan is so intentional in everything he does and most especially in the ways he loves others and the Lord, and beautiful Amanda will always be the first girl Isaac has ever noticed.  He adored her from the second he met her, and in fact, agreed to be the ring bearer in their wedding, which makes us all laugh because he so clearly does not understand that in so doing he helped celebrate the giving his girl away forever.  Isaac was excited about his duty as a ring bearer.  He loved the suit Amanda's mom sent him to wear--he said he felt handsome in it!  He also really likes the "Pom Poms" he got to wear with all of the other groomsmen who also had black Toms on their feet.  And, he of course, enjoyed Jenna Brooke, who was "my flower girl."  he kept saying, "where's my flower girl?"  when it was time to walk down the aisle, i heard isaac say to Jenna from the back of the church, "well, are you coming?" and then when Jenna bolted into a pew half way down the aisle, he stopped and looked at her before continuing down himself, swinging his pillow the whole way, intent on the sucker he would receive as a prize at the end of his shift.  Afterwards we went to the reception with the wedding party.  Isaac was so excited about riding on top of a double decker bus through downtown Chattanooga.  He couldn't believe it was okay to ride without a car seat!  Though the cake was his biggest highlight at the reception, Ada was bound and determined to spend her time on the dance floor.  After every song she would say "one more time!"  Watching her be so free to enjoy herself and her little body was SO freeing and wonderful for me.  What a sweet gift.

The wedding itself was really beautiful.  I love how quickly weddings remind me of my own vows to Jeremy--of the gravity and power of them, but also of the unique wonder of them.  I love sitting beside him and hearing a pastor's (in this case Mark!) challenge to become an expert on loving your spouse.  I'm amazed that 6 years into that journey I still have so much to learn, and i'm so grateful that it is my joy and my duty to do so.  God gave me in Jeremy a partner that I didn't even know how to ask for.  And I am grateful to be doing our lives fully together.

We love a lot of the same people that Ryan and Amanda love, and had such a fun time with our friends before, during and after the wedding itself.  Yesterday we went to the aquarium and Jeff and Kelleigh gave Isaac and Ada each a stuffed animal.  Isaac got a 10 foot red snake named "Froggy the Penguin" and Ada got a penguin she's been calling Birdie.  I think they both might be really special and integral parst of some child hood memories.  Maybe even beyond!

Congratulations to Ryan and Amanda!  And thank you, Lord, for marriage!

Call me.

we were driving home from nana's tonight and isaac asked me, "when are you going to die, mommy?"  I told him i didn't know but that i hoped it wouldn't be until i was old.  i want to see him get to be a daddy one day.  then he said, "will you take your phone with you when you die.  i'd like to be able to call you."

NaCoMe

NaCoMe is one of my favorite places on the planet.  How strange it is for me to try to explain how wonderful it is, and such is probably the case for anyone who has beloved childhood memories at a church camp.  My family started going to NaCoMe, which is a little piece of heaven tucked into the middle tennessee valley and is shared by many, mostly in the NAshville, COlumbia, and MEmphis areas, in 1984 when I was five years old.  Though I was almost eaten by the swamp in our first five minutes there (never have I been accidentally so muddy), our family fell in love with our NaCoMe family camp experiences there and went twice each year until Dusty and I were in college.  There is something so sweet about the ways we were loved there by our church family as we grew up--something so rare about the freedom NaCoMe always offered me to play, to dance, to get to know other people, to be known, and to explore.  God has truly used the investment He made in me during all of those family camps in some sweet ways--I feel like He used them to help create in me a heart for youth ministry, and for that I will always be grateful.

The first weekend of this month Jeremy and I had a rare chance to get to do something I never thought I'd ever do.  We were asked to be the speakers at the First Presbyterian Church NaCoMe family camp.  We were honored by the invitation, and because we prayed before we had children that maybe one day God would give us some chances to do ministry together, we were excited enough about the offer to accept it.  We were also scared out of our minds, mostly because the tall, tall task of creating a program that would engage all ages seemed to grand for us--we certainly aren't representative of the caliber of speaker that FPC usually pursues for the weekend's nurturing.

