LUKE is 3!

Today is Luke's 3rd birthday! My sweet little guy was so excited about today that last night he was singing himself "Happy Birthday" in bed and having a birthday party with his stuffed animals! He's been wearing his birthday crown almost every day since his preschool class celebrated his birthday on Dec 3rd. I think this is the first year he understands and anticipates the excitement of a birthday. We're heading to First Watch with the whole family for lunch - at his request. His favorite meal is pancakes and eggs.

Luke is some special kid. He just melts my heart with his sweetness. I see purity all over him. People typically comment on his "bright eyes" or his "sweetest little voice." He leaves joy in his wake. I always tell Luke that I have a "Luke-y spot" in my heart that only he can fill. He likes that! And this kid is a resilient little boy...not much ruffles his feathers, makes him cry or upsets him. He "rolls with it."

A friend told me before Luke was born that he would fill in holes in our family that we didn't even know were there. And he has. He cannot be compared to anyone else - Luke is Luke. And we love him so much.

My Boy

Andrew is such a great kid. Today he is 5 years old! I think that officially means he isn't a toddler, and certainly not a baby, anymore. He just seems....grown up.

We love this kid so much. He's energetic (!!!), funny, smart, kind-hearted, sensitive and above-all: loving! He is just made to be a friend. He has a natural way of bringing others into what he's doing and making them feel cared-for, protected or special. Andrew is also a great cuddler. He's awesome at numbers (does math in his head already!) and loves to build things. He calls Luke his "best bud" and has said often of Zoe "mommy I just can't stop loving her!" He has a special place in his heart for his Dad (affectionately known as "Big Dude"). We all have special relationships with Andrew.

We don't know what our family would be like without this wonderful boy! He is an awesome kid.

Five years ago today I basking in the glow of my first son being born at 12:04pm. His proud daddy was already happily watching the Buckeyes beat Michigan while cuddling his boy. Perfect all around.

An idea and a little spontaneity

So if you've read my blog for a while you know I'm big on having weekly routines to be intentional about how/where I'm spending time with/for my kids. But we always leave open space. And today something cool happened in the open space.

We (me and the boys) were doing our Monday morning "table time" during Zoe's nap. This is a time where we all sit together at the kitchen table and almost anything is fair game as long as it can be done on the table. Sometimes we color, practice writing letters, play games, do puzzles, play cards or read books or magazines. Today while the boys were finishing a puzzle I was glancing through a kids magazine that they don't really like (it's a little old for them still). But I came across a story about 2 brothers who served the homeless with their parents. It was short so I read it to them. It was a cool story about 2 boys who got an idea while they were serving food to the homeless that they should buy each of them a sleeping bag. So they counted their piggy banks and they did it. And the next year they handed out 32 sleeping bags. Anyway - cool story. Within it there was a very brief mention that one time the boys took candy to give away with the food and people loved it because they don't usually get candy. And...there it was! An idea.

Why don't we take all this Halloween candy and give it away?

I ran it by the boys and it was met with very little excitement. They love their Halloween candy. But I persisted. So Andrew chose the required 10 pieces and Luke counted out 21. I also contributed 11 pieces plus the extra we'd held back after trick or treat was over. As soon as Zoe woke up, we were off!

We drove down to Washington Park in Over the Rhine. It is a beautiful day today so I figured we'd find a lot of people out and about around this area. I was right. By the time we arrived Andrew was excited. He ran up to almost everyone we saw and asked if they wanted candy. Almost everyone did! Here's a few little snippets...

• We were met with surprise but we were received. People love bold and vulnerable kids.
• One guy wanted to give the boys something too and gave them each $1. I felt it was right to just receive his kindness. And Andrew gave his away to the next man he met.
• One guy had a dog and said his name was Elmo. I said "Really?!" and he said "only when kids are around, his real name is (expletive)." I was amused by this...even he seemed protective of the kids.
• One man asked us where we attended church and had questions about whether he'd be welcome on the weekend. I told him absolutely yes and how to get there.
• We took some play-dough and a baby blanket and asked Jesus to show us some kids to give to. One man mentioned he had a boy about Andrew's age so we gave him the play-dough. He was thrilled. We talked to two young men who both said they had babies but didn't want to take the (white) blanket for fear they get it dirty before they saw their babies again. Next time I'll ask for the address and send it to them.
• One man clearly wasn't mentally together...and he grabbed a lot of candy and tried to take the bucket from Andrew. Another man standing in the group immediately grabbed the bucket back for Andrew and said "what's wrong with you - give that kid his bucket!" He and I had been chatting so I thanked him. Andrew and Luke were not bothered by any of this exchange.

On the way home I asked the boys what they noticed about the area and they told me that people didn't really have houses like we did and no playsets were around and no yards. We got to thank God for all that He has given to us.

I'm under no false impressions that we did something huge and majestic today. But it did force us all out of our comfort zone and into real conversations with real people that we never would have seen or met. It definitely served to show me what was in my own heart - nervousness about engaging people when I wasn't sure how/if we'd be received and wondering whether what we were doing was just stupid. But I believe God put that story in my hands this morning and am thankful we were spontaneous enough to say yes. I think this was born in His heart.

