kj the dj

seriously,
anything that brings my
favorite husband home
early,
whistlinghappy,
and
wearing his favorite jeans
in the middle of the work week;
thankyouverymuch,
u.s. court system.

ps - he doesn’t have to report
until 10:15am tomorrow;
dreamy.

ps - laura b. [from fellowship group] is in myanmar
coordinating world vision’s response to the catastrophe.

she’s writing about the situation there
on anderson cooper’s website.

on giving:

‘this, then, is held to be the
duty of the man of wealth:

first, to set an example of modest,
unostentatious living,
shunning display or extravagance;
to provide moderately for the legitimate wants of
those dependent upon him;

and after doing so
to consider all surplus revenues
which come to him
simply as trust funds,
which he is called upon to administer,
and strictly bound as a matter of dugy
to administer in a manner which,
in his judgment,
is best calculated to produce
the most beneficial result for the community.’

-andrew carnegie, ‘wealth,’
north american review, 148, no. 391,
june 1889

‘keep your lives free from
the love of money
and be content with what you have,
because God has said,
“never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”
hebrews 13:5

happy birthday
to our favorite
jules.

it was so special
to celebrate her
last night after church,
on her actual bday.

(though it was far too cold
to sit outside, bummer.)

sitting around laughing
with friends +
enjoying her angelic self.

boy, oh boy, we love you, j.

{the bday crew:
colin, kirsten, matt,
faith, chris, mary,
brett, meghan, scott,
cory and ,of course, jules.

as well as:
cheesecake + chocolate cake,
some of our favorite cheeses,
fairway olives*,
cranberry/white choc/macadamia cookies,
and no less than 5lbs of strawberries
and not one strawberry sliver remained.
partyon,garth}

shopping for morv’s wedding dress

i love it when she wears green.
or blue.
or pink.
or…

*i’ve long found olive boats intriguing.

so when i finally broke down and
spent the $4.95 @ gracious home
and proudly brought it home,
cory will not stop
teasing me about that thing.

granted,
it does look goofy empty,
but it’s so clever that
you don’t have to dig
your big ol’ fingers thru
all the olives in order
to choose your favorite.

and it does just look cool
on the table.

so there.

it was such an encouragement
to get to see ryan + amanda
f o u r
times during their visit last week.

saturday morning was precious:
all of the kids playing,
feeling like we got to know baby eleanor
and
thanking the Lord for the
way He is at work in their family.

first thing that morning,
caroline came running in with
these huge ponytail holder things
and exclaimed,
‘i need to look fancy.
cousin clara is coming!’

fancy, indeed.
or something like that.

we had a lovely time away
in connecticut on
saturday and sunday.

croquet,
games,
reading in the sunshine,
watering plants,
and
being quite refreshed by
the sunshine and fresh air.

a million thanks, ragland fam

a fun evening with
church friends
ended in an
e.r. visit:

sweet nathan is
there now
getting stitches in
his finger
after a run in with
the cheese knife
(he’s a sucker for
a good manchego).

poor kiddo.
more later.

12:01am update:
stitches are in,
spirits are good,
discharge is imminent.

goofy get-well signs on our front door
might bring a smile to his weary face

earlier in the evening:
homework

hope you carried your
old umbrella today, amigo;
the wind is beating up
the cheap & the expensive
umbrellas
indiscriminately,
so save your ‘good’ one,
in my opinion.

all we could do at
school pick-up was
laugh.

it was raining that hard
and
parents, teachers, students + siblings alike
were
drenched.

we live across the
street from the school +
we were drenched.
(even in our raincoats)

so we’re warming up,
turning on
‘alvin & the chipmunks,’
for early familymovienight
(sorry, cory;
we just can’t wait, man.)

let the games begin.

remember when tim talked
years ago at mcm
about ‘third spaces’?
(surely he had a more savvy term,
but that’s how i remember it)

the idea is that because
urban apartments
are small,
we use public spaces
as an extension of our
private spaces.

well, i’ve had the sweetest time
this week getting together
with friends at my
‘other’
kitchen table.

