Advent 2012: Love

 

This year, we are looking at the traditional themes of Advent: Hope, Joy, Love, and Peace. However, to prove once again my imperfection, I accidentally switched the weeks of Joy and Love. Traditionally, Love is the third week of Advent instead of the second, but I'm a rebel like that, so we're going ahead with the second week of our Advent: Love. Our verse for this entire Advent season is: 

"Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." from Matthew 24:42.

Our reading for this week is from Psalm 13:

 ^“1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?
                    _  _  _  _  _  _  _ 
                  

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.

⁶ I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.”

Because the Lord has been good to me,
I will sing His praises.

My heart rejoices in your salvation.
I trust in your unfailing love.

Love
When I was in college, I went through a time of being really disillusioned and disappointed and angry with God. I was out from under the shelter of my parents’ faith and trying to figure out why it seemed the world was such an ugly place to live. Did God really love everyone? It didn’t seem like it. Why did so much evil happen in the world? Was God really going to hide His face forever? The enemy of my soul had triumphed over me for so long that I was trying to switch sides. I wasn’t asking God “How long?” anymore; that seemed too childish. I had moved past that to anger that He hadn’t showed up yet, that He didn’t love as well as I’d hoped, and that injustice seemed to rule the day. I wasn’t looking for Him anymore. I was done with waiting.

So often in life, we find what we’re looking for. I was looking for reasons to blame God for everything wrong. And I found them. I was looking for hate in the world. And I found it. I was looking for hypocrisy in the church. Yes. There it was. I found what I was looking for. I wasn’t really looking for love in the world, but at the same time, I was angry that I wasn’t finding it.

But, happily, Someone Else was doing some looking, too. That Person was named Love. He had always been there, even though I wasn’t really trying and couldn’t see Him. He had been a good listener to all of my angry outbursts during my times alone with Him, and just so I could see it, he put on the flesh of friends in my life to show me His heart towards me. One night, after hours of listening to me accuse God of being unloving, one of them said, “Lezlie, if love doesn’t exist, then what are we doing here?” And so Love had found me.

We can trust in God’s unfailing love. We rely on it. Even when we are fumbling around in the darkness, we can trust that God will find us. This time of year especially, we remember how he put on the flesh of a Friend so we could all see just how far Love will go to pursue us.

I’ve asked the little children of our church to share with us, because the truth of this morning is simple and we should never try to outgrow it: God is Love. We look for Jesus as little children – trusting He is there – or we don’t find Him at all. In this season of Advent, let us set aside the troubles we’ve encountered as we’ve grown older. Not that those troubles aren’t real; they just aren’t as eternal as God’s Love. Let us focus instead on the Light of the World making his Love known to us. “Keep watch, therefore, because you do not know when the Lord will come.”

Today, we can praise God even now because of his Love that never fails. We may fail, but God’s love is perfect. Praise Him, because He is love, though others are not. Praise Him, because He is love no matter whatever else may happen.

The Bible says, “Seek and you will find.” Look around you, because God is everywhere. Look around you, because even though we may live in dark times, God has us living where we do “so that [we] would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’” We are swimming in Love. Look around you and take hope, because God is Love! His love will not fail.

Look around you, because God’s love is still in the business of taking on flesh. If you can’t see Love around you, pray that you will have Him in you.

For those who look – and even, perhaps, for some of us who don’t – we will see Him coming! He is coming for us! Through faith, we can even see it now. See Him coming! There He is – and there – and here. We can all look back or around or ahead and see Love’s presence showing up in our lives. He has not left us. He is here with us now. He will come and rescue us. See Him coming! God is Love!

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Ephesians 3:17-19

urban light video

I have been trying to figure out how to share anything about our life right now. Summer was so crazy and we are relieved to be settling into the school year! Summer was full of good things keeping us busy, though, and I'll have to catch you up. In the meantime, though, I wanted to share this video about our church with you. It'll give you an idea what we're up to here in Muncie. We are so grateful to be part of this group of people! If you want more information about anything you see here or want to know how you can help us in our work, let us know! We are happy to share!

treasuring

Eden is now a year old. A whole year. One. When people ask how old she is, I no longer say x-number of months; I say, "She just turned a year." And then it will be, "About a year and a half." And then, "Just about two."

On the same day, Israel hit the two-and-a-half mark. And just before that, I hit everyone's favorite age: 29. (I plan to only spend one year here, though.) It's enough to make a girl feel like the pace of her life isn't in her own control.