We worked really hard for months to create something that felt like a fit for the weekend.  God gave us an idea through Isaac and Ada's children's bible through a sentence that says "God created everything in his world to reflect him like a mirror--to show us what he is like, to help us know him, and to make our hearts sing."  We divided our time up into three sessions, and ended up learning a lot from it.  It felt very life-giving to lead the families at family camp.  We loved leading them in recreation, worship, and even speaking wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.  It was awesome to get to do this with Jeremy.  We have a far-fetched dream that maybe one day we could have a camp or lead camp sessions of some sort.  If this was a taste of what it would be like, I'm in!

I chipped my front tooth while we were eating lunch on Saturday.  I bit down really hard on a broken fork and it took part of my tooth out.  In a panic, I showed Jeremy, and said, "my teeth are all i've got!"  clearly the session we led on being made in the image of God is a struggle for me to really understand and believe.  It was good for me to be reminded that I was speaking to myself all weekend.  (on a side note, so was ada.  we all slept in the same room and discovered that she says "no mommy!" in her sleep! and i hear it in mine!)

It was a real treat for me to watch our little ones enjoy the place i grew up enjoying.  RuRu came with us and babysat while we were busy leading.  The kids had a blast.  Ada even won a silly award for getting in the creek in the first five minutes we were there (and for getting in it so many times during the weekend that we ran out of clothes for her).  I am pretty sure RuRu never thought to dream that she might be playing in that creek with her grandbabies.  God proves faithful from generation to generation.

"The heavens are singing about how great God is; and the skies are shouting it out, "See what God has made!"  Day after day...Night after night...They are speaking to us."  Psalm 19: 1-2 (paraphrase)

Isaac loved climbing up the climbing wall this time!  He has gotten so big!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Isaac his very first trip to NaCoMe.  He was 19 months old and loved collecting rocks to put in his fishing net.  He drug them everywhere.

And then he threw them in the creek with his daddy.  He still shakes him arms like that when he gets excited.  love, love.

preschool musical

we've been on the crazy journey of trying to find a preschool for isaac.  i've been really resistant about sending him somewhere, mostly because I quit my dream job to stay home with the kids so it only makes sense that they should stay at home with me.  that's been our story for the past 20 very hard, very beautiful months, and now that isaac is 3 and a half, we think it would be good for him to be in preschool at least one day each week so that he can practice being with other kids in a classroom and can learn some of the skills he'll need for school.  we've been to several schools, but ended up choosing one that we had not visited, based on the good things we've heard about the program from several families we trust and also because it's affordable.  I like, too, that they only have Wednesdays available right now.  It's a lot easier for me to gear up for preschool when I remember that it's just one 5 hour day each week (instead of 2 five and a half hour days or 3 three hour days).  A five hour day is still pretty long, I think.  Obviously I'm a wreck about preschool.

Isaac has also been resistant to the idea of preschool.  I'm sure that's partially because he feels my stress over it, but I think it's also because of his personality, which is one of the reasons we think this experience will really bless him.  Today we went to pick up some forms and to see his room.  When we pulled into the parking lot, he said, "Mommy, i think i'm a little bit scared."  I was thinking, "me too buddy.  Let's get out of here."  but instead, I told him we should pray.  We did, and he said he felt better.  When we walked into the building, the women who worked there were very kind to us, and after a short tour, Isaac heard me ask the director if he could bring a blanket from home for nap time.  She told me that he could.  Then Isaac said, "ask about my this."  So i picked him up and said, "can you ask Miss Diane your question?"  he said, "can i bring my this to school?"  She looked confused, of course, and so I told her what his this was.  After hearing the story, she told him about her bear cubby that she sleeps with and assured him that sleeping at nap time with his this would be okay.  All of a sudden preschool felt like a great idea to Isaac.  He has been so excited about it all day, and has said multiple times, "my this can go to school with me!"

tonight when we prayed, he asked god to help gracie and gretta not be scared to sleep in their room.  and then he asked god to help his blanks be "cited" about going to school.  his plan is to take them on a rotational basis, with dog blank going first because he's isaac's favorite.

i ordered isaac a red monogrammed backpack today while my big little guy took a nap.

