The Moment We've All Been Waiting For

Judah's "Quiet Time"

This is what Judah did this morning while I had my quiet time. 

 "Cheese!"

It's been a while since I've put an update on Judah and what he's up to these days.  He is almost 23 months; I cannot believe he'll be two next month!  What a big boy!

Judah has been trying to talk more and more.  He says way more than we can actually understand, but here are a few words that are pretty accurate:

apple (bapple), berries, book (buu), mama, daddy, MOM!!!!!!, Papa, Grandma (Gamma), ball, drink (din), this, uh-oh, thank you (da du), eyes, nose, and the one that's been around for what seems like most of his life - NO! 

He is still into everything.  Everything.  He has bruises, scratches, knots and skinned knees at all times. He jumps off the back of the furniture, tries to jump out of the back of his daddy's truck, jumps into open arms (and some that don't even know they need to be open!) absolutely fearlessly.  "Hesitation" is never a word I use to describe Judah.  If he had his way, he would already be in school.  I have to chase him out of Eli's classroom and pretty much any other classroom with an open door just about every day at drop off and pick up.   He loves going to the YMCA and does not have a very happy morning on the days that we don't go somewhere.  By the time we have to pick up Eli at lunch he's banging on the door out to the garage. 

Adventurous and fearless.  I love it.  Even if it does give me heart palpitations.  He is the reason that Kris says, "You know, when I'm sitting quietly eating my lunch at a park I think, 'Maybe we could have one more...', and then I come home at night." I don't think our hearts or our house can take it. 

But speaking of our hearts, they are full of Judah.  He is totally fun and totally precious.  Personality galore and the best snuggles ever.  Love, love, love this child!

Six Reasons

Luke, there are a MILLION reasons I love you, but here are six I have chosen for your sixth birthday:

1. You are mine.  Six years ago God gave you to me and your daddy, and we consider that day one of the best days of our lives.  Nobody will EVER love you like we love you. 
2. You love your mama, daddy and brothers.  You instinctively know how to be a part of a family.  You give, you honor, you nurture, you embrace so naturally. 
3. You are a life long learner.  You want to know everything there is to know about everything.  Sometimes I call you "Sid, the Science Kid" because you are curious like him.  No simple answer for you.  You want to know all the details, the why's, the how's. 
4. You are motivated to do your best at everything.  You don't do things halfway.  You do things with your whole heart and almost always with a good attitude.
5. You love life.  Every day is a new adventure.  And you love adventure.  You're not afraid to try new things.  You are going to spend your life leading the way.  Today you asked me what a pilgrim is.  I tried to give you a good definition, but when I looked it up, this is what I found:

pil·grim   /ˈpɪlgrɪm, -grəm/ Show Spelled[pil-grim, -gruhm]
noun
1.a person who journeys, especially a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion: pilgrims to the Holy Land.
2.a traveler or wanderer, especially in a foreign place.
3.an original settler in a region.

You are a pilgrim.  You will find new lands, explore new places, settle new regions.  You will spend your life on a journey, going the distance, as an act of devotion to your heavenly Father.  I can't wait to see it!
6. I love that you are learning to listen and obey.  You are learning to listen and obey your mama and daddy, and when you give your heart to Him, you will easily hear and obey God.

Just six reasons.  Out of a million.  Happy birthday, my love!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch last weekend.  Judah wins the prize for being the most cooperative.  He is a ham.  So, Luke and Eli, when you are grown and going back through the family pictures, you can refer to the above statement as explanation why there are far more pictures of your younger brother than of you two.  Not because you're not just as cute.

 Luke loves to say, "Hey, Dad, I like to do the same things you do.  Because we're twins, right?"  Almost.

 I believe this is the only photo we got of Eli actually facing the camera.

 I guess we will not be replacing last year's family pumpkin patch photo.

 A ham, I tell you.  But cute enough to eat.

 Two more tasty morsels.

BookSneeze

A friend (Thanks, Hannah!!) recommended the website http://www.booksneeze.com/ to me. It is a site that offers free books in return for a review on your blog as well as a review on a consumer retail site. This is my first review and all the comments and opinions that follow are mine, all mine.

 I love Jesus, but I do not always love Christian fiction.  Many times while reading Christian novels I find myself thinking, "Cheesy, unauthentic and boring!" and reading about every third page. Shocking confession, I know, but I like to think that I am not cheesy, unauthentic or boring, and I don't want what little time I spend reading for pleasure to be any of those things.  (If I am cheesy, unauthentic or boring, please, for the love of heaven, tell me!)  But I really liked Softly and Tenderly.  I felt like it was an honest portrayal of what it's like to suffer, feel real emotion and then lay those emotions, feelings and your will at the feet of Jesus.  This book had enough twists and turns, both in the story line and in the characters' responses to them, to keep things interesting without frustrating the reader.  It definitely gets a two thumbs of from me and I highly recommend it to you.

I'm Trying Not to Get My Hopes Up

I know there's a good chance it was just a fluke.  I mean, he is only 21 months.  But we are celebrating, nonetheless.  He's been sitting on the potty for a few weeks, but today, Judah actually pooped in it!

 Give that boy a sticker!!

 "Bye, bye, Poo Poo!"  Yuck.  I wish the potty was cleaner.

The next time I tried to put him on the potty he wanted to stick his foot in there instead of sit on it.  He won't get a sticker for that.

Way to go, Judah Lee!

Smart Cookie. With a Dash of Sass.

Eli is honest.  He doesn't mince words.  He's very matter of fact.  And quite frankly, when he feels like it, he can be a bit of a smart ass.

Last night he was falling asleep in the car, (which we always frantically attempt to prevent so he won't be awake at ten p.m.) and I said, "Eli! What movie can I put on for you!!!!!!"  He sleepily informed me, "I'm going to fall asleep no matter what movie you put on."  

This morning he was looking at my daily calendar, which was still on the 5th, and said, "We've had six days in October." I asked him how he knew it was the sixth since the calendar was still on the 5th, and he said, "'Cause I know how to count." Ooookay.

Eli is only competitive where Luke is involved.  Any other time when we attempt to motivate him to "try his hardest" he looks at us like, "Why?"   But if Luke is doing it, by gosh, he can do it!  So while Luke was doing homework yesterday, Eli wanted to do "math".  I wrote down 2+2= and he said, "Four!"  I knew he knew that one, so I wrote 7+3=, thinking it would be too hard for him.  After a few seconds he said, "Ten!" I was pretty surprised and asked him how he knew that, and he said, "I just hear a voice in my head that says, 'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven' and then it says, 'eight, nine, ten'."

You make me smile, Eli.