The Happy Medium

Halloween

2012-01-11T14:09:00.000-06:00

This Halloween was fairly low-key but it was a ton of fun. There were no fall festivals or big parties on our agenda. Since Halloween happens right after Callum's birthday, we usually don't have much energy left. So we dressed up our little superhero and our even littler strawberry and had some fun, just the four of us.

We lit the candle in the Jack-o-lantern that the boys carved and grabbed our candy bags.

We just did a little bit of trick-or-treating near our house. Callum was shy at first and then quickly warmed up to the whole process. Evan was a big hit as well which I can completely understand because she looked adorable! Callum helped me pick out her costume and he did a great job!

Five Months

2012-01-11T14:03:00.000-06:00

There is not much to say on this post since I am writing it so late. This lady is as cute as can be and her personality is incredibly enjoyable.

She started sitting up in her fifth month and she debuted this new skill at my dear friends' parents' home. Here is my friend, Meredith, as we are witnessing her new skill for the first time.

The 'ole glasses on a baby trick:

I left these two alone for a little while and utter craziness ensued:

I love my girl!

THREE!

2011-12-12T22:41:00.000-06:00

At the end of October, our sweet boy turned three. I can hardly believe that it has been three years since he came into our world but I suppose I must come to terms with it. On his final night of being a two year old, I laid in bed with him and sang to him like we always do. I started to get emotional about the fact that it was his last night in his twos. My sweet boy is growing up so quickly and I love him so much.

Our day started with Cal waking up to balloons all over the floor in his room.

Next, he got his gift from Granna and Poppy: an easel and art set.

We got the littlest superhero all dressed and ready.

At the park we had super hero cupcakes.

We had a banner that I made using some templates I found for free online.

Our super hero got on his gear.

Our friend, Henry came dressed as Nacho Libre. The guests also made their own masks. Henry is wearing the mask he made. I cut out all the felt and let the kids pick the color and the stars to put on them.

There is a REAL merry-go-round at this park. Those are hard to come by these days but they are still major crowd pleasers.

Time for his cupcake and his THREE candles!

Dig in!

His party was lovely. From our friends and family to the gorgeous weather to the fun gifts and surprises, it was a day that Callum loved and will remember for a long time -- at least until his fourth birthday!

Four Months

2011-12-12T22:02:00.002-06:00

I am an entire month behind on this post so don't get confused when, immediately following this post, you see her five month post. No, you are not in a time warp. I am just a lazy blogger.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, here is our sweetie at four months:

There really isn't much to report other than the fact that we truly feel like she is the sweetest baby to ever grace this planet.

She weighed in around 16 pounds (that means she is big) at her four month appointment. She now sleeps in her crib at night although I sleep in the twin bed in her room after her first feeding each night. She still wakes up at night to eat at least a couple of times but I am fine with that.

Cal still loves her. He always wants to hug her and kiss her. Every time she achieves something new he lights up and giggles. He really seems to enjoy having her around.

Here is a moment when he asked to hold her:

Here he is 'reading' her a story:

And here is a sweet hug and kiss:

Also, does anyone know why exer-saucers are so incredibly ugly? Anyone?

Happy four months, Evan!

8 years

2011-11-18T14:42:00.000-06:00

8 years! That means 10 years of being together and I am wondering how it has gone by so quickly. From single college students to a family of four, I love you more with each new year and stage that we go through.

A picture in the car after our dinner at Bolsa, a local favorite:

And, then, as we are in the habit of doing on special occasions, dessert & coffee at the delicious La Duni:

Three Months

2011-11-18T14:38:00.001-06:00

Her three month birthday came and went and, as you can see from the photos, she is just as pleasant as ever. We are still sleepy around these parts but she is a big girl and needs to eat a lot. We are thankful for a healthy, hungry, happy girl and continue to be smitten by her on a daily basis.

Family Fun 3

2011-09-29T17:13:00.001-05:00

Next up in our series of Family Fun recaps is our trip to Mia & Grandad's house. While Jeff traveled all weekend to run sound for Kari Jobe, we drove North to see my parents.

After enduring the hottest summer on record (literally), the weather is quite nice now. So, in true Cal style, he spent most of his time outside playing with toys, riding tractors, watching trains and feeding cows.

Evan enjoyed a life where she rarely had to be put down and had someone to fawn over her every coo.

