blessed beyond measure

Brandon brings home some pretty amusing stories from school. A while back, he told us about how one of his students was pre-sneeze - you know that I've-got-to-sneeze-but-I-can't moment. Another student told her, "Think about cows!" Either from sheer confusion or from actually thinking about cows, the girl's urge to sneeze went away. We got a good laugh out of that one. Switch gears a moment. Trey has reflux, and has had it since he was an infant. Along with that comes a very sensitive gag reflex. Sometimes the poor thing gags when we're changing even his #1 diapers. And more often than not, the gagging would lead to vomiting. Trey throws up more than the average kid. One day not long after we heard Brandon's story, Trey started gagging, and on a whim, I said "Think about cows!" Trey stopped gagging and laughed. And there was no vomit to clean up. Oh yeah. You can bet that phrase started popping up a lot in our house. It works to stop ...

There is much more I want to write about the pregnancy, and I will get back to it soon, but something else is weighing on my heart today. I'll warn you that this blog may be heavy. And long. I guarantee it will be difficult to write, but I feel I owe it to my friend, Cristin. Cristin was my first roommate at Roanoke College, in the fall of 1999. If you knew me at the time (and not too much has changed), I was quite the homebody, shy, scared to death of being on my own. The idea of a roommate was really unnerving - as high school ended and my world began to expand, I started to discover that (gasp!) not everyone was a true Christian . What is that about?? And you know what else? Teenagers drank. Actually, you were in the minority if you didn't. Now, I don't want to touch the alcohol issue here except to say, I didn't (and still don't) want any part of it, even to be under the same roof as it. And with all I had seen, the odds of finding a roommate that felt...

Lord willing, a new little someone will be joining our family in June. We are excited, a little overwhelmed (two kids!?!?), and everything else. Went to the doctor on Wednesday for regular checkup and ultrasound, and all is well. The baby (who is already measuring big, by the way - what is it with 5'2" me and big babies??) waved at us and kicked and squirmed the entire time. Pure joy. I will gladly go on record as saying that first trimesters stink. Even though it isn't explicitly listed in Genesis 3:16, I am utterly convinced that first trimester goes right along with pain in childbirth as part of the direct consequences of sin. We're right at 11 weeks now, so I'm reeeeally hoping the sickness will subside by Christmas. And amid my nauseated misery, God is walking with me and working in me. We had a scare at 7 weeks, where due to certain things happening with my body, there was a possibility the pregnancy may have been ectopic. That didn't cross my mind...

Trey has known how to count to ten since before he turned two. Counting past ten, however, still needs work. Though he uses numbers, they are somewhat out of order and a few are missing. He is very consistent in his pattern: 11, 12, 14, 16, 19, 18, 20 A couple of nights ago while getting ready for bed, Trey was counting to twenty over and over, Trey-style of course. Brandon decided to count along with him using the correct numbers, to see if Trey would pick up on it. Brandon got to 13, and Trey stopped counting. Brandon got to 15, and Trey said, "Daddy, you can't say your numbers."

Here's a riddle for you. What do you get when you cross six inches of rain in two days with a house built in the 60s? Answer: A flooded basement. Bonus question. Multiple choice, so it's easier. Does the flood (A) stay in the unfinished side of the basement or (B) flow through the door and under the wall, thereby soaking the carpet on the finished side of the basement? Answer: B. And so we are making good use of our old towels and little fans, trying to dry the carpet out as quickly as we can. As for the unfinished basement, it bears a smell strikingly similar to the one we arrived home to after our honeymoon six years ago. The flood was a little worse then. But as we have done before, we'll eventually get it back to normal. Switching gears, this is going to be two posts in one. Blogging hasn't been on the priority list lately. Hope to remedy that soon. It's mid-November. Preseason work is done, and basketball tryouts start Monday. Which means we must let...

On Sunday I had the privelege of hosting a mini-reunion of my very best girls from high school. It was so great to see everyone, and in some cases to meet each other's kids for the first time! The kids enjoyed playing together, while the moms got to catch up. It was just a fabulous day, full of memories and laughs and loving on the little ones. Sarah showed off her beautiful baby belly. Laura tried to keep her sweet Savannah from eating leaves. Kelly impressed us all by being super-mom to angels Cana, Kayil, and Karis. And Trey, bless his heart, held down the fort as the only boy. Trey and Cana taking turns on the slide. Kayil showing everyone how to fly on the swings. Precious Savannah, wondering which leaf would taste best. Little Karis was asleep for these pictures. Amazing how all of the kids sat still at one time! Reminiscing This was too great to leave out In our heyday, we four girls were very close, almost inseparable. We were together not just in high school, but a...

Is that not the cutest little mouse you've ever seen?? The costume was actually Brandon's when he was a little boy, and Giga made the ears. Too sweet!! We had so much fun last night. Trey was great, at least after we got his costume on. When we first dressed him up, he was, um, not in the best of spirits. That changed quickly, though, and he enjoyed running wild for a while and then going around the circle of cars with Brandon. I think they may have collected a few pieces of candy for Brandon to eat. Some blessed soul brought Teddy Grahams to give out, so Trey was actually able to enjoy a treat also. And me, I gave in to one Snickers bar and a cup of hot apple cider. There's not much that says fall like apple cider. The rest of my night was spent dishing out candy to anywhere between 600 and 1000 kids. Now for my own personal awards ceremony... The best treat award goes to the car that gave out toothbrushes. The best costume award goes to the kid who was dressed ...