generous living

tonight i was excited to take part
in a discussion about
creating a
culture of generosity
within redeemer.

tim gave us this primer about
how we’re to think about our money:

-in light of creation:
everything i have is His,
i owe it to give away my money.

-in light of the fall:
it’s a broken world
and i am sinful,
i need to give because
money can have an enslaving power,
a blinding quality.

-in light of redemption:
my money is now a vehicle to spread
His redemption in the world.
jesus impoverished himself for me.
i want to respond,
to enrich and redeem the physical world.

the act of giving
changes me.

three practical implications:

1. tithe.
2. simple living:
work very hard at living
a simple lifestyle,
at living below what you make.
3. redemptive mission:
get involved in the redemptive process,
volunteer.

for you know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich,
yet for your sakes
he became poor,
so that you through his poverty
might become rich.
2 cor 8:9

ps – i’m not sure i’ll sleep
very soundly tonight;
my heart is burning,
my mind is cycling,
evaluating our family currently +
the implications of
radical, promiscuous generosity
in its various forms.

pps – for a quick laugh before we hit the pillow:

hoboken or bust

it was such a pleasure to
speak to the
hoboken mom’s group
yesterday.

thank you for the warm welcome +
the laughs.

here’s the hot list
that came up at the end.
(modify away,
it’s just a starting point
that happens to work for us)

how we use the hot list:
a day or two before we’re having dinner alone together,
we’ll both look over it and jot down
anything that we need to update or talk about.

since i’m ‘running’ the daily show
with the kiddos,
talking to cory in a business-mtg-sort-of-way
helps me feel like things might not
be falling thru the cracks.

and his encouragement and affirmation
go a looong way toward quieting any
of the concerns-du-jour in my heart;
knowwhatimean, jellybean?

cj+kj=xoxo

a friend of mine asked a
terrific question;
she was asking advice on how to honor
your husband above your children,
when it seems that you’re pouring all
of your time into your children and
your husband, well he’s at work.

i cc’d cory when i sent this response,
hoping he’d be amused &
reminded of how much i love him,
that big ol’ handsome galoo.

“this is such a valuable question, love.
one that you’ll reevaluate season after season
to see if you’re heading in the right direction,
and that re-eval is a good good thing.

if you stop asking the question, then problems come.
(am I honoring my husband above all else?
am I respecting him in all things?
does he know that I’m honoring & respecting him?
are there other ways he needs/wants me to
honor and respect him and let me change
what I’m doing to reflect that)

so, I’d start with asking him simply,
do you know how much I love,
respect,
honor you?
I do.
and here are some specific ways I
think you are outstanding & am so
grateful for you: ___________,
_______________,
_______________ (and on and on,
or as much as you can genuinely say.

[your little girl] is your primary physical responsibility right now.

meaning: your physical self is entirely responsible
for her physical self.
making sure she’s breathing,
she’s clothed, fed, comforted,
soothed, delighted,
trained, helped, cleaned, etc.

so obviously she’s going to consume your
thoughts. and that is appropriate.
entirely appropriate.

so it might appear to you that
you are placing her above [your husband]
in your heart,
but in fact, by caring for her well,
you are honoring him in the highest way.
she is [his] daughter!
you are caring for his daughter
in the best, kindest ways you know how.

and he walks into your home each evening
knowing that you are doing that,
thus he is at rest & is delighted by that.

press on.
press on!

one thing I do constantly is
talk
about
‘daddy.’

we sing silly songs and put ‘daddy’ into them.
we pray for him when we pray for our lunch.
we joke about him when we pick up his big old
shoes and put them away in the closet,
or when we find his glasses and put them up
where betsy can’t reach them.
we guess what he’s eating for lunch.
we see things as we’re walking and say,
‘oh, daddy loves that!’

so the kids know that
I’m thinking about
him constantly.

and as they get older,
i do it more specifically.