Thanks for having us. It was relaxing and fun!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Family Fun 2

2011-09-27T14:00:00.001-05:00

I got to experience and actually enjoy Summer for the first time. After being pregnant for all of June and having a new baby for all of July and August, I was thrilled to finally get out of town and go to the lake!

We got to see Granna & Poppy and the Houston cousins. Cal had the best time with his cousins! We went out on the boat and Cal rode the ski trainer AND the tube all by himself behind the boat!

We went hiking, had picnics, played outside and had non-stop fun.

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Family Fun 1

2011-09-26T21:36:00.001-05:00

We had the joy of hanging out with our California Cousins last month. We see them far too little and enjoy them so, so much.

Cal had a blast with these three kiddos and we loved seeing them too! They were in town visiting with their Momma while Dad was in Uganda with World Vision (Click here to learn more!)

We decided to go to the children's aquarium:

It was a great day! We loved seeing you guys!

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Cal

2011-09-25T09:52:00.001-05:00

So many of these recent posts are devoted to our daughter. In all the excitement of our new addition, Cal deserves a post of his own. Our sweet, almost-three year old has had quite a summer.

Cal finished off a great semester of swimming lessons! He truly excelled in the water this year increasing his distance, breath-control, floating and fearlessness. We certainly have a fish on our hands. It was a joy watching him improve so rapidly and gain confidence in the water this spring and summer.

He participated in Kids Kamp, a program for staff children, at church all summer. He loved it and especially enjoyed his participation in VBS.

Perhaps most notably, he became a big brother this summer. He dealt with his VERY pregnant mother with love and grace. He greeted his new sister with joy and affection. He adjusted to life's new normal with flying colors and for that we are so thankful.

Here are some pictures of our firstborn from these past months:

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2 months

2011-09-23T21:08:00.001-05:00

Life with only one child crawled by. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep or perhaps the lack of distraction. Regardless, life with two flies by. So here is my obligatory 'I can't believe she's two months old already!' line.

I'd had a hunch that my sweet little munchkin wasn't actually all that little. At her two month appointment we found that she is in fact quite a big girl: 95th percentile for height and 97th percentile for weight (13lbs 9.5oz).

Here is our (big) little sweetie:

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6 weeks

2011-09-23T20:58:00.001-05:00

Per usual I am behind on posting. Our sweet girl did indeed turn 6 weeks old and she looked about like this:

And this:

And this:

Our sweet girl has been swept up into the whirlwind that is our life and is doing quite well.

Although quite fussy (especially in the evenings), her sweet spirit shines through. She fits perfectly into our little family.

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Visitors

2011-08-08T11:11:00.000-05:00

Evi had so many lovely visitors when she was born! There are many that we took pictures of and a few that we forgot to take pictures of. We love our family and friends and are so thankful for each one of you that visited us in the hospital and brought us meals. We are especially thankful for our parents who helped us out so much after Evi's arrival. I wish we had pictures of all of you!

Four Weeks

2011-08-05T20:52:00.002-05:00

It is hard to believe that she is already four weeks old! She has been a very different baby than her brother was. For starters, she sleeps. She also doesn't cry all the time. She has been struggling with gassiness, however, and I think, after doing some research, that it's related to breastfeeding and let-down issues with my milk. She has some nice bouts of fussiness but I believe that it can be attributed to the gas as well. We are troubleshooting those problems and trying to get them all worked out.

Adjusting to two children has been an adventure but, for the most part, I don't have any complaints. It is difficult as I expected and I am praying for patience on a more regular basis as I expected. Cal adores his sister which often translates to lying on top of her and squeezing her too hard. It is sweet though and I love his desire to "help" with everything.

She is waking up a few times at night. We aren't really on any sort of a schedule at this point so I really don't know all of her exact sleeping stats. All I know is she sleeps more than Cal did. I am recovering well in most respects. I am, however, dealing with quite a bit of tailbone pain. Apparently tailbone injuries are common during childbirth. I did not know that until some symptom-googling after bouts of intense pain led me to multiple articles about childbirth and the coccyx and all the problems that can occur. I am trying to make it to the 6 week visit to talk to my doctor about it and schedule an appointment with the chiropractor.