Plus, Eden is in the changes-with-each-passing-day stage. I said about a month ago that Eden had made it to "toddler" earlier than I expected. She walks, she talks, she throws fits; she can still fit her size three month onesie. (Okay. The arms are a little short.) The other day, I took out the camera to catch her saying and signing the word, "more." She turned, looked at the camera, and said, unprompted, "Cheese." (More or less...but those of us there knew exactly what she had said!) She says all kinds of things, its seems, and I know it grows exponentially from here as she tries to say everything she hears. For my own records, and to amaze and astound the rest of the world, here are the things she says that I understand:

"Hi!" (especially when pretending to talk on the phone)
"Bye, bye."
"nie, nie" (for night, night!)
"more" verbally and with a sign
"please" verbally and with a sign
"TI, ti!" for "thank you!"
"Mommy"
"Daddy"
"baby"
"Dah!" or "Doggy"
"Ca..." for cat
"Ah nuh!" with a sign that means, "All done!"
"Buh-bwye," which she says for butterfly at the end of the Very Hungry Caterpillar book.
"huh-gy" which she also repeats during a reading of said book
"yeh I duh" which is copied from a book that repeats the line, "Yes, I do!"
"bah" for ball
"buh" for book
"mee-muh" for "banana." She's a creative one. :)
"no..." seems to mean "nose" these days
"No, no!" (Self-explanatory.)

She chuckles when you ask her if she's funny. If she can tell you're asking her a question, she often responds, "No." She's learning to hold up one finger when asked how old she is. She can blow you a kiss, punctuated with a "Mmmm-WAH!" She comes to me with her arms up and gives me hugs while patting my back. She swats at her brother if he's in her way. She laughs if you do it back. She is perfect. And less of a baby each day.

I'm in the wow-is-this-really-the-last-time-I'll-hold-my-baby? stage. So I experiment to find out. Israel is fascinated with babies these days and asks if I have one in my belly (like his babysitter does) and where my baby is. I told him he was my baby and he said, "I'm not a baby." I almost said, "You are, too!" but that would undermine some of our potty-training slogans. So I modified the "big boy" from potty training to "little boy" upon completion of potty training, phase 1 . That makes one little boy and one little girl, whose hair is long enough to require fixing and who thinks she is every bit as old as her brother.

Pat found a bink in the car this week, stared at it, and said, "The days of this thing are numbered." But the days of that thing have been over for some time. They're gone. Eden never really took it anyway and I rushed Israel out of it so I could stop having to put it in his mouth during the night. We won't be needing that anymore. I've given away many things we "won't be needing anymore." Like the exersaucer. And the swing. And the bassinet and the floor mat Israel spent hours and hours on. And the size 4 diapers. (I think Eden will be 6 before she'll need that size!) We didn't even need a carrier for Eden at the Children's Museum! She walked most of the time! The days of so many things are gone.

I often think of the times in the Bible that talk about how Mary "treasured these things" or "pondered them in her heart" or something like that. And I hope I've treasured enough. I try to take snapshots by writing down the words my kids can say. I know the list will seem funny and short in a matter of months. I recently realized that Israel no longer tells me "huh moh-nih" for "good morning" and someday Eden will not play peek-a-boo by putting her hand on the side of her head and saying, "Bee!" And I'll miss it. In some ways I miss it already and I hope writing it down somehow bottles it up and saves it. It's a careful balance to strike between enjoying the moment and saving it for later. Do I run and get my camera when Israel is pretending something really funny or do I get in the floor and pretend with him? How should I treasure these things? Hope you don't mind as I fluctuate between trying to catch it all and trying to just participate in it all.

All that said, here are a couple of captured treasures from life these days.

Eden is the one who initiated this particular action. She is one crazy baby!

This one is a bit longer for those itching for an Eden update. This is a couple of weeks old, but you can get a bit of an idea of what she's doing these days. I wish I could've gotten her to dance for you! It's too cute. Perhaps I'll have to cue the music at a later date.

Eden's growth spurt

Perhaps I should have been more ready for everything, since I did go through all these developmental phases just 18 months ago, but Eden continues to amaze me. With Israel, I remember reading all kinds of word books and sign language books and the like together, anticipating new words all the time. I wasn't really surprised when he had a rather large vocabulary early-on. "We've been working on that," I'd say. Eden, however, sits in on storytime with Israel, reading things with paragraphs and actual plot lines, not getting much of the pointing and saying, "Look at the truck.... Can you say, 'truck'?" She's more left to figure out everything from context and repetition. But recently (as in the last week or so), she's taken to "reading" books to herself, carrying them around the house, turning them over and over to look at them. Two days ago, just for kicks (and because I was curious if she is actually saying the word, "cat" or if we're just imagining it...) I asked her where a cat was in a book. She stuck out her little pointer finger and pointed right to it, saying something a little less clear than, "tuc." I had no idea she knew that.

