What if...

Closing out the weekend is always a blah time in our household. We love weekends (doesn't everyone?), and it always brings a measure of sadness when Sunday hits the time of day that feels less like a weekend and more like a weeknight. But a what a great weekend it was. I started the weekend off with some of my favorite friends and ended the weekend off with my favorite neighbors, and in between I enjoyed sunshine on the lake, pizza and a movie with the family, a wonderful time worshipping the Lord at church, and a Sunday afternoon nap. Ahhh, good times.

So I salute you, Weekend, for your consistency and your flexibility, for girls-only getaways alongside great family time. For nights with too little sleep, balanced by days of napping the afternoon away. For friends, and family, and coffee, and gummy bears. And although you always leave me wanting more, Weekend, you are a friend of mine - always welcome in this home. Come again, and next time, stay a little longer if you will.

Luke hits the ball every time he's up to bat. Unfortunately, he hits it almost directly to the first baseman. But last night, on his birthday no less, he finally hit it past that first baseman and made it to first without getting out. We clapped and yelled as if he was running for Olympic gold! Now, no offense to the next couple guys in the line up, but with one out already, it didn't look good for Luke to get any farther than first. But I prayed. He's never run around the bases during a game. I prayed hard. And I played the birthday card, not that I think God didn't see that one coming. But I'm inclined to think birthdays are pretty special to our Creator as well - 'cause that next little guy hit a single, advancing Luke to second. And although the poor little fellow after him struck out, that brought us back to the top of our line up. David and I were up off our seats as the lead hitter hit a double, bringing Luke home. You may think David isn't the excitable type, and for the most part that's true, but with the look on Luke's face as he rounded third and headed home, you'd have to be dead to not be excited. Three of Luke's little friends were with us and along with Lily, they were all jumping up and down as he crossed homeplate. And even though the sun was setting behind us, I kept my sunglasses on - to hide the tears.

The team won, and as Luke left the dugout his friend Jed said, "Luke, you're the best at that game that I've ever seen!" Luke shrugged and said, "Nah, there are a lot of boys better than me." But I tend to agree with Jed, because I've never been so excited at a baseball game in my entire life!

Just about the time the birthday cards and gifts stop rolling in for Miss Lily, a new batch begins to trickle in bearing Luke's name. Yep...it's now time to celebrate the main man - Luke David. Tomorrow, April 9, is Luke's 7th birthday - and boy, is he ready. He's been counting down since, well, January-ish. I'm not sure what we're going to count down to once the birthdays have come and gone, Christmas maybe?

It's not surprising news to share that Luke was a surprising arrival. Born just 12 months and 2 weeks after Lily, we certainly weren't planning on expanding our family so quickly. But Luke's birth will forever be a great lesson in faith, a lesson in trusting the Lord's plans for my life. I was a mess when I found out I was pregnant and could not, no matter how hard I tried, figure out how having 2 little ones so close together could ever be a good thing. Well shame on me for being so faithless and short-sighted because I can say in all honestly that having 2 little ones so close together is actually better than good, it's the best! I was so worried about Lily, and how Luke's arrival would impact her life, and his arrival certainly did impact her life -but for the better. It's kinda like God knit Lily her very own best friend and delivered him to her life just 12 months after her own birth. Actually, it's exactly like that. Sometimes, I feel like he belongs to her more than me, and I now I can't imagine a greater gift that David and I could have given our daughter than a life long friend and companion.

I am overwhelmed with love and gratitude as we celebrate the 7th birthday of the biggest surprise of our lives!

So today, while driving on interstate, I ended up behind a car with one of those "COEXIST" bumper stickers. You know, the ones that have a different religious symbol for each letter. I have my own feelings about the general message of that sticker, but that's another post for another day. The funny thing about today's was - it was taped onto the back windshield. Taped. As in scotch. So apparently although "coexistence" is a nice thought, this driver isn't completely committed to the idea.

Well, the day is only half over but so far I've...

- successfully avoided the "is the Easter Bunny real?" question by talking in circles that I didn't even understand myself.