[aka. magnolia bakery]

you know, that little slice
of heavenly real estate
that is usually virtually
e m p t y,
full of dreamy sunshine,
and
you can take your time +
stay as long as you’d like?
(the rarest of combinations)

charis + ryan
wendy
carrie
ryan + amanda,
clara, adelle + eleanor

i’m loving it.

and i’ll see you there next week.

brit gave us these cool
lightlight pink sheets & pillowcases
and i’ve loved using
them in our bedroom
in happy rotation with
our usual
black & white polkadot ones

so, anytime betsy sees
pink
pillowcases
in our room,
she evidently assumes i’ve
mislaid them.

since as everybody knows, dahling,
pink
is only for
girls.

so all of the pink pillows
that make me so happy
(come on, it’s not like i’m
overwhelming
cory
with pink;
2 of the 6 pillows on our bed
have the pink cases,
and it’s the lightest prettiest
whitewashiest pink possible)
are
gone.

permanently
relegated to the
‘princess suite,’
as grandpa dick christened the girls room.

nice.

nosoupforyou

thinking about creating a
culture
of generosity
is killing me.

in a good way.

i mean,
this stuff is keeping me
awake at night.

well, that, in addition to
betsy’s bed-swapping
shenanigans.

anyway.

“i do not believe one can settle
how much we ought to give.
i am afraid the only safe rule
is to give
more
than we can spare.

in other words, if our expenditure on
comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc.,
is up to the standard common
among those with the same income
as our own,
we are probably giving away
too
little.

if our charities do not at all
pinch or hamper us,
i should say they are
too
small.

there ought to be things we
should like to do
and
cannot do
because our charitable expenditure
excludes them.”
-c.s. lewis, mere christianity

okay,
where to start?

i have some fantastic news for you:
ryan & amanda
clara, adelle & baby eleanor
will be at the morning west side
service this sunday.

now, please, control yourselves;
don’t mob them.

but do get in line
for a sweet greeting.

(i’d even consider double-dipping
church-wise just to get to see
them one more time

we loved every second of
our tuesday night in the garden with them,
laughing and talking until
the late hours of the night.

and then an afternoon in the
park yesterday with
caroline and clara
as inseparable playmates;
this morning, she keeps asking for
‘cousin clara’…

we love you, hullinger fam +
happy 12th anniversary, lovebirds.

ps - strangely intriguing list of
75 skills every man ’should know’;
take with a grain of salt +
a bit of common sense
on which ones to ignore
(and definitely ignore the
rest of that website)

henry’s kindergarten report on
‘animals in the desert’
this morning

sibling cheering section

betsy didn’t pretend to be interested;
she just played with the cash register.

reading to ms. mariano + the hinzman’s

superproud, kiddo

ps - here’s the poem on ‘birds’
henry composed on my computer
this afternoon:

‘berds

berdsarecyewt
berdscanbeesmol
berdscanbeedifrintcolers’

i’m grateful today for those
animate & inanimate
things that help me
do my jobs
well.

1. the fruit man @ 70th/amsterdam
bananas, 4/$1
strawberries, $2/box
cantaloupe, $2 ea.

and he’s superkind
to the children.

2. my lemon yellow miele vacuum.
if you put that thing
on your arm,
it would suck a bruise.

i love it.

i would write poetry in its honor
if i thought it could hear me.

3. popsicles.
juicycoolishgoodness
that makes their day
which in turn makes
my day.

4. summer dresses.
for them and for me.

5. cory’s favorite shorts.

they make him that happy.
and i score big points
every time they come
out of winter-hiding
and into the light of spring.

6. beatrix potter.
since much of my time the
past 9 yrs has been spent
reading to children,
i’m grateful for good literature.
(and, inversely,
find poor writing for children
rather despicable)

in today’s reading of tom kitten,
remember when
mittens, moppet & tom kitten
have lost their beautiful clothes?

so mrs. kitten discovers them
and offers this rebuke:

’she pulled them off the wall,
smacked them,
and took them back to the house.

‘my friends will arrive in a minute
and you are not fit to be seen.
i am affronted,’ said mrs. tabitha twitchet.

’she sent them upstairs;
and i am sorry to say she
told her friends
that they were in bed
with the measles;
which was not true.’

next time, i will simply
tell my children that
‘i am affronted’
and assume that is
reprimand enough.

nice.

ps - if i tell you my
children are in bed
with the measles,
be suspicious.
be very suspicious.

we don’t do cross-eyed very well;
we’ll keep practicing.

ps - i love these years when
half of their teeth have fallen out,
half are still growing in,
their mouth looks like a
bigteeth+littleteeth+hodgepodge
and the overall look
is happygoofycuteascanbe.

pps - nathan is playing typing games
on his computer so i let henry
type on mine for a minute
while i help nathan.

here’s what he composed:
‘in   2008    my   dad    bot   a     bike
the  next   day    he    started riding his bike
with me and nathan. we had lots of fun.

we rode to the church congregational meeting.
it   was    long.’

(we helped him with ‘cong mtg’)

in worship last night,
our dear mindy s. sang
the
most
beautiful
song written by
our talented tom j.

