An evening at Mamaw Jo's house.

Last Friday night we went over to spend a few hours with Jamey's grandparents. Here are a few shots. They need editing (hello weird-eyed baby) but I am too braindead from all the rain to do it. Can you get rain induced ADHD? Because I have it. I can't focus on any one specific project right now.

Anyway - here ya go.....

What happens when you get VERY bored waiting for the dr....

Ansley had a doctor's appt this past Friday. Dr. Mayer, her cardiologist, is ALWAYS on time. Well, apparently not always always. We waited and waited this past Friday. We played on the phone, the Ipad and the Kindle. Then the silliness started in....

The photobooth app on the Ipad provided at least 20 minutes of distraction.

A little check-in

Here we are sliding right out of summer. I could say all those cliche things like how fast it went, how hot it is...those sorts of things. It has gone fast - but that is old news as a parent. It just does. Time passing fast is the norm.
Tonight we are eating french bread pizzas and watching the Olympics. I already know who wins what tonight, but Ansley does not. It is fun watching it with her. Stephen is not so interested. Last night he suggested that the Olympic officials release a shark into the pool so that the swimmers were required to race and watch out that they were not eaten. When I suggested that someone might get hurt with a shark in the pool, he simply shrugged his shoulders, thought for a moment, and then added, "Well, if they want, they can swim with a sword." So there you go.

Stephen received his Welcome to Kindergarten letter. He was interested enough to open it and ask Ansley to read it to him. He listened carefully and then was on his way to another activity. (These days spy games take up most of his time.)

We have had a bit of a time convincing him that he is absolutely fine in his bed at night. Some nights are better than others. He simply does not want to sleep alone. And by alone, I mean in the bunk bed UNDER his older sister who is obviously in the same room with him.  When we questioned him about it, he kept telling us he dreamed about a fire. It is a little strange because he has never come to us in the night about a dream and he can't tell us anything about it. So we reassure him of course. And encourage him. But we all give in a little on the sleeping arrangements. He sleeps with Ansley up top some nights and some nights he will fall asleep in our bed and then Jamey will move him. He is wise to this moving though, and has begun to ask if he can sleep in the bed with me the whole night through. A few times we have let him. Sleeping with Stephen though is a bit, I imagine, like sleeping with sort sort of octopus. Arms and legs flail out, kick back, reach up, flop around and, well, you get the idea. Ansley will cuddle right up and sleep. Stephen sleeps just fine too, but not without the constant movement.  A few times I have woken up in the morning after a night bed sharing with Stephen (and a few hours with Ms. Molly James as well) feeling a bit like I was tossed about in a clothes dryer. But we deal with it. It wont last forever. And we are hearing about this fire dream less often these days.I imagine he will be back to normal quite soon. My brown eyed, blonde (???) haired little boy.

Ansley's new obsession is the Olympics. I can't imagine where she gets her excitement. The poor child asked the other day if she, too, could one day be a beach volleyball player. I think my parental obligation is to encourage her in whatever her pursuits, but lets be honest, in the word's a friend, Ms. Chris Burrell, she is a tiny tail. In both weight and height. So beach volleyball might not be her thing. And after watching the agony of a mistake, hearing the awful tales of separation, financial struggle, and watching your child's dreams crash in but a moment, I have no desire to push her into being an Olympic gymnast. Nonetheless, she is happy to walk along the back of the couch (balance beam) and cartwheel across the living room floor.She is 100% ready for 3rd grade to begin. Good Lord, third grade?? My blue eyed girl with light brown hair who has recently begun a love affair with accessories. Jewelry, scarves, hats, sunglasses - she loves them. Of course, she also is happy to have a good bike ride up and down the street.

And finally Ms. Molly James. Quick to smile but also quick to tell you she is tired of whatever she is currently doing or not doing. More likely you will get a fuss, rather than a full out cry, but if you don't move quickly enough, she is not afraid to unleash the tears. Her bottom lip will poke right out when she is sad or when a noise startles her. Jamey's personal mission to capture the lip out on camera has not yet been successful but hopefully we will catch at least one shot of it. Cuz, dang, its cute!!
Molly James has not shown much interest in the Olympics quite yet. She has rolled over a few times, but not consistently yet. She sure can kick around in the bathtub though and will grin up at me the entire time. Sweet, soft little blue eyed baby girl.

I do love these three. 

Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.
(Hamlet, 1.2.123-6)

Snapshots of July

 

her eyes

You forget lots of things once you move out of the baby stage. The constant state of tired, the amount of diapers you go through, the constant bouncing, walking, patting that you do as a parent. I am in full-on baby stage right now so there is no forgetting for me yet.
One thing I had forgotten about, or maybe I am just appreciating this more this time around, is the almost constant eye contact between mama and baby. This tiny creature who cannot tell me what she wants or what she needs through her words. We spend all day trying to catch her eye, to make her smile. To connect with her through her eyes. You hear people talk about this when visiting other countries. Two people may not speak the same language, but someone how they communicate through facial expressions and most especially through eye contact.

Molly James and I spend much time with our eyes locked on each other. During diaper changes, nursing sessions, cuddle time. We just simply look at each other. Of course, I whisper to her constantly and she is beginning to make sounds back to us (in fact, she can get pretty vocal these days) But I love how we still communicate through our eyes at this stage.

We have been hunkered down today at home. The heat is a bit much for us all. We enjoyed grilled cheeses for lunch and now its Chamber of Secrets time. I am a bit sad at this whole Chickfila business. It seems that ugliness is coming from both sides of what has become a huge issue. I read this blog http://jenhatmaker.com/blog.htm recently and I am encouraged that others also feel the same way. She of course, says it much better than I ever could.

What I wish is that Christians had been spurred to as much action in other areas as they (some of them, not all) seem to be today. Perhaps manning and stocking food banks, volunteering at local nursing homes and low income daycares, picking up trash, reading to their kids, writing a real letter to a friend. My friend Ellis recently did this. Celebrated a family member's birthday by random acts of kindness. I am going this evening to hear from another friend who spent her own money and time off from work to spend a month in Romania working with orphans. Shouldn't that be what we celebrate? What inspires us to get up and get moving for Christ? It is not us versus them. It is not Christians versus the rest of the world. Seems as though we are drawing lines in the sand, and we all know what happens to anything written in sand. It's temporary. Things written in sand DON'T LAST. 

My kids are happy. And that is what I want. For them to be happy as kids and later as adults. Whatever else comes and whatever else they choose, I want them to be happy. I want them to love other people. I want them to choose to look into the eyes of other people and connect with them. Not in a spirit of right versus wrong. But rather in a way that helps them find kindred spirits among us, from all walks of life.

I do not pretend to be a political expert and I don't pretend to be perfect or to have any of the "right" answers. And I hope today's movement will spur conversation instead of name calling and Bible verses typed out in anger. I don't know. I do know people are hurting. From loneliness, a scary diagnosis, a job loss....and that we need each other to help us shoulder our burdens.

If we do choose to eat somewhere or not eat somewhere, maybe we could follow that decision up with a commitment to reach out to someone. To invite them across the lines we have drawn in the sand and to look into their eyes.