"god, i think I'M a little bit scared.
please help us make choices on behalf of our children that reflect your best for them.
please help me be "cited" about this new transition for isaac.
may preschool be so wonderful that he grows hungry for more of it.
thank you for these years that we get to spend at home together.
may we make the most of them."
love,
erika

backwards. forwards.

we laugh a lot about the fact that when i leave the house in the morning to go to the Y, hoping to come home to find the kids dressed in the clothes i've picked out for them to wear for the day, i almost always come home to them in less clothing than when i left.  getting dressed is a game when jeremy is in charge, and the kids always have fun being chased around with random clothing items flying everywhere.  it annoys me, but since i am only rarely here to witness it, i just expect to arrive to some version of preschool frat party aftermath.  today when i got home, i was shocked to find that the kids were dressed and even had their shoes on!  i think their jammies are even in the dirty clothes basket.  excepting one detail, all was very impressive.  the detail:  ada's shirt was on backwards.  it cracks me up that jeremy always puts buttons in the front no matter what.  in his defense, it's how all of his shirts work.  but in the defense of our children, his obsession with button-fronts does not make any room for clues offered by tags, smocking, collars, etc.  and they usually do look rather funny with their clothes on backwards.

one of isaac's first sundays at the church nursery was mother's day 2008.  as was typical while i was working at church, i went early on sundays and jeremy brought isaac much later.  this particular sunday he brought him in one of the sweet smocked jumpers that someone had given us when isaac was born.  it was so funny to me that jeremy put it on backwards, sailboats in the rear, buttons in the front, that i think we left him like that most of the day.

now isaac puts his crocs on backwards all of the time.  it bothers other people, i think, but i am just glad he wants to put his shoes on by himself.  recently he's started asking, "is this backwards or forwards?"  it must be true that he'll learn when he's ready.

we have a backwards life otherwise too.  jeremy is home in the mornings and not in the evenings.  we have way more than we need or deserve.  we live in a neighborhood that we shouldn't live in because nana and papa t bought half of our house.  ultimately we are justified in christ, who died for our sin so that we might have life.  it's backwards too.

i'm thankful for the backwards.  it moves us forward.

He Said. She said.

Ada and Isaac say the most hilarious things.  Some of them I take for granted, for sure, and though I laugh in the moment, my nutty brain loses them after the present joy of the delight they bring.  Older moms always tell me to write stuff down and to take lots of pictures.  I know they offer me that instruction with the great intent of helping me to look back on these young years without the regret of undocumented childhoods.  I feel like I'm doing the best I can, and for the most part, "the best I can" does not include the preservation of the notes, pictures, and stories of our days like I wish it did.  For that reason, I want to write down some of the things that have escaped the mouths of my babes that have made me laugh recently.

I should preface them by saying that one of my favorite things about how kids speak is that they are so literal.  If I sit for a few minutes in what I hear from them, I delight in how hilarious it is that they say what they know to be true in ways that are not wrong and at the same time, are so not right.  Here are some highlights.

We looked at a preschool yesterday and a woman we met there asked Isaac how old he was.  He said he was 3.  She asked him when he would be 4.  He told her "after I'm 3, I think."

Ada loves cheese.  We give her cheese wheels and string cheese a lot.  She wandered into our bathroom and found a box of tampons.  Upon her discovery, she squealed with delight, "CHEESE!"  Oh so sad that she was mistaken!

Isaac loves to play "store" at the park.  He asks me what I need and I tell him.  He runs to pick up ground up tires from under the swings and brings them back to me in exchange for a twig or something as payment.  I told him i needed some poppy seed bread.  He told me he only had old poppy seed bread. I told him i didn't want to buy old poppy seed bread.  He told me he'd go check to see if i could find some that wasn't old.  When he returned, he said he had "old, new, and delicate."  I told him i had never heard of delicate poppy seed bread but that I'd like to try it.  Later I remembered that he had freaked out that very week about Ada breaking a piece of poppy seed bread that he was eating.  I tell him a lot, "That's breakable.  It's delicate."  Delicate poppy seed bread is my currently favorite thing to buy at his store.

