Jokester

Nathaniel's first witty joke:  I asked him to get his clothes on, and he asked me, with a straight face, "did you say 'put your clothes on', or 'eat a donut'?"  His sly smile when I laughed was adorable.

Kids say the darnedest things

Me: I'm sorry you were left at the table alone.  I thought Daddy was coming back (I had gone to bathe Lily).  Were you lonely?

Nathaniel: No.  I have Jesus with me in my heart, so I wasn't lonely.

Lily came into our room one morning and found Aaron and I still in bed (N had opened the gate).

She said to Aaron, "Hey!  That's my spot!  What are you doing in my spot?"

Me: I picked up something for you at the store today.
Nathaniel: Oh, what is it?!?
Me: A puzzle book!
Nathaniel: Oh, I was hoping it was an iPad.
#myboythinksbig

Nathaniel wants to be hang glider when he grows up (close second was race car driver.). Lily wants to be "super pants". 

Lily: Bubby, do you want to drink some of my mommy milk?  

Nathaniel:  But you don't have mommy milk.  Your chest is too small.  Only big mommys have mommy milk.

Thank goodness for the voice of reason from our 5-year-old!  That could have made for some awkward memories.

Nathaniel: I figured out the difference between mommys and daddys.  Mommys hatch the babies, and they have mommy milk in their chests.

Aaron: lily, do you see the moon?

Lily: yeah, it's missing a piece.

Aaron: that's called a crescent moon.

Lily: it's a banana moon.  Ba-na-na moon-y.  Ba-na-na moon-y!

After a difficult start yesterday, when the morning felt long while my patience ran short, today God showed me a glimpse of His beautiful grace.  From the backseat out of the blue, Nathaniel said, "Mommy, I like it when you stay home."  When I asked why he said, "I like when you play with me."  Made my day.  To be clear, he also says he likes playing with Daddy, Jonathan, and Jackson better, but he also likes playing with me :)

Caleb's Arrival

Caleb William arrived on January 7th at 1:55pm.  After expecting him any day for about 3 weeks, then finally having labor induced, he still managed to surprise us with his size.  The same length as big brother, 21.5", but a whole pound bigger at 9lb 12oz, he was quite a shock!  We were expecting him to be the smallest of the three kiddos based on the latest ultrasound estimates.   But he is perfect in every way, and already adored by us and his two siblings.

Sweet memories of our first days together:  Lily coos repeatedly, He's so cute!  She helps out by covering him with a blanket…Nathaniel sings Jesus loves me to Caleb.   Caleb smiles in his sleep….Lily asks many times if there is another baby in my tummy.  Nathaniel wants to know if not, why is it still sticking out?  (Ha! Give it a little time guys ;)…Birthday party with gift exchange was a big success.  Daddy bought enough chocolate cake to last nearly a week….First trip to Godwin park at 5 days old.  He slept through but the kids had a blast….The umbilical cord stump fell off on 1/14….Newborn portraits with Marissa Miller on 1/15, during which he tried out the pacifier for the first time in order to be a more cooperative photography subject.  He liked it at the time, but hasn't fully bought in.  He only takes it here and there, every few days.

We're all getting acquainted, learning Caleb's funny faces, sounds, and favorite sleeping locations (in Mommy's or Daddy's arms).  From the previous two kiddos, I know that so many moments of the early weeks home get lost in the cloud of sleep deprivation, but we're savoring this baby bliss and the sweet snuggles of our newest little love.

12/9 - 12/20/13

Lily bits

- Lily is so observant of her older brother.  Today she surprised me in the way she mimicked him.  She has seen him pine over new Lego sets advertised in the instruction manuals of those he already has, talking about how much he wants them.  Today she pointed at a little picture of a book advertised on the cover of a book she was looking at and said, "I want that set.  I want to build it.  It would be so cool!"  So funny how she used his exact language!

- Lily's favorite toys right now are her "pets" - her kitty and puppy.  She carries them around all day and sleeps with them.

- Lily frequently bursts into song and dance.  I love how she freely expresses her joy.  Her favorites are "Heart Makes" (A dream is a wish your heart makes), ""Sweet Nightingale", and "Jesus Loves Me."

Nathaniel nuggets

-Nathaniel's reading is really coming along well.  He's read through most of the second Bob book set, and today he read through most of a scholastic Lego reader.

- Nathaniel's "jokes":  "hot dogs and peanut butter".  "A cat crossed the street at the same time a rocket was going by."

- He caught this lizard in the living room the other day for me.  He was so proud that he was fast enough to get it!

- Nathaniel and Lily play pretty well together most of the time.  Some of there favorite activities to share are pushing around the shopping carts (or chasing one another with them!), building forts with pillows and blankets around the sofa and ottoman or upstairs, and playing outside in the sandbox.

All aboard!!

Hot, hot, hot, hot chocolate - we got it!  We got it this weekend on the Polar Express.  This was our third trip to make with the Hong family (second trip for Lily), and we had a great time!  It was quite chilly with temps in the upper 20's - low 40's, but perhaps bundling up made the trip to the North Pole feel a bit more authentic.  I didn't get as many questions from Nathaniel as I had expected regarding whether we were going to the "real" North Pole, how we got there so fast, and that sort of thing.  Lily picked up on the excitement of her brother and friends, though she didn't really know what to expect.  When she saw they were serving hot chocolate and cookies, she was delighted.  The lights at the North Pole, the music, and getting her very own sleigh bell were highlights for her.  Due to the possibility of some sleeting, we decided at the last minute to stay the night in Palestine, which allowed us to have a fun morning swimming at the indoor hotel pool, and make a leisurely drive back this afternoon.  We stopped at a park near Sam Houston State University to snap some pics in the beautiful fall colors and chase the ducks with sticks (Nathaniel).  Here are some photos of the highlights:

The kids are ready to hop on board!