I feel like a stupid white girl even writing this story because it seems like something suburban people might do to make themselves feel good about giving to people who had less than them. But that isn't why we went. We just said yes to an idea in the belief that it was from God. I don't know what really happened in the hearts of anyone we met but I know what happened in mine: a couple fences came down and a couple new conversations with my boys opened up. So that was good.

Halloween Fun!

Halloween is such fun, isn't it? Here are my trick or treaters all ready to go! Andrew and Luke were doing their best superhero poses! Our neighborhood is so friendly, especially on special nights like this. As we sat out at the fire pit in the driveway, I found myself wishing that we had more nights where people came out of their houses in the evenings.

Below are pictures from the preschool parades that Andrew and Luke got to do with their classes.

And finally Zoe. Thanks Grandma for making such a great "Super Zoe" costume. Any superhero that we can make sparkly pink and purple is good for my girl!

New York! Second annual.

I think our trip is best told in pictures. And they're more fun anyway!

We (just me and Andrew) arrived Friday at lunchtime. That afternoon we took the ferry to Hoboken NJ to visit Carlo's Bakery (from the show Cake Boss on TLC: I'm a fan and just had to taste it!). Andrew learned the phrase "wild goose chase" as we had a few missteps on the trip!



We bought and ate that Frankenstein cake (yum!) at a gathering of John's friends on Friday evening.

Saturday morning we went to FAO Schwarz!


Andrew learned from Uncle John how to hail his own cab. As usual, transportation was a major highlight: airplanes, boats, trains, cabs...a little boy's dream!


We also went to the top of the Empire State Building at sunset (no we couldn't have planned the timing!) and then ate dinner at Mars 2112 in Times Square. We also got a simulated helicopter ride (think theme-park-moving-seat-ride) that I think might have been Andrew's favorite thing on the whole trip. It was so good that I got motion sick!

Sunday was lovely. A walk to the park with the new puppy, Taz. Lunch out. (We even saw Bono eating at a place called "Isabella's" - right out on the street! Of course I would never have known him but John and Matt did in an instant!).

All in all - an awesome trip. So many little things to tell that I couldn't possibly do it here. We had a great time. These annual trips are the makings of some great great memories. We sure love Uncle John and Matt.

The Fear of God

"The fear of God" is a phrase used over and over again in the Bible. I get what it means, as in I understand the meaning of the words...but I always sensed that I was missing this truth within me. What does it mean to "fear God?" I think I'm respectful of Him, recognize His awesomeness, His vastness, His omnipotence, omnipresence, etc...doesn't all that add up to fearing Him? Well, I just kind of always assumed that it did. I figured because I acknowledged all these big/amazing/awe-inspiring aspects of the Lord, that - well, I must fear Him, right?
Wrong.
At least for me.

One thing that has been taking root in me lately is a fear of God. I think I'm making the first scratch on the surface of what all that entails. You see, I've been studying Him through the Old Testament...how He dealt with His people. I have been understanding what it meant to follow Him then - the Law, the sacrifices, the temple, the Kings and priests, etc. I've found myself being offended at some of what I'm learning of Him. I'm annoyed at the complexity of it all. I'm dismayed at the killings He ordered, the curses He brought down, the punishment of death that befalls folks way too often for my sensibilities. I'm overwhelmed by the (seeming) intolerance for what seems to me to be pretty expected fallen human behavior. I'm exhausted by reading about the hundreds of prescribed sacrifices and how the entire society had to pretty much revolve around worshipping God: not because of heartfelt love for Him but because if every waking moment wasn't focused upon it, it actually couldn't even get done. I'm seeing aspects of His character for the first time. The purity He is. The perfection that He is. The uncompromising nature of Him.
Beyond my feeling sorry for the Israelites, overwhelmed and exhausted by their lifestyle and annoyed with God for being so anal and over-the-top...I think what is beginning to set in is fear. Fear of God. I think I'm maybe cracking the door open on pieces of Him previously unexplored in my faith. I'm understanding why our casual approach to Him could be mistaken for disrespect or plain old ignorance of Who He Really Is.
I think I'm starting to get that He didn't DO those things to Israel to make their lives difficult and tempt them into disobediance...He just IS those things. And we can't be in His Presence like we are. And yes, there are a whole lot of hoops you had to jump through if you even wanted to try. I guess that means He is Holy.

If you've read this far, you're just reading some processing of mine about His Holy Nature and how it's beginning to enstill this "fear of God" thing that I've so often read about in the past. No conclusion. No answers. Just processing.
Do you know Him like this?

Zoe's Dedication

This past Sunday in a community of friends, we dedicated Zoe to the Lord. Essentially we said to God "We know you made this special girl. We consider Your will for her better than our own, so we'll follow You first in raising her." We committed to raising her in accordance with God's Word, to keeping the Lord in our home and family and to seek wisdom within our community to parent her. We realize that we cannot control Zoe's relationship with God, but we believe God will reveal His instructions and a lot of grace along the way for her to come to know Him.

There were 12 kids dedicated together - some were children of good friends of mine such as Chaney Russell (Kelly) Isaac Paul (Erin), Ben Ranson (Sara) and Joy Manuel (Dora). We were happy to do this in a community of friends. Here are a couple photos we took. While our intentions are pure and good, we realize too that we are flawed parents, so we put all our hope in Jesus to help us follow through with these commitments. Our best hope for our daugher is to come to know Him and live within a community of people (like this amazing one!) who do too.