desk building 101

gathering supplies in the workroom

she had to keep the screw
hanging loose in her lips
just like dad.

a little white paint,
henry’s white board mounted
next to it +
we’re in business.

laminator fun

the kids drew pictures +
made their own
summer placemats.

we love us some laminator-action.

denver or bust

we love you, charis/ryan/ahna,
oh yes we do,
we love you, charis/ryan/ahna,
’tis true…

(note to other partygoers:
kindly send me any of your good photos;
i ended up with
all of the superfluous photos +
none of the guests of honor.
where was my brain?)

we sure had a great time
celebrating with you guys tonight;
we’re going to miss you like crazy,
but the cates’ fam is lucky
since we’ll see you
every time we hit colorado.

lisa + betsy
(we let the boys take the umbrellas
and walk to church in the deluge
while we grabbed a taxi. whew.)

and then raced home for a fun
dessert-farewell for our
colorado-bound trio.

we made some fun luggage tags
for their suitcases
(with their new colorado address)
sniff. sniff.

the silver-dotty stack on the right:
laminated cards with
c + r’s new contact info
as party favors.

i drew a skyline with a little yellow taxi
racing away + towards the mountains
on the right.
but caroline said my mountains
looked like castles.
oh, well.

(i blurred their info so you can’t call them.
or write them.
i’m sure they get too much fan mail as it is.)

baking pavlova. mmmmm;
grateful for paula’s tutoring,
we doubled the recipe and
blew thru two of these babies.

(we used the barefoot contessa recipe +
i will certainly use it again.
super delicious.)

cooking the berry syrup for
the top of the pavlova;
with just a spot of rum.
(pronounced like when
mary poppins says, ‘rrrrrrum punch’)

pavlova 101:
-bake the meringue disk
-invert and top it with
sweetened whip cream +
triple berry sauce
-serve with extra sauce

back yard prep
(too bad it rained)

cory + baby jane,
ryan + baby ahna

we miss you, sweet eloise cate.
wish you were here,
especially tonight.
kisses to you, lovey.

always grateful for the girls
who leave me with a sparkling kitchen.
tonight’s precious crew: kim, lisa, jules + kristie

um, noooo

things fairway does not carry.
(read: too lowbrow for them)

1. sloppy joe sauce.
’sloppy what?!’
‘hey, albert, do we carry sloppy joes?’
(in an incredulous tone)
‘um, no, ma’am‘

so my friend, merritt, brought me
3 treasured packets from the bronx;
they evidently do make
sloppy joes in the bronx.

2. buckets of ice cream.
you know, those big buckets
of cheap ice cream
with the plastic handle
to carry them?
(to make ice cream floats
@ the farewell party)

um, no.

(evidently, they’d prefer if i purchase
10 of the 2 oz. for $5.49 ea.
hand-stirred,
free range,
eau de vanilla
gelatosorbetextravaganza;
that’s not exactly
what i’m looking for here.)

summer lovin’

our idea of a fun time tonight =
cory’s favorite pizza place (68/columbus) +
magnolia bakery +
‘the happening’

(can i say i ’saw’ the movie
if i had my hands over my
eyes 80% of the time?
for the record,
that is not my kind of show)

thanks to lisa, jules, faithy + justin
for holding down the happy fort over here.

at one point in the evening,
we were talking thru some
end-of-year evaluations and
cory was pointing out some
of nathan’s strengths,
and i asked a trivial question
about what kind of professions
those would suit

and cory quipped,
‘finance. physics. and gambling.’

thanks, bud;
you really know how to put
a girl’s mind to rest.

mr. photogenic takes the night off

caroline saw my headband
and said,
‘mommy! did you get a headband
just like mine?’

i didn’t think i’d be asking
to borrow her stuff this young.
(she’s 3. i’m 34.)

formative texts

four texts that are shaping my summer:

1. our daily schedule.
the basic every-day-for-the-next-9-wks framework.

2. te deum laudumus.
something new in our morning devotions.
why had i never seen this before?
captivating.
beautiful.