But today, while she was playing by herself after storytime, she looked at the page and told HERSELF what something was. I had never heard her try to say the word before and then there it was, clear as could be. I happened to still be in the room and ran for the camera. She did it again...and again...and again...for three takes!

I decided to post this one because you can also see some of her other developments of late. She can walk all over the house now, sometimes going the full length of it, stepping over toys and gates without falling. She can turn around on her own and two days ago, she started standing up without pulling up from time to time. Pretty good for just having started walking last week! (Is that right?) Things you can't see in the video are the way she now sometimes says, "Hey!" to greet people, how she tries to imitate all kinds of words (when she feels like it), how she hides her own eyes and plays peek-a-boo, and how she dances on her own to music (bobbing up and down and clapping). Nearly all these things have happened suddenly in the last week. Today, she is 11 months old. Amazing.

Israel in words and moving pictures

This month there has been much to record in the lives of my children. It's becoming harder and harder to capture them in pictures. And as for Israel, the rule that observing things changes them certainly applies; if you are seeing him, he has most likely changed into someone else. He is easily overwhelmed by people. So I thought I would share the little boy I spend my days with with you.

Israel is in many ways still the infant I knew over two years ago. He's still very determined and easily made "mad" over things not going exactly according to his plan. He does not do things half-way. He likes things to be just so. But he is also very loving and tender and spontaneous in his own way. He speaks pretty well for himself these days, so here are a few stories from his life this month to let you in on what a great kid he is to have around.

--------------

After he had been misbehaving (being mean in word and deed toward our very patient dog), I was talking to him about what I expect of him:
"I want you to be a kind and gentle person," I said.
"No, I not," Israel said.
"Israel, I want you to be a kind and gentle person."
"No. I not a person."
"Yes, you are a person. All people are persons."
"No, I not person."
"Israel, all people are persons. If you are a people, you are a person. You're a people; you're a person. I'm a person, Daddy's a person...all people are persons." I was baffled because Israel correctly uses the word "people" all the time. Did he think I was calling him a name? What in the world was so bad about being called a person?
He got loud and emphatic: "No, I not!" He pointed at my purse hanging on the back of a chair. "I not a purse-on!"
I can't argue with that.
"I want you to be kind and gentle."
"I not a purse-on."

---------------

He is learning the colors red and green while we drive around town these days. I was recently stopped at a light, waiting to turn left. The arrow turned green. I pushed the gas and could almost anticipate what came next.
Israel started, "You ha' tuh 'top."
"It was green, Israel. I know you might not have seen it."
"We ha' tuh 'top."
"I know. The big light was red, but the little arrow was green, so it's okay. Green means go."
"We ha' tuh 'top, Mommy. We ha' tuh 'top."
I was glad when we saw the next red light. "This one is red, so we can stop now, Israel."
Everything as it should be.

---------------

Israel is deliberate. He does not leave things up to chance. While this can be frustrating or funny, it makes the way he loves that much more meaningful.

As I said, observing Israel most often changes him a lot. He clams up and tells me he "don't ha' tuh say, 'hi,'" to you or just leaves his response at, "No!" upon seeing you. It's a shame and I haven't quite figured out what to do yet. Sometimes I think he's afraid; sometimes it seems he's just being contrary for no good reason; sometimes I think he's just painfully shy. There have been only a handful of people Israel has taken to right away and he met one of those precious few this month: Ange. (He was too little to remember the last time he saw her.) She was the rare exception and it made my heart happy to see. Many of you likely remember Ange from our wedding at least, as she was my maid of honor. She's across the ocean these days, but I tell my kids to call her "aunt" so they'll know they're close to her, even if they hardly see her. She is not overwhelming in any respect, apparently. Israel was himself and played with her right away. Here's Israel's first piano duet with Aunt Ange.

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Israel and I often play the "guess what" game these days. It's always playful. I started it by asking "Guess what?" before I said, "I love you." That evolved to Israel asking "Guess what, Mom. Guess what," and being entirely confused when I would answer, "What?" Now, he just anticipates my first answer for the most part and says either, "Mommy love Izzo," or "I love Mommy." But then he suddenly made it his own. I said, "Israel, guess who I like." He smiled.

"Israel, guess who I like."
"I like zou." (Zou = you)
"You like me? ...I like you!"
" I like zou, Mommy. I like zou," and he reached out to hug my face. He put his hands on my cheeks and played with my hair like I often do to him. "I like zou."
I almost cried. "I like you, too, Israel."

---------------

And tonight he came to me after I changed his sheets and made his bed and said, "Thank you...for make-ih my bed, Mommy. It...it...it make me happy you make my bed."

