Dance, Deke, Dance!

This is what lunchtime looked like today: Atticus lost in reading a doodling superhero book; Dietrich nearly naked and full of overflow energy; Lincoln on day 6 of potty-training (day 3 no accidents!!!) up and down from his chair (not exaggerating) about every 5-10 minutes over a 2 hour period; Thea Belle varying shades of annoyed and clingy. Brad left for work around 6:45 am and returned home around 6 pm (many projects going out this week at his work). Then he came home for dinner and a short (not leisurely -- lots of kid-discipline and kid-bicycle problems) and putting the kids down for bed. Then he headed back into the office around 7:30 pm to try to marathon-it until ??. The last kid just ceased making noises in their bedroom -- It is 9:31 pm. I am very tired. I have homework for the counseling session I have on Monday afternoon. Right now I can't even remember anything I have learned. And it seemed like I had learned big life-changing truths a few days ago. Maybe this isn't the best time to be assessing existence or trying to think. Pfffttt. It's okay. Mostly because my boy Deke dances like this:

 

Thank You!

Thank you, Mom for the dress -- Thea Belle loves it. Thank you, Dad for the Pooh Bear -- Thea Belle loves him.

 

 

Spring Break Recap

Atticus had this homework journal for spring break. I love it.

Gleasons is the local gymnastics school. They have awesome preschool/kindergarten open gyms a few times a week. We haven't been able to go many times this year because of Atticus' school schedule. But we went the first day of break -- a Friday and our favorite gym guy was there -- Mr.Sasha! He knows all the boys be name and is generally wonderful!

Eloise Butler Wildflower Park with the Millers!

Swim Lessons

Playdate at Cal and Ike Miller's House

Minnesota Arboretum with the Deems Family

A friend from school, Oliver, came to play. First time to get together with this friend. And I found out his mom stays at home -- first stay-at-home mom I have found all year. I was so excited.

Easter Sunday

Isn't the ending awesome? "Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh, Yes!"

Easter Means...

One afternoon the week before Easter Atticus went downstairs by himself and unprompted, made this.

If I Ever Do My Hair...

So I totally want to do this to my hair if I ever take the time to do it. Isn't it pretty?!

Sexy Crayons

Brad wants to dance like this. Now you have to watch it.

Lovin' It Up

This song (the entire album) is the perfect cold spring soundtrack for a night o' loving with your man. Really. Try it, you'll like it.

 The track: 'Wandering Star"

Head-y

Rigney with Wilson

Today during Thea Belle's naptime Brad took the three boys to the tennis program over at the park. I got to listen to the entire! talk Joe Rigney (professor at Bethlehem Baptist College & Seminary) gave commending Jonathan Edwards to the students and faculty at New St. Andrews College out in Moscow, ID. It is an excellent lecture. (The related side discussions between Rigney and Douglas Wilson -- also found on the Canon Wired site -- have also been good to listen to.) I also was able to listen to John Piper's sermon from last Sunday. And hand sew the entire time -- while taking notes!!! It was wonderful though jarring to return from that kind of concentration/stimulation. I almost forgot what it was like to be able to think clearly and follow an argument and stream of ideas. It was heady. 

Piper in Fine Preaching Form

Piper and Wilson Together.They had quite a few conversations together at the last Pastor's Conference here in Minneapolis. I was able to hear most of them through the Desiring God site.

Piper's Hands

Because I can't help myself -- this is awesome.

Piper's picture from Fuller Seminary c.1971, 25 years old

Douglas Wilson Preaching in Moscow Idaho in 1978

Hey Ho

 

Found the band Lumineers this week through the blog Girl's Gone Child. I like.

The Piano is Also a String Instrument

This is long -- about half an hour but it is so beautiful and fascinating to watch. Even if you are only curious to see someone use the piano instrument in an unorthodox way (Hey, Melissa W., if you are reading, do you remember the phenomenom of "functional fixedness"?) I love watching a musician who has the music so utterly channeling through him. There is an old hymn I grew up singing called Channels Only which actually kinda made me uncomfortable because it seemed to be saying that humans had no unsinful individuality so that when Christ came in to redeem us, He wiped our spirits free of everything that previously made us us (like erasing a hard-drive and starting over) and then remade us into socialistic conduits for His purposes. It was a too Buddhist to be Biblical. But I did love the idea of being so entirely united with Christ that I loved what He loved and hated what He hated and walked my days in a way that made me efficacious for the story He is writing -- a willingly eager-to-obey character in the hands of the Master Writer. C.S. Lewis said that in our giving up (dying to) self in our reconciliation in Christ that we actually find the first glimpse of our real (God-intended) self. Sometimes when I see a musician being electrically lit up by the lyric they are singing or expertly plying this riff from their instrument, I think of that song, of the life-long desire I have had to be used efficaciously to say something worthwhile, something beautiful and true and edifying, honoring to my God. I think the only time I have ever felt in the center of that electrical current has been when I gave birth to my four children or when I was nursing them. The latter is surely part of why I have had such a difficult time mourning our decision to have no more children. Well, on that melancholy (though not despairing) note of self-revelation you should listen to Justin Vernon give himself to this music.

Hooray!

Aren't Richard Scarry's illustrations wonderful? I know!