Who cares about all of that stuff though? Here are some pictures of our sweetie from her first four weeks of life:

First Days

2011-08-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

Birth Story: Part 2

2011-08-04T20:41:00.001-05:00

About a week prior to Evan's birth my physical and emotional state changed dramatically. My high-energy, feeling-good pregnancy changed into a Braxton Hicks contraction-filled, hormonally intense, exhausted pregnancy. At the end of my first pregnancy I did not have much pre-labor to speak of so this was totally different for me. I was having so many Braxton Hicks contractions that it was wearing me out. I was on an intense emotional rollercoaster. I was more than ready for the baby to come out and felt like it had to be getting close due to the sudden, dramatic changes I was experiencing. After a discouraging visit to my doctor on a Wednesday (I was at 39 and a half weeks) where I was told I had not progressed at all, I came home crying, feeling sorry for myself and dreading the idea of dealing with the pre-labor any longer.

The girls in my small group came over that night and I complained to them about the fact that I was still pregnant and asked them to pray that the baby would come soon. The following morning I woke up and hit the ground running. Cal had school that day and I wanted to take full advantage of what might be one of my last days alone. I immediately noticed a strange feeling. I thought it was a contraction but it felt very different from my Braxton Hicks contractions so I wasn't sure. These new contractions didn't go away and they started feeling very regular so I began to time them as I went about my morning. Sure enough they were following a pattern and by lunch time I called Jeff adn asked him to come home just in case.

We went to observation at the hospital at the request of my doctor and found out that, while Evan was still at a -3 station (very high, in other words), I was dilated to 3 cm. My doctor admitted me and chose to break my water. Shortly after that the contractions came on stronger and longer and, after the labor I had endured last time, I wasted no time in asking for the epidural. Not long after the epidural was administered I was checked and found to be 5 cm dilated, 90% effaced, with Evan at a -1. When we heard that such big progress was being made (after last time where my body seemed to be fighting against progression of any sort), Jeff and I were so excited. The day already felt different. We were relaxed, the reports were good and we were soaking it in.

2 hours later I was at 10 cm, 100% effaced, Evan was at a +1 station and it was time to push. 2 hours of pushing and she was at a +2 or +3 (can't remember). We were excited but knew that this is where the real test would be: was I physically able to get a baby through my pelvis? As it turns out, the answer was, "yes, but with forceps". The doctor got the the forceps and I, my friends, acheived a successful VBAC. It was amazing. The moment she came out I just cried and cried. I was thankful that the birth went like we wanted but I was more thankful that we had had an enjoyable day. It was peaceful and encouraging and, most importantly, the end result was getting to meet our beautiful little girl.

We feel blessed to have redeemed my birth experience from a negative one to a positive one. We know that it didn't have to go that way and are just thankful that it did. We are thankful for a healthy daughter most of all and cannot thank God enough for her.

Birth Story: Part 1

2011-07-15T13:00:00.000-05:00

With Cal's birth, the big joke is that I got to try a little bit of everything. Our goal? A natural, drug-free birth with our midwife by our side in a local hospital. After my water partially broke, I had no choice but to induce labor since my body did not go into labor on its own. The slow pitocin drip didn't induce labor either so Jane, my midwife, broke my water the rest of the way and thus began the painful, double-peaking contractions, sometimes with a break in between and sometimes not, that seemed to come from no where. I labored with these fun contractions without drugs for hours. My midwife kept encouraging me to keep going and I did until I got stalled out at 7 cm dilated with Cal at a -1 station for 3 hours. It was transitional labor that wouldn't progress and wouldn't stop and I was in so. much. pain.

At that point, neither being able to progress or relax, we opted for an epidural in hopes that the relaxation it would bring would complete my dilation, cause Cal to drop down and bring me to a place where I could push. It did indeed complete my dilation but Cal did not move down from his comfy home at -1. I pushed anyway, for 2 hours. Jane got him turned from his posterior (read: back labor!!) position into an anterior one. Everyone could see his head and decided that forceps might work. Nothing worked and, ultimately, 24 hours after my water had initially broken, I was being wheeled into an OR for a C-section. It was at this point that my midwife became my photographer.

I must say that we were thankful to meet Cal no matter how he entered the world. Nothing will ever change the way I felt when I first heard him cry, saw Jeff putting on his first diaper and first spoke to him, seeing his eyes lock into the direction of the sound of my voice. However, the day did not go as planned. In fact, the day went so fast and was so painful that it felt like we were being beaten down as the day felt like it was happening to us before we had a chance to soak it in and enjoy any aspect of it.