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He loves his books. He chooses the story of David and Goliath and reminds himself, "I no need be 'cared (scared)." He reads to his animals. He asked me to take this picture of him with his animals. These are his "special" ones: lion and bear. And his blanket. These are the things he loves. Before I took this picture, he had been reading to Lion and Bear. He takes care of Bear and often asks to clean his ears out for him or insists that, though he himself does not need to be sung to, I need to sing to Bear and kiss Bear goodnight. It's tender.

---------------

I thought I would let him read a book to you. I quickly realized we couldn't read the whole book in the 60 seconds allotted by the camera, but you get the idea. He's memorized nearly the whole thing!

Israel has also become quite the chef these days. Here he is, hard at work in his pajamas, making a splendid side dish to accompany the turkey that was in the "big" oven.

keeping current

I have a journal for each of my kids that I will give them when they are grown. I hope they are able to look back at their life through it and appreciate who they are then and how they became themselves. A couple of days ago, I wrote a little letter to Eden in her book and was amazed. I know from experience that things change quickly in the life of an infant, but Eden is moving from infant to toddler at a ridiculous speed and some days it feels to me that she has changed into an entirely different person overnight. In the last 20 days, the following things have happened:

- Eden learned to sit up straight by herself.
- Eden began sitting in a high chair and eating meals. (Thus far, they have included rice, oatmeal, pears, peaches, avocado, and green beans. She likes them all.)
- Eden's first two teeth broke through. She now has two little pointy ridges in the bottom of her mouth.
- Eden turned six months old.
- Eden learned to REALLY crawl and goes anywhere she wants.
- Eden was told "no" for the first time. (Okay, perhaps that is a slight exaggeration, but it was the first time I told her that in a pre-meditated way and not just because she had accidentally grabbed my hair or because I really meant to say, "Israel.")
- Eden was found crying, standing up in her pack'n'play; she had pulled herself up.
- Eden took her first big-girl bath.
- Eden started saying her first syllables: "Ba, ba" and "Ma, ma." (In addition to her laughs, gurgles, squeals, etc.)

What a busy month for a little one! It has all happened so quickly that I feel I am not able to reflect on it. I just keep playing catch-up to where she is. ("Oh! She is ready to do this." "Oh! She doesn't need that baby thing anymore.") I am re-finding all the places crawlers shouldn't go in the house. I am trying to remember the easy ways to make my own baby food. I'm trying to find time to sit and read books to just Eden by herself, because she is VERY interested in them at this age and can't really grab them when we're trying to share them with Israel. It is so different with a second child. With Israel, I was always reading the books, aware of what developmental step came next. With Eden, it's more of a, "Huh. She's doing THAT now. Is it time for that, yet?" It doesn't help that the little thing looks like she's about half her real age. She weighs in at a whopping 13 lbs., 13 oz. and is about 25 inches long. I had just started to be concerned that she was not growing last week when I put an outfit on her and realized I had been putting that outfit on her since she was a month old. The doctor says she's fine, that she's small, and that she acts like a nine-month-old! What a strange combination of looking young and acting old (well, for a baby). She does mind tricks on me all the time. Should she be able to handle all this toppling over when she's so little and delicate-looking? Do I think that because she's small or because she's a girl...?

Luckily, for her and for me, there is not much time for this over-analyzing. I don't even have time to remember to look for my book on child development! We're caught up in a current that is carrying us both toward more-completed versions of ourselves and I'm just trying to keep my eyes open to discover all there is to learn along the way.

these are the days

Oh, does life get fuller than this? My last post said I need more time, and I suppose that has proven to be true, as evidenced by how much time has passed between entries.

So much has happened. Life does not stop...for anything. Israel is now two years old; he is two in every sense of the word. I have decided that whining and throwing fits just happens and hope parenting can at least control the duration of the phase. We're about one week in and so far everyone is alive, if no better than that. These are the days that feel long and the days I have to remind myself why I love my job. To illustrate, here are a couple conversant moments from recent days:

First thing in the morning:
Me: Israel, who do I like? (I ask questions like this all the time and Israel usually answers, "Izoo!")
Israel: No. I NOT...like...Mommy.

First thing another morning:
Israel: [climbs onto my lap] I hnuggle.
Me: You want to snuggle me?
Israel: Yes!

Emotions are tough things to learn about and master. Staying home with your two-year-old teaches you that we don't necessarily get much better at it as we get older. He messes up and has melt-downs. I mess up and have melt-downs (of a different sort, thankfully!). Israel and I have to apologize to each other sometimes. Here come a lot of lessons in self-control and patience for us both!

