One More Time

This might be my favorite picture of all time. Ever.

Our Weekend

Backyard camping

(But this guy slept inside. In his bed. I slept in mine too.)

I heard it was hot in there.

Baseball.

Broken window.

Yes, it's hot enough for this.

Everyday Life

I have been wanting to take more pictures of our everyday life around here. I don't take pictures often enough, and I definitely don't upload them to my computer often enough. So here are a few. And D. blogged about baseball here. So I don't have to! 

First Baseball Game

Tonight Isaiah had his first baseball game. Doesn't he look grown up? This boy has loved baseball for a long time already, so we thought we'd sign him up for the local "Wee Ball" league. It has its rough moments--like when he doesn't get to catch! But overall, I think he really enjoys it. Tonight he had two hits and several catches. And I took like a million pictures, but I haven't uploaded them yet. So here is one!

Two Years

Two weeks ago this boy turned two. This boy is taking on the world and he likes to be in charge. "No, mama. I do it!" is his favorite thing to say. I am loving listening to him learn to talk. He repeats the last word of almost every phrase he hears. He loves to repeat what his big brother says the most. A few months ago, (November?) he started calling his brother "Zay-zay." It is so cute. I almost don't want him to learn to say it correctly.

Ezra loves trains. I cannot begin to articulate how much this boy loves trains. A love for trains appears to be deeply embedded in his DNA. We spend a lot of time talking about trains. He likes to take at least one train to bed with him at night. Should I worry about choking? He likes to say "coal car." He says it often.

Other loves: singing "happy birthday," his bunny (who he calls "mommy"--should I be upset?), listening to music, and pretending to rock out on the guitar.

Lately, we have been talking about Jesus a lot. We have been reading books about Jesus and praying together. He likes to fold his hands to pray. I ask him what he wants to thank God for, and he says "Daddy. Zay-zay." Every night. We also pray this prayer: "Jesus, live in my heart." Amen.

A while ago, I thought he would be potty trained early. He is not. Enough said.

It is strange to think about the lessons this boy has taught me and how they are different from what his brother taught me. Somehow, because I've done this before, I can take things a little more in stride. I don't get angry as often (but I do get angry sometimes). I know how fast little boys grow up and I want so deeply to soak up the sweetness. It is easier to know that whatever I am worried about will be a thing of the past all too soon. I am so grateful for this boy. For the sweet smile and the deep belly laugh, and for all the pretend birthday cupcakes he bakes for me. I am so grateful for the chance to be his mom.

I know I am not always a good blogger, but I really write just for myself--for my process and just to keep track of memories. So I'm sorry, future Ezra, but your birthday post is late! 

Four Years

D. and I want so much for our sons' birthdays to be days when they are celebrated and they can know that they are deeply loved. We decided to start the tradition of telling them their birth stories on their birthdays. Tomorrow, my Isaiah will be four years old. Four! Somehow my beautiful baby has become a boy. He is funny, smart, musical, athletic, and imaginative. He is such a gift.

Tonight before he went to sleep I told him how four years ago at this very time his dad and I were getting ready to go to the hospital. I had been feeling pains throughout the day but they were getting stronger and closer together into the evening. The pains I felt didn't make me sad--they made me happy because I knew my baby boy was coming. But this boy didn't have a name yet. We didn't know him. We'd never seen his face and we just didn't feel ready to name him until we'd met him. I told him how we called my doctor and told him about the pains I'd been feeling and we wondered if we should go to the hospital. The doctor said we should wait one more hour and if the pains were still consistent, we should go in. We arrived at the hospital at around 8 pm, and a few hours later our baby boy was born. He was born not long after midnight on January 5, 2007. This beautiful baby boy weighed 9 pounds and 8 ounces. I told my boy that I looked at his dad and said "Isn't he beautiful?" And he was. He was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I told D. that I wanted to name him Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah spoke to his people about God's promises. He wanted them to know that they were deeply loved by God and that God wanted to keep the promises he had made to them. This boy was one way that God kept his promises to me. He was a gift to his dad and I. I told him tonight what I tell him almost every night--I am so glad you were born, and I am so thankful that God gave you to me so I could be your mom.

