it was a quick visit on our way to the Taos Ski Valley, but we enjoyed our brief time in Santa Fe again. Also enjoyed the cute confusion of Max, our almost three year old, who asked, “Do you think Santa Fe will bring us presents?” :-)
recent moments with the boys include playing in the yard, visiting a playground, riding bikes, the delight at discovered bugs and rocks, playing chase with Carter, planting cactus, skiing together, and reading.
i’m way behind on this goal, but here are a few things over the past week that stand out in my mind
a road trip with my family
uncontrollable laughter of our two boys
peaceful quiet moments with ann, reading and drinking coffee
Max, my almost three year old, getting nose to nose to see if I’m awake and touching my face
Carter’s (almost eight year old) sense of accomplishment on our ski trip
Watching Max’s first ski lesson
The funny things Max says
The joy I get just from watching Ann when she doesn’t realize i’m staring at her
Playing in the yard with the boys
Eating outside together
Talking with Ann before we drift off to sleep
I really like the following “resolutions” of Ben Huh, CEO, Cheezburger.com:
1) Compromise less on core beliefs. 2) Worry less about the future and concentrate on being in the moment. 3) Focus on the important and outsource the urgent.
I think they’re all worth pondering and pursuing. The last one however, really struck me. It was like the clouds parting and a bright light and voice coming down saying, “hey, THIS is for YOU dummy!” I get caught in the tramp of the opposite ALL the time, especially at work. urgent does NOT equal important, even if it needs doing.
“finish each day and be done with it. you have done what you could. some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. tomorrow is a new day. you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” -emerson
“It is a physical journey, but also one of learning and imagining.” -Susan Viguers, on Clif Meador’s artist book: Memory Lapse
Playing on the playground with Max, enjoying his excitement over his monkeybar accomplishment, pushing him on the swing, spending the day with Carter, even though he’s been sick, making him a grilled cheese sandwich.
My amazing, beautiful wife.
Making her a valentines card.
Spending time with my family.
reading “drive: what motivates us” dan pink. really like what this book has to say.
listened to a rob bell lecture at greenbelt conference
began listening to randy pausch’s “the last lecture”
enjoyed spending time with the boys yesterday, reading, playing, working on some lego projects and laughing.
an amazing partner who is often able to fly at a higher altitude than me and help me see that even when our 7 and 2 year old boys are driving me crazy or not doing what i’d like for them to do, that they really are wonderful kids and we have so much for which to be grateful.
having a great eye doctor. even though he’s in a different city, he was able to squeeze me in and i’m grateful for one good eye (my better one anyway!) that could get there and back safely!
knowing that even though i’ve missed a lot of days in this journal, that i have soooo much to be happy about. my amazing wife- full of grace and mercy and beauty and laughter and love. my two wonderful boys that fill our lives with fun and laughter and joy. I could list these things everyday!
even though my little one has the flu, we had a good time reading books and playing. just being around Max is a joy, even when he’s under the weather. Enjoyed playing with Carter too! After Max went to bed with worked on a Lego project and read some. He’s such a great guy and a wonderful big brother. I told him tonight that I wished everyone in the world could have a big brother like him.
i think perhaps my lack of entries on 43things in the last few months might reflect that i’m doing better on this goal? i want this idea of being more intentional to be at the for front of my mind, so that whatever it is i’m doing, i’m there in the moment, not thinking/worrying/longing for anything else. to be fully present
it’s a journey much more than a destination, but i like to view all of life this way!
this has gotten much better in the last month or so. making it a priority and feeling good about the results. been lifting mostly three days a week and running and using the elliptical 3-5 days a week.
Is ther a connection between the amount of noise in our lives and our inability to hear God? Have you spent the same amount of time worrying and talking about your difficult, confusing situations as you have spent in silence, listening to what God might have to say?
Why is talking so much easier than listening? What is it about silence that is so difficult? Why is it easier to surround myself with noise and keep moving, than to stop, be silent, and listen?
How much noise do i voluntarily subject myself to? Does my schedule, my time, my life look like that of a person who wants to hear God’s voice?
Maybe the healing and guidance we desperately need is not going to come from one more meeting or therapy session or sermon or self-help book, but from simply listening for the voice of God.
