the best job ever

mommy!? mommy!?

yes alaythia?

i have a job.

oh yeah, what's your job?

i.....love.....you!

breaking the mold

we went as a family this morning. we were out the door, stopped at starbucks and were early to the appointment. that's a first for us i think.

the kids were crazy in the waiting room. i knew it was going to be a mistake to take them in with us. matt and i both tried to tell them they were going to have to be good, be still. what they didn't know was we were secretly loaded with snacks, toys and treats.

we walked back into the dark room and there was a chair for them to sit in together. there was a screen on the wall that projected the images for all to see. matt stood by the screen pointing out the leg, the hand that waved hello, the little face. they were mesmerized. saying hello, waving, asking if i was okay. we heard the heartbeat together. then we saw the legs and the butt and matt and i knew. the technician said, 'oh, i think i know what it is'. she took isaiah on the other side of the curtain to whisper to him. he was the first to know. matt and i looked at each other and said, 'boy'.

isaiah came around the corner and said, 'it's a girl!'

matt and i both said, 'what?!' we were shocked, and continue to be still. it's a funny thing getting a glimpse into what your life will look like. more princess than baseball. more dance recitals than football games. interesting. i must admit that when i pictured my family, i never thought the girls would out number the boys.

but i will be the mother of 2 daughters...and that freaks me out royally. and names...yeah, let's not even go there. this one might not ever get a name.

but here's to the fiesty little one inside of me. a healthy little girl. still so unbelievable.

let's go fly a kite

are you singing the song yet?

while i was away i got a phone call from matt telling me that both kids had flown our kite. something they had never done before. i was horrified that there were no pictures, so today i was sure to rectify that situation!

after isaiah's soccer game today we decide to give it a try since the wind was unusually strong. we went to an undeveloped lot to see what 'big lizard' could do.

alaythia went first. she knew just how to hold the handle, while matt held the kite. he would count and she new to start running. he let it go, and wa-la, alaythia was flying a kite. as she ran, and even stopped to watch it fly, she was singing the song.

isaiah was next, on his mark, ready to start running when daddy said the word.

he actually got it up pretty high.

i figured i should give it a shot since both the kids did it so effortlessly. i must admit that flying a kite is really, really...peaceful and enjoyable. very fun. i loved flying a kite today and plan to do it more often. mary poppins was on to something!

p.s. if you want to see larger pictures just click on them, and they should go to full screen.

thoughts on leaving

these past couples days i was away on a business trip. it feels weird even typing those words.

i love my job. love it. it allows me to stay at home with my kids and provide some income for my family. i love working with the authors that i do. i believe in what they're doing, and get to see first hand the ministry and difference they make in the kingdom of heaven.

it was only recently that i started traveling with them on occasion. i left early thursday morning and came back early this morning (saturday). it was a good trip, lots of ministry done. lives touched. i drove 3.5 hours to get to where we were going. so i had a lot of alone car time, to think and to process.

some of my thoughts:

-it's nice to have a change of pace. to stay in nice hotels and eat out every meal. to dress up and stay clean the entire day through. to wear fancy shoes and be professional. but that's what it is. a change. the real me, the real life that i love is full of messy diapers and messy hair. food stained clothes and dirty kids. when i'm gone from it, i miss it. (although i'll be honest, transitioning back into it...is always a little hard).
-i love my husband. being connected. not being alone. doing what we're doing. i love my life with him.
-louisville feels like home. ah! can you even believe i said that? i'll tell you, when i drove over the river this morning and saw the skyline i thought, 'it's nice to be home'. it's the absolute first time i've thought this since moving 8 months ago. (wow is that all?) but honestly, i like this city, these people, my budding life here.
-when i thought i would go and give, give, give. God gave back to me. standing in a bookstore, talking with a woman, she gave me a piece of what she had learned as a mother. she didn't know my story, didn't know the stage of my life. and yet, here she was, speaking things that applied to and penetrated my heart. i'll be the first to admit i'm hormonal, but there i was crying and thanking her for sharing because she imparted such timely and wise counsel for me.

as i have thought about the time, i have once again be overwhelmed with God's rich blessing in all parts of my life. i don't deserve it, but i'm so thankful for it.

game 1

i wish i could say that i held it together today. no goalies (officially), and no score (but i counted). i yelled the entire game. i kept telling myself to stop...knowing i should stop. but i just couldn't.

it was strange pulling up to the soccer field. i had seen the scene many times before. dozens of fields filled with colors, parents in lawn chairs along the sideline. familiar...but this time, i was the mom. my son the player. very surreal. how did i get here? and so quickly at that.

isaiah played well. drawn to follow in his daddy's footsteps... he loved defending.


but once he understood that he wasn't always on defense, and a little pep talk from mom, he attacked and went for the ball.

there were many i thought of whom i know would have loved to be there today. so in honor of them, i am posting a sequence of pictures of him taking the ball from one end of the field to the other. over kill...maybe, but indulge me. it's my first. also, you will see that he's sporting a new look with the shin guards popping out of his socks. he insists on wearing them that way. his trademark i guess, along with the crazy face.














