blessed beyond measure

Oh, life has been interesting. Monday night, there was a thunderstorm behind our house. We could barely hear the thunder, but could easily see the lightning. We went through our normal bedtime routine with Trey. Potty, wash hands, brush teeth, jammies on, devotions, memory verse, prayer, kisses and lights out. A few minutes later, we hear: "The windows are bwankin'! The windows are bwankin'!" Bwankin' means blinking, by the way. Trey was scared of the lightning. We put a night light in his room, reassured him that everything was OK, and walked out again. I started feeding Aden, and then we heard Trey again. "I don't want to go to bed, the windows are bwankin'!" After some discussion, we decided Trey could stay up a while with Brandon. They went downstairs and played. And played and played. They stayed up until 1:30 AM. Nice. Aden and I were up at 3:00 for another feeding, and in my grogginess I noticed that Brandon's pillows were ...

Last week was a busy one, with VBS at church. I didn't take a position this year, first time in a while, but couldn't resist visiting. Brandon worked the cameras and prepared the Family Night presentation. And Trey had a great time in his class. After a few years of small enrollments, we were so encouraged to have increased attendance this year, with well over 200 every night, and a handful of decisions for Christ. Praise the Lord! We don't have a lot of pictures of Trey, but here are a few of him hard at play.

Time for a Trey update. Slowly, things are getting better. We're having more sweet moments. Part of that may be due to the fact that Trey hasn't been around here much lately, and so what little time he spends at home, he tends to enjoy. Part of that may be a deliberate change in my own attitude, thanks to being convicted by this post and Ephesians 4:2 . Anyway, family life is improving. We still have our moments. Several times daily. Trey is very strong-willed and gets his stubbornness honest. Discipline is tough, but we'll get there. Potty training is improving too. We have had several great days, including a nice stretch of #2s in the potty. Preschool and vocal celebration over each incident have been the only incentives used. Yay! Trey continues to practice his letters and numbers. He recognizes all numbers up to 100, and has counted objects into the thirties. He knows all uppercase and most lowercase letters. He knows all letter sounds, and we are working ...

So, chalk it up to second child syndrome or momnesia. I forgot to post a one month update on Aden, aside from his height and weight. I guess then this is the one month-one week-and a few days update for Aden Levi. Sorry kiddo. Aden is a great baby. He is pretty laid back and thrives in the noisiest, craziest conditions. A quiet, dark room is not his favorite place to be. Praise the Lord for that, because when Trey is around and conscious, there is no such thing as quiet. He is soothed by loud sounds - stomping through the house, Daddy playing the piano, Trey singing, the vacuum. Also, he seems to like kitchen noises - the mixer, pressure cooker, dishwasher, banging dishes. He will just sit, wide awake, staring off into space and listening to whatever he can hear. Aden looooves bathtime. He didn't enjoy his first baths too much, but once that cord came off and he could be submerged, he was one happy boy in the water. It's so much fun. Aden is starting to spend more tim...

Have I yet praised the Lord for my post-partum depression medicine? Praise, praise, praise the Lord. Trey. My baby Trey. A few months after Trey was born, I made up this song for him and continued to sing it to him as he has grown up. I love this boy, I love him so Sweetest boy that I ever did know I love this boy, he is so sweet Sweetest boy that I ever did meet Trey Harris, Trey Harris Sweetest boy in the whole wide world Trey Harris, Trey Harris Makes his mama such a happy girl Indeed, Trey is a sweet boy. But his sweetness has been in short supply of late. We expected him to have trouble adjusting to life where he is not the king. I'm not sure exactly how we expected this to manifest itself, but it is far worse than I ever would have thought. I love my boy so much. I know my sweet boy is still in there somewhere, and on rare occasion I see him. But at this point Trey is spending the majority of his time in blatant disobedience. And as much as I want to love on my boy an...

We took the boys to the doctor for checkups on Tuesday - Trey for his three-year visit and Aden for his one-month visit. And may I say that taking two kids for one appointment was quite an experience! God bless those patient pediatricians. Aden Head circumference: 15 1/8" (50th percentile) Height: 21 1/2" (50th percentile) Weight: 10 lb 1 oz (50-75th percentile) I looked back and Aden weighs almost as much as Trey did at his one-month visit. But Trey was a pound and a half heavier at birth. So Aden is bulking up fast! As well he should, the kid eats like a horse. Aden got a great report from the doctor. The only small issues are some dry skin and a clogged tear duct. We get to start tummy time (yay, sense the sarcasm). And we get to look forward to more and more smiles in the coming month. Trey Height: 38 1/2" (75th percentile) Weight: 36 pounds (90th percentile) Look at that weight. And it's not like he's chubby - Trey has no fat on his body. He is jus...

Trey turned three years old on Monday. Who can believe that?? We had a beat-the-heat family party at my folks' house, and aside from the triple-digit temps, we all had so much fun! A cookout feast, cupcakes all around, exciting gifts (like a guitar for playing along with Daddy and Trey's very first set of real left-handed golf clubs), trampoline-jumping (thanks Nene!), and swimming in the lake. Trey has changed so much over the last year, growing and learning, challenging us in all sorts of ways. I'm excited to see how he changes in the next year, growing into his role as a big brother, going to preschool, and whatever else comes along. We love you so much Trey! You are a blessing from the Lord. Happy birthday!

On Wednesday, partly due to my need to get out of the house and partly for the need to do something special for Trey, the four (!) of us took off for a Trey day. This included a trip to the playground, lunch from Wendy's, and a grocery store run. We all enjoyed our first official just-us family outing, and it was so nice to see Trey having a good time and burning off some of that pent up energy. Aden made it easy on us. He fell asleep as we walked out the door of our house and woke up when we walked back in. What a great baby he is.