On the positive end (as though learning self-control and patience was not a good thing in the end), Israel seems to be fairly generous for a two-year-old. We have had several friends' birthdays lately and he enjoys giving presents to people. He voluntarily shares his toys with Eden. Of course, he also claims, "Mines!" about things here and there, but seems to be more naturally inclined not to be "stingy." If I'm having a hard time getting the house clean, I can enlist his help by asking him to help make Daddy happy when he comes home. He loves that idea. Israel also seems inclined to do what is polite (with the exceptions of hugging people and saying hello to someone's face rather than after they're gone). He often says, "Thank you," without being prompted. He compliments food he likes by saying, "Thank you, Mommy. It good! Very nice! I like it!" On his birthday, I told him the polite thing to do when people tell him "Happy Birthday," is to say, "Thank you." He went around all day, saying, "I tell people...Thank you!" It is fun to watch virtues emerge. There are flowers among those thorns!

As for Eden, she continues to be sweet as can be. She can fully sit up on her own (though I am happy to report that she still also does the "senior portrait" sitting-up pose often) and is eating solid food. Thus far, she has liked everything: rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, avacado, and pears. On Israel's second birthday, she turned six months old. On that very day, she began to crawl in earnest and now can make her way from the front of the house to the back of it if she is so inclined. There was almost no teaching her these things. My girl can do whatever she puts her mind to doing.

As she becomes more mobile, I get to see new areas of her personality developing. There is much toppling over these days and, while she can sometimes handle it just fine, she seems pretty sensitive over some little things. When she reaches a small barrier or feels she may be stuck in any way, she cries as though the world would end that moment. Her cries are some of the saddest, "Why is this happening to me?" cries I have ever heard. While Israel's cries nearly always came off as mad, Eden's nearly always come off as heart-broken. Those of you who have seen it can testify: She'll break your heart.

I do not cease to be amazed by how very different my two children are from each other. I enjoy watching their two personalities interact and wonder how they will shape each other as they grow. I think they will be good foils for each other.

That said, here are a few pieces of eye-candy for you.

Israel last year


Israel this year

Israel and Judah did their best to break the paper-mache pinata I made. Remarkably, no children were injured in the making of this video.

Eden showing a little bit of a crawl. She can really go quite a bit faster, but I haven't captured it...yet.

a time to tear down a time to build, and a time to need more time

So many things have happened since my last post. Monumental things. Things public and things private. Great things and terrible things. The terrible things are very difficult things happening to people all around me that are on my mind every day. I wish I could unburden them to you. But I am glad to be able to share some of the great things with you! One such thing is that the Dream Club our church purchased has been torn down. We were priviledged to be able to watch part of the process and the building you see in this picture is now just a...well...a nothing. There is nothing left. We met with contractors who are volunteering their time to help our church build a new community center on this site this week. We hope to build this fall. It's a great transformation to be even a small part of.

More monumental news: Pat is now a full-time college student, studying to be an elementary school teacher. We are proud of him and very busy as a family these days. We're one week in and I'm reminding myself that we are committed to this for a season. For a season. I have great hopes for Pat in this process and am excited that he is learning how to do what he already does better (teaching kids in our neighborhood) and that his life experience will add to his experience and his classmates'. He is also still working part time to make the money not offered to us by student loans. You can pray for us in our great juggling act.

Other good news: the kids are great. Israel can talk. Talk. About everything. He runs a constant narrative of his life and recollections of recent events. If he likes something, he will talk about it for days and weeks. I never cease to be amazed at the things he comes up with. Last night, he said he had stinky feet and then asked his dad to smell them. I'm posting a couple of videos of recent Israel activity. This one was taken this morning. I was surprised at how well he can count (when he is not asked to do it; he will not count much on demand).

Every day, Israel pretends to talk to various people (and stuffed animals) on the phone. A "phone" can be anything at all, from this hand-held game to a grocery receipt. Today, he "talked" to our friend's dog on a chestnut. I suppose phones do come in all shapes and sizes these days....

Eden is changing. At five months of age, she is almost out of size newborn onesies. What she lacks in size, though, she makes up for in speed. While she has not mastered crawling, she can do a determined belly scoot to nearby toys and other objects and she is also trying to sit up on her own. This picture is her current version of "sitting up." She is quite independent, our little Peanut.

While we are busy, we are grateful to be a healthy family, sharing life with some amazing people, being spurred on to do good things.

small joys

In keeping with my last post, here are a couple of the small joys I've recently experienced looking at the world with my kids.

On Wednesday, I took Israel on a Mommy-Son (and sleeping sister) date to the park to feed the (very not hungry) ducks. I remember always going to a little pond with my Nana as a kid and thinking it was the greatest thing. I'm sure Israel has similar feelings about the river and the ducks and tossing sticks in to watch them float downstream. They just never get old to him.

We saw "baby" ducks that Israel is still talking about.

