Tragedy

Not many people read this blog, and most who do will know of the events of the last 24 hours. For those who do not, the short recap is that a dear family in our church was leaving evening worship yesterday, crossing the street, when mother and son were struck by a car. The son, a junior in high school and active in the youth ministry, has a broken leg and had surgery this morning for it. He is expected to make a full recovery. The mother, was more critically injured and is in ICU with major head trauma. It has been a bleak night and day, filled with tears and prayers.

My mind is filled with questions for the Lord, my heart wavers between hope and grief. All of us (our church family--including our dear students whose hearts are breaking for their friend) are clinging to the promises of Scripture.

I'm being reminded of something about myself--about Brad and me. We don't love these kids because it's his job. We love these kids...and it gets to be our job. What a blessing. What a privilege it was to hear the prayers of our students last night as they first heard the news of the accident. What a privilege to have them gather at our house tonight to pray for their friend. I am amazed that the Lord has entrusted us with this ministry. I am so thankful for the beauty of the body of Christ and the amazing display of it we've been witness to these last 24 hours. I am humbled to belong to it, and so thankful to be called to serve it in this special way.

Our hearts are broken for this family.

No strength of our own,
Or goodness we claim,
Yet since we have known
The Savior’s great name;
In this our strong tower
For safety we hide,
The Lord is our power,
The Lord will provide.

When life sinks apace
And death is in view,
This word of his grace
Shall comfort us through:
No fearing or doubting
With Christ on our side,
We hope to die shouting,
The Lord will provide.

--John Newton

Arden Quirks

So. Arden calls me "Daddy" and always has. It's gotten to be a family joke. Now Mac calls me Daddy too, just to be funny. (I retaliate and call him Arden when he does.)

She also says "Thank you" (Dah-doo) every time you give her something. How is it that I'm still working on this with my three-year-old but my fifteen-month-old gets it? Crazy times.

Arden is also hitting the major willful stage. She is NOT afraid to show her Diva side. It nearly always involves coming in from outside. We are hoping we can nip this in the bud! But I'm not as worried or upset by it as I was when Mac went from sweet/chill baby to a kid with an opinion!

Speaking of the kid with an opinion:

I'm so thankful for a husband who will humor kids with cabin-fever!

Then and Now

January 17, 2010:

February 5, 2011

January 18, 2010

February 5, 2011

(How can you not laugh at this picture??)

Excuses, Excuses

Mac will come up with any excuse to stay awake and not sleep at night. Our rule is that he stay in bed, but can call us if he needs us. But "need" can be a relative term. Some things we've heard from his room after bedtime:
"My fingernails are long!"
"My ears are dirty!" (funny that two of his excuses regard personal hygiene?)

And the other night,
"Why do guys have whiskers? Why do guys have whiskers? WHY do GUYS have WHI-I-I-I-SK-ERS!??"

What a boy.

Preschool (maybe) looms on the horizon, and Mac has been giving it lots of thought. Yesterday, out of the blue, he said, "Mom, when I go to school, I want to go far, far, far away on the intersteak." (His word for interstate.)

"Well Mac, that makes me sad because I love you so much and I would be really sad if you were far away from me."

Mac got really serious. There was a long pause as he thought it all over. Then, in a small, sweet voice with a twinge of uncertainty (reflecting his actual feelings about school, I think), he replied, "Well mom. You can come with me if you want to."

I told Brad later that I think I'm going to be the mom that cries on the first day of school...not just a few tears. Sobs probably. I'm already crazy emotional about it and it's months away! Can he possibly be old enough for this?!?

In other news, Brad and I are smitten with our new camera card that wirelessly uploads all our pictures to our computer AND our flickr account whenever the camera is within range of our wireless network. YES. There really is a such thing. And IT. ACTUALLY. WORKS. Can you believe it? So no more excuses for pic-less posts. Lately:

The girl has had a crazy appetite lately and then suddenly has this sweet little pudge (and none of her clothes fit!).

Can you believe we had this kind of ice for nearly a week?


Brad is the photographer of the family. He got some lovely shots of our church in the snow. Where we were married, where our children were baptized, where we worship with our church family every week:


When I tell people where we go to church, they often reply, "Oh, is that the pink church?"


Brad has a knack for capturing scale in photos. I love the contrast of Arden with our tree.


One thing I love about where we live--crazy snow and ice one week, 60s the next. I love that we can play outside (often without coats!) year round. This truck stays in our backyard...through rain, snow and sleet...and still plays music. Mac calls it the "Army Farmy" truck. (It plays the song, "Old MacDonald Had a Farm". Old MacDonald=Army Farmy.)


Are you wondering why there are no pics of Mac on this post? Maybe this will help explain:

Moments like this...

...make me smile.

Happy Snow Day...and other randomness!

Is there a snow day tradition emerging?

We've been trying to organize all our photos and videos in one place. We came across this...

A computer glitch (maybe?) caused the original date to be listed as January 3, 2011. Clearly incorrect. Based on what he's wearing and the painting in the background (which I was painting the day I found our I was pregnant with Arden! I will always think of it as her painting!), it must have been filmed when he was around 18 months old. My heart about melts when I watch this one.

And now some fun mom and dad pics!

Isn't this sweet?

(Yes, they are wearing their stockings. Why not?)

And one more:

Here's to hoping that our power stays on tonight (it's already been out for a bit!) and that Auburn wins!

Totally Random Thoughts From the Mind of a 3-Year-Old...and Somethings Sweet from Baby

Both these conversations occurred OUT OF NOWHERE.

Mac: Mom, what's Goliath's middle name?

Me: I don't know, Mac. The Bible doesn't tell us. Do you know what your middle name is?

Mac: Yes! Thomas Anderson!

+++++++++++++++++++++

Mac: Mom, what do dust bunnies actually eat?

(How does he even know the term "dust bunnies"? That's not what I call them!)

++++++++++++++++++++++

If you ask Arden, "What does mama say when it's time to rest?"

She sways (like we do in the rocking chair) and says, "Dees." (Her version of "Jesus"--for "Jesus Love Me".)