a life beyond running shoes.

this is one of our favorite songs from church. translation: weeping last for just one night but joy comes in the morning. clap your hands, sing alleluia clap your hands, praise the lord. i hav e been trying t o capture this new babble for over a week...... super cute. also, my brother is home! safe and sound from his 4th tour..... his baby is due in just about three weeks.

church in our new space was awesome! check it out..... real pews. our children's church space: toddler/nursery space.....working on baby corral units:

there are weather seasons. one reason i love the northeast.... fall. then there are life seasons. up until now in my life it has been hard to know what season of life i am in other than "i have small children" and still don't sleep through the night phase. the "grief is still real" phase. the "starting school" phase. the "my husband is planting a church" phase. which the lines between our life phases and our church phases are blurred..... we are in a new church season. we are moving out of our house and into worship space. it is awesome. baptist church of the redeemer has offered us use of the upstairs portion of their educational building. it has not been used in ten years and it is all ours. two large meeting rooms, lots of classrooms, and a space for a desk and quite sermon prep time. we have had two work days. here is the progress so far: work day 1: work day 2:

this read was bitter sweet. it is an amazing book on prayer. i knew a great man of prayer.... he sings with the angels now. now understand, the book is not rocket science or anything new, but refreshing to be reminded of truths that can escape in the chaos of life....why prayer is so important, why we do it so badly, why we need to do it, how we can do it.... etc. i was reminded that i am to come to him like a small child (i have a few examples in my house to give me a clear image of what that looks like).....needy, messy, dependent. my cynicism gives way to unbelief...."prayer is the positive side of the surrendered will." quotes: "it didn't take long to realize that i did my best parenting by prayer. i began to speak less to the kids and more to god." "until you are convinced that you can't change your child's heart, you will not take prayer seriously." "ask." "we shy away from prayers that invite god to rule our lives. they ...

neither of us teared up. i was impressed. we were both very brave. he ran almost every block from the park to the school. he had a lot of nervous energy. we got to the lobby. he clung to my leg. my heart fluttered. his teacher walked out and greeted him. he looked up at me longingly. my heart fluttered. he gripped harder and then took his teacher's hand. my heart fluttered. and so school begins.

today was the first day of pre-k. it was orientation and so parents got to stay. tomorrow is drop off and leave. tomorrow there will be tears. last night, peanut could not fall asleep. my husband went up to talk to him and try and comfort him. conversation went something like this: peanut: dad, do you think there is a pool at school? dad: no, pal. why? peanut: well, if there is a pool do you think the teacher will make me put my head under the water? dad: no, pal. there is no pool at the school. peanut: but will i have to put my head under the water? dad: no, pal. i promise. peanut: okay, dad. i am nervous about school. rip out my heart, sweet boy. talk about articulating what his fears are.....so sweet. i can't believe i have to leave him tomorrow. i'm sure there will be tears for both of us. growing up is hard.

sweet pea goes for her six month check-up and weight check on friday.....but until then here she is at six months. my brother gave me this onsie for peanut. i have taken a pic of all three of them in it. i would post those pics to see if they look alike, but when my computer died a year ago, the archive of photo was saved but not imported to my iphoto. this week i'll try and get a good six month photo of her in a dress :) she is much loved by her brothers. (doesn't peanut look old - he starts pre-k on wednesday.......yikes!)

we had a great day at the zoo. we really did. the weather was beautiful, the kids were enjoyable, and the crowds were manageable. here are the sweet family highlights (a few first thrown in for good measure)....in true sweet family fashion: little bit dropping a glass jar on his foot splitting the toe nail from the nail bed. just a bit of blood.....all before walking out the door. our very first bee sting....again, it was little bit. gorillas, elephants, snow leopards, butterflies, rhinos......oh my! the carousel....another first! sweet pea sleeping all the way through until morning....another first!

