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| James Bennett Blake "Benny" 8lbs 8oz 10/28/13 |
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
October 29th
Do you know why today is better than any other day? Today I am an Aunt! I’ve never been an Aunt before, but late last night my brother and his beautiful wife welcomed a little baby boy into the world and all of a sudden, here he is.
Yesterday when I received the phone call that the baby was hours away from delivery, I had just given my three kids dinner and they sat up on the stools at the counter, as we waited for daddy to come home from work. I listened to my mom share the report and when I hung up I broke the news to my kiddos, quickly lunging towards the ground and throwing both my hands up in the air over my head in a ‘touchdown’ pose. My kids know this is my victory move and I yelled, “BABY BENNY IS ALMOST HERE!!! HE IS COMING!!!” really loudly, although my audience was just two feet away.
Elena, my two year old, covered her mouth with her hand, and then picking up on my mood yelled “I’m SO EXCITED!! BABIES ARE SO SPECIAL!! I’m SO EXCITED!!!!” She held her elbows to her side and started flapping her hands in her victory dance too.
Guy immediately said, “I hope he doesn’t cry too much.” Joey kept eating. Totally the most even-keeled of the bunch.
“You GUYS!”- I touched each one of their hands so they would put down their forks. “A BABY IS ON HIS WAY to our family!!” I beamed at them sincerely, and then prompted, “And what are babies….?
“A TREASURE!” yelled Elena.
Guy nodded his head in vigorous agreement.
“Well”, Joey contributed in five year old wisdom, “Not a pirate treasure- more like a boy or girl treasure.”
And I could hardly stand it. Every time we see a new baby I try to stop and tell my kids that babies are a special gift, and using words they understand I have told them repeatedly that babies are a treasure. Treasures are special rocks that Guy keeps in his pockets. Elena’s special blankie that she’s had since birth is her treasure. Treasures have value. But babies are the best treasure of all. And I’ve told them this because I am not going to chance that valuing life is only innate. I believe that appreciating life also has to be taught and if you’re going to teach it, you have to believe it. And living it starts with saying it.
So we call babies treasures, and we try to live as though we believe this. Not because it’s cute; because it’s true. More than anything I want my children to recognize the worth of every single person. I know I have spent far too much time judging people, and too little time ascribing worth to people. And as my children grow up the world will tell them that people are only worth what they have to offer you. The lie that people are only worth something as long as they serve you. To deserve attention they have to be the right nationality, the right look, the right size, the right age, the right mental capacity. But the truth is that every person is of great worth- simply because they are created. And babies are the most helpless, vulnerable, newest treasure of all.
Today we have a new treasure in our extended family. And I think about the soul that has entered this world. Everything is brand new. When I was a new mom, I thought about the little soul that I had, but I also thought a lot about feeding and burping and was he warm and was his color okay? And is he breathing? Still? Now? Still?
But now that I’m an aunt, I get to let his wonderful parents worry about burping, and I get to be in helpless awe and appreciation.
Last night, I put my three kids to bed before their cousin was born. I tucked my cuties in and told them that I would let them know about him tomorrow. And they are still sleeping now. I can hardly wait until they wake up. I will show them the cutest little picture of the cutest little baby.
We have been waiting for you, my nephew- James Bennett Blake!
We already treasure you.
We are so excited for your life.
(***and I should check with his mom, if it’s okay to post pictures, but when I do, I’ll put one up so you can see how adorable this little baby is!!!)
Yesterday when I received the phone call that the baby was hours away from delivery, I had just given my three kids dinner and they sat up on the stools at the counter, as we waited for daddy to come home from work. I listened to my mom share the report and when I hung up I broke the news to my kiddos, quickly lunging towards the ground and throwing both my hands up in the air over my head in a ‘touchdown’ pose. My kids know this is my victory move and I yelled, “BABY BENNY IS ALMOST HERE!!! HE IS COMING!!!” really loudly, although my audience was just two feet away.
Elena, my two year old, covered her mouth with her hand, and then picking up on my mood yelled “I’m SO EXCITED!! BABIES ARE SO SPECIAL!! I’m SO EXCITED!!!!” She held her elbows to her side and started flapping her hands in her victory dance too.
Guy immediately said, “I hope he doesn’t cry too much.” Joey kept eating. Totally the most even-keeled of the bunch.
