A Family Weekend, In Madison

Shannon & Jill hosted the S.familiy in Madison this past weekend. Our time together was filled with catching up, playing with cousins, walking the Madison Farmers Market in the rain, going to the zoo in the sunshine, more playing with cousins, and all-around good times. (more pictures to come later, experiencing some technical difficulties & lost electricity twice while writing this post!)



Sweet, Smiling Sarahlynn

Her arrival came upon us quickly. And she left sooner than expected, too. This past Thursday afternoon, we said good-bye to our sweet Sarahlynn as she was reunited with her mom (Jessica) and older brother (Krystian). We miss her dearly but are so thankful this little family can be all together again.

Alexander requested we keep the 'swingset' - a borrowed baby swing - assembled in case God sends us another little baby, although he has since requested our next Safe Family child be "a 4-year old boy just like me!" We'll have to wait and see...

Misc. Family Times, Last Weekend

Ahh..mommy & daughter

Xander and his 'best friend in all the world' -- for the moment, at least

No worries, Grandpa! We've got the candles! :)

Summer Officially Has Arrived

Alexander believes it is not summer unless there is splashing about in in U.Steve and A.Joy's pool. This past weekend, while visiting family, we were able to make our swimming debut in the K-family's backyard pool. Fun! Fun!

 

 

Sharing Some Love!

I peeked into Alexander's bedroom this morning to check on his progress in getting ready for preschool and saw the below scene. Xander had graciously wrapped Sarahlynn in his favorite blanket, tucked Mr.Monkey under her arm and was talking gibber-ish while she giggled back. Melt your heart sweetness!

Safe Family Child #3

Alexander and I picked up a 4-month old Safe Families child, Sarahlynn, yesterday afternoon. She will be staying with us for a month (or longer). For this newborn/infant amateur mom who recv'd her first child at 10-months and with a well-established schedule, it has been quite the adventure so far. For the past 24-hours, sweet Sarahlynn has mostly vacillated between sleeping (a little!) and screaming (a lot!) The X-man does not like the screaming part and does everything he can to make her stop – pushing in her pacifier, singing her made-up songs, patting her head OR simply re-locating as far away as possible :)

Thanks to all the friends who have loaned us baby gear, clothing and advice/encouragement. We are blessed!

A 2Wheeler For the X-Man

We started with a no-peddle bike. Then a fun Radio Flyer tricycle. But we’ve realized, perhaps a bit belatedly, that the X-man is ready for a two-wheeler. I found one curbside a couple weekends ago only to realize the lack of training wheels made it non-functional (for us). No worries; I figured I would easily find a pair of training wheels and we’d be operational in no time. Easier said than done.

After going to countless brick-and-mortar stores & searching online only to discover the cost to be more than twice what I paid for the bike(!), I bought a pair of wheels at a local discount store only to discover once assembled, they suspended the bike in midair. Oops; that’s not going to work!

Becoming desperate for a solution, I petitioned a sales guy at Sports Authority this morning for some help and he pointed me in the direction of some EZ Rider Wheels, assuring me they’d work for ANY size bike. He was right & our little guy is excitedly on his way to riding a 2-wheeler.

For our cautious-I-do-not-like-to-feel-uncomfortable-and-heaven-forbid-that-I-should-fall-down 4Yr old, it might be a bit of a journey but, that’s okay. Tonight as he took a spin around the driveway he declared, “This is my favorite best day ever!”  

Book Review: Chasing The Sun

I recently signed up to be a book reviewer for Bethany House publishers. For this avid bookworm, it doesn't get much better then receiving free, newly released books in the mail :) The first book I received to review was titled, 'Chasing the Sun' by Tracie Peterson. DISCLAIMER: I recv'd a free copy; opinions stated here are my own.

My first impression. Not a huge fan of the book's cover, but that's quite minor. Second impression, I thought the storyline was kind of slow from a character-development standpoint. Perhaps individual characters will gain strength/connect-ability as the series progresses? My third impression, I would have preferred a more streamlined storyline; either simply the debate about the ranch's ownership OR the conflict with the Indians as I felt these two scenarios did not interact seamlessly but seemed to create more of a back-and-forth effect as the story unfolded.

What did I like about the book? There are almost limitless historical fiction books written about the Civil War years, typically with a North-vs-South perspective. This book's backdrop was Texas which allowed for the lines between North/South to easily be blurred as individuals within the community of Cedar Springs supported both sides. I thought the author did an exceptional job of identifying the reality that in a war of this sort, one side is not always right & one side is not always wrong. Both Hannah and William viewed individuals as people, not as enemies.

Peterson is a great author, one of my favorites, but I simply did not feel this is one of her better reads.