Is it possible that you have been looking or God in the winds, the earthquakes and fires, and he is waiting to speak to you in the silence?
Rob Bell, Nooma #5 Noise
“Maybe the truth of the Adam and Eve story, maybe the the greatest power of the story, is not so much that it happened, but that it happens.” Jesus teaches us how to live in the reality of God NOW, here and today….Where is God? Where isn’t God? His fingerprints are all over our world…or maybe it’s his world and our fingerprints?
...Do we treat this world like a waiting room for the next life? Do we treat faith as a ticket to something beyond? Are we just hanging out and waiting? What good is a faith that doesn’t have anything to do with the world we live in now?
...Followers of Christ—people of peace, of justice, of mercy, of grace, people committed to partnering with God to make this world, the world that we al live in, the kind of place that God originally intended it to be.
....Jewish saying:
A person’s good deeds are used by God as seeds to plant the very trees of Eden.
(Rob Bell, Nooma #3)
“There is pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep sea and the music in its roar;
I love not man the less, but Nature more.”
-Lord Byron
10/1 … ordering artists books
10/2 … family gathering and all of carter’s grandparents there to see him play soccer
10/3 … an afternoon with my family
10/4 … traveling to school with my boys
10/5 … carter thinking of others and inspiring others to pick up trash
10/6 … an all day seminar that actually turned out to be great
10/7 … finalizing lots of loose ends for a conference
10/8 … a successful presentation and conference
10/9 … delicious breakfast and more good presentations
10/10 … a lazy afternoon
10/11 … spending the day with ann
10/12 … my birthday!
10/13 … my fun choir
10/14 … a beautiful day, an excuse to get out of the office, and sharing rare books with a class
10/15 … a surprise taking the rest of the day off, the end of a week and returning home to my lovely wife and two wonderful boys
10/16 … crisp morning, soccer game, looking at rocks
10/17 … two beautiful english choral settings
10/18 … my boys laughing in the car on the way to school and a note to my sweetie letting her know i’m thinking about her
9/20…my beautiful wife and funny boys
9/21…an engaging colleague and his infectious enthusiasm, playing with carter and max and having dinner all together. ann and i got to go for a walk which was really nice. ran a mile on the treadmill and did weights.
9/22…a cancelled meeting, getting a lot done at work, a good choir rehearsal
9/23…highlight of my day was to come home and be with the boys and with ann. they completely brighten my life. we played in the backyard some until time for bed. after reading to max and putting him to bed, ann and I went for a walk. it was good to be out together as nightfall came, listening to crickets chirp and talking about our days.
9/24…a thought-provoking teleconference, and “friday”!
9/25… a completely lazy and schedule free saturday
9/26… carter went to a friend’s house and max took a nap, so ann and I had some great time to ourselves! among other things, enjoyed working on some art projects with ann, while sharing some coffee. we played outside, went to a playground for a little bit in the afternoon. the first glimpse of fall arrived with cooler weather. we ate dinner on the patio.
9/27… cooler weather and a really productive day
9/28… lunch with carter and an evening walk with ann
9/29… long day, but a good conversation with jay and then with ann after i got home
9/30… thai food, good conversation, soccer game, and some good books
9/17 … thinking about how great my kid Carter is
9/18 … working with a bunch of 1st and 2nd grade soccer players
9/19 … an afternoon at artsfest, Max’s excitement about painting and making a crazy hat, Carter’s interest in viewing an artist’s work, and an evening where Ann and I got to have a deep conversation with no little people interrupting and a nice evening out
9/20 …the smile on Max’s face when I woke him up this morning, the excitement on Carter’s face as he scored two goals in tonight’s soccer game.
carter’s smile
Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar. ~ Bradley Millar
Cockroaches really put my ‘all creatures great and small’ creed to the test ~ Astrid Alauda
If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive
~ American Quaker Saying
9/4 cute things my 2 year old says
9/5 beautiful music
9/6 a holiday, the zoo, and a deep conversation with ann
9/7 teaching students something that makes them say “cool!”