If throwing small sticks in the water is fun...

While Israel takes his afternoon nap, Eden and I get to hang out -- just the girls. She loves the play mat we used with Israel. She smiles up at the patterns on the rods and likes to play with the rings we dangle down for her. She also doesn't mind practicing using her muscles to hold her head up and is getting pretty good at it. (If I'm able to get a not-very-blurry picture indoors with this camera, you know she's holding pretty still.)

It's just that sometimes being stuck on your belly gets old.

That's right. Our little 10-week-old girl can roll over. Insane. I was definitely not ready for that. I have her do it alot, since I still can't quite believe my eyes when it happens.

It's good to remember these job perks on a day like today, when I've had more than my share of messes to clean up (I've given five baths today, including the dog.) Still, it's totally worth it.

all about eden

Eden will turn seven weeks old tomorrow. It has been a great time of getting to know each other and she is really a pretty easy baby...at least in comparison to her colicky brother! (He is a wonderful toddler, though. Make no mistake.) She is doing very well. She is a spitter and was actually given a prescription for reflux last week that seems to be doing her some good. (No more waking up with a mess in her hair!) Even with that, she is gaining weight nicely and is now half again as big as she was at birth and weighs around nine pounds. She is also emerging from the newborn fog and is more alert now, which is fun. She's not quite up for the games of pat-a-cake Israel tries to play with her, but she's getting there! She also now sleeps through the night, an average of 7 hours at a time, but ranging anywhere between 6 and 8 hours. The whole family enjoys that as well as the naps she and Israel take in the afternoons, which tend to overlap for about 2 hours. Adjusting to having her around has really been pretty easy for the most part -- for all of us. She is a good deal more versatile than Israel was (some of you may recall how he liked to be swaddled excessively and to eat at exactly such-and-such a time...). She can sleep with or without her bink, on her back, side, or stomache, swaddled or not and she does not act like the world is going to end if she eats a few minutes late. She also does not wake up crying, which is a difference as well. Sometimes I go in and don't even know how long she's been happily awake! I can't quite get over how much I like her, even though I tell people I am not a baby person.

We spent this morning out on the swing listening to the spring rain together, just she and I, before Israel woke up. It's difficult to have time alone with your second child, and I don't think I'm the only one who appreciated it. I have to admit that I was jealous as she got to do one of my favorite things: fall asleep on a porch during a rain shower. I haven't done that for years, but I'm happy to give her the experience.

This Saturday, Eden got to meet our friend Sara, who was visiting from Seattle, and Misty, who was visiting from...Indiana...but who we last saw in Seattle. The visit was too short, but long enough to get a quick picture in. I can't begin to say how great it is to have people so dear to us be able to meet Eden in person. Sara (along her husband, Drew) was able to be here right after Israel was born as well and I'm glad the tradition continued, at least in part.

Here are a couple more pictures from this afternoon's photo shoot and a video, by request.

spring breaking out

(Cut us some slack as we learn how to take family pictures. It just keeps getting harder....)

As the weather has become warmer, we've been venturing outdoors more often. Israel is learning to explore a bit on his own. He is still a cautious little boy in general, which his mom appreciates as he tends not to put himself in situations he perceives to be dangerous. We recently went on a playdate to Westside Park, where Israel tried out big slides for the first time. (They weren't very slippery at first.)

...And of course he had to enjoy the river and the geese ("cack, cack!"). They provide hours of entertainment and days' worth of conversation. This is him with Judah...and the geese.

We have discovered the fun of going on picnics as a family. Israel still needs to learn to eat outside, but he certainly didn't seem any worse for wear after a fun evening out. We have discovered Tuhey Park -- a small circle space perfect for a little boy to run around in. This was our first picnic last Friday. We took my parents there the following day because we enjoyed it so much! Eden had a little to say about the experience.

Pat had demonstrated his gymnastic prowess for Israel on our first Tuhey picnic, but we decided that Israel should learn some mad gymnastic skills of his own. Turns out that Israel is a natural (he did not get that from his mother...) and learned the flip-flop in just one brief lesson! And now: The McCrory Men in an amazing athletic display!

Right by Tuhey is the river walk, which I appreciate because it's walled in from traffic and Israel can walk at his own pace. The river recently overtook the trains as Israel's favorite thing about Muncie. This was one of the sites along the way. (You never know how many sites there really are in a place until you go there with a toddler!) Can you find the goose enjoying the evening from her nest?