(if she’s my ‘dear mindy’,
then he’s my ‘talented tom’,
though really
it’s more like
she’s our
mostencouragingtenderfaithful+talented mindy
and he’s our
talentedhumbleveryverywickedlyfunny tom)

i digress.

this song.
it’s the first i’ve heard it
(it’s debut, perhaps?*)
and
i want to hear it everywhere.
everywhere.
i want to download it on itunes,
i want to hear it in church
as often as possible and
in as many churches as possible,
i want to teach it to my kids
and hear nathan
wandering around humming it.

the song is ‘forgiven’
and it’s about the sacraments.

[mentally picture two people on stage:
mindy singing +
phil hamilton on guitar -
i seriously can't wait for
you to hear the tune.
to hear her voice
singing it.
oh my. melting.]

‘the table has been set
the elements prepared
a simple, holy meal
i long for us to share

the bread is my body
which was broken in two
the wine is my blood
which flowed for you

soon i’ll be going to a place you cannot see
so do this in remembrance of me

come let us reason together
come let us share the bread and
though your sins be as scarlet
they shall be like wool
since you are forgiven

when your heart is broken
when the pain has grown too deep
when your guilt has slowly robbed you of your joy
taste this sweet reminder
of the price that i have paid
so that you might be renewed
to face another day

soon i’ll be returning for all the world to see
so do this in remembrance of me.’

following this song,
tim preached from i cor 11:18-34
on the supper. the sacraments.
the table of unity.

which was followed by
communion.

and the final song,
that old old favorite hymn,
‘near the cross’
(william donae + fanny crosby, 1869)

[mentally picture charis + ryan
sitting behind me and
my ears being filled with
the beautiful voices of tender friends
and
chiming in my own voice
and positively
never wanting the hymn to end]

jesus keep me near the cross;
there a precious fountain,
free to all, a healing stream,
flows from Calvry’s mountain.

chorus:
in the cross, in the cross,
be my glory ever;
till my raptured soul shall find
rest beyond the river.

near the cross, a trembling soul,
love and mercy found me;
there the Bright and Morning Star
shed its beams around me.

chorus.

near the cross, i’ll watch and wait,
hoping, trusting ever.
till i reach the golden strand
just beyond the river.

chorus.

amen
+
amen.

and happy monday morning, friends.

*update:
we have it from the horse’s mouth
that this was one of the first songs
he ever wrote, maybe 20 yrs ago.
way to start strong, friend.

friday night’s adult dinner

jenny + kathy’s corn:
fresh corn on the cob +
1/2 lime per person +
a communal bowl of
kosher salt + black pepper + cayenne pepper + chili powder

squeeze the lime onto your corn
and dip it into the spices.
roll your eyes +
smack your gram’ma;
it’s that good.

we ended up with four little kids
(who had dinner hours earlier)
standing around the table with
kiddie plates &
digging in.
(caroline kept professing her
love for the ‘chicken’
and didn’t even hear us
when we kept repeating,
’salmon’)

coach cory takes a breather

cory’s on the left, no. 20
nathan’s on the right, no. 5
hudson river in the background
rain is holding off

sweet

stair-biking

shuffling at the same speed,
opposite directions

the resulting windowboxes
from last saturday’s planting attempt
(diane’s lovely red geraniums up top)

a real gardener
might point out
that i shouldn’t have
stuffed
so many plants
in each box.

but i didn’t think of that until
afterwards.

happy earlyearly bday, babe.

cory’s group birthday gift
is his new-to-us bike.
(via craigslist, gottaloveit)
the boys + grandpa + c went to
86/cpw to pick the bike up from
the now-previous owner
and then
c + the girls walked
to toga to get the
rest of the goods
(new saddle, grips + helmet)

he then spent the rest of
the afternoon replacing the seat,
changing the grips,
airing up the tires w/ the compressor,
and carefully handwashing
the sweet new ride,
just like any little boy
with a new bike.

photo credit: betsy

photo credit: caroline

we saw ‘the visitor‘
last night.
oh
my.
really, one of the best
movies we’ve ever seen.

hiam abbass’s eyes + integrity,
haaz sleiman’s good cheer,
danai jekesai gurira’s hesitance,
richard jenkins. wow.
wow.