“You GUYS!”- I touched each one of their hands so they would put down their forks. “A BABY IS ON HIS WAY to our family!!” I beamed at them sincerely, and then prompted, “And what are babies….?
“A TREASURE!” yelled Elena.
Guy nodded his head in vigorous agreement.
“Well”, Joey contributed in five year old wisdom, “Not a pirate treasure- more like a boy or girl treasure.”
And I could hardly stand it. Every time we see a new baby I try to stop and tell my kids that babies are a special gift, and using words they understand I have told them repeatedly that babies are a treasure. Treasures are special rocks that Guy keeps in his pockets. Elena’s special blankie that she’s had since birth is her treasure. Treasures have value. But babies are the best treasure of all. And I’ve told them this because I am not going to chance that valuing life is only innate. I believe that appreciating life also has to be taught and if you’re going to teach it, you have to believe it. And living it starts with saying it.
So we call babies treasures, and we try to live as though we believe this. Not because it’s cute; because it’s true. More than anything I want my children to recognize the worth of every single person. I know I have spent far too much time judging people, and too little time ascribing worth to people. And as my children grow up the world will tell them that people are only worth what they have to offer you. The lie that people are only worth something as long as they serve you. To deserve attention they have to be the right nationality, the right look, the right size, the right age, the right mental capacity. But the truth is that every person is of great worth- simply because they are created. And babies are the most helpless, vulnerable, newest treasure of all.
Today we have a new treasure in our extended family. And I think about the soul that has entered this world. Everything is brand new. When I was a new mom, I thought about the little soul that I had, but I also thought a lot about feeding and burping and was he warm and was his color okay? And is he breathing? Still? Now? Still?
But now that I’m an aunt, I get to let his wonderful parents worry about burping, and I get to be in helpless awe and appreciation.
Last night, I put my three kids to bed before their cousin was born. I tucked my cuties in and told them that I would let them know about him tomorrow. And they are still sleeping now. I can hardly wait until they wake up. I will show them the cutest little picture of the cutest little baby.
We have been waiting for you, my nephew- James Bennett Blake!
We already treasure you.
We are so excited for your life.
(***and I should check with his mom, if it’s okay to post pictures, but when I do, I’ll put one up so you can see how adorable this little baby is!!!)
Monday, September 9, 2013
Fans
Joe has always been a Packer fan. Like a serious, almost never- miss- a-game, actually owns a cheese head, Green Bay Packer fan. And of course our kids, because they think their Dad is the complete end of all knowledge and everything cool, love the Packers too. Within ten minutes of Guy being born I fell sound asleep. I woke up two hours later with no idea where my baby or husband were. They were in the next room. Watching the Packer game. Joe is mostly devoted to four things: Jesus, our family, the woods and the Packers. Really, it's a simple list, so when this time of year rolls around I'm happy to encourage it. Who wouldn't love little kids running around through an intense part of a game screaming, "Go Pack Go!" ? If you asked Guy his favorite color the answer is "green and yellow". Like it's one color. When Joey was three years old he once pointed out with excitement that the grass was GREEN and the sun was YELLOW! God must be a packer fan.
Here are some pics of the fans through the years...
They only start at 2010 because during 2008 we didn't have a t.v. Seriously.
Here are some pics of the fans through the years...
They only start at 2010 because during 2008 we didn't have a t.v. Seriously.
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| Packer season 2010 |
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| Packer season 2011 |
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| 2012 |
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| 2013 |
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Kindergarten
Joey is going to kindergarten tomorrow. He’s pretty pumped. For Joey “pretty pumped” means putting his thumbs in his jeans pocket and rocking forward on the balls of feet saying real calmly, “Yeah, I think I’m excited, Mom. Yeah.”
And meanwhile for six months now I’ve been functioning in peak emotional roller coaster state and alternate between looking at him like a lost little puppy dog with teary eyes to practically jumping as I squeezed him super hard telling him HOW EXCITED I am and HOW HAPPY I am and how much we LOVE kindergarten. Hyping it up to the extreme. So yeah, everything you’re not supposed to do. I’m pretty sure he’ll need therapy at some point. I started this whole thing off a little wrong. I started talking about kindergarten LAST YEAR. As in way back last November. He was four. I thought I was prepping him. Nope. I was just prepping myself. Verbally. So as the months crawled by, we talked about kindergarten more and more and more and more until finally two months ago some well-meaning stranger looked down at him and mentioned something about him liking kindergarten. “I DON”T KNOW!” Joey said exasperated -and I realized that possibly I had made this into a bigger deal then it probably is.
