blessed beyond measure

Sitting here praying for those in the path of Sandy. Thankful that we are mostly out of harm's way, but sad and burdened for those who will lose so much. It is times like these when we are reminded of how small and helpless we are. Especially to consider that even the strongest winds, the most relentless waters, are a mere glimpse of the power of our God. Makes me long for heaven. Big things like this. Or like the deep valley we were walking into at this time last year. Or like, you know, any given Tuesday. I want Jesus. The older I get, the tighter I cling to Romans 8. Last Friday, I took the boys to Nana and Granddad's house for a photo session. The weather and overcast natural light could not have been better. The leaves could not have been more beautiful. And two boys could not have behaved better. Yes, even Aden. I only had to dig him out from under the electric fence, which seems to have no effect on him, once. Trey was a great helper. We got some really ...

On a whim, we undertook our first ever (judge away) jack-o-lantern carving with the boys. It was their idea, but as we progressed they lost all interest whatsoever. That's about right. But Dad, I don't want to get my hands dirty! Heck, I don't mind! Daddy did a great job! On to the Kindergarten field trip at a huuuuuge farm about an hour from the house. Trey and I have been here before , though at that time he was going through his bump-on-a-log phase and wouldn't try anything fun. Not so this time! Hayride with Mama Corn maze, my own personal nightmare. Goof ball. Cow train. This is a big step, folks. Ginormo playground made en tire ly of tires. Har har. The mine shaft. Surely there is one of these in heaven. Basically a half-underground massive pillow. Again, heaven. Having one of these handy would make caring for Aden much easier. Chicken puppet show. Corn crib. And a much more manageable maze. Good stuff, I te...

While Brandon has been working school football games on Friday nights for the last several weeks, the boys and I have been mini-staycationing, discovering new-to-us local playgrounds. And when I say local, I mean within an hour of our house. Because round these parts, that is the accepted definition of local. Our first experience came about much to my horror, as I became cornered into attending an office cookout with both boys, by myself. Yeah, it was an overwhelming victory that we managed to leave that place with a shred of my dignity still intact. Because of this, though it was by far the best of the playgrounds we have toured so far, I unfortunately have no photos. Which is a bummer, because I hate to let go of the memory of Aden fearlessly sliding down a fireman's pole, Trey playing life-size Angry Birds, then later climbing to the top of a ten-foot rock wall by himself. Our next stop was the playground at Trey's school. Fairly certain we broke the law by going aft...