What {Gage's} Up To:

Gage is active as ever these days. The plus side is we're having fewer and fewer meltdowns as his vocabulary grows. He starting to speak in full sentences and is particularly interested in animals and what they're eating. We went for a walk yesterday and I grabbed my camera before we left...these are a few shots from our outing:


You can just tell that talking has really made his day :) Frequently on his tongue these days?

" stop it, Ryan "
" chicken and fries please "
" mommy...mommy...look...train on the tracks "
" mommy...mommm...look...ambweeeeelance "

he's continually inquisitive...and very, very smart.

I think he looks just like my brother, Kasey, in this picture:

He is so stinkin' silly. It just cracks me up!

It's such a delight to hear him communicate (in a non high-pitched, screaming way) with us! This little guy just makes us laugh all day long!

What {Ryan's} Up To:

This is a little late in coming but Ryan is playing outdoor soccer this year. He was so excited to learn that his team color is greeen (his absolutely, hands-down, favorite color). He's number 2 but was a bit disappointed because he wanted to be 5. Turns out, the smallest kid on the team has to wear the smallest jersey...and that would be Ryanie with Numero Dos :) Here's a few highlights of his first game:

And Ryan's BIGGEST happenings lately have been his days going to KINDERGARTEN! Here he is the morning of the first day all ready to rock and roll...

I know a million moms say it, but I just can't believe he's this grown up!

He loves his teacher and I have been very impressed with the whole school so far. I really never thought I'd feel this comfortable with him going to school...but it's a blessing to know he's in safe hands. He's made a LOT (you know, cause he's quite a talker) of friends so far and from what I can tell with what's coming home, he's 'getting it'.

I love this little guy SO much.

Just this and {THAT}

I haven't been blogging much lately- some because I feel like I don't have anything to 'say' but mostly because I can't keep any thoughts straight enough to bring together something worth reading. So I suppose a bulleted list of 'what we're doing' might suffice for the time being? We'll see...

1. I took my boys to school with me last night so I could get some work done. This usually means {them} running around like banchees doing alllll the things we don't let 'normal' children do at school. It usually means scissors and flashlights...and 1o minutes later we're back in the car with an armful (or two) of stuff to work on from home. Last night, however, I was a wee bit more prepared with happy meals and Scooby on the BIG screen. Needless to say, I got a LOT done (despite the entire chocolate milk that ended up on Gage's pants).

2. I start school on Tuesday....and so does RYAN!!!! He is so excited...we've got all his school supplies packed into his RED backpack. I even let him splurge a teeny bit - he got a "stappler". We met his teacher and she seems great so first day- here.we.come!

3. Gage is {still} bink-free!!!! And if you ask him what happened to all his binks, he will tell you the entire story...bugs and all ;)

4. I am not fitting into any of my 'normal' clothes these days. And yeah, yeah, yeah I know it's still pretty early but I consider myself pretty stretchy to begin with...hahahhaha! I bought one of those belly bands from Motherhood the other day...haven't used it yet but I could have TOTALLY invented it! I guess it's back to gauchos and thick waste bands for a bit.

5. Speaking of pregnancies....I have an appt on Sept. 4th that I'm just a wee bit nervous about. Despite the growing 'me', it's still pretty early and a lot could happen. I'm not sure if that's me being a pessimist...or a realist. Probably a bit of both.

6. JD has a big interview coming up next week that you 'might' hear more about but for now, he could sure use some extra prayers if you've got 'em.

7. Just finished Time Traveler's Wife and here's a tip - if you want that book to make any sense at all, read the dates. I skipped 'em and was lost until the end :)

8. Cravings? Um, yeah. Banana Cream Pie - homemade with REAL bananas and grahm cracker crust. Cyrus simply will.not.do. Could possibly be why I can't fit into anything at the moment ;)

9. Of the $737 that was in my camera fund in July, about $4 are left. Humph.

10. God continues to be ever-present, ever-graceful, and ever-loving in my life!

Wow...all that time and it's represented in 10 bullets. Nice.

Cheers to the end of summer and the {beginnings} of something great !

Advise (not to be confused with ADVICE)

When I was student-teaching (what feels like many moons ago) it was MY job to write the list of 20 spelling words on the chalkboard as the kids eagerly copied them into their notebooks. Pshaw- how difficult can it be? I mean, these were 6th graders....6th grade WORDS. No need to 'prepare' or 'glance over' them beforehand, right?