3. for the children’s sake,
by susan schaeffer macaulay

4. when children love to learn,
edited by elaine cooper

a jumper

oops.

i didn’t think about the
possibility that the fish
could jump.

and then there were
two.

we’re a movin’ on up

end-of-year thank you letters
to the boys’ teachers;
admit it, you thought that was nathan’s writing, right?
he might be able to beat his daddy
in a write-off.
sorry, cor.
the letters themselves are awesome, though.

final flowers for beloved teachers
(see the woman’s sweater as an anti-rain shield?)

i’m feeling nostalgic about henry’s
kindergarten year coming to a close;
this may be the very last time it’s required
to hold your line-partner’s hand
as you walk in to class.
awwwww.

henry + harry = ‘first best friends’
(harry’s term. i love it)

see you after work, daddy.

end-of-school
special trip:
luckily, we landed the subway car with
all of the energy-efficient tips +
nathan has been bombarding me with them
all afternoon.

hip-hip-hooray-trip
to toys-r-us times sq
for the newly minted
1st + 4th graders.

later in the afternoon,
when henry’s teachers had finished all of
the classroom cleanup,
they gifted us with the remainder
of the classroom art bounty.

i guess sometimes it pays to live,
oh, about 40 steps from the school.

you should’ve seen henry’s eyes;
christmas came early, baby.

i wonder if his sweet teachers felt guilty
that we’re hosting the 3 class fish
over the summer;
we’ve got our fingers crossed
they they’re hearty little mortals.

honeybaby

overheard:

c: henry, want to play what we played last time?
where you’re the ‘dad’ and i’m your ‘honey?’

‘u-haul chic’

that’s what cory called
our new duvet.

‘moving van fabulous’

close-up action shot:
grey stripey

(mk ‘jet set’;
see the grey one on the bottom?)

the longwinded version:

well, i looked forever
(read: 6 months)
for the right duvet
after cory gave me
a gift cert. as a christmas gift
and gently suggested that
i might want to replace
our white one
(well, it started out pure white…).

and of course i thought,
‘dude,
if he noticed,
it must really be time for a change’

the tricky trick: it had to be just right
to work with the cole + sons
crazydaisy ‘rajapur’ wallpaper
i adore.
(and hung in 3 rooms of our house;
too much can be a good thing
in my book)

i must say,
after the first night’s snuggle
under said moving blanket,
cory was sold +
gave me sweet compliments.

whew.

romantical evening under the stars

two thumbs up for
‘hamlet’ in central park.

best overall:
sam waterston as a doddering-hilarious polonius

best costuming:
ophelia’s hair
(lauren ambrose’s vivid now-waist-length
curly red hair)

worst costuming:
ophelia’s shoes
(pink plastic wedges?
i kept waiting for them to fall apart mid-stride)

my favorite part of the evening:
cjc.

the less-than-favorable new yorker review.

ps – yes, cor, i know ‘romantical’ isn’t a word.
that’s why it’s funny.

dancing badly with great cheer

i’d totally dance with matt.

remember the original:

and now:

with milk, no sugar

anthony lane wrote a review of ‘wanted’
in this week’s new yorker.

i read the article opening twice,
i liked it so much.

‘what is it like being Timur Bekmambetov?
No artist should be confused too closely with his creations,
but anybody who sits through “Wanted,”
Bekmambetov’s new movie, will be tempted to wonder
if the life style of the characters might not reflect
or rub off on that of the director.

How, for example, does he make a cup of coffee?
My best guess, based on the evidence of the film,
is that he tosses a handful of beans toward the ceiling,
shoots them individually into a fine powder,
leaves it hanging in the air, runs downstairs,
breaks open a fire hydrant with his head,
carefully directs the jet of water through
the window of his apartment, sets fire to the building,
then stands patiently with his mug amid the
blazing ruins to collect the precious percolated drops.

Don’t even think about a cappuccino.’

tgim

other moms of four
(or less, or more)
you know what i’m talking about.

that we-made-it-to-monday feeling
after the rollercoaster that is
‘the weekend with young children’.

rooftop farewell to the daichendts

operation: no diapers for betsy

photo credit: caroline

youth for christ/high school friends,
hannah + jennifer joined us for
cory’s sunday morning blueberry pancakes
in the middle of their nyc visit;
so good to catch up with you guys.

betsy hollers a thousand ‘bye, boys! bye, boys!’
as they take off;
it looks like we’re in jail.

she’s baaaack!
fresh from a year’s-stint in hawaii.
for good.
and she lives sooo close by
(read: bottom bunk)
hooray for lisa elaine marie brown
who handpicked + handcarried 2 pints of fresh blueberries
just to say ‘hello, new york!’.

henry’s ‘bible island’
(you have to be on a cushion)

we’re loving these glass markers.
now the french door windows say:
’sale today’
‘baby sisters — cheap!’
‘hurry! hurry!’
in the handwriting of 5 cuteyoung boys

(we might have had to windex off the
two panes that said, ’stupid’ baby sisters.
of course.
whoops;
a notsohonest mistake.)

guides us with his eye

i was soaking in j. newton’s words
in an unlikely spot this noon:
a chilly theatre @ 68th/bway +
where i literally was the only person in there +
waiting for ‘get smart’ to begin:

‘dear sir,

‘it is well for those who are duly sensible
of their own weakness + fallibility,
and of the difficulties with which they are
surrounded in life,
that the Lord has promised to
guide his people with his eye,
and to cause them to hear a word behind them saying,
‘this is the way, walk ye in it,‘
when they are in danger of turning aside
either to the right hand or to the left.

