Hail the conquering toilet trainee!

Oliver decided it's time to grow up. Since he's going to be the big brother, diapers are no longer acceptable. I tried to get this point across for many months, but to no avail. Then he comes along and makes his mind up. Just marching to the beat of his own drum, as usual.
That's the greatest of the latest from our house. Andrew is busy at work crafting customers' cabinets, ensuring that we will have a new baby before a new kitchen in our own home. I'm thankful for his work and annoyed.
We had our twenty-week ultrasound last week (at 21 weeks), and resisted the acute temptation to find out the sex of the babe. We brought Olives along, so that was quite something. All is well, we're expecting our little bundle around May 27th. Come quickly, May Twenty-seventh!

Christmas album

Comic relief

Over Christmas I had the joy of spending time with my entire family. It was so very merry indeed. We all laughed and had good talks. The most I've laughed, possibly ever, was at Anna. I would say with Anna, but she wasn't laughing. Here's the story...
It begins with Anna having the -ahem- privilege of going out for a Christmas luncheon with Luke and all of his coworkers (superiors - scientists, PHDs, colonels, etc.), and their wives. Oh joy, thought Anna.
Now, you know when you have something dreadful to do and you're just getting yourself so worked into a tizzy? You hang onto a thread of hope that things won't be as bad as your imagination has led you to fear. If only that were the case with Anna.
See, she just started digging into her food with gusto, hoping no one one would notice her, and certainly to avoid -the death wish - eye contact. Wouldn't you know it, the general didn't get the body language, and struck up conversation with my sorry sister.
General: So Anna, Luke tells me you're getting your Masters in nursing.
Anna: *GUFFAW*
The poor dear. She just found it so ironic that someone with such a stack of education under his feet, would assume she's already onto her Masters.
After recovering slightly from the shock of her own response, but still looking red in the face, Anna wanted to say she was going to get her Bachelors then Masters, but she put the two together. What do you get when you combine Bachelors and Masters? Well, Anna told the general she was getting her bastards in nursing. Wow, that's something new.
Luke momentarily takes over the story here. He said he stared at his plate for a second, then swooped in and saved his mortified bride. "What Anna means is that she'll get her Bachelors degree, then her Masters..."
Okay, two moments of embarrassment behind her, Anna forges on, hoping to be a most forgettable person amongst this crowd of dignitaries. But did I mention there are three irksome degrees to this saga? The third being the piece de resistance.
I now introduce Luke's boss' wife, Ruby Hack. She had gotten Anna's number from Luke at a prior meeting, wanting to take Anna out for coffee and a chat. So as Ruby's leaving this luncheon she reaches out her hand to give Anna a little wave and say, "I'll call you," when my overeager sister reaches out and attempts to shake it. Ruby's left hand, out there limp just for a friendly gesture, has just turned my poor Annabelle into the most distressed creature. Confounded. Disconcerting. Vexing. Perplexing. Needless to say, Anna's not exactly waiting by the phone for Ruby's call to go out to lunch. Not that again.

'tis the Season...

...for Christmas cookies at breakfast? Don't monster cookies qualify as breakfast food? There's a ton of oatmeal, close to a dozen eggs, peanut butter. Never mind all the sugar and m&ms and chocolate chips...and high fructose corn syrup (just kidding, it's light corn syrup).
We're getting so excited for Christmas!!
In the midst of the hustling and bustling I'm trying to be still and know that He is God. However, my mind is always racing even if I'm not. I have so much Christmas shopping to do and other things that I would like to get done, that I have a hard time focusing. My pondering has been during the Bethlehem stories Olives has me read to him. Particularly a book called the Legend of the Candy Cane which goes through the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The explanation of the colors is given - red for Jesus' blood and white for his cleansing of our sins. There's an illustration of Jesus bleeding and a guard holding a whip, and Oliver always wants me to 'talk about that mean guy and that blood.' I didn't know what to do with this situation at first, but as he pauses on those pages and asks every time, I pray that it becomes more clear with each narrative. Oli gets a little teary eyed when I tell him that Jesus had to die for our sins (precious). We've had to talk about forgiveness regarding the kids we nanny - you know, when there's hitting and pushing and whatnot. Oh the responsibility of raising this boy is overwhelming. How thankful I am that God is in control and will guide Andrew and me through the process of bringing this little one up. And then we'll have another one to start on.
Suffice it to say, Christmas is a glorious opportunity to convene all wandering thoughts on our Savior,

"Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself
and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father."
Philippians 2:6-11

Now that's Christmas!

All things old and new

As the year draws to a close, I consider our family's experiences and it seems we're accidentally going green. This term gets me a little riled because it's become such a buzzword. A trend. My dad has never not been green, so it's something I grew up with (usually dragging my feet in protest of the inconvenience). It's not a new, clever, innovative idea, but a habit some have been in since the cold war. I agree that being good stewards of our resources is smart, reinventing used items..it's good. The terminology is what gets me. "Going green." It's a celebrity band wagon. Regardless... this is what we've recycled this year, some with a chuckle:
-our basement (what used to be a dirty, dirt floor dungeon was transformed into temporary living quarters for our family of three)
-the 1997 Mazda 626 that was my sister-in-law, Jessica's (during whose ownership the car weathered hurricane Katrina), then my dad's, now ours
-our house
-about a million and a half aluminum and tin cans, glass jars, milk jugs
-all of the appliances in our make-shift kitchen (in the laundry room)
-the leaves in our yard... ah...I guess we'll be composting them right where they fell
-Oliver's garage sale wardrobe
-so many old things in our house
The thing I'm hoping to add to this list in the new year is my attitude. Not exactly recycle it, but renew it.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.
So I'm hoping that Jesus will be my motivation to do what's right, not pop-culture.
Here's a picture of our home away from home...in our home.

O oliver I.

Looking and sounding so disappointed in himself, Oliver says regretfully, "I can't even read."
Oh buddy, you are two whole years old, so it's about time you learned.