Far off Family

A couple weeks ago, the kids and I tagged along with my mom and dad on a visit to see our family in Michigan. I love Michigan in the summer - many fond memories from my own childhood summers. And really, much is the same. Same smells, same sights, same lovely people, same funny tasting well water.

A charming bunch of second generation cousins. Heidi and Isaac are the kids of my cousin, Nathan, and his wife, Kim.
The Stanton siblings
Fireworks commemorated the end of an era in the lives of the two girls: NO MORE THUMBS. Sure, it may have taken some serious bribery for Teya and hours of wandering the aisles of Meijer, but it did the trick. Heidi was much cheaper: she just wanted coffee in the morning. Thumb free for three weeks (aside from the sleep times when it crawls back into the mouth and lodges itself there)! Hooray for will-power and shameless bribery!
By the way, these fireworks made NO noise. The threat of noise was enough for all four.

"Swimming"

Sweetness

Ten days with Millie and Popsy.

Two Words.

Sweet.

Ness.

Thank you, dear parents, for giving us more than our fair share of you during your whirlwind Chatty visit. Can't wait for Pender Harbour!

South Carolina wedding weekend

"I not a hot wata bottle - I a poiwson" from the "Quintessential David Long Collection"

D's first moments with Daddy. The scowl has definitely grown cuter.

Sweetness of Two.

Birthday wish granted: Cousins for lunch!

How DOES one make a gluten, egg, dairy-free cake. GF/EF/CF animal cookies and icing! (Believe you me, I did try the cake, and I have a freezer full of rejected evidence to prove it)

That smile and laugh are infectious. The joy he brings is contagious. Happy #3 to a boy who insists on being exactly who God made him: Dabid Phiwips Wong.

It was a dark and stormy night.....

....not really.

From what I can recall, it was a long, long night and an all-too-long ride to the hospital in the sunrise hours of the morning. Labor of love, and here she was, in all her chubby glory. When they laid her whopping 8 lbs 6 oz in my arms, I was in awe (mainly at how chubby she was). And then, when I came to my senses again, I realized that she, in all her chubby glory, was a beautiful gift - the best one I've ever been given (followed 2 years later by another best gift). We'd waited long, prayed pleading prayers, offered tears of thanks when we discovered her life was growing. Healthy and strong. A gift - almost given up on - from the Giver of gifts.

Happy Day 1!

Happy Day 1825!

Signs of summer life

I think I must be missing something. Days are flying by, little feet, tanned by sun and dirt, are growing, growing, growing. I've already harvested spinach from the garden, and the plants are bolting. Can it be that another summer is already here?

Sign #1 A Day for Mama

Breakfast in bed, lunch prepared by my not-so-comfy-in-the-kitchen husband, a marzipan masterpiece fest on the porch, loved ones doing the things they love most (boys and bikes).

Sign #2

The end to an amazing year of pre-school, an unexpected, unasked for year of the blessing of friends and sweetly nurtured growth.

Sign #3

Cicadas emerging from 13-years' rest to sing their 2-week deafening song from the shade of the trees. Apparently, God makes albino cicadas.

Sign #4

Raspberries ripening in steamy sun, the canes bowing their heads with fruit.

Welcome, summer, to Lookout Mountain!

Raindrops on roses....

Lines from Frauline Maria's famous ballad "A few of my favorite things," have been wafting through our halls in the past weeks, thanks to Teya and her amazing ability to lift her little voice and belt it. I always felt that Maria's sentiments were, well, a bit shallow and maybe even silly. Bright copper kettles? Warm woolen mittens? Come on, Maria, don't you have anything better than that?

Lately, though, in an attempt to turn the typical car-ride complaints to thoughts of God's gift to us and how all of life is a gift, we have developed our own lyrics. From climbing rocks and trees, to birthday and graduation celebrations. Freshest peonies blooming, blue skies, the drill of cicadas emerging from holes and shells, swimming pool days, popsicle afternoons, drowsy heat. Mmmmm. Good stuff. I'm sure the musical theater people will be knocking on my door at any moment.

Small mountains to climb

Cousins who love us!

Flower sniffing

90 years of loving the life God gives

The THEN....

...and the NOW.

These are a few of our favorite things.