‘for this purpose, he has given us the written word
to be a lamp to our feet,
and encouraged us to pray for the
teaching of his holy spirit,
that we may rightly understand and apply it.

‘it is, however, too often seen,
that many widely deviate from the path of duty,
and commit gross and perplexing mistakes,
while they profess a sincere desire to know
the will of God,
and think they have his warrant + authority.

‘this must certainly be owing to misapplication
of the rule by which they judge,
since the rule itself is infallible,
and the promise is sure…’

john newton,
an utterance of the heart, p. 77

the word of God as part of the
‘cocktail of disciplines’ as tim said with a cheeky smile;
a prescription for life, indeed.

humble pie

sweet sermon on humility
last night by scott (sauls)

making a daily decision
to be unimpressed with yourself.

not thinking less of yourself,
but thinking of yourself less.
-c.s. lewis

and that the holy spirit’s job
is to make Christ ‘large’ to us,
to help us see him, to know him.

who’s ready for monday?
herewego.

school days, school days

we’re very thankful for a year full
of tlc from ms. hilsenrad + ms. mariano.

what a good year it has been;
just three days left
till summer.

the grown-up 3rd grader with ms. hilsenrad

little kindergartener + his adoring sister
with ms. marie + ms. mariano

mod camper + mod shack

this ain’t yo mama’s shack.
no offense to yo mama, of course.

now, these are the very definition
of ‘cool’ in my book.

camper 1:

camper 2:

the shack @ hinkle farm:

dinnertime cheekiness

fishs eddy up and
did
it
again.

brilliant floorplan dinnerwear:

and brooklyn-ese ‘cawfee’ service:

and our old favorites,
the republican/democrat cups:

i like to make sure i have an even number
of each of these so neither party will be offended.

and if you’ve seen the cups up close,
you know that there are people on each cup that
would make a party loyalist–um–squirm.

guest check platter:

mix a few of these in with
your same-ol’-same-ol’ white dinnerware +
voila.

the well-informed reading lists

tim, kathy + brent (bounds)
have posted their summer
reading lists on the
redeemer website.

get thyself to amazon.com,
make haste.

los libros

yes, virginia, there is a reading list.

one of my favorite parts of
colorado life is
our regular jaunts to my parents’
most-inviting local library
(a coffee shop in the front where
they encourage you to drink
while browsing the stacks?!).

remember:
when we’re camping in the rockies
most of august,
the kids are crashed out by 8pm
and i’m stuck lying quietly
in the dark with
my flashlight
and
these

terence conran strikes again*.
the garden plans +
bunk bed options
have my wheels spinning.

(yep, i broke down and bought it)

reflections on the bible:
human word + the word of god

conde naste traveler,
book of unforgettable journeys.
great writers on great places.

(for my vicarious summer travels)

if only i could toss them
all in one of these:

kate spade

barneys buckle tote

kate spade

orla kiley

givenchy

prada

marc jacobs

givenchy nightingale

i’ve always had a thing for patent leather.
even in the summer.

recommendations?
book rec’s, that is.

double-standard

my double standard, that is.
unashamedly so.

i detest when
real writers use
the word
‘amazing.’

as in, ‘it was amazing.’

now, i can use it.
of course.
i’m just playing with words,
i’m not really ‘writing.’

but Real Writers?
what a turn off.

their pride should get the best of them.
let’s think harder than ‘amazing:’
‘it was _______.’
it was lavish? it was astounding?
preposterous, bizarre, astonishing?

but ‘amazing’?
it just doesn’t do it for me.

so bummer that i’m on
page one
of one of my five
summer reads
and the nice-enough author
has gone and said something
is
‘amazing.’

an amazing bummer.

ps – i’m fine with ‘amazing grace’, though.
in case you were worried.

(not so) lucky

farewell words for a beloved fish

faux-apology

1. henry + caroline had a
little scuffle

2. after soothing caroline’s
ruffled feelings with a hug,
henry comes in to where we are
with a little slip of folded paper
and a
huge
huge
grin on his face.
a mischevious grin.