That being said, I wanted Evan's day of birth to be different. Actually, it didn't have to be different, I just wanted it to feel different. I wanted to appraoch it differently. I decided to attempt a vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC), an option that, until recently, had been viewed as too dangerous. However, the eyes of the medical community have opened as of late as they realized that many women are perfectly capapable of vaginal births even if they have needed a c-section in the past. I was unable to see my midwife this time around as this hospital's rules dictate that midwives cannot perform VBACs. So I switched to a doctor in the same practice, one who supports this method of childbirth.

We did not hang our hats on the fact that this would work. I didn't go to the hospital with fists clenched tight that it would be a failure if a VBAC were not achieved. It was just the goal. I wanted a different recovery and I wanted to experience the birth of our child in a different way. But our real desire was to relax and take the day as it came. We decided to hope for the best (VBAC) but expect the worst (C-section). Worst case scenario was another c-section and I was ready for that option and welcome to it if that was necessary.

My Pregnancy Favorites

2011-07-01T22:15:00.003-05:00

As I am a little over a week away from my due date, I have been thinking about some of my pregnancy favorites. While pregnancy itself is not one of my favorite things, there are some items and products that help me to survive this wild, nine-month journey of craziness.

1. Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Balm

Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Balm is my favorite method of moisturizing my every-growing belly.

2. Wallaby Dark Chocolate Yogurt

This stuff is a little piece of heaven on earth. I have always liked it but since being pregnant have treated myself to this delicious snack on a more consistent basis. You absolutely have to try it.

3. Juice Plus

My husband and I have been taking Juice Plus for around 3 years now. I heard a respected pediatrician recommend it, started taking it and have been giving it to Cal since he started solids. It's a whole food supplement that is made up of just fruits and veggies and helps to bridge the gap between the fresh, raw foods we should be eating and what we actually eat. I didn't take it last pregnancy but have, obviously, been taking it this time and it has been wonderful. I feel great, my energy level is good and it helps me feel less guilty on those days when all I want is ice cream and juice. I just started distributing it so feel free to ask me if you have questions!

4. Carrot Apple Juice

I recently purchased a Vita-Mix blender and one of the many amazing things that it can quite easily do is make carrot juice. I have been making carrot juice (and mixing it with a little apple juice so that it is more tolerable) and drinking it most days. The carrot juice gives me a great burst of energy and it feels so good to know that I am drinking something so healthy.

5. Whey Cool Protein

Whey Cool protein is the best whey protein I have ever tasted. I have used all three flavors (plain, vanilla and chocolate). The chocolate is my least favorite flavor but I still like it. It blends very smooth and tastes equally as smooth. I drink it mixed with milk and either agave nectar or honey and I also blend it into smoothies. I love it and, as a constantly hungry pregnant lady, the protein fills me up quite nicely.

6. Body Pillow

I have the Snoogle Total Body Pillow and I am so thankful for it. My preferred sleep method is on my stomach which is out of the question. My second favorite is on my back which is also out of the question. So, since I pretty much try to sleep any way except for on my sides, this pillow helps me to achieve the goal of sleeping properly as a prego.

7. Old Navy Tanks

The long layering tanks at Old Navy have saved me during this hot, hot summer. I work out in them and wear them with jeans, shorts, skirts, etc. Oh, and they are cheap.

8. Cut off Jeans

This is exactly how it sounds. I knew the temperature during my last month to two months of pregnancy would be in the 100s. I therefore knew that jeans would be out of the question. In addition to dresses and tank tops, I took one of my pairs of maternity jeans and cut them off. I love my cut-offs and I wear them constantly.

9. BeautiControl Spa Facial line

My good friend, Crystal, is a consultant for BeautiControl skin care. I had honestly never heard of it before she started selling it but I tried the samples she gave me and was quite pleased. I use the Spa Facial Line and, while I struggled during my ENTIRE last pregnancy with my skin, this pregnancy has been a breeze as far as my face is concerned and I owe it to my new skin care. If you have questions about it, let me know and I will put you in touch with her!

10. Braum's Twist Frozen Yogurt

I am sure a lot of pregnant women are like this but I LOVE ice cream and crave it like crazy when with child. The chocolate and vanilla twist frozen yogurt is one of my favorites! I don't have a picture of it but if I did it would make you want to run and get some too.

Cal's Big Boy Room

2011-06-30T11:40:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Callum's big boy room in our new (old) house! (For a peek into what used to be his nursery, click here.) Everything is finished in here except for needing a bed frame and dust ruffle for his bed and hanging one or two more items. Here is the view from the doorway. Cal was lucky enough to get a bed upgrade when we moved because the twin bed was the only one that would fit in the nursery. So Cal is sleeping in the lap of luxury in his new queen bed with duvet cover and pillows from Ikea. The animal prints above his bed are holdovers from his nursery. We got those from Babies-r-Us a few years ago.

