Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I love going to the park with John and Brooklyn. They are so photogenic.

Blah blah blah words words

Mommy, my ears hurt! I know that's what Brooklyn would say if she could. She's had many ear infections since March and is currently on her third week of battling the most recent infection. The doctor recommends we see an ENT to have tubes put into her ears. Yay. On one hand I think "how much more will this little girl have to go through" but then I'm gently reminded of the families who may be dealing with much worse for much longer. We can TOTALLY handle this.

We STILL haven't gone in for Brooklyn's 1 year pictures. It seems like something always comes up in the evenings. I suppose that years down the road no one will say "Hey, wasn't she really 1 year and 2 MONTHS in that picture?" so it is not a big deal. As long as they are done before her 2 year birthday.

So last night Brooklyn had this strong desire for the oven mitt she saw on the counter. I gave it to her and she stuck her entire arm in it and walked around the house like that for about 15 minutes. It was so stinking cute. Of course I took pictures.



She even wanted to take it to bed with her. However, it's the same oven mitt that my sister Heather used to put cheese into the bottom of to entice the dog to stick his whole head inside. Which he did. Every time. (And of course, I have pictures but can't find them!)

And finally, I stayed up way too late finishing a project that is SOOOOO AWESOME that I just can't stand not telling what it is. But I can because - in the rare chance that I DO actually keep this a secret - we are going to give them as Christmas gifts. Eeeeek! Keeping good secrets is SO hard for me.

Parenting Class

John and I have just begun to lead a class on parenting at our church. If you are interested in checking out the curriculum, search for Parenting: The Early Years with Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott.

Although I have found the videos advertising the study to be a little misleading. It's not just about learning how to get your kid to clean their room. Being a good parent means DEMONSTRATING, by your own character, the traits you want your kids to have. So this class is about changing & growing ourselves in order to give our kids a proper model to follow.

We were totally honored to even be asked to do this. We both thought, talked and prayed about it. We agreed that it would be a sort of 'jumping-out-of-the-boat' experience. You know, getting out of your comfort zone. And I knew the subject matter was near and dear to my heart. Who doesn't want to be a better parent? We happily accepted the challenge. Then the war in my mind began.

"YES! Let's do this!"
"Wait, you mean do ANOTHER thing?"
"It will be awesome! You want to be a better parent, right?"
"Well yes, but it sounds like work."
"But it will be totally worth it."
"And I'll have to read a book. Filled with WORDS!"
"Reading is easy. You can do it."
"Ugh. I'll have to connect with MORE people. I just want to be left alone."
"These people are already your friends. You know and love them."
"But I'm tired."
"Will NOT leading the class make you less tired?"
"Oh shut it."

Yes, these thoughts were sucky, but I didn't let it back me down from the challenge.

And I'm soooooo glad because last night was our first class and it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E! Sure there were a few fumbling moments as we tried to get the DVD player working, but I think John and I worked EXTREMELY well as a team. While he worked the player, I worked the crowd.

I'm really excited about the couples who have signed up. Seven other families share our passion for being effective, godly parents. And these truly are fun people. I can't wait to get to know them all better!

Photo Taking Stats

So I was telling my BFF today just how obsessed John and I are with taking pics of our precious Bean. Here is the photo count for previous years compared to this year.

2010 - 3,416 photos (and it's only mid September!!)
2009 - 2,663 photos
2008 - 880 photos
2007 - 551 photos (? I guess not much happened that year.)
2006 - 1,317 photos
2005 - 1,281 photos
2004 - 909 photos
2003 - 896 photos (The year we got married)
2002 - 287 photos (The year I went digital)

Boo-Boos Happen

Well, we have a 'first'...but an unpleasant one. Brooklyn had a not-so-happy Labor Day celebration when she fell while walking around the coffee table at Grandma's house. This yielded a cut upper lip and her first bloody boo-boo. It was all I could do to not come unglued, but these things happen and I guess I ought to get used to it.

She recovered after a few minutes and later in the day, as she crammed food into her little cake hole, you'd never know there had been any injury. That's my girl. She is one tough little cookie.

Sometimes an apology is just not enough.

I had a lady tell me recently that she didn't appreciate something I said to her. I was shocked because my comment (to me) was so innocent and so obviously a joke (again, obvious to me) that I still to this day cannot fathom how it was offensive.

So I apologized to her for causing an offense and explained that I did not intend anything mean by it. This did not matter. She was UNHAPPY. Then I asked her "Why would you think I was being mean to you? We are friends."

Apparently the offense was so deep that she informed she was not so sure we were friends after all. Wow. I was stunned to hear this. Then embarrased. Then angry. After she left my area, I wondered why my explanation and apology did not 'fix it.'

Speaking of apologies...John and I are still dealing with the after effects of the car accident that happened in January. Yes, we are every bit thankful to God for bringing her and her daddy out of that situation in perfect physical health. But I still can't help being a little a lot mad at the driver who's brief moment of negligence caused our baby physical harm and caused John and I loads of mental anguish.

We literally fight to not re-live what we had to helplessly watch our baby daughter endure. To me, there needs to be some justice up in here. I have been thinking about filing a civil suit against the punk that hit our car. Not because I want his money. I give a crap about this kid's money. But because (in my opinion) he hasn't had to suffer a big enough consequence for his actions. His insurance company has been paying for all his mistakes.

Then I think, would any amount of compensation from this doofus make the memories go away? Would it make the accident not happen? No & no. So what am I really after? An apology. Some acknowledgement of the suffering he caused ME even though I wasn't in the car. "Hey look, I am so sorry for what happened to your kid. That must have been really hard. I wish I could take it all back." And honestly, that wouldn't 'fix it' either.

So what do I do? I'm not going to sue anyone. I'm going to give it to my God who has been there and has seen His own Son suffer more than I could ever imagine. I'm going to find comfort in the fact that I'm not alone in this and that I have a healthy daughter and husband and have been so blessed throughout this time. And I'm going to remind myself that while an apology sometimes isn't enough, freedom comes in the not needing one.

Why is it that.....Part 2

~ the ATM machine says you can only take money out in $20 increments but gives you your $20 in fivers? This happened to me the other day. I wanted only ten dollars but noooooooooooooo, the machine made it clear it was incapable of granting that request. So I had to take $20. You can imagine the stink eye I gave the machine when it spat out (4) five dollar bills. I hate liars.

~ in footage taken by tourists on an African safari, the video quality is so good that you can see a flea on the belly of a sleeping leopard from 1000 yards away, but in footage taken by a 7-Eleven security camera you can't see nary a detail of the guy robbing the place? (This was John's observation, but it really fit in this post.)