Smiles with Myles - Volume 11

Today is Myles birthday! Myles has brought so much joy to our lives... as all of our children have! We continually re-visit Psalm 139 - in how thankful we are that we can be *confident* in the Lord's creation of Myles. That even Down Syndrome is something the Lord has allowed into His life... not because it was an accident or a 'mishap' or a abnormality in the womb, but b/c the Lord has a very specific purpose to use this in Myles' life, his brother's lives, our lives, and anyone who comes into contact with him. But most of all, He has put this in our path to bring glory to Himself. God's plan is so, so, so much bigger than our plans. His ways are higher than our ways. We think so little compared to Him. I see this all the time when I'm reading with the boys... studying about Abraham and how he waited for Isaac, then Isaac married Rebekah... they had twins... Esau and Jacob... Jacob had Joseph... Wow! When you start to see the plan fit together, it is incredible! And to think that Jesus was coming -- it is so powerful and starts to give us a glimpse at how majestic God is.

At some point, I will write out our birth story with Myles. I don't think I've done that yet, but the details are still pretty fresh in my mind. For now, suffice it to say he is just another dose of joy we get to partake of everyday. Each child is a nugget of sweetness... we love, love, love them and are so grateful to God for sharing them with us!

 Myles is a little over 19 lbs - VERY happy, eats well, is starting to display a little attitude, and can get up on all fours and rock. He LOVES to swing, LOVES the water, LOVES his daddy! It's super cute. Happy Birthday sweet My-my! We love you! 

Memorable Things Kids Say - Volume 22

Happy Father's Day a little late... we were out of town! We are so thankful for Jonathan - he is the one who brings spontaneity to this family, a sense of humor, storytelling, lots of tackling, a deep affection for his sons, tons of cuddle time, the final word when it is needed, and a serious commitment to his family and church in spite of a very demanding work schedule. We love his love for Jesus, his leadership in our home, the wisdom he shows as he deals with the stresses of life, and the side of him that comes out when he actually gets a break to unwind! We are looking forward to a two week vacation with him and can't wait to have him all to ourselves!!

Grandma B. and Myles

Grandpa B. and Myles

Josh and Lori went to Ireland and brought back these great hats!

In the past few weeks, we have had the privilege of spending a lot of time with family lately! And we are looking forward to spending more this coming wknd for July 4th.

And we also have the privilege often to hear our boys dialogue. We find this happening a lot at night times when we are laying in bed with them... Night time is a great time with our boys (once they are actually all tucked in!) :) -- Jonathan loves to lay with them and cuddle and just talk with them about their days or friends or Myles or whatever comes to their minds until they fall asleep. We take advantage of these times as much as possible while they're little and want us around to tuck them in! Here's last night's discussion which came completely out of the blue:

Henry: Who is God's father?
Dad: He has no father.
Henry: Oh, so He just was born out of his own belly?
Dad: No, he wasn't born.
Henry: Then how did he get here?
Dad: He's always been. He's the beginning and the end.
Henry: So He'll never die?
Dad: No, He's like a circle. There is no beginning and no end. He will always be.
Mom: It's like a mystery.
Henry: When will we see God and Jesus?
Dad: In heaven.
Henry: When we touch them, will they disappear?
Dad: No, did someone tell you they would?
Henry: No, I just made that up.
*Silence*
Henry: How do fireworks go up from the ground?
Dad: They shoot up in the sky.
Henry: Why don't they just go off on the ground?
Ahhh.... good night Henry :)

Memorable Things Kids Say - Volume 21

A conversation held in the back of the van.... we drove past the gas station and saw a Bud Light semi unloading. (Henry must have thought it was a soda drink.)
Wyatt: Henry, look at the semi truck!
Henry: Yeah, it carries drinks.
Wyatt: Look at it!
Henry: Wyatt, those drinks are bad for you. They just take bad sugar and water and mix it together. Then they sell it. It's not good for your body. (I'm not sure where he comes up with these ideas!)
Wyatt: Look at it! That' so cool!
Henry: People drink that and it's bad sugar Wyatt. It can kill you.

(About 5 minutes later...)

Wyatt: Henry, look how big my muscles are (says as he flexes his arm)
Henry: Yeah, but my muscles are bigger b/c I am bigger.
Wyatt: My muscles are big too. Look.
Henry: No, my muscles are bigger b/c I'm bigger. I'll always be older than you so my muscles will always be bigger than yours. Right Mom?
Wyatt: No they won't.
Henry: Yes, they will.
Wyatt: No they won't.
Henry: Wyatt, yes they will. But you know what, God's muscles are bigger than both of ours. His will always be bigger. He can hold the whole world in just one hand.
Wyatt: Yeah, He's really, really strong.

