We’re home! It was a sweet trip. And it was long (two weeks!). We left my mother-in-law’s house yesterday morning at 5:30 and showed up at our house in Austin by 1:30 in the (Very Hot) afternoon. Here’s what I’m thankful for: My boy turned four years old on Sunday. He woke up certain he was bigger (which I’m sure he was). I LOVE birthdays. So, even though I had slept only three hours (I’ll spare the details), I was pumped for some birthday awesomeness! (Chocolate donut … [Read more...]
Yes, I'm still off in the land of vacations, where time doesn't exist (except for Brooksie's decision to wake every morning with the sun...at 5 am. I've been playing and swimming and tending to snotty noses (as per usual) and laughing with people I don't see near enough. This is a list: A Saturday with our sweet Philadelphia friends, kids running through the yard for hours while we sat outside in the 75 degree perfection eating and laughing and being together. August loving our friends' … [Read more...]
Oh, I’ve missed big spring thunderstorms in Texas, how they hit at 7:30 at night, the perfect time for mysteriousness when you’re a kid: Right after bathtime, right as you’ve stepped into pajamas. How, when the power goes out, nothing matters anymore. Dishes can’t be done, chores can’t be completed. There is only the sitting under flashlights and the telling of stories. And Daddy reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by candlelight. The glowing living room lit by candles. Is … [Read more...]
This bright red tomato just picked from our garden. On the last day of April??? (I can’t get over the weirdness of this. I know I may be from Texas, but Amarillo and Austin are 500 miles away from each other. That equals two very different climates. See here and here if you want to be nerdy about it. And after being a grown-up on the East coast, the idea of April being anything but ground-smushy and 60 degrees is still crazy to me. So, fresh tomatoes from the garden in the middle of … [Read more...]
Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for me. (Psalm 66:14) For the prayer book I've been following for the past few weeks (The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle) and its collection of scripture that keeps sticking in my head. Like Psalm 66:14. "I will tell you what he has done for me." What a beautiful calling to live into... A house littered with toys and cardboard boxes and missing its kitchen table (the weather was so nice … [Read more...]
You're 16-years-old and the boy who kisses you beside the light blue Chevy Spectrum under the moon has berry-thick boy lips, his knuckles rough and cut from punching walls. He is all man, you think. And somewhat good. Becoming better. You hold hands and snuggle in the back of the church van on the way home from a praise and worship service on a Friday night in Oklahoma City. Before that, he tickled the inside of your arm outside under fireworks, side by side with friends around. Why that boy … [Read more...]
As I write this on Wednesday night, my mom is home from the hospital, sleeping on the couch across the room. (I should actually get this posted and turn the light off so the dear woman can sleep.) She's sore but she's not a complainer. And she's happy to have the boys around to entertain. Brooksie's been putting on an "I can walk!" show that none of us can get enough of. The other Brooks (the grown one, aka my brother) is home as well. He's been in Haiti for the past week caring for kids at two … [Read more...]
It's Valentines Day! If you are reading this in the morning, I am probably in my smiliest morning mood, the one I reserve only for special days. August and I will be popping open the can of cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Then we'll move quick from them into a mid-morning mixing and baking of "pink velvet" cupcakes (box-mix courtesy of World Market). Ahhh, the sugar intake of Valentines Day! I love Valentines Day for its heartfelt kid-ness. I love handmade valentines. I love candy and cookies. I … [Read more...]
That my baby has learned how to use sound effects when pushing his brother's cars around on the floor. (Can vroooom count as his third word?) For the sound effects that have become a significant part of my communication skills. I catch myself saying: "Boom!" and "Splat!" while I chop the slices of cucumbers my kids are about to consume. How did everything become a sound? (Btw, my friend Cat would say that my sound effect making is not solely based on having kids. She'd say that I've always … [Read more...]
Oh, friends. I'm writing this on Monday night. It's 9:15 and Chris and I have finally sat down, exhausted. It's been one of those emotional nights of demanding children, erupting tantrums, long efforts to love, snuggle and get our emotional three-year-old into his bed more than an hour later than he should have been. Some days work and some days need some fixing. Some nights you eat dark chocolate at 9:15 because you love it and some nights you eat it because your body begs in survival mode … [Read more...]
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