Ada asks me to rock her at night after we read a few books.  I like to sing "Jesus Loves Me" to her while I rock.  She doesn't like for me to sing "Jesus Loves Me" to her or anything else for that matter.  She always tells me, "No song" as we start to rock.

The other day Isaac was taking a break for hitting his sister.  I was frustrated with him for (A) not knowing why he was in break, and (B) not being at all sad that she was hurting.  As Ada cried in the background, I told Isaac that it should break his heart that she was in pain.  Later that day as he was taking a break a second time for some sort of abusive action toward his sister, I asked him how he should feel.  He told me "my neck is breaking.  i am breaking my neck."

Ada is repeating most everything we say now, and she also says things on her own.  It's awesome.  One thing that she repeats after us is "Trader Joe's."  I hope we'll always remember how she says it.  It's so very, very cute.  I also like that she says "Hot dog" whenever we open the refrigerator or the microwave.    She can't get enough hot dogs.  Weird.  Though she knows lots of words, she also does her fair share of babbling.  I have NO idea what she's saying a lot of the time, but it's fun to listen to her make sounds.

Isaac likes to dance around and sing.  He goes through stages of favorite "hits."  These are some of the songs that make his cut:  Danger Zone from the Top Gun soundtrack.  Life is a Highway by Papa T (actually, Rascal Flatts sings it but because Rascal Flatts recently cut one of Papa T's songs, Isaac thinks Papa T sings Life is a Highway from Cars the Movie).  Walk Right in, Sit Right down (or at least that's what we call it) from the Forrest Gump soundtrack.  Dancing to it requires lots of sitting and standing.  It's a recent favorite.  Just this week he heard "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles and feel in love.  He even hits his arms on his legs with some sort of natural rhythm that matches that of the song.  He sings it over and over again like he's in a trance.  It's pretty funny.  He also likes to make up his own songs.  Often he sings "Buoy Wonder, Buoy Buoy Wonder" to the tune of I don't know what.  He made it up.  Also, Ada loves to play in the water, toilet water included.  When Isaac catches her doing it, he runs around singing "Ada's playing in the potty, Ada's playing in the potty."  I guess the song is more of a chant and possibly a cheer.  He loves it so much.  He gets so excited that even does a special dance while he sings.  The cutest part of it is how he jerks his elbow up to his ear while he dances around.  He is such a white boy.  Unfortunately, Ada is known to copy his moves.

The dog next door is named Hunny, not to be confused with Butch, her daddy, who has a hilarious mole catching habit.  Ada is obsessed with Hunny.  She looks for her from the Squirrel Room window, calls for her sometimes when we're up in the night, and peers over the fence when we are out on the deck in hopes of catching a glimpse of the prized pet next door.  Mostly Hunny isn't home, even though Butch is.  She goes to work with Stephen in his white pick up truck.  Ada freaks out everytime we see a white truck.  She says, "Hunny!  Hunny!  Truck!  Hunny!"  When we ask Ada where Hunny lives, she says "truck."

We were able to go to Memphis for Easter.  We went straight to Bammaw's assisted living apartments when we got to town because they were having an Easter egg hunt for the residents' families.  Though most kids found 64 or so eggs, Ada was really content with her 3 and Isaac with his handful.  Once they found out there was candy inside, there was a lot of happy happening for both of them.  The "Easter Bunny" showed up after the hunt.  As is typical of the personalities of our children, Ada chased the bunny around in circles and down the hall with great delight screaming "Bunny.  Bunny!  Hi Bunny!"  She gave him high-fives and pretty much stalked him during the gathering.  Isaac, on the other hand, literally got as low as he could to the floor under an older man's wheel chair.  He screamed too.  "Bunny!  Bunny!  Everyone hide!  There's a bunny!"