‘n, isn’t is so kind of daddy to go to
work today so we can have this
warm apartment,
or this extra $4 that
we just spent on beard papas,
or whatever.’

they know that daddy is serving our
family by going to work,
by honoring his colleagues,
by bearing the stress of his daily responsibilities
on our behalf.

etc.

and (to stop the longwindedness)
one of the Most Important Parts of this all:
pray.

pray that you will love your husband.
beg the Lord to help you love [him].
ask him to help you honor [him].
ask Him to help you communicate your love
and honor
and respect to [your husband].
beg Him to help you see
your own sin clearly
and, equally,
to help you not be tripped
up by [his] sin or the things that might
irritate you or anger you about him;
muy, muy importante.

this part, the prayer part,
makes the other above-mentioned
parts work.

i’ll pray for you.
i’m so proud of you.

love you,
kj

ps – pray the same things for me.
that I will love and honor and
respect cory;
we are two lucky ladies.”

connecting

c & i are always trying
to invite the boys into
our new yorker addiction enjoyment;
the humpty-dumpty cover
this week can only help
attract the younger generation,*
as well.

h’s face lit up when he saw
it last night;
a ‘hey, i know that one, too’ moment.

thanks, editors.

*though the cover’s implications
are potentially nausea-inducing for the
more mature generation.
oye.

swirlygirly

the prettiest name
i wrote this past week
was

Ava Ginsberg

so, if you’re pregnant
and need a brilliant
name for your child,
do consider
Ava Ginsberg.

although, you’ll have to check
with your husband to confirm that it’s okay
to drop your last name &
add ‘ginsberg’.

but i think it’ll be okay.
afterall, it writes so beautifully.

(longswoopy ‘a’ at the end of ava;
nothing’s more graceful than a capital ‘g’,
the transition from the ’s’ to the ‘b’, very nice;
and that extra ‘g’ to play with at the end,
altogether lovely.

and it’s stellar in uppercase
and lowercase,
to boot.
now, that’s rare.)

ps – ‘jack floyd’ is a close second.
long j, long f, long y, prolonged-end to the d.
cool and modern and masculine.

2 Sisters Birthday Gift Messenger Service:
from our house to your concierge,
not necessarily quickly.

i suggested orange or apple,
she insisted on lime.
limelimelime.

lego.com is #1 with us.
(mars mission CrystAlien conflict +
brick buster are our favorites.
i’m not kidding -
cory can’t seem to beat henry at brick buster,
he keeps tripping over the bricks.)

forgetful fairy

the nutshell:
we owe nathan big time.

the bit:
saturday afternoon,
henry’s loose tooth fell out
with the first bite into his apple.

that’s classic, his brother muttered,
nodding his head in admiration.

we all cheered,
and in truetoform cates-style,
h promptly went to find a ziploc
and secure said tooth.
(we should buy stock in ziploc)

it was a fun sat. night,
a late night,
and before we know it,
it’s sunday morning.

and there stood henry.
bleary-eyed and waiting by
the side of our bed,
holding
the
tooth-in-a-baggie.

cory & i,
similarly bleary-eyed and
instantly Very Guilty,
mumble something forgettable
as we scramble to
sit up, assess the situation &
think! baby, think!

and nathan totally saves us.

he was right on henry’s heels
and instantly offered this
gem,
‘oh, henry,
i think the tooth fairy only
comes on school nights.‘

and henry was
visibly relieved,
instantly satisfied,
and trotted off
to put the tooth back
under his pillow.

whew;
spared by the instant wit
of a 3rd grader.

author’s note:
the tooth fairy does indeed
come on school nights and
henry was happy to find is
dollar bill this morning.

although he somehow managed
to lose the tooth and all the
TF could find was an empty ziploc.

ewwwwww.

juvenile presidential endorsement

nathan is throwing his
full political weight
(that of an 8 yr old, non-voter)
behind
mayor bloomberg.

his motivation?

gray’s papaya has posted a sign
promising free hotdogs to all
new yorkers on inauguration day
if bloomberg wins,
thus securing nathan’s
unwavering allegiance.

weenies for all

ps – cory might have reminded him
that it’s difficult to elect
someone who is not actually running.

saturday night fever

one of my favorite things about
playing poker this way is that when
anyone runs low/out of chips,
whoever has the most cheerfully
hands over a stack or two
and
we
continue
on.
and on.
and on.

cory, jim, jules, chris, greg, merritt & nathan,
our newest inductee

ps – the hand we played
face-up was helpful, t00.

weekend whatnot

happy 2nd birthday, lydia

she can bring home the ground turkey,
(ba-na-na-na)
fry it up in a pan,
(ba-na-na-na).…
and all of this with a little girl
hanging on her neck,
cause she’s a woooooooman

madeleine enjoys having
the full-on-attention of
multiple moms.
milk it, sweetpea.

thank you, b, for tediously
washing all of the oranges with
hand soap. so helpful.

webster

tonight, henry has asked me to define:
-’peer’
-’optimism’
-’evo’ (long e)

the first two i could handle.

i sorta crinkled my eyebrows on the third,
repeated it a few times (he confirmed it),
and left it at that.