9/8 see tons of new artists books and watching the amazement on the faces of students in response to them
9/9 a fun choir to make music with
9/10 a clear schedule on a friday
9/11 working together with ann on a shrine we’re building
9/12 laughter at church, the boys playing together in the yard while ann and i work together on our southwestern garden
9/13 picking up the boys from school
9/14 classes that went well and finding a creative technology solution
9/15 handling library materials that stretch back to the 11th century
9/16 spending the day with carter
“As in the concentration camp and the evening of 9/11, the artists are the ones who might be able to help us with our internal, invisible lives.” -Karl Paulnack, Director, Boston Conservatory
“We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love. ” – Jean Vanier
well i opened 43things 2.5 hrs ago to write about an entry and am just now getting to it thanks to a handful of brush fires! uggh…i guess today happiness is having a job! :-) looking forward to everyone coming home from school/work this afternoon and just spending time together as a family and catching a breath! happiness today is also taking lunch to ann and getting to see her in the middle of the day!
i know i should probably learn something from such folks, perhaps appreciate the simplicity, but it drives me crazy. not sure if it drives me more crazy people who just don’t get it and are afraid of it or people who just don’t see the point or care about it!
8/30 morning light coming in the window, picking up the boys after school
8/31 compliments on a big project, a well-received library instruction session, recovering from a scheduling screw up!
9/1 holding rare library materials (1706 handwritten journal from the court of Louis XIV and medieval music manuscripts dating back as early as the 11th century, and the return of choir from its summer break
9/2 a rare instance of listening to music in the morning and less chaotic day than earlier in the week, and a last minute save for an event this afternoon
it’s just a little thing really, but i love the time we spend together when i’m taking them to school each morning. it’s just a little window, but it’s the start of a new day and always filled with interesting moments! really enjoyed an outing that all of us went on yesterday evening wandering around campus, exploring, carter on his bike, max on his trike (sort of!)
8/26 skipping a meeting and finding out from others who attended it was a good call!
8/27 great visit and lunch with a friend
8/28 lazy morning, my little guy’s excitement and joyful spirit when he wakes up
8/29 wonderful music at church with a host of wonderful musicians, spending time with ann and the boys just having fun
“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.” – Helen Keller
i’m still reading the several books listed earlier, but also read last night a book that i really enjoyed:
New directions in altered books, by Gabe Cyr
8/20 that moment when the whole family is back together again at home after a day in different directions
8/21 carter’s excitement about an art project that he came up with and executed on his own, the feeling of pride and joy in his excitement, experimentation, and creativity; also excitement and wonder at an art project that ann and i are planning together; finding wonderful little treasures at a junk store
8/22 noticing little things in music, delightful phrases, unexpected harmonies
8/23 the excitement of the first day of school for everyone, working hard to accomplish a goal at work
8/24 lots of positive feedback on a project at work and feeling successful, lots of positive feedback on my weightloss, being in the same room with my love and just feeling her presence
8/25 beautiful music (Blackberry Winter, the world’s only work for mountain dulcimer and orchestra composed in 1996 by Conni Ellisor), a cloudy morning with a reluctant sun (especially since it’s been up to 106 this week), and a mysterious breeze that suggested Fall really will come one day.
“learn to pause or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you.”
-Doug King
even though i’ve done this since adding to my goals, i’m leaving it here because i’ll always want to visit santa fe again and again and again. it’s a magical, beautiful place
8/12 lunch with a friend at the place with the most diverse eating crowd in the entire city!
8/13 unexpected lunch with ann and carter (who i don’t normally get to see during the work day)
8/14 an early morning trip to the farmer’s market before any of the rest of the family was even awake!
8/15 exciting new possibilities, a babysitter, and a relaxing, laughter-filled evening with my sweetie
8/16 good news at my weigh-in (still losing weight!)
8/17 watching my seven year old be independent, able to entertain himself, and be a great helper during a luncheon at the library, and noticing that he is confident, flexible, and helpful
8/18 time spent with my two year old, even though he’s home sick :-(
8/19 a text message from my sweetie that makes me smile, meeting carter’s second grade teacher and thinking about the new chapter ahead for him
from a recent sermon:
“How would I describe myself? We define ourselves by what we do and our relationships. As we get older, both of these slip away.”
from Thomas Troeger’s hymn Too Splendid for Speech:
Too splendid for speech but ripe for a song:
the wonders of God to whom we belong!