Last, but certainly not least, you know spring is dealing winter its final blow in Muncie when you can take your first trip to Sally's! You can't quite make the 4-block walk without a couple kids from the neighborhood. Lunaijah and Schaivon came with us for this year's momentous occasion. We tried several times to take a picture of all of us before Pat realized the camera was set to video. (Ha, ha!)

our kids on easter

Israel has grown by leaps and bounds in the last couple of weeks, it seems. He now is able to communicate that he understands a lot more than we would think. This is especially true of spiritual matters, which he seems to grasp intuitively at least as much as he does from anything we say. So it seems that starting our family rituals around the holidays may actually stick somewhere in his memory at this point and we have enjoyed involving him in different aspects of our celebration of Resurrection Sunday.

On Friday, we had a couple of new friends over to share in a Seder-ish meal with us. (The Seder is the traditional Jewish passover dinner, which is what Jesus and His disciples would have been sharing together on the night he was betrayed, Maundy Thursday. We were a day late in preparing it this year, but better late than never.) I had been telling Israel that we were preparing for a very special meal. We talked about it as we shopped in the grocery store and while he waited to eat while Pat and I cooked in the kitchen. I didn't go into very much detail with him, as I'm not sure what he would and would not get about Jesus "dying" and "living again," but when we sat down to eat, Israel bowed his head and announced, "Pray...Amen!" (I'll confess here that we do not always make a habit of praying before meals, but Israel obviously knew it was important to do so at this one.) George, one of our guests, said that was certainly blessing enough.

We enjoyed having two men -- George and Montez -- over for dinner. Pat has been getting to know George through some joint ventures our churches are taking and he has been a guest at our church a few times now. Montez just recently decided to live his life for Jesus and it is pretty cool have him go from being just a familiar face walking the street to someone sitting in a service one Sunday to a brother sitting at our dinner table. If you've been reading our blog for some time, you will recall an entry I made stressing out over trying to get to know our black neighbors. (As a side note, we have since gone out for Mexican food together at their invitation and it wasn't a big deal.) Now, perhaps some of the stress was taken away by not having to decide what to make for dinner, as the Seder comes with a prescribed menu, but I told Pat afterwards that I was much less aware of the fact that these friends are black than I was the fact that they are our family. Our churches had a joint Good Friday service after dinner where their praise team and our gospel choir sang and parents of both congregations tried to keep children occupied for what ended up being a 2-1/2 hour service. I told Pat afterward that I was surprised by how little I thought about being around black people for the evening and how much I truly felt that I was just with family -- extended family, perhaps -- but family. I hope to write more about our relationship with this church later (and have hoped to write about it for some time...). We'll see.

We had communion at the end of the service and at that point, it was past Israel's bedtime and he was so over it that I was happy to tell him that "juice and crackers" (two of his favorite things) were coming, regardless of any spiritual ramifications. I let him share my small cup of grape juice and eat some of my bread. I thought, "Well, I should at least tell him what it's about in some form. " So after he had a few VERY SMALL sips, I said something like, "This is to remember that Jesus died for us. ...Um...that Jesus did a very hard thing for us," to which Israel replied, "Men-nah!" (That's "Amen," for those of you not familiar with his language.)

Let the making of the Easter bread begin!

We spent a good deal of time outdoors Saturday, as we gathered rocks to begin landscaping our back yard (note the outline for our garden in the video below) while Israel watched the ducks. (He kept saying "sit! ...wah-yee..." and was amazed that they could "sit" on the "water.") Saturday evening and into the wee hours of Sunday morning were devoted to making easter bread. This is a tradition that comes to us from Pat's mom and we look forward to it each year. This year, Israel helped color the raw easter eggs (for a few minutes, but it's a start...) and Pat and I stayed up waiting for the lemony dough to rise THREE TIMES before baking it. It's such a beautiful, fun treat to have for breakfast easter morning! Israel loved it, and kept saying, "Egg! Egg!" while he waited to eat it.

Eden's first time in a dress: her Easter dress from Grandma Alice and Grandpa Mike

Sunday service was more chaotic for us than anything and we spent most of the time taking care of our responsibilities with kids and food and Sunday school and the trough filled with water and extra clothes required for the baptism service we had at the end. Two kids we have taught, either in Sunday school or in youth group or both, chose to be baptized, as did Montez, who we mentioned earlier, and others.

We came home and were greeted by our neighbor, Steve (one of Israel and Sophie's favorite humans) and his friend, who presented us with easter presents for the kids, including a basket for Israel, which we used to collect the eggs he found in the back yard after his nap. Israel completely understands how to hunt for easter eggs, and particularly enjoys the concept of "hiding" at this age. He loved the treats he found inside; Pat had thoughtfully selected dried fruit and Ritz cracker bites, which were an instant success.

The egg hunt, in 2 parts.