3. he offers caroline the ‘note’
and hugs her and julia, meghan, caroline + i,
caroline especially,
think it’s so sweet.

‘look, he’s written her an apology.
what a guy.’

4. she looks at the note,
smiles,
and hugs him back.
awwww.

note: she’s 3 + can’t actually read.
she certainly can’t read 5 yr old handwriting.

5. she and i walk to fairway to
do the grocery shopping,
she clutches the note tightly
throughout the whole trip.

6. after we’re home + have unpacked
the groceries,
i see the note lying on the table
and decide to enjoy the
apology up close.

so i open the note
and see:

“POO!!”

in 5 yr old scrawl.

you stinker.

child labor laws?
i think not.

playing the ’scrubby’ game
where i put foamy bathsoap
on the shower walls +
the three little kids
do all my work.

creepy-close

there are some times when the
close proximity
of life in the city
might be just a little,
well,
too close.

building site at 72/broadway:

see the cement truck on the right,
the building site on the left,
and can you hear the
rumble of
the chute full of concrete
running directly overhead
the pedestrian walkway?

‘come on, girls,
let’s walk quickly.’

and i mean
quickly.

dude,
don’t drip on us;
we’re just trying to
get to around the corner.

caroline’s song

overheard in high-falsetto-voice
while riding a bike
up and down the hallway:

‘you can dooooo
anything you want to doooo
as long as it’s what your
mom says.

dont’ disobey.
but you can go to state news*
and to the library.

whatever your mom sayyyyyys,
you dooooo.’

daddy’s famous raisin oatmeal

*favorite local toy store, 68th/amsterdam

restoring order

you’re laughing with me,
not at me,
right?

remember my genius desk-removal idea?
(i wanted to see if i could live without a desk
to convince cory that we could put an
upright piano in the spot where my desk was)

may 2008

as hard as i tried to make it work,
we ended up eating a few meals
like this because i couldn’t move
my citywrites projects.
nice.

as my mom gently put,
‘maybe you’re about as
streamlined as possible?’

well, the desk is back.

and i’m breathing easier.

and i think i’m even glad i did it
so i can’t keep fantasizing about
how it might work if i did it.

whew.

and we surely can find another spot
to be the futurehome of our futurepiano
(the craigslist-special)

june 2008

75 degrees + sunny, a brilliant tuesday

crazysleeperboy exhibit no. 1086:
that 5′1″ boy slept this way all night.
?

last week, two 4th grade art classes
were sitting out on the school wall
across the street from our house
with clipboards, charcoal + paper,
sketching our building.
v. cool.

we had a guest teacher for
starbucks school this morning, cjl.
hooray

the five of us got to watch
the school play, ‘the nightingale’
which was outstanding.
way to go

and my 3 yr old cbc barely
moved a muscle as the
mesmerizing hour flew by.

i dig the modern-disco aesthetic of the school auditorium;
see the gold chain-things on the ceiling?
groovy

admissions badges to nathan’s
art exhibit.
like the met, only not.

$1 entrance fee
(n pocketed a cool $4,
not bad at all)

explaining mediums + subject matter

art criticism 101 with your 5, 3, + 2 yr old siblings:
q. what is it?
q. why did you make that?
q. why did you make so many?

the artist maintained his composure +
acknowledged all questions honorably.

i love gigi cafe.
$12.90 to feed all 6 of us
succulent flank steak, broccoli,
green beans w/ almonds +
piping hot parmesan potatoes.

smackyourgramma-good,
as david h would say.

family traditions

i may be the only person who
doesn’t know much more about
ralph nader than his name +
that i can conjure an image of
what his face looks like.

that said,
the table of contents of
his book, seventeen traditions,
does intrigue me:

Introduction: The Landscape of My Boyhood
1. The Tradition of Listening
2. The Tradition of the Family Table
3. The Tradition of Health
4. The Tradition of History
5. The Tradition of Scarcity
6. The Tradition of Sibling Equality
7. The Tradition of Education and Argument
8. The Tradition of Discipline
9. The Tradition of Simple Enjoyments
10. The Tradition of Reciprocity
11. The Tradition of Independent thinking
12. The Tradition of Charity
13. The Tradition of Work
14. The Tradition of Business
15. The Tradition of Patriotism
16. The Tradition of Solitude
17. The Tradition of Civics

has anyone read it?
worth reading?

love me some laura linney

we’re devouring the
‘john adams’
series
that recently aired on hbo

wow.

have you guys seen it?
definately add it to your netflix que.

and to promote your summer-evening entertainment:
we have ‘house’ seasons 1, 2 + 3
as well as ‘long way round’*
on dvd for whoever wants to borrow them.