(how can we help
the real people stuck in
these local detention
centers?)

i definitely cried
in the end.

ps - thanks for the sweet
compliments on the tablecloth.

the short answer is:
i made it.

copy that look:
head down to chic fabric
(225 w 39)
every now and then and
in the back-left corner,
quickly comb thru those
tall rolls of cotton fabrics.
(there are usually about 5
good ones to choose from;
they’ll jump out at you quickly
and you can narrow it down
and be out of there w/in 10 min;
they’re $4-5/yard,
so it’s a cheap project;
mine are 2.25 yards long)

hem the sides & voila.

i am definitely calling them that
from now on.

we put grandpa cates to work.

little kids preschool this morning;
snack time gets everyone’s attention.
kathryn, cash, isabella, betsyboo + wilson.

magnolia girls

it used to be my water.
this is what her mouth
looked like before
she swiped my drink:

sick+wrong.
it’s your water now, honey

i loved hearing henry remind caroline
the other afternoon to
’slow down your body’
around elderly people
we meet on the sidewalk
because it ‘makes them nervous’

true, true.

sometimes i’m caught
mid-stride
by the
spontaneous
sisterly
hugging.

i must say,
this has been a sweet
difference btwn
raising boys &
raising girls.

the
Real
News
this week is:

i’ve only got 7.5 months
to figure out my
strategy to win
‘favorite auntie’
to my
New
niece/nephew

ohboyohboyohboy

scott & katie phoned from japan
and
youguessedit
they’re having a baby.

could the harris family BE
any more excited?!

congrats, guys.
and we’re so excited that you’re
moving back just in time for
baby h’s arrival…
and for us to spoil
that cute little thing.

(did i mention,
this makes me a first time aunt?!
the Real Deal)

psst…it’s friday;
take a breather,
pass it on.

1. labour + wait
(crisp, clean, efficient + helpful,
of course it’s in the uk.
of course.

i found the ‘labour saving hints + ideas’
book on ebay for $1.99.
i’ll let you know what i learn.
unless i’ve just spoiled it
and you go to ebay and
outbid me.
are you really going to do that, now?)

2. old guys rule.
you’ll know you qualify
as an ‘old guy’
if you think this is funny.

3. free comic book day tomorrow (sat)
check freecomicbookday.com for
participating stores
(thanks, karen)

now, an exercise to clear my head.

the top ten things on my mind
at 5:38pm (in no particular order):

10. grateful that my father-in-law, dick, is here;
and also very grateful for my friends.
9. wondering how the salmon
is going to turn out tonight.
(too much lime? too little pepper?)
8. will little league be rained out tomorrow morning?
(the primary reason for dick’s nyc visit)
7. psalm 1 + philippians 2 + ‘a mighty fortress is our God’ lyrics
6. n.t. wright’s book, surprised by hope,
is the most compelling thing i’ve read in
a long time. the last two nights before bed
and the last two rest time’s with caroline.
i’m on ch. 5.
it’s brilliant.
5. three citywrites orders that i’ve got to
draw + post in tomorrow’s mail
4. praying for my parent’s friend, jeremiah;
a young boy with some critical medical issues.
3. two situations that are bugging/concerning me +
trying to sort out what of my sin is in the mix.
2. hoping that cory and i get to go out tonight.
and
1. what will i fix for dinner tomorrow night?

nice & shallow.

it is friday, you know.

have something in your apt that is
taking up too much space?

evidently,
you can just bike-lock it
to a public sign out front
and rest easy.

this granny cart is a permanent-resident
on 70th street and it makes me pause,
hmmmm.
what could i chain up out front
so it wouldn’t take up space in my apt?

nice.

super thankful for
tim’s sermon on
meditation,
a bridge to prayer;
looking at psalm 1.

and i get a double-dose
of it on wednesdays
as we study the sermon passage
in mom’s group (am)
and again
in fellowship group (pm).

makes a girl hungry
for scripture.

my facepainting career
is two sessions old

betsy’s career begins

our first park outing
with lucy (and paula)

jane + caroline,
literally singing in the rain

fg dinner is served;
the room gets quiet for
just a moment
as we take that
worth-the-wait
first bite.
not pictured: brian & laura;
sorry, guys.

i really do, turkey.

make your own geoGreeting;
the alphabet = real buildings in the real world.

ps - a compellingly alive kitchen:

the girls of friday preschool
gather to celebrate
k a t h r y n ’s birthday;
isabella, abby, betsy, jane, caroline +
the birthday girl herself

a proper birthday teaparty
(chocolate milk as the mainstay)

kathryn & ami

dance party
in full effect

view from the partypad
(see fairway’s blue awning?)

my during-the-bday-party
impromptu citywrites office @
fairway cafe
(new york’s best kept secret,
in my opinion)

c, j & b
saunter home
from a happy
birthday affair
(princess dresses, tutus + raincoats =
we’ve got a lot going on)

i’m digging ross campbell’s book,
how to really love your child.

i’ve posted these words below
inside the bathroom vanity,
inside the kitchen cabinet,
and they’re rolling around
in my mind.

regarding loving our children
‘unconditionally’,
he tried to constantly
reminded himself
of the following:

‘1. they are children.