Later, at Ruru and Pop's house we had another egg hunt.  Ruru and Pops make each egg worth $1.  Gracie told her mom (who Isaac and Ada call Aunt Name) that she wanted a new Vera Bradley bag (speaking of he said, she said, RuRu said it was a Vera Wang bag!) and Name said she'd have to save her money up to buy it.  When RuRu told Isaac that Gracie was going to be hunting fast, Isaac said, "That's okay  I'll watch Pops hide the eggs."  In reality I think he may have even helped Pops hide the eggs.  Thankfully it didn't skew the outcome any.

Easily our favorite easter "he said" is Isaac shouting "Alive!" whenever we say, "Jesus is ______."  Last year when we would say "Christ is risen," he would say "Christ is deed."  He is so funny.  and wonderful.

We have a "This" addiction at our house.  A "This" is a pacifier.  When Isaac was a baby, we hold his pacifier out to him and would ask him "do you want this?"  Thus the name.  Not only is he addicted to his "this" Ada is also addicted to hers.  It's obsessive really.  Out of control.  Though Isaac is awesome about only needing his to sleep now (only because of fear.  he knows we'll throw it away if we see him with it out of bed), Ada begs for hers all day long.  We have let her have it recently because she's been teething so badly, and she likes to chew on it.  We talk about getting rid of Isaac's but haven't done it yet.  One of our favorite families just had a visit from the "Paci Fairy" to take their daughter's pacifier in exchange for some big girl toys.  When I introduced the idea of the "This Fairy" to Isaac, he went nutty.  "She can't come here, can she?  Check the windows!  Lock the doors!"  When he freaked out, I backed up and made sure he knows she only comes if we invite her.  I was sorry I mentioned it.  I was even more sorry the next morning when we hopped out of the car in the church parking lot for a meeting, Ada sucking hard on her "This" of course, and a random woman in the parking lot told us that the "Pacifier Fairy is going to want that."  Isaac looked at me horrified.  Since then, he's taken his own "This Fairy" nightmare and turned it into a game.  He chases Ada around in circles saying, "I am the This Fairy.  Give me that This!"  and she runs and squeals, and only cries if the mean "This Fairy" succeeds on his mission.
  
I love them.  And I love all of the little funnies that come out of their mouths.

"60."

most of the people in our lives who are having birthdays this year and last are/were turning 60.
today is my birthday.
jeremy asked isaac how old i was going to be on my birthday.
isaac said very confidently, "60! we get cake!"
i reminded him quickly that i'm not turning 60.
in fact, all of a sudden, 32 sounds really wonderful.

last night as i tucked isaac into bed he said, "mommy, are you going to get old tonight?"
i assured him that i would just try to sleep like all the other nights of my life.
when he came into my room this morning, he didn't make his normal announcement, which is "ding, ding! the sun's out!!"
instead he came up to my side of the bed and said very cautiously, "did you get old?"
he was shocked that i look today like i looked yesterday.

i had a great birthday.
we had breakfast together.  never happens.
the kids and jeremy went to grab cupcakes and balloons while i was at my bible study.
balloons and cupcakes make me happy. so does my bible study.
i got to shop at the oak hill consignment sale (bj got me in early, and i came home with a new summer wardrobe for isaac.  bj bought it for me as a surprise while i wasn't looking.  so generous.  so hard to receive!  so undeserving.  so exciting!)
i barely even looked at girls' clothing, which demonstrates an amazing amount of self control.
wish i had some of that around the cupcakes.
i had a picnic lunch with jeremy on our front lawn while the kids napped.
yummy turkey sandwiches.  such a staple at our house.
i folded clothes with gracie, who cleaned our house today and acted like it was no big thing.
it's always a big thing.  our house is very "lived in" (which is what gentle, southern women call "a disaster.")
the kids and i went for a walk.
we ended up at the creek by our house to throw rocks.
then we ended up in the creek by our house to chase ada.
then we were all wet and so we went for a little creek walk.
i loved it.
my jeans were soaked to my knees and my ada was soaked to her head.
isaac faired better than both of us.
we went to the park for a picnic with dusty and claire and ellie.
also loved it.  it's so fun to watch our kids play together.
the slides were a hit.