Oh, so wrong.

I'll never forget that day. The day when it first occurred to me that advice and advise are not the same word. That the suffix 'ible' goes on words that cannot stand alone and 'able' goes on words that can. I could go on...but I think it's safe to say it was {one} of {many} embarrassing moments. I was so not ready for those words - and it was painfully obvious to a classroom FULL of 6th graders (and a mentor teacher who will never, EVER let me forget that moment).

For me, it was one of those kinds of moments where I came to a fork in a road. One path led to an admission of stupidity and one led me down the humble road of humility. I could have been prideful- threw the chalk and stomped off. I could have. Or I could have laughed at my mistake and admitted that I, along with all of my 28 onlookers, needed to study this week's spelling list right along side them. I choose humility. And I took that Friday test {and passed}.

I have a college degree. I'm {supposed} to know a lot. But I admit, I don't. And I {try} not to pretend like I do.

I'm a Christian. I'm {supposed} to know a lot. But I admit, I don't. And I {try} not to pretend like I do.

I'm a mom. I'm {supposed} to know what to do but again, I admit. I don't.

I could go on here, but you get the point.

Sometimes there's a fine line between pride...and conviction...between knowing and sharing what you know. We are ALL teachers- whether we put that label on or not. And mark my word, there's a line between being a teacher and being teachABLE.

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Last night I was at a store stocking up on notebooks for my classroom. There was a BIG sale on spirals (10 cents each!). There was a limit of 18 and at the check out counter, the clerk and I simultaneously realized that I had 19 in my basket. Whoops. It was an honest mistake, believe me.

"Looks like someone needs to go back to school to learn how to count" she said to me. Her comment full of pride and poke.

*smile* "Everyone makes mistakes".

Be teachable. Every day....in every way.
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When I sat down to this post, this message was not my initial intent. My initial intent was to celebrate Gage's BIG accomplishment today...he is eaxctly 24 hours BINK-FREE! And I was going to ADVISE anyone who will listen that it can be done. And if you want some free ADVICE on how to do it, do like we did: cut all the nipples off the ends of the binks and tell him the bugs ate them. Worked like a *charm*.

Yucky binks.

A fair{nite}

Our friends came allllll the way from Wenatchee to share the fair with us. Here's Candy, super woman she is, carrying a five year-old and pushing and almost-two-year-old. Super woman, I tell ya!


Our first stop was to Pierce Hall, of course, to check and see if anything I entered won any ribbons. I was hoping to at least get a second place on my cherries since I drove alllll the way home to grab them at the last minute when I realized there was only one other entry! I figured I'd at least get a red~ hahahahaha!

Imagine my surprise when JD started yelling that my cherries won first place! And then I ran over to realize that the ones he was referring to weren't mine....but when we DID find mine....there was a BLUE ribbon on them! SHOCK to the nation. Seriously! I was so excited, I took a picture - shaking and all! Everyone in Pierce Hall was staring at me but do you think I cared? Um, not the least! Hahahaaha!!!!

Then we went to check out the pictures and you can imagine the squeal I let out when Candy said, "I see a cowboy picture of Ryan with a blue ribbon on it!". UN.BELIEVE.ABLE. JD took our picture (and Ryan felt famous :)

Gage's hand got a blue and the silhouette pic (which is barely visible behind me) got a third place white ribbon.

I learned a lot about categorizing pictures, for sure! I put JD and Ryan on the Columbia in 'water scenes' and about died when all the other pics in that category were of waterfalls and lakes! lol. Live and learn, I suppose.

I just thought it was super neat to have some pictures that I took among all those other GREAT photos! I have never done this before and it's very nerve-racking. You sort of put yourself out there and wait to be judged - I can't think of one person who LIKES that feeling! But it was just fun to see my kids in blown-up pictures...and hear people comment about them in an artsy kind of way. And listen. We all know who the REAL artist is here; I was just lucky enough to push a button at a right time. ;)

This {nite} held a lot of other 'firsts'- It was Ryan's first time ever riding rides at the carnival...

Cotton Candy. Root beer. Elephant Ears. Carmel Apples. Pictures. Rides. Music. Laughter. Crowds. Huckleberry Lemonade. Friends.

I think it's safe to say that we had a blast at the fair this year! Hope you did/do too!!!!