So I scaled back. On my mother’s advice for the rest of the summer I acted real cool about kindergarten – in front of him. I barely mentioned the bus, or the supplies, or the friends or the fun. I calmly went to more orientations, a kindergarten social, registration day and meet the teacher night. I calmly told him his teacher’s name and very calmly introduced the two. I’m a very excitable person. Everything is exciting. If it’s once inch above lame it’s exciting to me. Joey is just the opposite. He does not gain positive energy off excitement like I do. I have realized that that for Joey, excitement breeds nervousness which breeds stress.
So I’ve been real calm. Real calm.
But here’s the deal. He’s asleep now. And I’m not calm any more. I’m thrilled, I’m nervous, I’m excited, I’m sad. I’m basically a nice little fruit basket of an emotional wreck. And it’s kindergarten. It’s not boarding school. It’s not high school. It’s not college in another state. It’s not like he’s getting married. He’s going to kindergarten. But still- it’s a milestone. And milestones are just places that mark the distance along a journey. “Notice-", my stones read as if someone took a chisel to them. Then in tinier letters, “Pay attention. Stop. Pay attention.”
And life is so easy to travel without marking the distance. Without even noticing that time is passing at all. And suddenly there is just a gentle wake, proof that time has been here and has glided by. And your baby girl’s hand now reaches from the corner of your eye to the corner of your smile and holds a spoon and somehow all the bottles are nowhere in the house and blankies have mostly disappeared to boxes, with the first shoes, and small hats and contraction sheets you saved from when you were in hour ten of labor.
“Pay attention,” call the milestones. And I know I will not pass this place on this road again. The beauty and wonder of life is that nothing is ever the same. But to notice the moment allows for gratefulness - and gratitude is a root of joy. My excitement for my children lies in the belief that life is beautiful, and rare and valuable and that good things are ahead. Blessings are ahead. And my sadness is just to say that I have very, very much loved the time that has been.
And I see this milestone out of the corner of my eye, and because it is kindergarten we will not only notice but stop and take pictures. I will snap a picture of the milestone in action. Probably on the front step. In front of the birch tree. Possibly getting on the bus.
But real calm. Real calm like. Because Joey works best in calm. And because it is mostly his milestone.
But let me tell you -after that yellow bus pulls away- I might get pretty excited. Maybe I’ll laugh and cry at the same time because that’s what excited looks like. And growing up is so sad and happy simultaneously. And time whistles in and out of the milestones. Pay attention. And he’ll be on that bus and I’ll be back here and I’ll notice and mark and be thankful for exactly where we are.
And meanwhile for six months now I’ve been functioning in peak emotional roller coaster state and alternate between looking at him like a lost little puppy dog with teary eyes to practically jumping as I squeezed him super hard telling him HOW EXCITED I am and HOW HAPPY I am and how much we LOVE kindergarten. Hyping it up to the extreme. So yeah, everything you’re not supposed to do. I’m pretty sure he’ll need therapy at some point. I started this whole thing off a little wrong. I started talking about kindergarten LAST YEAR. As in way back last November. He was four. I thought I was prepping him. Nope. I was just prepping myself. Verbally. So as the months crawled by, we talked about kindergarten more and more and more and more until finally two months ago some well-meaning stranger looked down at him and mentioned something about him liking kindergarten. “I DON”T KNOW!” Joey said exasperated -and I realized that possibly I had made this into a bigger deal then it probably is.
So I scaled back. On my mother’s advice for the rest of the summer I acted real cool about kindergarten – in front of him. I barely mentioned the bus, or the supplies, or the friends or the fun. I calmly went to more orientations, a kindergarten social, registration day and meet the teacher night. I calmly told him his teacher’s name and very calmly introduced the two. I’m a very excitable person. Everything is exciting. If it’s once inch above lame it’s exciting to me. Joey is just the opposite. He does not gain positive energy off excitement like I do. I have realized that that for Joey, excitement breeds nervousness which breeds stress.