tonight as i was giving isaac and ada a bath, isaac said in a very sad, disappointed voice, "well, you didn't get old today.  i think it's because you have a cold."
i don't have a cold.
he was also very sad that no people were coming over.
he said several times "why are your friends not coming?"
according to him, i failed at having a birthday.
but i loved my day today.
now if only my hubby would come home.

randomness

we just got back from the Kid's Gym at the Y, which we all love, and ada and isaac are napping so i thought i'd share some randomness from our last week.

we lost three shoes.  isaac's towmater croc, ada's cute pinstriped mary jane with a purple flower, and a pink boot.  the boot turned up under ada's bed.  the others definitely disappeared while we were running errands.  how does that happen?

we bought a really great mattress for super cheap thanks to a groupon!  we've been looking for one to replace the one that is now isaac's big boy bed.  since we have guests so much, we'd love for at least one person to be able to sleep comfortably, so we're excited about getting a plush mattress for a total of $68 and something cents.  that never happens to us.  just in time for a fogerty visit this weekend!

isaac has a "broken eye".  it's gross, but hopefully it will get better now that he's on an antibiotic.  i celebrate that this is the very first time he's needed a prescription filled.  how awesome is that?  3 years well.

ada had her 15 month check up this week.  she's growing great (she has a big head like the rest of us, and the rest of her comes in somewhere just below average.  little and short, which is part of why she looks so cute running around like she does, i think!).  she got two shots, but was really brave and thoroughly enjoyed the sucker she earned afterwards.

i decided after the kids' gym today that i'm going to reward isaac with pennies after he pees in the potty so that he can earn his way to a big treat (he always BEGS me for something from the snack bar at the Y after we play, but i'm too cheap to buy him anything).  i'm hoping it works AND keeps him from filling up on m & m's in the process.  plus, it makes sense to start teaching him that our consumption of things comes at a cost.  we'll see how it goes.

i made a pillow on saturday.  i got my sewing machine out of the box and my friend jen taught me how to make a pillow.  it looks very wonky, but i still like it, and i hope i'll make time to sew more.  i can see how it would be so fun to be good at it.

i had a thought during our bedtime routine last night that made me appreciate the mystery of how God works a little more.  We talked on Sunday at church about the clarity of call Moses had in the burning bush.  i do think it would be cool if God offered each of us such clear, personal instruction.  I've always thought that.  it narrows the risk margin a bit for someone who wants to live in accordance with God's will.  but, as i was delivering instruction after instruction last night to get isaac and ada cleaned up from dinner and ready for bed, it occurred to me that we were all miserable listening to me give orders.  and so, i became thankful in a new way that knowing God's calling in our lives (and in our minutes) comes with intimate relationship with Him.  it made me happy.

i made really yummy (or so i suppose) cookies last night.  oreos wrapped in chocolate chip cookie dough!  they looked awesome.  jeremy always gives up sweets for lent so i though he might enjoy a little marti gras of sorts when he got home last night.  i asked him to take them off the cookie sheets.  now i can't find them.  maybe he ate them all.  they are gone.  oh well.  i'm sure one cookie would have cancelled out a whole boot camp routine.  i'll try to convince myself that it is not worth it.

ada just woke up.  only an hour nap?  really?

stormy day

today was a stormy day.  we've had several of those recently--sweet reminders that spring is on the way.  we've been tempted by a few trips to the park in between storms.  now isaac is big enough to hold nala's leash as he rides in the stroller and ada is big enough to slide by herself!  last spring she couldn't even sit up and now she can almost keep up with her brother.

 ada also likes to slide with daddio.

 isaac loves the sand.  ada puts it in her mouth.  