p.s. on a totally different note. when i said i was done, i really was. potty training is no longer happening. for those wishing i would win out. sorry. every mom for themselves.

done

i'm done.

i don't care if she's in diapers when she walks down the aisle at her wedding. it's not worth it.

done i tell you.

here we go again

i HATE potty training. i HATE it. i've said it before, and i'll probably say it again before i'm done with diapers. we bought a princess potty. but then we had tons of company. i was going to give myself a day to rest between easter and the deed.

but when she went to get her diaper changed this morning, she asked for the potty... really? really? ugh. i'm confined to the house all week. every 10 minutes i'm at the potty...

so she's been in panties all morning. we've actually had pee pee in the potty. unbelievable. but perhaps the most ingenious thing this morning came from matthew.

if alaythia goes pee pee on the potty she knows she gets a piece of candy. can-ee to alaythia. BUT if isaiah helps her, by reading to her while she's on the potty HE gets a piece of candy too. so i have a helper. he sits and reads to her, in hopes that he too might get some of the loot they collected yesterday.

brilliant.

resurrection day

may it be blessed.

growing up girl

we were outside yesterday, the usual gang playing. one of the mom's came out to paint her nails while the kids played. alaythia was glued to what she was doing. i had offered a couple days ago to paint her nails, but she wanted nothing to do with it. but something about rachel doing it, it just clicked with alaythia yesterday.

rachel asked if it was okay. it was. although i wished it was me doing it. but alaythia wanted rachel to do it, a grown up girl thing. so i stood behind and watched as her finger nails got painted for the first time.

i guess she's ready to go with the girls when we go out to get maincures!

this morning she begged me for make up. i gave her some eye shadow, only to find her a couple minutes later with it all over her nose. it was pretty cute. she's all girl and growing up fast!

rachel and alaythia

mommy got to examine them after they were done.

the surprise

my parents arrived on the 27th. matt and i left for new york on the 30th. my parents left on the 2nd. rebecca arrived on the 3rd. rebecca left yesterday. matt is at the airport right now picking up gg.

it's been one continuous party. some way to bring in my third decade.

rebecca (a.k.a. 'the surprise') came without any of her men. a first for her. we talked and laughed. walked and dreamed. i was reminded why i love rebecca so much, and why, when i lived near her i spent so much of my time with her. funny thing is, i don't know if there is two more opposite people in the world.

she's a rail. blond with blue eys. she's funky and spontaneous and relaxed. need i go into details of what i am? easily said, the opposite of that. she's a vegetarian (who eats meat when she goes out), she cares about what the third ingredient listed in her lotion is. she lived without electricity - by choice and drinks a pot of coffee a day (i kid you not).

and yet, despite the apparent differences, one night, i was telling matt just how much i love her. just how much i enjoy her. bottom line, i like who i am when she's around. matt agreed, saying he liked her FOR me. we may seem like opposites, but we are heart friends. ease and understanding abound.

as with everything it seems, the good was mixed with the bad in that we had to say goodbye. coming back the reality that we live 2300 miles away from each other now. maybe someday we'll live near each other again.

but i'm thankful for the reminder. thankful for the time. thankful for her, and her coming to be with me on my birthday.

new york new york

so much to say. we were able to do all that we set to do, but we both agreed that we just skimmed the surface of that city. and we can't wait to go back.

our hotel was in times square and we were on the 40th floor with a corner room. two walls of windows with views of the river and the empire state building. amazing. we walked a lot and took the subway too, which was surprisingly SO easy! we were encouraged to break out of our rut of eating at chain restaurants, and i'm happy to report that we only went to a chain once. just about every place we went into was fantastic.

we saw wicked, 6 rows back from the front. it was funny, interesting, beautiful and overwhelming. such a great, great show. i HIGHLY recommend it.

like i said in an earlier post, i think it was harder for the kids to transition back to being with us, than it was for them to transition to grandma and grandpa. it was amazing how quickly we were comfortable and used to being just the two of us. i loved being with matt, i loved all the city had to offer and all that is left for me to go back and see!views from our hotel roomrockefeller center


staton island ferry - statue of liberty
times square at night, outside our hotelground zero

me trying to be artsy with the camera in central park

grandma and grandpa's visit

we had a chain all set up for grandma and grandpa's arrival. the day arrived and seemed to crawl in anticipation. we were at the gate ready to welcome them. the kids ran, one to each grandparent.

we loved showing them our town, our church, our friends. the kids ate up every second with them. i think the harder thing was them transitioning back to matt and i after new york. they had so much fun with grandpa and grandma they never even called us while we were away.

last night as i was putting alaythia to bed she said, 'grandpa, grandma?' i said, 'oh honey, they're not here.' 'why?' 'well their house is far, far away. ' she paused and said, 'i want them.' i told her i understood and she asked in her sweetest voice 'please??' as if i had a choice and was keeping them from her.

one my favorite moments was watching my dad read to isaiah and alaythia. he grabbed some of their favorite books and then changed the story as he read to them. the kids thought his changes were hilarious. watch for yourself.