?

cory & nathan are at the knicks game tonight;
superfun.

phew, it’s friday

hang on,
it’s a quick ride:

1. mandarin lessons for your toddler?
one of our neighbors (henry’s classmate’s mom)
runs this cool program that meets at rutgers (73/bway)
the mandarin treehouse

2. alphabet chart
for the design-saavy toddler
(or non-toddler, very cool).

3. new york is a lot of work;
yes it is,
and they’ll sell you $1 bills
that say so.

4. paper doll houses.
this japanese website lets you print out
copies of little buildings + all of the tiny
things that go in them and make your
own very cool doll house grocery stores, etc.
bring your tiniest scissors &
come join us at the kitchen table.

5. save yourself the effort
of actually rolling over.
wall-mounted alarm clock

6. elevator at the louvre:
i remember coming home from our paris
trip and talking with ryan h, our esteemed
architect friend, that the only time it is
seriously cool to be a parent is getting to use the
elevator at the louvre. (stroller access;
we had 8-wk old betsy with us)
and someone was smart enough to take a video

7. pacman sweet tooth.
don’t you worry, we’re still partial to pacxon,
but henry loves a good ms. pacman now and then.

hello, grandma

dear grandma,

we hope you’re having a lovely week.
it looks like your weather in kansas
is going to warm up a bit by the weekend.

thank you for faithfully praying for us,
for our family,
for our church + community here in new york.

i took this photo at fellowship group tonight;
they all say, ‘hello, grandma freiheit.’

we’re all grateful for your prayers.

with love,
kj, c + crew

ps – wish you were here:
we studied job 13-14.
charis & ryan made creamy pesto pasta for dinner
and lisa made chocolate-coconut pie for dessert.

suffering + sweets;
a comforting combination.

freecycle

as wendy so aptly put it,
new york is the ultimate freecycle.

walking down the street,
rounding any corner,
treasure awaits.

hank & caroline help haul today’s find:

waiting for the bleachwater to dry,
with visions of playtime dancing in her head:

serious score! on this one

boysville

while watching a particularly
intense battle scene in
star wars 2: attack of the clones,
my 8 yr old chuckled,

‘you’d think they’d have a more
professional ship for their leader.
i mean, he’s riding on a minispeeder thing.
he’s pretty vulnerable, man.’

my thoughts exactly.

we built some pretty cool
lego ships today.
my forte is building the custom
landing-pads for their
way-out-there ship creations.

ps – the love family is so handsome.
thanks for letting me be a part of
this cool collage, cjl.
she had me write psalm 116:7
[be at rest once more, o my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you]
love it.

pps – when sara gave me this cool bag a year or two ago,
i had no idea how much i would use it.
it’s my citywrites-schlep-to-the-post-office bag.
whew; thanks, s.

fifty-nine

fifty-nine forms of temptation
(read: gum) at the local newsstand.

how much can a girl endure?

can you believe they seriously stock
fifty-nine different kinds of gum?
i mean, why should you have to settle
for your second favorite?

remind me again if sarcasm comes across online?

ps – daddysfunkylunchfare strikes again

animoto, baby

we’re a wee bit addicted to this
friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend’s start up,
animoto

thanks, rgn, for the heads up.

here’s the lowtech way i’ve figured
out to embed the movies we’ve made.
(well, being lowtech,
i actually haven‘t embeded them,
but anyway)

cory

nathan

henry

caroline

betsy

now, we want to see your movies.

ps – here’s the one cory made for me.
the content of this publication does not reflect
the views or policies of ‘kj the dj’:
kj’s unauthorized movie

pps – these movies give us that
last-night-of-kamp or
wedding-rehearsal-dinner
feeling.

fighting oppression in its various forms

at lunch, we were talking about
fighting oppression in general,
mlk jr. in specific.

the boys were giving the girls
a mini-tutorial on his life and why
it is important to look out for
oppression today.

then henry really hit one home
with this example:

one time when i
found a quarter
in our classroom,
i gave it to my friend
because he has a
peanut allergy.