confined to our basement yet again, we decided to build a tent today.  when we were playing charades, isaac told ada he wanted her to be a hamster, and so we decided to get our tunnels out so that she could practice her hamster skills.  she rocked the tunnels.  i, however, was shocked that it was so hard to put together a playhouse without directions (where's jeremy when i need him?  he can put together that playhouse in the dark).  in order to prevent myself from blowing up, i abandoned the playhouse project and the dome tent became our focus.  isaac helped me while ada, bless her heart, entertained herself and her baby doll (which she cradles like a cell phone she's talking on).  success!  just enough for a hot dog picnic and several moments of tunneling hamster fun (the tent connects to the tunnels).

we also did some arts and crafts.  recently isaac has called any sort of crafty time "making valentines."  in his defense, we made lots of them last month.  today isaac decided he wanted to draw a heart, a rain cloud, an umbrella, and his hands.  we drew with glue and then put beans (the same ones that we used for gravel for isaac's trucks a few weeks ago) into the glue.  isaac did an awesome job.

ada tried to make a butterfly, but everything ends up in her mouth right now.  you know what they say about people who ate glue when they were little.  we had to redirect.

i'm ready for daddy to get home.  i miss him.

my girl and her shoes

it's common knowledge that many women have a thing for shoes.  i am not one of them.  my running shoes, my flip flops, and a pair of warm boots are my staples, and otherwise, i'm most comfortable barefoot.  i don't have a shoe fetish, and i don't really accessorize well either.  i'd rather not draw attention to myself, so i'm all about a pony tail and a pair of silver hoop earrings.

ada is so hilarious to me.  she LOVES to accessorize and she's only 14 months old.  everything is a bracelet (rubber bands, scotch tape dispensers, duct tape rolls, and today i caught her taking all of the toilet paper off of the roll so that she could put her hand through the cardboard tube).  everything else is a ring (marker tops, pipe cleaners, pen caps, and anything else she can squeeze onto her fingertips).  

she also loves shoes.  when her closet door is open, she heads straight for the tupperware box where we store them, and she brings me a pair to put on her.  she'll back up into my lap, have a seat, and wait for her foot to be adorned by whatever mary jane is to her liking that day.  sometimes she'll even demand that i try to fit her shoes on over her footy pajamas.  tonight she went to her closet after i put her jammies on, picked out a pair of shoes, and insisted that she wear them for the rest of the evening and then to bed too.  i tried to take them off of her, and she went nuts.

so, ada is sleeping in her shoes tonight.  i am sleeping barefoot.  

i love that little girl.

snow day!

it snowed again yesterday.  i love snow.  we've had a total of 8 inches in nashville so far this winter, which is more than we're used to getting in any given winter (or 4 winters combined).  we played outside in it the first couple of rounds, but yesterday isaac wanted to do something inside because he was tired of being cold.  we pulled out our hot chocolate marshmellow stash and the toothpicks we used last week for isaac's cupcakes and made some "creations."  it's one of the only things we've done recently that felt like the joy of the activity lasted way longer than the clean up or prep time (well, honestly, i haven't actually cleaned it all up yet, but it didn't require anything to get us going!).

we made a dog house together, and then isaac made a really great sun.... 

and a super long snake.

meanwhile, ada ate as many marshmellows as she could

and nala, the dog that is not in jail healing tummy wounds, was very pleased when ada snagged the entire bag and spilled them all over the floor.

maybe we'll do it again soon.  though the way things are going this winter, we might be in for some more fun in the snow as well!

lost. and found. again.

we went to the downtown library for story time.  it rocks.  it's been a while since we've gone, and isaac especially liked it yesterday.  while he enjoyed the books and the puppets, i tried to wrangle ada away from the strangers sitting beside us who were feeding their kids pretzels and other yummy snacks.  she was scavenging, maybe in an effort to make new friends but probably in an effort to find a treat.  i really love this about ada.  she's never met a stranger, and she really loves to share.  she's our curious little critter.

at the end of story time, isaac went up to the front with the rest of the kids to sit on the stage and sing "what a wonderful world" in sign language.  ada and i went with him at his request.  it was his first time to express interest in being a part of this tradition at the library, and i was really proud of him.  afterwards we ran into some friends and talked to them while we picked out a stack of 17 new books to read this week, most of which are actually good!

