Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Scenes from our Roadtrip

We had a wonderful trip to Cincinnati to see family over Thanksgiving. The parental units were somewhat concerned about their children's response to being confined in their carseats, but it went very well. Kate and Sam were intermittently amusing themselves or sleeping.

Steve's brother and sister-in-law were so gracious and we loved seeing them. I came home inspired by their beautiful home and talents...now if I could only find the time...







We only wish we lived closer so we could share laughs, good food and time together.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Making Honey...

We are in the prolonged process of potty training Kate. She's a very bright, enthusiastic little kid, so we thought this would be a breeze. After all, everyone says boys are harder than girls. Lies all lies. Kate is not interested. She is enthusiastically not interested. In fact, Kate is opposed to the idea. She is so opposed that she would rather hold it, and hold it, and hold it. Her records are 9 hours of holding pee and 3 days for holding her poop.

Unfortunately, her parents are medically inclined and not against using phamacotherapy to get things moving.

Tonight we were talking about her lack of bowel action when Steve asked her if she knew what bowels were.

She replied, "Ahhh, yeah. They make honey..."

She just doesn't get it...arghhh.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

It's cccold outside...


We had enough snow fall to accumulate on the car today...I'm not quite ready yet. I think our cat, Pascal, has the right idea!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Sam's Goatee

When Steve was in grad school immersing himself in philosophy he grew and groomed a goatee. He was quite fond of it and he would stroke it thoughtfully as he studied the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche.

Sam also is sporting a goatee...he just doesn't have the same intellectual look yet.

A Weekend Away...

To celebrate our wedding anniversary, Steve planned a wonderful weekend away for us this past weekend. He planned weeks in advance finding a lovely hotel and a fabulous place for dinner. This was the first time we had spent a night away from our kids since Kate joined our family in December of 2005 and it was such a treat!

So we left Saturday morning and the first surprise was lunch. We went to one of the top Chicago hot dog spots! Yup, you read correctly. Superdawg has been featured on the Food Network and it was such fun. We shared a Chicago dog, a thick malt and a few good laughs!



Next came the hotel. He had booked a room at the Hotel Sofitel in downtown Chicago with a lovely view of the city from the 24th floor. The thick down comforters and chocolate covered strawberries were wonderful!





We then walked and shopped and had a lovely time. Steve was very patient as I frantically jumped from store to store trying to cram in as much shopping as I could. He also patiently endured waiting for me to try on countless pairs of workout pants at Niketown...he didn't even flinch as he heard me say, "Do these make me look fat?" 1000 times.

Dinner was surprise number 3. I have been a fan of Chef Rick Bayless for years, so he took me to Frontera Grill for a feast. The food was excellent from appetizer to dessert. We got to see Rick Bayless and I was so touched that Steve remembered that I wanted to eat at his restaurant!

Our evening finished with a stroll along Michigan Avenue admiring the city lights...




It was a fantastic time away and I loved reconnecting with my husband. I am so blessed to have such a thoughtful husband and I appreciate him more than ever.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Girls' Night Out...

Monday nights are popular with Kate. She gets to go to gymnastics and then out for a treat with Daddy. Tonight Daddy thought it would be fun if Kate would get to go with me, so we packed up and headed over to the gym.




She was born in the year of the monkey...imagine that...





When she was given some free choice time, she headed to the beam to work on her routine and dismount...





After a hard workout, it's off to the "doughnut place" for a treat and a chance to see doughnuts being made.





I had to include this photo because the man in the background on the right is the "Doughnut King". Daddy nicknamed him and Kate loves it. When we walked in Kate shouted, "Look Mama! Doughnut King!"

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Kate and her Bicycles...

Kate loves to be outside and she begs to ride her red bike and her "big girl" bike. Even as the temperatures drop, we just add on the layers and head out for more.




Uh-oh...don't look now...Sam is heading toward Kate's bike!

Scenes from Sam's Day...

A boy has to look good, so it's important to get in a shower and spend some time in front of the mirror...



Then it's time for a little outdoor exploration and exercise...(don't tell sister he stole her mittens...)




But at the end of the day, a guy has to take a little time to relax.



Life is pretty good when you are a toddler...play time, no job, someone brings you your food, dresses you and tucks you in at night. In addition, there are shouts of adoration when you do anything, you can have bad hair and still be cute and you get to take naps every day! What a great stage in life.

Monday, November 5, 2007

Reflections

I'm in a reflective mood today. I think it's because I'm thinking about some of my most profound weaknesses and some of those things that hold me back in life. Maybe you don't have those things, but I do. They range from little nagging fears to the the proverbial "elephant sitting on the dining room table". (You know he's there, but don't do anything about it.)

Sometimes I try to shove these weaknesses out of my mind by being as busy as possible. That usually works pretty well for me, but at the moment, I am so tired, I haven't been able to be as busy. Everytime I sat down yesterday, I feel asleep. I fell asleep in Church...fell asleep reading my favorite blogs...fell asleep during football games. (I did stay awake while the kids were around, so no one was injured.)

I sat down for a few minutes today to check blogs and went to tonywoodlief.com home of "Sand in the Gears", one of my favorites. His entry for today hit me so hard, I just stopped and stared at the screen. I didn't think that anyone could put my feelings of fear of God into words like Mr. Woodlief did. So, I wiped my tears away and thanked God for the transparency of some people. It's good to know that we are not alone in our struggles, weaknesses and fears. If we were, life would be pretty isolating and intimidating. Here I am, someone who professes to follow God, who is more than a little afraid of what God might do or allow in my life. It seems so easy for some people to trust God, but it hasn't been so easy for me. I want to believe that He has my best interests in mind, but more often, I find myself waiting for the other shoe to drop. ...waiting to be disappointed, waiting to be hurt, to suffer emotionally or to loose someone that I love. So rather than pray, I work very hard to control my environment and try to prevent pain and suffering.

The reality is that this is a ridiculous waste of my energy because I cannot possibly control every facet of my life, my kids lives and the lives of those that I love. In contrast, it may also be a waste of my relationship with God to spend more time trying to control the uncontrollable rather than spending time getting to know that God that says He Died for me. He said He Died for me and I'm afraid He's going to cause pain in my life that I cannot survive.

I have suffered loss before, I have felt deep penetrating pain, but I think what holds me back the most is that I don't want any more. I want to tell God that I'm done, I don't anymore pain, no more confusing hurt, no more loss. But, I believe my focus is wrong here. I'm looking at the losses and missing that completeness that a relationship with God brings. The hope, the potential for peace, the strength in knowing the God of the universe.

May this day of reflection and tears take me to the place of a deeper understanding of God and His grace. May I focus on Life Eternal and not fear of loss. Most of all, thanks to a God who is not shocked by our weakness and wants us to be honest, so He can change us.

And so I pray the words of Augustine in his "Prayer for Difficult Days":

God of our life, there are days
when the burdens we carry chafe
our shoulders and weigh us down;
when the road seems dreary and
endless, the skies gray and
threatening; when our lives have
no music in them, and our hearts
are lonely, and our souls have lost
their courage. Flood the path with
light, we beseech Thee; turn our
eyes to where the skies are full of
promise; tune our hearts to brave
music; give us the sense of
comradeship with heroes and
saints of every age; and so quicken
our spirits that we may be able to
encourage the souls of all who
journey with us on the road to
life, to Thy honor and glory.