It is humbling to realize that our kids (...well, at least Israel at this point...) are beginning to get an understanding of what the weekend is about: celebrating the sacrifice Jesus made for us. And it is certainly fun to see the holiday through the eyes of a child again. What a great gift!

I'm a pepper, he's a pepper

It's been a little while since I've given an Israel update. He is doing well and changing daily. His vocabulary has expanded to include the last word of just about all my sentences throughout the day. (Fun, fun.) Judging from the drool and the strange sleeping patterns of late, I would also say he's working on some molars. He still loves his new little sister and is starting to say her name, rather than just "baby." He gives her a kiss before her naps all day and has taken to helping burp her. He even tried to put her bink in her mouth yesterday when she was crying. (If he does that, it will save me all KINDS of pauses throughout my day.)

Israel has become a Sesame Street officianato. His favorite characters seem to be Grover (also of "The Monster at the End of This Book" fame), Cookie Monster, and the Count. I will have to try to catch him on video doing his impersonations. The Count is great and Israel should be able to count to 3 any day now as a result of his Granna working with him on that impression. Ah, ah, ah...! His dance skills are improving, as he now mimicks snaps and taps and is getting his shoulders in the action. But THIS is the new thing that had both Pat and I throwing our heads back, laughing.

We were sitting at dinner last night, eating our fajitas, and Israel kept pointing to the jalepeno peppers, saying, "Please...." Pat was hesitant, but I can only take Israel repeating himself so many times before doing SOMETHING about it, so I said, "Sure, you can have one," figuring he would stick it on his tongue and either cry or make some sort of face. This is what happened:

He continued to ask for jalepenos the remainder of the meal. Out of consideration for his stomach, we only gave him three and he said, "Mmmm!" every time. Is he our son, or what?

small things and big deals

I am emerging from the "What day is it, again?" fog that falls over the days just following giving birth. Things have settled down a bit from the initial excitement (not that we're not still excited...) and craze and we're setting about getting to know each other. We get to know the little details about ourselves we did not know before -- things like when is the best time to change a diaper and how Israel can not feel powerless when Eden cries and what words are best for Pat and I to use when there is not space for discussion "away" from the situation. Of course, most of this revolves around Eden, who has discovered about herself that she can, indeed, scream. Thankfully, she limits herself to 1-3 loud screams at a time (cranking it to 11 rather suddenly and diminishing almost as fast) and only when she's being taught how to put herself to sleep for the most part. Israel no longer insists on touching her every moment of the day and, for my part, I'm glad that aspect of her novelty has worn off; he is an aggressive lover. He also sleeps straight through her "I'm waking up...waking up...food.... FOOD!" in the middle of the night. I'm grateful for that as well. I just was able to put both kiddos down for a nap and the house is quiet. I've not gone insane yet and am catching up on sleep. (Don't look at me, though. It's nearly 1:00 and I'm still in my PJ's.) I'm starting to get a feel for how things may go once my mom leaves and it's just the four of us here (or the three of us during the day). It involves the house looking abandoned in the short-term, I think, and me putting my multi-tasking skills to work during all waking hours.

I am strangely anxious to do more as a family now that we are four. Perhaps it's because I'm from a family of four that now we feel more like an official family or maybe it's because we now constitute full vehicle all on our own. Regardless, I am finding myself a bit excited about the challenges of doing small things together -- going grocery shopping, to the park, etc. We went on a little trip to the park down the street yesterday to take advantage of the nice weather. The three adults took turns with Israel, Eden, and the dog. A good time was had by all, I think...especially Israel and the dog, who is contentedly napping on the floor for the first time in weeks.

When I was a kid, I remember something like going to the park being a BIG deal. Not that we were deprived of outdoor activity the rest of our days, but a day involving the park was quite a treat. I watched Israel running around the equipment yesterday and Eden taking in the sunlight and the light breeze and thought about what a big place the little park must seem to them and how different and special it is compared to the strip of grass we call our back yard. Being there is no small thing for me, too, now that I'm somewhat in charge of the whole activity. It takes arranging of naps and packing of all kinds of diapers and blankets and a drink and...well..those of you who take care of kids know. But when I get outside and feel the sun on my clothes and see my kids enjoying themselves, it's a big deal -- for them and for me.

I can feel that I'm getting in a little over my head in some ways, bringing this little girl home. But I can also feel that things like both kids going down easily for their naps and a warm shower in the middle of the day and successfully leaving the house and being outside for an hour or so can become great gifts, not unlike breathing through your nose. (...Which I have been able to do since Eden has stopped sharing my body. Woo hoo!) God has certainly done more for me than I would've asked already. But I think that being thankful and content with small, normal things is both an art and a discipline I should not lose sight of as I start down this new road of parenting. Being able to do normal things is, on its own, a big deal. Thank you, God!