it would be so much easier to hop on the subway after waving the nanny good-bye and letting her deal with my kids all day long. like yesterday. no one was having a good day. peanut was verbally difficult... mostly because he can articulate himself extremely well. he even woke me up from MY nap to explain to me one more time why 45 minutes was just perfect for room time as opposed to a full hour. (i'll let you know that i don't think he understands time but knows one was longer than the other) in his fit over room time he woke up both his siblings. that just was the icing on the cake. then there are days like today. we did some work on letters and colors, sweet pea took a good morning nap, i got dinner started (marinating), we went to the park and had a picnic with friends in beautiful weather....all before 2pm. i was reminded what a treat is it to be able to stay home and be with my kids. the park was spectacular and it was 75 degrees. a beautiful day where they ran, kic...

sweet pea is almost six months old BUT is not sleeping through the night; in fact, she is still getting up every three hours. in fact, she was screaming when she was done nursing. my mother's intuition was that she was not getting enough milk..... and was fussy almost an hour after she fed without fail. well, we went to the pediatrician last friday to make sure that she wasn't sick. she wasn't.... just hungry. she had not gained any weight in four and a half weeks. we had tried cereal, but it was hit or miss. thanks to some wise women, i have started drinking tea with fenegreek in it. i am trying to take it easy and pretend like i have the flu (rest, drink lots of water, don't have three playdates in one day, etc.), have start giving her pre-mixed formula because she was refusing the other kind, and are really pushing the cereal. for the first time in her life, she slept 7 hours straight last night. wow. i feel almost half human.

absolute indulgences. nothing more. nothing less. probably enjoyed more than most because of the recipes, which i actually read most (not all), and because much takes place in and around brooklyn. my curiosity was totally peaked with all her talk of authors from brooklyn she dated that published books that got famous. killed me not to know who she was actually talking about. interesting to see how cooking shaped much of her story, or was the frame in which she told her story through. wanted to see her end up with the guy but that is not always the story. i still like a good memoir. simply passed the time. interesting characters all living in the same building. interesting new york premise. love washington square park as the back drop to the apartment building. did not like the infidelity..... the sex was pass-over-able. perfect for sitting on a beach.... which i was on a lake but same difference for types of books to be reading. just pages i read. i have it if you need to kill s...

.....is an experience. it can make you believe, forget, remember, feel...... it can also make (help) you grieve. especially when during the opening scene my mother-in-law remembered that this was one of g'pa's favorite movies, knew all the words, and would sing them to her all the time. well her tears only provoked my tears. it is amazing what moves me to the places where i realize what is missing in my life. but it was a sweet missing, as my mother-in-law put it. the missing of what another person loved, enjoyed, was passionate about. the sweet missing of how another person helps expand who you are, stretches you, enriches you. that is the sweet missing.... and we do miss, a lot.

one should not potty train and sleep train in the same 24 hour period. one should not let a 2 year old try and "tee tee" by himself because then he tries to do it like his brother.... standing up....... "tee tee" can actually end up on the wall behind you when you are too short to actually pee in the toilet and it ricochets off the toilet seat. one should take her antibiotics as prescribed because if she forgets to take two pills during the day, mastitis can come back in the middle of the night. a smile from a five month old can make up for the hour she was awake at 2:00am. new bunk beds are a hit for little boys. sleeping in my own bed is awesome after almost 4 weeks on the road.

.... but who knew it would be like this. after a 14 hour drive yesterday in our new mini-van (thanks to giving up cable, a car loan, and other cutback in our household)..... i knew today would be difficult. especially since we had to put the boys room back together. my husband sanded and stained the hardwood floors in their room. he also made more progress on their bunkbeds.... to be completed today. both look awesome!!! little did i know that today would consist of: one allergy attack in the parking lot of the grocery. one suppository for one non-pooping infant. one rocking session for one toddler that has not happened in over a year because he could not calm himself to get to sleep. one night without a baby in my room.... all children have been moved to the kids room (plus the addition of the monitor which has also not been used in about three years. i never used it with little bit). one bottle of wine for mommy and daddy to settle us down after this mania of a day. i'll post p...