What tune can we sing? What rich chords can we play
to honor the potter who formed us from clay?
We’ll catch the soft sounds that sift through the breeze,
We’ll hum with the whales that hum in the seas.
The waters that tickle the earth into Spring
will teach us the lilting new life we could sing.
The earth is God’d flute, God’s cello and chime,
the Wind draws the notes. The seasons keep time.
At dusk and at night, from the sunrise past noon,
God’s playing and singing a ravishing tune.
The swell of earth’s praise will build to a blast
of trumpets and drums when God comes at last
to hear if our live,s like the heavens above
are filled with the music of justice and love.
Alert to your notes that dance in the heart,
we promise, O God, that we’ll sing our part
and pray that the song which your song shall inspire
will lead every nation to join in your choir.
snippets i particularly like from the hymns of Terry York:
“help us then rejoice in challenge…help us see Divine potential in each challenge.” (from God Our Father, You Have Led Us)
”...worthy of all the glad songs we can sing” (from Worthy of Worship)
“give us love with no exceptions…through us let your peace prevail” (from God Who Made Us, Christ Who Calls Us)
from Alan Raines, director of choirs at Baylor during a recent seminar:
“The choir won’t be engaged if we aren’t.”
“If you don’t know the score, you can’t teach it.”
“Diction is about the sound of EVERY part of every word.”
“Teach first, conduct second.”
“Equip your choir with the skills to succeed.”
“Every rehearsal we must teach how to read.”
“The key to success is the piece you select. Don’t set the choir up for failure.”
“The only limitation on the choir is you.”
other Marva Dawn quotes from a recent conference:
“Worshipping collectively is for the unity of the people and the encouragement of the body.”
“No other religion [speaking of Christianity] in the world focuses on grace.”
“The point of worship is NOT evangelism.”
“As church musicians, we must be clear in our role. The role of church music is to help us think about God and God’s nature. It is not about taste, it is not about us.”
“There is a difference is giving directions and being the way.”
from a lecture by Marva Dawn, speaking of worship:
“It’s not just an activity, it’s a way of life.”
another quote from my two year old, when he realized we were getting dressed to go swimming:
“i need my baby soup!”
from my two year old, Max. an “adaptation” of something Woody from the movie Toy Story says:
“hoohah, cowboy!” :-)
“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would rather have talked.”
collected from an NYPL tweet from the book “How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still on This Earth)” by Henry Alford
“drinking coffee is a great way to build community.” (from a LutheranWorldRelief tweet)
still reading “in search of stones” and also reading “square foot gardening”
yesterday ann took carter (our seven year old) to six flags and they were gone all day and went right to bed when they got home, so i didn’t really get to spend any time with carter, but i like that ann spent the whole day with him and they had a good time. the time i spent with our little guy (2 years old) was a lot of fun. he wanted to read so many books and is intrigued and concerned about the seedier characters in stories, particularly ones in stories from the bible for some reason- namely joseph’s “not nice brothers” (who stole his nice coat, threw him in a hole, and then sold him to the gypsies!) and then the “bad king” from whom Moses’ mother was trying to protect him. He’s also very intrigued by the story of Joshua (and the falling of the city of Jericho). he wants to read that story over and over (and over and over!) and loves the song about it. he was dancing his heart out last night to that song (see video in the “happiness” post).
watching our two year old dance like it’s the best part of living (http://qik.com/video/10533667)
a day trip tradition that ann and our 7 year old take together each year
seeing all the members of my family in the morning
an encouraging word from a colleague this morning on the way into work about my weight loss
discovering new books i want to read
and this quote:
“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would rather have talked.” (from the book How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still On This Earth).
after technically achieving this goal at the grocery store and it not going well and thinking “i never want to go grocery shopping with them again!” (ages 7 and 2), i realized i wanted to change the experience and clear my negative, short-tempered cloud. before max the little one went to bed, i just soaked up the adorableness, liveliness, wonder that he always exudes (even when he’s into everything an being a handful). and it makes me smile and makes me know love.