*a must-see.
a gift from m + j a while back.
we were so sad when we finished
the last disc.

**can you believe ewan + charlie
were still friends at the end of that?
that’s the best part,
in my opinion.
(and how much they loved their wives)

monday night musings

disclaimer:
cory is away at session tonight.
so the nightly debrief, ‘how was your day, love?’
will have to be done with you,
gentle reader

my day was quite good, thankyouverymuch.

a word about our afterschool trip:

to get to the strand,
we like to take the 2/3 to 14th st
(just 3 short stops from here)
and leisurely walk across to the east side.

during the west-east stroll today,
nathan wanted to talk about college.

as of now, he hopes to be a herpetologist
(think: reptiles + amphibians)
and is trying to work out whether
he can get full-time employment
in the field of his choice
or if it will have to be a hobby
(non-wage-earning).

hmmm.
legitimate question.

the strand was brilliant, as usual.
we came away with an interesting assortment
of boy books.
art spiegelman + rick riordan,
sir arthur conan doyle + fred gipson
(yes, we got ‘old yeller’;
five bucks says nathan cries.
just like his dad.
and mom.
and anyone with half a heart.)

we were caught in a deluge
at union square +
ducked into whole foods for shelter.
2 cookies + a pkg of fresh raspberries later,
we emerged into the sunshine
and sauntered on to madison square park.

we love catching a bit of afternoon
playtime with cory
(we’ll come to you, babe)
on session nights
since everyone will be asleep by the time
he gets home from church.

and the water was on (c + b).
and the tire swing was empty (all four).
and two of the four cried when we
finally had to leave.

a sweet day, indeed.

nathan’s gaining on kristie;
with helmet, they’re the same height.

ahna endured the non-a/c hotbox
that is the 5pm west side service
like a champ

three for the road:
we zoom to church now that we have
three on wheels.

coming out of hiding:
they book-it to the end of the block
and then ‘hide’ until we get there
and loudly pronounce them ‘lost’.

leftovers from b’s photo shoot on sat.
mmmm.

really?

really.
really really.

cory’s puzzled that i liked the movie,
mongol
so much.

in my eyes, thanks to the movie,
i now view genghis khan
as
a lover,
not a fighter.

though he did his fair share
of fighting,
it was, apparently, all for love.

love of his girl, borte,
and
a desire to see the mongols
transformed from a
revenge-avenge-revenge-avenge-ing mess
into a
functioning society.

i’ve heard that it’s to be a trilogy;
cool.

ordering the heart

are you walking around a bit
stunned
today like i am?

after tim’s sermon on
self-control
yesterday?

oye vey.

a few things that i can’t kick:

how he phrased paul’s words/intent
in saying,
‘i don’t want anyone to miss
the beauty of God
because of the way i live.’

that if we care only about ourselves =
we will have no self-control.

but if we care only about Christ =
we will be self-controlled.

that we’re to meditate on Christ,
who he is,
what he did,
until it becomes real to us.

that as christians,
we’re to be a disciplined as olympic athletes
in beating down/into submission
the things that distract us from
God and from
godly-living.

the cocktail of christian disciplines
that work together:
worship, singing, the Word,
prayer, communion, community,
forgiveness + reconciliation,
friendship, hospitality and
the holy spirit.
whew.

that the essence of self-control
is ordering the passions of the heart;
setting our heart on the
supreme and best thing.

and how after preaching thru 1 cor 9,
he pointed us to hebrews 12:1-3

1 therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,
and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

2 let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men,
so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

steamy saturday

henry helped mark the eagles’ team balls;
sometimes his lefthandedness combines with
his 5-yr-old-ness and he writes things
exactly backwards.

happy 6th, sweetest harry

last inning of the
last game of the season.
(eagles won)

photo credit: michelle jennings

mj photography

mj strikes again

trophytime

kim, joe + juliet
came to cheer nathan on;
chris, jules, jim, merritt, baby jane + carrie
were on hand as well.
thanks, friends.

c + h

cory + caroline trying to spash
merritt + carrie + henry
standing up on the shore
(see them up on the left?)

caroline + jim

now they’re trying to get me wet. nice try.

justin + i display our powerhouse hands (not);
anita tromped us all.

ps – do join us for
free kayaking
some weekend.

they’re open saturdays + sundays
and you just sign a waiver,
don a jacket +
voila!
they set you loose on the hudson.
(within parameters, of course)