After I told him his story he said "Tell it to me again, mom!"

Yesterday I was walking and listening to a song by Andrew Peterson on my ipod. The song is called "World Traveler," and it tells the story of a man who dreamed "about the great beyond" and about traveling the world. But the song ends with these lines: "Well tonight I saw the children in their rooms / Little flowers all in bloom / Burning suns and silver moon / And somehow in that starry sky / The image of the Maker lies / Right here beneath my roof tonight / So hold on tight I'm a / world traveler."

Isaiah, my oldest child, gave me a gift: he made me a mom. Being his mom is both harder than I ever imagined and the most beautiful gift I have ever received. His need for routine reminds me to slow down and to give him space, but it reminds me that I need space as well. His tender heart helps me to see the world in a whole new way. His active imagination helps me enter in to God's story--the "true tall tale" as Andrew Peterson calls it. His obsession with trains, tractors, trucks and anything with wheels helps me to stop at look at the everyday with wonder.

Before I became a mom, I had the chance to travel to 11 different countries over several years--I saw Hamlet at the Globe Theatre, I climbed the Great Wall of China, I walked the streets of Calcutta, and I explored Budapest. But this little boy has helped me to see the value of sitting still. This is a lesson I am still learning--I hope I can be receptive to the other lessons this boy has in store for me.

Merry Christmas!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Almost Two

Look at this boy. Are you in love? I am. He is going to be two in just a few short months. Where did my baby go?

a miracle

They are both looking at the camera! It's a miracle. I might have bribed them. Maybe.

more on Story

Okay, so you saw my Halloween post. You already know that Thanksgiving is in a few weeks, and then Christmas is coming right after that! I love holidays. I love entering into the celebration, and having kids gives me an excuse to REALLY enter in. It can be a lot of fun.

I've been thinking a lot about the idea of story as I've thought about the holidays this year. D. and I try to find small ways we can be intentional about helping our boys enter into God's story. It's kind of like making new habits if that makes sense.

So I've been thinking about Halloween, first of all. My all-time favorite Halloween costumes as a kid: Laura Ingalls Wilder and Anne of Green Gables. (Dorky? Yes. What did you expect?) I remember those costumes well. My mom sewed them for me. They were elaborate dresses with bonnets, ruffles, and puffed sleeves. (If you've ever read Anne of Green Gables, you know what I'm talking about.) I was in love with these books, and dressing up in costume was a way for me to enter into the stories that I loved.

I realize that on Halloween, a lot of the celebration centers around entering into the wrong story. The story of Halloween can be a story of violence, fear, and darkness. I don't want my kids to enter into that. Isaiah and I talked about that a little bit this year. We talked about how some people think it's fun to be scary, or to wear scary costumes, but that our costumes are celebrating something different.

I think that helping our children to love stories and helping them celebrate them is a step toward helping them enter into God's story.

So to sum up, I think these guys entered into some awesome stories this year:

The Dog (DAWG): an animal sometimes known as man's best friend is always loyal, compassionate, and helpful. AND it says "woof woof." 

The superhero: an ordinary guy or girl who is blessed with special powers decides to use them to help others, even if this means that he or she must make a great personal sacrifice. AND he wears a cape.

Halloween

halloween collage
Originally uploaded by correna79

So I'm a little late, but I think these pictures will still make you smile. For Halloween, Isaiah was a superhero, and Ezra was a dog. (Pronounced "dawg.") I have to confess that I had a lot of fun helping them come up with their costumes. (Well, Ezra likes dogs, and that was the input he gave me, but Isaiah had a lot to say.) I made Isaiah's cape a few years ago. The mask was a free download, and the rest... blue long underwear, yoda underwear and boots from the salvation army. Ezra's "Dawg" costume started as a hoodie that I found on the clearance rack at Wal-Mart last May. I added some felt pieces and he's a Dawg. You can't see it, but there are spots all over his back and his pants. Now, you might have noticed that Isaiah was Clifford the Big Red Dog for his fall festival on the Friday before Halloween. That is a story for another day, but what you need to know is that he is three years old, and he likes to change his mind a lot. So I told him that if he didn't want to be Clifford, he had to be something we already had, and a superhero he was.