So I’ve been real calm. Real calm.
But here’s the deal. He’s asleep now. And I’m not calm any more. I’m thrilled, I’m nervous, I’m excited, I’m sad. I’m basically a nice little fruit basket of an emotional wreck. And it’s kindergarten. It’s not boarding school. It’s not high school. It’s not college in another state. It’s not like he’s getting married. He’s going to kindergarten. But still- it’s a milestone. And milestones are just places that mark the distance along a journey. “Notice-", my stones read as if someone took a chisel to them. Then in tinier letters, “Pay attention. Stop. Pay attention.”
And life is so easy to travel without marking the distance. Without even noticing that time is passing at all. And suddenly there is just a gentle wake, proof that time has been here and has glided by. And your baby girl’s hand now reaches from the corner of your eye to the corner of your smile and holds a spoon and somehow all the bottles are nowhere in the house and blankies have mostly disappeared to boxes, with the first shoes, and small hats and contraction sheets you saved from when you were in hour ten of labor.
“Pay attention,” call the milestones. And I know I will not pass this place on this road again. The beauty and wonder of life is that nothing is ever the same. But to notice the moment allows for gratefulness - and gratitude is a root of joy. My excitement for my children lies in the belief that life is beautiful, and rare and valuable and that good things are ahead. Blessings are ahead. And my sadness is just to say that I have very, very much loved the time that has been.
And I see this milestone out of the corner of my eye, and because it is kindergarten we will not only notice but stop and take pictures. I will snap a picture of the milestone in action. Probably on the front step. In front of the birch tree. Possibly getting on the bus.
But real calm. Real calm like. Because Joey works best in calm. And because it is mostly his milestone.
But let me tell you -after that yellow bus pulls away- I might get pretty excited. Maybe I’ll laugh and cry at the same time because that’s what excited looks like. And growing up is so sad and happy simultaneously. And time whistles in and out of the milestones. Pay attention. And he’ll be on that bus and I’ll be back here and I’ll notice and mark and be thankful for exactly where we are.
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| One of my favorite pictures of Joey and myself taken almost three years ago. We were so calm. |
Thursday, May 9, 2013
A Garden
Well. In the depths of this past winter - sometime when it was -20degrees out and a foot of snow covered both cars, and the pine trees were bending under slabs of ice- husband Joe decided to build a garden. Not right then of course. This summer. But because Joe likes to do things right (whereas I like to do things 'kinda right') and Joe likes to be successful (whereas I am okay with 'kinda successful') he started almost immediately. In December. With research. The computer was taken up on many nights on garden websites, the radio always tuned to 'Garden Talk- wpr' and books arrived on our doorstep from amazon about planting. Joe was into planting a garden. So of course our kids were too.
Joe started growing plants under the florescent lights in the basement and built special containers for them. Relax- I'm sure they were legal vegetables. It was broccoli. Our master bath got a space heater and the temperature was carefully monitored to grow seeds. Joe determined that the soil around our house was too sandy to grow a garden so he got a bunch of different stuff (I'd tell you but I don't know what it was except that he combined 4 different types of dirt) and made some more acceptable soil. He figured out a way to put up fencing and stuff on the ground to keep all the bunnies, deer and maybe some weeds out, and then built some boxes to grow everything. He measured different spots in our yard to calculate the sun, he drew up diagrams for planting and decided on a continuous crop cycle (or something like that). Then we just waited and waited and waited on spring. We received 6 inches of snow on May 2nd. The broccoli started wilting in the basement. But finally. Finally. Spring came.
Joe spent last weekend building the garden and I'd like to say I helped. But I didn't really. The only job Joe gave me was to measure and drill screws in a board every 12 inches. I spent twenty minutes working. Then Joe discovered that I had been drilling every 16 inches. I was kicked off the project. With happiness I decided to take pictures instead. And here they are. The kids helped until they realized that the hose could also double as a water sprinkler. But now -the garden is built. The soil is in. The broccoli is replanted. And maybe. Just maybe, in a little bit, we'll be eating home grown veggies from Joe's garden.