71st + the hudson river
(in riverside park)
you’ll see the kayaks +
the little dock.

humble helen

serious props to the hunts
for this particular chapter
in ‘discovering jesus in exodus‘

ch 10 looks @ humility +
this verse in particular,
‘younger people, submit yourselves to your elders…
and be clothed with humility,
for God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.’
1 peter 5:5

mary + cassie are confused as to how
they can be ‘clothed’ with humility,
so they ask granny grace to explain it.

granny grace helps them draw
2 paper dolls on butcher paper.
the first is humble helen,
the second is proud patty.

granny told them to draw a heart on
their doll as she explains,
‘clothing ourselves with humility
begins on the inside.
proud patty’s heart is filled with herself.’

cassie wrote ’self’ on patty’s heart.

granny continued,
‘we cannot make our hearts humble.

when jesus gives us a new heart,
he frees us from slavery to sin so that
we can do what is good in His sight…

‘we must ask jesus to deliver us
from the sin of pride and
to give us humble hearts.
humble helen prayed that her heart would
be empty of herself and
filled with jesus.’

mary wrote ‘jesus’ on helen’s heart.

granny finishes with, ‘our behavior wil
show what is in our hearts.
when our hearts are filled with jesus,
he changes the way we act on the outside.
our actions are like clothes.
so let’s draw some clothes on our girls
to show what is in their hearts.
proud patty’s heart is full of herself,
so what kind of actions do you think
she will wear?’

you can guess the rest:
patty is clothed in selfish rags + pride
and
helen is clothed in humility, obedience,
love, kindness + topped with a teachable heart.

there’s something about this
analogy that is really resonating
with my kiddos.

the idea of our heart being
full of ’self’
or
emptied of self and
full of ‘christ’
and that
we can see what it is full of
by our actions
has been helpful to us,
esp. to henry.

he’s seeing kind actions and shouting out,
‘mom, mom! caroline’s clothed with kindness!’

which makes caroline beam
and my eyes fill with tears.

oh, to be filled with jesus
and emptied of self.

friday the 13th

we get disproportionately excited
when we see these guys

starbucks school

lucy’s laugh is magic

baby jane’s fan club

pack 664 ceremony:
see the light blue scarf?

ta-da!
fancy plaid =
bear no more,
that boy’s a webelo.

carving 101

two of my favorite points from
nathan’s knife safety class
in cub scouts:

1. the knife has no brain.
it will cut whatever it comes against.
it doesn’t know the difference between
a steak + your hand.

2. always know where your other hand is.
the hand holding the knife is not
the one that will get cut.

shushing myself

remember chap. 3,
of bonhoeffer’s life together,
‘the day alone’ ?

these snippets are rolling around
in my heart:

. dumbness does not create solitude
and chatter does not create fellowship.

. ’silence’ is the simple stillness of the
individual before the Word of God…
we are silent after hearing the Word
because the Word is still speaking and
dwelling within us.

. this stillness before the Word will exert
its influence upon the whold day.
if we have learned to be silent before the ord,
we shall also learn to manage our silence
and our speech during the day.

. the silence of the Christian is
listening silence, humble stillness,
that may be interrupted at any time for the
sake of humility.
it is silence in conjunction with the Word.

. where a family lives close together (hello!)
in a constricted space and the individual
does not have the quietness he needs,
regular times of quiet are absolutely necessary.
after a time of quiet,
we meet others in a different and a fresh way.
many a household fellowship will be
able to provide for the individual’s need to be alone,
and thus preserve the fellowship itself from injury,
only by adopting a regular order.

(that 3rd one carries major
instruction for me)

be still my soul,
indeed.

wet + wild

bootie blast

a sad sight on a hot day:
the broken-down mr. softee

hailstorm @ my aunt kat’s in kansas last night;
she said the storm was so loud + scary,
so she played the piano a bit
louder to drown it out.

love it.

happy 34th, mon ami

we sure do love you, cjc.

fg dinner in his honor:
nathan, henry, greg, bday boy, chris
ann-marie, felicia, david g,
joe, kim, shannon, david k,
jen, jules, sarah, nick + ami

can you say ceviche?
scrumptious couscous + berries +
rotisserie chicken + savory cheeses +
citarella pasta salad +
homemade strawberry shortcakes and
apple crostata to boot?
these friends rock @ potluck.
wish you were here.

important note:
the villagers won mafia;
greg + sarah were the mafioso
and david k + kim were the police.
oh, yeah.

internal exercises

this morning,
i’m thankful for
uncomfortable conversations
(on my part)
that yield good fruit +
more-comfortable conversations
(the next time).

we’ve been talking with n
about the tension
(war? exasperated struggle?
depends on the season)
between what you want to do
and what you actually do.

between what’s in your head
and what you actually say.

between what your friends would admire
and what is right.

and every time we talk about
these things,
it helps me.

welcome to the rest of your life, sweetheart;
these struggles only continue,
gaining complexity +
signifigance.

so press on, babe.
we’re in this together.

