Little Miss Fix-it

Ah, the joys of learning to use tools!

Kip is a joy to be with these days!  While she can be shy at first with new people, at home she is self-assured and self-sufficient.  She insists on doing most things by herself and is bound and determined to do everything Gus and the grown ups are doing.  My favorite anecdote from her recent adventures is the time (a few days after she saw me putting on chapstick) that I walked in and found her smearing a gluestick all over her lips:)

It is also so much fun to listen to her talk.  She repeats everything, learns new words everyday and can usually communicate what she wants and needs.  Here are a few of her new phrases and words.

up please: uppies
here they are: here y ar (said with cutest inflection!)
drink: gink
paci: pappy
cheese: cheeeeee!
cat: ca-ca
dog: dog dog
gus: guh!!!!!!! (although lately she has been adding the "s" occasionally)
all done: au dun
again: 'gin
open: opee
Go Cards!: Go cars! (with arms in the air)
I love you: I nuh new

A Day At The Farm

A few weekends ago, we made our annual trek out to Sequatchie Cove Farm for some blueberry picking.  The picking was great, the kids had a great time and we made it back with over a gallon of blueberries.  The cheese from the creamery, however, only lasted the first 10 minutes of the ride home.

  

  

  

Now

I've been trying to live out this quote from Ann Voskamp:

"Now is not a forever grace, but an amazing grace. 

Do whatever it takes to wake to wonder right here."

So here are some snap-shots of our "now."

2 possible career paths?

Gus seems like he may be working on following in his great-grandpa Deterding's engineering footsteps.  He has been begging to watch this video about gears multiple times everyday and his favorite activity is to take things completely apart to see what's inside.  Of course, then we have to figure out how to put it all back together!  I have a feeling that it won't be long before I'll be totally unable to answer his questions about how mechanical things work.

On the other hand, he can often be found making up silly songs, and occasionally dressing like this:

yo.yo.

Let's hope he picks the first option.

Art

These are all pictures Scott took on our trip to Nashville. He's really talented, huh?

  

Big, fat mess

Dinnertime at our house tonight was a disaster.  And in my mind, it all began with this cheese:

At the store this week, I had the bright idea that I should save us some money by buying a block of cheese and then shredding it myself if I needed to.   Well, tonight I needed to. And I'm pretty sure I'll be going back to pre-shredded cheese after this.  Because while I was fussing about, trying to get the grater assembled, the cheese shredded and then unstuck from the inside of the grater (not to mention finishing up the other steps involved in the delicious casserole I was planning on serving), this was happening behind me:

  "helping" to unload the dishwasher

 spreading out the contents of what seemed like all his toy baskets

 decorating the refrigerator

banging on the counter,

 which then led to inconsolable screaming when dinner was STILL not ready.....

...and also a few other things that I didn't manage to capture on film, like a full cup of orange juice being knocked off the counter, across the floor and spraying the cabinets on the opposite wall!

It sounds funny, but at the time, it most definitely wasn't and, in all honesty, the screaming and crying was not coming solely from the kids.  There are some nights when we sail through the dinner hour with no problems, but tonight was not one of them. 

So, there you have it.  We do not have it all together here.  It's messy and sinful at our house sometimes.  I wish I had been more prepared, more loving toward the kids as my frustration began to mount, more thankful when Scott swooped in to save me before things got really crazy.  And as painful as all that is to admit, I suppose it's healthy just to be able to say it honestly. 

I'm so incredibly grateful that I've been saved by grace, not works, and that Jesus is walking through this mess with me.