after max went to bed, ann and i played a game with carter and it felt really good to spend time with him with him having to share the spotlight with little brother or without plans getting derailed because of little brother. i loved the moments filled with laughter and fun. he’s a really good kid. they both are. i want to focus on that and what they bring to life and the time we share together and not get sidetracked by the little petty disturbances. thanks to ann for helping me see this…even if she didn’t realize she was doing that last night. she’s a wonderful teacher, friend, co-parent, and partner.
a calendar date that makes a nifty pattern
weighing in this morning and finding out that i lost 3 pounds since last week for a total of 30 lbs since starting my program.
a realization:
while at work today i thought about why someone i work with hadn’t noticed something i thought they should and realizing, “oh, that’s because they only notice things that irritate them.” and then it hit me…what a terrible way to be remembered or way to operate in life. the happiness moment is thinking about how i want to make sure that’s not how i operate. will i choose to notice the positive things? will i make that part of who i am and how i relate? the whole moment felt really lightning rod-ish and that makes me happy to have a revelation about how/who i CAN be and choosing good.
a calendar date that makes a nifty pattern
weighing in this morning and finding out that i lost 3 pounds since last week for a total of 30 lbs since starting my program.
with a cup of coffee and a book while the family sleeps
M. Scott Peck’s “In Search of Stones” (really good)
Jonathan Bender’s “Lego: A Love Story” (not so impressed)
Books about building ponds and streams and patios and walkways
next on the horizon…
Square Foot Gardening
Super Freakonomics
Ayelet Waldman’s “Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace”
Kate Braestrup’s “Marriage and Other Acts of Charity: A Memoir”
21. an energizing and recharging conference
22. dinner with friends we haven’t seen in a while
23. putting a msg on google cal with an sms msg reminder to send my sweetie a surprise msg!
24. working on a big backyard project
25. working together on our southwest garden
26. feeling a sense of accomplishment on the project
27. my wonderful wife and boys
28. time spent working on our relationship
29. looking forward to our trip to the beach!
30. all of us together (as we drive to the beach) and seeing family
31. building a sand castle with carter
1. spending time with my amazing and beautiful wife
2. an early morning on the beach looking for shells and finding a hermit crab. also finally getting back to our home after a late night drive.
3. lunch with a friend to talk about new possibilities
4. surviving too many meetings at work! :-)
5. a new staff member starting and lunch with the whole gang
6. another great lunch with another great friend who brings fresh and wise perspective
7. morning with the family with no real plans. a trip to the water garden place to think about the next backyard project, reflecting (much later!) on not being short-tempered, sonic drinks on a super hot day!, having an upstairs A/C unit when the downstairs one failed!
8. a quiet sunday afternoon, some of the fam sleeping, a chance to reflect and enjoy the quiet…and did i mention having a working upstairs A/C unit? ;-)
mowed the grass (more work than it’s worth!) :-)
jogged for 10 minutes and weights
no surprises at my dental checkup!
completing some tasks (even if they’re small ones)
change of pace in the day with a conference that’s on campus
sitting outside in the quiet this morning drinking coffee taking in the sounds and sights of the world awakening.
brainstorming and creating plans for our backyard with ann
watching my two boys (7 and 2) playing together right now and laughing together chasing each other around the house, though the noise might drive everyone crazy!
one of my favorite moments with my little guy is when i come home from work. he always says, “Hi! DAD!” like it’s the most surprising, wonderful thing to encounter me coming in the door. he’ll run right up and give a hug as if he hasn’t seen you in months.
last night my seven year old wanted me to build legos with him. i really wanted to read, and did for a while, but he kept pestering me about it and i was feeling guilty. once i went to build with him, he came alive and we had fun. even though i wanted to read more than i wanted to build legos (even though i like that too), i saw that he just wanted to spend time together and that makes me smile. while i don’t want to cease to exist as my own person and just become an entertainment robot for my kids, i do want to cherish the time we can spend together and appreciate the time they want to spend with me.