2. they will tend to act like children.

3. much of childish behavior is unpleasant.

4. if i do my part as a parent and
love them despite their childish behavior,
they will be able to mature and
give up childish ways.

5. if i love them only when they please me
(conditional love), and convey my love to them only
during those times,
they will not feel genuinely loved.

this in turn will make them insecure, damage their self-image,
and actually prevent them from moving on to better
self-control and more mature behavior.

therefore, their behavior and its development is
my responsibility
as much as it is theirs.

6. if i love them unconditionally, they will feel
good about themselves and be comfortable with
themselves. they will then be able to
control their anxiety, and in turn,
their behavior, as they grow into adulthood.

7. if i love them only when they meet my
requirements or expectations,
they will feel incompetent.

they will believe it is fruitless to
do their best because it is never enough.
insecurity, anxiety and low self-esteem will plague them.

those feelings will be constant hindrances in their
emotional and behavioral growth.

again, their total growth is as much
my responsibility
as theirs.’

after that, he said that he prayed
that his love for his children would be
‘as unconditional as i could make it.’

whew.

i’ve been using a tip
renee r., mom of two boys,
shared with me
specifically in talking
with boys:

instead of asking the boys,
‘how was your day?’

asking them,
‘rate your day on
a scale of 1 to 5 -
1 is not good,
5 is really good.’

and then following up with,
‘why that score?’

i’ve loved the answers i’ve
been getting;
what was funny &
what was frustrating
about their days @ school.

thanks, r

so, remember the scooternapping from two weeks ago?

well, our angel friend, abby,
was over on friday morning
riding her
shiny pink razor scooter,
exactly like caroline’s was.

(perspective: about every third child
on the streets here is riding on a
scooter of some kind.
loads & loads of them around
and most of them are razors)

so after our sweet friends left,
caroline came inside the front door,
went to cory
and whispered to him,

‘abby stole my scooter.’

?!

in the mind
of a 3 yr old…

and what crazyfun timing:
thanks to uncle scott & aunt katie
who sent a replacement pink scooter
that arrived in an amazon.com box
about 10 minutes
after abovementioned incident.

yay!!

(you’ll notice in the greenmarket photos
she has her helmet on and is
Back On Wheels.
double yay +
thanks, guys.)

gardening isn’t my strong suit,
but i do like to take a stab at it.

lincoln center green market +
3 eager helpers

drawing the fruit + flowers,
an important step

cider + doughnuts

this wknd’s goal =
2 windowboxes of flowers
in front of the boy’s windows

2 flats of coleus, check.
10 lbs. of potting soil, check.
[this little maclaren volo stroller
is a workhorse, baby.]

julia, gardening queen.

our favorite coloring spot

lucy’s growing up.
it was a perfect saturday evening
for dessert in the garden
celebrating paula’s birthday
w/ r + p + r’s lovely mom,
(visiting from canada
to help with her newest
granddaughter).
happy bday, friend.

‘mamapaya’
like gray’s papaya,
only not.
(the kids’ fancy name for
‘mom-brought-hotdogs-from-home’)

sunday hymns
on the fatboy

happy birthday, daniel

thanks, kat, for the dresses;
waytoocute.

stripey overkill?
i’m eating it up.

go, eagles

baby mama is
even funnier than
the trailer suggests.

and even the trailer-bits
that you saw coming still
drew huge laughs
again in the theatre.

there is this courtroom
scene at the end that
almost put me over the top,
laughter-wise.

loved it.
great entertainment.

spoiler alert:
(don’t read this part until
after you’ve seen it)

i almost got over my
preconceived idea that
amy p is too old to play
her character.
almost.

see, the premise that tina f’s
character is too old to conceive
doesn’t work when you put
amy p’s character as the ‘younger’
more ‘conceptive’ character.

it’s obvious that tina and amy
are actually the same age
in real life.
peers.
so can amy pull off
the ‘younger’ role?
almost.

worth noting:
steve martin & sigorney weaver’s
characters are kooky and terrific.
greg kinnear’s most loveable role
in a very long time.
love the casting overall.

my favorite finds
this morning include:

skippy natural pb, 15oz for $2.49

dole raisins, 24oz box for $2.99

and it’s time to bust out the
soy vay, baby.