Kids are so wonderful even though some days they are so challenging!  I love it.

The Honeymoon, Belleair Beach, Florida

Ten years ago, we'd still be on our honeymoon. We were able to go for 10-days, and it was so, so great. If you can, you should take a long honeymoon. For us, it was really a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We still talk about it. Jonathan's parents let us use a week of their timeshare which was an amazing gift and actually made it affordable for us to go for so long. We went to Belleair Beach, Florida. The highlights were, of course, being MARRIED, and all that entails for those of us who wait :), the beach, seeing dolphins, eating out dinner every night, watching Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter every day (it was CROC week), and attempting to take every picture together with the timer on our camera. We'd actually avoid people who looked like they were going to offer to take our picture... we loved the challenge of the timer. All of the pics here are timed except the one at Guppy's. Anyways, such great and wonderful memories that we will cherish forever. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true.... back to regular programming now. No more pics of honeymoons and weddings :)

Happy 10th Anniversary

Ten years ago today, we were married in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We were young... only 22 and 23, met at an Applebee's, had only known each other for a year, and only dated 4 months before we got engaged. God has given us a friendship that we are so grateful for! We still laugh A LOT, and while these past two years of our marriage have probably been the most challenging for several different reasons, we are so thankful for each other and the bond the Lord has given us in Him. We continually trust in His plans for our home, and have seen His faithfulness in many ways over the past ten years.


We had a ridiculously large wedding party! But we talked about that tonight, and decided we would still do it the same way. We had an outdoor wedding... and it was a little panicky all the way up until about 6pm, when finally the rain clouds parted, and the sun came out. The wedding started at 7pm. It was PERFECT. Cool, sunny, and just enough wetness to add a little sheen. Tonight we perused through our wedding album, honeymoon album, and our first years of travel. So many, many good memories... it's incredible how fast it has all gone by. Florida, Seattle, California, Arizona, London, Ireland, multiple houseboat trips, bus trips to NYC... we are so thankful for the time we spent traveling before we had the boys. So much fun with family...



Sit tight... in the next few days, I'm going to post some pics of our honeymoon! :) It actually worked out fairly well to take digital pics of the prints (since this is pre-digital age!)... Yikes!

Memorable Things Kids Say - Volume 20

Henry has never asked where babies come from. He has never asked me about where milk comes from even though he has seen me nurse Myles 1000's of times. He has never asked how you get a baby in your belly. Nothing. Today, our Bible story was about Isaac and Rebekah, specifically about how the babies were wrestling in her belly. We read in Genesis 24 about how when they were born, Jacob was grasping onto the heel of Esau. Why was that? What did they look like? etc. Henry asked out of the blue, "Well, how did they come out?" 

I said, "What do you mean?" 

"Like, how did they get out of her belly?"

"Oh yes, there is a special place that God made for babies to come out."

"Did they have to cut open her belly?"

"Um, that sometimes can happen, but not with Rebekah I don't think."

"Did they have to cut your belly to get Myles out?"

"Nope." 

"Well, then how did he come out?"

"A place where God has babies come out."

"Where?" (He was getting very persistent.)

"A special place that God gives Mommies."
"Can I see it?"

"Um, nope. It's a special place God gave Mommies and it's ready at just the right time to have the baby. Sooo... why do you think God said Esau was going to serve Jacob? And why do you think Esau had hair ALL over his body?? Isn't that strange?" 

He moved right on... thankfully :) My first exposure to that question... I almost started laughing out loud. It was so darn cute.

*There is no denying this bundle of cuteness! Watch out first grade, here I come! Doesn't Henry look just like him?*

*Chillin' with Myles*

*I know, as my mother would say, BUCKLE HIM IN. And since this picture, I have!*

Memorable Things Kids Say - Volume 19

The boys have been in swim lessons the past 9 weeks. They are doing great! The past two sessions there has been this 'dummy' there b/c they have been doing some lifeguard training. We walked past it the other day and Wyatt stopped. "Mommy, Mommy, can I touch this?" I said that was fine, but then to hurry along so we could get his life belt on. He touched it and then came running up to me and Henry. "Henry, I touched Jesus." Henry did a double take and said, "What?"

Wyatt said, "I touched Jesus." I said, "What do you mean Jesus?" And he pointed to the dummy.... "I touched his knees and his head. They had holes in them. Boo boos. That's how I know it was Jesus."