not sure how purists would feel about this, but i’m going to count listening to audiobooks in my goal of reading some each day. just started listening to michael pollan’s book second nature: a gardener’s education. i LOVE it. he’s such a great writer and i find myself smiling so often after delightful images he’s creating or delicious turns of phrases. so far i’m only listening in little chunks to and from work, but i keep finding myself thinking, “i should buy the book format of this so i can go back through and highlight all these wonderful things i love about this book and revisit them (easier than in the audiobook version).” that might just be my obsessive book hoarding psyche speaking though.
one of the ways i want to be more intentional is to record my thoughts more regularly about the things that are important to me and goals that i have, being more aware of what i’m doing and how i’m doing. rereading older entries on my goals and “things i’m doing,” i realize there are rich memories that would otherwise be forgotten to cherish, to revisit, by which to be inspired and by which to be revitalized.
during the school year, my time with the boys in the morning is usually frantic and fast paced trying to get everyone out the door and fed, etc. even though i work in the summer, i like the subtle shift in the little bit of time we have together in the mornings since they and ann (who teaches school) don’t have to race out the door (and since my “racing” is a little slower than other times a year!). this morning i enjoyed actually sitting down at the table with ann and our little one eating breakfast and listening to max talk and be cheerful (though when ann vetoed his post breakfast plan of hitting a soccer ball around the house with a badminton racket, he was not so cheerful!). in the little bit of time when we were all together and before i left for work, i smiled about carter, our seven year old and how he did several chores without being asked, how he helped his little brother and how i watched him sitting outside at our new patio table, just soaking in the world around him. i have two wonderful boys and an amazing wife. i’m one to avoid overused phrases that get batted around with little meaning or understanding, like the phrase, “i’m so blessed,” but i’m letting that phrase sit in my head and repeat itself until i’ve explored every angle, corner, meaning, that could be in there, because in some deep and rich way, i truly believe that i am.
started listening to david allen’s audiobook version of Getting Things Done. seems like lots of great ideas for getting organized and reducing the stress that comes from trying to keep up with everything you’re doing in your head or in a variety of systems that aren’t integrated.
eating breakfast with my family
watching my youngest son’s excitement at each new day
watching my oldest son sitting outside quietly taking in the world and admiring a new piece of art he created
my first image in the morning being my beautiful wife
realizing i’m making good progress on my weight loss goal
wow…i haven’t written anything about this goal in TWO YEARS! it hasn’t been that long without, but it’s been pretty barren. recent vacation that included white water rafting and climbing two fourteeners has inspired me to get back on the wagon. so far this week has been good, but need to keep it up.
not sure why, but it’s easy for me to achieve inbox “ten or less” but for some reason just can’t finish the job! ????
as in leaving work right now to be with my beautiful wife and two great boys!
recent moments that make me smile…
sitting in the dark on our patio with our seven year old (and his beautiful mom) looking at the stars and just talking about all kinds of things like how whales can hear really low pitches and dogs can hear really high pitches that we can’t.
eating breakfast with my little one while the rest of the family is asleep
sitting down to write to my beloved about the things i love about her
yet another 43things journal that i’ve neglected recording! uggh! recent moments with my boys include:
with little guy-
watching him intrigued by a new dish with a lid he can poke his hand through. it was so cute to see the cogs turning in his head about how to approach and work this new thing he’d never seen before. lately he’s been practicing waving, clapping, and playing peek-a-boo. he’s also pretty proud of himself because he’s finally gotten the hang of pushing buttons on toys. his smile is the best thing in the world. it can melt away any troubles or worries.
with my big guy-
lately we’ve been building legos (that’s not anything new!), jumping on the trampoline, playing frisbee, kicking a ball, going to the park, and working on letterboxes. we’ve also been working on a secret mission adventure that a friend of mine recently created for his boys.
a happy tune discovered and a delicious cup of coffee
so it’s been four months since i’ve logged anything here. eeek! plenty of happy things, just not enough time!