Here is one of the Ikea dressers from his nursery. The other dresser is now in Evan's closet.

The spot pictured below is my favorite spot in his room. I love his little bookshelf (again, Ikea). The small chair to the right of the bookshelf is a piece that my grandfather made for Callum. The cool part about it (other than my grandfather's great wood-working skills) is that this was made for Cal before anyone even knew who Cal was! My grandfather died when I was in high school but he made some of these stools before he passed away because he knew there would be more little ones one day.

The other reason this is my favorite spot in the room is because I am in LOVE with these Richard Scarry prints that I found at my favorite antique store here in town. These were originally used in a classroom in the Arlington school district many, many, many years ago. Richard Scarry's Best Story Book Ever! was one of my all-time favorite books growing up. It was also the first book I purchased for Callum when we found out we were pregnant. Finding these illustrated boards made my heart so happy!

Below is his orange "C" sitting all by itself on the wall. I found the "C" at Urban Outfitters and was so pleased to see that it came in orange because that was the accent color for Cal's nursery and now for his bedroom as well. Next to the "C" we are going to hang a magnet or bulletin board for some of Cal's photos and art work. The lamp? Ikea, of course. We've had that lamp for years and since Cal's room has no overhead lighting, it works well in there.

Thanks for visiting!

Evan's Nursery

2011-06-30T11:12:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Evan Winter's nursery! We are all moved in to our new (old) house and have her room almost put together! I am finally ready to show pics so here we go.

Below is a built-in desk/nook in her room that I decided to use as the changing table. I have a cute magnet board hanging, a fun blue "E" that some friends found at a thrift store, cloth diapers and wipes, regular diapers and wipes and whatever else I need to have sitting out over here in this little nook.

Next we have a little gallery wall that hangs on the long wall running next to the guest bed. On the far left is a framed place mat that I have had for years and couldn't let go of. There is a cute, blue "ABC" print that I found for free on the internet, a pink "E" from Hobby Lobby, blue owl bank from Urban Outfitters, and a couple of other framed cards.

When you look into the room from the hallway/doorway, this is what you see:

I am in love with the quilt that sits on this chair. My grandma or great-grandma (not sure which) made this (I think!). I found it in my grandpa's house a while ago and my parents let me take it.

This is a close-up of the crib sheet. It is from Pottery Barn and my friend, Alex, is letting me borrow it.

A view of the crib, gallery wall and guest bed. I am using the same bumper, crib sheet and hanging light that we used in Cal's nursery.

Another view from the crib to the rest of the room. It was tough to get good pictures of the room because A) My camera is not great B) I am no photographer and C) The room is small.

A view toward the bed and chair that showcases the wrinkled curtains that I was too tired to iron before hanging. :)

We are really pleased with how the room turned out and I can't wait to show it to Baby Evi!

Best Friends

2011-06-26T21:30:00.000-05:00

I hesitate to even title the post "Best Friends" because, in reality, my son loves - LOVES - all of his friends. That is something that I love about him. He does have one friend in particular that he loves a lot. But these two have "known" each other, literally, since birth. In fact, for a few months, they lived in the same house, although they certainly don't remember that.

They work well together: they are the same age, same height, enjoy the same toys, love to wrestle, can handle each others' pushes and shoves, and they share a mutual love for popsicles.

Cal's first night at a friend's house was with Henry and was just the other night. He loved it. We hope that the friendship continues for a long, long time.

Swimming is the Only Option

2011-06-10T09:19:00.000-05:00

Growing up in North Texas and residing here now as my little one grows up, one learns that there is a single way in which one survives our summer heat: WATER. Lots of water. Drinking it and playing in it. Because of this, it is incredibly important to us that our kids learn to swim. We don't have tons of disposable income but we put a high priority on paying for quality swimming lessons so that we can all enjoy the water together each summer.

Here is a video of Cal last year when we had him enrolled in Infant Aquatics. Infant Aquatics is an infant survival swimming class and the kids hate it but it teaches them some great skills! He was 1.5 years old in the video and I think it's pretty amazing.

Swimming & Flipping from Sara Taylor on Vimeo.