?

also, when we were naming
other people who
1. fought oppression
and
2. were known for ‘non-violence’
(henry’s term)

nathan listed ‘jfk’ &
‘abraham lincoln’
before henry got to
‘God!’

(i was aiming at jc;
we almost made it)

ps – it doesn’t matter how many times
i’ve read this book,
i cannot get even halfway
through ruby bridges
without sobbing.

h & c are prodding,
“come on, mom,
keep reading“
and my shoulders are shaking
and i’m trying not to let on…
seriouspropstoyou,rubyb.

and i really like this version
of the r.b. story;
stacy wisely gave it us one year;
she always knows what we’re going
to need before we know we need it.

pps – on a different significant ‘oppression’ note,
a verse i memorized my sophomore year of college:

‘i run in the paths of your commands
for you have set my heart free.’
ps 119:32

unintentional flush

that’s right,
the best hand last night
in texas hold ‘em
was carrie’s
unintentional flush.

‘guys, i promise the flush was an accident’
she thought she had a pair
or something low-ish on the
winning-hand-totem-pole

rock on, cjl;
you cleaned house.

cory cavin’s parent’s neighbor’s
cheesyblackbeany dip
was a massive hit +
merritt’s fondue
(con grand marnier)
ole indeed!

and it’s evidently brother’s wknd in nyc:
pete (compton) + jacob (cates) are here.
very nice.

jacob & chip,
j’s roommate @ annapolis.
one of my favorite things about jacob
is that no matter how late he’s out the
night before, he always makes it
(cheerfully, even) to the breakfast table.
impressive for a college boy on holiday.

merritt improvised a baked
fig + chevre + proscuitto bit

pre-bed pigtails

cory, jim, merritt, cory, pete & carrie

ps – did i mention that we were playing
our first game of settlers at 8:30am
this morning?
now that’s a way to start the Lord’s day.
after pancakes & scripture, of course.

pps – i think the second best hand last night
was my unintentional full house.
which i thought was two pairs.
i didn’t see the river…an ace.
2 7’s and 3 A’s.
smooth.
i think i came in second overall.

bragging is unbecoming, right?
so maybe i’ll omit the last paragraph.
or maybe i’ll accidentally forget to omit it.
one of the two.

sensitive chaps

nathan, looking up from his reading: every time i read this book, i cry.
kj: at what point?
n: when dobby, the house elf, dies.

awwwww.

which reminds me of his dad,
who tears up every time he sees
the natural.
(you know, the savoy special)

downward spiral

cory usually does such a tender
job singing to the girls
while tucking them into bed.

he often leads off with,
‘jesus, you’re my firm foundation’
and then sings
‘i am yours, you are mine’
in his earnest, melodic-ish baritone.

two nights ago,
i about choked.

the lights went off,
there was the normal little chatter
between the girls and their daddy,
and then i heard
it.

‘i know a weenie man
he owns a weenie stand
he sells most everything
from hotdogs on down.
someday i’ll change his life
i’ll be his weenie wife
hotdog! i love that weenie maaaaaaaan’

?!
our old kamp song?!

okay, i kept breathing when
he followed it up with soothing,
true songs about jesus.

but tonight,
he struck again.

‘wellllll, iiiiiiii (uh ho – i knew what was coming)
walked around the corner
and i walked around the block
and i walked right up to the donut shop
and i picked up a donut
and i licked off the grease
and i handed the lady a five cent piece.

welllllll, sheeeeeeee
looked at the nickel
and she looked at me
and she said, ‘this nickel is no good to me,
there’s a hole in the middle and it goes right thru’
‘well, lady, there’s a hole in the donut, too!’

thanks for the donut,
you bet!’

oye.

what’s tomorrow night?
99 bottles of….?
miss susie had a steamboat…?

week in review

dude, if betsy’s not riding
these two will gladly hop on.
they find no shame in that.

out of the corner of my eye,
i notice that something is dripping onto
the back of the chair.

i’m feeling the ceiling,
looking quickly around
for some sort of water leak from upstairs.
i check the cord on top of the lamp.
i see that it’s still dripping out the bottom.
i lean over and look up into the lamp
to see what on earth could be going on?

two ice cubes.

perched in the intricate (but plastic)
inner structure
of the lamp frame.