Joe started growing plants under the florescent lights in the basement and built special containers for them. Relax- I'm sure they were legal vegetables. It was broccoli. Our master bath got a space heater and the temperature was carefully monitored to grow seeds. Joe determined that the soil around our house was too sandy to grow a garden so he got a bunch of different stuff (I'd tell you but I don't know what it was except that he combined 4 different types of dirt) and made some more acceptable soil. He figured out a way to put up fencing and stuff on the ground to keep all the bunnies, deer and maybe some weeds out, and then built some boxes to grow everything. He measured different spots in our yard to calculate the sun, he drew up diagrams for planting and decided on a continuous crop cycle (or something like that). Then we just waited and waited and waited on spring. We received 6 inches of snow on May 2nd. The broccoli started wilting in the basement. But finally. Finally. Spring came.
Joe spent last weekend building the garden and I'd like to say I helped. But I didn't really. The only job Joe gave me was to measure and drill screws in a board every 12 inches. I spent twenty minutes working. Then Joe discovered that I had been drilling every 16 inches. I was kicked off the project. With happiness I decided to take pictures instead. And here they are. The kids helped until they realized that the hose could also double as a water sprinkler. But now -the garden is built. The soil is in. The broccoli is replanted. And maybe. Just maybe, in a little bit, we'll be eating home grown veggies from Joe's garden.
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| Frame built and the soil in! |
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| Boys watching Joe water. No, I don't know what Guy is wearing. He chose it. Try not to judge my parenting based on his outfit. |
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| To keep plants in and pests out. |
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| Fighting over watering the garden. |
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| Making it level. |
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| Hose fun. |
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| My one job. |
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| Joe correcting my one job. |
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| The transplants and book that inspires. |
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| Kids watching Joe. Again, Guy has an original outfit. |
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| Focusing. |
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| Happy kiddo. |
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| Another happy kiddo. |
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| A bunch of happy. |
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| Final product. Although that door needs to be finished somehow! |
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| Mostly planted and labeled! |
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| Watch it grow! |
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Update
Yesterday we drove to Children's Hospital for an ultrasound and another test to see how Elena was doing. We looked at the fishes in the tank, we counted books, we ate animal crackers and finally she was called. We first went in for a quick ultrasound of her abdomen to check the size of her kidneys. It was totally painless but Ellie screamed so much and so loudly (just at the outrage of having to lie still)- that the tech said she was seriously going to recommend her as a canidate for complete sedation for the next test. I was able to speak to the radiologist however and with four people, a hoopla of toys, an ipad and glowing lights, we were able to get through it just fine. Children's Hospital is just the BEST. Elena left with bracelets, and a teddy bear and stickers and teddy grahams and crayons and all of that completely overshadowed any memory of what might be unpleasant.
And here is the good news: the GREAT news: parking only cost me four dollars. No. But here is the EXCELLENT news: Elena's test looked amazing!! I am waiting four days for the official news from the doctor's office to be able to say for sure what the outcome is, but the results that I could see on the screen and the info I could gather from the radiologist were absolutely fabulous! I absolutely can't wait for our next appointment to see if she can stop her antibiotics. We'll keep you updated- but until then here are some cute pictures of her cute self. I am so grateful and so thankful, and can't even wait to hear the 'official' report of good news. But today there is good news enough: all three are happily playing legos on the floor. The sun is shining all over our new 6 inches of April snow and I found the can of cream of chicken soup in the back of the pantry, so I can make dinner and don't have to go grocery shopping until tomorrow.
Elena 2 years old in her new birthday dress.
And here is the good news: the GREAT news: parking only cost me four dollars. No. But here is the EXCELLENT news: Elena's test looked amazing!! I am waiting four days for the official news from the doctor's office to be able to say for sure what the outcome is, but the results that I could see on the screen and the info I could gather from the radiologist were absolutely fabulous! I absolutely can't wait for our next appointment to see if she can stop her antibiotics. We'll keep you updated- but until then here are some cute pictures of her cute self. I am so grateful and so thankful, and can't even wait to hear the 'official' report of good news. But today there is good news enough: all three are happily playing legos on the floor. The sun is shining all over our new 6 inches of April snow and I found the can of cream of chicken soup in the back of the pantry, so I can make dinner and don't have to go grocery shopping until tomorrow.
Elena 2 years old in her new birthday dress.
Elena at five weeks old in the hospital. She was a big five week old baby! 
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