when you spend three days in an airport mostly with a five month old who sleeps off and on for a couple of hours.... i found that i got through my book rather quickly. much quicker than at home, funny that. well, i finished it really with the thought that i was excited to see the movie. i think perhaps it will be a better movie than book but that being said, it was a good book. not fabulous. not a page turner, at times a bit confusing.... but good. i'm glad i read it. i know there are those out there that probably loved it since i have seen it on top book lists..... but not on my top favorites but not on my "waste of time" list either. this was a quick read. entertaining.... interesting premise... but it more just passed the time while sitting on the beach on the one day i got to go this summer. i liked her mode of story telling and the characters were slightly interesting.... but not a compelling love story. it made time traveller's wife much more appealing. i rea...

can't believe how much i loved it! i read the book julie & julia in 2006. i read the other book the movie is based on last summer, my life in france . it was so fun to see meryl as julia. what a delight. i highly recommend.... i almost went and saw it again but got the times wrong... so i got my toes painted. that hasn't happend since before sweet pea was born. our time in florida is almost to a close but we will soon be at a lake house with daddy for a week. the boys have REALLY missed their dad..... i do too but if i have to battle one more bedtime without him it will be too soon.

three days of airports, one funeral, one day at the beach, one friendly reunion, two traumatic swim lessons, throw in some naps and a very accommodating g'ma.... and you arrive to today. my granny passed away two weeks ago and since i was already flying down to florida to be with my mother-in-law... i left the boys and flew up to louisiana for the funeral. lots of delays that limited my less than 48 hours on true southern soil with one amazing baby girl afforded me the chance to celebrate my granny's home-going. it was refreshing for my heart to be reminded of what it means when someone who loved jesus so passionately goes home to glory. her earthly body suffers no more.... her mind is whole again.... and she is greeted by a glorious reception. i needed to hear about her home-going because i got to hear more about the grandmother that i had. she was amazing. she loved god's word and his church. she was a member of her church for 70 years. i don't even know people ...

well, boo (husband's cousin) has been here a week...the boys LOVE her. we have tried to fill our days with some "new york" things. friday: central park - zoo and all. saturday - prospect park - farmer's market and all. monday - serendipity for frozen hot chocolate and shopping in china town (all things girl - no boys allowed) throw in a trip to chuck.e.cheese, the beach in the rain, uncle louie-g for icee, our favorite restaurant, a doctor's appointment (sweet pea weighs 13 pounds even), a few playgrounds, and the bachelorette and i would say that was a full week. now we pack for two full weeks in florida with g'ma. i am also flying with just sweet pea to louisiana for my g'mother's funeral on friday. it is the kindness of the lord that she went home to heaven in the quietness of her slumber. grief is such a strange thing.... i can't ever predict when it will hit me or overwhelm me or underwhelm me......i miss my father-in-law at the stran...

into thinking it is the real thing. it just ain't...tofu cream cheese that is. i got my new cookbook, passion for baking (thank you ms. made in brooklyn ). and having a child that is allergic to milk means lots of substitutions . the author says to not substitute butter for margarine but in our case health is the issue.... so we do. for the most part, it doesn't make that much of a difference. i mean it is the difference between yummy and "oh my gosh" yummy. we can deal. but for their vanilla cheesecake filled brownies..... tofu cream cheese just didn't quite do it for us. the brownies were more than delicious and thus made this treat edible but in terms of delectable - nope. not sold on us. other fun things we have made.... grilling! one of the things i love most about summer. homemade biscuits - simple recipe from joy of cooking . i made the boys with margarine.... then added some sugar and cinnamon to compensate for the yumminess i made the adult o...

i know, i know.... you are thinking.... "what, there are beaches in brooklyn?" why, yes... there are. not white sand and blue water like the gulf of florida. more like brown sand, brown water..... similar to california. since the boys don't like the water, i am still trying to figure out why i bother putting on bathing suits. but i did. we had fun making sand castles, digging, and playing on the playground. we might actually venture out there again. (thanks for the pics, robin)