henry?!
mom, they’re melting!
it’s an experiment!

the princess bride arranges the guests at her wedding

henry gives lisa some nametags

nathan’s cubscout pack
made these handydandy
first aid kits on monday.
i like the big felt cross on top.
v. cool + helpful.

sometimes by 9am we’ve already
ridden 3 rounds on this guy.
weloveyou,bob

friday diversion

…
a barn seems like an entirely
appropriate second home
in my opinion,
esp. as i represent a family of six.
stunning transformation: barn home in upstate ny

…
cheeky mr. jobs literally pulled this one
out of a manila envelope:
macbook air

…
i know this feeling:

…
snuggle up with homeland security:
available here

…

s’mac
the mac & cheese restaurant
i heard of from carrie.
race you there

…
i like this take on the city
(and any of you who live 30+ floor
above ground actually have a similar view):

…
the left bank look:
has anyone seen this yet?

west wing spoiler

[we just started season 6]

that’s right,
cj cregg got the job

i had chills.
cory and i were
grinning from
ear to ear.

way to go, cj

we still miss sam.

and what’s up with kristen c?

i’m not sure i’m digging the
casting on this one.
she’s like a wanna-be ainsley hayes.
only not so much.

we hope ainsley comes back.

girl trouble

betsy just realized that the
newsstands on every corner
have that magical substance:
gum.

now we’re never going to get anywhere.
leapfrogging from corner to corner,
‘gum!gum!gum!’

we’re heading for home,
but b is heading for the newsstand.

caroline’s cookie sadness

also starring:
cory at the stove
and
cynthia, lisa & meghan in the background

i found this endearing today:
i reached my hand in to clear out cory’s
coat pocket before popping it in the wash
and the treasure i found?

hairbows.
discarded during last saturday’s outing.

copycat, i wish

someone stylish was carrying this
bag at mom’s group today

and i was reminded of the verse
about not envying.
it might even be a commandment. oye.

she had it in ‘pond’ and it was
hothothot
see it here

and on an easier-to-copy level,
hannah shared this gum with us
in church last week.

‘ 5 ‘ sugarless gum in cobalt flavor
sexy little packaging (which this photo doesn’t show)
mintysmooth taste,
but i don’t know if i’d go
as far as this…

scouts honor

i am seriously trying
to get my christmas
new year’s cards out
the door.

nice + timely, eh?

surprise?

did you get me a vespa?
or a weed eater?

i think someone got me a christmas gift
but forgot to give it to me.

because i received the most
unusual package in the mail.
from a distributor in washington,
addressed to me…

and you know what’s in it?

5 packs of 2-cycle engine lubricant.

so, part of the cat is out of the bag.

i’ll be looking on my front doorstep
for that lemonyellow vespa with a
big red bow
that you are giving me for christmas.

don’t worry,
i’ll act surprised.

?!

ps – is anyone missing any
engine lubricant?
i may be selling some.
cheap.

sunday shenanigans

?

and
happy birthday, hisaya

betsyboo, justin owes you an apology for this picture.

shakeitupbabynow

that’s right,
last night we saw
the beatles
at carnegie hall.

or at least a band that
impersonates the beatles
for a living.

‘1964, the tribute‘

vip box seats, baby.
thanks to jim’s client.
seriously, what a blast

and watching women-of-a-certain-age
Rock Out
was a sight to behold.
they were Happy. So Happy.
reliving their youth, perhaps.

this is us in our posh seats looking
down on the stage. sweet.

you will never believe
i took that photo myself.

thanks, jim & merritt;
i will be twistingandshouting all week.

thanks, ashley & daniel, for holding down the fort here.

and definately check out a+d’s beautiful wedding album;
michael, justin, patrick & cory are groomsmen.
very handsome groomsmen, if i may.

a saturday shower, of the pinkfrilly variety

hooray for baby anderson

it was lovely to meet paula’s
friends & colleagues
and to celebrate baby a’s
impending arrival.

thank you, brittany & diane,
for all of your hard work.

apts. 1, 2, + 3 showering apt 4;
a 255 w 70 celebration, indeed.

wknd odds & ends

can you see the mini-chandelier
bebe sent us? she knows how to
crack
us
up.

perspective please:
caroline has been infatuated with this dress
from the moment i opened the ebay pkg.
[i think it's the ruffled neckline]

is it:
1. a ‘dress up costume’
i let her wear here at home &
twirl around in

or

2. acceptable as a dress
for church & the like?
(it’s tiny pink & white stripes, which the photo doesn’t show)

7:31am, legos + tutus on the breakfast table

ps – yay for muffincamp.com
(muffin is bebe’s sister-in-law)

pps – what an encouragement, morv.
‘talking your kids up’

pretend you’re working

fantastic logo;
i wonder if they actually used it?

raise your hand if you think he
had been drinking for quite a while
before coming up with this one?
was the mouse running around his glass?