(during one mid-waterfight conversation,
cory said he ended up referencing naaman,
(2 kings 5ish)
how he made peace with what he was called to
and the fact that he chose to worship God +
do the right thing
regardless of circumstance)

some scriptures that are comforting
us along this vein:

create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
. psalm 51:10 .

trust in him at all times, o people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
. psalm 62:8 .

(during the school day,
during the work day,
during the work-at-home day)

set a guard over my mouth, o Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
. psalm 141:3 .

everything is permissible—but not everything is beneficial.
everything is permissible—but not everything is constructive.
. 1 corinthians 10:23 .

graduates

have i mentioned how
amazing
the west side mother’s groups are?

over 100 families +
and gobs and gobs of precious children
involved
in this awesome thing called
‘mom’s group’

2 groups on mondays, 2 groups on wednesdays,
80th/bway + 92/amst,
so much work +
so much prayer =
truly a place where Christ is experienced
in his presence and his power.

so, tonight these dedicated leaders
schlepped over for 2.5 hrs of
new leader’s study training.

and they rocked it.

2 girls already asleep downstairs +
2 boys playing with cory =
i think this just might work out

between all of us,
how many times have we made
that barefoot contessa choc. ganache cake?!
a zillion.

the newly minted graduates
(minus angel chris w. who had to leave early):

patti, tanya, jenni, julie, wendy, ami, ashley, betsy + winnie;
have no fear,
your leaders are here.

press on, girls;
we’re rooting for you.

ps – wanna join the chaos fun?
we resume meeting in mid-sept.
email me for info.
seriously.

file under ‘misc’

the girl loves her some loehmann’s

it was bound to happen;
nathan is officially taller than ms. maggie,
who has taken taught him at church since birth.

chillin’ with trey;
caroline is still figuring out the peace sign.

we thought we’d give the plants
a little loving in the
thousand-degree direct sunlight.

melissa’s handwriting!!
you don’t know how happy
it made me to see her
dainty penmanship on
this carepackage from london.

does it get any cuter?!
two adorable, proper little shirts +
the dantiest rosebud nightgown
that looks straight out of a jane austen novel.
we’re in love.
thanks, m. triple-yay for finding a flat! love you.

(can you see the shirts are
pink-on-pink dot? supercute)

3pm bathplaytime.
when the going gets hot,
the hot hit the tub.

post-bath dancing where we rush the couch @ the end of each round

three hours max

it was so hot today
(how hot was it)
it was so hot today
that the school cancelled
henry’s field trip
to the bronx zoo.
(serious bummer
but a wise decision)

the girls + i went to the playground
from 9am-10:30am,
came home
and went back out
with the boys, waterguns + swimsuits
from 5-6:30pm.

that’s it.

i don’t know about the rest of you,
but i think our brains are baked.
fried.
melted.

sleep well,
’cause tomorrow’s a comin’.

june bounty

boy, am i glad for the month of june
because about a thousand of you
chose to be born
during this glorious month.

serious bday shouts out to
cory,
his lovely mom, barb,
tom j, cayley,
my uncle steve,
courtenay, elena,
carrie j love,
aunt linda + clancey, jack r,
sara h, clara h,
caleb f, harry, samantha, bradley,
connor, jennifer ross tompkins,
libby, emma, adam k, meredith cutie,
will haas + abby taylor
just to name a few
off the top of my head.

and then another good batch of you
got that lovin’ feeling
in june, as well:

anita + justin (feels like yesterday),
pancho + kristi (cory crashed the party),
peter + linda,
kat + corey (outdoors!),
brad + sheri (on the actual day cory was born),
abe + jordyn,
jenny + chris (daphne’s song still gives me chills),
tuck + stacy (and you still act like newlyweds),
charis + ryan (dancing the night away)
and
clancey + chelsea.

and more of you that i can’t
even remember at this
exact moment
(but you can let me know).

congratulations,
happy birthday
and
here’s lookin’ at you, kids.

make jordan’s party hats for yourself

candlelight sobs

girls asleep, check.
boys asleep, check.
cory asleep, check.
(he snuggled up at 8:28pm,
not feeling so hot.
hasta manana, mi amor)

seizing the uber-quiet moment,
i finished a few orders,
knocked out some paperwork and
family schedule details +

i should’ve gone to bed then.

but i didn’t.

and i stumbled on a story
that has had me
sobbing
for the last hour.

don’t go here unless
you’re prepared to
have your heart ripped out.