our chicken is marinating
as i speak
in the ‘veri veri teriyaki’
awaiting the grill
later this afternoon.
mouthwaternggoodness in a jar.

and they posted a lovely
large sign & photo
in tribute to robert g.
who passed away last week,
a longtime fairway employee.

unfortunately, the tribute &
wake announcement are
quite personal and moving
and i read them as
i was checking out and then
was choking back tears while
trying to complete my transaction
with altagracia & santiago.

a good gesture on fwy’s part.

cory and the boys took
a 3.5 hr walk yesterday.

the kj-as-mapquest-version:

1. leave 255 w 70 and walk east to central park

2. saunter thru the park and exit on 5th ave

3. continue east to gift shoppe,
select baby gift [baby rattle]
and wrapping paper [orange,
as nathan reasoned,
'i think little babies can actually see orange']

4. proceed to nypres/cornell hospital
[68th/york;
mapquest says it's 2.23 miles from our house
to the hospital, one way]
to meet
b a b y j a n e

[cory admitted to tearing up;
the Lord is very gracious +
we are so excited for the holmberg fam]

5. on to serendipity

6. and to fao schwarz

7. back thru central park

8. pick up sandwiches for

9. family dinner in the garden

[cory said henry was lagging about
a half a block behind for the last 2 blocks.
way to go, kiddo.]

whew;
a perfect afternoon.

did these guys even blink
when their heads hit the pillow?

. jane stuart holmberg .

she was born
last night @ 9:55pm

yay
yay
yay!

baby jane is named after
merritt and merritt’s mom.

we can’t wait to meet her.
congrats, jim & merritt

‘the Lord is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.’
psalm 116:5

oh.
my.
goodness.

mtk will have to take
full credit
for this one.

have you seen this
crazy piece of work?
watch out,

you will have this
running thru your head,
i promise.
my apologies in advance.

(when have i seen cory laugh this hard?!)
NIVwitharibbonbookmark…
NIVwitharibbonbookmark…

which reminds me of when
i used to host that christian tv
show in high school
and one of the rap groups i interviewed
had this song that went like this…

(personal note:
i like to wait until cory’s least expecting it
and then whisper it in his ear
and watch him c r y.
with laughter, that is.)

‘her skin’s so smooth
you really want to touch it
instead you grab The Book
into your arms
and then you clutch it

remembering what the Bible says
just wait your turn,
get busy before you’re married
and you just might burn

so do the right thing
and forever you’ll stay

in love with your girl,
the almighty way.’

oh.
my.

too too much.

(nice theology, by the way.
remind me again if sarcasm
comes across online?)

and of course,
’stuff christians like’

whew,
i just heard the
[imaginary]
horn go off.

i managed to ride the
elementaryschoolspringbreakbull
for the full
eight seconds.

you see,
because of mom’s cheerful help,
we made it through
(in seriously great form,
much beyond my expectations)
and now cory’s
off tomorrow &
home for the weekend and
from here on,
i know it’s going to be great.

we made it.
we made it!

photo credit: henry

dude, i seriously
audibly
screamed
when this big guy’s
b l a c k
tongue came out and
slurped the foodie pellets
off my palm.
grooooooss.

daniel was the best at it;
he would hold his hand out there
and then give The Best
squeal when they were
consumed by said cow.

ps - if cory had a nickel
for every time i tell him
mtk wins ‘momoftheyear’
he’d at least have
a latte.

that’s a lot of nickels.

hot dogs by the bandshell

making creepy crawlies
(aka. cooking bugs)
ethan, eli, henry + meg

and then we performed yet another
feat of endurance-genius:
a full-fledged target run
in less than an hour.
(enter-to-exit time lapse)

(rather impressive
if i remind you that i
only go to target, oh,
three times a year, no?)

i felt like the half-mad
woman on the supermarket tv show
from the 1980’s where
they give you $500 and
only 20 min to fill your cart.

lacrosse sticks, check.
fruit rageous, check. (read: generic fruity cereal)
pink girly bike helmet, check.
largest bucket of oxy clean possible, check.
monkey head plastic plates, check.
(i didn’t even know
monkeyheadplasticplates existed
but Once I Laid Eyes On Them…
$1.49 worth of dinner magic)
vanity fair dinner napkins, check.
(one of my indulgences, thick paper napkins)
2 pr girls white summer sandals, check.
delightful art supplies, check.
frisbee, check.
‘ratatouille’, check.
diapers & wipes, check.
(but not for long!
caroline finished wearing
them at night 2 wks ago.
how happy are we?!
comeonbetsygirl, youcandoit!)
bike lock, check.
etc. etc., check.

