May 2009 Book Log

33. When You Pray: Making the Lord's Prayer Your Own by Philip Graham Ryken

34. The Athenian Murders by Jose Carlos Somoza

35. The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (or Don't Trust Anyone Under 30) by Mark Bauerlein

36. Patterns of Force by Michael Reaves

Party Pics

Creed opening his present.

Riding his new toy...sort of...he needs to grow a bit more.
Elizabeth's turn.
When you are one you like the paper best.
Cuteness personified.
Cake time....I used Virginia's recipe here. It was fabulous.
Singing to Creed.


It took me 3 days to get all the blue icing out of his nose.
We ate the leftovers in the same way we ate cake on Knox's birthday. It was even better leftover, cold out of the fridge.

Elizabeth turns 10

We now have 2 in the double digits which of course does nothing but make me feel old!! Let me tell you about Elizabeth though. She is a real blessing to us and such a great sister. She absolutely adores her baby brother; it is very fitting that he was born 3 days before her birthday. In fact, he started saying Lizzy this last week which is not an easy word for a baby. She loves helping to take care of him and has not met a too-dirty diaper. She always greets him with a huge smile and a cheerful word. Anne Michal and she make a great team when it comes to helping me pick up the house and keep things in order. She is a great organizer too! She also enjoys helping Emma and Jack with their schoolwork. She has made great strides this year with her schoolwork too. She is much more independent and responsible to see what she needs to do and get it done. Her progress in reading and math has been phenomenal. It is fabulous to see her lounging on the couch enjoying a book. She has continued her artwork and has completed some great drawings this year. We are so grateful God gave us the blessing named Elizabeth. Thank you Elizabeth for brightening our lives with your smile.


The first two pictures we took outside of Blue Baker where I took her for a birthday lunch. She is as sweet as she looks.




And then I had to take pictures of my May birthday babies together. The adoration is mutual.



Party pictures tomorrow.

Creed Turns One

This time last year, we were basking in the blessing of being given a 6th child and 3rd son...Simeon Creed. We had just passed the one year anniversary of Knox's death and still reeling from the grief and sadness that brings with it. There is something about new life, little fingers and little toes, fast little heartbeats, and gentle sighs. Babies point to the Creator, the giver of life. They remind that God is sovereign and in control; God is good.
Tonight I put a one yr old to bed. He is no longer an infant. I even thought he looked older today though I am sure that is in my head. It is so cliche to say that it doesn't seem like it has been a year, but that would be true. Creed has been a sweet, sweet blessing to our family. In many ways, we are still a very sad family. We still have cloud, a shadow of grief, but as Elizabeth said the other day, "It is hard to be sad when a baby is smiling." And smiling he does...a lot of it. In fact, sometimes he smiles so big, it looks like it should hurt. Of course, he does have a lot to smile about. I feel certain that he must be one of the most loved babies around. He is very blessed to have parents, siblings, and friends that adore him. The little guy may never learn to walk with so many people to tote him around wherever he wants to go!!
Birthdays will always bittersweet in this house as we celebrate with remembrance their birth and express joy and thankfulness of another year of life, but always missing Knox as a part of our celebration. I am sure he is grinning ear to ear too and maybe some day those two boys can have a smiling contest.

On to pictures...we are not celebrating with cake until Sunday, but I didn't want his special day to go by without recognition of his birthday and posting pictures!!


I love how his hair has a mind of its own.




we spent some time outside so he could play with his birthday present.



HE mostly stuck to the water side so he woudn't eat all the sand.
He did a lot of splashing.


What does a boy have to do to get a drink around here?


Can you hear him squealing?

Nuance

A six-year, $12 million scientific study identified the flavors in New Zealand's signature Sauvignon Blanc as a combination of passion fruit, asparagus, and cat's pee. "If you had a whole lot of cat's pee it obviously wouldn't be great," said researcher Sue Blackmore. "It's amazing what a little can do."

Consequences

Hospitals in the Houston area are preparing for a 25 percent surge in births nine months after Hurricane Ike knocked out power for days. "You can only do so much when there's no television, nothing open, and there's nowhere to go," said obstetrician Rakhi Dimino, who is eight months pregnant.

Wordless Wednesday