“non-lethal mouse trap:

‘mouse in a pint’ is a beer glass upside down.
it has a bread stick attached to a spring,
tilting the glass so the mouse can get in.
once the breadstick is being nibbled,
it breaks and the glass collapses,
keeping the mouse inside.
sold with pint glass, spring and bread sticks.”

buy it here for $20, no kidding

a favorite website:
remodelista.com

1. v. cool that our kitchen faucet made it
to #2 on the ten easy pieces bit,
though i did not pay that price

2. i have mentally moved in to
francesca’s house.
oye, the beauty!

also, do you understand how happy my household is?
Lisa’s Here.
she’s here

and, morven’s here:
(which is very exciting to us, too)

recap

today:

nathan wrote an opinion paper discouraging
the use of animal fur in fashion.

henry wrote a ’special paper’ that he wanted me
to ’save’ that says:
“don’t say that God is stinky
because he isn’t
and he doesn’t like that”

caroline had to wear this quite ridiculous
pink-and-white-striped-with-massive-ruffles
dress i got on ebay (it looked cute in the photo, whoops)
because she felt ‘fancy’.
rather hideous.

and betsy is very, very glad that lisa brown is in town.
lisa lisa lisa!
snuggle city with lisa today.
(and 2.5 more weeks to look forward to)

there, i just had to share.
since cory is out of town
hurry home, amor
i needed to share my day with someone.
sorry.
i mean, lucky you.

sleep tight,
kj

ps – henry’s already in my bed.
and i’m sure caroline will ride the
daddy’s-gone-there’s-room-in-mom’s-bed
gravy train before morning, as well.

but you know i like it.
i’d much rather sleep with
bumpytossandturny body heat
than just be missing cjc.

sloshy golashes kind of day

this is a day that screams for
the shrek soundtrack.

the girls have their princess dresses on,
i have the front windows & back doors open
and ‘best years of our lives‘
is playing right this moment.

simply brilliant office
by martha stewart paints:

ps – if you haven’t seen ‘lost‘,
this could be your lucky day.
abc has posted all of
seasons 1, 2 and 3
on their website.
(no more waiting for netflix, jrt)

flashback

while we were in scotland,
the boys read scripture
at redeemer’s ‘lessons & carols’ service

reader #3 . henry
reader #5 . nathan

thanks, mom & dad
(aka. grammy & papa)

lil’ louisa

. louisa blackburn brown .

paige & reagan had a girl!

benton, you lucky big brother;
she’ll be the best ball player around,
thanks to your mad skills.

and

jane & james had a boy!

.  james swift hutcheson .

what else are you not telling me?

glenn close is on the west wing?
we’ve just hit season 5 disc 5
and
there
is
the
goddess.

(cory says she’s ‘classy’ but i think
that’s just because he’s embarassed
to call her ’sexy’  in front of me)

okay, what else is coming up?
i can’t take heart attacks like this.
(in a good way)

sunshiny day

the sunshine + jacket-less nature of today
just might carry us thru till
spring actually arrives.

bravo
(+ polite tennis clap)

the boys’ first sewing lesson
produced a hat (nathan),
a sailing flag (henry),
actual flags for the stripey wall in their room (moi),
+
a very satisfied feeling in my
heart about these enlightened
young males i call my own.

way to go, guys.

ps – could you really eat this
soup with the little pleading
panda eyes staring at you?

pps – nathan thought the lesson
would come in handy on camping
trips, you know, if someone is hurt
and needs emergency stitches.
?
i say he needs a few more lessons,
but applaud his courage.

aunt polly waxes eloquent

from last night’s reading of tom sawyer:

’she was so overcome by the splendour
of his achievement that she took him
into the closet and selected a choice apple,
and delivered it to him,
along with an improving lecture upon
the added value and flavour a treat
took to itself when it came without sin
through virtuous effort.