This {KIND} of Love

I've been a wee bit obsessed with {this} song lately. I guess you could say that it's singing to my soul. When I first broke the news about this pregnancy to a friend of mine, she said to me, "you know...this may be just God's little gift to you". Ever since those words, I've tried to make it my {personal} mission to look harder...and longer...and faster for God's little gifts - especially the unexpected ones that are seemingly wrapped in blue and pink paper with a lil note that says "Do not open for 9 months". Isn't it funny that it sometimes takes an 'outsider' to point 'in'? Isn't it funny that simple words and simple reminders can ease a scared heart in an instant?



Don't get me wrong, though. I'm just a human- just a girl. I'm still feeling {uneasy} from time to time about the carseat situation - and going to the grocery store with (3) little ones still seems impossible - have I mentioned that we sold our infant carseat and stroller in the garage sale? - these are just a few of the little bumps in the road that run fast through my mind...and then I remember to stop.

God is so in control here. And his fingerprints are alllll over this lil miracle (just as they've always been...).


And so, when I listen to this song by Sister Hazel, I let myself be in LOVE with the creator of you...and me...and my sweet little tiny beating heart blessings. Every last one.




And speaking of blessings...(because what's a post without a pic of these handsome little men???) Talk about some sweet blessings! ;)

Refreshing

Today, as I'm in my 'funk', I overheard Ryan talking to the lifeguard at swim lessons:

"Is the water cold?"

He creeps further down the ladder into the water, hesitant.

"Or is it refreshing?" he asks...

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Refreshing? Did I just hear my five year old ask if the water is "refreshing"? This small boy, ill-equipped for this giant pool, stepping deeper and deeper into the unknown abyss that is his nemesis at this point in the 'lesson'? This boy, who believes that there really ARE sharks that live in this pool that are 'put away at night'; this boy who can barely stop asking questions about this giant pool long enough to actually learn to swim...he chooses the word, "refreshing" to ask of its characteristics?

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I can't describe the number of times I've been before a 'pool' in my life and have had to dive in...to sink or to swim and I can't recollect, with all my might, a time when I would have thought of it as "refreshing" (or any synonym of the word).

A time like today...a time when the carpet of life seems to slip out from under me...a time when the surprises of all surprises is becoming more and more real as time ticks on. A time when I'd be just fine in my funk, thank-you-very-much.

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I've felt 'weird' lately- and as I expressed my concern to my loving husband and he replied with "you're probably pregnant". I scoffed at the idea. And to prove that I do, in fact, know my body better than he does, I took a pregnancy test JUST to prove him wrong. And when you have the kind of pregnancy history that I have, yes, those tests just happen to be lying around...

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You can imagine the shock, then, that oozed in the form of tears as the 'pregnant' line grew darker than the 'test' line. I dropped the test as if it were a two-tone pink preying mantis about to hiss and strike. I didn't talk to JD for a good portion of the day.

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Pregnant? Are you KIDDING me? I can't begin to express the not readiness. Like, for example, that there's no way my car will seat three car seats. Or that I doubt I could entertain Gage long enough for BBPs and NSTs that are a certain with any pregnancy of mine. Or that I'll be so tired all year long ... and especially on my 30th birthday and 10th wedding anniversary (milestones JD and I always talked about celebrating in another country).

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stressed.

worried.

shocked.

doubtful.

these last few weeks have been a steady rotation of these emotions.

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This {new} part of life looks scary. I don't know if I can do it - if I can do it well enough. I know JD can do it but it's me that I'm worried about for now. I'm scared of the unknown; of the uncertainty that pregnancies always bring for us. I wonder what our life will look like with three boys...or possibly another girl.

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I feel like Ryan, on the edge of something scary. It includes some rationale fears but is also plagued with the irrational. I want to dip my toes in but yet I'm afraid. As I was expressing these fears to the One who listens best, He revealed this scripture to me:

"and by your will they were created; not to be conceived as a demand, but as an expression or inclination of pleasure toward that which is liked, that which pleases and creates joy...it signifies His gracious disposition toward something" Revelation 4:11

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Does it look scary? Does it look unmanagable? If you have been in these shoes of mine, then you know what I'm feeling. Can I seek shelter in shock and worry? Can I live in this funk? Or can I choose a {new} lens. Can I simply put on another lens...a different attitude...can I be more grateful and feel more blessed than ever? I choose that new lens.

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Getting pregnant 'on accident' could be just the right dose of {refreshing}.

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and how great is it that today we heard a little teeny tiny heartbeat for the first time ... ever?