Honestly, kids are so beautiful. It was so funny, and at the same time, so simply sweet.

No One Puts Baby in a Corner

As always, so much to say, but too little time to document it all! So... just a few notes for now:
1. This is a caterpillar.... the boys are not growing tails or widow's peaks. They thought this was great.
2. Dirty Dancing - did any of you watch that movie? I know it's not the most appropriate movie, but I did really love the dancing and for some reason, I was allowed to watch it. Remember the last line when Patrick Swayze says, "No one puts Baby in a corner"? The other night we were mixing up the seating arrangement at the dinner table. Jonathan moved Myles' high chair to the back near the windows... and I said No - that's not good. He's in the corner all by himself. And then I said, "No one puts Baby in a corner." For some reason, J and I couldn't stop laughing. Like a blast from the past! So at breakfast the next morning, the boys kept saying, "No one puts Baby in a corner. No one puts Baby in a light bulb. No one puts Baby in a wall...." and on and on they went. It was so funny.
3. It is so very difficult to get a picture with everyone smiling.
4. Warm weather is here, and with that, come storms and more storms. This is the first year that Henry has shown a heightened awareness of what 'watches' and 'warnings' mean. He is very into the radar screen and what tornadoes can do. We always take him back to the Bible... reminding him that God is even God over the weather, nothing is out of his sight, He is with us at all times, and even if a tornado did take our home, He is still with us. Would it be scary, yes. Would it be difficult, yes. But not out of His control. The storm the other night was a great opportunity to share with him how we fear the storms b/c they are amazingly powerful and beautiful and frightening all at the same time. But when we are safe in the basement, we can be in awe of the storm but there is nothing to fear. It is similar to God... we have much to be terrified of if we stand apart from Christ. God is amazingly powerful and beautiful and frightening all at the same time and He can crush us, but if we trust in Jesus, we have a refuge from the storm... a strong shelter to run into. And we 'fear' God in an awestruck way, not a 'scared' way. He seemed to really understand that in the way a 5-year old can. It still gave me chills even as a 32-year old... that I have a refuge in the storm of life... a safe place. That is Jesus!
5. Wyatt says the word 'cozy' all the time. The other morning he woke up Henry on accident b/c he crawled onto Henry's pillow b/c he said "I was cold and wanted to get cozy with Henry." Of course, Henry did not appreciate that when he got woke up at 6:20am, and neither did I!
6. Wyatt dilly-dallies (is that even a word?). ALL*THE*TIME. I'm not even sure what he is doing. The other day he was in the nursery at church, and a good friend happened to be in the nursery working. She said Wyatt was playing and told her daughter that she was "wasting time!" Oh dear... I guess that is what I'm saying when I ask him for the 4th time to get his shoes on and he's still trying to talk to an ant on the floor, or catch a fly, or see how many lilac petals he can pick up... "Wyatt, please obey NOW. You are wasting time!" I guess sometimes it's true, but I'm sure other times I could be much more patient with his youthful wanderings! But it was a good reminder that kids repeat what we say. And oh dear Michelle... how I need more patience! I am always praying that God would give me a more gracious attitude with my family.

7. Time truly is flying. And I'm thankful for every minute I have with these kids. I wouldn't trade it for a minute. And I try to keep ever mindful that they are only "mine" for a short time... a loan from God that He's asked me to care for. 

Smiles with Myles - Volume 10

Seriously, we'll let you borrow him if you need a baby fix. He's so darn cute! He is sitting up very well now and babbles off and on a lot... the boys are always hearing words they think he is saying. The other day, they swore he said "I want a cookie." May is winding down thankfully. The lack of posting is due to the pace of this house in the month of May. We are looking forward to June!

Sunday

I titled this 'Sunday' b/c right now for Wyatt, everyday is Sunday. He is always telling us, "Yes, I did that on Sunday," or "Mom, I wore those 'jama's on Sunday," or "Oh, I get it, Daddy's going to work on Sunday." It's so ridiculously cute! But I also titled it 'Sunday' b/c it's a quick recap of Mother's Day. We had a great day. Started off with Jonathan making breakfast like he always does on Sundays, and then church, and then a Trader Joes run, a Five Guys run (which was a great choice b/c there weren't many others in there... I guess no other mom's were requesting burgers for lunch!), and Myles being dedicated at church that night. Jonathan had the boys make me homemade cards and they picked out a new Starbucks mug for me. Love it... my coffee now stays warm from 5:30am to at least 9:30am!