monkey blank came with us, as is common on many of our adventures.  he tags along happily, and all is well until we realize we have no clue where he is.  when we got home with our hands very full of books, i discovered he was gone.  i always feel like we're running out of grace when it comes to monkey blank.  he's been lost so many places--a college campus, a toy store, and an outdoor wedding reception at dark just to name a few.  i called the library repeatedly during nap time, hoping to get lucky and discover monkey blank had wandered up to the information desk.  i didn't get an answer.  i started thinking about how we might replace monkey blank, though i know better.  ruru and i tried that once when elephant blank "went to town."  we found another elephant blank at a store that looked just like isaac's elephant blank and we brought him home, excited to tell isaac the good news.  after taking a quick look at the new elephant blank, he threw the blanket across the room and said, "this is NOT elephant blank.  give this to ada."  he had nothing to do with new elephant blank for at least three days, during which time jeremy gave the new elephant blank a cool voice and a stellar personality.  now the blank imposter is allowed to be part of isaac's life, but is called new elephant blank.  he still insists that old elephant blank went to town.

after naps we drove back the the library and retraced our steps.  because we were lucky enough, we found monkey blank mixed in with the puppets close to where we'd been playing with our friend ayden earlier.  isaac tends to flap his arms when he gets excited.  monkey blank's return definitely got an arm flapping.  i can't believe he's home safe.  again.  hooray.

another sock?

this week our dog, stella, had exploratory intestinal surgery for a third time.  she likes to eat things that she shouldn't.  though i know we have no clue how much stuff she's actually swallowed, we do know what she's downed that has gotten stuck.  so far that list includes four magnets, two toddler socks, and a third sock, also belonging to our 2 year old son.  stella is officially beloved at our animal hospital.  they tell us it's because of her "magnetic personality" but i think they look at her and see dollar signs.  how could they not?  i do, despite my love for her.  we like to call her "Dazzle" behind her back, because we've spent more than enough money exploring her intestines.    obviously the costly procedure is one that we're really grateful for.  it's saved our dog three times in the last two years.  and though the recovery process is hard for all of us, we are thankful to have been graced with our same, muppet-like mess of a ball-fetching, kid-loving, big, goofy dog at the end of it all.

the last two surgeries were within three months of each other.  dirty socks were involved both times.  it seems like getting horrifically sick, having surgery, and then having a long period of recovery should be enough to teach her to avoid eating socks as a behavior pattern.  people say that dogs are like their owners.  i tend to agree. that's why i decided to start this blog.

i am a stay-at-home-ish mother.  isaac, our son, is 2 about to be 3, and ada, our daughter is 13 months old.  when ada was born, i decided to take a break from a job i loved as a youth minister, and though i spend a very large percentage of my day with our children, i forget so many of the details of their young lives and often times what stirs in me as a result.

yesterday i was reading to isaac from our favorite book, The Jesus Storybook Bible.   It says "God wrote, "I love you"--he wrote it in the sky, and on the earth, and under the sea.  He wrote his message everywhere!  Because God created everything in the world to reflect him like a mirror--to show us what he is like, to help us know him, to make our hearts sing."  I know it to be true that God is showing himself to me in ways I can't recognize because I'm changing diapers and filling sippy cups all day long. And i know Him to be showing himself to me in ways I can recognize, but often don't remember for the same reasons.  I wonder if i were to write about our days, if i might know better His faithfulness and delight more in the insight I may have into His heart as He shares with me the unique and wonderful blessings and challenges of our lives.

i wrote this as if i have intentions of others reading my ramblings, which is funny because that isn't at all why i'm doing this.  i have a lot of insecurities about starting a blog, even if it's just for the sake of recording our days so that i might remember them and learn from them.  even so, here goes.  i'm raising my ebenezers, hoping to claim some of the goodness of God's presence in our lives, and hoping, too, that   i might be growing in ways that prevent me from eating my socks a third time.  please, stella, milkbones only.