whew.
and yay.

cheers to paula, meghan & julia
for such a fun target run.

ps - when cory opened up his computer
tonight, here’s what was in the google bar:
‘PAWERRANJERSDOTCOM’

nice try, hen.

pps - cory hit ‘enter’ just to see…
no search results for that one.

the morning’s agenda:
projects, projects, projects

you say ‘free’
i say ‘burritos’
free
burritos!
free
burritos!

i wish you could smell the lilacs;
intoxicating.

that’s right, we’re so far back in the
free burrito line that we have to
turn a corner to even see the
storefront.

so this is where we ended up, instead.
hot dogs + papaya drinks
in the back yard;
perfect.

now, what are we going to
do when my mom leaves
tomorrow morning?
i don’t want to think about it.

ps - one of this morning’s projects
included tackling a few shelves of
office supplies and restoring order.

so henry, my artist-in-residence,
was glad for any handmedown
supplies to create with.

tonight, he was happy to show us
his set of ‘personal files’ created
with a stack of discarded manila folders.

three of my favorites included,
‘files’
‘problems’ and
‘head starts’.

he explained that the ‘h.s.’ file
would include ideas to help solve
the problems in the ‘problems’ file.

hmmm?
cool.

note to self:
get a ‘head start’ file of my own.

n and i are the earlybirds
around here this morning,
so we read psalm 95
aloud together
(2 verses each, back + forth)
and afterwards we
were talking about
what we each
learned about God
in that passage.

and he reminded me that
i should just know that
God loves me and not
test him or
harden my heart;
he said that’s what ‘faith’ is.

that’s right, kiddo,
i pray that God will
help both of us
‘just know it’
today.

because it’s True.

ps - merritt’s in labor!
hip hip hooray +
we’re praying for you.

merritt, ashley & moi
@ morv & jono’s engagement party

pps - cade & melissa fly to london today.

i think baby holmberg’s arrival
could take away a bit of the sting
of the newman’s move…
we’ll miss you two
very
very
much.

everything is more fun
when my mom is here.

morning wrestlefest

licorice-loading before we hit the met

jeff koons on the rooftop.
n + h drew their way thru
the museum,
starting with these babies.
(pen & paper, pencil & paper, respectively)

jasper johns: gray

betsy, caroline, annie + madeleine

picnic dinner on pier 70

…and caroline came tumbling after.

ps - henry’s wearing heelys
with 2 rollers each.
the perfect hill-climbing shoe.

pps - cory & i hit chipotle
for a tasty dinner tonight
with julia & faith.

[i'm practicing saying 'chipotle'
so it sounds like i know
what i'm talking about.]

we’ll see the rest of you
there tomorrow btwn 11am-8pm.

the new chipotle
(i’ve never been in one,
but i hear they’re quite tasty)
on 72/73rd and amsterdam
is giving away
free
food.

doesn’t that bring back
college memories?

free food was always a hit.

today & tomorrow.

hungry + in the ‘hood?
make a run for the border.
or whatever their slogan is.

ps - we’re talking a free meal.
my mom and the boys had
burritos, drinks & chips
for lunch.
gratis.
they’re evidently training their staff
for the grand opening;
sounds like good p.r. to me.

pps - hannah’s engaged!

scott proposed under moonlight
in a hot springs pool.
way to go

hannah & morven lived in our
bunkbeds one summer.
So Much Fun.

she’s teaching international law
in colorado now after
working @ the hague;
so proud of you, hannahbanana,
our favorite palindrome.

first official day of spring break today.

between my mom (aka. grammy) and i,
we covered some
serious
bases.

music class for betsy, check.
train park, check.
picnic w/ the crosby’s & cho’s, check.
library + local toy store, check.
henry’s kindergarten class event, check.
central park zoo, check.
classic playground w/ the jennings’, kramers’ + harris’, check.
celebrating grammy’s bday, check.
superfun + fancy cocktail soiree w/ momfriends, check.

now, what?!

we love spring break.
and we love that grammy’s here!

strains of ‘i’m every woman‘
are playing as jordyn
performs motherly feats of strength.
(a future festivus event?
ezra + caroline + lydia)

we love seeing tim’s book in the stores.

i’m imagining the neighborly negotiations
that went into this paint job.

we love mondays

happy 35th, mom.
(henry’s guess at grammy’s age)

we totally got in on the
afterparty
for the adidas
‘run for the park’
in central park this morning.