I was hit that day with how much we LOVE our children. It's just indescribable the love that overflows for them. I can't hardly imagine the Lord loving us more, but He does, and His love is perfectly patient, perfectly kind, perfectly perfect. It is such a mystery b/c we are such desperate sinners. First John says, "God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." What a blessing!!!!

At breakfast we were cracking up... seriously cracking up. Jonathan was reading Proverbs 31 to the boys. How wonderful this woman is... more precious than jewels, "Do you know what jewels are boys?" asked Jonathan. "Yes," Henry says, "they are like diamonds." Wyatt looks up from his muffin and says, "Or like my jewels..." and points to his privates. Nice. I'm sure that is exactly what Solomon was talking about in that passage.

All in all, we had a wonderful day and I'm so thankful for these three little boys and my wonderful husband!

the race

Race day came last Sunday, May 2. We ran the half marathon - 13.1 miles. Not a bad run considering the scant training. And we finished. We finished even with Jonathan's sprained ankle. Sprained ankle? you say... Yes, sprained ankle. We rode to Cinci with the Berry's for the race. The race starts at 6:30am - so we have to be up at 4am and hit the road by 4:30am in order to get parked and make it to our corral by race time. (Yes, they corral you like horses... in groups estimated by your stated finish time on your registration. I think we were in corral B or C.) We find parking in a parking garage, we all get geared up... stuff our pockets with jelly beans, shed the extra layers we don't need, make sure our timing chips are on our laces, etc. Ask ourselves... do we need to pee, or not pee? Did you have a bowel movement before you left the house? Shoot, me neither... I hope I don't have to go on the run. (Yes, this is exactly what we are all discussing on the way there. If you've never been to a race, I just want you to get the feel! Trust me, you DO NOT want to have to use the porta potty's on the race... it is so very nasty.) I'm never sure exactly what to eat or not eat b/c I don't typically run in the mornings. I chose a bagel and banana and forewent (is that a word?) the coffee b/c that can get my GI system moving too quickly :)

Ok, so we leave the parking garage and it's still dark. Jonathan is hopping all over the place to get warmed up and comes down right on a lip in the sidewalk. Seriously... maybe a 1/8" lip. It was nothing. However, you will see HERE and HERE that it doesn't take much to take this guy down. Too many high school basketball injuries I suppose. He totally wiped out and then sprung up and grabbed Devon by the neck... it was so, so funny and if you ever see Beth and I together, we can completely reenact the entire episode. He would not let go of Devon - so they hobbled back to the car to get a pain killer (which of course is another necessity at every race) b/c Jonathan was determined to still run. Meanwhile, Beth and I wait at the curb and some guy walks past us (who was a runner... everyone you see at that time in the morning in Cinci is either running the race or spectating or doing something illegal... this guy happened to be a runner) and says, "Did that guy just get hurt? The race hasn't even started yet!" We didn't claim him.

*Had to stick this in here...I think I need to start a new label. We were impressed he took the covers for this one!*

He did run, he didn't die, but his ankle was pretty sore, bruised, and swollen when we got home. We finished the race -- had a big pancake breakfast with Devon and Beth on the way home, and then went home feeling REALLY tired. But, it was so great to finish! Bummer we have no pictures with the Berry's -- someday we'll get spectators to come see us so we can have some pictures and someone to cheer us on at the finish line! :)

Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Volume 18

This used to be in the dirt outside. Apparently, they found a better place for it.

Notes of the Week

*This punctuates the point about no bunk beds right now... this is a nightly occurrence*

*Reuben LOVES Myles. It is so, so sweet. Of course, he has two great examples of other boys who love him!*

*Wyatt gave up naps way earlier than Henry. A real bummer for me of course:) And most days, by time we reach 5pm, this is his mode of operation if he could choose. I typically don't let it happen, but I was painting a dresser outside, so it worked out.*

*In case you weren't aware yet, the iPhone isn't immortal. It was MIA for about 2 hours, Jonathan found it out in the middle of our cul-de-sac after it had been poured on and driven over. I have this really bad habit of setting things on top of the car and then forgetting about them and driving away later. I swear I have NO recollection of even taking it outside that day. He swears I was just anxious to get the upgrade. But of course, true to his nature, he just smiled, said it was OK, and then proceeded to be fascinated by the shattered screen. And, he is anxious to take it apart. Oh, and yes, he did go get me a new one! He said not to expect anything for Mother's Day now... :) Btw, if you were trying to call me the past few days, this is why you wouldn't have recv'd a response!*