- got our family fed, dressed and out the door on time (even with the distraction of new ZhuZhu pets).

- made it out the door without any silly bands on my children to clash with their Easter clothes.

- ridden public transportation with friends - and lots of strangers - twice.

- worshipped our RISEN LORD with 11,000 or so of my closest friends! Such an awesome experience!

- celebrated and prayed and cried with a few new believers - Jason, Bonnie and the others who's names I can't recall right this minute - you truly are an answer to the prayers of many, many people, and I'll continue to pray for you, maybe our paths will cross again.

- enjoyed a wonderful, fuss free meal with the family (an Easter miracle indeed!).

and currently, I am fighting off a nap but this battle may be lost!

Happy Easter everyone - may the hope of Christ represeted in His power over the grave resonate through your life today - and everyday!

I remember the day you were born. What I wore. What I ate for breakfast. The lump in my throat when the ultrasound tech told me you'd be 9 pounds. No wonder my blood pressure hit the roof! I remember calling my friend - and labor nurse, Karen, and telling her the Dr. was ready to induce. I remember how Rhonda and Courtney beat us to the hospital - even though they were 30 minutes away and we were right across the street. I remember signing the paperwork to have an epidural - then later deciding not to. And I do remember how badly it hurt. I remember Karen telling me not to push, and crying back at her that I couldn't help it. I remember hearing "It's a girl!" for the first time. A baby girl. A "big girl" they called you - 8 lbs, 7 oz- but you looked so tiny to me. I remember your Daddy cutting the cord, and later telling me how he carried the pink slip of paper to the waiting room and held it up to the window to show the awaiting crowd a daughter was born. I remember your Grandma June looking pretty rough - as if she was the one who'd just given birth. She probably would have fared better had I gotten the epidural. I remember how intently you stared at my face, with your blue-gray eyes, as if you were as anxious to know me as I was you. You felt brand new, yet so familiar all at once.

So my Lily-girl, when I get a little teary eyed as each birthday comes and goes, you'll just have to understand - it's because I remember the day you were born. And that's probably the biggest difference between me and you. A day that you will never recall is forever ingrained in my memory, as if I lived it yesterday. But sadly, the other 2, 919 days of your life blur together, passing much, much too quickly. And so as happy as I am to celebrate you and your precious life, your birthday will always be bittersweet, because my love, I remember the day you were born - 8 years ago today. Happy Birthday, my Lily.

Lily has an awesome sense of humor. She's not just funny, she's clever. Phineas & Ferb fans will appreciate this one...

Lily has always been amused by the amount of hair on David's arms and chest. As a toddler, she called him "furry." But about a month ago, she became a little more sophisticated in her name-calling. She's affectionately named him "Hairy the Dadypus."

Love it, love her, can't wait to hear what she comes up with next!

* For anyone not familiar with Disney's Phineas & Ferb cartoon, there is a character (a household pet/secret agent) named Perry the Platypus.

Obviously, I've all but abandoned this blog. I say "all but" because although I haven't posted since 12/18/09, I think about blogging at least once a week - and it's the thought that counts, right? But this week, I'm dusting off the blog...

So what would bring me back after 3 months of silence?

Lily's birthday is this week, and if there is any topic I can find plenty to say about, it's my sweet children. So in honor of my almost 8-year-old favorite girl in the world, I WILL post at least 3 more times this week to share some Lily-goodness.

To start I'll share the latest Lily news. About 2 weeks ago, Lily started playing softball. She loves it! This is her second taste of the sports world, she played soccer in the fall of '08 and was only mildly impressed with the sport. Softball however has really captured her fancy. Her favorite part? The other girls, and the chants they shout from the dug out. Just so you know - her team is BOOM dynamite. (Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick, BOOM dynamite!) My favorite part? The way her daddy glows when he tells me about her practices. He's so very proud of her positive attitude and enthusiastic approach to anything and everything she's asked to do. We're all looking forward to a fun season.

That's all for now, but I'll be back...really, I will!