‘turntables on the hudson’
kickin’ it in the bandshell,
impromptu salsa dancing,
adidas/cliff bar/cabot cheese/tshirt
freebies

and henry was positively
scandalized
by the number of port-a-johns
they had lined up;
i liked the
company name,
‘a royal flush’

cory estimates the tree @ 30ft.
nathan is at, oh, about 25ft,
henry’s right below n’s shoes at about 20ft
and caroline is inches below henry
at about 15ft.
i wish you could hear the giggles.
betsy kept circling,
but was too smart to enter in.

monitoring the progress
from a boulder-top perch

can you see one little
black patent mary jane
on the rise?
(left-ish-middle of the photo)

i love a man who’s not
afraid to wear carry pink.

our makeshift parking lot
outside of magnolia
(see our stash of bikes/scooters on the left?)

henry opts to stay outside with me
while i watch the bikes
but the whole time he’s concerned
that they’re not going to get
him the exact right cupcake.

oh, that these are the biggest worries in life.

at a brunch yesterday,
godly redeemer women
(about 20 of them,
from whom i have much to learn)
were talking about how they
read the Bible and what other
books inspire their spiritual life.

(note: their ideas were so candid + encouraging;
my translations of them are less-than
how they presented them.
my apologies + i hope you’ll get the gist)

a few ideas
on this sabbath:

1. helicopter reads. (kathy k.)
in addition to daily study,
every so often, sit down and
read straight thru a book of the bible
to get the whole picture.
(ex: luke takes approx 30min,
mark = 30 min,
corinthians, etc.)

2. know that your scripture study/reading
is going to look differently at different
seasons of your life.
(ex: during the season of child rearing,
your daily schedule
is much less predictable than
perhaps during other seasons)

3. pray the psalms in the morning (joanne g.)
for ex.: ps 119:36
‘turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.’

4. don’t beat yourself up.
whenever you see a ‘lack,’
the response of our self-righteous heart
is to say, ‘bad christian! bad christian!’
and feel guilty about it

rather than to look to Christ,
to have our heart warmed by his mercy,
and to move on from there.

shame never motivates.
you need a positive point to start from.

5. hymns and spiritual songs
(psalty was even given
a serious shout out)

6. reading scripture with your husband
as a way to see it from a different perspective
(what strikes you will often be
completely different than what
resonates with him)
and in the long run,
can help you get to know your
spouse on a profound spiritual level. (joanne a.)

recommended books:

. the satisfied heart, by ruth myers (maureen k.)
. tabletalk, monthly devotions by ligoniers.
. valley of vision (’don’t read it unless you want to be
convicted of sin.’ -dorothy g.)
. streams in the desert (patti s.)
. morning & evening, by charles spurgeon (dorothy g.)
. the daily bible, readings are in chronological order as
to when they were written (carole k.)
. the robert murray m’cheyne bible reading plan
(i shrank this down & put it
in the back of most of our household bibles.
i read that day’s passage
regardless of if i read
yesterday’s or not.
i’ve used this schedule for 7 yrs now
so i figure over time i hit
every part, right?
i put it in nathan’s bible, as well)

henry, amazed, describing something
he saw on his bike ride yesterday:

she had this ‘wallet transportation’
thing where you can only carry ONE thing,
like your wallet.
or if you had something
really small, like ants.
you could carry ants in it, too.

honey, it’s called a ‘fannypack.’

ps - who read the interview with
bill nye in the times’ magazine today?
talk about inspiring.
he gives back energy
to the LA power grid?!

last night’s guest chef: greg
he came + cooked us a
tremendous meal of
butternut squash risotto,
haricot verts + fresh portobello
for a lovely late evening
dinner in the garden.

now accepting applications for
future guest chef positions.

no shortage of uses for the
fatboy point (ottoman);
piano bench

go, eagles

family movie night: enchanted

okay, we loved it.
. amy adams = a+
. patrick dempsey = mcdreamy, for sure
. bebe + charis’ old building @ 116/bway!
(we recognized the marble hallways
before they gave away the address)
. and of course, there’s a whole musical number
set right where we rode our bikes this week.
(the funky roller skating place in central park)

great show.

ps - i hope they get the stink
cleared up before cade & melissa
arrive this week.

oh, duh.

we’ve been wondering what
all the helicopter buzz
was about
(they’ve been hovering all day,
a teeny bit unnerving)

the pope is in town
and he’s riding down
fifth avenue
(from 70th to 50th st)
right now, apparently.

we can see 4 heli’s
from our back yard
and the sound echoes
from the neighboring
buildings sounds like a
fleet of them are up there.