and while she closed with a happy
scriptural flourish,
he hooked a doughnut.’

we lost it.

and then we had to stop laughing
while nathan explained to henry
what was so funny.

which somehow made it funnier.

seriously

seriously?
seriously.

worship tonight was just
what the doctor ordered.

seeing hannah
(she & morven lived with us
one summer, sharing the bunk bed;
we sure do love those girls.
after a few years working at the hague,
she’s now teaching int’l law in colorado)
and chris and justin here at our place,
walking to church together,
seeing all of those special faces;
my heart was already full &
ready to worship.

and then tom hit us
one good thing after another:
heather b on violin +
that guy on the uillean pipes playing
o sacred head now wounded,
and we sang
arise, my soul arise,
the glory of the cross,
one thing i ask,
in christ alone,
before the throne

and prayed in unison:
almighty and most merciful father,
we have erred and strayed from
your ways like lost sheep.
we have followed too much
the devices and desires
of our own hearts.
we have left undone those things
which we ought not to have done
and we have done those things
which we ought not to have done
and there is no health in us.

but you, O Lord, have mercy upon us.
and grant, o most merciful father,
for Jesus’ sake,
that we may hereafter life a
godly, righteous, and joyful life,
to the glory of your holy name.
amen.’

then, during communion we sang
alas! and did my savior bleed
and
jesus, thy boundless love to me

tim preached from job 1:8-22
on the certainty of suffering.

at the end, he was talking about
satan’s lie to us,
“God doesn’t love you.“

and how that lie has sunk
so deeply into our hearts,
despite it being utterly untrue.

and that i need to believe
infallibly,
unstoppably
that the God of the universe
loves me.

and not just to believe it in my head
but to let it sink
deeply down into my heart
affecting everything in my life.

mmmmm.

what a night;
seriously.

rip van winkle

friday was a great day:
carrie, chris w, tom & daniel j,
dudley came to play with dash,
dinner with melissa & cade;
a really lovely ordinary day.

after i went to sleep that night,
it hit me.
fever, teeth-rattling chills,
almost instantly
in the middle of the night.

and i really don’t remember yesterday;
just hazy and
that the children and cory
were exceptionally gentle with me.

and then around 10am this morning,
pop
the fever broke &
clarity returned,
36 hrs later.

whew.
and thanks, cory;
way to fly solo yesterday.

ps – i said i was so glad to be
feeling better to which henry responded,
“of course the Lord healed you today,
it is the Lord’s day.”

duh.

a friday pause

kindly pause your productivity
for just a moment;
it is friday, you know.

is this multiple choice?

from ted.com::
(that clever + inspiring forum)
gever tulley: 5 dangerous things you should let your children do

high-design highchair::
stealth parenting awaits.
hey, is that a highchair? do you have kids?
who me, nooooo. it’s a clevermodernstool, silly.
scandanavian design people

help wanted::
cory and i have tried long and hard
to find a mac-compatible printer
that prints on cardstock.

will one of you geniuses
please tell me which one
actually works without smearing?

trajan!trajan!trajan!::
scary font tales

‘george & martha’::
carrie, caroline & i had a little
‘george & martha’ fest today &
we offer you our favorite story:

(imagine james marshall’s design-perfect
line drawings in your mind)

“the french lesson

george went to martha’s house for his french lesson.
‘bonjour, martha,’ said george.
‘bonjour, george,’ said martha.

george sat next to martha on the sofa.
‘how do you say, ‘give me a kiss’ in french?’ asked george.
‘you say, ‘voulez-vous m’embrasser?’ ‘ answered martha.

and that is just what george did.

‘tee-hee,’ said martha.
‘i knew you were going to do that.’ “

happy friday

homework::
go to youtube and type in
’sportscenter commercial’
and get a good belly laugh
[start with this one].

menagerie

pet-sitting is just our speed.

enjoying these perky animals for
just the right amount of time +
then returning them to vacation-relaxed owners =
priceless.

current residents include:
max (daichendt), hermit crab
edgar (mccormack), blue/black betta
dash (chang), yorkshire terrier

hours of fun for everyone

ps – do consider this an offer.
we’ll welcome most animals.