[nutshell:
his wife delivered their first baby,
a girl, in late march.
and died the next day.
and it's on coping + raising this sweet baby,
who weighed around 3lbs at delivery]

okay, now i’ll sleep,
but with a heavy heart.

ps – but remembering that scott + katie
(my little brother + sister-in-law)
are making their way back around to
this side of the world
for good
makes my heart much
less heavy.

they’ve left kyoto +
are sunning it up with
beth + andy (katie’s sister)
in oahu;
nice.

andy, scott + beth
(mental picture: sweet pregnant katie
tucked up in the boat
not feeling the deep-sea-already-nauseated love;
she’s such a sport to even go, though)

heat wave whatnot

i think i’m delirious,
so in no particular order:

1. i’ve never seen an
episode of the show,
but i did have a great time
seeing youknowwhat movie
on opening weekend with
rachel, patricia + holly.

and i have
Never In My Life
seen people dressed
the way they were
last sunday night
at the 68th/bway theatre.

they were tricked out.
hoochiemama dresses + 4″ heels.

2. on the way home from the ballet* today,
we stopped for snapple + hot dogs
on a random corner between here +
lincoln center.

as we’re sauntering off,
dogs in hand,
henry tips his head and says,

“i think it sounds gross because
it has the word, ‘crap’ in it,
so that’s why i don’t want any
’sourcrap’
on my hotdog.”

um, it’s sauerkraut, honey,
sauerkraut.

3. 8:30am baseball game this morning,
seems like we got the best slot
on a heat-advisory day.

we lost.
but played hard.

4. we’re off to celebrate carrie’s bday
on the great lawn.

if you don’t hear from us,
we’ve passed out from
heat exhaustion;
send help.

*it was a ‘ballet for young people‘
@ the nyc ballet
featuring jerome robbins choreography
and it rocked.

thank you, brother.

favorite auntie

i’m working on it.

i got to snuggle both
sweetpea ahna + sweetpea jane
in one 24 hr period =
i am the luckiest girl alive.

look at that ahna leigh

the ryan smith family
(sounds cool, eh?!)
look at her eyes…ohmy.

angel jane sleeping up a storm.
6 wks old already.

i’m going to have to stop writing now
because my eyes are full of tears.
happy tears*.

we knew charis + merritt long before
we knew ryan + jim.

the Lord is faithful.

now our girls are happily married wives
with newborn girls in their arms.
un.believe.able to me.
it feels like yesterday…

love you six very much.

ps – melissa + cade,
we think about you
constantly.
you’re almost there;
we’re praying.

*and a teeny bit sad.
have i mentioned anything
about the smiths + denver?
not now.
i can’t take it.

hello, baby j

oh, hooray for the norwood fam.

lee + betsy
and sweetest hattie
are waiting to welcome
their new baby sister.

how good to party
and to pray
together

betsy is the cutest
pregnant girlie
e.v.e.r.

photo credit: yasmin ghatan
(way to go, sweets)

l to r, back row: amy, karen, shelly, me, christy, winnie + diane
next row: ka’i, sandi, nnenna, tanya, eun
and of course, sacha + betsy in front.

these women love the Lord
and i love every minute
with them.

my quick count is that the
moms in this photo
represent over 30 children + 3 to-be.

ps - hi, payton,
wish you were here to join us
in celebrating your splendid sister;
i bet you wish you were, too.

pps – thanks, jules, brett + chris, for babysitting
as cory was still at the elder’s retreat.

how perfect to come home to that
witty threesome out on the back patio +
enjoy a few more hours out there together.

happy friday, indeed.

farewell to the gyger’s

what a gift they’ve been
to redeemer +
to this community.

we love you, terry + dorothy.

and thanks to rim for the sweet soiree.

alice, kathy, dorothy + carole;
now that’s a godly posse.

renee discovers the thai chicken salad.
can you see how cool their oval dining room is?
see the rounded walls?

carol’s holding the other guest of honor,
charlotte b*.

rim’s lemon + maureen’s chocolate cakes

*charlotte’s big sister, mary claire,
just got her hair cut into a
cute summer bob +
when she looked at herself in the mirror
for the first time, she said,
‘i’m caroline!’