did you know that it's not that rare for a gerbil to break its' tale off.
what i'm not sure about is how rare it is for a three-year-old to break a gerbil's tail off while twirling that gerbil round' her head by said tail.
i'm guessing it's not all that uncommon,
or at least i'm telling myself that so i don't feel so bad.

like her mama

it's never a good thing when your neighbor has to rescue your three-year-old out of the tree she's handcuffed herself to before you've even noticed she's missing. whitney has a way of sneaking out during prime distractions.
(this is not the tree she cuffed herself to. this tree was practice, i guess.)


pics from mike again.

eight already!!

how is it that my first baby, my only little boy, my chubbiest of them all, my non-stop chatter box of a kid is already eight? i wish i could push the pause button on all this growing up business. make it stop. make it slow down for just a year or two so i can soak up every last dirt smudged smile, every snorty belly laugh, every request to cuddle for just a few minutes before bed, every week spent in the same pair of pants, every fantastical lego creature, every thing that tells me he's still my little guy and i still have time to be the mom he deserves. now he's eight and panic is setting in. this milestone of being baptized is such a bitter sweet one for me. how wonderful that my son has chosen to follow the Lord and has promised to try his best to serve Him and be like Him. but this is the crossing over mark, in my mind, from a little boy to a boy on his way to becoming a young man. so strange, and exciting, and scary. this boy, my max, is such a loving, happy, caring, thoughtful and good little person, in spite of my faults in raising him. i look at him and wonder at the miracle that he is so full of goodness and light and joy, that he is infinitely better than i ever taught him to be, that he is too good for me but still i have been blessed to call him mine. we love you max and are grateful for the light and joy you bring to us every day.









max was baptized on the fourth of july, and what a celebration we had. too bad he snuck off with his cousins and i didn't get a picture of him the rest of the day.




thanks so much, mike, for all of the pictures.

ahhhhhhh, stanley

sometimes there's nothing better, or more needed, than a few days at the lake, in the mountains, on the beach. so refreshing and relaxing. that's what stanley is for us, if you can disregard the barf episode on the drive there (nothing like starting a camping trip with dirty clothes), the low 30s temperatures at night and the swarming mosquitos. and we will disregard
cause' this is STANLEY BABY!!!!