(the whitford’s lizard was a stretch
for me squeamish-wise, but the
kids were tres-enthused)

you know i can’t resist a ‘ps’, so

ps – don’t go outside today if it’s
not life & death. and if you have one of
those robbers-masks-stocking-hat things,
today is the day to set aside embarassment
and wear it;
it’s reading 18 degrees in the backyard.

pps – these words i had typed out
helped me thru make it thru 2007
and i’ve just reprinted
them anticipating additional mileage in 2008:

‘…we put our cause simply
into the Lord’s hands,
and keep steadily on the path of duty.’

thank you, mr. newton.

a quiet indulgence

today has been a feast of silence,
a day to breathe.

i find extended holidays
(off school, specifically)
with multiple young children
to be lovely and difficult
simultaneously?

love to be together
+
we all need a bit of space.

so cory took the girls to his
preschool at work today &
i have feasted on the quiet.

a cup of tea with brittany,
a quiet look at ephesians 2,
a clean house that has stayed that way
for several hours now,
a curled-up hour of writing in the kids’ books*,
and a lounge with mr. newton & his insightful words.

inhale.
exhale.

and now i’m excited to get
the boys from school &
take a trip with them
and then welcome the girls home
and let the joyful/chaotic noises
begin
again.

*stacy gave me the idea when nathan was little
of having a journal for each kiddo & writing in it on
their birth date each month, so nathan’s would be
the 30th of each month, theoretically.

so now i have 4 blank books
(i prefer the basic cachet sketch books,
8.5″ x 11″ hardcover)
that we use in lieu of proper baby books.
we keep little entries of
what they’re doing, writing, reading, eating,
funny (and unfunny) things that are coming out of
their mouths, writing samples, tracing their hands,
photos, ticket stubs and the like.

it’s my non-scrapbook scrapbook.

also, over the years,
my mom, cory’s mom & morven
have written several of the entries.

cory knows that in the event of a fire it’s:
1st = humans
2nd = these books
3rd = everything else is replaceable

drooling dog

i’m beginning to have a sort of
pavlovian repsonse to the sight
of cory in his
‘david palmer for president’* t shirt.

the other day, he tiled my kitchen
while wearing it.

and yesterday, he sauntered out
in it again and
proceeded to sand, stain + seal
our banister & top step.

my, my,
that’s a sexy shirt.

*remember those exciting first seasons of 24?
what a man, that david palmer.

now, we’ll have to find a ‘bartlet for america‘
one to replace this one with grout & stain
on it.

and the kids really took one for the team;
we had to eat at mcdonalds since our
kitchen was a
you’re-for-sure-going-to-get-stain-on-you zone.

happy new year, friends

ps – jenny’s review of this
amish baked oatmeal
made my stomach growl.
she makes it the night before &
pops it in the oven in the morning.
add blueberries, apples, peaches, raspberries;
whatever you have on hand.

cribs

an urban bachelor crib.

our cool friend greg’s apt;
the virtual tour.

see the triple bunk bed?
the fourth roommate makes a bed
on the floor. cheerfully, i’m told.

(yes, 4 guys in one room.
recent college grads;
i think they had more personal space
in their college dorm)

they use the 2nd bedroom as an office.
great idea; you can sleep in peace
or you can work in a room with the lights on.

ps – brittany’s eyes glazed over when she
was telling me how delicious this coffee is,
blue bottle coffee co.
so, since it’s almost $20 a pound,
i’ll settle for the french press tips.
[click on 'preparation']
we’ll try this tomorrow morning;
we’ve never stirred it +
we definately guess at the timing.

festivities

the boys return to school tomorrow,
sigh.
it was fun while it lasted.

christmas upstairs with the morgans;
when jane & caroline realized they had matching princess pj’s,
well, let’s just say they were pleased.

baby laura’s first christmas

a mancala lesson from mr. ted

the boys got to see theharlem wizards
at cory’s work party &
play sports games galore.

urban superheroes pick up things that have blown over.

christmas eve with ryan & paula
(baby anderson makes her debut soon);
they brought christmas crackers,
an english tradition that we will gladly embrace from now on;
the kids have asked for them every day since.
the hats!the toys!the treasure!

we had the playgrounds to ourselves many afternoons;
quite a treat, in our book.

elena & max the hermit crab

reading with greg

jane & caroline partyhardy on new year’s eve

chef cory’s new year’s breakfast

counting down to 8pm
with the morgans
(midnight in italy, perhaps?)