Anniversaries

Well, it seems I have taken a three week break from blogging! Funny how the time slips away without me realizing it. Over the interim, I missed blogging about some very important happenings. First of all, Brian and I celebrated our sixth anniversary at the end of March. Yea!

And just three days after our anniversary, my parents celebrated their 36th anniversary!

And just a week later, Brian's sister Sara and her husband Kevin celebrated their very first anniversary!

You want to know something absolutely crazy about the three couples shown above? Each one of us had our first anniversaries on Easter. What are the odds of that? Brian and I won't have another Easter anniversary until our 12th anniversary, I believe.

Happy anniversary to all of us!

Weekend Funnies

I didn't really know about being "Filled with Laughter" until I had a toddler. Daniel certainly keeps us entertained. Here is some funny stuff we managed to photograph.

I was preparing to change the sheets, and Daniel was crawling around on the bed. I went into the next room to grab something, and soon heard his little voice saying, "Hep, Mommy, hep! Tuck!" (If you don't understand Daniel speak, this translates to "Help, Mommy, help! Stuck!") I found his predicament pretty funny, so I took a few photos before helping him out.


We call the above move "leg-in-the-air." He did it once on accident, and we thought it was hilarious, so he adopted it as one of his tricks. It always gets a laugh from us, but I find it particularly funny when he is less than fully clothed.


Daniel came racing around the corner in his cozy coupe making a siren noise: "Whewwww---ewwww, Whewwwww-ewwww!" I noticed he had balanced an empty plastic container on top of the car, obviously as a makeshift siren light. I helped him out by taping it down so that he could turn corners without it falling.


He seems to be playing nonchalantly, but he is obviously prepared for any emergency. Notice the hard hat and backpack.


When one pacifier just won't cut it, why not try a second?

New boots

Last week, my mom brought over a brand new pair of mud boots for Daniel. They are size 9 and fit great! Little Mr. Big Foot was VERY excited about his new boots (because they look just like Daddy's and Grandpa's), and immediately wanted to take them outdoors for a spin. He has worn them every single day since then. He even walked to the park in them, which is at least a quarter mile from our house. He loves them! Here are some photos of him enjoying his new boots.

Doin' some work

Monday Morning Madness

Let me start this post by saying I love Daniel's current stage of development. He is talking more and more, he is developing a sense of humor, he has quite the personality. I love his adorable antics and find him to be the cutest child in the world. Just last night, I was thinking that whoever came up with the term "terrible twos" must never have known a child like mine, because there is nothing terrible about this little boy. I still believe all that, but...

Monday mornings are never our happiest time. We love having Brian around on the weekends, and it is always sad to send him off to work on Monday. In addition, I often take the weekend "off" of house cleaning. It is never intentional, but somehow the house is always a wreck by Monday morning. This Monday was no different. We got Brian out the door to work, and I began wading through the clutter to start our day. As I was washing up the breakfast dishes, I took my eyes off Daniel for perhaps a minute. He was playing nearby, and I could hear his little voice, which lulled me into a false sense of security. When I turned around, this was the sight that met my eyes. (Imagine the light fixture swinging slightly, and Daniel's feet almost lifting off the table top.)
I happened to have the camera close at hand, so while I was shouting, "No, Daniel, let go of the light fixture and get down from there," I was also snapping a few shots. Talk about sending mixed signals to the little guy. He was probably wondering, "So, am I cute or am I in trouble?"

After this escapade, we headed to the basement to do some laundry. When we got to the basement, I saw the closet I had begun cleaning out on Friday afternoon and never finished. Random stuff was strewn everywhere, so I quickly began stuffing everything back into the closet. I guess I hadn't learned my lesson from the earlier incident, and I took my eyes off Daniel again. This time he found a permanent marker, and decorated his hands, arms, pajamas, and one of his daddy's prized possessions. I screamed, "Oh, no!" which led to Daniel repeating "Oh no!" about twenty times as I hauled him upstairs and into his crib. With him contained, I raced back down to the basement to clean the marker off Brian's stuff. Thankfully, my dilapidated magic eraser was up to the task, and the marker came off. Pretty much. (By the way, thank you Melissia for introducing me to magic erasers. Everyone should have one, especially people with marker-stealing two year olds).

I was a little tired after all this hulubulu. (Did I mention Daniel had been up four times during the night?) So, I decided the best thing for me was a shower. I have developed a great system for getting bathed each day. I pull the playpen in front of the bathroom door; load it with books, toys, and snacks; and let Daniel play away while I shower. I can peek out through the bathroom door at him to assure he is safe, and I get to shower in peace. Pretty much. On this glorious morning though, I glanced out of the shower to check on Daniel and found that he had stacked up all of his toys, used them for leverage, and climbed out of the playpen. So much for peaceful showers.

All of this took place before 9:30 a.m. I am feeling exhausted and a little exasperated, but I still love this stage. Pretty much.

Water Sports

Daniel's very most favorite thing to do is play with his Daddy's tools. This activity is especially fun when Daddy is home, and they play together with the tools. However, a close second to tool-playing is water-playing. Daniel loves playing with water at the sink. He is constantly lugging chairs, benches, boxes, buckets over to the sink...anything that will give him enough height to reach the faucet. He pours water between cups and bowls, stirs with spoons and spatulas, and runs his toy cars through the downpour. As you might imagine, these activities cause quite a flood on the kitchen counters and floor. But, alas, it keeps him busy and develops those fine motor skills, so I don't complain. Too much.

See that huge stream of water headed to the floor in the above photo?

And that apron provided no protection. His clothes were completely drenched afterward. But, he sure looked cute, don't you think?

The photo below shows Daniel in our bathroom. He had carefully removed the lid of the trashcan and set it aside. Thankfully, he also removed the trash liner and neatly placed that to the side too. Then, he turned the trashcan upside down for a makeshift stool. This all happened without my knowledge during the 30 seconds I dared to take my eyes off him. Of course, when I found him I had to snap some photos. He knows if Mommy is taking pictures he must not be in too much trouble.

The Ultimate Report Card

Yesterday afternoon, I sat down with my Bible and notebook. For some time now, I have felt God calling me to come further in and higher up with Him. What a wonderful thing! The Almighty God wants a closer relationship with me! And how have I responded? Primarily with laziness and self-centeredness. Yuck. I hate when those two traits rear their ugly heads in my life. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

You have to give time, energy, and self in order to have relationship with someone. And having a relationship with Jesus Christ is no different. It takes hard work. It takes time. It takes a willingness to give over your selfish desires and seek the desires of Someone else.

As I prayed through this matter, these thoughts came into my mind: If I was getting a grade…one that would appear on a report card or transcript…I would be more diligent in my pursuit of Christ. Is it not enough that the Heavenly Father is my teacher and my very deeds are recorded in His book for eternity? Lord, forgive me.

You see, I have always been a hardworking pupil. From kindergarten to my graduate degree work, I have rarely given less than my best. But when it comes to the most important relationship of my life, why would I often settle for mediocre effort? I am frustrated with myself. Praise the Lord that His mercies are new every morning. And today is the beginning of Lent. A time for denying self and preparing for the Lord. What better time to turn over a new leaf?

My Bible reading yesterday just happened to be the passage below. Christ will be the One who gives our final grade. Our salvation does not rest on diligence or works, but these things will determine our reward. So I ask myself...Don't you want to end this class of life knowing that you held nothing back..that you did your very best? And don't you want close communion with God here in this life? My answer is a resounding YES! Lord, help me!

I Corinthians 3:10-15
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.