This year he is enrolled at Emler Swim School. He goes once a week for 30 minutes and loves it! I don't have any video yet but here are a few pics of our little fish:

I know, I know

2011-05-26T22:09:00.000-05:00

I said I would write more on the blog and I was doing such a good job! I'm not too sure what happened but I am fairly certain that the start of the 3rd Trimester had something to do with it. The fatigue returned with a vengeance pretty much the minute the third trimester began. Jeff & I also took a short trip away, just the two of us, to our lake house. Almost as soon as we returned home I began packing up the house so that we could move back to our old house. Yes, that means that the Commune is no more. Hopefully I can write a wrap-up post in honor of The Commune once we get all moved in to our new old house.

In the meantime, however, I will update you on the pregnancy: It is going well! I am almost 34 weeks and at my 32 week appointment I was able to have another sonogram. We didn't do one this late with Cal but my placenta was low at my 20 week appointment so they wanted to check on it. The placenta has moved and Baby Evan looks healthy!

I hope to be back soon with some better updates and pictures!

Writing Letters to a Child Who Can't Read

2011-04-05T23:25:00.002-05:00

My child is only 2 and, while advanced in every way I assure you, he is unable to read. And yet I insist upon writing letters to him. Sometimes my heart is so full with love for that boy that saying, "I love you so much!" to him one more time doesn't suffice to satisfy my desire to tell him what I think about him. So I write to him. The initial motivation was not my own, however. As I read Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer for the 3rd or 4th time I was motivated by his desire to speak into the life of his grandaughter.

In a letter to her he says:

Here is a sketch of who you were from your earliest days in this world. It is not a definitive picture - only you can draw that. But it was sketched by a person who loves you very much. Perhaps these notes will help you do sooner something your grandfather did only later: remember who you were when you first arrived and reclaim the gift of true self.

And with that I began my first letter to my son when he was 19 months old. Do you want to read the letter? Well, you can't. It's his and his alone. It's for him to read of the priceless moments we shared the moment I first laid my eyes upon him. It's his to know how I saw personality traits in him when he was just an infant that he still has today. It's his to read about all the ways he challenges me and about what I think that says about the person that he is. From the ways he makes us laugh to the ways he consistently gets into trouble, he shows us pieces of who he is and it is those things that he will read one day.

I cry every time I write to him.

I cry because I realize what a gift he is and because it is amazing to see someone becoming the person God meant for them to be. I am overwhelmed when I realize that I have been given stewardship of a life that God has created. His is a life that God endowed with traits and gifts and strengths and weaknesses and I had absolutely nothing to do with it but am responsible to foster it - to foster this amazing life and to do my best to provide the loving conditions within which it can grow.

So, no, you can't read my letter to Cal. But you may write your own. Who else will search your child's temperament like you? Who will mine the depths of his personality for all the beauty that is his alone? Only you. So tell them who they are exactly as you observe them to be: not who you want for them to be or wish that they would be but just as they appear to you to be. Do it now and next month and next year and whenever you think about it, you, their most keen observer.

Palmer goes on to say:

She did not show up as raw material to be shaped into whatever image the world might want her to take. She arrived with her own gifted form, with the shape of her own gifted soul. Biblical faith calls it the image of God in which we are all created.

I don't know what Cal will think when he receives his letters one day. I don't know how he will feel. I can only hope that, in the confusion that comes during those years when he will try, desperately, to figure out who he is, perhaps my letters can help him navigate. Perhaps my letters will help him confirm his suspicions about himself as he moves forward in the world. I hope that my letters will remind him of the image of God in which he was lovingly created and will challenge him to be himself and never what anyone else is asking him to be.

In the meantime, though, I am finding that the letters are a gift I am giving myself: a way to remember that I am a steward of his life and that I am thankful beyond measure for this role.

30

2011-04-03T23:00:00.000-05:00

My 30th birthday came with a lot of snow. We had a week's worth of ice and snow here the week prior to my birthday. When you live in the south and it snows like crazy, things shut down. This is due to the fact that our cities and towns don't actually own snow plows. In this case, the snow fell on top of what was a couple of days worth of ice. So, we were home bound for much of the week.

We were supposed to go out with friends on a Friday night but had to reschedule. Thankfully, everything started melting the following day. So, on Saturday night, my husband arranged a wonderful dinner in a private room at Mercy Wine Bar. In addition to great wine they have some amazing food.

It was a fun evening with great friends and it was all set up by my great husband. I used to freak out about turning 30 but once the day actually came all I could think about was how blessed I am.