some recent highlights:
my wonderful wife
weekend getaway
my parents watching the boys
my youngest on the verge of walking
my oldest enjoying spending time with his parents
a new tree
well, i fell too far behind to catch up with a long list, but here are few recents:
1. knowing that it’s ok that if i drop the ball on this goal, as long as it keeps reminding me to look for the good and the happiness that swirls around me each day
2. sacred space – sacred time
3. a solitary lunch that i could savor quietly, soaking in all the beauty around me…from the crisp weather, the trees around me, the delicious food, the hands that prepared the food and served, that i could not try to fill the time with things like reading, checking mail, but just being
4. the smile on my baby’s face
most of my time with my littlest one is spent holding, feeding, changing, etc., but the littlest things are what i remember most…the tiniest smile, the look of wonder, the grabbing things with his iron claw hands! holding him during the Christmas Eve service was especially meaningful to me.
with my “big guy”, we’ve spent a lot of time lately building all kinds of Lego stuff. he’s really into that now and i’m amazed by the attention to detail he has. he studies the directions and notices every little change..even ones that i miss. last night we had fun working on his new Lego police station (with its nearly 1,000 pieces!)
i changed two poopy diapers today (bonding happens in all kind of odd places)
looking back over the last entry, i find it interesting that as i sit down to write this one, it’s filled with all the same things as the last.
enjoy cuddling with my little guy (6 mos.) and watching him be intrigued with the smallest and to most people the least interesting things (he held a christmas card today turning it over in his hands and investigating it for half an hour, never tiring of its newness). love to see him smile and laugh.
my big guy adores the little one and takes great pleasure in entertaining him. today in the car, he was getting the little guy to laugh and getting tickled himself. lots of wonderful laughter.
we spent some time building lego stuff and watching Miracle on 34th Street (oddly, the first time i’ve ever seen it in all my forty plus years)
my five year old helped me change a flat tire today and made me smile thinking of the tire changing scene in A Christmas Story (it wasn’t as exciting as that scene, btw).
we read poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends….a frequent bedtime ritual.
recent highlights (since i’ve done a poor job staying up to date!):
putting up and decorating the christmas tree with carter
laughing and playing with max
watching carter adore and entertain max
listening to max laugh at his big brother
playing made up games with carter
basketball practice with carter
building lego stuff with carter
it drives me crazy when someone interrupts you for some reason and then somehow turns it around and makes you feel like you’re taking up THEIR time. the NERVE!
this includes people off in their own world, people who ask for help/directions/advice and then are too busy thinking about what THEIR answer would be to listen, people that have attention deficit disorders, people that are just dumb, and people that don’t get that listening is the most important skill you could have. if you can’t listen, you’re an idiot, but then again, you probably didn’t hear me.
ok, i know i’m an adult and this sounds awfully “elementary school”, but people who cut in line really piss me off! it doesn’t matter whether they intended to or whether they’re just too self absorbed to realize it, both of them irritate me. ok, now i’ll try to forget about how much this annoys me because i’m sure all the line cutters in my life combined probably only added 3 extra minutes of waiting in line!
26. a sleeping house
25. christmas with family
24. a beautiful christmas eve service with choir and strings
23. more christmas with family
22. not being at work!
watching my five year old make a basket during a scrimmage and watching him get so excited that he’s getting better and better at basketball
eating and visiting with friends
reading to my son
weather that actually feels like winter (at least for this part of the country….low tonight in the mid 20s)
playing games with my son (tonight we learned and played several games that were new to us (card and dice games) and it was fun to see my five year old get excited about learning new games and enjoy playing them.
managing with the two boys tonight while ann went out with some friends for dinner
a house so quiet that i can hear the refridgerator humming
12-18
dinner with friends
laughter and silliness
a helpful five year old
a smiling, laughing baby
reading together
a shrinking inbox
good coffee (Peet’s)
cold weather
the chance of snow
unexpected compassion
a biting winter wind (i know that sounds crazy, but if it’s going to be winter, then be WINTER! snow would be nice, but that’s a rare event in this part of the world)
wassail, chili, and laughter
my five year old deciding on his own that he wanted to clear the table after dinner and rinse off the dishes (and he was excited about it!)
the choir that i direct did a really nice job today and it’s a joy to work with them.
my roomba!
knowing that even though i haven’t entered anything on this for more than a couple months, that i HAVE actually been happy through all that time! today i’m happy reconnecting with old friends.
