Us

:: From the couple e-mails I've received and the handful of phone calls, the team in Spain sounds to be doing wonderfully. I've no doubt they've been an incredible blessing to a Church in Spain that is in many ways needing breakthrough. They're a pretty awesome team, after all...

Still, I'm ready for them to come home. I've been fine with them being gone, but yesterday (day #11 of their trip) the 3-week trip started to feel long.

:: Dad's Sunday morning sermons of late have continued on the theme of recovering Biblical manhood and womanhood. It's been an  amazing series and I wake up every Sunday morning anxious to get to the sermon so I can hear more. (On that note, if you haven't been there, I urge you to order CDs.) And as he's looked into Biblical manhood a lot the last couple weeks, my appreciation for Daniel has only grown deeper.

If there's one thing Daniel is, it's responsible. He is not afraid to carry the burden of himself, me, our children, and the Church, both local and worldwide. He is quick to apologize when wrong. He is not one to sit back and criticize the efforts of others. He is deeply involved-- emotionally, physically, and spiritually-- in every sphere of influence God has given him. He works hard.

I'm very thankful for Daniel; for his leadership, care, love, and call.

:: Gabriel has been playing so hard since we've come to my parents'. He literally is on the go with Uncle Merrick from the moment he jumps out of bed until he returns to bed at night-- unless I stop him at some point and require that he sit with a book for a while. He is loving it and I am glad to see him enjoying playtime so much, since playing is not naturally Gabriel's forte.

:: Each day, Bronwyn runs after the boys for a while before tiring out and coming back to be with me. As energetic and fun-loving as my daughter is, she also loves sitting and reading a book or watching a Little Bear video. And she cannot survive without a nap. Trust me on that one.

Every morning for the last week, Bronwyn's diaper has been dry when I change and dress her for the day. This is the last sign of "potty training readiness" I've been waiting for and now I'm wondering (again) if perhaps she is ready to try with success. After having pushed her twice to get potty trained only to realize that my motivation was entirely selfish and not centered around what is best for her, I am hesitant to force the issue. Still, the consistently dry morning diapers sure do seem to indicate potty training...

:: Jackson got his first hair cut yesterday. Yes, it has taken me this long to get around to trimming it, especially since his hair has grown so much slower than Gabriel or Bronwyn's ever did. I can't bear to lose the baby look that the wispy, baby hair gives. Fortunately, Carina did the trimming and she managed to get rid of the hair in his eyes, over his ears, and on his neck without having him actually look as though he's had a hair cut. I am so pleased with the results. He still looks like the baby I like to think of him as!

In true Jackson style, he is now amazing us all with his speech patterns. He refuses to talk for the most part, but will pull out a word that astounds us when he wants something badly enough. I mean, how many children can claim "hamburger" as one of their first words?!

:: I continue to feel pretty good, for the most part. Unfortunately, I am either coming down with a sinus infection or am suffering from allergies for the first time in my life. Either way, I feel wiped out when I wake up and I have been dragging myself through the days. It isn't pleasant-- but it's also not the stomach bug, which I must be grateful for. There's nothing I hate more than throwing up.

The belly's looking decidedly pregnant these days. The baby's also moving a lot; I can now see her little bum pushing out at various times and it's pretty cute, I must say. My next appointment is in a week and I will be scheduled for an ultrasound then, since it will have been 6 weeks at that point since my last one. Besides wondering how things are going with the subchorionic hematome, I'm also anxious to get confirmation that she is really a she. Would you know that after 3 ultrasounds and 4 different technicians/radiologists telling me the baby is a girl, I'm still wondering?

I told you I tend toward skepticism.

:: Today and tomorrow we are predicted to reach highs of 92*, which inevitably means significant humidity, too. We just don't get hot, dry weather around here. I am tempted to complain (after all, summer is my least favorite season), except that last year we had days of high 90s that felt like 105-110*. I'll take this instead of that, thank you very much.

:: My list of people to invite over for dinner and to visit with is growing, as I'm now forming plans to make up for the past months of not being able to host or get out much. The only problem is figuring out where to start! At this point, I could probably schedule guests until the end of the year, except that it feels weird to already invite someone over for dinner in November, you know?

All in all, I'm looking forward to taking full charge of things on the homefront again, including hospitality. Finding mealtimes when we will all be home is the most challenging part of inviting people over, since Daniel's evening schedule is typically his busiest, but I am determined to be creative.