loving this guy

I am crazy about this little guy. Here are a few reasons:

• When he wants to say "fish" he says "shoe." I think it's the "sh" sound. Seriously, how cute is that? 
• He does a crazy/hilarious dance to the song "Don't Stop Believing." Even while wearing a cast. 
• We took the front rail off his crib today and he laid down and went to sleep. Only three silent returns to bed. 
• He likes to talk on the phone. He says things like "Hey, Pop." "Doin' Pop?" "Bye, Pop." 
• He is crazy about trains. Loves them. Tonight, he took one of his train cars to bed. He calls them "deet deet." 
• He is still crazy about dogs. Dogs, trains, and balls. These are his top three exciting things in life. Doesn't that just make you smile? 
• He likes to flirt with the ladies. He has a special flirting relationship with the children's librarian at our local library. They're tight. 
• Speaking of the library, it has an elevator. He LOVES elevators. So. much. fun. 
• He is a hugger. He just loves to hold me tight before going to sleep at night. And sometimes in the middle of the night when he's a little sick, like right now. It's hard to be mad about waking up in the night when someone gives you such a big hug. 

new word of the day

"Ezra."

Yes! He said his name for the first time this morning. It sounded more like "E-ra," but we take what we can get!

We just took Ezra to the pediatric orthopedist, and it turns out that his leg is fractured! He has a cast and everything- pictures to come.

general silliness

DAWGS

These are my "dawgs" all dressed up and ready to go to the party at their school today.

P.S. This was super easy--take a hoodie (preferably one you got for a dollar on clearance at Wal-Mart) and get creative with felt!

thoughts on sprained ankles

Ezra wearing "shoe" pajamas

• 29 pounds is really very heavy. It doesn't matter how much you switch from arm to arm. Still heavy. 
• Taking toddlers to get x-rays is among the top five things I recommend avoiding if at all possible. 
• When you meet a parent carrying a child with a sprained ankle, something NOT to say: "I've heard that a sprain is worse than a break." Also: "I've heard that sprains can take three weeks or more to heal." 
• "Put ice on the ankle and elevate it for 20 minutes five or six times a day."--not so easy to do with a toddler 
• If you're 31 years old and you call your mom crying and narrate the horrible x-ray experience, she might be awesome enough to get your dad on board and drive six hours to help you out. 
• Slides can be dangerous. It might be best just to stay home and keep your child wrapped in bubble wrap. 

Really, Ezra is doing much better. He is starting to stand again and took a few steps tonight. So it's been a week--we're hoping he'll be back to normal in another week. This one must have really hurt because it takes a lot to keep this kid from running at full speed on most days. Thanks for the prayers! Also, thanks to my parents for being heroes! 

Quote Of The Day: "No, pee! No, pee! Don't come out yet!" --Isaiah (spoken while running to the bathroom)

this little guy

This guy sprained his ankle yesterday. Can you believe it? I took him to the doctor and they checked him out and prescribed tylenol, ice, and rest. He is really having a hard time, though. Lots of crying, refusing to stand up, and wanting to be held all the time. Thankfully, he only woke up a few times in the night.

Please say a prayer for quick healing for him! Also, please say a prayer for me as D. will be out of town all weekend. In the Bahamas. Sometimes life isn't fair.

New words this week: "Chase." "Go." "Bike." "Tut tut." (as in "Tut tut. It looks like rain.") I know. He's a prodigy, genius and also incredibly handsome. We are so blessed!

wow.

Read this. Such a thoughtful, insightful post about adoption. The truth is that all of us who are followers of Jesus should already be doing all we can to care for the orphans in this world--whether they are our next-door neighbors or our neighbors in Africa. I think it's important to acknowledge that adoption is complex, but it is also beautiful. Sometimes the hardest things are the most beautiful, right?