Caleb had the coziest seat :)

Tickets, please!!

Hot chocolate was a favorite!

Nathaniel waiting for Santa to board as
we left the North Pole.

Nathaniel told Santa he wants a Lego dolphin set for Christmas.  Hope Santa comes through because Mom and Dad don't know where to find that one!

Santa handed out sleigh bells to everyone.

Lily was not sure what to think about being invited
to parade through the train car caroling.

She loved the sleigh bell, though!

It was a great ride!

And here are a few from our stop in the park.  Gorgeous fall colors!

Big Bend Trip 2013

Aaron and Nathaniel made a trip out to the Big Bend area a couple of weeks ago to visit Meridith and Barret, and explore the area.  Nathaniel had so many stories to tell about seeing an old mine, swimming in the river, and all the great rocks he saw.  Here is a photo book I put together from the trip.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

Ka'anapali

       It’s 12:30 in the morning, and I can’t sleep.  I’ve never really struggled with insomnia, thankfully.  Aaron jokes about how I’m asleep the instant my head hits the pillow… sometimes sooner.  And odd that I should actually be exhausted from jetlag.  I was thinking about it, while lying there, and decided that my circadian rhythm flew right past my drowsy hours thanks to, what I thought at the moment was a well-timed cup of coffee, intended to carry me through the kiddos baths and bedtimes.  I brewed a K-cup at my parent’s house around 5pm, which would have been about 10:00 Maui-time.  Right about that hour, I would usually be getting sleepy.  Now, my Hawaii-and-caffeine-infused brain thinks it’s 5:30am, and if I’m awake, I must be up for the day. 

       So I’ve had an hour or so of quiet this evening/ morning to reflect on the introspective and spiritual moments I had while away.  We arrived back in Houston this afternoon from 6 days in Ka’anapali, Maui, that blessed place.  It was our first time away from Nathaniel for more than 3 days, and the first time we’ve left Lily at all.  It was like a second honeymoon, celebrating our 10^th anniversary.  The time we had together was refreshing and renewing; just the two of us, a couple in love, light and easy.  But it was also a time to reflect on who I’m becoming as a mother, wife, and a grown-up in general.  Being away from my children really allowed me to consider what is important to me in life and death.  I’ve noticed since becoming a parent, that I see everything through glasses that bear that hue.  It’s a lovely hue, sometimes weighty, but always treasured as a gift. 

       I realized that what I’m longing for is to become the wife, mother, and grown-up God created me to be.  I’m not sure I know entirely what that looks like, but I’m quite certain I’ve got a ways to go, and there are ample pressures and “responsibilities” to pull me in the other direction.  Over the past year or so, I have felt many times inadequate, like I’m falling behind, in every aspect of my life.  I haven’t taught Nathaniel to read yet, or Lily to fall asleep on her own.  I was, until recently, over 6 months behind in printing pictures I’ve taken of the two of them…6 months!  (who could fathom?!?), and I’ve never organized any of the videos we’ve taken of our children since Nathaniel was born.  Practically nothing is stored on a back-up hard drive.  And these are just my technological shortcomings.  There’s the fact that I am not much of a cook, that I fed Lily store-bought baby food after a feeble attempt at homemade purees.  My desk is a perpetual graveyard for medical journals I aspire to but almost never read.  I haven’t updated our blog since February, despite the fact that a monthly update was on my list of “goals” for the year.  I haven’t managed to teach Nathaniel to write the 9 letters of his name in order yet.  I’m too exhausted to be romantic when Aaron gets home, and I haven’t come up with any major contributions to the betterment of efficiency in our medical practice in months. 

       There.  That’s just the beginning of the confessional. And the truth is, these silly things individually do not keep me up at night.  As I alluded to in the beginning, not much does; rather they all add up to this nagging feeling of inadequacy.  But, (effortfully attempting to let that go) getting back to the frame of mind I left Maui with, I’m starting to see that all that stuff doesn’t really matter so much.  Because perhaps what my husband needs is a wife that will linger with him at the dinner table, rather than rushing off to get the dishes done, or lounge with him on the sofa that rare Sunday afternoon when both children miraculously coincide their naps, rather than seeing what-I-can-get-done in that precious hour.  Maybe what my children need is a mother who is not in a hurry All The Time; a mother who can capture a tender moment fully, without checking her watch or blasted dinging iPhone.  A mother who can be fully present, impervious to distraction by the mountain of laundry waiting to be folded. 

      What about teaching my children to live in the moment, love in present tense, and connect with others outside of a scheduled meeting or perfectly choreographed play date?   I don’t want to hear Nathaniel, sensing the hurry in my voice, ask me “are we running late?”, “are we going to miss it”?!?  Ever. Again.  As one of my Bible study teachers, Jana, so wisely stated recently, Jesus had more to accomplish in His three years of ministry than I have in my lifetime.  If He was not in a hurry, then I should not hurry either.

      So now the challenge as I settle back in at home, is to not get wrapped up again in all the details and techno-duties.   To weed out what is distraction and get to the core; what is good, sweet, and honest.  To roll around more and fold less.  To linger longer and move slower, and softer. 

      My time with Aaron in Maui was a gift, from my parents who watched our children, United Airlines who gave us the mileage “reward”, and from my Creator who whispered through it all, “Slow down, look up.”   And that’s just what I intend to do, by the grace of God.

John 10:10

John 14:27

                                                   From our hotel room window

                                                          Sunset Dinner Cruise

                                                            black sand beach

                                                               Just lovely